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New rart« U609 USh '■SB (?'6) 4B2 - 0300 - Phone ^^ (716) 288 - 5989 - Fox -^^ ^Elt''t^;O^R.--A ut •»H««»«V-l ••»•«. -.— J mm'- ' ■ .■ f- ■ ■'...'. .'{ ^I^^-Vi .'■ ; aa * mm i- ■v"r:'^?i The Struggle for a Continent Francis Parkman's Works nomzRS or fkarce hi the rew woild ■ i vol. THE JESVITS m HOKTH AXOOCA I vol. LA SAUE AUD the DISCOVEKT or THE GKEAT WEST Ivol. THE OLD liGIME Dl CAHADA I TOl. COUHT rRORTERAC AUD HZW ERAHCE XHIDEK LOtFISZIV I vol. A HALr-CEHTURT Or COHnJCT 3 voU. MOirrCALM AUD WOLTE 3voU. THE consraucT or roinuc ahd the qidiah WAR ATTER the CONQUEST OE CAHADA . 3 voU. THE OREGOH TRAIL I vol. A LIEE or rRAIICIS rAREMAIf, BT CHARLES HAIGHT EARHHAM I vol. iiimi .Ml L •mmmmmmm PoRTltAll of FlSANCIS I'AKK3IAX. A The Struggle for a Continent Edited from the Writings of Francis Parkman By Pelham Edgar, Ph.D. Professor in rhe French Language and Literature, Victoria College, University- of Toronto, and formerly Fellow in English in the Johns Hopkins Univereity IVlth Numerom Illustrations, including Portraits, Full-page Plates, Maps, etc. Boston Little, Brown, i^ Company 1902 ■ inMBiWp 11^8436 Entered According to Act of Congress, in the Years 1865, 1867, 1869, 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 Years 1870, 1874, 1877, 1879. "SUj, By Fran-CIS Parkman, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. Copyris/it, /8S4, iSgs, iSgj, By Francis Parkman. Copyright, /Sgs, iSgr, iSgS, By Grace P. CorriN and Katherine S. Coolidge, Copyright, /Sq7, jSgS, igo2. By Little, Brown, and Company. Published October, 1902 university press • John wilson AKD SUN - CAMBHinOF, V. S. A. Editor's Note In the following pages the effort has been made to present a succinct and coLtiuuous narrative of early American history, hased iiijon the masterly volumes of Francis Parkman. The editor has souglit to preserve the picturesqueness of the in-idents which Parkman has so graphically described, and to this end has .ot deviated from the actual language of tlie original, save to furnish the necessary counectiiig links. The chief difficulty of the work was so to select the material that it should be alike intrinsically interesting and tell a consecutive story. PELHAM EDGAR. * Contents Fabi France and ENdLAND i\ thk Nkw Would — iNTRoni ctory 1 1513-1.^28. Eakly Spanish Advkntiikk . . .... 5 l.'iSD-l.jll. Hernando dk Soto 7 l.")6-.'-l.">t;;j. IIucuKxoTs IN Florida — ,Ikan Rihaut ... 10 I5ti4-liiti.i. liAI'DONNIERE Jg 1 JG5. The Famine at Fort Caroline (with Map of Florida) 20 15t)5. Menendez 27 15(>5. Massacre of the Heretics 46 I5fi7-156S. Expedition of Dominique de Govrgues . . 55 l.'>34-1607. The Story of Cartier's Discoveries ... 69 1541-1604. Vov.voes of De Roberval, De la Roche, Pontgrave, and De Monts 80 1608. CiiAMPLAix's Third Voyage to Canada . . 8.-} 1608. Founding of Quebec ... 88 1609. Champlain's E.\PEDiTroN against the Iroquois !)6 1610. Champlain's Search for a Route to the Indies 107 161.'j. Advent of the llfecoLLKTs 114 1615. Discovery of Lake Huron (with Map) ... 115 1627-1632. Champlain's Closing Years 120 1635. Death of Champlain 123 J 608-1 763. France and England in America 125 1608. The Jesuits 130 1642. Founding of Montreal 135 T Vhl 1649- lOGO- 1(103- 1C65- 16tJ3- 1C72- 1078- 1681-: 1659- 1649. 1649. 1658. 1660. 1666. 1 7t;;5. 1672. 1763. 1673. 1687. 1680. 1682. 1687. 1708. 1689. 1690. 1092. 1692-1693. 1 696-1 7.>0. 1694-1704. 1704. 1724. 1726-1750. 1745-1755. 1745-1755. 1745-1755. 1745-1755. 1734. 1700-1755. 1753. Contents Paoe IlriN OK TIIK Jll Kii.NS 141 TlIK MAKTYliS 149 Failukk ok the .iKsnr.H 153 The IIkuoks ok thk Lom; .Saut 157 Tjik Old IIkoimk 165 Canada as a Uoyai. I'kuvinck (with Mat) . 169 Talo.n's Admimstkation 174 Thk CoiKEUiis vk IJois 180 Discovery ok the Missif*sii'Pi (with Mai-) . . 186 La Salle 195 La Salle's Wintek Joiuxey 198 La Salle's Discoveky ok Lol'i.sia.na .... 208 Assassinatio.v of La Salle 215 Francois de Laval 223 The Iroqiois Terkoii 230 The Massachlsetts Expedition against Que- itEC 234 The Heroine ok Vercheues 243 Frontenac and the Iroqiois 249 The French, English, and Indians .... 256 Detroit (with Map) 2f5 The Attack on Deerkield 272 Lovewell's Fight 287 The Chain of Posts 297 America and the Seven Years War (with Map) 301 The Combatants (England and France) . . 303 The American Combatants 314 The Thirteen British Colonies 319 Sir William Johnson 329 Collision of the Rival Colonies 333 Mission of Washington 335 Contents j^^ liiock'8 Mau(ii a.m. I)i:ki:at 343 17jj. Acadia, Xiauara, and Cuowx Point — Tiik Uattle ok Lakk Gkokuk 351 Kofi CAMl-AUiN ok 1750 — Loss OK OSWMJO ... 358 1757-1759. TlIK Ca.MI'AIOX ok 1757-1751) 3,53 1758. Loud Howe .... „..„ 3oo 1759. Thk Advent ok Wolfe 359 1759. Plan ok Invasion 3gQ 1759. Wolke at Qleuec (with Mai) 382 1759. The Heights ok Auraham 415 1760. After the Fall of Quebec 446 1760. British Slpremacy 452 1762. Preliminaries of Peace 454 1763-1884. The Results of Victory • . 457 The Character and Customs of the Indian 460 1760. PoNTiAc's Conspiracy 47.J 1763. Indian Preparation 479 1763. The Threatened Attack against Detroit . 486 1763. The Treachery of Pontiac 433 1763. Fight of Bloody Bridge 492 1763-1764. The Closing Events of the Indian War . . 502 1763. The Battle of Bushy Run 503 1763. Incidents of the Frontier gjQ 1764. The Defeat of Pontiac 523 r List of Illustrations Fran.i.s P.iikman Kru„, .:ho.;,Kra",,h.' ' ' ' " • ' Fronti,,,iere Landing of IJihanf, Urawii by o. UonrK.iiii. ' "^^ Iicne (If Laiulonnii-re .... Kr.,n. a„ .n.r.uu, by Cri,,.i„ Ue R,«., \„ ,[„. aMioiU^,i„^H^,„Ja,. " ' ^ Sir J()lin Hawkins .... Krom the „r,«,na< p..imi,^ by Zuoc,,..:, i,i „. p.;,«.„„.„.: „/ „,„ " ^^ M.iry b. W. Hawkiii,, Plymouth, Kiigliuid. I'eilro MculmkIcz du Avilos ' , , £; 07 After an oM Si>aui»li ciigraviuK. I>oniini(]ne ile (Jourgnes Krom an engraving by I. K. U.L.„, \, o,e Bibli«tb.'.;,ue Nat'ionale. ' ^' ^" Jaccjues Carticr From tb,. original ,«unting by P. Rj,,'. i„ Ua-'rown Hall'of St ' " ^^ Malo, France. Janiiios Carrier Discovers the St. Lawren.P Itivor r ■ Fro™ the origU.a, painting by 0«ain,..tb!;3;:!c;:;:^- ^"^'"^ ^"'^^ '^ Samuel de Clianiplain From the Du.ornet Portrait. ^'^* *** ri're le Jeune .... «' 1 •j.'j From an old engraving. iML'ure of Chomedy do Maisouneuvo From the Maisonneuve Monument by Pl,i,i,,peH..ter't, in the" ' ' ' '^"^ Platte D'Armes, Montreal. IVIadanio de la Peltrie .... From the painting by C. Knot, in the Convent de', U^nline,,' Quebec'. " ' ^^ An East Vi.\v of Montreal ^ • From an engraving by P. Canot. after a d.wing by Thoma. Patton. "^ ^"''' ' '' Rust of Jean de Brebcuf Fron, the silver bust in the Hotel Dieu, Quebec. " ' ^''^^ ' ^' r xH List of Illustriitions Dt-ath of DollnnI Facimj pmje 10 J Bos-rrlitif (ruiD tlip Maiaotiiiciive Mniiiinidit liy I'liili|i|W Hi-b«rt, in till' I'litcu D'Ariuen, Muiitri'ul. LduiH XIV page lue Kruiu the urigiukl |aiutiiig by Jean UarniiT, in tlitt Veruillvii Oollery. Jean Talon "171 Frum tliu original painting in tliu lluti'l Dieu, QuuUic. Marquis iii>l)oiir^', in N„rtl, Amerira »' „• »W. a.. ...,.vi... Uy K C.„o.. «,., , 12^;,^,^, ,...;. ''"•"••' ^^'' ^« » Miijor UolHTt Ko-;ers Kn.111 a moMotiut eii(fraviii(f. "'''' '"'*' Miljor-fJcneral James Wolfe From tl.« original ,,„i,„i„g ,,y j„.,p,, Hi,,„n,„re. I,', .hi. ,K.',«««io„' " ^ ' ' of Mr«. M«ry Aiiiie Anii«troiig, Peiua.,,e, K„glu,d. Duke of Xewcastle Kro... tl... original ,«i„ti„g ,,y Hoare. i., the collection of thu Duk, " '' " of Newcastle. Sir Charles Saunders From a meziotint engraving by J. McArdell. " ' ' 378 ■Sir JefTrey Amherst . . " OOn From a mezzotint engraving. Jfarqiiis (le Vaiidrcuil .... From the painting in the poa««.io„ of 'the Comtesl., de Cl'enn'ont-' '' ^^' Tonnerre, ChSteau of Brugny, Mame. Ursuline Convent, (iucbee From the painting in the p08i«„ion of the Order, Queb«i,. ' ' " ^^^ The Fulls of Montinorenci . r- • From an engraving by Wiiliam Kiliot;.ft;r a'drawing by Captain '^ '^'' '"* Hervey Smyth. A View of Quel)ec from Point Levi . « From an engraving by ". Canot, after a drawing by Richard'short. ' ^^^ Chevalier de Ldvis . From the painting by Mme. Ha„debom,"in the Verslilie", oluery. " '^"^^ "^^ View of Cap-Kouge . From an engraving by Peter Maz^n. after a drawing by Captain " ^^^ Hervey Smyth. Marquis de Montcalm .... From the original painting i„ ,he' pos^a^ion' of theMa^ni', de' " ^^^ Montcalm. xiv List of Illustrations Dialh of Wolfe Pai/e U5 Kruiu ■ uieiiotiiit ciiRraviiiR by Richard lIoiiHton, utter the palot- tiiR by KUwArtl IViiiiy. The Fall of Moiitralm Facing page 446 Frum B lukiutiiiK by Howard Pyle. Coloni'l Henry. HoiKHiLt Piijn 503 Fruiu tli« iiriKiiiiil iniiiitliit; nutici) by Hi'iiry M. KiiibiT, Kaq., and UeorRH Hurriiiuii Kiabrr, Kih|., AIvi'rthur|K>, Pa. Maps Floriila, ^r,r,r, Page 21 Uoiife of Chainplain, ICl'.-Kllfi " llfi Canada and Adjacent Coiintrii-s "170 Countrii'S Traversed by Mariiuette, I(enne]>in, and La Salle " IHH Forts and Sittltni.nf-^ of Detroit " 2Cfi Hritisli Col. miis anil Nuillicin New France. 1750-1 "GO " 304 Siege of Quebec, 1 7:i9 '• ;187 INTRODUCTION ri!ANCi8 PAf MAX, the historian of early Canada, was Ikihi in lioston. Massa. i. setts, on the 16th of September, 1823. His father, the Kev. Francis I'arkn.an. ami his mother, Caroline TIall. were both descende.l fmm many generati<.nH that hud J.f.! .,„ee the days of the early Puritan settlement in the heart of New Kngland. After an uneventful boyhood. Francis Parkman entered Harvard College in the year 1840. During his college course, as his biograj.her Mr. Farnham relates, « l,e devoted liunself with ardor and concentration to his si)ecial interests, -the study of rhetoric and history, the pursuit of physical development, and a knowle.lge of the American wil.lerness." Still early in his college career he seems to have shaiHjd with characteristic determination the purple of his life's work. His vr.eations were not the customary pericxls of indolent re- la-xation. m the summer of 1841 he began those researches in the wdd.Muess which were resumed in successive vaca- tions, until scarcely a battle-field of the old colonial days was unfamiliar to his eyes. His investigations led him first to the i.eighboring wildernes.s, then already subdued by the ad- vance of civilizati..n. In 1S46, however, two years after his giaduation, he determined to penetrate into the far West where savage life in all its primitiveutss might still be seen' Thus origmated that adventurous e^peditiou of the Oregon XVI Introduction A Trail, which was to give him sudi an iutimate knowledge of Indian and frontier lift', Init which, to his misfortune, induced w exalted to redouhled fervor. Every ship from the New World came freighted with marvels which put the ficti<.ns of chivalry to shame; and to the Spaiuard of that day America was a region of wonder and mysterv, of vague and magnificent promise. Thither adventurers hastened, thirsting for glory and for gold, and often mingling the' enthusiasm of the crusader and the valor of the knight-errant with the bigotry of in.juisitor. and the rapacity of pirates. They roamed over land and sea; they climbed unknown mountains, surveyed unknown oceans, pierced the sultiy intricacies of tropical forests ; whUe from year to year and from day to day new wonders were unfolded, new islands and archipelagoes, new regions of gold and pearl, and barbaric eirpires of more than Oriental wealth. The extravagance of hope and the fever of adventure knew no bounds. Nor is it surprising that amid such waking marvels the imagination should run wild in romantic dreams ; that between the possible and the impossible the line of distinction should be but faintly drawn, and tliat men should be found ready ' riouc-ers of France in the N.w World. IluguenoU in Florida. Ch. I. M 6 The Struggle for a Continent [13a* to stake lile a.ul honor in pursuit of the most iusaue fantasies. Such a man wa-s the veteran cavalier Juan Ponce de Leon. (Jreedy of honor-s and of riches, he embarked at Porto IJico with three hrigantines, bent on schemes of discovery. T.ut that whi<-.h gave the chief stinuilus to his enterprise was a story, current among the Indians of Cuba and Hispaniola, that on the island of IMmini, said to be one of the IJahamas, there was a fountain of such virtue, tluit, bathuig in its waters, old men resumed their youth. It was said, moreover, that on a neighboring shore might be found a river gifted with the same beneHcent property, and believed by some to be no other than the Jordan. I'once de Leon found the island of liimini, but not the fountain. Farther westward, in the latitude of thirty de- grees and eight minutes, he approached an unknown land, which he named Florida, and, steering southward, explored its coast as far as the extreme point of the peninsula, when, after some farther explorations, he retraced his course to Porto Rico. Ponce de Leon had not regained his youth, but his active spirit was unsubdued. Nine years later lie attempted to plant a colony in Florida ; the Indians attacked him fiercely ; he was mortally wounded, and died soon afterwards in Cuba. The voyages of Garay and Vasquez de Ayllon threw new liaht on tlie discoveries of Ponce, and the general outline of'' the c> . its of Florida became known to the Spaniards. «539l Hernand( Soto HKRXAXIH) DE S<)TO> Ukknamh) 1)k Soto was the cnmiiaiiion of I'izarro in tlio toiii|UL'st of IViu. L'j had come to Aiiu'iica a iimly ail- veiituror, with no other fortune than his sword and target, I5ut his exidoits had given him fame and fortune, and he ai)i.eared at court with the retinue of a nobleman. .Still, his active energies could not endure repose, and his avarice and ambition goaded him to fresh enterprises. He asked and obtained permission to contjuer Florida. While this design was in agitation, Cubeca de Vaca, one of tnose who had survived the expedition of Narvaez, appeared in Spain, and for imrposes of his own spread abroad the mischievous falsehood, that Florida was the richest countr>- yet discov- ered. De Soto's plans were embraced v/ith enthusiasm. Nobles and gentlemen contended for the privilege of joining his standard ; and, setting sail with an ample armament, he landed at the Hay of Espiritu Santo, now Tampa Bay, in Fl(jri(la, with six hundred and twenty chosen men, a band as gallant and well ai.pointed, as eager in purpose and audacious in h(.pe, as ever trod the shores of the New World. The clangor of trumpets, the neighing of horses, the fluttering of pennons, the glittering of helmet and lance, startled the ancient forest with unwonted greeting. Amid this pomp of chivnlry, religion was not forgotten. The sacred vessels and vestments with bread and wine for the » Pioneers of France in the New World. Huguenots in Florida, Ch. I. (f A 8 The Struggle for a Continent [1539 Kmharist Merc carffully lunviih-d ; niul I»t> S.io liiinsclf doclart'tl that the eiiti'riirise \\m uii(K'rlak»'!i fur (Jml uloiif, and seemed tl :u'),deet the si'lritual welfare of the Indians whom they had come to jihinder; and besides fetters to Mini, and Idoodhounds to liunt them, they hroujrht jtriests and m>)nlvs for the saving of their souls. The adventurers traversed great iM)rtions of (Jeorgia, Alahama, and Mississipjii, everywhere inllicting and endur- ing misery, hut never a|»i>roaehing their phantom KI Dorado. At length, in the third year of their journeying, they reached the hanks of the Mi>sissii>iii, a hundred and thirty-two year.s before its second «liscover)' by Manjuette. One of their mimlter describes the great river as alm-ist half a league wide, deep, rai)id, and constantly rolling tlown trees and driftwood on its turbid current. De Soto, says one of those who accompanied him, was a " stern man, and of few words." J:ven in the midst of rever.ses, his will had been law to his foll«)wers, and he had sustained himself through the depths of disap{K)intmeut with the energy of a stubl)orn pride. But his hour was come. He fell into deep dejection, followed by an attack of fever, and soon after .'led miserably. To preserve his body from the Indians, hh followers sank it at midnight in the river, and the sullen wafers of the Mississippi buried his ambition and his hojies. De Soto's fate proved an uisutticient warning, for those were still found who begged a fre.sh commissior for the conquest of Florida ; but the Emperor would not hear them. A more pacific enterx)ri.se was undertaken by Cancello, a Dominican monk, who with several brother ecclesiastics undertook to convert the natives to the true faith, but was Hernando dc Soto miukml u. the altempt. Nine years later, a plan was urined for ti.e coL. nidation of Floricla. and Guido de las Hazares saUe.l to explore the coasts, and find a spot suitahle for the establislunent. Aft^r his return, a s-iuadron, com- manded hy Angel .le Villafane. and freighted with supplies «Md men, put to sea fron, San Juan .I'l'lloa; but the ele- ments were a.lverse. and the result was a total failure. Nut a Spaniard had yet gaine.l foothold in Florida. That name, as the Si^aniards of that day understood it. comprehended the whole county extending from the At- lantic on the east to the longitude of Xew Mexico on the w...st. and from the Gulf of Mexico and the River of Palms ""iftirutely northward towards the in.lar sea. This vast ter- ritory was clain.ed by Spain in right of the discoveries of C ..Inmbus the grant of the I'ope. and the various expeditions ".ont.oned above. England claimed it in right of the dis- |'-"»e.s of Cabot; while Fmnce could advance no better t.tle than nught be derived from the voyage of Vera^zano ar.d vague traditions of earlier visits of Breton adventurers \\Uh restless jealousy Spain watched the domab which .she cou d not occupy, and on France especially she kept an eye uf deep distn.st. When, in 1541. Cartier and Roberval es.aye.l to plant a colony in the part of ancient Spanish Honda now called Canada, she sent spies and fitted out cam- vels to watch that abortive enterprise. Her fears proved just. Canm'a, indeed, was long to remain a solitude; but. despite the Papal boimty gifting Spain with exclusive o;ner- •:?; '"^^ '^™;^P'^«'-«' I>-^«e and Heresy at length took root iJ tlie sultry forests of modern Florida. ter ;,-,.gr-"-g' lO The Struggle for a Continent [1562 1 I iji I THE HUCU'KNOTS IN FLOmDA.-TEAN KIBAUT^ In ih . year 1.-02 a cluua of black and doacUy portent was 1 icke nin. over Tranee. Surely and swiftly she gluled :;:!::;he abyss of the religious wars. None^-uldp^e the future, perhavs r.me dared to eonte„n. ate it: he udd ,a..e of fanaticism and hate, friend grapphng with friend ,.;.ther with brother, father with son ; altars profaned hearthstones made desolate, the robes of Justice herself hedrenched with munler. In the gloom without lay Spain, i,nmuient and terrible. As on the hill by the held of Dreux her veteran bands of pikemen, dark masses of organized ferocity, stood biding their time while the battle surged b.dow, and then swept downward to the slaughter, - so did Spain watch and wait to trample and crush the hope of humanity. , „ „„:i^,i In these days of fear, a second Huguenot colony ^ sailed for the New AVorld. The calm, stern man who represented and led the Protestantism of France felt to his inmost heart the peril of the time. He would fain biukl up a city of refu.^e for the persecuted sect. Yet Caspar de Coligny. too high in power and rank to be openly assai ed, was forced to act with caution. He must act. too in the name of the Crown, and in virtue of his office of Admiral of 1 Pioneers of Frtince in the Now WovU. Ilusnonots in Floricb. Ck III. I Vull^l ha.l cst.Mislu.a in 10.5 u «hoM-liv.a lluguenut colony on the Kio Janeiro iu Brazil. — iii'- i!u 1562] The Huguenots in Florida 11 France. A nobleman and a soldier, — fur the Admiral of France was no seaman, — lie shared the vlue the eine , whon, he oalls ,he ki„g, a p,be of bine eloth w.nked n, yellow with the regal Henr-de-lis Hut Itibaut and his folh.we,^. j,„t e»..„|«l from the doll ;',"'""' "-■, Never had they known a lai.r Ma X I he ,p,an,t old narrative is exnln-^nt with delight The n.u,utl a,r the w„r,„ sun, woods f,.s:, with young verdn ..eadows bnght with flowe,s ; the pa„„, the cypress the pL .e „,ag„„l,a; the gracing ,l^r; herons, curlews bittern ' w..<.leoek, and unknown water-fowl that waded in J Mtle of the l«„ch ; ceda. bearded f„,„ crown to r„, „ h "..ft g,.ay n,oss; huge oaks smothering in the folds of elr moo, graK-vn,es;-sueh were theobjeeu that greeted trm ;'| .l.e,r roarings, till their new-.,i.scove,«l fan t ed .l^e fa.rest, fru.tfullest, and pleasantest of al the world st .SJC"'"' "" '■"■" """ "'" "' *'°^- " « "- "- Next they anchored near Fenmn.lina, and to a neigh- ■7 T'/"'""" '■'• '"" '' ""■^■•»' «-•« *e name , tt •V e. .Slowly n,„v,ng northwar.1, they nan,e,l each river or let snpi^sed to W a river, after .so.ue stream „f Krane - 'l.e r.ure. the Charente, the .,a,.,n,e, the Girond A. :'i ••n i 14 The Struggle for a Continent [156a length, opening betwixt flat and sandy shores, they saw a commodious haven, and named it Tort Koyal. On the twenty-seventh of May they crossed the bar where the war-ships of Dupont crossed three hundred years later passed Hilton Head, and held their course along the peaceful bosom of Broad Kiver. On the left they saw a stream which they named Libourne, probably Skull Creek; on the right, a wide river, inobably the IJeaufort. Preliminary exploration, narkn,an.i "tdl the land rose in sight, when, it is said, n. a de uium of joy, they could no longer steer their vessel, hwt let her drift at the wiU of the tide. A small English bark iK.re down upon them, took them all on board, and, after landing the feeblest, carried the rest prisonei^ to Queen KIizal)et]i."— Ed.] ' Piouecrs of France in the Nc,v World. Ilugt.enots in Florida, Ch. III. i6 The Struggle for a Continent [«5S4 \ i\ « Si LAUDONNIErj:^ f)x the twentv-nflh of June. 1564. a French squadron o,;clu,r.Hl a seonul lin>e u(r the u..ulh of the U.ver of May There were three vessels, the sn^aUest of sixty tons, the largest uf one hundred and twenty, all crowded wUh Tuen i;en<3 de Laudonnicre held command. He was of a noble race of Toitou, at- tached tt) the house of Cha- till.m, of which Coligny was the head; pious, we are tohl, an.l an excellent marine otlicer. An engrav- ing, purporting to be his likeness, shows us a slender tigure, leaning against the mast, booted to the thigh, with slouched hat and phnne, slashed doublet, and short cloak. His thin oval iiVdt ('i' hiiiiliiiiiiitir face, with curled nu.ustache and close-trimmed beard wears a somewhat pensive h>ok, as if already shadowed by the destiny that awaited him. . On Thursdav. the twenty-second of June, Laudomuere saw the low Joast line of Florida, and entered the harbor nf St. Augustine, which he nan.ed the lUver of IKdphms, . Pioneer, of Fn-noe iu the New NV...UI. Huguenot, in Flo.i.h.. VU. IV. ^T Laudonniere ^7 15641 .-because that at mine arrival I saw there a great number ,.f Dolphins whieh were playing in the mouth thereof. Then he bore northward, following the coast till, on the twentv-tifth. he reached the mouth of the St. John'8 or river' ..f Mav. The vessels anchored, the boats we > low- ered and he landed with his principal followers on the n.th .hur'e. near the present village of Mayport. It was the ^e^y .pot where he had landed with lUbaut two years before Man and nature alike seemed to mark the borders of the lUver of Mav as the site of the new colony ; for here, around the Indian towns, the harvests of maize, beans, and pumpkins promised abundant food, while the river opened a ready way to the mines of gold and silver and the stores of barbaric wealth which glittered before the dreaming ^1Slon of the eolonists. Yet, the better to satisfy himself and his men, l.audonnibre weighed anchor, and sailed for a time along the „ei.diboring coasts. Eeturning. confirmed m his first un- pre;ion.he set out with a party of officers and soldiers to explore the borders of the chosen stream. The day was hot The sun beat fiercely on the woollen cai>sand heavy doublets of the men, till at length they gained the shade of one of those deep forests of pine where the dead,h.. air is thick .-ith resinous odoi.. and the earth, carpeted with fallen leaves, gives no sound beneath the foot. Yet. m the still- ness, deer leaped up on all sides as they moved alonS- Then they emerged into sunlight. A meadow was before them a running brook, and a wall of encircling forests. Tinmen called'it the Vale of Laudomii.re. The afternoon .vas spent, and the sun was near its setting wlven they reached the bank of the river. They strewed he ground with boughs and leaves, and. stretched on that sylvan coucn. 1 men. slept the sleep of travel-worn and weary H III I 1 8 The Struggle for a Continent [1564 They were roused at y s.iiiiul of trumpel, and after sin>;iiif,' a psalm iliev svi ilR-iiiselves t.» llieir tusk, ll wa.s the Imildin-,' <«f a I'oit, ami the spot they eh.Kse was u furlnii^ or more ab'.ve Si. .l.-hn's IlhilV, where elose to the water was a wi.le, Hal knoll, raise.l a few feet above the iimri^h antl the river. IJoats came np the stream with laborers, tents, provisions, eannon, and tools. The engi- neers marked out the woik in the form of a triangle; and, from the noble volunteer to the meanest artisan, all lent a hand to complete it. <»n the river side the defences were a palisade of timber. ( )n the two other sides were a ditch, and a rampart of fascines, earth, and sods. At each angle was a bastion, in one of which was the magazine. AVithiu was a spacious jiarade, around it were various buildings for lodging and storage, and a large house with covered galleries was built on the side towards the river for Laudonuifere and his olhcers. In honor of Charles the Ninth the fort was named Fort Caroline. [Outline of Subsequent Events. — "NVliile intrigue and bad faith on the part of the French were arousing the suspicious enmit}- of the Indian tribes, whf) alone could provide them against starvation, within the fort cliciues and parties, con- spiracy and sedition were fast stirring into life. Officers and men chafed at the restraint which Laudonuifere imposed ui)on them. Stories of fabulous wealth in the Appalachian mountains lured their fancies upon an adventurous quest, but far from realizing these dreams, they found themselves cnch)sed within a petty fort, beside a hot and sickly river, with hard labor, and possible famine their ^.nly prospect. Luudonni6re'3 life was in daily peril, and of liis officers but four remained faithful to him. -ZSub 1565I Laudonniere 19 'I'lio inal tiiitents ha. Wciv tln'.v ih.- fii.'M-ls su UvA ''"'l"'"! ''"'" '" ^'^"' ' ..r were lliev Spaniai.ls, llu-ir .liva.le.l i-iii'iuies > They were neither. Tlie |..iein..si shij. was a stalely one, nf seven him- .liiMl tuns, a -leat hin.len at that -lay. She was na.ne.l the ".U-sus;" an.l with her were three smaller vessels, the Sol..- jnnn, the Ti-^.-r, an.l tiu- Swallow. Their euuunan.ler was - a ri-ht worshiiiful an.l valiant kni-hl," — for s.. the re.-..r.l styles him, — a i-ious man an.l a i-rudent, tn ju-l^^e him hy the orders he },'ave his erew when, ten m..nths hel'..re, he saile.l .mt ..I' I'lym..iilh : " Serve (i...l .laily, love one aiioth-r, i-re- serve your vietuals, heware ..f tire, and keei^i- «o.mI cni- panie." Nor were the crew unw..rthy the },naees ..f their chief; for tlu' .levout .hn.nicler of the voya<,n' ascrihes their deliverance from the perils .f the sea to « the AImi«,'htie (Jo.l, who never sutlerelh his Kle.'t t" perish." Wh.i then were they, this chosen band, serenely conscious of a special I'rovi.lential care? They were the pit.neers of that detested tratllc destined to in.iculate with its infection nations yet unborn, the parent of discord and death, tilling half a continent with the tramp of armies and the clash .)f fratricidal swords. Their chief was Sir John Hawkins, father of the English slave-trade. He ha.l been to the c.)ast of Guinea, where he boujjht and ki.lnappe.l a car«,'o of slaves. These he had sold t.) the ieah)us Spaniards of Hispaniola, f.trcinj,' them, witli sword, matchlock, and culverin, to grant hi' free trade, and then to sign testimonials that he had bon ^ himself as became a peaceful merchant. Prospering greatly by this summary ommerce, but distressed by the want <.f water, he had put int.) tlie liiver of May to ol)tain a supply. Amoni' the rugged heroes of the liritish marine, Sir John I «5«5l The Famine at I*\)rt Caroline 23 .■^ItMMl iti llu; I'nml rank, a'wi aliinjr with l)iaki', his ifhilivi', is I'xtollcil a.s "a iiinii hoitio I'm- thu hunuur of Un- Kii>;lisli iiaiiio. . . . N'eitlior iliil the Wi'sl uf Kii<,'hiiul yM .sinh an iniliaii N'l'iitunian pairo as wcri- Uk'sl' two Ocean ix't'n's, Hawkins and l)iakf.' S«i wriles thu oM chMiiider, I'ni- cha-s, and ail Kn^'land was (tl' his thii'.kinj^. A liaiily and skilful sea- man, a hold lij^iiter, a loyal friend and a stern enemy, <)verl)eaiiii}^ towanls e([uals, but kind, in his hlulT way, to those lieneath him, rude in s i> e e e h, soniewiiut erafty withal and avari- cious, ho Iniffeted his way to riches and fame, and died at last full of years and honor. As Tor the abject humanity stowed between the reek- ing decks of tlie ship " Jesus," they were merely in his eyes so many black cattle tethered for the market. Hawkins came up the river in a jiiiinace, and landed at Fort Caroline, acconi]>anied, says Laudonni5re, "with gen- tlemen honorably apparelled, yet unarmed." Between the Huguenots and the Enjrlish Puritans there was a double lie .)f sympathy. Both hated priests, and both hated Span- iards. Wakening from their apathetic misery, the starveling garrison hailed him as a deliverer. Yet Hawkins secretly Sir John Hawkins f I- I h I ili 24 The Struggle for a Continent [1565 rejoiced when he learned their purpose to abandon Florida ; for although, not to tempt his cupidity, they hid from him the secret of their Appalachian gold mine, he coveted for his royal mistress the possession of this rich domain. He shook his head, however, when he saw the vessels in which they pioposed to embark, and offered them all a free passage to France in his own ships. This, from obvious motives of honor and prudence, Laudonnifere declined, upon which Haw- kins offered to lend or sell to him one of his smaller vessels. Laudonnifere hesitated, and hereupon arose a great clamor. A mob of soldiers and artisans beset his chamljer, threatening loudly to desert him, and take passage with Hawkins, unless the offer were accepted. The commandant accordingly re- solved to buy the vessel. The generous slaver, whose reputed avarice nowhe-3 appears in the transaction, desired him to set his own price ; and, in place of money, took the cannon of the fort, with other articles now useless to their late owners. He sent them, too, a gift of wine and biscuit, and supplied them with provisions for the voyage, receiving in payment Laudonnifere's note ; " for which," adds the latter, " untill this present I am indebted to him." With a friendly leave-taking, he returned to his ships and stood out to sea, leaving golden opinions among the grateful inmates of Fort Caroline. Before the English top-sails had sunk beneath the hcrizon, the colonists bestirred themselves to depart. In a few days their preparations were made. They waited only for a fair wind. It was long in coming, and meanwhile their troubled fortunes assumed a new phase. On the twenty-eighth of August, the two captains Vasseur and Verdier came in with tidings of an approacliing squadron. Again the fort was wild with excitement. Friends or foes. 1565] The Famine at Fort Caroline 25 French or Spaniards, succor or death ; — betwixt these were their hopes and fears divided. On the following morning, they saw seven barges rowing up the river, bristling with weapons and crowded with men in armor. The sentries on the bluff challenged, and received no answer. One of them fired at the advancing boats, and still there was no response. Laiidonnifere was almost defenceless. He had given his heavier cannon to Hawkins, and only two field-pieces were left. They were levelled at the foremost boats, and the word to fire was about to be given, when a voice from among the strangers called out that they were French, commanded by Jean Kibaut. At the eleventh hour, the long looked for succors were come. Kibaut had been commissioned to sail with seven sliips for Florida. A disorderly concourse of disbanded sol- diers, mixed with artisans and their families, and young nobles weary of a two years' jteace, were mustered at the port of Dieppe, and embarked, to the number of three hundred men, bearing with them all things thought necessary to a pros- perous colony. No longer in dread of the Spaniards, the colonists saluted the new-comers with the cannon by which a moment before the}' had hoped to blow them out of the water. Laudon- mhve issued from his strongliold to welcome them, and re- galed them with what cheer he could. Kibaut was present, conspicuous by his long beard, an astonishment to the In- dians ; and here, too, were officers, old friends of Laudon- ni^re. Why, then, had they approached in the attitude of enemies? The mystery was soon explained; for they expressed to the commandant their pleasure at finding that the cliai-ges made against hi in had proved false. He begged to know more ; on which Kibaut, taking him aside, told him 26 The Struggle for a Continent [X565 that the returnujg ships had brought home letters filled with accusations of arrogance, tyranny, cruelty, and a purpose of establishing an independent command. _ accusations which he now saw to be unfounded, but which had been the occa- sion of his unusual and startling precaution. He gave him 00. a letter from Admiral Coligny. In brief but courteous' terms, ,t requne.l him to resign his command. an.I requested h.s return to France to clear liis name from the imputati..ns cast upon it IJibaut warmly urged him to remain; but Laudonnifere declined his friendly proposals. Stores were landed, tents were pitched, women and children were sent on shore, feathered Indians nnngled in the throng. and he borders of tlie Eiver of May swarmed with busy life. But. lo, how oftentimes misfortune doth search and pursue "nhappj. Laudoninfere. Amidst the light and cheer ofreno- ea'st "" '^'"'^ "^ ^^''^'"' """'" '""' ^""'^'"'^'S in the At half-past eleven on the night of Tuesday, the fourth of September, tlie crew of Kibaut's flag-ship, anchored on the still sea outside tlie bar. saw a huge hulk, grim with the throats of cannon, drifting towards them through the gloom • I5651 Menendez 27 MENENDEZ 1 Spain was the citadel of darkness, — a inouastic cell, an inquisitorial dungeon, where no ray could pierce. She was the bulwark of the Church, against whose adamantine wall the waves of innovation beat in vain. In every country of Europe the party of free- dom and reform was the national party, the party of reaction and absolutism was the Spanish party, lean- ing on Cpain, looking to her for help. Above all, it was so in France ; and, while within her bounds there was ftjr a time some semblance of peace, the national and religious rage burst ^-^ m a wilder theatre. r it is for us to fo '!