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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/37341-8.txt b/37341-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..39f02ea --- /dev/null +++ b/37341-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9974 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Count Frontenac, by William Dawson LeSueur + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Count Frontenac + Makers of Canada, Volume 3 + +Author: William Dawson LeSueur + +Release Date: September 7, 2011 [EBook #37341] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COUNT FRONTENAC *** + + + + +Produced by David T. Jones, Ross Cooling and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Canada Team at +http://www.pgdpcanada.net + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Frontenac arms and signature] + + + + + THE MAKERS OF CANADA + + COUNT + FRONTENAC + + BY + WILLIAM D. LE SUEUR + + + + TORONTO + MORANG & CO., LIMITED + 1909 + + + + + _Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada in the + year 1906 by Morang & Co., Limited, in the Department of + Agriculture_ + + + + + PREFACE + + +The author of the following work desires to acknowledge his obligations +to two preceding writers who have dealt with the life and times of Count +Frontenac, the late Mr. Parkman, and M. Henri Lorin. The merits of the +former are too well known and too thoroughly established to need any +commendation at this time. If he charms by the lucidity and +picturesqueness of his style, none the less does he achieve a high level +of historical accuracy, and manifest the control of the true spirit of +historical criticism. The work of M. Lorin is, perhaps, less attractive +in point of style, but it treats the whole subject from an independent +point of view, and in a very comprehensive manner. It is a +treasure-house of carefully sifted facts in relation to the career of +Canada's most famous governor under the old régime. A certain French +writer once complimented another--a dim recollection suggests that it +was Buffon who so complimented President Debrosses in regard to his work +on language--by saying that whoever treated the same subject "_après +lui_" would also have to do it "_d'après lui_"; and such the author +inclines to think has, to some extent, been his situation in relation to +his two able and industrious predecessors. At the same time the present +work has not been written without consultation of original sources, and +it is trusted that it will be found--for Canadian readers especially--a +not unserviceable or uninteresting narrative. + + W. D. LE SUEUR + + + + + CONTENTS + + + _CHAPTER I_ Page + + CANADA BEFORE FRONTENAC, 1603 TO 1632 1 + + + _CHAPTER II_ + + CANADA BEFORE FRONTENAC, 1632 TO 1672 23 + + + _CHAPTER III_ + + THE BEGINNING OF FRONTENAC'S ADMINISTRATION 61 + + + _CHAPTER IV_ + + THE COMMENCEMENT OF TROUBLES 87 + + + _CHAPTER V_ + + DIVIDED POWER 105 + + + _CHAPTER VI_ + + THE LIFE OF A COLONY 131 + + + _CHAPTER VII_ + + GOVERNORSHIP OF M. DE LA BARRE, 1682 TO 1685 171 + + + _CHAPTER VIII_ + + GOVERNORSHIP OF MARQUIS DE DENONVILLE, 1685 TO 1689 197 + + + _CHAPTER IX_ + + FRONTENAC TO THE RESCUE 229 + + + _CHAPTER X_ + + FRONTENAC DEFENDER OF CANADA 263 + + + _CHAPTER XI_ + + FIRE AND SWORD ON THE BORDER 305 + + + _CHAPTER XII_ + + THE DRAMA OF WAR--PEACE AT THE LAST 333 + + + INDEX 365 + + + + + CHAPTER I + + CANADA BEFORE FRONTENAC + + 1608 TO 1632 + + +When Count Frontenac landed at Quebec, in the month of September 1672, +to administer the government of Canada or, as it was then more generally +called, New France, the country had been for a period of a little over +sixty years under continuous French rule. The period may, indeed, be +limited to exactly sixty years if we take as the starting-point the +commission issued to Samuel de Champlain on the 15th of October 1612 as +"Commander in New France," under the authority of the Count de Soissons, +who had been appointed by the queen regent, Marie de Medicis, as +lieutenant-general of that territory. What had been accomplished during +those sixty odd years? How had the country developed, and what were the +elements of the situation which confronted Frontenac on his arrival? +Answers to these questions may be gathered, it is hoped, from the +following brief introductory narrative. + +The territorial claims of France in the gulf and valley of the St. +Lawrence were founded on the discoveries made in the name of the French +king, Francis I, by that brave Breton mariner, Jacques Cartier, in the +celebrated voyages undertaken by him in the years 1534 and 1535. An +attempt at colonization made in the latter year, the site chosen being +the left bank of the St. Charles near Quebec, failed miserably; nor were +the similar attempts made in 1541 by Cartier and in 1542 by Roberval any +more successful. Cartier did not again return to Canada, and all efforts +in the direction of colonization were suspended for sixty years, though +French fishermen continued to visit the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In the +year 1603 a notable figure appears upon the scene, Samuel Champlain, the +true founder of French power on the continent of America. A few years +previously a certain naval captain named Chauvin, who enjoyed +considerable influence at court, had applied for and obtained from King +Henry IV a patent granting him exclusive trading privileges in the St. +Lawrence. This he had done at the instance of one Pontgravé, a leading +merchant of St. Malo, well acquainted with the St Lawrence trade, whose +business instinct had led him to see that the fur trade alone of that +region might be a source of vast wealth to any single company +controlling it. One condition of the grant was that not less than five +hundred persons should be settled in the country, and another that +provision should be made for the religious instruction both of the +settlers and of the natives. Having obtained the patent, neither Chauvin +nor Pontgravé, whom he appointed as his lieutenant, seems to have +thought of anything but the conversion of their privilege into money. +They sailed to the St. Lawrence, but proceeded no further than +Tadousac, where they set up a trading establishment. At the end of the +first summer season they returned to France, leaving some sixteen men +behind them so ill provided for that eleven died during the winter of +disease and hardship. The rest would have died of starvation had not +friendly Indians supplied them with food. Chauvin made two more trips to +the St. Lawrence without doing anything to redeem his engagements, and +in the year 1601 he died. + +The death of Chauvin having voided his patent, the king was moved to +constitute Knight Commander de Chastes, Governor of Dieppe, his +representative in the western world. A company was formed, and an +expedition was organized and placed under the command of Pontgravé, as a +man having special knowledge of the St. Lawrence navigation. By request +of de Chastes, Champlain was associated with him. At this time Champlain +was thirty-six years of age, and had already distinguished himself as +soldier, sailor, explorer, and geographer. His chief work in the two +latter characters had been done in connection with a voyage which he had +made to the West Indies and Mexico in one of the vessels of the King of +Spain. On his return he described the places he had visited in a work, +still extant, illustrated by curious maps and pictures of his own +drawing. Champlain had higher views than mere money making and no more +valuable man could have been assigned to the expedition. Setting sail +with Pontgravé from Honfleur on the 15th March 1603, he arrived at +Tadousac on the 24th May. How earnestly he was bent on carrying the +Catholic faith into the wilds of Canada is shown by a conversation he +reports having had with an Algonquin chief, into whose mind he was +trying to instil correct views as to the origin of things, and +particularly of the human race. The Algonquin had been under the +impression that the Creator had placed arrows in the ground, and then +turned them into men. Champlain assured him that this was an error, man +having been made in the first place out of clay, and woman from a rib +taken from his side while he slept. He dwelt somewhat also on the +propriety and duty of the invocation of saints, with a view, as the Abbé +Faillon hints,[1] to counteracting any prejudice against that doctrine +which Chauvin and his companions, who were Calvinists, might have +endeavoured to create in the savage mind. Judging, however, by the +Algonquin's replies to Champlain's catechising, his mental attitude was +one of admirable neutrality, securely founded on nescience, regarding +any or all of the doctrines in debate between Rome and Geneva. Chauvin +had attended strictly to business. + +Before returning to France, Champlain explored the river St. Lawrence as +far as the Lachine Rapids. On the way up he anchored before Quebec, the +situation of which he describes; doubtless he recognized it as the place +near which Jacques Cartier and his men had spent their terrible winter. +In passing Three Rivers he noticed how advantageously it was situated +both for trade and for defence. He explored the country in the vicinity +of the Lachine Rapids sufficiently to recognize that the land to his +right, as he ascended, was an island (Montreal). Of the rapids +themselves he says that never had he seen a torrent rushing with such +impetuosity. Returning to Tadousac he proceeded down the river to Gaspé +and Percé and entered the Baie des Chaleurs. After making, according to +his custom, as many observations and inquiries as possible in regard to +the character and outlines of the country, he returned to Tadousac, and, +gathering his party, which had meanwhile been doing some profitable +trading with the natives, set sail for France, where he arrived on the +20th September. M. de Chastes, under whose authority he and Pontgravé +were acting, had died in the month of May. Champlain, therefore, went +alone to court, exhibited to the king a map he had made of the country, +and gave such information as to its resources and capabilities as he had +personally gathered. The king was much interested; and, desiring that +the work so well begun should be vigorously prosecuted, he issued a +patent to a Huguenot gentleman, Pierre Dugas, Sieur de Monts and +Governor of Pons conferring upon him exclusive trading privileges for a +period of ten years not only in Canada, but in Acadia. The essential +condition of this grant, it has been said, was the establishment in the +countries mentioned of the "Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman faith"; but, +if such was the case, the terms of the document seem a little lacking in +precision, as they speak only of instructing the natives in the +principles of Christianity and the knowledge of God, and thus bringing +them to the light of faith and the practice of the Christian religion. +As de Monts was a Huguenot the generality of these terms may not have +been without significance. + +De Monts had been in Canada before, having accompanied Chauvin on one or +two of his voyages to Tadousac. He had also some knowledge of Acadia, +and had conceived a preference for that region, as being more favourably +situated and milder in climate than Canada so far as he knew it. To that +quarter, therefore, he directed the expedition, which left Havre under +his command in March 1604. The result was complete failure owing to +causes into which it is impossible in this hasty narrative to enter. +Suffice it to say that, opposition having been raised to the privileges +enjoyed by de Monts, the king, who was an accomplished politician--it +was he who had thought Paris "well worth a mass"--cancelled his patent, +and thus destroyed all the expectations which he and his business +associates, who had incurred great expense in equipping the expedition, +had founded thereon. Some progress had been made in settlement at Port +Royal, and excellent relations had been established with the natives, +when in the fall of 1607 the whole colony was recalled to France. +Champlain, who had accompanied this expedition, turned it to good +account in increasing his stores of geographical knowledge. In the +following year, 1608, de Monts succeeded in obtaining a renewal of his +patent for one year. After consultation with Champlain he decided that +Quebec would be the best place at which to attempt a settlement. He +accordingly equipped two vessels for the enterprise, and placed them +under the command of Champlain, whom he appointed as his lieutenant with +full powers of control over the whole expedition. He himself remained +behind in Paris to watch over his interests, which were subject at every +moment to attack. His lieutenant sailed from Honfleur on the 13th April +1608, and arrived at Tadousac on the 3rd of June, and at Quebec on the +3rd of July. Having disembarked his men, Champlain set them to work at +once to clear the level piece of land at the base of the rock, erect a +storehouse and dwellings, and surround the whole with a palisade and +ditch. Thus in the summer of 1608 was the city of Quebec founded, and +the power of France formally established on the North American +continent. + +The first event of note in the annals of the new colony was certainly +not an auspicious one: a plot that was formed by some of the men of the +expedition against the life of their commander. Had the designs of the +conspirators not been brought to light in time, the course of Canadian +history, as we know it, might have been seriously turned aside. Four +men were found guilty, and sentenced to death; the ringleader only, a +Norman named Jean Duval, was executed, the others were sent to France +where their sentences were commuted. Lescarbot, a contemporary writer, +to whom we are indebted for much information respecting the events of +the period, states that the men were dissatisfied with their food; but +from Champlain's own narrative it appears that the plot was formed, if +not before the expedition left France, at least before it reached +Quebec, and that the whole motive of the conspirators was gain, their +intention being to deliver over all Champlain's goods to the Basques and +Spaniards fishing and trading at Tadousac, and to escape on their +vessels with the proceeds of their treason. This danger, however, having +been happily averted, work was proceeded with on what Champlain in his +narrative calls the "habitation," and by the time winter set in the +dwellings were in readiness. The winter was destined to be a most +unhappy one. As before, when Cartier took up his quarters on the banks +of the St. Charles in the winter of 1535-6, scurvy broke out, and twenty +men out of a company of twenty-eight died. + +In the spring of 1609 a reinforcement for the shrunken colony was +brought out by Pontgravé. It was in the summer of that year that +Champlain, with little thought of the consequences his action would +entail, carried out a promise previously made to the Algonquins and +Hurons to assist them in their feud with the Iroquois. Taking eleven +Frenchmen with him in a ship's boat, and accompanied by about three +hundred savages in their canoes, he proceeded as far as the mouth of the +Richelieu River. There most of the savages changed their minds, and +deserted the party. Finding that the boat was not suited to the +navigation of the Richelieu River up which the route to the enemy's +country lay, Champlain sent it back to Quebec and nine men with it. He +with two Frenchmen and sixty Indians proceeded in canoes, and on the +30th of July a band of Iroquois on the war-path was encountered on the +shore of what has since been known as Lake Champlain. The story is +briefly told. Champlain, who had loaded his arquebus with four balls, +brought down at the first shot three Iroquois chiefs, two instantly +killed, and the third mortally wounded. His men did further execution. +The Iroquois, astounded at such swift death, turned and fled. In the +pursuit others were killed. Commenting on this campaign, and a somewhat +similar one of the year following, the Abbé Faillon observes that if +Champlain, instead of siding with the Algonquins and Hurons against the +Iroquois, had declared himself the friend of all the tribes, he would +not only have done more honour to the French name, but would have gained +access for himself and for the missionaries who were to follow him to +all the Indian communities. By the course he actually followed he +inspired the most powerful and best organized of the Indian tribes with +a hatred for the French race and for the religion they professed, which +during a long series of years wreaked itself in countless deeds of +blood, and more than once brought the colony of New France to the verge +of extinction. The massacre of Lachine (1689) was a late harvest of the +blood sown on the shores of Lake Champlain eighty years before. + +The vessels which brought out recruits brought also the news that the +exclusive privilege of trade granted to de Monts had been cancelled, or +at least had not been renewed, though de Monts still retained his +position as the king's lieutenant in New France. Champlain was therefore +obliged to return to France in the autumn and discuss matters. Leaving +Quebec on the 5th September he reached Honfleur on the 14th October. He +saw the king, reported progress, and showed him some of the products of +the country. De Monts renewed his efforts to be reinstated in his +privileges, but without success. In the end it was arranged that +Champlain should return to Canada, which he did, leaving Honfleur on the +8th April 1610, and arriving at Quebec early in May. We pass over the +second attack on the Iroquois, made in the month of June of this year, +in which Champlain was slightly wounded. It is interesting, however, to +learn that, on returning from his campaign, he found a piece of land +near his "habitation" at Quebec, which he had brought under +cultivation, yielding good crops of vegetables, Indian corn, wheat, +rye, and barley. He had been much annoyed on reaching Quebec in the +spring to find that no care had been taken of some grape vines that he +had carefully laid down the previous fall. This was but one example of +an indolent neglect only too characteristic, unhappily, of the Quebec +colonists in after years. + +Towards the end of this summer grave news arrived. The king, Henry IV, +had fallen under the dagger of an assassin. Champlain and Pontgravé both +thought it desirable to return to France without delay, as it was +impossible to say how their interests might be affected by the change of +government. The only incident of importance, so far as is known, which +happened during Champlain's stay in France on this occasion, was his +marriage to a Protestant young lady named Helen Boullé, whom, on account +of her tender years--she was only twelve years old--he left to grow up +under her father's roof, but who brought him as her dowry a much needed +subsidy of six thousand francs. Thus financially reinforced he sailed +again for Canada in the spring of 1611. He had an appointment to keep, +made the previous year, with certain Indians to meet them at the Grand +Saut (Lachine Rapids) to discuss matters of trade and war. He arrived +there on the 28th May, a few days later than he had said, but found no +Indians. Not being a man to waste time he employed himself while waiting +in prospecting the Island of Montreal and erecting a wall, as the +commencement of a fort, almost on the very spot selected thirty-one +years afterwards by Maisonneuve for the same purpose. It has been +conjectured that, if Champlain had known all the advantages possessed by +Montreal, as compared with Quebec, before he began to construct +buildings at the latter place, Montreal would probably have been the +first capital of New France. This, however, seems hardly probable. It +was important that the capital should be a place naturally strong in a +military point of view--"naturâ fortis," as the motto of the city of +Quebec has it--and of comparatively easy access from the sea; and these +obvious advantages Quebec possessed in a much higher degree than +Montreal. + +De Monts was at last convinced that, under existing conditions, there +was no money in the enterprise to which he was committed. Others could +engage in the fur trade as freely as he, without having any +establishments in Canada to keep up; so he willingly resigned his empty +honours as lieutenant-general, in order to see what he could do as a +private trader, or private member of a trading company. The office of +lieutenant-general passed into the hands of a more powerful person, the +Duke of Condé, who wisely made Champlain his lieutenant, and under whose +auspices a powerful company was formed, consisting of all the traders