pathfinders of the great plains a chronicle of la vérendrye and his sons by lawrence j. burpee toronto glasgow, brook & company copyright in all countries subscribing to the berne convention {ix} contents page i. early service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii. first attempt at exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii. across the plains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv. the mandan indians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v. the discovery of the rocky mountains . . . . . . . . . . vi. la vÉrendryes' latter days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bibliographical note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . illustrations la vÉrendrye explorations, - . . . . . . . . . _facing page_ map by bartholomew. an indian encampment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " " painting by paul kane. an assiniboine indian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " " from a pastel by edmund morris. mandan girls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " " from pritchard's 'natural history of man.' tablet deposited by la vÉrendrye, . . . . . . . " " from photographs lent by charles n. bell, f.r.g.s., president of the manitoba historical and scientific society. the marquis de la galissoniÈre . . . . . . . . . . . " " from an engraving in the château de ramezay. [illustration: la vérendrye explorations, - ] { } chapter i early service canada has had many brave sons, but none braver than pierre gaultier de la vérendrye, who gave all that he had, including his life, for the glory and welfare of his country. la vérendrye was born in the quaint little town of three rivers, on the st lawrence, on november , . his father was governor of the district of which three rivers was the capital; his mother was a daughter of pierre boucher, a former governor of the same district. in those days, when canada was still a french colony, both three rivers and montreal had their own governors, while the whole colony was under the authority of the governor-general, who lived at quebec. at that time three rivers was a more important place than it is to-day. next to quebec and montreal, it was the largest town in canada. if we could see it as it was in the days of la vérendrye, we should find it very { } different from the towns we know. it was surrounded by a strong wall and protected with cannon. the town had always a garrison of regular soldiers, and this garrison was supported in times of necessity by every man and boy in three rivers. those who lived in the neighbourhood were also liable to be called upon for the service of defence. in those days, when the dreaded iroquois might at any moment swoop down upon the little settlement, every man kept his gun within reach, and every man knew how to use it. when the alarm was given, men, women, and children swarmed into three rivers, and the town became a secure fortress; for the indians, ready enough to ambush small parties of white men in the forest or in the fields, rarely dared to attack walled towns. in this little walled town pierre gaultier de la vérendrye was born, and spent his boyhood. he was one of ten children, so that he must have had no lack of companions. we have no exact description of the home of the governor of three rivers, but it was probably much like that of other seigneurs or landed gentry of new france--a low, rambling, stone building, with walls solid enough to resist a siege, perhaps a wing or two, many { } gables, and a lofty roof. it would be flanked, too, with many outhouses. it must not be supposed, however, that the governor of three rivers and his family lived in luxury. people then were obliged to live more simply than they live to-day. the governor had a salary of francs a year, or about dollars of the money of the present day. at that time, it is true, food and clothing were cheaper than they are now, so that this sum would buy a great deal more than it would at the present time; and the governor had other slight resources, for he was able to add to his official income the profits of a small farm and of a trading post on the st maurice river. still, it was a small income on which to support a family of ten lusty children, and at the same time keep up the dignity of the position as governor of an important town. pierre, therefore, like most of the other boys of new france, had to shift for himself at an age when the boys of to-day are still at school. in those days there was practically only one career for a gentleman's son--that of a soldier. accordingly we find pierre entering the army as a cadet at the age of twelve. nothing is known of his military service up to the year . in that year, however, he took part in { } an expedition against deerfield, on the north-western frontier of the colony of massachusetts. the expedition was commanded by a well-known guerilla leader, hertel de rouville, and consisted of about fifty canadians and two hundred abnakis and caughnawagas. these adventurers and redskins were accustomed to all kinds of hardship. in the depth of winter they set out from montreal to make a journey of nearly three hundred miles. they travelled on snow-shoes through the forest, carrying supplies and provisions on their backs. at the end of a long day's tramp, some comparatively sheltered spot would be found for the camp; the snow would be cleared away with their snowshoes, and a big camp-fire built in the midst of the clearing. round this the weary men, white and red, would gather to eat their simple meal and smoke a pipe; then each man would wrap himself in his cloak or blanket and fall asleep, with his feet towards the fire. from time to time some one, warned by the increasing cold, would spring up to throw on the fire another log or two. with the first appearance of dawn, the party would be once more astir; a hasty breakfast would be swallowed, and they would be off again on their long tramp to the south. { } so day after day they journeyed until at last, just when they had come to the very end of their provisions, they arrived within sight of the doomed little english frontier village of deerfield. in the dead of the night rouville called a halt in a pine forest two miles from the village, and made preparations to surprise the inhabitants. the people of deerfield were wholly unconscious of the danger from the approach of the french raiders. although the place had a rude garrison this force was ineffective, since it had little or no discipline. on this particular night even the sentries seem to have found their patrol duty within the palisades of the village so uncomfortable, in the bitter night air, that they had betaken themselves to bed. parkman has described the next step: rouville and his men, savage with hunger, lay shivering under the pines till about two hours before dawn; then, leaving their packs and their snow-shoes behind, they moved cautiously towards their prey. there was a crust on the snow strong enough to bear their weight, though not to prevent a rustling noise, as it crunched under the weight of so many men. it is said that from time to time rouville commanded a halt, in order { } that the sentinels, if such there were, might mistake the distant sound for rising and falling gusts of wind. in any case, no alarm was given till they had mounted the palisade and dropped silently into the unconscious village. then with one accord they screeched the war-whoop, and assailed the doors of the houses with axes and hatchets. the surprised villagers, awakened out of their sleep to find a howling force of french and indians in their midst, hastily barricaded their doors, and fought desperately with any weapons they could snatch up. in some cases the defenders succeeded in keeping the enemy at bay; but others were not so successful. the french and the indians, hacked openings in the doors and the windows of some of the houses, and through these shot down the inmates. finally, when day broke, the french had gained possession of most of the village. then they collected their prisoners and drove them out to their camp in the forest. a few burned houses, a score or so of dead bodies, not only of men but of helpless women and children, and a crowd of shivering prisoners, some of whom were butchered by the way, were the evidences of this inglorious victory. { } from the plunder of the houses the victors obtained some provisions which helped to feed their party on the long homeward journey. before noon of the following day they had started northward again, driving their captives before them through the deep snow. the mid-winter tramp through the wilderness proved extremely trying to both the french and their prisoners, but particularly to the prisoners, among whom were many women and children. many of them were unaccustomed to snowshoes. yet now they had to make long forced marches in this way over the deep snow. food, too, was scarce. some of the prisoners died of starvation; others of exhaustion. finally the remnant reached the french settlements on the st lawrence, where they were kindly treated by the inhabitants. some were afterwards exchanged for french captives in new england, but many never again saw their former homes. the year after his return from the expedition to deerfield, pierre de la vérendrye took part in another raid against the english settlements. on this occasion, however, the attack was not upon a new england village, but against the town of st john's, in newfoundland. the expedition was commanded { } by an officer named subercase, who afterwards became governor of acadia. st john's was defended by two forts, with small english garrisons. the french, who had about four hundred and fifty soldiers, found themselves unable to capture the forts. they therefore abandoned the attack on st john's and returned to the french settlement of placentia, burning, as they went, a number of english fishing villages along the shore. this kind of warfare could not bring much honour to a young soldier, and it was probably joyful news to pierre to learn that he had been appointed an ensign in the bretagne regiment of the grenadiers serving in flanders. he sailed from canada in , and for three years fought with his regiment in what was known as the war of the spanish succession, in which the english armies were commanded by the famous duke of marlborough. finally, at the terrible battle of malplaquet, in which thousands of both english and french were killed, pierre so distinguished himself that he won the rank of lieutenant. he received no less than nine wounds, and was left for dead upon the field. fortunately he managed to escape, to render to his country in the years to come much greater service. { } finding that there was little hope of further promotion in the french army, since he had no influence in high quarters, pierre returned to canada. after several years' service in the colonial forces, he abandoned the army, and engaged in the fur trade. as a boy at three rivers, he had enjoyed many chances of meeting the fur-traders who came down to the little town on the st lawrence with their packs of valuable peltry, and had shown an especial and fascinated interest in their stories of the boundless country that lay north and west of the string of settlements on the st lawrence. this country was so vast in extent that even the most remote tribes yet visited by the white traders could state nothing definite as to its outer boundaries, though, in answer to the eager questions of the white men, they invented many untrue tales about it. the fur-traders themselves were divided into two classes. the more staid and respectable class built trading forts in the interior on the borders of territories occupied by the indians. here they kept a supply of the things required by the natives: guns, powder and balls, tobacco, blankets, bright-coloured cotton, axes and small tools, flints and steels, vermilion for war-paint, and beads of every colour and { } description. the indians brought their furs into the forts and bartered them for the goods that they needed. sometimes, with no sense of real values, they traded beaver skins and other pelts of high worth for a piece of gaudy cotton, a little vermilion, or a handful of beads. the white men, of course, brought things which rapidly became indispensable to the indians, whose native bows and arrows and hatchets of stone seemed almost useless compared with the muskets and the steel axes brought from europe. to acquire these things became vital to the indians, and the traders who now supplied them acquired each year thousands of beautiful furs. these were tied up securely into packs and carried in canoes down to montreal or three rivers, where they were bought by the great merchants and sent by ship to france. the furs that had been bought from the indian for a mere trifle fetched hundreds of francs when they finally reached paris. the second class of traders, known as coureurs de bois, or wood-runners, were very different from the first. speaking generally, they were young men, sometimes of good family, who found life in the older towns and settlements prosaic and uninteresting, and when { } they went to the interior did not care to be tied down to the humdrum existence of the trading forts. instead of requiring the indians to bring their furs down to some fort, these enterprising rovers of the forest went into the indian country. sometimes they took light trading goods with them to barter with the redskins for furs, but oftener they themselves hunted and trapped the beaver, the otter, and the fox. the coureurs de bois were generally men of reckless courage, ready to face danger and hardship. from long living among the savages they themselves became in time half savage. some of them took indian wives and were adopted into the tribes. when one of these wood-runners had obtained a quantity of furs, he made them up into packs, loaded them carefully in his canoe, and set out for the distant settlements, montreal, three rivers, or quebec. he knew the wild northern streams as well as any indian; he could run his canoe safely down a rapid where an inch one way or the other would dash it against the rocks; and he could paddle all day with only an occasional stop for a meal or a smoke. when he came to an impassable rapid or waterfall, he beached his canoe and carried everything--canoe, packs, gun, and { } provisions--overland to the navigable water ahead. at night he pulled his canoe ashore, built a campfire, and cooked over the flames a partridge, a wild duck, or a venison steak. if he had not been fortunate enough to meet with such game, he made a simple meal of pemmican--dried venison mixed with fat--a supply of which he always carried in a bag in case of need. then he smoked his pipe, rolled himself in his blanket, placed his gun within reach, and slept soundly until the sun awakened him on the following morning. when he reached the far-off towns on the st lawrence, he traded part of his furs for any goods which he needed, and was only too likely to get rid of the rest in dissipation. as soon as his money was spent, he would turn his back on civilization and live once more the wild life of the indian country. from such men as these, who were constantly to be seen in the little town of three rivers, pierre de la vérendrye heard many stories of the wonderful country that lay far towards the setting sun. they told him of mighty rivers and great lakes. some of these they had seen; others they had heard of from the indians. always the young man heard rumours of a great _mer de l'ouest_, or western { } sea, which french explorers had been seeking ardently ever since the days of jacques cartier and samuel champlain. in the earlier days, when the french first came to canada, this western sea was supposed to be somewhere above montreal. probably the indians who first spoke of it to jacques cartier meant nothing more than lake ontario. then, in the days of champlain, the sea was sought farther westward. champlain heard rumours of a great water beyond the ottawa river. he paddled up the ottawa, reached lake nipissing, and, descending what is now known as french river, found the immense body of water of which the indians had told him. he had discovered lake huron, but this, again, was not the western sea. other explorers, following in his footsteps, discovered lake michigan and lake superior; but still neither of these was the western sea. so, in la vérendrye's day, men were dreaming of a western sea somewhere beyond lake superior. how far was it westward of lake superior? who could tell? the indians were always ready with a plausible tale, and many believed that the western sea would still be found at no great distance beyond the uppermost of the great lakes. { } la vérendrye was a young man of ambition and imagination. the spirit of adventure called him to a great exploit in discovery, as it had called earlier explorers french in blood--jacques cartier and champlain and radisson, nicolet and etienne brulé, marquette and la salle. they one and all had sought diligently for the western sea; they had made many notable discoveries, but in this one thing they all had failed. la vérendrye determined to strive even more earnestly than any of his great predecessors to discover a way to the western sea, not so much for his own advantage as for the honour and glory of his native country. this great idea had been taking form in his mind from the days of his early boyhood, when, seated before the great log fire in his father's home in three rivers, he had first listened to the stirring tales of the woodrunners. years went by, however, before he could attempt to put his plans into execution. soon after his return from the french wars, he married the daughter of a gentleman of new france named dandonneau and made his home on the island of dupas in the st lawrence, near three rivers. here four sons were born to him, all of whom were { } later to accompany their father on his western explorations. his principal occupation at this time was to look after the trading-post of la gabelle on the st maurice river, not far from the point where it discharges its waters into the st lawrence. la vérendrye's experience and capacity as a fur-trader, gained at this post of la gabelle, led the governor of the colony to offer him, in the year , the command of an important trading fort on lake nipigon, north of lake superior. with his great project of western exploration always in mind, he eagerly accepted the offer. for three or four years he remained in command of the nipigon post, faithfully discharging his duties as a fur-trader, but with his mind always alert for any information that might help him later to discover a way to the western sea. one day there came to him from the kaministikwia river--on which the city of fort william now stands--an indian named ochagach. according to his own story, ochagach had travelled far towards the setting sun, until he came to a great lake, out of which a river flowed westward. he said that he had paddled down this river until he reached a point where the water ebbed and flowed. { } through fear of the savage tribes that inhabited the shores of the river, he had not gone to its mouth, but he had been told that the river emptied into a great salt lake or sea, upon the coasts of which dwelt men of terrifying mien, who lived in fortified towns; he had been told that these men wore armour and rode on horseback, and that great ships visited the towns which they had built on the coasts. ochagach's story made a deep impression on la vérendrye. not that he accepted the whole account as true. he knew too well the wild imagination of the indian, and his delight in telling marvellous tales to the white men. but the river that flowed westward and fell into a great sea answered so closely to his own dream, and seemed on the whole so probable, that he was persuaded of the truth of the story. he determined, therefore, to surrender his command of the nipigon post and to equip an expedition for the discovery of the western sea, which now seemed to be within comparatively easy reach. to do this, he must obtain the permission and support of the governor-general of canada, the marquis de beauharnois. he therefore set out for quebec, taking with him a rough map which ochagach had drawn for him. this map { } professed to make clear the position of the countries which ochagach declared that he had visited. the governor at quebec was keenly interested in these plans for western discovery, and wrote immediately to the french king, urging that la vérendrye should be provided with one hundred men and the necessary supplies and equipment. but king louis at this time was deeply engaged in european wars and intrigues and could not spare any money for the work of exploration. all that he would grant was a monopoly of the western fur trade. that is to say, la vérendrye was to be allowed to build trading forts in the country which he was about to explore, and, out of the profits of his traffic with the indians, he might pay the cost of his expedition to the western sea. no other french traders would be permitted to trade in this part of the country. this was sorry encouragement to a man whose only desire was to bring glory and honour to his native country; but it was all that could be hoped for from the government or the king. la vérendrye was too true a leader to abandon plans merely because the road was not made easy for him. as the king would not pay the cost of his expedition, he { } made up his mind to find help from some other source. he must have men; he must have canoes, provisions, and goods to trade with the natives. all this demanded a great deal of money. he devoted at once to the cause his own little fortune, but this was far from sufficient. off he went to montreal, to plead with its merchants to help him. the merchants, however, were not much interested in his plans for western discovery. they were business men without patriotism; they looked for something that would bring profit, not for what might advance the interests of their country. it thus happened that if la vérendrye had had nothing to offer them but the opportunity of sharing in the distinction of his great discovery, they would have turned deaf ears to his appeal, no matter how eloquent he might have been. but he was too shrewd a man to urge plans to which he knew the merchants would not listen. he could turn the king's monopoly to good account. 'give me money to pay my men,' he said, 'and goods to trade with the western tribes, and i will bring you rich returns in beaver skins. no other traders are permitted to go into the country west of lake superior. i will build trading forts { } there. from these as a base i will continue my search for the western sea. all the profits of the enterprise, the rich furs that are brought into my posts, shall be yours.' here was something that the self-seeking merchants could understand. they saw in the fur-trading monopoly a chance of a golden harvest, a return of hundreds for every franc that they advanced towards the expenses of the undertaking. with cheerful haste, therefore, they agreed to pay the cost of the expedition. la vérendrye was delighted and lost no time in employing such persons as he needed--soldiers, canoe-men, and hunters. birch-bark canoes were procured and laden with provisions, equipment, and packages of goods to trade with the indians; and in the early summer of all was ready for the great western journey. with la vérendrye were to go three of his sons, jean-baptiste, pierre, and françois, and his nephew la jemeraye. a jesuit missionary, father messager, would join the party at fort michilimackinac, and the indian ochagach was to act as guide. { } chapter ii first attempt at exploration as la vérendrye led his men from the gates of montreal to the river where waited his little fleet of birch-bark canoes, his departure was watched with varied and conflicting emotions. in the crowd that surrounded him were friends and enemies; some who openly applauded his design, others who less openly scoffed at it; priests exhorting him to devote all his energies to furthering the missionary aims of their church among the wild tribes of the west; jealous traders commenting among themselves upon the injustice involved in granting a monopoly of the western fur trade to this scheming adventurer; partners in the enterprise anxiously watching the loading of the precious merchandise they had advanced to him, and wondering whether their cast of the dice would bring fortune or failure; busybodies bombarding him with advice; and a crowd of idle onlookers, divided in their minds { } as to whether la vérendrye would return triumphantly from the western sea laden with the spoils of cathay and cipango, or would fall a victim to the half-human monsters that were reputed to inhabit the wilderness of the west. but now everything was ready. la vérendrye gave the word of command, and the canoes leaped forward on their long voyage. a new search for the western sea had begun. no man knew how it would end. the perils and hardships encountered by the discoverers of america in crossing the atlantic were much less terrible than those with which la vérendrye and his men must battle in exploring the boundless plains of the unknown west. the voyage across the sea would occupy but a few weeks; this journey by inland waterways and across the illimitable spaces of the western prairies would take many months and even years. there was a daily menace from savage foes lurking on the path of the adventurers. hardy and dauntless must they be who should return safely from such a quest. little those knew who stood enviously watching the departure of the expedition what bitter tribute its leader must pay to the relentless gods of the great plains for his hardihood in invading their savage domain. { } the way lay up the broad and picturesque ottawa, rich even then with the romantic history of a century of heroic exploits. this was the great highway between the st lawrence and the upper lakes for explorers, missionaries, war parties, and traders. up this stream, one hundred and eighteen years before, champlain had pushed his way, persuaded by the ingenious impostor nicolas vignau that here was the direct road to cathay. at st anne's the expedition made a brief halt to ask a blessing on the enterprise. here the men, according to custom, each received a dram of liquor. when they had again taken their places, paddles dipped at the word of command, and, like a covey of birds, the canoes skimmed over the dark waters of the ottawa, springing under the sinewy strokes of a double row of paddlers against the swift current of the river. following the shore closely, they made rapid progress up-stream. at noon they landed on a convenient island, where they quickly kindled a fire. a pot of tea was swung above it from a tripod. with jest and story the meal went on, and as soon as it was finished they were again afloat, paddling vigorously and making quick time. sunset approached--the brief but indescribably beautiful sunset { } of a canadian summer. the sun sank behind the maples and cedars, and a riot of colour flooded the western horizon. rainbow hues swept up half-way to the zenith, waving, mingling, changing from tint to tint, as through the clouds flamed up the last brightness of the sinking sun. a rollicking chorus sank away on the still air, and the men gazed for a moment upon a scene which, however familiar, could never lose its charm. the song of the birds was hushed. all nature seemed to pause. then as the outermost rim of the sun dropped from sight, and the brilliant colouring of a moment ago toned to rose and saffron, pink and mauve, the world moved on again, but with a seemingly subdued motion. the voyageurs resumed their song, but the gay chorus that had wakened echoes from the overhanging cliffs, en roulant ma boule, rouli, roulant, ma boule roulant, en roulant ma boule roulant, en roulant ma boule, was changed to the pathetic refrain of a song then as now dear to the heart of french canadians--_a la claire fontaine_. in the cool twilight the men paddled on, placing mile after mile between them and { } montreal. presently the river widened into a lakelike expanse. the moon rose and shot its soft gleam across the water. no ripple stirred the smooth surface, save where the paddles dipped and the prow of each canoe cut like a knife through the stream. belated birds flew overhead, making for home. a stag broke through the bushes on the farther shore, caught sight of the canoes, gazed at them for a moment, and then disappeared. it was growing late when la vérendrye, from the foremost canoe, gave the word to camp. the canoes turned shoreward, lightly touching the shelving bank, and the men sprang nimbly to the land. fires were lighted, the tents were pitched, and everything was made snug for the night. the hunters had not been idle during the day, and a dozen brace of birds were soon twirling merrily on the spit, while venison steaks added appetizing odours. their hunger satisfied, the men lounged about on the grass, smoking and listening to the yarns of some famous story-teller. he would tell them, perhaps, the pathetic story of cadieux, who, on this very stream, had held the dreaded iroquois at bay while his comrades escaped. cadieux himself escaped the iroquois, only to fall a victim to the _folie des bois_, or { } madness of the woods, wandering aimlessly in circles, until, famished and exhausted, he lay down to die. when his comrades returned in search of him, they found beside him a birch bark on which he had written his death chant: thou little rock of the high hill, attend! hither i come this last campaign to end! ye echoes soft, give ear unto my sigh; in languishing i speedily shall die. dear little birds, your dulcet harmony what time you sing makes this life dear to me. ah! had i wings that i might fly like you; ere two days sped i should be happy too. then, as the camp-fires sank into heaps of glowing embers, each man would wrap his blanket about him and with kind mother earth for his pillow and only the dome of heaven above him, would sleep as only those may whose resting-place is in the free air of the wilderness. at sunrise they were once more away, on a long day's paddle up-stream. they passed the long sault, where long before the heroic dollard and his little band of frenchmen held at bay a large war party of iroquois--sacrificing their lives to save the little struggling colony at montreal. again, their way lay beneath those towering cliffs overlooking the ottawa, on which now stand the canadian houses of { } parliament. they had just passed the curtain-like falls of the rideau on one side, and the mouth of the turbulent gatineau on the other, and before them lay the majestic chaudière. here they disembarked. the voyageurs, following the indian example, threw a votive offering of tobacco into the boiling cauldron, for the benefit of the dreaded windigo. then, shouldering canoes and cargo, they made their way along the portage to the upper stream, and, launching and reloading the canoes, proceeded on their journey. so the days passed, each one carrying them farther from the settlements and on, ever on, towards the unknown west, and perhaps to the western sea. from the upper waters of the ottawa they carried their canoes over into a series of small lakes and creeks that led to lake nipissing, and thence they ran down the french river to lake huron. launching out fearlessly on this great lake, they paddled swiftly along the north shore to fort michilimackinac, where they rested for a day or two. fort michilimackinac was on the south side of the strait which connects lake huron and lake michigan, and lay so near the water that the waves frequently broke against the stockade. passing through the gates, above which floated { } the fleurs-de-lis of france, they found themselves in an enclosure, some two acres in extent, containing thirty houses and a small church. on the bastions stood in a conspicuous position two small brass cannon, captured from the english at fort albany on hudson bay, in , by de troyes and iberville.[ ] it was now the end of july, and la vérendrye had still a long way to go. after a brief rest, he gathered his party together, embarked once more, and steered his way on that great inland sea, lake superior. all that had gone before was child's play to what must now be encountered. in contrast to the blue and placid waters of lake huron, the explorers now found themselves in the midst of a dark and sombre sea, whose waves, seldom if ever still, could on occasion rival the atlantic in their fierce tumult. even in this hottest month of the year the water was icy cold, and the keen wind that blew across the lake forced those who were not paddling to put on extra clothing. they must needs be hardy and experienced voyageurs who could safely navigate these mad waters in frail bark canoes. slowly they made their way along the north shore, buffeted by storms and in constant peril of their lives, until at last, on { } august , they reached the grand portage, near the mouth of the pigeon river, or about fifteen leagues south-west of fort kaministikwia, where the city of fort william now stands. la vérendrye would have pushed on at once for lac la pluie, or rainy lake, where he purposed to build the first of his western posts, but when he ordered his men to make the portage there was first deep muttering, and then open mutiny. two or three of the boatmen, bribed by la vérendrye's enemies at montreal, had drawn such terrible pictures of the horrors before them, and had so played upon the fears of their superstitious comrades, that these now refused flatly to follow their leader into the unhallowed and fiend-infested regions which lay beyond. the hardships they had already endured, and the further hardships of the long and difficult series of portages which lay between them and rainy lake, also served to dishearten the men. some of them, however, had been with la jemeraye at lake pepin, on the mississippi, and were not to be dismayed. these la vérendrye persuaded to continue the exploration. the others gradually weakened in their opposition, and at last it was agreed that la jemeraye, with half the men, should go on to rainy lake and build a { } fort there, while la vérendrye, with the other half, should spend the winter at kaministikwia, and keep the expedition supplied with provisions. in this way the winter passed. the leader was, we may be sure, restless at the delay and impatient to advance farther. the spring brought good news. late in may la jemeraye returned from rainy lake, bringing canoes laden with valuable furs, the result of the winter's traffic. these were immediately sent on to michilimackinac, for shipment to the partners at montreal. la jemeraye reported that he had built a fort at the foot of a series of rapids, where rainy lake discharges into the river of the same name. he had built the fort in a meadow, among groves of oak. the lake teemed with fish, and the woods which lined its shores were alive with game, large and small. the picture was one to make la vérendrye even more eager to advance. on june he set out with his entire party for fort st pierre, as the new establishment had been named, to commemorate his own name of pierre. it took a month to traverse the intricate chain of small lakes and streams, with their many portages, connecting lake superior and rainy lake. { } after a short rest at fort st pierre, la vérendrye pushed on rapidly, escorted in state by fifty canoes of indians, to the lake of the woods. here he built a second post, fort st charles, on a peninsula running out far into the lake on the south-west side--an admirable situation, both for trading purposes and for defence. this fort he describes as consisting of 'an enclosure made with four rows of posts, from twelve to fifteen feet in height, in the form of an oblong square, within which are a few rough cabins constructed of logs and clay, and covered with bark.' in the spring of father messager returned to montreal, and with him went la jemeraye, to report the progress already made. he described to the governor the difficulties they had encountered, and urged that the king should be persuaded to assume the expense of further exploration towards the western sea. the governor could, however, do nothing. meanwhile jean, la vérendrye's eldest son, had advanced still farther and had made his way to lake winnipeg. he took with him a handful of toughened veterans, and tramped on snow-shoes through the frozen forest--four hundred and fifty miles in the stern midwinter { } of a region bitterly cold. near the mouth of the winnipeg river, where it empties into lake winnipeg, they found an ideal site for the fort which they intended to build. immediately they set to work, felled trees, drove stout stakes into the frozen ground for a stockade, put up a rough shelter inside, and had everything ready for la vérendrye's arrival in the spring. they named the post fort maurepas, in honour of a prominent minister of the king in france at the time. la vérendrye had now carried out, and more than carried out, the agreement made with the governor beauharnois. he had established a chain of posts--strung like beads on a string--from lake superior to lake winnipeg, from the river kaministikwia to the open prairie. but the distance he had traversed, the difficulties he had encountered, and, above all, the expense incurred, had been far in excess of anything he had anticipated. these were discouraging experiences. he seemed at last to have reached the limit of his resources and endurance. to advance farther with the slender means now at his command seemed almost impossible. should he turn back? his men were more than willing. every step eastward would bring them nearer their { } homes, their families, and the pleasures and dissipations of the canadian towns on the far-off st lawrence. to turn back was the easiest thing for them. but it was not easy for a man like la vérendrye. to return meant failure; and for him there was no such thing as failure while health and strength endured. at whatever cost, he must push on towards the western sea. the situation was nevertheless most critical. his own means had long since been exhausted. true, he possessed a monopoly of the fur trade, but what did it profit him? he had not touched, and never would be able to touch, a franc of the proceeds: the shrewd merchants of montreal had made sure of this. to la vérendrye the monopoly was simply a millstone added to the burdens he was already forced to bear. it did not increase his resources; it delayed his great enterprise; and it put an effective weapon in the hands of his enemies. little cause had he to be grateful for the royal monopoly. he would have infinitely preferred the direct grant of even a score of capable, well-equipped men. these, maintained at the king's expense, he might lead by the quickest route to the western sea. as it was, the merchants in montreal refused { } to send up further supplies; his men remained unpaid; he even lacked a sufficient supply of food. there was nothing for it but to turn back, make the long journey to montreal and quebec, and there do his utmost to arrange matters. he had already sunk from , to , livres in the enterprise. in all justice, the king should assume the expense of further explorations in quest of the great sea. the governor, the marquis de beauharnois, shared this view, and had already pressed the court to grant la vérendrye the assistance he so urgently needed. 'the outlay,' he wrote to the king's minister, maurepas, 'will not be great; the cost of the _engagés_ [hired men] for three years, taking into account what can be furnished from the king's stores, would not exceed , livres at most.' the king, however, refused to undertake the expense of the expedition. those who had assumed the task should, he thought, be in a position to continue it by means of the profits derived from their monopoly of the fur trade. the facts did not justify the royal view of the matter. la vérendrye had enjoyed the monopoly for two or three years--with the result that he was now very heavily, indeed alarmingly, in debt. { } his was not a nature, however, to be crushed by either indifference or opposition. he had reached the parting of the ways. nothing was to be hoped for from the court. he must either abandon his enterprise or continue it at his own risk and expense. he went to montreal and saw his partners. with infinite patience he suffered their unjust reproaches. he was neglecting their interests, they grumbled. the profits were not what they had a right to expect. he thought too much of the western sea and not enough of the beavers. he was a dreamer, and they were practical men of business. what could la vérendrye say that would have weight with men of this stamp? should he tell them of the glory that would accrue to his and their country by the discovery of the western sea? at this they would only shrug their shoulders. should he tell them of the unseen forces that drew him to that wonderful land of the west--where the crisp clear air held an intoxicating quality unknown in the east; where the eye foamed on and on over limitless expanses of waving green, till the mind was staggered at the vastness of the prospect; where the very largeness of nature seemed to enter into a man and to { } crush out things petty and selfish? in doing this he would be beating the air. they were incapable of understanding him. they would deem him mad. crushing down, therefore, both his enthusiasm for the western land and his anger at their dulness, he met the merchants of montreal on their own commercial level. he told them that the posts he had established were in the very heart of the fur country; that the assiniboines and crees had engaged to bring large quantities of beaver skins to the forts; that the northern tribes were already turning from the english posts of the hudson's bay company in the far north to the more accessible posts of the french; that the richly watered and wooded country between kaministikwia and lake winnipeg abounded in every description of fur-bearing animal; that over the western prairies roamed the buffalo in vast herds which seemed to blacken the green earth as far as eye could reach. his eloquence over the outlook for trade proved convincing. as he painted the riches of the west in terms that appealed with peculiar force to these traders in furs, their hostility melted away. the prospect of profit at the rate of a hundred per cent once more filled { } them with enthusiasm. they agreed to equip the expedition anew. it thus happened that when the intrepid explorer again turned his face towards the west, fortune seemed to smile once more. his canoes were loaded with a second equipment for the posts of the western sea. perhaps at that moment it seemed to him hardly to matter that he was in debt deeper than ever. while in the east completing these arrangements, la vérendrye took steps to ensure that his youngest son, louis, now eighteen years of age, should join the other members of the family engaged in the work. the boy was to be taught how to prepare maps and plans, so that, when he came west in the following year, he might be of material assistance to the expedition. the explorer would then have his four sons and his nephew in the enterprise. the hopeful outlook did not long endure. it was soon clear that la vérendrye had again to meet trials which should try his mettle still more severely. shortly after his return to fort st charles on the lake of the woods, his son jean arrived from fort maurepas, with evil news indeed. la jemeraye, his nephew and chief lieutenant, whose knowledge of the western tribes was invaluable, whose { } enthusiasm for the great project was only second to his own, whose patience and resourcefulness had helped the expedition out of many a tight corner--la jemeraye was dead. he had remained in harness to the last, and had laboured day and night, in season and out of season, pushing explorations in every direction, meeting and conciliating the indian tribes, building up the fur trade at the western posts. though sorely needing rest, he had toiled on uncomplainingly, with no thought that he was showing heroism, till at last his overtaxed body collapsed and he died almost on his feet--the first victim of the search for the western sea. meanwhile the little garrison at fort st charles was almost at the point of starvation. la vérendrye had travelled ahead at such rapid speed that his supplies were still a long way in the rear when he reached the fort. in face of the pressing need, it was decided to send a party down to meet the boats at kaministikwia and to fetch back at once the supplies which were most urgently required. jean, now twenty-three years of age, was placed in charge of the expedition, and with him went the jesuit missionary, father aulneau, on his way down to fort michilimackinac. the day for departure was named, { } and everything was made ready the night before so that there might be no delay in starting early in the morning. the sun had hardly risen above the horizon and was yet filtering through the dense foliage of pine and cedar, when jean de la vérendrye and his men embarked and pushed off from the shore. the paddles dipped almost noiselessly, and the three light canoes skimmed lightly over the surface of the lake of the woods, followed by shouts of farewell from the fort. for a time the party skirted the shore. then they struck out boldly across the lake. the melodies of the forest followed them for a time, and then died away in the distance. nothing was now to be heard but the dip of paddles and the soft swirl of eddies flying backward from either side of the canoes. the morning sun swept across the lake; a faint breeze stirred a ripple on the surface of the water. from far away came faintly the laugh of a solitary loon. the men paddled strenuously, with minds intent upon nothing more serious than the halt for breakfast. the priest was lost in meditation. jean de la vérendrye sat in the foremost canoe, with eyes alert, scanning the horizon as the little flotilla drew rapidly across the lake. { } at the same time, approaching from the opposite direction, was a fleet of canoes manned by a hundred savages, the fierce and implacable sioux of the prairie. they had reached the lake of the woods by way of a stream that bore the significant name _the road of war_. this was the war-path of the sioux from their own country, south of what is now the province of manitoba, to the country of the chippewas and the crees farther east. whenever the sioux followed this route, they were upon no peaceful errand. as the sioux entered the lake, a mist was rising slowly from the water; but before it completely hid their canoes a keen-sighted savage saw the three canoes of the french, who were about to land on the far side of an island out in the lake. cautiously the sioux felt their way across to the near side of the island, and landed unperceived. they glided noiselessly through the thick underbrush, and, as they approached the other shore, crept from tree to tree, finally wriggling snake-wise to the very edge of the thicket. beneath them lay a narrow beach, on which some of the voyageurs had built a fire to prepare the morning meal. others lay about, smoking and chatting idly. jean de la vérendrye sat a little apart, perhaps { } recording the scanty particulars of the journey. the jesuit priest walked up and down, deep in his breviary. the circumstances could hardly have been more favourable for the sudden attack which the savages were eager to make. the french had laid aside their weapons, or had left them behind in the canoes. they had no reason to expect an attack. they were at peace with the western tribes--even with those ishmaelites of the prairie, the sioux. presently a twig snapped under the foot of a savage. young la vérendrye turned quickly, caught sight of a waving plume, and shouted to his men. immediately from a hundred fierce throats the war-whoop rang out. the sioux leaped to their feet. arrows showered down upon the french. jean, father aulneau, and a dozen voyageurs fell. the rest snatched up their guns and fired. several of the sioux, who had incautiously left cover, fell. the odds were, however, overwhelmingly against the french. they must fight in the open, while the indians remained comparatively secure among the trees. the french made an attempt to reach the canoes, but had to abandon it, for the sioux now completely commanded the approach and no man could reach the water alive. { } the surviving french, now reduced to half a dozen, retreated down the shore. with yells of triumph the sioux followed, keeping within shelter of the trees. in desperation the voyageurs dropped their guns and took to the water, hoping to be able to swim to a neighbouring island. this was a counsel of despair, for wounded and exhausted as they were, the feat was impossible. when the sioux rushed down to the shore, they realized the plight of the french, and did not even waste an arrow on them. one by one the swimmers sank beneath the waves. after watching their tragic fate, the savages returned to scalp those who had fallen at the camp. with characteristic ferocity they hacked and mutilated the bodies. then, gathering up their own dead, they hastily retreated by the way they had come. for some time it was not known why the sioux had made an attack, seemingly unprovoked, upon the french. gradually, however, it leaked out that earlier in the year a party of sioux on their way to fort st charles on a friendly visit had been fired upon by a party of chippewas. the sioux had shouted indignantly, 'who fire on us?' and the chippewas, in ambush, had yelled back with grim humour, 'the french.' the sioux { } retreated, vowing a terrible vengeance against the treacherous white men. their opportunity came even sooner than they had expected. a trader named bourassa, who had left fort st charles for michilimackinac shortly before the setting out of jean de la vérendrye and his party, had camped for the night on the banks of the rainy river. the following morning, as he was about to push off from the shore, he was surrounded by thirty canoes manned by a hundred sioux. they bound him hand and foot, tied him to a stake, and were about to burn him alive when a squaw who was with him sprang forward to defend him. fortunately for him his companion had been a sioux maiden; she had been captured by a war party of monsones some years before and rescued from them by bourassa. she knew of the projected journey of jean de la vérendrye. 'my kinsmen,' she now cried, 'what are you about to do? i owe my life to this frenchman. he has done nothing but good to me. why should you destroy him? if you wish to be revenged for the attack made upon you, go forward and you will meet twenty-four frenchman, with whom is the son of the chief who killed your people.' bourassa was too much frightened to oppose { } the statement. in his own account of what happened he is, indeed, careful to omit any mention of this particular incident. the sioux released bourassa, after taking possession of his arms and supplies. then they paddled down to the lake, where they were only too successful in finding the french and in making them the victims of the cruel joke of the chippewas. this murder of his son was the most bitter blow that had yet fallen upon la vérendrye. but he betrayed no sign of weakness. not even the loss of his son was sufficient to turn him back from his search for the western sea. 'i have lost,' he writes simply to maurepas, 'my son, the reverend father, and my frenchmen, misfortunes which i shall lament all my life.' some comfort remained. the great explorer still had three sons, ready and willing like himself to sacrifice their lives for the glory of new france. [ ] see _the 'adventurers of england' on hudson bay_, pages - . { } chapter iii across the plains for several years la vérendrye had been hearing wonderful accounts of a tribe of indians in the west who were known as the mandans. wherever he went, among the chippewas, the crees, or the assiniboines, some one was sure to speak of the mandans, and the stories grew more and more marvellous. la vérendrye knew that indians were very much inclined to exaggerate. they would never spoil a good story by limiting it to what they knew to be true. they liked a joke as well as other people; and, when they found that the white men who visited them were eager to know all about the country and the tribes of the far interior, they invented all sorts of impossible stories, in which truth and fiction were so mingled that at length the explorers did not know what to believe. much that was told him by the indians concerning the mandans la vérendrye knew { } could not possibly be true; he thought that some of their stories were probably correct. the indians said that the mandans were white like himself, that they dressed like europeans, wore armour, had horses and cattle, cultivated the ground, and lived in fortified towns. their home was described as being far towards the setting sun, on a great river that flowed into the ocean. la vérendrye knew that the spaniards had made settlements on the western coast of america, and he thought that the mysterious strangers might perhaps be spaniards. at any rate, they seemed to be white men, and, if the indian stories were even partially true, they would be able to show him that way to the great water which it was the ambition of his life to find. his resolve, therefore, was inevitable. he would visit these white strangers, whoever they might be; and he had great hopes that they would be able to guide him to the object of his quest. for some time, however, he was not able to carry out this intended visit to the mandans. the death of his nephew la jemeraye, followed soon after by the murder of his son jean, upset all his plans for a time. further, he had great difficulty in keeping peace among the indian { } tribes. the chippewas and the crees, who had always been friendly to the french, were indignant at the treacherous massacre of the white men by the sioux, and urged la vérendrye to lead a war party against this enemy. la vérendrye not only refused to do this himself, but he told them that they must on no account go to war with the sioux. he warned them that their great father, the king of france, would be very angry with them if they disobeyed his commands. had they not known him so well, the indians would have despised la vérendrye as a coward for refusing to revenge himself upon the sioux for the death of his son; but they knew that, whatever his reason might be, it was not due to any fear of the sioux. as time went on, they thought that he would perhaps change his mind, and again and again they came to him begging for leave to take the war-path. 'the blood of your son,' they said, 'cries for revenge. we have not ceased to weep for him and for the other frenchmen who were slain. give us permission and we will avenge their death upon the sioux.' la vérendrye, however, disregarding his personal feelings, knew that it would be fatal to all his plans to let the friendly indians have { } their way. an attack on the sioux would be the signal for a general war among all the neighbouring tribes. in that case his forts would be destroyed and the fur trade would be broken up. in the end, he and his men would probably be driven out of the western country, and all his schemes for the discovery of the western sea would come to nothing. it was therefore of the utmost importance that he should remain where he was, in the country about the lake of the woods, until the excitement among the indians had quieted down and there was no longer any immediate danger of war. at length, in the summer of , la vérendrye felt that he could carry out his plan of visiting the mandans. he left one of his sons, pierre, in charge of fort st charles, and with the other two, françois and louis, set forth on his journey to the west. travelling down the winnipeg river in canoes, they stopped for a few hours at fort maurepas, then crossed lake winnipeg and paddled up the muddy waters of red river to the mouth of the assiniboine, the site of the present city of winnipeg, then seen by white men for the first time. la vérendrye found it occupied by a band of crees under two war chiefs. he landed, { } pitched his tent on the banks of the assiniboine, and sent for the two chiefs and reproached them with what he had heard--that they had abandoned the french posts and had taken their furs to the english on hudson bay. they replied that the accusation was false; that they had gone to the english during only one season, the season in which the french had abandoned fort maurepas after the death of la jemeraye, and had thus left the crees with no other means of getting the goods they required. 'as long as the french remain on our lands,' they said, 'we promise you not to go elsewhere with our furs.' one of the chiefs then asked him where he was now going. la vérendrye replied that it was his purpose to ascend the assiniboine river in order to see the country. 'you will find yourself among the assiniboines,' said the chief; 'and they are a useless people, without intelligence, who do not hunt the beaver, and clothe themselves only in the skins of buffalo. they are a good-for-nothing lot of rascals and might do you harm.' but la vérendrye had heard such tales before and was not to be frightened from his purpose. he took leave of the crees, turned his canoes up the shallow waters of the assiniboine river, and ascended { } it to where now stands the city of portage la prairie. here he built a fort, which he named fort la reine, in honour of the queen of france. [illustration: an indian encampment. from a painting by paul kane.] while this was being done, a party of assiniboines arrived. la vérendrye soon found, as he had expected, that the crees through jealousy had given the assiniboines a character which they did not deserve. with all friendliness they welcomed the strangers and were overjoyed at the presents which the french gave them. the most valued presents consisted of knives, chisels, awls, and other small tools. up to this time these people had been dependent upon implements made of stone and of bone roughly fashioned to serve their purposes, and these implements were very crude and inferior compared with the sharp steel tools of the white men. while la vérendrye had been occupied in building fort la reine, one of his men, louvière, had been sent to the mouth of the assiniboine to put up a small post for the crees. he found a suitable place on the south bank of the assiniboine, near the point where it enters the red, and here he built his trading post and named it fort rouge. this fort was abandoned in a year or two, as it was { } soon found more convenient to trade with the indians either at fort maurepas near the mouth of the winnipeg, or at fort la reine on the assiniboine. the memory of the fort is, however, preserved to this day. the quarter of winnipeg in the vicinity of the old fort is still known as fort rouge. the memory of la vérendrye is also preserved, for a large school built near the site of the old fort bears the name of the great explorer. the completion of fort la reine freed la vérendrye to make preparations for his journey to the mandans. he left some of his men at the fort and selected twenty to accompany him on his expedition. to each of these followers he gave a supply of powder and bullets, an ax, a kettle, and other things needful by the way. in later years horses were abundant on the western prairie, but at that time neither the french nor the indians had horses, and everything needed for the journey was carried on men's backs. three days after leaving fort la reine, la vérendrye met a party of assiniboines travelling over the prairie. he gave them some small presents, and told them that he had built in their country a fort where they could get all kinds of useful articles in { } exchange for their furs and provisions. they seemed delighted at having white men so near, and promised to keep the fort supplied with everything that the traders required. a day or two afterwards several other indians appeared, from an assiniboine village. they bore hospitable messages from the chiefs, who begged the white travellers to come to visit them. this it was difficult to do. the village was some miles distant from the road on which they were travelling and already they had lost much time because their guide was either too lazy or too stupid to take them by the most direct way to the mandan villages on the banks of the missouri. still, la vérendrye did not think it wise to disappoint the assiniboines, or to offend them, since he might have to depend upon their support in making his plans for further discoveries. accordingly, although it was now nearly the middle of november, the very best time of the year for travelling across the plains, he made up his mind to go to the assiniboine village. as the party drew near the village, a number of young warriors came to meet them, and to tell them that the assiniboines were greatly pleased to have them as guests. it is { } possible that the assiniboines had heard of the presents which the french had given to some of their countrymen, and that they too hoped to receive knives, powder and bullets, things which they prized very highly. at any rate, the explorer and his men received vociferous welcome when they entered the village. 'our arrival,' says la vérendrye, 'was hailed with great joy, and we were taken into the dwelling of a young chief, where everything had been made ready for our reception. they gave us and all our men very good cheer, and none of us lacked appetite.' [illustration: an assiniboine indian. from a pastel by edmund morris.] the following day la vérendrye sent for the principal chiefs of the tribe, and gave to each of them a present of powder and ball, or knives and tobacco. he told them that if the assiniboines would hunt beaver diligently and would bring the skins to fort la reine, they should receive in return everything that they needed. one of the chiefs made a speech in reply. 'we thank you,' he said, 'for the trouble you have taken to come to visit us. we are going to accompany you to the mandans, and then to see you safely back to your fort. we have already sent word to the mandans that you are on your way to visit them, and the mandans are delighted. we shall travel { } by easy marches, so that we may hunt by the way and have plenty of provisions.' the explorer was not wholly pleased to find that the entire village was to accompany him, for this involved still further delays on the journey. it was necessary, however, to give no cause of offence; so he thanked them for their good-will, and merely urged that they should be ready to leave as soon as possible and travel with all speed by the shortest road, as the season was growing late. on the next morning they all set out together, a motley company, the french with their indian guides and hunters accompanied by the entire village of assiniboines. la vérendrye was astonished at the orderly way in which these savages, about six hundred in number, travelled across the prairies. everything was done in perfect order, as if they were a regiment of trained soldiers. the warriors divided themselves into parties; they sent out scouts in advance to both the right and the left, in order to keep watch for enemies and also to look out for buffalo and other game; the old men marched in the centre with the women and the children; and in the rear was a strong guard of warriors. if the scouts saw buffalo ahead, they signalled to the rear-guard, { } who crept round the herd on both sides until it was surrounded. they killed as many buffaloes as were needed to provision the camp, and this completed the men's part of the work. it was the women who cut up the meat and carried it to the place where the company encamped for the night. the women, indeed, were the burden-bearers and had to carry most of the baggage. there were, of course, dogs in great numbers on such excursions, and these bore a part of the load. the men burdened themselves with nothing but their arms. { } chapter iv the mandan indians it was towards the end of november when la vérendrye and his party reached the point where the mandans had promised to meet them. when he arrived no one was on the spot; but presently, after he had encamped, a mandan chief appeared with thirty followers. this chief advanced to la vérendrye and presented him with indian corn in the ear and with a roll of indian tobacco. these were tokens of friendship. he told la vérendrye how glad he and his countrymen were to welcome him to their villages, and begged him to consider the mandans as his children. la vérendrye was surprised to find the appearance of the mandans very much like that of the other tribes he had met. stories told by the crees and the assiniboines had prepared him to find them of a different type, a type like that of the white men. in reality they looked like the assiniboines and dressed { } in the same fashion. their clothing was scanty enough, for it consisted of only a buffalo robe worn from the shoulders. it was clear now that the indians had been telling him not what was true but what they thought he would like to hear. 'i knew then,' he says shrewdly, 'that a heavy discount must be taken off everything that an indian tells you.' the mandan chief invited la vérendrye to be his guest in the nearest village, and the whole party made ready to continue their journey to that point. then the chief made a speech to the assiniboines, very friendly in tone, but artfully intended to make them uneasy and send them back home. he was really anxious to have the white men as his guests, but he was not at all anxious to have as guests and to be obliged to feed an entire village of assiniboines; and so, thinking to get rid of them, he played on their well-known fear of the fiery sioux. 'we thank you,' he said to them, 'for having brought the french to see us. they could not have arrived at a better time. the sioux are on the war-path, and may be here at any moment. we know the valour and courage of the french, and also of the assiniboines, and we hope that you will both help us to defend ourselves from the sioux.' { } la vérendrye was at first as much imposed upon by this story as were the assiniboines, but with a very different effect. they were dismayed, while he rejoiced at the opportunity of having at last a fair chance to avenge the cruel death of his son. after the speech, the mandan chief took him aside, and explained that the alarm was merely a trick to get rid of the assiniboines. they had not food enough at the village, he said, to satisfy such a hungry horde. but, to the surprise and disgust of the chief, the assiniboines swallowed their fears and decided to go forward. at first, in their terror, the majority of the tribe had thought it better to turn back; but one of their old chiefs shamed them into a different course. 'do not think,' he said, in scornful accents, 'that our father [la vérendrye] is a coward,' and he looked about him at the young assiniboine warriors until each felt that he himself was branded as a coward. 'i know him,' he continued, 'better than you do, and i tell you that the sioux cannot frighten him or any of his men. what will he think of us? at our request, he went out of his way to visit our village. we promised to conduct him to the mandans, and to bring him safely back to his fort. and now you talk of { } abandoning him, because you fear the sioux. this must never be. let those of you who are faint-hearted remain here in camp with the women; but let those who are without fear follow our father.' after this scornful eloquence there was no further talk of turning back. early on the following morning the camp broke up, and the whole party, french and assiniboines and mandans, marched across the plains towards the mandan village. one can imagine the striking picture made up by the little party of white men in their picturesque costumes, surrounded by hundreds of half-naked savages. had the indians cared to exercise their power, they might have overwhelmed the french at any moment, but apparently they had no thought of doing so. indeed it is quite true that the indians of north america, when first they met white men, treated them in nearly every case with the utmost friendship. only after the indians had been deceived or betrayed by some rascals among the white men did they learn to look upon them as enemies and become cruel and treacherous in dealing with them. when la vérendrye had travelled some distance from the camp, he found that the bag { } containing his papers and many other things that would be required at the mandan villages had been stolen by one of the assiniboines. the thief, he also learned, had made off with his spoil. instantly he sent two young warriors to secure him. the culprit was overtaken on the following day and the bag was recovered. the pursuers, however, instead of bringing it back to la vérendrye, carried it on to their village to keep for him until his return. this singular conduct was due to their fear of the sioux. the white man's bag would be safe at the assiniboine village, but if they ventured to carry it back to la vérendrye they were not so sure that either it or their own scalps would be safe at the mandan village, with the ferocious sioux hovering about. they did not know, of course, that the story of the sioux was nothing but a hoax. when la vérendrye arrived within a few miles of the mandan village, he found awaiting him another party of mandans under two of their chiefs. they had lighted a camp-fire and had brought food for their guests. the chiefs welcomed him, led him to the place of honour beside the fire, and presented him with some of their native dishes--corn pounded into a paste and baked in the coals and something { } that looked like a pumpkin pie without the pastry. the party smoked the pipe of peace and carried on a rather clumsy conversation by means of an interpreter. then they resumed the journey and presently the mandan village appeared in sight. if the explorer had been disappointed in finding the mandans very similar in appearance to other western tribes, now at least he was gratified to find their buildings more elaborate and interesting than any he had before met with. the village was in fact a fort, apparently strong enough to protect the inhabitants from anything less powerful than artillery, of which of course they had no knowledge. la vérendrye, knowing that the indians were always impressed by an imposing ceremony, now drew up his men in military order. he told his son françois to march in front, bearing the flag of france. the mandans, who looked upon the explorer as a great white chief, would not permit him to walk, but carried him upon their shoulders to the gate of the fort. naturally he did not like this mode of travel, but he submitted to it for fear of displeasing his hosts. as they drew near the fort, he ordered his men to fire a volley as a salute to the mandans. the { } principal chiefs and warriors flocked out to meet him, and escorted him within their walls. when he marched in with his force, he saw the ramparts crowded with men, women, and children, who looked with astonishment upon the first white men they had ever seen. the principal chief of the tribe led la vérendrye into his own lodge, and told him to consider it his home so long as he cared to remain in the village. when the two entered the lodge a crowd of mandans followed and the place became suffocating. la vérendrye told the crowd that they should have many opportunities later to see him, and after some difficulty he managed to have the place cleared. this, however, was not effected before the unfortunate explorer had suffered another loss. he found that, in the confusion, an enterprising indian had snatched the bag of presents from one of his men, and had made off with it. this was serious. the bag contained nearly all the gifts which he had brought for the chiefs of the mandans, and he feared that these chiefs might now look coldly upon a white man who was unable to offer the customary presents. he explained what had happened to the principal chief. the chief seemed very much put out and told la vérendrye for his { } consolation that there were a good many rascals among the mandans. later, when the assiniboines told the chief that he was himself the thief, he made the weak retort that one of his accusers might be the culprit. he promised to do his best to recover the bag, but la vérendrye never saw it again. in a day or two the assiniboines took leave of la vérendrye, and, much to the relief of the mandans, prepared to return to their own village. before their departure, the chief of the assiniboines made a speech to the mandans. 'we are leaving you our father,' he said. 'take great care of him, and of all the french. learn to know them, for they are wise; they know how to do everything. we love our father, and we also fear him. do as we do.' the mandans promised to take every care of the visitors. everything the village contained, they said, was at their service for the asking. they begged that the white chief would count them among the members of his family. in compliance with their wish, la vérendrye went through the usual ceremony of placing his hands on the heads of each of the chiefs. by this ceremony they became his 'children.' the assiniboines, though they had taken leave of la vérendrye, { } still delayed their departure. the mandans, alarmed at the quantities of provisions their unwelcome guests required, again spread the report that the sioux were approaching. indeed, they said, several mandan hunters had caught sight of them. this time the ruse succeeded. the assiniboines, in a panic of alarm, marched off in great haste, lest the sioux should intercept them before they could reach their own country. further troubles awaited la vérendrye. the day following the departure of the assiniboines he found that his cree interpreter had gone off with them, although he had promised faithfully to remain. even with this interpreter communications with the mandans had been difficult. before la vérendrye's thoughts expressed in french could reach the mandans, they had to pass through the medium of three other languages. one of la vérendrye's sons, who understood cree, was able to translate the explorer's questions into that language; then the cree interpreter put the questions into assiniboine; and several of the mandans were sufficiently familiar with the language of the assiniboines to complete the chain and express the ideas in their own tongue. with the cree interpreter gone, the problem of { } communication became much more difficult. indeed, the only method that remained of carrying on conversation with the mandans was by means of signs and gestures. one of la, vérendrye's principal reasons for visiting the mandans had been to find out from them as much as possible of the country which lay westward. he had hoped that they would be able to tell him something definite about the western sea, something of the best way of reaching it, and of the tribes he should meet on the way. he had had very little time to put questions before his interpreter deserted, and now he feared that he should have to turn back, because he had no means of getting information from the mandans. with a great deal of difficulty he managed to learn that there were six mandan villages or forts, some on one side of the missouri, some on the other, and that farther down this river lived two other tribes, the panana and the pananis, who were at war with the mandans, although they had formerly been their fast friends. the mandans told him by signs that as one went down the missouri it became very wide, and that there a race dwelt who were white like himself. these people, they said, rode on horseback both when they hunted { } and when they went to war; they wore armour and fought with lances and sabres, which they handled with great skill. their forts and houses were of stone and they cultivated their fields. a whole summer was necessary to reach their country from the mandan villages. la vérendrye did not know how much of this to believe, and he was not even sure that he correctly understood what the mandans tried to convey to him by signs. he was not at all certain that the quarter in which these people, so different from the mandans, were said to live was the direction it was necessary to take in order to reach the western sea. he did not know the truth, that the river by which he stood, the missouri, emptied into the mississippi, and that the settlements spoken of by the mandans were probably the spanish settlements on the lower waters of the mississippi. in order to extend his information, he used every agency to learn as much as possible about the mandans themselves. he sent his son françois to another village near by, to examine it and to make further inquiries. la vérendrye himself made close observations. he walked about the village in which he was quartered, and examined the { } fortifications with a great deal of interest. there were about one hundred and thirty cabins within the walls; the streets and squares were laid out regularly and were kept remarkably neat and clean. the smooth, wide ramparts were built of timber strengthened with cross-pieces. at each corner was a bastion, and the fort was surrounded by a ditch fifteen feet deep and from fifteen to eighteen feet wide. he was astonished to find such elaborate fortifications among a savage tribe. nowhere else in the new world had he seen anything of the kind. the dwellings of the mandans were large and comfortable; they were divided into several rooms and round the walls were beds in the form of bunks. they had earthen vessels in which they cooked their food. the women made very neat baskets of wicker-work. the most remarkable thing about these people was their prudence for the future. they had storerooms underground in which they stored the dressed skins which they preserved to trade with neighbouring tribes for guns and ammunition; they had products of europe in use, though they had not yet come into direct contact with europeans. in these storerooms they preserved also dried meat and grain for food in the winter. this foresight { } impressed la vérendrye. most of the indian tribes lived only in the present; when they had food they feasted upon it from morning to night, and when their provisions were gone they starved. the mandans, however, kept on hand an ample supply of food, both for their own use and for that of strangers who might visit them. they amused themselves with rude sports. among these la vérendrye mentions a game of ball, but he does not describe it. probably it was the game of lacrosse, which was played by many of the indian tribes long before white men came to copy it from them. after an absence of a few days, françois de la vérendrye returned from the village which he had visited. he had been warmly welcomed. he reported that the village was much larger than the one his father was living in, and that it was fortified in the same way. he had tried to question the mandans of this village, but could make nothing out of their answers. they were so impatient to speak that they would constantly interrupt one another; when asked about one thing they would answer about another, because they did not really understand the question. the mandans tried to make up in hospitality for { } their inability to answer the frenchman's questions. 'as we found that it was a waste of time to question them, we had to fall back on feasting the whole time we were with them, and even then we could not attend nearly all the feasts to which we were invited.' [illustration: mandan girls. from pritchard's 'natural history of man.'] early in december la vérendrye decided to leave the mandans and to make the long return journey to fort la reine. he now saw that, even if he could gain useful information from the mandans about the nearest way to the western sea, it would be impossible to attempt the journey without a supply of presents for the tribes he should meet. to get these presents he must return to the fort, but he would leave two of his men with the mandans for the winter, in order to learn the language. then, when he returned, he would have interpreters upon whom he could rely. when he told the mandans by signs that he must leave them, they seemed sorry to lose him, and loaded him with provisions for his journey. they also promised to take care of his two men during his absence. he distributed among them all the small articles which he had in his stores, particularly the needles, which they highly prized. to the principal chief he gave a flag, and a lead tablet { } bearing an inscription to the effect that he had taken possession of the missouri country in the name of the king of france. this inscription the chief promised to preserve as his greatest treasure. misfortune, however, still dogged the path of la vérendrye. the day before that on which he had arranged to leave for the north, he was taken violently ill and for three days could not move from his bed. as ill luck would have it, his stock of medicines was in the bag which the assiniboines had carried off to their village, so that he could do nothing for himself until he reached that place. about the middle of december he was a little better, and made up his mind to attempt the journey. when he and his men set out on their long march across the plains, it was bitterly cold. they had no means of making a fire, and were compelled to sleep at night on the open prairie in a half-frozen condition. we can imagine what la vérendrye must have suffered before at last he reached the assiniboine village, more dead than alive. after a few days' rest, he managed to make his way slowly to fort la reine. 'never in my life,' he says, 'did i endure so much misery, pain, and fatigue as on that journey.' { } while at the assiniboine village la vérendrye reproached the indians with having lied to him about the mandans, so as to lead him to believe that they were white men. they replied that he had misunderstood them; that they had not referred to the mandans, but to another nation who lived farther down the river. one of the assiniboines sprang up before him and exclaimed: 'i am the man best able to talk to you about this matter. last summer i killed one of this nation of white men. he was covered with iron armour. if i had not killed his horse first, i should myself have been destroyed.' la vérendrye asked him what he had brought back to prove his story. 'i had no chance to bring anything,' he said. 'when i was about to cut off his head, i saw some men on horseback, who were trying to prevent my retreat, and i had much difficulty in making my escape. i had to throw away everything i had, even to my blanket, and ran away naked.' la vérendrye thought that this man was probably telling the truth. what he said agreed fairly well with what he had himself heard from the mandans, and was applicable probably to the spaniards. but he was still as far away as ever from any direct information { } about the road he should follow to reach the western sea, and this was first and always the thought that occupied his mind. he hoped that the men whom he had left behind to winter with the mandans would be able to obtain from them the facts for which he was so anxiously waiting, and he looked forward eagerly to the spring, when they were to return to fort la reine with such news as they had been able to gather. { } chapter v the discovery of the rocky mountains la vérendrye had expected the return in the spring of of the two men whom he had left in the mandan villages, but it was well into the autumn before they reached fort la reine. they brought good news, however. during the winter they had lost no opportunity of picking up mandan words and phrases, until at last they were able to make themselves fairly well understood in that tongue. in the early summer a number of strange indians had arrived from the west at the mandan villages. they were on horseback, and brought with them many additional horses to carry their provisions and supplies. they came in order to trade embroidered buffalo hides and other skins with the mandans for corn and beans, which they did not grow in their own country. the young frenchmen learned from the mandans that a band of these indians had their home in the extreme west, towards the { } setting sun. the mandans also reported that in this country there were white men, who lived in brick and stone houses. in order to make further inquiries the two frenchmen visited these indians, and were fortunate enough to find among them a chief who spoke the language of the mandans. he professed to speak also the language of the white men who dwelt in the west, but when the french heard this language they could make nothing of it. the chief declared that the strangers in his country wore beards and that in many other respects they resembled the white men. he declared that they prayed to the master of life in great buildings, where the indians had seen them holding in their hands what, from their description, must have been books, the leaves like 'husks of indian corn.' their houses were described as standing near the shores of the great lake, whose waters rise and fall, and are unfit to drink. this would mean tides and salt water. if this indian story was true, and there did not seem to be any reason for doubting it, la vérendrye at last had something definite to guide him in his search for the western sea. he had but to find his way to the homes of these mysterious white strangers on its shores; and he hoped that the indian { } band who had visited the mandans, and from whom his men had obtained these particulars, would be able and willing to provide him with competent guides. for some reason la vérendrye was unable himself to return to the country of the mandans or to go still farther west. but in the spring of he sent his eldest son pierre into that country in order to make further inquiries, and to obtain guides if possible for the projected journey to the western sea. pierre spent the following winter with the mandans, but he could not find the men he needed as guides, and so he returned to fort la reine in the summer of . in the spring of , not discouraged by the failure of the previous year, pierre set out again for the mandans, accompanied this time by his brother françois, who was known as the chevalier, and by two men from the fort. the journey was to prove momentous, but at first the outlook was dark. when they arrived in the mandan country they could find no sign of the horse indians, as the mounted indians from the west were called. pierre and his brother waited long at the mandan village with what patience they could summon. the month of may went by, then june, then { } most of july, with still no sign of the missing band. finally the brothers decided that, if they were to go farther west, they could wait no longer, for the season was advancing and it would soon be too late to do anything. at last they found among the mandans two young men who agreed to lead them to the country of the horse people. this would bring them to their hoped-for guides. without a moment's delay they set out towards the south-west in search of the missing indians. they travelled for twenty days in a south-westerly direction, through what were afterwards known as the bad lands of the little missouri, a country unlike anything they had ever seen before. on every side they could see mounds and pillars of brilliantly-coloured earth, blue and crimson and green and yellow. so much were they struck with the singular spectacle that they would have liked to carry some of the coloured earth with them to show to their father on their return. but a long journey lay before them. they had to carry everything they needed on their backs, and it would have been folly to add to the load something that was useless for their immediate needs, something that they could neither eat nor wear. { } about the beginning of august the party reached a mountain where the mandans expected to find the horse indians so eagerly sought. but the horse indians had gone on a hunting expedition and had not yet returned; so pierre and his brother decided to wait for them. on the summit of the mountain they made a signal fire, and every day one of the explorers climbed up to the lookout to see if there were any signs of the indians. at the foot of the mountain they built a small house in which they lived. some of their time they spent in hunting to provision the camp, while waiting as patiently as they could for the horse indians to return from their hunting. at last, on september , a smoke was seen rising in the south-western sky. one of the men was sent to investigate, and he found not the horse indians but a band known to the mandans as the good-looking indians. difficulties multiplied. one of the mandan guides had already deserted them to go back to the missouri, and the other now told the brothers that he must leave them. he was prompted by fear. the good-looking indians were not on friendly terms with the mandans, and, although they had not offered to do him any harm, he was afraid to remain near these enemies. { } after the mandan had gone back, the brothers la vérendrye managed to explain to the good-looking indians by signs that they were seeking the horse indians and asked for guides to one of the camps of these indians. one of the good-looking indians said he knew the way, and they set out under his guidance; but they became anxious on finding that they were still travelling in the same direction as before, for this did not seem to be a very direct road to the western sea. still, they had fixed their hopes on the horse indians as the people able to lead them there, and the most urgent thing to do was to find some members of that tribe, even though they had to go a long way out of their course to do so. on the second day after they left the camp of the good-looking indians, they met a party of another tribe known as the little foxes, who were very friendly. the explorers gave them some small presents, and made them understand that they were seeking the horse indians, who had promised to show them the way to the sea. 'we will take you to the horse indians,' they said, and their whole party turned about and joined the french. but these new guides also, to the disgust of françois la vérendrye, { } still marched towards the south-west. 'i felt sure,' he said, 'that in this direction we should never find the western sea.' however, there was nothing to do but to go forward, and to trust to better luck after they reached the horse indians. after tramping on for many days they came at last to an encampment of the horse indians. these people, just then, were in great trouble. they had been attacked not long before by a war party of the snake indians; many of their bravest warriors had been killed, and many of their women had been carried into captivity. when asked the way to the sea these indians now declared that none of them had ever been there, for the very good reason that the country of the fierce snake indians must be crossed to reach it. they said that a neighbouring tribe, the bow indians, might be able to give some information, as they either themselves traded with the white men of the sea-coast, or were on friendly terms with other tribes who had been down to the sea. these bow indians, they added, were the only tribe who dared to fight against the snake indians, for they were under the leadership of a wise and skilful chief, who had more than once led his tribe to victory against these dangerous enemies. a guide { } was found to lead the explorers to the bow indians, and they went off once more, still travelling south-westerly, until at length, on november , they came in sight of the camp of the bows. it was a huge camp, much larger than any the explorers had yet visited. everywhere they could see numbers of horses, asses, and mules--animals unknown among the northern tribes. when they reached the camp the chief of the bows met them and at once took them to his own lodge. nothing could be more friendly or polite than his treatment of the white travellers. in fact, as françois said, he did not seem to have the manners of a savage. 'up to that time we had always been very well received in the villages we had visited, but what we had before experienced in that way was nothing in comparison with the gracious manners of the head chief of the bows. he took as much care of all our belongings as if they had been his own.' with him françois and his brother remained for some time; and, very soon, through the kindness of the chief, they learnt enough of the language to make themselves understood. the explorers had many interesting talks with this friendly chief. they asked him if he { } knew anything about the white people who lived on the sea-coast. 'we know them,' he replied, 'through what has been told us by prisoners of the snake tribe. we have never been to the sea ourselves.' 'do not be surprised,' he continued, 'to see so many indians camped round us. word has been sent in all directions to our people to join us here. in a few days we shall march against the snakes; and if you will come with us, we will take you to the high mountains that are near the sea. from their summits you will be able to look upon it.' the brothers la vérendrye were overjoyed to hear such encouraging news, and agreed that one of them should accompany the bow indians on their expedition against the snakes. it seemed almost too good to be true that they might be actually within reach of the sea, the goal towards which they and their father had been struggling for so many years. in fact, it proved too good to be true. whether they had misunderstood the chief, or whether he was merely speaking from hearsay, certainly the view was far from correct that the mountains which they were approaching lay near the sea. these mountains, not far off, were the rocky mountains. even if the explorers should succeed in reaching and in crossing them at { } this point, there would still be hundreds of miles of mountain forest and plain to traverse before their eyes could rest on the waters of the pacific ocean. pierre and his brother never knew this, however, for they were not destined to see the western side of the mountains. the great war party of the bows, consisting of more than two thousand fighting men, with their families, started out towards the snake country in december, the comparatively mild december of the south-western plains. the scene must have been singularly animated as this horde of indians, with their wives and children, their horses and dogs, and the innumerable odds and ends that made up their camp equipage, moved slowly across the plains. françois was too full of his own affairs to describe the odd appearance of this native army in the journal which he wrote of the expedition, but fortunately the historian francis parkman lived for some time among these tribes of the western plains, and he has given us a good idea of what such an indian army must have looked like on the march. 'the spectacle,' he says, 'was such as men still young have seen in these western lands, but which no man will see again. the vast plain { } swarmed with the moving multitude. the tribes of the missouri and the yellowstone had by this time abundance of horses, the best of which were used for war and hunting, and the others as beasts of burden. these last were equipped in a peculiar manner. several of the long poles used to frame the teepees, or lodges, were secured by one end to each side of a rude saddle, while the other end trailed on the ground. crossbars lashed to the poles, just behind the horse, kept them three or four feet apart, and formed a firm support, on which was laid, compactly folded, the buffalo-skin covering of the lodge. on this, again, sat a mother with her young family, sometimes stowed for safety in a large, open, willow basket, with the occasional addition of some domestic pet--such as a tame raven, a puppy, or even a small bear cub. other horses were laden in the same manner with wooden bowls, stone hammers, and other utensils, along with stores of dried buffalo meat packed in cases of raw hide whitened and painted. many of the innumerable dogs--whose manners and appearance strongly suggested their relatives the wolves, to whom, however, they bore a mortal grudge--were equipped in a similar way, with shorter poles and lighter loads. bands of { } naked boys, noisy and restless, roamed the prairie, practising their bows and arrows on any small animal they might find. gay young squaws--adorned on each cheek with a spot of ochre or red clay and arrayed in tunics of fringed buckskin embroidered with porcupine quills--were mounted on ponies, astride like men; while lean and tattered hags--the drudges of the tribe, unkempt and hideous--scolded the lagging horses or screeched at the disorderly dogs, with voices not unlike the yell of the great horned owl. most of the warriors were on horseback, armed with round white shields of bull hide, feathered lances, war clubs, bows, and quivers filled with stone-headed arrows; while a few of the elders, wrapped in robes of buffalo hide, stalked along in groups with a stately air, chatting, laughing, and exchanging unseemly jokes.' on the first day of january , the indians, accompanied by the brothers la vérendrye and their frenchmen, came within sight of the mountains. rising mysteriously in the distance were those massive crags, those silent, snow-capped peaks, upon which, as far as we know, europeans had never looked before. the party of frenchmen and indians pressed { } on, for eight days, towards the foot of the mountains. then, when they had come within a few days' journey of the place where they expected to find the snakes, they altered their mode of advance. it was now decided to leave the women and children in camp under a small guard, while the warriors pushed on in the hope of surprising the snakes in their winter camp near the mountains. pierre remained in camp to look after the baggage of the party, which the indians would probably pillage if left unguarded. françois and his two frenchmen went forward with the war party, and four days later they arrived at the foot of the mountains, the first europeans who had ever put foot on those majestic slopes. françois gazed with the keenest interest at the lofty summits, and longed to climb them to see what lay beyond. meanwhile he was obliged to share in a vivid human drama. the chief of the bows had sent scouts forward to search for the camp of the snakes, and these scouts now reappeared. they had found the camp, but the enemy had fled; and had, indeed, gone off in such a hurry that they had abandoned their lodges and most of their belongings. the effect produced by this news was singular. instead of { } rejoicing because the dreaded snakes had fled before them, which was evidently the case, the bow warriors at once fell into a panic. the snakes, they cried, had discovered the approach of their enemies, and must have gone back to attack the bow camp and capture the women and children. the great chief tried to reason with his warriors; he pointed out that the snakes could not know anything about the camp, that quite evidently they had been afraid to meet the bows and had fled before them. but it was all to no purpose. the bows would not listen to reason; they were sure that the snakes had played them a cunning trick and that they should hasten back as speedily as possible to save their families. the result was characteristic of savage warfare. the indian army that had marched a few days earlier in good order to attack the enemy now fled back along the trail in a panic, each man for himself. it was in these ignominious circumstances that françois la vérendrye, having reached the foot of the rocky mountains, was obliged to turn back without going farther, leaving the mystery of the great sea still unsolved. françois rode by the side of the disgusted chief and the two frenchmen followed behind. presently françois noticed that his men had { } disappeared. he galloped back for some miles, and found them resting their horses on the banks of a river. while he talked with them, his quick eye detected the approach of a party of snake indians from a neighbouring wood. they were covering themselves with their shields, and were evidently bent on an attack. françois and his men loaded their guns and waited until the indians were well within range. then they took aim and fired. the snakes knew little or nothing about firearms, and when one or two of their number fell before this volley, they fled in disorder. there was still danger of an attack by a larger band of the enemy, and the frenchmen remained on guard where they were until nightfall. then, under cover of darkness, they attempted to follow the trail of the bows. but the ground was so dry and hard at that season of the year that they found it impossible to pick up the trail of their friends. for two days they wandered about. skill or good fortune, however, aided them, and at last they arrived at the camp of the bows, tired and half starved. the chief had been anxious at the disappearance of his white guests, and was overjoyed at their safe return. it is almost needless to say that the panic-stricken warriors { } had found their camp just as they had left it; no one had heard or seen anything of the snakes; and the warriors were forced to submit to the jeers of the squaws for their failure to come even within sight of the enemy. pierre, françois, and their two men accompanied the bows for some days on their homeward journey. they found, however, that the bows were travelling away from the course which they wished to follow, and so decided to leave them and to turn towards the missouri river. the chief of the bows seemed to feel genuine regret at bidding farewell to his french guests, and he made them promise to return and pay him another visit in the following spring, after they had seen their father at fort la reine. on the long journey to this point the three frenchmen now set out across the limitless frozen prairie. about the middle of march they came upon a party of strange indians known as the people of the little cherry. they were returning from their winter's hunting, and were then only two days' journey from their village on the banks of the missouri. like all the other tribes, the people of the little cherry received the frenchmen with perfect friendliness. the party lingered with these indians in their { } village until the beginning of april, and françois spent most of his time learning their language. this he found quite easy, perhaps because he had already picked up a fair knowledge of the language of some of the neighbouring tribes, and it proved not unlike that of the little cherry indians. françois found in the village an indian who had been brought up among the spaniards of the pacific coast, and who still spoke their language as readily as he spoke his mother tongue. he questioned him eagerly about the distance to the spanish settlements and the difficulties of the way. the man replied that the journey was long. it was also, he said, very dangerous, because it must be through the country of the snake indians. this indian assured françois that another frenchman lived in the country where they were, in a village distant about three days' journey. naturally this surprised françois and his brother. they thought of going to visit him; but their horses were badly in need of a rest after the long trip from the mountains, and must be kept fresh for the journey to the mandan villages. they therefore sent instead a letter to the frenchman, asking him to visit them at the village of the little cherries, or, if that was not possible, { } at least to send them an answer. no answer came, and we may well doubt whether such a frenchman existed. before leaving the country, la vérendrye buried on the summit of a hill a tablet of lead, with the arms and inscription of the french king. this was to take possession of the country for france. he also built a pyramid of stones in honour of the governor of canada.[ ] about the beginning of april, when the horses were in good condition and all preparations had been made for the journey, the explorers said good-bye to the people of the little cherry and set out for the mandan villages. like the bow indians, the little cherries seemed sorry to lose them and begged them to come back. in return for the kindness and hospitality he had received, la vérendrye distributed some presents and promised to visit them again when he could. on may the travellers reached the { } mandan villages and were welcomed as if they had returned from the dead. their long absence had led the mandans to conclude that they had been killed by some unfriendly indians, or that some fatal accident had happened on the way. they had intended to rest for some time at the mandan villages, but they found that a party of assiniboines was going to fort la reine, and they determined to travel with them. the assiniboines had in fact already left on their journey, but the frenchmen overtook them at their first camp. [illustration: tablet deposited by la vérendrye, . obverse and reverse sides. from photographs lent by charles n. bell, f.r.g.s., president of the manitoba historical and scientific society.] this latter part of the journey had its own excitements and perils. on the last day of may, as they were travelling over the prairie, they discovered a party of sioux waiting in ambush. the sioux had expected to meet a smaller party, and now decided not to fight. at the same time, they were too proud to run away before the despised assiniboines, even though they numbered only thirty and the assiniboines numbered more than a hundred. they retreated with dignified slowness, facing around on the assiniboines from time to time, and driving them back when they ventured too near. but when they recognized the frenchmen, mounted on horses and armed with their deadly muskets, their attitude changed; they { } forgot their dignity and made off as fast as they could go. even with heavy odds against them these virile savages managed to wound several of the assiniboines, while they lost only one man, who mistook the enemy for his friends and was captured. pierre and françois la vérendrye finally reached fort la reine on july , to the great delight of their father, who had grown anxious on account of their long absence. they had been away from the fort for one year and eighty-four days. [ ] this tablet remained buried where it was deposited for years. in march it was found by a young girl on the west bank of the missouri river opposite the city of pierre, n. dakota, thus bearing testimony to the trustworthiness of françois la vérendrye's journal, from which this chapter was written before the tablet was discovered. photographs of the tablet were made by w. o'reilly of pierre and published in the _manitoba free press_ and are reproduced in this book by courtesy of charles n. bell, f.r.g.s., of winnipeg. { } chapter vi la vÉrendryes' latter days during all this time the elder la vérendrye had been working at other plans for discovery and for trade in the far west. in the year , on his return from the first visit to the mandans, he had sent his son françois to build a fort on the lake of the prairies, now known as lake manitoba. when young la vérendrye had built this fort, he went farther north to cedar lake, near the mouth of the saskatchewan river, and there built another fort. the purpose was to intercept the trade of the indians with the english on hudson bay. for over half a century the indians of this region had taken their furs down the rivers leading from lake winnipeg to the trading-posts of the hudson's bay company on the shores of the bay, but now the french intended to offer them a market nearer home and divert to themselves this profitable trade. the first of their new forts was named fort dauphin, and the one on cedar lake was called fort bourbon. { } having built fort bourbon, françois la vérendrye had ascended the saskatchewan river as far as the forks, where the north and south branches of that great river join. here he met a number of crees, whom he questioned as to the source of the saskatchewan. they told him that it came from a great distance, rising among lofty mountains far to the west, and that beyond those mountains they knew of a great lake, as they called it, the water of which was not good to drink. the mountains were of course the rocky mountains, and the waters of the great lake which the crees spoke of were the salt waters of the pacific ocean. françois la vérendrye had continued his work of building forts. shortly after building fort bourbon, he built fort paskoyac, on the saskatchewan, at a place now known as the pas, between cedar lake and the forks. it is interesting to know that a railway has just been completed to this place, and that it is to be continued from there to the shores of hudson bay. how this modern change would have startled the old fur-traders! even if they could have dreamed of anything so wonderful as a railway, we can imagine their ridicule of the idea that some day men should travel from the east to the far-off { } shores of the saskatchewan in two or three days, a trip which cost them months of wearisome paddling. in carrying on his work in the west, la vérendrye had to face difficulties even greater than those caused by the hard life in the wilderness. his base of supplies was in danger. he had many enemies in canada, who took advantage of his absence in the west to prejudice the governor against him. they even sent false reports to the king of france, saying that he was spending his time, not in searching for a way to the western sea, but in making money out of the fur trade. this was not true. not only was he making no money out of the fur trade, but, as we have seen, he was heavily in debt because of the enormous cost of carrying on his explorations. for a time, however, the truth did not help him. the tales told by his enemies were believed, and he was ordered to return to montreal with his sons. he and they withdrew from their work in the west, left behind their promising beginnings, and returned to the east. never again, as it happened, was the father to resume his work. another officer, m. de noyelle, was sent to the west to continue the work of exploration. noyelle spent two years in the west without { } adding anything to the information la vérendrye had gained. by that time a natural reaction had come in favour of la vérendrye, and the acting governor of canada, the marquis de la galissonière, decided to put the work of exploration again in charge of la vérendrye and his sons. in recognition of his services he was given the rank of captain and was decorated with the cross of st louis. while these events were ripening, the years passed, and not until was la vérendrye restored to his leadership in the west. though now sixty-four years old, he was overjoyed at the prospect. not only was he permitted to continue his search for the western sea; the quality of his work was recognized, for the governor and the king had at last understood that, instead of seeking his own profit in his explorations, as his enemies had said, he had the one object of adding to the honour and glory of his country. he made preparations to start from montreal in the spring of , and intended to push forward as rapidly as possible to fort bourbon, or fort paskoyac, where he would spend the winter. in the spring of the following year he would ascend the saskatchewan river and make his way over the mountains to the shores of the western { } sea, the pacific ocean as we know it to-day. but the greatest of all enemies now blocked his way. la vérendrye was taken ill while making his preparations for the expedition, and before the close of the year he had set out on the journey from which no man returns. [illustration: the marquis de la galissonière. from an engraving in the château de ramezay.] after the death of la vérendrye, his sons made preparations to carry out his plan for reaching the western sea by way of the saskatchewan river. they had the same unselfish desire to bring honour to their king and to add new territories to their native land. moreover, this project, which their father had had so much at heart, had become now for them a sacred duty. to their dismay, however, they soon found that the promise made to their father did not extend to themselves. another officer, legardeur de saint-pierre, was appointed by the governor of canada to carry on the search for the western sea. they had spent years of toil and discomfort in the wilderness and endured countless hardships and dangers. they had carefully studied the languages, manners, and customs of the indian tribes, and they had found out by hard experience what would be the best means of completing their discovery. yet now they were thrown aside in { } favour of an officer who had never been in the far west and who knew nothing of the conditions he would there be compelled to meet. they could at least appeal for justice. in a last attempt to obtain this for himself and his brothers, françois de la vérendrye wrote this letter to the king's minister: the only resource left to me is to throw myself at the feet of your lordship and to trouble you with the story of my misfortunes. my name is la vérendrye; my late father is known here [in canada] and in france by the exploration for the discovery of the western sea to which he devoted the last fifteen years of his life. he travelled and made myself and my brothers travel with such vigour that we should have reached our goal, if he had had only a little more help, and if he had not been so much thwarted, especially by envy. envy is still here, more than elsewhere, a prevailing passion against, which one has no protection. while my father, my brothers, and myself were exhausting ourselves with toil, and while we were incurring a crushing burden of expense, his steps and ours were represented as directed only towards [our own gain by] the finding of { } beaver; the outlay he was forced to incur was described as dissipation; and his narratives were spoken of as a pack of lies. envy as it exists in this country is no half envy; its principle is to calumniate furiously in the hope that if even half of what is said finds favour, it will be enough to injure. in point of fact, my father, thus opposed, had to his sorrow been obliged more than once to return and to make us return because of the lack of help and protection. he has even been reproached by the court [for not giving adequate reports upon his work]; he was, indeed, more intent on making progress than on telling what he was doing until he could give definite statements. he was running into debt, he failed to receive promotions. yet his zeal for his project never slackened, persuaded as he was that sooner or later his labours would be crowned with success and recompense. at the time when he was most eager in the good work, envy won the day, and he saw the posts he had established and his own work pass into other hands. while he was thus checked in his operations, the reward of a plentiful harvest of beaver skins [which he had made possible] went { } to another rather than himself. yet [in spite of this profitable trade the good work slackened]; the posts, instead of multiplying, fell into decay, and no progress was made in exploration; it was this, indeed, which grieved him the most. meanwhile the marquis de la galissonière arrived in the country [to act as governor]. in the hubbub of contradictory opinions that prevailed, he came to the conclusion that the man who had pursued such discoveries at his own charge and expense, without any cost to the king, and who had gone into debt to establish useful posts, merited better fortune. apart from advancing the project of discovery, practical services had been rendered. there was [the marquis reported] a large increase of beaver in the colony, and four or five posts had been well-established, and defended by forts as good as could be made in countries so distant; a multitude of savages had been turned into subjects of the king; some of them, in a party which i commanded, showed an example to our own domiciled savages by striking at the anniers indians, who are devoted to england. progress [the marquis concluded] could be hastened and rendered { } more efficacious only by allowing the work to remain in the same hands. thus it was that the marquis de la galissonière was good enough to explain his position. no doubt he expressed himself to the court to a similar effect, for in the following year, that is to say last year, my father was honoured with the cross of st louis, and was invited to continue with his sons the work which he had begun. he made arrangements with great earnestness for starting on his expedition; he spared nothing that might make for success; he had already bought and prepared all the goods to be used in trade; he inspired me and my brothers with his own ardour. then in the month of december last death carried him off. great as was my grief at the time, i could never have imagined or foreseen all that i lost in losing him. when i succeeded to his engagements and his responsibilities, i ventured to hope that i should succeed to the same advantages. i had the honour to write on the subject to the marquis de la jonquière [then governor], informing him that i had recovered from an indisposition from which i had been suffering, and which might { } serve as a pretext to some one seeking to supplant me. his reply was that he had chosen monsieur de saint-pierre to go to the western sea. i started at once for quebec from montreal, where i then was; i represented the situation in which i was left by my father; i declared that there was more than one post in the direction of the western sea and that i and my brothers would be delighted to be under the orders of monsieur de saint-pierre, and that we could content ourselves, if necessary, with a single post, and that the most distant one; i stated that we even asked no more than leave to go on in advance [of the new leader], so that while we were pushing the work of exploration, we might be able to help ourselves by disposing of my father's latest purchases and of what remained to us in the posts. we should in this have the consolation of making our utmost efforts to meet the wishes of the court. the marquis de la jonquière, though he felt the force of my representations, and, as it seemed to me, was touched by them, told me at last that monsieur de saint-pierre did not wish for either me or my brothers. i asked what would become of the debts we { } had incurred. monsieur de saint-pierre, however, had spoken, and i could not obtain anything. i returned to montreal with this not too consoling information. there i offered for sale a small piece of property, all that i had inherited from my father. the proceeds of this sale served to satisfy my most urgent creditors. meanwhile the season was advancing. there was now the question of my going as usual to the rendezvous arranged with my hired men, so as to save their lives [by bringing provisions], and to secure the stores which, without this precaution, would probably be pillaged and abandoned. in spite of monsieur de saint-pierre, i obtained permission to make this trip, and i was subject to conditions and restrictions such as might be imposed on the commonest voyageur. nevertheless, scarcely had i left when monsieur de saint-pierre complained of my action and alleged that this start of mine before him injured him to the amount of more than ten thousand francs. he also accused me, without the slightest reserve, of having loaded my canoe beyond the permission accorded me. the accusation was considered and my canoe was pursued; had i been overtaken { } at once, monsieur de saint-pierre would have been promptly reassured. he overtook me at michilimackinac, and if i can believe what he said, he now saw that he had been in the wrong in acting as he did, and was vexed with himself for not having taken me and my brothers with him. he expressed much regret to me and paid me many compliments. it may be that this is his usual mode of acting; but it is difficult for me to recognize in it either good faith or humanity. monsieur de saint-pierre might have obtained all that he has obtained; he might have made sure of his interests and have gained surprising advantages; and have taken [as he desired] some relative with him while not shutting us out entirely. monsieur de saint-pierre is an officer of merit, and i am only the more to be pitied to find him thus turned against me. yet in spite of the favourable impressions he has created on different occasions, he will find it difficult to show that in this matter he kept the main interest [that of discovery] in view, and that he conformed to the intentions of the court and respected the kindly disposition with which the marquis de la galissonière honours us. before { } such a wrong could be done to us, he must have injured us seriously in the opinion of monsieur de la jonquière, who himself is always disposed to be kind. none the less am i ruined. my returns for this year were only half collected, and a thousand subsequent difficulties make the disaster complete; with credit gone in relation both to my father and to myself, i am in debt for over twenty thousand francs; i remain without funds and without patrimony. moreover, i am a simple ensign of the second grade; my elder brother has only the same rank as myself, while my younger brother is only a junior cadet. such is the net result of all that my father, my brothers, and i have done. the one who was murdered some years ago was not the most unfortunate of us. his blood does not count in our behalf. unless monsieur de saint-pierre becomes imbued with better sentiments and communicates them to the marquis de la jonquière, all my father's toils and ours fail to serve us, and we must abandon what has cost us so much. we certainly should not have been and should not be useless to monsieur de saint-pierre. i explained to him fully how i believed i could serve him; clever as he { } may be, and inspired with the best intentions, i venture to say that by keeping us away he is in danger of making many mistakes and of getting often on the wrong track. it is something gained to have gone astray, but to have found out your error; we think that now we should be sure of the right road to reach the goal, whatever it may be. it is our greatest cause of distress to find ourselves thus snatched away from a sphere of action in which we were proposing to use every effort to reach a definite result. deign therefore, monseigneur, to judge the cause of three orphans. our misfortune is great, but is it without remedy? there are in the hands of your lordship resources of compensation and of consolation, and i venture to hope for some benefit from them. to find ourselves thus excluded from the west would be to find ourselves robbed in the most cruel manner of our heritage. we should have had all that was bitter and others all that was sweet. this eloquent appeal of françois fell upon unheeding ears; the appointment of his rival was confirmed. the only grace he could obtain was leave to take to the west a small portion of the supplies for which he and his { } brothers had already paid, and to return with the furs his men had collected and brought down to michilimackinac. thus ended, sadly enough, the devoted efforts of this remarkable family of explorers to complete the long search for a route overland to the pacific ocean. the brothers la vérendrye, ruined in purse and denied opportunity, fell into obscurity and were forgotten. it remains only to tell briefly of the attempts of saint-pierre and his men to carry out the same great project. in obedience to the governor's instructions, saint-pierre left montreal in the spring of . he paddled up the ottawa, and then through lake nipissing, and down the french river to georgian bay. he crossed lake huron to michilimackinac, where he remained for a short time to give his men a rest. then he pushed on to grand portage, where he spent some time in talking to the indians. in spite of his ungenerous treatment of the sons of la vérendrye, saint-pierre was a brave and capable soldier; but he knew very little of the hardships of western exploration, or of the patience needed in dealing with indians. he grumbled bitterly about the difficulties and hardships of the portages, which la vérendrye { } had taken as a matter of course; and, instead of treating the indians with patience and forbearance, he lost no opportunity to harangue and scold them. we need not wonder, therefore, that the natives, who had looked up to la vérendrye as a superior being, soon learned to dislike the overbearing saint-pierre, and would do nothing to help him in his attempts at exploration. saint-pierre visited fort st charles; he spent the winter at fort maurepas; in the spring of he went on to fort la reine. meanwhile he had sent niverville, a young officer of his party, to the saskatchewan river, with instructions to push his discoveries westward beyond the farthest point reached by la vérendrye. winter had set in before niverville set out on his long journey, and he travelled over the snow and ice with snowshoes, dragging his provisions on toboggans. he knew nothing of the indian method of harnessing dogs to their toboggans, and he and his men dragged the toboggans themselves. he travelled slowly across lake winnipeg, over rough ice and through deep snowdrifts, with no protection from the bitter winds. so great were the hardships that, in the end, he was compelled to abandon some of the heavier { } supplies and provisions. before he and his men reached fort paskoyac they were at the point of starvation. during the last few days they had nothing to eat but a few small fish caught through holes in the ice. niverville was taken seriously ill, and had to remain at fort paskoyac, while some of his men in the spring of ascended the saskatchewan in canoes. these men, we are told, paddled up the river to the foot of the rocky mountains, where they built a fort, named fort la jonquière, in honour of the governor. later in the year niverville followed his men up the river. at fort la jonquière he met a party of western indians, who told him that in the course of a war expedition they had encountered a number of indians of a strange tribe carrying loads of beaver skins. these strange indians told the frenchmen that they were on their way over the rocky mountains to trade their furs with white men on the sea-coast. for some reason, either through lack of supplies or because he did not possess the courage and enthusiasm which had carried the la vérendryes through so many difficulties, niverville made no effort to cross the mountains. this attempt to reach the western sea ended, so far as french { } explorers were concerned, at fort la jonquière. all the toils and hardships of the french explorers ended in failure to achieve the great end at which they aimed. members of another race reaped the coveted reward. many years later a scottish-canadian explorer, alexander mackenzie, realized la vérendrye's dream by successfully crossing the rocky mountains and forcing his way through the difficult country that lay beyond, until at last he stood upon the shores of the pacific ocean. meanwhile saint-pierre had remained at fort la reine, leaving the work of exploration to his young lieutenant, niverville. one incident of his life there remains to be described before we close this story of the search for the western sea. it cannot be better told than in saint-pierre's own narrative: on february , [he says], about nine o'clock in the morning, i was at this post with five frenchmen. i had sent the rest of my people, consisting of fourteen persons, to look for provisions, of which i had been in need for several days. i was sitting quietly in my room, when two hundred assiniboines entered the fort, all of them armed. these indians scattered immediately all through the place; several { } of them even entered my room, but unarmed; others remained in adjacent parts of the fort. my people came to warn me of the behaviour of these indians. i ran to them and told them sharply that they were very impudent to come in a crowd to my house, and armed. one of them answered in the cree language that they came to smoke. i told them that they were not behaving properly, and that they must leave the fort at once. i believe that the firmness with which i spoke somewhat frightened them, especially as i put four of the most resolute out of the door, without their saying a word. i went at once to my room. at that very moment, however, a soldier came to tell me that the guard-house was full of indians, who had taken possession of the arms. i ran to the guard-house and demanded, through a cree interpreter, what they meant by such behaviour. during all this time i was preparing to fight them with my weak force. my interpreter, who proved a traitor, said that these indians had no bad intentions. yet, a moment before, an assiniboine orator, who had been constantly making fine speeches to me, had told the interpreter that, in spite of him, the indians would kill and rob me. { } when i had barely made out their intentions i failed to realize that i ought to have taken their arms from them. [to frighten them] i seized hold of a blazing brand, broke in the door of the powder magazine, and knocked down a barrel of gunpowder. over this i held the brand, and i told the indians in an assured tone [through the interpreter] that i expected nothing at their hands, and that even if i was killed i should have the glory of subjecting them to the same fate. no sooner had the indians seen the lighted brand, and the barrel of gunpowder with its head staved in, and heard my interpreter, than they all fled out of the gate of the fort. they damaged the gate considerably in their hurried flight. i soon laid down my brand, and then i had nothing more exciting to do than to close the gate of the fort. soon after this incident with the assiniboines, saint-pierre gave up his half-hearted attempt to find a route to the western sea, and returned to montreal. he had proved himself a brave man enough. he did not, however, understand, and made no attempt to understand, the character of the indians, and, as an explorer, he was a complete failure. in { } a couple of years he managed to undo all the work which la vérendrye had accomplished. after he abandoned the west, the forts which had been built there with such difficulty and at such great expense soon fell into decay. the only men who had the knowledge and the enthusiasm to make real la vérendrye's dream of exploration, his own sons, were denied the privilege of doing so; and no one else seemed anxious even to attempt such a difficult task. the period of french rule in canada was now rapidly drawing to a close. instead of adding to the territories of france in north america, her sons were preparing to make their last stand in defence of what they already possessed. half a dozen years later their dream of western exploration, and of a great north american empire reaching from the atlantic to the pacific, came to an end on the plains of abraham. it was left for those of another race who came after them to turn the dream of their rivals into tangible achievements. it must never be forgotten, however, that, although pierre de la vérendrye failed to complete the great object of his ambition, we owe to him and his gallant sons the discovery of a large part of what is to-day western canada. { } bibliographical note an english translation of _the journals of la vérendrye_ edited by lawrence j. burpee, with the french text, will be found among the publications of the champlain society. the reader should consult also parkman, _a half century of conflict_, chapter xvi.; burpee, _the search for the western sea_; shortt and doughty (editors), _canada and its provinces_, vol. i., 'the pathfinders of the great west.' { } index abnakis, . assiniboines, , - , , . aulneau, father, - . beauharnois, marquis de, , , bow indians, - . caughnawagas, . chippewas, , , , . coureurs de bois, - . cree indians, , , , , . fort bourbon, . fort dauphin, . fort la jonquière, . fort la reine, , , , . fort maurepas, , , . fort michilimackinac, , . fort paskoyac, , . fort rouge, . fort st charles, , , , . fort st pierre, . good-looking indians, , . horse indians, . kaministikwia river, , , . la galissonière, marquis de, , , , . la jemeraye, , , , ; dies, . la jonquière, marquis de, , . la vérendrye, françois, , , , , ; reaches rocky mountains, ; , , , - . la vérendrye, jean-baptiste, , , , ; is killed by the sioux, . la vérendrye, louis, , . la vérendrye, pierre, son of the elder pierre, , , , . la vérendrye, pierre gaultier de, birth and childhood, - ; enters army, ; expedition against deerfield, - ; raid on st john's, ; serves in war of spanish succession, and is made lieutenant, ; returns to canada and enters fur trade, ; determines to find the western sea, ; marries mlle dandonneau, ; commands trading-post on fort nipigon, ; granted monopoly of western fur trade as a means of financing his western expedition, - ; his first journey of exploration, - ; returns to montreal, - ; starts again for the west, ; refuses to revenge himself on the sioux for the murder of his son, ; with the assiniboines, - ; with the mandans, - ; falls ill, ; returns to assiniboines, ; at fort la reine, , , , ; returns to montreal, ; given the rank of captain and decorated, ; dies, ; . louvière, builds fort rouge, . mackenzie, alexander, . mandans, tribe of indians, - , , , . messager, father, , . niverville, - . noyelle, m. de, . ochagach, his story of the western sea, - , . parkman, francis, his description of bow indians, - . people of the little cherry, - . rainy lake, fort built at, . rocky mountains, explorers reach, , , , . rouville, hertel de, guerilla leader, . saint-pierre, legardeur de, , - , , - , - . sioux indians, - , , , . snake indians, , , . subercase, leader of raid on st john's, . three rivers, - . western sea, - , , , , , . winnipeg, lake, fort built at, - . printed by t. and a. constable, printers to his majesty at the edinburgh university press the chronicles of canada thirty-two volumes illustrated edited by george m. wrong and h. h. langton the chronicles of canada part i the first european visitors . the dawn of canadian history by stephen leacock. . the mariner of st malo by stephen leacock. part ii the rise of new france . the founder of new france by charles w. colby. . the jesuit missions by thomas guthrie marquis. . the seigneurs of old canada by william bennett munro. . the great intendant by thomas chapais. . the fighting governor by charles w. colby. part iii the english invasion . the great fortress by william wood. . the acadian exiles by arthur g. doughty. . the passing of new france by william wood. . the winning of canada by william wood. part iv the beginnings of british canada . the father of british canada by william wood. . the united empire loyalists by w. stewart wallace. . the war with the united states by william wood. part v the red man in canada . the war chief of the ottawas by thomas guthrie marquis. . the war chief of the six nations by louis aubrey wood. . tecumseh: the last great leader of his people by ethel t. raymond. part vi pioneers of the north and west . the 'adventurers of england' on hudson bay by agnes c. laut. . pathfinders of the great plains by lawrence j. burpee. . adventurers of the far north by stephen leacock. . the red river colony by louis aubrey wood. . pioneers of the pacific coast by agnes c. laut. . the cariboo trail by agnes c. laut. part vii the struggle for political freedom . the family compact by w. stewart wallace. . the 'patriotes' of ' by alfred d. decelles. . the tribune of nova scotia by william lawson grant. . the winning of popular government by archibald macmechan. part viii the growth of nationality . the fathers of confederation by a. h. u. colquhoun. . the day of sir john macdonald by sir joseph pope. . the day of sir wilfrid laurier by oscar d. skelton. part ix national highways . all afloat by william wood. . the railway builders by oscar d. skelton. toronto: glasgow, brook & company chronicles of canada edited by george m. wrong and h. h. langton in thirty-two volumes volume the mariner of st malo a chronicle of the voyages of jacques cartier by stephen leacock toronto, contents i early life ii the first voyage--newfoundland and labrador iii the first voyage--the gulf of st lawrence iv the second voyage--the st lawrence v the second voyage--stadacona vi the second voyage--hochelaga vii the second voyage--winter at stadacona viii the third voyage ix the close of cartier's career itinerary of cartier's voyages bibliographic note chapter i early life in the town hall of the seaport of st malo there hangs a portrait of jacques cartier, the great sea-captain of that place, whose name is associated for all time with the proud title of 'discoverer of canada.' the picture is that of a bearded man in the prime of life, standing on the deck of a ship, his bent elbow resting upon the gunwale, his chin supported by his hand, while his eyes gaze outward upon the western ocean as if seeking to penetrate its mysteries. the face is firm and strong, with tight-set jaw, prominent brow, and the full, inquiring eye of the man accustomed both to think and to act. the costume marks the sea-captain of four centuries ago. a thick cloak, gathered by a belt at the waist, enwraps the stalwart figure. on his head is the tufted breton cap familiar in the pictures of the days of the great navigators. at the waist, on the left side, hangs a sword, and, on the right, close to the belt, the dirk or poniard of the period. how like or unlike the features of cartier this picture in the town hall may be, we have no means of telling. painted probably in , it has hung there for more than seventy years, and the record of the earlier prints or drawings from which its artist drew his inspiration no longer survives. we know, indeed, that an ancient map of the eastern coast of america, made some ten years after the first of cartier's voyages, has pictured upon it a group of figures that represent the landing of the navigator and his followers among the indians of gaspe. it was the fashion of the time to attempt by such decorations to make maps vivid. demons, deities, mythological figures and naked savages disported themselves along the borders of the maps and helped to decorate unexplored spaces of earth and ocean. of this sort is the illustration on the map in question. but it is generally agreed that we have no right to identify cartier with any of the figures in the scene, although the group as a whole undoubtedly typifies his landing upon the seacoast of canada. there is rumour, also, that the national library at paris contains an old print of cartier, who appears therein as a bearded man passing from the prime of life to its decline. the head is slightly bowed with the weight of years, and the face is wanting in that suggestion of unconquerable will which is the dominating feature of the portrait of st malo. this is the picture that appears in the form of a medallion, or ring-shaped illustration, in more than one of the modern works upon the great adventurer. but here again we have no proofs of identity, for we know nothing of the origin of the portrait. curiously enough an accidental discovery of recent years seems to confirm in some degree the genuineness of the st malo portrait. there stood until the autumn of , in the french-canadian fishing village of cap-des-rosiers, near the mouth of the st lawrence, a house of very ancient date. precisely how old it was no one could say, but it was said to be the oldest existing habitation of the settlement. ravaged by perhaps two centuries of wind and weather, the old house afforded but little shelter against the boisterous gales and the bitter cold of the rude climate of the gulf. its owner decided to tear it down, and in doing so he stumbled upon a startling discovery. he found a dummy window that, generations before, had evidently been built over and concealed. from the cavity thus disclosed he drew forth a large wooden medallion, about twenty inches across, with the portrait of a man carved in relief. here again are the tufted hat, the bearded face, and the features of the picture of st malo. on the back of the wood, the deeply graven initials j. c. seemed to prove that the image which had lain hidden for generations behind the woodwork of the old canadian house is indeed that of the great discoverer. beside the initials is carved the date .. this wooden medallion would appear to have once figured as the stern shield of some french vessel, wrecked probably upon the gaspe coast. as it must have been made long before the st malo portrait was painted, the resemblance of the two faces perhaps indicates the existence of some definite and genuine portrait of jacques cartier, of which the record has been lost. it appears, therefore, that we have the right to be content with the picture which hangs in the town hall of the seaport of st malo. if it does not show us cartier as he was,--and we have no absolute proof in the one or the other direction,--at least it shows us cartier as he might well have been, with precisely the face and bearing which the hero-worshipper would read into the character of such a discoverer. the port of st malo, the birthplace and the home of cartier, is situated in the old province of brittany, in the present department of ille-et-vilaine. it is thus near the lower end of the english channel. to the north, about forty miles away, lies jersey, the nearest of the channel islands, while on the west surges the restless tide of the broad atlantic. the situation of the port has made it a nursery of hardy seamen. the town stands upon a little promontory that juts out as a peninsula into the ocean. the tide pours in and out of the harbour thus formed, and rises within the harbour to a height of thirty or forty feet. the rude gales of the western ocean spend themselves upon the rocky shores of this breton coast. here for centuries has dwelt a race of adventurous fishermen and navigators, whose daring is unsurpassed by any other seafaring people in the world. the history, or at least the legend, of the town goes back ten centuries before the time of cartier. it was founded, tradition tells us, by a certain aaron, a pilgrim who landed there with his disciples in the year a.d., and sought shelter upon the sea-girt promontory which has since borne the name of aaron's rock. aaron founded a settlement. to the same place came, about twenty years later, a bishop of castle gwent, with a small band of followers. the leader of this flock was known as st malo, and he gave his name to the seaport. but the religious character of the first settlement soon passed away. st malo became famous as the headquarters of the corsairs of the northern coast. these had succeeded the vikings of an earlier day, and they showed a hardihood and a reckless daring equal to that of their predecessors. later on, in more settled times, the place fell into the hands of the fishermen and traders of northern france. when hardy sailors pushed out into the atlantic ocean to reach the distant shores of america, st malo became a natural port and place of outfit for the passage of the western sea. jacques cartier first saw the light in the year . the family has been traced back to a grandfather who lived in the middle of the fifteenth century. this jean cartier, or quartier, who was born in st malo in , took to wife in guillemette baudoin. of the four sons that she bore him, jamet, the eldest, married geseline jansart, and of their five children the second one, jacques, rose to greatness as the discoverer of canada. there is little to chronicle that is worth while of the later descendants of the original stock. jacques cartier himself was married in to marie katherine des granches. her father was the chevalier honore des granches, high constable of st malo. in all probability he stood a few degrees higher in the social scale of the period than such plain seafaring folk as the cartier family. from this, biographers have sought to prove that, early in life, young jacques cartier must have made himself a notable person among his townsmen. but the plain truth is that we know nothing of the circumstances that preceded the marriage, and have only the record of on the civil register of st malo: 'the nuptial benediction was received by jacques cartier, master-pilot of the port of saincte-malo, son of jamet cartier and of geseline jansart, and marie katherine des granches, daughter of messire honore des granches, chevalier of our lord the king, and constable of the town and city of saint-malo.' cartier's marriage was childless, so that he left no direct descendants. but the branches of the family descended from the original jean cartier appear on the registers of st malo, saint briac, and other places in some profusion during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. the family seems to have died out, although not many years ago direct descendants of pierre cartier, the uncle of jacques, were still surviving in france. it is perhaps no great loss to the world that we have so little knowledge of the ancestors and relatives of the famous mariner. it is, however, deeply to be deplored that, beyond the record of his voyages, we know so little of jacques cartier himself. we may take it for granted that he early became a sailor. brought up at such a time and place, he could hardly have failed to do so. within a few years after the great discovery of columbus, the channel ports of st malo and dieppe were sending forth adventurous fishermen to ply their trade among the fogs of the great banks of the new land. the breton boy, whom we may imagine wandering about the crowded wharves of the little harbour, must have heard strange tales from the sailors of the new discoveries. doubtless he grew up, as did all the seafarers of his generation, with the expectation that at any time some fortunate adventurer might find behind the coasts and islands now revealed to europe in the western sea the half-fabled empires of cipango and cathay. that, when a boy, he came into actual contact with sailors who had made the atlantic voyage is not to be questioned. we know that in the pensee of dieppe had crossed to the coast of newfoundland and that this adventure was soon followed by the sailing of other norman ships for the same goal. we have, however, no record of cartier and his actual doings until we find his name in an entry on the baptismal register of st malo. he stood as godfather to his nephew, etienne nouel, the son of his sister jehanne. strangely enough, this proved to be only the first of a great many sacred ceremonies of this sort in which he took part. there is a record of more than fifty baptisms at st malo in the next forty-five years in which the illustrious mariner had some share; in twenty-seven of them he appeared as a godfather. what voyages cartier actually made before he suddenly appears in history as a pilot of the king of france and the protege of the high admiral of france we do not know. this position in itself, and the fact that at the time of his marriage in he had already the rank of master-pilot, would show that he had made the atlantic voyage. there is some faint evidence that he had even been to brazil, for in the account of his first recorded voyage he makes a comparison between the maize of canada and that of south america; and in those days this would scarcely have occurred to a writer who had not seen both plants of which he spoke. 'there groweth likewise,' so runs the quaint translation that appears in hakluyt's 'voyages,' 'a kind of millet as big as peason [i.e. peas] like unto that which groweth in bresil.' and later on, in the account of his second voyage, he repeats the reference to brazil; then 'goodly and large fields' which he saw on the present site of montreal recall to him the millet fields of brazil. it is possible, indeed, that not only had he been in brazil, but that he had carried a native of that country to france. in a baptismal register of st malo is recorded the christening, in , of a certain 'catherine of brezil,' to whom cartier's wife stood godmother. we may, in fancy at least, suppose that this forlorn little savage with the regal title was a little girl whom the navigator, after the fashion of his day, had brought home as living evidence of the existence of the strange lands that he had seen. out of this background, then, of uncertainty and conjecture emerges, in , jacques cartier, a master-pilot in the prime of life, now sworn to the service of his most christian majesty francis i of france, and about to undertake on behalf of his illustrious master a voyage to the new land. chapter ii the first voyage--newfoundland and labrador it was on april , , that jacques cartier sailed out of the port of st malo on his first voyage in the service of francis i. before leaving their anchorage the commander, the sailing-masters, and the men took an oath, administered by charles de mouy, vice-admiral of france, that they would behave themselves truly and faithfully in the service of the most christian king. the company were borne in two ships, each of about sixty tons burden, and numbered in all sixty-one souls. the passage across the ocean was pleasant. fair winds, blowing fresh and strong from the east, carried the clumsy caravels westward on the foaming crests of the atlantic surges. within twenty days of their departure the icebound shores of newfoundland rose before their eyes. straight in front of them was cape bonavista, the 'cape of happy vision,' already known and named by the fishermen-explorers, who had welcomed the sight of its projecting headlands after the weary leagues of unbroken sea. but approach to the shore was impossible. the whole coastline was blocked with the 'great store of ice' that lay against it. the ships ran southward and took shelter in a little haven about five leagues south of the cape, to which cartier gave the name st catherine's haven, either in fond remembrance of his wife, or, as is more probable, in recognition of the help and guidance of st catherine, whose natal day, april , had fallen midway in his voyage. the harbourage is known to-day as catalina, and lies distant, as the crow flies, about eighty miles north-westward of the present city of st john's in newfoundland. here the mariners remained ten days, 'looking for fair weather,' and engaged in mending and 'dressing' their boats. at this time, it must be remembered, the coast of newfoundland was, in some degree, already known. ships had frequently passed through the narrow passage of belle isle that separates newfoundland from the coast of labrador. of the waters, however, that seemed to open up beyond, or of the exact relation of the newfoundland coastline to the rest of the great continent nothing accurate was known. it might well be that the inner waters behind the inhospitable headlands of belle isle would prove the gateway to the great empires of the east. cartier's business at any rate was to explore, to see all that could be seen, and to bring news of it to his royal master. this he set himself to do, with the persevering thoroughness that was the secret of his final success. he coasted along the shore from cape to cape and from island to island, sounding and charting as he went, noting the shelter for ships that might be found, and laying down the bearing of the compass from point to point. it was his intent, good pilot as he was, that those who sailed after him should find it easy to sail on these coasts. from st catherine's harbour the ships sailed on may with a fine off-shore wind that made it easy to run on a course almost due north. as they advanced on this course the mainland sank again from sight, but presently they came to an island. it lay far out in the sea, and was surrounded by a great upheaval of jagged and broken ice. on it and around it they saw so dense a mass of birds that no one, declares cartier, could have believed it who had not seen it for himself. the birds were as large as jays, they were coloured black and white, and they could scarcely fly because of their small wings and their exceeding fatness. the modern enquirer will recognize, perhaps, the great auk which once abounded on the coast, but which is now extinct. the sailors killed large numbers of the birds, and filled two boats with them. then the ships sailed on rejoicing from the island of birds with six barrels full of salted provisions added to their stores. cartier's island of birds is the funk island of our present maps. the ships now headed west and north to come into touch with land again. to the great surprise of the company they presently met a huge polar bear swimming in the open sea, and evidently heading for the tempting shores of the island of birds. the bear was 'as great as any cow and as white as a swan.' the sailors lowered boats in pursuit, and captured 'by main force' the bear, which supplied a noble supper for the captors. 'its flesh,' wrote cartier, 'was as good to eat as any heifer of two years.' the explorers sailed on westward, changing their course gradually to the north to follow the broad curve of the atlantic coast of newfoundland. jutting headlands and outlying capes must have alternately appeared and disappeared on the western horizon. may , found the navigators off the entrance of belle isle. after four hundred years of maritime progress, the passage of the narrow strait that separates newfoundland from labrador remains still rough and dangerous, even for the great steel ships of to-day. we can imagine how forbidding it must have looked to cartier and his companions from the decks of their small storm-tossed caravels. heavy gales from the west came roaring through the strait. great quantities of floating ice ground to and fro under the wind and current. so stormy was the outlook that for the time being the passage seemed impossible. but cartier was not to be baulked in his design. he cast anchor at the eastern mouth of the strait, in what is now the little harbour of kirpon (carpunt), and there day after day, stormbound by the inclement weather, he waited until june . then at last he was able to depart, hoping, as he wrote, 'with the help of god to sail farther.' having passed through the strait of belle isle, cartier crossed over to the northern coast. two days of prosperous sailing with fair winds carried him far along the shore to a distance of more than a hundred miles west of the entrance of the strait of belle isle. whether he actually touched on his way at the island now known as belle isle is a matter of doubt. he passed an island which he named st catherine, and which he warned all mariners to avoid because of dangerous shoals that lay about it. we find his track again with certainty when he reaches the shelter of the port of castles. the name was given to the anchorage by reason of the striking cliffs of basaltic rock, which here give to the shore something of the appearance of a fortress. the place still bears the name of castle bay. sailing on to the west, cartier noted the glittering expanse of blanc sablon (white sands), still known by the name received from these first explorers. on june the ships dropped anchor in the harbour of brest, which lies on the northern coast of the gulf of st lawrence among many little islands lining the shore. this anchorage seems to have been known already in cartier's time, and it became afterwards a famous place of gathering for the french fishermen. later on in the sixteenth century a fort was erected there, and the winter settlement about it is said to have contained at one time as many as a thousand people. but its prosperity vanished later, and the fort had been abandoned before the great conflict had begun between france and great britain for the possession of north america. cartier secured wood and water at brest. leaving his ships there for the time being, he continued his westward exploration in his boats. the careful pilot marked every striking feature of the coast, the bearing of the headlands and the configuration of the many islands which stud these rock-bound and inhospitable shores. he spent a night on one of these islands, and the men found great quantities of ducks' eggs. the next day, still sailing to the west, he reached so fine an anchorage that he was induced to land and plant a cross there in honour of st servan. beyond this again was an island 'round like an oven.' still farther on he found a great river, as he thought it, which came sweeping down from the highlands of the interior. as the boats lay in the mouth of the river, there came bearing down upon them a great fishing ship which had sailed from the french port of la rochelle, and was now seeking vainly for the anchorage of brest. cartier's careful observations now bore fruit. he and his men went in their small boats to the fishing ship and gave the information needed for the navigation of the coast. the explorers still pressed on towards the west, till they reached a place which cartier declared to be one of the finest harbours of the world, and which he called jacques cartier harbour. this is probably the water now known as cumberland harbour. the forbidding aspect of the northern shore and the adverse winds induced cartier to direct his course again towards the south, to the mainland, as he thought, but really to the island of newfoundland; and so he now turned back with his boats to rejoin the ships. the company gathered safely again at brest on sunday, june , and cartier caused a mass to be sung. during the week spent in exploring the north shore, cartier had not been very favourably impressed by the country. it seemed barren and inhospitable. it should not, he thought, be called the new land, but rather stones and wild crags and a place fit for wild beasts. the soil seemed worthless. 'in all the north land,' said he, 'i did not see a cartload of good earth. to be short, i believe that this was the land that god allotted to cain.' from time to time the explorers had caught sight of painted savages, with heads adorned with bright feathers and with bodies clad in the skins of wild beasts. they were roving upon the shore or passing in light boats made of bark among the island channels of the coast. 'they are men,' wrote cartier, 'of an indifferent good stature and bigness, but wild and unruly. they wear their hair tied on the top like a wreath of hay and put a wooden pin within it, or any other such thing instead of a nail, and with them they bind certain birds' feathers. they are clothed with beasts' skins as well the men as women, but that the women go somewhat straighter and closer in their garments than the men do, with their waists girded. they paint themselves with certain roan colours. their boats are made with the bark of birch trees, with the which they fish and take great store of seals, and, as far as we could understand since our coming thither, that is not their habitation, but they come from the mainland out of hotter countries to catch the said seals and other necessaries for their living.' there has been much discussion as to these savages. it has been thought by some that they were a southern branch of the eskimos, by others that they were algonquin indians who had wandered eastward from the st lawrence region. but the evidence goes to show that they belonged to the lost tribe of the 'red indians' of newfoundland, the race which met its melancholy fate by deliberate and ruthless destruction at the hands of the whites. cabot had already seen these people on his voyage to the coast, and described them as painted with 'red ochre.' three of them he had captured and taken to england as an exhibit. for two hundred years after the english settlement of newfoundland, these 'red indians' were hunted down till they were destroyed. 'it was considered meritorious,' says a historian of the island, 'to shoot a red indian. to "go to look for indians" came to be as much a phrase as to "look for partridges." they were harassed from post to post, from island to island: their hunting and fishing stations were unscrupulously seized by the invading english. they were shot down without the least provocation, or captured to be exposed as curiosities to the rabble at fairs in the western towns of christian england at twopence apiece.' so much for the ill-fated savages among whom cartier planted his first cross. on june , cartier, disappointed, as we have seen, with the rugged country that he found on the northern shore, turned south again to pick up the mainland, as he called it, of newfoundland. sailing south from brest to a distance of about sixty miles, he found himself on the same day off point rich on the west coast of newfoundland, to which, from its appearance, he gave the name of the double cape. for three days the course lay to the south-west along the shore. the panorama that was unfolded to the eye of the explorer was cheerless. the wind blew cold and hard from the north-east. the weather was dark and gloomy, while through the rifts of the mist and fog that lay heavy on the face of the waters there appeared only a forbidding and scarcely habitable coast. low lands with islands fringed the shore. behind them great mountains, hacked and furrowed in their outline, offered an uninviting prospect. there was here no eldorado such as, farther south, met the covetous gaze of a cortez or a pizarro, no land of promise luxuriant with the vegetation of the tropics such as had greeted the eyes of columbus at his first vision of the indies. a storm-bound coast, a relentless climate and a reluctant soil-these were the treasures of the new world as first known to the discoverer of canada. for a week cartier and his men lay off the coast. the headland of cape anguille marks the approximate southward limit of their exploration. great gales drove the water in a swirl of milk-white foam among the rocks that line the foot of this promontory. beyond this point they saw nothing of the newfoundland shore, except that, as the little vessels vainly tried to beat their way to the south against the fierce storms, the explorers caught sight of a second great promontory that appeared before them through the mist. this headland cartier called cape st john. in spite of the difficulty of tracing the storm-set path of the navigators, it is commonly thought that the point may be identified as cape anguille, which lies about twenty-five miles north of cape ray, the south-west 'corner' of newfoundland. had cartier been able to go forward in the direction that he had been following, he would have passed out between newfoundland and cape breton island into the open atlantic, and would have realized that his new land was, after all, an island and not the mainland of the continent. but this discovery was reserved for his later voyage. he seems, indeed, when he presently came to the islands that lie in the mouth of the gulf of st lawrence, to have suspected that a passage here lay to the open sea. doubtless the set of the wind and current revealed it to the trained instinct of the pilot. 'if it were so,' he wrote, 'it would be a great shortening as well of the time as of the way, if any perfection could be found in it.' but it was just as well that he did not seek further the opening into the atlantic. by turning westward from the 'heel' of newfoundland he was led to discover the milder waters and the more fortunate lands which awaited him on the further side of the gulf. chapter iii the first voyage--the gulf of st lawrence on june cartier turned his course away from newfoundland and sailed westward into what appeared to be open sea. but it was not long before he came in sight of land again. about sixty miles from the newfoundland shore and thirty miles east from the magdalen islands, two abrupt rocks rise side by side from the sea; through one of them the beating surf has bored a passage, so that to cartier's eye, as his ships hove in sight of them, the rocks appeared as three. at the present time a lighthouse of the canadian government casts its rays from the top of one of these rocky islets, across the tossing waters of the gulf. innumerable sea-fowl encircled the isolated spot and built their nests so densely upon the rocks as to cover the whole of the upper surface. at the base of one of these bird rocks cartier stopped his ships in their westward course, and his men killed great numbers of the birds so easily that he declared he could have filled thirty boats with them in an hour. the explorers continued on their way, and a sail of a few hours brought them to an island like to none that they had yet seen. after the rock-bound coast of the north it seemed, indeed, a veritable paradise. thick groves of splendid trees alternated with beautiful glades and meadow-land, while the fertile soil of the island, through its entire length of about six miles, was carpeted with bright flowers, blossoming peas, and the soft colours of the wild rose. 'one acre of this land,' said cartier, 'is worth more than all the new land.' the ships lay off the shore of the island all night and replenished the stores of wood and water. the land abounded with game; the men of st malo saw bears and foxes, and, to their surprise they saw also great beasts that basked upon the shore, with 'two great teeth in their mouths like elephants.' one of these walruses,--for such they doubtless were,--was chased by the sailors, but cast itself into the sea and disappeared. we can imagine how, through the long twilight of the june evening, the lovely scene was loud with the voices of the exultant explorers. it was fitting that cartier should name this island of good omen after his patron, the seigneur de brion, admiral of france. to this day the name brion island,--corrupted sometimes to byron island,--recalls the landing of jacques cartier. from this temporary halting-place the ships sailed on down the west coast of the magdalen islands. the night of june found them at anchor off entry island at the southern end of the group. from here a course laid to the south-west brought the explorers into sight of prince edward island. this they supposed to be, of course, the mainland of the great american continent. turning towards the north-west, the ships followed the outline of the coast. they sailed within easy sight of the shore, and from their decks the explorer and his companions were able to admire the luxuriant beauty of the scene. here again was a land of delight: 'it is the fairest land,' wrote cartier, 'that may possibly be seen, full of goodly meadows and trees.' all that it lacked was a suitable harbour, which the explorers sought in vain. at one point a shallow river ran rippling to the sea, and here they saw savages crossing the stream in their canoes, but they found no place where the ships could be brought to anchor. july found the vessels lying off the northern end of prince edward island. here they lowered the boats, and searched the shore-line for a suitable anchorage. as they rowed along a savage was seen running upon the beach and making signs. the boats were turned towards him, but, seized with a sudden panic, he ran away. cartier landed a boat and set up a little staff in the sand with a woollen girdle and a knife, as a present for the fugitive and a mark of good-will. it has been asserted that this landing on a point called cap-des-sauvages by cartier, in memory of the incident, took place on the new brunswick shore. but the weight of evidence is in favour of considering that north cape in prince edward island deserves the honour. as the event occurred on july , some writers have tried to find a fortunate coincidence in the landing of the discoverer of canada on its soil on the day that became, three hundred and thirty-three years later, dominion day. but the coincidence is not striking. cartier had already touched canadian soil at brest, which is at the extreme end of the quebec coast, and on the magdalen islands. cartier's boats explored the northern end of prince edward island for many miles. all that he saw delighted him. 'we went that day on shore,' he wrote in his narrative, 'in four places, to see the goodly sweet and smelling trees that were there. we found them to be cedars, yews, pines, white elms, ash, willows, with many other sorts of trees to us unknown, but without any fruit. the grounds where no wood is are very fair, and all full of peason [peas], white and red gooseberries, strawberries, blackberries, and wild corn, even like unto rye, which seemed to have been sowed and ploughed. this country is of better temperature than any other land that can be seen, and very hot. there are many thrushes, stock-doves, and other birds. to be short, there wanteth nothing but good harbours.' on july , the ships, sailing on westward from the head of prince edward island, came in sight of the new brunswick coast. they had thus crossed northumberland strait, which separates the island from the mainland. cartier, however, supposed this to be merely a deep bay, extending inland on his left, and named it the bay of st lunario. before him on the northern horizon was another headland, and to the left the deep triangular bay known now as miramichi. the shallowness of the water and the low sunken aspect of the shore led him to decide, rightly, that there was to be found here no passage to the west. it was his hope, of course, that at some point on his path the shore might fold back and disclose to him the westward passage to the fabled empires of the east. the deep opening of the chaleur bay, which extended on the left hand as the ships proceeded north, looked like such an opening. hopes ran high, and cartier named the projecting horn which marks the southern side of the mouth of the bay the cape of good hope. like vasco da gama, when he rounded south africa, cartier now thought that he had found the gateway of a new world. the cheery name has, however, vanished from the map in favour of the less striking one of point miscou. cartier sailed across the broad mouth of the bay to a point on the north shore, now known as port daniel. here his ships lay at anchor till july , in order that he might carry on, in boats, the exploration of the shore. on july , after hearing mass, the first boat with an exploring party set forth and almost immediately fell in with a great number of savages coming in canoes from the southern shore. in all there were some forty or fifty canoes. the indians, as they leaped ashore, shouted and made signs to the french, and held up skins on sticks as if anxious to enter into trade. but cartier was in no mind to run the risk of closer contact with so numerous a company of savages. the french would not approach the fleet of canoes, and the savages, seeing this, began to press in on the strangers. for a moment affairs looked threatening. cartier's boat was surrounded by seven canoes filled with painted, gibbering savages. but the french had a formidable defence. a volley of musket shots fired by the sailors over the heads of the indians dispersed the canoes in rapid flight. finding, however, that no harm was done by the strange thunder of the weapons, the canoes came flocking back again, their occupants making a great noise and gesticulating wildly. they were, however, nervous, and when, as they came near, cartier's men let off two muskets they were terrified; 'with great haste they began to flee, and would no more follow us.' but the next day after the boat had returned to the ships, the savages came near to the anchorage, and some parties landed and traded together. the indians had with them furs which they offered gladly in exchange for the knives and iron tools given them by the sailors. cartier presented them also with 'a red hat to give unto their captain.' the indians seemed delighted with the exchange. they danced about on the shore, went through strange ceremonies in pantomime and threw seawater over their heads. 'they gave us,' wrote cartier, 'whatsoever they had, not keeping anything, so that they were constrained to go back again naked, and made us signs that the next day they would come again and bring more skins with them.' four more days cartier lingered in the bay. again he sent boats from the ships in the hope of finding the westward passage, but to his great disappointment and grief the search was fruitless. the waters were evidently landlocked, and there was here, as he sadly chronicled, no thoroughfare to the westward sea. he met natives in large numbers. hundreds of them--men, women, and children--came in their canoes to see the french explorers. they brought cooked meat, laid it on little pieces of wood, and, retreating a short distance, invited the french to eat. their manner was as of those offering food to the gods who have descended from above. the women among them, coming fearlessly up to the explorers, stroked them with their hands, and then lifted these hands clasped to the sky, with every sign of joy and exultation. the indians, as cartier saw them, seemed to have no settled home, but to wander to and fro in their canoes, taking fish and game as they went. their land appeared to him the fairest that could be seen, level as a pond; in every opening of the forest he saw wild grains and berries, roses and fragrant herbs. it was, indeed, a land of promise that lay basking in the sunshine of a canadian summer. the warmth led cartier to give to the bay the name it still bears--chaleur. on july the ships went north again. their progress was slow. boisterous gales drove in great seas from the outer gulf. at times the wind, blowing hard from the north, checked their advance and they had, as best they could, to ride out the storm. the sky was lowering and overcast, and thick mist and fog frequently enwrapped the ships. the th saw them driven by stress of weather into gaspe bay, where they lay until the th, with so dark a sky and so violent a storm raging over the gulf that not even the daring seamen of st malo thought it wise to venture out. here again they saw savages in great numbers, but belonging, so cartier concluded, to a different tribe from those seen on the bay below. 'we gave them knives,' he wrote, 'combs, beads of glass, and other trifles of small value, for which they made many signs of gladness, lifting their hands up to heaven, dancing and singing in their boats.' they appeared to be a miserable people, in the lowest stage of savagery, going about practically naked, and owning nothing of any value except their boats and their fishing-nets. he noted that their heads were shaved except for a tuft 'on the top of the crown as long as a horse's tail.' this, of course, was the 'scalp lock,' so suggestive now of the horrors of indian warfare, but meaning nothing to the explorer. from its presence it is supposed that the savages were indians of the huron-iroquois tribe. cartier thought, from their destitute state, that there could be no poorer people in the world. before leaving the bay of gaspe, cartier planted a great wooden cross at the entrance of the harbour. the cross stood thirty feet high, and at the centre of it he hung a shield with three fleurs-de-lis. at the top was carved in ancient lettering the legend, 'vive le roy de france.' a large concourse of savages stood about the french explorers as they raised the cross to its place. 'so soon as it was up,' writes cartier, 'we altogether kneeled down before them, with our hands towards heaven yielding god thanks: and we made signs unto them, showing them the heavens, and that all our salvation depended only on him which in them dwelleth; whereat they showed a great admiration, looking first at one another and then at the cross.' the little group of sailors kneeling about the cross newly reared upon the soil of canada as a symbol of the gospel of christ and of the sovereignty of france, the wondering savages turning their faces in awe towards the summer sky, serene again after the passing storms,--all this formed an impressive picture, and one that appears and reappears in the literature of canada. but the first effect of the ceremony was not fortunate. by a sound instinct the savages took fright; they rightly saw in the erection of the cross the advancing shadow of the rule of the white man. after the french had withdrawn to their ships, the chief of the indians came out with his brother and his sons to make protest against what had been done. he made a long oration, which the french could not, of course, understand. pointing shoreward to the cross and making signs, the chief gave it to be understood that the country belonged to him and his people. he and his followers were, however, easily pacified by a few gifts and with the explanation, conveyed by signs, that the cross was erected to mark the entrance of the bay. the french entertained their guests bountifully with food and drink, and, having gaily decked out two sons of the chief in french shirts and red caps, they invited these young savages to remain on the ship and to sail with cartier. they did so, and the chief and the others departed rejoicing. the next day the ships weighed anchor, surrounded by boat-loads of savages who shouted and gesticulated their farewells to those on board. cartier now turned his ships to the north-east. westward on his left hand, had he known it, was the opening of the st lawrence. from the trend of the land he supposed, however, that, by sailing in an easterly direction, he was again crossing one of the great bays of the coast. this conjecture seemed to be correct, as the coastline of the island of anticosti presently appeared on the horizon. from july until august the explorers made their way along the shores of anticosti, which they almost circumnavigated. sailing first to the east they passed a low-lying country, almost bare of forests, but with verdant and inviting meadows. the shore ended at east cape, named by cartier cape st louis, and at this point the ships turned and made their way north-westward, along the upper shore of the island. on august , as they advanced, they came in sight of the mainland of the northern shore of the gulf of st lawrence, a low, flat country, heavily wooded, with great mountains forming a jagged sky-line. cartier had now, evidently enough, come back again to the side of the great gulf from which he had started, but, judging rightly that the way to the west might lie beyond the anticosti coast, he continued on his voyage along that shore. yet with every day progress became more difficult. as the ships approached the narrower waters between the west end of anticosti and the mainland they met powerful tides and baffling currents. the wind, too, had turned against them and blew fiercely from the west. for five days the intrepid mariners fought against the storms and currents that checked their advance. they were already in sight of what seemed after long searching to be the opening of the westward passage. but the fierce wind from the west so beat against them that the clumsy vessels could make no progress against it. cartier lowered a boat, and during two hours the men rowed desperately into the wind. for a while the tide favoured them, but even then it ran so hard as to upset one of the boats. when the tide turned matters grew worse. there came rushing down with the wind and the current of the st lawrence such a turmoil of the waters that the united strength of the thirteen men at the oars could not advance the boats by a stone's-throw. the whole company landed on the island of anticosti, and cartier, with ten or twelve men, made his way on foot to the west end. standing there and looking westward over the foaming waters lashed by the august storm, he was able to realize that the goal of his search for the coast of asia, or at least for an open passage to the west, might lie before him, but that, for the time being, it was beyond his reach. turning back, the party rejoined the ships which had drifted helplessly before the wind some twelve miles down the shore. arrived on board, cartier called together his sailing-master, pilots, and mates to discuss what was to be done. they agreed that the contrary winds forbade further exploration. the season was already late; the coast of france was far away; within a few weeks the great gales of the equinox would be upon them. accordingly the company decided to turn back. soon the ships were heading along the northern shore of the gulf, and with the boisterous wind behind them were running rapidly towards the east. they sailed towards the newfoundland shore, caught sight of the double cape and then, heading north again, came to blanc sablon on august . here they lay for a few days to prepare for the homeward voyage, and on august they were under way once more for the passage of belle isle and the open sea. 'and after that, upon august ,' so ends cartier's narrative, 'being the feast of the assumption of our lady, after that we had heard service, we altogether departed from the port of blanc sablon, and with a happy and prosperous weather we came into the middle of the sea that is between newfoundland and brittany, in which place we were tossed and turmoiled three days long with great storms and windy tempests coming from the east, which with the aid and assistance of god we suffered: then had we fair weather, and upon the fifth of september, in the said year, we came to the port of st malo whence we departed.' chapter iv the second voyage--the st lawrence the second voyage of jacques cartier, undertaken in the years and , is the exploit on which his title to fame chiefly rests. in this voyage he discovered the river st lawrence, visited the site of the present city of quebec, and, ascending the river as far as hochelaga, was enabled to view from the summit of mount royal the imposing panorama of plain and river and mountain which marks the junction of the st lawrence and the ottawa. he brought back to the king of france the rumour of great countries still to be discovered to the west, of vast lakes and rivers reaching so far inland that no man could say from what source they sprang, and the legend of a region rich with gold and silver that should rival the territory laid at the feet of spain by the conquests of cortez. if he did not find the long-sought passage to the western sea, at least he added to the dominions of france a territory the potential wealth of which, as we now see, was not surpassed even by the riches of cathay. the report of cartier's first voyage, written by himself, brought to him the immediate favour of the king. a commission, issued under the seal of philippe chabot, admiral of france, on october , , granted to him wide powers for employing ships and men, and for the further prosecution of his discoveries. he was entitled to engage at the king's charge three ships, equipped and provisioned for fifteen months, so that he might be able to spend, at least, an entire year in actual exploration. cartier spent the winter in making his preparations, and in the springtime of the next year ( ) all was ready for the voyage. by the middle of may the ships, duly manned and provisioned, lay at anchor in the harbour of st malo, waiting only a fair wind to sail. they were three in number--the grande hermine of tons burden; a ship of tons which was rechristened the petite hermine, and which was destined to leave its timbers in the bed of a little rivulet beside quebec, and a small vessel of tons known as the emerillon or sparrow hawk. on the largest of the ships cartier himself sailed, with claude de pont briand, charles de la pommeraye, and other gentlemen of france, lured now by a spirit of adventure to voyage to the new world. mace jalobert, who had married the sister of cartier's wife, commanded the second ship. of the sailors the greater part were trained seamen of st malo. seventy-four of their names are still preserved upon a roll of the crew. the company numbered in all one hundred and twelve persons, including the two savages who had been brought from gaspe in the preceding voyage, and who were now to return as guides and interpreters of the expedition. whether or not there were any priests on board the ships is a matter that is not clear. the titles of two persons in the roll--dom guillaume and dom antoine--seem to suggest a priestly calling. but the fact that cartier made no attempt to baptize the indians to whom he narrated the truths of the gospel, and that he makes no mention of priests in connection with any of the sacred ceremonies which he carried out, seem to show that none were included in the expedition. there is, indeed, reference in the narrative to the hearing of mass, but it relates probably to the mere reading of prayers by the explorer himself. on one occasion, also, as will appear, cartier spoke to the indians of what his priests had told him, but the meaning of the phrase is doubtful. before sailing, every man of the company repaired to the cathedral church of st malo, where all confessed their sins and received the benediction of the good bishop of the town. this was on the day and feast of pentecost in , and three days later, on may , the ships sailed out from the little harbour and were borne with a fair wind beyond the horizon of the west. but the voyage was by no means as prosperous as that of the year before. the ships kept happily together until may . then they were assailed in mid-atlantic by furious gales from the west, and were enveloped in dense banks of fog. during a month of buffeting against adverse seas, they were driven apart and lost sight of one another. cartier in the grande hermine reached the coast of newfoundland safely on july coming again to the island of birds. 'so full of birds it was,' he writes, 'that all the ships of france might be loaded with them, and yet it would not seem that any were taken away.' on the next day the grande hermine sailed on through the strait of belle isle for blanc sablon, and there, by agreement, waited in the hope that her consorts might arrive. in the end, on the th, the two missing ships sailed into the harbour together. three days more were spent in making necessary repairs and in obtaining water and other supplies, and on the th at sunrise the reunited expedition set out on its exploration of the northern shore. during the first half of august their way lay over the course already traversed from the strait of belle isle to the western end of anticosti. the voyage along this coast was marked by no event of especial interest. cartier, as before, noted carefully the bearing of the land as he went along, took soundings, and, in the interest of future pilots of the coast, named and described the chief headlands and landmarks as he passed. he found the coast for the most part dangerous and full of shoals. here and there vast forests extended to the shore, but otherwise the country seemed barren and uninviting. from the north shore cartier sailed across to anticosti, touching near what is now called charleton point; but, meeting with head winds, which, as in the preceding year, hindered his progress along the island, he turned to the north again and took shelter in what he called a 'goodly great gulf full of islands, passages, and entrances towards what wind soever you please to bend.' it might be recognized, he said, by a great island that runs out beyond the rest and on which is 'an hill fashioned as it were an heap of corn.' the 'goodly gulf' is pillage bay in the district of saguenay, and the hill is mount ste genevieve. from this point the ships sailed again to anticosti and reached the extreme western cape of that island. the two indian guides were now in a familiar country. the land in sight, they told cartier, was a great island; south of it was gaspe, from which country cartier had taken them in the preceding summer; two days' journey beyond the island towards the west lay the kingdom of saguenay, a part of the northern coast that stretches westwards towards the land of canada. the use of this name, destined to mean so much to later generations, here appears for the first time in cartier's narrative. the word was evidently taken from the lips of the savages, but its exact significance has remained a matter of dispute. the most fantastic derivations have been suggested. charlevoix, writing two hundred years later, even tells us that the name originated from the fact that the spaniards had been upon the coast before cartier, looking for mines. their search proving fruitless, they kept repeating 'aca nada' (that is 'nothing here') in the hearing of the savages, who repeated the words to the french, thus causing them to suppose this to be the name of the country. there seems no doubt, however, that the word is indian, though whether it is from the iroquois kannata, a settlement, or from some term meaning a narrow strait or passage, it is impossible to say. from anticosti, which cartier named the island of the assumption, the ships sailed across to the gaspe side of the gulf, which they saw on august , and which was noted to be a land 'full of very great and high hills.' according to the information of his indian guides, he had now reached the point beyond which extended the great kingdom of saguenay. the northern and southern coasts were evidently drawing more closely together, and between them, so the savages averred, lay a great river. 'there is,' wrote cartier in his narrative, 'between the southerly lands and the northerly about thirty leagues distance and more than two hundred fathoms depth. the said men did, moreover, certify unto us that there was the way and beginning of the great river of hochelaga, and ready way to canada, which river the farther it went the narrower it came, even unto canada, and that then there was fresh water which went so far upwards that they had never heard of any man who had gone to the head of it, and that there is no other passage but with small boats.' the announcement that the waters in which he was sailing led inward to a fresh-water river brought to cartier not the sense of elation that should have accompanied so great a discovery, but a feeling of disappointment. a fresh-water river could not be the westward passage to asia that he had hoped to find, and, interested though he might be in the rumoured kingdom of saguenay, it was with reluctance that he turned from the waters of the gulf to the ascent of the great river. indeed, he decided not to do this until he had tried by every means to find the wished-for opening on the coast of the gulf. accordingly, he sailed to the northern shore and came to the land among the seven islands, which lie near the mouth of the ste marguerite river, about eighty-five miles west of anticosti,--the round islands, cartier called them. here, having brought the ships to a safe anchorage, riding in twenty fathoms of water, he sent the boats eastward to explore the portion of the coast towards anticosti which he had not yet seen. he cherished a last hope that here, perhaps, the westward passage might open before him. but the boats returned from the expedition with no news other than that of a river flowing into the gulf, in such volume that its water was still fresh three miles from the shore. the men declared, too, that they had seen 'fishes shaped like horses,' which, so the indians said, retired to shore at night, and spent the day in the sea. the creatures, no doubt, were walruses. it was on august that cartier had left anticosti for the gaspe shore: it was not until the th that, delayed by the exploring expeditions of the boats and by heavy fogs and contrary winds, he moved out from the anchorage at the seven islands to ascend the st lawrence. the season was now far advanced. by this time, doubtless, cartier had realized that the voyage would not result in the discovery of the passage to the east. but, anxious not to return home without having some success to report, he was in any case prepared to winter in the new land. even though he did not find the passage, it was better to remain long enough to explore the lands in the basin of the great river than to return home without adding anything to the exploits of the previous voyage. the expedition moved westward up the st lawrence, the first week's sail bringing them as far as the saguenay. on the way cartier put in at bic islands, and christened them in honour of st john. finding here but scanty shelter and a poor anchorage, he went on without further delay to the saguenay, the mouth of which he reached on september . here this great tributary river, fed from the streams and springs of the distant north, pours its mighty waters between majestic cliffs into the st lawrence--truly an impressive sight. so vast is the flood that the great stream in its wider reaches shows a breadth of three miles, and in places the waters are charted as being more than eight hundred and seventy feet deep. narrowing at its mouth, it enters the st lawrence in an angry flood, shortly after passing the vast and frowning rocks of cape eternity and cape trinity, rising to a height of fifteen hundred feet. high up on the face of the cliffs, cartier saw growing huge pine-trees that clung, earthless, to the naked rock. four canoes danced in the foaming water at the river mouth: one of them made bold to approach the ships, and the words of cartier's indian interpreters so encouraged its occupants that they came on board. the canoes, so these indians explained to cartier, had come down from canada to fish. cartier did not remain long at the saguenay. on the next day, september , the ships resumed their ascent of the st lawrence. the navigation at this point was by no means easy. the river here feels the full force of the tide, whose current twists and eddies among the great rocks that lie near the surface of the water. the ships lay at anchor that night off hare island. as they left their moorings, at dawn of the following day, they fell in with a great school of white whales disporting themselves in the river. strange fish, indeed, these seemed to cartier. 'they were headed like greyhounds,' he wrote, 'and were as white as snow, and were never before of any man seen or known.' four days more brought the voyagers to an island, a 'goodly and fertile spot covered with fine trees,' and among them so many filbert-trees that cartier gave it the name isle-aux-coudres (the isle of filberts), which it still bears. on september the vessels sailed about thirty miles beyond isle-aux-coudres, and came to a group of islands, one of which, extending for about twenty miles up the river, appeared so fertile and so densely covered with wild grapes hanging to the river's edge, that cartier named it the isle of bacchus. he himself, however, afterwards altered the name to the island of orleans. these islands, so the savages said, marked the beginning of the country known as canada. chapter v the second voyage--stadacona at the time when cartier ascended the st lawrence, a great settlement of the huron-iroquois indians existed at quebec. their village was situated below the heights, close to the banks of the st charles, a small tributary of the st lawrence. here the lodges of the tribe gave shelter to many hundred people. beautiful trees--elm and ash and maple and birch, as fair as the trees of france--adorned the banks of the river, and the open spaces of the woods waved with the luxuriant growth of indian corn. here were the winter home of the tribe and the wigwam of the chief. from this spot hunting and fishing parties of the savages descended the great river and wandered as far as the pleasant country of chaleur bay. sixty-four years later, when champlain ascended the st lawrence, the settlement and the tribe that formerly occupied the spot had vanished. but in the time of cartier the quebec village, under its native name of stadacona, seems to have been, next to hochelaga, the most important lodgment of the huron-iroquois indians of the st lawrence valley. as the french navigators wandered on the shores of the island of orleans, they fell in with a party of the stadacona indians. these, frightened at the strange faces and unwonted dress of the french, would have taken to flight, but cartier's two indians, whose names are recorded as taignoagny and domagaya, called after them in their own language. great was the surprise of the natives not only to hear their own speech, but also to recognize in taignoagny and domagaya two members of their own tribe. the two guides, so far as we can judge from cartier's narrative, had come down from the huron-iroquois settlements on the st lawrence to the gaspe country, whence cartier had carried them to france. their friends now surrounded them with tumultuous expressions of joy, leaping and shouting as if to perform a ceremonial of welcome. without fear now of the french they followed them down to their boats, and brought them a plentiful supply of corn and of the great pumpkins that were ripening in their fields. the news of the arrival of the strangers spread at once through the settlement. to see the ships, canoe after canoe came floating down the river. they were filled with men and women eager to welcome their returned kinsmen and to share in the trinkets which cartier distributed with a liberal hand. on the next day the chief of the tribe, the lord of canada, as cartier calls him, donnacona by name, visited the french ships. the ceremonial was appropriate to his rank. twelve canoes filled with indian warriors appeared upon the stream. as they neared the ships, at a command from donnacona, all fell back except two, which came close alongside the emerillon. donnacona then delivered a powerful and lengthy harangue, accompanied by wondrous gesticulations of body and limbs. the canoes then moved down to the side of the grande hermine, where donnacona spoke with cartier's guides. as these savages told him of the wonders they had seen in france, he was apparently moved to very transports of joy. nothing would satisfy him but that cartier should step down into the canoe, that the chief might put his arms about his neck in sign of welcome. cartier, unable to rival donnacona's oratory, made up for it by causing the sailors hand down food and wine, to the keen delight of the indians. this being done, the visitors departed with every expression of good-will. waiting only for a favourable tide, the ships left their anchorage, and, sailing past the island of orleans, cast anchor in the st charles river, where it flows into the st lawrence near quebec. the emerillon was left at anchor out in the st lawrence, in readiness for the continuance of the journey, but the two larger vessels were moored at the point where a rivulet, the lairet, runs into the st charles. it was on the left bank of the lairet that cartier's fort was presently constructed for his winter occupancy. some distance across from it, on the other side of the st charles, was stadacona itself. its site cannot be determined with exactitude, but it is generally agreed that it was most likely situated in the space between the present rue de la fabrique and the cote sainte-genevieve. the indians were most friendly. when, on september , the french had sailed into the st charles, donnacona had again met them, accompanied by twenty-five canoes filled with his followers. the savages, by their noisy conduct and strange antics, gave every sign of joy over the arrival of the french. but from the first cartier seems to have had his misgivings as to their good faith. he was struck by the fact that his two indian interpreters, who had rejoined the ranks of their countrymen, seemed now to receive him with a sullen distrust, and refused his repeated invitations to re-enter his ships. he asked them whether they were still willing to go on with him to hochelaga, of which they had told him, and which it was his purpose to visit. the two indians assented, but their manner was equivocal and inspired cartier with distrust. the day after this a great concourse of indians came again to the river bank to see the strangers, but donnacona and his immediate followers, including taignoagny and domagaya, stood apart under a point of land on the river bank sullenly watching the movements of the french, who were busied in setting out buoys and harbour-marks for their anchorage. cartier, noticing this, took a few of his sailors, fully armed, and marched straight to where the chief stood. taignoagny, the interpreter, came forward and entered upon a voluble harangue, telling the french captain that donnacona was grieved to see him and his men so fully armed, while he and his people bore no weapons in their hands. cartier told taignoagny, who had been in france, that to carry arms was the custom of his country, and that he knew it. indeed, since donnacona continued to make gestures of pleasure and friendship, the explorer concluded that the interpreter only and not the indian chief was the cause of the distrust. yet he narrates that before donnacona left them, 'all his people at once with a loud voice cast out three great cries, a horrible thing to hear.' the indian war-whoop, if such it was, is certainly not a reassuring sound, but cartier and donnacona took leave of one another with repeated assurances of good-will. the following day, september , the indians came again. about five hundred of them, so cartier tells us, gathered about the ships. donnacona, with 'ten or twelve of the chiefest men of the country,' came on board the ships, where cartier held a great feast for them and gave them presents in accordance with their rank. taignoagny explained to cartier that donnacona was grieved that he was going up to hochelaga. the river, said the guide, was of no importance, and the journey was not worth while. cartier's reply to this protest was that he had been commanded by his king to go as far as he could go, but that, after seeing hochelaga, he would come back again. on this taignoagny flatly refused to act as guide, and the indians abruptly left the ship and went ashore. cartier must, indeed, have been perplexed, and perhaps alarmed, at the conduct of the stadacona natives. it was his policy throughout his voyages to deal with the indians fairly and generously, to avoid all violence towards them, and to content himself with bringing to them the news of the gospel and the visible signs of the greatness of the king of france. the cruelties of the spanish conquerors of the south were foreign to his nature. the few acts of injustice with which his memory has been charged may easily be excused in the light of the circumstances of his age. but he could not have failed to realize the possibilities of a sudden and murderous onslaught on the part of savages who thus combined a greedy readiness for feasting and presents with a sullen and brooding distrust. donnacona and his people were back again on the morrow, still vainly endeavouring to dissuade the french from their enterprise. they brought with them a great quantity of eels and fish as presents, and danced and sang upon the shore opposite the ships in token of their friendship. when cartier and his men came ashore, donnacona made all his people stand back from the beach. he drew in the sand a huge ring, and into this he led the french. then, selecting from the ranks of his followers, who stood in a great circle watching the ceremony, a little girl of ten years old, he led her into the ring and presented her to cartier. after her, two little boys were handed over in the same fashion, the assembled indians rending the air with shouts of exultation. donnacona, in true indian fashion, improved the occasion with a long harangue, which taignoagny interpreted to mean that the little girl was the niece of the chief and one of the boys the brother of the interpreter himself, and that the explorer might keep all these children as a gift if he would promise not to go to hochelaga. cartier at once, by signs and speech, offered the children back again, whereupon the other interpreter, domagaya, broke in and said that the children were given in good-will, and that donnacona was well content that cartier should go to hochelaga. the three poor little savages were carried to the boats, the two interpreters wrangling and fighting the while as to what had really been said. but cartier felt assured that the treachery, if any were contemplated, came only from one of them, taignoagny. as a great mark of trust he gave to donnacona two swords, a basin of plain brass and a ewer--gifts which called forth renewed shouts of joy. before the assemblage broke up, the chief asked cartier to cause the ships' cannons to be fired, as he had learned from the two guides that they made such a marvellous noise as was never heard before. 'our captain answered,' writes cartier in his narrative, 'that he was content: and by and by he commanded his men to shoot off twelve cannons into the wood that was hard by the people and the ships, at which noise they were greatly astonished and amazed, for they thought the heaven had fallen upon them, and put themselves to flight, howling, crying and shrieking, so that it seemed hell was broken loose.' next day the indians made one more attempt to dissuade cartier from his journey. finding that persuasion and oratory were of no avail, they decided to fall back upon the supernatural and to frighten the french from their design. their artifice was transparent enough, but to the minds of the simple savages was calculated to strike awe into the hearts of their visitors. instead of coming near the ships, as they had done on each preceding day, the indians secreted themselves in the woods along the shore. there they lay hid for many hours, while the french were busied with their preparations for departure. but later in the day, when the tide was running swiftly outward, the indians in their canoes came paddling down the stream towards the ships, not, however, trying to approach them, but keeping some little distance away as if in expectation of something unusual. the mystery soon revealed itself. from beneath the foliage of the river bank a canoe shot into the stream, the hideous appearance of its occupants contrasting with the bright autumn tints that were lending their glory to the canadian woods. the three indians in the canoe had been carefully made up by their fellows as 'stage devils' to strike horror into cartier and his companions. they were 'dressed like devils, being wrapped in dog skins, white and black, their faces besmeared as black as any coals, with horns on their heads more than a yard long.' the canoe came rushing swiftly down the stream, and floated past the ships, the 'devils' who occupied the craft making no attempt to stop, not even turning towards the ships, but counterfeiting, as it were, the sacred frenzy of angry deities. the devil in the centre shouted a fierce harangue into the air. no sooner did the canoe pass the ships than donnacona and his braves in their light barques set after it, paddling so swiftly as to overtake the canoe of the 'devils' and seize the gunwale of it in their hands. the whole thing was a piece of characteristic indian acting, viewed by the french with interest, but apparently without the faintest alarm. the 'devils,' as soon as their boat was seized by the profane touch of the savages, fell back as if lifeless in their canoe. the assembled flotilla was directed to the shore. the 'devils' were lifted out rigid and lifeless and carried solemnly into the forest. the leaves of the underbrush closed behind them and they were concealed from sight, but from the deck of the ship the french could still hear the noise of cries and incantations that broke the stillness of the woods. after half an hour taignoagny and domagaya issued from among the trees. their walk and their actions were solemnity itself, while their faces simulated the religious ecstasy of men who have spoken with the gods. the caps that they had worn were now placed beneath the folds of their indian blankets, and their clasped hands were uplifted to the autumn sky. taignoagny cried out three times upon the name of jesus, while his fellow imitated and kept shouting, 'jesus! the virgin mary! jacques cartier!' cartier very naturally called to them to know what was the matter; whereupon taignoagny in doleful tones called out, 'ill news!' cartier urged the indian to explain, and the guide, still acting the part of one who bears tidings from heaven, said that the great god, cudragny, had spoken at hochelaga and had sent down three 'spirits' in the canoe to warn cartier that he must not try to come to hochelaga, because there was so much ice and snow in that country that whoever went there should die. in the face of this awful revelation, cartier showed a cheerful and contemptuous scepticism. 'their god, cudragny,' he said, must be 'a fool and a noodle,' and that, as for the cold, christ would protect his followers from that, if they would but believe in him. taignoagny asked cartier if he had spoken with jesus. cartier answered no, but said that his priests had done so and that jesus had told them that the weather would be fine. taignoagny, hypocrite still, professed a great joy at hearing this, and set off into the woods, whence he emerged presently with the whole band of indians, singing and dancing. their plan had failed, but they evidently thought it wiser to offer no further opposition to cartier's journey, though all refused to go with him. the strange conduct of donnacona and his indians is not easy to explain. it is quite possible that they meditated some treachery towards the french: indeed, cartier from first to last was suspicious of their intentions, and, as we shall see, was careful after his return to stadacona never to put himself within their power. to the very end of his voyage he seems to have been of the opinion that if he and his men were caught off their guard, donnacona and his braves would destroy the whole of them for the sake of their coveted possessions. the stories that he heard now and later from his guides of the horrors of indian war and of a great massacre at the bic islands certainly gave him just grounds for suspicion and counselled prudence. some writers are agreed, however, that the indians had no hostile intentions whatever. the new-comers seemed to them wondrous beings, floating on the surface of the water in great winged houses, causing the thunder to roll forth from their abode at will and, more than all, feasting their friends and giving to them such gifts as could only come from heaven. such guests were too valuable to lose. the indians knew well of the settlement at hochelaga, and of the fair country where it lay. they feared that if cartier once sailed to it, he and his presents--the red caps and the brass bowls sent direct from heaven--would be lost to them for ever. be this as it may, no further opposition was offered to the departure of the french. the two larger ships, with a part of the company as guard, were left at their moorings. cartier in the emerillon, with mace jalobert, claude de pont briand, and the other gentlemen of the expedition, a company of fifty in all, set out for hochelaga. chapter vi the second voyage--hochelaga nine days of prosperous sailing carried cartier in his pinnace from stadacona to the broad expansion of the st lawrence, afterwards named lake st peter. the autumn scene as the little vessel ascended the stream was one of extreme beauty. the banks of the river were covered with glorious forests resplendent now with the red and gold of the turning leaves. grape-vines grew thickly on every hand, laden with their clustered fruit. the shore and forest abounded with animal life. the woods were loud with the chirruping of thrushes, goldfinches, canaries, and other birds. countless flocks of wild geese and ducks passed overhead, while from the marshes of the back waters great cranes rose in their heavy flight over the bright surface of the river that reflected the cloudless blue of the autumn sky. cartier was enraptured with the land which he had discovered,--'as goodly a country,' he wrote, 'as possibly can with eye be seen, and all replenished with very goodly trees.' here and there the wigwams of the savages dotted the openings of the forest. often the inhabitants put off from shore in canoes, bringing fish and food, and accepting, with every sign of friendship, the little presents which cartier distributed among them. at one place an indian chief--'one of the chief lords of the country,' says cartier--brought two of his children as a gift to the miraculous strangers. one of the children, a little girl of eight, was kept upon the ship and went on with cartier to hochelaga and back to stadacona, where her parents came to see her later on. the other child cartier refused to keep because 'it was too young, for it was but two or three years old.' at the head of lake st peter, cartier, ignorant of the channels, found his progress in the pinnace barred by the sand bars and shallows among the group of islands which here break the flow of the great river. the indians whom he met told him by signs that hochelaga lay still farther up-stream, at a distance of three days' journey. cartier decided to leave the emerillon and to continue on his way in the two boats which he had brought with him. claude de pont briand and some of the gentlemen, together with twenty mariners, accompanied the leader, while the others remained in charge of the pinnace. three days of easy and prosperous navigation was sufficient for the journey, and on october , cartier's boats, having rowed along the shores of montreal island, landed in full sight of mount royal, at some point about three or four miles from the heart of the present city. the precise location of the landing has been lost to history. it has been thought by some that the boats advanced until the foaming waters of the lachine rapids forbade all further progress. others have it that the boats were halted at the foot of st mary's current, and others again that nun island was the probable place of landing. what is certain is that the french brought their boats to shore among a great crowd of assembled savages,--a thousand persons, cartier says,--and that they were received with tumultuous joy. the indians leaped and sang, their familiar mode of celebrating welcome. they offered to the explorers great quantities of fish and of the bread which they baked from the ripened corn. they brought little children in their arms, making signs for cartier and his companions to touch them. as the twilight gathered, the french withdrew to their boats, while the savages, who were loath to leave the spot, lighted huge bonfires on the shore. a striking and weird picture it conjures up before our eyes,--the french sailors with their bronzed and bearded faces, their strange dress and accoutrements, the glare of the great bonfires on the edge of the dark waters, the wild dances of the exultant savages. the romance and inspiration of the history of canada are suggested by this riotous welcome of the old world by the new. it meant that mighty changes were pending; the eye of imagination may see in the background the shadowed outline of the spires and steeples of the great city of to-day. on the next day, october , the french were astir with the first light of the morning. a few of their number were left to guard the boats; the others, accompanied by some of the indians, set out on foot for hochelaga. their way lay over a beaten path through the woods. it brought them presently to the tall palisades that surrounded the group of long wooden houses forming the indian settlement. it stood just below the slope of the mountain, and covered a space of almost two acres. on the map of the modern city this village of hochelaga would be bounded by the four streets, metcalfe, mansfield, burnside, and sherbrooke, just below the site of mcgill university. but the visit of cartier is an event of such historic interest that it can best be narrated in the words of his own narrative. we may follow here as elsewhere the translation of hakluyt, which is itself three hundred years old, and seems in its quaint and picturesque form more fitting than the commoner garb of modern prose. our captain [so runs the narrative], the next day very early in the morning, having very gorgeously attired himself, caused all his company to be set in order to go to see the town and habitation of these people, and a certain mountain that is somewhere near the city; with whom went also five gentlemen and twenty mariners, leaving the rest to keep and look to our boats. we took with us three men of hochelaga to bring us to the place. all along as we went we found the way as well beaten and frequented as can be, the fairest and best country that can possibly be seen, full of as goodly great oaks as are in any wood in france, under which the ground was all covered over with fair acorns. after we had gone about four or five miles, we met by the way one of the chiefest lords of the city, accompanied with many more, who, as soon as he saw us, beckoned and made signs upon us, that we must rest in that place where they had made a great fire and so we did. after that we rested ourselves there awhile, the said lord began to make a long discourse, even as we have said above they are accustomed to do in sign of mirth and friendship, showing our captain and all his company a joyful countenance and good will, who gave him two hatchets, a pair of knives and a cross which he made him to kiss, and then put it about his neck, for which he gave our captain hearty thanks. this done, we went along, and about a mile and a half farther, we began to find goodly and large fields full of such corn as the country yieldeth. it is even as the millet of brazil as great and somewhat bigger than small peason [peas], wherewith they live as we do with ours. in the midst of those fields is the city of hochelaga, placed near and, as it were, joined to a very great mountain, that is tilled round about, very fertile, on the top of which you may see very far. we named it mount royal. the city of hochelaga is round compassed about with timber, with three courses of rampires [stockades], one within another, framed like a sharp spire, but laid across above. the middlemost of them is made and built as a direct line but perpendicular. the rampires are framed and fashioned with pieces of timber laid along on the ground, very well and cunningly joined together after their fashion. this enclosure is in height about two rods. it hath but one gate of entry thereat, which is shut with piles, stakes, and bars. over it and also in many places of the wall there be places to run along and ladders to get up, all full of stones, for the defence of it. there are in the town about fifty houses, about fifty paces long, and twelve or fifteen broad, built all of wood, covered over with the bark of the wood as broad as any board, very finely and cunningly joined together. within the said houses there are many rooms, lodgings and chambers. in the midst of every one there is a great court in the middle whereof they make their fire. such is the picture of hochelaga as cartier has drawn it for us. arrived at the palisade, the savages conducted cartier and his followers within. in the central space of the stockade was a large square, bordered by the lodges of the indians. in this the french were halted, and the natives gathered about them, the women, many of whom bore children in their, arms, pressing close up to the visitors, stroking their faces and arms, and making entreaties by signs that the french should touch their children. then presently [writes cartier] came the women again, every one bringing a four-square mat in the manner of carpets, and spreading them abroad in that place, they caused us to sit upon them. this done the lord and king of the country was brought upon nine or ten men's shoulders (whom in their tongue they call agouhanna), sitting upon a great stag's skin, and they laid him down upon the foresaid mats near to the captain, every one beckoning unto us that he was their lord and king. this agouhanna was a man about fifty pears old. he was no whit better apparelled than any of the rest, only excepted that he had a certain thing made of hedgehogs [porcupines], like a red wreath, and that was instead of his crown. he was full of the palsy, and his members shrunk together. after he had with certain signs saluted our captain and all his company, and by manifest tokens bid all welcome, he showed his legs and arms to our captain, and with signs desired him to touch them, and so we did, rubbing them with his own hands; then did agouhanna take the wreath or crown he had about his head, and gave it unto our captain that done, they brought before him divers diseased men, some blind, some crippled, some lame, and some so old that the hair of their eyelids came down and covered their cheeks, and laid them all along before our captain to the end that they might of him be touched. for it seemed unto them that god was descended and come down from heaven to heal them. our captain, seeing the misery and devotion of this poor people, recited the gospel of st john, that is to say, 'in the beginning was the word,' touching every one that were [sic] diseased, praying to god that it would please him to open the hearts of the poor people and to make them know his holy word, and that they might receive baptism and christendom. that done, he took a service-book in his hand, and with a loud voice read all the passion of christ, word by word, that all the standers-by might hear him; all which while this poor people kept silence and were marvellously attentive, looking up to heaven and imitating us in gestures. then he caused the men all orderly to be set on one side, the women on another, and likewise the children on another, and to the chiefest of them he gave hatchets, to the others knives, and to the women beads and such other small trifles. then where the children were he cast rings, counters and brooches made of tin, whereat they seemed to be very glad. before cartier and his men returned to their boats, some of the indians took them up to the top of mount royal. here a magnificent prospect offered itself, then, as now, to the eye. the broad level of the island swept towards the west, luxuriant with yellow corn and autumn foliage. in the distance the eye discerned the foaming waters of lachine, and the silver bosom of the lake of the two mountains: 'as fair and level a country,' said cartier, 'as possibly can be seen, being level, smooth, and very plain, fit to be husbanded and tilled.' the indians, pointing to the west, explained by signs that beyond the rapids were three other great falls of water, and that when these were passed a man might travel for three months up the waters of the great river. such at least cartier understood to be the meaning of the indians. they showed him a second stream, the ottawa, as great, they said, as the st lawrence, whose north-westward course cartier supposed must run through the kingdom of saguenay. as the savages pointed to the ottawa, they took hold of a silver chain on which hung the whistle that cartier carried, and then touched the dagger of one of the sailors, which had a handle of copper, yellow as gold, as if to show that these metals, or rather silver and gold, came from the country beyond that river. this, at least, was the way that cartier interpreted the simple and evident signs that the indians made. the commentators on cartier's voyages have ever since sought some other explanation, supposing that no such metals existed in the country. the discovery of the gold and silver deposits of the basin of the ottawa in the district of new ontario shows that cartier had truly understood the signs of the indians. if they had ever seen silver before, it is precisely from this country that it would have come. cartier was given to understand, also, that in this same region there dwelt another race of savages, very fierce, and continually at war. the party descended from the mountain and pursued their way towards the boats. their indian friends hung upon their footsteps, showing evidences of admiration and affection, and even carried in their arms any of the french who showed indications of weariness. they stood about with every sign of grief and regret as the sails were hoisted and the boats bearing the wonderful beings dropped swiftly down the river. on october , the boats safely rejoined the emerillon that lay anchored near the mouth of the richelieu. on the th of the same month, the pinnace was back at her anchorage beside stadacona, and the whole company was safely reunited. the expedition to hochelaga had been accomplished in twenty-two days. chapter vii the second voyage--winter at stadacona on returning to his anchorage before quebec, cartier found that his companions whom he had left there had not been idle. the ships, it will be remembered, lay moored close to the shore at the mouth of the little river lairet, a branch of the st charles. on the bank of the river, during their leader's absence, the men had erected a solid fortification or rampart. heavy sticks of lumber had been set up on end and joined firmly together, while at intervals cannon, taken from the ships, had been placed in such a way as to command the approach in all directions. the sequel showed that it was well, indeed, for the french that they placed so little reliance on the friendship of the savages. donnacona was not long in putting in an appearance. whatever may have been his real feelings, the crafty old chief feigned a great delight at the safe return of cartier. at his solicitation cartier paid a ceremonial visit to the settlement of stadacona, on october , ten days after his return. the gentlemen of the expedition, together with fifty sailors, all well armed and appointed, accompanied the leader. the meeting between the indians and their white visitors was similar to those already described. indian harangues and wild dancing and shouting were the order of the day, while cartier, as usual, distributed knives and trinkets. the french were taken into the indian lodges and shown the stores of food laid up against the coming winter. other objects, too, of a new and peculiar interest were displayed: there were the 'scalp locks' of five men--'the skin of five men's heads,' says cartier,--which were spread out on a board like parchments. the indians explained that these had been taken from the heads of five of their deadly enemies, the toudamani, a fierce people living to the south, with whom the natives of stadacona were perpetually at war. a gruesome story was also told of a great massacre of a war party of donnacona's people who had been on their way down to the gaspe country. the party, so the story ran, had encamped upon an island near the saguenay. they numbered in all two hundred people, women and children being also among the warriors, and were gathered within the shelter of a rude stockade. in the dead of night their enemies broke upon the sleeping indians in wild assault; they fired the stockade, and those who did not perish in the flames fell beneath the tomahawk. five only escaped to bring the story to stadacona. the truth of the story was proved, long after the writing of cartier's narrative, by the finding of a great pile of human bones in a cave on an island near bic, not far from the mouth of the saguenay. the place is called l'isle au massacre to-day. the french now settled down into their winter quarters. they seem for some time to have mingled freely with the indians of the stadacona settlement, especially during the month which yet remained before the rigour of winter locked their ships in snow and ice. cartier, being of an observing and accurate turn of mind, has left in his narrative some interesting notes upon the life and ideas of the savages. they had, he said, no belief in a true god. their deity, cudragny, was supposed to tell them the weather, and, if angry, to throw dust into their eyes. they thought that, when they died, they would go to the stars, and after that, little by little, sink with the stars to earth again, to where the happy hunting grounds lie on the far horizon of the world. to correct their ignorance, cartier told them of the true god and of the verities of the christian faith. in the end the savages begged that he would baptize them, and on at least one occasion a great flock of them came to him, hoping to be received into the faith. but cartier, as he says, having nobody with him 'who could teach them our belief and religion,' and doubting, also, the sincerity of their sudden conversion, put them off with the promise that at his next coming he would bring priests and holy oil and cause them to be baptized. the stadacona indians seem to have lived on terms of something like community of goods. their stock of food--including great quantities of pumpkins, peas, and corn--was more or less in common. but, beyond this and their lodges, their earthly possessions were few. they dressed somewhat scantily in skins, and even in the depth of winter were so little protected from the cold as to excite the wonder of their observers. women whose husbands died never remarried, but went about with their faces smeared thick with mingled grease and soot. one peculiar custom of the natives especially attracted the attention of their visitors, and for the oddity of the thing may best be recorded in cartier's manner. it is an early account of the use of tobacco. 'there groweth also,' he wrote, 'a certain kind of herb, whereof in summer they make a great provision for all the year, making great account of it, and only men use it, and first they cause it to be dried in the sun, then wear it about their necks, wrapped in a little beast's skin made like a little bag, with a hollow piece of wood or stone like a pipe. then when they please they make powder of it, and then put it in one of the ends of the said cornet or pipe, and laying a coal of fire upon it, at the other end suck so long that they fill their bodies full of smoke till that it cometh out of their mouth and nostrils, even as out of the funnel of a chimney. they say that it doth keep them warm and in health: they never go without some of it about them. we ourselves have tried the same smoke, and, having put it in our mouths, it seemed almost as hot as pepper.' in spite of the going and coming of the indians, cartier from first to last was doubtful of their intentions. almost every day in the autumn and early winter some of them appeared with eels and fish, glad to exchange them for little trinkets. but the two interpreters endeavoured to make the indians believe that the things given them by the french were of no value, and donnacona did his best to get the indian children out of the hands of the french. indeed, the eldest of the children, an indian girl, escaped from the ships and rejoined her people, and it was only with difficulty that cartier succeeded in getting her back again. meanwhile a visiting chief, from the country farther inland, gave the french captain to understand that donnacona and his braves were waiting only an opportunity to overwhelm the ships' company. cartier kept on his guard. he strengthened the fort with a great moat that ran all round the stockade. the only entry was now by a lifting bridge; and pointed stakes were driven in beside the upright palisade. fifty men, divided into watches, were kept on guard all night, and, at every change of the watch, the indians, across the river in their lodges of the stadacona settlement, could hear the loud sounds of the trumpets break the clear silence of the winter night. we have no record of the life of cartier and his followers during the winter of their isolation among the snows and the savages of quebec. it must, indeed, have been a season of dread. the northern cold was soon upon them in all its rigour. the ships were frozen in at their moorings from the middle of november till april . the ice lay two fathoms thick in the river, and the driving snows and great drifts blotted out under the frozen mantle of winter all sight of land and water. the french could scarcely stir from their quarters. their fear of indian treachery and their ignorance of the trackless country about them held them imprisoned in their ships. a worse peril was soon added. the scourge of scurvy was laid upon them--an awful disease, hideous in its form and deadly in its effect. originating in the indian camp, it spread to the ships. in december fifty of the stadacona indians died, and by the middle of february, of the hundred and ten men that made up cartier's expedition, only three or four remained in health. eight were already dead, and their bodies, for want of burial, lay frozen stark beneath the snowdrifts of the river, hidden from the prying eyes of the savages. fifty more lay at the point of death, and the others, crippled and staggering with the onslaught of disease, moved to and fro at their tasks, their fingers numbed with cold, their hearts frozen with despair. the plague that had fallen upon them was such as none of them had ever before seen. the legs of the sufferers swelled to huge, unsightly, and livid masses of flesh. their sinews shrivelled to blackened strings, pimpled with purple clots of blood. the awful disease worked its way upwards. the arms hung hideous and useless at the side, the mouth rotted till the teeth fell from the putrid flesh. chilled with the cold, huddled in the narrow holds of the little ships fast frozen in the endless desolation of the snow, the agonized sufferers breathed their last, remote from aid, far from the love of women, and deprived of the consolations of the church. let those who realize the full horror of the picture think well upon what stout deeds the commonwealth of canada has been founded. without the courage and resource of their leader, whose iron constitution kept him in full health, all would have been lost. cartier spared no efforts. the knowledge of his situation was concealed from the indians. none were allowed aboard the ships, and, as far as might be, a great clatter of hammering was kept up whenever the indians appeared in sight, so that they might suppose that cartier's men were forced by the urgency of their tasks to remain on the ships. nor was spiritual aid neglected. an image of the virgin mary was placed against a tree about a bow-shot from the fort, and to this all who could walk betook themselves in procession on the sunday when the sickness was at its height. they moved in solemn order, singing as they went the penitential psalms and the litany, and imploring the intercession of the virgin. thus passed the days until twenty-five of the french had been laid beneath the snow. for the others there seemed only the prospect of death from disease or of destruction at the hands of the savages. it happened one day that cartier was walking up and down by himself upon the ice when he saw a band of indians coming over to him from stadacona. among them was the interpreter domagaya, whom cartier had known to be stricken by the illness only ten days before, but who now appeared in abundant health. on being asked the manner of his cure, the interpreter told cartier that he had been healed by a beverage made from the leaves and bark of a tree. cartier, as we have seen, had kept from the indians the knowledge of his troubles, for he dared not disclose the real weakness of the french. now, feigning that only a servant was ill, he asked for details of the remedy, and, when he did so, the indians sent their women to fetch branches of the tree in question. the bark and leaves were to be boiled, and the drink thus made was to be taken twice a day. the potion was duly administered, and the cure that it effected was so rapid and so complete that the pious cartier declared it a real and evident miracle. 'if all the doctors of lorraine and montpellier had been there with all the drugs of alexandria,' he wrote, 'they could not have done as much in a year as the said tree did in six days.' an entire tree--probably a white spruce--was used up in less than eight days. the scourge passed and the sailors, now restored to health, eagerly awaited the coming of the spring. meanwhile the cold lessened; the ice about the ships relaxed its hold, and by the middle of april they once more floated free. but a new anxiety had been added. about the time when the fortunes of cartier's company were at their lowest, donnacona had left his camp with certain of his followers, ostensibly to spend a fortnight in hunting deer in the forest. for two months he did not return. when he came back, he was accompanied not only by taignoagny and his own braves, but by a great number of savages, fierce and strong, whom the french had never before seen. cartier was assured that treachery was brewing, and he determined to forestall it. he took care that his men should keep away from the settlement of stadacona, but he sent over his servant, charles guyot, who had endeared himself to the indians during the winter. guyot reported that the lodges were filled with strange faces, that donnacona had pretended to be sick and would not show himself, and that he himself had been received with suspicion, taignoagny having forbidden him to enter into some of the houses. cartier's plan was soon made. the river was now open and all was ready for departure. rather than allow himself and his men to be overwhelmed by an attack of the great concourse of warriors who surrounded the settlement of stadacona, he determined to take his leave in his own way and at his own time, and to carry off with him the leaders of the savages themselves. following the custom of his age, he did not wish to return without the visible signs of his achievements. donnacona had freely boasted to him of the wonders of the great country far up beyond hochelaga, of lands where gold and silver existed in abundance, where the people dressed like the french in woollen clothes, and of even greater wonders still,--of men with no stomachs, and of a race of beings with only one leg. these things were of such import, cartier thought, that they merited narration to the king of france himself. if donnacona had actually seen them, it was fitting that he should describe them in the august presence of francis i. the result was a plot which succeeded. the two ships, the grande hermine and the emerillon, lay at anchor ready to sail. owing to the diminished numbers of his company, cartier had decided to abandon the third ship. he announced a final ceremony to signalize the approaching departure. on may , , a tall cross, thirty-five feet high was planted on the river bank. beneath the cross-bar it carried the arms of france, and on the upper part a scroll in ancient lettering that read, 'franciscus primus dei gratia francorum rex regnat' which means, freely translated, 'francis i, by the grace of god king of the french, is sovereign.' donnacona, taignoagny, domagaya and a few others, who had been invited to come on board the ships, found themselves the prisoners of the french. at first rage and consternation seized upon the savages, deprived by this stratagem of their chief. they gathered in great numbers on the bank, and their terrifying howls and war-cries resounded throughout the night. but donnacona, whether from simplicity or craft, let himself be pacified with new presents and with the promise of a speedy return in the year following. he showed himself on the deck of the captain's ship, and his delighted followers gathered about in their canoes and swore renewed friendship with the white men, whom they had, in all likelihood, plotted to betray. gifts were exchanged, and the french bestowed a last shower of presents on the assembled indians. finally, on may , the caravels dropped down the river, and the homeward voyage began. the voyage passed without incident. the ships were some time in descending the st lawrence. at isle-aux-coudres they waited for the swollen tide of the river to abate. the indians still flocked about them in canoes, talking with donnacona and his men, but powerless to effect a rescue of the chief. contrary winds held the vessels until, at last, on may , fair winds set in from the west that carried them in an easy run to the familiar coast of gaspe, past brion island, through the passage between newfoundland and the cape breton shore, and so outward into the open atlantic. 'on july , ,' so ends cartier's chronicle of this voyage, 'we reached the harbour of st malo, by the grace of our creator, whom we pray, making an end of our navigation, to grant us his grace, and paradise at the end. amen.' chapter viii the third voyage nearly five years elapsed after cartier's return to st malo before he again set sail for the new world. his royal master, indeed, had received him most graciously. francis had deigned to listen with pleasure to the recital of his pilot's adventures, and had ordered him to set them down in writing. moreover, he had seen and conversed with donnacona and the other captive indians, who had told of the wonders of their distant country. the indians had learned the language of their captors and spoke with the king in french. francis gave orders that they should be received into the faith, and the registers of st malo show that on march , , or (the year is a little uncertain), there were baptized three savages from canada brought from the said country by 'honnete homme [honest man], jacques cartier, captain of our lord the king.' but the moment was unsuited for further endeavour in the new world. francis had enough to do to save his own soil from the invading spaniard. nor was it until the king of france on june , , made a truce with his inveterate foe, charles v, that he was able to turn again to american discovery. profoundly impressed with the vast extent and unbounded resources of the countries described in cartier's narrative, the king decided to assume the sovereignty of this new land, and to send out for further discovery an expedition of some magnitude. at the head of it he placed jean francois de la roque, sieur de roberval, whom, on january , , he created lord of norumbega, viceroy and lieutenant-general of canada, hochelaga, saguenay, newfoundland, belle isle, carpunt, labrador, the great bay, and baccalaos. the name norumbega is an indian word, and was used by early explorers as a general term for the territory that is now maine, new brunswick, and nova scotia. baccalaos is the name often given by the french to newfoundland, the word itself being of basque origin and meaning 'codfish,' while carpunt will be remembered as a harbour beside belle isle, where cartier had been stormbound on his first voyage. the king made every effort to further roberval's expedition. the lord of norumbega was given , livres and full authority to enlist sailors and colonists for his expedition. the latter appears to have been a difficult task, and, after the custom of the day, recourse was presently had to the prisons to recruit the ranks of the prospective settlers. letters were issued to roberval authorizing him to search the jails of paris, toulouse, bordeaux, rouen, and dijon and to draw from them any convicts lying under sentence of death. exception was made of heretics, traitors, and counterfeiters, as unfitted for the pious purpose of the voyage. the gangs of these miscreants, chained together and under guard, came presently trooping into st malo. among them, it is recorded, walked a young girl of eighteen, unconvicted of any crime, who of her own will had herself chained to a malefactor, as hideous physically as morally, whose lot she was determined to share. to roberval, as commander of the enterprise, was attached cartier in the capacity of captain-general and master-pilot. the letters patent which contain the appointment speak of him as our 'dear and well-beloved jacques cartier, who has discovered the large countries of canada and hochelaga which lie at the end of asia.' cartier received from roberval about , livres. the king gave to him for this voyage the little ship emerillon and commanded him to obtain four others and to arm and equip the five. the preparations for the voyage seem to have lasted throughout the winter and spring of the years - . the king had urged cartier to start by the middle of april, but it was not until may , , that the ships were actually able to set sail. even then roberval was not ready to leave. cannon, powder, and a varied equipment that had been purchased for the voyage were still lying at various points in normandy and champagne. cartier, anxious to follow the king's wishes, could wait no longer and, at length, he set out with his five ships, leaving roberval to prepare other ships at honfleur and follow as he might. from first to last the relations of cartier and roberval appear to need further explanation than that which we possess. roberval was evidently the nominal head of the enterprise and the feudal lord of the countries to be claimed, but cartier seems to have been restless under any attempt to dictate the actual plan to be adopted, and his final desertion of roberval may be ascribed to the position in which he was placed by the divided command of the expedition. the expedition left st malo on may , , bearing in the ships food and victuals for two years. the voyage was unprosperous. contrary winds and great gales raged over the atlantic. the ships were separated at sea, and before they reached the shores of newfoundland were so hard put to it for fresh water that it was necessary to broach the cider casks to give drink to the goats and the cattle which they carried. but the ships came together presently in safety in the harbour of carpunt beside belle isle, refitted there, and waited vainly for roberval. they finally reached the harbour of the holy cross at stadacona on august . the savages flocked to meet the ships with a great display of joy, looking eagerly for the return of their vanished donnacona. their new chief, agouhanna, with six canoes filled with men, women, and children, put off from the shore. the moment was a difficult one. donnacona and all his fellow-captives, except only one little girl, had died in france. cartier dared not tell the whole truth to the natives, and he contented himself with saying that donnacona was dead, but that the other indians had become great lords in france, had married there and did not wish to return. whatever may have been the feeling of the tribe at this tale, the new chief at least was well pleased. 'i think,' wrote cartier, in his narrative of this voyage, 'he took it so well because he remained lord and governor of the country by the death of the said donnacona.' agouhanna certainly made a great show of friendliness. he took from his own head the ornament of hide and wampum that he wore and bound it round the brows of the french leader. at the same time he put his arms about his neck with every sign of affection. when the customary ceremonies of eating and drinking, speech-making, and presentations had ended, cartier, after first exploring with his boats, sailed with his ships a few miles above stadacona to a little river where good anchorage was found, now known as the cap rouge river. it enters the st lawrence a little above quebec. here preparations were at once made for the winter's sojourn. cannon were brought ashore from three of the ships. a strong fort was constructed, and the little settlement received the pretentious name charlesbourg royal. the remaining part of the month of august was spent in making fortifications and in unloading the ships. on september two of the ships, commanded by mace jalobert, cartier's brother-in-law and companion of the preceding voyage, and etienne nouel, his nephew, were sent back to france to tell the king of what had been done, and to let him know that roberval had not yet arrived. as on his preceding voyages, cartier was greatly impressed by the aspect of the country about him. all round were splendid forests of oak and maple and cedar and beech, which surpassed even the beautiful woodlands of france. grape vines loaded with ripe fruit hung like garlands from the trees. nor was the forest thick and tangled, but rather like an open park, so that among the trees were great stretches of ground wanting only to be tilled. twenty of cartier's men were set to turn the soil, and in one day had prepared and sown about an acre and a half of ground. the cabbage, lettuce, and turnip seed that they planted showed green shoots within a week. at the mouth of the cap rouge river there is a high point, now called redclyffe. on this cartier constructed a second fort, which commanded the fortification and the ships below. a little spring supplied fresh water, and the natural situation afforded a protection against attack by water or by land. while the french laboured in building the stockades and in hauling provisions and equipments from the ships to the forts, they made other discoveries that impressed them more than the forest wealth of this new land. close beside the upper fort they found in the soil a good store of stones which they 'esteemed to be diamonds.' at the foot of the slope along the st lawrence lay iron deposits, and the sand of the shore needed only, cartier said, to be put into the furnace to get the iron from it. at the water's edge they found 'certain leaves of fine gold as thick as a man's nail,' and in the slabs of black slate-stone which ribbed the open glades of the wood there were veins of mineral matter which shone like gold and silver. cartier's mineral discoveries have unfortunately not resulted in anything. we know now that his diamonds, still to be seen about cap rouge, are rock crystals. the gold which he later on showed to roberval, and which was tested, proved genuine enough, but the quantity of such deposits in the region has proved insignificant. it is very likely that cartier would make the most of his mineral discoveries as the readiest means of exciting his master's interest. when everything was in order at the settlement, the provisions landed, and the building well under way, the leader decided to make a brief journey to hochelaga, in order to view more narrowly the rapids that he had seen, and to be the better able to plan an expedition into the interior for the coming spring. the account of this journey is the last of cartier's exploits of which we have any detailed account, and even here the closing pages of his narrative are unsatisfactory and inconclusive. what is most strange is that, although he expressly says that he intended to 'go as far as hochelaga, of purpose to view and understand the fashion of the saults [falls] of water,' he makes no mention of the settlement of hochelaga itself, and does not seem to have visited it. the hochelaga expedition, in which two boats were used, left the camp at cap rouge on september , . a number of cartier's gentlemen accompanied him on the journey, while the viscount beaupre was left behind in command of the fort. on their way up the river cartier visited the chief who had entrusted his little daughter to the case of the french at stadacona at the time of cartier's wintering there. he left two young french boys in charge of this indian chief that they might learn the language of the country. no further episode of the journey is chronicled until on september the boats arrived at the foot of the rapids now called lachine. cartier tells us that two leagues from the foot of the bottom fall was an indian village called tutonaguy, but he does not say whether or not this was the same place as the hochelaga of his previous voyage. the french left their boats and, conducted by the indians, walked along the portage path that led past the rapids. there were large encampments of natives beside the second fall, and they received the french with every expression of good-will. by placing little sticks upon the ground they gave cartier to understand that a third rapid was to be passed, and that the river was not navigable to the country of saguenay. convinced that further exploration was not possible for the time being, the french returned to their boats. as usual, a great concourse of indians had come to the spot. cartier says that he 'understood afterwards' that the indians would have made an end of the french, but judged them too strong for the attempt. the expedition started at once for the winter quarters at cap rouge. as they passed hochelay--the abode of the supposed friendly chief near portneuf--they learned that he had gone down the river ahead of them to devise means with agouhanna for the destruction of the expedition. cartier's narrative ends at this most dramatic moment of his adventures. he seems to have reached the encampment at cap rouge at the very moment when an indian assault was imminent. we know, indeed, that the attack, which, from certain allusions in the narrative, seems presently to have been made, was warded off, and that cartier's ships and a part at least of his company sailed home to france, falling in with roberval on the way. but the story of the long months of anxiety and privation, and probably of disease and hostilities with the indians, is not recorded. the narrative of the great explorer, as it is translated by hakluyt, closes with the following ominous sentences: 'and when we were arrived at our fort, we understood by our people that the savages of the country came not any more about our fort, as they were accustomed, to bring us fish, and that they were in a wonderful doubt and fear of us. wherefore our captain, having been advised by some of our men which had been at stadacona to visit them that there was a wonderful number of the country people assembled together, caused all things in our fortress to be set in good order.' and beyond these words, cartier's story was never written, or, if written, it has been lost. chapter ix the close of cartier's career great doubt and uncertainty surround the ultimate fate of roberval's attempted colony, of which cartier's expedition was to form the advance guard. roberval, as already seen, had stayed behind in france when cartier sailed in , because his equipment was not yet ready for the voyage. nor does he seem to have finally started on his expedition for nearly a year after the departure of cartier. it has been suggested that roberval did set sail at some time in the summer of , and that he reached cape breton island and built a fort there. so, at least, a tradition ran that was repeated many years later by lescarbot in his histoire de la nouvelle france. if this statement is true, it must mean that roberval sailed home again at the close of , without having succeeded in finding cartier, and that he prepared for a renewed expedition in the spring of the coming year. but the evidence for any such voyage is not conclusive. what we know is that on april , , roberval sailed out of the port of rochelle with three tall ships and a company of two hundred persons, men and women, and that with him were divers gentlemen of quality. on june , , his ships entered the harbour of st john's in newfoundland. they found there seventeen fishing vessels, clear proof that by this time the cod fisheries of the newfoundland banks were well known. they were, indeed, visited by the french, the portuguese, and other nations. here roberval paused to refit his ships and to replenish his stores. while he was still in the harbour, one day, to his amazement, cartier sailed in with the five ships that he was bringing away from his abandoned settlement at charlesbourg royal. cartier showed to his superior the 'diamonds' and the gold that he was bringing home from canada. he gave to roberval a glowing account of the country that he had seen, but, according to the meagre details that appear in the fragment in hakluyt's voyages, he made clear that he had been compelled to abandon his attempt at settlement. 'he could not with his small company withstand the savages, which went about daily to annoy him, which was the cause of his return into france.' except what is contained in the few sentences of this record we know nothing of what took place between roberval and cartier. but it was quite clear that the latter considered the whole enterprise as doomed to failure. it is more than likely that cartier was dissatisfied with roberval's delay, and did not care to continue under the orders of a leader inferior to himself in capacity. be this as it may, their final parting stands recorded in the following terms, and no historical document has as yet come to light which can make the exact situation known to us. 'when our general [roberval], being furnished with sufficient forces, commanded him [cartier] to go back with him, he and his company, moved as it seems with ambition, because they would have all the glory of the discovery of those parts themselves, stole privily away the next night from us, and, without taking their leaves, departed home for brittany.' the story, it must be remembered, comes from the pen of either roberval or one of his associates. the subsequent history of roberval's colony, as far as it is known, can be briefly told. his ships reached the site of charlesbourg royal late in july . he landed stores and munitions and erected houses, apparently on a scale of some magnitude, with towers and fortifications and with great kitchens, halls, and living rooms. two ships were sent home in the autumn with news of the expedition, their leader being especially charged to find out whether the rock crystals carried back by cartier had turned out to be diamonds. all the other colonists remained and spent the winter in this place. in spite of their long preparation and of their commodious buildings, they seem to have endured sufferings as great as, or even greater than, those of cartier's men at stadacona seven years before. supplies of food ran short, and even in the autumn before the stern winter had begun it was necessary to put the whole company on carefully measured rations. disease broke out among the french, as it had broken out under cartier, and about fifty of their number perished before the coming of the spring. their lot was rendered more dreadful still by quarrelling and crime. roberval could keep his colonists in subjection only by the use of irons and by the application of the lash. the gibbet, reared beside the fort, claimed its toll of their number. the winter of their misery drew slowly to its close. the ice of the river began to break in april. on june , , their leader, roberval, embarked on an expedition to explore the saguenay, 'leaving thirty persons behind in the fort, with orders that if roberval had not returned by the first of july, they were to depart for france.' whither he went and what he found we do not know. we read that on june . certain of his company came back with messages to the fort: that five days later still others came back with instructions that the company at the fort were to delay their departure for france until july . and here the narrative of the colony breaks off. of roberval's subsequent fate we can learn hardly anything. there is some evidence to show that cartier was dispatched from france to canada to bring him back. certain it is that in april orders were issued for the summons of both cartier and roberval to appear before a commission for the settling of their accounts. the report of the royal auditors credits cartier apparently with a service of eight months spent in returning to canada to bring roberval home. on the strength of this, it is thought likely that cartier, returning safely to france in the summer of , was sent back again at the king's command to aid in the return of the colonists, whose enterprise was recognized as a failure. after this, roberval is lost to sight in the history of france. certain chroniclers have said that he made another voyage to the new world and perished at sea. others have it that he was assassinated in paris near the church of the holy innocents. but nothing is known. cartier also is practically lost from sight during the last fifteen years of his life. his name appears at intervals in the local records, notably on the register of baptisms as a godfather. as far as can be judged, he spent the remainder of his days in comfortable retirement in his native town of st malo. besides his house in the seaport he had a country residence some miles distant at limoilou. this old house of solid and substantial stone, with a courtyard and stone walls surrounding it, is still standing. there can be no doubt that the famous pilot enjoyed during his closing years a universal esteem. it is just possible that in recognition of his services he was elevated in rank by the king of france, for in certain records of st malo in , he is spoken of as the sieur de limoilou. but this may have been merely the sort of courtesy title often given in those days to the proprietors of small landed estates. it was sometimes the custom of the officials of the port of st malo to mark down in the records of the day the death of any townsman of especial note. such an entry as this is the last record of the great pilot. in the margins of certain documents of september , , there is written in the quaint, almost unreadable penmanship of the time: 'this said wednesday about five in the morning died jacques cartier.' there is no need to enlarge upon the greatness of cartier's achievements. it was only the beginning of a far-reaching work, the completion of which fell to other hands. but it is cartier's proud place in history to bear the title of discoverer of a country whose annals were later to be illumined by the exploits of a champlain and a la salle, and the martyrdom of a brebeuf; which was to witness, for more than half a century, a conflict in arms between great britain and france, and from that conflict to draw the finest pages of its history and the noblest inspiration of its future; a country upon whose soil, majestic in its expanse of river, lake, and forest, was to be reared a commonwealth built upon the union and harmony of the two great races who had fought for its dominion. jacques cartier, as much perhaps as any man of his time, embodied in himself what was highest in the spirit of his age. he shows us the daring of the adventurer with nothing of the dark cruelty by which such daring was often disfigured. he brought to his task the simple faith of the christian whose devout fear of god renders him fearless of the perils of sea and storm. the darkest hour of his adversity in that grim winter at stadacona found him still undismayed. he came to these coasts to find a pathway to the empire of the east. he found instead a country vast and beautiful beyond his dreams. the enthusiasm of it entered into his soul. asia was forgotten before the reality of canada. since cartier's day four centuries of history have hallowed the soil of canada with memories and associations never to be forgotten. but patriotism can find no finer example than the instinctive admiration and love called forth in the heart of jacques cartier by the majestic beauty of the land of which he was the discoverer. itinerary of cartier's voyages adapted from baxter's 'memoir of jacques cartier' voyage of april monday cartier leaves st malo. may sunday arrives at bonavista. " thursday reaches isle of birds. " sunday enters the harbour of kirpon. june tuesday leaves kirpon. " wednesday enters the harbour of brest. " thursday st barnabas day. hears mass and explores coast in boats. " friday names st anthoine, servan; plants cross and names river st jacques, and harbour jacques cartier. " saturday returns to ships. " sunday hears mass. " monday sails toward north coast of newfoundland. " tuesday follows the west coast of newfoundland and names the monts des granches. june wednesday names the colombiers, bay st julien, and capes royal and milk. " thursday stormy weather to th; explores coast between capes royal and milk. " wednesday festival of st john the baptist. names cape st john. " thursday weather bad; sails toward the west and and south-west; discovers isles margaux, brion, and " friday cape dauphin. " saturday coasts toward west-south-west. " sunday reaches cape rouge. " monday festival of st peter. names alezay and cape st peter, and continues course west-south-west. " tuesday towards evening describes land appearing like two islands. july wednesday names capes orleans and savages. " thursday names bay st leonarius. " friday continues northerly course and names cape hope. " saturday arrives at port daniel; remains there until th. july thursday enters gaspe bay, and remains until th on account of storm. " wednesday lands and meets savages. " friday plants a cross. " saturday sets sail with good wind toward anticosti. " monday approaches coast. " tuesday names cape st louis. " wednesday names cape montmorency and doubles east cape of anticosti. aug. saturday sights northern shore of the gulf of st lawrence. " saturday approaches west coast of newfoundland. " sunday arrives at blanc sablon, and makes preparations to return home. " saturday festival of the assumption. hears mass and sets sail for france. sept. saturday arrives at st malo. second voyage, may sunday first pentecost. the crew commune at cathedral and receive episcopal benediction. " wednesday departure from st malo. " wednesday contrary winds. june friday ships separated by storm. july wednesday cartier reaches the isle of birds. " thursday enters strait of belle isle. " thursday reaches the rendezvous at blanc sablon. " monday ships meet. " thursday follows north coast and names isles st william. " friday names isles st marthy. " saturday names cape st germain. aug. sunday contrary winds; enters st nicholas harbour. " sunday sails toward the southern coast. " monday contrary wind; turns toward north and stops in bay st lawrence. " friday leaves bay st lawrence, approaches anticosti, and doubles the western point. " sunday festival of the assumption. names anticosti, isle of the assumption. " monday continues along coast. " tuesday turns toward the north. " thursday arrives at the seven islands. " friday ranges coast with his boats. " saturday sails west, but obliged to return to the seven islands owing to head winds. aug. tuesday leaves the seven islands and sets sail toward south. " sunday martyrdom of st john baptist. reaches harbour of isles st john. sept. wednesday quits the harbour and directs his course toward the saguenay. " thursday leaves the saguenay and reaches the bic islands. " monday arrives at isle-aux-coudres. " tuesday reaches island of orleans. " thursday donnacona visits cartier. " monday sails toward the river st charles. " tuesday exaltation of the holy cross. reaches entrance of st charles river. " wednesday plants buoys to guide his ships. " thursday two ships are laid up for the winter. " friday donnacona tries to dissuade cartier from going to hochelaga. " saturday donnacona's stratagem to deter cartier from going to stadacona. " sunday cartier starts for hochelaga with his pinnace and two boats. sept. tuesday enters lake st peter. " wednesday leaves his pinnace, and proceeds with his boats. oct. saturday arrives at hochelaga. " sunday lands and visits town and mountain, which he named mount royal, and leaves sunday. " monday regains his pinnace. " tuesday takes his way back to stadacona. " thursday stops at three rivers, and plants cross upon an island. " monday arrives at the anchorage beside stadacona. " tuesday donnacona visits cartier. " wednesday cartier and some of his men visit stadacona. april sunday easter sunday. the river clear of ice. " saturday donnacona visits cartier with large number of savages. " friday cartier sends guyot to stadacona. may wednesday festival of the holy cross. a cross planted; cartier seizes donnacona. may friday the people of stadacona, bring provisions for cartier's captives. " saturday cartier sails. " sunday arrives at isle-aux-coudres. " monday exchanges presents with the savages. " monday reaches isle brion. " thursday festival of the ascension. reaches a low, sandy island. " friday returns to isle brion. june thursday names capes lorraine and st paul. " sunday fourth of pentecost. names harbour of st esprit. " tuesday departs from the harbour of st esprit. " sunday st barnabas day. at isles st pierre. " friday departs from isles st pierre and makes harbour at rougenouse. " monday leaves rougenouse and sails for home. july friday reaches st malo. third voyage, may monday cartier leaves st malo with five ships. aug. tuesday arrives before stadacona. " thursday lands artillery. sept. friday sends two of his ships home. " wednesday sets out for hochelaga. " sunday arrives at lachine rapids. (the rest of the voyage is unknown.) bibliographical note a great many accounts of the voyages of jacques cartier have been written both in french and in english; but the fountain source of information for all of these is found in the narratives written by cartier himself. the story of the first voyage was written under the name of 'relation originale du voyage de jacques cartier au canada en .' the original manuscript was lost from sight for over three hundred years, but about half a century ago it was discovered in the imperial library (now the national library) at paris. its contents, however, had long been familiar to english readers through the translation which appears in hakluyt's 'voyages,' published in . in the same collection is also found the narrative of the second voyage, as translated from the 'bref recit' written by cartier and published in , and the fragment of the account of the third voyage of which the rest is lost. for an exhaustive bibliography of cartier's voyages see baxter, 'a memoir of jacques cartier' (new york, ). an exceedingly interesting little book is sir joseph pope's 'jacques cartier: his life and voyages' (ottawa, ). the student is also recommended to read 'the saint lawrence basin and its borderlands,' by samuel edward dawson; papers by the abbe verreau, john reade, bishop howley and w. f. ganong in the 'transactions of the royal society of canada;' the chapter, 'jacques cartier and his successors,' by b. f. de costa, in winsor's 'narrative and critical history of america,' and the chapter 'the beginnings of canada,' by arthur g. doughty, in the first volume of 'canada and its provinces' (toronto, ). generously made available by the canadian institute for historical microreproductions. champlain's voyages. voyages of samuel de champlain. translated from the french by charles pomeroy otis, ph.d. with historical illustrations, and a memoir by the rev. edmund f. slafter, a.m. vol. iii. - heliotype copies of ten maps and illustrations. editor: the rev. edmund f. slafter, a.m. preface the present volume completes the work proposed by the prince society of a translation into english of the voyages of champlain. it includes the journals issued in , , and , and covers fifteen years of his residence and explorations in new france. at a later period, in , champlain published, in a single volume, an abridgment of the issues above mentioned, containing likewise a continuation of his journal down to . this continuation covers thirteen additional years. but it is to be observed that the events recorded in the journal of these later years are immediately connected with the progress and local interests of the french colony at quebec. this last work of the great explorer is of primary importance and value as constituting original material for the early history of canada, and a translation of it into english would doubtless be highly appreciated by the local historian. a complete narrative of these events, however, together with a large amount amount of interesting matter relating to the career of champlain derived from other sources, is given in the memoir contained in the first volume of this work. this english translation contains not only the complete narratives of all the personal explorations made by champlain into the then unbroken forests of america, but the whole of his minute, ample, and invaluable descriptions of the character and habits, mental, moral, and physical of the various savage tribes with which he came in contact. it will furnish, therefore, to the student of history and the student of ethnology most valuable information, unsurpassed in richness and extent, and which cannot be obtained from any other source. to aid one or both of these two classes in their investigations, the work was undertaken and has now been completed. e. f. s. boston, boylston street, april , . table of contents. preface voyage of champlain in dedication to henri de bourbon, prince de condÉ voyage made in dedication to the king champlain's preface extract from the license of the king voyage made in voyage made in explanation of two geographical maps of new france illustrations. le grand sault st. louis dress of the savages fort of the iroquois deer trap dress of the savages champlain's large map of new france, champlain's small map of new france, index the voyages of sieur de champlain, of saintonge, captain in ordinary to the king in the marine; or, _a most faithful journal of observations made in the exploration of new france, describing not only the countries, coasts, rivers, ports, and harbors, with their latitudes, and the various deflections of the magnetic needle, but likewise the religious belief of the inhabitants, their superstitions, mode of life and warfare; furnished with numerous illustrations_. together with two geographical maps: the first for the purposes of navigation, adapted to the compass as used by mariners, which, deflects to the north-east; the other in its true meridian, with longitudes and latitudes, to which is added the voyage to the strait north of labrador, from the d to the d degree of latitude, discovered in by the english when they were searching for a northerly course to china. paris. jean berjon, rue st jean de beauvais, at the flying horse, and at his store in the palace, at the gallery of the prisoners. m. dc. xiii. _with authority of the king_. chapter i. departure from france to return to new france.--the dangers and other events which occurred up to the time of arrival at the settlement. we set out from honfleur on the first day of march. the wind was favorable until the eighth, when we were opposed by a wind south-southwest and west-northwest, driving us as far as latitude °, without our being able to make a southing, so as to sail straight forward on our course. accordingly after encountering several heavy winds, and being kept back by bad weather, we nevertheless, through great difficulty and hardship, and by sailing on different tacks, succeeded in arriving within eighty leagues of the grand bank, where the fresh fishery is carried on. here we encountered ice thirty or forty fathoms high, or more, which led us to consider what course we ought to take, fearing that we might fall in with more during the night, or that the wind changing would drive us on to it. we also concluded that this would not be the last, since we had set out from france too early in the season. we sailed accordingly during that day with short sail, as near the wind as we could. when night came, the fog arose so thick and obscure that we could scarcely see the ship's length. about eleven o'clock at night, more ice was seen, which alarmed us. but through the energy of the sailors we avoided it. supposing that we had passed all danger, we met with still more ice, which the sailors saw ahead of our vessel, but not until we were almost upon it. when all had committed themselves to god, having given up all hope of avoiding collision with this ice, which was already under our bowsprit, they cried to the helmsman to bear off; and this ice which was very extensive drove in such a manner that it passed by without striking our vessel, which stopped short, and remained as still as if it had never moved, to let it pass. although the danger was over, our blood was not so quickly cooled, so great had been our fear, and we praised god for delivering us from so imminent a peril. this experience being over, we passed the same night two or three other masses of ice, not less dangerous than the former ones. there was at the same time a dripping fog, and it was so cold that we could scarcely get warm. the next day we met several other large and very high masses of ice, which, in the distance, looked like islands. we, however, avoided them all, and reached the grand bank, where we were detained by bad weather for the space of six days. the wind growing a little milder, and very favorable, we left the banks in latitude ° ', which was the farthest south we could go. after sailing some sixty leagues west-northwest, we saw a vessel coming down to make us out, but which afterwards wore off to the east-northeast, to avoid a large bank of ice, which covered the entire extent of our line of vision. concluding that there was a passage through the middle of this great floe, which was divided into two parts, we entered, in pursuance of our course, between the two, and sailed some ten leagues without seeing anything, contrary to our conjecture of a fine passage through, until evening, when we found the floe closed up. this gave us much anxiety as to what was to be done, the night being at hand and there being no moon, which deprived us of all means of returning to the point whence we had come. yet, after due deliberation, it was resolved to try to find again the entrance by which we had come, which we set about accomplishing. but the night coming on with fog, rain, snow, and a wind so violent that we could scarcely carry our mainsail, every trace of our way was lost. for, as we were expecting to avoid the ice so as to pass out, the wind had already closed up the passage, so that we were obliged to return to the other tack. we were unable to remain longer than a quarter of an hour on one tack before taking another, in order to avoid the numerous masses of ice drifting about on all sides. we thought more than twenty times that we should never escape with our lives. the entire night was spent amid difficulties and hardships. never was the watch better kept, for nobody wished to rest, but to strive to escape from the ice and danger. the cold was so great, that all the ropes of the vessel were so frozen and covered with large icicles that the men could not work her nor stick to the deck. thus we ran, on this tack and that, awaiting with hope the daylight. but when it came, attended by a fog, and we saw that our labor and hardship could not avail us anything, we determined to go to a mass of ice, where we should be sheltered from the violent wind which was blowing; to haul everything down, and allow ourselves to be driven along with the ice, so that when at some distance from the rest of the ice we could make sail again, and go back to the above-mentioned bank and manage as before, until the fog should pass away, when we might go out as quickly as possible. thus we continued the entire day until the morning of the next day, when we set sail, now on this tack now on that, finding ourselves everywhere enclosed amid large floes of ice, as if in lakes on the mainland. at evening we sighted a vessel on the other side of one of these banks of ice, which, i am sure, was in no less anxiety than ourselves. thus we remained four or five days, exposed to these risks and extreme hardships, until one morning on looking out in all directions, although we could see no opening, yet in one place it seemed as if the ice was not thick, and that we could easily pass through. we got under weigh, and passed by a large number of _bourguignons_; that is, pieces of ice separated from the large banks by the violence of the winds. having reached this bank of ice, the sailors proceeded to provide themselves with large oars and pieces of wood, in order to keep off the blocks of ice we met. in this way we passed this bank, but not without touching some pieces of ice, which did no good to our vessel, although they inflicted no essential damage. being outside, we praised god for our deliverance. continuing our course on the next day, we encountered other pieces, in which we became so involved that we found ourselves surrounded on all sides, except where we had entered. it was accordingly necessary to turn back, and endeavor to double the southern point. this we did not succeed in doing until the second day, passing by several small pieces of ice, which had been separated from the main bank. this latter was in latitude ° '. we sailed until the morning of the next day, towards the northwest, north-northwest, when we met another large ice bank, extending as far as we could see east and west. this, in the distance, seemed like land; for it was so level that it might properly be said to have been made so on purpose. it was more than eighteen feet high, extending twice as far under water. we calculated that we were only some fifteen leagues from cape breton, it being the th day of the month. these numerous encounters with ice troubled us greatly. we were also fearful that the passage between capes breton and raye would be closed, and that we should be obliged to keep out to sea a long time before being able to enter. unable to do anything else, we were obliged to run out to sea again some four or five leagues, in order to double another point of the above-mentioned grand ice bank, which continued on our west-southwest. after turning on the other tack to the northwest, in order to double this point, we sailed some seven leagues, and then steered to the north-northwest some three leagues, when we observed another ice bank. the night approached, and the fog came on so that we put to sea to pass the remainder of the night, purposing at daybreak to return and reconnoitre the last mentioned ice. on the twenty-seventh day of the month, we sighted land west-northwest of us, seeing no ice on the north-northeast. we approached nearer for the sake of a better observation, and found that it was canseau. this led us to bear off to the north for cape breton island; but we had scarcely sailed two leagues when we encountered an ice bank on the northeast. night coming on, we were obliged to put out to sea until the next day, when we sailed northeast, and encountered more ice, bearing east, east-southeast from us, along which we coasted heading northeast and north for more than fifteen leagues. at last we were obliged to sail towards the west, greatly to our regret, inasmuch as we could find no passage, and should be obliged to withdraw and sail back on our track. unfortunately for us we were overtaken by a calm, so that it seemed as if the swell of the sea would throw us upon the ice bank just mentioned, and we got ready to launch our little boat, to use in case of necessity. if we had taken refuge on the above-mentioned ice it would only have been to languish and die in misery. while we were deliberating whether to launch our boat, a fresh breeze arose to our great delight, and thus we escaped from the ice. after we had sailed two leagues, night came on, with a very thick fog, causing us to haul down our sail, as we could not see, and as there were several large pieces of ice in our way, which we were afraid of striking. thus we remained the entire night until the next day, which was the twenty-ninth, when the fog increased to such an extent that we could scarcely see the length of the vessel. there was also very little wind. yet we did not fail to set sail, in order to avoid the ice. but, although expecting to extricate ourselves, we found ourselves so involved in it that we could not tell on which side to tack. we were accordingly again compelled to lower sail, and drift until the ice should allow us to make sail. we made a hundred tacks on one side and the other, several times fearing that we were lost. the most self-possessed would have lost all judgment in such a juncture; even the greatest navigator in the world. what alarmed us still more was the short distance we could see, and the fact that the night was coming on, and that we could not make a shift of a quarter of a league without finding a bank or some ice, and a great deal of floating ice, the smallest piece of which would have been sufficient to cause the loss of any vessel whatever. now, while we were still sailing along amid the ice, there arose so strong a wind that in a short time the fog broke away, affording us a view, and suddenly giving us a clear air and fair sun. looking around about us, we found that we were shut up in a little lake, not so much as a league and a half in circuit. on the north we perceived the island of cape breton, nearly four leagues distant, and it seemed to us that the passage-way to cape breton was still closed. we also saw a small ice bank astern of our vessel, and the ocean beyond that, which led us to resolve to go beyond the bank, which was divided. this we succeeded in accomplishing without striking our vessel, putting out to sea for the night, and passing to the southeast of the ice. thinking now that we could double this ice bank, we sailed east-northeast some fifteen leagues, perceiving only a little piece of ice. at night we hauled down the sail until the next day, when we perceived another ice bank to the north of us, extending as far as we could see. we had drifted to within nearly half a league of it, when we hoisted sail, continuing to coast along this ice in order to find the end of it. while sailing along, we sighted on the first day of may a vessel amid the ice, which, as well as ourselves, had found it difficult to escape from it. we backed our sails in order to await the former, which came full upon us, since we were desirous of ascertaining whether it had seen other ice. on its approach we saw that it was the son [ ] of sieur de poutrincourt, on his way to visit his father at the settlement of port royal. he had left france three months before, not without much reluctance, i think, and still they were nearly a hundred and forty leagues from port royal, and well out of their true course. we told them we had sighted the islands of canseau, much to their satisfaction, i think, as they had not as yet sighted any land, and were steering straight between cape st. lawrence and cape raye, in which direction they would not have found port royal, except by going overland. after a brief conference with each other we separated, each following his own course. the next day we sighted the islands of st. pierre, finding no ice. continuing our course we sighted on the following day, the third of the month, cape raye, also without finding ice. on the fourth we sighted the island of st. paul, and cape st. lawrence, being some eight leagues north of the latter. the next day we sighted gaspé. on the seventh we were opposed by a northwest wind, which drove us out of our course nearly thirty-five leagues, when the wind lulled, and was in our favor as far as tadoussac, which we reached on the th day of may.[ ] here we discharged a cannon to notify the savages, in order to obtain news from our settlement at quebec. the country was still almost entirely covered with snow. there came out to us some canoes, informing us that one of our pataches had been in the harbor for a month, and that three vessels had arrived eight days before. we lowered our boat and visited these savages, who were in a very miserable condition, having only a few articles to barter to satisfy their immediate wants. besides they desired to wait until several vessels should meet, so that there might be a better market for their merchandise. therefore they are mistaken who expect to gain an advantage by coming first, for these people are very sagacious and cunning. on the th of the month i set out from tadoussac for the great fall,[ ] to meet the algonquin savages and other tribes, who had promised the year before to go there with my man, whom i had sent to them, that i might learn from him what he might see during the winter. those at this harbor who suspected where i was going, in accordance with the promises which i had made to the savages, as stated above, began to build several small barques, that they might follow me as soon as possible. and several, as i learned before setting out from france, had some ships and pataches fitted out in view of our voyage, hoping to return rich, as from a voyage to the indies. pont gravé remained at tadoussac expecting, if he did nothing there, to take a patache and meet me at the fall. between tadoussac and quebec our barque made much water, which obliged me to stop at quebec and repair the leak. this was on the st day of may. endnotes: . this was charles de biencourt, sieur de saint just. he was closely associated with his father, sieur de poutrincourt, in his colony at port royal. _vide_ vol. i. p. , note . . they left honfleur on the first day of march, and were thus seventy-four days in reaching tadoussac. the voyage was usually made in favorable weather in thirty days. . the falls of st. louis, near montreal, now more commonly known as the la chine rapids. chapter ii. landing at quebec to repair the barque.--departure from quebec for the fall, to meet the savages, and search out a place appropriate for a settlement. on going ashore i found sieur du parc, who had spent the winter at the settlement. he and all his companions were very well, and had not suffered any sickness. game, both large and small, had been abundant during the entire winter, as they told me. i found there the indian captain, named _batiscan_, and some algonquins, who said they were waiting for me, being unwilling to return to tadoussac without seeing me. i proposed to them to take one of our company to the _trois rivières_ to explore the place, but being unable to obtain anything from them this year i put it off until the next. still i did not fail to inform myself particularly regarding the origin of the people living there, of which they told me with exactness. i asked them for one of their canoes, which they were unwilling to part with on any terms, because of their own need of it. for i had planned to send two or three men to explore the neighborhood of the trois rivières, and ascertain what there was there. this, to my great regret, i was unable to accomplish, and postponed the project to the first opportunity that might present itself. meanwhile i urged on the repairs to our barque. when it was ready, a young man from la rochelle, named tresart, asked me to permit him to accompany me to the above-mentioned fall. this i refused, replying that i had special plans of my own, and that i did not wish to conduct any one to my prejudice, adding that there were other companies than mine there, and that i did not care to open up a way and serve as guide, and that he could make the voyage well enough alone and without my help. the same day i set out from quebec, and arrived at the great fall on the twenty-eighth of may. but i found none of the savages who had promised me to be there on this day. i entered at once a poor canoe, together with the savage i had taken to france and one of my own men. after examining the two shores, both in the woods and on the river bank, in order to find a spot favorable for the location of a settlement, and to get a place ready for building, i went some eight leagues by land along the great fall and through the woods, which are very open, as far as a lake, [ ] whither our savage conducted me. here i observed the country very carefully. but in all that i saw, i found no place more favorable than a little spot to which barques and shallops can easily ascend, with the help of a strong wind or by taking a winding course, in consequence of the strong current. but above this place, which we named _la place royale_, at the distance of a league from mont royal, there are a great many little rocks and shoals, which are very dangerous. near place royale there is a little river, extending some distance into the interior, along the entire length of which there are more than sixty acres of land cleared up and like meadows, where grain can be sown and gardens made. formerly savages tilled these lands, [ ] but they abandoned them on account of their wars, in which they were constantly engaged. there is also a large number of other fine pastures, where any number of cattle can graze. there are also the various kinds of trees found in france, together with many vines, nut and plum trees, cherries, strawberries, and other kinds of good fruit. among the rest there is a very excellent one, with a sweet taste like that of plantains, a fruit of the indies, as white as snow, with a leaf resembling that of nettles, and which creeps up the trees and along the ground like ivy. [ ] fish are very abundant, including all the varieties we have in france, and many very good ones which we do not have. game is also plenty, the birds being of various kinds. there are stags, hinds, does, caribous, [ ] rabbits, lynxes, [ ] bears, beavers, also other small animals, and all in such large numbers, that while we were at the fall we were abundantly supplied with them. after a careful examination, we found this place one of the finest on this river. i accordingly forthwith gave orders to cut down and clear up the woods in the place royale, [ ] so as to level it and prepare it for building. the water can easily be made to flow around it, making of it a little island, so that a habitation can be formed as one may wish. there is a little island some twenty fathoms from place royale, about a hundred paces long, where a good and strong settlement might be made. there are also many meadows, containing very good and rich potter's clay, as well adapted for brick as for building purposes, and consequently a very useful article. i had a portion of it worked up, from which i made a wall four feet thick, three or four high, and ten fathoms long, to see how it would stand during the winter, when the freshets came down, although i thought the water would not reach up to it, the ground there being twelve feet above the river, which was very high. in the middle of the river there was an island about three-quarters of a league around, where a good and strong town could be built. this we named _isle de sainte hélène_. [ ] this river at the fall is like a lake, containing two or three islands, and bordered by fine meadows. on the first day of june, pont gravé arrived at the fall, having been unable to accomplish anything at tadoussac. a numerous company attended and followed after him to share in the booty, without the hope of which they would have been far in the rear. now, while awaiting the savages, i had two gardens made, one in the meadows, the other in the woods, which i had cleared up. on the d of june i sowed some seeds, all of which came up finely, and in a short time, attesting the good quality of the soil. we resolved to send savignon, our savage, together with another, to meet his countrymen, so as to hasten their arrival. they hesitated about going in our canoe, of which they were distrustful, it being a very poor one. they set out on the th. the next day four or five barques arrived as an escort for us, since they could do nothing at tadoussac. on the th i went to explore a little river, along which the savages sometimes go to war, and which flows into the fall of the river of the iroquois. [ ] it is very pleasant, with meadow land more than three leagues in circuit, and much arable land. it is distant a league from the great fall, and a league and a half from place royale. on the th our savage arrived. he had gone somewhat beyond the lake, which is ten leagues long, and which i had seen before. [ ] but he met no one, and they were unable to go any farther, as their canoe gave out, which obliged them to return. they reported that after passing the fall they saw an island, where there was such a quantity of herons that the air was completely filled with them. there was a young man belonging to sieur de monts named louis, who was very fond of the chase. hearing this, he wished to go and satisfy his curiosity, earnestly entreating our savage to take him to the place. to this the savage consented, taking also a captain of the montagnais, a very respectable person, whose name was _outetoucos_. on the following morning louis caused the two savages to be called, and went with them in a canoe to the island of the herons. this island is in the middle of the fall. [ ] here they captured as many herons and other birds as they wanted, and embarked again in their canoe. outetoucos, contrary to the wish of the other savage, and against his remonstrances, desired to pass through a very dangerous place, where the water fell more than three feet, saying that he had formerly gone this way, which, however, was false. he had a long discussion in opposition to our savage, who wished to take him on the south side, along the mainland, [ ] where they usually go. this, however, outetoucos did not wish, saying that there was no danger. our savage finding him obstinate yielded to his desire. but he insisted that at least a part of the birds in the canoe should be taken out, as it was overloaded, otherwise he said it would inevitably fill and be lost. but to this he would not consent, saying that it would be time enough when they found themselves in the presence of danger. they accordingly permitted themselves to be carried along by the current. but when they reached the precipice, they wanted to throw overboard their load in order to escape. it was now, however, too late, for they were completely in the power of the rapid water, and were straightway swallowed up in the whirlpools of the fall, which turned them round a thousand times. for a long time they clung to the boat. finally the swiftness of the water wearied them so that this poor louis, who could not swim at all, entirely lost his presence of mind, and, the canoe going down, he was obliged to abandon it. as it returned to the surface, the two others who kept holding on to it, saw louis no more, and thus he died a sad death. [ ] the two others continued to hold on to the canoe. when, however, they were out of danger, this outetoucos, being naked and having confidence in his swimming powers, abandoned it in the expectation of reaching the shore, although the water still ran there with great rapidity. but he was drowned, for he had been so weakened and overcome by his efforts that it was impossible for him to save himself after abandoning the canoe. our savage savignon, understanding himself better, held firmly to the canoe until it reached an eddy, whither the current had carried it. here he managed so well that, notwithstanding his suffering and weariness, he approached the shore gradually, when, after throwing the water out of the canoe, he returned in great fear that they would take vengeance upon him, as the savages do among themselves, and related to us this sad story, which caused us great sorrow. on the next day i went in another canoe to the fall, together with the savage and another member of our company, to see the place where they had met with their accident, and find, if possible, the remains. but when he showed me the spot, i was horrified at beholding such a terrible place, and astonished that the deceased should have been so lacking in judgment as to pass through such a fearful place, when they could have gone another way. for it is impossible to go along there, as there are seven or eight descents of water one after the other, the lowest three feet high, the seething and boiling of the water being fearful. a part of the fall was all white with foam, indicating the worst spot, the noise of which was like thunder, the air resounding with the echo of the cataracts. after viewing and carefully examining this place, and searching along the river bank for the dead bodies, another very light shallop having proceeded meanwhile on the other bank also, we returned without finding anything. * * * * * champlain's explanation of the accompanying map. le grand sault st. louis. a. small place that i had cleared up. b. small pond. c. small islet, where i had a stone wall made. d. small brook, where the barques are kept. e. meadows where the savages stay when they come to this region. f. mountains seen in the interior. g. small pond. h. mont royal. i. small brook. l. the fall. m. place on the north side, where the savages transfer their canoes by land. n. spot where one of our men and a savage were drowned. o. small rocky islet. p. another islet where birds make their nests. q. heron island. r. another island in the fall. s. small islet t. small round islet. v. another islet half covered with water. x. another islet, where there are many river birds. y. meadows. z. small river. . very large and fine islands. . places which are bare when the water is low, where there are great eddies, as at the main fall. . meadows covered with water . very shallow places. . another little islet. . small rocks. . island st. hélène. . small island without trees. . marshes connecting with the great fall. endnotes: . this journey of eight leagues would take them as far as the lake of two mountains. . this little river is mentioned by champlain in his voyage of , vol. i. p. . it is represented on early maps as formed by two small streams, flowing, one from the north or northeastern, and the other from the southern side of the mountain, in the rear of the city of montreal, which unite some distance before they reach the st. lawrence, flowing into that river at point callières. these little brooks are laid down on champlain's local map, _le grand sault st. louis_, on charlevoix's _carte de l'isle de montréal_, , and on bellin's _l'isle de montréal_, ; but they have disappeared on modern maps, and probably are either extinct or are lost in the sewerage of the city, of which they have become a part. we have called the stream formed by these two brooks, note , vol. i., _rivière st. pierre_. on potherie's map, the only stream coming from the interior is so named. _vide histoire de l'amerique_ par m. de bacqueville de la potherie, , p. . on a map in greig's _hochelaga depicta_, , it is called st. peter's river. the same stream on bouchette's map, , is denominated little river. it seems not unlikely that a part of it was called, at one time, rivière st. pierre, and another part petite rivière. it is plain that on this stream was situated the sixty acres of cleared land alluded to in the text as formerly occupied by the savages. it will be remembered that seventy-six years anterior to this, in , jacques cartier discovered this place, which was then the seat of a large and flourishing indian town. it is to be regretted that champlain did not inform us more definitely as to the history of the former occupants of the soil. some important, and we think conclusive, reasons have been assigned for supposing that they were a tribe of the iroquois. among others may be mentioned the similarity in the construction of their towns and houses or cabins, the identity of their language as determined by a collation of the words found in cartier's journal with the language of the iroquois; and to these may be added the traditions obtained by missionaries and others, as cited by laverdière, to which we must not, however, attach too much value. _vide laverdière in loco_. while it seems probable that the former occupants were of the iroquois family, it is impossible to determine whether on retiring they joined the five nations in the state of new york, or merged themselves with the hurons, who were likewise of iroquois origin. . i am unable to identify this plant. its climbing propensity and the color of its fruit suggest _rhus radicans_, but in other respects the similarity fails. . _cerfs, daims, cheureuls, caribous_. champlain employs the names of the different species of the cerf family as used in europe; but as our species are different, this use of names creates some confusion. there were in canada, the moose, the caribou, the wapiti, and the common red deer. any enumeration by the early writers must include these, under whatever names they may be described. one will be found applying a name to a given species, while another will apply the same name to quite a different species. charlevoix mentions the orignal (moose) caribou, the hart, and the roebuck. under the name _hart_, he probably refers to the wapiti, _elaphus canadensis_, and _roe-buck_, to the common red deer, _cervus virginianus_. _vide charlevoix's letters to the dutchess of lesdiguieres_, , pp. - , also vol. i. of this work, p. . . lynxes, _loups-serviers_. the compound word _loup-cervier_ was significant, and was applied originally to the animal of which the stag was its natural prey, _qui attaque les cerfs_. in europe it described the lynx, a large powerful animal of the feline race, that might well venture to attack the stag. but in canada this species is not found. what is known as the canadian lynx, _felis canadensis_, is only a large species of cat, which preys upon birds and the smaller quadrupeds. champlain probably gives it the name _loup-servier_ for the want of one more appropriate. it is a little remarkable that he does not in this list mention the american wolf, _lupus occidentalis_, so common in every part of canada, and which he subsequently refers to as the animal especially dreaded by the deer. _vide postea_, pp. , . . the site of place royale was on point callières, so named in honor of chevalier louis hector de callières bonnevue, governor of montreal in . . it seems most likely that the name of this island was suggested by the marriage which champlain had contracted with hélène boullé, the year before. this name had been given to several other places. _vide_ vol. i. pp. , . . _vide_ vol. i. p. , note . _walker and miles's atlas_, map . . the lake of the two mountains. _vide antea_, note . . on champlain's local map of the falls of st. louis, the letter q is wanting; but the expression, _ceste isle est au milieu du faut_, in the middle of the fall, as suggested by laverdière, indicates that the island designated by the letter r is heron island. _vide postea_, r on map at p. . . _grand tibie_, so in the original. this is a typographical error for _grand terre_. _vide_ champlain, , quebec ed., p. . . the death of this young man may have suggested the name which was afterward given to the fall. he was, however, it is reasonable to suppose, hardly equal in sanctity of character to the saint louis of the french. hitherto it had been called _le grand saut_. but soon after this it began to be called _grand saut s. louys_. _vide postea_, pp. , , . chapter iii. two hundred savages return the frenchman who had been entrusted to them, and receive the savage who had come back from france.--various interviews on both sides. on the thirteenth day of the month [ ] two hundred charioquois [ ] savages, together with the captains ochateguin, iroquet, and tregouaroti, brother of our savage, brought back my servant. [ ] we were greatly pleased to see them. i went to meet them in a canoe with our savage. as they were approaching slowly and in order, our men prepared to salute them with a discharge of arquebuses, muskets, and small pieces. when they were near at hand, they all set to shouting together, and one of the chiefs gave orders that they should make their harangue, in which they greatly praised us, commending us as truthful, inasmuch as i had kept the promise to meet them at this fall. after they had made three more shouts, there was a discharge of musketry twice from thirteen barques or pataches that were there. this alarmed them so, that they begged me to assure them that there should be no more firing, saying that the greater part of them had never seen christians, nor heard thunderings of that sort, and that they were afraid of its harming them, but that they were greatly pleased to see our savage in health, whom they supposed was dead, as had been reported by some algonquins, who had heard so from the montagnais. the savage commended the treatment i had shown him in france, and the remarkable objects he had seen, at which all wondered, and went away quietly to their cabins, expecting that on the next day i would show them the place where i wished to have them dwell. i saw also my servant, who was dressed in the costume of the savages, who commended the treatment he had received from them. he informed me of all he had seen and learned during the winter, from the savages. the next day i showed them a spot for their cabins, in regard to which the elders and principal ones consulted very privately. after their long consultation they sent for me alone and my servant, who had learned their language very well. they told him they desired a close alliance with me, and were sorry to see here all these shallops, and that our savage had told them he did not know them at all nor their intentions, and that it was clear that they were attracted only by their desire of gain and their avarice, and that when their assistance was needed they would refuse it, and would not act as i did in offering to go with my companions to their country and assist them, of all of which i had given them proofs in the past. they praised me for the treatment i had shown our savage, which was that of a brother, and had put them under such obligations of good will to me, that they said they would endeavor to comply with anything i might desire from them, but that they feared that the other boats would do them some harm. i assured them that they would not, and that we were all under one king, whom our savage had seen, and belonged to the same nation, though matters of business were confined to individuals, and that they had no occasion to fear, but might feel as much security as if they were in their own country. after considerable conversation, they made me a present of a hundred castors. i gave them in exchange other kinds of merchandise. they told me there were more than four hundred savages of their country who had purposed to come, but had been prevented by the following representations of an iroquois prisoner, who had belonged to me, but had escaped to his own country. he had reported, they said, that i had given him his liberty and some merchandise, and that i purposed to go to the fall with six hundred iroquois to meet the algonquins and kill them all, adding that the fear aroused by this intelligence had alone prevented them from coming. i replied that the prisoner in question had escaped without my leave, that our savage knew very well how he went away, and that there was no thought of abandoning their alliance, as they had heard, since i had engaged in war with them, and sent my servant to their country to foster their friendship, which was still farther confirmed by my keeping my promise to them in so faithful a manner. they replied that, so far as they were concerned, they had never thought of this; that they were well aware that all this talk was far from the truth, and that if they had believed the contrary they would not have come, but that the others were afraid, never having seen a frenchman except my servant. they told me also that three hundred algonquins would come in five or six days, if we would wait for them, to unite with themselves in war against the iroquois; that, however, they would return without doing so unless i went. i talked a great deal with them about the source of the great river and their country, and they gave me detailed information about their rivers, falls, lakes and lands, as also about the tribes living there, and what is to be found in the region. four of them assured me that they had seen a sea at a great distance from their country, but that it was difficult to go there, not only on account of the wars, but of the intervening wilderness. they told me also that the winter before some savages had come from the direction of florida, beyond the country of the iroquois, who lived near our ocean, and were in alliance with these savages. in a word, they made me a very exact statement, indicating by drawings all the places where they had been, and taking pleasure in talking to me about them; and for my part i did not tire of listening to them, as they confirmed points in regard to which i had been before in doubt. after all this conversation was concluded, i told them that we would trade for the few articles they had, which was done the next day. each one of the barques carried away its portion; we on our side had all the hardship and venture; the others, who had not troubled themselves about any explorations, had the booty, the only thing that urges them to activity, in which they employ no capital and venture nothing. the next day, after bartering what little they had, they made a barricade about their dwelling, partly in the direction of the wood, and partly in that of our pataches; and this they said they did for their security, in order to avoid the surprises of their enemies, which we took for the truth. on the coming night, they called our savage, who was sleeping on my patache, and my servant, who went to them. after a great deal of conversation, about midnight they had me called also. entering their cabins, i found them all seated in council. they had me sit down near them, saying that when they met for the purpose of considering a matter, it was their custom to do so at night, that they might not be diverted by anything from attention to the subject in hand; that at night one thought only of listening, while during the day the thoughts were distracted by other objects. but in my opinion, confiding in me, they desired to tell me privately their purpose. besides, they were afraid of the other pataches, as they subsequently gave me to understand. for they told me that they were uneasy at seeing so many frenchmen, who were not especially united to one another, and that they had desired to see me alone; that some of them had been beaten; that they were as kindly disposed towards me as towards their own children, confiding so much in me that they would do whatever i told them to do, but that they greatly mistrusted the others; that if i returned i might take as many of their people as i wished, if it were under the guidance of a chief; and that they sent for me to assure me anew of their friendship, which would never be broken, and to express the hope that i might never be ill disposed towards them; and being aware that i had determined to visit their country, they said they would show it to me at the risk of their lives, giving me the assistance of a large number of men, who could go everywhere; and that in future we should expect such treatment from them as they had received from us. straightway they brought fifty castors and four strings of beads, which they value as we do gold chains, saying that i should share these with my brother, referring to pont gravé, we being present together; that these presents were sent by other captains, who had never seen me; that they desired to continue friends to me; that if any of the french wished to go with them, they should be greatly pleased to have them do so; and that they desired more than ever to establish a firm friendship. after much conversation with them, i proposed that inasmuch as they were desirous to have me visit their country, i would petition his majesty to assist us to the extent of forty or fifty men, equipped with what was necessary for the journey, and that i would embark with them on condition that they would furnish us the necessary provisions for the journey, and that i would take presents for the chiefs of the country through which we should pass, when we would return to our settlement to spend the winter; that moreover, if i found their country favorable and fertile, we would make many settlements there, by which means we should have frequent intercourse with each other, living happily in the future in the fear of god, whom we would make known to them. they were well pleased with this proposition, and begged me to shake hands upon it, saying that they on their part would do all that was possible for its fulfilment; that, in regard to provisions, we should be as well supplied as they themselves, assuring me again that they would show me what i desired to see. thereupon, i took leave of them at daybreak, thanking them for their willingness to carry out my wishes, and entreating them to continue to entertain the same feelings. on the next day, the th, they said that they were going castor-hunting, and that they would all return. on the following morning they finished bartering what little they had, when they embarked in their canoes, asking us not to take any steps towards taking down their dwellings, which we promised them. then they separated from each other, pretending to go a hunting in different directions. they left our savage with me that we might have less distrust in them. but they had appointed themselves a rendezvous above the fall, where they knew well enough that we could not go with our barques. meanwhile, we awaited them in accordance with what they had told us. the next day there came two savages, one iroquet, the other the brother of our savignon. they came to get the latter, and ask me in behalf of all their companions to go alone with my servant to where they were encamped, as they had something of importance to tell me, which they were unwilling to communicate to any frenchmen. i promised them that i would go. the following day i gave some trifles to savignon, who set out much pleased, giving me to understand that he was about to live a very irksome life in comparison with that which he had led in france. he expressed much regret at separation, but i was very glad to be relieved of the care of him. the two captains told me that on the morning of the next day they would send for me, which they did. i embarked, accompanied by my servant, with those who came. having arrived at the fall, we went some eight leagues into the woods, where they were encamped on the shore of a lake, where i had been before.[ ] they were much pleased at seeing me, and began to shout after their custom. our indian came out to meet me, and ask me to go to the cabin of his brother, where he at once had some meat and fish put on the fire for my entertainment. while i was there, a banquet was held, to which all the leading indians were invited. i was not forgotten, although i had already eaten sufficiently; but, in order not to violate the custom of the country, i attended. after banqueting, they went into the woods to hold their council, and meanwhile i amused myself in looking at the country round about, which is very pleasant. some time after they called me, in order to communicate to me what they had resolved upon. i proceeded to them accordingly with my servant. after i had seated myself by their side, they said they were very glad to see me, and to find that i had not failed to keep my word in what i had promised them; saying that they felt it an additional proof of my affection that i continued the alliance with them, and that before setting out they desired to take leave of me, as it would have been a very great disappointment to them to go away without seeing me, thinking that i would in that case have been ill disposed towards them. they said also that what had led them to say they were going a hunting, and build the barricade, was not the fear of their enemies nor the desire of hunting, but their fear of all the other pataches accompanying me, inasmuch as they had heard it said that on the night they sent for me they were all to be killed, and that i should not be able to protect them from the others who were much more numerous; so that in order to get away they made use of this ruse. but they said if there had been only our two pataches they would have stayed some days longer, and they begged that, when i returned with my companions, i would not bring any others. to this i replied that i did not bring these, but that they followed without my invitation; that in the future, however, i would come in another manner; at which explanation they were much pleased. and now they began again to repeat what they had promised me in regard to the exploration of the country, while i promised, with the help of god, to fulfil what i had told them. they besought me again to give them a man, and i replied that if there was any one among us who was willing to go, i should be well pleased. they told me there was a merchant, named bouyer, commander of a patache, who had asked them to take a young man, which request, however, they had been unwilling to grant before ascertaining whether this was agreeable to me, as they did not know whether we were friends, since he had come in my company to trade with them; also that they were in no wise under any obligations to him, but that he had offered to make them large presents. i replied that we were in no wise enemies, and that they had often seen us conversing with each other; but that in regard to traffic each did what he could, and that the above-named bouyer was perhaps desirous of sending this young man as i had sent mine, hoping for some return in the future, which i could also lay claim to from them; that, however, they must judge towards whom they had the greatest obligations, and from whom they were to expect the most. they said there was no comparison between the obligations in the two cases, not only in view of the help i had rendered them in their wars against their enemies, but also of the offer of my personal assistance in the future, in all of which they had found me faithful to the truth, adding that all depended on my pleasure. they said moreover that what made them speak of the matter was the presents he had offered them, and that, if this young man should go with them, it would not put them under such obligations to this bouyer as they were under to me, and that it would have no influence upon the future, since they only took him on account of the presents from bouyer. i replied that it was indifferent to me whether they took him or not, and in fact that if they took him for a small consideration i should be displeased at it, but if in return for valuable presents, i should be satisfied, provided he stayed with iroquet; which they promised me. then there was made on both sides a final statement of our agreements. they had with them one who had three times been made prisoner by the iroquois, but had been successful in escaping. this one resolved to go, with nine others, to war, for the sake of revenge for the cruelties his enemies had caused him to suffer. all the captains begged me to dissuade him if possible, since he was very valiant, and they were afraid that, advancing boldly towards the enemy, and supported by a small force only, he would never return. to satisfy them i endeavored to do so, and urged all the reasons i could, which, however, availed little; for he, showing me a portion of his fingers cut off, also great cuts and burns on his body, as evidences of the manner they had tortured him, said that it was impossible for him to live without killing some of his enemies and having vengeance, and that his heart told him he must set out as soon as possible, as he did, firmly resolved to behave well. after concluding with them, i asked them to take me back in our patache. to accomplish this, they got ready eight canoes in order to pass the fall, stripping themselves naked, and directing me to go only in my shirt. for it often happens that some are lost in passing the fall. consequently, they keep close to each other, so as to render assistance at once, if any canoe should happen to turn over. they said to me, if yours should unfortunately overturn, not knowing how to swim, you must not think of abandoning it, and must cling to the little pieces in the middle of it, for we can easily rescue you. i am sure that even the most self-possessed persons in the world, who have not seen this place nor passed it in little boats such as they have, could not do so without the greatest apprehension. but these people are so skilful in passing falls, that it is an easy matter for them. i passed with them, which i had never before done, nor any other christian, except my above-mentioned servant. then we reached our barques, where i lodged a large number of them, and had some conversation with the before-mentioned bouyer in view of the fear he entertained that i should prevent his servant from going with the savages. they returned the next day with the young man, who proved expensive to his master who had expected, in my opinion, to recover the losses of his voyage, which were very considerable, like those of many others. one of our young men also determined to go with these savages, who are charioquois, living at a distance of some one hundred and fifty leagues from the fall. he went with the brother of savignon, one of the captains, who promised me to show him all that could be seen. bouyer's man went with the above-mentioned iroquet, an algonquin, who lives some eighty leagues from the fall. both went off well pleased and contented. after the departure of the savages, we awaited the three hundred others who, as had been told us, were to come, in accordance with the promise i had made them. finding that they did not come, all the pataches determined to induce some algonquin savages, who had come from tadoussac, to go to meet them, in view of a reward that would be given them on their return, which was to be at the latest not over nine days from the time of their departure, so that we might know whether to expect them or not, and be able to return to tadoussac. this they agreed to, and a canoe left with this purpose. on the fifth of july a canoe arrived from the algonquins, who were to come to the number of three hundred. from it we learned that the canoe which had set out from us had arrived in their country, and that their companions, wearied by their journey, were resting, and that they would soon arrive, in fulfilment of the promise they had made; that at most they would not be more than eight days behindhand, but that there would be only twenty-four canoes, as one of their captains and many of their comrades had died of a fever that had broken out among them. they also said that they had sent many to the war, which had hindered their progress. we determined to wait for them. but finding that this period had elapsed without their arrival, pont gravé set out from the fall on the eleventh of the month, to arrange some matters at tadoussac, while i stayed to await the savages. the same day a patache arrived, bringing provisions for the numerous barques of which our party consisted. for our bread, wine, meat, and cider had given out some days before, obliging us to have recourse to fishing, the fine river water, and some radishes which grow in great abundance in the country; otherwise we should have been obliged to return. the same day an algonquin canoe arrived, assuring us that on the next day the twenty-four canoes were to come, twelve of them prepared for war. on the twelfth the algonquins arrived with some little merchandise. before trafficking they made a present to a montagnais indian, the son of anadabijou, [ ] who had lately died, in order to mitigate his grief at the death of his father. shortly after they resolved to make some presents to all the captains of the pataches. they gave to each of them ten castors, saying they were very sorry they had no more, but that the war, to which most of them were going, was the reason; they begged, however, that what they offered might be accepted in good part, saying that they were all friends to us, and to me, who was seated near them, more than to all the others, who were well disposed towards them only on account of their castors, and had not always assisted them like myself, whom they had never found double-tongued like the rest. i replied that all those whom they saw gathered together were their friends; that, in case an opportunity should present itself, they would not fail to do their duty; that we were all friends; that they should continue to be well disposed towards us; that we would make them presents in return for those they gave us; and that they should trade in peace. this they did, and carried away what they could. the next day they brought me privately forty castors, assuring me of their friendship, and that they were very glad of the conclusion which i had reached with the savages who had gone away, and that we should make a settlement at the fall, which i assured them we would do, making them a present in return. after everything had been arranged, they determined to go and obtain the body of outetoucos, who was drowned at the fall, as we have before mentioned. they went to the spot where he had been buried, disinterred him and carried him to the island of st hélène, where they performed their usual ceremony, which is to sing and dance over the grave with festivities and banquets following. i asked them why they disinterred the body. they replied that if their enemies should find the grave they would do so, and divide the body into several pieces, which they would then hang to trees in order to offend them. for this reason they said that they transferred it to a place off from the road, and in the most secret manner possible. on the th there arrived fourteen canoes, the chief over which was named _tecouehata_. upon their arrival all the other savages took up arms and performed some circular evolutions. after going around and dancing to their satisfaction, the others who were in their canoes also began to dance, making various movements of the body. after finishing their singing, they went on shore with a small quantity of furs, and made presents similar to those of the others. these were reciprocated by some of equal value. the next day they trafficked in what little they had, and presented me personally with thirty castors, for which i made them an acknowledgment. they begged me to continue my good will to them, which i promised to do. they spoke with me very especially respecting certain explorations towards the north, which might prove advantageous; and said, in reference to them, that if any one of my company would like to go with them, they would show him what would please me, and would treat him as one of their own children. i promised to give them a young man, at which they were much pleased. when he took leave of me to go with them, i gave him a detailed memorandum of what he was to observe while with them. after they had bartered what little they had, they separated into three parties; one for the war, another for the great fall, another for a little river which flows into that of the great fall. thus they set out on the th day of the month, on which day we also departed. the same day we made the thirty leagues from this fall to the trois rivières. on the th we arrived at quebec, which is also thirty leagues from the trois rivières. i induced the most of those in each boat to stay at the settlement, when i had some repairs made and some rose-bushes set out. i had also some oak wood put on board to make trial of in france, not only for marine wainscoting, but also for windows. the next day, the th of july, i set out. on the d i arrived at tadoussac, whence i resolved to return to france, in accordance with the advice of pont gravé. after arranging matters relating to our settlement, according to the directions which sieur de monts had given me, i embarked in the vessel of captain tibaut, of la rochelle, on the th of august. during our passage we had an abundance of fish, such as _orades_, mackerel, and _pilotes_, the latter similar to herrings, and found about certain planks covered with _pousle-pieds_, a kind of shell-fish attaching itself thereto, and growing there gradually. sometimes the number of these little fish is so great that it is surprising to behold. we caught also some porpoises and other species of fish. the weather was favorable as far as belle isle, [ ] where we were overtaken by fogs, which continued three or four days. the weather then becoming fair, we sighted alvert, [ ] and arrived at la rochelle on the th of september, . endnotes: . june th. . _charioquois_. in the issue of , p. , champlain has _sauuages hurons_. it is probable that charioquois was only a chief of the hurons. . this was the young man that had been sent to pass the winter with the indians, in exchange for the savage which had accompanied champlain to france. _vide antea_, vol. ii. p. . . this was doubtless on the lake of two mountains. . champlain's orthography is here _aronadabigeau. vide_ vol. i pp. , . . belle ile. an island on the coast of brittany in france. . alvert, a village near marennes, which they sighted as they approached la rochelle. chapter iv. arrival at la rochelle.--dissolution of the partnership between sieur de monts and his associates, the sieurs colier and le gendre of rouen.-- jealousy of the french in regard to the new discoveries in new france. upon my arrival at la rochelle i proceeded to visit sieur de monts, at pons [ ] in saintonge, to inform him of all that had occurred during the expedition, and of the promise which the ochateguins[ ] and algonquins had made me, on condition that we would assist them in their wars, as i had agreed. sieur de monts, after listening to it all, determined to go to the court to arrange the matter. i started before him to go there also. but on the way i was unfortunately detained by the falling of a horse upon me, which came near killing me. this fall detained me some time; but as soon as i had sufficiently recovered from its effects i set out again to complete my journey and meet sieur de monts at fontainebleau, who, upon his return to paris, had a conference with his associates. the latter were unwilling to continue in the association, as there was no commission forbidding any others from going to the new discoveries and trading with the inhabitants of the country. sieur de monts, seeing this, bargained with them for what remained at the settlement at quebec, in consideration of a sum of money which he gave them for their share. he sent also some men to take care of the settlement, in the expectation of obtaining a commission from his majesty. but while he was engaged in the pursuit of this object some important matters demanded his attention, so that he was obliged to abandon it, and he left me the duty of taking the necessary steps for it. as i was about arranging the matter, the vessels arrived from new france with men from our settlement, those whom i had sent into the interior with the savages. they brought me very important information, saying that more than two hundred savages had come, expecting to find me at the great fall of st. louis, where i had appointed a rendezvous, with the intention of assisting them according to their request. but, finding that i had not kept my promise, they were greatly displeased. our men, however, made some apologies, which were accepted, and assured them that they would not fail to come the following year or never. the savages agreed to this on their part. but several others left the old trading-station of tadoussac, and came to the fall with many small barques to see if they could engage in traffic with these people, whom they assured that i was dead, although our men stoutly declared the contrary. this shows how jealousy against meritorious objects gets possession of bad natures; and all they want is that men should expose themselves to a thousand dangers, to discover peoples and territories, that they themselves may have the profit and others the hardship. it is not reasonable that one should capture the lamb and another go off with the fleece. if they had been willing to participate in our discoveries, use their means, and risk their persons, they would have given evidence of their honor and nobleness, but on the contrary they show clearly that they are impelled by pure malice that they may enjoy the fruit of our labors equally with ourselves. on this subject, and to show how many persons strive to pervert praiseworthy enterprises, i will instance again the people of st. malo and others, who say that the profit of these discoveries belongs to them, since jacques cartier, who first visited canada and the islands of new foundland, was from their city, as if that city had contributed to the expenses of these discoveries of jacques cartier, who went there by the order and at the expense of king francis i, in the years and to discover these territories now called new france. if then cartier made any discovery at the expense of his majesty, all his subjects have the same rights and liberties in them as the people of st. malo, who cannot prevent others who make farther discoveries at their own expense, as is shown in the case of the discoveries above described, from profiting by them in peace. hence they ought not to claim any rights if they themselves make no contributions, and their reasons for doing so are weak and foolish. to prove more conclusively that they who maintain this position do so without any foundation, let us suppose that a spaniard or other foreigner had discovered lands and wealth at the expense of the king of france. could the spaniards or other foreigners claim these discoveries and this wealth on the ground that the discoverer was a spaniard or foreigner? no! there would be no sense in doing so, and they would always belong to france. hence the people of st. malo cannot make these claims for the reason which they give, that cartier was a citizen of their city; and they can only take cognizance of the fact that he was a citizen of theirs, and render him accordingly the praise which is his due. besides, cartier in the voyage which he made never passed the great fall of st. louis, and made no discoveries north or south of the river st. lawrence. his narratives give no evidence of it, in which he speaks only of the river saguenay, the trois rivières and st. croix, where he spent the winter in a fort near our settlement. had he done so, he would not have failed to mention it, any more than what he has mentioned, which shows that he left all the upper part of the st. lawrence, from tadoussac to the great fall, being a territory difficult to explore, and that he was unwilling to expose himself or let his barques engage in the venture. so that what he did has borne no fruit until four years ago, when we made our settlement at quebec, after which i ventured to pass the fall to help the savages in their wars, and fend among them men to make the acquaintance of the people, to learn their mode of living, and the character and extent of their territory. after devoting ourselves to labors which have been so successful, is it not just that we should enjoy their fruits, his majesty not having contributed anything to aid those who have assumed the responsibilities of these undertakings up to the present time. i hope that god will at some time incline him to do so much for his service, his own glory and the welfare of his subjects, as to bring many new peoples to the knowledge of our faith, that they may at last enjoy the heavenly kingdom. note. champlain here introduces an explanation of his two geographical maps of new france, and likewise his method of determining a meridian line. for convenience of use the maps are placed at the end of this work, and for the same reason these explanations are carried forward to p. , in immediate proximity to the maps which they explain.--editor. endnotes: . de monts was governor of pons, a town situated about ten miles south of saintes, in the present department of lower charente. . _ochateguins. vide_ vol iii. quebec ed. p . they were hurons, and ochateguin is supposed to have been one of their chiefs. _vide_ vol ii. note . fourth voyage of sieur de champlain, captain in ordinary to the king in the marine, and lieutenant of monseigneur le prince de condÉ in new france, made in the year . to the very high, powerful, and excellent henri de bourbon, prince de condé, first prince of the blood, first peer of france, governor and lieutenant of his majesty in guienne. _monseigneur, the honor that i have received from your highness in being intrusted with the discovery of new france has inspired in me the desire to pursue with still greater pains and zeal than ever the search for the north sea. with this object in view i have made a voyage during the past year, , relying on a man whom i had sent there and who assured me he had seen it, as you will perceive in this brief narrative, which i venture to present to your excellence, and in which are particularly described all the toils and sufferings i have had in the undertaking. but although i regret having lost this year so far as the main object is concerned, yet my expectation, as in the first voyage, of obtaining more definite information respecting the subject from the savages, has been fulfilled. they have told me about various lakes and rivers in the north, in view of which, aside from their assurance that they know of this sea, it seems to me easy to conclude from the maps that it cannot be far from the farthest discoveries i have hitherto made. awaiting a favorable time and opportunity to prosecute my plans, and praying god to preserve you, most happy prince, in all prosperity, wherein consists my highest wish for your greatness, i remain in the quality of your most humble and devoted servant, samuel de champlain_. fourth voyage of sieur de champlain, captain in ordinary to the king in the marine, and lieutenant of monseigneur le prince de condÉ in new france, made in the year . chapter i. what led me to seek for terms of regulation.--a commission obtained-- oppositions to the same.