■ ^t, where, on the shores of Florida, the Spaniard and the Frenchman, the bigot and the Huguenot, met in the grapple of death. In a corridor of his palace, PhUip the Second was met by a man who had long stood waiting his approach, and who with proud reverence placed a i.etitioa in the hand of the » Pioneers of France in the New Worl.l. IFuguenot, in Florida, Cli. VII. Pcural arm niijflit imt fail, the nu'ii were daily i-iactined on dock in sliooliiif; at marks, iu order, wiys the chninicle, tliat the recruits might Icaru not to be afmid of tlieir guns. The dead calm continuetl. " We were all very tired," .siys the cliaplain, "and 1 al>i)ve all, with praying to (Jot! for a fair wind. To-«lay, at al)out two in the afternoon, lie took ]iity on us, and sent us a breeze." Jlefore night they saw laiiil, — the faint line of forest, traced along the watery horizon, that marked the coast of Florida. IJut where, in all this vast monottmy, was tlio lurkhig-iilace of the French \ Menendez ancthored, and sent a captain with twenty men ashore, who presently found a band of liulians, and gained from them the needed information. He staniards fir. 1 tt ' lunch re- l>lied. The other Sjianish shi|.rt had iniiio;. .i li.'^ inosemeiit of the San I'elayo; "but," writes the di: |.lai .dendoza, "the.se devils are such adroit .sailors, anii niaiunjM.-d .so well, tl;atwe did not catch one of them." i'ur:-ii. fn and air- sued ran out to .sea, Hrinj^ useless volleys at each other. In tlie laorninjv Menendez j,mve over ihe chase, turn ii, and, with the San IVlayo alone, ran back for the St. Jolm's. l)Ut here a welcome was pre[»ared for him. He saw bands of armed men drawn up on the beadi, and the smaller vessels of Uibaut's s(|uadron. wliidi had crossed the bar several days before, anchored l^ehind it to opintse his land- iug. He would iKit venture an attack, but, steering south- ward, .sailed alon^ the coast till he came to an inlet which he named San Ajrustin, the same which I^udonnifere had named the Iciser of I) soldiers, si . till! ^ ulou.; i. bt-. i. he uftpr- ii'M'TiJi li Hrst .«( 1 the S]i:i'ii.x' Mhii«, i' I h-^ -uai ued ikibiiut. Ho canu' . iwn tli' noiith > t^o i \ an anxious and * xciled ■ ov Imt «< tl.t?} eyes thiouffh the da \ii luli notl flashes of the distan mu. v ,,.ngtl \v\ .sh.wed.fai out at scii n.-Ad ui doi i chase of thcii Hy- ing onuiid' -. 'ursuLi.-^ and .ur>ue(! f> soon out of sight. Tlu drums beat arms, .vftei m \y iumrs of susiiense, the San I'elayo rt piteaiv !, iioverinp out the mouth of the river, then bearin- awa} wards tl outh. More anxious hours euMi. d, wli -n hwv oiho' sji . .le i i sight, and they recognizer three of tiieir own r turtimg sh . Communica- tion was .penal a boat's cn-w nded, a id they learned fi Coik itf-- ' ne of uie FnncI captains, that, confiding in i.e s}ie> i lus shi] ^e had dlowed the Spaniards to S' Auj^u , re. atuoii I their position, and seen them l-'n i theii y sea, the distance was sliort and tlie route explored. \\y a sudden blow they could captme or destroy the Spanish ships, anil nmster the troops on shore beft)re reinforcements could arrive, and before they liad time to coni]>lete their defences. Such were the views of Kibaut, and these jirevailed. On the tenth, the ship.s, crowded with troops, set sail. Iiibaut was gone, and svith him the bone and sinew of the colon}-. The miserable remnant waldied his receding sails with dreary foreboding, — a forelxHlhig which seemed but too just, when, on the next day, a storm, more violent than the Indians liad ever known, liowled through the forest and lashetl the ocean into fury. Most forlorn was the ]>iight of tliese exiles, left, it miglit be, the prey of a band of ferocious bigots more terrible than the fiercest hordes of the wilder- ness; antl wlien niglit closed on tlie stormy river and the gloomy waste of ]»ines, what dreams of terror may not have haunted the helpless women who crouched under the hovels of Fort Caroline ! The fort was in a niinous state, with the palisade on the water sido broken down, and three breaches in the rampart. In the driving rain, urged by the sick LnudonniJire, the men, bedrendied and disheartened, labored as they could to strengthen their defences. Their muster-roll shows but a beggarly array. It was the night of tlie nineteenth of Septemlier, the season of tempests ; floods of rain drenched the sentries on the ram- part, and, as day dawned on the drip})ing barracks and deluged 15^1 Menendez 39 jlenct parade, the storm increased in violence, vviiat enemy venture cmt on such a night ? T-a Vigne, who had the watch, took pity on the sentries and on himself, dismissed them, and went to his (quarters. He little ' lew what human energies, urged by ambition, avarice, bigotry, and desi)eration, will dare and do. To return to the Spaniards at St. Augustine. On the morning of the eleventh, the crew of one of their smaller vessels, lying outside the bar, with Menendez himself on board, saw tlirough the twilight of eaily dawn two of llibaut's sliips close uiM»n them. Not a itreath of air was stirring. There was no escape, and the Sjianiards fell on their knees in supplication to Our liady of I'trer; .'xplaining to her tluit the heretics were upm them, and begging her to send them a little wind. "Forthwith," says Mendoza,"one would have said that Our I^ady herself came down upon the vessel." A wind sprang up, and the Spaniards found refuge behind the bar. The returning d.iy showed to their astonished eyes all the ships of Ribaut, their decks black with men, hovering off the entrance of the jwrt ; but Heaven had ihem in its charge, and again they exi)erienced its protecting care. The breeze sent by Our Ijidy of I'trera rose to a gale, t mi to a furious temi)est ; and the grateful Adelantado saw through rack and mist the ships of his enemy tossed wildly among the raging waters as they stniggled to gain an ofHng. With exultati^ so far revived that they consented to follow him. All fell on their knoes in the marsh ; then, rising, they formed their ranks and began to advance, guided by a renegade Frenchman, whose hands, to make sure of him, were tied behind his back. Groping and stumbling in the dark among trees, roots, and underbrush, buffeted by wind and rain, and lashed in the face by the recoiling boughs which they could not see, they soon lost their way, fell into confusion, and came to a stand, in a mood more savagely desponding than before. But soon a glimmer of returning day came to their aid, nr '^owed them the disky sky, and the dark colunnis of thf •; unding pines. Menendez or- dered the men forwanl • pain of death. They obeyed, and presently, emerging from the forest, could dimly discern the ridge of a low hill, behintl which, the Frenchman told them, was the fort. Menendez, with a few officers and men, ! I lit ii 42 The Struggle for a Continent [1565 cautiously mounted to the 'op. ikneatb lav Fort Caroline, three bow-shots distant; In' tiie rain, the injperfect liglit, and a cluster of intervenined him as they returned towards the top »)f the hill. Here, clutching their weapons, all the gang stood in fierce expectancy. "Santiago!" cried Menendez. "At them! (Jod is with us ! Victory ! " And, shouting their hoarse war-cries, the Spaniards rushed down the slope like starved wolves. Not a sentry was on the rampart. La Vigne, the officer of the guard, had just gone to his quarters; but a trumi)eter, who chanced to remain, saw, through sheets of rain, the swarm of assailants sweejiing down the hill. He blew the alarm, and at the summons a few half-naked s(ddiers ran wildly out of the barracks. It was too late. Through the broaches and over the ramj.arts the Spaniards came pouring in, with shouts of " Santiago ! Santiago ! " Sick men leajied from their beds. Women and children, blind witli fright, darted shrieking from the houses. A fierce, gaunt visage, the tinust of a pike, or Idow of a ru.sty halberd, — su( h was the greeting that met all alike. Lau- doniiir-re snatched liis sworil and target, and ran towards the principal breach, calling to his soldiers. A rush of Spaniards met him ; his men were cut down around him; and he, with a soldier named Jlartholomew, was forced !»ack into the yard of his house. Here stood a tent, and, as tlie pursuers stum- bled among the cords, he escaped behind Ottigny's house, sprang through the breach in the western ranqiart, and lied for the \\cH»ds. 1565J Menendez 43 I^ Moyne had been one of the guanl. Scarcely liad lie thrown himself int(j a hanunuck which was slung in his room, when a savage shout, and a wild uproar of slnieks, outcries, and the clash of weapons, brought him to his feet. He rushed by two Spaniards in the doorway, ran l>ehind the guard-house, leaped througli an embrasure into the ditch, and es('ai)ed to tlie forest. (.'halleux, the carpenter, was going betimes to his work, a chisel in his liand. He was old, but pike ami i)artisan bran- dished at his back gave wings to his Hight. In the ecstasy of liis terror, he leajied upward, clutched the top of the ]>alisade, and threw himself over with the agility of a boy. He ran up tlie hill, no one pursuing, and, as he neared the edge of the forest, turned and looked back. From the high ground where he stood, he could see the butciiery, the fury of the con«iuerors, and the agonizhig gestures of the victims. He turned again in horror, and jtlungcd into the woods. As he tore his way througli the briars and thickets, he met several fugitives escajied like himself. Others presently came up, haggard and wild, like men broken loose from the jaws of death. They gathered together and consulted. One of them, known as Master IJobert, in great repute for his knowledge of the IJible, was for returning and surrender- ing to the Spaniards. " They are men," he said ; " jierhaps, when their fury is over, they will spare our lives ; and, even if they kill us, it will oidy be a few moments' pain. Detter S(t, than to starve here in the woods, or be torn to pieces by wild beasts." The greater part of the naked and despairing comjiany assented, but Challeu.x was of a dillerent mind. The old Huguenot (pioted Scrijtture, and called (he names of prophets and aiH.siles to witness that, in the direst extrem- I f I 44 The Struggle for a Continent (1565 ity, God would not abandon those who rested their faith in lliui. Six of the fugitives, however, still held to their des^ierate purpose. Issuing from the woods, tliey descended towards the fort, and, as with beating hearts their comrades watched the result, a troop of Spaniards rushed out, liewed them down with swords and halberds, and draj^ged their bodies to the brink of the river, where the victims of the massacre were aheady thing in heaps. Le Moyne, with a scddier named (Smutichemin, whom he had met in his flight, toiled all day through the woods and marshes, in the hope of reaching the small vessels anchored behind the bar. Niglit found them in a morass. No vessel could be seen, and llie .soldier, in despair, broke into angry upbraidings against his companion, — saying that he would go back and give himself up. Le Moyne at first opposed him, then yiehled. liut when they drew near the fort, and heard the liproar of savage revelrj* that rose from within, the artist's heart failed him. He end)raced his companion, and the soldier advanced alone. A party of Spaniards came out to meet him. He kneeled, and begged for his life. He was answered by a death-blow ; and the horrified Le Moyne, from his hiding-place in the thicket, saw his limbs hacked apart, stuck on pikes, and borne off in triumph. Meanwhile, Menendez, mustering his followers, had offered thanks to God for their victory; and this pious butcher wept with emotion as he recounted the favors which Heaven had showered ui)on their enterjtrise. His admiring historian gives it in proof of his humanity, that, after the rage of the as.sault was spent, he ordered that women, infants, and boys under fifteen .should thenceforth be spared. Of these, liy nis own account, there were about fifty. "Writing in October to the king, he says that they cause him great anxiety, since I 1565I Menendez 45 he fears the anger of God should he now put them to death iu cold blood, while, on the other hautl, he is in dread lest the venom of thair heresy sl'.ould infect his men. A hundred and forty-two persons were slain in and around the fort, and their bodies lay heaped tt>gether on tlie bank of the river. Nearly opposite was anchored a small vessel, called the I'earl, commanded by Jacques Kibaut, son of the admiral. The ferocious soldiery, maddened with victory and drunk with blood, crowded to the water's edge, shouting insults to those on board, mangling the corpses, tearing out their eyes, and throwing them towards tlie vessel from the points of their daggers. Thus did the Most Catholic Philip champion the cause of Heaven in the New World. It was currently believed in France, and, though no eye- witness attests it, there is reason to think it true, that among those murdered at Fort Caroline there were some who died a death of peculiar ignominy. Menendez, it is atHrmed, hanged his prisoners on trees, and placed over them the inscription, " I do this, not as to Frenchmen, Imt as to Lutherans." 46 The Struggle for a Continent [1565 i MA.S«ACUK OF TIIK HEKKTICS* On- tlie twentVH'iglitli of September, wlion llie wean- Adelan- tado was taking his siesta uiuler tlie sylvan io.»f of Seloy, a troop of Indians came in with news that iiation, says Mendoza, of the ][oly Spirit, lie put on the clothes of a sailor, en- tered a boat which had been bronght to the s^wt, and rowed towards tlie shipwrecked men, the better to learn their con- dition. A Frenchman swam out to meet him. Menendez demanded what men they were. " Followers of Kibaut, Viceroy of the King of France," answered the swinmier. "Are you Catholics or Lutherans ?" " All Lutherans." A brief dialogue ensued, during which the Adelantado de- clared his name and character, and the Frenchman gave an account of the designs of IJibaut, and of the disaster that had thwarted them. He then swam l»ack to his companions, biit soon returned, and asked safe conduct for his captain and four other gentlemen, who wished to hold conference with the Spanish generf;i. Menendez gave his word for their safety, and, returning to the shore, sent his boat to bring them •ver. On their landing, he met them verj- courteously. His ;»llowers were kept at a distance, so disposed behind hills and among bushes as to give an exaggerated idea of their force, — a precaution the more needful, as they were only about sixty in number, while the French, says Soli's, were above two hundred. Mei-.^-ndez, however, declares that they did not exceed a hundred and forty. The French oBicer told ;i 48 The Struggle for a Continent [1565 him tlie ston- of their shi|.wrack, and I'egged him to lend them a boat to aid them in cio.s.mu},' the rivers wliich lay be- tween them and a fort of th.iir kjjjg, whither they were making their way. Then came again the ominous question, — " Are you Catholics or Lutlierans ? " " We are Lutherans." " CJentlemen," pursueos, swords, targets, and helmets. The Adelantado ordered twenty sol- diers to bring over the prisoners, ten at a time. He then took the French officers aside behind a ridge of sand, two gunshots from the bank. Here, with courtesy on his lips and murder at his heart, he said : — " (Jentlemen, I have but few men, and you are so many that, if you were free, it would be easy for you to take your satisfaction on us for the people we killed when we !i 50 The Struggle for a Continent [.563 t«'«.k your fort. Tht-ieforc it is necessary thai y..u shoulH f- to my camp, four leagues from this placi.with youi liaiu-s tied" Accordingly, as each party landed, they were led out of sight behind the sand-hill, and their hands tied behind their backs with the match-cords of the arquebuses, though not before each Juxd been supplied with food. The whole day lassed before all were brought together, bound and helpless, under the eye of the inexorable Adelantado. But now Men- doza interposed. "I was a priest," he says, "and had the bowels (»f a man." He asked that, if there were Christians — that is to .say. Catholics — among the prisoners, they should be set apart. Twelve BretoQ sail)rs professed them- selves to be such; and these, together with four cari>enters and calkers, " of whom," writes Menendez, " I was in great need," were put on board the boat and sent to 81 Augustine. Tlio rest were ordered to march thither by land. The Adelantado walked in advance till he came to a lonely spot, not far distant, deep among the bush-covered hills. Here he stopped, and with his cane drew a line in the sand. The sun was set when the captive Huguenots, with their escort, reached the fatal goal thus marked out. And now let the curtain drop; for here, in the name of Heaven, the hounds of hell were turned loose, and the sav- age soldiery, like wolves in a sheepfold, rioted in slaughter. Of all that wretched company, not one was left alive. " I had their hands tied behind their backs," writes the chief criminal, "and themselves put to the knife. It ap- peared to me that, by thus chastising them, God our Lord and your Majesty were served; whereby in future this evil sect will leave us more free to plant the gospel in these parts.' «565l MiLssacre of the Heretics 51 Again Meiieiulez ri'turtn'd triuiiiitlmnl t»» St. AuKustine, aiul behind him niaivhcd his Itanil uf butchen*, slee{itHl in bloiKl to the elbows, but still unsutcd. (ireat as had been his success, he still had cause for anxiety. There was ill news of his Heet. Some of the shifw w ere lost, others scat- tered, or laj,'}:;ing tardily on their way. ' -f his whole force, less than a half had reached Florida, and of these a large part were still at Fort Caroline. Kibaut could not be far off; and, whatever might be the condition of his shipwrecked company, their numlKTs woultl make tliem formidable, unless taken at advantage. Urgr ] by fear and fortiiied by fanat- icism, Menendez had well l)egun his work of slaughter ; but rest for him there was none ; a darker deed was Inland. ()n the tenth of October, Indians came with the tidings that, at the spot wliere the first party <>' the shipwrecked French had been fcnid, there WaS now another party still larger. This murder-j ving race looked with , .; er c< < on Menendez for his whidesale butchi vy of the > ,';., i re, — an exploit rarely equalled in their own ann: r.' n:M 1- sacre. On his part, he doubted not that llibaut v .. i ■ ai.ai Marching with a hundred and fifty men, he crossed the bush-covered sands at Anastasia Island, followed the strand between the thickets and the sea, reached the inlet at mid- night, and again, like a savage, ambushed himself on he bank. Day broke, and he could plainly see the Freacii on the farther side. They hat I made a raft, which lay in the water ready for crossing. Menendez and his men showed themselves, when, forthwith, the French displayed their banners, sounded drums and truni[)eta, and set their sick and starving ranks in array of battle. But the Adelantado, regardle.s.s of this warlike show, ordered his men to seat themselves at breakfast, while he wuh thre« otlicers walked iii I i 52 The Struggle for a Continent [1565 uncneerncdly along the shore. His coolness had its effect. The French blew a trumi^Jt of parley, and showed a white flag. The Spaniards replied. A Frenchman came out upon the raft, and, shouting across the water, asked that a Spanish envoy should be ^ent over. " Vou have a raft," was the reply ; « come yourselves." An Indian canoe lay under the bank on the Spanish side. A French sailor swam to it, paddled back unmolested, and presently returned, bringing with him U Caille, IJibaut's sergeant-major. He told Menendez that the French were three hundred and fifty in all, and were on their way to Fort Caroline; and, like the oflicers of tlie former party, he begged for boats to aid tliem in crossing the river. " My brotlier," said Menendez, " go and tell your general, that, if he wishes to s|K..ak with me, lie may come with four or six compani..us. and that I pledge my word he shall ao back safe." La Caille returned ; and Kibaut, with eight gentlemen soon came over in the canoe. Menendez met them cour- teously, caused wine and preserved fruits to be placed before them, — he had come well provisioned on his errand of blood, — ami next led Kibaut to the reeking (Jolgotha, where, in hoai)s upon tlie sand, lay the corpses of his slaughtered fol- lowers. Ribaut wai prepared for the spectacle; U Caille had already seen it ; but he w.n.1,1 not believe tliat Fort Caro- line was taken till a part of the plunder was shown him Then, mastering his despair, he turned to the conqueror. " What has befallen us," l,e said, " may one day befall you " And, urging that the kings of France and Spain were broth- ers and cl..se friends, he begged, in the name of that friend- ship, that the Si)aniard would ai.l him in conveying his followers home. Menendez gave him the ..an.e equivocal «5«5] Massacre of the Heretics 53 answer that he had given the former party, and Rihaut re- turned to consult with his officers. After three hours of absence, he came back ua the canoe, and told the Adelantado that some of his jKJople were readj to surrender at discretion, but that many refused. " They can do as they please," was the reply. In behalf of those who surrendered Kibaut offered a ran- som of a hundred thousand ducats. "ItwoulU much grieve me," said Menendez, " not to ac- cept it ; for I liave great need of it." Ribaut was much encouraged. Menendez could scarcely forego such a prize, and he thought, says the Spanish nar- rator, that the lives of his followers would now be safe. He asked to be allowed the night for deliberation, and at sunset recrossed the river. In the morning he reappeared among tlie Spaniards, and reported that two hundred of his men had retreated from the s|KJt, but that the ren)aining hundred and fifty would surrender. At the same time he gave into the hands of Menendez the royal standard and other flags, with his sword, dagger, helmet, liuckler, and the official seal given him by Coligny. Menendez directed an officer to enter the boat and bring over the French by tens. He next led Ribaut among the bushes behind the neighboring sand-hill, and or- dered his hands to be lK)und fast. Then the scales fell from the prisoner's eyes. Face to face his fate rose up before him. He saw his followers and himself entrapped, — the dupes of words artfully framed to lure them to their ruin. The day wore on ; and, as band after band of prisoners was brought over, they were led behind the saud-liill out of sight from the farther shore, and bound like their general. At length tlie transit was finished. With Idoodshot eyes and weapons bared, the Si>aniar;fs closed around their victims. T 54 The Struggle for a Continent [1565 "Are you ("atholics w Luilmans :' and is there any one among you wlio will go to confession ?" Hiltaut answered, " 1 and all here are of tlie IJeforiuod Vailh." And he recited the Psalm, " Domhic, moticnto mcL" " We are of earth," he contimied, " and to earth wo must return; twenty years more or less can matter little; " and, turning to the Adelautado, he hade him do his will. The stony-hearted bigot gave the signal ; and those who will way paint to themselves the horrors of the scene. A few, however, were spared. " I saved," writes Menen- dez, " the lives of two young gentlemen of about eighteen years of age, as well as of three others, the (ifer, the drum- mer, and the trumi>eter; and I caused Juan Ifibao [Kil.aut] with all the rest to be put to the knife, judging this to be necessary for the service of (Jod our Um\ and of your Ma- jesty. And I consider it great good fortune that he TJuau JJibao] should ]m dead, for the King of France could "effect more with him and five hundred drcats than with other m»'n and five thousand, and he would do more in one year than another in ten, for he was the most experienced sailor and naval commander known, and of great skill in this navigation of the Indies and the coast of Florida. He was, besides, preatly liked in P:ngland, in which kingdom his reputation was such that he was appointed cajitaui-general of all the Fiiglish fleet aj aiust th French Catliolics iii the war between Knglanc! and France some years ago." Such is the sum of the Spanish accounts, — the self-dam- ning testimony of the author and abettors of tlie crime; a picture of lurid and awful coloring; and yet there is reason to believe that the trutli was darker still.' » The Frcnoh account is giv.ii in Le SInyn. ■« narrativo. Spc Pionoers of France lu tlic New World. Uiiguonots iu Florida. Cli. VIII. — Ed. 1567] Expedition of Dominique de (Jourgues 55 THE KXI'EIHTIOX "I lM)MIXI(^>rE I)K (i()l''\;-. ESi There was a premleman of AfKiit-de-Mai'san, I)onuni(|ue do Gourgues, a soldier of aiicR'iit Iiirtli and hi<,'h iviiuwii. It is not certain that he was a Huguenot. The Simnisli an- nalist calls him a " terrible heretic ; " hut the French Jesuit, Charlevoix, anxious that the faithful shouhi share the gh»ry of his exphiits, affu iiis that, like liis ancestors be- fore him, he was a good Catholic. If so, his faith sat lightly upon him ; and, ( 'atli- olic or heretic, he hated the Spaniards with a mortal hate. Fighting in the Ital- ian wars, — tor from boy- hood he was wedded to the sword, — he liad been taken prisoner by them near Siena, Dominiijuf. dc GimnjucH where he had signalized himself by a fiery and deter- mined bravery. Witli brutal insult, they chained him to the oar as a galley .«lave. After he hau long endured this ignominy, tlie Turks captured the ve.s.sel and carried her to Con8tantin..|.lt'. It was Imt a change ..f tyrants; but, soon after, while she was on a cmise, (Jourgues still at the oar, a » PiunciTs of Fiance in the New Worl.l. Hiigiiiuots in Florida, Ch. X. il i j. S* The Struggle for a Continent [1567 galley af the knights of Malta hove in .^ij^lit, bore down on her, recaptured her, and set the prisoner free. For several yeais after, his restless *^irit found eni}.loyment in voyages to Africa, Brazil, and regions yet more r^KMK^. His naval rei)ute rose high, but his grudge against tlie St«iuiards still rankled within him ; and when, returned from liis rovings, he learned the tid- ijjgs from Florida, his hot (Jascon l)lo.-l boiled with fury. The honor of France had l)een foully stained, and ifiere was none to sviyK' away the shame. Tlie faction-ri,lden king was dumh. The nobles wh(j surrounded liim were in the Spanish interest. Then, since they jiroved recreant, he, l)omuii(iue de (u-urgues, a simple gentleman, would take upon him to av.'iige the wrong, and restore the dimmed lustre of the Fren.^h name. He .s..ld Ids inheritance, bur- rowed money from liis brotlu-r, who lield a liigh j>ost in (luienne, ant of brambles, weeds, and grass : and, wlien their task was finished, the triliesmen took their places, ring wiihin ring, standing, sitting, and crouching on the ground,— a dusky concourse, plumed in festal array, waitiiig with giave vi.sages and intenj eyes. Gourgues was about to speak, when the chief, who, says the narmtor, had not learned French manners, anticipated him, and broke into a vehement harangue, denouncing the cruelty of the Spaniards. Since the French fort was taken, lie said, the Indians had not had one happy day. The Spaniards drove them from tlieir cabins, stole tlieir corn, ravished their wives and daughters, and killed thi-ir children; and all this they had endured becauf^ tlu'y loved the French. Tlie^-e was a French boy who had oscajKid from the massacre at the I rl; * 6o The Struggle for a Continent [15M they had found him in the woods ; and though the Spaniards, who wished to kill him, demanded that they should give hin> up, they had kept him for his friends. " Look ! " pursued the cliief, " here he is ! " — and he brought forward a youth of sixteen, named Pierre Debr^, who became at once of the greatest service to the French, his knowledge of the Indian language making him an excellent interpreter. Delighted as he was at this outburst against the Spaniards, Gourgues did not see fit to display the full extent of his sat- isfaction. He thanked the Indians for their good-will, ex- horted them to continue in it, and pronounced an ill-merited eulogy on the greatness and gootlness of his king. As for the Spaniards, he said, their day of reckoning was at hand ; and, if the Indians had been abused for their love of the French, the French would be their avengers. Here Satou- riona forgot his dignity, and leai)ed up for joy. " What ! " he cried, " will you fight the Spaniards ? " " I came here," replied Gourgues, " only to reconnoitre the country and make friends with you, and then go back to bring more soldiers ; but, when I hear what you are suffering from them, I wish to fall uj)on them this very day, and res- cue you from their tyranny." All around the ring a clamor of applauding voices greeted his words. " But you will do your part," pursued the Frenchman ; " you will not leave us all the honor ? " " We will go," replic' Satouriona, " and die with you, if need be." " Then, if we fight, we ought to fight at once. How soon can you have your warriors ready to march ? " The chief asked three days for preparation. Gourgues cau- tioned him to secrecy, lest the Spaniards should take alarm. i5««] Expedition of Dominique de Gourgues 6i " Never fear," was the answer ; " we hate them more than you d'j." Then came a distribution of gifts, — knives, hatchets, mir- rors, bells, and beads, — while the warrior rabble crowded to receive them, with eager faces anil outstretched arms. The distribution over, Gourgues asked tlie chiefs if there was any other matter in which he could serve them. On this, point- ing to his shiit, th.'v expressed a iK'culiar admiratiiju for that garment, ant! begged each t(. have t)ne, to be worn at feasts and councils during lite, and in their graves after death. Gourgues complied; and his grateful confederates were _ soon stalking about him, fluttering in the sjKiils of his ward- robe. To learn the strength and position of the Spaniards, Gourgues now sent out three scouts ; and with them went Olotoraca, Satouriona's nephew, a young brave of great renown. The chief, eager to prove his good faith, gave as hostages his only surviving son and his favorite wife. They were sent on board the ships, while the Indians dispersed to their encampments, with leaping, str i>viii^, dancing, and whoops of jubilation. The day appointed came, and with it the savage army, hideous in war-paint, and plumed for battle. The woods rang back their songs and yells, as with frantic gesticulation they brandished their war-clubs and vaunted their deeds of prowess. Then they drank the black drink, endowed with mystic virtues against hardship and danger ; and Gourgues himself pretended to swallow the nauseous decoction. These ceremonies consumed the day. It was evening before the allies tiled off into their forests, and took the path for the Spanish forts. The French, on their part, were to It ; 11 62 The Struggle for a Continent [15M repair by sea to tlie rendezvous. (J.nir-ueM inustenMl an.l addressed hi.s im-n. It was needlc-ss: their ai.jor was at fever heiKht. They broke in npun Jus wor.Ls, aiul \vn lniL a few, reseiveil by Gourgues for a more in^lorio'is end. Meanwhile the Spaniards in the other fort, on the opposite sliore, cannonaded the victors without ceasing. Tlie latter turned four captured guns against them. One of Gourgues's boats, a very large one, had been brought along-shore, and, entering it with eighty sohliers, lie i»ushed for the farther bank. With loud yells, the Indians leaped into the river, which is here about three fourths of a nnle wide. Each held his bow and arrows aloft in one hand, while he swam with the otlier. A panic seized the garrison as they saw the savage multitude. They broke out of the fort and lied into the forest. But the French had already landed ; and, throwing themselves in the path of the fugitives, they greeted them with a storm of lead. The terrified wretches recoiled; but flight was vain. The Indian whoop rang behind them, and war-clubs and arrows finished the work. Gourgues's utmost efforts saved but fifteen, not out of mercy, but from a refinement of vengeance. The next day was Quasimodo Sunday, or the Sunday after Easter. Gourgues and his men remained quiet, making ladders for the assault on Fort San Mateo. Meanwhile the wh(jle forest was in arms, and, far and near, the Indians were wild with excitement. They beset the Spanish fort till not a soldier could venture out. The garrison, aware of their danger, thovigh ignorant of its extent, devised an expedient to gain information ; and one of them, pamted and feathered like an Indian, ventured within Gourgues's outposts. He himself chanced to be at hand, and by his side walked liis constant attendant, Olotoraca. The keen- eyed young savage })ierced the cheat at a glance. The spy was seized, and, being examined, declared that ihere were 5 - i 66 The Struggle tor a Continent [1568 tw.. Inunlml an.l sixty Spaiuards in San Mat.... an.l that ti.cy l-dieuMl the honrh tu he tw., th.msan.l, an.l were .s.. f.ij;luene.l that they .H.l n-t kM..w what they were .h.injr (J.mr^aies, well please.!, ,K>,she.l on to atla.^k then,. On Afonday eveninjr he s.-nt f.-rwaid the In.lians to an.lmsh themselves on h..th si.les of the fort. In the morning he f..ll..we.l with his Frenchmen; ami, as the jrlitlering ranks came n.to view, .ietilins between the forest and the river tlie Spaniar.ls ..pene.l on tliem with culverines fn.m a pr..- Ji'.