of +Rouen and St. Malo who wished to join it. The merchants of La Rochelle +had also been invited to take a share in the enterprise, but they held +off, and were consequently left out of the arrangement. Champlain had +returned to France in September 1611, and the difficulties and +oppositions of one kind and another to which the organization of the new +company gave rise kept him there till the spring of 1613, when, again +setting sail for Canada, he arrived at Quebec about the 1st of May. It +was in the early summer of this year that he made his celebrated trip up +the Ottawa River as far as Allumette Island, about one hundred miles +above the city of Ottawa, after which he again returned to France. + +Up to this time nothing had been done by the various trading companies +that had been formed towards the evangelization of the native tribes, +nor even for meeting the spiritual necessities of the Europeans settled +or trading in New France. Champlain, who remained in France during the +whole of the following year (1614), thought it time to take the matter +in hand. He therefore arranged with the Provincial of the Récollet +Fathers, a sub-order of the Franciscans, that six of their members +should go out to New France as missionaries, their maintenance and +lodging to be provided by the company. Four of the fathers sailed with +him from France in the ship _St. Étienne_ of three hundred and fifty +tons, on the 24th April 1615, and arrived at Quebec about the 1st of +June. They were received with many tokens of satisfaction, but the good +fathers were not long in discovering that there was very little zeal for +religion in the colony, and that their work was going to be beset with +the most serious difficulties and discouragements. A Récollet writer, +Théodat Sagard, who came to Canada a year or two later, and who wrote a +most interesting record of his experiences, says that the French +themselves, who were supposed to be Christians, were by their scandalous +lives the greatest impediment to the conversion of the Indians. We +gather from Champlain's narrative that the first celebration of the mass +took place at Rivière des Prairies, a few miles below Montreal, before a +few French and a large number of Indians, "who were full of admiration +at the ceremonies practised, and the ornaments used, the latter in +particular seeming to them, unaccustomed as they were to such things, +very beautiful and interesting." + +Champlain himself was present on this solemn occasion, and it is a cause +of regret to know that he was at the moment under a promise to join the +Huron Indians in another attack on the Iroquois. It was in connection +with this expedition that some of his most interesting geographical +discoveries were made. The point of rendezvous for the warriors was a +Huron village to the west of Lake Simcoe called Cahiagué. To reach it +Champlain's Indian guides took the route by the Ottawa River to Lake +Nipissing, thence by the French River into the Georgian Bay, and down +through the clustering islands on its eastern coast to some point not +far from Penetanguishene. Beyond Allumette Island on the Ottawa all was +new to Champlain. He now saw for the first time Lake Simcoe, Sturgeon +Lake, Rice Lake, and finally Lake Ontario. He describes the country he +passed through as most beautiful. The expedition, however, was fated to +be unsuccessful, and came very near to proving most disastrous. The +attack made on a fortified position of the enemy was repelled; Champlain +himself received two painful arrow wounds; and if the Iroquois had only +sent a party to capture and destroy the canoes of the Hurons, the whole +invading force might easily have been annihilated. It was about the +middle of October that the fight took place. Champlain, as soon as his +wounds were healed, was anxious to be conducted back to the Grand Saut, +whence he might make his way to Quebec; but his allies pleaded the +impossibility of sparing men and canoes for the purpose, and he was +consequently obliged to spend the winter with them. Not unnaturally the +French at Quebec had almost given him up for lost, when he made his +appearance among them some time in the month of June 1616. + +Little of interest occurred in the colony, if we may call it by that +name, for several years after this. In 1620 Champlain began the +construction of the Château St. Louis on a portion of the ground now +covered by Dufferin Terrace; yet at this date the whole population of +Quebec did not exceed fifty persons. Amongst these there was only one +who could be called a settler in the true sense of the word. This was +Louis Hébert who had come to Canada in 1617 under a contract with the +company, the terms of which do not give us a favourable opinion of the +liberality of that corporation or of their desire to open up the +country. Hébert, who was a chemist and apothecary by profession, was +bound to serve the company for three years for a hundred crowns a year, +his wife and children being also liable to be called upon for any help +they could render. He received an allotment of land; but he could only +work on it at such times as his services were not required by the +company. At the end of three years he might grow crops, but he must sell +his produce to the company at such prices as were current in France. +Notwithstanding these restrictions, Hébert managed in the course of time +to establish himself in comfort, and to become a substantial _bourgeois_ +of the new colony. + +The Récollet fathers had now been five years in the country, yet the +interests of religion were not flourishing. They found that they were +not receiving the assistance from the company that had been promised; +and, not only so, but that their influence with the natives was +constantly being undermined by the company's agents and servants, whose +one preoccupation was trade. In their perplexity and discouragement--for +they were really making no headway at all--it occurred to them that, if +they could have the assistance of a few Jesuit fathers, the situation +might be materially improved, their impression being that the Jesuits, +if they came, would probably have some independent means of their own, +and moreover that the high credit they enjoyed in France would stand +them in good stead in the colony. They consequently sent home one of +their number to conduct negotiations to that end. The result was that, +in the month of June 1625, three Jesuit fathers and two coadjutors came +out to Quebec, to begin that career of evangelization and of dauntless, +self-sacrificing effort which has won for their order an imperishable +name in the annals of French colonization in North America. + +What may be called the first chapter in the history of New France was +now drawing to a close. In 1621 the Duke of Condé had, with the royal +approval, transferred the lieutenant-generalship to the Duke of +Montmorency for a consideration of eleven thousand francs. Some changes +were at the same time made in the organization of the trading company. +In 1625 Montmorency in turn passed over the office to his nephew, Henri +de Lévis, Duke of Ventadour. These changes in no way improved the +situation of the settlement at Quebec which, under all managements, was +consistently starved and kept down to the level of a precarious +trading-post. The French during these years were more and more losing +influence with their Indian allies, the Hurons and Montagnais, whose +attitude at times became very menacing, and who actually committed +several murders for which it was impossible to bring them to punishment. +The chief reason for the change of temper on the part of the natives +was that they found they were being systematically cheated by the French +traders, who beat them down to the lowest price for their furs, and +charged them the highest price for commodities sold. A Récollet writer +tells a story of an Indian chief which places the character of the red +man in a much more favourable light than that of the civilized Europeans +with whom he was dealing. The chief, at the request of some of his +people, was begging one of the agents of the company to treat them with +a little more fairness and humanity. The agent, after considerable +discussion, offered the chief to do business with him personally on more +liberal terms, but said he could not make any change as regards the +other Indians. "You are insulting me then," said the chief, "for if I +were to consent to such an arrangement I should deserve to be hanged by +my own people. I am their captain; it is for them I am speaking, not for +myself." + +Things had reached such a pass that Champlain thought it necessary to +speak very plainly to the home authorities. Cardinal Richelieu, who was +at this time at the head of affairs in France, and specially in charge +of the maritime interests of the kingdom, determined on what he hoped +would be a radical measure of reform, namely the formation of a company +on a much wider basis than any preceding one, and consisting of persons +of higher mark and responsibility, who should hold their powers directly +from himself. The edict establishing the company, the legal name of +which was the Company of New France, but which was afterwards more +commonly known as the Company of the Hundred Associates, bore date the +29th April 1627. The preamble set forth in forcible terms the lamentable +failure of all the previous trading associations to redeem their pledges +in the matter of colonization; and the new associates were, by the terms +of their charter, bound in the most formal and positive manner, to +convey annually to the colony, beginning in the following year, 1628, +from two to three hundred _bona fide_ settlers, and in the fifteen +following years to transport thither a total of not less than four +thousand persons male and female. The settlers were to be maintained for +three years, until they could get their land under cultivation, and then +for one season till they had reaped their crops. Provision was also to +be made for the maintenance of a sufficient number of clergy to meet the +spiritual wants both of the settlers and of the native population. In +consideration of these services all French possessions between Florida +and the Arctic Circle, and from Newfoundland as far west as the company +should be able to possess the land, were handed over to them in absolute +sovereignty, saving only the supreme authority of the French king. They +had, of course, a complete monopoly of trade, with the sole exception of +the cod and whale fisheries which, as before, were to be open to all +French subjects. + +A most unexpected event, however, was destined to delay for some years +the carrying out of the plans of the great cardinal. In the very year in +which the new company was formed war broke out between France and +England. The general result of the war was both disastrous and +inglorious for England; but a notable incident of it was the capture of +Quebec by a small fleet of privateers under the command of Captain David +Kirke, sailing under letters of marque from the English king, Charles I, +authorizing him to attack the French in Canada, and drive them out of +the country if possible. Kirke's first exploit was to defeat and +capture, early in 1628, not far from Gaspé, a French fleet of eighteen +vessels carrying a considerable number of colonists, and also a large +quantity of provisions, goods of all kinds, and munitions of war for the +colony of New France. To what dire extremities the loss of these +supplies reduced the already feeble settlement is movingly described in +Champlain's own narrative. Kirke, after his victory, stripped the +vessels of the enemy of whatever they contained that was valuable, burnt +the smaller ones, and took the larger ones to Newfoundland. Then, after +destroying the French settlements in Acadia, he sailed for England with +his prisoners and a portion of the booty. This gave the colony at Quebec +a year's respite from attack; but owing to a series of misfortunes no +succour was received from France during the interval. The consequence +was that, when Kirke returned in the following year to the St. +Lawrence, and sent two of his brothers, Louis and Thomas, with three +small but well-appointed vessels--he himself remaining at Tadousac--to +demand the surrender of Quebec, the only course open to Champlain, who +not only had no adequate means of defence, but whose little garrison was +on the point of starvation, was to make an honourable capitulation. It +was agreed that the French should evacuate the place carrying with them +their arms, clothing, and any furs they might individually own, and +should be allowed to return to France in a vessel of their own +providing. As they had difficulty in procuring a suitable vessel, Kirke +in the end furnished one of two hundred and fifty tons, manned by +seventy of his own sailors, and landed them, to the number of over a +hundred, in England. The preliminary articles of capitulation were +signed on the 19th July 1629, and two days later the English flag was +raised on the Château St. Louis, to the accompaniment of salvos of +artillery, fired both from the ships in the river and the land +batteries, of which the English had now taken possession. + +While all this was going on the Kirke brothers and Champlain were alike +unaware that, three months previously, peace had been signed between +England and France. The disappointment and chagrin of David Kirke when +he landed the Quebec garrison in England, and learned that the capture +had been made in time of peace and would probably have to be restored, +may be imagined. Champlain made it his business to go at once and see +the French ambassador in London, in order to report what had taken place +and urge the restitution of the colony to France. The matter was taken +up by the French government, and Charles promised to restore Canada, but +made no engagement respecting Acadia. The French king, Louis XIII, about +this time had his hands full with domestic sedition and foreign war. His +own brother, Gaston de France, with the sympathy both of the queen and +of the queen mother, was in revolt against him, as well as the Duke of +Montmorency, former lieutenant-general of Canada. The rebellion was +crushed through the vigorous action of Cardinal Richelieu, and +Montmorency was brought to the block; but meantime the negotiations with +England had remained in suspense. Finally they were brought to a +conclusion in 1632, Charles agreeing to restore both Canada and Acadia. +The probability is that had he refused to do so the matter would not +have been pressed--at least not to the point of war--and that Canada and +Acadia would have remained English possessions. Never, in the course of +history, did a country more distinctly stand at the parting of the ways; +and it is singular to reflect that, in all probability, it is owing to +the restitution of Canada to France at that time that the Dominion of +Canada is to-day a British possession. + +[Footnote 1: _Histoire de la Colonie Française en Canada_, vol. i. p. +79.] + + + + + CHAPTER II + + CANADA BEFORE FRONTENAC + + 1632 TO 1672 + + +Canada had fallen into the hands of the English before the new company +organized by Cardinal Richelieu was able to enter on the rights and +privileges secured to it by the edict of incorporation, or even so much +as to set foot in the country. Whatever there might be at Quebec in the +way of buildings, fortifications, etc., was the property of the +preceding company, of which one William de Caën was the head. It seemed +advisable, therefore, to Cardinal Richelieu to send William de Caën, or +some one deputed by him, out to Quebec to accept transfer of the country +on behalf of the French king from Louis Kirke, who had remained in +command there. De Caën named his brother Emery for this duty, and the +latter, provided with all necessary papers and instructions, set sail +from France towards the end of April 1632, and arrived at Quebec on the +5th of July. An order from King Charles of England, of which he was +bearer, required Kirke to evacuate the place within eight days. The +order was complied with, and the French resumed possession of Quebec +three years, all but a month, after yielding it up to the English. +Mention has been made of the one genuine settler or _habitant_ at +Quebec, Louis Hébert. He had died some time before the capitulation; but +his widow and her son-in-law, who had between them some seven acres of +land under good cultivation, had remained in the country during the +whole period of the English occupation. The _Jesuit Relations_ tell of +the joy of the widow at welcoming her own countrymen again, and +particularly of the delight she manifested when her house was used as a +chapel for the first celebration of mass after the French re-occupation. +In the spring of the following year Champlain, who had been recommended +by the new company as governor, and had received his appointment as such +at the hands of the cardinal, set sail for Canada with three vessels, +carrying in all about two hundred persons, more than half being +intending colonists. The ships brought besides a liberal supply of +stores, the company, in the new-broom stage of its existence, being +desirous of improving on the methods and practices of its predecessors. +Arriving at Quebec on the 23rd of May, Champlain took over the keys of +the place from de Caën. His first care was to put the fort and other +buildings, which were found to be in a ruinous condition, in proper +repair. He next erected a chapel to replace the one formerly in use +which had been destroyed; and, at the earnest request of the Huron +Indians, he established a fort at Three Rivers to assist in protecting +them against the incursions of the implacable Iroquois. + +De Caën had brought out one or two Jesuit fathers with him, and others +came with Champlain. Why the Récollets did not seize the first +opportunity of returning to Canada is not very clear. In the year 1635 +they had made arrangements for returning, but were requested by the +intendant of the company in France to delay their departure. The next +year they were plainly informed that the cardinal did not wish them to +go to Canada. They were thus shut out from a mission-field which they +had been the first to occupy, and it is not surprising that they felt +considerably aggrieved, nor that they were disposed to attribute their +exclusion to the machinations of the Jesuit order. The responsibility in +the matter seems to have rested with the cardinal. It was he who sent +out the Jesuit fathers; and not improbably he thought that there would +be less friction and more progress if the field of New France were +entrusted to a single order of ecclesiastics than if it were divided +between two. + +The laborious, useful, and heroic life of Champlain was now drawing to a +close. One of the last subjects that engaged his attention was the sale +of liquor by traders and colonists to the Indians, a practice against +which he issued the most stringent prohibitions, but which, as we shall +have further occasion to see, proved a very difficult one to control. In +the summer of 1635 he took advantage of the presence at Quebec of a +large number of Hurons from the upper country to summon them and the +French residents to a general assembly, in order that he might have an +opportunity of urging upon them the duty and advantage of espousing the +religion professed by the French. If their friendship with the French, +he said, was to be maintained and strengthened, they must embrace the +faith of the latter; and in that case God, who was all-powerful, would +bless and protect them, and give them the victory over their enemies. +They would also learn the arts of civilization, and in every way enjoy +great happiness and prosperity. What impression this discourse made is +not stated. In point of fact the Jesuits, who devoted themselves +specially to mission work amongst the Hurons, had eventually a +considerable measure of success in converting them to Christianity; but +the unhappy tribe, instead of triumphing in war, became a more and more +helpless prey to their heathen enemies, and, in about fifteen years from +this date, were almost obliterated from the face of the earth.