--publication at last in all the ports of france. the desire which i have always had of making new discoveries in new france, for the good, profit, and glory of the french name, and at the same time to lead the poor natives to the knowledge of god, has led me to seek more and more for the greater facility of this undertaking, which can only be secured by means of good regulations. for, since individuals desire to gather the fruits of my labor without contributing to the expenses and great outlays requisite for the support of the settlements necessary to a successful result, this branch of trade is ruined by the greediness of gain, which is so great that it causes merchants to set out prematurely in order to arrive first in this country. by this means they not only become involved in the ice, but also in their own ruin, for, from trading with the savages in a secret manner and offering through rivalry with each other more merchandise than is necessary, they get the worst of the bargain. thus, while purposing to deceive their associates, they generally deceive themselves. for this reason, when i returned to france on the th of september, , i spoke to sieur de monts about the matter, who approved of my suggestions; but his engagements not allowing him to prosecute the matter at court, he left to me its whole management. i then drew up a statement, which i presented to president jeannin, who, being a man desirous of seeing good undertakings prosper, commended my project, and encouraged me in its prosecution. but feeling assured that those who love to fish in troubled waters would be vexed at such regulations and seek means to thwart them, it seemed advisable to throw myself into the hands of some power whose authority would prevail over their jealousy. now, knowing monseigneur le comte de soissons[ ] to be a prince devout and well disposed to all holy undertakings, i addressed myself to him through sieur de beaulieu, councillor, and almoner in ordinary to the king, and urged upon him the importance of the matter, setting forth the means of regulating it, the harm which disorder had heretofore produced, and the total ruin with which it was threatened, to the great dishonor of the french name, unless god should raise up some one who would reanimate it and give promise of securing for it some day the success which had hitherto been little anticipated. after he had been informed in regard to all the details of the scheme and seen the map of the country which i had made, he promised me, under the sanction of the king, to undertake the protectorate of the enterprise. i immediately after presented to his majesty, and to the gentlemen of his council, a petition accompanied by articles, to the end that it might please him to issue regulations for the undertaking, without which, as i have said, it would fail. accordingly his majesty gave the direction and control to the before-mentioned count, who then honored me with the lieutenancy. now as i was preparing to publish the commission [ ] of the king in all the ports and harbors of france, there occurred the sickness and greatly lamented death of the count, which postponed somewhat the undertaking. but his majesty at once committed the direction to monseigneur le prince,[ ] who proceeded in the execution of its duties, and, having in like manner honored me with the lieutenancy, [ ] directed me to go on with the publication of the commission. but as soon as this was done, some marplots, who had no interest in the matter, importuned him to annul it, representing to him as they claimed the interests of all the merchants of france, who had no cause for complaint, since all were received into the association and could not therefore justly be aggrieved. accordingly, their evil intention being recognized, they were dismissed, with permission only to enter into the association. during these altercations, it was impossible for me, as the time of my departure was very near at hand, to do anything for the habitation at quebec, for repairing and enlarging which i desired to take out some workmen. it was accordingly necessary to go out this year without any farther organization. the passports of monseigneur le prince were made out for four vessels, which were already in readiness for the voyage, viz. three from rouen and one from la rochelle, on condition that each should furnish four men for my assistance, not only in my discoveries but in war, as i desired to keep the promise which i had made to the ochataiguins [ ] in the year , to assist them in their wars at the time of my next voyage. as i was preparing to set out, i was informed that the parliamentary court of rouen would not permit the publication of the commission of the king, because his majesty had reserved to himself and his council the sole cognizance of the differences which might arise in this matter; added to which was the fact that the merchants of st. malo were also opposed to it. this greatly embarrassed me, and obliged me to make three journeys to rouen, with orders of his majesty, in consideration of which the court desisted from their inhibition, and the assumptions of the opponents were overruled. the commission was then published in all the ports of normandy. endnotes: . for a brief notice of the count de soissons, _vide_ vol. i. note ; also note by laverdière, quebec ed., p. . . this commission, dated october , , will be found in champlain's issue of . _vide_ quebec ed., p . . henry de bourbon. _vide_ vol. i. p , note . . champlain was appointed lieutenant of the prince de condé on the d day of november, . _vide_ issue of , quebec ed., p. . . ochateguins, or hurons. chapter ii. departure from france.--what took place up to our arrival at the falls. i set out from rouen on the th of march for honfleur, accompanied by sieur l'ange, to assist me in my explorations, and in war if occasion should require. on the next day, the th of the month, we embarked in the vessel of sieur de pont gravé, immediately setting sail, with a favorable wind. on the th of april we sighted the grand bank, where we several times tried for fish, but without success. on the th we had a violent gale, accompanied by rain and hail, which was followed by another, lasting forty-eight hours, and so violent as to cause the loss of several vessels on the island of cape breton. on the st we sighted the island and cap de raye. [ ] on the th the montagnais savages, perceiving us from all devils' point, [ ] threw themselves into their canoes and came to meet us, being so thin and hideous-looking that i did not recognize them. at once they began crying for bread, saying that they were dying of hunger. this led us to conclude that the winter had not been severe, and consequently the hunting poor, which matter we have alluded to in previous voyages. having arrived on board of our vessel they examined the faces of all, and as i was not to be seen anywhere they asked where monsieur de champlain was, and were answered that i had remained in france. but this they would not think of believing, and an old man among them came to me in a corner where i was walking, not desiring to be recognized as yet, and taking me by the ear, for he suspected who it was, saw the scar of the arrow wound, which i received at the defeat of the iroquois. at this he cried out, and all the others after him, with great demonstrations of joy, saying, your people are awaiting you at the harbor of tadoussac. the same day we arrived at tadoussac, and although we had set out last, nevertheless arrived first, sieur boyer of rouen arriving with the same tide. from this it is evident that to set out before the season is simply rushing into the ice. when we had anchored, our friends came out to us, and, after informing us how everything was at the habitation, began to dress three _outardes_ [ ] and two hares, which they had brought, throwing the entrails overboard, after which the poor savages rushed, and, like famished beasts, devoured them without drawing. they also scraped off with their nails the fat with which our vessel had been coated, eating it gluttonously as if they had found some great delicacy. the next day two vessels arrived from st. malo, which had set out before the oppositions had been settled and the commission been published in normandy. i proceeded on board, accompanied by l'ange. the sieurs de la moinerie and la tremblaye were in command, to whom i read the commission of the king, and the prohibition against violating it on penalties attached to the same. they replied that they were subjects and faithful servants of his majesty, and that they would obey his commands; and i then had attached to a post in the port the arms and commission of his majesty, that no ground for ignorance might be claimed. on the d of may, seeing two shallops equipped to go to the falls, i embarked with the before-mentioned l'ange in one of them. we had very bad weather, so that the masts of our shallop were broken, and had it not been for the preserving hand of god we should have been lost, as was before our eyes a shallop from st malo, which was going to the isle d'orleans, those on board of which however being saved. on the th we arrived at quebec, where we found in good condition those who had wintered there, they not having been sick; they told us that the winter had not been severe, and that the river had not frozen. the trees also were beginning to put forth leaves and the fields to be decked with flowers. on the th we set out from quebec for the falls of st. louis, where we arrived on the st, finding there one of, our barques which had set out after us from tadoussac, and which had traded some with a small troop of algonquins, who came from the war with the iroquois, and had with them two prisoners. those in the barque gave them to understand that i had come with a number of men to assist them in their wars, according to the promise i had made them in previous years; also that i desired to go to their country and enter into an alliance with all their friends, at which they were greatly pleased. and, inasmuch as they were desirous of returning to their country to assure their friends of their victory, see their wives, and put to death their prisoners in a festive _tabagie_, they left us pledges of their return, which they promised should be before the middle of the first moon, according to their reckoning, their shields made of wood and elk leather, and a part of their bows and arrows. i regretted very much that i was not prepared to go with them to their country. three days after, three canoes arrived with algonquins, who had come from the interior, with some articles of merchandise which they bartered. they told me that the bad treatment which the savages had received the year before had discouraged them from coming any more, and that they did not believe that i would ever return to their country on account of the wrong impressions which those jealous of me had given them respecting me; wherefore twelve hundred men had gone to the war, having no more hope from the french, who, they did not believe, would return again to their country. this intelligence greatly disheartened the merchants, as they had made a great purchase of merchandise, with the expectation that the savages would come, as they had been accustomed to. this led me to resolve, as i engaged in my explorations, to pass through their country, in order to encourage those who had stayed back, with an assurance of the good treatment they would receive, and of the large amount of good merchandise at the fall, and also of the desire i had to assist them in their war. for carrying out this purpose i requested three canoes and three savages to guide us, but after much difficulty obtained only two and one savage, and this by means of some presents made them. endnotes: . the _island_ refers to new foundland. cap de raye, still known as cape ray, was on the southwestern angle of new foundland. . now called point aux vaches. it was sometimes called all-devils' point. _vide_ note , vol. i. p. . . _outardes_. sometimes written _houtardes_, and _oltardes_. the name outarde or bustard, the _otis_ of ornithologists, a land bird of europe, was applied to a species of goose in canada at a very early period. the outarde is mentioned by cartier in , and the name may have been originally applied by the fishermen and fur-traders at a much earlier period, doubtless on account of some fancied resemblance which they saw to the lesser bustard or outarde, which was about the size of the english pheasant. _vide pennant's british zoölogy_, vol. i. p. . cartier, champlain, lescarbot, baron la hontan, potherie, and charlvoix mention the outarde in catalogues of water-fowl in which _oye_, the goose, is likewise mentioned. they very clearly distinguish it from the class which they commonly considered _oyes_, or geese. cartier, for instance, says, il y a aussi grand nombre d'oyseaulx, scauoir grues, signes, _oltardes, oyes sauuages, blanches, & grises_. others speak of _outardes et oyes_. they do not generally describe it with particularity. champlain, however, in describing the turkey, _cocq d'inde_, on the coast of new england, says, _aussi gros qu'vne outarde, qui est une espece d'oye_. father pierre biard writes, _et au mesme temps les outardes arriuent du midy, qui sont grosses cannes au double des nostres_. from these statements it is obvious that the outarde was a species of goose, but was so small that it could well be described as a large duck. in new france there were at least four species of the goose, which might have come under the observation of the early navigators and explorers. we give them in the order of their size, as described in coues' key to north american birds. . canada goose, _branta canadensis_, scopoli, inches. . snow goose, _anser hyperboreus_, linnÆus, inches. . am. white-fronted goose, _anser albifrons_, linnÆus, inches. . brant goose, _branta bernicla_, scopoli, inches. recurring to the statement of cartier above cited, it will be observed that he mentions, besides the outarde, wild geese white and gray. the first and largest of the four species above mentioned, the canada goose, _branta canadensis_, is gray, and the two next, the snow goose and white-fronted, would be classified as white. this disposes of three of the four mentioned. the outarde of cartier would therefore be the fourth species in the list, viz. the brant goose. _branta bernicla_. this is the smallest species found on our northern coast, and might naturally be described, as stated by father biard, as a large duck. it is obvious that the good father could not have described the canada goose, the largest of the four species, as a large duck, and the white geese have never been supposed to be referred to under the name of outarde. the brant goose, to which all the evidence which we have been able to find in the canadian authorities seems to point as the outarde of early times, is common in our markets in its season, but our market-men, unaccustomed to make scientific distinctions, are puzzled to decide whether it should be classed as a goose or a duck. it is not improbable that the early voyagers to our northern latitudes, unable to decide to which of these classes this water-fowl properly belonged, and seeing in it a fancied resemblance to the lesser outarde, with which they were familiar, gave it for sake of the distinction, but nevertheless inappropriately, the name of outarde. the reader is referred to the following authorities. _vide brief récit_ par jacques cartier, . d'avezac ed., p. ; _champlain_, quebec ed., p. ; _jésuite relations_, , p. ; _le grand voyage du pays des hurons_, par sagard, paris, , p. ; _dictionaire de la langue hurone_, par sagard, paris, , _oyseaux; letters to the dutchess of lesdiguieres_, by fr. xa. de charlevoix, london. , p. ; _le jeune, relations des jésuites_, , p. , , p. ; _histoire de l'amérique septentrionale_, par de la potherie, paris, , vol. i. pp. , , , ; _lescarbot, histoire de la nouvelle france_, pp. , , . chapter iii. departure to discover the north sea, on the ground of the report made me in regard to it. description of several rivers, lakes and islands, the falls of the chaudiÈre and other falls. now, as i had only two canoes, i could take with me but four men, among whom was one named nicholas de vignau, the most impudent liar that has been seen for a long time, as the sequel of this narrative will show. he had formerly spent the winter with the savages, and i had sent him on explorations the preceding years. he reported to me, on his return to paris in , that he had seen the north sea; that the river of the algonquins came from a lake which emptied into it; and that in seventeen days one could go from the falls of st. louis to this sea and back again; that he had seen the wreck and _débris_ of an english ship that had been wrecked, on board of which were eighty men, who had escaped to the shore, and whom the savages killed because the english endeavored to take from them by force their indian corn and other necessaries of life; and that he had seen the scalps which these savages had flayed off, according to their custom, which they would show me, and that they would likewise give me a young english boy whom they had kept for me. this intelligence had greatly pleased me, for i thought that i had almost found that for which i had for a long time been searching. accordingly i enjoined upon him to tell me the truth, in order that i might inform the king, and warned him that if he gave utterance to a lie he was putting the rope about his neck, assuring him on the other hand that, if his narrative were true, he could be certain of being well rewarded. he again assured me, with stronger oaths than ever; and in order to play his _rôle_ better he gave me a description of the country, which he said he had made as well as he was able. accordingly the confidence which i saw in him, his entire frankness as it seemed, the description which he had prepared, the wreck and _débris_ of the ship, and the things above mentioned, had an appearance of probability, in connection with the voyage of the english to labrador in , where they found a strait, in which they sailed as far as the d degree of latitude and the th of longitude, wintering at the d degree and losing some vessels, as their report proves.[ ] these circumstances inducing me to believe that what he said was true, i made a report of the same to the chancellor, [ ] which i showed to marshal de brissac,[ ] president jeannin, [ ] and other seigneurs of the court, who told me that i ought to visit the place in person. for this reason i requested sieur georges, a merchant of la rochelle, to give him a passage in his ship, which he willingly did, and during the voyage he questioned him as to his object in making it; and, since it was not of any profit to him, he asked if he expected any pay, to which the young man answered that he did not, that he did not expect anything, from any one but the king, and that he undertook the voyage only to show me the north sea, which he had seen. he made an affidavit of this at la rochelle before two notaries. now as i took leave on whitsuntide, [ ] of all the principal men to whose prayers i commended myself, and also to those of all others, i said to him in their presence that if what he had previously said was not true he must not give me the trouble to undertake the journey, which involved many dangers. again he affirmed all that he had said, on peril of his life. accordingly, our canoes being laden with some provisions, our arms, and a few articles of merchandise for making presents to the savages, i set out on monday the th of may from isle st. hélène with four frenchmen and one savage, a parting salute being given me with some rounds from small pieces. this day we went only to the falls of st. louis, a league up the river, the bad weather not allowing us to go any farther. on the th we passed the falls, [ ] partly by land, partly by water, it being necessary for us to carry our canoes, clothes, victuals, and arms on our shoulders, no small matter for persons not accustomed to it. after going two leagues beyond the falls, we entered a lake, [ ] about twelve leagues in circuit, into which three rivers empty; one coming from the west, from the direction of the ochateguins, distant from one hundred and fifty to two hundred leagues from the great falls; [ ] another from the south and the country of the iroquois, a like distance off; [ ] and the other from the north and the country of the algonquins and nebicerini, also about the same distance. [ ] this river on the north, according to the report of the savages, comes from a source more remote, and passes by tribes unknown to them and about three hundred leagues distant. this lake is filled with fine large islands, containing only pasturage land, where there is fine hunting, deer and fowl being plenty. fish are abundant. the country bordering the lake is covered with extensive forests. we proceeded to pass the night at the entrance to this lake, making barricades against the iroquois, who roam in these regions in order to surprise their enemies; and i am sure that if they were to find us they would give us as good a welcome as them, for which reason we kept a good watch all night. on the next day i took the altitude of the place, and found it in latitude ° '. about three o'clock in the afternoon we entered the river which comes from the north, and, passing a small fall [ ] by land so as to favor our canoes, we proceeded to a little island, where we spent the remainder of the night. on the last day of may we passed another lake, [ ] seven or eight leagues long and three broad, containing several islands. the neighboring country is very level, except in some places, where there are pine-covered hills. we passed a fall called by the inhabitants of the country quenechouan,[ ] which is filled with stones and rocks, and where the water runs with great velocity. we had to get into the water and drag our canoes along the shore with a rope. half a league from there we passed another little fall by rowing, which makes one sweat. great skill is required in passing these falls, in order to avoid the eddies and surf, in which they abound; but the savages do this with the greatest possible dexterity, winding about and going by the easiest places, which they recognize at a glance. on saturday, the st of june, we passed two other falls; the first half a league long, the second a league, in which we had much difficulty; for the rapidity of the current is so great that it makes a frightful noise, and produces, as it descends from stage to stage, so white a foam everywhere that the water cannot be seen at all. this fall is strewn with rocks, and contains some islands here and there covered with pines and white cedars. this was the place where we had a hard time; for, not being able to carry our canoes by land on account of the density of the wood, we had to drag them in the water with ropes, and in drawing mine i came near losing my life, as it crossed into one of the eddies, and if i had not had the good fortune to fall between two rocks the canoe would have dragged me in, inasmuch as i was unable to undo quickly enough the rope which was wound around my hand, and which hurt me severely and came near cutting it off. in this danger i cried to god and began to pull my canoe, which was returned to me by the refluent water, such as occurs in these falls. having thus escaped i thanked god, begging him to preserve us. later our savage came to help me, but i was out of danger. it is not strange that i was desirous of preserving my canoe, for if it had been lost it would have been necessary to remain, or wait until some savages came that way, a poor hope for those who have nothing to dine on, and who are not accustomed to such hardship. as for our frenchmen, they did not have any better luck, and several times came near losing their lives; but the divine goodness preserved us all. during the remainder of the day we rested, having done enough. the next day we fell in with fifteen canoes of savages called _quenongebin_, [ ] in a river, after we had passed a small lake, four leagues long and two broad. they had been informed of my coming by those who had passed the falls of st. louis, on their way from the war with the iroquois. i was very glad to meet them, as were they also to meet me, but they were astonished to see me in this country with so few companions, and with only one savage. accordingly, after saluting each other after the manner of the country, i desired them not to go any farther until i had informed them of my plan. to this they assented, and we encamped on an island. the next day i explained to them that i was on my way to their country to visit them, and fulfil the promise i had previously made them, and that if they had determined to go to the war it would be very agreeable to me, inasmuch as i had brought some companions with this view, at which they were greatly pleased; and having told them that i wished to go farther in order to notify the other tribes, they wanted to deter me, saying that the way was bad, and that we had seen nothing up to this point. wherefore i asked them to give me one of their number to take charge of our second canoe, and also to serve us as guide, since our conductors were not acquainted any farther. this they did willingly, and in return i made them a present and gave them one of our frenchmen, the least indispensable, whom i sent back to the falls with a leaf of my note-book, on which for want of paper i made a report of myself. thus we parted, and continuing our course up the river we found another one, very fair and broad, which comes from a nation called _ouescharini_, [ ] who live north of it, a distance of four days' journey from the mouth. this river is very pleasant in consequence of the fine islands it contains, and the fair and open woods with which its shores are bordered. the land is very good for tillage. on the fourth day we passed near another river coming from the north, where tribes called _algonquins_ live. this river falls into the great river st. lawrence, three leagues below the falls of st. louis, forming a large island of nearly forty leagues. [ ] this river is not broad, but filled with a countless number of falls, very hard to pass. sometimes these tribes go by way of this river in order to avoid encounters with their enemies, knowing that they will not try to find them in places so difficult of access. where this river has its debouchure is another coming from the south, [ ] at the mouth of which is a marvellous fall. for it descends a height of twenty or twenty-five fathoms [ ] with such impetuosity that it makes an arch nearly four hundred paces broad. the savages take pleasure in passing under it, not wetting themselves, except from the spray that is thrown off. there is an island in the middle of the river which, like all the country round about, is covered with pines and white cedars. when the savages desire to enter the river they ascend the mountain, carrying their canoes, and go half a league by land. the neighboring country is filled with all sorts of game, so that the savages often make a stop here. the iroquois also go there sometimes and surprise them while making the passage. we passed a fall [ ] a league from there, which is half a league broad, and has a descent of six or seven fathoms. there are many little islands, which are, however, nothing more than rough and dangerous rocks covered with a poor sort of brushwood. the water falls in one place with such force upon a rock that it has hollowed out in course of time a large and deep basin, in which the water has a circular motion and forms large eddies in the middle, so that the savages call it _asticou_, which signifies boiler. this cataract produces such a noise in this basin that it is heard for more than two leagues. the savages when passing here observe a ceremony which we shall speak of in its place. we had much trouble in ascending by rowing against a strong current, in order to reach the foot of the fall. here the savages took their canoes, my frenchmen and myself, our arms, provisions, and other necessaries, and we passed over the rough rocks for the distance of about a quarter of a league, the extent of the fall. then we embarked, being obliged afterwards to land a second time and go about three hundred paces through copse-wood, after which we got into the water in order to get our canoes over the sharp rocks, the trouble attending which may be imagined. i took the altitude of this place, which i found to be in latitude ° '. [ ] in the afternoon we entered a lake, [ ] five leagues long and two wide, in which there are very fine islands covered with vines, nut-trees, and other excellent kinds of trees. ten or twelve leagues above we passed some islands covered with pines. the land is sandy, and there is found here a root which dyes a crimson color, with which the savages paint their faces, as also little gewgaws after their manner. there is also a mountain range along this river, and the surrounding country seems to be very unpromising. the rest of the day we passed on a very pleasant island. the next day we proceeded on our course to a great fall, nearly three leagues broad, in which the water falls a height of ten or twelve fathoms in a slope, making a marvellous noise. [ ] it is filled with a vast number of islands, covered with pines and cedars. in order to pass it we were obliged to give up our maize or indian corn, and some few other provisions we had, together with our least necessary clothes, retaining only our arms and lines, to afford us means of support from hunting and fishing as place and luck might permit. thus lightened we passed, sometimes rowing, sometimes carrying our canoes and arms by land, the fall, which is a league and a half long, [ ] and in which our savages, who are indefatigable in this work and accustomed to endure such hardships, aided us greatly. continuing our course, we passed two other falls, one by land, the other with oar and poles standing up. then we entered a lake, [ ] six or seven leagues long, into which flows a river coming from the south, [ ] on which at a distance of five days' journey from the other river [ ] live a people called _matou-oüescarini_ [ ] the lands about the before-mentioned lake are sandy and covered with pines, which have been almost entirely burned down by the savages. there are some islands, in one of which we rested ourselves. here we saw a number of fine red cypresses,[ ] the first i had seen in this country, out of which i made a cross, which i planted at one end of the island, on an elevated and conspicuous spot, with the arms of france, as i had done in other places where we had stopped. i called this island _sainte croix_. on the th we set out from this island of st. croix, where the river is a league and a half broad, and having made eight or ten leagues we passed a small fall by oar, and a number of islands of various sizes. here our savages left the sacks containing their provisions and their less necessary articles, in order to be lighter for going overland and avoiding several falls which it was necessary to pass. there was a great dispute between our savages and our impostor, who affirmed that there was no danger by way of the falls, and that we ought to go that way. our savages said to him, you are tired of living, and to me, that i ought not to believe him, and that he did not tell the truth. accordingly, having several times observed that he had no knowledge of the places, i followed the advice of the savages, which was fortunate for me, for he fought for dangers in order to ruin me or to disgust me with the undertaking, as he has since confessed, a statement of which will be given hereafter. we crossed accordingly towards the west the river, which extended northward. i took the altitude of this place and found it in latitude ° '.[ ] we had much difficulty in going this distance overland. i, for my part, was loaded only with three arquebuses, as many oars, my cloak, and some small articles. i cheered on our men, who were somewhat more heavily loaded, but more troubled by the mosquitoes than by their loads. thus after passing four small ponds and having gone a distance of two and a half leagues, we were so wearied that it was impossible to go farther, not having eaten for twenty-four hours anything but a little broiled fish without seasoning, for we had left our provisions behind, as i mentioned before. accordingly we rested on the border of a pond, which was very pleasant, and made a fire to drive away the mosquitoes, which annoyed us greatly, whose persistency is so marvellous that one cannot describe it. here we cast our lines to catch some fish. the next day we passed this pond, which was perhaps a league long. then we went by land three leagues through a country worse than we had yet seen, since the winds had blown down the pines on top of each other. this was no slight inconvenience, as it was necessary to go now over, now under, these trees. in this way we reached a lake, six leagues long and two wide, [ ] very abundant in fish, the neighboring people doing their fishing there. near this lake is a settlement of savages, who till the soil and gather harvests of maize. their chief is named _nibachis_, who came to visit us with his followers, astonished that we could have passed the falls and bad roads in order to reach them. after offering us tobacco, according to their custom, he began to address his companions, saying, that we must have fallen from the clouds, for he knew not how we could have made the journey, and that they who lived in the country had much trouble in traversing these bad ways: and he gave them to understand that i accomplished all that i set my mind upon; in short, that he believed respecting me all that the other savages had told him. aware that we were hungry, he gave us some fish, which we ate, and after our meal i explained to him, through thomas, our interpreter, the pleasure i had in meeting them, that i had come to this country to assist them in their wars, and that i desired to go still farther to see some other chiefs for the same object, at which they were glad and promised me assistance. they showed me their gardens and the fields, where they had maize. their soil is sandy, for which reason they devote themselves more to hunting than to tillage, unlike the ochateguins. [ ] when they wish to make a piece of land arable, they burn down the trees, which is very easily done, as they are all pines, and filled with rosin. the trees having been burned, they dig up the ground a little, and plant their maize kernel by kernel, [ ] like those in florida. at the time i was there it was only four fingers high. endnotes: . _vide_ vol. ii. p. , note , for an account of henry hudson, to whom this statement refers. de vignau had undoubtedly heard rumors concerning hudson's expedition to the bay that bears his name in the years - , out of which he fabricated the fine story of his pretended discovery. longitude at that time was reckoned from the island of ferro, one of the canaries. proceeding from west to east, the ° would pass through hudson's bay, as may be seen by consulting any early french map. _vide_ bellin's _carte du globe terrestre_, . . nicholas brulart de sillery, who was born at sillery, in france, in , and died in the same place in . he rendered signal service to henry iv. among other public acts he negotiated the peace of vervins between france and spain in . he was appointed grand chancellor of france in . henry iv. said of him, avec mon chanclier qui ne fait pas le latin et mon connetable (henri de montmorency), qui ne fait ni lire ni écrire, je puis venir à bout des affairs les plus difficiles. . for some account of marshal de brissac, _vide_ vol. i. p. , note . . _vide_ vol. i. p. , note . president jeannin was a most suitable person to consult on this subject, as he was deeply interested in the discovery of a northwest passage to india. when minister at the hague he addressed a letter bearing date january st, , to henry iv. of france, containing an account of his indirect negotiations with henry hudson, for a voyage to discover a shorter passage to india. a copy of this interesting letter, both in french and english, may be found in _henry hudson the navigator_, by g. m. asher, ll.d., hakluyt society, london, , p. . . the festival of whitsunday occurred on the th may. _laverdière in loco_. . the falls of st louis. . lake st. louis. . champlain is here speaking of the river st. lawrence, which flows into lake st. louis slightly south of west. . rivière de loup, now known as the chateauguay. . the river ottawa or a branch of it flows into lake st. louis from the north, although its course is rather from the west. it was often called the river of the algonquins. it approaches comparatively near to lake nipissing, the home of the nipissirini. the sources of the ottawa are northeast of lake nipissing, a distance of from one to three hundred miles. the distances here given by champlain are only general estimates gathered from the indians, and are necessarily inaccurate. . rapide de brussi, by which the river flows from the lake of two mountains into lake st louis. . _lac de soissons_, now called lake of two mountains _vide_ vol. i. p. . . this is the first of a series of falls now known as the long fall. . _quenongebin_. laverdière makes, this the same as the kinounchepiríni of vimont. it was an algonquin nation situated south of allumette island. _vide jesuite relations_, quebec ed, , p. . . _ouescharini_. these people, called ouaouechkairini by vimont, appear to have dwelt on the stream now known as the _rivière de petite nation_, rising in a system of lakes, among which are lake simon, whitefish lake, long lake, and lake des isles. _vide jesuite relations_, , p. . the tribe here mentioned was subsequently called the little nation of the algonquins hence the name of the river. _laverdière_. . this passage is exceedingly obscure. laverdière supposes that part of a sentence was left out by the printer. if so it is remarkable that champlain did not correct it in his edition of . laverdière thinks the river here spoken of is the gatineau, and that the savages following up this stream went by a portage to the st. maurice, and passing down reached the st. lawrence _thirty_ leagues, and not _three_, below the falls of saint louis. the three rivers thus named inclose or form an island of about the extent described in the text. this explanation is plausible. the passage amended would read, "this river _extends near another which_ falls into the great river st. lawrence thirty leagues below the falls of st. louis." we know of no other way in which the passage can be rationally explained. . rideau, at the mouth of which is green island, referred to in the text below. . the fall in the rideau is thirty-four feet, according to the edinburgh gazetteer of the world. the estimate of champlain is so far out of the way that it seems not unlikely that feet were intended instead of fathoms. _vide_ vol. i. pp. , . . the chaudière falls, just above the present city of ottawa, the greatest height of which is about forty feet "arrayed in every imaginable variety of form, in vast dark masses, in graceful cascades, or in tumbling spray, they have been well described as a hundred rivers struggling for a passage. not the least interesting feature they present is the lost chaudière, where a large body of water is quietly sucked down, and disappears underground" _vide canada_ by w. h smith. vol. i. p. . also vol i. p, of this work. . the latitude of the chaudière falls is about ° '. . chaudière lake, which was only an expansion of the river ottawa. . rapide des chats. . this probably refers to that part of the fall which was more difficult to pass. . lake des chats. the name _des chats_ appears to have been given to this lake, the rapids, and the _nation des chats_, on account of the great number of the _loup cervier_, or wild cats, _chats sauvages_, found in this region. cf. _le grande voyage du pays des hurons_, par sagard, paris, , p. . . madawaskca river, an affluent of the ottawa, uniting with it at fitz roy. . probably an allusion to the river st. lawrence. . this is the same tribe alluded to by vimont under the name _mataouchkarmi_, as dwelling south of allumette island. _vide relations des jésuites_, , quebec ed., p. . . cyprés, red cedar or savin, _juniperus virginiana_. _vide_ vol. ii. note . . they were now, perhaps, two miles below portage du fort, at the point on the ottawa nearest to the system of lakes through which they were to pass, and where, as stated in the text, the ottawa, making an angle, begins to flow directly from the north. the latitude, as here given, is even more than usually incorrect, being too high by more than a degree. the true latitude is about ° '. _vide walker_ and _miles's atlas of dominion of canada_. note will explain the cause of this inexactness. . muskrat lake. on champlain's map of will be seen laid down a succession of lakes or ponds, together with the larger one, now known as muskrat lake, on the borders of which are figured the dwellings of the savages referred to in the text. the pond which they passed is the last in the series before reaching muskrat lake. on the direct route between this pond and the lake, known as the muskrat portage road, the course undoubtedly traversed by champlain, there was found in , in the township of ross, an astrolabe, an instrument used in taking latitudes, on which is the date, . it is supposed to have been lost by champlain on his present expedition. the reasons for this supposition have been stated in several brochures recently issued, one by mr. o. h. marshall of buffalo, entitled _discovery of an astrolabe supposed to have been left by champlain in _, new york, ; reprinted from the _magazine of american history_ for march of that year. another, _champlain's astrolabe lost on the th of june, , and found in august, _, by a. j russell of ottawa, montreal, . and a third entitled _the astrolabe of samuel champlain and geoffrey chaucer_, by henry scadding, d.d., of toronto, . all of these writers agree in the opinion that the instrument was probably lost by champlain on his expedition up the ottawa in . for the argument _in extenso_ the reader is referred to the brochures above cited. [illustration of an astrolabe.] mr. russell, who examined the astrolabe thus found with great care and had it photographed, describes it as a circular plate having a diameter of five inches and five eighths. "it is of place brass, very dark with age, one eighth of an inch thick above, increasing to six sixteenths of an inch below, to give it steadiness when suspended, which apparently was intended to be increased by hanging a weight on the little projecting ring at the bottom of it, in using it on ship-board. its suspending ring is attached by a double hinge of the nature of a universal joint. its circle is divided into single degrees, graduated from its perpendicular of suspension. the double-bladed index, the pivot of which passes through the centre of the astrolabe, has slits and eyelets in the projecting fights that are on it." we give on the preceding page an engraving of this astrolabe from a photograph, which presents a sufficiently accurate outline of the instrument. the plate was originally made to illustrate mr. marshall's article in the magazine of american history, and we are indebted to the courtesy of the proprietors of the magazine, messrs. a. s. barnes and company of new york, for its use for our present purpose. the astrolabe, as an instrument for taking the altitude of the stars or the sun, had long been in use. thomas blundevile, who wrote in , says he had seen three kinds, and that the astrolabe of stofflerus had then been in use a hundred years. it had been improved by gemma frisius. mr. blagrave had likewise improved upon the last-mentioned, and his instrument was at that time in general use in england. the astrolabe continued to be employed in great britain in taking altitudes for more than a century subsequent to this, certainly till hadley's quadrant was invented, which was first announced in . the astrolabes which had the broadest disks were more exact, as they were projected on a larger scale, but as they were easily jostled by the wind or the movement of the ship at sea, they could with difficulty be employed. but mr. blundevile informs us that "the spaniards doe commonly make their astrolabes narrow and weighty, which for the most part are not much above five inches broad, and yet doe weigh at the least foure pound, & to that end the lower part is made a great deale thicker than the upper part towards the ring or handle." _vide m. blendeale his exercises_, london, , pp. , . this spanish instrument, it will be observed, is very similar to that found on the old portage road, and the latter may have been of spanish make. in order to take the latitude in champlain's day, at least three distinct steps or processes were necessary, and the following directions might have been given. i. let the astrolabe be suspended so that it shall hang plumb. direct the index or diopter to the sun at noon, so that the same ray of light may shine through both holes in the two tablets or pinules on the diopter, and the diopter will point to the degree of the sun's meridian altitude indicated on the outer rim of the astrolabe. ii. ascertain the exact degree of the sun's declination for that day, by a table calculated for that purpose, which accompanies the astrolabe. iii. subtract the declination, so found, if it be northerly, from the meridian altitude; or if the declination be southerly, add the declination to the meridian altitude, and the result, subtracted from °, will give the latitude. in these several processes of taking the latitude there are numerous possibilities of inexactness. it does not appear that any correction was made for refraction of light, or the precession of the equinoxes. but the most important source of inaccuracy was in the use of the astrolabe whose disk was so small that its divisions could not be carried beyond degrees, and consequently minutes were arrived at by sheer estimation, and usually when the work was completed, the error was not less than one fourth or one half of a degree, and it was often much more. this accounts fully for the inaccuracies of champlain's latitudes from first to last throughout his entire explorations, as tested by the very exact instruments and tables now in use. no better method of determining the latitude existed at that day, and consequently the historian is warned not to rely upon the latitude alone as given by the early navigators and explorers in identifying the exact localities which they visited. . subsequently called hurons. . _vide_ vol. i. p. ; vol. ii. note . chapter iv. continuation.--arrival at the abode of tessouat, and his favorable reception of me.--character of their cemeteries--the savages promise me four canoes for continuing my journey, which they however shortly after refuse.--address of the savages to dissuade me from my undertaking, in which they represent its difficulties--my reply to these objections.-- tessouat accuses my guide of lying, and of not having been where he said he had.--the latter maintains his veracity--i urge them to give me canoes.-- several refusals.--my guide convicted of falsehood, and his confession. nibachis had two canoes fitted out, to conduct me to another chief, named tessoüat, [ ] who lived eight leagues from him, on the border of a great lake, through which flows the river which we had left, and which extends northward. accordingly we crossed the lake in a west-northwesterly direction, a distance of nearly seven leagues. landing there, we went a league towards the northeast through a very fine country, where are small beaten paths, along which one can go easily. thus we arrived on the shore of the lake, [ ] where the dwelling of tessoüat was. he was accompanied by a neighboring chieftain, and was greatly amazed to see me, saying that he thought i was a dream, and that he did not believe his eyes. thence we crossed on to an island, [ ] where their cabins are, which are poorly constructed out of the bark of trees. the island is covered with oaks, pines, and elms, and is not subject to inundations, like the other islands in the lake. this island is strongly situated; for at its two ends, and where the river enters the lake, there are troublesome falls, the roughness of which makes the island difficult of access. they have accordingly taken up their abode here in order to avoid the pursuit of their enemies. it is in latitude °, [ ] as also the lake, which is twenty leagues long, [ ] and three or four wide. it abounds in fish; the hunting, however, is not especially good. on visiting the island, i observed their cemeteries, and was struck with wonder as i saw sepulchres of a shape like shrines, made of pieces of wood fixed in the ground at a distance of about three feet from each other, and intersecting at the upper end. on the intersections above they place a large piece of wood, and in front another upright piece, on which is carved roughly, as would be expected, the figure of the male or female interred. if it is a man, they add a shield, a sword attached to a handle after their manner, a mace, and bow and arrows. if it is a chief, there is a plume on his head, and some other _matachia_ or embellishment. if it is a child, they give it a bow and arrow; if a woman or girl, a boiler, an earthen vessel, a wooden spoon, and an oar. the entire sepulchre is six or seven feet long at most, and four wide; others are smaller. they are painted yellow and red, with various ornaments as neatly done as the carving. the deceased is buried with his dress of beaver or other skins which he wore when living, and they lay by his side all his possessions, as hatchets, knives, boilers, and awls, so that these things may serve him in the land whither he goes; for they believe in the immortality of the soul, as i have elsewhere observed. these carved sepulchres are only made for the warriors; for in respect to others they add no more than in the case of women, who are considered a useless class, accordingly but little is added in their case. observing the poor quality of the soil, i asked them what pleasure they took in cultivating land so unpromising, since there was some much better, which they left barren and waste, as at the falls of st. louis. they answered that they were forced to do so in order to dwell in security, and that the roughness of the locality served them as a defence against their enemies. but they said that if i would make a settlement of french at the falls of st. louis, as i had promised, they would leave their abode and go and live near us, confident that their enemies would do them no harm while we were with them. i told them that we would this year collect wood and stone in order the coming year to build a fort and cultivate the land; upon hearing which they raised a great cry of applause. this conference having been finished, i asked all the chiefs and prominent men among them to assemble the next day on the main land, at the cabin of tessoüat, who purposed to celebrate a _tabagie_ in my honor, adding that i would there tell them my plans. this they promised, and sent word to their neighbors to convene at the appointed place. the next day all the guests came, each with his porringer and wooden spoon. they seated themselves without order or ceremony on the ground in the cabin of tessoüat, who distributed to them a kind of broth made of maize crushed between two stones, together with meat and fish which was cut into little pieces, the whole being boiled together without salt. they also had meat roasted on coals, and fish boiled apart, which he also distributed. in respect to myself, as i did not wish any of their chowder, which they prepare in a very dirty manner, i asked them for some fish and meat, that i might prepare it in my own way, which they gave me. for drink, we had fine clear water. tessoüat, who gave the _tabagie_, entertained us without eating himself, according to their custom. the _tabagie_ being over, the young men, who are not present at the harangues and councils, and who during the _tabagies_ remain at the door of the cabins, withdrew, when all who remained began to fill their pipes, one and another offering me one. we then spent a full half-hour in this occupation, not a word being spoken, as is their custom. after smoking amply during so long a period of silence, i explained to them, through my interpreter, that the object of my journey was none other than to assure them of my friendship, and of the desire i had to assist them in their wars, as i had before done; that i had been prevented from coming the preceding year, as i had promised them, because the king had employed me in other wars, but that now he had ordered me to visit them and to fulfil my promises, and that for this purpose i had a number of men at the falls of st. louis. i told them that i was making an excursion in their territory to observe the fertility of their soil, their lakes and rivers, and the sea which they had told me was in their country; and that i desired to see a tribe distant six days' journey from them, called the _nebicerini_, in order to invite them also to the war, and accordingly i asked them to give me four canoes with eight savages to guide me to these lands. and since the algonquins are not great friends of the _nebicerini_, [ ] they seemed to listen to me with greater attention. after i had finished my discourse, they began again to smoke, and to confer among themselves in a very low voice respecting my propositions. then tessoüat in behalf of all the rest began and said, that they had always regarded me more friendly towards them than any frenchman they had seen; that the proofs they had of this in the past made their confidence easier for the future: moreover, that i had shown myself in reality their friend, by encountering so many risks in coming to see them and invite them to the war, and that all these considerations obliged them to feel as kindly disposed towards me as towards their own children. but they said that i had the preceding year broken my promise, that two thousand savages had gone to the falls with the expectation of finding me ready to go to the war, and making me presents, but that they had not found me and were greatly saddened, supposing that i was dead, as some persons had told them. he said also, that the french who were at the falls did not want to help them in their wars, that they had been badly treated by certain ones, so that they had resolved among themselves not to go to the falls again, and that this had caused them, as they did not expect to see me again, to go alone to the war, and that in fact twelve hundred of them had already gone. and since the greater part of their warriors were absent, they begged me to postpone the expedition to the following year, saying that they would communicate the matter to all the people of their country. in regard to the four canoes, which i asked for, they granted them to me, but with great reluctance, telling me that they were greatly displeased at the idea of such an undertaking, in view of the hardships which i would endure; that the people there were sorcerers, that they had caused the death of many of their own tribe by charms and poisoning, on which account they were not their friends: moreover they said that, as it regards war, i was not to think of them, as they were little-hearted. with these and many other considerations they endeavored to deter me from my purpose. but my sole desire on the other hand was to see this people, and enter into friendship with them, so that i might visit the north sea. accordingly, with a view to lessening the force of their objections, i said to them, that it was not far to the country in question; that the bad roads could not be worse than those i had already passed; that their witchcraft would have no power to harm me, as my god would preserve me from them; that i was also acquainted with their herbs, and would therefore beware of eating them; that i desired to make the two tribes mutual friends, and that i would to this end make presents to the other tribe, being assured that they would do something for me. in view of these reasons they granted me, as i have said, four canoes, at which i was very happy, forgetting all past hardships in the hope of seeing this sea, as i so much desired. for the remainder of the day, i went out walking in their gardens, which were filled with squashes, beans, and our peas, which they were beginning to cultivate, when thomas, my interpreter, who understands the language very well, came to inform me that the savages, after i had left them, had come to the conclusion, that if i were to undertake this journey i should die and they also, and that they could not furnish the promised canoes, as there was no one of them who would guide me, but that they wished me to postpone the journey until the next year, when they would conduct me with a good train to protect me from that people, in case they should attempt to harm me, as they are evil-disposed. this intelligence greatly disturbed me, and i at once went to them and told them, that up to this day i had regarded them as men and truthful persons, but that now they had shown themselves children and liars, and that if they would not fulfil their promises, they would fail to show me their friendship; that, however, if they felt it an inconvenience to give me four canoes they should only furnish two and four savages. they represented to me anew the difficulties attending the journey, the number of the falls, the bad character of the people, and that their reason for refusing my request was their fear of losing me. i replied that i was sorry to have them show themselves to so slight an extent my friends, and that i should never have believed it; that i had a young man, showing them my impostor, who had been in their country, and had not found all these difficulties which they represented, nor the people in question so bad as they asserted. then they began to look at him, in particular tessoüat the old captain, with whom he had passed the winter, and calling him by name he said to him in his language: nicholas, is it true that you said you were among the nebicerini? it was long before he spoke, when he said to them in their language, which he spoke to a certain extent: yes, i was there. they immediately looked at him awry, and throwing themselves upon him, as if they would eat him up or tear him in pieces, raised loud cries, when tessoüat said to him: you are a downright liar, you know well that you slept at my side every night with my children, where you arose every morning; if you were among the people mentioned, it was while sleeping. how could you have been so bold as to lead your chief to believe lies, and so wicked as to be willing to expose his life to so many dangers? you are a worthless fellow, and he ought to put you to death more cruelly than we do our enemies. i am not astonished that he should so importune us on the assurance of your words. i at once told him that he must reply to these people; and since he had been in the regions indicated, that he must give me proofs of it, and free me from the suspense in which he had placed me. but he remained silent and greatly terrified. i immediately withdrew him from the savages, and conjured him to declare the truth of the matter, telling him that, if he had seen the sea in question, i would give him the reward which i had promised him, and that, if he had not seen it, he must tell me so without causing me farther trouble. again he affirmed with oaths all he had before said, and that he would demonstrate to me the truth of it, if the savages would give us canoes. upon this, thomas came and informed me, that the savages of the island had secretly sent a canoe to the nebicerini, to notify them of my arrival. thereupon, in order to profit by the opportunity, i went to the savages to tell them, that i had dreamed the past night that they purposed to send a canoe to the nebicerini without notifying me of it, at which i was greatly surprised, since they knew that i was desirous of going there. upon which they replied that i did them a great wrong in trusting a liar, who wanted to cause my death, more than so many brave chiefs, who were my friends and who held my life dear. i replied that my man, meaning our impostor, had been in the aforesaid country with one of the relatives of tessoüat and had seen the sea, the wreck and ruins of an english vessel, together with eighty scalps which the savages had in their possession, and a young english boy whom they held as prisoner, and whom they wished to give me as a present. when they heard me speak of the sea, vessels, scalps of the english, and the young prisoner, they cried out more than before that he was a liar, and thus they afterwards called him, as if it were the greatest insult they could have done him, and they all united in saying that he ought to be put to death, or else that he should tell with whom he had gone to the place indicated, and state the lakes, rivers, and roads, by which he had gone. to this he replied with assurance, that he had forgotten the name of the savage, although he had stated to me his name more than twenty times, and even on the previous day. in respect to the peculiarities of the country, he had described them in a paper which he had handed me. then i brought forward the map and had it explained to the savages, who questioned him in regard to it. to this he made no reply, but rather manifested by his sullen silence his perverse nature. as my mind was wavering in uncertainty, i withdrew by myself, and reflected upon the above-mentioned particulars of the voyage of the english, and how the reports of our liar were quite in conformity with it, also that there was little probability of this young man's having invented all that, in which case he would not have been willing to undertake the journey, but that it was more probable that he had seen these things, and that his ignorance did not permit him to reply to the questions of the savages. to the above is to be added the fact that, if the report of the english be true, the north sea cannot be farther distant from this region than a hundred leagues in latitude, for i was in latitude ° and in longitude °.[ ] but it may be that the difficulties attending the passage of the falls, the roughness of the mountains covered with shows, is the reason why this people have no knowledge of the sea in question; indeed they have always said that from the country of the ochateguins it is a journey of thirty-five or forty days to the sea, which they see in three places, a thing which they have again assured me of this year. but no one has spoken to me of this sea on the north, except this liar, who had given me thereby great pleasure in view of the shortness of the journey. now, when this canoe was ready, i had him summoned into the presence of his companions; and after laying before him all that had transpired, i told him that any further dissimulation was out of the question, and that he must say whether he had seen these things or not; that i was desirous of improving the opportunity that presented itself; that i had forgotten the past; but that, if i went farther, i would have him hung and strangled, which should be his sole reward. after meditating by himself, he fell on his knees and asked my pardon, declaring that all he had said, both in france and this country, in respect to the sea in question was false; that he had never seen it, and that he had never gone farther than the village of tessoüat; that he had said these things in order to return to canada. overcome with wrath at this, i had him removed, being unable to endure him any longer in my presence, and giving orders to thomas to inquire into the whole matter in detail; to whom he stated, that he did not believe that i would undertake the journey on account of the dangers, thinking that some difficulty would present itself to prevent me from going on, as in the case of these savages, who were not disposed to lend me canoes; and accordingly that the journey would be put off until another year, when he being in france would be rewarded for his discovery; but that, if i would leave him in this country, he would go until he found the sea in question, even if he should die in the attempt. these were his words as reported to me by thomas, but they did not give me much satisfaction, astounded as i was at the effrontery and maliciousness of this liar: and i cannot imagine how he could have devised this imposition, unless that he had heard of the above-mentioned voyage of the english, and in the hope of some reward, as he said, had the temerity to venture on it. shortly after i proceeded to notify the savages, to my great regret, of the malignity of this liar, stating that he had confessed the truth; at which they were delighted, reproaching me with the little confidence i put in them, who were chiefs and my friends, and who always spoke the truth; and who said that this liar ought to be put to death, being extremely malicious; and they added, do you not see that he meant to cause your death. give him to us, and we promise you that he shall not lie any more. and as they all went after him shouting, their children also shouting still more, i forbade them to do him any harm, directing them to keep their children also from doing so, inasmuch as i wished to take him to the falls to show him to the gentlemen there, to whom he was to bring some salt water; and i said that, when i arrived there, i would consult as to what should be done with him. my journey having been in this manner terminated, and without any hope of seeing the sea in this direction, except in imagination, i felt a regret that i should not have employed my time better, and that i should have had to endure the difficulties and hardships, which however i was obliged patiently to submit to. if i had gone in another direction, according to the report of the savages, i should have made a beginning in a thing which must be postponed to another time. at present my only wish being to return, i desired the savages to go to the falls of st. louis, where there were four vessels loaded with all kinds of merchandise, and where they would be well treated. this they communicated to all their neighbors. before setting out, i made a cross of white cedar, which i planted in a prominent place on the border of the lake, with the arms of france, and i begged the savages to have the kindness to preserve it, as also those which they would find along the ways we had passed; telling them that, if they broke them, misfortune would befall them, but that, if they preserved them, they would not be assaulted by their enemies. they promised to do so, and said that i should find them when i came to visit them again. endnotes: . it seems not improbable, as suggested by laverdière, that this was the same chief that champlain met at tadoussac in , then called _besouat. vide_ vol. i. p. . . they crossed muskrat lake, and after a portage of a league, by general estimation, they reached lake allumette. this lake is only the expanded current of the river ottawa on the southern side of allumette island; which is formed by the bifurcation of the ottawa. . allumette island, often called, in the _relations des jésuites_, simply the island. the savages in occupation were in the habit of exacting tribute from the hurons and others, who passed along on their war excursions or their journeys for trade with the french at montreal. they bartered their maize with other tribes for skins with which they clothed themselves. . the true latitude here is about ° '. on the map of the latitude corresponds with the statement in the text. . in his issue of champlain corrects his statement as to the length of allumette island, and says it is ten leagues long, which is nearly correct. _vide_ quebec ed. p . of this island bouchette says that in length it is about fifteen miles, and on an average four miles wide. _british dominions in north america_, london, , vol i. p. . . this tribe was subsequently known as the nipissings, who dwelt on the borders of lake nipissing. they were distinguished for their sorceries, under the cover of which they appear to have practised impositions which naturally enough rendered other neighboring algonquin tribes hostile to them. . the true latitude, as we have stated, _antea_, note , is about ° '; but on champlain's map it corresponds with the statement in the text, and a hundred leagues north of where they then were, as his map is constructed, would carry them to the place in the bay where hudson wintered, as stated by champlain, and as laid down on his small map included in this volume; but the longitude is incorrect, allumette island being two or three degrees east of longitude °, as laid down on champlain's map of . chapter v. our return to the falls.--false alarm.--ceremony at the chaudiÈre falls.-- confession of our liar before all the chief men.--our return to france. on the th of june i took leave of tessoüat, a good old captain, making him presents, and promising him, if god preserved me in health, to come the next year, prepared to go to war. he in turn promised to assemble a large number by that time, declaring that i should see nothing but savages and arms which would please me; he also directed his son to go with me for the sake of company. thus we set out with forty canoes, and passed by way [ ] of the river we had left, which extends northward, and where we went on shore in order to cross the lakes. on the way we met nine large canoes of the ouescharini, with forty strong and powerful men, who had come upon the news they had received; we also met others, making all together sixty canoes; and we overtook twenty others, who had set out before us, each heavily laden with merchandise. we passed six or seven falls between the island of the algonquins [ ] and the little fall; [ ] where the country was very unpleasant i readily realized that, if we had gone in that direction, we should have had much more trouble, and would with difficulty have succeeded in getting through: and it was not without reason that the savages opposed our liar, as his only object was to cause my ruin. continuing our course ten or twelve leagues below the island of the algonquins, we rested on a very pleasant island, which was covered with vines and nut-trees, and where we caught some fine fish. about midnight, there arrived two canoes, which had been fishing farther off, and which reported that they had seen four canoes of their enemies. at once three canoes were despatched to reconnoitre, but they returned without having seen anything. with this assurance all gave themselves up to sleep, excepting the women, who resolved to spend the night in their canoes, not feeling at ease on land. an hour before daylight a savage, having dreamed that the enemy were attacking them, jumped up and started on a run towards the water, in order to escape, shouting, they are killing me. those belonging to his band all awoke dumfounded and, supposing that they were being pursued by their enemies, threw themselves into the water, as did also one of our frenchmen, who supposed that they were being overpowered. at this great noise, the rest of us, who were at a distance, were at once awakened, and without making farther investigation ran towards them: but as we saw them here and there in the water, we were greatly surprised, not seeing them pursued by their enemies, nor in a state of defence, in case of necessity, but only ready to sacrifice themselves. after i had inquired of our frenchman about the cause of this excitement, he told me that a savage had had a dream, and that he with the rest had thrown themselves into the water in order to escape, supposing that they were being attacked. accordingly, the state of the case being ascertained, it all passed off in a laugh. continuing our way, we came to the chaudière falls, where the savages went through with the customary ceremony; which is as follows. after carrying their canoes to the foot of the fall, they assemble in one spot, where one of them takes up a collection with a wooden plate, into which each one puts a bit of tobacco. the collection having been made, the plate is placed in the midst of the troupe, and all dance about it, singing after their style. then one of the captains makes an harangue, setting forth that for a long time they have been accustomed to make this offering, by which means they are insured protection against their enemies, that otherwise misfortune would befall them, as they are convinced by the evil spirit; and they live on in this superstition, as in many others, as we have said in other places. this done, the maker of the harangue takes the plate, and throws the tobacco into the midst of the caldron, whereupon they all together raise a loud cry. these poor people are so superstitious, that they would not believe it possible for them to make a prosperous journey without observing this ceremony at this place, since their enemies await them at this portage, not venturing to go any farther on account of the difficulty of the journey, whence they say they surprise them there, as they have sometimes done. the next day we arrived at an island at the entrance to a lake, and seven or eight leagues distant from the great falls of st. louis. here while reposing at night we had another alarm, the savages supposing that they had seen the canoes of their enemies. this led them to make several large fires, which i had them put out, representing to them the harm which might result, namely, that instead of concealing they would disclose themselves. on the th of june, we arrived at the falls of st. louis, where i found l'ange, who had come to meet me in a canoe to inform me, that sieur de maisonneuve of st. malo had brought a passport from the prince for three vessels. in order to arrange matters until i should see him, i assembled all the savages and informed them that i did not wish them to traffic in any merchandise until i had given them permission, and that i would furnish them provisions as soon as we should arrive; which they promised, saying that they were my friends. thus, continuing our course, we arrived at the barques, where we were saluted by some discharges of cannon, at which some of our savages were delighted, and others greatly astonished, never having heard such music. after i had landed, maisonneuve came to me with the passport of the prince. as soon as i had seen it, i allowed him and his men to enjoy the benefits of it like the rest of us; and i sent word to the savages that they might trade on the next day. after seeing all the chief men and relating the particulars of my journey and the malice of my liar, at which they were greatly amazed, i begged them to assemble, in order that in their presence, and that of the savages and his companions, he might make declaration of his maliciousness; which they gladly did. being thus assembled, they summoned him, and asked him, why he had not shown me the sea in the north, as he had promised me at his departure. he replied that he had promised something impossible for him, since he had never seen this sea, and that the desire of making the journey had led him to say what he did, also that he did not suppose that i would undertake it; and he begged them to be pleased to pardon him, as he also did me again, confessing that he had greatly offended, and if i would leave him in the country, he would by his efforts repair the offence, and see this sea, and bring back trustworthy intelligence concerning it the following year; and in view of certain considerations i pardoned him on this condition. after relating to them in detail the good treatment i had received at the abodes of the savages, and how i had been occupied each day, i inquired what they had done during my absence, and what had been the result of their hunting excursions, and they said they had had such success that they generally brought home six stags. once on st. barnabas's day, sieur du parc, having gone hunting with two others, killed nine. these stags are not at all like ours, and there are different kinds of them, some larger, others smaller, which resemble closely our deer.[ ] they had also a very large number of pigeons, [ ] and also fish, such as pike, carp, sturgeon, shad, barbel, turtles, bass, and other kinds unknown to us, on which they dined and supped every day. they were also all in better condition than myself, who was reduced from work and the anxiety which i had experienced, not having eaten more than once a day, and that of fish badly cooked and half broiled. on the d of june, about o'clock in the evening, the savages sounded an alarm because one of them had dreamed he had seen the iroquois. in order to content them, all the men took their arms, and some were sent to their cabins to reassure them, and into the approaches to reconnoitre, so that, finding it was a false alarm, they were satisfied with the firing of some two hundred musket and arquebus shots, after which arms were laid down, the ordinary guard only being left. this reassured them greatly, and they were very glad to see the french ready to help them. after the savages had bartered their articles of merchandise and had resolved to return, i asked them to take with them two young men, to treat them in a friendly manner, show them the country, and bind themselves to bring them back. but they strongly objected to this, representing to me the trouble our liar had given me, and fearing that they would bring me false reports, as he had done. i replied that they were men of probity and truth, and that if they would not take them they were not my friends, whereupon they resolved to do so. as for out liar, none of the savages wanted him, notwithstanding my request to them to take him, and we left him to the mercy of god. finding that i had no further business in this country, i resolved to cross in the first vessel that should return to france. sieur de maisonneuve, having his ready, offered me a passage, which i accepted; and on the th of june i set out with sieur l'ange from the falls, where we left the other vessels, which were awaiting the return of the savages who had gone to the war, and we arrived at tadoussac on the th of july. on the th of august [ ] we were enabled by favorable weather to set sail. on the th we left gaspé and isle percée. on the th we were on the grand bank, where the green fishery is carried on, and where we took as many fish as we wanted. on the th of august we arrived at st malo, where i saw the merchants, to whom i represented the ease of forming a good association in the future, which they resolved to do, as those of rouen and la rochelle had done, after recognizing the necessity of the regulations, without which it is impossible to hope for any profit from these lands. may god by his grace cause this undertaking to prosper to his honor and glory, the conversion of these poor benighted ones, and to the welfare and honor of france. endnotes: . by the ottawa, which they had left a little below portage du fort, and not by the same way they had come, through the system of small lakes, of which muskrat lake is one. _vide carte de la nouvelle france_, , vol. i. p. . . allumette island. . near gould's landing, below or south of portage da fort.--_vide champlain's astrolabe_, by a. j. russell, montreal, , p. . . at that time there were to be found in canada at least four species of the cervus family. . the moose, _cervus alces_, or _alces americanus_, usually called by the earliest writers _orignal_ or _orignac_. _vide_ vol. i. pp. , . this is the largest of all the deer family in this or in any other part of the world the average weight has been placed at seven hundred pounds, while extraordinary specimens probably attain twice that weight. . the wapiti, or american elk, _cervus elaphus_, or _canadensis_. this is the largest of the known deer except the preceding. the average weight is probably less than six hundred pounds. . the woodland caribou, _cervus tarandus_. it is smaller than the wapiti. its range is now mostly in the northern regions of the continent but specimens are still found in nova scotia and new brunswick. the female is armed with antlers as well as the male, though they are smaller. . the common deer, _cervus virginianus_. it has the widest range of any of the deer family. it is still found in every degree of latitude from mexico to british columbia. _vide antelope and deer of america_ by john dean caton, ll.d., boston, . . _palombes_. the passenger, or wild pigeon, _ectopistes migratorius_. . _le_ _aoust_. laverdière suggests with much plausibility that this should read "the th of july." champlain could hardly have found it necessary to remain at tadoussac from the th of july to the th of august for favorable weather to sail. if he had been detained by any other cause, it would probably have been deemed of sufficient gravity to be specially mentioned. voyages and discoveries in new france, from the year to the end of the year . by sieur de champlain, captain in ordinary to the king in the western sea. where are described _the manners, customs, dress, mode of warfare, hunting, dances, festivals, and method of burial of various savage peoples, with many remarkable experiences of the author in this country, and an account of the beauty, fertility, and temperature of the same_. paris. claude collet, in the palace, at the gallery of the prisoners. m. dc. xix. _with authority of the king_. to the king. _sire, this is a third volume containing a narrative of what has transpired most worthy of note during the voyages i have made to new france, and its perusal will, i think, afford your majesty greater pleasure than that of those preceding, which only designate the ports, harbors, situations, declinations, and other particulars, having more interest for navigators and sailors than for other persons. in this narrative you will be able to observe more especially the manners and mode of life of these peoples both in particular and in general, their wars, ammunition, method of attack and of defence, their expeditions and retreats in various circumstances, matters about which those interested desire information. you will perceive also that they are not savage to such an extent that they could not in course of time and through association with others become civilised and cultivated. you will likewise perceive how great hopes we cherish from the long and arduous labors we have for the past fifteen years sustained, in order to plant in this country the standard of the cross, and to teach the people the knowledge of god and the glory of his holy name, it being our desire to cultivate a feeling of charity towards his unfortunate creatures, which it is our duty to practise more patiently than any other thing, especially as there are many who have not entertained such purposes, but have been influenced only by the desire of gain. nevertheless we may, i suppose, believe that these are the means which god makes use of for the greater promotion of the holy desire of others. as the fruits which the trees bear are from god, the lord of the soil, who has planted, watered, and nourished them with an especial care, so your majesty can be called the legitimate lord of our labors, and the good resulting from them, not only because the land belongs to you, but also because you have protected us against so many persons, whose only object has been by troubling us to prevent the success of so holy a determination, taking from us the power to trade freely in a part of your country, and striving to bring everything into confusion, which would be, in a word, preparing the way for the ruin of everything to the injury of your state. to this end your subjects have employed every conceivable artifice and all possible means which they thought could injure us. but all these efforts have been thwarted by your majesty, assisted by your prudent council, who have given us the authority of your name, and supported us by your decrees rendered in our favor. this is an occasion for increasing in us our long-cherished desire to send communities and colonies there, to teach the people the knowledge of god, and inform them of the glory and triumphs of your majesty, so that together with the french language they may also acquire a french heart and spirit, which, next to the fear of god, will be inspired with nothing so ardently as the desire to serve you. should our design succeed, the glory of it will be due, after god, to your majesty, who will receive a thousand benedictions from heaven for so many souls saved by your instrumentality, and your name will be immortalized for carrying the glory and sceptre of the french as far to the occident as your precursors have extended it to the orient, and over the entire habitable earth. this will augment the quality of_ most christian _belonging to you above all the kings of the earth, and show that it is as much your due by merit as it is your own of right, it having been transmitted to you by your predecessors, who acquired it by their virtues; for you have been pleased, in addition to so many other important affairs, to give your attention to this one, so seriously neglected hitherto, god's special grace reserving to your reign the publication of his gospel, and the knowledge of his holy name to so many tribes who had never heard of it. and some day may god's grace lead them, as it does us, to pray to him without ceasing to extend your empire, and to vouchsafe a thousand blessings to your majesty_. _sire_, _your most humble, most faithful_, _and most obedient servant and subject_, _champlain_. preface. as in the various affairs of the world each thing strives for its perfection and the preservation of its being, so on the other hand does man interest himself in the different concerns of others on some account, either for the public good, or to acquire, apart from the common interest, praise and reputation with some profit. wherefore many have pursued this course, but as for myself i have made choice of the most unpleasant and difficult one of the perilous navigation of the seas; with the purpose, however, not so much of gaining wealth, as the honor and glory of god in behalf of my king and country, and contributing by my labors something useful to the public good. and i make declaration that i have not been tempted by any other ambition, as can be clearly perceived, not only by my conduct in the past, but also by the narratives of my voyages, made by the command of his majesty, in new france, contained in my first and second books, as may be seen in the same. should god bless our purpose, which aims only for his glory, and should any fruit result from our discoveries and arduous labors, i will return thanks to him, and for your majesty's protection and assistance will continue my prayers for the aggrandizement and prolongation of your reign. extract from the license of the king. by favor and license of the king, permission is given to claude collet, merchant bookseller in our city of paris, to print, or have printed by such printer as shall seem good to him, a book entitled, _voyages and discoveries in new france, from the year_ _to the end of the year . by sieur de champlain, captain in ordinary to the king in the western sea_. all booksellers and printers of our kingdom are forbidden to print or have printed, to sell wholesale or retail, said book, except with the consent of said collet, for the time and term of six years, beginning with the day when said book is printed, on penalty of confiscation of the copies, and a fine of four hundred _livres_, a half to go to us and a half to said petitioner. it is our will, moreover, that this license should be placed at the commencement or end of said book. this is our pleasure. given at paris, the th day of may, , and of our reign the tenth. by the council, de cescaud voyage of sieur de champlain to new france, made in the year . the strong love, which i have always cherished for the exploration of new france, has made me desirous of extending more and more my travels over the country, in order, by means of its numerous rivers, lakes, and streams, to obtain at last a complete knowledge of it, and also to become acquainted with the inhabitants, with the view of bringing them to the knowledge of god. to this end i have toiled constantly for the past fourteen or fifteen years, [ ] yet have been able to advance my designs but little, because i have not received the assistance which was necessary for the success of such an undertaking. nevertheless, without losing courage, i have not ceased to push on, and visit various nations of the savages; and, by associating familiarly with them, i have concluded, as well from their conversation as from the knowledge already attained, that there is no better way than, disregarding all storms and difficulties, to have patience until his majesty shall give the requisite attention to the matter, and meanwhile, not only to continue the exploration of the country, but also to learn the language, and form relations and friendships with the leading men of the villages and tribes, in order to lay the foundations of a permanent edifice, as well for the glory of god as for the renown of the french. and his majesty having transferred and intrusted the superintendence of this work to monseigneur the prince de condé, the latter has, by his management, under the authority of his majesty, sustained us against all forts of jealousies and obstacles concerted by evil wishers. this has, as it were, animated me and redoubled my courage for the continuation of my labors in the exploration of new france, and with increased effort i have pushed forward in my undertaking into the mainland, and farther on than i had previously been, as will be hereafter indicated in the course of this narrative. but it is appropriate to state first that, as i had observed in my previous journeys, there were in some places people permanently settled, who were fond of the cultivation of the soil, but who had neither faith nor law, and lived without god and religion, like brute beasts. in view of this, i felt convinced that i should be committing a grave offence if i did not take it upon myself to devise some means of bringing them to the knowledge of god. to this end i exerted myself to find some good friars, with zeal and affection for the glory of god, that i might persuade them to send some one, or go themselves, with me to these countries, and try to plant there the faith, or at least do what was possible according to their calling, and thus to observe and ascertain whether any good fruit could be gathered there. but since to attain this object an expenditure would be required exceeding my means, and for other reasons, i deferred the matter for a while, in view of the difficulties there would be in obtaining what was necessary and requisite in such an enterprise; and since, furthermore, no persons offered to contribute to it. nevertheless, while continuing my search, and communicating my plan to various persons, a man of distinction chanced to present himself, whose intimate acquaintance i enjoyed. this was sieur hoüel, secretary of the king and controller-general of the salt works at brouage, a man of devoted piety, and of great zeal and love for the honor of god and the extension of his religion. [ ] he gave me the following information, which afforded me great pleasure. he said that he was acquainted with some good religious fathers, of the order of the recollects, in whom he had confidence; and that he enjoyed such intimacy and confidence with them that he could easily induce them to consent to undertake the voyage; and that, as to the necessary means for sending out three or four friars, there would be no lack of people of property who would give them what they needed, offering for his part to assist them to the extent of his ability; and, in fact, he wrote in relation to the subject to father du verger, [ ] who welcomed with joy the undertaking, and, in accordance with the recommendation of sieur hoüel, communicated it to some of his brethren, who, burning with charity, offered themselves freely for this holy undertaking. now he was at that time in saintonge, whence he sent two men to paris with a commission, though not with absolute power, reserving the rest to the nuncio of our holy father the pope, who was at that time, in , in france. [ ] he called upon these friars at their house in paris, and was greatly pleased with their resolution. we then went all together to see the sieur nuncio, in order to communicate to him the commission, and entreat him to interpose his authority in the matter. but he, on the contrary, told us that he had no power whatever in such matters, and that it was to their general that they were to address themselves. notwithstanding this reply, the recollects, in consideration of the difficulty of the mission, were unwilling to undertake the journey on the authority of father du verger, fearing that it might not be sufficient, and that the commission might not be valid, on which account the matter was postponed to the following year. meanwhile they took counsel, and came to a determination, according to which all arrangements were made for the undertaking, which was to be carried out in the following spring; awaiting which the two friars returned to their convent at brouage. i for my part improved the time in arranging my affairs in preparation for the voyage. some months after the departure of the two friars, the reverend father chapoüin, provincial of the recollect fathers, a man of great piety, returned to paris. sieur hoüel called on him, and narrated what had taken place respecting the authority of father du verger, and the mission he had given to the recollect fathers. after which narrative the provincial father proceeded to extol the plan, and to interest himself with zeal in it, promising to promote it with all his power, and adding that, he had not before well comprehended the subject of this mission; and it is to be believed that god inspired him more and more to prosecute the matter. subsequently he spoke of it to monseigneur the prince de condé, and to all the cardinals and bishops who were then assembled at paris for the session of the estates. all of them approved and commended the plan; and to show that they were favorably disposed towards it, they assured the sieur provincial that they would devise among themselves and the members of the court means for raising a small fund, and that they would collect some money for assisting four friars to be chosen, and who were then chosen for the execution of so holy a work. and in order to facilitate the undertaking, i visited at the estates the cardinals and bishops, and urgently represented to them the advantage, and usefulness which might one day result, in order by my entreaties to move them to give, and cause others who might be stimulated by their example to give, contributions and presents, leaving all to their good will and judgment. the contributions which were made for the expenses of this expedition amounted to nearly fifteen hundred _livres_, which were put into my hands, and then employed, according to the advice and in the presence of the fathers, for the purchase of what was necessary, not only for the maintenance of the fathers who should undertake the journey into new france, but also for their clothing, and the attire and ornaments necessary for performing divine service. the friars were sent on in advance to honfleur, where their embarkation was to take place. now the fathers who were appointed for this holy enterprise were father denis [ ] as commissary, jean d'olbeau, [ ] joseph le caron, and pacifique du plessis, [ ] each of whom was moved by a holy zeal and ardor to make the journey, through god's grace, in order to see if they might produce some good fruit, and plant in these regions the standard of jesus christ, determined to live and to die for his holy name, should it be necessary to do so and the occasion require it. everything having been prepared, they provided themselves with church ornaments, and we with what was necessary for our voyage. i left paris the last day of february to meet at rouen our associates, and represent to them the will of monseigneur the prince, and also his desire that these good fathers should make the journey, since he recognized the fact that the affairs of the country could hardly reach any perfection or advancement, if god should not first of all be served; with which our associates were highly pleased, promising to assist the fathers to the extent of their ability, and provide them with the support they might need. the fathers arrived at rouen the twentieth of march following, where we stayed some time. thence we went to honfleur to embark, where we also stayed some days, waiting for our vessel to be got ready, and loaded with the necessaries for so long a voyage. meanwhile preparations were made in matters of conscience, so that each one of us might examine himself, and cleanse himself from his sins by penitence and confession, in order to celebrate the sacrament and attain a state of grace, so that, being thereby freer in conscience, we might under the guidance of god, expose ourselves to the mercy of the waves of the great and perilous sea. this done, we embarked on the vessel of the association, which was of three hundred and fifty tons burden, and was called the saint Étienne, commanded by sieur de pont gravé. we departed from honfleur on the twenty-fourth day of august, [ ] in the above-mentioned year, and set sail with a very favorable wind. we continued on our voyage without encountering ice or other dangers, through the mercy of god, and in a short time arrived off the place called _tadoussac_, on the twenty-fifth day of may, when we rendered thanks to god for having conducted us so favorably to the harbor of our destination. then we began to set men at work to fit up our barques in order to go to quebec, the place of our abode, and to the great falls of saint louis, the rendezvous of the savages, who come there to traffic. the barques having been fitted up, we went on board with the fathers, one of whom, named father joseph, [ ] desired, without stopping or making any stay at quebec, to go directly to the great falls, where he saw all the savages and their mode of life. this induced him to go and spend the winter in their country and that of other tribes who have a fixed abode, not only in order to learn their language, but also to see what the prospect was of their conversion to christianity. this resolution having been formed, he returned to quebec the twentieth day of june [ ] for some church ornaments and other necessaries. meanwhile i had stayed at quebec in order to arrange matters relating to our habitation, as the lodgings of the fathers, church ornaments, the construction of a chapel for the celebration of the mass, as also the employment of persons for clearing up lands. i embarked for the falls together with father denis, [ ] who had arrived the same day from tadoussac with sieur de pont gravé. as to the other friars, viz., fathers jean and pacifique, [ ] they stayed at quebec in order to fit up their chapel and arrange their lodgings. they were greatly pleased at seeing the place so different from what they had imagined, which increased their zeal. we arrived at the rivière des prairies, five leagues below the falls of saint louis, whither the savages had come down. i will not attempt to speak of the pleasure which our fathers experienced at seeing, not only so long and large a river, filled with many fine islands and bordered by a region apparently so fertile, but also a great number of strong and robust men, with natures not so savage as their manners, nor as they acknowledged they had conceived them to be, and very different from what they had been given to understand, owing to their lack of cultivation. i will not enter into a description of them, but refer the reader to what i have said about them in my preceding books, printed in the year . [ ] to continue my narrative: we met father joseph, who was returning to quebec in order to make preparations, and take what he needed for wintering in their country. this i did not think advisable at this season, but counselled him rather to spend the winter at our settlement as being more for his comfort, and undertake the journey when spring came or at least in summer, offering to accompany him, and adding that by doing so he would not fail to see what he might have seen by going, and that by returning and spending the winter at quebec he would have the society of his brothers and others who remained at the settlement, by which he would be more profited than by staying alone among these people, with whom he could not, in my opinion, have much satisfaction. nevertheless, in spite of all that could be said to him and all representations, he would not change his purpose, being urged by a godly zeal and love for this people, and hoping to make known to them their salvation. his motive in undertaking this enterprise, as he stated to us, was that he thought it was necessary for him to go there not only in order to become better acquainted with the characteristics of the people, but also to learn more easily their language. in regard to the difficulties which it was represented to him that he would have to encounter in his intercourse with them, he felt assured that he could bear and overcome them, and that he could adapt himself very well and cheerfully to the manner of living and the inconveniences he would find, through the grace of god, of whose goodness and help he felt clearly assured, being convinced that, since he went on his service, and since it was for the glory of his name and the preaching of his holy gospel that he undertook freely this journey, he would never abandon him in his undertaking. and in regard to temporal provisions very little was needed to satisfy a man who demands nothing but perpetual poverty, and who seeks for nothing but heaven, not only for himself but also for his brethren, it not being consistent with his rule of life to have any other ambition than the glory of god, and it being his purpose to endure to this end all the hardships, sufferings, and labors which might offer. seeing him impelled by so holy a zeal and so ardent a charity, i was unwilling to try any more to restrain him. thus he set out with the purpose of being the first to announce through his holy favor to this people the name of god, having the great satisfaction that an opportunity presented itself for suffering something for the name and glory of our saviour jesus christ. as soon as i had arrived at the falls, i visited the people, who were very desirous of seeing us and delighted at our return. they hoped that we would furnish them some of our number to assist them in their wars against our enemies, representing to us that they could with difficulty come to us if we should not assist them; for the iroquois, they said, their old enemies, were always on the road obstructing their passage. moreover i had constantly promised to assist them in their wars, as they gave us to understand by their interpreter. whereupon sieur pont gravé and myself concluded that it was very necessary to assist them, not only in order to put them the more under obligations to love us, but also to facilitate my undertakings and explorations which, as it seemed, could only be accomplished by their help, and also as this would be a preparatory step to their conversion to christianity. [ ] therefore i resolved to, go and explore their country and assist them in their wars, in order to oblige them to show me what they had so many times promised to do. we accordingly caused them all to assemble together, that we might communicate to them our intention. when they had heard it, they promised to furnish us two thousand five hundred and fifty men of war, who would do wonders, with the understanding that i with the same end in view should very glad to see them decide so well. then i proceeded to make known to them the methods to be adopted for fighting, in which they took especial pleasure, manifesting a strong hope of victory. everything having been decided upon, we separated with the intention of returning for the execution of our undertaking. but before entering upon this journey, which would require not less than three or four months, it seemed desirable that i should go to our settlement to make the necessary arrangements there for my absence. on the ---- day of ---- following i set out on my return to the rivière des prairies. [ ] while there with two canoes of savages i met father joseph, who was returning from our settlement with some church ornaments for celebrating the holy sacrifice of the mass, which was chanted on the border of the river with all devotion by the reverend fathers denis and joseph, in presence of all the people, who were amazed at seeing the ceremonies observed and the ornaments which seemed to them so handsome. it was something which they had never before seen, for these fathers were the first who celebrated here the holy mass. to return and continue the narrative of my journey: i arrived at quebec on the th, where i found the fathers jean and pacifique in good health. they on their part did their duty at that place in getting all things ready. they celebrated the holy mass, which had never been said there before, nor had there ever been any priest in this region. having arranged all matters at quebec, i took with me two men and returned to the rivière des prairies, in order to go with the savages. i left quebec on the fourth day of july, and on the eighth of the month while _en route_ i met sieur du pont gravé and father denis, who were returning to quebec, and who told me that the savages had departed greatly disappointed at my not going with them; and that many of them declared that we were dead or had been taken by the iroquois, since i was to be gone only four or five days, but had been gone ten. this made them and even our own frenchmen give up hope, so much did they long to see us again. they told me that father joseph had departed with twelve frenchmen, who had been furnished to assist the savages. this intelligence troubled me somewhat; since, if i had been there, i should have arranged many things for the journey, which i could not now do. i was troubled not only on account of the small number of men, but also because there were only four or five who were acquainted with the handling of arms, while in such an expedition the best are not too good in this particular. all this however did not cause me to lose courage at all for going on with the expedition, on account of the desire i had of continuing my explorations. i separated accordingly from sieurs du pont gravé and father denis, determined to go on in the two canoes which i had, and follow after the savages, having provided myself with what i needed. on the th of the month i embarked with two others, namely, one of our interpreters [ ] and my man, accompanied by ten savages in the two canoes, these being all they could carry, as they were heavily loaded and encumbered with clothes, which prevented me from taking more men. we continued our voyage up the river st. lawrence some six leagues, and then went by the rivière des prairies, which discharges into that river. leaving on the left the falls of st. louis, which are five or six leagues higher up, and passing several small falls on this river, we entered a lake, [ ] after passing which we entered the river where i had been before, which leads to the algonquins, [ ] a distance of eighty-nine leagues [ ] from the falls of st. louis. of this river i have made an ample description, with an account of my explorations, in my preceding book, printed in .[ ] for this reason i shall not speak of it in this narrative, but pass on directly to the lake of the algonquins.[ ] here we entered a river [ ] which flows into this lake, up which we went some thirty-five leagues, passing a large number of falls both by land and water, the country being far from attractive, and covered with pines, birches, and some oaks, being also very rocky, and in many places somewhat hilly. moreover it was very barren and sterile, being but thinly inhabited by certain algonquin savages, called _otaguottouemin_, [ ] who dwell in the country, and live by hunting and the fish they catch in the rivers, ponds, and lakes, with which the region is well provided. it seems indeed that god has been pleased to give to these forbidding and desert lands some things in their season for the refreshment of man and the inhabitants of these places. for i assure you that there are along the rivers many strawberries, also a marvellous quantity of blueberries, [ ] a little fruit very good to eat, and other small fruits. the people here dry these fruits for the winter, as we do plums in france for lent. we left this river, which comes from the north, [ ] and by which the savages go to the saguenay to barter their furs for tobacco. this place is situated in latitude °, and is very pleasant, but otherwise of little account. [ ] continuing our journey by land, after leaving the river of the algonquins, we passed several lakes [ ] where the savages carry their canoes, and entered the lake of the nipissings,[ ] in latitude ° ', on the twenty-sixth day of the month, having gone by land and the lakes twenty- five leagues, or thereabouts.[ ] we then arrived at the cabins of the savages, with whom we stayed two days. there was a large number of them, who gave us a very welcome reception. they are a people who cultivate the land but little. a shows the dress of these people as they go to war; b that of the women, which differs in no wise from that of the montagnais and the great people of the algonquins, extending far into the interior.[ ] during the time that i was with them the chief of this tribe and their most prominent men entertained us with many banquets according to their custom, and took the trouble to go fishing and hunting with me, in order to treat me with the greatest courtesy possible. these people are very numerous, there being from seven to eight hundred souls, who live in general near the lake. this contains a large number of very pleasant islands, among others one more than six leagues long, with three or four fine ponds and a number of fine meadows; it is bordered by very fine woods, that contain an abundance of game, which frequent the little ponds, where the savages also catch fish. the northern side of the lake is very pleasant, with fine meadows for the grazing of cattle, and many little streams, discharging into the lake. they were fishing at that time in a lake very abundant in various kinds of fish, among others one a foot long that was very good. there are also other kinds which the savages catch for the purpose of drying and storing away. the lake is some eight leagues broad and twenty-five long,[ ] into which a river [ ] flows from the northwest, along which they go to barter the merchandise, which we give them in exchange for their peltry, with those who live on it, and who support themselves by hunting and fishing, their country containing great quantities of animals, birds, and fish.[ ] after resting two days with the chief of the nipissings we re-embarked in our canoes, and entered a river, by which this lake discharges itself.[ ] we proceeded down it some thirty-five leagues, and descended several little falls by land and by water, until we reached lake attigouautan. all this region is still more unattractive than the preceding, for i saw along this river only ten acres of arable land, the rest being rocky and very hilly. it is true that near lake attigouautan we found some indian corn, but only in small quantity. here our savages proceeded to gather some squashes, which were acceptable to us, for our provisions began to give out in consequence of the bad management of the savages, who ate so heartily at the beginning that towards the end very little was left, although we had only one meal a day. but, as i have mentioned before, we did not lack for blueberries [ ] and strawberries; otherwise we should have been in danger of being reduced to straits. we met three hundred men of a tribe we named _cheveux relevés_, [ ] since their hair is very high and carefully arranged, and better dressed beyond all comparison than that of our courtiers, in spite of their irons and refinements. this gives them a handsome appearance. they have no breeches, and their bodies are very much pinked in divisions of various shapes. they paint their faces in various colors, have their nostrils pierced, and their ears adorned with beads. when they go out of their houses they carry a club. i visited them, became somewhat acquainted, and formed a friendship with them. i gave a hatchet to their chief, who was as much pleased and delighted with it as if i had given him some rich present. entering into conversation with him, i inquired in regard to the extent of his country, which he pictured to me with coal on the bark of a tree. he gave me to understand that he had come into this place for drying the fruit called _bluës_ [ ] to serve for manna in winter, and when they can find nothing else. a and c show the manner in which they arm themselves when they go to war. they have as arms only the bow and arrow, made in the manner you see depicted, and which they regularly carry; also a round shield of dressed leather [ ] made from an animal like the buffalo. [ ] the next day we separated, and continued our course, along the shore of the lake of the attigouautan, [ ] which contains a large number of islands. we went some forty-five leagues, all the time along the shore of the lake. it is very large, nearly four hundred leagues long from east to west, and fifty leagues broad, and in view of its great extent i have named it the _mer douce_. [ ] it is very abundant in various sorts of very good fish, both those which we have and those we do not, but especially in trout, which are enormously large, some of which i saw as long as four feet and a half, the least being two feet and a half. there are also pike of like size, and a certain kind of sturgeon, a very large fish and of remarkable excellence. the country bordering this lake is partly hilly, as on the north side, and partly flat, inhabited by savages, and thinly covered with wood, including oaks. after crossing a bay, which forms one of the extremities of the lake, [ ] we went some seven leagues until we arrived in the country of the attigouautan at a village called _otoüacha_, on the first day of august. here we found a great change in the country. it was here very fine, the largest part being cleared up, and many hills and several rivers rendering the region agreeable. i went to see their indian corn, which was at that time far advanced for the season. these localities seemed to me very pleasant, in comparison with so disagreeable a region as that from which we had come. the next day i went to another village, called _carmaron_, a league distant from this, where they received us in a very friendly manner, making for us a banquet with their bread, squashes, and fish. as to meat, that is very scarce there. the chief of this village earnestly begged me to stay, to which i could not consent, but returned to our village, where on the next night but one, as i went out of the cabin to escape the fleas, of which there were large numbers and by which we were tormented, a girl of little modesty came boldly to me and offered to keep me company, for which i thanked her, sending her away with gentle remonstrances, and spent the night with some savages. the next day i departed from this village to go to another, called _touaguainchain_, and to another, called _tequenonquiaye_, in which we were received in a very friendly manner by the inhabitants, who showed us the best cheer they could with their indian corn served in various styles. this country is very fine and fertile, and travelling through it is very pleasant. thence i had them guide me to carhagouha, which was fortified by a triple palisade of wood thirty-five feet high for its defence and protection. in this village father joseph was staying, whom we saw and were very glad to find well. he on his part was no less glad, and was expecting nothing so little as to see me in this country. on the twelfth day of august the recollect father celebrated the holy mass, and a cross was planted near a small house apart from the village, which the savages built while i was staying there, awaiting the arrival of our men and their preparation to go to the war, in which they had been for a long time engaged. finding that they were so slow in assembling their army, and that i should have time to visit their country, i resolved to go by short days' journeys from village to village as far as cahiagué, where the rendezvous of the entire army was to be, and which was fourteen leagues distant from carhagouha, from which village i set out on the fourteenth of august with ten of my companions. i visited five of the more important villages, which were enclosed with palisades of wood, and reached cahiagué, the principal village of the country, where there were two hundred large cabins and where all the men of war were to assemble. now in all these villages they received us very courteously with their simple welcome. all the country where i went contains some twenty to thirty leagues, is very fine, and situated in latitude ° '. it is very extensively cleared up. they plant in it a great quantity of indian corn, which grows there finely. they plant likewise squashes,[ ] and sun-flowers,[ ] from the seed of which they make oil, with which they anoint the head. the region is extensively traversed with brooks, discharging into the lake. there are many very good vines [ ] and plums, which are excellent,[ ] raspberries,[ ] strawberries,[ ] little wild apples,[ ] nuts,[ ] and a kind of fruit of the form and color of small lemons, with a similar taste, but having an interior which is very good and almost like that of figs. the plant which bears this fruit is two and a half feet high, with but three or four leaves at most, which are of the shape of those of the fig-tree, and each plant bears but two pieces of fruit. there are many of these plants in various places, the fruit being very good and savory.[ ] oaks, elms, and beeches [ ] are numerous here, as also forests of fir, the regular retreat of partridges [ ] and hares.[ ] there are also quantities of small cherries [ ] and black cherries,[ ] and the same varieties of wood that we have in our forests in france. the soil seems to me indeed a little sandy, yet it is for all that good for their kind of cereal. the small tract of country which i visited is thickly settled with a countless number of human beings, not to speak of the other districts where i did not go, and which, according to general report, are as thickly settled or more so than those mentioned above. i reflected what a great misfortune it is that so many poor creatures live and die without the knowledge of god, and even without any religion or law established among them, whether divine, political, or civil; for they neither worship, nor pray to any object, at least so far as i could perceive from their conversation. but they have, however, some sort of ceremony, which i shall describe in its proper place, in regard to the sick, or in order to ascertain what is to happen to them, and even in regard to the dead. these, however, are the works of certain persons among them, who want to be confidentially consulted in such matters, as was the case among the ancient pagans, who allowed themselves to be carried away by the persuasions of magicians and diviners. yet the greater part of the people do not believe at all in what these charlatans do and say. they are very generous to one another in regard to provisions, but otherwise very avaricious. they do not give in return. they are clothed with deer and beaver skins, which they obtain from the algonquins and nipissings in exchange for indian corn and meal. on the th of august i arrived at cahiagué, where i was received with great joy and gladness by all the savages of the country, who had abandoned their undertaking, in the belief that they would see me no more, and that the iroquois had captured me, as i have before stated. this was the cause of the great delay experienced in this expedition, they even having postponed it to the following year. meanwhile they received intelligence that a certain nation of their allies, [ ] dwelling three good days' journeys beyond the entouhonorons, [ ] on whom the iroquois also make war, desired to assist them in this expedition with five hundred good men; also to form an alliance and establish a friendship with us, that we might all engage in the war together; moreover that they greatly desired to see us and give expression to the pleasure they would have in making our acquaintance. i was glad to find this opportunity for gratifying my desire of obtaining a knowledge of their country. it is situated only seven days from where the dutch [ ] go to traffic on the fortieth degree. the savages there, assisted by the dutch, make war upon them, take them prisoners, and cruelly put them to death; and indeed they told us that the preceding year, while making war, they captured three of the dutch, who were assisting their enemies, [ ] as we do the attigouautans, and while in action one of their own men was killed. nevertheless they did not fail to send back the three dutch prisoners, without doing them any harm, supposing that they belonged to our party, since they had no knowledge of us except by hearsay, never having seen a christian; otherwise, they said, these three prisoners would not have got off so easily, and would not escape again should they surprise and take them. this nation is very warlike, as those of the nation of the attigouautans maintain. they have only three villages, which are in the midst of more than twenty others, on which they make war without assistance from their friends; for they are obliged to pass through the thickly settled country of the chouontouaroüon,[ ] or else they would have to make a very long circuit. after arriving at the village, it was necessary for me to remain until the men of war should come from the surrounding villages, so that we might be off as soon as possible. during this time there was a constant succession of banquets and dances on account of the joy they experienced at seeing me so determined to assist them in their war, just as if they were already assured of victory. the greater portion of our men having assembled, we set out from the village on the first day of september, and passed along the shore of a small lake, [ ] distant three leagues from the village, where they catch large quantities of fish, which they preserve for the winter. there is another lake, [ ] closely adjoining, which is twenty-five leagues in circuit, and slows into the small one by a strait, where the above mentioned extensive fishing is carried on. this is done by means of a large number of stakes which almost close the strait, only some little openings being left where they place their nets, in which the fish are caught. these two lakes discharge into the _mer douce_. we remained some time in this place to await the rest of our savages. when they were all assembled, with their arms, meal, and necessaries, it was decided to choose some of the most resolute men to compose a party to go and give notice of our departure to those who were to assist us with five hundred men, that they might join us, and that we might appear together before the fort of the enemy. this decision having been made, they dispatched two canoes, with twelve of the most stalwart savages, and also with one of our interpreters, [ ] who asked me to permit him to make the journey, which i readily accorded, inasmuch as he was led to do so of his own will, and as he might in this way see their country and get a knowledge of the people living there. the danger, however, was not small, since it was necessary to pass through the midst of enemies. they set out on the th of the month, and on the th following there was a heavy white frost. we continued our journey towards the enemy, and went some five or six leagues through these lakes, [ ] when the savages carried their canoes about ten leagues by land. we then came to another lake, [ ] six to seven leagues in length and three broad. from this flows a river which discharges into the great lake of the entouhonorons. after traversing this lake we passed a fall, and continuing our course down this river for about sixty-four leagues [ ] entered the lake of the entouhonorons, having passed, on our way by land, five falls, some being from four to five leagues long. we also passed several lakes of considerable size, through which the river passes. the latter is large and very abundant in good fish. it is certain that all this region is very fine and pleasant. along the banks it seems as if the trees had been set out for ornament in most places, and that all these tracts were in former times inhabited by savages, who were subsequently compelled to abandon them from fear of their enemies. vines and nut-trees are here very numerous. grapes mature, yet there is always a very pungent tartness which is felt remaining in the throat when one eats them in large quantities, arising from defect of cultivation. these localities are very pleasant when cleared up. stags and bears are here very abundant. we tried the hunt and captured a large number as we journeyed down. it was done in this way. they place four or five hundred savages in line in the woods, so that they extend to certain points on the river; then marching in order with bow and arrow in hand, shouting and making a great noise in order to frighten the beasts, they continue to advance until they come to the end of the point. then all the animals between the point and the hunters are forced to throw themselves into the water, as many at least as do not fall by the arrows shot at them by the hunters. meanwhile the savages, who are expressly arranged and posted in their canoes along the shore, easily approach the stags and other animals, tired out and greatly frightened in the chase, when they readily kill them with the spear heads attached to the extremity of a piece of wood of the shape of a half pike. this is the way they engage in the chase; and they do likewise on the islands where there are large quantities of game. i took especial pleasure in seeing them hunt thus and in observing their dexterity. many animals were killed by the shot of the arquebus, at which the savages were greatly surprised. but it unfortunately happened that, while a stag was being killed, a savage, who chanced to come in range, was wounded by a shot of an arquebus. thence a great commotion arose among them, which however subsided when some presents were given to the wounded. this is the usual manner of allaying and settling quarrels, and, in case of the death of the wounded, presents are given to the relatives of the one killed. as to smaller game there is a large quantity of it in its season. there are also many cranes,[ ] white as swans, and other varieties of birds like those in france. we proceeded by short days' journeys as far as the shore of the lake of the entouhonorons, constantly hunting as before mentioned. here at its eastern extremity, which is the entrance to the great river st. lawrence, we made the traverse, in latitude °, [ ] where in the passage there are very large beautiful islands. we went about fourteen leagues in passing to the southern side of the lake towards the territory of the enemy. [ ] the savages concealed all their canoes in the woods near the shore. we went some four leagues over a sandy strand, where i observed a very pleasant and beautiful country, intersected by many little streams and two small rivers, which discharge into the before-mentioned lake, also many ponds and meadows, where there was an endless amount of game, many vines, fine woods, and a large number of chestnut trees, whose fruit was still in the burr. the chestnuts are small, but of a good flavor. the country is covered with forests, which over its greater portion have not been cleared up. all the canoes being thus hidden, we left the border of the lake, [ ] which is some eighty leagues long and twenty-five wide. [ ] the greater portion of its shores is inhabited by savages. we continued our course by land for about twenty-five or thirty leagues. in the space of four days we crossed many brooks, and a river which proceeds from a lake that discharges into that of the entouhonorons. [ ] this lake is twenty-five or thirty leagues in circuit, contains some fine islands, and is the place where our enemies, the iroquois, catch their fish, in which it abounds. on the th of the month of october our savages going out to reconnoitre met eleven savages, whom they took prisoners. they consisted of four women, three boys, one girl, and three men, who were going fishing and were distant some four leagues from the fort of the enemy. now it is to be noted that one of the chiefs, on seeing the prisoners, cut off the finger of one of these poor women as a beginning of their usual punishment; upon which i interposed and reprimanded the chief, iroquet, representing to him that it was not the act of a warrior, as he declared himself to be, to conduct himself with cruelty towards women, who have no defence but their tears and that one should treat them with humanity on account of their helplessness and weakness; and i told him that on the contrary this act would be deemed to proceed from a base and brutal courage, and that if he committed any more of these cruelties he would not give me heart to assist them or favor them in the war. to which the only answer he gave me was that their enemies treated them in the same manner, but that, since this was displeasing to me, he would not do anything more to the women, although he would to the men. the next day, at three o'clock in the afternoon, we arrived before the fort [ ] of their enemies, where the savages made some skirmishes with each other, although our design was not to disclose ourselves until the next day, which however the impatience of our savages would not permit, both on account of their desire to see fire opened upon their enemies, and also that they might rescue some of their own men who had become too closely engaged, and were hotly pressed. then i approached the enemy, and although i had only a few men, yet we showed them what they had never seen nor heard before; for, as soon as they saw us and heard the arquebus shots and the balls whizzing in their ears, they withdrew speedily to their fort, carrying the dead and wounded in this charge. we also withdrew to our main body, with five or six wounded, one of whom died. this done, we withdrew to the distance of cannon range, out of sight of the enemy, but contrary to my advice and to what they had promised me. this moved me to address them very rough and angry words in order to incite them to do their duty, foreseeing that if everything should go according to their whim and the guidance of their council, their utter ruin would be the result. nevertheless i did not fail to send to them and propose means which they should use in order to get possession of their enemies. these were, to make with certain kinds of wood a _cavalier_, which should be higher than the palisades. upon this were to be placed four or five of our arquebusiers, who should keep up a constant fire over their palisades and galleries, which were well provided with stones, and by this means dislodge the enemy who might attack us from their galleries. meanwhile orders were to be given to procure boards for making a sort of mantelet to protect our men from the arrows and stones of which the savages generally make use. these instruments, namely the cavalier and mantelets, were capable of being carried by a large number of men. one mantelet was so constructed that the water could not extinguish the fire, which might be set to the fort, under cover of the arquebusiers who were doing their duty on the cavalier. in this manner, i told them, we might be able to defend ourselves so that the enemy could not approach to extinguish the fire which we should set to their ramparts. this proposition they thought good and very seasonable, and immediately proceeded to carry it out as i directed. in fact the next day they set to work, some to cut wood, others to gather it, for building and equipping the cavalier and mantelets. the work was promptly executed and in less than four hours, although the amount of wood they had collected for burning against the ramparts, in order to set fire to them, was very small. their expectation was that the five hundred men who had promised to come would do so on this day, but doubt was felt about them, since they had not appeared at the rendezvous, as they had been charged to do, and as they had promised. this greatly troubled our savages; but seeing that they were sufficiently numerous to take the fort without other assistance, and thinking for my part that delay, if not in all things at least in many, is prejudicial, i urged them to attack it, representing to them that the enemy, having become aware of their force and our arms, which pierced whatever was proof against arrows, had begun to barricade themselves and cover themselves with strong pieces of wood, with which they were well provided and their village filled. i told them that the least delay was the best, since the enemy had already strengthened themselves very much; for their village was enclosed by four good palisades, which were made of great pieces of wood, interlaced with each other, with an opening of not more than half a foot between two, and which were thirty feet high, with galleries after the manner of a parapet, which they had furnished with double pieces of wood that were proof against our arquebus shots. moreover it was near a pond where the water was abundant, and was well supplied with gutters, placed between each pair of palisades, to throw out water, which they had also under cover inside, in order to extinguish fire. now this is the character of their fortifications and defences, which are much stronger than the villages of the attigouautan and others. we approached to attack the village, our cavalier being carried by two hundred of the strongest men, who put it down before the village at a pike's length off. i ordered three arquebusiers to mount upon it, who were well protected from the arrows and stones that could be shot or hurled at them. meanwhile the enemy did not fail to send a large number of arrows which did not miss, and a great many stones, which they hurled from their palisades. nevertheless a hot fire of arquebuses forced them to dislodge and abandon their galleries, in consequence of the cavalier which uncovered them, they not venturing to show themselves, but fighting under shelter. now when the cavalier was carried forward, instead of bringing up the mantelets according to order, including that one under cover of which we were to set the fire, they abandoned them and began to scream at their enemies, shooting arrows into the fort, which in my opinion did little harm to the enemy. but we must excuse them, for they are not warriors, and besides will have no discipline nor correction, and will do only what they please. accordingly one of them set fire inconsiderately to the wood placed against the fort of the enemy, quite the wrong way and in the face of the wind, so that it produced no effect. this fire being out, the greater part of the savages began to carry wood against the palisades, but in so small quantity that the fire could have no great effect. there also arose such disorder among them that one could not understand another, which greatly troubled me. in vain did i shout in their ears and remonstrate to my utmost with them as to the danger to which they exposed themselves by their bad behavior, but on account of the great noise they made they heard nothing. seeing that shouting would only burst my head, and that my remonstrances were useless for putting a stop to the disorder, i did nothing more, but determined together with my men to do what we could, and fire upon such as we could see. meanwhile the enemy profited by our disorder to get water and pour it so abundantly that you would have said brooks were flowing through their spouts, the result of which was that the fire was instantly extinguished, while they did not cease shooting their arrows, which fell upon us like hail. but the men on the cavalier killed and maimed many. we were engaged in this combat about three hours, in which two of our chiefs and leading warriors were wounded, namely, one called _ochateguain_ and another _orani_, together with some fifteen common warriors. the others, seeing their men and some of the chiefs wounded, now began to talk of a retreat without farther fighting, in expectation of the five hundred men, [ ] whose arrival could not be much delayed. thus they retreated, a disorderly rabble. moreover the chiefs have in fact no absolute control over their men, who are governed by their own will and follow their own fancy, which is the cause of their disorder and the ruin of all their undertakings; for, having determined upon anything with their leaders, it needs only the whim of a villain, or nothing at all, to lead them to break it off and form a new plan. thus there is no concert of action among them, as can be seen by this expedition. now we withdrew into our fort, i having received two arrow wounds, one in the leg, the other in the knee, which caused me great inconvenience, aside from the severe pain. when they were all assembled, i addressed them some words of remonstrance on the disorder that had occurred. but all i said availed nothing, and had no effect upon them. they replied that many of their men had been wounded like myself, so that it would cause the others much trouble and inconvenience to carry them as they retreated, and that it was not possible to return again against their enemies, as i told them it was their duty to do. they agreed, however, to wait four days longer for the five hundred men who were to come; and, if they came, to make a second effort against their enemies, and execute better what i might tell them than they had done in the past. with this i had to content myself, to my great regret. herewith is indicated the manner in which they fortify their towns, from which representation it may be inferred that those of their friends and enemies are fortified in like manner. the next day there was a violent wind, which lasted two days, and was very favorable for setting fire anew to the fort of the enemy which, although i urged them strongly, they were unwilling to do, as if they were afraid of getting the worst of it, and besides they pleaded their wounded as an excuse. we remained in camp until the th of the month, [ ] during which time there were some skirmishes between the enemy and our men, who were very often surrounded by the former, rather through their imprudence than from lack of courage; for i assure you that every time we went to the charge it was necessary for us to go and disengage them from the crowd, since they could only retreat under cover of our arquebusiers, whom the enemy greatly dreaded and feared; for as soon as they perceived any one of the arquebusiers they withdrew speedily, saying in a persuasive manner that we should not interfere in their combats, and that their enemies had very little courage to require us to assist them, with many other words of like tenor, in order to prevail upon us. i have represented by figure e the manner in which they arm themselves in going to war. after some days, seeing that the five hundred men did not come, they determined to depart, and enter upon their retreat as soon as possible. they proceeded to make a kind of basket for carrying the wounded, who are put into it crowded up in a heap, being bound and pinioned in such a manner that it is as impossible for them to move as for an infant in its swaddling clothes; but this is, not without causing the wounded much extreme pain. this i can say with truth from my own experience, having been carried some days, since i could not stand up, particularly on account of an arrow-wound which i had received in the knee. i never found myself in such a _gehenna_ as during this time, for the pain which i suffered in consequence of the wound in my knee was nothing in comparison with that which i endured while i was carried bound and pinioned on the back of one of our savages; so that i lost my patience, and as soon as i could sustain myself, got out of this prison, or rather _gehenna_. the enemy followed us about half a league, though at a distance, with the view of trying to take some of those composing the rear guard; but their efforts were vain, and they retired. now the only good point that i have seen in their mode of warfare is that they make their retreat very securely, placing all the wounded and aged in their centre, being well armed on the wings and in the rear, and continuing this order without interruption until they reach a place of security. their retreat was very long, being from twenty-five to thirty leagues, which caused the wounded much fatigue, as also those who carried them, although the latter relieved each other from time to time. on the th day of the month there fell much snow and hail, accompanied by a strong wind, which greatly incommoded us. nevertheless we succeeded in arriving at the shore of the lake of the entouhonorons, at the place where our canoes were concealed, which we found all intact, for we had been afraid lest the enemy might have broken them up. when they were all assembled, and i saw that they were ready to depart to their village, i begged them to take me to our settlement, which, though unwilling at first, they finally concluded to do, and sought four men to conduct me. four men were found, who offered themselves of their own accord; for, as i have before said, the chiefs have no control over their men, in consequence of which they are often unable to do as they would like. now the men having been found, it was necessary also to find a canoe, which was not to be had, each one needing his own, and there being no more than they required. this was far from being pleasant to me, but, on the contrary greatly annoyed me, since it led me to suspect some evil purpose, inasmuch as they had promised to conduct me to our settlement after their war. moreover i was poorly prepared for spending the winter with them, or else should not have been concerned about the matter. but not being able to do anything, i was obliged to resign myself in patience. now after some days i perceived that their plan was to keep me and my companions, not only as a security for themselves, for they feared their enemies, but also that i might listen to what took place in their councils and assemblies, and determine what they should do in the future against their enemies for their security and preservation. the next day, the th of the month, they began to make preparations; some to go deer-hunting, others to hunt bears and beavers, others to go fishing, others to return to their villages. an abode and lodging were furnished me by one of the principal chiefs, called _d'arontal_, with whom i already had some acquaintance. having offered me his cabin, provisions, and accommodations, he set out also for the deer-hunt, which is esteemed by them the greatest and most noble one. after crossing, from the island, [ ] the end of the lake, we entered a river [ ] some twelve leagues in extent. they then carried their canoes by land some half a league, when we entered a lake [ ] which was some ten or twelve leagues in circuit, where there was a large amount of game, as swans, [ ] white cranes, [ ] outardes, [ ] ducks, teal, song-thrush, [ ] larks, [ ] snipe, [ ] geese, [ ] and several other kinds of fowl too numerous to mention. of these i killed a great number, which stood us in good stead while waiting for the capture of a deer. from there we proceeded to a certain place some ten leagues distant, where our savages thought there were deer in abundance. assembled there were some twenty-five savages, who set to building two or three cabins out of pieces of wood fitted to each other, the chinks of which they stopped up by means of moss to prevent the entrance of the air, covering them with the bark of trees. when they had done this they went into the woods to a small forest of firs, where they made an enclosure in the form of a triangle, closed up on two sides and open on one. this enclosure was made of great stakes of wood closely pressed together, from eight to nine feet high, each of the sides being fifteen hundred paces long. at the extremity of this triangle there was a little enclosure, constantly diminishing in size, covered in part with boughs and with only an opening of five feet, about the width of a medium-sized door, into which the deer were to enter. they were so expeditious in their work, that in less than ten days they had their enclosure in readiness. meanwhile other savages had gone fishing, catching trout and pike of prodigious size, and enough to meet all our wants. all preparations being made, they set out half an hour before day to go into the wood, some half a league from the before-mentioned enclosure, separated from each other some eighty paces. each had two sticks, which they struck together, and they marched in this order at a slow pace until they arrived at their enclosure. the deer hearing this noise flee before them until they reach the enclosure, into which the savages force them to go. then they gradually unite on approaching the bay and opening of their triangle, the deer skirting the sides until they reach the end, to which the savages hotly pursue them, with bow and arrow in hand ready to let fly. on reaching the end of the triangle they begin to shout and imitate wolves, [ ] which are numerous, and which devour the deer. the deer, hearing this frightful noise, are constrained to enter the retreat by the little opening, whither they are very hotly pursued by arrow shots. having entered this retreat, which is so well closed and fastened that they can by no possibility get out, they are easily captured. i assure you that there is a singular pleasure in this chase, which took place every two days, and was so successful that, in the thirty-eight days [ ] during which we were there, they captured one hundred and twenty deer, which they make good use of, reserving the fat for winter, which they use as we do butter, and taking away to their homes some of the flesh for their festivities. they have other contrivances for capturing the deer; as snares, with which they kill many. you see depicted opposite the manner of their chase, enclosure, and snare. out of the skins they make garments. thus you see how we spent the time while waiting for the frost, that we might return the more easily, since the country is very marshy. when they first went out hunting, i lost my way in the woods, having followed a certain bird that seemed to me peculiar. it had a beak like that of a parrot, and was of the size of a hen. it was entirely yellow, except the head which was red, and the wings which were blue, and it flew by intervals like a partridge. the desire to kill it led me to pursue it from tree to tree for a very long time, until it flew away in good earnest. thus losing all hope, i desired to retrace my steps, but found none of our hunters, who had been constantly getting ahead, and had reached the enclosure. while trying to overtake them, and going, as it seemed to me, straight to where the enclosure was, i found myself lost in the woods, going now on this side now on that, without being able to recognize my position. the night coming on, i was obliged to spend it at the foot of a great tree, and in the morning set out and walked until three o'clock in the afternoon, when i came to a little pond of still water. here i noticed some game, which i pursued, killing three or four birds, which were very acceptable, since i had had nothing to eat. unfortunately for me there had been no sunshine for three days, nothing but rain and cloudy weather, which increased my trouble. tired and exhausted i prepared to rest myself and cook the birds in order to alleviate the hunger which i began painfully to feel, and which by god's favor was appeased. when i had made my repast i began to consider what i should do, and to pray god to give me the will and courage to sustain patiently my misfortune if i should be obliged to remain abandoned in this forest without counsel or consolation except the divine goodness and mercy, and at the same time to exert myself to return to our hunters. thus committing all to his mercy i gathered up renewed courage going here and there all day, without perceiving any foot-print or path, except those of wild beasts, of which i generally saw a good number. i was obliged to pass here this night also. unfortunately i had forgotten to bring with me a small compass which would have put me on the right road, or nearly so. at the dawn of day, after a brief repast, i set out in order to find, if possible, some brook and follow it, thinking that it must of necessity flow into the river on the border of which our hunters were encamped. having resolved upon this plan, i carried it out so well that at noon i found myself on the border of a little lake, about a league and a half in extent, where i killed some game, which was very timely for my wants; i had likewise remaining some eight or ten charges of powder, which was a great satisfaction. i proceeded along the border of this lake to see where it discharged, and found a large brook, which i followed until five o'clock in the evening, when i heard a great noise, but on carefully listening failed to perceive clearly what it was. on hearing the noise, however, more distinctly, i concluded that it was a fall of water in the river which i was searching for. i proceeded nearer, and saw an opening, approaching which i found myself in a great and far-reaching meadow, where there was a large number of wild beasts, and looking to my right i perceived the river, broad and long. i looked to see if i could not recognize the place, and walking along on the meadow i noticed a little path where the savages carried their canoes. finally, after careful observation, i recognized it as the same river, and that i had gone that way before. i passed the night in better spirits than the previous ones, supping on the little i had. in the morning i re-examined the place where i was, and concluded from certain mountains on the border of the river that i had not been deceived, and that our hunters must be lower down by four or five good leagues. this distance i walked at my leisure along the border of the river, until i perceived the smoke of our hunters, where i arrived to the great pleasure not only of myself but of them, who were still searching for me, but had about given up all hopes of seeing me again. they begged me not to stray off from them any more, or never to forget to carry with me my compass, and they added: if you had not come, and we had not succeeded in finding you, we should never have gone again to the french, for fear of their accusing us of having killed you. after this he [ ] was very careful of me when i went hunting, always giving me a savage as companion, who knew how to find again the place from which he started so well that it was something very remarkable. to return to my subject: they have a kind of superstition in regard to this hunt; namely, they believe that if they should roast any of the meat taken in this way, or if any of the fat should fall into the fire, or if any of the bones should be thrown into it, they would not be able to capture any more deer. accordingly they begged me to roast none of this meat, but i laughed at this and their way of doing. yet, in order not to offend them, i cheerfully desisted, at least in their presence; though when they were out of sight i took some of the best and roasted it, attaching no credit to their superstitions. when i afterwards told them what i had done, they would not believe me, saying that they could not have taken any deer after the doing of such a thing. on the fourth day of december we set out from this place, walking on the river, lakes, and ponds, which were frozen, and sometimes through the woods. thus we went for nineteen days, undergoing much hardship and toil, both the savages, who were loaded with a hundred pounds, and myself, who carried a burden of twenty pounds, which in the long journey tired me very much. it is true that i was sometimes relieved by our savages, but nevertheless i suffered great discomfort. the savages, in order to go over the ice more easily, are accustomed to make a kind of wooden sledge, [ ] on which they put their loads, which they easily and swiftly drag along. some days after there was a thaw, which caused us much trouble and annoyance; for we had to go through pine forests full of brooks, ponds, marshes, and swamps, where many trees had been blown down upon each other. this caused us a thousand troubles and embarrassments, and great discomfort, as we were all the time wet to above our knees. we were four days in this plight, since in most places the ice would not bear. at last, on the th of the month, we succeeded in arriving at our village. [ ] here the captain yroquet had come to winter with his companions, who are algonquins, also his son, whom he brought for the sake of treatment, since while hunting he had been seriously injured by a bear which he was trying to kill. after resting some days i determined to go and visit father joseph, and to see in winter the people where he was, whom the war had not permitted me to see in the summer. i set out from this village on the th [ ] of january following, thanking my host for the kindness he had shown me, and, taking formal leave of him, as i did not expect to see him again for three months. the next day i saw father joseph, [ ] in his small house where he had taken up his abode, as i have before stated. i stayed with him some days, finding him deliberating about making a journey to the petun people, as i had also thought of doing, although it was very disagreeable travelling in winter. we set out together on the fifteenth of february to go to that nation, where we arrived on the seventeenth of the month. [ ] these petun people plant the maize, called by us _blé de turquie_, and have fixed abodes like the rest. we went to seven other villages of their neighbors and allies, with whom we contracted friendship, and who promised to come in good numbers to our settlement. they welcomed us with good cheer, making a banquet with meat and fish, as is their custom. to this the people from all quarters flocked in order to see us, showing many manifestations of friendship, and accompanying us on the greater part of our way back. the country is diversified with pleasant slopes and plains. they were beginning to build two villages, through which we passed, and which were situated in the midst of the woods, because of the convenience [ ] of building and fortifying their towns there. these people live like the attignouaatitans, [ ] and have the same customs. they are situated near the nation neutre, [ ] which are powerful and occupy a great extent of country. after visiting these people, we set out from that place, and went to a nation of savages, whom we named _cheveux relevés_. [ ] they were very happy to see us again, and we entered into friendship with them, while they in return promised to come and see us, namely at the habitation in this place. it has seemed to me desirable to describe them and their country, their customs and mode of life. in the first place they are at war with another nation of savages, called asistagueroüon, [ ] which means _gens de feu_, who are distant from them ten days' journey. i informed myself accordingly very particularly in regard to their country and the tribes living there, as also to their character and numbers. the people of this nation are very numerous, and are for the most part great warriors, hunters, and fishermen. they have several chiefs, each ruling in his own district. in general they plant indian corn, and other cereals. they are hunters who go in troops to various regions and countries, where they traffic with other nations, distant four or five hundred leagues. they are the cleanest savages in their household affairs that i have ever seen, and are very industrious in making a kind of mat, which constitutes their turkish carpets. the women have the body covered, but the men go uncovered, with the exception of a fur robe in the form of a cloak, which they usually leave off in summer. the women and girls are not more moved at seeing them thus, than if they saw nothing unusual. the women live very happily with their husbands. they have the following custom when they have their catamenia: the wives withdraw from their husbands, or the daughter from her father and mother and other relatives, and go to certain small houses. there they remain in retirement, awaiting their time, without any company of men, who bring them food and necessaries until their return. thus it is known who have their catamenia and who have not. this tribe is accustomed more than others to celebrate great banquets. they gave us good cheer and welcomed us very cordially, earnestly begging me to assist them against their enemies, who dwell on the banks of the _mer douce_, two hundred leagues distant; to which i replied that they must wait until another time, as i was not provided with the necessary means. they were at a loss how to welcome us. i have represented them in figure c as they go to war. there is, also, at a distance of a two days' journey from them, in a southerly direction, another savage nation, that produces a large amount of tobacco. this is called _nation neutre_. they number four thousand warriors, and dwell westward of the lake of the entouhonorons, which is from eighty to a hundred leagues in extent. they, however, assist the _cheveux relevés_ against the _gens de feu_. but with the iroquois and our allies they are at peace, and preserve a neutrality. there is a cordial understanding towards both of these nations, and they do not venture to engage in any dispute or quarrel, but on the contrary often eat and drink with them like good friends. i was very desirous of visiting this nation, but the people where we were dissuaded me from it, saying that the year before one of our men had killed one of them, when we were at war with the entouhonorons, which offended them; and they informed us that they are much inclined to revenge, not concerning themselves as to who struck the blow, but inflicting the penalty upon the first one they meet of the nation, even though one of their friends, when they succeed in catching him, unless harmony has been previously restored between them, and gifts and presents bestowed upon the relatives of the deceased. thus i was prevented for the time being from going, although some of this nation assured us that they would do us no harm for the reason assigned above. thus we were led to return the same way we had come, and continuing my journey, i reached the nation of the _pisierinii_, [ ] who had promised to conduct me farther on in the prosecution of my plans and explorations. but i was prevented by the intelligence which came from our great village and the algonquins, where captain yroquet was, namely, that the people of the nation of the atignouaatitans [ ] had placed in his hands a prisoner of a hostile nation, in the expectation that this captain yroquet would exercise on the prisoner the revenge usual among them. but they said that, instead of doing so, he had not only set him at liberty, but, having found him apt, and an excellent hunter, had treated him as his son, on account of which the atignouaatitans had become jealous and resolved upon vengeance, and had in fact appointed a man to go and kill this prisoner, allied as he was. as he was put to death in the presence of the chiefs of the algonquin nation, they, indignant at such an act and moved to anger, killed on the spot this rash murderer; whereupon the atignouaatitans feeling themselves insulted, seeing one of their comrades dead, seized their arms and went to the tents of the algonquins, who were passing the winter near the above mentioned village, and belabored them severely, captain yroquet receiving two arrow wounds. at another time they pillaged some of the cabins of the algonquins before the latter could place themselves in a state of defence, so that they had not an equal chance. notwithstanding this they were not reconciled to the algonquins, who for securing peace had given the atignouaatitans fifty necklaces of porcelain and a hundred branches of the same [ ] which they value highly, and likewise a number of kettles and axes, together with two female prisoners in place of the dead man. they were, in a word, still in a state of violent animosity. the algonquins were obliged to suffer patiently this great rage, and feared that they might all be killed, not feeling any security, notwithstanding their gifts, until they should be differently situated. this intelligence greatly disturbed me, when i considered the harm that might arise not only to them, but to us as well, who were in their country. i then met two or three savages of our large village, who earnestly entreated me to go to them in order to effect a reconciliation, declaring that if i did not go none of them would come to us any more, since they were at war with the algonquins and regarded us as their friends. in view of this i set out as soon as possible, and visited on my way the nipissings to ascertain when they would be ready for the journey to the north, which i found broken off on account of these quarrels and hostilities, as my interpreter gave me to understand, who said that captain yroquet had come among all these tribes to find and await me. he had requested them to be at the habitation of the french at the same time with himself to see what agreement could be made between them and the atignouaatitans, and to postpone the journey to the north to another time. moreover, yroquet had given porcelain to break off this journey. they promised us to be at our habitation at the same time as the others. if ever there was one greatly disheartened it was myself, since i had been waiting to see this year what during many preceding ones i had been seeking for with great toil and effort, through so many fatigues and risks of my life. but realizing that i could not help the matter, and that everything depended on the will of god, i comforted myself, resolving to see it in a short time. i had such sure information that i could not doubt the report of these people, who go to traffic with others dwelling in those northern regions, a great part of whom live in a place very abundant in the chase, and where there are great numbers of large animals, the skins of several of which i saw, and which i concluded were buffaloes [ ] from their representation of their form. fishing is also very abundant there. this journey requires forty days, as well in returning as in going. i set out towards our above-mentioned village on the th of february, taking with me six of our men. having arrived at that place the inhabitants were greatly pleased, as also the algonquins, whom i sent our interpreter to visit in order to ascertain how everything had taken place on both sides, for i did not wish to go myself that i might give no ground for suspicion to either party. two days were spent in hearing from both sides how everything had taken place. after this the principal men and seniors of the place came away with us, and we all together went to the algonquins. here in one of their cabins, where several of the leading men were assembled, they all, after some talk, agreed to come and accept all that might be said by me as arbiter in the matter, and to carry out what i might propose. then i gathered the views of each one, obtaining and investigating the wishes and inclinations of both parties, and ascertained that all they wanted was peace. i set forth to them that the best course was to become reconciled and remain friends, since being united and bound together they could the more easily withstand their enemies; and as i went away i begged them not to ask me to effect their reconciliation if they did not intend to follow in all respects the advice i should give them in regard to this dispute, since they had done me the honor to request my opinion. whereupon they told me anew that they had not desired my return for any other reason. i for my part thought that if i should not reconcile and pacify them they would separate ill disposed towards each other, each party thinking itself in the right. i reflected, also, that they would not have gone to their cabins if i had not been with them, nor to the french if i had not interested myself and taken, so to speak, the charge and conduct of their affairs. upon this i said to them that as for myself i proposed to go with my host, who had always treated me well, and that i could with difficulty find one so good; for it was on him that the algonquins laid the blame, saying that he was the only captain who had caused the taking up of arms. much was said by both sides, and finally it was concluded that i should tell them what seemed to me best, and give them my advice. since i saw now from what was said that they referred the whole matter to my own decision as to that of a father, and promised that in the future i might dispose of them as i thought best, referring the whole matter to my judgment for settlement, i replied that i was very glad to see them so inclined to follow my advice, and assured them that it should be only for the best interests of the tribes. moreover i told them, i had been greatly disturbed at hearing the further sad intelligence, namely the death of one of their relatives and friends, whom we regarded as one of our own, which might have caused a great calamity resulting in nothing but perpetual wars between both parties, with various and serious disasters and a rupture of their friendship, in consequence of which the french would be deprived of seeing them and of intercourse with them, and be obliged to enter into alliance with other nations; since we loved each other as brothers, leaving to god the punishment of those meriting it. i proceeded to say to them, that this mode of action between two nations, who were, as they acknowledged, friendly to each other, was unworthy of reasoning men, but rather characteristic of brute beasts. i represented to them, moreover, that they were enough occupied in repelling their enemies who pursued them, in routing them as often as possible, in pursuing them to their villages and taking them prisoners; and that these enemies, seeing divisions and wars among them, would be delighted and derive great advantage therefrom; and be led to lay new and pernicious plans, in the hope of soon being able to see their ruin, or at least their enfeebling through one another, which would be the truest and easiest way for them to conquer and become masters of their territories, since they did not assist each other. i told them likewise that they did not realize the harm that might befall them from thus acting; that on account of the death of one man they hazarded the lives of ten thousand, and ran the risk of being reduced to perpetual slavery; that, although in fact one man was of great value, yet they ought to consider how he had been killed, and that it was not with deliberate purpose, nor for the sake of inciting a civil war, it being only too evident that the dead man had first offended, since with deliberate purpose he had killed the prisoner in their cabins, a most audacious thing, even if the latter were an enemy. this aroused the algonquins, who, seeing a man that had been so bold as to kill in their own cabins another to whom they had given liberty and treated as one of themselves, were carried away with passion; and some, more excited than the rest, advanced, and, unable to restrain or control their wrath, killed the man in question. nevertheless they had no ill feeling at all towards the nation as a whole, and did not extend their purposes beyond the audacious one, who, they thought, fully deserved what he had wantonly earned. and besides i told them they must consider that the entouhonoron, finding himself wounded by two blows in the stomach, tore from his wound the knife which his enemy had left there and gave the latter two blows, as i had been informed; so that in fact one could not tell whether it was really the algonquins who had committed the murder. and in order to show to the attigouantans that the algonquins did not love the prisoner, and that yroquet did not bear towards him the affection which they were disposed to think, i reminded them that they had eaten him, as he had inflicted blows with a knife upon his enemy; a thing, however, unworthy of a human being, but rather characteristic of brute beasts. i told them also that the algonquins very much regretted all that had taken place, and that, if they had supposed such a thing would have happened, they would have sacrificed this iroquois for their satisfaction. i reminded them likewise that they had made recompense for this death and offence, if so it should be called, by large presents and two prisoners, on which account they had no reason at present to complain, and ought to restrain themselves and act more mildly towards the algonquins, their friends. i told them that, since they had promised to submit every thing to arbitration, i entreated them to forget all that had passed between them and never to think of it again, nor bear any hatred or ill will on account of it to each other, but to live good friends as before, by doing which they would constrain us to love them and assist them as i had done in the past. but in case they should not be pleased with my advice, i requested them to come, in as large numbers as possible, to our settlement, so that there, in the presence of all the captains of vessels, our friendship might be ratified anew, and measures taken to secure them from their enemies, a thing which they ought to consider. then they began to say that i had spoken well, and that they would adhere to what i had said, and all went away to their cabins, apparently satisfied, excepting the algonquins, who broke up and proceeded to their village, but who, as it seemed to me, appeared to be not entirely satisfied, since they said among themselves that they would not come to winter again in these places, the death of these two men having cost them too dearly. as for myself, i returned to my host, in whom i endeavored to inspire all the courage i could, in order to induce him to come to our settlement, and bring with him all those of his country. during the winter, which lasted four months, i had sufficient leisure to observe their country, customs, dress, manner of living, the character of their assemblies, and other things which i should like to describe. but it is necessary first to speak of the situation of the country in general and its divisions, also of the location of the tribes and the distances between them. the country extends in length, in the direction from east to west, nearly four hundred and fifty leagues, and some eighty or a hundred leagues in breadth from north to south, from latitude ° to ° or ° [ ] this region is almost an island, surrounded by the great river saint lawrence, which passes through several lakes of great extent, on the shores of which dwell various tribes speaking different languages, having fixed abodes, and all fond of the cultivation of the soil, but with various modes of life, and customs, some better than others. on the shore north of this great river, extending westerly some hundred leagues towards the attigouantans, [ ] there are very high mountains, and the air is more temperate than in any other part of these regions, the latitude being °. all these places abound in game, such as stags, caribous, elks, does, [ ] buffaloes, bears, wolves, beavers, foxes, minxes, [ ] weasels, [ ] and many other kinds of animals which we do not have in france. fishing is abundant, there being many varieties, both those which we have in france, as also others which we have not. there are likewise many birds in their time and season. the country is traversed by numerous rivers, brooks, and ponds, connecting with each other and finally emptying into the river st. lawrence and the lakes through which it passes. the country is very pleasant in spring, is covered with extensive and lofty forests, and filled with wood similar to that which we have in france, although in many places there is much cleared land, where they plant indian corn. this region also abounds in meadows, lowlands, and marshes, which furnish food for the animals before mentioned. the country north of the great river is very rough and mountainous, and extends in latitude from ° to °, and in places abounds in rocks. [ ] so far as i could make out, these regions are inhabited by savages, who wander through the country, not engaging in the cultivation of the soil, nor doing anything, or at least as good as nothing. but they are hunters, now in one place, now in another, the region being very cold and disagreeable. this land on the north is in latitude ° and extends over six hundred leagues in breadth from east to west, of parts of which we have full knowledge. there are also many fine large rivers rising in this region and discharging into the before-mentioned river, together with an infinite number of fine meadows, lakes, and ponds, through which they pass, where there is an abundance of fish. there are likewise numerous islands which are for the most part cleared up and very pleasant, the most of them containing great quantities of vines and wild fruits. with regard to the regions further west, we cannot well determine their extent, since the people here have no knowledge of them except for two or three hundred leagues or more westerly, from whence comes the great river, which passes, among other places, through a lake having an extent of nearly thirty days' journey by canoe, namely that which we have called the _mer douce_. this is of great extent, being nearly four hundred leagues long. inasmuch as the savages, with whom we are on friendly terms, are at war with other nations on the west of this great lake, we cannot obtain a more complete knowledge of them, except as they have told us several times that some prisoners from the distance of a hundred leagues had reported that there were tribes there like ourselves in color and in other respects. through them they have seen the hair of these people which is very light, and which they esteem highly, saying that it is like our own. i can only conjecture in regard to this, that the people they say resemble us were those more civilized than themselves. it would require actual presence to ascertain the truth in regard to this matter. but assistance is needed, and it is only men of means, leisure, and energy, who could or would undertake to promote this enterprise so that a full exploration of these places might be made, affording us a complete knowledge of them. in regard to the region south of the great river it is very thickly settled, much more so than that on the north, and by tribes who are at war with each other. the country is very pleasant, much more so than that on the northern border, and the air is more temperate. there are many kinds of trees and fruits not found north of the river, while there are many things on the north side, in compensation, not found on the south. the regions towards the east are sufficiently well known, inasmuch as the ocean borders these places. these are the coasts of labrador, newfoundland, cape breton, la cadie, and the almouchiquois, [ ] places well known, as i have treated of them sufficiently in the narrative of my previous voyages, as likewise of the people living there, on which account i shall not speak of them in this treatise, my object being only to make a succinct and true report of what i have seen in addition. the country of the nation of the attigouantans is in latitude ° ', and extends two hundred and thirty leagues [ ] in length westerly, and ten in breadth. it contains eighteen villages, six of which are enclosed and fortified by palisades of wood in triple rows, bound together, on the top of which are galleries, which they provide with stones and water; the former to hurl upon their enemies and the latter to extinguish the fire which their enemies may set to the palisades. the country is pleasant, most of it cleared up. it has the shape of brittany, and is similarly situated, being almost surrounded by the _mer douce_ [ ] they assume that these eighteen villages are inhabited by two thousand warriors, not including the common mass which amounts to perhaps thirty thousand souls. their cabins are in the shape of tunnels or arbors, and are covered with the bark of trees. they are from twenty-five to thirty fathoms long, more or less, and six wide, having a passage-way through the middle from ten to twelve feet wide, which extends from one end to the other. on the two sides there is a kind of bench, four feet high, where they sleep in summer, in order to avoid the annoyance of the fleas, of which there are great numbers. in winter they sleep on the ground on mats near the fire, so as to be warmer than they would be on the platform. they lay up a stock of dry wood, with which they fill their cabins, to burn in winter. at the extremity of the cabins there is a space, where they preserve their indian corn, which they put into great casks made of the bark of trees and placed in the middle of their encampment. they have pieces of wood suspended, on which they put their clothes, provisions, and other things, for fear of the mice, of which there are great numbers. in one of these cabins there may be twelve fires, and twenty-four families. it smokes excessively, from which it follows that many receive serious injury to the eyes, so that they lose their sight towards the close of life. there is no window nor any opening, except that in the upper part of their cabins for the smoke to escape. this is all that i have been able to learn about their mode of life; and i have described to you fully the kind of dwelling of these people, as far as i have been able to learn it, which is the same as that of all the tribes living in these regions. they sometimes change their villages at intervals of ten, twenty, or thirty years, and transfer them to a distance of one, two, or three leagues from the preceding situation, [ ] except when compelled by their enemies to dislodge, in which case they retire to a greater distance, as the antouhonorons, who went some forty to fifty leagues. this is the form of their dwellings, which are separated from each other some three or four paces, for fear of fire, of which they are in great dread. their life is a miserable one in comparison with our own; but they are happy among themselves, not having experienced anything better, and not imagining that anything more excellent is to be found. their principal articles of food are indian corn and brazilian beans, [ ] which they prepare in various ways. by braying in a wooden mortar they reduce the corn to meal. they remove the bran by means of fans made of the bark of trees. from this meal they make bread, using also beans which they first boil, as they do the indian corn for soup, so that they may be more easily crushed. then they mix all together, sometimes adding blueberries [ ] or dry raspberries, and sometimes pieces of deer's fat, though not often, as this is scarce with them. after steeping the whole in lukewarm water, they make bread in the form of bannocks or pies, which they bake in the ashes. after they are baked they wash them, and from these they often make others by wrapping them in corn leaves, which they fasten to them, and then putting them in boiling water. but this is not their most common kind. they make another, which they call _migan_, which is as follows: they take the pounded indian corn, without removing the bran, and put two or three handfuls of it in an earthen pot full of water. this they boil, stirring it from time to time, that it may not burn nor adhere to the pot. then they put into the pot a small quantity of fish, fresh or dry, according to the season, to give a flavor to the _migan_, as they call it. they make it very often, although it smells badly, especially in winter, either because they do not know how to prepare it rightly, or do not wish to take the trouble to do so. they make two kinds of it, and prepare it very well when they choose. when they use fish the _migan_ does not smell badly, but only when it is made with venison. after it is all cooked, they take out the fish, pound it very fine, and then put it all together into the pot, not taking the trouble to remove the appendages, scales, or inwards, as we do, which generally causes a bad taste. it being thus prepared, they deal out to each one his portion. this _migan_ is very thin, and without much substance, as may be well supposed. as for drink, there is no need of it, the _migan_ being sufficiently thin of itself. they have another kind of _migan_, namely, they roast new corn before it is ripe, which they preserve and cook whole with fish, or flesh when they have it. another way is this: they take indian corn, which is very dry, roast it in the ashes, then bray it and reduce it to meal as in the former case. this they lay up for the journeys which they undertake here and there. the _migan_ made in the latter manner is the best according to my taste. figure h shows the women braying their indian corn. in preparing it, they cook a large quantity of fish and meat, which they cut into pieces and put into great kettles, which they fill with water and let it all boil well. when this is done, they gather with a spoon from the surface the fat which comes from the meat and fish. then they put in the meal of the roasted corn, constantly stirring it until the _migan_ is cooked and thick as soup. they give to each one a portion, together with a spoonful of the fat. this dish they are accustomed to prepare for banquets, but they do not generally make it. now the corn freshly roasted, as above described, is highly esteemed among them. they eat also beans, which they boil with the mass of the roasted flour, mixing in a little fat and fish. dogs are in request at their banquets, which they often celebrate among themselves, especially in winter, when they are at leisure. in case they go hunting for deer or go fishing, they lay aside what they get for celebrating these banquets, nothing remaining in their cabins but the usual thin _migan_, resembling bran and water, such as is given to hogs to eat. they have another way of eating the indian corn. in preparing it, they take it in the ear and put it in water under the mud, leaving it two or three months in this state until they think it is putrefied. then they remove it, and eat it boiled with meat or fish. they also roast it, and it is better so than boiled. but i assure you that there is nothing that smells so badly as this corn as it comes from the water all muddy. yet the women and children take it and suck it like sugar-cane, nothing seeming to them to taste better, as they show by their manner. in general they have two meals a day. as for ourselves, we fasted all of lent and longer, in order to influence them by our example. but it was time lost. they also fatten bears, which they keep two or three years, for the purpose of their banquets. i observed that if this people had domestic animals they would be interested in them and care for them very well, and i showed them the way to keep them, which would be an easy thing for them, since they have good grazing grounds in their country, and in large quantities, for all kinds of animals, horses, oxen, cows, sheep, swine, and other kinds, for lack of which one would consider them badly off, as they seem to be. yet with all their drawbacks, they seem to me to live happily among themselves, since their only ambition is to live and support themselves, and they lead a more settled life than those who wander through the forests like brute beasts. they eat many squashes, [ ] which they boil, and roast in the ashes. in regard to their dress, they have various kinds and styles made of the skins of wild beasts, both those which they capture themselves, and others which they get in exchange for their indian corn, meal, porcelain, and fishing-nets from the algonquins, nipissings, and other tribes, which are hunters having no fixed abodes. all their clothes are of one uniform shape, not varied by any new styles. they prepare and fit very well the skins, making their breeches of deer-skin rather large, and their stockings of another piece, which extend up to the middle and have many folds. their shoes are made of the skins of deer, bears, and beaver, of which they use great numbers. besides, they have a robe of the same fur, in the form of a cloak, which they wear in the irish or egyptian style, with sleeves which are attached with a string behind. this is the way they are dressed in winter, as is seen in figure d. when they go into the fields, they gird up their robe about the body; but when in the village, they leave off their sleeves and do not gird themselves. the milan trimmings for decorating their garments are made of glue and the scrapings of the before-mentioned skins, of which they make bands in various styles according to their fancy, putting in places bands of red and brown color amid those of the glue, which always keep a whitish appearance, not losing at all their shape, however dirty they may get. there are those among these nations who are much more skilful than others in fitting the skins, and ingenious in inventing ornaments to put on their garments. it is our montagnais and algonquins, above all others, who take more pains in this matter. they put on their robes bands of porcupine quills, which they dye a very fine scarlet color. [ ] they value these bands very highly, and detach them so that they may serve for other robes when they wish to make a change. they also make use of them to adorn the face, in order to give it a more graceful appearance whenever they wish particularly to decorate themselves. most of them paint the face black and red. these colors they mix with oil made from the seed of the sun-flower, or with bear's fat or that of other animals. they also dye their hair, which some wear long, others short, others on one side only. the women and girls always wear their hair in one uniform style. they are dressed like men, except that they always have their robes girt about them, which extend down to the knee. they are not at all ashamed to expose the body from the middle up and from the knees down, unlike the men, the rest being always covered. they are loaded with quantities of porcelain, in the shape of necklaces and chains, which they arrange in the front of their robes and attach to their waists. they also wear bracelets and ear-rings. they have their hair carefully combed, dyed, and oiled. thus they go to the dance, with a knot of their hair behind bound up with eel-skin, which they use as a cord. sometimes they put on plates a foot square, covered with porcelain, which hang on the back. thus gaily dressed and habited, they delight to appear in the dance, to which their fathers and mothers send them, forgetting nothing that they can devise to embellish and set off their daughters. i can testify that i have seen at dances a girl who had more than twelve pounds of porcelain on her person, not including the other bagatelles with which they are loaded and bedecked. in the illustration already cited, f shows the dress of the women, g that of the girls attired for the dance. all these people have a very jovial disposition, although there are many of them who have a sad and gloomy look. their bodies are well proportioned. some of the men and women are well formed, strong, and robust. there is a moderate number of pleasing and pretty girls, in respect to figure, color, and expression, all being in harmony. their blood is but little deteriorated, except when they are old. there are among these tribes powerful women of extraordinary height. these have almost the entire care of the house and work; namely, they till the land, plant the indian corn, lay up a store of wood for the winter, beat the hemp and spin it, making from the thread fishing-nets and other useful things. the women harvest the corn, house it, prepare it for eating, and attend to household matters. moreover they are expected to attend their husbands from place to place in the fields, filling the office of pack-mule in carrying the baggage, and to do a thousand other things. all the men do is to hunt for deer and other animals, fish, make their cabins, and go to war. having done these things, they then go to other tribes with which they are acquainted to traffic and make exchanges. on their return, they give themselves up to festivities and dances, which they give to each other, and when these are over they go to sleep, which they like to do best of all things. they have some sort of marriage, which is as follows: when a girl has reached the age of eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, or fifteen years she has suitors, more or less according to her attractions, who woo her for some time. after this, the consent of their fathers and mothers is asked, to whose will the girls often do not submit, although the most discreet and considerate do so. the lover or suitor presents to the girl some necklaces, chains, and bracelets of porcelain. if the girl finds the suitor agreeable, she receives the present. then the lover comes and remains with her three or four nights, without saying anything to her during the time. they receive thus the fruit of their affections. whence it happens very often that, after from eight to fifteen days, if they cannot agree, she quits her suitor, who forfeits his necklaces and other presents that he has made, having received in return only a meagre satisfaction. being thus disappointed in his hopes, the man seeks another woman, and the girl another suitor, if it seems to them desirable. thus they continue to do until a favorable union is formed. it sometimes happens that a girl thus passes her entire youth, having more than twenty mates, which twenty are not alone in the enjoyment of the creature, mated though they are; for when night comes the young women run from one cabin to another, as do also the young men on their part, going where it seems good to them, but always without any violence, referring the whole matter to the pleasure of the woman. their mates will do likewise to their women-neighbors, no jealousy arising among them on that account, nor do they incur any reproach or insult, such being the custom of the country. now the time when they do not leave their mates is when they have children. the preceding mate returns to her, renews the affection and friendship which he had borne her in the past, asserting that it is greater than that of any other one, and that the child she has is his and of his begetting. the next says the same to her. in time, the victory is with the stronger, who takes the woman for his wife. thus it depends upon the choice of the woman to take and accept him who shall please her best, having meantime in her searching and loves gained much porcelain and, besides, the choice of a husband. the woman remains with him without leaving him; or if she do leave him, for he is on trial, it must be for some good reason other than impotence. but while with this husband, she does not cease to give herself free rein, yet remains always at home, keeping up a good appearance. thus the children which they have together, born from such a woman, cannot be sure of their legitimacy. accordingly, in view of this uncertainty, it is their custom that the children never succeed to the property and honors of their fathers, there being doubt, as above indicated, as to their paternity. they make, however, the children of their sisters, from whom they are known to have issued, their successors and heirs. the following is the way they nourish and bring up their children: they place them during the day on a little wooden board, wrapping them up in furs or skins. to this board they bind them, placing them in an erect position, and leaving a little opening for the child to do its necessities. if it is a girl, they put a leaf of indian corn between the thighs, which presses against its privates. the extremity of the leaf is carried outside in a turned position, so that the water of the child runs off on it without inconvenience. they put also under the children the down of certain reeds that we call hare's-foot, on which they rest very softly. they also clean them with the same down. as an ornament for the child, they adorn the board with beads, which they also put on its neck, however small it may be. at night they put it to bed, entirely naked, between the father and mother. it may be regarded as a great miracle that god should thus preserve it so that no harm befalls it, as might be expected, from suffocation, while the father and mother are in deep sleep, but that rarely happens. the children have great freedom among these tribes. the fathers and mothers indulge them too much, and never punish them. accordingly they are so bad and of so vicious a nature, that they often strike their mothers and others. the most vicious, when they have acquired the strength and power, strike their fathers. they do this whenever the father or mother does anything that does not please them. this is a sort of curse that god inflicts upon them. in respect to laws, i have not been able to find out that they have any, or anything that approaches them, inasmuch as there is not among them any correction, punishment, or censure of evil-doers except in the way of vengeance, when they return evil for evil, not by rule but by passion, which produces among them conflicts and differences, which occur very frequently. moreover, they do not recognize any divinity, or worship any god and believe in anything whatever, but live like brute beasts. they have, however, some respect for the devil, or something so called, which is a matter of uncertainty, since the word which they use thus has various significations and comprises in itself various things. it is accordingly difficult to determine whether they mean the devil or something else, but what especially leads to the belief that what they mean is the devil is this: whenever they see a man doing something extraordinary, or who is more capable than usual, or is a valiant warrior, or furthermore who is in a rage as if out of his reason and senses, they call him _oqui_, or, as we should say, a great knowing spirit, or a great devil. however this may be, they have certain persons, who are the _oqui_, or, as the algonquins and montagnais call them, _manitous_; and persons of this kind are the medicine-men, who heal the sick, bind up the wounded, and predict future events, who in fine practise all abuses and illusions of the devil to deceive and delude them. these _oquis_ or conjurers persuade their patients and the sick to make, or have made banquets and ceremonies that they may be the sooner healed, their object being to participate in them finally themselves and get the principal benefit therefrom. under the pretence of a more speedy cure, they likewise cause them to observe various other ceremonies, which i shall hereafter speak of in the proper place. these are the people in whom they put especial confidence, but it is rare that they are possessed of the devil and tormented like other savages living more remote than themselves. this gives additional reason and ground to believe that their conversion to the knowledge of god would be more easy, if their country were inhabited by persons who would take the trouble and pains to instruct them. but it is not enough to send to them friars, unless there are those to support and assist them. for although these people have the desire to-day to know what god is, to-morrow this disposition will change when they are obliged to lay aside and bring under their foul ways, their dissolute manners, and their savage indulgences. so that there is need of people and families to keep them in the way of duty, to constrain them through mildness to do better, and to move them by good example to mend their lives. father joseph [ ] and myself have many times conferred with them in regard to our belief, laws, and customs. they listened attentively in their assemblies, sometimes saying to us: you say things that pass our knowledge, and which we cannot understand by words, being beyond our comprehension; but if you would do us a service come and dwell in this country, bringing your wives and children, and when they are here we shall see how you serve the god you worship, and how you live with your wives and children, how you cultivate and plant the soil, how you obey your laws, how you take care of animals, and how you manufacture all that we see proceeding from your inventive skill. when we see all this, we shall learn more in a year than in twenty by simply hearing you discourse and if we cannot then understand, you shall take our children, who shall be as your own. and thus being convinced that our life is a miserable one in comparison with yours, it is easy to believe that we shall adopt yours, abandoning our own. their words seemed to me good common sense, showing the desire they have to get a knowledge of god. it is a great wrong to let so many men be lost, and see them perish at our door, without rendering them the succor which can only be given through the help of kings, princes, and ecclesiastics, who alone have the power to do this. for to them alone belongs the honor of so great a work; namely, planting the christian faith in an unknown region and among savage nations, since we are well informed about these people, that they long for and desire nothing so much as to be clearly instructed as to what they should do and avoid. it is accordingly the duty of those who have the power, to labor there and contribute of their abundance, for one day they must answer before god for the loss of the souls which they allowed to perish through their negligence and avarice; and these are not few but very numerous. now this will be done when it shall please god to give them grace to this end. as for myself, i desire this result rather to-day than to-morrow, from the zeal which i have for the advancement of god's glory, for the honor of my king, and for the welfare and renown of my country. when they are sick, the man or woman who is attacked with any disease sends for the _oqui_, who visits the patient and informs himself about the malady and the suffering. after this, the _oqui_ sends for a large number of men, women, and girls, including three or four old women. these enter the cabin of the sick, dancing, each one having on his head the skin of a bear or some other wild beast, that of the bear being the most common as it is the most frightful. there are three or four other old women about the sick or suffering, who for the most part feign sickness, or are sick merely in imagination. but they are soon cured of this sickness, and generally make banquets at the expense of their friends or relatives, who give them something to put into their kettle, in addition to the presents which they receive from the dancers, such as porcelain and other bagatelles, so that they are soon cured; for when they find that they have nothing more to look for, they get up with what they have secured. but those who are really sick are not readily cured by plays, dances, and such proceedings. to return to my narrative: the old women near the sick person receive the presents, each singing and pausing in turn. when all the presents have been made, they proceed to lift up their voices with one accord, all singing together and keeping time with sticks on pieces of dry bark. then all the women and girls proceed to the end of the cabin, as if they were about to begin a ballet or masquerade. the old women walk in front with their bearskins on their heads, all the others following them, one after the other. they have only two kinds of dances with regular time, one of four steps and the other of twelve, as in the _trioli_ de bretagne. they exhibit much grace in dancing. young men often take part with them. after dancing an hour or two, the old women lead out the sick person to dance, who gets up dolefully and prepares to dance, and after a short time she dances and enjoys as much as the others. i leave it to you to consider how sick she was. below is represented the mode of their dances. the medicine-man thus gains honor and credit, his patient being so soon healed and on her feet. this treatment, however, does nothing for those who are dangerously ill and reduced by weakness, but causes their death rather than their cure; for i can testify that they sometimes make such a noise and hubbub from morning until two o'clock at night that it is impossible for the patient to endure it without great pain. sometimes the patient is seized with the desire to have the women and girls dance all together, which is done in accordance with the direction of the _oqui_. but this is not all, for he and the _manitou_, accompanied by some others, make grimaces, perform magic arts, and twist themselves about so that they generally end in being out of their senses, seemingly crazy, throwing the fire from one side of the cabin to the other, eating burning coals, holding them in their hands for a while, and throwing red-hot ashes into the eyes of the spectators. seeing them in this condition, one would say that the devil, the _oqui_, or _manitou_, if he is thus to be called, possesses and torments them. this noise and hubbub being over, they retire each to his own cabin. but those who suffer especially during this time are the wives of those possessed, and all the inmates of their cabins, from the fear they have lest the raging ones burn up all that is in their houses. this leads them to remove everything that is in sight; for as soon as he arrives he is all in a fury, his eyes flashing and frightful, sometimes standing up, sometimes seated, as his fancy takes him. suddenly a fit seizes him, and laying hold of everything he finds in his way he throws them to one side and the other. then he lies down and sleeps for some time. waking up with a jump, he seizes fire and stones which he throws about recklessly on all sides. this rage passes off with the sleep which seizes him again. then he rages and calls several of his friends to sweat with him. the latter is the best means they have for preserving themselves in health. while they are sweating, the kettle boils to prepare them something to eat. they remain, two or three hours or so, covered up with great pieces of bark and wrapped in their robes, with a great many stones about them which have been heated red hot in the fire. they sing all the time while they are in the rage, occasionally stopping to take breath. then they give them many draughts of water to drink, since they are very thirsty, when the demoniac, who was crazy or possessed of an evil spirit, becomes sober. thus it happens that three or four of these sick persons get well, rather by a happy coincidence and chance than in consequence of any intelligent treatment, and this confirms their false belief that they are healed by means of these ceremonies, not considering that, for two who are thus cured, ten others die on account of the noise, great hubbub and hissing, which are rather calculated to kill than cure a sick person. but that they expect to recover their health by this noise, and we on the contrary by silence and rest, shows how the devil does everything in hostility to the good. there are also women who go into these rages, but they do not do so much harm. they walk on all fours like beasts. seeing this, the magician, called _oqui_, begins to sing; then, with some contortions of the face, he blows upon her, directing her to drink certain waters, and make at once a banquet of fish or flesh, which must be procured although very scarce at the time. when the shouting is over and the banquet ended, they return each to her own cabin. at another time he comes back and visits her, blowing upon her and singing in company with several others, who have been summoned for this purpose, and who hold in the hand a dry tortoise-shell filled with little pebbles, which they cause to resound in the ears of the sick woman. they direct her to make at once three or four banquets with singing and dancing, when all the girls appear adorned and painted as i have represented in figure g. the _oqui_ orders masquerades, and directs them to disguise themselves, as those do who run along the streets in france on _mardi-gras_. [ ] thus they go and sing near the bed of the sick woman and promenade through the village while the banquet is preparing to receive the maskers, who return very tired, having taken exercise enough to be able to empty the kettle of its _migan_. according to their custom each household lives on what it gets by fishing and planting, improving as much land as it needs. they clear it up with great difficulty, since they do not have the implements adapted to this purpose. a party strip the trees of all their branches, which they burn at their base in order to kill them. they clear carefully the land between the trees, and then plant their corn at distances of a pace, putting in each place some ten kernels, and so on until they have made provision for three or four years, fearing that a bad year may befall them. the women attend to the planting and harvesting, as i have said before, and to procuring a supply of wood for winter. all the women aid each other in procuring this provision of wood, which they do in the month of march or april, in the order of two days for each. every household is provided with as much as it needs; and if a girl marries, each woman and girl is expected to carry to the newly married one a parcel of wood for her provision, since she could not procure it alone, and at a season when she has to give her attention to other things. the following is their mode of government: the older and leading men assemble in a council, in which they settle upon and propose all that is necessary for the affairs of the village. this is done by a plurality of voices, or in accordance with the advice of some one among them whose judgment they consider superior: such a one is requested by the company to give his opinion on the propositions that have been made, and this opinion is minutely obeyed. they have no particular chiefs with absolute command, but they show honor to the older and more courageous men, whom they name captains, as mark of honor and respect, of which there are several in a village. but, although they confer more honor upon one than upon others, yet he is not on that account to bear sway, nor esteem himself higher than his companions, unless he does so from vanity. they make no use of punishments nor arbitrary command, but accomplish everything by the entreaties of the seniors, and by means of addresses and remonstrances. thus and not otherwise do they bring everything to pass. they all deliberate in common, and whenever any member of the assembly offers to do anything for the welfare of the village, or to go anywhere for the service of the community, he is requested to present himself, and if he is judged capable of carrying out what he proposes, they exhort him, by fair and favorable words, to do his duty. they declare him to be an energetic man, fit for undertakings, and assure him that he will win honor in accomplishing them. in a word, they encourage him by flatteries, in order that this favorable disposition of his for the welfare of his fellow- citizens may continue and increase. then, according to his pleasure, he refuses the responsibility, which few do, or accepts, since thereby he is held in high esteem. when they engage in wars or go to the country of their enemies, two or three of the older or valiant captains make a beginning in the matter, and proceed to the adjoining villages to communicate their purpose, and make presents to the people of these villages, in order to induce them to accompany them to the wars in question. in so far they act as generals of armies. they designate the place where they desire to go, dispose of the prisoners who are captured, and have the direction of other matters of especial importance, of which they get the honor, if they are successful; but, if not, the disgrace of failure in the war falls upon them. these captains alone are looked upon and considered as chiefs of the tribes. they have, moreover, general assemblies, with representatives from remote regions. these representatives come every year, one from each province, and meet in a town designated as the rendezvous of the assembly. here are celebrated great banquets and dances, for three weeks or a month, according as they may determine. here they renew their friendship, resolve upon and decree what they think best for the preservation of their country against their enemies, and make each other handsome presents, after which they retire each to his own district. in burying the dead, they take the body of the deceased, wrap it in furs, and cover it very carefully with the bark of trees. then they place it in a cabin, of the length of the body, made of bark and erected upon four posts. others they place in the ground, propping up the earth on all sides, that it may not fall on the body, which they cover with the bark of trees, putting earth on top. over this trench they also make a little cabin. now it is to be understood that the bodies remain in these places, thus inhumed, but for a period of eight or ten years, when the men of the village recommend the place where their ceremonies are to take place; or, to speak more precisely, they hold a general council, in which all the people of the country are present, for the purpose of designating the place where a festival is to be held. after this they return each to his own village, where they take all the bones of the deceased, strip them and make them quite clean. these they keep very carefully, although they smell like bodies recently interred. then all the relatives and friends of the deceased take these bones, together with their necklaces, furs, axes, kettles, and other things highly valued, and carry them, with a quantity of edibles, to the place assigned. here, when all have assembled, they put the edibles in a place designated by the men of the village, and engage in banquets and continual dancing. the festival continues for the space of ten days, during which time other tribes, from all quarters, come to witness it and the ceremonies. the latter are attended with great outlays. now, by means of these ceremonies, including dances, banquets, and assemblies, as above stated, they renew their friendship to one another, saying that the bones of their relatives and friends are to be all put together, thus indicating by a figure that, as their bones are gathered together and united in one and the same place, so ought they also, during their life, to be united in one friendship and harmony, like relatives and friends, without separation. having thus mingled together the bones of their mutual relatives and friends, they pronounce many discourses on the occasion. then, after various grimaces or exhibitions, they make a great trench, ten fathoms square, in which they put the bones, together with the necklaces, chains of porcelain, axes, kettles, sword-blades, knives, and various other trifles, which, however, are of no slight account in their estimation. they cover the whole with earth, putting on top several great pieces of wood, and placing around many posts, on which they put a covering. this is their manner of proceeding with regard to the dead, and it is the most prominent ceremony they have. some of them believe in the immortality of the soul, while others have only a presentiment of it, which, however, is not so very different; for they say that after their decease they will go to a place where they will sing, like crows, a song, it must be confessed, quite different from that of angels. on the following page are represented their sepulchres and manner of interment. it remains to describe how they spend their time in winter; namely, from the month of december to the end of march, or the beginning of our spring, when the snow melts. all that they might do during autumn, as i have before stated, they postpone to be done during winter; namely, their banquetings, and usual dances for the sake of the sick, which i have already described, and the assemblages of the inhabitants of various villages, where there are banquetings, singing, and dances, which they call _tabagies_ [ ] and where sometimes five hundred persons are collected, both men, women, and girls. the latter are finely decked and adorned with the best and most costly things they have. on certain days they make masquerades, and visit each other's cabins, asking for the things they like, and if they meet those who have what they want, these give it to them freely. thus they go on asking for many things without end; so that a single one of those soliciting will have robes of beaver, bear, deer, lynxes, and other furs, also fish, indian corn, tobacco, or boilers, kettles, pots, axes, pruning-knives, knives, and other like things. they go to the houses and cabins of the village, singing these words, that one gave me this, another gave that, or like words, by way of commendation. but if one gives them nothing they get angry, and show such spite towards him that when they leave they take a stone and put it near this man or that woman who has not given them anything. then, without saying a word, they return singing, which is a mark of insult, censure, and ill-will. the women do so as well as the men, and this mode of proceeding takes place at night, and the masquerade continues seven or eight days. there are some of their villages which have maskers or merry-makers, as we do on the evening of _mardi-gras_, and they invite the other villages to come and see them and win their utensils, if they can. meanwhile banquets are not wanting. this is the way they spend their time in winter. moreover the women spin, and pound meal for the journeys of their husbands in summer, who go to other tribes to trade, as they decide to do at the above-mentioned councils, in which it is determined what number of men may go from each village, that it may not be deprived of men of war for its protection; and nobody goes from the country without the general consent of the chiefs, or if they should go they would be regarded as behaving improperly. the men make nets for fishing, which they carry on in summer, but generally in winter, when they capture the fish under the ice with the line or with the seine. the following is their manner of fishing. they make several holes in a circular form in the ice, the one where they are to draw the seine being some five feet long and three wide. then they proceed to place their net at this opening, attaching it to a rod of wood from six to seven feet long, which they put under the ice. this rod they cause to pass from hole to hole, when one or more men, putting their hands in the holes, take hold of the rod to which is attached an end of the net, until they unite at the opening of five to six feet. then they let the net drop to the bottom of the water, it being sunk by little stones attached to the end. after it is down they draw it up again with their arms at its two ends, thus capturing the fish that are in it. this is, in brief, their manner of fishing in winter. the winter begins in the month of november and continues until the month of april, when the trees begin to send forth the sap and show their buds. on the d of the month of april we received news from our interpreter, who had gone to carantoüan, through those who had come from there. they told us that they had left him on the road, he having returned to the village for certain reasons. now, resuming the thread of my narrative, our savages assembled to come with us, and conduct us back to our habitation, and for this purpose we set out from their country on the th of the month, [ ] and were forty days on the way. we caught a large number of fish and animals of various kinds, together with small game, which afforded us especial pleasure, in addition to the provisions thus furnished us for our journey. upon our arrival among the french, towards the end of the month of june, i found sieur du pont gravé, who had come from france with two vessels, and who had almost despaired of seeing me again, having heard from the savages the bad news, that i was dead. we also saw all the holy fathers who had remained at our settlement. they too were very happy to see us again, and we none the less so to see them. welcomes, and felicitations on all sides being over, i made arrangements to set out from the falls of st. louis for our settlement, taking with me my host d'arontal. i took leave also of all the other savages, assuring them of my affection, and that, if i could, i would see them in the future, to assist them as i had already done in the past, bringing them valuable presents to secure their friendship with one another, and begging them to forget all the disputes which they had had when i reconciled them, which they promised to do. then we set out, on the th of july, and arrived at our settlement on the th of that month. here i found everybody in good health, and we all, in company with our holy fathers, who chanted the divine service, returned thanks to god for his care in preserving us, and protecting us amid the many perils and dangers to which we had been exposed. after this, and when everything had become settled, i proceeded to show hospitalities to my host, d'arontal, who admired our building, our conduct, and mode of living. after carefully observing us, he said to me, in private, that he should never die contented until he had seen all of his friends, or at least a good part of them, come and take up their abode with us, in order to learn how to serve god, and our way of living, which he esteemed supremely happy in comparison with their own. moreover he said that, if he could not learn it by word of mouth, he would do so much better and more easily by sight and by frequent intercourse, and that, if their minds could not comprehend our arts, sciences, and trades, their children who were young could do so, as they had often represented to us in their country in conversation with father joseph. he urged us, for the promotion of this object, to make another settlement at the falls of st. louis, so as to secure them the passage of the river against their enemies, assuring us that, as soon as we should build a house, they would come in numbers to live as brothers with us. accordingly i promised to make a settlement for them as soon as possible. after we had remained four or five days together, i gave him some valuable presents, with which he was greatly pleased, and i begged him to continue his affection for us, and come again to see our settlement with his friends. then he returned happy to the falls of st louis, where his companions awaited him. when this captain d'arontal had departed, we enlarged our habitation by a third at least in buildings and fortifications, since it was not sufficiently spacious, nor convenient for receiving the members of our own company and likewise the strangers that might come to see us. we used, in building, lime and sand entirely, which we found very good there in a spot near the habitation. this is a very useful material for building for those disposed to adapt and accustom themselves to it. the fathers denis and joseph determined to return to france, in order to testify there to all they had seen, and to the hope they could promise themselves of the conversion of these people, who awaited only the assistance of the holy fathers in order to be converted and brought to our faith and the catholic religion. during my stay at the settlement i had some common grain cut; namely, french grain, which had been planted there and which had come up very finely, that i might take it to france, as evidence that the land is good and fertile. in another part, moreover, there was some fine indian corn, also scions and trees which had been given us by sieur du monts in normandy. in a word all the gardens of the place were in an admirably fine condition, being planted with peas, beans, and other vegetables, also squashes, and very superior radishes of various sorts, cabbages, beets, and other kitchen vegetables. when on the point of departure, we left two of our fathers at the settlement; namely, fathers jean d'olbeau and pacifique, [ ] who were greatly pleased with all the time spent at that place, and resolved to await there the return of father joseph, [ ] who was expected to come back in the following year, which he did. we sailed in our barques the th day of july, and arrived at tadoussac the d day of the month, where sieur du pont gravé awaited us with his vessel ready and equipped. in this we embarked and set out the d day of the month of august. the wind was so favorable that we arrived in health by the grace of god, at honfleur, on the th day of september, one thousand six hundred and sixteen, and upon our arrival rendered praise and thanks to god for his great care in preserving our lives, and delivering and even snatching us, as it were, from the many dangers to which we had been exposed, and for bringing and conducting us in health to our country; we besought him also to move the heart of our king, and the gentlemen of his council, to contribute their assistance so far as necessary to bring these poor savages to the knowledge of god, whence honor will redound to his majesty, grandeur and growth to his realm, profit to his subjects, and the glory of all these undertakings and toils to god, the sole author of all excellence, to whom be honor and glory. amen. endnotes: . champlain's first voyage was made in , and this journal was published in . it was therefore fully fifteen years since his explorations began. . _vide histoire du canada_, par sagard, trois ed., pp , . the reader is likewise referred to the memoir of champlain, vol. i. pp - . . bernard du verger, a man of exalted virtue--_laverdière_. . robert ubaldim was nuncio at this time. _vide laverdière in loco_. . denis jamay. sagard writes this name _jamet_. . jean d'olbeau. _vide histoire du canada_, par gabriel sagard, paris, , tross ed., vol. i. p. . . pacifique du plessis was a lay-brother, although the title of father is given to him by several early writers. _vide citations by laverdière in loco_, quebec ed., vol. iv. p. . . read april . it is obvious from the context that it could not be august. sagard says _le_ _d'auril_. _vide histoire du canada_, trois ed., vol. i. p . . the recollect father joseph le caron. . _vide laverdière in loco_. . father denis jamay. . jean d'olbeau and pacifique du plessis. . this refers to the volume bearing date , but which may not have been actually issued from the press till . . our views of the war policy of champlain are stated at some length in vol i. pp - . . laverdière thinks it probable that champlain left the falls of st louis on the d of june, and that the holy mass was celebrated on the rivière des prairies on the th, the festival of st john the baptist. . this interpreter was undoubtedly etienne brûlé. it was a clearly defined policy of champlain to send suitable young men among the savages, particularly to learn their language, and subsequently to act as interpreters. brûlé is supposed to have been of this class. . the lake of two mountains. . the river ottawa, which champlain had explored in , as far as allumet island, where a tribe of the algonquins resided, called later _kichesipinni_. _vide relation des jésuites_, , p . . this is an over-estimate. . champlain here again, _vide_ note , refers to the issue bearing date . it is not unlikely that while it bears the imprint of , it did not actually issue from the press till . . the lake or expansion of the ottawa on the southern side of allumet island was called the lake of the algonquins, as allumet island was oftentimes called the island of the algonquins. . the river ottawa. . père vimont calls this tribe _kotakoutouemi_. _relation des jésuites_, , p. . père rogueneau gives _outaoukotouemiouek_, and remarks that their language is a mixture of algonquin and montagnais. _vide relation des jésuites_, . p. ; also _laverdière in loco_. . _blues_, blueberries. the canada blueberry. _vaccinium canadense_. under the term _blues_ several varieties may have been included. charlevoix describes and figures this fruit under the name _bluet du canada_. _vide description des plantes principales de l'amérique septentrionale_, in _histoire de la nouvelle france_, paris. , tom. iv. pp. , ; also vol. i: p , note , of this work. . at its junction with the mattawan, the ottawa's course is from the north. what is known as its east branch rises miles north of the city of ottawa. extending towards the west in a winding course for the distance of about miles, it turns towards the southeast, and a few miles before it joins the mattawan its course is directly south. from its northeastern source by a short portage is reached the river chomouchouan, an affluent of lake st. john and the saguenay. . mattawa is miles from ottawa. we have no means of giving the latitude with entire accuracy, but it is about ° '. . lac du talon and lac la tortue. . nipissings, or nipissirini. champlain writes _nipisierinii_. . on the th of july, the distance from the junction of the ottawa and the mattawan to lake nipissing is about thirty-two miles. if _lieues_ were translated miles, it would be a not very incorrect estimate. . _vide_ the representations here referred to. . lake nipissing, whose dimensions are over-stated. . sturgeon river. . père vimont gives the names of these tribes as follows,--_timiscimi, outimagami, ouachegami, mitchitamou, outurbi, kiristinon_. _vide relation des jésuites_. . p. . . french river. . _blues_. _vide antea_, note . . this significant name is given with reference to their mode of dressing their hair. . blueberries, _vaccinium canadense_. . _de cuir beullu_, for _cuir bouilli_, literally "boiled leather." . the shields of the savages of this region may have been made of the hide of the buffalo, although the range of this animal was far to the northwest of them. champlain saw undoubtedly among the hurons skins of the buffalo. _vide postea_, note . . lake huron is here referred to. . the greatest length of lake huron on a curvilinear line, between the discharge of st mary's strait and the outlet, is about miles; its length due north and south is miles, and its extreme breadth about miles. _bouchette_. . coasting along the eastern shore of the georgian bay, when they arrived at matchedash bay they crossed it in a southwesterly course and entered the country of the attigouautans, or, as they are sometimes called, the attignaouentans. _relation des jésuites,_ , p. . they were a principal tribe of the hurons, living within the limits of the present county of simcoe. it is to be regretted that the jesuit fathers did not accompany their relations with local maps by which we could fix, at least approximately, the indian towns which they visited, and with which they were so familiar. for a description of the hurons and of their country, the origin of the name and other interesting particulars, _vide pere hierosine lalemant, relation des jésuites_, , quebec ed. p. . . _sitrouilles_ for _citrouilles_. _vide_ vol ii. p. , note . . _herbe au soleil_. the sunflower of northeast america, _helianthus multiflorus_. this species is found from quebec to the saskatchewan, a tributary of lake winnipeg. _vide chronological history of plants_, by charles pickering, m.d., boston, . p. . charlevoix, in the description of his journey through canada in , says: "the soleil is a plant very common in the fields of the savages, and which grows seven or eight feet high. its flower, which is very large, is in the shape of the marigold, and the seed grows in the same manner. the savages, by boiling it, draw out an oil, with which they grease their hair." _letters to the dutchess of lesdiguieres_, london, , p. . . _vignes_ probably the frost grape, _vitis cordifolia_. . _prunes_. the canada plum, _prunus americana_. . _framboises_. the wild red raspberry, _rubus strigosus_. . _fraises_. the wild strawberry, _fragaria virginiana_. _vide pickering chro. hist. plants_, p. . . _petites pommes sauuages_. probably the american crab-apple, _pyrus coronaria_. . _noix_ this may include the butternut and some varieties of the walnut. _vide_ vol. i. p. . . doubtless the may-apple, _podophyllum peltatum_. in the wilds of simcoe this fruit may have seemed tolerable from the absence of others more desirable. gray says, "it is slightly acid, mawkish, eaten by pigs and boys." _cf. florula bostioniensis_, by jacob bigelow, m.d. boston, , pp. , . . _les chesnes, ormeaux, & heslres_. for oaks see vol i. p. . elms, plainly the white elm, _ulmus americana_, so called in contradistinction to the red or slippery elm, _ulmus fulva_. the savages sometimes used the bark of the slippery elm in the construction of their canoes when the white birch could not be obtained. _vide charlevoix's letters_, , p. . for the beech, see vol. i. p. . . _perdrix_. canada grouse, _tetrao canadensis_, sometimes called the spruce partridge, differing from the partridge of new england, which is the ruffed grouse, _bonasa umbellus_. this latter species is, however, found likewise in canada. . _lapins_. the american hare, _lepus americanus_. . _cerises petites_. reference is evidently here made to the wild red cherry, _prunus pennsylvanica_, which is the smallest of all the native species. _cf_. vol. i. p. . . _merises_. the wild black cherry, _prunus serotina_. . the carantouanais. _vide carte de la nouvelle france_, , _also_ vol. i. p. . this tribe was probably situated on the upper waters of the susquehanna, and consequently south of the five nations, although we said inadvertently in vol. i. p. that they were on the west of them. general john s. clark thinks their village was at waverly, near the border of pennsylvania in vol. i. p. . in the th line from the top, we should have said the carantouanais instead of _entouhonorons_. . the entouhonorons were a part, it appears, of the five nations. champlain says they unite with the iroquois in making war against all the other tribes except the neutral nation. lake ontario is called _lac des entouhonorons_, and champlain adds that their country is near the river st. lawrence, the passage of which they forbid to all other tribes. _vide_ vol. i. pp. , . he thus appears to apply the name _iroquois_ to the eastern portion of the five nations, particularly those whom he had attacked on lake champlain; and the huron name, _entouhonorons_, to the western portion. the subdivisions, by which they were distinguished at a later period, were probably not then known, at least not to champlain. . _flamens_. the dutch were at this time on the hudson, qengaged in the fur trade with the savages. _vide history of the state of new york_ by john romeyn brodhead, new york, . pp. - . _history of new netherland_ or _new york under the dutch_, by e. b. o'callaghan, new york, , pp. - . . their enemies were the iroquois. . _chouontouaroüon_, another name for _entouhoronon_. . lake couchiching, a small sheet of water into which pass by a small outlet the waters of lake simcoe. . lake simcoe. laverdière says the indian name of this lake was _ouentaronk_, and that it was likewise called _lac aux claies_. . Étienne brûlé. _vide postea_, p. . . _dans ces lacs_. from lake chouchiching, coasting along the northeastern shore of lake simcoe, they would make five or six leagues in reaching a point nearest to sturgeon lake. . undoubtedly sturgeon lake. . from their entrance of sturgeon lake to the point where they reached lake ontario, at the eastern limit of amherst island, the distance is, in its winding and circuitous course, not far from champlain's estimate, viz. sixty-four leagues. that part of the river above rice lake is the otonabee; that below is known as the trent. . _gruës_ the white crane, _grus americanus_ adult plumage pure white _coues's key to north american birds_, boston, , p charlevoix says, "we have cranes of two colors, some white and others _gris de lin_," that is a purple or lilac color. this latter species is the brown crane, _grus canadensis_. "plumage plumbeous gray." _coues_. _vide charlevoix's letters_, london. , p . . the latitude of the eastern end of amherst island is about ° '. . this traverse, it may be presumed, was made by coasting along the shore, as was the custom of the savages with their light canoes. . it appears that, after making by estimate about fourteen leagues in their bark canoes, and four by land along the shore, they struck inland. guided merely by the distances given in the text, it is not possible to determine with exactness at what point they left the lake. this arises from the fact that we are not sure at what point the measurement began, and the estimated distances are given, moreover, with very liberal margins. but the eighteen leagues in all would take them not very far from little salmon river, whether the estimate were made from the eastern end of amherst island or simcoe island, or any place in that immediate neighborhood. the natural features of the country, for four leagues along the coast north of little salmon river, answer well to the description given in the text. the chestnut and wild grape are still found there. _vide ms. letters of the rev. james cross, d.d., ll.d., and of s.z. smith, esq._, of mexico, new york. . lake ontario, or lake of the entouhonorons, is about a hundred and eighty miles long, and about fifty-five miles in its extreme width. . the river here crossed was plainly oneida river, flowing from oneida lake into lake ontario. the lake is identified by the islands in it. oneida lake is the only one in this region which contains any islands whatever, and consequently the river flowing from it must be that now known as oneida river. . for the probable site of this fort, see vol. i. p. , note . . they were of the tribe called carantouanais. _vide antea_, note . . this was in the month of october. . _et après auoir trauersé le bout du lac de laditte isle_. from this form of expression this island would seem to have been visited before. but no particular island is mentioned on their former traverse of the lake. it is impossible to fix with certainty upon the island referred to. it may have been simcoe or wolf island, or some other. . probably cataraqui creek. _vide_ vol. i. p. . . perhaps loughborough lake, or the system of lakes of which this is a part. . _cygnes_, swans. probably the trumpeter swan, _cygnus buccinator_. they were especially found in sagard's time about lake nipissing. "mais pour des cignes, qu'ils appellent _horhev_, il y en a principalement vers les epicerinys." _vide le grand voyage av pays des hurons_ par fr. gabriel sagard, paris, , p. . . _gruës blanches_. _vide antea_, n. . . _houstardes_. _vide antea_, note . . _mauuis_, song-thrush. doubtless the robin, _turdus migratorius_. . _allouettes_, larks. probably the brown lark, _anthus ludovicianus_. found everywhere in north america. . _beccassines_. probably the american snipe, _gallinago wilsonii_. . _oyes_, geese. the common wild goose, _branta canadensis_, or it may include all the species taken collectively. for the several species found in canada, _vide antea_, note . . _les loups_. the american wolf, _lupus occidentalis_. . the thirty-eight days during which they were there would include the whole period from the time they began to make their preparations on the th of october on the shores of lake ontario till they began their homeward journey on the th of december. _vide antea_, p. ; _postea_, p. . . the author here refers to the chief d'arontal, whose guest he was. _vide antea_, . cf. also quebec ed. , p. . . _trainees de bois_, a kind of sledge. the indian's sledge was made of two pieces of board, which, with his stone axe and perhaps with the aid of fire, he patiently manufactured from the trunks of trees. the boards were each about six inches wide and six or seven feet long, curved upward at the forward end and bound together by cross pieces. the sides were bordered with strips of wood, which served as brackets, to which was fastened the strap that bound the baggage upon the sledge. the load was dragged by a rope or strap of leather passing round the breast of the savage and attached to the end of the sledge. the sledge was so narrow that it could be drawn easily and without impediment wherever the savage could thread his way through the pathless forests. the journey from their encampment northeast of kingston on lake ontario to the capital of the hurons was not less in a straight line than a hundred and sixty miles. without a pathway, in the heart of winter, through water and melting snow, with their heavy burdens, the hardship and exhaustion can hardly be exaggerated. . namely at cahiagué. in the issue of , champlain says they arrived on the d day of the month. _vide_ quebec ed, p. . leaving on the th and travelling nineteen days, as stated above, they would arrive on the d december. . probably the th of january. . father joseph le caron had remained at carhagouha, during the absence of the war party in their attack upon the iroquois, where champlain probably arrived on the th of january. . in the issue of , the arrival of champlain and le caron is stated to have occurred on the th of january. this harmonizes with the correction of dates in notes , . the huron name of the petuns was _tionnontateronons_, or _khionontateronons_, or _quieunontateronons_. of them vimont says, "les khionontateronons, qu'on appelle la nation du petun, pour l'abondance qu'il y a de cette herbe, sont eloignez du pays des hurons, dont ils parlent la langue, enuiron douze ou quinze lieues tirant à l'occident." _vide relation des jésuites_, , p. ; _his. du canada_, vol. i. p. . sagard. for some account of the subsequent history of the nation de petun, _vide indian migration in ohio_, by c. c. baldwin, , p. . . it was of great importance to the indians to select a site for their villages where suitable wood was accessible, both for fortifying them with palisades and for fuel in the winter. it could not be brought a great distance for either of these purposes. hence when the wood in the vicinity became exhausted they were compelled to remove and build anew. . that is to say like the hurons. . the nation neutre was called by the hurons _attisandaronk_ or _attihouandaron_. _vide relation des jésuites_, , p. ; _dictonaire de la langue huronne_, par sagard, a paris, . champlain places them, on his map of , south of lake erie. his knowledge of that lake, obtained from the savages, was very meagre as the map itself shows. the neutres are placed by early writers on the west of lake ontario and north of lake erie _vide laverdière in loco_, quebec ed., p. ; also, _indian migration in ohio_, by c. c. baldwin, p. . they are placed far to the south of lake erie by nicholas sanson. _vide cartes de l'amerique_, . . the cheveux relevés are represented by champlain as dwelling west of the petuns, and were probably not far from the most southern limit of the georgian bay. strangely enough nicholas sanson places them on a large island that separates the georgian bay from lake huron. _vide cartes de l'amerique_ par n. sanson, . . _atsistaehronons, ou nation du feu_. their algonquin name was mascoutins or maskoutens, with several other orthographies. the significance of their name is given by sagard as follows: ils sont errans, sinon que quelques villages d'entr'eux fement des bleds d'inde, et font la guerre à vne autre nation, nommée _assitagueronon_, qui veut dire gens de feu: car en langue huronne _assista_ signifie du feu, et _eronon_, signifie nation. _le grand voyage du pays des hurons_, par gabriel sagard, a paris, , p. . _vide relation des jésuites_, , p ; _discovery and exploration of the mississippi valley_, by john gilmary shea, p. ; _indian migration in ohio_, by c. c. baldwin, pp , ; discovery of the _northwest by john nicolet_, by c. w. butterfield, p. ; _l'amerique en plusieurs cartes_, par n. sanson, . . _pisierinii_, the nipissings. this relates to those nipissings who had accompanied champlain on the expedition against the iroquois, and who were passing the winter among the hurons. he had expected that they would accompany him on explorations on the north of them. but arriving at their encampment, on his return from the petuns and cheveux relevés, he learned from them of the quarrel that had arisen between the algonquins and the hurons. . attigouantans, the principal tribe of the hurons. . _colliers de pourceline_. these necklaces were composed of shells, pierced and strung like beads. they were of a violet color, and were esteemed of great value. the _branches_ were strings of white shells, and were more common and less valuable. an engraved representation may be seen in _histoire de l'amérique septentrionale_, par de la potherie, paris, , tom. i. p. . for a full description of these necklaces and their significance and use in their councils, _vide charlevoix's letters_, london, , p . . _buffles_, buffaloes. the american bison, _bos americanus_. the skins seen by champlain in the possession of the savages seem to indicate that the range of the buffalo was probably further east at that period than at the present time, its eastern limit being now about the red river, which flows into lake winnipeg. the limit of its northern range is generally stated to be at latitude degrees, but it is sometimes found as far north as degrees or degrees. _vide_ dr. shea's interesting account of the buffalo in _discovery and exploration of mississippi valley_, p. . the range of the musk ox is still farther north, rarely south of latitude degrees. his home is in the barren grounds, west of hudson bay, and on the islands on the north of the american continent, where he subsists largely on lichens and the meagre herbage of that frosty region. . champlain is here speaking of the whole country of new france. . this sentence in the original is unfinished and defective. _au costé vers le nort, icelle grande riuiere terant à l'occident, etc_. in the ed. , the reading is _au costé vers le nort d'icelle grande riuiere tirant au suroust, etc_. the tranlation is according to the ed. of . _vide_ quebec ed., p. . . champlain here gives the four species of the _cervus_ family under names then known to him, viz, the moose, wapiti or elk, caribou, and the common deer. . _fouines_, a quadruped known as the minx or mink, _mustela vison_. . _martes_, weasels, _mustela vulgaris_. . _the country on the north_, &c. having described the country along the coast of the st lawrence and the lakes he now refers to the country still further north even to the southern borders of hudson's bay. _vide_ small map. . _almouchiquois_, so in the french for almouchiquois. all the tribes at and south of _chouacoet_, or the mouth of the saco river, were denominated almouchiquois by the french. _vide_ vol ii p , _et passim_. . the country of the attigouantans, sometimes written attigouautans, the principal tribe of the hurons, used by champlain as including the whole, with whom the french were in close alliance, was from east to west not more than about twelve leagues. there must have been some error by which the author is made to say that it was _two hundred and thirty leagues_. laverdière suggests that in the manuscript it might have been , or to , and that the printer made it . . the author plainly means that the country of the hurons was nearly surrounded by the mer douce; that is to say, by lake huron and the waters connected with it, viz., the river severn, lake couchiching, and lake simcoe. as to the population, compare _the jesuits in north america_, by francis parkman, ll.d., note p. xxv. . _vide antea_, note , for the reason of these removals. . _febues du brésil_. this was undoubtedly the common trailing bean, _pliaseolus vulgaris_, probably called the brazilian bean, because it resembled a bean known under that name. it was found in cultivation in new england as mentioned by champlain and the early english settlers. bradford discoursing of the indians, _his. plymouth plantation_, p. , speaks of "their beans of various collours." it is possible that the name, _febues du brésil_, was given to it on account of its red color, as was that of the brazil-wood, from the portuguese word _braza_, a burning coal. . _vide antea_, note . . _sitrouelles_, or _citrouilles_, the common summer squash, _cucurbita polymorpha. vide_ vol. ii. note . for figure d, _vide_ p. . . the coloring matter appears to have been derived from the root of the bedstraw, _galium tinctorum_. peter kalm, a pupil of linnæus, who travelled in canada in , says, "the roots of this plant are employed by the indians in dyeing the quills of the american porcupines red, which they put into several pieces of their work, and air, sun, or water seldom change this color." _travels into north america_, london, , vol. iii. pp. - . . père joseph le caron, who had passed the winter among the hurons. . _mardi-gras_, shrove-tuesday, or _flesh tuesday_, the last day of the carnival, the day before ash wednesday, the first day in lent. . _vide_ vol. i. pp. - . . this must have been on the th of may. . jean d'olbeau and the lay brother pacifique du plessis. . joseph le caron, who accompanied champlain to france. continuation of the voyages and discoveries made in new france, by sieur de champlain, captain for the king in the western marine, in the year . at the beginning of the year one thousand six hundred and eighteen, on the twenty-second of march, i set out from paris, [ ] together with my brother-in-law, [ ] for honfleur, our usual port of embarkation. there we were obliged to make a long stay on account of contrary winds. but when they had become favorable, we embarked on the large vessel of the association, which sieur du pont gravé commanded. there was also on board a nobleman, named de la mothe, [ ] who had previously made a voyage with the jesuits to the regions of la cadie, where he was taken prisoner by the english, and by them carried to the virginias, the place of their settlement. some time after they transferred him to england and from there to france, where there arose in him an increased desire to make another voyage to new france, which led him to seek the opportunity presented by me. i had assured him, accordingly, that i would use my influence and assistance with our associates, as it seemed to me that they would find such a person desirable, since he would be very useful in those regions. our embarkation being made, we took our departure from honfleur on the th day of may following, in the year . the wind was favorable for our voyage, but continued so only a very few days, when it suddenly changed, and we had all the time head winds up to our arrival, on the d day of june following, on the grand bank, where the fresh fishery is carried on. here we perceived to the windward of us some banks of ice, which came down from the north. while waiting for a favorable wind we engaged in fishing, which afforded us great pleasure, not only on account of the fish but also of a kind of bird called _fauquets_, [ ] and other kinds that are caught on the line like fish. for, on throwing the line, with its hook baited with cod liver, these birds made for it with a rush, and in such numbers that you could not draw it out in order to throw it again, without capturing them by the beak, feet, and wings as they slew and fell upon the bait, so great were the eagerness and voracity of these birds. this fishing afforded us great pleasure, not only on account of the sport, but on account of the infinite number of birds and fish that we captured, which were very good eating, and made a very desirable change on shipboard. continuing on our route, we arrived on the th of the month off isle percée, and on st. john's day [ ] following entered the harbor of tadoussac, where we found our small vessel, which had arrived three weeks before us. the men on her told us that sieur des chesnes, the commander, had gone to our settlement at quebec. thence he was to go to the trois rivières to meet the savages, who were to come there from various regions for the purpose of trade, and likewise to determine what was to be done on account of the death of two of our men, who had been treacherously and perfidiously killed by two vicious young men of the montagnais. these two unfortunate victims, as the men on the vessel informed us, had been killed while out hunting nearly two years [ ] before. those in the settlement had always supposed that they had been drowned from the upsetting of their canoe, until a short time before, one of the men, conceiving an animosity against the murderers, made a disclosure and communicated the fact and cause of the murder to the men of our settlement. for certain reasons it has seemed to me well to give an account of the matter and of what was done in regard to it. but it is almost impossible to obtain the exact truth in the case, on account, not only of the small amount of testimony at hand, but of the diversity of the statements made, the most of which were presumptive. i will, however, give an account of the matter here, following the statement of the greater number as being nearer the truth, and relating what i have found to be the most probable. the following is the occasion of the murder of the two unfortunate deceased. one of the two murderers paid frequent visits to our settlement, receiving there a thousand kindnesses and favors, among other persons from sieur du parc, a nobleman from normandy, in command at the time at quebec, in the service of the king and in behalf of the merchants of the association in the year . this savage, while on one of his customary visits, received one day, on account of some jealousy, ill treatment from one of the two murdered men, who was by profession a locksmith, and who after some words beat the savage so soundly as to impress it well upon his memory. and not satisfied with beating and misusing the savage he incited his companions to do the same, which aroused still more the hatred and animosity of the savage towards this locksmith and his companions, and led him to seek an opportunity to revenge himself. he accordingly watched for a time and opportunity for doing so, acting however cautiously and appearing as usual, without showing any sign of resentment. some time after, the locksmith and a sailor named charles pillet, from the island of ré, arranged to go hunting and stay away three or four nights. for this purpose they got ready a canoe, and embarking departed from quebec for cape tourmente. here there were some little islands where a great quantity of game and birds resorted, near isle d'orleans, and distant seven leagues from quebec. the departure of our men became at once known to the two savages, who were not slow in starting to pursue them and carry out their evil design. they sought for the place where the locksmith and his companion went to sleep, in order to surprise them. having ascertained it at evening, at break of day on the following morning, the two savages slipped quietly along certain very pleasant meadows. arriving at a point near the place in question, they moored their canoe, landed and went straight to the cabin, where our men had slept. but they found only the locksmith, who was preparing to go hunting with his companion, and who thought of nothing less than of what was to befall him. one of these savages approached him, and with some pleasant words removed from him all suspicion of anything wrong in order that he might the better deceive him. but as he saw him stoop to adjust his arquebus, he quickly drew a club that he had concealed on his person, and gave the locksmith so heavy a blow on his head, that it sent him staggering and completely stunned. the savage, seeing that the locksmith was preparing to defend himself, repeated his blow, struck him to the ground, threw himself upon him, and with a knife gave him three or four cuts in the stomach, killing him in this horrible manner. in order that they might also get possession of the sailor, the companion of the locksmith who had started early in the morning to go hunting, not because they bore any special hatred towards him, but that they might not be discovered nor accused by him, they went in all directions searching for him. at last, from the report of an arquebus which they heard, they discovered where he was, in which direction they rapidly hastened, so as to give no time to the sailor to reload his arquebus and put himself in a state of defence. approaching, they fired their arrows at him, by which having prostrated him, they ran upon him and finished him with the knife. then the assassins carried off the body, together with the other, and, binding them so firmly together that they would not come apart, attached to them a quantity of stones and pebbles, together with their weapons and clothes, so as not to be discovered by any sign, after which they carried them to the middle of the river, threw them in, and they sank to the bottom. here they remained a long time until, through the will of god, the cords broke, and the bodies were washed ashore and thrown far up on the bank, to serve as accusers and incontestable witnesses of the attack of these two cruel and treacherous assassins. for the two bodies were found at a distance of more than twenty feet from the water in the woods, but had not become separated in so long a time, being still firmly bound, the bones, stripped of the flesh like a skeleton, alone remaining. for the two victims, contrary to the expectation of the two murderers, who thought they had done their work so secretly that it would never be known, were found a long time after their disappearance by the men of our settlement, who, pained at their absence, searched for them along the banks of the river. but god in his justice would not permit so enormous a crime, and had caused it to be exposed by another savage, their companion, in retaliation for an injury he had received from them. thus their wicked acts were disclosed. the holy fathers and the men of the settlement were greatly surprised at seeing the bodies of these two unfortunates, with their bones all bare, and their skulls broken by the blows received from the club of the savages. the fathers and others at the settlement advised to preserve them in some portion of the settlement until the return of our vessels, in order to consult with all the french as to the best course to pursue in the matter. meanwhile our people at the settlement resolved to be on their guard, and no longer allow so much freedom to these savages as they had been accustomed to, but on the contrary require reparation for so cruel a murder by a process of justice, or some other way, or let things in the mean time remain as they were, in order the better to await our vessels and our return, that we might all together consult what was to be done in the matter. but the savages seeing that this iniquity was discovered, and that they and the murderer were obnoxious to the french, were seized with despair, and, fearing that our men would exercise vengeance upon them for this murder, withdrew for a while from our settlement.[ ] not only those guilty of the act but the others also being seized with fear came no longer to the settlement, as they had been accustomed to do, but waited for greater security for themselves. finding themselves deprived of intercourse with us, and of their usual welcome, the savages sent one of their companions named by the french, _la ferrière_, to make their excuses for this murder; namely, they asserted they had never been accomplices in it, and had never consented to it, and that, if it was desired to have the two murderers for the sake of inflicting justice, the other savages would willingly consent to it, unless the french should be pleased to take as reparation and restitution for the dead some valuable presents of skins, as they are accustomed to do in return for a thing that cannot be restored. they earnestly entreated the french to accept this rather than require the death of the accused which they anticipated would be hard for them to execute, and so doing to forget everything as if it had not occurred. to this, in accordance with the advice of the holy fathers, it was decided to reply that the savages should bring and deliver up the two malefactors, in order to ascertain from them their accomplices, and who had incited them to do the deed. this they communicated to la ferrière for him to report to his companions. this decision having been made, la ferrière withdrew to his companions, who upon hearing the decision of the french found this procedure and mode of justice very strange and difficult; since they have no established law among themselves, but only vengeance and restitution by presents. after considering the whole matter and deliberating with one another upon it, they summoned the two murderers and set forth to them the unhappy position into which they had been thrown by the event of this murder, which might cause a perpetual war with the french, from which their women and children would suffer. however much trouble they might give us, and although they might keep us shut up in our settlement and prevent us from hunting, cultivating and tilling the soil, and although we were in too small numbers to keep the river blockaded, as they persuaded themselves to believe in their consultations; still, after all their deliberations, they concluded that it was better to live in peace with the french than in war and perpetual distrust. accordingly the savages thus assembled, after finishing their consultation and representing the situation to the accused, asked them if they would not have the courage to go with them to the settlement of the french and appear before them; promising them that they should receive no harm, and assuring them that the french were lenient and disposed to pardon, and would in short go so far in dealing with them as to overlook their offence on condition of their not returning to such evil ways. the two criminals, finding themselves convicted in conscience, yielded to this proposition and agreed to follow this advice. accordingly one of them made preparations, arraying himself in such garments and decorations as he could procure, as if he had been invited to go to a marriage or some great festivity. thus attired, he went to the settlement, accompanied by his father, some of the principal chiefs, and the captain of their company. as to the other murderer, he excused himself from this journey, [ ] realizing his guilt of the heinous act and fearing punishment. when now they had entered the habitation, which was forthwith surrounded by a multitude of the savages of their company, the bridge [ ] was drawn up, and all of the french put themselves on guard, arms in hand. they kept a strict watch, sentinels being posted at the necessary points, for fear of what the savages outside might do, since they suspected that it was intended actually to inflict punishment upon the guilty one, who had so freely offered himself to our mercy, and not upon him alone, but upon those also who had accompanied him inside, who likewise were not too sure of their persons, and who, seeing matters in this state, did not expect to get out with their lives. the whole matter was very well managed and carried out, so as to make them realize the magnitude of the crime and have fear for the future. otherwise there would have been no security with them, and we should have been obliged to live with arms in hand and in perpetual distrust. after this, the savages suspecting lest something might happen contrary to what they hoped from us, the holy fathers proceeded to make them an address on the subject of this crime. they set forth to them the friendship which the french had shown them for ten or twelve years back, when we began to know them, during which time we had continually lived in peace and intimacy with them, nay even with such freedom as could hardly be expressed. they added moreover that i had in person assisted them several times in war against their enemies, thereby exposing my life for their welfare; while we were not under any obligations to do so, being impelled only by friendship and good will towards them, and feeling pity at the miseries and persecutions which their enemies caused them to endure and suffer. this is why we were unable to believe, they said, that this murder had been committed without their consent, and especially since they had taken it upon themselves to favor those who committed it. speaking to the father of the criminal, they represented to him the enormity of the deed committed by his son, saying that as reparation for it he deserved death, since by our law so wicked a deed did not go unpunished, and that whoever was found guilty and convicted of it deserved to be condemned to death as reparation for so heinous an act; but, as to the other inhabitants of the country, who were not guilty of the crime, they said no one wished them any harm or desired to visit upon them the consequences of it. all the savages, having clearly heard this, said, as their only excuse, but with all respect, that they had not consented to this act; that they knew very well that these two criminals ought to be put to death, unless we should be disposed to pardon them; that they were well aware of their wickedness, not before but after the commission of the deed; that they had been informed of the death of the two ill-fated men too late to prevent it. moreover, they said that they had kept it secret, in order to preserve constantly an intimate relationship and confidence with us, and declared that they had administered to the evil-doers severe reprimands, and set forth the calamity which they had not only brought upon themselves, but upon all their tribe, relatives and friends; and they promised that such a calamity should never occur again and begged us to forget this offence, and not visit it with the consequences it deserved, but rather go back to the primary motive which induced the two savages to go there, and have regard for that. furthermore they said that the culprit had come freely and delivered himself into our hands, not to be punished but to receive mercy from the french. but the father, turning to the friar, [ ] said with tears, there is my son, who committed the supposed crime; he is worthless, but consider that he is a young, foolish, and inconsiderate person, who has committed this act through passion, impelled by vengeance rather than by premeditation: it is in your power to give him life or death; you can do with him what you please, since we are both in your hands. after this address, the culprit son, presenting himself with assurance, spoke these words. "fear has not so seized my heart as to prevent my coming to receive death according to my desserts and your law, of which i acknowledge myself guilty." then he stated to the company the cause of the murder, and the planning and execution of it, just as i have related and here set forth. after his recital he addressed himself to one of the agents and clerks of the merchants of our association, named _beauchaine_, begging him to put him to death without further formality. then the holy fathers spoke, and said to them, that the french were not accustomed to put their fellow-men to death so suddenly, and that it was necessary to have a consultation with all the men of the settlement, and bring forward this affair as the subject of consideration. this being a matter of great consequence, it was decided that it should be carefully conducted and that it was best to postpone it to a more favorable occasion, which would be better adapted to obtain the truth, the present time not being favorable for many reasons. in the first place, we were weak in numbers in comparison with the savages without and within our settlement, who, resentful and full of vengeance as they are, would have been capable of setting fire on all sides and creating disorder among us. in the second place, there would have been perpetual distrust and no security in our intercourse with them. in the third place, trade would have been injured, and the service of the king impeded. in view of these and other urgent considerations, it was decided that we ought to be contented with their putting themselves in our power and their willingness to give satisfaction submissively, the father of the criminal on the one hand presenting and offering him to the company, and he, for his part, offering to give up his own life as restitution for his offence, just as his father offered to produce him whenever he might be required. this it was thought necessary to regard as a sort of honorable amend, and a satisfaction to justice. and it was considered that if we thus pardoned the offence, not only would the criminal receive his life from us, but, also, his father and companions would feel under great obligations. it was thought proper, however, to say to them as an explanation of our action, that, in view of the fact of the criminal's public assurance that all the other savages were in no respect accomplices, or to blame for the act, and had had no knowledge of it before its accomplishment, and in view of the fact that he had freely offered himself to death, it had been decided to restore him to his father, who should remain under obligations to produce him at any time. on these terms and on condition that he should in future render service to the french, his life was spared, that he and all the savages might continue friends and helpers of the french. thus it was decided to arrange the matter until the vessels should return from france, when, in accordance with the opinion of the captains and others, a definite and more authoritative settlement was to be concluded. in the mean time we promised them every favor and the preservation of their lives, saying to them, however, for our security, that they should leave some of their children as a kind of hostage, to which they very willingly acceded, and left at the settlement two in the hands of the holy fathers, who proceeded to teach their letters, and in less than three months taught them the alphabet and how to make the letters. from this it may be seen that they are capable of instruction and are easily taught, as father joseph [ ] can testify. the vessels having safely arrived, sieur du pont gravé, some others, and myself were informed how the affair had taken place, as has been narrated above, when we all decided that it was desirable to make the savages feel the enormity of this murder, but not to execute punishment upon them, for various good reasons hereafter to be mentioned. as soon as our vessels had entered the harbor of tadoussac, even on the morning of the next day, [ ] sieur du pont gravé and myself set sail again, on a small barque of ten or twelve tons' burden. so also sieur de la mothe, together with father jean d'albeau, [ ] a friar, and one of the clerks and agent of the merchants, named _loquin_, embarked on a little shallop, and we set out together from tadoussac. there remained on the vessel another friar, called father _modeste_ [ ] together with the pilot and master, to take care of her. we arrived at quebec, the place of our settlement, on the th of june following. here we found fathers joseph, paul, and pacifique, the friars, [ ] and sieur hébert [ ] with his family, together with the other members of the settlement. they were all well, and delighted at our return in good health like themselves, through the mercy of god. the same day sieur du pont gravé determined to go to trois rivières, where the merchants carried on their trading, and to take with him some merchandise, with the purpose of meeting sieur des chesnes, who was already there. he also took with him loquin, as before mentioned. i stayed at our settlement some days, occupying myself with business relating to it; among other things in building a furnace for making an experiment with certain ashes, directions for which had been given me, and which are in truth of great value; but it requires labor, diligence, watchfulness and skill; and for the working of these ashes a sufficient number of men are needed who are acquainted with this art. this first experiment did not prove successful, and we postponed further trial to a more favorable opportunity. i visited the cultivated lands, [ ] which i found planted with fine grain. the gardens contained all kinds of plants, cabbages, radishes, lettuce, purslain, sorrel, parsley, and other plants, squashes, cucumbers, melons, peas, beans and other vegetables, which were as fine and forward as in france. there were also the vines, which had been transplanted, already well advanced. in a word, you could see everything growing and flourishing. aside from god, we are not to give the praise for this to the laborers or their skill, for it is probable that not much is due to them, but to the richness and excellence of the soil, which is naturally good and adapted for everything, as experience shows, and might be turned to good account, not only for purposes of tillage and the cultivation of fruit-trees and vines, but also for the nourishment and rearing of cattle and fowl, such as are common in france. but the thing lacking is zeal and affection for the welfare and service of the king. i tarried some time at quebec, in expectation of further intelligence, when there arrived a barque from tadoussac, which had been sent by sieur du pont gravé to get the men and merchandise remaining at that place on the before-mentioned large vessel. leaving quebec, i embarked with them for trois rivières, where the trading was going on, in order to see the savages and communicate with them, and ascertain what was taking place respecting the assassination above set forth, and what could be done to settle and smooth over the whole matter. on the th of july following i set out from quebec, together with sieur de la mothe, for trois rivières, both for engaging in traffic and to see the savages. we arrived at evening off sainte croix, [ ] a place on the way so called. here we saw a shallop coming straight to us, in which were some men from sieurs du pont gravé and des chesnes, and also some clerks and agents of the merchants. they asked me to despatch at once this shallop to quebec for some merchandise remaining there, saying that a large number of savages had come for the purpose of making war. this intelligence was very agreeable to us, and in order to satisfy them, on the morning of the next day i left my barque and went on board a shallop in order to go more speedily to the savages, while the other, which had come from trois rivières, continued its course to quebec. we made such progress by rowing that we arrived at the before-mentioned place on the th of july at o'clock in the afternoon. upon landing, all the savages with whom i had been intimate in their country recognized me. they were awaiting me with impatience, and came up to me very happy and delighted to see me again, one after the other embracing me with demonstrations of great joy, i also receiving them in the same manner. in this agreeable way was spent the evening and remainder of this day, and on the next day the savages held a council among themselves, to ascertain from me whether i would again assist them, as i had done in the past and as i had promised them, in their wars against their enemies, by whom they are cruelly harassed and tortured. meanwhile on our part we took counsel together to determine what we should do in the matter of the murder of the two deceased, in order that justice might be done, and that they might be restrained from committing such an offence in future. in regard to the assistance urgently requested by the savages for making war against their enemies, i replied that my disposition had not changed nor my courage abated, but that what prevented me from assisting them was that on the previous year, when the occasion and opportunity presented, they failed me when the time came; because when they had promised to return with a good number of warriors they did not do so, which caused me to withdraw without accomplishing much. yet i told them the matter should be taken into consideration, but that for the present it was proper to determine what should be done in regard to the assassination of the two unfortunate men, and that satisfaction must be had. upon this they left their council in seeming anger and vexation about the matter, offering to kill the criminals, and proceed at once to their execution, if assent were given, and acknowledging freely among themselves the enormity of the affair. but we would not consent to this, postponing our assistance to another time, requiring them to return to us the next year with a good number of men. i assured them, moreover, that i would entreat the king to favor us with men, means, and supplies to assist them and enable them to enjoy the rest they longed for, and victory over their enemies. at this they were greatly pleased, and thus we separated, after they had held two or three meetings on the subject, costing us several hours of time. two or three days after my arrival at this place they proceeded to make merry, dance, and celebrate many great banquets in view of the future war in which i was to assist them. then i stated to sieur du pont gravé what i thought about this murder; that it was desirable to make a greater demand upon them; that at present the savages would dare not only to do the same thing again but what would be more injurious to us; that i considered them people who were governed by example; that they might accuse the french of being wanting in courage; that if we said no more about the matter they would infer that we were afraid of them: and that if we should let them go so easily they would grow more insolent, bold, and intolerable, and we should even thereby tempt them to undertake greater and more pernicious designs. moreover i said that the other tribes of savages, who had or should get knowledge of this act, and that it had been unrevenged, or compromised by gifts and presents, as is their custom, would boast that killing a man is no great matter; since the french make so little account of seeing their companions killed by their neighbors, who drink, eat, and associate intimately with them, as may be seen. but, on the other hand, in consideration of the various circumstances; namely, that the savages do not exercise reason, that they are hard to approach, are easily estranged, and are very ready to take vengeance, that, if we should force them to inflict punishment, there would be no security for those desirous of making explorations among them, we determined to settle this affair in a friendly manner, and pass over quietly what had occurred, leaving them to engage peaceably in their traffic with the clerks and agents of the merchants and others in charge. now there was with them a man named _estienne brûlé_, one of our interpreters, who had been living with them for eight years, as well to pass his time as to see the country and learn their language and mode of life. he is the one whom i had despatched with orders to go in the direction of the entouhonorons, [ ] to carantoüan, in order to bring with him five hundred warriors they had promised to send to assist us in the war in which we were engaged against their enemies, a reference to which is made in the narrative of my previous book. [ ] i called this man, namely estienne brûlé, and asked him why he had not brought the assistance of the five hundred men, and what was the cause of the delay, and why he had not rendered me a report. thereupon he gave me an account of the matter, a narrative of which it will not be out of place to give, as he is more to be pitied than blamed on account of the misfortunes which he experienced on this commission. he proceeded to say that, after taking leave of me to go on his journey and execute his commission, he set out with the twelve savages whom i had given him for the purpose of showing the way, and to serve as an escort on account of the dangers which he might have to encounter. they were successful in reaching the place, carantoüan, but not without exposing themselves to risk, since they had to pass through the territories of their enemies, and, in order to avoid any evil design, pursued a more secure route through thick and impenetrable forests, wood and brush, marshy bogs, frightful and unfrequented places and wastes, all to avoid danger and a meeting with their enemies. but, in spite of this great care, brûlé and his savage companions, while crossing a plain, encountered some hostile savages, who were returning to their village and who were surprised and worsted by our savages, four of the enemy being killed on the spot and two taken prisoners, whom brûlé and his companions took to carantoüan, by the inhabitants of which place they were received with great affection, a cordial welcome, and good cheer, with the dances and banquets with which they are accustomed to entertain and honor strangers. some days were spent in this friendly reception; and, after brûlé had told them his mission and explained to them the occasion of his journey, the savages of the place assembled in council to deliberate and resolve in regard to sending the five hundred warriors asked for by brûlé. when the council was ended and it was decided to send the men, orders were given to collect, prepare, and arm them, so as to go and join us where we were encamped before the fort and village of our enemies. this was only three short days' journey from carantoüan, which was provided with more than eight hundred warriors, and strongly fortified, after the manner of those before described, which have high and strong palisades well bound and joined together, the quarters being constructed in a similar fashion. after it had been resolved by the inhabitants of carantoüan to send the five hundred men, these were very long in getting ready, although urged by brûlé, to make haste, who explained to them that if they delayed any longer they would not find us there. and in fact they did not succeed in arriving until two days after our departure from that place, which we were forced to abandon, since we were too weak and worn by the inclemency of the weather. this caused brûlé, and the five hundred men whom he brought, to withdraw and return to their village of carantoüan. after their return brûlé was obliged to stay, and spend the rest of the autumn and all the winter, for lack of company and escort home. while awaiting, he busied himself in exploring the country and visiting the tribes and territories adjacent to that place, and in making a tour along a river [ ] that debouches in the direction of florida, where are many powerful and warlike nations, carrying on wars against each other. the climate there is very temperate, and there are great numbers of animals and abundance of small game. but to traverse and reach these regions requires patience, on account of the difficulties involved in passing the extensive wastes. he continued his course along the river as far as the sea, [ ] and to islands and lands near them, which are inhabited by various tribes and large numbers of savages, who are well disposed and love the french above all other nations. but those who know the dutch [ ] complain severely of them, since they treat them very roughly. among other things he observed that the winter was very temperate, that it snowed very rarely, and that when it did the snow was not a foot deep and melted immediately. after traversing the country and observing what was noteworthy, he returned to the village of carantoüan, in order to find an escort for returning to our settlement. after some stay at carantoüan, five or six of the savages decided to make the journey with brûlé. on the way they encountered a large number of their enemies, who charged upon brûlé and his companions so violently that they caused them to break up and separate from each other, so that they were unable to rally: and brûlé, who had kept apart in the hope of escaping, became so detached from the others that he could not return, nor find a road or sign in order to effect his retreat in any direction whatever. thus he continued to wander through forest and wood for several days without eating, and almost despairing of his life from the pressure of hunger. at last he came upon a little footpath, which he determined to follow wherever it might lead, whether toward the enemy or not, preferring to expose himself to their hands trusting in god rather than to die alone and in this wretched manner. besides he knew how to speak their language, which he thought might afford him some assistance. but he had not gone a long distance when he discovered three savages loaded with fish repairing to their village. he ran after them, and, as he approached, shouted at them, as is their custom. at this they turned about, and filled with fear were about to leave their burden and flee. but brûlé speaking to them reassured them, when they laid down their bows and arrows in sign of peace, brûlé on his part laying down his arms. moreover he was weak and feeble, not having eaten for three or four days. on coming up to them, after he had told them of his misfortune and the miserable condition to which he had been reduced, they smoked together, as they are accustomed to do with one another and their acquaintances when they visit each other. they had pity and compassion for him, offering him every assistance, and conducting him to their village, where they entertained him and gave him something to eat. but as soon as the people of the place were informed that an _adoresetoüy_ had arrived, for thus they call the french, the name signifying _men of iron_, they came in a rush and in great numbers to see brûlé. they took him to the cabin of one of the principal chiefs, where he was interrogated, and asked who he was, whence he came, what circumstance had driven and led him to this place, how he had lost his way, and whether he did not belong to the french nation that made war upon them. to this he replied that he belonged to a better nation, that was desirous solely of their acquaintance and friendship. yet they would not believe this, but threw themselves upon him, tore out his nails with their teeth, burnt him with glowing firebrands, and tore out his beard, hair by hair, though contrary to the will of the chief. during this fit of passion one of the savages observed an _agnus dei_, which he had attached to his neck, and asked what it was that he had thus attached to his neck, and was on the point of seizing it and pulling it off. but brûlé said to him, with resolute words, if you take it and put me to death, you will find that immediately after you will suddenly die, and all those of your house. he paid no attention however to this, but continuing in his malicious purpose tried to seize the _agnus dei_ and tear it from him, all of them together being desirous of putting him to death, but previously of making him suffer great pain and torture, such as they generally practise upon their enemies. but god, showing him mercy, was pleased not to allow it, but in his providence caused the heavens to change suddenly from the serene and fair state they were in to darkness, and to become filled with great and thick clouds, upon which followed thunders and lightnings so violent and long continued that it was something strange and awful. this storm caused the savages such terror, it being not only unusual but unlike anything they had ever heard, that their attention was diverted and they forgot the evil purpose they had towards brûlé, their prisoner. they accordingly left him without even unbinding him, as they did not dare to approach him. this gave the sufferer an opportunity to use gentle words, and he appealed to them and remonstrated with them on the harm they were doing him without cause, and set forth to them how our god was enraged at them for having so abused him. the captain then approached brûlé, unbound him, and took him to his house, where he took care of him and treated his wounds. after this there were no dances, banquets, or merry-makings to which brûlé was not invited. so after remaining some time with these savages, he determined to proceed towards our settlement. taking leave of them, he promised to restore them to harmony with the french and their enemies, and cause them to swear friendship with each other, to which end he said he would return to them as soon as he could. thence he went to the country and village of the atinouaentans, [ ] where i had already been; the savages at his departure having conducted him for a distance of four days' journey from their village. here brûlé remained some time, when, resuming his journey towards us he came by way of the _mer douce_, [ ] boating along its northern shores for some ten days, where i had also gone when on my way to the war. and if brûlé had gone further on to explore these regions, as i had directed him to do, it would not have been a mere rumor that they were preparing war with one another. but this undertaking was reserved to another time, which he promised me to continue and accomplish in a short period with god's grace, and to conduct me there that i might obtain fuller and more particular knowledge. after he had made this recital, i gave him assurance that his services would be recognized, and encouraged him to continue his good purpose until our return, when we should have more abundant means to do that with which he would be satisfied. this is now the entire narrative and recital of his journey from the time he left me [ ] to engage in the above-mentioned explorations; and it afforded me pleasure in the prospect thereby presented me of being better able to continue and promote them. with this purpose he took leave of me to return to the savages, an intimate acquaintance with whom had been acquired by him in his journeys and explorations. i begged him to continue with them until the next year, when i would return with a good number of men, both to reward him for his labors, and to assist as in the past the savages, his friends, in their wars. resuming the thread of my former discourse, i must note that in my last and preceding voyages and explorations i had passed through numerous and diverse tribes of savages not known to the french nor to those of our settlement, with whom i had made alliances and sworn friendship, on condition that they should come and trade with us, and that i should assist them in their wars; for it must be understood that there is not a single tribe living in peace, excepting the nation neutre. according to their promise, there came from the various tribes of savages recently discovered some trade in peltry, others to see the french and ascertain what kind of treatment and welcome would be shown them. this encouraged everybody, the french on the one hand to show them cordiality and welcome, for they honored them with some attentions and presents, which the agents of the merchants gave to gratify them; on the other hand, it encouraged the savages, who promised all the french to come and live in future in friendship with them, all of them declaring that they would deport themselves with such affection towards us that we should have occasion to commend them, while we in like manner were to assist them to the extent of our power in their wars. the trading having been concluded, and the savages having taken their leave and departed, we left trois rivières on the th of july of this year. the next day we arrived at our quarters at quebec, where the barques were unloaded of the merchandise which had remained over from the traffic and which was put in the warehouse of the merchants at that place. now sieur de pont gravé went to tadoussac with the barques in order to load them and carry to the habitation the provisions necessary to support those who were to remain and winter there, and i determined while the barques were thus engaged to continue there for some days in order to have the necessary fortifications and repairs made. at my departure from the settlement i took leave of the holy fathers, sieur de la mothe, and all the others who were to stay there, giving them to expect that i would return, god assisting, with a good number of families to people the country. i embarked on the th of july, together with the fathers paul and pacifique, [ ] the latter having wintered here once and the other having been here a year and a half, who were to make a report of what they had seen in the country and of what could be done there. we set out on the day above mentioned from the settlement for tadoussac, where we were to embark for france. we arrived the next day and found our vessels ready to set sail. we embarked, and left tadoussac for france on the th of the month of july, , and arrived at honfleur on the th day of august, the wind having been favorable, and all being in good spirits. endnotes: . champlain made a voyage to new france in , but appears to have kept no journal of its events. he simply observes that nothing occurred worthy of remark. _vide_ issue of , quebec ed., p. . sagard gives a brief narrative of the events that occurred that year. vol. i. pp. - . . eustache boullé. his father was nicolas boullé, secretary of the king's chamber, and his mother was marguerite alix. _vide_ vol. i. p. _et passim_. . nicolas de la mothe, or de la motte le vilin. he had been lieutenant of saussaye in , when capt. argall captured the french colony at mount desert. _vide les voyages de champlain_, , quebec ed., p. ; _relation de la nouvelle france_, père biard, p. . . _fauquets_. probably the common tern, or sea swallow. _sterna hirundo_. peter kalm, on his voyage in , says "terns, _sterna hirundo, linn_, though of a somewhat darker colour than the common ones, we found after the forty-first degree of north latitude and forty-seventh degree of west longitude from _london_, very plentifully, and sometimes in flocks of some hundreds; sometimes they settled, as if tired, on our ship." _kalm's travels_, , vol. i. p. . . st. john's day was june th. . according to sagard they were assassinated about the middle of april, . _hist. canada_, vol. i. p. . . sagard says the french, on account of this affair, were menaced by eight hundred savages of different nations who were assembled at trois rivières. _vide histoire du canada_, , vol. i. p. . the statement, "on estoit menacé de huict cens sauvages de diuerse nations, qui festoient assemblez és trois rivieres à dessein de venir surprendre les françois & leur coupper à tous la gorge, pour preuenir la vengeance qu'ils eussent pû prendre de deux de leurs hommes tuez par les montagnais environ la my auril de l'an ," is, we think, too strong. the savages were excited and frightened by the demands of the french, who desired to produce upon their minds a strong moral impression, in order to prevent a recurrence of the murder, which was a private thing, in which the great body of the savages had no part. they could not be said to be hostile, though they prudently put themselves in a state of defence, as, under the circumstances, it was very natural they should do. . they were then at trois rivières. . the moat around the habitation at quebec was fifteen feet wide and six feet deep, constructed with a drawbridge to be taken up in case of need. _vide_ vol ii p. . . probably père le caron, who was in charge of the mission at quebec at that time. . _vide histoire du canada_, par sagard, , vol. i. p . . they arrived on st. john's day, _antea, note _, and consequently this was the th of june, . . jean d'olbeau. . frère modeste guines. _vide histoire du canada_, par sagard, à paris, , vol. i.p. . . joseph le caron, paul huet, and pacifique du plessis. . louis hébert, an apothecary, settled at port royal in la cadie or nova scotia, under poutrincourt, was there when, in , possession was taken in the name of madame de guercheville. he afterward took up his abode at quebec with his family, probably in the year . his eldest daughter anne was married at quebec to estienne jonquest, a norman, which was the first marriage that took place with the ceremonies of the church in canada. his daughter guillemette married william couillard, and to her champlain committed the two indian girls, whom he was not permitted by kirke to take with him to france, when quebec was captured by the english in . louis hébert died at quebec on the th of january, . _histoire du canada_, vol. i. pp. , . . these fields were doubtless those of louis hébert, who was the first that came into the country with his family to live by the cultivation of the soil. . platon. _vide_ vol. ., note . . champlain says, _donné charge d'aller vers les entouhonorons à carantouan_. by reference to the map of . it will be seen that the entouhonorons were situated on the southern borders of lake ontario. they are understood by champlain to be a part at least of the iroquois; but the carantouanais, allies of the hurons, were south of them, occupying apparently the upper waters of the susquehanna. a dotted line will be seen on the same map, evidently intended to mark the course of brûlé's journey. from the meagre knowledge which champlain possessed of the region, the line can hardly be supposed to be very accurate, which may account for champlain's indefinite expression as cited at the beginning of this note. the entouhonorons, quentouoronons, tsonnontouans, or senecas constituted the most western and most numerous canton of the five nations. _vide continuation of the new discovery_, by louis hennepin, , p. ; also origin of the name seneca in mr. o. h. marshall's brochure on _de la salle among the senecas_, pp. - . . _vide antea_, p. . . the river susquehanna. . he appears to have gone as far south at least as the upper waters of chesapeake bay. . the dutch fur-traders. _vide history of the state of new york_ by john romeyn brodhead, vol. i. p. _et passim_. . attigonantans or attignaouantans the principal tribe of the hurons, sometimes called _les bons iroquis_, as they and the iroquois were of the same original stock. _vide_ vol. i. p. , note . . lake huron. for the different names which have been attached to this lake, _vide local names of niagara frontier_, by orsamus h. marshall, , p. . . brûlé was despatched on his mission sept , . _vide antea_, p. . as we have already stated in a previous note, it was the policy of champlain to place competent young men with the different tribes of savages to obtain that kind of information which could only come from an actual and prolonged residence with them. this enabled him to secure not only the most accurate knowledge of their domestic habits and customs, the character and spirit of their life, but these young men by their long residence with the savages acquired a good knowledge of their language, and were able to act as interpreters. this was a matter of very great importance, as it was often necessary for champlain to communicate with the different tribes in making treaties of friendship, in discussing questions of war with their enemies, in settling disagreements among themselves, and in making arrangements with them for the yearly purchase of their peltry. it was not easy to obtain suitable persons for this important office. those who had the intellectual qualifications, and who had any high aspirations, would not naturally incline to pass years in the stupid and degrading associations, to say nothing of the hardships and deprivations, of savage life. they were generally therefore adventurers, whose honesty and fidelity had no better foundation than their selfish interests. of this sort was this Étienne brûlé, as well as nicholas marsolet and pierre raye, all of whom turned traitors, selling themselves to the english when quebec was taken in . of brûlé, champlain uses the following emphatic language: "lé truchement bruslé à qui l'on donnoit cent pistolles par an, pour inciter les sauuages à venir à la traitte, ce qui estoit de tres-mauuais exemple, d'enuoyer ainsi des personnes si maluiuans, que l'on eust deub chastier seuerement, car l'on recognoissoit cet homme pour estre fort vicieux, & adonné aux femmes; mais que ne fait faire l'esperance du gain, qui passe par dessus toutes considerations." _vide issue of_ , quebec ed., pp. , . but among champlain's interpreters there were doubtless some who bore a very different character. jean nicolet was certainly a marked exception. although champlain does not mention him by name, he appears to have been in new france as early as , where he spent many years among the algonquins, and was the first frenchman who penetrated the distant northwest. he married into one of the most respectable families of quebec, and is often mentioned in the relations des jésuites. _vide_ a brief notice of him in _discovery and exploration of the mississippi valley_, by john gilmary shea, , p. xx. a full account of his career has recently been published, entitled _history of the discovery of the northwest by john nicolet in_ , _with a sketch of his life_. by c. w. butterfield. cincinnati, . _vide_ also _détails fur la vie de jean nicollet_, an extract from _relation des jésuites_, , in _découveries_, etc, par pierre margry, p. . . paul huet and pacifique du plessis. the latter had been in new france more than a year and a half, having arrived in . _vide antea_, pp. - . explanation of two geographical maps of new france. it has seemed to me well to make some statements in explanation of the two geographical maps. although one corresponds to the other so far as the harbors, bays, capes, promontories, and rivers extending into the interior are concerned, nevertheless they are different in respect to the bearings. the smallest is in its true meridian, in accordance with the directions of sieur de castelfranc in his book on the mecometry of the magnetic needle [ ] where i have noted, as will be seen on the map, several declinations, which have been of much service to me, so also all the altitudes, latitudes, and longitudes, from the forty-first degree of latitude to the fifty-first, in the direction of the north pole, which are the confines of canada, or the great bay, where more especially the basques and spaniards engage in the whale fishery. in certain places in the great river st. lawrence, in latitude °, i have observed the declination of the magnetic needle, and found it as high as twenty-one degrees, which is the greatest i have seen. the small map will serve very well for purposes of navigation, provided the needle be applied properly to the rose [ ] indicating the points of the compass. for instance, in using it, when one is on the grand bank where fresh fishing is carried on, it is necessary, for the sake of greater convenience, to take a rose where the thirty-two points are marked equally, and put the point of the magnetic needle , , or degrees from the _fleur de lis_ on the northwest side, which is nearly a point and a half, that is north a point northwest or a little more, from the _fleur de lis_ of said rose, and then adjust the rose to the compass. by this means the latitudes of all the capes, harbors, and rivers can be accurately ascertained. i am aware that there are many who will not make use of it, but will prefer to run according to the large one, since it is made according to the compass of france, where the magnetic needle varies to the northeast, for the reason that they are so accustomed to this method that it is difficult for them to change. for this reason i have prepared the large map in this manner, for the assistance of the majority of the pilots and mariners in the waters of new france, fearing that if i had not done so, they would have ascribed to me a mistake, not knowing whence it proceeded. for the small plans or charts of newfoundland are, for the most part, different in all their statements with respect to the positions of the lands and their latitudes. and those who may have some small copies, reasonably good, esteem them so valuable that they do not communicate a knowledge of them to their country, which might derive profit therefrom. now the construction of these maps is such that they have their meridian in a direction north-northeast, making west west-northwest, which is contrary to the true meridian of this place, namely, to call north-northeast north, for the needle instead of varying to the northwest, as it should, varies to the northeast as if it were in france. the consequence of this is that error has resulted, and will continue to do so, since this antiquated custom is practised, which they still retain, although they fall into grave mistakes. they also make use of a compass marked north and south; that is, so that the point of the magnetic needle is directly on the _fleur de lis_. in accordance with such a compass many construct their small maps, which seems to me the better way, and so approach nearer to the true meridian of new france, than the compasses of france proper, which point to the northeast. it has come about, consequently, in this way that the first navigators who sailed to new france thought there was no greater deviation in going to these parts than to the azores, or other places near france, where the deviation is almost imperceptible in navigation, the navigators having the compasses of france, which point northeast and represent the true meridian. in sailing constantly westward with the purpose of reaching a certain latitude, they laid their course directly west by their compass, supposing that they were sailing on the one parallel where they wished to go. by thus going constantly in a straight line and not in a circle, as all the parallels on the surface of the globe run, they found after having traversed a long distance, and as they were approaching the land, that they were some three, four, or five degrees farther south than they ought to be, thus being deceived in their true latitude and reckoning. it is true, indeed, that, when the weather was fair and the sun clearly visible, they corrected their latitude, but not without wondering how it happened that their course was wrong, which arose in consequence of their sailing in a straight instead of a circular line according to the parallel, so that in changing their meridian they changed with regard to the points of the compass, and consequently their course. it is, therefore, very necessary to know the meridian, and the declination of the magnetic needle, for this knowledge can serve all navigators. this is especially so in the north and south, where there are greater variations in the magnetic needle, and where the meridians of longitude are smaller, so that the error, if the declination were not known, would be greater. this above-mentioned error has accordingly arisen, because navigators have either not cared to correct it, or did not know how to do so, and have left it in the state in which it now is. it is consequently difficult to abandon this manner of sailing in the regions of new france. this has led me to make this large map, not only that it might be more minute than the small one, but also in order to satisfy navigators, who will thus be able to sail as they do according to their small maps; and they will excuse me for not making it better and more in detail, for the life of a man is not long enough to observe things so exactly that at least something would not be found to have been omitted. hence inquiring and pains-taking persons will, in sailing, observe things not to be found on this map, but which they add to it, so that in the course of time there will be no doubt as to any of the localities indicated. at least it seems to me that i have done my duty, so far as i could, not having sailed to put on my map anything that i have seen, and thus giving to the public special knowledge of what had never been described, nor so carefully explored as i have done it. although in the past others have written of these things, yet very little in comparison with what we have explored within the past ten years. mode of determining a meridian line. take a small piece of board, perfectly level, and place in the middle a needle c, three inches high, so that it shall be exactly perpendicular. expose it to the sun before noon, at or o'clock, and mark the point b at the end of the shadow cast by the needle. then opening the compasses, with one point on c and the other on the shadow b, describe an arc ab. leave the whole in this position until afternoon when you see the shadow just reaching the arc at a. then divide equally the arc ab, and taking a rule, and placing it on the points c and d, draw a line running the whole length of the board, which is not to be moved until the observation is completed. this line will be the meridian of the place you are in. and in order to ascertain the declination of the place where you are with reference to the meridian, place a compass, which must be rectangular, along the meridian line, as shown in the figure above, there being upon the card a circle divided into degrees. divide the circle by two diametrical lines; one representing the north and south, as indicated by ef, the other the east and west, as indicated by gh. then observe the magnetic needle turning on its pivot upon the card, and you will see how much it deviates from the fixed meridian line upon the card, and how many degrees it varies to the northeast of northwest. champlain's large map. geographical chart of new france, made by sieur de champlain of saintonge, captain in ordinary for the king in the marine. made in the year . i have made this map for the greater convenience of the majority of those who navigate on these coasts, since they sail to that country according to compasses arranged for the hemisphere of asia. and if i had made it like the small one, the majority would not have been able to use it, owing to their not knowing the declinations of the needle. [ ] observe that on the present map north-northeast stands for north, and west-northwest for west; according to which one is to be guided in ascertaining the elevation of the degrees of latitude, as if these points were actually east and west, north and south, since the map is constructed according to the compasses of france, which vary to the northeast. [ ] some declinations of the magnetic needle, which i have carefully observed. cap breton . . . . . . ° ' cap de la have . . . . ° ' baye ste mane . . . . ° ' port royal . . . . . . ° ' en la grande r. st laurent ° st croix . . . . . . . ° ' rivière de norumbegue. ° ' quinibequi . . . . . . ° ' mallebarre . . . . . . ° ' all observed by sieur de champlain, . references on champlain's large map. a. port fortuné. b. baye blanche. c. baye aux isles. d. cap des isles. e. port aux isles. f. isle haute. g. isle des monts déserts. h. cap corneille. i. isles aux oiseaux. k. cap des deux bayes. l. port aux mines m. cap fourchu. n. cap nègre. o. port du rossignol. p. st. laurent. q. rivière de l'isle verte. r. baye saine. s. rivière sainte marguerite t. port sainte hélène. v. isle des martires. x. isles rangées. y. port de savalette. z. passage du glas. . port aux anglois. . baye courante. . cap de poutrincourt. . isle gravée. . passage courant. . baye de gennes. . isle perdue. . cap des mines. . port aux coquilles. . isles jumelles. . cap saint jean. . isle la nef. . la heronniére isle. . isles rangées. . baye saint luc. . passage du gas. . côte de montmorency. . rivière de champlain. . rivière sainte marie. . isle d'orléans. . isle de bacchus. note--the reader will observe that in a few instances the references are wanting on the map. champlain's note to the small map. on the small map [ ] is added the strait above labrador between the fifty-third and sixty-third degrees of latitude, which the english have discovered during the present year , in their voyage to find, if possible, a passage to china by way of the north. [ ] they wintered at a place indicated by this mark, . but it was not without enduring severe cold, and they were obliged to return to england, leaving their leader in the northern regions. within six months three other vessels have set out, to penetrate, if possible, still farther, and, at the same time, to search for the men who were left in that region. geographical map of new france, in its true meridian. _made by sieur champlain, captain for the king in the marine. _. +o matou-ouescariny. [note: this figure is inverted on the map. _vide antea_, note , p. .] o+ gaspay. oo ouescariny. [note: _vide antea_, note , pp. , . the figure oo is misplaced and should be where o-o is on the map, on the extreme western border near the forty-seventh degree of north latitude.] o-o quenongebin. [note: this figure o-o on the map occupies the place which should be occupied by oo. _vide antea_, p. , note .] a. tadoussac. b. lesquemain. c. isle percée. d. baye de chaleur. e. isles aux gros yeux. [note: a cluster of islands of which the island of birds is one.] h. baye françoise. i. isles aux oyseaux. l. rivière des etechemins. [note: this letter, placed between the river st. john and the st. croix, refers to the latter.] m. menane. n. port royal. p. isle longue. q. cap fourchu. r. port au mouton. s. port du rossignol. [note: the letter s appears twice on the coast of la cadie. the one here referred to is the more westerly.] ss. lac de medicis. [note: this reference is probably to the lake of two mountains, which will be seen on the map west of montreal.] t. sesambre. v. cap des deux bayes. . l'isle aux coudres. . saincte croix. [note: st. croix on the map is where a cross surmounted by the figure may be seen.] . rivière des etechemins. [note: this appears to refer to the chaudière. _vide_ vol. i. p. .] . sault. [note: this refers to the falls of montmorency.] . lac sainct pierre. . rivière des yroquois. . isle aux lieures. . rivière platte. [note: a small river flowing into mal bay. _vide_ vol. i. p. ; also _les voyages de champlain_, quebec ed., p. .] . mantane. [note: _vide_ vol. i. p .] . cap saincte marie. [note: the figures are wanting. cape st. mary is on the southern coast of newfoundland. _vide_ vol i. p. .] endnotes: . the determination of longitudes has from the beginning been environed with almost insuperable difficulties. at one period the declination of the magnetic needle was supposed to furnish the means of a practical solution. sebastian cabot devoted considerable attention to the subject, as did likewise peter plancius at a later date. champlain appears to have fixed the longitudes on his smaller map by calculations based on the variation of the needle, guided by the principles laid down by guillaume de nautonier, sieur de castelfranc, to whose work he refers in the text. it was entitled, _mécométrie de l'eymant c'est à dire la manière de mesurer les longitudes par le moyen de l'eymant_. this rare volume is not to be found as far as my inquiries extend, in any of the incorporated libraries on this continent. there is however a copy in the bodleian library at oxford, to which in the catalogue is given the bibliographical note: _six livres. folio. tolose, _. it is hardly necessary to add that the forces governing the variation of the needle, both local and general, are so inconstant that the hope of fixing longitudes by it was long since abandoned. the reason for the introduction of the explanation of the maps at this place will be seen _antea_, p. . . the rose is the face or card of the mariner's compass. it was anciently called the fly. card may perhaps be derived from the italian cardo, a thistle, which the face of the compass may be supposed to resemble. on the complete circle of the compass there are thirty-two lines drawn from the centre to the circumference to indicate the direction of the wind. each quarter of the circle, or °, contains eight lines representing the points of the compass in that quarter. they are named with reference to the cardinal points from which they begin, as: , north, , north by east, , north-northeast; , northeast by north; , northeast; , northeast by east; , east- northeast; , east by north. the points in each quarter are named in a similar manner. . the above title is on the large map of . this note is on the upper left-hand corner of the same map. . for this note see the upper right-hand corner of the map. . in champlain's issue in , the note here given was placed in the preliminary matter to that volume. it was placed there probably after the rest of the work had gone to press. we have placed it here in connection with other matter relating to the maps, where it seems more properly to belong. . this refers to the fourth voyage of henry hudson, made in , for the purpose here indicated. he penetrated lomley's inlet, hoping to find a passage through to the pacific ocean, or, as it was then called, the south sea, and thus find a direct and shorter course to china. he passed the winter at about ° north latitude, in that expanse of water which has ever since been appropriately known as hudson's bay. a mutiny having broken out among his crew, he and eight others having been forced into a small boat, on the st of june, , were set adrift on the sea, and were never heard of afterward. a part of the mutinous crew arrived with the ship in england, and were immediately thrown into prison. the following year, , an expedition under sir thomas button was sent out to seek for hudson, and to prosecute the search still further for a northwest passage. it is needless to add that the search was unsuccessful. a chart by hudson fortunately escaped destruction by the mutineers. singularly enough, an engraving of it, entitled, tabvla navtica, was published by heffel gerritz at amsterdam the same year. champlain incorporated the part of it illustrating hudson's discovery in his smaller map, which is dated the same year, . he does not introduce it into his large map, although that is dated likewise . a facsimile of the tabula nautica is given in henry hudson the navigator, by g. m. asher, ll.d. published by the hakluyt society in . +----------------------------------------------------------------+ | transcriber's note: | | | | * obvious punctuation and spelling errors repaired. | | original spelling and its variations were not harmonized. | | | | * footnotes were moved to the ends of the chapters in which | | they belonged and numbered in one continuous sequence. | | the pagination in index entries which referred to these | | footnotes was not changed to match their new locations | + and is therefore incorrect. | +----------------------------------------------------------------+ francis parkman's works. new library edition. vol. iii. francis parkman's works. new library edition. pioneers of france in the new world vol. the jesuits in north america vol. la salle and the discovery of the great west vol. the old régime in canada vol. count frontenac and new france under louis xiv. vol. a half century of conflict vols. montcalm and wolfe vols. the conspiracy of pontiac and the indian war after the conquest of canada vols. the oregon trail vol. [illustration] _la salle presenting a petition to louis xiv._ drawn by adrien moreau. la salle and the discovery of the great west, _frontispiece_ la salle and the discovery of the great west. france and england in north america. part third. by francis parkman. boston: little, brown, and company. . entered according to act of congress, in the year , by francis parkman, in the clerk's office of the district court of the district of massachusetts. entered according to act of congress, in the year , by francis parkman, in the office of the librarian of congress, at washington. _copyright, ,_ by little, brown, and company. _copyright, ,_ by grace p. coffin and katharine s. coolidge. _copyright, ,_ by grace p. coffin. printers s. j. parkhill & co., boston, u. s. a. to the class of , harvard college, this book is cordially dedicated by one of their number. preface of the eleventh edition. when the earlier editions of this book were published, i was aware of the existence of a collection of documents relating to la salle, and containing important material to which i had not succeeded in gaining access. this collection was in possession of m. pierre margry, director of the archives of the marine and colonies at paris, and was the result of more than thirty years of research. with rare assiduity and zeal, m. margry had explored not only the vast depository with which he has been officially connected from youth, and of which he is now the chief, but also the other public archives of france, and many private collections in paris and the provinces. the object of his search was to throw light on the career and achievements of french explorers, and, above all, of la salle. a collection of extraordinary richness grew gradually upon his hands. in the course of my own inquiries, i owed much to his friendly aid; but his collections, as a whole, remained inaccessible, since he naturally wished to be the first to make known the results of his labors. an attempt to induce congress to furnish him with the means of printing documents so interesting to american history was made in and , by henry harrisse, esq., aided by the american minister at paris; but it unfortunately failed. in the summer and autumn of , i had numerous interviews with m. margry, and at his desire undertook to try to induce some american bookseller to publish the collection. on returning to the united states, i accordingly made an arrangement with messrs. little, brown & co., of boston, by which they agreed to print the papers if a certain number of subscriptions should first be obtained. the condition proved very difficult; and it became clear that the best hope of success lay in another appeal to congress. this was made in the following winter, in conjunction with hon. e. b. washburne; colonel charles whittlesey, of cleveland; o. h. marshall, esq., of buffalo; and other gentlemen interested in early american history. the attempt succeeded. congress made an appropriation for the purchase of five hundred copies of the work, to be printed at paris, under direction of m. margry; and the three volumes devoted to la salle are at length before the public. of the papers contained in them which i had not before examined, the most interesting are the letters of la salle, found in the original by m. margry, among the immense accumulations of the archives of the marine and colonies and the bibliothèque nationale. the narrative of la salle's companion, joutel, far more copious than the abstract printed in , under the title of "journal historique," also deserves special mention. these, with other fresh material in these three volumes, while they add new facts and throw new light on the character of la salle, confirm nearly every statement made in the first edition of the discovery of the great west. the only exception of consequence relates to the causes of la salle's failure to find the mouth of the mississippi in , and to the conduct, on that occasion, of the naval commander, beaujeu. this edition is revised throughout, and in part rewritten with large additions. a map of the country traversed by the explorers is also added. the name of la salle is placed on the titlepage, as seems to be demanded by his increased prominence in the narrative of which he is the central figure. boston, december, . * * * * * note.--the title of m. margry's printed collection is "découvertes et Établissements des français dans l'ouest et dans le sud de l'amérique septentrionale ( - ), mémoires et documents originaux." i., ii., iii. besides the three volumes relating to la salle, there will be two others, relating to other explorers. in accordance with the agreement with congress, an independent edition will appear in france, with an introduction setting forth the circumstances of the publication. preface of the first edition. the discovery of the "great west," or the valleys of the mississippi and the lakes, is a portion of our history hitherto very obscure. those magnificent regions were revealed to the world through a series of daring enterprises, of which the motives and even the incidents have been but partially and superficially known. the chief actor in them wrote much, but printed nothing; and the published writings of his associates stand wofully in need of interpretation from the unpublished documents which exist, but which have not heretofore been used as material for history. this volume attempts to supply the defect. of the large amount of wholly new material employed in it, by far the greater part is drawn from the various public archives of france, and the rest from private sources. the discovery of many of these documents is due to the indefatigable research of m. pierre margry, assistant director of the archives of the marine and colonies at paris, whose labors as an investigator of the maritime and colonial history of france can be appreciated only by those who have seen their results. in the department of american colonial history, these results have been invaluable; for, besides several private collections made by him, he rendered important service in the collection of the french portion of the brodhead documents, selected and arranged the two great series of colonial papers ordered by the canadian government, and prepared with vast labor analytical indexes of these and of supplementary documents in the french archives, as well as a copious index of the mass of papers relating to louisiana. it is to be hoped that the valuable publications on the maritime history of france which have appeared from his pen are an earnest of more extended contributions in future. the late president sparks, some time after the publication of his life of la salle, caused a collection to be made of documents relating to that explorer, with the intention of incorporating them in a future edition. this intention was never carried into effect, and the documents were never used. with the liberality which always distinguished him, he placed them at my disposal, and this privilege has been kindly continued by mrs. sparks. abbé faillon, the learned author of "la colonie française en canada," has sent me copies of various documents found by him, including family papers of la salle. among others who in various ways have aided my inquiries are dr. john paul, of ottawa, ill.; count adolphe de circourt, and m. jules marcou, of paris; m. a. gérin lajoie, assistant librarian of the canadian parliament; m. j. m. le moine, of quebec; general dix, minister of the united states at the court of france; o. h. marshall, of buffalo; j. g. shea, of new york; buckingham smith, of st. augustine; and colonel thomas aspinwall, of boston. the smaller map contained in the book is a portion of the manuscript map of franquelin, of which an account will be found in the appendix. the next volume of the series will be devoted to the efforts of monarchy and feudalism under louis xiv. to establish a permanent power on this continent, and to the stormy career of louis de buade, count of frontenac. boston, september, . contents. page introduction chapter i. - . cavelier de la salle. the youth of la salle: his connection with the jesuits; he goes to canada; his character; his schemes; his seigniory at la chine; his expedition in search of a western passage to india. chapter ii. - . la salle and the sulpitians. the french in western new york.--louis joliet.--the sulpitians on lake erie; at detroit; at saut ste. marie.--the mystery of la salle: he discovers the ohio; he descends the illinois; did he reach the mississippi? chapter iii. - . the jesuits on the lakes. the old missions and the new.--a change of spirit.--lake superior and the copper-mines.--ste. marie.--la pointe.--michilimackinac.--jesuits on lake michigan.--allouez and dablon.--the jesuit fur-trade. chapter iv. - . france takes possession of the west. talon.--saint-lusson.--perrot.--the ceremony at saut ste. marie.--the speech of allouez.--count frontenac. chapter v. - . the discovery of the mississippi. joliet sent to find the mississippi.--jacques marquette.--departure.--green bay.--the wisconsin.--the mississippi.--indians.--manitous.--the arkansas.--the illinois.--joliet's misfortune.--marquette at chicago: his illness; his death. chapter vi. - . la salle and frontenac. objects of la salle.--frontenac favors him.--projects of frontenac.--cataraqui.--frontenac on lake ontario.--fort frontenac.--la salle and fénelon.--success of la salle: his enemies. chapter vii. . party strife. la salle and his reporter.--jesuit ascendency.--the missions and the fur-trade.--female inquisitors.--plots against la salle: his brother the priest.--intrigues of the jesuits.--la salle poisoned: he exculpates the jesuits.--renewed intrigues. chapter viii. , . the grand enterprise. la salle at fort frontenac.--la salle at court: his memorial.--approval of the king.--money and means.--henri de tonty.--return to canada. chapter ix. - . la salle at niagara. father louis hennepin: his past life; his character.--embarkation.--niagara falls.--indian jealousy.--la motte and the senecas.--a disaster.--la salle and his followers. chapter x. . the launch of the "griffin." the niagara portage.--a vessel on the stocks.--suffering and discontent.--la salle's winter journey.--the vessel launched.--fresh disasters. chapter xi. . la salle on the upper lakes. the voyage of the "griffin."--detroit.--a storm.--st. ignace of michilimackinac.--rivals and enemies.--lake michigan.--hardships.--a threatened fight.--fort miami.--tonty's misfortunes.--forebodings. chapter xii. , . la salle on the illinois. the st. joseph.--adventure of la salle.--the prairies.--famine.--the great town of the illinois.--indians.--intrigues.--difficulties.-- policy of la salle.--desertion.--another attempt to poison la salle. chapter xiii. . fort crÈvecoe]ur. building of the fort.--loss of the "griffin."--a bold resolution.--another vessel.--hennepin sent to the mississippi.--departure of la salle. chapter xiv. . hardihood of la salle. the winter journey.--the deserted town.--starved rock.--lake michigan.--the wilderness.--war parties.--la salle's men give out.--ill tidings.--mutiny.--chastisement of the mutineers. chapter xv. . indian conquerors. the enterprise renewed.--attempt to rescue tonty.--buffalo.--a frightful discovery.--iroquois fury.--the ruined town.--a night of horror.--traces of the invaders.--no news of tonty. chapter xvi. . tonty and the iroquois. the deserters.--the iroquois war.--the great town of the illinois.--the alarm.--onset of the iroquois.--peril of tonty.--a treacherous truce.--intrepidity of tonty.--murder of ribourde.--war upon the dead. chapter xvii. . the adventures of hennepin. hennepin an impostor: his pretended discovery; his actual discovery; captured by the sioux.--the upper mississippi. chapter xviii. , . hennepin among the sioux. signs of danger.--adoption.--hennepin and his indian relatives.--the hunting party.--the sioux camp.--falls of st. anthony.--a vagabond friar: his adventures on the mississippi.--greysolon du lhut.--return to civilization. chapter xix. . la salle begins anew. his constancy; his plans; his savage allies; he becomes snow-blind.--negotiations.--grand council.--la salle's oratory.--meeting with tonty.--preparation.--departure. chapter xx. - . success of la salle. his followers.--the chicago portage.--descent of the mississippi.--the lost hunter.--the arkansas.--the taensas.--the natchez.--hostility.--the mouth of the mississippi.--louis xiv. proclaimed sovereign of the great west. chapter xxi. , . st. louis of the illinois. louisiana.--illness of la salle: his colony on the illinois.--fort st. louis.--recall of frontenac.--le febvre de la barre.--critical position of la salle.--hostility of the new governor.--triumph of the adverse faction.--la salle sails for france. chapter xxii. - . la salle painted by himself. difficulty of knowing him; his detractors; his letters; vexations of his position; his unfitness for trade; risks of correspondence; his reported marriage; alleged ostentation; motives of action; charges of harshness; intrigues against him; unpopular manners; a strange confession; his strength and his weakness; contrasts of his character. chapter xxiii. . a new enterprise. la salle at court: his proposals.--occupation of louisiana.--invasion of mexico.--royal favor.--preparation.--a divided command.--beaujeu and la salle.--mental condition of la salle: his farewell to his mother. chapter xxiv. , . the voyage. disputes with beaujeu.--st. domingo.--la salle attacked with fever: his desperate condition.--the gulf of mexico.--a vain search and a fatal error. chapter xxv. . la salle in texas. a party of exploration.--wreck of the "aimable."--landing of the colonists.--a forlorn position.--indian neighbors.--friendly advances of beaujeu: his departure.--a fatal discovery. chapter xxvi. - . st. louis of texas. the fort.--misery and dejection.--energy of la salle: his journey of exploration.--adventures and accidents.--the buffalo.--duhaut.--indian massacre.--return of la salle.--a new calamity.--a desperate resolution.--departure for canada.--wreck of the "belle."--marriage.--sedition.--adventures of la salle's party.--the cenis.--the camanches.--the only hope.--the last farewell. chapter xxvii. . assassination of la salle. his followers.--prairie travelling.--a hunters' quarrel.--the murder of moranget.--the conspiracy.--death of la salle: his character. chapter xxviii. , . the innocent and the guilty. triumph of the murderers.--danger of joutel.--joutel among the cenis.--white savages.--insolence of duhaut and his accomplices.--murder of duhaut and liotot.--hiens, the buccaneer.--joutel and his party: their escape; they reach the arkansas.--bravery and devotion of tonty.--the fugitives reach the illinois.--unworthy conduct of cavelier.--he and his companions return to france. chapter xxix. - . fate of the texan colony. tonty attempts to rescue the colonists: his difficulties and hardships.--spanish hostility.--expedition of alonzo de leon: he reaches fort st. louis.--a scene of havoc.--destruction of the french.--the end. appendix. i. early unpublished maps of the mississippi and the great lakes ii. the eldorado of mathieu sâgean index [illustration: countries traversed by marquette, hennepin and la salle. g.w. boynton, sc.] la salle and the discovery of the great west. introduction. the spaniards discovered the mississippi. de soto was buried beneath its waters; and it was down its muddy current that his followers fled from the eldorado of their dreams, transformed to a wilderness of misery and death. the discovery was never used, and was well-nigh forgotten. on early spanish maps, the mississippi is often indistinguishable from other affluents of the gulf. a century passed after de soto's journeyings in the south, before a french explorer reached a northern tributary of the great river. this was jean nicollet, interpreter at three rivers on the st. lawrence. he had been some twenty years in canada, had lived among the savage algonquins of allumette island, and spent eight or nine years among the nipissings, on the lake which bears their name. here he became an indian in all his habits, but remained, nevertheless, a zealous catholic, and returned to civilization at last because he could not live without the sacraments. strange stories were current among the nipissings of a people without hair or beard, who came from the west to trade with a tribe beyond the great lakes. who could doubt that these strangers were chinese or japanese? such tales may well have excited nicollet's curiosity; and when, in , or possibly in , he was sent as an ambassador to the tribe in question, he would not have been surprised if on arriving he had found a party of mandarins among them. perhaps it was with a view to such a contingency that he provided himself, as a dress of ceremony, with a robe of chinese damask embroidered with birds and flowers. the tribe to which he was sent was that of the winnebagoes, living near the head of the green bay of lake michigan. they had come to blows with the hurons, allies of the french; and nicollet was charged to negotiate a peace. when he approached the winnebago town, he sent one of his indian attendants to announce his coming, put on his robe of damask, and advanced to meet the expectant crowd with a pistol in each hand. the squaws and children fled, screaming that it was a manito, or spirit, armed with thunder and lightning; but the chiefs and warriors regaled him with so bountiful a hospitality that a hundred and twenty beavers were devoured at a single feast. from the winnebagoes, he passed westward, ascended fox river, crossed to the wisconsin, and descended it so far that, as he reported on his return, in three days more he would have reached the sea. the truth seems to be that he mistook the meaning of his indian guides, and that the "great water" to which he was so near was not the sea, but the mississippi. it has been affirmed that one colonel wood, of virginia, reached a branch of the mississippi as early as the year , and that about a certain captain bolton penetrated to the river itself. neither statement is sustained by sufficient evidence. it is further affirmed that, in , a party from new england crossed the mississippi, reached new mexico, and, returning, reported their discoveries to the authorities of boston,--a story without proof or probability. meanwhile, french jesuits and fur-traders pushed deeper and deeper into the wilderness of the northern lakes. in , jogues and raymbault preached the faith to a concourse of indians at the outlet of lake superior. then came the havoc and desolation of the iroquois war, and for years farther exploration was arrested. in - pierre esprit radisson, a frenchman of st. malo, and his brother-in-law, médard chouart des groseilliers, penetrated the regions beyond lake superior, and roamed westward till, as radisson declares, they reached what was called the forked river, "because it has two branches, the one towards the west, the other towards the south, which, we believe, runs towards mexico,"--which seems to point to the mississippi and its great confluent the missouri. two years later, the aged jesuit ménard attempted to plant a mission on the southern shore of lake superior, but perished in the forest by famine or the tomahawk. allouez succeeded him, explored a part of lake superior, and heard, in his turn, of the sioux and their great river the "messipi." more and more, the thoughts of the jesuits--and not of the jesuits alone--dwelt on this mysterious stream. through what regions did it flow; and whither would it lead them,--to the south sea or the "sea of virginia;" to mexico, japan, or china? the problem was soon to be solved, and the mystery revealed. chapter i - . cavelier de la salle. the youth of la salle: his connection with the jesuits; he goes to canada; his character; his schemes; his seigniory at la chine; his expedition in search of a western passage to india. among the burghers of rouen was the old and rich family of the caveliers. though citizens and not nobles, some of their connections held high diplomatic posts and honorable employments at court. they were destined to find a better claim to distinction. in was born at rouen robert cavelier, better known by the designation of la salle.[ ] his father jean and his uncle henri were wealthy merchants, living more like nobles than like burghers; and the boy received an education answering to the marked traits of intellect and character which he soon began to display. he showed an inclination for the exact sciences, and especially for the mathematics, in which he made great proficiency. at an early age, it is said, he became connected with the jesuits; and, though doubt has been expressed of the statement, it is probably true.[ ] [sidenote: la salle and the jesuits.] la salle was always an earnest catholic; and yet, judging by the qualities which his after-life evinced, he was not very liable to religious enthusiasm. it is nevertheless clear that the society of jesus may have had a powerful attraction for his youthful imagination. this great organization, so complicated yet so harmonious, a mighty machine moved from the centre by a single hand, was an image of regulated power, full of fascination for a mind like his. but if it was likely that he would be drawn into it, it was no less likely that he would soon wish to escape. to find himself not at the centre of power, but at the circumference; not the mover, but the moved; the passive instrument of another's will, taught to walk in prescribed paths, to renounce his individuality and become a component atom of a vast whole,--would have been intolerable to him. nature had shaped him for other uses than to teach a class of boys on the benches of a jesuit school. nor, on his part, was he likely to please his directors; for, self-controlled and self-contained as he was, he was far too intractable a subject to serve their turn. a youth whose calm exterior hid an inexhaustible fund of pride; whose inflexible purposes, nursed in secret, the confessional and the "manifestation of conscience" could hardly drag to the light; whose strong personality would not yield to the shaping hand; and who, by a necessity of his nature, could obey no initiative but his own,--was not after the model that loyola had commended to his followers. la salle left the jesuits, parting with them, it is said, on good terms, and with a reputation of excellent acquirements and unimpeachable morals. this last is very credible. the cravings of a deep ambition, the hunger of an insatiable intellect, the intense longing for action and achievement, subdued in him all other passions; and in his faults the love of pleasure had no part. he had an elder brother in canada, the abbé jean cavelier, a priest of st. sulpice. apparently, it was this that shaped his destinies. his connection with the jesuits had deprived him, under the french law, of the inheritance of his father, who had died not long before. an allowance was made to him of three or (as is elsewhere stated) four hundred livres a year, the capital of which was paid over to him; and with this pittance he sailed for canada, to seek his fortune, in the spring of .[ ] [sidenote: la salle at montreal.] next, we find him at montreal. in another volume, we have seen how an association of enthusiastic devotees had made a settlement at this place.[ ] having in some measure accomplished its work, it was now dissolved; and the corporation of priests, styled the seminary of st. sulpice, which had taken a prominent part in the enterprise, and, indeed, had been created with a view to it, was now the proprietor and the feudal lord of montreal. it was destined to retain its seignorial rights until the abolition of the feudal tenures of canada in our own day, and it still holds vast possessions in the city and island. these worthy ecclesiastics, models of a discreet and sober conservatism, were holding a post with which a band of veteran soldiers or warlike frontiersmen would have been better matched. montreal was perhaps the most dangerous place in canada. in time of war, which might have been called the normal condition of the colony, it was exposed by its position to incessant inroads of the iroquois, or five nations, of new york; and no man could venture into the forests or the fields without bearing his life in his hand. the savage confederates had just received a sharp chastisement at the hands of courcelle, the governor; and the result was a treaty of peace which might at any moment be broken, but which was an inexpressible relief while it lasted. the priests of st. sulpice were granting out their lands, on very easy terms, to settlers. they wished to extend a thin line of settlements along the front of their island, to form a sort of outpost, from which an alarm could be given on any descent of the iroquois. la salle was the man for such a purpose. had the priests understood him,--which they evidently did not, for some of them suspected him of levity, the last foible with which he could be charged,--had they understood him, they would have seen in him a young man in whom the fire of youth glowed not the less ardently for the veil of reserve that covered it; who would shrink from no danger, but would not court it in bravado; and who would cling with an invincible tenacity of gripe to any purpose which he might espouse. there is good reason to think that he had come to canada with purposes already conceived, and that he was ready to avail himself of any stepping-stone which might help to realize them. queylus, superior of the seminary, made him a generous offer; and he accepted it. this was the gratuitous grant of a large tract of land at the place now called la chine, above the great rapids of the same name, and eight or nine miles from montreal. on one hand, the place was greatly exposed to attack; and, on the other, it was favorably situated for the fur-trade. la salle and his successors became its feudal proprietors, on the sole condition of delivering to the seminary, on every change of ownership, a medal of fine silver, weighing one mark.[ ] he entered on the improvement of his new domain with what means he could command, and began to grant out his land to such settlers as would join him. approaching the shore where the city of montreal now stands, one would have seen a row of small compact dwellings, extending along a narrow street, parallel to the river, and then, as now, called st. paul street. on a hill at the right stood the windmill of the seigniors, built of stone, and pierced with loopholes to serve, in time of need, as a place of defence. on the left, in an angle formed by the junction of a rivulet with the st. lawrence, was a square bastioned fort of stone. here lived the military governor, appointed by the seminary, and commanding a few soldiers of the regiment of carignan. in front, on the line of the street, were the enclosure and buildings of the seminary, and, nearly adjoining them, those of the hôtel-dieu, or hospital, both provided for defence in case of an indian attack. in the hospital enclosure was a small church, opening on the street, and, in the absence of any other, serving for the whole settlement.[ ] landing, passing the fort, and walking southward along the shore, one would soon have left the rough clearings, and entered the primeval forest. here, mile after mile, he would have journeyed on in solitude, when the hoarse roar of the rapids, foaming in fury on his left, would have reached his listening ear; and at length, after a walk of some three hours, he would have found the rude beginnings of a settlement. it was where the st. lawrence widens into the broad expanse called the lake of st. louis. here, la salle had traced out the circuit of a palisaded village, and assigned to each settler half an arpent, or about the third of an acre, within the enclosure, for which he was to render to the young seignior a yearly acknowledgment of three capons, besides six deniers--that is, half a sou--in money. to each was assigned, moreover, sixty arpents of land beyond the limits of the village, with the perpetual rent of half a sou for each arpent. he also set apart a common, two hundred arpents in extent, for the use of the settlers, on condition of the payment by each of five sous a year. he reserved four hundred and twenty arpents for his own personal domain, and on this he began to clear the ground and erect buildings. similar to this were the beginnings of all the canadian seigniories formed at this troubled period.[ ] [sidenote: la chine.] that la salle came to canada with objects distinctly in view, is probable from the fact that he at once began to study the indian languages,--and with such success that he is said, within two or three years, to have mastered the iroquois and seven or eight other languages and dialects.[ ] from the shore of his seigniory, he could gaze westward over the broad breast of the lake of st. louis, bounded by the dim forests of chateauguay and beauharnois; but his thoughts flew far beyond, across the wild and lonely world that stretched towards the sunset. like champlain, and all the early explorers, he dreamed of a passage to the south sea, and a new road for commerce to the riches of china and japan. indians often came to his secluded settlement; and, on one occasion, he was visited by a band of the seneca iroquois, not long before the scourge of the colony, but now, in virtue of the treaty, wearing the semblance of friendship. the visitors spent the winter with him, and told him of a river called the ohio, rising in their country, and flowing into the sea, but at such a distance that its mouth could only be reached after a journey of eight or nine months. evidently, the ohio and the mississippi are here merged into one.