-tin- hasti.m. The FrencI, took cover in the woods with whi.h tlie hills below and behind the f.,rt were densely overgrown. Jlere, himself unseen. (Jonrgues eould survey the whole extent of the defences, and he presently descried a strong party of Spaniards issuing from their works, cross- ing the ditch, an.l advancing to reconmntre. On this he sent Cazenove, with a detachn.ent, to stati..n himself at 'a point well hidden by trees on the flank of the Spaniards, who with strange infatuation, continued their advance. Uourgues' and his followers pushed on through the thickets to meet them. As the Spaniards reached the edge of the open ground, a dea.lly fire blazed in their faces, and, before the smoke cleared, the French were among them, sword in hand The survivon, would have fled; but Cazenove's detachment fell upon their rear, and all were killed or taken. When their comrades in the fort beheld their fate, a panic seized them. Cnscious of their own deeds, perpetrated on this very spot, they could hope no mercy, and their terror multiplicl immeasurably the numbers of their enemy They abandoned the fort in a body, and fled into the wo'ods most remote from tlie French. Ihit here a deadlier foe awaited them ; for a host of Imlians leape.l up from ambush. Then rose those hideous war-cries which have curdled the boldest 1568] Expedition of Dominique de Gourgues 67 Mood iiiul lilaiu'lied the iiianlk'sL rlieek. The forest war ricrs, with savaj^e ecstasy, wreaked their loiij^ arrears of vengeance, while the Frenih hastened to the siiot, and lent their swords to the slaiijfliter. A few jirisoners were saved alive ; the rest were slain; and thus did the Spaniards make bloody at it for the l)ntcher\ of Fort Caroline. oncment lor tne onlcner} ot But (lourgues's vengeance was not yet apjieased. Hard l>y the fort, tlie trees were pointed tnit to him on which ^lenendez had hanged his captives, and placed over them the inscription, " Not as to Frenchmen, but as to Lutherans." (Jourgues ordered the Spanish juisoners tu be led thither. " Did you think," he sternly said, as the pallid wretches stood ranged before him, " that so vile a treachery, so detestal)le a cruelty, against a king so potent and a nation so generous, would go unpunished ? I, one ot the humblest gentlemen among my king's subjects, have charged myself with avenging it. Even if the Most Christian and the Most Catholic Kings had been enemies, at deadly war, such per- fidy and extreme cruelty would still have been unpardon- able. Now that they are friends and close allies, there is no name vile enough to brand your deeds, no punishment sharp enough to re([uite them. But though you cannot sufl'er as you deserve, you shall suffer all that an enemy can honorably inflict, that your example may teach others to t)bserve the peace and alliance which you have so perfidi- ously violated." They were hanged where the French had hung before them ; and over them was nailed the inscription, burned with a hot iron on a tablet of pine, " Not as to Spaniards, but as to Traitors, Tlobbers, and Murderers." Gourgues's mission was fulfilled. To occupy the country had never been his intention ; nor was it possible, for the i '■■>. 6H The Struggle for a Continent [1568 Spanianls wore still in fo-ve at St. Augustine. His was a wlnrlwuKl visitati.,n,-to ravage, ruin, and vanish. He harangued the Indians, and e.vh.,rted them to denudi.h the fort. They fell to the work with eagerness, and in les.s than a day not one stone was left on anotlier. (J<.urjruc.s returne.l to the forts at the mouth of (I,e rivor ,'eis tuok counsel towvther, turned their jirows east- ward, and hore away for France, carrying,' thither, as a sample of the natural jiroducts of the New \V(»rld, twoyounji; Indians, lured into their clutchi-s ]ay of St. Lawrence, a name afterwards extended to the entire gulf, and to the great river above.' To ascend this great river, anil tempt the hazards of its > Caiticr mils tlio St. Lnwn'iice the " Itivcr of llocliclajja," or "the }jiiat river of Canada." He coiifiiics the iiatiie of Canada to a ilistriut extending from tlie Islo aux Coudrcs in the St. Lawrence to a jioiut at some distancu ahovG tlie site of Quebec. The country below, lie adds, was called by the Indians Sagucnay, and that alwve, Jlochdaja. In the map of (ierard Mercator (UiOD) the name Canada is given to a town, with an adjacent district, on the river Stndiii (St. Charles). Lcscarbot, a later writer, insists that the country on both sides of the St. Lawrence, from Ilochclaga to its mouth, bore the name of I'imada. In the second map of Ortelius, pubiishcd alwut the year 1,")72, New France, Nova Francia, is thus divided : — '\inada, a distri('t on the St. Lawrence above the lUvcr Sagucnay ; CI . 'helaga), the angle between the Ottawa and the St. Lawrence ; , district below the river of that name ; Moscosa, south of the St. : ,<- and cast of the liiver Uichelieu ; Avncal, west and south of Moscosa ; ^\^'uinhcga, Maine and New Brunswick ; Apalachen, Virginia, Pennsylvania, etc.; Terra Cortcrcalis, Labrador; Flor- id'i, Mississippi, Alabama, Floriila. Mercator confines tlic name of New France to districts bordering on the St. Lawrence. Others give it a much broader a[)plication. The use of this name, or the nearly allied names of Francisca and La Franciscane, dates back, to say the least, as far as l.">25, and the Dutch geographers are especially free in their use of it, out of spite to the Siianiards. The derivation of the name of Canada has been a jwint of discission. It is, without doubt, not Spanish, but Indian. In the vocabulary of the language of Hochelaga, appended to the journal of Cartier's second voyage, Canada is set down as the word for a town or village. " lis apiwllent une villc, Canada." It bears the same meaning in the Jlohawk tongue. I'oth languages are dia- lects of the Iroquois. Lesearbot affirms that Canada is simply an Indian proper name, of which it is vain to seek a meaning, Belleforest also calls it an Indian word, but translates it "Terre," as docs also Thcvet. I ill. ..:i 72 The Struggle for a Continent [1535 intricate navigation with no bpttor pilots than the two young Indians kidnapjK'd the year hefore, was a ventine of no light risk. But skill or fortune prevailed; and, on the (ino ears of the receding Frenchmen. Tiie hamlet of Stadaci mt?, with its king, Donnacona, and its naked lords and i»rinces, was not the metropolis of this forest state, since a town far greater — so the Indians averred — stood by the brink of the river, many days' journey above. It was called Ilochelaga, ami the great river itself, with a wide reach of adjacent country, had borrowed its name. Thither, with his two young Indians as guides, Cartier re- solved to go ; but misgivings seized the guides, as the time drew near, while Donnacona and his tribesmen, jealous of the plan, set themselves to thwart it. The Breton captain turned a deaf ear to their dissuasions; on which, failinp '^•t touch his reason, they api)ealed to his fears. One mornuig, as the ships still lay at anchor, the French beheld three Indian devils descending in a canoe towards them, dressed in black and white dog-skins, with faces black as ink, and horns long as a man's arm. Thus arrayed, they drifted by, while the principal fiend, with fixed eyes, as of one piercing the secrets of futurity, uttered in a loud voice a long harangue. Then they paddled for the shore ; and no sooner did they reach it than each fell flat like a dead man in the bottom of the canoe. Aid, however, was at hand ; for r ! ill KJi I 1 74 The Struggle for a Continent [1535 Donnacona and his triliesmen, rushing pell-mell from the adjacent wouds, raised the swooning nias(|ueraders, and, with shrill claniois, bore them in their arms within the sheltering thickets. Here, for a full half hour, the French could hear tliem liaranguing in soleuni conclave. Then the two young Indians whom Cartier had l)n)ught back from France came out of the buslies, enacting a pantomime of amazement and terror, clasping their hands, and calling (m Christ and tlie ^'irgin ; whereupon Cartier, shouting from the vessel, asked wliat was tlie matter. They replied, tliat tlie god Coudouagiiy liad sent to warn the French against all attempts to ascend the great river, since, sliould they persist, snows, terajjests, and drifting ice would recpiite their rashness with inevitable ruin. The French replied that Coudouagny was a fool ; that lie could not hurt those who believed in Christ; and that they might tell this to his three messengers. Tlic assembled Indians, witli little reverence for tlieir deity, pretended great contentment at this assurance, and danced for joy along the beacli. Cartier now made ready to depart. And, first, he caused the two larger vessels to be towed for safe harborage within tlie mouth of tlie 8t. Charles. "With the smallest, a galleon of forty tons, and two open boats, carrying in all fifty sailors, besides Pontbriand, La Tommeraye, and other gentlemen, he set out for Hochelaira. Slowly glitling on their way by walls of verdure brightened in the autumnal sun, they saw forests festooned with grape- vines, and waters alive with wild-fowl ; they heard the song of the blacU.ird, the thrusli, and, as they fondly thought, the nightingale. The galleon grounded ; they left her, and, ad- vancing with the boats alone, on the second of October neared the goal oi their hopes, the mysterious Ilochelaga. »S35] The Story of Cartier's Discoveries 75 .lust behnv where now are seen tlie quays and storehouses of Montreal, a thousand Indians thronged the shore, wild with delight, danchig, singing, crowding about the strangers, and showering into the boats their gifts of fish and luaize ; and, as it grew dark, fires lighted up the night, while, far and near, tlie Frencli ecjuld see the excited savages leajiing and rejoicing by tlie blaze. At dawn of day, marshalled and accoutred, they marched for llochelaga. An Indian path led them through the forest which covered the site of ^Montreal. The morning air was chill and sharp, the leaves were changing hue, and beneath the oaks the ground was thickly strewn with acoms. They soon met an Indian chief with a party of triliesmen, or, as the old narrative has it, " one of the principal lords of the said city," attended with a numerous retinue. Greeting them after the concise courtesy of the forest, he led tliem to a fire kindled by the side of th i path for their comfort and refreshment, seated them on tl e ground, and made them a long harangue, receiving in requital of his eloquence two hatchets, two knives, and a crucifix, the last of which he was invited to kiss. This done, they resumed their march, and presently came upon open fields, covered far and near with the ripened maize, its leaves rustling, and its yellow grains gleaming between the parting husks. Defore them, wrapj^ed in forests painted by the early frosts, rose the ridgy back of the Mountain of IMontreal, and below, encompassed with its cornfields, lay the Indian town. Nothing was visible but its encircling palisades. Tliey were of trunks of trees, set in a triple row. The outer and inner ranges inclined till they met and crossed near the summit, while the ujiright row between them, aided by transverse braces, gave to tlie whole an abun- dant strength. Within were galleries for the defenders, rude Hi 76 The Struggle for a Continent [1535 ladders to mount them, aud magazines of stones to throw down on the heads of assailants. It was a mode of fortifi- cation practised by all the tribes speak-'ng dialects of the Iroquois. The voyagers entered the narrow portal. Within, they saw some fifty of those large oblong dwellings so familiar in after years to the eyes of the Jesuit apostles in Irocpiois and Hun.n forests. They were about fifty yards in leiigtli, and twelve or fifteen wide, framed of sapling poles closely covered with slieets ressed their trumpets to their lips, and l)lew a blast that filled the air with warlike din and the liearts of the hearers with amazement and delight, bid- ding their hosts farewell, the visitors formed their ranks and defded through the gate once more, desi)ite the efforts of a crowd of women, who, with clamorous hosjiitality, beset them with gifts of fish, beans, corn, and other viands of uninvitmg aspect, which the Frenchmen courteously declined. A troop of Indians followed, and guided them to the top I! 1 78 The Struggle for a Continent [1535 of the neighborinjT mountain. Cartier called it Mont Royal, Montreal; anu hence the name of the ''usy city which now holds the site of the vanislied Ilochelaga. Stadacoud and Hochelaga, Quebec and ^lontival, in the sixteenth century as in the nineteentli, were the centres of Canadian population. From the summit, tliat noble prospect met his eye wliich at this day is tlie delight of tourists, l)ut strangely chauged, since, first of wlute men, the IJieton voyager gazed uix)n it. Tower and dome and spire, congregated roofs, wliite sail and gliding steamer, animate its vast expanse with varied life. Cartier saw a .lifferent scene. East, west, and south, the mantling forest was over all, and tlie broad blue ribbon of the great river glistened amid a realm of verdure. IJeyond, to the bounds of Mexico, stretched a leafy Josert, and the vast liive of industry, tlie miglity battle-ground of later cen- turies, lay sunk in savage torpor, wrapped in ixiiniitable woods. The French re-embarked, bade farewell to Hochelaga, retraced their lonely o.urse down the St. Lawrence, and reached Stadacoud in safely. On the bank of the St. Charles, their companions had built in tlieir absence a fort of palisades, and the sliips, hauled up the little stream, lay moored before it. Here tlie self-exiled company were soon ])esieged l)y the rigors of the Canadian whiter. The rocks, the sliores, the pine trees, the solid floor of the frozen river, all alike were blanketed in snow, beneath the keen cold rays of the dazzling sun. The drifts rose above the sides of their ships ; masts, spai-s, and cordage were thick with glittering incrustations and sparkling rows of icicles; a frosty armor, four inches thick, encased tlie bulwarks. Yet, in tlie bitter- est weather, the neighboring Indians, « hardy," says the jour- nal, "as so many beasts," came daily to the fort, wading, half 1536] The Story of Cartier's Discoveries 79 naked, waist-cleei) through the snow. At length, tlieir friend- shiji began to al)ate; tlieir visits grew less £re(iuent, and durmg December had wholly ceased, when a calamity fell upon the French. A malignant scurvy brf>ke out among them. :M,"n after man went down before the hideous disease, till twenty-live were dead, "iid only three or four were left in health. The sound were too few to attend the sick, and the wretc.'ed suU'crers lay in helpless despair, dreaming of the sun and the vines of France. The ground, hard as Hint, deKed their leeble etl'orts, and, unable to bury their dead, they hid them in snow-drifts. Cartier appealed to the st.ints ; but they turned a deaf ear. Tlien he nailed against a tree an image of the Virgin, and on a Sunday summoned forth his woe-begone followers, who, haggard, reeling, bloated with their maladies, moved in procession to the spot, and, kneehng in the snow, sang litanies and psalms of David. That day died I'lulippe Kougemont of Amboise, aged twenty-two years. The Holy Virgin deigned no other resjwnse. There was fear tliat the Indians, learning their misery, might finish the work that scm-vy had begun. None of them, thereft)re, were allowed to approach the fort; and when a party of savages lingered within hearing, Cartier forced his invalid garrison to beat with sticks and stones against the walls, that their dangerous neighbors, deUuk'd by the clatter, might think them engaged in hard labor. These objects of their fear proved, however, the instruments of their salvation. Cartier, walking one day near the river, met an Indian, who not long before had been prostrate, like many of his fellows, with the scurvy, but who was now, to all api>earance. ii; high health and siiirif;. What agency had wrought this maivellous recovery ! According to the I) '■ 80 Tlie Struggle for a Continent I1536 Indian, it was a certain evergreen, called by him ameda, a decoction of the leaves of which was sovereign against the disease. The experiment was tried. The sick men drank copiously of the healing draught, — so copiously indeed that in six days they drank a tree as large as a French oak. Thus vigorously assailed, tlie distemper relaxed its hold, and heallh and Jiope began '.o revisit the hapless company. When this winter of misery luid worn away, and the sliips were tliawed from their icy fetters, Cartier prepared to re- turn. He had made notable discoveries ; but these were as nothing to the tales of wonder that had reached his ear,— of a land of gold and rubies, of a nation white like the French, of men wlio lived without food, and of others to whom Nature had granted but Nonuiiboj,'a iiicliulccl tlie vres- and Xov.i S.otia on the nortli, anil pnt state of Maim-, ami was 'some- ]iart of New F.ngland on tke south, times held to include New Hriinswick — Kd. i54i-»6ooi The Story of Cartier's Discoveries Si ant-General in Canada, Hochelaga, Sagiienay, Newfoundland, etc., etc. A. lien De Iluberval reached Newfoundland in June of the following year he met Cartier, wh , proving faithless to his trust, had broken up his colony at Cap Kouge above Quebec, and was returning to France. His defection was fatal to the enterprise. De Roberval made his way up the St. Lawrence to Cap Rouge, but winter, famine, and disease, joined to the despotism of the leader, cut short the life of the infant colony. "With De Ivolterval closes the prelude of the French- American drama," says Park man ; " tempestuous years and a reign of blood and tire were in store for France. The reli- gious wars begot the hapless colony of Florida, but for more than half a centurj- left New France a desert," visited alone by the hardy Breton fishermen who plied their trade upon the lonely banks of Newfoundland, or, prompted by the advent- urous love of gain, sailed up the broad St. Lawrence to barter with the Indians for their furs. At tlie close of the sixteenth century the Marquis de la Roche obtained a patent from the king to establish a colony in New France. The enterprise was signally unsuccessful. Laden svith a crew of convicts and desperadoes the tiny vessel held its course until the shores of Sable Island rose above the sea. Here the convicts, forty in number, were landed, while La Roche, with his more trusty followers, sailed to explore the neighboring coasts and choose a site for the capital of his new dominion. A tempest swept him back to France, and for five years the wretched remnant languished on the island, when a Norman pilot was de- spatched to bring the outcasts home. In the meantime, on the ruin of La Roche's enterprise, a new one had been founded. Pontgrav^, a merchant of 6 32 The Struggle for a Continent [1607 St. Main, It'iitriu'tl liinisi'lf with Cliauviii, a raplaiu of the marine will, had inHuencu at court. A jiatent was granted them, and an unsuwessl'ul ellort was made towards cuhmiza- tion. Upon Uiv death of Cliauvin in 1G02 a new patent was granted to De ChasU's, wlio allied himself with I'ont- grave, and secured the services of the already distinguished Champlaui.i This voyage of 1003 was devoted merely to exploration. On Chaniplain's return to France he discovered that hia employer, n)e Chastes, was dead. In 1603, De Monts, a Huguenot gentleman of the court, received another royal patent, conferring upmi him the duty and the privilege of colonizing Acadia, at that time and afterwards an ill-deHned territory extending from the lati- tude of rhiladelphia northward through New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Champlain's second voyage was made in 1604 in th3 service of De M(«nts. From 1604 to 1607 he was for the most part at Tort Iloyal (now Annapolis) in the Acadian peninsula, but many months in each year were spent in exploration. — Ed.] 1 Samuel (le Chaniplain was liorn in 1567 at tlie small si'a-i)ort of Brou- agfi on the liay of liiscay. He had foiii,'ht for the kinj^'s cause in Brit- tany, and Henry the Fourth out of his own si nder revenues had Riven hitu a pension to niaiutain liim near his jKTSon. I'.ut Chani[ilain's roving nature was not to be denied, and the war in Brittany over, he voyaged for two years in the Si)anish Indies, con- reiving the idea of a ship canal across the Istlinius of Panama. His first voyage to Canada was made in the service of De Chastes and Pontgrave. — Ei). ,608] Champlain's Third Voyage to Canada 83 CIIAMrLAIN'S TiniM) VOYACIK TO CANADA^ A LONELY ship sfiili'd up the St. T^wrence. The white whales floundering in the Lay of Tadoussac, and the wild duck diving as the foaming prow drew near, — there was no life but these in all that watery solitude, twenty miles from shore to shore. The ship was from Honfleur, and was commanded by Samuel de Champlain. l)e Monts, after his ex- clusive privilege of trade was revoked, and his Acadian enterprise ruined, had aban- doned it to I'outrincourt. Terhaps it would have been well for him had he aban- doned with it all Transat- lantic enterprises ; but the passion for discovery and the noble amloition of founding colonies liad taken possession of his mind. These, rather than a mere hope of gain, seem to have been his controlling motives ; yet the profits of the fur-trade were vital to the new designs he was meditating, to meet the heavy outlay they demanded ; and he solicited and obtained a fresh monopoly of the traffic for one year. 1 Pioneers of France in the New World. Samuel de Champlain, Ch. IX. Samteel de Champlain 84 The Struggle for a Continent hm Clian.i.lain was, at the time, in Paris; but his uiuiuiet th.-UKhts turned we.siwanl. He was enani.TCd of the New ^\'orUl, wh...se n.pjro,! charms had seized his faney and his heart; and as explorers of Arctic seas have pined in their repose for polar ice and snow, so did his restless thoughts revert to the fo«-wrapped coasts, the piny odors of forests, tlie noise of waters, the sharp and piercing sunlight, so dear to his renienihrance. He l..nge.I to unveil the mystery of that houndless wilderness, and j.lant the Catholic faith and the power of France amid its ancient barbarism. Five years before, he had explored the St. Lawrence as far as the rapids above M.mtreal. On its banks, as he thought was the true site for a settlement. -a fortified jK.st, whence.' as from a secure basis, the waters of the vast iuterior might be traced back towanls their sources, and a western route dKsc.vered to China an.l Japan. For the fur-trade, too, the innumerable streams that descended to the great river might all be closed against foreign intrusion by a single fort at some comman.Hng ^.oint, and made tributaiy to a rich and permanent commerce; while — and this was nearer to * heart, for he ha.l often been heard to say that the saving of a s..ul was worth more than the conquest of an empire — cnuntless savage tribes, in the bondage of Satan, might by the same avenues be reached and redeemed. I)e Monts embraced his views; an.l, fitting out 'two ships, gave comman.l of one t., the elder Fontgrave. of the other to Cliami)laiP The former was to tra Pioneers of France in the Now World. Saniupl ile Cliamplain, Cli. I.\. » The origin of this n.imc has been dispntcil, but there is no good ground to doubt its Indian origin, which is distinctly airiinied by Clianiidain and Lescarbot. Charlevoix, Pastes Chronnliyiqucs (1608), derives it from the Al- gonquin word Qiubcio, or Quclihtc, signifying a nai-mwiiiy or (ontrncling (reMcisscmeiit). A half-breed Algonquin told f.::.neau that the word Qurbrc, or Ouabec, means a strnil. The same writtir was told by M. Malo, a mission- ary among the Micniacs, a branch of the Algonquins, that in their dialect the word Kibfc liad the s-me meaning. Martin .says, " Les Algonquins rappl- lent Oimbfc, et les Micmars Keliequr, c'est a dire, ' lii on la riviere est fermee." " Martin's liressaui, Ap].., 326. The deriv.itious given by La Potherie, Le Beau, and others, are purely fanciful. The circumstance of the word Quebec being found engraved on the ancient seal of Lord Suffolk (see Hawkins, rieiurc of Quebec) can only be regarded as a curious coincidence. In Cartier's times the Bite of Quebec was occupied by a tribe of the Iroquois race, who called their village Sladacont. The Hurons called it, says S.igard, ^Itou-Uc^equee. In the modem Huron dialect, TMou-U:-riti means Ihe. narrows. ,6o8] Founding of Quebec 89 gradual ascent, the rock slu^ied upward to its highest summit, Cape Diamond, looking down on the St. Lawrence from a height of three hundred and fifty feet. Here the citadel now stands ; then the fierce sun fell on the bald, baking rock, with its crisped mosses and parched lichens. Two centuries and a half have quickened the solitude with swarming life, covered the deep Itusoni of the river with barge and steamer and gliding sail, and reared cities and villages on the site of for- ests ; but nothing can destroy the surpassing grandeur of the scene. On the strand between the water and the cliffs Champlain's axenieu fell to their work. They were pioneers of an ad- vancing host, — advancing, it is true, with feeble and uncer- tain progress: priests, soldiers, i)easants, feudal scutcheons, royal insignia. Not the Middle Age, but engendered of it by the stronger life of modern centralization ; sharply stamped with a parental likeness; heir to parental weakness and ]tarental force. In a few weeks a pile of wooden buildings rose on the brink of the St. Lawrence, on or near the site of the market- place of the Lower Town of Quebec. The pencil of Cham- l)lain, always regardless of proiwrtion and perspective, has ]. reserved its likeness. A strong wooden wall, surmounted by a gallery looi)holed for musketry, enclosed three buildings, containing quarters for himself and his men, together with a courtyard, from one side of which rose a tall dove-cot, like a belfry. A moat surrounded the whole, and two or three small cannon were planted on salient platforms towards the river. There was a large storehouse near at hand, and a i)art of the adjacent ground was laid out as a garden. In this garden Cham].lain was one moining directing his laborers, when Tetu, his pilot, api^roached him with au m 90 The Struggle for a Continent [.cos anxious countenance, and muttered a request to speak with lum in private. Champlain assenting, they withdrew to the neighboring woods, when the pilot disburdened himself of his secret. One Antoine Natel. a locksmith, smitten by con- science or fear, had revealed to him a conspiracy to murder his commander and deliver Quebec into the hands of the Basques and Spaniards then at Tadoussac. Another lock smith, named Duval, was author of the plot, an.l, with the aid .,f three accomplices, liad befooled or frightened nearly all the company into taking part in it. Each was assured that he should make liis fortune, and all were mutually pledged to poniard the first betrayer of the secret. The critical point of their enterprise was the killing of Cham- plain. Some were for strangling him, some for raising a false alarm in the night and shooting him as he came out from his quarters. Having lieard the pilot's story. Champlain. remaining in the woods, desired his informant to find Antoine Natel and bring him to the spot. Natel soon appeared, trembling with excitement and fear, and a close examination left no doubt of the truth of his statement. A small vessel, built by Pontgravd at Tadoussac, had lately arrived, and orders were now given that it should anchor close at hand. On board was a young man in whom confidence could be placed. Cliamplain sent him two bottles of wine, with a direction to tell the four ringleaders that they had been given him by his Basque friends at Tadoussac, and to invite them to share the good olieer. They came aboard in the evening, and were seized ami secured. « Voyla done mes galants bien eston- uez,"i writes Cliamplain. > "That was a fine surinise for my lirave r.isily the pressure of other masses thrust the sheet of ice against the northern shore. They landed and soon made their appearance at the fort, worn to skeletons and horrible to hx)k upon. The French gave them food, which they devoured with a frenzied avidity, and, unappeased, fell upon a dead dog left on the snow by (Jhamplain for two mouths past as a bait for foxes. They broke this carrion into fragments, and thawed and U '■! «4 s ¥ % 1609] Founding of Quebec 93 devoured it, to the disgust of the spectators, who tried vainly to prevent them. This was but a severe acoess of the periodical famine which, duriug winter, was a normal condition of the Algon- cpiin tribes of Acadia and the Lower St. Lawrence, who, un- lilve the cognate tribes of New England, never tilled the soil, or made any reasonable provision against the time oi need. One would gladly know how the founders of Quebec spent the h)i>g hinirs of their tirst winter ; but on this point the only man among them, perhaps, wlio could write, has not thought it necessary tillar-like blossoms ; the twigs of the swamp-maple were flushed witli ruddy bloom ; the ash hung out its black tufts ; the shad-bush seemed a wreath of snow; the white stars of the bloodroot gleamed among dank, fallen leaves; and in the young grass of the wet meadows, tlie marsh-marigolds shone like spots of gold. Great was the joy of < 'liamjdain when, on the fifth of June, he saw a sailboat rounding the Point of Orleans, betokening that the s])ring had brought v.ith it the longed-for succors. A son-in-law of Poutgnive -uied Marai-s, was on board ■ 94 The Struggle for a Continent [1609 and he reported that Pontgravd was then at ' adoussac, where he had lately arrived. Thither Champlain hastened, to take counsel with his comrade. His constitution or his courage liad defied the scurvy. They met, and it was determined betwixt them, that, while Pontgrave remained in charge of Quebec, Champlain .sliould enter at once on his long-meditated explorations, by which, like La SaUe seventy years later, he had good hope of finding a way to China. iUit there was a lion in the path. The Indian tribes, to whom peace was unknown, infested with their scalping par- ties tlie streams and pathways of the forest, and increased tenfold its inseparable risks. The after career of Champlain gives abundant proof that he was more than indifferent to aU sucli chances ; yet now an expedient for evading them offered itself, so consonant with his instincts that he was glad to accept it. During the last autumn, a young chief from the banks of the then unknown Ottawa had been at Quebec ; and, amazed at what he saw, he had begged Champlain to join him in the spring against his enemies. These enemies were a formid- a' ' ' race of savages, the Iroquois, or Five Confederate Nations, who dwelt in fortified villages within limits now embraced by the State of New York, and who were a terror to all the surrounding forests. They were deadly foes of their kindred, the Hurons, who dwelt on the lake which bears their name, and were allies of Algonquin bands on the Ottawa.* All 1 The tribes east of the ^lississippi, Iwtween the latitudes of Ijike Superior and of the Ohio, were divided, with slifjht exceptions, into two fjroups or families, distinguished by a radical difference of language. One of these families of tribes is called Algonquin, from the name of a small Indian com- munity on the Ottawa. T!i.- ntli.r is railed tlie Ihirc-n-Iroquois, from the names of its two principal niemlHTS. •k.^ 1809] Founding of Quebec 95 alike were tillers of the soil, living at ease when compared with the famished Algonciuins of the Lower St. Lawrence. By joining these Hurons and Algonquins against their Iroquois enemies, Champlain might make himself the indis- pensable ally and leader of the tribes of Canada, and at the same time tight his way to discovery in regions which other- wise were barred against him. From first to last, it was the policy of France in America to miugle in Indian politics, hold the balance of power between adverse tribes, and en- velop in the network of her power and diplomacy the remot- est hordes of the wilderness. Of this pjlicy the Father of New France may perhaps be held to liave set a rash ami premature example. Yet, while ho was apparently following the dictates of lus own adventurous spirit, it became evident, a few years later, that under Ins thirst for discovery and spirit of knight-errantry lay a consistent and deliberate pur- pose. Thai it had already assumed a definite shape is not likely ; but his after course makes it plain that, in embroil- ing liiraself and his colony with the most formidable savages on tlie continent, he was by no means acting so recklessly as at first sight would appear. A 96 The Struggle for a Continent [1609 CHAMPLAIN'S EXPEDITION ACJAINST THE IKOQUOIS, 1G09» It was past the middle of June, and the expected warriors from the upper country had nut cunie: a delay which seems to have given Chani]>lain little concern, for, without waiting longer, he set out with no better allies than a band of Mon- tagnais. But, as he moved uj) the St. liawrence, he saw, thickly clustered in the bordering forest, the lodges of an Indian camp, and, landing, f(niiul his Hunm and Algonquin allies. Few of them had ever seen a white man, and they surrounded the steel-clad stranger.