[2] + +Not long after the convoking of this assembly Champlain was smitten with +paralysis; and on Christmas Day, 1635, he died in the sixty-ninth year +of his age. His funeral sermon was preached by the Superior of the +Jesuits, Father Le Jeune, and he was buried with all due honour in--as +the Jesuit narrative tells us--a "_sépulcre particulier_"; but a +careless posterity soon forgot even the place of his interment, and +to-day the question as to where he was laid is a matter of antiquarian +debate. The contingency of his death had been provided for by the +company, who had placed in the hands of Father Le Jeune, a sealed +letter, giving authority to a M. de Châteaufort to act as interim +governor. The following summer M. de Montmagny came out from France as +second governor of Canada. He appears to have been a man of firm and +upright character, but the position to which he succeeded was an +extremely difficult and critical one. The Jesuits were as yet having +very limited success in the conversion of the native tribes, and were +even incurring a dangerous amount of suspicion and hostility. They were +accused of witchcraft; and it began to be commonly said amongst the +savages that baptism was a sure precursor of death. There was truth in +the allegation just to this extent, that the fathers, for the most part, +were only allowed to baptize those who were already in a dying +condition, particularly children. The confusion between _post hoc_ and +_propter hoc_ is so common among the civilized and instructed, that we +cannot be surprised if Hurons and Algonquins were not proof against it. +The Iroquois at the same time were becoming more and more daring in +their attacks, while the resources of the colony for repelling them +were sadly inadequate. The Company of the Hundred Associates had made a +fair beginning in the matter of sending out colonists and +supplies--forty-five new settlers came out with Montmagny--but in a few +years their capital began to run short, and it became a question whether +the magnificent powers and privileges they possessed represented a very +profitable business arrangement. The consequence was that, just as +before under successive trading companies, the interests both of +colonization and of defence were neglected. + +But, if the company was lapsing into inertness, other agencies, not of a +commercial character, were at work laying the foundations of +institutions destined to exert a most important and lasting influence on +the future life of the colony. The year in which Champlain died +witnessed the establishment at Quebec by the Jesuit, M. de Rohault, son +of the Marquis de Gamache, of a college for boys. Four years later, in +1639, a vessel arrived from France bearing two ladies, of note, Madame +de la Peltrie and Madame Guyard, Mère de l'Incarnation, whose mission +was to establish a school for girls, white and Indian, and whose names +are illustrious as the founders of the Ursuline Convent. On the same +vessel were a number of nuns sent out by the Duchess d'Aiguillon to +perform hospital duties: this was the origin of the Hôtel Dieu. In the +year 1641 M. de Maisonneuve, a pious layman, conducted to Canada a +small band of trusty followers whose destination was the Island of +Montreal, where it was proposed to form a strictly Christian colony. +With M. de Maisonneuve was a pious lady, Mdlle. Mance, who three years +later became the founder of the Hôtel Dieu at Montreal, funds for the +purpose having been supplied by a rich benefactress in France, Madame de +Bullion. Looking forward nine years, that is to say to 1653, we find the +admirable Sister Margaret Bourgeoys establishing at Montreal the +Congrégation de Notre Dame for the education of girls. As Garneau well +says, "the love of learning and charity gave birth in Canada to all the +great establishments destined for public instruction and the alleviation +of human suffering." + +The question may naturally be asked how it happened that Canada, at this +very early stage of its history, attracted so much attention as a field +for missionary and educational effort. An explanation is to be found in +the fact that the Jesuits, from the time when they first entered on +their work in this country, made a practice, under instructions from the +head of their order, of writing year by year a narrative of their +doings, which they despatched to France, and which was there published +and circulated amongst those who were interested in religious work. +These narratives constituted the celebrated _Relations des Jésuites_, +which form the chief source of information regarding the history of +Canada for a period of over forty years. Of these interesting annals, +forty volumes of which in all were published, Parkman has said: "The +closest examination has left me no doubt that these missionaries wrote +in perfect good faith, and that the _Relations_ hold a high place as +authentic and trustworthy historical documents." On the other hand the +latest historian of the Jesuits in New France, the Rev. Father +Rochemonteix, while also asserting the substantial accuracy of the +_Relations_, acknowledges that "they do not reflect the complete +physiognomy of New France; they only show one side of it, the most +attractive, the most consoling, namely, the progress of Christianity, +its toils and heroic struggles, and the valiant achievements of the +colonists. The rest is intentionally left in the shade, passed over in +silence. The other side of the physiognomy is omitted, or nearly so. +What we have is history, but incomplete history."[3] + +It was from these narratives, so carefully and skilfully edited for +purposes of edification, that the impulse proceeded which moved pious +souls to contribute, in some cases their labours, in others their +wealth, to the advancement of the cause of religion in the wilds of +Canada. The fathers told of their difficulties and discouragements; but +they told also of the many signs vouchsafed that Heaven was interested +in their self-sacrificing efforts. Sometimes they made direct appeals +for assistance. A Jesuit school for boys had been established, as +already mentioned, as early as 1635. A few years later Father Le Jeune +writes in the _Relations_: "Is there no charitable and virtuous lady who +will come to this country to gather up the blood of Christ by teaching +His word to the little Indian girls?" The call was answered in the +establishment of the Ursuline Convent. It is not easy, in these days of +swift, safe, and luxurious travel, to imagine what it was in the earlier +part of the seventeenth century for women of delicate nurture to leave +friends and home and civilized surroundings, and, braving the Atlantic +storms in small, ill-equipped and comfortless vessels, to set their +faces towards a continent lost in the distant west, amid whose forests a +handful of pioneers were doubtfully holding their ground against the +scowling hordes of savagery. The historian, Parkman, devotes two +chapters of his _Jesuits in North America_ to an account of these +enterprises, and of the holy women whose names are inseparably connected +with them. In Madame Guyard, Mère de l'Incarnation, who became Superior +of the convent, he recognizes a very true woman, full of tender feeling, +yet endowed with practical abilities of the first order. Of Margaret +Bourgeoys, founder of the Congrégation de Notre Dame at Montreal, he +speaks with equal enthusiasm. "Her portrait," he says, "has come down to +us; and her face is a mirror of frankness, loyalty, and womanly +tenderness. Her qualities were those of good sense, conscientiousness, +and a warm heart. Her religion was of the affections, and was manifested +in an absorbing devotion to duty." He recognizes "in the martial figure +of Maisonneuve, and the fair form of this gentle nun, the true heroes of +Montreal."[4] + +Maisonneuve was the true type of the Christian warrior. An association +of religious persons at Paris, of whom M. Jean Olier, founder of the +Seminary of St. Sulpice, and M. Royer de la Dauversière were chief, had +obtained from the Company of New France a grant of the greater portion +of the Island of Montreal, and a considerable block of land to the east +thereof on the north shore of the river St. Lawrence. To effect this it +had been necessary to pay a considerable sum of money to extinguish a +prior claim of one M. de Lauson, an officer of the company, to the same +territory. Marvellous stories are told of the supernatural +communications received by MM. Olier and Dauversière, by which the duty +was laid upon them of sending a colony for purposes of evangelization +to the Island of Montreal, of the existence of which, it is averred, +they had no previous knowledge. However this may have been--natural +means of knowledge, it may be observed, were available in the _Relations +of the Jesuits_--an association was formed under the title of the +Associates of Montreal; money was liberally subscribed; the island was +purchased; and the members of the projected colony were brought +together. A "Greatheart" was needed to conduct the little band; and +Maisonneuve, who was home from the wars of the Low Countries, hearing of +the holy enterprise, placed his sword and his life at the service of the +association. In the month of May 1641 two small vessels sailed from La +Rochelle, one bearing M. de Maisonneuve and twenty-five men, the other +Mdlle. Mance, a Jesuit priest, and twelve other men. Both arrived safely +at Quebec in the month of August. Governor Montmagny wished to keep what +he regarded as a valuable reinforcement at Quebec; but Maisonneuve +insisted on carrying out his mission. He went up to Montreal accordingly +before the navigation closed, in company with the governor, to take +formal possession of the island, but returned to winter in Quebec. In +the spring he took his whole party up the river, arriving at Montreal on +the 18th of May. Madame de la Peltrie leaving her own work at Quebec +accompanied him, only to return, however, after a short stay. An altar +was erected on the riverside, and mass was celebrated by the Jesuit +father, Vincent, who afterwards delivered an address, in which he said +he doubted not that the grain of mustard seed they were then sowing was +designed by Providence to become a mighty tree. + +The prophecy has been amply fulfilled, but many anxious years had to +pass before the destiny of the tree was at all assured. The position of +Montreal was far more precarious than that of Quebec, as it was so much +more accessible to the sworn enemies of the colony, the Iroquois. For +twenty-four years Maisonneuve held the post of military governor, +edifying all by his piety, and inspiring confidence in all by his +bravery and vigilance. The story of his trials and of his prowess, is it +not told, with a rich blending of supernatural elements, in the naïve +record of Dollier de Casson, and the more comprehensive and systematic, +but equally naïve, history of the learned and unfailingly interesting +Abbé Faillon? And yet--such is the irony of human events--when a very +pious governor, the Marquis de Tracy, came out in 1665 as the king's +lieutenant-general for all his North American possessions, one of his +first acts, inspired, it is said, by the council at Quebec, was to +dismiss this veteran warrior as being unfit for his position. Making no +demur, attempting no self-justification, but bowing to the stroke, which +he regarded as an intimation of the will of Providence, the brave +Maisonneuve retired quietly to France, where he spent the remainder of +his days. + +After a service of twelve years as governor M. de Montmagny was relieved +in 1648, and replaced by M. d'Ailleboust, who had previously exercised +judicial functions at Montreal in close association with M. de +Maisonneuve, whom he resembled in the exalted and ascetic character of +his piety. The name of Montmagny had been translated by the Indians into +"Onontio," signifying "Great Mountain"; and henceforth all French +governors were, in Indian parlance, "Great Mountains." M. d'Ailleboust +retained office only three years. During his administration, as during +that of his predecessor, the Iroquois were incessant in their +depredations, which they would sometimes carry on under the very +palisades of Montreal. They succeeded during this period in all but +exterminating the Hurons, their traditional foes and now allies of the +French. One or two treaties were made with the aggressive savages, and +once or twice they were repelled with loss; but the treaties were not to +be depended on, nor were the defeats such as to give them serious check. +One event which marked the latter part of M. de Montmagny's +administration must not be overlooked. The Company of New France, or of +the Hundred Associates, had, as we have seen, begun operations upon the +retrocession of the colony by England in 1632. According to their +charter their work was to be one of colonization as well as of trading; +but ten years later the total French population of Canada, Montreal +included, did not exceed two hundred souls. The country, instead of +being developed, was being strangled, the company having absolute +control, not only of the fur trade, but of its commerce generally, which +it hampered in every possible way. Meantime the company itself was +losing money. Negotiations were therefore entered into between the +inhabitants, represented by M. de Repentigny, who went to France for the +purpose, and the officers of the company. The result being that, in the +month of January 1645, a treaty, as it was called, was made between the +company on the one hand, and the inhabitants, through their delegate, on +the other, by which the former, while retaining all their sovereign +proprietary and feudal rights, with power of nominating the governor and +the judges, threw open to the latter, not individually but as a +community, the fur trade of Canada on condition that they should assume +all expenses of civil administration and military defence, pay the +salaries of the clergy, bring into the country every year twenty new +colonists, and finally hand over to the company annually one thousand +pounds weight of assorted beaver skins. The inhabitants were, by this +arrangement, which received the royal sanction on the 6th March 1645, +formed into a corporation, afterwards called the "New Company," to +distinguish it from the Company of New France or the "Old Company." It +was understood that the New Company would elect its own managers; while +the Old Company reserved the right to keep certain officials of its own +in the country to watch over its interests, throwing the cost of their +maintenance, however, on the inhabitants in their corporate capacity. + +This arrangement was received at the time with some satisfaction by the +colonists, but in reality it was a most illiberal one, under which it +was impossible for the country to thrive. Its immediate effect was to +send nearly all the men of the settlement into the woods, and to turn +the wilder and more daring spirits into _coureurs de bois_, a class of +men who will figure largely in our subsequent narrative. Two years later +we find the inhabitants complaining to the king that the new scheme was +working very badly, and giving rise to serious "abuses and +malversations." The king did not know very well what to do about it; but +by the advice of certain of his ministers he decided to place the +government of the colony on a slightly wider basis, with just the least +particle in it of a representative element. To this end he created a +council which was to consist of the governor, the ex-governor, if he +were in the country, the superior of the Jesuits, pending the +appointment of a bishop, and two inhabitants to be selected by the +council, or three if the ex-governor were not residing in the country. +In addition, the three settlements of Quebec, Montreal, and Three Rivers +could each elect a "syndic," to hold office for three years, and to have +a deliberative voice in the council, but no vote. + +The effect of this measure, which seems to have been adopted without +consulting the Company of New France, was to give the council full +control of the fur trade of the country. That trade had to bear all the +expenses of government, as well as provide for the toll to be paid to +the Old Company; and it rested with the council to fix the proportion +which the inhabitants should contribute out of the gross proceeds of the +furs they either bought from the Indians or procured by the chase. If +they bought from the Indians they would have to pay for them with goods +purchased at the general stores, which again were controlled by the +council or its nominees; and it was a constant matter of complaint that +the prices of these goods were so high that it was impossible to trade +with the Indians on any favourable terms; the latter, as a rule, having +sense enough to put up their prices accordingly. A more burdensome +system, or one more liable to abuse, could not easily be imagined. + +In 1651, M. de Lauson was sent to replace M. d'Ailleboust. The question +at this time was seriously debated whether the colony would not have to +be abandoned. The settlement at Montreal was in imminent danger of +extinction. Maisonneuve saw clearly that, with the scanty force he had, +it was only a matter of time when the place would be at the mercy of the +foe. He therefore sailed in this year for France, determined, if he +could not obtain reinforcements, to return to Canada and bring all his +people back to France. The position of matters at Quebec was little +better. Mère de l'Incarnation writes: "The Iroquois have made such +ravages in this part of the country that for a time we thought we should +all have to return to France." Maisonneuve succeeded in his mission; but +he was two years absent from the country, and meantime anxiety both at +Quebec and at Montreal was at the highest pitch. He arrived in the month +of September 1653, bringing with him over one hundred soldiers carefully +chosen and well equipped, furnished, not by the government or the +Hundred Associates, who were tolerably indifferent to the fate of +Montreal, but by the company which had sent him out in the first place. +The governor was anxious to keep the whole force at Quebec; and +Maisonneuve had to exercise considerable firmness in order to be +permitted to take them all with him to Montreal. It was in the vessel +which brought out this detachment that Margaret Bourgeoys, whose name +has already been mentioned, came to Canada. She was struck on her +arrival by the desperately poverty-stricken look of the country. "There +were at the time in the Upper Town" (of Quebec), she says, "only five or +six houses, and in the Lower Town only the storehouse of the Jesuits and +that of the Montreal people. The hospital nuns were dressed in grey. The +poverty on all sides was something pitiable." The Quebec Ursulines were +desirous that Sister Bourgeoys should join their community, and +afterwards perhaps assist them in establishing a branch of their convent +in Montreal; but the future foundress of the Congrégation de Notre Dame +knew her own mind. Her purpose in coming to Canada was to establish a +school for girls at Montreal, and to Montreal she would go. + +The weakness of the colony was painfully exhibited about this time in +its dealings with the Iroquois. The principal remnant of the Huron +nation, whose original settlements occupied the country between the +Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe, had taken refuge from their cruel enemies +in the Island of Orleans just below Quebec. Even here, they were not +left in peace. In the month of February 1654 a number of Iroquois came +down to Quebec ostensibly to negotiate for peace, but secretly +nourishing deadly designs against the unfortunate Hurons. What they +proposed was that those who were settled on the Island of Orleans should +leave their habitations there, go to the Iroquois country, and +incorporate themselves, as a portion of their nation had already done, +with the Iroquois confederacy. They also asked that a French colony, +including a certain number of priests--"black robes," as they called +them--should be planted in their territory. Although these propositions +were believed to mask the most murderous intentions, it was considered +imprudent to reject them, as the colony was in no condition to withstand +the general attack which it was feared would in that case ensue. After +some delay, therefore, a colony consisting of over fifty French left +Quebec in the early summer of 1656, the understanding being that the +Hurons would follow later. + +The Iroquois nation or confederacy comprised, as is generally known, +five separate tribes, occupying the central and north-western portion of +what is now the state of New York, and known--to mention them in +geographical order from east to west--as Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, +Cayugas, and Senecas. There was a keen competition between the Mohawks +and the Onondagas, both for the French colony and for the possession of +the remnant of the Hurons. The colony was sent to the Onondagas; and the +Mohawks in a spirit of revenge made a descent on the Island of Orleans, +killed a number of Hurons, and carried over eighty into captivity. In +their retreat they also committed various depredations under the very +walls of Quebec--in so deplorable a condition of helplessness was even +the citadel of French