[ ] in accordance with geographical views then prevalent, he conceived that this great river must needs flow into the "vermilion sea;" that is, the gulf of california. if so, it would give him what he sought, a western passage to china; while, in any case, the populous indian tribes said to inhabit its banks might be made a source of great commercial profit. [sidenote: schemes of discovery.] la salle's imagination took fire. his resolution was soon formed; and he descended the st. lawrence to quebec, to gain the countenance of the governor for his intended exploration. few men were more skilled than he in the art of clear and plausible statement. both the governor courcelle and the intendant talon were readily won over to his plan; for which, however, they seem to have given him no more substantial aid than that of the governor's letters patent authorizing the enterprise.[ ] the cost was to be his own; and he had no money, having spent it all on his seigniory. he therefore proposed that the seminary, which had given it to him, should buy it back again, with such improvements as he had made. queylus, the superior, being favorably disposed towards him, consented, and bought of him the greater part; while la salle sold the remainder, including the clearings, to one jean milot, an iron-monger, for twenty-eight hundred livres.[ ] with this he bought four canoes, with the necessary supplies, and hired fourteen men. meanwhile, the seminary itself was preparing a similar enterprise. the jesuits at this time not only held an ascendency over the other ecclesiastics in canada, but exercised an inordinate influence on the civil government. the seminary priests of montreal were jealous of these powerful rivals, and eager to emulate their zeal in the saving of souls and the conquering of new domains for the faith. under this impulse, they had, three years before, established a mission at quinté, on the north shore of lake ontario, in charge of two of their number, one of whom was the abbé fénelon, elder brother of the celebrated archbishop of cambray. another of them, dollier de casson, had spent the winter in a hunting-camp of the nipissings, where an indian prisoner, captured in the northwest, told him of populous tribes of that quarter living in heathenish darkness. on this, the seminary priests resolved to essay their conversion; and an expedition, to be directed by dollier, was fitted out to this end. [sidenote: departure.] he was not ill suited to the purpose. he had been a soldier in his youth, and had fought valiantly as an officer of cavalry under turenne. he was a man of great courage; of a tall, commanding person; and of uncommon bodily strength, which he had notably proved in the campaign of courcelle against the iroquois, three years before.[ ] on going to quebec to procure the necessary outfit, he was urged by courcelle to modify his plans so far as to act in concert with la salle in exploring the mystery of the great unknown river of the west. dollier and his brother priests consented. one of them, galinée, was joined with him as a colleague, because he was skilled in surveying, and could make a map of their route. three canoes were procured, and seven hired men completed the party. it was determined that la salle's expedition and that of the seminary should be combined in one,--an arrangement ill suited to the character of the young explorer, who was unfit for any enterprise of which he was not the undisputed chief. midsummer was near, and there was no time to lose. yet the moment was most unpropitious, for a seneca chief had lately been murdered by three scoundrel soldiers of the fort of montreal; and, while they were undergoing their trial, it became known that three other frenchmen had treacherously put to death several iroquois of the oneida tribe, in order to get possession of their furs. the whole colony trembled in expectation of a new outbreak of the war. happily, the event proved otherwise. the authors of the last murder escaped; but the three soldiers were shot at montreal, in presence of a considerable number of the iroquois, who declared themselves satisfied with the atonement; and on this same day, the sixth of july, the adventurers began their voyage. footnotes: [ ] the following is the _acte de naissance_, discovered by margry in the _registres de l'état civil_, paroisse st. herbland, rouen: "le vingt-deuxième jour de novembre, , a été baptisé robert cavelier, fils de honorable homme jean cavelier et de catherine geest; ses parrain et marraine honorables personnes nicolas geest et marguerite morice." la salle's name in full was rené-robert cavelier, sieur de la salle. la salle was the name of an estate near rouen, belonging to the caveliers. the wealthy french burghers often distinguished the various members of their families by designations borrowed from landed estates. thus, françois marie arouet, son of an ex-notary, received the name of voltaire, which he made famous. [ ] margry, after investigations at rouen, is satisfied of its truth (_journal général de l'instruction publique_, xxxi. .) family papers of the caveliers, examined by the abbé faillon, and copies of some of which he has sent to me, lead to the same conclusion. we shall find several allusions hereafter to la salle's having in his youth taught in a school, which, in his position, could only have been in connection with some religious community. the doubts alluded to have proceeded from the failure of father felix martin, s. j., to find the name of la salle on the list of novices. if he had looked for the name of robert cavelier, he would probably have found it. the companion of la salle, hennepin, is very explicit with regard to this connection with the jesuits, a point on which he had no motive for falsehood. [ ] it does not appear what vows la salle had taken. by a recent ordinance ( ), persons entering religious orders could not take the final vows before the age of twenty-five. by the family papers above mentioned, it appears, however, that he had brought himself under the operation of the law, which debarred those who, having entered religious orders, afterwards withdrew, from claiming the inheritance of relatives who had died after their entrance. [ ] the jesuits in north america, chap. xv. [ ] _transport de la seigneurie de st. sulpice_, cited by faillon. la salle called his new domain as above. two or three years later, it received the name of la chine, for a reason which will appear. [ ] a detailed plan of montreal at this time is preserved in the archives de l'empire, and has been reproduced by faillon. there is another, a few years later, and still more minute, of which a fac-simile will be found in the library of the canadian parliament. [ ] the above particulars have been unearthed by the indefatigable abbé faillon. some of la salle's grants are still preserved in the ancient records of montreal. [ ] _papiers de famille._ he is said to have made several journeys into the forests, towards the north, in the years and , and to have satisfied himself that little could be hoped from explorations in that direction. [ ] according to dollier de casson, who had good opportunities of knowing, the iroquois always called the mississippi the ohio, while the algonquins gave it its present name. [ ] _patoulet à colbert, nov., ._ [ ] _cession de la seigneurie; contrat de vente_ (margry, i. , ). [ ] he was the author of the very curious and valuable _histoire de montréal_, preserved in the bibliothèque mazarine, of which a copy is in my possession. the historical society of montreal has recently resolved to print it. chapter ii. - . la salle and the sulpitians. the french in western new york.--louis joliet.--the sulpitians on lake erie; at detroit; at saut ste. marie.--the mystery of la salle: he discovers the ohio; he descends the illinois; did he reach the mississippi? la chine was the starting-point; and the combined parties, in all twenty-four men with seven canoes, embarked on the lake of st. louis. with them were two other canoes, bearing the party of senecas who had wintered at la salle's settlement, and who were now to act as guides. father galinée recounts the journey. he was no woodsman: the river, the forests, the rapids, were all new to him, and he dilates on them with the minuteness of a novice. above all, he admired the indian birch canoes. "if god," he says, "grants me the grace of returning to france, i shall try to carry one with me." then he describes the bivouac: "your lodging is as extraordinary as your vessels; for, after paddling or carrying the canoes all day, you find mother earth ready to receive your wearied body. if the weather is fair, you make a fire and lie down to sleep without further trouble; but if it rains, you must peel bark from the trees, and make a shed by laying it on a frame of sticks. as for your food, it is enough to make you burn all the cookery books that ever were written; for in the woods of canada one finds means to live well without bread, wine, salt, pepper, or spice. the ordinary food is indian corn, or turkey wheat as they call it in france, which is crushed between two stones and boiled, seasoning it with meat or fish, when you can get them. this sort of life seemed so strange to us that we all felt the effects of it; and before we were a hundred leagues from montreal, not one of us was free from some malady or other. at last, after all our misery, on the second of august, we discovered lake ontario, like a great sea with no land beyond it." [sidenote: the seneca villages.] thirty-five days after leaving la chine, they reached irondequoit bay, on the south side of the lake. here they were met by a number of seneca indians, who professed friendship and invited them to their villages, fifteen or twenty miles distant. as this was on their way to the upper waters of the ohio, and as they hoped to find guides at the villages to conduct them, they accepted the invitation. dollier, with most of the men, remained to guard the canoes; while la salle, with galinée and eight other frenchmen, accompanied by a troop of indians, set out on the morning of the twelfth, and reached the principal village before evening. it stood on a hill, in the midst of a clearing nearly two leagues in compass.[ ] a rude stockade surrounded it; and as the visitors drew near they saw a band of old men seated on the grass, waiting to receive them. one of these veterans, so feeble with age that he could hardly stand, made them an harangue, in which he declared that the senecas were their brothers, and invited them to enter the village. they did so, surrounded by a crowd of savages, and presently found themselves in the midst of a disorderly cluster of large but filthy abodes of bark, about a hundred and fifty in number, the most capacious of which was assigned to their use. here they made their quarters, and were soon overwhelmed by seneca hospitality. children brought them pumpkins and berries from the woods; and boy messengers came to summon them to endless feasts, where they were regaled with the flesh of dogs and with boiled maize seasoned with oil pressed from nuts and the seed of sunflowers. la salle had flattered himself that he knew enough iroquois to hold communication with the senecas; but he failed completely in the attempt. the priests had a dutch interpreter, who spoke iroquois fluently, but knew so little french, and was withal so obstinate, that he proved useless; so that it was necessary to employ a man in the service of the jesuit fremin, whose mission was at this village. what the party needed was a guide to conduct them to the ohio; and soon after their arrival a party of warriors appeared, with a young prisoner belonging to one of the tribes of that region. galinée wanted to beg or buy him from his captors; but the senecas had other intentions. "i saw," writes the priest, "the most miserable spectacle i ever beheld in my life." it was the prisoner tied to a stake and tortured for six hours with diabolical ingenuity, while the crowd danced and yelled with delight, and the chiefs and elders sat in a row smoking their pipes and watching the contortions of the victim with an air of serene enjoyment. the body was at last cut up and eaten, and in the evening the whole population occupied themselves in scaring away the angry ghost by beating with sticks against the bark sides of the lodges. la salle and his companions began to fear for their own safety. some of their hosts wished to kill them in revenge for the chief murdered near montreal; and as these and others were at times in a frenzy of drunkenness, the position of the french became critical. they suspected that means had been used to prejudice the senecas against them. not only could they get no guides, but they were told that if they went to the ohio the tribes of those parts would infallibly kill them. their dutch interpreter became disheartened and unmanageable, and, after staying a month at the village, the hope of getting farther on their way seemed less than ever. their plan, it was clear, must be changed; and an indian from otinawatawa, a kind of iroquois colony at the head of lake ontario, offered to guide them to his village and show them a better way to the ohio. they left the senecas, coasted the south shore of the lake, passed the mouth of the niagara, where they heard the distant roar of the cataract, and on the twenty-fourth of september reached otinawatawa, which was a few miles north of the present town of hamilton. the inhabitants proved friendly, and la salle received the welcome present of a shawanoe prisoner, who told them that the ohio could be reached in six weeks, and that he would guide them to it. delighted at this good fortune, they were about to set out; when they heard, to their astonishment, of the arrival of two other frenchmen at a neighboring village. [sidenote: louis joliet.] one of the strangers was destined to hold a conspicuous place in the history of western discovery. this was louis joliet, a young man of about the age of la salle. like him, he had studied for the priesthood; but the world and the wilderness had conquered his early inclinations, and changed him to an active and adventurous fur-trader. talon had sent him to discover and explore the copper-mines of lake superior. he had failed in the attempt, and was now returning. his indian guide, afraid of passing the niagara portage lest he should meet enemies, had led him from lake erie, by way of grand river, towards the head of lake ontario; and thus it was that he met la salle and the sulpitians. this meeting caused a change of plan. joliet showed the priests a map which he had made of such parts of the upper lakes as he had visited, and gave them a copy of it; telling them, at the same time, of the pottawattamies and other tribes of that region in grievous need of spiritual succor. the result was a determination on their part to follow the route which he suggested, notwithstanding the remonstrances of la salle, who in vain reminded them that the jesuits had preoccupied the field, and would regard them as intruders. they resolved that the pottawattamies should no longer sit in darkness; while, as for the mississippi, it could be reached, as they conceived, with less risk by this northern route than by that of the south. la salle was of a different mind. his goal was the ohio, and not the northern lakes. a few days before, while hunting, he had been attacked by a fever, sarcastically ascribed by galinée to his having seen three large rattle-snakes crawling up a rock. he now told his two colleagues that he was in no condition to go forward, and should be forced to part with them. the staple of la salle's character, as his life will attest, was an invincible determination of purpose, which set at naught all risks and all sufferings. he had cast himself with all his resources into this enterprise; and, while his faculties remained, he was not a man to recoil from it. on the other hand, the masculine fibre of which he was made did not always withhold him from the practice of the arts of address, and the use of what dollier de casson styles _belles paroles_. he respected the priesthood, with the exception, it seems, of the jesuits; and he was under obligations to the sulpitians of montreal. hence there can be no doubt that he used his illness as a pretext for escaping from their company without ungraciousness, and following his own path in his own way. [sidenote: separation.] on the last day of september, the priests made an altar, supported by the paddles of the canoes laid on forked sticks. dollier said mass; la salle and his followers received the sacrament, as did also those of his late colleagues; and thus they parted, the sulpitians and their party descending the grand river towards lake erie, while la salle, as they supposed, began his return to montreal. what course he actually took we shall soon inquire; and meanwhile, for a few moments, we will follow the priests. when they reached lake erie, they saw it tossing like an angry ocean. they had no mind to tempt the dangerous and unknown navigation, and encamped for the winter in the forest near the peninsula called the long point. here they gathered a good store of chestnuts, hickory-nuts, plums, and grapes, and built themselves a log cabin, with a recess at the end for an altar. they passed the winter unmolested, shooting game in abundance, and saying mass three times a week. early in spring, they planted a large cross, attached to it the arms of france, and took formal possession of the country in the name of louis xiv. this done, they resumed their voyage, and, after many troubles, landed one evening in a state of exhaustion on or near point pelée, towards the western extremity of lake erie. a storm rose as they lay asleep, and swept off a great part of their baggage, which, in their fatigue, they had left at the edge of the water. their altar-service was lost with the rest,--a misfortune which they ascribed to the jealousy and malice of the devil. debarred henceforth from saying mass, they resolved to return to montreal and leave the pottawattamies uninstructed. they presently entered the strait by which lake huron joins lake erie, and landing near where detroit now stands, found a large stone, somewhat suggestive of the human figure, which the indians had bedaubed with paint, and which they worshipped as a manito. in view of their late misfortune, this device of the arch-enemy excited their utmost resentment. "after the loss of our altar-service," writes galinée, "and the hunger we had suffered, there was not a man of us who was not filled with hatred against this false deity. i devoted one of my axes to breaking him in pieces; and then, having fastened our canoes side by side, we carried the largest piece to the middle of the river, and threw it, with all the rest, into the water, that he might never be heard of again. god rewarded us immediately for this good action, for we killed a deer and a bear that same day." [sidenote: at ste. marie du saut.] this is the first recorded passage of white men through the strait of detroit; though joliet had, no doubt, passed this way on his return from the upper lakes.[ ] the two missionaries took this course, with the intention of proceeding to the saut ste. marie, and there joining the ottawas, and other tribes of that region, in their yearly descent to montreal. they issued upon lake huron; followed its eastern shores till they reached the georgian bay, near the head of which the jesuits had established their great mission of the hurons, destroyed, twenty years before, by the iroquois;[ ] and, ignoring or slighting the labors of the rival missionaries, held their way northward along the rocky archipelago that edged those lonely coasts. they passed the manitoulins, and, ascending the strait by which lake superior discharges its waters, arrived on the twenty-fifth of may at ste. marie du saut. here they found the two jesuits, dablon and marquette, in a square fort of cedar pickets, built by their men within the past year, and enclosing a chapel and a house. near by, they had cleared a large tract of land, and sown it with wheat, indian corn, peas, and other crops. the new-comers were graciously received, and invited to vespers in the chapel; but they very soon found la salle's prediction made good, and saw that the jesuit fathers wanted no help from st. sulpice. galinée, on his part, takes occasion to remark, that, though the jesuits had baptized a few indians at the saut, not one of them was a good enough christian to receive the eucharist; and he intimates that the case, by their own showing, was still worse at their mission of st. esprit. the two sulpitians did not care to prolong their stay; and, three days after their arrival, they left the saut,--not, as they expected, with the indians, but with a french guide, furnished by the jesuits. ascending french river to lake nipissing, they crossed to the waters of the ottawa, and descended to montreal, which they reached on the eighteenth of june. they had made no discoveries and no converts; but galinée, after his arrival, made the earliest map of the upper lakes known to exist.[ ] [sidenote: la salle's discoveries.] we return now to la salle, only to find ourselves involved in mist and obscurity. what did he do after he left the two priests? unfortunately, a definite answer is not possible; and the next two years of his life remain in some measure an enigma. that he was busied in active exploration, and that he made important discoveries, is certain; but the extent and character of these discoveries remain wrapped in doubt. he is known to have kept journals and made maps; and these were in existence, and in possession of his niece, madeleine cavelier, then in advanced age, as late as the year ; beyond which time the most diligent inquiry has failed to trace them. abbé faillon affirms that some of la salle's men, refusing to follow him, returned to la chine, and that the place then received its name, in derision of the young adventurer's dream of a westward passage to china.[ ] as for himself, the only distinct record of his movements is that contained in a paper, entitled "histoire de monsieur de la salle." it is an account of his explorations, and of the state of parties in canada previous to the year ,--taken from the lips of la salle himself, by a person whose name does not appear, but who declares that he had ten or twelve conversations with him at paris, whither he had come with a petition to the court. the writer himself had never been in america, and was ignorant of its geography; hence blunders on his part might reasonably be expected. his statements, however, are in some measure intelligible; and the following is the substance of them. after leaving the priests, la salle went to onondaga, where we are left to infer that he succeeded better in getting a guide than he had before done among the senecas. thence he made his way to a point six or seven leagues distant from lake erie, where he reached a branch of the ohio, and, descending it, followed the river as far as the rapids at louisville,--or, as has been maintained, beyond its confluence with the mississippi. his men now refused to go farther, and abandoned him, escaping to the english and the dutch; whereupon he retraced his steps alone.[ ] this must have been in the winter of - , or in the following spring; unless there is an error of date in the statement of nicolas perrot, the famous _voyageur_, who says that he met him in the summer of , hunting on the ottawa with a party of iroquois.[ ] [sidenote: the river illinois.] but how was la salle employed in the following year? the same memoir has its solution to the problem. by this it appears that the indefatigable explorer embarked on lake erie, ascended the detroit to lake huron, coasted the unknown shores of michigan, passed the straits of michilimackinac, and, leaving green bay behind him, entered what is described as an incomparably larger bay, but which was evidently the southern portion of lake michigan. thence he crossed to a river flowing westward,--evidently the illinois,--and followed it until it was joined by another river flowing from the northwest to the southeast. by this, the mississippi only can be meant; and he is reported to have said that he descended it to the thirty-sixth degree of latitude; where he stopped, assured that it discharged itself not into the gulf of california, but into the gulf of mexico, and resolved to follow it thither at a future day, when better provided with men and supplies.[ ] [sidenote: the mississippi.] the first of these statements,--that relating to the ohio,--confused, vague, and in great part incorrect, as it certainly is, is nevertheless well sustained as regards one essential point. la salle himself, in a memorial addressed to count frontenac in , affirms that he discovered the ohio, and descended it as far as to a fall which obstructed it.[ ] again, his rival, louis joliet, whose testimony on this point cannot be suspected, made two maps of the region of the mississippi and the great lakes. the ohio is laid down on both of them, with an inscription to the effect that it had been explored by la salle.[ ] that he discovered the ohio may then be regarded as established. that he descended it to the mississippi, he himself does not pretend; nor is there reason to believe that he did so. with regard to his alleged voyage down the illinois, the case is different. here, he is reported to have made a statement which admits but one interpretation,--that of the discovery by him of the mississippi prior to its discovery by joliet and marquette. this statement is attributed to a man not prone to vaunt his own exploits, who never proclaimed them in print, and whose testimony, even in his own case, must therefore have weight. but it comes to us through the medium of a person strongly biassed in favor of la salle, and against marquette and the jesuits. [sidenote: la salle's discoveries.] seven years had passed since the alleged discovery, and la salle had not before laid claim to it; although it was matter of notoriety that during five years it had been claimed by joliet, and that his claim was generally admitted. the correspondence of the governor and the intendant is silent as to la salle's having penetrated to the mississippi, though the attempt was made under the auspices of the latter, as his own letters declare; while both had the discovery of the great river earnestly at heart. the governor, frontenac, la salle's ardent supporter and ally, believed in , as his letters show, that the mississippi flowed into the gulf of california; and, two years later, he announces to the minister colbert its discovery by joliet.[ ] after la salle's death, his brother, his nephew, and his niece addressed a memorial to the king, petitioning for certain grants in consideration of the discoveries of their relative, which they specify at some length; but they do not pretend that he reached the mississippi before his expeditions of to .[ ] this silence is the more significant, as it is this very niece who had possession of the papers in which la salle recounts the journeys of which the issues are in question.[ ] had they led him to the mississippi, it is reasonably certain that she would have made it known in her memorial. la salle discovered the ohio, and in all probability the illinois also; but that he discovered the mississippi has not been proved, nor, in the light of the evidence we have, is it likely. footnotes: [ ] this village seems to have been that attacked by denonville in . it stood on boughton hill, near the present town of victor. [ ] the jesuits and fur-traders, on their way to the upper lakes, had followed the route of the ottawa, or, more recently, that of toronto and the georgian bay. iroquois hostility had long closed the niagara portage and lake erie against them. [ ] the jesuits in north america. [ ] see appendix. the above narrative is from _récit de ce qui s'est passé de plus remarquable dans le voyage de mm. dollier et galinée_. (bibliothèque nationale.) [ ] dollier de casson alludes to this as "cette transmigration célèbre qui se fit de la chine dans ces quartiers." [ ] the following is the passage relating to this journey in the remarkable paper above mentioned. after recounting la salle's visit with the sulpitians to the seneca village, and stating that the intrigues of the jesuit missionary prevented them from obtaining a guide, it speaks of the separation of the travellers and the journey of galinée and his party to the saut ste. marie, where "les jésuites les congédièrent." it then proceeds as follows: "cependant mr. de la salle continua son chemin par une rivière qui va de l'est à l'ouest; et passe à onontaqué [_onondaga_], puis à six ou sept lieues au-dessous du lac erié; et estant parvenu jusqu'au me ou me degré de longitude, et jusqu'au me degré de latitude, trouva un sault qui tombe vers l'ouest dans un pays bas, marescageux, tout couvert de vielles souches, dont il y en a quelques-unes qui sont encore sur pied. il fut donc contraint de prendre terre, et suivant une hauteur qui le pouvoit mener loin, il trouva quelques sauvages qui luy dirent que fort loin de là le mesme fleuve qui se perdoit dans cette terre basse et vaste se réunnissoit en un lit. il continua donc son chemin, mais comme la fatigue estoit grande, ou hommes qu'il avoit menez jusques là le quittèrent tous en une nuit, regagnèrent le fleuve, et se sauvèrent, les uns à la nouvelle hollande et les autres à la nouvelle angleterre. il se vit donc seul à lieues de chez luy, où il ne laisse pas de revenir, remontant la rivière et vivant de chasse, d'herbes, et de ce que luy donnèrent les sauvages qu'il rencontra en son chemin." [ ] perrot, _mémoires_, , . [ ] the memoir--after stating, as above, that he entered lake huron, doubled the peninsula of michigan, and passed la baye des puants (_green bay_)--says: "il reconnut une baye incomparablement plus large; au fond de laquelle vers l'ouest il trouva un très-beau havre et au fond de ce havre un fleuve qui va de l'est à l'ouest. il suivit ce fleuve, et estant parvenu jusqu'environ le me degré de longitude et le me de latitude, il trouva un autre fleuve qui se joignant au premier coulait du nordouest au sudest, et il suivit ce fleuve jusqu'au me degré de latitude." the "très-beau havre" may have been the entrance of the river chicago, whence, by an easy portage, he might have reached the des plaines branch of the illinois. we shall see that he took this course in his famous exploration of . the intendant talon announces, in his despatches of this year that he had sent la salle southward and westward to explore. [ ] the following are his words (he speaks of himself in the third person): "l'année , et les suivantes, il fit divers voyages avec beaucoup de dépenses, dans lesquels il découvrit le premier beaucoup de pays au sud des grands lacs, et _entre autres la grande rivière d'ohio_; il la suivit jusqu'à un endroit où elle tombe de fort haut dans de vastes marais, à la hauteur de degrés, après avoir été grossie par une autre rivière fort large qui vient du nord; et toutes ces eaux se dêchargent selon toutes les apparences dans le golfe du mexique." this "autre rivière," which, it seems, was above the fall, may have been the miami or the scioto. there is but one fall on the river, that of louisville, which is not so high as to deserve to be described as "fort haut," being only a strong rapid. the latitude, as will be seen, is different in the two accounts, and incorrect in both. [ ] one of these maps is entitled _carte de la découverte du sieur joliet_, . over the lines representing the ohio are the words, "route du sieur de la salle pour aller dans le mexique." the other map of joliet bears, also written over the ohio, the words, "rivière par où descendit le sieur de la salle au sortir du lac erié pour aller dans le mexique." i have also another manuscript map, made before the voyage of joliet and marquette, and apparently in the year , on which the ohio is represented as far as to a point a little below louisville, and over it is written, "rivière ohio, ainsy appellée par les iroquois à cause de sa beauté, par où le sieur de la salle est descendu." the mississippi is not represented on this map; but--and this is very significant, as indicating the extent of la salle's exploration of the following year--a small part of the upper illinois is laid down. [ ] _lettre de frontenac au ministre, nov., ._ he here speaks of "la grande rivière qu'il [_joliet_] a trouvée, qui va du nord au sud, et qui est aussi large que celle du saint-laurent vis-à-vis de québec." four years later, frontenac speaks slightingly of joliet, but neither denies his discovery of the mississippi, nor claims it for la salle, in whose interest he writes. [ ] _papiers de famille; mémoire présenté au roi._ the following is an extract: "il parvient ... jusqu'à la rivière des illinois. il y construisit un fort situé à lieues au-delà du fort de frontenac, et suivant ensuite le cours de cette rivière, il trouva qu'elle se jettoit dans un grand fleuve appellé par ceux du pays mississippi, c'est à dire _grande eau_, environ cent lieues au-dessous du fort qu'il venoit de construire." this fort was fort crèvecoeur, built in , near the site of peoria. the memoir goes on to relate the descent of la salle to the gulf, which concluded this expedition of - . [ ] the following is an extract, given by margry, from a letter of the aged madeleine cavelier, dated février, , and addressed to her nephew, m. le baillif, who had applied for the papers in behalf of the minister, silhouette: "j'ay cherché une occasion sûre pour vous anvoyé les papiers de m. de la salle. il y a des cartes que j'ay jointe à ces papiers, qui doivent prouver que, en , m. de lasalle avet déja fet deux voyages en ces decouverte, puisqu'il y avet une carte, que je vous envoye, par laquelle il est fait mention de l'androit auquel m. de lasalle aborda près le fleuve de mississipi; un autre androit qu'il nomme le fleuve colbert; en un autre il prans possession de ce pais au nom du roy et fait planter une crois." the words of the aged and illiterate writer are obscure, but her expression "aborda près" seems to indicate that la salle had not reached the mississippi prior to , but only approached it. finally, a memorial presented to seignelay, along with the official narrative of - , by a friend of la salle, whose object was to place the discoverer and his achievements in the most favorable light, contains the following: "il [_la salle_] a esté le premier à former le dessein de ces descouvertes, qu'il communiqua, il y a plus de quinze ans, à m. de courcelles, gouverneur, et à m. talon, intendant du canada, qui l'approuvèrent. il a fait ensuite plusieurs voyages de ce costé-là, et un entr'autres en avec mm. dolier et galinée, prestres du séminaire de st. sulpice. _il est vray que le sieur jolliet, pour le prévenir, fit un voyage in , à la rivière colbert_; mais ce fut uniquement pour y faire commerce." see margry, ii. . this passage is a virtual admission that joliet reached the mississippi (_colbert_) before la salle. margry, in a series of papers in the _journal général de l'instruction publique_ for , first took the position that la salle reached the mississippi in and , and has brought forward in defence of it all the documents which his unwearied research enabled him to discover. father tailhan, s.j., has replied at length, in the copious notes to his edition of nicolas perrot, but without having seen the principal document cited by margry, and of which extracts have been given in the notes to this chapter. chapter iii. - . the jesuits on the lakes. the old missions and the new.--a change of spirit.--lake superior and the copper-mines.--ste. marie.--la pointe.--michilimackinac.--jesuits on lake michigan.--allouez and dablon.--the jesuit fur-trade. what were the jesuits doing? since the ruin of their great mission of the hurons, a perceptible change had taken place in them. they had put forth exertions almost superhuman, set at naught famine, disease, and death, lived with the self-abnegation of saints and died with the devotion of martyrs; and the result of all had been a disastrous failure. from no short-coming on their part, but from the force of events beyond the sphere of their influence, a very demon of havoc had crushed their incipient churches, slaughtered their converts, uprooted the populous communities on which their hopes had rested, and scattered them in bands of wretched fugitives far and wide through the wilderness.[ ] they had devoted themselves in the fulness of faith to the building up of a christian and jesuit empire on the conversion of the great stationary tribes of the lakes; and of these none remained but the iroquois, the destroyers of the rest,--among whom, indeed, was a field which might stimulate their zeal by an abundant promise of sufferings and martyrdoms, but which, from its geographical position, was too much exposed to dutch and english influence to promise great and decisive results. their best hopes were now in the north and the west; and thither, in great part, they had turned their energies. [sidenote: reports of the jesuits.] we find them on lake huron, lake superior, and lake michigan, laboring vigorously as of old, but in a spirit not quite the same. now, as before, two objects inspired their zeal,--the "greater glory of god," and the influence and credit of the order of jesus. if the one motive had somewhat lost in power, the other had gained. the epoch of the saints and martyrs was passing away; and henceforth we find the canadian jesuit less and less an apostle, more and more an explorer, a man of science, and a politician. the yearly reports of the missions are still, for the edification of the pious reader, filled with intolerably tedious stories of baptisms, conversions, and the exemplary deportment of neophytes,--for these have become a part of the formula; but they are relieved abundantly by more mundane topics. one finds observations on the winds, currents, and tides of the great lakes; speculations on a subterranean outlet of lake superior; accounts of its copper-mines, and how we, the jesuit fathers, are laboring to explore them for the profit of the colony; surmises touching the north sea, the south sea, the sea of china, which we hope ere long to discover; and reports of that great mysterious river of which the indians tell us,--flowing southward, perhaps to the gulf of mexico, perhaps to the vermilion sea,--and the secrets whereof, with the help of the virgin, we will soon reveal to the world. the jesuit was as often a fanatic for his order as for his faith; and oftener yet the two fanaticisms mingled in him inextricably. ardently as he burned for the saving of souls, he would have none saved on the upper lakes except by his brethren and himself. he claimed a monopoly of conversion, with its attendant monopoly of toil, hardship, and martyrdom. often disinterested for himself, he was inordinately ambitious for the great corporate power in which he had merged his own personality; and here lies one cause, among many, of the seeming contradictions which abound in the annals of the order. prefixed to the _relation_ of is that monument of jesuit hardihood and enterprise, the map of lake superior,--a work of which, however, the exactness has been exaggerated, as compared with other canadian maps of the day. while making surveys, the priests were diligently looking for copper. father dablon reports that they had found it in greatest abundance on isle minong, now isle royale. "a day's journey from the head of the lake, on the south side, there is," he says, "a rock of copper weighing from six hundred to eight hundred pounds, lying on the shore where any who pass may see it;" and he further speaks of great copper boulders in the bed of the river ontonagan.[ ] [sidenote: ste. marie du saut.] there were two principal missions on the upper lakes, which were, in a certain sense, the parents of the rest. one of these was ste. marie du saut,--the same visited by dollier and galinée,--at the outlet of lake superior. this was a noted fishing-place; for the rapids were full of white-fish, and indians came thither in crowds. the permanent residents were an ojibwa band, whom the french called sauteurs, and whose bark lodges were clustered at the foot of the rapids, near the fort of the jesuits. besides these, a host of algonquins, of various tribes, resorted thither in the spring and summer,--living in abundance on the fishery, and dispersing in winter to wander and starve in scattered hunting-parties far and wide through the forests. the other chief mission was that of st. esprit, at la pointe, near the western extremity of lake superior. here were the hurons, fugitives twenty years before from the slaughter of their countrymen; and the ottawas, who, like them, had sought an asylum from the rage of the iroquois. many other tribes--illinois, pottawattamies, foxes, menomonies, sioux, assiniboins, knisteneaux, and a multitude besides--came hither yearly to trade with the french. here was a young jesuit, jacques marquette, lately arrived from the saut ste. marie. his savage flock disheartened him by its backslidings; and the best that he could report of the hurons, after all the toil and all the blood lavished in their conversion, was, that they "still retain a little christianity;" while the ottawas are "far removed from the kingdom of god, and addicted beyond all other tribes to foulness, incantations, and sacrifices to evil spirits."[ ] [sidenote: marquette and andrÉ.] marquette heard from the illinois--yearly visitors at la pointe--of the great river which they had crossed on their way,[ ] and which, as he conjectured, flowed into the gulf of california. he heard marvels of it also from the sioux, who lived on its banks; and a strong desire possessed him to explore the mystery of its course. a sudden calamity dashed his hopes. the sioux--the iroquois of the west, as the jesuits call them--had hitherto kept the peace with the expatriated tribes of la pointe; but now, from some cause not worth inquiry, they broke into open war, and so terrified the hurons and ottawas that they abandoned their settlements and fled. marquette followed his panic-stricken flock, who, passing the saut ste. marie, and descending to lake huron, stopped at length,--the hurons at michilimackinac, and the ottawas at the great manitoulin island. two missions were now necessary to minister to the divided bands. that of michilimackinac was assigned to marquette, and that of the manitoulin island to louis andré. the former took post at point st. ignace, on the north shore of the straits of michilimackinac, while the latter began the mission of st. simon at the new abode of the ottawas. when winter came, scattering his flock to their hunting-grounds, andré made a missionary tour among the nipissings and other neighboring tribes. the shores of lake huron had long been an utter solitude, swept of their denizens by the terror of the all-conquering iroquois; but now that these tigers had felt the power of the french, and learned for a time to leave their indian allies in peace, the fugitive hordes were returning to their ancient abodes. andré's experience among them was of the roughest. the staple of his diet was acorns and _tripe de roche_,--a species of lichen, which, being boiled, resolved itself into a black glue, nauseous, but not void of nourishment. at times, he was reduced to moss, the bark of trees, or moccasins and old moose-skins cut into strips and boiled. his hosts treated him very ill, and the worst of their fare was always his portion. when spring came to his relief, he returned to his post of st. simon, with impaired digestion and unabated zeal. [sidenote: the green bay mission.] besides the saut ste. marie and michilimackinac, both noted fishing-places, there was another spot, no less famous for game and fish, and therefore a favorite resort of indians. this was the head of the green bay of lake michigan.[ ] here and in adjacent districts several distinct tribes had made their abode. the menomonies were on the river which bears their name; the pottawattamies and winnebagoes were near the borders of the bay; the sacs, on fox river; the mascoutins, miamis, and kickapoos, on the same river, above lake winnebago; and the outagamies, or foxes, on a tributary of it flowing from the north. green bay was manifestly suited for a mission; and, as early as the autumn of , father claude allouez was sent thither to found one. after nearly perishing by the way, he set out to explore the destined field of his labors, and went as far as the town of the mascoutins. early in the autumn of , having been joined by dablon, superior of the missions on the upper lakes, he made another journey, but not until the two fathers had held a council with the congregated tribes at st. françois xavier; for so they named their mission of green bay. here, as they harangued their naked audience, their gravity was put to the proof; for a band of warriors, anxious to do them honor, walked incessantly up and down, aping the movements of the soldiers on guard before the governor's tent at montreal. "we could hardly keep from laughing," writes dablon, "though, we were discoursing on very important subjects; namely, the mysteries of our religion, and the things necessary to escaping from eternal fire."[ ] the fathers were delighted with the country, which dablon calls an earthly paradise; but he adds that the way to it is as hard as the path to heaven. he alludes especially to the rapids of fox river, which gave the two travellers great trouble. having safely passed them, they saw an indian idol on the bank, similar to that which dollier and galinée found at detroit,--being merely a rock, bearing some resemblance to a man, and hideously painted. with the help of their attendants, they threw it into the river. dablon expatiates on the buffalo, which he describes apparently on the report of others, as his description is not very accurate. crossing winnebago lake, the two priests followed the river leading to the town of the mascoutins and miamis, which they reached on the fifteenth of september.[ ] these two tribes lived together within the compass of the same enclosure of palisades,--to the number, it is said, of more than three thousand souls. the missionaries, who had brought a highly colored picture of the last judgment, called the indians to council and displayed it before them; while allouez, who spoke algonquin, harangued them on hell, demons, and eternal flames. they listened with open ears, beset him night and day with questions, and invited him and his companion to unceasing feasts. they were welcomed in every lodge, and followed everywhere with eyes of curiosity, wonder, and awe. dablon overflows with praises of the miami chief, who was honored by his subjects like a king, and whose demeanor towards his guests had no savor of the savage. their hosts told them of the great river mississippi, rising far in the north and flowing southward,--they knew not whither,--and of many tribes that dwelt along its banks. when at length they took their departure, they left behind them a reputation as medicine-men of transcendent power. [sidenote: the cross among the foxes.] in the winter following, allouez visited the foxes, whom he found in extreme ill-humor. they were incensed against the french by the ill-usage which some of their tribe had lately met when on a trading visit to montreal; and they received the faith with shouts of derision. the priest was horror-stricken at what he saw. their lodges, each containing from five to ten families, seemed in his eyes like seraglios; for some of the chiefs had eight wives. he armed himself with patience, and at length gained a hearing. nay, he succeeded so well, that when he showed them his crucifix they would throw tobacco on it as an offering; and, on another visit which he made them soon after, he taught the whole village to make the sign of the cross. a war-party was going out against their enemies, and he bethought him of telling them the story of the cross and the emperor constantine. this so wrought upon them that they all daubed the figure of a cross on their shields of bull-hide, set out for the war, and came back victorious, extolling the sacred symbol as a great war-medicine. "thus it is," writes dablon, who chronicles the incident, "that our holy faith is established among these people; and we have good hope that we shall soon carry it to the famous river called the mississippi, and perhaps even to the south sea."[ ] most things human have their phases of the ludicrous; and the heroism of these untiring priests is no exception to the rule. [sidenote: trading with indians.] the various missionary stations were much alike. they consisted of a chapel (commonly of logs) and one or more houses, with perhaps a store-house and a workshop; the whole fenced with palisades, and forming, in fact, a stockade fort, surrounded with clearings and cultivated fields. it is evident that the priests had need of other hands than their own and those of the few lay brothers attached to the mission. they required men inured to labor, accustomed to the forest life, able to guide canoes and handle tools and weapons. in the earlier epoch of the missions, when enthusiasm was at its height, they were served in great measure by volunteers, who joined them through devotion or penitence, and who were known as _donnés_ or "given men." of late, the number of these had much diminished; and they now relied chiefly on hired men, or _engagés_. these were employed in building, hunting, fishing, clearing, and tilling the ground, guiding canoes, and (if faith is to be placed in reports current throughout the colony) in trading with the indians for the profit of the missions. this charge of trading--which, if the results were applied exclusively to the support of the missions, does not of necessity involve much censure--is vehemently reiterated in many quarters, including the official despatches of the governor of canada; while, so far as i can discover, the jesuits never distinctly denied it, and on several occasions they partially admitted its truth.[ ] footnotes: [ ] see "the jesuits in north america." [ ] he complains that the indians were very averse to giving information on the subject, so that the jesuits had not as yet discovered the metal _in situ_, though they hoped soon to do so. the indians told him that the copper had first been found by four hunters, who had landed on a certain island, near the north shore of the lake. wishing to boil their food in a vessel of bark, they gathered stones on the shore, heated them red hot, and threw them in, but presently discovered them to be pure copper. their repast over, they hastened to re-embark, being afraid of the lynxes and the hares, which, on this island, were as large as dogs, and which would have devoured their provisions, and perhaps their canoe. they took with them some of the wonderful stones; but scarcely had they left the island, when a deep voice, like thunder, sounded in their ears, "who are these thieves who steal the toys of my children?" it was the god of the waters, or some other powerful manito. the four adventurers retreated in great terror; but three of them soon died, and the fourth survived only long enough to reach his village, and tell the story. the island has no foundation, but floats with the movement of the wind; and no indian dares land on its shores, dreading the wrath of the manito. dablon, _relation_, , . [ ] _lettre du père jacques marquette au r. p. supérieur des missions;_ in _relation_, , . [ ] the illinois lived at this time beyond the mississippi, thirty days' journey from la pointe; whither they had been driven by the iroquois, from their former abode near lake michigan. dablon (_relation_, , , ) says that they lived seven days' journey beyond the mississippi, in eight villages. a few years later, most of them returned to the east side, and made their abode on the river illinois. [ ] the baye des puants of the early writers; or, more correctly, la baye des eaux puantes. the winnebago indians, living near it, were called les puans, apparently for no other reason than because some portion of the bay was said to have an odor like the sea. lake michigan, the "lac des illinois" of the french, was, according to a letter of father allouez, called "machihiganing" by the indians. dablon writes the name "mitchiganon." [ ] _relation_, , . [ ] this town was on the neenah or fox river, above lake winnebago. the mascoutins, fire nation, or nation of the prairie, are extinct or merged in other tribes. see "the jesuits in north america." the miamis soon removed to the banks of the river st. joseph, near lake michigan. [ ] _relation_, , . [ ] this charge was made from the first establishment of the missions. for remarks on it, see "the jesuits in north america" and "the old régime in canada." chapter iv. - . france takes possession of the west. talon.--saint-lusson.--perrot.--the ceremony at saut ste. marie.--the speech of allouez.--count frontenac. jean talon, intendant of canada, was full of projects for the good of the colony. on the one hand, he set himself to the development of its industries, and, on the other, to the extension of its domain. he meant to occupy the interior of the continent, control the rivers, which were its only highways, and hold it for france against every other nation. on the east, england was to be hemmed within a narrow strip of seaboard; while, on the south, talon aimed at securing a port on the gulf of mexico, to keep the spaniards in check, and dispute with them the possession of the vast regions which they claimed as their own. but the interior of the continent was still an unknown world. it behooved him to explore it; and to that end he availed himself of jesuits, officers, fur-traders, and enterprising schemers like la salle. his efforts at discovery seem to have been conducted with a singular economy of the king's purse. la salle paid all the expenses of his first expedition made under talon's auspices; and apparently of the second also, though the intendant announces it in his despatches as an expedition sent out by himself.[ ] when, in , he ordered daumont de saint-lusson to search for copper mines on lake superior, and at the same time to take formal possession of the whole interior for the king, it was arranged that he should pay the costs of the journey by trading with the indians.[ ] [sidenote: saint-lusson and perrot.] saint-lusson set out with a small party of men, and nicolas perrot as his interpreter. among canadian _voyageurs_, few names are so conspicuous as that of perrot; not because there were not others who matched him in achievement, but because he could write, and left behind him a tolerable account of what he had seen.[ ] he was at this time twenty-six years old, and had formerly been an _engagé_ of the jesuits. he was a man of enterprise, courage, and address,--the last being especially shown in his dealings with indians, over whom he had great influence. he spoke algonquin fluently, and was favorably known to many tribes of that family. saint-lusson wintered at the manitoulin islands; while perrot, having first sent messages to the tribes of the north, inviting them to meet the deputy of the governor at the saut ste. marie in the following spring, proceeded to green bay, to urge the same invitation upon the tribes of that quarter. they knew him well, and greeted him with clamors of welcome. the miamis, it is said, received him with a sham battle, which was designed to do him honor, but by which nerves more susceptible would have been severely shaken.[ ] they entertained him also with a grand game of _la crosse_, the indian ball-play. perrot gives a marvellous account of the authority and state of the miami chief, who, he says, was attended day and night by a guard of warriors,--an assertion which would be incredible, were it not sustained by the account of the same chief given by the jesuit dablon. of the tribes of the bay, the greater part promised to send delegates to the saut; but the pottawattamies dissuaded the miami potentate from attempting so long a journey, lest the fatigue incident to it might injure his health; and he therefore deputed them to represent him and his tribesmen at the great meeting. their principal chiefs, with those of the sacs, winnebagoes, and menomonies, embarked, and paddled for the place of rendezvous, where they and perrot arrived on the fifth of may.[ ] saint-lusson was here with his men, fifteen in number, among whom was louis joliet;[ ] and indians were fast thronging in from their wintering grounds, attracted, as usual, by the fishery of the rapids or moved by the messages sent by perrot,--crees, monsonis, amikoués, nipissings, and many more. when fourteen tribes, or their representatives, had arrived, saint-lusson prepared to execute the commission with which he was charged. [sidenote: ceremony at the saut.] at the foot of the rapids was the village of the sauteurs, above the village was a hill, and hard by stood the fort of the jesuits. on the morning of the fourteenth of june, saint-lusson led his followers to the top of the hill, all fully equipped and under arms. here, too, in the vestments of their priestly office, were four jesuits,--claude dablon, superior of the missions of the lakes, gabriel druilletes, claude allouez, and louis andré.[ ] all around the great throng of indians stood, or crouched, or reclined at length, with eyes and ears intent. a large cross of wood had been made ready. dablon, in solemn form, pronounced his blessing on it; and then it was reared and planted in the ground, while the frenchmen, uncovered, sang the _vexilla regis_. then a post of cedar was planted beside it, with a metal plate attached, engraven with the royal arms; while saint-lusson's followers sang the _exaudiat_, and one of the jesuits uttered a prayer for the king. saint-lusson now advanced, and, holding his sword in one hand, and raising with the other a sod of earth, proclaimed in a loud voice,-- "in the name of the most high, mighty, and redoubted monarch, louis, fourteenth of that name, most christian king of france and of navarre, i take possession of this place, sainte marie du saut, as also of lakes huron and superior, the island of manitoulin, and all countries, rivers, lakes, and streams contiguous and adjacent thereunto,--both those which have been discovered and those which may be discovered hereafter, in all their length and breadth, bounded on the one side by the seas of the north and of the west, and on the other by the south sea: declaring to the nations thereof that from this time forth they are vassals of his majesty, bound to obey his laws and follow his customs; promising them on his part all succor and protection against the incursions and invasions of their enemies: declaring to all other potentates, princes, sovereigns, states, and republics,--to them and to their subjects,--that they cannot and are not to seize or settle upon any parts of the aforesaid countries, save only under the good pleasure of his most christian majesty, and of him who will govern in his behalf; and this on pain of incurring his resentment and the efforts of his arms. _vive le roi_."[ ] the frenchmen fired their guns and shouted "vive le roi," and the yelps of the astonished indians mingled with the din. what now remains of the sovereignty thus pompously proclaimed? now and then the accents of france on the lips of some straggling boatman or vagabond half-breed,--this, and nothing more. [sidenote: allouez's harangue.] when the uproar was over, father allouez addressed the indians in a solemn harangue; and these were his words: "it is a good work, my brothers, an important work, a great work, that brings us together in council to-day. look up at the cross which rises so high above your heads. it was there that jesus christ, the son of god, after making himself a man for the love of men, was nailed and died, to satisfy his eternal father for our sins. he is the master of our lives; the ruler of heaven, earth, and hell. it is he of whom i am continually speaking to you, and whose name and word i have borne through all your country. but look at this post to which are fixed the arms of the great chief of france, whom we call king. he lives across the sea. he is the chief of the greatest chiefs, and has no equal on earth. all the chiefs whom you have ever seen are but children beside him. he is like a great tree, and they are but the little herbs that one walks over and tramples under foot. you know onontio,[ ] that famous chief at quebec; you know and you have seen that he is the terror of the iroquois, and that his very name makes them tremble, since he has laid their country waste and burned their towns with fire. across the sea there are ten thousand onontios like him, who are but the warriors of our great king, of whom i have told you. when he says, 'i am going to war,' everybody obeys his orders; and each of these ten thousand chiefs raises a troop of a hundred warriors, some on sea and some on land. some embark in great ships, such as you have seen at quebec. your canoes carry only four or five men, or, at the most, ten or twelve; but our ships carry four or five hundred, and sometimes a thousand. others go to war by land, and in such numbers that if they stood in a double file they would reach from here to mississaquenk, which is more than twenty leagues off. when our king attacks his enemies, he is more terrible than the thunder: the earth trembles; the air and the sea are all on fire with the blaze of his cannon: he is seen in the midst of his warriors, covered over with the blood of his enemies, whom he kills in such numbers that he does not reckon them by the scalps, but by the streams of blood which he causes to flow. he takes so many prisoners that he holds them in no account, but lets them go where they will, to show that he is not afraid of them. but now nobody dares make war on him. all the nations beyond the sea have submitted to him and begged humbly for peace. men come from every quarter of the earth to listen to him and admire him. all that is done in the world is decided by him alone. "but what shall i say of his riches? you think yourselves rich when you have ten or twelve sacks of corn, a few hatchets, beads, kettles, and other things of that sort. he has cities of his own, more than there are of men in all this country for five hundred leagues around. in each city there are store-houses where there are hatchets enough to cut down all your forests, kettles enough to cook all your moose, and beads enough to fill all your lodges. his house is longer than from here to the top of the saut,--that is to say, more than half a league,--and higher than your tallest trees; and it holds more families than the largest of your towns."[ ] the father added more in a similar strain; but the peroration of his harangue is not on record. whatever impression this curious effort of jesuit rhetoric may have produced upon the hearers, it did not prevent them from stripping the royal arms from the post to which they were nailed, as soon as saint-lusson and his men had left the saut; probably, not because they understood the import of the symbol, but because they feared it as a charm. saint-lusson proceeded to lake superior, where, however, he accomplished nothing, except, perhaps, a traffic with the indians on his own account; and he soon after returned to quebec. talon was resolved to find the mississippi, the most interesting object of search, and seemingly the most attainable, in the wild and vague domain which he had just claimed for the king. the indians had described it; the jesuits were eager to discover it; and la salle, if he had not reached it, had explored two several avenues by which it might be approached. talon looked about him for a fit agent of the enterprise, and made choice of louis joliet, who had returned from lake superior.[ ] but the intendant was not to see the fulfilment of his design. his busy and useful career in canada was drawing to an end. a misunderstanding had arisen between him and the governor, courcelle. both were faithful servants of the king; but the relations between the two chiefs of the colony were of a nature necessarily so critical, that a conflict of authority was scarcely to be avoided. each thought his functions encroached upon, and both asked for recall. another governor succeeded; one who was to stamp his mark, broad, bold, and ineffaceable, on the most memorable page of french-american history,--louis de buade, count of palluau and frontenac. footnotes: [ ] at least, la salle was in great need of money, about the time of his second journey. on the sixth of august, , he had received on credit, "dans son grand besoin et nécessité," from branssac, fiscal attorney of the seminary, merchandise to the amount of four hundred and fifty livres; and on the eighteenth of december of the following year he gave his promise to pay the same sum, in money or furs, in the august following. faillon found the papers in the ancient records of montreal. [ ] in his despatch of d nov., , talon writes to the king that "saint-lusson's expedition will cost nothing, as he has received beaver enough from the indians to pay him." [ ] _moeurs, coustumes, et relligion des sauvages de l'amérique septentrionale._ this work of perrot, hitherto unpublished, appeared in , under the editorship of father tailhan, s.j. a great part of it is incorporated in la potherie. [ ] see la potherie, ii. . perrot himself does not mention it. charlevoix erroneously places this interview at chicago. perrot's narrative shows that he did not go farther than the tribes of green bay; and the miamis were then, as we have seen, on the upper part of fox river. [ ] perrot, _mémoires_, . [ ] _procès verbal de la prise de possession, etc., juin, ._ the names are attached to this instrument. [ ] marquette is said to have been present; but the official act just cited, proves the contrary. he was still at st. esprit. [ ] _procès verbal de la prise de possession._ [ ] the indian name of the governor of canada. [ ] a close translation of dablon's report of the speech. see _relation_, , . [ ] _lettre de frontenac au ministre, nov., ._ in the brodhead collection, by a copyist's error, the name of the chevalier de grandfontaine is substituted for that of talon. chapter v. - . the discovery of the mississippi. joliet sent to find the mississippi.--jacques marquette.--departure.--green bay.--the wisconsin.--the mississippi.--indians.--manitous.--the arkansas.--the illinois.--joliet's misfortune.--marquette at chicago: his illness; his death. if talon had remained in the colony, frontenac would infallibly have quarrelled with him; but he was too clear-sighted not to approve his plans for the discovery and occupation of the interior. before sailing for france, talon recommended joliet as a suitable agent for the discovery of the mississippi, and the governor accepted his counsel.[ ] louis joliet was the son of a wagon-maker in the service of the company of the hundred associates,[ ] then owners of canada. he was born at quebec in , and was educated by the jesuits. when still very young, he resolved to be a priest. he received the tonsure and the minor orders at the age of seventeen. four years after, he is mentioned with especial honor for the part he bore in the disputes in philosophy, at which the dignitaries of the colony were present, and in which the intendant himself took part.[ ] not long after, he renounced his clerical vocation, and turned fur-trader. talon sent him, with one péré, to explore the copper-mines of lake superior; and it was on his return from this expedition that he met la salle and the sulpitians near the head of lake ontario.[ ] in what we know of joliet, there is nothing that reveals any salient or distinctive trait of character, any especial breadth of view or boldness of design. he appears to have been simply a merchant, intelligent, well educated, courageous, hardy, and enterprising. though he had renounced the priesthood, he retained his partiality for the jesuits; and it is more than probable that their influence had aided not a little to determine talon's choice. one of their number, jacques marquette, was chosen to accompany him. [sidenote: marquette.] he passed up the lakes to michilimackinac, and found his destined companion at point st. ignace, on the north side of the strait, where, in his palisaded mission-house and chapel, he had labored for two years past to instruct the huron refugees from st. esprit, and a band of ottawas who had joined them. marquette was born in , of an old and honorable family at laon, in the north of france, and was now thirty-five years of age. when about seventeen, he had joined the jesuits, evidently from motives purely religious; and in he was sent to the missions of canada. at first, he was destined to the station of tadoussac; and to prepare himself for it, he studied the montagnais language under gabriel druilletes. but his destination was changed, and he was sent to the upper lakes in , where he had since remained. his talents as a linguist must have been great; for within a few years he learned to speak with ease six indian languages. the traits of his character are unmistakable. he was of the brotherhood of the early canadian missionaries, and the true counterpart of garnier or jogues. he was a devout votary of the virgin mary, who, imaged to his mind in shapes of the most transcendent loveliness with which the pencil of human genius has ever informed the canvas, was to him the object of an adoration not unmingled with a sentiment of chivalrous devotion. the longings of a sensitive heart, divorced from earth, sought solace in the skies. a subtile element of romance was blended with the fervor of his worship, and hung like an illumined cloud over the harsh and hard realities of his daily lot. kindled by the smile of his celestial mistress, his gentle and noble nature knew no fear. for her he burned to dare and to suffer, discover new lands and conquer new realms to her sway. he begins the journal of his voyage thus: "the day of the immaculate conception of the holy virgin; whom i had continually invoked since i came to this country of the ottawas to obtain from god the favor of being enabled to visit the nations on the river mississippi,--this very day was precisely that on which m. joliet arrived with orders from count frontenac, our governor, and from m. talon, our intendant, to go with me on this discovery. i was all the more delighted at this good news, because i saw my plans about to be accomplished, and found myself in the happy necessity of exposing my life for the salvation of all these tribes,--and especially of the illinois, who, when i was at point st. esprit, had begged me very earnestly to bring the word of god among them." [sidenote: departure.] the outfit of the travellers was very simple. they provided themselves with two birch canoes, and a supply of smoked meat and indian corn; embarked with five men, and began their voyage on the seventeenth of may. they had obtained all possible information from the indians, and had made, by means of it, a species of map of their intended route. "above all," writes marquette, "i placed our voyage under the protection of the holy virgin immaculate, promising that if she granted us the favor of discovering the great river, i would give it the name of the conception."[ ] their course was westward; and, plying their paddles, they passed the straits of michilimackinac, and coasted the northern shores of lake michigan, landing at evening to build their camp-fire at the edge of the forest, and draw up their canoes on the strand. they soon reached the river menomonie, and ascended it to the village of the menomonies, or wild-rice indians.[ ] when they told them the object of their voyage, they were filled with astonishment, and used their best ingenuity to dissuade them. the banks of the mississippi, they said, were inhabited by ferocious tribes, who put every stranger to death, tomahawking all new-comers without cause or provocation. they added that there was a demon in a certain part of the river, whose roar could be heard at a great distance, and who would engulf them in the abyss where he dwelt; that its waters were full of frightful monsters, who would devour them and their canoe; and, finally, that the heat was so great that they would perish inevitably. marquette set their counsel at naught, gave them a few words of instruction in the mysteries of the faith, taught them a prayer, and bade them farewell. the travellers next reached the mission at the head of green bay; entered fox river; with difficulty and labor dragged their canoes up the long and tumultuous rapids; crossed lake winnebago; and followed the quiet windings of the river beyond, where they glided through an endless growth of wild rice, and scared the innumerable birds that fed upon it. on either hand rolled the prairie, dotted with groves and trees, browsing elk and deer.[ ] on the seventh of june, they reached the mascoutins and miamis, who, since the visit of dablon and allouez, had been joined by the kickapoos. marquette, who had an eye for natural beauty, was delighted with the situation of the town, which he describes as standing on the crown of a hill; while, all around, the prairie stretched beyond the sight, interspersed with groves and belts of tall forest. but he was still more delighted when he saw a cross planted in the midst of the place. the indians had decorated it with a number of dressed deer-skins, red girdles, and bows and arrows, which they had hung upon it as an offering to the great manitou of the french; a sight by which marquette says he was "extremely consoled." [sidenote: the wisconsin river.] the travellers had no sooner reached the town than they called the chiefs and elders to a council. joliet told them that the governor of canada had sent him to discover new countries, and that god had sent his companion to teach the true faith to the inhabitants; and he prayed for guides to show them the way to the waters of the wisconsin. the council readily consented; and on the tenth of june the frenchmen embarked again, with two indians to conduct them. all the town came down to the shore to see their departure. here were the miamis, with long locks of hair dangling over each ear, after a fashion which marquette thought very becoming; and here, too, the mascoutins and the kickapoos, whom he describes as mere boors in comparison with their miami townsmen. all stared alike at the seven adventurers, marvelling that men could be found to risk an enterprise so hazardous. the river twisted among lakes and marshes choked with wild rice; and, but for their guides, they could scarcely have followed the perplexed and narrow channel. it brought them at last to the portage, where, after carrying their canoes a mile and a half over the prairie and through the marsh, they launched them on the wisconsin, bade farewell to the waters that flowed to the st. lawrence, and committed themselves to the current that was to bear them they knew not whither,--perhaps to the gulf of mexico, perhaps to the south sea or the gulf of california. they glided calmly down the tranquil stream, by islands choked with trees and matted with entangling grape-vines; by forests, groves, and prairies, the parks and pleasure-grounds of a prodigal nature; by thickets and marshes and broad bare sand-bars; under the shadowing trees, between whose tops looked down from afar the bold brow of some woody bluff. at night, the bivouac,--the canoes inverted on the bank, the flickering fire, the meal of bison-flesh or venison, the evening pipes, and slumber beneath the stars; and when in the morning they embarked again, the mist hung on the river like a bridal veil, then melted before the sun, till the glassy water and the languid woods basked breathless in the sultry glare.[ ] [sidenote: the mississippi.] on the seventeenth of june they saw on their right the broad meadows, bounded in the distance by rugged hills, where now stand the town and fort of prairie du chien. before them a wide and rapid current coursed athwart their way, by the foot of lofty heights wrapped thick in forests. they had found what they sought, and "with a joy," writes marquette, "which i cannot express," they steered forth their canoes on the eddies of the mississippi. turning southward, they paddled down the stream, through a solitude unrelieved by the faintest trace of man. a large fish, apparently one of the huge cat-fish of the mississippi, blundered against marquette's canoe, with a force which seems to have startled him; and once, as they drew in their net, they caught a "spade-fish," whose eccentric appearance greatly astonished them. at length the buffalo began to appear, grazing in herds on the great prairies which then bordered the river; and marquette describes the fierce and stupid look of the old bulls, as they stared at the intruders through the tangled mane which nearly blinded them. [sidenote: the illinois indians.] they advanced with extreme caution, landed at night, and made a fire to cook their evening meal; then extinguished it, embarked again, paddled some way farther, and anchored in the stream, keeping a man on the watch till morning. they had journeyed more than a fortnight without meeting a human being, when, on the twenty-fifth, they discovered footprints of men in the mud of the western bank, and a well-trodden path that led to the adjacent prairie. joliet and marquette resolved to follow it; and leaving the canoes in charge of their men, they set out on their hazardous adventure. the day was fair, and they walked two leagues in silence, following the path through the forest and across the sunny prairie, till they discovered an indian village on the banks of a river, and two others on a hill half a league distant.[ ] now, with beating hearts, they invoked the aid of heaven, and, again advancing, came so near, without being seen, that they could hear the voices of the indians among the wigwams. then they stood forth in full view, and shouted to attract attention. there was great commotion in the village. the inmates swarmed out of their huts, and four of their chief men presently came forward to meet the strangers, advancing very deliberately, and holding up toward the sun two calumets, or peace-pipes, decorated with feathers. they stopped abruptly before the two frenchmen, and stood gazing at them without speaking a word. marquette was much relieved on seeing that they wore french cloth, whence he judged that they must be friends and allies. he broke the silence, and asked them who they were; whereupon they answered that they were illinois, and offered the pipe; which having been duly smoked, they all went together to the village. here the chief received the travellers after a singular fashion, meant to do them honor. he stood stark naked at the door of a large wigwam, holding up both hands as if to shield his eyes. "frenchmen, how bright the sun shines when you come to visit us! all our village awaits you; and you shall enter our wigwams in peace." so saying, he led them into his own, which was crowded to suffocation with savages, staring at their guests in silence. having smoked with the chiefs and old men, they were invited to visit the great chief of all the illinois, at one of the villages they had seen in the distance; and thither they proceeded, followed by a throng of warriors, squaws, and children. on arriving, they were forced to smoke again, and listen to a speech of welcome from the great chief, who delivered it standing between two old men, naked like himself. his lodge was crowded with the dignitaries of the tribe, whom marquette addressed in algonquin, announcing himself as a messenger sent by the god who had made them, and whom it behooves them to recognize and obey. he added a few words touching the power and glory of count frontenac, and concluded by asking information concerning the mississippi, and the tribes along its banks, whom he was on his way to visit. the chief replied with a speech of compliment; assuring his guests that their presence added flavor to his tobacco, made the river more calm, the sky more serene, and the earth more beautiful. in conclusion, he gave them a young slave and a calumet, begging them at the same time to abandon their purpose of descending the mississippi. a feast of four courses now followed. first, a wooden bowl full of a porridge of indian meal boiled with grease was set before the guests; and the master of ceremonies fed them in turn, like infants, with a large spoon. then appeared a platter of fish; and the same functionary, carefully removing the bones with his fingers, and blowing on the morsels to cool them, placed them in the mouths of the two frenchmen. a large dog, killed and cooked for the occasion, was next placed before them; but, failing to tempt their fastidious appetites, was supplanted by a dish of fat buffalo-meat, which concluded the entertainment. the crowd having dispersed, buffalo-robes were spread on the ground, and marquette and joliet spent the night on the scene of the late festivity. in the morning, the chief, with some six hundred of his tribesmen, escorted them to their canoes, and bade them, after their stolid fashion, a friendly farewell. [sidenote: a real danger.] again they were on their way, slowly drifting down the great river. they passed the mouth of the illinois, and glided beneath that line of rocks on the eastern side, cut into fantastic forms by the elements, and marked as "the ruined castles" on some of the early french maps. presently they beheld a sight which reminded them that the devil was still lord paramount of this wilderness. on the flat face of a high rock were painted, in red, black, and green, a pair of monsters, each "as large as a calf, with horns like a deer, red eyes, a beard like a tiger, and a frightful expression of countenance. the face is something like that of a man, the body covered with scales; and the tail so long that it passes entirely round the body, over the head and between the legs, ending like that of a fish." such is the account which the worthy jesuit gives of these manitous, or indian gods.[ ] he confesses that at first they frightened him; and his imagination and that of his credulous companions was so wrought upon by these unhallowed efforts of indian art, that they continued for a long time to talk of them as they plied their paddles. they were thus engaged, when they were suddenly aroused by a real danger. a torrent of yellow mud rushed furiously athwart the calm blue current of the mississippi, boiling and surging, and sweeping in its course logs, branches, and uprooted trees. they had reached the mouth of the missouri, where that savage river, descending from its mad career through a vast unknown of barbarism, poured its turbid floods into the bosom of its gentler sister. their light canoes whirled on the miry vortex like dry leaves on an angry brook. "i never," writes marquette, "saw anything more terrific;" but they escaped with their fright, and held their way down the turbulent and swollen current of the now united rivers.[ ] they passed the lonely forest that covered the site of the destined city of st. louis, and, a few days later, saw on their left the mouth of the stream to which the iroquois had given the well-merited name of ohio, or the "beautiful river."[ ] soon they began to see the marshy shores buried in a dense growth of the cane, with its tall straight stems and feathery light-green foliage. the sun glowed through the hazy air with a languid stifling heat, and by day and night mosquitoes in myriads left them no peace. they floated slowly down the current, crouched in the shade of the sails which they had spread as awnings, when suddenly they saw indians on the east bank. the surprise was mutual, and each party was as much frightened as the other. marquette hastened to display the calumet which the illinois had given him by way of passport; and the indians, recognizing the pacific symbol, replied with an invitation to land. evidently, they were in communication with europeans, for they were armed with guns, knives, and hatchets, wore garments of cloth, and carried their gunpowder in small bottles of thick glass. they feasted the frenchmen with buffalo-meat, bear's oil, and white plums; and gave them a variety of doubtful information, including the agreeable but delusive assurance that they would reach the mouth of the river in ten days. it was, in fact, more than a thousand miles distant. [sidenote: the lower mississippi.] they resumed their course, and again floated down the interminable monotony of river, marsh, and forest. day after day passed on in solitude, and they had paddled some three hundred miles since their meeting with the indians, when, as they neared the mouth of the arkansas, they saw a cluster of wigwams on the west bank. their inmates were all astir, yelling the war-whoop, snatching their weapons, and running to the shore to meet the strangers, who, on their part, called for succor to the virgin. in truth, they had need of her aid; for several large wooden canoes, filled with savages, were putting out from the shore, above and below them, to cut off their retreat, while a swarm of headlong young warriors waded into the water to attack them. the current proved too strong; and, failing to reach the canoes of the frenchmen, one of them threw his war-club, which flew over the heads of the startled travellers. meanwhile, marquette had not ceased to hold up his calumet, to which the excited crowd gave no heed, but strung their bows and notched their arrows for immediate action; when at length the elders of the village arrived, saw the peace-pipe, restrained the ardor of the youth, and urged the frenchmen to come ashore. marquette and his companions complied, trembling, and found a better reception than they had reason to expect. one of the indians spoke a little illinois, and served as interpreter; a friendly conference was followed by a feast of sagamite and fish; and the travellers, not without sore misgivings, spent the night in the lodges of their entertainers.[ ] [sidenote: the arkansas.] early in the morning, they embarked again, and proceeded to a village of the arkansas tribe, about eight leagues below. notice of their coming was sent before them by their late hosts; and as they drew near they were met by a canoe, in the prow of which stood a naked personage, holding a calumet, singing, and making gestures of friendship. on reaching the village, which was on the east side,[ ] opposite the mouth of the river arkansas, they were conducted to a sort of scaffold, before the lodge of the war-chief. the space beneath had been prepared for their reception, the ground being neatly covered with rush mats. on these they were seated; the warriors sat around them in a semi-circle; then the elders of the tribe; and then the promiscuous crowd of villagers, standing, and staring over the heads of the more dignified members of the assembly. all the men were naked; but, to compensate for the lack of clothing, they wore strings of beads in their noses and ears. the women were clothed in shabby skins, and wore their hair clumped in a mass behind each ear. by good luck, there was a young indian in the village, who had an excellent knowledge of illinois; and through him marquette endeavored to explain the mysteries of christianity, and to gain information concerning the river below. to this end he gave his auditors the presents indispensable on such occasions, but received very little in return. they told him that the mississippi was infested by hostile indians, armed with guns procured from white men; and that they, the arkansas, stood in such fear of them that they dared not hunt the buffalo, but were forced to live on indian corn, of which they raised three crops a year. during the speeches on either side, food was brought in without ceasing,--sometimes a platter of sagamite or mush; sometimes of corn boiled whole; sometimes a roasted dog. the villagers had large earthen pots and platters, made by themselves with tolerable skill, as well as hatchets, knives, and beads, gained by traffic with the illinois and other tribes in contact with the french or spaniards. all day there was feasting without respite, after the merciless practice of indian hospitality; but at night some of their entertainers proposed to kill and plunder them,--a scheme which was defeated by the vigilance of the chief, who visited their quarters, and danced the calumet dance to reassure his guests. the travellers now held counsel as to what course they should take. they had gone far enough, as they thought, to establish one important point,--that the mississippi discharged its waters, not into the atlantic or sea of virginia, nor into the gulf of california or vermilion sea, but into the gulf of mexico. they thought themselves nearer to its mouth than they actually were, the distance being still about seven hundred miles; and they feared that if they went farther they might be killed by indians or captured by spaniards, whereby the results of their discovery would be lost. therefore they resolved to return to canada, and report what they had seen. they left the arkansas village, and began their homeward voyage on the seventeenth of july. it was no easy task to urge their way upward, in the heat of midsummer, against the current of the dark and gloomy stream, toiling all day under the parching sun, and sleeping at night in the exhalations of the unwholesome shore, or in the narrow confines of their birchen vessels, anchored on the river. marquette was attacked with dysentery. languid and well-nigh spent, he invoked his celestial mistress, as day after day, and week after week, they won their slow way northward. at length, they reached the illinois, and, entering its mouth, followed its course, charmed, as they went, with its placid waters, its shady forests, and its rich plains, grazed by the bison and the deer. they stopped at a spot soon to be made famous in the annals of western discovery. this was a village of the illinois, then called "kaskaskia;" a name afterwards transferred to another locality.[ ] a chief, with a band of young warriors, offered to guide them to the lake of the illinois; that is to say, lake michigan. thither they repaired; and, coasting its shores, reached green bay at the end of september, after an absence of about four months, during which they had paddled their canoes somewhat more than two thousand five hundred miles.[ ] [sidenote: return to canada.] marquette remained to recruit his exhausted strength; but joliet descended to quebec, to bear the report of his discovery to count frontenac. fortune had wonderfully favored him on his long and perilous journey; but now she abandoned him on the very threshold of home. at the foot of the rapids of la chine, and immediately above montreal, his canoe was overset, two of his men and an indian boy were drowned, all his papers were lost, and he himself narrowly escaped.[ ] in a letter to frontenac, he speaks of the accident as follows: "i had escaped every peril from the indians; i had passed forty-two rapids; and was on the point of disembarking, full of joy at the success of so long and difficult an enterprise, when my canoe capsized, after all the danger seemed over. i lost two men and my box of papers, within sight of the first french settlements, which i had left almost two years before. nothing remains to me but my life, and the ardent desire to employ it on any service which you may please to direct."[ ] [sidenote: marquette's mission.] marquette spent the winter and the following summer at the mission of green bay, still suffering from his malady. in the autumn, however, it abated; and he was permitted by his superior to attempt the execution of a plan to which he was devotedly attached,--the founding, at the principal town of the illinois, of a mission to be called the "immaculate conception," a name which he had already given to the river mississippi. he set out on this errand on the twenty-fifth of october, accompanied by two men, named pierre and jacques, one of whom had been with him on his great journey of discovery. a band of pottawattamies and another band of illinois also joined him. the united parties--ten canoes in all--followed the east shore of green bay as far as the inlet then called "sturgeon cove," from the head of which they crossed by a difficult portage through the forest to the shore of lake michigan. november had come. the bright hues of the autumn foliage were changed to rusty brown. the shore was desolate, and the lake was stormy. they were more than a month in coasting its western border, when at length they reached the river chicago, entered it, and ascended about two leagues. marquette's disease had lately returned, and hemorrhage now ensued. he told his two companions that this journey would be his last. in the condition in which he was, it was impossible to go farther. the two men built a log hut by the river, and here they prepared to spend the winter; while marquette, feeble as he was, began the spiritual exercises of saint ignatius, and confessed his two companions twice a week. meadow, marsh, and forest were sheeted with snow, but game was abundant. pierre and jacques killed buffalo and deer, and shot wild turkeys close to their hut. there was an encampment of illinois within two days' journey; and other indians, passing by this well-known thoroughfare, occasionally visited them, treating the exiles kindly, and sometimes bringing them game and indian corn. eighteen leagues distant was the camp of two adventurous french traders,--one of them, a noted _coureur de bois_, nicknamed la taupine;[ ] and the other, a self-styled surgeon. they also visited marquette, and befriended him to the best of their power. [sidenote: the mission at kaskaskia.] urged by a burning desire to lay, before he died, the foundation of his new mission of the immaculate conception, marquette begged his two followers to join him in a _novena_, or nine days' devotion to the virgin. in consequence of this, as he believed, his disease relented; he began to regain strength, and in march was able to resume the journey. on the thirtieth of the month, they left their hut, which had been inundated by a sudden rise of the river, and carried their canoe through mud and water over the portage which led to the des plaines. marquette knew the way, for he had passed by this route on his return from the mississippi. amid the rains of opening spring, they floated down the swollen current of the des plaines, by naked woods and spongy, saturated prairies, till they reached its junction with the main stream of the illinois, which they descended to their destination, the indian town which marquette calls "kaskaskia." here, as we are told, he was received "like an angel from heaven." he passed from wigwam to wigwam, telling the listening crowds of god and the virgin, paradise and hell, angels and demons; and, when he thought their minds prepared, he summoned them all to a grand council. it took place near the town, on the great meadow which lies between the river and the modern village of utica. here five hundred chiefs and old men were seated in a ring; behind stood fifteen hundred youths and warriors, and behind these again all the women and children of the village. marquette, standing in the midst, displayed four large pictures of the virgin; harangued the assembly on the mysteries of the faith, and exhorted them to adopt it. the temper of his auditory met his utmost wishes. they begged him to stay among them and continue his instructions; but his life was fast ebbing away, and it behooved him to depart. [sidenote: burial of marquette.] a few days after easter he left the village, escorted by a crowd of indians, who followed him as far as lake michigan. here he embarked with his two companions. their destination was michilimackinac, and their course lay along the eastern borders of the lake. as, in the freshness of advancing spring, pierre and jacques urged their canoe along that lonely and savage shore, the priest lay with dimmed sight and prostrated strength, communing with the virgin and the angels. on the nineteenth of may, he felt that his hour was near; and, as they passed the mouth of a small river, he requested his companions to land. they complied, built a shed of bark on a rising ground near the bank, and carried thither the dying jesuit. with perfect cheerfulness and composure, he gave directions for his burial, asked their forgiveness for the trouble he had caused them, administered to them the sacrament of penitence, and thanked god that he was permitted to die in the wilderness, a missionary of the faith and a member of the jesuit brotherhood. at night, seeing that they were fatigued, he told them to take rest, saying that he would call them when he felt his time approaching. two or three hours after, they heard a feeble voice, and, hastening to his side, found him at the point of death. he expired calmly, murmuring the names of jesus and mary, with his eyes fixed on the crucifix which one of his followers held before him. they dug a grave beside the hut, and here they buried him according to the directions which he had given them; then, re-embarking, they made their way to michilimackinac, to bear the tidings to the priests at the mission of st. ignace.[ ] in the winter of , a party of kiskakon ottawas were hunting on lake michigan; and when, in the following spring, they prepared to return home, they bethought them, in accordance with an indian custom, of taking with them the bones of marquette, who had been their instructor at the mission of st. esprit. they repaired to the spot, found the grave, opened it, washed and dried the bones and placed them carefully in a box of birch-bark. then, in a procession of thirty canoes, they bore it, singing their funeral songs, to st. ignace of michilimackinac. as they approached, priests, indians, and traders all thronged to the shore. the relics of marquette were received with solemn ceremony, and buried beneath the floor of the little chapel of the mission.[ ] footnotes: [ ] _lettre de frontenac au ministre, nov., ; ibid., nov., _. [ ] see "the jesuits in north america." [ ] "le juillet ( ) les premières disputes de philosophie se font dans la congrégation avec succès. toutes les puissances s'y trouvent; m. l'intendant entr'autres y a argumenté très-bien. m. jolliet et pierre francheville y ont très-bien répondu de toute la logique."--_journal des jésuites._ [ ] nothing was known of joliet till shea investigated his history. ferland, in his _notes sur les registres de notre-dame de québec_; faillon, in his _colonie française en canada_; and margry, in a series of papers in the _journal général de l'instruction publique_,--have thrown much new light on his life. from journals of a voyage made by him at a later period to the coast of labrador, given in substance by margry, he seems to have been a man of close and intelligent observation. his mathematical acquirements appear to have been very considerable. [ ] the doctrine of the immaculate conception, sanctioned in our own time by the pope, was always a favorite tenet of the jesuits; and marquette was especially devoted to it. [ ] the malhoumines, malouminek, oumalouminek, or nation des folles-avoines, of early french writers. the _folle-avoine_, wild oats or "wild rice" (_zizania aquatica_), was their ordinary food, as also of other tribes of this region. [ ] dablon, on his journey with allouez in , was delighted with the aspect of the country and the abundance of game along this river. carver, a century later, speaks to the same effect, saying that the birds rose up in clouds from the wild-rice marshes. [ ] the above traits of the scenery of the wisconsin are taken from personal observation of the river during midsummer. [ ] the indian villages, under the names of peouaria (_peoria_) and moingouena, are represented in marquette's map upon a river corresponding in position with the des moines; though the distance from the wisconsin, as given by him, would indicate a river farther north. [ ] the rock where these figures were painted is immediately above the city of alton. the tradition of their existence remains, though they are entirely effaced by time. in , when i passed the place, a part of the rock had been quarried away, and, instead of marquette's monsters, it bore a huge advertisement of "plantation bitters." some years ago, certain persons, with more zeal than knowledge, proposed to restore the figures, after conceptions of their own; but the idea was abandoned. marquette made a drawing of the two monsters, but it is lost. i have, however, a fac-simile of a map made a few years later, by order of the intendant duchesneau, which is decorated with the portrait of one of them, answering to marquette's description, and probably copied from his drawing. st. cosme, who saw them in , says that they were even then almost effaced. douay and joutel also speak of them,--the former, bitterly hostile to his jesuit contemporaries, charging marquette with exaggeration in his account of them. joutel could see nothing terrifying in their appearance; but he says that his indians made sacrifices to them as they passed. [ ] the missouri is called "pekitanouï" by marquette. it also bears, on early french maps, the names of "rivière des osages," and "rivière des emissourites," or "oumessourits." on marquette's map, a tribe of this name is placed near its banks, just above the osages. judging by the course of the mississippi that it discharged into the gulf of mexico, he conceived the hope of one day reaching the south sea by way of the missouri. [ ] called, on marquette's map, "ouabouskiaou." on some of the earliest maps, it is called "ouabache" (wabash). [ ] this village, called "mitchigamea," is represented on several contemporary maps. [ ] a few years later, the arkansas were all on the west side. [ ] marquette says that it consisted at this time of seventy-four lodges. these, like the huron and iroquois lodges, contained each several fires and several families. this village was about seven miles below the site of the present town of ottawa. [ ] the journal of marquette, first published in an imperfect form by thevenot, in , has been reprinted by mr. lenox, under the direction of mr. shea, from the manuscript preserved in the archives of the canadian jesuits. it will also be found in shea's _discovery and exploration of the mississippi valley_, and the _relations inédites_ of martin. the true map of marquette accompanies all these publications. the map published by thevenot and reproduced by bancroft is not marquette's. the original of this, of which i have a fac-simile, bears the title _carte de la nouvelle découverte que les pères jésuites ont faite en l'année , et continuée par le père jacques marquette, etc._ the return route of the expedition is incorrectly laid down on it. a manuscript map of the jesuit raffeix, preserved in the bibliothèque impériale, is more accurate in this particular. i have also another contemporary manuscript map, indicating the various jesuit stations in the west at this time, and representing the mississippi, as discovered by marquette. for these and other maps, see appendix. [ ] _lettre de frontenac au ministre, québec, nov., ._ [ ] this letter is appended to joliet's smaller map of his discoveries. see appendix. compare _détails sur le voyage de louis joliet_ and _relation de la descouverte de plusieurs pays situez au midi de la nouvelle france, faite en _ (margry, i. ). these are oral accounts given by joliet after the loss of his papers. also, _lettre de joliet, oct. , _ (harrisse). on the seventh of october, , joliet married claire bissot, daughter of a wealthy canadian merchant, engaged in trade with the northern indians. this drew joliet's attention to hudson's bay; and he made a journey thither in , by way of the saguenay. he found three english forts on the bay, occupied by about sixty men, who had also an armed vessel of twelve guns and several small trading-craft. the english held out great inducements to joliet to join them; but he declined, and returned to quebec, where he reported that unless these formidable rivals were dispossessed, the trade of canada would be ruined. in consequence of this report, some of the principal merchants of the colony formed a company to compete with the english in the trade of hudson's bay. in the year of this journey, joliet received a grant of the islands of mignan; and in the following year, , he received another grant, of the great island of anticosti in the lower st. lawrence. in he was established here, with his wife and six servants. he was engaged in fisheries; and, being a skilful navigator and surveyor, he made about this time a chart of the st. lawrence. in , sir william phips, on his way with an english fleet to attack quebec, made a descent on joliet's establishment, burnt his buildings, and took prisoners his wife and his mother-in-law. in joliet explored the coasts of labrador, under the auspices of a company formed for the whale and seal fishery. on his return, frontenac made him royal pilot for the st. lawrence; and at about the same time he received the appointment of hydrographer at quebec. he died, apparently poor, in or , and was buried on one of the islands of mignan. the discovery of the above facts is due in great part to the researches of margry. [ ] pierre moreau, _alias_ la taupine, was afterwards bitterly complained of by the intendant duchesneau, for acting as the governor's agent in illicit trade with the indians. [ ] the contemporary _relation_ tells us that a miracle took place at the burial of marquette. one of the two frenchmen, overcome with grief and colic, bethought him of applying a little earth from the grave to the seat of pain. this at once restored him to health and cheerfulness. [ ] for marquette's death, see the contemporary _relation_, published by shea, lenox, and martin, with the accompanying _lettre et journal_. the river where he died is a small stream in the west of michigan, some distance south of the promontory called the "sleeping bear." it long bore his name, which is now borne by a larger neighboring stream, charlevoix's account of marquette's death is derived from tradition, and is not supported by the contemporary narrative. in , human bones, with fragments of birch-bark, were found buried on the supposed site of the jesuit chapel at point st. ignace. in , the missionary of the algonquins at the lake of two mountains, above montreal, wrote down a tradition of the death of marquette, from the lips of an old indian woman, born in , at michilimackinac. her ancestress had been baptized by the subject of the story. the tradition has a resemblance to that related as fact by charlevoix. the old squaw said that the jesuit was returning, very ill, to michilimackinac, when a storm forced him and his two men to land near a little river. here he told them that he should die, and directed them to ring a bell over his grave and plant a cross. they all remained four days at the spot; and, though without food, the men felt no hunger. on the night of the fourth day he died, and the men buried him as he had directed. on waking in the morning, they saw a sack of indian corn, a quantity of bacon, and some biscuit, miraculously sent to them, in accordance with the promise of marquette, who had told them that they should have food enough for their journey to michilimackinac. at the same instant, the stream began to rise, and in a few moments encircled the grave of the jesuit, which formed, thenceforth, an islet in the waters. the tradition adds, that an indian battle afterwards took place on the banks of this stream, between christians and infidels; and that the former gained the victory, in consequence of invoking the name of marquette. this story bears the attestation of the priest of the two mountains that it is a literal translation of the tradition, as recounted by the old woman. it has been asserted that the illinois country was visited by two priests, some time before the visit of marquette. this assertion was first made by m. noiseux, late grand vicar of quebec, who gives no authority for it. not the slightest indication of any such visit appears in any contemporary document or map, thus far discovered. the contemporary writers, down to the time of marquette and la salle, all speak of the illinois as an unknown country. the entire groundlessness of noiseux's assertion is shown by shea, in a paper in the "weekly herald," of new york, april , . chapter vi. - . la salle and frontenac. objects of la salle.--frontenac favors him.--projects of frontenac.--cataraqui.--frontenac on lake ontario.--fort frontenac.--la salle and fénelon.--success of la salle: his enemies. we turn from the humble marquette, thanking god with his last breath that he died for his order and his faith; and by our side stands the masculine form of cavelier de la salle. prodigious was the contrast between the two discoverers: the one, with clasped hands and upturned eyes, seems a figure evoked from some dim legend of mediæval saintship; the other, with feet firm planted on the hard earth, breathes the self-relying energies of modern practical enterprise. nevertheless, la salle's enemies called him a visionary. his projects perplexed and startled them. at first, they ridiculed him; and then, as step by step he advanced towards his purpose, they denounced and maligned him. what was this purpose? it was not of sudden growth, but developed as years went on. la salle at la chine dreamed of a western passage to china, and nursed vague schemes of western discovery. then, when his earlier journeyings revealed to him the valley of the ohio and the fertile plains of illinois, his imagination took wing over the boundless prairies and forests drained by the great river of the west. his ambition had found its field. he would leave barren and frozen canada behind, and lead france and civilization into the valley of the mississippi. neither the english nor the jesuits should conquer that rich domain: the one must rest content with the country east of the alleghanies, and the other with the forests, savages, and beaver-skins of the northern lakes. it was for him to call into light the latent riches of the great west. but the way to his land of promise was rough and long: it lay through canada, filled with hostile traders and hostile priests, and barred by ice for half the year. the difficulty was soon solved. la salle became convinced that the mississippi flowed, not into the pacific or the gulf of california, but into the gulf of mexico. by a fortified post at its mouth, he could guard it against both english and spaniards, and secure for the trade of the interior an access and an outlet under his own control, and open at every season. of this trade, the hides of the buffalo would at first form the staple, and along with furs would reward the enterprise till other resources should be developed. such were the vast projects that unfolded themselves in the mind of la salle. canada must needs be, at the outset, his base of action, and without the support of its authorities he could do nothing. this support he found. from the moment when count frontenac assumed the government of the colony, he seems to have looked with favor on the young discoverer. there were points of likeness between the two men. both were ardent, bold, and enterprising. the irascible and fiery pride of the noble found its match in the reserved and seemingly cold pride of the ambitious burgher. each could comprehend the other; and they had, moreover, strong prejudices and dislikes in common. an understanding, not to say an alliance, soon grew up between them. [sidenote: projects of frontenac.] frontenac had come to canada a ruined man. he was ostentatious, lavish, and in no way disposed to let slip an opportunity of mending his fortune. he presently thought that he had found a plan by which he could serve both the colony and himself. his predecessor, courcelle, had urged upon the king the expediency of building a fort on lake ontario, in order to hold the iroquois in check and intercept the trade which the tribes of the upper lakes had begun to carry on with the dutch and english of new york. thus a stream of wealth would be turned into canada, which would otherwise enrich her enemies. here, to all appearance, was a great public good, and from the military point of view it was so in fact; but it was clear that the trade thus secured might be made to profit, not the colony at large, but those alone who had control of the fort, which would then become the instrument of a monopoly. this the governor understood; and, without doubt, he meant that the projected establishment should pay him tribute. how far he and la salle were acting in concurrence at this time, it is not easy to say; but frontenac often took counsel of the explorer, who, on his part, saw in the design a possible first step towards the accomplishment of his own far-reaching schemes. [sidenote: expedition of frontenac.] such of the canadian merchants as were not in the governor's confidence looked on his plan with extreme distrust. frontenac, therefore, thought it expedient "to make use," as he expresses it, "of address." he gave out merely that he intended to make a tour through the upper parts of the colony with an armed force, in order to inspire the indians with respect, and secure a solid peace. he had neither troops, money, munitions, nor means of transportation; yet there was no time to lose, for, should he delay the execution of his plan, it might be countermanded by the king. his only resource, therefore, was in a prompt and hardy exertion of the royal authority; and he issued an order requiring the inhabitants of quebec, montreal, three rivers, and other settlements to furnish him, at their own cost, as soon as the spring sowing should be over, with a certain number of armed men, besides the requisite canoes. at the same time, he invited the officers settled in the country to join the expedition,--an invitation which, anxious as they were to gain his good graces, few of them cared to decline. regardless of murmurs and discontent, he pushed his preparation vigorously, and on the third of june left quebec with his guard, his staff, a part of the garrison of the castle of st. louis, and a number of volunteers. he had already sent to la salle, who was then at montreal, directing him to repair to onondaga, the political centre of the iroquois, and invite their sachems to meet the governor in council at the bay of quinté on the north of lake ontario. la salle had set out on his mission, but first sent frontenac a map, which convinced him that the best site for his proposed fort was the mouth of the cataraqui, where kingston now stands. another messenger was accordingly despatched, to change the rendezvous to this point. meanwhile, the governor proceeded at his leisure towards montreal, stopping by the way to visit the officers settled along the bank, who, eager to pay their homage to the newly risen sun, received him with a hospitality which under the roof of a log hut was sometimes graced by the polished courtesies of the salon and the boudoir. reaching montreal, which he had never before seen, he gazed, we may suppose, with some interest at the long row of humble dwellings which lined the bank, the massive buildings of the seminary, and the spire of the church predominant over all. it was a rude scene, but the greeting that awaited him savored nothing of the rough simplicity of the wilderness. perrot, the local governor, was on the shore with his soldiers and the inhabitants, drawn up under arms and firing a salute to welcome the representative of the king. frontenac was compelled to listen to a long harangue from the judge of the place, followed by another from the syndic. then there was a solemn procession to the church, where he was forced to undergo a third effort of oratory from one of the priests. _te deum_ followed, in thanks for his arrival; and then he took refuge in the fort. here he remained thirteen days, busied with his preparations, organizing the militia, soothing their mutual jealousies, and settling knotty questions of rank and precedence. during this time, every means, as he declares, was used to prevent him from proceeding; and among other devices a rumor was set on foot that a dutch fleet, having just captured boston, was on its way to attack quebec.[ ] [sidenote: frontenac's journey.] having sent men, canoes, and baggage, by land, to la salle's old settlement of la chine, frontenac himself followed on the twenty-eighth of june. including indians from the missions, he now had with him about four hundred men and a hundred and twenty canoes, besides two large flat-boats, which he caused to be painted in red and blue, with strange devices, intended to dazzle the iroquois by a display of unwonted splendor. now their hard task began. shouldering canoes through the forest, dragging the flat-boats along the shore, working like beavers,--sometimes in water to the knees, sometimes to the armpits, their feet cut by the sharp stones, and they themselves well-nigh swept down by the furious current,--they fought their way upward against the chain of mighty rapids that break the navigation of the st. lawrence. the indians were of the greatest service. frontenac, like la salle, showed from the first a special faculty of managing them; for his keen, incisive spirit was exactly to their liking, and they worked for him as they would have worked for no man else. as they approached the long saut, rain fell in torrents; and the governor, without his cloak, and drenched to the skin, directed in person the amphibious toil of his followers. once, it is said, he lay awake all night, in his anxiety lest the biscuit should be wet, which would have ruined the expedition. no such mischance took place, and at length the last rapid was passed, and smooth water awaited them to their journey's end. soon they reached the thousand islands, and their light flotilla glided in long file among those watery labyrinths, by rocky islets, where some lonely pine towered like a mast against the sky; by sun-scorched crags, where the brown lichens crisped in the parching glare; by deep dells, shady and cool, rich in rank ferns, and spongy, dark-green mosses; by still coves, where the water-lilies lay like snow-flakes on their broad, flat leaves,--till at length they neared their goal, and the glistening bosom of lake ontario opened on their sight. frontenac, to impose respect on the iroquois, now set his canoes in order of battle. four divisions formed the first line, then came the two flat-boats; he himself, with his guards, his staff, and the gentlemen volunteers, followed, with the canoes of three rivers on his right, and those of the indians on his left, while two remaining divisions formed a rear line. thus, with measured paddles, they advanced over the still lake, till they saw a canoe approaching to meet them. it bore several iroquois chiefs, who told them that the dignitaries of their nation awaited them at cataraqui, and offered to guide them to the spot. they entered the wide mouth of the river, and passed along the shore, now covered by the quiet little city of kingston, till they reached the point at present occupied by the barracks, at the western end of cataraqui bridge. here they stranded their canoes and disembarked. baggage was landed, fires lighted, tents pitched, and guards set. close at hand, under the lee of the forest, were the camping sheds of the iroquois, who had come to the rendezvous in considerable numbers. [sidenote: frontenac at cataraqui.] at daybreak of the next morning, the thirteenth of july, the drums beat, and the whole party were drawn up under arms. a double line of men extended from the front of frontenac's tent to the indian camp; and, through the lane thus formed, the savage deputies, sixty in number, advanced to the place of council. they could not hide their admiration at the martial array of the french, many of whom were old soldiers of the regiment of carignan; and when they reached the tent they ejaculated their astonishment at the uniforms of the governor's guard who surrounded it. here the ground had been carpeted with the sails of the flat-boats, on which the deputies squatted themselves in a ring and smoked their pipes for a time with their usual air of deliberate gravity; while frontenac, who sat surrounded by his officers, had full leisure to contemplate the formidable adversaries whose mettle was hereafter to put his own to so severe a test. a chief named garakontié, a noted friend of the french, at length opened the council, in behalf of all the five iroquois nations, with expressions of great respect and deference towards "onontio;" that is to say, the governor of canada. whereupon frontenac, whose native arrogance where indians were concerned always took a form which imposed respect without exciting anger, replied in the following strain:-- "children! mohawks, oneidas, onondagas, cayugas, and senecas. i am glad to see you here, where i have had a fire lighted for you to smoke by, and for me to talk to you. you have done well, my children, to obey the command of your father. take courage: you will hear his word, which is full of peace and tenderness. for do not think that i have come for war. my mind is full of peace, and she walks by my side. courage, then, children, and take rest." with that, he gave them six fathoms of tobacco, reiterated his assurances of friendship, promised that he would be a kind father so long as they should be obedient children, regretted that he was forced to speak through an interpreter, and ended with a gift of guns to the men, and prunes and raisins to their wives and children. here closed this preliminary meeting, the great council being postponed to another day. during the meeting, raudin, frontenac's engineer, was tracing out the lines of a fort, after a predetermined plan; and the whole party, under the direction of their officers, now set themselves to construct it. some cut down trees, some dug the trenches, some hewed the palisades; and with such order and alacrity was the work urged on, that the indians were lost in astonishment. meanwhile, frontenac spared no pains to make friends of the chiefs, some of whom he had constantly at his table. he fondled the iroquois children, and gave them bread and sweetmeats, and in the evening feasted the squaws to make them dance. the indians were delighted with these attentions, and conceived a high opinion of the new onontio. [sidenote: frontenac and the indians.] on the seventeenth, when the construction of the fort was well advanced, frontenac called the chiefs to a grand council, which was held with all possible state and ceremony. his dealing with the indians on this and other occasions was truly admirable. unacquainted as he was with them, he seems to have had an instinctive perception of the treatment they required. his predecessors had never ventured to address the iroquois as "children," but had always styled them "brothers;" and yet the assumption of paternal authority on the part of frontenac was not only taken in good part, but was received with apparent gratitude. the martial nature of the man, his clear, decisive speech, and his frank and downright manner, backed as they were by a display of force which in their eyes was formidable, struck them with admiration, and gave tenfold effect to his words of kindness. they thanked him for that which from another they would not have endured. frontenac began by again expressing his satisfaction that they had obeyed the commands of their father, and come to cataraqui to hear what he had to say. then he exhorted them to embrace christianity; and on this theme he dwelt at length, in words excellently adapted to produce the desired effect,--words which it would be most superfluous to tax as insincere, though doubtless they lost nothing in emphasis because in this instance conscience and policy aimed alike. then, changing his tone, he pointed to his officers, his guard, the long files of the militia, and the two flat-boats, mounted with cannon, which lay in the river near by. "if," he said, "your father can come so far, with so great a force, through such dangerous rapids, merely to make you a visit of pleasure and friendship, what would he do, if you should awaken his anger, and make it necessary for him to punish his disobedient children? he is the arbiter of peace and war. beware how you offend him!" and he warned them not to molest the indian allies of the french, telling them, sharply, that he would chastise them for the least infraction of the peace. from threats he passed to blandishments, and urged them to confide in his paternal kindness, saying that, in proof of his affection, he was building a store-house at cataraqui, where they could be supplied with all the goods they needed, without the necessity of a long and dangerous journey. he warned them against listening to bad men, who might seek to delude them by misrepresentations and falsehoods; and he urged them to give heed to none but "men of character, like the sieur de la salle." he expressed a hope that they would suffer their children to learn french from the missionaries, in order that they and his nephews--meaning the french colonists--might become one people; and he concluded by requesting them to give him a number of their children to be educated in the french manner, at quebec. [sidenote: treaty with the indians.] this speech, every clause of which was reinforced by abundant presents, was extremely well received; though one speaker reminded him that he had forgotten one important point, inasmuch as he had not told them at what prices they could obtain goods at cataraqui. frontenac evaded a precise answer, but promised them that the goods should be as cheap as possible, in view of the great difficulty of transportation. as to the request concerning their children, they said that they could not accede to it till they had talked the matter over in their villages; but it is a striking proof of the influence which frontenac had gained over them, that, in the following year, they actually sent several of their children to quebec to be educated,--the girls among the ursulines, and the boys in the household of the governor. three days after the council, the iroquois set out on their return; and as the palisades of the fort were now finished, and the barracks nearly so, frontenac began to send his party homeward by detachments. he himself was detained for a time by the arrival of another band of iroquois, from the villages on the north side of lake ontario. he repeated to them the speech he had made to the others; and, this final meeting over, he embarked with his guard, leaving a sufficient number to hold the fort, which was to be provisioned for a year by means of a convoy then on its way up the river. passing the rapids safely, he reached montreal on the first of august. his enterprise had been a complete success. he had gained every point, and, in spite of the dangerous navigation, had not lost a single canoe. thanks to the enforced and gratuitous assistance of the inhabitants, the whole had cost the king only about ten thousand francs, which frontenac had advanced on his own credit. though in a commercial point of view the new establishment was of very questionable benefit to the colony at large, the governor had, nevertheless, conferred an inestimable blessing on all canada by the assurance he had gained of a long respite from the fearful scourge of iroquois hostility. "assuredly," he writes, "i may boast of having impressed them at once with respect, fear, and good-will."[ ] he adds that the fort at cataraqui, with the aid of a vessel now building, will command lake ontario, keep the peace with the iroquois, and cut off the trade with the english; and he proceeds to say that by another fort at the mouth of the niagara, and another vessel on lake erie, we, the french, can command all the upper lakes. this plan was an essential link in the schemes of la salle; and we shall soon find him employed in executing it. a curious incident occurred soon after the building of the fort on lake ontario. frontenac, on his way back, quarrelled with perrot, the governor of montreal, whom, in view of his speculations in the fur-trade, he seems to have regarded as a rival in business; but who, by his folly and arrogance, would have justified any reasonable measure of severity. frontenac, however, was not reasonable. he arrested perrot, threw him into prison, and set up a man of his own as governor in his place; and as the judge of montreal was not in his interest, he removed him, and substituted another on whom he could rely. thus for a time he had montreal well in hand. the priests of the seminary, seigniors of the island, regarded these arbitrary proceedings with extreme uneasiness. they claimed the right of nominating their own governor; and perrot, though he held a commission from the king, owed his place to their appointment. true, he had set them at nought, and proved a veritable king stork; yet nevertheless they regarded his removal as an infringement of their rights. during the quarrel with perrot, la salle chanced to be at montreal, lodged in the house of jacques le ber, who, though one of the principal merchants and most influential inhabitants of the settlement, was accustomed to sell goods across his counter in person to white men and indians, his wife taking his place when he was absent. such were the primitive manners of the secluded little colony. le ber, at this time, was in the interest of frontenac and la salle; though he afterwards became one of their most determined opponents. amid the excitement and discussion occasioned by perrot's arrest, la salle declared himself an adherent of the governor, and warned all persons against speaking ill of him in his hearing. [sidenote: abbÉ fÉnelon.] the abbé fénelon, already mentioned as half-brother to the famous archbishop, had attempted to mediate between frontenac and perrot, and to this end had made a journey to quebec on the ice, in midwinter. being of an ardent temperament, and more courageous than prudent, he had spoken somewhat indiscreetly, and had been very roughly treated by the stormy and imperious count. he returned to montreal greatly excited, and not without cause. it fell to his lot to preach the easter sermon. the service was held in the little church of the hôtel-dieu, which was crowded to the porch, all the chief persons of the settlement being present. the curé of the parish, whose name also was perrot, said high mass, assisted by la salle's brother, cavelier, and two other priests. then fénelon mounted the pulpit. certain passages of his sermon were obviously levelled against frontenac. speaking of the duties of those clothed with temporal authority, he said that the magistrate, inspired with the spirit of christ, was as ready to pardon offences against himself as to punish those against his prince; that he was full of respect for the ministers of the altar, and never maltreated them when they attempted to reconcile enemies and restore peace; that he never made favorites of those who flattered him, nor under specious pretexts oppressed other persons in authority who opposed his enterprises; that he used his power to serve his king, and not to his own advantage; that he remained content with his salary, without disturbing the commerce of the country, or abusing those who refused him a share in their profits; and that he never troubled the people by inordinate and unjust levies of men and material, using the name of his prince as a cover to his own designs.[ ] [sidenote: la salle and fÉnelon.] la salle sat near the door; but as the preacher proceeded he suddenly rose to his feet in such a manner as to attract the notice of the congregation. as they turned their heads, he signed to the principal persons among them, and by his angry looks and gesticulation called their attention to the words of fénelon. then meeting the eye of the curé, who sat beside the altar, he made the same signs to him, to which the curé replied by a deprecating shrug of the shoulders. fénelon changed color, but continued his sermon.[ ] this indecent proceeding of la salle, and the zeal with which throughout the quarrel he took the part of the governor, did not go unrewarded. henceforth, frontenac was more than ever his friend; and this plainly appeared in the disposition made, through his influence, of the new fort on lake ontario. attempts had been made to induce the king to have it demolished; but it was resolved at last that, being built, it should be allowed to stand; and, after long delay, a final arrangement was made for its maintenance, in the manner following: in the autumn of , la salle went to france, with letters of strong recommendation from frontenac.[ ] he was well received at court; and he made two petitions to the king,--the one for a patent of nobility, in consideration of his services as an explorer; and the other for a grant in seigniory of fort frontenac, for so he called the new post, in honor of his patron. on his part, he offered to pay back the ten thousand francs which the fort had cost the king; to maintain it at his own charge, with a garrison equal to that of montreal, besides fifteen or twenty laborers; to form a french colony around it; to build a church, whenever the number of inhabitants should reach one hundred; and, meanwhile, to support one or more récollet friars; and, finally, to form a settlement of domesticated indians in the neighborhood. his offers were accepted. he was raised to the rank of the untitled nobles; received a grant of the fort and lands adjacent, to the extent of four leagues in front and half a league in depth, besides the neighboring islands; and was invested with the government of the fort and settlement, subject to the orders of the governor-general.[ ] la salle returned to canada, proprietor of a seigniory which, all things considered, was one of the most valuable in the colony. his friends and his family, rejoicing in his good fortune and not unwilling to share it, made him large advances of money, enabling him to pay the stipulated sum to the king, to rebuild the fort in stone, maintain soldiers and laborers, and procure in part, at least, the necessary outfit. had la salle been a mere merchant, he was in a fair way to make a fortune, for he was in a position to control the better part of the canadian fur-trade. but he was not a mere merchant; and no commercial profit could content his ambition. those may believe, who will, that frontenac did not expect a share in the profits of the new post. that he did expect it, there is positive evidence; for a deposition is extant, taken at the instance of his enemy the intendant duchesneau, in which three witnesses attest that the governor, la salle, his lieutenant la forest, and one boisseau, had formed a partnership to carry on the trade of fort frontenac. [sidenote: enemies of la salle.] no sooner was la salle installed in his new post than the merchants of canada joined hands to oppose him. le ber, once his friend, became his bitter enemy; for he himself had hoped to share the monopoly of fort frontenac, of which he and one bazire had at first been placed provisionally in control, and from which he now saw himself ejected. la chesnaye, le moyne, and others of more or less influence took part in the league, which, in fact, embraced all the traders in the colony except the few joined with frontenac and la salle. duchesneau, intendant of the colony, aided the malcontents. as time went on, their bitterness grew more bitter; and when at last it was seen that, not satisfied with the monopoly of fort frontenac, la salle aimed at the control of the valleys of the ohio and the mississippi, and the usufruct of half a continent, the ire of his opponents redoubled, and canada became for him a nest of hornets, buzzing in wrath and watching the moment to sting. but there was another element of opposition, less noisy, but not less formidable; and this arose from the jesuits. frontenac hated them; and they, under befitting forms of duty and courtesy, paid him back in the same coin. having no love for the governor, they would naturally have little for his partisan and _protégé_; but their opposition had another and a deeper root, for the plans of the daring young schemer jarred with their own. [sidenote: purposes of the jesuits.] we have seen the canadian jesuits in the early apostolic days of their mission, when the flame of their zeal, fed by an ardent hope, burned bright and high. this hope was doomed to disappointment. their avowed purpose of building another paraguay on the borders of the great lakes[ ] was never accomplished, and their missions and their converts were swept away in an avalanche of ruin. still, they would not despair. from the lakes they turned their eyes to the valley of the mississippi, in the hope to see it one day the seat of their new empire of the faith. but what did this new paraguay mean? it meant a little nation of converted and domesticated savages, docile as children, under the paternal and absolute rule of jesuit fathers, and trained by them in industrial pursuits, the results of which were to inure, not to the profit of the producers, but to the building of churches, the founding of colleges, the establishment of warehouses and magazines, and the construction of works of defence,--all controlled by jesuits, and forming a part of the vast possessions of the order. such was the old paraguay;[ ] and such, we may suppose, would have been the new, had the plans of those who designed it been realized. i have said that since the middle of the century the religious exaltation of the early missions had sensibly declined. in the nature of things, that grand enthusiasm was too intense and fervent to be long sustained. but the vital force of jesuitism had suffered no diminution. that marvellous _esprit de corps_, that extinction of self and absorption of the individual in the order which has marked the jesuits from their first existence as a body, was no whit changed or lessened,--a principle, which, though different, was no less strong than the self-devoted patriotism of sparta or the early roman republic. the jesuits were no longer supreme in canada; or, in other words, canada was no longer simply a mission. it had become a colony. temporal interests and the civil power were constantly gaining ground; and the disciples of loyola felt that relatively, if not absolutely, they were losing it. they struggled vigorously to maintain the ascendency of their order, or, as they would have expressed it, the ascendency of religion; but in the older and more settled parts of the colony it was clear that the day of their undivided rule was past. therefore, they looked with redoubled solicitude to their missions in the west. they had been among its first explorers; and they hoped that here the catholic faith, as represented by jesuits, might reign with undisputed sway. in paraguay, it was their constant aim to exclude white men from their missions. it was the same in north america. they dreaded fur-traders, partly because they interfered with their teachings and perverted their converts, and partly for other reasons. but la salle was a fur-trader, and far worse than a fur-trader: he aimed at occupation, fortification, and settlement. the scope and vigor of his enterprises, and the powerful influence that aided them, made him a stumbling-block in their path. he was their most dangerous rival for the control of the west, and from first to last they set themselves against him. [sidenote: spirit of la salle.] what manner of man was he who could conceive designs so vast and defy enmities so many and so powerful? and in what spirit did he embrace these designs? we will look hereafter for an answer. footnotes: [ ] _lettre de frontenac à colbert, nov., ._ this rumor, it appears, originated with the jesuit dablon. _journal du voyage du comte de frontenac au lac ontario_. the jesuits were greatly opposed to the establishment of forts and trading-posts in the upper country, for reasons that will appear hereafter. [ ] _lettre de frontenac au ministre, nov., ._ [ ] faillon, _colonie française_, iii. , and manuscript authorities there cited. i have examined the principal of these. faillon himself is a priest of st. sulpice. compare h. verreau, _les deux abbés de fénelon_, chap. vii. [ ] _information faicte par nous, charles le tardieu, sieur de tilly, et nicolas dupont, etc., etc., contre le sr. abbé de fénelon._ tilly and dupont were sent by frontenac to inquire into the affair. among the deponents is la salle himself. [ ] in his despatch to the minister colbert, of the fourteenth of november, , frontenac speaks of la salle as follows: "i cannot help, monseigneur, recommending to you the sieur de la salle, who is about to go to france, and who is a man of intelligence and ability, more capable than anybody else i know here to accomplish every kind of enterprise and discovery which may be intrusted to him, as he has the most perfect knowledge of the state of the country, as you will see, if you are disposed to give him a few moments of audience." [ ] _mémoire pour l'entretien du fort frontenac, par le sr. de la salle, . petition du sr. de la salle au roi. lettres patentes de concession, du fort de frontenac et terres adjacentes au profit du sr. de la salle; données à compiègne le mai, . arrêt qui accepte les offres faites par robert cavelier sr. de la salle; à compiègne le mai, . lettres de noblesse pour le sr. cavelier de la salle; données à compiègne le mai, . papiers de famille. mémoire au roi._ [ ] this purpose is several times indicated in the _relations_. for an instance, see "the jesuits in north america," . [ ] compare charlevoix, _histoire de paraguay_, with robertson, _letters on paraguay_. chapter vii. . party strife. la salle and his reporter.--jesuit ascendency.--the missions and the fur-trade.--female inquisitors.--plots against la salle: his brother the priest.--intrigues of the jesuits.--la salle poisoned: he exculpates the jesuits.--renewed intrigues. [sidenote: la salle's memoir.] one of the most curious monuments of la salle's time is a long memoir, written by a person who made his acquaintance at paris in the summer of , when, as we shall soon see, he had returned to france in prosecution of his plans. the writer knew the sulpitian galinée,[ ] who, as he says, had a very high opinion of la salle; and he was also in close relations with the discoverer's patron, the prince de conti.[ ] he says that he had ten or twelve interviews with la salle; and, becoming interested in him and in that which he communicated, he wrote down the substance of his conversation. the paper is divided into two parts: the first, called "mémoire sur mr. de la salle," is devoted to the state of affairs in canada, and chiefly to the jesuits; the second, entitled "histoire de mr. de la salle," is an account of the discoverer's life, or as much of it as the writer had learned from him.[ ] both parts bear throughout the internal evidence of being what they profess to be; but they embody the statements of a man of intense partisan feeling, transmitted through the mind of another person in sympathy with him, and evidently sharing his prepossessions. in one respect, however, the paper is of unquestionable historical value; for it gives us a vivid and not an exaggerated picture of the bitter strife of parties which then raged in canada, and which was destined to tax to the utmost the vast energy and fortitude of la salle. at times, the memoir is fully sustained by contemporary evidence; but often, again, it rests on its own unsupported authority. i give an abstract of its statements as i find them. the following is the writer's account of la salle: "all those among my friends who have seen him find him a man of great intelligence and sense. he rarely speaks of any subject except when questioned about it, and his words are very few and very precise. he distinguishes perfectly between that which he knows with certainly and that which he knows with some mingling of doubt. when he does not know, he does not hesitate to avow it; and though i have heard him say the same thing more than five or six times, when persons were present who had not heard it before, he always said it in the same manner. in short, i never heard anybody speak whose words carried with them more marks of truth."[ ] [sidenote: jesuit ascendency.] after mentioning that he is thirty-three or thirty-four years old, and that he has been twelve years in america, the memoir declares that he made the following statements: that the jesuits are masters at quebec; that the bishop is their creature, and does nothing but in concert with them;[ ] that he is not well inclined towards the récollets,[ ] who have little credit, but who are protected by frontenac; that in canada the jesuits think everybody an enemy to religion who is an enemy to them; that, though they refused absolution to all who sold brandy to the indians, they sold it themselves, and that he, la salle, had himself detected them in it;[ ] that the bishop laughs at the orders of the king when they do not agree with the wishes of the jesuits; that the jesuits dismissed one of their servants named robert, because he told of their trade in brandy; that albanel,[ ] in particular, carried on a great fur-trade, and that the jesuits have built their college in part from the profits of this kind of traffic; that they admitted that they carried on a trade, but denied that they gained so much by it as was commonly supposed.[ ] [sidenote: female inquisitors.] the memoir proceeds to affirm that they trade largely with the sioux at ste. marie, and with other tribes at michilimackinac, and that they are masters of the trade of that region, where the forts are in their possession.[ ] an indian said, in full council, at quebec, that he had prayed and been a christian as long as the jesuits would stay and teach him, but since no more beaver were left in his country, the missionaries were gone also. the jesuits, pursues the memoir, will have no priests but themselves in their missions, and call them all jansenists, not excepting the priests of st. sulpice. the bishop is next accused of harshness and intolerance, as well as of growing rich by tithes, and even by trade, in which it is affirmed he has a covert interest.[ ] it is added that there exists in quebec, under the auspices of the jesuits, an association called the sainte famille, of which madame bourdon[ ] is superior. they meet in the cathedral every thursday, with closed doors, where they relate to each other--as they are bound by a vow to do--all they have learned, whether good or evil, concerning other people, during the week. it is a sort of female inquisition, for the benefit of the jesuits, the secrets of whose friends, it is said, are kept, while no such discretion is observed with regard to persons not of their party.[ ] here follow a series of statements which it is needless to repeat, as they do not concern la salle. they relate to abuse of the confessional, hostility to other priests, hostility to civil authorities, and over-hasty baptisms, in regard to which la salle is reported to have made a comparison, unfavorable to the jesuits, between them and the récollets and sulpitians. [sidenote: plots against la salle.] we now come to the second part of the memoir, entitled "history of monsieur de la salle." after stating that he left france at the age of twenty-one or twenty-two, with the purpose of attempting some new discovery, it makes the statements repeated in a former chapter, concerning his discovery of the ohio, the illinois, and possibly the mississippi. it then mentions the building of fort frontenac, and says that one object of it was to prevent the jesuits from becoming undisputed masters of the fur-trade.[ ] three years ago, it pursues, la salle came to france, and obtained a grant of the fort; and it proceeds to give examples of the means used by the party opposed to him to injure his good name and bring him within reach of the law. once, when he was at quebec, the farmer of the king's revenue, one of the richest men in the place, was extremely urgent in his proffers of hospitality, and at length, though he knew la salle but slightly, persuaded him to lodge in his house. he had been here but a few days when his host's wife began to enact the part of the wife of potiphar, and this with so much vivacity that on one occasion la salle was forced to take an abrupt leave, in order to avoid an infringement of the laws of hospitality. as he opened the door, he found the husband on the watch, and saw that it was a plot to entrap him.[ ] another attack, of a different character, though in the same direction, was soon after made. the remittances which la salle received from the various members and connections of his family were sent through the hands of his brother, abbé cavelier, from whom his enemies were, therefore, very eager to alienate him. to this end, a report was made to reach the priest's ears that la salle had seduced a young woman, with whom he was living in an open and scandalous manner at fort frontenac. the effect of this device exceeded the wishes of its contrivers; for the priest, aghast at what he had heard, set out for the fort, to administer his fraternal rebuke, but on arriving, in place of the expected abomination, found his brother, assisted by two récollet friars, ruling with edifying propriety over a most exemplary household. thus far the memoir. from passages in some of la salle's letters, it may be gathered that abbé cavelier gave him at times no little annoyance. in his double character of priest and elder brother, he seems to have constituted himself the counsellor, monitor, and guide of a man who, though many years his junior, was in all respects incomparably superior to him, as the sequel will show. this must have been almost insufferable to a nature like that of la salle, who, nevertheless, was forced to arm himself with patience, since his brother held the purse-strings. on one occasion his forbearance was put to a severe proof, when, wishing to marry a damsel of good connections in the colony, abbé cavelier saw fit for some reason to interfere, and prevented the alliance.[ ] [sidenote: intrigues of the jesuits.] to resume the memoir. it declares that the jesuits procured an ordinance from the supreme council prohibiting traders from going into the indian country, in order that they, the jesuits, being already established there in their missions, might carry on trade without competition. but la salle induced a good number of the iroquois to settle around his fort; thus bringing the trade to his own door, without breaking the ordinance. these iroquois, he is further reported to have said, were very fond of him, and aided him in rebuilding the fort with cut stone. the jesuits told the iroquois on the south side of the lake, where they were established as missionaries, that la salle was strengthening his defences with the view of making war on them. they and the intendant, who was their creature, endeavored to embroil the iroquois with the french in order to ruin la salle; writing to him at the same time that he was the bulwark of the country, and that he ought to be always on his guard. they also tried to persuade frontenac that it was necessary to raise men and prepare for war. la salle suspected them; and seeing that the iroquois, in consequence of their intrigues, were in an excited state, he induced the governor to come to fort frontenac to pacify them. he accordingly did so; and a council was held, which ended in a complete restoration of confidence on the part of the iroquois.[ ] at this council they accused the two jesuits, bruyas and pierron,[ ] of spreading reports that the french were preparing to attack them. la salle thought that the object of the intrigue was to make the iroquois jealous of him, and engage frontenac in expenses which would offend the king. after la salle and the governor had lost credit by the rupture, the jesuits would come forward as pacificators, in the full assurance that they could restore quiet, and appear in the attitude of saviors of the colony. la salle, pursues his reporter, went on to say that about this time a quantity of hemlock and verdigris was given him in a salad; and that the guilty person was a man in his employ named nicolas perrot, otherwise called jolycoeur, who confessed the crime.[ ] the memoir adds that la salle, who recovered from the effects of the poison, wholly exculpates the jesuits. this attempt, which was not, as we shall see, the only one of the kind made against la salle, is alluded to by him in a letter to a friend at paris, written in canada when he was on the point of departure on his great expedition to descend the mississippi. the following is an extract from it: [sidenote: la salle exculpates the jesuits.] "i hope to give myself the honor of sending you a more particular account of this enterprise when it shall have had the success which i hope for it; but i have need of a strong protection for its support. it traverses the commercial operations of certain persons, who will find it hard to endure it. they intended to make a new paraguay in these parts, and the route which i close against them gave them facilities for an advantageous correspondence with mexico. this check will infallibly be a mortification to them; and you know how they deal with whatever opposes them. _nevertheless, i am bound to render them the justice to say that the poison which was given me was not at all of their instigation._ the person who was conscious of the guilt, believing that i was their enemy because he saw that our sentiments were opposed, thought to exculpate himself by accusing them, and i confess that at the time i was not sorry to have this indication of their ill-will; but having afterwards carefully examined the affair, i clearly discovered the falsity of the accusation which this rascal had made against them. i nevertheless pardoned him, in order not to give notoriety to the affair; as the mere suspicion might sully their reputation, to which i should scrupulously avoid doing the slightest injury unless i thought it necessary to the good of the public, and unless the fact were fully proved. therefore, monsieur, if anybody shared the suspicion which i felt, oblige me by undeceiving him."[ ] this letter, so honorable to la salle, explains the statement made in the memoir, that, notwithstanding his grounds of complaint against the jesuits, he continued to live on terms of courtesy with them, entertained them at his fort, and occasionally corresponded with them. the writer asserts, however, that they intrigued with his men to induce them to desert,--employing for this purpose a young man named deslauriers, whom they sent to him with letters of recommendation. la salle took him into his service; but he soon after escaped, with several other men, and took refuge in the jesuit missions.[ ] the object of the intrigue is said to have been the reduction of la salle's garrison to a number less than that which he was bound to maintain, thus exposing him to a forfeiture of his title of possession. [sidenote: renewed intrigues.] he is also stated to have declared that louis joliet was an impostor,[ ] and a _donné_ of the jesuits,--that is, a man who worked for them without pay; and, further, that when he, la salle, came to court to ask for privileges enabling him to pursue his discoveries, the jesuits represented in advance to the minister colbert that his head was turned, and that he was fit for nothing but a mad-house. it was only by the aid of influential friends that he was at length enabled to gain an audience. here ends this remarkable memoir, which, criticise it as we may, does not exaggerate the jealousies and enmities that beset the path of the discoverer. footnotes: [ ] _ante_, p. . [ ] louis-armand de bourbon, second prince de conti. the author of the memoir seems to have been abbé renaudot, a learned churchman. [ ] extracts from this have already been given in connection with la salle's supposed discovery of the mississippi. _ante_, p. . [ ] "tous ceux de mes amis qui l'ont vu luy trouve beaucoup d'esprit et un très-grand sens; il ne parle guère que des choses sur lesquelles on l'interroge; il les dit en très-peu de mots et très-bien circonstanciées; il distingue parfaitement ce qu'il scait avec certitude, de ce qu'il scait avec quelque mélange de doute. il avoue sans aucune façon ne pas savoir ce qu'il ne scait pas, et quoyque je luy aye ouy dire plus de cinq ou six fois les mesme choses à l'occasion de quelques personnes qui ne les avaient point encore entendues, je les luy ay toujours ouy dire de la mesme manière. en un mot je n'ay jamais ouy parler personne dont les paroles portassent plus de marques de vérité." [ ] "il y a une autre chose qui me déplait, qui est l'entière dépendence dans laquelle les prêtres du séminaire de québec et le grand vicaire de l'evêque sont pour les pères jésuites, car il ne fait pas la moindre chose sans leur ordre; ce qui fait qu'indirectement ils sont les maîtres de ce qui regarde le spirituel, qui, comme vous savez, est une grande machine pour remuer tout le reste."--_lettre de frontenac à colbert, nov., ._ [ ] "ces réligieux [_les récollets_] sont fort protégés partout par le comte de frontenac, gouverneur du pays, et à cause de cela assez maltraités par l'évesque, parceque la doctrine de l'évesque et des jésuites est que les affaires de la réligion chrestienne n'iront point bien dans ce pays-là que quand le gouverneur sera créature des jésuites, ou que l'évesque sera gouverneur."--_mémoire sur mr. de la salle_. [ ] "ils [_les jésuites_] refusent l'absolution à ceux qui ne veulent pas promettre de n'en plus vendre [_de l'eau-de-vie_], et s'ils meurent en cet étât, ils les privent de la sépulture ecclésiastique; au contraire ils se permettent à eux-mêmes sans aucune difficulté ce mesme trafic quoique toute sorte de trafic soit interdite à tous les ecclésiastiques par les ordonnances du roy, et par une bulle expresse du pape. la bulle et les ordonnances sont notoires, et quoyqu'ils cachent le trafic qu'ils font d'eau-de-vie, m. de la salle prétend qu'il ne l'est pas moins; qu'outre la notoriété il en a des preuves certaines, et qu'il les a surpris dans ce trafic, et qu'ils luy ont tendu des pièges pour l'y surprendre.... ils ont chassé leur valet robert à cause qu'il révéla qu'ils en traitaient jour et nuit."--_ibid._ the writer says that he makes this last statement, not on the authority of la salle, but on that of a memoir made at the time when the intendant, talon, with whom he elsewhere says that he was well acquainted, returned to france. a great number of particulars are added respecting the jesuit trade in furs. [ ] albanel was prominent among the jesuit explorers at this time. he is best known by his journey up the saguenay to hudson's bay in . [ ] "pour vous parler franchement, ils [_les jésuites_] songent autant à la conversion du castor qu'à celle des âmes."--_lettre de frontenac à colbert, nov., _. in his despatch of the next year, he says that the jesuits ought to content themselves with instructing the indians in their old missions, instead of neglecting them to make new ones in countries where there are "more beaver-skins to gain than souls to save." [ ] these forts were built by them, and were necessary to the security of their missions. [ ] françois xavier de laval-montmorency, first bishop of quebec, was a prelate of austere character. his memory is cherished in canada by adherents of the jesuits and all ultramontane catholics. [ ] this madame bourdon was the widow of bourdon, the engineer (see "the jesuits in north america," ). if we may credit the letters of marie de l'incarnation, she had married him from a religious motive, in order to charge herself with the care of his motherless children; stipulating in advance that he should live with her, not as a husband, but as a brother. as may be imagined, she was regarded as a most devout and saint-like person. [ ] "il y a dans québec une congrégation de femmes et de filles qu'ils [_les jésuites_] appellent la sainte famille, dans laquelle on fait voeu sur les saints evangiles de dire tout ce qu'on sait de bien et de mal des personnes qu'on connoist. la supérieure de cette compagnie s'appelle madame bourdon; une mde. d'ailleboust est, je crois, l'assistante et une mde. charron, la trésorière. la compagnie s'assemble tous les jeudis dans la cathédrale, à porte fermée, et là elles se disent les unes aux autres tout ce qu'elles ont appris. c'est une espèce d'inquisition contre toutes les personnes qui ne sont pas unies avec les jésuites. ces personnes sont accusées de tenir secret ce qu'elles apprennent de mal des personnes de leur party et de n'avoir pas la mesme discretion pour les autres."--_mémoire sur m^r. de la salle_. the madame d'ailleboust mentioned above was a devotee like madame bourdon, and, in one respect, her history was similar. see "the jesuits in north america," . the association of the sainte famille was founded by the jesuit chaumonot at montreal in . laval, bishop of quebec, afterwards encouraged its establishment at that place; and, as chaumonot himself writes, caused it to be attached to the cathedral. _vie de chaumonot_, . for its establishment at montreal, see faillon, _vie de mlle. mance_, i. . "ils [_les jésuites_] ont tous une si grande envie de savoir tout ce qui se fait dans les familles qu'ils ont des inspecteurs à gages dans la ville, qui leur rapportent tout ce qui se fait dans les maisons," etc., etc.--_lettre de frontenac au ministre, nov., ._ [ ] mention has been made (p. , _note_) of the report set on foot by the jesuit dablon, to prevent the building of the fort. [ ] this story is told at considerable length, and the advances of the lady particularly described. [ ] letter of la salle, in possession of m. margry. [ ] louis xiv. alludes to this visit, in a letter to frontenac, dated april, . "i cannot but approve," he writes, "of what you have done, in your voyage to fort frontenac, to reconcile the minds of the five iroquois nations, and to clear yourself from the suspicions they had entertained, and from the motives that might induce them to make war." frontenac's despatches of this year, as well as of the preceding and following years, are missing from the archives. in a memoir written in november, , la salle alludes to "le désir que l'on avoit que monseigneur le comte de frontenac fit la guerre aux iroquois." see thomassy, _géologie pratique de la louisiane_, . [ ] bruyas was about this time stationed among the onondagas. pierron was among the senecas. he had lately removed to them from the mohawk country. _relation des jésuites, - _, (shea). bruyas was also for a long time among the mohawks. [ ] this puts the character of perrot in a new light; for it is not likely that any other can be meant than the famous _voyageur_. i have found no mention elsewhere of the synonyme of jolycoeur. poisoning was the current crime of the day, and persons of the highest rank had repeatedly been charged with it. the following is the passage:-- "quoiqu'il en soit, mr. de la salle se sentit quelque temps après empoisonné d'une salade dans laquelle on avoit meslé du ciguë, qui est poison en ce pays là, et du verd de gris. il en fut malade à l'extrémité, vomissant presque continuellement ou jours après, et il ne réchappa que par la force extrême de sa constitution. celuy qui luy donna le poison fut un nommé nicolas perrot, autrement jolycoeur, l'un de ses domestiques.... il pouvait faire mourir cet homme, qui a confessé son crime, mais il s'est contenté de l'enfermer les fers aux pieds."--_histoire de mr. de la salle._ [ ] the following words are underlined in the original: "_je suis pourtant obligé de leur rendre une justice, que le poison qu'on m'avoit donné n'éstoit point de leur instigation."--lettre de la salle au prince de conti, oct., ._ [ ] in a letter to the king, frontenac mentions that several men who had been induced to desert from la salle had gone to albany, where the english had received them well. _lettre de frontenac au roy, nov., ._ the jesuits had a mission in the neighboring tribe of the mohawks and elsewhere in new york. [ ] this agrees with expressions used by la salle in a memoir addressed by him to frontenac in november, . in this, he intimates his belief that joliet went but little below the mouth of the illinois, thus doing flagrant injustice to that brave explorer. chapter viii. , . the grand enterprise. la salle at fort frontenac.--la salle at court: his memorial.--approval of the king.--money and means.--henri de tonty.--return to canada. "if," writes a friend of la salle," he had preferred gain to glory, he had only to stay at his fort, where he was making more than twenty-five thousand livres a year."[ ] he loved solitude and he loved power; and at fort frontenac he had both, so far as each consisted with the other. the nearest settlement was a week's journey distant, and he was master of all around him. he had spared no pains to fulfil the conditions on which his wilderness seigniory had been granted, and within two years he had demolished the original wooden fort, replacing it by another much larger, enclosed on the land side by ramparts and bastions of stone, and on the water side by palisades. it contained a range of barracks of squared timber, a guard-house, a lodging for officers, a forge, a well, a mill, and a bakery. nine small cannon were mounted on the walls. two officers and a surgeon, with ten or twelve soldiers, made up the garrison; and three or four times that number of masons, laborers, and canoe-men were at one time maintained at the place. [sidenote: la salle at fort frontenac.] along the shore south of the fort was a small village of french families, to whom la salle had granted farms, and, farther on, a village of iroquois, whom he had persuaded to settle here. near these villages were the house and chapel of two récollet friars, luc buisset and louis hennepin. more than a hundred french acres of land had been cleared of wood, and planted in part with crops; while cattle, fowls, and swine had been brought up from montreal. four vessels, of from twenty-five to forty tons, had been built for the lake and the river; but canoes served best for ordinary uses, and la salle's followers became so skilled in managing them that they were reputed the best canoe-men in america. feudal lord of the forests around him, commander of a garrison raised and paid by himself, founder of the mission, and patron of the church, he reigned the autocrat of his lonely little empire.[ ] [sidenote: la salle's memorial.] it was not solely or chiefly for commercial gain that la salle had established fort frontenac. he regarded it as a first step towards greater things; and now, at length, his plans were ripe and his time was come. in the autumn of he left the fort in charge of his lieutenant, descended the st. lawrence to quebec, and sailed for france. he had the patronage of frontenac and the help of strong friends in paris. it is said, as we have seen already, that his enemies denounced him, in advance, as a madman; but a memorial of his, which his friends laid before the minister colbert, found a favorable hearing. in it he set forth his plans, or a portion of them. he first recounted briefly the discoveries he had made, and then described the country he had seen south and west of the great lakes. "it is nearly all so beautiful and so fertile; so free from forests, and so full of meadows, brooks, and rivers; so abounding in fish, game, and venison, that one can find there in plenty, and with little trouble, all that is needful for the support of flourishing colonies. the soil will produce everything that is raised in france. flocks and herds can be left out at pasture all winter; and there are even native wild cattle, which, instead of hair, have a fine wool that may answer for making cloth and hats. their hides are better than those of france, as appears by the sample which the sieur de la salle has brought with him. hemp and cotton grow here naturally, and may be manufactured with good results; so there can be no doubt that colonies planted here would become very prosperous. they would be increased by a great number of western indians, who are in the main of a tractable and social disposition; and as they have the use neither of our weapons nor of our goods, and are not in intercourse with other europeans, they will readily adapt themselves to us and imitate our way of life as soon as they taste the advantages of our friendship and of the commodities we bring them, insomuch that these countries will infallibly furnish, within a few years, a great many new subjects to the church and the king. "it was the knowledge of these things, joined to the poverty of canada, its dense forests, its barren soil, its harsh climate, and the snow that covers the ground for half the year, that led the sieur de la salle to undertake the planting of colonies in these beautiful countries of the west." then he recounts the difficulties of the attempt,--the vast distances, the rapids and cataracts that obstruct the way; the cost of men, provisions, and munitions; the danger from the iroquois, and the rivalry of the english, who covet the western country, and would gladly seize it for themselves. "but this last reason," says the memorial, "only animates the sieur de la salle the more, and impels him to anticipate them by the promptness of his action." he declares that it was for this that he had asked for the grant of fort frontenac; and he describes what he had done at that post, in order to make it a secure basis for his enterprise. he says that he has now overcome the chief difficulties in his way, and that he is ready to plant a new colony at the outlet of lake erie, of which the english, if not prevented, might easily take possession. towards the accomplishment of his plans, he asks the confirmation of his title to fort frontenac, and the permission to establish at his own cost two other posts, with seigniorial rights over all lands which he may discover and colonize within twenty years, and the government of all the country in question. on his part, he proposes to renounce all share in the trade carried on between the tribes of the upper lakes and the people of canada. la salle seems to have had an interview with the minister, in which the proposals of his memorial were somewhat modified. he soon received in reply the following patent from the king:-- [sidenote: the king's approval.] "louis, by the grace of god king of france and navarre, to our dear and well-beloved robert cavelier, sieur de la salle, greeting. we have received with favor the very humble petition made us in your name, to permit you to labor at the discovery of the western parts of new france; and we have the more willingly entertained this proposal, since we have nothing more at heart than the exploration of this country, through which, to all appearance, a way may be found to mexico.... for this and other causes thereunto moving us, we permit you by these presents, signed with our hand, to labor at the discovery of the western parts of our aforesaid country of new france; and, for the execution of this enterprise, to build forts at such places as you may think necessary, and enjoy possession thereof under the same clauses and conditions as of fort frontenac, conformably to our letters patent of may thirteenth, , which, so far as needful, we confirm by these presents. and it is our will that they be executed according to their form and tenor: on condition, nevertheless, that you finish this enterprise within five years, failing which, these presents shall be void, and of no effect; that you carry on no trade with the savages called ottawas, or with other tribes who bring their peltries to montreal; and that you do the whole at your own cost and that of your associates, to whom we have granted the sole right of trade in buffalo-hides. and we direct the sieur count frontenac, our governor and lieutenant-general, and also duchesneau, intendant of justice, police, and finance, and the officers of the supreme council of the aforesaid country, to see to the execution of these presents; for such is our pleasure. "given at st. germain en laye, this th day of may, , and of our reign the th year." this patent grants both more and less than the memorial had asked. it authorizes la salle to build and own, not two forts only, but as many as he may see fit, provided that he do so within five years; and it gives him, besides, the monopoly of buffalo-hides, for which at first he had not petitioned. nothing is said of colonies. to discover the country, secure it by forts, and find, if possible, a way to mexico, are the only object set forth; for louis xiv. always discountenanced settlement in the west, partly as tending to deplete canada, and partly as removing his subjects too far from his paternal control. it was but the year before that he refused to louis joliet the permission to plant a trading station in the valley of the mississippi.[ ] la salle, however, still held to his plan of a commercial and industrial colony, and in connection with it to another purpose, of which his memorial had made no mention. this was the building of a vessel on some branch of the mississippi, in order to sail down that river to its mouth, and open a route to commerce through the gulf of mexico. it is evident that this design was already formed; for he had no sooner received his patent, than he engaged ship-carpenters, and procured iron, cordage, and anchors, not for one vessel, but for two. [sidenote: money and means.] what he now most needed was money; and having none of his own, he set himself to raising it from others. a notary named simonnet lent him four thousand livres; an advocate named raoul, twenty-four thousand; and one dumont, six thousand. his cousin françois plet, a merchant of rue st. martin, lent him about eleven thousand, at the interest of forty per cent; and when he returned to canada, frontenac found means to procure him another loan of about fourteen thousand, secured by the mortgage of fort frontenac. but his chief helpers were his family, who became sharers in his undertaking. "his brothers and relations," says a memorial afterwards addressed by them to the king, "spared nothing to enable him to respond worthily to the royal goodness;" and the document adds, that, before his allotted five years were ended, his discoveries had cost them more than five hundred thousand livres (francs).[ ] la salle himself believed, and made others believe, that there was more profit than risk in his schemes. lodged rather obscurely in rue de la truanderie, and of a nature reserved and shy, he nevertheless found countenance and support from personages no less exalted than colbert, seignelay, and the prince de conti. others, too, in stations less conspicuous, warmly espoused his cause, and none more so than the learned abbé renaudot, who helped him with tongue and pen, and seems to have been instrumental in introducing to him a man who afterwards proved invaluable. this was henri de tonty, an italian officer, a _protégé_ of the prince de conti, who sent him to la salle as a person suited to his purposes, tonty had but one hand, the other having been blown off by a grenade in the sicilian wars.[ ] his father, who had been governor of gaeta, but who had come to france in consequence of political disturbances in naples, had earned no small reputation as a financier, and had invented the form of life insurance still called the tontine. la salle learned to know his new lieutenant on the voyage across the atlantic; and, soon after reaching canada, he wrote of him to his patron in the following terms: "his honorable character and his amiable disposition were well known to you; but perhaps you would not have thought him capable of doing things for which a strong constitution, an acquaintance with the country, and the use of both hands seemed absolutely necessary. nevertheless, his energy and address make him equal to anything; and now, at a season when everybody is in fear of the ice, he is setting out to begin a new fort, two hundred leagues from this place, and to which i have taken the liberty to give the name of fort conti. it is situated near that great cataract, more than a hundred and twenty _toises_ in height, by which the lakes of higher elevation precipitate themselves into lake frontenac [ontario]. from there one goes by water, five hundred leagues, to the place where fort dauphin is to be begun; from which it only remains to descend the great river of the bay of st. esprit, to reach the gulf of mexico."[ ] [sidenote: return to canada.] besides tonty, la salle found in france another ally, la motte de lussière, to whom he offered a share in the enterprise, and who joined him at rochelle, the place of embarkation. here vexatious delays occurred. bellinzani, director of trade, who had formerly taken lessons in rascality in the service of cardinal mazarin, abused his official position to throw obstacles in the way of la salle, in order to extort money from him; and he extorted, in fact, a considerable sum, which his victim afterwards reclaimed. it was not till the fourteenth of july that la salle, with tonty, la motte, and thirty men, set sail for canada, and two months more elapsed before he reached quebec. here, to increase his resources and strengthen his position, he seems to have made a league with several canadian merchants, some of whom had before been his enemies, and were to be so again. here, too, he found father louis hennepin, who had come down from fort frontenac to meet him.[ ] footnotes: [ ] _mémoire pour monseigneur le marquis de seignelay sur les descouvertes du sieur de la salle_, . [ ] _État de la dépense faite par mr. de la salle, gouverneur du fort frontenac. récit de nicolas de la salle. revue faite au fort de frontenac, ; mémoire sur le projet du sieur de la salle_ (margry, i. ). plan of fort frontenac, published by faillon, from the original sent to france by denonville in . _relation des découvertes du sieur de la salle._ when frontenac was at the fort in september, , he found only four _habitants_. it appears, by the _relation des découvertes du sieur de la salle_, that, three or four years later, there were thirteen or fourteen families. la salle spent , francs on the fort. _mémoire au roy, papiers de famille._ [ ] _colbert à duchesneau, avril, ._ [ ] _mémoire au roy, présenté sous la régence; obligation du sieur de la salle envers le sieur plet; autres emprunts de cavelier de la salle_ (margry, i. - ). [ ] tonty, _mémoire_, in margry, _relations et mémoires inédits_, . [ ] _lettre de la salle, oct., ._ fort conti was to have been built on the site of the present fort niagara. the name of lac de conti was given by la salle to lake erie. the fort mentioned as fort dauphin was built, as we shall see, on the illinois, though under another name. la salle, deceived by spanish maps, thought that the mississippi discharged itself into the bay of st. esprit (mobile bay). henri de tonty signed his name in the gallicized, and not in the original italian form _tonti_. he wore a hand of iron or some other metal, which was usually covered with a glove. la potherie says that he once or twice used it to good purpose when the indians became disorderly, in breaking the heads of the most contumacious or knocking out their teeth. not knowing at the time the secret of the unusual efficacy of his blows, they regarded him as a "medicine" of the first order. la potherie erroneously ascribes the loss of his hand to a sabre-cut received in a _sortie_ at messina. [ ] _la motte de lussière à----, sans date; mémoíre de la salle sur les extorsions commises par bellinzani; société formée par la salle; relation de henri de tonty_, (margry, i. , ; ii. , ). chapter ix. - . la salle at niagara. father louis hennepin: his past life; his character.--embarkation.--niagara falls.--indian jealousy.--la motte and the senecas.--a disaster.--la salle and his followers. hennepin was all eagerness to join in the adventure; and, to his great satisfaction, la salle gave him a letter from his provincial, father le fèvre, containing the coveted permission. whereupon, to prepare himself, he went into retreat at the récollet convent of quebec, where he remained for a time in such prayer and meditation as his nature, the reverse of spiritual, would permit. frontenac, always partial to his order, then invited him to dine at the château; and having visited the bishop and asked his blessing, he went down to the lower town and embarked. his vessel was a small birch canoe, paddled by two men. with sandalled feet, a coarse gray capote, and peaked hood, the cord of st. francis about his waist, and a rosary and crucifix hanging at his side, the father set forth on his memorable journey. he carried with him the furniture of a portable altar, which in time of need he could strap on his back like a knapsack. he slowly made his way up the st. lawrence, stopping here and there, where a clearing and a few log houses marked the feeble beginning of a parish and a seigniory. the settlers, though good catholics, were too few and too poor to support a priest, and hailed the arrival of the friar with delight. he said mass, exhorted a little, as was his custom, and on one occasion baptized a child. at length he reached montreal, where the enemies of the enterprise enticed away his two canoe-men. he succeeded in finding two others, with whom he continued his voyage, passed the rapids of the upper st. lawrence, and reached fort frontenac at eleven o'clock at night of the second of november, where his brethren of the mission, ribourde and buisset, received him with open arms.[ ] la motte, with most of the men, appeared on the eighth; but la salle and tonty did not arrive till more than a month later. meanwhile, in pursuance of his orders, fifteen men set out in canoes for lake michigan and the illinois, to trade with the indians and collect provisions, while la motte embarked in a small vessel for niagara, accompanied by hennepin.[ ] [illustration] _father hennepin celebrating mass._ drawn by howard pyle. la salle and the discovery of the great west, . [sidenote: hennepin.] this bold, hardy, and adventurous friar, the historian of the expedition, and a conspicuous actor in it, has unwittingly painted his own portrait with tolerable distinctness. "i always," he says, "felt a strong inclination to fly from the world and live according to the rules of a pure and severe virtue; and it was with this view that i entered the order of st. francis."[ ] he then speaks of his zeal for the saving of souls, but admits that a passion for travel and a burning desire to visit strange lands had no small part in his inclination for the missions.[ ] being in a convent in artois, his superior sent him to calais, at the season of the herring-fishery, to beg alms, after the practice of the franciscans. here and at dunkirk he made friends of the sailors, and was never tired of their stories. so insatiable, indeed, was his appetite for them, that "often," he says, "i hid myself behind tavern doors while the sailors were telling of their voyages. the tobacco smoke made me very sick at the stomach; but, notwithstanding, i listened attentively to all they said about their adventures at sea and their travels in distant countries. i could have passed whole days and nights in this way without eating."[ ] he presently set out on a roving mission through holland; and he recounts various mishaps which befell him, "in consequence of my zeal in laboring for the saving of souls," "i was at the bloody fight of seneff," he pursues, "where so many perished by fire and sword, and where i had abundance of work in comforting and consoling the poor wounded soldiers. after undergoing great fatigues, and running extreme danger in the sieges of towns, in the trenches, and in battles, where i exposed myself freely for the salvation of others while the soldiers were breathing nothing but blood and carnage, i found myself at last in a way of satisfying my old inclination for travel."[ ] he got leave from his superiors to go to canada, the most adventurous of all the missions, and accordingly sailed in , in the ship which carried la salle, who had just obtained the grant of fort frontenac. in the course of the voyage, he took it upon him to reprove a party of girls who were amusing themselves and a circle of officers and other passengers by dancing on deck. la salle, who was among the spectators, was annoyed at hennepin's interference, and told him that he was behaving like a pedagogue. the friar retorted, by alluding--unconsciously, as he says--to the circumstance that la salle was once a pedagogue himself, having, according to hennepin, been for ten or twelve years teacher of a class in a jesuit school. la salle, he adds, turned pale with rage, and never forgave him to his dying day, but always maligned and persecuted him.[ ] on arriving in canada, he was sent up to fort frontenac, as a missionary. that wild and remote post was greatly to his liking. he planted a gigantic cross, superintended the building of a chapel for himself and his colleague buisset, and instructed the iroquois colonists of the place. he visited, too, the neighboring indian settlements,--paddling his canoe in summer, when the lake was open, and journeying in winter on snow-shoes, with a blanket slung at his back. his most noteworthy journey was one which he made in the winter,--apparently of ,--with a soldier of the fort. they crossed the eastern extremity of lake ontario on snow-shoes, and pushed southward through the forests, towards onondaga,--stopping at evening to dig away the snow, which was several feet deep, and collect wood for their fire, which they were forced to replenish repeatedly during the night, to keep themselves from freezing. at length, they reached the great onondaga town, where the indians were much amazed at their hardihood. thence they proceeded eastward to the oneidas, and afterwards to the mohawks, who regaled them with small frogs, pounded up with a porridge of indian corn. here hennepin found the jesuit bruyas, who permitted him to copy a dictionary of the mohawk language[ ] which he had compiled; and here he presently met three dutchmen, who urged him to visit the neighboring settlement of orange, or albany,--an invitation which he seems to have declined.[ ] they were pleased with him, he says, because he spoke dutch. bidding them farewell, he tied on his snow-shoes again, and returned with his companion to fort frontenac. thus he inured himself to the hardships of the woods, and prepared for the execution of the grand plan of discovery which he calls his own,--"an enterprise," to borrow his own words, "capable of terrifying anybody but me."[ ] when the later editions of his book appeared, doubts had been expressed of his veracity. "i here protest to you, before god," he writes, addressing the reader, "that my narrative is faithful and sincere, and that you may believe everything related in it."[ ] and yet, as we shall see, this reverend father was the most impudent of liars; and the narrative of which he speaks is a rare monument of brazen mendacity. hennepin, however, had seen and dared much; for among his many failings fear had no part, and where his vanity or his spite was not involved, he often told the truth. his books have their value, with all their enormous fabrications.[ ] la motte and hennepin, with sixteen men, went on board the little vessel of ten tons, which lay at fort frontenac. the friar's two brethren, buisset and ribourde, threw their arms about his neck as they bade him farewell; while his indian proselytes, learning whither he was bound, stood with their hands pressed upon their mouths, in amazement at the perils which awaited their ghostly instructor. la salle, with the rest of the party, was to follow as soon as he could finish his preparations. it was a boisterous and gusty day, the eighteenth of november. the sails were spread; the shore receded,--the stone walls of the fort, the huge cross that the friar had reared, the wigwams, the settlers' cabins, the group of staring indians on the strand. the lake was rough; and the men, crowded in so small a craft, grew nervous and uneasy. they hugged the northern shore, to escape the fury of the wind, which blew savagely from the northeast; while the long gray sweep of naked forests on their right betokened that winter was fast closing in. on the twenty-sixth, they reached the neighborhood of the indian town of taiaiagon,[ ] not far from toronto, and ran their vessel, for safety, into the mouth of a river,--probably the humber,--where the ice closed about her, and they were forced to cut her out with axes. on the fifth of december, they attempted to cross to the mouth of the niagara; but darkness overtook them, and they spent a comfortless night, tossing on the troubled lake, five or six miles from shore. in the morning, they entered the mouth of the niagara, and landed on the point at its eastern side, where now stand the historic ramparts of fort niagara. here they found a small village of senecas, attracted hither by the fisheries, who gazed with curious eyes at the vessel, and listened in wonder as the voyagers sang _te deum_ in gratitude for their safe arrival. [sidenote: niagara falls.] hennepin, with several others, now ascended the river in a canoe to the foot of the mountain ridge of lewiston, which, stretching on the right hand and on the left, forms the acclivity of a vast plateau, rent with the mighty chasm, along which, from this point to the cataract, seven miles above, rush, with the fury of an alpine torrent, the gathered waters of four inland oceans. to urge the canoe farther was impossible. he landed, with his companions, on the west bank, near the foot of that part of the ridge now called queenstown heights, climbed the steep ascent, and pushed through the wintry forest on a tour of exploration. on his left sank the cliffs, the furious river raging below; till at length, in primeval solitudes unprofaned as yet by the pettiness of man, the imperial cataract burst upon his sight.[ ] the explorers passed three miles beyond it, and encamped for the night on the banks of chippewa creek, scraping away the snow, which was a foot deep, in order to kindle a fire. in the morning they retraced their steps, startling a number of deer and wild turkeys on their way, and rejoined their companions at the mouth of the river. [sidenote: la motte and the senecas.] la motte now began the building of a fortified house, some two leagues above the mouth of the niagara.[ ] hot water was used to soften the frozen ground; but frost was not the only obstacle. the senecas of the neighboring village betrayed a sullen jealousy at a design which, indeed, boded them no good. niagara was the key to the four great lakes above; and whoever held possession of it could, in no small measure, control the fur-trade of the interior. occupied by the french, it would in time of peace intercept the trade which the iroquois carried on between the western indians and the dutch and english at albany, and in time of war threaten them with serious danger. la motte saw the necessity of conciliating these formidable neighbors, and, if possible, cajoling them to give their consent to the plan. la salle, indeed, had instructed him to that effect. he resolved on a journey to the great village of the senecas, and called on hennepin, who was busied in building a bark chapel for himself, to accompany him. they accordingly set out with several men well armed and equipped, and bearing at their backs presents of very considerable value. the village was beyond the genesee, southeast of the site of rochester.[ ] after a march of five days, they reached it on the last day of december. they were conducted to the lodge of the great chief, where they were beset by a staring crowd of women and children. two jesuits, raffeix and julien garnier, were in the village; and their presence boded no good for the embassy. la motte, who seems to have had little love for priests of any kind, was greatly annoyed at seeing them; and when the chiefs assembled to hear what he had to say, he insisted that the two fathers should leave the council-house. at this, hennepin, out of respect for his cloth, thought it befitting that he should retire also. the chiefs, forty-two in number, squatted on the ground, arrayed in ceremonial robes of beaver, wolf, or black-squirrel skin. "the senators of venice," writes hennepin, "do not look more grave or speak more deliberately than the counsellors of the iroquois." la motte's interpreter harangued the attentive conclave, placed gift after gift at their feet,--coats, scarlet cloth, hatchets, knives, and beads,--and used all his eloquence to persuade them that the building of a fort on the banks of the niagara, and a vessel on lake erie, were measures vital to their interest. they gladly took the gifts, but answered the interpreter's speech with evasive generalities; and having been entertained with the burning of an indian prisoner, the discomfited embassy returned, half-famished, to niagara. meanwhile, la salle and tonty were on their way from fort frontenac, with men and supplies, to join la motte and his advance party. they were in a small vessel, with a pilot either unskilful or treacherous. on christmas eve, he was near wrecking them off the bay of quinté. on the next day they crossed to the mouth of the genesee; and la salle, after some delay, proceeded to the neighboring town of the senecas, where he appears to have arrived just after the departure of la motte and hennepin. he, too, called them to a council, and tried to soothe the extreme jealousy with which they regarded his proceedings. "i told them my plan," he says, "and gave the best pretexts i could, and i succeeded in my attempt."[ ] more fortunate than la motte, he persuaded them to consent to his carrying arms and ammunition by the niagara portage, building a vessel above the cataract, and establishing a fortified warehouse at the mouth of the river. [sidenote: jealousies.] this success was followed by a calamity. la salle had gone up the niagara to find a suitable place for a ship-yard, when he learned that the pilot in charge of the vessel he had left had disobeyed his orders, and ended by wrecking it on the coast. little was saved except the anchors and cables destined for the new vessel to be built above the cataract. this loss threw him into extreme perplexity, and, as hennepin says, "would have made anybody but him give up the enterprise."[ ] the whole party were now gathered at the palisaded house which la motte had built, a little below the mountain ridge of lewiston. they were a motley crew of french, flemings, and italians, all mutually jealous. la salle's enemies had tampered with some of the men; and none of them seemed to have had much heart for the enterprise. the fidelity even of la motte was doubtful. "he served me very ill," says la salle; "and messieurs de tonty and de la forest knew that he did his best to debauch all my men."[ ] his health soon failed under the hardships of these winter journeyings, and he returned to fort frontenac, half-blinded by an inflammation of the eyes.[ ] la salle, seldom happy in the choice of subordinates, had, perhaps, in all his company but one man whom he could fully trust; and this was tonty. he and hennepin were on indifferent terms. men thrown together in a rugged enterprise like this quickly learn to know each other; and the vain and assuming friar was not likely to commend himself to la salle's brave and loyal lieutenant. hennepin says that it was la salle's policy to govern through the dissensions of his followers; and, from whatever cause, it is certain that those beneath him were rarely in perfect harmony. footnotes: [ ] hennepin, _description de la louisiane_ ( ), ; ibid., _voyage curieux_ ( ), . ribourde had lately arrived. [ ] _lettre de la motte de la lussière, sans date; relation de henri de tonty écrite de québec, le novembre, _ (margry, i. ). this paper, apparently addressed to abbé renaudot, is entirely distinct from tonty's memoir of , addressed to the minister ponchartrain. [ ] hennepin, _nouvelle découverte_ ( ), . [ ] ibid., _avant propos_, . [ ] ibid., _voyage curieux_ ( ), . [ ] hennepin, _voyage curieux_ ( ), . [ ] ibid. _avis au lecteur._ he elsewhere represents himself as on excellent terms with la salle; with whom, he says, he used to read histories of travels at fort frontenac, after which they discussed together their plans of discovery. [ ] this was the _racines agnières_ of bruyas. it was published by mr. shea in . hennepin seems to have studied it carefully; for on several occasions he makes use of words evidently borrowed from it, putting them into the mouths of indians speaking a dialect different from that of the agniers, or mohawks. [ ] compare brodhead in _hist. mag._, x. . [ ] "une enterprise capable d'épouvanter tout autre que moi."--hennepin, _voyage curieux, avant propos_ ( ). [ ] "je vous proteste ici devant dieu, que ma relation est fidèle et sincère," etc.--ibid., _avis au lecteur_. [ ] the nature of these fabrications will be shown hereafter. they occur, not in the early editions of hennepin's narrative, which are comparatively truthful, but in the edition of and those which followed. la salle was dead at the time of their publication. [ ] this place is laid down on a manuscript map sent to france by the intendant duchesneau, and now preserved in the archives de la marine, and also on several other contemporary maps. [ ] hennepin's account of the falls and river of niagara--especially his second account, on his return from the west--is very minute, and on the whole very accurate. he indulges in gross exaggeration as to the height of the cataract, which, in the edition of , he states at five hundred feet, and raises to six hundred in that of . he also says that there was room for four carriages to pass abreast under the american fall without being wet. this is, of course, an exaggeration at the best; but it is extremely probable that a great change has taken place since his time. he speaks of a small lateral fall at the west side of the horse shoe fall which does not now exist. table rock, now destroyed, is distinctly figured in his picture. he says that he descended the cliffs on the west side to the foot of the cataract, but that no human being can get down on the east side. the name of niagara, written _onguiaahra_ by lalemant in , and _ongiara_ by sanson, on his map of , is used by hennepin in its present form. his description of the falls is the earliest known to exist. they are clearly indicated on the map of champlain, . for early references to them, see "the jesuits in north america," , _note_. a brief but curious notice of them is given by gendron, _quelques particularitez du pays des hurons_, . the indefatigable dr. o'callaghan has discovered thirty-nine distinct forms of the name niagara. _index to colonial documents of new york_, . it is of iroquois origin, and in the mohawk dialect is pronounced nyàgarah. [ ] tonty, _relation_, (margry, i. ). [ ] near the town of victor. it is laid down on the map of galinée, and other unpublished maps. compare marshall, _historical sketches of the niagara frontier_, . [ ] _lettre de la salle à un de ses associés_ (margry, ii. ). [ ] _description de la louisiane_ ( ), . it is characteristic of hennepin that, in the editions of his book published after la salle's death, he substitutes, for "anybody but him," "anybody but those who had formed so generous a design,"--meaning to include himself, though he lost nothing by the disaster, and had not formed the design. on these incidents, compare the two narratives of tonty, of and . the book bearing tonty's name is a compilation full of errors. he disowned its authorship. [ ] _lettre de la salle, août, _ (margry, ii. ). [ ] _lettre de la motte, sans date._ chapter x. . the launch of the "griffin." the niagara portage.--a vessel on the stocks.--suffering and discontent.--la salle's winter journey.--the vessel launched.--fresh disasters. [sidenote: the niagara portage.] a more important work than that of the warehouse at the mouth of the river was now to be begun. this was the building of a vessel above the cataract. the small craft which had brought la motte and hennepin with their advance party had been hauled to the foot of the rapids at lewiston, and drawn ashore with a capstan, to save her from the drifting ice. her lading was taken out, and must now be carried beyond the cataract to the calm water above. the distance to the destined point was at least twelve miles, and the steep heights above lewiston must first be climbed. this heavy task was accomplished on the twenty-second of january. the level of the plateau was reached, and the file of burdened men, some thirty in number, toiled slowly on its way over the snowy plains and through the gloomy forests of spruce and naked oak-trees; while hennepin plodded through the drifts with his portable altar lashed fast to his back. they came at last to the mouth of a stream which entered the niagara two leagues above the cataract, and which was undoubtedly that now called cayuga creek.[ ] trees were felled, the place cleared, and the master-carpenter set his ship-builders at work. meanwhile, two mohegan hunters, attached to the party, made bark wigwams to lodge the men. hennepin had his chapel, apparently of the same material, where he placed his altar, and on sundays and saints' days said mass, preached, and exhorted; while some of the men, who knew the gregorian chant, lent their aid at the service. when the carpenters were ready to lay the keel of the vessel, la salle asked the friar to drive the first bolt; "but the modesty of my religious profession," he says, "compelled me to decline this honor." fortunately, it was the hunting-season of the iroquois, and most of the seneca warriors were in the forests south of lake erie; yet enough remained to cause serious uneasiness. they loitered sullenly about the place, expressing their displeasure at the proceedings of the french. one of them, pretending to be drunk, attacked the blacksmith and tried to kill him; but the frenchman, brandishing a red-hot bar of iron, held him at bay till hennepin ran to the rescue, when, as he declares, the severity of his rebuke caused the savage to desist.[ ] the work of the ship-builders advanced rapidly; and when the indian visitors beheld the vast ribs of the wooden monster, their jealousy was redoubled. a squaw told the french that they meant to burn the vessel on the stocks. all now stood anxiously on the watch. cold, hunger, and discontent found imperfect antidotes in tonty's energy and hennepin's sermons. [sidenote: suffering and discontent.] la salle was absent, and his lieutenant commanded in his place. hennepin says that tonty was jealous because he, the friar, kept a journal, and that he was forced to use all manner of just precautions to prevent the italian from seizing it. the men, being half-starved, in consequence of the loss of their provisions on lake ontario, were restless and moody; and their discontent was fomented by one of their number, who had very probably been tampered with by la salle's enemies.[ ] the senecas refused to supply them with corn, and the frequent exhortations of the récollet father proved an insufficient substitute. in this extremity, the two mohegans did excellent service,--bringing deer and other game, which relieved the most pressing wants of the party, and went far to restore their cheerfulness. la salle, meanwhile, had gone down to the mouth of the river, with a sergeant and a number of men; and here, on the high point of land where fort niagara now stands, he marked out the foundations of two blockhouses.[ ] then, leaving his men to build them, he set out on foot for fort frontenac, where the condition of his affairs demanded his presence, and where he hoped to procure supplies to replace those lost in the wreck of his vessel. it was february, and the distance was some two hundred and fifty miles, through the snow-encumbered forests of the iroquois and over the ice of lake ontario. two men attended him, and a dog dragged his baggage on a sledge. for food, they had only a bag of parched corn, which failed them two days before they reached the fort; and they made the rest of the journey fasting. [sidenote: the ship finished.] during his absence, tonty finished the vessel, which was of about forty-five tons' burden.[ ] as spring opened, she was ready for launching. the friar pronounced his blessing on her; the assembled company sang _te deum_; cannon were fired; and french and indians, warmed alike by a generous gift of brandy, shouted and yelped in chorus as she glided into the niagara. her builders towed her out and anchored her in the stream, safe at last from incendiary hands; and then, swinging their hammocks under her deck, slept in peace, beyond reach of the tomahawk. the indians gazed on her with amazement. five small cannon looked out from her portholes; and on her prow was carved a portentous monster, the griffin, whose name she bore, in honor of the armorial bearings of frontenac. la salle had often been heard to say that he would make the griffin fly above the crows, or, in other words, make frontenac triumph over the jesuits. they now took her up the river, and made her fast below the swift current at black rock. here they finished her equipment, and waited for la salle's return; but the absent commander did not appear. the spring and more than half of the summer had passed before they saw him again. at length, early in august, he arrived at the mouth of the niagara, bringing three more friars; for, though no friend of the jesuits, he was zealous for the faith, and was rarely without a missionary in his journeyings. like hennepin, the three friars were all flemings. one of them, melithon watteau, was to remain at niagara; the others, zenobe membré and gabriel ribourde, were to preach the faith among the tribes of the west. ribourde was a hale and cheerful old man of sixty-four. he went four times up and down the lewiston heights, while the men were climbing the steep pathway with their loads. it required four of them, well stimulated with brandy, to carry up the principal anchor destined for the "griffin." la salle brought a tale of disaster. his enemies, bent on ruining the enterprise, had given out that he was embarked on a harebrained venture, from which he would never return. his creditors, excited by rumors set afloat to that end, had seized on all his property in the settled parts of canada, though his seigniory of fort frontenac alone would have more than sufficed to pay all his debts. there was no remedy. to defer the enterprise would have been to give his adversaries the triumph that they sought; and he hardened himself against the blow with his usual stoicism.[ ] footnotes: [ ] it has been a matter of debate on which side of the niagara the first vessel on the upper lakes was built. a close study of hennepin, and a careful examination of the localities, have convinced me that the spot was that indicated above. hennepin repeatedly alludes to a large detached rock, rising out of the water at the foot of the rapids above lewiston, on the west side of the river. this rock may still be seen immediately under the western end of the lewiston suspension-bridge. persons living in the neighborhood remember that a ferry-boat used to pass between it and the cliffs of the western shore; but it has since been undermined by the current and has inclined in that direction, so that a considerable part of it is submerged, while the gravel and earth thrown down from the cliff during the building of the bridge has filled the intervening channel. opposite to this rock, and on the east side of the river, says hennepin, are three mountains, about two leagues below the cataract. (_nouveau voyage_ ( ), , .) to these "three mountains," as well as to the rock, he frequently alludes. they are also spoken of by la hontan, who clearly indicates their position. they consist in the three successive grades of the acclivity: first, that which rises from the level of the water, forming the steep and lofty river-bank; next, an intermediate ascent, crowned by a sort of terrace, where the tired men could find a second resting-place and lay down their burdens, whence a third effort carried them with difficulty to the level top of the plateau. that this was the actual "portage," or carrying place of the travellers, is shown by hennepin ( ), , who describes the carrying of anchors and other heavy articles up these heights in august, . la hontan also passed the falls by way of the "three mountains" eight years later. la hontan ( ), . it is clear, then, that the portage was on the east side, whence it would be safe to conclude that the vessel was built on the same side. hennepin says that she was built at the mouth of a stream (_rivière_) entering the niagara two leagues above the falls. excepting one or two small brooks, there is no stream on the west side but chippewa creek, which hennepin had visited and correctly placed at about a league from the cataract. his distances on the niagara are usually correct. on the east side there is a stream which perfectly answers the conditions. this is cayuga creek, two leagues above the falls. immediately in front of it is an island about a mile long, separated from the shore by a narrow and deep arm of the niagara, into which cayuga creek discharges itself. the place is so obviously suited to building and launching a vessel, that, in the early part of this century, the government of the united states chose it for the construction of a schooner to carry supplies to the garrisons of the upper lakes. the neighboring village now bears the name of la salle. in examining this and other localities on the niagara, i have been greatly aided by my friend o. h. marshall, esq., of buffalo, who is unrivalled in his knowledge of the history and traditions of the niagara frontier. [ ] hennepin ( ), . on a paper drawn up at the instance of the intendant duchesneau, the names of the greater number of la salle's men are preserved. these agree with those given by hennepin: thus, the master-carpenter, whom he calls maître moyse, appears as moïse hillaret; and the blacksmith, whom he calls la forge, is mentioned as--(illegible) dit la forge. [ ] "this bad man," says hennepin, "would infallibly have debauched our workmen, if i had not reassured them by the exhortations which i made them on fête-days and sundays, after divine service." ( ), . [ ] _lettre de la salle, août, _ (margry, ii. ); _relation de tonty_, (ibid., i. ). he called this new post fort conti. it was burned some months after, by the carelessness of the sergeant in command, and was the first of a succession of forts on this historic spot. [ ] hennepin ( ), . in the edition of , he says that it was of sixty tons. i prefer to follow the earlier and more trustworthy narrative. [ ] la salle's embarrassment at this time was so great that he purposed to send tonty up the lakes in the "griffin," while he went back to the colony to look after his affairs; but suspecting that the pilot, who had already wrecked one of his vessels, was in the pay of his enemies, he resolved at last to take charge of the expedition himself, to prevent a second disaster. (_lettre de la salle, août, _; margry, ii. .) among the creditors who bore hard upon him were migeon, charon, giton, and peloquin, of montreal, in whose name his furs at fort frontenac had been seized. the intendant also placed under seal all his furs at quebec, among which is set down the not very precious item of two hundred and eighty-four skins of _enfants du diable_, or skunks. chapter xi. . la salle on the upper lakes. the voyage of the "griffin."--detroit.--a storm.--st. ignace of michilimackinac.--rivals and enemies.--lake michigan.--hardships.--a threatened fight.--fort miami.--tonty's misfortunes.--forebodings. the "griffin" had lain moored by the shore, so near that hennepin could preach on sundays from the deck to the men encamped along the bank. she was now forced up against the current with tow-ropes and sails, till she reached the calm entrance of lake erie. on the seventh of august, la salle and his followers embarked, sang _te deum_, and fired their cannon. a fresh breeze sprang up; and with swelling canvas the "griffin" ploughed the virgin waves of lake erie, where sail was never seen before. for three days they held their course over these unknown waters, and on the fourth turned northward into the strait of detroit. here, on the right hand and on the left, lay verdant prairies, dotted with groves and bordered with lofty forests. they saw walnut, chestnut, and wild plum trees, and oaks festooned with grape-vines; herds of deer, and flocks of swans and wild turkeys. the bulwarks of the "griffin" were plentifully hung with game which the men killed on shore, and among the rest with a number of bears, much commended by hennepin for their want of ferocity and the excellence of their flesh. "those," he says, "who will one day have the happiness to possess this fertile and pleasant strait, will be very much obliged to those who have shown them the way." they crossed lake st. clair,[ ] and still sailed northward against the current, till now, sparkling in the sun, lake huron spread before them like a sea. [sidenote: st. ignace.] for a time they bore on prosperously. then the wind died to a calm, then freshened to a gale, then rose to a furious tempest; and the vessel tossed wildly among the short, steep, perilous waves of the raging lake. even la salle called on his followers to commend themselves to heaven. all fell to their prayers but the godless pilot, who was loud in complaint against his commander for having brought him, after the honor he had won on the ocean, to drown at last ignominiously in fresh water. the rest clamored to the saints. st. anthony of padua was promised a chapel to be built in his honor, if he would but save them from their jeopardy; while in the same breath la salle and the friars declared him patron of their great enterprise.[ ] the saint heard their prayers. the obedient winds were tamed; and the "griffin" plunged on her way through foaming surges that still grew calmer as she advanced. now the sun shone forth on woody islands, bois blanc and mackinaw and the distant manitoulins,--on the forest wastes of michigan and the vast blue bosom of the angry lake; and now her port was won, and she found her rest behind the point of st. ignace of michilimackinac, floating in that tranquil cove where crystal waters cover but cannot hide the pebbly depths beneath. before her rose the house and chapel of the jesuits, enclosed with palisades; on the right, the huron village, with its bark cabins and its fence of tall pickets; on the left, the square compact houses of the french traders; and, not far off, the clustered wigwams of an ottawa village.[ ] here was a centre of the jesuit missions, and a centre of the indian trade; and here, under the shadow of the cross, was much sharp practice in the service of mammon. keen traders, with or without a license, and lawless _coureurs de bois_, whom a few years of forest life had weaned from civilization, made st. ignace their resort; and here there were many of them when the "griffin" came. they and their employers hated and feared la salle, who, sustained as he was by the governor, might set at nought the prohibition of the king, debarring him from traffic with these tribes. yet, while plotting against him, they took pains to allay his distrust by a show of welcome. the "griffin" fired her cannon, and the indians yelped in wonder and amazement. the adventurers landed in state, and marched under arms to the bark chapel of the ottawa village, where they heard mass. la salle knelt before the altar, in a mantle of scarlet bordered with gold. soldiers, sailors, and artisans knelt around him,--black jesuits, gray récollets, swarthy _voyageurs_, and painted savages; a devout but motley concourse. as they left the chapel, the ottawa chiefs came to bid them welcome, and the hurons saluted them with a volley of musketry. they saw the "griffin" at her anchorage, surrounded by more than a hundred bark canoes, like a triton among minnows. yet it was with more wonder than good-will that the indians of the mission gazed on the "floating fort," for so they called the vessel. a deep jealousy of la salle's designs had been infused into them. his own followers, too, had been tampered with. in the autumn before, it may be remembered, he had sent fifteen men up the lakes to trade for him, with orders to go thence to the illinois and make preparation against his coming. early in the summer, tonty had been despatched in a canoe from niagara to look after them.[ ] it was high time. most of the men had been seduced from their duty, and had disobeyed their orders, squandered the goods intrusted to them, or used them in trading on their own account. la salle found four of them at michilimackinac. these he arrested, and sent tonty to the falls of ste. marie, where two others were captured, with their plunder. the rest were in the woods, and it was useless to pursue them. [sidenote: rivals and enemies.] anxious and troubled as to the condition of his affairs in canada. la salle had meant, after seeing his party safe at michilimackinac, to leave tonty to conduct it to the illinois, while he himself returned to the colony. but tonty was still at ste. marie, and he had none to trust but himself. therefore, he resolved at all risks to remain with his men; "for," he says, "i judged my presence absolutely necessary to retain such of them as were left me, and prevent them from being enticed away during the winter." moreover, he thought that he had detected an intrigue of his enemies to hound on the iroquois against the illinois, in order to defeat his plan by involving him in the war. early in september he set sail again, and passing westward into lake michigan,[ ] cast anchor near one of the islands at the entrance of green bay. here, for once, he found a friend in the person of a pottawattamie chief, who had been so wrought upon by the politic kindness of frontenac that he declared himself ready to die for the children of onontio.[ ] here, too, he found several of his advance party, who had remained faithful and collected a large store of furs. it would have been better had they proved false, like the rest. la salle, who asked counsel of no man, resolved, in spite of his followers, to send back the "griffin" laden with these furs, and others collected on the way, to satisfy his creditors.[ ] it was a rash resolution, for it involved trusting her to the pilot, who had already proved either incompetent or treacherous. she fired a parting shot, and on the eighteenth of september set sail for niagara, with orders to return to the head of lake michigan as soon as she had discharged her cargo. la salle, with the fourteen men who remained, in four canoes deeply laden with a forge, tools, merchandise, and arms, put out from the island and resumed his voyage. [sidenote: pottawattamies.] the parting was not auspicious. the lake, glassy and calm in the afternoon, was convulsed at night with a sudden storm, when the canoes were midway between the island and the main shore. it was with difficulty that they could keep together, the men shouting to each other through the darkness. hennepin, who was in the smallest canoe with a heavy load, and a carpenter for a companion who was awkward at the paddle, found himself in jeopardy which demanded all his nerve. the voyagers thought themselves happy when they gained at last the shelter of a little sandy cove, where they dragged up their canoes, and made their cheerless bivouac in the drenched and dripping forest. here they spent five days, living on pumpkins and indian corn, the gift of their pottawattamie friends, and on a canada porcupine brought in by la salle's mohegan hunter. the gale raged meanwhile with relentless fury. they trembled when they thought of the "griffin." when at length the tempest lulled, they re-embarked, and steered southward along the shore of wisconsin; but again the storm fell upon them, and drove them for safety to a bare, rocky islet. here they made a fire of drift-wood, crouched around it, drew their blankets over their heads, and in this miserable plight, pelted with sleet and rain, remained for two days. at length they were afloat again; but their prosperity was brief. on the twenty-eighth, a fierce squall drove them to a point of rocks covered with bushes, where they consumed the little that remained of their provisions. on the first of october they paddled about thirty miles, without food, when they came to a village of pottawattamies, who ran down to the shore to help them to land; but la salle, fearing that some of his men would steal the merchandise and desert to the indians, insisted on going three leagues farther, to the great indignation of his followers. the lake, swept by an easterly gale, was rolling its waves against the beach, like the ocean in a storm. in the attempt to land, la salle's canoe was nearly swamped. he and his three canoe-men leaped into the water, and in spite of the surf, which nearly drowned them, dragged their vessel ashore with all its load. he then went to the rescue of hennepin, who with his awkward companion was in woful need of succor. father gabriel, with his sixty-four years, was no match for the surf and the violent undertow. hennepin, finding himself safe, waded to his relief, and carried him ashore on his sturdy shoulders; while the old friar, though drenched to the skin, laughed gayly under his cowl as his brother missionary staggered with him up the beach.[ ] when all were safe ashore, la salle, who distrusted the indians they had passed, took post on a hill, and ordered his followers to prepare their guns for action. nevertheless, as they were starving, an effort must be risked to gain a supply of food; and he sent three men back to the village to purchase it. well armed, but faint with toil and famine, they made their way through the stormy forest bearing a pipe of peace, but on arriving saw that the scared inhabitants had fled. they found, however, a stock of corn, of which they took a portion, leaving goods in exchange, and then set out on their return. meanwhile, about twenty of the warriors, armed with bows and arrows, approached the camp of the french to reconnoitre. la salle went to meet them with some of his men, opened a parley with them, and kept them seated at the foot of the hill till his three messengers returned, when on seeing the peace-pipe the warriors set up a cry of joy. in the morning they brought more corn to the camp, with a supply of fresh venison, not a little cheering to the exhausted frenchmen, who, in dread of treachery, had stood under arms all night. [sidenote: hardships.] this was no journey of pleasure. the lake was ruffled with almost ceaseless storms; clouds big with rain above, a turmoil of gray and gloomy waves beneath. every night the canoes must be shouldered through the breakers and dragged up the steep banks, which, as they neared the site of milwaukee, became almost insurmountable. the men paddled all day, with no other food than a handful of indian corn. they were spent with toil, sick with the haws and wild berries which they ravenously devoured, and dejected at the prospect before them. father gabriel's good spirits began to fail. he fainted several times from famine and fatigue, but was revived by a certain "confection of hyacinth" administered by hennepin, who had a small box of this precious specific. at length they descried at a distance, on the stormy shore, two or three eagles among a busy congregation of crows or turkey buzzards. they paddled in all haste to the spot. the feasters took flight; and the starved travellers found the mangled body of a deer, lately killed by the wolves. this good luck proved the inauguration of plenty. as they approached the head of the lake, game grew abundant; and, with the aid of the mohegan, there was no lack of bear's meat and venison. they found wild grapes, too, in the woods, and gathered them by cutting down the trees to which the vines clung. [sidenote: encounter with indians.] while thus employed, they were startled by a sight often so fearful in the waste and the wilderness,--the print of a human foot. it was clear that indians were not far off. a strict watch was kept, not, as it proved, without cause; for that night, while the sentry thought of little but screening himself and his gun from the floods of rain, a party of outagamies crept under the bank, where they lurked for some time before he discovered them. being challenged, they came forward, professing great friendship, and pretending to have mistaken the french for iroquois. in the morning, however, there was an outcry from la salle's servant, who declared that the visitors had stolen his coat from under the inverted canoe where he had placed it; while some of the carpenters also complained of being robbed. la salle well knew that if the theft were left unpunished, worse would come of it. first, he posted his men at the woody point of a peninsula, whose sandy neck was interposed between them and the main forest. then he went forth, pistol in hand, met a young outagami, seized him, and led him prisoner to his camp. this done, he again set out, and soon found an outagami chief,--for the wigwams were not far distant,--to whom he told what he had done, adding that unless the stolen goods were restored, the prisoner should be killed. the indians were in perplexity, for they had cut the coat to pieces and divided it. in this dilemma they resolved, being strong in numbers, to rescue their comrade by force. accordingly, they came down to the edge of the forest, or posted themselves behind fallen trees on the banks, while la salle's men in their stronghold braced their nerves for the fight. here three flemish friars with their rosaries, and eleven frenchmen with their guns, confronted a hundred and twenty screeching outagamies. hennepin, who had seen service, and who had always an exhortation at his tongue's end, busied himself to inspire the rest with a courage equal to his own. neither party, however, had an appetite for the fray. a parley ensued: full compensation was made for the stolen goods, and the aggrieved frenchmen were farther propitiated with a gift of beaver-skins. their late enemies, now become friends, spent the next day in dances, feasts, and speeches. they entreated la salle not to advance farther, since the illinois, through whose country he must pass, would be sure to kill him; for, added these friendly counsellors, they hated the french because they had been instigating the iroquois to invade their country, here was another subject of anxiety. la salle was confirmed in his belief that his busy and unscrupulous enemies were intriguing for his destruction. he pushed on, however, circling around the southern shore of lake michigan, till he reached the mouth of the st. joseph, called by him the miamis. here tonty was to have rejoined him with twenty men, making his way from michilimackinac along the eastern shore of the lake; but the rendezvous was a solitude,--tonty was nowhere to be seen. it was the first of november; winter was at hand, and the streams would soon be frozen. the men clamored to go forward, urging that they should starve if they could not reach the villages of the illinois before the tribe scattered for the winter hunt. la salle was inexorable. if they should all desert, he said, he, with his mohegan hunter and the three friars, would still remain and wait for tonty. the men grumbled, but obeyed; and, to divert their thoughts, he set them at building a fort of timber on a rising ground at the mouth of the river. they had spent twenty days at this task, and their work was well advanced, when at length tonty appeared. he brought with him only half of his men. provisions had failed; and the rest of his party had been left thirty leagues behind, to sustain themselves by hunting. la salle told him to return and hasten them forward. he set out with two men. a violent north wind arose. he tried to run his canoe ashore through the breakers. the two men could not manage their vessel, and he with his one hand could not help them. she swamped, rolling over in the surf. guns, baggage, and provisions were lost; and the three voyagers returned to the miamis, subsisting on acorns by the way. happily, the men left behind, excepting two deserters, succeeded, a few days after, in rejoining the party.[ ] [sidenote: forebodings.] thus was one heavy load lifted from the heart of la salle. but where was the "griffin"? time enough, and more than enough, had passed for her voyage to niagara and back again. he scanned the dreary horizon with an anxious eye. no returning sail gladdened the watery solitude, and a dark foreboding gathered on his heart. yet further delay was impossible. he sent back two men to michilimackinac to meet her, if she still existed, and pilot her to his new fort of the miamis, and then prepared to ascend the river, whose weedy edges were already glassed with thin flakes of ice.[ ] footnotes: [ ] they named it sainte claire, of which the present name is a perversion. [ ] hennepin ( ), . [ ] there is a rude plan of the establishment in la hontan, though in several editions its value is destroyed by the reversal of the plate. [ ] _relation de tonty, ; ibid., _. he was overtaken at the detroit by the "griffin." [ ] then usually known as lac des illinois, because it gave access to the country of the tribes so called. three years before, allouez gave it the name of lac st. joseph, by which it is often designated by the early writers. membré, douay, and others, call it lac dauphin. [ ] "the great mountain," the iroquois name for the governor of canada. it was borrowed by other tribes also. [ ] in the license of discovery granted to la salle, he is expressly prohibited from trading with the ottawas and others who brought furs to montreal. this traffic on the lakes was, therefore, illicit. his enemy, the intendant duchesneau, afterwards used this against him. _lettre de duchesneau au ministre, nov., ._ [ ] hennepin ( ), . [ ] hennepin ( ), ; _relation de tonty_, . [ ] the official account of this journey is given at length in the _relation des découvertes et des voyages du sieur de la salle_, - . this valuable document, compiled from letters and diaries of la salle, early in the year , was known to hennepin, who evidently had a copy of it before him when he wrote his book, in which he incorporated many passages from it. chapter xii. , . la salle on the illinois. the st. joseph.--adventure of la salle.--the prairies.--famine.--the great town of the illinois.--indians.--intrigues.--difficulties.--policy of la salle.--desertion.--another attempt to poison la salle. [sidenote: la salle's adventure.] on the third of december the party re-embarked, thirty-three in all, in eight canoes,[ ] and ascended the chill current of the st. joseph, bordered with dreary meadows and bare gray forests. when they approached the site of the present village of south bend, they looked anxiously along the shore on their right to find the portage or path leading to the headquarters of the illinois. the mohegan was absent, hunting; and, unaided by his practised eye, they passed the path without seeing it. la salle landed to search the woods. hours passed, and he did not return. hennepin and tonty grew uneasy, disembarked, bivouacked, ordered guns to be fired, and sent out men to scour the country. night came, but not their lost leader. muffled in their blankets and powdered by the thick-falling snow-flakes, they sat ruefully speculating as to what had befallen him; nor was it till four o'clock of the next afternoon that they saw him approaching along the margin of the river. his face and hands were besmirched with charcoal; and he was further decorated with two opossums which hung from his belt, and which he had killed with a stick as they were swinging head downwards from the bough of a tree, after the fashion of that singular beast. he had missed his way in the forest, and had been forced to make a wide circuit around the edge of a swamp; while the snow, of which the air was full, added to his perplexities. thus he pushed on through the rest of the day and the greater part of the night, till, about two o'clock in the morning, he reached the river again, and fired his gun as a signal to his party. hearing no answering shot, he pursued his way along the bank, when he presently saw the gleam of a fire among the dense thickets close at hand. not doubting that he had found the bivouac of his party, he hastened to the spot. to his surprise, no human being was to be seen. under a tree beside the fire was a heap of dry grass impressed with the form of a man who must have fled but a moment before, for his couch was still warm. it was no doubt an indian, ambushed on the bank, watching to kill some passing enemy. la salle called out in several indian languages; but there was dead silence all around. he then, with admirable coolness, took possession of the quarters he had found, shouting to their invisible proprietor that he was about to sleep in his bed; piled a barricade of bushes around the spot, rekindled the dying fire, warmed his benumbed hands, stretched himself on the dried grass, and slept undisturbed till morning. the mohegan had rejoined the party before la salle's return, and with his aid the portage was soon found. here the party encamped. la salle, who was excessively fatigued, occupied, together with hennepin, a wigwam covered in the indian manner with mats of reeds. the cold forced them to kindle a fire, which before daybreak set the mats in a blaze; and the two sleepers narrowly escaped being burned along with their hut. [sidenote: the kankakee.] in the morning, the party shouldered their canoes and baggage and began their march for the sources of the river illinois, some five miles distant. around them stretched a desolate plain, half-covered with snow and strewn with the skulls and bones of buffalo; while, on its farthest verge, they could see the lodges of the miami indians, who had made this place their abode. as they filed on their way, a man named duplessis, bearing a grudge against la salle, who walked just before him, raised his gun to shoot him through the back, but was prevented by one of his comrades. they soon reached a spot where the oozy, saturated soil quaked beneath their tread. all around were clumps of alder-bushes, tufts of rank grass, and pools of glistening water. in the midst a dark and lazy current, which a tall man might bestride, crept twisting like a snake among the weeds and rushes. here were the sources of the kankakee, one of the heads of the illinois.[ ] they set their canoes on this thread of water, embarked their baggage and themselves, and pushed down the sluggish streamlet, looking, at a little distance, like men who sailed on land. fed by an unceasing tribute of the spongy soil, it quickly widened to a river; and they floated on their way through a voiceless, lifeless solitude of dreary oak barrens, or boundless marshes overgrown with reeds. at night, they built their fire on ground made firm by frost, and bivouacked among the rushes. a few days brought them to a more favored region. on the right hand and on the left stretched the boundless prairie, dotted with leafless groves and bordered by gray wintry forests, scorched by the fires kindled in the dried grass by indian hunters, and strewn with the carcasses and the bleached skulls of innumerable buffalo. the plains were scored with their pathways, and the muddy edges of the river were full of their hoof-prints. yet not one was to be seen. at night, the horizon glowed with distant fires; and by day the savage hunters could be descried at times roaming on the verge of the prairie. the men, discontented and half-starved, would have deserted to them had they dared. la salle's mohegan could kill no game except two lean deer, with a few wild geese and swans. at length, in their straits, they made a happy discovery. it was a buffalo bull, fast mired in a slough. they killed him, lashed a cable about him, and then twelve men dragged out the shaggy monster, whose ponderous carcass demanded their utmost efforts. the scene changed again as they descended. on either hand ran ranges of woody hills, following the course of the river; and when they mounted to their tops, they saw beyond them a rolling sea of dull green prairie, a boundless pasture of the buffalo and the deer, in our own day strangely transformed,--yellow in harvest-time with ripened wheat, and dotted with the roofs of a hardy and valiant yeomanry.[ ] [sidenote: the illinois town.] they passed the site of the future town of ottawa, and saw on their right the high plateau of buffalo rock, long a favorite dwelling-place of indians. a league below, the river glided among islands bordered with stately woods. close on their left towered a lofty cliff,[ ] crested with trees that overhung the rippling current; while before them spread the valley of the illinois, in broad low meadows, bordered on the right by the graceful hills at whose foot now lies the village of utica. a population far more numerous then tenanted the valley. along the right bank of the river were clustered the lodges of a great indian town. hennepin counted four hundred and sixty of them.[ ] in shape, they were somewhat like the arched top of a baggage-wagon. they were built of a framework of poles, covered with mats of rushes closely interwoven; and each contained three or four fires, of which the greater part served for two families. [sidenote: hunger relieved.] here, then, was the town; but where were the inhabitants? all was silent as the desert. the lodges were empty, the fires dead, and the ashes cold. la salle had expected this; for he knew that in the autumn the illinois always left their towns for their winter hunting, and that the time of their return had not yet come. yet he was not the less embarrassed, for he would fain have bought a supply of food to relieve his famished followers. some of them, searching the deserted town, presently found the _caches_, or covered pits, in which the indians hid their stock of corn. this was precious beyond measure in their eyes, and to touch it would be a deep offence. la salle shrank from provoking their anger, which might prove the ruin of his plans; but his necessity overcame his prudence, and he took thirty _minots_ of corn, hoping to appease the owners by presents. thus provided, the party embarked again, and resumed their downward voyage. on new year's day, , they landed and heard mass. then hennepin wished a happy new year to la salle first, and afterwards to all the men, making them a speech, which, as he tells us, was "most touching."[ ] he and his two brethren next embraced the whole company in turn, "in a manner," writes the father, "most tender and affectionate," exhorting them, at the same time, to patience, faith, and constancy. four days after these solemnities, they reached the long expansion of the river then called pimitoui, and now known as peoria lake, and leisurely made their way downward to the site of the city of peoria.[ ] here, as evening drew near, they saw a faint spire of smoke curling above the gray forest, betokening that indians were at hand. la salle, as we have seen, had been warned that these tribes had been taught to regard him as their enemy; and when, in the morning, he resumed his course, he was prepared alike for peace or war. the shores now approached each other; and the illinois was once more a river, bordered on either hand with overhanging woods.[ ] at nine o'clock, doubling a point, he saw about eighty illinois wigwams, on both sides of the river. he instantly ordered the eight canoes to be ranged in line, abreast, across the stream,--tonty on the right, and he himself on the left. the men laid down their paddles and seized their weapons; while, in this warlike guise, the current bore them swiftly into the midst of the surprised and astounded savages. the camps were in a panic. warriors whooped and howled; squaws and children screeched in chorus. some snatched their bows and war-clubs; some ran in terror; and, in the midst of the hubbub, la salle leaped ashore, followed by his men. none knew better how to deal with indians; and he made no sign of friendship, knowing that it might be construed as a token of fear. his little knot of frenchmen stood, gun in hand, passive, yet prepared for battle. the indians, on their part, rallying a little from their fright, made all haste to proffer peace. two of their chiefs came forward, holding out the calumet; while another began a loud harangue, to check the young warriors who were aiming their arrows from the farther bank. la salle, responding to these friendly overtures, displayed another calumet; while hennepin caught several scared children and soothed them with winning blandishments.[ ] the uproar was quelled; and the strangers were presently seated in the midst of the camp, beset by a throng of wild and swarthy figures. [sidenote: illinois hospitality.] food was placed before them; and, as the illinois code of courtesy enjoined, their entertainers conveyed the morsels with their own hands to the lips of these unenviable victims of their hospitality, while others rubbed their feet with bear's grease. la salle, on his part, made them a gift of tobacco and hatchets; and when he had escaped from their caresses, rose and harangued them. he told them that he had been forced to take corn from their granaries, lest his men should die of hunger; but he prayed them not to be offended, promising full restitution or ample payment. he had come, he said, to protect them against their enemies, and teach them to pray to the true god. as for the iroquois, they were subjects of the great king, and therefore brethren of the french; yet, nevertheless, should they begin a war and invade the country of the illinois, he would stand by them, give them guns, and fight in their defence, if they would permit him to build a fort among them for the security of his men. it was also, he added, his purpose to build a great wooden canoe, in which to descend the mississippi to the sea, and then return, bringing them the goods of which they stood in need; but if they would not consent to his plans and sell provisions to his men, he would pass on to the osages, who would then reap all the benefits of intercourse with the french, while they were left destitute, at the mercy of the iroquois.[ ] this threat had its effect, for it touched their deep-rooted jealousy of the osages. they were lavish of promises, and feasts and dances consumed the day. yet la salle soon learned that the intrigues of his enemies were still pursuing him. that evening, unknown to him, a stranger appeared in the illinois camp. he was a mascoutin chief, named monso, attended by five or six miamis, and bringing a gift of knives, hatchets, and kettles to the illinois.[ ] the chiefs assembled in a secret nocturnal session, where, smoking their pipes, they listened with open ears to the harangue of the envoys. monso told them that he had come in behalf of certain frenchmen, whom he named, to warn his hearers against the designs of la salle, whom he denounced as a partisan and spy of the iroquois, affirming that he was now on his way to stir up the tribes beyond the mississippi to join in a war against the illinois, who, thus assailed from the east and from the west, would be utterly destroyed. there was no hope for them, he added, but in checking the farther progress of la salle, or, at least, retarding it, thus causing his men to desert him. having thrown his fire-brand, monso and his party left the camp in haste, dreading to be confronted with the object of their aspersions.[ ] [sidenote: fresh intrigues.] in the morning, la salle saw a change in the behavior of his hosts. they looked on him askance, cold, sullen, and suspicious. there was one omawha, a chief, whose favor he had won the day before by the politic gift of two hatchets and three knives, and who now came to him in secret to tell him what had taken place at the nocturnal council. la salle at once saw in it a device of his enemies; and this belief was confirmed, when, in the afternoon, nicanopé, brother of the head chief, sent to invite the frenchmen to a feast. they repaired to his lodge; but before dinner was served,--that is to say, while the guests, white and red, were seated on mats, each with his hunting-knife in his hand, and the wooden bowl before him which was to receive his share of the bear's or buffalo's meat, or the corn boiled in fat, with which he was to be regaled,--while such was the posture of the company, their host arose and began a long speech. he told the frenchmen that he had invited them to his lodge less to refresh their bodies with good cheer than to cure their minds of the dangerous purpose which possessed them, of descending the mississippi. its shores, he said, were beset by savage tribes, against whose numbers and ferocity their valor would avail nothing; its waters were infested by serpents, alligators, and unnatural monsters; while the river itself, after raging among rocks and whirlpools, plunged headlong at last into a fathomless gulf, which would swallow them and their vessel forever. [sidenote: la salle and the indians.] la salle's men were for the most part raw hands, knowing nothing of the wilderness, and easily alarmed at its dangers; but there were two among them, old _coureurs de bois_, who unfortunately knew too much; for they understood the indian orator, and explained his speech to the rest. as la salle looked around on the circle of his followers, he read an augury of fresh trouble in their disturbed and rueful visages. he waited patiently, however, till the speaker had ended, and then answered him, through his interpreter, with great composure. first, he thanked him for the friendly warning which his affection had impelled him to utter; but, he continued, the greater the danger, the greater the honor; and even if the danger were real, frenchmen would never flinch from it. but were not the illinois jealous? had they not been deluded by lies? "we were not asleep, my brother, when monso came to tell you, under cover of night, that we were spies of the iroquois. the presents he gave you, that you might believe his falsehoods, are at this moment buried in the earth under this lodge. if he told the truth, why did he skulk away in the dark? why did he not show himself by day? do you not see that when we first came among you, and your camp was all in confusion, we could have killed you without needing help from the iroquois? and now, while i am speaking, could we not put your old men to death, while your young warriors are all gone away to hunt? if we meant to make war on you, we should need no help from the iroquois, who have so often felt the force of our arms. look at what we have brought you. it is not weapons to destroy you, but merchandise and tools for your good. if you still harbor evil thoughts of us, be frank as we are, and speak them boldly. go after this impostor monso, and bring him back, that we may answer him face to face; for he never saw either us or the iroquois, and what can he know of the plots that he pretends to reveal?"[ ] nicanopé had nothing to reply, and, grunting assent in the depths of his throat, made a sign that the feast should proceed. the french were lodged in huts, near the indian camp; and, fearing treachery, la salle placed a guard at night. on the morning after the feast, he came out into the frosty air and looked about him for the sentinels. not one of them was to be seen. vexed and alarmed, he entered hut after hut and roused his drowsy followers. six of the number, including two of the best carpenters, were nowhere to be found. discontented and mutinous from the first, and now terrified by the fictions of nicanopé, they had deserted, preferring the hardships of the midwinter forest to the mysterious terrors of the mississippi. la salle mustered the rest before him, and inveighed sternly against the cowardice and baseness of those who had thus abandoned him, regardless of his many favors. if any here, he added, are afraid, let them but wait till the spring, and they shall have free leave to return to canada, safely and without dishonor.[ ] [sidenote: la salle again poisoned.] this desertion cut him to the heart. it showed him that he was leaning on a broken reed; and he felt that, on an enterprise full of doubt and peril, there were scarcely four men in his party whom he could trust. nor was desertion the worst he had to fear; for here, as at fort frontenac, an attempt was made to kill him. tonty tells us that poison was placed in the pot in which their food was cooked, and that la salle was saved by an antidote which some of his friends had given him before he left france. this, it will be remembered, was an epoch of poisoners. it was in the following month that the notorious la voisin was burned alive, at paris, for practices to which many of the highest nobility were charged with being privy, not excepting some in whose veins ran the blood of the gorgeous spendthrift who ruled the destinies of france.[ ] in these early french enterprises in the west, it was to the last degree difficult to hold men to their duty. once fairly in the wilderness, completely freed from the sharp restraints of authority in which they had passed their lives, a spirit of lawlessness broke out among them with a violence proportioned to the pressure which had hitherto controlled it. discipline had no resources and no guarantee; while those outlaws of the forest, the _coureurs de bois_, were always before their eyes, a standing example of unbridled license. la salle, eminently skilful in his dealings with indians, was rarely so happy with his own countrymen; and yet the desertions from which he was continually suffering were due far more to the inevitable difficulty of his position than to any want of conduct on his part. footnotes: [ ] _lettre de duchesneau à----, nov., ._ [ ] the kankakee was called at this time the theakiki, or haukiki (marest); a name which, as charlevoix says, was afterwards corrupted by the french to kiakiki whence, probably, its present form. in la salle's time, the name "theakiki" was given to the river illinois through all its course. it was also called the rivière seignelay, the rivière des macopins, and the rivière divine, or rivière de la divine. the latter name, when charlevoix visited the country in , was confined to the northern branch. he gives an interesting and somewhat graphic account of the portage and the sources of the kankakee, in his letter dated _de la source du theakiki, ce dix-sept septembre_, . why the illinois should ever have been called the "divine," it is not easy to see. the memoirs of st. simon suggest an explanation. madame de frontenac and her friend mademoiselle d'outrelaise, he tells us, lived together in apartments at the arsenal, where they held their _salon_ and exercised a great power in society. they were called at court _les divines_. (st. simon, v. : cheruel.) in compliment to frontenac, the river may have been named after his wife or her friend. the suggestion is due to m. margry. i have seen a map by raudin, frontenac's engineer, on which the river is called "rivière de la divine ou l'outrelaise." [ ] the change is very recent. within the memory of men not yet old, wolves and deer, besides wild swans, wild turkeys, cranes, and pelicans, abounded in this region. in , a friend of mine shot a deer from the window of a farmhouse, near the present town of la salle. running wolves on horseback was his favorite amusement in this part of the country. the buffalo long ago disappeared; but the early settlers found frequent remains of them. mr. james clark, of utica, ill., told me that he once found a large quantity of their bones and skulls in one place, as if a herd had perished in the snowdrifts. [ ] "starved rock." it will hold, hereafter, a conspicuous place in the narrative. [ ] _la louisiane_, . allouez (_relation_, - ) found three hundred and fifty-one lodges. this was in . the population of this town, which embraced five or six distinct tribes of the illinois, was continually changing. in , marquette addressed here an auditory composed of five hundred chiefs and old men, and fifteen hundred young men, besides women and children. he estimates the number of fires at five or six hundred. (_voyages du père marquette_, : lenox.) membré, who was here in , says that it then contained seven or eight thousand souls. (membré in le clerc, _premier Établissement de la foy_, ii. .) on the remarkable manuscript map of franquelin, , it is set down at twelve hundred warriors, or about six thousand souls. this was after the destructive inroad of the iroquois. some years later, rasle reported upwards of twenty-four hundred families. (_lettre à son frère, in lettres Édifiantes._) at times, nearly the whole illinois population was gathered here. at other times, the several tribes that composed it separated, some dwelling apart from the rest; so that at one period the illinois formed eleven villages, while at others they were gathered into two, of which this was much the larger. the meadows around it were extensively cultivated, yielding large crops, chiefly of indian corn. the lodges were built along the river-bank for a distance of a mile, and sometimes far more. in their shape, though not in their material, they resembled those of the hurons. there were no palisades or embankments. this neighborhood abounds in indian relics. the village graveyard appears to have been on a rising ground, near the river immediately in front of the town of utica. this is the only part of the river bottom, from this point to the mississippi, not liable to inundation in the spring floods. it now forms part of a farm occupied by a tenant of mr. james clark. both mr. clark and his tenant informed me that every year great quantities of human bones and teeth were turned up here by the plough. many implements of stone are also found, together with beads and other ornaments of indian and european fabric. [ ] "les paroles les plus touchantes."--_hennepin_ ( ), . the later editions add the modest qualification, "que je pus." [ ] peoria was the name of one of the tribes of the illinois. hennepin's dates here do not exactly agree with those of la salle (_lettre du sept., _), who says that they were at the illinois village on the first of january, and at peoria lake on the fifth. [ ] at least, it is so now at this place. perhaps, in la salle's time, it was not wholly so; for there is evidence, in various parts of the west, that the forest has made considerable encroachments on the open country. [ ] hennepin ( ), . [ ] hennepin ( ), - . the later editions omit a part of the above. [ ] "un sauvage, nommé monso, qui veut dire chevreuil_."--la salle._ probably monso is a misprint for mouso, as _mousoa_ is illinois for _chevreuil_, or deer. [ ] hennepin ( ), , ( ), ; le clerc, ii. ; _mémoire du voyage de m. de la salle_. this is a paper appended to frontenac's letter to the minister, nov., . hennepin prints a translation of it in the english edition of his later work. it charges the jesuit allouez with being at the bottom of the intrigue. compare _lettre de la salle, sept., _ (margry, ii. ), and _mémoire de la salle_, in thomassy, _géologie pratique de la louisiane_, . the account of the affair of monso, in the spurious work bearing tonty's name, is mere romance. [ ] the above is a paraphrase, with some condensation, from hennepin, whose account is substantially identical with that of la salle. [ ] hennepin ( ), . _déclaration faite par moyse hillaret, charpentier de barque, cy devant au service du sr. de la salle._ [ ] the equally noted brinvilliers was burned four years before. an account of both will be found in the letters of madame de sévigné. the memoirs of the time abound in evidence of the frightful prevalence of these practices, and the commotion which they excited in all ranks of society. chapter xiii. . fort crÈvec[oe]ur. building of the fort.--loss of the "griffin."--a bold resolution.--another vessel.--hennepin sent to the mississippi.--departure of la salle. [sidenote: building of the fort.] la salle now resolved to leave the indian camp, and fortify himself for the winter in a strong position, where his men would be less exposed to dangerous influence, and where he could hold his ground against an outbreak of the illinois or an iroquois invasion. at the middle of january, a thaw broke up the ice which had closed the river; and he set out in a canoe, with hennepin, to visit the site he had chosen for his projected fort. it was half a league below the camp, on a low hill or knoll, two hundred yards from the southern bank. on either side was a deep ravine, and in front a marshy tract, overflowed at high water. thither, then, the party was removed. they dug a ditch behind the hill, connecting the two ravines, and thus completely isolating it. the hill was nearly square in form. an embankment of earth was thrown up on every side: its declivities were sloped steeply down to the bottom of the ravines and the ditch, and further guarded by _chevaux-de-frise_; while a palisade, twenty-five feet high, was planted around the whole. the lodgings of the men, built of musket-proof timber, were at two of the angles; the house of the friars at the third; the forge and magazine at the fourth; and the tents of la salle and tonty in the area within. hennepin laments the failure of wine, which prevented him from saying mass; but every morning and evening he summoned the men to his cabin to listen to prayers and preaching, and on sundays and fête-days they chanted vespers. father zenobe usually spent the day in the indian camp, striving, with very indifferent success, to win them to the faith, and to overcome the disgust with which their manners and habits inspired him. such was the first civilized occupation of the region which now forms the state of illinois. la salle christened his new fort fort crèvecoeur. the name tells of disaster and suffering, but does no justice to the iron-hearted constancy of the sufferer. up to this time he had clung to the hope that his vessel, the "griffin," might still be safe. her safety was vital to his enterprise. she had on board articles of the last necessity to him, including the rigging and anchors of another vessel which he was to build at fort crèvecoeur, in order to descend the mississippi and sail thence to the west indies. but now his last hope had well-nigh vanished. past all reasonable doubt, the "griffin" was lost; and in her loss he and all his plans seemed ruined alike. nothing, indeed, was ever heard of her. indians, fur-traders, and even jesuits, have been charged with contriving her destruction. some say that the ottawas boarded and burned her, after murdering those on board; others accuse the pottawattamies; others affirm that her own crew scuttled and sunk her; others, again, that she foundered in a storm.[ ] as for la salle, the belief grew in him to a settled conviction that she had been treacherously sunk by the pilot and the sailors to whom he had intrusted her; and he thought he had found evidence that the authors of the crime, laden with the merchandise they had taken from her, had reached the mississippi and ascended it, hoping to join du lhut, a famous chief of _coureurs de bois_, and enrich themselves by traffic with the northern tribes.[ ] [sidenote: la salle's anxieties.] but whether her lading was swallowed in the depths of the lake, or lost in the clutches of traitors, the evil was alike past remedy. she was gone, it mattered little how. the main-stay of the enterprise was broken; yet its inflexible chief lost neither heart nor hope. one path, beset with hardships and terrors, still lay open to him. he might return on foot to fort frontenac, and bring thence the needful succors. la salle felt deeply the dangers of such a step. his men were uneasy, discontented, and terrified by the stories with which the jealous illinois still constantly filled their ears, of the whirlpools and the monsters of the mississippi. he dreaded lest, in his absence, they should follow the example of their comrades, and desert. in the midst of his anxieties, a lucky accident gave him the means of disabusing them. he was hunting, one day, near the fort, when he met a young illinois on his way home, half-starved, from a distant war excursion. he had been absent so long that he knew nothing of what had passed between his countrymen and the french. la salle gave him a turkey he had shot, invited him to the fort, fed him, and made him presents. having thus warmed his heart, he questioned him, with apparent carelessness, as to the countries he had visited, and especially as to the mississippi,--on which the young warrior, seeing no reason to disguise the truth, gave him all the information he required. la salle now made him the present of a hatchet, to engage him to say nothing of what had passed, and, leaving him in excellent humor, repaired, with some of his followers, to the illinois camp. here he found the chiefs seated at a feast of bear's meat, and he took his place among them on a mat of rushes. after a pause, he charged them with having deceived him in regard to the mississippi; adding that he knew the river perfectly, having been instructed concerning it by the master of life. he then described it to them with so much accuracy that his astonished hearers, conceiving that he owed his knowledge to "medicine," or sorcery, clapped their hands to their mouths in sign of wonder, and confessed that all they had said was but an artifice, inspired by their earnest desire that he should remain among them.[ ] on this, la salle's men took heart again; and their courage rose still more when, soon after, a band of chickasa, arkansas, and osage warriors, from the mississippi, came to the camp on a friendly visit, and assured the french not only that the river was navigable to the sea, but that the tribes along its banks would give them a warm welcome. [sidenote: another vessel.] la salle had now good reason to hope that his followers would neither mutiny nor desert in his absence. one chief purpose of his intended journey was to procure the anchors, cables, and rigging of the vessel which he meant to build at fort crèvecoeur, and he resolved to see her on the stocks before he set out. this was no easy matter, for the pit-sawyers had deserted. "seeing," he writes, "that i should lose a year if i waited to get others from montreal, i said one day, before my people, that i was so vexed to find that the absence of two sawyers would defeat my plans and make all my trouble useless, that i was resolved to try to saw the planks myself, if i could find a single man who would help me with a will." hereupon, two men stepped forward and promised to do their best. they were tolerably successful, and, the rest being roused to emulation, the work went on with such vigor that within six weeks the hull of the vessel was half finished. she was of forty tons' burden, and was built with high bulwarks, to protect those on board from indian arrows. la salle now bethought him that, in his absence, he might get from hennepin service of more value than his sermons; and he requested him to descend the illinois, and explore it to its mouth. the friar, though hardy and daring, would fain have excused himself, alleging a troublesome bodily infirmity; but his venerable colleague ribourde, himself too old for the journey, urged him to go, telling him that if he died by the way, his apostolic labors would redound to the glory of god. membré had been living for some time in the indian camp, and was thoroughly out of humor with the objects of his missionary efforts, of whose obduracy and filth he bitterly complained. hennepin proposed to take his place, while he should assume the mississippi adventure; but this membré declined, preferring to remain where he was. hennepin now reluctantly accepted the proposed task. "anybody but me," he says, with his usual modesty, "would have been very much frightened at the dangers of such a journey; and, in fact, if i had not placed all my trust in god, i should not have been the dupe of the sieur de la salle, who exposed my life rashly."[ ] on the last day of february, hennepin's canoe lay at the water's edge; and the party gathered on the bank to bid him farewell. he had two companions,--michel accau, and a man known as the picard du gay,[ ] though his real name was antoine auguel. the canoe was well laden with gifts for the indians,--tobacco, knives, beads, awls, and other goods, to a very considerable value, supplied at la salle's cost; "and, in fact," observes hennepin, "he is liberal enough towards his friends."[ ] [sidenote: departure of hennepin.] the friar bade farewell to la salle, and embraced all the rest in turn. father ribourde gave him his benediction. "be of good courage and let your heart be comforted," said the excellent old missionary, as he spread his hands in benediction over the shaven crown of the reverend traveller. du gay and accau plied their paddles; the canoe receded, and vanished at length behind the forest. we will follow hennepin hereafter on his adventures, imaginary and real. meanwhile, we will trace the footsteps of his chief, urging his way, in the storms of winter, through those vast and gloomy wilds,--those realms of famine, treachery, and death,--that lay betwixt him and his far-distant goal of fort frontenac. on the first of march,[ ] before the frost was yet out of the ground, when the forest was still leafless, and the oozy prairies still patched with snow, a band of discontented men were again gathered on the shore for another leave-taking. hard by, the unfinished ship lay on the stocks, white and fresh from the saw and axe, ceaselessly reminding them of the hardship and peril that was in store. here you would have seen the calm, impenetrable face of la salle, and with him the mohegan hunter, who seems to have felt towards him that admiring attachment which he could always inspire in his indian retainers. besides the mohegan, four frenchmen were to accompany him,--hunaut, la violette, collin, and dautray.[ ] his parting with tonty was an anxious one, for each well knew the risks that environed both. embarking with his followers in two canoes, he made his way upward amid the drifting ice; while the faithful italian, with two or three honest men and twelve or thirteen knaves, remained to hold fort crèvecoeur in his absence. footnotes: [ ] charlevoix, i. ; la potherie, ii. ; la hontan, _memoir on the fur-trade of canada_. i am indebted for a copy of this paper to winthrop sargent, esq., who purchased the original at the sale of the library of the poet southey. like hennepin, la hontan went over to the english; and this memoir is written in their interest. [ ] _lettre de la salle à la barre, chicagou, juin, ._ this is a long letter, addressed to the successor of frontenac in the government of canada. la salle says that a young indian belonging to him told him that three years before he saw a white man, answering the description of the pilot, a prisoner among a tribe beyond the mississippi. he had been captured with four others on that river, while making his way with canoes, laden with goods, towards the sioux. his companions had been killed. other circumstances, which la salle details at great length, convinced him that the white prisoner was no other than the pilot of the "griffin." the evidence, however, is not conclusive. [ ] _relation des découvertes et des voyages du sr. de la salle, seigneur et gouverneur du fort de frontenac, au delà des grands lacs de la nouvelle france, faits par ordre de monseigneur colbert_, , et . hennepin gives a story which is not essentially different, except that he makes himself a conspicuous actor in it. [ ] all the above is from hennepin; and it seems to be marked by his characteristic egotism. it appears, from la salle's letters, that accau was the real chief of the party; that their orders were to explore not only the illinois, but also a part of the mississippi; and that hennepin volunteered to go with the others. accau was chosen because he spoke several indian languages. [ ] an eminent writer has mistaken "picard" for a personal name. du gay was called "le picard," because he came from the province of picardy. [ ] ( ), . this commendation is suppressed in the later editions. [ ] tonty erroneously places their departure on the twenty-second. [ ] _déclaration faite par moyse hillaret, charpentier de barque._ chapter xiv. . hardihood of la salle. the winter journey.--the deserted town.--starved rock.--lake michigan.--the wilderness.--war parties.--la salle's men give out.--ill tidings.--mutiny.--chastisement of the mutineers. la salle well knew what was before him, and nothing but necessity spurred him to this desperate journey. he says that he could trust nobody else to go in his stead, and that unless the articles lost in the "griffin" were replaced without delay, the expedition would be retarded a full year, and he and his associates consumed by its expenses. "therefore," he writes to one of them, "though the thaws of approaching spring greatly increased the difficulty of the way, interrupted as it was everywhere by marshes and rivers, to say nothing of the length of the journey, which is about five hundred leagues in a direct line, and the danger of meeting indians of four or five different nations through whose country we were to pass, as well as an iroquois army which we knew was coming that way; though we must suffer all the time from hunger; sleep on the open ground, and often without food; watch by night and march by day, loaded with baggage, such as blanket, clothing, kettle, hatchet, gun, powder, lead, and skins to make moccasins; sometimes pushing through thickets, sometimes climbing rocks covered with ice and snow, sometimes wading whole days through marshes where the water was waist-deep or even more, at a season when the snow was not entirely melted,--though i knew all this, it did not prevent me from resolving to go on foot to fort frontenac, to learn for myself what had become of my vessel, and bring back the things we needed."[ ] the winter had been a severe one; and when, an hour after leaving the fort, he and his companions reached the still water of peoria lake, they found it sheeted with ice from shore to shore. they carried their canoes up the bank, made two rude sledges, placed the light vessels upon them, and dragged them to the upper end of the lake, where they encamped. in the morning they found the river still covered with ice, too weak to bear them and too strong to permit them to break a way for the canoes. they spent the whole day in carrying them through the woods, toiling knee-deep in saturated snow. rain fell in floods, and they took shelter at night in a deserted indian hut. in the morning, the third of march, they dragged their canoes half a league farther; then launched them, and, breaking the ice with clubs and hatchets, forced their way slowly up the stream. again their progress was barred, and again they took to the woods, toiling onward till a tempest of moist, half-liquid snow forced them to bivouac for the night. a sharp frost followed, and in the morning the white waste around them was glazed with a dazzling crust. now, for the first time, they could use their snow-shoes. bending to their work, dragging their canoes, which glided smoothly over the polished surface, they journeyed on hour after hour and league after league, till they reached at length the great town of the illinois, still void of its inhabitants.[ ] [sidenote: the deserted town.] it was a desolate and lonely scene,--the river gliding dark and cold between its banks of rushes; the empty lodges, covered with crusted snow; the vast white meadows; the distant cliffs, bearded with shining icicles; and the hills wrapped in forests, which glittered from afar with the icy incrustations that cased each frozen twig. yet there was life in the savage landscape. the men saw buffalo wading in the snow, and they killed one of them. more than this: they discovered the tracks of moccasins. they cut rushes by the edge of the river, piled them on the bank, and set them on fire, that the smoke might attract the eyes of savages roaming near. on the following day, while the hunters were smoking the meat of the buffalo, la salle went out to reconnoitre, and presently met three indians, one of whom proved to be chassagoac, the principal chief of the illinois.[ ] la salle brought them to his bivouac, feasted them, gave them a red blanket, a kettle, and some knives and hatchets, made friends with them, promised to restrain the iroquois from attacking them, told them that he was on his way to the settlements to bring arms and ammunition to defend them against their enemies, and, as the result of these advances, gained from the chief a promise that he would send provisions to tonty's party at fort crèvecoeur. after several days spent at the deserted town, la salle prepared to resume his journey. before his departure, his attention was attracted to the remarkable cliff of yellow sandstone, now called starved rock, a mile or more above the village,--a natural fortress, which a score of resolute white men might make good against a host of savages; and he soon afterwards sent tonty an order to examine it, and make it his stronghold in case of need.[ ] on the fifteenth the party set out again, carried their canoes along the bank of the river as far as the rapids above ottawa, then launched them and pushed their way upward, battling with the floating ice, which, loosened by a warm rain, drove down the swollen current in sheets. on the eighteenth they reached a point some miles below the site of joliet, and here found the river once more completely closed. despairing of farther progress by water, they hid their canoes on an island, and struck across the country for lake michigan. [sidenote: la salle's journey.] it was the worst of all seasons for such a journey. the nights were cold, but the sun was warm at noon, and the half-thawed prairie was one vast tract of mud, water, and discolored, half-liquid snow. on the twenty-second they crossed marshes and inundated meadows, wading to the knee, till at noon they were stopped by a river, perhaps the calumet. they made a raft of hard-wood timber, for there was no other, and shoved themselves across. on the next day they could see lake michigan dimly glimmering beyond the waste of woods; and, after crossing three swollen streams, they reached it at evening. on the twenty-fourth they followed its shore, till, at nightfall, they arrived at the fort which they had built in the autumn at the mouth of the st. joseph. here la salle found chapelle and leblanc, the two men whom he had sent from hence to michilimackinac, in search of the "griffin."[ ] they reported that they had made the circuit of the lake, and had neither seen her nor heard tidings of her. assured of her fate, he ordered them to rejoin tonty at fort crèvecoeur; while he pushed onward with his party through the unknown wild of southern michigan. "the rain," says la salle, "which lasted all day, and the raft we were obliged to make to cross the river, stopped us till noon of the twenty-fifth, when we continued our march through the woods, which was so interlaced with thorns and brambles that in two days and a half our clothes were all torn, and our faces so covered with blood that we hardly knew each other. on the twenty-eighth we found the woods more open, and began to fare better, meeting a good deal of game, which after this rarely failed us; so that we no longer carried provisions with us, but made a meal of roast meat wherever we happened to kill a deer, bear, or turkey. these are the choicest feasts on a journey like this; and till now we had generally gone without them, so that we had often walked all day without breakfast. [sidenote: indian alarms.] "the indians do not hunt in this region, which is debatable ground between five or six nations who are at war, and, being afraid of each other, do not venture into these parts except to surprise each other, and always with the greatest precaution and all possible secrecy. the reports of our guns and the carcasses of the animals we killed soon led some of them to find our trail. in fact, on the evening of the twenty-eighth, having made our fire by the edge of a prairie, we were surrounded by them; but as the man on guard waked us, and we posted ourselves behind trees with our guns, these savages, who are called wapoos, took us for iroquois, and thinking that there must be a great many of us because we did not travel secretly, as they do when in small bands, they ran off without shooting their arrows, and gave the alarm to their comrades, so that we were two days without meeting anybody." la salle guessed the cause of their fright; and, in order to confirm their delusion, he drew with charcoal, on the trunks of trees from which he had stripped the bark, the usual marks of an iroquois war-party, with signs for prisoners and for scalps, after the custom of those dreaded warriors. this ingenious artifice, as will soon appear, was near proving the destruction of the whole party. he also set fire to the dry grass of the prairies over which he and his men had just passed, thus destroying the traces of their passage. "we practised this device every night, and it answered very well so long as we were passing over an open country; but on the thirtieth we got into great marshes, flooded by the thaws, and were obliged to cross them in mud or water up to the waist; so that our tracks betrayed us to a band of mascoutins who were out after iroquois. they followed us through these marshes during the three days we were crossing them; but we made no fire at night, contenting ourselves with taking off our wet clothes and wrapping ourselves in our blankets on some dry knoll, where we slept till morning. at last, on the night of the second of april, there came a hard frost, and our clothes, which were drenched when we took them off, froze stiff as sticks, so that we could not put them on in the morning without making a fire to thaw them. the fire betrayed us to the indians, who were encamped across the marsh; and they ran towards us with loud cries, till they were stopped halfway by a stream so deep that they could not get over, the ice which had formed in the night not being strong enough to bear them. we went to meet them, within gun-shot; and whether our fire-arms frightened them, or whether they thought us more numerous than we were, or whether they really meant us no harm, they called out, in the illinois language, that they had taken us for iroquois, but now saw that we were friends and brothers; whereupon, they went off as they came, and we kept on our way till the fourth, when two of my men fell ill and could not walk." in this emergency, la salle went in search of some watercourse by which they might reach lake erie, and soon came upon a small river, which was probably the huron. here, while the sick men rested, their companions made a canoe. there were no birch-trees; and they were forced to use elm-bark, which at that early season would not slip freely from the wood until they loosened it with hot water. their canoe being made, they embarked in it, and for a time floated prosperously down the stream, when at length the way was barred by a matted barricade of trees fallen across the water. the sick men could now walk again, and, pushing eastward through the forest, the party soon reached the banks of the detroit. [sidenote: the journey's end.] la salle directed two of the men to make a canoe, and go to michilimackinac, the nearest harborage. with the remaining two, he crossed the detroit on a raft, and, striking a direct line across the country, reached lake erie not far from point pelée. snow, sleet, and rain pelted them with little intermission: and when, after a walk of about thirty miles, they gained the lake, the mohegan and one of the frenchmen were attacked with fever and spitting of blood. only one man now remained in health. with his aid, la salle made another canoe, and, embarking the invalids, pushed for niagara. it was easter monday when they landed at a cabin of logs above the cataract, probably on the spot where the "griffin" was built. here several of la salle's men had been left the year before, and here they still remained. they told him woful news. not only had he lost the "griffin," and her lading of ten thousand crowns in value, but a ship from france, freighted with his goods, valued at more than twenty-two thousand livres, had been totally wrecked at the mouth of the st. lawrence; and of twenty hired men on their way from europe to join him, some had been detained by his enemy, the intendant duchesneau, while all but four of the remainder, being told that he was dead, had found means to return home. his three followers were all unfit for travel: he alone retained his strength and spirit. taking with him three fresh men at niagara, he resumed his journey, and on the sixth of may descried, looming through floods of rain, the familiar shores of his seigniory and the bastioned walls of fort frontenac. during sixty-five days he had toiled almost incessantly, travelling, by the course he took, about a thousand miles through a country beset with every form of peril and obstruction,--"the most arduous journey," says the chronicler, "ever made by frenchmen in america." such was cavelier de la salle. in him, an unconquerable mind held at its service a frame of iron, and tasked it to the utmost of its endurance. the pioneer of western pioneers was no rude son of toil, but a man of thought, trained amid arts and letters.[ ] he had reached his goal; but for him there was neither rest nor peace. man and nature seemed in arms against him. his agents had plundered him; his creditors had seized his property; and several of his canoes, richly laden, had been lost in the rapids of the st. lawrence.[ ] he hastened to montreal, where his sudden advent caused great astonishment; and where, despite his crippled resources and damaged credit, he succeeded, within a week, in gaining the supplies which he required and the needful succors for the forlorn band on the illinois. he had returned to fort frontenac, and was on the point of embarking for their relief, when a blow fell upon him more disheartening than any that had preceded. [sidenote: the mutineers.] on the twenty-second of july, two _voyageurs_, messier and laurent, came to him with a letter from tonty, who wrote that soon after la salle's departure nearly all the men had deserted, after destroying fort crèvecoeur, plundering the magazine, and throwing into the river all the arms, goods, and stores which they could not carry off. the messengers who brought this letter were speedily followed by two of the _habitants_ of fort frontenac, who had been trading on the lakes, and who, with a fidelity which the unhappy la salle rarely knew how to inspire, had travelled day and night to bring him their tidings. they reported that they had met the deserters, and that, having been reinforced by recruits gained at michilimackinac and niagara, they now numbered twenty men.[ ] they had destroyed the fort on the st. joseph, seized a quantity of furs belonging to la salle at michilimackinac, and plundered the magazine at niagara. here they had separated, eight of them coasting the south side of lake ontario to find harborage at albany, a common refuge at that time of this class of scoundrels; while the remaining twelve, in three canoes, made for fort frontenac along the north shore, intending to kill la salle as the surest means of escaping punishment. [sidenote: chastisement.] he lost no time in lamentation. of the few men at his command he chose nine of the trustiest, embarked with them in canoes, and went to meet the marauders. after passing the bay of quinté, he took his station with five of his party at a point of land suited to his purpose, and detached the remaining four to keep watch. in the morning, two canoes were discovered approaching without suspicion, one of them far in advance of the other. as the foremost drew near, la salle's canoe darted out from under the leafy shore,--two of the men handling the paddles, while he, with the remaining two, levelled their guns at the deserters, and called on them to surrender. astonished and dismayed, they yielded at once; while two more, who were in the second canoe, hastened to follow their example. la salle now returned to the fort with his prisoners, placed them in custody, and again set forth. he met the third canoe upon the lake at about six o'clock in the evening. his men vainly plied their paddles in pursuit. the mutineers reached the shore, took post among rocks and trees, levelled their guns, and showed fight. four of la salle's men made a circuit to gain their rear and dislodge them, on which they stole back to their canoe and tried to escape in the darkness. they were pursued, and summoned to yield; but they replied by aiming their guns at their pursuers, who instantly gave them a volley, killed two of them, and captured the remaining three. like their companions, they were placed in custody at the fort, to await the arrival of count frontenac.[ ] footnotes: [ ] _lettre de la salle à un de ses associés_ (thouret?), _ sept., _ (margry, ii. ). [ ] membré says that he was in the town at the time; but this could hardly have been the case. he was, in all probability, among the illinois, in their camp near fort crèvecoeur. [ ] the same whom hennepin calls chassagouasse. he was brother of the chief, nicanopé, who, in his absence, had feasted the french on the day after the nocturnal council with monso. chassagoac was afterwards baptized by membré or ribourde, but soon relapsed into the superstitions of his people, and died, as the former tells us, "doubly a child of perdition." see le clerc, ii. . [ ] tonty, _mémoire_. the order was sent by two frenchmen, whom la salle met on lake michigan. [ ] _déclaration de moyse hillaret; relation des découvertes._ [ ] a rocky mountain trapper, being complimented on the hardihood of himself and his companions, once said to the writer, "that's so; but a gentleman of the right sort will stand hardship better than anybody else." the history of arctic and african travel and the military records of all time are a standing evidence that a trained and developed mind is not the enemy, but the active and powerful ally, of constitutional hardihood. the culture that enervates instead of strengthening is always a false or a partial one. [ ] zenobe membré in le clerc, ii. . [ ] when la salle was at niagara, in april, he had ordered dautray, the best of the men who had accompanied him from the illinois, to return thither as soon as he was able. four men from niagara were to go with him and he was to rejoin tonty with such supplies as that post could furnish. dautray set out accordingly, but was met on the lakes by the deserters, who told him that tonty was dead, and seduced his men. (_relation des découvertes._) dautray himself seems to have remained true; at least, he was in la salle's service immediately after, and was one of his most trusted followers. he was of good birth, being the son of jean bourdon, a conspicuous personage in the early period of the colony; and his name appears on official records as jean bourdon, sieur d'autray. [ ] la salle's long letter, written apparently to his associate thouret, and dated sept., , is the chief authority for the above. the greater part of this letter is incorporated, almost verbatim, in the official narrative called _relation des découvertes_. hennepin, membré, and tonty also speak of the journey from fort crèvecoeur. the death of the two mutineers was used by la salle's enemies as the basis of a charge of murder. chapter xv. . indian conquerors. the enterprise renewed.--attempt to rescue tonty.--buffalo.--a frightful discovery.--iroquois fury.--the ruined town.--a night of horror.--traces of the invaders.--no news of tonty. [sidenote: another effort.] and now la salle's work must be begun afresh. he had staked all, and all had seemingly been lost. in stern, relentless effort he had touched the limits of human endurance; and the harvest of his toil was disappointment, disaster, and impending ruin. the shattered fabric of his enterprise was prostrate in the dust. his friends desponded; his foes were blatant and exultant. did he bend before the storm? no human eye could pierce the depths of his reserved and haughty nature; but the surface was calm, and no sign betrayed a shaken resolve or an altered purpose. where weaker men would have abandoned all in despairing apathy, he turned anew to his work with the same vigor and the same apparent confidence as if borne on the full tide of success. his best hope was in tonty. could that brave and true-hearted officer and the three or four faithful men who had remained with him make good their foothold on the illinois, and save from destruction the vessel on the stocks and the forge and tools so laboriously carried thither, then a basis was left on which the ruined enterprise might be built up once more. there was no time to lose. tonty must be succored soon, or succor would come too late. la salle had already provided the necessary material, and a few days sufficed to complete his preparations. on the tenth of august he embarked again for the illinois. with him went his lieutenant la forest, who held of him in fief an island, then called belle isle, opposite fort frontenac.[ ] a surgeon, ship-carpenters, joiners, masons, soldiers, _voyageurs_ and laborers completed his company, twenty-five men in all, with everything needful for the outfit of the vessel. his route, though difficult, was not so long as that which he had followed the year before. he ascended the river humber; crossed to lake simcoe, and thence descended the severn to the georgian bay of lake huron; followed its eastern shore, coasted the manitoulin islands, and at length reached michilimackinac. here, as usual, all was hostile; and he had great difficulty in inducing the indians, who had been excited against him, to sell him provisions. anxious to reach his destination, he pushed forward with twelve men, leaving la forest to bring on the rest. on the fourth of november[ ] he reached the ruined fort at the mouth of the st. joseph, and left five of his party, with the heavy stores, to wait till la forest should come up, while he himself hastened forward with six frenchmen and an indian. a deep anxiety possessed him. the rumor, current for months past, that the iroquois, bent on destroying the illinois, were on the point of invading their country had constantly gained strength. here was a new disaster, which, if realized, might involve him and his enterprise in irretrievable wreck. he ascended the st. joseph, crossed the portage to the kankakee, and followed its course downward till it joined the northern branch of the illinois. he had heard nothing of tonty on the way, and neither here nor elsewhere could he discover the smallest sign of the passage of white men. his friend, therefore, if alive, was probably still at his post; and he pursued his course with a mind lightened, in some small measure, of its load of anxiety. [sidenote: buffalo.] when last he had passed here, all was solitude; but now the scene was changed. the boundless waste was thronged with life. he beheld that wondrous spectacle, still to be seen at times on the plains of the remotest west, and the memory of which can quicken the pulse and stir the blood after the lapse of years: far and near, the prairie was alive with buffalo; now like black specks dotting the distant swells; now trampling by in ponderous columns, or filing in long lines, morning, noon, and night, to drink at the river,--wading, plunging, and snorting in the water; climbing the muddy shores, and staring with wild eyes at the passing canoes. it was an opportunity not to be lost. the party landed, and encamped for a hunt. sometimes they hid under the shelving bank, and shot them as they came to drink; sometimes, flat on their faces, they dragged themselves through the long dead grass, till the savage bulls, guardians of the herd, ceased their grazing, raised their huge heads, and glared through tangled hair at the dangerous intruders. the hunt was successful. in three days the hunters killed twelve buffalo, besides deer, geese, and swans. they cut the meat into thin flakes, and dried it in the sun or in the smoke of their fires. the men were in high spirits,--delighting in the sport, and rejoicing in the prospect of relieving tonty and his hungry followers with a plentiful supply. they embarked again, and soon approached the great town of the illinois. the buffalo were far behind; and once more the canoes glided on their way through a voiceless solitude. no hunters were seen; no saluting whoop greeted their ears. they passed the cliff afterwards called the rock of st. louis, where la salle had ordered tonty to build his stronghold; but as he scanned its lofty top he saw no palisades, no cabins, no sign of human hand, and still its primeval crest of forests overhung the gliding river. now the meadow opened before them where the great town had stood. they gazed, astonished and confounded: all was desolation. the town had vanished, and the meadow was black with fire. they plied their paddles, hastened to the spot, landed; and as they looked around their cheeks grew white, and the blood was frozen in their veins. [sidenote: a night of horror.] before them lay a plain once swarming with wild human life and covered with indian dwellings, now a waste of devastation and death, strewn with heaps of ashes, and bristling with the charred poles and stakes which had formed the framework of the lodges. at the points of most of them were stuck human skulls, half picked by birds of prey.[ ] near at hand was the burial-ground of the village. the travellers sickened with horror as they entered its revolting precincts. wolves in multitudes fled at their approach; while clouds of crows or buzzards, rising from the hideous repast, wheeled above their heads, or settled on the naked branches of the neighboring forest. every grave had been rifled, and the bodies flung down from the scaffolds where, after the illinois custom, many of them had been placed. the field was strewn with broken bones and torn and mangled corpses. a hyena warfare had been waged against the dead. la salle knew the handiwork of the iroquois. the threatened blow had fallen, and the wolfish hordes of the five cantons had fleshed their rabid fangs in a new victim.[ ] not far distant, the conquerors had made a rude fort of trunks, boughs, and roots of trees laid together to form a circular enclosure; and this, too, was garnished with skulls, stuck on the broken branches and protruding sticks. the _caches_, or subterranean store-houses of the villagers, had been broken open and the contents scattered. the cornfields were laid waste, and much of the corn thrown into heaps and half burned. as la salle surveyed this scene of havoc, one thought engrossed him: where were tonty and his men? he searched the iroquois fort: there were abundant traces of its savage occupants, and, among them, a few fragments of french clothing. he examined the skulls; but the hair, portions of which clung to nearly all of them, was in every case that of an indian. evening came on before he had finished the search. the sun set, and the wilderness sank to its savage rest. night and silence brooded over the waste, where, far as the raven could wing his flight, stretched the dark domain of solitude and horror. yet there was no silence at the spot where la salle and his companions made their bivouac. the howling of the wolves filled the air with fierce and dreary dissonance. more dangerous foes were not far off, for before nightfall they had seen fresh indian tracks; "but, as it was very cold," says la salle, "this did not prevent us from making a fire and lying down by it, each of us keeping watch in turn. i spent the night in a distress which you can imagine better than i can write it; and i did not sleep a moment with trying to make up my mind as to what i ought to do. my ignorance as to the position of those i was looking after, and my uncertainty as to what would become of the men who were to follow me with la forest if they arrived at the ruined village and did not find me there, made me apprehend every sort of trouble and disaster. at last, i decided to keep on my way down the river, leaving some of my men behind in charge of the goods, which it was not only useless but dangerous to carry with me, because we should be forced to abandon them when the winter fairly set in, which would be very soon." [sidenote: fears for tonty.] this resolution was due to a discovery he had made the evening before, which offered, as he thought, a possible clew to the fate of tonty and the men with him. he thus describes it: "near the garden of the indians, which was on the meadows, a league from the village and not far from the river, i found six pointed stakes set in the ground and painted red. on each of them was the figure of a man with bandaged eyes, drawn in black. as the savages often set stakes of this sort where they have killed people, i thought, by their number and position, that when the iroquois came, the illinois, finding our men alone in the hut near their garden, had either killed them or made them prisoners. and i was confirmed in this, because, seeing no signs of a battle, i supposed that on hearing of the approach of the iroquois, the old men and other non-combatants had fled, and that the young warriors had remained behind to cover their flight, and afterwards followed, taking the french with them; while the iroquois, finding nobody to kill, had vented their fury on the corpses in the graveyard." uncertain as was the basis of this conjecture, and feeble as was the hope it afforded, it determined him to push forward, in order to learn more. when daylight returned, he told his purpose to his followers, and directed three of them to await his return near the ruined village. they were to hide themselves on an island, conceal their fire at night, make no smoke by day, fire no guns, and keep a close watch. should the rest of the party arrive, they, too, were to wait with similar precautions. the baggage was placed in a hollow of the rocks, at a place difficult of access; and, these arrangements made, la salle set out on his perilous journey with the four remaining men, dautray, hunaut, you, and the indian. each was armed with two guns, a pistol, and a sword; and a number of hatchets and other goods were placed in the canoe, as presents for indians whom they might meet. several leagues below the village they found, on their right hand close to the river, a sort of island, made inaccessible by the marshes and water which surrounded it. here the flying illinois had sought refuge with their women and children, and the place was full of their deserted huts. on the left bank, exactly opposite, was an abandoned camp of the iroquois. on the level meadow stood a hundred and thirteen huts, and on the forest trees which covered the hills behind were carved the totems, or insignia, of the chiefs, together with marks to show the number of followers which each had led to the war. la salle counted five hundred and eighty-two warriors. he found marks, too, for the illinois killed or captured, but none to indicate that any of the frenchmen had shared their fate. [sidenote: search for tonty.] as they descended the river, they passed, on the same day, six abandoned camps of the illinois; and opposite to each was a camp of the invaders. the former, it was clear, had retreated in a body; while the iroquois had followed their march, day by day, along the other bank. la salle and his men pushed rapidly onward, passed peoria lake, and soon reached fort crèvecoeur, which they found, as they expected, demolished by the deserters. the vessel on the stocks was still left entire, though the iroquois had found means to draw out the iron nails and spikes. on one of the planks were written the words: "_nous sommes tous sauvages: ce , _,"--the work, no doubt, of the knaves who had pillaged and destroyed the fort. la salle and his companions hastened on, and during the following day passed four opposing camps of the savage armies. the silence of death now reigned along the deserted river, whose lonely borders, wrapped deep in forests, seemed lifeless as the grave. as they drew near the mouth of the stream they saw a meadow on their right, and on its farthest verge several human figures, erect, yet motionless. they landed, and cautiously examined the place. the long grass was trampled down, and all around were strewn the relics of the hideous orgies which formed the ordinary sequel of an iroquois victory. the figures they had seen were the half-consumed bodies of women, still bound to the stakes where they had been tortured. other sights there were, too revolting for record.[ ] all the remains were those of women and children. the men, it seemed, had fled, and left them to their fate. here, again, la salle sought long and anxiously, without finding the smallest sign that could indicate the presence of frenchmen. once more descending the river, they soon reached its mouth. before them, a broad eddying current rolled swiftly on its way; and la salle beheld the mississippi,--the object of his day-dreams, the destined avenue of his ambition and his hopes. it was no time for reflections. the moment was too engrossing, too heavily charged with anxieties and cares. from a rock on the shore, he saw a tree stretched forward above the stream; and stripping off its bark to make it more conspicuous, he hung upon it a board on which he had drawn the figures of himself and his men, seated in their canoe, and bearing a pipe of peace. to this he tied a letter for tonty, informing him that he had returned up the river to the ruined village. his four men had behaved admirably throughout, and they now offered to continue the journey if he saw fit, and follow him to the sea; but he thought it useless to go farther, and was unwilling to abandon the three men whom he had ordered to await his return. accordingly, they retraced their course, and, paddling at times both day and night, urged their canoe so swiftly that they reached the village in the incredibly short space of four days.[ ] [sidenote: the comet.] the sky was clear, and as night came on the travellers saw a prodigious comet blazing above this scene of desolation. on that night, it was chilling with a superstitious awe the hamlets of new england and the gilded chambers of versailles; but it is characteristic of la salle, that, beset as he was with perils and surrounded with ghastly images of death, he coolly notes down the phenomenon, not as a portentous messenger of war and woe, but rather as an object of scientific curiosity.[ ] he found his three men safely ensconced upon their island, where they were anxiously looking for his return. after collecting a store of half-burnt corn from the ravaged granaries of the illinois, the whole party began to ascend the river, and on the sixth of january reached the junction of the kankakee with the northern branch. on their way downward they had descended the former stream; they now chose the latter, and soon discovered, by the margin of the water, a rude cabin of bark. la salle landed and examined the spot, when an object met his eye which cheered him with a bright gleam of hope. it was but a piece of wood; but the wood had been cut with a saw. tonty and his party, then, had passed this way, escaping from the carnage behind them. unhappily, they had left no token of their passage at the fork of the two streams; and thus la salle, on his voyage downward, had believed them to be still on the river below. with rekindled hope, the travellers pursued their journey, leaving their canoes, and making their way overland towards the fort on the st. joseph. "snow fell in extraordinary quantities all day," writes la salle, "and it kept on falling for nineteen days in succession, with cold so severe that i never knew so hard a winter, even in canada. we were obliged to cross forty leagues of open country, where we could hardly find wood to warm ourselves at evening, and could get no bark whatever to make a hut, so that we had to spend the night exposed to the furious winds which blow over these plains. i never suffered so much from cold, or had more trouble in getting forward; for the snow was so light, resting suspended as it were among the tall grass, that we could not use snow-shoes. sometimes it was waist deep; and as i walked before my men, as usual, to encourage them by breaking the path, i often had much ado, though i am rather tall, to lift my legs above the drifts, through which i pushed by the weight of my body." [sidenote: fort miami.] at length they reached their goal, and found shelter and safety within the walls of fort miami. here was the party left in charge of la forest; but, to his surprise and grief, la salle heard no tidings of tonty. he found some amends for the disappointment in the fidelity and zeal of la forest's men, who had restored the fort, cleared ground for planting, and even sawed the planks and timber for a new vessel on the lake. and now, while la salle rests at fort miami, let us trace the adventures which befell tonty and his followers, after their chief's departure from fort crèvecoeur. footnotes: [ ] _robert cavelier, sr. de la salle, à françois daupin, sr. de la forest, juin, ._ [ ] this date is from the _relation_. membré says the twenty-eighth; but he is wrong, by his own showing, as he says that the party reached the illinois village on the first of december, which would be an impossibility. [ ] "il ne restoit que quelques bouts de perches brulées qui montroient quelle avoit été l'étendue du village, et sur la plupart desquelles il y avoit des têtes de morts plantées et mangées des corbeaux."--_relation des découvertes du sr. de la salle._ [ ] "beaucoup de carcasses à demi rongées par les loups, les sépulchres démolis, les os tirés de leurs fosses et épars par la campagne; ... enfin les loups et les corbeaux augmentoient encore par leurs hurlemens et par leurs cris l'horreur de ce spectacle."--_relation des découvertes du sr. de la salle._ the above may seem exaggerated; but it accords perfectly with what is well established concerning the ferocious character of the iroquois and the nature of their warfare. many other tribes have frequently made war upon the dead. i have myself known an instance in which five corpses of sioux indians placed in trees, after the practice of the western bands of that people, were thrown down and kicked into fragments by a war party of the crows, who then held the muzzles of their guns against the skulls, and blew them to pieces. this happened near the head of the platte, in the summer of . yet the crows are much less ferocious than were the iroquois in la salle's time. [ ] "on ne sçauroit exprimer la rage de ces furieux ni les tourmens qu'ils avoient fait souffrir aux misérables tamaroa [_a tribe of the illinois_]. il y en avoit encore dans des chaudières qu'ils avoient laissées pleines sur les feux, qui depuis s'étoient éteints," etc., etc.--_relation des découvertes._ [ ] the distance is about two hundred and fifty miles. the letters of la salle, as well as the official narrative compiled from them, say that they left the village on the second of december, and returned to it on the eleventh, having left the mouth of the river on the seventh. [ ] this was the "great comet of ." dr. b. a. gould writes me: "it appeared in december, , and was visible until the latter part of february, , being especially brilliant in january." it was said to be the largest ever seen. by observations upon it, newton demonstrated the regular revolutions of comets around the sun. "no comet," it is said, "has threatened the earth with a nearer approach than that of ." (_winthrop on comets, lecture ii_. p. .) increase mather, in his _discourse concerning comets_, printed at boston in , says of this one: "its appearance was very terrible; the blaze ascended above degrees almost to its zenith." mather thought it fraught with terrific portent to the nations of the earth. chapter xvi. . tonty and the iroquois. the deserters.--the iroquois war.--the great town of the illinois.--the alarm.--onset of the iroquois.--peril of tonty.--a treacherous truce.--intrepidity of tonty.--murder of ribourde.--war upon the dead. when la salle set out on his rugged journey to fort frontenac, he left, as we have seen, fifteen men at fort crèvecoeur,--smiths, ship-carpenters, house-wrights, and soldiers, besides his servant l'espérance and the two friars membré and ribourde. most of the men were ripe for mutiny. they had no interest in the enterprise, and no love for its chief. they were disgusted with the present, and terrified at the future. la salle, too, was for the most part a stern commander, impenetrable and cold; and when he tried to soothe, conciliate, and encourage, his success rarely answered to the excellence of his rhetoric. he could always, however, inspire respect, if not love; but now the restraint of his presence was removed. he had not been long absent, when a fire-brand was thrown into the midst of the discontented and restless crew. it may be remembered that la salle had met two of his men, la chapelle and leblanc, at his fort on the st. joseph, and ordered them to rejoin tonty. unfortunately, they obeyed. on arriving, they told their comrades that the "griffin" was lost, that fort frontenac was seized by the creditors of la salle, that he was ruined past recovery, and that they, the men, would never receive their pay. their wages were in arrears for more than two years; and, indeed, it would have been folly to pay them before their return to the settlements, as to do so would have been a temptation to desert. now, however, the effect on their minds was still worse, believing, as many of them did, that they would never be paid at all. [sidenote: the deserters.] la chapelle and his companion had brought a letter from la salle to tonty, directing him to examine and fortify the cliff so often mentioned, which overhung the river above the great illinois village. tonty, accordingly, set out on his errand with some of the men. in his absence, the malcontents destroyed the fort, stole powder, lead, furs, and provisions, and deserted, after writing on the side of the unfinished vessel the words seen by la salle, "_nous sommes tous sauvages_."[ ] the brave young sieur de boisrondet and the servant l'espérance hastened to carry the news to tonty, who at once despatched four of those with him, by two different routes, to inform la salle of the disaster.[ ] besides the two just named, there now remained with him only one hired man and the récollet friars. with this feeble band, he was left among a horde of treacherous savages, who had been taught to regard him as a secret enemy. resolved, apparently, to disarm their jealousy by a show of confidence, he took up his abode in the midst of them, making his quarters in the great village, whither, as spring opened, its inhabitants returned, to the number, according to membré, of seven or eight thousand. hither he conveyed the forge and such tools as he could recover, and here he hoped to maintain himself till la salle should reappear. the spring and the summer were past, and he looked anxiously for his coming, unconscious that a storm was gathering in the east, soon to burst with devastation over the fertile wilderness of the illinois. [sidenote: the iroquois war.] i have recounted the ferocious triumphs of the iroquois in another volume.[ ] throughout a wide semi-circle around their cantons, they had made the forest a solitude; destroyed the hurons, exterminated the neutrals and the eries, reduced the formidable andastes to helpless insignificance, swept the borders of the st. lawrence with fire, spread terror and desolation among the algonquins of canada; and now, tired of peace, they were seeking, to borrow their own savage metaphor, new nations to devour. yet it was not alone their homicidal fury that now impelled them to another war. strange as it may seem, this war was in no small measure one of commercial advantage. they had long traded with the dutch and english of new york, who gave them, in exchange for their furs, the guns, ammunition, knives, hatchets, kettles, beads, and brandy which had become indispensable to them. game was scarce in their country. they must seek their beaver and other skins in the vacant territories of the tribes they had destroyed; but this did not content them. the french of canada were seeking to secure a monopoly of the furs of the north and west; and, of late, the enterprises of la salle on the tributaries of the mississippi had especially roused the jealousy of the iroquois, fomented, moreover, by dutch and english traders.[ ] these crafty savages would fain reduce all these regions to subjection, and draw thence an exhaustless supply of furs, to be bartered for english goods with the traders of albany. they turned their eyes first towards the illinois, the most important, as well as one of the most accessible, of the western algonquin tribes; and among la salle's enemies were some in whom jealousy of a hated rival could so far override all the best interests of the colony that they did not scruple to urge on the iroquois to an invasion which they hoped would prove his ruin. the chiefs convened, war was decreed, the war-dance was danced, the war-song sung, and five hundred warriors began their march. in their path lay the town of the miamis, neighbors and kindred of the illinois. it was always their policy to divide and conquer; and these forest machiavels had intrigued so well among the miamis, working craftily on their jealousy, that they induced them to join in the invasion, though there is every reason to believe that they had marked these infatuated allies as their next victims.[ ] [sidenote: the illinois town.] go to the banks of the illinois where it flows by the village of utica, and stand on the meadow that borders it on the north. in front glides the river, a musket-shot in width; and from the farther bank rises, with gradual slope, a range of wooded hills that hide from sight the vast prairie behind them. a mile or more on your left these gentle acclivities end abruptly in the lofty front of the great cliff, called by the french the rock of st. louis, looking boldly out from the forests that environ it; and, three miles distant on your right, you discern a gap in the steep bluffs that here bound the valley, marking the mouth of the river vermilion, called aramoni by the french.[ ] now stand in fancy on this same spot in the early autumn of the year . you are in the midst of the great town of the illinois,--hundreds of mat-covered lodges, and thousands of congregated savages. enter one of their dwellings: they will not think you an intruder. some friendly squaw will lay a mat for you by the fire; you may seat yourself upon it, smoke your pipe, and study the lodge and its inmates by the light that streams through the holes at the top. three or four fires smoke and smoulder on the ground down the middle of the long arched structure; and, as to each fire there are two families, the place is somewhat crowded when all are present. but now there is breathing room, for many are in the fields. a squaw sits weaving a mat of rushes; a warrior, naked except his moccasins, and tattooed with fantastic devices, binds a stone arrow-head to its shaft, with the fresh sinews of a buffalo. some lie asleep, some sit staring in vacancy, some are eating, some are squatted in lazy chat around a fire. the smoke brings water to your eyes; the fleas annoy you; small unkempt children, naked as young puppies, crawl about your knees and will not be repelled. you have seen enough; you rise and go out again into the sunlight. it is, if not a peaceful, at least a languid scene. a few voices break the stillness, mingled with the joyous chirping of crickets from the grass. young men lie flat on their faces, basking in the sun; a group of their elders are smoking around a buffalo-skin on which they have just been playing a game of chance with cherry-stones. a lover and his mistress, perhaps, sit together under a shed of bark, without uttering a word. not far off is the graveyard, where lie the dead of the village, some buried in the earth, some wrapped in skins and laid aloft on scaffolds, above the reach of wolves. in the cornfields around, you see squaws at their labor, and children driving off intruding birds; and your eye ranges over the meadows beyond, spangled with the yellow blossoms of the resin-weed and the rudbeckia, or over the bordering hills still green with the foliage of summer.[ ] this, or something like it, one may safely affirm, was the aspect of the illinois village at noon of the tenth of september.[ ] in a hut apart from the rest, you would probably have found the frenchmen. among them was a man, not strong in person, and disabled, moreover, by the loss of a hand, yet in this den of barbarism betraying the language and bearing of one formed in the most polished civilization of europe. this was henri de tonty. the others were young boisrondet, the servant l'espérance, and a parisian youth named Étienne renault. the friars, membré and ribourde, were not in the village, but at a hut a league distant, whither they had gone to make a "retreat" for prayer and meditation. their missionary labors had not been fruitful; they had made no converts, and were in despair at the intractable character of the objects of their zeal. as for the other frenchmen, time, doubtless, hung heavy on their hands; for nothing can surpass the vacant monotony of an indian town when there is neither hunting, nor war, nor feasts, nor dances, nor gambling, to beguile the lagging hours. [sidenote: the alarm.] suddenly the village was wakened from its lethargy as by the crash of a thunderbolt. a shawanoe, lately here on a visit, had left his illinois friends to return home. he now reappeared, crossing the river in hot haste, with the announcement that he had met, on his way, an army of iroquois approaching to attack them. all was panic and confusion. the lodges disgorged their frightened inmates; women and children screamed, startled warriors snatched their weapons. there were less than five hundred of them, for the greater part of the young men had gone to war. a crowd of excited savages thronged about tonty and his frenchmen, already objects of their suspicion, charging them, with furious gesticulation, with having stirred up their enemies to invade them. tonty defended himself in broken illinois, but the naked mob were but half convinced. they seized the forge and tools and flung them into the river, with all the goods that had been saved from the deserters; then, distrusting their power to defend themselves, they manned the wooden canoes which lay in multitudes by the bank, embarked their women and children, and paddled down the stream to that island of dry land in the midst of marshes which la salle afterwards found filled with their deserted huts. sixty warriors remained here to guard them, and the rest returned to the village. all night long fires blazed along the shore. the excited warriors greased their bodies, painted their faces, befeathered their heads, sang their war-songs, danced, stamped, yelled, and brandished their hatchets, to work up their courage to face the crisis. the morning came, and with it came the iroquois. young warriors had gone out as scouts, and now they returned. they had seen the enemy in the line of forest that bordered the river aramoni, or vermilion, and had stealthily reconnoitred them. they were very numerous,[ ] and armed for the most part with guns, pistols, and swords. some had bucklers of wood or raw-hide, and some wore those corselets of tough twigs interwoven with cordage which their fathers had used when fire-arms were unknown. the scouts added more, for they declared that they had seen a jesuit among the iroquois; nay, that la salle himself was there, whence it must follow that tonty and his men were enemies and traitors. the supposed jesuit was but an iroquois chief arrayed in a black hat, doublet, and stockings; while another, equipped after a somewhat similar fashion, passed in the distance for la salle. but the illinois were furious. tonty's life hung by a hair. a crowd of savages surrounded him, mad with rage and terror. he had come lately from europe, and knew little of indians, but, as the friar membré says of him, "he was full of intelligence and courage," and when they heard him declare that he and his frenchmen would go with them to fight the iroquois, their threats grew less clamorous and their eyes glittered with a less deadly lustre. [sidenote: tonty's mediation.] whooping and screeching, they ran to their canoes, crossed the river, climbed the woody hill, and swarmed down upon the plain beyond. about a hundred of them had guns; the rest were armed with bows and arrows. they were now face to face with the enemy, who had emerged from the woods of the vermilion, and were advancing on the open prairie. with unwonted spirit, for their repute as warriors was by no means high, the illinois began, after their fashion, to charge; that is, they leaped, yelled, and shot off bullets and arrows, advancing as they did so; while the iroquois replied with gymnastics no less agile and howlings no less terrific, mingled with the rapid clatter of their guns. tonty saw that it would go hard with his allies. it was of the last moment to stop the fight, if possible. the iroquois were, or professed to be, at peace with the french; and, taking counsel of his courage, he resolved on an attempt to mediate, which may well be called a desperate one. he laid aside his gun, took in his hand a wampum belt as a flag of truce, and walked forward to meet the savage multitude, attended by boisrondet, another frenchman, and a young illinois who had the hardihood to accompany him. the guns of the iroquois still flashed thick and fast. some of them were aimed at him, on which he sent back the two frenchmen and the illinois, and advanced alone, holding out the wampum belt.[ ] a moment more, and he was among the infuriated warriors. it was a frightful spectacle,--the contorted forms, bounding, crouching, twisting, to deal or dodge the shot; the small keen eyes that shone like an angry snake's; the parted lips pealing their fiendish yells; the painted features writhing with fear and fury, and every passion of an indian fight,--man, wolf, and devil, all in one.[ ] with his swarthy complexion and his half-savage dress, they thought he was an indian, and thronged about him, glaring murder. a young warrior stabbed at his heart with a knife, but the point glanced aside against a rib, inflicting only a deep gash. a chief called out that, as his ears were not pierced, he must be a frenchman. on this, some of them tried to stop the bleeding, and led him to the rear, where an angry parley ensued, while the yells and firing still resounded in the front. tonty, breathless, and bleeding at the mouth with the force of the blow he had received, found words to declare that the illinois were under the protection of the king and the governor of canada, and to demand that they should be left in peace.[ ] [sidenote: peril of tonty.] a young iroquois snatched tonty's hat, placed it on the end of his gun, and displayed it to the illinois, who, thereupon thinking he was killed, renewed the fight; and the firing in front clattered more angrily than before. a warrior ran in, crying out that the iroquois were giving ground, and that there were frenchmen among the illinois, who fired at them. on this, the clamor around tonty was redoubled. some wished to kill him at once; others resisted. "i was never," he writes, "in such perplexity; for at that moment there was an iroquois behind me, with a knife in his hand, lifting my hair as if he were going to scalp me. i thought it was all over with me, and that my best hope was that they would knock me in the head instead of burning me, as i believed they would do." in fact, a seneca chief demanded that he should be burned; while an onondaga chief, a friend of la salle, was for setting him free. the dispute grew fierce and hot. tonty told them that the illinois were twelve hundred strong, and that sixty frenchmen were at the village, ready to back them. this invention, though not fully believed, had no little effect. the friendly onondaga carried his point; and the iroquois, having failed to surprise their enemies, as they had hoped, now saw an opportunity to delude them by a truce. they sent back tonty with a belt of peace: he held it aloft in sight of the illinois; chiefs and old warriors ran to stop the fight; the yells and the firing ceased; and tonty, like one waked from a hideous nightmare, dizzy, almost fainting with loss of blood, staggered across the intervening prairie, to rejoin his friends. he was met by the two friars, ribourde and membré, who in their secluded hut, a league from the village, had but lately heard of what was passing, and who now, with benedictions and thanksgiving, ran to embrace him as a man escaped from the jaws of death. the illinois now withdrew, re-embarking in their canoes, and crossing again to their lodges; but scarcely had they reached them, when their enemies appeared at the edge of the forest on the opposite bank. many found means to cross, and, under the pretext of seeking for provisions, began to hover in bands about the skirts of the town, constantly increasing in numbers. had the illinois dared to remain, a massacre would doubtless have ensued; but they knew their foe too well, set fire to their lodges, embarked in haste, and paddled down the stream to rejoin their women and children at the sanctuary among the morasses. the whole body of the iroquois now crossed the river, took possession of the abandoned town, building for themselves a rude redoubt or fort of the trunks of trees and of the posts and poles forming the framework of the lodges which escaped the fire. here they ensconced themselves, and finished the work of havoc at their leisure. tonty and his companions still occupied their hut; but the iroquois, becoming suspicious of them, forced them to remove to the fort, crowded as it was with the savage crew. on the second day, there was an alarm. the illinois appeared in numbers on the low hills, half a mile behind the town; and the iroquois, who had felt their courage, and who had been told by tonty that they were twice as numerous as themselves, showed symptoms of no little uneasiness. they proposed that he should act as mediator, to which he gladly assented, and crossed the meadow towards the illinois, accompanied by membré, and by an iroquois who was sent as a hostage. the illinois hailed the overtures with delight, gave the ambassadors some refreshment, which they sorely needed, and sent back with them a young man of their nation as a hostage on their part. this indiscreet youth nearly proved the ruin of the negotiation; for he was no sooner among the iroquois than he showed such an eagerness to close the treaty, made such promises, professed such gratitude, and betrayed so rashly the numerical weakness of the illinois, that he revived all the insolence of the invaders. they turned furiously upon tonty, and charged him with having robbed them of the glory and the spoils of victory. "where are all your illinois warriors, and where are the sixty frenchmen that you said were among them?" it needed all tonty's tact and coolness to extricate himself from this new danger. [sidenote: iroquois treachery.] the treaty was at length concluded; but scarcely was it made, when the iroquois prepared to break it, and set about constructing canoes of elm-bark, in which to attack the illinois women and children in their island sanctuary. tonty warned his allies that the pretended peace was but a snare for their destruction. the iroquois, on their part, grew hourly more jealous of him, and would certainly have killed him, had it not been their policy to keep the peace with frontenac and the french. several days after, they summoned him and membré to a council. six packs of beaver-skins were brought in; and the savage orator presented them to tonty in turn, explaining their meaning as he did so. the first two were to declare that the children of count frontenac--that is, the illinois--should not be eaten; the next was a plaster to heal tonty's wound; the next was oil wherewith to anoint him and membré, that they might not be fatigued in travelling; the next proclaimed that the sun was bright; and the sixth and last required them to decamp and go home.[ ] tonty thanked them for their gifts, but demanded when they themselves meant to go and leave the illinois in peace. at this, the conclave grew angry; and, despite their late pledge, some of them said that before they went they would eat illinois flesh. tonty instantly kicked away the packs of beaver-skins, the indian symbol of the scornful rejection of a proposal, telling them that since they meant to eat the governor's children he would have none of their presents. the chiefs, in a rage, rose and drove him from the lodge. the french withdrew to their hut, where they stood all night on the watch, expecting an attack, and resolved to sell their lives dearly. at daybreak, the chiefs ordered them to begone. [sidenote: murder of ribourde.] tonty, with admirable fidelity and courage, had done all in the power of man to protect the allies of canada against their ferocious assailants; and he thought it unwise to persist further in a course which could lead to no good, and which would probably end in the destruction of the whole party. he embarked in a leaky canoe with membré, ribourde, boisrondet, and the remaining two men, and began to ascend the river. after paddling about five leagues, they landed to dry their baggage and repair their crazy vessel; when father ribourde, breviary in hand, strolled across the sunny meadows for an hour of meditation among the neighboring groves. evening approached, and he did not return. tonty, with one of the men, went to look for him, and, following his tracks, presently discovered those of a band of indians, who had apparently seized or murdered him. still, they did not despair. they fired their guns to guide him, should he still be alive; built a huge fire by the bank, and then, crossing the river, lay watching it from the other side. at midnight, they saw the figure of a man hovering around the blaze; then many more appeared, but ribourde was not among them. in truth, a band of kickapoos, enemies of the iroquois, about whose camp they had been prowling in quest of scalps, had met and wantonly murdered the inoffensive old man. they carried his scalp to their village, and danced round it in triumph, pretending to have taken it from an enemy. thus, in his sixty-fifth year, the only heir of a wealthy burgundian house perished under the war-clubs of the savages for whose salvation he had renounced station, ease, and affluence.[ ] [sidenote: attack of the iroquois.] meanwhile, a hideous scene was enacted at the ruined village of the illinois. their savage foes, balked of a living prey, wreaked their fury on the dead. they dug up the graves; they threw down the scaffolds. some of the bodies they burned; some they threw to the dogs; some, it is affirmed, they ate.[ ] placing the skulls on stakes as trophies, they turned to pursue the illinois, who, when the french withdrew, had abandoned their asylum and retreated down the river. the iroquois, still, it seems, in awe of them, followed them along the opposite bank, each night encamping face to face with them; and thus the adverse bands moved slowly southward, till they were near the mouth of the river. hitherto, the compact array of the illinois had held their enemies in check; but now, suffering from hunger, and lulled into security by the assurances of the iroquois that their object was not to destroy them, but only to drive them from the country, they rashly separated into their several tribes. some descended the mississippi; some, more prudent, crossed to the western side. one of their principal tribes, the tamaroas, more credulous than the rest, had the fatuity to remain near the mouth of the illinois, where they were speedily assailed by all the force of the iroquois. the men fled, and very few of them were killed; but the women and children were captured to the number, it is said, of seven hundred.[ ] then followed that scene of torture of which, some two weeks later, la salle saw the revolting traces.[ ] sated, at length, with horrors, the conquerors withdrew, leading with them a host of captives, and exulting in their triumphs over women, children, and the dead. after the death of father ribourde, tonty and his companions remained searching for him till noon of the next day, and then in despair of again seeing him, resumed their journey. they ascended the river, leaving no token of their passage at the junction of its northern and southern branches. for food, they gathered acorns and dug roots in the meadows. their canoe proved utterly worthless; and, feeble as they were, they set out on foot for lake michigan. boisrondet wandered off, and was lost. he had dropped the flint of his gun, and he had no bullets; but he cut a pewter porringer into slugs, with which he shot wild turkeys by discharging his piece with a fire-brand, and after several days he had the good fortune to rejoin the party. their object was to reach the pottawattamies of green bay. had they aimed at michilimackinac, they would have found an asylum with la forest at the fort on the st. joseph; but unhappily they passed westward of that post, and, by way of chicago, followed the borders of lake michigan northward. the cold was intense; and it was no easy task to grub up wild onions from the frozen ground to save themselves from starving. tonty fell ill of a fever and a swelling of the limbs, which disabled him from travelling, and hence ensued a long delay. at length they neared green bay, where they would have starved, had they not gleaned a few ears of corn and frozen squashes in the fields of an empty indian town. [sidenote: friends in need.] this enabled them to reach the bay, and having patched an old canoe which they had the good luck to find, they embarked in it; whereupon, says tonty, "there rose a northwest wind, which lasted five days, with driving snow. we consumed all our food; and not knowing what to do next, we resolved to go back to the deserted town, and die by a warm fire in one of the wigwams. on our way, we saw a smoke; but our joy was short, for when we reached the fire we found nobody there. we spent the night by it; and before morning the bay froze. we tried to break a way for our canoe through the ice, but could not; and therefore we determined to stay there another night, and make moccasins in order to reach the town. we made some out of father gabriel's cloak. i was angry with Étienne renault for not finishing his; but he excused himself on account of illness, because he had a great oppression of the stomach, caused by eating a piece of an indian shield of raw-hide, which he could not digest. his delay proved our salvation; for the next day, december fourth, as i was urging him to finish the moccasins, and he was still excusing himself on the score of his malady, a party of kiskakon ottawas, who were on their way to the pottawattamies, saw the smoke of our fire, and came to us. we gave them such a welcome as was never seen before. they took us into their canoes, and carried us to an indian village, only two leagues off. there we found five frenchmen, who received us kindly, and all the indians seemed to take pleasure in sending us food; so that, after thirty-four days of starvation, we found our famine turned to abundance." this hospitable village belonged to the pottawattamies, and was under the sway of the chief who had befriended la salle the year before, and who was wont to say that he knew but three great captains in the world,--frontenac, la salle, and himself.[ ] the illinois town. the site of the great illinois town.--this has not till now been determined, though there have been various conjectures concerning it. from a study of the contemporary documents and maps, i became satisfied, first, that the branch of the river illinois, called the "big vermilion," was the _aramoni_ of the french explorers; and, secondly, that the cliff called "starved rock" was that known to the french as _le rocher_, or the rock of st. louis. if i was right in this conclusion, then the position of the great village was established; for there is abundant proof that it was on the north side of the river, above the aramoni, and below le rocher. i accordingly went to the village of utica, which, as i judged by the map, was very near the point in question, and mounted to the top of one of the hills immediately behind it, whence i could see the valley of the illinois for miles, bounded on the farther side by a range of hills, in some parts rocky and precipitous, and in others covered with forests. far on the right was a gap in these hills, through which the big vermilion flowed to join the illinois; and somewhat towards the left, at the distance of a mile and a half, was a huge cliff, rising perpendicularly from the opposite margin of the river. this i assumed to be _le rocher_ of the french, though from where i stood i was unable to discern the distinctive features which i was prepared to find in it. in every other respect, the scene before me was precisely what i had expected to see. there was a meadow on the hither side of the river, on which stood a farmhouse; and this, as it seemed to me, by its relations with surrounding objects, might be supposed to stand in the midst of the space once occupied by the illinois town. on the way down from the hill i met mr. james clark, the principal inhabitant of utica, and one of the earliest settlers of this region. i accosted him, told him my objects, and requested a half hour's conversation with him, at his leisure. he seemed interested in the inquiry, and said he would visit me early in the evening at the inn, where, accordingly, he soon appeared. the conversation took place in the porch, where a number of farmers and others were gathered. i asked mr. clark if any indian remains were found in the neighborhood. "yes," he replied, "plenty of them." i then inquired if there was any one spot where they were more numerous than elsewhere. "yes," he answered again, pointing towards the farmhouse on the meadow; "on my farm down yonder by the river, my tenant ploughs up teeth and bones by the peck every spring, besides arrow-heads, beads, stone hatchets, and other things of that sort." i replied that this was precisely what i had expected, as i had been led to believe that the principal town of the illinois indians once covered that very spot. "if," i added, "i am right in this belief, the great rock beyond the river is the one which the first explorers occupied as a fort; and i can describe it to you from their accounts of it, though i have never seen it, except from the top of the hill where the trees on and around it prevented me from seeing any part but the front." the men present now gathered around to listen. "the rock," i continued, "is nearly a hundred and fifty feet high, and rises directly from the water. the front and two sides are perpendicular and inaccessible; but there is one place where it is possible for a man to climb up, though with difficulty. the top is large enough and level enough for houses and fortifications." here several of the men exclaimed: "that's just it." "you've hit it exactly." i then asked if there was any other rock on that side of the river which could answer to the description. they all agreed that there was no such rock on either side, along the whole length of the river. i then said: "if the indian town was in the place where i suppose it to have been, i can tell you the nature of the country which lies behind the hills on the farther side of the river, though i know nothing about it except what i have learned from writings nearly two centuries old. from the top of the hills, you look out upon a great prairie reaching as far as you can see, except that it is crossed by a belt of woods, following the course of a stream which enters the main river a few miles below." (see _ante_, p. , _note_.) "you are exactly right again," replied mr. clark; "we call that belt of timber the 'vermilion woods,' and the stream is the big vermilion." "then," i said, "the big vermilion is the river which the french called the aramoni; 'starved rock' is the same on which they built a fort called st. louis, in the year ; and your farm is on the site of the great town of the illinois." i spent the next day in examining these localities, and was fully confirmed in my conclusions. mr. clark's tenant showed me the spot where the human bones were ploughed up. it was no doubt the graveyard violated by the iroquois. the illinois returned to the village after their defeat, and long continued to occupy it. the scattered bones were probably collected and restored to their place of burial. footnotes: [ ] for the particulars of this desertion, membré in le clerc, ii. , _relation des découvertes_; tonty, _mémoire_, , ; _déclaration faite par devant le sr. duchesneau, intendant en canada, par moyse hillaret, charpentier de barque cy-devant au service du sr. de la salle, aoust, _. moyse hillaret, the "maître moyse" of hennepin, was a ring-leader of the deserters, and seems to have been one of those captured by la salle near fort frontenac. twelve days after, hillaret was examined by la salle's enemy, the intendant; and this paper is the formal statement made by him. it gives the names of most of the men, and furnishes incidental confirmation of many statements of hennepin, tonty, membré, and the _relation des découvertes_. hillaret, leblanc, and le meilleur, the blacksmith nicknamed la forge, went off together, and the rest seem to have followed afterwards. hillaret does not admit that any goods were wantonly destroyed. there is before me a schedule of the debts of la salle, made after his death. it includes a claim of this man for wages to the amount of , livres. [ ] two of the messengers, laurent and messier, arrived safely. the others seem to have deserted. [ ] the jesuits in north america. [ ] duchesneau, in _paris docs._, ix. . [ ] there had long been a rankling jealousy between the miamis and the illinois. according to membré, la salle's enemies had intrigued successfully among the former, as well as among the iroquois, to induce them to take arms against the illinois. [ ] the above is from notes made on the spot. the following is la salle's description of the locality in the _relation des découvertes_, written in : "la rive gauche de la rivière, du coté du sud, est occupée par un long rocher, fort étroit et escarpé presque partout, à la réserve d'un endroit de plus d'une lieue de longueur, situé vis-à-vis du village, ou le terrain, tout couvert de beaux chênes, s'étend par une pente douce jusqu'au bord de la rivière. au delà de cette hauteur est une vaste plaine, qui s'étend bien loin du coté du sud, et qui est traversée par la rivière aramoni, dont les bords sont couverts d'une lisière de bois peu large." the aramoni is laid down on the great manuscript map of franquelin, , and on the map of coronelli, . it is, without doubt, the big vermilion. _aramoni_ is the illinois word for "red," or "vermilion." starved rock, or the rock of st. louis, is the highest and steepest escarpment of the _long rocher_ above mentioned. [ ] the illinois were an aggregation of distinct though kindred tribes,--the kaskaskias, the peorias, the kahokias, the tamaroas, the moingona, and others. their general character and habits were those of other indian tribes; but they were reputed somewhat cowardly and slothful. in their manners, they were more licentious than many of their neighbors, and addicted to practices which are sometimes supposed to be the result of a perverted civilization. young men enacting the part of women were frequently to be seen among them. these were held in great contempt. some of the early travellers, both among the illinois and among other tribes, where the same practice prevailed, mistook them for hermaphrodites. according to charlevoix (_journal historique_, ), this abuse was due in part to a superstition. the miamis and piankishaws were in close affinities of language and habits with the illinois. all these tribes belonged to the great algonquin family. the first impressions which the french received of them, as recorded in the _relation_ of , were singularly favorable; but a closer acquaintance did not confirm them. the illinois traded with the lake tribes, to whom they carried slaves taken in war, receiving in exchange guns, hatchets, and other french goods. marquette in _relation_, , . [ ] this is membré's date. the narratives differ as to the day, though all agree as to the month. [ ] the _relation des découvertes_ says, five hundred iroquois and one hundred shawanoes. membré says that the allies were miamis. he is no doubt right, as the miamis had promised their aid, and the shawanoes were at peace with the illinois. tonty is silent on the point. [ ] membré says that he went with tonty: "j'étois aussi à côté du sieur de tonty." this is an invention of the friar's vanity. "les deux pères récollets étoient alors dans une cabane à une lieue du village, où ils s'étoient retirés pour faire une espèce de retraite, et ils ne furent avertis de l'arrivée des iroquois que dans le temps du combat."