-, in si)eechless wonder. Champlain asked for their chief, and tlie staring throng moved with him towards a lodge; where sat, not one chief, but two, for each band had its own. There were feasting, smoking, and sjieeches; and, the needful ceremony over, all descended together to t^tuel»ec; for the strangers were bent on seeing those wonders of arcliitecture, the fame of which had pierced the recesses of their forests. On their arrival, they feasted their eyes and glutted their appetites; yelped consternation at the sharp explosions of the arcpiebuse and the roar of the cannon; pitched their camps, and bedecked themselves for their war-dance. In the still night, their tire glared against the black and jagged cliff, and the fierce red light fell on tawny limbs convulsed with frenzied gestures and ferocious stampings; on contorted 1 Pioneurs of Fraiu-e in the New Woilil. Sainui'l Je t'liauiplain, Ch. X. ieo9] Expedition against the Iroquois 97 visapes, bideous with pauit ; on biandisluHl weapjiis, stono war-clubs, stone hatchets, and stone-pointed lances; while the drum kept up its hollow boom, and the air was split with mingled yells. The war-feast followed, and then all end)arked together. Chaniplain was in a small shallop, carrying besides himself, eleven men of I'ontgravc^'s party, including his son-in-law, Marais, and the pilot La lloutte. They were armed with the anpiebuse, a matchlock or firelock somewhat like the modern carbine, and fn^m its shortness not ill suited for use in the forest. On the twenty-eighth of June they spread their sails and hold their course against the current, while around them the river was alive with canoes, and hundreds of naked arms plied the paddle with a steady, measured sweep. They crossed the Lake of St. Teter, threaded the devious channels among its many islands, and reached at last the mouth of the Uivifere des Inxpiois, since called the Kichelieu, or the St. John. Here, probably on the site of the town of Sorel, the leisurely warrioi-s encamped for two days, hunted, fished, and took their eise, regaling their allies with venison and wild-fowl. They quarrelled, too; three fourths of their number seceded, took to their canoes in dudgeon, and paddled towards their homes, while the rest pursued their course up the broad and placid stream. Walls of verdure stretched on left and right. Now, aloft in the T:)nely air rose the cliffs of lielreil, and now, before them, framed in circling forests, the Basin of Chambly spread its tranquil mirror, glittering in the sun. The shallop out- sailed the canoes. Champlain, leaving his allies behind, crossed the basin and tried to pursue his course ; but, as he listened in the stillness, the unwelcome noise of rapids reached his ear, and, by glimpses through the dark foliage of the 7 i 9S The Struggle fur a Continent f.609 Islets nf St. Johri, Iio f..iil.l see the jfleam ..f sn.my f..am and tlie Hash ..f hurryiii},' waters. Leaving tlio h..at"l)y tlie shore in eliar^ry of four men, he went witli Marais, U L'outte, and five others, to e.xplore tlie wild before him. They pushed their way ihrough the damps and shad..ws of the woo.l, through thickets and tangled vines, over mossy roeks and' mouldering lugs. Still the lioar.se surging of' the rai>i.ls followed them; and when, parting the screen of foliage, they looked out upon the river, they saw it thi.'k set wiUi' rocks, where, plunging over ledges, gm-gling under drift-logs, darti.ig along clefts, and hoiling in chasms, the angry watCTs filled the solitude with monotonous ravings. Champlain retraced his steps. He had learned the value of an Imlian's word. His allies had promised him that his boat could pass unobstructed throughout the wh.jlo journey. " It alllicted me," he says, "and troubled me exceedingly to be obliged to return without having seen so great a lake, full of fair islands and bordered with the fine countries' v.'hich they had described to me." When he reached the boat, he found the whole savage crew gathered at the spot. He mildly rebuked their bad faith, but added, that, though they had deceived him, he, as far as might be, would fulfil his pledge. To this end,' he directed .Marais, with the boat and the greater part of the men, to return to Quebec, while he, with two who ofTered (o follow him, should proceed in the Indian canoes. The warriors lifted their c-noes from the water, and bore them on their shoulders half a league through the forest to the smoother stream above. Here the chiefs made a nmster of their forces, counting twenty-four canoes and sixty warriors. All embarked again, and advanced once more, 'by marsh, meadow, i.,ie,st, and scattered islands, then full of game, for 1009] Expedition against the Ir^ - 'ois 99 il wii.s ail viiiinliiibiUMl 1 iinl, the war-iiath and Itallle-grouiul of hostile trilifs. Tlu^ wairior.s obsei veil a cortain .systeiii in tlifir ailvaiico. Sttnie were in front as a van«;uaril ; others formed the main bodv ; while an equal number were in the forests on tiie flanks and rear, hunting for the subsistcneo t)f the whole; for, though they had a provision of parched niai/.e ]M>unded into meal, they ke[it it for use when, from the vicinity of the enemy, hunting should become iniiK)s- sible. Late in the day they landed and drew up their canoes, ranging them closely, side by siile. Some stripiK'd sheets of bark, to cover their camp sheds; others gathered wood, the forest lieing full of dead, dry trees ; others felled the living trees, for a barricade. They seem to have had steel fixes, obtained by barter from the French ; for in less than two hours they had made a strong defensive work, in the form of a half-cir ,le, ipen on the river side, where their canoes lay on the strand, and large enough to enclose all their huts and sheds, S(jme of their number had gone forward as scouts, and, returning, reported no signs of an enemy. This was the extent of their precaution, for they placed no guard, but all, in full security, stretched themselves to sleep, — a vici(»us custom from which the lazy warrior of the forest rarely departs. Tiu'v iiad not forgotten, however, to consult their oracle. The lucdicine-man jiitched his magic lodge in the woods, formed of a small stack of poles, planted in a circle and brouglit toge*^her at the tops like stacked muskets. Over these he jilaced the filthy deer-skins which served him for a robe, and, creeping in at " narrow opening, hid himself from view. Crouched in a l)all upon the earth, he invoked the spirits in mumbling inarticulate tones ; wliile his naked loo The Struggle tor a Continent 11609 aiiilitorv, Miiiatti'd on the ground Ukv ajx-s, listened in wonder niul awe. Snddeidy. the l(»dj,'e in.>ved, rocking with violence to and fro, l.y the ]po\ver of the .sjiirits, as the Indians tlioiight, whih^ Charni'hiin could plainly see the tawny list (.f the niedicine-inan shaking the ixiles. They I't'gged hini to kccj. a watchful eye on the peak of the lodge, wlience lire and sinuke would i.resently issue; bul with the • •est ellorts of his vision, he disc(.veivd none. Meanwliili! tlie nu'dicine-nian was seized with such convulsions, that, when his divination was over, his naked hody streamed with jH-rspiralion. In huul, clear tones, and in an unknown tongue, he invoked the spirii, who was understo<.d to he present in the form of a stone, and whose feeble and sijueak- ing accents were heard at intervals, like the wail of a young puppy.' In this manner they consulted the spirit— as Chami.lain thinks, the Devil — at all their camps. His replies, f<.r the most part, seem to have given them great content; yet they took other measures, of which the military advantages were less questionable. The principal chief gathered bundles of sticks, and, without wasting his breath, stuck them in the earth in a certain order, calling each by the name of some warrior, a few taller than the rest representing the sub..r- dinate chiefs. Thus was indicated the ]M)sition which each was to hold in the expected battle. All gathered round and attentively studied the sticks, ranged like a child's wooden » Tliis mo.Ie of .livination w.-.s universal anions the Algonquin tribes, nn.l IS not extinct to tliis .lay among their niving XortluMn l.an.h. Le Jenne, La- titan, an.l other ..arly Jesuit writers, deseribe it Mith great minuteness. The former (.Relation, lfl3 1) speaks of an audaeions eonjurer, who, having invoked the Manitou, or sjurit. killed him with a hatehet. To all appearance he was a stone, which, however, when struck with ,h.. luuditt, proved to be full of flesh and blood. A kindred superstition prevails .among the Crow Indians. i6o9i Kxpedition agriinst the Iroquois loi .'^nlilifi's. (tr llu; jiii'ci's <>n a chossbonnl ; then, with no fur- ther insinulinn, ihi'y forinotl their ranks, broke them, and n-foniied thuiu again and again with excellent alacrity and skill. Af^ain the canooa advanced, the river widening as they went. (Jrcat islands ai>i>eait'd, leagues in extent, — Isle Ix la Mntte, Long Island, (Jrande Isle. Channels where shi[« might float ami l>road reaches of water .stretched between them, and ('liami>lain entered the lake which preserves his name to posterity. Cund»erland Head was passed, and from the opening of the great channel between (Jrande Isle anil the main ho could hM)k forth on the wilderness sea. Kdged witii woods, the trancpiil Hootl spread southward be- yond the sight. Far on the left rose the forest ridges of the (Jreen Mountains, and on the rigl.« the Adirondacks, haunts in these later years of amateur sportsmen from counting- roojns or (College halls. Then the Iroquois made them their hunting-ground ; and beyond, in the valleys of the Moliawk, the Onondaga, and the Genesee, stretched the long line of their five cantons and palisaded towns. At night they encani7)ed again. The scene is a familiar one to many a tourist ; and perhaps, standing at sun.set on the jieaceful strand, ('ham]ilain saw what a roving student of this generation has setn on those same shores, at that same hour: the glow of the vanished sun behind the western mountains, darklv piled in mist and shadow along the sky; near at hand, the dead pine, mighty in decay, stretching its ragged arms athwart the burning heaven, the crow perched on its top like an image carved in jet ; and aloft, the night- hawk, circling in his flight, and, with a strange whirring sound, diving through the air each moment for the insects he makes his prey. I02 The Struggle for a Continent ^■i 1' H* ti ■ 1 |i6og Tiu- progress cf tin- party was h, i„iiiarent simplicity of his story deceived Champlain, who had heard of a voyage of the English to the nortliern seas, coupk-d with rumors of w^reck and disaster,^ and was thus confirmed in his helief of Vignau's honcjty. The Marechal de Urissac, the Piesident Jeannin, and other persons of eminence about the court, greatly in- 1 Pioneers of France in the New World. Samuel de Chnniplain, Ch. XII. ' Kvid>'!itly the V'lyaw of Henry Mivlsoti in 1fi10-1'2, when that navigator, after discovering Hudson's Strait, lust his life through a mutiny. ECl loS The Struggle for a Continent [1613 terested by these dexterous fabiicatiuus, urged Champlain to follow up without delay a discovery which promised results so important ; while he, with the PaciHe, Japau, Chiua, the Spice Islands, and India stretching in flattering vista before his fancy, entered v.-ith eagerness on the chase (jf this illu- sion. Early in the spring of 1013 the unwearied voyager crossed the Atlantic, and sailed up the St. Lawrence. On Monday, the twenty-sevenlli of May, l\e left the island of St. Helen, opposite Montreal, wiili four Kn-nduuen, one of wlioiu was Nicolas de Vignau, and one Indian, in two small canoes. They passed the swift current at St. .Vnn's, crossed the Lake of Two Mountain-*, and advancetl up the Ottawa till the rajiids of Caiillon and llie I-ong Saut checked their course. So dense and tangled was the forest, that they were forced to remain in the bed of the river, trailing tlieir canoes along the bank with cords, or pushing them by main force up the current, ("hamplain's foot slipped ; lie fell in the ra])ids, two boulders, against which he braced himself, saving him from being swept down, while the cord of the canoe, twisted round his hand, nearly severed it. At length they reached smoother water, and jiresently met fifteen canoes of friendly Indians. Champlain gave them the most awkward of his Frenchmen, raid took one of their nundier in return, — an exchange greatly to his profit. All day they jilied theiv paildles, and when night came they made their camjt-lire in the forest. He who now, when two centuries and a half are jiassed. would see the evening bivouac of Champlain, has but to encam)), with Indian guides, on the ujiper waters of this same Ottawa, t)r on the borders of some lonely river of New Urunswick or of Maine. Day dawned. The east glowed with tranciuil lire, that pierced, with eyes of Hame, the tir-lrees whose jagged tops i6i3] Search for a Route to the Indies 109 stood drawn in black against the burning heaven. Beneath the glossy river slept in shadow, or spread far and wide in sheets of burnished bronze; and the white moon, paling in the face of day, hung like a disk of silver in the western sky. Now, a fervid light touched the dead top of the hemlock, and, creeping downward, bathed the mossy beard of the patriarchal cedar, unstined in the breathless air. Now, a fiercer spark beamed from the east ; and now, half risen on tlie sight, a dome of crimson tire, the sun blazed with lloods of radiance across the awakened wilderness. The canoes were launched again, and the voyagers held their course. Soon the still surface was decked with spots of foam ; islets of froth floated by, tokens of some great con- vulsion. Then, on their left, the falling curtain of the Ivideau shone like silver betwixt its bordering woods, and in front, white as a snow-drift, the cataracts of the Chaudifere barred their way. They saw the unbridled river careering down its sheeted rocks, foaming in unfathomed chasms, wearying the solitude with the hoarse outcry of its agony and rage. On the brink of the rocky basin where the plung'ng torrent boiled like a caldron, and pvffs of spray sprang out from its concussion like smoke from the throat of a cannon, Cliauipiain's two Indians took their stand, and, with a loud invocation, threw tobacco into the foam, an offering to the local spirit, the Manitou of the cataract.^ 4 * An invariable custom with tho upper Indians on passing this place. When many were present, it was attended with solemn ilances and speeches, a contribution of tobacco being first taken on a dish. It was tiiought to insure a safe voyage ; but was often t-n occasion of disaster, since hostile war par- ties, lying in ambush at the spot, would surprise and kill the votaries of the Maiiilou ill the Very presence of tiioir guardinn. It is on iho return voyage that Chainplain particularly describes the dacritice. I lo The Struggle for a Continent [1613 They slioiildeictl llieir laiioos c.vir the rocks, and thip in w.ater to t'sc.Tpe the Hies, w.ading shore- wanl, with glistening sides, as the canoes drew near, shaking i6«3l Search for a Route to the Indies m his l)road antlers aii' wiithmg his hideous nostril, as with clunisy trot he vanished in the woods. In these ancient wilds, to wliose ever verdant antiquity the pyramids are young and Niiieveh a niuslirooui of yester- day ; where the sage wanderer of the t)dyssey, could he have urged his pilgrimage so far, would have surve} ed the same grand and stern monotony, the same dark sweep of melan- choly wootls ; — here, while New England was a solitude, and the settlers of Virginia scarcely dared venture inland beyond the sound of a cannon-shot, Champlain was planting on shores and islands the emblems of his faith. Of the pio- neers of the North American forests, his name stands fore- most on the list. It was he who struck the deepest and boldest strokes into the heart of their pristine barbarism. At Chantilly, at Fontainebleau, at Paris, in the cabinets of princes and of royalty itself, mingling with the proud vanities of the court ; then lost from sight in the depths of Canada, the companion of savages, sharer of their toils, privations, and battles, more hardy, patient, and bold than they ; — such, for successive years, were the alternations of this man's life. [Arrived among the Ottawas Champlain urged ihem to give him canoes that he might pursue his journey into the coun- try of the Nipissings, but the canoes were denied. — En.] With a troubled mind he liastened again to the hall of council, and addressed the naked senate in terms better suited to his exigencies than to their dignity. •' I thought you were men ; I thought you would hold fast to your word : but I find you children, without truth. You call yourselves my friends, yet you break faith with me. Still I would not incommode you ; and if you cannot give me four canoof, two will perve." The burden of the reply was, rapids, rocks, cataracts, and -il. 'ff. n 1 1 2 The Struggle for a Continent [1613 the wickedness of the N iiiissiiifrs. " We will not give you the canoes, l)ecau.se we are afraid of losing you," they said. "This young man," rejoined C'lianiplain, pointing to Vignau, who sat by his side, " has been to their country, and did not find the road or the people so bad as you have 6aid." " Nicolas," demanded Tessouat, " did you say that you had been to the Nipissings ?" The impostor sat mute for a time, and then replied, " Yes, I have been there." Hereupon an outcry broke from the assenddy, and they turned their eyes on him askance, " as if," says Cliamplain, " they woidd have torn and eaten him." "You are a liar," returned the iniccremonious host; "you know very well that you slept here among my cl '^'en every night, and got up again every morning; and if y> .- ever went to the Nipissings, it must have been when you were asleep. How can you be so impudent as to lie to your chief, and so wicked as to risk his life among so many dangers ? He ought to kill you witli toriures worse than those with which we kill our enemies." Champlain luged him to reply, but he sat motionless and dundx Then he led him from the cabin, and conjured him to declare if in truth he had seen this sea of the north. Vignau, with oaths, attirmed that all he had said was true. Returning to the council, Champlain repeated the impostor's story: how he had seen the sea, the wreck of an Englisli ship, the heads of eighty Englishmen, and an English boy, prisoner among tlie Indians. At this, an outcry rose louder than before, and the Indians turned in ire \\\m\ Yignau. " Von are n liar." " Wliich way did you go?" " By what rivers ? " " liy what lakes i " " Who went with you ? " i6i3] Search fur a Route to the Indies 113 Vigiiau Iiail iiukK' u map tif his travels, whit^h ("liain- plain now jinxluceil, tlt'siiiiijj liiiii l<> cxidain il to his cjik • tiuners ; Iml his ussun'iice failotl him, ami lie cnnhi mil utter a Wind. Chamiiiain was j,ni'ally a^'italftl. Ilis lioart was in thu eiileijirise ; his rt'initalinn was in a moasun- at .stake; an-l now, wli' n ho thi)iio;lii his tiiumpli so near, he shrank fi(»in lit*lievin<^ himsfif lin' si'ort nf an iminnlent impostor. T\w council l»n)keup; the Indians dispk-ast'd ami moody, ami he, on his part, full of anxieties and «louhts. " I failed Vi^naii to me in presemi' of his companinns," hosay.s. "I told him that the time for doceivinj? me was ended ; that he nui.st tell me whether or not he had really seen the things he had told of; that 1 had forj,'otten the jtast, hut that, if he continueil to mislead me, I would ha\e him hanged without mercy." Vignau pondered for a moment ; then fell on his knee-s, owned his treachery, and begged forgiveness. Champlain broke into a rago, and, unable, as he says, to endure the sight of him, ordered him from his presence, and sent the inter- preter after him to make further examination. Vanity, the love of notoriety, and the hojie of reward, seem to have been his inducements ; for lie had in fact spent a quiet winter in Tessoual's cabin, liis nearest approach to the northern sea; and he had ilattered himself that he might escape the neces- sity of giuding his commander to this pretended discovery. The Indians were somewhat exultant. " WTiy did you not listen to chiefs and warriors, instead of believing the lies of this fellow ?" And they ccmnselled Champlain to have him killed cit once, adding, " (rive him to us, and we promise you that he shall never lie again." 'H; 114 The Struggle for a Continent [1615 [Advent of the Recollets. — In iho iiiti'ival liL-lwi't'ii ltli:> aodhisduulh in IG;!'*, (Jliuinphiin was imwrarictl in liis t'lVuiis tin bi'lialf of tlu' .stnipjiliiij^ rulnny. To U'lain tint syinpalliy and aid of kinj^ and nobk's, ho made alniosi yi-arly tlif ardu- ous voyage to FmiKje. In his tunirrn for ihc siiirilual wel- fare of the ('(dony lie addre>?-ed hinisidf to a convent of IJecoUeL friars, a luanrli of the ^^reat Fram^-scan order, founded early in the thirteenth eenlury by St. Franei.s of Assisi. Four of tliesf friars wt're named for tht; mission in Ni'w Frame, ami arrived at (i>uel)ec at the end of May, itii:.. " Their lir>l eare," says Parkman, " was lo chnost' a site for their convent, near the fortilied dwellings and storehouses IniiU I'y Chamiilain.' This done, they made an altar, and celebrated the tirsl mass ever said in Canada. I>olbeau was the othcialing jMiest; all New rrance kntclcd on the baro earth around him, and cannon from the shi|> and the ram- parts haileil the mystic rite. Then, in imitation of the Ajiosiles, they took counsel together, and assigned to eai'li his ]irovince in the vast field of their mission: to Le Caron, the llurons, and to Dolljeau, the Moiitagnais ; while Jamay and I)u riessis were to remain for the present near Quebec." The Indians, however, were more eager for temporal than for s[tiritual succour, and beset Champlain with clamors for aid against the Inupiois. In a rash moment, though in pm- suance of a delilierate policy, Champlain assented. His aim was to bind the northern tribes in a bond of self-inleiest, and make them entirely dependent u^xtn French aid. v.'- j hun- dred and fifty years of Iro(piois reprisals was the price the colony paid for this misguided ^Hjlicy. — Eo.] * Pioueei's of Fiance in llie Xcrt Wurlil. Saiiiuul du Cliiiiinplaiii, Ch. Xlll, I6i5i Discovery of Lake Huron »>5 DISCI )VKKY (»K I.AKI' Hi:Ui»N» The chiefs an.l svaiiiurs im-t in cunril,— Al^j-.n.iuins of the Ottawa, aud llun.ns fiuiu tl.o Lunlers of the gmit l-n-.li- Water Sea. Chau.i-lai.i i.roiniso.l tc juin tlu'in with all iho men at his con.nuuul, while they, i.n their i«rt, were io ...as- ter without delay twenty-Jive hu..d.e.l wuniors fur an n- road into the country of the l.o.n.uis. lie .i.s.-cnde.l at once to guehec for needful i-repaiatiou ; hut when, after a short delay, he returned to Aloi.lreul.he f..und.t.> his .•ha;,nin, a solitude! The wild coneourse hal vanished; noihing re- mained hut the skeleton prdes of their huts, the smoke of their tires, an.l the lefuse of their eneamimients. Impatient at his delay, they had set out for their villages, and with them had gone Father .I<»se])h le Caroii. Twelve Frenchmen, well arn.ed. had attended him. Sum- mer was at its height, a.id as his canoe stole ah.ng the hosom of the glassy river, and he ga/ed al.out him on the tawny multitude whose fragile craft cove.cd the wi.tcr like swarn.s of glidmg insects, he th.mghl, perhaps, of his whitewashed cell in the convent of IJrouage, of his hook, his table, his rosary, and all the narrow routine of that familiar life from which he had awakened to contrasts so startling. That his progress up the Ottawa was far from heing an excursion of pleasure is attested by his letters, fragments of which have come down to us. 1 ri^nrrrs of France in the Nfiw World. Samuel de Champlain, Ch. XIII. vMV^n ii6 The Struggle for a Continent [1615 " It would be liiuil ti) tfll ynii," he writes to a friend, " liow tired I was with jiaddliiig all day, with all luy strength, among the Indians ; wading tlie rivers a hundred times and more, through the mud and over the shai'ii rocks that cut my feet; carrying the canoe and luggage through the woods to avoid the rapii' and frightful cataracts; and half starved all the while, for we had notliiug to eat hut a little sagamite, a sort of porridge of water and pounded maize, of which they J| V\\ h ■- i.i^'* ipi ssln^f iS'v^- ^*^^^ ^V^ Vtf^ ROUTE OF s^t CHAMPLAf **Cf^^pl^,n% <:J\ gave us a very small allowance every morning and night. l>ut I must needs tell you what ahundant consolatit)n I found under all my tmuhles; for when one sees so many in- fidels needing nothing Imt a drop of water to make them children of (!o(l, one feels an inexpressible ardor to labor for their conversion, anil saeriHce to it one's repose and life." While tluough tril)ulations like these Le Caron made his way towards the scene of his apostleship, Chanijilain was following on his track. With two canoes, ten Indians, J 1 i6i5] Discovery of Lake Huron ii7 feienne BvxiU his interpreter, and another Frenchman, he pushed up the Ottawa till he reaehed the Algonquin villages which had formed the term of his former journeying. He passed the two lakes of the Allumettes ; and now, for twenty miles, the river stretched before him, straiglit as the bee can fly, deep, narrow, and black, between its mountain shores. He passed the rapids of the Joachims and the Caribou, the Ilocher Capitaine, and the Deux Riviferes, and reached at length the tributary waters of the Mattawan. He turned to the left, ascended this little stream forty miles or more, and, crossing a portage track, well trodden, reached the mar- gin of Lake Nipissing. The canoes were launched again, and glided by leafy shores and verdant islands till at length appeared signs of human life and clusters of bark lodges, half hidden in the vastness of the woods. It was the village of an Algonquin band, called the Nipissings, — a race so beset with spirits, infested by demons, and abounding in magicians, that the Jesuits afterwards stigmatized them as " the Sorcerers." In this questionable company Champlain spent two days, feasted on fish, deer, and bears. Then, descending to the outlet of the lake, he steered his canoes westward down the current of French River. Days passed, and no sign of man enlivened the rocky desolation. Hunger was pressing them hard, for the ten gluttonous Indians had devoured already nearly all their provision for the voyage, and they were forced to subsist on the blueberries and wild raspberries that grew abundantly in the meagie soil, when suddenly they encountered a troop of three hundred savages, whom, from their strange and startling mode of wearing their hair, Champlain named the Chcveux lielcirs. " Not one of our courtiers," he says, "takes so much pains in dressmg his locks." Here, however, their care of ■■■ ii I I % ! I ■\ I i '{ irsi ii8 The Struggle for a Continent [1615 the toilet ended; for, tliouf^h tattooed on various ])arts of the body, painted, and armed with hows, arnnvs, and shields of bison-hide, they wore no clothinjj whatever. Savage as was their aspect, they were busied ui the iiacitic task of gathering blueberries for their winter store. Their demeanor was friendly ; and from them the voyager learned that the great lake of the Ilurons was elose at liand.^ Now, far ahmg the western sky was traced the watery line of that inland ocean, and, tirst of white men except the Friar Le Caron, Chami)lain beheld the " Mer Douce," the Fresh-Water Sea of the Ilurons. llefore him, too far for sight, lay the spirit-haunted Manitoualins, and, soutliward, spread the vast bosom of the Georgian Hay. For more than a hundred miles, his course was along its eastern shores, among islets countless as the sea-sands, — an archipehigo of rocks worn for ages by the wash of waves, lie crossed l>yng Inlet, Franklin Inlet, Parry Sound, and the wider bay of Matchedash, and seems to have landed at the inlet now called Thunder I>ay, at the entrance of the Bay of Matche- dash, and a little west of the Harbor of IVnetanguishine. An Indian trail led inland, through woods and thickets, across broad meadows, over brooks, and ah)ng the skirts of green acclivities. To the eye of Champlain, accustomed to the desolation he had left behind, it seemed a land of beauty and abundance. He reached at last a broad opening in the forest, with fields of maize, pumpkins ripening in the sun, patches of sunflowers, from the seeds of wliich the Indians made hair-oil, and, in the midst, the Huron town of Otouacha. In all essential points, it resembled that which Cartier, eighty • These saviifjes belonjjed to a iinmcrnus Algonquin tiil)c who ocoupied a district west ami south'vest of the Nottawassaga Bay of Lake Huron, within the modern counties of Bruce and Grey. ,615] Discovery of Lake Huron 119 years before, had seen at Montreal : the same triple palisade of cn.ssed and intersecting trunks, and the same long lodges of bark, each containing several families. Here, within an area of thirty or forty miles, was the seat of one of the most remarkable savage communities on the continent. By the Indian standard, it was a mighty nation ; yet the entire Hurfni population did not exceed that of a third or fourth class American city.^ To the south and southeast lay other tribes of kindred race and tongue, all stationary, all tillers of the soil, and all in a state of social advancement when compared with the roving bands of Eastern Canada: the Neutral Nation « west of the Niagara, and the Eries and Andastes in Western New York and Pennsylvania ; while from the Genesee eastward to the Hudson lay the banded tribes of the Iroquois, leading mem- bers of this potent family, deadly foes of their kindred, and at last their destroyers. [Accompanied by his dasky allies, Champlain portaged to Uke Couchichiiig; passing thence into I.ake Simcoe he ascended the Talbot Kiver, and made his way from the headquarters of the Kiver -^rent to Lake Ontario. He crossed the lake witli h e army, penetrated into the heart of the Iroquois c- - .and there gave unsuccessful battle some miles to the n of Lake Oneida. — Ed.] 1 Champlain estimates the num})er of Huron villages at seventeen or eighteen. Le Jeune, SagarJ, an.l Lalemant afterwards reckoned them at from twenty to thirty-two. Le Clere, following Le Caron, makes the population about ten thousan.l «ouls ; but several later observers, as well as Champlain himself, set it at above thirty thousand. * A warlike iieople, catle.l Neutml from their neutrality between the Hurons and the Iro-iuois, which did not save them from sharing the de-struc- tion which overwhelmed the former. I20 The Struggle for a Continent I1627 CHAMPLAIN'S CLOSINd YEARS ■ I "'I li II I [On his iftiiru to Quebec he was heset with new difficul- ties. The luerchants, unscrupuhms and jealous, were a con- slant menace to his authority, while the religious strife between Catholics and Huguenots was daily becoming more emiiittered. The Ifecollets, active as was their missionary zeal, found themselves luiable alone, and hampered l)y Hu- guenot ascendency, to supply the religious needs of Canada. They accordingly applied to the Jesuits for aid. Tlnee of their brotlierhood, Charles Lalemant, Enemond ^lasse, and Jean de Br(5beuf, accordhigly embarked ; and in KVi'), fourteen years after the Jesuits had landed in Acadia, Canada beheld for the first time those whose names stand so prominent in her annals, — the mysterious followers of Loyola. Meantime Eichelieu had tecome supreme in France. One of his first cares was to reorganize the dilapidated affairs of Canada. To this end, he annulled the privileges of the Huguenot brothers De Caen, who had held the monopoly of trade. The " Company of New France," commonly called " The Company of the Hundred Associates," was established in 1627, with sovereign power over the whole of New France, from Florida to the Arctic Circle. Every settler ra\ist be a Frenchman and a Catholic ; and for every new settlement at least three ecclesiastics must be provided. ,6,7]' Champlain's Closing Years 121 "Thus,"»avs raikman, "was New France to be forever free from the tahit of heresy. The stain of her infancy was to be wiped away. Against the foreigner and the Huguenot the door was closed and barred. England threw open her colonies to all who wished to enter, - to the suftering and oppressed, the bold, active, and enterprising. France shut out those who wished to come, and admitted only those who did not,— the favored class who clung to the old faith and had no motive or disposition to leave their homes. English coloni- zation obeyed a natural law, and saile.l with wind and tide; French colonization spent its whole struggling existence in futile etrorts to make head against them. The English colonist developed inherited freedom on a virgin soil; the French colonist was pursued across the Atlantic by a pa- ternal despotism better in intention and more withering in effect than that which he left behind. If, instead of ex- cluding Huguenots, France had given them an asylum in the west, and left them there to work out their own destinies, Canada would never have been a British province, and the United States would have shared their vast domain with a vigorous i>opulation of self-governing Frenchmen." » Quebec had not yet reached the lowest ebb of her pros- perity. The Calvinists had broken out into armed revolt in France, and Charles I. of England had despatched a deet to their aid. An enterprise was promptly set on foot to cap- ture the French possessions in North America. At its head was a subject of Fmnce, David Kirk, a Calvinist of Dieppe. With him were his brothers, Louis and Thomas Kirk ; and many Huguenot refugees were among the crews. Quebec was incapable of defence, and when the hostile fleet had wellni^'li reduced the town by starvation Champlam was » Pioneers of F.ance in the New World. Samuel Je Champlaif,. Ch. XV. ill I; 122 The Struggle for a Continent [1632 forced to surrender upon honorable terms. This was in 1629, and one liundred and thirt}- years were to pass before the British flag was again viclunously planted upon the citadel. In 1632 by the convention of Suza New France was restored to the French crown. — Ed.] m i«35] Death of Champlain 1^3 DEATH OF CHAMPLAIN 1 CiiKisTMAS Day, Ifii^f., was a dark day in the annals of New France. In a chamber of the fort, breathless and cold, lay the hardy frame which war, the wilderness, and the sea had bulYeted so long in vain. After two months and a half of illness, Champlain, stricken with paralysis, at the age of sixty-eight, was dead. His last cares were for his colony and the succor of its suffering families. Jesuits, officers, sol- diers, traders, and the few set- tlers of Quebec, followed his remains to the clmrch; Le Jeune pronounced his eulogy, and the feeble community built a tomb to liis honor. Tlie colony could ill spare him. For twenty-seven years he had labored hard and ceaselessly for its welfare, sacrificing fortune, repose, and domestic, peace to a cause embraced with enthusiasm and pursxied with intrepid persistency. His character belonged partly to the past, partly to the present. The preux chemiier, the crusader, the romance-loving ex- plorer, the curious, knowledge-seeking traveller, the practical Pi're h Jeune > rioneers of France in the New World. Samuel de Champlain, Ch. XVII. ^! 