power in Canada. Two years later the French colony +established among the Onondagas made its escape from impending massacre +in a manner little short of miraculous; but meantime, in defiance and +contempt of French authority, numbers of unfortunate Hurons had been +slaughtered or carried into captivity. + +M. de Lauson, the governor, does not seem to have been a man of any +great force of character. Moreover he was now over seventy years of age, +and, considering the helpless condition in which he was +left--practically abandoned by the Old Company and very feebly +supported by the New--it is scarcely surprising that he should have +anticipated the conclusion of his term of office, and returned to France +in the summer of 1656. His son, M. de Charny-Lauson, replaced him for a +year, when he too sailed for France without awaiting the arrival of his +successor, M. d'Argenson. At his request M. d'Ailleboust consented to +act as interim governor. + +To the credit of the ecclesiastics it must be said that, whoever +despaired of the situation in Canada, they never did. At the very time +when the fortunes of the colony were at the lowest ebb, and the secular +chiefs were debating whether it would not be necessary to retire, bag +and baggage, the subject which chiefly occupied the minds of the clergy +was the organization and government of the church. M. de Maisonneuve had +brought out with him four Sulpician priests to minister to the needs of +the inhabitants of Montreal, and one of them, M. de Queylus, was the +bearer of letters from the Archbishop of Rouen, to whose diocese New +France was attached, creating him vicar-general for the whole colony. +Availing himself of the powers so conferred, M. de Queylus assumed the +direction of the church in Canada; and when some signs of reluctance to +recognize his authority manifested themselves in Quebec, he went to that +city, took personal charge of the parish, and enforced at least an +outward show of submission. The Sulpicians had hoped that M. de Queylus +would be made bishop; but the Jesuits, who for many years had been in +exclusive charge of the religious interests of the colony, were +considered to have the best right to make the nomination. They chose, +with characteristic wisdom, a man who was destined to fill a most +important place in the history of Canada, François Xavier de +Laval-Montmorency, Abbé de Montigny. The negotiations for the +appointment of the new prelate were of a very perplexed and protracted +character, and it was not till the summer of 1659 that he arrived in +Quebec, and then not as bishop of Quebec, but as vicar-apostolic, with +the title of Bishop of Petraea _in partibus_. Laval was a man of great +piety, and inflexible determination; and for a time there was friction +between him and M. de Queylus, who, in his capacity as vicar-general of +the Archbishop of Rouen, was disposed to claim an independent position +for himself. Laval cut the controversy short by persuading the governor +to ship M. de Queylus off to France; and, when he returned the following +year, to ship him back again. This time the Sulpician had to remain at +home for several years; and the descendant of the Montmorencys achieved +the first of a long series of victories over opposing forces. + +In mentioning these incidents, however, we have run ahead by two or +three years of the strict sequence of events. Argenson, the new +governor, arrived on the 11th July 1658. He had hardly been twenty-four +hours at his post before the Iroquois gave him a hint what to expect by +making a raid in the immediate neighbourhood of Quebec. In the following +year the whole country, but particularly Quebec, was thrown into +trepidation over the news that an army composed of twelve hundred +warriors, gathered from the five Iroquois nations, was advancing with +fixed determination to wipe out all the French settlements. It would be +needless to repeat here, even if the limits of a very cursory narrative +permitted it, the glorious feat of arms by which this great danger was +turned aside from the colony. The story of our Canadian Thermopylæ is +familiar to every school-boy and school-girl in Canada. Suffice it to +say that the constancy of Dollard and the handful of companions who +perished with him in defending a position they had hastily fortified on +the river Ottawa, directly in the path of the invaders, so disheartened +the latter that they relinquished their enterprise. When so few could +hold so many at bay, what might not be expected when attack should be +made on the fortified posts of Montreal, Three Rivers, and Quebec? The +abandonment, however, of their larger design did not involve any +discontinuance of their accustomed mode of warfare. We hear of horrible +butcheries committed on settlers in the neighbourhood of Montreal and +even of Quebec; it seemed as if the colony could never get rest from its +tormentors. The new governor was a man of courage and ability, but he +lacked the means of effectually guarding against these treacherous +attacks, while the destitute condition in which he found the colony +filled him with discouragement. Whether general starvation or massacre +was the more imminent danger was sometimes a grave question. Other +difficulties arose. Argenson and Laval, the civil and religious heads of +the state, found themselves at variance on points of ceremony and +precedence; and the bishop, whose self-confidence was unbounded, +undertook to give the governor certain doubtless well-meant admonitions, +which the latter did not take in good part. The governor's health may, +or may not, have been good, but he alleged that he was suffering from +physical infirmities, and asked for his recall. He left for France in +September 1661, his successor, Baron Dubois d'Avaugour, having arrived a +few weeks previously. A remark which he made respecting the head of the +Canadian church, in a letter written a year before his departure, may +perhaps be put on record: "I can say with truth that his zeal on many +occasions bears close resemblance to an extraordinary attachment to his +own opinions, and a strong desire to encroach on the rights and duties +of others." + +The Baron d'Avaugour only remained two years in the country. When he +arrived an earnest effort was being made by the clergy, headed by the +bishop, to have the law against selling liquor to the Indians strictly +enforced. The law was not popular in the country, and Avaugour thought +it altogether too severe; still he allowed it to take effect in the case +of two men who had been sentenced to death, and of one who had been +condemned to be publicly whipped. Shortly afterwards a woman was +imprisoned for a similar offence, and the Jesuit father, Lalemant, +having pleaded for a relaxation of the law in her case, Avaugour, glad +of a pretext to do away with it altogether, said that if the woman was +not to be punished, no one should be. The result was that liquor began +to be sold to the natives almost without restraint, and with effects +which one of the ecclesiastics said he had no ink black enough to +describe. Doubtless they were bad enough. The bishop fulminated from his +episcopal throne against the practice, and launched excommunications +right and left, but with little effect. He then decided on going to +France and laying the whole matter before the government. He left in the +summer of 1662; and it was while he was absent, that is to say in +February of the following year, that an earthquake occurred of which the +most extraordinary descriptions have come down to us. The only moderate +account is that given by Avaugour himself, who says in a despatch: "On +the 5th of February we had an earthquake, which continued during half a +quarter of an hour, and was sufficiently strong to extort from us a good +act of contrition. It was repeated from time to time during nine days, +and was perceptible until the last of the month, but steadily +diminishing." This was all an unimaginative mind like that of the baron +could make of it, but not so with minds of another order. One pious +soul saw four demons tugging at the four corners of the sky, and +threatening universal ruin, which they would have effected had not a +higher spirit appeared on the scene. We read that the air was filled +with howlings as of lost spirits, and flashings of strange, unearthly +lights, not to speak of a little detail of blazing serpents flying +abroad on wings of fire. But the marvels that took place in the aerial +regions were surpassed, if possible, by those that were witnessed on the +solid earth. To take only one example out of many: some sailors coming +from Gaspé, as Père Charlevoix relates, saw a mountain "skipping like a +ram," after which it spun round several times, and finally sank out of +sight. Houses swayed to and fro till their walls nearly touched the +street, and yet righted themselves in the end. Quebec and Montreal, +which, even at this early period, did not pull well together, were +somewhat at variance concerning the significance of the phenomenon. At +Montreal the favourite theory was that the devil was enraged to find God +so well served in the colony; at Quebec the humbler view prevailed that +the earthquake was a solemn warning to the people to abandon their evil +ways, and be obedient to the teachings of the clergy. Considering that, +despite the prohibitions of the clergy, the liquor traffic was just then +at its height, the admonition could not have come more opportunely. + +Laval, whose reputation for piety gave him great influence, the Abbé +Faillon tells us, at the not altogether puritanical court of Louis XIV, +was completely successful in his mission. Not only was the uncomplying +Avaugour recalled, but the bishop himself was requested to nominate a +successor. If the bishop had consulted the men by whom he had himself +been chosen, he would likely have got good advice; but he followed his +own judgment entirely and made a terrible blunder, as he did in a still +more important matter some years later. His choice fell on a M. de Mézy, +recommended to him by the possession of an exalted and almost hysterical +type of piety; and the two embarking on the same vessel arrived at +Quebec on the 15th September 1663. + +It would be taking a very one-sided and radically unjust view of Laval's +character to consider him simply as a man of ability with a strong +propensity to autocratic rule. A man of ability he was, and his temper +was unbending; but that, from first to last, he took the deepest and +most unselfish interest in the welfare of the Canadian people, and also +of the Indian tribes, is not open to a moment's question; nor can it be +denied that his views on the whole were broad and statesmanlike. It was +when he was in France, in 1662, that he arranged for the establishment +of that historic institution, the Quebec Seminary, the higher +development of which is seen in the Laval University of to-day. A few +years after his return he established the Lesser Seminary (Petit +Séminaire), as a school where boys could get a sound education under +religious auspices, and whence the more promising among them might be +drafted into the Grand Séminaire with a view to their preparation for +the priesthood. Memorable also were the services rendered by him in the +organization of a parochial system for Canada, which before his advent +had been treated almost wholly as a mission field. + +In February of the year 1663, the Company of New France, whose affairs +had been going from bad to worse, made a voluntary surrender of all +their rights and privileges to the king, leaving it to his discretion to +make them such compensation as might be just for the capital they had +sunk in their not very well-directed efforts. The king accepted the +surrender, and, as a means of providing for the better administration of +justice in the colony, and also the due control of its finances, he +created by royal edict a Sovereign Council, which was to consist of the +governor, the bishop, or other senior ecclesiastic, and five councillors +chosen by them jointly. A year later he proceeded to charter a +completely new company--as if the régime of companies had not been +sufficiently tried--under the name of the West India Company. To it the +entire trade of all the French possessions in America and on the west +coast of Africa was transferred. The new company was virtually the +creation of the great administrator, Colbert; and it may be assumed that +he trusted to his own vigorous oversight and control to make it a +success. He hoped, in fact, to succeed where a Richelieu had failed; +experience had yet to teach him that no administrative ability, however +eminent, can obtain prosperity from a system of close monopoly. + +It was not long before Laval and his pocket governor (as he had hoped +Mézy would be) found themselves at daggers drawn. The quarrel was of so +trifling a character that its details need not detain us; suffice it to +say, that Laval represented the case to the court and procured his +nominee's dismissal. The unfortunate man, however, whose weak mind was +assailed with the most distressing spiritual fears, when he found +himself under the ban of the church, accomplished a hasty reconciliation +with the offended powers, and died, desperately penitent, before his +successor reached Canada. + +The West India Company was empowered by its charter to nominate the +governor of Canada, but had voluntarily ceded that power to the king. +The latter, under the inspiration probably of Colbert, was now taking a +great interest in Canada. He was not going to leave it any longer at the +mercy of the Iroquois, if a thousand or more good French soldiers could +avail for its protection. As lieutenant-general over all his possessions +in America, he appointed a brave old soldier of much distinction, the +Marquis de Tracy; as governor of Canada in particular, M. de Courcelles; +and as intendant--a new office--M. Jean Baptiste Talon. The +Carignan-Salières Regiment, about twelve hundred strong, had been +detailed for service in Canada, and was sent out in detachments, which +arrived at intervals during the summer; Tracy himself with four +companies reaching Quebec in June. Many of the men were landed sick of +fever; twenty had died on shipboard in the St. Lawrence. Mère +l'Incarnation, in one of her letters, attributes the malady to their +having opened the portholes when they got into the river, and let in the +fresh air too suddenly. In these days one is apt to conjecture that it +was the confined air, not the fresh air, that did the mischief, and that +the portholes might with advantage have been opened earlier. + +Tracy was eager to move against the enemy, but, as he was obliged to +await the arrival of the rest of his troops, he improved the interval by +erecting forts on the line of his intended march, one at the mouth of +the river Richelieu, known at that time as the Iroquois River, a second +at Chambly, some forty miles up the stream, and two others at points +still higher up. While this work was in progress Courcelles, the +governor, Talon, the intendant, and the remainder of the troops reached +Quebec (September 1665). Courcelles was even more eager for war than his +superior officer; and as it was too late when the forts were finished, +and the health of the troops had been sufficiently restored, to attempt +a summer campaign, he obtained the consent of the marquis to organize a +midwinter one. Old inhabitants, who knew something of the rigour of the +climate and the difficulties to be encountered on the march, tried to +dissuade him from his purpose, but in vain. With a fatuity, of which +military history furnishes too many examples, Courcelles despised all +such counsels of prudence. He started with five hundred men on the 10th +of January, marching on the frozen St. Lawrence. The cold was fearful, +and the expedition had proceeded but a short distance when the +sufferings of the men became almost unendurable. At Three Rivers a +number had to be left behind who had been disabled by frost-bites. Some +reinforcements having been obtained at that point, the little army again +set forth. Two hundred men out of the whole force were Canadians, and +these naturally proved the fittest for the undertaking; nor did their +superior quality fail to impress Courcelles. At last the expedition +reached the Mohawk country, but the enemy were not there; they had gone +off on some warlike adventure of their own. There was some burning of +deserted cabins; but the position of the invading force began to be a +precarious one, for the winter was now merging into spring, and there +was danger that if the ice melted in the streams, their retreat would be +cut off. The Mohawks were already hovering in their rear. By the time +they reached the nearest of their forts they had lost sixty men by cold +and hunger. The only thing that can be said in favour of the expedition +is that it greatly impressed the minds of the Iroquois, as proving that +the French had now the means of turning the tables on them and carrying +the war into their own country. + +The Iroquois showed some disposition to negotiate for peace; but nothing +came of it, and in September a larger expedition set out, commanded by +Tracy himself, with Courcelles as second in command. This time they not +only reached the Iroquois country, but, the savages having fled in +panic, they were able at their ease to destroy a number of fortified +villages and large quantities of food that had been laid up for the +winter. The Iroquois were deeply impressed by these vigorous +proceedings. They saw that a great change had come over the situation +and resources of the French colony, when, instead of submitting +helplessly to attack, they could equip two expeditions in one year to +seek them out in their own habitations. They hastened, therefore, to +renew their propositions of peace, and, as this time they were clearly +in earnest, Tracy concluded a peace with them which held good for +several years. The colony now had a rest, and the beneficial effects of +it were soon evident. Two years later the Jesuit annalist writes: "It is +beautiful now to see nearly all the banks of our river St. Lawrence +occupied by new settlements, stretching along more than eighty leagues, +making navigation not only more agreeable by the sight of houses dotting +the riverside, but also more convenient through an increase in the +number of resting-places." A charming picture is here given in very +simple words. + +We have already had occasion to mention incidentally the dismissal by +Tracy of Maisonneuve. Whatever the motive of this harsh act may have +been, its consequences were most unhappy. Maisonneuve was a man of +incorruptible integrity. His successor, François Marie Perrot, was a man +of good family and fine appearance, who enjoyed considerable protection +at court and needed it all, for he had simply the instincts of a +dishonest trader, and used his office for the sole purpose of personal +gain. Tracy's connection with Canada was brief, for he was recalled in +the year following that in which he made his campaign against the +Iroquois, and the government of the country was left in the hands of +Courcelles and Talon; the former, as governor, representing the king in +a military, political, and high administrative capacity; while the +latter, as intendant, was entrusted with all that concerned the finances +of the colony and its industrial and commercial development. The two +heads of the state seem to have worked together at first, and for a +considerable time, with commendable harmony. The governor was a +judicious and capable administrator; the intendant, a man of wide views, +of singular discretion, and of indefatigable industry. The Abbé +Gosselin, in his _Life of Laval_, says that Talon "troubled himself +little about the moral condition of the colony so long as he saw its +commerce and industry flourishing"; and again that "he was never well +disposed to the clergy, whose influence he feared, dreading that they +might become too rich." It is probably the case that he was not very +sympathetic with the ecclesiastical powers of the day, but he certainly +did apply himself to promote the material prosperity of the colony. +Amongst other things he caused three vessels to be built which were +despatched to the West Indies with cargoes of dried fish, staves, and +lumber; and also established a brewery at Quebec, in the hope of abating +the consumption of imported spirits. If he did not achieve a larger +measure of success, it was because little was possible under a system of +combined monopoly and paternalism. His reports to the home government +speak of the country as prosperous. In 1670 he writes that the money +granted by the king for the encouragement of families, and the different +industries established, have had such a good effect, that now no one +dares to beg, unless perhaps some unprotected child too young to work, +or some man too old to work or incapacitated by accident or disease. + +A census of the country taken by the intendant in the year 1666 showed a +total population of 3418. The estimated number of men capable of bearing +arms being 1344. The old Company of the Hundred Associates was, by the +terms of its contract to have brought 4000 settlers to the colony in +fifteen years, dating from 1633; but Talon's figures proved that, in +more than twice fifteen years, the whole population still fell +considerably short of that number. The population of Quebec at this time +was 555, of Montreal 584, and of Three Rivers 461. The seigniory of +Beaupré below Quebec had 678 inhabitants and the Island of Orleans 471. +The French government had for some years been showing much zeal in +sending out settlers to Canada, and it was chiefly owing to its efforts +that the population had increased to the extent indicated by the census. +The total number of state-directed immigrants from 1664 to the close of +the year 1671 is estimated at over 2500--a most substantial addition to +the strength of the colony. The Sulpicians must also be credited with +some useful activity in the cause of colonization. Their settlers were +of course directed to Montreal, and, as the figures above quoted show, +the population of that place already exceeded that of Quebec. + +The patent granted to the Company of New France, or of the Hundred +Associates, had made them lords of the whole territory of Canada, with +power to concede seigniories therein of varying degrees of extent, +importance and dignity. A few seigniories were established by that +company; but, as we have seen, the country under its management was +practically at a standstill. All the rights which it had in the +disposition of the land were transferred to the West India Company; and +under Talon's régime the creation of seigniories proceeded much more +rapidly, owing mainly to the fact that there were suitable applicants +for them in the officers of the regiments which the king had sent out. +The last few weeks he spent in the country were mainly occupied in this +way. In one month he issued sixty patents.