--_relation des découvertes_. "je rencontrai en chemin les pères gabriel et zenobe membré, qui cherchoient de mes nouvelles."--tonty, _mémoire_, . this was on his return from the iroquois. the _relation_ confirms the statement, as far as concerns membré: "ii rencontra le père zenobe [_membré_], qui venoit pour le secourir, aiant été averti du combat et de sa blessure." the perverted _dernières découvertes_, published without authority, under tonty's name, says that he was attended by a slave, whom the illinois sent with him as interpreter. in his narrative of , tonty speaks of a sokokis (saco) indian who was with the iroquois and who spoke french enough to serve as interpreter. [ ] being once in an encampment of sioux when a quarrel broke out, and the adverse factions raised the war-whoop and began to fire at each other, i had a good, though for the moment a rather dangerous, opportunity of seeing the demeanor of indians at the beginning of a fight. the fray was quelled before much mischief was done, by the vigorous intervention of the elder warriors, who ran between the combatants. [ ] "je leur fis connoistre que les islinois étoient sous la protection du roy de france et du gouverneur du pays, que j'estois surpris qu'ils voulussent rompre avec les françois et qu'ils voulussent _attendre_ [_sic_] à une paix."--tonty, _mémoire_, . [ ] an indian speech, it will be remembered, is without validity if not confirmed by presents, each of which has its special interpretation. the meaning of the fifth pack of beaver, informing tonty that the sun was bright,--"que le soleil étoit beau," that is, that the weather was favorable for travelling,--is curiously misconceived by the editor of the _dernières découvertes_, who improves upon his original by substituting the words "par le cinquième paquet _ils nous exhortoient à adorer le soleil_." [ ] tonty, _mémoire_; membré in le clerc, ii. . hennepin, who hated tonty, unjustly charges him with having abandoned the search too soon, admitting, however, that it would have been useless to continue it. this part of his narrative is a perversion of membré's account. [ ] "cependant les iroquois, aussitôt après le départ du sr. de tonty, exercèrent leur rage sur les corps morts des ilinois, qu'ils déterrèrent ou abbattèrent de dessus les échafauds où les ilinois les laissent longtemps exposés avant que de les mettre en terre. ils en brûlèrent la plus grande partie, ils en mangèrent même quelques uns, et jettèrent le reste aux chiens. ils plantèrent les têtes de ces cadavres à demi décharnés sur des pieux," etc.--_relation des découvertes_. [ ] _relation des découvertes_; frontenac to the king, _n. y. col. docs._, ix. . a memoir of duchesneau makes the number twelve hundred. [ ] "ils [_les illinois_] trouvèrent dans leur campement des carcasses de leurs enfans que ces anthropophages avoient mangez, ne voulant même d'autre nourriture que la chair de ces infortunez."--_la potherie_, ii. , . compare _note, ante_, p. . [ ] membré in le clerc, ii. . the other authorities for the foregoing chapter are the letters of la salle, the _relation des découvertes_, in which portions of them are embodied, and the two narratives of tonty, of and . they all agree in essential points. in his letters of this period, la salle dwells at great length on the devices by which, as he believed, his enemies tried to ruin him and his enterprise. he is particularly severe against the jesuit allouez, whom he charges with intriguing "pour commencer la guerre entre les iroquois et les illinois par le moyen des miamis qu'on engageoit dans cette négociation afin ou de me faire massacrer avec mes gens par quelqu'une de ces nations ou de me brouiller avec les iroquois."--_lettre (à thouret?), août, _. he gives in detail the circumstances on which this suspicion rests, but which are not convincing. he says, further, that the jesuits gave out that tonty was dead in order to discourage the men going to his relief, and that allouez encouraged the deserters, "leur servoit de conseil, bénit mesme leurs balles, et les asseura plusieurs fois que m. de tonty auroit la teste cassée." he also affirms that great pains were taken to spread the report that he was himself dead. a kiskakon indian, he says, was sent to tonty with a story to this effect; while a huron named scortas was sent to him (la salle) with false news of the death of tonty. the latter confirms this statement, and adds that the illinois had been told "que m. de la salle estoit venu en leur pays pour les donner à manger aux iroquois." chapter xvii. . the adventures of hennepin. hennepin an impostor: his pretended discovery; his actual discovery; captured by the sioux.--the upper mississippi. it was on the last day of the winter that preceded the invasion of the iroquois that father hennepin, with his two companions, accau and du gay, had set out from fort crèvecoeur to explore the illinois to its mouth. it appears from his own later statements, as well as from those of tonty, that more than this was expected of him, and that la salle had instructed him to explore, not alone the illinois, but also the upper mississippi. that he actually did so, there is no reasonable doubt; and could he have contented himself with telling the truth, his name would have stood high as a bold and vigorous discoverer. but his vicious attempts to malign his commander and plunder him of his laurels have wrapped his genuine merit in a cloud. hennepin's first book was published soon after his return from his travels, and while la salle was still alive. in it he relates the accomplishment of the instructions given him, without the smallest intimation that he did more.[ ] fourteen years after, when la salle was dead, he published another edition of his travels,[ ] in which he advanced a new and surprising pretension. reasons connected with his personal safety, he declares, before compelled him to remain silent; but a time at length had come when the truth must be revealed. and he proceeds to affirm, that, before ascending the mississippi, he, with his two men, explored its whole course from the illinois to the sea,--thus anticipating the discovery which forms the crowning laurel of la salle. [sidenote: hennepin's resolution.] "i am resolved," he says, "to make known here to the whole world the mystery of this discovery, which i have hitherto concealed, that i might not offend the sieur de la salle, who wished to keep all the glory and all the knowledge of it to himself. it is for this that he sacrificed many persons whose lives he exposed, to prevent them from making known what they had seen, and thereby crossing his secret plans.... i was certain that if i went down the mississippi, he would not fail to traduce me to my superiors for not taking the northern route, which i was to have followed in accordance with his desire and the plan we had made together. but i saw myself on the point of dying of hunger, and knew not what to do; because the two men who were with me threatened openly to leave me in the night, and carry off the canoe and everything in it, if i prevented them from going down the river to the nations below. finding myself in this dilemma, i thought that i ought not to hesitate, and that i ought to prefer my own safety to the violent passion which possessed the sieur de la salle of enjoying alone the glory of this discovery. the two men, seeing that i had made up my mind to follow them, promised me entire fidelity; so, after we had shaken hands together as a mutual pledge, we set out on our voyage."[ ] he then proceeds to recount at length the particulars of his alleged exploration. the story was distrusted from the first.[ ] why had he not told it before? an excess of modesty, a lack of self-assertion, or a too sensitive reluctance to wound the susceptibilities of others, had never been found among his foibles. yet some, perhaps, might have believed him, had he not in the first edition of his book gratuitously and distinctly declared that he did not make the voyage in question. "we had some designs," he says, "of going down the river colbert [mississippi] as far as its mouth; but the tribes that took us prisoners gave us no time to navigate this river both up and down."[ ] [sidenote: hennepin an impostor.] in declaring to the world the achievement which he had so long concealed and so explicitly denied, the worthy missionary found himself in serious embarrassment. in his first book, he had stated that on the twelfth of march he left the mouth of the illinois on his way northward, and that on the eleventh of april he was captured by the sioux near the mouth of the wisconsin, five hundred miles above. this would give him only a month to make his alleged canoe-voyage from the illinois to the gulf of mexico, and again upward to the place of his capture,--a distance of three thousand two hundred and sixty miles. with his means of transportation, three months would have been insufficient.[ ] he saw the difficulty; but, on the other hand, he saw that he could not greatly change either date without confusing the parts of his narrative which preceded and which followed. in this perplexity he chose a middle course, which only involved him in additional contradictions. having, as he affirms, gone down to the gulf and returned to the mouth of the illinois, he set out thence to explore the river above; and he assigns the twenty-fourth of april as the date of this departure. this gives him forty-three days for his voyage to the mouth of the river and back. looking further, we find that having left the illinois on the twenty-fourth he paddled his canoe two hundred leagues northward, and was then captured by the sioux on the twelfth of the same month. in short, he ensnares himself in a hopeless confusion of dates.[ ] here, one would think, is sufficient reason for rejecting his story; and yet the general truth of the descriptions, and a certain verisimilitude which marks it, might easily deceive a careless reader and perplex a critical one. these, however, are easily explained. six years before hennepin published his pretended discovery, his brother friar, father chrétien le clerc, published an account of the récollet missions among the indians, under the title of "Établissement de la foi." this book, offensive to the jesuits, is said to have been suppressed by order of government; but a few copies fortunately survive.[ ] one of these is now before me. it contains the journal of father zenobe membré, on his descent of the mississippi in , in company with la salle. the slightest comparison of his narrative with that of hennepin is sufficient to show that the latter framed his own story out of incidents and descriptions furnished by his brother missionary, often using his very words, and sometimes copying entire pages, with no other alterations than such as were necessary to make himself, instead of la salle and his companions, the hero of the exploit. the records of literary piracy may be searched in vain for an act of depredation more recklessly impudent.[ ] such being the case, what faith can we put in the rest of hennepin's story? fortunately, there are tests by which the earlier parts of his book can be tried; and, on the whole, they square exceedingly well with contemporary records of undoubted authenticity. bating his exaggerations respecting the falls of niagara, his local descriptions, and even his estimates of distance, are generally accurate. he constantly, it is true, magnifies his own acts, and thrusts himself forward as one of the chiefs of an enterprise to the costs of which he had contributed nothing, and to which he was merely an appendage; and yet, till he reaches the mississippi, there can be no doubt that in the main he tells the truth. as for his ascent of that river to the country of the sioux, the general statement is fully confirmed by la salle, tonty, and other contemporary writers.[ ] for the details of the journey we must rest on hennepin alone, whose account of the country and of the peculiar traits of its indian occupants afford, as far as they go, good evidence of truth. indeed, this part of his narrative could only have been written by one well versed in the savage life of this northwestern region.[ ] trusting, then, to his own guidance in the absence of better, let us follow in the wake of his adventurous canoe. [sidenote: his voyage northward.] it was laden deeply with goods belonging to la salle, and meant by him as presents to indians on the way, though the travellers, it appears, proposed to use them in trading on their own account. the friar was still wrapped in his gray capote and hood, shod with sandals, and decorated with the cord of st. francis. as for his two companions, accau[ ] and du gay, it is tolerably clear that the former was the real leader of the party, though hennepin, after his custom, thrusts himself into the foremost place. both were somewhat above the station of ordinary hired hands; and du gay had an uncle who was an ecclesiastic of good credit at amiens, his native place. in the forests that overhung the river the buds were feebly swelling with advancing spring. there was game enough. they killed buffalo, deer, beavers, wild turkeys, and now and then a bear swimming in the river. with these, and the fish which they caught in abundance, they fared sumptuously, though it was the season of lent. they were exemplary, however, at their devotions. hennepin said prayers at morning and night, and the _angelus_ at noon, adding a petition to saint anthony of padua that he would save them from the peril that beset their way. in truth, there was a lion in the path. the ferocious character of the sioux, or dacotah, who occupied the region of the upper mississippi, was already known to the french; and hennepin, with excellent reason, prayed that it might be his fortune to meet them, not by night, but by day. [sidenote: captured by the sioux.] on the eleventh or twelfth of april, they stopped in the afternoon to repair their canoe; and hennepin busied himself in daubing it with pitch, while the others cooked a turkey. suddenly, a fleet of sioux canoes swept into sight, bearing a war-party of a hundred and twenty naked savages, who on seeing the travellers raised a hideous clamor; and, some leaping ashore and others into the water, they surrounded the astonished frenchmen in an instant.[ ] hennepin held out the peace-pipe; but one of them snatched it from him. next, he hastened to proffer a gift of martinique tobacco, which was better received. some of the old warriors repeated the name _miamiha_, giving him to understand that they were a war-party, on the way to attack the miamis; on which, hennepin, with the help of signs and of marks which he drew on the sand with a stick, explained that the miamis had gone across the mississippi, beyond their reach. hereupon, he says that three or four old men placed their hands on his head, and began a dismal wailing; while he with his handkerchief wiped away their tears, in order to evince sympathy with their affliction, from whatever cause arising. notwithstanding this demonstration of tenderness, they refused to smoke with him in his peace-pipe, and forced him and his companions to embark and paddle across the river; while they all followed behind, uttering yells and howlings which froze the missionary's blood. on reaching the farther side, they made their camp-fires, and allowed their prisoners to do the same. accau and du gay slung their kettle; while hennepin, to propitiate the sioux, carried to them two turkeys, of which there were several in the canoe. the warriors had seated themselves in a ring, to debate on the fate of the frenchmen; and two chiefs presently explained to the friar, by significant signs, that it had been resolved that his head should be split with a war-club. this produced the effect which was no doubt intended. hennepin ran to the canoe, and quickly returned with one of the men, both loaded with presents, which he threw into the midst of the assembly; and then, bowing his head, offered them at the same time a hatchet with which to kill him, if they wished to do so. his gifts and his submission seemed to appease them. they gave him and his companions a dish of beaver's flesh; but, to his great concern, they returned his peace-pipe,--an act which he interpreted as a sign of danger. that night the frenchmen slept little, expecting to be murdered before morning. there was, in fact, a great division of opinion among the sioux. some were for killing them and taking their goods; while others, eager above all things that french traders should come among them with the knives, hatchets, and guns of which they had heard the value, contended that it would be impolitic to discourage the trade by putting to death its pioneers. scarcely had morning dawned on the anxious captives, when a young chief, naked, and painted from head to foot, appeared before them and asked for the pipe, which the friar gladly gave him. he filled it, smoked it, made the warriors do the same, and, having given this hopeful pledge of amity, told the frenchmen that, since the miamis were out of reach, the war-party would return home, and that they must accompany them. to this hennepin gladly agreed, having, as he declares, his great work of exploration so much at heart that he rejoiced in the prospect of achieving it even in their company. [sidenote: suspected of sorcery.] he soon, however, had a foretaste of the affliction in store for him; for when he opened his breviary and began to mutter his morning devotion, his new companions gathered about him with faces that betrayed their superstitious terror, and gave him to understand that his book was a bad spirit with which he must hold no more converse. they thought, indeed, that he was muttering a charm for their destruction. accau and du gay, conscious of the danger, begged the friar to dispense with his devotions, lest he and they alike should be tomahawked; but hennepin says that his sense of duty rose superior to his fears, and that he was resolved to repeat his office at all hazards, though not until he had asked pardon of his two friends for thus imperilling their lives. fortunately, he presently discovered a device by which his devotion and his prudence were completely reconciled. he ceased the muttering which had alarmed the indians, and, with the breviary open on his knees, sang the service in loud and cheerful tones. as this had no savor of sorcery, and as they now imagined that the book was teaching its owner to sing for their amusement, they conceived a favorable opinion of both alike. these sioux, it may be observed, were the ancestors of those who committed the horrible but not unprovoked massacres of , in the valley of the st. peter. hennepin complains bitterly of their treatment of him, which, however, seems to have been tolerably good. afraid that he would lag behind, as his canoe was heavy and slow,[ ] they placed several warriors in it to aid him and his men in paddling. they kept on their way from morning till night, building huts for their bivouac when it rained, and sleeping on the open ground when the weather was fair,--which, says hennepin, "gave us a good opportunity to contemplate the moon and stars." the three frenchmen took the precaution of sleeping at the side of the young chief who had been the first to smoke the peace-pipe, and who seemed inclined to befriend them; but there was another chief, one aquipaguetin, a crafty old savage, who having lost a son in war with the miamis, was angry that the party had abandoned their expedition, and thus deprived him of his revenge. he therefore kept up a dismal lament through half the night; while other old men, crouching over hennepin as he lay trying to sleep, stroked him with their hands, and uttered wailings so lugubrious that he was forced to the belief that he had been doomed to death, and that they were charitably bemoaning his fate.[ ] [sidenote: the captive friar.] one night, the captives were, for some reason, unable to bivouac near their protector, and were forced to make their fire at the end of the camp. here they were soon beset by a crowd of indians, who told them that aquipaguetin had at length resolved to tomahawk them. the malcontents were gathered in a knot at a little distance, and hennepin hastened to appease them by another gift of knives and tobacco. this was but one of the devices of the old chief to deprive them of their goods without robbing them outright. he had with him the bones of a deceased relative, which he was carrying home wrapped in skins prepared with smoke after the indian fashion, and gayly decorated with bands of dyed porcupine quills. he would summon his warriors, and placing these relics in the midst of the assembly, call on all present to smoke in their honor; after which, hennepin was required to offer a more substantial tribute in the shape of cloth, beads, hatchets, tobacco, and the like, to be laid upon the bundle of bones. the gifts thus acquired were then, in the name of the deceased, distributed among the persons present. on one occasion, aquipaguetin killed a bear, and invited the chiefs and warriors to feast upon it. they accordingly assembled on a prairie, west of the river, where, after the banquet, they danced a "medicine-dance." they were all painted from head to foot, with their hair oiled, garnished with red and white feathers, and powdered with the down of birds. in this guise they set their arms akimbo, and fell to stamping with such fury that the hard prairie was dented with the prints of their moccasins; while the chief's son, crying at the top of his throat, gave to each in turn the pipe of war. meanwhile, the chief himself, singing in a loud and rueful voice, placed his hands on the heads of the three frenchmen, and from time to time interrupted his music to utter a vehement harangue. hennepin could not understand the words, but his heart sank as the conviction grew strong within him that these ceremonies tended to his destruction. it seems, however, that, after all the chief's efforts, his party was in the minority, the greater part being adverse to either killing or robbing the three strangers. every morning, at daybreak, an old warrior shouted the signal of departure; and the recumbent savages leaped up, manned their birchen fleet, and plied their paddles against the current, often without waiting to break their fast. sometimes they stopped for a buffalo-hunt on the neighboring prairies; and there was no lack of provisions. they passed lake pepin, which hennepin called the lake of tears, by reason of the howlings and lamentations here uttered over him by aquipaguetin, and nineteen days after his capture landed near the site of st. paul. the father's sorrows now began in earnest. the indians broke his canoe to pieces, having first hidden their own among the alder-bushes. as they belonged to different bands and different villages, their mutual jealousy now overcame all their prudence; and each proceeded to claim his share of the captives and the booty. happily, they made an amicable distribution, or it would have fared ill with the three frenchmen; and each taking his share, not forgetting the priestly vestments of hennepin, the splendor of which they could not sufficiently admire, they set out across the country for their villages, which lay towards the north in the neighborhood of lake buade, now called mille lac. [sidenote: a hard journey.] being, says hennepin, exceedingly tall and active, they walked at a prodigious speed, insomuch that no european could long keep pace with them. though the month of may had begun, there were frosts at night; and the marshes and ponds were glazed with ice, which cut the missionary's legs as he waded through. they swam the larger streams, and hennepin nearly perished with cold as he emerged from the icy current. his two companions, who were smaller than he, and who could not swim, were carried over on the backs of the indians. they showed, however, no little endurance; and he declares that he should have dropped by the way, but for their support. seeing him disposed to lag, the indians, to spur him on, set fire to the dry grass behind him, and then, taking him by the hands, ran forward with him to escape the flames. to add to his misery, he was nearly famished, as they gave him only a small piece of smoked meat once a day, though it does not appear that they themselves fared better. on the fifth day, being by this time in extremity, he saw a crowd of squaws and children approaching over the prairie, and presently descried the bark lodges of an indian town. the goal was reached. he was among the homes of the sioux. footnotes: [ ] _description de la louisiane, nouvellement découverte_, paris, . [ ] _nouvelle découverte d'un très grand pays situé dans l'amérique_, utrecht, . [ ] _nouvelle découverte_, , , . [ ] see the preface of the spanish translation by don sebastian fernandez de medrano, , and also the letter of gravier, dated , in shea's _early voyages on the mississippi_. barcia, charlevoix, kalm, and other early writers put a low value on hennepin's veracity. [ ] _description de la louisiane_, . [ ] la salle, in the following year, with a far better equipment, was more than three months and a half in making the journey. a mississippi trading-boat of the last generation, with sails and oars, ascending against the current, was thought to do remarkably well if it could make twenty miles a day. hennepin, if we believe his own statements, must have ascended at an average rate of sixty miles, though his canoe was large and heavily laden. [ ] hennepin here falls into gratuitous inconsistencies. in the edition of , in order to gain a little time, he says that he left the illinois on his voyage southward on the eighth of march, ; and yet in the preceding chapter he repeats the statement of the first edition, that he was detained at the illinois by floating ice till the twelfth. again, he says in the first edition that he was captured by the sioux on the eleventh of april; and in the edition of he changes this date to the twelfth, without gaining any advantage by doing so. [ ] le clerc's book had been made the text of an attack on the jesuits. see _reflexions sur un livre intitulé premier Établissement de la foi_. this piece is printed in the _morale pratique des jésuites_. [ ] hennepin may have copied from the unpublished journal of membré, which the latter had placed in the hands of his superior; or he may have compiled from le clerc's book, relying on the suppression of the edition to prevent detection. he certainly saw and used it; for he elsewhere borrows the exact words of the editor. he is so careless that he steals from membré passages which he might easily have written for himself; as, for example, a description of the opossum and another of the cougar,--animals with which he was acquainted. compare the following pages of the _nouvelle découverte_ with the corresponding pages of le clerc: hennepin, , le clerc, ii. ; h. , le c. ii. ; h. , le c. ii. ; h. , le c. ii. ; h. , le c. ii. ; h. , le c. ii. ; h. , le c. ii. ; h. , le c. ii. ; h. , le c. ii. ; h. , le c. ii. ; h. , le c. ii. ; h. , le c. ii. ; h. , le c. ii. ; h. , le c. ii. . some of these parallel passages will be found in sparks's _life of la salle_, where this remarkable fraud was first fully exposed. in shea's _discovery of the mississippi_, there is an excellent critical examination of hennepin's works. his plagiarisms from le clerc are not confined to the passages cited above; for in his later editions he stole largely from other parts of the suppressed _Établissement de la foi_. [ ] it is certain that persons having the best means of information believed at the time in hennepin's story of his journeys on the upper mississippi. the compiler of the _relation des découvertes_, who was in close relations with la salle and those who acted with him, does not intimate a doubt of the truth of the report which hennepin on his return gave to the provincial commissary of his order, and which is in substance the same which he published two years later. the _relation_, it is to be observed, was written only a few months after the return of hennepin, and embodies the pith of his narrative of the upper mississippi, no part of which had then been published. [ ] in this connection, it is well to examine the various sioux words which hennepin uses incidentally, and which he must have acquired by personal intercourse with the tribe, as no frenchman then understood the language. these words, as far as my information reaches, are in every instance correct. thus, he says that the sioux called his breviary a "bad spirit,"--_ouackanché_. _wakanshe_, or _wakanshecha_, would express the same meaning in modern english spelling. he says elsewhere that they called the guns of his companions _manzaouackanché_, which he translates, "iron possessed with a bad spirit." the western sioux to this day call a gun _manzawakan_, "metal possessed with a spirit." _chonga (shonka)_, "a dog," _ouasi (wahsee)_, "a pine-tree," _chinnen (shinnan)_, "a robe," or "garment," and other words, are given correctly, with their interpretations. the word _louis_, affirmed by hennepin to mean "the sun," seems at first sight a wilful inaccuracy, as this is not the word used in general by the sioux. the yankton band of this people, however, call the sun _oouee_, which, it is evident, represents the french pronunciation of _louis_, omitting the initial letter. this hennepin would be apt enough to supply, thereby conferring a compliment alike on himself, louis hennepin, and on the king, louis xiv., who, to the indignation of his brother monarchs, had chosen the sun as his emblem. various trivial incidents touched upon by hennepin, while recounting his life among the sioux, seem to me to afford a strong presumption of an actual experience. i speak on this point with the more confidence, as the indians in whose lodges i was once domesticated for several weeks belonged to a western band of the same people. [ ] called ako by hennepin. in contemporary documents, it is written accau, acau, d'accau, dacau, dacan, and d'accault. [ ] the edition of says that there were thirty-three canoes; that of raises the number to fifty. the number of indians is the same in both. the later narrative is more in detail than the former. [ ] and yet it had, by his account, made a distance of thirteen hundred and eighty miles from the mouth of the mississippi upward in twenty-four days! [ ] this weeping and wailing over hennepin once seemed to me an anomaly in his account of sioux manners, as i am not aware that such practices are to be found among them at present. they are mentioned, however, by other early writers. le sueur, who was among them in - , was wept over no less than hennepin. see the abstract of his journal in la harpe. chapter xviii. , . hennepin among the sioux. signs of danger.--adoption.--hennepin and his indian relatives.--the hunting party.--the sioux camp.--falls of st. anthony.--a vagabond friar: his adventures on the mississippi.--greysolon du lhut.--return to civilization. as hennepin entered the village, he beheld a sight which caused him to invoke saint anthony of padua. in front of the lodges were certain stakes, to which were attached bundles of straw, intended, as he supposed, for burning him and his friends alive. his concern was redoubled when he saw the condition of the picard du gay, whose hair and face had been painted with divers colors, and whose head was decorated with a tuft of white feathers. in this guise he was entering the village, followed by a crowd of sioux, who compelled him to sing and keep time to his own music by rattling a dried gourd containing a number of pebbles. the omens, indeed, were exceedingly threatening; for treatment like this was usually followed by the speedy immolation of the captive. hennepin ascribes it to the effect of his invocations, that, being led into one of the lodges, among a throng of staring squaws and children, he and his companions were seated on the ground, and presented with large dishes of birch-bark, containing a mess of wild rice boiled with dried whortleberries,--a repast which he declares to have been the best that had fallen to his lot since the day of his captivity.[ ] [sidenote: the sioux.] this soothed his fears; but, as he allayed his famished appetite, he listened with anxious interest to the vehement jargon of the chiefs and warriors, who were disputing among themselves to whom the three captives should respectively belong; for it seems that, as far as related to them, the question of distribution had not yet been definitely settled. the debate ended in the assigning of hennepin to his old enemy aquipaguetin, who, however, far from persisting in his evil designs, adopted him on the spot as his son. the three companions must now part company. du gay, not yet quite reassured of his safety, hastened to confess himself to hennepin; but accau proved refractory, and refused the offices of religion, which did not prevent the friar from embracing them both, as he says, with an extreme tenderness. tired as he was, he was forced to set out with his self-styled father to his village, which was fortunately not far off. an unpleasant walk of a few miles through woods and marshes brought them to the borders of a sheet of water, apparently lake buade, where five of aquipaguetin's wives received the party in three canoes, and ferried them to an island on which the village stood. at the entrance of the chief's lodge, hennepin was met by a decrepit old indian, withered with age, who offered him the peace-pipe, and placed him on a bear-skin which was spread by the fire. here, to relieve his fatigue,--for he was well-nigh spent,--a small boy anointed his limbs with the fat of a wild-cat, supposed to be sovereign in these cases by reason of the great agility of that animal. his new father gave him a bark-platter of fish, covered him with a buffalo-robe, and showed him six or seven of his wives, who were thenceforth, he was told, to regard him as a son. the chief's household was numerous; and his allies and relatives formed a considerable clan, of which the missionary found himself an involuntary member. he was scandalized when he saw one of his adopted brothers carrying on his back the bones of a deceased friend, wrapped in the chasuble of brocade which they had taken with other vestments from his box. [sidenote: hennepin as a missionary.] seeing their new relative so enfeebled that he could scarcely stand, the indians made for him one of their sweating baths,[ ] where they immersed him in steam three times a week,--a process from which he thinks he derived great benefit. his strength gradually returned, in spite of his meagre fare; for there was a dearth of food, and the squaws were less attentive to his wants than to those of their children. they respected him, however, as a person endowed with occult powers, and stood in no little awe of a pocket compass which he had with him, as well as of a small metal pot with feet moulded after the face of a lion. this last seemed in their eyes a "medicine" of the most formidable nature, and they would not touch it without first wrapping it in a beaver-skin. for the rest, hennepin made himself useful in various ways. he shaved the heads of the children, as was the custom of the tribe; bled certain asthmatic persons, and dosed others with orvietan, the famous panacea of his time, of which he had brought with him a good supply. with respect to his missionary functions, he seems to have given himself little trouble, unless his attempt to make a sioux vocabulary is to be regarded as preparatory to a future apostleship. "i could gain nothing over them," he says, "in the way of their salvation, by reason of their natural stupidity." nevertheless, on one occasion, he baptized a sick child, naming it antoinette in honor of saint anthony of padua. it seemed to revive after the rite, but soon relapsed and presently died, "which," he writes, "gave me great joy and satisfaction." in this he was like the jesuits, who could find nothing but consolation in the death of a newly baptized infant, since it was thus assured of a paradise which, had it lived, it would probably have forfeited by sharing in the superstitions of its parents. with respect to hennepin and his indian father, there seems to have been little love on either side; but ouasicoudé, the principal chief of the sioux of this region, was the fast friend of the three white men. he was angry that they had been robbed, which he had been unable to prevent, as the sioux had no laws, and their chiefs little power; but he spoke his mind freely, and told aquipaguetin and the rest, in full council, that they were like a dog who steals a piece of meat from a dish and runs away with it. when hennepin complained of hunger, the indians had always promised him that early in the summer he should go with them on a buffalo hunt, and have food in abundance. the time at length came, and the inhabitants of all the neighboring villages prepared for departure. to each band was assigned its special hunting-ground, and he was expected to accompany his indian father. to this he demurred; for he feared lest aquipaguetin, angry at the words of the great chief, might take this opportunity to revenge the insult put upon him. he therefore gave out that he expected a party of "spirits"--that is to say, frenchmen--to meet him at the mouth of the wisconsin, bringing a supply of goods for the indians; and he declares that la salle had in fact promised to send traders to that place. be this as it may, the indians believed him; and, true or false, the assertion, as will be seen, answered the purpose for which it was made. [sidenote: camp of savages.] the indians set out in a body to the number of two hundred and fifty warriors, with their women and children. the three frenchmen, who though in different villages had occasionally met during the two months of their captivity, were all of the party. they descended rum river, which forms the outlet of mille lac, and which is called the st. francis by hennepin. none of the indians had offered to give him passage; and, fearing lest he should be abandoned, he stood on the bank, hailing the passing canoes and begging to be taken in. accau and du gay presently appeared, paddling a small canoe which the indians had given them; but they would not listen to the missionary's call, and accau, who had no love for him, cried out that he had paddled him long enough already. two indians, however, took pity on him, and brought him to the place of encampment, where du gay tried to excuse himself for his conduct; but accau was sullen, and kept aloof. after reaching the mississippi, the whole party encamped together opposite to the mouth of rum river, pitching their tents of skin, or building their bark-huts, on the slope of a hill by the side of the water. it was a wild scene, this camp of savages among whom as yet no traders had come and no handiwork of civilization had found its way,--the tall warriors, some nearly naked, some wrapped in buffalo-robes, and some in shirts of dressed deer-skin fringed with hair and embroidered with dyed porcupine quills, war-clubs of stone in their hands, and quivers at their backs filled with stone-headed arrows; the squaws, cutting smoke-dried meat with knives of flint, and boiling it in rude earthen pots of their own making, driving away, meanwhile, with shrill cries, the troops of lean dogs, which disputed the meal with a crew of hungry children. the whole camp, indeed, was threatened with starvation. the three white men could get no food but unripe berries,--from the effects of which hennepin thinks they might all have died, but for timely doses of his orvietan. [sidenote: falls of st. anthony.] being tired of the indians, he became anxious to set out for the wisconsin to find the party of frenchmen, real or imaginary, who were to meet him at that place. that he was permitted to do so was due to the influence of the great chief ouasicoudé, who always befriended him, and who had soundly berated his two companions for refusing him a seat in their canoe. du gay wished to go with him; but accau, who liked the indian life as much as he disliked hennepin, preferred to remain with the hunters. a small birch-canoe was given to the two adventurers, together with an earthen pot; and they had also between them a gun, a knife, and a robe of beaver-skin. thus equipped, they began their journey, and soon approached the falls of st. anthony, so named by hennepin in honor of the inevitable saint anthony of padua.[ ] as they were carrying their canoe by the cataract, they saw five or six indians, who had gone before, and one of whom had climbed into an oak-tree beside the principal fall, whence in a loud and lamentable voice he was haranguing the spirit of the waters, as a sacrifice to whom he had just hung a robe of beaver-skin among the branches.[ ] their attention was soon engrossed by another object. looking over the edge of the cliff which overhung the river below the falls, hennepin saw a snake, which, as he avers, was six feet long,[ ] writhing upward towards the holes of the swallows in the face of the precipice, in order to devour their young. he pointed him out to du gay, and they pelted him with stones till he fell into the river, but not before his contortions and the darting of his forked tongue had so affected the picard's imagination that he was haunted that night with a terrific incubus. [sidenote: adventures.] they paddled sixty leagues down the river in the heats of july, and killed no large game but a single deer, the meat of which soon spoiled. their main resource was the turtles, whose shyness and watchfulness caused them frequent disappointments and many involuntary fasts. they once captured one of more than common size; and, as they were endeavoring to cut off his head, he was near avenging himself by snapping off hennepin's finger. there was a herd of buffalo in sight on the neighboring prairie; and du gay went with his gun in pursuit of them, leaving the turtle in hennepin's custody. scarcely was he gone when the friar, raising his eyes, saw that their canoe, which they had left at the edge of the water, had floated out into the current. hastily turning the turtle on his back, he covered him with his habit of st. francis, on which, for greater security, he laid a number of stones, and then, being a good swimmer, struck out in pursuit of the canoe, which he at length overtook. finding that it would overset if he tried to climb into it, he pushed it before him to the shore, and then paddled towards the place, at some distance above, where he had left the turtle. he had no sooner reached it than he heard a strange sound, and beheld a long file of buffalo--bulls, cows, and calves--entering the water not far off, to cross to the western bank. having no gun, as became his apostolic vocation, he shouted to du gay, who presently appeared, running in all haste, and they both paddled in pursuit of the game. du gay aimed at a young cow, and shot her in the head. she fell in shallow water near an island, where some of the herd had landed; and being unable to drag her out, they waded into the water and butchered her where she lay. it was forty-eight hours since they had tasted food. hennepin made a fire, while du gay cut up the meat. they feasted so bountifully that they both fell ill, and were forced to remain two days on the island, taking doses of orvietan, before they were able to resume their journey. apparently they were not sufficiently versed in woodcraft to smoke the meat of the cow; and the hot sun soon robbed them of it. they had a few fishhooks, but were not always successful in the use of them. on one occasion, being nearly famished, they set their line, and lay watching it, uttering prayers in turn. suddenly, there was a great turmoil in the water. du gay ran to the line, and, with the help of hennepin, drew in two large cat-fish.[ ] the eagles, or fish-hawks, now and then dropped a newly caught fish, of which they gladly took possession; and once they found a purveyor in an otter which they saw by the bank, devouring some object of an appearance so wonderful that du gay cried out that he had a devil between his paws. they scared him from his prey, which proved to be a spade-fish, or, as hennepin correctly describes it, a species of sturgeon, with a bony projection from his snout in the shape of a paddle. they broke their fast upon him, undeterred by this eccentric appendage. [sidenote: the upper mississippi.] if hennepin had had an eye for scenery, he would have found in these his vagabond rovings wherewith to console himself in some measure for his frequent fasts. the young mississippi, fresh from its northern springs, unstained as yet by unhallowed union with the riotous missouri, flowed calmly on its way amid strange and unique beauties,--a wilderness, clothed with velvet grass; forest-shadowed valleys; lofty heights, whose smooth slopes seemed levelled with the scythe; domes and pinnacles, ramparts and ruined towers, the work of no human hand. the canoe of the voyagers, borne on the tranquil current, glided in the shade of gray crags festooned with honeysuckles; by trees mantled with wild grape-vines; dells bright with the flowers of the white euphorbia, the blue gentian, and the purple balm; and matted forests, where the red squirrels leaped and chattered. they passed the great cliff whence the indian maiden threw herself in her despair;[ ] and lake pepin lay before them, slumbering in the july sun,--the far-reaching sheets of sparkling water, the woody slopes, the tower-like crags, the grassy heights basking in sunlight or shadowed by the passing cloud; all the fair outline of its graceful scenery, the finished and polished master-work of nature. and when at evening they made their bivouac fire and drew up their canoe, while dim, sultry clouds veiled the west, and the flashes of the silent heat-lightning gleamed on the leaden water, they could listen, as they smoked their pipes, to the mournful cry of the whippoorwills and the quavering scream of the owls. other thoughts than the study of the picturesque occupied the mind of hennepin when one day he saw his indian father, aquipaguetin, whom he had supposed five hundred miles distant, descending the river with ten warriors in canoes. he was eager to be the first to meet the traders, who, as hennepin had given out, were to come with their goods to the mouth of the wisconsin. the two travellers trembled for the consequences of this encounter; but the chief, after a short colloquy, passed on his way. in three days he returned in ill-humor, having found no traders at the appointed spot. the picard was absent at the time, looking for game; and hennepin was sitting under the shade of his blanket, which he had stretched on forked sticks to protect him from the sun, when he saw his adopted father approaching with a threatening look, and a war-club in his hand. he attempted no violence, however, but suffered his wrath to exhale in a severe scolding, after which he resumed his course up the river with his warriors. if hennepin, as he avers, really expected a party of traders at the wisconsin, the course he now took is sufficiently explicable. if he did not expect them, his obvious course was to rejoin tonty on the illinois, for which he seems to have had no inclination; or to return to canada by way of the wisconsin,--an attempt which involved the risk of starvation, as the two travellers had but ten charges of powder left. assuming, then, his hope of the traders to have been real, he and du gay resolved, in the mean time, to join a large body of sioux hunters, who, as aquipaguetin had told them, were on a stream which he calls bull river, now the chippeway, entering the mississippi near lake pepin. by so doing, they would gain a supply of food, and save themselves from the danger of encountering parties of roving warriors. [sidenote: he rejoins the indians.] they found this band, among whom was their companion accau, and followed them on a grand hunt along the borders of the mississippi. du gay was separated for a time from hennepin, who was placed in a canoe with a withered squaw more than eighty years old. in spite of her age, she handled her paddle with great address, and used it vigorously, as occasion required, to repress the gambols of three children, who, to hennepin's annoyance, occupied the middle of the canoe. the hunt was successful. the sioux warriors, active as deer, chased the buffalo on foot with their stone-headed arrows, on the plains behind the heights that bordered the river; while the old men stood sentinels at the top, watching for the approach of enemies. one day an alarm was given. the warriors rushed towards the supposed point of danger, but found nothing more formidable than two squaws of their own nation, who brought strange news. a war-party of sioux, they said, had gone towards lake superior, and had met by the way five "spirits;" that is to say, five europeans. hennepin was full of curiosity to learn who the strangers might be; and they, on their part, were said to have shown great anxiety to know the nationality of the three white men who, as they were told, were on the river. the hunt was over; and the hunters, with hennepin and his companion, were on their way northward to their towns, when they met the five "spirits" at some distance below the falls of st. anthony. they proved to be daniel greysolon du lhut, with four well-armed frenchmen. [sidenote: de lhut's explorations.] this bold and enterprising man, stigmatized by the intendant duchesneau as a leader of _coureurs de bois_, was a cousin of tonty, born at lyons. he belonged to that caste of the lesser nobles whose name was legion, and whose admirable military qualities shone forth so conspicuously in the wars of louis xiv. though his enterprises were independent of those of la salle, they were at this time carried on in connection with count frontenac and certain merchants in his interest, of whom du lhut's uncle, patron, was one; while louvigny, his brother-in-law, was in alliance with the governor, and was an officer of his guard. here, then, was a kind of family league, countenanced by frontenac, and acting conjointly with him, in order, if the angry letters of the intendant are to be believed, to reap a clandestine profit under the shadow of the governor's authority, and in violation of the royal ordinances. the rudest part of the work fell to the share of du lhut, who with a persistent hardihood, not surpassed perhaps even by la salle, was continually in the forest, in the indian towns, or in remote wilderness outposts planted by himself, exploring, trading, fighting, ruling lawless savages and whites scarcely less ungovernable, and on one or more occasions varying his life by crossing the ocean to gain interviews with the colonial minister seignelay, amid the splendid vanities of versailles. strange to say, this man of hardy enterprise was a martyr to the gout, which for more than a quarter of a century grievously tormented him; though for a time he thought himself cured by the intercession of the iroquois saint, catharine tegahkouita, to whom he had made a vow to that end. he was, without doubt, an habitual breaker of the royal ordinances regulating the fur-trade; yet his services were great to the colony and to the crown, and his name deserves a place of honor among the pioneers of american civilization.[ ] when hennepin met him, he had been about two years in the wilderness. in september, , he left quebec for the purpose of exploring the region of the upper mississippi, and establishing relations of friendship with the sioux and their kindred the assiniboins. in the summer of he visited three large towns of the eastern division of the sioux, including those visited by hennepin in the following year, and planted the king's arms in all of them. early in the autumn he was at the head of lake superior, holding a council with the assiniboins and the lake tribes, and inducing them to live at peace with the sioux. in all this, he acted in a public capacity, under the authority of the governor; but it is not to be supposed that he forgot his own interests or those of his associates. the intendant angrily complains that he aided and abetted the _coureurs de bois_ in their lawless courses, and sent down in their canoes great quantities of beaver-skins consigned to the merchants in league with him, under cover of whose names the governor reaped his share of the profits. in june, , while hennepin was in the sioux villages, du lhut set out from the head of lake superior, with two canoes, four frenchmen, and an indian, to continue his explorations.[ ] he ascended a river, apparently the burnt wood, and reached from thence a branch of the mississippi, which seems to have been the st. croix. it was now that, to his surprise, he learned that there were three europeans on the main river below; and fearing that they might be englishmen or spaniards encroaching on the territories of the king, he eagerly pressed forward to solve his doubts. when he saw hennepin, his mind was set at rest; and the travellers met with mutual cordiality. they followed the indians to their villages of mille lac, where hennepin had now no reason to complain of their treatment of him. the sioux gave him and du lhut a grand feast of honor, at which were seated a hundred and twenty naked guests; and the great chief ouasicoudé, with his own hands, placed before hennepin a bark dish containing a mess of smoked meat and wild rice. autumn had come, and the travellers bethought them of going home. the sioux, consoled by their promises to return with goods for trade, did not oppose their departure; and they set out together, eight white men in all. as they passed st. anthony's falls, two of the men stole two buffalo-robes which were hung on trees as offerings to the spirit of the cataract. when du lhut heard of it he was very angry, telling the men that they had endangered the lives of the whole party. hennepin admitted that in the view of human prudence he was right, but urged that the act was good and praiseworthy, inasmuch as the offerings were made to a false god; while the men, on their part, proved mutinous, declaring that they wanted the robes and meant to keep them. the travellers continued their journey in great ill-humor, but were presently soothed by the excellent hunting which they found on the way. as they approached the wisconsin, they stopped to dry the meat of the buffalo they had killed, when to their amazement they saw a war-party of sioux approaching in a fleet of canoes. hennepin represents himself as showing on this occasion an extraordinary courage, going to meet the indians with a peace-pipe, and instructing du lhut, who knew more of these matters than he, how he ought to behave. the sioux proved not unfriendly, and said nothing of the theft of the buffalo-robes. they soon went on their way to attack the illinois and missouris, leaving the frenchmen to ascend the wisconsin unmolested. [sidenote: the return.] after various adventures, they reached the station of the jesuits at green bay; but its existence is wholly ignored by hennepin, whose zeal for his own order will not permit him to allude to this establishment of the rival missionaries.[ ] he is equally reticent with regard to the jesuit mission at michilimackinac, where the party soon after arrived, and where they spent the winter. the only intimation which he gives of its existence consists in the mention of the jesuit pierson, who was a fleming like himself, and who often skated with him on the frozen lake, or kept him company in fishing through a hole in the ice.[ ] when the spring opened, hennepin descended lake huron, followed the detroit to lake erie, and proceeded thence to niagara. here he spent some time in making a fresh examination of the cataract, and then resumed his voyage on lake ontario. he stopped, however, at the great town of the senecas, near the genesee, where, with his usual spirit of meddling, he took upon him the functions of the civil and military authorities, convoked the chiefs to a council, and urged them to set at liberty certain ottawa prisoners whom they had captured in violation of treaties. having settled this affair to his satisfaction, he went to fort frontenac, where his brother missionary, buisset, received him with a welcome rendered the warmer by a story which had reached him that the indians had hanged hennepin with his own cord of st. francis. from fort frontenac he went to montreal; and leaving his two men on a neighboring island, that they might escape the payment of duties on a quantity of furs which they had with them, he paddled alone towards the town. count frontenac chanced to be here, and, looking from the window of a house near the river, he saw approaching in a canoe a récollet father, whose appearance indicated the extremity of hard service; for his face was worn and sunburnt, and his tattered habit of st. francis was abundantly patched with scraps of buffalo-skin. when at length he recognized the long-lost hennepin, he received him, as the father writes, "with all the tenderness which a missionary could expect from a person of his rank and quality." he kept him for twelve days in his own house, and listened with interest to such of his adventures as the friar saw fit to divulge. [sidenote: la salle's letters.] and here we bid farewell to father hennepin. "providence," he writes, "preserved my life that i might make known my great discoveries to the world." he soon after went to europe, where the story of his travels found a host of readers, but where he died at last in a deserved obscurity.[ ] footnotes: [ ] the sioux, or dacotah, as they call themselves, were a numerous people, separated into three great divisions, which were again subdivided into bands. those among whom hennepin was a prisoner belonged to the division known as the issanti, issanyati, or, as he writes it, _issati_, of which the principal band was the meddewakantonwan. the other great divisions, the yanktons and the tintonwans, or tetons, lived west of the mississippi, extending beyond the missouri, and ranging as far as the rocky mountains. the issanti cultivated the soil; but the extreme western bands subsisted on the buffalo alone. the former had two kinds of dwelling,--the _teepee_, or skin-lodge, and the bark-lodge. the teepee, which was used by all the sioux, consists of a covering of dressed buffalo-hide, stretched on a conical stack of poles. the bark-lodge was peculiar to the eastern sioux; and examples of it might be seen, until within a few years, among the bands on the st. peter's. in its general character, it was like the huron and iroquois houses, but was inferior in construction. it had a ridge roof, framed of poles, extending from the posts which formed the sides; and the whole was covered with elm-bark. the lodges in the villages to which hennepin was conducted were probably of this kind. the name sioux is an abbreviation of _nadouessioux_, an ojibwa word, meaning "enemies." the ojibwas used it to designate this people, and occasionally also the iroquois, being at deadly war with both. rev. stephen b. riggs, for many years a missionary among the issanti sioux, says that this division consists of four distinct bands. they ceded all their lands east of the mississippi to the united states in , and lived on the st. peter's till driven thence in consequence of the massacres of , . the yankton sioux consist of two bands, which are again subdivided. the assiniboins, or hohays, are an offshoot from the yanktons, with whom they are now at war. the tintonwan, or teton sioux, forming the most western division and the largest, comprise seven bands, and are among the bravest and fiercest tenants of the prairie. the earliest french writers estimate the total number of the sioux at forty thousand; but this is little better than conjecture. mr. riggs, in , placed it at about twenty-five thousand. [ ] these baths consist of a small hut, covered closely with buffalo-skins, into which the patient and his friends enter, carefully closing every aperture. a pile of heated stones is placed in the middle, and water is poured upon them, raising a dense vapor. they are still ( ) in use among the sioux and some other tribes. [ ] hennepin's notice of the falls of st. anthony, though brief, is sufficiently accurate. he says, in his first edition, that they are forty or fifty feet high, but adds ten feet more in the edition of . in , according to schoolcraft, the perpendicular fall measured forty feet. great changes, however, have taken place here, and are still in progress. the rock is a very soft, friable sandstone, overlaid by a stratum of limestone; and it is crumbling with such rapidity under the action of the water that the cataract will soon be little more than a rapid. other changes equally disastrous, in an artistic point of view, are going on even more quickly. beside the falls stands a city, which, by an ingenious combination of the greek and sioux languages, has received the name of minneapolis, or city of the waters, and which in contained ten thousand inhabitants, two national banks, and an opera-house; while its rival city of st. anthony, immediately opposite, boasted a gigantic water-cure and a state university. in short, the great natural beauty of the place is utterly spoiled. [ ] oanktayhee, the principal deity of the sioux, was supposed to live under these falls, though he manifested himself in the form of a buffalo. it was he who created the earth, like the algonquin manabozho, from mud brought to him in the paws of a musk-rat. carver, in , saw an indian throw everything he had about him into the cataract as an offering to this deity. [ ] in the edition of . in that of he had grown to seven or eight feet. the bank-swallows still make their nests in these cliffs, boring easily into the soft sandstone. [ ] hennepin speaks of their size with astonishment, and says that the two together would weigh twenty-five pounds. cat-fish have been taken in the mississippi, weighing more than a hundred and fifty pounds. [ ] the "lover's leap," or "maiden's rock" from which a sioux girl, winona, or the "eldest born," is said to have thrown herself, in the despair of disappointed affection. the story, which seems founded in truth, will be found, not without embellishments, in mrs. eastman's _legends of the sioux_. [ ] the facts concerning du lhut have been gleaned from a variety of contemporary documents, chiefly the letters of his enemy duchesneau, who always puts him in the worst light, especially in his despatch to seignelay of nov., , where he charges both him and the governor with carrying on an illicit trade with the english of new york. du lhut himself, in a memoir dated (see harrisse, _bibliographie_, ), strongly denies these charges. du lhut built a trading fort on lake superior, called cananistigoyan (la hontan), or kamalastigouia (perrot). it was on the north side, at the mouth of a river entering thunder bay, where fort william now stands. in he caused two indians, who had murdered several frenchmen on lake superior, to be shot. he displayed in this affair great courage and coolness, undaunted by the crowd of excited savages who surrounded him and his little band of frenchmen. the long letter, in which he recounts the capture and execution of the murderers, is before me. duchesneau makes his conduct on this occasion the ground of a charge of rashness. in denonville, then governor of the colony, ordered him to fortify the detroit; that is, the strait between lakes erie and huron. he went thither with fifty men and built a palisade fort, which he occupied for some time. in he, together with tonty and durantaye, joined denonville against the senecas, with a body of indians from the upper lakes. in , during the panic that followed the iroquois invasion of montreal, du lhut, with twenty-eight canadians, attacked twenty-two iroquois in canoes, received their fire without returning it, bore down upon them, killed eighteen of them, and captured three, only one escaping. in he was in command at fort frontenac. in he succeeded to the command of a company of infantry, but was suffering wretchedly from the gout at fort frontenac. in vaudreuil, in a despatch to the minister ponchartrain, announced his death as occurring in the previous winter, and added the brief comment, "c'était un très-honnête homme." other contemporaries speak to the same effect. "mr. dulhut, gentilhomme lionnois, qui a beaucoup de mérite et de capacité."--_la hontan_, i. ( ). "le sieur du lut, homme d'esprit et d'expérience."--_le clerc_, ii. . charlevoix calls him "one of the bravest officers the king has ever had in this colony." his name is variously spelled du luc, du lud, du lude, du lut, du luth, du lhut. for an account of the iroquois virgin, tegahkouita, whose intercession is said to have cured him of the gout, see charlevoix, i. . on a contemporary manuscript map by the jesuit raffeix, representing the routes of marquette, la salle, and du lhut, are the following words, referring to the last-named discoverer, and interesting in connection with hennepin's statements: "mr. du lude le premier a esté chez les sioux en , et a esté proche la source du mississippi, et ensuite vint retirer le p. louis [_hennepin_] qui avoit esté fait prisonnier chez les sioux." du lhut here appears as the deliverer of hennepin. one of his men was named pepin; hence, no doubt, the name of lake pepin. [ ] _memoir on the french dominion in canada, n. y. col. docs._, ix. . [ ] on the other hand, he sets down on his map of a mission of the récollets at a point north of the farthest sources of the mississippi, to which no white man had ever penetrated. [ ] he says that pierson had come among the indians to learn their language; that he "retained the frankness and rectitude of our country" and "a disposition always on the side of candor and sincerity. in a word, he seemed to me to be all that a christian ought to be" ( ), . [ ] since the two preceding chapters were written, the letters of la salle have been brought to light by the researches of m. margry. they confirm, in nearly all points, the conclusions given above; though, as before observed (_note_, ), they show misstatements on the part of hennepin concerning his position at the outset of the expedition. la salle writes: "j'ay fait remonter le fleuve colbert, nommé par les iroquois gastacha, par les outaouais mississipy par un canot conduit par deux de mes gens, l'un nommé michel accault et l'autre picard, auxquels le r. p. hennepin se joignit pour ne perdre pas l'occasion de prescher l'Évangile aux peuples qui habitent dessus et qui n'en avoient jamais oui parler." in the same letter he recounts their voyage on the upper mississippi, and their capture by the sioux in accordance with the story of hennepin himself. hennepin's assertion, that la salle had promised to send a number of men to meet him at the mouth of the wisconsin, turns out to be true. "estans tous revenus en chasse avec les nadouessioux [_sioux_] vers ouisconsing [_wisconsin_], le r. p. louis hempin [_hennepin_] et picard prirent résolution de venir jusqu'à l'emboucheure de la rivière où j'avois promis d'envoyer de mes nouvelles, comme j'avois fait par six hommes que les jésuistes desbauchèrent en leur disant que le r. p. louis et ses compagnons de voyage avoient esté tuez." it is clear that la salle understood hennepin; for, after speaking of his journey, he adds: "j'ai cru qu'il estoit à propos de vous faire le narré des aventures de ce canot parce que je ne doute pas qu'on en parle; et si vous souhaitez en conférer avec le p. louis hempin, récollect, qui est repassé en france, il faut un peu le connoistre, car il ne manquera pas d'exagérer toutes choses, c'est son caractère, et à moy mesme il m'a escrit comme s'il eust esté tout près d'estre bruslé, quoiqu'il n'en ait pas esté seulement en danger; mais il croit qu'il luy est honorable de le faire de la sorte, et _il parle plus conformément à ce qu'il veut qu'à ce qu'il scait_."--_lettre de la salle, août, _ ( ?), margry, ii. . on his return to france, hennepin got hold of the manuscript, _relation des découvertes_, compiled for the government from la salle's letters, and, as already observed, made very free use of it in the first edition of his book, printed in . in he wished to return to canada; but, in a letter of that year, louis xiv. orders the governor to seize him, should he appear, and send him prisoner to rochefort. this seems to have been in consequence of his renouncing the service of the french crown, and dedicating his edition of to william iii. of england. more than twenty editions of hennepin's travels appeared, in french, english, dutch, german, italian, and spanish. most of them include the mendacious narrative of the pretended descent of the mississippi. for a list of them, see _hist. mag._, i. ; ii. . chapter xix. . la salle begins anew. his constancy; his plans; his savage allies; he becomes snow-blind.--negotiations.--grand council.--la salle's oratory.--meeting with tonty.--preparation.--departure. in tracing the adventures of tonty and the rovings of hennepin, we have lost sight of la salle, the pivot of the enterprise. returning from the desolation and horror in the valley of the illinois, he had spent the winter at fort miami, on the st. joseph, by the borders of lake michigan. here he might have brooded on the redoubled ruin that had befallen him,--the desponding friends, the exulting foes; the wasted energies, the crushing load of debt, the stormy past, the black and lowering future. but his mind was of a different temper. he had no thought but to grapple with adversity, and out of the fragments of his ruin to build up the fabric of success. he would not recoil; but he modified his plans to meet the new contingency. his white enemies had found, or rather perhaps had made, a savage ally in the iroquois. their incursions must be stopped, or his enterprise would come to nought; and he thought he saw the means by which this new danger could be converted into a source of strength. the tribes of the west, threatened by the common enemy, might be taught to forget their mutual animosities and join in a defensive league, with la salle at its head. they might be colonized around his fort in the valley of the illinois, where in the shadow of the french flag, and with the aid of french allies, they could hold the iroquois in check, and acquire in some measure the arts of a settled life. the franciscan friars could teach them the faith; and la salle and his associates could supply them with goods, in exchange for the vast harvest of furs which their hunters could gather in these boundless wilds. meanwhile, he would seek out the mouth of the mississippi; and the furs gathered at his colony in the illinois would then find a ready passage to the markets of the world. thus might this ancient slaughter-field of warring savages be redeemed to civilization and christianity; and a stable settlement, half-feudal, half-commercial, grow up in the heart of the western wilderness. this plan was but a part of the original scheme of his enterprise, adapted to new and unexpected circumstances; and he now set himself to its execution with his usual vigor, joined to an address which, when dealing with indians, never failed him. [sidenote: indian friends.] there were allies close at hand. near fort miami were the huts of twenty-five or thirty savages, exiles from their homes, and strangers in this western world. several of the english colonies, from virginia to maine, had of late years been harassed by indian wars; and the puritans of new england, above all, had been scourged by the deadly outbreak of king philip's war. those engaged in it had paid a bitter price for their brief triumphs. a band of refugees, chiefly abenakis and mohegans, driven from their native seats, had roamed into these distant wilds, and were wintering in the friendly neighborhood of the french. la salle soon won them over to his interests. one of their number was the mohegan hunter, who for two years had faithfully followed his fortunes, and who had been four years in the west. he is described as a prudent and discreet young man, in whom la salle had great confidence, and who could make himself understood in several western languages, belonging, like his own, to the great algonquin tongue. this devoted henchman proved an efficient mediator with his countrymen. the new-england indians, with one voice, promised to follow la salle, asking no recompense but to call him their chief, and yield to him the love and admiration which he rarely failed to command from this hero-worshipping race. new allies soon appeared. a shawanoe chief from the valley of the ohio, whose following embraced a hundred and fifty warriors, came to ask the protection of the french against the all-destroying iroquois. "the shawanoes are too distant," was la salle's reply; "but let them come to me at the illinois, and they shall be safe." the chief promised to join him in the autumn, at fort miami, with all his band. but, more important than all, the consent and co-operation of the illinois must be gained; and the miamis, their neighbors and of late their enemies, must be taught the folly of their league with the iroquois, and the necessity of joining in the new confederation. of late, they had been made to see the perfidy of their dangerous allies. a band of the iroquois, returning from the slaughter of the tamaroa illinois, had met and murdered a band of miamis on the ohio, and had not only refused satisfaction, but had intrenched themselves in three rude forts of trees and brushwood in the heart of the miami country. the moment was favorable for negotiating; but, first, la salle wished to open a communication with the illinois, some of whom had begun to return to the country they had abandoned. with this view, and also, it seems, to procure provisions, he set out on the first of march, with his lieutenant la forest, and fifteen men. the country was sheeted in snow, and the party journeyed on snow-shoes; but when they reached the open prairies, the white expanse glared in the sun with so dazzling a brightness that la salle and several of the men became snow-blind. they stopped and encamped under the edge of a forest; and here la salle remained in darkness for three days, suffering extreme pain. meanwhile, he sent forward la forest and most of the men, keeping with him his old attendant hunaut. going out in quest of pine-leaves,--a decoction of which was supposed to be useful in cases of snow-blindness,--this man discovered the fresh tracks of indians, followed them, and found a camp of outagamies, or foxes, from the neighborhood of green bay. from them he heard welcome news. they told him that tonty was safe among the pottawattamies, and that hennepin had passed through their country on his return from among the sioux.[ ] [sidenote: illinois allies.] a thaw took place; the snow melted rapidly; the rivers were opened; the blind men began to recover; and launching the canoes which they had dragged after them, the party pursued their way by water. they soon met a band of illinois. la salle gave them presents, condoled with them on their losses, and urged them to make peace and alliance with the miamis. thus, he said, they could set the iroquois at defiance; for he himself, with his frenchmen and his indian friends, would make his abode among them, supply them with goods, and aid them to defend themselves. they listened, well pleased, promised to carry his message to their countrymen, and furnished him with a large supply of corn.[ ] meanwhile he had rejoined la forest, whom he now sent to michilimackinac to await tonty, and tell him to remain there till he, la salle, should arrive. having thus accomplished the objects of his journey, he returned to fort miami, whence he soon after ascended the st. joseph to the village of the miami indians, on the portage, at the head of the kankakee. here he found unwelcome guests. these were three iroquois warriors, who had been for some time in the place, and who, as he was told, had demeaned themselves with the insolence of conquerors, and spoken of the french with the utmost contempt. he hastened to confront them, rebuked and menaced them, and told them that now, when he was present, they dared not repeat the calumnies which they had uttered in his absence. they stood abashed and confounded, and during the following night secretly left the town and fled. the effect was prodigious on the minds of the miamis, when they saw that la salle, backed by ten frenchmen, could command from their arrogant visitors a respect which they, with their hundreds of warriors, had wholly failed to inspire. here, at the outset, was an augury full of promise for the approaching negotiations. there were other strangers in the town,--a band of eastern indians, more numerous than those who had wintered at the fort. the greater number were from rhode island, including, probably, some of king philip's warriors; others were from new york, and others again from virginia. la salle called them to a council, promised them a new home in the west under the protection of the great king, with rich lands, an abundance of game, and french traders to supply them with the goods which they had once received from the english. let them but help him to make peace between the miamis and the illinois, and he would insure for them a future of prosperity and safety. they listened with open ears, and promised their aid in the work of peace. [sidenote: grand council.] on the next morning, the miamis were called to a grand council. it was held in the lodge of their chief, from which the mats were removed, that the crowd without might hear what was said. la salle rose and harangued the concourse. few men were so skilled in the arts of forest rhetoric and diplomacy. after the indian mode, he was, to follow his chroniclers, "the greatest orator in north america."[ ] he began with a gift of tobacco, to clear the brains of his auditory; next, for he had brought a canoe-load of presents to support his eloquence, he gave them cloth to cover their dead, coats to dress them, hatchets to build a grand scaffold in their honor, and beads, bells, and trinkets of all sorts, to decorate their relatives at a grand funeral feast. all this was mere metaphor. the living, while appropriating the gifts to their own use, were pleased at the compliment offered to their dead; and their delight redoubled as the orator proceeded. one of their great chiefs had lately been killed; and la salle, after a eulogy of the departed, declared that he would now raise him to life again; that is, that he would assume his name and give support to his squaws and children. this flattering announcement drew forth an outburst of applause; and when, to confirm his words, his attendants placed before them a huge pile of coats, shirts, and hunting-knives, the whole assembly exploded in yelps of admiration. now came the climax of the harangue, introduced by a further present of six guns:-- "he who is my master, and the master of all this country, is a mighty chief, feared by the whole world; but he loves peace, and the words of his lips are for good alone. he is called the king of france, and he is the mightiest among the chiefs beyond the great water. his goodness reaches even to your dead, and his subjects come among you to raise them up to life. but it is his will to preserve the life he has given; it is his will that you should obey his laws, and make no war without the leave of onontio, who commands in his name at quebec, and who loves all the nations alike, because such is the will of the great king. you ought, then, to live at peace with your neighbors, and above all with the illinois. you have had causes of quarrel with them; but their defeat has avenged you. though they are still strong, they wish to make peace with you. be content with the glory of having obliged them to ask for it. you have an interest in preserving them; since, if the iroquois destroy them, they will next destroy you. let us all obey the great king, and live together in peace, under his protection. be of my mind, and use these guns that i have given you, not to make war, but only to hunt and to defend yourselves."[ ] [sidenote: the chiefs reply.] so saying, he gave two belts of wampum to confirm his words; and the assembly dissolved. on the following day, the chiefs again convoked it, and made their reply in form. it was all that la salle could have wished. "the illinois is our brother, because he is the son of our father, the great king." "we make you the master of our beaver and our lands, of our minds and our bodies." "we cannot wonder that our brothers from the east wish to live with you. we should have wished so too, if we had known what a blessing it is to be the children of the great king." the rest of this auspicious day was passed in feasts and dances, in which la salle and his frenchmen all bore part. his new scheme was hopefully begun. it remained to achieve the enterprise, twice defeated, of the discovery of the mouth of the mississippi,--that vital condition of his triumph, without which all other success was meaningless and vain. to this end he must return to canada, appease his creditors, and collect his scattered resources. towards the end of may he set out in canoes from fort miami, and reached michilimackinac after a prosperous voyage. here, to his great joy, he found tonty and zenobe membré, who had lately arrived from green bay. the meeting was one at which even his stoic nature must have melted. each had for the other a tale of disaster; but when la salle recounted the long succession of his reverses, it was with the tranquil tone and cheerful look of one who relates the incidents of an ordinary journey. membré looked on him with admiration. "any one else," he says, "would have thrown up his hand and abandoned the enterprise; but, far from this, with a firmness and constancy that never had its equal, i saw him more resolved than ever to continue his work and push forward his discovery."[ ] without loss of time they embarked together for fort frontenac, paddled their canoes a thousand miles, and safely reached their destination. here, in this third beginning of his enterprise, la salle found himself beset with embarrassments. not only was he burdened with the fruitless costs of his two former efforts, but the heavy debts which he had incurred in building and maintaining fort frontenac had not been wholly paid. the fort and the seigniory were already deeply mortgaged; yet through the influence of count frontenac, the assistance of his secretary barrois, a consummate man of business, and the support of a wealthy relative, he found means to appease his creditors and even to gain fresh advances. to this end, however, he was forced to part with a portion of his monopolies. having first made his will at montreal, in favor of a cousin who had befriended him,[ ] he mustered his men, and once more set forth, resolved to trust no more to agents, but to lead on his followers, in a united body, under his own personal command.[ ] [sidenote: the toronto portage.] at the beginning of autumn he was at toronto, where the long and difficult portage to lake simcoe detained him a fortnight. he spent a part of it in writing an account of what had lately occurred to a correspondent in france, and he closes his letter thus: "this is all i can tell you this year. i have a hundred things to write, but you could not believe how hard it is to do it among indians. the canoes and their lading must be got over the portage, and i must speak to them continually and bear all their importunity, or else they will do nothing i want. i hope to write more at leisure next year, and tell you the end of this business, which i hope will turn out well: for i have m. de tonty, who is full of zeal; thirty frenchmen, all good men, without reckoning such as i cannot trust; and more than a hundred indians, some of them shawanoes, and others from new england, all of whom know how to use guns." it was october before he reached lake huron. day after day and week after week the heavy-laden canoes crept on along the lonely wilderness shores, by the monotonous ranks of bristling moss-bearded firs; lake and forest, forest and lake; a dreary scene haunted with yet more dreary memories,--disasters, sorrows, and deferred hopes; time, strength, and wealth spent in vain; a ruinous past and a doubtful future; slander, obloquy, and hate. with unmoved heart, the patient voyager held his course, and drew up his canoes at last on the beach at fort miami. footnotes: [ ] _relation des découvertes._ compare _lettre de la salle_ (margry, ii. ). [ ] this seems to have been taken from the secret repositories, or _caches_, of the ruined town of the illinois. [ ] "en ce genre, il étoit le plus grand orateur de l'amérique septentrionale."--_relation des découvertes._ [ ] translated from the _relation_, where these councils are reported at great length. [ ] membré in le clerc, ii. . tonty, in his memoir of , speaks of the joy of la salle at the meeting. the _relation_, usually very accurate, says, erroneously, that tonty had gone to fort frontenac. la forest had gone thither, not long before la salle's arrival. [ ] _copie du testament du deffunt sr. de la salle, août, ._ the relative was françois plet, to whom he was deeply in debt. [ ] "on apprendra à la fin de cette année, , le succès de la découverte qu'il étoit résolu d'achever, au plus tard le printemps dernier ou de périr en y travaillant. tant de traverses et de malheurs toujours arrivés en son absence l'ont fait résoudre à ne se fier plus à personne et à conduire lui-même tout son monde, tout son équipage, et toute son entreprise, de laquelle il espéroit une heureuse conclusion." the above is a part of the closing paragraph of the _relation des découvertes_, so often cited. chapter xx. - . success of la salle. his followers.--the chicago portage.--descent of the mississippi.--the lost hunter.--the arkansas.--the taensas.--the natchez.--hostility.--the mouth of the mississippi.--louis xiv. proclaimed sovereign of the great west. the season was far advanced. on the bare limbs of the forest hung a few withered remnants of its gay autumnal livery; and the smoke crept upward through the sullen november air from the squalid wigwams of la salle's abenaki and mohegan allies. these, his new friends, were savages whose midnight yells had startled the border hamlets of new england; who had danced around puritan scalps, and whom puritan imaginations painted as incarnate fiends. la salle chose eighteen of them, whom he added to the twenty-three frenchmen who remained with him, some of the rest having deserted and others lagged behind. the indians insisted on taking their squaws with them. these were ten in number, besides three children; and thus the expedition included fifty-four persons, of whom some were useless, and others a burden. on the st of december, tonty and membré set out from fort miami with some of the party in six canoes, and crossed to the little river chicago.[ ] la salle, with the rest of the men, joined them a few days later. it was the dead of winter, and the streams were frozen. they made sledges, placed on them the canoes, the baggage, and a disabled frenchman; crossed from the chicago to the northern branch of the illinois, and filed in a long procession down its frozen course. they reached the site of the great illinois village, found it tenantless, and continued their journey, still dragging their canoes, till at length they reached open water below lake peoria. [sidenote: prudhomme.] la salle had abandoned for a time his original plan of building a vessel for the navigation of the mississippi. bitter experience had taught him the difficulty of the attempt, and he resolved to trust to his canoes alone. they embarked again, floating prosperously down between the leafless forests that flanked the tranquil river; till, on the sixth of february, they issued upon the majestic bosom of the mississippi. here, for the time, their progress was stopped; for the river was full of floating ice. la salle's indians, too, had lagged behind; but within a week all had arrived, the navigation was once more free, and they resumed their course. towards evening they saw on their right the mouth of a great river; and the clear current was invaded by the headlong torrent of the missouri, opaque with mud. they built their camp-fires in the neighboring forest; and at daylight, embarking anew on the dark and mighty stream, drifted swiftly down towards unknown destinies. they passed a deserted town of the tamaroas; saw, three days after, the mouth of the ohio;[ ] and, gliding by the wastes of bordering swamp, landed on the twenty-fourth of february near the third chickasaw bluffs.[ ] they encamped, and the hunters went out for game. all returned, excepting pierre prudhomme; and as the others had seen fresh tracks of indians, la salle feared that he was killed. while some of his followers built a small stockade fort on a high bluff[ ] by the river, others ranged the woods in pursuit of the missing hunter. after six days of ceaseless and fruitless search, they met two chickasaw indians in the forest; and through them la salle sent presents and peace-messages to that warlike people, whose villages were a few days' journey distant. several days later prudhomme was found, and brought into the camp, half-dead. he had lost his way while hunting; and to console him for his woes la salle christened the newly built fort with his name, and left him, with a few others, in charge of it. again they embarked; and with every stage of their adventurous progress the mystery of this vast new world was more and more unveiled. more and more they entered the realms of spring. the hazy sunlight, the warm and drowsy air, the tender foliage, the opening flowers, betokened the reviving life of nature. for several days more they followed the writhings of the great river on its tortuous course through wastes of swamp and cane-brake, till on the thirteenth of march[ ] they found themselves wrapped in a thick fog. neither shore was visible; but they heard on the right the booming of an indian drum and the shrill outcries of the war-dance. la salle at once crossed to the opposite side, where, in less than an hour, his men threw up a rude fort of felled trees. meanwhile the fog cleared; and from the farther bank the astonished indians saw the strange visitors at their work. some of the french advanced to the edge of the water, and beckoned them to come over. several of them approached, in a wooden canoe, to within the distance of a gun-shot. la salle displayed the calumet, and sent a frenchman to meet them. he was well received; and the friendly mood of the indians being now apparent, the whole party crossed the river. [sidenote: the arkansas.] on landing, they found themselves at a town of the kappa band of the arkansas, a people dwelling near the mouth of the river which bears their name. "the whole village," writes membré to his superior, "came down to the shore to meet us, except the women, who had run off. i cannot tell you the civility and kindness we received from these barbarians, who brought us poles to make huts, supplied us with firewood during the three days we were among them, and took turns in feasting us. but, my reverend father, this gives no idea of the good qualities of these savages, who are gay, civil, and free-hearted. the young men, though the most alert and spirited we had seen, are nevertheless so modest that not one of them would take the liberty to enter our hut, but all stood quietly at the door. they are so well formed that we were in admiration at their beauty. we did not lose the value of a pin while we were among them." various were the dances and ceremonies with which they entertained the strangers, who, on their part, responded with a solemnity which their hosts would have liked less if they had understood it better. la salle and tonty, at the head of their followers, marched to the open area in the midst of the village. here, to the admiration of the gazing crowd of warriors, women, and children, a cross was raised bearing the arms of france. membré, in canonicals, sang a hymn; the men shouted _vive le roi_; and la salle, in the king's name, took formal possession of the country.[ ] the friar, not, he flatters himself, without success, labored to expound by signs the mysteries of the faith; while la salle, by methods equally satisfactory, drew from the chief an acknowledgement of fealty to louis xiv.[ ] [sidenote: the taensas.] after touching at several other towns of this people, the voyagers resumed their course, guided by two of the arkansas; passed the sites, since become historic, of vicksburg and grand gulf; and, about three hundred miles below the arkansas, stopped by the edge of a swamp on the western side of the river.[ ] here, as their two guides told them, was the path to the great town of the taensas. tonty and membré were sent to visit it. they and their men shouldered their birch canoe through the swamp, and launched it on a lake which had once formed a portion of the channel of the river. in two hours, they reached the town; and tonty gazed at it with astonishment. he had seen nothing like it in america,--large square dwellings, built of sun-baked mud mixed with straw, arched over with a dome-shaped roof of canes, and placed in regular order around an open area. two of them were larger and better than the rest. one was the lodge of the chief; the other was the temple, or house of the sun. they entered the former, and found a single room, forty feet square, where, in the dim light,--for there was no opening but the door,--the chief sat awaiting them on a sort of bedstead, three of his wives at his side; while sixty old men, wrapped in white cloaks woven of mulberry-bark, formed his divan. when he spoke, his wives howled to do him honor; and the assembled councillors listened with the reverence due to a potentate for whom, at his death, a hundred victims were to be sacrificed. he received the visitors graciously, and joyfully accepted the gifts which tonty laid before him.[ ] this interview over, the frenchmen repaired to the temple, wherein were kept the bones of the departed chiefs. in construction, it was much like the royal dwelling. over it were rude wooden figures, representing three eagles turned towards the east. a strong mud wall surrounded it, planted with stakes, on which were stuck the skulls of enemies sacrificed to the sun; while before the door was a block of wood, on which lay a large shell surrounded with the braided hair of the victims. the interior was rude as a barn, dimly lighted from the doorway, and full of smoke. there was a structure in the middle which membré thinks was a kind of altar; and before it burned a perpetual fire, fed with three logs laid end to end, and watched by two old men devoted to this sacred office. there was a mysterious recess, too, which the strangers were forbidden to explore, but which, as tonty was told, contained the riches of the nation, consisting of pearls from the gulf, and trinkets obtained, probably through other tribes, from the spaniards and other europeans. the chief condescended to visit la salle at his camp,--a favor which he would by no means have granted, had the visitors been indians. a master of ceremonies and six attendants preceded him, to clear the path and prepare the place of meeting. when all was ready, he was seen advancing, clothed in a white robe and preceded by two men bearing white fans, while a third displayed a disk of burnished copper,--doubtless to represent the sun, his ancestor, or, as others will have it, his elder brother. his aspect was marvellously grave, and he and la salle met with gestures of ceremonious courtesy. the interview was very friendly; and the chief returned well pleased with the gifts which his entertainer bestowed on him, and which, indeed, had been the principal motive of his visit. [sidenote: the natchez.] on the next morning, as they descended the river, they saw a wooden canoe full of indians; and tonty gave chase. he had nearly overtaken it, when more than a hundred men appeared suddenly on the shore, with bows bent to defend their countrymen. la salle called out to tonty to withdraw. he obeyed; and the whole party encamped on the opposite bank. tonty offered to cross the river with a peace-pipe, and set out accordingly with a small party of men. when he landed, the indians made signs of friendship by joining their hands,--a proceeding by which tonty, having but one hand, was somewhat embarrassed; but he directed his men to respond in his stead. la salle and membré now joined him, and went with the indians to their village, three leagues distant. here they spent the night. "the sieur de la salle," writes membré, "whose very air, engaging manners, tact, and address attract love and respect alike, produced such an effect on the hearts of these people that they did not know how to treat us well enough."[ ] the indians of this village were the natchez; and their chief was brother of the great chief, or sun, of the whole nation. his town was several leagues distant, near the site of the city of natchez; and thither the french repaired to visit him. they saw what they had already seen among the taensas,--a religious and political despotism, a privileged caste descended from the sun, a temple, and a sacred fire.[ ] la salle planted a large cross, with the arms of france attached, in the midst of the town; while the inhabitants looked on with a satisfaction which they would hardly have displayed had they understood the meaning of the act. [sidenote: hostility.] the french next visited the coroas, at their village two leagues below; and here they found a reception no less auspicious. on the thirty-first of march, as they approached red river, they passed in the fog a town of the oumas, and three days later discovered a party of fishermen, in wooden canoes, among the canes along the margin of the water. they fled at sight of the frenchmen. la salle sent men to reconnoitre, who, as they struggled through the marsh, were greeted with a shower of arrows; while from the neighboring village of the quinipissas,[ ] invisible behind the cane-brake, they heard the sound of an indian drum and the whoops of the mustering warriors. la salle, anxious to keep the peace with all the tribes along the river, recalled his men, and pursued his voyage. a few leagues below they saw a cluster of indian lodges on the left bank, apparently void of inhabitants. they landed, and found three of them filled with corpses. it was a village of the tangibao, sacked by their enemies only a few days before.[ ] and now they neared their journey's end. on the sixth of april the river divided itself into three broad channels. la salle followed that of the west, and dautray that of the east; while tonty took the middle passage. as he drifted down the turbid current, between the low and marshy shores, the brackish water changed to brine, and the breeze grew fresh with the salt breath of the sea. then the broad bosom of the great gulf opened on his sight, tossing its restless billows, limitless, voiceless, lonely as when born of chaos, without a sail, without a sign of life. la salle, in a canoe, coasted the marshy borders of the sea; and then the reunited parties assembled on a spot of dry ground, a short distance above the mouth of the river. here a column was made ready, bearing the arms of france, and inscribed with the words, "louis le grand, roy de france et de navarre, règne; le neuvième avril, ." the frenchmen were mustered under arms; and while the new england indians and their squaws looked on in wondering silence, they chanted the _te deum_, the _exaudiat_, and the _domine salvum fac regem_. then, amid volleys of musketry and shouts of _vive le roi_, la salle planted the column in its place, and, standing near it, proclaimed in a loud voice,-- [sidenote: possession taken.] "in the name of the most high, mighty, invincible, and victorious prince, louis the great, by the grace of god king of france and of navarre, fourteenth of that name, i, this ninth day of april, one thousand six hundred and eighty-two, in virtue of the commission of his majesty, which i hold in my hand, and which may be seen by all whom it may concern, have taken, and do now take, in the name of his majesty and of his successors to the crown, possession of this country of louisiana, the seas, harbors, ports, bays, adjacent straits, and all the nations, peoples, provinces, cities, towns, villages, mines, minerals, fisheries, streams, and rivers, within the extent of the said louisiana, from the mouth of the great river st. louis, otherwise called the ohio, ... as also along the river colbert, or mississippi, and the rivers which discharge themselves thereinto, from its source beyond the country of the nadouessioux ... as far as its mouth at the sea, or gulf of mexico, and also to the mouth of the river of palms, upon the assurance we have had from the natives of these countries that we are the first europeans who have descended or ascended the said river colbert; hereby protesting against all who may hereafter undertake to invade any or all of these aforesaid countries, peoples, or lands, to the prejudice of the rights of his majesty, acquired by the consent of the nations dwelling herein. of which, and of all else that is needful, i hereby take to witness those who hear me, and demand an act of the notary here present."[ ] shouts of _vive le roi_ and volleys of musketry responded to his words. then a cross was planted beside the column, and a leaden plate buried near it, bearing the arms of france, with a latin inscription, _ludovicus magnus regnat_. the weather-beaten voyagers joined their voices in the grand hymn of the _vexilla regis_:-- "the banners of heaven's king advance, the mystery of the cross shines forth;" and renewed shouts of _vive le roi_ closed the ceremony. on that day, the realm of france received on parchment a stupendous accession. the fertile plains of texas; the vast basin of the mississippi, from its frozen northern springs to the sultry borders of the gulf; from the woody ridges of the alleghanies to the bare peaks of the rocky mountains,--a region of savannas and forests, sun-cracked deserts, and grassy prairies, watered by a thousand rivers, ranged by a thousand warlike tribes, passed beneath the sceptre of the sultan of versailles; and all by virtue of a feeble human voice, inaudible at half a mile. footnotes: [ ] la salle, _relation de la découverte_, , in thomassy, _géologie pratique de la louisiane ; lettre du père zenobe membré, juin, ; ibid., août, _; membré in le clerc, ii. ; tonty, , ; _procès verbal de la prise de possession de la louisiane, feuilles détachées d'une lettre de la salle_ (margry, ii. ); _récit de nicolas de la salle_ (ibid., i. ). the narrative ascribed to membré and published by le clerc is based on the document preserved in the archives scientifiques de la marine, entitled _relation de la découverte de l'embouchure de la rivière mississippi faite par le sieur de la salle, l'année passée_, . the writer of the narrative has used it very freely, copying the greater part verbatim, with occasional additions of a kind which seem to indicate that he had taken part in the expedition. the _relation de la découverte_, though written in the third person, is the official report of the discovery made by la salle, or perhaps for him by membré. [ ] called by membré the ouabache (wabash). [ ] la salle, _relation de la découverte de l'embouchure, etc._; thomassy, . membré gives the same date; but the _procès verbal_ makes it the twenty-sixth. [ ] gravier, in his letter of feb., , says that he encamped near a "great bluff of stone, called fort prudhomme, because m. de la salle, going on his discovery, intrenched himself here with his party, fearing that prudhomme, who had lost himself in the woods, had been killed by the indians, and that he himself would be attacked." [ ] la salle, _relation_; thomassy, . [ ] _procès verbal de la prise de possession du pays des arkansas, mars, ._ [ ] the nation of the akanseas, alkansas, or arkansas, dwelt on the west bank of the mississippi, near the mouth of the arkansas. they were divided into four tribes, living for the most part in separate villages. those first visited by la salle were the kappas, or quapaws, a remnant of whom still subsists. the others were the topingas, or tongengas; the torimans; and the osotouoy, or sauthouis. according to charlevoix, who saw them in , they were regarded as the tallest and best-formed indians in america, and were known as _les beaux hommes_. gravier says that they once lived on the ohio. [ ] in tensas county, louisiana. tonty's estimates of distance are here much too low. they seem to be founded on observations of latitude, without reckoning the windings of the river. it may interest sportsmen to know that the party killed several large alligators, on their way. membré is much astonished that such monsters should be born of eggs like chickens. [ ] tonty, , . in the spurious narrative, published in tonty's name, the account is embellished and exaggerated. compare membré in le clerc, ii. . la salle's statements in the _relation_ of (thomassy, ) sustain those of tonty. [ ] membré in le clerc, ii. . [ ] the natchez and the taensas, whose habits and customs were similar, did not, in their social organization, differ radically from other indians. the same principle of clanship, or _totemship_, so widely spread, existed in full force among them, combined with their religious ideas, and developed into forms of which no other example, equally distinct, is to be found. (for indian clanship, see "the jesuits in north america," _introduction_.) among the natchez and taensas, the principal clan formed a ruling caste; and its chiefs had the attributes of demi-gods. as descent was through the female, the chief's son never succeeded him, but the son of one of his sisters; and as she, by the usual totemic law, was forced to marry in another clan,--that is, to marry a common mortal,--her husband, though the destined father of a demi-god, was treated by her as little better than a slave. she might kill him, if he proved unfaithful; but he was forced to submit to her infidelities in silence. the customs of the natchez have been described by du pratz, le petit, penecaut, and others. charlevoix visited their temple in , and found it in a somewhat shabby condition. at this time, the taensas were extinct. in the natchez, enraged by the arbitrary conduct of a french commandant, massacred the neighboring settlers, and were in consequence expelled from their country and nearly destroyed. a few still survive, incorporated with the creeks; but they have lost their peculiar customs. [ ] in st. charles county, on the left bank, not far above new orleans. [ ] hennepin uses this incident, as well as most of those which have preceded it, in making up the story of his pretended voyage to the gulf. [ ] in the passages omitted above, for the sake of brevity, the ohio is mentioned as being called also the _olighin_-(alleghany) _sipou_, and _chukagoua_; and la salle declares that he takes possession of the country with the consent of the nations dwelling in it, of whom he names the chaouanons (shawanoes), kious, or nadouessious (sioux), chikachas (chickasaws), motantees (?), illinois, mitchigamias, arkansas, natchez, and koroas. this alleged consent is, of course, mere farce. if there could be any doubt as to the meaning of the words of la salle, as recorded in the _procès verbal de la prise de possession de la louisiane_, it would be set at rest by le clerc, who says: "le sieur de la salle prit au nom de sa majesté possession de ce fleuve, _de toutes les rivières qui y entrent, et de tous les pays qu'elles arrosent_." these words are borrowed from the report of la salle (see thomassy, ). a copy of the original _procès verbal_ is before me. it bears the name of jacques de la metairie, notary of fort frontenac, who was one of the party. chapter xxi. , . st. louis of the illinois. louisiana.--illness of la salle: his colony on the illinois.--fort st. louis.--recall of frontenac.--le febvre de la barre.--critical position of la salle.--hostility of the new governor.--triumph of the adverse faction.--la salle sails for france. louisiana was the name bestowed by la salle on the new domain of the french crown. the rule of the bourbons in the west is a memory of the past, but the name of the great king still survives in a narrow corner of their lost empire. the louisiana of to-day is but a single state of the american republic. the louisiana of la salle stretched from the alleghanies to the rocky mountains; from the rio grande and the gulf to the farthest springs of the missouri.[ ] la salle had written his name in history; but his hard-earned success was but the prelude of a harder task. herculean labors lay before him, if he would realize the schemes with which his brain was pregnant. bent on accomplishing them, he retraced his course, and urged his canoes upward against the muddy current. the party were famished. they had little to subsist on but the flesh of alligators. when they reached the quinipissas, who had proved hostile on their way down, they resolved to risk an interview with them, in the hope of obtaining food. the treacherous savages dissembled, brought them corn, and on the following night made an attack upon them, but met with a bloody repulse. the party next revisited the coroas, and found an unfavorable change in their disposition towards them. they feasted them, indeed, but during the repast surrounded them with an overwhelming force of warriors. the french, however, kept so well on their guard, that their entertainers dared not make an attack, and suffered them to depart unmolested.[ ] [sidenote: illness of la salle.] and now, in a career of unwonted success and anticipated triumph, la salle was arrested by a foe against which the boldest heart avails nothing. as he ascended the mississippi, he was seized by a dangerous illness. unable to proceed, he sent forward tonty to michilimackinac, whence, after despatching news of their discovery to canada, he was to return to the illinois. la salle himself lay helpless at fort prudhomme, the palisade work which his men had built at the chickasaw bluffs on their way down. father zenobe membré attended him; and at the end of july he was once more in a condition to advance by slow movements towards fort miami, which he reached in about a month. in september he rejoined tonty at michilimackinac, and in the following month wrote to a friend in france: "though my discovery is made, and i have descended the mississippi to the gulf of mexico, i cannot send you this year either an account of my journey or a map. on the way back i was attacked by a deadly disease, which kept me in danger of my life for forty days, and left me so weak that i could think of nothing for four months after. i have hardly strength enough now to write my letters, and the season is so far advanced that i cannot detain a single day this canoe which i send expressly to carry them. if i had not feared being forced to winter on the way, i should have tried to get to quebec to meet the new governor, if it is true that we are to have one; but in my present condition this would be an act of suicide, on account of the bad nourishment i should have all winter in case the snow and ice stopped me on the way. besides, my presence is absolutely necessary in the place to which i am going. i pray you, my dear sir, to give me once more all the help you can. i have great enemies, who have succeeded in all they have undertaken. i do not pretend to resist them, but only to justify myself, so that i can pursue by sea the plans i have begun here by land." this was what he had proposed to himself from the first; that is, to abandon the difficult access through canada, beset with enemies, and open a way to his western domain through the gulf and the mississippi. this was the aim of all his toilsome explorations. could he have accomplished his first intention of building a vessel on the illinois and descending in her to the gulf, he would have been able to defray in good measure the costs of the enterprise by means of the furs and buffalo-hides collected on the way and carried in her to france. with a fleet of canoes, this was impossible; and there was nothing to offset the enormous outlay which he and his associates had made. he meant, as we have seen, to found on the banks of the illinois a colony of french and indians to answer the double purpose of a bulwark against the iroquois and a place of storage for the furs of all the western tribes; and he hoped in the following year to secure an outlet for this colony and for all the trade of the valley of the mississippi, by occupying the mouth of that river with a fort and another colony. this, too, was an essential part of his original design. but for his illness, he would have gone to france to provide for its execution. meanwhile, he ordered tonty to collect as many men as possible, and begin the projected colony on the banks of the illinois. a report soon after reached him that those pests of the wilderness the iroquois were about to renew their attacks on the western tribes. this would be fatal to his plans; and, following tonty to the illinois, he rejoined him near the site of the great town. [sidenote: "starved rock."] the cliff called "starved rock," now pointed out to travellers as the chief natural curiosity of the region, rises, steep on three sides as a castle wall, to the height of a hundred and twenty-five feet above the river. in front, it overhangs the water that washes its base; its western brow looks down on the tops of the forest trees below; and on the east lies a wide gorge or ravine, choked with the mingled foliage of oaks, walnuts, and elms; while in its rocky depths a little brook creeps down to mingle with the river. from the trunk of the stunted cedar that leans forward from the brink, you may drop a plummet into the river below, where the cat-fish and the turtles may plainly be seen gliding over the wrinkled sands of the clear and shallow current. the cliff is accessible only from behind, where a man may climb up, not without difficulty, by a steep and narrow passage. the top is about an acre in extent. here, in the month of december, la salle and tonty began to intrench themselves. they cut away the forest that crowned the rock, built store-houses and dwellings of its remains, dragged timber up the rugged pathway, and encircled the summit with a palisade.[ ] [sidenote: la salle's colony.] [illustration: la salle's colony on the illinois, from the map of franquelin, ] thus the winter passed, and meanwhile the work of negotiation went prosperously on. the minds of the indians had been already prepared. in la salle they saw their champion against the iroquois, the standing terror of all this region. they gathered round his stronghold like the timorous peasantry of the middle ages around the rock-built castle of their feudal lord. from the wooden ramparts of st. louis,--for so he named his fort,--high and inaccessible as an eagle's nest, a strange scene lay before his eye. the broad, flat valley of the illinois was spread beneath him like a map, bounded in the distance by its low wall of woody hills. the river wound at his feet in devious channels among islands bordered with lofty trees; then, far on the left, flowed calmly westward through the vast meadows, till its glimmering blue ribbon was lost in hazy distance. there had been a time, and that not remote, when these fair meadows were a waste of death and desolation, scathed with fire, and strewn with the ghastly relics of an iroquois victory. now all was changed. la salle looked down from his rock on a concourse of wild human life. lodges of bark and rushes, or cabins of logs, were clustered on the open plain or along the edges of the bordering forests. squaws labored, warriors lounged in the sun, naked children whooped and gambolled on the grass. beyond the river, a mile and a half on the left, the banks were studded once more with the lodges of the illinois, who, to the number of six thousand, had returned, since their defeat, to this their favorite dwelling-place. scattered along the valley, among the adjacent hills, or over the neighboring prairie, were the cantonments of a half-score of other tribes and fragments of tribes, gathered under the protecting ægis of the french,--shawanoes from the ohio, abenakis from maine, miamis from the sources of the kankakee, with others whose barbarous names are hardly worth the record.[ ] nor were these la salle's only dependants. by the terms of his patent, he held seigniorial rights over this wild domain; and he now began to grant it out in parcels to his followers. these, however, were as yet but a score,--a lawless band, trained in forest license, and marrying, as their detractors affirm, a new squaw every day in the week. this was after their lord's departure, for his presence imposed a check on these eccentricities. la salle, in a memoir addressed to the minister of the marine, reports the total number of the indians around fort st. louis at about four thousand warriors, or twenty thousand souls. his diplomacy had been crowned with a marvellous success,--for which his thanks were due, first to the iroquois, and the universal terror they inspired; next, to his own address and unwearied energy. his colony had sprung up, as it were, in a night; but might not a night suffice to disperse it? the conditions of maintaining it were twofold: first, he must give efficient aid to his savage colonists against the iroquois; secondly, he must supply them with french goods in exchange for their furs. the men, arms, and ammunition for their defence, and the goods for trading with them, must be brought from canada, until a better and surer avenue of supply could be provided through the entrepôt which he meant to establish at the mouth of the mississippi. canada was full of his enemies; but as long as count frontenac was in power, he was sure of support. count frontenac was in power no longer. he had been recalled to france through the intrigues of the party adverse to la salle; and le febvre de la barre reigned in his stead. [sidenote: la salle and la barre.] la barre was an old naval officer of rank, advanced to a post for which he proved himself notably unfit. if he was without the arbitrary passions which had been the chief occasion of the recall of his predecessor, he was no less without his energies and his talents. he showed a weakness and an avarice for which his age may have been in some measure answerable. he was no whit less unscrupulous than his predecessor in his secret violation of the royal ordinances regulating the fur-trade, which it was his duty to enforce. like frontenac, he took advantage of his position to carry on an illicit traffic with the indians; but it was with different associates. the late governor's friends were the new governor's enemies; and la salle, armed with his monopolies, was the object of his especial jealousy.[ ] meanwhile, la salle, buried in the western wilderness, remained for the time ignorant of la barre's disposition towards him, and made an effort to secure his good-will and countenance. he wrote to him from his rock of st. louis, early in the spring of , expressing the hope that he should have from him the same support as from count frontenac; "although," he says, "my enemies will try to influence you against me." his attachment to frontenac, he pursues, has been the cause of all the late governor's enemies turning against him. he then recounts his voyage down the mississippi; says that, with twenty-two frenchmen, he caused all the tribes along the river to ask for peace; and speaks of his right under the royal patent to build forts anywhere along his route, and grant out lands around them, as at fort frontenac. "my losses in my enterprises," he continues, "have exceeded forty thousand crowns. i am now going four hundred leagues south-southwest of this place, to induce the chickasaws to follow the shawanoes and other tribes, and settle, like them, at st. louis. it remained only to settle french colonists here, and this i have already done. i hope you will not detain them as _coureurs de bois_, when they come down to montreal to make necessary purchases. i am aware that i have no right to trade with the tribes who descend to montreal, and i shall not permit such trade to my men; nor have i ever issued licenses to that effect, as my enemies say that i have done."[ ] again, on the fourth of june following, he writes to la barre, from the chicago portage, complaining that some of his colonists, going to montreal for necessary supplies, have been detained by his enemies, and begging that they may be allowed to return, that his enterprise may not be ruined. "the iroquois," he pursues, "are again invading the country. last year, the miamis were so alarmed by them that they abandoned their town and fled; but at my return they came back, and have been induced to settle with the illinois at my fort of st. louis. the iroquois have lately murdered some families of their nation, and they are all in terror again. i am afraid they will take flight, and so prevent the missouris and neighboring tribes from coming to settle at st. louis, as they are about to do. "some of the hurons and french tell the miamis that i am keeping them here for the iroquois to destroy. i pray that you will let me hear from you, that i may give these people some assurances of protection before they are destroyed in my sight. do not suffer my men who have come down to the settlements to be longer prevented from returning. there is great need here of reinforcements. the iroquois, as i have said, have lately entered the country; and a great terror prevails. i have postponed going to michilimackinac, because, if the iroquois strike any blow in my absence, the miamis will think that i am in league with them; whereas, if i and the french stay among them, they will regard us as protectors. but, monsieur, it is in vain that we risk our lives here, and that i exhaust my means in order to fulfil the intentions of his majesty, if all my measures are crossed in the settlements below, and if those who go down to bring munitions, without which we cannot defend ourselves, are detained under pretexts trumped up for the occasion. if i am prevented from bringing up men and supplies, as i am allowed to do by the permit of count frontenac, then my patent from the king is useless. it would be very hard for us, after having done what was required, even before the time prescribed, and after suffering severe losses, to have our efforts frustrated by obstacles got up designedly. "i trust that, as it lies with you alone to prevent or to permit the return of the men whom i have sent down, you will not so act as to thwart my plans. a part of the goods which i have sent by them belong not to me, but to the sieur de tonty, and are a part of his pay. others are to buy munitions indispensable for our defence. do not let my creditors seize them. it is for their advantage that my fort, full as it is of goods, should be held against the enemy. i have only twenty men, with scarcely a hundred pounds of powder; and i cannot long hold the country without more. the illinois are very capricious and uncertain.... if i had men enough to send out to reconnoitre the enemy, i would have done so before this; but i have not enough. i trust you will put it in my power to obtain more, that this important colony may be saved."[ ] while la salle was thus writing to la barre, la barre was writing to seignelay, the marine and colonial minister, decrying his correspondent's discoveries, and pretending to doubt their reality. "the iroquois," he adds, "have sworn his [la salle's] death. the imprudence of this man is about to involve the colony in war."[ ] and again he writes, in the following spring, to say that la salle was with a score of vagabonds at green bay, where he set himself up as a king, pillaged his countrymen, and put them to ransom, exposed the tribes of the west to the incursions of the iroquois, and all under pretence of a patent from his majesty, the provisions of which he grossly abused; but, as his privileges would expire on the twelfth of may ensuing, he would then be forced to come to quebec, where his creditors, to whom he owed more than thirty thousand crowns, were anxiously awaiting him.[ ] finally, when la barre received the two letters from la salle, of which the substance is given above, he sent copies of them to the minister seignelay, with the following comment: "by the copies of the sieur de la salle's letters, you will perceive that his head is turned, and that he has been bold enough to give you intelligence of a false discovery, and that, instead of returning to the colony to learn what the king wishes him to do, he does not come near me, but keeps in the backwoods, five hundred leagues off, with the idea of attracting the inhabitants to him, and building up an imaginary kingdom for himself, by debauching all the bankrupts and idlers of this country. if you will look at the two letters i had from him, you can judge the character of this personage better than i can. affairs with the iroquois are in such a state that i cannot allow him to muster all their enemies together and put himself at their head. all the men who brought me news from him have abandoned him, and say not a word about returning, _but sell the furs they have brought as if they were their own_; so that he cannot hold his ground much longer."[ ] such calumnies had their effect. the enemies of la salle had already gained the ear of the king; and he had written in august, from fontainebleau, to his new governor of canada: "i am convinced, like you, that the discovery of the sieur de la salle is very useless, and that such enterprises ought to be prevented in future, as they tend only to debauch the inhabitants by the hope of gain, and to diminish the revenue from beaver-skins."[ ] in order to understand the posture of affairs at this time, it must be remembered that dutch and english traders of new york were urging on the iroquois to attack the western tribes, with the object of gaining, through their conquest, the control of the fur-trade of the interior, and diverting it from montreal to albany. the scheme was full of danger to canada, which the loss of the trade would have ruined. la barre and his associates were greatly alarmed at it. its complete success would have been fatal to their hopes of profit; but they nevertheless wished it such a measure of success as would ruin their rival, la salle. hence, no little satisfaction mingled with their anxiety when they heard that the iroquois were again threatening to invade the miamis and the illinois; and thus la barre, whose duty it was strenuously to oppose the intrigue of the english, and use every effort to quiet the ferocious bands whom they were hounding against the indian allies of the french, was, in fact, but half-hearted in the work. he cut off la salle from all supplies; detained the men whom he sent for succor; and, at a conference with the iroquois, told them that they were welcome to plunder and kill him.[ ] [sidenote: a new alarm.] the old governor, and the unscrupulous ring with which he was associated, now took a step to which he was doubtless emboldened by the tone of the king's letter, in condemnation of la salle's enterprise. he resolved to seize fort frontenac, the property of la salle, under the pretext that the latter had not fulfilled the conditions of the grant, and had not maintained a sufficient garrison.[ ] two of his associates, la chesnaye and le ber, armed with an order from him, went up and took possession, despite the remonstrances of la salle's creditors and mortgagees; lived on la salle's stores, sold for their own profit, and (it is said) that of la barre, the provisions sent by the king, and turned in the cattle to pasture on the growing crops. la forest, la salle's lieutenant, was told that he might retain the command of the fort if he would join the associates; but he refused, and sailed in the autumn for france.[ ] meanwhile la salle remained at the illinois in extreme embarrassment, cut off from supplies, robbed of his men who had gone to seek them, and disabled from fulfilling the pledges he had given to the surrounding indians. such was his position, when reports came to fort st. louis that the iroquois were at hand. the indian hamlets were wild with terror, beseeching him for succor which he had no power to give. happily, the report proved false. no iroquois appeared; the threatened attack was postponed, and the summer passed away in peace. but la salle's position, with the governor his declared enemy, was intolerable and untenable; and there was no resource but in the protection of the court. early in the autumn, he left tonty in command of the rock, bade farewell to his savage retainers, and descended to quebec, intending to sail for france. on his way, he met the chevalier de baugis, an officer of the king's dragoons, commissioned by la barre to take possession of fort st. louis, and bearing letters from the governor ordering la salle to come to quebec,--a superfluous command, as he was then on his way thither. he smothered his wrath, and wrote to tonty to receive de baugis well. the chevalier and his party proceeded to the illinois, and took possession of the fort,--de baugis commanding for the governor, while tonty remained as representative of la salle. the two officers could not live in harmony; but, with the return of spring, each found himself in sore need of aid from the other. towards the end of march the iroquois attacked their citadel, and besieged it for six days, but at length withdrew discomfited, carrying with them a number of indian prisoners, most of whom escaped from their clutches.[ ] [sidenote: la salle sails for france.] meanwhile, la salle had sailed for france. footnotes: [ ] the boundaries are laid down on the great map of franquelin, made in , and preserved in the dépôt des cartes of the marine. the line runs along the south shore of lake erie, and thence follows the heads of the streams flowing into lake michigan. it then turns northwest, and is lost in the vast unknown of the now british territories. on the south, it is drawn by the heads of the streams flowing into the gulf, as far west as mobile, after which it follows the shore of the gulf to a little south of the rio grande; then runs west, northwest, and finally north, along the range of the rocky mountains. [ ] tonty, , . [ ] "starved rock" perfectly answers, in every respect, to the indications of the contemporary maps and documents concerning "le rocher," the site of la salle's fort of st. louis. it is laid down on several contemporary maps, besides the great map of la salle's discoveries, made in . they all place it on the south side of the river; whereas buffalo rock, three miles above, which has been supposed to be the site of the fort, is on the north. the latter is crowned by a plateau of great extent, is but sixty feet high, is accessible at many points, and would require a large force to defend it; whereas la salle chose "le rocher," because a few men could hold it against a multitude. charlevoix, in , describes both rocks, and says that the top of buffalo rock had been occupied by the miami village, so that it was known as _le fort des miamis_. this is confirmed by joutel, who found the miamis here in . charlevoix then speaks of "le rocher," calling it by that name; says that it is about a league below, on the left or south side, forming a sheer cliff, very high, and looking like a fortress on the border of the river. he saw remains of palisades at the top, which, he thinks, were made by the illinois (_journal historique, let._ xxvii.), though his countrymen had occupied it only three years before. "the french reside on the rock (le rocher), which is very lofty and impregnable." (_memoir on western indians_, , _in n. y. col. docs._, ix. .) st. cosme, passing this way in , mentions it as "le vieux fort," and says that it is "a rock about a hundred feet high at the edge of the river, where m. de la salle built a fort, since abandoned." (_journal de st. cosme._) joutel, who was here in , says, "fort st. louis is on a steep rock, about two hundred feet high, with the river running at its base." he adds that its only defences were palisades. the true height, as stated above, is about a hundred and twenty-five feet. a traditional interest also attaches to this rock. it is said that, in the indian wars that followed the assassination of pontiac, a few years after the cession of canada, a party of illinois, assailed by the pottawattamies, here took refuge, defying attack. at length they were all destroyed by starvation, and hence the name of "starved rock." for other proofs concerning this locality, see _ante_, . [ ] this singular extemporized colony of la salle, on the banks of the illinois, is laid down in detail on the great map of la salle's discoveries, by jean baptiste franquelin, finished in . there can be no doubt that this part of the work is composed from authentic data. la salle himself, besides others of his party, came down from the illinois in the autumn of , and undoubtedly supplied the young engineer with materials. the various indian villages, or cantonments, are all indicated, with the number of warriors belonging to each, the aggregate corresponding very nearly with that of la salle's report to the minister. the illinois, properly so called, are set down at , warriors; the miamis, at , ; the shawanoes, at ; the ouiatnoens (weas), at ; the peanqhichia (piankishaw) band, at ; the pepikokia, at ; the kilatica, at ; and the ouabona, at ,--in all, , warriors. a few others, probably abenakis, lived in the fort. the fort st. louis is placed, on the map, at the exact site of starved rock, and the illinois village at the place where, as already mentioned (see ), indian remains in great quantities are yearly ploughed up. the shawanoe camp, or village, is placed on the south side of the river, behind the fort. the country is here hilly, broken, and now, as in la salle's time, covered with wood, which, however, soon ends in the open prairie. a short time since, the remains of a low, irregular earthwork of considerable extent were discovered at the intersection of two ravines, about twenty-four hundred feet behind, or south of, starved rock. the earthwork follows the line of the ravines on two sides. on the east, there is an opening, or gateway, leading to the adjacent prairie. the work is very irregular in form, and shows no trace of the civilized engineer. in the stump of an oak-tree upon it, dr. paul counted a hundred and sixty rings of annual growth. the village of the shawanoes (chaouenons), on franquelin's map, corresponds with the position of this earthwork. i am indebted to the kindness of dr. john paul and col. d. f. hitt, the proprietor of starved rock, for a plan of these curious remains and a survey of the neighboring district. i must also express my obligations to mr. w. e. bowman, photographer at ottawa, for views of starved rock and other features of the neighboring scenery. an interesting relic of the early explorers of this region was found a few years ago at ottawa, six miles above starved rock, in the shape of a small iron gun, buried several feet deep in the drift of the river. it consists of a welded tube of iron, about an inch and a half in calibre, strengthened by a series of thick iron rings, cooled on, after the most ancient as well as the most recent method of making cannon. it is about fourteen inches long, the part near the muzzle having been burst off. the construction is very rude. small field-pieces, on a similar principle, were used in the fourteenth century. several of them may be seen at the musée d'artillerie at paris. in the time of louis xiv., the art of casting cannon was carried to a high degree of perfection. the gun in question may have been made by a french blacksmith on the spot. a far less probable supposition is, that it is a relic of some unrecorded visit of the spaniards; but the pattern of the piece would have been antiquated, even in the time of de soto. [ ] the royal instructions to la barre, on his assuming the government, dated at versailles, may, , require him to give no further permission to make journeys of discovery towards the sioux and the mississippi, as his majesty thinks his subjects better employed in cultivating the land. the letter adds, however, that la salle is to be allowed to continue his discoveries, if they appear to be useful. the same instructions are repeated in a letter of the minister of the marine to the new intendant of canada, de meules. [ ] _lettre de la salle à la barre, fort st. louis, avril, ._ the above is condensed from passages in the original. [ ] _lettre de la salle à la barre, portage de chicagou, juin, ._ the substance of the letter is given above, in a condensed form. a passage is omitted, in which la salle expresses his belief that his vessel, the "griffin," had been destroyed, not by indians, but by the pilot, who, as he thinks, had been induced to sink her, and then, with some of the crew, attempted to join du lhut with their plunder, but were captured by indians on the mississippi. [ ] _lettre de la barre au ministre, nov., ._ [ ] _lettre de la barre au ministre, avril, ._ la salle had spent the winter, not at green bay, as this slanderous letter declares, but in the illinois country. [ ] _lettre de la barre au ministre, nov., ._ [ ] _lettre du roy à la barre, août, ._ [ ] _mémoire pour rendre compte à monseigneur le marquis de seignelay de l'État où le sieur de lasalle a laissé le fort frontenac pendant le temps de sa découverte._ on la barre's conduct, see "count frontenac and new france under louis xiv.," chap. v. [ ] la salle, when at mackinaw, on his way to quebec, in , had been recalled to the illinois, as we have seen, by a threatened iroquois invasion. there is before me a copy of a letter which he then wrote to count frontenac, begging him to send up more soldiers to the fort, at his (la salle's) expense. frontenac, being about to sail for france, gave this letter to his newly arrived successor, la barre, who, far from complying with the request, withdrew la salle's soldiers already at the fort, and then made its defenceless state a pretext for seizing it. this statement is made in the memoir addressed to seignelay, before cited. [ ] these are the statements of the memorial addressed in la salle's behalf to the minister, seignelay. [ ] tonty, , ; _lettre de la barre au ministre, juin, ; ibid., juillet, _. chapter xxii. - . la salle painted by himself. difficulty of knowing him; his detractors; his letters; vexations of his position; his unfitness for trade; risks of correspondence; his reported marriage; alleged ostentation; motives of action; charges of harshness; intrigues against him; unpopular manners; a strange confession; his strength and his weakness; contrasts of his character. we have seen la salle in his acts. while he crosses the sea, let us look at him in himself. few men knew him, even of those who saw him most. reserved and self-contained as he was, with little vivacity or gayety or love of pleasure, he was a sealed book to those about him. his daring energy and endurance were patent to all; but the motive forces that urged him, and the influences that wrought beneath the surface of his character, were hidden where few eyes could pierce. his enemies were free to make their own interpretations, and they did not fail to use the opportunity. the interests arrayed against him were incessantly at work. his men were persuaded to desert and rob him; the iroquois were told that he was arming the western tribes against them; the western tribes were told that he was betraying them to the iroquois; his proceedings were denounced to the court; and continual efforts were made to alienate his associates. they, on their part, sore as they were from disappointment and loss, were in a mood to listen to the aspersions cast upon him; and they pestered him with letters, asking questions, demanding explanations, and dunning him for money. it is through his answers that we are best able to judge him; and at times, by those touches of nature which make the whole world kin, they teach us to know him and to feel for him. [sidenote: charges against la salle.] the main charges against him were that he was a crack-brained schemer, that he was harsh to his men, that he traded where he had no right to trade, and that his discoveries were nothing but a pretence for making money. no accusations appear that touch his integrity or his honor. it was hard to convince those who were always losing by him. a remittance of good dividends would have been his best answer, and would have made any other answer needless; but, instead of bills of exchange, he had nothing to give but excuses and explanations. in the autumn of , he wrote to an associate who had demanded the long-deferred profits: "i have had many misfortunes in the last two years. in the autumn of ' , i lost a vessel by the fault of the pilot; in the next summer, the deserters i told you about robbed me of eight or ten thousand livres' worth of goods. in the autumn of ' , i lost a vessel worth more than ten thousand crowns; in the next spring, five or six rascals stole the value of five or six thousand livres in goods and beaver-skins, at the illinois, when i was absent. two other men of mine, carrying furs worth four or five thousand livres, were killed or drowned in the st. lawrence, and the furs were lost. another robbed me of three thousand livres in beaver-skins stored at michilimackinac. this last spring, i lost about seventeen hundred livres' worth of goods by the upsetting of a canoe. last winter, the fort and buildings at niagara were burned by the fault of the commander; and in the spring the deserters, who passed that way, seized a part of the property that remained, and escaped to new york. all this does not discourage me in the least, and will only defer for a year or two the returns of profit which you ask for this year. these losses are no more my fault than the loss of the ship 'st. joseph' was yours. i cannot be everywhere, and cannot help making use of the people of the country." he begs his correspondent to send out an agent of his own. "he need not be very _savant_, but he must be faithful, patient of labor, and fond neither of gambling, women, nor good cheer; for he will find none of these with me. trusting in what he will write you, you may close your ears to what priests and jesuits tell you. [sidenote: vexations of his position.] "after having put matters in good trim for trade i mean to withdraw, though i think it will be very profitable; for i am disgusted to find that i must always be making excuses, which is a part i cannot play successfully. i am utterly tired of this business; for i see that it is not enough to put property and life in constant peril, but that it requires more pains to answer envy and detraction than to overcome the difficulties inseparable from my undertaking." and he makes a variety of proposals, by which he hopes to get rid of a part of his responsibility to his correspondent. he begs him again to send out a confidential agent, saying that for his part he does not want to have any account to render, except that which he owes to the court, of his discoveries. he adds, strangely enough for a man burdened with such liabilities, "i have neither the habit nor the inclination to keep books, nor have i anybody with me who knows how." he says to another correspondent, "i think, like you, that partnerships in business are dangerous, on account of the little practice i have in these matters." it is not surprising that he wanted to leave his associates to manage business for themselves: "you know that this trade is good; and with a trusty agent to conduct it for you, you run no risk. as for me, i will keep the charge of the forts, the command of posts and of men, the management of indians and frenchmen, and the establishment of the colony, which will remain my property, leaving your agent and mine to look after our interests, and drawing my half without having any hand in what belongs to you." la salle was a very indifferent trader; and his heart was not in the commercial part of his enterprise. he aimed at achievement, and thirsted after greatness. his ambition was to found another france in the west; and if he meant to govern it also,--as without doubt he did,--it is not a matter of wonder or of blame. his misfortune was, that, in the pursuit of a great design, he was drawn into complications of business with which he was ill fitted to grapple. he had not the instinct of the successful merchant. he dared too much, and often dared unwisely; attempted more than he could grasp, and forgot, in his sanguine anticipations, to reckon with enormous and incalculable risks. except in the narrative parts, his letters are rambling and unconnected,--which is natural enough, written, as they were, at odd moments, by camp-fires and among indians. the style is crude; and being well aware of this, he disliked writing, especially as the risk was extreme that his letters would miss their destination. "there is too little good faith in this country, and too many people on the watch, for me to trust anybody with what i wish to send you. even sealed letters are not too safe. not only are they liable to be lost or stopped by the way, but even such as escape the curiosity of spies lie at montreal, waiting a long time to be forwarded." [sidenote: his letters intercepted.] again, he writes: "i cannot pardon myself for the stoppage of my letters, though i made every effort to make them reach you. i wrote to you in ' (in august), and sent my letters to m. de la forest, who gave them in good faith to my brother. i don't know what he has done with them. i wrote you another, by the vessel that was lost last year. i sent two canoes, by two different routes; but the wind and the rain were so furious that they wintered on the way, and i found my letters at the fort on my return. i now send you one of them, which i wrote last year to m. thouret, in which you will find a full account of what passed, from the time when we left the outlet of lake erie down to the sixteenth of august, . what preceded was told at full length in the letters my brother has seen fit to intercept." this brother was the sulpitian priest, jean cavelier, who had been persuaded that la salle's enterprise would be ruinous, and therefore set himself sometimes to stop it altogether, and sometimes to manage it in his own way. "his conduct towards me," says la salle, "has always been so strange, through the small love he bears me, that it was clear gain for me when he went away; since while he stayed he did nothing but cross all my plans, which i was forced to change every moment to suit his caprice." there was one point on which the interference of his brother and of his correspondents was peculiarly annoying. they thought it for their interest that he should remain a single man; whereas, it seems that his devotion to his purpose was not so engrossing as to exclude more tender subjects. he writes:-- "i am told that you have been uneasy about my pretended marriage. i had not thought about it at that time; and i shall not make any engagement of the sort till i have given you reason to be satisfied with me. it is a little extraordinary that i must render account of a matter which is free to all the world. "in fine, monsieur, it is only as an earnest of something more substantial that i write to you so much at length. i do not doubt that you will hereafter change the ideas about me which some persons wish to give you, and that you will be relieved of the anxiety which all that has happened reasonably causes you. i have written this letter at more than twenty different times; and i am more than a hundred and fifty leagues from where i began it. i have still two hundred more to get over, before reaching the illinois. i am taking with me twenty-five men to the relief of the six or seven who remain with the sieur de tonty." this was the journey which ended in that scene of horror at the ruined town of the illinois. [sidenote: charged with ostentation.] to the same correspondent, pressing him for dividends, he says: "you repeat continually that you will not be satisfied unless i make you large returns of profit. though i have reason to thank you for what you have done for this enterprise, it seems to me that i have done still more, since i have put everything at stake; and it would be hard to reproach me either with foolish outlays or with the ostentation which is falsely imputed to me. let my accusers explain what they mean. since i have been in this country, i have had neither servants nor clothes nor fare which did not savor more of meanness than of ostentation; and the moment i see that there is anything with which either you or the court find fault, i assure you that i will give it up,--for the life i am leading has no other attraction for me than that of honor; and the more danger and difficulty there is in undertakings of this sort, the more worthy of honor i think they are." his career attests the sincerity of these words. they are a momentary betrayal of the deep enthusiasm of character which may be read in his life, but to which he rarely allowed the faintest expression. "above all," he continues, "if you want me to keep on, do not compel me to reply to all the questions and fancies of priests and jesuits. they have more leisure than i; and i am not subtle enough to anticipate all their empty stories. i could easily give you the information you ask; but i have a right to expect that you will not believe all you hear, nor require me to prove to you that i am not a madman. that is the first point to which you should have attended, before having business with me; and in our long acquaintance, either you must have found me out, or else i must have had long intervals of sanity." to another correspondent he defends himself against the charge of harshness to his men: "the facility i am said to want is out of place with this sort of people, who are libertines for the most part; and to indulge them means to tolerate blasphemy, drunkenness, lewdness, and a license incompatible with any kind of order. it will not be found that i have in any case whatever treated any man harshly, except for blasphemies and other such crimes openly committed. these i cannot tolerate: first, because such compliance would give grounds for another accusation, much more just; secondly, because, if i allowed such disorders to become habitual, it would be hard to keep the men in subordination and obedience, as regards executing the work i am commissioned to do; thirdly, because the debaucheries, too common with this rabble, are the source of endless delays and frequent thieving; and, finally, because i am a christian, and do not want to bear the burden of their crimes. [sidenote: intrigues against him.] "what is said about my servants has not even a show of truth; for i use no servants here, and all my men are on the same footing. i grant that as those who have lived with me are steadier and give me no reason to complain of their behavior, i treat them as gently as i should treat the others if they resembled them, and as those who were formerly my servants are the only ones i can trust, i speak more openly to them than to the rest, who are generally spies of my enemies. the twenty-two men who deserted and robbed me are not to be believed on their word, deserters and thieves as they are. they are ready enough to find some pretext for their crime; and it needs as unjust a judge as the intendant to prompt such rascals to enter complaints against a person to whom he had given a warrant to arrest them. but, to show the falsity of these charges, martin chartier, who was one of those who excited the rest to do as they did, was never with me at all; and the rest had made their plot before seeing me." and he proceeds to relate, in great detail, a variety of circumstances to prove that his men had been instigated first to desert, and then to slander him; adding, "those who remain with me are the first i had, and they have not left me for six years." "i have a hundred other proofs of the bad counsel given to these deserters, and will produce them when wanted; but as they themselves are the only witnesses of the severity they complain of, while the witnesses of their crimes are unimpeachable, why am i refused the justice i demand, and why is their secret escape connived at? "i do not know what you mean by having popular manners. there is nothing special in my food, clothing, or lodging, which are all the same for me as for my men. how can it be that i do not talk with them? i have no other company. m. de tonty has often found fault with me because i stopped too often to talk with them. you do not know the men one must employ here, when you exhort me to make merry with them. they are incapable of that; for they are never pleased, unless one gives free rein to their drunkenness and other vices. if that is what you call having popular manners, neither honor nor inclination would let me stoop to gain their favor in a way so disreputable: and, besides, the consequences would be dangerous, and they would have the same contempt for me that they have for all who treat them in this fashion. "you write me that even my friends say that i am not a man of popular manners. i do not know what friends they are. i know of none in this country. to all appearance they are enemies, more subtle and secret than the rest. i make no exceptions; for i know that those who seem to give me support do not do it out of love for me, but because they are in some sort bound in honor, and that in their hearts they think i have dealt ill with them. m. plet will tell you what he has heard about it himself, and the reasons they have to give.[ ] i have seen it for a long time; and these secret stabs they give me show it very plainly. after that, it is not surprising that i open my mind to nobody, and distrust everybody. i have reasons that i cannot write. "for the rest, monsieur, pray be well assured that the information you are so good as to give me is received with a gratitude equal to the genuine friendship from which it proceeds; and, however unjust are the charges made against me, i should be much more unjust myself if i did not feel that i have as much reason to thank you for telling me of them as i have to complain of others for inventing them. [sidenote: his manners.] "as for what you say about my look and manner, i myself confess that you are not far from right. but _naturam expellas_; and if i am wanting in expansiveness and show of feeling towards those with whom i associate, _it is only through a timidity which is natural to me, and which has made me leave various employments, where without it i could have succeeded_. but as i judged myself ill-fitted for them on account of this defect, i have chosen a life more suited to my solitary disposition; which, nevertheless, does not make me harsh to my people, though, joined to a life among savages, it makes me, perhaps, less polished and complaisant than the atmosphere of paris requires. i well believe that there is self-love in this; and that, knowing how little i am accustomed to a more polite life, the fear of making mistakes makes me more reserved than i like to be. so i rarely expose myself to conversation with those in whose company i am afraid of making blunders, and can hardly help making them. abbé renaudot knows with what repugnance i had the honor to appear before monseigneur de conti; and sometimes it took me a week to make up my mind to go to the audience,--that is, when i had time to think about myself, and was not driven by pressing business. it is much the same with letters, which i never write except when pushed to it, and for the same reason. it is a defect of which i shall never rid myself as long as i live, often as it spites me against myself, and often as i quarrel with myself about it." [sidenote: his strength and weakness.] here is a strange confession for a man like la salle. without doubt, the timidity of which he accuses himself had some of its roots in pride; but not the less was his pride vexed and humbled by it. it is surprising that, being what he was, he could have brought himself to such an avowal under any circumstances or any pressure of distress. shyness; a morbid fear of committing himself; and incapacity to express, and much more to simulate, feeling,--a trait sometimes seen in those with whom feeling is most deep,--are strange ingredients in the character of a man who had grappled so dauntlessly with life on its harshest and rudest side. they were deplorable defects for one in his position. he lacked that sympathetic power, the inestimable gift of the true leader of men, in which lies the difference between a willing and a constrained obedience. this solitary being, hiding his shyness under a cold reserve, could rouse no enthusiasm in his followers. he lived in the purpose which he had made a part of himself, nursed his plans in secret, and seldom asked or accepted advice. he trusted himself, and learned more and more to trust no others. one may fairly infer that distrust was natural to him; but the inference may possibly be wrong. bitter experience had schooled him to it; for he lived among snares, pitfalls, and intriguing enemies. he began to doubt even the associates who, under representations he had made them in perfect good faith, had staked their money on his enterprise, and lost it, or were likely to lose it. they pursued him with advice and complaint, and half believed that he was what his maligners called him,--a visionary or a madman. it galled him that they had suffered for their trust in him, and that they had repented their trust. his lonely and shadowed nature needed the mellowing sunshine of success, and his whole life was a fight with adversity. all that appears to the eye is his intrepid conflict with obstacles without; but this, perhaps, was no more arduous than the invisible and silent strife of a nature at war with itself,--the pride, aspiration, and bold energy that lay at the base of his character battling against the superficial weakness that mortified and angered him. in such a man, the effect of such an infirmity is to concentrate and intensify the force within. in one form or another, discordant natures are common enough; but very rarely is the antagonism so irreconcilable as it was in him. and the greater the antagonism, the greater the pain. there are those in whom the sort of timidity from which he suffered is matched with no quality that strongly revolts against it. these gentle natures may at least have peace, but for him there was no peace. cavelier de la salle stands in history like a statue cast in iron; but his own unwilling pen betrays the man, and reveals in the stern, sad figure an object of human interest and pity.[ ] footnotes: [ ] his cousin, françois plet, was in canada in , where, with la salle's approval, he carried on the trade of fort frontenac, in order to indemnify himself for money advanced. la salle always speaks of him with esteem and gratitude. [ ] the following is the character of la salle, as drawn by his friend, abbé bernou, in a memorial to the minister seignelay: "il est irréprochable dans ses moeurs, réglé dans sa conduite, et qui veut de l'ordre parmy ses gens. il est savant, judicieux, politique, vigilant, infatigable, sobre, et intrépide. il entend suffisament l'architecture civile, militaire, et navale ainsy que l'agriculture; il parle ou entend quatre ou cinq langues des sauvages, et a beaucoup de facilité pour apprendre les autres. il sçait toutes leurs manières et obtient d'eux tout ce qu'il veut par son adresse, par son éloquence, et parce qu'il est beaucoup estimé d'eux. dans ses voyages il ne fait pas meilleure chère que le moindre de ses gens et se donne plus de peine que pas un pour les encourager, et il y a lieu de croire qu'avec la protection de monseigneur il fondera des colonies plus considérables que toutes celles que les françois ont établies jusqu'à présent."--_mémoire pour monseigneur le marquis de seignelay_, (margry, ii. ). the extracts given in the foregoing chapter are from la salle's long letters of sept., , and aug., ( ?). both are printed in the second volume of the margry collection, and the originals of both are in the bibliothèque nationale. the latter seems to have been written to la salle's friend, abbé bernou; and the former, to a certain m. thouret. chapter xxiii. . a new enterprise. la salle at court: his proposals.--occupation of louisiana.--invasion of mexico.--royal favor.--preparation.--a divided command.--beaujeu and la salle.--mental condition of la salle: his farewell to his mother. when la salle reached paris, he went to his old lodgings in rue de la truanderie, and, it is likely enough, thought for an instant of the adventures and vicissitudes he had passed since he occupied them before. another ordeal awaited him. he must confront, not painted savages with tomahawk and knife, but--what he shrank from more--the courtly throngs that still live and move in the pages of sévigné and saint-simon. the news of his discovery and the rumor of his schemes were the talk of a moment among the courtiers, and then were forgotten. it was not so with their master. la salle's friends and patrons did not fail him. a student and a recluse in his youth, and a backwoodsman in his manhood, he had what was to him the formidable honor of an interview with royalty itself, and stood with such philosophy as he could command before the gilded arm-chair, where, majestic and awful, the power of france sat embodied. the king listened to all he said; but the results of the interview were kept so secret that it was rumored in the ante-chambers that his proposals had been rejected.[ ] on the contrary, they had met with more than favor. the moment was opportune for la salle. the king had long been irritated against the spaniards, because they not only excluded his subjects from their american ports, but forbade them to enter the gulf of mexico. certain frenchmen who had sailed on this forbidden sea had been seized and imprisoned; and more recently a small vessel of the royal navy had been captured for the same offence. this had drawn from the king a declaration that every sea should be free to all his subjects; and count d'estrées was sent with a squadron to the gulf, to exact satisfaction of the spaniards, or fight them if they refused it.[ ] this was in time of peace. war had since arisen between the two crowns, and brought with it the opportunity of settling the question forever. in order to do so, the minister seignelay, like his father colbert, proposed to establish a french port on the gulf, as a permanent menace to the spaniards and a basis of future conquest. it was in view of this plan that la salle's past enterprises had been favored; and the proposals he now made were in perfect accord with it. [sidenote: la salle's proposals.] these proposals were set forth in two memorials. the first of them states that the late monseigneur colbert deemed it important for the service of his majesty to discover a port in the gulf of mexico; that to this end the memorialist, la salle, made five journeys of upwards of five thousand leagues, in great part on foot; and traversed more than six hundred leagues of unknown country, among savages and cannibals, at the cost of a hundred and fifty thousand francs. he now proposes to return by way of the gulf of mexico and the mouth of the mississippi to the countries he has discovered, whence great benefits may be expected: first, the cause of god may be advanced by the preaching of the gospel to many indian tribes; and, secondly, great conquests may be effected for the glory of the king, by the seizure of provinces rich in silver mines, and defended only by a few indolent and effeminate spaniards. the sieur de la salle, pursues the memorial, binds himself to be ready for the accomplishment of this enterprise within one year after his arrival on the spot; and he asks for this purpose only one vessel and two hundred men, with their arms, munitions, pay, and maintenance. when monseigneur shall direct him, he will give the details of what he proposes. the memorial then describes the boundless extent, the fertility and resources of the country watered by the river colbert, or mississippi; the necessity of guarding it against foreigners, who will be eager to seize it now that la salle's discovery has made it known; and the ease with which it may be defended by one or two forts at a proper distance above its mouth, which would form the key to an interior region eight hundred leagues in extent. "should foreigners anticipate us," he adds, "they will complete the ruin of new france, which they already hem in by their establishments of virginia, pennsylvania, new england, and hudson's bay."[ ] the second memorial is more explicit. the place, it says, which the sieur de la salle proposes to fortify, is on the river colbert, or mississippi, sixty leagues above its mouth, where the soil is very fertile, the climate very mild, and whence we, the french, may control the continent,--since, the river being narrow, we could defend ourselves by means of fire-ships against a hostile fleet, while the position is excellent both for attacking an enemy or retreating in case of need. the neighboring indians detest the spaniards, but love the french, having been won over by the kindness of the sieur de la salle. we could form of them an army of more than fifteen thousand savages, who, supported by the french and abenakis, followers of the sieur de la salle, could easily subdue the province of new biscay (the most northern province of mexico), where there are but four hundred spaniards, more fit to work the mines than to fight. on the north of new biscay lie vast forests, extending to the river seignelay[ ] (red river), which is but forty or fifty leagues from the spanish province. this river affords the means of attacking it to great advantage. in view of these facts, pursues the memorial, the sieur de la salle offers, if the war with spain continues, to undertake this conquest with two hundred men from france. he will take on his way fifty buccaneers at st. domingo, and direct the four thousand indian warriors at fort st. louis of the illinois to descend the river and join him. he will separate his force into three divisions, and attack at the same time the centre and the two extremities of the province. to accomplish this great design, he asks only for a vessel of thirty guns, a few cannon for the forts, and power to raise in france two hundred such men as he shall think fit, to be armed, paid, and maintained six months at the king's charge. and the sieur de la salle binds himself, if the execution of this plan is prevented for more than three years, by peace with spain, to refund to his majesty all the costs of the enterprise, on pain of forfeiting the government of the ports he will have established.[ ] [sidenote: la salles's plans.] such, in brief, was the substance of this singular proposition. and, first, it is to be observed that it is based on a geographical blunder, the nature of which is explained by the map of la salle's discoveries made in this very year. here the river seignelay, or red river, is represented as running parallel to the northern border of mexico, and at no great distance from it,--the region now called texas being almost entirely suppressed. according to the map, new biscay might be reached from this river in a few days; and, after crossing the intervening forests, the coveted mines of ste. barbe, or santa barbara, would be within striking distance.[ ] that la salle believed in the possibility of invading the spanish province of new biscay from red river there can be no doubt; neither can it reasonably be doubted that he hoped at some future day to make the attempt; and yet it is incredible that a man in his sober senses could have proposed this scheme with the intention of attempting to execute it at the time and in the manner which he indicates.[ ] this memorial bears some indications of being drawn up in order to produce a certain effect on the minds of the king and his minister. la salle's immediate necessity was to obtain from them the means for establishing a fort and a colony within the mouth of the mississippi. this was essential to his own plans; nor did he in the least exaggerate the value of such an establishment to the french nation, and the importance of anticipating other powers in the possession of it. but he thought that he needed a more glittering lure to attract the eyes of louis and seignelay; and thus, it may be, he held before them, in a definite and tangible form, the project of spanish conquest which had haunted his imagination from youth,--trusting that the speedy conclusion of peace, which actually took place, would absolve him from the immediate execution of the scheme, and give him time, with the means placed at his disposal, to mature his plans and prepare for eventual action. such a procedure may be charged with indirectness; but there is a different explanation, which we shall suggest hereafter, and which implies no such reproach.[ ] even with this madcap enterprise lopped off, la salle's scheme of mississippi trade and colonization, perfectly sound in itself, was too vast for an individual,--above all, for one crippled and crushed with debt. while he grasped one link of the great chain, another, no less essential, escaped from his hand; while he built up a colony on the mississippi, it was reasonably certain that evil would befall his distant colony of the illinois. [sidenote: la barre rebuked.] the glittering project which he now unfolded found favor in the eyes of the king and his minister; for both were in the flush of an unparalleled success, and looked in the future, as in the past, for nothing but triumphs. they granted more than the petitioner asked, as indeed they well might, if they expected the accomplishment of all that he proposed to attempt. la forest, la salle's lieutenant, ejected from fort frontenac by la barre, was now at paris; and he was despatched to canada, empowered to reoccupy, in la salle's name, both fort frontenac and fort st. louis of the illinois. the king himself wrote to la barre in a strain that must have sent a cold thrill through the veins of that official. "i hear," he says, "that you have taken possession of fort frontenac, the property of the sieur de la salle, driven away his men, suffered his land to run to waste, and even told the iroquois that they might seize him as an enemy of the colony." he adds, that, if this is true, la barre must make reparation for the wrong, and place all la salle's property, as well as his men, in the hands of the sieur de la forest, "as i am satisfied that fort frontenac was not abandoned, as you wrote to me that it had been."[ ] four days later, he wrote to the intendant of canada, de meules, to the effect that the bearer, la forest, is to suffer no impediment, and that la barre is to surrender to him without reserve all that belongs to la salle.[ ] armed with this letter, la forest sailed for canada.[ ] a chief object of his mission, as it was represented to seignelay, was, not only to save the colony at the illinois from being broken up by la barre, but also to collect la salle's scattered followers, muster the savage warriors around the rock of st. louis, and lead the whole down the mississippi, to co-operate in the attack on new biscay. if la salle meant that la forest should seriously attempt to execute such a scheme, then the charges of his enemies that his brain was turned were better founded than he would have us think.[ ] [sidenote: preparation.] he had asked for two vessels,[ ] and four were given to him. agents were sent to rochelle and rochefort to gather recruits. a hundred soldiers were enrolled, besides mechanics and laborers; and thirty volunteers, including gentlemen and burghers of condition, joined the expedition. and, as the plan was one no less of colonization than of war, several families embarked for the new land of promise, as well as a number of girls, lured by the prospect of almost certain matrimony. nor were missionaries wanting. among them was la salle's brother, cavelier, and two other priests of st. sulpice. three récollets were added,--zenobe membré, who was then in france, anastase douay, and maxime le clerc. the principal vessel was the "joly," belonging to the royal navy, and carrying thirty-six guns. another armed vessel of six guns was added, together with a store-ship and a ketch. la salle had asked for sole command of the expedition, with a subaltern officer, and one or two pilots to sail the vessels as he should direct. instead of complying, seignelay gave the command of the vessels to beaujeu, a captain of the royal navy,--whose authority was restricted to their management at sea, while la salle was to prescribe the route they were to take, and have entire control of the troops and colonists on land.[ ] this arrangement displeased both parties. beaujeu, an old and experienced officer, was galled that a civilian should be set over him,--and he, too, a burgher lately ennobled; nor was la salle the man to soothe his ruffled spirit. detesting a divided command, cold, reserved, and impenetrable, he would have tried the patience of a less excitable colleague. beaujeu, on his part, though set to a task which he disliked, seems to have meant to do his duty, and to have been willing at the outset to make the relations between himself and his unwelcome associate as agreeable as possible. unluckily, la salle discovered that the wife of beaujeu was devoted to the jesuits. we have seen the extreme distrust with which he regarded these guides of his youth, and he seems now to have fancied that beaujeu was their secret ally. possibly, he suspected that information of his movements would be given to the spaniards; more probably, he had undefined fears of adverse machinations. granting that such existed, it was not his interest to stimulate them by needlessly exasperating the naval commander. his deportment, however, was not conciliating; and beaujeu, prepared to dislike him, presently lost temper. while the vessels still lay at rochelle; while all was bustle and preparation; while stores, arms, and munitions were embarking; while boys and vagabonds were enlisting as soldiers for the expedition,--beaujeu was venting his disgust in long letters to the minister. [sidenote: beaujeu and la salle.] "you have ordered me, monseigneur, to give all possible aid to this undertaking, and i shall do so to the best of my power; but permit me to take great credit to myself, for i find it very hard to submit to the orders of the sieur de la salle, whom i believe to be a man of merit, but who has no experience of war except with savages, and who has no rank, while i have been captain of a ship thirteen years, and have served thirty by sea and land. besides, monseigneur, he has told me that in case of his death you have directed that the sieur de tonty shall succeed him. this, indeed, is very hard; for, though i am not acquainted with that country, i should be very dull, if, being on the spot, i did not know at the end of a month as much of it as they do. i beg, monseigneur, that i may at least share the command with them; and that, as regards war, nothing may be done without my knowledge and concurrence,--for, as to their commerce, i neither intend nor desire to know anything about it." seignelay answered by a rebuff, and told him to make no trouble about the command. this increased his irritation, and he wrote: "in my last letter, monseigneur, i represented to you the hardship of compelling me to obey m. de la salle, who has no rank, and _never commanded anybody but school-boys_; and i begged you at least to divide the command between us. i now, monseigneur, take the liberty to say that i will obey without repugnance, if you order me to do so, having reflected that there can be no competition between the said sieur de la salle and me. "thus far, he has not told me his plan; and he changes his mind every moment. he is a man so suspicious, and so afraid that one will penetrate his secrets, that i dare not ask him anything. he says that m. de parassy, commissary's clerk, with whom he has often quarrelled, is paid by his enemies to defeat his undertaking; and many other things with which i will not trouble you.... "he pretends that i am only to command the sailors, and have no authority over the volunteer officers and the hundred soldiers who are to take passage in the 'joly;' and that they are not to recognize or obey me in any way during the voyage.... "he has covered the decks with boxes and chests of such prodigious size that neither the cannon nor the capstan can be worked." la salle drew up a long list of articles, defining the respective rights and functions of himself and beaujeu, to whom he presented it for signature. beaujeu demurred at certain military honors demanded by la salle, saying that if a marshal of france should come on board his ship, he would have none left to offer him. the point was referred to the naval intendant; and the articles of the treaty having been slightly modified, beaujeu set his name to it. "by this," he says, "you can judge better of the character of m. de la salle than by all i can say. he is a man who wants smoke [form and ceremony]. i will give him his fill of it, and, perhaps, more than he likes. "i am bound to an unknown country, to seek what is about as hard to find as the philosopher's stone. it vexes me, monseigneur, that you should have been involved in a business the success of which is very uncertain. m. de la salle begins to doubt it himself." while beaujeu wrote thus to the minister, he was also writing to cabart de villermont, one of his friends at paris, with whom la salle was also on friendly terms. these letters are lively and entertaining, and by no means suggestive of any secret conspiracy. he might, it is true, have been more reserved in his communications; but he betrays no confidence, for none was placed in him. it is the familiar correspondence of an irritable but not ill-natured veteran, who is placed in an annoying position, and thinks he is making the best of it. la salle thought that the minister had been too free in communicating the secrets of the expedition to the naval intendant at rochefort, and through him to beaujeu. it is hard to see how beaujeu was to blame for this; but la salle nevertheless fell into a dispute with him. "he could hardly keep his temper, and used expressions which obliged me to tell him that i cared very little about his affairs, and that the king himself would not speak as he did. he retracted, made excuses, and we parted good friends.... "i do not like his suspiciousness. i think him a good, honest norman; but normans are out of fashion. it is one thing to-day, another to-morrow. it seems to me that he is not so sure about his undertaking as he was at paris. this morning he came to see me, and told me he had changed his mind, and meant to give a new turn to the business, and go to another coast. he gave very poor reasons, to which i assented, to avoid a quarrel. i thought, by what he said, that he wanted to find a scapegoat to bear the blame, in case his plan does not succeed as he hopes. for the rest, i think him a brave man and a true; and i am persuaded that if this business fails, it will be because he does not know enough, and will not trust us of the profession. as for me, i shall do my best to help him, as i have told you before; and i am delighted to have him keep his secret, so that i shall not have to answer for the result. pray do not show my letters, for fear of committing me with him. he is too suspicious already; and never was norman so norman as he, which is a great hinderance to business." beaujeu came from the same province and calls himself jocularly _un bon gros normand_. his good-nature, however, rapidly gave way as time went on. "yesterday," he writes, "this monsieur told me that he meant to go to the gulf of mexico. a little while ago, as i said before, he talked about going to canada. i see nothing certain in it. it is not that i do not believe that all he says is true; but not being of the profession, and not liking to betray his ignorance, he is puzzled what to do. "i shall go straight forward, without regarding a thousand whims and _bagatelles_. his continual suspicion would drive anybody mad except a norman like me; but i shall humor him, as i have always done, even to sailing my ship on dry land, if he likes." [sidenote: an open quarrel.] a few days later, there was an open quarrel. "m. de la salle came to me, and said, rather haughtily and in a tone of command, that i must put provisions for three months more on board my vessel. i told him it was impossible, as she had more lading already than anybody ever dared to put in her before. he would not hear reason, but got angry and abused me in good french, and found fault with me because the vessel would not hold his three months' provisions. he said i ought to have told him of it before. 'and how would you have me tell you,' said i, 'when you never tell me what you mean to do?' we had still another quarrel. he asked me where his officers should take their meals. i told him that they might take them where he pleased; for i gave myself no trouble in the matter, having no orders. he answered that they should not mess on bacon, while the rest ate fowls and mutton. i said that if he would send fowls and mutton on board, his people should eat them; but, as for bacon, i had often ate it myself. at this, he went off and complained to m. dugué that i refused to embark his provisions, and told him that he must live on bacon. i excused him as not knowing how to behave himself, having spent his life among school-boy brats and savages. nevertheless, i offered to him, his brother, and two of his friends, seats at my table and the same fare as myself. he answered my civility by an impertinence, saying that he distrusted people who offered so much and seemed so obliging. i could not help telling him that i saw he was brought up in the provinces." this was touching la salle on a sensitive point. beaujeu continues: "in fact, you knew him better than i; for i always took him for a gentleman (_honnête homme_). i see now that he is anything but that. pray set abbé renaudot and m. morel right about this man, and tell them he is not what they take him for. adieu. it has struck twelve: the postman is just going." bad as was the state of things, it soon grew worse. renaudot wrote to la salle that beaujeu was writing to villermont everything that happened, and that villermont showed the letters to all his acquaintance. villermont was a relative of the jesuit beschefer; and this was sufficient to suggest some secret machination to the mind of la salle. villermont's fault, however, seems to have been simple indiscretion, for which beaujeu took him sharply to task. "i asked you to burn my letters; and i cannot help saying that i am angry with you, not because you make known my secrets, but because you show letters scrawled in haste, and sent off without being even read over. m. de la salle not having told me his secret, though m. de seignelay ordered him to tell me, i am not obliged to keep it, and have as good a right as anybody to make my conjectures on what i read about it in the _gazette de hollande_. let abbé renaudot glorify m. de la salle as much as he likes, and make him a cortez, a pizarro, or an almagro,--that is nothing to me; but do not let him speak of me as an obstacle in his hero's way. let him understand that i know how to execute the orders of the court as well as he.... [sidenote: la salle's indiscretion.] "you ask how i get on with m. de la salle. don't you know that this man is impenetrable, and that there is no knowing what he thinks of one? he told a person of note whom i will not name that he had suspicions about our correspondence, as well as about madame de beaujeu's devotion to the jesuits. his distrust is incredible. if he sees one of his people speak to the rest, he suspects something, and is gruff with them. he told me himself that he wanted to get rid of m. de tonty, who is in america." la salle's claim to exclusive command of the soldiers on board the "joly" was a source of endless trouble. beaujeu declared that he would not set sail till officers, soldiers, and volunteers had all sworn to obey him when at sea; at which la salle had the indiscretion to say, "if i am not master of my soldiers, how can i make him [beaujeu] do his duty in case he does not want to do it?" beaujeu says that this affair made a great noise among the officers at rochefort, and adds: "_there are very few people who do not think that his brain is touched._ i have spoken to some who have known him twenty years. they all say that he was always rather visionary." it is difficult not to suspect that the current belief at rochefort had some foundation; and that the deadly strain of extreme hardship, prolonged anxiety, and alternation of disaster and success, joined to the fever which nearly killed him, had unsettled his judgment and given a morbid development to his natural defects. his universal suspicion, which included even the stanch and faithful henri de tonty; his needless provocation of persons whose good-will was necessary to him; his doubts whether he should sail for the gulf or for canada, when to sail to canada would have been to renounce, or expose to almost certain defeat, an enterprise long cherished and definitely planned,--all point to one conclusion. it may be thought that his doubts were feigned, in order to hide his destination to the last moment; but if so, he attempted to blind not only his ill wishers, but his mother, whom he also left in uncertainty as to his route. [sidenote: an overwrought brain.] unless we assume that his scheme of invading mexico was thrown out as a bait to the king, it is hard to reconcile it with the supposition of mental soundness. to base so critical an attempt on a geographical conjecture, which rested on the slightest possible information, and was in fact a total error; to postpone the perfectly sound plan of securing the mouth of the mississippi, to a wild project of leading fifteen thousand savages for an unknown distance through an unknown country to attack an unknown enemy,--was something more than quixotic daring. the king and the minister saw nothing impracticable in it, for they did not know the country or its inhabitants. they saw no insuperable difficulty in mustering and keeping together fifteen thousand of the most wayward and unstable savages on earth, split into a score and more of tribes, some hostile to each other and some to the french; nor in the problem of feeding such a mob, on a march of hundreds of miles; nor in the plan of drawing four thousand of them from the illinois, nearly two thousand miles distant, though some of these intended allies had no canoes or other means of transportation, and though, travelling in such numbers, they would infallibly starve on the way to the rendezvous. it is difficult not to see in all this the chimera of an overwrought brain, no longer able to distinguish between the possible and the impossible. preparation dragged slowly on; the season was growing late; the king grew impatient, and found fault with the naval intendant. meanwhile, the various members of the expedition had all gathered at rochelle. joutel, a fellow-townsman of la salle, returning to his native rouen, after sixteen years in the army, found all astir with the new project. his father had been gardener to henri cavelier, la salle's uncle; and being of an adventurous spirit he volunteered for the enterprise, of which he was to become the historian. with la salle's brother the priest, and two of his nephews, one of whom was a boy of fourteen, joutel set out for rochelle, where all were to embark together for their promised land.[ ] [sidenote: a parting letter.] la salle wrote a parting letter to his mother at rouen:-- rochelle, july, . madame my most honored mother,-- at last, after having waited a long time for a favourable wind, and having had a great many difficulties to overcome, we are setting sail with four vessels, and nearly four hundred men on board. everybody is well, including little colin and my nephew. we all have good hope of a happy success. we are not going by way of canada, but by the gulf of mexico. i passionately wish, and so do we all, that the success of this voyage may contribute to your repose and comfort. assuredly, i shall spare no effort that it may; and i beg you, on your part, to preserve yourself for the love of us. you need not be troubled by the news from canada, which are nothing but the continuation of the artifices of my enemies. i hope to be as successful against them as i have been thus far, and to embrace you a year hence with all the pleasure that the most grateful of children can feel with so good a mother as you have always been. pray let this hope, which shall not disappoint you, support you through whatever trials may happen, and be sure that you will always find me with a heart full of the feelings which are due to you. madame my most honored mother, from your most humble and most obedient servant and son, de la salle. my brother, my nephews, and all the others greet you, and take their leave of you. this memorable last farewell has lain for two hundred years among the family papers of the caveliers.[ ] footnotes: [ ] _lettres de l'abbé tronson, avril, avril, _ (margry, ii. ). [ ] _lettres du roy et du ministre sur la navigation du golfe du mexique, - _ (margry, iii. - ). [ ] _mémoire du sr. de la salle, pour rendre compte à monseigneur de seignelay de la découverte qu'il a faite par l'ordre de sa majesté._ [ ] this name, also given to the illinois, is used to designate red river on the map of franquelin, where the forests above mentioned are represented. [ ] _mémoire du sr. de la salle sur l'entreprise qu'il a proposé à monseigneur le marquis de seignelay sur une des provinces de mexique._ [ ] both the memorial and the map represent the banks of red river as inhabited by indians, called terliquiquimechi, and known to the spaniards as _indios bravos_, or _indios de guerra_. the spaniards, it is added, were in great fear of them, as they made frequent inroads into mexico. la salle's mexican geography was in all respects confused and erroneous; nor was seignelay better informed. indeed, spanish jealousy placed correct information beyond their reach. [ ] while the plan, as proposed in the memorial, was clearly impracticable, the subsequent experience of the french in texas tended to prove that the tribes of that region could be used with advantage in attacking the spaniards of mexico, and that an inroad on a comparatively small scale might have been successfully made with their help. in , tonty actually made the attempt, as we shall see, but failed, from the desertion of his men. in , the sieur de louvigny wrote to the minister of the marine, asking to complete la salle's discoveries, and invade mexico from texas. (_lettre de m. de louvigny, oct., ._) in an unpublished memoir of the year , the seizure of the mexican mines is given as one of the motives of the colonization of louisiana. [ ] another scheme, with similar aims, but much more practicable, was at this very time before the court. count peñalossa, a spanish creole, born in peru, had been governor of new mexico, where he fell into a dispute with the inquisition, which involved him in the loss of property, and for a time of liberty. failing to obtain redress in spain, he renounced his allegiance in disgust, and sought refuge in france, where, in , he first proposed to the king the establishment of a colony of french buccaneers at the mouth of rio bravo, on the gulf of mexico. in january, , after the war had broken out, he proposed to attack the spanish town of panuco, with twelve hundred buccaneers from st. domingo; then march into the interior, seize the mines, conquer durango, and occupy new mexico. it was proposed to combine his plan with that of la salle; but the latter, who had an interview with him, expressed distrust, and showed characteristic reluctance to accept a colleague. it is extremely probable, however, that his knowledge of peñalossa's original proposal had some influence in stimulating him to lay before the court proposals of his own, equally attractive. peace was concluded before the plans of the spanish adventurer could be carried into effect. [ ] _lettre du roy à la barre, versailles, avril, ._ [ ] _lettre du roy à de meules, versailles, avril, ._ seignelay wrote to de meules to the same effect. [ ] on la forest's mission,--_mémoire pour representer à monseigneur le marquis de seignelay la nécessité d'envoyer le sr. de la forest en diligence à la nouvelle france; lettre du roy à la barre, avril, ; ibid., oct., ._ there is before me a promissory note of la salle to la forest, of , livres, dated at rochelle, july, . this seems to be pay due to la forest, who had served as la salle's officer for nine years. a memorandum is attached, signed by la salle, to the effect that it is his wish that la forest reimburse himself, "_par préférence_," out of any property of his (la salle's) in france or canada. [ ] the attitude of la salle, in this matter, is incomprehensible. in july, la forest was at rochefort, complaining because la salle had ordered him to stay in garrison at fort frontenac. _beaujeu à villermont, july, _. this means an abandonment of the scheme of leading the warriors at the rock of st. louis down the mississippi; but, in the next month, la salle writes to seignelay that he is afraid la barre will use the iroquois war as a pretext to prevent la forest from making his journey (to the illinois), and that in this case he will himself try to go up the mississippi, and meet the illinois warriors; so that, in five or six months from the date of the letter, the minister will hear of his departure to attack the spaniards. (_la salle à seignelay, août, ._) either this is sheer folly, or else it is meant to delude the minister. [ ] _mémoire de ce qui aura esté accordé au sieur de la salle._ [ ] _lettre au roy à la salle, avril, ; mémoire pour servir d'instruction au sieur de beaujeu, avril, ._ [ ] joutel, _journal historique_, . [ ] the letters of beaujeu to seignelay and to cabart de villermont, with most of the other papers on which this chapter rests, will be found in margry, ii. - . this indefatigable investigator has also brought to light a number of letters from a brother officer of beaujeu, machaut-rougemont, written at rochefort, just after the departure of the expedition from rochelle, and giving some idea of the views there entertained concerning it. he says: "l'on ne peut pas faire plus d'extravagances que le sieur de la salle n'en a fait sur toutes ses prétentions de commandement. je plains beaucoup le pauvre beaujeu d'avoir affaire à une humeur si saturnienne.... je le croy beaucoup visionnaire ... beaujeu a une sotte commission." chapter xxiv. , . the voyage. disputes with beaujeu.--st. domingo.--la salle attacked with fever: his desperate condition.--the gulf of mexico.--a vain search and a fatal error. the four ships sailed from rochelle on the twenty-fourth of july. four days after, the "joly" broke her bowsprit, by design as la salle fancied. they all put back to rochefort, where the mischief was quickly repaired; and they put to sea again. la salle, and the chief persons of the expedition, with a crowd of soldiers, artisans, and women, the destined mothers of louisiana, were all on board the "joly." beaujeu wished to touch at madeira, to replenish his water-casks. la salle refused, lest by doing so the secret of the enterprise might reach the spaniards. one paget, a huguenot, took up the word in support of beaujeu. la salle told him that the affair was none of his; and as paget persisted with increased warmth and freedom, he demanded of beaujeu if it was with his consent that a man of no rank spoke to him in that manner. beaujeu sustained the huguenot. "that is enough," returned la salle, and withdrew into his cabin.[ ] this was not the first misunderstanding; nor was it the last. there was incessant chafing between the two commanders; and the sailors of the "joly" were soon of one mind with their captain. when the ship crossed the tropic, they made ready a tub on deck to baptize the passengers, after the villanous practice of the time; but la salle refused to permit it, at which they were highly exasperated, having promised themselves a bountiful ransom, in money or liquor, from their victims. "assuredly," says joutel, "they would gladly have killed us all." [sidenote: st. domingo.] when, after a wretched voyage of two months the ships reached st. domingo, a fresh dispute occurred. it had been resolved at a council of officers to stop at port de paix; but beaujeu, on pretext of a fair wind, ran by that place in the night, and cast anchor at petit goave, on the other side of the island. la salle was extremely vexed; for he expected to meet at port de paix the marquis de saint-laurent, lieutenant-general of the islands, bégon the intendant, and de cussy, governor of la tortue, who had orders to supply him with provisions and give him all possible aid. the "joly" was alone: the other vessels had lagged behind. she had more than fifty sick men on board, and la salle was of the number. he sent a messenger to saint-laurent, bégon, and cussy, begging them to come to him; ordered joutel to get the sick ashore, suffocating as they were in the hot and crowded ship; and caused the soldiers to be landed on a small island in the harbor. scarcely had the voyagers sung _te deum_ for their safe arrival, when two of the lagging vessels appeared, bringing tidings that the third, the ketch "st. françois," had been taken by spanish buccaneers. she was laden with provisions, tools, and other necessaries for the colony; and the loss was irreparable. beaujeu was answerable for it; for had he anchored at port de paix, it would not have occurred. the lieutenant-general, with bégon and cussy, who presently arrived, plainly spoke their minds to him.[ ] [sidenote: illness of la salle.] la salle's illness increased. "i was walking with him one day," writes joutel, "when he was seized of a sudden with such a weakness that he could not stand, and was obliged to lie down on the ground. when he was a little better, i led him to a chamber of a house that the brothers duhaut had hired. here we put him to bed, and in the morning he was attacked by a violent fever."[ ] "it was so violent that," says another of his shipmates, "his imagination pictured to him things equally terrible and amazing."[ ] he lay delirious in the wretched garret, attended by his brother, and one or two others who stood faithful to him. a goldsmith of the neighborhood, moved at his deplorable condition, offered the use of his house; and abbé cavelier had him removed thither. but there was a tavern hard by, and the patient was tormented with daily and nightly riot. at the height of the fever, a party of beaujeu's sailors spent a night in singing and dancing before the house; and, says cavelier, "the more we begged them to be quiet, the more noise they made." la salle lost reason and well-nigh life; but at length his mind resumed its balance, and the violence of the disease abated. a friendly capucin friar offered him the shelter of his roof; and two of his men supported him thither on foot, giddy with exhaustion and hot with fever. here he found repose, and was slowly recovering, when some of his attendants rashly told him the loss of the ketch "st. françois;" and the consequence was a critical return of the disease.[ ] there was no one to fill his place. beaujeu would not; cavelier could not. joutel, the gardener's son, was apparently the most trusty man of the company; but the expedition was virtually without a head. the men roamed on shore, and plunged into every excess of debauchery, contracting diseases which eventually killed them. [sidenote: complaints of beaujeu.] beaujeu, in the extremity of ill-humor, resumed his correspondence with seignelay. "but for the illness of the sieur de la salle," he writes, "i could not venture to report to you the progress of our voyage, as i am charged only with the navigation, and he with the secrets; but as his malady has deprived him of the use of his faculties, both of body and mind, i have thought myself obliged to acquaint you with what is passing, and of the condition in which we are." he then declares that the ships freighted by la salle were so slow that the "joly" had continually been forced to wait for them, thus doubling the length of the voyage; that he had not had water enough for the passengers, as la salle had not told him that there were to be any such till the day they came on board; that great numbers were sick, and that he had told la salle there would be trouble if he filled all the space between decks with his goods, and forced the soldiers and sailors to sleep on deck; that he had told him he would get no provisions at st. domingo, but that he insisted on stopping; that it had always been so,--that whatever he proposed la salle would refuse, alleging orders from the king; "and now," pursues the ruffled commander, "everybody is ill; and he himself has a violent fever, as dangerous, the surgeon tells me, to the mind as to the body." the rest of the letter is in the same strain. he says that a day or two after la salle's illness began, his brother cavelier came to ask him to take charge of his affairs; but that he did not wish to meddle with them, especially as nobody knows anything about them, and as la salle has sold some of the ammunition and provisions; that cavelier tells him that he thinks his brother keeps no accounts, wishing to hide his affairs from everybody; that he learns from buccaneers that the entrance of the mississippi is very shallow and difficult, and that this is the worst season for navigating the gulf; that the spaniards have in these seas six vessels of from thirty to sixty guns each, besides row-galleys; but that he is not afraid, and will perish, or bring back an account of the mississippi. "nevertheless," he adds, "if the sieur de la salle dies, i shall pursue a course different from that which he has marked out; for i do not approve his plans." "if," he continues, "you permit me to speak my mind, m. de la salle ought to have been satisfied with discovering his river, without undertaking to conduct three vessels with troops two thousand leagues through so many different climates, and across seas entirely unknown to him. i grant that he is a man of knowledge, that he has reading, and even some tincture of navigation; but there is so much difference between theory and practice, that a man who has only the former will always be at fault. there is also a great difference between conducting canoes on lakes and along a river, and navigating ships with troops on distant oceans."[ ] while beaujeu was complaining of la salle, his followers were deserting him. it was necessary to send them on board ship, and keep them there; for there were french buccaneers at petit goave, who painted the promised land in such dismal colors that many of the adventurers completely lost heart. some, too, were dying. "the air of this place is bad," says joutel; "so are the fruits; and there are plenty of women worse than either."[ ] it was near the end of november before la salle could resume the voyage. he was told that beaujeu had said that he would not wait longer for the store-ship "aimable," and that she might follow as she could.[ ] moreover, la salle was on ill terms with aigron, her captain, who had declared that he would have nothing more to do with him.[ ] fearing, therefore, that some mishap might befall her, he resolved to embark in her himself, with his brother cavelier, membré, douay, and others, the trustiest of his followers. on the twenty-fifth they set sail; the "joly" and the little frigate "belle" following. they coasted the shore of cuba, and landed at the isle of pines, where la salle shot an alligator, which the soldiers ate; and the hunter brought in a wild pig, half of which he sent to beaujeu. then they advanced to cape st. antoine, where bad weather and contrary winds long detained them. a load of cares oppressed the mind of la salle, pale and haggard with recent illness, wrapped within his own thoughts, and seeking sympathy from none. [sidenote: a vain search.] at length they entered the gulf of mexico, that forbidden sea whence by a spanish decree, dating from the reign of philip ii., all foreigners were excluded on pain of extermination.[ ] not a man on board knew the secrets of its perilous navigation. cautiously feeling their way, they held a north-westerly course, till on the twenty-eighth of december a sailor at the mast-head of the "aimable" saw land. la salle and all the pilots had been led to form an exaggerated idea of the force of the easterly currents; and they therefore supposed themselves near the bay of appalache, when, in fact, they were much farther westward. on new year's day they anchored three leagues from the shore. la salle, with the engineer minet, went to explore it, and found nothing but a vast marshy plain, studded with clumps of rushes. two days after there was a thick fog, and when at length it cleared, the "joly" was nowhere to be seen. la salle in the "aimable," followed closely by the little frigate "belle," stood westward along the coast. when at the mouth of the mississippi in , he had taken its latitude, but unhappily could not determine its longitude; and now every eye on board was strained to detect in the monotonous lines of the low shore some tokens of the great river. in fact, they had already passed it. on the sixth of january, a wide opening was descried between two low points of land; and the adjacent sea was discolored with mud. "la salle," writes his brother cavelier, "has always thought that this was the mississippi." to all appearance, it was the entrance of galveston bay.[ ] but why did he not examine it? joutel says that his attempts to do so were frustrated by the objections of the pilot of the "aimable," to which, with a facility very unusual with him, he suffered himself to yield. cavelier declares, on the other hand, that he would not enter the opening because he was afraid of missing the "joly." but he might have entered with one of his two vessels, while the other watched outside for the absent ship. from whatever cause, he lay here five or six days, waiting in vain for beaujeu;[ ] till, at last, thinking that he must have passed westward, he resolved to follow. the "aimable" and the "belle" again spread their sails, and coasted the shores of texas. joutel, with a boat's crew, tried to land; but the sand-bars and breakers repelled him. a party of indians swam out through the surf, and were taken on board; but la salle could learn nothing from them, as their language was unknown to him. again joutel tried to land, and again the breakers repelled him. he approached as near as he dared, and saw vast plains and a dim expanse of forest, buffalo running with their heavy gallop along the shore, and deer grazing on the marshy meadows. [sidenote: the shores of texas.] soon after, he succeeded in landing at a point somewhere between matagorda island and corpus christi bay. the aspect of the country was not cheering, with its barren plains, its reedy marshes, its interminable oyster-beds, and broad flats of mud bare at low tide. joutel and his men sought in vain for fresh water, and after shooting some geese and ducks returned to the "aimable." nothing had been seen of beaujeu and the "joly;" the coast was trending southward; and la salle, convinced that he must have passed the missing ship, turned to retrace his course. he had sailed but a few miles when the wind failed, a fog covered the sea, and he was forced to anchor opposite one of the openings into the lagoons north of mustang island. at length, on the nineteenth, there came a faint breeze; the mists rolled away before it, and to his great joy he saw the "joly" approaching. "his joy," says joutel, "was short." beaujeu's lieutenant, aire, came on board to charge him with having caused the separation, and la salle retorted by throwing the blame on beaujeu. then came a debate as to their position. the priest esmanville was present, and reports that la salle seemed greatly perplexed. he had more cause for perplexity than he knew; for in his ignorance of the longitude of the mississippi, he had sailed more than four hundred miles beyond it. of this he had not the faintest suspicion. in full sight from his ship lay a reach of those vast lagoons which, separated from the sea by narrow strips of land, line this coast with little interruption from galveston bay to the rio grande. the idea took possession of him that the mississippi discharged itself into these lagoons, and thence made its way to the sea through the various openings he had seen along the coast, chief among which was that he had discovered on the sixth, about fifty leagues from the place where he now was.[ ] [sidenote: perplexity of la salle.] yet he was full of doubt as to what he should do. four days after rejoining beaujeu, he wrote him the strange request to land the troops, that he "might fulfil his commission;" that is, that he might set out against the spaniards.[ ] more than a week passed, a gale had set in, and nothing was done. then la salle wrote again, intimating some doubt as to whether he was really at one of the mouths of the mississippi, and saying that, being sure that he had passed the principal mouth, he was determined to go back to look for it.[ ] meanwhile, beaujeu was in a state of great irritation. the weather was stormy, and the coast was dangerous. supplies were scanty; and la salle's soldiers, still crowded in the "joly," were consuming the provisions of the ship. beaujeu gave vent to his annoyance, and la salle retorted in the same strain. according to joutel, he urged the naval commander to sail back in search of the river; and beaujeu refused, unless la salle should give the soldiers provisions. la salle, he adds, offered to supply them with rations for fifteen days; and beaujeu declared this insufficient. there is reason, however, to believe that the request was neither made by the one nor refused by the other so positively as here appears. footnotes: [ ] _lettre (sans nom d'auteur) écrite de st. domingue, nov., _ (margry, ii. ); _mémoire autographe de l'abbé jean cavelier sur le voyage de _. compare joutel. [ ] _mémoire de mm. de saint-laurens et bégon_ (margry, ii. ); joutel, _journal historique_, . [ ] _relation de henri joutel_ (margry, iii. ). [ ] _lettre (sans nom d'auteur), nov., _ (margry, ii. ). [ ] the above particulars are from the memoir of la salle's brother, abbé cavelier, already cited. [ ] _lettre de beaujeu au ministre, oct., ._ [ ] _relation de henri joutel_ (margry, iii. ). [ ] _mémoire autographe de l'abbé jean cavelier._ [ ] _lettre de beaujeu au ministre, oct., ._ [ ] _letter of don luis de onis to the secretary of state_ (american state papers, xii, - ). [ ] "la hauteur nous a fait remarquer ... que ce que nous avions vu le sixième janvier estoit en effet la principale entrée de la rivière que nous cherchions."--_lettre de la salle au ministre, mars, ._ [ ] _mémoire autographe de l'abbé cavelier._ [ ] "depuis que nous avions quitté cette rivière qu'il croyoit infailliblement estre le fleuve colbert _[mississippi]_ nous avions fait environ lieues ou au plus." (cavelier, _mémoire_.) this, taken in connection with the statement of la salle that this "principale entrée de la rivière que nous cherchions" was twenty-five or thirty leagues northeast from the entrance of the bay of st. louis (matagorda bay), shows that it can have been no other than the entrance of galveston bay, mistaken by him for the chief outlet of the mississippi. it is evident that he imagined galveston bay to form a part of the chain of lagoons from which it is in fact separated. he speaks of these lagoons as "une espèce de baye fort longue et fort large, _dans laquelle le fleuve colbert se décharge_." he adds that on his descent to the mouth of the river in he had been deceived in supposing that this expanse of salt water, where no shore was in sight, was the open sea. _lettre de la salle au ministre, mars, ._ galveston bay and the mouth of the mississippi differ little in latitude, though separated by about five and a half degrees of longitude. [ ] _lettre de la salle à beaujeu, jan., _ (margry, ii. ). [ ] this letter is dated, "de l'emboucheure d'une rivière que _je crois estre_ une des descharges du mississipy" (margry, ii. ). chapter xxv. . la salle in texas. a party of exploration--wreck of the "aimable."--landing of the colonists.--a forlorn position.--indian neighbors.--friendly advances of beaujeu: his departure.--a fatal discovery. impatience to rid himself of his colleague and to command alone no doubt had its influence on the judgment of la salle. he presently declared that he would land the soldiers, and send them along shore till they came to the principal outlet of the river. on this, the engineer minet took up the word,--expressed his doubts as to whether the mississippi discharged itself into the lagoons at all; represented that even if it did, the soldiers would be exposed to great risks; and gave as his opinion that all should reimbark and continue the search in company. the advice was good, but la salle resented it as coming from one in whom he recognized no right to give it. "he treated me," complains the engineer, "as if i were the meanest of mankind."[ ] he persisted in his purpose, and sent joutel and moranget with a party of soldiers to explore the coast. they made their way northeastward along the shore of matagorda island, till they were stopped on the third day by what joutel calls a river, but which was in fact the entrance of matagorda bay. here they encamped, and tried to make a raft of drift-wood. "the difficulty was," says joutel, "our great number of men, and the few of them who were fit for anything except eating. as i said before, they had all been caught by force or surprise, so that our company was like noah's ark, which contained animals of all sorts." before their raft was finished, they descried to their great joy the ships which had followed them along the coast.[ ] [sidenote: landing of la salle.] la salle landed, and announced that here was the western mouth of the mississippi, and the place to which the king had sent him. he said further that he would land all his men, and bring the "aimable" and the "belle" to the safe harborage within. beaujeu remonstrated, alleging the shallowness of the water and the force of the currents; but his remonstrance was vain.[ ] the bay of st. louis, now matagorda bay, forms a broad and sheltered harbor, accessible from the sea by a narrow passage, obstructed by sand-bars and by the small island now called pelican island. boats were sent to sound and buoy out the channel, and this was successfully accomplished on the sixteenth of february. the "aimable" was ordered to enter; and, on the twentieth, she weighed anchor. la salle was on shore watching her. a party of men, at a little distance, were cutting down a tree to make a canoe. suddenly some of them ran towards him with terrified faces, crying out that they had been set upon by a troop of indians, who had seized their companions and carried them off. la salle ordered those about him to take their arms, and at once set out in pursuit. he overtook the indians, and opened a parley with them; but when he wished to reclaim his men, he discovered that they had been led away during the conference to the indian camp, a league and a half distant. among them was one of his lieutenants, the young marquis de la sablonnière. he was deeply vexed, for the moment was critical; but the men must be recovered, and he led his followers in haste towards the camp. yet he could not refrain from turning a moment to watch the "aimable," as she neared the shoals; and he remarked with deep anxiety to joutel, who was with him, that if she held that course she would soon be aground. [sidenote: wreck of the "aimable".] they hurried on till they saw the indian huts. about fifty of them, oven-shaped, and covered with mats and hides, were clustered on a rising ground, with their inmates gathered among and around them. as the french entered the camp, there was the report of a cannon from the seaward. the startled savages dropped flat with terror. a different fear seized la salle, for he knew that the shot was a signal of disaster. looking back, he saw the "aimable" furling her sails, and his heart sank with the conviction that she had struck upon the reef. smothering his distress,--she was laden with all the stores of the colony,--he pressed forward among the filthy wigwams, whose astonished inmates swarmed about the band of armed strangers, staring between curiosity and fear. la salle knew those with whom he was dealing, and, without ceremony, entered the chief's lodge with his followers. the crowd closed around them, naked men and half-naked women, described by joutel as of singular ugliness. they gave buffalo meat and dried porpoise to the unexpected guests, but la salle, racked with anxiety, hastened to close the interview; and having without difficulty recovered the kidnapped men, he returned to the beach, leaving with the indians, as usual, an impression of good-will and respect. when he reached the shore, he saw his worst fears realized. the "aimable" lay careened over on the reef, hopelessly aground. little remained but to endure the calamity with firmness, and to save, as far as might be, the vessel's cargo. this was no easy task. the boat which hung at her stern had been stove in,--it is said, by design. beaujeu sent a boat from the "joly," and one or more indian pirogues were procured. la salle urged on his men with stern and patient energy, and a quantity of gunpowder and flour was safely landed. but now the wind blew fresh from the sea; the waves began to rise; a storm came on; the vessel, rocking to and fro on the sand-bar, opened along her side, and the ravenous waves were strewn with her treasures. when the confusion was at its height, a troop of indians came down to the shore, greedy for plunder. the drum was beat; the men were called to arms; la salle set his trustiest followers to guard the gunpowder, in fear, not of the indians alone, but of his own countrymen. on that lamentable night, the sentinels walked their rounds through the dreary bivouac among the casks, bales, and boxes which the sea had yielded up; and here, too, their fate-hunted chief held his drearier vigil, encompassed with treachery, darkness, and the storm. not only la salle, but joutel and others of his party, believed that the wreck of the "aimable" was intentional. aigron, who commanded her, had disobeyed orders and disregarded signals. though he had been directed to tow the vessel through the channel, he went in under sail; and though little else was saved from the wreck, his personal property, including even some preserved fruits, was all landed safely. he had long been on ill terms with la salle.[ ] all la salle's company were now encamped on the sands at the left side of the inlet where the "aimable" was wrecked.[ ] "they were all," says the engineer minet, "sick with nausea and dysentery. five or six died every day, in consequence of brackish water and bad food. there was no grass, but plenty of rushes and plenty of oysters. there was nothing to make ovens, so that they had to eat flour saved from the wreck, boiled into messes of porridge with this brackish water. along the shore were quantities of uprooted trees and rotten logs, thrown up by the sea and the lagoon." of these, and fragments of the wreck, they made a sort of rampart to protect their camp; and here, among tents and hovels, bales, boxes, casks, spars, dismounted cannon, and pens for fowls and swine, were gathered the dejected men and homesick women who were to seize new biscay, and hold for france a region large as half europe. the spaniards, whom they were to conquer, were they knew not where. they knew not where they were themselves; and for the fifteen thousand indian allies who were to have joined them, they found two hundred squalid savages, more like enemies than friends. in fact, it was soon made plain that these their neighbors wished them no good. a few days after the wreck, the prairie was seen on fire. as the smoke and flame rolled towards them before the wind, la salle caused all the grass about the camp to be cut and carried away, and especially around the spot where the powder was placed. the danger was averted; but it soon became known that the indians had stolen a number of blankets and other articles, and carried them to their wigwams. unwilling to leave his camp, la salle sent his nephew moranget and several other volunteers, with a party of men, to reclaim them. they went up the bay in a boat, landed at the indian camp, and, with more mettle than discretion, marched into it, sword in hand. the indians ran off, and the rash adventurers seized upon several canoes as an equivalent for the stolen goods. not knowing how to manage them, they made slow progress on their way back, and were overtaken by night before reaching the french camp. they landed, made a fire, placed a sentinel, and lay down on the dry grass to sleep. the sentinel followed their example, when suddenly they were awakened by the war-whoop and a shower of arrows. two volunteers, oris and desloges, were killed on the spot; a third, named gayen, was severely wounded; and young moranget received an arrow through the arm. he leaped up and fired his gun at the vociferous but invisible foe. others of the party did the same, and the indians fled. [sidenote: beaujeu and la salle.] it was about this time that beaujeu prepared to return to france. he had accomplished his mission, and landed his passengers at what la salle assured him to be one of the mouths of the mississippi. his ship was in danger on this exposed and perilous coast, and he was anxious to find shelter. for some time past, his relations with la salle had been amicable, and it was agreed between them that beaujeu should stop at galveston bay, the supposed chief mouth of the mississippi; or, failing to find harborage here, that he should proceed to mobile bay, and wait there till april, to hear from his colleague. two days before the wreck of the "aimable," he wrote to la salle: "i wish with all my heart that you would have more confidence in me. for my part, i will always make the first advances; and i will follow your counsel whenever i can do so without risking my ship. i will come back to this place, if you want to know the results of the voyage i am going to make. if you wish, i will go to martinique for provisions and reinforcements. in fine, there is nothing i am not ready to do: you have only to speak." la salle had begged him to send ashore a number of cannon and a quantity of iron, stowed in the "joly," for the use of the colony; and beaujeu replies: "i wish very much that i could give you your iron, but it is impossible except in a harbor; for it is on my ballast, and under your cannon, my spare anchors, and all my stowage. it would take three days to get it out, which cannot be done in this place, where the sea runs like mountains when the slightest wind blows outside. i would rather come back to give it to you, in case you do not send the 'belle' to baye du st. esprit [mobile bay] to get it.... i beg you once more to consider the offer i make you to go to martinique to get provisions for your people. i will ask the intendant for them in your name; and if they are refused, i will take them on my own account."[ ] to this la salle immediately replied: "i received with singular pleasure the letter you took the trouble to write me; for i found in it extraordinary proofs of kindness in the interest you take in the success of an affair which i have the more at heart, as it involves the glory of the king and the honor of monseigneur de seignelay. i have done my part towards a perfect understanding between us, and have never been wanting in confidence; but even if i could be so, the offers you make are so obliging that they would inspire complete trust." he nevertheless declines them,--assuring beaujeu at the same time that he has reached the place he sought, and is in a fair way of success if he can but have the cannon, cannonballs, and iron stowed on board the "joly."[ ] directly after he writes again, "i cannot help conjuring you once more to try to give us the iron." beaujeu replies: "to show you how ardently i wish to contribute to the success of your undertaking, i have ordered your iron to be got out, in spite of my officers and sailors, who tell me that i endanger my ship by moving everything in the depth of the hold on a coast like this, where the seas are like mountains. i hesitated to disturb my stowage, not so much to save trouble as because no ballast is to be got hereabout; and i have therefore had six cannon, from my lower deck battery, let down into the hold to take the place of the iron." and he again urges la salle to accept his offer to bring provisions to the colonists from martinique. [sidenote: departure of beaujeu.] on the next day, the "aimable" was wrecked. beaujeu remained a fortnight longer on the coast, and then told la salle that being out of wood, water, and other necessaries, he must go to mobile bay to get them. nevertheless, he lingered a week more, repeated his offer to bring supplies from martinique, which la salle again refused, and at last set sail on the twelfth of march, after a leave-taking which was courteous on both sides.[ ] la salle and his colonists were left alone. several of them had lost heart, and embarked for home with beaujeu. among these was minet the engineer, who had fallen out with la salle, and who when he reached france was imprisoned for deserting him. even his brother, the priest jean cavelier, had a mind to abandon the enterprise, but was persuaded at last to remain, along with his nephew the hot-headed moranget, and the younger cavelier, a mere school-boy. the two récollet friars, zenobe membré and anastase douay, the trusty joutel, a man of sense and observation, and the marquis de la sablonnière, a debauched noble whose patrimony was his sword, were now the chief persons of the forlorn company. the rest were soldiers, raw and undisciplined, and artisans, most of whom knew nothing of their vocation. add to these the miserable families and the infatuated young women who had come to tempt fortune in the swamps and cane-brakes of the mississippi. la salle set out to explore the neighborhood. joutel remained in command of the so-called fort. he was beset with wily enemies, and often at night the indians would crawl in the grass around his feeble stockade, howling like wolves; but a few shots would put them to flight. a strict guard was kept; and a wooden horse was set in the enclosure, to punish the sentinel who should sleep at his post. they stood in daily fear of a more formidable foe, and once they saw a sail, which they doubted not was spanish; but she happily passed without discovering them. they hunted on the prairies, and speared fish in the neighboring pools. on easter day, the sieur le gros, one of the chief men of the company, went out after the service to shoot snipes; but as he walked barefoot through the marsh, a snake bit him, and he soon after died. two men deserted, to starve on the prairie, or to become savages among savages. others tried to escape, but were caught; and one of them was hung. a knot of desperadoes conspired to kill joutel; but one of them betrayed the secret, and the plot was crushed. la salle returned from his exploration, but his return brought no cheer. he had been forced to renounce the illusion to which he had clung so long, and was convinced at last that he was not at the mouth of the mississippi. the wreck of the "aimable" itself was not pregnant with consequences so disastrous. [sidenote: conduct of beaujeu.] note.--the conduct of beaujeu, hitherto judged chiefly by the printed narrative of joutel, is set in a new and more favorable light by his correspondence with la salle. whatever may have been their mutual irritation, it is clear that the naval commander was anxious to discharge his duty in a manner to satisfy seignelay, and that he may be wholly acquitted of any sinister design. when he left la salle on the twelfth of march, he meant to sail in search of the bay of mobile (baye du st. esprit),--partly because he hoped to find it a safe harbor, where he could get la salle's cannon out of the hold and find ballast to take their place; and partly to get a supply of wood and water, of which he was in extreme need. he told la salle that he would wait there till the middle of april, in order that he (la salle) might send the "belle" to receive the cannon; but on this point there was no definite agreement between them. beaujeu was ignorant of the position of the bay, which he thought much nearer than it actually was. after trying two days to reach it, the strong head-winds and the discontent of his crew induced him to bear away for cuba; and after an encounter with pirates and various adventures, he reached france about the first of july. he was coldly received by seignelay, who wrote to the intendant at rochelle: "his majesty has seen what you wrote about the idea of the sieur de beaujeu, that the sieur de la salle is not at the mouth of the mississippi. he seems to found this belief on such weak conjectures that no great attention need be given to his account, especially as _this man_ has been prejudiced from the first against la salle's enterprise." (_lettre de seignelay à arnoul, juillet, ._ margry, ii. .) the minister at the same time warns beaujeu to say nothing in disparagement of the enterprise, under pain of the king's displeasure. the narrative of the engineer, minet, sufficiently explains a curious map, made by him, as he says, not on the spot, but on the voyage homeward, and still preserved in the archives scientifiques de la marine. this map includes two distinct sketches of the mouth of the mississippi. the first, which corresponds to that made by franquelin in , is entitled "embouchure de la rivière comme m. de la salle la marque dans sa carte." the second bears the words, "costes et lacs par la hauteur de sa rivière, comme nous les avons trouvés." these "costes et lacs" are a rude representation of the lagoons of matagorda bay and its neighborhood, into which the mississippi is made to discharge, in accordance with the belief of la salle. a portion of the coast-line is drawn from actual, though superficial observation. the rest is merely conjectural. footnotes: [ ] _relation de minet; lettre de minet à seignelay, july, _ (margry, ii. , ). [ ] joutel, _journal historique_, ; _relation_ (margry, iii. - ) compare _journal d'esmanville_ (margry, ii. ). [ ] _relation de minet_ (margry, ii. ). [ ] _procès verbal du sieur de la salle sur le naufrage de la flûte l'aimable_; _lettre de la salle à seignelay, mars, _; _lettre de beaujeu à seignelay, sans date_. beaujeu did his best to save the cargo. the loss included nearly all the provisions, barrels of wine, cannon, , balls, grenades, , pounds of iron, , pounds of lead, most of the tools, a forge, a mill, cordage, boxes of arms, nearly all the medicines, and most of the baggage of the soldiers and colonists. aigron returned to france in the "joly," and was thrown into prison, "comme il paroist clairement que cet accident est arrivé par sa faute."--_seignelay au sieur arnoul, juillet, _ (margry, ii. ). [ ] a map, entitled _entrée du lac où on a laisse le sr. de la salle_, made by the engineer minet, and preserved in the archives de la marine, represents the entrance of matagorda bay, the camp of la salle on the left, indian camps on the borders of the bay, the "belle" at anchor within, the "aimable" stranded at the entrance, and the "joly" anchored in the open sea. [ ] _lettre de beaujeu à la salle, fév., _ (margry, ii. ). [ ] _lettre de la salle à beaujeu, fév., _ (margry, ii. ). [ ] the whole of this correspondence between beaujeu and la salle will be found in margry, ii. chapter xxvi. - . st. louis of texas. the fort.--misery and dejection.--energy of la salle: his journey of exploration.--adventures and accidents.--the buffalo.--duhaut.--indian massacre.--return of la salle.--a new calamity.--a desperate resolution.--departure for canada.--wreck of the "belle."--marriage.--sedition.--adventures of la salle's party.--the cenis.--the camanches.--the only hope.--the last farewell. of what avail to plant a colony by the mouth of a petty texan river? the mississippi was the life of the enterprise, the condition of its growth and of its existence. without it, all was futile and meaningless,--a folly and a ruin. cost what it might, the mississippi must be found. but the demands of the hour were imperative. the hapless colony, cast ashore like a wreck on the sands of matagorda bay, must gather up its shattered resources and recruit its exhausted strength, before it essayed anew its pilgrimage to the "fatal river." la salle during his explorations had found a spot which he thought well fitted for a temporary establishment. it was on the river which he named the la vache,[ ] now the lavaca, which enters the head of matagorda bay; and thither he ordered all the women and children, and most of the men, to remove; while the rest, thirty in number, remained with joutel at the fort near the mouth of the bay. here they spent their time in hunting, fishing, and squaring the logs of drift-wood which the sea washed up in abundance, and which la salle proposed to use in building his new station on the lavaca. thus the time passed till midsummer, when joutel received orders to abandon his post, and rejoin the main body of the colonists. to this end, the little frigate "belle" was sent down the bay. she was a gift from the king to la salle, who had brought her safely over the bar, and regarded her as a main-stay of his hopes. she now took on board the stores and some of the men, while joutel with the rest followed along shore to the post on the lavaca. here he found a state of things that was far from cheering. crops had been sown, but the drought and the cattle had nearly destroyed them. the colonists were lodged under tents and hovels; and the only solid structure was a small square enclosure of pickets, in which the gunpowder and the brandy were stored. the site was good, a rising ground by the river; but there was no wood within the distance of a league, and no horses or oxen to drag it. their work must be done by men. some felled and squared the timber; and others dragged it by main force over the matted grass of the prairie, under the scorching texan sun. the gun-carriages served to make the task somewhat easier; yet the strongest men soon gave out under it. joutel went down to the first fort, made a raft and brought up the timber collected there, which proved a most seasonable and useful supply. palisades and buildings began to rise. the men labored without spirit, yet strenuously; for they labored under the eye of la salle. the carpenters brought from rochelle proved worthless; and he himself made the plans of the work, marked out the tenons and mortises, and directed the whole.[ ] [sidenote: misery and dejection.] death, meanwhile, made withering havoc among his followers; and under the sheds and hovels that shielded them from the sun lay a score of wretches slowly wasting away with the diseases contracted at st. domingo. of the soldiers enlisted for the expedition by la salle's agents, many are affirmed to have spent their lives in begging at the church doors of rochefort, and were consequently incapable of discipline. it was impossible to prevent either them or the sailors from devouring persimmons and other wild fruits to a destructive excess. nearly all fell ill; and before the summer had passed, the graveyard had more than thirty tenants.[ ] the bearing of la salle did not aid to raise the drooping spirits of his followers. the results of the enterprise had been far different from his hopes; and, after a season of flattering promise, he had entered again on those dark and obstructed paths which seemed his destined way of life. the present was beset with trouble; the future, thick with storms. the consciousness quickened his energies; but it made him stern, harsh, and often unjust to those beneath him. joutel was returning to camp one afternoon with the master-carpenter, when they saw game; and the carpenter went after it. he was never seen again. perhaps he was lost on the prairie, perhaps killed by indians. he knew little of his trade, but they nevertheless had need of him. le gros, a man of character and intelligence, suffered more and more from the bite of the snake received in the marsh on easter day. the injured limb was amputated, and he died. la salle's brother, the priest, lay ill; and several others among the chief persons of the colony were in the same condition. meanwhile, the work was urged on. a large building was finished, constructed of timber, roofed with boards and raw hides, and divided into apartments for lodging and other uses. la salle gave the new establishment his favorite name of fort st. louis, and the neighboring bay was also christened after the royal saint.[ ] the scene was not without its charms. towards the southeast stretched the bay with its bordering meadows; and on the northeast the lavaca ran along the base of green declivities. around, far and near, rolled a sea of prairie, with distant forests, dim in the summer haze. at times, it was dotted with the browsing buffalo, not yet scared from their wonted pastures; and the grassy swells were spangled with the flowers for which texas is renowned, and which now form the gay ornaments of our gardens. [sidenote: la salle's explorations.] and now, the needful work accomplished, and the colony in some measure housed and fortified, its indefatigable chief prepared to renew his quest of the "fatal river," as joutel repeatedly calls it. before his departure he made some preliminary explorations, in the course of which, according to the report of his brother the priest, he found evidence that the spaniards had long before had a transient establishment at a spot about fifteen leagues from fort st. louis.[ ] [sidenote: life at the fort.] it was the last day of october when la salle set out on his great journey of exploration. his brother cavelier, who had now recovered, accompanied him with fifty men; and five cannon-shot from the fort saluted them as they departed. they were lightly equipped; but some of them wore corselets made of staves, to ward off arrows. descending the lavaca, they pursued their course eastward on foot along the margin of the bay, while joutel remained in command of the fort. it was two leagues above the mouth of the river; and in it were thirty-four persons, including three récollet friars, a number of women and girls from paris, and two young orphan daughters of one talon, a canadian, who had lately died. their live-stock consisted of some hogs and a litter of eight pigs, which, as joutel does not forget to inform us, passed their time in wallowing in the ditch of the palisade; a cock and hen, with a young family; and a pair of goats, which, in a temporary dearth of fresh meat, were sacrificed to the needs of the invalid abbé cavelier. joutel suffered no man to lie idle. the blacksmith, having no anvil, was supplied with a cannon as a substitute. lodgings were built for the women and girls, and separate lodgings for the men. a small chapel was afterwards added, and the whole was fenced with a palisade. at the four corners of the house were mounted eight pieces of cannon, which, in the absence of balls, were loaded with bags of bullets.[ ] between the palisades and the stream lay a narrow strip of marsh, the haunt of countless birds; and at a little distance it deepened into pools full of fish. all the surrounding prairies swarmed with game,--buffalo, deer, hares, turkeys, ducks, geese, swans, plover, snipe, and grouse. the river supplied the colonists with turtles, and the bay with oysters. of these last, they often found more than they wanted; for when in their excursions they shoved their log canoes into the water, wading shoeless through the deep, tenacious mud, the sharp shells would cut their feet like knives; "and what was worse," says joutel, "the salt water came into the gashes, and made them smart atrociously." he sometimes amused himself with shooting alligators. "i never spared them when i met them near the house. one day i killed an extremely large one, which was nearly four feet and a half in girth, and about twenty feet long." he describes with accuracy that curious native of the southwestern plains, the "horned frog," which, deceived by its uninviting appearance, he erroneously supposed to be venomous. "we had some of our animals bitten by snakes; among the others, a bitch that had belonged to the deceased sieur le gros. she was bitten in the jaw when she was with me, as i was fishing by the shore of the bay. i gave her a little theriac [an antidote then in vogue], which cured her, as it did one of our sows, which came home one day with her head so swelled that she could hardly hold it up. thinking it must be some snake that had bitten her, i gave her a dose of the theriac mixed with meal and water." the patient began to mend at once. "i killed a good many rattle-snakes by means of the aforesaid bitch, for when she saw one she would bark around him, sometimes for a half hour together, till i took my gun and shot him. i often found them in the bushes, making a noise with their tails. when i had killed them, our hogs ate them." he devotes many pages to the plants and animals of the neighborhood, most of which may easily be recognized from his description. [sidenote: the buffalo.] with the buffalo, which he calls "our daily bread," his experiences were many and strange. being, like the rest of the party, a novice in the art of shooting them, he met with many disappointments. once, having mounted to the roof of the large house in the fort, he saw a dark moving object on a swell of the prairie three miles off; and rightly thinking that it was a herd of buffalo, he set out with six or seven men to try to kill some of them. after a while, he discovered two bulls lying in a hollow; and signing to the rest of his party to keep quiet, he made his approach, gun in hand. the bulls presently jumped up, and stared through their manes at the intruder. joutel fired. it was a close shot; but the bulls merely shook their shaggy heads, wheeled about, and galloped heavily away. the same luck attended him the next day. "we saw plenty of buffalo. i approached several bands of them, and fired again and again, but could not make one of them fall." he had not yet learned that a buffalo rarely falls at once, unless hit in the spine. he continues: "i was not discouraged; and after approaching several more bands,--which was hard work, because i had to crawl on the ground, so as not to be seen,--i found myself in a herd of five or six thousand, but, to my great vexation, i could not bring one of them down. they all ran off to the right and left. it was near night, and i had killed nothing. though i was very tired, i tried again, approached another band, and fired a number of shots; but not a buffalo would fall. the skin was off my knees with crawling. at last, as i was going back to rejoin our men, i saw a buffalo lying on the ground. i went towards it, and saw that it was dead. i examined it, and found that the bullet had gone in near the shoulder. then i found others dead like the first. i beckoned the men to come on, and we set to work to cut up the meat,--a task which was new to us all." it would be impossible to write a more true and characteristic sketch of the experience of a novice in shooting buffalo on foot. a few days after, he went out again, with father anastase douay; approached a bull, fired, and broke his shoulder. the bull hobbled off on three legs. douay ran in his cassock to head him back, while joutel reloaded his gun; upon which the enraged beast butted at the missionary, and knocked him down. he very narrowly escaped with his life. "there was another missionary," pursues joutel, "named father maxime le clerc, who was very well fitted for such an undertaking as ours, because he was equal to anything, even to butchering a buffalo; and as i said before that every one of us must lend a hand, because we were too few for anybody to be waited upon, i made the women, girls, and children do their part, as well as him; for as they all wanted to eat, it was fair that they all should work." he had a scaffolding built near the fort, and set them to smoking buffalo meat, against a day of scarcity.[ ] [sidenote: return of duhaut.] thus the time passed till the middle of january; when late one evening, as all were gathered in the principal building, conversing perhaps, or smoking, or playing at cards, or dozing by the fire in homesick dreams of france, a man on guard came in to report that he had heard a voice from the river. they all went down to the bank, and descried a man in a canoe, who called out, "dominic!" this was the name of the younger of the two brothers duhaut, who was one of joutel's followers. as the canoe approached, they recognized the elder, who had gone with la salle on his journey of discovery, and who was perhaps the greatest villain of the company. joutel was much perplexed. la salle had ordered him to admit nobody into the fort without a pass and a watchword. duhaut, when questioned, said that he had none, but told at the same time so plausible a story that joutel no longer hesitated to receive him. as la salle and his men were pursuing their march along the prairie, duhaut, who was in the rear, had stopped to mend his moccasins, and when he tried to overtake the party, had lost his way, mistaking a buffalo-path for the trail of his companions. at night he fired his gun as a signal, but there was no answering shot. seeing no hope of rejoining them, he turned back for the fort, found one of the canoes which la salle had hidden at the shore, paddled by night and lay close by day, shot turkeys, deer, and buffalo for food, and, having no knife, cut the meat with a sharp flint, till after a month of excessive hardship he reached his destination. as the inmates of fort st. louis gathered about the weather-beaten wanderer, he told them dreary tidings. the pilot of the "belle," such was his story, had gone with five men to sound along the shore, by order of la salle, who was then encamped in the neighborhood with his party of explorers. the boat's crew, being overtaken by the night, had rashly bivouacked on the beach without setting a guard; and as they slept, a band of indians had rushed in upon them, and butchered them all. la salle, alarmed by their long absence, had searched along the shore, and at length found their bodies scattered about the sands and half-devoured by wolves.[ ] well would it have been, if duhaut had shared their fate. weeks and months dragged on, when, at the end of march, joutel, chancing to mount on the roof of one of the buildings, saw seven or eight men approaching over the prairie. he went out to meet them with an equal number, well armed; and as he drew near recognized, with mixed joy and anxiety, la salle and some of those who had gone with him. his brother cavelier was at his side, with his cassock so tattered that, says joutel, "there was hardly a piece left large enough to wrap a farthing's worth of salt. he had an old cap on his head, having lost his hat by the way. the rest were in no better plight, for their shirts were all in rags. some of them carried loads of meat, because m. de la salle was afraid that we might not have killed any buffalo. we met with great joy and many embraces. after our greetings were over, m. de la salle, seeing duhaut, asked me in an angry tone how it was that i had received this man who had abandoned him. i told him how it had happened, and repeated duhaut's story. duhaut defended himself, and m. de la salle's anger was soon over. we went into the house, and refreshed ourselves with some bread and brandy, as there was no wine left."[ ] [sidenote: la salle's adventures.] la salle and his companions told their story. they had wandered on through various savage tribes, with whom they had more than one encounter, scattering them like chaff by the terror of their fire-arms. at length they found a more friendly band, and learned much touching the spaniards, who, they were told, were universally hated by the tribes of that country. it would be easy, said their informants, to gather a host of warriors and lead them over the rio grande; but la salle was in no condition for attempting conquests, and the tribes in whose alliance he had trusted had, a few days before, been at blows with him. the invasion of new biscay must be postponed to a more propitious day. still advancing, he came to a large river, which he at first mistook for the mississippi; and building a fort of palisades, he left here several of his men.[ ] the fate of these unfortunates does not appear. he now retraced his steps towards fort st. louis, and, as he approached it, detached some of his men to look for his vessel, the "belle," for whose safety, since the loss of her pilot, he had become very anxious. on the next day these men appeared at the fort, with downcast looks. they had not found the "belle" at the place where she had been ordered to remain, nor were any tidings to be heard of her. from that hour, the conviction that she was lost possessed the mind of la salle. surrounded as he was, and had always been, with traitors, the belief now possessed him that her crew had abandoned the colony, and made sail for the west indies or for france. the loss was incalculable. he had relied on this vessel to transport the colonists to the mississippi, as soon as its exact position could be ascertained; and thinking her a safer place of deposit than the fort, he had put on board of her all his papers and personal baggage, besides a great quantity of stores, ammunition, and tools.[ ] in truth, she was of the last necessity to the unhappy exiles, and their only resource for escape from a position which was fast becoming desperate. la salle, as his brother tells us, now fell dangerously ill,--the fatigues of his journey, joined to the effects upon his mind of this last disaster, having overcome his strength, though not his fortitude. "in truth," writes the priest, "after the loss of the vessel which deprived us of our only means of returning to france, we had no resource but in the firm guidance of my brother, whose death each of us would have regarded as his own."[ ] [sidenote: departure for canada.] la salle no sooner recovered than he embraced a resolution which could be the offspring only of a desperate necessity. he determined to make his way by the mississippi and the illinois to canada, whence he might bring succor to the colonists, and send a report of their condition to france. the attempt was beset with uncertainties and dangers. the mississippi was first to be found, then followed through all the perilous monotony of its interminable windings to a goal which was to be but the starting-point of a new and not less arduous journey. cavelier his brother, moranget his nephew, the friar anastase douay, and others to the number of twenty, were chosen to accompany him. every corner of the magazine was ransacked for an outfit. joutel generously gave up the better part of his wardrobe to la salle and his two relatives. duhaut, who had saved his baggage from the wreck of the "aimable," was required to contribute to the necessities of the party; and the scantily-furnished chests of those who had died were used to supply the wants of the living. each man labored with needle and awl to patch his failing garments, or supply their place with buffalo or deer skins. on the twenty-second of april, after mass and prayers in the chapel, they issued from the gate, each bearing his pack and his weapons, some with kettles slung at their backs, some with axes, some with gifts for indians. in this guise, they held their way in silence across the prairie; while anxious eyes followed them from the palisades of st. louis, whose inmates, not excepting joutel himself, seem to have been ignorant of the extent and difficulty of the undertaking.[ ] [sidenote: wreck of the "belle."] "on may day," he writes, "at about two in the afternoon, as i was walking near the house, i heard a voice from the river below, crying out several times, _qui vive?_ knowing that the sieur barbier had gone that way with two canoes to hunt buffalo, i thought that it might be one of these canoes coming back with meat, and did not think much of the matter till i heard the same voice again. i answered, _versailles_, which was the password i had given the sieur barbier, in case he should come back in the night. but, as i was going towards the bank, i heard other voices which i had not heard for a long time. i recognized among the rest that of m. chefdeville, which made me fear that some disaster had happened. i ran down to the bank, and my first greeting was to ask what had become of the 'belle.' they answered that she was wrecked on the other side of the bay, and that all on board were drowned except the six who were in the canoe; namely, the sieur chefdeville, the marquis de la sablonnière, the man named teissier, a soldier, a girl, and a little boy."[ ] from the young priest chefdeville, joutel learned the particulars of the disaster. water had failed on board the "belle"; a boat's crew of five men had gone in quest of it; the wind rose, their boat was swamped, and they were all drowned. those who remained had now no means of going ashore; but if they had no water, they had wine and brandy in abundance, and teissier, the master of the vessel, was drunk every day. after a while they left their moorings, and tried to reach the fort; but they were few, weak, and unskilful. a violent north wind drove them on a sand-bar. some of them were drowned in trying to reach land on a raft. others were more successful; and, after a long delay, they found a stranded canoe, in which they made their way to st. louis, bringing with them some of la salle's papers and baggage saved from the wreck. these multiplied disasters bore hard on the spirits of the colonists; and joutel, like a good commander as he was, spared no pains to cheer them. "we did what we could to amuse ourselves and drive away care. i encouraged our people to dance and sing in the evenings; for when m. de la salle was among us, pleasure was often banished. now, there is no use in being melancholy on such occasions. it is true that m. de la salle had no great cause for merry-making, after all his losses and disappointments; but his troubles made others suffer also. though he had ordered me to allow to each person only a certain quantity of meat at every meal, i observed this rule only when meat was rare. the air here is very keen, and one has a great appetite. one must eat and act, if he wants good health and spirits. i speak from experience; for once, when i had ague chills, and was obliged to keep the house with nothing to do, i was dreary and down-hearted. on the contrary, if i was busy with hunting or anything else, i was not so dull by half. so i tried to keep the people as busy as possible. i set them to making a small cellar to keep meat fresh in hot weather; but when m. de la salle came back, he said it was too small. as he always wanted to do everything on a grand scale, he prepared to make a large one, and marked out the plan." this plan of the large cellar, like more important undertakings of its unhappy projector, proved too extensive for execution, the colonists being engrossed by the daily care of keeping themselves alive. [sidenote: matrimony.] a gleam of hilarity shot for an instant out of the clouds. the young canadian, barbier, usually conducted the hunting-parties; and some of the women and girls often went out with them, to aid in cutting up the meat. barbier became enamoured of one of the girls; and as his devotion to her was the subject of comment, he asked joutel for leave to marry her. the commandant, after due counsel with the priests and friars, vouchsafed his consent, and the rite was duly solemnized; whereupon, fired by the example, the marquis de la sablonnière begged leave to marry another of the girls. joutel, the gardener's son, concerned that a marquis should so abase himself, and anxious at the same time for the morals of the fort, which la salle had especially commended to his care, not only flatly refused, but, in the plenitude of his authority, forbade the lovers all further intercourse. father zenobe membré, superior of the mission, gave unwilling occasion for further merriment. these worthy friars were singularly unhappy in their dealings with the buffalo, one of which, it may be remembered, had already knocked down father anastase. undeterred by his example, father zenobe one day went out with the hunters, carrying a gun like the rest. joutel shot a buffalo, which was making off, badly wounded, when a second shot stopped it, and it presently lay down. the father superior thought it was dead; and, without heeding the warning shout of joutel, he approached, and pushed it with the butt of his gun. the bull sprang up with an effort of expiring fury, and, in the words of joutel, "trampled on the father, took the skin off his face in several places, and broke his gun, so that he could hardly manage to get away, and remained in an almost helpless state for more than three months. bad as the accident was, he was laughed at nevertheless for his rashness." the mishaps of the friars did not end here. father maxime le clerc was set upon by a boar belonging to the colony. "i do not know," says joutel, "what spite the beast had against him, whether for a beating or some other offence; but, however this may be, i saw the father running and crying for help, and the boar running after him. i went to the rescue, but could not come up in time. the father stooped as he ran, to gather up his cassock from about his legs; and the boar, which ran faster than he, struck him in the arm with his tusks, so that some of the nerves were torn. thus, all three of our good récollet fathers were near being the victims of animals."[ ] in spite of his efforts to encourage them, the followers of joutel were fast losing heart. father maxime le clerc kept a journal, in which he set down various charges against la salle. joutel got possession of the paper, and burned it on the urgent entreaty of the friars, who dreaded what might ensue, should the absent commander become aware of the aspersions cast upon him. the elder duhaut fomented the rising discontent of the colonists, played the demagogue, told them that la salle would never return, and tried to make himself their leader. joutel detected the mischief, and, with a lenity which he afterwards deeply regretted, contented himself with a rebuke to the offender, and words of reproof and encouragement to the dejected band. [sidenote: adventures of the travellers.] he had caused the grass to be cut near the fort, so as to form a sort of playground; and here, one evening, he and some of the party were trying to amuse themselves, when they heard shouts from beyond the river, and joutel recognized the voice of la salle. hastening to meet him in a wooden canoe, he brought him and his party to the fort. twenty men had gone out with him, and eight had returned. of the rest, four had deserted, one had been lost, one had been devoured by an alligator; and the others, giving out on the march, had probably perished in attempting to regain the fort. the travellers told of a rich country, a wild and beautiful landscape,--woods, rivers, groves, and prairies; but all availed nothing, and the acquisition of five horses was but an indifferent return for the loss of twelve men. after leaving the fort, they had journeyed towards the northeast, over plains green as an emerald with the young verdure of april, till at length they saw, far as the eye could reach, the boundless prairie alive with herds of buffalo. the animals were in one of their tame or stupid moods; and they killed nine or ten of them without the least difficulty, drying the best parts of the meat. they crossed the colorado on a raft, and reached the banks of another river, where one of the party, named hiens, a german of würtemberg, and an old buccaneer, was mired and nearly suffocated in a mud-hole. unfortunately, as will soon appear, he managed to crawl out; and, to console him, the river was christened with his name. the party made a bridge of felled trees, on which they crossed in safety. la salle now changed their course, and journeyed eastward, when the travellers soon found themselves in the midst of a numerous indian population, where they were feasted and caressed without measure. at another village they were less fortunate. the inhabitants were friendly by day and hostile by night. they came to attack the french in their camp, but withdrew, daunted by the menacing voice of la salle, who had heard them approaching through the cane-brake. la salle's favorite shawanoe hunter, nika, who had followed him from canada to france, and from france to texas, was bitten by a rattlesnake; and, though he recovered, the accident detained the party for several days. at length they resumed their journey, but were stopped by a river, called by douay, "la rivière des malheurs." la salle and cavelier, with a few others, tried to cross on a raft, which, as it reached the channel, was caught by a current of marvellous swiftness. douay and moranget, watching the transit from the edge of the cane-brake, beheld their commander swept down the stream, and vanishing, as it were, in an instant. all that day they remained with their companions on the bank, lamenting in despair for the loss of their guardian angel, for so douay calls la salle.[ ] it was fast growing dark, when, to their unspeakable relief, they saw him advancing with his party along the opposite bank, having succeeded, after great exertion, in guiding the raft to land. how to rejoin him was now the question. douay and his companions, who had tasted no food that day, broke their fast on two young eagles which they knocked out of their nest, and then spent the night in rueful consultation as to the means of crossing the river. in the morning they waded into the marsh, the friar with his breviary in his hood to keep it dry, and hacked among the canes till they had gathered enough to make another raft; on which, profiting by la salle's experience, they safely crossed, and rejoined him. next, they became entangled in a cane-brake, where la salle, as usual with him in such cases, took the lead, a hatchet in each hand, and hewed out a path for his followers. they soon reached the villages of the cenis indians, on and near the river trinity,--a tribe then powerful, but long since extinct. nothing could surpass the friendliness of their welcome. the chiefs came to meet them, bearing the calumet, and followed by warriors in shirts of embroidered deer-skin. then the whole village swarmed out like bees, gathering around the visitors with offerings of food and all that was precious in their eyes. la salle was lodged with the great chief; but he compelled his men to encamp at a distance, lest the ardor of their gallantry might give occasion of offence. the lodges of the cenis, forty or fifty feet high, and covered with a thatch of meadow-grass, looked like huge bee-hives. each held several families, whose fire was in the middle, and their beds around the circumference. the spoil of the spaniards was to be seen on all sides,--silver lamps and spoons, swords, old muskets, money, clothing, and a bull of the pope dispensing the spanish colonists of new mexico from fasting during summer.[ ] these treasures, as well as their numerous horses, were obtained by the cenis from their neighbors and allies the camanches, that fierce prairie banditti who then, as now, scourged the mexican border with their bloody forays. a party of these wild horsemen was in the village. douay was edified at seeing them make the sign of the cross in imitation of the neophytes of one of the spanish missions. they enacted, too, the ceremony of the mass; and one of them, in his rude way, drew a sketch of a picture he had seen in some church which he had pillaged, wherein the friar plainly recognized the virgin weeping at the foot of the cross. they invited the french to join them on a raid into new mexico; and they spoke with contempt, as their tribesmen will speak to this day, of the spanish creoles, saying that it would be easy to conquer a nation of cowards who make people walk before them with fans to cool them in hot weather.[ ] soon after leaving the cenis villages, both la salle and his nephew moranget were attacked by fever. this caused a delay of more than two months, during which the party seem to have remained encamped on the neches, or possibly the sabine. when at length the invalids had recovered sufficient strength to travel, the stock of ammunition was nearly spent, some of the men had deserted, and the condition of the travellers was such that there seemed no alternative but to return to fort st. louis. this they accordingly did, greatly aided in their march by the horses bought from the cenis, and suffering no very serious accident by the way,--excepting the loss of la salle's servant, dumesnil, who was seized by an alligator while attempting to cross the colorado. [sidenote: dejection.] the temporary excitement caused among the colonists by their return soon gave place to a dejection bordering on despair. "this pleasant land," writes cavelier, "seemed to us an abode of weariness and a perpetual prison." flattering themselves with the delusion, common to exiles of every kind, that they were objects of solicitude at home, they watched daily, with straining eyes, for an approaching sail. ships, indeed, had ranged the coast to seek them, but with no friendly intent. their thoughts dwelt, with unspeakable yearning, on the france they had left behind, which, to their longing fancy, was pictured as an unattainable eden. well might they despond; for of a hundred and eighty colonists, besides the crew of the "belle," less than forty-five remained. the weary precincts of fort st. louis, with its fence of rigid palisades, its area of trampled earth, its buildings of weather-stained timber, and its well-peopled graveyard without, were hateful to their sight. la salle had a heavy task to save them from despair. his composure, his unfailing equanimity, his words of encouragement and cheer, were the breath of life to this forlorn company; for though he could not impart to minds of less adamantine temper the audacity of hope with which he still clung to the final accomplishment of his purposes, the contagion of his hardihood touched, nevertheless, the drooping spirits of his followers.[ ] [sidenote: twelfth night.] the journey to canada was clearly their only hope; and, after a brief rest, la salle prepared to renew the attempt. he proposed that joutel should this time be of the party; and should proceed from quebec to france, with his brother cavelier, to solicit succors for the colony, while he himself returned to texas. a new obstacle was presently interposed. la salle, whose constitution seems to have suffered from his long course of hardships, was attacked in november with hernia. joutel offered to conduct the party in his stead; but la salle replied that his own presence was indispensable at the illinois. he had the good fortune to recover, within four or five weeks, sufficiently to undertake the journey; and all in the fort busied themselves in preparing an outfit. in such straits were they for clothing, that the sails of the "belle" were cut up to make coats for the adventurers. christmas came, and was solemnly observed. there was a midnight mass in the chapel, where membré, cavelier, douay, and their priestly brethren stood before the altar, in vestments strangely contrasting with the rude temple and the ruder garb of the worshippers. and as membré elevated the consecrated wafer, and the lamps burned dim through the clouds of incense, the kneeling group drew from the daily miracle such consolation as true catholics alone can know. when twelfth night came, all gathered in the hall, and cried, after the jovial old custom, "the king drinks," with hearts, perhaps, as cheerless as their cups, which were filled with cold water. [sidenote: the last farewell.] on the morrow, the band of adventurers mustered for the fatal journey.[ ] the five horses, bought by la salle of the indians, stood in the area of the fort, packed for the march; and here was gathered the wretched remnant of the colony,--those who were to go, and those who were to stay behind. these latter were about twenty in all,--barbier, who was to command in the place of joutel; sablonnière, who, despite his title of marquis, was held in great contempt;[ ] the friars, membré and le clerc,[ ] and the priest chefdeville, besides a surgeon, soldiers, laborers, seven women and girls, and several children, doomed, in this deadly exile, to wait the issues of the journey, and the possible arrival of a tardy succor. la salle had made them a last address, delivered, we are told, with that winning air which, though alien from his usual bearing, seems to have been at times a natural expression of this unhappy man.[ ] it was a bitter parting, one of sighs, tears, and embracings,--the farewell of those on whose souls had sunk a heavy boding that they would never meet again.[ ] equipped and weaponed for the journey, the adventurers filed from the gate, crossed the river, and held their slow march over the prairies beyond, till intervening woods and hills shut fort st. louis forever from their sight. footnotes: [ ] called by joutel, rivière aux boeufs. [ ] joutel, _journal historique_, ; _relation_ (margry, iii. ); _procès verbal fait au poste de st. louis, le avril, _. [ ] joutel, _journal historique_, . le clerc, who was not present, says a hundred. [ ] the bay of st. louis, st. bernard's bay, or matagorda bay,--for it has borne all these names,--was also called espiritu santo bay by the spaniards, in common with several other bays in the gulf of mexico. an adjoining bay still retains the name. [ ] cavelier, in his report to the minister, says: "we reached a large village, enclosed with a kind of wall made of clay and sand, and fortified with little towers at intervals, where we found the arms of spain engraved on a plate of copper, with the date of , attached to a stake. the inhabitants gave us a kind welcome, and showed us some hammers and an anvil, two small pieces of iron cannon, a small brass culverin, some pike-heads, some old sword-blades, and some books of spanish comedy; and thence they guided us to a little hamlet of fishermen, about two leagues distant, where they showed us a second stake, also with the arms of spain, and a few old chimneys. all this convinced us that the spaniards had formerly been here." (cavelier, _relation du voyage que mon frère entreprit pour découvrir l'embouchure du fleuve de missisipy_.) the above is translated from the original draft of cavelier, which is in my possession. it was addressed to the colonial minister, after the death of la salle. the statement concerning the spaniards needs confirmation. [ ] compare joutel with the spanish account in _carta en que se da noticia de un viaje hecho á la bahia de espíritu santo y de la poblacion que tenian ahi los franceses; coleccion de varios documentos_, . [ ] for the above incidents of life at fort st. louis, see joutel, _relation_ (margry, iii. - , _passim_). the printed condensation of the narrative omits most of these particulars. [ ] joutel, _relation_ (margry, iii. ). compare le clerc, ii. . cavelier, always disposed to exaggerate, says that ten men were killed. la salle had previously had encounters with the indians, and punished them severely for the trouble they had given his men. le clerc says of the principal fight: "several indians were wounded, a few were killed, and others made prisoners,--one of whom, a girl of three or four years, was baptized, and died a few days after, as the first-fruit of this mission, and a sure conquest sent to heaven." [ ] joutel, _relation_ (margry, iii. ). [ ] cavelier says that he actually reached the mississippi; but, on the one hand, the abbé did not know whether the river in question was the mississippi or not; and, on the other, he is somewhat inclined to mendacity. le clerc says that la salle thought he had found the river. according to the _procès verbal_ of april, , "il y arriva le février." joutel says that la salle told him "qu'il n'avoit point trouvé sa rivière." [ ] _procès verbal fait au poste de st. louis, le avril, ._ [ ] cavelier, _relation du voyage pour découvrir l'embouchure du fleuve de missisipy_. [ ] joutel, _journal historique_, ; anastase douay in le clerc, ii. ; cavelier, _relation_. the date is from douay. it does not appear, from his narrative, that they meant to go farther than the illinois. cavelier says that after resting here they were to go to canada. joutel supposed that they would go only to the illinois. la salle seems to have been even more reticent than usual. [ ] joutel, _relation_ (margry, iii. ). [ ] joutel, _relation_ (margry, iii. , ). [ ] "ce fût une desolation extrême pour nous tous qui desesperions de revoir jamais nostre ange tutélaire, le sieur de la salle.... tout le jour se passa en pleurs et en larmes."--_douay in le clerc_, ii. . [ ] douay in le clerc, ii. ; cavelier, _relation_. [ ] douay in le clerc, ii. , . [ ] "l'égalité d'humeur du chef rassuroit tout le monde; et il trouvoit des resources à tout par son esprit qui relevoit les espérances les plus abatues."--joutel, _journal historique_, . "il seroit difficile de trouver dans l'histoire un courage plus intrepide et plus invincible que celuy du sieur de la salle dans les évenemens contraires; il ne fût jamais abatu, et il espéroit toujours avec le secours du ciel de venir à bout de son entreprise malgré tous les obstacles qui se présentoient."--_douay in le clerc_, ii. . [ ] i follow douay's date, who makes the day of departure the seventh of january, or the day after twelfth night. joutel thinks it was the twelfth of january, but professes uncertainty as to all his dates at this time, as he lost his notes. [ ] he had to be kept on short allowance, because he was in the habit of bargaining away everything given to him. he had squandered the little that belonged to him at st. domingo, in amusements "indignes de sa naissance," and in consequence was suffering from diseases which disabled him from walking. (_procès verbal, avril, ._) [ ] maxime le clerc was a relative of the author of _l'Établissement de la foi_. [ ] "il fit une harangue pleine d'éloquence et de cet air engageant qui luy estoit si naturel: toute la petite colonie y estoit presente et en fût touchée jusques aux larmes, persuadée de la nécessité de son voyage et de la droiture de ses intentions."--_douay in le clerc_, ii, . [ ] "nous nous separâmes les uns des autres, d'une manière si tendre et si triste qu'il sembloit que nous avions tous le secret pressentiment que nous ne nous reverrions jamais."--joutel, _journal historique_, . chapter xxvii. . assassination of la salle. his followers.--prairie travelling--a hunters' quarrel--the murder of moranget.--the conspiracy.--death of la salle: his character. [sidenote: la salle's followers.] the travellers were crossing a marshy prairie towards a distant belt of woods that followed the course of a little river. they led with them their five horses, laden with their scanty baggage, and, with what was of no less importance, their stock of presents for indians. some wore the remains of the clothing they had worn from france, eked out with deer-skins, dressed in the indian manner; and some had coats of old sail-cloth. here was la salle, in whom one would have known, at a glance, the chief of the party; and the priest, cavelier, who seems to have shared not one of the high traits of his younger brother. here, too, were their nephews, moranget and the boy cavelier, now about seventeen years old; the trusty soldier joutel; and the friar anastase douay. duhaut followed, a man of respectable birth and education; and liotot, the surgeon of the party. at home, they might perhaps have lived and died with a fair repute; but the wilderness is a rude touchstone, which often reveals traits that would have lain buried and unsuspected in civilized life. the german hiens, the ex-buccaneer, was also of the number. he had probably sailed with an english crew; for he was sometimes known as _gemme anglais_, or "english jem."[ ] the sieur de marie; teissier, a pilot; l'archevêque, a servant of duhaut; and others, to the number in all of seventeen,--made up the party; to which is to be added nika, la salle's shawanoe hunter, who, as well as another indian, had twice crossed the ocean with him, and still followed his fortunes with an admiring though undemonstrative fidelity. they passed the prairie, and neared the forest. here they saw buffalo; and the hunters approached, and killed several of them. then they traversed the woods; found and forded the shallow and rushy stream, and pushed through the forest beyond, till they again reached the open prairie. heavy clouds gathered over them, and it rained all night; but they sheltered themselves under the fresh hides of the buffalo they had killed. [sidenote: prairie travelling.] it is impossible, as it would be needless, to follow the detail of their daily march.[ ] it was such an one, though with unwonted hardship, as is familiar to the memory of many a prairie traveller of our own time. they suffered greatly from the want of shoes, and found for a while no better substitute than a casing of raw buffalo-hide, which they were forced to keep always wet, as, when dry, it hardened about the foot like iron. at length they bought dressed deer-skin from the indians, of which they made tolerable moccasins. the rivers, streams, and gullies filled with water were without number; and to cross them they made a boat of bull-hide, like the "bull boat" still used on the upper missouri. this did good service, as, with the help of their horses, they could carry it with them. two or three men could cross in it at once, and the horses swam after them like dogs. sometimes they traversed the sunny prairie; sometimes dived into the dark recesses of the forest, where the buffalo, descending daily from their pastures in long files to drink at the river, often made a broad and easy path for the travellers. when foul weather arrested them, they built huts of bark and long meadow-grass; and safely sheltered lounged away the day, while their horses, picketed near by, stood steaming in the rain. at night, they usually set a rude stockade about their camp; and here, by the grassy border of a brook, or at the edge of a grove where a spring bubbled up through the sands, they lay asleep around the embers of their fire, while the man on guard listened to the deep breathing of the slumbering horses, and the howling of the wolves that saluted the rising moon as it flooded the waste of prairie with pale mystic radiance. they met indians almost daily,--sometimes a band of hunters, mounted or on foot, chasing buffalo on the plains; sometimes a party of fishermen; sometimes a winter camp, on the slope of a hill or under the sheltering border of a forest. they held intercourse with them in the distance by signs; often they disarmed their distrust, and attracted them into their camp; and often they visited them in their lodges, where, seated on buffalo-robes, they smoked with their entertainers, passing the pipe from hand to hand, after the custom still in use among the prairie tribes. cavelier says that they once saw a band of a hundred and fifty mounted indians attacking a herd of buffalo with lances pointed with sharpened bone. the old priest was delighted with the sport, which he pronounces "the most diverting thing in the world." on another occasion, when the party were encamped near the village of a tribe which cavelier calls sassory, he saw them catch an alligator about twelve feet long, which they proceeded to torture as if he were a human enemy,--first putting out his eyes, and then leading him to the neighboring prairie, where, having confined him by a number of stakes, they spent the entire day in tormenting him.[ ] holding a northerly course, the travellers crossed the brazos, and reached the waters of the trinity. the weather was unfavorable, and on one occasion they encamped in the rain during four or five days together. it was not an harmonious company. la salle's cold and haughty reserve had returned, at least for those of his followers to whom he was not partial. duhaut and the surgeon liotot, both of whom were men of some property, had a large pecuniary stake in the enterprise, and were disappointed and incensed at its ruinous result. they had a quarrel with young moranget, whose hot and hasty temper was as little fitted to conciliate as was the harsh reserve of his uncle. already at fort st. louis, duhaut had intrigued among the men; and the mild admonition of joutel had not, it seems, sufficed to divert him from his sinister purposes. liotot, it is said, had secretly sworn vengeance against la salle, whom he charged with having caused the death of his brother, or, as some will have it, his nephew. on one of the former journeys this young man's strength had failed; and, la salle having ordered him to return to the fort, he had been killed by indians on the way. [sidenote: murder of moranget.] the party moved again as the weather improved, and on the fifteenth of march encamped within a few miles of a spot which la salle had passed on his preceding journey, and where he had left a quantity of indian corn and beans in _cache_; that is to say, hidden in the ground or in a hollow tree. as provisions were falling short, he sent a party from the camp to find it. these men were duhaut, liotot,[ ] hiens the buccaneer, teissier, l'archevêque, nika the hunter, and la salle's servant saget. they opened the _cache_, and found the contents spoiled; but as they returned from their bootless errand they saw buffalo, and nika shot two of them. they now encamped on the spot, and sent the servant to inform la salle, in order that he might send horses to bring in the meat. accordingly, on the next day, he directed moranget and de marle, with the necessary horses, to go with saget to the hunters' camp. when they arrived, they found that duhaut and his companions had already cut up the meat, and laid it upon scaffolds for smoking, though it was not yet so dry as, it seems, this process required. duhaut and the others had also put by, for themselves, the marrow-bones and certain portions of the meat, to which, by woodland custom, they had a perfect right. moranget, whose rashness and violence had once before caused a fatal catastrophe, fell into a most unreasonable fit of rage, berated and menaced duhaut and his party, and ended by seizing upon the whole of the meat, including the reserved portions. this added fuel to the fire of duhaut's old grudge against moranget and his uncle. there is reason to think that he had harbored deadly designs, the execution of which was only hastened by the present outbreak. the surgeon also bore hatred against moranget, whom he had nursed with constant attention when wounded by an indian arrow, and who had since repaid him with abuse. these two now took counsel apart with hiens, teissier, and l'archevêque; and it was resolved to kill moranget that night. nika, la salle's devoted follower, and saget, his faithful servant, must die with him. all of the five were of one mind except the pilot teissier, who neither aided nor opposed the plot. night came: the woods grew dark; the evening meal was finished, and the evening pipes were smoked. the order of the guard was arranged; and, doubtless by design, the first hour of the night was assigned to moranget, the second to saget, and the third to nika. gun in hand, each stood watch in turn over the silent but not sleeping forms around him, till, his time expiring, he called the man who was to relieve him, wrapped himself in his blanket, and was soon buried in a slumber that was to be his last. now the assassins rose. duhaut and hiens stood with their guns cocked, ready to shoot down any one of the destined victims who should resist or fly. the surgeon, with an axe, stole towards the three sleepers, and struck a rapid blow at each in turn. saget and nika died with little movement; but moranget started spasmodically into a sitting posture, gasping and unable to speak; and the murderers compelled de marle, who was not in their plot, to compromise himself by despatching him. the floodgates of murder were open, and the torrent must have its way. vengeance and safety alike demanded the death of la salle. hiens, or "english jem," alone seems to have hesitated; for he was one of those to whom that stern commander had always been partial. meanwhile, the intended victim was still at his camp, about six miles distant. it is easy to picture, with sufficient accuracy, the features of the scene,--the sheds of bark and branches, beneath which, among blankets and buffalo-robes, camp-utensils, pack-saddles, rude harness, guns, powder-horns, and bullet-pouches, the men lounged away the hour, sleeping or smoking, or talking among themselves; the blackened kettles that hung from tripods of poles over the fires; the indians strolling about the place or lying, like dogs in the sun, with eyes half-shut, yet all observant; and, in the neighboring meadow, the horses grazing under the eye of a watchman. [sidenote: suspense.] it was the eighteenth of march. moranget and his companions had been expected to return the night before; but the whole day passed, and they did not appear. la salle became very anxious. he resolved to go and look for them; but not well knowing the way, he told the indians who were about the camp that he would give them a hatchet if they would guide him. one of them accepted the offer; and la salle prepared to set out in the morning, at the same time directing joutel to be ready to go with him. joutel says: "that evening, while we were talking about what could have happened to the absent men, he seemed to have a presentiment of what was to take place. he asked me if i had heard of any machinations against them, or if i had noticed any bad design on the part of duhaut and the rest. i answered that i had heard nothing, except that they sometimes complained of being found fault with so often; and that this was all i knew; besides which, as they were persuaded that i was in his interest, they would not have told me of any bad design they might have. we were very uneasy all the rest of the evening." [sidenote: the fatal shot.] in the morning, la salle set out with his indian guide. he had changed his mind with regard to joutel, whom he now directed to remain in charge of the camp and to keep a careful watch. he told the friar anastase douay to come with him instead of joutel, whose gun, which was the best in the party, he borrowed for the occasion, as well as his pistol. the three proceeded on their way,--la salle, the friar, and the indian. "all the way," writes the friar, "he spoke to me of nothing but matters of piety, grace, and predestination; enlarging on the debt he owed to god, who had saved him from so many perils during more than twenty years of travel in america. suddenly, i saw him overwhelmed with a profound sadness, for which he himself could not account. he was so much moved that i scarcely knew him." he soon recovered his usual calmness; and they walked on till they approached the camp of duhaut, which was on the farther side of a small river. looking about him with the eye of a woodsman, la salle saw two eagles circling in the air nearly over him, as if attracted by carcasses of beasts or men. he fired his gun and his pistol, as a summons to any of his followers who might be within hearing. the shots reached the ears of the conspirators. rightly conjecturing by whom they were fired, several of them, led by duhaut, crossed the river at a little distance above, where trees or other intervening objects hid them from sight. duhaut and the surgeon crouched like indians in the long, dry, reed-like grass of the last summer's growth, while l'archevêque stood in sight near the bank. la salle, continuing to advance, soon saw him, and, calling to him, demanded where was moranget. the man, without lifting his hat, or any show of respect, replied in an agitated and broken voice, but with a tone of studied insolence, that moranget was strolling about somewhere. la salle rebuked and menaced him. he rejoined with increased insolence, drawing back, as he spoke, towards the ambuscade, while the incensed commander advanced to chastise him. at that moment a shot was fired from the grass, instantly followed by another; and, pierced through the brain, la salle dropped dead. the friar at his side stood terror-stricken, unable to advance or to fly; when duhaut, rising from the ambuscade, called out to him to take courage, for he had nothing to fear. the murderers now came forward, and with wild looks gathered about their victim. "there thou liest, great bashaw! there thou liest!"[ ] exclaimed the surgeon liotot, in base exultation over the unconscious corpse. with mockery and insult, they stripped it naked, dragged it into the bushes, and left it there, a prey to the buzzards and the wolves. thus in the vigor of his manhood, at the age of forty-three, died robert cavelier de la salle, "one of the greatest men," writes tonty, "of this age;" without question one of the most remarkable explorers whose names live in history. his faithful officer joutel thus sketches his portrait: "his firmness, his courage, his great knowledge of the arts and sciences, which made him equal to every undertaking, and his untiring energy, which enabled him to surmount every obstacle, would have won at last a glorious success for his grand enterprise, had not all his fine qualities been counterbalanced by a haughtiness of manner which often made him insupportable, and by a harshness towards those under his command which drew upon him an implacable hatred, and was at last the cause of his death."[ ] [sidenote: his character.] the enthusiasm of the disinterested and chivalrous champlain was not the enthusiasm of la salle; nor had he any part in the self-devoted zeal of the early jesuit explorers. he belonged not to the age of the knight-errant and the saint, but to the modern world of practical study and practical action. he was the hero not of a principle nor of a faith, but simply of a fixed idea and a determined purpose. as often happens with concentred and energetic natures, his purpose was to him a passion and an inspiration; and he clung to it with a certain fanaticism of devotion. it was the offspring of an ambition vast and comprehensive, yet acting in the interest both of france and of civilization. serious in all things, incapable of the lighter pleasures, incapable of repose, finding no joy but in the pursuit of great designs, too shy for society and too reserved for popularity, often unsympathetic and always seeming so, smothering emotions which he could not utter, schooled to universal distrust, stern to his followers and pitiless to himself, bearing the brunt of every hardship and every danger, demanding of others an equal constancy joined to an implicit deference, heeding no counsel but his own, attempting the impossible and grasping at what was too vast to hold,--he contained in his own complex and painful nature the chief springs of his triumphs, his failures, and his death. it is easy to reckon up his defects, but it is not easy to hide from sight the roman virtues that redeemed them. beset by a throng of enemies, he stands, like the king of israel, head and shoulders above them all. he was a tower of adamant, against whose impregnable front hardship and danger, the rage of man and of the elements, the southern sun, the northern blast, fatigue, famine, disease, delay, disappointment, and deferred hope emptied their quivers in vain. that very pride which, coriolanus-like, declared itself most sternly in the thickest press of foes, has in it something to challenge admiration. never, under the impenetrable mail of paladin or crusader, beat a heart of more intrepid mettle than within the stoic panoply that armed the breast of la salle. to estimate aright the marvels of his patient fortitude, one must follow on his track through the vast scene of his interminable journeyings,--those thousands of weary miles of forest, marsh, and river, where, again and again, in the bitterness of baffled striving, the untiring pilgrim pushed onward towards the goal which he was never to attain. america owes him an enduring memory; for in this masculine figure she sees the pioneer who guided her to the possession of her richest heritage.[ ] [sidenote: documentary evidence.] footnotes: [ ] tonty also speaks of him as "un flibustier anglois." in another document, he is called "james." [ ] of the three narratives of this journey, those of joutel, cavelier, and anastase douay, the first is by far the best. that of cavelier seems the work of a man of confused brain and indifferent memory. some of his statements are irreconcilable with those of joutel and douay; and known facts of his history justify the suspicion of a wilful inaccuracy. joutel's account is of a very different character, and seems to be the work of an honest and intelligent man. douay's account if brief; but it agrees with that of joutel, in most essential points. [ ] cavelier, _relation_. [ ] called lanquetot by tonty. [ ] "te voilà, grand bacha, te voilà!"--joutel, _journal historique_, . [ ] _ibid._ [ ] on the assassination of la salle, the evidence is fourfold: . the narrative of douay, who was with him at the time. . that of joutel, who learned the facts, immediately after they took place, from douay and others, and who parted from la salle an hour or more before his death. . a document preserved in the archives de la marine, entitled _relation de la mort du sr. de la salle, suivant le rapport d'un nommé couture à qui m. cavelier l'apprit en passant au pays des akansa, avec toutes les circonstances que le dit couture a apprises d'un françois que m. cavelier avoit laissé aux dits pays des akansa, crainte qu'il ne gardât pas le secret_. . the authentic memoir of tonty, of which a copy from the original is before me, and which has recently been printed by margry. the narrative of cavelier unfortunately fails us several weeks before the death of his brother, the remainder being lost. on a study of these various documents, it is impossible to resist the conclusion that neither cavelier nor douay always wrote honestly. joutel, on the contrary, gives the impression of sense, intelligence, and candor throughout. charlevoix, who knew him long after, says that he was "un fort honnête homme, et le seul de la troupe de m. de la salle, sur qui ce célèbre voyageur pût compter." tonty derived his information from the survivors of la salle's party. couture, whose statements are embodied in the _relation de la mort de m. de la salle_, was one of tonty's men, who, as will be seen hereafter, were left by him at the mouth of the arkansas, and to whom cavelier told the story of his brother's death. couture also repeats the statements of one of la salle's followers, undoubtedly a parisian boy, named barthelemy, who was violently prejudiced against his chief, whom he slanders to the utmost of his skill, saying that he was so enraged at his failures that he did not approach the sacraments for two years; that he nearly starved his brother cavelier, allowing him only a handful of meal a day; that he killed with his own hand "quantité de personnes," who did not work to his liking; and that he killed the sick in their beds, without mercy, under the pretence that they were counterfeiting sickness in order to escape work. these assertions certainly have no other foundation than the undeniable rigor of la salle's command. douay says that he confessed and made his devotions on the morning of his death, while cavelier always speaks of him as the hope and the staff of the colony. douay declares that la salle lived an hour after the fatal shot; that he gave him absolution, buried his body, and planted a cross on his grave. at the time, he told joutel a different story; and the latter, with the best means of learning the facts, explicitly denies the friar's printed statement. couture, on the authority of cavelier himself, also says that neither he nor douay was permitted to take any step for burying the body. tonty says that cavelier begged leave to do so, but was refused. douay, unwilling to place upon record facts from which the inference might easily be drawn that he had been terrified from discharging his duty, no doubt invented the story of the burial, as well as that of the edifying behavior of moranget, after he had been struck in the head with an axe. the locality of la salle's assassination is sufficiently clear, from a comparison of the several narratives; and it is also indicated on a contemporary manuscript map, made on the return of the survivors of the party to france. the scene of the catastrophe is here placed on a southern branch of the trinity. la salle's debts, at the time of his death, according to a schedule presented in to champigny, intendant of canada, amounted to , livres, without reckoning interest. this cannot be meant to include all, as items are given which raise the amount much higher. in and alone, he contracted debts to the amount of , livres, of which , were furnished by branssac, fiscal attorney of the seminary of montreal. this was to be paid in beaver-skins. frontenac, at the same time, became his surety for , livres. in , he borrowed , livres from the sieur pen, at paris. these sums do not include the losses incurred by his family, which, in the memorial presented by them to the king, are set down at , livres for the expeditions between and , and , livres for the fatal texan expedition of these last figures are certainly exaggerated. chapter xxviii. , . the innocent and the guilty. triumph of the murderers.--danger of joutel.--joutel among the cenis.--white savages.--insolence of duhaut and his accomplices.--murder of duhaut and liotot.--hiens, the buccaneer.--joutel and his party: their escape; they reach the arkansas.--bravery and devotion of tonty.--the fugitives reach the illinois.--unworthy conduct of cavelier.--he and his companions return to france. father anastase douay returned to the camp, and, aghast with grief and terror, rushed into the hut of cavelier. "my poor brother is dead!" cried the priest, instantly divining the catastrophe from the horror-stricken face of the messenger. close behind came the murderers, duhaut at their head. cavelier, his young nephew, and douay himself, all fell on their knees, expecting instant death. the priest begged piteously for half an hour to prepare for his end; but terror and submission sufficed, and no more blood was shed. the camp yielded without resistance; and duhaut was lord of all. in truth, there were none to oppose him; for, except the assassins themselves, the party was now reduced to six persons,--joutel, douay, the elder cavelier, his young nephew, and two other boys, the orphan talon and a lad called barthelemy. [sidenote: doubt and anxiety.] joutel, for the moment, was absent; and l'archevêque, who had a kindness for him, went quietly to seek him. he found him on a hillock, making a fire of dried grass in order that the smoke might guide la salle on his return, and watching the horses grazing in the meadow below. "i was very much surprised," writes joutel, "when i saw him approaching. when he came up to me he seemed all in confusion, or, rather, out of his wits. he began with saying that there was very bad news. i asked what it was. he answered that the sieur de la salle was dead, and also his nephew the sieur de moranget, his indian hunter, and his servant. i was petrified, and did not know what to say; for i saw that they had been murdered. the man added that, at first, the murderers had sworn to kill me too. i easily believed it, for i had always been in the interest of m. de la salle, and had commanded in his place; and it is hard to please everybody, or prevent some from being dissatisfied. i was greatly perplexed as to what i ought to do, and whether i had not better escape to the woods, whithersoever god should guide me; but, by bad or good luck, i had no gun and only one pistol, without balls or powder except what was in my powder-horn. to whatever side i turned, my life was in great peril. it is true that l'archevêque assured me that they had changed their minds, and had agreed to murder nobody else, unless they met with resistance. so, being in no condition, as i just said, to go far, having neither arms nor powder, i abandoned myself to providence, and went back to the camp, where i found that these wretched murderers had seized everything belonging to m. de la salle, and even my personal effects. they had also taken possession of all the arms. the first words that duhaut said to me were, that each should command in turn; to which i made no answer. i saw m. cavelier praying in a corner, and father anastase in another. he did not dare to speak to me, nor did i dare to go towards him till i had seen the designs of the assassins. they were in furious excitement, but, nevertheless, very uneasy and embarrassed. i was some time without speaking, and, as it were, without moving, for fear of giving umbrage to our enemies. "they had cooked some meat, and when it was supper-time they distributed it as they saw fit, saying that formerly their share had been served out to them, but that it was they who would serve it out in future. they, no doubt, wanted me to say something that would give them a chance to make a noise; but i managed always to keep my mouth closed. when night came and it was time to stand guard, they were in perplexity, as they could not do it alone; therefore they said to m. cavelier, father anastase, me, and the others who were not in the plot with them, that all we had to do was to stand guard as usual; that there was no use in thinking about what had happened,--that what was done was done; that they had been driven to it by despair, and that they were sorry for it, and meant no more harm to anybody. m. cavelier took up the word, and told them that when they killed m. de la salle they killed themselves, for there was nobody but him who could get us out of this country. at last, after a good deal of talk on both sides, they gave us our arms. so we stood guard; during which, m. cavelier told me how they had come to the camp, entered his hut like so many madmen, and seized everything in it." joutel, douay, and the two caveliers spent a sleepless night, consulting as to what they should do. they mutually pledged themselves to stand by each other to the last, and to escape as soon as they could from the company of the assassins. in the morning, duhaut and his accomplices, after much discussion, resolved to go to the cenis villages; and, accordingly, the whole party broke up their camp, packed their horses, and began their march. they went five leagues, and encamped at the edge of a grove. on the following day they advanced again till noon, when heavy rains began, and they were forced to stop by the banks of a river. "we passed the night and the next day there," says joutel; "and during that time my mind was possessed with dark thoughts. it was hard to prevent ourselves from being in constant fear among such men, and we could not look at them without horror. when i thought of the cruel deeds they had committed, and the danger we were in from them, i longed to revenge the evil they had done us. this would have been easy while they were asleep; but m. cavelier dissuaded us, saying that we ought to leave vengeance to god, and that he himself had more to revenge than we, having lost his brother and his nephew." [sidenote: journey to the cenis.] the comic alternated with the tragic. on the twenty-third, they reached the bank of a river too deep to ford. those who knew how to swim crossed without difficulty, but joutel, cavelier, and douay were not of the number. accordingly, they launched a log of light, dry wood, embraced it with one arm, and struck out for the other bank with their legs and the arm that was left free. but the friar became frightened. "he only clung fast to the aforesaid log," says joutel, "and did nothing to help us forward. while i was trying to swim, my body being stretched at full length, i hit him in the belly with my feet; on which he thought it was all over with him, and, i can answer for it, he invoked saint francis with might and main. i could not help laughing, though i was myself in danger of drowning." some indians who had joined the party swam to the rescue, and pushed the log across. the path to the cenis villages was exceedingly faint, and but for the indians they would have lost the way. they crossed the main stream of the trinity in a boat of raw hides, and then, being short of provisions, held a council to determine what they should do. it was resolved that joutel, with hiens, liotot, and teissier, should go in advance to the villages and buy a supply of corn. thus, joutel found himself doomed to the company of three villains, who, he strongly suspected, were contriving an opportunity to kill him; but, as he had no choice, he dissembled his doubts, and set out with his sinister companions, duhaut having first supplied him with goods for the intended barter. [sidenote: joutel and the cenis.] they rode over hills and plains till night, encamped, supped on a wild turkey, and continued their journey till the afternoon of the next day, when they saw three men approaching on horseback, one of whom, to joutel's alarm, was dressed like a spaniard. he proved, however, to be a cenis indian, like the others. the three turned their horses' heads, and accompanied the frenchmen on their way. at length they neared the indian town, which, with its large thatched lodges, looked like a cluster of gigantic haystacks. their approach had been made known, and they were received in solemn state. twelve of the elders came to meet them in their dress of ceremony, each with his face daubed red or black, and his head adorned with painted plumes. from their shoulders hung deer-skins wrought with gay colors. some carried war-clubs; some, bows and arrows; some, the blades of spanish rapiers, attached to wooden handles decorated with hawk's bells and bunches of feathers. they stopped before the honored guests, and, raising their hands aloft, uttered howls so extraordinary that joutel could hardly preserve the gravity which the occasion demanded. having next embraced the frenchmen, the elders conducted them into the village, attended by a crowd of warriors and young men; ushered them into their town-hall, a large lodge, devoted to councils, feasts, dances, and other public assemblies; seated them on mats, and squatted in a ring around them. here they were regaled with sagamite or indian porridge, corn-cake, beans, bread made of the meal of parched corn, and another kind of bread made of the kernels of nuts and the seed of sunflowers. then the pipe was lighted, and all smoked together. the four frenchmen proposed to open a traffic for provisions, and their entertainers grunted assent. joutel found a frenchman in the village. he was a young man from provence, who had deserted from la salle on his last journey, and was now, to all appearance, a savage like his adopted countrymen, being naked like them, and affecting to have forgotten his native language. he was very friendly, however, and invited the visitors to a neighboring village, where he lived, and where, as he told them, they would find a better supply of corn. they accordingly set out with him, escorted by a crowd of indians. they saw lodges and clusters of lodges scattered along their path at intervals, each with its field of corn, beans, and pumpkins, rudely cultivated with a wooden hoe. reaching their destination, which was four or five leagues distant, they were greeted with the same honors as at the first village, and, the ceremonial of welcome over, were lodged in the abode of the savage frenchman. it is not to be supposed, however, that he and his squaws, of whom he had a considerable number, dwelt here alone; for these lodges of the cenis often contained eight or ten families. they were made by firmly planting in a circle tall, straight young trees, such as grew in the swamps. the tops were then bent inward and lashed together; great numbers of cross-pieces were bound on; and the frame thus constructed was thickly covered with thatch, a hole being left at the top for the escape of the smoke. the inmates were ranged around the circumference of the structure, each family in a kind of stall, open in front, but separated from those adjoining it by partitions of mats. here they placed their beds of cane, their painted robes of buffalo and deer-skin, their cooking utensils of pottery, and other household goods; and here, too, the head of the family hung his bow, quiver, lance, and shield. there was nothing in common but the fire, which burned in the middle of the lodge, and was never suffered to go out. these dwellings were of great size, and joutel declares that he has seen some of them sixty feet in diameter.[ ] it was in one of the largest that the four travellers were now lodged. a place was assigned them where to bestow their baggage; and they took possession of their quarters amid the silent stares of the whole community. they asked their renegade countryman, the provençal, if they were safe. he replied that they were; but this did not wholly reassure them, and they spent a somewhat wakeful night. in the morning, they opened their budgets, and began a brisk trade in knives, awls, beads, and other trinkets, which they exchanged for corn and beans. before evening, they had acquired a considerable stock; and joutel's three companions declared their intention of returning with it to the camp, leaving him to continue the trade. they went, accordingly, in the morning; and joutel was left alone. on the one hand, he was glad to be rid of them; on the other, he found his position among the cenis very irksome, and, as he thought, insecure. besides the provençal, who had gone with liotot and his companions, there were two other french deserters among this tribe, and joutel was very desirous to see them, hoping that they could tell him the way to the mississippi; for he was resolved to escape, at the first opportunity, from the company of duhaut and his accomplices. he therefore made the present of a knife to a young indian, whom he sent to find the two frenchmen and invite them to come to the village. meanwhile he continued his barter, but under many difficulties; for he could only explain himself by signs, and his customers, though friendly by day, pilfered his goods by night. this, joined to the fears and troubles which burdened his mind, almost deprived him of sleep, and, as he confesses, greatly depressed his spirits. indeed, he had little cause for cheerfulness as to the past, present, or future. an old indian, one of the patriarchs of the tribe, observing his dejection and anxious to relieve it, one evening brought him a young wife, saying that he made him a present of her. she seated herself at his side; "but," says joutel, "as my head was full of other cares and anxieties, i said nothing to the poor girl. she waited for a little time; and then, finding that i did not speak a word, she went away."[ ] [sidenote: white savages.] late one night, he lay between sleeping and waking on the buffalo-robe that covered his bed of canes. all around the great lodge, its inmates were buried in sleep; and the fire that still burned in the midst cast ghostly gleams on the trophies of savage chivalry--the treasured scalp-locks, the spear and war-club, and shield of whitened bull-hide--that hung by each warrior's resting-place. such was the weird scene that lingered on the dreamy eyes of joutel, as he closed them at last in a troubled sleep. the sound of a footstep soon wakened him; and, turning, he saw at his side the figure of a naked savage, armed with a bow and arrows. joutel spoke, but received no answer. not knowing what to think, he reached out his hand for his pistols; on which the intruder withdrew, and seated himself by the fire. thither joutel followed; and as the light fell on his features, he looked at him closely. his face was tattooed, after the cenis fashion, in lines drawn from the top of the forehead and converging to the chin; and his body was decorated with similar embellishments. suddenly, this supposed indian rose and threw his arms around joutel's neck, making himself known, at the same time, as one of the frenchmen who had deserted from la salle and taken refuge among the cenis. he was a breton sailor named ruter. his companion, named grollet, also a sailor, had been afraid to come to the village lest he should meet la salle. ruter expressed surprise and regret when he heard of the death of his late commander. he had deserted him but a few months before. that brief interval had sufficed to transform him into a savage; and both he and his companion found their present reckless and ungoverned way of life greatly to their liking. he could tell nothing of the mississippi; and on the next day he went home, carrying with him a present of beads for his wives, of which last he had made a large collection. in a few days he reappeared, bringing grollet with him. each wore a bunch of turkey-feathers dangling from his head, and each had wrapped his naked body in a blanket. three men soon after arrived from duhaut's camp, commissioned to receive the corn which joutel had purchased. they told him that duhaut and liotot, the tyrants of the party, had resolved to return to fort st. louis, and build a vessel to escape to the west indies,--"a visionary scheme," writes joutel, "for our carpenters were all dead; and even if they had been alive, they were so ignorant that they would not have known how to go about the work; besides, we had no tools for it. nevertheless, i was obliged to obey, and set out for the camp with the provisions." on arriving, he found a wretched state of affairs. douay and the two caveliers, who had been treated by duhaut with great harshness and contempt, had been told to make their mess apart; and joutel now joined them. this separation restored them their freedom of speech, of which they had hitherto been deprived; but it subjected them to incessant hunger, as they were allowed only food enough to keep them from famishing. douay says that quarrels were rife among the assassins themselves,--the malcontents being headed by hiens, who was enraged that duhaut and liotot should have engrossed all the plunder. joutel was helpless, for he had none to back him but two priests and a boy. [sidenote: schemes of escape.] he and his companions talked of nothing around their solitary camp-fire but the means of escaping from the villanous company into which they were thrown. they saw no resource but to find the mississippi, and thus make their way to canada,--a prodigious undertaking in their forlorn condition; nor was there any probability that the assassins would permit them to go. these, on their part, were beset with difficulties. they could not return to civilization without manifest peril of a halter; and their only safety was to turn buccaneers or savages. duhaut, however, still held to his plan of going back to fort st. louis; and joutel and his companions, who with good reason stood in daily fear of him, devised among themselves a simple artifice to escape from his company. the elder cavelier was to tell him that they were too fatigued for the journey, and wished to stay among the cenis; and to beg him to allow them a portion of the goods, for which cavelier was to give his note of hand. the old priest, whom a sacrifice of truth even on less important occasions cost no great effort, accordingly opened the negotiation, and to his own astonishment and that of his companions, gained the assent of duhaut. their joy, however, was short; for ruter, the french savage, to whom joutel had betrayed his intention, when inquiring the way to the mississippi, told it to duhaut, who on this changed front and made the ominous declaration that he and his men would also go to canada. joutel and his companions were now filled with alarm; for there was no likelihood that the assassins would permit them, the witnesses of their crime, to reach the settlements alive. in the midst of their trouble, the sky was cleared as by the crash of a thunderbolt. [sidenote: the crisis.] hiens and several others had gone, some time before, to the cenis villages to purchase horses; and here they had been detained by the charms of the indian women. during their stay, hiens heard of duhaut's new plan of going to canada by the mississippi; and he declared to those with him that he would not consent. on a morning early in may he appeared at duhaut's camp, with ruter and grollet, the french savages, and about twenty indians. duhaut and liotot, it is said, were passing the time by practising with bows and arrows in front of their hut. one of them called to hiens, "good-morning;" but the buccaneer returned a sullen answer. he then accosted duhaut, telling him that he had no mind to go up the mississippi with him, and demanding a share of the goods. duhaut replied that the goods were his own, since la salle had owed him money. "so you will not give them to me?" returned hiens. "no," was the answer. "you are a wretch!" exclaimed hiens; "you killed my master."[ ] and drawing a pistol from his belt he fired at duhaut, who staggered three or four paces and fell dead. almost at the same instant ruter fired his gun at liotot, shot three balls into his body, and stretched him on the ground mortally wounded. douay and the two caveliers stood in extreme terror, thinking that their turn was to come next. joutel, no less alarmed, snatched his gun to defend himself; but hiens called to him to fear nothing, declaring that what he had done was only to avenge the death of la salle,--to which, nevertheless, he had been privy, though not an active sharer in the crime. liotot lived long enough to make his confession, after which ruter killed him by exploding a pistol loaded with a blank charge of powder against his head. duhaut's myrmidon, l'archevêque, was absent, hunting, and hiens was for killing him on his return; but the two priests and joutel succeeded in dissuading him. the indian spectators beheld these murders with undisguised amazement, and almost with horror. what manner of men were these who had pierced the secret places of the wilderness to riot in mutual slaughter? their fiercest warriors might learn a lesson in ferocity from these heralds of civilization. joutel and his companions, who could not dispense with the aid of the cenis, were obliged to explain away, as they best might, the atrocity of what they had witnessed.[ ] hiens, and others of the french, had before promised to join the cenis on an expedition against a neighboring tribe with whom they were at war; and the whole party having removed to the indian village, the warriors and their allies prepared to depart. six frenchmen went with hiens; and the rest, including joutel, douay, and the caveliers, remained behind, in the lodge where joutel had been domesticated, and where none were now left but women, children, and old men. here they remained a week or more, watched closely by the cenis, who would not let them leave the village; when news at length arrived of a great victory, and the warriors soon after returned with forty-eight scalps. it was the french guns that won the battle, but not the less did they glory in their prowess; and several days were spent in ceremonies and feasts of triumph.[ ] when all this hubbub of rejoicing had subsided, joutel and his companions broke to hiens their plan of attempting to reach home by way of the mississippi. as they had expected, he opposed it vehemently, declaring that for his own part he would not run such a risk of losing his head; but at length he consented to their departure, on condition that the elder cavelier should give him a certificate of his entire innocence of the murder of la salle, which the priest did not hesitate to do. for the rest, hiens treated his departing fellow-travellers with the generosity of a successful free-booter; for he gave them a good share of the plunder he had won by his late crime, supplying them with hatchets, knives, beads, and other articles of trade, besides several horses. meanwhile, adds joutel, "we had the mortification and chagrin of seeing this scoundrel walking about the camp in a scarlet coat laced with gold which had belonged to the late monsieur de la salle, and which he had seized upon, as also upon all the rest of his property." a well-aimed shot would have avenged the wrong, but joutel was clearly a mild and moderate person; and the elder cavelier had constantly opposed all plans of violence. therefore they stifled their emotions, and armed themselves with patience. [sidenote: joutel and his party.] joutel's party consisted, besides himself, of the caveliers (uncle and nephew), anastase douay, de marle, teissier, and a young parisian named barthelemy. teissier, an accomplice in the murders of moranget and la salle, had obtained a pardon, in form, from the elder cavelier. they had six horses and three cenis guides. hiens embraced them at parting, as did the ruffians who remained with him. their course was northeast, toward the mouth of the arkansas,--a distant goal, the way to which was beset with so many dangers that their chance of reaching it seemed small. it was early in june, and the forests and prairies were green with the verdure of opening summer. they soon reached the assonis, a tribe near the sabine, who received them well, and gave them guides to the nations dwelling towards red river. on the twenty-third, they approached a village, the inhabitants of which, regarding them as curiosities of the first order, came out in a body to see them; and, eager to do them honor, they required them to mount on their backs, and thus make their entrance in procession. joutel, being large and heavy, weighed down his bearer, insomuch that two of his countrymen were forced to sustain him, one on each side. on arriving, an old chief washed their faces with warm water from an earthen pan, and then invited them to mount on a scaffold of canes, where they sat in the hot sun listening to four successive speeches of welcome, of which they understood not a word.[ ] at the village of another tribe, farther on their way, they met with a welcome still more oppressive. cavelier, the unworthy successor of his brother, being represented as the chief of the party, became the principal victim of their attentions. they danced the calumet before him; while an indian, taking him, with an air of great respect, by the shoulders as he sat, shook him in cadence with the thumping of the drum. they then placed two girls close beside him, as his wives; while, at the same time, an old chief tied a painted feather in his hair. these proceedings so scandalized him that, pretending to be ill, he broke off the ceremony; but they continued to sing all night, with so much zeal that several of them were reduced to a state of complete exhaustion. [sidenote: arrival at the arkansas.] at length, after a journey of about two months, during which they lost one of their number,--de marle, accidentally drowned while bathing,--the travellers approached the river arkansas, at a point not far above its junction with the mississippi. led by their indian guides, they traversed a rich district of plains and woods, and stood at length on the borders of the stream. nestled beneath the forests of the farther shore, they saw the lodges of a large indian town; and here, as they gazed across the broad current, they presently descried an object which nerved their spent limbs, and thrilled their homesick hearts with joy. it was a tall, wooden cross; and near it was a small house, built evidently by christian hands. with one accord they fell on their knees, and raised their hands to heaven in thanksgiving. two men, in european dress, issued from the door of the house and fired their guns to salute the excited travellers, who on their part replied with a volley. canoes put out from the farther shore and ferried them to the town, where they were welcomed by couture and de launay, two followers of henri de tonty.[ ] that brave, loyal, and generous man, always vigilant and always active, beloved and feared alike by white men and by red,[ ] had been ejected, as we have seen, by the agent of the governor, la barre, from the command of fort st. louis of the illinois. an order from the king had reinstated him; and he no sooner heard the news of la salle's landing on the shores of the gulf, and of the disastrous beginnings of his colony,[ ] than he prepared, on his own responsibility and at his own cost, to go to his assistance. he collected twenty-five frenchmen and eleven indians, and set out from his fortified rock on the thirteenth of february, ;[ ] descended the mississippi, and reached its mouth in holy week. all was solitude, a voiceless desolation of river, marsh, and sea. he despatched canoes to the east and to the west, searching the coast for some thirty leagues on either side. finding no trace of his friend, who at that moment was ranging the prairies of texas in no less fruitless search of his "fatal river," tonty wrote for him a letter, which he left in the charge of an indian chief, who preserved it with reverential care, and gave it, fourteen years after, to iberville, the founder of louisiana.[ ] deeply disappointed at his failure, tonty retraced his course, and ascended the mississippi to the villages of the arkansas, where some of his men volunteered to remain. he left six of them; and of this number were couture and de launay.[ ] [sidenote: a hospitable reception.] cavelier and his companions, followed by a crowd of indians, some carrying their baggage, some struggling for a view of the white strangers, entered the log cabin of their two hosts. rude as it was, they found in it an earnest of peace and safety, and a foretaste of home. couture and de launay were moved even to tears by the story of their disasters, and of the catastrophe that crowned them. la salle's death was carefully concealed from the indians, many of whom had seen him on his descent of the mississippi, and who regarded him with prodigious respect. they lavished all their hospitality on his followers; feasted them on corn-bread, dried buffalo meat, and watermelons, and danced the calumet before them, the most august of all their ceremonies. on this occasion, cavelier's patience failed him again; and pretending, as before, to be ill, he called on his nephew to take his place. there were solemn dances, too, in which the warriors--some bedaubed with white clay, some with red, and some with both; some wearing feathers, and some the horns of buffalo; some naked, and some in painted shirts of deer-skin, fringed with scalp-locks, insomuch, says joutel, that they looked like a troop of devils--leaped, stamped, and howled from sunset till dawn. all this was partly to do the travellers honor, and partly to extort presents. they made objections, however, when asked to furnish guides; and it was only by dint of great offers that four were at length procured. [sidenote: the mississippi.] with these, the travellers resumed their journey in a wooden canoe, about the first of august,[ ] descended the arkansas, and soon reached the dark and inexorable river, so long the object of their search, rolling, like a destiny, through its realms of solitude and shade. they launched their canoe on its turbid bosom, plied their oars against the current, and slowly won their way upward, following the writhings of this watery monster through cane-brake, swamp, and fen. it was a hard and toilsome journey, under the sweltering sun of august,--now on the water, now knee-deep in mud, dragging their canoe through the unwholesome jungle. on the nineteenth, they passed the mouth of the ohio; and their indian guides made it an offering of buffalo meat. on the first of september, they passed the missouri, and soon after saw marquette's pictured rock, and the line of craggy heights on the east shore, marked on old french maps as "the ruined castles." then, with a sense of relief, they turned from the great river into the peaceful current of the illinois. they were eleven days in ascending it, in their large and heavy wooden canoe; when at length, on the afternoon of the fourteenth of september, they saw, towering above the forest and the river, the cliff crowned with the palisades of fort st. louis of the illinois. as they drew near, a troop of indians, headed by a frenchman, descended from the rock, and fired their guns to salute them. they landed, and followed the forest path that led towards the fort, when they were met by boisrondet, tonty's comrade in the iroquois war, and two other frenchmen, who no sooner saw them than they called out, demanding where was la salle. cavelier, fearing lest he and his party would lose the advantage they might derive from his character of representative of his brother, was determined to conceal his death; and joutel, as he himself confesses, took part in the deceit. substituting equivocation for falsehood, they replied that la salle had been with them nearly as far as the cenis villages, and that, when they parted, he was in good health. this, so far as they were concerned, was, literally speaking, true; but douay and teissier, the one a witness and the other a sharer in his death, could not have said so much without a square falsehood, and therefore evaded the inquiry. threading the forest path, and circling to the rear of the rock, they climbed the rugged height, and reached the top. here they saw an area, encircled by the palisades that fenced the brink of the cliff, and by several dwellings, a store-house, and a chapel. there were indian lodges too; for some of the red allies of the french made their abode with them.[ ] tonty was absent, fighting the iroquois; but his lieutenant, bellefontaine, received the travellers, and his little garrison of bush-rangers greeted them with a salute of musketry, mingled with the whooping of the indians. a _te deum_ followed at the chapel; "and, with all our hearts," says joutel, "we gave thanks to god, who had preserved and guided us." at length, the tired travellers were among countrymen and friends. bellefontaine found a room for the two priests; while joutel, teissier, and young cavelier were lodged in the store-house. [sidenote: the jesuit allouez.] the jesuit allouez was lying ill at the fort; and joutel, cavelier, and douay went to visit him. he showed great anxiety when told that la salle was alive, and on his way to the illinois; asked many questions, and could not hide his agitation. when, some time after, he had partially recovered, he left st. louis, as if to shun a meeting with the object of his alarm.[ ] once before, in , allouez had fled from the illinois on hearing of the approach of la salle. the season was late, and they were eager to hasten forward that they might reach quebec in time to return to france in the autumn ships. there was not a day to lose. they bade farewell to bellefontaine, from whom, as from all others, they had concealed the death of la salle, and made their way across the country to chicago. here they were detained a week by a storm; and when at length they embarked in a canoe furnished by bellefontaine, the tempest soon forced them to put back. on this, they abandoned their design, and returned to fort st. louis, to the astonishment of its inmates. [sidenote: conduct of cavelier.] it was october when they arrived; and, meanwhile, tonty had returned from the iroquois war, where he had borne a conspicuous part in the famous attack on the senecas by the marquis de denonville.[ ] he listened with deep interest to the mournful story of his guests. cavelier knew him well. he knew, so far as he was capable of knowing, his generous and disinterested character, his long and faithful attachment to la salle, and the invaluable services he had rendered him. tonty had every claim on his confidence and affection. yet he did not hesitate to practise on him the same deceit which he had practised on bellefontaine. he told him that he had left his brother in good health on the gulf of mexico, and drew upon him, in la salle's name, for an amount stated by joutel at about four thousand livres, in furs, besides a canoe and a quantity of other goods, all of which were delivered to him by the unsuspecting victim.[ ] this was at the end of the winter, when the old priest and his companions had been living for months on tonty's hospitality. they set out for canada on the twenty-first of march, reached chicago on the twenty-ninth, and thence proceeded to michilimackinac. here cavelier sold some of tonty's furs to a merchant, who gave him in payment a draft on montreal, thus putting him in funds for his voyage home. the party continued their journey in canoes by way of french river and the ottawa, and safely reached montreal on the seventeenth of july. here they procured the clothing of which they were wofully in need, and then descended the river to quebec, where they took lodging,--some with the récollet friars, and some with the priests of the seminary,--in order to escape the questions of the curious. at the end of august they embarked for france, and early in october arrived safely at rochelle. none of the party were men of especial energy or force of character; and yet, under the spur of a dire necessity, they had achieved one of the most adventurous journeys on record. [sidenote: the colonists abandoned.] now, at length, they disburdened themselves of their gloomy secret; but the sole result seems to have been an order from the king for the arrest of the murderers, should they appear in canada.[ ] joutel was disappointed. it had been his hope throughout that the king would send a ship to the relief of the wretched band at fort st. louis of texas. but louis xiv. hardened his heart, and left them to their fate. footnotes: [ ] the lodges of the florida indians were somewhat similar. the winter lodges of the now nearly extinct mandans, though not so high in proportion to their width, and built of more solid materials, as the rigor of a northern climate requires, bear a general resemblance to those of the cenis. the cenis tattooed their faces and some parts of their bodies, by pricking powdered charcoal into the skin. the women tattooed the breasts; and this practice was general among them, notwithstanding the pain of the operation, as it was thought very ornamental. their dress consisted of a sort of frock, or wrapper of skin, from the waist to the knees. the men, in summer, wore nothing but the waist-cloth. [ ] _journal historique_, . [ ] "tu es un misérable. tu as tué mon maistre."--tonty, _mémoire_. tonty derived his information from some of those present. douay and joutel have each left an account of this murder. they agree in essential points; though douay says that when it took place, duhaut had moved his camp beyond the cenis villages, which is contrary to joutel's statement. [ ] joutel, _relation_ (margry, iii. ). [ ] these are described by joutel. like nearly all the early observers of indian manners, he speaks of the practice of cannibalism. [ ] these indians were a portion of the cadodaquis, or caddoes, then living on red river. the travellers afterwards visited other villages of the same people. tonty was here two years afterwards, and mentions the curious custom of washing the faces of guests. [ ] joutel, _journal historique_, . [ ] _journal de st. cosme_, . this journal has been printed by mr. shea, from the copy in my possession. st. cosme, who knew tonty well, speaks of him in the warmest terms of praise. [ ] in the autumn of , tonty made a journey from the illinois to michilimackinac, to seek news of la salle. he there learned, by a letter of the new governor, denonville, just arrived from france, of the landing of la salle, and the loss of the "aimable," as recounted by beaujeu, on his return. he immediately went back on foot to fort st. louis of the illinois, and prepared to descend the mississippi, "dans l'espérance de lui donner secours." _lettre de tonty au ministre, aoust, ; ibid., à cabart de villermont, même date_; _mémoire de tonty_; _procès verbal de tonty, avril, ._ [ ] the date is from the _procès verbal_. in the _mémoire_, hastily written long after, he falls into errors of date. [ ] iberville sent it to france, and charlevoix gives a portion of it. (_histoire de la nouvelle france_, ii. .) singularly enough, the date, as printed by him, is erroneous, being april, , instead of . there is no doubt whatever, from its relations with concurrent events, that this journey was in the latter year. [ ] tonty, _mémoire; ibid., lettre à monseigneur de ponchartrain_, . joutel, _journal historique_, . [ ] joutel says that the parisian boy, barthelemy, was left behind. it was this youth who afterwards uttered the ridiculous defamation of la salle mentioned in a preceding note. the account of the death of la salle, taken from the lips of couture, was received by him from cavelier and his companions, during their stay at the arkansas. couture was by trade a carpenter, and was a native of rouen. [ ] the condition of fort st. louis, at this time, may be gathered from several passages of joutel. the houses, he says, were built at the brink of the cliff, forming, with the palisades, the circle of defence. the indians lived in the area. [ ] joutel adds that this was occasioned by "une espèce de conspiration qu'on a voulu faire contre les interests de monsieur de la salle."--_journal historique_, . "ce père appréhendoit que le dit sieur ne l'y rencontrast, ... suivant ce que j'en ai pu apprendre, les pères avoient avancé plusieurs choses pour contrebarrer l'entreprise et avoient voulu détacher plusieurs nations de sauvages, lesquelles s'estoient données à m. de la salle. ils avoient esté mesme jusques à vouloir destruire le fort saint-louis, en ayant construit un à chicago, où ils avoient attiré une partie des sauvages, ne pouvant en quelque façon s'emparer du dit fort. pour conclure, le bon père ayant eu peur d'y estre trouvé, aima mieux se précautionner en prenant le devant.... quoyque m. cavelier eust dit au père qu'il pouvoit rester, il partit quelques sept ou huit jours avant nous."--_relation_ (margry, iii. ). la salle always saw the influence of the jesuits in the disasters that befell him. his repeated assertion, that they wished to establish themselves in the valley of the mississippi, receives confirmation from a document entitled _mémoire sur la proposition à faire par les r. pères jésuites pour la découverte des environs de la rivière du mississipi et pour voir si elle est navigable jusqu'à la mer_. it is a memorandum of propositions to be made to the minister seignelay, and was apparently put forward as a feeler, before making the propositions in form. it was written after the return of beaujeu to france, and before la salle's death became known. it intimates that the jesuits were entitled to precedence in the valley of the mississippi, as having first explored it. it affirms that _la salle had made a blunder, and landed his colony, not at the mouth of the river, but at another place_; and it asks permission to continue the work in which he has failed. to this end, it petitions for means to build a vessel at st. louis of the illinois, together with canoes, arms, tents, tools, provisions, and merchandise for the indians; and it also asks for la salle's maps and papers, and for those of beaujeu. on their part, it pursues, the jesuits will engage to make a complete survey of the river, and return an exact account of its inhabitants, its plants, and its other productions. [ ] tonty, du lhut, and durantaye came to the aid of denonville with a hundred and eighty frenchmen, chiefly _coureurs de bois_, and four hundred indians from the upper country. their services were highly appreciated; and tonty especially is mentioned in the despatches of denonville with great praise. [ ] "monsieur tonty, croyant m. de la salle vivant, ne fit pas de difficulté de luy donner pour environ quatre mille liv. de pelleterie, de castors, loutres, un canot, et autres effets."--joutel, _journal historique_, . tonty himself does not make the amount so great: "sur ce qu'ils m'assuroient qu'il étoit resté au golfe de mexique en bonne santé, je les reçus comme si ç'avoit esté lui mesme et luy prestay [_à cavelier_] plus de francs."