124 The Struggle for a Continent ['635 navigator, all claimed their share in hiiu. His views, though far beyoud those of the mean spirits around him, l)elonged to his age and his creed. He was less statesman than s.ddier. He leaned to the most direct and boldest policy, and one of his last acts was to petition Uichelieu for men and muni- tions for repressing that standing menace to the cohmy, the Iro(iuois. His dauntless courage was matched by an un- wearied patience, proved by life-h.ng vexations, and m.t wholly subdued even by the saintly follies of his wife. He is chai-ged with credulity, from which few of his age were free, and which in all ages has been the foible of earnest and' generous natures, too ardent to criticise, and t.)o honor- able to doubt the honor of others. Perhaps the heretic might have liked him more if the Jesuit had liked him less. The adventurous explorer of Lake Huron, the bold invader of the Iroquois, befits but indifferently the monastic sobrieties of the fort of Quebec, and his sombre environ- ment of priests. His books mark the man, — all for his theme and his pur- pose, nothing for himself. Crude in style, full of the super- ficial errors of carelessness and haste, rarely diffuse, often brief to a fault, they bear on every page the palpable impress of truth. With the life of the faithful soldier closes the ojiening period of New France. Heroes of another stamp succeed; and it remains to tell the story of their devoted lives, their faults, follies, and virtues. i6o8i France and England in America 125 FRANCE AND KNGLAND IN AMERICA, 1608-17C3 1 The American colonies of France and England grew up to maturity under widely different auspices. Canada, the offspring of Church and State, nursed from infancy in the lap of power, its puny strength fed with artificial stimulants, its movements guided by rule and discipline, its limbs trained to martial exercise, languislied, in spite of all, from the lack of vital sap and eneigy. Tlie colonies of England, outcast and neglected, but strong in native vigor and self- coutiding courage, grew yet more strong with conflict and with striving, and devehjped the rugged proportions and un- wieldy strength of a youthful giant. In the valley of the St. Lawrence, and along the coasts of the Atlantic, adverse principles contended for the mastery. Feudalism stood arrayed against Democracy; Popery against I'rotestantism ; the sword against the ploughshare. The priest, the soldier, and the noble ruled in Canada. The ignorant, light-hearted Canadian peasant knew nothing and cared nothing about popular riglits and civil liberties. Born to obey, he lived in contented submission, without the wish iir the capacity for self-rule. I'ower, centred in the heart of the system, left the masses inert. Tlie settle- ments along the margin of the St. Lawrence were like a > The Conspiracy of Pontiac, Vol. I., Ch. II. III i i^ Iv r ;\ 126 The Struggle for a Continent [.663-1763 camp, where an army lay at rest, rea.ly for the march or the hattle, and where war and adventure, nut trade and tillage, seemed the chief aims of life. The lords of the soil were i^etty nobles, f..r the most part soldiers, or the s„ns of soldiers, proud and oslentati..us, thriftless and lu.or ; and the peoi.le Wi-re their vassals. Over i'very clusti-r ..f small white houses {rlitlered the saere.l end.h-n. of the cross. The church, the (M.nvent. and the romlside shrine were seen at every turn; and in the towns and villages, one met each moment the Mack rohe of the .Iesv.it, the gray garb ..f the lU'..nllet, an.l the formal habit of the I'l^uline nun. Ihe names of saints, St. .h.seph, St. Ignatius, St. Francis, were IKM-petualed in the capes, riveii,, and islands, the forts and viUa.res of the land ; and with every day, crowds of simple worshipi>ers knelt in adoration before the countless altars of the rit)man faith. If we search the world for the sharpest contrast t.. the spiritual and temporal vassalage of Canada, we shall tmd it among her immediate neighbors, the Puritans of ^ew Englan.l, where the spirit of non-conformity was sublimed to a iierv essence, and where the love of liberty and the hatred of power burned with sevenfohl heat. The Knglish colonist, with thoughtful brow and limbs hardened with tod; calling no man nmster, yet bowing reverently to the law whu-h he himself had made; patient and laborious, and seeking for the solid comf.>rts rather than the ornaments ot life ; no lover of war. yet. if need were, fighting with a stubborn, indomitable courage, and then bending once more with steadfast energ)- to his farm or his merchandise, - such a man might well be deenunl the very pith and marrow of a commonwealth. In every (piality of ethcieiu-y and strength, the Canadian ' t 1663-1763] France and England in America 127 fell luiserably liolow his rival ; Inil in all that ph-ases the eye and iiiteiesls the iumt,'iiialiiiii, he far surpassed him. IJuoyant ami gay, like his ancestry of France, he nuule the fro/en wilderness ring with niemnienl, answered the surly howling of the pine forest with jK-als of laughter, and warmed with revelry tlie groaning ice of the Si. I^wrence. Careless and thoughtless, he lived happy in tlie mile of a beggared nobility, who, pnmd and iHjnniless, could only assert their rank by idk-ness and ostentation, was not h)st upon him. A riglitful heir to French bravery and French restlessness, he iiad an eager love of wandering and adventure; and this jnopensity found ample scoiie in the service of the fur-tnule, the engrossing occupation and chief source of income to the colony. When the priest i i" . t. Ann's had shrived him of his sins; when, after the |)arting carousal, he embarked with his conuades in the deei>laden canoe; when their oars kept time to the measured cadence of their song, and the blue, sunny bosom of the Ottawa opened before them; when their frail bark ijuivered among the milky foam and black ntcks of the rapid; and when, around their camp-tire, they wvisted half the night with jests and laughter, — then the Canadian was in his element. His footsteps explored the farthest hiding-places of the wilderness. In tho ,veniug dance, his red cap mingled with the scali>-locks and feathers of the Indian braves; or, stretched on a bear-skin by the side of his dusky mistress, he watched the gambols of his hybrid offspring, in happy oblivion of the ]>ariuer wliom he left unnumbered ^ea^^'ues behind. The fur-trade engendered a i)eculiar class of restless bush- 1r 1 1 Ml 1 t k 128 The Struggle for a Continent "sos .663 rai.Kna, mure uki.i to Imliuns than to whao num. Tliuse who had uiK-e felt the fascinations ..f the forest vvore mi- titte.l ever after for a life of .luiet labor; and with Hi- spirit the wh..le coh.i.y was infe.-te.l. From thi., « . : 0, u" less than fn.in o-rasioiial wars with the Kii}^lisl., >.; J a- iH.altMl attacks of the Iroquois, the a«ri«'ulture of l'^" •'■I'U try was sunk to a h.w ehh; while feudal »x ti.-. a ruinous system of monop.ly, and the inlerni-daiM!;.- arl.itmrv I'ower. cramiK-d every hrandi of iiidusiiv. hy t!ie zeal of priests and tiie daring .Mitcri.rise ol soldic and explorers, ( 'anada. thout,di sai'les^ and inlirm, spread forts and missions throujrh all the western wikhTness. Keehly rooted in iht soil, she thrust out brandies which overshadowed half America; a maf;nii"H'i'iendence of authority, which were the source of their increase, were adverse to that unity of counsel and promptitude of acuou which are iho soul of war. U was far otherwise with their military rival. France hud her Canadian f..rces well in hand. They had but one will, an.l that was the will of a mistress. Now here, now there, in sharp and raj.id onset, they coul.l a-sail the cumbrous masses and unwiehlv stivngth of their antagonists, as the l-ing-bird ieo8-i6«3i I iince and Eiiglani' in \intrica 129 attacks the eafjN'. "r the .Hwortl-I .1 tlii vhak'. Il.'twecti two such L the stnl'c lis -l nceil- h a l ;/ rie. Cana»la wu.s a true ihiM of the Chun , bapi ' .ii in- fancy and takhfui to ihe last. Charuphiin. the fuunder of t^uc! , a niuii <»i ii'iltlo .Hitirit.a stati ^luan aid a ?<>1( icr, vas deeply iinliiied v itl; tVrvid jm ,,. The sav ' 1; of •. «"u.' " he wo lid often SUN ," IS ^'.rth I'-re tl m tht ()U(-?'ta'' empu-e ;" and to funvuid t'le woi. (.1 oiivei>(Oii he !■ 'hi witli im.a." ' el: ivi!seen, ur Fraui ^^i-a monk.'' in, At a later i>fri(Ml, the task ni col nizati 1 woulu hnvt ahauci<»ne(i, but for the hope 'f cn'-fi- i, t \>xn I' 'hi faitli over the gloomy wastes 01 he , A. nee tilled with the zeal of proselyti Men. it woiii ex', i rank lent their Ci>Mulenar<'e t< ^ • hoi ' u many an altar Muni Mi re, a nun lay pr->.strate day and night i lurc ■ ^-iirine, ' ving for the conversion of Canada. In "!U; vent, 1'' themselves for ln>» labors f the wi '■ flocketl ui crowds tl!<' colony. The took alaim : nnd ten a ship, freight of the f' was <■ nst . ■■ >n her .oyage, the storm was ascrib to ' luuMf of aious, embling for the safety of dr 11 eui v. The ji tal em lasm v not withon' its fruits. The Church I iihl jiay Iki- k h u-urv thai she received of aid and ei ourai,'ement ■ m the lc: ower; and the ambition o; irheliou coi.id not have > ,-ed a more efficient enginery for lie acco .plishment of its .schemes, than that supplied by ihe zeal 1 the devoted propagandists. The priest and "!i ■ soMi. 'ut hand in hand; and the cross and ■urns ofl'ered an ' priests rs of akness !i !he ipostles t he flei W'H anted side by side. 9 I30 The Struggle for a Continent 11608-1673 m I r THK -IKSriTS The Missionaries.! — F.'renu).st ainonp the envoys of the faith wore the members of that mij^hly order, who, hi another hemisi.here, had aheady done so much to turn hack the advancing tide of religious freedom, and strengthen the arm of liome. To the Jesuits was assigned, for many years, the entire charge of the Canadian missions, to the excdusion of the FniMcircans, early laborers in the same barren tield. Insi)ired with a self-devoting zeal to snatch souls from per- dition, anaised nothing on it except wheat for making the sacramental bread. 'I'heir food was supplied by the Indians, to whom they gave, in return, cloth, knives, awls, needles, and various trinkets. Their supjdy of wine for the Eucharist was so scanty that they limited themselves to four or Hve drops for each mass. Their life was regulated with a conventual strictness. At four ill the morning, a bell roused them from the sheets of bark on which they slept. Masses, private devotions, read- ing religious liooks, anil breakfasting, filled the time until eight, when they opened their door and admitted the Indians. As many of these proved intolerable nuisances, they took what T^ilemant calls the honnNe li})erty of turnin.T out the most intrusive and impracticable, — an act performed with all tact and courtesy, and rarely taken in dudgeon. Having tlnis winnowed their company, they catechized those that re- mained, as opportunity offered. In the intervals, the guests scjuatted by the fire and smoked their pipes. As among the Spartan virtues of the Hurons that of thiev- ing was especially conspicuous, it was necessary that one or more of the Fathers .should remain on guard at the house all day. The rest went forth on their missionary labors, bap- tizing and instructing, as we have seen. To each priest who could speak Huron was assigned a certain number of houses, — in some instances, as many as forty ; and as these often liad five or six fires, with two families to each, his spiritual flock was as numerous f s it was intractable. It was his care to see that none of the number died without baptism, and by every means in his |X)wer to commeml the doctrines of his faith to the accejitance of those in health. At dinner, which was at two o'clock, grace was said in n ■ J; 1632-1700] The Jesuits I33 Huron, — for the benefit of the Indians present, — and a chapter of the Bible was read aloud during the meal At four or five, according to the season, the Indians were dis- missed, the door closed, and the evening spent in writing, reading, studying the language, devotion, and conversation on the affairs of the mission. Such intrepid self-devotion may well call forth ^ our highest admiration ; but when we seek for the results of these toils and sacrifices, we shall seek in vain. Patience and zeal were thrown away upon lethargic minds and stubborn hearts. The reports of the Jesuits, it is true, display a copious list of conversions; but the zealous fathers reckoned the number of conversions by the number of baptisms ; and, as Le Clercq observes, with no less truth than candor, an Indian would be baptized ten times a day for a pint of brandy or a pound of tobacco. Neither can more flattering conrlusions be drawn from the alacrity which they showed to uJ om their persons with crucifixes and medals. The glitter of the trinkets pleased the fancy of the warrior ; and, with the emblem of man's salvation pendent from his neck, he was often at heart as thorough a heathen as when he wore in its place a neck- lace made of the dried forefingers of his enemies. At the present day, with the exception of a few insignificant bands of converted Indians in Lower Canada, not a vestige of early Jesuit influence can be found among the tribes. Tlie seed was sown upon a rock. While the church was reapinp ■<,: a scanty harvest , the labors of the missionaries were ■!■: ful of profit to the monarch of France. The Jesuit d the van of French colonization; and at Detroit, Michillimackinac, St. Mary's, Green Bay, and other outposts of the west, the establishment i The Coii»i>iiaoy of Pontiao, Vol. I., Cfa. II. 134 The Struggle for a Coiitinenr [1638 of a mission was Ihe precursor of military oc-upaucy. In other respects no less, the labt.rs of the wamlering missi<.n- aries advanced the welfare of the colony. Sagacious and keen of sight, with faculties stinmlaied by zeal and sharp- ened by peril, they made faithful rei)ort of the temper and movements of the distant tribes among whom they were dis- tributed. The influence which they often gained was exerted in behalf of the government under whose auspices their mis- sions were carried on ; and they strenuously labored to win over the lri]>es to the French alliance, and alienate them from the heretic English. In all things they approved the !^ • selves the stanch and steadfast auxiliaries of the imperial power; and the Marquis du (,)uesne observed of the mis- sionary Piiiuet, that in his single person he was worth ten regiments. 1636-1640] The Founding of Montreal 135 THE FOUNDING OF MONTREAL [To an outburst of religious enthusiasm we owe the found- ing of the city of Montreal Cartier had found the site occupial by the Indian village of Hochelaga. Champlain had realized its importance as a trading-post advantageously situated at the confluence of the Ottawa with the St. Law- rence; and the Jesuits had marked it out as an advanced centre for missionary enterprise. The position, however, was eminently dangerous, for it was within easy striking dis- tance of the Iroquois. The story of Jesuit hardships embodied in the famous " Jesuit Relations " had tilled France with a spirit of religious exaltation. A devout noble named de la Dauversifere had experienced, according to his own account, a series of re- markable visions wherein he was commanded to found a new order of hospital nuns ; and he was further ordered to establish, on the island called Montreal, a hospital, or HOtel- Dieu, to be conducted by these nuns. By a strange coinci- dence a priest named Olier affirmed that he had received a series of similar visions. They presently met by a providen- tial chance, and determined upon a plan of action. " They proposed," writes Parkman.^ "to found at Montreal tbree religious communities, — //tree being the mystic number,— one of secular priests to direct the colonists and convert the Indians, one of nuns to nurse the sick, and one of nuns to 1 The Jesuits in North America in the Seven'. .«nth Century, Ch. XV. ■•' ' if If II H li 136 The Struggle for a Continent [1640 teach tlie Fuilh to the chihheii, while and red. To burrow their owu phrase, ihey would [ilaul the baimer of Christ in ail abode of desolation and a haunt of demons ; and to this end a band of priests and women were to invade tlie wilderness, and lake post lietween the fangs of the Inxjuois." It will be observed that the piilony was to lie established for the convents, not the convents for the colony, a curious rever- sal of the natural course of things. These events culmi- nated in the year 1640. The Lsland of Montreal belonged to Lauson, former president of the gieat company of the Hun- dred Associates. Having se- cured their title from him and from his company, Dauversifere and Olier ra[»idly matured their jilans. A military leader of the expedition was secured in the person of the devout and in- trepid Sieur de Maisonneuve. "He loved his profession of arms, and wished to conse- crate his sword to the Church. Past all comparison, he is the manliest figure that ap- pears in this group of zealots. The piety of the design, the miracles that inspired it, the ad- venture and the peril, all combined to charm him ; and he eagerly embraced the enterprise." ' ' The Jesuits in North Atiieiica in the Seventeenth Century, Ch. XV. Mni.innnriir/^ i64i-i64»] The Founding of Montreal 137 The imperative ueeil for iiiuuey wus soon satistied through the zeal of Dauversiijre.aml it only remained to Hud a woman of sutlicieut devotion to saeritice worldly ease to the sacred caiLse. Such a woman was found in Mademoiselle Mance, who eagerly embraced this opportunity of iM)Ssible martyrdom. In August, KUl, Maisoimeuve and Mademoiselle Mance, accompanied by forty men and f(»ur women, arrived at Que- bc< , tt>o late to attempt the jouriu'y to Montreal for that seaso!i. In fact the (lovernor Montmagny threw every obsta- cle into their way to frustrate the enterprise, deeming it, and with justice, inexijetlient and rash to establish a new colony beyond the reach of reinforce- ments from (i>uebec. 1 1 e pr» >! »- ably foresaw also a future rival should the new town jtrosper according to the exiKJctations of its optimistic founders. Maisonneuve expressed his surprise that Montmagny and liis advisers should thus seek to direct hia aiVairs. " I have not come here," he said, " to delil)erate, but to act. It is my duty and my iKmor to found a colony at Montreal; and I would go, if every tree were an Iroquois ! " The winter was spen:, at St. Michel, three miles from Quebec, in building boats to ascend to Montreal, and in vari- ous other labors for the behoof of the future colony. — Eu.] Early in May, 1042, Mais.nuieuve and his followers' em- barked. They liad gained an unexpected recniit dining the I Tlif .I.'suit-s ill North Ainoiica in the SL-vriitwiitli Cciitiiry, Ch. XV. MiKliiiiir ilf lit t'ittrie i^ Hi 138 The Struggle for a Continent [164a wiater, in the prsoii of Matlanio cle la IVltrie. The piety, the novelty, and the romance of their enterprise, all had their charms for the fair enthusiast ; and an irresistible imimlse — imputed l>y a slanderiufj historian to the levity of her sex — urjjed lier to sliarc llieir fortunes. Her zeal was more ailmired i.v the Montrealists whom slit- joined than hy the rrsulines wliom she aliandonetl. She carried off all tlie finiiiture she had lent them, and left them in the utmost destitution. Nor did site remain (juiet after readiinj,' Montreal, but was ]>res- ently seized with a lonjfing to visit the Huroiis, and iMvath the Faith in jierson to those bcni- laden with men, arms, and stores, moved slowly on tlieir way, the ft>rest, with leaves just opening in the warmth of sprinpj, lay on their rij^ht hand and on their left, in a tlalter- int^ .semblance of traiKpiillity and \)eace. llut behind woixly islets, in tangled thickets and damj) ravines, and in the shade and stillness of the cohnnned woods, lurked every- where a danger and a terror. What shall we say of these adventurers of Montreal, — of these who bestowed their wealth and, far more, of these who sacrificed their peace and risked their lives, on an enterprise at once so romantic and .so devout ? Surrounded as they were with illusions, false lights, and false shadow^-, —breath- ing an atmosphere of miracle, — compassed about with angels and devils, — urged with stimulants most powerful, though unreal. — their minds druggetl, as it were, to preternatural excitement, — it is very dillicult to judge of them. High i643i The Founding of Montreal 1 39 iiierit, without doubt, tlieie was in some of their nunibur; but «)ne may bej^ to be »\mvi\ the attempt to measure or (letiue it. To estimate a virtue involved in conditions so anomahms (K'mai\ds, iiurhaps, a judj^ment more than hunmn. The l!oiiian Church, sui\k in disease and corrui>tion when tlie li'eformation be^fiiii, was rousetl by that tierce trumitet- bhist to i>urf Christian womanliood, a flower of Earth expanding in the rays of Heaven, which sootheil with<:;entle influence the wiltlnessof a liarbarous ape. On the seventeenth of ^lay, 1042, Maisonneuvc's little flotilla — a jiinnace, a flat-bottomed craft moved by .sails, anil two row-b()ats — ap]»roached Montreal; and all on board raised in unison a hymn of praise. Montmagny was with them, to deliver the i.sland, in behalf of the Comjiany of the Hundred Associates, to Maisonneuve, rf^presentative of the Associates of Montreal. And here, ioo, was Father Vimont, Superior of the missions; for the Jesuits iiad been pnidently invited to accept the .spiritual charge of the young colony. On the * lowing day, they glided along the green and soli- tary shor. now thronged with the life of a busy city, and landetl on liie si)ot which Champlain, thirty-one years before, liad clxjsen as the fit site of a .settlement. It was a tongue or triangle ot land, formed by the junction of a rivulet with the St. Lawrence, and known afterwards as Point Callifere. The ' Marguerite Boiirgeoj's renounced lier inheritance in 1653, and sailed for Montreal, llie scene of her future labors. — Ed. . •n i. I j , 140 The Struggle for a Continent li64» rivulet was Ix.rderea by a nieu.loxv, aiul lje)ond rose the forest with its vanguanl nf sc-atlt-rea trees. Karly spring flowers were blooming in the young gias^, and birds of varied plumage flitted among the boughs. Maisnnneuve sprang ushor.. and fell on his knees, ll.s foUowei-s in.itated his example; and all j.-ined their voices i„ enlhusiaslie songs of ih.nksglving. Tents, baggage, arms, and sl..res were landed. An altar was raised on a pleasant ^pot near at hand; and Mademoiselle Manee. with Madame de la I'eltrie, aided by her servant, Clmrlotie Uanv, .lec- rate.l it with a taste which was the admirati..n ..f the be- liolders. N..W all the company gathered before the shrine. Here stood Vimont, in the rich vestments of his othce. Here were the two la.lies. with their servant; Montmagny, no very willing spectator; an.l Maisonneuve, a warlike figure, erect and tall, his men clustering around him,- soldiers, saih.rs, artisans, and laborers, - all alike s..ldiers at need. Thev kneeled in reverent silence as the Host was raised aloft; and when the rite was over, the priest turned aiul addressed them : — '« You are a grain of mustard-see.l, that shall rise and grow till its branches ..vershaduw the earth. You are few, but your work is the work of God. His smile is on you. and your children shall till the land." The aftern.H.u waned; the sun sank behind the western forest, and twilight came on. Fireflies were twinkling over the darkened mea.low. They caught them, tied them with threads into shining festoons, and hung them before the altar, where the Host .. rained exposed. Then they pitched their tents, lighted then bivouac fires, stationed their guards, and lay down to rest. Such was the birth-night .4' Montreal. Is this true hi-'"ry, • r a romance of (Jiiristiau chivalry ( It is both. with the .chcd lards, treal, airy i St/Kr mj ventcenth Century, Ch. XX\ i' The most extensive nii-tsion which lliv Jesuits establish I in 'he se». • tcenth century was among the Huron Indiana who dwelt beside the waters ' the great lake which U urs their nam- Tin- Iroquois, the vind'.nive anoesf , foes of the Huron race, ahno-st coniiilctely annihUatcd that tribe in the yt 1649. — Ed. 2 The Jesuit settlements were near the shores of what is now the Ocorgian Bay. St. Joseph (Teanaustnye) had been the chief town of the HuroiiM, and lay on the southeastern frontier of their country about fifteen miles fn.iu Sainte Marie. Father Daniel had labored zealously and with sucross in their midst. On the fourth of July he had just finished mass in the mission church ; the savages were still kneeling at their devotions, when smhlenly the cry arose "The Iroquois! the Iro<|Uois." Daniel lefuscd to fly. His flesh was tnm with arrows, a ball pierced his heart, and h- fell dead, gasping the name of Jesus. The savages rushed upon him with yells of triumph, stripped and gashed his lifeless body, and scoojiing his lilooil in their hands, bathed their faces in it to make them brave. "The town was io a blaze ; when the flames reached the church, they flung the priest into it, ,iid both were con- sumed together. Teanaustaye was a heap of nshes, and the victors took up their march with a train of nearly seven hundred prisoners, many of whom they killed on their way." — Ed. m^ I 142 The Struggle for a Continent [1649 towards the south-east; al)out three miles distant. They looked at each other iu dismay. " The Irof St. Louis, joineil hy other ]muls as terriHed and as helpless as they, were stnii,'j,ding tlirough the soft snow whiili (dogged the forests towards Like Huron, wliere the treacherous ice i>f spring was still unaieUetl. One fear expelled another. "I, . ventureil upon it, and pushed forward all that day ai' -a the following night, shivering ntvi famished, to find refuge in the towns of tlie Toliaceo Natii»n. Here, when they arrived, the\ spread a universal f>anic, Ifagueneau. liressani, and their companions waited in sus- ]iense at Saiiile Marie. On the one hantl, they tremlded for Hreheuf and Lalemant ; on the other, they looke.l hourly for an attack : ami when at evening they saw the Intquois .sc(»uts prowling along the edge of the bordering forest, their fears were continued. They had with them al>out forty Kreneli- nien, well armed ; but their pali.sailes and wooden buildings were not lire-pr(K)f, and they had learned from fugitives the number and ferocity of the invaders. They stood guard all night, praying to the Saints, and above all to their great j)atron, Saint Joseph, whose festival was close at hand. In the morning they were somewhat relieved liy the arrival of about three hundret'(l tliciii within s'v^hi ol" SainU! Miirii'. Tlio other Ihiniiis, hfaiiii;^ the \AU ami tinii^', ran t.i tin- resM-w, ajnl allai-kiMl so licn.'lv, lliat lii«' ii [iiois in turn were routed, am! ran for sliclh r lo y^. Louis, f.illowed closely 1>V the victors. 'I'lic liouscs of the town hail l>eeii hurneil, Imt the ]>ali-ielc aroiiuil thcin was still standin},', thou<,'li breaclicd and I'roken. Tiie lr.H|uois nislied in; bu'. the Hurons were at their lu'el». Many of the fiijfitives weie i aji- tin-ed,llie rr-i killed i>r pnt to utter rout, and the triuiniihant Humns reniaiiuMl masters of tiie plai c. The lroi|iiois who escaped tied to St. I;,niaows and arrows, war-clubs, hatchets, and knives; and of these they made good use, sal- lung rei>eatedly, lighting like devils, and ilriving back their assailants again and again. There are times when the Indian warrior forgets his cautious maxims, and throws him- self into battle with a mad and reckless ferocity. The des- peration of one Jiarty, and the tierce (;ourage of both, kept up the fight after the da\ had closed; and the scout from Sainte Marie, as he bent listening under the gloom of the pines, heard, far into the night, the howl of battle rising from the darkened forest. The principal chief of the Inxjuois was severelv wounded, and nearly a hundred of tlieir warriors were kill eu on the spot. When, at length, their numbers i649] Ruin of the Hurons 147 ami |»oi»isteiit fury prevailetl, llii'ir only prize was some tweuty llumii Wiirri -s, sihmiI with fatigue and faint with li.ss of bliM)(l. Tlio n'.-.L lay (load anmnd the shattered pali- sides which tiu-y had so valiantly defended. Fatuity, not cowardice, was the ruin of the Huron nation. The lanii)s burned all nij^ht at Sainte Marie, and its de- fenders .stood watching till daylight, niu.sket in hand. The .lesuits prayed without ceasing, and Saint -losejih was he- .sieged witli invocations. " Those of us who were priests," writes IJagueneau, " each made a vow to say a mass in his honor every month, for the space of a year; and all the rest hound thcniselvt-s liy vows to divers ]ienances." The e.\]>ectetl ouslaugli' old not take i)lace. Nol an Inxjuois ap- peared. Their victory had been bought too dear, and ;hey had no stomach for more fighting. All the next day, the eighteenth, a stillness, like the dead lull of a temitest, fol- lowed the turmoil of yesterday, — as if, .says the Father SujHirior, " the country were waiting, i)alsied with fright, for sume new disaster." On the f(dlowing day, — ^the journalist fails not to mention that it was the festival of Saint Jo.seph, — Indians came in with tithngs that a panic had seized the Iroquois camp, that the chiefs could not control it. and that the whole body of invaders was retreating in ilisoidcr. jtossesseil with a vague terror that the Hurons were u]ton them in force. They had found time, however, for an act of atrocious cruelty. They jJanted stakes in the bark houses of St. Ignace, and ]M)und to them those of their prisoners whom they meant t(» sacri- fice, male and female, from old age to infancy, husliands, mothers, and children, side by side. Then, as they retreated, they set the town on lire, and laughetl with savage glee at the shrieks of anguish that rose from the blazing dwellings. [i649 148 The Struggle for a Continent Tlicy Idiuled llie rest of their prisuners with their hapsaf,'e aiitl i-hiniU'r, and drove them thn.uph the forest southward, Itraining with tlieir lialchots any who gave out on the nmroh. An old woman, wlm liad escaped out of the midst (if the tlamcs nf St. Igiiare, made her way to St. Michel, a lar(,'e town not far fn.ni the desolate site of St. Joseph. Here she fovnid alniut seven inindred Huron warriors, hastily mus- tered. She -ct them nn the track of the retreating Iroquois, and they took \\\> the chase.— but evidently with no great eagerness to overtake their dangerous enemy, well armed as he wa^wiih 1 Hitch guns, while tlicy had little beside their bows and arrows. They found, as they advanced, the dead Ixidies nf i)risn!u'rs lomahawkeil on the march, and others bound fast to trees and half burned l>y the fagois piled hastily around them, 'i'he Ikkiumis pushed for.vard with such lieadliing speed, that I he jiursueis cnuld not, or would not, overtake them; and, after two days, tliey gave over the attemitt. .1 1649] The Martyrs 149 THE MARTYRS* On the morning of the twentieth, the Jesuits at Sainte Marie received full contirniation of the reported retreat of the invaders ; and one of them, with seveQ arrued Frenchmen, set out for the scene of havoc. Tiiey passed St. Louis, where the bloody ground was strown thick with corpses, and, two or three miles farther on, reached St. Ignace. Here they saw a hiHictacle of horror ; for among the ashes of the burnt town were scattered in profusion the half-consumed bodies of those who had perished in the flames. Apart from the rest, they saw a sight that banished all else from their thoughts; for they found what they had come to seek, — the scorched and mangled relics of Br^beuf and Lalemant. They had learned their fate already from Huron prisoners, many of whom had made their escape in the panic and con- fusion of the Iroquois retreat. They descril)e.d what they had seen, and the condition in which the bodies were found confirmed their story. On the afternoon of the sixteenth,— the day when the two priests were captured, — Brdbeuf was led apart, and bound to a stake. He seeined more concerned for his cap- tive converts than for himself and addressed them in a loud voice, exhortnig them to suffer patiently, and promising Heaven as their reward. The Iroquois, incensed, scorched him from head to foot, to silenc- him ; whereupon, in the iJUe Jesuits ir Noit'a Anicrun ii. the Seventeonth Ctntury, Ch. XXVIH It* ,; 150 The Struggle for a Continent [1649 tone <»f a nmsier, he lliri'iUciitMl tlioni with everluHlinj; tiaiiics, ft»r iH'rsecutiiig the \v<>rshii>|K!rs of (Jotl. As lie coiitirmi'd to sjieak, with voice; ami couiitt'iianee uiichaii'{otl,thi'y cut away his lower lip and thrust a retl-lmt iron down his throat, lie still held his tall form erect and detiant, with no sign or so\ii\d of pain; and they tried another means to overcome him. They led out Lilemant, that Urebeuf might see him tortured. They had tied stri[>s of l)ark, smeared with i)itch, ahout his naked hody. When he .saw the condition of his Snjierior, he could not hide his agitation, and called out to him, with a broken voice, in the words of Saint Paul, " We are made a spedatde t(» the world, to angels, and to men." Then he threw himself at iWebeuf's feet; ujion which the Iro<|Uois seized him, made him fast to a stake, ami .set tire to die hark that envelojted him. As the tlame rose, he threw his arms upward with a .shriek of supplication to Heaven. Next they hung around J'.r(?beuf's neck a collar made of hatchets heated red-hot; but the indomitable jdiest stottd like a rock. A Umon in the crowd, who liad been a con- vert of the mission, but was now an Inxiuois by adoption, called out, with the malice of a renegade, to pour hot water on their heads, since they had poured so much cold water on those of olhei-s. The kettle was accordingly slung, and the water boiled and ]ioured slowly m the heads of the two missionaries. " We baptize you,' they cried, " that you may be happy in Heaven; for nobo» , can be saved without a gooil baptism." Brc'-beuf would not tlinch ; and, in a rage, they cut strips of flesh from his limbs, and devoured them before liis eyes. Other renegade Hurons called out to him, " Vou tohl us, that, the more one suffers on earth, the happier W is in Heaven. We wish to make you happy; we torment you because we love you; and you ought to thank us for it." i649] The Martyrs 15* Afler a .successitiii of uilicr revultiug tttrtures, tl>»'y scalped him ; when, .seeing him nearly dentl, they laid t»jtfn his breast, and came iu a crowd ti) drink the Mood of so valiunt an enemy, thinking to imbilnj with it some iH)rtion of his courage. A chief tlien tore out his heart, and devoured it. Thus died Jean de IJrelieuf, the founder of the Huron mission, its truest hero, and its greatest martyr. He came of a noble race, — the same, it is said, from which sj)nuig the Knglish Karls of Arundel; but never had the mailed barons of his line confronted a fate so appalling, with so prtnligious a constancy. To the last he refused to flinch, and " his death was the astonishment of his nunderers." In him an enthusiastic devotion was grafted on an heroic nature. His bodily endowments were as remarkable as the temjier of his mind. His manly proportions, his strength, and his endur- ance, which incessant fasts and jHjnances could not under- mine, had always won for him the respect of the Indians, no less than a courage unconscious of fear, and yet redeemed from rashness by a cool and vigorous judgment; for, extrava- gant as were the chimeras which fed thu fires of his zeal, they were consistent with the soberest ^ d sense on matters of practical i)earing. Lalemant, physically weak from childli..od, and slender almost to emaciation, was constitutionally unequal to a dis- play of fortitude like that of his colleague. When Br(5beuf died, he was led back to tlie house whence he had been taken, and tortured there all night, until, in the morning, one of the Iroquois, growing tired of the protracted enter- tainment, killed him with a hatchet. It was said, that, at times, he seemed beside himself ; then, rallying, with hands uplifted, he offered his sufTerings to Heaven as a sacrifice. His robust companion had lived less than four hours under • 152 The Struggle for a Continent I1649 the torture, wliile he surviveti it for nearly sevenieen. I'er- hajw the Titanic effort of will with which IJivlieuf repress«Ml all show of sufTering consjiire*! with the lro(iiu)is knives and firebrands to exhaust liis vitality ; i^^\ I»erha|is his tormentors, enraged MMUH at his fortitude, forgot their sub- ■9h tlety, and struck tt onear the life. ^««^^^^^k^ 'I'he bodies of the two mission- aries were carried to Sainte ^larie, and buried in ilie cemetery there ; but the skull of Urebeuf was pre- served as a relic. His family sent fn >m France a silver bust of their martyred kinsman, in the base of which was a recess to contain the skull ; and, to this day, the bust and the relic within are preserved with pious care by the nuns of the HOtel-Dieu at Quebec. mm^^. \ •ijff'^ Jtan lU' Brehix/ i ^^ if; 1649] Failure of the Jesuits »53 FAILURE OF THE JESUITS* With the fall of the Ilurons, fell the best hope of the Canadian mission. They, and the stable and populous com- munities around them, had been the rude material from which the Jesuit would have formed his Christian empire in the wildemcs-^ but, one by one, these kindred peoples were uprooted and swept away, while the neighboring Algonquins, to whom they had been a bulwark, were involved with them in a common ruin. The land of promise was turned to a solitude and a desolation. There was still work in hand, it ia true, — vast regions to explore, and countless heathens to snatch from perdition ; but these, for the most part, were re- mote and scattered hordes, from whose conversion it was vain to look for the same solid and decisive results. In a measure, the occupation of the Jesuits was gone. Some of them went home, "well resolved,' writes the Father Superior, " to return to the combat at the first sound of the trumpet ; " while of those who remained, about twenty in number, several soon fell victims to famine, hardship, and the Iroquois. A few years more, and Canada ceased to be a mission ; political and commercial interests gradually became ascendant, and the story of Jesuit propagandism was inter- woven with her civil and military annals. 