[5] This was entirely in +accordance with the intentions of the French government, which had +promised lands to any of the officers or soldiers of the Carignan +Regiment who might elect to settle in the country. A large number +accepted the proposition; and to provide wives for the excess of men +existing in the colony the government was assiduous in sending out +marriageable girls, on the whole very carefully selected, who as a rule +were snapped up immediately on arrival by wistful bachelors or +disconsolate widowers. If any were slow in finding partners owing to +lack of visible attractions, they were bonused in money and household +goods, which usually had the effect desired. Bounties were moreover paid +throughout the colony for early and fruitful marriages; and the +administrators were instructed to see that special respect was paid to +the fathers of large families, and particularly to those who, having +large families, had succeeded in marrying off their boys and girls at an +early age. Contrariwise, fathers whose children showed backwardness in +entering on matrimony were to be the objects of official displeasure. +Parkman expresses the truth with his usual picturesque force when he +says that, "throughout the length and breadth of Canada, Hymen, if not +Cupid, was whipped into a frenzy of activity." A gratifying success +attended these practical measures. By the year 1671 the total population +had increased to six thousand. There were in that year seven hundred +baptisms; and the bishop, from doubtless reliable sources of +information, was able to promise the governor eleven hundred for the +next year. Unfortunately infant mortality was in those days extremely +high; or the population would indeed have been increasing by leaps and +bounds. + +It is a matter of regret that the early historians of Canada feel +themselves obliged to record a decline in the morals of the country, +dating from the arrival of the king's troops in 1665. Up to that time, +we are told, the inhabitants--those in the Montreal district at +least--had lived in a condition of pristine simplicity and innocence, +recalling that of the early Christians. No one locked his house by day +or night, the crime of theft being unknown. The ordinances of the church +were strictly observed by the whole population; but, if on occasion any +one failed in his duty, punishment promptly followed. For example, a man +on the Island of Orleans, having eaten meat on a Friday, was fined +twenty-five francs, half of which went to the parish church, and +threatened with corporal punishment if he repeated the offence. "Here," +observes the Abbé Faillon with quiet enthusiasm, "we see the true +destination of the secular power." + +But--ages of gold have a tendency to vanish away, and the Astraea of the +French colony took her sad flight shortly after the Carignan-Salières +Regiment arrived. These men had the pleasure-loving ways of soldiers, +and war had not trained them to a very strict regard for personal rights +or clerical admonitions. A ball was given at Quebec--the first ever held +in the country--on the 4th February 1667. The clergy held their breath, +not knowing what might follow. Many abuses, it would seem, followed: +morals began to be relaxed; thefts became sufficiently common to bring +bolts and locks into requisition; a Seneca chief was cruelly murdered by +three soldiers; and shortly afterwards six Indians were massacred in +their sleep by some settlers near Montreal. The object of the latter +crime was to obtain possession of a large quantity of furs which the +Indians had brought down to sell. That peace with the natives was +gravely imperilled by these atrocious deeds may readily be imagined. It +took all the firmness and tact of the governor to avoid an outbreak. The +three soldiers were shot by his orders in the presence of a number of +Indians. The other criminals seem to have escaped punishment by flight. + +The last important act of Courcelles was to undertake a journey up the +St. Lawrence as far as the outlet of Lake Ontario. The object of this +adventure was to impress upon the more distant Iroquois tribes, who had +boasted that they were out of reach of the French arms, that such was +not the case. The idea which these savages had was that the only route +by which the French could penetrate into their country was by way of the +river Richelieu and Lake Champlain, in which case they would have first +to pass through the "buffer" territory of the eastern Iroquois tribes. +The rapids of the St. Lawrence, they thought, would effectually bar +approach by way of Lake Ontario. To demonstrate their error, Courcelles +gave orders for the construction of a flat-boat of two or three tons +burden, which could be rowed in smooth water, and dragged up difficult +places on the rapids. When this craft was ready, he manned it with a +crew of eight men; and, taking also thirteen bark canoes, he ascended +the river successfully with a party of over fifty men, including the +governor of Montreal and other leading officials. The Iroquois (Cayugas +and Senecas) took due note of the feat and revised their opinions +accordingly. + +In the following year both Courcelles and Talon were recalled at their +own request. There had been friction between them for some time, and +they seem to have thought that it would be best for the king's service +that they should both retire. Whatever the causes of difference may have +been, they did not squabble in public like some of their successors. The +services of both were highly appreciated by the French government, and +the departure of both from Canada was very generally and sincerely +regretted. + +[Footnote 2: According to the _Jesuit Relations_ for 1643-4, the Hurons +cried out in their despair: "The Iroquois, our mortal enemies, do not +believe in God, have no love for prayer, commit all kinds of crimes, and +nevertheless they prosper. We, since we have abandoned the customs of +our fathers, are slaughtered and burnt, our villages are destroyed. What +good do we get by lending ear to the Gospel, if conversion and death +walk hand in hand?" Garneau, who quotes this passage, adds: "One tribe +of them that had counted its warriors by hundreds was now reduced to +thirty."] + +[Footnote 3: _Les Jésuites et la Nouvelle France._ Vol. i. Introduction, +p. xv. More than two centuries earlier the pious Superior of the +Ursuline Convent, Mère de l'Incarnation, had referred, in her own gentle +way, to their incompleteness. "If," she says, "any one is disposed to +conclude that the labours of the convent are useless because no mention +is made of them in the _Relations_, the inference must equally be drawn +that Monseigneur the Bishop is useless; that his Seminary is useless; +that the Seminary of the Jesuit fathers themselves is useless; that the +ecclesiastics of Montreal are useless; and that finally the Hospital +nuns are useless; because of none of these persons or things do the +_Relations_ say a word. Nothing is mentioned save what relates to the +progress of the Gospel; and, even so, lots of things are cut out after +the record gets to France."--_Letires Spirituelles_, edition of 1681, p. +259.] + +[Footnote 4: _Jesuits in North America_, chap. xv.] + +[Footnote 5: See the excellent monograph by M. Thos. Chapais, _Jean +Talon, Intendant de la Nouvelle France_, Quebec, 1904.] + + + + + CHAPTER III + + THE BEGINNING OF FRONTENAC'S ADMINISTRATION + + +The information we possess respecting the life of Count Frontenac prior +to his appointment to the governorship of Canada is far from being as +complete as might be wished. Such particulars as the records of the +period furnish have been carefully gathered by Parkman and others;[6] +and it is doubtful whether any further facts of importance will come to +light. He was born--there is nothing to show where--in 1620, one year +after the great minister, Colbert, under whom he was destined to serve. +His family belonged to the small principality of Béarn, now incorporated +in the Department of the Basses Pyrénées, which, made an appanage to the +French Crown by Henry of Navarre, was only formally incorporated with +the kingdom of France in the very year in which Frontenac was born. His +father, Henri de Buade, was colonel of the regiment of Navarre, but has +not otherwise passed into history. His grandfather, Antoine de Buade, +Seigneur de Frontenac and Baron de Palluau, was a man of more +distinction, being not only state councillor under Henry IV, but first +steward of the royal household and governor of St. Germain-en-Laye. He +is described in the memoirs of Philip Hurault as "one of the oldest +servants of the king." His children used to play familiarly with the +dauphin, afterwards Louis XIII; and the association thus formed lasted +for some time after their playmate became king, which he did, nominally, +at the age of nine, upon the assassination of his father, Henry IV. The +Frontenac family was thus noble, though not of the highest nobility; and +its connection with the domestic life of the royal family gave it no +doubt an additional measure of influence. The youthful king, with whom +the young Frontenacs played, became the father of Louis XIV. + +Louis de Buade, Count Frontenac, the subject of this narrative, felt +early in life a call to arms. The Thirty Years' War broke out in 1618; +and when France, in 1635, under the astute guidance of Cardinal +Richelieu, interfered on the Protestant side, Frontenac, then fifteen +years of age, was sent to Holland to serve under the Prince of Orange. +He seems to have acquitted himself with bravery and distinction in many +different sieges and engagements both in the Low Countries and in Italy. +He was wounded many times: at the siege of Orbitello in 1646 he had an +arm broken. In this year he was raised to the rank of _maréchal de +camp_, or brigadier-general. Three years before, at the age of +twenty-three, he had been made colonel of the regiment of Normandy. His +service appears to have been continuous, or nearly so, till the war was +brought to a conclusion in 1648 by the Peace of Westphalia. In the year +mentioned we find him resting from the alarms and fatigues of war in his +father's house on the Quai des Célestins at Paris. Close by lived an +attractive young lady of sixteen, daughter of a certain M. de la +Grange-Trianon, Sieur de Neuville, with whom, as became his age and +profession, the returned warrior fell deeply in love. His passion was +returned sufficiently to lead the young lady, when her father's consent +could not be obtained, to marry her suitor at one of the churches in +Paris authorized to solemnize marriages, in more or less urgent cases, +without the consent of parents. The marriage was not a happy one. Madame +de Frontenac soon conceived a positive aversion for her husband, and +they seem, at a very early period, to have ceased to live together, +though not before the birth of a son. The child was placed in the charge +of a village nurse, and little more is heard of him, except that when he +grew up he embraced the profession of arms, and died, it is not certain +how, at a comparatively early age. The mother joined the train of +Mademoiselle de Montpensier. These were the days of the Fronde--the +abortive rebellion against the fiscal iniquities of Mazarin during the +minority of Louis XIV--and in following the fortunes of her patroness, +whose father, the king's uncle, had joined the opposition, the young +countess had some strange adventures. + +What part, if any, Frontenac himself took in the troubles of the period, +does not appear; probably none, for although somewhat turbulent by +nature, as will abundantly appear hereafter, he was not without a large +element of caution, particularly where persons in high authority were +concerned. It is certain, at least, that, when the strife was over, he +enjoyed a good position at court, as Mademoiselle de Montpensier notes, +having met him more than once in the cabinet of the queen. He possessed +a property on the Indre, in the neighbourhood of Blois, and here he +attempted to keep up a state far beyond his income. "Your means are very +slender and your waste is great," said the chief-justice to Sir John +Falstaff; and the same observation might not inaptly have been addressed +to Frontenac. He prided himself extravagantly upon his horses, his +table, his servants--in a word, on everything that was his; entertained +largely, and ran himself hopelessly into debt. In 1669 the French +government sent a contingent to assist the Venetians in defending Candia +(Crete), against the Turks. The Venetians offered to place their own +troops under French command, and Frontenac had the high honour of being +recommended by Turenne, the greatest military leader of the age, for the +position. In this struggle the Turks triumphed; the island fell into +their power; and Frontenac returned to France with enhanced military +prestige, but without any amelioration of his financial position. Saint +Simon describes him as "a man of good abilities, holding a prominent +position in society, but utterly ruined." He adds that he could not bear +the haughty temper of his wife, and that his appointment as governor of +Canada was given to him in order to relieve him of her, and afford him +some means of living. His wife's temper was not more haughty probably +than his own; neither apparently was disposed to show any deference to +the wishes of the other. Madame de Frontenac, who was a woman of keen +intelligence, without any large amount of feminine tenderness, took too +dispassionate a measure of her husband's qualities to satisfy his rather +exacting self-esteem. She must have had some means of her own, for, +though she did not go to court, she lived for many years surrounded by +the best people and enjoying a high degree of social authority. Though +she did not accompany her husband to Canada, and probably was not +invited to do so, it is plausibly conjectured that her influence in +court circles stood him in good stead on more than one occasion. + +Frontenac's commission as governor was dated 6th April 1672, but he did +not leave France till midsummer. It is interesting to know that M. de +Grignan, Madame de Sévigné's son-in-law, was a candidate for the same +position. Had he obtained it, and had his wife, the accomplished +daughter of a still more accomplished mother, accompanied him, what +flashes of light on Canadian society might we not have obtained from +that mother's correspondence! Unfortunately no vestige of Frontenac's +private correspondence with either his wife or any one else remains. +Courcelles and Talon were still at Quebec when he arrived. From the +former he obtained a full account of his expedition to Lake Ontario; and +from the latter much information as to the general condition of the +country, the various enterprises in the way of exploration that had +already been undertaken, and the further ones that it might be well to +organize. Frontenac, who had the eye of a soldier for a good military +position, was much impressed by what Courcelles told him of Cataraqui; +and from the first the idea of establishing a fortified post at that +point took strong possession of his mind. + +The new governor was not a young man--he was fifty-two years of age--but +his natural force, either of body or of mind, was not abated. To a man +of his tastes and habits there were many privations involved in a +residence in a country like Canada; but there were compensations, the +chief of which, perhaps, was to be found in the opportunity afforded him +of exercising a semi-royal pomp and power; while a close second, it +cannot be doubted, was the chance of rehabilitating his shattered +fortunes. It would be unjust, at the same time, to suppose that the man +who had fought through so many hard campaigns was not sincerely desirous +of serving his king and country in the new position to which he had been +assigned. The first important step that he took was a characteristic +one, namely, an attempt to constitute in Canada the "three estates" of +nobles, clergy, and people, of which the kingdom of France was nominally +constituted. True, the three estates, or "States-General," as they were +properly called, had not been summoned in the mother country since 1614, +and it was doubtful if their existence as an organ of political +authority, or even of political opinion, was more than theoretical. This +fact might have caused another man to hesitate, but not Count Frontenac; +to him the idea of gathering representatives of the country round him, +marshalling them in their respective orders, and, after addressing them +in the name of the king, requiring them to take the oath of allegiance +in his presence, was too alluring to be put aside. So the summons went +forth, and the assembly was held on one of the last days of October in +the new church of the Jesuits. The "estates" were constituted, the oaths +were taken, and the governor stirred the feelings of his audience, +consisting, he says, of over a thousand persons, by referring to the +victories which his royal master had that year achieved in his war with +Holland. Everything, indeed, passed off beautifully; but when a report +of the proceedings reached the minister, Colbert, his response was of a +somewhat chilling nature. The immediate effect of the assembly might, +perhaps, he said, be good, but "it is well for you to observe that, as +you are always to follow the forms in force here, and as our kings have +considered it for a long time advantageous not to assemble the +States-General of their kingdom, with the object perhaps of insensibly +abolishing that ancient form, you also ought only very rarely, or--to +speak more correctly--never, give that form to the corporate body of the +inhabitants of that country." Colbert did not even approve--though +perhaps on this point he was expressing more particularly the views of +the king--of the election of "syndics" to represent the interests of the +population of Quebec. "Let every one," he said, "speak for himself; it +is not desirable to have any one authorized to speak for all." This was +absolutism with a vengeance. It answered for the day; but could the +minister have looked forward to 1789 he would have seen that the +"ancient form," which it was proposed to extinguish by desuetude, was +destined, like a blazing star that suddenly flashes a strange light in +the heavens, to leap into a new life, amazing, consuming, resistless. + +The views of the governor, it must be admitted, were, in this whole +matter, decidedly in advance of those of the minister, able +administrator as the latter undoubtedly was. Frontenac had come to +Canada to uphold the royal authority in the fullest sense, but he +appears to have had a perception that, in a new country where so much +responsibility was necessarily thrown upon individuals, there ought to +be a certain measure of spontaneous political life. Masterful as he was +himself by nature, it is not recorded that he ever dwelt on the +necessity of repressing individual liberty; it is the intendant, +Meulles, a dozen years later, who writes: "It is of very great +importance that the people should not be allowed to speak their +minds."