--tonty, _mémoire_. cavelier must have known that la salle was insolvent. tonty had long served without pay. douay says that he made the stay of the party at the fort very agreeable, and speaks of him, with some apparent compunction, as "ce brave gentilhomme, toujours inséparablement attaché aux intérêts du sieur de la salle, dont nous luy avons caché la déplorable destinée." couture, from the arkansas, brought word to tonty, several months after, of la salle's death, adding that cavelier had concealed it, with no other purpose than that of gaining money or supplies from him (tonty), in his brother's name. cavelier had a letter from la salle, desiring tonty to give him supplies, and pay him , livres in beaver. if cavelier is to be believed, this beaver belonged to la salle. [ ] _lettre du roy à denonville, mai, ._ joutel must have been a young man at the time of the mississippi expedition; for charlevoix saw him at rouen, thirty-five years after. he speaks of him with emphatic praise; but it must be admitted that his connivance in the deception practised by cavelier on tonty leaves a shade on his character, as well as on that of douay. in other respects, everything that appears concerning him is highly favorable, which is not the case with douay, who, on one or two occasions, makes wilful misstatements. douay says that the elder cavelier made a report of the expedition to the minister seignelay. this report remained unknown in an english collection of autographs and old manuscripts, whence i obtained it by purchase, in , both the buyer and seller being at the time ignorant of its exact character. it proved, on examination, to be a portion of the first draft of cavelier's report to seignelay. it consists of twenty-six small folio pages, closely written in a clear hand, though in a few places obscured by the fading of the ink, as well as by occasional erasures and interlineations of the writer. it is, as already stated, confused and unsatisfactory in its statements; and all the latter part has been lost. on reaching france, he had the impudence to tell abbé tronson, superior of st. sulpice, "qu'il avait laissé m. de la salle dans un très-beau pays avec m. de chefdeville en bonne santé."--_lettre de tronson à mad. fauvel-cavelier, nov., ._ cavelier addressed to the king a memorial on the importance of keeping possession of the illinois. it closes with an earnest petition for money in compensation for his losses, as, according to his own statement, he was completely _épuisé_. it is affirmed in a memorial of the heirs of his cousin, françois plet, that he concealed the death of la salle some time after his return to france, in order to get possession of property which would otherwise have been seized by the creditors of the deceased. the prudent abbé died rich and very old, at the house of a relative, having inherited a large estate after his return from america. apparently, this did not satisfy him; for there is before me the copy of a petition, written about , in which he asks, jointly with one of his nephews, to be given possession of the seigniorial property held by la salle in america. the petition was refused. young cavelier, la salle's nephew, died some years after, an officer in a regiment. he has been erroneously supposed to be the same with one de la salle, whose name is appended to a letter giving an account of louisiana, and dated at toulon, sept., . this person was the son of a naval official at toulon, and was not related to the caveliers. chapter xxix. - . fate of the texan colony. tonty attempts to rescue the colonists: his difficulties and hardships.--spanish hostility.--expedition of alonzo de leon: he reaches fort st. louis.--a scene of havoc.--destruction of the french.--the end. [sidenote: courage of tonty.] henri de tonty, on his rock of st. louis, was visited in september by couture and two indians from the arkansas. then, for the first time, he heard with grief and indignation of the death of la salle, and the deceit practised by cavelier. the chief whom he had served so well was beyond his help; but might not the unhappy colonists left on the shores of texas still be rescued from destruction? couture had confirmed what cavelier and his party had already told him, that the tribes south of the arkansas were eager to join the french in an invasion of northern mexico; and he soon after received from the governor, denonville, a letter informing him that war had again been declared against spain. as bold and enterprising as la salle himself, tonty resolved on an effort to learn the condition of the few frenchmen left on the borders of the gulf, relieve their necessities, and, should it prove practicable, make them the nucleus of a war-party to cross the rio grande, and add a new province to the domain of france. it was the revival, on a small scale, of la salle's scheme of mexican invasion; and there is no doubt that, with a score of french musketeers, he could have gathered a formidable party of savage allies from the tribes of red river, the sabine, and the trinity. this daring adventure and the rescue of his suffering countrymen divided his thoughts, and he prepared at once to execute the double purpose.[ ] [sidenote: tonty misrepresented.] he left fort st. louis of the illinois early in december, in a pirogue, or wooden canoe, with five frenchmen, a shawanoe warrior, and two indian slaves; and, after a long and painful journey, he reached the villages of the caddoes on red river on the twenty-eighth of march. here he was told that hiens and his companions were at a village eighty leagues distant; and thither he was preparing to go in search of them, when all his men, excepting the shawanoe and one frenchman, declared themselves disgusted with the journey, and refused to follow him. persuasion was useless, and there was no means of enforcing obedience. he found himself abandoned; but he still pushed on, with the two who remained faithful. a few days after, they lost nearly all their ammunition in crossing a river. undeterred by this accident, tonty made his way to the village where hiens and those who had remained with him were said to be; but no trace of them appeared, and the demeanor of the indians, when he inquired for them, convinced him that they had been put to death. he charged them with having killed the frenchmen, whereupon the women of the village raised a wail of lamentation; "and i saw," he says, "that what i had said to them was true." they refused to give him guides; and this, with the loss of his ammunition, compelled him to forego his purpose of making his way to the colonists on the bay of st. louis. with bitter disappointment, he and his two companions retraced their course, and at length approached red river. here they found the whole country flooded. sometimes they waded to the knees, sometimes to the neck, sometimes pushed their slow way on rafts. night and day it rained without ceasing. they slept on logs placed side by side to raise them above the mud and water, and fought their way with hatchets through the inundated cane-brakes. they found no game but a bear, which had taken refuge on an island in the flood; and they were forced to eat their dogs. "i never in my life," writes tonty, "suffered so much." in judging these intrepid exertions, it is to be remembered that he was not, at least in appearance, of a robust constitution, and that he had but one hand. they reached the mississippi on the eleventh of july, and the arkansas villages on the thirty-first. here tonty was detained by an attack of fever. he resumed his journey when it began to abate, and reached his fort of the illinois in september.[ ] [sidenote: a scene of havoc.] while the king of france abandoned the exiles of texas to their fate, a power dark, ruthless, and terrible was hovering around the feeble colony on the bay of st. louis, searching with pitiless eye to discover and tear out that dying germ of civilization from the bosom of the wilderness in whose savage immensity it lay hidden. spain claimed the gulf of mexico and all its coasts as her own of unanswerable right, and the viceroys of mexico were strenuous to enforce her claim. the capture of one of la salle's four vessels at st. domingo had made known his designs, and in the course of the three succeeding years no less than four expeditions were sent out from vera cruz to find and destroy him. they scoured the whole extent of the coast, and found the wrecks of the "aimable" and the "belle;" but the colony of st. louis,[ ] inland and secluded, escaped their search. for a time, the jealousy of the spaniards was lulled to sleep. they rested in the assurance that the intruders had perished, when fresh advices from the frontier province of new leon caused the viceroy, galve, to order a strong force, under alonzo de leon, to march from coahuila, and cross the rio grande. guided by a french prisoner, probably one of the deserters from la salle, they pushed their way across wild and arid plains, rivers, prairies, and forests, till at length they approached the bay of st. louis, and descried, far off, the harboring-place of the french.[ ] as they drew near, no banner was displayed, no sentry challenged; and the silence of death reigned over the shattered palisades and neglected dwellings. the spaniards spurred their reluctant horses through the gateway, and a scene of desolation met their sight. no living thing was stirring. doors were torn from their hinges; broken boxes, staved barrels, and rusty kettles, mingled with a great number of stocks of arquebuses and muskets, were scattered about in confusion. here, too, trampled in mud and soaked with rain, they saw more than two hundred books, many of which still retained the traces of costly bindings. on the adjacent prairie lay three dead bodies, one of which, from fragments of dress still clinging to the wasted remains, they saw to be that of a woman. it was in vain to question the imperturbable savages, who, wrapped to the throat in their buffalo-robes, stood gazing on the scene with looks of wooden immobility. two strangers, however, at length arrived.[ ] their faces were smeared with paint, and they were wrapped in buffalo-robes like the rest; yet these seeming indians were l'archevêque, the tool of la salle's murderer duhaut, and grollet, the companion of the white savage ruter. the spanish commander, learning that these two men were in the district of the tribe called texas,[ ] had sent to invite them to his camp under a pledge of good treatment; and they had resolved to trust spanish clemency rather than endure longer a life that had become intolerable. from them the spaniards learned nearly all that is known of the fate of barbier, zenobe membré, and their companions. three months before, a large band of indians had approached the fort, the inmates of which had suffered severely from the ravages of the small-pox. from fear of treachery, they refused to admit their visitors, but received them at a cabin without the palisades. here the french began a trade with them; when suddenly a band of warriors, yelling the war-whoop, rushed from an ambuscade under the bank of the river, and butchered the greater number. the children of one talon, together with an italian and a young man from paris named breman, were saved by the indian women, who carried them off on their backs. l'archevêque and grollet, who with others of their stamp were domesticated in the indian villages, came to the scene of slaughter, and, as they affirmed, buried fourteen dead bodies.[ ] [sidenote: the survivors.] l'archevêque and grollet were sent to spain, where, in spite of the pledge given them, they were thrown into prison, with the intention of sending them back to labor in the mines. the indians, some time after de leon's expedition, gave up their captives to the spaniards. the italian was imprisoned at vera cruz. breman's fate is unknown. pierre and jean baptiste talon, who were now old enough to bear arms, were enrolled in the spanish navy, and, being captured in by a french ship of war, regained their liberty; while their younger brothers and their sister were carried to spain by the viceroy.[ ] with respect to the ruffian companions of hiens, the conviction of tonty that they had been put to death by the indians may have been well founded; but the buccaneer himself is said to have been killed in a quarrel with his accomplice ruter, the white savage; and thus in ignominy and darkness died the last embers of the doomed colony of la salle. * * * * * [sidenote: fruit of explorations.] here ends the wild and mournful story of the explorers of the mississippi. of all their toil and sacrifice, no fruit remained but a great geographical discovery, and a grand type of incarnate energy and will. where la salle had ploughed, others were to sow the seed; and on the path which the undespairing norman had hewn out, the canadian d'iberville was to win for france a vast though a transient dominion. footnotes: [ ] tonty, _mémoire_. [ ] two causes have contributed to detract, most unjustly, from tonty's reputation,--the publication, under his name, but without his authority, of a perverted account of the enterprises in which he took part; and the confounding him with his brother, alphonse de tonty, who long commanded at detroit, where charges of peculation were brought against him. there are very few names in french-american history mentioned with such unanimity of praise as that of henri de tonty. hennepin finds some fault with him; but his censure is commendation. the despatches of the governor, denonville, speak in strong terms of his services in the iroquois war, praise his character, and declare that he is fit for any bold enterprise, adding that he deserves reward from the king. the missionary, st. cosme, who travelled under his escort in , says of him: "he is beloved by all the _voyageurs_.... it was with deep regret that we parted from him: ... he is the man who best knows the country; ... he is loved and feared everywhere.... your grace will, i doubt not, take pleasure in acknowledging the obligations we owe him." tonty held the commission of captain; but, by a memoir which he addressed to ponchartrain in , it appears that he had never received any pay. count frontenac certifies the truth of the statement, and adds a recommendation of the writer. in consequence, probably, of this, the proprietorship of fort st. louis of the illinois was granted in the same year to tonty, jointly with la forest, formerly la salle's lieutenant. here they carried on a trade in furs. in , a royal declaration was launched against the _coureurs de bois_; but an express provision was added in favor of tonty and la forest, who were empowered to send up the country yearly two canoes, with twelve men, for the maintenance of this fort. with such a limitation, this fort and the trade carried on at it must have been very small. in , we find a royal order, to the effect that la forest is henceforth to reside in canada, and tonty on the mississippi; and that the establishment at the illinois is to be discontinued. in the same year, tonty joined d'iberville in lower louisiana, and was sent by that officer from mobile to secure the chickasaws in the french interest. his subsequent career and the time of his death do not appear. he seems never to have received the reward which his great merit deserved. those intimate with the late lamented dr. sparks will remember his often-expressed wish that justice should be done to the memory of tonty. fort st. louis of the illinois was afterwards reoccupied by the french. in , a number of them, chiefly traders, were living here; but three years later it was again deserted, and charlevoix, passing the spot, saw only the remains of its palisades. [ ] fort st. louis of texas is not to be confounded with fort st. louis of the illinois. [ ] after crossing the del norte, they crossed in turn the upper nueces, the hondo (rio frio), the de leon (san antonio), and the guadalupe, and then, turning southward, descended to the bay of st. bernard.... manuscript map of "route que firent les espagnols, pour venir enlever les français restez à la baye st. bernard ou st. louis, après la perte du vaisseau de mr. de la salle en ." (margry's collection.) [ ] may st. the spaniards reached the fort april . [ ] this is the first instance in which the name occurs. in a letter written by a member of de leon's party, the texan indians are mentioned several times. (see _coleccion de varios documentos_, .) they are described as an agricultural tribe, and were, to all appearance, identical with the cenis. the name tejas, or texas, was first applied as a local designation to a spot on the river neches, in the cenis territory, whence it extended to the whole country. (see yoakum, _history of texas_, .) [ ] _derrotero de la jornada que hizo el general alonso de leon para el descubrimiento de la bahia del espíritu santo, y poblacion de franceses. ano de ._--this is the official journal of the expedition, signed by alonzo de leon. i am indebted to colonel thomas aspinwall for the opportunity of examining it. the name of espiritu santo was, as before mentioned, given by the spaniards to st. louis, or matagorda bay, as well as to two other bays of the gulf of mexico. _carta en que se da noticia de un viaje hecho à la bahia de espíritu santo y de la poblacion que tenian ahi los franceses. coleccion de varios documentos para la historia de la florida_, .--this is a letter from a person accompanying the expedition of de leon. it is dated may , , and agrees closely with the journal cited above, though evidently by another hand. compare barcia, _ensayo cronologico_, . barcia's story has been doubted; but these authentic documents prove the correctness of his principal statements, though on minor points he seems to have indulged his fancy. the viceroy of new spain, in a report to the king, , says that, in order to keep the texas and other indians of that region in obedience to his majesty, he has resolved to establish eight missions among them. he adds that he has appointed as governor, or commander, in that province, don domingo teran de los rios, who will make a thorough exploration of it, carry out what de leon has begun; prevent the further intrusion of foreigners like la salle, and go in pursuit of the remnant of the french, who are said still to remain among the tribes of red river. i owe this document to the kindness of mr. buckingham smith. [ ] _mémoire sur lequel on a interrogé les deux canadiens [pierre et jean baptiste talon] qui sont soldats dans la compagnie de feuguerolles. a brest, février, ._ _interrogations faites à pierre et jean baptiste talon à leur arrivée de la veracrux._--this paper, which differs in some of its details from the preceding, was sent by d'iberville, the founder of louisiana, to abbé cavelier. appended to it is a letter from d'iberville, written in may, , in which he confirms the chief statements of the talons, by information obtained by him from a spanish officer at pensacola. appendix. i. early unpublished maps of the mississippi and the great lakes. most of the maps described below are to be found in the dépôt des cartes de la marine et des colonies, at paris. taken together, they exhibit the progress of western discovery, and illustrate the records of the explorers. . the map of galinée, , has a double title,--_carte du canada et des terres découvertes vers le lac derié, and carte du lac ontario et des habitations qui l'environnent ensemble le pays que messrs. dolier et galinée, missionnaires du seminaire de st. sulpice, ont parcouru_. it professes to represent only the country actually visited by the two missionaries. beginning with montreal, it gives the course of the upper st. lawrence and the shores of lake ontario, the river niagara, the north shore of lake erie, the strait of detroit, and the eastern and northern shores of lake huron. galinée did not know the existence of the peninsula of michigan, and merges lakes huron and michigan into one, under the name of "michigané, ou mer douce des hurons." he was also entirely ignorant of the south shore of lake erie. he represents the outlet of lake superior as far as the saut ste. marie, and lays down the river ottawa in great detail, having descended it on his return. the falls of the genesee are indicated, as also the falls of niagara, with the inscription, "sault qui tombe au rapport des sauvages de plus de pieds de haut." had the jesuits been disposed to aid him, they could have given him much additional information, and corrected his most serious errors; as, for example, the omission of the peninsula of michigan. the first attempt to map out the great lakes was that of champlain, in . this of galinée may be called the second. . the map of lake superior, published in the jesuit relation of , , was made at about the same time with galinée's map. lake superior is here styled "lac tracy, ou supérieur." though not so exact as it has been represented, this map indicates that the jesuits had explored every part of this fresh-water ocean, and that they had a thorough knowledge of the straits connecting the three upper lakes, and of the adjacent bays, inlets, and shores. the peninsula of michigan, ignored by galinée, is represented in its proper place. . three years or more after galinée made the map mentioned above, another, indicating a greatly increased knowledge of the country, was made by some person whose name does not appear. this map, which is somewhat more than four feet long and about two feet and a half wide, has no title. all the great lakes, through their entire extent, are laid down on it with considerable accuracy. lake ontario is called "lac ontario, ou de frontenac." fort frontenac is indicated, as well as the iroquois colonies of the north shore. niagara is "chute haute de toises par où le lac erié tombe dans le lac frontenac." lake erie is "lac teiocha-rontiong, dit communément lac erié." lake st. clair is "tsiketo, ou lac de la chaudière." lake huron is "lac huron, ou mer douce des hurons." lake superior is "lac supérieur." lake michigan is "lac mitchiganong, ou des illinois." on lake michigan, immediately opposite the site of chicago, are written the words, of which the following is the literal translation: "the largest vessels can come to this place from the outlet of lake erie, where it discharges into lake frontenac [ontario]; and from this marsh into which they can enter there is only a distance of a thousand paces to the river la divine [des plaines], which can lead them to the river colbert [mississippi], and thence to the gulf of mexico." this map was evidently made after that voyage of la salle in which he discovered the illinois, or at least the des plaines branch of it. the ohio is laid down with the inscription, "river ohio, so called by the iroquois on account of its beauty, which the sieur de la salle descended." (_ante_, , _note_.) . we now come to the map of marquette, which is a rude sketch of a portion of lakes superior and michigan, and of the route pursued by him and joliet up the fox river of green bay, down the wisconsin, and thence down the mississippi as far as the arkansas. the river illinois is also laid down, as it was by this course that he returned to lake michigan after his memorable voyage. he gives no name to the wisconsin. the mississippi is called "rivière de la conception;" the missouri, the pekitanoui; and the ohio, the ouabouskiaou, though la salle, its discoverer, had previously given it its present name, borrowed from the iroquois. the illinois is nameless, like the wisconsin. at the mouth of a river, perhaps the des moines, marquette places the three villages of the peoria indians visited by him. these, with the kaskaskias, maroas, and others, on the map, were merely sub-tribes of the aggregation of savages known as the illinois. on or near the missouri he places the ouchage (osages), the oumessourit (missouris), the kansa (kanzas), the paniassa (pawnees), the maha (omahas), and the pahoutet (pah-utahs?). the names of many other tribes, "esloignées dans les terres," are also given along the course of the arkansas, a river which is nameless on the map. most of these tribes are now indistinguishable. this map has recently been engraved and published. . not long after marquette's return from the mississippi, another map was made by the jesuits, with the following title: _carte de la nouvelle decouverte que les peres iesuites ont fait en l'année , et continuée par le p. iacques marquette de la mesme compagnie accompagné de quelques françois en l'année , qu'on pourra nommer en françois la manitoumie_. this title is very elaborately decorated with figures drawn with a pen, and representing jesuits instructing indians. the map is the same published by thevenot, not without considerable variations, in . it represents the mississippi from a little above the wisconsin to the gulf of mexico, the part below the arkansas being drawn from conjecture. the river is named "mitchisipi, ou grande rivière." the wisconsin, the illinois, the ohio, the des moines(?), the missouri, and the arkansas are all represented, but in a very rude manner. marquette's route, in going and returning, is marked by lines; but the return route is incorrect. the whole map is so crude and careless, and based on information so inexact, that it is of little interest. . the jesuits made also another map, without title, of the four upper lakes and the mississippi to a little below the arkansas. the mississippi is called "riuiere colbert." the map is remarkable as including the earliest representation of the upper mississippi, based, perhaps, on the reports of indians. the falls of st. anthony are indicated by the word "saut." it is possible that the map may be of later date than at first appears, and that it may have been drawn in the interval between the return of hennepin from the upper mississippi and that of la salle from his discovery of the mouth of the river. the various temporary and permanent stations of the jesuits are marked by crosses. . of far greater interest is the small map of louis joliet made and presented to count frontenac after the discoverer's return from the mississippi. it is entitled _carte de la decouverte du sr. jolliet ou l'on voit la communication du fleuve st. laurens avec les lacs frontenac, erié, lac des hurons et ilinois_. then succeeds the following, written in the same antiquated french, as if it were a part of the title: "lake frontenac [ontario] is separated by a fall of half a league from lake erié, from which one enters that of the hurons, and by the same navigation, into that of the illinois [michigan], from the head of which one crosses to the divine river [rivière divine; _i. e._, the des plaines branch of the river illinois], by a portage of a thousand paces. this river falls into the river colbert [mississippi], which discharges itself into the gulf of mexico." a part of this map is based on the jesuit map of lake superior, the legends being here for the most part identical, though the shape of the lake is better given by joliet. the mississippi, or "riuiere colbert," is made to flow from three lakes in latitude °; and it ends in latitude °, a little below the mouth of the ohio, the rest being apparently cut off to make room for joliet's letter to frontenac (_ante_, ), which is written on the lower part of the map. the valley of the mississippi is called on the map "colbertie, ou amerique occidentale." the missouri is represented without name, and against it is a legend, of which the following is the literal translation: "by one of these great rivers which come from the west and discharge themselves into the river colbert, one will find a way to enter the vermilion sea (gulf of california). i have seen a village which was not more than twenty days' journey by land from a nation which has commerce with those of california. if i had come two days sooner, i should have spoken with those who had come from thence, and had brought four hatchets as a present." the ohio has no name, but a legend over it states that la salle had descended it. (see _ante_, , _note_). . joliet, at about the same time, made another map, larger than that just mentioned, but not essentially different. the letter to frontenac is written upon both. there is a third map, of which the following is the title: _carte generalle de la france septentrionale contenant la descouuerte du pays des illinois, faite par le sr. jolliet_. this map, which is inscribed with a dedication by the intendant duchesneau to the minister colbert, was made some time after the voyage of joliet and marquette. it is an elaborate piece of work, but very inaccurate. it represents the continent from hudson's strait to mexico and california, with the whole of the atlantic and a part of the pacific coast. an open sea is made to extend from hudson's strait westward to the pacific. the st. lawrence and all the great lakes are laid down with tolerable correctness, as also is the gulf of mexico. the mississippi, called "messasipi," flows into the gulf, from which it extends northward nearly to the "mer du nord." along its course, above the wisconsin, which is called "miskous," is a long list of indian tribes, most of which cannot now be recognized, though several are clearly sub-tribes of the sioux. the ohio is called "ouaboustikou." the whole map is decorated with numerous figures of animals, natives of the country, or supposed to be so. among them are camels, ostriches, and a giraffe, which are placed on the plains west of the mississippi. but the most curious figure is that which represents one of the monsters seen by joliet and marquette, painted on a rock by the indians. it corresponds with marquette's description (_ante_, ). this map, which is an early effort of the engineer franquelin, does more credit to his skill as a designer than to his geographical knowledge, which appears in some respects behind his time. . _carte de l'amérique septentrionale depuis l'embouchure de la rivière st. laurens jusques au sein mexique._ on this curious little map, the mississippi is called "riuiere buade" (the family name of frontenac); and the neighboring country is "la frontenacie." the illinois is "riuiere de la diuine ou loutrelaise," and the arkansas is "riuiere bazire." the mississippi is made to head in three lakes, and to discharge itself into "b. du s. esprit" (mobile bay). some of the legends and the orthography of various indian names are clearly borrowed from marquette. this map appears to be the work of raudin, frontenac's engineer. i owe a tracing of it to the kindness of henry harrisse, esq. . _carte des parties les plus occidentales du canada, par le père pierre raffeix_, s. j. this rude map shows the course of du lhut from the head of lake superior to the mississippi, and partly confirms the story of hennepin, who, raffeix says in a note, was rescued by du lhut. the course of joliet and marquette is given, with the legend "voyage et première descouverte du mississipy faite par le p. marquette et mr. joliet en ." the route of la salle in , , is also laid down. . in the dépôt des cartes de la marine is another map of the upper mississippi, which seems to have been made by or for du lhut. lac buade, the "issatis," the "tintons," the "houelbatons," the "poualacs," and other tribes of this region appear upon it. this is the map numbered in the _cartographie_ of harrisse. . another map deserving mention is a large and fine one, entitled _carte de l'amérique septentrionale et partie de la meridionale ... avec les nouvelles découvertes de la rivière missisipi, ou colbert_. it appears to have been made in or , before the descent of la salle to the mouth of the mississippi was known to the maker, who seems to have been franquelin. the lower mississippi is omitted, but its upper portions are elaborately laid down; and the name _la louisiane_ appears in large gold letters along its west side. the falls of st. anthony are shown, and above them is written "armes du roy gravées sur cet arbre l'an ." this refers to the _acte de prise de possession_ of du lhut in july of that year, and this part of the map seems made from data supplied by him. . we now come to the great map of franquelin, the most remarkable of all the early maps of the interior of north america, though hitherto completely ignored by both american and canadian writers. it is entitled _carte de la louisiane ou des voyages du sr. de la salle et des pays qu'il a découverts depuis la nouvelle france jusqu'au golfe mexique les années , , , et , par jean baptiste louis franquelin, l'an . paris._ franquelin was a young engineer, who held the post of hydrographer to the king, at quebec, in which joliet succeeded him. several of his maps are preserved, including one made in , in which he lays down the course of the mississippi,--the lower part from conjecture,--making it discharge itself into mobile bay. it appears from a letter of the governor, la barre, that franquelin was at quebec in , engaged on a map which was probably that of which the title is given above, though had la barre known that it was to be called a map of the journeys of his victim la salle, he would have been more sparing of his praises. "he" (franquelin), writes the governor, "is as skilful as any in france, but extremely poor and in need of a little aid from his majesty as an engineer; he is at work on a very correct map of the country, which i shall send you next year in his name; meanwhile, i shall support him with some little assistance."--_colonial documents of new york_, ix. . the map is very elaborately executed, and is six feet long and four and a half wide. it exhibits the political divisions of the continent, as the french then understood them; that is to say, all the regions drained by streams flowing into the st. lawrence and the mississippi are claimed as belonging to france, and this vast domain is separated into two grand divisions, la nouvelle france and la louisiane. the boundary line of the former, new france, is drawn from the penobscot to the southern extremity of lake champlain, and thence to the mohawk, which it crosses a little above schenectady, in order to make french subjects of the mohawk indians. thence it passes by the sources of the susquehanna and the alleghany, along the southern shore of lake erie, across southern michigan, and by the head of lake michigan, whence it sweeps northwestward to the sources of the mississippi. louisiana includes the entire valley of the mississippi and the ohio, besides the whole of texas. the spanish province of florida comprises the peninsula and the country east of the bay of mobile, drained by streams flowing into the gulf; while carolina, virginia, and the other english provinces, form a narrow strip between the alleghanies and the atlantic. the mississippi is called "missisipi, ou rivière colbert;" the missouri, "grande rivière des emissourittes, ou missourits;" the illinois, "rivière des ilinois, ou macopins;" the ohio, which la salle had before called by its present name, "fleuve st. louis, ou chucagoa, ou casquinampogamou;" one of its principal branches is "ohio, ou olighin" (alleghany); the arkansas, "rivière des acansea;" the red river, "rivière seignelay," a name which had once been given to the illinois. many smaller streams are designated by names which have been entirely forgotten. the nomenclature differs materially from that of coronelli's map, published four years later. here the whole of the french territory is laid down as "canada, ou la nouvelle france," of which "la louisiane" forms an integral part. the map of homannus, like that of franquelin, makes two distinct provinces, of which one is styled "canada" and the other "la louisiane," the latter including michigan and the greater part of new york. franquelin gives the shape of hudson's bay, and of all the great lakes, with remarkable accuracy. he makes the mississippi bend much too far to the west. the peculiar sinuosities of its course are indicated; and some of its bends--as, for example, that at new orleans--are easily recognized. its mouths are represented with great minuteness; and it may be inferred from the map that, since la salle's time, they have advanced considerably into the sea. perhaps the most interesting feature in franquelin's map is his sketch of la salle's evanescent colony on the illinois, engraved for this volume. he reproduced the map in , for presentation to the king, with the title _carte de l'amérique septentrionale, depuis le jusq'au degré de latitude et environ et degrés de longitude, etc._ in this map, franquelin corrects various errors in that which preceded. one of these corrections consists in the removal of a branch of the river illinois which he had marked on his first map,--as will be seen by referring to the portion of it in this book,--but which does not in fact exist. on this second map, la salle's colony appears in much diminished proportions, his indian settlements having in good measure dispersed. two later maps of new france and louisiana, both bearing franquelin's name, are preserved in the dépôt des cartes de la marine, as well as a number of smaller maps and sketches, also by him. they all have more or less of the features of the great map of , which surpasses them all in interest and completeness. the remarkable manuscript map of the upper mississippi by le sueur belongs to a period later than the close of this narrative. these various maps, joined to contemporary documents, show that the valley of the mississippi received, at an early date, the several names of manitoumie, frontenacie, colbertie, and la louisiane. this last name, which it long retained, is due to la salle. the first use of it which i have observed is in a conveyance of the island of belleisle made by him to his lieutenant, la forest, in . ii. the eldorado of mathieu sÂgean. father hennepin had among his contemporaries two rivals in the fabrication of new discoveries. the first was the noted la hontan, whose book, like his own, had a wide circulation and proved a great success. la hontan had seen much, and portions of his story have a substantial value; but his account of his pretended voyage up the "long river" is a sheer fabrication. his "long river" corresponds in position with the st. peter, but it corresponds in nothing else; and the populous nations whom he found on it--the eokoros, the esanapes, and the gnacsitares, no less than their neighbors the mozeemlek and the tahuglauk--are as real as the nations visited by captain gulliver. but la hontan did not, like hennepin, add slander and plagiarism to mendacity, or seek to appropriate to himself the credit of genuine discoveries made by others. mathieu sâgean is a personage less known than hennepin or la hontan; for though he surpassed them both in fertility of invention, he was illiterate, and never made a book. in , being then a soldier in a company of marines at brest, he revealed a secret which he declared that he had locked within his breast for twenty years, having been unwilling to impart it to the dutch and english, in whose service he had been during the whole period. his story was written down from his dictation, and sent to the minister ponchartrain. it is preserved in the bibliothèque nationale, and in it was printed by mr. shea. he was born, he declares, at la chine in canada, and engaged in the service of la salle about twenty years before the revelation of his secret; that is, in . hence, he would have been, at the utmost, only fourteen years old, as la chine did not exist before . he was with la salle at the building of fort st. louis of the illinois, and was left here as one of a hundred men under command of tonty. tonty, it is to be observed, had but a small fraction of this number; and sâgean describes the fort in a manner which shows that he never saw it. being desirous of making some new discovery, he obtained leave from tonty, and set out with eleven other frenchmen and two mohegan indians. they ascended the mississippi a hundred and fifty leagues, carried their canoes by a cataract, went forty leagues farther, and stopped a month to hunt. while thus employed, they found another river, fourteen leagues distant, flowing south-southwest. they carried their canoes thither, meeting on the way many lions, leopards, and tigers, which did them no harm; then they embarked, paddled a hundred and fifty leagues farther, and found themselves in the midst of the great nation of the acanibas, dwelling in many fortified towns, and governed by king hagaren, who claimed descent from montezuma. the king, like his subjects, was clothed with the skins of men. nevertheless, he and they were civilized and polished in their manners. they worshipped certain frightful idols of gold in the royal palace. one of them represented the ancestor of their monarch armed with lance, bow, and quiver, and in the act of mounting his horse; while in his mouth he held a jewel as large as a goose's egg, which shone like fire, and which, in the opinion of sâgean, was a carbuncle. another of these images was that of a woman mounted on a golden unicorn, with a horn more than a fathom long. after passing, pursues the story, between these idols, which stand on platforms of gold, each thirty feet square, one enters a magnificent vestibule, conducting to the apartment of the king. at the four corners of this vestibule are stationed bands of music, which, to the taste of sâgean, was of very poor quality. the palace is of vast extent, and the private apartment of the king is twenty-eight or thirty feet square; the walls, to the height of eighteen feet, being of bricks of solid gold, and the pavement of the same. here the king dwells alone, served only by his wives, of whom he takes a new one every day. the frenchmen alone had the privilege of entering, and were graciously received. these people carry on a great trade in gold with a nation, believed by sâgean to be the japanese, as the journey to them lasts six months. he saw the departure of one of the caravans, which consisted of more than three thousand oxen, laden with gold, and an equal number of horsemen, armed with lances, bows, and daggers. they receive iron and steel in exchange for their gold. the king has an army of a hundred thousand men, of whom three fourths are cavalry. they have golden trumpets, with which they make very indifferent music; and also golden drums, which, as well as the drummer, are carried on the backs of oxen. the troops are practised once a week in shooting at a target with arrows; and the king rewards the victor with one of his wives, or with some honorable employment. these people are of a dark complexion and hideous to look upon, because their faces are made long and narrow by pressing their heads between two boards in infancy. the women, however, are as fair as in europe; though, in common with the men, their ears are enormously large. all persons of distinction among the acanibas wear their fingernails very long. they are polygamists, and each man takes as many wives as he wants. they are of a joyous disposition, moderate drinkers, but great smokers. they entertained sâgean and his followers during five months with the fat of the land; and any woman who refused a frenchman was ordered to be killed. six girls were put to death with daggers for this breach of hospitality. the king, being anxious to retain his visitors in his service, offered sâgean one of his daughters, aged fourteen years, in marriage; and when he saw him resolved to depart, promised to keep her for him till he should return. the climate is delightful, and summer reigns throughout the year. the plains are full of birds and animals of all kinds, among which are many parrots and monkeys, besides the wild cattle, with humps like camels, which these people use as beasts of burden. king hagaren would not let the frenchmen go till they had sworn by the sky, which is the customary oath of the acanibas, that they would return in thirty-six moons, and bring him a supply of beads and other trinkets from canada. as gold was to be had for the asking, each of the eleven frenchmen took away with him sixty small bars, weighing about four pounds each. the king ordered two hundred horsemen to escort them, and carry the gold to their canoes; which they did, and then bade them farewell with terrific howlings, meant, doubtless, to do them honor. after many adventures, wherein nearly all his companions came to a bloody end, sâgean, and the few others who survived, had the ill luck to be captured by english pirates, at the mouth of the st. lawrence. he spent many years among them in the east and west indies, but would not reveal the secret of his eldorado to these heretical foreigners. such was the story, which so far imposed on the credulity of the minister ponchartrain as to persuade him that the matter was worth serious examination. accordingly, sâgean was sent to louisiana, then in its earliest infancy as a french colony. here he met various persons who had known him in canada, who denied that he had ever been on the mississippi, and contradicted his account of his parentage. nevertheless, he held fast to his story, and declared that the gold mines of the acanibas could be reached without difficulty by the river missouri. but sauvolle and bienville, chiefs of the colony, were obstinate in their unbelief; and sâgean and his king hagaren lapsed alike into oblivion. index. abenakis, the, , , , . acanibas, the, great nation of, description of, - ; gold mines of, . "acansea" (arkansas) river, the, . accau, michel, , , , , , , , , . african travel, history of, . agniers (mohawks), the, . aigron, captain, on ill-terms with la salle, , , . ailleboust, madame d', . "aimable," la salle's store-ship, , , , , , , , , , . aire, beaujeu's lieutenant, . akanseas, nation of the, . see also _arkansas indians, the_. albanel, prominent among the jesuit explorers, ; his journey up the saguenay to hudson's bay, . albany, , , . algonquin indians, the, jean nicollet among, ; at ste. marie du saut, ; the iroquois spread desolation among, . alkansas, nation of the, . see also _arkansas indians, the_. alleghany mountains, the, , , , . alleghany river, the, , , . allouez, father claude, explores a part of lake superior, ; name of lake michigan, , ; sent to green bay to found a mission, ; joined by dablon, ; among the mascoutins and the miamis, ; among the foxes, ; at saut ste. marie, ; addresses the indians at saut ste. marie, ; population of the illinois valley, ; intrigues against la salle, , ; at fort st. louis of the illinois, ; his fear of la salle, . allumette island, . alton, city of, . america, debt due la salle from, . "amerique occidentale" (mississippi valley), . amikoués, the, at saut ste. marie, . andastes, reduced to helpless insignificance by the iroquois, . andré, louis, mission of the manitoulin island assigned to, ; makes a missionary tour among the nipissings, ; his experiences among them, ; at saut ste. marie, . anthony, st., of padua, the patron of la salle's great enterprise, , , . anticosti, great island of, granted to joliet, . appalache, bay of, . aquipaguetin, chief, ; plots against hennepin, , , , , , . aramoni river, the, , , . arctic travel, history of, . arkansas indians, the, joliet and marquette among, , ; la salle among, ; various names of, ; tallest and best-formed indians in america, , ; villages of, . arkansas river, the, ; joutel's arrival at, ; joutel descends, ; , . arnoul, sieur, , . arouet, françois marie, see _voltaire_. aspinwall, col. thomas, . assiniboins, the, at the jesuit mission of st. esprit, , ; du lhut among, . assonis, the, joutel among, ; tonty among, . atlantic coast, the, . atlantic ocean, the, . auguel, antoine, . see also _du gay, picard_. autray, sieur d', . bancroft, . barbier, sieur, ; marriage of, , ; fate of, . barcia, , . barrois, secretary of count frontenac, . barthelemy, , , . baugis, chevalier de, , . bazire, . beauharnois, forest of, . beaujeu, madame de, devotion to the jesuits, . beaujeu, sieur de, divides with la salle the command of the new enterprise, ; lack of harmony between la salle and, - ; letters to seignelay, - ; letters to cabart de villermont, - ; sails from rochelle, ; disputes with la salle, ; the voyage, ; complaints of, ; la salle waiting for, ; meeting with la salle, ; in texas, ; makes friendly advances to la salle, ; departure of, ; conduct of, ; coldly received by seignelay, , . "beautiful river" (ohio), the, . bégon, the intendant, , . "belle," la salle's frigate, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . bellefontaine, tonty's lieutenant, , . belle isle, . belleisle, island of, . bellinzani, . bernon, abbé, on the character of la salle, . bibliothèque mazarine, the, . bienville, . big vermilion river, the, , , . bissot, claire, her marriage to louis joliet, . black rock, . boeufs, rivière aux, . bois blanc, island of, . boisrondet, sieur de, , , , , , . boisseau, . bolton, captain, reaches the mississippi, . boston, ; rumored that the dutch fleet had captured, . boughton hill, . bourbon, louis armand de, see, _conti, prince de_. bourdon, the engineer, . bourdon, jean, . see also _dautray_. bourdon, madame, superior of the sainte famille, . bowman, w. e., . branssac, loans merchandise to la salle, , . brazos river, the, . breman, fate of, , . brest, . brinvilliers, burned alive, . british territories, the, . brodhead, . bruyas, the jesuit, ; among the onondagas and the mohawks, , ; the "racines agnières" of, . buade, lake, , , . buade, louis de, see _frontenac, count_. buade, rivière (mississippi), . buffalo, the, , . buffalo rock, , ; occupied by the miami village, ; described by charlevoix, . buisset, luc, the récollet, ; at fort frontenac, , , , . bull river, . burnt wood river, the, . caddoes, the, ; villages of, . cadodaquis, the, . california, gulf of, , , , , , , . california, state of, . camanches, the, . cambray, archbishop of, . canada, ; frontenac's treaty with the indians confers an inestimable blessing on all, ; no longer merely a mission, , . canadian parliament, library of, the, . cananistigoyan, . carignan, regiment of, , . carolina, . carver, , . "casquinampogamou" (st. louis) river, the, . casson, dollier de, ; among the nipissings, ; leads an expedition of conversion, ; combines his expedition with that of la salle, ; journey of, , ; _belles paroles_ of la salle, ; discoveries of la salle, , . cataraqui bridge, the, . cataraqui river, the, ; frontenac at, ; fort built on the banks of, . cavelier, nephew of la salle, , , , , , , , . cavelier, henri, uncle of la salle, , . cavelier, jean, father of la salle, . cavelier, abbé jean, brother of la salle, ; at montreal, ; la salle defamed to, ; causes la salle no little annoyance, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ; unreliable in his writings, , , ; doubt and anxiety, , , ; plans to escape, ; the murder of duhaut, ; sets out for home, , ; among the assonis, , ; on the arkansas, ; at fort st. louis of the illinois, ; visit to father allouez, ; conceals la salle's death, ; reaches montreal, ; embarks for france, ; his report to seignelay, , ; his memorial to the king, , . cavelier, madeleine, , . cavelier, rené robert, see _la salle, sieur de_. cayuga creek, , . cayugas, the, frontenac's address to, . cenis, the, la salle among, ; villages of, ; duhaut's journey to, ; joutel among, - ; customs of, ; joined by hiens on a war-expedition, . champigny, intendant of canada, . champlain, lake, . champlain, samuel de, dreams of the south sea, ; map of, ; his enthusiasm compared with that of la salle, ; first to map out the great lakes, . chaouanons (shawanoes), the, , . charlevoix, ; death of marquette, ; ; the names of the illinois river, ; the loss of the "griffin," ; the illinois indians, ; doubted veracity of hennepin, ; the iroquois virgin, tegahkouita, ; the arkansas nation, ; visits the natchez indians, ; describes "starved rock" and buffalo rock, ; speaks of "le rocher," ; character of la salle, , ; the remains of fort st. louis of the illinois, . charon, creditor of la salle, . charron, madame, . chartier, martin, . chassagoac, chief of the illinois, meeting with la salle, . chassagouasse, chief, . chateauguay, forest of, . "chaudière, lac de la" (lake st. clair), . chaumonot, the jesuit, founds the association of the sainte famille, . chefdeville, m. de, , , , . cheruel, . chicago, , , , , . chicago portage, the, . chicago river, the, ; marquette on, , . chickasaw bluffs, the, . chickasaw indians, the, , , , , . chikachas (chickasaws), the, . china, , , . china, sea of, , . chippewa creek, , . chippeway river, the, . "chucagoa" (st. louis) river, the, . chukagoua (ohio) river, the, . clark, james, , ; the site of the great illinois town, . coahuila, . colbert, the minister, joliet's discovery of the mississippi announced to, ; frontenac's despatch, recommending la salle, ; la salle defamed to, ; a memorial of la salle laid before, , , , . colbert river (mississippi), the, , , , , , , , . "colbertie" (mississippi valley), . collin, . colorado river, the, , . comet of , the great, . "conception, rivière de la" (mississippi river), . conti, fort, ; location of, , . conti, lac de (lake erie), . conti, prince de (second), patron of la salle, ; letter from la salle, . copper mines of lake superior, ; joliet attempts to discover, ; the jesuits labor to explore, ; indian legends concerning, ; saint-lusson sets out to discover, . coroas, the, visited by the french, , . coronelli, map made by, , . corpus christi bay, . cosme, st., , , ; commendation of tonty, . courcelle, governor, , , , ; quarrel with talon, ; schemes to protect french trade in canada, . couture, the assassination of la salle, ; welcomes joutel, , , , , . creeks, the, . crees, the, at saut ste. marie, . crèvecoeur, fort, ; built by la salle, ; la salle at, - ; destroyed by the mutineers, ; la salle finds the ruins of, . crow indians, the, make war upon the dead, . cuba, , . cussy, de, governor of la tortue, , . dablon, father claude the jesuit, at ste. marie du saut, , ; reports the discovery of copper, ; the location of the illinois indians, ; the name of lake michigan, ; joins father allouez at the green bay mission, ; among the mascoutins and the miamis, ; the cross among the foxes, ; the authority and state of the miami chief, ; allouez's harangue at saut ste. marie, ; rumors of the dutch fleet, , . dacotah (sioux) indians, the, . dauphin, fort, ; location of, . dauphin, lac (lake michigan), . daupin, françois, . dautray, , , , . de launay, see _launay, de_. de leon, see _leon, alonzo de_. de leon (san antonio), the, . del norte, the, . de marle, see _marle, de_. denonville, marquis de, , , , ; in the iroquois war, ; announces war against spain, ; commendation of tonty, . des groseilliers, médard chouart, reaches the mississippi, . deslauriers, . desloges, . des moines, . des moines river, the, , . de soto, hernando, buried in the mississippi, . des plaines river, the, , , . detroit, . detroit river, the, , , . detroit, the strait of, first recorded passage of white men through, ; the "griffin" in, ; du lhut ordered to fortify, , . divine, the rivière de la, , . dollier, see _casson, dollier de_. douay, anastase, , ; joins la salle's new enterprise, , ; in texas, ; at fort st. louis, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ; the assassination of la salle, ; unreliable in his writings, , ; doubt and anxiety, , ; the murder of duhaut, , ; sets out for home, , ; visit to father allouez, ; character of, . druilletes, gabriel, at saut ste. marie, ; teaches marquette the montagnais language, . duchesneau, the intendant, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . du gay, picard, , , , , ; among the sioux, , , , , , , , , . duhaut, the brothers, , . duhaut, the elder, return of, ; at fort st. louis, ; plots against la salle, , , ; quarrel with moranget, ; murders moranget, saget, and nika, ; assassinates la salle, ; triumph of, ; journey to the cenis villages, ; resolves to return to fort st. louis, ; quarrel with hiens, ; plans to go to canada, ; murder of, . du lhut, daniel greysolon, ; meeting with hennepin, ; sketch of, ; exploits of, , ; route of, ; explorations of, - ; among the assiniboins and the sioux, ; joined by hennepin, ; reaches the green bay mission, , ; in the iroquois war, , , . dumesnil, la salle's servant, . dumont, la salle borrows money from, . duplessis, attempts to murder la salle, . dupont, nicolas, . du pratz, customs of the natchez, . durango, . durantaye, ; in the iroquois war, . dutch, the, trade with the indians, ; encourage the iroquois to fight, . dutch fleet, the, rumored to have captured boston, . east indies, the, . eastman, mrs., legend of winona, . "emissourites, rivière des" (missouri), . english, the, hold out great inducements to joliet to join them, ; french company formed to compete at hudson's bay with, ; trade with the indians, ; encourage the iroquois to fight, . "english jem," . eokoros, the, . erie, lake, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . eries, the, exterminated by the iroquois, . esanapes, the, . esmanville, the priest, , . espiritu santo bay, , . estrées, count d', . faillon, abbé, connection of la salle with the jesuits, ; the seigniory of la salle, , ; detailed plan of montreal, ; la salle's discoveries, ; la salle in need of money, ; throws much light on the life of, , ; on the establishment of the association of the sainte famille, ; plan of fort frontenac, . fauvel-cavelier, mme., . fénelon, abbé, ; attempts to mediate between frontenac and perrot, ; preaches against frontenac at montreal, . ferland, throws much light on the life of joliet, . fire nation, the, . five nations, the, . florida, . florida indians, the, lodges of, . folles-avoines, nation des, . forked river (mississippi), the, . fox river, the, , , , , . foxes, the at the jesuit mission of st. esprit, ; location of, ; father allouez among, ; incensed against the french, ; the cross among, , . france, takes possession of the west, ; receives on parchment a stupendous accession, . francheville, pierre, . francis, st., . franciscans, the, . franquelin, jean baptiste louis, manuscript map made by, , , , , , , , , , , , . fremin, the jesuit, . french, the, hurons the allies of, ; in western new york, - ; the iroquois felt the power of, ; the foxes incensed against, ; the jesuits seek to embroil the iroquois with, ; seeking to secure a monopoly of the furs of the north and west, ; in texas, ; reoccupy fort st. louis of the illinois, . french river, , . frontenac, count, la salle addresses a memorial to, ; announces joliet's discovery of the mississippi to colbert, ; speaks slightingly of joliet, ; succeeds courcelle as governor, , , , ; letter from joliet to, ; favorably disposed to la salle, ; comes to canada a ruined man, ; schemes of, ; at montreal, ; his journey to lake ontario, ; faculty for managing the indians, ; reaches lake ontario, ; at cataraqui, ; addresses the indians, ; admirable dealing with the indians, , ; his enterprise a complete success, ; confers an inestimable benefit on all canada, ; his plan to command the upper lakes, ; quarrel with perrot, ; arrests perrot, ; has montreal well in hand, ; the abbé fénelon attempts to mediate between perrot and, ; the abbé fénelon preaches against, ; championed by la salle, ; recommends la salle to colbert, ; expects to share in profits of la salle's new post, ; hatred of the jesuits, ; protects the récollets, ; intrigues of the jesuits, , , , , , , ; entertains father hennepin, , ; recalled to france, ; obligations of la salle to, ; commendation of tonty, , , , . frontenac, fort, ; granted to la salle, ; rebuilt by la salle, , ; la salle at, ; plan of, ; not established for commercial gain alone, , , , ; la barre takes possession of, ; restored to la salle by the king, , . frontenac (ontario), lake, , , , . frontenac, madame de, . "frontenacie, la," . fur-trade, the, the jesuits accused of taking part in, , ; the jesuits seek to establish a monopoly in, . gabriel, father, , , , . gaeta, . galinée, father, ; recounts the journey of la salle and the sulpitians, , , ; cruelty of the senecas, ; the work of the jesuits, ; makes the earliest map of the upper lakes, , , , . galve, viceroy, . galveston bay, , , . garakontié, chief, . garnier, julien, ; among the senecas, . gayen, . geest, catherine mother of la salle, ; la salle's farewell to, . geest, nicolas, . gendron, . genesee, the falls of the, . genesee river, the, , , . georgian bay of lake huron, , . giton, la salle borrows money from, . gnacsitares, the, . gould, dr. b. a., on the "great comet of ," . grandfontaine, chevalier de, . grand gulf, . grand river, , . gravier, , ; the arkansas nation, . great lakes, the, ; joliet makes a map of the region of, ; early unpublished maps of, - ; champlain makes the first attempt to map out, . great manitoulin island, the, . "great mountain," the indian name for the governor of canada, . green bay of lake michigan, the, , , , , ; la salle at, ; . green bay mission, the, father allouez sent to found, ; marquette at, ; father hennepin and du lhut reach, . "griffin," the, building of, - ; finished, ; voyage of, - ; at st. ignace of michilimackinac, ; set sail for niagara laden with furs, ; la salle's forebodings concerning, ; loss of, , . grollet, , , , , ; sent to spain, . guadalupe, the, . gulliver, captain, . hagaren, king of the acanibas, - . hamilton, town of, . harrisse, henry, , , . haukiki (marest) river, the, . hennepin, louis, connection of la salle with the jesuits, ; at fort frontenac, ; meets la salle on his return to canada, ; receives permission to join la salle, ; his journey to fort frontenac, ; sets out with la motte for niagara, ; portrait of, ; his past life, ; sails for canada, ; relations with la salle, , ; work among the indians, ; the most impudent of liars, ; daring of, ; embarks on the journey, ; reaches the niagara, ; account of the falls and river of niagara, ; among the senecas, , ; at the niagara portage, - ; the launch of the "griffin," , ; on board the "griffin," ; st. anthony of padua the patron saint of la salle's great enterprise, ; the departure of the "griffin" for niagara, ; la salle's encounter with the outagamies, ; la salle rejoined by tonty, ; la salle's forebodings concerning the "griffin," ; population of the illinois valley, ; among the illinois, , ; the story of monso, ; la salle's men desert him, ; at fort crèvecoeur, ; sent to the mississippi, ; the journey from fort crèvecoeur, ; the mutineers at fort crèvecoeur, ; ; sets out to explore the illinois river, ; his claims to the discovery of the mississippi, ; doubted veracity of, ; captured by the sioux, ; proved an impostor, ; steals passages from membré and le clerc, ; his journey northward, ; suspected of sorcery, ; plots against, ; a hard journey, ; among the sioux, - ; adopted as a son by the sioux, ; sets out for the wisconsin, ; notice of the falls of st. anthony, ; rejoins the indians, ; meeting with du lhut, ; joins du lhut, ; reaches the green bay mission, ; reaches fort frontenac, ; goes to montreal, ; entertained by frontenac, ; returns to europe, ; dies in obscurity, ; louis xiv. orders the arrest of, ; various editions of the travels of, ; finds fault with tonty, , , ; rivals of, , . hiens, the german, , , ; murders moranget, saget, and nika, ; quarrel with duhaut and liotot, ; murders duhaut, ; joins the cenis on a war expedition, , ; fate of, . hillaret moïse, , , , , , . hitt, col. d. f., . hohays, the, . homannus, map made by, . hondo (rio frio), the, . horse shoe fall, the, . hôtel-dieu at montreal, the, , . hudson's bay, joliet's voyage to, ; albanel's journey to, , , . hudson's strait, . humber river, the, , . hunaut, , , . hundred associates, company of the, . huron indians, the, quarrel with the winnebagoes, ; allies of the french, ; at the jesuit mission of st. esprit, ; marquette among, ; terrified by the sioux, ; destroyed by the iroquois, . huron, lake, , , ; the jesuits on, , ; saint-lusson takes possession for france of, ; la salle on, , , , . huron mission, the, . huron river, the, . "hyacinth, confection of," . iberville, the founder of louisiana, ; joined by tonty, , , . ignatius, saint, . illinois, great town of the, ; deserted, ; la salle at, ; description of, ; tonty in, ; abandoned to the iroquois, ; site of, . illinois indians, the, at the jesuit mission of st. esprit, ; location of, , , ; joliet and marquette among, , , , , , ; la salle among, - ; hospitality of, ; deep-rooted jealousy of the osages, , ; war with the iroquois, , ; the miamis join the iroquois against, ; rankling jealousy between the miamis and, ; an aggregation of kindred tribes, ; characteristics of, ; tonty intercedes for, ; treaty made with the iroquois, ; attacked by the iroquois, ; become allies of la salle, , ; at "starved rock," ; join la salle's colony, , ; very capricious and uncertain, , . illinois, lake of the (lake michigan), , , , , . illinois river, the, , , ; discovered by la salle, ; joliet and marquette on, , ; la salle on, ; various names of, , ; ravaged granaries of, , ; father hennepin sets out to explore, , , ; la salle's projected colony on the banks of, , , , , ; joutel on, , , , , . illinois, state of, first civilized occupation of, . illinois, valley of the, population of, . immaculate conception, the, doctrine of, a favorite tenet of the jesuits, . immaculate conception, mission of the, marquette sets out to found, . incarnation, marie de l', . indians, the, father jogues and raymbault preach among, ; ferocity of, ; manitous of, , , ; their game of la crosse, ; the tribes meet at saut ste. marie to confer with saint-lusson, - ; reception to joliet and marquette, ; lodges of, ; reception to frontenac, ; frontenac's admirable dealing with, , ; alphabetical list of tribes referred to:-- abenakis, acanibas, agniers, akanseas, algonquins, alkansas, amikoués, andastes, arkansas, assiniboins, assonis, caddoes, cadodaquis, camanches, cenis, chaouanons, chickasaws, chikachas, coroas, creeks, crees, crows, dacotah, eries, fire nation, five nations, floridas, foxes, hohays, hurons, illinois, iroquois, issanti, issanyati, issati, kahokias, kanzas, kappas, kaskaskias, kickapoos, kilatica, kious, kiskakon ottawas, knisteneaux, koroas, malhoumines, malouminek, mandans, maroas, mascoutins, meddewakantonwan, menomonies, miamis, mitchigamias, mohawks, mohegans, moingona, monsonis, motantees, nadouessioux, natchez, nation des folles-avoines, nation of the prairie, neutrals, nipissings, ojibwas, omahas, oneidas, onondagas, osages, osotouoy, ottawas, ouabona, ouiatenons, oumalouminek, oumas, outagamies, pah-utahs, pawnees, peanqhichia, peorias, pepikokia, piankishaws, pottawattamies, quapaws, quinipissas, sacs, sauteurs, sauthouis, senecas, shawanoes, sioux, sokokis, taensas, tamaroas, tangibao, terliquiquimechi, tetons, texas, tintonwans, tongengas, topingas, torimans, wapoos, weas, wild-rice, winnebagoes, yankton sioux. irondequoit bay, . iroquois indians, the, ; alone remain, ; felt the power of the french, ; the "beautiful river," ; onondaga the political centre of, ; the jesuits seek to embroil them with the french, ; ferocious character of, ; war with the illinois, ; ferocious triumphs of, ; break into war, ; trade with the dutch and the english, ; jealous of la salle, ; joined by the miamis against the illinois, ; attack on the illinois village, ; grant a truce to tonty, ; take possession of the illinois village, ; make a treaty with the illinois, ; treachery of, ; tonty departs from, ; attack on the dead, ; attack on the illinois, , ; encouraged to fight by the dutch and english traders, ; attack fort st. louis, . iroquois war, the, havoc and desolation of, , ; a war of commercial advantage, ; the french in, . isle of pines, the, . issanti, the, . issanyati, the, . issati, the, . "issatis," the, . jacques, companion of marquette, , . jansenists, the, . japan, , . japanese, the, . jesuitism, no diminution in the vital force of, . jesuits, the, their thoughts dwell on the mississippi, ; la salle's connection with, ; la salle parts with, ; influence exercised by, ; want no help from the sulpitians, ; a change of spirit, , ; their best hopes in the north and west, ; on the lakes, ; labor to explore the copper mines of lake superior, ; a mixture of fanaticism, ; claimed a monopoly of conversion, ; make a map of lake superior, ; the missionary stations, ; trading with the indians, ; doctrine of the immaculate conception a favorite tenet of, ; greatly opposed to the establishment of forts and trading-posts in the upper country, ; opposition to frontenac and la salle, ; frontenac's hatred of, ; turn their eyes towards the valley of the mississippi, ; no longer supreme in canada, ; la salle their most dangerous rival for the control of the west, ; masters at quebec, ; accused of selling brandy to the indians, ; accused of carrying on a fur-trade, , ; comparison between the récollets and sulpitians and, ; seek to establish a monopoly in the fur-trade, ; intrigues against la salle, ; seek to embroil the iroquois with the french, ; exculpated by la salle from the attempt to poison him, ; induce men to desert from la salle, ; have a mission among the mohawks, ; plan against la salle, ; maps made by, . jesus, order of, . jesus, society of, see _society of jesus_. jogues, father isaac, preaches among the indians, , . joliet, louis, destined to hold a conspicuous place in history of western discovery, ; early life of, ; sent to discover the copper mines of lake superior, , ; his failure, ; meeting with la salle and the sulpitians, ; passage through the strait of detroit, ; makes maps of the region of the mississippi and the great lakes, ; claims the discovery of the mississippi, ; frontenac speaks slightingly of, ; at saut ste. marie, ; sent by talon to discover the mississippi, ; early history of, ; characteristics of, ; shea first to discover history of, ; ferland, faillon, and margry throw much light on the life of, ; marquette chosen to accompany him on his search for the mississippi, ; the departure, ; the mississippi at last, ; on the mississippi, ; meeting with the illinois, ; at the mouth of the missouri, ; on the lower mississippi, ; among the arkansas indians, ; determines that the mississippi discharges into the gulf of mexico, ; resolves to return to canada, ; serious accident to, ; letter to frontenac, ; smaller map of his discoveries, ; marriage to claire bissot, ; journey to hudson's bay, ; the english hold out great inducements to, ; receives grants of land, ; engages in fisheries, ; makes a chart of the st. lawrence, ; sir william phips makes a descent on the establishment of, ; explores the coast of labrador, ; made royal pilot for the st. lawrence by frontenac, ; appointed hydrographer at quebec, ; death of, ; said to be an impostor, ; refused permission to plant a trading station in the valley of the mississippi, , ; maps made by, , , , . joliet, town of, . "joly," the vessel, , , , , , , , , , , . jolycoeur (nicolas perrot), . joutel, henri, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ; sketches the portrait of la salle, ; the assassination of la salle, , ; danger of, ; friendship of l'archevêque for, ; doubt and anxiety, , ; among the cenis indians, - ; plans to escape, - ; the murder of duhaut, , ; sets out for home, ; his party, ; among the assonis, - ; arrival at the arkansas, ; friendly reception, ; descends the arkansas, ; on the illinois, ; at fort st. louis of the illinois, ; visit to father allouez, ; reaches montreal, ; embarks for france, ; character of, . kahokias, the, . kalm, . kamalastigouia, . kankakee, the sources of, , , , . kansa (kanzas), the, . kanzas, the, . kappa band, the, of the arkansas, . "kaskaskia," illinois village of, ; the mission at, . kaskaskias, the, , . kiakiki river, the, . kickapoos, the, location of ; join the mascoutins and miamis, ; murder father ribourde, . kilatica, the, join la salle's colony, . king philip's war, . kingston, , . kious (sioux), the, . kiskakon ottawas, the, , . knisteneaux, the, at the jesuit mission of st. esprit, . koroas, the, . la barre, le febvre de, ; succeeds frontenac as governor, ; weakness and avarice of, ; royal instructions to, ; letters from la salle, - ; defames la salle to seignelay, - ; plots against la salle, ; takes possession of fort frontenac and fort st. louis, - ; ordered by the king to make restitution, , . labrador, coasts of, ; explored by joliet, . la chapelle, ; takes false reports of la salle to fort crèvecoeur, . la chesnaye, , . la chine, the seigniory of la salle at, ; la salle lays the rude beginnings of a settlement at, ; la salle and the sulpitians set out from, ; origin of the name, , , . la chine rapids, the, . la crosse, indian game of, . la divine river, the (des plaines river), , . la forest, la salle's lieutenant, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . la forge, , . la harpe, . la hontan, , ; loss of the "griffin," , , , , . lakes, upper, , ; galinée, makes the earliest map of, , ; jesuit missions on, ; marquette on, , ; frontenac's plan to command, ; first vessel on, ; la salle on, - . lalemant, . la metairie, jacques de, . la motte, see _lussière, la motte de_. lanquetot, see _liotot_. laon, . la pointe, jesuit mission of st. esprit at, . la potherie, ; reception of saint-lusson by the miamis, ; henri de tonty's iron hand, ; loss of the "griffin," ; the iroquois attack on the illinois, . l'archevêque, , ; murders moranget, saget, and nika, ; the assassination of la salle, ; friendship for joutel, ; danger of, , , ; sent to spain, . la sablonnière, marquis de, , , , , . la salle, sieur de, birth of, ; origin of his name, ; connection with the jesuits, ; characteristics of, ; parts with the jesuits, ; sails for canada, ; at montreal, ; schemes of, ; his seigniory at la chine, ; begins to study indian languages, ; plans of discovery, , ; sells his seigniory, ; joins his expedition to that of the seminary priests, ; sets out from la chine, ; journey of, , ; hospitality of the senecas, ; fears for his safety, ; meeting with joliet, ; _belles paroles_ of, ; parts with the sulpitians, ; obscurity of his subsequent work, ; goes to onondaga, ; deserted by his men, ; meeting with perrot, ; reported movements of, ; talon claims to have sent him to explore, ; affirms that he discovered the ohio, ; discovery of the mississippi, ; discovered the illinois river, ; pays the expenses of his expeditions, ; in great need of money, ; borrows merchandise from the seminary, ; contrasted with marquette, ; called a visionary, ; projects of, ; frontenac favorably disposed towards, ; faculty for managing the indians, ; at montreal, ; champions frontenac, ; goes to france, ; recommended to colbert by frontenac, ; petitions for a patent of nobility and a grant of fort frontenac, ; his petition granted, ; returns to canada, ; oppressed by the merchants of canada, ; le ber becomes the bitter enemy of, ; aims at the control of the valleys of the ohio and the mississippi, ; opposed by the jesuits, ; the most dangerous rival of the jesuits for the control of the west, ; the prince de conti the patron of, ; the abbé renaudot's memoir of, , ; account of, ; not well inclined towards the récollets, ; plots against, ; caused no little annoyance by his brother, ; jesuit intrigues against, ; attempt to poison, ; exculpates the jesuits, ; letter to the prince de conti, ; the jesuits induce men to desert from, ; defamed to colbert, ; at fort frontenac, ; sails again for france, ; his memorial laid before colbert, ; urges the planting of colonies in the west, ; receives a patent from louis xiv., ; forbidden to trade with the ottawas, ; given the monopoly of buffalo-hides, ; makes plans to carry out his designs, ; assistance received from his friends, ; invaluable aid received from henri de tonty, ; joined by la motte de lussière, ; sails for canada, ; makes a league with the canadian merchants, ; met by father hennepin on his return to canada, ; joined by father hennepin, ; relations with father hennepin, , ; sets out to join la motte, ; almost wrecked, ; treachery of his pilot, ; pacifies the senecas, ; delayed by jealousies, ; returns to fort frontenac, ; unfortunate in the choice of subordinates, ; builds a vessel above the niagara cataract, ; jealousy and discontent, ; lays foundation for blockhouses at niagara, ; the launch of the "griffin," ; his property attached by his creditors, ; on lake huron, ; commends his great enterprise to st. anthony of padua, ; at st. ignace of michilimackinac, ; rivals and enemies, ; on lake michigan, ; at green bay, ; finds the pottawattamies friendly, ; sends the "griffin" back to niagara laden with furs, ; trades with the ottawas, ; hardships, ; encounter with the outagamies, , ; rejoined by tonty, ; forebodings concerning the "griffin," ; on the st. joseph, ; lost in the forest, ; on the illinois, ; duplessis attempts to murder, ; the illinois town, , ; hunger relieved, ; illinois hospitality, ; still followed by the intrigues of his enemies, ; harangues the indians, ; deserted by his men, ; another attempt to poison, ; builds fort crèvecoeur, ; loss of the "griffin," ; anxieties of, ; a happy artifice, ; builds another vessel, ; sends hennepin to the mississippi, ; parting with tonty, ; hardihood of, - ; his winter journey to fort frontenac, ; the deserted town of the illinois, ; meeting with chief chassagoac, ; "starved rock," ; lake michigan, ; the wilderness, , ; indian alarms, ; reaches niagara, ; man and nature in arms against, ; mutineers at fort crèvecoeur, ; chastisement of the mutineers, ; strength in the face of adversity, ; his best hope in tonty, ; sets out to succor tonty, ; kills buffalo, ; a night of horror, ; fears for tonty, ; finds the ruins of fort crèvecoeur, ; beholds the mississippi, ; beholds the "great comet of ," ; returns to fort miami, ; jealousy of the iroquois of, , ; route of, ; margry brings to light the letters of, ; begins anew, ; plans for a defensive league, ; indian friends, ; hears good news of tonty, ; illinois allies, ; calls the indians to a grand council, ; his power of oratory, ; his harangue, ; the reply of the chiefs, ; finds tonty, ; parts with a portion of his monopolies, ; at toronto, ; reaches lake huron, ; at fort miami, ; on the mississippi, ; among the arkansas indians, ; takes formal possession of the arkansas country, ; visited by the chief of the taensas, ; visits the coroas, ; hostility, ; the mouth of the mississippi, ; takes possession of the great west for france, ; bestows the name of "louisiana" on the new domain, ; attacked by the quinipissas, ; revisits the coroas, ; seized by a dangerous illness, ; rejoins tonty at michilimackinac, ; his projected colony on the banks of the illinois, ; intrenches himself at "starved rock," ; gathers his indian allies at fort st. louis, ; his colony on the illinois, ; success of his colony, ; letters to la barre, - ; defamed by la barre to seignelay, - ; la barre plots against, ; la barre takes possession of fort frontenac and fort st. louis, - ; sails for france, ; painted by himself, - ; difficulty of knowing him, ; his detractors, ; his letters, - ; vexations of his position, ; his unfitness for trade, ; risks of correspondence, ; his reported marriage, ; alleged ostentation, ; motives of actions, ; charges of harshness, ; intrigues against him, ; unpopular manners, , ; a strange confession, ; his strength and his weakness, , ; contrasts of his character, , ; at court, ; received by the king, ; new proposals of, - ; small knowledge of mexican geography, ; plans of, ; his petitions granted, ; forts frontenac and st. louis restored by the king to, ; preparations for his new enterprise, ; divides his command with beaujeu, ; lack of harmony between beaujeu and, - ; indiscretion of, ; overwrought brain of, ; farewell to his mother, ; sails from rochelle, ; disputes with beaujeu, ; the voyage, ; his illness, ; beaujeu's complaints of, ; resumes his journey, ; enters the gulf of mexico, ; waiting for beaujeu, ; coasts the shores of texas, ; meeting with beaujeu, ; perplexity of, - ; lands in texas, ; attacked by the indians, ; wreck of the "aimable," ; forlorn position of, ; indian neighbors, ; beaujeu makes friendly advances to, ; departure of beaujeu, ; at matagorda bay, ; misery and dejection, ; the new fort st. louis, ; explorations of, ; adventures of, ; again falls ill, ; departure for canada, ; wreck of the "belle," ; maxime le clerc makes charges against, ; duhaut plots against, ; return to fort st. louis, ; account of his adventures, - ; among the cenis indians, ; attacked with hernia, ; twelfth night at fort st. louis, ; his last farewell, ; followers of, ; prairie travelling, ; liotot swears vengeance against, ; the murder of moranget, saget, and nika, ; his premonition of disaster, ; murdered by duhaut, ; character of, ; his enthusiasm compared with that of champlain, ; his defects, ; america owes him an enduring memory, ; the marvels of his patient fortitude, ; evidences of his assassination, ; undeniable rigor of his command, ; locality of his assassination, ; his debts, ; tonty's plan to assist, - ; fear of father allouez for, ; jesuit plans against, , , , , , , , , , . la salle, village of, , . la taupine (pierre moreau), . la tortue, . launay, de, , . laurent, , . lavaca river, the, , , . la vache river, the, . laval-montmorency, françois xavier de, first bishop of quebec, ; accused of harshness and intolerance, ; encourages the establishment of the association of the sainte famille, . la violette, . la voisin, burned alive at paris, . le baillif, m., . le ber, jacques, ; becomes la salle's bitter enemy, , . leblanc, ; takes false reports of la salle to fort crèvecoeur, , . le clerc, father chrétien, , , , , , , ; his account of the récollet missions among the indians, ; hennepin steals passages from, ; character of du lhut, ; energy of la salle, , ; louis xiv. becomes the sovereign of the great west, ; misery and dejection at matagorda bay, , , , , , , , . le clerc, maxime, joins la salle's new enterprise, ; in texas, ; adventure with a boar, ; makes charges against la salle, , . le fèvre, father, . le gros, simon, , , . le meilleur, . le moyne, . lenox, mr., the journal of marquette, ; death of marquette, , . leon, alonzo de, , . le petit, customs of the natchez, . l'espérance, , , . le sueur, map made by, , . le tardieu, charles, . lewiston, mountain ridge of, , ; rapids at, . liotot, la salle's surgeon, ; swears vengeance against la salle, , ; murders moranget, saget, and nika, ; the assassination of la salle, , ; resolves to return to fort st. louis, ; quarrels with hiens, ; murder of, . long point, ; the sulpitians spend the winter at, . "long river," the, . long saut, the, . louis xiv. becomes the sovereign of the great west, ; misery and dejection at matagorda bay, , , , , , , , . louis xiv., of france, , , ; grants a patent to la salle, ; orders the arrest of hennepin, ; proclaimed by la salle the sovereign of the great west, ; receives la salle, ; irritated against the spaniards, ; grants la salle's petitions, ; abandons the colonists, ; cavelier's memorial to, . louisiana, country of, ; name bestowed by la salle, ; vast extent of, ; boundaries of, ; iberville the founder of, , , , , . louisville, , . louvigny, sieur de, , . "lover's leap," the, . loyola, disciples of, losing ground in canada, . lussière, la motte de, joins la salle, , ; embarks on the journey, ; reaches the niagara, ; begins to build fortifications, ; jealousy of the senecas, ; seeks to conciliate the senecas, , ; fidelity to la salle doubtful, . machaut-rougemont, . mackinaw, la salle at, . mackinaw, island of, . macopins, rivière des (illinois river), , . madeira, . maha (omahas), the, . "maiden's rock," the, . "malheurs, la rivière des," . malhoumines, the, . malouminek, the, . manabozho, the algonquin deity, . mance, mlle., . mandans, the, winter lodges of, . manitoulin island, mission of, ; assigned to andré, . manitoulin islands, saint-lusson winters at, ; saint-lusson takes possession for france of, , , . manitoulins, the, . manitoumie (mississippi valley), . manitous, , , . maps, champlain's map (the first) of the great lakes, ; coronelli's map, , ; manuscript map of franquelin, , , , , , , , , , , ; map of galinée, ; map of lake superior, ; map of the great lakes, ; map of marquette, ; maps of the jesuits, ; small maps of joliet, , ; raudin's map, ; rude map of father raffeix, ; franquelin's map of louisiana, ; the great map of franquelin, ; map of le sueur, , ; map of homannus, . margry, birth of la salle, ; la salle's connection with the jesuits, ; la salle sells his seigniory, ; la salle's claims to the discovery of the mississippi, , ; throws much light on the life of joliet, , ; la salle's marriage prevented by his brother, ; la salle at fort frontenac, ; assistance given to la salle, ; henri de tonty, , , ; la motte at niagara, ; la salle pacifies the senecas, ; la salle at niagara, ; la salle attached by his creditors, ; the names of the illinois, ; intrigues against la salle, ; brings to light the letters of la salle, , , ; letters of beaujeu to seignelay and to cabart de villermont, ; la salle's disputes with beaujeu, ; illness of la salle, ; la salle resumes his voyage, ; la salle lands in texas, ; beaujeu makes friendly advances to la salle, , ; misery and dejection at matagorda bay, ; life at fort st. louis, ; the murder of duhaut and liotot, ; allouez's fear of la salle, . marle, sieur de, ; murders moranget, ; sets out for home, ; drowned, . maroas, the, . marquette, jacques, the jesuit, at ste. marie du saut, ; voyage of, ; discovery of the mississippi, ; among the hurons and the ottawas, ; at the jesuit mission of st. esprit, ; the mission of michilimackinac assigned to, , ; chosen to accompany joliet in his search for the mississippi, ; early life of, ; on the upper lakes, ; great talents as a linguist, ; traits of character, ; journal of his voyage to the mississippi, ; especially devoted to the doctrine of the immaculate conception, ; at the green bay mission, ; among the mascoutins and miamis, ; on the wisconsin river, ; the mississippi at last, ; on the mississippi, ; map drawn by, ; meeting with the illinois, ; affrighted by the indian manitous, ; at the mouth of the missouri, ; on the lower mississippi, ; among the arkansas indians, ; determines that the mississippi discharges into the gulf of mexico, ; resolves to return to canada, ; illness of, ; remains at green bay, ; journal of, ; true map of, ; sets out to found the mission of the immaculate conception, ; gives the name of "immaculate conception" to the mississippi, ; on the chicago river, ; return of his illness, ; founds the mission at the village "kaskaskia," ; peaceful death of, ; burial of, ; his bones removed to st. ignace of michilimackinac, ; miracle at the burial of, ; tradition of the death of, ; contrasted with la salle, ; , ; route of, ; pictured rock of, ; maps made by, , , , . marshall, o. h., , . martin, ; death of marquette, . martin, father felix, connection of la salle with the jesuits, . martinique, , , . mascoutins, the, location of, ; fathers allouez and dablon among, ; joined by the kickapoos, ; visited by marquette, ; la salle falls in with, . matagorda bay, , , , , . see also _st. louis, bay of._ matagorda island, , . mather, increase, . mazarin, cardinal, . meddewakantonwan, the, . medrano, sebastian fernandez de, . membré, father zenobe, , , , , , , , , , ; the mutineers at fort crèvecoeur, , ; intrigues of la salle's enemies, , , ; the iroquois attack on the illinois village, , , , , ; the iroquois attack on the dead, , ; his journal on his descent of the mississippi with la salle, ; hennepin steals passages from, ; meeting with la salle, ; sets out from fort miami, ; among the arkansas indians, ; visits the taensas, ; attends la salle during his illness, ; joins la salle's new enterprise, ; on the "joly," ; in texas, ; adventure with a buffalo, , , ; fate of, . ménard, the jesuit, attempts to plant a mission on southern shore of lake superior, . menomonie river, the, . menomonies, the, at the jesuit mission of st. esprit, ; location of, ; at saut ste. marie, ; village of, . "mer douce des hurons" (lake huron), . "mer du nord," the, . "messasipi" (mississippi river), the, . messier, , . "messipi" river, the, . meules, de, the intendant of canada, , . mexico, , , , , , , , , ; spaniards in, ; , . mexico, gulf of, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ; claimed by spain, , , , , , , , . mexican mines, the, . miami, fort, , ; la salle returns to, , , , , , , , , . miami river, the, . miamis, the, location of, , ; fathers allouez and dablon among, ; receive saint-lusson, ; authority and state of the chief of, ; joined by the kickapoos, ; visited by marquette, ; join the iroquois against the illinois, ; rankling jealousy between the illinois and, , , , ; village of, ; called by la salle to a grand council, ; at buffalo rock, ; join la salle's colony, ; afraid of the iroquois, . miamis, le fort des (buffalo rock), . miamis river (st. joseph), . michigan, shores of, ; forest wastes of, ; peninsula of, , , , . michigan, lake, , ; the jesuits on, ; the name of, , , , , ; la salle on, , , , , , , , . michilimackinac, mission of, ; assigned to marquette, , , . michilimackinac, straits of, , , , , , , , , , , , . migeon, . mignan, islands of, granted to joliet, . mille lac, , , . milot, jean, . milwaukee, . minet, la salle's engineer, , , , , , . minneapolis, city of, . minong, isle, . "miskous" (wisconsin), the, . missions, early, decline in the religious exaltation of, . mississaquenk, . mississippi river, the, discovered by the spaniards, ; de soto buried in, ; jean nicollet reaches, ; colonel wood reaches, ; captain bolton reaches, ; radisson and des groseilliers reach, ; the thoughts of the jesuits dwell on, ; speculations concerning, ; , ; joliet makes a map of the region of, ; , ; talon resolves to find, ; joliet selected to find, ; marquette chosen to accompany joliet, ; the discovery by joliet and marquette, ; its outlet into the gulf of mexico determined by joliet and marquette, ; marquette gives the name of "immaculate conception" to, ; la salle's plans to control, ; hennepin sent to, ; la salle beholds, ; claims of hennepin to the discovery of, ; membré's journal on his descent of, ; la salle on, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ; early unpublished maps of, - . mississippi, valley of the, la salle aims at the control of, ; the jesuits turn their eyes towards, ; ; various names given to, . missouri river, the, ; joliet and marquette at the mouth of, , , , , , , , . missouris, the, , . "mitchigamea," village of, . mitchigamias, the, . "mitchiganong, lac" (lake michigan), . mobile bay, , , , , , , , . mobile, city of, , . mohawk river, the, . mohawks, the, ; bruyas among, ; jesuit mission among, ; father hennepin among, , , . mohegan indians, the, , , . moingona, the, . moingouena (peoria), . monso, the mascoutin chief, plots against la salle, , , . monsonis, the, at saut ste. marie, . montagnais, the, . montezuma, . montreal, la salle at, ; the most dangerous place in canada, ; detailed plan of, ; frontenac at, ; frontenac has it well in hand, ; joutel and cavelier reach, , . montreal, historical society of, . moranget, la salle's nephew, , , , , , , , ; quarrel with duhaut, ; murder of, , . moreau, pierre, . morel, m., . morice, marguerite, . motantees (?), the, . moyse, maître, , . mozeemlek, the, . mustang island, . nadouessious (sioux), the, . nadouessioux, the country of, . natchez, the, village of, ; differ from other indians, ; customs of, , . natchez, city of, . neches river, the, , . neenah (fox) river, the, . neutrals, the, exterminated by the iroquois, . new biscay, province of, , , , , . new england, , . new england indians, the, . new france, , , . new leon, province of, . new mexico, , ; spanish colonists of, . new orleans, . new york, the french in western, - , , . niagara, name of, ; the key to the four great lakes above, , , , . niagara falls, ; father hennepin's account of, ; hennepin's exaggerations respecting, , . niagara, fort, , , . niagara portage, the, , . niagara river, the, , ; father hennepin's account of, , . nicanopé, , , , . nicollet, jean, reaches the mississippi, ; among the indians, ; sent to make peace between the winnebagoes and the hurons, ; descends the wisconsin, . nika, la salle's favorite shawanoe hunter, , , ; murder of, . nipissing, lake, . nipissings, the, jean nicollet among, ; dollier de casson among, ; andré makes a missionary tour among, ; at saut ste. marie, . noiseux, m., grand vicar of quebec, . north sea, the, . nueces, the upper, . oanktayhee, principal deity of the sioux, . o'callaghan, dr., . ohio river, the, , , , , , , , ; la salle affirms that he discovered, ; the "beautiful river," , , , , , , , , , . ohio, valley of the, la salle aims at the control of, . ojibwas, the, at ste. marie du saut, . olighin (alleghany) river, the, . "olighin" (alleghany) river, the, . omahas, the, . omawha, chief, . oneida indians, the, , , . ongiara (niagara), . onguiaahra (niagara), . onis, luis de, . onondaga, la salle goes to, ; the political centre of the iroquois, ; hennepin reaches, . onondaga indians, the, ; bruyas among, . "onontio," the governor of canada, . ontario, lake, ; discovered, , , , , ; frontenac reaches, , , , , , , , , , , . ontonagan river, the, . orange, settlement of (albany), . oris, . osages, the, ; deep-rooted jealousy of the illinois for, , , . "osages, rivière des" (missouri), . osotouoy, the, . otinawatawa, , . ottawa, town of, , , . ottawa river, the, , , , . ottawas, the, ; marquette among, ; terrified by the sioux, ; la salle forbidden to trade with, ; la salle trades with, , . "ouabache" (wabash), river, the, , . ouabona, the, join la salle's colony, . "ouabouskiaou" (ohio) river, the, , . "ouaboustikou" (ohio), the, . ouasicoudé, principal chief of the sioux, ; friendship for hennepin, , . ouchage (osages), the, . ouiatnoens (weas), the, join la salle's colony, . oumalouminek, the, . oumas, the, . oumessourit (missouris), the, . "oumessourits, rivière des" (missouri), . outagamies (foxes), the, location of, . outagamies, the, encounter with la salle, , , . outrelaise, mademoiselle d', . outrelaise, the rivière del', . pacific coast, the, . pacific ocean, . paget, . pahoutet (pah-utahs?), the, . pah-utahs (?), the, . palluau, count of, see _frontenac, count_. palms, the river of, . paniassa (pawnees), the, . panuco, spanish town of, . paraguay, the old and the new, , , , . parassy, m. de, . patron, . paul, dr. john, . pawnees, the, . peanqhichia (piankishaw), the, join la salle's colony, . "pekitanouï" river (missouri), the, , . pelée, point, , . pelican island, . peloquin, . pen, sieur, obligations of la salle to, . peñalossa, count, . penicaut, customs of the natchez, . pennsylvania, state of, . penobscot river, the, . pensacola, . peoria, city of, , . peoria indians, the, villages of, , , . peoria lake, , , , . peouaria (peoria), . pepikokia, the, join la salle's colony, . pepin, . pepin lake, , , . péré, . perrot, the curé, . pérrot, nicolas, meeting with la salle, ; accompanies saint-lusson in search of copper mines on lake superior, ; conspicuous among canadian voyageurs, ; characteristics of, ; marvellous account of the authority and state of the miami chief, ; at saut ste. marie, ; local governor of montreal, ; quarrel with frontenac, ; arrested by frontenac, ; the abbé fénelon attempts to mediate between frontenac and, ; attempts to poison la salle, . peru, . petit goave, , . philip, king, . philip ii. of spain, . phips, sir william, makes a descent on joliet's establishment, . piankishaws, the, ; join la salle's colony, . "picard, le" (du gay), . pierre, companion of marquette, , . pierron, the jesuit, ; among the senecas, . pierson, the jesuit, . pimitoui river, the, . platte, the, . plet, françois, , , . poisoning, the epoch of, . ponchartrain, the minister, , , , , , . pontiac, assassination of, . port de paix, , . pottawattamies, the, in grievous need of spiritual succor, ; the sulpitians determine to visit, ; at the jesuit mission of st. esprit, ; location of, , , ; friendly to la salle, , , , , ; tonty among, ; at "starved rock," . "poualacs," the, . prairie du chien, fort, . prairie, nation of the, . provence, . prudhomme, fort, ; la salle ill at, . prudhomme, pierre, , . puants, les (winnebagoes), . puants, la baye des (green bay), , . quapaws, the, . quebec, ; the jesuits masters at, , , , , . queenstown heights, . queylus, superior of the seminary of st. sulpice, , . quinipissas, the, ; attack la salle, . quinté, jesuit mission at, . quinté, bay of, , , . radisson, pierre esprit, reaches the mississippi, . raffeix, father pierre, the jesuit, manuscript map of, ; among the senecas, , , . raoul, . rasle, . raudin, frontenac's engineer, , , . raymbault,----, preaches among the indians, . récollet missions, le clerc's account of, . récollets, the, la salle not well inclined towards, ; protected by frontenac, ; comparison between the sulpitians and the jesuits and, , . red river, , , , , , , , . renaudot, abbé, memoir of la salle, , ; assists la salle, , , , , . renault, Étienne, , . rhode island, state of, . ribourde, gabriel, at fort frontenac, , ; at niagara, ; at fort crèvecoeur, , , , , , ; murder of, . riggs, rev. stephen r., divisions of the sioux, . rio bravo, french colony proposed at the mouth of, . rio frio, the, . rio grande river, the, , , , , . rios, domingo teran de los, . robertson, . rochefort, , , . rochelle, , , , . "rocher, le," ; charlevoix speaks of, . rochester, . rocky mountains, the, , , . rouen, . royale, isle, . "ruined castles," the, , . rum river, . ruter, , , , ; murders liotot, , , . sabine river, the, , , . saco indians, the, . sacs, the, location of, ; at saut ste. marie, . sâgean, mathieu, the eldorado of, - ; sketch of, ; saget, la salle's servant, ; murder of, . saguenay river, the, ; albanel's journey up, . st. anthony, city of, . st. anthony, the falls of, ; hennepin's notice of, , , . st. antoine cape, . st. bernard's bay, , . st. clair, lake, . st. claire, lake, . st. croix river, the, . st. domingo, , , , , , , . st. esprit, bay of (mobile bay), , , , . st. esprit, jesuit mission of, ; indians at, . st. francis, order of, . st. francis river, the, . "st. françois," the ketch, ; loss of, . st. françois xavier, council of congregated tribes held at, . st. ignace, point, , ; jesuit chapel at, . st. ignace of michilimackinac, ; la salle reaches, ; inhabitants of, . "st. joseph," the ship, . st. joseph, lac (lake michigan), . st. joseph river, the, , , ; la salle on, , ; la forest on, , , . saint-laurent, marquis de, , . st. lawrence river, the, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . st. louis, city of, . st. louis, bay of (matagorda bay), , , , , , , . st. louis, castle of, . st. louis, fort, of the illinois, ; location of, ; la salle's indian allies gather at, ; location of, ; total number of indians around, ; the indians protected at, ; la barre takes possession of, ; attacked by the iroquois, , ; restored to la salle by the king, ; tonty returns to, ; joutel at, ; condition of, ; joutel's return to, ; tonty leaves, ; reoccupied by the french, , . st. louis, fort, of texas, , ; life at, ; la salle returns to, , ; twelfth night at, ; duhaut resolves to return to, ; abandoned by louis xiv., ; the spaniards at, ; desolation of, . st. louis, lake of, , , . st. louis, rock of, see "_starved rock_." st. louis river, the, , . saint-lusson, daumont de, sent out by talon to discover copper mines on lake superior, ; winters at the manitoulin islands, ; received by the miamis, ; at saut ste. marie, ; takes possession of the west for france, ; proceeds to lake superior, ; returns to quebec, . st. malo, . st. paul, site of, . st. peter, the valley of the, unprovoked massacre by the sioux in, , . st. peter river, the, . saint-simon, . st. simon, mission of, , . st. sulpice, seminary of, ; buys back a part of la salle's seigniory, ; plan an expedition of discovery, . ste. barbe, mines of, . sainte claire, . sainte-famille, the, association of, a sort of female inquisition, ; founded by chaumonot, ; encouraged by laval, . ste. marie, falls of, . ste. marie du saut, the sulpitians arrive at, ; jesuit mission at, ; a noted fishing-place, ; saint-lusson takes possession for france of, . san antonio, the, . sanson, map of, . santa barbara, . sargent, winthrop, . sassory tribe, the, . sauteurs, the, ; the village of, . sauthouis, the, . saut ste. marie, the, ; a noted fishing-place, ; gathering of the tribes at, , . sauvolle, . schenectady, . schoolcraft, the falls of st. anthony, . scioto river, the, . scortas, the huron, . seignelay, marquis de, memorials presented to, , , , ; la barre defames la salle to, , ; object of la salle's mission, ; letters of beaujeu to, - ; complaints of beaujeu, ; complaint of minet, ; receives beaujeu coldly, ; jesuit petitions to, ; cavelier's report to, , . seignelay river (red river), the, , , , . seneca indians, the, , , ; villages of, ; their hospitality to la salle, ; cruelty of, , , ; pierron among, ; village of, ; jealous of la motte, ; la motte seeks to conciliate, , ; pacified by la salle, ; the great town of, ; denonville's attack on, . seneff, bloody fight of, . severn river, the, . sévigné, . sévigné, madame de, letters of, . shawanoes, the, , , , ; join la salle's colony, , . shea, j. g., first to discover the history of joliet, ; the journal of marquette, ; death of marquette, , , ; the "racines agnières" of bruyas, ; the veracity of hennepin, ; critical examination of hennepin's works, ; tonty and la barre, ; story of mathieu sâgean, . silhouette, the minister, . simcoe, lake, , . simon, st., memoirs of, . simonnet, . sioux indians, the, ; at the jesuit mission of st. esprit, ; break into open war, ; the jesuits trade with, , , , ; capture father hennepin, , ; suspect father hennepin of sorcery, ; unprovoked massacres in the valley of the st. peter, ; hennepin among, - ; divisions of, ; meaning of the word, ; total number of, ; use of the sweating-bath among, ; du lhut among, , , . sipou (ohio) river, the, . "sleeping bear," the, promontory of, . smith, buckingham, . society of jesus, the, a powerful attraction for la salle, ; an image of regulated power, . sokokis indians, the, . soto, de, hernando, see, _de soto, hernando_. south bend, village of, . southey, the poet, . south sea, the, , , , , , , . spain, war declared against, ; claims the gulf of mexico, . spaniards, the, discover the mississippi, ; talon's plans to keep them in check, ; louis xiv. irritated against, ; in mexico, ; at fort st. louis of texas, . spanish inquisition, the, . spanish missions, the, , . sparks, exposes the plagiarism of hennepin, , . "starved rock," ; attracts the attention of la salle, ; tonty sent to examine, , , , , ; description of, ; la salle and tonty intrench themselves at, ; described by charlevoix, ; origin of the name, . "sturgeon cove," . sulpice, st., . sulpitians, the, plan an expedition of discovery, ; join forces with la salle, ; set out from la chine, ; journey of, , ; meeting with joliet, ; determine to visit the pottawattamies, ; la salle parts with, ; spends the winter at long point, ; resume their voyage, ; the storm, ; decide to return to montreal, ; pass through the strait of detroit, ; arrive at ste. marie du saut, ; the jesuits want no help from, ; comparison between the récollets and, . superior, lake, ; ménard attempts to plant a mission on southern shore of, ; allouez explores a part of, ; joliet attempts to discover the copper mines of, , ; the jesuits on, ; the jesuits make a map of, ; saint-lusson sets out to find the copper mines of, ; saint-lusson takes possession for france of, , , , ; map of, , , , . susquehanna river, the, . sweating-baths, indian, . table rock, . tadoussac, . taensas, the, great town of, ; visited by membrè and tonty, ; differ from other indians, . tahuglauk, the, . taiaiagon, indian town of, . tailhan, father, , . talon, . talon, among the texan colonists, . talon, jean, intendant of canada, sends joliet to discover the copper mines of lake superior, ; claims to have sent la salle to explore, ; full of projects for the colony, ; his singular economy of the king's purse, ; sends saint-lusson to discover copper mines on lake superior, ; resolves to find the mississippi, ; makes choice of joliet, ; quarrels with courcelle, ; returns to france, , , . talon, jean baptiste, . talon, pierre, . tamaroas, the, , , , . tangibao, the, . tears, the lake of, . tegahkouita, catharine, the iroquois saint, , . "teiocha-rontiong, lac" (lake erie), . teissier, a pilot, , , , , . tejas (texas), . terliquiquimechi, the, . tetons, the, . texan colony, the, fate of, - . texan expedition, la salle's, - , . texan indians, the, . texas, fertile plains of, ; french in, ; shores of, ; la salle lands in, ; application of the name, , . theakiki, the, . thevenot, on the journal of marquette, ; map made by, . third chickasaw bluffs, the, . thomassy, , , , , , . thouret, , , , . thousand islands, the, . three rivers, , , . thunder bay, . tilly, sieur de, . "tintons," the, . tintonwans, the, . tongengas, the, . tonty, alphonse de, . tonty, henri de, ; renders assistance to la salle, ; in canada, ; la motte at niagara, ; sets out to join la motte, ; almost wrecked, ; at the niagara portage, - ; the building of the "griffin," - ; the launch, ; , ; rejoins la salle, ; among the illinois, ; the attempt to poison la salle, ; hennepin sent to the mississippi, ; la salle's parting with, ; sent to examine "starved rock," ; ; deserted by his men, , ; the journey from fort crèvecoeur, ; la salle's best hope in, ; la salle sets out to succor, ; la salle has fears for the safety of, ; sets out to examine "starved rock," ; in the illinois village, ; attacked by the iroquois, ; intercedes for the illinois, ; peril of, ; a truce granted to, ; departs from the iroquois, ; falls ill, ; friends in need, ; la salle hears good news of, ; meeting with la salle, ; sets out from fort miami, ; among the arkansas indians, ; visits the taensas, ; illness of la salle, ; sent to michilimackinac, ; intrenches himself at "starved rock," ; left in charge of fort st. louis, , , ; attempts to attack the spaniards of mexico, , , , , ; the assassination of la salle, , ; the murder of duhaut, ; among the assonis, ; plans to assist la salle, - ; his journey, seeking news of la salle, , , ; in the iroquois war, ; cavelier conceals la salle's death from, ; learns of la salle's death, ; revives la salle's scheme of mexican invasion, ; sets out from fort st. louis of the illinois, ; deserted by his men, ; courage of, ; difficulties and hardships, ; attacked by fever, ; misrepresented, ; praises of, ; joins iberville in lower louisiana, , . topingas, the, . torimans, the, . toronto, , . toronto portage, the, . toulon, . "tracy, lac" (lake superior), . trinity river, the, , , , , . tronson, abbé, , . "tsiketo, lac" (lake st. clair), . turenne, . two mountains, lake of, . upper lakes, the, see _lakes, upper_. ursulines, the, . utica, village of, , , , , . vaudreuil, . vera cruz, , . vermilion river, the, , , . see also _big vermilion river, the_. "vermilion sea" (gulf of california), the, , , , . "vermilion woods," the, . verreau, h., . vicksburg, . victor, town of, , . "vieux, fort le," . villermont, cabart de, letters of beaujeu to, - ; letter of tonty to, . virginia, , , . "virginia, sea of," , . voltaire, . watteau, melithon, . weas, the, join la salle's colony, . west indies, the, , , , . wild rice indians (menomonies), the, . william, fort, . william iii. of england, . winnebago lake, , , . winnebagoes, the, jean nicollet sent to, ; quarrel with the hurons, ; location of, ; at saut ste. marie, . winona, legend of, . winthrop, . wisconsin, shores of, . wisconsin river, the, , , , , , , , , , . wood, colonel, reaches the mississippi, . yanktons, the, . yoakum, . you, . zenobe (membré), father, . [illustration] francis parkman's works. new library edition. printed from entirely new plates, in clear and beautiful type, upon a choice laid paper. illustrated with twenty-six photogravure plates executed by goupil from historical portraits, and from original drawings and paintings by howard pyle, de cost smith, thule de thulstrup, frederic remington, orson lowell, adrien moreau, and other artists. _thirteen volumes, medium octavo, cloth, gilt top, price, $ . ; half calf, extra, gilt top, $ . ; half crushed levant morocco, extra, gilt top, $ . ; half morocco, gilt top, $ . . any work separately in cloth, $ . per volume._ list of volumes. pioneers of france in the new world vol. the jesuits in north america vol. la salle and the discovery of the great west vol. the old rÉgime in canada vol. count frontenac and new france under louis xiv. vol. a half century of conflict vols. montcalm and wolfe vols. the conspiracy of pontiac and the indian war after the conquest of canada vols. the oregon trail vol. life of parkman. by charles haight farnham vol. illustrations. . portrait of francis parkman. . jacques cartier. from the painting at st. malo. . madame de la peltrie. from the painting in the convent des ursulines. . father jogues haranguing the mohawks. from the picture by thule de thulstrup. . father hennepin celebrating mass. from the picture by howard pyle. . la salle presenting a petition to louis xiv. from the painting by adrien moreau. . jean baptiste colbert. from a painting by claude lefèvbre at versailles. . jean guyon before bouillé. from a picture by orson lowell. . madame de frontenac. from the painting at versailles. . entry of sir william phips into the quebec basin. from a picture by l. rossi. . the sacs and foxes. from the picture by charles bodmer. . the return from deerfield. from the painting by howard pyle. . sir william pepperrell. from the painting by smibert. . marquis de beauharnois, governor of canada. from the painting by tonnières in the musée de grenoble. . marquis de montcalm. from the original painting in the possession of the present marquis de montcalm. . marquis de vaudreuil. from the painting in the possession of the countess de clermont tonnerre. . general wolfe. from the original painting by highmore. . the fall of montcalm. from the painting by howard pyle. . view of the taking of quebec. from the early engraving of a drawing made on the spot by captain hervey smyth, wolfe's aid-de-camp. . col. henry bouquet. from the original painting by benjamin west. . the death of pontiac. from the picture by de cost smith. . sir william johnson. from a mezzotint engraving. . half sliding, half plunging. from a drawing by frederic remington. . the thunder fighters. from the picture by frederic remington. . francis parkman. from a miniature taken about . . francis parkman. from a photograph taken in . it is hardly necessary to quote here from the innumerable tributes to so famous an american author as francis parkman. among writers who have bestowed the highest praise upon his writings are such names as james russell lowell, dr. john fisk, president charles w. eliot of harvard university, george william curtis, edward eggleston, w. d. howells, james schouler, and dr. conan doyle, as well as many prominent critics in the united states, in canada, and in england. in two respects francis parkman was exceptionally fortunate. he chose a theme of the closest interest to his countrymen,--the colonization of the american continent and the wars for its possession,--and he lived through fifty years of toil to complete his great historical series. the text of the new library edition is that of the latest issue of each work prepared for the press by the distinguished author. he carefully revised and added to several of his works, not through change of views, but in the light of new documentary evidence which his patient research and untiring zeal extracted from the hidden archives of the past. thus he rewrote and enlarged "the conspiracy of pontiac"; the new edition of "la salle and the discovery of the great west" ( ), and the edition of "pioneers of france" included very important additions; and a short time before his death he added to "the old régime" fifty pages, under the title of "the feudal chiefs of acadia." the new library edition therefore includes each work in its final state as perfected by the historian. the indexes have been entirely remade. little, brown, & co., publishers, washington street. boston. and the online distributed proofing team. this file was produced from images generously made available by the canadian institute for historical microreproductions. the publications of the prince society established may th, . radisson's voyages. voyages of peter esprit radisson, being an account of his travels and experiences among the north american indians, from to . transcribed from original manuscripts in the bodleian library and the british museum. with historical illustrations and an introduction, by gideon d. scull, london, england. preface. it may be regarded as a fortunate circumstance that we are able to add to the society's publications this volume of radisson's voyages. the narratives contained in it are the record of events and transactions in which the author was a principal actor. they were apparently written without any intention of publication, and are plainly authentic and trustworthy. they have remained in manuscript more than two hundred years, and in the mean time appear to have escaped the notice of scholars, as not even extracts from them have, so far as we are aware, found their way into print. the author was a native of france, and had an imperfect knowledge of the english language. the journals, with the exception of the last in the volume, are, however, written in that language, and, as might be anticipated, in orthography, in the use of words, and in the structure of sentences, conform to no known standard of english composition. but the meaning is in all cases clearly conveyed, and, in justice both to the author and the reader, they have been printed _verbatim et literatim_, as in the original manuscripts. we desire to place upon record our high appreciation of the courtesy extended to the editor of this volume by the governors of the bodleian library and of the british museum, in allowing him to copy the original manuscripts in their possession. our thanks likewise are here tendered to mr. edward denham for the gratuitous contribution of the excellent index which accompanies the volume. edmund f. slafter, _president of the prince society_. boston, berkeley street, november , . table of contents. preface introduction first voyage of peter esprit radisson second voyage, made in the upper country of the iroquoits third voyage, made to the great lake of the hurons, upper sea of the east, and bay of the north fourth voyage of peter esprit radisson relation of a voyage to the north parts of america in the years and relation of the voyage anno officers of the prince society the prince society publications of the prince society volumes in preparation by the prince society index introduction. the author of the narratives contained in this volume was peter esprit radisson, who emigrated from france to canada, as he himself tells us, on the th day of may, . he was born at st. malo, and in , at three rivers, in canada, married elizabeth, the daughter of madeleine hainault. [footnote: vide _history of the ojibways_, by the rev. e. d. neill, ed. .] radisson says that he lived at three rivers, where also dwelt "my natural parents, and country-people, and my brother, his wife and children." [footnote: the abbe cyprian tanguay, the best genealogical authority in canada, gives the following account of the family: francoise radisson, a daughter of pierre esprit, married at quebec, in , claude volant de st. claude, born in , and had eight children. pierre and claude, eldest sons, became priests. francoise died in infancy: marguerite married noel le gardeur; francoise died in infancy; etienne, born october , , married in at sorel, but seems to have had no issue. jean francois married marguerite godfrey at montreal in . nicholas, born in , married genevieve niel, july , , and both died in , leaving two of their five sons surviving. there are descendants of noel le gardeur who claim radisson as their ancestor, and also descendants of claude volant, apparently through nicholas. among these descendants of the volant family is the rt. rev. joseph thomas duhamel, who was consecrated bishop of ottawa, canada, october , . of medard chouart's descendants, no account of any of the progeny of his son jean baptiste, born july , , can be found.] this brother, often alluded to in radisson's narratives as his companion on his journeys, was medard chouart, "who was the son of medard and marie poirier, of charly st. cyr, france, and in , when only sixteen years old, came to canada." [footnote: chouart's daughter marie antoinette, born june , , married first jean jalot in . he was a surgeon, born in , and killed by the iroquois, july , . he was called des groseilliers. she had nine children by jalot, and there are descendants from them in canada. on the th december, , she married, secondly, jean bouchard, by whom she had six children. the bouchard-dorval family of montreal descends from this marriage. vide _genealogical dictionary of canadian families_, quebec, .] he was a pilot, and married, rd september, , helen, the daughter of abraham martin, and widow of claude etienne. abraham martin left his name to the celebrated plains of abraham, near quebec. she dying in , chouart married, secondly, at quebec, august , , the sister of radisson, margaret hayet, the widow of john veron grandmenil. in canada, chouart acted as a donne, or lay assistant, in the jesuit mission near lake huron. he left the service of the mission about , and commenced trading with the indians for furs, in which he was very successful. with his gains he is supposed to have purchased some land in canada, as he assumed the seigneurial title of "sieur des groseilliers." radisson spent more than ten years trading with the indians of canada and the far west, making long and perilous journeys of from two to three years each, in company with his brother-in-law, des groseilliers. he carefully made notes during his wanderings from to , which he afterwards copied out on his voyage to england in . between these years he made four journeys, and heads his first narrative with this title: "the relation of my voyage, being in bondage in the lands of the irokoits, which was the next year after my coming into canada, in the yeare , the th day of may." in a roving band of iroquois, who had gone as far north as the three rivers, carried our author as a captive into their country, on the banks of the mohawk river. he was adopted into the family of a "great captayne who had killed nineteen men with his own hands, whereof he was marked on his right thigh for as many as he had killed." in the autumn of he accompanied the tribe in his village on a warlike incursion into the dutch territory. they arrived "the next day in a small brough of the hollanders," rensselaerswyck, and on the fourth day came to fort orange. here they remained several days, and radisson says: "our treaty's being done, overladened with bootyes abundantly, we putt ourselves in the way that we came, to see again our village." at fort orange radisson met with the jesuit father, joseph noncet, who had also been captured in canada by the mohawks and taken to their country. in september he was taken down to fort orange by his captors, and it is mentioned in the jesuit "relations" of , chapter iv., that he "found there a young man captured near three rivers, who had been ransomed by the dutch and acted as interpreter." a few weeks after the return of the indians to their village, radisson made his escape alone, and found his way again to fort orange, from whence he was sent to new amsterdam, or menada, as he calls it. here he remained three weeks, and then embarked for holland, where he arrived after a six weeks' voyage, landing at amsterdam "the / of january, . a few days after," he says, "i imbarqued myself for france, and came to rochelle well and safe." he remained until spring, waiting for "the transport of a shipp for new france." the relation of the second journey is entitled, "the second voyage, made in the upper country of the irokoits." he landed in canada, from his return voyage from france, on the th of may, , and on the th set off to see his relatives at three rivers. he mentions that "in my absence peace was made betweene the french and the iroquoits, which was the reson i stayed not long in a place. the yeare before the ffrench began a new plantation in the upper country of the iroquoits, which is distant from the low iroquoits country some four score leagues, wher i was prisoner and been in the warrs of that country.... at that very time the reverend fathers jesuits embarked themselves for a second time to dwell there and teach christian doctrine. i offered myself to them and was, as their custome is, kindly accepted. i prepare meselfe for the journey, which was to be in june, ." charlevoix [footnote: _charlevoix's history of new france_, shea's ed., vol. ii. p. .] says: "in occurred the almost complete destruction of the huron nation. peace was concluded in . father le moyne went in , to ratify the treaty of peace, to onondaga, and told the indians there he wished to have his cabin in their canton. his offer was accepted, and a site marked out of which he took possession. he left quebec july , , and returned september . in fathers chaumont and dablon were sent to onondaga, and arrived there november , and began at once to build a chapel. [footnote: _charlevoix's hist. of new france_, shea's ed., vol. ii. p. .] "father dablon, having spent some months in the service of the mission at onondaga, was sent back to montreal, march, , for reinforcements. he returned with father francis le mercier and other help. they set out from quebec may, , with a force composed of four nations: french, onondagas, senecas, and a few hurons. about fifty men composed the party. sieur dupuys, an officer of the garrison, was appointed commandant of the proposed settlement at onondaga. on their arrival they at once proceeded to erect a fort, or block-house, for their defence. "while these things were passing at onondaga, the hurons on the isle orleans, where they had taken refuge from the iroquois, no longer deeming themselves secure, sought an asylum in quebec, and in a moment of resentment at having been abandoned by the french, they sent secretly to propose to the mohawks to receive them into their canton so as to form only one people with them. they had no sooner taken this step than they repented; but the mohawks took them at their word, and seeing that they endeavored to withdraw their proposition, resorted to secret measures to compel them to adhere to it." [footnote: _ibid._, vol. ii. p. .] the different families of the hurons held a council, and "the attignenonhac or cord family resolved to stay with the french; the arendarrhonon, or rock, to go to onondaga; and the attignaonanton, or bear, to join the mohawks." [footnote: _relation nouvelle france_, and _charlevoix_, shea's ed., vol. ii. p .] "in onondagas had arrived at montreal to receive the hurons and take them to their canton, as agreed upon the year previous." [footnote: _charlevoix_, shea's ed., vol. iii. p. .] some frenchmen and two jesuits were to accompany them. one of the former was radisson, who had volunteered; and the two jesuits were fathers paul ragueneau and joseph inbert duperon. the party started on their journey in july, . the relation of this, the writer's second voyage, is taken up entirely with the narrative of their journey to onondaga, his residence at the mission, and its abandonment on the night of the th of march, . on his way thither he was present at the massacre of the hurons by the iroquois, in august, . his account of the events of and , concerning the mission, will be found to give fuller details than those of charlevoix, [footnote: _ibid_., vol. iii. p. .] and the jesuit relations written for those years by father ragueneau. radisson, in concluding his second narrative, says: "about the last of march we ended our great and incredible dangers. about fourteen nights after we went downe to the three rivers, where most of us stayed. a month after, my brother and i resolves to travell and see countreys. wee find a good opportunity in our voyage. we proceeded three years; during that time we had the happiness to see very faire countreys." he says of the third voyage: "now followeth the auxoticiat, or auxotacicae, voyage into the great and filthy lake of the hurrons upper sea of the east and bay of the north." he mentions that "about the middle of june, , we began to take leave of our company and venter our lives for the common good." concerning the third voyage, radisson states above, "wee proceeded three years." the memory of the writer had evidently been thrown into some confusion when recording one of the historical incidents in his relation, as he was finishing his narrative of the fourth journey. at the close of his fourth narrative, on his return from the lake superior country, where he had been over three years, instead of over two, as he mentions, he says: "you must know that seventeen ffrenchmen made a plott with four algonquins to make a league with three score hurrons for to goe and wait for the iroquoits in the passage." this passage was the long sault, on the ottawa river, where the above seventeen frenchmen were commanded by a young officer of twenty-five, adam dollard, sieur des ormeaux. the massacre of the party took place on may , , and is duly recorded by several authorities; namely, dollier de casson [footnote: _histoire de montreal, relation de la nouvelle france_, , p. .], m. marie [footnote: _de l'incarnation_, p. .], and father lalemont [footnote: _journal_, june , .]. as radisson has placed the incident in his manuscript, he would make it appear as having occurred in may, . he writes: "it was a terrible spectacle to us, for wee came there eight dayes after that defeat, which saved us without doubt." he started on this third journey about the middle of june, , and it would therefore seem he was only absent on it two years, instead of over three, as he says. charlevoix gives the above incident in detail. [footnote: shea's edition, vol. iii. p. , n.] during the third voyage radisson and his brother-in-law went to the mississippi river in / . he says, "wee mett with severall sorts of people. wee conversed with them, being long time in alliance with them. by the persuasion of som of them wee went into the great river that divides itself in two where the hurrons with some ottanake and the wild men that had warrs with them had retired.... the river is called the forked, because it has two branches: the one towards the west, the other towards the south, which we believe runs towards mexico, by the tokens they gave." they also made diligent inquiry concerning hudson's bay, and of the best means to reach that fur-producing country, evidently with a view to future exploration and trade. they must have returned to the three rivers about june , . radisson says: "wee stayed att home att rest the yeare. my brother and i considered whether we should discover what we have seen or no, and because we had not a full and whole discovery which was that we have not ben in the bay of the north (hudson's bay), not knowing anything but by report of the wild christinos, we would make no mention of it for feare that those wild men should tell us a fibbe. we would have made a discovery of it ourselves and have an assurance, before we should discover anything of it." in the fourth narrative he says: "the spring following we weare in hopes to meet with some company, having ben so fortunat the yeare before. now during the winter, whether it was that my brother revealed to his wife what we had seene in our voyage and what we further intended, or how it came to passe, it was knowne so much that the ffather jesuits weare desirous to find out a way how they might gett downe the castors from the bay of the north, by the sacques, and so make themselves masters of that trade. they resolved to make a tryall as soone as the ice would permitt them. so to discover our intentions they weare very earnest with me to ingage myselfe in that voyage, to the end that my brother would give over his, which i uterly denied them, knowing that they could never bring it about." they made an application to the governor of quebec for permission to start upon this their fourth voyage; but he refused, unless they agreed to certain hard conditions which they found it impossible to accept. in august they departed without the governor's leave, secretly at midnight, on their journey, having made an agreement to join a company of the nation of the sault who were about returning to their country, and who agreed to wait for them two days in the lake of st. peter, some six leagues from three rivers. their journey was made to the country about lake superior, where they passed much of their time among the nations of the sault, fire, christinos (knisteneux), beef, and other tribes. being at lake superior, radisson says they came "to a remarkable place. it's a banke of rocks that the wild men made a sacrifice to,... it's like a great portall by reason of the beating of the waves. the lower part of that opening is as bigg as a tower, and grows bigger in the going up. there is, i believe, six acres of land above it; a shipp of tuns could passe by, soe bigg is the arch. i gave it the name of the portail of st. peter, because my name is so called, and that i was the first christian that ever saw it." concerning hudson's bay, whilst they were among the christinos at lake assiniboin, radisson mentions in his narrative that "being resolved to know what we heard before, we waited untill the ice should vanish." the governor was greatly displeased at the disobedience of radisson and his brother-in-law in going on their last voyage without his permission. on their return, the narrative states, "he made my brother prisoner for not having obeyed his orders; he fines us l. , to make a fort at the three rivers, telling us for all manner of satisfaction that he would give us leave to put our coat of armes upon it; and moreover l. , for the country, saying that wee should not take it so strangely and so bad, being wee were inhabitants and did intend to finish our days in the same country with our relations and friends.... seeing ourselves so wronged, my brother did resolve to go and demand justice in france." failing to get restitution, they resolved to go over to the english. they went early in to port royal, nova scotia, and from thence to new england, where they engaged an english or new england ship for a trading adventure into hudson's straits in deg. north. this expedition was attempted because radisson and des groseilliers, on their last journey to lake superior, "met with some savages on the lake of assiniboin, and from them they learned that they might go by land to the bottom of hudson's bay, where the english had not been yet, at james bay; upon which they desired them to conduct them thither, and the savages accordingly did it. they returned to the upper lake the same way they came, and thence to quebec, where they offered the principal merchants to carry ships to hudson's bay; but their project was rejected. des groseilliers then went to france in hopes of a more favorable hearing at court; but after presenting several memorials and spending a great deal of time and money, he was answered as he had been at quebec, and the project looked upon as chimerical." [footnote: oldmixon, vol. i. p. .] this voyage to hudson's straits proved unremunerative. "wee had knowledge and conversation with the people of those parts, but wee did see and know that there was nothing to be done unlesse wee went further, and the season of the year was far spent by the indiscretion of our master." radisson continues: "wee were promissed two shipps for a second voyage." one of these ships was sent to "the isle of sand, there to fish for basse to make oyle of it," and was soon after lost. in new england, in the early part of the year , radisson and des groseilliers met with two of the four english commissioners who were sent over by charles ii in to settle several important questions in the provinces of new york and new england. they were engaged in the prosecution of their work in the different governments from to / . the two frenchmen, it appears, were called upon in boston to defend themselves in a lawsuit instituted against them in the courts there, for the annulling of the contract in the trading adventure above mentioned, whereby one of the two ships contracted for was lost. the writer states, that "the expectation of that ship made us loose our second voyage, which did very much discourage the merchants with whom wee had to do; they went to law with us to make us recant the bargaine that wee had made with them. after wee had disputed a long time, it was found that the right was on our side and wee innocent of what they did accuse us. so they endeavoured to come to an agreement, but wee were betrayed by our own party. "in the mean time the commissioners of the king of great britain arrived in that place, & one of them would have us goe with him to new york, and the other advised us to come to england and offer ourselves to the king, which wee did." the commissioners were colonel richard nicolls, sir robert carr, colonel george cartwright, and samuel mavericke. sir robert carr wished the two frenchmen to go with him to new york, but colonel george cartwright, erroneously called by radisson in his manuscript "cartaret," prevailed upon them to embark with him from nantucket, august , . on this voyage cartwright carried with him "all the original papers of the transactions of the royal commissioners, together with the maps of the several colonies." they had also as a fellow passenger george carr, presumably the brother of sir robert, and probably the acting secretary to the commission. colonel richard nicolls, writing to secretary lord arlington, july , , says, "he supposes col. geo. cartwright is now at sea." george carr, also writing to lord arlington, december , , tells him that "he sends the transactions of the commissioners in new england briefly set down, each colony by itself. the papers by which all this and much more might have been demonstrated were lost in obeying his majesty's command by keeping company with captain pierce, who was laden with masts; for otherwise in probability we might have been in england ten days before we met the dutch 'caper,' who after two hours' fight stripped and landed us in spain. hearing also some frenchmen discourse in new england of a passage from the west sea to the south sea, and of a great trade of beaver in that passage, and afterwards meeting with sufficient proof of the truth of what they had said, and knowing what great endeavours have been made for the finding out of a north western passage, he thought them the best present he could possibly make his majesty, and persuaded them to come to england. begs his lordship to procure some consideration for his loss, suffering, and service." colonel cartwright, upon his capture at sea by the dutch "caper," threw all his despatches and papers overboard. no doubt the captain of the dutch vessel carefully scrutinized the papers of radisson and his brother-in-law, and, it may be, carried off some of them; for there is evidence in one part at least of the former's narration of his travels, of some confusion, as the writer has transposed the date of one important and well-known event in canadian history. it is evident that the writer was busy on his voyage preparing his narrative of travels for presentation to the king. towards the conclusion of his manuscript he says: "we are now in the passage, and he that brought us, which was one of the commissioners called collonell george cartaret, was taken by the hollanders, and wee arrived in england in a very bad time for the plague and the warrs. being at oxford, wee went to sir george cartaret, who spoke to his majesty, who gave good hopes that wee should have a shipp ready for the next spring, and that the king did allow us forty shillings a week for our maintenance, and wee had chambers in the town by his order, where wee stayed three months. afterwards the king came to london and sent us to windsor, where wee stayed the rest of the winter." charles ii., with his court, came to open parliament and the courts of law at oxford, september , , and left for hampton court to reside, january , . radisson and des groseilliers must have arrived there about the th of october. dewitt, the dutch statesman, and grand pensionary of the states of holland from , becoming informed by the captain of the dutch "caper" of the errand of radisson and his companion into england, despatched an emissary to that country in to endeavor to entice them out of the english into the service of the dutch. sir john colleton first brought the matter before the notice of lord arlington in a letter of november th. the agent of dewitt was one elie godefroy touret, a native of picardy, france, and an acquaintance of groseilliers. touret had lived over ten years in the service of the rhinegrave at maestricht. thinking it might possibly aid him in his design, he endeavored to pass himself off in london as groseilliers' nephew. one monsieur delheure deposed that groseilliers "always held touret in suspicion for calling himself his nephew, and for being in england without employment, not being a person who could live on his income, and had therefore avoided his company as dangerous to the state. has heard touret say that if his uncle groseilliers were in service of the states of holland, he would be more considered than here, where his merits are not recognised, and that if his discovery were under the protection of holland, all would go better with him." on the st of november a warrant was issued to the keeper of the gate house, london, "to take into custody the person of touret for corresponding with the king's enemies." on the d of december touret sent in a petition to lord arlington, bitterly complaining of the severity of his treatment, and endeavored to turn the tables upon his accuser by representing that groseilliers, radisson, and a certain priest in london tried to persuade him to join them in making counterfeit coin, and for his refusal had persecuted and entered the accusation against him. to des groseilliers and radisson must be given the credit of originating the idea of forming a settlement at hudson's bay, out of which grew the profitable organization of the hudson's bay company. they obtained through the english ambassador to france an interview with prince rupert, and laid before him their plans, which had been before presented to the leading merchants of canada and the french court. prince rupert at once foresaw the value of such an enterprise, and aided them in procuring the required assistance from several noblemen and gentlemen, to fit out in two ships from london, the "eagle," captain stannard, and the "nonsuch," ketch, captain zechariah gillam. this gillam is called by oldmixon a new englander, and was probably the same one who went in / with radisson and groseilliers to hudson's strait on the unsuccessful voyage from boston. radisson thus alludes to the two ships that were fitted out in london by the help of prince rupert and his associates. the third year after their arrival in england "wee went out with a new company in two small vessels, my brother in one and i in another, and wee went together four hundred leagues from the north of ireland, where a sudden greate storme did rise and put us asunder. the sea was soe furious six or seven hours after, that it did almost overturne our ship. so that wee were forced to cut our masts rather then cutt our lives; but wee came back safe, god be thanked; and the other, i hope, is gone on his voyage, god be with him." captain gillam and the ketch "nonsuch," with des groseilliers, proceeded on their voyage, "passed thro hudson's streights, and then into baffin's bay to deg. north, and thence southwards into deg., where, in a river afterwards called prince rupert river, he had a friendly correspondence with the natives, built a fort, named it charles fort, and returned with success." [footnote: oldmixon, _british empire_, ed. , vol. i. p. ] when gillam and groseilliers returned, the adventurers concerned in fitting them out "applied themselves to charles ii. for a patent, who granted one to them and their successors for the bay called hudson's streights." [footnote: _ibid._, vol. i. p. .] the patent bears date the d of may, in the twenty-second year of charles ii., . in ellis's manuscript papers [footnote: _ibid_., vol. v. p. ] has been found the following original draft of an "answer of the hudson's bay company to a french paper entitled memoriall justifieing the pretensions of france to fort bourbon." / . "the french in this paper carrying their pretended right of discovery and settlement no higher then the year , and their being dispossessed in . wee shall briefly shew what sort of possession that was, and how those two actions were managed. mr. radisson, mentioned in the said paper to have made this settlement for the french at port nelson in , was many years before settled in england, and marryed an english wife, sir john kirke's daughter, and engaged in the interest and service of the english upon private adventure before as well as after the incorporation of the hudson's bay company. in , when prince rupert and other noblemen set out two shipps, radisson went in the eagle, captain stannard commander, and in that voyage the name of rupert's river was given. again in and in , and in this voyage directed his course to port nelson, and went on shore with one bayly (designed governor for the english), fixed the king of england's arms there, & left some goods for trading. in three ships were set out from london by the hudson's bay company, then incorporated, and radisson went in one of them in their service, settled moose river, & went to port nelson, where he left some goods, and wintered at rupert's river. in , upon some difference with the hudson's bay company, radisson returned into france and was there persuaded to go to canada. he formed severall designs of going on private accounts for the french into hudson's bay, which the governor, monsr. frontenac, would by no means permitt, declaring it would break the union between the two kings." oldmixon says [footnote: oldmixon, vol. i. p. .] that the above-mentioned charles baily, with whom went radisson and ten or twenty men, took out with him mr. thomas gorst as his secretary, who at his request kept a journal, which eventually passed into the possession of oldmixon. the following extracts give some idea of the life led by the fur-traders at the fort: "they were apprehensive of being attacked by some indians, whom the french jesuits had animated against the english and all that dealt with them. the french used many artifices to hinder the natives trading with the english; they gave them great rates for their goods, and obliged mr baily to lower the price of his to oblige the indians who dwelt about moose river, with whom they drove the greatest trade. the french, to ruin their commerce with the natives, came and made a settlement not above eight days' journey up that river from the place where the english traded. 'twas therefore debated whether the company's agents should not remove from rupert's to moose river, to prevent their traffick being interrupted by the french. on the d of april, , a council of the principal persons in the fort was held, where mr baily, the governor, captain groseilliers, and captain cole were present and gave their several opinions. the governor inclined to move. captain cole was against it, as dangerous, and captain groseilliers for going thither in their bark to trade. [footnote: oldmixon, vol. i. p. .] ... the governor, having got everything ready for a voyage to moose river, sent captain groseilliers, captain cole, mr gorst, and other indians to trade there. they got two hundred and fifty skins, and the captain of the tabittee indians informed them the french jesuits had bribed the indians not to deal with the english, but to live in friendship with the indian nations in league with the french.... the reason they got no more peltry now was because the indians thought groseilliers was too hard for them, and few would come down to deal with him." [footnote: oldmixon, vol. i. p. .] after captain baily [footnote: _ibid._, vol. i. p. .] had returned from a voyage in his sloop to trade to the fort, "on the th aug a missionary jesuit, born of english parents, arrived, bearing a letter from the governor of quebec to mr baily, dated the th of october, . "the governor of quebec desired mr baily to treat the jesuit civilly, on account of the great amity between the two crowns. mr baily resolved to keep the priest till ships came from england. he brought a letter, also, for capt groseilliers, which gave jealousy to the english of his corresponding with the french. his son-in-law lived in quebec, and had accompanied the priest part of the way, with three other frenchmen, who, being afraid to venture among strange indians, returned.... provisions running short, they were agreed, on the th sept, they were all to depart for point comfort, to stay there till the d, and then make the best of their way for england. in this deplorable condition were they when the jesuit, capt groseilliers, & another papist, walking downwards to the seaside at their devotions, heard seven great guns fire distinctly. they came home in a transport of joy, told their companions the news, and assured them it was true. upon which they fired three great guns from the fort to return the salute, though they could ill spare the powder upon such an uncertainty." the ship "prince rupert" had arrived, with captain gillam, bringing the new governor, william lyddel, esq. groseilliers and radisson, after remaining for several years under the hudson's bay company, at last in felt obliged to sever the connection, and went over again to france. radisson told his nephew in that the cause was "the refusal, that showed the bad intention of the hudson's bay company to satisfy us." several influential members of the committee of direction for the company were desirous of retaining them in their employ; among them the duke of york, prince rupert their first governor, sir james hayes, sir william young, sir john kirke, and others; but it is evident there was a hostile feeling towards radisson and his brother-in-law on the part of several members of the committee, for even after his successful expedition in they found "some members of the committee offended because i had had the honour of making my reverence to the king and to his royal highness." from to , radisson seems to have remained stanch in his allegiance to louis xiv. in his narrative of the years and he shews that colbert endeavored to induce him to bring his wife over into france, it would appear to remain there during his absence in hudson's bay, as some sort of security for her husband's fidelity to the interests of the french monarch. after his return from this voyage in he felt himself again unfairly treated by the french court, and in , as he relates in his narrative, he "passed over to england for good, and of engaging myself so strongly to the service of his majesty, and to the interests of the nation, that any other consideration was never able to detach me from it." we again hear of radisson in hudson's bay in ; and this is his last appearance in public records or documents as far as is known. a canadian, captain berger, states that in the beginning of june, , "he and his crew ascended four leagues above the english in hudson's bay, where they made a small settlement. on the th of july they set out to return to quebec. on the th they met with a vessel of ten or twelve guns, commanded by captain oslar, on board of which was the man named bridgar, the governor, who was going to relieve the governor at the head of the bay. he is the same that radisson brought to quebec three years ago in the ship monsieur de la barre restored to him. berger also says he asked a parley with the captain of mr bridgar's bark, who told him that radisson had gone with mr chouart, his nephew, fifteen days ago, to winter in the river santa theresa, where they wintered a year." [footnote: _new york colonial documents_, vol. ix.] after this date the english and the french frequently came into hostile collision in hudson's bay. in king james demanded satisfaction from france for losses inflicted upon the company. then the jesuits procured neutrality for america, and knew by that time they were in possession of fort albany. in the french took the "hayes" sloop, an infraction of the treaty. in they took three ships, valued, in all, at l. , ; l. , damage in time of peace. in the company set out four ships to recover fort albany, taken in . in the french took york, alias fort bourbon. in the english retook it from them. on the th september, , the french retook it and kept it. the peace was made september , . [footnote: _minutes relating to hudson's bay company_.] in the stock rose from l. to near l. , . notwithstanding the losses sustained by the company, amounting to l. , between and , they were able to pay in the shareholders a dividend of fifty per cent. radisson brought home in a cargo of , beaver skins. oldmixon says, " , beavers, in all their factories, was one of the best years of trade they ever had, besides other peltry." again in a dividend of fifty per cent was made, and in one of twenty-five per cent. in , without any call being made, the stock was trebled, while at the same time a dividend of twenty-five per cent was paid on the increased or newly created stock. at the peace of utrecht, in , the forts captured by the french in were restored to the company, who by had again trebled their capital, with a call of only ten per cent. after a long and fierce rivalry with the northwest fur company, the two companies were amalgamated in . [footnote: encyclopaedia britannica.] radisson commences his narrative of in a reverent spirit, by inscribing it "a la plus grande gloire de dieu." all his manuscripts have been handed down in perfect preservation. they are written out in a clear and excellent handwriting, showing the writer to have been a person of good education, who had also travelled in turkey and italy, and who had been in london, and perhaps learned his english there in his early life. the narrative of travels between the years and was for some time the property of samuel pepys, the well-known diarist, and secretary of the admiralty to charles ii. and james ii. he probably received it from sir george cartaret, the vice-chamberlain of the king and treasurer of the navy, for whom it was no doubt carefully copied out from his rough notes by the author, so that it might, through him, be brought under the notice of charles ii. some years after the death of pepys, in , his collection of manuscripts was dispersed and fell into the hands of various london tradesmen, who bought parcels of it to use in their shops as waste-paper. the most valuable portions were carefully reclaimed by the celebrated collector, richard rawlinson, who in writing to his friend t. rawlins, from. "london house, january th, / ," says: "i have purchased the best part of the fine collection of mr pepys, secretary to the admiralty during the reigns of charles d and james d. some are as old as king henry viii. they were collected with a design for a lord high admiral such as he should approve; but those times are not yet come, and so little care was taken of them that they were redeemed from _thus et adores vendentibus_." the manuscript containing radisson's narrative for the years and was "purchased of rodd, th july, ," by the british museum. the narrative in french, for the year , was bought by sir hans sloane from the collection of "nicolai joseph foucault, comitis consistoriani," as his bookplate informs us. with the manuscript this gentleman had bound up in the same volume a religious treatise in manuscript, highly illuminated, in italian, relating to some of the saints of the catholic church. [footnote: i am under obligations to mr. john gilmary shea for valuable information.] voyages of peter esprit radisson. _the relation of my voyage, being in bondage in the lands of the irokoits, which was the next yeare after my coming into canada, in the yeare , the th day of may._ being persuaded in the morning by two of my comrades to go and recreat ourselves in fowling, i disposed myselfe to keepe them company; wherfor i cloathed myselfe the lightest way i could possible, that i might be the nimbler and not stay behinde, as much for the prey that i hoped for, as for to escape the danger into which wee have ventered ourselves of an enemy the cruelest that ever was uppon the face of the earth. it is to bee observed that the french had warre with a wild nation called iroquoites, who for that time weare soe strong and so to be feared that scarce any body durst stirre out either cottage or house without being taken or kill'd, [footnote: in - father vimont writes: "i had as lief be beset by goblins as by the iroquois. the one are about as invisible as the other. our people on the richelieu and at montreal are kept in a closer confinement than ever were monks or nuns in our smallest convents in france."] saving that he had nimble limbs to escape their fury; being departed, all three well armed, and unanimiously rather die then abandon one another, notwithstanding these resolutions weare but young mens deboasting; being then in a very litle assurance and lesse security. at an offspring of a village of three rivers we consult together that two should go the watter side, the other in a wood hardby to warne us, for to advertise us if he accidentaly should light [upon] or suspect any barbars in ambush, we also retreat ourselves to him if we should discover any thing uppon the river. having comed to the first river, which was a mile distant from our dwellings, wee mett a man who mett a man who kept cattell, and asked him if he had knowne any appearance of ennemy, and likewise demanded which way he would advise us to gett better fortune, and what part he spied more danger; he guiding us the best way he could, prohibiting us by no means not to render ourselves att the skirts of the mountains; ffor, said he, i discovered oftentimes a multitude of people which rose up as it weare of a sudaine from of the earth, and that doubtless there weare some enemys that way; which sayings made us looke to ourselves and charge two of our fowling peeces with great shot the one, and the other with small. priming our pistols, we went where our fancy first lead us, being impossible for us to avoid the destinies of the heavens; no sooner tourned our backs, but my nose fell ableeding without any provocation in the least. certainly it was a warning for me of a beginning of a yeare and a half of hazards and of miseryes that weare to befall mee. we did shoot sometime and killed some duks, which made one of my fellow travellers go no further. i seeing him taking such a resolution, i proferred some words that did not like him, giving him the character of a timourous, childish humor; so this did nothing prevaile with him, to the contrary that had with him quite another isue then what i hoped for; ffor offending him with my words he prevailed so much with the others that he persuaded them to doe the same. i lett them goe, laughing them to scorne, beseeching them to helpe me to my fowles, and that i would tell them the discovery of my designes, hoping to kill meat to make us meate att my retourne. i went my way along the wood some times by the side of the river, where i finde something to shute att, though no considerable quantitie, which made me goe a league off and more, so i could not go in all further then st. peeter's, which is nine mile from the plantation by reason of the river ovamasis, which hindered me the pasage. i begun'd to think att my retourne how i might transport my fowle. i hide one part in a hollow tree to keep them from the eagles and other devouring fowles, so as i came backe the same way where before had no bad incounter. arrived within one halfe a mile where my comrades had left me, i rested awhile by reason that i was looden'd with three geese, tenn ducks, and one crane, with some teales. after having layd downe my burden uppon the grasse, i thought to have heard a noise in the wood by me, which made me to overlook my armes; i found one of my girdle pistols wette. i shott it off and charged it againe, went up to the wood the soffliest i might, to discover and defend myselfe the better against any surprise. after i had gone from tree to tree some paces off i espied nothing; as i came back from out of the wood to an adjacent brooke, i perceived a great number of ducks; my discovery imbouldened me, and for that there was a litle way to the fort, i determined to shute once more; coming nigh preparing meselfe for to shute, i found another worke, the two young men that i left some tenne houres before heere weare killed. whether they came after mee, or weare brought thither by the barbars, i know not. however [they] weare murthered. looking over them, knew them albeit quite naked, and their hair standing up, the one being shott through with three boulletts and two blowes of an hatchett on the head, and the other runne thorough in severall places with a sword and smitten with an hatchett. att the same instance my nose begun'd to bleed, which made me afraid of my life; but withdrawing myselfe to the watter side to see if any body followed mee, i espied twenty or thirty heads in a long grasse. mightily surprized att the view, i must needs passe through the midst of them or tourne backe into the woode. i slipped a boullet uppon the shott and beate the paper into my gunne. i heard a noise, which made me looke on that side; hopeing to save meselfe, perswading myselfe i was not yet perceived by them that weare in the medow, and in the meane while some gunns weare lett off with an horrid cry. seeing myselfe compassed round about by a multitude of dogges, or rather devils, that rose from the grasse, rushesse, and bushesse, i shott my gunne, whether un warrs or purposly i know not, but i shott with a pistolle confidently, but was seised on all sids by a great number that threw me downe, taking away my arme without giving mee one blowe; ffor afterwards i felt no paine att all, onely a great guidinesse in my heade, from whence it comes i doe not remember. in the same time they brought me into the wood, where they shewed me the two heads all bloody. after they consulted together for a while, retired into their boats, which weare four or five miles from thence, and wher i have bin a while before. they layed mee hither, houlding me by the hayre, to the imbarking place; there they began to errect their cottages, which consisted only of some sticks to boyle their meate, whereof they had plenty, but stuncke, which was strange to mee to finde such an alteration so sudaine. they made [me] sitt downe by. after this they searched me and tooke what i had, then stripped me naked, and tyed a rope about my middle, wherin i remained, fearing to persist, in the same posture the rest of the night. after this they removed me, laughing and howling like as many wolves, i knowing not the reason, if not for my skin, that was soe whit in respect of theirs. but their gaping did soone cease because of a false alarme, that their scout who stayed behind gave them, saying that the ffrench and the wild algongins, friends to the ffrench, came with all speed. they presently put out the fire, and tooke hould of the most advantageous passages, and sent men to discover what it meant, who brought certaine tydings of assurance and liberty. in the meanewhile i was garded by men, who gave me a good part of my cloathes. after kindling a fire againe, they gott theire supper ready, which was sudenly don, ffor they dresse their meat halfe boyled, mingling some yallowish meale in the broath of that infected stinking meate; so whilst this was adoing they combed my head, and with a filthy grease greased my head, and dashed all over my face with redd paintings. so then, when the meat was ready, they feeded me with their hod-pot, forcing me to swallow it in a maner. my heart did so faint at this, that in good deede i should have given freely up the ghost to be freed from their clawes, thinking every moment they would end my life. they perceived that my stomach could not beare such victuals. they tooke some of this stinking meate and boyled it in a cleare watter, then mingled a litle indian meale put to it, which meale before was tossed amongst bourning sand, and then made in powder betwixt two rocks. i, to shew myselfe cheerfull att this, swallowed downe some of this that seemed to me very unsavoury and clammie by reason of the scume that was upon the meat. having supped, they untyed mee, and made me lye betwixt them, having one end of one side and one of another, and covered me with a red coverlet, thorough which i might have counted the starrs. i slept a sound sleep, for they awaked me uppon the breaking of the day. i dreamed that night that i was with the jesuits at quebuc drinking beere, which gave me hopes to be free sometimes, and also because i heard those people lived among dutch people in a place called menada [footnote: _menada_, manhattan, or new netherlands, called by the french of canada "manatte."], and fort of orang, where without doubt i could drinke beere. i, after this, finding meselfe somewhat altered, and my body more like a devil then anything else, after being so smeared and burst with their filthy meate that i could not digest, but must suffer all patiently. finally they seemed to me kinder and kinder, giving me of the best bitts where lesse wormes weare. then they layd [me] to the watter side, where there weare and boats, ffor each of them imbark'd himselfe. they tyed me to the barre in a boat, where they tooke at the same instance the heads of those that weare killed the day before, and for to preserve them they cutt off the flesh to the skull and left nothing but skin and haire, putting of it into a litle panne wherein they melt some grease, and gott it dry with hot stones. they spread themselves from off the side of the river a good way, and gathered together againe and made a fearfull noise and shott some gunns off, after which followed a kind of an incondit singing after nots, which was an oudiousom noise. as they weare departing from thence they injoyned silence, and one of the company, wherein i was, made three shouts, which was answered by the like maner from the whole flocke; which done they tooke their way, singing and leaping, and so past the day in such like. they offered mee meate; but such victuals i reguarded it litle, but could drinke for thirst. my sperit was troubled with infinite deale of thoughts, but all to no purpose for the ease of my sicknesse; sometimes despairing, now againe in some hopes. i allwayes indeavoured to comfort myselfe, though half dead. my resolution was so mastered with feare, that at every stroake of the oares of these inhumans i thought it to be my end. by sunsett we arrived att the isles of richelieu, a place rather for victors then for captives most pleasant. there is to be seen wild cowes together, a number of elks and beavers, an infinit of fowls. there we must make cottages, and for this purpose they imploy all together their wits and art, ffor of these islands are drowned in spring, when the floods begin to rise from the melting of the snow, and that by reason of the lowness of the land. here they found a place fitt enough for men that their army consisted [of]. they landed mee & shewed mee great kindnesse, saying chagon, which is as much [as] to say, as i understood afterwards, be cheerfull or merry; but for my part i was both deafe and dumb. their behaviour made me neverthelesse cheerfull, or att least of a smiling countenance, and constraine my aversion and feare to an assurance, which proved not ill to my thinking; ffor the young men tooke delight in combing my head, greasing and powdering out a kinde of redd powder, then tying my haire with a redd string of leather like to a coard, which caused my haire to grow longer in a short time. the day following they prepared themselves to passe the adjacent places and shoote to gett victualls, where we stayed dayes, making great cheere and fires. i more and more getting familiarity with them, that i had the liberty to goe from cottage, having one or two by mee. they untyed mee, and tooke delight to make me speake words of their language, and weare earnest that i should pronounce as they. they tooke care to give me meate as often as i would; they gave me salt that served me all my voyage. they also tooke the paines to put it up safe for mee, not takeing any of it for themselves. there was nothing else but feasting and singing during our abode. i tooke notice that our men decreased, ffor every night one other boate tooke his way, which persuaded mee that they went to the warrs to gett more booty. the fourth day, early in the morning, my brother, viz., he that tooke me, so he called me, embarked me without tying me. he gave me an oare, which i tooke with a good will, and rowed till i sweate againe. they, perceaving, made me give over; not content with that i made a signe of my willingnesse to continue that worke. they consent to my desire, but shewed me how i should row without putting myselfe into a sweat. our company being considerable hitherto, was now reduced to three score. mid-day wee came to the river of richlieu, where we weare not farre gon, but mett a new gang of their people in cottages; they began to hoop and hollow as the first day of my taking. they made me stand upright in the boat, as they themselves, saluting one another with all kindnesse and joy. in this new company there was one that had a minde to doe me mischiefe, but prevented by him that tooke me. i taking notice of the fellow, i shewed him more friendshipe. i gott some meate roasted for him, and throwing a litle salt and flower over it, which he finding very good tast, gave it to the rest as a rarity, nor did afterwards molest mee. they tooke a fancy to teach mee to sing; and as i had allready a beginning of their hooping, it was an easy thing for me to learne, our algonquins making the same noise. they tooke an exceeding delight to heare mee. often have i sunged in french, to which they gave eares with a deepe silence. we passed that day and night following with litle rest by reason of their joy and mirth. they lead a dance, and tyed my comrades both their heads att the end of a stick and hopt it; this done, every one packt and embarked himselfe, some going one way, some another. being separated, one of the boats that we mett before comes backe againe and approaches the boat wherein i was; i wondered, a woman of the said company taking hould on my haire, signifying great kindnesse. shee combs my head with her fingers and tyed my wrist with a bracelett, and sunged. my wish was that shee would proceed in our way. after both companys made a shout wee separated, i was sorry for this woman's departure, ffor having shewed me such favour att her first aspect, doubtlesse but shee might, if neede required, saved my life. our journey was indifferent good, without any delay, which caused us to arrive in a good and pleasant harbour. it was on the side of the sand where our people had any paine scarce to errect their cottages, being that it was a place they had sejourned [at] before. the place round about [was] full of trees. heare they kindled a fire and provided what was necessary for their food. in this place they cutt off my hair in the front and upon the crowne of the head, and turning up the locks of the haire they dab'd mee with some thicke grease. so done, they brought me a looking-glasse. i viewing myselfe all in a pickle, smir'd with redde and black, covered with such a cappe, and locks tyed up with a peece of leather and stunked horridly, i could not but fall in love with myselfe, if not that i had better instructions to shun the sin of pride. so after repasting themselves, they made them ready for the journey with takeing repose that night. this was the time i thought to have escaped, ffor in vaine, ffor i being alone feared least i should be apprehended and dealt with more violently. and moreover i was desirous to have seene their country. att the sun rising i awaked my brother, telling him by signes it was time to goe. he called the rest, but non would stirre, which made him lye downe againe. i rose and went to the water side, where i walked awhile. if there weare another we might, i dare say, escape out of their sight. heere i recreated myselfe running a naked swoord into the sand. one of them seeing mee after such an exercise calls mee and shews me his way, which made me more confidence in them. they brought mee a dish full of meate to the water side. i began to eat like a beare. in the mean time they imbark'd themselves, one of them tooke notice that i had not a knife, brings me his, which i kept the rest of the voyage, without that they had the least feare of me. being ready to goe, saving my boat that was ammending, which was soone done. the other boats weare not as yett out of sight, and in the way my boat killed a stagg. they made me shoot att it, and not quite dead they runed it thorough with their swoords, and having cutt it in peeces, they devided it, and proceeded on their way. at of the clock in the afternoone we came into a rappid streame, where we weare forced to land and carry our equipages and boats thorough a dangerous place. wee had not any encounter that day. att night where we found cottages ready made, there i cutt wood as the rest with all dilligence. the morning early following we marched without making great noise, or singing as accustomed. sejourning awhile, we came to a lake leagues wide, about it a very pleasant country imbellished with great forests. that day our wild people killed bears, one monstrous like for its biggnesse, the other a small one. wee arrived to a fine sandy bancke, where not long before many cabbanes weare errected and places made where prisoners weare tyed. in this place our wild people sweated after the maner following: first heated stones till they weare redd as fire, then they made a lantherne with small sticks, then stoaring the place with deale trees, saving a place in the middle whereinto they put the stoanes, and covered the place with severall covers, then striped themselves naked, went into it. they made a noise as if the devil weare there; after they being there for an hour they came out of the watter, and then throwing one another into the watter, i thought veryly they weare insensed. it is their usual custome. being comed out of this place, they feasted themselves with the two bears, turning the outside of the tripes inward not washed. they gave every one his share; as for my part i found them [neither] good, nor savory to the pallet. in the night they heard some shooting, which made them embark themselves speedily. in the mean while they made me lay downe whilst they rowed very hard. i slept securely till the morning, where i found meselfe in great high rushes. there they stayed without noise. from thence wee proceeded, though not without some feare of an algonquin army. we went on for some dayes that lake. att last they endeavoured to retire to the woods, every one carrying his bundle. after a daye's march we came to a litle river where we lay'd that night. the day following we proceeded on our journey, where we mett men, with whome our wild men seemed to be acquainted by some signes. these men began to speake a longe while. after came a company of women, in number, that brought us dry fish and indian corne. these women loaded themselves, after that we had eaten, like mules with our baggage. we went through a small wood, the way well beaten, untill the evening we touched a place for fishing, of cabbans. there they weare well received but myselfe, who was stroaken by a yong man. he, my keeper, made a signe i should to him againe. i tourning to him instantly, he to me, taking hould of my haire, all the wild men came about us, encouraging with their cryes and hands, which encouraged me most that non helpt him more then mee. wee clawed one another with hands, tooth, and nailes. my adversary being offended i have gotten the best, he kick't me; but my french shoes that they left mee weare harder then his, which made him [give up] that game againe. he tooke me about the wrest, where he found himselfe downe before he was awarre, houlding him upon the ground till some came and putt us asunder. my company seeing mee free, began to cry out, giving me watter to wash me, and then fresh fish to relish me. they encouraged me so much, the one combing my head, the other greasing my haire. there we stayed dayes, where no body durst trouble me. in the same cabban that i was, there has bin a wild man wounded with a small shott. i thought i have seen him the day of my taking, which made me feare least i was the one that wounded him. he knowing it to be so had shewed me as much charity as a christian might have given. another of his fellowes (i also wounded) came to me att my first coming there, whom i thought to have come for reveng, contrarywise shewed me a cheerfull countenance; he gave mee a box full of red paintings, calling me his brother. i had not as yett caryed any burden, but meeting with an ould man, gave me a sacke of tobacco of pounds' weight, bearing it uppon my head, as it's their usuall custome. we made severall stayes the day by reason of the severall encounters of their people that came from villages, as warrs others from fishing and shooting. in that journey our company increased, among others a great many hurrons that had bin lately taken, and who for the most part are as slaves. we lay'd in the wood because they would not goe into their village in the night time. the next day we marched into a village where as wee came in sight we heard nothing but outcryes, as from one side as from the other, being a quarter of a mile from the village. they satt downe and i in the midle, where i saw women and men and children with staves and in array, which put me in feare, and instantly stripped me naked. my keeper gave me a signe to be gone as fast as i could drive. in the meane while many of the village came about us, among which a good old woman, and a boy with a hatchet in his hand came near mee. the old woman covered me, and the young man tooke me by the hand and lead me out of the company. the old woman made me step aside from those that weare ready to stricke att mee. there i left the heads of my comrades, and that with comforted me yet i escaped the blowes. then they brought me into their cottage; there the old woman shewed me kindnesse. shee gave me to eate. the great terror i had a litle before tooke my stomack away from me. i stayed an hower, where a great company of people came to see mee. heere came a company of old men, having pipes in their mouthes, satt about me. after smoaking, they lead me into another cabban, where there weare a company all smoaking; they made [me] sitt downe by the fire, which made [me] apprehend they should cast me into the said fire. but it proved otherwise; for the old woman followed mee, speaking aloud, whom they answered with a loud ho, then shee tooke her girdle and about mee shee tyed it, so brought me to her cottage, and made me sitt downe in the same place i was before. then shee began to dance and sing a while, after [she] brings downe from her box a combe, gives it to a maide that was neare mee, who presently comes to greas and combe my haire, and tooke away the paint that the fellows stuck to my face. now the old woman getts me some indian corne toasted in the fire. i tooke paines to gether it out of the fire; after this shee gave me a blew coverlett, stokins and shoos, and where with to make me drawers. she looked in my cloathes, and if shee found any lice shee would squeeze them betwixt her teeth, as if they had ben substantiall meate. i lay'd with her son, who tooke me from those of my first takers, and gott at last a great acquaintance with many. i did what i could to gett familiarity with them, yeat i suffered no wrong att their hands, taking all freedom, which the old woman inticed me to doe. but still they altered my face where ever i went, and a new dish to satisfy nature. i tooke all the pleasures imaginable, having a small peece at my command, shooting patriges and squerells, playing most part of the day with my companions. the old woman wished that i would make meselfe more familiar with her daughters, which weare tolerable among such people. they weare accustomed to grease and combe my haire in the morning. i went with them into the wilderness, there they would be gabling which i could not understand. they wanted no company but i was shure to be of the number. i brought all ways some guifts that i received, which i gave to my purse-keeper and refuge, the good old woman. i lived weeks without thinking from whence i came. i learned more of their maners in weeks then if i had bin in ffrance months. att the end i was troubled in minde, which made her inquire if i was anjonack, a huron word. att this i made as if i weare subported for speaking in a strang language, which shee liked well, calling me by the name of her son who before was killed, orinha, [footnote: called _orimha_, over-leaf.] which signifies ledd or stone, without difference of the words. so that it was my lordshippe. shee inquired [of] mee whether i was asserony, a french. i answering no, saying i was panugaga, that is, of their nation, for which shee was pleased. my father feasted men that day. my sisters made me clean for that purpos, and greased my haire. my mother decked me with a new cover and a redd and blew cappe, with necklace of porcelaine. my sisters tyed me with braceletts and garters of the same porcelaine. my brother painted my face, and [put] feathers on my head, and tyed both my locks with porcelaine. my father was liberall to me, giving me a garland instead of my blew cap and a necklace of porcelaine that hung downe to my heels, and a hattchet in my hand. it was hard for me to defend myselfe against any encounter, being so laden with riches. then my father made a speech shewing many demonstrations of vallor, broak a kettle full of cagamite [footnote: _cagamite, cagaimtie, sagamite_, a mush made of pounded indian corn boiled with bits of meat or fish.] with a hattchett so they sung, as is their usual coustom. they weare waited on by a sort of yong men, bringing downe dishes of meate of oriniacke, [footnote: _oriniacke, auriniacks, horiniac_, the moose, the largest species of deer. called by the french writers-- sagard-theodat, la hontan, and charlevoix--_eslan, orinal_, or _orignal_.] of castors, and of red deer mingled with some flowers. the order of makeing was thus: the corne being dried between stones into powder, being very thick, putt it into a kettle full of watter, then a quantity of bear's grease. this banquett being over, they cryed to me shagon, orimha, that is, be hearty, stone or ledd. every one withdrew into his quarters, and so did i. but to the purpose of my history. as i went to the fields once, where i mett with of my acquaintance, who had a designe for to hunt a great way off, they desired me to goe along. i lett them know in huron language (for that i knew better then that of the iroquoits) i was content, desiring them to stay till i acquainted my mother. one of them came along with mee, and gott leave for me of my kindred. my mother gott me presently a sack of meale, paire of shoos, my gun, and tourned backe where the stayed for us. my sisters accompanied me even out of the wildernesse and carried my bundle, where they tooke leave. we marched on that day through the woods till we came by a lake where we travelled without any rest. i wished i had stayed att home, for we had sad victualls. the next day about noone we came to a river; there we made a skiffe, so litle that we could scarce go into it. i admired their skill in doing of it, ffor in lesse then hours they cutt the tree and pulled up the rind, of which they made the boat. we embarked ourselves and went to the lower end of the river, which emptied it selfe into a litle lake of about miles in length and a mile in breadth. we passed this lake into another river broader then the other; there we found a fresh track of a stagge, which made us stay heere a while. it was five of the clock att least when of our men made themselves ready to looke after that beast; the other and i stayed behind. not long after we saw the stagge crosse the river, which foarding brought him to his ending. so done, they went on their cours, and came backe againe att of the clocke with bears, a castor, and the stagge which was slaine att our sight. how did wee rejoice to see that killed which would make the kettle boyle. after we have eaten, wee slept. the next day we made trappes for to trapp castors, whilst we weare bussie, one about one thing, one about another. as of us retourned homewards to our cottage we heard a wild man singing. he made us looke to our selves least he should prove an ennemy, but as we have seene him, called to him, who came immediately, telling us that he was in pursuite of a beare since morning, and that he gave him over, having lost his doggs by the same beare. he came with us to our cottage, where we mett our companion after having killed one beare, staggs, and mountain catts, being in number. whilst the meat was a boyling that wild man spoake to me the algonquin language. i wondred to heare this stranger; he tould me that he was taken years agoe; he asked me concerning the rivers and of quebuck, who wished himselfe there, and i said the same, though i did not intend it. he asked me if i loved the french. i inquired [of] him also if he loved the algonquins? mary, quoth he, and so doe i my owne nation. then replyed he, brother, cheare up, lett us escape, the rivers are not a farre off. i tould him my comrades would not permitt me, and that they promissed my mother to bring me back againe. then he inquired whether i would live like the hurrons, who weare in bondage, or have my owne liberty with the ffrench, where there was good bread to be eaten. feare not, quoth he, shall kill them all this night when they will bee a sleepe, which will be an easy matter with their owne hatchetts. att last i consented, considering they weare mortall ennemys to my country, that had cutt the throats of so many of my relations, burned and murdered them. i promissed him to succour him in his designe. they not understanding our language asked the algonquin what is that that he said, but tould them some other story, nor did they suspect us in the least. their belly full, their mind without care, wearyed to the utmost of the formost day's journey, fell a sleepe securely, leaning their armes up and downe without the least danger. then my wild man pushed me, thinking i was a sleepe. he rises and sitts him downe by the fire, behoulding them one after an other, and taking their armes a side, and having the hattchetts in his hand gives me one; to tell the truth i was loathsome to do them mischif that never did me any. yett for the above said reasons i tooke the hattchet and began the execution, which was soone done. my fellow comes to him that was nearest to the fire (i dare say he never saw the stroake), and i have done that like to an other, but i hitting him with the edge of the hattchett could not disingage [it] presently, being so deep in his head, rises upon his breast, butt fell back sudainly, making a great noise, which almost waked the third; but my comrade gave him a deadly blow of a hattchet, and presently after i shott him dead. then we prepared our selves with all speed, throwing their dead corps, after that the wild man took off their heads, into the watter. we tooke guns, leaving the th, their swoords, their hattchetts, their powder and shott, and all their porselaine; we tooke also some meale and meate. i was sorry for to have ben in such an incounter, but too late to repent. wee tooke our journey that night alongst the river. the break of day we landed on the side of a rock which was smooth. we carryed our boat and equippage into the wood above a hundred paces from the watter side, where we stayed most sadly all that day tormented by the maringoines; [footnote: _musquetos_.] we tourned our boat upside downe, we putt us under it from the raine. the night coming, which was the fitest time to leave that place, we goe without any noise for our safty. wee travelled nights in that maner in great feare, hearing boats passing by. when we have perceaved any fire, left off rowing, and went by with as litle noise as could [be] possible. att last with many tournings by lande and by watter, wee came to the lake of st. peeter's. we landed about of the clock, leaving our skiff in among rushes farr out of the way from those that passed that way and doe us injury. we retired into the wood, where we made a fire some paces from the river. there we roasted some meat and boyled meale; after, we rested ourselves a while from the many labours of the former night. so, having slept, my companion awaks first, and stirrs me, saying it was high time that we might by day come to our dweling, of which councel i did not approve. [i] tould him the ennemys commonly weare lurking about the river side, and we should doe very well [to] stay in that place till sunnsett. then, said he, lett us begon, we [are] passed all feare. let us shake off the yoake of a company of whelps that killed so many french and black-coats, and so many of my nation. nay, saith he, brother, if you come not, i will leave you, and will go through the woods till i shall be over against the french quarters. there i will make a fire for a signe that they may fetch me. i will tell to the governor that you stayed behind. take courage, man, says he. with this he tooke his peece and things. att this i considered how if [i] weare taken att the doore by meere rashnesse; the next, the impossibility i saw to go by myselfe if my comrad would leave me, and perhaps the wind might rise, that i could [only] come to the end of my journey in a long time, and that i should be accounted a coward for not daring to hazard myselfe with him that so much ventured for mee. i resolved to go along through the woods; but the litle constancy that is to be expected in wild men made me feare he should [take] to his heels, which approved his unfortunate advice; ffor he hath lost his life by it, and i in great danger have escaped by the helpe of the almighty. i consent to goe by watter with him. in a short time wee came to the lake. the watter very calme and cleare. no liklyhood of any storme. we hazarded to the other side of the lake, thinking ffor more security. after we passed the third part of the lake, i being the foremost, have perceaved as if it weare a black shaddow, which proved a real thing. he at this rises and tells mee that it was a company of buzards, a kinde of geese in that country. we went on, where wee soone perceaved our owne fatall blindnesse, ffor they weare ennemys. we went back againe towards the lande with all speed to escape the evident danger, but it was too late; ffor before we could come to the russhes that weare within halfe a league of the waterside we weare tired. seeing them approaching nigher and nigher, we threw the heads in the watter. they meet with these heads, which makes them to row harder after us, thinking that we had runn away from their country. we weare so neere the lande that we saw the bottom of the watter, but yett too deepe to step in. when those cruel inhumans came within a musquett shott of us, and fearing least the booty should gett a way from them, shott severall times att us, and deadly wounding my comrade, [who] fell dead. i expected such another shott. the litle skiff was pierced in severall places with their shooting, [so] that watter ran in a pace. i defended me selfe with the arms. att last they environed me with their boats, that tooke me just as i was a sinking. they held up the wild man and threw him into one of their boats and me they brought with all diligence to land. i thought to die without mercy. they made a great fire and tooke my comrade's heart out, and choped off his head, which they put on an end of a stick and carryed it to one of their boats. they cutt off some of the flesh of that miserable, broyled it and eat it. if he had not ben so desperately wounded they had don their best to keepe him alive to make him suffer the more by bourning him with small fires; but being wounded in the chin, and [a] bullet gon through the troat, and another in the shoulder that broake his arme, making him incurable, they burned some parte of his body, and the rest they left there. that was the miserable end of that wretch. lett us come now to the beginning of my miseries and calamities that i was to undergo. whilst they weare bussie about my companion's head, the others tyed me safe and fast in a strang maner; having striped me naked, they tyed me above the elbows behind my back, and then they putt a collar about me, not of porcelaine as before, but a rope wrought about my midle. so [they] brought me in that pickle to the boat. as i was imbarqued they asked mee severall questions. i being not able to answer, gave me great blowes with their fists. [they] then pulled out one of my nailes, and partly untied me. what displeasure had i, to have seen meselfe taken againe, being almost come to my journey's end, that i must now goe back againe to suffer such torments, as death was to be expected. having lost all hopes, i resolved alltogether to die, being a folly to think otherwise. i was not the [only] one in the clawes of those wolves. their company was composed of men. these tooke about quebucq and other places frenchmen, one french woman, hurrons, men as [well as] women. they had eleven heads which they sayd weare of the algonquins, and i was the rd victime with those cruels. the wild men that weare prisners sang their fatal song, which was a mornfull song or noise. the couleurs (which weare heads) stood out for a shew. we prisoners weare separated, one in one boat, one in an other. as for me, i was put into a boat with a huron whose fingers weare cutt and bourned, and very [few] amongst them but had the markes of those inhuman devils. they did not permitt me to tarry long with my fellow prisoner, least i should tell him any news, as i imagine, but sent me to another boat, where i remained the rest of the voyage by watter, which proved somewhat to my disadvantage. in this boat there was an old man, who having examined me, i answered him as i could best; tould him how i was adopted by such an one by name, and as i was a hunting with my companions that wildman that was killed came to us, and after he had eaten went his way. in the evening [he] came back againe and found us all a sleepe, tooke a hattchett and killed my companions, and awaked me, and so embarked me and brought me to this place. that old man believed me in some measure, which i perceived in him by his kindnesse towards me. but he was not able to protect me from those that [had] a will to doe me mischief. many slandred me, but i tooke no notice. some leagues thence they erected cottages by a small river, very difficult to gett to it, for that there is litle watter on a great sand [bank] a league wide. to this very houre i tooke notice how they tyed their captives, though att my owne cost. they planted severall poastes of the bignesse of an arme, then layd us of a length, tyed us to the said poasts far a sunder from one another. then tyed our knees, our wrists, and elbows, and our hairs directly upon the crowne of our heads, and then cutt barrs of the bignesse of a legge & used thus. they tooke for the necke, puting one of each side, tying the ends together, so that our heads weare fast in a hole like a trappe; likewayes they did to our leggs. and what tormented us most was the maringoines and great flyes being in abundance; did all night but puff and blow, that by that means we saved our faces from the sting of those ugly creatures; having no use of our hands, we are cruelly tormented. our voyage was laborious and most miserable, suffering every night the like misery. when we came neere our dwellings we mett severall gangs of men to our greatest disadvantage, for we weare forced to sing, and those that came to see us gave porcelaine to those that most did us injury. one cutt of a finger, and another pluck'd out a naile, and putt the end of our fingers into their bourning pipes, & burned severall parts in our bodyes. some tooke our fingers and of a stick made a thing like a fork, with which [they] gave severall blowes on the back of the hands, which caused our hands to swell, and became att last insensible as dead. having souffred all these crueltyes, which weare nothing to that they make usually souffer their prisoners, we arrived att last to the place of execution, which is att the coming in to their village, which wheere not [long] before i escaped very neere to be soundly beaten with staves and fists. now i must think to be no lesse traited by reason of the murder of the men, but the feare of death takes away the feare of blowes. nineteen of us prisoners weare brought thither, and left behind with the heads. in this place we had coulours. who would not shake att the sight of so many men, women, and children armed with all sorte of instruments: staves, hand irons, heelskins wherein they putt halfe a score [of] bullets? others had brands, rods of thorne, and all suchlike that the crueltie could invent to putt their prisoners to greater torments. heere, no help, no remedy. we must passe this dangerous passage in our extremity without helpe. he that is the fearfullest, or that is observed to stay the last, getts nothing by it butt more blowes, and putt him to more paine. for the meanest sort of people commonly is more cruell to the fearfullest then to the others that they see more fearfull, being att last to suffer chearfuly and with constancy. they begun to cry to both sides, we marching one after another, environed with a number of people from all parts to be witnesse to that hidious sight, which seriously may be called the image of hell in this world. the men sing their fatall song, the women make horrible cryes, the victores cryes of joy, and their wives make acclamations of mirth. in a word, all prepare for the ruine of these poore victimes who are so tyed, having nothing saving only our leggs free, for to advance by litle and litle according [to] the will of him that leades; ffor as he held us by a long rope, he stayed us to his will, & often he makes us falle, for to shew them cruelty, abusing you so for to give them pleasure and to you more torment. as our band was great, there was a greater crew of people to see the prisoners, and the report of my taking being now made, and of the death of the men, which afflicted the most part of that nation, great many of which came through a designe of revenge and to molest me more then any other. but it was altogether otherwise, for among the tumult i perceaved my father & mother with their daughters. the mother pushes in among the crew directly to mee, and when shee was neere enough, shee clutches hould of my haire as one desperat, calling me often by my name; drawing me out of my ranck, shee putts me into the hands of her husband, who then bid me have courage, conducting me an other way home to his cabban, when he made me sitt downe. [he] said to me: you senselesse, thou was my son, and thou rendered thyselfe enemy, and thou rendered thyself enemy, thou lovest not thy mother, nor thy father that gave thee thy life, and thou notwithstanding will kill me. bee merry; conharrassan, give him to eate. that was the name of one of the sisters. my heart shook with trembling and feare, which tooke away my stomach. neverthelesse to signifie a bould countenance, knowing well a bould generous minde is allwayes accounted among all sort of nations, especially among wariors, as that nation is very presumptious and haughty. because of their magnanimity and victories opposing themselves into all dangers and incounters what ever, running over the whole land for to make themselves appeere slaining and killing all they meete in exercising their cruelties, or else shewing mercy to whom they please to give liberty. god gave mee the grace to forgett nothing of my duty, as i tould my father the successe of my voyage in the best tearme i could, and how all things passed, mixturing a litle of their languag with that of the hurrons, which i learned more fluently then theirs, being longer and more frequently with the hurrons. every one attentively gave ears to me, hoping by this means to save my life. uppon this heere comes a great number of armed men, enters the cabban, where finding mee yett tyed with my cords, fitting by my parents, made their addresses to my father, and spak to him very loud. after a while my father made me rise and delivers me into their hands. my mother seeing this, cryes and laments with both my sisters, and i believing in a terrible motion to goe directly on to the place of execution. i must march, i must yeeld wheere force is predominant att the publique place. i was conducted where i found a good company of those miserable wretches, alltogether beaten with blowes, covered with blood, and bourned. one miserable frenchman, yett breathing, having now ben consumed with blowes of sticks, past so through the hands of this inraged crew, and seeing he could [bear] no more, cutt off his head and threw it into the fire. this was the end of this execrable wofull body of this miserable. they made me goe up the scaffold where weare men, women, and children captives, and i made the eleventh. there weare severall scaffolds nigh one an other, where weare these wretches, who with dolefull singings replenished the heavens with their cryes. for i can say that an houre before the weather approved very faire, and in an instant the weather changed and rayned extremely. the most part retired for to avoid this hayle, and now we must expect the full rigour of the weather by the retiration of those perfidious [persons], except one part of the band of hell who stayed about us for to learn the trade of barbary; ffor those litle devils seeing themselves all alone, continued [a] thousand inventions of wickednesse. this is nothing strang, seeing that they are brought up, and suck the crueltie from their mother's brest. i prolong a litle from my purpose of my adventure for to say the torments that i have seen souffred att coutu, after that they have passed the sallett, att their entering in to the village, and the rencounters that they meet ordinarily in the wayes, as above said. they tie the prisoners to a poast by their hands, their backs tourned towards the hangman, who hath a bourning fire of dry wood and rind of trees, which doth not quench easily. they putt into this fire hattchets, swords, and such like instruments of iron. they take these and quench them on human flesh. they pluck out their nailes for the most part in this sort. they putt a redd coale of fire uppon it, and when it is swolen bite it out with their teeth. after they stop the blood with a brand which by litle and litle drawes the veines the one after another from off the fingers, and when they draw all as much as they can, they cutt it with peeces of redd hott iron; they squeeze the fingers between stones, and so draw the marrow out of the boanes, and when the flesh is all taken away, they putt it in a dishfull of bourning sand. after they tye your wrist with a corde, putting two for this effect, one drawing him one way, another of another way. if the sinews be not cutt with a stick, putting it through & tourning it, they make them come as fast as they can, and cutt them in the same way as the others. some others cutt peeces of flesh from all parts of the body & broyle them, gett you to eat it, thrusting them into yor mouth, puting into it a stick of fire. they breake your teeth with a stoane or clubbs, and use the handle of a kettle, and upon this do hang or hattchetts, red hott, which they hang about their neck and roast your leggs with brands of fire, and thrusting into it some sticks pointed, wherein they put ledd melted and gunnepowder, and then give it fire like unto artificiall fire, and make the patient gather it by the stumps of his remalning fingers. if he cannot sing they make him quack like a henne. i saw two men tyed to a rope, one att each end, and hang them so all night, throwing red coales att them, or bourning sand, and in such like bourne their feet, leggs, thighs, and breech. the litle ones doe exercise themselves about such cruelties; they deck the bodyes all over with hard straw, putting in the end of this straw, thornes, so leaves them; now & then gives them a litle rest, and sometimes gives them fresh watter and make them repose on fresh leaves. they also give them to eat of the best they have that they come to themselves againe, to give them more torments. then when they see that the patient can no more take up his haire, they cover his head with a platter made of rind full of bourning sand, and often getts the platter a fire. in the next place they cloath you with a suit made of rind of a tree, and this they make bourne out on your body. they cutt off your stones and the women play with them as with balles. when they see the miserable die, they open him and pluck out his heart; they drink some of his blood, and wash the children's heads with the rest to make them valient. if you have indured all the above said torments patiently and without moanes, and have defied death in singing, then they thrust burning blades all along your boanes, and so ending the tragedie cutt off the head and putt it on the end of a stick and draw his body in quarters which they hawle about their village. lastly [they] throw him into the watter or leave [him] in the fields to be eaten by the crowes or doggs. now lett me come to our miserable poore captives that stayed all along [through] the raine upon the scaffold to the mercy of or rogues that shott us with litle arrowes, and so drew out our beards and the haire from those that had any. the showre of rayne being over, all come together againe, and having kindled fires began to burne some of those poore wretches. that day they pluckt nailes out of my fingers, and made me sing, though i had no mind att that time. i became speechlesse oftentimes; then they gave me watter wherin they boyled a certain herbe that the gunsmiths use to pollish their armes. that liquour brought me to my speech againe. the night being come they made me come downe all naked as i was, & brought to a strang cottage. i wished heartily it had ben that of my parents. being come, they tyed me to a poast, where i stayed a full houre without the least molestation. a woman came there with her boy, inticed him to cutt off one of my fingers with a flint stoan. the boy was not yeares old. this [boy] takes my finger and begins to worke, but in vaine, because he had not the strength to breake my fingers. so my poore finger escaped, having no other hurt don to it but the flesh cutt round about it. his mother made him suck the very blood that runn from my finger. i had no other torment all that day. att night i could not sleepe for because of the great paine. i did eat a litle, and drunk much watter by reason of a feaver i caught by the cruel torment i suffred. the next morning i was brought back againe to the scaffold, where there were company enough. they made me sing a new, but my mother came there and made [me] hould my peace, bidding me be cheerfull and that i should not die. shee brought mee some meate. her coming comforted me much, but that did not last long; ffor heare comes severall old people, one of which being on the scaffold, satt him downe by me, houlding in his mouth a pewter pipe burning, tooke my thumb and putt it on the burning tobacco, and so smoaked pipes one after another, which made my thumb swell, and the nayle and flesh became as coales. my mother was allwayes by me to comfort me, but said not what i thought. that man having finished his hard worke, but i am sure i felt it harder to suffer it. he trembled, whether for feare or for so much action i cannot tell. my mother tyed my fingers with cloath, and when he was gon shee greased my haire and combed my haire with a wooden comb, fitter to combe a horse's tayle then anything else. shee goes back againe. that day they ended many of those poore wretches, flinging some all alive into the midle of a great fire. they burned a frenchwoman; they pulled out her breasts and tooke a child out of her belly, which they broyled and made the mother eat of it; so, in short, [she] died. i was not abused all that day till the night. they bourned the soales of my feet and leggs. a souldier run through my foot a swoord red out of the fire, and plucked severall of my nailes. i stayed in that maner all night. i neither wanted in the meane while meate nor drinke. i was supplied by my mother and sisters. my father alsoe came to see me & tould me i should have courage. that very time there came a litle boy to gnaw with his teeth the end of my fingers. there appears a man to cutt off my thumb, and being about it leaves me instantly & did no harme, for which i was glad. i believe that my father dissuaded him from it. a while after my father was gon came to the scaffold who swore they would me a mischiefe, as i thinke, for yet he tied his leggs to mine, called for a brand of fire, and layd it between his leggs and mine, and sings: but by good lucke it was out on my side, and did no other effect then bourne my skin, but bourned him to some purpos. in this posture i was to follow him, & being not able to hould mee, draweth mee downe. one of the company cutt the rope that held us with his knife, and makes mee goe up againe the scaffold and then went their way. there i stayed till midday alone. there comes a multitude of people who make me come downe and led mee into a cottage where there weare a number of sixty old men smoaking tobacco. here they make mee sitt downe among them and stayed about halfe an houre without that they asked who and why i was brought thither, nor did i much care. for the great torments that i souffred, i knew not whether i was dead or alive. and albeit i was in a hott feavor & great pain, i rejoyced att the sight of my brother, that i have not seene since my arrivement. he comes in very sumptuously covered with severall necklaces of porcelaine,[footnote: _porcelaine_, the french for wam-pum, or shell beads.] & a hattchett in his hand, satt downe by the company and cast an eye on me now and then. presently and comes in my father with a new and long cover, and a new porcelaine about him, with a hatchett in his hands, likewise satt downe with the company. he had a calumet of red stoane in his hands, a cake [footnote: _cake_, meaning a medicine-bag.] uppon his shoulders, that hanged downe his back, and so had the rest of the old men. in that same cake are incloased all the things in the world, as they tould me often, advertising mee that i should [not] disoblige them in the least nor make them angry, by reason they had in their power the sun, and moone, and the heavans, and consequently all the earth. you must know in this cake there is nothing but tobacco and roots to heale some wounds or sores; some others keepe in it the bones of their deceased friends; most of them wolves' heads, squirrels', or any other beast's head. when there they have any debatement among them they sacrifice to this tobacco, that they throw into the fire, and make smoake, of that they puff out of their pipes; whether for peace or adversity or prosperity or warre, such ceremonies they make very often. my father, taking his place, lights his pipe & smoaks as the rest. they held great silence. during this they bring prisoners; to wit, women and men, more [then] children from the age of to years, having placed them all by mee, who as yett had my armes tyed. the others all att liberty, being not tyed, which putt me into some despaire least i should pay for all. awhile after one of the company rises and makes a long speech, now shewing the heavens with his hands, and then the earth, and fire. this good man putt himselfe into a sweate through the earnest discours. having finished his panigerique, another begins, and also many, one after another. they gave then liberty to some, butt killed children with hattchetts, and a woman of years old, and threw them out of the cottage (saving onely myselfe) att full liberty. i was left alone for a stake, they contested together [upon] which my father rose and made a speech which lasted above an houre, being naked, having nothing on but his drawers and the cover of his head, and putt himselfe all in a heate. his eyes weare hollow in his head; he appeared to me like [as if] mad, and naming often the algonquins in their language [that is, eruata], which made me believe he spoake in my behalfe. in that very time comes my mother, with two necklaces of porcelaine, one in her armes, and another about her like a belt. as soone as shee came in shee began to sing and dance, and flings off one of her necklaces in the midle of the place, having made many tourns from one end to the other. shee takes the other necklace and gives it mee, then goes her way. then my brother rises and holding his hattchett in his hand sings a military song. having finished [he] departs. i feared much that he was first to knock me in the head; and happy are those that can escape so well, rather then be bourned. my father rises for a second time and sings; so done, retired himselfe. i thought all their guifts, songs, and speeches should prevaile nothing with mee. those that stayed held a councell and spoake one to an other very long, throwing tobacco into the fire, making exclamations. then the cottage was open of all sides by those that came to view, some of the company retires, and place was made for them as if they weare kings. forty staye about me, and nigh about my cottage, of men, women, and children. those that went their way retourned presently. being sett downe, smoaked againe whilest my father, mother, brother, and sisters weare present. my father sings a while; so done, makes a speech, and taking the porcelaine necklace from off me throws it att the feet of an old man, and cutts the cord that held me, then makes me rise. the joy that i receaved att that time was incomparable, for suddenly all my paines and griefs ceased, not feeling the least paine. he bids me be merry, makes me sing, to which i consented with all my heart. whilst i did sing they hooped and hollowed on all sids. the old man bid me "ever be cheerfull, my son!" having don, my mother, sisters, and the rest of their friends [sung] and danced. then my father takes me by the arme and leads me to his cabban. as we went along nothing was heard but hooping and hollowing on all parts, biding me to take great courage. my mother was not long after me, with the rest of her friends. now i see myselfe free from death. their care att this was to give me meate. i have not eaten a bitt all that day, and for the great joy i had conceaved, caused me to have a good stomach, so that i did eat lustily. then my mother begins to cure my sores and wounds. then begins my paines to [break out] a new; ffor shee cleans my wounds and scrapes them with a knife, and often thrusts a stick in them, and then takes watter in her mouth, and spouts it to make them cleane. the meanwhile my father goes to seeke rootes, and my sister chaws them, and my mother applyes them to my sores as a plaster. the next day the swelling was gone, but worse then before; but in lesse then a fortnight my sores weare healed, saving my feete, that kept [me] more then a whole month in my cabban. during this time my nailes grewed a pace. i remained onely lame of my midle finger, that they have squeezed between two stoanes. every one was kind to mee as beforesaid, and [i] wanted no company to be merry with. i should [be] kept too long to tell you the particulars that befell me during my winter. i was beloved of my parents as before. my exercise was allwayes a hunting without that any gave me the least injury. my mother kept me most brave, and my sisters tooke great care of mee. every moneth i had a white shirt, which my father sent for from the flemeings, who weare not a farr off our village. i could never gett leave to goe along with my brother, who went there very often. finally, seeing myselfe in the former condition as before, i constituted as long as my father and fortune would permitt mee to live there. dayly there weare military feasts for the south nations, and others for the algonquins and for the french. the exclamations, hoopings and cryes, songs and dances, signifies nothing but the murdering and killing, and the intended victory that they will have the next yeare, which is in the beginning of spring. in those feasts my father heaves up his hattchett against the algonquins. for this effect [he] makes great preparations for his next incamping. every night [he] never failes to instruct and encourage the young age to take armes and to reveng the death of so many of their ennemy that lived among the french nation. the desire that i had to make me beloved, for the assurance of my life made me resolve to offer myselfe for to serve, and to take party with them. but i feared much least he should mistrust me touching his advis to my resolution. neverthelesse i finding him once of a good humour and on the point of honnour encourages his son to break the kettle and take the hattchett and to be gon to the forraigne nations, and that was of courage and of great renowne to see the father of one parte and the son of another part, & that he should not mispraise if he should seperat from him, but that it was the quickest way to make the world tremble, & by that means have liberty everywhere by vanquishing the mortall enemy of his nation; uppon this i venture to aske him what i was. [he] presently answers that i was a iroquoite as himselfe. lett me revenge, said i, my kindred. i love my brother. lett me die with him. i would die with you, but you will not because you goe against the ffrench. lett me a gaine goe with my brother, the prisoners & the heads that i shall bring, to the joy of my mother and sisters, will make me undertake att my retourne to take up the hattchett against those of quebecq, of the rivers, and monteroyall in declaring them my name, and that it's i that kills them, and by that you shall know i am your son, worthy to beare that title that you gave me when you adopted me. he sett [up] a great crye, saying, have great courage, son oninga, thy brother died in the warrs not in the cabban; he was of a courage not of a woman. i goe to aveng his death. if i die, aveng you mine. that one word was my leave, which made me hope that one day i might escape, having soe great an opportunity; or att least i should have the happinesse to see their country, which i heard so much recommended by the iroquoites, who brought wondrous stories and the facilitie of killing so many men. thus the winter was past in thoughts and preparing for to depart before the melting of the snow, which is very soone in that country. i began to sett my witts together how i should resolve this my voyage; for my mother opposed against it mightily, saying i should bee lost in the woods, and that i should gett it [put] off till the next yeare. but at last i flattered with her and dissembled; besides, my father had the power in his hands. shee daring not to deny him any thing because shee was not borne in my father's country, but was taken [when] little in the huronit's country. notwithstanding [she was] well beloved of her husband, having lived together more then fourty years, and in that space brought him children, males and females. two girls died after a while, and sons killed in the warrs, and one that went years before with a band of men to warre against a fiery nation which is farre beyonde the great lake. the th had allready performed voyages with a greate deale of successe. my father was a great captayne in warrs, having ben commander in all his times, and distructed many villages of their ennemy, having killed men with his owne hands, whereof he was marked [on] his right thigh for as many [as] he killed. he should have as many more, but that you must know that the commander has not amused himselfe to kille, but in the front of his army to encourage his men. if by chance he tooke any prisoners, he calles one of his men and gives him the captives, saying that it's honour enough to command the conquerors, and by his example shews to the yong men that he has the power as much as the honour. he receaved gunn shots and arrows shotts, and was runne through the shoulders with a lance. he was aged score years old, he was talle, and of an excellent witt for a wild man. when our baggage was ready, my father makes a feast to which he invites a number of people, & declares that he was sorry he had resolved to go to warre against an ennemy which was in a cold country, which hindred him to march sooner then he would, but willing to see his sonnes before him, and that this banquett was made for his sons' farewell. then he tould that his adopted son was ready to go with his owne son to be revenged of the death of their brothers, and desired the commander to have a care of us both. this commander loved us both, said that the one which [was] meselfe should be with him to the end. if anything should oppose he would make me fight him. i was not att home when he spoke those words, but my mother toald me it att my retourne. i was a fishing by with my sisters & brother. when wee came back wee found all ready, butt with a heart broken that our mother and sisters lett us goe. few days after i was invited to a military banquett where was the captayne, a yong gallant of years old, with a company of , and i made the th. we all did sing and made good cheare of a fatt beare. we gave our things to slaves, we carried only our musquetts. our kindred brought us a great way. my sister could not forbeare crying, yett tould me to be of a stout heart. we tooke att last [leave and] bid them adieu. we tooke on our journey over great snowes for to come to the great lake before the spring. we travelled days through woods and indifferent country, easie in some places and others difficult. the rivers weare frozen, which made us crosse with a great deale of ease. wee arrived the th day in a village called nojottga [footnote: _nojottga_, or oneioutga, oneida.], where we stayed days. from thence came a young man with us. we arrived into another village, nontageya [footnote: _nontageya_, onontaguega, or onondaga.], where we stayed foure days. wee had allways great preparations, and weare invited or tenne times a day. our bellyes had not tyme to emptie themselves, because we feeded so much, and that what was prepared for us weare severall sortes, stagg, indian corne, thick flower, bears, and especially eels. we have not yett searched our baggs wheare our provision was. in this place wee mended them. for my part i found in myne pounds of powder and more then pounds of shott, shirts, a capp, pairs of shoes, and wherewith to make a paire of breeches, and about graines of black and white porcelaine, and my brother as many. wee had new covers, one to our body, another hung downe from our shoulders like a mantle. every one [had] a small necklace of porcelaine and a collar made with a thread of nettles to tye the prisoners. i had a gunne, a hattchett, and a dagger. that was all we had. our slaves brought the packs after us. after we marched dayes, we came to a village, sonon-teeonon,[footnote: _sononteeonon_, tionnontonan, or seneca.] there we layd a night. the next day, after a small journey, we came to the last village of their confederates. heere they doe differ in their speech though of [our] nation. it's called oiongoiconon. [footnote: _oiongoiconon_ is cayuga.] here we stay dayes, and sent away our slaves and carryed our bundles ourselves, going allwayes through the woods. we found great plaines of leagues and a halfe journey without a tree. we saw there stagges, but would not goe out of our way to kill them. we went through villages of this nation neare one another. they admired to see a frenchman accompanying wild men, which i understood by their exclamations. i thought i grewed leane to take litle voyage, but the way seemed tedious to all. the raquett alwayes with the feet and sometimes with the hands, which seemed to me hard to indure, yett have i not complained. att the parting of the slaves, i made my bundle light as the rest. we found snowes in few places, saving where the trees made a shaddow, which hindred the snow to thaw, which made us carry the raquetts with our feete, and sometimes with the hands. after days' march [we completed our journey] through a country covered with water, and where also are mountaines and great plaines. in those plaines wee kill'd stagges, and a great many tourquies. thence we came to a great river of a mile wide which was not frozen, which made us stay there or dayes making skiffs of the rind of walnut trees. we made good cheere and wished to stay there longer. we made skiffs to hould men, and one to hould two. we imbarked though there weare ice in many places, and yett no hinderance to us going small journeys, fearing least what should befall us. in dayes we came to a lake much frozen; covered in some places with ice by reason of the tossing of the wind, and the ground all covered with snow. heere we did our best to save us from the rigour of the aire, and must stay dayes. the wild men admired that the season of the yeare was so backward. att the end the wind changes southerly, which made the lake free from ice and cleare over all the skirts of it, without either snow or ice. there was such a thawing that made the litle brookes flow like rivers, which made us imbarque to wander [over] that sweet sea. the weather lovely, the wind fayre, and nature satisfied. tending forwards, singing and playing, not considering the contrary weather past, continued so days upon the lake and rested the nights ashore. the more we proceeded in our journey, the more the pleasant country and warmer. ending the lake, we entered into a beautifull sweet river, a stoan-cast wide. after halfe a day we rid on it, weare forced to bring both barks and equipage uppon our backs to the next streame of that river. this done above times, hawling our boats after us all laden. we went up that river att least or leagues. att last [it] brought us to a lake of some miles in length. being comed to the highest place of the lake, we landed and hid our boats farr enough in the woods, [and] tooke our bundles. we weare dayes going through a great wildernesse where was no wood, not so much as could make us fire. then the thickned flower did serve us instead of meate, mingling it with watter. we foorded many litle rivers, in swiming & sayling. our armes, which we putt uppon some sticks tyed together of such wood as that desolat place could afford, to keepe them from the weatt. the evening we came on the side of a violent river, uppon which we made bridges of trees that we [made] to meet, to go over. we left this place after being there dayes. we went up that river in dayes; there we killed stagges. after we came to a mouth of another river. we made a litle fort, where it was commanded by our captayne to make no noise. they desired me to be very quiet, which i observed strictly. after refreshment we imbarked, though unseasonably, in the night, for to make som discovery. some went one way, some another. we went a great way, but not farr off our fort. the next day we meet altogether & made some councell, where it was decreed that should go to the furthermost part of a small river in a boat, to make a discovery, and see if there weare tracks of people there, whilst the other should take notice of a villag, that they knew'd to be nigh, and because it was lesse danger to make there a discovery. the youngest of the company and me are pitched [upon] to goe into the river. we tooke the lightest boat. it was well, [for] that in some places of the river there was not watter enough to carry us. we weare fained to draw the boat after us. i believe not that ever a wild man went that way because of the great number of trees that stops the passage of the river. after we have gon the best part of the day, we found ourselves att the end of a small lake some mile in length, and seeing the woods weare not so thick there as wheare wee passed, we hid our boat in some bushes, taking onely our armes along, intending on still to pretend some discovery. we scarce weare in the midle of the lake when we perceave persons goeing on the watter side, att the other side of the lake; so my comrade getts him up a tree to discerne better if there weare any more. after he stayed there a while [he] comes [down] & tells me that he thought they weare women, and that we might goe kill them. doubtlesse, said i, if they are women the men are not afarre from them, and we shall be forced to shoote. wee are alone, and should runne the hazzard of women for to be discovered. our breethren also would be in danger that knowes nothing. moreover it's night; what dost thou intend to doe? you say well, replyes he; lett us hide ourselves in the wood, for we cannot goe downe in the river in the night time. att breake of day we will [goe] back to our companions where we will finde them in the fort. here we came without any provisions, where we must lie under a rotten tree. that night it rayned sadly. we weare wett; but a naturall exercise is good fire. we weare in our boat early in the morning, and with great diligence we came back better then we went up, for the river grewed mighty high by reason of so much that fell of raine. i will not omitt a strange accident that befell us as we came. you must know that as we past under the trees, as before mentioned, there layd on one of the trees a snake with foure feete, her head very bigg, like a turtle, the nose very small att the end, the necke of thumbs wide, the body about feet, and the tayle of a foot & a halfe, of a blackish collour, onto a shell small and round, with great eyes, her teeth very white but not long. that beast was a sleepe upon one of the trees under which wee weare to goe; neither of us ever seeing such a creature weare astonished. we could not tell what to doe. it was impossible to carry our boat, for the thicknesse of the wood; to shoot att her wee would att least be discovered, besides it would trouble our company. att last we weare resolved to goe through att what cost soever, and as we weare under that hellish beast, shee started as shee awaked, and with that fell'd downe into our boat, there weare herbes that served [to secure] us from that dreadfull animal. we durst not ventur to kill her, for feare of breaking of our boat. there is the question who was most fearfull? as for me, i quaked. now seeing shee went not about to doe us hurt, and that shee was fearfull, we lett her [be] quiet, hoping shortly to land and to tourne upsid downe of our boat to be rid of such a devill. then my comrad began to call it, and before we weare out of the litle river our feare was over; so we resolved to bring her to the fort, and when once arrived att the great river, nothing but crosse over it to be neare our fort. but in the mean while a squirrell made us good spoart for a quarter of an houre. the squirrell would not leap into the water; did but runne, being afraid of us, from one end of the boat to the other; every time he came nearer, the snake opened her wide mouth & made a kind of a noise, & rose up, having her fore feet uppon the side of the boat, which persuaded us that shee would leave us. we leaned on that side of the boat, so with our owers thrusted her out; we seeing her swime so well, hasted to kill her with our owers, which shee had for her paines. [footnote: radisson's description of this reptile has been shown to one of the most eminent herpetologists in america, who writes that "no such reptile has ever been described by scientific writers."] the squirrell tooke the flight, soe we went, longing to be with our comrades to tell them of what we have seene. we found one of our company watching for us att the side of a woode, for they weare in feare least wee should be taken, & expected us all night long. as for their part they neither have seen nor heard anything. wherefore resolved to goe further, but the news we brought them made them alter their resolution. wee layd all night in our fort, where we made good cheare and great fires, fearing nothing, being farr enough in the wood. the next day before the breaking of the day we foorded the river, & leaving our boats in the wood, went a foot straight towards the place where we have seene the persons; & before we came to the lake we tooke notice of some fresh trakes which made us look to ourselves, and followed the trakes, which brought us to a small river, where no sooner came but we saw a woman loaden with wood, which made us believ that some cottage or village was not afar off. the captaine alone takes notice of the place where abouts the discovery was, who soone brought us [to see] that there weare men & women a fishing. we wagged [sic] att this the saffest [way] to come unawarre uppon them, and like starved doggs or wolves devoured those poore creatures who in a moment weare massacred. what we gott by this was not much, onely stagges' skins with some guirdles made of goate's hair, of their owne making. these weare in great estime among our wild men. two of ours goes to the cabban which was made of rushes, where they founde an old woman. they thought it charity to send her into the other world, with two small children whome also they killed; so we left that place, giving them to the fishes their bodyes. every one of us had his head, and my brother two; our share being considerable [we] went on along the river till we came to a small lake. not desiring to be discovered, we found a faire road close by a wood, withtooke ourselves out of it with all haste, and went towards a village. there we came by night, where we visited the wildernesse to find out a secure place for security to hide ourselves; but [finding] no conveniencies we [went] into the wood in a very cleare place. heere we layd downe uppon our bellies. we did eat, among other things, the fish we gott in the cabban of the fishermen. after dispatching one of the company bouldly into the village, being thirsty after eating, for heere we had no water, [which] brings us [so] that we are all very quiett. the great desire we had to catch and take made us to controule the buissinesse. early in the morning we came to the side of the wildernesse, where we layd in an ambush, but could see nobody that morning. att two of the clock in the after non we see , as well men as women, a great way from us. we went to the wood, whence we perceived many att worke in the fields. att evening [they] passed by very nigh us, but they neither see nor perceived us. they went to cutt wood; whilst they weare att worke there comes foure men and three women, that tooke notice of our ambush. this we could not avoid, so weare forced to appeare to their ruine. we tooke the women and killed men. the other thought to escape, but weare stayed with our peeces; the other that weare aworking would runne away, but one was taken, the other escaped. the news was brought over all those parts. thence we runne away with our prisoners and the new heads with all speed. the women could not goe fast enough, and therefore killed them after they went a whole night; their corps we threwed into the river; heere we found a boat which served us to goe over. we marched all that day without any delay; being come to an open field we hid ourselves in bushes till thee next day. we examined our prisoners, who tould us no news; non could understand them, although many huron words weare in their language. in this place we perceived men a hunting afarre off; we thought [it] not convenient to discover ourselves, least we should be discovered and passe our aime. we tooke another day, before and the rest after, thee prisoners in the midle. we speedily went the rest of thee day through a burned country, and the trees blowne downe with some great windes. the fire over came all, over leagues in length and in breadth. we layd in the very midle of that country upon a faire sandy place where we could see or leagues off round about us, and being secure we made the prisoners sing which is their acconroga before death. there we made a litle fire to make our kettle boyle a tourkey, with some meale that was left. seeing no body persued, we resolved to goe thence before daylight to seeke for more booty. we stayed nights before we turned back to the village, during which time we mett with nothing, and having gon on all sides with great paines without victualls. att last we came to kill stagges, but did not suffice of us. we weare forced to gather the dung of the stagges to boyle it with the meat, which made all very bitter. but good stomachs make good favour. hunger forced us to kill our prisoners, who weare chargeable in eating our food, for want of which have eaten the flesh. so by that means we weare freed from the trouble. the next day we came neere a village. att our coming we killed a woman with her child, & seeing no more for us that way we tourned backe againe for feare of pursueing, and resolved to goe backe to the first village that was days' journey; but on the way we mett with and or men and women, who discovered us, which made [us] go to it. they fought & defended themselves lustily; but [there is] no resisting the strongest party, for our guns were a terrour to them, and made them give over. during the fight the women ranne away. five of the men weare wounded with arrowes and foure escaped, but he that was sent with me att first to make a discovery was horribly wounded with arrowes and a blow of a club on the head. if he had stuck to it as we, he might proceed better. we burned him with all speed, that he might not languish long, to putt ourselves in safty. we killed of them, & prisoners wee tooke, and came away to where we left our boats, where we arrived within days without resting, or eating or drinking all the time, saveing a litle stagge's meate. we tooke all their booty, which was of sacks of indian corne, stagges' skins, some pipes, some red and green stoanes, and some tobacco in powder, with some small loaves of bread, and some girdles, garters, necklaces made of goats' haire, and some small coyne of that country, some bowes and arrowes, and clubbs well wrought. the tournes of their heads weare of snakes' skin with bears' pawes. the hayre of some of them very long, & all proper men. we went on the other side of the river the soonest we could, and came to our fort. after we looked about us least we should be surprised, and perceiving nothing, we went about to gett meat for our wants & then to sleepe. att midnight we left that place. six of us tooke a boate, an other, and the litle one. we row the rest of the night with all strength, & the breaking of the day hid ourselves in very long rushes & our boats. the litle boat went att the other side of the river, those hid it in the wood. one of them went up a tree to spie about, in case he could perceive any thing, to give notice to his comrades, & he was to come within sight of us to warne us. we weare in great danger going downe the streame of that river in the night time. we had trouble enough to carry all our baggage without the least noise. being come to the end of the river which empties it selfe into a lake of some or leagues in compasse, we went into a small river to kill salmons, as in deed we tooke great many with staves, and so sturgeons, of which we made provision for a long while. att last finding our selves out of all feare & danger, we went freely a hunting about the lake, where we tarried dayes, and of our company mett with women that runned away from the sanoutin's country, which is of the iroquoit nation. those poore creatures having taken so much paines to sett themselves att liberty to goe to their native country, found themselves besett in a greater slavery then before, they being tyed [and] brought to us. the next day we went from thence with the prisoners & the heads. so much for the litlenesse of our boats as for the weight we had to putt upon them, being in danger, which made us make the more hast to the place where we intended to make new boats. for days we went through dangerous places which weare like so many precipices with horrible falling of watters. we weare forced to carry our boats after the same maner as before, with great paines. we came att last to a lake where we contrived other boats, and there we parted our acquisited booty, and then each had care of his owne. we ordered the biggest boat should hould men and prisoners; the next men and the women that last weare taken; the d should hould and the other prisoner. my brother and i had a man & woman with heads to our share, and so the rest accordingly without dispute or noise. we wandered severall dayes on that lake. it was a most delightfull place, and a great many islands. here we killed great many bears. after we came to a most delightfull place for the number of stagges that weare there. thence into a straight river. from thence weare forced to make many carriages through many stony mountains, where we made severall trappes for castors. we tooke above castors there, and fleaced off the best skins. there weare some skins so well dressed that [they] held the oyle of beares as pure bottles. during that time we mett severall huntsmen of our country; so we heard news of our friends. only our father was not yett retourned from the warrs against the french and algonquins. we left our small boats, that weare purposely confected for our hunting, & tooke our great boats that could carry us and all our luggage. we went up the same river againe, not without great labour. att last with much ado we arrived at the landing place where wee made a stay of days; where many iroquoites women came, and among others my sisters, that received me with great joy, with a thousand kindnesses and guifts, as you may think. i gave them the heads that i had, keeping the woman for my mother, to be her slave. there was nothing but singing & dancing out of meere joy for our safe retourne. i had castors for my share, with skins full of oyle of beare and another full of oriniack and stagge's grease. i gave to each of my sisters stagges' skins to make them coats. i kept the grease for my mother, to whome it is convenient to give what is necessary for the family. we made our slaves carry all our booty, & went on to litle journeys through woods with ease, because the woods weare not thick and the earth very faire and plaine. all the way the people made much of me, till we came to the village, and especially my sisters, that in all they shewed their respects, giveing me meate every time we rested ourselves, or painting my face or greasing my haire or combing my head. att night they tooke the paines to pull off my stokins, & when i supped they made me lay downe by them and cover me with their coats, as if the weather had ben cold. this voyage being ended, albeit i came to this village, & twice with feare & terror, the d time notwithstanding with joy & contentment. as we came neare the village, a multitude of people came to meete us with great exclamations, and for the most part for my sake, biding me to be cheerfull & qualifying me dodcon, that is, devil, being of great veneration in that country to those that shew any vallour. being arrived within halfe a league of the village, i shewed a great modesty, as usually warriors use to doe. the whole village prepares to give the scourge to the captives, as you [have] heard before, under which i myselfe i was once to undergoe. my mother comes to meet mee, leaping & singing. i was accompanied with both [of] my sisters. shee takes the woman, slave that i had, and would not that any should medle with her. but my brother's prisoner, as the rest of the captives, weare soundly beaten. my mother accepted of my brother's heads. my brother's prisoner was burned the same day, and the day following i received the sallery of my booty, which was of porcelaine necklaces, tourns of beads, pendants, and girdles. there was but banqueting for a while. the greatest part of both young men & women came to see me, & the women the choicest of meats, and a most dainty and cordiall bit which i goe to tell you; doe not long for it, is the best that is among them. first when the corne is greene they gather so much as need requireth, of which leaves they preserve the biggest leaves for the subject that followes. a dozen more or lesse old women meet together alike, of whome the greatest part want teeth, and seeth not a jott, and their cheeks hange downe like an old hunting-dogg, their eyes full of watter and bloodshott. each takes an eare of corne and putts in their mouths, which is properly as milke, chawes it, and when their mouths are full, spitts it out in their hands, which possibly they wash not once one yeare; so that their hands are white inside by reason of the grease that they putt to their haire & rubbing of it with the inside of their hands, which keeps them pretty clean, but the outside in the rinknesse of their rinkled hands there is a quarter of an ounze of filth and stinking grease. and so their hands being full of that mince meate minced with their gumms and [enough] to fill a dish. so they chaw chestnutts; then they mingle this with bear's grease or oyle of flower (in french we call it tourne sol) with their hands. so made a mixture, they tye the leaves att one end & make a hodgepot & cover it with the same leaves and tye the upper end so that what is within these leaves becomes a round ball, which they boile in a kettle full of watter or brouth made of meate or fish. so there is the description of the most delicious bitt of the world. i leave you taste of their salmi gondy, which i hope to tell you in my following discourses of my other voyages in that country, and others that i frequented the space of tenne years. to make a period of this my litle voyage. after i stayed awhile in this village with all joy & mirth, for feasts, dances, and playes out of meere gladnesse for our small victorious company's hapy retourne, so after that their heads had sufficiently danced, they begin to talke [of going] to warre against the hollanders. most of us are traited againe for the castors we bestowed on them. they resolve unanimously to goe on their designe. every thing ready, we march along. the next day we arrived in a small brough [footnote: _brough_ probably means borough, used, as the french applied it to "bourgade," for a town of indians or whites.] of the hollanders, where we masters them, without that those beere-bellies had the courage to frowne att us. whether it was out of hope of lucre or otherwise, we with violence tooke the meate out of their potts, and opening their coubards [cupboards] we take and eat what we [can] gett. for drinking of their wine we weare good fellowes. so much that they fought with swords among themselves without the least offer of any misdeed to me. i drunk more then they, but more soberly, letting them make their quarrells without any notice. the th day we come to the fort, of orange, wher we weare very well received, or rather our castors, every one courting us; and was nothing but pruins and reasins and tobbacco plentifully, and all for ho, ho, which is thanks, adding _nianonnha_, thanke you. we went from house to house. i went into the fort with my brother, and have not yett ben knowne a french. but a french souldier of the fort speaks to me in iroquois language, & demanded if i was not a stranger, and did veryly believe i was french, for all that i was all dabbled over with painting and greased. i answered him in the same language, that no; and then he speaks in swearing, desiring me [to tell him] how i fell in the hands of those people. and hearing him speake french, amazed, i answered him, for which he rejoyced very much. as he embraces me, he cryes out with such a stirre that i thought him senselesse. he made a shame for all that i was wild but to blush red. i could be no redder then what they painted me before i came there. all came about me, ffrench as well as duch, every one makeing [me] drink out of the bottles, offering me their service; but my time yett was not out, so that i wanted not their service, for the onely rumour of my being a frenchman was enough. the flemish women drawed me by force into their houses, striving who should give, one bread, other meate, to drinke and to eate, and tobacco. i wanted not for those of my nation, iroquois, who followed me in a great squadroon through the streets, as if i had bin a monster in nature or a rare thing to be seen. i went to see the governor, & talked with me a long time, and tould him the life that i lead, of which he admired. he offred me to buy me from them att what prise so ever, or else should save me, which i accepted not, for severall reasons. the one was for not to be behoulding to them, and the other being loathsome to leave such kind of good people. for then i began to love my new parents that weare so good & so favourable to me. the d reason was to watch a better opportunity for to retyre to the french rather then make that long circuit which after i was forced to doe for to retyre to my country more then , leagues; and being that it was my destiny to discover many wild nations, i would not to strive against destinie. i remitted myselfe to fortune and adventure of time, as a thing ordained by god for his greatest glorie, as i hope it will prove. our treatis being done, overladend with bootyes abundantly, we putt ourselves in the way that we came to see againe our village, and to passe that winter with our wives, and to eat with them our cagaimtie in peece, hoping that nobody should trouble us during our wintering, and also to expect or finde our fathers retourning home. leaving that place, many cryed to see me among a company of wolves, as that souldier tould me who knowed me the first houre; and the poore man made the tears come to my eyes. the truth is, i found many occasions to retire for to save me, but have not yett souffred enough to have merited my deliverence. in dayes' journey we weare retourned to our cabbans, where every one of us rendered himself to his dearest kindred or master. my sisters weare charged of porcelaine, of which i was shure not to faile, for they weare too liberall to mee and i towards them. i was not dayes retourned, but that nature itselfe reproached me to leade such a life, remembering the sweet behaviour and mildnesse of the french, & considered with meselfe what end should i expect of such a barbarous nation, enemy to god and to man. the great effect that the flemings shewed me, and the litle space was from us there; can i make that journey one day? the great belief that that people had in me should make them not to mistrust me, & by that i should have greater occasion to save me without feare of being pursued. all these reasons made one deliberat to take a full resolution, without further delay, of saving meselfe to the flemings; ffor i could be att no safty among such a nation full of reveng. if in case the ffrench & algonquins defeats that troupe of theirs, then what spite they will have will reveng it on my boanes; ffor where is no law, no faith to undertake to goe to the ffrench. i was once interrupted, nor have i had a desire to venture againe for the second time. i should delight to be broyled as before in pitifull torments. i repented of a good occasion i lett slippe, finding meselfe in the place with offers of many to assist me. but he that is of a good resolution must be of strong hopes of what he undertakes; & if the dangers weare considered which may be found in things of importancy, you ingenious men would become cooks. finally, without expecting my father's retourne, putting away all feare & apprehension, i constituted to deliver meselfe from their hands at what ever rate it would come too. for this effect i purposed to faine to goe a hunting about the brough; & for to dissemble the better, i cutt long sticks to make handles for a kind of a sword they use, that thereby they might not have the least suspition. one day i tooke but a simple hattchett & a knife, if occasion presented to cutt some tree, & for to have more defence, if unhappily i should be rencountred, to make them believe that i was lost in the woods. moreover, as the whole nation tooke me for proud, having allways great care to be guarnished with porcelaine, & that i would fly away like a beggar, a thing very unworthy, in this deliberation i ventured. i inquired [of] my brother if he would keepe me company. i knewed that he never thought, seeing that he was courting of a young woman, who by the report of many was a bastard to a flemish. i had no difficulty to believe, seeing that the colour of her hayre was much more whiter then that of the iroquoits. neverthelesse, shee was of a great familie. i left them to their love. in shorte, that without any provision i tooke journey through the forests guided by fortune. no difficulty if i could keepe the highway, which is greatly beatten with the great concours of that people that comes & goes to trade with the flemings; but to avoid all encounters i must prolong a farre off. soe being assisted by the best hope of the world, i made all diligence in the meene while that my mother nor kindred should mistrust me in the least. i made my departure att of the clock in the morning the th bre, [ ]. i marched all that journey without eating, but being as accustomed to that, without staying i continued my cours att night. before the breaking of the day i found myselfe uncapable because of my feeblenesse and faintnesse for want of food and repose after such constraint. but the feare of death makes vertu of necessity. the morning commanded me to goe, for it's faire and could ayre, which [was] somewhat advantageous to keepe [me] more cheerfull. finally the resolution reterning my courage, att of the clocke att evening, the next daye i arrived in a place full of trees cutt, which made mee looke to myselfe, fearing to approach the habitation, though my designe was such. it is a strange thing that to save this life they abhorre what they wish, & desire which they apprehend. approaching nigher and nigher untill i perceived an opening that was made by cutting of wood where was one man cutting still wood, i went nearer and called him. [he] incontinently leaves his work & comes to me, thinking i was iroquoise. i said nothing to him to the contrary. i kept him in that thought, promissing him to treat with him all my castors att his house, if he should promise me there should be non of my brother iroquoise there, by reson we must be liberall to one another. he assured me there was non then there. i tould him that my castors were hidden and that i should goe for them to-morrow. so satisfied [he] leads me to his cabban & setts before me what good cheare he had, not desiring to loose time because the affaire concerned me much. i tould him i was savage, but that i lived awhile among the ffrench, & that i had something valuable to communicate to the governor. that he would give me a peece of paper and ink and pen. he wondered very much to see that, what he never saw before don by a wildman. he charges himself with my letter, with promise that he should tell it to nobody of my being there, and to retourne the soonest he could possible, having but litle miles to the fort of orange. in the meane while of his absence shee shews me good countenance as much as shee could, hoping of a better imaginary profit by me. shee asked me if we had so much libertie with the ffrench women to lye with them as they; but i had no desire to doe anything, seeing myselfe so insnared att death's door amongst the terrible torments, but must shew a better countenance to a worse game. in the night we heard some wild men singing, which redoubled my torments and apprehension, which inticed me to declare to that woman that my nation would kill [me] because i loved the ffrench and the flemings more than they, and that i resolved hereafter to live with the flemings. shee perceiving my reason hid me in a corner behind a sack or two of wheat. nothing was to me but feare. i was scarcely there an houre in the corner, but the flemings came, in number, whereof that french man [who] had knowne me the first, who presently getts me out & gives me a suite that they brought purposely to disguise me if i chanced to light upon any of the iroquoits. i tooke leave of my landlady & landlord, yett [it] grieved me much that i had nothing to bestow upon them but thanks, being that they weare very poore, but not so much [so] as i. i was conducted to the fort of orange, where we had no incounter in the way, where i have had the honnour to salute the governor, who spoake french, and by his speech thought him a french man. the next day he caused an other habit to be given me, with shoos & stokins & also linnen. a minister that was a jesuit [footnote: "a minister that was a jesuit." this was the jesuit father, joseph noncet. see introduction, page .] gave me great offer, also a marchand, to whom i shall ever have infinit obligations, although they weare satisfied when i came to france att rochel. i stayed dayes inclosed in the fort & hidden. many came there to search me, & doubt not but my parents weare of the party. if my father had ben there he would venture hard, & no doubt but was troubled att it, & so was my mother, & my parents who loved me as if i weare their owne naturall son. my poore sisters cryed out & lamented through the town of the flemings, as i was tould they called me by my name, ffor they came there the rd day after my flight. many flemings wondered, & could not perceive how those could love me so well; but the pleasure caused it, as it agrees well with the roman proverbe, "doe as they doe." i was imbarked by the governor's order; after taking leave, and thanks for all his favours, i was conducted to menada, a towne faire enough for a new country, where after some weekes i embarked in one of their shipps for holland, where we arrived after many boisterous winds and ill weather, and, after some six weeks' sayle and some days, we landed att amsterdam the th of january, [ ]. some days after i imbarked myselfe for france and came to rochelle well & safe, not without blowing my fingers many times as well as i [had] done before [when] i arrived in holland. i stayed till spring, expecting the transporte of a shippe for new france. _the second voyage made in the upper country of the iroquoits._ the th day of may i embarked in a fisherboat to go for peerce island, which is score leagues off quebecq, being there arrived the th of may. i search diligently the means possible for to end my voyage & render meselfe neere my naturall parents & country people. att last i found an occasion to goe by some shallops & small boats of the wildernesse, which went up as farre as the ffrench habitation, there to joyne with the algonquins & mountaignaies to warre against the iroquoits from all times, as their histories mentions. their memory is their chronicle, for it [passes] from father to son, & assuredly very excellent for as much as i know & many others has remarked. i embarked into one of their shallops & had the wind favorable for us n. e. in dayes came to quebecq, the first dwelling place of the ffrench. i mean not to tell you the great joy i perceivd in me to see those persons that i never thought to see more, & they in like maner with me thought i was dead long since. in my absence peace was made betweene the french & the iroquoits, which was the reason i stayed not long in a place. the yeare before, the french began a new plantation [footnote: "began a new plantation," at onondaga.] in the upper country of the iroquoits, which is distant from the low iroquois country som fourscore leagues, where i was prisoner, & been in the warrs of that country. i tooke great notice of it, as i mentioned in my formest voyage, which made me have mind to goe thither againe, by the reason peace was concluded among them. friends, i must confesse i loved those poore people entirely well; moreover, nothing was to be feared by reason of the great distance which causes a difference in their speech, yett they understand one another. at that very time the reverend fathers jesuits embarked themselves for a second time to dwell there and teach christian doctrin. i offered myselfe to them, and was, as their custome is, kindly accepted. i prepare meselfe for the journey, which was to be in june. you must know that the hurrons weare contained in the article of peace, but not the algonquins, which caused more difficulty; for those iroquoits who imbarqued us durst not come downe the rivers where the french should embarque, because it is the dwelling place of the algonquin. to remedy this the ffrench and the barbarrs that weare to march, must come to mont royall, the last french inhabitation, in shalopps. it will not be amisse to leave the following of the voyage for to repeat the reasons why those poor hurrons ventured themselves into their hands, who have bin ennemy one to another all their life time, and that naturally. you must know that the hurrons, so called by the ffrench, have a bush of a hair rised up artificially uppon the heads like to a cock's comb. those people, i say, weare or , by report of many not years ago. their dwelling is neere the uper lake, so called by name of the ffrench. that people tell us of their pedegree from the beginning, that their habitation above the lake, many years agoe, and as they increased, many, great many, began to search out another country. for to tend towards the south they durst not, for the multitude of people that was there, and besides some of their owne nations had against them. then [they] resolved to goe to the north parts, for westward there was much watter, which was without end. moreover many inhabitants, monstruous for the greatnesse of body. we will speake about this in another place more att large, where will give an exact account of what came to our knowledge dureing our travells, and the land we have discovered since. if eastward, they had found the iroquoits who possessed some parts of the river of canada, and their dwelling was where quebecq is situated, and about that place, & att the upper end of montmerency leagues from quebecq, where was a great village where now is seene a desolat country, that is, for woods and forests, nor more nor lesse then what small bushes nigh the river's side in the place called the cape de magdelaine. it's such a country that the ffrench calls it the burned country miles about, and in many places the same is to be seene where there weare forests. so seeing that the north regions weare not so peopled, they pursued [their] route of that way, and for the purpose provided themselves provision for a twelvemonth to live, with all their equipage imbarqued in the begining of the spring. after that they passed great wayes, coming to a lake which conducts them into a great river, [footnote: "coming to a lake which conducts them into a great river." moose river, which leads into hudson's bay.] which river leads them to a great extent of salt watter; so as they being good fishers want no fish. they coasted this great watter for a long time, finding allways some litle nation whose language they knew not, haveing great feare of one another. finally, finding but a fearfull country full of mountains and rocks, they made great boats that might hould some men to traverse with more assurance the great bay for to decline from the tediousnesse of the highway, which they must doe, having but small boats; whence they came to a country full of mountains of ice, which made us believe that they descended to the goulden arme. so, fearing the winter should come on, they made sayles wherein they made greate way when the wind was behind; otherwyse they could not make use of their sayles, and many of their boats weare lost, but still went on, hoping of a better country. they wandered so many moons with great danger and famine, ffor they began to misse such plenty as they [were] used [to]. att last [they] gott out, and coasting the skirts of the sea, and enters as it weare into a country where the sumer begins againe, they weare incouraged to greater hopes, insomuch that the poore people became from their first origine to lead another life. being only conducted by their imaginary idea or instinct of nature ffor steering, they knewed nothing but towards the roote of the sun, and likewise by some starrs. finally the coast brings them to the great river st. lawrence, river of canada; knowing not that it was a river till they came just opposit against the mounts of our blessed lady, where they then perceaved to [be] betwixt lands, albeit that litle summer was past, and that the season of the yeare growing on somewhat sharpe, which made them think to search for winter. [they] mounted allways up the river, and finding one side most beautifull for the eye, they passed it over, and planted their cabbans in many parts by reason of the many streams there flowing with quantity of fish, whereof they made a good store for their wintering. after a while that upon this undertaking they made cognicence and commerced with the highlanders, inhabitants of that country, who gave them notice that there weare a nation higher who should understand them, being that they weare great travellers, that they should goe on the other side and there should find another river named tatousac. they seeing the winter drawing on they made a fort and sent to discover the said place a band of their men to tatousac. they finde a nation that understands them not more then the first, but by chance some that escaped the hands of their ennemy iroquoits, and doubts that there is great difference of language between the iroquoits and the hurrons. they weare heard; & further you must note that neere the lake of the hurrons some leagues eastward there is another lake belonging to the nation of the castors, which is miles about. this nation have no other trafick nor industry then huntsmen. they use to goe once a yeare to the furthest place of the lake of the hurrons to sell their castors for indian corne, for some collors made of nettles, for sacks, & such things, for which they weare curious enough. so coming backe to their small lake againe, those marchandises weare transported to a nation beyond that lake towards n. n. e., and that nation had commerce with a people called the white fish, which is norwest to the rivers some leagues in the land. that nation had intelligence with the saguenes, who are those that liveth about tadousac, so that the nations have great correspondency with one another because of their mutual language, saving that each one have a particular letter and accent. finding that nation of the castors, who for the most part understands the hurron idiom, they conversed together & weare supplied with meat by that wandring nation that lives onely by what they may or can gett. contrary wise the hurrons are seditious. we shall speak of them more amply in its place. so those miserable adventurers had ayd during that winter, who doubtlesse should souffer without this favor. they consulted together often, seeing themselves renforced with such a succour of people for to make warrs against the iroqois. the next spring their warre was conducted with success, ffor they chassed the iroquois out of their country which they lost some winters before. they march up to the furthest part of the lake champlaine, to know if that was their formest dwelling, but they speak no further of it. those iroquoits to wander up and downe and spread themselves as you have heard to the lake d'ontario, of which i will after make mention. i heard all this from frenchmen that knewed the huron speech better then i myselfe, and after i heard it from the wildmen, & it's strang (being if it be so as the french as [well] as wildmen do already) that those people should have made a circuit of that litle world. the iroquoits after being putt out of that country of quebecq, the hurrons and algonquins made themselves masters in it; that is to say, they went up above monmorency after that they left the place of their wintring, which was over against tadousac, att the height of the chaudiere (so called in french), and after many years they retourned to live att the gape of their lake, which is leagues long & or leagues large. those hurrons lived in a vast country that they found unhabited, & they in a great number builded villages & they multiplied very many. the iroquoits also gott a great country, as much by sweetnesse as by force. they became warriors uppon their owne dispences and cost. they multiplied so much, but they became better souldiers, as it's seene by the following of this discourse. the hurrons then inhabited most advantageously in that place, for as much as for the abundance of dears and staggs, from whence they have the name since of staggy. it's certaine that they have had severall other callings, according as they have builded villages. fishing they have in abundance in his season of every kind; i may say, more then wee have in europe. in some places in this lake where is an innumerable quantity of fish, that in houres they load their boat with as many as they can carry. at last [they] became so eminent strong that they weare of a minde to fight against the neighbouring nation. hearing that their sworne ennemys the iroquoits retired towards the nation called andasstoueronom, which is beyond the lake d'ontario, between virginia & that lake, they resolved to goe & search them for to warre against them; but they shall find it to their ruine, which i can affirme & assure, because the iroquoits in the most part of their speeches, which comes from father to son, says, we bears (for it's their name) whilst we scraped the earth with our pawes, for to make the wheat grow for to maintaine our wives, not thinking that the deare shall leape over the lake to kill the beare that slept; but they found that the beare could scratch the stagge, for his head and leggs are small to oppose. such speeches have they commonly together, in such that they have had warrs many years. the holanders being com'd to inhabit menada, furnished that nation with weopens, by which means they became conquerors. the ffrench planters in newfrance came up to live among this nation. in effect they doe live now many years; but the ambition of the fathers jesuits not willing to permitt ffrench families to goe there, for to conserve the best to their profitt, houlding this pretext that yong men should frequent the wild women, so that the christian religion by evil example could not be established. but the time came that they have forsook it themselves. for a while after the iroquoits came there, the number of seaven hundred, on the snow in the beginning of spring, where they make a cruell slaughter as the precedent years, where some ghostly fathers or brothers or their servants weare consumed, taken or burnt, as their relation maks mention. this selfesame yeare they tooke prisoners of or , of those poore people in a village att [in] sight of the jesuits' fort, which had the name saint, but [from] that houre it might have the name of feare. heere follows sicknesse, and famine also was gott among these people, flying from all parts to escape the sword. they found a more rude and cruell enemy; for some after being taken gott their lives, but the hunger and their treachery made them kill one another, be it for booty or whatsoever other. none escaped, saving some hundred came to quebecq to recover their first liberty, but contrary they found their end. so the ffathers left walls, wildernesse, and all open wide to the ennemy and came to quebecq with the rest of the poore fugitives. they were placed in the wildernesse neere the habitation of quebecq; but being not a convenient place, they weare putt to the isle of orleans, leagues below quebecq, in a fort that they made with the succour of the ffrench, where they lived some years planting & sowing indian corne for their nourishment, and greased robes of castors, of which grease the profit came to the ffathers, the summe of , livres tournois yearly. in this place they weare catched when they least thought of it, not without subject of conivance. god knoweth there weare escaped that time about women and some men. the rest are all killed, taken and brought away, of which for the most part weare sett at liberty in the country of their ennemy, where they found a great number of their kindred and relations who lived with all sorte of liberty, and went along with the iroquois to warre as if they weare natives, in them was no trust to be given, ffor they weare more cruell then the iroquois even to their proper country, in soe much that the rest resolved to surrender themselves then undergoe the hazard to be taken by force. the peace was made by the instancy of the ffather jesuits. as before, some weare going there to live, as they have already begun. they seeing our departure & transporting of our goods to mount royall for to runne yea the hazard, they also must come. to lett you know [if] our fortune or theirs be better or worse, it should be a hard thing for me to declare; you may judge yourselfe. lett us come to our purpose and follow our voyage. being arrived att the last french habitation, where we must stay above dayes, ffor to pass that place without guide was a thing impossible, but after the time expired, our guides arrived. it was a band of iroquois that was appointed to fetch us, and conduct us into their country. one day att of the clock in the morning, when we least thought of any, saw severall boats coming from the point of st louis, directly att the foot of a hill so called some miles from mont royall. then rejoycing all to see coming those that they never thought to have seene againe, ffor they promissed to come att the beginning of spring and should arrive dayes before us, but seeing them, every one speakes but of his imbarcation. the hurrons that weare present began to make speeches to encourage their wives to make ready with all their stuffe and to feare nothing, being that the heavans would have it so disposed, & that it was better to die in iroquois country and peace with their brethren, then stay in the knott of their nativity, that is their country, to be murthered, & better in the iroquois country in warre for to be burned. all things so disposed, they prepare themselves to receave the iroquois, who weare no more then , in number, [footnote: "no more than , in number," meaning, no doubt, that number at onondaga and its vicinity.] and made a halt for to hold councell to know what they must say that they thought of every one and of the hurrons. but those barbars had an other designe, ffor their destiny was to doe, and not to speake; but for to doe this, this must be a treachery in which they are experted. you must know that that bande [of] irokois [in] descending the last streame or falling watter one of their skiffs made shipwrake in which weare seaven, all drowned without none could souccour them. a thing remarkable, that every one strive to help himselfe without that they will give ayde or assistance to an other; uppon this, that untoward army, those wild barbarous with vengence, held councell, as is before said, for to be revenged of the losse of their compagnions, where they determined, being that they come to fetch the french and the hurrons, to revenge this uppon them and kill them as soone as they should be in their jurisdiction; but considering after that wee french had a fort in their country with a good strong guard, and that that should cause affairs, it was concluded that there furor should not be discharged but uppon the poore hurrons. upon this deliberation they broke councell and arrived att the fort. their speech was cleare contrary to their designe, and promises inviolably ffriendshipp. there was presents and guifts given of both party, but when they pertooke the death of their compagnions they must make other presents perhaps that prevailed somewhat in their thoughts, and tourne them from their perfidious undertakings. for often the liberalitie of those savage was seene executed, but the desire brings great booty, and observance causes that covetousnesse will prove deare to the ffrench as to the hurrons in few days. presently they procure some boats, ffor the iroquoits had but eleven and the hurrons none, for they came in the ffrench shallope. so that it must be contrivance for the one and other, which was soone done. in lesse then dayes parted the dwelling we found more then boats, and all very great, we being also so many in company, iroquoits, some hundred huron women and some or men, ffrench with two ffathers jesuits. in this manner we departed mont royall, every one loaded with his burden. wee passed the same journie. wee passed the gulfe of st louis, and made cabbans in the furthermost part of the streame. that day was laborious to us, so much that the iroquoits resolved to be backe againe, and make a company to fight against the algonquins of quebecq. upon this, left us. the next day we embarqued though not without confusion, because many weare not content nor satisfied. what a pleasure the two ffathers to see them trott up and downe the rocks to gett their menage into the boat, which with much adoe they gott in. the boats weare so loaden that many could not proceed if bad weather should happen. the journey but small came only to the lake of st louis, leagues beyond the streame. there the savage threwed the ffathers' bundle on the watter side, and would take no care for them; seeing many of their men gone, the french as well as hurrons, who would have disputed their lives with them for their lives, and had prevented them if their designe had bin discovered. so that after a great debat we must yeeld to the strongest party for the next embarking. the ffathers' merchandises weare left behind to oblige the ffrench to stay with it, and seaven of us onely embarqued, one of the ffathers with more, and the rest stayed to bring what was left behind, so that ours weare diminished above men. wee embarqued indifferently one with another, ffrench, iroquoits, and hurrons. after we came to the highest of the isle of montroyall; we saw the separation, or rather the great two rivers that of canada are composed; the one hath its origine from the west and the other from south southeast. it was the last that wee sayled, coming to the end of that lake, which is or leagues long and in breadth. we must make carriages which are high withall, and the boats by lande because no other way to passe. the trainage is where the watter is not so trepid. we draw the boats loaden after us, and when there is not water enough, every one his bundle by land. having proceeded dayes' journey on the river, we entered another lake somewhat bigger; it's called st. francis. this is delightfull to the eye as the formost. i speak not of the goodnesse, for there are many things to be spoaken off. i am satisfied to assure you that it is a delightfull & beautifull country. we wanted nothing to the view passing those skirts, killing staggs, auriniacks & fowles. as for the fish, what a thing it is to see them in the bottom of the watter, & take it biting the hooke or lancing it with lance or cramp iron. in this lake the hurrons began to suspect the treachery conspirated against them, ffor they observed that the iroquoits allways consulted privately together, not giving them the least notice, which made a hurron with men & women goe away & run away to the ffrench of quebecq; & for this intent one very morning, after being imbarqued as the rest, went in to the midle of the river, where they began to sing & take their leave, to the great astonishment of the rest & to the great discontent of the iroquoits, that saw themselves so frustrated of so much booty that they exspected. but yett they made no signe att the present, but lett them goe without trouble for feare the rest would doe the same, & so be deprived of the conspiracy layde for the death of their compagnions. to that purpose knowing the place where they weare to land, which was in an island in the midle of the river, a league long & a quarter broade, they resolved to murder them in the said place, which was promptly executed in this maner following:-- they embarqued both hurron men and women in their boats, and among them made up som that embarked themselves in of their boats, in a posture as if they should goe to the warrs, & went before the breake of day. we weare but frenchmen, & they put us [in] several boats. i find meselfe with iroquoits & one hurron man. coming within sight of the isle where they weare to play their game, one of the iroquoits in the same boate as i landed, takes his gunne & charges it. the hurron and i saw this, but neither dreamed of the tragedy that was att hand. after goes into the woode, & the iroquois that governed the boat takes up a hattchett & knocks downe the poore hurron, that never thought to be so ended, and the other that charged his musket in the wood shoots him and fell downe uppon my heels. my feet soone swims in the miserable hurron's bloode. he did quiver as if he had an ague, and was wounded with great many wounds, that still they doubled. both iroquoits came to me and bid [me have] courage, ffor they would not hurt me; but [as] for him that was killed, he was a dogg, good for nothing. the small knowledge that i have had of their speech made of a better hope; but one that could not have understood them would have ben certainly in a great terror. this murder could not be committed so but that the rest of the boats should heare it, and therefore in that very time we heard sad moans and cryes horidly by hurron women. they threwed the corps immediately into the water and went the other side of the river into the abovesaid isle. being landed together, the poore women went in a flock like sheep that sees the wolves ready to devour them. there were hurron men that tooke theire armes. the iroquoits not hindering them in the least, but contrarily the captayne of the iroquoits appeared to defend their cause, giving sharp apprehensions to those that held up armes, and so farr that he did beat those that offered to hurt them. in this example you may perceive the dissimulation & vengence of this cursed people. so that the company, reassured in some respects, the affrighted company, made them goe up to the toppe of the hill and there errect cottages some paces from them; during the while i walked on the side where they weare hard at work and firmly believed that the poore hurron was killed by the iroquoit out of malice, so much trust i putt in the traiterous words. as i was directly coming where the hurrons weare, what should i see? a band of iroquoits all daubed, rushing out of a wood all painted, which is the signe of warre. i thought they weare those that i have seene in [the] morning before, as effectually they weare. i came to the place where weare all those poore victims. there was the good ffather comforting the poore innocent women. the chief of them satt by a valliant huron who all his life time killed many iroquoits, and by his vallour acquired the name of great captayne att home and abroad. the iroquoit spake to him, as the ffather told us, and as i myself have heard. "brother, cheare up," says he, "and assure yourselfe you shall not be killed by doggs; thou art both man and captayne, as i myselfe am, and will die in thy defence." and as the afforesaid crew shewed such a horrid noise, of a sudaine the captayne tooke hold of the chaine that was about him, thou shalt not be killed by another hand then by mine. att that instant the cruell iroquoits fell upon those hurrons, as many wolves, with hattchetts, swords, and daggers, & killed as many [as] there weare, save onely one man. that hurron captayne seeing himselfe so basly betrayed, he tooke hold of his hattchett that hunged downe his side, and strook downe a iroquoit; but the infinit deale tooke his courage and life away. this that was saved was an old man, who in his time had ben att the defeat and taking of severall iroquoits. he in authority by his means saved some. this news brought to them and his name as benefactor, which deed then saved his life. heere you see a good example, that it is decent to be good to his ennemy. after this was done & their corps throwne into the watter, the women weare brought together. i admired att them, seeing them in such a deepe silence, looking on the ground with their coverletts uppon their heads, not a sigh heard, where a litle before they made such a lamentable noise for the losse of their companyion that was killed in my boate. some howers all was pacified & the kettle almost ready for [to] goe to worke. in this very moment there calls a councell. the ffather was called as a statsman to that councell, where he hears their wild reasons; that what they had done was in reveng of their deare comrades that weare drowned in coming for them, and also to certifie the ffrench of their good will. so done, the meate was dressed, we weare invited. the ffather comes to take his dish, and finds us all in armes, resolving to die valiently, thinking the councell was called to conclud our death as the hurron's. the th was not able to menage armes, being a litle boy. the ffather gave us a brother of his company who had invincible good looke and a stout heart. we waited onely for his shooting. the ffather could not persuade him to draw. we told him if he would not fight, to leave our company; which perceived by the iroquoits, made them looke to themselves. they came & assured us of their good will. the frenchmen that understood not longed for the schermish & die for it. att last the ffather prevailed with us, & tould us what was done in councell. two iroquoits came to us with weapons, who signifies there is nothing layd against you, & commanded their compagnions to put by their armes, that they weare our brethren. the agreement was made. some went to the feast, some stayed. having eaten, the ffather calls them againe to councell, & for that purpose borrows some porcelaine from the captayne to make guifts. all being together the ffather begins his speech, throwing the first guift into the midle of the place, desiring that it might be accepted for the conservation of the ffriendshipe that had ben long between them and us, and so was accepted with a ho, ho, which is an assurance & a promise, as thanks. the nd was for the lives of the women which weare in their hands, & to conduct them with saftie into their country, which was accepted in like manner. the rd was to encourage them to bring us to their owne country & carry our marchandises in such [manner] that they may not be wett, nor leave them behind, which was, as abovesaid, punctually observed. the councell being ended, the captaynes made speeches to encourage the masters of the boats to take a bundle to his care & charge, & give an account of it in the country. i wish the lotts weare so distributed before we came from mont royall, but that it is the miserable comfort, better late then never. att night every one to his cabben, and the women dispersed into every cabban with their children, which was a sight of compassion. the day following being the th day of our departure, some went a hunting, some stayed att home. the next day to that we embarqued all a sunder, a boat for each. i was more chearfull then the rest, because i knewed a litle of their language, and many saw me in the low country. wherefore [they] made me embarque with a yong man, taller & properer then myselfe. we had paines and toyles enough; especially my sperit was grieved, and have souffred much troubles weeks together. i thought we should come to our journey's end & so help one another by things past; ffor a man is glad to drive away the time by honest, ingenuous discours, and i would rejoyce very much to be allwayes in company uppon my journey. it was contrary to me all the voyage, ffor my boat and an other, wherein weare men & a woman iroquoit, stayed behind without seeing or hearing from one another. i leave with you to think if they weare troubled for me or i for them. there was a great alteration a litle before; a whole fleete of boats, now to be reduced [to] onely. but patience perforce. we wandered on that gay river by the means of high and low gulfs that are in it; ffor since i made reflection of the quantity of water that comes in that river that comes from off the top of the high mountains with such a torrent that it causes a mighty noise which would make the bouldest men afraid. we went on some journeys with a deale of paines and labour becaus for our weeknesse, and moreover a man of the other boat fell sick of the ague, soe that one of us must helpe him either in the carriag or drawing the boat; and, which was wors, my compagnion was childish and yong as i. the long familiarity we had with one another breeded contempt, so that we would take nothing from one another, which made us goe together by the ears, and fought very often till we weare covered in blood. the rest tooke delight to see us fight; but when they saw us take either gun or sword, then came they to putt us a sunder. when we weare in the boat we could not fight but with our tongues, flying water att one another. i believe if the fathers' packet had ben there, the guift could not keepe it from wetting. as for meat we wanted none, and we had store of large staggs along the watter side. we killed some almost every day, more for sport then for neede. we finding them sometimes in islands, made them goe into the watter and after we killed about a score, we clipped the ears of the rest and hung a bell to it, and then let them loose. what a sporte to see the rest flye from that that had the bell! as i satt with my compagnion i saw once of an evening a very remarquable thing. there comes out of a vast forest a multitud of bears, att least together, making a horrid noise, breaking small trees, throwing the rocks downe by the watter side. we shot att them but [they] stirred not a step, which frightned us that they slighted our shooting. we knewed not whether we killed any or no, because of the darke, neither dare we venter to see. the wild men tould me that they never heard their father speake of so many together. we went to the other side to make cabbans, where being arrived, where we made fire & put the kettle on. when it was ready we eat our belly full. after supper the sick wild man tould me a story and confirmed it to be true, which happened to him, being in warre in the upper country of the iroquoits neere the great river that divides it self in two. "brother," sayes he, "it's a thing to be admired to goe afar to travell. you must know, although i am sick i am [a] man, and fought stoutly and invaded many. i loved alwayes the ffrench for their goodnesse, but they should [have] given us [to] kill the algonkins. we should not warre against the ffrench, but traited with them for our castors. you shall know i am above years (yett the fellow did not looke as if he had ). i was once a captayne," says he, "of men, against the nation of the fire & against the stairing hairs, our ennemys. we stayed whole winters from our country, and most of that time among our ennemy, but durst not appeare because of the small number we had against a multitude, which made us march in the night and hide ourselves in the daytime in forests. att last we are weary to be so long absent from our wives & countrey. we resolved some more execution, & take the first nation that we should incountre. we have allready killed many. we went some dayes on that river, which is bordered of fine sands; no rocks there to be seene. being landed one morning to goe out of the way least we should be discovered, and for [to] know the place that we weare, sent two of our men to make a discovery, who coming back brought us [word] that they have seen devils, and could not believe that they weare men. we presently putt ourselves on our gards, and looke to our armes, thought to have ben lost, but tooke a strong resolution to die like men, and went to meet those monsters. we weare close to one an other, saveing they that made a discovery, that went just before us, tould us, being neere the waterside, that they have seene afar off (as they thought) a great heape of stoanes. we needing them mightily we went to gett some. within paces nigh we found them converted into men, who weare of an extraordinary height, lying all along the strand asleepe. brother, you must know that we weare all in feare to see such a man and woman of a vast length. they weare by two feete taller then i, and big accordingly. they had by them two basquetts, a bow and arrows. i came nigh the place. their arrows weare not so long as ours, but bigger, and their bows the same; each had a small stagg's skin to cover their nakednesse. they have noe winter in their country. after being gone we held a councell to consider what was to be done. we weare two boats; the one did carry men, the other . that of would goe back againe, but that of would goe forward into another river. so we departed. the night being come, as precedent nights, we saw fires in severall places on the other side of the river, which made us goe there att the breake of day, to know what it was, which was men as tall as the other man and woman, and great many of them together a fishing. we stealed away without any noise and resolved not to stay longer in them parts, where every thing was so bigg. the fruits of trees are as bigg as the heart of an horiniac, which is bigger then that of an oxe. "the day after our retourne, being in cottages covered with bushes, we heard a noise in the wood, which made us speedily take our weopens, every one hiding himselfe behind a tree the better to defend himselfe, but perceaved it was a beast like a dutch horse, that had a long & straight horne in the forehead, & came towards us. we shott twice at him; [he] falls downe on the ground, but on a sudaine starts up againe and runs full boot att us; and as we weare behind the trees, thrusts her home very farr into the tree, & so broak it, and died. we would eat non of her flesh, because the flemings eat not their horses' flesh, but tooke off the skin, which proved heavy, so we left it there. her horne feet long, and bigger then the biggest part of an arme." [footnote: in o'callaghan's _documentary history of new york_, vol. iv. p. , , is given an engraving of this animal, with the title, "wild animals of new netherlands," taken from a dutch work published in amsterdam in . in this work it is thus described: "on the borders of canada animals are now and again seen somewhat resembling a horse; they have cloven hoofs, shaggy manes, a horn right out of the forehead, a tail like that of the wild hog, black eyes, a stag's neck, and love the gloomiest wildernesses, are shy of each other. so that the male never feeds with the female except when they associate for the purpose of increase. then they lay aside their ferocity. as soon as the rutting season is past, they again not only become wild but even attack their own."] we still proceeded in our journey. in dayes we overtook the boat that left us. now whether it was an unicorne, or a fibbe made by that wild man, yet i cannot tell, but severall others tould me the same, who have seene severall times the same beast, so that i firmly believe it. so his story ended, which lasted a great while; ffor having an excellent memory, tould me all the circumstances of his rencounters. we [went] from thence the next morning. we came to a beatifull river, wide one league and a halfe, which was not violent nor deepe, soe that we made no carriages for or leagues, where we had the view of eagles and other birds taking fishes, which we ourselves have done, & killed salmons with staves. one of my compagnions landed a sturgeon six fadoms deepe and brought it. going along the woodside we came where a greate many trees weare cutt, as it weare intended for a fort. at the end of it there was a tree left standing, but the rind taken away from it. upon it there was painted with a coale men hanged, with their heads at their feete, cutt off. they weare so well drawen, that the one of them was father by the shortnesse of his haire, which lett us know that the french that was before us weare executed. a litle further an other was painted of boats, one of men, an other of , whereof one was standing with a hattchett in his hands striking on the head. att an other weare represented boats, pursueing bears, a man drawn as if he weare on land with his gune shooting a stagge. i considering these things, troubled me very much, yea, caused my heart to tremble within me; and moreover when those that weare with me certified me of what i was too sure, telling me the ffrenchmen weare dead, but tould me to be cheerfull, that i should not die. after i found so much treachery in them i could but trust litle in their words or promisses, yett must shew good countenance to a wors game then i had a minde, telling me the contrary of what they told me of the death of the frenchmen, to shew them that i was in no feare. being embarqued, the wild men tould me we should goe on the other side of that broad river. it was extreamly hott, no wind stiring. i was ready that both should be together for the better assurance of my life. i perceived well that he alone was not able to performe the voyage; there was the other sick of the other boat, that did row but very slowly. i thought to meselfe they must needs bring me into their countrey if they meet non by the way, and so i comforted meselfe with better hope. we soone came to the other side of the river. the other boat followed not, being nigh the land. my comrade perceaved an eagle on a tree, the feathers of which are in esteeme among them. he lands and takes his gunne, charges it, and goes into the wood. i was in feare, without blame, for i knewed not what he meant. i remembered how the poore hurron was served so a litle before in his boat, and in like manner. as he went about, i could not imagine what was best, but resolved to kill [rather] then be killed. upon this i take my gunne, which the other saw, desires me not to make any noise, shewing me the eagle, that as yett i have not seene. to obey him i stoope downe like a monkey, visiting my weopon that he should not suspect. my eyes neverthelesse followed for feare. i see at last the truth of his designe; he shoots and kills the eagle. [we] after imbarqued ourselves, the night drawing on, and must think to goe to the other boat or he to us, which he did. i admired the weather, cleare and calme that we could scarce see him, yet that we should heare them speake, and understand, as if they weare but or paces from us. he being come, we sought for conveniency to make cottages, which soone was done. the others sooner landed then we. they came to receive us att our landing. one tooke my gunne, the other a litle bondle of mine. i was surprised att this. then they asked me [for] my powder and shott, and opened my bagge, began to partage my combs & other things that i had. i thought it the consultest way to submitt to the strongest party, therefore i tooke [no] notice of what they did. the woman kindled the fire. seeing myselfe out of care of my fright, satt me selfe downe by the woman. shee looked now and then uppon me, which made me more and more mistrust. in the meane while he that was sick calls me. i came and asked him what he pleased. "i will," sayd he, "that you imbarque your selfe by me," and throws his cappot away, bidding me also to leave my capot. he takes his hattchett, and hangs it to his wrest, goes into the boat, & i with him. i would have carryed my gunne. i tooke it from the place where they layd it. they, seeing, laughed & gave a shout, as many beasts, yett it was not in their power to make me goe to the boat without my weapon; so lett me have it, and went straight as if we weare to goe on the other side of the river. about the midle the wild man bids mee goe out, to which i would not consent. i bid him goe. after we disputed awhile, i not obeying, began to consider if he had a minde to drowne me, that he himselfe would not go in the water. being come a litle to myselfe i perceaved that the water was not foote deepe. it was so darke, yett one might perceive the bottom covered with muskles. having so much experience, i desired him to have patience; so gott of my shirt & lep't into the watter & gathered about half a bushell of those shells or mussells. i made sure that the boat should not leave me, for i fastened my girdle to it, and held the end. mistrust is the mother of safety. we came back againe. we found the kettle ready; they gave me meat and a dish of broth, which exercised me a while. having done, the man comes and makes me pull of my shirt, having then nothing but my drawers to cover my nackednesse. he putts on my shirt on his back, takes a knif and cutts a medail that hung to my necke. he was a great while searching me and feeling if i was fatt. i wished him farr enough. i looked [for] an opportunity to be from him, thinking to be better sheltered by the woman. i thought every foot he was to cutt my troat. i could [not] beare [it]. i had rather dye [at] once then being so often tormented. i rose and satt me downe by the woman, in whome was all my trust. shee perceived i was in great feare, whether by collour of my face or other, i know not. shee putts her hands uppon my head & combs it downe with her fingers. "my son," says shee, "be chearfull. it is my husband; he will not hurt thee; he loves me and knoweth that i love thee, and have a mind to have thee to our dwelling." then shee rose and takes my shirt from her husband and brings it me. shee gave me one of her covers. "sleepe," said shee. i wanted not many persuasions. so chuse rather the fatall blow sleeping then awake, for i thought never to escape. the next morning i finding meselfe freed, which made me hope for the future. i have reason to remember that day for two contrary things; first, for my spirits being very much perplexed, and the other for that the weather was contrary though very lovely. that morning they rendered all my things againe, & filled my bagge with victualls. we left this place, which feared me most then hurt was done. some laughed att me afterwards for my feares wherein i was, which i more & more hoped for better intertainment. the weather was fair all that day, but the next wee must make a waynage, which [was] not very hard; but my comrade drew carelessly, and the boat slipps from his hands, which turned with such force that it had me along if i had not lett my hould goe, chusing [rather] that then venter my selfe in danger. soe that it [no] sooner gott downe then we gott it up againe; but by fortune was not hurted, yett it runn'd aground among rocks. we must goe downe the river. i was driven to swime to it, where i found it full of watter, and a hole that fists might goe through it, so that i could not drive it to land without mending it. my compagnion must also in the water like a watter dogg, comes and takes hould of the foure oares. all the wild men swims like watter doggs, not as we swime. we mende the boat there neatly, not without miscalling one another. they spoake to me a word that i understood not because of the difference betweene the low iroquoits and their speech, and in the anger and heat we layde the blame uppon one another to have lett the boat flippe purposely. i tooke no heed of what he alleadged. he comes sudainly uppon me & there cuffed one another untill we weare all in bloode. being weary, att last, out of breath, we gave over like cocks over tyred with fighting. we could not fight longer, but must find strength to draw up the boat against the streame and overtake the other, which was a good way from us. it was impossible to overtake the day, nor the next. so that we must lay nights by our selves. the third day we arrived to a vast place full of isls, which are called the isles of toniata, where we overtooke our compagnions, who stayd for us. there they killed a great bigg and fatt beare. we tooke some of it into our boats & went on our journey together. we came thence to a place like a bazon, made out of an isle like a halfe moone. here we caught eeles five fadoms or more deepe in the waiter, seeing cleerly the bottome in abundance of fishes. we finde there low country iroquoits in their cabbans that came back from the warre that was against the nation of the catts. they had with them women with a young man of years & a girle of years, all prisoners. they had a head with short haire of one of that nation, that uses to have their hair turned up like the prickles of an headg hogge. we cottaged ourselves by them. some of them knewed me & made much of mee. they gave me a guirland of porcelaine & a girdle of goat's haire. they asked when should i visit my ffriends. i promissed to come there as soone as i could arrive att the upper village. i gave them my hattchett to give to my ffather, and dozen of brass rings & shooting-knives for my sisters, promissing to bring a cover for my mother. they inquired what was it that made me goe away, and how. i tould them through woods & arrived att the rivers in dayes, and that i souffred much hunger by the way. i would not tell them that i escaped by reason of the duch. they called me often devill to have undertaken such a task. i resolved to goe along with them. heere i found certainty, and not till then, of the ffrenchmen, whom they have seene seaven dayes before att the coming in of the great lake d'ontario; and that undoubtedly the markes we have seene on the trees weare done by seaven other boats of their owne nation that came backe from the warres in the north, that mett hurron boats of men, who fought & killed iroquoits and wounded others. of the hurrons weare slained, one taken alive, and the other escaped. those boats weare going to the ffrench to live there. that news satisfied much my wild men, and much more i rejoiced at this. we stayed with them the next day, feasting one another. they cutt and burned the fingers of those miserable wretches, making them sing while they plucked out some of their nailes, which done, wee parted well satisfied for our meeting. from that place we came to lye att the mouth of a lake in an island where we have had some tokens of our frenchmen by the impression of their shooes on the sand that was in the island. in that island our wild men hid caskes of indian corne, which did us a kindnesse, ffor there was no more veneson pye to be gotten. the next day we make up our bundles in readinesse to wander uppon that sweet sea, as is the saying of the iroquoits, who rekens by their daye's journey. this was above leagues in length & in breadth. seeing the water so calme and faire, we ventured some leagues, to gaine a point of the firme land, that by that means we should shorten or leagues in our way. we went on along the lake in that maner with great delight, sometimes with paine and labour. as we went along the water side, the weather very faire, it comes to my mind to put out a cover instead of a saile. my companion liked it very well, for generally wild men are given to leasinesse. we seeing that our sayle made us goe faster then the other boat, not perceiving that the wind came from the land, which carried us far into the lake, our compagnions made a signe, having more experience then wee, and judged of the weather that was to come. we would not heare them, thinking to have an advantage. soone after the wind began to blow harder, made us soone strike sayle, and putt our armes to worke. we feeled not the wind because it was in our backs, but turning aside we finde that we had enough to doe. we must gett ourselves to a better element then that [where] we weare. instantly comes a shower of raine with a storme of winde that was able to perish us by reason of the great quantity of watter that came into our boat. the lake began to vapour and make a show of his neptune's sheep. seeing we went backwards rather then forwards, we thought ourselves uterly lost. that rogue that was with me sayd, "see thy god that thou sayest he is above. will you make me believe now that he is good, as the black-coats [the ffather jesuits] say? they doe lie, and you see the contrary; ffor first you see that the sun burns us often, the raine wetts us, the wind makes us have shipwrake, the thundering, the lightnings burns and kills, and all come from above, and you say that it's good to be there. for my part i will not goe there. contrary they say that the reprobats and guilty goeth downe & burne. they are mistaken; all is goode heare. doe not you see the earth that nourishes all living creatures, the water the fishes, and the yus, and that corne and all other seasonable fruits for our foode, which things are not soe contrary to us as that from above?" as he said so he coursed vehemently after his owne maner. he tooke his instruments & shewed them to the heavens, saying, "i will not be above; here will [i] stay on earth, where all my friends are, and not with the french, that are to be burned above with torments." how should one think to escape this torments and storms, but god who through his tender mercy ceas'd the tempest and gave us strength to row till we came to the side of the water? i may call it a mighty storme by reason of the litlenesse of the boat, that are all in watter to the breadth of fingers or lesse. i thought uppon it, and out of distress made a vertue to seeke the means to save ourselves. we tyed a sack full of corne in the fore end of our boat, & threw it into the watter, which hung downe some foure fathoms, and wee putt our selves in the other end, so that the end that was towards the wind was higher then the other, and by that means escaped the waves that without doubt, if we had not used that means, we had sunk'd. the other boat landed to lett that storme [pass] over. we found them in the even att their cottages, and thought impossible for us to escape. after severall dayes' travell we came to an isle where we made cottages. we went so farre that evening that we might be so much the neerer to take a broader passage which should shorten our voyage above leagues. att night wee saw severall fires uppon the land. we all judged that it was our company that went before us. before brake of day we did what we could to overtake them, not without hazard, by reason the winds that blewed hard, which we could not perceive before. being come to the bay of the isle we could not turne back without greater danger, so resolved to proceede. we came to the very place where we saw the fires, & found that we weare not mistaken in our opinions. by good looke they weare there, else we had perished for all being so neere the land, for the lake swelled by reason of the great wind that blew, which stayed them there above nights. neither for this reason was there any landing, because of a great banck or heape of rocks, untill those that weare ashore came to us into the watter to their oxtars [footnote: _oxtars_, up to their armpits.] and stoped our boats. we then cast our selves and all that we had overboord, leaving our boats there, which weare immediately in thousands [of] peaces. being arrived, we placed our cottages by a most pleasant delicat river, where for delightfullnesse was what man's heart could wish. there weare woods, forests, meddows. there we stayed dayes by reason of the weather. one night i layd neare a faire comely lasse that was with us. there they take no notice, for they live in so great liberty that they are never jealous one of another. i admired of a sudaine to heare new musick. shee was in travell and immediately delivered. i awaked all astonished to see her drying her child by the fire side. having done, [she] lapt the child in her bosome and went to bed as if that had ben nothing, without moan or cry, as doe our europian women. before we left the place that babe died. i had great mind to baptize him, but feared least they should accuse me to be the cause of his death. being come to the above named place, where weare the ghostly ffathers with other french, came to meet us from the fort, which weare but leagues off, where i have receaved a censure for being so timidous, [in] not dareing to ffling watter on the head of that poore innocent to make him happy. we frenchmen began to tell our adventures, having ben out of hopes of ever to see one another, being exceeding glad that we weare deceaved in our opinions. some leaves us & went by land to their cabbans. the rest stayes for faire weather to come to our journey's ende. we wanted not slaves from that place to carry our packs. we came into a river towards the fort which was dangerous for its swiftnesse. from that river that brought us within leagues of the lake we came into a narrower river from a small lake where a french fort was built. this river was leagues long & the lake in compasse. about it a most pleasant country, very fruitfull. goeing up that same river we meet french that weare fishing a kind of fish called dab, which is excellent, & have done us great kindnesse, having left no more provision then what we needed much. having come to the landing place att the foot of the fort, we found there a most faire castle very neatly built, great & small ones. the bottom was built with great trees & well tyed in the topp with twiggs of ashure, strengthened with two strong walles & bastions, which made the fort imppregnable of the wild men. there was also a fine fall of woods about it. the french corne grewed there exceeding well, where was as much as covered half a league of land. the country smooth like a boord, a matter of some or leagues about. severall fields of all sides of indian corne, severall of french tournaps, full of chestnutts and oakes of accorns, with thousand such like fruit in abundance. a great company of hoggs so fatt that they weare not able to goe. a plenty of all sortes of fowles. the ringdoves in such a number that in a nett or att once might be taken. so this was not a wild country to our imagination, but plentyfull in every thing. we weare humanly receaved by the reverend ffathers jesuits and some other frenchmen, as well domestiques as volontiers. we prepared ourselves to take the country's recreation, some to hunt, some to fish, but prevented by a feaver that seised on us all. some continued a month, some more and some lesse, which is the tribut that one must pay for the changment of climat. some dayes after we had news that another company of iroquoits weare arrived att mont royall. as soone [as] we went from thence the father & the rest of the ffrench that did stay behind did imbark themselves with them and followed us so close that ere long would be at us. as they went up to make cottages in the island of the massacre, which was dayes before our departure, one of the company goes to shute for his pleasure, finds a woman half starved for hunger, lying on a rock by a water. he brings her to the cottages & made so much by giving her some luckwarme water, which he boyled with flower & grease, that she came to herselfe entirely againe. shee was examined. shee told them what is above said, and when it happened. shee hid her selfe in a rotten tree during the slaughter, where shee remained dayes; after we weare gone shee came foorth for to gett some food, and found nothing, but founde onely some small grapes, of roots the first dayes, & nothing else. shee finding her selfe feeble and weake, not able to sustaine such, resolved for death. the father, knowing her to be a christian, had a singular care for her, & brought her where i overtooke the said father with the french. being brought [she] was frightened againe for seeing a man charging his gunne to kill her, as shee said, so went away that night, & non knowes what became of her. being weake, not thoroughly healed, shee fancied that such a thing might be done. by this, we poore, many have recovered. the father arrives, that affirmes this newes to us, being very sorry for the losse of this poore creature that god has so long preserved without any subsistance, which shews us apparently that wee ought not to despaire, & that keeps those that lives in his feare. we went to meete the father, i meane those that weare able, to bid the father welcome & his company. being come safe & in a good disposition together, we rendered god thanks. there weare many that waited for us, desiring to tourne back againe to quebecq, obtaining their desier from the fathers & the governour of the fort. they weare in number & one father. after weeks end we recovered our health. so we went to bring them a part of the way, some to the water side, some to the laksende, where we tooke of one another farewell, with such ceremonys as are used when friends depart. some dayes after we heare that the poore woman was in the woods; not that shee knew'd which way to tourne, but did follow her owne fancy whersoever it lead her, & so wandered dayes, getting some times for her subsistance wild garlick, yong buds of trees, & roots. shee was seene in an evening by a river, whereby shee was for dayes, by hurrons renegades. they tooke her, but in a sad condition. they not considering that shee was of their owne nation, stript her. it is the custom to strip whomsoever is lost in the woods. they brought her to the village, where the father was that brought her from the place of murdering to that place whence shee runned away the second time. this father, knowing her, brings her to our fort, that we might see her as a thing incredible but by the mercy of god. i was in the village with the father and with another frenchman, where we see the crudest thing in nature acted. those iroquoits that came along the river with us, some weare about fishing, some a hunting, they seeing this woman makes her [their] slave. one day a man or theirs was forwearned for his insolency, for not referring to the governor, doing all out of his owne head. [he him] selfe was to come that day, leading women with their children, he not intending to give an account of anything but by his owne authority. the elders, heering this, goes and meets him some paces out of the village for to maintaine their rights. they stayed this man. what weare those beasts? he answered they weare his; he no sooner had spoaken, but one old man spoak to him thus: "nephew, you must know that all slaves, as well men as women, are first brought before the councell, and we alone can dispose [of] them." so said, & turned to the other side, and gave a signe to some soldiers that they brought for that purpose, to knock those beasts in the head, who executed their office & murdered the women. one tooke the child, sett foot on his head, taking his leggs in his hands, wrought the head, by often turning, from off the body. an other souldier tooke the other child from his mother's brest, that was not yett quite dead, by the feete and knocks his head against the trunck of a tree. this [is] a daily exercise with them, nor can i tell the one half of their cruelties in like sortes. those with many others weare executed, some for not being able to serve, and the children for hindering their mothers to worke. so they reckne a trouble to lett them live. o wicked and barbarious inhumanity! i forgott to tell that the day the woman layed in, some houres before, shee and i roasted some indian corn in the fire: being ready, shee pulled out the grains one by one with a stick, and as shee was so doing, shee made a horrid outcry, shewing me a toad, which was in the breadth of a dish, which was in the midle of the redd ashes striving to gett out. we wondered, for the like was never seene before. after he gott out of the fire we threwed stoanes & staves att him till it was killed. that toad lived dayes in or under the fire. having remained in that village dayes, we have seene horrible cruelties committed. three of us resolved to turne back to our fort, which was miles off. we brought above women, hurron slaves & others, all loadened with corne. we weare allwayes in scarcity for pollicy, though we had enough, ffor certainty is farre better then the incertainry. before we departed this base place we received [news] that the hurron who was saved by the consent of the rest in the isle of massacre, as is above said, dayes after his deliverance run'd away by night towards the lower country of the iroquoits, where he arrived safe, not without sufferings in the way, ffor such long voyages cannot be performed otherwise, having gon through vast forests, finding no inn in the way, neither having the least provision. att his coming there he spoake whatever the reveng, wrath, and indignation could provoke or utter against the ffrench, especially against the ffathers, saying that it was they that have sold and betrayed them; and that he would bestow the same uppon them if ever he should meet with them. as for him, he gave heaven thanks that he was yett living; that he had his life saved by them to whome he would render like service, warning them not to lett the french build a fort, as the upper iroquoits had done; that he could tell them of it by experience; that they should remember the nation of the stagges so bigg. as soone as the french came there, nothing but death and slaughter was expected, having caused their death by sorcery, which brought a strange sicknesse amongst them. such things can prevaile much uppon such a wild, credulous nation; their minds alltogether for the warrs in which they delight most of any thing in the world. we came our way; this news troubled us very much, knowing the litle fidelity that is [in] that wild nation, that have neither faith nor religion, neither law nor absolut government, as we shall heare the effects of it. the autumn scarce began but we heare that the lower iroquoits contrived a treason against the ffrench. so having contrived & discovered that they weare resolved to leavy an armie of men of their owne nation, who are esteemed the best souldiers, having the anojot to assist them; a bold, rash nation, and so thought to surprise the inhabitants of that place. as they weare contriving and consequently seased upon the fort and towne, thinking to execute their plot with ease, because of their assurance, trusting (if contrary to their contrivance) to the peace, saying that the ffrench weare as many hoggs layed up to be fatted in their country. but, o liberality, what strength hast thou! thou art the onely means wherby men know all and pierce the hearts of the most wild & barbarous people of the world. hearing such news, we make friends by store of guifts, yea such guifts that weare able to betray their country. what is that, that interrest will not do? we discover dayly new contryvances of treason by a councellor. there is nothing done or said but we have advice of it. their dayly exercise is feasting, of warrs, songs, throwing of hattchetts, breaking kettles. what can we do? we are in their hands. it's hard to gett away from them. yea, as much as a ship in full sea without pilot, as passengers without skill. we must resolve to be uppon our guard, being in the midle of our ennemy. for this purpose we begin to make provisions for the future end. we are tould that a company of the aniot nation volontiers was allready in their march to breake heads & so declare open warres. this company finds enough to doe att mount royall; ffor the ffrench being carelesse of themselves, working incomparably afarre from their fortifications without the least apprehension. they killed french and brought them away in triumph, their heads sett up for a signe of warrs. we seeing no other remedy but must be gon and leave a delightful country. the onely thing that we wanted most was that wee had no boats to carry our bagage. it's sad to tend from such a place that is compassed with those great lakes that compose that empire that can be named the greatest part of the knowne world. att last they contrived some deale boords to make shipps with large bottoms, which was the cause of our destruction sooner then was expected. you have heard above said how the ffathers inhabited the hurron country to instruct them in christian doctrine. they preach the mighty power of the almighty, who had drowned the world for to punish the wicked, saving onely our father noe with his familie was saved in an arke. one came bringing indian corne, named jaluck, who escaped the shipwrake that his countrymen had gone, being slave among us. he received such instructions of those deale boords, & reflected soundly upon the structure that he thought verily they weare to make an other arke to escape their hands, and by our inventions cause all the rest to be drowned by a second deluge. they imputing so much power to us, as noe had that grace from god, thought that god at least commanded us so to doe. all frightened [he] runns to his village. this comes back makes them all afraid. each talkes of it. the elders gathered together to consult what was to be done. in their councell [it] was concluded that our fort should be visited, that our fathers should be examined, & according to their answers deliberation should be taken to preserve both their life and countrey. we had allwayes spyes of our side, which weare out of zele and obedience. the ffathers jesuits and others voluntarily ventured their lives for the preservation of the common liberty. they remaine in the village of those barbars to spie what their intent should be, houlding correspondence with some of those of the councell by giving them guifts, to the end that we might know what was concluded in the councell & give us advise with all speede. we by these means had intelligence that they weare to come & visit our forts. to take away all suspicion of our innocency from thinking to build any shipp, which if it had come to their knowledge had don a great prejudice to our former designe, a shippe then uppon the docke almost finished. heere we made a double floore in the hall where the shippe was abuilding, so that the wild men, being ignorant of our way of building, could not take any notice of our cuningnesse, which proved to our desire. so done, finding nothing that was reported, all began to be quiet and out of feare. by this we weare warned from thencefoorth, mistrusting all that came there, so preserved ourselves, puting nothing in fight that should give the least suspition. both shipps weare accomplished; we kept them secretly & covered them with boats of rind that we kept for fishing and hunting. the wildmen knewed of these small things, but suspected nothing, believing that the french would never suspect to venture such a voyage for the difficultie of the way and violence of the swiftnesse of the rivers and length of the way. we stayed for opportunity in some quietnesse, devising to contrive our game as soone as the spring should begin. the winter we past not without apprehensions, having had severall allarmes, false as [well] as true; for often weare we putt to our armes, in so much that one of our sentryes was once by force drawen from the doore of the fort. he, to avoid the danger, drawes his sword & wounds one of them & comes to the fort, crying, "to your armes." this was soone appeased; some guifts healed the wound. the season drawing nigh we must think of some stratageme to escape their hands and the rest of ours that weare among them; which was a difficulty, because they would have some of us by them allwaye for the better assurance. but all their contrivances & wit weare too weake to strive against our plotts which weare already invented to their deceipt that would deceave us. we lett them understand that the time drew neere that the french uses to trait their friends in feasting and meriment, and all should be welcome, having no greater ffriends then they weare. they, to see our fashions as well as to fill their gutts, gave consent. by that means the considerablest persons are invited, the ffather & ffrench. there they weare made much of dayes with great joy, with sounds of trompetts, drumms, and flageoletts, with songs in french as wild. so done, they are sent away, the ffather with them. he was not a mile off but fains to gett a falle and sighed that his arme was broken. the wild men being much troubled att this accident brings the father back and makes guifts that he may be cured. a plaster was sett to his arme, which done [he is] putt into a bed. then all the wildmen came to see him; he incouraged them that he should soone recover and see them. the french that knewed not the plott cryed for the ffather, which confirmed the belief of the wildmen. they all retyred to their village and we [sought] the meanes to embarke ourselves. we resolved once more to make another feast when we should have everything ready for our purpose; that is, when the father should be well of his fayned sicknesse, ffor they allso doe delight in feasting, which was to be done for the safe recovery of the ffather's health. we dayly had messengers from the elders of the country to know how he did, who (after the lake was opened from the ice that was covered with ice) should be in good disposition. many wished to have the suneshine ardently, their desire was so great to be gone. att last our patient begins to walke with a scharfe about his armes. when the shippes and boats weare ready, we sent them word that the father was well, & for joy would make a feast. the elders are invited. they weare sure not to faile, but to be first. being come, there are speeches made to incourage them to sing and eat. it's folly to induce them to that, for they goe about it more bould then welcome. they are told that the morow should be the day of mirth. heare is but play and dances, the ffrench by turns, to keepe them still in exercise, shewing them tricks to keepe them awake, as the bird-catcher doth to teach the bird to sing and not to fly away, as we then intended. not one wildman was admitted to come into the fort that day, saying it was not our coustomes to shew the splendour of our banquetts before they should be presented att table. the wildmen have no other then ground for their table. in the meantime we weare not idle, the impatient father exercising himselfe as the rest. the evening being come, the wildmen are brought to the place destinated, not far from our fort. every one makes his bundle of provisions & marchandises & household stuff, gunns, &c., some hid in the ground, and the rest scattered because we could not save them. we made excellent bisquetts of the last year's corne, & forgott not the hoggs that weare a fatning. att last the trumpetts blowes, putt yourselves in order; there is nothing but outcryes, clapping of hands, & capering, that they may have better stomach to their meat. there comes a dozen of great kettles full of beaten indian corne dressed with mince meate. the wisest begins his speech, giving heaven thanks to have brought such generous ffrench to honnour them so. they eate as many wolves, having eyes bigger then bellies; they are rare att it without noise. the time was not yett com'd to acknowledge the happinesse we received from such incompareable hosts. heare comes great kettles full of bussards broyled & salted before the winter, with as many kettles full of ducks. as many turtles was taken in the season by the nett. heere att this nothing but hooping to man's admiration whilst one was a eating, and other sort comes, as divers of fish, eels, salmon, and carps, which gives them a new stomach. weare they to burst, heere they will shew their courage. the time comes on. the best is that we are sure none will forsake his place, nor man nor woman. a number of french entertaines them, keeping them from sleepe in dancing & singing, for that is the custome. their lutrill, an instrumentall musick, is much heere in use. yett nothing is done as yett, ffor there comes the thickened flower, the oyle of bears, venison. to this the knif is not enough; the spunes also are used. wee see allready severall postures: the one beats his belly, the other shakes his head, others stopp their mouthes to keepe in what they have eaten. they weare in such an admiration, making strange kinds of faces, that turned their eyes up and downe. we bid them cheare up, & tould them it was an usuall custome with the ffrench to make much of themselves & of their friends. "they affect you, and yee must shew such like to them by shewing your respects to them that they so splendidly trait you. cheere up like brave men. if your sleepe overcomes you, you must awake; come, sound [the] drumme, it is not now to beat the gien; [footnote: "to beat the gien," probably meaning the guitar, as charlevoix mentions that at the feast to the indians one of the french young men played upon that instrument for their amusement.] come, make a noise. trumpett blow and make thy cheeks swell, to make the belly swell alsoe." in the end nothing [is] spared that can be invented to the greater confusion. there is a strife between the french who will make the greatest noise. but there is an end to all things; the houre is come, ffor all is embarked. the wildman can hold out no longer; they must sleepe. they cry out, _skenon_, enough, we can beare no more. "lett them cry _skenon_; we will cry _hunnay_, we are a going," sayes we. they are told that the ffrench are weary & will sleepe alsoe awhile. they say, "be it so." we come away; all is quiet. nobody makes a noise after such a hurly-burly. the fort is shutt up as if we had ben in it. we leave a hogg att the doore for sentery, with a rope tyed to his foot. he wanted no meat for the time. here we make a proposition, being three and fifty ffrench in number, to make a slaughter without any difficulty, they being but beasts not able to budge, & as many women. that done, we could goe to their village att the breake of the day, where we weare sure there weare not men left, nor yong nor old. it was no great matter to deale with or women, & may be children; besides, the huntsmen should not be ready this moneths to come home. having done so, we might have a great hole in the skirts of that untoward & pervers nation, that it was in way of revenge, because of their disloyalty, breaking the peace & watching an opportunity to doe the like to us, that we should by that means have a better opportunity to escape; shewing by this whosoever intends to betray, betrays himselfe. the ffathers' answer was to this, that they weare sent to instruct the people in the faith of jesus christ and not to destroy; that the crosse must be their sword; moreover that they are told that we weare able to keepe the place, having victualls for the space of yeares, with other provisions. [footnote: the new governor, viscount d'argenson, who arrived in canada a few months after, disapproved of the evacuation of onondaga. "the location of this fortification was probably about three quarters of a mile below green point, on the farm now occupied [in ] by mr. myrick bradley, in the town of salina, where the embankment and outlines were plain to be seen fifty years ago." _history of onondaga_, by j. v. h. clarke, vol. i. p. , n., .] so done, in the meanewhile some french should goe downe to the french & tell the news; ffor the rest they weare able to oppose all the iroquoits, having such a strong fort, and before the time could be expired some succour was to be expected out of ffrance, as well as with the helpe of some of the wildmen, their allies, make an assault, and so free ourselves of such a slavery & the many miseries wherin we weare dayly to undergoe, that by that means we might save the lives of many french and cleare a way from such inhumans. it was in vaine to think to convert them, but the destroying of them was to convert them. so discover nations and countryes, and that the ffrench finding some fourty resolut brothers that would have ventured themselves full liberty & assurance of their lives to preserve them from the cruelest enemy that ever was found uppon the earth. all these sayings could prevaile nothing uppon people that will avoid all slaughter. so to be obedient to our superiours, without noise of trompet or drum, but zeal with griefe, we left that place. we are all embarked, and now must looke for the mouth of the river; and weare put to it, ffor it frized every night and the ice of good thicknesse, and consequently dangerous to venture our boats against it. we must all the way breake the ice with great staves to make a passage. this gave us paines enough. att the breake of day we weare in sight att the mouth of the river, where we weare free from ice. if those had but the least suspicion or had looked out, they had seene us. we soone by all diligence putt ourselves out of that apprehension, and came att the first rising of the river, where freed from ice tenne leagues from the fort, where we kept a good watch. the day following we came to the lake d'ontario. the wind being boisterous, could goe no further. there we sought for a place to make cottages, which was in an island very advantageous, where we stayed dayes for the weather. we weare not without feare, thinking that the wildmen should follow us. they contrary wise stayed (as we heard) seaven nights, thinking that we weare asleepe, onely that some rose now and then, and rung the litle bell which stooke to the hogg's foot. so mystifying the businesse affaire, [they] went & brought news to the village, which made them come and looke over the pallisados, and saw in good earnest the anomiacks weare gone. in our journey [we had] bad weather, high winds, snow, and every day raine on our backs. we came to the river att last, where was difficulty enough by reason of the goeing out of the lake, which is hard to find, by the many isles that are about the opening of the river. we weare in a maner of sheepe scattered. after many crossings to and fro we find ourselves att the first streame; the watters high, went on without danger, but the navigation proved worse & worse because we came into a coulder country and into the most dangerousest precipices. now the river [was] covered over with ice and snow which made the river give a terrible noise. the land also covered all over with snow, which rendered us incapable of knowledge where we weare, & consequently found ourselves in great perils. it was well that the river swelled, for not a mother's son of us could else escape; ffor where we might have made carriages we [would] innocently have gone uppon those currents. one of our greatest vessells runned on sand and soone full by reason of the running of the stream, but by tournings, with much adoe we gott it out againe, and by all dexterity brought to a harbour, which is hard to find in that place, ffor the ice and the streame continually cutts the coasts steepe downe, & so no landing thereabouts. heere a boat of men made shipwrake. heere every one for himselfe & god for all. heere is no reliefe. there the that could swime weare drowned, because they held not [to] the boat, but would swime to land. the other that had held it was saved with much adoe. afterwards we came where the streame was not so swifte at all, but as dangerous for its ice. we cutt the ice with hattchetts & we found places where [it] was rotten, so we hazarded ourselves often to sinke downe to our necks. we knewed the isle of murder againe because of the woman that runn'd away was with us. shee had reason to know it, though all covered with snow. the ffathers some dayes before our departur caused her to come to the fort to deliver her out of the hands of her ennemy, because she was a christian. in short time after her arrivall att quebecq [she] was marry'd, and died in childbed. six weeks being expired we came to the hight of st louis, leagues from mont royal, the first habitation of the ffrench. we went all that hight without making carriages, trusting to the depth of the watter, & passed it by god's providence, that have made us that passage free; ffor if we had come there the day before we could not possibly passe (by the report of the ffrench), by reason that underneath the water was mighty swift, the river was frozen and covered with ice, and could not have turned back, for the streame could bring us against our will under the ice. it was our lott to come after the ice was melted. the french inquire who is there with astonishment, thinking that it should be the charge of the iroquoits. we thanked god for our deliverance. heere we had time to rest ourselves awhile att ease, which was not permitted by the way. about the last of march we ended our great paines and incredible dangers. about nights after we went downe the rivers, where most of us stayed. a month after my brother and i resolves to travell and see countreys. we find a good opportunity. in our voyage wee proceeded three yeares. during that time we had the happinesse to see very faire countryes. _the ende of the second voyage made in the upper country of the iroquoits_. _now followeth the auxoticiat voyage into the great and filthy lake of the hurrons, upper sea of the east, and bay of the north_. being come to the rivers, where i found my brother who the yeare before came back from the lake of the hurrons with other french, both weare upon the point of resolution to make a journey a purpose for to discover the great lakes that they heard the wild men speak off; yea, have seene before, ffor my brother made severall journeys when the ffathers lived about the lake of the hurrons, which was upon the border of the sea. so my brother seeing me back from those dangerous voyages, so much by the cruelties of the barbars as for the difficulties of the wayes, for this reason he thought i was fitter & more faithfull for the discovery that he was to make. he plainly told me his minde. i knowing it, longed to see myselfe in a boat. there weare severall companies of wild men expected from severall places, because they promissed the yeare before, & [to] take the advantage of the spring (this for to deceive the iroquoits, who are allwayes in wait for to destroy them), and of the rivers which is by reason of the melting of the great snows, which is onely that time, ffor otherwise no possibility to come that way because for the swift streams that runs in summer, and in other places the want of watter, so that no boat can come through. we soone see the performance of those people, ffor a company came to the rivers where we weare. they tould us that another company was arrived att mont royal, and that more weare to come shortly, the one to the three rivers, the other to saegne, [footnote: _saegne, sacgnes, sacquenes,_ or the river saguenay.] a river of tudousack, who arrived within dayes after. they divided themselves because of the scant of provision; ffor if they weare together they could not have victualls enough. many goes and comes to quebecq for to know the resolution of mr. governor, who together with the ffathers thought fitt to send a company of ffrench to bring backe, if possible, those wildmen the next yeare, or others, being that it is the best manna of the countrey by which the inhabitants doe subsist, and makes the ffrench vessells to come there and goe back loaden with merchandises for the traffique of furriers who comes from the remotest parts of the north of america. as soone as the resolution was made, many undertakes the voyage; for where that there is lucre there are people enough to be had. the best and ablest men for that businesse weare chosen. they make them goe up the rivers with the band that came with the sacques. there take those that weare most capable for the purpose. two ffathers weare chosen to conduct that company, and endeavoured to convert some of those foraigners of the remotest country to the christian faith. we no sooner heard their designe, but saw the effects of the buisnesse, which effected in us much gladnesse for the pleasure we could doe to one another, & so abler to oppose an ennemy if by fortune we should meet with any that would doe us hurt or hinder us in our way. about the midle of june we began to take leave of our company and venter our lives for the common good. we find and men, some inhabitants, some gailliards that desired but doe well. what fairer bastion then a good tongue, especially when one sees his owne chimney smoak, or when we can kiss our owne wives or kisse our neighbour's wife with ease and delight? it is a strange thing when victualls are wanting, worke whole nights & dayes, lye downe on the bare ground, & not allwayes that hap, the breech in the watter, the feare in the buttocks, to have the belly empty, the wearinesse in the bones, and drowsinesse of the body by the bad weather that you are to suffer, having nothing to keepe you from such calamity. att last we take our journey to see the issue of a prosperous adventure in such a dangerous enterprise. we resolved not to be the first that should complaine. the ffrench weare together in order, the wildmen also, saving my brother & i that weare accustomed to such like voyages, have foreseene what happened afterwards. before our setting forth we made some guifts, & by that means we weare sure of their good will, so that he & i went into the boats of the wild men. we weare nine and twenty french in number and wildmen. we embarked our traine in the night, because our number should not be knowne to some spyes that might bee in some ambush to know our departure; ffor the iroquoits are allwayes abroad. we weare nights to gett to mont royall, where octanac stayed for us & ffrench. if not for that company, we had passed the river of the meddowes, which makes an isle of mont royall and joines itselfe to the lake of st louis, leagues further then the hight of that name. we stayed no longer there then as the french gott themselves ready. we tooke leave without noise of gun. we cannot avoid the ambush of that eagle, which is like the owle that sees better in the night then in the day. we weare not sooner come to the first river, but our wildmen sees sorts of people of divers countrys laden with marchandise and gunns, which served them for a shew then for defence if by chance they should be sett on. so that the glorie begins to shew itsselfe, no order being observed among them. the one sings, the other before goes in that posture without bad encounter. we advanced dayes. there was no need of such a silence among us. our men composed onely of seaven score men, we had done well if we had kept together, not to goe before in the river, nor stay behind some or leagues. some or boats now & then to land to kill a wild beast, & so putt themselves into a danger of their lives, & if there weare any precipice the rest should be impotent to helpe. we warned them to looke to themselves. they laughed att us, saying we weare women; that the iroquoits durst not sett on them. that pride had such power that they thought themselves masters of the earth; but they will see themselves soone mistaken. how that great god that takes great care of the most wild creatures, and will that every man confesses his faults, & gives them grace to come to obedience for the preservation of their lives, sends them a remarquable power & ordnance, which should give terrour and retinue to those poore misled people from the way of assurance. as we wandered in the afforesaid maner all a sunder, there comes a man alone out of the wood with a hattchett in his hand, with his brayer, & a cover over his shoulders, making signes aloud that we