1 The Jesuits in North Anuerica in the Seventeenth Century, Ch. XXXIV. MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI one ISO TEST CHART No 2) 1.0 I.I 1.25 ■ 50 ■Wft IIIIM m 1.4 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.6 A APPLIED IM/IGE Inc ^^ 1653 Ea?' Wa n itree! S^a ffochesrer, Ne* ^Ofl- '4609 USA '"SS; (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone ^S ("61 ?88 " 5989 - rax 154 The Struggle for a Continent [1649 Here, then, closes this wihl and bloody act of tJie great drama of New France ; and now let the curtain fall, while we ponder its meaning. The cause of the failure of the Jesuits is obvious. The gims and tomahawks of the Iroquois were the ruin of their hopes. Could they have curbed or converted those ferocious bands, it is little less than certain that their dream woidd have become a reality. Savage- tamed — not civilized, for that was scarcely possible — would have been di.stributed in communities through the valleys of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi, ruled by priests in the hiterest of Catholicity and of France. Their habits of agriculture would have been developed, and their instincts of nmtual slaughter repressed. The swift decline of the Indian population woidd have been arrested ; and it would have been made, through the fur- trade, a source of prosperity to New France. Unmolested by Indian enemies, and fed by a rich commerce, she would have put forth a vigorous growth. True to her far-reaching and adventurous genius, she would have occupied the West with traders, settlers, and garrisons, and cut up the virgin wilderness into Hefs, while as yet the colonies of England were but a weak and broken line along the shore of the Atlantic ; and when at last the great conflict came, England and Liberty would have been confronted, not by a depleted antagonist, still feeble from the exhaustion of a starved and persecuted infancy, Imt by an athletic champion of tlie principles of Kichelieu and of Loyola. Liberty may thaidc the Iroquois, that, by their insensate fury, the plans of her adversary were brought to nought, and a peril and a woe averted from her future. They ruined the trade which was the life-blood of New France ; they stopj^ed the current of her arteries, and made all her early years a 1653-1658] Failure of the Jesuits 155 misery aud a tenor. Not that they changed her destinies. The contest on this continent between Liberty and Absolu- tism was never doubtful ; but the triumpli of the one would have been dearly l)()uglit, and the downfall of the other in- complete. Populations formed in the ideas and habits of a feudal monarcliy, and controlled by a hierarcliy profoundly hostile to freedom of lliought, would have remained a hin- drance and a stumbling-block in the way of that majestic experiment of which America is the field. The Jesuits saw their hopes struck down ; and their faith, though not shaken, was sorely tried. The Providence of God seemed in their eyes dark and inexplicable ; but, from the stand-point of Liberty, that Providence is clear as the sun at noon. ^leanwhile let those wlio have prevail. -d yield due honor to the defeated. Their virtues shine amidst the rubbish of error, like diamonds aud gold in the gravel of the torrent. [In 1653 a tempoiary peace waa patched up between tlie French and the Iroquois. In order to obtain a lasting in- fluence over this dangerous race a Jesuit mission was estab- lished in 1656 among the Onondagas, the central tribe of the five nation confederacy. " The Jesuits," says Parkman, "had essayed a fearful task, to convert the Troipiois to Crod and to tlic king, thwart the Dutcli heretics of the Hudson, save sotds from hell, avert ruin from Cinada, aud thus raise their order to a place of honor and iuHuonce both hard earned and well earned. Tlie mission at lake Onon- daga was but a base of opeiations." * The desperate enterprise was doomed to failure. Within two years the situation of the Jesuits was perilous in the extreme. The Mohawks by murder and pillage had openly ' Tlie OKI RiM,'ime in Canada, (.h. IV. p i : 5" 156 The Struggle for a Continent [1655 defied the French, and the missionaries heard ominous rumors that thr ' death had been decreed. They deter- mined to escaj .-, and as forceful means were beyond their power, they resorted to a device which the gluttonous habits of the Indians alone rendered possible of success. The Jesuit fathers invited all the warriors to a sumptuous banquet where the laws of hospitality demanded that the guests should eat whatever was placed before thera. At midnight, when they were sleeping stupefied with bestial excess, the Jesuits silently withdrew and cautiously descended to the shore, where their comrades, already embarked, lay on their cars anxiously awaiting them. When the Indians woke in the morning their ghostly hosts had vanished. — Ed.] .!l i66o] The Heroes of the Long Saut 157 THE HETIOES OF THE LONG SAUT' In April, 1660, before the designs of the Iroquois were known, a young officer named Daulac,' comroandant of the garrison of Montreal, asked leave of Maisonneuve, the gover- nor, to lead a party of volunteers against the enemy. His plan was bold to desperation. It was known that Iroquois warriors in gi'eat numbers had wintered among the forests of the Ottawa. Daulac proposed to waylay them on their descent of the river, and fight them without regard to dis- parity of force. The settlers of Montreal had hitherto acted solely on the defensive, for their numbers had been too small for aggressive war. Of late their strength had been some- what increased, and Maisonneuve, judging that a display of enterprise and boldness might act as a check on the audacity of the enemy, at length gave his consent. Adam Daulac, or Dollard, Sieur des Ormeaux, was a young man of good family, who had come to the colony three years before, at the age of twenty-two. He had held some military command in France, though in what rank does not appear. It was said that he had been involved in some affair which made him anxious to wipe out the memory of the past by a noteworthy exploit; and he had been busy for some time among the young men of Montreal, inviting them to join him in the enterprise he meditated. Sixteen of them caught J The Old Regime in Canada, CIi. VI. * Sometimes this name is spelled " Dollard." ■ Ed. Oi 7.1 ill 158 The Struggle for a Continent [iteo his spirit, struck hands with him, and pledged their word. They bound themselves by oath to accept no quarter ; and, having gained Maisonneuve's consent, they made their wills, confessed, and received the sacraments. As they knelt for the last time before the altar in the chapel of the Holel- Dieu, that sturdy lili ■ population of pious Indian-figliteis gazed on them with enthusiasm, not unmixed with an envy which had in it nothing ignoble. Some of the chief men of Montreal, with the brave Charles Le Moyne at their head, begged them to wait till the spring sowing was over, that they might joii' them ; but Daulac refused. lie was jealous of the glory and the danger, and he wished to command, which he could not have done had Le Moyne been present. The spirit of the enterprise was purely mediieval. The enthusiasm of honor, the enthusiasm of adventure, and the enthusiasm of faith, were its motive forces, Daulac was a knight of the early crusades among the forests and savages of the New World. Yet the incidents of this exotic heroism are definite and clear as a tale of yesterda}-. The names, ages, and occupations of the seventeen young men may still be read on the ancient register of the parish of Montreal ; and the notarial acts of that year, preserved in the records of the city, contain minute accounts of such property as each of them possessed. The three eldest were of twenty-eight, thirty, and thirty-one years respectively. The age of the rest varied from twenty-one to twenty-seven. They were of various callings, — soldiers, armorers, locksmiths, lime- burners, or settlers without trades. The greater number had come to the colony as part of the reinforcement brought by Maisonneuve in 1653. After a solemn farewell they emliarked in several canoes well supplied with arms and ammunition. They were very i66o| The Heroes of the Long Saut 159 indifferent canoe-men ; and it is said that they lost a week in vain attempts to pass the switt current of St. Anne, at the head of the island of Montreal. At length they were more successful, and entering the mouth of the Ottawa, crossed the I^ke of Two Mountains, and slowly advanced against the current. Meanwhile, forty warriors of that remnant nf llu' Hurons who, in spite of InKpiois pei'secutions, still lingered at Que- l>ee, had s^et out on a war-party, led by the brave and wily fitieii.ie Amiahotalia, their most noted ehief. They stopped by the way at Three IJivers, where they found a baud of Christian AlgoiKjuins under a chief named Mituvemeg. Aiuiahotaha challenged him to a trial of courage, ami it was agreed that they should meet at Montieal, where they were likely to (ind a sjieedy opportunity of putting their m( .le to the test. Thither, accordingly, they repaired, the Algoncjuiu with three followers, and the Huron with thirty-nine. It was not long before they learned the ileparture of Daulac and his companions. " For," observes the honest DoUier de Casson, " the principal fault of our Fren.chmen is to talk too much." The wish seized them to .share the adventure, and to that end the Huron chief asked the governor for a letter to Daulac, to serve as credentials. Maisonneuve hesitated. His faith in Huron valor was not great, and he feared the pro^wsed alliance. Nevertheless, he at length yielded so far as to give Annahotaha a letter in which Daulac was told to accept or reject the proffered reinforce- ment as he should see fit. The Hurons and Algonquins now embarked and paddled in pursuit of the s-^venteen Frenchmen. They meanwhile had passed with ditticulty the swift cur- rent at Carillon, and about the first of Mav reached the f(K)t I 1 60 The Struggle for a Continent [ibso uf the more formidable rapid calleil tlip Long Saut, where u tumult of waters, foaming among ledges and bo uuers, liantnl the onward way. It was needless to go farther. The Iro- quois were sure to pass the Saut, anu could be fought l\ere as well as elsewhere. Just IhjIow the rapid, where the forests sloj>ed gently to the shore, among the bushes and stumi>s of the rougli clearing made in constructing it, stood a palisade fort, the work of an Algor n war-party in the past autumn. It was a mere enclosure .runks of small trees planted in a ciide, and was already ruhious. Such as it was, the Frenchmen took jiossession of it. Their first care, one would think, should have been to repair and strengthen it ; but tliis they seem not to have done ; i>ossibIy, in the exaltation of their minds, they scorned such jn-ecaution. They made their lires, and slung their kettles on the neighboring shore ; and here they were soon joined by the Ilurons and Algoncjuins. Daulac, it seems, made no objection to their company, and they all bivouacked together. Morning and noon and night they i»rayed in three diflerent tongues ; and when at sunset the long reach of forests on the farther shore basked peace- fully in tlie level rays, the rai)id3 joined tlieir hoarse music to the notes of their evening hymn. In a day or two their scouts came in with tidings that two Iroquois canoes were coming down the Saut. Daulac had time to set his men in ambush among the bushes at a point where lie thought tlie strangers likely to land. He judged aright. The canoes, bearing five Iroquois, approached, and were met Ijy a volley fired with such precipitation that one or more of them escaped the shot, fled into the forest, and told their misdiance to their main body, two hundred in number, on the river above. A fleet of canoes suddenly appeared, bounding dtnvn the rapids, filled with warriors i6«oi The Heroes of the Long Saut i6i eager for revenge. The allies had barely time to escai>e to their fort, leaving their kettles still slung over the fires. The Irociuois made a hasty and desultory attack, and were quickly re[iulsed. Tliey next oi)ened a parley, hoping, no doubt, to gain some advantage by surprise. Failing in this, they set themselves, after their custom on such occa- sions, to building a rude fort of their own in the neighboring forest. This gave the French a breathing-time, and they used it for strengthening their defences. lieing provided with tools, they planted a row of stakes within then- palisade, to form a double fence, and fdled the intervening space with earth and stones to the height of a man, leaving some twenty loop-holes, at each of which three marksmen were stationed. Their work was still unfinished when the Iroquois were upon them again. Tliey had broken to pieces the birch canoes of the French and their allies, and, kindling the bark, rushed up to pile it blazing against the palisade ; but so brisk and steady a fire met them that the> recoiled and at last gave way. They came on again, and again were driven back, leaving many of their number on the ground, among them the prin- cipal chief of the Senecas. Some of the French dashed out, and, covered by the fire of their comrades, hacKC-l off his head, and stuck it on the palisade, while the Iroquois howled in a frenzy of helpless rage. They tried another attack, and were beaten off a third time. This dashed their spirits, and they sent a canoe to call to their aid five hundred of their warriors who were mustered near the mouth of the Eichelieu. These were the allies whom, but for this untoward check, they were on their way to join for a combined attack oa Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal. It was maddening to see their grand project 11 m !i;^ i, 162 The Struggle for a Continent (leeo thwarted by a few Kioii(!li and Indians i-nscunced in a paltry redoubt, scarcely better than a cattle-pen; but they were forced to dij,'est the afl'ront as best they niij,dit. Meanwhile, crtiuched behind trees and loj,'s. ihey beset the fttrt, harassing its defenders day and nigh.t with a spattering fire and a constant menace of attack. Tlius five days passed. Hunger, thirst, and want of sleep wrought fatally on the strength of the French and their allies, who, pent uj) together in their narrow prison, fought and prayed by turns. De- prived as they were of water, they could not swallow the crushed In.liau corn, or "hominy," whicli was tiieir only food. Some of them, under cover of a brisk fire, ran down to the river and filled such small vessels as they had ; but this pittance only tantalizeil their thirst. They dug a hole in the fort, and were rewarded at last by a little nmdily water oozing through the clay. Among the assailants were a number of Hurona, adopted by the Iroquois and fighting on their side. These renegades now shouted to their countrymen in the fort, telling them that a fresh army was close at hand ; that they would soon be attacked by seven or eight hundred warriors ; and that their only hope was in joining the Iro(|uois, who would receive them as friends. Annahotaha's followers, half dead with thirst and famine, listened to their seducers, took the bait, and, one, two, or three at a time, climbed the palisade and ran over to the enemy, amid the hootingsand execrations of those whom they deserted. Their chief stood firm ; and when he saw his nephew, La Mouche, join the other fugi- tives, he fired his pistol at him in a rage. The four Algon- quins, who had no mercy to hope for, stood fast, with the courage of despair. On the fifth day an uproar of uneartlily yells from seven iMo] The Heroes of the Long Saut 163 humlred savage throats, mingled witli a clattering salute of musketry, told the Frenchmen that the fcX{)ected reinforce- ment had come; and soon, in the forest and on the clearing, a crowd of warriors mustered for the attack. Knowing from the Hu..)n deserters the weakness of their enemy, they had no doubt of an easy victory. They advan(!ed cautiously, as was usual with the Iroquois before their blood was up, screeching, leaping from .side to side, and firing as they came on ; but the French were at their posts, and every loophole darted its tongue of tire. Besides muskets, they had heavy musketoons of large calibre, which, scattering scraps of lead and iron among tlie throng of savages, often maimed several of them at one discharge. The Iroquois, astonished at the persistent vigor of the defence, fell back discomfited. The tire of the French, who were themselves completely under cover, had told upon them with deadly effect. Three days more wore away in a series of futile attacks, made with little concert or vigor ; and during all this time Daulac and his men, reeling with exhaustion, fought and prayed as before, sure of a martjT's reward. The uncertain, vacillating temper common to all Indians now began to declare itself. Some of the Iroquois were for going home. Others revolted at the thought, and declaicd that it would be an eternal disgrace to lose so many men at tlie hands of so paltry an enemy, and yet fail to take revenge. It was resolved to make a general assault, and vol- unteei"s were called for to lead the attack. After the custom on such occasions, bundles of small sticks were thrown upon he ground, and those picked them up who dared, thus accepting the gage of battle, and enrolling themselves in the forlorn hoj)e. No precaution was neglected. Large and heavy shields four or five feet high were made by lashing Uki, 164 The Struggle for a Continent [1660 together three split lops witlj the aid c»f cix)ss-bars. t'over- iiij,' llieniselvi's with these maiiielels, the chttsen band ad- vanced, followeci bv the nmth'y Ihiong of wan-iors. In spite of a brisk fire, Ihey reatlicd the palisade, and, crou(!hing lielow the ran;,'e of .shot, hfwcd furiously with their hatchets to cut their way throujrli. 'j'he rest followed close, and swarmed like an^ry hornets around the little fort, hacking atid tearing to get in. Dauhic had craninied a large mu.sketoon with powder, and plugged up the nnjzzk>. Lighting the fuse in.serted in it, he tri( il to throw it over the barrier, to burst like a grenade among the crowd of savages witliout; but it struck the ragged top of one of tlie ])ali.sade.s, fell liack among the Frenchmen and exploded, killing and wounding several uf them, anrivilege and exclusion were pushed to their utmost limits. The Company of the Hun- dred Associates had been founded in 1627 with llich- elieu at its head. It con- trolled the trade of the coinitry, except the fisheries, and, subject only to the re- mote authority of the king, it exercised sovereign power in New France. Under its direction the colony thrived but ilL At the time when tliey forfeited their charter to the Crown, in 1663, the whole French population in Canada scarcely reached 2,500 souls. In tliat year, Canada was constituted a Iloyal Province, and Louis XI \'. exercised a paternal sway which soon manifested itself in tlie expansion of trade, and in a remarkable develop- ment of immigration. Louis XIV. still clung, how»>ver, to the Company idea, and close upon the dissolution of the Hundred Associates he cre- ated the new Company of the West by a royal edict issued on the twenty-fourth of IMay, 1664. " Scarcely waa the grand LoiiLs XIV 1666] The Heroes of the Long Saut 167 machine set in motion," writes Parkman in "The Old lidgime," " when its directors betrayed a narrowness and blindness of policy which boded the enterprise no good. Canada was a chief sufferer. Once more, bound hand and foot, she was handed over to a selfish league of merchants ; monopoly in trade, monopoly in religion, monopoly in government. Nobody but the company had a right to bring her the neces- saries of life ; and nobody but the company had a right to exercise the traffic which alone could give her the means of paying for these necessaries." In the face of this storm of disapproval even the king was forced to act. The privileges of the company were curtailed. Their power to name tlie governor and the intendant was revoked, and the king, in 1665, appointed to these high offices Daniel de R^my, Sieur de Courcelle, as governor, and Jean liaptiste Talon, as inten- dant. But before appointing rulers for Canada, Louis XIV. had appointed, as representative of the Crown for all his American domains, the Marquis de Tracy, with the title of lieutenant-general. The Canadian careers of Courcelle and Tracy need but briefly occupy our attention. W^ien they arrived in the colony the Iroquois terror was at its height. Courcelle de- termined to strike a killing blow, and discomfiture, if not defeat, was the result. In the heart of winter, January, 1666, he led his expedition to the head waters of the Hudson river. They mistook the route, and blundered into the Anglo-Dutch settlements about Schenectady. A dis- heartened retreat to Canada bore every evidence of disaster, with men dropping out to perish from cold and starvation, and the vindictive and stealthy Mohawks dogging the line of march. In September of the same year Tracy led the attack in I 1 68 The Struggle for a Continent [icee person. This time the route was unerringly followeil into the heart of the Mohawk country. When he retired, he left behind him a waste of des(»lation and smouldering ashes, but the foe had slipped from his clutches. "Tracy's work was done," says Parknian, "and he left Canada with the glittering noblesse in his train. Cour- celle and Talon remained to nde alone; and now the great experiment was begun, raternal royalty would trj- its hand at building up a colony, and Talon was its chosen agent."! — Ed.] > The Old Keginio in Canada, Ch. XV. m 1663-1763] Canada as a Royal Province 169 CANADA AS A ROiAL PROVINCE » The governor-general and the intendant of '^anada an- swered to ,hose of a French province. TLo governor, excepting in tiie earliest period of the colony, was a military noble ; in most cases bearing a title pmCl so' ;iiues of high rank. The intendant, as in France, was usually drawn from the ffeiis de robe, or legal class. The mutual relations of the two otiicers were modified by the circumstances abou'v the-n. The governor was superior in rank to the intendant; he comn:anded the troops, conducted relations with foreign countries and Indian tribes, and took precedence on all occasions of ceremony. Unlike a provincial governor in France, he had gieat and substantial power The king and the minister, his sole masters,, were \ thousand leagues distant, and he controlled tae whole military force. If he abused his position, there was no remedy but in appeal to the court, which alone con II hold him in check. There were local governors at Montreal and Three Rivers; but their power was carefully curbed, and they were forbidden to fine or imprison any person without authority from Quebec. The intendant was virtually a spy on the govemor-gfcL-.ral, of whose proceedings and of e\'erything else that took place he was required to make report. Every year he wrote to the minister of state, one, two, three, or four letters, often forty » The Old Regime iu Canada, Cli. XIX. I I 170 Th'; Struggle for a Continent [1M3-1763 1663-1763) Canada as a Royal Province 171 or fifty pages long, filled with the secrets of tlie colony political and personal, great and small, set forth with a niinutenesa often interesting, often instructive, and often ex- cessr-ely tedious. The governor, too, wrote letters of piti- less lengtl,; and each of the clleagues was jealous of the letters of the other. In truth, their relations to eacl, other were so critical, and perfect harmony so mre, that ti.ey nnght almost be described as natural enemies. The court It IS certah,, did not desire their i.erfect acconl ; nor, on the other hand, di.l it wish then, to ,,uarrol : it aimed to keep them on such terms tliat, without deranging the machinery of a.lmuustration, each should be a check on the otlu r. The governor, the inten.lant, and the supreme coimcil or court, were absolute masters of Canada un.ler the pleasure of the king. Legislative, judicial, and executive innver all centred in them. We have seen ah-eady the very unpromis- ing beginnnigs of the supreme council. It had consisted at first of the governor, the bishop, and five couucilh.rs chosen by them. The intendanf was soon ad.led to f„rm the rulhig truimvirate; but the appointnient of the councillors, the oc- casion of so many quarrels, was afterwards exercised by the kmg himself. Even the name of the council underwent a change in the interest of his autocracy, and he commanded tliat It should no longer be called tlie Suiyrcmc, but only the Superior Council. The same change had just been imposed on all the liigli tribunals of France. I'nder the shadow of tlie fleur-tle-lis, the king alone was to be supreme. In 167r., the number of councillors was increased to seven, and in 1703 it was again increased to twelve; but tlie char- acter of the council or court remained the same. It issued decrees for the civil, commercial, and financial government of the colony, and gave judgment hi civil and crimuial causes I K ^y. 172 The Struggle for a Continent (iM3-i7«3 according to the royal ordinances and the Coutume de Paris. It exercised also the function of registration borrowed from the Parliament of Paris. That body, it will be remembered, had no analogy whatever with the English Parliament. Its ordinary functions were not legislative, but judicial; and it was composed of judges hereditary under certain conditions. Nevertheless, it had long acted as a check on the royal power through its right of registration. No royal edict had the force of law till entered upon its books, and this custom had so deep a root in the monarchical constitution of France, that even Louis XIV., in the flush of his power, did not at- tempt to abolish it. He did better; he ordered his decrees to be registered, and the humbled parliament submissively obeyed. In like manner all edicts, ordinances, or declara- tions relating to Canada were entered on the registers of the superior council at Quebec. The order of registration was commonly affixed to the edict or other mandate, and nobody dreamed of disobeying it.^ The council or court had its attorney-general, who heard complaints and brought them liefore the tribunal if he thought necessary ; its secretary, who kept its registers, and its huissicrs or attendant officers. It sat once a week ; and, though it was the highest court of appeal, it exercised at first original jurisdiction in very trivial cases. It was empowered to establish subordinate courts or judges throughout the colony. Besides these there was a judge appointed by the king for each of the three districts into which Canada was divided, those of Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal. To each of the three royal judges were joined a clerk and an » Many general edicts relating to the whole kingdom are also registered on the books of the council, hut the practice in this respect was by no means uniform. i663-i7«3] Canada as a Royal Province 1 73 attorney-general uuder the supervision and control of the attorney-general ui the superi(jr court, to which tribunal appeal lay from all the subordinate jurisdictions. The jurisdiction of the seigniors within their own limits has already been mentioned. They were entitled by the terms of their grants to the exercihe of " high, middle, and low justice;" but most of them were practically restricted to the last of the three, that is, to petty disputes between the habitants, involving not more than sixty sous, or offences for which the fine did not exceed ten sous. Thus limited, their judgments were often useful in saving time, trouble, and money to the disputants. The corpt)rate seigniors of Montreal long continued to hold a feudal court in form, with attorney -general, clerk, and huisner; but very few other seigniors were in a condition to imitate them. Added to all these tribunals was the bishop's court at Quebec to try causes held to be within the province of the church. 1/4 The Struggle lor a Continent [1665-1673 TALON'S ADMINISTRATION » i -If If , ' r~^ Talon's appearance did him no justice.'