[7] + +No, the quarter in which Frontenac conceived the authority of his royal +master might, perhaps, be threatened, was a different one altogether; in +other words the battle he foresaw was not against the political +aspirations of the people, but against the excessive claims and +pretensions of the ecclesiastical power. This idea did not originate in +his own mind. The instructions which he brought out with him, while they +eulogized the zeal and piety of the Jesuits, hinted that they might seek +to extend their authority beyond its proper limits, in which case +Frontenac was to "give them kindly to understand the conduct they ought +to observe"; and if they did not amend their ways, he was, as the +document read, "skilfully to oppose their designs in such a way that no +rupture may ensue, and no distinct intention on your part to thwart +their purposes may be apparent." The court had, indeed, for several +years been under the impression that cautions of this kind to its +representatives were necessary. In Talon's instructions, drafted in the +year 1664, the troubles that had occurred between previous governors and +the bishop were rehearsed, and the inference was at least suggested +that these might in part have arisen from the domineering spirit of the +prelate. He had had his way with Argenson, Avaugour, and Mézy; but, if +the civil power was not to pale entirely before the ecclesiastical, it +was about time that the series of his victories should close. Other +despatches to Courcelles, Bouteroue (interim intendant during Talon's +temporary absence in France), and Frontenac himself contain observations +of a like tenor. + +The redoubtable vicar-apostolic was not in Canada when Frontenac +arrived. He had sailed for France in the month of May to press the +important matter of his appointment as bishop of Quebec. A letter which +he wrote to the cardinals of the propaganda almost immediately on his +arrival serves to show the reasons he had for desiring this change of +status, and, incidentally, his opinion of the civil officers of the +Crown. "I have learnt," he says, "by a long experience how insecure the +office of vicar-apostolic is against those who are entrusted with +political affairs, I mean the officers of the court, the perpetual +rivals and despisers of the ecclesiastical power, who steadily contend +that the authority of a vicar-apostolic is open to doubt, and should be +kept within certain limits. That is why, having considered the whole +matter very carefully, I have fully determined to resign that office, +and not to return to New France, unless the bishopric of Quebec is +constituted, and unless I am provided and armed with the bulls +constituting me the Ordinary."[8] These are the words of a man who knows +his own mind, and, we may add, of one who is prepared to fight his +enemies to a finish. He may not have known, before he arrived in France, +what man, and what kind of a man, had been selected as successor to +Courcelles; but we may be sure that, when he found out, he was not less +impressed than before with the need for a strengthening of his position. + +Louis XIV had himself for thirteen years been pressing, at intervals, +upon the Holy See the expediency of establishing a bishopric in New +France, but without much success. There were some points of difference +between the French court and the Roman authorities as to the conditions +under which the projected diocese should be created, and the latter +showed a wonderful skill in prolonging the negotiations. Finally, the +only point in dispute was whether the new bishop should be a suffragan +of one of the French archbishops, as desired by the king, or directly +dependent on the Pope. This point was conceded by the king in December +1673; but it was not till October 1674 that the necessary bull was +issued. In the following April Laval took the oath of fealty to the king +as bishop of Quebec, with jurisdiction over the whole of Canada, and +shortly afterwards he set sail for the scene of his pastoral labours. +Thus it was that for nearly three years Frontenac had no direct +relations with the head of the Canadian church. + +Was this interval, then, one of peace? Not entirely. Frontenac defines +his position and raises a note of alarm in his very first despatch to +the minister for the colonies.[9] He was dissatisfied, he said, with +"the complete subserviency of the priests of the seminary at Quebec, and +the bishop's vicar-general to the Jesuit fathers, without whose orders +they never do anything. Thus," he adds, "they [the Jesuits] are +indirectly the masters of whatever relates to the spiritual, which, as +you are aware, is a great machine for moving all the rest." He thinks +they have gained an ascendency even over the Superior of the +Récollets;[10] and he expresses the wish that the ecclesiastics of that +order could be replaced by abler men who could hold their own against +the Jesuit influence. He mentions that he had expressed his surprise in +strong terms to the Jesuit fathers at Ste. Foy that not one of their +Indian converts had been taught the French language, and had told them +that they "should bethink themselves, when rendering the savages +subjects of Jesus Christ, of making them subjects of the king also--that +the true way to make them Christians was to make them men." The governor +had probably noticed that lack of vigorous, self-helping manhood in the +Indian converts, which is hinted at even in the _Jesuit Relations_, and +which had certainly been conspicuous in the christianized Huron tribe in +the crisis of their struggle with the Iroquois. As regards teaching them +the French language, the missionaries had their own well-defined reasons +for not doing so. They did not wish to bring them into too close contact +with the French inhabitants, lest they should unlearn the lessons of +morality and religion that had been taught to them. The great object +which the priests had in view was to build up a kingdom not of this +world; and, as the object which the king and his officers had mainly in +view was to enlarge and strengthen the French dominions, it is not +surprising that there was clashing now and again. Frontenac, in writing +to Colbert, seems to have felt assured of sympathy in his somewhat +anti-clerical, or, at least, anti-Jesuit, attitude; otherwise he would +never have ventured to make, as he does in the same despatch, the +unjustifiable statement that the Jesuit missionaries were quite as much +interested in the beaver trade as in the conversion of souls, and that +most of their missions were pure mockeries. It was of Colbert that +Madame de Maintenon said: "He only thinks of his finances, and never of +religion." + +But while the elements of future trouble were plainly visible, no +serious friction occurred during the first year of the new governor's +administration. His relations with the Jesuit order were civil, and with +the Sulpicians, at Montreal, and the Récollets entirely friendly. With +the Sovereign Council, too, they were all that could be wished. His mind +at this time was greatly taken up with the project he had in view of +following in Courcelles' footsteps and establishing a military and +trading post at Cataraqui. His general policy when he wanted to do a +thing was not to ask permission beforehand, but to do it, and trust to +the result for justification. Had he laboured under Nelson's disability, +he would have been quite capable of turning his blind eye to a +prohibitive signal, even after seeing it distinctly with his good one. +In his despatch to Colbert of the 2nd November he mentions, in a casual +way, that he proposes next spring to visit the place at the outlet of +Lake Ontario where M. de Courcelles had projected the establishment of a +fort, in order that he may be able "the better to understand its site +and importance, and to see if, notwithstanding our actual weakness, it +be not possible to create some establishment there that would also +strengthen the settlement the gentlemen of Montreal [the Sulpicians] +have already formed at Quinté." He adds: "I beg of you, my Lord, to be +assured that I shall not spare either care or trouble, or even my life +itself, if it be necessary, in the effort to accomplish something +pleasing to you, and to prove the gratitude I shall ever feel for the +favours I have received at your hands." This is quite effusive, and at +the same time tolerably diplomatic. How _could_ the minister do +otherwise than approve an enterprise undertaken in so self-sacrificing a +spirit, and one prompted by so much personal devotion to himself? +Colbert might possibly have replied--if he had had the chance--by +pointing Frontenac to his instructions, and asking him to show his +devotion to duty by following them out as closely as possible. Those +instructions contained the following clause, the tenor of which we shall +find repeated in many subsequent communications from the home +government: "Sieur de Frontenac is to encourage the inhabitants by all +possible means to undertake the cultivation and clearing of the soil; +and as the distance of the settlements from one another has considerably +retarded the increase thereof, and otherwise facilitated the +opportunities of the Iroquois for their destructive expeditions, Sieur +de Frontenac will consider the practicability of obliging those +inhabitants to make contiguous clearings, either by constraining the old +colonists to labour at it for a certain time, or by making new grants to +future settlers under this condition." There is not a word said about +extending the boundaries of the colony, or throwing out advanced posts, +or any other phase of the policy of expansion. The French government was +in fact strongly anti-expansionist; but Frontenac, resembling in this +point a later sage, did not think they knew everything in the "Judee" of +the ministry of marine and colonies. + +So, just about the time that the minister was inditing the despatch in +which he gently chided the ebullient Frontenac for his rashness in +summoning the States-General, the latter was preparing another little +surprise for him. In the spring of the year he had given orders that men +and canoes should be held in readiness for the contemplated movement; +and, as the supply of available canoes was likely to fall short, he had +ordered that a number of new ones should be built. He also directed the +construction of two flat-boats, similar to the one used by Courcelles, +but of twice the capacity. On the 3rd of June he started with a certain +force from Quebec, and after visiting and inspecting different posts +along the river, arrived at Montreal, the point of rendezvous, on the +15th of the same month. Here he was received, according to his own +account, which there is no reason to question, with the greatest +enthusiasm and _éclat_. + +It may be interesting to pause for a moment and try to reconstruct in +imagination the scene on which the grizzled and sun-beaten warrior gazed +as he alighted from his canoe at five o'clock in the afternoon of that +long, bright summer day. The river bank, which had become a common, was +probably no longer flower-bespread as it was on that glorious morning in +the month of May 1642 when Maisonneuve, Mademoiselle Mance, and their +companions knelt in prayer on the soil which their labours and +sacrifices were to consecrate; but the mountain, with its leafy honours +thick upon it, stood forth in royal splendour, while cultivated fields, +smiling with the promise of a harvest, sloped upwards to its base. In +the foreground was the growing burg, full of life and animation on this +memorable day. To the left was the fort built by Maisonneuve, no longer +relied on for defence, but used chiefly as a residence for the local +governor. The river front was as yet unoccupied by houses, the nearest +line of which lay along what is now, as it was then, St. Paul Street, +from St. Peter Street in the west to somewhat beyond the present +Dalhousie Square in the east. Montreal as yet did not possess any parish +church; the churches maintained by the different congregations, +particularly that of the Hôtel Dieu, having up to this time been made to +serve the needs of the population. The foundations of a regular parish +church had been laid, but the work of construction was proceeding +slowly, and five years had yet to elapse before the edifice was +finished. The principal buildings were the Hôtel Dieu, which had lately +lost its pious founder, Mademoiselle Mance; the Congrégation de Notre +Dame, still conducted by the brave and cheery Margaret Bourgeoys; and +the Seminary of St. Sulpice. The whole town, if we may so call it, was +comprised between the eastern and western limits just defined, and the +northern and southern ones of St. Paul and St. James Streets; even so, +much the larger part of the contained space was not built up. A few of +the wealthier merchants had erected substantial houses, and there was +something already in the appearance of the place which suggested that it +would have a future. We can imagine the zeal with which the local +governor, Perrot, upon whose proceedings in the way of illicit traffic +it is probable Frontenac already had an eye--an eye of envy the Abbé +Faillon somewhat harshly suggests--would receive the king's direct +representative. All the troops that the island could furnish were drawn +up under arms at the landing-place, and salvos of artillery and musketry +gave emphasis to the official words of welcome. The officers of justice +and the "syndic"--the spokesman of the people in municipal matters--were +next presented, and, after they had delivered addresses, a procession +was formed to the church, at the door of which the clergy were waiting +to receive the viceregal visitor with all due honour. By the time the +appropriate services, including the chanting of the _Te Deum_, had been +concluded, the sun had sunk behind the mountain. It was the hour for +rest and refreshment, and the governor was conducted to the quarters +assigned to him in the fort, beneath the windows of which tranquilly +rolled the mighty flood of the St. Lawrence, still bright with the +evening glow. + +Frontenac had brought with him his military guard, consisting of twenty +men or so, his staff, and a few volunteers. Additional men were to +follow from Quebec, Three Rivers, and other places; and some were to be +recruited at Montreal. In ten or twelve days everything was in +readiness. A waggon-road had been made to Lachine, over which baggage, +provisions, and munitions of war were conveyed; and a start was made +from that point on the 30th June, the whole force consisting of about +four hundred men, including some Huron Indians, in one hundred and +twenty canoes and the two flat-boats already mentioned. Some time before +setting out Frontenac had sent on, as an envoy to the five Iroquois +nations, to invite them to a conference, Cavelier de la Salle, a man who +had already penetrated some distance into the western country, and who +was destined to achieve the highest fame as an explorer. + +The voyage up the river was attended, as had indeed been expected, with +serious difficulty. The united strength of fifty men was necessary to +draw each of the flat-boats up the side of some of the rapids. The whole +force, however, worked with the utmost zeal and good-will; the Hurons in +particular accomplishing wonders of strength and endurance such as they +had never been known to perform for any previous commander. But if +portions of the journey were thus arduous, others were delightful. Thus +we read in Frontenac's own narrative: "It would be impossible to have +finer navigation or more favourable weather than we had on the 3rd of +July, a light north-east breeze having sprung up which enabled our +bateaux to keep up with the canoes. On the 4th we pursued our journey +and came to the most beautiful piece of country that can be imagined, +the river being strewn with islands, the trees in which are all either +oak or other kinds of hard wood, while the soil is admirable. The banks +on both sides of the river are not less charming, the trees, which are +very high, standing out distinctly and forming as fine groves as you +could see in France. On both sides may be seen meadows covered with rich +grass and a vast variety of lovely wild flowers; so that it may be +safely stated that from the head of Lake St. Francis to the next rapid +above, you could not see a more beautiful country, if only it were +cleared a bit." + +On the 12th July, as the expedition was approaching Cataraqui in +excellent military order, they were met by the Indians, who evinced much +pleasure at seeing the count and his followers, and conducted them to a +spot suitable for encampment. Some preliminary civilities were +exchanged, but it was not till the 17th that serious negotiations were +begun. The count, meanwhile, having found close by what he considered +an advantageous location for his proposed fort, set his men to work to +clear the ground, fell and square timber, dig trenches, etc., in a +manner which fairly surprised the Indians, who were not accustomed to +seeing building operations carried on so systematically and speedily. +But if they were impressed by the working capacity of the expeditionary +force, they were still more deeply influenced by the discourse of the +governor and the presents which accompanied it. Had the count been a +"black robe" himself, he could not have spoken with more unction or more +unimpeachable orthodoxy in urging his savage hearers to embrace +Christianity. He condensed, for the occasion, the whole of Christian +teaching into the two great commandments of love to God and love to man, +and appealed to the consciences of his hearers as to whether both were +not entirely reasonable. This portion of his speech, in which he also +declared that he desired peace both between the French and the Iroquois, +and between the latter and all Indian tribes under French protection, +was recommended by a present of fifteen guns and a quantity of powder, +lead, and gunflints. Next he informed them of his intention to form a +trading-post at Cataraqui. "Here," he said, "you will find all sorts of +refreshments and commodities, which I shall cause to be furnished to you +at the cheapest rate possible." He added, however, that it would be very +expensive to bring goods so far, and that they must take that into +consideration in criticizing prices. Twenty-five large overcoats were +distributed at this point. In the third place he reproached them with +their cruel treatment of the Hurons, and said that he meant to treat all +the Indian nations alike, and wished all to enjoy equal security and +equal advantages in every way. "See," he said, "that no complaints are +made to me henceforward on this subject, for I shall become angry; as I +insist that you Iroquois, Algonquins, and other nations that have me for +a father, shall live henceforth as brothers." He asked also that they +would let him have a few of their children that they might learn the +French language and be instructed by the priests. Twenty-five shirts, an +equal number of pairs of stockings, five packages of glass beads, and +five coats were given to round off this appeal. + +The reply of the delegates of the five Iroquois nations was in tone and +temper all that could be wished. They thanked Onontio that he had +addressed them as children, and were glad that he was going to assume +towards them the relation of father. They readily consented to live at +peace with the Hurons and Algonquins, and would, when they returned to +their cantons, carefully consider the question of letting him have a +certain number of their children. One delegate showed his financial +acumen by observing that, while Onontio had promised to let them have +goods as cheap as possible at the fort, he had not said what the tariff +would be. To this the count replied that he could not say what the +freight would amount to, but that considering them as his children, he +would see that they were fairly treated. Another, a Cayugan, evinced his +knowledge of current history by lamenting the calamities which the Dutch +were suffering in their war with the French, trade relations between the +Dutch and the Iroquois having always been very satisfactory. He consoled +himself, however, with the