should come to him. the greatest part of that flock shewed a palish face for feare att the sight of this man, knowing him an ennemy. they approached not without feare & apprehension of some plot. by this you may see the boldnesse of those buzards, that think themselves hectors when they see but their shadowes, & tremble when they see a iroquoit. that wild man seeing us neerer, setts him downe on the ground & throwes his hattchett away & raises againe all naked, to shew that he hath no armes, desires them to approach neerer for he is their friend, & would lose his life to save theirs. hee shewed in deed a right captayne for saveing of men that runned to their ruine by their indiscretion & want of conduct; and what he did was out of meere piety, seeing well that they wanted wit, to goe so like a company of bucks, every one to his fancy, where his litle experience leads him, nor thinking that danger wherin they weare, shewing by their march they weare no men, for not fearing. as for him, he was ready to die to render them service & prisoner into their hands freely. "for," saith he, "i might have escaped your sight, but that i would have saved you. i feare," sayth he, "not death"; so with that comes downe into the watter to his midle. there comes many boats about him, takes him into one of the boats, tying a coard fast about his body. there is he fastned. he begins to sing his fatal song that they call a nouroyall. that horrid tone being finished, makes a long, a very long speech, saying, "brethren, the day the sunne is favourable to mee, appointed mee to tell you that yee are witlesse before i die, neither can they escape their ennemys, that are spred up and downe everywhere, that watches all moments their coming to destroy them. take great courage, brethren, sleepe not; the ennemy is att hand. they wait for you; they are soe neare that they see you, and heare you, & are sure that you are their prey. therefore i was willing to die to give you notice. for my part that what i have ben i am a man & commander in the warrs, and tooke severall prisoners; yet i would put meselfe in death's hands to save your lives. believe me; keepe you altogether; spend not your powder in vaine, thinking to frighten your enemys by the noise of your guns. see if the stoanes of your arrowes be not bent or loose; bend your bowes; open your ears; keepe your hattchetts sharpe to cutt trees to make you a fort; doe not spend soe much greas to greas yourselves, but keep it for your bellies. stay not too long in the way. it's robbery to die with conduct." that poore wretch spake the truth & gave good instructions, but the greatest part did not understand what he said, saving the hurrons that weare with him, and i, that tould them as much as i could perceive. every one laughs, saying he himself is afraid & tells us that story. we call him a dogg, a woman, and a henne. we will make you know that we weare men, & for his paines we should burne him when we come to our country. here you shall see the brutishnesse of those people that think themselves valliant to the last point. no comparison is to be made with them for vallour, but quite contrary. they passe away the rest of that day with great exclamations of joy, but it will not last long. that night wee layd in our boats and made not the ketle boyle, because we had meat ready dressed. every boat is tyed up in the rushes, whether out of feare for what the prisoner told them, or that the prisoner should escape, i know not. they went to sleepe without any watch. the ffrench began to wish & moane for that place from whence they came from. what will it be if wee heare yeatt cryes & sorrows after all? past the breake of day every one takes his oare to row; the formost oares have great advantage. we heard the torrent rumble, but could not come to the land that day, although not farr from us. some twelve boats gott afore us. these weare saluted with guns & outcrys. in the meane while one boat runs one way, one another; some men lands and runs away. we are all put to it; non knowes where he is, they are put to such a confusion. all those beasts gathers together againe frighted. seeing no way to escape, gott themselves all in a heape like unto ducks that sees the eagle come to them. that first feare being over a litle, they resolved to land & to make a fort with all speed, which was done in lesse then two houres. the most stupidest drowsy are the nimblest for the hattchett & cutting of trees. the fort being finished, every one maketh himselfe in a readiness to sustaine the assult if any had tempted. the prisoner was brought, who soone was despatched, burned & roasted & eaten. the iroquoits had so served them, as many as they have taken. we mist of our company, but some came safe to us, & lost that weare killed & taken in that defeat. the iroquoite finding himselfe weake would not venture, & was obliged to leave us least he should be discovered & served as the other. neverthelesse they shewed good countenances, went & builded a fort as we have done, where they fortified themselves & feed on human flesh which they gott in the warres. they weare afraid as much as we, but far from that; ffor the night being come, every one imbarks himselfe, to the sound of a low trumpet, by the help of the darknesse. we went to the other side, leaving our marchandises for our ransome to the ennemy that used us so unkindly. we made some cariages that night with a world of paines. we mist of our boats, so that we must alter our equipages. the wildmen complained much that the ffrench could not swime, for that they might be together. the ffrench seeing that they weare not able to undergo such a voyage, they consult together & for conclusion resolved to give an end to such labours & dangers; moreover, found themselves incapable to follow the wildmen who went with all the speed possible night & day for the feare that they weare in. the ffathers, seeing our weaknesse, desired the wildmen that they might have one or two to direct them, which by no means was granted, but bid us doe as the rest. we kept still our resolution, & knowing more tricks then they, would not goe back, which should be but disdainful & prejudiciall. we told them so plainly that we would finish that voyage or die by the way. besides that the wildmen did not complaine of us att all, but incouraged us. after a long arguing, every one had the liberty to goe backwards or forwards, if any had courage to venter himselfe with us. seeing the great difficulties, all with one consent went back againe, and we went on. the wildmen weare not sorry for their departure, because of their ignorance in the affaire of such navigation. it's a great alteration to see one and reduced to . we encouraged one another, both willing to live & die with one another; & that [is] the least we could doe, being brothers. before we [went] to the lake of the hurrons we had crosses enough, but no encounter. we travelled onely in the night in these dangerous places, which could not be done without many vexations & labours. the vanity was somewhat cooler for the example we have seene the day before. the hungar was that tormented us most; for him we could not goe seeke for some wild beasts. our chiefest food was onely some few fishes which the wildmen caught by a line, may be two dozens a whole day, no bigger then my hand. being come to the place of repose, some did goe along the water side on the rocks & there exposed ourselves to the rigour of the weather. upon these rocks we find some shells, blackish without and the inner part whitish by reason of the heat of the sun & of the humidity. they are in a maner glued to the rock; so we must gett another stone to gett them off by scraping them hard. when we thought to have enough [we] went back again to the cottages, where the rest weare getting the litle fishes ready with trips, [footnote: _trips_,--meaning "tripe des boiled resolves itself into a black glue, roche, a species of lichen, which being nauseous but not without nourishment." _discovery of the great west_, by parkman.] gutts and all. the kittle was full with the scraping of the rocks, which soone after it boyled became like starch, black and clammie & easily to be swallowed. i think if any bird had lighted upon the excrements of the said stuff, they had stuckt to it as if it weare glue. in the fields we have gathered severall fruits, as goosberyes, blackberrys, that in an houre we gathered above a bushell of such sorte, although not as yett full ripe. we boyled it, and then every one had his share. heere was daintinesse slighted. the belly did not permitt us to gett on neither shoos nor stockins, that the better we might goe over the rocks, which did [make] our feet smart [so] that we came backe. our feet & thighs & leggs weare scraped with thorns, in a heape of blood. the good god looked uppon those infidels by sending them now & then a beare into the river, or if we perceived any in an isle forced them to swime, that by that means we might the sooner kill them. but the most parts there abouts is so sterill that there is nothing to be seene but rocks & sand, & on the high wayes but deale trees that grow most miraculously, for that earth is not to be seene than can nourish the root, & most of them trees are very bigg & high. we tooke a litle refreshment in a place called the lake of castors, which is some leagues from the first great lake. some of those wildmen hid a rest [footnote: "hid a rest," or cache.] as they went down to the ffrench; but the lake was so full of fishes we tooke so much that served us a long while. we came to a place where weare abundance of otters, in so much that i believe all gathered to hinder our passage. we killed some with our arrows, not daring to shoote because we discovered there abouts some tracks, judging to be our ennemy by the impression of their feet in the sand. all knowes there one another by their march, for each hath his proper steps, some upon their toes, some on their heele, which is natural to them, for when they are infants the mother wrapeth them to their mode. heer i speake not of the horrid streams we passed, nor of the falls of the water, which weare of an incredible height. in some parts most faire & delicious, where people formerly lived onely by what they could gett by the bow & arrows. we weare come above leagues allwayes against the streame, & made carriages, besides drawing, besides the swift streams we overcame by the oares & poles to come to that litle lake of castors which may be or leagues in compasse. the upper end of it is full of islands, where there is not time lost to wander about, finding wherewithall to make the kettle boyle with venison, great bears, castors & fishes, which are plenty in that place. the river that we goe to the great lake is somewhat favorable. we goe downe with ease & runing of the watter, which empties itsselfe in that lake in which we are now coming in. this river hath but high & violent streams, which is some leagues in length. the place where we weare is a bay all full of rocks, small isles, & most between wind and water which an infinite [number] of fishes, which are seene in the water so cleare as christiall. that is the reason of so many otters, that lives onely uppon fish. each of us begins to looke to his bundle & merchandizes and prepare himselfe for the bad weather that uses to be on that great extent of water. the wildmen finds what they hid among the rocks months before they came up to the french. heere we are stiring about in our boats as nimble as bees and divided ourselves into companys. seaven boats went towards west norwest and the rest to the south. after we mourned enough for the death of our deare countrymen that weare slained coming up, we take leave of each other with promise of amitie & good correspondence one with another, as for the continuance of peace, as for the assistance of strength, if the enemy should make an assault. that they should not goe to the french without giving notice one to another & soe goe together. we that weare for the south went on severall dayes merily, & saw by the way the place where the ffathers jesuits had heretofore lived; a delicious place, albeit we could but see it afarre off. the coast of this lake is most delightfull to the minde. the lands smooth, and woods of all sorts. in many places there are many large open fields where in, i believe, wildmen formerly lived before the destruction of the many nations which did inhabit, and tooke more place then leagues about; for i can well say that from the river of canada to the great lake of the hurrons, which is neere leagues in length & in breadth, as i guesse, for i have [been] round about it, plenty of fish. there are banks of sand or leagues from the waterside, where such an infinite deale of fish that scarcely we are able to draw out our nett. there are fishes as bigg as children of years old. there is sturgeon enough & other sorte that is not knowne to us. the south part is without isles, onely in some bayes where there are some. it is delightfull to goe along the side of the watter in summer where you may pluck the ducks. we must stay often in a place or dayes for the contrary winds; ffor [if] the winds weare anything high, we durst not venter the boats against the impetuosity of the waves, which is the reason that our voyages are so long and tedious. a great many large deep rivers empties themselves in that lake, and an infinit number of other small rivers, that cann beare boats, and all from lakes & pools which are in abundance in that country. after we travelled many dayes we arrived att a large island where we found their village, their wives & children. you must know that we passed a strait some leagues beyond that place. the wildmen give it a name; it is another lake, but not so bigg as that we passed before. we calle it the lake of the staring hairs, because those that live about it have their hair like a brush turned up. they all have a hole in their nose, which is done by a straw which is above a foot long. it barrs their faces. their ears have ordinarily holes, where one may putt the end of his finger. they use those holes in this sort: to make themselves gallant they passe through it a skrew of coper with much dexterity, and goe on the lake in that posture. when the winter comes they weare no capes because of their haire tourned up. they fill those skrews with swan's downe, & with it their ears covered; but i dare say that the people doe not for to hold out the cold, but rather for pride, ffor their country is not so cold as the north, and other lakes that we have seene since. it should be difficult to describe what variety of faces our arrivement did cause, some out of joy, others out of sadnesse. neverthelesse the numbers of joyfull exceeded that of the sorrowfull. the season began to invite the lustiest to hunting. we neither desire to be idle in any place, having learned by experience that idlenesse is the mother of all evil, for it breeds most part of all sicknesse in those parts where the aire is most delightfull. so that they who had most knowledge in these quarters had familiarity with the people that live there about the last lake. the nation that we weare with had warrs with the iroquoits, and must trade. our wildmen out of feare must consent to their ennemy to live in their land. it's true that those who lived about the first lake had not for the most part the conveniency of our french merchandise, as since, which obliged most of the remotest people to make peace, considering the enemy of theirs that came as a thunder bolt upon them, so that they joyned with them & forgett what was past for their owne preservation. att our coming there we made large guifts, to dry up the tears of the friends of the deceased. as we came there the circumjacent neighbours came to visit us, that bid us welcome, as we are so. there comes newes that there weare ennemy in the fields, that they weare seene att the great field. there is a councell called, & resolved that they should be searched & sett uppon them as [soon as] possible may be, which [was] executed speedily. i offered my service, soe went and looked for them dayes; finding them the rd day, gave them the assault when they least thought off it. we played the game so furiously that none escaped. the day following we returned to our village with of our enemys dead and alive. the dead weare eaten & the living weare burned with a small fire to the rigour of cruelties, which comforted the desolat to see them revenged of the death of their relations that was so served. we weare then possessed by the hurrons and octanac; but our minde was not to stay in an island, but to be knowne with the remotest people. the victory that we have gotten made them consent to what we could desire, & because that we shewed willing [ness] to die for their defence. so we desired to goe with a company of theirs that was going to the nation of the stairing haires. we weare wellcomed & much made of, saying that we weare the gods & devils of the earth; that we should fournish them, & that they would bring us to their ennemy to destroy them. we tould them [we] were very well content. we persuaded them first to come peaceably, not to destroy them presently, and if they would not condescend, then would wee throw away the hattchett and make use of our thunders. we sent ambassadors to them with guifts. that nation called pontonatemick without more adoe comes & meets us with the rest, & peace was concluded. feasts were made & dames with guifts came of each side, with a great deale of mirth. we visited them during that winter, & by that means we made acquaintance with an other nation called escotecke, which signified fire, a faire proper nation; they are tall & bigg & very strong. we came there in the spring. when we arrived there weare extraordinary banquetts. there they never have seen men with beards, because they pull their haires as soone as it comes out; but much more astonished when they saw our armes, especially our guns, which they worshipped by blowing smoake of tobacco instead of sacrifice. i will not insist much upon their way of living, ffor of their ceremonys heere you will see a pattern. in the last voyage that wee made i will lett you onely know what cours we runned in years' time. we desired them to lett us know their neighboring nations. they gave us the names, which i hope to describe their names in the end of this most imperfect discours, at least those that i can remember. among others they told us of a nation called nadoneceronon, which is very strong, with whome they weare in warres with, & another wandering nation, living onely uppon what they could come by. their dwelling was on the side of the salt watter in summer time, & in the land in the winter time, for it's cold in their country. they calle themselves christinos, & their confederats from all times, by reason of their speech, which is the same, & often have joyned together & have had companys of souldiers to warre against that great nation. we desired not to goe to the north till we had made a discovery in the south, being desirous to know what they did. they told us if we would goe with them to the great lake of the stinkings, the time was come of their trafick, which was of as many knives as they could gett from the french nation, because of their dwellings, which was att the coming in of a lake called superior, but since the destructions of many neighboring nations they retired themselves to the height of the lake. we knewed those people well. we went to them almost yearly, and the company that came up with us weare of the said nation, but never could tell punctually where they lived because they make the barre of the christinos from whence they have the castors that they bring to the french. this place is leagues off, by reason of the circuit that we must doe. the hurrons & the octanacks, from whence we came last, furnishes them also, & comes to the furthest part of the lake of the stinkings, there to have light earthen pots, and girdles made of goat's hairs, & small shells that grow art the sea side, with which they trim their cloath made of skin. we finding this opportunity would not lett it slippe, but made guifts, telling that the other nation would stand in feare of them because of us. we flattered them, saying none would dare to give them the least wrong, in so much that many of the octanacks that weare present to make the same voyage. i can assure you i liked noe country as i have that wherein we wintered; ffor whatever a man could desire was to be had in great plenty; viz. staggs, fishes in abundance, & all sort of meat, corne enough. those of the nations would not come with us, but turned back to their nation. we neverthelesse put ourselves in hazard, for our curiosity, of stay or years among that nation. we ventured, for that we understand some of their idiome & trusted to that. we embarked ourselves on the delightfullest lake of the world. i tooke notice of their cottages & of the journeys of our navigation, for because that the country was so pleasant, so beautifull & fruitfull that it grieved me to see that the world could not discover such inticing countrys to live in. this i say because that the europeans fight for a rock in the sea against one another, or for a sterill land and horrid country, that the people sent heere or there by the changement of the aire ingenders sicknesse and dies thereof. contrarywise those kingdoms are so delicious & under so temperat a climat, plentifull of all things, the earth bringing foorth its fruit twice a yeare, the people live long & lusty & wise in their way. what conquest would that bee att litle or no cost; what laborinth of pleasure should millions of people have, instead that millions complaine of misery & poverty! what should not men reape out of the love of god in converting the souls heere, is more to be gained to heaven then what is by differences of nothing there, should not be so many dangers committed under the pretence of religion! why so many thoesoever are hid from us by our owne faults, by our negligence, covetousnesse, & unbeliefe. it's true, i confesse, that the accesse is difficult, but must say that we are like the cockscombs of paris, when first they begin to have wings, imagining that the larks will fall in their mouths roasted; but we ought [to remember] that vertue is not acquired without labour & taking great paines. we meet with severall nations, all sedentary, amazed to see us, & weare very civil. the further we sejourned the delightfuller the land was to us. i can say that [in] my lifetime i never saw a more incomparable country, for all i have ben in italy; yett italy comes short of it, as i think, when it was inhabited, & now forsaken of the wildmen. being about the great sea, we conversed with people that dwelleth about the salt water, [footnote: "that dwelleth about the salt water;" namely, hudson's bay.] who tould us that they saw some great white thing sometimes uppon the water, & came towards the shore, & men in the top of it, and made a noise like a company of swans; which made me believe that they weare mistaken, for i could not imagine what it could be, except the spaniard; & the reason is that we found a barill broken as they use in spaine. those people have their haires long. they reape twice a yeare; they are called tatarga, that is to say, buff. they warre against nadoneceronons, and warre also against the christinos. these doe no great harme to one another, because the lake is betweene both. they are generally stout men, that they are able to defend themselves. they come but once a year to fight. if the season of the yeare had permitted us to stay, for we intended to goe backe the yeare following, we had indeavoured to make peace betweene them. we had not as yett seene the nation nadoneceronons. we had hurrons with us. wee persuaded them to come along to see their owne nation that fled there, but they would not by any means. we thought to gett some castors there to bring downe to the ffrench, seeing [it] att last impossible to us to make such a circuit in a twelve month's time. we weare every where much made of; neither wanted victualls, for all the different nations that we mett conducted us & furnished us with all necessaries. tending to those people, went towards the south & came back by the north. the summer passed away with admiration by the diversity of the nations that we saw, as for the beauty of the shore of that sweet sea. heere we saw fishes of divers, some like the sturgeons & have a kind of slice att the end of their nose some fingers broad in the end and onely neere the nose, and some thumbs long, all marbled of a blakish collor. there are birds whose bills are two and thumbs long. that bird swallows a whole salmon, keeps it a long time in his bill. we saw alsoe shee-goats very bigg. there is an animal somewhat lesse then a cow whose meat is exceeding good. there is no want of staggs nor buffes. there are so many tourkeys that the boys throws stoanes att them for their recreation. we found no sea-serpents as we in other laks have seene, especially in that of d'ontario and that of the stairing haires. there are some in that of the hurrons, but scarce, for the great cold in winter. they come not neere the upper lake. in that of the stairing haires i saw yong boy [who] was bitten. he tooke immediately his stony knife & with a pointed stick & cutts off the whole wound, being no other remedy for it. they are great sorcerors & turns the wheele. i shall speake of this at large in my last voyage. most of the shores of the lake is nothing but sand. there are mountains to be seene farre in the land. there comes not so many rivers from that lake as from others; these that flow from it are deeper and broader, the trees are very bigg, but not so thick. there is a great distance from one another, & a quantitie of all sorts of fruits, but small. the vines grows all by the river side; the lemons are not so bigg as ours, and sowrer. the grape is very bigg, greene, is seene there att all times. it never snows nor freezes there, but mighty hot; yett for all that the country is not so unwholsom, ffor we seldome have seene infirmed people. i will speake of their manners in my last voyage, which i made in october. we came to the strait of the lakes of the stinkings and the upper lake, where there are litle isles towards norwest, ffew towards the southest, very small. the lake towards the north att the side of it is full of rocks & sand, yett great shipps can ride on it without danger. we being of nations arrived there with booty, disputed awhile, ffor some would returne to their country. that was the nation of the fire, & would have us backe to their dwelling. we by all means would know the christinos. to goe backe was out of our way. we contented the hurrons to our advantage with promises & others with hope, and persuaded the octonack to keepe his resolution, because we weare but small fine dayes from those of late that lived in the sault of the coming in of the said upper lake, from whence that name of salt, which is _panoestigonce_ in the wild language, which heerafter we will call the nation of the salt. not many years since that they had a cruell warre against the nadoneseronons. although much inferiour in numbers, neverthelesse that small number of the salt was a terror unto them, since they had trade with the ffrench. they never have seene such instruments as the ffrench furnished them withall. it is a proude nation, therfore would not submitt, although they had to doe with a bigger nation times then they weare, because that they weare called ennemy by all those that have the accent of the algonquin language, that the wild men call nadone, which is the beginning of their name. the iroquoits have the title of bad ennemy, maesocchy nadone. now seeing that the christinos had hattchetts & knives, for that they resolved to make peace with those of the sault, that durst not have gon hundred of leagues uppon that upper lake with assurance. they would not hearken to anything because their general resolved to make peace with those of the christinos & an other nation that gott gunns, the noise of which had frighted them more then the bulletts that weare in them. the time approached, there came about of the nation of the sault to those that lived towards the north. the christinos gott a bigger company & fought a batail. some weare slaine of both sids. the captayne of these of the sault lost his eye by an arrow. the batail being over he made a speech, & said that he lost his fight of one side, & of the other he foresee what he would doe; his courage being abject by that losse, that he himselfe should be ambassador & conclud the peace. he seeing that the iroquoits came too often, a visit i must confesse very displeasing, being that some [of] ours looses their lives or liberty, so that we retired ourselves to the higher lake neerer the nation of the nadoneceronons, where we weare well receaved, but weare mistrusted when many weare seene together. we arrived then where the nation of the sault was, where we found some french men that came up with us, who thanked us kindly for to come & visit them. the wild octanaks that came with us found some of their nations slaves, who weare also glad to see them. for all they weare slaves they had meat enough, which they have not in their owne country so plentifull, being no huntsmen, but altogether ffishers. as for those towards the north, they are most expert in hunting, & live uppon nothing else the most part of the yeare. we weare long there before we gott acquaintance with those that we desired so much, and they in lik maner had a fervent desire to know us, as we them. heer comes a company of christinos from the bay of the north sea, to live more at ease in the midle of woods & forests, by reason they might trade with those of the sault & have the conveniency to kill more beasts. there we passed the winter & learned the particularitie that since wee saw by experience. heere i will not make a long discours during that time, onely made good cheere & killed staggs, buffes, elends, and castors. the christinos had skill in that game above the rest. the snow proved favourable that yeare, which caused much plenty of every thing. most of the woods & forests are very thick, so that it was in some places as darke as in a cellar, by reason of the boughs of trees. the snow that falls, being very light, hath not the strenght to stopp the eland, [footnote: _elend_, plainly the moose. "they appear to derive their dutch appellation (_eelanden_) from _elende_, misery, they die of the smallest wound." _documentary history of new york_, by o'callaghan, vol. iv. p. .] which is a mighty strong beast, much like a mule, having a tayle cutt off or or thumbes long, the foot cloven like a stagge. he has a muzzle mighty bigge. i have seene some that have the nostrills so bigg that i putt into it my fists att once with ease. those that uses to be where the buffes be are not so bigg, but about the bignesse of a coach horse. the wildmen call them the litle sort. as for the buff, it is a furious animal. one must have a care of him, for every yeare he kills some nadoneseronons. he comes for the most part in the plaines & meddows; he feeds like an ox, and the oriniack so but seldom he galopps. i have seene of their hornes that a man could not lift them from of the ground. they are branchy & flatt in the midle, of which the wildman makes dishes that can well hold quarts. these hornes fall off every yeare, & it's a thing impossible that they will grow againe. the horns of buffs are as those of an ox, but not so long, but bigger, & of a blackish collour; he hath a very long hairy taile; he is reddish, his haire frized & very fine. all the parts of his body much [like] unto an ox. the biggest are bigger then any ox whatsoever. those are to be found about the lake of the stinkings & towards the north of the same. they come not to the upper lake but by chance. it's a pleasur to find the place of their abode, for they tourne round about compassing or acres of land, beating the snow with their feete, & coming to the center they lye downe & rise againe to eate the bows of trees that they can reach. they go not out of their circle that they have made untill hunger compells them. we did what we could to have correspondence with that warlick nation & reconcile them with the christinos. we went not there that winter. many weare slained of both sides the summer last. the wound was yett fresh, wherfore it was hard to conclude peace between them. we could doe nothing, ffor we intended to turne back to the ffrench the summer following. two years weare expired. we hoped to be att the years end with those that gave us over for dead, having before to come back at a year's end. as we are once in those remote countreys we cannot doe as we would. att last we declared our mind first to those of the sault, encouraging those of the north that we are their brethren, & that we would come back & force their enemy to peace or that we would help against them. we made guifts one to another, and thwarted a land of allmost leagues before the snow was melted. in the morning it was a pleasur to walke, for we could goe without racketts. the snow was hard enough, because it freezed every night. when the sun began to shine we payed for the time past. the snow sticks so to our racketts that i believe our shoes weighed pounds, which was a paine, having a burden uppon our backs besides. we arrived, some of us, men & women, to a river side, where we stayed weeks making boats. here we wanted not fish. during that time we made feasts att a high rate. so we refreshed ourselves from our labours. in that time we tooke notice that the budds of trees began to spring, which made us to make more hast & be gone. we went up that river dayes till we came to a nation called pontonatenick & matonenock; that is, the scrattchers. there we gott some indian meale & corne from those nations, which lasted us till we came to the first landing isle. there we weare well received againe. we made guifts to the elders to encourage the yong people to bring us downe to the ffrench. but mightily mistaken; ffor they would reply, "should you bring us to be killed? the iroquoits are every where about the river & undoubtedly will destroy us if we goe downe, & afterwards our wives & those that stayed behinde. be wise, brethren, & offer not to goe downe this yeare to the ffrench. lett us keepe our lives." we made many private suits, but all in vaine. that vexed us most that we had given away most of our merchandises & swapped a great deale for castors. moreover they made no great harvest, being but newly there. beside, they weare no great huntsmen. our journey was broaken till the next yeare, & must per force. that summer i went a hunting, & my brother stayed where he was welcome & putt up a great deale of indian corne that was given him. he intended to furnish the wildmen that weare to goe downe to the ffrench if they had not enough. the wild men did not perceive this; ffor if they wanted any, we could hardly kept it for our use. the winter passes away in good correspondence one with another, & sent ambassadors to the nations that uses to goe downe to the french, which rejoyced them the more & made us passe that yeare with a greater pleasur, saving that my brother sell into the falling sicknesse, & many weare sorry for it. that proceeded onely of a long stay in a new discovered country, & the idlenesse contributs much to it. there is nothing comparable to exercise. it is the onely remedy of such diseases. after he languished awhile god gave him his health againe. the desire that every one had to goe downe to the ffrench made them earnestly looke out for castors. they have not so many there as in the north part, so in the beginning of spring many came to our isle. there weare no lesse, i believe, then men that weare willing to venter themselves. the corne that my brother kept did us a world of service. the wildmen brought a quantity of flesh salted in a vesell. when we weare ready to depart, heere comes strang news of the defeat of the hurrons, which news, i thought, would putt off the voyage. there was a councell held, & most of them weare against the goeing downe to the ffrench, saying that the iroquoits weare to barre this yeare, & the best way was to stay till the following yeare. and now the ennemy, seeing himselfe frustrated of his expectation, would not stay longer, thinking thereby that we weare resolved never more to go downe, and that next yeare there should be a bigger company, & better able to oppose an ennemy. my brother & i, feeing ourselves all out of hopes of our voyage, without our corne, which was allready bestowed, & without any merchandise, or scarce having one knife betwixt us both, so we weare in a great apprehension least that the hurrons should, as they have done often, when the ffathers weare in their country, kill a frenchman. seeing the equipage ready & many more that thought long to depart thence for marchandise, we uppon this resolved to call a publique councell in the place; which the elders hearing, came and advised us not to undertake it, giving many faire words, saying, "brethren, why are you such ennemys to yourselves to putt yourselves in the hands of those that wait for you? they will destroy you and carry you away captives. will you have your brethren destroyed that loves you, being slained? who then will come up and baptize our children? stay till the next yeare, & then you are like to have the number of men in company with you. then you may freely goe without intermission. yee shall take the church along with you, & the ffathers & mothers will send their children to be taught in the way of truth of the lord." our answer was that we would speake in publique, which granted, the day appointed is come. there gathered above men to see who should have the glorie in a round. they satt downe on the ground. we desired silence. the elders being in the midle & we in their midle, my brother began to speake. "who am i? am i a foe or a friend? if i am a foe, why did you suffer me to live so long among you? if i am friend, & if you take so to be, hearken to what i shall say. you know, my uncles & brethren, that i hazarded my life goeing up with you; if i have no courage, why did you not tell me att my first coming here? & if you have more witt then we, why did not you use it by preserving your knives, your hattchetts, & your gunns, that you had from the ffrench? you will see if the ennemy will sett upon you that you will be attraped like castors in a trape; how will you defend yourselves like men that is not courageous to lett yourselves be catched like beasts? how will you defend villages? with castors' skins? how will you defend your wives & children from the ennemy's hands?" then my brother made me stand up, saying, "shew them the way to make warrs if they are able to uphold it." i tooke a gowne of castors' skins that one of them had uppon his shoulder & did beat him with it. i asked the others if i was a souldier. "those are the armes that kill, & not your robes. what will your ennemy say when you perish without defending yourselves? doe not you know the ffrench way? we are used to fight with armes & not with robes. you say that the iroquoits waits for you because some of your men weare killed. it is onely to make you stay untill you are quite out of stocke, that they dispatch you with ease. doe you think that the ffrench will come up here when the greatest part of you is slained by your owne fault? you know that they cannot come up without you. shall they come to baptize your dead? shall your children learne to be slaves among the iroquoits for their ffathers' cowardnesse? you call me iroquoit. have not you seene me disposing my life with you? who has given you your life if not the ffrench? now you will not venter because many of your confederates are come to visit you & venter their lives with you. if you will deceave them you must not think that they will come an other time for shy words nor desire. you have spoaken of it first, doe what you will. for myne owne part, i will venter choosing to die like a man then live like a beggar. having not wherewithal to defend myselfe, farewell; i have my sack of corne ready. take all my castors. i shall live without you." & then departed that company. they weare amazed of our proceeding; they stayed long before they spoake one to another. att last sent us some considerable persons who bid us cheare up. "we see that you are in the right; the voyage is not broaken. the yong people tooke very ill that you have beaten them with the skin. all avowed to die like men & undertake the journey. you shall heare what the councell will ordaine the morrow. they are to meet privatly & you shall be called to it. cheare up & speake as you have done; that is my councell to you. for this you will remember me when you will see me in your country; ffor i will venter meselfe with you." now we are more satisfied then the day before. we weare to use all rhetorique to persuade them to goe downe, ffor we saw the country languish very much, ffor they could not subsist, & moreover they weare afraid of us. the councell is called, but we had no need to make a speech, finding them disposed to make the voyage & to submitt. "yee women gett your husbands' bundles ready. they goe to gett wherwithall to defend themselves & you alive." our equipage was ready in dayes. we embarked ourselves. we weare in number about , all stout men. we had with us a great store of castors' skins. we came to the south. we now goe back to the north, because to overtake a band of men that went before to give notice to others. we passed the lake without dangers. we wanted nothing, having good store of corne & netts to catch fish, which is plentyfull in the rivers. we came to a place where iroquoits wintered. that was the company that made a slaughter before our departure from home. our men repented now they did not goe sooner, ffor it might be they should have surprised them. att last we are out of those lakes. one hides a caske of meale, the other his campiron, & all that could be cumbersome. after many paines & labours wee arrived to the sault of columest, so called because of the stones that are there very convenient to make tobacco pipes. we are now within leagues of the french habitation, & hitherto no bad encounter. we still found tracks of men which made us still to have the more care and guard of ourselves. some leagues from this place we killed wild cowes & then gott ourselves into cottages, where we heard some guns goe off, which made us putt out our fires & imbark ourselves with all speed. we navigated all that night. about the breake of day we made a stay, that not to goe through the violent streames for feare the ennemy should be there to dispute the passage. we landed & instantly sent men to know whether the passage was free. they weare not halfe a mile off when we see a boat of the ennemy thwarting the river, which they had not done without discovering our boats, having nothing to cover our boats nor hide them. our lightest boats shewed themselves by pursueing the ennemy. they did shoot, but to no effect, which made our two men come back in all hast. we seeing ourselves but merchandmen, so we would not long follow a man of warre, because he runned swifter then ours. we proceeded in our way with great diligence till we came to the carriage place, where the one halfe of our men weare in readinesse, whilst the other halfe carried the baggage & the boats. we had a great alarum, but no hurt done. we saw but one boat, but have seene foure more going up the river. methinks they thought themselves some what weake for us, which persuaded us [of] things: st, that they weare afraid; andly, that they went to warne their company, which thing warned us the more to make hast. the nd day att evening after we landed & boyled an horiniack which we killed. we then see boats of our ennemy coming. they no sooner perceived us but they went on the other side of the river. it was a good looke for us to have seene them. our wildmen did not say what they thought, ffor they esteemed themselves already lost. we encouraged them & desired them to have courage & not [be] afraid, & so farr as i think we weare strong enough for them, that we must stoutly goe & meet them, and they should stand still. we should be alltogether, & put our castors' skins upon pearches, which could keepe us from the shott, which we did. we had foure & gunns ready, and gave them to the hurrons, who knewed how to handle them better then the others. the iroquoits seeing us come, & that we weare to , could not imagine what to doe. neverthelesse they would shew their courage; being that they must passe, they putt themselves in array to fight. if we had not ben with some hurrons that knewed the iroquoits' tricks, i believe that our wild men had runned away, leaving their fusiques behind. we being neere one another, we commanded that they should row with all their strength towards them. we kept close one to another to persecut what was our intent. we begin to make outcryes & sing. the hurrons in one side, the algonquins att the other side, the ottanak, the panoestigons, the amickkoick, the nadonicenago, the ticacon, and we both encouraged them all, crying out with a loud noise. the iroquoits begin to shoot, but we made ours to goe one forwards without any shooting, and that it was the onely way of fighting. they indeed turned their backs & we followed them awhile. then was it that we weare called devils, with great thanks & incouragements that they gave us, attributing to us the masters of warre and the only captaynes. we desired them to keepe good watch and sentry, and if we weare not surprized we should come safe and sound without hurt to the ffrench. the iroquoite seeing us goe on our way, made as if they would leave us. we made carriages that day, where the ennemy could doe us mischief if they had ben there. the cunning knaves followed us neverthelesse pritty close. we left boats behind that weare not loaden. we did so to see what invention our enemy could invent, knowing very well that his mind was to surprize us. it is enough that we are warned that they follow us. att last we perceived that he was before us, which putt us in some feare; but seeing us resolut, did what he could to augment his number. but we weare mighty vigilent & sent some to make a discovery att every carriage through the woods. we weare told that they weare in an ambush, & there builded a fort below the long sault, where we weare to passe. our wildmen said doubtlesse they have gott an other company of their nation, so that some minded to throw their castors away & returne home. we told them that we weare almost att the gates of the ffrench habitation, & bid [them] therefore have courage, & that our lives weare in as great danger as theirs, & if we weare taken we should never escape because they knewed us, & i because i runned away from their country having slained some of their brethren, & my brother that long since was the man that furnished their enemy with arms. they att last weare persuaded, & landed within a mile of the landing place, & sent men before armed. we made them great bucklers that the shot could not pearce in some places. they weare to be carryed if there had ben occasion for it. being come neere the torrent, we finding the iroquoits lying in ambush, who began to shoot. the rest of our company went about cutting of trees & making a fort, whilst some brought the boats; which being come, we left as few means possible might bee. the rest helped to carry wood. we had about men that weare gallant souldiers. the most weare hurrons, pasnoestigons, & amickkoick frequented the ffrench for a time. the rest weare skillfull in their bows & arrows. the iroquoits perceiving our device, resolved to fight by forceing them to lett us passe with our arms. they did not know best what to doe, being not so munished nor so many men above a hundred and fifty. they forsooke the place & retired into the fort, which was underneath the rapide. we in the meane while have slained of theirs, & not one of ours hurted, which encouraged our wildmen. we bid them still to have good courage, that we should have the victory. wee went & made another fort neere theirs, where of our men weare wounded but lightly. it is a horrid thing to heare [of] the enormity of outcryes of those different nations. the iroquoits sung like devils, & often made salleys to make us decline. they gott nothing by that but some arrows that did incommodat them to some purpose. we foresee that such a batail could not hold out long for want of powder, of shott & arrows; so by the consent of my brother & the rest, made a speech in the iroquoit language, inducing meselfe with armours that i might not be wounded with every bullett or arrow that the ennemy sent perpetually. then i spoake. "brethren, we came from your country & bring you to ours, not to see you perish unlesse we perish with you. you know that the ffrench are men, & maks forts that cannot be taken so soone therefore cheare upp, ffor we love you & will die with you." this being ended, nothing but howling & crying. we brought our castors & tyed them by , and rowled them before us. the iroquoits finding that they must come out of their fort to the watterside, where they left their boats, to make use of them in case of neede, where indeed made an escape, leaving all their baggage behind, which was not much, neither had we enough to fill our bellyes with the meat that was left; there weare kettles, broaken gunns, & rusty hattchetts. they being gone, our passage was free, so we made hast & endeavoured to come to our journey's end; and to make the more hast, some boats went downe that swift streame without making any carriage, hopeing to follow the ennemy; but the bad lacke was that where my brother was the boat turned in the torrent, being seaven of them together, weare in great danger, ffor god was mercifull to give them strength to save themselves, to the great admiration, for few can speed so well in such precipices. when they came to lande they cutt rocks. my brother lost his booke of annotations of the last yeare of our being in these foraigne nations. we lost never a castor, but may be some better thing. it's better [that one] loose all then lose his life. we weare moneths in our voyage without doeing any thing but goe from river to river. we mett severall sorts of people. we conversed with them, being long time in alliance with them. by the persuasion of som of them we went into the great river that divides itselfe in , where the hurrons with some ottanake & the wild men that had warrs with them had retired. there is not great difference in their language, as we weare told. this nation have warrs against those of [the] forked river. it is so called because it has branches, the one towards the west, the other towards the south, which we believe runns towards mexico, by the tokens they gave us. being among these people, they told us the prisoners they take tells them that they have warrs against a nation, against men that build great cabbans & have great beards & had such knives as we have had. moreover they shewed a decad of beads & guilded pearls that they have had from that people, which made us believe they weare europeans. they shewed one of that nation that was taken the yeare before. we understood him not; he was much more tawny then they with whome we weare. his armes & leggs weare turned outside; that was the punishment inflicted uppon him. so they doe with them that they take, & kill them with clubbs & doe often eat them. they doe not burne their prisoners as those of the northern parts. we weare informed of that nation that live in the other river. these weare men of extraordinary height & biggnesse, that made us believe they had no communication with them. they live onely uppon corne & citrulles, [footnote: _citrulles_, pumpkins.] which are mighty bigg. they have fish in plenty throughout the yeare. they have fruit as big as the heart of an oriniak, which grows on vast trees which in compasse are three armefull in compasse. when they see litle men they are affraid & cry out, which makes many come help them. their arrows are not of stones as ours are, but of fish boans & other boans that they worke greatly, as all other things. their dishes are made of wood. i having seene them, could not but admire the curiosity of their worke. they have great calumetts of great stones, red & greene. they make a store of tobacco. they have a kind of drink that makes them mad for a whole day. this i have not seene, therefore you may believe as you please. when i came backe i found my brother sick, as i said before. god gave him his health, more by his courage then by any good medicine, ffor our bodyes are not like those of the wildmen. to our purpose; we came backe to our carriage, whilst wee endeavoured to ayde our compagnions in their extremity. the iroquoits gott a great way before, not well satisfied to have stayed for us, having lost of their men; of them weare not nimble enough, ffor our bulletts & arrows made them stay for good & all. seaven of our men weare sick, they have ben like to be drowned, & the other two weare wounded by the iroquoits. the next day we went on without any delay or encounter. i give you leave if those of mont royall weare not overjoyed to see us arrived where they affirme us the pitifull conditions that the country was by the cruelty of these cruell barbars, that perpetually killed & slaughtered to the very gate of the ffrench fort. all this hindered not our goeing to the ffrench att the rivers after we refreshed ourselves dayes, but like to pay dearly for our bold attempt. inhabitants came downe with us in a shawlopp. as we doubled the point of the river of the meddows we weare sett uppon by severall of the iroquoits, but durst not come neare us, because of two small brasse pieces that the shalop carryed. we tyed our boats together & made a fort about us of castors' skins, which kept us from all danger. we went downe the streame in that posture. the ennemy left us, & did well; for our wildmen weare disposed to fight, & our shaloupp could not come neare them because for want of watter. we came to quebecq, where we are saluted with the thundring of the guns & batteryes of the fort, and of the shipps that weare then att anchor, which had gon back to france without castors if we had not come. we weare well traited for dayes. the governor made guifts & sent brigantins to bring us to the rivers, where we arrived the nd day of, & the th day they went away. that is the end of our years' voyage & few months. after so much paine & danger god was so mercifull [as] to bring us back saf to our dwelling, where the one was made much off by his wife, the other by his friends & kindred. the ennemy that had discovered us in our goeing downe gott more company, with as many as they could to come to the passages, & there to waite for the retourne of those people, knowinge well that they could not stay there long because the season of the yeare was almost spent; but we made them by our persuasions goe downe to quebecq, which proved well, ffor the iroquoits thought they weare gone another way. so came the next day after our arrivall to make a discovery to the rivers, where being perceived, there is care taken to receive them. the ffrench cannot goe as the wildmen through the woods, but imbarks themselves in small boats & went along the river side, knowing that if the ennemy was repulsed, he would make his retreat to the river side. some algonquins weare then att the habitation, who for to shew their vallour disposed themselves to be the first in the poursuit of the enemy. some of the strongest and nimblest ffrench kept them company, with an other great number of men called ottanacks, so that we weare soone together by the ears. there weare some men of the enemy that came in the space of a fourteen night together; but when they saw us they made use of their heels. we weare about ; but the better to play their game, after they runned half a mile in the wood they turned againe, where then the batail began most furiously by shooting att one another. that uppermost nation, being not used to shooting nor heare such noise, began to shake off their armours, and tooke their bows and arrows, which indeed made [more] execution then all the guns that they had brought. so seeing algonquins & ffrench keep to it, they resolved to stick to it also, which had not long lasted; ffor seeing that their arrows weare almost spent & they must close together, and that the enemy had an advantage by keeping themselves behind the trees, and we to fall uppon we must be without bucklers, which diminished much our company that was foremost, we gave them in spight us place to retire themselves, which they did with all speed. having come to the watter side, where their boats weare, saw the ffrench all in a row, who layd in an ambush to receive them, which they had done if god had not ben for us; ffor they, thinking that the enemy was att hand, mistrusted nothing to the contrary. the ffrench that weare in the wood, seeing the evident danger where their countrymen layd, encouraged the ottanaks, who tooke their armes againe and followed the enemy, who not feared that way arrived before the ffrench weare apprehended, by good looke. one of the iroquoits, thinking his boat would be seene, goes quickly and putts it out of sight, & discovers himselfe, which warned the ffrench to hinder them to goe further uppon that score. our wildmen made a stand and fell uppon them stoutly. the combat begins a new; they see the ffrench that weare uppon the watter come neere, which renforced them to take their boats with all hast, and leave their booty behind. the few boats that the french had brought made that could enter but the ffrench, who weare enough. the wildmen neverthelesse did not goe without their prey, which was of three men's heads that they killed att the first fight; but they left eleven of theirs in the place, besides many more that weare wounded. they went straight to their countrey, which did a great service to the retourne of our wildmen, and mett with non all their journey, as we heard afterwards. they went away the next day, and we stayed att home att rest that yeare. my brother and i considered whether we should discover what we have seene or no; and because we had not a full and whole discovery, which was that we have not ben in the bay of the north, not knowing anything but by report of the wild christinos, we would make no mention of it for feare that those wild men should tell us a fibbe. we would have made a discovery of it ourselves and have an assurance, before we should discover anything of it. _the ende of the auxotacicac voyage, which is the third voyage_. _[fourth voyage of peter esprit radisson]_ the spring following we weare in hopes to meet with some company, having ben so fortunat the yeare before. now during the winter, whether it was that my brother revealed to his wife what we had seene in our voyage and what we further intended, or how it came to passe, it was knowne; so much that the ffather jesuits weare desirous to find out a way how they might gett downe the castors from the bay of the north by the sacgnes, and so make themselves masters of that trade. they resolved to make a tryall as soone as the ice would permitt them. so to discover our intentions they weare very earnest with me to ingage myselfe in that voyage, to the end that my brother would give over his, which i uterly denied them, knowing that they could never bring it about, because i heard the wild men say that although the way be easy, the wildmen that are feed att their doors would have hindred them, because they make a livelyhood of that trade. in my last voyage i tooke notice of that that goes to three lands, which is first from the people of the north to another nation, that the ffrench call squerells, and another nation that they call porquepicque, and from them to the montignes & algonquins that live in or about quebucque; but the greatest hinderance is the scant of watter and the horrid torrents and want of victuals, being no way to carry more then can serve dayes' or weeks' navigation on that river. neverthelesse the ffathers are gone with the governor's son of the three rivers and other ffrench and wildmen. during that time we made our proposition to the governor of quebuc that we weare willing to venture our lives for the good of the countrey, and goe to travell to the remotest countreys with hurrons that made their escape from the iroquoits. they wished nothing more then to bee in those parts where their wives and families weare, about the lake of the stairing haire; to that intent would stay untill august to see if any body would come from thence. my brother and i weare of one minde; and for more assurance my brother went to mont royall to bring those two men along. he came backe, being in danger. the governor gives him leave, conditionaly that he must carry two of his servants along with him and give them the moitie of the profit. my brother was vexed att such an unreasonable a demand, to take inexperted men to their ruine. all our knowledge and desir depended onely of this last voyage, besides that the governor should compare of his servants to us, that have ventured our lives so many years and maintained the countrey with our generosity in the presence of all; neither was there one that had the courage to undertake what wee have done. we made the governor a slight answer, and tould him for our part we knewed what we weare, discoverers before governors. if the wild men came downe, the way for them as for us, and that we should be glad to have the honnour of his company, but not of that of his servants, and that we weare both masters and servants. the governor was much displeased att this, & commanded us not to go without his leave. we desired the ffathers to speake to him about it. our addresses were slight because of the shame was putt uppon them the yeare before of their retourne, besids, they stayed for an opportunity to goe there themselves; ffor their designe is to further the christian faith to the greatest glory of god, and indeed are charitable to all those that are in distresse and needy, especially to those that are worthy or industrious in their way of honesty. this is the truth, lett who he will speak otherwise, ffor this realy i know meselfe by experience. i hope i offend non to tell the truth. we are forced to goe back without doeing any thing. the month of august that brings a company of the sault, who weare come by the river of the three rivers with incredible paines, as they said. it was a company of seaven boats. we wrote the news of their arrivement to quebuc. they send us word that they will stay untill the fathers be turned from sacquenes, that we should goe with them. an answer without reason. necessity obliged us to goe. those people are not to be inticed, ffor as soone as they have done their affaire they goe. the governor of that place defends us to goe. we tould him that the offense was pardonable because it was every one's interest; neverthelesse we knewed what we weare to doe, and that he should not be blamed for us. we made guifts to the wildmen, that wished with all their hearts that we might goe along with them. we told them that the governor minded to send servants with them, and forbids us to goe along with them. the wild men would not accept of their company, but tould us that they would stay for us two dayes in the lake of st peter in the grasse some leagues from the rivers; but we did not lett them stay so long, for that very night, my brother having the keys of the brough as being captayne of the place, we embarqued ourselves. we made ready in the morning, so that we went, of us, about midnight. being come opposit to the fort, they aske who is there. my brother tells his name. every one knows what good services we had done to the countrey, and loved us, the inhabitants as well as the souldiers. the sentrey answers him, "god give you a good voyage." we went on the rest of that night. att in the morning we are arrived to the appointed place, but found no body. we weare well armed, & had a good boat. we resolved to goe day and night to the river of the meddows to overtake them. the wildmen did feare that it was somewhat else, but leagues beyond that of the fort of richlieu we saw them coming to us. we putt ourselves uppon our guards, thinking they weare ennemy; but weare friends, and received us with joy, and said that if we had not come in dayes' time, they would have sent their boats to know the reason of our delay. there we are in that river waiting for the night. being come to the river of the medows, we did separat ourselves, into boats. the man that we have taken with us was putt into a boat of men and a woman, but not of the same nation as the rest, but of one that we call sorcerors. they weare going downe to see some friends that lived with the nation of the fire, that now liveth with the ponoestigonce or the sault. it is to be understood that this river is divided much into streams very swift & small before you goe to the river of canada; [on account] of the great game that there is in it, the ennemy is to be feared, which made us go through these torrents. this could make any one afraid who is inexperted in such voyages. we suffered much for dayes and nights without rest. as we went we heard the noise of guns, which made us believe firmly they weare ennemyes. we saw boats goe by, and heard others, which daunted our hearts for feare, although wee had boats in number; but weare a great distance one from another, as is said in my former voyage, before we could gaine the height of the river. the boat of the sorcerors where was one of us, albeit made a voyage into the hurrons' country before with the ffathers, it was not usefull, soe we made him embark another, but stayed not there long. the night following, he that was in the boat dreamed that the iroquoits had taken him with the rest. in his dreame he cryes out aloud; those that weare att rest awakes of the noise. we are in alarum, and ready to be gone. those that weare with the man resolved to goe back againe, explicating that an evill presage. the wildmen councelled to send back the ffrenchman, saying he should die before he could come to their countrey. it's usually spoken among the wildmen when a man is sick or not able to doe anything to discourage him in such sayings. here i will give a relation of that ffrenchman before i goe farther, and what a thing it is to have an intrigue. the next day they see a boat of their ennemys, as we heard since. they presently landed. the wild men runned away; the ffrenchman alsoe, as he went along the watter side for fear of loosing himselfe. he finds there an harbour very thick, layes himselfe downe and falls asleepe. the night being come, the wildmen being come to know whether the ennemy had perceived them, but non pursued them, and found their boat in the same place, and imbarques themselves and comes in good time to mount royall. they left the poore ffrenchman there, thinking he had wit enough to come along the watter side, being not above tenne leagues from thence. those wild men, after their arrivement, for feare spoak not one word of him, but went downe to the rivers, where their habitation was. fourteen days after some boats ventured to goe looke for some oriniaks, came to the same place, where they made cottages, and that within a quarter of mille where this wrech was. one of the ffrench finds him on his back and almost quite spent; had his gunne by him. he was very weake, and desirous that he should be discovered by some or other. he fed as long as he could on grappes, and at last became so weake that he was not able any further, untill those ffrench found him. after awhile, being come to himselfe, he tends downe the three rivers, where being arrived the governor emprisons him. he stayed not there long. the inhabitants seeing that the ennemy, the hunger, and all other miseries tormented this poore man, and that it was by a divine providence he was alive, they would not have souffred such inhumanity, but gott him out. three dayes after wee found the tracks of seaven boats, and fire yett burning. we found out by their characters they weare no ennemys, but imagined that they weare octanaks that went up into their countrey, which made us make hast to overtake them. we tooke no rest till we overtooke them. they came from mount royall and weare gone to the great river and gone by the great river. so that we weare now boats together, which weare to goe the same way to the height of the upper lake. the day following wee weare sett uppon by a company of iroquoits that fortified themselves in the passage, where they waited of octanack, for they knewed of their going downe. our wildmen, seeing that there was no way to avoid them, resolved to be together, being the best way for them to make a quick expedition, ffor the season of the yeare pressed us to make expedition. we resolved to give a combat. we prepared ourselves with targetts. now the businesse was to make a discovery. i doubt not but the ennemy was much surprised to see us so in number. the councell was held and resolution taken. i and a wildman weare appointed to goe and see their fort. i offered myselfe with a free will, to lett them see how willing i was to defend them; that is the onely way to gaine the hearts of those wildmen. we saw that their fort was environed with great rocks that there was no way to mine it, because there weare no trees neere it. the mine was nothing else but to cutt the nearest tree, and so by his fall make a bracke, and so goe and give an assault. their fort was nothing but trees one against another in a round or square without sides. the ennemy seeing us come neere, shott att us, but in vaine, ffor we have fforewarned ourselves before we came there. it was a pleasur to see our wildmen with their guns and arrows, which agreed not together. neverthelesse we told them when they received a breake their guns would be to no purpose; therefore to putt them by and make use of their bows and arrows. the iroquoits saw themselves putt to it, and the evident danger that they weare in, but to late except they would runne away. yett our wildmen weare better wild footemen then they. these weare ffrenchmen that should give them good directions to overthrow them, resolved to speake for peace, and throw necklaces of porcelaine over the stakes of their fort. our wildmen weare dazelled att such guifts, because that the porcelaine is very rare and costly in their countrey, and then seeing themselves flattered with faire words, to which they gave eare. we trust them by force to putt their first designe in execution, but feared their lives and loved the porcelaine, seeing they had it without danger of any life. they weare persuaded to stay till the next day, because now it was almost night. the iroquoits make their escape. this occasion lost, our consolation was that we had that passage free, but vexed for having lost that opportunity, & contrarywise weare contented of our side, for doubtlesse some of us had ben killed in the bataill. the day following we embarqued ourselves quietly, being uppon our guard for feare of any surprize, ffor that ennemy's danger scarcely begane, who with his furour made himselfe so redoubted, having ben there up and downe to make a new slaughter. this morning, in assurance enough; in the afternoone the two boats that had orders to land some paces from the landing place, one tooke onely a small bundle very light, tends to the other side of the carriage, imagining there to make the kettle boyle, having killed staggs two houres agoe, and was scarce halfe way when he meets the iroquoits, without doubt for that same businesse. i think both weare much surprized. the iroquoits had a bundle of castor that he left behind without much adoe. our wild men did the same; they both runne away to their partners to give them notice. by chance my brother meets them in the way. the wild men seeing that they all weare frightned and out of breath, they asked the matter, and was told, _nadonnee_, and so soone said, he letts fall his bundle that he had uppon his back into a bush, and comes backe where he finds all the wildmen dispaired. he desired me to encourage them, which i performed with all earnestnesse. we runned to the height of the carriage. as we weare agoing they tooke their armes with all speed. in the way we found the bundle of castors that the ennemy had left. by this means we found out that they weare in a fright as wee, and that they came from the warrs of the upper country, which we told the wildmen, so encouraged them to gaine the watter side to discover their forces, where wee no sooner came but boats weare landed & charged their guns, either to defend themselves or to sett uppon us. we prevented this affair by our diligence, and shott att them with our bows & arrows, as with our gunns. they finding such an assault immediately forsooke the place. they would have gone into their boats, but we gave them not so much time. they threwed themselves into the river to gaine the other side. this river was very narrow, so that it was very violent. we had killed and taken them all, if boats of theirs had not come to their succour, which made us gave over to follow them, & looke to ourselves, ffor we knewed not the number of their men. three of their men neverthelesse weare killed; the rest is on the other side of the river, where there was a fort which was made long before. there they retired themselves with all speed. we passe our boats to augment our victory, seeing that they weare many in number. they did what they could to hinder our passage, butt all in vaine, ffor we made use of the bundle of castors that they left, which weare to us instead of gabbions, for we putt them att the heads of our boats, and by that means gott ground in spight of their noses. they killed one of our men as we landed. their number was not to resist ours. they retired themselves into the fort and brought the rest of their [men] in hopes to save it. in this they were far mistaken, for we furiously gave an assault, not sparing time to make us bucklers, and made use of nothing else but of castors tyed together. so without any more adoe we gathered together. the iroquoits spared not their powder, but made more noise then hurt. the darknesse covered the earth, which was somewhat favorable for us; but to overcome them the sooner, we filled a barill full of gun powder, and having stoped the whole of it well and tyed it to the end of a long pole, being att the foote of the fort. heere we lost of our men; our machine did play with an execution. i may well say that the ennemy never had seen the like. moreover i tooke or pounds of powder; this i put into a rind of a tree, then a fusy to have the time to throw the rind, warning the wildmen as soone as the rind made his execution that they should enter in and breake the fort upside down, with the hattchett and the sword in their hands. in the meane time the iroquoits did sing, expecting death, or to their heels, att the noise of such a smoake & noise that our machines made, with the slaughter of many of them. seeing themselves soe betrayed, they lett us goe free into their fort, that thereby they might save themselves; but having environed the fort, we are mingled pell mell, so that we could not know one another in that skirmish of blowes. there was such an noise that should terrifie the stoutest men. now there falls a showre of raine and a terrible storme, that to my thinking there was somthing extraordinary, that the devill himselfe made that storme to give those men leave to escape from our hands, to destroy another time more of these innocents. in that darknesse every one looked about for shelter, not thinking of those braves, that layd downe halfe dead, to pursue them. it was a thing impossible, yett doe believe that the ennemy was not far. as the storme was over, we came together, making a noise, and i am persuaded that many thought themselves prisoners that weare att liberty. some sang their fatall song, albeit without any wounds. so that those that had the confidence to come neare the others weare comforted by assuring them the victory, and that the ennemy was routed. we presently make a great fire, and with all hast make upp the fort againe for feare of any surprize. we searched for those that weare missing. those that weare dead and wounded weare visited. we found of our ennemy slain'd and onely of ours, besides seaven weare wounded, who in a short time passed all danger of life. while some weare busie in tying of the ennemy that could not escape, the others visited the wounds of their compagnions, who for to shew their courage sung'd lowder then those that weare well. the sleepe that we tooke that night did not make our heads guidy, although we had need of reposeing. many liked the occupation, for they filled their bellyes with the flesh of their ennemyes. we broiled some of it and kettles full of the rest. we bourned our comrades, being their custome to reduce such into ashes being stained in bataill. it is an honnour to give them such a buriall. att the brake of day we cooked what could accommodate us, and flung the rest away. the greatest marke of our victory was that we had heads & foure prisoners, whom we embarqued in hopes to bring them into our countrey, and there to burne them att our owne leasures for the more satisfaction of our wives. we left that place of masacre with horrid cryes. forgetting the death of our parents, we plagued those infortunate. we plucked out their nailes one after another. the next morning, after we slept a litle in our boats, we made a signe to begone. they prayed to lett off my peece, which made greate noise. to fullfill their desire, i lett it of. i noe sooner shott, butt perceived seaven boats of the iroquoits going from a point towards the land. we were surprised of such an incounter, seeing death before us, being not strong enough to resist such a company, ffor there weare or in every boat. they perceiving us thought that we weare more in number, began in all hast to make a fort, as we received from two discoverers that wee sent to know their postures. it was with much adoe that those two went. dureing we perswaded our wildmen to send seaven of our boats to an isle neare hand, and turne often againe to frighten our adversaryes by our shew of our forces. they had a minde to fortifie themselves in that island, but we would not suffer it, because there was time enough in case of necessity, which we represent unto them, making them to gather together all the broaken trees to make them a kind of barricado, prohibiting them to cutt trees, that thereby the ennemy might not suspect our feare & our small number, which they had knowne by the stroaks of their hattchetts. those wildmen, thinking to be lost, obeyed us in every thing, telling us every foot, "be chearfull, and dispose of us as you will, for we are men lost." we killed our foure prisoners because they embarassed us. they sent, as soone as we weare together, some fourty, that perpetually went to and againe to find out our pollicy and weaknesse. in the meane time we told the people that they weare men, & if they must, die altogether, and for us to make a fort in the lande was to destroy ourselves, because we should put ourselves in prison; to take courage, if in case we should be forced to take a retreat the isle was a fort for us, from whence we might well escape in the night. that we weare strangers and they, if i must say so, in their countrey, & shooting ourselves in a fort all passages would be open uppon us for to save ourselves through the woods, was a miserable comfort. in the mean time the iroquoits worked lustily, think att every step we weare to give them an assault, but farr deceived, ffor if ever blind wished the light, we wished them the obscurity of the night, which no sooner approached but we embarqued ourselves without any noise, and went along. it's strang to me that the ennemy did not encounter us. without question he had store of prisoners and booty. we left the iroquoits in his fort and the feare in our breeches, for without apprehension we rowed from friday to tuesday without intermission. we had scarce to eat a bitt of sault meat. it was pitty to see our feete & leggs in blood by drawing our boats through the swift streames, where the rocks have such sharp points that there is nothing but death could make men doe what we did. on the third day the paines & labour we tooke forced us to an intermission, ffor we weare quite spent. after this we went on without any encounter whatsoever, having escaped very narrowly. we passed a sault that falls from a vast height. some of our wildmen went underneath it, which i have seene, & i myselfe had the curiosity, but that quiver makes a man the surer. the watter runs over the heads with such impetuosity & violence that it's incredible. wee went under this torrent a quarter of a mille, that falls from the toppe above fourty foot downwards. having come to the lake of the castors, we went about the lake of the castors for some victuals, being in great want, and suffered much hunger. so every one constituts himselfe; some went a hunting, some a fishing. this done, we went downe the river of the sorcerers, which brought us to the first great lake. what joy had we to see ourselves out of that river so dangerous, after we wrought two and twenty dayes and as many nights, having not slept one houre on land all that while. now being out of danger, as safe from our enemy, perhaps we must enter into another, which perhaps may give practice & trouble consequently. our equipage and we weare ready to wander uppon that sweet sea; but most of that coast is void of wild beasts, so there was great famine amongst us for want. yett the coast afforded us some small fruits. there i found the kindnesse & charity of the wildmen, ffor when they found any place of any quantity of it they called me and my brother to eat & replenish our bellys, shewing themselves far gratfuller then many christians even to their owne relations. i cannot forgett here the subtilty of one of these wildmen that was in the same boat with me. we see a castor along the watter side, that puts his head out of the watter. that wildman no sooner saw him but throwes himself out into the watter and downe to the bottom, without so much time as to give notice to any, and before many knewed of anything, he brings up the castor in his armes as a child, without fearing to be bitten. by this we see that hunger can doe much. afterwardes we entered into a straight which had leagues in length, full of islands, where we wanted not fish. we came after to a rapid that makes the separation of the lake of the hurrons, that we calle superior, or upper, for that the wildmen hold it to be longer & broader, besids a great many islands, which maks appeare in a bigger extent. this rapid was formerly the dwelling of those with whome wee weare, and consequently we must not aske them if they knew where they have layed. wee made cottages att our advantages, and found the truth of what those men had often [said], that if once we could come to that place we should make good cheare of a fish that they call _assickmack_, which signifieth a white fish. the beare, the castors, and the oriniack shewed themselves often, but to their cost; indeed it was to us like a terrestriall paradise. after so long fastning, after so great paines that we had taken, finde ourselves so well by chossing our dyet, and resting when we had a minde to it, 'tis here that we must tast with pleasur a sweet bitt. we doe not aske for a good sauce; it's better to have it naturally; it is the way to distinguish the sweet from the bitter. but the season was far spent, and use diligence and leave that place so wished, which wee shall bewaile, to the coursed iroquoits. what hath that poore nation done to thee, and being so far from thy country? yett if they had the same liberty that in former dayes they have had, we poore ffrench should not goe further with our heads except we had a strong army. those great lakes had not so soone comed to our knowledge if it had not ben for those brutish people; two men had not found out the truth of these seas so cheape; the interest and the glorie could not doe what terror doth att the end. we are a litle better come to ourselves and furnished. we left that inn without reckoning with our host. it is cheape when wee are not to put the hand to the purse; neverthelesse we must pay out of civility: the one gives thanks to the woods, the other to the river, the third to the earth, the other to the rocks that stayes the ffish; in a word, there is nothing but _kinekoiur_ of all sorts; the encens of our encens (?) is not spared. the weather was agreable when we began to navigat upon that great extent of watter, finding it so calme and the aire so cleare. we thwarted in a pretty broad place, came to an isle most delightfull for the diversity of its fruits. we called it the isle of the foure beggars. we arrived about of the clocke in the afternone that we came there. we sudainly put the kettle to the fire. we reside there a while, and seeing all this while the faire weather and calme. we went from thence att tenne of the clocke the same night to gaine the firme lande, which was leagues from us, where we arrived before day. here we found a small river. i was so curious that i inquired my dearest friends the name of this streame. they named me it _pauabickkomesibs_, which signifieth a small river of copper. i asked him the reason. he told me, "come, and i shall shew thee the reason why." i was in a place which was not paces in the wood, where many peeces of copper weare uncovered. further he told me that the mountaine i saw was of nothing else. seeing it so faire & pure, i had a minde to take a peece of it, but they hindred me, telling my brother there was more where we weare to goe. in this great lake of myne owne eyes have seene which are admirable, and cane maintaine of a hundred pounds teem will not be decayed. [footnote: "of a hundred pounds teem." this sentence seems somewhat obscure. the writer perhaps meant to say that he had seen masses of copper not less than a hundred pounds weight.] from this place we went along the coasts, which are most delightfull and wounderous, for it's nature that made it so pleasant to the eye, the sperit, and the belly. as we went along we saw banckes of sand so high that one of our wildmen went upp for curiositie; being there, did shew no more then a crow. that place is most dangerous when that there is any storme, being no landing place so long as the sandy bancks are under watter; and when the wind blowes, that sand doth rise by a strang kind of whirling that are able to choake the passengers. one day you will see small mountaines att one side, and the next day, if the wind changes, on the other side. this putts me in mind of the great and vast wildernesses of turkey land, as the turques makes their pylgrimages. some dayes after we observed that there weare some boats before us, but knewed not certainely what they weare. we made all the hast to overtake them, fearing the ennemy no more. indeed the faster we could goe the better for us, because of the season of the yeare, that began to be cold & freeze. they weare a nation that lived in a land towards the south. this nation is very small, being not in all, men & women together. as we came neerer them they weare surprized of our safe retourne, and astonied to see us, admiring the rich marchandises that their confederates brought from the ffrench, that weare hattchetts and knives and other utensils very commodious, rare, precious, and necessary in those countreys. they told the news one to another whilst we made good cheere and great fires. they mourned for the death of [one] of their comrades; the heads of their ennemy weare danced. some dayes [after] we separated ourselves, and presented guiftes to those that weare going an other way, for which we received great store of meate, which was putt up in barrills, and grease of bears & oriniacke. after this we came to a remarquable place. it's a banke of rocks that the wild men made a sacrifice to; they calls it _nanitoucksinagoit_, which signifies the likenesse of the devill. they fling much tobacco and other things in its veneration. it is a thing most incredible that that lake should be so boisterous, that the waves of it should have the strength to doe what i have to say by this my discours: first, that it's so high and soe deepe that it's impossible to claime up to the point. there comes many sorte of birds that makes there nest here, the goilants, which is a white sea-bird of the bignesse of pigeon, which makes me believe what the wildmen told me concerning the sea to be neare directly to the point. it's like a great portail, by reason of the beating of the waves. the lower part of that oppening is as bigg as a tower, and grows bigger in the going up. there is, i believe, acres of land. above it a shipp of tuns could passe by, soe bigg is the arch. i gave it the name of the portail of st peter, because my name is so called, and that i was the first christian [footnote: "the first christian that ever saw it." french jesuits and fur-traders pushed deeper and deeper into the wilderness of the northern lakes. in jacques and raynbault preached the faith to a concourse of indians at the outlet of lake superior. then came the havoc and desolation of the iroquois war, and for years further exploration was arrested. at length, in , two daring traders penetrated to lake superior, wintered there, and brought back the tales they had heard of the ferocious sioux, and of a great western river on which they dwelt. two years later the aged jesuit mesnard attempted to plant a mission on the southern shore of the lake, but perished in the forest by famine or the tomahawk. allouez succeeded him, explored a part of lake superior, and heard in his turn of the sioux and their great river, the "messipi."--introduction to parkman's _discovery of the great west_. there can be no doubt but that the "two daring traders who in penetrated to lake superior," and dwelt on the great river, were radisson and des groseilliers, who repeated their journey a few years after, described in this narrative. the "pictured rocks" and the "doric rock" were so named in governor cass's and schoolcraft's _travels_ in .] that ever saw it. there is in that place caves very deepe, caused by the same violence. we must looke to ourselves, and take time with our small boats. the coast of rocks is or leagues, and there scarce a place to putt a boat in assurance from the waves. when the lake is agitated the waves goeth in these concavities with force and make a most horrible noise, most like the shooting of great guns. some dayes afterwards we arrived to a very beautifull point of sand where there are beautifull islands, [footnote: "three beautiful islands." in cass's and schoolcraft's _travels_ ( ) through the chain of american lakes these islands are called huron islands, and the bay beyond is marked on their map "keweena bay."] that we called of the trinity; there be in triangle. from this place we discovered a bay very deepe, where a river empties its selfe with a noise for the quantitie & dept of the water. we must stay there dayes to wait for faire weather to make the trainage, which was about leagues wide. soe done, we came to the mouth of a small river, where we killed some oriniacks. we found meddows that weare squared, and leagues as smooth as a boord. we went up some leagues further, where we found some pools made by the castors. we must breake them that we might passe. the sluce being broaken, what a wounderfull thing to see the industrie of that animal, which had drowned more then leagues in the grounds, and cutt all the trees, having left non to make a fire if the countrey should be dried up. being come to the height, we must drague our boats over a trembling ground for the space of an houre. the ground became trembling by this means: the castor drowning great soyles with dead water, herein growes mosse which is foot thick or there abouts, and when you think to goe safe and dry, if you take not great care you sink downe to your head or to the midle of your body. when you are out of one hole you find yourselfe in another. this i speake by experience, for i meselfe have bin catched often. but the wildmen warned me, which saved me; that is, that when the mosse should breake under i should cast my whole body into the watter on sudaine. i must with my hands hold the mosse, and goe soe like a frogg, then to draw my boat after me. there was no danger. having passed that place, we made a carriage through the land for leagues. the way was well beaten because of the commers and goers, who by making that passage shortens their passage by dayes by tourning about the point that goes very farr in that great lake; that is to say, to come to the point, and for to come to the landing of that place of cariage. in the end of that point, that goeth very farre, there is an isle, as i was told, all of copper. this i have not seene. they say that from the isle of copper, which is a league in the lake when they are minded to thwart it in a faire and calme wether, beginning from sun rising to sun sett, they come to a great island, from whence they come the next morning to firme lande att the other side; so by reason of leagues a day that lake should be broad of score and leagues. the wildmen doe not much lesse when the weather is faire. five dayes after we came to a place where there was a company of christinos that weare in their cottages. they weare transported for joy to see us come backe. they made much of us, and called us men indeed, to performe our promisse to come and see them againe. we gave them great guifts, which caused some suspicion, for it is a very jealous nation. but the short stay that we made tooke away that jealousy. we went on and came to a hollow river which was a quarter of a mile in bredth. many of our wildmen went to win the shortest way to their nation, and weare then and boats, for we mett with some in that lake that joyned with us, and came to keepe us company, in hopes to gett knives from us, which they love better then we serve god, which should make us blush for shame. seaven boats stayed of the nation of the sault. we went on half a day before we could come to the landing place, and wear forced to make another carriage a point of leagues long and some paces broad. as we came to the other sid we weare in a bay of leagues about, if we had gone in. by goeing about that same point we passed a straight, for that point was very nigh the other side, which is a cape very much elevated like piramides. that point should be very fitt to build & advantgeous for the building of a fort, as we did the spring following. in that bay there is a chanell where we take great store of fishes, sturgeons of a vast biggnesse, and pycks of seaven foot long. att the end of this bay we landed. the wildmen gave thanks to that which they worship, we to god of gods, to see ourselves in a place where we must leave our navigation and forsake our boats to undertake a harder peece of worke in hand, to which we are forced. the men told us that wee had great dayes' journeys before we should arrive where their wives weare. we foresee the hard task that we weare to undergoe by carrying our bundles uppon our backs. they weare used to it. here every one for himselfe & god for all. we finding ourselves not able to performe such a taske, & they could not well tell where to finde their wives, fearing least the nadoneceronons had warrs against their nation and forced them from their appointed place, my brother and i we consulted what was best to doe, and declared our will to them, which was thus: "brethren, we resolve to stay here, being not accustomed to make any cariage on our backs as yee are wont. goe yee and looke for your wives. we will build us a fort here. and seeing that you are not able to carry all your marchandizes att once, we will keepe them for you, and will stay for you dayes. before the time expired you will send to us if your wives be alive, and if you find them they will fetch what you leave here & what we have; ffor their paines they shall receive guifts of us. soe you will see us in your countrey. if they be dead, we will spend all to be revenged, and will gather up the whole countrey for the next spring, for that purpose to destroy those that weare the causers of their death, and you shall see our strenght and vallour. although there are seaven thousand fighting men in one village, you'll see we will make them runne away, & you shall kill them to your best liking by the very noise of our armes and our presence, who are the gods of the earth among those people." they woundered very much att our resolution. the next day they went their way and we stay for our assurance in the midst of many nations, being but two almost starved for want of food. we went about to make a fort of stakes, which was in this manner. suppose that the watter side had ben in one end; att the same end there should be murtherers, and att need we made a bastion in a triangle to defend us from an assault. the doore was neare the watter side, our fire was in the midle, and our bed on the right hand, covered. there weare boughs of trees all about our fort layed a crosse, one uppon an other. besides these boughs we had a long cord tyed with some small bells, which weare senteryes. finally, we made an ende of that fort in dayes' time. we made an end of some fish that we putt by for neede. but as soone as we are lodged we went to fish for more whilst the other kept the house. i was the fittest to goe out, being yongest. i tooke my gunne and goes where i never was before, so i choosed not one way before another. i went to the wood some or miles. i find a small brooke, where i walked by the sid awhile, which brought me into meddowes. there was a poole where weare a good store of bustards. i began to creepe though i might come neare. thought to be in canada, where the fowle is scared away; but the poore creatures, seeing me flatt uppon the ground, thought i was a beast as well as they, so they come neare me, whisling like gosslings, thinking to frighten me. the whistling that i made them heare was another musick then theirs. there i killed and the rest scared, which neverthelesse came to that place againe to see what sudaine sicknesse befeled their comrads. i shott againe; two payed for their curiosity. i think the spaniards had no more to fullfill then as kill those birds, that thought not of such a thunder bolt. there are yett more countreys as fruitfull and as beautifull as the spaniards to conquer, which may be done with as much ease & facility, and prove as rich, if not richer, for bread & wine; and all other things are as plentifull as in any part of europ. this i have seene, which am sure the spaniards have not in such plenty. now i come backe with my victory, which was to us more then tenne thousand pistoles. we lived by it dayes. i tooke good notice of the place, in hopes to come there more frequent, but this place is not onely so. there we stayed still full dayes without any news, but we had the company of other wild men of other countreys that came to us admiring our fort and the workmanshipp. we suffered non to goe in but one person, and liked it so much the better, & often durst not goe in, so much they stood in feare of our armes, that weare in good order, which weare guns, two musquetons, fowling-peeces, paire of great pistoletts, and paire of pockett ons, and every one his sword and daggar. so that we might say that a coward was not well enough armed. mistrust neverthelesse is the mother of safety, and the occasion makes the thief. during that time we had severall alarums in the night. the squerels and other small beasts, as well as foxes, came in and assaulted us. one night i forgott my bracer, which was wett; being up and downe in those pooles to fetch my fowles, one of these beasts carried it away, which did us a great deal of wrong, and caused the life to great many of those against whom i declared myselfe an ennemy. we imagined that some wildmen might have surprized us; but i may say they weare far more afrayd then we. some dayes after we found it one half a mile from the fort in a hole of a tree, the most part torne. then i killed an oriniack. i could have killed more, but we liked the fowles better. if we had both libertie to goe from our fort, we should have procured in a month that should serve us a whole winter. the wildmen brought us more meate then we would, and as much fish as we might eate. the th day we perceived afarr off some yong men coming towards us, with some of our formest compagnions. we gave them leave to come into our fort, but they are astonied, calling us every foot devills to have made such a machine. they brought us victualls, thinking we weare halfe starved, but weare mightily mistaken, for we had more for them then they weare able to eate, having score bussards and many sticks where was meate hanged plentifully. they offred to carry our baggage, being come a purpose; but we had not so much marchandize as when they went from us, because we hid some of them, that they might not have suspicion of us. we told them that for feare of the dayly multitud of people that came to see us, for to have our goods would kill us. we therefore tooke a boat and putt into it our marchandises; this we brought farre into the bay, where we sunke them, biding our devill not to lett them to be wett nor rusted, nor suffer them to be taken away, which he promised faithlesse that we should retourne and take them out of his hands; att which they weare astonished, believing it to be true as the christians the gospell. we hid them in the ground on the other sid of the river in a peece of ground. we told them that lye that they should not have suspicion of us. we made good cheere. they stayed there three dayes, during which time many of their wives came thither, and we traited them well, for they eat not fowle att all, scarce, because they know not how to catch them except with their arrowes. we putt a great many rind about our fort, and broake all the boats that we could have, for the frost would have broaken them or wild men had stolen them away. that rind was tyed all in length to putt the fire in it, to frighten the more these people, for they could not approach it without being discovered. if they ventured att the going out we putt the fire to all the torches, shewing them how we would have defended ourselves. we weare cesars, being nobody to contradict us. we went away free from any burden, whilst those poore miserable thought themselves happy to carry our equipage, for the hope that they had that we should give them a brasse ring, or an awle, or an needle. there came above foure hundred persons to see us goe away from that place, which admired more our actions [than] the fools of paris to see enter their king and the infanta of spaine, his spouse; for they cry out, "god save the king and queene!" those made horrid noise, and called gods and devills of the earth and heavens. we marched foure dayes through the woods. the countrey is beautifull, with very few mountaines, the woods cleare. att last we came within a league of the cabbans, where we layed that the next day might be for our entrey. we poore adventurers for the honneur of our countrey, or of those that shall deserve it from that day; the nimblest and stoutest went before to warne before the people that we should make our entry to-morow. every one prepares to see what they never before have seene. we weare in cottages which weare neare a litle lake some leagues in circuit. att the watterside there weare abundance of litle boats made of trees that they have hollowed, and of rind. the next day we weare to embarque in them, and arrived att the village by watter, which was composed of a hundred cabans without pallasados. there is nothing but cryes. the women throw themselves backwards uppon the ground, thinking to give us tokens of friendship and of wellcome. we destinated presents, one for the men, one for the women, and the other for the children, to the end that they should remember that journey; that we should be spoaken of a hundred years after, if other europeans should not come in those quarters and be liberal to them, which will hardly come to passe. the first was a kettle, two hattchetts, and knives, and a blade for a sword. the kettle was to call all nations that weare their friends to the feast which is made for the remembrance of the death; that is, they make it once in seaven years; it's a renewing of ffriendshippe. i will talke further of it in the following discours. the hattchetts weare to encourage the yong people to strengthen themselves in all places, to preserve their wives, and shew themselves men by knocking the heads of their ennemyes with the said hattchetts. the knives weare to shew that the ffrench weare great and mighty, and their confederats and ffriends. the sword was to signifie that we would be masters both of peace and warrs, being willing to healpe and relieve them, & to destroy our ennemyes with our armes. the second guift was of and awles, needles, gratters of castors, ivory combs and wooden ones, with red painte, looking-glasses of tin. the awles signifieth to take good courage, that we should keepe their lives, and that they with their hushands should come downe to the ffrench when time and season should permitt. the needles for to make them robes of castor, because the ffrench loved them. the gratters weare to dresse the skins; the combes, the paint, to make themselves beautifull; the looking-glasses to admire themselves. the rd guift was of brasse rings, of small bells, and rasades of divers couleurs, and given in this maner. we sent a man to make all the children come together. when they weare there we throw these things over their heads. you would admire what a beat was among them, every one striving to have the best. this was done uppon this consideration, that they should be allwayes under our protection, giving them wherewithall to make them merry & remember us when they should be men. this done, we are called to the councell of welcome and to the feast of ffriendshipp, afterwards to the dancing of the heads; but before the dancing we must mourne for the deceased, and then, for to forgett all sorrow, to the dance. we gave them foure small guifts that they should continue such ceremonyes, which they tooke willingly and did us good, that gave us authority among the whole nation. we knewed their councels, and made them doe whatsoever we thought best. this was a great advantage for us, you must think. amongst such a rowish kind of people a guift is much, and well bestowed, and liberality much esteemed; but not prodigalitie is not in esteeme, for they abuse it, being brutish. wee have ben useing such ceremonyes whole dayes, & weare lodged in the cabban of the chiefest captayne, who came with us from the ffrench. we liked not the company of that blind, therefore left him. he wondred at this, but durst not speake, because we weare demi-gods. we came to a cottage of an ancient witty man, that had had a great familie and many children, his wife old, neverthelesse handsome. they weare of a nation called malhonmines; that is, the nation of oats, graine that is much in that countrey. of this afterwards more att large. i tooke this man for my ffather and the woman for my mother, soe the children consequently brothers and sisters. they adopted me. i gave every one a guift, and they to mee. having so disposed of our buissinesse, the winter comes on, that warns us; the snow begins to fall, soe we must retire from the place to seeke our living in the woods. every one getts his equipage ready. so away we goe, but not all to the same place; two, three att the most, went one way, and so of an other. they have so done because victuals weare scant for all in a place. but lett us where we will, we cannot escape the myghty hand of god, that disposes as he pleases, and who chastes us as a good & a common loving ffather, and not as our sins doe deserve. finaly wee depart one from an other. as many as we weare in number, we are reduced to a small company. we appointed a rendezvous after two months and a half, to take a new road & an advice what we should doe. during the said terme we sent messengers everywhere, to give speciall notice to all manner of persons and nation that within moons the feast of death was to be celebrated, and that we should apeare together and explaine what the devill should command us to say, and then present them presents of peace and union. now we must live on what god sends, and warre against the bears in the meane time, for we could aime att nothing else, which was the cause that we had no great cheare. i can say that we with our comrades, who weare about , killed in the space of moons and a halfe, a thousand moons [footnote: the writer no doubt meant that they killed so many that they had bear's grease enough to last for a thousand moons.] we wanted not bear's grease to annoint ourselves, to runne the better. we beated downe the woods dayly for to discover novellties. we killed severall other beasts, as oriniacks, staggs, wild cows, carriboucks, fallow does and bucks, catts of mountains, child of the devill; in a word, we lead a good life. the snow increases dayly. there we make raketts, not to play att ball, but to exercise ourselves in a game harder and more necessary. they are broad, made like racketts, that they may goe in the snow and not sinke when they runne after the eland or other beast. we are come to the small lake, the place of rendezvous, where we found some company that weare there before us. we cottage ourselves, staying for the rest, that came every day. we stayed dayes in this place most miserable, like to a churchyard; ffor there did fall such a quantity of snow and frost, and with such a thick mist, that all the snow stoocke to those trees that are there so ruffe, being deal trees, prusse cedars, and thorns, that caused the darknesse uppon the earth that it is to be believed that the sun was eclipsed them months; ffor after the trees weare so laden with snow that fel'd afterwards, was as if it had been sifted, so by that means very light and not able to beare us, albeit we made racketts of foot long and a foot and a halfe broad; so often thinking to tourne ourselves we felld over and over againe in the snow, and if we weare alone we should have difficultie enough to rise againe. by the noyse we made, the beasts heard us a great way off; so the famine was among great many that had not provided before hand, and live upon what they gett that day, never thinking for the next. it grows wors and wors dayly. to augment our misery we receive news of the octanaks, who weare about a hundred and fifty, with their families. they had a quarell with the hurrons in the isle where we had come from some years before in the lake of the stairing hairs, and came purposely to make warres against them the next summer. but lett us see if they brought us anything to subsist withall. but are worst provided then we; having no huntsmen, they are reduced to famine. but, o cursed covetousnesse, what art thou going to doe? it should be farr better to see a company of rogues perish, then see ourselves in danger to perish by that scourg so cruell. hearing that they have had knives and hattchetts, the victualls of their poore children is taken away from them; yea, what ever they have, those doggs must have their share. they are the coursedest, unablest, the unfamous & cowarliest people that i have seene amongst fower score nations that i have frequented. o yee poore people, you shall have their booty, but you shall pay dearly for it! every one cryes out for hungar; the women become baren, and drie like wood. you men must eate the cord, being you have no more strength to make use of the bow. children, you must die. ffrench, you called yourselves gods of the earth, that you should be feared, for your interest; notwithstanding you shall tast of the bitternesse, and too happy if you escape. where is the time past? where is the plentynesse that yee had in all places and countreys? here comes a new family of these poore people dayly to us, halfe dead, for they have but the skin & boans. how shall we have strength to make a hole in the snow to lay us downe, seeing we have it not to hale our racketts after us, nor to cutt a litle woad to make a fire to keepe us from the rigour of the cold, which is extreame in those countreyes in its season. oh! if the musick that we heare could give us recreation, we wanted not any lamentable musick nor sad spectacle. in the morning the husband looks uppon his wife, the brother his sister, the cozen the cozen, the oncle the nevew, that weare for the most part found deade. they languish with cryes & hideous noise that it was able to make the haire starre on the heads that have any apprehension. good god, have mercy on so many poore innocent people, and of us that acknowledge thee, that having offended thee punishes us. but wee are not free of that cruell executioner. those that have any life seeketh out for roots, which could not be done without great difficultie, the earth being frozen or foote deepe, and the snow or above it. the greatest susibstance that we can have is of rind tree which growes like ivie about the trees; but to swallow it, we cutt the stick some foot long, tying it in faggott, and boyle it, and when it boyles one houre or two the rind or skinne comes off with ease, which we take and drie it in the smoake and then reduce it into powder betwixt two graine-stoans, and putting the kettle with the same watter uppon the fire, we make it a kind of broath, which nourished us, but becam thirstier and drier then the woode we eate. the first weeke we did eate our doggs. as we went backe uppon our stepps for to gett any thing to fill our bellyes, we weare glad to gett the boans and carcasses of the beasts that we killed. and happy was he that could gett what the other did throw away after it had ben boyled or foure times to gett the substance out of it. we contrived an other plott, to reduce to powder those boanes, the rest of crows and doggs. so putt all that together halfe foot within grounde, and so makes a fire uppon it, we covered all that very well with earth, soe seeling the heat, and boyled them againe and gave more froth then before; in the next place, the skins that weare reserved to make us shoose, cloath, and stokins, yea, most of the skins of our cottages, the castors' skins, where the children beshit them above a hundred times. we burned the haire on the coals; the rest goes downe throats, eating heartily these things most abhorred. we went so eagerly to it that our gumms did bleede like one newly wounded. the wood was our food the rest of sorrowfull time. finaly we became the very image of death. we mistook ourselves very often, taking the living for the dead and the dead for the living. we wanted strength to draw the living out of the cabans, or if we did when we could, it was to putt them four paces in the snow. att the end the wrath of god begins to appease itselfe, and pityes his poore creatures. if i should expresse all that befell us in that strange accidents, a great volume would not centaine it. here are above dead, men, women, and children. it's time to come out of such miseryes. our bodyes are not able to hold out any further. after the storme, calme comes. but stormes favoured us, being that calme kills us. here comes a wind and raine that putts a new life in us. the snow sails, the forest cleers itselfe, att which sight those that had strings left in their bowes takes courage to use it. the weather continued so dayes that we needed no racketts more, for the snow hardned much. the small staggs are [as] if they weare stakes in it after they made or capers. it's an easy matter for us to take them and cutt their throats with our knives. now we see ourselves a litle fournished, but yett have not payed, ffor it cost many their lives. our gutts became very straight by our long fasting, that they could not centaine the quantity that some putt in them. i cannot omitt the pleasant thoughts of some of them wildmen. seeing my brother allwayes in the same condition, they said that some devill brought him wherewithall to eate; but if they had seene his body they should be of another oppinion. the beard that covered his face made as if he had not altered his face. for me that had no beard, they said i loved them, because i lived as well as they. from the second day we began to walke. there came men from a strange countrey who had a dogg; the buissinesse was how to catch him cunningly, knowing well those people love their beasts. neverthelesse wee offred guifts, but they would not, which made me stubborne. that dogge was very leane, and as hungry as we weare, but the masters have not suffered so much. i went one night neere that same cottage to doe what discretion permitts me not to speake. those men weare nadoneseronons. they weare much respected that no body durst not offend them, being that we weare uppon their land with their leave. the dogg comes out, not by any smell, but by good like. i take him and bring him a litle way. i stabbed him with my dagger. i brought him to the cottage, where [he] was broyled like a pigge and cutt in peeces, gutts and all, soe every one of the family had his share. the snow where he was killed was not lost, ffor one of our company went and gott it to season the kettles. we began to looke better dayly. we gave the rendezvous to the convenientest place to celebrat that great feast. some moons after there came ambassadors from the nation of nadoneseronons, that we will call now the nation of the beefe. those men each had wives, loadened of oats, corne that growes in that countrey, of a small quantity of indian corne, with other grains, & it was to present to us, which we received as a great favour & token of friendshippe; but it had been welcome if they had brought it a month or two before. they made great ceremonys in greasing our feete and leggs, and we painted them with red. they stript us naked and putt uppon us cloath of buffe and of white castors. after this they weeped uppon our heads untill we weare wetted by their tears, and made us smoake in their pipes after they kindled them. it was not in common pipes, but in pipes of peace and of the warrs, that they pull out but very seldom, when there is occasion for heaven and earth. this done, they perfumed our cloaths and armour one after an other, and to conclude did throw a great quantity of tobbacco into the fire. we told them that they prevented us, for letting us know that all persons of their nation came to visite us, that we might dispose of them. the next morning they weare called by our interpretor. we understood not a word of their language, being quit contrary to those that we weare with. they are arrived, they satt downe. we made a place for us more elevated, to be more att our ease & to appeare in more state. we borrowed their calumet, saying that we are in their countrey, and that it was not lawfull for us to carry anything out of our countrey. that pipe is of a red stone, as bigge as a fist and as long as a hand. the small reede as long as five foot, in breadth, and of the thicknesse of a thumb. there is tyed to it the tayle of an eagle all painted over with severall couleurs and open like a fan, or like that makes a kind of a wheele when he shuts; below the toppe of the steeke is covered with feathers of ducks and other birds that are of a fine collour. we tooke the tayle of the eagle, and instead of it we hung iron bows in the same manner as the feathers weare, and a blade about it along the staffe, a hattchett planted in the ground, and that calumet over it, and all our armours about it uppon forks. every one smoaked his pipe of tobacco, nor they never goe without it. during that while there was a great silence. we prepared some powder that was litle wetted, and the good powder was precious to us. our interpreter told them in our name, "brethren, we have accepted of your guifts. yee are called here to know our will and pleasur that is such: first, we take you for our brethren by taking you into our protection, and for to shew you, we, instead of the eagles' tayle, have putt some of our armours, to the end that no ennemy shall approach it to breake the affinitie that we make now with you." then we tooke the iron off the bowes and lift them up, telling them those points shall passe over the whole world to defend and destroy your ennemyes, that are ours. then we putt the irons in the same place againe. then we tooke the sword and bad them have good courage, that by our means they should vanquish their ennemy. after we tooke the hattchett that was planted in the ground, we tourned round about, telling them that we should kill those that would warre against them, and that we would make forts that they should come with more assurance to the feast of the dead. that done, we throw powder in the fire, that had more strenght then we thought; it made the brands fly from one side to the other. we intended to make them believe that it was some of our tobacco, and make them smoake as they made us smoake. but hearing such a noise, and they seeing that fire fled of every side, without any further delay or looke for so much time as looke for the dore of the cottage, one runne one way, another an other way, ffor they never saw a sacrifice of tobacco so violent. they went all away, and we onely stayed in the place. we followed them to reassure them of their faintings. we visited them in their appartments, where they received [us] all trembling for feare, believing realy by that same meanes that we weare the devils of the earth. there was nothing but feasting for dayes. the time now was nigh that we must goe to the rendezvous; this was betwixt a small lake and a medow. being arrived, most of ours weare allready in their cottages. in dayes' time there arrived eighten severall nations, and came privatly, to have done the sooner. as we became to the number of , we held a councell. then the shouts and cryes and the encouragments weare proclaimed, that a fort should be builded. they went about the worke and made a large fort. it was about score paces in lenght and in breadth, so that it was a square. there we had a brooke that came from the lake and emptied itselfe in those medows, which had more then foure leagues in lenght. our fort might be seene afar off, and on that side most delightfull, for the great many stagges that took the boldnesse to be carried by quarters where att other times they made good cheare. in two dayes this was finished. soone yong men of the nation of the beefe arrived there, having nothing but bows and arrows, with very short garments, to be the nimbler in chasing the stagges. the iron of their arrows weare made of staggs' pointed horens very neatly. they weare all proper men, and dressed with paint. they weare the discoverers and the foreguard. we kept a round place in the midle of our cabban and covered it with long poles with skins over them, that we might have a shelter to keepe us from the snow. the cottages weare all in good order; in each , twelve companies or families. that company was brought to that place where there was wood layd for the fires. the snow was taken away, and the earth covered with deale tree bows. severall kettles weare brought there full of meate. they rested and eat above houres without speaking one to another. the considerablest of our companyes went and made speeches to them. after one takes his bow and shoots an arrow, and then cryes aloud, there speaks some few words, saying that they weare to lett them know the elders of their village weare to come the morrow to renew the friendship and to make it with the ffrench, and that a great many of their yong people came and brought them some part of their wayes to take their advice, ffor they had a minde to goe against the christinos, who weare ready for them, and they in like manner to save their wives & children. they weare scattered in many cabbans that night, expecting those that weare to come. to that purpose there was a vast large place prepared some hundred paces from the fort, where everything was ready for the receiving of those persons. they weare to sett their tents, that they bring uppon their backs. the pearches weare putt out and planted as we received the news; the snow putt aside, and the boughs of trees covered the ground. the day following they arrived with an incredible pomp. this made me thinke of the intrance that the polanders did in paris, saving that they had not so many jewells, but instead of them they had so many feathers. the ffirst weare yong people with their bows and arrows and buckler on their shoulders, uppon which weare represented all manner of figures, according to their knowledge, as of the sun and moone, of terrestriall beasts, about its feathers very artificialy painted. most of the men their faces weare all over dabbed with severall collours. their hair turned up like a crowne, and weare cutt very even, but rather so burned, for the fire is their cicers. they leave a tuff of haire upon their crowne of their heads, tye it, and putt att the end of it some small pearles or some turkey stones, to bind their heads. they have a role commonly made of a snake's skin, where they tye severall bears' paws, or give a forme to some bitts of buff's horns, and put it about the said role. they grease themselves with very thick grease, & mingle it in reddish earth, which they bourne, as we our breeks. with this stuffe they gett their haire to stand up. they cutt some downe of swan or other fowle that hath a white feather, and cover with it the crowne of their heads. their ears are pierced in places; the holes are so bigg that your little finger might passe through. they have yallow waire that they make with copper, made like a starr or a half moone, & there hang it. many have turkeys. they are cloathed with oriniack & staggs' skins, but very light. every one had the skin of a crow hanging att their guirdles. their stokens all inbrodered with pearles and with their own porke-pick worke. they have very handsome shoose laced very thick all over with a peece sowen att the side of the heele, which was of a haire of buff, which trailed above halfe a foot upon the earth, or rather on the snow. they had swords and knives of a foot and a halfe long, and hattchetts very ingeniously done, and clubbs of wood made like backswords; some made of a round head that i admired it. when they kille their ennemy they cutt off the tuffe of haire and tye it about their armes. after all, they have a white robe made of castors' skins painted. those having passed through the midle of ours, that weare ranged att every side of the way. the elders came with great gravitie and modestie, covered with buff coats which hung downe to the grounde. every one had in his hand a pipe of councell sett with precious jewells. they had a sack on their shoulders, and that that holds it grows in the midle of their stomacks and on their shoulders. in this sacke all the world is inclosed. their face is not painted, but their heads dressed as the foremost. then the women laden like unto so many mules, their burdens made a greater sheu then they themselves; but i supose the weight was not equivolent to its bignesse. they weare conducted to the appointed place, where the women unfolded their bundles, and slang their skins whereof their tents are made, so that they had houses [in] less then half an hour. after they rested they came to the biggest cabbane constituted for that purpose. there were fires kindled. our captayne made a speech of thanksgiving, which should be long to writ it. we are called to the councell of new come chiefe, where we came in great pompe, as you shall heare. first they come to make a sacrifice to the french, being gods and masters of all things, as of peace, as warrs; making the knives, the hattchetts, and the kettles rattle, etc. that they came purposely to putt themselves under their protection. moreover, that they came to bring them back againe to their countrey, having by their means destroyed their ennemyes abroad & neere. so said, they present us with guifts of castors' skins, assuring us that the mountains weare elevated, the valleys risen, the ways very smooth, the bows of trees cutt downe to goe with more ease, and bridges erected over rivers, for not to wett our feete; that the dores of their villages, cottages of their wives and daughters, weare open at any time to receive us, being wee kept them alive by our marchandises. the second guift was, yet they would die in their alliance, and that to certifie to all nations by continuing the peace, & weare willing to receive and assist them in their countrey, being well satisfied they weare come to celebrat the feast of the dead. the rd guift was for to have one of the doors of the fort opened, if neede required, to receive and keepe them from the christinos that come to destroy them; being allwayes men, and the heavens made them so, that they weare obliged to goe before to defend their country and their wives, which is the dearest thing they had in the world, & in all times they weare esteemed stout & true soldiers, & that yett they would make it appeare by going to meet them; and that they would not degenerat, but shew by their actions that they weare as valiant as their fore ffathers. the th guift was presented to us, which [was] of buff skins, to desire our assistance ffor being the masters of their lives, and could dispose of them as we would, as well of the peace as of the warrs, and that we might very well see that they did well to goe defend their owne countrey; that the true means to gett the victory was to have a thunder. they meant a gune, calling it _miniskoick_. the speech being finished, they intreated us to be att the feast. we goe presently back againe to fournish us with woaden bowls. we made foure men to carry our guns afore us, that we charged of powder alone, because of their unskillfullnesse that they might have killed their ffathers. we each of us had a paire of pistoletts and sword, a dagger. we had a role of porkepick about our heads, which was as a crowne, and two litle boyes that carryed the vessells that we had most need of; this was our dishes and our spoons. they made a place higher & most elevate, knowing our customs, in the midle for us to sitt, where we had the men lay our armes. presently comes foure elders, with the calumet kindled in their hands. they present the candles to us to smoake, and foure beautifull maids that went before us carrying bears' skins to putt under us. when we weare together, an old man rifes & throws our calumet att our feet, and bids them take the kettles from of the sire, and spoake that he thanked the sun that never was a day to him so happy as when he saw those terrible men whose words makes the earth quacke, and sang a while. having ended, came and covers us with his vestment, and all naked except his feet and leggs, he saith, "yee are masters over us; dead or alive you have the power over us, and may dispose of us as your pleasur." so done, takes the callumet of the feast, and brings it, so a maiden brings us a coale of fire to kindle it. so done, we rose, and one of us begins to sing. we bad the interpreter to tell them we should save & keepe their lives, taking them for our brethren, and to testify that we short of all our artillery, which was of twelve gunns. we draw our swords and long knives to our defence, if need should require, which putt the men in such a terror that they knewed not what was best to run or stay. we throw a handfull of powder in the fire to make a greater noise and smoake. our songs being finished, we began our teeth to worke. we had there a kinde of rice, much like oats. it growes in the watter in or foote deepe. there is a god that shews himselfe in every countrey, almighty, full of goodnesse, and the preservation of those poore people who knoweth him not they have a particular way to gather up that graine. two takes a boat and two sticks, by which they gett the eare downe and gett the corne out of it. their boat being full, they bring it to a fitt place to dry it, and that is their food for the most part of the winter, and doe dresse it thus: ffor each man a handfull of that they putt in the pott, that swells so much that it can suffice a man. after the feast was over there comes two maidens bringing wherewithall to smoake, the one the pipes, the other the fire. they offered ffirst to one of the elders, that satt downe by us. when he had smoaked, he bids them give it us. this being done, we went backe to our fort as we came. the day following we made the principall persons come together to answer to their guifts. being come with great solemnity, there we made our interpreter tell them that we weare come from the other side of the great salted lake, not to kill them but to make them live; acknowledging you for our brethren and children, whom we will love henceforth as our owne; then we gave them a kettle. the second guift was to encourage them in all their undertakings, telling them that we liked men that generously defended themselves against all their ennemyes; and as we weare masters of peace and warrs, we are to dispose the affairs that we would see an universall peace all over the earth; and that this time we could not goe and force the nations that weare yett further to condescend & submitt to our will, but that we would see the neighbouring countreys in peace and union; that the christinos weare our brethren, and have frequented them many winters; that we adopted them for our children, and tooke them under our protection; that we should send them ambassadors; that i myself should make them come, and conclude a generall peace; that we weare sure of their obedience to us; that the ffirst that should breake the peace we would be their ennemy, and would reduce them to powder with our heavenly fire; that we had the word of the christinos as well as theirs, and our thunders should serve us to make warrs against those that would not submitt to our will and desire, which was to see them good ffriends, to goe and make warrs against the upper nations, that doth not know us as yett. the guift was of hattchetts. the rd was to oblige them to receive our propositions, likewise the christinos, to lead them to the dance of union, which was to be celebrated at the death's feast and banquett of kindred. if they would continue the warrs, that was not the meanes to see us againe in their countrey. the th was that we thanked them ffor making us a free passage through their countreys. the guift was of dozen of knives. the last was of smaller trifles,-- gratters, dozen of awles, dozen of needles, dozens of looking-glasses made of tine, a dozen of litle bells, ivory combs, with a litle vermillion. butt ffor to make a recompence to the good old man that spake so favorably, we gave him a hattchett, and to the elders each a blade for a sword, and to the maidens that served us necklaces, which putt about their necks, and braceletts for their armes. the last guift was in generall for all the women to love us and give us to eat when we should come to their cottages. the company gave us great ho! ho! ho! that is, thanks. our wildmen made others for their interest. a company of about weare dispatched to warne the christinos of what we had done. i went myself, where we arrived the rd day, early in the morning. i was received with great demonstration of ffriendshippe. all that day we feasted, danced, and sing. i compared that place before to the buttery of paris, ffor the great quantity of meat that they use to have there; but now will compare it to that of london. there i received guifts of all sorts of meate, of grease more then men could carry. the custome is not to deface anything that they present. there weare above men in a fort, with a great deale of baggage on their shoulders, and did draw it upon light slids made very neatly. i have not seen them att their entrance, ffor the snow blinded mee. coming back, we passed a lake hardly frozen, and the sun [shone upon it] for the most part, ffor i looked a while steadfastly on it, so i was troubled with this seaven or eight dayes. the meane while that we are there, arrived above a thousand that had not ben there but for those two redoubted nations that weare to see them doe what they never before had, a difference which was executed with a great deale of mirth. i ffor feare of being inuied i will obmitt onely that there weare playes, mirths, and bataills for sport, goeing and coming with cryes; each plaid his part. in the publick place the women danced with melody. the yong men that indeavoured to gett a pryse, indeavoured to clime up a great post, very smooth, and greased with oyle of beare & oriniack grease. the stake was att least of foot high. the price was a knife or other thing. we layd the stake there, but whoso could catch it should have it. the feast was made to eate all up. to honnour the feast many men and women did burst. those of that place coming backe, came in sight of those of the village or fort, made postures in similitud of warrs. this was to discover the ennemy by signs; any that should doe soe we gave orders to take him, or kill him and take his head off. the prisoner to be tyed [and] to fight in retreating. to pull an arrow out of the body; to exercise and strike with a clubbe, a buckler to theire feete, and take it if neede requireth, and defende himselfe, if neede requirs, from the ennemy; being in sentery to heark the ennemy that comes neere, and to heare the better lay him downe on the side. these postures are playd while the drums beate. this was a serious thing, without speaking except by nodding or gesture. their drums weare earthen potts full of watter, covered with staggs-skin. the sticks like hammers for the purpose. the elders have bomkins to the end of their staves full of small stones, which makes a ratle, to which yong men and women goe in a cadance. the elders are about these potts, beating them and singing. the women also by, having a nosegay in their hands, and dance very modestly, not lifting much their feete from the ground, keeping their heads downewards, makeing a sweet harmony. we made guifts for that while days' time. every one brings the most exquisite things, to shew what his country affoards. the renewing of their alliances, the mariages according to their countrey coustoms, are made; also the visit of the boans of their deceased ffriends, ffor they keepe them and bestow them uppon one another. we sang in our language as they in theirs, to which they gave greate attention. we gave them severall guifts, and received many. they bestowed upon us above robs of castors, out of which we brought not five to the ffrench, being far in the countrey. this feast ended, every one retourns to his countrey well satisfied. to be as good as our words, we came to the nation of the beefe, which was seaven small journeys from that place. we promised in like maner to the christinos the next spring we should come to their side of the upper lake, and there they should meete us, to come into their countrey. we being arrived among the nation of the beefe, we wondred to finde ourselves in a towne where weare great cabbans most covered with skins and other close matts. they tould us that there weare , men. this we believed. those have as many wives as they can keepe. if any one did trespasse upon the other, his nose was cutt off, and often the crowne of his head. the maidens have all maner of freedome, but are forced to mary when they come to the age. the more they beare children the more they are respected. i have seene a man having wives. there they have no wood, and make provision of mosse for their firing. this their place is environed with pearches which are a good distance one from an other, that they gett in the valleys where the buffe use to repaire, uppon which they do live. they sow corne, but their harvest is small. the soyle is good, but the cold hinders it, and the graine very small. in their countrey are mines of copper, of pewter, and of ledd. there are mountains covered with a kind of stone that is transparent and tender, and like to that of venice. the people stay not there all the yeare; they retire in winter towards the woods of the north, where they kill a quantity of castors, and i say that there are not so good in the whole world, but not in such a store as the christinos, but far better. wee stayed there weeks, and came back with a company of people of the nation of the sault, that came along with us loaden with booty. we weare dayes before we could overtake our company that went to the lake. the spring approaches, which [is] the fitest time to kill the oriniack. a wildman and i with my brother killed that time above , besides other beasts. we came to the lake side with much paines, ffor we sent our wildmen before, and we two weare forced to make cariages dayes through the woods. after we mett with a company that did us a great deale of service, ffor they carryed what we had, and arrived att the appointed place before dayes ended. here we made a fort. att our arrivall we found att least cottages full. one very faire evening we went to finde what we hide before, which we finde in a good condition. we went about to execut our resolution, fforseeing that we must stay that yeare there, ffor which wee weare not very sorry, being resolved to know what we heard before. we waited untill the ice should vanish, but received [news] that the octanaks built a fort on the point that formes that bay, which resembles a small lake. we went towards it with all speede. we had a great store of booty which we would not trust to the wildmen, ffor the occasion makes the thiefe. we overloaded our slide on that rotten ice, and the further we went the sun was stronger, which made our trainage have more difficultie. i seeing my brother so strained, i tooke the slide, which was heavier then mine, and he mine. being in that extent above foure leagues from the ground, we sunke downe above the one halfe of the legge in the ice, and must advance in spight of our teeth. to leave our booty was to undoe us. we strived so that i hurted myselfe in so much that i could not stand up right, nor any further. this putt us in great trouble. uppon this i advised my brother to leave me with his slide. we putt the two sleds one by another. i tooke some cloathes to cover mee. after i stripped myselfe from my wett cloathes, i layed myselfe downe on the slide; my brother leaves me to the keeping of that good god. we had not above two leagues more to goe. he makes hast and came there in time and sends wildmen for me and the slids. there we found the perfidiousnesse of the octanaks. seeing us in extremitie, would prescribe us laws. we promised them whatever they asked. they came to fetch me. for eight dayes i was so tormented i thought never to recover. i rested neither day nor night; at last by means that god and my brother did use, which was by rubbing my leggs with hott oyle of bears and keeping my thigh and leggs well tyed, it came to its former strenght. after a while i came to me selfe. there comes a great company of new wildmen to seeke a nation in that land for a weighty buissinesse. they desired me to goe a long, so i prepare myselfe to goe with them. i marched well dayes; the rd day the sore begins to breake out againe, in so much that i could goe no further. those left me, albeit i came for their sake. you will see the cruelties of those beasts, and i may think that those that liveth on fish uses more inhumanities then those that feed upon flesh; neverthelesse i proceeded forwards the best i could, but knewed [not] where for the most part, the sun being my onely guide. there was some snow as yett on the ground, which was so hard in the mornings that i could not percave any tracks. the worst was that i had not a hattchett nor other arme, and not above the weight of ten pounds of victualls, without any drink. i was obliged to proceed five dayes for my good fortune. i indured much in the morning, but a litle warmed, i went with more ease. i looked betimes for som old cabbans where i found wood to make fire wherwith. i melted the snow in my cappe that was so greasy. one night i finding a cottage covered it with boughs of trees that i found ready cutt. the fire came to it as i began to slumber, which soone awaked me in hast, lame as i was, to save meselfe from the fire. my racketts, shoos, and stokens kept me my life; i must needs save them. i tooke them and flung them as farr as i could in the snow. the fire being out, i was forced to looke for them, as dark as it was, in the said snow, all naked & very lame, and almost starved both for hungar and cold. but what is it that a man cannot doe when he seeth that it concerns his life, that one day he must loose? yett we are to prolong it as much as we cane, & the very feare maketh us to invent new wayes. the fifth day i heard a noyse and thought it of a wolfe. i stood still, and soone perceived that it was of a man. many wild men weare up and downe looking for me, fearing least the bears should have devoured me. that man came neere and saluts me, and demands whether it was i. we both satt downe; he looks in my sacke to see if i had victualls, where he finds a peece as bigg as my fist. he eats this without participation, being their usuall way. he inquireth if i was a hungary. i tould him no, to shew meselfe stout and resolute. he takes a pipe of tobacco, and then above pounds of victualls he takes out of his sack, and greased, and gives it me to eate. i eat what i could, and gave him the rest. he bids me have courage, that the village was not far off. he demands if i knewed the way, but i was not such as should say no. the village was att hand. the other wildmen arrived but the day before, and after a while came by boats to the lake. the boats weare made of oriniacks' skins. i find my brother with a company of christinos that weare arrived in my absence. we resolved to cover our buissinesse better, and close our designe as if we weare going a hunting, and send them before; that we would follow them the next night, which we did, & succeeded, but not without much labor and danger; for not knowing the right way to thwart the other side of the lake, we weare in danger to perish a thousand times because of the crums of ice. we thwarted a place of leagues. we arrived on the other side att night. when we came there, we knewed not where to goe, on the right or left hand, ffor we saw no body. att last, as we with full sayle came from a deepe bay, we perceived smoake and tents. then many boats from thence came to meete us. we are received with much joy by those poore christinos. they suffered not that we trod on ground; they leade us into the midle of their cottages in our own boats, like a couple of cocks in a basquett. there weare some wildmen that followed us but late. we went away with all hast possible to arrive the sooner att the great river. we came to the seaside, where we finde an old howse all demollished and battered with boulletts. we weare told that those that came there weare of two nations, one of the wolf, the other of the long-horned beast. all those nations are distinguished by the representation of the beasts or animals. they tell us particularities of the europians. we know ourselves, and what europ is, therefore in vaine they tell us as for that. we went from isle to isle all that summer. we pluckt abundance of ducks, as of all other sort of fowles; we wanted nor fish nor fresh meate. we weare well beloved, and weare overjoyed that we promised them to come with such shipps as we invented. this place hath a great store of cows. the wildmen kill them not except for necessary use. we went further in the bay to see the place that they weare to passe that summer. that river comes from the lake and empties itselfe in the river of sagnes, called tadousack, which is a hundred leagues in the great river of canada, as where we weare in the bay of the north. we left in this place our marks and rendezvous. the wildmen that brought us defended us above all things, if we would come directly to them, that we should by no means land, and so goe to the river to the other sid, that is, to the north, towards the sea, telling us that those people weare very treacherous. now, whether they tould us this out of pollicy, least we should not come to them ffirst, & so be deprived of what they thought to gett from us [i know not]. in that you may see that the envy and envy raigns every where amongst poore barbarous wild people as att courts. they made us a mapp of what we could not see, because the time was nigh to reape among the bustards and ducks. as we came to the place where these oats growes (they grow in many places), you would think it strang to see the great number of ffowles, that are so fatt by eating of this graine that heardly they will move from it. i have seene a wildman killing ducks at once with one arrow. it is an ordinary thing to see five [or] six hundred swans together. i must professe i wondred that the winter there was so cold, when the sand boyles att the watter side for the extreame heate of the sun. i putt some eggs in that sand, and leave them halfe an houre; the eggs weare as hard as stones. we passed that summer quietly, coasting the seaside, and as the cold began, we prevented the ice. we have the commoditie of the river to carry our things in our boats to the best place, where weare most bests. this is a wandring nation, and containeth a vaste countrey. in winter they live in the land for the hunting sake, and in summer by the watter for fishing. they never are many together, ffor feare of wronging one another. they are of a good nature, & not great whore masters, having but one wife, and are [more] satisfied then any others that i knewed. they cloath themselves all over with castors' skins in winter, in summer of staggs' skins. they are the best huntsmen of all america, and scorns to catch a castor in a trappe. the circumjacent nations goe all naked when the season permitts it. but this have more modestie, ffor they putt a piece of copper made like a finger of a glove, which they use before their nature. they have the same tenents as the nation of the beefe, and their apparell from topp to toe. the women are tender and delicat, and takes as much paines as slaves. they are of more acute wits then the men, ffor the men are fools, but diligent about their worke. they kill not the yong castors, but leave them in the watter, being that they are sure that they will take him againe, which no other nation doth. they burne not their prisoners, but knock them in the head, or slain them with arrows, saying it's not decent for men to be so cruell. they have a stone of turquois from the nation of the buff and beefe, with whome they had warrs. they pollish them, and give them the forme of pearle, long, flatt, round, and [hang] them att their nose. they [find] greene stones, very fine, att the side of the same bay of the sea to the norwest. there is a nation called among themselves neuter. they speake the beefe and christinos' speech, being friends to both. those poore people could not tell us what to give us. they weare overjoyed when we sayd we should bring them commodities. we went up on another river, to the upper lake. the nation of the beefe sent us guifts, and we to them, by [the] ambassadors. in the midle of winter we joyned with a company of the fort, who gladly received us. they weare resolved to goe to the ffrench the next spring, because they weare quite out of stocke. the feast of the dead consumed a great deale of it. they blamed us, saying we should not trust any that we did not know. they upon this asked if we are where the trumpetts are blowne. we sayd yea, and tould that they weare a nation not to be trusted, and if we came to that sea we should warre against them, becaus they weare bad nation, and did their indeavour to tak us to make us their slaves. in the beginning of spring there came a company of men that came to see us from the elders, and brought us furrs to intice us to see them againe. i cannot omitt [a] pleasant encounter that happened to my brother as we weare both in a cottag. two of the nation of the beefe came to see us; in that time my brother had some trade in his hands. the wildmen satt neere us. my brother shews unto them the image which [re]presented the flight of joseph and holy mary with the child jesus, to avoid the anger of herod, and the virgin and child weare riding the asse, and joseph carrying a long cloake. my brother shewing that animal, naming it _tatanga_, which is a buffe, the wildmen, seeing the representation of a woman, weare astonished and weeps, pulls their haire, and tumbles up and downe to the fire, so continued half an houre, till he was in a sweat, and wetted with his tears the rest of the wildmen that weare there. one of them went out of the cottage. my brother and i weare surprized; thought they might have seene a vision, ffor instantly the man putt his hands on his face, as if he should make the signe of the crosse. now as he came to himselfe, he made us understand, ffor i began to know much of their speech, that first we weare devills, knowing all what is and what was done; moreover, that he had his desire, that was his wif and child, whome weare taken by the nation of the beefe foure years agoe. so he tooke the asse for the nation of the beefe, the virgin mary for the picture of his wife, and jesus for his son, and joseph for himselfe, saying, "there am i with my long robe, seeking for my wife and child." by our ambassadors i came to know an other lake which is northerly of their countrey. they say that it's bigger then all the rest. the upper end is allways frozen. their ffish comes from those parts. there are people that lives there and dare not trade in it towards the south. there is a river so deepe and blacke that there is no bottome. they say that fish goes neither out nor in to that river. it is very warme, and if they durst navigate in it, they should not come to the end in dayes. that river comes from the lake, and the inhabitants makes warrs against the birds, that defends & offends with theire bills that are as sharpe as sword. this i cannot tell for truth, but told me. all the circumjacent neighbours do incourage us, saying that they would venter their lives with us, for which we weare much overjoyed to see them so freely disposed to goe along with us. here nothing but courage. "brother, doe not lye, ffor the ffrench will not believe thee." all men of courage and vallour, lett them fetch commodities, and not stand lazing and be a beggar in the cabbane. it is the way to be beloved of women, to goe and bring them wherewithall to be joyfull. we present guifts to one and to another for to warne them to that end that we should make the earth quake, and give terror to the iroquoits if they weare so bold as to shew themselves. the christinos made guifts that they might come with us. this was graunted unto them, to send boats, to testifie that they weare retained slaves among the other nations, although they furnish them with castors. the boats ready, we embarque ourselves. we weare . there was not seene such a company to goe downe to the ffrench. there weare above christinos' boats that brought us their castors, in hopes that the people should give some marchandises for them. att their retourne the biggest boats could carry onely the man and his wife, and could scarce carry with them castors, so little weare their boats. in summer time i have seene men goe to warrs, and each man his boat, ffor they are that makes the least boats. the company that we had filled above boats. there weare boats that caryed seaven men, and the least two. it was a pleasur to see that imbarquing, ffor all the yong women went in stark naked, their hairs hanging down, yett it is not their coustoms to doe soe. i thought it their shame, but contrary they thinke it excellent & old custome good. they sing a loud and sweetly. they stood in their boats, and remained in that posture halfe a day, to encourage us to come and lodge with them againe. therefore they are not alltogether ashamed to shew us all, to intice us, and inanimate the men to defend themselves valliantly and come and injoy them. in two dayes we arrived att the river of the sturgeon, so called because of the great quantity of sturgeons that we tooke there. here we weare to make our provissions to passe the lake some dayes. in the said tearme wee dryed up above a million of sturgeons. [footnote: he no doubt meant to say, above "un mille," or "above a thousand."] the women followed us close; after our abode there two dayes they overtooke us. we had severall fals allarums, which putt us in severall troubles. they woundred to have found an oryanck dead uppon the place, with a boullet in his body. there thousand lyes weare forged. therefore we goe from thence, but before we come to the longpoint whereof we spoak before, the wildmen called it _okinotoname_, we perceive smoake. we goe to discover what it was, and by ill looke we found it was a iroquoits boat of seaven men, who doubtlesse stayed that winter in the lake of the hurrons, and came there to discover somewhat. i cannot say that they weare the first that came there. god graunt that they may be the last. as they saw us, away they, as swift as their heels could drive. they left their boat and all. they to the woods, and weare pursued, but in vaine, ffor they weare gone before three houres. the pursuers came backe; the one brings a gun, the one a hattchett, the other a kettle, and so forth. the councell was called, where it was decreed to go backe and shooke off to goe downe to the ffrench till the next yeare. this vexed us sore to see such a fleete and such an opportunity come to nothing, foreseeing that such an other may be not in tenne years. we weare to persuade them to the contrary, but checked soundly, saying we weare worse then ennemyes by perswading them to goe and be slained. in this we must lett theire feare passe over, and we back to the river of the sturgeons, where we found our wives, very buissie in killing those creatures that comes there to multiplie. we dayly heare some newe reporte. all every where ennemy by fancy. we in the meane time buissie ourselves in the good of our country, which will recompence us badly ffor such toyle and labour. twelve dayes are passed, in which time we gained some hopes of faire words. we called a councell before the company was disbanded, where we represented, if they weare discouvers, they had not vallued the losse of their kettle, knowing well they weare to gett another where their army layed, and if there should be an army it should appeare and we in such an number, they could be well afraid and turne backe. our reasons weare hard and put in execution. the next day we embarqued, saving the christinos, that weare afraid of a sight of a boat made of another stuff then theirs, that they went back as we came where the iroquoits' boat was. our words proved true and so proceeded in our way. being come nigh the sault, we found a place where of these men sweated, & for want of covers buried themselves in the sand by the watter side to keepe their bodyes from the flyes called maringoines, which otherwise had killed them with their stings. we thwarted those great lakes with great pleasur, having the wind faire with us. it was a great satisfaction to see so many boats, and so many that never had before commerce with the ffrench. so my brother and i thought wee should be wellcomed. but, o covetousnesse, thou art the cause of many evils! we made a small sayle to every boate; every one strived to be not the last. the wind was double wayes favourable to us. the one gave us rest, the other advanced us very much, which wee wanted much because of the above said delay. we now are comed to the cariages and swift streames to gett the lake of the castors. we made them with a courage, promptitud, and hungar which made goe with hast as well as the wind. we goe downe all the great river without any encounter, till we came to the long sault, where my brother some years before made a shipwrake. being in that place we had worke enough. the first thing wee saw was severall boats that the ennemy had left att the riverside. this putt great feare in the hearts of our people. nor they nor we could tell what to doe; and seeing no body appeared we sent to discover what they weare. the discovers calls us, and bids us come, that those who weare there could doe us no harme. you must know that ffrench made a plott with foure algonquins to make a league with three score hurrons for to goe and wait for the iroquoits in the passage att their retourne with their castors on their ground, hoping to beat and destroy them with ease, being destitut of necessary things. if one hath his gun he wants his powder, and so the rest. att the other side without doubt had notice that the travelers weare abroad, and would not faile to come downe with a company, and to make a valiant deede and heroick action was to destroy them all, and consequently make the ffrench tremble as well as the wildmen, ffor the one could not live without the other; the one for his commodities, the other ffor his castors; so that the iroqoits pretending to wait for us at the passage came thither fflocking. the ffrench and wild company, to putt the iroquoit in some feare, and hinder his coming there so often with such confidence, weare resolved to lay a snare against him. that company of souldiers being come to the farthest place of that long sault without being discovered, thought allready to be conquerors making cariage, having abroad men to make discoveries, but mett as many ennemyes. they assaulted each other, and the iroquoits found themselves weake, left there their lives and bodyes, saving that made their escape, went to give notice to of theirs that made ready as they heard the gunns, to help their foreguard. the ffrench seeing such great odds made a retreat, and warned by foure algonquins that a fort was built not afar off, built by his nation the last yeare, they fled into it in an ill houre. in the meane while the iroquoits consulted what they should doe; they sent to iroquoits of the lower nation and orijonot that weare not afar off. now they would asault the ffrench in their ffort, the ffort not holding but men. the hurrons could not come in and could not avoid the shott of the ennemy. then the ffrench pulled downe the fort, and closed together they stoutly began to worke. those that the ffrench had killed, cutt their heads off & put them uppon long poles of their fort. this skermish dured two dayes & two nights. the iroquoits finds themselves plagued, ffor the ffrench had a kind of bucklers and shelters. now arrives men that they did not think of in the least. here is nothing but cryes, fire, and flame day & night. here is not to be doubted, the one to take the other, the one to defend himselfe till death. the hurrons seeing such a company submitted to the ennemyes, but are like to pay for their cowardise, being in their hands weare tyed, abused, smitten, and burned as if they weare taken by force, ffor those barbarous weare revenged on their boanes as any was wounded or killed in the battaille. in this great extremity our small company of one and twenty did resist days against men, and the two foremost dayes against which weare seaven dayes together without intermission, & the worst was that they had no watter, as we saw, ffor they made a hole in the ground out of which they gott but litle because they weare on a hill. it was to be pitied. there was not a tree but was shot with buletts. the iroquoits come with bucklers to make a breach. the ffrench putt fire to a barill of powder, thinking to shoake the iroquoits or make him goe back; but did to their great prejudice, for it fell againe in their fort, which made an end of their combat. uppon this the ennemy enters, kills and slains all that he finds, so one did not make an escape, saveing one that was found alive; but he stayed not long, for in a short time after his fortune was as the rest; for as he was brought to one of the forts of the irokoits, as he was bid to sit down he finds a pistolet by him, and takes it at adventure, not knowing whether it was charged or no. he puts the end to the breast of him that tyed him, and killd him in the presence of all his camerades; but without any more adoe he was burnt very cruelly. all the french though dead were tyed to posts along the river side, and the algonquins. as for the hurons they were burnt at their discretion. some neverthelesse escaped to bring the certain newes how all passed. [footnote: frenchmen massacred at long sault. see introduction.] it was a terrible spectacle to us, for wee came there dayes after that defeat, which saved us without doubt. i beleeve for certain that the iroqoits lost many men, having to doe with such brave and valiant souldiers as that company was. wee visited that place and there was a fine fort; three were about the other two. wee went down the river without making any carriage, and wee adventured very much. as soon as wee were at the lower end many of our wildmen had a mind to goe back and not to goe any further, thinking really that all the french were killed. as for my brother and i, wee did fear very much that after such a thing the pride of the enemy would make them attempt anything upon the habitations of mount royall, which is but leagues from thence. wee did advise them to make a ffort, or to put us in one of the enemies', and to send immediately two very light boats, that could not be overtaken if the enemy should discover them; and that being arrived at the habitation, they should make them shoot the peeces of ordnance, and that as soon as the night should come wee would embarque our selves and should hear the noise, or else wee should take councell of what wee should doe, and stay for them at the height of the isle of mount royall; which was done accordingly without any hazard, for all the enemies were gone dispairing of our comeing down, and for what they had done and for what they had lost, which by the report of some hurons was more then four score men; and if the french had had a fort flanke & some water they had resisted the enemy miraculously and forced them to leave them for want of powder and shott and also of other provisions. they were furnished for the whole summer. our two boats did goe, but the rest were soe impatient that they resolved to follow them, being willing to run the same hazard; and wee arrived the next morning and were in sight when the peeces were shott off, with a great deale of joy to see so great a number of boats that did almost cover the whole river. wee stayd dayes at mont-royall, and then wee went down to the three rivers. the wildmen did aske our advice whether it was best for them to goe down further. we told them no, because of the dangers that they may meet with at their returne, for the irokoits could have notice of their comeing down, and so come and lay in ambush for them, and it was in the latter season, being about the end of august. well, as soon as their businesse was done, they went back again very well satisfyed and wee very ill satisfied for our reception, which was very bad considering the service wee had done to the countrey, which will at another time discourage those that by our example would be willing to venture their lives for the benefit of the countrey, seeing a governor that would grow rich by the labours and hazards of others. before i goe further i have a mind to let you know the fabulous beleafe of those poore people, that you may see their ignorance concerning the soul's immortality, being separated from the body. the kindred and the friends of the deceased give notice to the others, who gather together and cry for the dead, which gives warning to the young men to take the armes to give some assistance and consolation to the deceased. presently the corps is covered with white skins very well tyed. afterwards all the kindred come to the cottage of the deceased and begin to mourn and lament. after they are weary of making such musick the husbands or friends of the deceased send their wives for gifts to pacifie a little the widdow and to dry her tears. those guifts are of skins and of what they can get, for at such a ceremony they are very liberall. as soon as that is done and the night comes, all the young men are desired to come and doe what they will to have done to them. so that when darknesse has covered the whole face of the earth they come all singing with staves in their hands for their armes, and after they are set round the cabbin, begin to knock and make such a noise that one would thinke they have a mind to tear all in peeces, and that they are possessed of some devills. all this is done to expell and frighten the soule out of that poor and miserable body that she might not trouble his carcase nor his bones, and to make it depart the sooner to goe and see their ancestors, and to take possession of their immortall glory, which cannot be obtained but a fortnight towards the setting of the sun. the first step that she makes is of seven dayes, to begin her course, but there are many difficulties, ffor it is through a very thick wood full of thorns, of stones and flints, which [brings] great trouble to that poor soule. at last having overcome all those dangers and toyles she comes to a river of about a quarter of a mile broad where there is a bridge made onely of one planke, being supported by a beame pointed at one end, which is the reason that planke rises and falls perpetually, having not any rest nor stay, and when the soule comes near the side of that river, she meets with a man of extraordinary stature, who is very leane and holds a dagger of very hard wood and very keen in his hands, and speakes these words when he sees the petitioning soule come near: _pale_, _pale_, which signifies, goe, goe; and at every word the bridge ballances, and rises his knife, and the traveller offering himselfe, receives a blow by which he is cut in two, and each halfe is found upon that moving, and according as he had lived they stay upon it; that is, if his body was valiant the passage was soon made free to him, for the two halfes come together and joyn themselves again. so passe to the other side where she finds a bladder of bear's grease to grease herselfe and refresh herselfe for that which she is to do, which being done she finds a wood somewhat cleerer and a straight road that she must goe, and for dayes neither goe to the right nor to the left hand, where at last being arrived she finds a very great and cleer fire, through which she must resolve to passe. that fire is kindled by the young men that dyed since the beginning of the world to know whether those that come have loved the women or have been good huntsmen; and if that soule has not had any of those rare vertues she burnes and broiles the sole of her feet by going through the fire; but quite contrary if she has had them qualityes, she passes through without burning her selfe in the least, and from that so hot place she finds grease and paint of all sorts of colour with which she daubs and makes herselfe beautifull, to come to that place so wished for. but she has not yet all done, nor made an end of her voyage; being so dress'd she continues her course still towards the same pole for the space of two dayes in a very cleer wood, and where there is very high and tall trees of which most be oakes, which is the reason that there is great store of bears. all along that way they do nothing else but see their enemies layd all along upon the ground, that sing their fatall song for having been vanquished in this world and also in the other, not daring to be so bold as to kill one of those animalls, and feed onely upon the down of these beasts. being arrived, if i may say, at the doore of that imaginarie paradise, they find a company of their ancestors long since deceased, by whom they are received with a great deale of ceremony, and are brought by so venerable a company within halfe a daye's journey of the place of the meeting, and all along the rest of the way they discourse of things of this world that are passd; for you must know they travell halfe a day without speaking one word, but keepe a very deep silence, for, said they, it is like the goslings to confound one another with words. as soon as they are arrived they must have a time to come to themselves, to think well upon what they are to speak without any precipitation, but with judgement, so that they are come where all manner of company with drumms & dryd bumpkins, full of stones and other such instruments. the elders that have brought her there cover her with a very large white skin, and colour her leggs with vermillion and her feet likewise, and so she is received amongst the predestinates. there is a deep silence made as soon as she is come in, and then one of the elders makes a long speech to encourage the young people to go a hunting to kill some meat to make a feast for entertainment of the soul of their countryman, which is put in execution with a great deal of diligence and hast; and while the meat is boyling or roasting, and that there is great preparations made for the feast, the young maidens set out themselves with the richest jewells and present the beesome to the new-comer. a little while after the kettles are filled, there is feasting every where, comedies acted, and whatsoever is rare is there to be seene; there is dancing every where. now remaines nothing but to provide that poor soule of a companion, which she does presently, for she has the choice of very beautifull women, and may take as many as she pleases, which makes her felicity immortall. by this you may see the silly beleefe of these poor people. i have seen right-minded jesuites weep bitterly hearing me speake of so many nations that perish for want of instruction; but most of them are like the wildmen, that thinke they offend if they reserve any thing for the next day. i have seen also some of the same company say, "alas, what pity 'tis to loose so many castors. is there no way to goe there? the fish and the sauce invite us to it; is there no meanes to catch it? oh, how happy should i be to go in those countreys as an envoye, being it is so good a countrey." that is the relation that was made me severall times by those wildmen, for i thought they would never have done. but let us come to our arrivall againe. the governour, seeing us come back with a considerable summe for our own particular, and seeing that his time was expired and that he was to goe away, made use of that excuse to doe us wrong & to enrich himselfe with the goods that wee had so dearly bought, and by our meanes wee made the country to subsist, that without us had beene, i beleeve, oftentimes quite undone and ruined, and the better to say at his last beeding, no castors, no ship, & what to doe without necessary commodities. he made also my brother prisoner for not having observed his orders, and to be gone without his leave, although one of his letters made him blush for shame, not knowing what to say, but that he would have some of them at what price soever, that he might the better maintain his coach & horses at paris. he fines us four thousand pounds to make a fort at the three rivers, telling us for all manner of satisfaction that he would give us leave to put our coat of armes upon it, and moreover , pounds for the country, saying that wee should not take it so strangely and so bad, being wee were inhabitants and did intend to finish our days in the same country with our relations and friends. but the bougre did grease his chopps with it, and more, made us pay a custome which was the th part, which came to , pounds, so that wee had left but , pounds, and took away l. , . was not he a tyrant to deal so with us, after wee had so hazarded our lives, & having brought in lesse then years by that voyage, as the factors of the said country said, between and , pistolls? for they spoke to me in this manner: "in which country have you been? from whence doe you come? for wee never saw the like. from whence did come such excellent castors? since your arrivall is come into our magazin very near , pounds tournois of that filthy merchandise, which will be prized like gold in france." and them were the very words that they said to me. seeing ourselves so wronged, my brother did resolve to goe and demand justice in france. it had been better for him to have been contented with his losses without going and spend the rest in halfe a year's time in france, having l. , that he left with his wife, that was as good a houswife as he. there he is in france; he is paid with fair words and with promise to make him goe back from whence he came; but he feeing no assurance of it, did engage himselfe with a merchant of rochell, who was to send him a ship the next spring. in that hope he comes away in a fisher boat to the pierced island, some leagues off from the isle d'eluticosty, [footnote: _eluticosty_, anticosti, an island at the mouth of the river st. lawrence.] the place where the ship was to come; that was to come whilst he was going in a shallop to quebucq, where i was to goe away with him to the rendezvous, being he could not do anything without me; but with a great deel of difficulty it proved, so that i thought it possible to goe tast of the pleasures of france, and by a small vessell that i might not be idle during his absence. he presently told me what he had done, and what wee should doe. wee embarked, being nine of us. in a few dayes wee came to the pierced island, where wee found severall shipps newly arrived; & in one of them wee found a father jesuit that told us that wee should not find what wee thought to find, and that he had put a good order, and that it was not well done to distroy in that manner a country, and to wrong so many inhabitants. he advised me to leave my brother, telling me that his designs were pernicious. wee see ourselves frustrated of our hopes. my brother told me that wee had store of merchandize that would bring much profit to the french habitations that are in the cadis. i, who was desirous of nothing but new things, made no scruple. wee arrived at st. peter, in the isle of cape breton, at the habitation of monsr. denier, where wee delivered some merchandizes for some originack skins; from thence to camseau where every day wee were threatned to be burned by the french; but god be thanked, wee escaped from their hands by avoiding a surprize. and in that place my brother told me of his designe to come and see new england, which our servants heard, and grumbled and laboured underhand against us, for which our lives were in very great danger. wee sent some of them away, and at last with much labour & danger wee came to port royall, which is inhabited by the french under the english government, where some few dayes after came some english shipps that brought about our designes, where being come wee did declare our designes. wee were entertained, and wee had a ship promissed us, and the articles drawn, and wee did put to sea the next spring for our discovery, and wee went to the entry of hudson's streight by the degree. wee had knowledge and conversation with the people of those parts, but wee did see and know that there was nothing to be done unlesse wee went further, and the season of the yeare was far spent by the indiscretion of our master, that onely were accustomed to see some barbadoes sugers, and not mountaines of suger candy, which did frighten him, that he would goe no further, complaining that he was furnished but for months, & that he had neither sailes, nor cord, nor pitch, nor towe, to stay out a winter. seeing well that it was too late, he would goe no further, so brought us back to the place from whence wee came, where wee were welcome, although with great losse of goods & hope, but the last was not quite lost. wee were promissed shipps for a second voyage. they were made fit and ready, and being the season of the yeare was not yet come to be gone, one of them shipps was sent to the isle of sand, there to fish for the basse [footnote: this fishing expedition was to the well-known sable island. in "the king granted medard chouart, sieur des grozelliers, and pierre esprit, sieur des radision, the privilege of establishing fisheries for white porpoises and seal in the river st. lawrence in new france."] to make oyle of it, where wee came in very bad weather, and the ship was lost in that island, but the men were saved. the expectation of that ship made us loose our nd voyage, which did very much discourage the merchants with whom wee had to doe. they went to law with us to make us recant the bargaine that wee had made with them. after wee had disputed a long time it was found that the right was on our side, and wee innocent of what they did accuse us. so they endeavoured to come to an agreement, but wee were betrayed by our own party. in the meantime the commissioners of the king of great brittain arrived in that place, and one of them would have us goe with him to new yorke, and the other advised us to come to england and offer our selves to the king, which wee did. those of new england in generall made profers unto us of what ship wee would if wee would goe on in our designes; but wee answered them that a scalded cat fears the water though it be cold. wee are now in the passage, and he that brought us, which was one of the commissioners called collonell george carteret, was taken by the hollanders, and wee arrived in england in a very bad time for the plague and the warrs. being at oxford, wee went to sir george carteret, who spoke to his majestie, who gave us good hopes that wee should have a ship ready for the next spring, and that the king did allow us shillings a week for our maintenance, and wee had chambers in the town by his order, where wee stayed months. afterwards the king came to london and sent us to windsor, where wee stayed the rest of the winter. wee are sent for from that place, the season growing neare, and put into the hands of sir peter colleton. the ship was got ready something too late, and our master was not fit for such a designe. but the hollanders being come to the river of thames had stopp'd the passage, soe wee lost that opportunity. so wee were put off till the next yeare, & a little while after that same ship was sent to virginia and other places to know some news of the barbadoes, and to be informed if that island was not in danger; which if it had been lost, had taken from the english ladyes the meanes or the pleasure of drinking french wine. those of burdeaux & of rochell were great loosers in the expectation of the ship, that was not gone to the isle of sand, but to holland. wee lost our second voyage, for the order was given to late for the fitting another ship, which cost a great deale of money to noe purpose. the third yeare wee went out with a new company in small vessells, my brother in one & i in another, & wee went together leagues from the north of ireland, where a sudden great storme did rise & put us asunder. the sea was soe furious or houres after that it did almost overturne our ship, so that wee were forced to cut our masts rather then cutt our lives; but wee came back safe, god be thanked, and the other, i hope, is gone on his voyage, god be with him. i hope to embarke myselfe by the helpe of god this fourth yeare, & i beseech him to grant me better successe then i have had hitherto, & beseech him to give me grace & to make me partaker of that everlasting happinesse which is the onely thing a man ought to look after. i have here put the names of severall nations amongst which i have been for the most part, which i think may extend to some leagues by the reckoning of my travells. the names of the nations that live in the south:-- avieronons. khionontateronons. oscovarahronoms. aviottronons. ohcrokonanechronons. huattochronoms. anontackeronons. ahondironons. skinchiohronoms. sonontueronons. ougmarahronoms. attitachronons. oyongoironons. akrahkuaeronoms. ontorahronons. audastoueronons. oneronoms. aoveatsiovaenhronons. konkhaderichonons. eressaronoms. attochingochronons. andonanchronons. attionendarouks. maingonis. kionontateronons. ehriehronoms. socoquis. ouendack. tontataratonhronoms. pacoiquis. ariotachronoms. all these nations are sedentaries, and live upon corn and other grains, by hunting and fishing, which is plentifull, and by the ragouts of roots. there were many destroyed by the iroquoits, and i have seen most of those that are left. the names of the nations that live in the north:-- chisedeck. nipifiriniens. piffings. bersiamites. tivifeimi. malhonniners. sagfeggons. outimaganii. afinipour. attikamegues. ouachegami. trinivoick. ovaouchkairing or mitchitamon. nafaonakouetons. algonquins. orturbi. pontonatemick. kischeripirini. ovasovarin. escouteck. minifigons. atcheligonens. panoestigons. kotakoaveteny. annikouay. nadoucenako. kinoncheripirini. otanack. titascons. matouchkarini. ouncisagay. christinos. ountchatarounongha. abaouicktigonions. nadouceronons. sagahigavirini. roquay. quinipigousek. sagnitaovigama. mantonech. tatanga. the two last are sedentary and doe reap, and all the rest are wandering people, that live by their hunting and fishing, and some few of rice that they doe labour for, and a great many of them have been destroyed by the iroquoites. besides all the above-named nations i have seen eight or nine more since my voyages. voyages of peter esprit radisson. _the relation of a voyage made by peter raddisson, esquire, to the north parts of america, in the years and ._ in the first place, i think myself oblidg'd to vindicat myself from the imputation of inconstancy for acting in this voyage against the english intrest, and in the yeare against the french intrest, for which, if i could not give a very good account, i might justly lye under the sentenc of capritiousness & inconstancy. but severall persons of probity and good repute, being sensible what my brother-in-law, mr chouard des groisiliers, and myself performed in severall voyadges for the gentlemen conserned in the hudson's bay trade, relating to the comers of bever skins, and the just cause of dissattisfaction which both of us had, to make us retire into france. i have no cause to believe that i in the least deserve to bee taxed with lightness or inconstancy for the imployments wherein i since ingaged, although they were against the interests of the said company, for it is suffitiently known that my brother nor myself omitted nothing that lay in our power, having both of us severall times adventur'd our lives, and did all that was possible for persons of courage and honour to perform for the advantage and profit of the said company, ever since the yeare unto the yeare . but finding that all our advise was slighted and rejected, and the councill of other persons imbrac'd and made use of, which manifestly tended to the ruin of the setlement of the beaver trade, & that on all occasions wee were look'd upon as useless persons, that deserved neither reward nor incouragement, this unkinde usage made us at last take a resolution, though with very great reluctancy, to return back into france; for in the maine it is well knowne that i have a greater inclination for the interest of england than for that of ffrance, being marry'd at london unto an honorable familly, [footnote: he married, between and , for his second wife, the daughter of sir john kirke. he was one of the original founders of the hudson's bay company, having subscribed l. to the common stock in . he was one of the seven members on the committee of management for the company, and was no doubt instrumental in securing to radisson a permanent pension of , livres a year, after he left the service of france. in all probability, radisson emigrated to canada with his family in , for in that year his son's name thus appears as holding a land patent: " . another patent of confirmation to 'sieur etienne volant radisson' of the concession made to him the th of october, , of the isles, islets, and 'baitures' not granted, that are to be found across lake st peter, above the islands granted to the 'sieur sorel,' from the edge of the north channel, as far as the great middle channel, called the channel of platte island," etc., etc. as peter radisson's will can nowhere be found at somerset house, london, he probably died in canada.] whos alliance had also the deeper ingadged me in the intrest of the nation. morover, all my friends know the tender love i had for my wife, and that i declared unto them how much i was troubled in being reduced to the necessity of leaving her. i hope thes considerations will vindicate my proceedings touching the severall interests which i espous'd, and what i shall relate in this ensuing narrative touching my proceedings in regard of the english in this voyadge in the river, and also in nelson's harbour in the year , and will justify me against what has ben reported to my prejudice to render me odious unto the nation. for it will appeare that having had the good fortune to defend my setlment against those which at that time i look'd upon as my ennemy's, & defeated them by frustrating their designes, i improv'd the advantage i had over them the best i could; yet would they do me right, they must own that they had more just cause to give me thanks than to complaine of me, having ever used them kindly as long as they pleas'd to live with me. i freely confess i used all the skill i could to compass my designes, & knowing very well what these gentlemen intended against me, i thought it better to surprise them than that they should me; knowing that if they had ben afore hand with me, i should have passed my time wors with them than they did with me. i come now to discours of my voyadge, not thinking it materiall heere to mention the campaign i made in the french fleet, since i left england, in the expeditions for guinea, tobaga, [footnote: this expedition was commanded by jean, count d'estrees. he reduced the island of tobaga. he was made a marshal of france, and sent out, august, , as viceroy over america.] and other occasions wherein i was concern'd before i ingadged in this voyadge. at the time my brother-in-law and i were dissattisfy'd with the hudson's bay company, wee were severall times invited by the late monsieur colbert to return back for france, with large promises that wee should bee very kindly entertain'd. wee refused a great while all the offers that were made us; but seeing our businesse went wors and wors with the company, without any likelyhood of finding any better usage, at last wee accepted the offer that was made unto us, of paying us lewi-dors redy money, of discharging all our debts, and to give us good employments. these conditions being agreed upon, wee passed over into france in xber, . as soon as wee got to paris wee waited upon monsieur colbert. hee reproached us for preferring the english interest before that of ffrance; but having heard our defence, and observ'd by what wee said unto him of our discoverys in the northern parts of america, and of the acquaintance wee had with the natives, how fit wee might bee for his purpos, hee soon assur'd us of his favor & protection, & also of the king's pardon for what was past, with an intire restoration unto the same state wee were in before wee left france, upon condition that wee should employ our care & industry for the advancement & increas of the comers of the beaver trade in the french collonies in canada. hee also confirmed the promis had ben made us at london, of the gratuity of french pistolls, that all our debts should bee discharg'd, & that wee should bee put into employments. our letters pattents of pardon & restoration were forthwith dispatch't, & monsieur colbert would have it expressly mention'd in them, for what caus the king granted them, viz., to employ the greatest of our skill & industry with the natives, for the utillity & advancement of the beaver trade in the french collonies. the peeces of gould was pay'd us, & all things else promised was perform'd, excepting only the employment, for the which wee were made to attend a great while, and all to no purpos. but at last i perceaved the cause of this delay, & that my marrying in england made me bee suspected, because my wife remained there. monsr. colbert having delayed us a long time with sundry excuses, one day hee explained himself, saying i should bring my wife over into france if i expected that a full confidence should bee put in mee. i represented unto him that it was nott a thing fully in my power to doe, my wife's father refusing to give me the liberty of bringing her over into france; but i promiss'd him to use my best endeavors to that effect. in the meantime monsr. colbert intimated that hee would have my brother-in-law & myself make a voyadge unto canada, to advise with the governour what was best ther to bee done, assuring us that hee would write unto him in our behalf. wee undertook the voyadge, but being arriv'd at quebeck, wee found that jelosy & interest which some persons had over those that had the absolute command, at that time, of the trade in canada, & whos creatures were imploy'd for new discoverys, ordered things so that the count de frontinac, the governor, took no care to perform what wee had ben promis'd hee should have don for us; so that finding myself slighted, i left my brother-in-law with his familly in canada, & returned back again for france, intending to serve at sea in the fleet. accordingly i there passed the campaigns above mention'd untill wee suffer'd shippwreck at the isle d'ane, from which being escaped, i returned with the rest of the army unto brest, in the moneth of july, having lost all my equipage in this disaster. the vice admirall & the intendant wrote to court in my favour, & upon the good character they were pleas'd to give of me, i receav'd a gratuity of louis d'ors upon the king's account, to renew my equipage; & these gentlemen also were pleased to tell me i should ere long have the command of a man of warr; but thinking that could not so easily bee, i desired leave to make a turn over into england under pretext of visitting my wife & to make a farther tryall of bringing her over into france, whereupon i had my pass granted, with a farther gratuity of louis d'ors towards the charges of my voyage. i was comanded to make what dispatch possible might bee, & espetially to mind the business of bringing my wife along with me, & then i shold not doubt of having good imployments. i set forwards, & arrived in london the th of july, & amongst other discours told my father-in-law, sir john kirk, of what great importance it was unto me of making my fortune in france to take my wife along with me thither; notwithstanding, hee would by no means give his consent thereunto, but desired me to write to my friends in france concerning some pretention hee had against the inhabitants of canada, [footnote: john kirke and his elder brothers, sir david, sir lewis, and others, held a large claim against canada, or rather france, dating back to , which amounted in , including principal and interest, to over--l. . .] which i did. i endeavor'd also, during my stay at london, both by myself & by friends, to try if the gentlemen of the company might conceave any better thoughts of me, & whether i might not by some means or other be restor'd unto their good liking; but all my endevors proved in vaine. i found no likelyhood of effecting what i so much desir'd, therefore i return'd into france & arrived at brest the th of ber, .... having inform'd the vice admirall & the intendant of the litle successe i had in my voyadge, & that it was not through any neglect of myne, they order'd me to goe give an account of it unto the marquis de signelay, which i did; & telling him i could not prevaile to bring my wife over along with me, hee revil'd me, & told me hee knew very well what an inclination i had still for the english intrest, saying with all that i must not expect any confidence should bee put in me, nor that i shold not have the least imployment, whilst my wife stay'd in england. neverthelesse, hee promis'd to speak to his father, monsieur colbert, touching my affaires, which hee also performed; & afterwards waiting upon him, hee spake unto me much after the same rate his sonn, the marquis de signelay had don before, as to what concerned my wife, & order'd me to goe unto monsieur bellinzany, his chief agent for the businesse of trade, who would farther inform me of his intentions. meeting with monsieur belinzany, hee told me that monsieur colbert thought it necessary that i should conferr with monsieur de la chesnay, [footnote: m. du chesneau was appointed may, , intendant of justice, police, and finance of canada, acadia, and isles of newfoundland.] a canada merchant who mannadg'd all the trade of thos parts, & who was then at paris, that with him some mesures should bee taken to make the best advantage of our discoveries & intreagues in the northern parts of canada, to advance the beaver trade, & as much as possible might bee to hinder all strangers from driving that trade to the prejudice of the french collonies. the said monsr. belinzany also told me i could not more oblige monsr. colbert, nor take any better cours to obtaine his friendship by any servis whatsoever, than by using all my skill & industry in drawing all the natives of thos northern parts of america to traffick with & to favor the french, & to hinder & disswade them from trading with strangers, assuring me of a great reward for the servis i should render the state upon this account, & that mr. de la chesiiay would furnish me in cannada with all things necessary for executing what dessignes wee should conclude upon together to this intent. according to these instructions i went unto mr. de la chesnay. wee discours'd a long time together, & after severall inquiry's of the state of the countrys that i had most frequented, having communicated unto him my observations, hee propos'd unto me to undertake to establish a treaty for the beaver trade in the great bay where i had ben some years before upon the account of the english. wee spent two dayes in adjusting the means of selling this business; at last it was agreed that i should make a voyadge into england to endevor to perswade my wife to come away, & also at the same time to inform myself what shipps the hudson bay company intended to fit out for those parts. i performed this second voyage for england with some remainder of hopes to find the gentlemen of the company something better inclin'd towards me than they had ben formerly; but whether they then looked upon me as wholy unneccessary for their purpos, or as one that was altogether unable to doe them any harm, i was sufferr'd to come away without receaving the least token of kindnesse. all the satisfaction i had in the voyadge was that prince rupert was pleas'd to tell me that hee was very sorry my offers of servis was so much slighted. i resolv'd with myself not to bee dejected at this coldnesse, & returned into france, thinking there to have found monsieur de la chesnay; but being come to paris, i heard hee was gon, & i presently resolved to follow him to canada, to execute what wee had concluded upon at paris. i went to take my leave of monsieur colbert, acquainting him of my dessigne, whereof hee approved very well. hee wished me a good voyadge, advising me to be carefull. i went to visit the society of the jesuits at paris, as being also concern'd with la chesnay in the beaver trade. they gave mee some money for my voyadge. i went & took shipp at rochell, & arrived at quebeck the th of ber, . as soon as i went ashore i spake with monsieur la chesnay, who seem'd to bee very glad to see me, and after some discours of what wee had concluded upon at paris, hee said the businesse must bee presently set about; & being privy unto the court intrigues, & fully acquainted with the mesures wee were to use in this enterprize, hee took me along with him unto the governor's house, & ingadg'd me to demand his assistance & such orders as wee should stand in need of from him for the carrying on our dessigne. but the governor spake unto us in a way as if hee approved not of the businesse; whereupon la chesnay demanded a pass for me to return back unto europ by the way of new england, in a vessel belonging to the governor of accadia, which was at that instant at quebeck, & redy to saile in som short time. these formalitys being over, monsieur la chesnay & i spake home to the businesse. wee agreed upon the voyage, & of all things that were to bee setled relative unto our concerns & intrest. hee undertook to buy the goods, & to furnish all things that concern'd the treaty; to furnish me with a vessell well fitted & stored with good provisions. it was agreed that i should have one fourth part of the beaver for my care and paines, & the danger i expos'd myself unto in making the setlment. my brother-in-law, desgroisilliers, who was then at quebeck, made a contract with de la chesnay for the same voyage allmost on the same terms as i had don. all things being thus concluded, the governor was desired that i might have leave to take three men along with me. hee knew very well to what intent, but hee pretended to bee ignorant of it, for 'tis unlikely that hee could think i would return back to france without doing something about what la chesnay & i had mention'd unto him, seeing i demanded these three men to goe along with me. one was my kinsman, john baptista des grosiliers, of whom i made great account, having frequented the country all his life, & had contracted great familliarity & acquaintance with the natives about trade. hee laid out l. tournais of his own money in the voyadge & charge, disbursed by monsieur de la chesnay in the enterprize. the second was peter allmand, whom i took for my pilot, & the d was john baptista godfry, who understood perfectly well the languadge of the natives, & one that i knew was capable of treating. i set saile from quebeck the th of ber, , with my men, in the governor of accady's vessell, having my orders to bee redy the spring following, at the l'isle perse, hallow isle, at the entrance of the river saint lawrence, unto which place la chesnay was to send me a vessell well equipp'd & fitted according to agreement for executing the dessigne. hee also promisd to send mee fuller instructions in writing, for my directions when i should bee on the place. wee arrived at accadia the th of november, , and there winter'd. in the spring i repair'd unto hallow island. the vessell i expected arrived, but proved not so good as was promised, for it was only an old barque of about tunns with an equippage but of men, thos with me being comprised in the number. there was goods enough on board to have carry'd on the treaty, but provisions were scant, so that had i not ben so deeply ingadg'd as i was in the businesse, such a kind of a vessell would have quite discouradg'd me. but the arrivall of my brother-in-law, desgrosiliers, in a vessell of about tunns, with a crew of men, incouradg'd me, so that wee joyntly resolved not to quit our enterprize; but wee had much adoe to perswade our men to it, being unwilling to expose themselves to the danger of a voyadge of leagues in such small, ordinary vessells, & in such boisterous seas, where ther was also danger of ice. however, they seeing us willing to run the same fortune as they did, they at length consented, & it was agree'd upon betwixt my brother-in-law & myself to steere the same cours, & to keep as neere each other as wee could, the better to assist one another as occasion required. wee sailed from the island the th july, [ .] after the space of dayes' sailing, being past the straights of new found land, the seamen on board my brother-in-law's vessell mutin'd against him, refusing to proceed any farther, pretending they feared being split with the ice, also of ingadging in unknown countreys where they might be reduced to want provisions in the winter. wee pacify'd the mutineers by threatnings & by promises, & the sight of a saile in deg. minutes, north lat., upon the coast of brador, somwhat contributed thereunto, every one desiring to shun this sail. wee were twixt him & the shoar, & they bore directly towards us, desirous to speak with us; but wee not being in a condition of making any resistance, i thought it the best not to stand towards him, but steering the same cours as hee did, wee recover'd under the shoar, & so out of danger; they tackt about & stood off hours before night, & wee lost sight of them. there was much ice in those seas, which drive to the southwards. wee put into harbour to avoide the danger of it, as also to take in fresh water & some other provisions at the coast of the indians called esquimos, the most cruell of all the salvages when they meet an advantage to surprize persons. neverthelesse, they came to our shipp side, & traded with us for some hundred of woolf skins. wee stay'd there dayes, during which time there happned a nother mutiny, our men refusing to proceed any farther; but i pacify'd the seditious, & having put to sea i order'd our men to preserve the wood & water wee had taken on board the best they could, for my brother-in-law & i had resolved not to goe a shoare untill wee had gain'd our port, unless wee were chased. the winds proving favorable, wee entred hudson's straight and sailed along on the northern shoare; there was much ice. some of my seamen kill'd a white beare of extraordinary biggness. they eat of it to such excess that they all fell extremely sick with head akes & loosnesse, that i thought they would have dyed out. i was forc'd to give my brother notice of this accident, & to desire his assistance, so that by takeing orvietan & sweating they escaped that danger, but all their skin pell'd off. wee were inform'd by the indians that those white bears have a poison in the liver, that diffuses itself through the whole mass of the body, which occasions these distempers unto thos that eat of them. i observ'd during this disorder, neer mile island, at the western point, wee drove n. w. by the compass about leagues in hours, towards cape henry. wee had much adoe to recover out of the ice, & had like divers times to have perrish'd, but god was pleas'd to preserve us. my brother-in-law, fearing to bear too much saile, stay'd behind. i arrived before him, the th of august, on the western coast of hudson's bay, & we met the nd of ber, at the entrance of the river called _kakivvakiona_ by the indians, which significies "let him that comes, goe." being enter'd into this river, our first care was to finde a convenient place where to secure our vessells, & to build us a house. wee sailed up the river about miles, & wee stop't at a litle canall, whrein wee lay our vessells, finding the place convenient to reside at. i left my brother-in-law busy about building a house, & the next day after our arrivall i went up into the country, to seek for indians. to this purpos i went in a canoo, with my nephew & another of my crew, being all armed with firelocks & pistolls, & in dayes wee went about leagues up the river, & through woods, without meeting one indian or seeing any signe where any had lately ben; & finding severall trees gnawed by beavors, wee judged there was but few inhabitants in those parts. in our travelling wee kill'd some deere. but the th day after our departure, our canoo being drawn ashore & overturn'd neer the water side, reposing ourselves in a small island, about evening an indian pursuing a deere espyed our canoo. thinking there were some of his own nation, hee whistled to give notice of the beast, that pass'd by to the litle island not farr off from us. my nephew having first spyed the indian, told me of it, not mynding the deere. i presently went to the water side & called the indian, who was a good while before hee spake, & then said hee understood me not, & presently run away into the woods. i was glad of meeting this indian, & it gave me some hopes of seeing more ere long. wee stood upon our gard all night. next morning i caus'd our canoo to bee carry'd the other side of the island, to have it in readyness to use in case of danger. i caused a fier to bee made a paces off. in the morning wee discovered nyne canoos at the point of the island coming towards us, & being within hearing, i demanded who they were; they return'd a friendly answer. i told them the cause of my coming into their country, & who i was. one of the eldest of them, armed with his lance, bow & arrows, etc., etc., rose up & took an arrow from his quiver, making a signe from east to west & from north to south, broke it in peeces, & flung it into the river, addressing himself to his companions, saying to this purpos: "young men, bee not afraid; the sun is favorable unto us. our ennemys shall feare us, for this is the man that we have wished for ever since the dayes of our fathers." after which they all swimed a shore unto me, & coming out of their canoos i invited them unto my fier. my nephew & the other man that was with him came also within paces of us without any feare, although they see the indian well armed. i asked them who was their chief commander, speaking unto him unknownst to me. hee bowed the head, & another told me it was hee that i talked unto. then i took him by the hand, and making him sit downe, i spoke unto him according to the genius of the indians, unto whom, if one will bee esteemed, it is necessary to bragg of one's vallour, of one's strength and ablnesse to succour & protect them from their ennemyes. they must also bee made believe that one is wholy for their intrest & have a great complesance for them, espetially in making them presents. this amongst them is the greatest band of friendshipp. i would at this first enterview make myself known. the chief of these salvages sitting by me, i said to him in his languadge, "i know all the earth; your friends shall bee my friends; & i am come hether to bring you arms to destroy your ennemys. you nor your wife nor children shall not dye of hunger, for i have brought merchandize. bee of good cheere; i will bee thy sonn, & i have brought thee a father; hee is yonder below building a fort, where i have great shipps. you must give me or of your canoos that your people may go visit your father." hee made a long speech to thank me & to assure me that both himself & all his nation would venture their lifes in my servis. i gave them some tobacco & pipes, & seeing one of them used a peece of flat iron to cut his tobacco, i desired to see that peece of iron & flung it into the fier, wherat they all wonder'd, for at the same time i seemed to weep; & drying up my tears, i told them i was very much grieved to see my brethren so ill provided of all things, & told them they should want for nothing whilst i was with them; & i tooke my sword i had by my side & gave it unto him from whom i took the peece of iron; also i caus'd some bundles of litle knives to bee brought from my canoo, which i distributed amongst them. i made them smoke, & gave them to eate, & whilst they were eating, i set forth the presents i brought them, amongst the rest a fowling-peece, with some powder & shot for their chief commander. i told him, in presenting him with it, i took him for my father; hee in like mannor took me to bee his sonn in covering me with his gowne. i gave him my blanket, which i desired him to carry unto his wife as a token from me, intending shee should bee my mother. hee thanked me, as also did the rest, to the number of , who in testimony of their gratitude cast their garments at my feete & went to their canoos & brought all the furr skins they had; after which ceremonys wee parted. they promised before noone they would send me of their canoos, wherein they failed not. they put my beavors in them, & wee went towards the place where i left my brother-in-law. i arrived the th of ber, to the great satisfaction of all our people, having inform'd them the happy success of my journey by meeting with the natives. the very day i return'd from this litle journey wee were alarm'd by the noise of some great gunns. the indians that came along with us heard them, & i told them that these gunns were from some of our shipps that were in the great river called kawirinagaw, or leagues' distance from that wher wee were setled; but being desirous to bee sattisfyed what it should meane, i went in a canoo unto the mouth of our river, & seeing nothing, i suppos'd wee were all mistaken, & i sent my nephew with another french man of my crew back with the salvages unto the indians; but the same evening they heard the gunns so plaine that ther was no farther cause of doubt but that ther was a shipp; upon which they return'd back to tell me of it, wherupon i presently went myself with men to make the discovery. having crossed over this great river kawirinagaw, which signifies the dangerous, on the th, in the morning, wee discovered a tent upon an island. i sent one of my men privatly to see what it was. he came back soon after & told me they were building a house & that there was a shipp; wherupon i approached as neere as i could without being discover'd, & set myself with my men as it were in ambush, to surprize some of thos that were there & to make them prisoners to know what or who they might bee. i was as wary as might bee, & spent the whole night very neere the place where the hous stood, without seeing anybody stirr or speak untill about noon next day, & then i see they were english, & drawing neerer them the better to observe them, i return'd to my canoo with my men. wee shewed ourselves a cannon-shott off & stayed as if wee had ben salvages that wonder'd to see anybody there building a house. it was not long before wee were discover'd, & they hollowed unto us, inviting us to goe unto them, pronouncing some words in the indian tongue, which they read in a book. but seeing wee did not come unto them, they came unto us along the shoare, & standing right opposit unto us, i spoke unto them in the indian tongue & in french, but they understood me not; but at last asking them in english who they were & what they intended to do there, they answer'd they were english men come hether to trade for beaver. afterwards i asked them who gave them permission, & what commission they had for it. they told me they had no commission, & that they were of new england. i told them i was setled in the country before them for the french company, & that i had strength sufficient to hinder them from trading to my prejudice; that i had a fort leagues off, but that the noise of their gunns made me come to see them, thinking that it might bee a french shipp that i expected, which was to come to a river farther north then this where they were, that had put in there by some accident contrary to my directions; that i had other shipps lately arriv'd from canada, commanded by myself & my brother, & therefore i advised them not to make any longer stay there, & that they were best bee gon & take along with them on board what they had landed. in speaking i caus'd my canoo to draw as neer the shoare as could bee, that i might the better discern thos i talked with; & finding it was young guillem that comanded the shipp, i was very glad of it, for i was intimately acquainted with him. as soon as hee knew mee hee invited me ashore. i came accordingly, & wee imbraced each other. hee invited me on board his shipp to treat me. i would not seem to have any distrust, but having precaution'd myself went along with him. i caus'd my men to come out of my canoo & to stay ashore with englishmen whilest i went on board with the captain. i see on board a new england man that i knew very well. before i enter'd the shipp the captain caused english coullers to bee set up, & as soon as i came on board some great gunns to bee fir'd. i told him it was not needfull to shoot any more, fearing least our men might bee allarm'd & might doe him some mischief. hee proposed that wee might traffick together. i told him i would acquaint our other officers of it, & that i would use my endeavor to get their consent that hee should pass the winter wher hee was without receaving any prejudice, the season being too far past to bee gon away. i told him hee might continue to build his house without any need of fortifications, telling him i would secure him from any danger on the part of the indians, over whom i had an absolute sway, & to secure him from any surprize on my part. i would before our parting let him know with what number of men i would bee attended when i came to visit him, giving him to understand that if i came with more then what was agreed betwixt us, it would bee a sure signe our officers would not consent unto the proposal of our trading together. i also advised him hee should not fier any gunns, & that hee should not suffer his men to goe out of the island, fearing they might bee met by the french men that i had in the woods, that hee might not blame me for any accident that might ensue if hee did not follow my advice. i told him also the salvages advised mee my shipp was arrived to the northwards, & promiss'd that i would come visit him againe in days & would tell him farther. wherof hee was very thankfull, & desired me to bee mindfull of him; after which wee seperated very well sattisfy'd with each other, hee verily beleeving i had the strenght i spake of, & i resolving always to hold him in this opinion, desiring to have him bee gone, or if hee persisted to interrupt me in my trade, to wait some opportunity of seizing his shipp, which was a lawfull prize, having no commission from england nor france to trade. but i would not attempt anything rashly, for fear of missing my ayme; especially i would avoide spilling blood. being returned with my men on board my canoo, wee fell down the river with what hast wee could; but wee were scarce gon three leagues from the island where the new england shipp lay, but that wee discovered another shipp under saile coming into the river. wee got ashore to the southwards, & being gon out of the canoo to stay for the shipp that was sailing towards us, i caused a fier to bee made; & the shipp being over against us, shee came to anchor & sent not her boat ashore that night untill next morning. wee watched all night to observe what was don, & in the morning, seeing the long boat rowing towards us, i caused my men, well armed, to stand at the entrance into the wood paces from me, & i came alone to the water side. mr bridgar, whom the company sent governor into that country, was in the boate, with of the crew belonging unto the shipp wherof capt guillam was commander, who was father, as i understood afterwards, unto him that comanded the new england shipp that i had discover'd the day before. seeing the shallopp come towards me, i spake a kinde of jargon like that of the salvages, which signify'd nothing, only to amuse those in the boat or to make them speake, the better to observe them, & to see if there might bee any that had frequented the indians & that spak their languadge. all were silent; & the boat coming a ground or paces from me, seeing one of the seamen leap in the water to come a shore, i showed him my wepons, forbidding him to stirr, telling him that none in the boate should come a shore untill i knew who they were; & observing by the make of the shipp & the habit of the saylors that they were english, i spake in their languadge, & i understood that the seamen that leapt in the water which i hinder'd to proceed any farther said aloud, "governor, it is english they spake unto you;" & upon my continuing to ask who they were who comanded the shipp, & what they sought there, some body answer'd, "what has any body to doe to inquire? wee are english." unto which i reply'd, "and i am french, and require you to bee gon;" & at the same instant making signe unto my men to appeare, they shewed themselves at the entrance of the wood. those of the shallop thinking in all likelyhood wee were more in number, were about to have answer'd me in mild terms & to tell me they were of london, that the shipp belong'd unto the hudson bay company, & was comanded by capt guillem. i inform'd them also who i was; that they came too late, & that i had taken possession of those parts in the name & behalf of the king of ffrance. there was severall other things said, which is not needfull heere to relate, the english asserting they had right to come into thos parts, & i saying the contrary; but at last mr bridgar saying hee desired to come ashore with of his crew to embrace me, i told him that i should bee very well sattisfy'd. hee came a shore, & after mutuall salutations, hee asked of me if this was not the river kakiwakionay. i answer'd it was not, & that it was farther to the southward; that this was called _kawirinagau_, or the dangerous. hee asked of me if it was not the river where sir thomas button, that comanded an english shipp, had formerly winter'd. i told him it was, & shew'd him the place, to the northwards. then hee invited me to goe aboard. my crew being come up, disswaded me, especially my nephew; yet, taking hostages which i left ashore with my men, for i suspected capt guillem, having declared himself my ennemy at london, being of the faction of those which were the cause that i deserted the english intrest, i went aboard, & i did well to use this precaution, otherwise capt guillem would have stop't me, as i was since inform'd; but all things past very well. wee din'd together. i discoursed of my establishment in the country; that i had good numbers of ffrench men in the woods with the indians; that i had shipps & expected another; that i was building a fort; to conclude, all that i said unto young guillem, master of the new england shipp, i said the same unto mr bridgar, & more too. he took all for currant, & it was well for me hee was so credulous, for would hee have ben at the troble i was of travelling leagues through woods & brakes, & lye on the could ground to make my discoverys, hee wold soon have perceaved my weakness. i had reason to hide it & to doe what i did. morover, not having men suffitient to resist with open force, it was necessary to use pollicy. it's true i had a great advantage in having the natives on my side, which was a great strength, & that indeed wherupon i most of all depended. having stay'd a good while on board i desir'd to go ashore, which being don, i made a signe to my men to bring the hostages, which they had carry'd into the woods. they brought them to the water side, & i sent them aboard their shipp. i confess i repented more then once of my going aboard. it was too rashly don, & it was happy for me that i got off as i did. before i came ashore i promissed mr. bridgar & the captain that in dayes i would visit them againe. in the mean time, the better to bee assured of their proceedings, i stay'd dayes in the woods to observe their actions; and having upon the matter seen their dessigne, that they intended to build a fort, i passed the river to the southwards to return to my brother-in-law, who might well bee in some feare for me. but coming unto him, hee was very glad of what had past, & of the good condition i had sett matters. wee consulted together what mesures to take not to be surpriz'd & to maintaine ourselves the best wee could in our setlement for carrying on our treaty. wee endeavor'd to secure the indians, who promis'd to loose their lives for us; & the more to oblidge them to our side i granted them my nephew & another frenchman to goe along with them into the country to make the severall sorts of indians to come traffick with us, & the more, to incourage them i sent presents unto the chiefest of them. during my voyage of discovering english shipps, there happned an ill accident for us. our company had kill'd deere, which had ben a great help towards our winter provisions; but by an inundation of waters caused by great rains they were all carry'd away. such great floods are common in those parts. the loss was very great unto us, for wee had but barrells of pork & of beef; but our men repair'd this losse, having kill'd some more deere and , white partridges, somewhat bigger than thos of europ. the indians also brought us provisions they had kill'd from severall parts at a great distance off. ten dayes after my return from discovering the english, i took other men to observe what they did. i had forseen that wee should bee forced to stay for faire weather to crosse the mouth of the dangerous river of kauvirinagaw, which also proved accordingly, for the season began to be boisterous; but having stay'd some time, at last wee got safe over, although it was in the night, & dayes after our departure wee gained neere the place where mr bridgar lay. wee presently see the shipp lay aground on the ooze, a mile from the place where they built their house. being come neere the shipp, wee hailed severall times & no body answered, which oblig'd us to goe towards land, wondring at their silence. at length a man called us & beckn'd to us to come back. going towards him & asking how all did, hee said something better, but that all were asleep. i would not disturb them & went alone unto the governor's house, whom i found just getting up. after the common ceremonys were past, i consider'd the posture of things, & finding there was no great danger, & that i need not feare calling my people, wee went in all together. i made one of my men pass for captain of the shipp that i said was lately arrived. mr bridgar beleev'd it was so, & all that i thought good to say unto him, endeavoring all along that hee should know nothing of the new england interloper. wee shot off severall musquets in drinking healths, those of the vessell never being concern'd, wherby i judg'd they were careless & stood not well on their gard, & might bee easily surpriz'd. i resolved to vew them. therefore, takeing leave of mr. bridgar, i went with my people towards the vessell. wee went on board to rights without opposition. the captain was somthing startled at first to see us, but i bid him not feare; i was not there with any dessigne to harme him; on the contrary, was ready to assist & help him wherin hee should comand me, advising him to use more diligence than hee did to preserve himselfe & shipps from the danger i see hee was in of being lost, which afterwards happned. but hee was displeas'd at my counsill, saying hee knew better what to doe than i could tell him. that might bee, said i, but not in the indians' country, where i had ben more frequent than he. however, hee desired me to send him som refreshments from time to time during the winter season, espetially some oyle & candles, of which hee stood in great want, which i promis'd to doe, & perform'd accordingly. hee made me present of a peece of beeff & a few bisketts. being fully inform'd of what i desired to know, & that i need not feare any harm these gentlemen could doe me in regard of my trade, i took leave of the captain, to goe see what passed on behalf of the new england interloper. i arrived there next day in the afternoon, & found they had employ'd the time better than the others had don, having built a fort, well fortifyed with great gunns mounted. i fired a musket to give notice unto those in the fort of my coming, & i landed on a litle beach under the gunns. the lieutenant came out with another man well arm'd to see what wee were. when hee see me hee congratulated my safe return, & asked what news. i told him i had found, though with great difficulty, what i sought after, & that i came to visit them, having taken other men than those i had before; that one of those with me was captain of the shipp lately arrived, & the other were of cannada. the lieutenant answer'd me very briskly: "were they devills wee will not feare. wee have built a fort, & doe fear nothing." yet hee invited mee into his fort to treat me, provided i would go in alone, which i refused, intimating hee might have spoke with more modesty, coming to visit him in friendship & good will, & not in a hostile manner. i told him also i desired to discours with his captain, who doubtless would have more moderation. wherupon he sent to inform the captain, who came unto me well armed, & told me that i need not bee jealous of the fort hee had caused to bee built, that 'twas no prejudice to me, & that i should at any time comand it, adding withall that hee feared me not so much as hee did the english of london, & that hee built this fort to defend himself against the salvages, & all thos that would attack him. i thank'd him for his civillitys unto me, & assur'd him i came not thither to shew any displesure for his building a fort, but to offer him of my men to assist him, & to tell him that thos hee so much feared were arrived, offering my servis to defend him, telling him if hee would follow my consill i would defend him from all danger, knowing very well the orders these new comers had, & also what condition they were in. i also told him that as to the difference which was betwixt us about the trade, it was referr'd unto the arbitrement of both our kings; that for good luck to him, his father comanded the shipp newly arrived; that he brought a governor for the english company, whom i intended to hinder from assuming that title in the countrys wherin i was established for the french company, & as for his part, i would make him pass for a french man, therby to keep him from receaving any dammadge. having said thes things to the captain of the fort, i made him call his men together, unto whom i gave a charge in his presence that they should not goe out of their fort, nor fire any gunns, nor shew their cullers; that they should cover the head & stern of their shipp; & that they should suffer neither ffrench nor english to come near their fort, neither by land nor by water, & that they should fier on any of my people as would offer to approach without my orders. the captain promis'd all should bee observ'd that i had said, & comanded his men in my presence so to doe, desiring me to spare him of my men as soon as i could, to guard them. i told him that his father, captain of the company's shipp, was sick, wherat hee seem'd to bee much trobled, & desired me to put him in a way to see him without any damadge. i told him the danger & difficulty of it; nevertheless, having privat reasons that this enterview of father & sonn might be procur'd by my means, i told him i would use my best endeavor to give him this satisfaction, & that i hop'd to effect it, provided hee would follow my directions. hee agreed to doe what i advised, & after some litle studdy wee agreed that hee should come along with me disguis'd like one that lived in the woods, & that i wold make him passe for a french man. this being concluded, i sent my men next morning early to kill some fowle. they returned by o'clocke with or partridge, which i took into my canoo, with a barrill of oyle & some candles that i had promis'd the old captain guillem. i left one of my men hostage in the fort, and imbarked with young guillem to goe shew him his father. the tyde being low, wee were forced to stop a mile short of the shipp, & goe ashore & walk up towards the shipp with our provisions. i left one of my men to keepe the canoo, with orders to keep off, & coming neere the shipp i placed of my best men betwixt the house mr. bridgar caus'd to bee built & the water side, comanding them not to shew themselves, & to suffer the governor to goe to the vessell, but to seize him if they see him come back before i was got out of the shipp. having ordered things in this manner, i went with one of my men & young guillem aboard the shipp, where wee againe entered without any opposition. i presented unto captain guillem the provisions i had brought him, for which hee gave me thanks. afterwards, i made my men go into his cabbin, one of which was his son, though unknown to him. i desired captain guillem to bid of his servants to withdraw, having a thing of consequence to inform him of, which being don, i told him the secret was that i had brought his sonn to give him a visit, having earnestly desired it of me; & having told him how necessary it was to keep it privat, to prevent the damadge might befall them both if it shold bee known, i presented the son unto his father, who imbraced each other very tenderly & with great joy; yet hee told him hee exposed him unto a great deale of danger. they had some priviat discours togather, after which hee desired me to save my new french man. i told him i would discharge myself of that trust, & againe advised him to bee carefull of preserving his shipp, & that nothing should bee capable of making any difference betwixt us, but the treaty hee might make with the indians. hee told me the shipp belonged to the company; that as to the trade, i had no cause to bee afraid on his account, & that though hee got not one skin, it would nothing troble him; hee was assured of his wages. i warned him that he should not suffer his men to scatter abroad, espetially that they should not goe towards his sonn's fort, which hee promis'd should bee observ'd. whilst wee were in this discours, the governor, hearing i was come, came unto the shipp & told me that my fort must needs bee neerer unto him than hee expected, seeing i return'd so speedily. i told him, smiling, that i did fly when there was need to serve my friends, & that knowing his people were sick & wanted refreshments, i would not loose time in supplying them, assuring him of giving him part what our men did kill at all times. some prying a litle too narrowly, young guillem thought hee had ben discovered, wherat the father & son were not a litle concern'd. i took upon me, & said it was not civill so narrowly to examine my people; they excus'd it, & the tyde being com in, i took leave to be gon. the governor & captain divided my provisions, & having made a signe unto my men to rise out of their ambush, i came out of the shipp, & wee march'd all of us unto the place where wee left our canoo. wee got into it, & the young captain admired to see a litle thing made of the rhind of a tree resist so many knocks of ice as wee met withall in returning. next day wee arrived at the fort, & very seasonably for us; for had wee stayed a litle longer on the water, wee had ben surprized with a terrible storm at n. w., with snow & haile, which doubtless would have sunk us. the storm held days, & hinder'd us from going to our pretended fort up the river; but the weather being setled, i took leave of the captain. the lieut. would faine have accompanyed us unto our habitation, but i sav'd him that labour for good reasons, & to conceall the way. parting from the fort, wee went to the upper part of the island; but towards evening wee returned back, & next day were in sight of the sea, wherin wee were to goe to double the point to enter the river where our habitation was; but all was so frozen that it was almost impossible to pass any farther. wee were also so hem'd in on all sides with ice, that wee could neither go forward nor get to land, yet wee must get over the ice or perrish. wee continued hours in this condition, without being able to get backwards or forwards, being in great danger of our lifes. our cloaths were frozen on our backs, & wee could not stirr but with great paine; but at length with much adoe wee got ashore, our canoo being broke to peeces. each of us trussed up our cloaths & arms, & marched along the shoare towards our habitation, not having eat anything in days, but some crows & birds of prey that last of all retire from these parts. there was no other fowle all along that coast, which was all covered with ice & snow. at length wee arrived opposite unto our habitation, which was the other side of the river, not knowing how to get over, being cover'd with ice; but of our men ventur'd in a boat to come unto us. they had like to have ben staved by the ice. wee also were in very great danger, but wee surmounted all these difficultys & got unto our habitation, for which wee had very great cause to give god thanks of seeing one another after having run through so great dangers. during my travelling abroad, my brother-in-law had put our house into pretty good order. wee were secure, fearing nothing from the indians, being our allies; & as for our neighbours, their disorder, & the litle care they took of informing themselves of us, set us safe from fearing them. but as it might well happen that the governor bridgar might have notice that the new england interloper was in the same river hee was, & that in long running hee might discover the truth of all that i had discoursed & concealed from him, & also that hee might come to understand that wee had not the strength that i boasted of, i thought it fit to prevent danger; & the best way was to assure my self of the new england shipp in making myself master of her; for had mr. bridgar ben beforehand with mee, hee would have ben too strong for me, & i had ben utterly unable to resist him; but the question was how to effect this businesse, wherin i see manifest difficultys; but they must bee surmounted, or wee must perrish. therefore i made it my business wholy to follow this enterprise, referring the care of our house & of the traffick unto my brother-in-law. seeing the river quite froze over, every other day for a fortnight i sent my men through the woods to see in what state the company's shipp lay. at length they told me shee lay a ground neer the shoare, the creek wherin shee was to have layn the winter being frozen up, which made me conjecture shee would infallibly bee lost. i also sent of my men unto young captain guillem into the island, which hee had desired of me for his safegard; but i was told by my people that hee intended to deceave me, having, contrary unto his promise of not receaving any into his fort but such as should come by my orders, had sent his boat to receave men from the company's shipp, which mr. bridgar had sent to discover what they could the way that i tould him our fort was, & also to see if they could find any wreck of their shipp; but these men, seeing thos of the fort begin to stir & to lanch out their boat, they thought they would fier on them, as i had comanded. they were affrighted & run away. being come to mr. bridgar, they told him there was a fort & a french shipp neerer unto them than i had said. upon this information, mr. bridgar sent men to pass from north to south, to know if it were true that wee had shipps besides that which was at the island. wherof being advised by my people, i sent out severall ways to endeavor to take the men mr. bridgar had sent to make this discovery, having ordered my people not to doe them any violence. my people succeded, for they found the poore men within leagues of our house, allmost dead with cold & hunger, so that it was no hard matter to take them. they yeelded, & were brought unto my habitation, where having refreshed them with such provision as wee had, they seemed nothing displeas'd at falling into our hands. i understood by them the orders mr. bridgar had given them for making the discovery, which made me stand the more close on my gard, & to use fresh means to hinder that the governor bridgar should not have knowledge of the new-england interlopers. about this time i sent some provisions unto mr. bridgar, who was in great want, although hee strove to keep it from my knowledge. hee thanked mee by his letters, & assur'd me hee would not interrupt my trade, & that hee would not any more suffer his men to come neere the forts, which hee thought had ben ours. i also sent to visit young guillem to observe his proceedings, & to see in what condition hee was, to make my best advantage of it. the englishmen which my people brought, told me the company's shipp was stay'd to peeces, & the captain, leftenant, & seamen drown'd; but of the company being ashore escaped that danger. upon this advice i went to visit mr. bridgar, to observe his actions. i brought him partridges, & gave him some powder to kill fowle, & offer'd him my servis. i asked where his shipp was, but hee would not owne shee was lost, but said shee was leagues lower in the river. i would not press him any farther in the businesse, but civilly took our leave of each other. from thence i went unto the fort in the island also, to see what past there, & to endeavor to compasse the dessigne i had laid of taking the shipp & fort, having since discovered by letters intercepted, that young guillim intended to shew me a trick & destroy me. being come to the fort in the island, i made no shew of knowing the losse of his father, nor of the company's shipp, only i told young guillim his father continued ill, & did not think safe to write him, fearing to discover him. afterwards i desired hee would come unto our habitation; & so i returned without effecting any more that day. eight days after, i returned to see mr. bridgar, unto whom i said that hee did not take sufficient care to preserve his men; that i had of them at my fort, who told me of the losse of his shipp, which hee owned. i told him i would assist him, & would send him his men & what else hee desired. i also offer'd him one of our barques, with provisions requisit to convey him in the spring unto the bottom of the bay, which hee refused. i assured him of all the servis that lay in my power, treating him with all civillity could bee for the esteeme that i ever bore unto the english nation. as for mr. bridgar, i had no great caus to bee over well pleased with him, being advised that hee spake ill of mee in my absence, & had said publickly unto his people that hee would destroy my trade, should hee give axes & proportionably of other goods unto the indians for a bevor skin. [footnote: the company's early standard for trading was: "for gun, one with another, good skins, that is, winter beavor; skins for the biggest sort, for the mean, and for the smallest. powder, a beaver for / a lb. a beaver for lb. of shot. a beaver for a great and little hatchet. a beaver for great knives or jack-knives. beads, a beaver for / a lb. six beavers for one good laced coat. five beavers for one red plain coat. coats for women, laced, two yards, six beavers. coats for women, plain, five beavers. tobacco, a beaver for lb. powder-horns, a beaver for a large one and two small ones. kettles, a beaver for one lb. of kettle. looking-glasses and combs, skins."] i have an attestation heerof to shew. i stayed dayes on this voyadge with mr. bridgar, having then a reall intent to serve him, seeing hee was not in a condition to hurt me; & returning unto my habitation, i called at young gwillim's fort in the island, where i intended to execute my dessigne, it being now time. when i arrived at the fort, i told young gwillim his father continued ill, & that hee referr'd all unto me, upon which i said unto him touching his father & of his resolution, hee earnestly desired i would goe back with him & take him along with me, disguised as before, that hee might see him; but i disswaded him from this, & put in his head rather to come see our habitation, & how wee lived. i knew hee had a desire to doe soe, therefore i would sattisfy his curiosity. having, therefore, perswaded him to this, wee parted next morning betimes. hee took his carpenter along with him, & wee arrived at our habitation, young gwillim & his man being sufficiently tired. i thought it not convenient that young gwillim should see the englishmen that was at our house. i kept them privat, & fitted them to bee gon next morning, with of my men, to goe athwart the woods unto their habitation, having promis'd mr. bridgar to send them unto him. i gave them tobacco, cloaths, & severall other things mr. bridgar desired; but when they were to depart, one of the englishmen fell at my feet & earnestly desired that i would not send him away. i would not have granted his request but that my brother-in-law desired me to do it, & that it would also ease mr. bridgar's charge, who wanted provisions; so i sufferred the other to depart along with my men, having given them directions. i caused young gwillem to see them going, telling him i sent them unto our fort up the river. i continued a whole moneth at quiet, treating young guillem, my new guest, with all civillity, which hee abused in severall particulars; for having probably discovered that wee had not the strength that i made him beleeve wee had, hee unadvisedly speak threatning words of me behind my back, calling me pyrate, & saying hee would trade with the indians in the spring in spight of me. hee had also the confidence to strike one of my men, but i connived at it. but one day discoursing of the privilledges of new england, he had the confidence to speak slightly of the best of kings, wherupon i called him pittyfull dogg for talking after that manner, & told him that for my part, having had the honour to have ben in his majesty's servis, i would pray for his majesty as long as i lived. hee answered mee with harsh words that hee would return back to his fort, & when hee was there, that would not dare talk to him as i did. i could not have a fairer opportunity to begin what i dessigned. upon which i told the young foole that i brought him from his fort & would carry him thither againe when i pleas'd, not when hee liked. hee spake severall other impertinencys, that made me tell him that i would lay him up safe enough if hee behaved not himself wiser. hee asked me if hee was a prisoner. i told him i would consider of it, & that i would secure my trade, seeing hee threatened to hinder it. after which i retired & gave him leave to bee inform'd by the englishman how that his father & the company's shipp were lost, & the bad condition mr. bridgar was in. i left a french man with them that understood english, but they knew it not. when i went out, young gwillim bid the englishman make his escape & goe tell his master that hee would give him barrills of powder & other provisions if hee would attempt to deliver him out of my hands. the englishman made no reply, neither did hee tell me of what had ben proposed unto him. i understood it by my frenchman, that heard the whole matter, & i found it was high time to act for my owne safety. that evning i made no shew of any thing, but going to bed i asked our men if the fier locks that wee placed at night round our fort to defend us from thos that would attack us were in order. at this word of fire locks young gwillim, who knew not the meaning of it, was suddenly startled & would have run away, thinking wee intended to kill him. i caused him to bee stay'd, & freed him of his feare. but next morning i made him an unwelcom compliment; i told him that i was going to take his shipp & fort. hee answered very angrily that if i had men i could not effect it, & that his men would kill before they could come neere the pallissade. i was nothing discouradged at his bravado, knowing very well that i should compasse my dessigne. i made account that of my men would have stay'd in the fort for hostages, but having what libberty they would, one of them returned to our habitation without my order. i was angry at it, but i made no shew of it, having laid my dessigne so as to make more use of skill & pollicy than of open force; seeing therefore the haughty answer young gwillem made me, that i could not take his fort with men, i asked of him how many men hee had in it. hee said nyne. i desired him to choose the like number of myne, i being one of the number, telling him i would desire no more, & that in dayes i would give him a good account of his fort & of his shipp, & that i would not have him to have the shame of being present to see what i should doe. hee chose & named such of my men as hee pleas'd, & i would not choose any others. i sufferr'd him to come with me to the water side, & i made the ninth man that went upon this expedition, with an englishman of mr. bridgar's to bee a wittness of the busenesse. being arriv'd within half a league of the fort, i left the englishman with one frenchman, ordering they should not stirr without farther order; at the same time i sent of my men directly to the fort to the southward of the island, & i planted myself with my other men at the north point of the same island to observe what they did that i sent to the fort. they were stop't by englishmen armed, that asked if they had any letters from their master. my people answer'd, according to my instructions, that hee was coming along with mee; that being weary, wee stay'd behind; that they came a litle before for some brandy which they offerr'd to carry. the englishmen would needs doe the office, & my men stay'd in the fort. hee that was hostage had orders to seize on the court of gard dore, one of them newly come to seize the dore of the house, & the was to goe in & out, that in case the dessigne was discover'd hee might stopp the passage of the dore with blocks of wood, to hinder it from being shutt & to give me freedom to enter unto their assistance; but there needed not so much adoe, for i enter'd into the fort before thos that were appointed to defend it were aware. the lieutenant was startled at seeing me, & asked "wher his master was; it was high time to appear & act." i answered the lieutenant "it matter'd not where his master was, but to tell me what men hee had & to call them out;" & my men being enter'd the fort & all together, i told thos that were present the cause of my coming, that i intended to bee master of the place, & that 'twas too late to dispute. i commanded them to bring me the keys of the fort & all their arms, & to tell mee if they had any powder in their chests, & how much, referring myself unto what they should say. they made no resistance, but brought me their arms, & as for powder, they said they had none. i took possession of the fort in the name of the king of ffrance, & from thence was conducted by the lieutenant to take possession of the shipp also in the same name, which i did without any resistance; & whilst i was doing all this, young guillem's men seemed to rejoyce at it rather then to bee troubled, complaining of him for their ill usage, & that hee had kill'd his supercargo. but a scotchman, one of the crew, to shew his zeale, made his escape & run through the woods towards mr. bridgar's house to give him notice of what pas't. i sent of my nimblest men to run after him, but they could not overtake him, being gon hours before them. hee arrived at mr. bridgar's house, who upon the relation of the scotchman resolved to come surprise me. in the meane while i gave my brother notice of all that past, & that i feared a scotchman might occasion me some troble that had got away unto mr. bridgar, & that i feared i might bee too deeply ingadg'd unless hee presently gave me the assistance of men, having more english prisoners to keep than i had french men with me. i was not deceiv'd in my conjecture. at midnight one of our doggs alarm'd our sentinell, who told me hee heard a noise on board the shipp. i caus'd my people to handle their armes, & shut up the english in the cabins under the gard of of my men. i with others went out to goe to the shipp. i found men armed on board, & required them to lay downe their arms & to yeeld. there was that submitted & some others got away in the dark. my men would have fired, but i hinder'd them, for which they murmur'd against me. i led the prisoners away to the fort & examin'd them one after another. i found they were of mr. bridgar's people, & that hee was to have ben of the number, but hee stay'd half a league behind to see the success of the businesse. the last of the prisoners i examin'd was the scotch man that had made his escape when i took the fort; & knowing hee was the only cause that mr. bridgar ingadg'd in the businesse, i would revenge me in making him afraid. i caus'd him to bee ty'd to a stake & told that hee should bee hang'd next day. i caus'd the other prisoners, his comrades, to bee very kindly treated; & having no farther dessigne but to make the scotch man afraide, i made one advise him to desire the lewtenant of the fort to begg me to spare his life, which hee did, & easily obtain'd his request, although hee was something startled, not knowing what i meant to doe with him. the men i desired of my brother-in-law arrived during these transactions, & by this supply finding myself strong enough to resist whatever mr. bridgar could doe against me, i wrote unto him & desired to know if hee did avow what his men had don, whom i detain'd prisoners, who had broke the dores & the deck of the shipp to take away the powder. hee made me a very dubious answer, complaining against me that i had not ben true unto him, having concealed this matter from him. hee writ me also that having suffitient orders for taking all vessells that came into those parts to trade, hee would have joyned with me in seizing of this; but seeing the purchas was fal'n into my hands, hee hoped hee should share with mee in it. i sent back his men with some tobacco & other provisions, but kept their arms, bidding them tell mr. bridgar on my behalf that had i known hee would have come himself on this expedition, i would have taken my mesures to have receav'd him ere he could have had the time to get back; but i heard of it a litle too late, & that in some short time i would goe visit him to know what hee would bee at, & that seeing hee pretended to bee so ignorant in what quallity i liv'd in that country, i would goe and inform him. before these men's departure to mr. bridgar's i was inform'd that some english men had hidden powder without the fort. i examin'd them all. not one would owne it; but at last i made them confess it, & or pound was found that had ben hid. then i took care to secure the fort. i sent of the english men of the fort unto my brother-in-law, & i prepar'd to goe discover what mr. bridgar was doing. i came to his house & went in before hee had notice of my coming. hee appeared much surpris'd; but i spoke to him in such a manner as shewed that i had no intent to hurt him, & i told him that by his late acting hee had so disoblidged all the ffrench that i could not well tell how to assist him. i told him hee had much better gon a milder way to work, in the condition hee was in, and that seeing hee was not as good as his word to me, i knew very well how to deall with him; but i had no intention at that time to act any thing against mr. bridgar. i only did it to frighten him, that hee should live kindly by me; & in supplying him from time to time with what he wanted, my chief ayme was to disable him from trading, & to reduce him to a necessity of going away in the spring. seeing mr. bridgar astonish'd at my being there with men, & in a condition of ruining him if i had desire to it, i thought fit to setle his mynd by sending away of my men unto my brother-in-law, & kept but with me, of which i sent out into the woods to kill some provisions for mr. bridgar. about this time i receaved a letter from my brother wherin hee blam'd me for acting after this manner with persons that but days agoe endeavor'd to surprise me; that if i did so, hee would forsake all; that i had better disarm them for our greater security, & that i should not charge myself with any of them. it was also the judgment of the other french men, who were all exasperated against mr. bridgar. not to displease my owne people, instead of english men that i promis'd mr. bridgar to take along with me that hee might the better preserve the rest, i took but , one of which i put in the fort at the island, & the other i brought unto our habitation. i promiss'd mr. bridgar before i left him to supply him with powder & anything else that was in my power, & demanding what store of musquets hee had remaining, hee told me hee had ten, & of them were broken. i tooke the that were spoyl'd, & left him myne that was well fixt, promising to get his mended. hee also offer'd me a pocket pistoll, saying hee knew well enough that i intended to disarm him. i told him it was not to disarm him, to take away his bad arms & to give him good in stead of them. i offerr'd him my pistolls, but hee would not accept of them. in this state i left him, & went to our habitation to give my brother-in-law an account of what i had don. some dayes after, i went to the fort in the island to see if all was well there, & having given all necessary directions i return'd unto our place, taking the lieutenant of the fort along with me, unto whom i gave my owne chamber & all manner of libberty; taking him to bee wiser than his captain, whom they were forc'd to confine in my absence. hee thanked mee for my civillityes, & desiring hee might goe to his captain, i consented. about this time i had advise, by one of the men that i left to guard the fort in the island, that mr. bridgar, contrary to his promis, went thether with of his men, & that our men having suffer'd them to enter into the fort, they retain'd mr. bridgar & sent the other away, having given them some bread & brandy. this man also told me that mr. bridgar seemed very much trobl'd at his being stopt, & acted like a mad man. this made me presently goe to the fort to hinder any attempts might be made against me. being arrived, i found mr. bridgar in a sad condition, having drank to excess. him that comanded in the fort had much adoe to hinder him from killing the englishman that desired to stay with us. hee spoke a thousand things against me in my hearing, threatning to kill me if i did not doe him right. but having a long time born it, i was at length constraint to bid him bee quiet; & desirous to know his dessignes, i asked him if any of his people were to come, because i see smoake & fiers in crossing the river. hee said yes, & that hee would shortly shew me what hee could doe, looking for men which hee expected, besides the my people return'd back. i told him i knew very well hee had not soe many men, having let many of his men perish for want of meate, for whom hee was to bee accountable; & morover i was not afraid of his threats. nevertheless, no body appear'd, & next dayly i order'd matters so as mr. bridgar should come along with me unto our habitation, wherunto hee see it was in vaine to resist. i assured him that neither i nor any of my people shold goe to his house in his absence, & that when hee had recreated himself or days with mee at our habitation, hee might return with all freedom againe unto his house. mr. bridgar was a fortnight at our house without being overtired, & it appeared by his looks that hee had not ben ill treated; but i not having leasure allways to keep him company, my affairs calling me abroad, i left him with my brother-in-law whilst i went unto the fort in the island to see how matters went there; & at my going away i told mr. bridgar that if hee pleas'd hee might dispose himself for his departure home next morning, to rectify some disorders committed by his people in his absence, to get victualls, & i told him i would meet him by the way to goe along with him. having dispatcht my business at the fort of the island, i went away betimes to bee at mr. bridgar's house before him, to hinder him from abusing his men. the badness of the weather made me goe into the house before hee came. as soon as i was enter'd, the men beseech'd me to have compassion on them. i blam'd them for what they had don, & for the future advised them to bee more obedient unto their master, telling them i would desire him to pardon them, & that in the spring i would give passage unto those that would goe home by the way of ffrance. mr. bridgar arrived soon after me. i beg'd his pardon for going into his house before hee came, assuring him that i had still the dessigne of serving him & assisting him, as hee should find when hee pleas'd to make use of me, for powder & anything else hee needed; which also i performed when it was desir'd of me, or that i knew mr. bridgar stood in need of any thing i had. i parted from mr. bridgar's habitation to return unto our own. i passed by the fort in the island, & put another frenchman to comand in the place of him was there before, whom i intended to take with me to work uppon our shipps. the spring now drawing on, the english of the fort of the island murmur'd because of one of mr. bridgar's men that i had brought thether to live with them. i was forst to send him back to give them content, not daring to send him to our habitation, our french men opposing it, wee having too many allready. arriving at our habitation, i was inform'd that the english captain very grossly abused one of his men that i kept with him. hee was his carpenter. i was an eye witness myself of his outrageous usage of this poore man, though hee did not see me. i blamed the captain for it, & sent the man to the fort of the island, to look after the vessell to keep her in good condition. my nephew arrived about this time, with the french men that went with him to invite downe the indians, & days after there came severall that brought provisions. they admired to see the english that wee had in our house, & they offer'd us bevor skins to suffer them to goe kill the rest of them; but i declar'd unto them i was far from consenting therunto, & charged them on the contrary not to doe them any harm; & mr. bridgar coming at instant with one of his men unto our habitation, i advised him not to hazard himself any more without having some of my men with him, & desir'd him, whilst hee was at my house, not to speak to the indians. yet hee did, & i could not forbeare telling him my mynde, which made him goe away of a suddain. i attended him with or of my men, fearing least the indians who went away but the day before might doe him a mischief. i came back next day, being inform'd that a good company of indians, our old allies, were to come; & i found they were come with a dessigne to warr against the english, by the perswasion of some indians that i see about ber last, & with whom i had renew'd an alliance. i thanked the indians for their good will in being ready to make warr against our ennemys; but i also told them that i had no intent to doe them any harm, & that having hindred them from hurting me i was sattisfy'd, & that therefore they would oblidge me to say nothing of it, having promis'd me they would bee gon in the spring, but if they came againe i would suffer them to destroy them. the indians made great complaints unto me of the english in the bottom of the bay, which i will heere omitt, desiring to speak only of what concerns myself; but i ought not omit this. amongst other things, they alleadg'd to have my consent that they might warr against the english. they said thus: "thou hast made us make presents to make thine ennemys become ours, & ours to bee thyne. wee will not bee found lyers." by this may bee seen what dependance is to bee laid on the friendship of this people when once they have promis'd. i told them also that i lov'd them as my own brethren the french, & that i would deal better by them than the english of the bay did, & that if any of my men did them the least injury i would kill him with my own hands; adding withall that i was very sorry i was not better stor'd with goods, to give them greater tokens of my friendship; that i came this voyage unprovided, not knowing if i should meet them, but i promis'd to come another time better stor'd of all things they wanted, & in a condition to help them to destroy their ennemys & to send them away very well sattisfy'd. the english admir'd to see with what freedom i lived with these salvages. this pas't in the beginning of aprill, . being faire wether, i caused my nephew to prepare himself, with men, to carry provisions & brandy unto our french men & to the english men at the fort of the island. the ice began to bee dangerous, & i see that it was not safe hazarding to goe over it after this time; therefore i said to my nephew that hee would doe well to proceed farther unto the indians, unto whom hee promis'd to give an account how wee did, & to inform them also that wee had conquer'd our ennemys. after my nephew's departure on this voyadge, there hapned an unlookt-for accident the or rd of aprill, at night. having haled our vessells as far as wee could into a litle slip in a wood, wee thought them very secure, lying under a litle hill about fathom high, our houses being about the same distance off from the river side; yet about o'clock at night a hideous great noise rous'd us all out of our sleep, & our sentinill came & told us it was the clattering of much ice, & that the floods came downe with much violence. wee hasted unto the river side & see what the sentinell told us, & great flakes of ice were born by the waters upon the topp of our litle hill; but the worst was that the ice having stop't the river's mouth, they gather'd in heaps & were carry'd back with great violence & enter'd with such force into all our brooks that discharg'd into the river that 'twas impossible our vessells could resist, & they were stay'd all to peeces. there remained only the bottom, which stuck fast in the ice or in the mudd, & had it held hours longer wee must have ben forst to climbe the trees to save our lives; but by good fortune the flood abated. the river was cleer'd by the going away of the ice, & days after, wee see the disorder our vessells were in, & the good luck wee had in making so great a voyadge in such bad vessells, for myne was quite rotten & my brother's was not trunnel'd. this accident put us into a great feare the like mischief might bee hapned unto the new england shipp; the indians telling us that the river was more dangerous than ours, & that they beleev'd the vessell could not escape in the place wher shee lay. but mr bridgar having heertofore related unto me alike accident hapned in the river kechechewan in the bottom of the bay, that a vessell was preserv'd by cutting the ice round about her, i took the same cours, & order'd the ice should bee cut round this vessell quite to the keele, & i have reason to thank mr bridgar for this advice; it sav'd the vessell. shee was only driven ashore by the violence of the ice, & there lay without much dammadge. whilst the waters decreas'd wee consulted upon which of the bottoms wee should build us a shipp, & it was at last resolv'd it shold bee on myne. upon which wee wrought day & night without intermission, intending this vessell should carry the english into the bay, as i had promis'd mr bridgar. i went down or times to the river's mouth to see what the floods & ice had don there, & if i could pass the point into the other river, wher mr bridgar & the english vessell was at the fort of the island, for was impossible to pass through the woods, all being cover'd with water. i adventur'd to pass, & i doubled the point in a canoo of bark, though the ice was so thick that wee drew our canoo over it. being enter'd the river, i march'd along the south shore & got safe to the fort of the island with great difficulty. i found the shipp lying dry, as i mention'd before, in a bad condition, but easily remedy'd, the stern being only a litle broke. i gave directions to have her fitted, & i incouradged the english to work, which they did perform better than the french. having given these directions, i took the shipp's boat & went down to mr. bridgar's habitation, & looking in what condition it was, i found that of his men were dead for lack of food, & two that had ben poyson'd a litle before by drinking some liquer they found in the doctor's chest, not knowing what it was. another of mr. bridgar's men had his arm broke by an accident abroad a hunting. seeing all these disorders, i passed as soon as i could to the south side of the river to recover unto our houses, from whence i promis'd mr. bridgar i would send his english curiorgion that was with us some brandy, vinegar, lynnen, & what provisions i could spare out of the small store wee had left. being got a shore, i sent back the boat to the fort of the isle, with orders unto my men i left there to bring my canoo & to use it for fowling. in returning i went a shore with one of mr. bridgar's men that i took along with me to carry back the provisions i had promis'd, although hee did not seeme to be very thankfull for it, continueing his threatnings, & boasted that hee expected shipps would come unto him with which hee would take us all. i was nothing daunted at this, but kept on my cours, knowing very well mr. bridgar was not in a capacity of doing us any harm; but it being impossible but that his being present on the place should hinder me, i order'd my business so as to bee gon with what skins i had, & sent away mr. bridgar after having secured our trade. i made severall journeys to the fort of the island about repairing of the shipp; also i went severall times to mr. bridgar's house to carry him provisions, & to assist him & also his men with all things that i could procure, which they can testify; & had it not ben for me they had suffred much more misery. i had like to bee lost severall times in these journeys by reason of great stores of ice; & the passage of the entrance of the river to double the point to enter into that where mr. bridgar & the new england shipp lay was allways dangerous. i will not here insist upon the perrills i expos'd my self unto in coming & going to prepare things for our departure when the season would permitt; but i cannot omit telling that amongst other kindnesses i did mr. bridgar i gave him stuff suffitient to sheath his shallup, which was quite out of order, as also cordage & all things else necessary; but hee did not well by me, for contrary to his word which he had given me not to goe to the fort in the island, hee attempted to goe thether with his people in his shallup, & being come within musket-shott under a pretence of desiring some powder, the comander would not suffer him to come any neerer, & made him cast anker farther off. hee sent his boats for mr. bridgar, who came alone into the fort, though hee earnestly desired one of his men might bee admitted along with him, but was deny'd. his men were order'd to lodge themselves ashore the north side of the river in hutts, & provisions was sent unto them. mr. bridgar spent that night in the fort, went away the next day. the day before i see the shallup going full salle towards the fort, whether i was also going myself by land with one englishman in whom i put a great deale of confidence, having no body else with me. i did suspect that mr. bridgar had a dessign to make some surprise, but i was not much afraid by reason of the care & good order i had taken to prevent him. nevertheless i feared that things went not well; for when i came neer the fort, seeing the boate coming for me, & that the comander did not make the signall that was agreed upon betwixt us, this startled me very much, & i appeared as a man that had cause to feare the worst; which one of our frenchmen that steered the boat wherin ther was englishmen perceiving, cry'd out all was well, & made the signall. i blamed him & the comander for putting me in feare in not making the usuall signes. when i came to the fort i was told mr. bridgar was there, & that hee was receayed, as has been recited. i was also tould hee had privat discours with the carpenter of the new england shipp that i had formerly ingadged in a friendly manner to attend & serve him. this discours made the comander the more narrowly to inspect mr. bridgar. & to stand better upon his gard, the scotch man telling him hee was not come thither with any good intention; so that the comander of the fort sent him away in the morning, having given him some pork, pease, & powder. having given orders at the fort, i went to mr. bridgar. being come to his house, i taxed him of breach of promise, & i tould him ther should bee no quarter if hee offered to doe soe any more, & that therefore hee should prepare himself to goe for the bay (as soone as ever the ice did permitt) in the vessell that wee had left, it being so agreed on by our french men, assuring him i would furnish him with all things necessary for the voyadge. hee appear'd much amaz'd at the compliment i made him, & hee told me in plaine terms that it must bee one of thes things that must make him quit the place,--his master's orders, force, or hunger. hee desired me afterwards that if the captain of the salvages of the river of new severn came, that hee might see him by my means, which i promis'd to doe. having thus disposed mr. bridgar for his departure, i continued to assist him & his people with all that i could to enable them to work to sit ourselves to bee gon. i left mr. bridgar in his house & i went unto ours, & having consulted my brother-in-law, wee resolved that 'twas best to burn the fort in the island & secure mr. bridgar, thereby to draw back our men & to ease us of the care of defending the fort & of the trouble of so many other precautions of securing ourselves from being surprized by mr. bridgar. the crew of both our vessells made an agreement amongst themselves to oppose our dessigne of giving our shipp unto the english for their transportation. it was necessary at the first to seeme to yeeld, knowing that in time wee should master the factions. it was the master of my bark that began the mutiny. the chief reason that made me seem to yeeld was that i would not have the english come to know of our divisions, who happly might have taken some advantage of it. wee had amongst us unto whom i granted libberty upon their parole; but to make sure of those of new england, wee caus'd a lodge to bee built in a litle island over against our house where they were at a distance off us. wee sent from time to time to visit them to see what they did. wee gave them a fowling-peece to divert them, but one day abusing my nephew, wee took away the gun from them. going afterwards unto the fort of the island, i sent a boate unto mr. bridgar, advising him the captain hee desired to see was come, & that hee might come with one of his men; which hee did, & as soon as hee was come i told him that to assure our trade i was obliged to secure him & would commit him into the custody of my nephew, unto whom i would give orders to treat him kindly & with all manner of respect, telling him withall that when i had put all things on board the vessell that was in the fort, i would go & set it on fier. i told him hee might send his man with me to his house with what orders hee thought fit. i went thither the same day. i told mr. bridgar's people that not being able to supply them any longer but with powder only, & being redy for my departure to cannada, it was necessary that those that intended to stay should speak their minds, & that those that desired to go should have their passage. i demanded their names, which they all told me except . i ordered them to have a great care of all things in the house. i left one frenchman to observe them & to goe fowling, mr. bridgar's men not being us'd to it. these orders being given, i left mr. bridgar's house & cross'd over to the south side, where i met of our french men a hunting. i sent them with what fowle they had kill'd to the fort of the island, where they might bee servisable unto the rest in carrying down the shipp & in bringing her to an anker right against mr. bridgar's house, to take on board his goods, which was accordingly don. i came by land unto the other river, & met at the entrance of it severall indians that waited impatiently for me, how wee might adjust & setle our trade. they would have had my brother-in-law to have rated the goods at the same prizes as the english did in the bottom of the bay, & they expected also i would bee more kind unto them. but this would have ruined our trade; therefore i resolved to stand firm in this occasion, becaus what wee now concluded upon with these salvages touching comers would have ben a rule for the future. the indians being assembled presently after my arrivall, & having laid out their presents before me, being beavors' tailes, caribou tongues dry'd, greas of bears, deere, & of elks, one of the indians spake to my brother-in-law & mee in this wife: "you men that pretend to give us our lifes, will not you let us live? you know what beavor is worth, & the paines wee take to get it. you stile your selves our brethren, & yet you will not give us what those that are not our brethren will give. accept our presents, or wee will come see you no more, but will goe unto others." i was a good while silent without answering the compliment of this salvage, which made one of his companions urge me to give my answer; and it being that wheron our wellfare depended, & that wee must appeare resolute in this occasion, i said to the indian that pressed me to answer, "to whom will thou have me answer? i heard a dogg bark; let a man speak & hee shall see i know to defend myself; that wee love our brothers & deserve to bee loved by them, being come hither a purpose to save your lives." having said these words, i rose & drew my dagger. i took the chief of thes indians by the haire, who had adopted me for his sonn, & i demanded of him who hee was. hee answered, "thy father." "well," said i, "if thou art my father & dost love me, & if thou art the chief, speak for me. thou art master of my goods; this dogg that spoke but now, what doth hee heare? let him begon to his brethren, the english in the bay; but i mistake, hee need not goe so farr, hee may see them in the island," intimating unto them that i had overcom the english. "i know very well," said i, continueing my discours to my indian father, "what woods are, & what 'tis to leave one's wife & run the danger of dying with hunger or to bee kill'd by one's ennemys. you avoide all these dangers in coming unto us. so that i see plainly 'tis better for you to trade with us than with the others; yet i will have pitty on this wretch, & will spare his life, though hee has a desire to goe unto our ennemys." i caused a sword-blade to bee brought me, & i said unto him that spake, "heere, take this, & begon to your brethren, the english; tell them my name, & that i will goe take them." there was a necessity i should speak after this rate in this juncture, or else our trade had ben ruin'd for ever. submit once unto the salvages, & they are never to bee recalled. having said what i had a mind to say unto the indian, i went to withdraw with my brother-in-law; but wee were both stop't by the chief of the indians, who incouraged us, saying, wee are men; wee force nobody; every one was free, & that hee & his nation would hold true unto us; that hee would goe perswade the nations to come unto us, as hee had alredy don, by the presents wee had sent them by him; desiring wee would accept of his, & that wee would trade at our own discretion. therupon the indian that spake, unto whom i had presented the sword, being highly displeas'd, said hee would kill the assempoits if they came downe unto us. i answer'd him i would march into his country & eate sagamite in the head of the head of his grandmother, which is a great threat amongst the salvages, & the greatest distast can bee given them. at the same instant i caus'd the presents to be taken up & distributed, fathom of black tobacco, among the salvages that were content to bee our friends; saying, by way of disgrace to him that appear'd opposit to us, that hee should goe smoak in the country of the tame woolfe women's tobacco. i invited the others to a feast; after which the salvages traded with us for their beavors, & wee dismissed them all very well sattisfy'd. having ended my business with the indians, i imbark'd without delay to goe back, & i found the new england shipp at anchor over against mr. bridgar's house, as i had order'd. i went into the house & caus'd an inventory to be taken of all that was there. then i went to the fort of the island, having sent order to my nephew to burn it. i found him there with mr. bridgar, who would himself bee the first in setting the fort a fire, of which i was glad. there being no more to doe there, i went down to the shipp, & found they had put everything abord. i gave order to my nephew at my coming away that the next day hee should bring mr. bridgar along with him unto our house, where being arriv'd, my brother-in-law, not knowing him as well as i did, made him bee sent into the island with the captain of the new england shipp & his folks; of which mr. bridgar complain'd unto me next day, desiring that i would release him from thence, saying hee could not endure to bee with those people; which i promis'd to doe, & in a few days after brought him unto a place i caus'd to bee fitted on a point on the north side of our river, where hee found his own men in a very good condition. i not being yet able to overcome our men's obstinacy in not yeelding that i should give our vessell unto the english, mr. bridgar propos'd that hee would build a deck upon the shallup if i would but furnish him with materialls necessary for it; saying that if the shallup were but well decked & fitted, he would willingly venture to goe in her unto the bay, rather then to accept of his passage for france in one of our vessells. i offerr'd him all that hee desir'd to that purpos, & stay'd with him till the shipp that i caus'd to bee fitted was arriv'd. when shee was come, i see a smoak on the other side of the river. i crossed over, & found that it was my indian father. i told him how glad i was to see him, & invited him to goe aboard, saying that going at my request, my nephew would use him civilly; that they would fier a great gun at his arrivall, would give him something to eate, would make him a present of bisketts, & of fathom of tobacco. hee said i was a foole to think my people would doe all this without order. i wrote with a coale on the rind of a tree, & gave it to him to carry aboard. hee, seeing that all i said unto him was punctually perform'd, was much surpris'd, saying wee were divells; so they call thos that doe any thing that is strange unto them. i return'd back to our houses, having don with mr. bridgar. i had sounded the captain of the shipp that was in the island right against our house, to know of him that, being an english man, whether hee would give a writing under his hand to consent that mr. bridgar should bee put in posession of his shipp, or if hee had rather i should carry her to quebeck; but hee & his men intreated mee very earnestly not to deliver them unto mr. bridgar, beleeving they should receave better usage of the french than of the english. i told my brother-in-law what the captain said, & that hee refer'd himself wholy unto our discretion. whilst wee were busy in fitting things for our departure, i found myself necessitated to compose a great feude that hapined betwixt my indian father's familly & another great familly of the country. i had notice of it by a child, some of my indian father's, who playing with his comrades, who quarrelling with him, one told him that hee should bee kill'd, & all his familly, in revenge of one of the familly of the martins, that his father had kill'd; for the famillys of the indians are distinguis'd by the names of sundry beasts; & death being very affrighting unto thos people, this child came to my house weeping bitterly, & after much adoe i had to make him speak, hee told me how his comrade had threatned him. i thought at first of somthing else, & that the salvages had quarrel'd amongst themselves. desiring, therefore, to concern my self in keeping peace amongst them, i presently sent for this chief of the indians, my adopted father, who being come according to my order, i told him the cause of my feare, & what his child had told me. i had no sooner don speaking, but hee leaning against a pillar and covering his face with his hands, hee cryed more than his child had don before; & having asked what was the matter, after having a litle dry'd up his teares, hee told me that an indian of another familly, intending to have surpris'd his wife, whom hee loved very tenderly, hee kill'd him, & the salvages that sided to revenge the other's cause having chased him, hee was forc'd to fly, & that was it that made him meet mee about ber last; that hee continued the feare of his ennemys' displeasure, that they would come kill him. i tould him hee should not fear any thing, the frenchmen being his fathers & i his sonn; that our king that had sent mee thither cover'd him with his hand, expecting they should all live in peace; that i was there to setle him, & that i would doe it or dye; that i would require all the indians to come in that day [that they] might know me & that hee should know my intentions. having thus spoke unto him, i caus'd a fowling-peece & ketles, coats, sword-blades, tranches, graters, dozen of knives, axes, fathom of tobacco, coverlets for women, capps, some powder & shott, & said unto the salvage my adopted father, in presence of his allies that were ther present, "heere is that will cure the wound & dry away tears, which will make men live. i will have my brethren love one another; let of you presently goe and invite the familly of the martins to the feast of amity, and make them accept my presents. if they refute it & seek for blood, it is just i should sacrifice my life for my father, whom i love as i doe all the rest of the indians our allies, more than i doe my owne selfe, so that i am redy to lay down my head to bee cutt off in case my presents did not serv turn, but i would stirr up all the frenchmen my brethren to carry gunns to assist me to make warr against that familly." the salvages went to goe unto the familly that was ennemy unto my adopted father to make them offer of my presents, & in my name to invite them unto the feast of unity. i stay'd so litle a while in the country afterwards that i could not quite determine this differrence. in due time i will relate what upon inquiry i farther heard of it in my last voyadge. this businesse being upon a matter ended, i was inform'd that mr. bridgar, contrary to his promise of not speaking with the indians, yet enter'd into discours with them & said that wee were ill people, & told them hee would come & kill us; that hee would traffick with them more to their advantage then wee did; that hee would give them axes for a bever skin & a fowling-peece for skins. i taxed mr. bridgar with it; also i ratted the salvages, who promis'd they would go neere him no more, & that i should feare nothing. being desirous to make all things redy for my departure, i againe crossed over the dangerous river to goe burn mr. bridgar's house, there being nothing left remaining in it, having caused evry thing to bee put on board the new england shipp & taken a full inventary of it before. i had along with me english men & one frenchman, relying more on the english, who loved me because i used them kindly, than i did on the ffrenchmen. what i did at this time doth shew the great confidence i put in the english; for had i in the least distrusted them, i would not have ventur'd to have gon leagues from my habitation with english & but one of my owne french men to have fired mr. bridgar's house. wee were very like to bee lost in returning home. i never was in so great danger in all my life. wee were surpris'd with a suddain storm of wind neere the flats, & there was such a great mist that wee knew not where wee were. being return'd unto our habitation, i found our men had brought the shipp to anker neere our house, & seeing the weather beginning to come favorable, i gave my nephew instructions to carry on the trade in my absence untill our return. i left men with him & the absolute comand & disposall of all things; which being don i caused our ffurrs to bee put on board & the shipp to fall down to the mouth of the river to set saile the first faire wind. it was where i left mr. bridgar. his shallup being well provided & furnish'd with all things, hee was ready to saile; but having made some tripps from one river unto the other, the sight of such vast quantitys of ice as was in those seas made him afraide to venture himselfe in so small a vessell to saile unto the bay. so that wee fitting things to bee gon the july, having sent for mr. bridgar to come receave his provisions, hee told me hee thought it too rash an action for him to venture himself so great a voyadge in so small a vessell, & desired i would give him passage in our shipp, supposing all along that i would compell him to imbark for ffrance. i told him hee should bee very welcom, & that i intended not to force him to anything but only to quitt the place. it was concluded that hee should imbark with my brother-in-law in the small vessell. hee said hee had rather goe in the other shipp; but it was but just that the captain should continue on board, & wee could not with great reason take mr. bridgar on board, having allredy more english to keep then wee were french. the th of july wee weighed ankor & passed the flatts; but next day, having as yet sailed but or leagues, wee were forced to enter into the ice & used all our endevor not to bee farr from each other. the bark, tacking to come, cast her grapers on the same ice as wee fastned unto. shee split to peeces, so that wee were forced to fend presently to their help & to take out all the goods was on board her, & to lay them on the ice, to careen, which wee did with much difficulty. wee continued in this danger till the of august. wee visitted one another with all freedom; yet wee stood on our gard, for the englishman that wee found the beginning of the winter in the snow, remembring how kindly hee was used by me, gave mee notice of a dessigne the englishmen had that were in the bark, of cutting all the frenchmen's throats, & that they only waited a fit opportunity to doe it. this hint made us watch them the more narrowly. at night time wee secured them under lock & key, & in the day time they enjoy'd their full liberty. when wee were got to the southward in the degree, mr. bridgar desired me to let him have the bark to goe to the bay along with his men. i tould him i would speak to my brother-in-law about it, who was not much against it. ther was only the master & some other obstinat fellows that opposed; but at length i got all to consent, and having taken the things out, wee delivered the bark unto mr. bridgar, taking his receipt. it was in good will that i mannadg'd all this for him, and i thought hee would have gon in the bark, for hee knows that i offerrd it unto him; but having made the englishman that belong'd unto him, and since chosen to stay with us, and in whom wee put much confidence, to desire leave of me to goe along with mr. bridgar, wee presently supposed, and wee were not deceived, that 'twas by his perswasion this seaman desired to bee gon, & wee had some apprehension that mr. bridgar might have some dessigne to trepan us by returning unto port nelson before us to surprise our people, wherunto the english seaman that understood our business might have ben very servicable unto him. having therefore conferr'd amongst ourselves upon this demand, wee resolv'd to keep mr. bridgar and to take him along with us unto quebeck. wee caus'd him to come out of the bark and told him our resolution; wherat hee flew into great passion, espetially against me, who was not much concerned at it. wee caus'd him to come into our vessell, and wee tould his people that they may proceed on their voyage without him, and hee should come along with us; after which wee took in our graple irons from off the ice, seeing the sea open to the westward and the way free'd to saile. wee were distant about leagues from the bottom of the bay when wee parted from the bark, who might easily have got ther in days, and they had provisions on board for above a month, vizt, a barrill of oatmealle, double peeces of beeff, or salt gees, peeces of pork, a powder barrell full of bisket, or pounds of powder, & pounds of short. i gave over & above, unknown to my brother-in-law, horns full of powder & a bottle of brandy, besides a barrill they drank the evening before wee parted. i made one of the new england seamen to goe on board the bark to strengthen the crew, many of them being sickly. being got out of the ice, having a favorable wind, wee soon got into the straights, where through the negligence or the ignorance of one of our french pilots and seamen, the english being confin'd in the night, a storm of wind & snow drove us into a bay from whence wee could not get out. wee were driven a shoare without any hopes of getting off; but when wee expected evry moment to be lost, god was pleased to deliver us out of this danger, finding amongst the rocks wherin wee were ingadg'd the finest harbour that could bee; shipps could have layn there & ben preserv'd without anchor or cable in the highest storms. wee lay there days, & having refitted our shipp wee set saile & had the wether pretty favorable untill wee arriv'd at quebeck, which was the end of ber. as soon as ever wee arriv'd wee went unto monr la barre, governor of cannada, to give him an account of what wee had don. hee thought fit wee should restore the shipp unto the new england merchants, in warning them they should goe no more unto the place from whence shee came. [footnote: this restoration did not meet with the approval of monsr. de seignelay, for he wrote to govr. de la barre, th april, : "it is impossible to imagine what you meant, when of your own authority, without calling on the intendant, and without carrying the affair before the sovereign council, you caused to be given up to one guillin, a vessel captured by the men named radisson and des grozelliers, and in truth you ought to prevent the appearance before his majesty's eyes of this kind of proceeding, in which there is not a shadow of reason, and whereby you have furnished the english with matter of which they will take advantage; for by your ordinance you have caused a vessel to be restored that according to law ought to be considered a pirate, having no commission, and the english will not fail to say that you had so fully acknowledged the vessel to have been provided with requisite papers, that you had it surrendered to the owners; and will thence pretend to establish their legitimate possession of nelson's river, before the said radisson and des grozeliers had been there." _new york colonial mss._, vol. ix. p. .] mr. bridgar imbark'd himself on her with young guillem for new england against my mynde, for i advis'd him as a friend to imbark himself on the ffrench shipps, which were ready to saile for rocheil. i foretold him what came to pass, that hee would lye a long while in new england for passage. wee parted good ffriends, & hee can beare me witnesse that i intimated unto him at that time my affection for the english intrest, & that i was still of the same mynde of serving the king & the nation as fully & affectionately as i had now serv'd the ffrench. eight or tenn days after my arrivall, monsr. la barre sent for me, to shew me a letter hee had receaved from monsr. colbert by a man-of-warr that had brought over some soldiers, by which hee writ him that those which parted last yeare to make discoverys in the northern parts of america being either returned or would soon return, hee desired one of them to give the court an account of what they had don, & of what setlements might bee made in those parts; & the governour told me that i must forthwith prepare myself to goe sattisfy monsr. colbert in the business. i willingly accepted the motion, & left my business in the hands of monsr. de la chenay, although i had not any very good opinion of him, having dealt very ill by me; but thinking i could not bee a looser by satisfying the prime minister of state, although i neglected my owne privat affaires, i took leave of monsr. la barre, & imbark'd for france with my brother-in-law, the ber, , in the frigat that brought the soldiers, and arrived at rochell the of xber, where i heard of the death of monsr. colbert; yet i continued my jorney to paris, to give the court an account of my proceedings. i arriv'd at paris with my brother-in-law the th january, wher i understood ther was great complaints made against me in the king's councill by my lord preston, his majesty's envoy extrordinary, concerning what had past in the river and port nelson, and that i was accus'd of having cruelly abused the english, robbed, stoln, and burnt their habitation; for all which my lord preston demanded satisfaction, and that exemplary punishment might bee inflicted on the offenders, to content his majesty. this advice did not discourage me from presenting myself before the marquiss de signalay, & to inform him of all that had past betwixt the english and me during my voyadge. hee found nothing amiss in all my proceedings, wherof i made him a true relation; and so farr was it from being blamed in the court of france, that i may say, without flattering my self, it was well approved, & was comended. [footnote: louis xiv. to de la barre, to april, : "the king of england has authorized his ambassador to speak to me respecting what occurred in the river nelson between the english and radisson and des grozelliers, whereupon i am happy to inform you that, as i am unwilling to afford the king of england any cause of complaint, & as i think it important, nevertheless, to prevent the english establishing themselves on that river, it would be well for you to have a proposal made to the commandant at hudson's bay that neither the french nor the english should have power to make any new establishments; to which i am persuaded he will give his consent the more readily, as he is not in a position to prevent those which my subjects wish to form in said nelson's river."] i doe not say that i deserv'd it, only that i endeavor'd, in all my proceedings, to discharge the part of an honnest man, and that i think i did no other. i referr it to bee judged by what is contain'd in this narrative, which i protest is faithfull & sincere; and if i have deserved the accusations made against me in the court of ffrance, i think it needlesse to say aught else in my justification; which is fully to bee seen in the relation of the voyadge i made by his majesty's order last year, , for the royal company of hudson's bay; the successe and profitable returns whereof has destroyed, unto the shame of my ennemys, all the evell impressions they would have given of my actions. voyages of peter esprit radisson. _relation of the voyage of peter esprit radisson, anno_ . _(translated from the french.)_ * * * * * i have treated at length the narrative of my voyage in the years and , in hudson's bay, to the north of canada. up to my arrival in the city of paris, all things were prepared for the fitting out of the ships with which i should make my return to the north of canada, pending the negotiations at court for the return to me of every fourth beaver skin that the very christian king took for the customs duty, which had been promissed to me in consideration of my discoveries, voyages, and services; by which i hoped to profit over & above my share during the first years of that establishment. it was also at the same time that my lord viscount preston, minister extraordinary from the king at the court of france, continued to pursue me concerning the things of which i was accused by the account against me of the gentlemen of the royal hudson's bay company; my enemies having taken due care to publish the enormous crimes of which i was charged, & my friends taking the pains to support me under it, & to give me advice of all that passed. although at last no longer able to suffer any one to tax my conduct, i considered myself obliged to undeceive each one. i resolved at length within myself to speak, to the effect of making it appear as if my dissatisfaction had passed away. for that effect i made choice of persons who did me the honor of loving me, and this was done in the conversations that i had with them upon the subject. that my heart, little given to dissimulation, had avowed to them, on different occasions, the sorrow that i had felt at being obliged to abandon the service of england because of the bad treatment that i had received from them, & that i should not be sorry of returning to it, being more in a condition than i had been for it, of rendering service to the king and the nation, if they were disposed to render me justice and to remember my services. i spoke also several times to the english government. i had left my nephew, son of sieur des groseilliers, my brother-in-law, with other frenchmen, near port nelson, who were there the sole masters of the beaver trade, which ought to be considerable at that port, and that it depended upon me to make it profitable for the english. all these things having been reported by one of my particular friends to the persons who are in the interest of the government, they judged correctly that a man who spoke freely in that manner, & who made no difficulty in letting his sentiments be known, & who shewed by them that it was possible to be easily led back, by rendering justice to him, to a party that he had only abandoned through dissatisfaction, i was requested to have some conferences with these same persons. i took in this matter the first step without repugnance, & upon the report that was made to my lord preston of things that we had treated upon in the interviews, & of that of which i claimed to be capable of doing, i was exhorted from his side of re-entering into my first engagements with the english; assuring me that if i could execute that which i had proposed, i should receive from his majesty in england, & from his royal highness of the hudson's bay company, & from the government, all kinds of good treatment & an entire satisfaction; that, moreover, i need not make myself uneasy of that which regarded my interests, this minister being willing himself to be charged with the care of me, to preserve them, & of procuring me other advantages after that i should be put in a position of rendering service to the king his master. they represented to me again that his royal highness honoring the hudson's bay company with his protection, it would pass even on to me if i would employ upon it my credit, my attentions, & the experience that i had in the country of the north, for the utility & the benefit of the affairs of that company, in which his royal highness took great interest. at the same time i received some letters at paris from the sieur ecuyer young, one of those interested in the hudson's bay company, in which he solicited me on his part, & in the name of the company, to return into england, giving me some assurances of a good reception, & that i should have reason to be satisfied on my part in regard to my particular interests, as well as for some advantages that they would make me. these letters, joined to those in which my lord preston continued his urgencies against me to the very christian king, decided me to determine, by the counsel of one of my friends, to yield myself at last to all their solicitations of passing over to england for good, & of engaging myself so strongly to the service of his majesty, & to the interests of the nation, that any other consideration was never able to detach me from it. there was only my lord preston, some of his household, & the friend who had counselled me to come into england, who knew of my design. i took care to save appearances from suspicion by the danger in which i exposed myself, & up to the evening of my departure i had some conferences with the ministers of the court of france, & the persons who there have the departments of the marine & commerce, upon some propositions of armament, & the equipment of the ships destined for my nd voyage. they wished to bind me to make them upon the same footing as the proceeding, which has made since then the talk of the two nations. the day of my departure was fixed for the th of april, ; but at last, that those with whom i was obliged to confer daily by order of the ministers of france never doubted in the least of my discontinuing to see them, i told them that i was obliged to make a little journey into the country for some family business, & i could be useful to them during that time by going to london, where i arrived the th of may. at the moment of my arrival i had the honor of going to see the gentlemen, ecuyer young and the chevalier hayes, both of whom were interested in the hudson's bay company, who gave me a good reception in showing me the joy that they felt at my return, & in giving me such assurances that i should receive on their part & on that of their company all manner of satisfaction. i then explained fully to them the nature of the service that i expected to render to his majesty, to the company, & to the nation, in establishing the beaver trade in canada & making those to profit by it who were interested, to the extent of or , beaver skins that i hoped to find already in the hands of the french that i had left there, that would cost to them only the interest that i had in the thing, & the just satisfaction that was owing to the french who had made the trade for them. these gentlemen having received in an agreeable manner my proposition, & wishing to give me some marks of their satisfaction, did me the honour of presenting me to his majesty & to his royal highness, to whom i made my submission, the offer of my very humble services, a sincere protestation that i would do my duty, that even to the peril of my life i would employ all my care & attention for the advantage of the affairs of the company, & that i would seek all occasions of giving proof of my zeal & inviolable fidelity for the service of the king, of all which his majesty & his royal highness appeared satisfied, & did me the favour of honouring me with some evidences of their satisfaction upon my return, & of giving me some marks of their protection. after that i had several conferences in the assembled body, & in particular with the gentlemen interested in the hudson's bay company, in which i made them acquainted in what manner it was necessary for them to proceed there for establishing to the best advantage the beaver trade in the northern country, the means of properly sustaining it, & of ruining in a short time the trade with foreigners, & to that end i would commence by becoming master of both the fort & the settlement of the french, as well as of all the furs that they had traded for since my departure, on the condition that my influence would serve to convert them, & that my nephew whom i had left commandant in that fort & the other french would be paid what would be to them their legitimate due. these gentlemen, satisfied with what i had said to them, believed with justice that they would be able to have entire confidence in me. as for that, having resolved to entrust me with their orders for going with their shipps, equipped & furnished with everything to found that establishment in putting into execution my projects, they gave the power of settling in my own mind & conscience the claims of my nephew & the other french, assuring me that they would be satisfied with the account that i would present to them. i accepted that commission with the greatest pleasure in the world, and i hurried with so much diligence the necessary things for my departure, that in less than eight days i was in a condition to embark myself. this was done even without any precaution on my part for my own interests, for i did not wish to make any composition with these gentlemen. i said to them that since they had confidence in me, i wished also on my part to make use of it generously with them and remit everything to the success of my voyage, and on my return, in the hope that i had that they would satisfy my honesty of purpose, and that after having given to them some marks of my sincerity in executing the things to perform which i had engaged myself for their service, they would render me all the justice that i had cause for hoping from gentlemen of honour and probity. the ships destined for hudson's bay and the execution of my design were ready to make sail, & myself being all prepared for embarking, i took leave of the gentlemen of the company in giving them fresh assurances of the good success of my voyage if god did me the favour of preserving me from the dangers to which i went to expose myself; of which they appeared so well satisfied that the chevalier hayes dared not flatter himself of the advantage that i promissed to him, that they should get from to , beavers that i hoped to find in the hands of the french, said, in embracing me, that the company would be satisfied if i had only , of them there. the event has justified that which i predicted, and these gentlemen have not been deceived in the hopes that i have given to them. i departed from the port of gravesend the th of the same month of may, in the ship called "the happy return," in the company of others that these gentlemen sent also to port nelson for the same reason. the winds having been favourable for us, we arrived in a few days upon the western side of buttons bay without anything happening to us worth mentioning, but the winds and the currents. we having been made to drift to the south of port nelson about leagues, and the ice having separated the ship in which i was from the others in hudson's straits, i began to doubt of succeeding in my enterprise by the apprehension that i had that the ships having arrived sooner than ours the men who were inside would not hazard themselves to take any step which could at all do them any damage. under this anxiety, knowing the necessity that there was that i should arrive the first, i resolved to embark myself in a shallop that we had brought to be employed in any service that might be necessary. i ordered the captain to equip it, and although but little more than leagues from port nelson, i put myself on board with men, and after hours of fatigue, without having been able to take any rest because of the danger that there was to us, we found by the breadth of hayes river, which having recognized, at last we touched land at a point north of the river, where we landed with an englishman who spoke good french, whom i wished to make accompany me in order that he might be the witness of all that i did. after having come to land i recognized by certain marks that my nephew, having heard the noise of the cannon of the english ships, had come to the place where we landed to know if his father or myself were arrived, and that he had himself returned after having recognized that they were english shipps. these same marks gave me also to know that he had left me further away from those that i had given him since i had established him for governor in my absence. the which should inform me of his condition and the place where he was with his men; but i did not find it to the purpose of going as far as that place, that i had not learned truly the condition of the english who had arrived in the country since i had departed from it. i resolved then to embark myself afresh in the shallop to go and learn some news. i encouraged for that purpose the men who were with me, who were so diligent that in spite of a contrary wind and tide we arrived in a very little time at the mouth of that great and frightful river of port nelson, where i had wished to see myself with such impatience that i had not dreamed a moment of the danger to which we had exposed ourselves. that pleasure was soon followed by another; for i saw at anchor in this same place ships, of which one had the glorious flag of his majesty hoisted upon his main mast, that i recognized to be the one that was commanded by captain outlaw when the one in which i was passed had been separated from the others. at the same time i made the shallop approach & i perceived the new governor with all his men under arms upon the deck, who demanded of us where our shallop came from, and who we were. upon that i made myself known, & i went on board the ship, where i learned that the one which was alongside was an english frigate that had wintered in the port of nelson with the governor, which port they had abandoned to retire themselves for fear of being insulted by the french & the savages; but that having been met with by capt outlaw going out of the bay, he had returned, having learned that i had thrown myself into the service of england, and that i came into the country to re-establish there everything to the advantage of the nation. my first care after that was of making myself informed of what had passed between the english & the french since my departure & their arrival. by what the english told me i judged that it was proper to risque everything to try to join my nephew as soon as possible, & the men that i had left with him; in fine, of endeavouring to reach them by kindness, or to intercept them by cunning, before they received the shock upon what design i came, for that was of extreme consequence. thus without waiting for the arrival of the ship in which i had come, i resolved to embark myself upon the same shallop, which was named "the little adventure;" which i did not, nevertheless, on the same day, because the governor found it proper to delay the party until the following day, & of giving me other men in the place of those that i had brought, who sound themselves fatigued. i embarked myself on the morrow, early in the morning, with captain gazer; but the wind being found contrary, i had myself landed on the coast, with captain gazer & the englishman who spoke french, & after having sent back the shallop with the other men, i resolved to go by land as far as the place where i should find the marks of my nephew, which should make me recognise the place where he was & his condition. we marched, all three, until the morrow morning; but being arrived at the place where i had told my nephew to leave me some marks, which having taken up, i learned that he & his men had left our old houses & that they had built themselves another of them upon an island above the rapids of the river hayes. after that we continued our route until opposite to the houses which had been abandoned, where i hoped that we should discover something, or at least that we should make ourselves seen or heard by firing some reports of the gun & making of smoke; in which my attempt was not altogether vain, for after having rested some time in that place we perceived canoes of savages, who descended the river. i believed at first that it would be probable they had there some french with them; that my nephew would be able to send to discover who were the people newly arrived, which obliged me to tell captain gazer that i should go down to the bank of the river to speak to them; that i prayed him to await me upon the heights without any apprehension, & that in a little while he would be able to render evidence of my fidelity for the service of the company. i was at the same moment met by the savages, & from the bank of the river i made them the accustomed signal, to the end of obliging them to come towards me; but having perceived that they did not put themselves to the trouble of doing it, i spoke to them in their language, for to make myself known; which done, they approached the bank, & not recognising me, they demanded of me to see the marks that i had; which having shown them, they gave evidence, by their cries & postures of diversion, the pleasure that they had of my arrival. i learned then from them that my nephew & the other frenchmen were above the rapids of the river, distant about leagues from the place where i was, & that they had told them that my brother-in-law, des groisille, should also come with me; which obliged me telling them that he was arrived, & that they would see him in a few days. then i told them that we had always loved them as our brothers, & that i would give them some marks of my amity, for which they thanked me in begging me to not be angry for that which, by counsel, they had been trading with the english, nor of that when i found them going to meet their captain, who had gone across some woods, with men, to the english ships, to procure some powder & guns, which they did; that their laying over for a month, in awaiting for me, had compelled them, but that since i had arrived they would not go on farther, & that their chief, whom they went to inform of my arrival, would speak more of it to me. as i had occasion for some one among them to inform my nephew that i was in the country, i asked of all of them if they loved the son of des groisille, & if he had not some relation among them; upon which there was one of them who said to me, "he is my son; i am ready to do that which thou wishest;" & at that moment, he having landed, i made him throw his beaver skin on the ground, & after having called captain gazer, i spoke in these terms to this savage in the presence of all the others: "i have made peace with the english for love of you. they & i from henceforth shall be but one. embrace this captain & myself in token of peace. he is thy new brother, & this one thy son. go at once to him to carry this news, with the token of peace, & tell him to come to see me in this place here, whilst the savages of the company go to attend me to the mouth of the river." this savage did not fail to go & inform his son, my nephew, of my arrival, & of carrying to him the news of peace between the french & the english, during which we awaited with impatience his descent towards the place where we were; whom, nevertheless, did not arrive until the morrow, about o'clock in the morning. i saw at first appear my nephew, in a canoe with other frenchmen, accompanied by another canoe of the savages that i had sent, & which came in advance to inform me of the arrival of my nephew. i promised to this savage & his comrade each one a watch-coat, & returned to them their beaver skins, with the order of going to join those of their nation, & to wait for me at the mouth of the river. after that, captain gazer, the englishman who spoke french, & myself waded into the water half-leg deep to land upon a little island where my nephew, with his men, would come on shore. he had arrived there before us, & he came to meet us, saluting me, greatly surprised at the union that i had made with the english. we then proceeded all together in his canoe as far as our old houses, where i had the english and french to enter, & whilst they entertained each other with the recital of their mutual hardships, i spoke privately to my nephew in these terms:-- "it is within your recollection, without doubt, of having heard your father relate how many pains & fatigues we have had in serving france during several years. you have also been informed by him that the recompense we had reason to hope for from her was a black ingratitude on the part of the court as well as on the part of the company of canada; & that they having reduced us to the necessity of seeking to serve elsewhere, the english received us with evidences of pleasure & of satisfaction. you know also the motives that have obliged your father & myself, after years of service, to leave the english. the necessity of subsisting, the refusal that showed the bad intention of the hudson's bay company to satisfy us, have given occasion to our separation, & to the establishment that we have made, & for which i left you in possession in parting for france. but you ignore, without doubt, that the prince who reigns in england had disavowed the proceedings of the company in regard to us, & that he had caused us to be recalled to his service, to receive the benefits of his royal protection, & a complete satisfying of our own discontents. i have left your father in england, happier than we in this, that he is assured of his subsistance, and that he commences to taste some repose; whilst i come to inform you that we are now englishmen, & that we have preferred the goodness & kindness of a clement & easy king, in following our inclinations, which are to serve people of heart & honour in preference to the offers that the king of france caused to be made to us by his ministers, to oblige us to work indirectly for his glory. i received an order, before leaving london, of taking care of you, & of obliging you to serve the english nation. you are young, & in a condition to work profitably for your fortune. if you are resolved to follow my sentiments i never will abandon you. you will receive the same treatment as myself. i will participate even at the expense of my interests for your satisfaction. i will have a care also of those who remain under my control in this place with you, & i shall leave nothing undone that will be able to contribute to your advancement. i love you; you are of my blood. i know that you have courage & resolution; decide for yourself promptly, & make me see by your response, that i wait for, that you are worthy of the goodness of the clement prince that i serve; but do not forget, above all things, the injuries that the french have inflicted upon one who has given his life to you, & that you are in my power." when my nephew had heard all that i had to say to him, he protested to me that he had no other sentiments but mine, & that he would do all that i would wish of him, but that he begged me to have care of his mother; to which i answered that i had not forgotten that she was my sister, & that the confidence that he gave me evidence of had on that occasion imposed upon me a double engagement, which obliged me of having care of her & of him; with which, having been satisfied, he remitted to me the power of commandant that i had left to him, & having embraced him, i said to him that he should appear in the assembly of the english & french as satisfied as he should be, & leave the rest to my management. after which we re-entered into the house, & i commanded one of the frenchmen to go out immediately & inform his comrades that all would go well if they should have an entire confidence in me & obey all my orders, which doing, they should want nothing. i ordered also this same frenchman to inform the savages to come to me & work immediately with their comrades to bring back into the house newly built the beaver skins buried in the wood; & to that end, to be able to work with more diligence, i told them i would double their rations. then i told my nephew to cross the river with the frenchman who served him as interpreter, & go by land to the north side at the rendezvous that i had given to the savages the preceding day, whilst i would make my way by water to the same meeting-place with captain gazer & other men who remained with me; the which having embarked in my nephew's canoe, i descended the river as far as the mouth, where i found the savages, who awaited me with impatience, they having been joined the following day by other canoes of savages that i had had warned to descend, by their captain who had come towards me. we were all together in the canoes of the savages & boarded some ships which were stranded upon nelson's river. this was in that strait that the chief of the savages spoke to me of many things, & who after having received from my hands one of the presents designed for the chief of these nations, he told me that he & his people would speak of my name to all the nations, to invite them to come to me to smoke the pipe of peace; but he blamed strongly the english governor for telling him that my brother had been made to die, that i was a prisoner, & that he had come to destroy the rest of the french. the chief of the savages added to the blame his complaint also. he said haughtily that the governor was unworthy of his friendship & of those of their old brothers who commenced to establish it amongst them, in telling them such falsehoods. grumbling & passion had a share in his indignation. he offered several times to inflict injuries upon the governor, who endeavoured to justify himself for these things that he had said to them through imprudence against the truth. but the chief savage would not hear anything in his defense, neither of those of the other englishmen there; all of them were become under suspicion. nevertheless i appeased this difference by the authority that i have upon the spirit of these nations; & after having made the governor & the chief embrace, & having myself embraced both of them, giving the savage to understand that it was a sign of peace, i said to him also that i wished to make a feast for this same peace, & that i had given orders what they should have to eat. on such similar occasions the savages have the custom of making a speech precede the feast, which consists in recognising for their brothers those with whom they make peace, & praise their strength. after having informed the chief of the savages of the experience, strength, valour of the english nation, he acquitted himself with much judgment in that action, for which he was applauded by our and his own people. i said afterwards in presence of his people that the french were not good seamen, that they were afraid of the icebergs which they would have to pass across to bring any merchandise, besides that their ships were weak & incapable of resistance in the northern seas; but as to those of the english, they were strong, hardy, & enterprising, that they had the knowledge of all seas, & an infinite number of large & strong ships which carried for them merchandises in all weathers & without stoppage. of which this chief, having full evidence, was satisfied. he came to dine with us whilst his people were eating together of that which i had ordered to be given them. the repast being finished, it was a question with me whether i should commence to open a trade; & as i had formed the design of abolishing the custom which the english had introduced since i had left their service, which was of giving some presents to the savages to draw them to our side, which was opposed to that that i had practised, for in place of giving some presents i had myself made, i said then to the chief of the savages in the presence of those of his nation, "that he should make me presents that i ordinarily received on similar occasions." upon that they spoke between themselves, & at length they presented me with skins of beaver, in asking me to accept them as a sign of our ancient friendship, & of considering that they were poor & far removed from their country; that they had fasted several days in coming, & that they were obliged to fast also in returning; that the french of canada made them presents to oblige them to open their parcels; & that the english at the bottom of the bay gave to all the nations hatchets for a beaver skin. they added to that, that the beaver was very difficult to kill, & that their misery was worthy of pity. i replied to them that i had compassion for their condition, & that i would do all that was in my power to relieve them; but that it was much more reasonable that they made me some presents rather than i to them, because that i came from a country very far more removed than they to carry to them excellent merchandise; that i spared them the trouble of going to quebec; & as to the difference in the trade of the english at the bottom of the bay with ours, i told them that each was the master of that which belonged to him, & at liberty to dispose of it according to his pleasure; that it mattered very little of trading with them, since i had for my friends all the other nations; that those there were the masters of my merchandises who yielded themselves to my generosity for it; that there were years that i had been their brother, & that i would be in the future their father if they continued to love me, but that if they were of other sentiments, i was very easy about the future; that i would cause all the nations around to be called, to carry to them my merchandises; that the gain that they would receive by the succour rendered them powerful & placed them in a condition to dispute the passage to all the savages who dwelt in the lands; that by this means they would reduce themselves to lead a languishing life, & to see their wives & children die by war or by famine, of which their allies, although powerful, could not guarantee them of it, because i was informed that they had neither knives nor guns. this discourse obliged these savages to submit themselves to all that i wished; so that seeing them disposed to trade, i said to them that as they had an extreme need of knives & guns, i would give them knives for one beaver, although the master of the earth, the king, my sovereign, had given me orders to not give but of them, & that as for the guns, i would give them one of them for beavers; which they went to accept, when the governor, through fear or imprudence, told them that we demanded of them but & up to beavers for each gun, which was the reason that it was made necessary to give them to the savages at that price. the trade was then made with all manner of tranquillity & good friendship. after which these people took their leave of us very well satisfied according to all appearances, as much in general as in particular of our proceeding, & the chief as well as the other savages promissed us to return in token of their satisfaction. but at the moment that they went to leave, my nephew having learned from a chief of a neighbouring nation who was with them that they would not return, he drew aside the savage chief & told him that he had been informed that he did not love us, & that he would return no more. at which this chief seemed very much surprised in demanding who had told him that. my nephew said to him, "it is the savage called bear's grease;" which having heard, he made at the same time all his people range themselves in arms, speaking to one & to the other; in fine, obligeing the one who was accused to declare himself with the firmness of a man of courage, without which they could do nothing with him, but bear's grease could say nothing in reply. jealousy, which prevails as much also among these nations as among christians, had given place to this report, in which my nephew had placed belief because he knew that the conduct of the governor towards them had given to them as much of discontent against us all as he had caused loss to the company; the genius of these people being that one should never demand whatever is just, that is to say, that which one wishes to have for each thing that one trades for, & that when one retracts, he is not a man. that makes it clear that there are, properly, only the people who have knowledge of the manners & customs of these nations who are capable of trading with them, to whom firmness & resolution are also extremely necessary. i myself again attended on this occasion, to the end of appeasing this little difference between the savages, & i effected their reconciliation, which was the reason that their chief protested to me afresh in calling me "porcupine's head,", which is the name that they have given me among them, that he would always come to me to trade, & that whereas i had seen him but with a hundred of his young men, he would bring with him different nations, & that he wanted nothing in his country, neither men nor beaver skins, for my service; after which they left us, & we dispersed ourselves to go and take possession of the house of my nephew in the manner that i had arranged with him for it. with this in view i parted with the governor, captain gazer, & our people to go by land as far as the place where we had left one of our canoes upon the river hayes, whilst the other party went by sea with the shallop, "the adventure," to round the point. we had the pleasure of contemplating at our ease the beauty of the country & of its shores, with which the governor was charmed by the difference that there was in the places that he had seen upon nelson's river. we embarked ourselves then in the canoe just at the place where the french had built their new house, where we found those who were left much advanced in the work that i had ordered them to do, but, however, very inquiet on account of having no news from my nephew, their commandant, nor of me. they had carried all the beaver skins from the wood into the house & punctually executed all my other orders. having then seen myself master of all things without having been obliged to come to any extremity for it, the french being in the disposition of continueing their allegiance to me, i made them take an inventory of all that was in the house, where i found packages of beaver skins, to the number of , skins, and some merchandise for trading yet for or , more, which gave me much satisfaction. then i told my nephew to give a command in my name to these same frenchmen to bring down the beaver skins as far as the place where they should be embarked to transport them to the ships, which was executed with so much diligence that in days eight or ten men did (in spite of difficulties which hindered them that we could go in that place but by canoes because of the rapidity & want of water that they had in the river) what others would have had trouble in doing in months, without any exaggeration. my nephew had in my absence chosen this place where he built the new house that was, so to speak, inaccessible, to the end of guaranteeing himself from the attacks that they would be able to make against him; & it was that same thing which restrained the liberty of going & coming there freely & easily. the savages with whom we had made the trading, not having made so much diligence on their route as we, for returning themselves into their country, having found out that i was in our house, came to me there to demand some tobacco, because that i had not given them any of that which was in the ships, because that it was not good, making as an excuse that it was at the bottom of the cellar. i made them a present of some that my nephew had to spare, of which they were satisfied; but i was surprised on seeing upon the sands, in my walk around the house with the governor, rejected quantities of an other tobacco, which had been, according to appearances, thus thrown away through indignation. i turned over in my mind what could have possibly given occasion for this, when the great chief & captain of the savages came to tell me that some young men of the band, irritated by the recollection of that which the english had said to them, that my brother, des groseilliers, was dead, that i was a prisoner, & that they were come to make all the other frenchmen perish, as well as some reports of cannon that they had fired with ball in the wood the day that i was arrived, had thus thrown away this tobacco which had come from the english by mistake, not wishing to smoke any of it. he assured me also that the young men had wicked designs upon the english; that he had diverted them from it by hindering them from going out of the house. the governor, who had difficulty in believing that this tobacco thrown upon the sands was the omen of some grievous enterprise, was nevertheless convinced of it by the discourse of the savage. i begged him to come with me into the house, & to go out from it no more, with the other english, for some time; assuring them, nevertheless, that they had nothing to fear, & that all the french & myself would perish rather than suffer that one of them should be in the least insulted. after which i ordered my nephew to make all those savages imbark immediately, so as to continue their journey as far as their own country, which was done. thus we were delivered from all kinds of apprehension, & free to work at our business. in the mean while i could not admire enough the constancy of my nephew & of his men in that in which they themselves laboured to dispossess themselves of any but good in favour of the english, their old enemies, for whom they had just pretensions, without having any other assurances of their satisfaction but the confidence that they had in my promises. besides, i could not prevent myself from showing the pleasure that i experienced in having succeeded in my enterprise, & of seeing that in commencing to give some proofs of my zeal for the service of the english company i made it profit them by an advantage very considerable; which gave them for the future assurances of my fidelity, & obliged them to have care of my interests in giving me that which belonged to me legitimately, & acquitting me towards my nephew & the other french of that which i had promissed them, & that a long & laborious work had gained for them. after that, that is to say, during the days that we rested in that house, i wished to inform myself exactly, from my nephew, in the presence of the englishmen, of all that which had passed between them since that i had departed from the country, & know in what manner he had killed two englishmen there; upon which my nephew began to speak in these words:-- "some days after your departure, in the year , the th of july, the number of reports of cannon-shots that we heard fired on the side of the great river made us believe that they came from some english ship that had arrived. in fact, having sent of my men to know, & endeavour to understand their design, i learned from them on their return that it was english ships, & that they had encountered men of that nation a league from these vessels, but that they had not spoken to them, having contented themselves with saluting both. as my principal design was to discover the english ones, & that my men had done nothing in it, i sent back others of them to inform themselves of all that passed. these last, having arrived at the point which is between the rivers of nelson & hayes, they met or savages loaded with merchandise, to whom, having demanded from whence they were & from whence they had come, they had replied that their nation lived along the river called nenosavern, which was at the south of that of hayes, & that they came to trade with their brothers, who were established at the bottom of the bay; after which my men told them who they were and where they lived, in begging them to come smoke with them some tobacco the most esteemed in the country; to which they freely consented, in making it appear to them that they were much chagrined in not having known sooner that we were established near them, giving evidence that they would have been well pleased to have made their trade with us. "in continueing to converse upon several things touching trade, they arrived together in our house, reserving each time that but one of them should enter at once; which under a pretext of having forgotten something, one had returned upon his steps, saying to his comrades that they had leave to wait for him at the house of the french, where he arrived days after, to be the witness of the good reception that i made to his brothers, whom i made also participants in giving to him some tobacco; but i discovered that this savage had had quite another design than of going to seek that which he had lost, having learned that he had been heard telling the other savages that he had been to find the english, & that he was charged by them of making some enterprise against us. in fact, this villain, having seen me alone & without any defence, must set himself to execute his wicked design. he seized me by the hand, & in telling me that i was of no value since i loved not the english, & that i had not paid him by a present for the possession of the country that i lived in to him who was the chief of all the nations, & the friend of the english at the bottom of the bay, he let fall the robe which covered him, & standing all naked he struck me a blow with his poniard, which i luckily parried with the hand, where i received a light wound, which did not hinder me from seizing him by a necklace that he had around his neck, & of throwing him to the ground; which having given me the leisure of taking my sword & looking about, i perceived that the other savages had also poniards in their hands, with the exception of one, who cried out, 'do not kill the french; for their death will be avenged, by all the nations from above, upon all our families.' "the movement that i had made to take my sword did not prevent me from holding my foot upon the throat of my enemy, & knew that that posture on my sword had frightened the other conspirators. there was none of them there who dared approach; on the contrary, they all went out of the house armed with their poniards. but some frenchmen who were near to us, having perceived things thus, they ran in a fury right to the house, where having entered, the savages threw their poniards upon the ground in saying to us that the english had promissed to their chief a barrel of powder & other merchandise to kill all the french; but that their chief being dead, for they believed in fact that he was so, we had nothing more to fear, because that they were men of courage, abhorring wicked actions. my people, having seen that i was wounded, put themselves into a state to lay violent hands on the savages; but i prevented any disturbance, wishing by that generousity, & in sparing his life to the chief, to give some proofs of my courage, & that i did not fear neither the english there nor themselves. after which they left us, & we resolved to put ourselves better upon our guard in the future, & of making come to our relief the savages our allies. "some days after, these savages, by the smoke of our fires, which were our ordinary signals, arrived at our house. according to their custom, they having been apprised of my adventure, without saying anything to us, marched upon the track of the other savages, & having overtaken them, they invited them to a feast, in order to know from them the truth of the things; of which having been informed, the one among them who was my adopted brother-in-law spoke to the chief who had wished to assassinate me thus, as has been reported to me by him: 'thou art not a man, because that, having about thee of thy people thou hast tried to accomplish the end of killing a single man.' to which the other replied haughtily, & with impudence, 'it is true; but if i have missed him this autumn with the fifteen men, he shall not escape in the spring by my own hand alone.' 