^ The regular con- tour of his oval I'uce, about which fell to his shoulders a cataract of curls, natural or supposititious; the smooth lines of his well-formed feat- ures, brows delicately arched, and a mouth more suggestive of feminine sensibility than of masculuie force, — w ould certainly have misled the disciple of Lavater. Yet there was no want of man- hood in him. He was most happily chosen for the task placed in his hands, and from first to last approved himself a vigorous executive ofticer. He was a true disciple of Colbert, formed in his school and animated by his spirit. Being on the spot, he was better able than his master to judge the working of the new order of things. "With regard » The Old Rt'giine in Canada, Cli. XV. * In the iiitendant Talon, the Crown had a lo3-al servant, and the colony an able and incorrnjitible ollioer. He is one of the most remarkable figures in the annals of New France, whose labors though lacking in picturesque glamour were still invaluable to the country of his adoption. His portrait is at the Hutel-Dieu of Quebec. — Ki). Jean Talon i6«5-««7a] Talon's Administration 175 to the company, he writes that it will profit by impoverish- ing the colony ; tlial its monoiK>lies tli.sheartcn the people and paralyze enterprise ; that it in thwarting the intentions of the king, who wishes trade to be encouraged; and that, if its exclusive privileges are maintained, Canada in ten years will I>o less populous than now. But Colbert clung to his plan, though he wrote m reply that to satisfy the colonists he had persuaded the company to forego the monopolies for a year. As this proved insutticient, the com- pany was at length forced to give up permanently its right of exclusive trade, still exacting its share of beaver and moose skins. This was its chief source of profit; it be- grudged every sou deducted from it for charges of govern- ment, and the king was constantly obliged to do at his own cost that which the company should have done. In one point it showed a ceaseless activity ; and this was the levy- ing of duties, in which it was never known to faiL Trade, even after its exercise was permitted, was continu- ally vexed by the hand of authority. One of Tracy's first measures had been to issue a decree reducing the price of wheat one half. The council took up the work of regulation, and fixed the price of all imported goods in three several tariffs,— one for Quebec, one for Three Eivers, and one for Montreal. It may well be believed that there was in Canada little capital and little enterprise. Industrially and commercially, the colony was almost dead. Talon set him- self to galvanize it ; and, if one man could have supplied the intelligence and energy of a whole community, the results would have been triumphant. He had received elaborate instructions, and they indicate an ardent wish for the prosperity of Canada. Colbert- had written to him that the true means to strengthen the colony t lit 176 The Struggle for a Continent IiM5-i»7« was to " caiiHO justice to rcigii, establish a goinl |H)lict', pio- tect the iiihabitiints, discipline iheiii aj^ainst enemies, and procure fur thein jx'ace, repose, and plenty." " Ami as," the minister further says, " the kinj^ roj^arda his Canatliaii sub- jects, from tlif hi»,diest to the hrtvest, almost as his own chil- dren, and wishes them to enjoy eijually with the people of France the mildness and happiness of liis reij^n, the Sieur Talon will study to solace them in all thinj^s and encouraj;e then« to trade and industry. And, seeing that nt)thinvc and respect for the royal persitn of his Majesty." Talon entered on his work with admirable zeal. Some- times he \>sed authority, sometimes y)ersuasion, sometimes l)romise3 of reward. Sometimes, again, he tried the force of examjtle. Thus he built a ship to show the people how to do it, and rouse them to imitation. Three or four years later, the exjieriment was repeated. This time it was at the cost of the king, who applied the sum of forty thnusrind livres to the double purpose of promoting the art of shij)- building, and saving the colonists from vagrant hubits by giving them employment. Talon wrote that three hundred and fifty men had been supplied that summer with work at the charge of government. He despatched two engineers to search for coal, lead, iron, copper, and other minerals. Important discoveries of iron iMs-i67>] Talon's Administration •77 were inaile ; Iml iliive m-neratiuns were iK-ntiiu'tl to j»a.s.s before the mines were .HUceessfuUy wi.iked.' Tho copiKjr of Lake Sui>oiior nuMeil tlio iiitentlaiit's hopes for a time, Imt he was soon foreetl to the conelu.si(»n iliat it W's t«»o remote to be of j.iaetical vahie. lie lab.ied vigorously to (levehip arts ane the colony to grow; entered into the minutest particulars; visited the houses of the inhabitants, and caused them to visit him; learned what crops each one was raising ; taught those who had wheat to sell it at a profit, helped those who had none, and encouraged everybody." And Dollier de Cassou repre- sents him as visiting in turn every house at M(mtreal, and giving aid from the king to such as needed it. Horses, cattle, sheep, and other domestic animals, were sent out at the royal charge in consideral)le numbers, and distributed gratuitously, with an order that none of the young should be killed till the countrj- was sufficiently stocked. Large quantities of goods were also sent from the same high quar- ter. Some of these were distributed as gifts, and the rest bartered for corn to supjdy the troops. As the intendant 1665-1672] Talon's Administration 179 lierceived that the farmers lust much time in coming from their distant clearings to buy necessaries at Quebec, lie caused his agents to furnish them with the king's goods at their own houses, to the great anno}ance of the mer- chants of Quebec, who complained that their accustomed trade was thus forestalled. These were not the only cares which occupied the mind of Talon. He tried to open a road across the country to Acadia, an almost impossilde task, in which he and his suc- cessors completely failed. Under his auspices, Albanel pene- trated to Hudson's l>ay, and Saint Lussou took possession in the king's name of the country of the Upper Lakes. It was Talon, in short, who prepared tlie way for the remarkable series of explorations described in another work.^ Again and again he urged iqwu Colbert and the king a measure from which, had it taken eflect, momentous consequences must have sprung. This was the purchase or seizure of New York, involving the isolation of New England, the subjection of the Iroquois, and the undisputed control of half the con- tinent. Great as were his opportunities of abusing his trust, it does not appear that he took advantage of them. He held lands and houses in Canada, owned the brewery which he had established, and embarked in various enterprises of pro- ductive industry ; but, so far as I can discover, he is nowhere accused of making illicit gains, and there is reason to believe that he acquitted himself of his charge with entire fidelity. His health failed in 1668, and for this and other causes he asked for his recall. Colbert granted it with strong expres- sions of regret ; and when, two years later, he resumed the intendancy, the colony seems to have welcomed his return. 1 La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West. i8o The Struggle for a Continent [1663-1763 fi !! I ! ' 'II hi ^ r \ ■ t THE COUUEURS DE BOIS' Out of the bouvor trade lose a huge evil, baneful to the growth and the morals of Canada. All that was most active and vigorous in the colony took to the woods, and escaped from the control of intendants, council?, and priests, to the savage freedoi.i of the wilderness. Xot only were the i»os- sible profits great; but, in the pursuit of them, there was a fascinating element of adventure and danger. Tlie bush- rangers or roiirnirs de hois were to the king an object of horror,2 They defeated his plans for the increase of the population, and shocked his native instinct of discipline and order. Edict after edict was directed against them; and more than once tlie colony presented the extraordinaiy spec- tacle of the greater part of its young men turned into forest outlaws. IJut severity was dangerous. The offenders might be driven over to the English, or converted into a lawless banditti, renegades of civilization and the faith. Therefore, clemency alternated with rigor, and declarations of amnesty with edicts of ])roscription. Neither threats nor blandish- ments were of nmch avail. We hear of seigniories aban- doned ; farms turning again into f(jrests; wives and children left in destitution. The exodus of the conrcurs dc hois would take, at times, the character of an organized movement. The » The 01(1 Rec^inio in Canada, Ch. XX. * The most (laii<,'(ioiis ilitncnt in the population, and withal the most picturesque, with whom successive intendants and governors had to deal, were the roving and lawkss coureurs dc bois (roaiuers of the woods, forest- raiigii=). - Ki). I 663-1 763] The Coureurs de Bois 181 famous Du Lhut is said to have made a general combination of the young men of Canada to follow him into the woods. Their plan was to be absent four years, in order that the edicts against them might have time to relent. The inten- dant Duchesneau reported that eight hundred men out of a population of less than ten thousand souls had vanished from sight in the immensity of a boundless wilderness. Whereupon the king ordered that any person going into the woods without a license should be whipped and branded for the first offence, and sent for life to the galleys for the sec- ond.^ The order was more easily given than enforced. " I must not conceal from you, monseigneur," again writes the intendant Duchesneau, " that the disobedience of the cou- reurs de hois has reached such a point that everj-body boldly contravenes the king's interdictions ; that there is no longer any concealment ; and that parties are collected with as- tonishing insolence to go and trade in the Indian country. I have done all in my power to prevent this evil, which may cause the ruin of the colony. I have enacted ordinances against the cott,reurs de hois; against the merchants who furnish them with goods; against ;.ie gentlemen and others who harbor them, and even against those who have any knowledge of them, and will not inform the local judges. All has been in vain ; inasmuch as some '^f the most con- siderable families are interested with them, and the governor lets them go on and even shares their profits," " You are aware, monseigneur," writes Denonville,^ some years later, > Lc Roi li Frontenac, 30 Avril, 1681. On another occasion, it was ordered that any person thus offending should suffer death. * Between the close of Frontenac's first tenure of office in 1682, and his re- turn to Canada in 1689, there were two governors, namely, — Sieur de la Rarre, 1682-1685, and Marquis de Deiionville, 1685-1689. I^ Barre's admin- istration was corrupt and inetfective, Denonville's merely ineffectiye. — Ed. . iS2 The Struggle for a Continent [16O3-1763 "that the amriiirs il, hoin aic ii jfivat evil, hut you are nut aware hdw great this mil is. It (k'])riveH the coiin'try of its eflective men; makes tlu-rii itidocile, debauched, and iii(!a[)ahle of disciplim., uiid tin us tiieiii into luetended nohles, \vearin<' the swoul and ilcckcd out with lace, both they and their rela- tions, who all aflect to he jreuilemen and ladies. As for cul- tivating the .soil, they will nut hear of it. This, along wUh the scattered condition of the settlements, cau.ses their chil- dren to be as ujuuly as In- dians, being brought up in the sanu' maimer. Not that there are not some a eiy good people liere, but tluy are in a mincjrity." In another de- spatch he enlarges on their vagabond and lawless ways, their indifTeren(!e to mar- riage, and the mischief caused by their example ; describes how, on their return from the woods, they swagger like lords, si)end all their gains in dress and drunken revelry, and despise the peasants, whose daughters tliey will not deign to marry, though they are peasants themselves. It was a curious scene when a party of coureurs de hois returned from their rovings. Montreal was their harboring place, and they conducted themselves nnich like the crew of a man-of-war paid off after a long voyage. As long as their beaver-skins lasted, they set no bounds to their riot. Every house in the place, we are told, was turned into a drinking Marquis dc JJenonville "1 1663-1763I The Coureurs de Bois 183 shop. Tlie new-comers were Isedizeiied with a strange mix- ture of Frencli and Indian finery; while some of them, with instincts more thoroughly savage, stalked about the streets as naked as a Tottawattamie or a Sioux. The clamor of tongues was prodigious, and gambling and drinking tilled the day and night. When at last they were sober again, they sought absolution for their sins ; nor could the priests ven- ture to bear too hard on their unruly ])enitents, lest they shouhl break wholly with tlie ("lunch and dispense thence- forth with her sacraments. Under such leaders as T)u Lhut, the roiornrs de hois built forts of palisades at various points througliout the West and Northwest. They had a post of this sort at Detroit some time before its permanent settlement, as well as others on Lake Superior and in the valley of the Mississippi. They occupied them as long as it s\iited their purposes, and then abandoned them to the next comer. Michillimackinac was, however, their chief resort ; and thence they would set out, two or three together, to roam for hundreds of miles through the endless mesh work of interlocking lakes and rivers which seams the northern wilderness. No wonder that a year or two of bush-ranging spoiled them for civilization. Though not a very valuable member of society, and though a thorn in the side of princes and rulers, the coureur de hois had his uses, at least from an artistic point of view; and his strange figure, sometimes brutally savage, but oftener marked with the lines of a dare-devil courage, and a reckless, thoughtless gayety, will always be joined to the memories of that grnnd world of woods which the nineteenth century is fast civilizing out of existence. At least, he is picturesque, and with his red-skin companion serves to animate forest scenery. Perhaps he could some- IS m iil n i .. h ! 11 184 The Struggle for a Continent [1663-1763 times feel, without knowing that lie fi'lt them, the t-harms of the savap' nature that had aihtpted hini.^ liude as he was, her voice may not always liavebeen meaningless for one who knew her haunts so well; deep recesses where, veiled in foliage, some wild shy rivulet steals with timid music through breathless caves of verdiue ; gulfs where feathered crags rise like castle walls, where the noonday sun pierces with keen rays athwart the torrent, and the mossed arms of fallen pines cast wavering shadows on tlie illumined foam ; pools of liquid crystal turned emerald in the reflected green of impending woods ; rocks on whose rugged front the gleam of sunlit waters dances in quivering light; ancient trees hurled headlong by the storm to dam the raging stream with their forlorn and savage ruin; or the stern depths of im- memorial forests, dim and silent as a cavern, columned with innumerable trunks, each like an Atlas upholding its world of leaves, and sweating perpetual moisture down its dark and channelled rind ; some strong in youth, some grisly with decrepit age, nightmares of strange distortion, gnarled and knotted with wens and goitres ; roots intertwined be- neath like serpents petrified in an agony of contorted strife ; green and glistening mosses carpeting the rough ground, mantling the rocks, turning pulpy stumps to mounds of verdure, and swathing fallen trunks as, bent in the impotence of rottenness, they lie outstretched over knoll and hollow, like mouldering reptiles of the primeval world, while around, and on, and through them, springs the young growth that battens on their decay, — the forest devouring its own dead. » "It would be false coloring," says Parkman, " to paint the half-savage courcur dc buis as a romantic lover of nature." lie loved rather the lust of freedom, and the spirit of lawless adventure whieh he could indulge in the secret recesses of the nurthcm forest. — Ed. 1663-1763] The Coureurs de Bois 185 Or, to turn from its funereal shade to the light and life of the oi)en woodland, the sheen of sparkling lakes, and moun- tains basking in the glory of the summer noon, flecked by the shadows of passing clouds that sail on snowy wings across the transparent azure. [With this roaming element in the population it was inevi- table that exploration should make rapid strides. Yet hitherto no systematic effort towards the discovery of new territory had been made. The missionary thought only of the commerce of souls, and the courenr de hois only of the traflic in brandy and furs. The results had, therefore, been desultorj' and evanescent. Under the energetic administra- tions of Tracy, Courcelle, and Frontenac, and fostered by the commercial sagacity and zeal of Talon, a definite purpose was substituted for the fitful energy that had formerly pre- vailed. To Talon indeed we indirectly owe the discovery of the Mississippi, for on his initiative Joliet and Marquette were, in 1673, sent in search of that rumored river. They were successful in their quest, but it remained for La Salle to pursue its course to tlie sea, and to lay the foundations of a New France in the South. — Ed.] |j n i 1 86 The Struggle for a Continent [167a DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI [A CHEAT pniject, and fraught witli results of the highest unportance, occupieil the mind of the lutendant Talon in the closing days of liis administration. Curious reports had reached him from the Indians of the existence of a mighty waterway in the far western interior. La SaUe liad already explored two of the avenues by which it might be approached, and now to push the quest to a successful conclusion Talon m 1672 made choice of Louis Joliet, then recently returned from Lake Superior. "Joliet," says Parkman,«was the son of a wagon-maker in tlie service of the Company of the Hundred Associates. He was born at Quebec in 1645, and was educated by the Jesuits. When still very yomig, he resolved to be a priest. He received the tonsure and tlie minor orders at the age of seventeen. Not long after, however, he renounced his cleri- cal vocation, and turned fur-trader. " In fthat 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, well-educated, courageous, hardy, and enterprising." ^ Of a very different stamp was the Jesuit, Jacques Mar- quette, who was chosen to accompany him. He was born in 1C37, of an old and honorable family, at Laon, in the North > La Salle and the DiscoTery vi the Great West, Ch. V. ,!*. ««73] Discovery of the Mississippi 187 of France, and was now about, thirty-five years of ajje. Since 166H lie liad been a Jesuit missionary in Canada, and for some years past had occupied the distant fiehl of Michil- limackinac. Ardent, mystical, and self-sacrificing, there was in him the temper of tlie early martyrs, the unquestion- ing devotion which sustained ( Jarnier and Jogues in dangers before which even the bravest might well (juail. — Kd.] Marquette begins the journal of liia 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 (Jod the favor of being enabled to visit the nations on the river Mississippi,— this very day was precisely that on which M. Joliet ariived with orders from Count Frontenac, our governor, and from :\r. Talon, our intendant, to go with me on this discovery. 1 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 esj>ecially of the Illinois, who, when I was at Point St. Esprit, had begged me very earnestly to bring the word of God among them." The outfit of the travellers was very simple. They pro- vided 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 IVfay. 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 JIar(|uette, « I placed our vojage under the protection of the Holy Virgin Immacidate, prom- ising that, if she granted us the favor of discovering the » La Salle and the Discovery of the Great ''est, Ch. V. i88 The Struggle for a Continent [1673 i ti? i673l Discovery of the Mississippi 1S9 fMt'ut river, I would give it tlie name of tlie Conception," ^ .ic'ir course was »ve.stwanl ; anil, plyinj.' their paddles, they jiassed the straits of Micliilliniackiiiuc, and ousted the nortliern shores of I^ike Michigan ; laiuUng at evening to build tlieir camp-tire at the edge of tlii; forest, and draw up their canoes on the strand. They soon reached the river Menomoine, and ascended it to the village of the Menomo- nies, or Wild-rice Indians. Wljeu they told them the object of their voyage, tlu-y were filled with astonislmient, 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 i)art of the river, whose n^ar could be heard at a great distance, and who would engulf them in the abyss wliere he dwelt ; that its wateifi were full of fright- ful monstt"-- who would devour them and their canoe; and, finally, that the heat was so great that they would perish in- evitably. Marquette set their ciniusel 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 mi.ssion at the head of r.rcen Bay; entered Fox IJiver; with difficulty and labor dragged their canoes up the long and tunmltuous rapids , crossed Lake Winnebagti; and followed the quiet windings of the river beyond, where they glided through an endless growth of wild 1 ice, and scared the innumerable birds that fed upon it. On either hand rolled the jirairie, dotted with groves and trees, browsing elk and deer. On the seventh of June, they reached the Mascoutius and Mianiis, who, since the visit of Dablon and Allouez, had been joined by the Kickapoos, Marquette, wiio had au e}e for natural 1 !: j 190 The Struggle for a Continent [1673 Waiity, was deliffhti-tl wiih the situation of the town, which he (le.s('iil)t'.s as standinj,' on the crown of a hill; while, all arouiul, the juaiiie stretched beyond tlie sight, intersj^-rsed with groves aiul belts of tall forest. iJut he was still more delighted when he saw a cross planted in the midst of the Jilace. The Indians had decorated it with a number of dressed deer-skins, red girdles, and bows and arrows, wiiich they had liung upon it as an ollering to the (Jreat Manitou of the French; a sight by which Maniuette says he was "extremely consoled." The travellers had no sooner reached the town than they called the chiefs and eldei-s to a council. .I(diet told them that the governor of Canada had sent him to discover new countries, and that CJod 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 end.arked again, with two Indians to conduct them. All the town came down to the shore to see tlie'r dei)arture. Here were tlie Mianns, witli long l„cks of hair dangling over each ear, after a fashion which Manpiette tliought very be- connng; and here, to.., the Mascoutins and tiie Kickapoos, whom he describes as mere b;-i !i;inl< <.] The travellers now held counsel as to what course they should take. They had gone far enough, as they thought, to establish one important {(oint : that the ]Mississi]ipidiseiiarged its waters, not into the Atlantic or sea of Virginia, nor into the (}ulf of California or Vermilion Sea, but into the CJulf of Mexico, They thought themselves nearer to its mouth than they actually were, the distance being still about seven hun- dred 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 Jie narrow confines of their birchen vessels, anchored on the river. Marquette was at- tacked 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, 13 ,-j .. . 194 The Struggle for a Continent [1673 they n-a.-hod the Illinois, and, entering its mouth, followed its course, ehanned, as lliey went, witli its j.lacid waters, its sliady forests, and its rieh j.lains, grazed by the bison and the deer. They stoj.ped at a spot soon to be made ainous in the annals of western discovery. This was a village of the Illinois, then called Kaskaskia ; a name afterwards trans- ferred to another locality. A chief, with a band of young waniors, olVcred to gui.le them to the Lake of the Illinois ; that is to say. Lake Michigan. Thither they repaired; and, coasting its shores, reached (Jreen 15ay at the end of Septem- ber, after an absence of alxjut four months, during which they liad paddled llieir canoes somewhat more than two thousand five liundred miles.' 1 La Salle and tho Discovery of the Great West, Ch. V. 1678] La Salle 195 LA SALLE » Conspicuous in the annals of Canada stands the memor- able name of Koliert Cavelier de La Salle, the man who, beyond all his compeers, contributed to ex[)and the boundary of French empire in the west. La Salle commanded at Fort Frontenac, erected near the outlet of I^ke Ontario, on its northern shore, and then forming the most advanced military outpost of the colony. Here he dwelt among Indians, and half-breeds, traders, voi/agcurs, bush-rangers, and Franciscan monks, ruling his little empire with absolute sway, enforcing respect by his energy, but ofiending many by his rigor. Here he brooded upon the grand design which had long engaged his thoughts. He had resob ' to complete the acliievement of Father Marquette, to . .ce the unknown Mississippi to its mouth, to plant the standard of his king in the newly discovered regions, and found colonies which should make good the sovereignty of France from the Frozen Ocean to Mexico. Ten years of his earlj life had passed, it is said, in connection with the Jesuits, and his strong mind had hardened to iron under the discipline of that ri'lentless school. To a sound judgment and a penetrating sagacity, he joined a boundless enterprise and an adamantine constancy of purpose. But his nature was stern and austere ; he was prone to rule by fear rather than by love ; he took counsel of no man, and chilled all who approached him by his cold reserve. > TLe Conspiracy of Pontiac, Vol. I., Ch. II. i i ll hi 196 The Struggle for a Continent [1679 Al l\w closi' uf tlio yoar 1078, his pivpa rations were eoin- lilele, and he (lespatched his alteiidants to the banks of ihe river Niagara, whither he soon followed in jierson. Here he bej^an a little fort of jialisades, and was the first military tenant of a sjxit destined to momentous consei^uence in future wars. Two leajrues above the cataract, on tiie eastern bank of the river, he built the first vessel which ever ex- S/anrd Bock plored the waters of the upper lakes. Her name was the "GritHn," and her burden was forty-five tons. On the seventh of August, 1670, sire began her adventurous voyage amid the speechless wonder of the Indians, who stood amazed, alike at the unwonted size of the wooden canoe, at the flash and roar of the cannon from her d< cks, and at the carved figure of a griltin, which rat ciouched upon her prow. She bore on her course along the virgin waters of Lake Erie, through the beautiful windings of the Detroit, and among i68o] La Salle 197 the restless billows of Lake Huron, where a furious tempest had well-uigh engulfed her. La Salle pursued his voyage along Lake Michigan in birch canoes, and after protracted suffering from famine and exposure readied its southern extremity on the eighteenth of October. He led his followers to the banks of the river now called t)ie St. Joseph. Here, again, he built a fort ; and here, hi after years, the Jesuits placed a mission and the government a garrison. Tlieuce he pushed on into the unknown region of the Hlinois; and now dangers and dithculties began to thicken about him. Indians threatened hostility ; his men lost heart, clamored, giew mutinous, and repeatedly deserted ; and worse than all, nothing was heard of the vessel which had been sent back to Canada for necessary supplies. Weeks wore on, and doubt ripened into certainty. She had foun- dered among the storms of these wilderness oceans; and her loss seemed to involve the ruin of the enterprise, since it was vain to proceed farther without the expected supplies. In this disastrous crisis. La Salle embraced a resolution characteristic of his intrepid temper. Leaving his men in charge of a subordinate at a fort which he had built on the river Hlinois, he turned his face again towards Canada. igS The Struggle for a Continent [leso LA SALIJ:s WIXTKIJ .KMI.'XKV ALOXd THK ILLINOIS JnVER AXI) TIIK vlHKAT LAKKS » La Sai,i,k well knew what was bofore liini, and iiotliing luiL neces.sily sjdinvtl hiin to this (Icsiifrale journey. He says that hecoiiM trust i.obody else to jfo in his stead, and that, unless the articles lost in the " (iriilin " were rejilaced wilh- out delay, the expedition would l)e retardtnl a full year, and he and his associates consumed by its expenses. "There- fore," he writes to one of them, " ihouj^h the thaws of ai>- proachinr,' sprinear them and too strong to permit them to break a way for the canoes. I'liey spent the whole day in carrying them through the woods, toiling knee- deep in saturated snow, llain fell in tioods, and they took shelter at night in a deserted Indian but. 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 tlie 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. It was a desolate and lonely scene : the river gliding dark and cold between its banks of rushes ; the empty lodges, covered with cruster' snow; the vast white meadows; the distant clitTs, bearded with shining icicles; and the hills ml) 1 1? I u > I fl 1l; It T^f li 200 The Struggle for a Continent [1680 wrapped in forests, wliich glittered fr<»m afar with the icy incrustations that cased eadi frozen twig. Vet thi iv waa life in the savage landscape. The men saw buiraio widiu" in the snow, and they killed one of them. More than this: they discovered the tracks of moccasins. They cut ruslies by the e.lge of the river, i)iled them on the bank, and set them on iire, 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, i)romised 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 residt of these advances, gained from the chief a promise that he would seud provi- sions to Tonty's party at Fort Crfeveco-ur. 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 aI)ove 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 ;i then launched them and pushed their way up- * lu the present State of Illinois. — Ed. i68oi La Salle's Winter Journey 201 ward, battling willi tlie lloating ice, which, loosened hy a warm rain, drove down the swollen current in sheets. On the eighteenth, they reached a point some miles below the site of .Toliet, and here found the river once more completely closed. IJespairiiig of farther progress by water, they liid their canoes on an island, and struck across the countr}- for Ijake "Michigan. It was tlie worst of all seasons for such a journey. The nights were cold, but the sun was warm at noon, and the half-thawed i)rairie was one vast tract of mud, water, and discolored, lialf-liquid snow. On the twenty-second, they crossed marslies and inundated meadows, wading to the kni;e, till at noon they were stopjHid by a river, jterhaps the Calu- met. They made a raft of hard-wood timber, for there was no other, and shoved themselves acnjss. 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. Jose|)h. Here La Salle found Chapelle and Leblanc, tlie two men whom he had sent from hence to Michilli- mackinac, in search of the " Gritfin." 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 Ci'fevecoeur ; while he pushed onward with his party through the unknown wild of South- ern 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 I In tr ■m 202 The Struggle for a Continent [icso brainl.les that in two days and a half our (dothes were all torn and our faces so covered with Mood that we hardly knew each other. On the twenty-ei<,dilh, we found the woods more oix-n, and he{,'an 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, hear, 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. " The Indians d(j not hunt in this region, which is debat- able ground between five or six nations who are at war, and, being afraid of each other, do not venture mto these parts, except to surprise each other, and always with the greatest luecautiou and all possible secrecy. The reports of our guns a the carcasses of the animals we killed soon led some of ti.uin 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, ami we posted ourselves behind trees with <«ir guns, these savages, who are called Wapoos, took us for Iroquois, and thinking that there nujst 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 Irocpiois war-party, witli signs for pris- oners and for scalps, after the custom of those dreaded war- riors. This ingenious artifice, as will soon a{>pear, was near '68o] La Salle's Winter Journev 203 l>r()vin<,' the ilestruclioii of the whole jKirty. He also set lire to the dry j,Ma.ss of the i-rairios (.ver which he uiid his men had just -issed, thus dcstroyin;^ the traces of their passajje. " We pradised this device every ni;,dit, and it answered very well .so lon{^ as we were passiiijf over an .)|ien country; imt, on the thirtieth, we got into great marshes, Hooded hy the thaws, and were ol)lit water. Their ca»io« hein*^ made, th»>y embarked in it, and for a lime llonted jiros- jicrously down the stream, when at len<,'th the way was barred by a matted liarrii^ade of trees fallen across the water. The sick men couhl now walk a^jain, and, ]iushiM^' eastward throuj,'h the forest, the larty soon reached the banks of the Detroit. Im Salle directed two of the men to make a canoe, and go to Michillimacki lac, the nearest harl)ora<,'e. With the re- maining,' two, he crossed the Detroit on a raft, ami, strikinjr a direct line across the covnitry, reacheil Lake Krie, not far from Point Pel(?e. Snow, sleet, and rain pelted them with little intermission; and when, after a walk of aliout thirty miles, they gained the lake, the Mohc^'an and one of the Frenchmen were attacked with fever and spitting of blood. Only one man now remained in health. With his aid, I-a Salle made another canoe, and, embarking the invalids pushed for Niagara. It was Kaster Monday when they landed at a cabin of logs above the cataract, ])robably on the spot where the " (iritUn " was built. Here several of La Salle's men had been left the year before, and here they still re- raained. 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 ir than twenty-two thousand livres, had been totally Wiccked 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, >««o] La Salle's Winter Journey 205 while all l.iit four of tlio icMimin.I.r, iK-ing t..l,l that he was (ieail, had fouinl iiu-aiis to ivturii home. His thiL'c followers were all unfit f..r travel: h»^ alono re- laiiie.1 his streujrtli an.l spirit. Taid it to the utn <, of its endur- ance. The pioneer of western pioneers was no rude son of toil, but a man of thought, trained amid arts and letters.i He had reached his goal; but for him there was neither rest nor i)eace. Man and Nature seemed in arms against him. His agents had j.lundered him; his creditors" had seized his property ; and several of his canoes, richly laden, had been lost in the rajuds of the St. Lawrence. He hastened to Montreal, where his sudden advent cause.l great astonish- ment ; and where, despite his crippled resources and damaged credit, he succeeded, within a week, in gaining the supplies which he required, and the needful succ<.rs for the forlorn band on the Illinois. He had returned to Fort Frontenuc, I A Rocky Mountain tnippr. Vinvnry of the Great West, Ch. XX. ! 1 i68a] La Salle's Discovery of Louisiana 209 right the nicnith of a great river ; and the clear current was invaded by the headlong torrent of the Alissfturi, o{ia(|ue witli nnid. They huilt their camp-Hres in the neighboring forest ; and at daylight, embarking anew on the dark and mighty stream, drifted swiftly down towards unknown desti- nies. They pas.'sed 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 lUull's. They en- camped, and the hunters went out for game. All returned, excepting Pierre Prudhomme ; and, as the othei-a had seen fresh tracks of Indians, La Salle feared that he was killed. While some of his followers >^'iilt 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 searcli, they met two Chickasaw Indians in the forest ; and, through them. La Salle sent presents and {)eace- mes.'sages to that warlike people, whose villages were a few days' journey distant. Several days later, Prudhomme was found, and brought in to camp, half-dead. He had lost his way while hunting, and, to console him for liis woes, La Salle christened the newly built fort with his name, and loft 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 canebrake, till on the thirteenth of March they found themselves wrapped in a 14 ;l 2IO The Struggle for a Continent [icsa thick fog. Neither shore was visible; but they heard on the right the booniing of an Indian drum and the slirill outcries of the warnlance. La Salle at (jnce 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 tlie strange visitors at th.ur work. Some of the French ad- vanced to the edge of the water, and beckoned them to come over. Several oi them approached, in a wooden canoe, to within the distance of a gun-shot. La Salle displayed 'the calumet, and sent a Frenchman t(j meet them. He was well received; and, the friendly mood of tlie Imlians being now apparent, the whole party crossed tlie river. On landing, they found themselves at a town of the Kappa band of the Arkansas, a i)eo])le dwelling near tlie mouth of the river which bears their name. " The whole village," writes Membrd to his sui)erior, " 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 i)oles to make huts, sup- plied us with firewood during tlie three days we were among them, and took turns in feasting us. But, my lieverend Father, this gives no idea of the good (pialities 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." After touching at several other towns nf this v-.