thought that his nation would now find a +father in Onontio. + +While the negotiations were in progress, work on the fort was proceeding +rapidly, and by the 20th of the month it was finished. The count then +dismissed the body of his force, the men being anxious to return to +their homes. He himself remained behind to meet some belated delegates +from points on the north shore of Lake Ontario, whom he did not fail to +reprove for their want of punctuality, after which, with rare liberality +of speech, he repeated to them all he had said to the others. A few +days' delay was also caused by the necessity of awaiting a convoy from +Montreal with a year's provisions for the fort. Finally, on the 28th +July, the governor and his party started on their homeward journey and +arrived safely at Montreal on the 1st of August. During the whole +expedition not one man or one canoe was lost. + +The narrative of this expedition has been given in some detail because +it sets in a strong light the better side of Frontenac's character. We +see him here as the able and vigorous organizer, the firm, judicious, +and skilful commander, the accomplished diplomat, and the lover of peace +rather than war. Short a time as he had been in the country, he seemed +already to understand the Indian character, and the Indians in turn +understood him. His language in addressing them was direct and simple, +frank and courageous. He had no hesitation in assuming the paternal +relation, and won their hearts by doing so. But it was not only over +savages that he exerted a natural ascendency, for we have seen the zeal +and enthusiasm with which his orders were executed by the whole +expeditionary force. Whatever weaknesses he may have had, it was not in +the field or in active service that they were displayed. + +The memorandum, which serves as authority for the facts just narrated, +was addressed to Colbert, and sent to France by a ship sailing from +Quebec shortly before the close of navigation. The minister's reply was +dated 17th May of the following year. He does not at all congratulate +Frontenac upon his exploit. "You will readily understand," he says, "by +what I have just told you,[11] that his Majesty's intention is not that +you undertake great voyages by ascending the river St. Lawrence, nor +that the inhabitants spread themselves for the future further than they +have already done. On the contrary, he desires that you labour +incessantly, and during the whole time you are in that country, to +consolidate, concentrate, and form them into towns and villages, that +they may be in a better position to defend themselves successfully." In +acknowledging this despatch, far from apologizing for what he had done, +Frontenac told the minister that the very best results had flowed from +it. More Indians had come to Montreal than ever before, eight hundred +having been seen at one time; Iroquois, Algonquins, and Hurons were +mixing with one another in the most friendly manner; the Jesuit +missionaries among the Iroquois found their position greatly improved, +and were never tired of saying so; and, finally, he had obtained the +Indian children he had asked for, eight in number, who were being +educated in the French fashion, and who would be a perpetual guarantee +of the peaceful behaviour of the tribes to which they belonged. At the +same time he says, that if the minister absolutely disapproves of the +fort, he will go next year and pull it down with as much alacrity as he +had put it up. This the minister did not insist on. In fact he was not +long in coming round to Frontenac's view that considering all the +circumstances of the case the fort was a necessity. One point of +interest connected with its establishment, upon which Frontenac has left +us in ignorance, is whom he appointed as its first commandant. A +contemporary writer[12] tells us it was La Salle, and the statement is +not improbable. It was La Salle, as we have seen, whom the governor +sent to the Iroquois to invite them to the conference, and as he had +acquitted himself of that mission in the most successful manner, it +seems natural that he should have been the first chosen to command a +post, the principal object of which was to serve as a convenient +meeting-place for Iroquois and French. A temporary concession of the +fort was made a year later to two Montreal merchants, Bazire and Lebert, +but it passed again, in the following year, into the hands of La Salle, +who had meantime gone to France and laid before the court certain larger +schemes for which Fort Frontenac was to serve as a base, and which he +obtained the king's authority to carry into effect. + +[Footnote 6: See particularly the interesting work of Mr. Ernest Myrand, +_Frontenac et ses Amis_, Quebec, 1902.] + +[Footnote 7: It was not till 1717 that the merchants of Montreal and +Quebec were allowed to meet and discuss business affairs.] + +[Footnote 8: Quoted by Faillon, vol. iii. p. 432.] + +[Footnote 9: This office was held by Colbert (in connection with a +general control of marine, finance, and public works) from 1669 to the +date of his death, 6th September 1683; by his son, the Marquis of +Seignelay, from 1683 to the date of his own death, 3rd November 1690; +and from that time to the conclusion of the period covered by this +narrative by the Marquis of Pontchartrain.] + +[Footnote 10: Through the influence of Talon, the king was induced in +the year 1668 to sign a decree permitting the Récollets to return to +Canada, and reinstating them in their former possessions. Père Leclercq, +Récollet, says they were very much wanted. "For thirty years," to quote +his words, "complaint was made in Canada that consciences were being +burdened; and the more the colony increased in population the greater +was the outcry. I sincerely hope that there was no real occasion for it, +and that the great rigour of the [Jesuit] clergy was useful and +necessary. Still the Frenchman loves liberty, and under all skies is +opposed to constraint, even in religion."] + +[Footnote 11: He had been speaking of the slow growth of the population +of Canada.] + +[Footnote 12: Père Leclercq, _Premier Etablissement de la Foi_, vol. ii. +p. 117.] + + + + + CHAPTER IV + + THE COMMENCEMENT OF TROUBLES + + +It is difficult in the present advanced condition of all the arts and +sciences which converge on the perfecting of our means of transport and +communication to form an adequate idea of the toils, inconveniences, and +perils encountered by those who in the seventeenth century attempted the +task of colonizing this continent. To say nothing of the difficulties of +land travel, the colonist, by the mere fact of crossing the ocean, +placed a barrier of two or three months of perilous navigation between +himself and the land that had been his home. To the dangers of the sea +were added the yet more serious danger of infection on ill-ventilated +and pest-breeding vessels. A ship coming to the St. Lawrence could in +those days make but one trip to and fro in the year. It is easy to see, +therefore, in how critical a position a colony would be that depended in +any large measure on supplies brought from the other side. The wreck or +capture of one or two vessels might bring it to the verge of starvation. +Success in agriculture, again, can only be looked for where there is +peaceable and secure possession of the land. If all the results of +laborious tillage are liable to be carried off or destroyed at any +moment by marauding foes, there is little encouragement to engage in +that kind of industry. The population will, by preference, turn to the +search for metals, or seek to trade in articles easily marketed. Thus it +was that, in the early days, the Canadian settlers gave themselves up +almost wholly to hunting and fur-trading. Later, when the French +government began to interest itself directly in the settlement of the +country, strong efforts were made to induce the colonists to apply +themselves to agriculture. Lands were conceded on condition that they +should be cleared and cultivated within a specified time, failing which, +they should revert to the Crown. The same condition applied to any +_portion_ of a grant remaining unimproved after the stipulated period. +Under these inducements agriculture began to make a little headway, +particularly, as we have seen, after the lesson given to the Iroquois by +Tracy. + +Still, there was too much hunting and too much trading with the Indians +in the woods, as distinguished from legitimate trading in the +settlements. Mention has already been made of the _coureurs de bois_. +These were men who, instead of awaiting the arrival of the Indians at +the posts of Montreal, Three Rivers, or Quebec, went out to meet them, +in order that they might get the pick of the skins they possessed, and +perhaps also get the better of them in a trade by first making them +drunk. Two classes of _coureurs de bois_ have been distinguished: on the +one hand, the men who merely _traded_ in the woods in the way described, +and, on the other, those who attached themselves to different Indian +bands, and lived the common life of their savage companions. This +reversion to savagery had a great fascination for many of the Canadian +youths; and, as it led to great moral disorder, the clergy were quite as +much opposed to it as the civil governors. As a convert is generally +more zealous than one born in the faith, so these converts from +civilization to barbarism seemed bent on outdoing the original sons of +the forest in all that was wild and unseemly. Like their bronzed +associates they would sometimes spurn clothing altogether, even when +visiting settlements, and would make both day and night hideous with +their carousing and yelling.[13] + +Frontenac had received from the king strict instructions to repress the +_coureurs de bois_ by all means in his power. The law against them was +severe, for the punishment was death. One of the first things Frontenac +learnt on arriving in the colony was that Montreal was the headquarters +of these lawless men, and that not only did the local governor, Perrot, +make no effort to reduce them to order, but that he was commonly +understood to be a sharer in their illicit gains. It was further stated +that he had an establishment of his own on an island, which still bears +his name, at the confluence of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence, where his +agents regularly intercepted the Indians on the way to Montreal, and +took the cream of the trade. The king's instructions, it was well known, +forbade any trading on the part of officials; but Perrot, whose family, +as already mentioned, was influential, and whose wife was a niece of the +late Intendant Talon, did not think that such a regulation was made for +him. In passing through Montreal at the time of his expedition to +Cataraqui, Frontenac had requested Perrot to see that the king's +instructions respecting the _coureurs de bois_ were obeyed. The latter +promised compliance, but the promise was not redeemed. Frontenac at +first thought he could get round the difficulty by appointing M. de +Chambly as local governor for the district surrounding the Island of +Montreal--Perrot's jurisdiction being limited strictly to the +island--and thus establishing a kind of cordon by which the comings and +goings of the _coureurs de bois_ might be controlled. This arrangement +was never put into operation, for the reason that, just about the same +time, M. de Chambly received from the king the appointment of governor +of Acadia. Perrot, however, accompanied him as far as Quebec, and this +gave Frontenac the opportunity of placing under the eyes of the Montreal +governor the orders he had received from the court, and urging him to +co-operate in giving them effect. Again Perrot promised to do his duty +in the matter, but with what degree of sincerity events quickly showed. +He had hardly returned to Montreal when the local judge, Ailleboust, who +had received personal instructions from Frontenac in regard to carrying +out the law, tried to effect the arrest of two offenders who were +lodging in the house of one Carion, an officer. Carion refused to permit +the arrest, and was upheld therein by Perrot, whereupon the judge took +the only course open to him, namely, to notify the governor-general. It +was now midwinter; but, without a moment's hesitation, Frontenac +deputed one Bizard, a lieutenant of his guard, to go to Montreal with +three men, effect the arrest of Carion, and bring him to Quebec. He gave +Bizard at the same time a letter to Perrot, but instructed him not to +deliver it till he had first made sure of his prisoner. The lieutenant +carried out his instructions, so far as the arrest of Carion was +concerned; but, before he could leave Montreal, Perrot pounced down upon +him and made him prisoner in turn, asking him how he dared to make an +arrest in the limits of the government of Montreal without first +notifying him. The scene was witnessed by two prominent residents of +Montreal, Lebert, the merchant, and La Salle, of whom we have already +heard; and a report of the matter, attested by them, was despatched to +Quebec. The choleric Perrot, hearing of this piece of officiousness, as +he regarded it, put Lebert also into prison. La Salle, thinking the same +treatment might be meted out to him, lost no time in taking the road to +Quebec. + +The rage of Frontenac at this open defiance of his authority may be +imagined. Was it for this that he had come to Canada, to be flouted and +set at nought by a subordinate officer? The worst of it was that there +was no immediate remedy. The only thing to do at the moment was to +summon the culprit to appear before the Sovereign Council at Quebec. But +would he come? If he refused, Frontenac had no force to compel him. The +force was all on the other side; the governor-general had but his body +guard, whereas Montreal was full of men accustomed to Indian warfare, +who would probably obey Perrot's orders, especially as there was a +standing jealousy between Montreal and Quebec. At this point in his +reflections, the count bethought him of writing a letter to the Abbé de +Fénelon, Sulpician, of Montreal, who had accompanied him to Cataraqui, +and with whom he was on very friendly terms, asking him to represent to +Perrot what a serious thing it would be if he aggravated his former +misconduct by refusing to go to Quebec. Rightly or wrongly, M. de +Fénelon understood this letter as signifying that the governor, while +desirous of vindicating his authority, was prepared to compromise the +difficulty to some extent, and consequently gave Perrot to understand +that, if he would obey the order to go to Quebec, the matter would in +all probability be amicably adjusted. He offered to accompany him; and +the two set out towards the close of January on a snowshoe tramp to +Quebec over the frozen St. Lawrence. They arrived at the capital on the +29th of the month. Perrot at once sought an interview with the governor; +but the discussion, far from taking a friendly turn, soon became +extremely violent; and the result was that Perrot found himself in an +hour's time placed under arrest. + +The surprise and chagrin of the Montreal official may be imagined. As +for the abbé, his indignation at what he regarded as a breach of faith +knew no bounds.[14] Sharp words passed between him and the governor, and +he returned to Montreal in a most agitated and rebellious state of mind. +A few weeks later, having to preach on Easter Sunday in the parish +church, he slipped into his sermon some observations which could only be +construed as an attack on the king's representative. Speaking of those +who are invested with temporal authority, he said--according to a +summary of his discourse given by the Abbé Faillon--that the magistrate +who was animated by the spirit of the risen Christ would be strict, on +the one hand, to punish offences against the service of his Prince, and +prompt, on the other, to overlook those against his own dignity; would +be full of respect for the ministers of the altar, and would not treat +them harshly when, in the discharge of their duty, they strove to +reconcile enemies and establish general good-will; would not surround +himself with servile creatures to fill his ears with adulation, nor +oppress under specious pretexts persons also invested with authority who +happened to oppose his projects; further that such a ruler would use his +power to maintain the authority of the monarch, and not to promote his +own advantage, and would content himself with the salary allowed him +without disturbing the commerce of the country or ill-using those who +would not give him a share of their gains; finally, that he would not +vex the people by unjustly exacting forced labour for ends of his own, +nor falsely invoke the name of the monarch in support of such +proceedings. + +In every sentence there was a sting. The last words referred to the +expedition to Lake Ontario, and the unpaid labour of the men by whom the +fort at Cataraqui had been constructed. The preacher, in fact, may be +said to have summed up the charges which certain Montrealers were at the +time making against the governor, and which the Abbé Faillon, swayed +perhaps in some measure by sympathy with a fellow Sulpician, does not +hesitate to say were well founded. + +The church on that Easter Sunday was filled to its utmost capacity, over +six hundred persons being present. Amongst these was the watchful La +Salle, who, not only took it all in himself, but by his gestures and +movements called the attention of as many persons as possible to what +was being said, and its obvious import. It was not only the friends of +Frontenac, however, who recognized the drift of the sermon, for the curé +of the parish, the Rev. M. Perrot, said to M. de Fénelon as he came down +from the pulpit: "Really, sir, you have entered into details which have +caused me a great deal of trouble." Other ecclesiastics were affected in +the same manner, amongst them La Salle's own brother, an ecclesiastic of +the Seminary, who went at once to the Superior, the excellent M. Dollier +de Casson, to tell him what had happened. The latter, in turn, +foreseeing trouble, sent to tell La Salle that the Seminary had no +responsibility whatever for M. de Fénelon's sermon, as it had not been +submitted beforehand for approval, and no one had the least notion what +he intended to say. The same communication was made in the most earnest +terms to M. de la Nauguère, who was temporarily filling the place of +governor of Montreal by Frontenac's nomination, with a request that he +would convey the assurance to the governor-general. + +The extraordinary thing is that the reverend gentleman who had caused +all this trouble, when spoken to on the subject by the Superior, gave +his word as a man of honour and a priest, that he had no intention +whatever of alluding to the governor-general, adding that those who so +applied his remarks were doing much dishonour to that high officer. The +Abbé Faillon does not like to call M. de Fénelon's word in question, but +he says that he manifestly lacked "one quality very important in a +missionary, the prudence which directs the exercise of zeal, and keeps +it within the bounds that circumstances require." + +It was not only by this sermon that the Abbé Fénelon showed his lack of +prudence. Madame Perrot had come out from France with her husband when +he was appointed to the governorship of Montreal in 1669, and now that +he was in trouble, and his case was likely to come before the king, she +was anxious to get some testimonial from the people of Montreal in his +favour. As to the kind of a governor Perrot had really been, we may +safely rely on the judgment pronounced by the industrious author of the +_Histoire de la Colonie Française en Canada_, who says[15]: "This +governor contributed more than any one else to that fatal revolution +which changed entirely the moral aspect of this colony [Montreal]. . . . +The whole course of his conduct in Canada justifies us in thinking that +when, in 1669, he decided to come here, it was in the hope of making a +great fortune through the influence of M. de Talon, whose niece, +Madeleine Laguide, he had married." The abbé goes on to explain that the +Seminary (as seigneurs of the Island of Montreal) would never have +nominated Perrot had they known his true character, and would certainly +not have retained him in office after his character became known, if +they had been free to act in the matter. What stood in the way was that, +through Talon's influence, his commission as governor had been confirmed +by the king, and that he had thus, in a manner, been rendered +independent of the Seminary authorities. "From that moment," the writer +continues, "he considered himself free from all control in the matter of +the traffic in