'it is necessary,' then replied my adopted brother-in-law, 'that thou makest me die first; for without that i shall hinder thy wicked design.' upon which, having come within reach, the chief whose life i had spared received a blow of a bayonet in the stomach, & another of a hatchet upon the head, upon which he fell dead upon the spot. in respect to the others, they did not retaliate with any kind of bad treatment, & they allowed them to retire with all liberty, in saying to them that if they were in the design of revenging the death of their chief, they had only to speak, & they would declare war upon them. "after that expedition these same savages our allies divided into two parties, & without telling us their design descended to the place where the english made their establishment; they attacked them & killed some of them, of which they then came to inform me, in telling me that they had killed a great number of my enemies to avenge me of the conspiracy that they had done me & my brother, and that they were ready to sacrifice their lives for my service; in recognition of which i thanked them & made them a feast, begging them not to kill any more of them, & to await the return of my father & my uncle, who would revenge upon the english the insult which they had made me, without their tarnishing the glory that they had merited in chastising the english & the savages, their friends, of their perfidy. we were nevertheless always upon the defensive, & we apprehended being surprised at the place where we were as much on the part of the english, as of those of the savages, their friends; that is why we resolved of coming to establish ourselves in the place where we are at present, & which is, as you see, difficult enough of access for all those who have not been enslaved as we are amongst the savages. we built there this house in a few days with the assistance of the savages, & for still greater security we obliged several among them to pass the winter with us on the condition of our feeding them, which was the reason that our young men parted in the summer, having almost consumed all our provisions. during the winter nothing worthy of mention passed, except that some savages made several juggles to know from our manitou, who is their familiar spirit among them, if my father and my uncle would return in the spring; who answered them that they would not be missing there, and that they would bring with them all kinds of merchandise and of that which would avenge them on their enemies. "at the beginning of april, , some savages from the south coast arrived at our new house to trade for guns; but as we had none of them they went to the english, who had, as i afterwards learned, made them some presents & promissed them many other things if they would undertake to kill me with the one of my men whom you saw still wounded, who spoke plainly the language of the country. these savages, encouraged by the hope of gain, accepted the proposition and promissed to execute it. for that means they found an opportunity of gaining over one of the savages who was among us, who served them as a spy, and informed them of all that we did. nevertheless they dared not attack us with open force, because they feared us, & that was the reason why they proceeded otherwise in it; and this is how it was to be done. "the frenchman that you saw wounded, having gone by my orders with one of his comrades to the place where these savages, our friends, made some smoked stag meat that they had killed, to tell them to bring me some of it, fell, in chasing a stag, upon the barrel of his gun, and bent it in such a manner that he could not kill anything with it without before having straightened it; which having done, after having arrived at the place where the savages were, he wished to make a test of it, firing blank at some distance from their cabin; but whilst he disposed himself to that, one of the savages who had promissed to the english his death & mine, who was unknown to several of his comrades amongst the others, fired a shot at him with his gun, which pierced his shoulder with a ball. he cried out directly that they had killed him, & that it was for the men who loved the french to avenge his death; which the savages who were our friends having heard, went out of their cabins & followed the culprit without his adherents daring to declare themselves. but the pursuit was useless, for he saved himself in the wood after having thrown away his gun & taken in its place his bow & his quiver. this behaviour surprised our allies, the savages, exceedingly, & obliged them to swear, in their manner, vengeance for it, as much against that savage nation as against the english; but not having enough guns for that enterprise, they resolved to wait until my father and uncle had arrived. in the mean time they sent to entreat all the nations who had sworn friendship to my father & my uncle to come to make war upon the english & the savages on the southern coast, representing to them that they were obliged to take our side because that they had at other times accepted our presents in token of peace & of goodwill; that as to the rest, we were always men of courage, & their brothers. "as soon as these other nations had received intelligence of the condition in which we were, they resolved to assist us with all their forces, & in waiting the return of my father or my uncle to send hostages for it to give a token of their courage, in the persons of two of their young men. one of the most considerable chiefs among these nations was deputed to conduct them. i received them as i ought. this chief was the adopted father of my uncle, & one of the best friends of the french, whom i found adapted to serve me to procure an interview with the english, to the end of knowing what could possibly be their resolution. for that purpose i deputed this chief savage towards the english, to persuade them to allow that i should visit them & take their word that they would not make me any insult, neither whilst with them nor along the route there, for which this chief stood security. the english accepted the proposition. i made them a visit with one of the french who carried the present that i had seat to make them, in the manner of the savages, & who received it on their part for me according to custom. we traded nothing in that interview regarding our business, because i remembered that the english attributed directly that which had been done against them to the savages. all the advantage that i received in that step was of making a trade for the savages, my friends, of guns which i wanted; although they cost me dear by the gratuity which i was obliged to make to those who i employed there; but it was important that i had in fact hindered the savages from it who came down from the country to trade, of passing on as far as the english. the end of that invitation and that visit, was that i promissed to the solicitation of the governor of the english of visiting there once again with my chief; after which we retired to our house, where i was informed by some discontented savages not to go any more to see the english, because that they had resolved either to arrest me prisoner or of killing me. which my chief having also learned, he told me that he wished no more to be security with his word with a nation who had none of it; which obliged us to remain at home, keeping up a very strict guard. at the same time the river hayes having become free, several detachments of the nations who were our allies arrived to assist us. the asenipoetes [footnote: _asenipoetes, assinipoueles, assenipoulacs,_ and, according to dr. o'callaghan, _assiniboins_, or "sioux of the rocks."] alone made more than men. they were the descendants of the great christionaux of the old acquaintance of my uncle, & all ready to make war with the english; but i did not find it desirable to interest them in it directly nor indirectly, because i did not wish to be held on the defensive in awaiting the return of my father or of my uncle, & that besides i knew that several other nations who loved the french, more particularly those who would come to our relief at the least signal. in the mean time the chief of the asenipoetes did not wish us to leave his camp around our house, resolved to await up to the last moment the return of my uncle, of whom he always spoke, making himself break forth with the joy that he would have in seeing him by a thousand postures; & he often repeated that he wished to make it appear that he had been worthy of the presents that the governor of canada had made to him formerly in giving tokens of his zeal to serve the french. "the necessity for stores which should arrive in their camp partly hindered the effects of that praiseworthy resolution, & obliged the chief of the asenipoetes to send back into his country canoes in which he embarked men of the most feeble & of the least resolute. he kept with him a like number of them more robust, & those who were able to endure fatigue & hunger, and determined having them to content themselves with certain small fruits, which commenced to ripen, for their subsistence, in order to await the new moon, in which the spirit of the other savages had predicted the arrival of my uncle, which they believed infallible, because their superstitious custom is of giving faith to all which their manitou predicts. they remained in that state until the end of the first quarter of the moon, during which their oracles had assured them that my uncle would arrive; but the time having expired, they believed their manitou had deceived them, & it was determined between them to join themselves with us & of separating in bodys, so as to go attack the english & the savages at the south; resolved in case that the enterprise had the success that they expected, of passing the winter with us, to burn the english ships in order to remove the means of defending themselves in the spring & of effecting their return. that which contributed much to that deliberation was some information which was given to them that the english had formed a design of coming to seek the french to attack them, which they wished to prevent. "these menaces on the part of the english were capable of producing bad effects, the genius of the savages being of never awaiting their enemies, but on the contrary of going to seek them. in this design the chief of the asenipoetes disposed himself to march against the english with a party of his people; when or persons were seen on the northern side of the hayes river seeking for these same fruits on which the savages had lived for some time, he believed that they were the advance guard of the english & of the savages from the south, whom he supposed united, who came to attack us; which obliged him to make all his men take their bows and arrows, after which he ranged them in order of battle & made this address in our presence: 'my design is to pass the river with of the most courageous among you to go attack the enemy, & of disposing of you in a manner that you may be in a condition of relieving me or of receiving me, whilst the french will form the corps of reserve; that our women will load in our canoes all our effects, which they are to throw over in case necessity requires it but before undertaking this expedition i wish that you make choice of a chief to command you in my absence or in case of my death.' which having been done at the moment, this brave chief addressing us said: 'we camp ourselves upon the edge of the wood with our guns, so as to hinder the approach of the enemy; & then it would be necessary to march the men upon the edge of the water, to the end that they should be in a condition to pass to support or to receive him, according to the necessity.' "after that he passes the river with men of the most hardihood of his troops, who had greased themselves, like himself, from the feet up to the head. having each only poniards for arms, their design was to go right to the chief of the english, present to him a pipe of tobacco as a mark of union, & then, if he refused it, endeavour to kill him & make for themselves a passage through his people with their poniards as far as the place where they would be able to pass the river to be supported by their men. but after having marched as far as the place where the persons were who they had seen, they recognized that it was some women; to whom having spoken, they returned upon their steps, & said to us that there was nothing to fear, & that it was a false alarm. this general proceeding on their part gave us proofs of their courage & of their amity in a manner that the confidence that we had placed in their help had put us in a condition of fearing nothing on the part of the english nor of those there of the savages of the south; and we were in that state when god, who is the author of all things, & who disposes of them according to his good pleasure, gave me the grace of my uncle's arrival in this country to arrest the course of the disorders, who could come & work for our reconciliation. that work so much desired on both sides is accomplished. it depends not upon me that it may not be permanent. live henceforth like brothers in good union & without jealousy. as to myself, i am resolved, if the time should arrive, of sacrificing my life for the glory of the king of great britain, for the interest of the nation & the advantage of the hudson's bay company, & of obeying in all thirds my uncle." i found this with regard to repeating the recital that my nephew made us concerning what had passed between him & the english & the savages, their allies, that although he had apprised me of the true state in which the parties were at the time of my arrival, yet i also saw plainly the need that the english had of being succoured, & the necessity that the french had for provisions, of merchandise, and especially of guns, which could not come to them but by my means. but it is time to resume the care of our affairs, & to continue to render an account of our conduct. our people worked always with great application to transport the beaver skins a half league across the wood, for it was the road that it was necessary to make from the house as far as the place where the shallops were, & they carried them to the little frigate, which discharged them upon the ships. i was always present at the work, for the purpose of animating all our men, who gave themselves in this work no rest until it was done, & that against the experience of the captains of our ships, whom some had made believe that the business would drag at length; but having gone to them i assured them that if they were ready to do so they could raise the anchor to-morrow. there things thus disposed of, it only disturbed me yet more to execute a secret order that the company had given me, leaving it, however, to my prudence and discretion. it was of retaining in its service my nephew and some other frenchmen, & above all the one who spoke the savage dialect, who was the wounded one, to remain in the country in my absence, which i dared not promise myself. in the meantime i resolved to make the proposition to my nephew, believing that after gaining him i should be able easily to add the others also. i caused to assemble for that end or of the savages of the most consideration in the country with the governor, & in their presence i said to him, that for the glory of the king & for the advantage of the company it was necessary that he should remain in the country. to which he was averse at first; but the governor having assured him that he would trust him as his own nephew, & that he would divide the authority that he had with him, & myself on my part having reproached him that he was not loyal to the oath of allegiance that he had sworn to me, these reasons obliged him to determine, & he assured me that he was ready to do all that i wished of him. what contributed much was the discourse that the savages made to him, telling him that i left him amongst them to receive in my absence the marks of amity that they had sworn to me, & that they regarded him as the nephew of the one who had brought peace to the nations & made the union of the english & french in making by the same means the brothers of both. this last success in my affairs was proof to me of the authority that i had over the french & the savages; for my nephew had no sooner declared that he submitted himself to do what i wished, than all the other frenchmen offered themselves to risk the ennui of remaining in the country, although my design was only to leave but two of them; & the savages on their part burst out in cries of joy in such a manner that i no more considered after that but to put an end to all things. all our beaver skins having been embarked, i resolved, after having put everything into tranquil & assured state for my return into england, where my presence was absolutely necessary, to make known to the company in what manner it was necessary to act to profit advantageously the solid establishment that i came to do & the things which were of indispensible necessity in the country to facilitate the trade with the savages & hindering them from making any of it with foreigners, that is to say, with the french of canada. i was then for the last time with my nephew at the house of our frenchmen, to the end of leaving there some englishmen. i found there a number of savages arrived to visit me, who called my nephew & myself into one of their cabins, where a venerable old man spoke to me in these terms: "porcupine's head, thy heart is good & thou hast great courage, having made peace with the english for the love of us. behold, we have come towards thee, old & young, wives & daughters & little children, to thank thee for it, & to recognise thee for our father. we wish to be the children & adopt for our son thy nephew that thou lovest so much, & in fine to give thee an eternal mark of the obligation that we have to thee. we weep no more henceforth except for the memory of those of whom thou bearest the name." after which, having told one of the young people to speak, he fell like as if in a swoon, & the other spoke after that same manner: "men & women, young men & children, even those who are at the breast, remember this one here for your father. he is better than the sun who warms you. you will find always in him a protector who will help you in your needs & console you in your afflictions. men, remember that he gave you guns during the course of the year for you to defend yourselves against your enemies, & to kill the beasts who nourish you & your families. wives, consider that he gave you hatchets & knives with which you banish hunger from your country; daughters & children, fear nothing more, since the one who is your father loves you always, & that he gave you from time to time all that is necessary for you to have your subsistance. we all together weep no more, on the contrary give evidence by cries of our mirth that we have beheld the man of courage;" & at the same time they set themselves to cry with all their might, weeping bitterly for the last time, in saying, "we have lost our father; [footnote: "but here is one that you adopt for your father." _note by radisson,_] we have lost our children." [footnote: "here is the nephew of your father, who will be your son; he remains with you & he will have care of his mothers." _note by radisson,_] after that piteful music they all came to be acknowledged. to be acknowledged by our adoption with some presents, & covering us with robes of white beaver skins, giving us quantities of beavers' tails, some bladders of stag's marrow, several tongues of the same animal smoked, that which is the most exquisite to eat among them. they also presented us two great copper boilers full of smoked & boiled flesh, of which we ate all together, they, the english, & ourselves, & it is what is called a feast among these nations. after that i said adieu to them, & having given charge in the house what should be embarked in the ship, i went down to the mouth of the river, where captain gazer worked to build a fort in the same place where the preceding year sieur bridger had made to be constructed his shallop. it was the most advantageous situation that he had been able to find, & i advised that he should make all the diligence possible; but he had some men who by their delicacy were incapable of responding to his vigilence. i made this observation because i hold it for a maxim that one should only employ men robust, skilful, & capable of serving, & that those who are of a complexion feeble, or who flatter themselves of having protection & favour, ought to be dismissed. then we passed to the place where the ships were, because my design was to oblige by my presence the captains to return to their ships ready to make sail; but i was no sooner arrived there than a savage came to inform me that my adopted father, whom i had not seen because that he was at the wars, waited for me at the place where captain gazer was building the fort of which i came to speak. that is why i resolved to go there, & i expressed the same hope to the savage whom i sent back to give information to my father that the governor would come with me to make some friendship to him & protect him in my absence. it was with the consent of the governor & upon his parole that i had told him that; nevertheless he did not wish to come, & i was for the first time found a liar among the savages, which is of a dangerous consequence, for these nations have in abomination this vice. he came to me, however, in no wise angry in that interview, & i received not even a reproach from him. when i was at the rendezvous they told me that my adopted father was gone away from it because i had annoyed a savage, for he had been informed that i had arrived to see him. this savage having remembered the obligation to return, although very sad on account of some news that he had learned upon the road, which was that the chief of the nation who inhabited the height above the river neosaverne, named "the bearded," & one of his sons, who were his relations, had been killed in going to insult those among the savages who were set to the duty of taking care of the frenchman who had been wounded by a savage gained over by the english, after that he had embraced me, & that he had informed me of the circumstance of that affaire, & the number of people he had as followers, i wrote to the governor to come to me in the place where we were, to make him know in effect that he must after my departure prevent the continuation of these disorders in virtue of the treaty of peace & of union that i had made in presence of the savages between the french & the english. the governor having arrived, i presented to him my adopted father, & said to him that as it was the chief who commanded the nation that inhabited in the place where they built the fort, i had made him some little presents by captain gazer, & that it was also desirable that he make some to him, because i had promissed some the preceeding year that i had not given; which the governor found very bad, & he became irritated even against this chief without any cause for it; except that it might be because he was my adopted father, & i have learned since that he was angry that when i had arrived i had not given any present to a simple savage who served as a spy, who was the son of that chief called "the bearded." that was a horrible extravagence; for this governor was inferior to me, & i was not under any obligation to recognize his favor; besides, i had never made any presents but to the chiefs of the nations. moreover, it was not for our governor to censure my conduct. i had received some independent orders, which had been given me on account of the outrage that he had committed; but acting for the service of my king and for those of the company, i passed it over in silence. i saw that it would be imprudent if i should speak my sentiments openly to a man who after my departure should command all those who remained in the country.[footnote: "that would have perhaps drawn upon him some contempt." _note by radisson._ ] i contented myself then with letting him know the inconveniences which would happen from the indifference that he affected to have for the chief of the savage nations, & i exhorted him also to change at once his policy in regard to my adopted father; not by that consideration, but because that he was, as i said to him, the chief of the nations which inhabited the place where they built the fort, which he promissed me of undoing. after that i went on board our ship. my nephew, who remained in the fort with the governor, having learned that the ships were ready to leave, kept himself near me with the french whom i had resolved to leave in canada, to say adieu to me, & it was in the company of this governor that they made the journey, during which, as i have since learned from my nephew, he showed to them more good will than he had yet done, assuring them that they should never want anything, & in consideration of me they would receive the same treatment as himself. the behaviour that my nephew & the other frenchmen had shown gave no reason for doubting the sincerity of their protestations. they no longer believed that any one could have any mistrust of them. my nephew & his interpreter had been solicited to remain in the country to serve the company, & they had consented to it without a murmur because i had charged myself with the care of their interests in england. all that passed in the presence and by the persuasions of the governor. nevertheless, behold a surprising change which came to pass by the inconstancy, the caprice, & the wicked behaviour of this same governor. i disposed myself to part with the other frenchmen, when the governor, having come aboard of the little frigate, caused a signal to be made to hold a council of war. upon this the captains of the ships & myself rendered ourselves on board, where my nephew followed us, remaining upon the poop, whilst the officers & myself were in the room where this governor demanded of us, at first, if we had any valid reasons why he should not send back in the ships all the frenchmen who were in the country; to all which the others having said nothing, i was obliged to speak in these terms: "at my departure from england i received a verbal order from the company, in particular from sir james hayes, to leave in the country where we are as many of the frenchmen as i should find desirable for the good & advantage of the company. i have upon that resolved to engage my nephew & his interpreter to remain in it, & i have come for that end, by my attendance, for the consent of the governor, who demands to-day that they may be sent back as people who apparently are known to him as suspected. i have always believed, & i believe it still, that their presence is useful in this country and also necessary to the company, and it was difficult to be able to overlook two, because they are known to all the nations. it is also upon them that i have relied for the security of the merchandises which are left behind at the houses of the french, because without their assistance or their presence they would be exposed to pillage. nevertheless i do not pretend to oppose my self to the design that the governor has put in execution & the proposition that he proposes making. he is free to undo what he pleases, but he cannot make me subscribe to his resolutions, because i see that they are directly opposed to those of the company, to my instructions, and to my experience. on the contrary, i will protest before god and before men against all that he does, because, after what he has said to you, he is incapable of doing what is advantageous for his masters. it is in vain that one should give him good councels, for he has not the spirit to understand them, that he may again deal a blow to which he would wish i opposed nothing." this declaration had without doubt made some impression upon a spirit not anticipated in an imaginary capacity of governor; but this one here, on the contrary, fortified himself in his resolution, & begged me to tell the french to embark themselves, without considering that my nephew had not time enough to go seek his clothes, nor several bonds that were due to him in canada, which remained in the house of the french, and that i had abandoned to him, to yield whatever i was in a condition of giving satisfaction to him, & that in the hope that the company would set up for him the way exclusively. the council after that broke up; but the governor, apprehending that the frenchmen would not obey, wished to give an order to the captains to seize upon them and put them on board. he had even the insolence of putting me first on the lists, as if i was suspected or guilty of something, for which captain bond having perceived, said to him that he should not make a charge of that kind, as i must be excepted from it, because he remembered nothing in me but much of attachment for the service of his masters, & that they should take care of the establishment that we had made, & of the advantages that would accrue to the company. they obliged the governor to make another list, and thus finished a council of war held against the interests of those who had given power to assemble them. the persons who had any knowledge of these savages of the north would be able to judge of the prejudice which the conduct of this imprudent governor would without contradiction have caused the company. many would attribute his proceeding to his little experience, or to some particular hatred that he had conceived against the french. be it as it may, i was not of his way of thinking; and i believed that his timidity & want of courage had prompted him to do all that he had done, by the apprehension that he had of the french undertaking something against him; & what confirmed me in that thought was the precaution that he had taken for preventing the french from speaking to any person since the day of council, for he put them away from the moment that we went away from them. i made out also that he had wanted but the occasion of putting to the sword my nephew if he had had the least pretext; but knowing his wicked designs, i made him understand, as well as the other frenchmen, that we were to go to england, & that he must not leave the ship, because we were at any moment ready to depart. although this change surprised my nephew & his interpreter, nevertheless they appeared not discontented with it, especially when i had assured them, as well as the other frenchmen, that they would receive all kinds of good treatment in england, and that it would do them no harm in their persons nor in their pretensions. i left them then in the ship, and having embarked myself in the frigate, we were put ashore two leagues from the place where they were at anchor, to take on board some goods that remained on the shore, with more diligence than we had been able to make with the ships; which having succeeded in happily doing, we went to rejoin the ships at the place where they were at anchor, in one of which my nephew and the other frenchmen were staying during this time without having taken the least step, although they were in a condition for any enterprise, because they could easily render themselves masters of the two ships and burn them, having there for both but two men and one boy in each; after which they could also, without danger, go on shore on the south side with the canoes of the savages, who were from the north, and then make themselves masters of their houses and their merchandise, which were guarded but by two men; but to go there to them, he made doubts of all that i had told him, and that it would be ill intentioned to the service of the company, as it was to the governor. that is why they were not capable, neither those nor the others, after having submitted themselves & having taken the oath of fidelity as they had done. at length, after having suffered in my honour and in my probity many things on the part of the governor, [footnote: "before radisson's arrival, capt. john abraham had been to port nelson with supplies of stores, & finding mr bridgar was gone, he staid himself, & was continued governor by the company in ." _oldmixon_.] and much fatigue and indisposition of trouble and of care in my person, to come to the end of my design, having happily succeeded, and all that was to be embarked in the ships being on board, we made sail the th day of september, , and we arrived at the downs, without anything passing worth mentioning, the rd of october of the same year. the impatience that i had of informing the gentlemen of the hudson's bay company of the happy success of my voyage, and our return, and that i had acquitted myself for the service of the king and their own interest in all the engagements into which i had entered, obliged me to mount a horse the same day, to present myself in london, where i arrived at midnight. all which did not hinder me, so the sieur ecuyer young was informed, who was one of those interested, who having come to me on the morrow morning to take me, did me the honour to present me to his majesty and to his royal highness, to whom i rendered an account of all which had been done; and i had the consolation of receiving some marks of the satisfaction of these great princes, who in token gave order to the sieur ecuyer young to tell the company to have care of my interests, & to remember my services. some days after, i went before the committee of the hudson's bay company, to render to it an account of my conduct, hoping to receive their approbation of my proceeding as the first fruits of the just satisfaction & recompence which was my due; but in place of that i found the members of the committee for the most part offended because i had had the honour of making my reverence to the king and to his royal highness, & these same persons continued even their bad intention to injure me, and, under pretext of refusing me the justice which is due to me, they oppose themselves also to the solid and useful resolutions that are necessary for the glory of his majesty and the advantage of the nation and their own interest. finis. officers of the prince society. . * * * * * _president_. the rev. edmund f. slafter, a.m. boston, mass. _vice-presidents_. john ward dean, a.m. boston, mass. william b. trask boston, mass. the hon. charles h. bell, ll.d. exeter, n.h. james p. baxter, a.m. portland, me. _corresponding secretary_. the rev. henry w. foote, a.m. boston, mass. _recording secretary_. david greene haskins, jr., a.m. cambridge, mass. _treasurer_. elbridge h. goss boston, mass. the prince society. . * * * * * the hon. charles francis adams, ll.d. boston, mass. charles francis adams, jr., a.b. quincy, mass. thomas coffin amory, a.m. boston, mass. william sumner appleton, a.m. boston, mass. walter t. avery new york, n.y. thomas willing balch philadelphia, pa. george l. balcom claremont, n.h. charles candee baldwin, m.a. cleveland, ohio. charles e. banks, m.d. chelsea, mass. samuel l. m. barlow new york, n.y. james phinney baxter, 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gardner white, a.m. cambridge, mass. william h. whitmore, a.m. boston, mass. henry austin whitney, a.m. boston, mass. the hon. marshall p. wilder, ph.d., ll.d. boston, mass. henry winsor philadelphia, pa. the hon. robert c. winthrop, ll.d. boston, mass. charles levi woodbury boston, mass. ashbel woodward, m.d. franklin, ct. j. otis woodward albany, n.y. libraries. american antiquarian society worcester, mass. amherst college library amherst, mass. astor library new york, n.y. bibliotheque nationale paris, france. bodleian library oxford, eng. boston athenaeum boston, mass. boston library society boston, mass. british museum london, eng. concord public library concord, mass. cornell university library ithaca, n.y. eben dale sutton reference library peabody, mass. free public library worcester, mass. free public library of toronto toronto, canada. gloucester public library gloucester, mass. grosvenor library buffalo, n.y. harvard college library cambridge, mass. historical society of pennsylvania philadelphia, pa. lancaster public library lancaster, mass. library company of philadelphia philadelphia, pa. library of parliament ottawa, canada. library of the state department washington, d.c. literary and historical society of quebec quebec, canada. long island historical society brooklyn, n.y. maine historical society portland, me. maryland historical society baltimore, md. massachusetts historical society boston, mass. mercantile library new york, n.y. minnesota historical society st. paul, minn. newburyport public library, peabody fund newburyport, mass. new england historic genealogical society boston, mass. newton free library newton, mass. new york society library new york, n.y. peabody institute of the city of baltimore baltimore, md. plymouth public library plymouth, mass. portsmouth athensum portsmouth, n.h. public library of cincinnati cincinnati, ohio. public library of the city of boston boston, mass. redwood library newport, r.i. state historical society of wisconsin madison, wis. state library of massachusetts boston, mass. state library of new york albany, n.y. state library of rhode island providence, r.i. state library of vermont montpelier, vt. williams college library williamstown, mass. woburn public library woburn, mass. yale college library new haven, ct. young men's library buffalo, n.y. index. abaouicktigonions abraham, capt. john accadia ahondironons akrahkuseronoms algonquins allmund, peter amickkoicks amsterdam andasstoueronom andonanchronons animal, a strange aniot nation annikouay anojot anomiacks anontackeronons anticosti island aoveatsiovaenhronons arendarrhonons go to onondaga ariotachronoms arlington, lord asenipoetes asinipour assenipoulacs. (see asenipoetes.) assickmack assiniboins. (see asenipoetes.) assinipoueles. (see asenipoetes.) atcheligonens attignaonantons join the mohawks attignenonhacs attikamegues attionendarouks attochingochronons auriniacks avieronons aviottronons b. baffin's bay baily, capt. charles barbadoes basse, caught for oil bayly, capt. charles. (see baily, capt. charles.) bear family. (see attignaonantons.) bear, white, the eating of makes men sick bears, abundance of beavers beef indians bellinzany, monsieur berger, captain bersiamites blackberries boats of oriniack skins bond, captain bordeaux boston bouchard, jean bouchard-darval family bradley, myrick bridgar, captain brother. (_see_ chouart, medard.) brough, defined buffes button's bay button, sir thomas c. cadis, the cagamite, defined camseau canada cape de magdelaine cape henry caper, the ship carr, george carr, sir robert carriboucks cartaret, sir george carteret, col. george. (_see_ cartwright, col. george.) cartwright, col. george cass, governor casson, dollier de castors castors, skins used for bottles; sold by indians for corn; a source of profit to the fathers cayuga village charles ii. charlevoix chaudiere chaumont, father chisedeck christinos, the chouart, jean baptiste chouart, marie antoinette chouart, medard; arrives in canada; marries; a donne at lake huron; becomes a trader; called sieur des groseilliers; children of; travels with radisson; called des groseilliers and spoken of as a brother of radisson citrulles clarke, j. v. h. colbert, monsieur cole, captain colleton, sir peter colonial documents of new york copper, abundance of copper wire used by indians cord family. (see attignenonhacs.) cows, wild cruelties of indians d. dab-fish dablon, father d'argenson, viscount de frontinac, count de la barre, governor delheure, monsieur denier, monsieur de seignelay, marquis des groseilliers, --, nephew of radisson --(see chouart, medard.) d'estrees, jean, count de witt dollard, adam doric rock dress of indians. (see indian costume.) drums of indians du chefneau, monsieur ducks, abundance of duhamel, rev. joseph thomas duperon, joseph inbert dupuys, sieur e. eagle, the ship ehriehronoms elends elks ellis's manuscripts england eressaronoms eruata, defined escotecke escouteck eslan esquimos f. fire indians fishes of large size fort albany fort bourbon fort charles fort orange fort richelieu foucault, nicolai joseph france french, the, break the treaty, and come into a collision in hudson's bay g. gailliards gazer, captain genealogical dictionary of canadian families gien, a musical instrument gillam, captain zachariah gillam, --, son of captain zachariah goats godfrey, marguerite godfry, john baptista gooseberries gorst, thomas grapes green point groseilliers. (see chouart, medard.) guillam. (see gillam.) guinea, visited by radisson guitar h. hallow isle happy return, the ship hayes river hayes, sir james hayes, the sloop, captured hight of st. louis holland hollanders horiniac, defined huattochronoms hudson's bay hudson's bay company hudson's bay trade hudson's straits huron islands hurons hurons, massacred by iroquois, number of i. indian amusements indian costumes indian council, described indian cruelties. (see cruelties of indians.) indians, designated by their footmarks, indians, eat human flesh, indians, food of indians, funeral rites indians, luggage described indians, manner of cooking their meat indians, manner of sweating indians, their musical instruments indians, nations of the north, nations of the south indians, pierce their ears and noses indians, treachery of ireland iroquois join the mohawks; massacre the hurons isle d'ane isle d'eluticosty isle of cape breton isle of montreal isle of orleans isle of richelieu isle of sand isle perse isles of toniata italy compared to america j. jacques, father jalot, jean jaluck james ii james bay jesuits k. kakivvakiona river kawirinagaw river kechechewan river keweena river kinoncheripirini kionontateronons kirke, sir david kirke, sir john kirke, sir lewis kischeripirini knisteneaux. (see christinos.) konkhaderichonons kotakoaveteny l. la hontan lake assiniboin lake champlaine lake huron lake of castors lake of the stinkings lake ontario lake st. francis lake st. louis lake st. peter lake superior le gardeur, noel le mercier, father francis lichen, _tripe des roche_ london longpoint long sault, massacre at louis xiv low iroquois country lyddel, governor william m. maesoochy nadone maingonis malhonmines malhonniners manatte (see manhattan and new netherland.) manhattan mantoneck marie, monsieur maringoines martin, abraham massacre of hurons massacre at long sault matouchkarini matonenocks maverick, samuel medicine-bag menada mesnard, father messipi mile island minisigons minutes relating to hudson's bay company mission, jesuit, at lake superior mitchitamon mohawks montignes montmorency river montreal mont royal moose. (_see_ castors and elends.) moose river mountaignaies musquetos. (_see_ maringoines.) n. nadone nadoneceronon nadoneceronons (_see_ nation of beefe.) nadoucenako nadouceronons nantucket nasaonakouetons nation of beefe (_see_ nadoneceronons.) nation of the sault nations of the north nations of the south neill, rev. e. d. nelson's harbor nelson's river nenosavern river neosavern river nephew of radisson. (_see_ des groseilliers.) new amsterdam new england new netherland new york new york colonial mss. nicolls, col. richard niel, genevieve nipisiriniens nojottaga noncet, father joseph nonsuch, the ship nontageya. (_see_ onondaga.) o. oats, nation of o'callaghan, dr. octanacks ohcrokonanechronons oiongoiconon. (_see_ cayuga.) ojibways okinotoname oldmixon oneida village oneronoms onondagas onondaga village; number of indians in that vicinity; mission ontorahronons orignal orijonots orimha, defined orinal orinha oriniacke; defined; how cooked ormeaux, sieur des orturbi oscovarahronoms oslar, captain ottanaks otters ouachegami ouendack ougmarahronoms ouncisagay ountchatarounongha outimagami outlaw, captain ovaouchkairing ovasovarin oxford oyongoironons p. pacoiquis paris parkman, francis pasnoestigons pauabickhomesibs peace of utrecht peerce island pepys, samuel perse, l'isle pictured rocks pierce, captain piffings plains of abraham, named after abraham martin point comfort point of st. louis poirier, marie pontonatemick porcelaine porpoises, white portall of st peter port nelson port royal preston, lord prince rupert, the ship prince rupert pumpkins q. quebec; the governor of, sends letter to captain baily quinipigousek r. radisson, claude volant de st. cloude radisson, etienne radisson, etienne volant radisson, francois radisson, jean francois radisson, marguerite radisson, nicholas radisson, peter esprit, emigrates to canada; birth of; marriage; children of; trade with indians; makes notes of his wanderings; title of first narrative; taken captive and escapes; embarks for holland and france, title of second narrative, returns to canada, joins jesuits, spends three years in travelling, third voyage, visits lake superior, offers to visit hudson's bay, meets english commissioners, lawsuit against, visits nantucket, taken to spain, in england, accused of trying to counterfeit coin, originated the hudson's bay settlement, visits prince rupert, difficulty with hudson's bay company, goes to port nelson, to france and england, with hudson's bay company ( ), narrative of, described, owners of, first voyage, goes fowling, superstition of, captured by indians, treatment of, taught to sing, dressed by indians, wrestles with an indian, adopted, taken on a journey, meets an algonquin and escapes, recaptured, tortured, parents protect him, foster-father, goes with the natives on the war-path, journey described, meets a strange animal, captures prisoners, kills prisoners, divides booty, meets foster-friends, visits fort orange, refuses to escape, repents the refusal, escapes, reaches menada, sails for amsterdam and reaches rochelle, second voyage, has iroquois guides, enters lake st. francis, treachery of iroquois, reaches a great river, searched by indians, meets old friends, his boat driven from shore, witnesses birth of an indian child, meets jesuits, treachery of indians, builds a ship, gives feast to indians, escapes, reaches lake ontario, reaches hight of st. louis, and rests at three rivers, prepares to start upon another voyage, warned by an indian, assaulted by indians, some of the party return, fights indians, meets indians from hudson's bay, made much of, describes the country, gives battle, rests for the winter, resumes his journey, forced to stop a year, calls a council, starts south, assaulted by iroquois, arrives at quebec, fourth narrative, proposes to make another voyage, assaulted by iroquois, attacks indian fort, indians escape, attacks another fort, burial of indians, kills his prisoners, reaches lake of castors, lake superior, finds much copper, compares the country with turkey, names the pictured rocks, visits huron islands, meets christinos, builds fort, remains twelve days, distributes presents, calls council, rests for the winter, famine, eats his dogs, visited by nadoneseronons, builds fort, council; feast; leaves with the nation of sault; accident; sick; helped by an indian; meets christinos; voyages among the islands; meets nation of the beefe; shows the indians a biblical image; hears of a river at the north; at river of the sturgeon; meets iroquois; arrives at the sault; visits place of massacre; arrives at port royal; wronged; his brother goes to france; goes to isle d'eluticosty; and then to cape breton; threatened by the french; enters hudson's straits; receives grant for fishing; goes to england; unsuccessful attempt to leave that country; vindicates himself; his marriage; his pension; brings his family to canada; voyage to guinea; in france; in england; in france; back to canada; sails for quebec and reaches accadia; mutiny on the ship; enters hudson's straits; visited by indians; gives presents; meets english; arrival of a new england ship; disputes their claim; loses winter provisions; visits the ships, but conceals the arrival of one from the other; returns to his house; hinders the spies sent by bridgar; sends provisions to bridgar; acts as spy; visited by gillam; words with gillam; takes gillam's fort and ship; surprised by bridgar's men; letter to bridgar; visit to bridgar, who breaks his promise; bridgar held a prisoner; goes to bridgar's house; sends a message to indians; freshet; visits bridgar, and finds men sick; helps bridgar to depart; indian council; bridgar makes trouble; weighs anchor; gives the bark to bridgar; is driven ashore; finds a fine harbor; arrives at quebec; restores ship to the new england merchants; letter from colbert; goes to france; complaints against; not proven; dissembles; french and english desire his co-operation, but he joins the english; presented to the king; sails from england; arrives at hayes river; meets the governor at port nelson; meets savages; meets his nephew; conference with his nephew; collects beaver skins; savages complain of the governor; conciliates the savages; divides his party; makes an inventory of his stores; finds tobacco scattered, as an omen; sends savages away; nephew explains why he killed two englishmen; loads ship with beaver skins; consults his nephew; places his affairs in the hands of his nephew and the governor; leave-taking with the indians; goes aboard ship, meets his foster-father, advises the governor to change his policy, counsel on ship-board, disagrees with governor, sails for and arrives in england, gives account of his voyage to the king, and goes before the hudson bay company, who refuse to give him his due, radisson, pierre, son of peter ragueneau, father paul raynbault, father rensselaerswyck rice river of canada river of richelieu river of the medows river of the sturgeon river ovamasis river saguenay river st. lawrence rochelle rock family of indians roquay rupert, prince rupert's river s. sable island sacgnes. (_see_ river saguenay.) sacquenes saegne. (_see_ river saguenay.) sagahigavirini sagamite, defined sagard-theodat sagnes river sagnitaovigama sagseggons saguenes saint peter's salt, indian name for salt, nation of. (_see_ nation of the sault) sanoutin country sault, company of sault, indians of the. (_see_ nation of the sault) sault of columest schoolcraft sea-serpents seneca village senecas, the shea, j. g. signelay. (_see_ de seignelay, marquis.) sioux sioux of the rocks skinchiohronoms sloane, sir hans socoquis sononteeonon. (_see_ seneca.) sonontueronons sorel, sieur spain squerells stags stairing haires stannard, captain straits of new foundland sturgeons t. tabittee indians tadousac tanguay, abbe cyprian tatanga tatarga tatousac river three rivers titascons tiviseimi tobacco scattered on the land, an omen of trouble tobaga tontataratonhronoms touret, elie godefroy tourne sol, how made trade-standard with indians trees painted trinivoick trips, _tripe des roche_ tsonnontonan. (_see_ seneca village.) turkey in europe compared to america turkeys turquois stone u. utrecht, peace of v. vimont, father virginia w. wampum y. york, duke of york, _alias_ fort bourbon young, sieur ecuyer none [frontispiece: jacques cartier] french pathfinders in north america by william henry johnson author of "the world's discoverers," "pioneer spaniards in north america," etc. _with seven full-page plates_ boston little, brown, and company copyright, , by little, brown, and company. all rights reserved {v} foreword the compiler of the following sketches does not make any claim to originality. he has dealt with material that has been used often and again. still there has seemed to him to be a place for a book which should outline the story of the great french explorers in such simple, direct fashion as might attract young readers. trying to meet this need, he has sought to add to the usefulness of the volume by introductory chapters, simple in language, but drawn from the best authorities and carefully considered, giving a view of indian society; also, by inserting numerous notes on indian tribal connections, customs, and the like subjects. by selecting a portion of radisson's journal for publication he does not by any means range himself on the side of the scholarly and gifted writer who has come forward as the champion of that picturesque scoundrel, and seriously proposes {vi} him as the real hero of the northwest, to whom, we are told, is due the honor which we have mistakenly lavished on such commonplace persons as champlain, joliet, marquette, and la salle. while the present writer is not qualified to express a critical opinion as to the merits of the controversy about radisson, a careful reading of his journal has given him an impression that the greatest part is so vague, so wanting in verifiable details, as to be worthless for historical purposes. one portion, however, seems unquestionably valuable, besides being exceedingly interesting. it is that which recounts his experiences on lake superior. it bears the plainest marks of truth and authenticity, and it is accepted as historical by the eminent critic, dr. reuben g. thwaites. therefore it is reproduced here, in abridged form; and on the strength of it radisson is assigned a place among the pathfinders. contents chapter page i. the origin and distribution of the indian race . . . ii. something about indian social life . . . . . . . . . iii. the iroquois league . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv. achievements of frenchmen in the north of america . . v. jacques cartier, the discoverer of canada . . . . . . vi. jean ribaut: the french at port royal, in south carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii. renÉ de laudonniÈre: planting a colony on the st. john's river . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii. samuel de champlain in nova scotia . . . . . . . . . ix. samuel de champlain (_continued_): the french on the st. lawrence and the great lakes . . . . . . . x. jesuit missionary pioneers . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi. jean nicollet, louis joliet, and father jacques marquette; the discoverers of the mississippi . . . . xii. pierre esprit radisson and mÉdard chouart explore lake superior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii. robert cavelier, sieur de la salle, the first explorer of the lower mississippi . . . . . . . . . . xiv. la salle and the founding of louisiana . . . . . . . l [supplement: the execution of his plan by bienville] xv. father louis hennepin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi. the vÉrendryes discover the rocky mountains . . . . . books for reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . list of illustrations jacques cartier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _frontispiece_ from the original painting by p. riis in the town hall of st. malo, france indian family tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fort caroline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . from de bry's "le moyne de bienville" samuel de champlain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . from the ducornet portrait fort of the iroquois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . from laverdière's "oeuvres de champlain" the murder of la salle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . from hennepin's "a new discovery of a vast country in america" le moyne de bienville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . from the original painting in the possession of j. a. allen, esq., kingston, ont. falls of st. anthony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . from carver's "travels through the interior parts of north america" { } french pathfinders in north america chapter i the origin and distribution of the indian race america probably peopled from asia.--unity of the american race.--the eskimo, possibly, an exception.--range of the several groups. in an earlier volume, "pioneer spaniards in north america," the probable origin of the native races of america has been discussed. let us restate briefly the general conclusions there set forth. it is the universal opinion of scientific men that the people whom we call indians did not originate in the western world, but, in the far distant past, came upon this continent from another--from europe, some say; from asia, say others. in support of the latter opinion it is pointed out that asia and america once were connected by a broad belt of land, now sunk { } beneath the shallow bering sea. it is easy, then, to picture successive hordes of dusky wanderers pouring over from the old, old east upon the virgin soil of what was then emphatically a new world, since no human beings roamed its vast plains or traversed its stately forests. human wave followed upon wave, the new comers pushing the older ones on. some wandered eastward and spread themselves in the region surrounding hudson bay. others took a southeast course and were the ancestors of the algonquins, iroquois, and other families inhabiting the eastern territory of the united states. still others pushed their way down the pacific coast and peopled mexico and central america, while yet others, driven no doubt by the crowding of great numbers into the most desirable regions of the isthmus, passed on into south america and gradually overspread it. most likely these hordes of asiatic savages wandered into america during hundreds of years and no doubt there was great diversity among them, some being far more advanced in the arts of life than others. but the essential thing to notice is that they were _all of one blood_. thus their descendants, however different they may { } have become in language and customs, constitute one stock, which we call the _american race_. the peoples who reared the great earth-mounds of the middle west, those who carved the curious sculptures of central america, those who built the cave-dwellings of arizona, those who piled stone upon stone in the quaint pueblos of new mexico, those who drove ponce de leon away from the shores of florida, and those who greeted the pilgrims with, "welcome, englishmen!"--all these, beyond a doubt, were of one widely varying race. to this oneness of all native americans there is, perhaps, a single exception. some writers look upon the eskimo as a remnant of an ancient european race, known as the "cave-men" because their remains are found in caves in western europe, always associated with the bones of arctic animals, such as the reindeer, the arctic fox, and the musk-sheep. from this fact it seems that these primitive men found their only congenial habitation amid ice and snow. now, the eskimo are distinctly an arctic race, and in other particulars they are amazingly like these men of the caves who dwelt in western europe when it had a climate like that of greenland. the lamented { } dr. john fiske puts the case thus strongly: "the stone arrow-heads, the sewing-needles, the necklaces and amulets of cut teeth, and the daggers made from antler, used by the eskimos, resemble so minutely the implements of the cave-men, that if recent eskimo remains were to be put into the pleistocene caves of france and england, they would be indistinguishable in appearance from the remains of the cave-men which are now found there." further, these ancient men had an astonishing talent for delineating animals and hunting scenes. in the caves of france have been found carvings on bone and ivory, probably many tens of thousands of years old, which represent in the most life-like manner mammoths, cave-bears, and other animals now extinct. strangely enough, of all existing savage peoples the eskimo alone possess the same faculty. these circumstances make it probable that they are a remnant of the otherwise extinct cave-men. if this is so, their ancestors probably passed over to this continent by a land-connection then existing between northern europe and northern america, of which greenland is a survival. from the eskimo southward to cape horn { } we find various branches of the one american race. first comes the _athapascan_ stock, whose range extends from hudson bay westward through british america to the rocky mountains. one branch of this family left the dreary regions of almost perpetual ice and snow, wandered far down toward the south, and became known as the roaming and fierce apaches, navajos, and lipans of the burning southwestern plains. immediately south of the athapascans was the most extensive of all the families, the _algonquin_. their territory stretched without interruption westward from cape race, in newfoundland, to the rocky mountains, on both banks of the st. lawrence and the great lakes. it extended southward along the atlantic seaboard as far, perhaps, as the savannah river. this family embraced some of the most famous tribes, such as the abnakis, micmacs, passamaquoddies, pequots, narragansetts, and others in new england; the mohegans, on the hudson; the lenape, on the delaware; the nanticokes, in maryland; the powhatans, in virginia; the miamis, sacs and foxes, kickapoos and chippeways, in the ohio and mississippi valleys; and the shawnees, on the tennessee. { } this great family is the one that came most in contact and conflict with our forefathers. the indians who figure most frequently on the bloody pages of our early story were algonquins. this tribe has produced intrepid warriors and sagacious leaders. its various branches represent a very wide range of culture. captain john smith and champlain, coasting the shores of new england, found them closely settled by native tribes living in fixed habitations and cultivating regular crops of corn, beans, and pumpkins. on the other hand, the algonquins along the st. lawrence, as well as some of the western tribes, were shiftless and roving, growing no crops and having no settled abodes, but depending on fish, game, and berries for subsistence, famished at one time, at another gorged. probably the highest representatives of this extensive family were the shawnees, at its southernmost limit. like an island in the midst of the vast algonquin territory was the region occupied by the _huron-iroquois_ family. in thrift, intelligence, skill in fortification, and daring in war, this stock stands preëminent among all native americans. it included the eries and hurons, in canada; { } the susquehannocks, on the susquehanna; and the conestogas, also in pennsylvania. but by far the most important branch was the renowned confederacy called the five nations. this included the senecas, onondagas, cayugas, oneidas, and mohawks. these five tribes occupied territory in a strip extending through the lake region of new york. at a later date a kindred people, the tuscaroras, who had drifted down into carolina, returned northward and rejoined the league, which thereafter was known as the six nations. this confederacy was by far the most formidable aggregation of indians within the territory of the present united states. it waged merciless war upon other native peoples and had become so dreaded, says dr. fiske, that at the cry "a mohawk!" the indians of new england fled like sheep. it was especially hostile to some alien branches of its own kindred, the hurons and eries in particular. south of the algonquins was the _maskoki_ group of indians, of a decidedly high class, comprising the creeks, or muskhogees, the choctaws, the chickasaws, and, later, the seminoles. they occupied the area of the gulf states, from the atlantic to the mississippi river. the { } building of the ohio earthworks is by many students attributed to the ancestors of these southern tribes, and it was they who heroically fought the spanish invaders. the powerful _dakota_ family, also called sioux, ranged over territory extending from lake michigan to the rocky mountains and covering the most of the valley of the missouri. the _pawnee_ group occupied the platte valley, in nebraska, and the territory extending thence southward; and the _shoshonee_ group had for its best representatives the renowned comanches, the matchless horsemen of the plains. on the pacific coast were several tribes, but none of any special importance. in the columbia and sacramento valleys were the lowest specimens of the indian race, the only ones who may be legitimately classed as savages. all the others are more properly known as barbarians. in new mexico and arizona is a group of remarkable interest, the _pueblo indians_, who inhabit large buildings (pueblos) of stone or sun-dried brick. in this particular they stand in a class distinct from all other native tribes in the united states. they comprise the zuñis, moquis, acomans, and others, having different languages, { } but standing on the same plane of culture. in many respects they have advanced far beyond any other stock. they have specially cultivated the arts of peace. their great stone or adobe dwellings, in which hundreds of persons live, reared with almost incredible toil on the top of nearly inaccessible rocks or on the ledges of deep gorges, were constructed to serve at the same time as dwelling-places and as strongholds against the attacks of the roaming and murdering apaches. these people till the thirsty soil of their arid region by irrigation with water conducted for miles. they have developed many industries to a remarkable degree, and their pottery shows both skill and taste. these high-class barbarians are especially interesting because they have undergone little change since the spaniards, under coronado, first became acquainted with them, years ago. they still live in the same way and observe the same strange ceremonies, of which the famous "snake-dance" is the best known. they are, also, on a level of culture not much below that of the ancient mexicans; so that from the study of them we may get a very good idea of the people whom cortes found and conquered. { } chapter ii something about indian social life mistakes of the earliest european visitors as to indian society and government.--how indian social life originated.--the family tie the central principle.--gradual development of a family into a tribe.--the totem. the first white visitors to america found men exercising some kind of authority, and they called them kings, after the fashion of european government. the spaniards even called the head-chief of the mexicans the "emperor montezuma." there was not a king, still less an emperor, in the whole of north america. had these first europeans understood that they were face to face with men of the stone age, that is, with men who had not progressed further than our own forefathers had advanced thousands of years ago, in that dim past when they used weapons and implements of stone, and when they had not as yet anything like written language, they would have been saved many blunders. they would not have called native chiefs by such high-sounding titles as "king { } powhatan" and "king philip." they would not have styled the simple indian girl, pocahontas, a princess; and king james, of england, would not have made the ludicrous mistake of being angry with rolfe for marrying her, because he feared that when her father died, she would be entitled to "the throne," and rolfe would claim to be king of virginia! the study of indian life has this peculiar interest, that it gives us an insight into the thinking and acting of our own forefathers long before the dawn of history, when they worshiped gods very much like those of the indians. all the world over, the most widely separated peoples in similar stages of development exhibit remarkably similar ideas and customs, as if one had borrowed from the other. there is often a curious resemblance between the myths of some race in central africa and those of some heathen tribe in northern europe. the human mind, under like conditions, works in the same way and produces like results. thus, in studying pictures of indian life as it existed at the discovery, we have before us a sort of object-lesson in the condition of our own remote ancestors. now, the first european visitors made serious { } errors in describing indian life. they applied european standards of judgment to things indian. a tadpole does not look in the least like a frog. an uninformed person who should find one in a pool, and, a few weeks later, should find a frog there, would never imagine that the tadpole had changed into the frog. now, indian society was in what we may call the tadpole stage. it was quite unlike european society, and yet it contained exactly the same elements as those out of which european society gradually unfolded itself long ago. indian society grew up in the most natural way out of the crude beginnings of all society. let us consider this point for a moment. suppose human beings of the lowest grade to be living together in a herd, only a little better than beasts, what influence would first begin to elevate them? undoubtedly, parental affection. indeed, mother-love is the foundation-stone of all our civilization. on that steadfast rock the rude beginnings of all social life are built. young animals attain their growth and the ability to provide for themselves very early. the parents' watchful care does not need to be long exercised. the offspring, so soon as it is weaned, is quickly { } forgotten. not so the young human being. its brain requires a long time for its slow maturing. thus, for years, without its parents' care it would perish. the mother's love is strengthened by the constant attention which she must so long give to her child, and this is shared, in a degree, by the father. at the same time, their common interest in the same object draws them closer together. before the first-born is able to find its own food and shelter other children come, and so the process is continually extended. thus arises the _family_, the corner-stone of all life that is above that of brutes. but the little household, living in a cave and fighting hand to hand with wild beasts and equally wild men, has a hard struggle to maintain itself. in time, however, through the marriage of the daughters--for in savage life the young men usually roam off and take wives elsewhere, while the young women stay at home--instead of the original single family, we have the grown daughters, with their husbands, living still with their parents and rearing children, thus forming a group of families, closely united by kinship. in the next generation, by the same process continued, we have a dozen, perhaps twenty, families, { } all closely related, and living, it may be, under one shelter, the men hunting and providing food for the whole group, and the women working together and preparing the food in common. moreover, they all trace their relationship through their mothers, because the women are the home-staying element. in our group of families, for instance, all the women are descendants of the original single woman with whom we began; but the husbands have come from elsewhere. this is no doubt the reason why among savages it seems the universal practice to trace kinship through the mother. again, in such a little community as we have supposed, the women, being all united by close ties of blood, are the ruling element. the men may beat their wives, but, after all, the women, if they join together against any one man, can put him out and remain in possession. these points it is important to bear in mind, because they explain what would otherwise appear very singular features of indian life. for instance, we understand now why a son does not inherit anything, not so much as a tobacco-pipe, at his father's death. he is counted as the mother's child. for the same reason, if the { } mother has had more than one husband, and children by each marriage, these are all counted as full brothers and sisters, because they have the same mother. such a group of families as has been supposed is called a _clan_, or in roman history a _gens_. it may be small, or it may be very numerous. the essential feature is that it is a body of people united by the tie of common blood. it may have existed for hundreds of years and have grown to thousands of persons. some of the clans of the scotch highlands were quite large, and it would often have been a hopeless puzzle to trace a relationship running back through many generations. still, every cameron knew that he was related to all the other camerons, every campbell to all the other campbells, and he recognized a clear duty of standing by every clansman as a brother in peace and in war. we see thus that the clan organization grows naturally out of the drawing together of men to strengthen themselves in the fierce struggle of savage life. the clan is simply an extension of the family. the family idea still runs through it, and kinship is the bond that holds together all the members. { } now, this was just the stage of social progress that the indians had reached at the discovery. their society was organized on the basis of the clan, and it bore all the marks of its origin. indians, however, have not any family names. something, therefore, was needed to supply the lack of a common designation, so that the members of a clan might know each other as such, however widely they might be scattered. this lack was supplied by the clan-symbol, called a _totem_. this was always an animal of some kind, and an image of it was often rudely painted over a lodge-entrance or tattooed on the clansman's body. all who belonged to the clan of the wolf, or the bear, or the tortoise, or any other, were supposed to be descended from a common ancestress; and this kinship was the tie that held them together in a certain alliance, though living far apart. it mattered not that the original clan had been split up and its fragments scattered among several different tribes. the bond of clanship still held. if, for example, a cayuga warrior of the wolf clan met a seneca warrior of the same clan, their totem was the same, and they at once acknowledged each other as brothers. { } perhaps we might illustrate this peculiar relation by our system of college fraternities. suppose that a phi-beta-kappa man of cornell meets a phi-beta-kappa man of yale. immediately they recognize a certain brotherhood. only the tie of clanship is vastly stronger, because it rests not on an agreement, but on a real blood relationship. according to indian ideas, a man and a woman of the same clan were too near kindred to marry. therefore a man must always seek a wife in some other clan than his own; and thus each family contained members of two clans. the clan was not confined to one neighborhood. as it grew, sections of it drifted away and took up their abode in different localities. thus, when the original single iroquois stock became split into five distinct tribes, each contained portions of eight clans in common. sometimes it happened that, when a clan divided, a section chose to take a new totem. thus arose a fresh centre of grouping. but the new clan was closely united to the old by the sense of kinship and by constant intermarriages. this process of splitting and forming new clans had gone on for a long time among the indians--for how { } many hundreds of years, we have no means of knowing. in this way there had arisen groups of clans, closely united by kinship. such a group we call a _phratry_. a number of these groups living in the same region and speaking a common dialect constituted a larger union which we sometimes call a _nation_, more commonly a _tribe_. this relation may be illustrated by the familiar device of a family-tree, thus: [illustration: indian family tree.] { } here we see eleven clans, all descended from a common stock and speaking a common dialect, composing the mohegan tribe. some of the smaller tribes, however, had not more than three clans. the point that we need to get clear in our minds is that an indian tribe was simply a huge family, extended until it embraced hundreds or even thousands of souls. in many cases organization never got beyond the tribe. not a few tribes stood alone and isolated. but among some of the most advanced peoples, such as the iroquois, the creeks, and the choctaws, related tribes drew together and formed a confederacy or league, for mutual help. the most famous league in northern america was that of the iroquois. we shall describe it in the next chapter. it deserves careful attention, both because of its deep historical interest, and because it furnishes the best-known example of indian organization. { } chapter iii the iroquois league history of the league.--natural growth of indian government.--how authority was exercised, how divided.--popular assemblies.--public speaking.--community life. originally the iroquois people was one, but as the parent stock grew large, it broke up into separate groups. dissensions arose among these, and they made war upon one another. then, according to their legend, hayawentha, or hiawatha, whispered into the ear of daganoweda, an onondaga sachem, that the cure for their ills lay in union. this wise counsel was followed. the five tribes known to englishmen as the mohawks, the oneidas, the onondagas, the cayugas, and the senecas--their indian names are different and much longer--buried the hatchet and formed a confederacy which grew to be, after the aztec league in mexico, the most powerful indian organization in north america. it was then known as "the five nations." { } about , one of the original branches, the tuscaroras, which had wandered away as far as north carolina, pushed by white men hungry for their land, broke up their settlements, took up the line of march, returned northward, and rejoined the other branches of the parent stem. from this time forth the league is known in history as "the six nations," the constant foe of the french and ally of the english. the indian name for it was "the long house," so called because the wide strip of territory occupied by it was in the shape of one of those oblong structures in which the people dwelt. when the five tribes laid aside their strife, the fragments of the common clans in each re-united in heartiest brotherhood and formed an eightfold bond of union. on the other hand, the iroquois waged fierce and relentless war upon the hurons and eries, because, though they belonged to the same stock, they refused to join the league. this denial of the sacred tie of blood was regarded by the iroquois as rank treason, and they punished it with relentless ferocity, harrying and hounding the offending tribes to destruction. indian government, like indian society, was just such as had grown up naturally out of the { } conditions. it was not at all like government among civilized peoples. in the first place, there were no written laws to be administered. the place of these was taken by public opinion and tradition, that is, by the ideas handed down from one generation to another and constantly discussed around the camp-fire and the council-fire. every decent indian was singularly obedient to this unwritten code. he wanted always to do what he was told his fathers had been accustomed to do, and what was expected of him. thus there was a certain general standard of conduct. again, the men who ruled, though they were formally elected to office, had not any authority such as is possessed by our judges and magistrates, who can say to a man, "do thus," and compel him to obey or take the consequences. the influence of indian rulers was more like that of leading men in a civilized community: it was chiefly personal and persuasive, and it was exerted in various indirect ways. if, for example, it became a question how to deal with a man who had done something violently opposed to indian usage or to the interest of the tribe, there was not anything like an open trial, but the chiefs held a secret council and discussed the case. if they { } decided favorably to the man, that was an end of the matter. on the other hand, if they agreed that he ought to die, there was not any formal sentence and public execution. the chiefs simply charged some young warrior with the task of putting the offender out of the way. the chosen executioner watched his opportunity, fell upon his victim unawares, perhaps as he passed through the dark porch of a lodge, and brained him with his tomahawk. the victim's family or clan made no demand for reparation, as they would have done if he had been murdered in a private feud, because public opinion approved the deed, and the whole power of the tribe would have been exerted to sustain the judgment of the chiefs. according to our ideas, which demand a fair and open trial for every accused person, this was most abhorrent despotism. yet it had one very important safeguard: it was not like the arbitrary will of a single tyrant doing things on the impulse of the moment. indians are eminently deliberative. they are much given to discussing things and endlessly powwowing about them. they take no important step without talking it over for days. thus, in such a case as has been supposed, there was general concurrence in the { } judgment of the chiefs, because they were understood to have canvassed the matter carefully, and their decision was practically that of the tribe. this singular sort of authority was vested in two kinds of men; sachems, who were concerned with the administration of the tribal affairs at all times, and war-chiefs, whose duty was limited to leadership in the field. the sachems, therefore, constituted the real, permanent government. of these there were ten chosen in each of the five tribes. their council was the governing body of the tribe. in these councils all were nominally equals. but, naturally, men of strong personality exercised peculiar power. the fifty sachems of the five tribes composed the grand council which was the governing body of the league. in its deliberations each tribe had equal representation through its ten sachems. but the onondaga nation, being situated in the middle of the five, and the grand council-fire being held in its chief town, exercised a preponderating influence in these meetings. besides the grand council and the tribal council, there were councils of the minor chiefs, and councils of the younger warriors, and even councils of the women, for a large part of an indian's { } time was taken up with powwowing. besides these formal deliberative bodies, there were gatherings that were a sort of rude mass-meeting. if a question of deep interest was before the league for discussion, warriors flocked by hundreds from all sides to the great council-fire in the onondaga nation. the town swarmed with visitors. every lodge was crowded to its utmost capacity; temporary habitations rose, and fresh camp-fires blazed on every side, and even the unbounded indian hospitality was strained to provide for the throng of guests. thus, hour after hour, and day after day, the issue was debated in the presence of hundreds, some squatting, some lying at full length, all absolutely silent except when expressing approval by grunts. the discussion was conducted in a manner that would seem to us exceedingly tedious. each speaker, before advancing his views, carefully rehearsed all the points made by his predecessors. this method had the advantage of making even the dullest mind familiar with the various aspects of the subject, and it resulted in a so thorough sifting of it that when a conclusion was reached, it was felt to be the general sense of the meeting. from this account it will be evident that public { } speaking played a large part in indian life. this fact will help us to account for the remarkable degree of eloquence sometimes displayed. if we should think of the indian as an untutored savage, bursting at times into impassioned oratory, under the influence of powerful emotions, we should miss the truth very widely. the fact is, there was a class of professional speakers, who had trained themselves by carefully listening to the ablest debaters among their people, and had stored their memories with a large number of stock phrases and of images taken from nature. these metaphors, which give to indian oratory its peculiar character, were not, therefore, spontaneous productions of the imagination, but formed a common stock used by all speakers as freely as orators in civilized society are wont to quote great authors and poets. among a people who devoted so much time to public discussion, a forcible speaker wielded great influence. one of the sources of the power over the natives of la salle, the great french explorer, lay in the fact that he had thoroughly mastered their method of oratory and could harangue an audience in their own tongue like one of their best speakers. the subject of the chiefship is a very { } interesting one. as has already been explained, a son did not inherit anything from his father. therefore nobody was entitled to be a chief because his father had been one. chiefs were elected wholly on the ground of personal qualities. individual merit was the only thing that counted. moreover, the chiefs were not the only men who could originate a movement. any warrior might put on his war-paint and feathers and sing his war-song. as many as were willing might join him, and the party file away on the war-path without a single chief. if such a voluntary leader showed prowess and skill, he was sure to be some day elected a chief. it is very interesting to reflect that just this free state of things existed thousands of years ago among our own ancestors in europe. at that time there were no kings claiming a "divine right" to govern their fellow men. the chiefs were those whose courage, strength, and skill in war made them to be chosen "rulers of men," to use old homer's phrase. if their sons did not possess these qualities, they remained among the common herd. but there came a time when, here and there, some mighty warrior gained so much wealth in cattle and in slaves taken in battle, that { } he was able to bribe some of his people and to frighten others into consenting that his son should be chief after him. if the son was strong enough to hold the office through his own life and to hand it to his son, the idea soon became fixed that the chiefship belonged in that particular family. this was the beginning of kingship. but our aborigines had not developed any such absurd notion as that there are particular families to which god has given the privilege of lording it over their fellow men. they were still in the free stage of choosing their chiefs from among the men who served them best. we may say with confidence that there was not an emperor, or a king, or anything more than an elective chief in the whole of north america. not only had nobody the title and office of a king among the indians; nobody had anything like kingly authority. rulership was not vested in any one man, but in the council of chiefs. this feature, of course, was very democratic. and there was another that went much further in the same direction: almost all property was held in common. for instance, the land of a tribe was not divided among individual owners, but { } belonged to the whole tribe, and no part of it could be bartered away without the entire tribe's consent. a piece might be temporarily assigned to a family to cultivate, but the ownership of it remained in the whole tribe. this circumstance tended more than anything else to prevent the possibility of any man's raising himself to kingly power. such usurpations commonly rest upon large accumulations of private property of some kind. but among a people not one of whom owned a single rood of land, who had no flocks and herds, nor any domestic animals whatever, except dogs, and among whom the son inherited nothing from his father, there was no chance for anybody to gain wealth that would raise him above his fellows. thus we see that an indian tribe was in many respects an ideal republic. with its free discussion of all matters of general interest; with authority vested in a body of the fittest men; with the only valuable possession, land, held by the whole tribe as one great family; in the entire absence of personal wealth; and with the unlimited opportunity for any man possessing the qualities that indians admire to raise himself to influence, there really was a condition of affairs very like { } that which philosophers have imagined as the best conceivable state of human society for preserving individual freedom. even the very houses of the indians were adapted to community-life. they were built, not to shelter families, but considerable groups of families. one very advanced tribe, the mandans, on the upper missouri, built circular houses. but the most usual form, as among the iroquois, was a structure very long in proportion to its width. it was made of stout posts set upright in the earth, supporting a roof-frame of light poles slanting upward and fastened together at their crossing. both walls and roof were covered with wide strips of bark held in place by slender poles secured by withes. heavy stones also were laid on the roof to keep the bark in place. at the top of the roof a space of about a foot was left open for the entrance of light and the escape of smoke, there being neither windows nor chimneys. at either end was a door, covered commonly with a skin fastened at the top and loose at the bottom. in the winter-season these entrances were screened by a porch. in one of these long houses a number of families lived together in a way that carried out in { } all particulars the idea of one great household. throughout the length of the building, on both sides, were partitions dividing off spaces a few feet square, all open toward the middle like wide stalls in a stable. each of these spaces was occupied by one family and contained bunks in which they slept. in the aisles, between every four of these spaces, was a fire which served the four families. the number of fires in a lodge indicated, quite nearly, the number of persons dwelling in it. to say, for instance, a lodge of five fires, meant one that housed twenty families. this great household lived together according to the community-idea. the belongings of individuals, even of individual families, were very few. the produce of their fields of corn, beans, pumpkins, and sunflowers was held as common property; and the one regular meal of the day was a common meal, cooked by the squaws and served to each person from the kettle. the food remaining over was set aside, and each person might help himself to it as he had need. if a stranger came in, the squaws gave him to eat out of the common stock. in fact, indian hospitality grew out of this way of living in common. a single family would frequently have been "eaten out of { } house and home," if it had needed to provide out of its own resources for all the guests that might suddenly come upon it. we are apt to think of the indian as a silent, reserved, solitary being. nothing could be further from the truth. however they may appear in the presence of white men, among themselves indians are a very jolly set. their life in such a common dwelling as has been described was intensely social in its character. of course, privacy was out of the question. very little took place that was not known to all the inmates. and we can well imagine that when all were at home, an indian lodge was anything else than a house of silence. of a winter evening, for instance, with the fires blazing brightly, there was a vast deal of boisterous hilarity, in which the deep guttural tones of the men and the shrill voices of the squaws were intermingled. around the fires there were endless gossiping, story-telling, and jesting. jokes, by no means delicate and decidedly personal, provoked uproarious laughter, in which the victim commonly joined. a village, composed of a cluster of such abodes standing without any order and enclosed by a stockade, was, at times, the scene of almost { } endless merry-making. now it was a big feast; now a game of chance played by two large parties matched against each other, while the lodge was crowded almost to suffocation by eager spectators; now a dance, of the peculiar indian kind; now some solemn ceremony to propitiate the spirits who were supposed to rule the weather, the crops, the hunting, and all the interests of barbarian life. at all times there was endless visiting from lodge to lodge. hospitality was universal. let a visitor come in, and it would have been the height of rudeness not to set food before him. to refuse it would have been equally an offence against good manners. only an indian stomach was equal to the constant round of eating. white men often found themselves seriously embarrassed between their desire not to offend their hosts and their own repugnance to viands which could not tempt a civilized man who was not famished. it seems strange to think of the women as both the drudges and the rulers of the lodge. yet such they were. this fact arose from the circumstance already mentioned, that descent was counted, not through the fathers, but through the mothers. the home and the children were { } the wife's, not the husband's. there she lived, surrounded by her female relatives, whereas he had come from another clan. if he proved lazy or incompetent to do his full share of providing, let the women unite against him, and out he must go, while the wife remained. the community idea, which we have seen to be the key to indian social life, showed itself in universal helpfulness. ferocious and pitiless as these people were toward their enemies, the women even more ingeniously cruel than the men, nothing could exceed the cheerful spirit with which, in their own rough way, they bore one another's burdens. it filled the french missionaries with admiration, and they frequently tell us how, if a lodge was accidentally burned, the whole village turned out to help rebuild it; or how, if children were left orphans, they were quickly adopted and provided for. it is equally a mistake to glorify the indian as a hero and to deny him the rude virtues which he really possessed. { } chapter iv achievements of frenchmen in the north of america the difference between spanish and french methods.--what caused the difference.--how it resulted. a singular and picturesque story is that of new france. in romantic interest it has no rival in north america, save that of mexico. frenchmen opened up the great northwest; and for a long time france was the dominant power in the north, as spain was in the south. when the french tongue was heard in wigwams in far western forests; when french goods were exchanged for furs at the head of lake superior and around hudson bay; when french priests had a strong post as far to the west as sault ste. marie, and carried their missionary journeyings still further, who could have foreseen the day when the flag of republican france would fly over only two rocky islets off the coast of newfoundland, and to her great rival, spain, of all { } her vast possessions would remain not a single rood of land on the mainland of the world to which she had led the white race? at the period with which we are occupied these two great catholic powers seemed in a fair way to divide north america between them. their methods were as different as the material objects which they sought. the spaniard wanted _gold_, and he roamed over vast regions in quest of it, conquering, enslaving, and exploiting the natives as the means of achieving his ends. the frenchman craved _furs_, and for these he trafficked with the indians. the one depended on conquest, the other on trade. now trade cannot exist without good-will. you may rob people at the point of the sword, but to have them come to you freely and exchange with you, you must have gained their confidence. further, there was a deep-lying cause for this difference of method. wretched beings may be worked in gangs, under a slave-driver, in fields and mines. this was the spanish way. but hunting animals for their skins and trapping them for their furs is solitary work, done by lone men in the wilderness, and, above all, by men who are free to come and go. you { } cannot make a slave of the hunter who roams the forests, traps the brooks, and paddles the lakes and streams. his occupation keeps him a wild, free man. whatever advantage is taken of him must be gained by winning his confidence. thus the object of the frenchman's pursuit rendered necessary a constantly friendly attitude toward the indians. if he displeased them, they would cease to bring their furs. if he did not give enough of his goods in exchange, they would take a longer journey and deal with the dutch at albany or with the english at their outlying settlements. in short, the spaniard had no rival and was in a position allowing him to be as brutal as he pleased. the frenchman was simply in the situation of a shopkeeper who has no control over his customers, and if he does not retain their good-will, must see them deal at the other place across the street. there is no doubt that this difference of conditions made an enormous difference between the spanish and the french attitude toward the indians. the spaniards were naturally inclined to be haughty and cruel toward inferior races, while the french generally showed themselves friendly and mingled freely with the natives in { } new regions. but the circumstance to which attention has here been called tended to exaggerate the natural disposition of each. absolute power made the spaniard a cruel master: the lack of it drove the frenchman to gain his ends by cunning and cajolery. the consequence was, that while the spaniard was dreaded and shunned, and whole populations were wiped out by his merciless rule, the frenchman was loved by the indians. they turned gladly to him from the cold englishman, who held himself always in the attitude of a superior being; they made alliances with him and scalped his enemies, white or red, with devilish glee; they hung about every french post, warmed themselves by the frenchman's fire, ate his food, and patted their stomachs with delight; and they swarmed by thousands to quebec, bringing their peltries for trade, received gewgaws and tinsel decorations from the governor, and swore eternal allegiance to his master, the sun of the world, at versailles. in a former volume, "pioneer spaniards in north america," we have followed the steps of spain's dauntless leaders in the western world. we have seen balboa, ponce, cortes, soto, { } coronado, making their way by the bloody hand, slaying, plundering, and burning, and we have heard the shrieks of victims torn to pieces by savage dogs. in the present volume quite other methods will engage our attention. we shall accompany the shrewd pioneers of france, as they make their joyous entry into indian villages, eat boiled dog with pretended relish, sit around the council-fire, smoke the indian's pipe, and end by dancing the war-dance as furiously as the red men. { } chapter v jacques cartier, the discoverer of canada jacques cartier enters the st. lawrence.--he imagines that he has found a sea-route to the indies.--the importance of such a route.--his exploration of the st. lawrence.--a bitter winter.--cartier's treachery and its punishment.--roberval's disastrous expedition. how early the first frenchmen visited america it is hard to say. it has been claimed, on somewhat doubtful evidence, that the basques, that ancient people inhabiting the pyrenees and the shores of the bay of biscay, fished on the coast of newfoundland before john cabot saw it and received credit as the discoverer of this continent. so much, at any rate, is certain, that within a very few years after cabot's voyage a considerable fleet of french, spanish, and portuguese vessels was engaged in the newfoundland fishery. later the english took part in it. the french soon gained the lead in this industry { } and thus became the predominant power on the northern shores of america, just as the spaniards were on the southern. the formal claim of france to the territory which she afterward called new france was based on the explorations of her adventurous voyagers. jacques cartier was a daring mariner, belonging to that bold breton race whose fishermen had for many years frequented the newfoundland banks for codfish. in he sailed to push his exploration farther than had as yet been attempted. his inspiration was the old dream of all the early navigators, the hope of finding a highway to china. needless to say, he did not find it, but he found something well worth the finding--canada. sailing through the straits of belle isle, he saw an inland sea opening before him. passing anticosti island, he landed on the shore of a fine bay. it was the month of july, and it chanced to be an oppressive day. "the country is hotter than the country of spain," he wrote in his journal. therefore he gave the bay its name, the bay of chaleur (heat). the beauty and fertility of the country, the abundance of berries, and "the many goodly meadows, full of { } grass, and lakes wherein great pleanty of salmons be," made a great impression on him. on the shore were more than three hundred men, women, and children. "these showed themselves very friendly," he says, "and in such wise were we assured one of another, that we very familiarly began to traffic for whatever they had, till they had nothing but their naked bodies, for they gave us all whatsoever they had." these indians belonged undoubtedly to some branch of the algonquin family occupying all this region. cartier did not scruple to take advantage of their simplicity. at gaspé he set up a cross with the royal arms, the fleur-de-lys, carved on it, and a legend meaning, "long live the king of france!" he meant this as a symbol of taking possession of the country for his master. yet, when the indian chief asked him what this meant, he answered that it was only a landmark for vessels that might come that way. then he lured some of the natives on board and succeeded in securing two young men to be taken to france. this villainy accomplished, he sailed for home in great glee, not doubting that the wide estuary whose mouth he had entered was the opening of the long-sought passage to cathay. in france { } his report excited wild enthusiasm. the way to the indies was open! france had found and france would control it! natural enough was this joyful feeling. the only water-route to the east then in use was that around the cape of good hope, and it belonged, according to the absurd grant of pope alexander the sixth, to portugal alone. spain had opened another around the horn, but kept the fact carefully concealed. in short, the selfish policy of spain and portugal was to shut all other nations out of trading with the regions which they claimed as theirs; and these tyrants of the southern seas were not slow in enforcing their claims. spain, too, had ample means at her disposal. she was the mightiest power in the world, and her dominion on the ocean there was none to dispute. at that time drake and hawkins and those other great english seamen who broke her sea-power had not appeared. this condition of affairs compelled the northern nations, the english, french, and dutch, to seek a route through high latitudes to the fabled wealth of the indies. it led to those innumerable attempts to find a northeast or a northwest passage of which we have read elsewhere. (see, in "the world's discoverers," { } accounts of frobisher, davis, barentz, and hudson, and of nordenskjold, their triumphant successor.) now, francis the first, the french monarch, a jealous rival of the spanish sovereign, was determined to get a share of the new world. he had already, in , sent out verrazano to seek a passage to the east (see a sketch of this very interesting voyage in "the world's discoverers"), and now he was eager to back cartier with men and money. accordingly, the next year we find the explorer back at the mouth of the st. lawrence, this time with three vessels and with a number of gentlemen who had embarked in the enterprise, believing that they were on their way to reap a splendid harvest in the indies, like that of the spanish cavaliers who sailed with the conquerors of mexico and peru. entering, on st. lawrence's day, the gulf which he had discovered in the previous year, he named it the gulf of st. lawrence. the river emptying into it he called hochelaga, from the indian name of the adjacent country. then, guided by the two young natives whom he had kidnapped the year before, whose home, though they had been seized near its mouth, was high up the river, he sailed up the { } wide stream, convinced that he was approaching china. in due time stadaconé was reached, near the site of quebec, and cartier visited the chief, donnaconna, in his village. the two young indians who acted as guides and interpreters had been filling the ears of their countrymen with marvelous tales of france. especially, they had "made great brags," cartier says, about his cannon; and donnaconna begged him to fire some of them. cartier, quite willing to give the savages a sense of his wonderful resources, ordered twelve guns fired in quick succession. at the roar of the cannon, he says, "they were greatly astonished and amazed; for they thought that heaven had fallen upon them, and put themselves to flight, howling and crying and shrieking as if hell had broken loose." leaving his two larger vessels safely anchored within the mouth of the st. charles river, cartier set out with the smallest and two open boats, to ascend the st. lawrence. at hochelaga he found a great throng of indians on the shore, wild with delight, dancing and singing. they loaded the strangers with gifts of fish and maize. at night the dark woods, far and near, were { } illumined with the blaze of great fires around which the savages capered with joy. the next day cartier and his party were conducted to the great indian town. passing through cornfields laden with ripening grain, they came to a high circular palisade consisting of three rows of tree-trunks, the outer and the inner inclining toward each other and supported by an upright row between them. along the top were "places to run along and ladders to get up, all full of stones for the defence of it." in short, it was a very complete fortification, of the kind that the hurons and the iroquois always built. passing through a narrow portal, the frenchmen saw for the first rime a group of those large, oblong dwellings, each containing several families, with which later travelers became familiar in the iroquois and the huron countries. arriving within the town, the visitors found themselves objects of curious interest to a great throng of women and children who crowded around the first europeans they had ever beheld, with expressions of wonder and delight. these bearded men seemed to them to have come down from the skies, children of the sun. { } next, a great meeting was held. then came a touching scene. an aged chief who was paralyzed was brought and placed at cartier's feet, and the latter understood that he was asked to heal him. he laid his hands on the palsied limbs. then came a great procession of the sick, the lame, and the blind, "for it seemed unto them," says cartier, "that god was descended and come down from heaven to heal them." we cannot but recall how cortes and his spaniards were held by the superstitious aztecs to have come from another world, and how cabeza de vaca was believed to exercise the power of god to heal the sick. (see "pioneer spaniards in north america.") cartier solemnly read a passage of the scriptures, made the sign of the cross over the poor suppliants, and offered prayer. the throng of savages, without comprehending a word, listened in awe-struck silence. after distributing gifts, the frenchmen, with a blast of trumpets, marched out and were led to the top of a neighboring mountain. seeing the magnificent expanse of forest extending to the horizon, with the broad, blue river cleaving its way through. cartier thought it a domain worthy or a prince and called the eminence _mont royal_. { } thus originated the name of the future city of montreal, built almost a century later. by the time that he had returned to stadaconé the autumn was well advanced, and his comrades had made preparations against the coming of winter by building a fort of palisades on or near the site where quebec now stands. soon snow and ice shut in the company of europeans, the first to winter in the northern part of this continent. a fearful experience it was. when the cold was at its worst, and the vessels moored in the st. charles river were locked fast in ice and burled in snow-drifts, that dreadful scourge of early explorers, the scurvy, attacked the frenchmen. soon twenty-five had died, and of the living but three or four were in health. for fear that the indians, if they learned of their wretched plight, might seize the opportunity of destroying them outright, cartier did not allow any of them to approach the fort. one day, however, chancing to meet one of them who had himself been ill with the scurvy, but now was quite well, he was told of a sovereign remedy, a decoction of the leaves of a certain tree, probably the spruce. the experiment was tried with success, and the sick frenchmen recovered. { } at last the dreary winter wore away, and cartier prepared to return home. he had found neither gold nor a passage to india, but he would not go empty-handed. donnaconna and nine of his warriors were lured into the fort as his guests, overwhelmed by sturdy sailors, and carried on board the vessels. then, having raised over the scene of this cruel treachery the symbol of the prince of peace, he set sail for france. in cartier made another, and last, voyage to canada. on reaching stadaconé he was besieged by savages eagerly inquiring for the chiefs whom he had carried away. he replied that donnaconna was dead, but the others had married noble ladies and were living in great state in france. the indians showed by their coldness that they knew this story to be false. every one of the poor exiles had died. on account of the distrust of the natives, carder did not stop at stadaconé, but pursued his way up the river. while the bulk of his party made a clearing on the shore, built forts, and sowed turnip-seed, he went on and explored the rapids above hochelaga, evidently still hoping to find a passage to india. of course, he was disappointed. he returned to the place { } where he had left his party and there spent a gloomy winter, destitute of supplies and shunned by the natives. all that he had to show for his voyage was a quantity of some shining mineral and of quartz crystals, mistaken for gold and diamonds. the treachery of the second voyage made the third a failure. thus ended in disappointment and gloom the career of france's great pioneer, whose discoveries were the foundation of her claims in north america, and who first described the natives of that vast territory which she called new france. another intending settler of those days was the sieur de roberval. undismayed by cartier's ill-success, he sailed up the st. lawrence and cast anchor before cap rouge, the place which cartier had fortified and abandoned. soon the party were housed in a great structure which contained accommodations for all under one roof, so that it was planned on the lines of a true colony, for it included women and children. but few have ever had a more miserable experience. by some strange lack of foresight, there was a very scant supply of food, and with the winter came famine. disease inevitably followed, so that before spring { } one-third of the colony had died. we may think that nature was hard, but she was mild and gentle, in comparison with roberval. he kept one man in irons for a trifling offence. another he shot for a petty theft. to quarreling men and women he gave a taste of the whipping-post. it has even been said that he hanged six soldiers in one day. just what was the fate of this wretched little band has not been recorded. we only know that it did not survive long. with its failure closes the first chapter of the story of french activity on american soil. fifty years had passed since columbus had made his great discovery, and as yet no foothold had been gained by france anywhere, nor indeed by any european power on the atlantic seaboard of the continent. { } chapter vi jean ribaut the french at port royal, in south carolina the expedition of captain jean ribaut.--landing on the st. john's river.--friendly natives.--the "seven cities of cibola" again!--the coast of georgia.--port royal reached and named.--a fort built and a garrison left.--discontent and return to france. no doubt the severe winters of canada determined admiral coligny, the leader of the huguenots, or french protestants, to plant the settlement which he designed as a haven of refuge from persecution, in the southern part of the new world. accordingly, on the first day of may, , two little vessels under the command of captain jean ribaut found themselves off the mouth of a great river which, because of the date, they called the river of may, now known as the st. john's. { } when they landed, it seemed to the sea-worn frenchmen as if they had set foot in an enchanted world. stalwart natives, whom laudonnière, one of the officers, describes as "mighty and as well shapen and proportioned of body as any people in the world," greeted them hospitably.[ ] overhead was the luxuriant semi-tropical vegetation, giant oaks festooned with gray moss trailing to the ground and towering magnolias opening their great white, fragrant cups. no wonder they thought this newly discovered land the "fairest, fruitfullest, and pleasantest of all the world." one of the indians wore around his neck a pearl "as great as an acorne at the least" and gladly exchanged it for a bauble. this set the explorers to inquiring for gold and gems, { } and they soon gathered, as they imagined, from the indians' signs that the "seven cities of cibola" [ ]--again the myth that had led coronado and his spaniards to bitter disappointment!--were distant only twenty days' journey. of course, the natives had never heard of cibola and did not mean anything of the kind. the explorers soon embarked and sailed northward, exploring the coast of georgia and giving to the rivers or inlets the names of rivers of france, such as the loire and the gironde. on may they entered a wide and deep harbor, spacious enough, it seemed to them, "to hold the argosies of the world." a royal haven it seemed. port royal they named it, and port royal it is called to this day. they sailed up this noble estuary and entered broad river. when they landed the frightened indians fled. good reason they had to dread the sight of white men, for this was the country of chicora (south carolina), the scene of one of those acts of brutal treachery of which the spaniards, of european nations, were the most frequently all guilty. forty-two years before, lucas vasquez de { } ayllon, a high official of san domingo, had visited this coast with two vessels. the simple and kindly natives lavished hospitality on the strangers. in return, the spaniards invited them on board. full of wondering curiosity, the indians without suspicion explored every part of the vessels. when the holds were full of sight-seers, their hosts suddenly closed the hatches and sailed away with two ship-loads of wretched captives doomed to toil as slaves in the mines of san domingo. but ayllon's treachery was well punished. one of his vessels was lost, and on board the other the captives refused food and mostly died before the end of the voyage. on his revisiting the coast, six years later, nearly his entire following was massacred by the natives, who lured them to a feast, then fell upon them in the dead of night. treachery for treachery! the frenchmen, however, won the confidence of the indians with gifts of knives, beads, and looking-glasses, coaxed two on board the ships, and loaded them with presents, in the hope of reconciling them to going to france. but they moaned incessantly and finally fled. these europeans, however, had not done { } anything to alarm the natives, and soon the latter were on easy terms with them. therefore, when it was decided to leave a number of men to hold this beautiful country for the king, ribaut felt sure of the indians' friendly disposition. he detailed thirty men, under the command of albert de pierria, as the garrison of a fort which he armed with guns from the ship. it would delight us to know the exact site of this earliest lodgment of europeans on the atlantic coast north of mexico. all that can be said with certainty is that it was not many miles from the picturesque site of beaufort. having executed his commission by finding a spot suitable for a colony, ribaut sailed away, leaving the little band to hold the place until he should return with a party of colonists. those whom he left had nothing to do but to roam the country in search of gold, haunted, as they were, by that dream which was fatal to so many of the early ventures in america. they did not find any, but they visited the villages of several chiefs and were always hospitably entertained. when supplies in the neighborhood ran low, they made a journey by boat through inland water-ways to two chiefs on the savannah river, who furnished { } them generously with corn and beans; and when their storehouse burned down, with the provisions which they had just received, they went again to the same generous friends, received a second supply, and were bidden to come back without hesitation, if they needed more. there seemed to be no limit to the good-will of the kindly natives.[ ] their monotonous existence soon began to pall on the frenchmen, eager for conquest and gold. they had only a few pearls, given them by the indians. of these the natives undoubtedly possessed a considerable quantity, but not baskets heaped with them, as the spaniards said. { } roaming the woods or paddling up the creeks, the frenchmen encountered always the same rude fare, hominy, beans, and fish. before them was always the same glassy river, shimmering in the fierce midsummer heat; around them the same silent pine forests. the rough soldiers and sailors, accustomed to spend their leisure in taverns, found the dull routine of existence in chicora insupportable. besides, their commander irritated them by undue severity. the crisis came when he hanged a man with his own hands for a slight offence. the men rose in a body, murdered him, and chose nicholas barré to succeed him. shortly afterward they formed a desperate resolve: they would build a ship and sail home. nothing could have seemed wilder. not one of them had any experience of ship-building. but they went to work with a will. they had a forge, tools, and some iron. soon the forest rang with the sound of the axe and with the crash of falling trees. they laid the keel and pushed the work with amazing energy and ingenuity, caulked the seams with long moss gathered from the neighboring trees and smeared the bottoms and sides with pitch from the pines. the { } indians showed them how to make a kind of cordage, and their shirts and bedding were sewn together into sails. at last their crazy little craft was afloat, undoubtedly the first vessel built on the atlantic seaboard of america. they laid in such stores as they could secure by bartering their goods, to the indians, deserted their post, and sailed away from a land where they could have found an easy and comfortable living, if they had put into the task half the thought and labor which they exerted to escape from it. few voyages, even in the thrilling annals of exploration, have ever been so full of hardship and suffering as this mad one. alternate calms and storms baffled, famine and thirst assailed the unfortunate crew. some died outright; others went crazy with thirst, leaped overboard, and drank their fill once and forever. the wretched survivors drew lots, killed the man whom fortune designated, and satisfied their cravings with his flesh and blood. at last, as they were drifting helpless, with land in sight, an english vessel bore down on them, took them all on board, landed the feeblest, and carried the rest as prisoners to queen elizabeth. [ ] these people were of the timucua tribe, one that has since become entirely extinct, and that was succeeded in the occupation of florida by the warlike seminoles, an off-shoot of the creeks. they belonged to the muskoki group, which included some of the most advanced tribes on our continent. these southern indians had progressed further in the arts of life than the algonquins and the iroquois, and were distinguished from these by a milder disposition. gentle and kind toward strangers, they were capable of great bravery when defending their homes or punishing treachery, as the spanish invaders had already learned to their cost. they dwelt in permanent villages, raised abundant crops of corn, pumpkins, and other vegetables, and, amid forests full of game and rivers teeming with fish, lived in ease and plenty. [ ] see "pioneer spaniards in north america." [ ] these were edistoes and kiowas. the fierce yemassees came into the country later. the kindness of the southern indians, when not provoked by wanton outrage, is strikingly illustrated in the letter of the famous navigator, giovanni verrazzano (see "the world's discoverers"), who visited the atlantic seaboard nearly about the same time as the kidnapper ayllon. once, as he was coasting along near the site of wilmington, n. c., on account of the high surf a boat could not land, but a bold young sailor swam to the shore and tossed a gift of trinkets to some indians gathered on the beach. a moment later the sea threw him helpless and bruised at their feet. in an instant he was seized by the arms and legs and, crying lustily for help, was borne off to a great fire--to be roasted on the spot, his shipmates did not doubt. on the contrary, the natives warmed and rubbed him, then took him down to the shore and watched him swim back to his friends. { } chapter vii renÉ de laudonniÈre planting a colony on the st. john's river rené de laudonnière's expedition to the st. john's.--absurd illusions of the frenchmen.--their bad faith to the indians, and its fatal results.--the thirst for gold, and how it was rewarded.--buccaneering.--a storm-cloud gathers in spain.--misery in the fort on the st. john's.--relieved by sir john hawkins.--arrival of ribaut with men and supplies.--don pedro menendez captures fort caroline and massacres the garrison and shipwrecked crews.--dominique de gourgues takes vengeance. the failure at port royal did not discourage admiral coligny from sending out another expedition, in the spring of , under the command of rene de laudonnière, who had been with ribaut in . it reached the mouth of the st. john's on the th of june and was joyfully greeted by the kindly indians. the lieutenant, ottigny, strolling off into the woods with a few men, met some indians and was conducted to their village. there, he { } gravely tells us, he met a venerable chief who told him that he was two hundred and fifty years old. but, after all, he might probably expect to live a hundred years more, for he introduced another patriarch as his father. this shrunken anatomy, blind, almost speechless, and more like "a dead carkeis than a living body," he said, was likely to last thirty or forty years longer. probably the frenchman had heard of the fabled fountain of bimini, which lured ponce de leon to his ruin, and the river jordan, which was said to be somewhere in florida and to possess the same virtue, and he fancied that the gourd of cool water which had just been given him might come from such a spring.[ ] { } this example shows how credulous these frenchmen were, moving in a world of fancy, the glamour of romantic dreams about the new world still fresh upon them, visions of unmeasured treasures of silver and gold and gems floating through their brains. it would make a tedious tale to relate all their follies, surrounded as they were by a bountiful nature and a kindly people, and yet soon reduced to abject want. in the party there were brawling soldiers and piratical sailors, with only a few quiet, decent artisans and shop-keepers, but with a swarm of reckless young nobles, who had nothing to recommend them but a long name, and who expected to prove themselves pizarros in fighting and treasure-getting. unfortunately, the kind of man who is the backbone of a colony, "the man with the hoe," was not there. this motley crew soon finished a fort, which stood on the river, a little above what is now called st. john's bluff and was named fort { } caroline, in honor of charles the ninth. then they began to look around, keen for gold and adventure. the indians had shown themselves hostile when they saw the frenchmen building a fort, which was evidence that they had come to stay. laudonnière quieted the chief satouriona by promising to aid him against his enemies, a tribe up the river, called the thimagoas. next, misled by a story of great riches up the river, he actually made an alliance with outina, the chief of the thimagoas. thus the french were engaged at the same time to help both sides. but the craze for gold was now at fever-heat, and they had little notion of keeping faith with mere savages. outina promised vasseur, laudonnière's lieutenant, that if he would join him against potanou, the chief of a third tribe, each of his vassals would reward the french with a heap of gold and silver two feet high. so, at least, vasseur professed to understand him. the upshot of the matter was that satouriona was incensed against the french for breaking faith with him. and to make the situation worse, when he went, unaided, and attacked his enemies and brought back prisoners, the french { } commander, to curry favor with outina, compelled satouriona to give up some of his captives and sent them home to their chief. all this was laying up trouble for the future. not a sod had the frenchmen turned in the way of tilling the soil. the river flowing at their feet teemed with fish. the woods about them were alive with game. but they could neither fish nor hunt. starving in a land of plenty, ere long they would be dependent for food on these people who had met them so kindly, and whom they had deliberately cheated and outraged. next we find vasseur sailing up the river and sending some of his men with outina to attack potanou, whose village lay off to the northwest. several days the war-party marched through a pine-barren region. when it reached its destination the frenchmen saw, instead of a splendid city of the "kings of the appalachian mountains," rich in gold, just such an indian town, surrounded by rough fields of corn and pumpkins, as the misguided spaniards under soto had often come upon. the poor barbarians defended their homes bravely. but the frenchmen's guns routed them. sack and slaughter followed, with the burning of the town. then the victors { } marched away, with such glory as they had got, but of course without a grain of gold. at fort caroline a spirit of sullenness was growing. disappointment had followed all their reckless, wicked attempts to get treasure. the indians of the neighborhood, grown unfriendly, had ceased to bring in food for barter. the garrison was put on half-rations. men who had come to florida expecting to find themselves in a land of plenty and to reap a golden harvest, would scarcely content themselves with the monotonous routine of life in a little fort by a hot river, with nothing to do and almost nothing to eat. it was easy to throw all the blame on laudonnière. [illustration: fort caroline] "why does he not lead us out to explore the country and find its treasures? he is keeping us from making our fortunes," the gentlemen adventurers cried. here again we are reminded of the spaniards under narvaez and soto, who struggled through the swamps and interminable pine-barrens of florida, cheered on by the delusive assurance that when they came to the country of appalachee they would find gold in abundance. (see "pioneer spaniards in north america.") { } another class of malcontents took matters into their own hands. they were ex-pirates, and they determined to fly the "jolly roger" once more. they stole two pinnaces, slipped away to sea, and were soon cruising among the west indies. hunger drove them into havana. they gave themselves up and made their peace with the spanish authorities by telling of their countrymen at fort caroline. now, spain claimed the whole of north america, under the pope's grant. moreover, philip of spain had but lately commissioned as governor of florida one pedro menendez de aviles, a ruthless bigot who would crush a protestant with as much satisfaction as a venomous serpent. imagine the effect upon his gloomy mind of the news that reached him in spain, by the way of havana, of a band of frenchmen, and, worst of all, heretics settled in florida, his florida! meanwhile the men at fort caroline, all unconscious of the black storm brewing in spain, continued their grumbling. they had not heard of the fate of the party who had sailed away, and now nearly all were bent on buccaneering. one day a number of them mutinied, overpowered the { } guard, seized laudonnière, put him in irons, carried him on board a vessel lying in the river, and compelled him, under threat of death, to sign a commission for them to cruise along the spanish main. shortly afterward they sailed away in two small vessels that had been built at fort caroline. after their departure, the orderly element that remained behind restored laudonnière to his command, and things went on smoothly for three or four months. then, one day, a spanish brigantine was seen hovering off the mouth of the river. it was ascertained that she was manned by the mutineers, now anxious to return to the fort. laudonnière sent down a trusty officer in a small vessel that he had built, with thirty soldiers hidden in the hold. the buccaneers let her come alongside without suspicion and began to parley. suddenly the soldiers came on deck, boarded, and overpowered them, before they could seize their arms. in fact, they were mostly drunk. after a short career of successful piracy, they had suddenly found themselves attacked by three armed vessels. the most were killed or taken, but twenty-six escaped. the pilot, who had been carried away against his will, cunningly steered { } the brigantine to the florida coast; and, having no provisions, they were compelled to seek succor from their old comrades. still they had wine in abundance, and so they appeared off the mouth of the river drunk, and, as we have seen, were easily taken. a court-martial condemned the ringleader and three others to be shot, which was duly done. the rest were pardoned. in the meantime the men in the fort had been inquiring diligently in various directions. there was still much talk of mysterious kingdoms, rich in gold. once more they were duped into fighting his battles by the wily outina, who promised to lead them to the mines of appalachee. they defeated his enemies, and there was abundant slaughter, with plenty of scalps for outina's braves, but, of course, no gold. the expected supplies from france did not come. the second summer was upon them, with its exhausting heat. the direst want pinched them. ragged, squalid, and emaciated, they dragged themselves about the fort, digging roots or gathering any plant that might stay the gnawings of hunger. they had made enemies of their neighbors, satouriona and his people; and outina, for whom they had done so much, sent them only { } a meagre supply of corn, with a demand for more help in fighting his enemies. they accepted the offer and were again cheated by the cunning savage. laudonnière draws a pathetic picture of their misery. in the quaint old english translation of richard hakluyt it reads thus: "the effects of this hideous famine appeared incontinently among us, for our bones eftsoones beganne to cleave so neere unto the skinne, that the most part of the souldiers had their skinnes pierced thorow with them in many partes of their bodies." the thoughts of the famished men in fort caroline turned homeward with eager longing. they had still remaining one vessel and the spanish brigantine brought by the mutineers. but they must have another. they began with furious haste to build one, everybody lending a hand. then came a disastrous check. when things were well under way, the two carpenters, roaming away from the fort in search of food, were helping themselves to some ears of green corn in a field, when indians fell upon them and killed them. in this desperate pass laudonnière took a high-handed step. he sent a party up the river, seized { } outina, and brought him a prisoner to the fort. this had the desired effect. his people pleaded for his release. the frenchmen agreed to give him up for a large supply of corn and sent a well-armed party to his village, with the captive chief. the indians brought in the corn, and the frenchmen released outina, according to agreement. but when the former started from the village, each with a bag of corn on his shoulder, to march to their boats, which were at a landing two or three miles away, they were savagely attacked from both sides of the road. they were compelled to drop the corn and fight for their lives. wherever there was opportunity for an ambuscade, arrows showered upon them from the woods. they kept up the running fight bravely, returning a steady fire, but probably made little impression on their hidden foes swarming under cover. by the time they reached the boats they had two men killed and twenty-two wounded, and but two bags of corn. it is evident that the social life of these indians was organized on the community-system, just as we have seen it to be among the iroquois, of the north. they could supply the frenchmen with corn in considerable quantities, taking it out of a { } stock kept for the whole community. unlike the iroquois, however, they lived by families, in individual houses. the distress at fort caroline was now extreme, owing to famine within and war without. in this dark hour, one day, four sails appeared, steering toward the mouth of the river. was this the long-expected relief from france? or were these spanish vessels? presently "the meteor flag of england" floated out on the breeze, and soon a boat brought a friendly message from the commander, the famous sir john hawkins. being a strenuous puritan, he was a warm sympathizer with the protestants of france. returning from selling a cargo of guinea negroes to the spaniards of hispaniola--not at all a discreditable transaction in those days--he had run short of water and had put into the river of may, to obtain a supply. touched by the pitiful condition of the frenchmen, he opened his ship-stores, gave them wine and biscuit, and sold them other supplies very cheaply, taking cannon in payment. then, smiling grimly at the two pitiful little craft in which they purposed sailing for france, he offered them all a free passage home. laudonnière would not { } accept a proposal so humiliating, but was very glad to buy a small vessel from hawkins on credit. just when all was in readiness to sail for home came news of an approaching squadron. it was an anxious hour. were these friends or foes? if foes, the garrison was lost, for the fort was defenceless. then the river was seen full of armed barges coming up. imagine the wild joy of the garrison, when the sentry's challenge was answered in french! it was ribaut. he had come at last, with seven ships, bringing not only soldiers and artisans, but whole families of settlers. one might imagine that fort caroline's dark days had passed. but it was not so. ribaut had been there just a week when his vessels, lying outside the bar, were attacked, about dusk, by a huge spanish galleon. the officers were on shore, and the crews cut the cables and put to sea, followed by the spaniard firing, but not able to overhaul them. ribaut, on shore, heard the guns and knew what they meant. the spaniards had come! before he left france he had been secretly notified of their intentions. the next morning don pedro menendez in his great galleon ran back to the mouth of the { } st. john's. but seeing the frenchmen drawn up under arms on the beach and ribaut's smaller vessels inside the bar, all ready for battle, he turned away and sailed southward to an inlet which he called san augustin. there he found three ships of his unloading troops, guns, and stores. he landed, took formal possession of his vast domain--for the florida of which he had been appointed governor was understood by the spaniards to extend from mexico to the north pole--and began to fortify the place. thus, in september, , was founded st. augustine, the oldest town of the united states. one of the french captains, relying on the speed of his ship, had followed menendez down the coast. he saw what was going on at st. augustine and hastened back to report to ribaut that the spaniards were there in force and were throwing up fortifications. a brilliant idea came to the french commander. his dispersed ships had returned to their anchorage. why not take them, with all his men and all of laudonnière's that were fit for service, sail at once, and strike the spaniards before they could complete their defences, instead of waiting for them to collect their full force and come and attack him, cooped { } up on the st. john's? such bold moves make the fame of commanders when they succeed, and when they fail are called criminal folly. unhappily, ribaut neglected to consider the weather. it was the middle of september, a season subject to terrific gales. making all speed, he sailed away with every available man, leaving laudonnière, sick himself, to hold dismantled fort caroline with disabled soldiers, cooks and servants, women and children. the french ships arrived safely off st. augustine, just before the dawn, and narrowly missed taking menendez himself, who was on board a solitary spanish vessel which lay outside the bar. just in the nick of time she escaped within the harbor. before entering, the frenchmen prudently reconnoitred the strange port. meanwhile the breeze freshened into a gale, and the gale rose to a hurricane. the frenchmen could no longer think of attacking, but only of saving themselves from immediate wreck. down the coast they worked their way in a driving mist, struggling frantically to get out to sea, in the teeth of the hurricane remorselessly pushing them toward the deadly reefs. while his enemies were thus fighting for their { } lives, menendez executed a counter-stroke to that of the french captain. through the raging gale, while every living thing cowered before driving sheets of rain, this man of blood and iron marched away with five hundred picked men. a french deserter from fort caroline and an indian acted as guides, and twenty axemen cleared the way through the dense under-growth. what a march! three days they tramped through a low, flooded country, hacking their way through tangled thickets, wading waist-deep through mud and water, for food and drink having only wet biscuit and rain-water, with a sup of wine; for lodging only the oozy ground, with not so much as a rag of canvas over their heads to shelter them from the torrents of rain. when they reached fort caroline their ammunition was wet and their guns useless. they were half-famished and drenched to the skin. still they were willing to follow their leader in a rush on the fort, relying on cold steel. the night of september th the inmates of fort caroline listened to the dismal moaning and creaking of the tall pines, the roar of the blast, and the fitful torrents of rain beating on the cabin-roofs. { } in the gray dawn of the th a trumpeter who chanced to be astir, saw a swarm of men rushing toward the ramparts. he sounded the alarm; but it was too late. with spain's battle-cry, "santiago! santiago!" (st. james, her patron saint) the assailants swept over the ramparts and poured through a breach. they made quick work. the shriek of a helpless mother or the scream of a frightened infant was quickly hushed in death. when, however, the first fury of butchery had spent itself, menendez ordered that such persons should be spared, and fifty were actually saved alive. every male above the age of fifteen was, from first to last, killed on the spot. laudonnière had leaped from his sick-bed and, in his night-shirt, rallied a few men for resistance. but they were quickly killed or dispersed, and he escaped to the woods, where a few half-naked fugitives were gathered. some of these determined to go back and appeal to the humanity of the spaniards. the mercy of wolves to lambs! seeing these poor wretches butchered, the others felt that their only hope was in making their way to the mouth of the river, where lay two or three light craft which ribaut had left. { } wading through mire and water, their naked limbs cut by the sedge and their feet by roots, they met two or three small boats sent to look out for fugitives, and were taken aboard half dead. after two or three days of vain waiting for the reappearance of the armed ships, the little flotilla sailed for france, carrying laudonnière and the other fugitives, some of whom died on the voyage from wounds and exposure. the spaniards had fort caroline, with one hundred and forty-two dead heretics heaped about it and a splendid booty in armor, clothing, and provisions--all the supplies lately brought by ribaut from france. everybody has read how menendez hanged his few prisoners on trees, with the legend over them, "i do this not as to frenchmen, but to lutherans." meanwhile ribaut and his ships had been blown down the coast, vainly struggling to keep away from the reefs, and were finally wrecked, one after another, at various distances to the south of st. augustine. let us pass quickly over the remainder of this sickening story. one day, after menendez had returned to st. augustine, indians came in, breathless, { } with tidings that the crew of a wrecked vessel, struggling northward, had reached an arm of the sea (matanzas inlet), which they had no means of crossing. immediately menendez started out with about sixty men in boats and met them. the starving frenchmen, deceived by his apparent humanity in setting breakfast before them, surrendered, and, having been ferried over the inlet in small batches, were led back into the sand-hills and butchered. about two weeks later word was brought to menendez of a second and larger party of frenchmen who had reached the same fatal spot. ribaut himself was among them. not knowing of the horrible fate of his countrymen, he tried to make terms with the spaniards. while he was parleying with menendez, two hundred of his followers marched away, declaring that they would rather take chances with the indians than with these white men whom they distrusted. ribaut, having surrendered with the remaining hundred and fifty, was led away behind the sandhills and his hands were tied. then he knew that he had been duped, and calmly faced his doom. "we are of earth," he said, "and to earth must return! twenty years more or less matter little." { } as before, the deluded frenchmen were brought over in tens, led away, tied, and, at a given signal, butchered. some twenty days later, menendez received tidings of a third band of frenchmen, far to the southward, near cape canaveral. this was the party that had refused to surrender with ribaut. when he reached the place, he saw that they had reared a kind of stockade and were trying to build a vessel out of the timbers of their wrecked ship. he sent a messenger to summon them to surrender, pledging his honor for their safety. part preferred to take the chance of being eaten by indians, they said, and they actually fled to the native villages. the rest took menendez at his word and surrendered, and they had no reason to regret it. he took them to st. augustine and treated them well. some of them rewarded the pious efforts of the priests by turning catholics. the rest were no doubt sent to the galleys. everybody is familiar with the story of the vengeance taken by dominique de gourgues, a gascon gentleman. seeing the french court too supine to insist upon redress, he sold his estate, with the proceeds equipped and manned three small vessels, sailed to the coast of florida and, { } with the assistance of several hundred indians, who hated the cruel spaniards, captured fort caroline, slaughtered the garrison, hanged the prisoners, and put up over the scene of two butcheries the legend, "not as to spaniards, but as to traitors, robbers, and murderers." thus closed the last bloody act in the tragedy of french colonization in carolina and florida. a long period--one hundred and thirty-four years--was to pass before the french flag would again fly within the territory now embraced in the southern states. [ ] in "pioneer spaniards in north america," p. , it has been mentioned that when ponce de leon fancied that he heard among the indians of porto rico a story of a fountain having the property of giving immortality, this was because he had in his mind a legend that had long been current in europe. sir john maundeville went so far as to say that he had visited these famous waters in asia and had bathed in them. the legend was, however, much older than maundeville's time. in the "romance of alexander the great," which was very popular hundreds of years ago, it is related that alexander's cook, on one of his marches, took a salt fish to a spring to wash it before cooking it. no sooner was the fish put into the water than it swam away. the cook secured a bottle of the magic water, but concealed his knowledge. later he divulged his secret to alexander's daughter, who thereupon married him. alexander, when he learned the facts, was furious. he changed his daughter into a sea-nymph and his cook into a sea-monster. being immortal, undoubtedly they are still disporting themselves in the indian ocean. for this story the writer is indebted to professor george f. moore, d.d., of the harvard divinity school. { } chapter viii samuel de champlain in nova scotia how the cod-fishery led to the fur-trade.--disastrous failure of the first trading-posts.--champlain's first visit to the new world.--his second, and the determination to which it led.--the bitter winter at st. croix.--champlain's first voyage down the new england coast.--removal to port royal.--abandonment of port royal. the disasters in florida did not abate the activity of frenchmen on the far northern coast of america. the earliest attraction was the cod-fishery. then, as the fishing-folk grew familiar with newfoundland and the continental shores, their attention was drawn to the skins worn by the natives. what prices they would bring in france! here was a field that would make richer returns than rough and perilous fishing. in this way the fur-trade, which became the life of canada, had its beginning. the first chapters of the story were gloomy and disheartening beyond description. the dreadful scurvy and the cruel cold scourged the newcomers. party after party perished { } miserably. the story of one of these is singularly romantic. when sable island[ ] was reached, its leader, the marquis de la roche, landed forty ragamuffins, while he sailed on with the best men of his crew to examine the coast and choose a site for the capital of his promising domain. alas! he never returned. a gale swept his little craft out to sea and drove him back to france. when he landed, the sun of his prosperity had set. creditors swooped down upon him, political enemies rose in troops, and the "lieutenant-general of canada and the adjacent countries" was clapped in jail like a common malefactor. meanwhile what of the forty promising colonists on sable island? they dropped for years out of human knowledge as completely as henry hudson when dastardly mutineers set him adrift in an open boat in the bay which bears his name,[ ] or narvaez and his brilliant expedition whose fate was a mystery until the appearance of four survivors, eight years afterward.[ ] { } five years went by, and twelve uncouth creatures stood before henry the fourth, clad in shaggy skins, and with long, unkempt beards. they were the remnant of la roche's jailbirds. he had at last gained a hearing from the king, and a vessel had been sent to sable island to bring home the survivors of his party. what a story they told! when months passed, and la roche came not, they thought they were left to their fate. they built huts of the timbers of a wreck which lay on the beach--for there was not a tree on the island--and so faced the dreary winter. with trapping foxes, spearing seals, and hunting wild cattle, descendants of some which a certain baron de léry had left eight years before, they managed to eke out existence, not without quarrels and murders among themselves. at last the remnant was taken off by the vessel which henry sent for them. shaggy and uncouth as they looked, they had a small fortune in the furs which they had accumulated. this wealth had not escaped the notice of the thrifty skipper who brought them home, and he had robbed them. but the king not only compelled the dishonest sea-captain to disgorge his plunder, but aided { } its owners with a pension in setting up in the fur-trade. such dismal experiences filled more than fifty years of futile effort to colonize new france. cold and scurvy as effectually closed the north to frenchmen as spanish savagery the south. then, in this disheartening state of affairs, appeared the man who well deserves the title of the "father of new france," since his courage and indomitable will steered the tiny "ship of state" through a sea of discouragements. samuel de champlain was born in at the small french seaport of brouage, on the bay of biscay. in his pious devotion and his unquestioning loyalty to the church, he was of the "age of faith," and he recalls columbus. in his eager thirst for knowledge and his daring spirit of exploration, he was a modern man, while his practical ability in handling men and affairs reminds us of the doughty captain john smith, of virginia. he came to manhood in time to take part in the great religious wars in france. after the conflict was ended, when his master, henry the great, was seated on the throne, champlain's adventurous spirit led him to the west indies. since these were closed to frenchmen by the jealousy { } of the spaniards, there was a degree of peril in the undertaking which for him was its chief charm. after two years he returned, bringing a journal in which he had set down the most notable things seen in spanish america. it was illustrated with a number of the quaintest pictures, drawn and colored by himself. he also visited mexico and central america. his natural sagacity is shown in his suggesting, even at that early day, that a ship-canal across the isthmus of panama would effect a vast saving. [illustration: samuel de champlain] in , in two quaint little vessels, not larger than the fishing craft of to-day, champlain and pontgravé, who was interested in the fur-trade, crossed the atlantic and sailed up the st. lawrence. when they came to hochelaga, on the site of montreal, they found there only a few shiftless and roving algonquins.[ ] the explorers passed on and boldly essayed, but in vain, to ascend the rapids of st. louis. when they sailed for france, however, a great purpose was formed in champlain's mind. what { } he had gathered from the indians as to the great waters above, the vast chain of rivers and lakes, determined the scene of his future activity. his next venture in the new world was made in association with the sieur de monts, a huguenot gentleman, who had obtained leave to plant a colony in acadia (nova scotia). with a band of colonists--if we can apply that name to a motley assemblage of jailbirds and high-born gentlemen, of catholic priests and protestant ministers--they sailed for america in . thirty years of bloody warfare in france had but recently come to an end, and the followers of the two faiths were still full of bitter hatred. it is easy, therefore, to believe champlain's report that monk and minister quarreled incessantly and sometimes came to blows over religious questions. this state of feeling came near to causing the death of an innocent man. after the new world had been reached, and when the expedition was coasting along the eastern shore of the bay of fundy, seeking a place for a settlement, one day a party went ashore to stroll in the woods. on reassembling, a priest named nicolas aubry was missing. trumpets were sounded and cannon fired from the ships. all in vain. there { } was no reply but the echo of the ancient forest. then suspicion fell upon a certain huguenot with whom aubry had often quarreled. he was accused of having killed the missing priest. in spite of his strenuous denial of the charge, many persons firmly believed him guilty. thus matters stood for more than two weeks. one day, however, the crew of a boat that had been sent back to the neighborhood where the priest had disappeared heard a strange sound and saw a small black object in motion on the shore. rowing nearer, they descried a man waving a hat on a stick. imagine their surprise and joy when they recognized aubry! he had become separated from his comrades, had lost his way, and for sixteen days of misery and terror had kept himself alive on berries and wild fruits. the place finally selected for settlement was a dreary island near the mouth of the st. croix river, which now forms the boundary between maine and new brunswick. it had but one recommendation, namely, that it was admirably suited for defence, and these frenchmen, reared in war-time, seem to have thought more of that single advantage than of the far more pressing needs of a colony. cannon were landed, a { } battery was built, and a fort was erected. then buildings quickly followed, and by the autumn the whole party was well housed in its settlement, called sainte croix (holy cross). the river they named differently, but it has since borne the title of that ill-starred colony. when winter came, the island, exposed to the fierce winds blowing down the river, was fearfully cold. ice floated by in great masses, frequently cutting off the settlers from the mainland and from their supplies of wood and water. the terror of those days, the scurvy, soon appeared, and by the spring nearly half of the seventy-nine men lay in the little cemetery. of the survivors the greater number had no other desire than to flee from the scene of so much misery. they were cheered, however, when pontgravé arrived from france with supplies and forty new men. in the hope of securing a more favorable site in a warmer latitude, champlain, who already had explored a part of the coast and had visited and named the island of mount desert, set out in a small vessel with monts and about thirty men on a voyage of discovery. they followed the shores of maine closely, and by the middle of july were off cape ann. then they entered { } massachusetts bay. the islands of boston harbor, now so bare, champlain describes as covered with trees. the aboriginal inhabitants of the region seem to have felt a friendly interest in the distinguished strangers. canoe-loads of them came out to gaze on the strange spectacle of the little vessel, with its bearded and steel-clad crew. down the south shore the voyagers held their way, anchoring for the night near brant rock. a head wind drove them to take shelter in a harbor which champlain called port st. louis, the same which, fifteen years afterward, welcomed the brave pilgrims. the shore was at that time lined with wigwams and garden-patches. the inhabitants were very friendly. while some danced on the beach, others who had been fishing came on board the vessel without any sign of alarm, showing their fish-hooks, which were of barbed bone lashed to a slip of wood.[ ] the glistening white sand of a promontory { } stretching out into the sea suggested to champlain the name which he bestowed, cap blanc (white cape, now cape cod). doubling it, he held his way southward as far as nausett harbor. here misfortune met the party. as some sailors were seeking fresh water behind the sandhills, an indian snatched a kettle from one of them. its owner, pursuing him, was killed by his comrades' arrows. the french fired from the vessel, and champlain's arquebuse burst, nearly killing him. in the meantime several indians who were on board leaped so quickly into the water that only one was caught. he was afterward humanely released. this untoward incident, together with a growing scarcity of provisions, decided the voyagers to turn back. early in august they reached st. croix. discouraged as to finding a site on the new england coast, champlain and monts began to look across the bay of fundy, at first called le fond de la baye (the bottom of the bay). a traveler crossing this water from the west will see a narrow gap in the bold and rugged outline of the shore. entering it, he will be struck with its romantic beauty, and he will note the { } tide rushing like a mill-race, for this narrow passage is the outlet of a considerable inland water. the steamer, passing through, emerges into a wide, land-locked basin offering an enchanting view. fourteen miles northward is annapolis harbor, shut in on every side by verdant hills. this is the veritable acadia, the beautiful land of evangeline, and here was made the first settlement of frenchmen in north america that had any degree of permanence. the explorers had discovered and entered this enchanting basin in the previous summer. now its beauty recurred to them, and they determined to remove thither. in their vessels they transported their stores and even parts of their buildings across the bay of fundy and laid the foundation of a settlement which they called port royal, afterward renamed by loyal britons annapolis, in honor of queen anne. the season proved very severe, and in the spring it was decided to persevere in the project of planting a colony, if possible, in a warmer region. for the second time champlain sailed down the new england coast. at chatham harbor, as the place is now called, five of the voyagers, contrary to orders, { } were spending the night ashore. the word quickly passed around among the indians that a number of the palefaces were in their power. through the dark hours of the night dusky warriors gathered at the meeting-place, until they numbered hundreds. then they stole silently toward the camp-fire where the unsuspecting frenchmen lay sleeping. suddenly a savage yell aroused them, and arrows fell in a shower upon them. two never rose, slain where they lay. the others fled to their boat, fairly bristling with arrows sticking in them, according to the quaint picture which champlain made. in the meantime, he, with poutrincourt and eight men, aroused from their sleep by the horrid cries on the shore, had leaped from their berths, snatched their weapons, and, clad only in their shirts, pulled to the rescue of their comrades. they charged, and the dusky enemy fled into the woods. mournfully the voyagers buried their dead, while the barbarians, from a safe distance, jibed and jeered at them. no sooner had the little party rowed back to the ship than they saw the indians dig up the dead bodies and burn them. the incensed frenchmen, by a treacherous device, lured some of the assailants within { } their reach, killed them, and cut off their heads. then, discouraged by the savage hostility of the natives, they turned homeward and, late in november, the most of the men sick in body and at heart, reached port royal. thus ended disastrously champlain's second attempt to find a lodgment on the new england coast. but he was not a man to be disheartened by difficulties. soon the snows of another winter began to fall upon port royal, that lonely outpost of civilization. but let us not imagine that the little colony was oppressed with gloom. there were jolly times around the blazing logs in the rude hall, of winter evenings. they had abundant food, fine fresh fish, speared through the ice of the river or taken from the bay, with the flesh of moose, caribou, deer, beaver, and hare, and of ducks, geese, and grouse, and they had organized an "order of good fellowship." each member of the company was grand master for one day, and it was his duty to provide for the table and then to preside at the feast which he had prepared. this arrangement put each one on his mettle to lay up a good store for { } the day when he would do the honors of the feast. the indian chiefs sat with the frenchmen as their guests, while the warriors and squaws and children squatted on the floor, awaiting the bits of food that were sure to come to them. in this picture we have an illustration of the ease with which the frenchmen always adapted themselves to the natives. it was the secret of their success in forming alliances with the indians, and it was in marked contrast with the harsh conduct of the english and the ruthless cruelty of the spaniards. no indian tribes inclined to the english, except the five nations, and these chiefly because their sworn enemies, the algonquins of the st. lawrence, were hand in glove with the french. none came into contact with the spaniards who did not execrate them. but the sons of france mingled freely with the dusky children of the soil, made friends of them and quickly won numbers of them to learn their language and adopt their religion. from intermarriages of frenchmen with indian women there grew up in canada a large class of half-breed "voyageurs" (travelers) and "coureurs de bois" (wood-rangers), who in times of peace were skilful hunters and pioneers, and in times { } of war helped to bind fast the ties between the two races. in this pleasant fashion the third winter of the colony wore away with little suffering. only four men died. with the coming of spring all began to bestir themselves in various activities, and everything looked hopeful. alas! a bitter disappointment was at hand. news came from france that monts's monopoly of the fur-trade had been rescinded. the merchants of various ports in france, incensed at being shut out from a lucrative traffic, had used money freely at court and had succeeded in having his grant withdrawn. all the money spent in establishing the colony was to go for nothing. worst of all, port royal must be abandoned. its cornfields and gardens must become a wilderness, and the fair promise of a permanent colony must wither. it was a cruel blow to champlain and his associates, and not less so to the indians, who followed their departing friends with bitter lamentations. [ ] a low, sandy island, about one hundred miles southeast of nova scotia, to which it belongs. [ ] see "the world's discoverers," p. . [ ] see "pioneer spaniards in north america," p. . [ ] at the time of champlain's coming on the scene, fierce war existed between the algonquins and the iroquois. this fact accounts for the disappearance of the thrifty iroquois village, with its palisade and cornfields, which cartier had found on the spot, sixty-eight years earlier. [ ] these massachusetts algonquins evidently were of a higher type than their kinsmen on the st. lawrence. far from depending wholly on hunting and fishing, they lived in permanent villages and were largely an agricultural people, growing considerable crops. at the time of the coming of the pilgrims, whom they instructed in corn-planting, this thrifty native population had been sadly wasted by an epidemic of small-pox. { } chapter ix samuel de champlain (_continued_) the french on the st. lawrence and the great lakes champlain's motives in returning to america.--how the monopoly of the fur-trade affected the men engaged in it.--fight with free-traders at tadoussac.--the founding of quebec.--the first bitter winter.--champlain starts on an exploration.--discovery of lake champlain.--fight with a band of iroquois.--its unfortunate consequences.--another fight with iroquois.--montreal founded.--champlain's most important exploration.--lake huron discovered.--a deer drive.--defeated by iroquois.--champlain lost in the woods.--his closing years and death. hitherto champlain has appeared at a disadvantage, because he was in a subordinate capacity. now we shall see his genius shine, because he is in command. in he returned to america, not, however, to nova scotia, but to the st. lawrence. three motives chiefly actuated him. the first was the unquenchable desire to find a water-way through our continent to china. when, in , he { } explored the st. lawrence as far as the rapids beyond montreal, what he heard from the indians about the great inland seas created in his mind a strong conviction that through them was a passage to the pacific, such as the early explorers, notably henry hudson (see "the world's discoverers," p. ), believed to exist. the next motive was exceedingly practical. champlain was deeply impressed with the need of planting strongholds on the great streams draining the vast fur-yielding region, so as to shut out intruders and secure the precious traffic to his countrymen. let france, he argued, plant herself boldly and strongly on the st. lawrence, that great highway for the savage's canoe and the white man's ship, and she would control the fur-trade. the other idea active in his mind was an earnest desire for the conversion of the indians. it is undeniable that france was genuinely interested in christianizing the natives of america. some of the most heroic spirits who came to our country came with that object in view, and champlain was too devoted a catholic not to share the church's concern on this point. so he came out, in the spring of , in { } command of a vessel furnished by the sieur de monts for exploration and settlement. when he reached the desolate trading-post of tadoussac,[ ] an incident occurred that illustrates the reluctance of men to submit to curtailment of their natural rights. if it was hard for men in france to submit patiently to being shut out of a lucrative business by the government's granting the sole right to particular persons, how far more difficult must it have been for men who were on the coasts or rivers of the new world, who had already been engaged in the traffic, and who had opportunities to trade constantly inviting them! an indian, let us say, paddled alongside with a bundle of valuable furs, eager to get the things which the white men had and beseeching them to barter. but no; they must not deal with him, because they were not employed to buy and sell for the one man who controlled the business. of course, many evaded the law, and there was a vast deal of illicit trading in the lonely forests of new france which the watchful eye of the { } monopolist could not penetrate. often there were violent and bloody collisions between his employees and the free-traders. now, when champlain reached tadoussac he found his associate, pontgravé, who had sailed a week ahead of him, in serious trouble. on arriving at tadoussac, he had found some basques driving a brisk trade with the indians. these basques were fierce fellows. they belonged to one of the oldest races in the world, a race that has inhabited the slopes of the pyrenees, on both the spanish and the french sides, so far back that nobody knows when it came thither; moreover, a sullen and vengeful race. they were also daring voyagers, and their fishing-vessels had been among the earliest to visit the new world, where their name for cod-fish, baccalaos, had been given to newfoundland, which bears that title on the oldest maps. they had traded with the indians long before any grant of monopoly to anybody, and they felt that such a grant deprived them of a long-established right. when pontgravé showed the royal letters and forbade the traffic, these men swore roundly that they would trade in spite of the king, and backed { } up their words by promptly opening fire on pontgravé with cannon and musketry. he was wounded, as well as two of his men, and a third was killed. then they boarded his vessel and carried away all his cannon, small arms, and ammunition, saying that they would restore them when they had finished their trading and were ready to return home. champlain's arrival completely changed the situation. the basques, who were now the weaker party, were glad to come to terms, agreeing to go away and employ themselves in whale-fishing. leaving the wounded pontgravé to load his ship with a rich cargo of furs, champlain held his way up the st. lawrence. a place where the broad stream is shut in between opposing heights and which the indians called kebec ("the narrows"), seemed an ideal situation for a stronghold, being indeed a natural fortress. on this spot, between the water and the cliffs, where the lower town now stands, champlain, in , founded the city of quebec. its beginnings were modest indeed--three wooden buildings containing quarters for the leader and his men, a large storehouse, and a fort with two or three small cannon commanding the river. { } the basques, all this time, were sullenly brooding over the wrong which they conceived had been done them. one day champlain was secretly informed of a plot among his men to murder him and deliver quebec into their hands. he acted with his usual cool determination. through the agency of the man who had betrayed them, the four ringleaders were lured on board a small vessel with a promise of enjoying some wine which was said to have been sent from tadoussac by their friends, the basques. they were seized, and the arch-conspirator was immediately hanged, while the other three were taken by pontgravé back to france, where they were sentenced to the gallows. after these prompt measures champlain had no more trouble with his men. now he was left with twenty-eight men to hold quebec through the winter. one would think that the cruel sufferings endured by carder on the same spot, seventy-three years earlier, would have intimidated him. but he was made of stern stuff. soon the rigors of a canadian winter settled down on the little post. for neighbors the frenchmen had only a band of indians, half-starving and wholly wretched, as was the usual { } winter condition of the roving algonquins, who never tilled the soil or made sufficient provision against the cold. the french often gave them food which they needed sorely. champlain writes of seeing some miserable wretches seize the carcass of a dog which had lain for months on the snow, break it up, thaw, and eat it. it proved a fearful winter. the scurvy raged among the frenchmen, and only eight, half of them sick, remained alive out of the twenty-eight. thus this first winter at quebec makes the first winter of the pilgrims at plymouth seem, by comparison, almost a mild experience. with the early summer pontgravé was back from france, and now champlain, strenuous as ever, determined on carrying out his daring project of exploration, in the hope of finding a route to china. his plan was to march with a war-party of algonquins and hurons against their deadly foes, the iroquois, thus penetrating the region which he wished to explore. going up the st. lawrence as far as the mouth of the richelieu or sorel river, and then ascending this stream, the party entered the enemy's country. on the way champlain had opportunities of witnessing a most interesting ceremony. { } at every camp the medicine-man, or sorcerer, pitched the magic lodge, of poles covered with dirty deerskin robes, and retired within to hold communion with the unseen powers, while the worshipers sat around in gaping awe. soon a low muttering was heard, the voice of the medicine-man invoking the spirits. then came the alleged answer, the lodge rocking to and fro in violent motion. champlain could see that the sorcerer was shaking the poles. but the indians fully believed that the manitou was present and acting. next they heard its voice, they declared, speak in an unearthly tone, something like the whining of a young puppy. then they called on champlain to see fire and smoke issuing from the peak of the lodge. of course, he did not see any such thing but they did, and were satisfied.[ ] { } soon the river broadened, and champlain, first of all white men, gazed on the beautiful lake that bears his name. now traveling became dangerous, and the party moved only in the night, for fear of suddenly encountering a band of the enemy, whom they hoped to surprise. their plan was to traverse the length of lake champlain, then pass into lake george and follow it to a convenient landing, thence carry their canoes through the woods to the hudson river, and descend it to some point where they might strike an outlying town of the mohawks.[ ] { } they were saved the trouble of so long a journey. one night, while they were still on lake champlain, they caught sight of dark objects moving on the water. a fleet of iroquois canoes they proved to be. each party saw the other and forthwith began to yell defiance. the iroquois immediately landed and began to cut down trees and form a barricade, preferring to fight on shore. the hurons remained in their canoes all night, not far off, yelling themselves hoarse. indeed, both parties incessantly howled abuse, sarcasm, and threats at each other. they spoke the same language, the hurons being a branch of the iroquois family. when morning came the allies moved to the attack, champlain encased in steel armor. he and two other frenchmen whom he had with him, each in a separate canoe, kept themselves covered with indian robes, so that their presence was not suspected. the party landed without any opposition and made ready for the fray. soon the iroquois filed out from their barricade and advanced, some two hundred in number, many of them carrying shields of wood covered with hide, others protected by a rude armor of tough twigs interlaced. [illustration: fort of the iroquois] { } as they confidently marched forward, imagine their amazement when the ranks of the enemy suddenly opened, and their steel-clad champion stepped to the front! it was an apparition that might well cause consternation among these men of the wilderness, not one of whom probably had ever seen a white man. what follows is thus described by champlain: "i looked at them, and they looked at me. when i saw them getting ready to shoot their arrows at us, i leveled my arquebuse, which i had loaded with four balls, and aimed straight at one of the three chiefs. the shot brought down two and wounded another. on this, our indians set up such a yelling that one could not have heard a thunder-clap, and all the while the arrows flew thick on both sides. the iroquois were greatly astonished and frightened to see two of their men killed so quickly, in spite of their arrow-proof armor." when one of champlain's companions fired a shot from the woods, panic sized them, and they fled in terror. the victory was complete. some of the iroquois were killed, more were taken, and their camp, canoes, and provisions all fell into the lands of the visitors. { } this fight, insignificant in itself, had tremendous consequences. champlain had inconsiderately aroused the vengeance of a terrible enemy. from that day forth, the mighty confederacy of the five nations, embracing the mohawks, oneidas, onondagas, cayugas, and senecas, was the deadly foe of the french. this circumstance gave to the english, in the long struggle for the supremacy of america, the aid of the craftiest, boldest, and most formidable native warriors on the continent. another noteworthy thing is that this fight occurred in just the year in which hudson ascended the river since named for him. his exploration, made in the interest of the dutch, led to their planting trading-posts on the river.[ ] { } previously the iroquois had been at a disadvantage, because their enemies, the hurons, could procure fire-arms from the french, whereas they had not any. but the dutch traders on the hudson soon began to sell guns to the iroquois; and thus one of the first effects of the coming of white men into the wilderness was to equip these two savage races for a deadlier warfare. the next summer champlain had another opportunity of taking a hand in a fight between indians. a canoe came with the exciting news that, a few miles away in the woods, a band of algonquins had surrounded an invading party of iroquois who were making a desperate stand within an inclosure of trees. his indians snatched their weapons and raced for the scene, shouting to champlain to follow, but leaving him and four of his men to find their way as best they could. they were soon lost in the dense woods. the day was hot, and the air was full of mosquitoes. the frenchmen struggled on through black mud and knee-deep water and over fallen trees and slimy logs, panting under their heavy corselets; but not a sound could they hear to guide them to the spot. at last two indians running to the fight { } overtook them and led them to the place where the iroquois, within a circular barricade of trees and interlaced boughs, were fighting savagely. they had beaten off their assailants with heavy loss. when the frenchmen came up, they received a flight of well-aimed arrows from the desperate defenders. one split champlain's ear and tore through the muscles of his neck. another inflicted a similar wound on one of his men. the indians, seeing the europeans' heads and breasts covered with steel, had aimed at their faces. but fire-arms soon changed the situation. the frenchmen ran up close to the barricade, thrust their weapons through the openings, and poured dismay and death among the defenders. the indian assailants, too, encouraged by this example, rushed in and dragged out the trees of the barricade. at the same time a boat's crew of fur-traders, who had been attracted by the firing, rushed upon the scene and used their guns with deadly effect. the iroquois, surrounded and overwhelmed by numbers, fought to the last. the most were killed on the spot. only fifteen survived and were taken prisoners. thus the fiercest warriors of north america experienced a second disaster { } which could not but result in deepening their hatred of the french. these early successes of champlain were dearly paid for by his country-men long after he was dead. in the following spring ( ) champlain did another memorable thing: he established a post, which afterward grew into a trading-station, at montreal. thus the two oldest and most historic towns of canada owe their foundation to him. champlain purposed accompanying a great force of algonquins and hurons in an inroad into the iroquois country. the savage warriors, however, unwilling to wait for him, set out for their villages, taking with them an adventurous friar named le caron. but champlain was not to be baulked by this circumstance. he immediately started on the track of the larger party, with ten indians and two frenchmen, one of whom was his interpreter, etienne brulé. he went up the ottawa river, made a portage through the woods, and launched his canoes on the waters of lake nipissing, passing through the country of a tribe so sunk in degrading superstitions, that the jesuits afterward called them "the sorcerers." after resting here two days and feasting on { } fish and deer, which must have been very welcome diet after the scant fare of the journey, he descended french river, which empties the waters of nipissing into lake huron. on the way down, hunger again pinched his party, and they were forced to subsist on berries which, happily, grew in great abundance. at last a welcome sight greeted champlain. lake huron lay before him. he called it the "mer douce" (fresh-water sea). down the eastern shore of the georgian bay for more than a hundred miles champlain took his course, through countless islets, to its lower end. then his indians landed and struck into a well-beaten trail leading into the heart of the huron country, between lakes huron and ontario. here he witnessed a degree of social advancement far beyond that of the shiftless algonquins on the st. lawrence. here were people living in permanent villages protected by triple palisades of trees, and cultivating fields of maize and pumpkins and patches of sunflowers. to him, coming from gloomy desolation, this seemed a land of beauty and abundance. the hurons welcomed him with lavish hospitality, expecting that he would lead them to { } victory. he was taken from village to village. in the last he found the friar le caron with his twelve frenchmen. now there were feasts and dances for several days, while the warriors assembled for the march into the iroquois country. then the little army set out, carrying their canoes until they came to lake simcoe. after crossing this there came another portage, after which the canoes were launched again on the waters of the river trent. down this they made their way until they came to a suitable spot for a great hunt. the frenchmen watched the proceedings and took part in them with great zest. five hundred men, forming an extended line, moved through the woods, gradually closing in toward a wooded point on which they drove the game. then they swept along it to its very end. the frightened deer, driven into the water, were easily killed by the canoe-men with spears and arrows. such a great hunt supplied the place of a commissary department and furnished food for many days. out upon lake ontario the fleet of frail barks boldly ventured, crossed it safely, and landed on the shore of what is now new york state. here the indians hid their canoes. now they were on the enemy's soil and must move cautiously. for { } four days they filed silently through the woods, crossing the outlet of lake oneida, and plunged deep into the iroquois country. one day they came upon a clearing in which some of the people of the neighboring villages were gathering corn and pumpkins. some of the impetuous young hurons uttered their savage yell and rushed upon them. but the iroquois seized their weapons and defended themselves so well that they drove back their assailants with some loss. only the frenchmen, opening fire, saved the hurons from worse disaster. then the attacking party moved on to the village. this champlain found to be far more strongly defended than any he had ever seen among the indians. there were not less than four rows of palisades, consisting of trunks of trees set in the earth and leaning outward; and there was a kind of gallery well supplied with stones and provided with wooden gutters for quenching fire. something more than the hap-hazard methods of the hurons was needed to capture this stronghold, and champlain instructed them how to set about it. under his direction, they built a wooden tower high enough to overlook the palisades and { } large enough to shelter four or five marksmen. when this had been planted within a few feet of the fortification, three arquebusiers mounted to the top and thence opened a deadly raking fire along the crowded galleries. had the assailants confined themselves to this species of attack and heeded champlain's warnings, the result would have been different. but their fury was ungovernable. yelling their war-cry, they exposed themselves recklessly to the stones and arrows of the iroquois. one, bolder than the rest, ran forward with firebrands to burn the palisade, and others followed with wood to feed the flame. but torrents of water poured down from the gutters quickly extinguished it. in vain champlain strove to restore order among the yelling savages. finding himself unable to control his frenzied allies, he and his men busied themselves with picking off the iroquois along the ramparts. after three hours of this bootless fighting, the hurons fell back, with seventeen warriors wounded.[ ] champlain himself was disabled by two wounds, { } one in the knee and one in the leg, which hindered him from walking. still he urged the hurons to renew the attack. but in vain. from overweening confidence the fickle savages had passed to the other extreme. nothing could inspire them to another assault. moreover, champlain had lost much of his peculiar influence over them. they had fancied that, with him in front, success was sure. now they saw that he could be wounded, and by indian weapons, and they had experienced a defeat the blame of which they undoubtedly laid at his door. his "medicine" [ ] was not the sure thing they had thought it to be, and no words of his could raise their spirits. after a few days of ineffective skirmishing, they hastily broke up in retreat, carrying their wounded in the centre, while the iroquois pursued and harassed the flanks and rear. champlain was treated like the rest of the wounded. each was carried in a rude basket made of green withes, on the back of a stout warrior. for days he traveled in this way, enduring, he says, greater torment than he had { } ever before experienced, "for the pain of the wound was nothing to that of being bound and pinioned on the back of a savage." as soon as he could bear his weight, he was glad to walk. when the shore of lake ontario was reached, the canoes were found untouched, and the crest-fallen band embarked and recrossed to the opposite side. now champlain experienced one of the consequences of his loss of prestige. the hurons had promised him an escort to quebec. but nobody was willing to undertake the journey. the great war-party broke up, the several bands going off to their wonted hunting-grounds, and champlain was left with no choice but to spend the winter with the hurons. one of their chiefs invited him to share his lodge, and he was glad to accept this hospitality. shortly afterward he met with a notable adventure. the hurons were waiting for a hard frost to give them passage over the lakes and marshes that lay between them and their towns. meanwhile they occupied themselves with hunting. one day champlain was out with them. for ten days twenty-five men had been at work, preparing for a huge "drive." they had built a strong enclosure, from the opening of which { } ran two diverging fences of posts interlaced with boughs, extending more than half a mile into the woods. at daybreak the most of the warriors formed a long line and, with shouts and the clattering of sticks, drove the deer toward the pound. the frightened animals rushed down the converging lines of fence into the trap, where they were easily killed. champlain was enjoying watching the sport, when a strange bird lured him off, and he lost his way. the day was cloudy, there was no sun to guide him, and his pocket-compass he had left in camp. all his efforts to retrace his steps failed. at last night came on, and he lay down and slept, supperless, at the foot of a tree. the whole of the next day he wandered, but in the afternoon he came to a pond where there were some waterfowl along the shore. he shot some of these, kindled a fire, cooked his food, and ate with relish. it was dreary november weather, and a cold rain set in. he was without covering of any kind. but he was used to hardships, and he said his prayers and calmly lay down to sleep. another day of bewildered wandering followed, and another night of discomfort. on the next { } day he came upon a little brook. the happy thought came to him that, if he should follow this, it would lead him to the river, near which the hunters were encamped. this he did, and when he came in sight of the river, with a lighter heart he kindled his fire, cooked his supper, and bivouacked once more. the next day he easily made his way down the river to the camp, where there was great joy at his coming. the indians had searched for him far and wide. from that day forth they never let him go into the forest alone. the scene of this adventure seems to have been somewhere to the north or north-east of the site of kingston, ontario. the indians encamped here several weeks, during which they killed a hundred and twenty deer. when the hard cold came and the marshy country was solid with ice, they resumed their journey, with their sledges laden with venison. champlain went on with them from village to village, until he reached the one in which he had left brother le caron. when spring came, the frenchmen traveled homeward by the same circuitous route by which they had come, by the way of lake huron and the ottawa river. { } champlain's arrival at quebec caused universal rejoicing. he was welcomed as one risen from the grave, for the indians had reported him dead, and a solemn service of thanksgiving for his safety was held. here closes the most adventurous period of his career. though his heart was in the work of exploration, he was destined to spend his remaining years chiefly in nursing the feeble little colony at quebec. he had not only to hold the balance even between monks and traders, but to guard the puny little colony against frequent indian outbreaks. eighteen years had passed since the foundation of quebec, and still the population consisted of only one hundred and five persons, men, women, and children. only two or three families supported themselves from the soil. all the rest were there either as priests or as soldiers or as traders bent on enriching themselves as quickly as possible and then returning to france. this was one of the greatest difficulties that champlain had to contend with. the french at this time had little thought of anything else than developing a great trade, whereas the english colonists, with strong good sense, set themselves to tilling { } the soil and to making true homes for themselves and their children's children. the result was that canada long remained a sickly infant, while the english colonies were growing sturdily. an event that must have deeply tried champlain was the surrender of quebec by his government to the english. he actually spent some time in london as a prisoner, being treated with great consideration. eventually, however, quebec was restored to its former masters and champlain to the governorship. thus were spent the last years of his life. he died on christmas day, in . at his funeral all the little community, jesuits, officers, soldiers, traders, and settlers, gathered to pay honor to the dead "father of new france." he was a great soul, his faults chiefly those of a too confiding nature, always manly and sincere, a brave soldier and a true gentleman, unselfishly devoted to the work to which he had consecrated his life, and on the rude frontiers of the new world living in a spirit worthy of the best ages of chivalry. the father of new france is worthily commemorated by a noble monument erected in and unveiled in the presence of distinguished { } representatives of canada, great britain, france, and the united states. it stands within the area once covered by champlain's fort and presents the hero holding in his hand the king's open commission, while with bared head he salutes the child of his hopes, new france. [ ] this place, at the confluence of the saguenay with the st. lawrence, was peculiarly well situated for the fur-trade. the saguenay, having its head-waters far to the north in the dreary region near hudson bay, rich in furs, was the route by which the natives of that wild country brought their peltries to market. [ ] the indians were much given to various forms of divination by which they believed that they ascertained the will of the unseen powers. jonathan carver, who traveled much among the western tribes, about , relates that once when he was with a band of christinos, or crees, on the north shore of lake superior, anxiously awaiting the coming of certain traders with goods, the chief told him that the medicine-man, or conjurer, or "clairvoyant" as we should say, would try to get some information from the manitou. elaborate preparations were made. in a spacious tent, brightly lighted with torches of pitch-pine, the conjurer, wrapped in a large elk-skin, and corded with about forty yards of elk-hide lariat--"bound up like an egyptian mummy"--was laid down in the midst of the assembly, in full view of all. presently he began to mutter, then to jabber a mixed jargon of several native tongues, sometimes raving, sometimes praying, till he had worked himself into a frenzy and foamed at the mouth. suddenly he leaped to his feet, shaking off his bands "as if they were burnt asunder," and announced that the manitou had revealed to him that, just at noon on the next day, there would arrive a canoe the occupants of which would bring news as to the expected traders. on the next day carver and his indian friends were on the bluff watching. at the appointed hour a canoe (undoubtedly sent by the conjurer) came into view and was hailed by the indians with shouts of delight. it brought tidings of the early coming of the traders. [ ] this was the established route used by the indians. by it one could pass by water, with only the short carry between lake george and the hudson, all the way from the great lakes to the ocean. [ ] the thrifty hollanders at once saw the importance of securing the fur-trade of the region thus opened to them. to protect it, they first established at the mouth of the river, on manhattan island, the post out of which the city of new york has grown. next they reared a fort on an island a little below albany; and, in , they built fort orange, on the site of albany. it soon became a most important point, because, until fort stanwix, on the mohawk, was built, it was the nearest white man's post to which the indians of the great iroquois confederacy might bring their peltries. we hear much of it in the early history. the great trading-stations were always on big rivers, because these drained a wide territory, and the supply of furs lasted long. as the french pushed further westward, as we shall see, important stations were opened on the great lakes. [ ] we may wonder at so small a list of casualties. the fact is that, until the introduction of fire-arms, indian open fighting was not very deadly. they might yell and screech and shoot arrows at each other for hours, with very little loss. surprises and ambuscades were their most effective methods. [ ] this word came into general use among french _voyageurs_ and, later, among white men generally, as the equivalent of an indian word denoting mysterious power. { } chapter x jesuit missionary pioneers unselfishness of the better class of jesuits.--their achievements in exploration.--the great political scheme of which they were the instruments.--indian superstitions.--danger!--the touching story of isaac jogues.--ferocity of the five nations.--ruin of the hurons and of the jesuit missions among them. a class of men whose aims were singularly unselfish were the missionaries of the roman catholic church, mostly jesuits, that is, members of the society of jesus. the first object of the best of them was to convert the indians and establish a great branch of the catholic church in the wilds of america. there were others, however, whose first aim was to increase the power of france. these politician-priests were well represented by the famous father allouez who, while he preached the gospel to the indians, took still greater pains to preach the glory of the french king, whose subjects he wished to make them. on one occasion, supported by a french officer and his { } soldiers, drawn up under arms, he thus addressed a large assemblage of indians gathered at sault ste. marie: "when our king attacks his enemies, he is more terrible than the thunder: the earth trembles; the air and the sea are all on fire with the blaze of his cannon; he is seen in the midst of his warriors, covered over with the blood of his enemies, whom he kills in such numbers that he does not count them by the scalps, but by the streams of blood which he causes to flow. in each city he has storehouses where there are hatchets enough to cut down all your forests, kettles enough to cook all your moose, and beds enough to fill all your lodges. his house is higher than the tallest of your trees and holds more families than the largest of your towns. men come from every quarter of the earth to listen to and admire him. all that is done in the world is decided by him alone." but we are not now concerned with such scheming priests. we wish to sketch very briefly the story of some of those faithful and single-hearted men who were true missionaries of religion. in their journeys into the wilds they often proved themselves pathfinders, penetrating { } regions never before trodden by the foot of a white man. many a tribe got its first impression of our race from these peaceful preachers. a mission priest, le caron, was the first white man who saw lake huron. another, the heroic jogues, was the first of our race to see lake george. thus the work of catholic missionaries must have a large place in any truthful account of early new france. in fact, the history of canada is for a long time the history of jesuit activity. these men were in the habit of sending to their superiors in the old world copious accounts of all that they saw or did. these reports, which are known as the "jesuit relations," form a perfect storehouse of information about early canadian affairs and about the indians with whom the french were in contact. these jesuit priests commonly were highly educated men, accustomed to all the refinements of life--some of them of noble families--and we can only measure their devotion to the cause of religion when we realize the contrast between their native surroundings and the repulsive savagery into which they plunged when they went among the indians. think of such a man as { } father le jeune, cultivated and high-minded, exiling himself from his white brethren for a whole season, which he spent with a band of algonquins, roaming the wintry forests with them, sharing their hunger and cold and filth, sometimes on the verge of perishing from sheer starvation, at other times, when game chanced to be plentiful, revolted by the gorging of his companions, at all times disgusted by their nastiness. "i told them again and again," he writes, "that if dogs and swine could talk, they would use just such speech;" a remark which shows, by the way, that the good friar did not think so highly of dumb animals as we do in these more enlightened days. but he had abundant charity, and he noted that underneath all this coarse rudeness there was genuine fellowship among these savages; that they cheerfully helped one another, and when food was scarce, fairly distributed the smallest portion among all. such observations helped him to endure his lot with serenity, even when he was himself made the butt of the coarsest jokes. he survived his hard experiences and, after five months of roaming, exhausted and worn to a shadow, rejoined the brethren in the rude convent at quebec. { } there was much of this fine spirit about the best of the jesuits. but, besides this individual devotion, there was another important circumstance: they were only private soldiers in a great army. they had no will of their own, for one of the first principles of the order was absolute obedience. wherever their superiors might send them they must go without a question. whatever they might be ordered to do, they must do it without a murmur. it became the policy of the leading men of the order in canada to establish missionary posts among the hurons who, living in fixed habitations, were more hopeful subjects than the roving algonquins of the st. lawrence region. it would be a great gain, they reasoned, if these people could be brought within the pale of the church. at the same time that so many souls would be saved from everlasting flames, the immensely lucrative fur-trade of a vast region would be secured to the french, and the king would gain thousands of dusky subjects. canada would flourish, the fur-traders would grow richer than ever, and france would be in the way of extending her rule ever farther and further over the western forests and waters--all through the { } exertions of a few faithful and single-hearted men who went to preach religion. the three men chosen for the work among the hurons were fathers brebeuf, daniel, and davost. on their journey to their post, if they could have followed a direct line, they would have gone up the st. lawrence to lake ontario, traversed the length of the lake, and then by a short overland journey reached their destination. but this route would have exposed them to the ferocious iroquois, whose country bordered lake ontario on the south. therefore, it was necessary to take the long and circuitous canoe-voyage which champlain had taken fifteen years earlier (_see map_). at last, after many pains and perils, half-dead with hunger and fatigue, they reached a village of the huron country. soon they settled down to the routine of their daily life, of which they have left us a very readable account. every day they had numerous visitors, some from long distances, who came to gaze in silent wonder at their domestic arrangements. for instance, there was the clock. they squatted on the floor for hours, watching it and waiting to hear it strike. they thought it was alive and asked what it ate. { } they listened in awe when it struck, sure that they heard the voice of a living being. "the captain" they called it. sometimes one of the french soldiers who accompanied the jesuits, when "the captain" had sounded his last stroke, would cry out, "stop!" its immediate silence proved that it heard and obeyed. "what does the captain say?" the indians sometimes asked. "when he strikes twelve times, he says, 'hang on the kettle,' and when he strikes four times, he says, 'get up and go home.'" this was a particularly happy thought; at the stroke of four their visitors would invariably rise and take themselves off. in spite of the lack of outward signs of success, the good men were making a conquest of the savage people's hearts. their unwearied patience, their kindness, the innocence of their lives, and the tact with which they avoided every occasion of ill-will, did not fail to gain the confidence of those whom they sought to win, and chiefs of distant villages came to urge that they would take up their abode with them. soon the huron country contained no less than { } six different points where faithful priests preached the gospel. the fathers had abundant opportunities of observing the habits of the natives. they have left a most interesting description of the great feast of the dead, which was held at intervals of ten or twelve years, and the object of which was to gather into one great burying-place all the dead of the tribe, these being removed from their temporary resting-places on scaffolds and in graves. it was believed that the souls of the dead remained with their bodies until the great common burial, then they would depart to the spirit-world.[ ] this practice, of a great common burial, explains the occurrence, in various parts of the country once occupied by the hurons, of pits { } containing the remains of many hundreds of persons all mixed together promiscuously, together with belts of wampum, copper ornaments, glass beads, and other articles. one of these deposits is said to have contained the remains of several thousand persons.[ ] the story of isaac jogues is a good example both of the jesuit missionaries' sufferings and of their fortitude. he had gone to quebec for supplies and was returning to the huron country with two young frenchmen, goupil and couture, and a number of hurons. suddenly the war-whoop rang in their ears, and a fleet of iroquois canoes bore down upon them from adjacent islands, with a terrific discharge of musketry. the hurons for the greater part leaped ashore and fled. jogues sprang into the bulrushes and could have got away. when he saw some of the converted indians in the hands of their enemies, he determined to share their fate, came out from his hiding-place, and gave himself up. goupil { } was taken prisoner. couture had got away, but the thought of the fate that probably awaited jogues decided him to go back and cast in his lot with him. in the affray, however, he had killed an iroquois. in revenge, the others fell upon him furiously, stripped off all his clothing, tore away his finger-nails with their teeth, gnawed his fingers, and thrust a sword through one of his hands. jogues broke from his guards, ran to his friend, and threw his arms about his neck. this so incensed the iroquois that they turned upon him, beat him with their fists and war-clubs till he was senseless, and gnawed his fingers as they had done couture's. goupil next received the same ferocious treatment. the victorious iroquois now started off with their captives for their country. their route lay up the river richelieu, through the length of lake champlain, and through the greater part of lake george to a point where they were wont to leave it and cross over to the hudson. there was picturesque scenery by the way. but what charm had the beauties of lake champlain and distant glimpses of the adirondacks for the poor prisoners, harassed by the pain and fever of their wounds, in the day cruelly beaten by their captors and at { } night so tormented by clouds of mosquitoes that they could not sleep? in time they passed the sites of crown point and ticonderoga, sighted romantic lake george, which these three lonely white men were the first of their race to see, and landed from their canoes at the place where afterward rose fort william henry, the scene of one of the most shocking tragedies of the colonial wars. thirteen dreadful days the journey occupied, from the st. lawrence to its termination at a palisaded town on the banks of the mohawk. on lake champlain they had met a war-party of iroquois, and the prisoners, for their delight, had been compelled to run the gauntlet between a double line of braves armed with clubs and thorny sticks. when jogues fell drenched in blood and half-dead, he was recalled to consciousness by fire applied to his body. couture's experience illustrates a singular trait of the ferocious iroquois. there was nothing that they admired so much as bulldog courage; and though he had exasperated them by killing one of their warriors, they punished him only by subjecting him to excruciating tortures. his fortitude under these still further increased their admiration and they ended by adopting him { } into the tribe. many years later we read of him still living among the mohawks. jogues and goupil they dragged from town to town, in each place exposing them on a scaffold and subjecting them to atrocities contrived to cause the utmost suffering without endangering life. yet, in an interval between tortures, jogues seized an opportunity to baptize some huron prisoners with a few rain-drops gathered from the husks of an ear of green corn thrown to him for food. three of the hurons were burned to death, and the two frenchmen expected the same fate. goupil did indeed meet with his death, but in a different way. he was once seen to make the sign of the cross on the forehead of a grandchild of the indian in whose lodge he lived. the old man's superstition was aroused, having been told by the dutch that the sign of the cross came from the devil. so he imagined that goupil had bewitched the child. the next morning, as the two frenchmen were walking together, talking of the glory of suffering for the sake of christ, they met two young indians, one of whom buried his hatchet in goupil's head. jogues gave absolution to his dying friend and then, kneeling calmly, bowed his neck to the blow { } which he expected. instead, he was ordered to get up and go home. for a time his life hung on a thread. he would have welcomed death. but the very indifference to it which he showed was probably the reason why the iroquois spared him. now he led an existence of horrible drudgery. after a while, as he showed no disposition to escape, he was allowed to come and go as he pleased. so he went from town to town, teaching and baptizing whenever he could get a chance. the gangs of prisoners whom the iroquois brought home from the huron country, and whom they almost invariably burned, furnished him an abundance of subjects to work on. once it happened that he went with a party of indians to a fishing-place on the hudson. thence some of them went up the river to fort orange, a miserable structure of logs, standing within the limits of the present city of albany. the dutch settlers there had heard of jogues's captivity and, strenuous protestants though they were, had striven to secure his release by offering goods to a large value. now that he was among them, they urged him not to return to his captors, but to make his escape, since his death was certain, if he went back. they offered to smuggle him { } on board a vessel that lay in the river and pay his way to france. he resolved to seize the tempting opportunity. it would make our story too long if we should tell at length the narrow escapes that he still experienced before he succeeded in getting away. at his first attempt to slip away at night, he was severely bitten by a savage dog belonging to the dutch farmer with whom he and the indians lodged. when he got off he lay two days hidden in the hold of the vessel that was to carry him away. then the indians came out and so frightened its officers that he was sent ashore and put under the care of a miserly old fellow who ate the most of the food that was provided for jogues. while he was hidden in this man's garret he was within a few feet of indians who came there to trade. finally the dutch satisfied the indians by paying a large ransom and shipped jogues down the river. he received nothing but kindness from the dutch everywhere and, on his arrival at manhattan (new york), was furnished by the governor with a suit of clothes, instead of his tattered skins, and given a passage to europe. at last he landed on the coast of brittany. in due time he reached paris, and the city was stirred { } with the tale of his sufferings and adventures. he was summoned to court, and the ladies thronged about him to do him reverence, while the queen kissed his mutilated hands. would not one think that jogues had had enough of the new world, with its deadly perils and cruel pains? but so it was not. his simple nature cared nothing for honors. his heart was over the water, among the savages whom he longed to save. besides, he was only a private soldier in that great army, the jesuit brotherhood, of which every member was sworn to act, to think, to live, for but one object, the advancement of religion as it was represented by the order. and who was so fit for the work among the indians as jogues, who knew their language and customs? so, in the following spring we find him again on the atlantic, bound for canada. two years he passed in peaceful labors at montreal. then his supreme trial came. peace had been made between the french and the mohawks, and couture still lived among the latter, for the express purpose of holding them steadfast to their promises. but, for some reason, the french apprehended an outbreak of hostilities, and it was { } resolved to send envoys to the indian country. at the first mention of the subject to jogues he shrank from returning to the scene of so much suffering. but the habit of implicit obedience triumphed, and he quickly announced his willingness to do the will of his superiors, which to him was the will of god. "i shall go, but i shall never return," he wrote to a friend. he started out with a small party carrying a load of gifts intended to conciliate the iroquois, and followed the route that was associated in his mind with so much misery, up the richelieu and lake champlain and through lake george. at the head of this water they crossed over to the hudson, borrowed canoes from some indians fishing there, and dropped down the river to fort orange. once more jogues was among his dutch friends. glad as they were to see him, they wondered at his venturing back among the people who had once hunted him like a noxious beast. from fort orange he ascended the mohawk river to the first indian town. with what wonder the savages must have gazed at the man who had lived among them as a despised slave, and now had come back laden with gifts as the ambassador of a great power! they received { } him graciously, and when his errand was done, he returned safe to quebec. it would have been well for him if his superiors had contented themselves with what he had already done and suffered. but they had a grand scheme of founding a mission among the iroquois. they knew its perils and called it "the mission of martyrs." to this post of danger jogues was sent. the devoted man went without a murmur. on the way he met indians who warned him of danger, and his huron companions turned back, but he went on. arrived among the mohawks, he found a strong tide of feeling running against him. the accident that aroused it illustrates indian superstitiousness. on his former visit, expecting to return, he had left a small box. from the first the indians suspected it of being, like pandora's box in the old mythology, full of all kinds of ills. but jogues opened it and showed them that it contained only some harmless personal effects. after he was gone, however, some huron prisoners wrought on their terror and at the same time reviled the french, declaring that the latter had almost ruined the huron nation by their witchcraft and had brought on it drought, plague, pestilence, and famine. { } the iroquois were well-nigh wild with rage and fright. at any moment the small-pox or some other horror might step out of the little box and stalk abroad among them. the three clans that made up the tribe were divided. the clans of the wolf and the tortoise were for keeping the peace; but the clan of the bear was for making war on the french. just then, by ill fortune, jogues, approaching the mohawk villages, encountered a band of bear warriors. they seized and dragged him to their town. here he was savagely attacked and beaten with fists and clubs. in vain he reminded them that he had come on an errand of peace. they tortured him cruelly. the wolf and tortoise clans protested against this violation of the peace, but the others carried everything before them. the next day jogues was bidden to a feast. he did not dare refuse to go. as he entered the lodge of the bear chief, in spite of the efforts of an indian who exposed his own life in trying to save him, a hatchet was buried in his brain. thus died a singularly pure and unselfish man, a pathfinder, too, for he was one of the three white men who first saw lake george. shortly after the death of jogues, war broke { } out again. nothing could have exceeded the ferocity of the five nations. they boasted that they intended to sweep the french and their indian friends off the face of the earth. no place seemed too remote for them. at the most unexpected moments of the day or the night they rose, as it seemed, out of the earth, and, with their blood-curdling war-whoop, fell upon their intended victims with guns and tomahawks. the poor algonquins were in a state of pitiable terror. nowhere were they safe. even when they retired into the wilderness north of the st. lawrence, they were tracked by their ruthless foes, slaughtered, burned, and drowned. we might go on and tell the story of other priests who all fell at the post of duty and died worthily. but of what use would it be to prolong these horrors? enough to say that the huron nation was almost annihilated, the feeble remnant left their country and went elsewhere, and the once promising work of the jesuits among them ended in fire and blood. a small party of the hurons accompanied the returning priests to the french settlements and became established, under french protection, near quebec, at a place called new lorette, or indian { } lorette, and fought by the side of their white friends in later wars. there, to this day, their descendants, mostly french half-breeds, may be seen engaged in the harmless occupations of weaving baskets and making moccasins. another band wandered away to the far northwest, came into conflict with the warlike and powerful sioux, and, driven back eastward, finally took up its abode near the sites of detroit and sandusky. under the name of wyandots, its descendants played a conspicuous part in our border wars. [ ] the faith of the indians in a future life was very sincere and strong. jonathan carver tells a touching story of a couple whom he knew who lost a little son of about four years. they seemed inconsolable. after a time the father died. then the mother dried her tears and ceased her lamentations. when he asked her the reason of this, as it seemed to him, strange conduct, she answered that she and her husband had grieved excessively, because they knew that their little boy would be alone in the other world, without anybody to provide for his wants, but now, his father having gone to join him, her mind was at rest in the assurance that the little fellow would be well cared for and happy. [ ] this usage seems to have been quite general. jonathan carver, in , tells of a common burying-place of several bands of the sioux, to which these roving people carefully brought their dead at a given time, depositing them with great solemnity. these bodies had previously been temporarily placed on rude scaffolds on the limbs of trees, awaiting the general interment. { } chapter xi jean nicollet, louis joliet, and father jacques marquette the discoverers of the mississippi jean nicollet's voyage on the wisconsin.--louis joliet and jacques marquette are sent by count frontenac to follow the course of the mississippi.--on the wisconsin.--the "great water" reached.--hospitably entertained in an indian camp.--an invaluable gift.--the mouth of the missouri and the mouth of the ohio passed.--the outlet of the arkansas reached.--hardships of the return voyage.--death of marquette.--joliet's mishap. a notable _coureur de bois_ (a french-canadian wood-ranger) was jean nicollet. he had lived for years among the savages and had become thoroughly indian in his habits. he was sent by the french governor, about , as an ambassador to the winnebagoes, west of lake michigan. he had heard among his indian friends of a strange people without hair or beard who came from beyond the great water to trade with the indians on the lakes. who could these beardless men be but chinese or japanese? { } so fully possessed was he by this idea that, in order to make a suitable appearance before the orientals whom he expected to meet, he took along with him a robe of heavy chinese silk, embroidered with birds and flowers. when he neared the winnebago town, he sent a messenger ahead to announce his coming, and, having put on his gorgeous robe, followed him on the scene. never did a circus, making its grand entry into a village in all the glory of gilded chariots and brass band, inspire deeper awe than this primitive ambassador, with his flaming robe and a pair of pistols which he fired continually. his pale face, the first that the winnebagoes had ever seen, gave them a sense of something unearthly. the squaws and the children fled into the woods, shrieking that it was a manitou (spirit) armed with thunder and lightning. the warriors, however, stood their ground bravely and entertained him with a feast of one hundred and twenty beaver.[ ] but if nicollet did not succeed in opening relations with cathay and cipango (china and { } japan), he did something else that entitles him to be commemorated among the pathfinders. he ascended fox river to its head-waters, crossed the little divide that separates the waters flowing into the lakes from those that empty into the gulf of mexico, and launched his canoe on the wisconsin, the first white man, so far as we know, who floated on one of the upper tributaries of the mighty river. this was just about one hundred years after soto had crossed it in its lower course. on his return, he reported that he had followed the river until he came within three days of the sea. undoubtedly he misunderstood his indian guides. the "great water" of which they spoke was almost certainly the mississippi, for that is what the name means. the first undoubted exploration of the mighty river took place thirty-five years later. it was made by two men who combined the two aspects of jesuit activity, the spiritual and the worldly. louis joliet was born in canada, of french parents. he was educated by the jesuits, and was all his life devoted to them. he was an intelligent merchant, practical and courageous. no better man could have been chosen for the work assigned him. { } his companion in this undertaking was a jesuit priest, jacques marquette, who was a fine example of the noblest qualities ever exhibited by his order. he was settled as a missionary at michillimackinac, on mackinaw strait, when joliet came to him from quebec with orders from count frontenac to go with him to seek and explore the mississippi. on may , , in very simple fashion, in two birch-bark canoes, with five white _voyageurs_ and a moderate supply of smoked meat and indian corn, the two travelers set out to solve a perplexing problem, by tracing the course of the great river. their only guide was a crude map based on scraps of information which they had gathered. besides marquette's journal, by a happy chance we have that of jonathan carver, who traveled over the same route nearly a hundred years later. from him we get much useful and interesting information. at the first, the explorers' course lay westward, along the northern shore of lake michigan and into green bay. the menomonie, or wild-rice indians, one of the western branches of the algonquin family, wished to dissuade them from going further. they told of ferocious tribes, { } who would put them to death without provocation, and of frightful monsters (alligators) which would devour them and their canoes. the voyagers thanked them and pushed on, up fox river and across lake winnebago. at the approach to the lake are the winnebago rapids, which necessitate a portage, or "carry." our voyagers do not mention having any trouble here. but, at a later time, according to a tradition related by dr. r. g. thwaites, this was the scene of a tragic affair. when the growing fur-trade made this route very important, the fox indians living here made a good thing out of carrying goods over the trail and helping the empty boats over the rapids. they eventually became obnoxious by taking toll from passing traders. thereupon the governor of new france sent a certain captain marin to chastise them. he came up the fox river with a large party of _voyageurs_ and half-breeds on snow-shoes, surprised the natives in their village, and slaughtered them by hundreds. at another time the same man led a summer expedition against the foxes. he kept his armed men lying down in the boats and covered with oilcloth like goods. hundreds of red-skins { } were squatting on the beach, awaiting the coming of the flotilla. the canoes ranged up along the shore. then, at a signal, the coverings were thrown off, and a rain of bullets was poured into the defenceless savages, while a swivel-gun mowed down the victims of this brutality. hundreds were slaughtered, it is said. on to the lower fox river their course led the explorers. this brought them into the country of the miamis, the mascoutins, once a powerful tribe, now extinct, and the kickapoos, all algonquins of the west. a council was held, and the indians readily granted their request for guides to show them the way to the wisconsin. through the tortuous and blind course of the little river, among lakes and marshes, they would have had great difficulty in making their way unaided.[ ] when they came to the portage, where now stands the city of portage,[ ] with its short canal { } connecting the two rivers, they carried their canoes across, and launched their little barks on the wisconsin. down this river they would float to the great mysterious stream that would carry them they knew not whither, perhaps to the sea of virginia (the atlantic), perhaps to the gulf of mexico, perhaps to the vermilion sea (the gulf of california). whether they would ever return from the dim, undiscovered country into which they were venturing, who could say? it seems amazing that one hundred and thirty years after soto had crossed the great river, intelligent frenchmen were ignorant even of its outlet. it shows how successfully spain had suppressed knowledge of the territory which she claimed. down the quiet waters of the wisconsin the voyagers glided, passing the thrifty villages of the sacs and foxes, then a powerful people, now almost extinct. on june , exactly one month from the day of their starting, their canoes { } shot out into a rapid current, here a mile wide, and with joy beyond expression, as marquette writes, they knew that they had achieved the first part of their undertaking. they had reached the "great water." what would have been the feelings of these unassuming voyagers, if they could have looked down the dim vista of time, and have seen the people of a great and prosperous commonwealth (wisconsin), on june , , celebrating the two hundredth anniversary of their achievement! strange sights unfolded themselves, as they made their way down the mighty stream and looked on shores that no eyes of a white man had ever beheld. what magnificent solitudes! only think of it--more than a fortnight without seeing a human being! they used always extreme caution, as well they might, in view of the tales that had been told them of ferocious savages roaming that region. they went ashore in the evening, cooked and ate their supper, and then pushed out and anchored in the stream, keeping a man on watch till morning. after more than two weeks of this solitary voyaging, one day they saw a well-trodden path { } that led to the adjacent prairie. joliet and marquette determined to follow it, leaving the canoes in charge of their men. after a walk of some miles inland, they came to an indian village, with two others in sight. they advanced with beating hearts. what was their reception to be? when they were near enough to hear voices in the wigwams, they stood out in the open and shouted to attract attention. a great commotion ensued, and the inmates swarmed out. then, to their intense relief, four chiefs advanced deliberately, holding aloft two calumets, or peace-pipes. they wore french cloth, from which it was evident that they traded with the french. these people proved to belong to the great illinois tribe, the very people some of whom had met marquette at his mission-station and had begged him, as he says, "to bring them the word of god." now, after the pipe of peace had been duly smoked, he had the long-desired opportunity of delivering the message of salvation. he did not fail to add some words about the power and glory of onontio (count frontenac). the head chief replied in a flowery speech, after the most approved fashion of indian oratory, assuring his { } guests that their presence made his tobacco sweeter, the river calmer, the sky more serene, and the earth more beautiful. he further showed his friendship by giving them a boy as a slave and, best of all, a calumet, or peace-pipe,[ ] which was to serve as a commendation to the goodwill of other indians. invaluable the voyagers found it. the friendly chief also represented very strongly the danger of going further down the { } great water and vainly tried to dissuade them. feasting followed. after various courses, a dainty dish of boiled dog was served, then one of fat buffalo, much to the frenchmen's relief. throughout this entertainment the master of ceremonies fed the guests as if they had been infants, removing fish-bones with his fingers and blowing on hot morsels to cool them, before putting them into their mouths. this was the very pink of indian courtesy. the two frenchmen spent the night with their dusky friends and the next day were escorted to their canoes by several hundreds of them. this first encounter with indians of the mississippi valley on their own soil seems to have taken place not far from the site of keokuk. the voyagers' next sensation was experienced after passing the mouth of the illinois river. immediately above the site of the city of alton, the flat face of a high rock was painted, in the highest style of indian art, with representations of two horrible monsters, to which the natives were wont to make sacrifices as they passed on the river. the sight of them caused in the pious frenchmen a feeling that they were in the devil's country, for to christians of the seventeenth century heathen { } gods were not mere creatures of the imagination, but living beings, demons, high captains in satan's great army. soon the voyagers were made to fear for their safety by a mighty torrent of yellow mud surging athwart the blue current of the mississippi, sweeping down logs and uprooting trees, and dashing their light canoes like leaves on an angry brook. they were passing the mouth of the missouri. a few days later they crossed the outlet of the ohio, "beautiful river," as the iroquois name means. all the time it was growing hotter. the picturesque shores of the upper river had given place to dense canebrakes, and swarms of mosquitoes pestered them day and night. now they had a note of danger in meeting some indians who evidently were in communication with europeans, for they had guns and carried their powder in small bottles of thick glass. these europeans could be none other than the spaniards to the southward, of whom it behooved the frenchmen to beware, if they did not wish to pull an oar in a galley or swing a pick in a silver-mine. still there was a satisfaction in the thought that, having left one civilization thousands of miles behind them, { } they had passed through the wilderness to the edge of another. these indians readily responded to the appeal of the frenchmen's calumet, invited them ashore, and feasted them. on toward the ocean, which they were falsely told was distant only ten days' journey, the voyagers sped, passing the point at which, one hundred and thirty-three years earlier, soto, with the remnant of his army, had crossed the mighty river in whose bed his bones were destined to rest. above the mouth of the arkansas they were for a time in deadly peril from indians. these were of the mitchigamea tribe, who, with the chickasaws and others of the muskoki family, fought the spaniards so valiantly. canoes were putting out above and below, to cut off the explorers' retreat, while some young warriors on the shore were hastily stringing their bows, all animated doubtless by bitter memories of white men inherited from soto's time. once more the calumet saved its bearers. marquette all the while held it aloft, and some of the elders, responding to its silent appeal, succeeded in restraining the fiery young men. the strangers were invited ashore, feasted, as usual, and entertained over night. they had some misgivings, but did not { } dare refuse these hospitalities; and no harm befell them. the next stage of their journey brought them to a village just opposite the mouth of the arkansas river. here they were received in great state by the arkansas indians, notice of their coming having been sent ahead by their new friends. there was the usual speechmaking, accompanied by interminable feasting, in which a roasted dog held the place of honor. there was a young indian who spoke illinois well, and through him marquette was able to preach, as well as to gain information about the river below. he was told that the shores were infested by fierce savages armed with guns. by this time it was evident that nothing was to be gained by going further. the explorers had ascertained beyond dispute that the mississippi emptied its waters, not directly into the atlantic, or into the pacific, but into the gulf of mexico. if they went further, they ran the risk of being killed by indians or falling into the hands of spaniards. in either case the result of their discovery would be lost. therefore they resolved to return to canada. just two months from their starting and one month from their { } discovery of the great water they began their return. their route was a different one from the original, for on reaching the mouth of the illinois river they entered and ascended it. on the way, they stopped at a famous village of the illinois tribe called kaskaskia. thence they were guided by a band of young warriors through the route up the des plaines river and across the portage to lake michigan. coasting its shore, they reached green bay, after an absence of four months. thus ended a memorable voyage. the travelers had paddled their canoes more than two thousand, five hundred miles, had explored two of the three routes leading into the mississippi, and had followed the great water itself to within seven hundred miles of the ocean. they had settled one of the knotty geographical points of their day, that of the river's outlet. all this they had done in hourly peril of their lives. though they experienced no actual violence, there was no time at which they were not in danger. in the end the voyage cost marquette his life, for its hardships and exposures planted in his system the germs of a disease from which he { } never fully recovered, and from which he died, two years later, on the shore of lake michigan. joliet met with a peculiar misfortune. at the lachine rapids, just above montreal, almost at the very end of his voyage of thousands of miles, his canoe was upset, two men and his little indian boy were drowned, and his box of papers, including his precious journal, was lost. undoubtedly his daily record of the voyage would have been very valuable, for he was a man of scholarship as well as of practical ability. but its accidental loss gave the greater fame to marquette, whose account was printed. in recent years, however, he has been recognized as an equal partner with the noble priest in the great achievement. [ ] these winnebagoes were the most eastern branch of the great dakota-sioux family. their ancestors were the builders, it is believed, of the wisconsin mounds. [ ] carver says, "it is with difficulty that canoes can pass through the obstructions they meet with from the rice-stalks. this river is the greatest resort for wild fowl that i met with in the whole course of my travels; frequently the sun would be obscured by them for some minutes together." [ ] this spot has a remarkable interest as the place where, within a very short distance, rise the waters that flow away to the eastward, through the great lakes, into the north atlantic, and those that now southward to the mississippi and the gulf. it is, however, according to carver, most uninviting in appearance, "a morass overgrown with a kind of long grass, the rest of it a plain, with some few oak and pine trees growing thereon. i observed here," he says, "a great number of rattlesnakes." [ ] the following description of this very important article is taken from father hennepin: "this calumet is the most mysterious thing in the world among the savages of the continent of the northern america: for it is used in all their most important transactions. however, it is nothing else but a large tobacco-pipe made of red, black, or white marble: the head is finely polished, and the quill, which is commonly two foot and a half long, is made of a pretty strong reed, or cane, adorned with feathers of all colours, interlaced with locks of women's hair. they tie to it two wings of the most curious birds they find, which makes their calumet not unlike mercury's wand. "a pipe, such as i have described it, is a pass and safe conduct amongst all the allies of the nation who has given it; for the savages are generally persuaded that a great misfortune would befal 'em, if they violated the publick faith of the calumet." the french never wearied of extolling the wonderful influence of this symbol of brotherhood. says father gravier, writing of his voyage down the mississippi, in : "no such honor is paid to the crowns and sceptres of kings as they pay to it. it seems to be the god of peace and war, the arbiter of life and death." { } chapter xii pierre esprit radisson and mÉdard chouart explore lake superior who were the coureurs de bois.--radisson's experiences as a prisoner among the iroquois.--he plays the indian warrior.--escapes to the dutch.--makes his way back to canada.--he and his brother-in-law set out for the upper lakes.--fight with iroquois.--storm an indian fort.--reach lake superior.--"the pictured rocks."--keweenaw point.--long overland journey.--summer and feasting.--winter and famine.--feasting again.--fine ducking.--start for home.--reach montreal with great fleet of canoes. the early history of new france owes its romantic interest to the activity of four classes of men. daring explorers, such as cartier, champlain, joliet, marquette, la salle, plunged into the wilderness, penetrated remote regions, made great discoveries, and extended french influence and french trade as far to the west as the mississippi and to the northeast as far as hudson bay. french catholic missionaries said mass and preached their { } faith in the heart of the forest primeval and at lonely posts on the shores of the great lakes. able and brilliant governors, such as champlain and frontenac, built forts at commanding points on the inland waters, and ruled, in a fashion, an area vastly greater than that of france itself. of these three classes of men and their achievements we have had examples. we come now to speak of a fourth class who exercised a powerful influence on the destinies of new france. if we remember that the material object of french activity in america was _furs_, we shall easily understand that the men who were busied in the fur-trade were a very important part of the scanty population. they were of two kinds. there were merchants who "kept store" at quebec, montreal, three rivers, and other trading-posts, bartering their goods to the indians for peltries. these were brought to them in large quantities in the early summer, when the ice had broken up, and fleets of canoes descended the st. lawrence laden with skins. then there was amazing stir at the sleepy little posts on the great river. painted savages, howling and screeching, mostly half-drunk, swarmed about the stations, and at night the sky was red with the glare of their { } fires. there was an enormous profit in the traffic, for the indians had no idea of the cheapness of the goods which they took in exchange for their furs, nor of the high prices which these brought in europe. it is no wonder that governors and other high officials were charged with having a secret interest in this very lucrative trade, and, for that reason, winking at violations of the king's orders regulating it. even jesuit missionaries sometimes were thought by their opponents to be more eager to share this money-making traffic than to win souls. but a more numerous class than these stationary traders were the so-called _coureurs de bois_, or wood-rangers. these were wild fellows whom the love of adventure lured into the wilderness not less strongly than the love of gain. they roamed the forests, paddled the streams and lakes, hunted and trapped, trafficked with the indians wherever and whenever they pleased, often in violation of express orders, and smuggled their forbidden furs into the trading-posts. sometimes they spent whole seasons, even years, among the savages, taking to wife red women. lawless fellows as these were, they helped mightily to extend french influence and subdue the continent { } to the white man's rule. daring explorers, they penetrated remote regions, hobnobbed with the natives, and brought back accounts of what they had seen. one of their leaders, daniel greysolon du lhut, whose name is borne by the city of duluth, in minnesota, was a conspicuous figure in the wild frontier life. he carried on a vast fur-trade, held his rough followers well in hand, led a small army of them in fighting the battles of his country, and even appeared at the french court at versailles. the half-breed children of these _coureurs_, growing up in indian wigwams, but full of pride in their french blood, became a strong link binding together the two races in friendly alliance and deciding the indians, in time of war, to paint themselves and put on their feathers for the french rather than for the english. therefore any account of pioneer frenchmen should include a sketch of the _coureurs de bois_. to illustrate this type, one is here taken as an example who was born in france, and who was a gentleman by birth and education, but whose insatiable love of adventure led him to take up the _coureur's_ life, with all its vicissitudes. withal, he { } was a man of note in his day, played no inconsiderable part in opening up the wilderness, and suggested the formation of that vast monopoly, the hudson bay fur company. his journals, after lying for more than two hundred years in manuscript, have been published and have proved very interesting. they give such an inside picture of savage life, with its nastiness, its alternate gluttony and starving, and its ferocity, as it would be hard to find elsewhere, drawn in such english as the wildest humorist would not dream of inventing. pierre esprit radisson was born at st. malo, in france, and came to canada in may, . his home was at three rivers, where his relatives were settled. one day he went out gunning with two friends. they were warned by a man whom they met that hostile indians were lurking in the neighborhood. still they went on, forgetting their danger in the enjoyment of shooting ducks. finally, however, one of the party said he would not go further, and the other joined him. this led radisson to banter them, saying that he would go ahead and kill game enough for all. on he went, shooting again and again, until { } he had more geese and ducks than he could carry home. finally, after hiding some of his game in a hollow tree, he started back. when he came near the place where he had left his companions, imagine his horror at finding their bodies, "one being shott through with three boulletts and two blowes of an hatchett on the head, and the other run through in several places with a sword and smitten with an hatchett." suddenly he was surrounded by indians who rose, as it were, out of the ground and rushed upon him, yelling like fiends. he fired his gun, wounding two with the duck-shot, and his pistol, without hurting any one. the next moment he found himself thrown on the ground and disarmed, without a single blow. his courage had impressed the indians so favorably that they treated him very kindly. when they pitched their camp, they offered him some of their meat, which smelt so horribly that he could not touch it. seeing this, they cooked a special dish for him. he says it was a nasty mess, but, to show his appreciation, he swallowed some of it. this pleased his captors, and they further showed their good-will by untying him and letting him lie down comfortably { } between two of them, covered with a red coverlet through which he "might have counted the starrs." the indians traveled homeward in very leisurely fashion, stopping by the way for days at a time and making merry with radisson, to whom they evidently had taken a strong liking. when they tried to teach him to sing, and he turned the tables by singing to them in french, they were delighted. "often," he says, "have i sunged in french, to which they gave eares with a deepe silence." they were bent on making a thorough savage of him. so they trimmed his hair after their most approved fashion and plastered it with grease. he pleased his captors greatly by his good humor and his taking part in chopping wood, paddling, or whatever might be doing, and chiefly by his not making any attempt to escape. in truth, he simply was afraid of being caught and dealt with more severely. they were traveling the familiar route to the iroquois country, and in time they came to a fishing-station, the occupants of which greeted the returning warriors uproariously. one of them struck radisson, who, at a sign from his "keeper," clinched with him. the two fought { } furiously, wrestling and "clawing one another with hands, tooth, and nails." the frenchman was delighted that his captors encouraged him as much as their fellow tribesman. he came off best, and they seemed mightily pleased. the two men whom he had wounded at the time of his capture, far from resenting it, showed him "as much charity as a christian might have given." still things looked squally for radisson, when he entered the native village of the party and saw men, women, and boys drawn up in a double row, armed with rods and sticks, evidently for the savage ordeal of running the gauntlet. he was on the point of starting, resolved to run his swiftest, when an old woman took him by the hand, led him away to her cabin, and set food before him. how different from being tortured and burned, which was the fate that he expected! when some of the warriors came and took him away to the council-fire, she followed and pleaded so successfully that he was given up to her, to be her adopted son, in the place of one who had been killed. now nothing was too good for radisson. the poor old woman had taken him to her heart, and { } she lavished kindness on him. her daughters treated him as a brother, and her husband, a famous old warrior, gave a feast in his honor, presenting him to the company under the name of orinha, which was that of his son who had been killed. he enjoyed the savage life for a time, having "all the pleasures imaginable," such as shooting partridges and "squerells." but he soon grew home-sick and eager for an opportunity to escape. one offered itself unexpectedly. he had gone off on a hunt of several days with three indians who invited him to join them. on the second day out, they picked up a man who was alone and invited him to go with them to their camp, which he gladly did. imagine radisson's surprise when this man, while the others were getting supper ready, spoke to him in algonquin, that is, the language of the people who were allies of the french and mortal enemies of the iroquois. evidently he was a prisoner who had been spared and given his liberty. "do you love the french?" he asked in a low tone. "do you love the algonquins?" radisson returned. "indeed i do love my own people," he { } replied. "why, then, do we live among these people? let us kill these three fellows to-night with their own hatchets. it can easily be done." radisson professes to have been greatly shocked. but in the end he fell in with the plan. the two treacherous villains, after eating a hearty supper with their intended victims, lay down beside them and pretended to sleep. when the three iroquois were deep in slumber, they rose, killed them with tomahawks, loaded the canoe with guns, ammunition, provisions, and the victims' scalps, which the algonquin had cut off as trophies, and started on the long journey to three rivers. fourteen nights they had journeyed stealthily, lying in hiding all the day, for fear of meeting iroquois on the war-path, and had reached a point but a few miles from three rivers, when, venturing to cross lake st. peter, a wide expansion of the st. lawrence, by daylight, they encountered a number of hostile canoes. in vain they turned and paddled their hardest for the shore they had left. the enemy gained on them rapidly and opened fire. at the first discharge the indian was killed and the canoe was so riddled that it was sinking, when the iroquois ranged alongside and took radisson out. { } now he was in trouble indeed. no more junketing! no more singing of jolly french songs to amuse his captors, but doleful journeying along with nineteen prisoners, one frenchman, one frenchwoman, and seventeen huron men and women, the latter constantly chanting their mournful death-song. through the day the poor wretches lay in the canoes, pinioned and trussed like fowls; and at night they were laid on the ground securely fastened to posts, so that they could not move hand or foot, while mosquitoes and flies swarmed about them. when the iroquois country was reached, they furnished sport to the whole population, which turned out everywhere to greet them with tortures. this time radisson did not wholly escape. but when, for the second time, he was on the point of running the gauntlet, for the second time his "mother" rescued him. his "father" lectured him roundly on the folly of running away from people who had made him one of the family. still he exerted himself strenuously to save radisson from the death penalty which hung over him, and succeeded in securing his release after he had been duly tortured. "then," he says, "my father goes to seeke { } rootes, and my sister chaws them and my mother applyes them to my sores as a plaster." after a month of this primitive surgery, he was able to go about again, free. the winter passed quietly and pleasantly. then radisson, anxious to show himself a thorough iroquois, proposed to his "father" to let him go on a war-party. the old brave heartily approved, and the young renegade set off with a band for the huron country. now follows a dreary account of the atrocities committed. in the end the party, after perpetrating several murders, encountered a considerable number of the enemy, with the loss of one of their men severely wounded. they burned him, to save him from falling into the enemy's hands, and then fled the country. their arrival at home, with prisoners and scalps, mostly of women and children, was an occasion of great honor, and radisson came in for his full share. being now allowed greater freedom, he improved it to run away to join the dutch at fort orange (albany). he tramped all the day and all the night without food, and at daylight found himself near a dutch settler's cabin. the dutch treated him with great kindness, gave him clothes and { } shoes, and shipped him down the hudson to "menada" (manhattan, new york), whence he sailed for amsterdam. from that port he took ship for la rochelle, in france, and thence back to canada. to cover a distance of about two hundred and fifty miles, he had been obliged to travel about seven thousand! hitherto we have seen pierre radisson figure as a mere _coureur de bois_. now we shall see him in the more important role of a discoverer. probably he and his brother-in-law, médard chouart, who styled himself the sieur des groseillers, in the course of their long trading journeys among the indians, in reached the mississippi. one important discovery they unquestionably made a few years later. that they were the first white men trading in the lake superior region is proved by radisson's giving the first description of notable objects on the shores of the lake. his account of the memorable experiences of this journey, considerably abridged, fills the remainder of this chapter. one cannot but wonder that, until a very recent time, the name of this interesting discoverer has not even been mentioned by historical writers. { } here was a man who certainly was of considerable importance in his day, since he was one of two who suggested the formation of the famous hudson bay fur company, and yet who, until lately, never was spoken of by historians who recorded the achievements of pathfinders in america. what was the cause of this singular neglect? chiefly the fact that in his time canada was full of adventurous _voyageurs_. the fur-trade was the great and only avenue to wealth, and it attracted the most daring spirits. these hardy fellows penetrated the wilderness in all directions, and it was chiefly they who made the northern portion of our country known to white men. radisson and his brother-in-law, who was his constant companion, belonged to this class. their journeys were not made for scientific, but for commercial, purposes. they were simply in quest of furs, and whatever discoveries they made were accidental. thus, little account was made of them at the time. the chief reason, however, is that the importance of radisson's journal escaped attention. it was mistaken for a mere record of wanderings. places not being named--at that time they had no names but the indian ones--close attention { } to the descriptions in the narrative was needed in order to identify them and determine his route. thus it came to pass that this singularly interesting journal remained unpublished, that is, practically unknown, for more than two hundred years. when, happily, the prince society of boston recognized its value and printed it, in , the writer at once took his rightful place among the pathfinders. radisson and his brother-in-law, in the spring of , applied to the governor of canada for permission to go on a trading journey up the lakes. on his refusing, except on the condition of their taking with them two of his servants and giving them half of the profits, they slipped away at midnight without leave, having made an agreement with some indians, probably ojibways, of the sault (sault ste. marie, between lake huron and lake superior), that these would wait for them at lake st. peter, some miles above three rivers. the two parties met, as agreed, and began their long journey. after a few days they found traces of a party that had preceded them, their fires still burning. judging from certain signs that these were not enemies, they exerted themselves to { } overtake them. they found them to be a party of indians from lake superior who had been to montreal and were returning. the two bands united and now formed a considerable force, in fourteen canoes. this union proved a happy circumstance, for the next day they were attacked by a war-party of iroquois who were lying in wait for the lake superior indians, having observed their passage down the river. the iroquois, who had fortified themselves, were evidently surprised to find themselves confronted by a far larger force than they expected. radisson and an indian were sent to scout and examine the fort. they found it to be a stockade surrounded by large rocks. the iroquois made overtures for peace by throwing strings of wampum over the stockade, and that night they slipped away, leaving a free passage to radisson's party. the next day, however, there was a brush with iroquois, in which three were killed, as well as one of radisson's party. the enemy were not in sufficient force to make a fight in the open and fell back into an old fort--for this region, being on the route to the upper lakes, was a constant battleground. radisson's party gathered to attack it, { } the iroquois meanwhile firing constantly, but doing little harm. darkness came on, and the assailants filled a barrel with gunpowder and, "having stoped the whole" (stopped the hole) and tied it to the end of a long pole, tried to push it over the stockade. it fell back, however, and exploded with so much force that three of the assailants themselves were killed. radisson then made a sort of hand-grenade by putting three or four pounds of powder into a "rind of a tree" (piece of bark) with "a fusey [fuse] to have time to throw the rind." this he flung into the fort, having directed his indians to follow up the explosion by breaking in with hatchet and sword. meanwhile the iroquois were singing their death-song. the grenade fell among them and burst with terrible execution. immediately radisson's party broke in, and there was a scene of confusion, assailants and assailed unable in the darkness to distinguish friend from foe. suddenly there fell a tremendous downpour of rain, with pitchy darkness, which seemed so timely for the iroquois that radisson remarks, "to my thinking, the devill himselfe made that storme to give those men leave to escape from our { } hands." all sought shelter. when the storm was over the iroquois had escaped. the victors found " of our ennemy slain'd and only of ours, besides seaven wounded." there were also five prisoners secured. the bodies of their own dead were treated with great respect. "we bourned our comrades," says radisson, "being their custome to reduce such into ashes being slained in batill. it is an honnour to give them such a buriall." at daybreak the party resumed their journey, rejoicing in " heads and foure prisoners, whom we embarqued in hopes to bring them into our country, and there to burne them att our own leasures for the more satisfaction of our wives." meanwhile they allowed themselves a little foretaste of that delight. "we plagued those infortunate. we plucked out their nailes one after another." probably, when radisson says "we," he means the indians only, not his brother and himself. traveling on, the party espied a large force of iroquois hovering near. anticipating an attack, "we killed our foure prisoners, because they embarrassed us." "if ever blind wished the light, we wished the obscurity of the night, which no { } sooner approached but we embarqued ourselves without any noise and went along." radisson thinks the iroquois must have been encumbered with prisoners and booty: else they would not have let his party get away so easily. fearing, however, to be pursued, these plied their paddles desperately "from friday to tuesday without intermission," their "feete and leggs" all bloody from being cut in dragging the canoes over sharp rocks in the shallows. after this terrible strain, being "quite spent," they were fain to rest, so soon as they felt themselves safe from pursuit. the party was following champlain's old route, up the ottawa river, across country to lake nipissing, then down its outlet, french river, to lake huron. after a hard and perilous journey, having "wrought two and twenty dayes and as many nights, having slept not one houre on land all that while," they came out on lake huron. still trouble beset them, in the form of dearth of food. game was scarce along the shore, and they were glad of such berries as they found. radisson records that the "wildmen," as he always calls the indians, showed themselves "far gratfuller then many christians even to their { } owne relations," for whenever they found a good patch of berries they always called him and his brother to get a full share. in due time they reached a strait full of islands (the st. mary's river), where an abundance of fish relieved their hunger, and came to "a rapid that makes the separation of the lake that we call superior, or upper" (sault ste. marie).[ ] some of radisson's indian companions were now in their native region. they had promised the two frenchmen that they "should make good cheare of a fish that they call assickmack, wch signifieth a white fish," and so it proved.[ ] { } game, also, was most abundant; and, after their long hardships and privations, the frenchmen thought this country "like a terrestriall paradise." having rested and enjoyed the abundance of food for a while, the party went on, "thwarted (crossed) in a pretty broad place and came to an isle most delightfull for the diversity of its fruits." here they supped and enjoyed themselves until ten o'clock, when, the night being fine, they embarked again and before daylight reached the south shore of the lake. here radisson was shown a place where "many peeces of copper weare uncovered." he and his brother were about to take some specimens, when the indians told them that they would find far larger quantities at a place to which they were going. the next evidence that we encounter of the accuracy of radisson's narrative is his description of the hills of shifting sand that form a striking feature of this part of the coast. one of the indians climbed an especially high one, and, radisson says, "being there, did shew no more then a crow." these are the sand-hills, which the indian legend, in longfellow's "hiawatha," says were thrown up by pau-puk-keewis when he blew up a whirlwind. the sight of so much sand reminded radisson of { } "the wildernesses of turkey land, as the turques makes their pylgrimages" (the desert of arabia). next the voyagers came to a very "remarquable place, a banke of rocks that the wildmen made a sacrifice to. they fling much tobacco and other things in its veneration." radisson thus describes this striking object. "it's like a great portall, by reason of the beating of the waves. [he means that the dashing of the water against the mass of rock has worn it away in the shape of an arch.] the lower part of that oppening is as bigg as a tower and grows bigger in the going upp. a shipp of tuns could passe, soe bigg is the arch. i gave it the name of the portall of st. peter, because my name is so called, and that i was the first christian that ever saw it." the latter statement seems unquestionably true. but radisson's name did not stick--unfortunately, for "st. peter's portal" would be a better-sounding and more significant name than the meaningless "pictured rocks," which is the common designation of this famous object. this natural arch affords a striking illustration of the wearing effect of water. the waves constantly washing and often beating in fury upon the line of sandstone cliffs has, in the course of ages, { } hollowed this arch at the point where the rock was softest. the immense amount of material thus washed from the face of the cliffs has been thrown ashore, blown along the coast, and heaped up in the sand-hills which radisson describes, and which are reliably reported to vary from one hundred to three hundred feet in height. a few days later the party came to a place where they made a portage of some miles, in order to save going around a peninsula jutting far out into the lake. "the way was well beaten," says radisson, "because of the comers and goers, who by making that passage shortens their journey by dayes." from this circumstance it is evident that our travelers were on a frequented route, and that the indians knew enough of the geography of the country to avoid a canoe journey of several hundreds of miles, by carrying their light craft and their goods across the base of the peninsula, which is here very narrow, being almost cut in two by a chain of lakes and rivers.[ ] { } radisson was told that "at the end of the point there is an isle all of copper." this is not very far from the truth, for this peninsula contains, about keweenaw point, the richest copper deposit in the world. in there was taken from one of the mines a mass of ore weighing tons and containing more than ninety per cent of pure copper. traveling on, the party met with some christinos, or crees, who joined it "in hopes," says radisson, "to gett knives from us, which they love better then we serve god, which should make us blush for shame." in time they came to "a cape very much elevated like piramides," probably the "doric rock." in a certain "channell" they took "sturgeons of a vast bignesse and pycks of seaven foot long," probably the well-known muscalonge.[ ] now the long canoe voyage had come to an end, and as the indians said that five days' journey would be needed to bring them to their homes, and the two white men had heavy packs which they were loth to carry so long a distance, they { } decided to remain where they were and let their red friends either come or send back for them. then, being but two men, surrounded by wild tribes, they built themselves a little triangular log fort by the water-side, with its door opening toward the water. all around it, at a little distance, was stretched a long cord, to which were fastened some small bells, "which weare senteryes" (sentries), radisson says.[ ] having thus fortified themselves with a perfect armory within, namely, " guns, musquetons, fowling-peeces, paire of great pistoletts, and paire of pocket ons, and every one his sword and daggar," they might feel reasonably safe in a country in which the natives as yet stood in awe of fire-arms. they had some friendly visitors, but would never admit more than one person at a time. radisson says, in his droll way, "during that time we had severall alarums in ye night. the squerels and other small beasts, as well as foxes, came in and assaulted us." for food there was an abundance of fish and of "bustards" (wild geese), of which radisson shot a great number. { } when, after twelve days, some of their traveling companions reappeared, they were astounded at the sight of the fort and complimented the two frenchmen by calling them "every foot devills to have made such a machine." they had brought a quantity of provisions, imagining the two white men to be famishing. but, lo! here was a supply of game more than sufficient for the whole party. the indians wondered how it chanced that the frenchmen's baggage was so greatly reduced. these accounted for it by saying that, fearing lest the sight of so much wealth should lead to their being murdered, they had taken a great part of their merchandise and sunk it in the water, committing it to the care of their "devill," who was charged "not to lett them to be wett nor rusted, wch he promised faithlesse" that he would do; all of which the simple creatures believed "as ye christians the gospell." radisson explains that he and his brother had really burled the goods across the river. "we told them that lye," he says, "that they should not have suspicion of us." the two white men immensely enjoyed the profound deference paid them. when they started on their journey, "we went away," says radisson, { } "free from any burden, whilst those poor miserables thought themselves happy to carry our equipage, for the hope that they had that we should give them a brasse ring, or an awle, or an needle." after traveling four days, our " poore adventurers for the honour of our countrey" were told that they were approaching their destination. runners went ahead to warn the people of their coming. "every one prepared to see what they never before have seene," that is, white men. their entry into the village was made with due pomp, and they "destinated presents, one for the men, one for the women, other for the children, to the end," says radisson, "that we should be spoaken of a hundred years after, if other europeans should not come in those quarters." these gifts having been received with great rejoicing, there followed feasting, powwowing in council, and a scalp-dance, all of which occupied three days and consumed, in good indian fashion, the provisions which should have helped them to get through the fast approaching winter. accordingly, we soon read of the horrors of famine, amid the gloomy wintry forests, the trees laden and the ground deeply covered with snow. radisson gives a moving description of it. "it { } grows wors and wors dayly. . . . every one cryes out for hunger. children, you must die. ffrench, you called yourselves gods of the earth, that you should be feered; notwithstanding you shall tast of the bitternesse. . . . in the morning the husband looks upon his wife, the brother his sister, the cozen the cozen, the oncle the nevew, that weare for the most part found dead." so for two or three pages he goes on telling of the cruel suffering and of the various substitutes for nourishing food, such as bark ground and boiled; bones that had lain about the camp, picked clean by dogs and crows, now carefully gathered and boiled; then "the skins that weare reserved to make us shoose, cloath, and stokins," and at last even the skins of the tents that covered them. radisson and his brother had long since eaten their dogs. about this time "there came men from a strange countrey who had a dogg" the sight of which was very tempting. "that dogge was very leane and as hungry as we weare." still the sight of him was more than mortal could bear. in vain the two frenchmen offered an extravagant price for the poor beast; his owners would not part with him. then they resolved { } to "catch him cunningly." so radisson watches his opportunity, prowling at night near the visitors' cabin, and when the dog comes out, snatches him up, stabs him, and carries him to his party, where he is immediately cut up and "broyled like a pigge." even the snow soaked with his blood goes into the kettles. radisson's description of the horrors of that fearful time will not fail to remind readers of hiawatha of the poet longfellow's picture of a famine in the same region in which radisson was. the main features are the same. there is the bitter cold, o the long and dreary winter! o the cold and cruel winter! there is the gloomy, snow-laden forest, ever deeper, deeper, deeper fell the snow o'er all the landscape, fell the covering snow, and drifted through the forest, round the village. there are the pitiful cries of the helpless, starving ones, o the wailing of the children! o the anguish of the women! there is the hunter engaged in his bootless quest, { } vainly walked he through the forest, sought for bird or beast and found none, saw no track of deer or rabbit, in the snow beheld no footprints. then came the two dread visitors, famine and fever, and fixed their awful gaze on minnehaha, who lay there trembling, freezing, burning at the looks they cast upon her, at the fearful words they uttered. out into the forest rushes hiawatha, crying frantically to heaven, "give me food for minnehaha, for my dying minnehaha!" through the far-resounding forest, through the forest vast and vacant rang the cry of desolation, but there came no other answer than the echo of the woodlands, "minnehaha! minnehaha!" all the day he roamed the gloomy depths of the wintry woods, still vainly seeking food. when he came home empty-handed, heavy-hearted, lo! the spirit of minnehaha had fled to the islands of the blessed. her body they laid in the snow, in the forest deep and darksome, underneath the moaning hemlocks. { } the singularly vivid descriptions of indian life, with its alternations of human affection and fiendish cruelty, of daring and cowardice, of gorging and starving, make one of the most interesting features of radisson's book. he lived the life himself and left such a picture of it as few white men could have drawn. accordingly, he soon tells of feasting once more. what broke the famine was a storm of wind and rain that caused the snow to fall from the trees, cleared the forests, and formed, after a freeze, a crust on the snow that enabled the hunters to kill an abundance of game. deer, with their sharp hoofs, broke through the crust "after they made or capers" (bounds), and were easily taken. there was other food, too, for there came a deputation of indians to visit the white strangers, accompanied by their women "loaded of oates, corne that growes in that country." he means wild rice, which formed the staple food of certain tribes. this was a gift, and at its presentation there were elaborate ceremonies, the account of which fills several pages. still this was only the beginning, for the appointed time for a grand council was approaching, and soon there arrived deputations from eighteen different tribes, until five hundred { } warriors were assembled. more feasting, more ceremonies, more honors to the white visitors, who received more beaver-skins than they could possibly carry away, and pledges of eternal friendship on both sides. hardly were these rites ended, when there came fresh troops of savages, and all began over again. "there weare," says radisson, "playes, mirths, and bataills for sport. in the publick place the women danced with melody. the yong men that indeavoured to gett a pryse [prize] indeavored to clime up a great post, very smooth, and greased with oyle of beare." then followed a most interesting exhibition "in similitud of warrs," the young men going through the various motions of attack, retreat, and the like, without a word, all the commands being given by "nodding or gesture," the old men meanwhile beating furiously on drums made of "earthen potts full of water covered with staggs-skin." there followed a dance of women, "very modest, not lifting much their feete from the ground, making a sweet harmony." finally, after more feasting, more "renewing of alliances," more exchange of gifts, in which, of course, the frenchmen received valuable furs in { } return for the merest trifles, the great assembly broke up, the red men filed off toward their distant villages, and the honored strangers started on their long homeward journey, with numerous sled-loads of peltry. all that summer they traveled among the numerous islands on the north shore of the great lake, enjoying an abundance of ducks, fish, and fresh meat. radisson was amazed at "the great number of ffowles that are so fatt by eating of this graine [wild rice] that heardly they will move from it." he saw "a wildman killing ducks at once with one arrow." when the final start was made for the french settlements, there were seven hundred indians in canoes, with a proportionately large quantity of beaver-skins. a stop was made at the river of sturgeons, to lay in a store of food against the voyage. in a few days over a thousand of these fish were killed and dried. after they had started again, radisson came near to parting unwillingly with the splendid fleet of canoes that he was guiding down to the french settlements. one day they espied seven iroquois. so great was the dread of these formidable savages, that, though these seven took to their heels and { } discarded their kettles, even their arms, in their flight, the sight of them threw the hundreds with radisson into a panic. they were for breaking up and putting off their visit to montreal for a year. radisson pleaded hard, and, after twelve days of delay and powwowing, he succeeded in prevailing on all except the crees to go on with him. down the st. mary's river into lake huron the great fleet of canoes went in long procession. then, the wind being favorable, everybody hoisted some kind of sail, and they were driven along merrily until they came to the portage. this passed, they went on down the ottawa river without misadventure as far as the long rapids. then another panic seized the indian fleet, this time on more reasonable grounds, for the party discovered the evidences of a slaughter of frenchmen. seventeen of these, with about seventy algonquins and hurons, had laid an ambush here for iroquois, whom they expected to pass this way. instead, the biter was bitten. the iroquois, when they came, numbered many hundreds, and they overwhelmed and, after a desperate resistance, destroyed the little band of frenchmen, with their allies. the appalling { } evidences of this slaughter were terrible proof that the enemy were numerous in that neighborhood. even radisson and his brother were alarmed. they had much ado to persuade their indian friends to go on with them. as last they succeeded and proudly led to montreal the biggest canoe-fleet that had ever arrived there, "a number of boats that did almost cover ye whole river." it was a great triumph for the two daring _voyageurs_ to bring to market such a volume of trade and many indians from distant tribes who never before had visited the french. they expected that this service would be recognized. instead, the governor put groseillers in prison and fined both an enormous sum for going away without his leave. incensed at this injustice, they determined on going to london and offering their services to the english king. this was the reason of radisson's translating the notes of his travels into a language that was foreign to him, with such queer results as we have seen in the extracts that have been given. [ ] dr. reuben g. thwaites in his "father marquette" quotes the following description, written by a jesuit missionary about eight years after radisson's visit: "what is commonly called the saut is not properly a saut, or a very high water-fall, but a very violent current of waters from lake superior, which, finding themselves checked by a great number of rocks, form a dangerous cascade of half a league in width, all these waters descending and plunging headlong together." [ ] it is interesting to learn that the whitefish, so much prized today, was held in equally high esteem so long ago, and even before the coming of the white men. the same writer quoted above by dr. thwaites tells of throngs of indians coming every summer to the rapids to take these fish, which were particularly abundant there, and describes the method. the fisherman, he says, stands upright in his canoe, and as he sees fish gliding between the rocks, thrusting down a pole on the end of which is a net in the shape of a pocket, sometimes catches six or seven at a haul. [ ] the great steamers of to-day follow this route, which the indian's bark canoe frequented hundreds of years ago. this illustrates the interesting fact that, over all this continent, the indians were the earliest pathmakers. important railroads follow the lines of trails made by moccasined feet, and steamboats plough the waters of routes which the birch canoe skimmed for centuries. [ ] undoubtedly it was one of these "sturgeons of a vast bignesse" that, according to the legend, swallowed both hiawatha and his canoe. we are now in hiawatha's country, and we are constantly reminded by radisson's descriptions of passages in longfellow's beautiful poem. [ ] this little structure has a peculiar interest, because of its being, in all probability, the first habitation of white men on the shores of lake superior. it seems to have stood on chequamegon bay. { } chapter xiii robert cavelier, sieur de la salle, the first explorer of the lower mississippi la salle's early association with the jesuits.--his domain in canada.--he starts on an exploring expedition.--disappears from view.--the favor of frontenac.--la salle's extraordinary commission.--niagara falls.--the first vessel ever launched on the upper lakes.--great hardships of the journey.--arrival in the country of the illinois.--fort crèvecoeur built.--perilous journey back to canada.--la salle starts again for the illinois country.--iroquois atrocities and cannibalism.--la salle goes as far as the mississippi and returns.--tonty's perilous experiences.--boisrondet's ingenuity saves his life.--la salle journeys down the great river.--interesting tribes of indians.--the ocean!--louisiana named.--hardships of the return journey.--fort st. louis built. robert cavelier, more generally known as la salle, at the first was connected with the jesuits, but left the society of jesus and, at the youthful age of twenty-three, came to canada to seek his fortune. he had an elder brother among the priests of st. sulpice. these, being anxious to have a fringe of settlements outside of their own { } as a sort of screen against indian attacks, granted to la salle a quite considerable tract a few miles from montreal. here he laid out a village surrounded by a palisade and let out his land to settlers for a trifling rent. with a view to exploration, he at once began to study the indian languages. like champlain and all the early explorers, he dreamed of a passage to the pacific and a new route for the commerce of china and japan. the name which to this day clings to the place which he settled, la chine (china), is said to have been bestowed by his neighbors, in derision of what they considered his visionary schemes. after two or three years la salle, beginning his real life-work, sold his domain and its improvements, equipped a party, and started out into the wilderness. we trace his route as far as the seneca country, in western new york. then for two years we lose sight of him altogether. this time he passed among the indians; and there is the best reason for believing that he discovered the ohio river and, quite probably, the illinois. when joliet and marquette ascertained that the outlet of the great water was in the gulf of { } mexico, their discovery put an end to the fond hope of establishing a new route to east india and china by way of the mississippi, but it inspired a brilliant thought in la salle's mind. why should france be shut up in canada, with its poverty, its rigorous climate, its barren soil, covered with snow for half the year? why not reach out and seize the vast interior, with its smiling prairies and thousands of miles of fertile soil, with the glorious mississippi for a waterway? she already held the approach at one end, namely, through the st. lawrence and the great lakes. let her go forward on the path which lay open before her. to realize this splendid dream became the purpose of his life. the coming of count frontenac to canada as its governor was a boon to la salle. both were essentially men of the world, with ambitions of their own. both were strong men, daring, ardent, and resolute; and both heartily hated the jesuits and were hated by them with equal fervor. both, too, were men of small means who aimed at vast results. in short, they were kindred spirits. but the one was governor of canada, and the other was an almost penniless adventurer. this fact determined their relations. la salle { } became a partisan of frontenac, siding with him against certain fur-traders and the jesuits. frontenac became the protector of la salle, backing his schemes with his influence and giving him a strong recommendation to the king. now, frontenac had built a fort near the lower end of lake ontario, about the site of kingston. it had the look of being a great public benefit, for it would help to hold the iroquois in check and it would cut off trade from the english. on these grounds the expense of building it was justified. but the jesuits and the fur-traders were opposed to it, the fur-traders because they foresaw the loss of a large part of their trade. indians bringing their annual canoe-loads of peltry to market would not take the long trip to montreal and quebec, if they could barter them off at a much nearer point. they suspected, with good reason, that this new fort, erected ostensibly for the defence of the country, was really meant to cut off from them the trade that came down the lakes and turn it into the hands of the governor and those who might be in secret league with him. the feeling was very strong, and attempts were made to induce the king to have the { } obnoxious fort demolished. just then la salle sailed for france with strong letters from frontenac. imagine the rage of his opponents when he returned not only master of the fort, but a titled man, the sieur de la salle, with the king's patent in his pocket giving him a princely grant of many square miles on the mainland and the adjacent islands! but how was a needy adventurer to raise the money to pay for the fort and to do all the high-sounding things that he had promised the king? he counted on raising money on the strength of his great expectations. he was not disappointed. his friends and relatives rejoicing in his good fortune, which they naturally hoped to share, lent large sums of money to enable him to carry out his agreement with his royal master. now he began piling up a mass of debts that alone would have crushed a common man. he had, besides, a tremendous combination to fight, nearly all the merchants of the colony, backed by the influence of the jesuits. still la salle might have settled down in his seigniory, commanded his soldiers, lorded it over his colony, controlled the trade of the lakes, paid off his debts, and have grown enormously rich { } within a few years from the profits of the fur-trade. but he flew at higher game than money, and cared for it only as it might serve his ambition. he was dreaming of the gulf of mexico and in imagination ruling a southwestern new france many times larger than the old. therefore he took ship again for france. this time he went crowned with success. he had done all and more than all that he had engaged to do. he had torn down the wooden fort and replaced it with one of stone, surmounted with nine cannon. he had erected a forge, a mill, a bakery, barracks, and officers' quarters. he had gathered about him a village of iroquois, who were under the teaching of two recollet friars. some french families had been settled on farms. land had been cleared and planted. cattle, fowls, and swine had been brought up from montreal. four small vessels had been built for use on the lake and river. altogether, french civilization was handsomely represented at this lonely outpost; and la salle had shown what he was capable of doing as an organizer and ruler. now he went to ask another grant. fancy the dismay of his opponents when he came back, in the following year, with an { } extraordinary commission that gave him authority to "labor at the discovery of the western parts of new france, through which, to all appearance, _a way may be found to mexico_." the last words show its true purpose. louis aimed a blow at his enemy, spain, the mistress of mexico, and la salle was the arm through which he meant to strike. the document gave him authority to build forts wherever he saw fit, and to own and govern them under the same conditions as fort frontenac. in short, he had a roving commission to go wherever he pleased between the eastern end of lake ontario and the borders of mexico, and to exercise the authority of a royal governor anywhere in all that vast region. but he must do all at his own expense, and he must do it all within five years. his most serious need was that of money. but, with his usual success in drawing other men's means into his schemes, he obtained a large sum, on which he was to pay interest at the rate of forty per cent. we can see that he was piling up debts fast enough to meet the wishes of his heartiest haters. now la salle was in a position to enter on his grand undertaking, the dream to which he { } devoted his life. his first step was to send a party of men ahead in canoes to lake michigan, to trade with the indians and collect provisions against his coming, while another party, one of whom was the famous father hennepin, started in a small vessel up lake ontario, to await la salle's coming at niagara. in due time they reached the niagara river, and the earliest published account of the great cataract is father hennepin's.[ ] this advance party had orders to begin a fort on the niagara river, but the distrust of the senecas proved to be an obstinate barrier. this famous tribe, occupying the genesee valley northward to the shore of lake ontario, while on the west its territory extended to lake erie, was fiercely jealous of white men's coming to plant themselves in their country. when la salle arrived, however, with his usual tact in managing indians, he succeeded in securing their consent to his putting up, not a fort, but a fortified warehouse at the mouth of the niagara river and building a vessel above the falls. { } now the first of a series of misfortunes befell him in the loss of the little vessel that had brought him to niagara. she was freighted with the outfit for his great exploration and with goods for barter. but everything was lost, except only the anchors and cables intended for the vessel that was to be built. he bore the loss with his unvarying fortitude. at last all difficulties were so far overcome that the keel of the little vessel was laid. while the work was going on, indians were hanging around watching it sullenly, and a squaw told the french that her people meant to burn it. the weather was cold, and the men of the party themselves had little heart in the enterprise. the loss of provisions in the wrecked vessel had put them on short allowance. only the skill of two mohegan hunters kept them supplied with food. it was hard work, too, for the builders needed to bring loads from the other vessel on their backs, a distance of some twelve miles. in spite of all these difficulties, the little craft was finished, and, at the opening of the ice in the spring, there glided down into the niagara the first keel that ever cut the water of the upper lakes, the forerunner of to-day's enormous { } tonnage. her figure-head was a mythical monster, and her name the "griffin," both taken from frontenac's coat of arms. on august , the "griffin" fired her cannon, spread her sails, and bore away up lake erie, carrying the expedition which la salle hoped would make him master of the mississippi valley. the plan was to sail to the head of lake michigan, near the site of chicago, then to march to the illinois river; there to build another vessel, and in the latter to sail down the mississippi, into the gulf, and to the very west indies--an enterprise of titanic audacity. the first part of the voyage was delightful. we may wonder whether our voyagers saw one amazing sight which jonathan carver describes. "there are," he says, "several islands near the west end of it [lake erie] so infested with rattlesnakes that it is very dangerous to land on them. the lake is covered, near the banks of the islands, with the large pond-lily, the leaves of which lie on the water so thick as to cover it entirely for many acres together; and on each of these lay, when i passed over it, wreaths of water-snakes basking in the sun, which amounted to myriads!" on the shore were verdant prairies and fine { } forests. when the voyagers entered detroit river they saw herds of deer and flocks of wild turkeys, and the hunters easily kept the party supplied with venison and bear meat. on they sailed, across lake st. clair and out upon lake huron, passed within sight of the manitoulins, and finally came to anchor in the cove of mackinaw strait, where were the famous trading-post and mission-station of michillimackinac. at green bay la salle found some of his men who had remained faithful and had collected a large store of furs. this circumstance caused him new perplexity. he had furs enough to satisfy his creditors, and he was strongly moved to go back to the colony and settle with them. on the other hand, he dreaded leaving his party, which would surely be tampered with by his enemies. should his strong hand be withdrawn, the party probably would go to pieces. finally he decided to remain with the expedition and to send the "griffin" back with her valuable cargo to fort niagara and with orders to return immediately to the head of lake michigan. it was an unfortunate decision. the vessel's pilot was already under suspicion of having treacherously wrecked the vessel which perished on lake { } ontario. the "griffin" sailed and never was heard of again. whether she foundered on the lake, was dashed on the shore, or was plundered and scuttled, la salle never knew. he believed the latter to have been the case. her loss was the breaking of an indispensable link in the chain. but la salle was still ignorant of it, and he went on his way hopefully to the head of lake michigan. a hard time the men had in paddling the heavily laden canoes, subsisting on a scant ration of indian corn, and at night dragging the canoes up a steep bank and making their cheerless camp. by the time that they reached the site of milwaukee all were worn out. they were glad enough when they saw two or three eagles among a great gathering of crows or turkey-buzzards, and, hastening to the spot, they found the torn carcass of a deer, lately killed by wolves. however, as they neared the head of the lake, game became more abundant, and la salle's famous mohegan hunters had no difficulty in providing bear's meat and venison. winter was fast setting in, and la salle was anxious to go on to the illinois towns before the warriors should go away on their usual winter { } hunting. but he was compelled to wait for tonty, an italian officer of great courage and splendid loyalty who had come out to america as his lieutenant. with twenty men, he was making his way by land down the eastern shore. at last he appeared, with his men half-starved, having been reduced to living on acorns. but where was the "griffin"? this was the place appointed for her meeting with the expedition. but there were no tidings of her fate. after waiting as long as he could, la salle, with heavy forebodings, pushed on. now the explorers shouldered their canoes and struck out across the frozen swamps. at last they came to a sluggish streamlet, the headwaters of the kankakee. they launched their canoes on it and were carried, within a few days, into a prairie country strewn with the carcasses of innumerable buffalo, for this was a favorite hunting-ground of the indians. but not one of the animals was in sight. the men were nearly starving and, at the best, discontented and sullen. two lean deer and a few geese, all the game that the hunters had been able to secure within several days, were short commons for thirty-three men with appetites sharpened by traveling in the keen { } december air. it was a god-send when they found a buffalo-bull mired fast. the famished men quickly despatched him, and by the efforts of twelve of their number dragged the huge carcass out of the slough. down the illinois river the voyagers traveled until they came in sight of wigwams on both sides of the river. la salle expected trouble, for his enemies had been busy among the illinois, stirring them up against him by representing that he had incited the iroquois to make war upon them. he ordered his men to take their arms. then the eight canoes in line abreast drifted down between the two wings of the encampment. there was great confusion on both banks. the women screeched, and the men yelled and seized their bows and war-clubs. la salle knew well how to deal with indians and that it was poor policy to show himself too eager for peace. he leaped ashore, followed by his men, arms in hand. the indians were more frightened by his sudden appearance than disposed to attack him, as they at once showed by holding up a peace pipe. and soon they overwhelmed the strangers with lavish hospitality. these people, who formed one of the largest { } branches of the algonquin stock, were particular objects of hatred to the iroquois. at one time they were driven across the mississippi by these ruthless foes, who had traveled five or six hundred miles to attack them. there, probably, they encountered equally savage enemies, the sioux. at all events, they returned to their old abode on the illinois river, where la salle found them. the deadly enmity of the iroquois toward them burst out again shortly afterward, as we shall see. la salle took advantage of the opportunity to assure his hosts that if the iroquois attacked them, he would stand by them, give them guns, and fight for them. then he shrewdly added that he intended building a fort among them and a big wooden canoe in which he would descend to the sea and bring goods for them. all this looked very plausible and won their hearts. the next day la salle and his companions were invited to a feast and, of course, went. the host seized the opportunity of warning them against descending the great water. he told them that its banks were infested by ferocious tribes and its waters full of serpents, alligators, dangerous rocks, and whirlpools; in short, that they never would reach the ocean alive. { } this harangue was interpreted to la salle's men by two _coureurs de bois_ who understood every word of it. la salle saw dismay overspreading the faces of his already disheartened men. but when his turn came to speak, he gave the indians a genuine surprise. "we were not asleep," he said, "when the messenger of my enemies told you that we were spies of the iroquois. we know all his lies and that the presents he brought you are at this moment buried in the earth under this lodge." this proof of what seemed more than human sagacity overwhelmed the indians, and they had nothing more to say, little dreaming that la salle had received secret information from a friendly chief. nevertheless, the next morning, when la salle looked about for his sentinels, not one of them was to be seen. six of his men, including two of the best carpenters, upon whom he depended for building the vessel, had deserted. to withdraw his men from the demoralizing influences of the indian camp, la salle chose a naturally strong position at some distance down the river, fortified it, and built lodgings for the men, together with a house for the friars. this, the first habitation reared by white men in the { } territory now comprised in the state of illinois, stood a little below the site of peoria and was called fort crèvecoeur. this name, fort break-heart, was taken from that of a celebrated fortification in europe. it was to be a heart-breaker to the enemy. la salle believed in the doctrine of work as the best preventive of low spirits, and he kept his men at it. no sooner was the fort finished than he began to build the vessel. two of his carpenters, we remember, had deserted. "seeing," he says, "that if i should wait to get others from montreal, i should lose a whole year, i said one day before my people that i was so vexed to find that the absence of two sawyers would defeat my plans, that i was resolved to try to saw the planks myself, if i could find a single man who would help me with a will." two men stepped forward and said they would try what they could do. the result was that the work was begun and was pushed along so successfully that within two weeks the hull of the vessel was half finished. la salle now felt free to make the unavoidable journey to montreal, to look after his affairs. his men were in better heart, and the vessel was well on its way to completion. leaving the { } faithful tonty in charge of the fort with its garrison, mostly of scoundrels, he set out with his trusty mohegan and four frenchmen. a few days earlier he had sent off father hennepin with two frenchmen, to explore the lower part of the illinois. in another place we shall read the story of their adventures. we shall not follow la salle on his journey back to canada. it was a terribly hard experience of sixty-five days' travel through a country beset with every form of difficulty and swarming with enemies, "the most arduous journey," says the chronicler, "ever made by frenchmen in america." but there was a worse thing to come. when la salle reached niagara, he learned not only the certainty of the "griffin's" loss, with her valuable cargo, but that a vessel from france freighted with indispensable goods for him had been wrecked at the mouth of the st. lawrence, and a party of twenty hired men on their way from europe to join him had, on their arrival, been so disheartened by reports of his failure and death, that only four persisted in their purpose. this was but the beginning of a series of disasters. his agents at fort frontenac had plundered him; his creditors had seized his property; { } several of his canoes loaded with furs had been lost in the rapids of the st. lawrence; and a letter from tonty, brought to him by two _voyageurs_, told him that nearly all the men, after destroying fort crèvecoeur, had deserted. what a blow! fort crèvecoeur, with its supplies, was the base of his great enterprise. now it was destroyed, its garrison gone, and tonty, with a few faithful men, alone remained of his costly expedition. but this lion-hearted man, whom no disasters could daunt, borrowed more money at ruinous rates of interest, captured a party of his deserters on lake ontario, killing two who resisted arrest and locking up the others at fort frontenac, and hastened off on the long journey to relieve tonty in the illinois country. when the party reached the illinois river they beheld a stirring sight. far and near, the prairie was alive with buffalo, while hundreds were plunging and snorting in the water. the opportunity was not to be lost. the voyagers landed and encamped for a hunt. for three days they gave themselves up to the excitement of the chase, killing twelve buffalo, besides deer, geese, and swans. then, with an ample supply of dried and smoked meat, they re-embarked. { } when they reached the site of the populous illinois town, the place was desolate, not a human being in sight. only heaps of ashes and charred poles and stakes showed where the lodges had stood. the whole meadow was blackened by fire. hundreds of wolves skulked about the burial ground of the village. the ground was strewn with broken bones and mangled corpses. every grave had been rifled, and the bodies had been thrown down from the scaffolds where many of them had been placed. it was evident what had happened. the iroquois had made a descent, in some way had missed their prey, and had wreaked their vengeance on the dead. but where were tonty and his men? there was no sign of their having been killed. neither had any trace been observed of their passing up the river. it must be that they had escaped down the river with the illinois in their flight. la salle promptly determined what to do. leaving a part of his men, he hid his baggage and started down the stream with a few trusty men carrying little besides their arms. when they reached the ruins of fort crèvecoeur, they found the vessel on the stocks untouched. { } la salle pushed on down to the mouth of the river, without finding a trace of his missing countrymen. now the great water rolled before him. once he had dreamed night and day of seeing it. but to see it under such circumstances as these,--what a mockery of his hopes! the one thought on his mind was to find and rescue tonty. there was no sign of him here. to go further would have been useless, and la salle turned back, paddling day and night, and rejoined his men whom he had left. then all started northward. on their way down they had followed the kankakee. now they took the des plaines route. near a bark cabin a bit of wood that had been cut with a saw showed that tonty and his men had gone this way. if they had but left at the fork of the stream some sign of their passage, la salle's party would have seen it on their way down, and all this anxiety would have been obviated. with his mind relieved, la salle was glad to rest for a while at his little fort miami, situated at the mouth of the st. joseph river. tonty had passed through perilous straits. the desertion of the larger part of his men left him with but three fighting men and two friars. { } next came a tremendous war-party of iroquois to attack the illinois, in the midst of whom he was. for various reasons, the illinois suspected that the frenchmen had brought this trouble upon them and, but for tonty's coolness, would have mobbed and murdered the little handful of white men. when the iroquois began the attack, tonty went among them, at the peril of his life, actually receiving a wound from an infuriated young warrior, and succeeded in stopping the fighting by telling the iroquois that the illinois numbered twelve hundred, and that there were sixty armed frenchmen, ready to back them. the effect of this timely fabrication was magical. the iroquois at once were for peace and employed tonty to arrange a truce. that night the illinois slipped away down the river. the iroquois followed them, on the opposite shore, watching for an opportunity to attack. this did not offer itself, but they actually drove the illinois out of their own country, after perpetrating a butchery of women and children. meanwhile they had discovered tonty's deception and were enraged. he had robbed them of a prey for which they had marched hundreds of miles. only a wholesome fear of count { } frontenac, of whom the indians stood in great awe, kept them from falling on the little band. as it was, matters looked so stormy that the frenchmen stood on the watch all night, expecting an attack. at daybreak the chiefs bade them begone. accordingly they embarked in a leaky canoe and started up the river. at their first stop father ribourde strolled away. when he did not reappear his comrades became alarmed. tonty and one of the men went in search of him. they followed his tracks until they came to the trail of a band of indians who had apparently carried him off. they afterward learned that a roving band of kickapoos, one of the worst specimens of the algonquin stock, prowling around the iroquois camp in search of scalps, had murdered the inoffensive old man and carried his scalp in triumph to their village. another of their party came near to meeting with an untimely end, but his ingenuity saved his life. they had abandoned their worthless canoe and were making their way on foot, living on acorns and roots, when the young sieur de boisrondet wandered off and was lost. the flint of his gun had dropped out, and he had no bullets. { } but he cut a pewter porringer into slugs, discharged his gun with a fire-brand, and thus killed wild turkeys. after several days he was so fortunate as to rejoin his party. the poor fellows suffered terribly from cold and hunger while making their way along the shore of lake michigan, but finally found a hospitable refuge among the pottawattamies, of green bay, a friendly algonquin tribe. la salle's heart was as much as ever set on following the great water to the sea. but he had learned the difficulties in the way of building a vessel and had resolved to travel by canoe. the winter at fort miami was spent by him in organizing the expedition. with this view he gathered about him a number of indians from the far east who had fled for safety to the western wilds after the disastrous issue of king philip's war, chiefly abenakis, from maine, and mohegans from the hudson. these new england indians, who had long been the deadly foes of the english puritans, were happy in enrolling themselves under a frenchman and were ready to go with la salle anywhere. his plan was to form a great indian confederation, like that of the five nations, and powerful enough to resist it. { } with this powerful body of indians, backed by a sufficient number of french guns, he could hold the mississippi valley against all enemies, white or red. when he had opened the route to the gulf of mexico by passing down the great river and taking possession of its whole length in the name of the french king, there would be a new outlet for the immensely valuable fur-trade of all that vast area drained by it and its tributaries. instead of the long journey down the lakes and the st. lawrence, trade would take the shorter and easier route to the gulf of mexico. but how could even la salle fail to see the enormous difficulties in the way,--the hostility of remote tribes down the river; the sure opposition of spain, which was supreme on and around the gulf, and, most of all, the bitter enmity of the french in canada? the scheme meant disaster to their interests, by turning a large part of their trade into another channel and setting up on the mississippi a new and powerful rival of canada, with la salle at its head. all commercial canada and nearly all official canada were already incensed against him on the mere suspicion of his purposes. if they saw { } these taking actual form, would they not rage and move heaven and earth, that is to say, louis the great,[ ] to crush them? a man of less than la salle's superhuman audacity would not in his wildest moments have dreamed of such a thing. he deliberately cherished the scheme and set himself calmly to executing it. on december , , the expedition started from fort miami. it consisted of twenty-three white men, eighteen indian warriors, and ten squaws, with three children. these new england savages had made a bloody record in their own country, knew well how to use guns, and were better adapted to the work in hand than raw europeans, however brave, who had no experience of indian warfare. on february the voyagers saw before them the broad current of the mississippi, full of floating ice. for a long distance they paddled their canoes down the mighty current without adventure. as they fared on day by day, they realized that they were entering a summer land. the warm air and hazy sunlight and opening flowers were in delightful contrast with the ice and snow from which they had emerged. once { } there seemed to be danger of an attack from indians whose war-drum they could hear beating. a fog lifted, and the indians, looking across the river, saw the frenchmen at work building a fort. peace signals were displayed from both sides, and soon the white men and their indian allies from rugged new england were hobnobbing in the friendliest way with these dusky denizens of the southwestern woods. these were a band of the arkansas, the same people who had treated joliet and marquette so handsomely. they lavished every kind attention on their guests and kept them three days. the friar, membré, who chronicled the expedition, describes them as "gay, civil, and free-hearted, exceedingly well-formed and with all so modest that not one of them would take the liberty to enter our hut, but all stood quietly at the door." he adds, "we did not lose the value of a pin while we were among them." la salle had now reached the furthest point of joliet and marquette's exploration. he reared a cross, took possession of the country in his master's name, and pushed on. on the western side of the river they visited the home of the taensas indians and were amazed at the degree { } of social advancement which they found among them. there were square dwellings, built of sun-baked mud mixed with straw, and arranged in regular order around an open area; and the king was attended by a council of sixty grave old men wearing white cloaks of the fine inner fibre of mulberry bark. the temple was a large structure, full of a dim, mysterious gloom, within which burned a sacred fire, as an emblem of the sun, watched and kept up unceasingly by two aged priests. altogether, the customs and social condition of these people were more like those of the ancient peruvians and mexicans than those of the wild tribes with whom the explorers were familiar. when the chief visited la salle he came in great state, preceded by women who bore white fans, and wearing a disk of burnished copper,--probably to indicate that he was a child of the sun, for the royal family claimed this high lineage. the next day the frenchmen visited a kindred tribe, the natchez, among whom they observed similar usages. they were hospitably entertained and spent the night in their villages. their chief town was some miles distant, near the site of the { } city of natchez. here again la salle planted a cross, less as a symbol of christianity than of french occupation.[ ] { } near the mouth of the red river, in the neighborhood of the place where soto had been buried, the voyagers, while attempting to follow some fleeing natives, received a shower of arrows from a canoe. la salle, anxious to avoid a hostile encounter, drew his men off. no doubt the indians of this region preserved proud traditions of their forefathers' pursuit of the escaping spaniards, the remnant of soto's expedition. on april with what elation must la salle have beheld the waters of the gulf sparkling in the rays of the southern sun! the dream of years was realized. his long struggle and his hopes and failures and renewed efforts were crowned with success. one hundred and ninety years after columbus's discovery, at enormous expense, he had led a party from the great fresh-water seas to the southern ocean, and had opened, he fondly believed, a new route for trade. but long years were to elapse ere his vision should become a reality. proudly and hopefully, in full view of the sea, he reared a cross and a column bearing the arms { } of france and, with the singing of hymns and volleys of musketry, solemnly proclaimed louis, of france, to be the rightful sovereign "of this country of louisiana," as he named it, "the seas, harbors, ports, bays, adjacent straits, and all the nations, peoples, provinces, cities, towns, villages, mines, minerals, fisheries, streams, and rivers within the extent of the said louisiana, and also to the mouth of the river of palms" (the rio grande). a tremendous claim surely, the historian parkman remarks, covering a region watered by a thousand rivers, ranged by a thousand war-like tribes, in short, an empire in itself, and all by virtue of a feeble human voice, inaudible at half a mile! alas! at that very time, la salle's enemies in canada had gained the upper hand and had secured the recall of his mainstay, count frontenac. this meant that he could do nothing more from canada as a base of operations. on the return voyage the party had a hard time. there was the labor of paddling the canoes, day after day, against the strong current, under a blazing sun. their supplies were exhausted, and they had little to eat but the flesh of alligators. in their extremity, they applied to { } the quinipissas, a little above the site of new orleans, for corn. they got it, but had to repulse a treacherous attack at night. the coroas, too, who at the first had shown themselves very friendly, were evidently bent on murdering the guests whom they entertained with pretended hospitality. only the watchfulness of the frenchmen and the terror inspired by their guns saved them from attack. plainly these natives had grown suspicious. then la salle was seized with sickness which nearly cut him off, and which detained him for weeks. so soon as he was able to travel, he moved on by slow stages and, about the end of august, still weak and suffering, reached fort miami, from which he had started eight months before. of course, he had come back empty-handed, and there was nothing substantial to show for the vast expense that had been incurred. his associates in canada, who had advanced the money, must fain content themselves with the expectation that the future would repay them. in the meantime la salle was carrying out his plan of founding a colony of french and indians on the banks of the illinois. here he built fort st. louis on a cliff, probably the one now called { } "starved rock," at the mouth of vermilion river. around its base, under its protection, were clustered the lodges of various indian bands, of different tribes, while the illinois, numbering several thousands, were encamped on the other side of the river. but la salle soon found that, with the new governor, la barre, inimical to him, he could get no supplies from canada. the men whom he sent for goods were detained, and finally the governor seized fort frontenac and put men in charge of it. la salle had no resource but to appeal from the governor's high-handed injustice to the king. he left tonty in command of fort st. louis and departed for france. [ ] the famous falls are first mentioned in the jesuit "relations" of . their name is of iroquois origin and in the mohawk dialect is pronounced nyagarah. [ ] the chosen emblem of the "grand monarch" was the sun. [ ] the taensas and the natchez were singularly interesting tribes. their social organization did not differ radically from that of other indians. but they had developed one peculiar feature: the principal clan had become a ruling caste, and the chiefs were revered as demi-gods and treated with extravagant honor, numerous human victims being sacrificed at the death of one. the following remarks about the taensas and the natchez are taken from father gravier's account of his voyage, in , down the mississippi:--"the natchez and the taensas practice polygamy, steal, and are very vicious, the girls and women more than the men and boys. the temple having been reduced to ashes last year by lightning, the old man who sits guardian said that the spirit was incensed because no one was put to death on the decease of the last chief, and that it was necessary to appease him. five women had the cruelty to cast their children into the fire, in sight of the french who recounted it to me; and but for the french there would have been a great many more children burned." at their first coming, the french found a warm welcome among the natchez, and fort rosalie in the natchez country (built shortly after the founding of new orleans) was the scene for many years of constant friendly reunions of the two races. but an arrogant and cruel commandant, by his ill-judged severity, at a time when the warlike chickasaws were inciting the natchez to rise, produced a fearful explosion. one day a solitary soldier appeared in the hamlet of new orleans with fearful news. fort rosalie had been surprised, its garrison of over two hundred men massacred, and two hundred and fifty women and children taken prisoners. in the war that followed, the choctaws sided with the french, the chickasaws and yazoos with the natchez. finally the french, under st. dénis, won a complete victory, the women and children taken at fort rosalie were recaptured and brought to new orleans, and the natchez tribe was completely broken up. the prisoners were sent to die in the cruel slavery of the san domingo sugar plantations, while a few who escaped the french were adopted into the chickasaw nation. { } chapter xiv la salle and the founding of louisiana la salle leads an expedition to seize the mouth of the mississippi.--a series of mishaps.--landing at matagorda bay.--fort st. louis of texas.--seeking the mississippi, la salle explores the interior of texas.--mounted comanches.--la salle starts out to go to canada for relief.--interesting experiences.--la salle assassinated.--tonty's heroic efforts to rescue him and his party.--supplement: the founding of new orleans. on a day in february, , a party landed from one of three vessels lying off the entrance of matagorda bay, on the coast of texas. they were under the command of la salle. what was this extraordinary man doing there? in accordance with the plan which had long filled his mind, of planting french forts and colonies in the valley of the great river and giving its trade an outlet into the gulf of mexico, he had come to establish a fort on the mississippi. this, the first part of his plan, was very rational, if only he had the vast resources needed for such an undertaking. { } but the second part was so crazy that we must suppose that his mind was beginning to give way. with a handful of frenchmen and an army of fifteen thousand savages, which he professed to be able to muster and to march down the mississippi, he had promised the king of france that he would conquer the northern province of mexico, called new biscay, and get possession of its valuable silver mines. louis had cheerfully accepted this insane proposition--insane, if we consider the pitiful equipment that la salle said would suffice, namely, two ships and two hundred men. louis was indeed furiously jealous of the spanish king's success in the new world and irritated by his arrogant treatment of the gulf of mexico as private property of spain,--as completely a "closed sea" as if it had been a duck-pond in his palace yard. moreover, there was war now between the two countries, and he would gladly seize an opportunity of striking his rival a blow in what seemed an exposed part. besides, the risk would be small. if la salle failed, the loss would be chiefly his; if he succeeded, a province of mexico would be a shining jewel in the french crown. so here was la salle, with an outfit { } corresponding with his mad scheme--but three ships, only one a man-of-war, the "joly," one a little frigate, the "belle," and one a transport, the "aimable"; for soldiers, the destined army of invasion, a parcel of rapscallions raked up from the docks and the prisons; for colonists some mechanics and laborers, priests and volunteers, with the usual proportion of "broken gentlemen," some peasant families looking for homes in the new world, and even some wretched girls who expected to find husbands in the land of promise. this ill-assorted little mob to seize and colonize the mouth of the mississippi and to wrest a province from spain! from the first everything had gone wrong. la salle and the ship-captains, who could not endure his haughty manners, quarreled incessantly. a spanish cruiser captured his fourth vessel, laden with indispensable supplies for the colony. then he was seized with a dangerous fever; and while the vessels waited at san domingo for him to be well enough to resume the voyage, his villains roamed the island and rioted in debauchery. its destination being the mouth of the mississippi, what was the expedition doing at matagorda bay, in texas? this was the result of { } another folly. not a soul on board knew the navigation of the gulf, so carefully had spain guarded her secret. the pilots had heard much of the currents in those waters, and they made so excessive allowance for them that when land was sighted, instead of being, as they supposed, about appalachee bay, they were on the coast of texas, probably about galveston bay. in the end it proved to be a fatal mistake, wrecking the enterprise. on new year's day la salle landed and found only a vast marshy plain. clearly, this was not the mouth of the great river. he returned on board, and the vessel stood westward along the coast, every eye on board strained to catch some indication of what they sought, whereas they were all the time sailing further from it. at one point where they stopped, some indians, who doubtless were familiar with the sight of white men, swam out through the surf and came on board without any sign of fear. but, nobody knowing their language, nothing could be learned from them. after hovering for three weeks in sight of land, la salle, perplexed beyond measure, but forced to decide because the captain of the man-of-war was impatient to land the men and to sail for { } france, announced that they were at one of the mouths of the mississippi and ordered the people and stores put ashore. scarcely were they landed, when a band of indians set upon some men at work and carried off some of them. la salle immediately seized his arms, called to some of his followers, and started off in pursuit. just as he was entering the indian village, the report of a cannon came from the bay. it frightened the savages so that they fell flat on the ground and gave up their prisoners without difficulty. but a chill foreboding seized la salle. he knew that the gun was a signal of disaster, and, looking back, he saw the "aimable" furling her sails. her captain, in violation of orders, and disregarding buoys which la salle had put down, had undertaken to come in under sail and had ended by wrecking her. soon she began to break up, and night fell upon the wretched colonists bivouacking on the shore, strewn with boxes and barrels saved from the wreck, while indians swarmed on the beach, greedy for plunder, and needed to be kept off by a guard. what a situation, ludicrous, had it not been tragic! instead of holding the key of the { } mississippi valley, the expeditionists did not even know where they were. instead of the fifteen thousand warriors who were expected to march with them to the conquest of new biscay, the squalid savages in their neighborhood annoyed them in every possible way, set fire to the prairie when the wind blew toward them, stole their goods, ambushed a party that came in quest of the missing articles, and killed two of them. next came sickness, due to using brackish water, carrying off five or six a day. when the captain of the little "belle," the last remaining vessel--for the man-of-war had sailed for france--got drunk and wrecked her on a sand-bar, the situation was truly desperate. nobody knew where they were, and the last means of getting away by water had perished. in the meantime la salle had chosen a place for a temporary fort, on a river which the french called la vache (cow river), on account of the buffaloes in its vicinity, and which retains the name, in the spanish form, lavaca. la salle returned from an exploration unsuccessful. he had found nothing, learned nothing; only, he knew now that he was not near the mississippi. the summer had worn away, { } steadily filling the graveyard, and, with the coming of the autumn, he prepared for a more extensive exploration. on the last day of october he started out with fifty men on his grand journey of exploration, leaving joutel, his faithful lieutenant, in command of the fort, which contained thirty-four persons, including three recollet friars and a number of women and girls. the winter passed not uncomfortably for the party in the fort. the surrounding prairie swarmed with game, buffaloes, deer, turkeys, ducks, geese, and plover. the river furnished an abundance of turtles, and the bay of oysters. joutel gives a very entertaining account of his killing rattlesnakes, which his dog was wont to find, and of shooting alligators. the first time that he went buffalo-hunting, the animals were very numerous, but he did not seem to kill any. every one that he fired at lumbered away, as if it were unhurt. after some time he found one dead, then others, and he learned that he had killed several. after their wont they had kept their feet while life lasted. even the friars took a hand in buffalo-hunting. la salle and his party, meanwhile, were roaming wearily from tribe to tribe, usually fighting { } their way, always seeking the mississippi. at last they came to a large river which at first they mistook for it. here la salle built a stockade and left some of his men, of whose fate nothing was afterward heard. then he set out to return to fort st. louis, as he called his little fort on lavaca. one day in march he reappeared with his tattered and footsore followers, some of them carrying loads of buffalo-meat. surely the condition of affairs was dismal in the extreme. more than a year gone, and as yet the frenchmen did not even know where they were. the fierce heat of another summer was near. still la salle, with his matchless courage, so soon as he recovered from a fit of illness, formed a desperate resolve. he would start out again, find the mississippi, ascend that river and the illinois to canada, and bring relief to the fort. this time the party was composed of twenty men, some of them clad in deerskin, others in the garments of those who had died. on april they started out. months went by. then, to the surprise of those in the fort, one evening la salle reappeared, followed by eight men of the twenty who had gone out with him. one had been lost, { } two had deserted, one had been seized by an alligator, and six had given out on the march and probably perished. the survivors had encountered interesting experiences. they had crossed the colorado on a raft. nika, la salle's favorite shawanoe hunter, who had followed him to france and thence to texas, had been bitten by a rattlesnake, but had recovered. among the cenis indians, a branch of the caddo family, which includes the famed pawnees, they met with the friendliest welcome and saw plenty of horses, silver lamps, swords, muskets, money, and other articles, all spanish, which these people had obtained from the fierce comanches, who had taken them in raids on the mexican border. they also met some of the comanches themselves and were invited to join them in a foray into new mexico. but la salle had, necessarily, long since given up his mad scheme of conquest and was thinking only of extricating himself from his pitiable dilemma. this seems to have been the first meeting of frenchmen with mounted indians of the plains. the possession of horses, which had strayed or been stolen from spanish settlements, had transformed these wild rovers from foot-travelers, such { } as cabeza de vaca and coronado found them, having no other domestic animals than dogs, into matchless horsemen and the most dangerous brigands on the continent, capable of covering hundreds of miles in an incredibly short space of time. splendid specimens of savage manhood, presenting the best type of the shoshonee stock, they amply avenged the terror which the sight of mounted spaniards at first struck into the hearts of the aborigines, by harrying the colonists and laying the border in blood and ashes, as they sometimes do to this day.[ ] { } from the cenis villages, where they bought five horses, the frenchmen went as far, perhaps, as the sabine river, encamped there for two months, detained by la salle's illness with fever, and then, on account of their weakened condition, returned to fort st. louis. { } a deeper pall of gloom settled upon the little band of exiles. they had now been two years on that forlorn spot, and still they had not even found their way out. from one hundred and eighty their number had dwindled to forty-five. clearly, there was but one thing to be done. if anybody was to remain alive, the journey to canada must be accomplished, at all costs. this time la salle determined to take joutel with him, leaving barbier in command of the little party in the fort. the new year, , came, and a few days later, with sighs and tears, the parting took place which many felt was for all time, and the travelers went away in mournful silence, with their meagre outfit packed on the horses, leaving barbier to hold the fort with his little band of twenty persons, including all the women and children and a few disabled men. we shall not attempt to trace closely the movements of the travelers. for more than two months they journeyed in a northeasterly direction. at the best, they were in wretched plight, with nothing for shoes but raw buffalo-hide, which hardened about the foot and held it in the grip of a vise. after a while they bought dressed { } deerskin from the indians and made themselves moccasins. rivers and streams they crossed, two or three at a time, in a boat made of buffalo-hide, while the horses swam after them. they met indians almost daily and held friendly intercourse with them.[ ] once they saw a band of a hundred and fifty warriors attacking a herd of buffalo with lances, and a stirring sight it was. these warriors entertained the europeans most handsomely. says la salle's brother, the priest cavelier, "they took us straight to the cabin of their great chief or captain, where they first washed our hands, our heads, and our feet with warm water; after which they presented us boiled and roast meat to eat, and an unknown fish, cooked whole, that was six feet long, laid in a dish of its length. it was of a wonderful taste, and we preferred it to meat." here the way-worn travelers were glad to buy thirty horses--enough to give every one of them a mount, and to carry their baggage besides--all for thirty knives, ten hatchets, and six dozen needles! { } in one of the villages they witnessed the catching of an alligator twelve feet long on a large hook made of bone and baited with meat. the indians amused themselves an entire day with torturing it. they would have been keenly disappointed, had they known how little this animal, so low in the scale of life as to be almost insensible to pain, suffered from their ingenious cruelty. the colorado and the trinity were reached. a deluge of rain kept them weather-bound for four or five days. it was a gloomy time. what added fuel to the flame was that la salle had with him a young nephew, named moranget, who presumed on his relation to the leader and behaved most overbearingly to the men. one day it chanced that some of the men were separated from the main body when nika killed two buffaloes. they sent word to la salle, in order that he might have the meat brought in on the horses. accordingly, he dispatched his nephew, moranget, with two other men, for that purpose. this was just the opportunity the malcontents desired. besides, moranget incensed them by flying into a passion because they had reserved certain portions of the meat for themselves, and by seizing the whole of it. they laid their plans { } and, in the dead of the night, murdered him, la salle's servant saget, and his faithful indian, nika. now they had to choose between killing la salle and being killed by him, as soon as he should learn the facts. they laid an ambush for him, and when he came in the morning to look after the missing men, they shot him dead. then the murderers stripped his body, dragged it into the bushes, and left it to be torn by buzzards. thus died, in the prime of his manhood, one who had done more than any other toward the opening of our continent. he had traversed regions where white men were almost unheard of. he had launched the first vessel that ever floated on the vast inland seas above niagara falls. he had established the french in the illinois region, opening the way for the possession of the mississippi valley. he had drawn hostile indian tribes together into a league strong enough to resist the long house. he had traveled thousands and thousands of miles on foot and by canoe. he had led the first party of white men from the lakes to the gulf of mexico. his foresight had grasped the commercial value of the mississippi valley, and, triumphing over enormous difficulties, he had opened the great { } west to our race. and now all his greatness was come to this, to die in the wilderness by an assassin's hand! after the death of the leader, a little party, among whom were joutel and la salle's brother, the friar cavelier, after many strange experiences, finally made their way down the arkansas river to the mississippi. there, to their inexpressible joy, they found two of their countrymen who had been left there by tonty. that brave man and loyal friend, when he received the news, by the way of france, of his former leader's disastrous landing, had at once, at his own expense, fitted out an expedition and led it down the illinois to the mouth of the mississippi. of course, he did not find la salle or any trace of him there. he had then returned to his post, leaving some of his men at the mouth of the arkansas. these escorted the survivors of la salle's party to canada, whence they sailed to france, having made one of the most remarkable journeys on record. they arrived in europe, the sole known survivors of the expedition that had left france three years before. louis the great, when he heard the news of the failure of the enterprise, took no steps to { } relieve the forlorn little band of exiles on the coast of texas. not so tonty. that brave soul determined to rescue them, if possible. for the third time he voyaged down the mississippi, turned up the red river, and penetrated as far as the country of the caddoes.[ ] there he lost the most of his ammunition in crossing a river, his men mutinied and refused to go further, and he was compelled to turn back. on his way down the red river he encountered a flood and traveled more than a hundred miles through country covered with water. the party slept on logs laid side by side and were reduced to eating their dogs. few men who figure in our country's early story are more deserving of honorable remembrance than this man with one hand and with the heart of a lion. the french king neglected the exiles in texas, but the spanish king did not. he ordered a force sent from mexico, to destroy the nest of invaders. when the spanish soldiers arrived on the spot, not a human being was to be seen. the poor little fort was a ruin, and a few { } skeletons were all that remained of its former inmates. the indians in the neighborhood told a story of a band of warriors who had entrapped the garrison into opening the gates, on the plea of trading, and then had rushed in and massacred them. [illustration: the murder of la salle] thus ended, for the time, la salle's brilliant scheme of colonizing louisiana. supplement to chapter xiv the executor of la salle's plan of colonization.--first experiences of the settlers.--bienville's shrewdness in getting rid of the english.--new orleans founded.--character of the population.--indian wars. la salle was dead, but his bright dream of france enthroned on the mississippi, holding in her hand the sceptre of the great west, was too vital to die. it was growing more and more into the consciousness of sea-going europe, that the nation holding the mouth of the great river would grasp the key to the undeveloped wealth of the western world. so it was that when france stretched forth her hand to seize the coveted prize, she found rivals in the field, spain and { } great britain struggling for a foothold, spain already planted at pensacola, the english nosing about the mouth of the mississippi. the man who was destined to achieve what la salle had been hindered from accomplishing only by the blunder of his pilots and the jealousy of his associates, was jean baptiste lemoyne de bienville. he was of that fine french canadian stock that had already produced joliet, the brave explorer, and he belonged to a family whose seven sons all won distinction, four of them dying in the service of their country. when he came on the enterprise in which he was destined to complete la salle's unfinished work, he was a midshipman of twenty-two serving with his older brother, iberville, who was winning renown as a brave and skilful naval captain. though possessing none of la salle's brilliancy of genius, and never called on to make those heroic exertions or to exhibit that amazing fortitude which were so conspicuous in the case of the great explorer, he still exhibited qualities which well fitted him for the task that fell to him, and which earned for him the title of "father of louisiana." to us it may seem strange that the first { } reaching out of france toward the incredibly rich mississippi valley did not touch the valley itself, but made its lodgment on a sandy bluff overlooking a bay in the territory of what is now the state of mississippi. so it was, however, and the fact only shows how little was grasped the true meaning of la salle's gigantic scheme. in january, , fifteen years after the great pathfinder had made his misguided landing in texas, a small fleet from brest was hovering about the mouth of mobile river seeking a place for settlement. it was commanded by pierre lemoyne d'iberville. with him were his two brothers, sauvolle and bienville, and father anastase douay, who had accompanied la salle. one of the first spots which the frenchmen visited bore evidences of a ghastly tragedy. so numerous were the human bones bleaching on the sandy soil that they called it massacre island (to-day dauphin island). it was surmised--and with some plausibility--that here had perished some portion of the ill-fated following of pamphile de narvaez. (see "pioneer spaniards in north america," p. .) another island, farther to the west, chiefly impressed the visitors by the great number of { } animals, of a species new to them, which they found there. isle des chats they called it, and as "cat island" it is known to this day. had the frenchmen been naturalists, they would have seen that there was more of the bear than of the cat about this creature, for it was none other than our sly friend, the raccoon. leaving his vessels at anchor near the mouth of mobile river, iberville, with his brother bienville and father douay, went in search of the mouth of the mississippi. they found it and ascended the river a considerable distance. what assured them that they really were on the great river was that they received from the bayagoulas a letter which tonty had left with them for la salle, when he made, in , that heroic journey all the way from the illinois country to the gulf, in the vain effort to succor his chief. another interesting relic which the explorers are said to have seen, was a coat of mail shown to them by the indians near the red river, as once having belonged to a spaniard. though nearly one hundred and sixty years had gone by since hernando de soto's famous expedition, it is by no means improbable that this was a genuine relic of that enterprise. naturally, the { } indians would have highly prized and would have kept, as a precious trophy, such a reminder of their forefathers' heroic stand against the dastardly invaders. the appearance on the river of the two english vessels, whose captain frankly said that he was seeking a place for a settlement, was conclusive evidence that france was none too early in reaching out for the prize that others coveted. bienville has the credit of getting rid of the britons by telling the officer that he might easily judge how numerous and strong were his master's, the french king's, subjects, in that region, from seeing them on the river in small boats--a piece of reasoning which was rather ingenious than ingenuous. it had its effect in sending away the briton with "a flea in his ear." "english turn," the name given to a great bend in the stream some miles below new orleans, keeps alive the memory of that piece of shrewdness. not far distant, by the way, is the field where, in , the british regulars, under sir edward pakenham, received a disastrous defeat at the hands of andrew jackson and his american riflemen. iberville planted his first settlement at biloxi, { } on mississippi sound. other french posts were shortly afterward established on cat island, dauphin island, which is at the mouth of mobile bay, and at mobile. a little later bienville built a fort fifty-four miles above the mouth of the great river, and he early began to insist that the future of the colony lay on its banks, not on the shores and sandy islands of the gulf. but the time had not yet come when his ideas would prevail. the wretched colony must first go through a dismal experience of languishing, in consequence of which the seat of government was removed to mobile, and of actual famine. at last, in , bienville, who by the death of his brother had succeeded to the direction of affairs, with twenty-five convicts from france and as many carpenters and some voyageurs from the illinois river, founded the city of new orleans. at the first the outlook was far from hopeful. the site was but a few feet above the sea-level and was subject to constant inundation. most unfavorable reports went back to mobile, which for five years longer remained the seat of government. the population, too, was rude and lawless, being made up of trappers, redemptioners having a period of years to serve, transported { } females, inmates of the house of correction, choctaw squaws, and negro slave women--all, as an old writer says, "without religion, without justice, without discipline, without order, without police." bienville, however, held firmly to his purpose and, in , procured the royal permission to transfer the seat of government from mobile to the new settlement on the banks of the great river. thus, at last, was la salle's prophetic dream realized. france had become awake to the importance of concentrating her strength where it could be effective, rather than frittering it away on the shores of the gulf. one of the most striking evidences of the warm interest which the king felt in the colony was his sending out, in , a number of decent girls, each with a trunk filled with linen and clothing (from which they were called _filles à la cassette_, or girls with a chest), who were to be disposed of under the direction of the ursuline nuns, in marriage to the colonists. other consignments followed; and the homes thus established soon gave to the population of the city a more quiet and orderly character. [illustration: le moyne de bienville] through various experiences, chiefly disastrous wars with the natchez, that remarkable people { } whom la salle visited on his great exploration, and whom the french finally broke up and scattered, and with the chickasaws in mississippi, that hardy breed of warriors who had fought soto so fiercely, and who now sent the frenchmen back discomfited, bienville in his later years lost much of his earlier prestige. but the fact remains that it was he who grasped the meaning of la salle's plan, he who founded new orleans, and he who guided the struggling colony through its perilous infancy. he well earned his title of "father of louisiana." [ ] these matchless horsemen, probably unsurpassed in the world, are also great jockeys, passionately fond of horse-racing and deeply versed in all its tricks. the following laughable account of a race that he witnessed is given by col. dodge in his very entertaining book, "our wild indians": "a band of comanches once camped near fort chadbourne, in texas. some of the officers were decidedly 'horsey,' owning blood horses whose relative speed was well known. the comanche chief was bantered for a race, and, after several days of manoeuvring, a race was made against the third best horse of the garrison, distance four hundred yards. "the indians wagered robes and plunder of various kinds, to the value of sixty or seventy dollars, against money, flour, sugar, etc., to a like amount. at the appointed time the indians 'showed' a miserable sheep of a pony, with legs like churns, a three-inch coat of rough hair stuck out all over the body; and a general expression of neglect, helplessness, and patient suffering struck pity into the hearts of all beholders. the rider was a stalwart buck of one hundred and seventy pounds, looking big and strong enough to carry the poor beast on his shoulders. he was armed with a huge club, with which, after the word was given, he belabored the miserable animal from start to finish. to the astonishment of all the whites, the indian won by a neck. "another race was proposed by the officers, and, after much 'dickering,' accepted by the indians, against the next best horse of the garrison. the bets were doubled; and in less than an hour the second race was run by the same pony, with the same apparent exertion and with exactly the same result. "the officers, thoroughly disgusted, proposed a third race and brought to the ground a magnificent kentucky mare, of the true lexington blood. the indians accepted the race and not only doubled bets as before, but piled up everything they could raise, seemingly almost crazed with the excitement of their previous success. the riders mounted, and the word was given. throwing away his club, the indian rider gave a whoop, at which the sheep-like pony pricked up his ears and went away like the wind almost two feet to the mare's one. the last fifty yards of the course was run by the pony with the rider sitting face to his tail, making hideous grimaces and beckoning to the rider of the mare to come on. "it afterwards transpired that the old sheep was a trick and straight-race pony, celebrated among all the tribes of the south, and had lately won for his master six hundred ponies among the kickapoos of the indian nation." [ ] they learned from these indians to handle skin-boats, or "bull-boats," such as we shall see were in constant use among the mandans of the upper missouri. [ ] these people, sometimes called the pawnee family, were scattered, in various wandering bands, from eastern texas as far north as the missouri. { } chapter xv father louis hennepin his birth and early experiences.--his description of niagara falls.--his great fraud.--his real achievement.--captured by the sioux.--given to a master.--superstitious fears of the indians.--goes with a hunting party.--sees and names the falls of st. anthony.--various adventures.