-ople the voyagers resumed their course, gu'ded by two of the i68a] La Salle's Discovery of Louisiana 2 1 1 Arkansas ; passed the sites, since become historic, of Vicks- burg and CJrand Gulf; and, about three hundred miles below the Arkansas, sloi»i)ed by the edge of a swamp on the western side of the river. Here, as tlieir two guides told them, was the path to the great town of the Taensas. On the next morning, as they descended tlie river, they saw a wooden cauijc full of Imlians ; and Tonty gave chase. lie had nearly overtakiMi 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 eucamiHjd on the opposite bank. Tonty ofVered to cross tlie 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 lespond in his stead. T^ Salle and Membrd now joined him, and went with the Indians to tlieir village, three leagues distant. Here they spent the night. "The Sieur de la Salle," writes IMembi-d, "whose very air, engaging maimers, tact, and addrt-ss attract love and rchpect alike, produced such an effect on the hearts of these people that they did not know how to treat us well enough." On the sixth of April, the river divided itself into three broad channels. La Salle fijUowed that of the west, and D'Autray 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 br^^d 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. 21? The Struggle for a Co.^tinent [.esa U Salle, i„ a can..e, coasted L?ie mr.tshy borders of the sea; and tj.en the reunite.l j^artit.;, a:i.cur.ied on a sjK.t of «iry ground, a .short distance above the mouth of the river Here u column was n.mle rea.ly. bearing the arn.s of France and inscribed with the words,— ' Lons Lk (JijAxi., ]{ov „K Fkanck et dk Navarre, KK'INK; 1,K XKIVli'MK AviUI,, 1(182. The Freuch.uen were nmsUMcd under arms; and, while the Aew EnjrluMd iu.lians and their s,,uaws ' looked on in wondenn. .sdence, they .-hantcl the 7V Jfau,, the ErmuUat an.l the />././«,■ s.h-um /,„■ Pu;,an. Then, amid volleys of musketry and shouts of Vive Ir /!,n, U Salle ,.lante,l the column in its place, and, standing near it, i.ro.-laimed in a loud voice, — Mn the name of the m..st high, mighty, invincible, and victorious Prince, Louis the Great, by the grace of (Jod King of France and of Navarre. Fourteenth of that name, I this ninth day of April, one tliousand 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 ' La Salle's p.rty inclu.lod oishfr^n of Lis Alx-n.-iki and Moho. a,, allies w. h ton o the,r s,,uaw.s and their chil.lren. ..Those, his new frio;!! .'^id li^Zi:^r'^'' ^'"^^ ""'""'^"^ ^"^"^ '-' ^^^''^^ ^"« border hLn^U i68ai La Salle's Discovery of Louisiana 213 also along the river Coll)ert, or Mississippi, and the rivers which discharge tliemselves thereinto, from its source be- yond the country of the Nadouessioux ... as far as its mouth at the sea, or (Julf of Mexico, and also to the mouth of tlie River of Palms, upon the assurance we have ijad from tlie natives of these countries, that we are the first Euro|)eans wlio have descended or ascended the said river (Jolbert; hereby protesting against all who may hereafter undertake to invade any or all of these aforesaid countries, peojiles, or lands, to tlie prejudice of the rights of his Majesty, acquired by the consent of the nations dwelling herein. 0* 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 Ic 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 Vcxilla 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 AUeghanies to the bare i)eaks of the Rocky Mountains, — a region of savannahs and forests, sun-cracked deserts, and grassy prairies, watered by a thousand rivers, ranged by a thousand warlike tribes, passed beneath the 214 The Struggle for a Continent iiesa sceptre vi tlie Sultan of Versailles; ami all bv virliie <»f a fec'lile Imiiiaii Vdice, iiiaudibU' at half a mile. Louisiana was tlif name Itesttiwed by La Salle' on the new domain of the Ficnch crown. The rule <»f the llourbons in the West is a memory of the ]>ast, but the name of the Oreat King still survives in a narrow corner of their lo.st emiiire. The L(»uisiana of to-day is but a sin<^le Slate of the American repuldic. The Louisiana (»f !.a Salle .stretched from the Alle<,dianies to the Kocky Mountains; from the Rio (Jrande and the thilf to the farthest sj.rings of the Missouri. The first staj^e of his enterjuise was accomplished, but labore no less arduous remained lu-hind.^ Iiepuirinj:^ to the court <»f France, he was welcomed with ridily merited favor, and .soon set sail for the mouth of the Mi.ssissip])i, with a S(piadron of vessels freij^hted with men and material for the projected colony. Hut the folly and obstinacy of a jealous naval commander blighted his fairest hopes. The s.piadron missed the mouth of the river; and the wreck of one of the vessels, and the desertion t)f the commander, completed the ruin of the expedition. La Salle landed with a band of half- fami.slied followers on the coast of Texas; but di.saster fol- lowed disaster, and as a desperate resource he determined to seek the Mississippi, and foll»»w its tortuous course towards Canada where lay the only hope of rescue for the despairing colony. On this fatal journey he met his death at the hands of one of his own followers. 1 La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West, Ch. XXI. !" The Coiisi>iracy of Poutiac, Vol. I. Ch. II. 16871 The Assassination of La Salle 2«5 THE ASSASSINATION OF LA SALLE » HoLDiNd a northerly course, the travellers cntssetl the Brazos, and reached the waters of the Trinity. The weather was unfavorahle, ami on one ctccasion they encanijied in the rain during four or five days together. It was not an har- monious company. I^ Salle's cold aiul 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 v.'ere men of some property, had a large pecuniary stake in the enterprise, and were disappointed and incensed at its ruinous result. They had a (juarrel 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 ; antl 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 I^a Salle, whom he charged with having caused the death of his brother, or, as some will have \t, 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. The party moved again as the weather improved, and on the fifteenth of March encamiml within a few miles of a spot which La Salle had passed on his preceding journey, 1 La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West, Ch. XXVII. Vi' ! :i? 2i6 The Struggle for a Continent I1687 and where lie had left a quantity o{ Imlian -n ami beans in cache; that is to say, hidden in the jrioiuid or in a Imllow tree. As provisions u-.-ie fallinst, they won! 1 not ha told me of any had .les.^n -hi-y might have. \\ were v, -v uneasy all the n>st of ih-" evening." In the morning, La Salle s.H out with his .jia., He had change.! his min.l with regar.1 t.. J. I. who, .c now directed t.. remain in , harge of the car,, an.] t.. k,-.„ a careful watch. He t..l,l th.- fnar Ar.astas. (. .av to con.e with hin, umtea.l ..f .f.,.,te]. • h..se ,.,n, whi.h • ' the hest in the T-arty. h- hon-owe.l f. ,• th.- occasion, as -H as h^ pistol. The three nro-ocde! - fh,:- tv-.,v T - r. i - - '^^*^ THi,. way. La .>all, , ih* tna .-ye 'lie u. '•V i Tl le •^7] The Assassinati'm of La Salle 219 furti ■}■'• or i bis lit" &n<\ (he Iii'Jan. "All the \\u\ " writes i le friar, " he sjvike to nu» of nt.ihin^' '>ut matlors >>i ^»iL•r^ , graci', uul prt-destinn- ti<»n ; enlar^'ing on the debt h 'iwlmI t., Ootl, who huii savetl li !i iroiii HO iiiany jierils tlurii ■? iii'irc than twenty year» of travta in America. Suddenly, i saw luni overwhelmed with a jTofr ind ,-adness for which he liiinself could not account. Hi wi! so much vcd tli I I scarcely knew hira." He s(H 1 ri>< 'verei' 'n usual calnmes , and they walked on till thcv approaci lae camp of Duhant, which was on the of :■: - nail river. L(H)ki!i about him with the V lan, L;i Salle saw ean;les circling in rl - hii IS if attracte. .. carcasses of beasts JS} and his piste ■ as a summons to any who 'it l>e within hearing. The shots .e ears of thi conspirators. Kightly conjecturing l«y whuiii they were fii>'d, several < ' them, led by Duhaut, Hissed the river at a little distance above, where trees or oiHer intervening objects hid them '' n : >,'ht. Duhaut and the surgeon crouched like India: ^ ne long, dry, reed-like grass of the last suiamer's growi in ight near tlie bank. La SiiHr .si saw him, au"'" »nicii lie was never "viiie iJautol i|.e sum, „.!,„„„„ , Louisiana. " coion} ot » The ronsj.irary of Pontine, Vol. [., (•},. |I. I6591 Fran9ois de Laval 223 FRAN(;'OIS DE LAVAL [The dominant figure who moulded the policy of the church in Canada, and staini)ed liis personality upon almost every institution political and religious in the New France of the seventeenth century, now demands our attention. Francois Xavier de Laval Montmorency, a cadet of the noble house of Montmorency, sailed for Canada in the year IfiuO with the rank of Vicar Apostolic and the title of liishop of Petru'a. He was then thirty-six years of age. After many years of dispute with the Archbishop of Kouen, who df'sired to exercise a personal sway over all ecclesiastical appointments in Canada, I^aval was created, in 1G74, the first liishop of Quebec. He forthwith established the famous seminary at Quebec which now, as Laval University, still preserves the name and memory t)f its founder. His char- acter was stern and unyielding, and his long career in Canada was marked by incessant confiict with successive governors. With Argenson he quarrelled on the (piestion of precedence. The next governor, Avangour, incurred his wrath fur con- doning the distribution of brandy among the Indians. Mezy, his own nominee, presumed to interfere with I^val's predi)m- inance in the afTairs of the Council, and bitter friction was the result. His actions were j)ronipted by no selfish motives of jK-'rsonal aggrandizement, but resulted from his unflinch- ing loyalty to his churcli. At last, worn out with his labors, he went to Paris, and there resigned his liisliopric in January 1088. Ueturning to the country of his choice, he died 1 224 The Sruggle for a Continent [,659 at Quebec «u the sixth of May, 1708, at the age of eighty- SIX. — Kd.j Several portraits of Laval are extaut.^ A drooj.iug nose of portentous size; a well-foriued f(.rehead; a hw^v strongly arciied; a briglit. clear eye; scauty hair, half hidden by a black skulkap; thin lips, compressed and rigid, betray- ing a s]iirit not easy to move or ct)nvince ; features of that indescribalde cast which marks the i)riestly type: such is Laval, as lie looks grindy down on us from the dingy canvas of two centuries ago. He is one of those concern- ing wliom Protestants and Catholics, at least ultramon- tane Catholics, will never agree in judgment. Tlie task of eidogizing him may safely be left to those of his own way of thinking. It is for us to regard him from the standpoint of secular history. And, first, let us credit Inm with .cmcerity. He believed firndv that the princes and rulers of this world ouglit to be subject to guidance and control at tlie hands of the Pope, the Vicar of Christ on oartli. lUa he himself was the Pope's vicar, and, so far as he bounds of Canada extended, the Holy Father ha.l clothed •nu witli his own authority. The glory of (Jod demanded that this authority should suffer no abatement, a.ul he, Laval, * The Old iioginiu in Caiiiul.i, Ch. VIM. Mijr. eitliil to th.. icpivsciitative of lovnUv. On .Kcasi.,,, ,.r ,!„. ".soh'.nn.rate.hisn.," the bishop in- Mstnl that the ehildren .shouhl sahile him hefoie sahitir.R the goveii.nr. A.|r,.„son, heariii- of this, .U-elined to comt" A eompromise was eontiived. It was agre.'d that when the rival di^'iiitaries entered, th.' .hihlren .sh..uld he husied in some manual exerei.se whi.l, .should j.revent tlieir .saluting either. Xeverlheless, two l.ov.s," enticed and set on by their parents." :ialuted the {Tovernor first, t.. the great indignation of Laval. They were whipped on the next day for hreaeh of orders. Next there was a sharp .juarrel about a sentence pro- nouneed by Laval against a heretic, to which the governor. go.^d Catliolic as he wa.s, took exception. I'alm .Sunday eame, and there could be no procession and no distribution of branches, because the governor and the bishoj) could not agree on points of precedence. On the day of the Fete Dieu, however, there was a grand procession, which stopj^d from time to time at tcmi.orary altars, or repomirs, placed at in- tervals along its course. One of these was in the fort, where the soldiers were drawn up, waiting the arrival of the pro- cession. Laval demanded that they should take off their hats. Argensoii assented, and the soldiers stood uncovered. Laval now insisted that they .shoidd kneel. The governor replied that it was tlieir duty as soldiers to stand: where- upon the bishop refused to stop at the altar, and ordered the procession to move on. The p.bnve incidents are ^,ct down in the private journal iMi) Francois de Laval 229 of the superior of the .h'suilM, wliich was not meant for the |)ubli(! eye. The bi.Hhop, it will be seen, was. by the showing of his frienils, in most lases tlie ajj^ressor. The disputes in <|uestion,tlioii^h of a nature to provoke a smile on irreverent lips, were by no means so puerile as they appear. It is (iitticult in a nioderii tlemot;ratic sm-iety to conceive the substantial imjKirtance of the signs and symbols of dignity ntid authority, at a time and among a peojile where they Nvt're adjusted with tlie most scruitulous precision, and ac- cepted by all classes as ex|H>nents of relative degrees in the social ami political .scale. Whether the bi.shop or the governor .shouM sit in the higher seat at table thus Itecame a jHjlitical question, for it defined to the popular understand- ing the position of Church and State in their relations to government. 230 The Struggle for a Continent [i68g THE IlJOgUOIS TKRHOR' TnK clasinjj days of Denonville's administration were days of ploom and consternation for tlie colony. In the direction of the Iroquois, there was a h)ng and ominous silence. It was broken at last by the crash of a thunderbolt. On the niglit between the fourth and fifth of Au^'ust, 1689, a violent hail-storm burst over Lake St. Louis, an ex^tansion of the St. Lawrence a little above Mon- treal. Concealed by the temi)est and the darkness, fifteen hundred warriors landed at La Chine, and silently |H)sted themselves about the houses of the sleeping settlers, then screech ■(! the war-whoop, and l>cgan tiie most frightful massacre in Canadian histor}-. The houses were burned, and men, women, and children indiscriminately but( hered. In the neigliborhood were three stockade forts, called \t6my, Ifoland, and T^ Presentation; and they all had garrisons. There was also an encampment of two hundred regid.irs about three miles distant, under an oflicer named Sul)ercase, then absent at Montreal on a visit to Denonville, who had lately arrived with his wife and family. At four o'clock in the morning, the troops in this encampment heard a cannon- shot from one of the forts. They were at once ordered under arms. Soon after, they saw a mrni running towards them, just escaped from tlie butchery. He told his story, and passed on with the news to Montreal, six miles distant. ' Count Frontcnae ami New Friinee umler Louis XIV., Cli. I.X. 1089) The Iroquois Terror 231 Then sevpral i>ij,ntives apix-nred, rhaw by a hand of Im (jiutis, whut a hundred armed inhabitants nad joined them, and they moved together towards Ia Chine. ]f°re they found the houses still l)urning, md the botlies of tiieir inmates strewn among them or hangiii<; from the stakes where they had been tortured. They learned from a Krencli surgeon, escaiwd from the enemy, that ihe Irofjuois were all encamjied a mile and a half farther on, beliind a tract of forest. Subercase, whose force had been .stu-ngthened by troops from the forts, resolved to attack them; and, had he been allowed to do so, he would probably have punished them severely, for most of them were heljilessly dmnk with brandy taken from the houses of the traders. Sword in hand, at tlie head ? his liOn, .' ;ie < 1. v Jier de Vaudreuil, just come from Montrea! ali , ' .-'itive orders from Denoj.ville to run no risks an '■i/"'*. folely on the defersiv . Subercase was furious. Hipii words passed iH-t.vci'U Mm and Vaudreuil, hut he was forced to obey. The troops were led back to Fort Roland, where about five htuidred regular* lud militia 'xcim now follected under com- mand of Vaudr. ul. (^n the next day, eighty men from Fort Kdmy attempted to join them ; but the Iroquois had slept off the effect of their orgies, and were again on the alert. The unfortunate detachmt was set upf)n by a host of savage.s, and cut to pieces in fuli '.ght of Fort Roland. All were killed or captured, except •aj Moyne de Longueuil, and a few others, w^ho escaped within the gate of Fort R^my. 232 The Struggle for a Continent (,689 Montreal was wild with tern.r. It had been fortiKed with palisades since the war be-an ; but, though tliere were troops in the town under the goveriior himself, the people were in mortal dread. No attack was made either on the town or on any of the forts, antl such of the inhabitants as couhl reach them were safe ; while the Iroquois held undispute.l possession of the open country, burned all the houses and barns over an extent of nine miles, and n^amed in small parties, pillaging and scalping, over more than twenty miles There is no mention of tlieir having encountered oppo; ^tion; nor do they seem to have met with any loss but that of some warriors killed in the attack on the detachme.it from Fort li^my, and that of three drunken stragglers who were caught and thrown into a cellar in Fort La Prdsentation When they came to their senses, they defied their captors, and fought with such ferocity that it was necessary to shoot them. Charlevoix says that the invaders remained in the neighborhood of Montreal till the middle of October, or more than two months ; but this seems incredible, since troops and mUitia enough to drive them all into the St. Lawrcnce might easily have been collected in less than a week. It is certain, however, that their stay was strangely long. Troops and inhabitants seem to have been paralyzed with fear. At length, most of them took to their canoes, and recrossed Lake St. Louis in a body, giving ninety yells to show that they had ninety prisoners in their clutches. This was not all ; for the whole number carried off was more than a hun- dred and twenty, besides about two hundred who had the good fortune to be killed on the spot. As the I.o.juois passed the forts, they shouted, « Onontio, you deceived us, and now we have deceived you." Towards evening, they encamped on the farther side of the lake, and began to tor- icsg] Th'^ Iroquois Terror 233 ture and devour their prisoners. On that miserable night, stupefied and sj)eechless groups stood gazing from the strand of La Chine at the lights that gleamed along the distant shore of Chateaugay, where their friends, wives, parents, or children agonized in the fires of the Iroquois, and scenes were enacted of indescribable and nameless horror. The greater part of the prisoners were, however, reserved to be distributed among the towns of the confederacy, and there tortured for the diversion of the inhabitants. While some of the invaders went home to celebrate their triumph, others roamed in small parties through all the upper parts of the colony, spreading universal terror. Canada lay bewildered and benumbed imder the shock of this calamity ; but the cup of her misery was not full. There was revolution in England. James II., the friend and ally of France, had been driven from his kingdom, and William of Orange ha 1 seized his vacant throne. Soon there came news of war between the two crowns. The Iroquois alone had brought the colony to the brink of ruin ; and now they would be supported by the neighboring British colonies, rich, strong, and populous, compared to impoverished and depleted Canada.^ ' Oovcrnor Dcnonvillc was succeeded in 1689 by Louis de Riiade, Comte de Frontenac, the most distin<;ui.shed of the goveniors of New France. Ho was first appointed to the post in 1672, but was recalled ten years later as the result of bitter friction with the Intendant Duchesm-au. The interval between his dismissal in 1682 and liis ,-e-appointment in 1689 was rife with disaster for Canada. Frontenac once more at the head of affairs promptly assumenn Queliec under the command of Sir William Phips. The 'English were repulsed and French prestige in America was in uonsecfuence much enhanced. Fronteiiai.'s brilliant administration dosed with his death in November, ICyS, in his seventy-eighth year. — Ed. 234 The Struggle for a Continent [1690 THE MASSACHUSETTS EXPEDITION AGAINST gUEBKC'i When, after his protracted voyage, I'liips sailetl into the liasin of guebec,* one of the grandest scenes on tlie western continent opened upon !iis sight : the wide exjianse of waters, (he lofty promontory beyond, and the opposing heights of Ix'vi ; the cataract of Montniorenci, tlie distant range of tlie I^urentian Mountains, the warlike mck with its diadera of walls and towers, the roofs of the Lower Town clustering on the strand beneath, the Chateau St. Ixmis perched at the brink of (he cliff, and over it the white l)anner, spangled with fleurs-de-lis, flaunting defiance in the clear autumnal air. rerliap=, as he gazed, a suspicion seized him that the task he had undertaken was less ca.sy than he had thought ; but he had conquered once by a simple summons to surrender, and he resolv'id to try its virtue again. The fleet anchored a little below Quebec; and towards ten f)'clock tlie JVench saw a boat i)ut out from tlie admi-nl's ship, bearing a Hag of truce. Ftmr canoes went from the Lower Town, and met it midwpy. It brought a subaltern officer, who announced himself as the bearer of a letter from Sir Wdliam I'hips to the; French commander. He was taken into one of the canoes and ;taddled to (he (juay, after being completely blindfolded by a bandage whicli covered half his » Count Fronterwc ami New Franrp •iiiiier Louis XIV., Ch. .XIII. * Hi- liad with liiiii tliirty-four ships m all. Four were large shijis, scvfral others were of considorablf si/., . and the rest were brigs, s<'liooiiers, and lishing- craft, all thronged with men. i«9o] Expedition against Quebec 235 face. I*r«5vost receivetl liira as he landed, and ordered two sergeants to lake hira by the anus and leail him to t't^e gov- ernor. His ])riirc]>aration, they dragged liim over the lliree barricades of MiMintain Street, and brought liim at last into a large room of the cliftUsau. Here they to<'k the bandage from liis eyes. ]ft> .stood for a moment with an air of astonishment and some confusion. The governor stoinl before him, haughty and .stern, surroundetl by French and Canadian oth<;ers, Maricourt, Sainti'-Hc^l^ne, Longueuil, Villebon, Valrenne, liienviile, and many more, liedecked with gold hice mui silver lace, perukes and powder, plumes and ribbons, and all the martial foi)pery in wliich they took delight, and regarding the envoy with keen. uteu.Mon. Ami although the cruelties and Itarharities used against them hv the French and Indians might, upon the present opportunity, I)rompt unto a severe revenge, yet, bt.-ijjg desirous to avoid all in- humane and unciiristian-like actiuna, and to prevent sheddiu" of blood as much aa may be, " I, the aforesaid William I'liips, Knight, do hereby, in the name and in the behalf of their most excellent Majesties, William and Mary, King and Queen of En;,'la!vl, Scotland, France, and Ireland, Defenders of the Fuitli, and by onler of their .'o.iil Maj- esties' government of tlie Massachuset-colony in Now England, demand a present surrender of your forts and oastles. und.mol- ishcd, and the king's and otiicr stores, unimbez/led, with a seasonable delivery of all cajitives; together with a surrender of all your persons and estates to my dispose: upon the lioiiig whereof, you may expect mercy from me, as a Christian, accord- ing to what shall be found for their Majesties' service and the sidijects' security. Which, if you refuse forthwith to do, 1 am cone provided, and am resolved, by tli*- help of God, in whom 1 trust., by force of arms to revenge all wrongs and injuries offered, and bring you under subjection to the Crown of England, and, when too late, make you wish yoii liad accepted of the favour tendereil. " Your answer positive in an hour returned by your own trum- pet, with the return of mine, is required upon the peril that will ensue." * When the reading was fini.sju'd, (he P^nglishnian imllcd his watch from his ]X)cket, and handed it to the governor. • See the Letter in M:iftier, MarjnaUa, I. 18t>. Tlie Fmicli kejit a copy of it, whi h, with an accurate translntion, in parallel cohinins, was sent to Ver- sailles, anr pretended that he ct)uhl not, see the hour. The mcsj-enger thereuiKiu told him that it was ten o'doi'k, and tlial he must liave liis answer before eleven. A geneml cry of indignation arose; and Valrenne called out that I'hips was nothing but a ])irate, and that his man oiiglit to be hanged. Fronteuac contained himself for a moment, and then said t(j the envoy : — " I will not kec}) you waiting so long. Tell your general that I do not recogni/e King William; and that the Prince of Orange, who so styles himself, is a usurper, who has vio- lateil the most .sacred laws of bLMul in atlemjiting to dethrone his father-in-law. I know no King of England but King Jarae.s. Your general ought not to ltly. He was again blindfolded, led over the barrii-ades, and sent back to the Heet by the boat that brought liim. rhi])s had often given proof of personal courage, but for the past three weeks liis conduct seems that of a man conscious that he is charged with a work too large for his capacity. He had sjient a good part of his time in hokling councils of war; and now, when he heard the answer of Frontenac, lie called another to consider what should be done. A plan of attack was at length arranged. The mili- tia were to be landed on the .shore of TJeauport, which was just below t,)uebec, though separated from it by the St. diaries. They were tiien to cross this river by a ford prac- ticable at low water, climb the heights of St. f Jenevii?ve, and gain tlie rear of the town. The small ves.sels of the Heet were to aid the movement by ascending the St. Charles as far as the ford, holding the enemy in check by their tire, and carrying provisions, ammunition, and intrenching tools, for tlic use of the land troojis. \Mien these had crossed and were ready to attack Quebec in the rear, Phips was to can- nonade it in front, and land two hundred men imder cover of liis guns to effect a diversion by storming the barricades. Some of the I'rencli prisoners, from whom their captors a\)- pear to have received a great deal of correct infi)rmation, told the admiral thaf there was a place a mile or two above the town where the heiglits mi^ht be scaled and the rear of the icgo] Expedition against Quebec 239 ftutitications reached from a direction opposite to that pro- lH)sed. This was precisely the movement by which Wolfe ul'terwards gaineil liis memorable victory ; but I'hijra chose to al)ide by tlie orijjinal jtlau. >v''hile the plan was debated, tlie opportunity for accom- plishing it ebbed away. It was still early when the mes- senger returned from (Quebec ; but, before I'hips was ready to act, the day was on the wane and the tide was against him. He lay quietly at his moorings wlien, in the evening a great shouting, nungled with tlie roll of drums and tlie sound of fifes, was heanl from the I'pper Town. The Kr>g- lish otlicers asked their prisoner, iJranville, what it mwiaL " Ma foi, Messieurs," he replied, " you have lost the ganm. It is the governor of Montreal with the ]»eople from the country above. There is nothing for you now but lo pack and go home." In fact, Calliferes had arrived with seven or eight hunched men, many of them regulars. With these were bands of roureurs de hois and other young Can,", lians, all full of figlit, singing and wl\oo])ing witli martial glee as •! ey passed the western gate and troo])ed down St. Louis Street. [An interval of a ilay elapsed with no im])ortant incident to record. Then on the following day, at about noon of Weihiosday, a great nundier of l)oats was seen t.] Meanwhile, I'hips, whose fault hitherto had not heen un excess of promptitude, grew impatient, and made a i»rema- ture movement inconsistent with the preconcerted plan. He left his moorings, anchored his largest ships before the town, and prepared to cannonaile it ; but the tiery vetcian who watched him from the Ciiuteau 8t. Louis, anticipated him, and gave him the Hrst shot. I'hips replied furiously, opening tire with every gun that he could bring to bear ; while the rock paid him back iii kind, and belched tianie and smoke from all its batteries.' [All day the cainionade continued, and the next day it was resumed with vigor. The precision of the New England gunners, or the ijuality of their ammunition was certainly defective, for their tire fell hannlessly within the town, or spent itself upon the dill'. The ships, on the other hand, sull'ered severely and gave over the hopeless conflict. — Ei».] Phips had thrown away nearly all his ammunition in this futile and disastrous attack, which should have been deferred till the moment when Walley, with his land force, had gained the rear of the town. The latter lay h\ his camp, his men wet, shivering with cold, famished, and sickening with the small-pox. Food, and all other suii])lies, were to have been brought him by the small vessels, which should have entered the mouth of the St. Charles and aideil him to cross it. liut he waited for them in vain. Every vessel that car- ried a gun had busied itself in cannonading, and the rest did not move.2 ' (imnt FroiitPimc and Npw France undiT Louis XIV., Ch. XIII. * From the siiino. 1690) Expedition against Quebec 241 [On Friday, tlu'iefuiv, tics j 'airing of success, WulU-y went oil board the adiuirars sliip to explain the situati«)iu Throughout that day and ti>e next, fretiuent Hkirniishcs tiMik jihicc about the ford of the river, and the New England men nobly sustained their reitutation for courage. ]>ut in their isolation nothing couhl be accomi)liahed, so on the night of Saturday they fell back to the landing jwiut and rejoined the fleet. — Kd.] Quebec remained in agitation and alarm till Tuesday,' wlien I'hips weighed anchor and disai»i>eared, with all liis fleet, behind the Island of (hleans. He did not go far, as indeed he could not, but stopped four leagues below to mend rigging, fortify wounded masts, and stop shot-holes. Subercase had gone with a detachment to watch the retiring enemy ; and Phips was repeatedly seen among his men, on a scaffold at the side of his ship, exercising his old trade of carpenter. Tliis delay was turned to good use by an exchange of prisoners. The heretics were gone, and Quebec breathed freely again. Her escape had been a narrow one ; not that three thousand men, in part regular troops, defending one of the strongest positit)ns on the continent, and commanded h)y Frontenae, could not defy the attacks of two thousand raw fishermen and farmers, led by an ignorant civilian, but the numbers which were a source of strength were at the same time a source of weakness. Nearly all the adult males of Canada were gathered at Quebec, and there was imminent danger of starvation. Cattle from the neighboring parishes had been hastily driven into the town ; but there was little other pro- vision, and before Phips retreated the pinch of famine had 1 Count Front«nacanJ New France under Louis XIV., Ch. XIII. 16 .■>, 242 Thr Struggle for a Continent (1690 Ix^'iin. llmi he iniiM' a \v»vk cailuT or sUyed a wt-ck later, tlie Krcnch lIit'mHclv.-.s l..lifV(Ml that (.hiphcr uuul.l have fiiUoii, ill :he iMu- case fur want (.f iiu-n, an 11 the other for want tif fiMiil. rhips roturii.d .iv.siialh'ii t.. r.(.,sinn hue in X<.veniher; aii.l one hy one the rest of the fh«et eaiue straj,'j,'linp afi,.r him, battered am' \vc;ilhM,l.t.aten. Some did not apin-ar till Fehniary, and tliree or funr newr came at all. The autumn and early winter were nnu.sually stormy. Captain ilain.sford, with sixty men, was wrecked on the Island of Autico.sti, where more than half their number died of eold and misery. In the other vessels, some were drowned, some frost-bitten, and above two liundred killed by small-jiox and fever. At Boston, all was dismay and gloom. The Puritan lx)wed before "this awful frown of (Jod," ;n' 1 searched his conscience for the sin that had brought upon him so stern a chastisement. Massachusetts, already impoverished, found herself in extremity. The war, instead of paying for itself, had burdened her with an additi(.nal debt of fifty thousand pounds. The sailors and soldiers were clamorous for their pay; and, to satisfy them, the colony was forced for the first time in its history to issue a pai)er currency. It was made receivable at a i>remium for all public del)ts, and was also fortified by a jnovision for its early rpdemi)tion by taxation ; a pr.)vision which was carried into effect in spite of poverty and distress. if,. ^ i69a| The Her*, ine of Verchcres 243 TIFK IlKIMtlXK (»F VKIMIIKHKS » Many iiu'iiU'iUs of this troubled time are preserved, J»ut none of tliern are ho well worth the rerord as the defence of the fort at Ver(•h^re3 by the yoiuij? daughter of the seignior, ^faiiy years later, the Mar([uis de lieauharnais, governor of Canada, caust'd the story to he written