--rescued and freed. we come now to tell the story of a man who was neither great nor good, but was a most picturesque and entertaining scamp, and who withal deserves some small place among the pathfinders. imagine a burly friar, in robe of rough gray frieze, his head covered by a pointed hood, his otherwise bare feet protected by sandals, in his hand a stout cudgel, shuffling along on snow-shoes and dragging his scanty possessions on a sled, or, if it was summer, paddling his canoe from one lonely cabin to another, celebrating mass wherever he could get together a half-dozen people, telling them the gossip of the river, eating a robust meal, then pushing on to repeat the { } experience elsewhere, and you will have a good picture of father louis hennepin, a man whose books describing his travels, real or imaginary, had, in their day, the widest popularity in europe. though he was an unconscionable braggart, and though he had no scruples about falsifying facts, yet, as the first person to publish an account of the falls of niagara, and as the discoverer and namer of the falls of st. anthony, he is fairly entitled to a place in a collection like this. he was born in belgium, about , and in due time joined the franciscan monks. when he tells us that he was so passionately fond of tales of adventure that he often skulked behind tavern-doors, though he was sickened by the tobacco smoke, eagerly hanging on the words of the old tars spinning yarns to each other, we do not wonder at finding him on his way to the land of wonders, the new world, making the voyage in company with la salle. the wilderness, full of hardships and haunted by treacherous savages though it was, had a fascination for him, and we soon find him serving as an itinerant missionary on the frontier. his experience in this work recommended him for appointment as missionary at that loneliest of { } outposts, la salle's fort frontenac. when la salle returned successful from his efforts to interest the court in his gigantic scheme of exploration, father hennepin was selected to accompany him as the representative of the church. in preparation for the great undertaking, he was sent ahead with la motte, an officer in la salle's service, to fort frontenac, whence they proceeded in a small sailing vessel to niagara river, under orders to build a fort that was intended to be a link in the chain of posts that la salle purposed establishing. niagara falls--"a vast and prodigious cadence of water," he calls it--made a deep impression on the father, and he proceeded to write in his journal this description, which, when it was printed, was the first published account of the cataract: "this wonderful downfall is compounded of two great cross-streams of water, and two falls, with an isle sloping along the middle of it. the waters which fall from this vast height do foam and boil after the most hideous manner imaginable, making an outrageous noise, more terrible than that of thunder; for when the wind blows from off the south, their dismal roaring may be heard above fifteen leagues off." { } the seneca indians, who regarded the niagara river as belonging to themselves, were jealous of the intruders and raised so strong objections to the building of a fort, that la motte and hennepin made a journey to their chief town, in the hope of overcoming their opposition. here they met with a hospitable reception from the savages, who, hennepin says, "wash'd our feet, which afterwards they rubb'd over with the oil of bears." they found here two faithful jesuit missionaries--members of an order, by the way, not especially friendly to the one to which hennepin belonged, the franciscans--and, at their invitation, the father preached to the indians. next came a council with the elders of the tribe. these made a great impression on hennepin, who writes, "the senators of venice do not appear with a graver countenance, and perhaps don't speak with more majesty and solidity than those ancient iroquese." [ ] with many cunning arguments and specious reasons, the white men stated their case through their interpreter, making much of the point that the new enterprise would open an easier { } trade-route, by which goods could be brought and sold to the natives at rates lower than those of the dutch, with whom these people were in the habit of dealing at fort orange (albany). the wary old warriors accepted the presents offered them, listened to the speeches, and reserved their decision until the next day, when they plainly showed that they did not put much faith in the assurances of their white brethren. in the end, la motte and hennepin went away disappointed. la salle, however, on his arrival, with his extraordinary skill in dealing with indians, secured the concessions he needed and went on with his building and the subsequent exploration. it would be superfluous to repeat the story of the expedition, down to the building of fort crèvecoeur. it is not until this point that the journal of father hennepin becomes an independent narrative. from fort crèvecoeur la salle dispatched the father, with two excellent men, accau and du gay, to follow the illinois river to its mouth and, on reaching the mississippi, to turn northward and explore its upper waters. accau, who was an experienced _voyageur_ (french for { } traveler; a term applied to canadians who traversed the forests and lakes, bartering with the indians), was the real head of the expedition. but hennepin, according to his wont, even when he was in company with so great a genius as la salle, in his account always gives himself the foremost place. if father hennepin had published no other writings than his account of the journey on the upper mississippi, his reputation would be that of a traveler who left a most interesting record of his experiences, embellished with fanciful additions--a not uncommon practice, in those days--but in the main reliable. unfortunately for his good name, he did something more which justly put such a blot upon his character that many persons refused to believe his story in any of its particulars. we must give a passing notice to this daring performance. fourteen years after this expedition, when la salle was dead, and with the evident purpose of robbing him of his just fame as the first white man who explored the mississippi all the way to the gulf, hennepin for the first time put forth the astonishing statement that he and his two companions, on reaching the great river, turned { } south and followed its course all the way to the ocean, after which they ascended it and explored its upper waters--a truly marvelous achievement, if it were true, for three lonely men voyaging on an unknown stream among fierce savages. even at the time of its publication, there were those who disallowed this amazing claim. "why has he so long kept silence about this heroic feat?" they naturally asked. hennepin had a ready answer: he was afraid of the wrath of la salle, who would have been furious if any doubt had been cast upon his claim of being the first explorer. how, then, do we know the story to be false? in several ways. first, and chiefly, because what hennepin alleged that he had done was simply impossible. in his first book, which was published, let us remember, during la salle's lifetime, hennepin said that he left the mouth of the illinois on march , and that he was captured by the sioux, near the mouth of the wisconsin, five hundred miles above, on april . this looks reasonable, and no doubt it was true. but, in the second story, published fourteen years later, he stated that in that same interval of time he had descended the mississippi { } to the gulf, then, returning, had traced its course as far as the mouth of the wisconsin. one month to accomplish a distance of , miles! an average of over one hundred miles a day for three men paddling a canoe, up-stream for the greater part of the distance! surely, we may dismiss the whole story as a colossal falsehood. but if he did not go below the mouth of the illinois, how did hennepin become possessed of the information which he gives in his usual interesting way about the places and peoples all the way down the river to the gulf? his descriptions have all the appearance of truth. he "cribbed" them. we are able to put our finger on a source from which he drew without stint. it will be remembered that father membré accompanied la salle on his descent of the mississippi, in . he kept a journal of their experiences. this journal was afterward published by another friar, le clerc, but was suppressed by the french government, because it gave offence to the jesuits. a few copies, however, are in existence to this day. those who have examined one of these say that membré's journal is the original of hennepin's stolen narrative, sometimes whole pages agreeing word for word. hennepin seems { } to have taken it bodily, with a few necessary alterations, such as would make himself, not la salle, the hero of the expedition. this pirated account, written in hennepin's picturesque style, met with great success in europe and was translated into several languages. we are reminded of the sensation which was made by amerigo vespucci's fanciful tales of the new world. (see "pioneer spaniards in north america," p. .) one more question. if hennepin lied in saying that he descended the great river, how do we know that he really ascended it? because this part of his story is confirmed by an independent witness. the famous trader and leader of fur-traders, du lhut, testified that he found hennepin and his two companions prisoners among the sioux and rescued them, precisely as we shall find hennepin relating in his story of the expedition. we shall, therefore, reject the later-published account of the imaginary journey down the mississippi and confine our attention to the probably authentic story of his adventures on the upper waters. hennepin and his two associates followed the illinois to its mouth and then turned their canoe { } toward the head-waters of the great river. for a time all went well. game was abundant, and the travelers fared sumptuously on buffalo, deer, turkeys, and fish. suddenly they encountered a war-party of sioux in a number of canoes. these fierce rovers, members of the great dakota family, whose range extended westward a thousand miles from the mississippi, enjoyed a reputation which caused them to be called "the iroquois of the west." immediately they surrounded the frenchmen with a hideous clamor. hennepin held up the calumet; but one of them snatched it from him. then he offered some fine martinique tobacco, which somewhat mollified them. he also gave them two turkeys which were in the canoe. but, for all this, it was evident that the sioux were about to treat their prisoners with their wonted ferocity. in fact, one of the warriors signified to the friar in dumb show that he was to be brained with a war-club. on the spot he hastened to the canoe and returned loaded with presents which he threw down before them. this had the effect of so far softening the savage breasts that the prisoners were given food and were allowed to rest in quiet that night. in quiet, indeed, but not sleeping, we may be { } sure, for can a more trying situation be imagined than that of knowing that one's life or death is under debate, while one has not a chance to say a single word of defence or argument? some of the indians, they gathered, favored killing them on the spot and taking their goods. others contended that when they all wished to attract french traders to come into their country and bring guns, blankets, and other such commodities, it would be unwise to discourage them by killing these prisoners. imagine the frenchmen's joy, when, in the early morning, a young warrior in full paint came to them, asked for the pipe which had previously been rejected, filled and smoked it, and then passed it to his companions to do the same. this pipe was the famous calumet, which we have seen to be so efficacious in the case of joliet and marquette. smoking it was an intimation to the frenchmen that there was to be peace. they were also informed that they would be taken by the sioux to their village. shortly afterward the friar had a comical experience. when he took out his breviary and began to read his morning devotions in a low tone, the savages gathered around him with looks { } of terror and frantically signed to him to put away the book. they mistook it for some kind of a fetish, that is, an object inhabited by a powerful spirit, and his muttering they supposed to be a magic incantation. then a happy thought struck him. he began to sing the service in a loud and cheerful voice. this delighted the savages, who fancied that the book was teaching him to sing for their entertainment. now the journey up the river began. on the whole, the frenchmen fared tolerably well. they took care always to sleep near the young warrior who had been the first to smoke the peace-pipe, and whom they regarded as their protector. the hostile party among the indians was headed by a wily old fellow who frequently threw the prisoners into a panic by frenzied appeals to the warriors to let him avenge on the white men the death of his son, who had been killed by the miamis. the frenchmen invariably met this excitement by fresh gifts. thus, while they were not openly robbed, they were gradually relieved of their earthly possessions by a sort of primitive blackmail. day after day the paddles plied by sinewy arms drove the canoes up the stream. a lake { } was passed, which later was called lake pepin, in honor of one of a party of their countrymen whom they met a short time afterward.[ ] on the nineteenth day after their capture, the prisoners landed, along with their masters, on the spot where st. paul now stands. the three frenchmen's troubles now began in real earnest. first they must see their canoe broken to pieces, to prevent their escape, then the remainder of their goods divided. after this their captors started out for their abodes, which lay to the north, near the lake now called mille { } lacs. it was a hard experience for the frenchmen to tramp with these athletic savages, wading ponds and marshes glazed with ice and swimming ice-cold streams. "our legs," says hennepin, "were all over blood, being cut by the ice." seeing the friar inclined to lag, the indians took a novel method of quickening his pace. they set fire to the grass behind him and then, taking him by the hands, they ran forward with him. he was nearly spent when, after five days of exhausting travel, they reached the homes of the sioux. entering the village, hennepin saw a sight that curdled his blood. stakes, with bundles of straws attached to them seemed in readiness for burning himself and his comrades. imagine their amazement when, instead of being roasted, they were taken into a lodge and treated to a kind of whortle-berry pudding _à la sauvage_! the next matter of interest was a noisy wrangle among the warriors as to the distribution of the prisoners. to his great terror, hennepin was assigned to aquipagetin, the wily old villain who had insisted on the death of the frenchmen and had persistently blackmailed them. "surely now { } my time has come," the friar said to himself. instead, to his great surprise, he was immediately adopted by his new master as a son, to replace the one whom the miamis had lately killed, a procedure quite in accordance with indian custom. hennepin thus found himself separated from his two countrymen, who had other masters, much to the relief of accau, who heartily hated him. the friar was now conducted by his adopted father to his lodge, which stood on an island in a lake, was introduced as his son to some six or seven of his wives, was given a platter of fish and a buffalo-robe, and altogether was treated quite as a member of the family. now he had a period of rest in the sioux village. the indians subjected him, greatly to his advantage, to a treatment such as seems to have been in very general use on this continent and to have been the most rational feature of indian medical practice, which relied mainly on charms and incantations. it was administered by placing the patient in a tightly closed lodge and pouring water on heated stones, thus producing a dense vapor which induced copious sweating, after which he was vigorously rubbed. the sioux had a certain respect for him, on { } account of magic powers which he was supposed to possess, and his pocket-compass inspired them with unbounded awe. on his side, he made himself useful in various ways, such as shaving the children's heads and bleeding the sick. the children had good reason to be thankful for having the friar for their barber, since the native method, he says, was "by burning off the hair with flat stones, which they heat red-hot in the fire." "many a melancholy day," says hennepin, "did i pass among these savages." his coarse, filthy food was often of the scantiest, and his work, which he was compelled to do with squaws and slaves--for, of course, no warrior would stoop to labor--was of the hardest. besides his useful services, one thing that helped greatly to keep him alive was the superstition of his masters. one of his belongings inspired them with wholesome dread. "i had," he says, "an iron pot about three foot round, which had the figure of a lion on it, which during our voyage served us to bake our victuals in. this pot the barbarians durst never so much as touch, without covering their hands first in something of castor-skin. and so great a terror was it to the women, { } that they durst not come or sleep in the cabin where it was. they thought that there was a spirit hid within, that would certainly kill them." at length the time came for the indians to go on their annual hunt, and they took hennepin along. his countrymen were also of the party, and thus he was again thrown with them. the friar gives this indignant account of their outfit: "our whole equipage consisted of fifteen or twenty charges of powder, a fusil [gun], a little sorry earthen pot, which the barbarians gave us, a knife between us both, and a garment of castor [beaver]. thus we were equipped for a voyage of leagues." the whole band, some two hundred and fifteen in number, descended rum river, the outlet of mille lacs, and encamped opposite its mouth, on the bank of the mississippi. food was scarce. the whole camp was on short rations, and the three frenchmen could get little to eat but unripe berries. this condition of things was scarcely endurable, and hennepin was happy in securing permission from the head chief, who always acted in a very friendly manner, to go with his countrymen to { } the mouth of the wisconsin, where he said that he had an appointment to meet some french traders who were coming thither with goods--a piece of pure invention which, however, served its purpose very well. accau refused to go, preferring the savage life to traveling with the friar. but du gay gladly joined him, and the two set off in a small canoe that had been given them. they went swiftly down the river, and soon came to a famous cataract, between the sites of st. paul and minneapolis, which hennepin called the falls of st. anthony, in honor of the saint whom he particularly reverenced, st. anthony of padua. the name remains to this day and keeps alive the memory of the eccentric friar.[ ] { } we shall not follow the travelers through their wanderings and adventures. once, when they had been on very scant fare for several days, they were almost trampled by a herd of buffalo rushing down the bank to cross the river. du gay shot a young cow, and they feasted so bountifully that they were taken ill and could not travel for two days. in the meantime the weather was warm, their meat spoiled, and they were soon again nearly famished, depending on catfish and an occasional turtle. hennepin thus describes one of their encounters: "i shewed picard [du gay] a huge serpent, as big as a man's leg, and seven or eight foot long. she was working herself insensibly up a steep craggy rock, to get at the swallows nests which are there in great numbers. we pelted her so long with stones, till at length she fell into the river. her tongue, which was in form of a lance, was of an extraordinary length, and her hiss might be heard a great way." at last the two frenchmen joined a band of hunters and among them found our friend accau. { } the hunt was very successful. but hennepin's attention was drawn in another direction by a strange story of five "spirits," that is to say, europeans, who were in the neighborhood. a few days later he met them at a little distance below the falls of st. anthony. the leader of the party was one of the most notable men among the early pioneers. his name was daniel greysolon du lhut, or du luth. he was leagued with count frontenac and some others in the fur-trade and was equally noted for his success in that line of business, for his coolness and skill in managing indians and rough _coureurs de bois_, and for his achievements as an explorer. he had come to the head of lake superior, where a city perpetuates his name, and thence had crossed to one of the tributaries of the mississippi, when he heard of the three frenchmen and came to meet them. the encounter was a joyful one on both sides, especially for the prisoners, whose release du lhut secured by gifts to the sioux. [illustration: falls of st. anthony] the eight frenchmen now accompanied the sioux back to mille lacs and were treated with great honor. then they started east and, in due time, reached the jesuit missions at green { } bay. and here we take leave of father hennepin.[ ] [ ] hennepin's language in the passages which have been quoted is given as it appears in an old english translation. [ ] jonathan carver, who journeyed up the river in , was the earliest traveler who made mention of ancient monuments in this region. he says that a few miles below lake pepin his attention was attracted by an elevation which had the appearance of an intrenchment. he had served in the recent war between great britain and france and had an eye to such matters. he says, "notwithstanding it was now covered with grass, i could plainly discern that it had once been a breast-work of about four feet in height, extending the best part of a mile and sufficiently capacious to cover five thousand men." it was semi-circular in form, and its wings rested on the river, which covered the rear. his surmise that it was built for the purpose of defence is undoubtedly correct. he wonders how such a work could exist in a country inhabited by "untutored indians" who had no military knowledge beyond drawing a bow. since his time we have gained far more knowledge of the aborigines, and it is ascertained beyond reasonable question that, at one period, they reared extensive earth-works, probably for the permanent protection of their villages. [ ] jonathan carver, who visited the falls about a hundred years after hennepin, and from whose works the accompanying illustration is taken, writes thus: "at a little distance below the falls stands a small island, of about an acre and a half, on which grow a great number of oak-trees, every branch of which, able to support the weight, was full of eagles' nests." these birds, he says, resort to this place in so great numbers because of its security, "their retreat being guarded by the rapids, which the indians never attempt to pass," and because of the abundant supply of food furnished by fish and animals "dashed to pieces by the falls and driven on the adjacent shore." about thirty mites below the falls, he says, he visited a remarkable cave, called by the indians wakon-teebe, that is, the dwelling of the great spirit. within it he found "many indian hieroglyphicks which appeared very ancient." near it was a burying-place of the sioux. [ ] hennepin relates that at the falls of st. anthony two of the men, to the great indignation of du lhut when he learned of it, stole two buffalo-robes which were hung on trees as offerings to the great spirit. striking natural objects seem to have been regarded by the indians as special manifestations of divinity. it is an interesting confirmation, that jonathan carver relates that, at the same place, a young warrior who accompanied him threw into the stream his pipe, his tobacco, his bracelets, his neck ornaments, in short, everything of value about him, all the while smiting his breast and crying aloud to the great spirit for his blessing. { } chapter xvi the vÉrendryes discover the rocky mountains vérendrye's experience as a fur-trader.--as a soldier.--he returns to the forests.--his plan for reaching the pacific.--tremendous difficulties in his way.--he reaches the mandans.--his sons discover the rocky mountains.--alexander mackenzie follows the mackenzie river to the arctic ocean.--he achieves a passage over the mountains to the pacific.--note on mandan indians.--mah-to-toh-pa's vengeance.--singular dwellings of the mandans.--their bloody ordeal.--skin-boats.--catlin's fanciful theory. we have seen how the dream of a short route to china and the indies inspired a long line of adventurous explorers. at the first it was hoped that the mississippi afforded such a passage. when it was known beyond all doubt that the great river flows into the gulf, not the "western sea," longing eyes were turned toward the western part of the continent, in the hope that some stream would be found flowing into the pacific which would carry the keels of commerce indiaward. the huge barrier of the rocky mountains was { } not known, and it was only in the effort to reach the pacific by water that they were discovered. so important was the desired route considered that, in , the french king sent out the noted historian of new france, father charlevoix, to explore westward and discover a way to the pacific. he recommended two plans, either to follow the missouri river to its head-waters or to push a chain of trading-posts gradually westward until the continent should be crossed. the former plan was the one actually carried out, eighty-three years later, by the famous lewis and clark expedition, which crossed the rockies and followed the columbia river to the ocean. the second plan was the easier and less expensive, and it was the earlier to be tried. still several years elapsed before the effort was made. the hardy adventurer was pierre gaultier de varennes de la vérendrye, son of the governor of three rivers. early experience as a fur-trader taught him to know the indians and the hard life of the northern forests. then came the war of the spanish succession, and, a loyal french subject, he left his fur-trade, hastened to europe, asked to serve the king, and was given a commission as a lieutenant. the famous field of { } malplaquet came near to witnessing the end of his career. he lay on it for dead, gashed with the sabre and pierced with bullets. still he recovered, returned to new france, and plunged again into the woods as a trader. being placed in command of the french outpost on lake nipigon, where he also carried on a brisk trade, he heard many a tale from indians who came with furs. one of these stories fired his imagination. it was of a great river flowing westward out of a lake into water in which there was a tide. then the indian drew a rough map on birch bark, a copy of which is still in existence. could this be the long-desired route to the pacific? he hoped it and was resolved to ascertain the truth. but first he must get leave and an outfit. having made the long and dangerous journey in his birch-bark canoe, that is, gone from lake nipigon into lake superior, traversed the entire length of the lakes, and then descended the st. lawrence to quebec, he laid before the french governor, beauharnais, his plan for reaching the pacific by the net-work of lakes and rivers north and west of lake superior. the governor approved, but vérendrye, applying to the king for men and means, got nothing but a grant { } of the monopoly of the fur-trade north and west of lake superior. he must raise the money himself. with difficulty and at exorbitant rates of interest, he obtained advances from quebec merchants and set out, june , , with his three sons and a nephew, lajemeraye. at the close of the season he built his first fort, st. pierre, on rainy river. the next year he established his second fort, st. charles, on the southwest shore of the lake of the woods. terribly embarrassed by lack of money, he returned to quebec and represented his deplorable situation. the governor reported it to the king, but could get no more from him than the renewal of the fur-trade monopoly. undaunted, vérendrye persisted, though obliged to suspend exploration and devote himself for a while to trading, in order to secure money. there was enough to dishearten a man of less than heroic stuff. in , his eldest son, with a jesuit priest and twenty others, was surprised and massacred by the sioux on an island in the lake of the woods. also he was harassed by creditors and compelled repeatedly to make the long and tedious journey to montreal. in spite of all these mishaps, he pushed his posts gradually westward and by { } he had established six, viz., st. pierre, on rainy lake; st. charles, on the lake of the woods; maurepas at the mouth of the winnipeg river; bourbon on the east shore of lake winnipeg; la reine on assiniboine river; and dauphin on lake manitoba. in he made a bold push for the pacific, with fifty persons, french and indians. after many devious wanderings, seeking a band that could conduct him to the western ocean, he reached the mandans, on the upper missouri, the singularly interesting people among whom lewis and clark spent the winter sixty-six years later. but, having been robbed of the presents which he had provided, he was unable to get a guide to lead him further and was obliged to return. the journey was made in midwinter and was full of frightful hardships. his eldest surviving son, pierre de la vérendrye, full of his father's spirit, devoted himself to the same quest. he had with him his brother and two other men. they started from fort la reine, reached the mandans, and pushed on to the west. all through the summer, autumn, and early winter they toiled on, going hither and yon, beguiled by the usual fairy-tales of tribesmen. { } at last, on new year's day, , two hundred and fifty years after the discovery, doubtless first of all white men, they saw the rocky mountains from the east. this probably was the big horn range, one hundred and twenty miles east of the yellowstone park. finding this tremendous obstacle across their path to the pacific, they turned back. on july they reached la prairie, to the great joy of their father, who had given them up for lost. a later governor of canada not only ignored the heroic services of the vérendryes, but seized their goods, turned over their posts to another, and reduced them to poverty. it was a long time before their work was taken up, and it remained for a man of another race to accomplish what they had so bravely striven for. alexander mackenzie, a scotch highlander by birth, was an energetic young agent of the montreal company in the athabasca region. he determined to undertake certain explorations. in june, , he set out from fort chippewyan, on the south shore of lake athabasca, with four birch canoes and a party of white men and several indians, including a guide and interpreter. going down snake river, the explorers reached great { } slave lake, then entered a heretofore unknown river, the one which now bears the name of its discoverer, and followed it until, on july , they sighted the arctic ocean, filled with ice-floes, with spouting whales between. in october, , he set out, determined this time to reach the pacific ocean. he left fort chippewyan, skirted the lake to slave river, then ascended its southwest tributary, peace river. he wintered on this stream in a trading-house which he had sent an advance party to build, employed in hunting and trading. in may, having sent back a large cargo of furs to fort chippewyan, he started up the river with a party of seven white men and two indians. the voyagers traveled in a birch canoe twenty-five feet long, "but so light that two men could carry her on a good road three or four miles without resting." "in this slender vessel," he says, "we shipped provisions, goods for presents, arms, ammunition, and baggage, to the weight of thirty thousand pounds, and an equipage of ten people." the difficulties and dangers were tremendous. paddling and pushing and poling up the rocky bed of a swift stream abounding in rapids, they made slow progress. more than once the canoe { } was broken. portages were often necessary. again and again the crew, exhausted and their clothing in tatters, sullenly insisted that there was no choice but to turn back. but mackenzie was a man of indomitable courage and all the persistency of the scotch race. he had already shown this quality by taking the long journey and voyage from the wilds of athabasca to london, in order to study the use of astronomical instruments, so that he might be qualified to make scientific observations. now he would not hear of turning back. so the discouraged party, animated by mackenzie, pushed on, climbed over the dividing mountains, and came upon the head-waters of a stream flowing westward, the one now called fraser river. after following it for several days, they struck off through dense forests, sometimes on dizzy trails over snow-clad mountains, until they reached a rapid river. on this they embarked in two canoes with several natives, and thus reached the ocean--_the pacific_! vérendrye's dream was realized at last. the continent had been spanned from east to west. twelve years later the same thing was done within the territory of the united states by lewis { } and clark, at the head of an expedition sent out by president jefferson. they spent the winter among the mandan indians, the interesting people with whom the vérendryes had come in contact. a note is added in which some information is given about them. note on the mandans these indians first became known to white men through the expedition of the elder vérendrye. they showed themselves hospitable and friendly to him, as they always have been to our race, and they aided his sons in their efforts to reach the western sea. next we have quite full references to them in the journals of lewis and clark. these explorers were sent out by president jefferson in , immediately on the completion of the louisiana purchase, to get a better knowledge of the northern portion of the vast territory recently acquired, with a particular view to developing the fur-trade and to opening a route to the pacific. all these ends were accomplished with a degree of success that made the enterprise one of the greatest achievements in our history. the explorers, having ascended the missouri in their boats, and finding themselves, as winter came on, near the mandan villages, { } decided to remain there until the spring. accordingly they passed the winter, - , among these interesting tribesmen. it being a part of their prescribed duty to keep full journals of all that they experienced or saw, they have left extended accounts of the people and their customs. thirty-four years later george catlin, a famous artist and student of indian life, who spent many years in traveling among the wild tribes of the west and in describing them with pen, pencil, and brush, came among the mandans. he was so much impressed with them as a singular and superior people that he remained among them a considerable time, painted many of their men and women, studied and made drawings of some of their singular ceremonies, and devoted a large part of his two volumes to a highly interesting account of what he saw among them. catlin certainly was wholly free from the silly prejudice expressed in the familiar saying, "the only good indian is a dead indian." his two volumes, "the north american indians," furnish "mighty interesting reading." as we accompany him in his long journeys by canoe and on horseback and read his descriptions of the tribes he visited and the warriors and chiefs he learned to know, and of whom he has left us pictures, it is a satisfaction to feel that we are traveling with a man who looked on the indian as a human being. sometimes we are inclined to suspect that, in the enthusiasm of his artistic nature, he idealized his subject and viewed him with a degree of sentiment as remote from the truth in one direction as { } was the hostile prejudice of the average white man in the other. we know that he either did not see or purposely ignored certain aspects of indian life, notably the physical dirt and the moral degradation. when he comes to the mandans, this disposition to make heroes of his subjects fairly runs away with him. no language is strong enough to do justice to his admiration of some of them. we easily let pass such phrases as the "wild and gentlemanly mandans," for many observers have reported that there is a native dignity and courtesy about the true indian. but there are other things which make it plain that catlin, in his extravagant admiration, where his indian friends were concerned was incapable of discriminating between the noble and the base. here is an instance: a certain chief of the mandans, mah-to-toh-pa (the four bears), was very friendly to catlin, who painted his portrait, and who speaks of him in terms of unbounded admiration. he gave his artist friend a handsomely embroidered deerskin shirt on which he had depicted in indian fashion his various achievements. one, of which he was especially proud, he recounted at length to catlin, acting it out before him, and he in turn relates it to his readers. mah-to-toh-pa had a brother slain--in open fight, let us remember--by a rickaree, who left his lance sticking in the dead man. mah-to-toh-pa found the body, drew out the lance, and carried it to his village, where it was recognized as the property of a famous warrior named won-ga-tap. he kept the bloodstained weapon, { } vowing that some day he would with it avenge his brother's death. four years passed by, and still he nursed his wrath. then one day he worked himself up to a frenzy and went through the village crying that the day of vengeance had come. off he started across the prairie alone, with a little parched corn in his pouch, went two hundred miles, traveling by night and hiding by day, until he reached the rickaree village. knowing it and the location of won-ga-tap's lodge--which suggests that he had visited the place in some friendly relation--he entered at dusk and loitered about for a time, and then through rents in the covering watched won-ga-tap smoke his last pipe and go to bed by the side of his wife. then mah-to-toh-pah went in, coolly seated himself by the smouldering fire, and, using the privilege of indian hospitality, helped himself to meat that was in a kettle over the embers, and ate a hearty meal. "who is that man who is eating in our lodge?" asked the wife several times. "oh, let him alone. no doubt he is hungry," the easy-going won-ga-tap answered. his meal finished, the intruder helped himself to his host's pipe, filled and lighted it, and began to smoke. when he had finished, he gently pushed the coals together with his toes, so that he got a better light and was able to discern the outline of his intended victim's body. then he rose softly, plunged his lance into won-ga-tap's heart, snatched off his scalp, and ran away with it and with the dripping lance. { } in a moment the rickaree camp was in an uproar. but before pursuers were started the assassin was far out on the plains. the darkness protected him, he successfully eluded pursuit, returned safely to his home, and entered the village, triumphantly exhibiting won-ga-tap's scalp and the fresh blood dried on his lance. this story, which catlin says is attested by white men who were in the mandan village at the time, may stand as a notable instance of savage vengefulness and daring, cunning and treachery, but it will scarcely serve to make us believe in catlin's "noble mandan gentlemen," of whom he puts forward mah-to-toh-pa as a conspicuous example. when we read lewis and clark's account of the mandans, we are in quite another atmosphere, not that of romance but of simple reality. they spent several months among them, on the friendliest terms, and they speak kindly of them, but do not disguise the brutality of savage life. between these two authorities we have ample information, from opposite points of view. the first thing that would impress a visitor with the fact that he had come among a peculiar people, is the character of their dwellings, absolutely unlike any used by any other tribe, either of the woods or plains, except their near neighbors and friends, the minitarees. the lodge is a circular structure, set in an excavation about two feet deep. a framework of stout posts supports a roof of poles converging toward the centre, where an opening is left for the entrance of light and the escape of smoke. on these poles brush is spread, and over this { } earth is laid to the depth of about two feet. in this earth grass grows abundantly, and thus a mandan village presents the appearance of an assemblage of green mounds. lewis and clark were much impressed with the fearlessness of the mandan women in crossing the missouri, even when it was quite rough, in a tub-like boat consisting of a single buffalo-hide stretched under a frame-work of wicker.[ ] catlin saw the same boat in use, and it afforded him confirmation for a peculiar theory which he advanced. he was much surprised at the light complexion of the mandans generally and at the fact that he actually saw some blue eyes and gray eyes among them and some whitish hair. these circumstances seemed to him to point clearly to an admixture of european blood. he wrote at a time when fanciful theories about the native americans were much in vogue. he had read somewhere that a welsh prince, madoc, more than two hundred years before the time of columbus, sailed away from his country with ten ships. by some unexplained process, he traced him to america. then he supposed him to ascend the mississippi as far as the mouth of the ohio and there to found a colony. this, being entirely cut off from communication with the mother country, was compelled to ally itself with the nearest indians and took wives among them. from these unions sprang a mixed race, the mandans, who eventually formed a { } separate tribe and were gradually driven up the missouri to the point where he found them. there is not any doubt of the large admixture of european blood among the mandans, and it is easily accounted for. catlin does not seem to have known of any white visitors before lewis and clark. but we have seen that the vérendryes reached these people a full hundred years before catlin's day. there is every reason for believing that, from that time, white hunters and traders never ceased to visit them. these indians being, from the first, very hospitable and friendly, their villages were favorite resorts for fur-traders, who took up their abode among them for several years at a time and married there. one can easily see that, in the course of a hundred years, there would be several generations of mixed blood, and that, through inter-marriages, there would probably be few families whose color would not be lighter in consequence. the persons whose peculiar whitish hair catlin noticed, undoubtedly were albinos, a class of persons in whom the natural coloring of the hair is wanting and the eyes are red or pink. the mandans probably are nothing more than an interesting tribe of indians who, through long intermingling with the white race, have undergone considerable lightening of their original color. a year after catlin's visit his mandan friends experienced a frightful calamity. a trading steamboat brought the small-pox to them, and, as happened in the case of many other tribes in the west, its ravages were fearful. not being protected by vaccination, and knowing nothing { } of the treatment of the disease, the poor creatures died horribly. not a few, in the height of their fever, threw themselves into the missouri and so found a quicker and easier death. nearly the whole tribe perished. the remnant, along with that of their long-time friends and neighbors, the minitarees, may be found to-day at fort berthold, in north dakota. [ ] we may remember that la salle and his followers found indians on the plains of texas crossing rivers in boats made of buffalo-hide. { } books for reference the origin of the american aborigines is treated briefly by dr. john fiske in "the discovery of america," chapter i, and at great length and with wide research by mr. e. j. payne in his "history of the new world called america." their distribution, also sketched by dr. fiske, is satisfactorily detailed by dr. d. g. brinton in his "races and peoples." those who may wish to study indian social life in its primitive conditions will do well to read the work of baron de lahontan, recently edited by dr. r. g. thwaites. he was among the earliest writers on aboriginal affairs, and his "new voyages to north america" gives the results of travel and observation about the years - . "three years' travels through north america," by jonathan carver, relates an interesting experience among the indians between the years and . some of his general remarks, however, are drawn from the preceding writer. an inexhaustible store of information on this subject is found in the famous "jesuit relations," which have been edited, in an english translation, by dr. thwaites. for ordinary readers, however, the very interesting treatment by dr. fiske, in the chapter already cited, and especially by { } mr. francis parkman, in the introduction to his "the jesuits in north america," will amply suffice. in the same chapters will be found a satisfactory account of the iroquois league. students, however, who may wish to go to the fountain-head are referred to mr. lewis morgan, whose work, "the league of the iroquois," is the accepted authority. as to cartier, ribaut, laudonnière, champlain, and la salle, the writer has not gained any new light by referring to the original documents, and has drawn his material chiefly from that great master, parkman, by whom the first four are treated in his "pioneers of france in the new world," and the last-named in his "la salle and the discovery of the great west." the story of the jesuit missionaries runs through what is practically a whole library, the "jesuit relations." parkman, in a volume devoted to setting forth the nobler aspects of their work, "the jesuits in north america," does ample justice to the heroism of the best of these pioneers. for radisson the only authority is himself. his "voyage," not published until after it had lain in manuscript two hundred and twenty-five years, and of which but two hundred and fifty copies are in existence, is one of the quaintest of books and "mighty interesting reading." the story of joliet and marquette's exploration is told most interestingly by dr. thwaites, in his "father marquette," and by parkman, in his "la salle and the discovery of the great west." the observations of { } jonathan carver, who went over a part of their route about one hundred years later, throw much interesting light on some of their experiences. father hennepin receives ample justice from parkman in his account of the opening of the great west. readers, however, who may desire a first-hand acquaintance with the erratic friar will find curious, much of it stolen, reading in his "new discovery in north america," his "description of louisiana," and his "curious voyage." in dr. thwaites's "rocky mountain exploration" may be read the story of the heroic vérendryes and dauntless alexander mackenzie. { } index abnakis, an algonquin tribe, . acadia, old name for nova scotia and adjacent region, . accau, a companion of father hennepin in exploration, . acomans, a tribe of pueblo indians, . alexander the great, story of fountain of immortality, , note. algonquins, one of the great divisions of the indian race, , its range and its families, ; close allies of the french, ; shiftless and improvident, often relieved by them, ; those of massachusetts thriftier, , note. allouez, father, noted missionary; one of his speeches, . annapolis, originally port royal; re-named for queen anne, . apaches, an offshoot of athapascan stock, . appalachee, probably southwestern georgia, supposed to be rich in gold, . assickmack, indian name for whitefish, ; much prized, , note. athapascans, a native stock; one of the larger divisions of indian race, . aubry, nicholas, his perilous adventure, . ayllon, lucas vasquez de, his treachery punished, . basques, early activity of, on northern coasts of america, ; resist the royal monopoly of fur-trade, . bayagoulas, the, a tribe on the mississippi, . bering sea, probably once dry land, . bienville, jean baptiste lemoyne de, comes to louisiana, ; founds new orleans, ; adversity in closing years, . biloxi, site of first french settlement on gulf of mexico, . bimini, fabled fountain of immortality, . boisrondet, sieur de, narrow escape from starvation, . brant rock, champlain's stop there, . brÉbeuf, father, an early french missionary, . bretons, the, early frequented the newfoundland fisheries, . brulÉ, Étienne, champlain's interpreter, . calumet, or peace-pipe, old description of, , note. cap blanc, name which champlain gave to cape cod, . cap rouge, fortified by cartier; seat of roberval's settlement, . cartier, jacques, his first voyage, ; his duplicity, ; believed that he had found sea-route to india, ; in second voyage explored the st. lawrence, ; names mont royal (later montreal), ; his fearful experience, ; his treachery, ; his last voyage futile, . carver, jonathan, early traveler, describes remains of ancient fortification, , note; and falls of st. anthony, , note. cat island (ile des chats), origin of name, . catlin, george, ; his theory of the origin of the mandans, . cavelier, robert, sieur de la salle. _see_ la salle. cayugas, a tribe of the iroquois league, . cenis indians, branch of caddo (pawnee) family, visited by la salle, . chaleur, bay of, name how originating, . champlain, samuel de, his birth, ; takes part in the religious wars in france, ; sails to the west indies, ; suggests a panama canal, ; sails for canada, ; conceives a plan of colonization, ; makes a settlement at mouth of st. croix river, ; cruel winter, ; visits and names mt. desert, ; explores new england coast, ; welcomed by natives in plymouth harbor, ; trouble with indians at nausett, ; transfers settlement to port royal, ; second voyage to new france, ; seeks sea-route to china, ; explores the st. lawrence, ; seeks to establish stronghold on the inland waters, ; eager to promote conversion of the indians, ; overcomes resistance of basques to fur-trade monopoly, ; quells mutiny of his men, ; great suffering in first winter at quebec, ; goes with war-party of algonquins into iroquois country, ; hostile encounter on lake champlain, ; disastrous results of his success, ; his second fight with iroquois, ; founds montreal, ; second raid into iroquois country, , names lake huron, ; iroquois palisaded town, ; his unsuccessful attack on, ; wounded, ; lost in the woods, ; returns to quebec, ; a prisoner at london, ; dies, . charlevoix, father, sent out to explore route to pacific, . chatham harbor, scene of champlain's fight with indians, . chicago, la salle near the site of, . chickasaws, a branch of the maskoki family, ; hostile to the french, , note. chicora, native name of coast region of south carolina, . chiefs, indian, how chosen, . chippeways, an algonquin tribe, . choctaws, a maskoki tribe, , who sided with the french, , note. christinos, or crees, an indian tribe on lake superior, . clan, a group of families of common blood, . coligny, admiral, sends a second expedition to florida, . columbia and sacramento valleys, indians inhabiting, lowest specimens of the race, . comanches, indian tribe of shoshonee stock, ; visited by la salle, ; their fine horsemanship, ; jockeying, , note. conestogas, a huron-iroquois tribe, . copper, in large quantities, seen by radisson, . coroas, indian tribe on the lower mississippi, attack la salle, . council, an indian, how conducted, . coureurs de bois, their origin and influence, ; their mode of life, . couture, a companion of father jogues, . creeks, a maskoki tribe, . dagonoweda, a sachem of the onondagas, who proposed union, . dakota, or sioux, the, a native stock; its range, . daniel, father, an early french missionary, . davost, father, an early french missionary, . des plaines river, route used by joliet and marquette in returning, ; followed by la salle, . distribution of various indian tribal families, . divination by indian sorcerer, . du gay, a companion of father hennepin in exploration, . du lhut, daniel greysolon, noted leader of coureurs, , his testimony to having found hennepin among the sioux, . duluth, city of, for whom named, . dutch protestants try to effect the release of father jogues, ; ransom him and send him to europe, . emperor, none in north america, . eries, a huron-iroquois tribe, . eskimo, descendants, perhaps, of ancient "cave-men," . europeans, their early mistakes as to indian life, . family, the, the root of all society, ; the family-tie the central principle of indian social life, . filles À la cassette sent out to new orleans by louis the fourteenth, . fisheries, newfoundland, early attracted european visitors, . fiske, the late dr. john, his theory about the eskimo, . five nations, the, what tribes constituted, ; only friends of the english, . florida, as understood by spaniards; extent, . fort caroline, the fort built by laudonnière on the st. john's, ; great misery through want and sickness, ; distress relieved by coming of ribaut, ; massacre, _et seq._ fort crÈvecoeur built, , origin of name, ; destroyed, . fort frontenac (on site of kingston) built, ; turned over to la salle, . fort miami, at mouth of st. joseph river, , . fort orange, dutch settlement on site of albany, . fort rosalie, on the lower mississippi; slaughter at, , note. fort st. louis, at lavaca, texas, built, . fort st. louis, on the illinois, built, . france desirous of christianizing the natives, . french attitude to indians; how necessarily different from the spanish, . frenchmen, what they achieved in north and northwest, ; their material object, furs, ; their conduct contrasted with spaniards', . frontenac, louis de buade, count of, comes to canada, ; makes alliance with la salle, ; opposed by fur-traders, ; recalled, . fundy, bay of, how name originated, . fur-traders classified, . furs, great object of french commercial activity, . gaspÉ, french sovereignty first asserted at, . goupil, a companion of father jogues; his death, . gourgues, dominique de, takes ample vengeance on the spaniards at fort caroline, . government, indian, what it was like, . grand council of iroquois league, how composed, . "griffin," the, first vessel on the upper lakes, . groseillers, sieur des, title assumed by médard chouart, co-explorer with radisson of lake superior, . for rest, _see_ radisson. guns sold to iroquois by dutch, . hakluyt, richard, a chronicler of old explorations, . hawkins, sir john, founder of english african slave-trade, relieves the distressed frenchmen, . helpfulness, mutual, characteristic of indian life, . hennepin, father louis, comes to canada, ; describes niagara falls, ; describes a council of senecas, ; is sent to explore the upper mississippi, ; his fraud, ; captured by sioux, ; his experiences among the sioux, _et seq,_; sees and names falls of st. anthony, ; rescued by du lhut, . hiawatha inspires the union of iroquois tribes, . hiawatha, poem of, recalled by radisson's descriptions, , , . hochelaga, indian name for site of montreal, . household life of indians based on community-idea, ; very sociable, . houses, indian, how built and arranged, . hudson bay fur company, its organization by whom suggested, . huron-iroquois, a native stock; its tribes, . huron indians, more advanced than algonquins, ; champlain visits their country, . iberville, pierre lemoyne de, comes to louisiana, . ile des chats (cat island), why so called, . illinois indians, branch of algonquin family, harassed by iroquois and sioux, , _et seq._ indians, probable origin of, ; of one blood, . iroquois, one of the great divisions of the indian race, ; iroquois league, _et seq._, why relentless towards hurons and eries, . "jesuit relations," value of, as historical material, . jesuits, great activity of, in early history of canada, ; their policy to establish missions, . jogues, father, jesuit missionary, discovers lake george, ; his heroism, ; his pathetic end, . joliet, louis, ; sent with father marquette to explore the mississippi, ; their route, _et seq._, meet with friendly illinois, ; receive gift of peace-pipe, ; pass missouri and ohio rivers, ; in danger, above mouth of arkansas river, ; saved by exhibiting peace-pipe, ; start on return voyage, ; what they accomplished, ; joliet's misfortune, ; marquette's death, . joutel, a lieutenant of la salle, in command of fort, . kankakee river, route followed by la salle, . kaskaskia, famous village of the illinois, visited by joliet and marquette, . keokuk, site of, near place where joliet and marquette met friendly illinois, . keweenaw point, its wealth in copper, . kickapoos, an algonquin tribe, . king, none in north america, . "king philip," mistake as to, . kingston, ontario, fort frontenac near the site of, . la barre, successor of frontenac as governor of canada, hostile to la salle, . la chine, how name originated, . lake champlain discovered by champlain, . lake george, route through, the indian thoroughfare, , note. lake nipissing, on the ottawa river route, . lake pepin, for whom called, ; remains of ancient fortification near, , note. lake simcoe, on route of hurons to iroquois country, . lake superior explored by radisson and groseillers, _et seq._ la salle, sieur de, early connection with the jesuits, ; comes to canada, ; goes exploring, ; becomes a supporter of frontenac, ; goes to france and wins the king, ; in command of fort frontenac, ; his ambition, ; visits france and procures extraordinary commission, ; begins his great exploration, , builds stronghold at mouth of niagara river, ; builds first vessel launched on upper lakes, ; sails on his great enterprise, ; the "griffin," ; goes in canoes down illinois river, ; allies himself with the illinois, ; builds fort crèvecoeur, ; reaches the mississippi, ; starts for the gulf of mexico, ; adventures by the way, _et seq._, reaches the gulf, ; bestows the name louisiana, ; hardships and hostility on return voyage, ; goes to france, ; appears on coast of texas, , his purpose, ; his difficulties and his dilemma, _et seq._; mistake of his pilots, ; loss of his vessels, , ; loss of men by sickness and indians, ; builds fort at lavaca, ; vainly seeks the mississippi, _et seq._; sets out for canada, ; assassinated, ; what he had achieved, ; by whom his plan was carried out, _et seq._ laudonniÈre, renÉ de, an officer under ribaut, ; goes in command of a second expedition to florida, ; seizes outina, ; releases him, ; declines proposal of hawkins to carry him and his men home, ; buys a vessel from him, ; escapes the massacre, . lavaca, texas, site of la salle's fort, . le caron, friar, discoverer of lake huron, , . le jeune, an early french missionary, winter's experience with hunting-party of algonquins, . lenape, an algonquin tribe, . lÉry, baron de, an early adventurer, left cattle on sable island, . lewis and clark sent out to explore route to pacific, ; winter among mandans, , note. lipans, an offshoot of athapascan stock, . long house, the, indian name of iroquois league, . louisiana, the name given by la salle, . mackenzie, alexander, discovers mackenzie river, ; reaches the pacific, . mandans, indian tribe, first visited by vérendrye, ; by lewis and clark, , note; by george catlin, ; his enthusiasm about them, ; his peculiar theory of their origin, ; their singular dwellings, ; story of a mandan's revenge, . manhattan island first occupied by dutch as a trading-post, , note. manitou, indian for "spirit," . marquette, father, missionary and explorer. _see_ joliet. marriage must not be between two persons of same clan, . mascoutins, western algonquins, . maskoki, a native stock; its tribes and its range, . massacre island (dauphin island), why so called, . matagorda bay, texas, scene of la salle's landing, . matanzas inlet, french huguenots butchered there by menendez, . maundeville, sir john, story of fountain of immortality, , note. may, river of, now called the st. john's, . "medicine," in what sense the word used, , note. membrÉ, father, accompanies la salle down the mississippi, , his description of the arkansas indians, . menendez, pedro, de aviles, appointed spanish governor of florida, ; attacks ribaut's vessels off the st. john's, ; founds st. augustine, ; surprises fort caroline, ; massacres the garrison, , and shipwrecked crews of ribaut's vessels, . miamis, an algonquin tribe, . michillimackinac, trading-post and mission-station, . micmacs, an algonquin tribe, . mille lacs, a lake in minnesota, . milwaukee, la salle near the site of, . missionaries, roman catholic, unselfish devotion of, _et seq._ mississippi river, western boundary of maskoki group, . missouri river, mouth of, first seen by joliet and marquette, . mitchigameas, a branch of the maskoki family, . mobile settled, ; first capital of louisiana, . mohawks, a tribe of the iroquois league, . mohegans, an algonquin tribe, . monopoly of fur-trade, evils of, . "montezuma, emperor," mistake as to, . montreal founded by champlain, . monts, sieur de, an associate of champlain, . moquis, a tribe of pueblo indians, . muskhogees (same as creeks), a maskoki tribe, . nanticokes, an algonquin tribe, . narragansetts, an algonquin tribe, . natchez indians visited by la salle, ; described by father gravier, , note; their subsequent history, , note. nausett harbor, champlain's trouble there with indians, . navajoes, an offshoot of athapascan stock, . new biscay, northern province of mexico, . new france, father of, title of samuel de champlain, . new orleans founded, ; early struggles, . niagara falls described by father hennepin, . nicollet, jean, ambassador to winnebagoes, ; reaches wisconsin river, . ohio river, mouth of, first seen by joliet and marquette, . oneidas, a tribe of the iroquois league, . onondagas, a tribe of the iroquois league, ; in what sense leading tribe, . onontio, indian name for french governor, . orators, indian, how trained, . ottawa river, indian route followed by champlain, . ottigny, a lieutenant under laudonnière, . outina, an indian chief, dupes the frenchmen into fighting his battles, . pacific, the, reached by northern route, . passamaquoddies, an algonquin tribe, . pawnees, a native stock; its range, . peoria, the first habitation of white men in illinois near the site of, . pequots, an algonquin tribe, . phratry, a group of clans, . "pictured rocks," the, described by radisson, . pierria, albert de, left in command of the fort at port royal, ; murdered by his own men, . pocahontas, not a princess, . pontgravÉ, an associate of champlain, . port royal, nova scotia, settled, ; abandoned, . port royal, south carolina, named by ribaut, . port st. louis, name which champlain gave to site of plymouth, . portage, city of, site described by jonathan carver, , note. pottawattamies, a friendly algonquin tribe, . powhatans, an algonquin tribe, . pueblo indians, the, a native stock; some of its tribes, . quebec (indian, kebec, "the narrows"), founded by champlain, , slow growth of, . quinipissas, indian tribe above site of new orleans, attack la salle, . radisson, pierre esprit, comes to canada, ; his adventure and capture, ; his escape and re-capture, , his second escape, , why he is not better known, ; starts for the upper lakes, ; perilous adventures by the way, ; enters lake superior, ; describes the "pictured rocks," ; builds a fort on lake superior, ; describes a famine, ; witnesses interesting games, ; brings to montreal an enormous canoe-fleet loaded with skins, ; offers his services to the english king, . ribaut, captain jean, his first expedition to america, ; comes, with large colony, to fort caroline, ; goes with his whole force to attack menendez, at st. augustine, ; is overtaken by hurricane, driven down the coast and wrecked, ; crews massacred, _et seq._ ribourde, father, murdered, . richelieu or sorel river, route followed by champlain, . roberval, sieur de, vainly attempts to colonize canada, . roche, marquis de la, story of his disastrous venture, . rocky mountains, the, western boundary of dakota-sioux, ; discovered, . sable island, southeast of nova scotia, . sacs and foxes, algonquin tribes, ; slaughter of, . sachems, who they were, . st. anthony, falls of, discovered and named, . st. augustine founded, . st. croix river, mouth of, place of champlain's first settlement, . st. john's bluff, site of first fort on the st. john's river, . st. lawrence, gulf and river, why so named, . sault ste. marie, furthest western post of french missionaries, ; a missionary's description of, , note. savannah river, southern boundary of algonquins, . seminoles, a maskoki tribe, . senegas, a tribe of the iroquois league, . seven cities of cibola, , note. shawnees, an algonquin tribe, . shoshonees, a native stock; its range, . six nations, the, what tribes included, . stadaconÉ, indian village, near site of quebec, . "starved rock," probable site of la salle's fort st. louis, . susquehannocks, a huron-iroquois tribe, . tadoussac, early post, well situated for fur-trade, . taensas indians visited by la salle, ; described, , note. thimagoas, an indian tribe in florida, . three rivers, one of earliest french posts on the st. lawrence, . thwaites, dr. reuben gold, authority on colonial history, his judgment as to radisson, preface; recites tradition of slaughter of sacs and foxes, . tonty, henri de, la salle's faithful lieutenant, ; trying experiences in the illinois country, _et seq._; his efforts to rescue la salle and his men, _et seq._ totem, a clan-symbol used by indians, . trent river, on route of hurons to iroquois country, . tribe, the, an aggregation based on the family-tie, ; in some aspects an ideal republic, . tuscaroras, a tribe of the iroquois league, . vasseur, a lieutenant under laudonnière, . vÉrendrye, pierre gaultier de varennes de la, his early experiences, ; his efforts to reach the pacific, , establishes a chain of posts, ; disappointed of reaching the pacific, . vÉrendrye, pierre de la, son of former, discovers the rocky mountains, . "vermilion sea," old name for gulf of california, . vermilion river, rock at mouth of, probable site of la salle's fort st. louis, . "virginia sea," old name for the atlantic, . voyageurs, who they were, their influence, . wild rice, the, or menomonie, indians, an algonquin branch, welcome joliet and marquette, . winnebagoes, branch of the dakotas or sioux, . yazoos, indian tribe, hostile to the french, , note. zunis, a tribe of pueblo indians, . provided by the million book project. crusaders of new france the chronicles of america series allen johnson editor gerhard r. lomer charles w. jefferys assistant editors crusaders of new france a chronicle of the fleur-de-lis in the wilderness by william bennett munro to my good friend father henri beaudÉ (_henri d'arles_) this tribute to the men of his race and faith is affectionately inscribed. contents i. france of the bourbons ii. a voyageur of brittany iii. the founding of new france iv. the age of louis quatorze v. the iron governor vi. la salle and the voyageurs vii. the church in new france viii. seigneurs of old canada ix. the coureurs-de-bois x. agriculture, industry, and trade xi. how the people lived bibliographical note index crusaders of new france chapter i france of the bourbons france, when she undertook the creation of a bourbon empire beyond the seas, was the first nation of europe. her population was larger than that of spain, and three times that of england. her army in the days of louis quatorze, numbering nearly a half-million in all ranks, was larger than that of rome at the height of the imperial power. no nation since the fall of roman supremacy had possessed such resources for conquering and colonizing new lands. by the middle of the seventeenth century spain had ceased to be a dangerous rival; germany and italy were at the time little more than geographical expressions, while england was in the throes of the puritan revolution. nor was it only in the arts of war that the hegemony of the bourbon kingdom stood unquestioned. in art and education, in manners and fashions, france also dominated the ideas of the old continent, the dictator of social tastes as well as the grim warrior among the nations. in the second half of the seventeenth century france might justly claim to be both the heart and the head of europe. small wonder it was that the leaders of such a nation should demand to see the "clause in adam's will" which bequeathed the new world to spain and portugal. small wonder, indeed, that the first nation of europe should insist upon a place in the sun to which her people might go to trade, to make land yield its increase, and to widen the bourbon sway. if ever there was a land able and ready to take up the white man's burden, it was the france of louis xiv. the power and prestige of france at this time may be traced, in the main, to three sources. first there were the physical features, the compactness of the kingdom, a fertile soil, a propitious climate, and a frontage upon two great seas. in an age when so much of a nation's wealth came from agriculture these were factors of great importance. only in commerce did the french people at this time find themselves outstripped by their neighbors. although both the atlantic and the mediterranean bathed the shores of france, her people were being outdistanced on the seas by the english and the dutch, whose commercial companies were exploiting the wealth of the new continents both east and west. yet in france there was food enough for all and to spare; it was only because the means of distributing it were so poor that some got more and others less than they required. france was supporting at this time a population half as large as that of today. then there were qualities of race which helped to make the nation great. at all periods in their history the french have shown an almost inexhaustible stamina, an ability to bear disasters, and to rise from them quickly, a courage and persistence that no obstacles seem able to thwart. how often in the course of the centuries has france been torn apart by internecine strife or thrown prostrate by her enemies only to astonish the world by a superb display of recuperative powers! it was france that first among the kingdoms of europe rose from feudal chaos to orderly nationalism; it was france that first among continental countries after the middle ages established the reign of law throughout a powerful realm. though wars and turmoils almost without end were a heavy drain upon gallic vitality for many generations, france achieved steady progress to primacy in the arts of peace. none but a marvellous people could have made such efforts without exhaustion, yet even now in the twentieth century the astounding vigor of this race has not ceased to compel the admiration of mankind. in the seventeenth century, moreover, france owed much of her national power to a highly-centralized and closely-knit scheme of government. under richelieu the strength of the monarchy had been enhanced and the power of the nobility broken. when he began his personal rule, louis xiv continued his work of consolidation and in the years of his long reign managed to centralize in the throne every vestige of political power. the famous saying attributed to him, "the state! i am the state!" embodied no idle boast. nowhere was there a trace of representative government, nowhere a constitutional check on the royal power. there were councils of different sorts and with varied jurisdictions, but men sat in them at the king's behest and were removable at his will. there were _parlements_, too, but to mention them without explanation would be only to let the term mislead, for they were not representative bodies or parliaments in the ordinary sense: their powers were chiefly judicial and they were no barrier in the way of the steady march to absolutism. the political structure of the bourbon realm in the age of louis xiv and afterwards was simple: all the lines of control ran upwards and to a common center. and all this made for unity and autocratic efficiency in finance, in war, and in foreign affairs. another feature which fitted the nation for an imperial destiny was the possession of a united and militant church. with heresy the gallican branch of the catholic church had fought a fierce struggle, but, before the seventeenth century was far advanced, the battle had been won. there were heretics in france even after richelieu's time, but they were no longer a source of serious discord. the church, now victorious over its foes, became militant, ready to carry its missionary efforts to other lands--ready, in fact, for a new crusade. these four factors, rare geographical advantages, racial qualities of a high order, a strongly centralized scheme of government, and a militant church, contributed largely to the prestige which france possessed among european nations in the seventeenth, century. with all these advantages she should have been the first and not the last to get a firm footing in the new continents. historians have recorded their reasons why france did not seriously enter the field of american colonization as early as england, but these reasons do not impress one as being good. foreign wars and internal religious strife are commonly given and accepted as the true cause of french tardiness in following up the pioneer work of jacques cartier and others. yet not all the energy of nearly twenty million people was being absorbed in these troubles. there were men and money to spare, had the importance of the work overseas only been adequately realized. the main reason why france was last in the field is to be found in the failure of her kings and ministers to realize until late in the day how vast the possibilities of the new continent really were. in a highly centralized and not over-populated state the authorities must lead the way in colonial enterprises; the people will not of their own initiative seek out and follow opportunities to colonize distant lands. and in france the authorities were not ready to lead. sully, who stood supreme among the royal advisers in the closing years of the sixteenth century, was opposed to colonial ventures under all circumstances. "far-off possessions," he declared, "are not suited to the temperament or to the genius of frenchmen, who to my great regret have neither the perseverance nor the foresight needed for such enterprises, but who ordinarily apply their vigor, minds, and courage to things which are immediately at hand and constantly before their eyes." colonies beyond the seas, he believed, "would never be anything but a great expense." that, indeed, was the orthodox notion in circles surrounding the seat of royal power, and it was a difficult notion to dislodge. never until the time of richelieu was any intimation of the great colonial opportunity, now quickly slipping by, allowed to reach the throne, and then it was only an inkling, making but a slight impression and soon virtually forgotten. richelieu's great company of made a brave start, but it did not hold the cardinal's interest very long. mazarin, who succeeded richelieu, took no interest in the new world; the tortuous problems of european diplomacy appealed far more strongly to his italian imagination than did the vision of a new france beyond the seas. it was not until colbert took the reins that official france really displayed an interest in the work of colonization at all proportionate to the nation's power and resources. colbert was admirably fitted to become the herald of a greater france. coming from the ranks of the _bourgeoisie_, he was a man of affairs, not a cleric or a courtier as his predecessors in office had been. he had a clear conception of what he wanted and unwearied industry in moving towards the desired end. his devotion to the king was beyond question; he had native ability, patience, sound ideas, and a firm will. given a fair opportunity, he would have accomplished far more for the glory of the fleur-de-lis in the region of the st. lawrence and the great lakes of america. but a thousand problems of home administration were crowded upon him, problems of finance, of industry, of ecclesiastical adjustment, and of social reconstruction. in the first few years of his term as minister he could still find a little time and thought for canada, and during this short period he personally conducted the correspondence with the colonial officials; but after all this was turned over to the minister of marine, and colbert himself figured directly in the affairs of the colony no more. the great minister of louis xiv is remembered far more for his work at home than for his services to new france. as for the french monarchs of the seventeenth century, louis xiv was the first and only one to take an active and enduring interest in the great crusade to the northern wilderness. he began his personal reign about with a genuine display of zeal for the establishment of a colony which would by its rapid growth and prosperity soon crowd the english off the new continent. in the selection of officials to carry out his policy, his judgment, when not subjected to sinister pressure, was excellent, as shown in his choice of frontenac. nor did the king's interest in the colony slacken in the face of discouragement. it kept on to the end of his reign, although diminishing somewhat towards the close. it could not well do otherwise than weaken during the european disasters which marked his later years. by the death of louis xiv in the colony lost its most unwavering friend. the shrewdest of french historians, de tocqueville, has somewhere remarked that "the physiognomy of a government may be best judged in the colonies.... when i wish to study the spirit and faults of the administration of louis xiv," he writes, "i must go to canada, for its deformity is there seen as through a microscope." that is entirely true. the history of new france in its picturesque alternation of sunshine and shadow, of victory and defeat, of pageant and tragedy, is a chronicle that is gallic to the core. in the early annals of the northland one can find silhouetted in sharp relief examples of all that was best and all that was worst in the life of old france. the political framework of the colony, with its strict centralization, the paternal regulation of industry and commerce, the flood of missionary zeal which poured in upon it, the heroism and courage of its priests and voyageurs, the venality of its administrative officials, the anachronism of a feudal land-tenure, the bizarre externals of its social life, the versatility of its people--all these reflected the paternity of new france. the most striking weakness of french colonial policy in the seventeenth century was its failure to realize how vastly different was the environment of north america from that of central europe. institutions were transplanted bodily, and then amazement was expressed at versailles because they did not seem to thrive in the new soil. detailed instructions to officials in new france were framed by men who had not the slightest grasp of the colony's needs or problems. one busybody wrote to the colonial intendant that a bake-oven should be established in every seigneury and that the _habitants_ should be ordered to bring their dough there to be made into bread. the intendant had to remind him that, in the long cold winters of the st. lawrence valley, the dough would be frozen stiff if the habitants, with their dwellings so widely scattered, were required to do anything of the kind. another martinet gravely informed the colonial authorities that, as a protection against indian attacks "all the seigneuries should be palisaded." and some of the seigneurial estates were eight or ten miles square! the dogmatic way in which the colonial officials were told to do this and that, to encourage one thing and to discourage another, all by superiors who displayed an astounding ignorance of new world conditions, must have been a severe trial to the patience of those hard-working officials who were never without great practical difficulties immediately before their eyes. not enough heed was paid, moreover, to the advice of men who were on the spot. it is true that the recommendations sent home to france by the governor and by the intendant were often contradictory, but even where the two officials were agreed there was no certainty that their counsel would be taken. with greater freedom and discretion the colonial government could have accomplished much more in the way of developing trade and industry; but for every step the acquiescence of the home authorities had first to be secured. to obtain this consent always entailed a great loss of time, and when the approval arrived the opportunity too often had passed. from november until may there was absolutely no communication between quebec and paris save that in a great emergency, if france and england happened to be at peace, a dispatch might be sent by dint of great hardship to boston with a precarious chance that it would get across to the french ambassador in london. ordinarily the officials sent their requests for instructions by the home-going vessels from quebec in the autumn and received their answers by the ships which came in the following spring. if any plans were formulated after the last ship sailed in october, it ordinarily took eighteen months before the royal approval could be had for putting them into effect. the routine machinery of paternalism thus ran with exasperating slowness. there was, however, one mitigating feature in the situation. the hand of home authority was rigid and its beckonings were precise; but as a practical matter it could be, and sometimes was, disregarded altogether. not that the colonial officials ever defied the king or his ministers, or ever failed to profess their intent to follow the royal instructions loyally and to the letter. they had a much safer plan. when the provisions of a royal decree seemed impractical or unwise, it was easy enough to let them stand unenforced. such decrees were duly registered in the records of the sovereign council at quebec and were then promptly pigeonholed so that no one outside the little circle of officials at the château de st. louis ever heard of them. in one case a new intendant on coming to the colony unearthed a royal mandate of great importance which had been kept from public knowledge for twenty years. absolutism, paternalism, and religious solidarity were characteristic of both france and her colonies in the great century of overseas expansion. there was no self-government, no freedom of individual initiative, and very little heresy either at home or abroad. the factors which made france strong in europe, her unity, her subordination of all other things to the military needs of the nation, her fostering of the sense of nationalism--these appeared prominently in canada and helped to make the colony strong as well. historians of new france have been at pains to explain why the colony ultimately succumbed to the combined attacks of new england by land and of old england by sea. for a full century new france had as its next-door neighbor a group of english colonies whose combined populations outnumbered her own at a ratio of about fifteen to one. the relative numbers and resources of the two areas were about the same, proportionately, as those of the united states and canada at the present day. the marvel is not that french dominion in america finally came to an end but that it managed to endure so long. chapter ii a voyageur of brittany the closing quarter of the fifteenth century in europe has usually been regarded by historians as marking the end of the middle ages. the era of feudal chaos had drawn to a close and states were being welded together under the leadership of strong dynasties. with this consolidation came the desire for expansion, for acquiring new lands, and for opening up new channels of influence. spain, portugal, and england were first in the field of active exploration, searching for stores of precious metals and for new routes to the coasts of ormuz and of india. in this quest for a short route to the half-fabulous empires of asia they had literally stumbled upon a new continent which they had made haste to exploit. france, meanwhile, was dissipating her energies on spanish and italian battlefields. it was not until the peace of cambrai in ended the struggle with spain that france gave any attention to the work of gaining some foothold in the new world. by that time spain had become firmly entrenched in the lands which border the caribbean sea; her galleons were already bearing home their rich cargoes of silver bullion. portugal, england, and even holland had already turned with zeal to the exploration of new lands in the east and the west: french fishermen, it is true, were lengthening their voyages to the west; every year now the rugged old norman and breton seaports were sending their fleets of small vessels to gather the harvests of the sea. but official france took no active interest in the regions toward which they went. five years after the peace of cambrai the breton port of st. malo became the starting point of the first french voyageur to the st. lawrence. francis i had been persuaded to turn his thoughts from gaming and gallantries to the trading prospects of his kingdom, with the result that in jacques cartier was able to set out on his first voyage of discovery. cartier is described in the records of the time as a corsair--which means that he had made a business of roving the seas to despoil the enemies of france. st. malo, his birthplace and home, on the coast of brittany, faces the english channel somewhat south of jersey, the nearest of the channel islands. the town is set on high ground which projects out into the sea, forming an almost landlocked harbor where ships may ride at ease during the most tumultuous gales. it had long been a notable nursery of hardy fishermen and adventurous navigators, men who had pressed their way to all the coasts of europe and beyond. cartier was one of these hardy sailors. his fathers before him had been mariners, and he had himself learned the way of the great waters while yet a mere youth. before his expedition of jacques cartier had probably made a voyage to brazil and had in all probability more than once visited the newfoundland fishing-banks. although, when he sailed from st. malo to become the pathfinder of a new bourbon imperialism, he was forty-three years of age and in the prime of his days, we know very little of his youth and early manhood. it is enough that he had attained the rank of a master-pilot and that, from his skill in seamanship, he was considered the most dependable man in all the kingdom to serve his august sovereign in this important enterprise. cartier shipped his crew at st. malo, and on the th of april, , headed his two small ships across the great atlantic. his company numbered only threescore souls in all. favored by steady winds his vessels made good progress, and within three weeks he sighted the shores of newfoundland where he put into one of the many small harbors to rest and refit his ships. then, turning northward, the expedition passed through the straits of belle isle and into the gulf of st. lawrence. coasting along the northern shore of the gulf for a short distance, cartier headed his ships due southward, keeping close to the western shore of the great island almost its whole length; he then struck across the lower gulf and, moving northward once more, reached the baie des chaleurs on the th july. here the boats were sent ashore and the french were able to do a little trading with the indians. about a week later, cartier went northward once more and soon sought shelter from a violent gulf storm by anchoring in gaspé bay. on the headland there he planted a great wooden cross with the arms of france, the first symbol of bourbon dominion in the new land, and the same symbol that successive explorers, chanting the _vexilla regis_, were in time to set aloft from the gulf of st. lawrence to the gulf of mexico. it was the augury of the white man's coming. crossing next to the southerly shore of anticosti the voyageurs almost circled the island until the constant and adverse winds which cartier met in the gradually narrowing channel forced him to defer indefinitely his hope of finding a western passage, and he therefore headed his ships back to belle isle. it was now mid-august, and the season of autumnal storms was drawing near. cartier had come to explore, to search for a westward route to the indies, to look for precious metals, not to establish a colony. he accordingly decided to set sail for home and, with favoring winds, was able to reach st. malo in the early days of september. in one sense the voyage of had been a failure. no stores of mineral wealth had been discovered and no short route to cipango or cathay. yet the spirit of exploration had been awakened. carrier's recital of his voyage had aroused the interest of both the king and his people, so that the navigator's request for better equipment to make another voyage was readily granted. on may , , cartier once more set forth from st. malo, this time with three vessels and with a royal patent, empowering him to take possession of new lands in his sovereign's name. with cartier on this voyage there were over one hundred men, of whom the majority were hardened malouins, veterans of the sea. how he found accommodation for all of them, with supplies and provisions, in three small vessels whose total burden was only two hundred and twenty tons, is not least among the mysteries of this remarkable voyage.[ ] [footnote : the shipbuilders old measure for determining tonnage was to multiply the length of a vessel minus three-quarters of the beam by the beam, then to multiply the product by one-half the beam, then to divide this final product by . the resulting quotient was the tonnage. on this basis cartier's three ships were feet length by feet beam, feet length by feet beam, and feet length by feet beam, respectively.] the trip across the ocean was boisterous, and the clumsy caravels had a hard time breasting the waves. the ships were soon separated by alternate storms and fog so that all three did not meet at their appointed rendezvous in the straits of belle isle until the last week in july. then moving westward along the north, shore of the gulf, they passed anticosti, crossed to the gaspé shore, circled back as far as the mingan islands, and then resumed a westward course up the great river. as the vessels stemmed the current but slowly, it was well into september when they cast anchor before the indian village of stadacona which occupied the present site of lower quebec. since it was now too late in the season to think of returning at once to france, cartier decided to spend the winter at this point. two of the ships were therefore drawn into the mouth of a brook which entered the river just below the village, while the frenchmen established acquaintance with the savages and made preparations for a trip farther up the river in the smallest vessel. using as interpreters two young indians whom he had captured in the gaspé region during his first voyage in the preceding year, cartier was able to learn from the indians at stadacona that there was another settlement of importance at hochelaga, now montreal. the navigator decided to use the remaining days of autumn in a visit to this settlement, although the stadacona indians strenuously objected, declaring that there were all manner of dangers and difficulties in the way. with his smallest vessel and about half of his men, cartier, however, made his way up the river during the last fortnight in september. near the point where the largest of the st. lawrence rapids bars the river gateway to the west the frenchman found hochelaga nestling between the mountain and the shore, in the midst of "goodly and large fields full of corn such as the country yieldeth." the indian village, which consisted of about fifty houses, was encircled by three courses of palisades, one within the other. the natives received their visitors with great cordiality, and after a liberal distribution of trinkets the french learned from them some vague snatches of information about the rivers and great lakes which lay to the westward "where a man might travel on the face of the waters for many moons in the same direction." but as winter was near cartier found it necessary to hurry back to stadacona, where the remaining members of his expedition had built a small fort or _habitation_ during his absence. everything was made ready for the long season of cold and snow, but the winter came on with unusual severity. the neighboring indians grew so hostile that the french hardly dared to venture from their narrow quarters. supplies ran low, and to make matters worse the pestilence of scurvy came upon the camp. in february almost the entire company was stricken down and nearly one quarter of them had died before the emaciated survivors learned from the indians that the bark of a white spruce tree boiled in water would afford a cure. the frenchmen dosed themselves with the indian remedy, using a whole tree in less than a week, but with such revivifying results that cartier hailed the discovery as a genuine miracle. when spring appeared, the remnant of the company, now restored to health and vigor, gladly began their preparations for a return to france. there was no ardor among them for a further exploration of this inhospitable land. as there were not enough men to handle all three of the ships, they abandoned one of them, whose timbers were uncovered from the mudbank in , more than three centuries later. before leaving stadacona, however, cartier decided to take donnacona, the head of the village, and several other indians as presents to the french king. it was natural enough that the master-pilot should wish to bring his sovereign some impressive souvenir from the new domains, yet this sort of treachery and ingratitude was unpardonable. donnacona and all these captives but one little indian maiden died in france, and his people did not readily forget the lesson of european duplicity. by july the expedition was back in the harbor of st. malo, and cartier was promptly at work preparing for the king a journal of his experiences. cartier's account of his voyage which has come down to us contains many interesting details concerning the topography and life of the new land. the malouin captain was a good navigator as seafaring went in his day, a good judge of distance at sea, and a keen observer of landmarks. but he was not a discriminating chronicler of those things which we would now wish to understand--for example, the relationship and status of the various indian tribes with which he came into contact. all manner of indian customs are superficially described, particularly those which presented to the french the aspect of novelty, but we are left altogether uncertain as to whether the indians at stadacona in cartier's time were of huron or iroquois or algonquin stock. the navigator did not describe with sufficient clearness, or with a due differentiation of the important from the trivial, those things which ethnologists would now like to know. it must have been a disappointment not to be able to lay before the king any promise of great mineral wealth to be found in the new territory. while at hochelaga cartier had gleaned from the savages some vague allusions to sources of silver and copper in the far northwest, but that was all. he had not found a northern eldorado, nor had his quest of a new route to the indies been a whit more fruitful. cartier had set out with this as his main motive, but had succeeded only in finding that there was no such route by way of the st. lawrence. though the king was much interested in his recital of courage and hardships, he was not fired with zeal for spending good money in the immediate equipping of another expedition to these inhospitable shores. not for five years after his return in , therefore, did cartier again set out for the st. lawrence. this time his sponsor was the sieur de roberval, a nobleman of picardy, who had acquired an ambition to colonize a portion of the new territory and who had obtained the royal endorsement of his scheme. the royal patronage was not difficult to obtain when no funds were sought. accordingly in roberval, who was duly appointed viceroy of the country, enlisted the assistance of cartier in carrying out his plans. it was arranged that cartier with three ships should sail from st. malo in the spring of , while roberval's part of the expedition should set forth at the same time from honfleur. but when may arrived roberval was not ready and cartier's ships set sail alone, with the understanding that roberval would follow. cartier in due course reached newfoundland, where for six weeks he awaited his viceroy. at length, his patience exhausted, he determined to push on alone to stadacona, where he arrived toward the end of august. the ships were unloaded and two of the vessels were sent back to france. the rest of the expedition prepared to winter at cap rouge, a short distance above the settlement. once more cartier made a short trip up the river to hochelaga, but with no important incidents, and here the voyageur's journal comes to an end. he may have written more, but if so the pages have never been found. henceforth the evidence as to his doings is less extensive and less reliable. on his return he and his band seem to have passed the winter at cap rouge more comfortably than the first hibernation six years before, for the french had now learned the winter hygiene of the northern regions. the indians, however, grew steadily more hostile as the months went by, and cartier, fearing that his small following might not fare well in the event of a general assault, deemed it wise to start for france when the river opened in the spring of . cartier set sail from quebec in may. taking the southern route through the gulf he entered, early in june, the harbor of what is now st. john's, newfoundland. there, according to hakluyt, the breton navigator and his belated viceroy, roberval, anchored their ships side by side, roberval, who had been delayed nearly a year, was now on his way to join cartier at quebec and had put into the newfoundland harbor to refit his ships after a stormy voyage. what passed between the two on the occasion of this meeting will never be known with certainly. we have only the brief statement that after a spirited interview cartier was ordered by his chief to turn his ships about and accompany the expedition back to quebec. instead of doing so, he spread his sails during the night and slipped homeward to st. malo, leaving the viceroy to his own resources. there are difficulties in the way of accepting this story, however, although it is not absolutely inconsistent with the official records, as some later historians seem to have assumed.[ ] [footnote : justin winsor, _narrative and critical history of america_, vol. iv., .] at any rate it was in no pleasant humor that roberval now proceeded to the st. lawrence and up to cap rouge, where he took possession of carrier's post, sowed some grain and vegetables, and endeavored to prepare for the winter. his company of followers, having been recruited from the jails of france, proved as unruly as might have been expected. discipline and order could only be maintained by the exercise of great severity. one of the malefactors was executed; others were given the lash in generous measure. the winter, moreover, proved to be terribly cold; supplies ran low, and the scurvy once again got beyond control. if anything, the conditions were even worse than those which cartier had to endure seven years before. when spring arrived the survivors had no thought of anything but a prompt return to france. but roberval bade most of them wait until with a small party he ventured a trip to the territory near what is now three rivers and the mouth of the st. maurice. apparently the whole party made its way safely back to france before the autumn, but as to how or when we have no record. there is some evidence that cartier was sent out with a relief expedition in , but in any case, both he and roberval were in france during the spring of the next year, for they then appeared there in court to settle respective accounts of expenses incurred in the badly managed enterprise. of carrier's later life little is known save that he lived at st. malo until he died in . with the exception of his journals, which cover only a part of his explorations, none of his writings or maps has come down to us. that he prepared maps is highly probable, for he was an explorer in the royal service. but diligent search on the part of antiquarians has not brought them to light. his portrait in the town hall at st. malo shows us a man of firm and strong features with jaws tight-set, a high forehead, and penetrating eyes. unhappily it is of relatively recent workmanship and as a likeness of the great malouin its trustworthiness is at least questionable. fearless and untiring, however, his own indisputable achievements amply prove him to have been. the tasks set before him were difficult to perform; he was often in tight places and he came through unscathed. as a navigator he possessed a skill that ranked with the best of his time. his was an intrepid sailor-soul. if his voyages resulted in no permanent establishment, that was not altogether cartier's fault. he was sent out on his first two voyages as an explorer, to find new trade routes, or stores of gold and silver or a rich land to exploit. on his third voyage, when a scheme of colonization was in hand, the failure of roberval to do his part proved the undoing of the entire plan. there is no reason to believe that faint-heartedness or lack of courage had any place in carrier's sturdy frame. for sixty years following the ill-starred ventures of - no serious attempts were made to gain for france any real footing in the regions of the st. lawrence. this is not altogether surprising, for there were troubles in plenty at home. huguenots and catholics had ranged themselves in civil strife; the wars of the fronde were convulsing the land, and it was not until the very end of the sixteenth century that france settled down to peace within her own borders. norman and breton fishermen continued their yearly trips to the fishing-banks, but during the whole latter half of the sixteenth century no vessel, so far as we know, ever made its way beyond the saguenay. some schemes of colonization, without official support, were launched during this interval; but in all such cases the expeditions set forth to warmer lands, to brazil and to florida. in neither direction, however, did any marked success attend these praiseworthy examples of private initiative. the great valley of the st. lawrence during these six decades remained a land of mystery. the navigators of europe still clung to the vision of a westward passage whose eastern portal must be hidden among the bays or estuaries of this silent land, but none was bold or persevering enough to seek it to the end. as for the great continent itself, europe had not the slightest inkling of what it held in store for future generations of mankind. chapter iii the founding of new france in the closing years of the sixteenth century the spirit of french expansion, which had remained so strangely inactive for nearly three generations, once again began to manifest itself. the sieur de la roche, another breton nobleman, the merchant traders, pontgravé of st. malo and chauvin of honfleur, came forward one after the other with plans for colonizing the unknown land. unhappily these plans were not easily matured into stern realities. the ambitious project of la roche came to grief on the barren sands of sable island. the adventurous merchants, for their part, obtained a monopoly of the trade and for a few years exploited the rich peltry regions of the st. lawrence, but they made no serious attempts at actual settlement. finally they lost the monopoly, which passed in to the sieur de chastes, a royal favorite and commandant at dieppe. it is at this point that samuel champlain first becomes associated with the pioneer history of new france. given the opportunity to sail with an expedition which de chastes sent out in , champlain gladly accepted and from this time to the end of his days he never relaxed his whole-souled interest in the design to establish a french dominion in these western lands. with his accession to the ranks of the voyageurs real progress in the field of colonization was for the first time assured. champlain encountered many setbacks during his initial years as a colonizer, but he persevered to the end. when he had finished his work, france had obtained a footing in the st. lawrence valley which was not shaken for nearly a hundred and fifty years. champlain was born in at the seaport of brouage, on the bay of biscay, so that he was only thirty-six years of age when he set out on his first voyage to america. his forbears belonged to the lesser gentry of saintonge, and from them he inherited a roving strain. long before reaching middle manhood he had learned to face dangers, both as a soldier in the wars of the league and as a sailor to the spanish main. with a love of adventure he combined rare powers of description, so much so that the narrative of his early voyages to this region had attracted the king's attention and had won for him the title of royal geographer. his ideas were bold and clear; he had an inflexible will and great patience in battling with discouragements. possessing these qualities, champlain was in every way fitted to become the founder of new france. the expedition of proceeded to the st. lawrence, where some of the party landed at the mouth of the saguenay to trade with the indians. the remainder, including champlain, made their way up the river to the indian village at hochelaga, which they now found in ruins, savage warfare having turned the place into a solitude. champlain busied himself with some study of the country's resources and the customs of the aborigines; but on the whole the prospects of the st. lawrence valley did not move the explorers to enthusiasm. descending the great river again, they rejoined their comrades at the saguenay, and, taking their cargoes of furs aboard, the whole party sailed back to france in the autumn. there they found that de chastes, the sponsor for their enterprise, had died during their absence. the death of de chastes upset matters badly, for with it the trade monopoly had lapsed. but things were promptly set right again by a royal act which granted the monopoly anew. this time it went to the sieur de monts, a prominent huguenot nobleman, then governor of pons, with whom champlain was on friendly terms. to quiet the clamors of rival traders, however, it was stipulated that monts should organize a company and should be bound to take into his enterprise any who might wish to associate themselves with him. the company, in return for its trading monopoly, was to transport to the new domains at least one hundred settlers each year. little difficulty was encountered in organizing the company, since various merchants of st. malo, honfleur, rouen, and rochelle were eager to take shares. preparations for sending out an expedition on a much larger scale than on any previous occasion were soon under way, and in two well-equipped vessels set forth. one of them went to the old trading-post at the saguenay; the other went southward to the regions of acadia. on board the latter were de monts himself, champlain as chief geographer, and a young adventurer from the ranks of the _noblesse_, biencourt de poutrincourt. the personnel of this expedition was excellent: it contained no convicts; most of its members were artisans and sturdy yeomen. rounding the tip of the nova scotian peninsula, these vessels came to anchor in the haven of port royal, now annapolis. not satisfied with the prospects there, however, they coasted around the bay of fundy, and finally reached the island in passamaquoddy bay which they named st. croix. here on june , , the party decided to found their settlement. work on the buildings was at once commenced, and soon the little colony was safely housed. in the autumn poutrincourt was dispatched with one vessel and a crew back to france, while champlain and the rest prepared to spend the winter in their new island home. the choice of st. croix as a location proved singularly unfortunate; the winter was long and severe, and the preparations that had been made were soon found to be inadequate. once more there were sufferings such as cartier and his men had undergone during the terrible winter of - at quebec. there were no brooks or springs close at hand, and no fresh water except such as could be had by melting snow. the storehouse had no cellar, and in consequence the vegetables froze, so that the company was reduced to salted meat as the chief staple of diet. scurvy ravaged the camp, and before the snows melted nearly two-fifths of the party had died. not until june, moreover, did a vessel arrive from france with, fresh stores and more colonists. the experience of this first winter must have indeed "produced discontent," as champlain rather mildly expressed it, but it did not impel de monts to abandon his plans. st. croix, however, was given up and, after a futile search for a better location on the new england coast, the colony moved across the bay to port royal, where the buildings were reconstructed. in the autumn de monts went back to france, leaving champlain, pontgravé, and forty-three others to spend the winter of - in acadia. during this hibernation the fates were far more kind. the season proved milder, the bitter lessons of the previous season had not gone unlearned, and scurvy did not make serious headway. but when june came and de monts had not returned from france with fresh supplies, there was general discouragement; so much so that plans for the entire abandonment of the place were on the eve of being carried out when a large vessel rounded the point on its way into the basin. aboard were poutrincourt and marc lescarbot, together with more settlers and supplies. lescarbot was a parisian lawyer in search of adventure, a man who combined wit with wisdom, one of the pleasantest figures in the annals of american colonization. he was destined to gain a place in literary history as the interesting chronicler of this little colony's all-too-brief existence. these arrivals put new heart into the men, and they set to work sowing grain and vegetables, which grew in such abundance that the storehouses were filled to their capacity. the ensuing winter found the company with an ample store of everything. the season of ice and snow passed quickly, thanks largely to champlain's successful endeavor to keep the colonists in good health and spirits by exercise, by variety in diet, and by divers gaieties under the auspices of his _ordre de bon temps_, a spontaneous social organization created for the purpose of banishing cares and worries from the little settlement. it seemed as though the colony had been established to stay. but with the spring of came news which quickly put an end to all this optimism. rival merchants had been clamoring against the monopoly of the de monts company. despite the fact that de monts was a huguenot and thus a shining target for the shafts of bigotry, these protests had for three years failed to move the king; but now they had gained their point, and the monopoly had come to an end. this meant that there would be no more ships with settlers or supplies. as the colony could not yet hope to exist on its own resources, there was no alternative but to abandon the site and return to france, and this the whole party reluctantly proceeded to do. on arrival in france the affairs of the company were wound up, and de monts found himself a heavy loser. he was not yet ready to quit the game, however, and champlain with the aid of pontgravé was able to convince him that a new venture in the st. lawrence region might yield profits even without the protection of a monopoly. thus out of misfortune and failure arose the plans which led to the founding of a permanent outpost of empire at quebec. in the spring of champlain and pontgravé once again set sail for the st. lawrence. the latter delayed at the saguenay to trade, while champlain pushed on to the site of the old stadacona, where at the foot of the cliff he laid the foundations of the new quebec, the first permanent settlement of europeans in the territory of new france. on the shore below the rocky steep several houses were built, and measures were taken to defend them in case of an indian attack. here champlain's party spent the winter of - . with the experience gained at st. croix and port royal it should have been possible to provide for all eventualities, yet difficulties in profusion were encountered during these winter months. first there was the unearthing of a conspiracy against champlain. those concerned in it were speedily punished, but the execution of the chief culprit gave to the new settlement a rather ominous beginning. then came a season of zero weather, and the scurvy came with it. champlain had heard of the remedy used by cartier, but the tribes which had been at stadacona in cartier's time had now disappeared, and there was no one to point out the old-time remedy to the suffering garrison. so the scourge went on unchecked. the ravages of disease were so severe that, when a relief ship arrived in the early summer of , all but eight of champlain's party had succumbed. yet there was no thought of abandoning the settlement. the beginnings of canada made astounding demands upon the fortitude and stamina of these dauntless voyageurs, but their store of courage was far from the point of exhaustion. they were ready not only to stay but to explore the territory inland, to traverse its rivers and lakes, to trudge through its forests afoot that they might find out for the king's information what resources the vast land held in its silent expanses. after due deliberation, therefore, it was decided that champlain and four others should accompany a party of huron and algonquin indians upon one of their forays into the country of the iroquois, this being the only way in which the frenchmen could be sure of their redskin guides. so the new allies set forth to the southeastward, passing up the richelieu river and, traversing the lake which now bears his name, champlain and his indian friends came upon a war party of iroquois near ticonderoga and a forest fight ensued. the muskets of the french terrified the enemy tribesmen and they fled in disorder. in itself the incident was not of much account nor were its consequences so far-reaching as some historians would have us believe. it is true that champlain's action put the french, for the moment in the bad graces of the iroquois; but the conclusion that this foray was chiefly responsible for the hostility of the great tribes during the whole ensuing century is altogether without proper historical foundation. revenge has always been a prominent trait of redskin character, but it could never of itself have determined the alignment of the five nations against the french during a period of nearly eight generations. from the situation of their territories, the iroquois were the natural allies of the english and dutch on the one hand, and the natural foes of the french on the other. trade soon became the alpha and the omega of all tribal diplomacy, and the iroquois were discerning enough to realize that their natural rôle was to serve as middlemen between the western indians and the english. their very livelihood, indeed, depended on their success in diverting the flow of the fur trade through the iroquois territories, for by the middle of the seventeenth century there were no beavers left in their own country. such a situation meant that they must promote trade between the western indians and the english, at albany; but to promote trade with the english meant friendship with the english, and friendship with the english meant enmity with the french. here is the true key to the long series of quarrels in which the five nations and new france engaged. champlain's little escapade at ticonderoga was a mere incident and the iroquois would have soon forgotten it if their economic interests had required them to do so. "trade and peace," said an iroquois chief to the french on one occasion, "we take to be one thing." he was right; they have been one thing in all ages. as companions, trade and the flag have been inseparable in all lands. the expedition of had, however, some results besides the discomfiture of an iroquois raiding party. it disclosed to the french a water-route which led almost to the upper reaches of the hudson. the spot where champlain put the iroquois to flight is within thirty leagues of albany. it was by this route that the french and english came so often into warring contact during the next one hundred and fifty years. explorations, the care of his little settlement at quebec, trading operations, and two visits to france occupied champlain's attention during the next few years. down to this time no white man's foot had ever trodden the vast wilderness beyond the rapids above hochelaga. stories had filtered through concerning great waters far to the west and north, of hidden minerals there, and of fertile lands. champlain was determined to see these things for himself and it was to that end that he made his two great trips to the interior, in and , respectively. the expedition of was not a journey of indefinite exploration; it had a very definite end in view. a few years previously champlain had sent into the villages of the algonquins on the upper ottawa river a young frenchman named vignau, in order that by living for a time among these people he might learn their language and become useful as an interpreter. in vignau came back with a marvelous story concerning a trip which he had made with his algonquin friends to the great north sea where he had seen the wreck of an english vessel. this striking news inflamed champlain's desire to find out whether this was not the route for which both cartier and he himself had so eagerly searched--the western passage to cathay and the indies. there is evidence that the explorer from the first doubted the truth of vignau's story, but in he decided to make sure and started up the ottawa river, taking the young man with him to point the way. after a fatiguing journey the party at length reached the algonquin encampment on allumette island in the upper ottawa, where his doubts were fully confirmed. vignau, the algonquins assured champlain, was an impostor; he had never been out of their sight, had never seen a great north sea; the english shipwreck was a figment of his imagination. "overcome with wrath." writes champlain, "i had him removed from my presence, being unable to bear the sight of him." the party went no further, but returned to quebec. as for the impostor, the generosity of his leader in the end allowed him to go unpunished. though the expedition had been in one sense a fool's errand and champlain felt himself badly duped, yet it was not without its usefulness, for it gave him an opportunity to learn much concerning the methods of wilderness travel, the customs of the indians and the extent to which they might be relied upon. the algonquins and the hurons had proved their friendship, but what they most desired, it now appeared, was that the french should give them substantial aid in another expedition against the iroquois. this was the basis upon which, arrangements were made for champlain's next journey to the interior, the longest and most daring enterprise in his whole career of exploration. in the brouage navigator with a small party once again ascended the ottawa, crossed to lake nipissing and thence made his way down the french. river to the georgian bay, or lake of the hurons as it was then called. near the shores of the bay he found the villages of the hurons with the récollet father le caron already at work among the tribesmen. adding a large band of indians to his party, the explorer-now struck southeast and, by following the chain of small lakes and rivers which lie between matchedash bay and the bay of quinte, he eventually reached lake ontario. the territory pleased champlain greatly, and he recorded his enthusiastic opinion of its fertility. crossing the head of lake ontario in their canoes the party then headed for the country of the iroquois south of oneida lake, where lay a palisaded village of the onondagas. this they attacked, but after three hours' fighting were repulsed, champlain being wounded in the knee by an iroquois arrow. the eleven frenchmen with their horde of indians then retreated cautiously; but the onondagas made no serious attempt at pursuit, and in due course champlain with his party recrossed lake ontario safely. the frenchmen were now eager to get back to quebec by descending the st. lawrence, but their indian allies would not hear of this desertion. the whole expedition therefore plodded on to the shores of the georgian bay, following a route somewhat north of the one by which it had come. there the frenchmen spent a tedious winter. champlain was anxious to make use of the time by exploring the upper lakes, but the task of settling some wretched feuds among his huron and algonquin friends took most of his time and energy. the winter gave him opportunity, however, to learn a great deal more about the daily life of the savages, their abodes, their customs, their agriculture, their amusements, and their folklore. all this information went into his journals and would have been of priceless value had not the jesuits who came later proved to be such untiring chroniclers of every detail. when spring came, champlain left the huron country and by way of lake nipissing and the ottawa once more reached his own people at quebec. it took him forty days to make the journey from the georgian bay to the present site of montreal. arriving at quebec, where he was hailed as one risen from the dead, champlain found that things in france had taken a new turn. they had, in fact, taken many twists and turns during the nine years since de monts had financed the first voyage to the st. lawrence. in the first place, de monts had lost the last vestige of his influence at court; as a huguenot he could not expect to have retained it under the stern regency which followed the assassination of henry iv in . then a half-dozen makeshift arrangements came in the ensuing years. it was always the same story faithfully repeated in its broad outlines. some friendly nobleman would obtain from the king appointment as viceroy of new france and at the same time a trading monopoly for a term of years, always promising to send out some settlers in return. the monopoly would then be sublet, and champlain would be recognized as a sort of viceroy's deputy. and all for a colony in which the white population did not yet number fifty souls! despite the small population, however, champlain's task at quebec was difficult and exacting. his sponsors in france had no interest in the permanent upbuilding of the colony; they sent out very few settlers, and gave him little in the way of funds. the traders who came to the st. lawrence each summer were an unruly and boisterous crew who quarreled with the indians and among themselves. at times, indeed, champlain was sorely tempted to throw up the undertaking in disgust. but his patience held out until , when the rise of richelieu in france put the affairs of the colony upon a new and more active basis. for a quarter of a century, france had been letting golden opportunities slip by while the colonies and trade of her rivals were forging ahead. spain and portugal were secure in the south. england had gained firm footholds both in virginia and on massachusetts bay. even holland had a strong commercial company in the field. this was a situation which no far-sighted frenchman could endure. hence cardinal richelieu, when he became chief minister of louis xiii, undertook to see that france should have her share of new world spoils. "no realm is so well situated as france," he declared, "to be mistress of the seas or so rich in all things needful." the cardinal-minister combined fertility in ideas with such a genius for organization that his plans were quickly under way. unhappily his talent for details, for the efficient handling of little things, was not nearly so great, and some of his arrangements went sadly awry in consequence. at any rate richelieu in prevailed upon the king to abolish the office of viceroy, to cancel all trading privileges, and to permit the organization of a great colonizing company, one that might hope to rival the english and dutch commercial organizations. this was formed under the name of the company of new france, or the company of one hundred associates, as it was more commonly called from the fact that its membership was restricted to one hundred shareholders, each of whom contributed three thousand _livres_. the cardinal himself, the ministers of state, noblemen, and courtesans of paris, as well as merchants of the port towns, all figured in the list of stockholders. the subscription lists contained an imposing array of names. the powers of the new company, moreover, were as imposing as its personnel. to it was granted a perpetual monopoly of the fur trade and of all other commerce with rights of suzerainty over all the territories of new france and acadia. it was to govern these lands, levy taxes, establish courts, appoint officials, and even bestow titles of nobility. in return the company undertook to convey to the colony not less than two hundred settlers per year, and to provide them with subsistence until they could become self-supporting. it was stipulated, however, that no huguenots or other heretics should be among the immigrants. the hundred associates entered upon this portentous task with promptness and enthusiasm. early in a fleet of eighteen vessels freighted with equipment, settlers, and supplies set sail from dieppe for the st. lawrence to begin operations. but the time of its arrival was highly inopportune, for france was now at war with england, and it happened that a fleet of english privateers was already seeking prey in the lower st. lawrence. these privateers, commanded by kirke, intercepted the company's heavily-laden caravels, overpowered them, and carried their prizes off to england. thus the company of the one hundred associates lost a large part of its capital, and its shareholders received a generous dividend of disappointment in the very first year of its operations. a more serious blow, however, was yet to come. flushed with his success in , kirke came back to the st. lawrence during the next summer and proceeded to quebec, where he summoned champlain and his little settlement to surrender. as the place was on the verge of famine owing to the capture of the supply ships in the previous year, there was no alternative but to comply, and the colony passed for the first time into english hands. champlain was allowed to sail for england, where he sought the services of the french ambassador and earnestly advised that the king be urged to insist on the restoration of canada whenever the time for peace should come. negotiations for peace soon began, but they dragged on tediously until , when the treaty of st. germain-en-laye gave back new france to its former owners. with this turn in affairs the company was able to resume its operations. champlain, as its representative, once more reached quebec, where he received a genuine welcome from the few frenchmen who had remained through the years of babylonian captivity, and from the bands of neighboring indians. with his hands again set to the arduous tasks, champlain was able to make substantial progress during the next two years. for a time the company gave him funds and equipment besides sending him some excellent colonists. lands were cleared in the neighborhood of the settlement; buildings were improved and enlarged; trade with the indians was put upon a better basis. a post was established at three rivers, and plans were made for a further extension of french influence to the westward. it was in the midst of these achievements and hopes that champlain was stricken by paralysis and died on christmas day, . champlain's portrait, attributed to moncornet, shows us a sturdy, broad-shouldered frame, with features in keeping. unhappily we have no assurance that it is a faithful likeness. no one, however, can deny that the mariner of brouage, with his extraordinary perseverance and energy, was admirably fitted to be the pathfinder to a new realm. not often does one encounter in the annals of any nation a man of greater tenacity and patience. chagrin and disappointment he had to meet on many occasions, but he was never baffled nor moved to concede defeat. his perseverance, however, was not greater than his modesty, for never in his writings did he magnify his difficulties nor exalt his own powers of overcoming them, as was too much the fashion of his day. as a writer, his style was plain and direct, with, no attempt at embellishment and no indication that strong emotions ever had much influence upon his pen. he was essentially a man of action, and his narrative is in the main a simple record of such a man's achievements. his character was above reproach; no one ever impugned his honesty or his sincere devotion to the best interests of his superiors. to his church he was loyal in the last degree; and it was under his auspices that the first of the jesuit missionaries came to begin the enduring work which the order was destined to accomplish in new france. on the death of champlain the company appointed the sieur de montmagny to be governor of the colony. he was an ardent sympathizer with the aims of the jesuits, and life at quebec soon became almost monastic in its austerity. the jesuits sent home each year their _rélations_, and, as these were widely read, they created great interest in the spiritual affairs of the colony. the call for zealots to carry the cross westward into the wilderness met ready response, and it was amid a glow of religious fervor that the settlement at montreal was brought into being. a company was formed in france, funds were obtained, and a band of forty-four colonists was recruited for the crusade into the wilderness. the sieur de maisonneuve, a gallant soldier and a loyal devotee of the church, was the active leader of the enterprise, with jeanne mance, an ardent young religionist of high motives and fine character, as his principal coadjutor. fortune dealt kindly with the project, and montreal began its history in . a few years later montmagny gave up his post and returned to france. with the limited resources at his disposal, he had served the colony well, and had left it stronger and more prosperous than when he came. his successor was m. d'ailleboust, who had been for some time in the country, and who was consequently no stranger to its needs. on his appointment a council was created, to consist of the governor of the colony, the bishop or the superior of the jesuits, and the governor of montreal. henceforth this body was to be responsible for the making of all general regulations. it is commonly called the old council to distinguish it from the sovereign council by which it was supplanted in . the opening years of the new administration were marked by one of the greatest of forest tragedies, the destruction of the hurons. in a party of iroquois warriors made their way across lake ontario and overland to the huron country, where they destroyed one large village. emboldened by this success, a much larger body of the tribesmen returned in the year following and completed their bloody work. a dozen or more huron settlements were attacked and laid waste with wanton slaughter. two jesuit priests, lalemant and brébeuf, who were laboring among the hurons, were taken and burned at the stake after suffering atrocious tortures. the remnants of the tribe were scattered: a few found shelter on the islands of the georgian bay, while others took refuge with the french and were given a tract of land at sillery, near quebec. to the french colony the extirpation of the hurons came as a severe blow. it weakened their prestige in the west, it cut off a lucrative source of fur supply, and it involved the loss of faithful allies. more ominous still, the iroquois by the success of their forays into the huron country endangered the french settlement at montreal. glorying in their prowess, these warriors now boasted that they would leave the frenchmen no peace but in their graves. and they proceeded to make good their threatenings. bands of confederates spread themselves about the region near montreal, pouncing lynx-like from the forest upon any who ventured outside the immediate boundaries of the settlement. for a time the people were in despair, but the colony soon gained a breathing space, not by its own efforts, but from a diversion of iroquois enmity to other quarters. about the confederated tribes undertook their famous expedition against the eries, whose country lay along the south shore of the lake which bears their name, and this enterprise for the time absorbed the bulk of the iroquois energy. the next governor of new france, de lauzon, regarded the moment as opportune for peace negotiations, on the hypothesis that the idea of waging only one war at a time might appeal to the five nations as sound policy. a mission was accordingly sent to the iroquois, headed by the jesuit missionary le moyne, and for a time it seemed as if arrangements for a lasting peace might be made. but there was no sincerity in the iroquois professions. their real interest lay in peaceful relations with the dutch and the english; the french were their logical enemies; and when the iroquois had finished with the eries their insolence quickly showed itself once more. the next few years therefore found the colony again in desperate straits. in its entire population there were not more than five hundred men capable of taking the field, nor were there firearms for all of these. the iroquois confederacy could muster at least three times that number; they were now obtaining firearms in plenty from the dutch at albany; and they could concentrate their whole assault upon the french settlement at montreal. had the iroquois known the barest elements of siege operations, the colony must have come to a speedy and disastrous end. as the outcome proved, however, they were unwise enough to divide their strength and to dissipate their energies in isolated raids, so that montreal came safely through the gloomy years of and . in the latter of these years there arrived from france a man who was destined to play a large part in its affairs during the next few decades, françois-xavier de laval, who now came to take charge of ecclesiastical affairs in new france with the powers of a vicar apostolic. laval's arrival did not mark the beginning of friction between the church and the civil officials in the colony; there were such dissensions already. but the doughty churchman's claims and the governor's policy of resisting them soon brought things to an open breach, particularly upon the question of permitting the sale of liquor to the indians. in the quarrel became bitter. laval hastened home to france where he placed before the authorities the list of ecclesiastical grievances. the governor, a bluff old soldier, was thereupon summoned to paris to present his side of the whole affair. in the end a decision was reached to reorganize the whole system of civil and commercial administration in the colony. thus, as we shall soon see, the power passed away altogether from the company of one hundred associates. chapter iv the age of louis quatorze louis xiv, the greatest of the bourbon monarchs, had now taken into his own hands the reins of power. nominally he had been king of france since , when he was only five years old, but it was not until that the control of affairs by the regency came to an end. moreover, colbert was now chief minister of state, so that colonial matters were assured of a searching and enlightened inquiry. richelieu's interest in the progress of new france had not endured for many years after the founding of his great company. it is true that during the next fifteen years he remained chief minister, but the great effort to crush the remaining strongholds of feudalism and to centralize all political power in the monarchy left him no time for the care of a distant colony. colbert, on the other hand, had well-defined and far-reaching plans for the development of french industrial interests at home and of french commercial interests abroad. as for the colony, it made meager progress under company control: few settlers were sent out; and they were not provided with proper means of defense against indian depredations. under the circumstances it did not take colbert long to see how remiss the company of one hundred associates had been, nor to reach a decision that the colony should be at once withdrawn from its control. he accordingly persuaded the monarch to demand the surrender of the company's charter and to reprimand the associates for the shameless way in which they had neglected the trust committed to their care. "instead of finding," declared the king in the edict of revocation, "that this country is populated as it ought to be after so long an occupation thereof by our subjects, we have learned with regret not only that the number of its inhabitants is very limited, but that even these are daily exposed to the danger of being wiped out by the iroquois." in truth, the company had little to show for its thirty years of exploitation. the entire population of new france in numbered less than twenty-five hundred people, a considerable proportion of whom were traders, officials, and priests. the area of cleared land was astonishingly small, and agriculture had made no progress worthy of the name. there were no industries of any kind, and almost nothing but furs went home in the ships to france. the colony depended upon its mother country even for its annual food supply, and when the ships from france failed to come the colonists were reduced to severe privations. a dispirited and nearly defenseless land, without solid foundations of agriculture or industry, with an accumulation of indian enmity and an empty treasury--this was the legacy which the company now turned over to the crown in return for the viceroyal privileges given to it in good faith more than three decades before. when the king revoked the company's charter, he decided upon colbert's advice to make new france a royal domain and to provide it with a scheme of administration modeled broadly upon that of a province at home. to this end a royal edict, perhaps the most important of all the many decrees affecting french colonial interests in the seventeenth century, was issued in april, . while the provisions of this edict bear the stamp of colbert's handiwork, it is not unlikely that the suggestions of bishop laval, as given to the minister during his visit of the preceding year, were accorded some recognition. at any rate, after reciting the circumstances under which the king had been prompted to take new france into his own hands, the edict of proceeded to authorize the creation of a sovereign council as the chief governing body of the colony. this, with a larger membership and with greatly increased powers, was to replace the old council which the company had established to administer affairs some years previously. during the next hundred years this sovereign council became and remained the paramount civil authority in french america. at the outset it consisted of seven members, the governor and the bishop _ex officio_, with five residents of the colony selected jointly by these two. beginning with the arrival of talon as first intendant of the colony in , the occupant of this post was also given a seat in the council. before long, however, it became apparent that the provision relating to the appointment of non-official members was unworkable. the governor and the bishop could not agree in their selections; each wanted his own partisans appointed. the result was a deadlock in which seats at the council-board remained vacant. in the end louis quatorze solved this problem, as he solved many others, by taking the power directly into his own hands. after all appointments to the council were made by the king himself. in that same year the number of non-official members was raised to seven, and in it was further increased to twelve.[ ] at the height of its power, then, the sovereign council of new france consisted of the governor, the intendant, the bishop, and twelve lay councilors, together with an attorney-general and a clerk. these two last-named officials sat with the council but were not regular members of it. [footnote : its official title was in changed to superior council.] in the matter of powers the council was given by the edict of jurisdiction over all civil and criminal matters under the laws and ordinances of the kingdom, its procedure in dealing with such matters to be modeled on that of the parliament of paris. it was to receive and to register the royal decrees, thus giving them validity in new france, and it was also to be the supreme tribunal of the colony with authority to establish local courts subordinate to itself. there was no division of powers in the new frame of government. legislative, executive, and judicial powers were thrown together in true bourbon fashion. apparently it was colbert's plan to make of the governor a distinguished figurehead, with large military powers but without paramount influence in civil affairs. the bishop was to have no civil jurisdiction, and the intendant was to be the director of details. the council, according to the edict of , was to be the real pivot of power in new france. through the long years of storm and stress which make up the greater part of the history of the colony, the sovereign council rendered diligent and faithful service. there were times when passions waxed warm, when bitter words were exchanged, and when the urgent interests of the colony were sacrificed to the settlement of personal jealousies. many dramatic scenes were enacted around the long table at which the councilors sat at their weekly sessions, for every monday through the greater portion of the year the council convened at seven o'clock in the morning and usually sat until noon or later. but these were only meteoric flashes. historians have given them undue prominence because such episodes make racy reading. by far the greater portion of the council's meetings were devoted to the serious and patient consideration of routine business. matters of infinite variety came to it for determination, including the regulation of industry and trade, the currency, the fixing of prices, the interpretation of the rules relating to land tenure, fire prevention, poor relief, regulation of the liquor traffic, the encouragement of agriculture--and these are only a few of the topics taken at random from its calendar. in addition there were thousands of disputes brought to it for settlement either directly or on appeal from the lower courts. the minutes of its deliberations during the ninety-seven years from september , , to april , , fill no fewer than fifty-six ponderous manuscript volumes. though, in the edict establishing the sovereign council, no mention was made of an intendant, the decision to send such an official to new france came very shortly thereafter. in jean talon arrived at quebec bearing a royal commission which gave him wide powers, infringing to some extent on the authority vested in the sovereign council two years previously. the phraseology was similar to that used in the commissions of the provincial intendants in france, and so broad was the wording, indeed, that one might well ask what other powers could be left for exercise by any one else. no wonder that the eighteenth-century apostle of frenzied finance, john law, should have laconically described france as a land "ruled by a king and his thirty intendants, upon whose will alone its welfare and its wants depend." along with his commission talon brought to the colony a letter of instructions from the minister which, gave more detailed directions as to what things he was to have in view and what he was to avoid. in france the office of intendant had long been in existence. its creation in the first instance has commonly been attributed to richelieu, but it really antedated the coming of the great cardinal. the intendancy was not a spontaneous creation, but a very old and, in its origin, a humble post which grew in importance with the centralization of power in the king's hands, and which kept step in its development with the gradual extinction of local self-government in the royal domains. the provincial intendant in pre-revolutionary france was master of administration, finance, and justice within his own jurisdiction; he was bound by no rigid statutes; he owed obedience to no local authorities; he was appointed by the king and was responsible to his sovereign alone. from first to last there were a dozen intendants of new france. talon, whose ambition and energy did much to set the colony in the saddle, was the first. françois bigot, the arch-plunderer of his monarch's funds, who did so much to bring the land to its downfall, was the last. between them came a line of sensible, earnest, hard-working officials who served their king far better than they served themselves, who gave the best years of their lives to the task of making new france a bright jewel in the bourbon crown. the colonial intendant was the royal man-of-all-work. the king spoke and the intendant forthwith transformed his words into action. as the king's great interest in new france, coupled with his scant knowledge of its conditions, moved him to speak often, and usually in broad generalities, the intendant's activity was prodigious and his discretion wide. ordinances and decrees flew from his pen like sparks from a blacksmith's forge. the duty devolved upon him as the overseas apostle of gallic paternalism to "order everything as seemed just and proper," even when this brought his hand into the very homes of the people, into their daily work or worship or amusements. nothing that needed setting aright was too inconsequential to have an ordinance devoted to it. as general regulator of work and play, of manners and morals, of things present and things to come, the intendant was the busiest man in the colony. in addition to the governor, the council, and the intendant, there were many other officials on the civil list. both the governor and the intendant had their deputies at montreal and at three rivers. there were judges and bailiffs and seneschals and local officers by the score, not to speak of those who held sinecures or received royal pensions. there were garrisons to be maintained at all the frontier posts and church officials to be supported by large sums. no marvel it was that new france could never pay its own way. every year there was a deficit which, the king had to liquidate by payments from the royal exchequer. the administration of the colony, moreover, fell far short of even reasonable efficiency. there were far too many officials for the relatively small amount of work to be done, and their respective fields of authority were inadequately defined. too often the work of these officials lacked even the semblance of harmony, nor did the royal authorities always view this deficiency with regret. a fair amount of working at cross-purposes, provided it did not bring affairs to a complete standstill, was regarded as a necessary system of checks and balances in a colony which lay three thousand miles away. it prevented any chance of a general conspiracy against the home authorities or any wholesale wrong-doing through collusion. it served to make every official a ready tale-bearer in all matters concerning the motives and acts of his colleagues, so that the king might with, reasonable certainty count upon hearing all the sides to every story. that, in fact, was wholly in consonance with latin traditions of government, and it was characteristically the french way of doing things in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. louis xiv took a great personal interest in new france even to the neglect at times of things which his courtiers deemed to be far more important. the governor and the intendant plied him with their requests, with their grievances, and too often with their prosy tales of petty squabbling. with every ship they sent to versailles their _mémoires_, often of intolerable length; and the patient monarch read them all. marginal notes, made with his own hand, are still upon many of them, and the student who plods his way through the musty bundles of official correspondence in the _archives nationales_ will find in these marginal comments enough to convince him that, whatever the failings of louis xiv may have been, indolence was not of them. then with the next ships the king sent back his budget of orders, counsel, reprimand, and praise. if the colony failed to thrive, it was not because the royal interest in it proved insincere or deficient. the progress of new france, as reported in these dispatches from quebec, with their figures of slow growth in population, of poor crops, and of failing trade, of indian troubles and dangers from the english, of privations at times and of deficits always, must often have dampened the royal hopes. the requests for subsidies from the royal purse were especially relentless. every second dispatch contained pleas for money or for things which were bound to cost money if the king provided them: money to enable some one to clear his lands, or to start an industry, or to take a trip of exploration to the wilds; money to provide more priests, to build churches, or to repair fortifications; money to pension officials--the call for money was incessant year after year. in the face of these multifarious demands upon his exchequer, louis xiv was amazingly generous, but the more he gave, the more the colony asked from him. until the end of his days, he never failed in response if the object seemed worthy of his support. it was not until the grand monarch was gathered to his fathers that the officials of new france began to ply their requests in vain. so much for the frame of government in the colony during the age of louis xiv. now as to the happenings during the decade following . the new administration made a promising start under the headship of de mézy, a fellow townsman and friend of bishop laval, who arrived in the autumn of to take up his duties as governor. in a few days he and the bishop had amicably chosen the five residents of the colony who were to serve as councilors, and the council began its sessions. but troubles soon loomed into view, brought on in part by laval's desire to settle up some old scores now that he had the power as a member of the sovereign council and was the dominating influence in its deliberations. under the bishop's inspiration the council ordered the seizure of some papers belonging to péronne dumesnil, a former agent of the now defunct company of one hundred associates. dumesnil retorted by filing a _dossier_ of charges against some of the councilors; and the colonists at once ranged themselves into two opposing factions--those who believed the charges and those who did not. the bishop had become the stormy petrel of colonial politics, and nature had in truth well fitted him for just such a rôle. soon, moreover, the relations between mézy and laval themselves became less cordial. for a year the governor had proved ready to give way graciously on every point; but there was a limit to his amenability, and now his proud spirit began to chafe under the dictation of his ecclesiastical colleague. at length he ventured to show a mind of his own; and then the breach between him and laval widened quickly. three of the councillors having joined the bishop against him, mézy undertook a _coup d'état_, dismissed these councilors from their posts, and called a mass-meeting of the people to choose their successors. on the governor's part this was a serious tactical error. he could hardly expect that a monarch who was doing his best to crush out the last vestige of representative government in france would welcome its establishment and encouragement by one of his own officials in the new world. but mézy did not live to obey the recall which speedily came from the king as the outcome of this indiscretion. in the spring of he was taken ill and died at quebec. "he went to rest among the paupers," says parkman, "and the priests, serenely triumphant, sang requiems over his grave." but discord within its borders was not the colony's only trouble during these years. the scourge of the iroquois was again upon the land. during the years and bands of mohawks and oneidas raided the regions of the richelieu and penetrated to the settlement at three rivers. these _petites guerres_ were making things intolerable for the colonists, and the king was urged to send out a force of troops large enough to crush the bothersome savages once for all. this plea met with a ready response, and in june, , prouville de tracy with two hundred officers and men of the regiment de carignan-salières disembarked at quebec. the remaining companies of the regiment, making a force almost a thousand strong, arrived a little later. the people were now sure that deliverance was at hand, and the whole colony was in a frenzy of joy. following the arrival of the troops came courcelle, the new governor, and jean talon, who was to take the post of intendant. these were gala days in new france; the whole colony had caught the spirit of the new imperialism. the banners and the trumpets, the scarlet cloaks and the perukes, the glittering profusion of gold lace and feathers, the clanking of swords and muskets, transformed quebec in a season from a wilderness village to a versailles in miniature. but there was little time for dress parades and affairs of ceremony. tracy had come to give the iroquois their _coup de grâce_, and the work must be done quickly. the king could not afford to have a thousand soldiers of the grand army eating their heads off through the long months of a canadian winter. the work of getting the expedition ready, therefore, was pushed rapidly ahead. snowshoes were provided for the regiment, provisions and supplies were gathered, and in january, , the expedition started up the frozen richelieu, traversed lake champlain, and moved across to the headwaters of the hudson. it was a spectacle new to the northern wilderness of america, this glittering and picturesque cavalcade of regulars flanked by troops of militiamen and bands of fur-clothed indians moving on its errand of destruction along the frozen rivers. but the french regular troops were not habituated to long marches on snowshoes in the dead of winter; and they made progress so slowly that the dutch settlers of the region had time to warn the mohawks of the approach of the expedition. this upset all french plans, since the leaders had hoped to fall upon the mohawk villages and to destroy them before the tribesmen could either make preparations for defense or withdraw southward. foiled in this plan, and afraid that an early thaw might make their route of return impossible, the french gave up their project and started home again. they had not managed to reach, much less to destroy, the villages of their enemies. but the undertaking was not an absolute failure. the mohawks were astute enough to see that only the inexperience of the french had stood between them and destruction. here was an enemy which had proved able to come through the dead of winter right into the regions which had hitherto been regarded as inaccessible from the north. the french might be depended to come again and, by reason of greater experience, to make a better job of their coming. the iroquois reasoning was quite correct, as the sequel soon disclosed. in september of the same year the french had once again equipped their expedition, more effectively this time. traveling overland along nearly the same route, it reached the country of the mohawks without a mishap. the indians saved themselves by a rapid flight to the forests, but their palisaded strongholds were demolished, their houses set afire, their _cachés_ of corn dug out and destroyed. the mohawks were left to face the oncoming winter with nothing but the woods to shelter them. having finished their task of punishment, tracy and his regiment made their way leisurely back to quebec. the mohawks were now quite ready to make terms, and in they sent a delegation to quebec to proffer peace. two raids into their territories in successive years had taught them that they could not safely leave their homes to make war against the tribes of the west so long as the french were their enemies. and the desire to dominate the region of the lakes was a first principle of iroquois policy at this time. an armistice was accordingly concluded, which lasted without serious interruption for more than a decade. one of the provisions of the peace was that jesuit missions should be established in the iroquois territory, this being the usual way in which the french assured themselves of diplomatic intercourse with the tribes. with its trade routes once more securely open, new france now began a period of marked prosperity. tracy and his staff went back to france, but most of his soldiers remained and became settlers. wives for these soldiers were sent out under royal auspices, and liberal grants of money were provided to get the new households established. since , the trade of the colony had been once more in the hands of a commercial organization, the company of the west indies, whose financial success was, for the time being, assured by the revival of the fur traffic. industries were beginning to spring into being, the population was increasing rapidly, and the king was showing a lively interest in all the colony's affairs. it was therefore a prosperous and promising colony to which governor frontenac came in . chapter v the iron governor the ten years following form a decade of extraordinary progress in the history of new france. the population of the colony had trebled, and now numbered approximately seven thousand; the red peril, thanks to tracy's energetic work, had been lessened; while the fur trade had grown to large and lucrative proportions. with this increase in population and prosperity, there came a renaissance of enthusiasm for voyages of exploration and for the widening of the colony's frontiers. glowing reports went home to the king concerning the latent possibilities of the new world. what the colony now needed was a strong and vigorous governor who would not only keep a firm hold upon what had been already achieved, but one who would also push on to greater and more glorious things. it was in keeping with, this spirit of faith and hope that the king sent to quebec, in , louis de buade, count frontenac, naming him governor of all the french domains in north america. fifty-two years of age when he came to canada, frontenac had been a soldier from his youth; he had fought through hard campaigns in italy, in the low countries, and with the venetians in their defense of candia against the turks. in fact, he had but shortly returned from this last service when he was chosen to succeed courcelle as the royal representative in new france. to frontenac's friends the appointment seemed more like a banishment than a promotion. but there were several reasons why the governor should have accepted gladly. he had inherited only a modest fortune, and most of this had been spent, for thrift was not one of frontenac's virtues. his domestic life had not been happy, and there were no strong personal ties binding him to life in france.[ ] moreover, the post of governor in the colony was not to be judged by what it had been in the days of d'avaugour or de mézy. the reports sent home by talon had stirred the national ambitions. "i am no courtier," this intendant had written, "and it is not to please the king or without reason that i say this portion of the french monarchy is going to become something great. what i now see enables me to make such a prediction." and indeed the figures of growth in population, of acreage cleared, and of industries rising into existence seemed to justify the intendant's optimism. both the king and his ministers were building high hopes on canada, as their choice of frontenac proves, and in their selection of a man to carry out their plans they showed, on the whole, good judgment. frontenac proved to be the ablest and most commanding of all the officials who served the bourbon monarchy in the new world. in the long line of governors he approached most nearly to what a viceroy ought to be. [footnote : saint-simon, in his _mémoires_, prints the current parisian gossip that frontenac was sent to new france to shield him from the imperious temper of his wife and to afford him a means of livelihood.] it is true that in new france there were conditions which no amount of experience in the old world could train a man to handle. nor was frontenac particularly fitted by training or temperament for all of the duties which his new post involved. in some things he was well-endowed; he had great physical endurance, a strong will, with no end of courage, and industry to spare. these were qualities of the highest value in a land encircled by enemies and forced to depend for existence upon the strength of its own people. but more serviceable still was his ability in adapting himself to a new environment. men past fifty do not often show this quality in marked degree, but frontenac fitted himself to the novelty of colonial life exceedingly well. in his relations with, the indians he showed amazing skill. no other colonial governor, english, french, or dutch, ever commanded so readily the respect and admiration of the red man. but in his dealings with the intendant and the bishop, with the clergy, and with all those among the french of new france who showed any disposition to disagree with him, frontenac displayed an uncontrollable temper, an arrogance of spirit, and a degree of personal vanity which would not have made for cordial relations in any field of human effort. he had formed his own opinions and was quite ready to ride rough-shod over those of other men. it was this impetuosity that served to make the official circles of the colony, during many months of his term, a "little hell of discord." but when the new viceroy arrived at quebec he was in high fettle; he was pleased with the situation of the town and flattered by the enthusiastic greeting which he received from its people. his first step was to familiarize himself with the existing machinery of colonial government, which he found to be far from his liking. he proceeded, accordingly, in his own imperious way, to make some startling changes. for one thing, he decided to summon a representative assembly made up of the clergy, the seigneurs, and the common folk of new france. this body he brought together for his inauguration in october, . no such assembly had ever been convened before, and nothing like it was ever allowed to assemble again. before another year had passed, the minister sent frontenac a polite reprimand with the intimation that the king could not permit in the colony an institution he was doing his best, and with entire success, to crush out at home. the same fate awaited the governor's other project, the establishment of a municipal government in the town of quebec. within a few months of his arrival, frontenac had allowed the people of the town to elect a syndic and two aldermen, but the minister vetoed this action with the admonition that "you should very rarely, or, to speak more correctly, never, give a corporate voice to the inhabitants, for ... it is well that each should speak for himself, and no one for all." in the reorganization of colonial administration, therefore, the governor found himself promptly called to a halt. he therefore turned to another field where he was much more successful in having his own way. from the day of his arrival at quebec the governor saw the pressing need of extending french, influence and control into the regions bordering upon the great lakes. to dissipate the colony's efforts in westward expansion, however, was exactly what he had been instructed not to do. the king and his ministers were sure that it would be far wiser to devote all available energies and funds to developing the settled portions of the land. they desired the governor to carry on the policy of encouraging agriculture which talon had begun, thus solidifying the colony and making its borders less difficult to defend. frontenac's instructions on this point could hardly have been more explicit. "his majesty considers it more consistent with the good of his service," wrote colbert, "that you apply yourself to clearing and settling the most fertile places that are nearest the seacoast and the communication with france than to think afar of explorations in the interior of the country, so distant that they can never be inhabited by frenchmen." this was discouraging counsel, showing neither breadth of vision nor familiarity with the urgent needs of the colony. frontenac courageously set these instructions aside, and in doing so he was wise. had he held to the letter of his instructions, new france would never have been more than a strip of territory fringing the lower st. lawrence. more than any other frenchman he helped to plan the great empire of the west. notwithstanding the narrow views of his superiors at versailles, frontenac was convinced that the colony could best secure its own defense by controlling the chief line of water communications between the iroquois country and montreal. to this end he prepared to build a fort at cataraqui where the st. lawrence debouches from lake ontario. he was not, however, the first to recognize the strategic value of this point. talon had marked it as a place of importance some years before, and the english, authorities at albany had been urged by the iroquois chiefs to forestall any attempt that the french might make by being first on the ground. but the english procrastinated, and in the summer of the governor, with an imposing array of troops and militia, made his way to cataraqui, having first summoned the iroquois to meet him there in solemn council. in rather high dudgeon they came, ready to make trouble if the chance arose; but frontenac's display of armed strength, his free-handed bestowal of presents, his tactful handling of the chiefs, and his effective oratory at the conclave soon assured him the upper hand. the fort was built, and the iroquois, while they continued to regard it as an invasion of their territories, were forced to accept the new situation with reluctant grace. this stroke at cataraqui inflamed the governor's interest in western affairs. during his conferences with the indians he had heard much about the great waters to the west and the rich beaver lands which lay beyond. he was ready, therefore, to encourage in every way the plans of those who wished to undertake journeys of exploration and trade into these regions, even although he was well aware that such enterprises would win little commendation from his superiors at the royal court. voyageurs ready to undertake these tasks there were in plenty, and all of them found in the iron governor a stalwart friend. foremost among these pioneers of the far country was robert cavelier de la salle, whom frontenac had placed for a time in command of the fort at cataraqui and who, in , was commissioned by the governor to forge another link in the chain by the erection of a fort at niagara. there he also built a small vessel, the first to ply the waters of the upper lakes, and in this la salle and his lieutenants made their way to michilimackinac. how he later journeyed to the mississippi and down that stream to its mouth is a story to be told later on in these pages. it was and will remain a classic in the annals of exploration. and without frontenac's vigorous support it could never have been accomplished. la salle, when he performed his great feat of daring and endurance, was still a young man under forty, but his courage, firmness, and determination were not surpassed by any of his race. he had qualities that justified the confidence which the governor reposed in him. but while la salle was the most conspicuous among the pathfinders of this era, he was not the only one. tonty, du lhut, la forêt, la mothe-cadillac, and others were all in frontenac's favor, and all had his vigorous support in their work. intrepid woodsmen, they covered every portion of the western wilderness, building forts and posts of trade, winning the friendship of the indians, planting the arms of france in new soil and carrying the _vexilla regis_ into parts unknown before. if frontenac could have had his way, if the king had provided him with the funds, he would have run an iron chain of fortified posts all along the great water routes from cataraqui to the mississippi--and he had lieutenants who were able to carry out such an undertaking. but there were great obstacles in the way,--the lukewarmmess of the home government, the bitter opposition of the jesuits, and the intrigues of his colleagues. yet the governor was able to make a brave start, and before he had finished he had firmly laid the foundations of french trading supremacy in these western regions. during the first three years after his coming to canada, the governor had ruled alone. there was no intendant or bishop to hamper him, for both talon and laval had gone to france in . but in laval returned to the colony, and in the same year a new intendant, jacques duchesneau, was appointed. with this change in the situation at quebec the friction began in earnest, for frontenac's imperious temper did not make him a cheerful sharer of authority with any one else. if the intendant and the bishop had been men of conflicting ideas and dispositions, frontenac might easily have held the balance of power; but they were men of kindred aims, and they readily combined against the governor. united in their opposition to him, they were together a fair match for frontenac in ability and astuteness. it was not long, accordingly, before the whole colony was once more aligned in two factions. with the governor were the merchants, many of the seigneurs, and all the _coureurs-de-bois_. supporting the intendant and the bishop were many of the subordinate officials, all of the priests, and those of the tradesmen and habitants with whom the clerical influence was paramount. the story of the quarrels which went on between these two factions during the years - is neither brief nor edifying. the root of it all lay in the governor's western policy, his encouragement of the forest traders or _coureurs-de-bois_, and his connivance at the use of brandy in the indian trade. there were unseemly squabbles about precedence at council meetings and at religious festivals, about trivialities of every sort; but the question of the brandy trade was at the bottom of them all. the bishop flayed the governor for letting this trade go on; the missionaries declared that it was proving the ruin of their efforts; and the intendant declared that frontenac allowed it to continue because he was making a personal profit from the traffic. charges and countercharges went home to france with every ship. the intendant wrote dispatches of wearisome length, rehearsing the governor's usurpations, insults, and incompetence. "disorder," he told the minister, "rules everywhere. universal confusion prevails; justice is openly perverted, and violence supported by authority determines everything." in language quite as unrestrained frontenac recounted in detail the difficulties with which he had to contend owing to the intendant's obstinacy, intrigue, and dishonesty. the minister, appalled by the bewildering contradictions, could only lay the whole matter before the king, who determined to try first a courteous reprimand and to that end sent an autograph letter to each official. both letters were alike in admonishing the governor and the intendant to work in harmony for the good of the colony, but each concluded with the significant warning: "unless you harmonize better in the future than in the past, my only alternative will be to recall you both." this intimation, coming straight from their royal master, was to each a rebuke which could not be misunderstood. but it did not accomplish, much, for the bitterness and jealousy existing between the two colonial officers was too strong to be overcome. the very next vessels took to france a new budget of complaints and recriminations from both. the king, as good as his word, issued prompt orders for their recall and the two officials left for home, but not on the same vessel, in the summer of . the question as to which of the two was the more at fault is hardly worth determining. the share of blame to be cast on each by the verdict of history should probably be about equal. frontenac was by far the abler man, but he had the defects of his qualities. he could not brook the opposition of men less competent than he was, and when he was provoked his arrogance became intolerable. in broader domains of political action he would soon have out-generaled his adversary, but in these petty fields of neighborhood bickering duchesneau, particularly with the occasional nudgings which he received from laval, proved no unequal match. the fact remains that neither was able or willing to sacrifice personal animosities nor to display any spirit of cordial cooperation even at the royal command. the departure of both was regarded as a blessing by the majority of the colonists to whom the continued squabbles had become wearisome. yet there was not lacking, in the minds of many among them, the conviction that if ever again new france should find itself in urgent straits, if ever there were critical need of an iron hand to rule within and to guard without, there would still be one man whom, so long as he lived, they could confidently ask to be sent out to them again. for the time being, however, frontenac's official career seemed to be at an end. at sixty-two he could hardly hope to regain the royal favor by further service. he must have left the shores of new france with a heavy heart. frontenac's successor was la barre, an old naval officer who had proved himself as capable at sea as he was now to show himself incompetent on land. he was the antithesis of his headstrong predecessor, weak in decision, without personal energy, without imagination, but likewise without any of frontenac's skill in the art of making enemies. with la barre came meulles, an abler and more energetic colleague, who was to succeed duchesneau as intendant. both, reached quebec in the autumn of , and problems in plenty they found awaiting them. shortly before their arrival a fire had swept through the settlement at quebec, leaving scarcely a building on the lands below the cliff. to make matters worse, the iroquois had again thrown themselves across the western trade route and had interrupted the coining of the colony's fur supply. as every one now recognized that the protection of this route was essential, la barre decided that the iroquois must be taught a lesson. preparations in rather ostentatious fashion were therefore made for a punitive expedition, and in the summer of the governor with his troops was at cataraqui. at this point, however, he began to question whether a parley might not be a better means of securing peace than the laying waste of indian lands. accordingly, it was arranged that a council with the iroquois should be held across the lake from cataraqui at a place which later took the name of la famine from the fact that during the council the french supplies ran low and the troops had to be put on short rations. after negotiations which the cynical chronicler la hontan has described with picturesque realism, an inglorious truce was patched up. the new governor was sadly deficient in his knowledge of the indian temperament. he had given the iroquois an impression that the french were too proud to fight. for their part the iroquois offered him war or peace as he might choose, and la barre assured them that he chose to live at peace. when the expedition returned to quebec there was great disgust throughout the colony, the echoes of which were not without their effect at versailles, and la barre was forthwith recalled. in his place the king sent out the marquis de denonville in with power to make war on the tribesmen or to respect the peace as he might find expedient upon his arrival. the new governor was an honest, well-intentioned soul, neither mentally incapable nor lacking in personal courage. he might have served his king most acceptably in many posts of routine officialdom, but he was not the man to handle the destinies of half a continent in critical years. his mission, to be sure, was no sinecure, for the iroquois had grown bolder with the assurance of support from the english. now that they were securing arms and ammunition from albany it was probable that they would carry their raids right to the heart of new france. denonville was therefore forced to the conclusion that he had better strike quickly. in making this decision he was right, for in dealing with savage races a thrust is almost always the best defense. armed preparations were consequently once more placed under way, and in the summer of a flotilla of canoes and batteaux bearing soldiers and supplies was again at cataraqui. this time the expedition was stronger in numbers and better equipped than ever before. down the lakes from michilimackinac came a force of _coureurs-de-bois_, among them seasoned veterans of the wilderness like du lhut, tonty, la forêt, morel de la durantaye, and nicholas perrot, each worth a whole squad of soldiers when it came to fighting the iroquois in their own forests. at the rendezvous across the lake from cataraqui the french and their allies mustered nearly three thousand men. denonville had none of his predecessor's bravado coupled with cowardice; his plans were carried forward with a precision worthy of frontenac. unlike frontenac, however he had a scant appreciation of the skill with which the red man could get out of the way in the face of danger. by moving too slowly after he had set out overland towards the seneca villages, he gave the enemy time to place themselves out of his reach. so he burned their villages and destroyed large areas of growing corn. after more than a week had been spent in laying waste the land, denonville and his expedition retired slowly to cataraqui. leaving part of his force there, the governor went westward to niagara, where he rebuilt in more substantial fashion la salle's old fort at that point and placed it in charge of a garrison. the _coureurs-de-bois_ then continued on their way to michilimackinac while denonville returned to montreal. the expedition of had not been a fiasco like that of , but neither was it in any real way a success. it angered the whole iroquois confederacy without, having sufficiently impressed the indians with the punitive power of the french. denonville had stirred up the nest without destroying the hornets. it was all too soon the indians' turn to show what they could do as ravagers of unprotected villages; within a year after the french expedition had returned, the iroquois bands were raiding the territory of the french to the very outskirts of montreal itself. the route to the west was barred; the fort at niagara had to be abandoned; cataraqui was cut off from succor and ultimately had to be destroyed by its garrison; not a single canoe-load of furs came down from the lakes during the entire summer. the merchants were facing ruin, and the whole colony was beginning to tremble for its very existence. the seven years since frontenac left the land had indeed been a lurid interval. it was at this juncture that tidings of the colony's dire distress were hurried to the king, and the grand monarch moved with rare good sense. he promptly sent for that grim old veteran whom he had recalled in anger seven years before. in all the realm frontenac was the one man who could be depended upon to restore the prestige of france along the great trade routes. the great onontio, as frontenac was known to the indians, reached the st. lawrence in the late autumn of , just as the colony was about to pass through its darkest hours. quebec greeted him as a _redemptor patriae_; its people, in the words of la hontan, were as jews welcoming the messiah. nor was their enthusiasm without good cause, for in a few years frontenac demonstrated his ability to put the colony on its feet once more. he settled its internal broils, opened the channels of trade, restored the forts, repulsed the english, and brought the iroquois to terms. now that his mission had been achieved and he was no longer as robust as of old, the iron governor asked the minister to keep him in mind for some suitable sinecure in france if the opportunity came. this the minister readily promised, but the promise was still unfulfilled when frontenac was stricken with his last illness. on november , , the greatest of the onontios, or governors, passed away. "devoted to the service of his king," says his eulogist, "more busied with duty than with gain; inviolable in his fidelity to his friends, he was as vigorous a supporter as he was an untiring foe." had his official career closed with his recall in , frontenac would have ranked as one of the singular misfits of the old french colonial system. but the brilliant successes of his second term made men forget the earlier days of petulance and petty bickerings. in the sharp contrasts of his nature frontenac was an unusual man, combining many good and great qualities with personal shortcomings that were equally pronounced. in the civil history of new france he challenges attention as the most remarkable figure. chapter vi la salle and the voyageurs the greatest and most enduring achievement of frontenac's first term was the exploration of the territory southwestward of the great lakes and the planting of french influence there. this work was due, in large part, to the courage and energy of the intrepid la salle. rené-robert cavelier, sieur de la salle, like so many others who followed the fleur-de-lis into the recesses of the new continent, was of norman birth and lineage. rouen was the town of his nativity; the year probably the date of his birth. how the days of his youth were spent we do not know except that he received a good education, presumably in a jesuit seminary. while still in the early twenties he came to montreal where he had an older brother, a priest of the seminary of st. sulpice. this was in . through, the influence of his brother, no doubt, he received from the seminary a grant of the seigneury at lachine on the river above the town, and at once began the work of developing this property. if la salle intended to become a yeoman of new france, his choice of a site was not of the best. the seigneury which he acquired was one of the most dangerous spots in the whole colony, being right in the path of iroquois attack. he was able to gather a few settlers around him, it is true, but their homes had to be enclosed by palisades, and they hardly dared venture into the fields unarmed. though the iroquois and the french were just now at peace, the danger of treachery was never absent. on the other hand no situation could be more favorable for one desiring to try his hand at the fur trade. it was inevitable, therefore, that a young man of la salle's adventurous temperament and commercial ancestry should soon forsake the irksome drudgery of clearing land for the more exciting and apparently more profitable pursuit of forest trade. that was what happened. in the winter of - he heard from the indians their story of a great southwestern river which made its way to the "vermilion sea." the recital quickened the restless strain in his norman blood. here, he thought, was the long-sought passage to the shores of the orient, and he determined to follow the river. having no other means of obtaining funds with which to equip an expedition, la salle sold his seigneury and at once began his preparations. in july, , he set off with a party of about twenty men, some of whom were missionaries sent by the seminary of st. sulpice to carry the tidings of the faith into the heart of the continent. up the st. lawrence and along the south shore of lake ontario they went, halting at irondequoit bay while la salle and a few of his followers went overland to the seneca villages in search of guides. continuing to niagara, the party divided and the sulpicians made their way to the sault ste. marie, while la salle with the remainder of the expedition struck out south of lake erie and in all probability reached the ohio by descending one of its branches. but, as no journal or contemporary record of the venture after they had left niagara has come down to us, the details of the journey are unknown. it is believed that desertions among his followers prevented further progress and that, in the winter of - , la salle retraced his steps to the lakes. in its main object the expedition had been a failure. having exhausted his funds, la salle had no opportunity, for the present at least, of making another trial. he accordingly asked frontenac for trading privileges at cataraqui, the site of modern kingston, where stood the fortified post named after the governor. upon frontenac's recommendation la salle received in not only the exclusive right to trade but also a grant of land at fort frontenac on condition that he would rebuild the defenses with stone and supply a garrison. the conditions being acceptable, the explorer hastened to his new post and was soon engaged in the fur trade upon a considerable scale. la salle, however, needed more capital than he himself could supply, and in he made a second trip to france with letters from frontenac to the king and colbert. he also had the further design in view of obtaining authority and funds for another trip of exploration to the west. since his previous expedition in two of his compatriots, père marquette and louis joliet, had reached the great river and had found every reason for believing that its course ran south to the gulf of mexico, and not southwestward to the gulf of california, as had previously been supposed. but they had not followed the mississippi to its outlet, and this was what la salle was now determined to do. in paris he found attentive listeners to his plans, and even the king's ministers were interested, so that when la salle sailed back to quebec in he brought a royal decree authorizing him to proceed with his project. with him came a daring spirit who was to be chief lieutenant and faithful companion in the ensuing years, henri de tonty. this adventurous soldier was later known among the indians as "tonty of the iron hand," for in his youth he had lost a hand in battle, and in its stead now wore an artificial one of iron, which he used from time to time with wholesome effect. he was a man of great physical strength, and commensurate courage, loyal to his chief and almost la salle's equal in perseverance. la salle's party lost no time in proceeding to fort frontenac. even though the winter was at hand, hennepin was at once sent forward to niagara with instructions to build a post and to begin the construction of a vessel so that the journey westward might be begun with the opening of spring. later in the winter la salle and tonty joined the party at niagara where the fort was completed. before spring arrived, a vessel of about forty-five tons, the largest yet built for service on the lakes, had been constructed. on its prow stood a carved griffin, from the armorial bearings of frontenac, and out of its portholes frowned several small cannon. with the advent of summer la salle and his followers went aboard; the sails were spread, and in due course the expedition readied michilimackinac, where the jesuits had already established their most westerly mission. the arrival of the _griffin_ brought indians by the hundred to marvel at the "floating fort" and to barter their furs for the trinkets with which la salle had provided himself. the little vessel then sailed westward into lake michigan and finally dropped anchor in green bay where an additional load of beaver skins was put on deck. with the approach of autumn the return trip began. la salle, however, did not accompany his valuable cargo, having a mind to spend the winter in. explorations along the illinois. in september, with many misgivings, he watched the _griffin_ set sail in charge of a pilot. then, with the rest of his followers he started southward along the wisconsin shore. reaching the mouth of the st. joseph, he struck into the interior to the upper kankakee. this stream the voyageurs, who numbered about forty in all, descended until they reached the illinois, which they followed to the point where peoria now stands. here la salle's troubles began in abundance. the indians endeavored to dissuade him from leading the expedition farther, and even the explorer's own followers began to desert. chagrinned at these untoward circumstances and on his guard lest the indians prove openly hostile, la salle proceeded to secure his position by the erection of a fort to which he gave the name crèvecoeur. here he left tonty with the majority of the party, while he himself started with five men back to niagara. his object was in part to get supplies for building a vessel at fort crèvecoeur, and in part to learn what had become of the _griffin_, for since that vessel had sailed homeward he had heard no word from her crew. proceeding across what is now southern michigan, la salle emerged on the shores of the detroit river. from this point he pushed across the neck of land to lake erie, where he built a canoe which brought him to niagara at eastertide, . his fears for the fate of the _griffin_ were now confirmed: the vessel had been lost, and with her a fortune in furs. nothing daunted, however, la salle hurried on to fort frontenac and thence with such speed to montreal that he accomplished the trip from the illinois to the ottawa in less than three months--a feat hitherto unsurpassed in the annals of american exploration. at montreal the explorer, who once more sought the favor of frontenac, was provided with equipment at the king's expense. within a few months he was again at fort frontenac and ready to rejoin tonty at crèvecoeur. just as he was about to depart, however, word came that the crèvecoeur garrison had mutinied and had destroyed the post. la salle's one hope now was that his faithful lieutenant had held on doggedly and had saved the vessel he had been building. but tonty in the meantime had made his way with a few followers to green bay, so that when la salle reached the illinois he found everyone gone. undismayed by this climax to his misfortunes, la salle nevertheless pushed on down the illinois, and early in december reached its confluence with the mississippi. to follow the course of this great stream with the small party which accompanied him seemed, however, too hazardous an undertaking. la salle, therefore, retraced his steps once more and spent the next winter at fort miami on the st. joseph to the southeast of lake michigan. in the spring word came to him that tonty was at michilimackinac, and thither he hastened, to hear from tonty's own lips the long tale of disaster. "any one else," wrote an eye-witness of the meeting, "would have thrown up his hands and abandoned the enterprise; but far from this, with, a firmness and constancy that never had its equal, i saw him more resolved than ever to continue his work and push forward his discovery." now that he had caught his first glimpse of the mississippi, la salle was determined to persist until he had followed its course to the outlet. returning with tonty to fort frontenac, he replenished his supplies. in this same autumn of , with a larger number of followers, the explorer was again on his way to the illinois. by february the party had reached the mississippi. passing the missouri and the ohio, la salle and his followers kept steadily on their way and early in april reached the spot where the father of waters debouches through three channels into the gulf. here at the outlet they set up a column with the insignia of france, and, as they took possession of the land in the name of their king, they chanted in solemn tones the _exaudiat_, and in the name of god they set up their banners. but the french were short of supplies and could not stay long after the symbols of sovereignty had been raised aloft. paddling slowly against the current. la salle and his party reached the illinois only in august. here la salle and tonty built their fort st. louis and here they spent the winter. during the next summer ( ) the indefatigable explorer journeyed down to quebec, and on the last ship of the year took passage for france. in the meantime, frontenac, always his firm friend and supporter, had been recalled, and la barre, the new governor, was unfriendly. a direct appeal to the home authorities for backing seemed the only way of securing funds for further explorations. accordingly, early in la salle appeared at the french court with elaborate plans for founding a colony in the valley of the lower mississippi. this time the expedition was to proceed by sea. to this project the king gave his assent, and commanded the royal officers to furnish the supplies. by midsummer four ships were ready to set sail for the gulf. once more, however, troubles beset la salle on every hand. disease broke out on the vessels; the officers quarreled among themselves; the expedition was attacked by the spaniards, and one ship was lost. not until the end of december was a landing made, and then not at the mississippi's mouth but at a spot far to the west of it, on the sands of matagorda bay. finding that he had missed his reckonings, la salle directed a part of his company to follow the shore. after many days of fruitless search, they established a permanent camp and sent the largest vessel back to france. their repeated efforts to reach the mississippi overland were in vain. finally, in the winter of , la salle with a score of his strongest followers struck out northward, determined to make their way to the lakes, where they might find succor. to follow the detail of their dreary march would be tedious. the hardships of the journey, without adequate equipment or provisions, and the incessant danger of attack by the indians increased petty jealousies into open mutiny. on the th of march, , the courageous and indefatigable la salle was treacherously assassinated by one of his own party. here in the fastnesses of the southwest died at the age of forty-four the intrepid explorer of new france, whom tonty called--perhaps not untruthfully--"one of the greatest men of this age." "thus," writes a later historian with all the perspective of the intervening years, "was cut short the career of a man whose personality is impressed in some respects more strongly than that of any other upon the history of new france. his schemes were too far-reaching to succeed. they required the strength and resources of a half-dozen nations like the france of louis xiv. nevertheless the lines upon which new france continued to develop were substantially those which la salle had in mind, and the fabric of a wilderness empire, of which he laid the foundations, grew with the general growth of colonization, and in the next century became truly formidable. it was not until wolfe climbed the heights of abraham that the great ideal of la salle was finally overthrown." it would be difficult, indeed, to find among the whole array of explorers which history can offer in all ages a perseverance more dogged in the face of abounding difficulties. phoenix-like, he rose time after time from the ashes of adversity. neither fatigue nor famine, disappointment nor even disaster, availed to swerve him from his purpose. to him, more than to any one else of his time, the french could justly attribute their early hold upon the great regions of the west. other explorers and voyageurs of his generation there were in plenty, and their service was not inconsiderable. but in courage and persistence, as well as in the scope of his achievements, la salle, the pathfinder of rouen, towered above them all. he had, what so many of the others lacked, a clear vision of what the great plains and valleys of the middle west could yield towards the enrichment of a nation in years to come. "america," as parkman has aptly said, "owes him an enduring memory; for in this masculine figure she sees the pioneer who guided her to the possession of her richest heritage." chapter vii the church in new france nearly all that was distinctive in the life of old canada links itself in one way or another with the catholic religion. from first to last in the history of new france the most pervading trait was the loyalty of its people to the church of their fathers. intendants might come and go; governors abode their destined hour and went their way; but the apostles of the ancient faith never for one moment released their grip upon the hearts and minds of the canadians. during two centuries the political life of the colony ran its varied rounds; the habits of the people were transformed with the coming of material prosperity: but the church went on unchanged, unchanging. one may praise the steadfastness with which the church fought for what its bishops believed to be right, or one may, on the other hand, decry the arrogance of its pretensions to civil power and its hampering conservatism; but as the great central fact in the history of new france, the hegemony of catholicism cannot be ignored. when frenchmen began the work of founding a dominion in the new world, their own land was convulsed with religious troubles. not only were the huguenots breaking from the trammels of the old religion, but within the catholic church, itself in france there were two great contending factions. one group strove for the preservation of the galilean liberties, the special rights of the french king and the french bishops in the ecclesiastical government of the land, while the other claimed for the pope a supremacy over all earthly rulers in matters of spiritual concern. it was not a difference on points of doctrine, for the galileans did not question the headship of the papacy in things of the spirit. what they insisted upon was the circumscribed nature of the papal power in temporal matters within the realm of france, particularly with regard to the right of appointment to ecclesiastical positions with endowed revenues. bishops, priests, and religious orders ranged themselves on one side or the other, for it was a conflict in which there could be no neutrality. as the royal authorities were heart and soul with the galileans, it was natural enough that priests of this group should gain the first religious foothold in the colony. the earliest priests brought to the colony were members of the récollet order. they came with champlain in , and made their headquarters in quebec at the suggestion of the king's secretary. for ten years they labored in the colony, striving bravely to clear the way for a great missionary crusade. but the day of the récollets in new france was not long. in came the advance guard of another religious order, the militant jesuits, bringing with them their traditions of unwavering loyalty to the ultramontane cause. the work of the récollets had, on the whole, been disappointing, for their numbers and their resources proved too small for effective progress. during ten years of devoted labor they had scarcely been able to make any impression upon the great wilderness of heathenism that lay on all sides. in view of the apparent futility of their efforts, the coming of the jesuits--suggested, it may be, by champlain--was probably not unwelcome to them. richelieu, moreover, had now brought his ultramontane sympathies close to the seat of royal power, so that the king no longer was in a position to oppose the project. at any rate the jesuits sailed for canada, and their arrival forms a notable landmark in the history of the colony. their dogged zeal and iron persistence carried them to points which missionaries of no other religious order would have reached. for the jesuits were, above all things else, the harbingers of a militant faith. their organization and their methods admirably fitted them to be the pioneers of the cross in new lands. they were men of action, seeking to win their crown of glory and their reward through intense physical and spiritual exertions, not through long seasons of prayer and meditation in cloistered seclusion. loyola, the founder of the order, gave to the world the nucleus of a crusading host, disciplined as no army ever was. if the jesuits could not achieve the spiritual conquest of the new world, it was certain that no others could. and this conquest they did achieve. the whole course of catholic missionary effort throughout the western hemisphere was shaped by members of the jesuit order. only four of these priests came to quebec in . although it was intended that others should follow at once, their number was not substantially increased until seven years later, when the troubles with england were brought to an end and the colony was once more securely in the hands of the french. then the jesuits came steadily, a few arriving with almost every ship, and either singly or together they were sent off to the indian settlements--to the hurons around the georgian bay, to the algonquins north of the ottawa, and to the iroquois south of the lakes. the physical vigor, the moral heroism, and the unquenchable religious zeal of these missionaries were qualities exemplified in a measure and to a degree which are beyond the power of any pen to describe. historians of all creeds have tendered homage to their self-sacrifice and zeal, and never has work of human hand or spirit been more worthy of tribute. the jesuit went, often alone, where no others dared to go, and he faced unknown dangers which had all the possibilities of torture and martyrdom. nor did this energy waste itself in flashes of isolated triumph. the jesuit was a member of an efficient organization, skillfully guided by inspired leaders and carrying its extensive work of christianization with machine-like thoroughness through the vastness of five continents. we are too apt to think only of the individual missionary's glowing spirit and rugged faith, his picturesque strivings against great odds, and to regard him as a guerilla warrior against the hosts of darkness. had he been this, and nothing more, his efforts must have been altogether in vain. the great services which the jesuit missionary rendered in the new world, both to his country and to his creed, were due not less to the matchless organization of the order to which he belonged than to qualities of courage, patience, and fortitude which he himself showed as a missionary. during the first few years of jesuit effort among the indians of new france the results were pitifully small. the hurons, among whom the missionaries put forth their initial labors, were poor stock, even as red men went. the minds of these half-nomadic and dull-witted savages were filled with gross superstitions, and their senses had been brutalized by the incessant torments of their iroquois enemies. amid the toils and hazards and discomforts of so insecure and wandering a life the jesuits found little opportunity for soundly instructing the hurons in the faith. hence there were but few neophytes in these early years. by the missionaries could count only a hundred converts in a population of many thousands, and even this little quota included many infants who had died soon after receiving the rites of baptism. more missionaries kept coming, however; the work steadily broadened; and the posts of service were multiplied. in due time the footprints of the jesuits were everywhere, from the st. lawrence to the mississippi, from the tributaries of the hudson to the regions north of the ottawa. le jeune, massé, brébeuf, lalemant, ragueneau, le dablon, jogues, gamier, raymbault, péron, moyne, allouez, druilletes, chaumonot, ménard, bressani, daniel, chabanel, and a hundred others,--they soon formed that legion whose works of courage and devotion stand forth so prominently in the early annals of new france. once at their stations in the upper country, the missionaries regularly sent down to the superior of the order at quebec their full reports of progress, difficulties, and hopes, all mingled with interesting descriptions of indian customs, folklore, and life. it is no wonder that these narratives, "jotted down hastily," as le jeune tells us, "now in one place, now in another, sometimes on water, sometimes on land," were often crude, or that they required careful editing before being sent home to france for publication. in their printed form, however, these _rélations des jésuites_ gained a wide circle of european readers; they inspired more missionaries to come, and they drew from well-to-do laymen large donations of money for carrying on the crusade. the royal authorities also gave their earnest support, for they saw in the jesuit missionary not merely a torchbearer of his faith or a servant of the church. they appreciated his loyalty and remembered that he never forgot his king, nor shirked his duty to the cause of france among the tribes. every mission post thus became an embassy, and every jesuit an ambassador of his race, striving to strengthen the bonds of friendship between the people to whom he went and the people from whom he came. the french authorities at quebec were not slow to recognize what an ever-present help the jesuit could be in times of indian trouble. one governor expressed the situation with fidelity when he wrote to the home authorities that, "although the interests of the gospel do not require us to keep missionaries in all the indian villages, the interests of the civil government for the advantage of trade must induce us to manage things so that we may always have at least one of them there." it must therefore be admitted that, when the civil authorities did encourage the missions, they did not always do so with a purely spiritual motive in mind. as the political and commercial agent of his people, the jesuit had great opportunities, and in this capacity he usually gave a full measure of service. after he had gained the confidence of the tribes, the missionary always succeeded in getting the first inkling of what was going on in the way of inter-tribal intrigues. he learned to fathom the indian mind and to perceive the redskin's motives. he was thus able to communicate to quebec the information and advice which so often helped the french to outwit their english rivals. as interpreters in the conduct of negotiations and the making of treaties the jesuits were also invaluable. how much, indeed, these blackrobes achieved for the purely secular interests of the french colony, for its safety from sudden indian attack, for the development of its trade, and for its general upbuilding, will never be known. the missionary did not put these things on paper, but he rendered services which in all probability were far greater than posterity will ever realize. it was not, however, with the conversion of the indians or with the service of french secular interests among the savages that the work of the jesuits was wholly, or even chiefly, concerned. during the middle years of the seventeenth century, these services at the outposts of french territory may have been most significant, for the french population along the shores of the st. lawrence remained small, the settlements were closely huddled together, and a few priests could serve their spiritual needs. the popular impression of jesuit enterprises in the new world is connected almost wholly with work among the indians. this pioneer phase of the jesuit's work was picturesque, and historians have had a great deal to say about it. it was likewise of this service in the depths of the interior that the missionary himself wrote most frequently. but as the colony grew and broadened its bounds until its settlements stretched all the way from the saguenay to montreal and beyond, a far larger number of _curés_ was needed. before the old régime came to a close there were far more frenchmen than indians within the french sphere of influence in america, and they required by far the greater share of jesuit ministration, and, long before the old dominion ended, the indian missions had to take a subordinate place in the general program of jesuit undertakings. the outposts in the indian country were the chief scene of jesuit labors from to about , when the emphasis shifted to the st. lawrence valley. some of the mission fields held their own to the end, but in general they failed to make much headway during the last half-century of french rule. the church in the settled portions of the colony, however, kept on with its steady progress in achievement and power. new france was the child of missionary fervor. even from the outset, in the scattered settlements along the st. lawrence, the interests of religion were placed on a strictly missionary basis. there were so-called parishes in the colony almost from its beginning, but not until was the entire colony set off into recognized ecclesiastical parishes, each with a fixed _curé_ in charge. through all the preceding years each village or _côte_ had been served by a missionary, by a movable _curé_, or by a priest sent out from the seminary at quebec. no priest was tied to any parish but was absolutely at the immediate beck and call of the bishop. some reason for this unsettled arrangement might be found in the conditions under which the colony developed in its early years; with its sparse population ranging far and wide, with its lack of churches and of _presbytères_ in which the priest might reside. but the real explanation of its long continuance lies in the fact that, if regular _curés_ were appointed, the seigneurs would lay claim to various rights of nomination or patronage, whereas the bishop could control absolutely the selection of missionary priests and could thus more easily carry through his policy of ecclesiastical centralization. not only in this particular, but in every other phase of religious life and organization during these crusading days in canada, one must reckon not only with the logic of the situation, but also with the dominating personality of the first and greatest ultramontane, bishop laval. though not himself a jesuit, for no member of the order could be a bishop, laval was in tune with their ideals and saw eye to eye with the jesuits on every point of religious and civil policy. françois xavier de laval, abbé de montigny, was born in , a scion of the great house of montmorency. he was therefore of high nobility, the best-born of all the many thousands who came to new france throughout its history. as a youth his had come into close association with the jesuits, and had spent four years in the famous hermitage at caen, that jesuit stronghold which served so long as the nursery for the spiritual pioneers of early canada. when he came to quebec as vicar-apostolic in , he was only thirty-seven years of age. his position in the colony at the time of his arrival was somewhat unusual, for although he was to be in command of the colony's spiritual forces. new france was not yet organized as a diocese and could not be so organized until the pope and the king should agree upon the exact status of the church in the french colonial dominions. laval was nevertheless given his titular rank from the ancient see of petraea in arabia which had long since been _in partibus infidelium_ and hence had no bishop within its bounds. from his first arrival in canada his was bishop laval, but without a diocese over which he could actually hold sway. his commission as vicar-apostolic gave him power enough, however, and his responsibility was to the pope alone. for the tasks which, he was sent to perform, laval had eminent qualifications. a haughty spirit went with the ultra-blue blood in his veins; he had a temperament that loved to lead and to govern, and that could not endure to yield or to lag behind. his intellectual talents were high beyond question, and to them he added the blessing of a rugged physical frame. no one ever came to a new land with more definite ideas of what he wanted to do or with a more unswerving determination to do it in his own way. it was not long before the stamp of laval's firm hand was laid upon the life of the colony. in due course, too, he found himself at odds with the governor. the dissensions smouldered at first, and then broke out into a blaze that warmed the passions of all elements in the colony. the exact origin of the feud is somewhat obscure, and it is not necessary to put down here the details of its development to the war _à outrance_ which soon engaged the civil and ecclesiastical authorities in the colony. in the background was the question of the _coureurs-de-bois_ and the liquor traffic which now became a definite issue and which remained the storm centre of colonial politics for many generations. the merchants insisted that if this traffic were extinguished it would involve the ruin of the french hold upon the indian trade. the bishop and the priests, on the other hand, were ready to fight the liquor traffic to the end and to exorcise it as the greatest blight upon the new world. quebec soon became a cockpit where the battle of these two factions raged. each had its ups and downs, until in the end the traffic remained, but under a makeshift system of regulation. to portray laval and his associates as always in bitter conflict with the civil power, nevertheless, would be to paint a false picture. church and state were not normally at variance in their views and aims. they clashed fiercely on many occasions, it is true, but after their duels they shook hands and went to work with a will at the task of making the colony stand upon its own feet. historians have magnified these bickerings out of all proportion. squabbles over matters of precedence at ceremonies, over the rate of the tithes, and over the curbing of the _coureurs-de-bois_ did not take the major share of the church's attention. for the greater part of two whole centuries it loyally aided the civil power in all things wherein the two could work together for good. and these ways of assistance were many. for example the church, through its various institutions and orders, rendered a great service to colonial agriculture. as the greatest landowner in new france, it set before the seigneurs and the habitants an example of what intelligent methods of farming and hard labor could accomplish in making the land yield its increase. the king was lavish in his grants of territory to the church: the jesuits received nearly a million _arpents_ as their share of the royal bounty; the bishop and the quebec seminary, the sulpicians, and the ursulines, about as much more. of the entire granted acreage of new france the church controlled about one-quarter, so that its position as a great landowner was even stronger in the colony than at home. nor did it fold its talents in a napkin. colonists were brought from france, farms were prepared for them in the church seigneuries, and the new settlers were guided and encouraged through, the troublous years of pioneering. with both money and brains at its command, the church was able to keep its own lands in the front line of agricultural progress. when in the whole colony was marked off into definite ecclesiastical divisions, seventy-two parishes were established, and nearly one hundred _curés_ were assigned to them. as time went on, both parishes and _curés_ increased in number, so that every locality had its spiritual leader who was also a philosopher and guide in all secular matters. the priest thus became a part of the community and never lost touch with his people. the habitant of new france for his part never neglected his church on week-days. the priest and the church were with him at work and at play, the spirit and the life of every community. though paid a meager stipend, the _curé_ worked hard and always proved a laborer far more than worthy of his hire. the clergy of new france never became a caste, a privileged order; they did not live on the fruits of other men's labor, but gave to the colony far more than the colony ever gave to them. as for the church revenues, these came from several sources. the royal treasury contributed large sums, but, as it was not full to overflowing, the king preferred to give his benefactions in generous grants of land. yet the royal subsidies amounted to many thousand livres each year. the diocese of quebec was endowed with the revenues of three french abbeys. wealthy laymen in france followed the royal example and sent contributions from time to time, frequently of large amount. while the company of one hundred associates controlled the trade of the colony, it made from its treasury some provisions for the support of the missionaries. after , a substantial source of ecclesiastical income was the tithe, an ecclesiastical tax levied annually upon all produce of the land, and fixed in at one-thirteenth. four years later it was reduced to one-twenty-sixth, and bishop laval's strenuous efforts to have the old rate restored were never successful. in education, yet another field of colonial life, the church rendered some service. here the civil authorities did nothing at all, and had it not been for the church the whole colony would have grown up in absolute illiteracy. a school for boys was established at quebec in champlain's day, and during the next hundred and fifty years it was followed by about thirty others. more than a dozen elementary schools for girls were also established under ecclesiastical auspices. yet the amount of secular education imparted by all these seminaries was astoundingly small, and they did but little to leaven the general illiteracy of the population. only the children of the towns attended the schools, and the program of study was of the most elementary character. religious instruction was given the first place and received so much attention that there was little time in school hours for anything else. the girls fared better than the boys on the whole, for the nuns taught them to sew and to knit as well as to read and to write. so far as secular education was concerned, therefore, the english conquest found the colony in almost utter stagnation. not one in five hundred among the habitants, it was said, could read or write. outside the immediate circle of clergy, officials, and notaries, ignorance of even the rudiments of education was almost universal. there were no newspapers in the colony and very few books save those used in the services of worship. greysolon du lhut, the king of the voyageurs, for example, was a man of means and education, but his entire library, as disclosed by his will, consisted of a world atlas and a set of josephus. the priests did not encourage the reading of secular books, and la hontan recounts the troubles which he had in keeping one militant _curé_ from tearing his precious volumes to pieces. new france was at that period not a land where freedom dwelt with knowledge. intellectually, the people of new france comprised on the one hand a small élite and on the other a great unlettered mass. there was no middle class between. yet the population of the colony always contained, especially among its officials and clergy, a sprinkling of educated and scholarly men. these have given us a literature of travel and description which is extensive and of high, quality. no other american colony of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries put so much, of its annals into print; the _rélations_ of the jesuits alone were sufficient to fill forty-one volumes, and they form but a small part of the entire literary output. chapter viii seigneurs of old canada from the beginning of the colony there ran in the minds of french officialdom the idea that the social order should rest upon a seigneurial basis. historians have commonly attributed to richelieu the genesis of new world feudalism, but without good reason, for its beginnings antedated the time of the great minister. the charter issued to the ill-starred la roche in empowered him "to grant lands to gentlemen in the forms of fiefs and seigneuries," and the different viceroys who had titular charge of the colony before the company of one hundred associates took charge in had similar powers. several seigneurial grants in the region of quebec had, in fact, been made before richelieu first turned his attention to the colony. nor was the adoption of this policy at all unnatural. despite its increasing obsolescence, the seigneurial system was still strong in france and dominated the greater part of the kingdom. the nobility and even the throne rested upon it. the church, as suzerain of enormous landed estates, sanctioned and supported it. the masses of the french people were familiar with no other system of landholding. no prolonged quest need accordingly be made to explain why france transplanted feudalism to the shores of the great canadian waterway; in fact, an explanation would have been demanded had any other policy been considered. no one asks why the puritans took to massachusetts bay the english system of freehold tenure. they took the common law of england and the tenure that went with it. along with the fleur-de-lis, likewise, went the custom of paris and the whole network of social relations based upon a hierarchy of seigneurs and dependents. the seigneurial system of land tenure, as all students of history know, was feudalism in a somewhat modernized form. during the chaos which came upon western europe in the centuries following the collapse of roman imperial supremacy, every local magnate found himself forced to depend for existence upon the strength of his own castle, under whose walls he gathered as many vassals as he could induce to come. to these he gave the surrounding lands free from all rents, but on condition of aid in time of war. the lord gave the land and promised to protect his vassals, who, on their part, took the land and promised to pay for it not in money or in kind, but in loyalty and service. thus there was created a close personal relation, a bond of mutual wardship and fidelity which bound liegeman and lord with hoops of steel. the whole social order rested upon this bond and upon the gradations in privilege which it involved in a sequence which became stereotyped. in its day feudalism was a great institution and one which shared with the christian church the glory of having made mediaeval life at all worth living. it helped to keep civilization from perishing utterly in a whirl of anarchy, and it enabled europe to recover inch by inch its former state of order, stability, and law. but, having done its service to humanity, feudalism did not quietly make way for some other system more suited to the new conditions. it hung on grimly long after the forces which had brought it into being ceased to exist, long after the growth of a strong monarchy in france with a powerful standing army had removed the necessity of mutual guardianship and service. to meet the new conditions the system merely changed its incidents, never its general form. the ancient obligation of military service, no longer needed, gave place to dues and payments. the old personal bond relaxed; the feudal lord became the seigneur, a mere landlord. the vassal became the _censitaire_, a mere tenant, paying heavy dues each year in return for protection which, he no longer received nor required. in a word, before the feudal system had become the seigneurial system, and it was the latter which was established in the french colony of canada. in the new land there was reason to hope, however, that this system of social relations based upon landholding would soon work its way back to the vigor which it had displayed in mediaeval days. here in the midst of an unfathomed wilderness was a small european settlement with hostile tribes on every hand. the royal arm, so strong in affording protection at home, could not strike hard and promptly in behalf of subjects a thousand leagues away. new france, accordingly must organize itself for defense and repel her enemies just as the earldoms and duchies of the crusading centuries had done. and that is just what the colony did, with the seigneurial system as the groundwork of defensive strength. under stress of the new environment, which was not wholly unlike that of the former feudal days, the military aspects of the system revived and the personal bond regained much of its ancient vigor. the sordid phases of seigneurialism dropped into the background. it was this restored vitality that helped, more than all else, to turn new france into a huge armed camp which hordes of invaders, both white and red, strove vainly to pierce time after time during more than a full century. the first grant of a seigneury in the territory of new france was made in to louis hébert, a paris apothecary who had come to quebec with champlain some years before this date. his land consisted of a tract upon the height above the settlement, and here he had cleared the fields and built a home for himself. by this indenture feudalism cast its first anchor in new france, and hébert became the colony's first patron of husbandry. other grants soon followed, particularly during the years when the company of one hundred associates was in control of the land, for, by the terms of its charter, this organization was empowered to grant large tracts as seigneuries and also to issue patents of nobility. it was doubtless assumed by the king that such grants would be made only to persons who would actually emigrate to new france and who would thus help in the upbuilding of the colony, but the company did not live up to this policy. instead, it made lavish donations, some of them containing a hundred square miles or more, to directors and friends of the company in france who neither came to the colony themselves nor sent representatives to undertake the clearing of these large estates. one director took the entire island of orleans; others secured generous slices of the best lands on both shores of the st. lawrence; but not one of them lifted a finger in the way of redeeming these huge concessions from a state of wilderness primeval. the tracts were merely held in the hope that some day they would become valuable. out of sixty seigneuries which were granted by the company during the years from to not more than a half-dozen grants were made to _bona fide_ colonists. at the latter date the total area of cleared land was scarcely four thousand _arpents_.[ ] [footnote : an _arpent_ was about five-sixths of an acre.] with the royal action of which took the colony from the company and reconstructed its government, the seigneurial system was galvanized at once with new energy. the uncleared tracts which the officials of the company had carved out among themselves were declared to be forfeited to the crown and actual occupancy was held to be, for the future, the essential of every seigneurial grant. a vigorous effort was made to obtain settlers, and with considerable success, for in the years - the population of the colony more than doubled. nothing was left undone by the royal authorities in securing and transporting emigrants. officials from paris scoured the provinces, offering free passage to quebec and free grants of land upon arrival. the campaign was successful, and many shiploads of excellent colonists, most of them hardy peasants from normandy, brittany, perche, and picardy, were sent during these banner years. on their arrival at quebec the incoming settlers were taken in hand by officials and were turned over to the various seigneurs who were ready to provide them with lands and to help them in getting well started. if the newcomer happened to be a man of some account at home, and particularly if he brought some money with him, he had the opportunity to become a seigneur himself. he merely applied to the intendant, who was quite willing to endow with a seigneury any one who appeared likely to get it cleared and ready for future settlers. in this matter the officials, following out the spirit of the royal orders, were prone to err on the side of liberality. too often they gave large seigneurial grants to men who had neither the energy nor the funds to do what was expected of a seigneur in the new land. as for extent, the seigneuries varied greatly. some were as large as a european dukedom; others contained only a few thousand _arpents_. there was no fixed rule; within reasonable limits each applicant obtained what he asked for, but it was generally understood that men who had been members of the french _noblesse_ before coming to the colony were entitled to larger areas than those who were not. in any case little attention was paid to exact boundaries, and no surveys were made. in making his request for a seigneury each applicant set forth what he wanted, and this he frequently did in such broad terms as, "all lands between such-and-such a river and the seigneury of the sieur de so-and-so." these descriptions, rarely adequate or accurate, were copied into the patent, causing often hopeless confusion of boundaries and unneighborly squabbles. it was fortunate that most seigneurs had more land than they could use; otherwise there would have been as many lawsuits as seigneuries. the obligations imposed upon the seigneurs were not burdensome. no initial payment was asked, and there were no annual rentals to be paid to the crown. each seigneur had to render the ceremony of fealty and homage to the royal representative at quebec. each was liable for military service, although that obligation was not written into the grant. when a seigneury changed owners otherwise than by inheritance in direct succession, a payment known as the _quint_ (being, as the name connotes, one-fifth of the reported value) became payable to the royal treasury, but this was rarely collected. the most important obligation imposed upon the canadian seigneur, and one which did not exist at all in france, was that of getting settlers established upon his lands. this obligation the authorities insisted upon above all others. the canadian seigneur was expected to live on his domain, to gather dependents around him, to build a mill for grinding their grain, to have them level the forest, clear the fields, and make two blades of grass grow where one grew before. in other words, the canadian seigneur was to be a royal immigration and land agent combined. he was not given his generous landed patrimony in order that he should sit idly by and wait for the unearned increment to come. many of the seigneurs fulfilled this trust to the letter. robert giffard, who received the seigneury of beauport just below quebec, was one of these; charles le moyne, sieur de longueuil, was another. both brought many settlers from france and saw them safely through the years of pioneering. others, however, did no more than flock to quebec when ships were expected, like so many real estate agents explaining to the new arrivals what they had to offer in the way of lands fertile and well situated. still others did not even do so much, but merely put forth one excuse after another to explain why their tracts remained without settlements at all. from time to time the authorities prodded these seigneurial drones and threatened them with the forfeiture of their estates; but some of the laggards had friends among the members of the sovereign council or possessed other means of warding off action, so that final decrees of forefeiture were rarely issued. occasionally there were seigneurs whose estates were so favorably situated that they could exact a bonus from intending settlers, but the king very soon put a stop to this practice. by the arrêts of marly in he decreed that no bonus or _prix d'entrée_ should be exacted by any seigneur, but that every settler was to have land for the asking and at the rate of the annual dues customary in the neighborhood. at this date there were some ninety seigneuries in the colony, about which we have considerable information owing to a careful survey which was made in at the king's request. this work was entrusted to an engineer, gedéon de catalogne, who had come to quebec a quarter of a century earlier to help with the fortifications. catalogne spent two years in his survey, during which time he visited practically all the colonial estates. as a result he prepared and sent to france a full report giving in each case the location and extent of the seigneury, the name of its owner, the nature of the soil, and its suitability for various uses, the products, the population, the condition of the people, the provisions made for religious instruction, and various other matters.[ ] with the report he sent three maps, one of which has disappeared. the others show the location of all seigneuries in the regions of quebec and three rivers. [footnote : this report was printed for the first time in the author's _documents relating to the seigniorial tenure in canada_ (toronto: the champlain society, ).] from catalogne's survey we know that before nearly all the territory on both shores of the st. lawrence from below quebec to above montreal had been parceled into seigneuries. likewise the islands in the river and the land on both sides of the richelieu in the region toward lake champlain had been allotted. many of the seigneuries in this latter belt had been given to officers of the carignan-salières regiment which had come out with tracy in to chastise the mohawks. after the work of the regiment had been finished, talon suggested to the king that it be disbanded in canada, that the officers be persuaded to accept seigneuries, and that the soldiers be given lands within the estates of their officers. the grand monarque not only assented but promised a liberal money bonus to all who would remain. accordingly, more than twenty officers, chiefly captains or lieutenants, and nearly four hundred men, agreed to stay in new france under these arrangements. here was an experiment in the system of imperial rome repeated in the new world. when the empire of the caesars was beginning to give way before the oncoming goths and huns, the practice of disbanding the legions on the frontier so that they might settle there and form an iron ring against the invaders was adopted and served its purpose for a time. it was from these _praedia militaria_ that talon got the idea which he now transmitted to the french king with the suggestion that "the practice of these sagacious and warlike romans might be advantageously followed in a land which, being so far away from its sovereign, must trust for existence to the strength, of its own arms." in keeping with the same precedent, talon located the military seigneuries in that section of the colony where they would be most useful as a barrier against the enemy; that is to say, he placed them in the colony's most vulnerable region. this was the area along the richelieu from lake champlain to its confluence with the st. lawrence at sorel. it was by this route that the mohawks had already come more than once on their errands of massacre, and it was by this portal that the english were likely to come if they should ever attempt to overwhelm new france by an overland assault. the region of the richelieu was therefore made as strong against incursion as this colonizing measure could make it. all who took lands in this region, whether seigneurs or habitants, were to assemble in arms at the royal call. their uniforms and muskets they kept for service, and never during subsequent years was such a call without response. these military settlers and their sons after them were only too ready to rally around the royal _oriflamme_ at any opportunity. it was from the armed seigneuries of the richelieu that hertel de rouville, st. ours, and others quietly slipped forth and leaped with all the advantage of surprise upon the lonely hamlets of outlying massachusetts or new york. how the english feared these _gentilshommes_ let their own records tell, for there these french colonials put many a streak of blood and fire. but not all of the seigneuries were settled in this way, and it was well for the best interests of the colony that they were not. too often the good soldier made only an indifferent yeoman. first in war, he was last in peace. the task of hammering spears into ploughshares and swords into pruning-hooks was not altogether to his liking. most of the officers gradually grew tired of their rôle as gentlemen of the wilderness, and eventually sold or mortgaged their seigneuries and made their way back to france. many of the soldiers succumbed to the lure of the western fur traffic and became _coureurs-de-bois_. but many others stuck valiantly to the soil, and today their descendants by the thousand possess this fertile land. what were the obligations of the settler who took a grant of land within a seigneury? on the whole they were neither numerous nor burdensome, and in no sense were they comparable with those laid upon the hapless peasantry in france during the days before the great revolution. every habitant had a written title-deed from his seigneur and the terms of this deed were explicit. the seigneur could exact nothing that was not stipulated therein. these title-deeds were made by the notaries, of whom there seem to have been plenty in new france; the census of listed no fewer than twenty-four of them in a population which had not yet reached ten thousand. when the deed had been signed, the notary gave one copy to each of the parties; the original he kept himself. these scribes were men of limited education and did not always do their work with proper care, but on the whole they rendered useful service. the deed first set forth the situation and area of the habitant's farm. the ordinary extent was from one hundred to four hundred _arpents_, usually in the shape of a parallelogram with a narrow frontage on the river, and extending inland to a much greater distance. every one wanted to be near the main road which ran along the shore; it was only after all this land had been taken up that the incoming settlers were willing to have farms in the "second range" on the uplands away from the stream. at any rate, the habitant took his land subject to yearly payments known as the _cens et rentes_. the amount was small, a few sous together with a stated donation in grain or poultry to be delivered each autumn. reckoned in terms of present-day rentals, the _cens et rentes_ amounted to half a dozen chickens or a bushel of grain for each fifty or sixty acres of land. yet this was the only payment which the habitants of new france regularly made in return for their lands. each autumn at michaelmas they gathered at the seigneur's house, their carryalls filling his yard. one by one they handed over their quota of grain or poultry and counted out their _cens_ in copper coins. the occasion became a neighborhood festival to which the women came with the men. there was a general retailing of local gossip and a squaring-up of accounts among the neighbors themselves. but while this was the only regular payment made by the habitant, it was not the only obligation imposed upon him. in new france the seigneur had the exclusive right of grinding all grain, and the habitants were bound by their title-deeds to bring their grist to his mill and to pay the legal toll for milling. this _banalité_, as it was called, did not bear heavily upon the people; most of the complaints concerning it came rather from the seigneurs who claimed that the legal toll, which amounted to one-fourteenth of the grain, did not suffice to pay expenses. some of the seigneurs did not build mills at all, but the authorities eventually moved them to action by ordering that those who did not provide mills at once would not be allowed to enforce the obligation of toll at any future date. most of the seigneurial mills were crude, wind-driven affairs which made poor flour and often kept the habitants waiting for days to get it. usually built in tower-like fashion, they were loopholed in order to afford places of refuge and defense against indian attack. another seigneurial obligation was that of giving to the seigneur certain days of _corvée_, or forced labor, in each year. in france this was a grievous burden; peasants were taken from their own lands at inconvenient seasons and forced to work for weeks on the seigneur's domain. but there was nothing of this sort in canada. the amount of _corvée_ was limited to six days at the most in any year, of which only two days could be asked for at seed-time and two days at harvest. the seigneur, for his part, did not usually exact even this amount, because the neighborhood custom required that he should furnish both food and tools to those whom he called upon to work for him. besides, there were various details of a minor sort incidental to the seigneurial system. if the habitant caught fish in the river, one fish in every eleven belonged to the seigneur. but seldom was any attention paid to this stipulation. the seigneur was entitled to take firewood and building materials from the lands of his habitants if he desired, but he rarely availed himself of this right. on the morning of every may day the habitants were under strict injunction to plant a maypole before the seigneur's house, and this they never failed to do, because the seigneur in return was expected to dispense hospitality to all who came. bright and early in the morning the whole community appeared and greeted the seigneur with a salvo of blank musketry. with them they carried a tall fir-tree, pulled bare to within a few feet of the top where a tuft of green remained. having planted this maypole in the ground, they joined in dancing and a _feu de joie_ in the seigneur's honor, and then adjourned for cakes and wine at his table. there is no doubt that such good things disappeared with celerity before appetites whetted by an hour's exercise in the clear spring air. after drinking to the seigneur's health and to the health of all his kin, the merry company returned to their homes, leaving behind them the pole as a souvenir of their homage. that the seigneur was more than a mere landlord such an occasion testified. the seigneurs of new france had the right to hold courts for the settlement of disputes among their tenantry, but they rarely availed themselves of this privilege because, owing to the sparseness of the population in most of the seigneuries, the fines and fees did not produce enough income to make such a procedure worth while. in a few populous districts there were seigneurial courts with regular judges who held sessions once or twice each week. in some others the seigneur himself sat in judgment behind the living-room table in his own home and meted out justice after his own fashion. the custom of paris was the common law of the land, and all were supposed to know its provisions, though few save the royal judges had any such knowledge. when the seigneur himself heard the suitors, his decision was not always in keeping with the law but it usually satisfied the disputants, so that appeals to the royal courts were not common. these latter tribunals, each with a judge of its own, sat at quebec, three rivers, and montreal. their procedure, like that of the seigneurial courts, was simple, free from chicane, and inexpensive. a lawsuit in new france did not bring ruinous costs. "i will not say," remarks the facetious la hontan, "that the goddess of justice is more chaste here than in france, but at any rate, if she is sold, she is sold more cheaply. in canada we do not pass through the clutches of advocates, the talons of attorneys, and the claws of clerks. these vermin do not as yet infest the land. every one here pleads his own cause. our themis is prompt, and she does not bristle with fees, costs, and charges." throughout the french period there was no complaint from the habitants concerning the burdens of the seigneurial tenure. here and there disputes arose as to the exact scope and nature of various obligations, but these the intendant adjusted with a firm hand and an eye to the general interest. on the whole, the system rendered a highly useful service, by bringing the entire rural population into close and neighborly contact, by affording a firm foundation for the colony's social structure, and by contributing greatly to the defensive unity of new france. so long as the land was weak and depended for its very existence upon the solidarity of its people, so long as the intendant was there to guide the system with a praetorian hand and to prevent abuses, so long as strength was more to be desired than opulence, the seigneurial system served new france better than any other scheme of landholding would have done. it was only when the administration of the country came into new and alien hands that canadian seigneurialism became a barrier to economic progress and an obsolete system which had to be abolished. chapter ix the coureurs-de-bois the center and soul of the economic system in new france was the traffic in furs. even before the colony contained more than a handful of settlers, the profit-making possibilities of this trade were recognized. it grew rapidly even in the early days, and for more than a hundred and fifty years furnished new france with its sinews of war and peace. beginning on the st. lawrence, this trade moved westward along the great lakes, until toward the end of the seventeenth century it passed to the headwaters of the mississippi. during the two administrations of frontenac the fur traffic grew to large proportions, nor did it show much sign of shrinking for a generation thereafter. with the ebb-tide of french military power, however, the trader's hold on these western lands began to relax, and before the final overthrow of new france it had become greatly weakened. in establishing commercial relations with the indians, the french voyageur on the st. lawrence had several marked advantages over his english and dutch neighbors. by temperament he was better adapted than they to be a pioneer of trade. no race was more supple than his own in conforming its ways to the varied demands of place and time. when he was among the indians, the frenchman tried to act like one of them, and he soon developed in all the arts of forest life a skill which rivaled that of the indian himself. the fascination of life in the untamed wilderness with its hair-raising experiences, its romance, its free abandon, appealed more strongly to the french temperament than to that of any other european race. _non licet omnibus adire corinthum_. and the french colonist of the seventeenth century had the qualities of personal courage and hardihood which enabled him to enjoy this life to the utmost. then there was the jesuit missionary. he was the first to visit the indians in their own abodes, the first to make his home among them, the first to master their language and to understand their habits of mind. this sympathetic comprehension gave the jesuit a great influence in the councils of the savages. while first of all a soldier of the cross, the missionary never forgot, however, that he was also a sentinel doing outpost duty for his own race. apostle he was, but patriot too. besides, it was to the spiritual interest of the missionary to keep his flock in contact with the french alone; for if they became acquainted with the english they would soon come under the smirch of heresy. to prevent the indians from engaging in any commercial dealings with dutch or english heretics meant encouraging them to trade exclusively with the french. in this way the jesuit became one of the most zealous of helpers in carrying out the french program for diverting to montreal the entire fur trade of the western regions. he was thus not only a pioneer of the faith but at the same time a pathfinder of commercial empire. it is true, no doubt, that this service to the trading interests of the colony was but ill-requited by those whom it benefited most. the trader too often repaid the missionary in pretty poor coin by bringing the curse of the liquor traffic to his doors, and by giving denial by shameless conduct to all the good father's moral teachings. in spite of such inevitable drawbacks, the jesuit rendered a great service to the trading interests of new france, far greater indeed than he ever claimed or received credit for. in the struggle for the control of the fur trade geographical advantages lay with the french. they had two excellent routes from montreal directly into the richest beaver lands of the continent. one of these, by way of the ottawa and mattawa rivers, had the drawback of an overland portage, but on the other hand the whole route was reasonably safe from interruption by iroquois or english attack. the other route, by way of the upper st. lawrence and the lakes, passed cataraqui, niagara, and detroit on the way to michilimackinac or to green bay. this was an all-water route, save for the short detour around the falls at niagara, but it had the disadvantage of passing, for a long stretch, within easy reach of iroquois interference. the french soon realized, however, that this lake route was the main artery of the colony's fur trade and must be kept open at any cost. they accordingly entrenched themselves at all the strategic points along the route. fort frontenac at cataraqui was built in ; the fortified post at detroit, in ; the fort at niagara, in ; and the establishments at the sault ste. marie and at michilimackinac had been constructed even earlier. but these places only marked the main channels through which the trade passed. the real sources of the fur supply were in the great regions now covered by the states of ohio, wisconsin, iowa, and minnesota. as it became increasingly necessary that the french should gain a firm footing in these territories as well, they proceeded to establish their outposts without delay. the post at baye des puants (green bay) was established before ; then in rapid succession came trading stockades in the very heart of the beaver lands, fort st. antoine, fort st. nicholas, fort st. croix, fort perrot, port st. louis, and several others. no one can study the map of this western country as it was in without realizing what a strangle-hold the french had achieved upon all the vital arteries of its trade. the english had no such geographical advantages as the french, nor did they adequately appreciate the importance of being first upon the ground. with the exception of the hudson after , they controlled no great waterway leading to the interior. and the hudson with its tributaries tapped only the territories of the iroquois which were denuded of beaver at an early date. these iroquois might have rendered great service to the english at albany by acting as middlemen in gathering the furs from the west. they tried hard, indeed, to assume this rôle, but, as they were practically always at enmity with the western tribes, they never succeeded in turning this possibility to their full emolument. in only one respect were the french at a serious disadvantage. they could not compete with the english in the matter of prices. the english trader could give the indian for his furs two or three times as much merchandise as the french could offer him. to account for this commercial discrepancy there were several reasons. the cost of transportation to and from france was high--approximately twice that of freighting from london to boston or new york. navigation on the st. lawrence was dangerous in those days before buoys and beacons came to mark the shoal waters, and the risk of capture at sea during the incessant wars with england was considerable. the staples most used in the indian trade--utensils, muskets, blankets, and strouds (a coarse woolen cloth made into shirts)--could be bought more cheaply in england than in france. rum could be obtained from the british west indies more cheaply than brandy from across the ocean. moreover, there were duties on furs shipped from quebec and on all goods which came into that post. and, finally, a paternal government in new france set the scale of prices in such a way as to ensure the merchants a large profit. it is clear, then, that in fair and open competition for the indian trade the french would not have survived a single season.[ ] their only hope was to keep the english away from the indians altogether, and particularly from the indians of the fur-bearing regions. this was no easy task, but in general they managed to do it for nearly a century. [footnote : in the collection of _documents relating to the colonial history of new york_ (ix., - ) the following comparative table of prices at fort orange (albany) and at montreal in is given: _the indian pays for at albany at montreal_ musket beavers beavers pounds of powder beaver " pounds of lead " " blanket " " shirts " " pairs stockings " "] the most active and at the same time the most picturesque figure in the fur-trading system of new france was the _coureur-de-bois_. without him the trade could neither have been begun nor continued successfully. usually a man of good birth, of some military training, and of more or less education, he was a rover of the forest by choice and not as an outcast from civilization. young men came from france to serve as officers with the colonial garrison, to hold minor civil posts, to become seigneurial landholders, or merely to seek adventure. very few came out with the fixed intention of engaging in the forest trade; but hundreds fell victims to its magnetism after they had arrived in new france. the young officer who grew tired of garrison duty, the young seigneur who found yeomanry tedious, the young habitant who disliked the daily toil of the farm--young men of all social ranks, in fact, succumbed to this lure of the wilderness. "i cannot tell you," wrote one governor, "how attractive this life is to all our youth. it consists in doing nothing, caring nothing, following every inclination, and getting out of the way of all restraint." in any case the ranks of the voyageurs included those who had the best and most virile blood in the colony. just how many frenchmen, young and old, were engaged in the lawless and fascinating life of the forest trader when the fur traffic was at its height cannot be stated with exactness. but the number must have been large. the intendant duchesneau, in , estimated that more than eight hundred men, out of a colonial population numbering less than ten thousand, were off in the woods. "there is not a family of any account," he wrote to the king, "but has sons, brothers, uncles, and nephews among these _coureurs-de-bois_." this may be an exaggeration, but from references contained in the dispatches of various royal officials one may fairly conclude that duchesneau's estimate of the number of traders was not far wide of the mark. and there is other evidence as to the size of this exodus to the woods. nicholas perrot, when he left montreal for green bay in , took with him one hundred and forty-three voyageurs.[ ] la hontan found "thirty or forty _coureurs-de-bois_ at every post in the illinois country."[ ] [footnote : _documents relative to the colonial history of new york_, ix., .] [footnote : _voyages_ (ed. thwaites), ii., .] among the leaders of the _coureurs-de-bois_ several names stand out prominently. françois dauphine de la forêt, nicholas perrot, and henri de tonty, the lieutenants of la salle, alphonse de tonty, antoine de la mothe-cadillac, greysolon du lhut and his brother greysolon de la tourette, pierre esprit radisson and médard chouart de groseilliers, olivier morel de la durantaye, jean-paul le gardeur de repentigny, louis de la porte de louvigny, louis and juchereau joliet, pierre lesueur, boucher de la perrière, jean peré, pierre jobin, denis massé, nicholas d'ailleboust de mantet, françois perthuis, etienne brulé, charles juchereau de st. denis, pierre moreau _dit_ la toupine, jean nicolet--these are only the few who connected themselves with some striking event which has transmitted their names to posterity. many of them have left their imprint upon the geographical nomenclature of the middle west. hundreds of others, the rank and file of this picturesque array, gained no place upon the written records, since they took part in no striking achievement worthy of mention in the dispatches and memoirs of their day. the _coureur-de-bois_ was rarely a chronicler. if the jesuits did not deign to pillory him in their _rélations_, or if the royal officials did not single him out for praise in the memorials which they sent home to france each year, the _coureur-de-bois_ might spend his whole active life in the forest without transmitting his name or fame to a future generation. and that is what most of them did. a few of the voyageurs found that one trip to the wilds was enough and never took to the trade permanently. but the great majority, once the virus of the free life had entered their veins, could not forsake the wild woods to the end of their days. the dangers of the life were great, and the mortality among the traders was high. _coureurs de risques_ they ought to have been called, as la hontan remarks. but taken as a whole they were a vigorous, adventurous, strong-limbed set of men. it was a genuine compliment that they paid to the wilderness when they chose to spend year after year in its embrace. in their methods of trading the _coureurs-de-bois_ were unlike anything that the world had ever known before. the hanseatic merchants of earlier fur-trading days in northern europe had established their forts or factories at novgorod, at bergen, and elsewhere, great _entrepôts_ stored with merchandise for the neighboring territories. the traders lived within, and the natives came to the posts to barter their furs or other raw materials. the merchants of the east india company had established their posts in the orient and traded with the natives on the same basis. but the norman voyageurs of the new world did things quite differently. they established fortified posts throughout the regions west of the lakes, it is true, but they did not make them storehouses, nor did they bring to them any considerable stock of merchandise. the posts were for use as the headquarters of the _coureurs-de-bois_, and usually sheltered a small garrison of soldiers during the winter months; they likewise served as places of defense in the event of attack and of rendezvous when a trading expedition to montreal was being organized. it was not the policy of the french authorities, nor was it the plan of the _coureurs-de-bois_, that any considerable amount of trading should take place at these western stockades. they were only the outposts intended to keep the trade running in its proper channels. in a word, it was the aim of the french to bring the trade to the colony, not to send the colony overland to the savages. that is the way father carheil phrased it, and he was quite right.[ ] [footnote : carheil to champigny (august , ), in r.g. thwaites, _jesuit relations and allied documents_, lxv., .] every spring, accordingly, if the great trade routes to montreal were reasonably free from the danger of an overwhelming iroquois attack, the _coureurs-de-bois_ rounded up the western indians with their stocks of furs from the winter's hunt. then, proceeding to the grand rendezvous at michilimackinac or green bay, the canoes were joined into one great flotilla, and the whole array set off down the lakes or by way of the ottawa to montreal. this annual fur flotilla often numbered hundreds of canoes, the _coureurs-de-bois_ acting as pilots, assisting the indians to ward off attacks, and adding their european intelligence to the red man's native cunning.[ ] about midsummer, having covered the thousand miles of water, the canoes drew within hail of the settlement of montreal. above the lachine rapids the population came forth to meet it with a noisy welcome. enterprising _cabaretiers_, in defiance of the royal decrees, had usually set up their booths along the shores for the sale of brandy, and there was some brisk trading as well as a considerable display of aboriginal boisterousness even before the canoes reached montreal. [footnote : the flotilla of consisted of more than canoes, with about _coureurs-de-bois_, indians, and furs to the value of over , _livres_.] once at the settlement, the indians set up their tepees, boiled their kettles, and unpacked their bundles of peltry. a day was then given over to a great council which, the governor of the colony, in scarlet cloak and plumed hat, often came from quebec to attend. there were the usual pledges of friendship; the peace-pipe went its round, and the song of the calumet was sung. then the trading really began. the merchants of montreal had their little shops along the shore where they spread out for display the merchandise brought by the spring ships from france. there were muskets, powder, and lead, blankets in all colors, coarse cloth, knives, hatchets, kettles, awls, needles, and other staples of the trade. but the indian had a weakness for trinkets of every sort, so that cheap and gaudy necklaces, bracelets, tin looking-glasses, little bells, combs, vermilion, and a hundred other things of the sort were there to tempt him. and last, but not least in its purchasing power, was brandy. many hogsheads of it were disposed of at every annual fair, and while it lasted the indians turned bedlam loose in the town. the fair was montreal's gala event in every year, for its success meant everything to local prosperity. indeed, in the few years when, owing to the iroquois dangers, the flotilla failed to arrive, the whole settlement was on the verge of bankruptcy. what the indian got for his furs at montreal varied from time to time, depending for the most part upon the state of the fur market in france. and this, again, hinged to some extent upon the course of fashions there. on one occasion the fashion of wearing low-crowned hats cut the value of beaver skins in two. beaver was the fur of furs, and the mainstay of the trade. whether for warmth, durability, or attractiveness in appearance, there was none other to equal it. not all beaver skins were valued alike, however. those taken from animals killed during the winter were preferred to those taken at other seasons, while new skins did not bring as high a price as those which the indian had worn for a time and had thus made soft. the trade, in fact, developed a classification of beaver skins into soft and half-soft, green and half-green, wet and dry, and so on. skins of good quality brought at montreal from two to four _livres_ per pound, and they averaged a little more than two pounds each. the normal cargo of a large canoe was forty packs of skins, each pack weighing about fifty pounds. translated into the currency of today a beaver pelt of fair quality was worth about a dollar. when we read in the official dispatches that a half-million _livres_' worth of skins changed owners at the montreal fair, this statement means that at least a hundred thousand animals must have been slaughtered to furnish a large flotilla with its cargo. the furs of other animals, otter, marten, and mink, were also in demand but brought smaller prices. moose hides sold well, and so did bear skins. some buffalo hides were brought to montreal, but in proportion to their value they were bulky and took up so much room in the canoes that the indians did not care to bring them. the heyday of the buffalo trade came later, with the development of overland transportation. at any rate the dependence of new france upon these furs was complete. "i would have you know," asserts one chronicler, "that canada subsists only upon the trade of these skins and furs, three-fourths of which come from the people who live around the great lakes." the prosperity of the french colony hinged wholly upon two things: whether the routes from the west were open, and whether the market for furs in france was holding up. upon the former depended the quantity of furs brought to montreal; upon the latter, the amount of profit which the _coureurs-de-bois_ and the merchants of the colony would obtain. for ten days or a fortnight the great fair at montreal continued. a picturesque bazaar it must have been, this meeting of the two ends of civilization, for trade has been, in all ages, a mighty magnet to draw the ends of the earth together. when all the furs had been sold, the _coureurs-de-bois_ took some goods along with them to be used partly in trade on their own account at the western posts and partly as presents from the king to the western chieftains. there is reason to suspect, however, that much of what the royal bounty provided for this latter purpose was diverted to private use. there were annual fairs at three rivers for the indians of the st. maurice region; at sorel, for those of the richelieu; and at quebec and at tadoussac, for the redskins of the lower st. lawrence. but montreal, owing to its situation at the confluence of the st. lawrence and ottawa trade routes, was by far the greatest fur mart of all. it has been mentioned that the colonial authorities tried to discourage trading at the western posts. their aim was to bring the indian with his furs to the colonial settlement. but this policy could not be fully carried out. despite the most rigid prohibitions and the severest penalties, some of the _coureurs-de-bois_ would take goods and brandy to sell in the wilderness. finding that this practice could not be exterminated, the authorities decided to permit a limited amount of forest trading under strict regulation, and to this end the king authorized the granting of twenty-five licenses each year. these licenses permitted a trader to take three canoes with as much merchandise as they would hold. as a rule the licenses were not issued directly to the traders themselves, but were given to the religious institutions or to dependent widows of former royal officers. these in turn sold them to the traders, sometimes for a thousand _livres_ or more. the system of granting twenty-five annual licenses did not of itself throw the door wide open for trade at the western establishments. but as time went on the plan was much abused by the granting of private licenses to the friends of the officials at quebec, and "god knows how many of these were issued," as one writer of the time puts it. traders often went, moreover, without any license at all, and especially in the matter of carrying brandy into the forest they frequently set the official orders at defiance. this brandy question was, in fact, the great troubler in israel. it bulks large in every chronicle, every memoir, every _rélation_, and in almost every official dispatch during a period of more than fifty years. it worried the king himself; it set the officers of the church and state against each other; and it provoked more friction throughout the western dominions of france than all other issues put together. as to the ethics of the liquor traffic in new france, there was never any serious disagreement. even the secular authorities readily admitted that brandy did the indians no good, and that it would be better to sell them blankets and kettles. but that was not the point. the traders believed that, if the western indians could not secure brandy from the french, they would get rum from the english. the indian would be no better off in that case, and the french would lose their hold on him into the bargain. time and again they reiterated the argument that the prohibition of the brandy trade would make an end to trade, to french influence, and even to the missionary's own labors. for if the indian went to the english for rum, he would get into touch with heresy as well; he would have protestant missionaries come to his village, and the day of jesuit propaganda would be at an end. this, throughout the whole trading period, was the stock argument of publicans and sinners. the jesuit missionaries combated it with all their power; yet they never fully convinced either the colonial or the home authorities. louis xiv, urged by his confessor to take one stand and by his ministers to take the other, was sorely puzzled. he wanted to do his duty as a most christian king, yet he did not want to have on his hands a bankrupt colony. bishop laval pleaded with colbert that brandy would spell the ruin of all religion in the new world, but the subtle minister calmly retorted that the _eau-de-vie_ had not yet overcome the ancient church in older lands. to set his conscience right, the king referred the whole question to the savants of the sorbonne, and they, like good churchmen, promptly gave their opinion that to sell intoxicants to the heathen was a heinous sin. but that counsel afforded the grand monarch scant guidance, for it was not the relative sinfulness of the brandy trade that perplexed him. the practical expediency of issuing a decree of prohibition was what lay upon his mind. on that point colbert gave him sensible advice, namely, that a question of practical policy could be better settled by the colonists themselves than by cloistered scholars. guided by this suggestion, the king asked for a limited plebiscite; the governor of new france was requested to call together "the leading inhabitants of the colony" and to obtain from each one his opinion in writing. here was an inkling of colonial self-government, and it is unfortunate that the king did not resort more often to the same method of solving the colony's problems. on october , , frontenac gathered the "leading inhabitants" in the château at quebec. apart from the officials and military officers on the one hand and the clergy on the other, most of the solid men of new france were there. one after another their views were called for and written down. most of those present expressed the opinion that the evils of the traffic had been exaggerated, and that if the french should prohibit the sale of brandy to the savages they would soon lose their hold upon the western trade. there were some dissenters, among them a few who urged a more rigid regulation of the traffic. one hard-headed seigneur, the sieur dombourg, raised the query whether the colony was really so dependent for its existence upon the fur trade as the others had assumed to be the case. if there were less attention to trade, he urged, there would be more heed paid to agriculture, and in the long run it would be better for the colony to ship wheat to france instead of furs. "let the western trade go to the english in exchange for their rum; it would neither endure long nor profit them much." this was sound sense, but it did not carry great weight with dombourg's hearers. the written testimony was put together and, with comments by the governor, was sent to france for the information of the king and his ministers. apparently it had some effect, for, without altogether prohibiting the use of brandy in the western trade, a royal decree of forbade the _coureurs-de-bois_ to carry it with them on their trips up the lakes. the issue of this decree, however, made no perceptible change in the situation, and brandy was taken to the western posts as before. so far as one can determine from the actual figures of the trade, however, the quantity of intoxicants used by the french in the indian trade has been greatly exaggerated by the missionaries. not more than fifty barrels (_barriques_) ever went to the western regions in the course of a year. a barrel held about two hundred and fifty pints, so that the total would be less than one pint per capita for the adult indians within the french sphere of influence. that was a far smaller per capita consumption than frenchmen guzzled in a single day at a breton fair, as la salle once pointed out. the trouble was, however, that thousands of indians got no brandy at all, while a relatively small number obtained too much of it. what they got, moreover, was poor stuff, most of it, and well diluted with water. the indian drank to get drunk, and when brandy constituted the other end of the bargain he would give for it the very furs off his back. but if the jesuits exaggerated the amount of brandy used in the trade, they did not exaggerate its demoralizing effect upon both the indian and the trader. they believed that brandy would wreck the indian's body and ruin his soul. they were right; it did both. it made of every western post, in the words of father carheil, a den of "brutality and violence, of injustice and impiety, of lewd and shameless conduct, of contempt and insults." no sinister motives need be sought to explain the bitterness with which the blackrobes cried out against the iniquities of a system which swindled the redskin out of his furs and debauched him into the bargain. had the jesuits done otherwise than fight it from first to last they would have been false to the traditions of their church and their order. they were, when all is said and done, the truest friends that the north american indian has ever had. the effects of the fur trade upon both indians and french were far-reaching. the trade changed the red man's order of life, took him in a single generation from the stone to the iron age, demolished his old notions of the world, carried him on long journeys, and made him a different man. french brandy and english rum sapped his stamina, and the _grand libertinage_ of the traders calloused whatever moral sense he had. his folklore, his religion, and his institutions made no progress after the trader had once entered his territories. on the french the effects of tribal commerce were not so disastrous, though pernicious enough. the trade drew off into the wilderness the vigorous blood of the colony. it cast its spell over new france from lachine to the saguenay. men left their farms, their wives, and their families, they mortgaged their property, and they borrowed from their friends in order to join the annual hegira to the west. yet very few of these traders accumulated fortunes. it was not the trader but the merchant at montreal or quebec who got the lion's share of the profit and took none of the risks. many of the _coureurs-de-bois_ entered the trade with ample funds and emerged in poverty. nicholas perrot and greysolon du lhut were conspicuous examples. it was a highly speculative game. at times large profits came easily and were spent recklessly. the trade encouraged profligacy, bravado, and garishness; it deadened the moral sense of the colony, and even schooled men in trickery and peculation. it was a corrupting influence in the official life of new france, and even governors could not keep from soiling their hands in it. but most unfortunate of all, the colony was impelled to put its economic energies into what was at best an ephemeral and transitory source of national wealth and to neglect the solid foundations of agriculture and industry which in the long run would have profited its people much more. chapter x agriculture, industry, and trade it was the royal desire that new france should some day become a powerful and prosperous agricultural colony, providing the motherland with an acceptable addition to its food supply. to this end large tracts of land were granted upon most liberal terms to incoming settlers, and every effort was made to get these acres cultivated. encouragement and coercion were alike given a trial. settlers who did well were given official recognition, sometimes even to the extent of rank in the _noblesse_. on the other hand those who left their lands uncleared were repeatedly threatened with the revocation of their land-titles, and in some cases their holdings were actually taken away. from the days of the earliest settlement down to the eve of the english conquest, the officials of both the church and the state never ceased to use their best endeavors in the interests of colonial agriculture. yet with all this official interest and encouragement agricultural development was slow. much of the land on both the north and the south shores of the st. lawrence was heavily timbered, and the work of clearing proved tedious. it was estimated that an industrious settler, working by himself, could clear not more than one superficial _arpent_ in a whole season. so slowly did the work make progress, in fact, that in , after fifty years of royal paternalism, the cultivable area of new france amounted to only , _arpents_, and at the close of the french dominion in it was scarcely more than twice that figure,--in other words, about five _arpents_ for each head of population. while industry and trade, particularly the indian trade, took the attention and interest of a considerable portion in the population of new france, agriculture was from first to last the vocation of the great majority. the census of showed more than seventy-five per cent of the people living on the farms of the colony and this ratio was almost exactly maintained, nearly sixty years later, when the census of was compiled. this population was scattered along both banks of the st. lawrence from a point well below quebec to the region surrounding montreal. most of the farms fronted on the river so that every habitant had a few _arpents_ of marshy land for hay, a tract of cleared upland for ploughing, and an area extending to the rear which might be turned into meadow or left uncleared to supply him with firewood. wheat and maize were the great staples, although large quantities of oats, barley, and peas were also grown. the wheat was invariably spring-sown, and the yield averaged from eight to twelve hundredweights per _arpent_, or from ten to fourteen bushels per acre. most of the wheat was made into flour at the seigneurial mills and was consumed in the colony, but shipments were also made with fair regularity to france, to the west indies, and for a time to louisbourg. in the exports of wheat amounted to nearly , bushels, and in the year following the banner harvest of this total was nearly doubled. the price which the habitant got for wheat at quebec ranged normally from two to four _livres_ per hundredweight (about thirty to sixty cents per bushel) depending upon the harvests in the colony and the safety with which wheat could be shipped to france, which, again, hinged upon the fact whether france and england were at peace or at war. indian corn was not exported to any large extent, but many cargoes of dried peas were sent abroad, and occasionally there were small shipments of oats and beans. there was also a considerable production of hemp, flax, and tobacco, but not for export in any large quantity. the tobacco grown in the colony was coarse and ill-flavored. it was smoked by both the habitant and the indian because it was cheap; but brazilian tobacco was greatly preferred by those who could afford to buy it, and large quantities of this were brought in. the french government frowned upon tobacco-growing in new france, believing, as colbert wrote to talon in , that any such policy would be prejudicial to the interests of the french colonies in the tropical zones which were much better adapted to this branch of cultivation. cattle raising made substantial progress, and the king urged the sovereign council to prohibit the slaughter of cattle so that the herds might keep on growing; but the stock was not of a high standard, but undersized, of mongrel breed, and poorly cared for. sheep raising, despite the brisk demand for wool, made slow headway. most of the wool needed in the colony had to be brought from france, and the demand was great because so much woolen clothing was required for winter use. the keeping of poultry was, of course, another branch of husbandry. the habitants were fond of horses; even the poorest managed to keep two or three, which was a wasteful policy as there was no work for the horses to do during nearly half the year. fodder, however, was abundant and cost nothing, as each habitant obtained from the flats along the river all that he could cut and carry away. this marsh hay was not of superior quality, but it at least served to carry the horses and stock through the winter. the methods of agriculture were beyond question slovenly and crude. catalogne, the engineer whom the authorities commissioned to make an agricultural census of the colony, ventured the opinion that, if the fields of france were cultivated as the farms of canada were, three-quarters of the french people would starve. rotation of crops was practically unknown, and fertilization of the land was rare, although the habitant frequently burned the stubble before putting the plough to his fields. from time to time a part of each farm was allowed to lie fallow, but such fallow fields were left unploughed and soon grew so rank with weeds that the soil really got no rest at all. all the ploughing was done in the spring, and it was not very well done at that, for the land was ploughed in ridges which left much waste between the furrows. too often the seed became poor, as a result of the habitant using seed from his own crops year after year until it became run out. most of the cultivated land was high and dry and needed no artificial drainage. even where the water lay on the land late in the spring, however, there was rarely an attempt, as peter kalm in his _travels_ remarks, to drain it off. the habitant had patience in greater measure than industry, and he was always ready to wait for nature to do his work. everybody depended for his implements largely upon his own workmanship, so that the tools of agriculture were of poor construction. the cultivation of even a few _arpents_ required a great deal of manual drudgery. on the other hand, the land of new france was fertile, and every one could have plenty of it for the asking. kalm thought it quite as good as the average in the english colonies and far better than most arable land in his own scandinavia. why, then, did french-canadian agriculture, despite the warm official encouragement given to it, make such relatively meager progress? there are several reasons for its backwardness. the long winters, which developed in the habitant an inveterate disposition to idleness, afford the clue to one of them. a general aversion to unremitting manual toil was one of the colony's besetting sins. notwithstanding the small per capita acreage, accordingly, there was a continual complaint that not enough labor could be had to work the farms. women and children were pressed into service in the busy seasons. yet the colony abounded in idle men, and mendicancy at one time assumed such proportions as to require the enforcement of stringent penalties. the authorities were partly to blame for the development of this trait, for upon the slightest excuse they took the habitant from his daily routine and set him to help with warlike expeditions against the indians and the english, or called him to build roads or to repair the fortifications. and the lure of the fur trade, which drew the most vigorous young men of the land off the farms into the forest, was another obstacle to the growth of yeomanry. moreover, the curious and inconvenient shape of the farms, most of them mere ribbons of land, with a narrow frontage and disproportionate depth, handicapped all efforts to cultivate the fields in an intelligent way. finally, there was the general poverty of the people. with a large family to support, for families of ten to fifteen children were not uncommon, it was hard for the settler to make both ends meet from the annual yield of a few _arpents_, however fertile. the habitant, therefore, took the shortest cut to everything, getting what he could out of his land in the quickest possible way with no reference to the ultimate improvement of the farm itself. if he ever managed to get a little money, he was likely to spend it at once and to become as impecunious as before. such a propensity did not make for progress, for poverty begets slovenliness in all ages and among all races of men. if anything like the industry and intelligence that was bestowed upon agriculture in the english colonies had been applied to the st. lawrence valley, new france might have shipped far more wheat than beaver skins each year to europe. but in this respect the colony never half realized the royal expectations. on the other hand, the attempt to make the land a rich grain-growing colony was far from being a flat failure. it was supporting its own population, and had a modest amount of grain each year for export to france or to the french west indies. with peace it would soon have become a land of plenty, for the traveler who passed along the great river from quebec to montreal in the late autumn might see, as kalm in his _travels_ tells us he saw, field upon field of waving grain extending from the shores inward as far as the eye could reach, broken only here and there by tracts of meadow and woodland. here was at least the nucleus of a golden west. of colonial industry, however, not as much can be said as of agriculture. down to about it had given scarcely a single token of existence. the colony, until that date, manufactured nothing. everything in the way of furnishings, utensils, apparel, and ornament was brought in the company's ships from france, and no one seemed to look upon this procedure as at all unusual. on the coming of talon in , however, the idea of fostering home industries in the colony took active shape. by persuasion and by promise of reward, the "colbert of new france" interested the prominent citizens of quebec in modest industrial enterprises of every sort. but the outcome soon belied the intendant's airy hopes. it was easy enough to make a brave start in these things, especially with the aid of an initial subsidy from the treasury; but to keep the wheels of industry moving year after year without a subvention was an altogether different thing. a colony numbering less than ten thousand souls did not furnish an adequate market for the products of varied industries, and the high cost of transportation made it difficult to export manufactured wares to france or to the west indies with any hope of profit. a change of tone, moreover, soon became noticeable in colbert's dispatches with reference to industrial development. in , when giving his first instructions to talon, the minister had dilated upon his desire that canada should become self-sustaining in the matter of clothing, shoes, and the simpler house-furnishings. but within a couple of years colbert's mind seems to have taken a different shift, and we find him advising talon that, after all, it might be better if the people of new france would devote their energies to agriculture and thus to raise enough grain wherewith to buy manufactured wares from france. so, for one reason or another, the infant industries languished, and, after talon was gone, they gradually dropped out of existence. another of talon's ventures was to send prospectors in search of minerals. the use of malleable copper by the indians had been noted by the french for many years and various rumors concerning the source of supply had filtered through to quebec. some of talon's agents, including jean peré, went as far as the upper lakes, returning with samples of copper ore. but the distance from quebec was too great for profitable transportation and, although père dablon in sent down an accurate description of the great masses of ore in the lake superior region, many generations were to pass before any serious attempt could be made to develop this source of wealth. nearer at hand some titaniferous iron ore was discovered, at baie st. paul below quebec, but it was not utilized, although on being tested it was found to be good in quality. then the intendant sent agents to verify reports as to rich coal deposits in isle royale (cape breton), and they returned with glowing accounts which, subsequent industrial history has entirely justified. shipments of this coal were brought to quebec for consumption. a little later the intendant reported to colbert that a vein of coal had been actually uncovered at the foot of the great rock which frowns upon the lower town at quebec, adding that the vein could not be followed for fear of toppling over the château which stood above. no one has ever since found any trace of talon's coal deposit, and the geologists of today are quite certain that the intendant had more imagination than accuracy of statement or even of elementary mineralogical knowledge. above the settlement at three rivers some excellent deposits of bog iron ore were found in , but it was not until five decades later that the first forges were established there. these were successfully operated throughout the remainder of the old régime, and much of the colony's iron came from them to supply the blacksmiths. from time to time rumors of other mineral discoveries came to the ears of the people. a find of lead was reported from the gaspé peninsula, but an investigation proved it to be a hoax. copper was actually found in a dozen places within the settled ranges of the colony, but not in paying quantities. every one was always on the _qui vive_ for a vein of gold or silver, but no part of new france ever gave the slightest hint of an el dorado. prospecting engaged the energies of many colonists in every generation, but most of those who thus spent their years at it got nothing but a princely dividend of chagrin. mention should also be made of the brewing industry which talon set upon its feet during his brief intendancy but which, like all the rest of his schemes, did not long survive his departure. in establishing a brewery at quebec the paternal intendant had two ends in mind: first, to reduce the large consumption of _eau-de-vie_ by providing a cheaper and more wholesome substitute; and second, to furnish the farmers of the colony with a profitable home market for their grain. in talon reported to the french authorities that the quebec brewery was capable of turning out four thousand hogsheads of beer per annum, and thus of creating a demand for many thousand bushels of malt. hops were also needed and were expensive when brought from france, so that the people were encouraged to grow hop-vines in the colony. but even with grain and hops at hand, the brewing industry did not thrive, and before many years talon's enterprise closed its doors. the building was finally remodeled and became the headquarters of the later intendants. flour-making and lumbering were the two industries which made most consistent progress in the colony. flour-mills were established both in and near quebec at an early date, and in course of time there were scores of them scattered throughout the colony, most of them built and operated as _banal_ mills by the seigneurs. the majority were windmills after the dutch fashion, but some were water-driven. on the whole, they were not very efficient and turned out flour of such indifferent grade that the bakers of quebec complained loudly on more than one occasion. in response to a request from the intendant, the king sent out some fanning-mills which were distributed to various seigneuries, but even this benefaction did not seem to make any great improvement in the quality of the product. yet in some years the colony had flour of sufficiently good quality for export, and sent small cargoes both to france and to the french west indies. the sawing of lumber was carried on in various parts of the colony, particularly at malbaie and at baie st. paul. beam-timbers, planks, staves, and shingles were made in large quantities both for use in the colony and for export to france, where the timbers and planks were in demand at the royal shipyards. wherever lands were granted by the crown, a provision was inserted in the title-deed reserving all oak timber and all pine of various species suitable for mastings. though such timber was not to be cut without official permission, the people did not always respect this reservation. yet the quantity of timber shipped to france was very large, and next to furs it formed the leading item in the cargoes of outgoing ships. for staves there was a good market at quebec where barrels were being made for the packing of salted fish and eels. the various handicrafts or small industries, such as blacksmithing, cabinet-making, pottery, brick-making, were regulated quite as strictly in canada as in france. the artisans of the towns were organized into _jurés_ or guilds, and elected a master for each trade. these masters were responsible to the civil authorities for the proper quality of the work done and for the observance of all the regulations which were promulgated by the intendant or the council from time to time. this relative proficiency in home industry accounts in part for the tardy progress of the colony in the matter of large industrial establishments. but there were other handicaps. for one thing, the paris authorities were not anxious to see the colony become industrially self-sustaining. colbert in his earliest instructions to talon wrote as though this were the royal policy, but no other minister ever hinted at such a desire. rather it was thought best that the colony should confine itself to the production of raw materials, leaving it to france to supply manufactured wares in return. the mercantilist doctrine that a colony existed for the benefit of the mother country was gospel at fontainebleau. even montcalm, a man of liberal inclinations, expressed this idea with undiminished vigor in a day when its evil results must have been apparent to the naked eye. "let us beware," he wrote, "how we allow the establishment of industries in canada or she will become proud and mutinous like the english colonies. so long as france is a nursery to canada, let not the canadians be allowed to trade but kept to their laborious life and military services." the exclusion of the huguenots from canada was another industrial misfortune. a few huguenot artisans came to quebec from rochelle at an early date, and had they been welcomed, more would soon have followed. but they were promptly deported. from an economic standpoint this was an unfortunate policy. the huguenots were resourceful workmen, skilled in many trades. they would have supplied the colony with a vigorous and enterprising stock. but the interests of orthodoxy in religion were paramount with the authorities, and they kept from canada the one class of settlers which most desired to come. many of those same huguenots went to england, and every student of economic history knows how greatly they contributed to the upbuilding of england's later supremacy in the textile and related industries. if we turn to the field of commerce, the spirit of restriction appears as prominently as in the domain of industry. the company of one hundred associates, during its thirty years of control, allowed no one to proceed to quebec except on its own vessels, and nothing could be imported except through its storehouses. its successor, the company of the west indies, which dominated colonial commerce from to , was not a whit more liberal. even under the system of royal government, the consistent keynotes of commercial policy were regulation, paternalism, and monopoly. this is in no sense surprising. spain had first given to the world this policy of commercial constraint and the great enrichment of the spanish monarchy was everywhere held to be its outcome. france, by reason of her similar political and administrative system, found it easy to drift into the wake of the spanish example. the official classes in england and holland would fain have had these countries do likewise, but private initiative and enterprise proved too strong in the end. as for new france, there were spells during which the grip of the trading monopolies relaxed, but these lucid intervals were never very long. when the company of the west indies became bankrupt in , the trade between new france and old was ostensibly thrown open to the traders of both countries, and for the moment this freedom gave colbert and his canadian apostle, talon, an opportunity to carry out their ideas of commercial upbuilding. the great minister had as his ideal the creation of a huge fleet of merchant vessels, built and operated by frenchmen, which would ply to all quarters of the globe, bringing raw products to france and taking manufactured wares in return. it was under the inspiration of this ideal that talon built at quebec a small vessel and, having freighted it with lumber, fish, corn, and dried pease, sent it off to the french west indies. after taking on board a cargo of sugar, the vessel was then to proceed to france and, exchanging the sugar for goods which were needed in the regions of the st. lawrence, it was to return to quebec. the intendant's plans for this triangular trade were well conceived, and in a general way they aimed at just what the english colonies along the atlantic seaboard were beginning to do at the time. the keels of other ships were being laid at quebec and the officials were dreaming of great maritime achievements. but as usual the enterprise never got beyond the sailing of the first vessel, for its voyage did not yield a profit. the ostensible throwing-open of the colonial trade, moreover, did not actually change to any great extent the old system of paternalism and monopoly. commercial companies no longer controlled the channels of transportation, it is true, but the royal government was not minded to let everything take its own course. so the trade was taxed for the benefit of the royal treasury, and the privilege of collecting the taxes, according to the custom of the old régime, was farmed out. all the commerce of the colony, imports and exports, had to pass through the hands of these farmers-of-the-revenue who levied ten per cent on all goods coming and kept for the royal treasury one-quarter of the price fixed for all skins exported. traders as a rule were not permitted to ship their furs directly to france. they turned them in to farmers-of-the-revenue at quebec, where they received the price as fixed by ordinance, less one-quarter. this price they usually took in bills of exchange on paris which, they handed over to the colonial merchants in payment for goods, and which the merchants in turn sent home to france to pay for new stocks. nor were the authorities content with the mere fixing of prices. by ordinance they also set the rate of profit which traders should have upon all imported wares brought into the colony. this rate of profit was fixed at sixty-five per cent, but the traders had no compunction in going above it whenever they saw an opportunity which was not likely to be discovered. as far as the forest trade was concerned, the regulation was, of course, absurd. every year, about the beginning of may, the first ships left france for the st. lawrence with general cargoes consisting of goods for the colonists themselves and for the indians, as well as large quantities of brandy. when they arrived at quebec, the vessels were met by the merchants of the town and by those who had come from three rivers and montreal. for a fortnight lively trading took place. then the goods which had been bought by the merchants of montreal and three rivers were loaded upon small barques and brought to these towns to be in readiness for the annual fairs when the _coureurs-de-bois_ and their indians came down to trade in the late summer. as for the vessels which had come from france, these were either loaded with timber or furs and set off directly home again, or else they departed light to cape breton and took cargoes of coal for the french west indies, where the refining of sugar occasioned a demand for fuel. the last ships left in november, and for seven months the colony was cut off from europe. trade at quebec, while technically open to any one who would pay the duties and observe the regulations as to rates of profit, was actually in the hands of a few merchants who had large warehouses and who took the greater part of what the ships brought in. these men were, in turn, affiliated more or less closely with the great trading houses which sent goods from rouen or rochelle, so that the monopoly was nearly as ironclad as when commercial companies were in control. when an outsider broke into the charmed circle, as happened occasionally, there was usually some way of hustling him out again by means either fair or foul. the monopolists made large profits, and many of them, after they had accumulated a fortune, went home to france. "i have known twenty of these pedlars," quoth la hontan, "that had not above a thousand crowns stock when i arrived at quebec in the year and when i left that place had got to the tune of twelve thousand crowns." glancing over the whole course of agriculture, industry, and commerce in new france from the time when champlain built his little post at the foot of cape diamond until the day when the fleur-de-lis fluttered down from the heights above, the historian finds that there is one word which sums up the chief cause of the colony's economic weakness. that word is "paternalism." the administration tried to take the place of providence. it was as omnipresent and its ways were as inscrutable. like as a father chasteneth his children, so the king and his officials felt it their duty to chasten every show of private initiative which did not direct itself along the grooves that they had marked out for the colony to follow. by trying to order everything they eventually succeeded in ordering nothing aright. chapter xi how the people lived in new france there were no privileged orders. this, indeed, was the most marked difference between the social organization of the home land and that of the colony. there were social distinctions in canada, to be sure, but the boundaries between different elements of the population were not rigid; there were no privileges based upon the laws of the land, and no impenetrable barrier separated one class from another. men could rise by their own efforts or come down through their own defaults; their places in the community were not determined for them by the accident of birth as was the case in the older land. some of the most successful figures in the public and business affairs of new france, some of the social leaders, some of those who attained the highest rank in the _noblesse_, came of relatively humble parentage. in france of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the chief officials of state, the seigneurs, the higher ecclesiastics, even the officers of the army and the marine, were always drawn from the nobility. in the colony this was very far from being the case. some colonial officials and a few of the seigneurs were among the numerous _noblesse_ of france before they came, and they of course retained their social rank in the new environment. others were raised to this rank by the king, usually for distinguished services in the colony and on the recommendation of the governor or the intendant. but, even if taken all together, these men constituted a very small proportion of the people in new france. even among the seigneurs the great majority of these landed gentlemen came from the ranks of the people, and not one in ten was a member of the _noblesse_. there was, therefore, a social solidarity, a spirit of fraternity, and a feeling of universal comradeship among them which was altogether lacking at home. the pivot of social life in new france was the settlement at quebec. this was the colonial capital, the seat of the governor and of the council, the only town in the colony large enough to have all the trappings and tinsel of a well-rounded social set. here, too, came some of the seigneurs to spend the winter months. the royal officials, the officers of the garrison, the leading merchants, the judges, the notaries and a few other professional men--these with their families made up an élite which managed to echo, even if somewhat faintly, the pomp and glamor of versailles. quebec, from all accounts, was lively in the long winters. its people, who were shut off from all intercourse with europe for many months at a time, soon learned the art of providing for their own recreation and amusement. the knight-errant la hontan speaks enthusiastically of the events in the life of this miniature society, of the dinners and dances, the salons and receptions, the intrigues, rivalries, and flirtations, all of which were well suited to his bohemian tastes. but the clergy frowned upon this levity, of which they believed there was far too much. on one or two occasions they even laid a rigorous and restraining hand upon activities of which they disapproved, notably when the young officers of the quebec garrison undertook an amateur performance of moliere's _tartuffe_ in . at montreal and three rivers, the two smaller towns of the colony, the social circle was more contracted and correspondingly less brilliant. the capital, indeed, had no rival. only a small part of the population, however, lived in the towns. at the beginning of the eighteenth century the census ( ) showed a total of , , of whom less than were in the three chief settlements. the others were scattered along both banks of the st. lawrence, but chiefly on the northern shore, with the houses grouped into _côtes_ or little villages which almost touched elbows along the banks of the stream. in each of these hamlets the manor-house or home of the seigneur, although not a mansion by any means, was the focus of social life. sometimes built of timber but more often of stone, with dimensions rarely exceeding twenty feet by forty, it was not much more pretentious than the homes of the more prosperous and thrifty among the seigneur's dependents. its three or four spacious rooms were, however, more comfortably equipped with furniture which in many cases had been brought from france. socially, the seigneur and his family did not stand apart from his neighbors. all went to the same church, took part in the same amusements upon days of festival, and not infrequently worked together at the common task of clearing the lands. sons and daughters of the seigneurs often intermarried with those of habitants in the seigneury or of traders in the towns. there was no social _impasse_ such as existed in france among the various elements in a community. as for the habitants, the people who cleared and cultivated the lands of the seigneuries, they worked and lived and dressed as pioneers are wont to do. their homes were commonly built of felled timber or of rough-hewn stone, solid, low, stocky buildings, usually about twenty by forty feet or thereabouts in size, with a single doorway and very few windows. the roofs were steep-pitched, with a dormer window or two thrust out on either side, the eaves projecting well over the walls in such manner as to give the structures a half-bungalow appearance. with almost religious punctuality the habitants whitewashed the outside of their walls every spring, so that from the river the country houses looked trim and neat at all seasons. between the river and the uplands ran the roadway, close to which the habitants set their conspicuous dwellings with only in rare cases a grass plot or shade tree at the door. in winter they bore the full blast of the winds that drove across the expanse of frozen stream in front of them; in summer the hot sun blazed relentlessly upon the low roofs. as each house stood but a few rods from its neighbor on either side, the colony thus took on the appearance of one long, straggling, village street. the habitant liked to be near his fellows, partly for his own safety against marauding redskins, but chiefly because the colony was at best a lonely place in the long cold season when there was little for any one to do. behind each house was a small addition used as a storeroom. not far away were the barn and the stable, built always of untrimmed logs, the intervening chinks securely filled with clay or mortar. there was also a root-house, half-sunk in the ground or burrowed into the slope of a hill, where the habitant kept his potatoes and vegetables secure from the frost through the winter. most of the habitants likewise had their own bake-ovens, set a convenient distance behind the house and rising four or five feet from the ground. these they built roughly of boulders and plastered with clay. with an abundance of wood from the virgin forests they would build a roaring fire in these ovens and finish the whole week's baking at one time. the habitant would often enclose a small plot of ground surrounding the house and outbuildings with a fence of piled stones or split rails, and in one corner he would plant his kitchen-garden. within the dwelling-house there were usually two, and never more than three, rooms on the ground floor. the doorway opened into the great room of the house, parlor, dining-room, and kitchen combined. a "living" room it surely was! in the better houses, however, this room was divided, with the kitchen partitioned off from the rest. most of the furnishings were the products of the colony and chiefly of the family's own workmanship. the floor was of hewn timber, rubbed and scrubbed to smoothness. a woolen rug or several of them, always of vivid hues, covered the greater part of it. there were the family dinner-table of hewn pine, chairs made of pine saplings with, seats of rushes or woven underbark, and often in the corner a couch that would serve as an extra bed at night. pictures of saints hung on the walls, sharing the space with a crucifix, but often having for ominous company the habitant's flint-lock and his powder-horn hanging from the beams. at one end of the room was the fireplace and hearth, the sole means of heating the place, and usually the only means of cooking as well. around it hung the array of pots and pans, almost the only things in the house which the habitant and his family were not able to make for themselves. the lack of colonial industries had the advantage of throwing each home upon its own resources, and the people developed great versatility in the cruder arts of craftsmanship. upstairs, and reached by a ladder, was a loft or attic running the full area of the house, but so low that one could touch, the rafters everywhere. here the children, often a dozen or more of them, were stowed away at night on mattresses of straw or feathers laid along the floor. as the windows were securely fastened, even in the coldest weather this attic was warm, if not altogether hygienic. the love of fresh air in his dwelling was not among the habitant's virtues. every one went to bed shortly after darkness fell upon the land, and all rose with the sun. even visits and festivities were not at that time prolonged into the night as they are nowadays. therein, however, new france did not differ from other lands. in the seventeenth century most of the world went to bed at nightfall because there was nothing else to do, and no easy or inexpensive artificial light. candles were in use, to be sure, but a great many more of them were burned on the altars of the churches than in the homes of the people. for his reading, the habitant depended upon the priest, and for his writing, upon the notary. clothing was almost wholly made at home. it was warm and durable, as well as somewhat distinctive and picturesque. every parish had spinning wheels and handlooms in some of its homes on which the women turned out the heavy druggets or _étoffes du pays_ from which most of the men's clothing was made. a great fabric it was, this homespun, with nothing but wool in it, not attractive in pattern but able to stand no end of wear. it was fashioned for the habitant's use into roomy trousers and a long frock coat reaching to the knees which he tied around his waist with a belt of leather or of knitted yarn. the women also used this _étoffe_ for skirts, but their waists and summer dresses were of calico, homemade as well. as for the children, most of them ran about in the summer months wearing next to nothing at all. a single garment without sleeves and reaching to the knees was all that covered their nakedness. for all ages and for both sexes there were furs in plenty for winter use. beaver skins were cheap, in some years about as cheap as cloth. when properly treated they were soft and pliable, and easily made into clothes, caps, and mittens. most of the footwear was made at home, usually from deerhides. in winter every one wore the _bottes sauvages_, or oiled moccasins laced up halfway or more to the knees. they were proof against cold and were serviceable for use with snowshoes. between them and his feet the habitant wore two or more pairs of heavy woolen socks made from coarse homespun yarn. in summer the women and children of the rural communities usually went barefoot so that the soles of their feet grew as tough as pigskin; the men sometimes did likewise, but more frequently they wore, in the fields or in the forest, clogs made of cowhide. on the week-days of summer every one wore a straw hat which the women of the household spent part of each winter in plaiting. in cold weather the knitted _tuque_ made in vivid colors was the great favorite. it was warm and picturesque. each section of the colony had its own color; the habitants in the vicinity of quebec wore blue _tuques_, while those around montreal preferred red. the apparel of the people was thus in general adapted to the country, and it had a distinctiveness that has not yet altogether passed away. on sundays and on the numerous days of festival, however, the habitant and his family brought out their best. to mass the men wore clothes of better texture and high, beaver hats, the women appeared in their brighter plumage of dresses with ribbons and laces imported from france. such finery was brought over in so large a quantity that more than one _mémoire_ to the home government censured the "spirit of extravagance" of which this was one outward manifestation. in the towns the officials and the well-to-do merchants dressed elaborately on all occasions of ceremony, with scarlet cloaks and perukes, buckled slippers and silk stockings. in early canada there was no austerity of garb such as we find in puritan new england. new france on a _jour de fête_ was a blaze of color. as for his daily fare, the habitant was never badly off even in the years when harvests were poor. he had food that was more nourishing and more abundant than the french peasant had at home. bread was made from both wheat and rye flour, the product of the seigneurial mills. corn cakes were baked in indian fashion from ground maize. fat salted pork was a staple during the winter, and nearly every habitant laid away each autumn a smoked supply of eels from the river. game of all sorts he could get with little trouble at any time, wild ducks and geese, partridges, for there were in those days no game laws to protect them. in the early winter, likewise, it was indeed a luckless habitant who could not also get a caribou or two for his larder. following the indian custom, the venison was smoked and hung on the kitchen beams, where it kept for months until needed. salted or smoked fish had also to be provided for family use, since the usages of the church required that meat should not be used upon numerous fast-days. vegetables of many varieties were grown in new france, where the warm, sandy, virgin soil of the st. lawrence region was splendidly suited for this branch of husbandry. peas were the great stand-by, and in the old days whole families were reared upon _soupe aux pois_, which was, and may even still be said to be, the national dish of the french canadians. beans, cucumbers, melons, and a dozen other products were also grown in the family gardens. there were potatoes, which the habitant called _palates_ and not _pommes de terre_, but they were almost a rarity until the closing days of the old régime. wild fruits, chiefly raspberries, blueberries, and wild grapes, grew in abundance among the foothills and were gathered in great quantities every summer. there was not much orchard fruit, although some seedling trees were brought from france and had managed to become acclimated. on the whole, even in the humbler homes there was no need for any one to go hungry. the daily fare of the people was not of great variety, but it was nourishing, and there was plenty of it save in rare instances. more than one visitor to the colony was impressed by the rude comfort in which the people lived, even though they made no pretense of being well-to-do. "in new france," wrote charlevoix, "poverty is hidden behind an air of comfort," while the gossipy la hontan was of the opinion that "the boors of these seigneuries live with, greater comfort than an infinity of the gentlemen in france." occasionally, when the men were taken from the fields to serve in the defense of the colony against the english attacks, the harvests were small and the people had to spend the ensuing winter on short rations. yet, as the authorities assured the king, they were "robust, vigorous, and able in time of need to live on little." as for beverages, the habitant was inordinately fond of sour milk. tea was scarce and costly. brandy was imported in huge quantities, and not all this _eau-de-vie_, as some writers imagine, went into the indian trade. the people themselves consumed most of it. every parish in the colony had its grog-shop; in the king ordered that no parish should have more than two. quebec had a dozen or more, and complaint was made that the people flocked to these resorts early in the morning, thus rendering themselves unfit for work during most of the day, and soon ruining their health into the bargain. there is no doubt that the people of new france were fond of the flagon, for not only the priests but the civil authorities complained of this failing. idleness due to the numerous holidays and to the long winters combined with the tradition of hospitality to encourage this taste. the habitants were fond of visiting one another, and hospitality demanded on every such occasion the proffer of something to drink. on the other hand, the scenes of debauchery which a few chroniclers have described were not typical of the colony the year round. when the ships came in with their cargoes, there was a great indulgence in feasting and drink, and the excesses at this time were sure to impress the casual visitor. but when the fleet had weighed anchor and departed for france, there was a quick return to the former quietness and to a reasonable measure of sobriety. tobacco was used freely. "every farmer," wrote kalm, "plants a quantity of tobacco near his house because it is universally smoked. boys of twelve years of age often run about with the pipe in their mouths." the women were smokers, too, but more commonly they used tobacco in the form of snuff. in those days, as in our own, this french-canadian tobacco was strong stuff, cured in the sun till the leaves were black, and when smoked emitting an odor that scented the whole parish. the art of smoking a pipe was one of several profitless habits which, the frenchman lost little time in acquiring from his indian friends. this convivial temperament of the inhabitants of new france has been noted by more than one contemporary. the people did not spend all their energies and time at hard labor. from october, when the crops were in, until may, when the season of seedtime came again, there was, indeed, little hard work for them to do. aside from the cutting of firewood and the few household chores the day was free, and the habitants therefore spent it in driving about and visiting neighbors, drinking and smoking, dancing and playing cards. winter, accordingly, was the great social season in the country as well as in the town. the chief festivities occurred at michaelmas, christmas, easter, and may day. of these, the first and the last were closely connected with the seigneurial system. on michaelmas the habitant came to pay the annual rental for his lands; on may day he rendered the maypole homage which, has been already described. christmas and easter were the great festivals of the church and as such were celebrated with religious fervor and solemnity. in addition, minor festivals, chiefly religious in character, were numerous, so much so that their frequency even in the months of cultivation was the subject of complaint by the civil authorities, who felt that these holidays took altogether too much time from labor. sunday was a day not only of worship but of recreation. clad in his best raiment, every one went to mass, whatever the distance or the weather. the parish church indeed was the emblem of village solidarity, for it gathered within its walls each sunday morning all sexes and ages and ranks. the habitant did not separate his religion from his work or his amusements; the outward manifestations of his faith were not to his mind things of another world; the church and its priests were the center and soul of his little community. the whole countryside gathered about the church doors after the service while the _capitaine de la côte_, the local representative of the intendant, read the decrees that had been sent to him from the seals of the mighty at the château de st. louis. that duty over, there was a garrulous interchange of local gossip with a retailing of such news as had dribbled through from france. the crowd then melted away in groups to spend the rest of the day in games or dancing or in friendly visits of one family with another. especially popular among the young people of each parish were the _corvées récréatives_, or "bees" as we call them nowadays in our rural communities. there were the _épuchlette_ or corn-husking, the _brayage_ or flax-beating, and others of the same sort. the harvest-home or _grosse-gerbe_, celebrated when the last load had been brought in from the fields, and the _ignolée_ or welcoming of the new year, were also occasions of goodwill, noise, and revelry. dancing was by all odds the most popular pastime, and every parish had its fiddler, who was quite as indispensable a factor in the life of the village as either the smith or the notary. every wedding was the occasion for terpsichorean festivities which lasted all day long. the habitant liked to sing, especially when working with others in the woods or when on the march. the voyageurs relieved the tedium of their long journeys by breaking into song at intervals. but the popular repertoire was limited to a few folksongs, most of them songs of old france. they were easy to learn, simple to sing, but sprightly and melodious. some of them have remained on the lips and in the hearts of the french-canadian race for over two hundred years. those who do not know the _claire fontaine_ and _ma boulë roulant_ have never known french canada. the _forêtier_ of today still goes to the woods chanting the _malbrouck s'en va-t-en guerre_ which his ancestors caroled in the days of blenheim and malplaquet. when the habitant sang, moreover, it was in no pianissimo tones; he was lusty and cheerful about giving vent to his buoyant spirits. and his descendant of today has not lost that propensity. the folklore of the old dominion, unlike the folk music, was extensive. some of it came with the colonists from their norman firesides, but more, perhaps, was the outcome of a superstitious popular imagination working in the new and strange environment of the wilderness. the habitant had a profound belief in the supernatural, and was prone to associate miraculous handiwork with every unusual event. he peopled the earth and the air, the woods and the rivulets, with spirits of diverse forms and varied motives. the red man's abounding superstition, likewise, had some influence upon the habitant's highstrung temperament. at any rate, new france was full of legends and weird tales. every island, every cove in the river, had one or more associated with it. most of these legends had some moral lessons attached to them: they were tales of disaster which came from disobeying the teachings of the church or of miraculous escape from death or perdition due to the supernatural rewarding of righteousness. taken together, they make up a wholesome and vigorous body of folklore, reflecting both the mystic temper of the colony and the religious fervor of its common life. a distinguished son of french canada has with great industry gathered these legends together, a service for which posterity will be grateful.[ ] [footnote : sir j.m. lemoine, _legends of the st. lawrence_ (quebec, ).] various chroniclers have left us pen portraitures of the habitant as they saw him in the olden days. charlevoix, la hontan, hocquart, and peter kalm, men of widely different tastes and aptitudes, all bear testimony to his vigor, stamina, and native-born vivacity. he was courteous and polite always, yet there was no flavor of servility in this most benign trait of character. it was bred in his bone and was fostered by the teachings of his church. along with this went a _bonhomie_ and a lightheartedness, a touch of personal vanity, with a liking for display and ostentation, which unhappily did not make for thrift. the habitant "enjoys what he has got," writes charlevoix, "and often makes a display of what he has not got." he was also fond of honors, even minor ones, and plumed himself on the slightest recognition from official circles. habitants who by years of hard labor had saved enough to buy some uncleared seigneury strutted about with the airs of genuine aristocrats while their wives, in the words of governor denonville, "essayed to play the fine lady." more than one intendant was amused by this broad streak of vanity in the colonial character. "every one here," wrote meulles, "begins by calling himself an esquire and ends by thinking himself a nobleman." yet despite this attempt to keep up appearances, the people were poor. clearing the land was a slow process, and the cultivable area available for the support of each household was small. early marriages were the rule, and families of a dozen or more children had to be supported from the produce of a few _arpents_. to maintain such a family as this every one had to work hard in the growing season, and even the women went to the fields in the harvest-time. one serious shortcoming of the habitant was his lack of steadfastness in labor. there was a roving strain in his norman blood. he could not stay long at any one job; there was a restlessness in his temperament which would not down. he would leave his fields unploughed in order to go hunting or to turn a few _sous_ in some small trading adventure. unstable as water, he did not excel in tasks that required patience. but he could do a great many things after a fashion, and some that could be done quickly he did surprisingly well. one racial characteristic which drew comment from observers of the day was the litigious disposition of the people. the habitant would have made lawsuits his chief diversion had he been permitted to do so. "if this propensity be not curbed," wrote the intendant raudot, "there will soon be more lawsuits in this country than there are persons." the people were not quarrelsome in the ordinary sense, but they were very jealous each one of his private rights, and the opportunities for litigation over such matters seemed to provide themselves without end. lands were given to settlers without accurate description of their boundaries; farms were unfenced and cattle wandered into neighboring fields; the notaries themselves were almost illiterate, and as a result scarcely a legal document in the colony was properly drawn. nobody lacked pretexts for controversy. idleness during the winter was also a contributing factor. but the church and the civil authorities frowned upon this habit of rushing to court with every trivial complaint. _curés_ and seigneurs did what they could to have such difficulties settled amicably at home, and in a considerable measure they succeeded. new france was born and nurtured in an atmosphere of religious devotion. to the habitant the church was everything--his school, his counselor, his almsgiver, his newspaper, his philosopher of things present and of things to come. to him it was the source of all knowledge, experience, and inspiration, and to it he never faltered in ungrudging loyalty. the church made the colony a spiritual unit and kept it so; undefiled by any taint of heresy. it furnished the one strong, well-disciplined organization that new france possessed, and its missionaries blazed the way for both yeoman and trader wherever they went. many traits of the race have been carried on to the present day without substantial change. the habitant of the old dominion was a voluble talker, a teller of great stories about his own feats of skill and endurance, his hair-raising escapes, or his astounding prowess with musket and fishing-line. stories grew in terms of prodigious achievement as they passed from tongue to tongue, and the scant regard for anything approaching the truth in these matters became a national eccentricity. the habitant was boastful in all that concerned himself or his race; never did a people feel more firmly assured that it was the salt of the earth. he was proud of his ancestry, and proud of his allegiance; and so are his descendants of today even though their allegiance has changed. to speak of the habitants of new france as downtrodden or oppressed, dispirited or despairing, like the peasantry of the old land in the days before the great revolution, as some historians have done, is to speak untruthfully. these people were neither serfs nor peons. the habitant, as charlevoix puts it, "breathed from his birth the air of liberty"; he had his rights and he maintained them. shut off from the rest of the world, knowing only what the church and civil government allowed him to know, he became provincial in his horizon and conservative in his habits of mind. the paternal policy of the authorities sapped his initiative and left him little scope for personal enterprise, so that he passed for being a dull fellow. yet the annals of forest trade and indian diplomacy prove that the new world possessed no sharper wits than his. beneath a somewhat ungainly exterior the yeoman and the trader of new france concealed qualities of cunning, tact, and quick judgment to a surprising degree. these various types in the population of new france, officials, missionaries, seigneurs, voyageurs, habitants, were all the scions of a proud race, admirably fitted to form the rank and file in a great crusade. it was not their fault that france failed to dominate the western hemisphere. bibliographical note on the earlier voyages of discovery to the northern coasts of the new world the most informing book is h.p. biggar's _precursors of jacques cartier_ (ottawa, ). hakluyt's _voyages_ contain an english translation of cartier's own writings which cover the whole of the first two expeditions and a portion of the third. champlain's journals, which describe in detail his sea voyages and inland trips of exploration during the years - inclusive, were translated into english and published by the prince society of boston during the years - . for further discussions of these explorations and of the various other topics dealt with in this book the reader may be referred to several works in the _chronicles of canada_ ( vols. toronto, - ), namely, to stephen leacock's _dawn of canadian history_ and _mariner of st. malo_; charles w. colby's _founder of new france_ and _the fighting governor_; thomas chapais's _great intendant_; thomas g. marquis's _jesuit missions_, also to _seigneurs of old canada_ and _coureurs-de-bois_ by the author of the present volume. in each of these books, moreover, further bibliographical references covering the several topics are provided. the series known as _canada and its provinces_ ( vols. and index, toronto, ) contains accurate and readable chapters upon every phase of canadian history, political, military, social, economic, and literary. the first two volumes of this series deal with the french regime. mention should also be made of the biographical series dealing with _the makers of canada_ ( vols. toronto, - ) and especially to the biographies of champlain, laval, and frontenac which this series includes among its earlier volumes. the writings of francis parkman, notably his _pioneers of new france, old régime in canada, jesuits in north america, la salle and the discovery of the great west_, and _count frontenac_ are of the highest interest and value. although given to the world nearly two generations ago, these volumes still hold an unchallenged supremacy over all other books relating to this field of american history. other works which may be commended to readers who seek pleasure as well as instruction from books of history are the following: pÈre f.-x. charlevoix, _histoire et description générale de la nouvelle-france_, translated by john gilmary shea ( vols. n.y., - ). c.w. colby, _canadian types of the old régime_ (n.y., ). a.g. doughty, _a daughter of new france_ (edinburgh, ). james douglas, _old france in the new world_ (cleveland, ). f.-x. garneau, _histoire du canada_ ( th ed. by hector garneau, paris, . as yet only the first volume of this edition has appeared.) p. kalm, _travels into north america_ ( vols. london, ). le baron de la hontan, _new voyages to north_ _america_ (ed. r.g. thwaites. vols. chicago, ). marc lescarbot, _histoire de la nouvelle-france_ (translated by w.l. grant. vols. toronto, - . publications of the champlain society). frederic a. ogg, _the opening of the mississippi_ (n.y., ). a. salone, _la colonisation de la nouvelle-france_ (paris, ). g.m. wrong, _a canadian manor and its seigneurs_ (toronto, ). for further references the reader should consult, in _the encyclopaedia britannica_, the articles on _france, canada, louis xiv, richelieu, colbert_, and _the jesuits_. index algonquins, the, act as guides to champlain, ; friendly to the french, anticosti, island of, , _arrêts of marly_ ( ), belle isle, , , bigot, françois, brébeuf, jean de, jesuit missionary, brouage, birthplace of champlain, cambrai, peace of ( ), canada, _see_ new france cap rouge, cartier winters at, ; roberval winters at, cartier, jacques, sets out on first voyage of discovery, ( ), ; a corsair, ; former voyages, ; reaches new world, ; purpose of expedition, ; returns home, ; begins second voyage, - ; his ships, ; winters at stadacona, - ; learns of great lakes, ; takes indians to king, ; account of voyage, ; sails on third voyage from st. malo ( ), ; winters at cap rouge, ; defies patron, roberval, ; personal characteristics, ; later life, ; death ( ), ; bibliography, catalogne, gedéon de, makes survey and maps of quebec region ( ), - ; makes agricultural census, cataraqui (kingston), fort established at, - ; la salle receives grant of land at, _chaleurs, baie des_, champlain, samuel de, born at brouage ( ), ; sails with expedition of de chastes ( ), ; personal characteristics, - ; embarks as chief geographer ( ), ; winters at st. croix, - ; _order de bon temps_, ; returns to france, ; sails again for the st. lawrence ( ), ; raid against the iroquois, ; seeks western passage to cathay, ; takes journeys into interior ( and ), - ; journals, ; as viceroy's deputy, ; surrenders to english, - ; returns to quebec as representative of company of one hundred associates, ; death ( ), ; appreciation of, - champlain, lake, chastes, amyar, sieur de, , , . chauvin of honfleur, church in new france, loyalty to, ; récollets, ; jesuits, _et seq_.; aid to civil power, - ; revenues, - ; _see also_ jesuits colbert, jean baptiste, personal characteristics, ; interest in colonial ventures, - ; plans for french interest, - ; plans fleet of merchant vessels, - courcelle, daniel de rémry, sieur de, governor of new france, coureurs-de-bois, attack indians ( ), - ; kind of men engaged as, - ; number, - ; leaders, - ; methods of trading, et seq.; licenses granted to, crèvecoeur, fort, , d'ailleboust, governor of new france, denonville, marquis de, governor of new france, donnacona, head of indian village, duchesneau, jacques, intendant of new france, ; quarrels with frontenac, - ; recalled, du lhut, daniel greysolon, , , dumesnil, péronne, education in new france, - england, early explorations, , ; colonial ventures, five nations, appellation of the iroquois indians, france in the seventeenth century, population, , ; army, ; power and prestige, - ; outstripped in commerce, ; racial qualities, - ; government, - ; church, ; tardiness in american colonization, - ; weakness of colonial policy, - frontenac, louis de buade, count, chosen to carry out colonial policy, ; sent as governor to quebec ( ), ; early life, ; personal characteristics, - ; inauguration, ; plans checked by king, - ; expansion policy, et seq.; builds fort at cataraqui, ; opposed by bishop and intendant, - ; recalled ( ), ; returns to quebec as governor ( ), - : death ( ), frontenac, fort, - , , fur trade with the indians, et seq. gallican branch of the catholic church, , gaspé bay, georgian bay, champlain's journey to, - giffard, robert, green bay, _griffin_, the, ship, - , habitants, - , - hakluyt, account of meeting of cartier and roberval, hébert, louis, hennepin, louis, récollet friar, hochelaga (montreal), - , , huguenots excluded from canada, - hurons, the, act as guides to champlain, ; friendly to the french, - ; destroyed by the iroquois, - ; jesuits among, - hurons, lake of the, _see_ georgian bay illinois river, la salle reaches, , indians, hostility toward cartier, ; fur trade with, et seq.; effect of trade upon, ; _see also_ algonquins, hurons, iroquois, onondagas irondequoit bay, iroquois, the, champlain's encounter with, - ; friends of english, enemies of french, - ; troubles with, - , - , _et seq_. jesuit _relations_, , - , jesuits, the, settle montreal, - ; oppose frontenac, ; come to canada ( ), - ; characteristics, , - ; missionaries to indians, _et seq_.; progress among french settlers, _et seq_.; service to trade interests, - joliet, louis, , kalm, peter, _travels_, - , kirke, sir david, commander of english privateers, la barre, le febvre de, governor of new france, - , la durantaye, olivier morel de, , la forêt, françois dauphine de, , , lalemant, jesuit missionary, la mothe-cadillac, antoine de , la roche, sieur de, la salle, rené-robert cavelier, sieur de, foremost among french pathfinders, ; born ( ), ; comes to montreal ( ), - ; equips expedition ( ), ; receives trading rights and land at fort frontenac, ; goes to france for further aid, - ; first journey down the illinois, - ; returns to montreal, ; reaches the mississippi, ; winters at fort miami, ; journeys down the mississippi, - ; plans for founding colony in lower mississippi valley ( ), - ; death ( ), ; later estimates of, - lauzon, jean de, governor of new france, laval, françois-xavier de, abbé de montigny, bishop of quebec, arrives in new france ( ), ; friction with civil authorities, - ; relations with mézy, - ; returns to colony, ; opposed to frontenac, _et seq_.; born ( ), ; personal characteristics, - ; opposed to liquor traffic. - law, john, le caron, joseph, récollet, missionary, le moyne, jesuit missionary, lescarbot, marc, liquor traffic with the indians, - , - longueuil, baron de, louis xiv, centralization of power under, - ; interest in colonial ventures, ; assumes power ( ), ; edict of , - ; personal interest in new france, - maisonneuve, paul de chomedey, sieur de, - mance, jeanne, marquette, jacques, jesuit missionary, matagorda bay, mazarin, jules, not interested in colonial ventures, meules, intendant of new france, mézy, de, governor of new france, - miami, fort, michilimackinac, , mingan islands, mississippi river, la salle reaches, montmagny, charles jacques huault. sieur de, , montreal, settled, - ; annual fur fair at, - ; _see also_ hochelaga monts, pierre du guast, sieur de, granted trade monopoly, ; organizes company, - ; loses influence at court, new france, reflects old france, , ; difficulty of communication with europe, - ; population ( ), - ; colonial intendant, - ; administration, - ; requests for money, - ; period of prosperity, , ; seigneurial system of land tenure, et seq.; military seigneuries, - ; forced labor in, ; merrymaking in, ; courts, - ; fur trade, et seq.; competition with english in trade, - ; liquor traffic, - ; effect of trade upon, - ; agriculture, et seq.; industries, et seq.; minerals, - ; exclusion of huguenots from, - ; trade conditions, - ; social organization, et seq.; seigneurs, - ; homes of habitants, - ; clothing, - ; food, - ; use of tobacco, ; festivities, - ; folklore, - ; poverty of habitants, ; litigious disposition of people, - ; religion, ; characteristics of people, - ; types of population, ; bibliography, - new france, company of, _see_ one hundred associates, company of newfoundland, cartier's expeditions rests at, niagara, fort rebuilt by denonville, ; la salle builds post at, old council, one hundred associates, company of, organization, ; powers and duties, - ; sends fleet to the st. lawrence ( ), ; sends champlain as representative, - ; charter revoked, ; failure of, ; grants by, - ; restricts industry, onondagas, the, champlain's attack upon, ontario, lake, ottawa river, perrot, nicholas, , pontgravé of st. malo, , port royal (annapolis), , portugal, early explorations, , ; colonial ventures, poutrincourt, biencourt de, , , quebec, champlain settles, - ; population, ; surrenders to english, - ; burns, ; pivot of social life, - ; _see also_ stadacona récollets, the, richelieu, cardinal, interest in colonial ventures under, - ; becomes chief minister of louis xiii, ; prevails upon king to organize colonizing company ( ), ; interest in new france not lasting, richelieu river, roberval, jean françois de la roque, sieur de, enlists services of cartier, - , meets cartier returning to france, ; winters at cap rouge, rouen, birthplace of la salle, sable island, saguenay river, st. croix, - st. germain-en-laye, treaty of ( ), st. john's, newfoundland, §t. lawrence, gulf of, st. louis, fort, st. malo, - , , , st. maurice, seigneurs of new france, et seq., - sovereign council, - spain, early explorations, , ; colonial ventures, stadacona (lower quebec), , , sully, due de, opposed to colonial ventures, sulpicians, the, , superior council, _see_ sovereign council talon, jean, first intendant of new france ( ), ; arrives in quebec, - , , ; report to the king, - ; fosters industries, - ; plans trade with west indies and france, - three rivers, , ticonderoga, fight between french and indians at, tocqueville, de, french historian, tonty, henri de, , , , tracy, prouville de, - ursulines, the, vignau tells champlain of english shipwreck, - west indies, company of the, , ,