drink which he was already carrying on with the savages +to the great scandal of all the respectable inhabitants. . . . It is +certain that he himself gave open protection to the _coureurs de bois_, +not only in his own island through M. Bruey, his agent, but also +throughout the whole extent of the Island of Montreal. . . . In order to +have, without much expense, _coureurs de bois_ under his orders, he +allowed nearly all the soldiers in the island to desert and take to the +woods, without either pursuing them, or notifying the governor-general +of their desertion." It may be added that, when some of the most +respectable inhabitants of Montreal ventured on a timid remonstrance +respecting the irregularities that were taking place, he assailed them +in the lowest and most ruffianly language, and put their principal +spokesman, who at the time was the acting judge of Montreal, into +prison. + +This was the man, then, in whose interest, when Madame Perrot could not +get any one else to do it, M. de Fénelon undertook to go round the +Island of Montreal, and get the inhabitants to sign a petition. The +petition, it is true, only stated that the signers had no complaints to +make against M. Perrot; but its object was to throw dust in the eyes of +the court, and it is impossible to think highly of the candour of the +man--elder brother, though he was, of the great Archbishop of +Cambrai--who was the chief agent in procuring it. + +It is not surprising, in view of these proceedings, that M. de Fénelon +received an order to repair to Quebec. Before summoning him, Frontenac +had carried on a prolonged correspondence with the Seminary at Montreal. +He first of all required them to banish Fénelon from their house as +being a factious and rebellious person. To save his brethren trouble, +Fénelon retired of his own accord, and took up parish work at Lachine. +Frontenac then asked for signed declarations as to what had been said in +the sermon. These the Sulpicians declined to give, saying they could not +be called upon to testify against a brother. "Then send down a copy of +the sermon," the governor said. The reply to this was that they had no +copy of it. For form's sake they consented to ask the vicar-general at +Quebec, the highest ecclesiastical authority in the absence of the +bishop, to request M. de Fénelon to furnish the original. The +vicar-general did so, and the abbé promptly replied that he would do +nothing of the kind; he did not acknowledge himself to be guilty of any +misdemeanour, but, if he were, he could not be required to furnish +evidence against himself. + +These _pourparlers_ consumed considerable time, as letters were not +exchanged in those days with modern rapidity between Quebec and +Montreal. Moreover, Frontenac took a slice out of the summer in order to +pay a visit to Montreal at the height of the trading season, not +impossibly with some thrifty design, though it is known that he attended +to the king's business to the extent of capturing, through his officer +M. de Verchères, no less than twelve _coureurs de bois_. It was not till +some time in the month of August that M. de Fénelon appeared to answer +for himself at Quebec. + +To follow in detail the incidents of the abortive inquiry into Perrot's +insubordination, and the equally unsatisfactory proceedings in the case +of the refractory abbé, would be tedious and unprofitable. Two of the +councillors, Tilly and Dupont, were appointed a commission to examine +Perrot. The latter made no objection at first to answering their +questions, but a few days later he took it into his head to protest the +competency of the council to try the charges against him. The governor, +he said, was his personal enemy, and the members of the council, +holding office during his good pleasure, could only be considered as his +creatures. The council disregarded the protest, and continued the +inquiry; but on each subsequent occasion Perrot refused to answer any +question till his protest had been duly entered in the minutes. One of +his answers almost betrays a sense of humour. He was asked why he had +not arrested the _coureurs de bois_ who made his private island their +headquarters. "Because," he said, "I had no jurisdiction; my government +does not extend beyond the Island of Montreal." In other words, he had +chosen a spot for his illegal operations where, in his private capacity, +he could, so to speak, snap his lingers in his own face in his official +capacity. Possibly it was an attempt on Frontenac's part to repay humour +with humour, when he caused one of these very _coureurs de bois_, a man +whom Perrot probably knew very well, to be hanged directly in front of +his prison window. + +During the summer a despatch was received from the minister for the +colonies which somewhat disquieted Frontenac, and doubtless had some +effect also on the minds of the councillors. In order to lay an account +of Perrot's rebellious conduct at the earliest possible moment before +the king, Frontenac had taken the unusual course of sending a letter by +way of Boston in February, hoping that it might reach the minister's +hands in time to be answered by the ship leaving in the spring or early +summer. Colbert wrote under date the 17th May 1674, evidently without +having received the letter, for he terminated his despatch with these +words: "His Majesty instructs me to recommend to you particularly the +person and interests of M. Perrot, governor of Montreal, and nephew of +M. Talon, his principal _valet de chambre_." Nothing could well have +been more awkward, considering that the person so warmly recommended was +at that moment, and had been for months, in durance vile, as a rebel +against the governor's authority, and indirectly against his Majesty's. + +The Abbé Fénelon, when he appeared before the council, was more defiant +by far than Perrot. He was told to stand up. He said, No, he would sit +down, as he was not a criminal; and, if he were, he could only be tried +by an ecclesiastical court. He was asked to remove his hat; to which he +replied by jamming it harder on his head, saying that ecclesiastics had +a right to keep their heads covered. In the end the council began to +fear that the governor was getting them into trouble; and they +consequently determined, in both cases, that they would confine +themselves to taking evidence, and leave the court to pronounce +judgment. This conclusion was not pleasing to Frontenac, who wished to +have a distinct decision of the council in his favour. He, too, was +"weakening," however, as we may see by his letter to the minister, dated +14th November 1674, and despatched by the same vessel by which the +governor of Montreal--released at last after ten months' +confinement--and the fiery abbé sailed for France. "I am sending," he +says, "M. Perrot and M. de Fénelon to France, in order that you may +judge their conduct. For myself, if I have failed in any point of duty, +I am ready to submit to his Majesty's corrections. A governor in this +country would be much to be pitied if he were not sustained, seeing +there is no one here on whom he can depend; and should he commit any +fault he might assuredly be excused, seeing that all kinds of nets are +spread for him, and that, after avoiding a hundred, he is liable to be +caught in the end. So, My Lord, I hope that, should I have had the +misfortune to take any false step, his Majesty will be kind enough to +sympathize with me, and to believe that the error was due to an excess +of zeal for his service, and not to any other motive." + +The tone of this communication, it must be confessed, is not quite what +one would expect from a man of Frontenac's character and antecedents. It +shows what influence at court counted for in that day. The letter was +accompanied by a docket of enormous proportions containing the charges +against Perrot and the abbé, and all the evidence taken in the course of +the prolonged investigation at Quebec. He received replies both from the +king and the minister. In regard to Perrot the king wrote: "I have seen +and examined all you have sent me concerning M. Perrot; and, after +having seen all that he has put forward in his defence, I have condemned +his action in imprisoning the officer you sent to Montreal. To punish +him I have sent him for some time to the Bastille, in order that this +discipline may not only render him more circumspect for the future, but +may serve as an example to others. But, in order that you may thoroughly +understand my views, I must tell you that, except in a case of absolute +necessity, you should not execute any order within the sphere of a local +government without having first notified the governor of the locality. +The punishment of ten months' imprisonment you inflicted on him seems to +me sufficient; and that is why I am sending him to the Bastille for a +short term only, in order to vindicate in a public manner my violated +authority." His Majesty added that he was sending Perrot back to his +government, but that he would instruct him to call on the +governor-general at Quebec and apologize for all his past offences; +after which Frontenac was to dismiss all resentment, and treat him with +the consideration due to his office. + +As regards Fénelon, he was not allowed to return to Canada; and he was +censured by the Superior of his order for having busied himself with +things with which he had no concern. At the same time Frontenac was +informed that he was wrong in instituting a criminal process against +that ecclesiastic, as well as in calling upon his brethren of the +Seminary to give evidence against him. The king made it clear that he +thought Frontenac had been unduly harsh and autocratic in his +proceedings generally. It would have been well for that dignitary if he +could have taken the admonition more deeply to heart. + +[Footnote 13: It was no doubt in large measure due to the extraordinary +physical vitality of the French race in Canada that so strong a tendency +was manifested towards this reversion, which of course was facilitated +by the general condition of life in a country that was little else than +forest. "_L'école buissonnière_" was at every one's door, and the men of +the colony were not alone in feeling the call of the wild. Mère Marie de +l'Incarnation, in her _Lettres Spirituelles_ says: "Sans l'éducation que +nous donnons aux filles françaises qui sont un peu grandes, durant +l'espace de six mois environ, elles seraient des brutes pires que les +sauvages; c'est pourquoi on nous les donne presque toutes, les unes +après les autres." See Ferland's _Cours d'Histoire du Canada_, vol. ii. +p. 85, who quotes this passage without any reference to page. Passages +of similar purport may, however, be found on pp. 231 and 258 of the +first edition (1681) of the _Lettres Spirituelles_.] + +[Footnote 14: Mr. P. T. Bedard, in his lecture on _Frontenac_, published +in the _Annuaire_ of the Institut Canadien of Quebec for 1880 speaks of +Frontenac's "duplicity" in this matter, a stronger term than the facts +seem to justify.] + +[Footnote 15: Vol. iii. pp. 446-52.] + + + + + CHAPTER V + + DIVIDED POWER + + +If the king read carefully, as he says he did, the cruel mass of +correspondence which Frontenac forwarded to him in connection with the +Perrot-Fénelon imbroglio, he could hardly have failed to come to the +conclusion that something was amiss in the state of Canada. Frontenac +had begged, somewhat piteously, that he might be "sustained," and +sustained he was in a manner, as we have just seen; but the king and the +minister had their own opinion on the subject, which they only partly +expressed in words, the rest they translated into action. Frontenac, +from the date of his arrival in Canada, had been the only visible source +of authority. Laval was in France, looking after the long delayed bull +which was to raise him from the doubtful rank of a bishop _in partibus_ +to the full legal status of bishop of Quebec. Talon, too, had left the +country a few weeks after the governor's arrival, and no one had been +sent to replace him. The old warrior had, therefore, had things entirely +his own way, and his own way had not proved to be the way of peace. To +place matters on a better footing, the court decided on two measures: to +reorganize the Sovereign Council, and to revive the office of intendant. +The council, it will be remembered, consisted of four members and an +attorney-general, nominated by the governor and the bishop jointly, and +holding office during their good pleasure. Henceforth it was to consist +of seven members, each holding office by direct commission from the +king. The main object of the change was to enable it to act with more +independence in the performance of its proper functions, which were +essentially of a judicial character. A secondary effect, probably +neither foreseen nor intended, was to augment the influence of the +bishop, at the expense of that of the governor, through the operation of +the natural law which inclines men to side rather with permanent than +with transient forces. Frontenac was jealous from the first of the +increased prestige of the council, and soon became disagreeably aware of +the advantage it afforded to his ecclesiastical rival. + +The council, as reconstituted, consisted of the four old members, Louis +Rouer de Villeray, who received the designation of first councillor, Le +Gardeur de Tilly, Mathieu Damours, and Nicolas Dupont, with three new +ones, Réné Charlier de Lotbinière, Jean Baptiste de Peyras, and Charles +Denis de Vitre. The attorney-general, Denis Joseph Ruette d'Auteuil, a +man described by Frontenac a couple of years later as "very ignorant, +and having such imperfect sight that he can neither read nor write," was +by name reappointed to his office, with one Gilles Rageot as clerk. All +these, holding their appointments directly from the king, were secure +from removal by any lesser authority. The utmost the governor could do +would be to suspend one or more of them for grave misconduct, subject to +confirmation of his action by the sovereign. Another change in the +judiciary of the colony was made a couple of years later. The king had, +in the year 1674, abolished a court called the Prévôté (Provost's Court) +of Quebec, which had been established by the West India Company for the +purpose of exercising a kind of police jurisdiction, and making +preliminary inquiries in certain cases. The royal idea at the time had +been that it would be simpler to intrust the whole administration of +justice to one court, the Sovereign Council. The enlargement and +strengthening of the council, however, and the appearance upon the scene +of an intendant whose views did not always harmonize, to speak very +moderately, with those of the governor, somewhat altered the situation. +There was a balance of powers; but justice itself would sometimes hang +in the balance longer than was desirable. In order, therefore, to get as +many cases as possible disposed of without troubling that important +tribunal, his Majesty, in the month of May 1677, determined to +re-establish the Prévôté, with power to judge, as a court of first +instance, all cases civil and criminal, subject to appeal to the +Sovereign Council. The court was to consist of a lieutenant-general as +judge, a public prosecutor and a clerk. To these was added, by an edict +of the same month, a special officer having the title of _prévôt_, with +judicial functions in criminal cases only. It probably was not foreseen +that the governor might play off the Prévôté against the Sovereign +Council. That, however, is what happened, and as the lower court had at +its service six "archers" or constables, it was able, when acting in +concert with the governor, to accomplish an occasional _tour de force_. + +The new intendant, M. Jacques Duchesneau, arrived at Quebec in the month +of September 1675 by the same vessel which bore back Laval, in all the +glory and power of full episcopal authority, to a flock from which he +had been absent three long years. His letter of instructions mentions +the fact that he had filled a somewhat similar office at Tours in +France, and had acquitted himself therein to the great satisfaction of +his Majesty. Research has been made without success to find out what the +office was; we have only, therefore, to take his Majesty's word for it. +Whatever M. Duchesneau's previous history may have been, he seems to +have come to Canada with the determination to keep a very watchful, and +not too benevolent, eye on the proceedings of his official superior, the +governor. There was the strongest possible contrast between the +characters of the two men. Frontenac was haughty, headstrong, and +aggressive; Duchesneau, cautious, crafty, and persistent. When two such +men come into conflict, it is not the cool calculator who suffers most, +however he may whine (as Duchesneau did) at the high-handed proceedings +of the other. Under the best of circumstances a governor and an +intendant were not likely to work very harmoniously together. Courcelles +and Talon did not, though both were well-meaning men. M. Lorin hints +that Colbert sent out Duchesneau to act as a spy upon Frontenac.[16] The +supposition seems to be a needless one. Duchesneau was sent out as Talon +had been before him, to see that the intentions of the court in the +government of the country were duly carried into effect, and in +particular that the considerable sums of money which the king +appropriated to the uses of the colony were rightly expended. It is +possible that, had Frontenac acted with more judgment and moderation +during the first two years of his administration, the appointment of an +intendant would not have been considered necessary; but, in any case, +the court in giving him a colleague, and thus relieving him of part of +his responsibilities, was simply applying to Canada a system of +administration long established in France, where, as a rule, every +province had its intendant as well as its governor. + +Duchesneau's instructions were certainly very clear as to the attitude +he was to maintain towards the governor. He was enjoined "to be careful +to live with Comte de Frontenac in relations of great deference, not +only on account of the honour he had of representing the king's person, +but also on account of his personal merit, and not to do anything in the +whole range of his duties without his consent and participation." To +secure concordant conduct on the governor's part, he was instructed in a +despatch of even date to allow the intendant to act "with entire liberty +in everything relating to justice, police, and finance, without meddling +at all in these matters, except when they are discussed in the Sovereign +Council." It is significant that in this same letter a hint is dropped +about trading: not only was Frontenac not to trade himself, or allow +trading on his behalf, but he was not to permit any one belonging to his +household to trade. It thus appears that, before Duchesneau had even +arrived in the country, the court had had its suspicions aroused as to +the course the king's personal representative might be tempted to pursue +in this matter. We may be certain that anything Perrot and Fénelon knew +on the subject would be poured into the minister's ear, nor were they +the only ones whose representations regarding the governor would not be +of a friendly character. Villeray, the senior member of the Sovereign +Council and the Abbé d'Urfé, a relative of Fénelon's, were in France at +the same time. The former had been denounced by Frontenac in one of his +earliest despatches as a busybody and a close ally of the Jesuit order; +while the latter had been very haughtily treated by him in connection +with the Fénelon matter, and had left Canada in high indignation by the +same vessel which bore Fénelon and Perrot. It happened that, just about +this time, Urfé's cousin, a Mademoiselle d'Allegre, was being contracted +in marriage to Colbert's son and destined successor in office, the +Marquis de Seignelay, so that altogether the influences which were +operating against Frontenac at this juncture were of a somewhat +formidable character. That his position should have been so little +affected speaks well for his claim to personal consideration. It speaks +well also for the spirit of equity which actuated the king in his +relations with his officers. + +A meeting of the reorganized Sovereign Council was held at Quebec on the +16th September 1675. It is this meeting which fixes for us as nearly as +it can be done the date of the arrival of the bishop and intendant, for +the minutes show that the former was present, and that part of the +business transacted was the registration of the commission of the +latter. M. de Laval lost no time in making his influence felt. The Abbé +Fénelon, when arraigned before the Sovereign Council the year before, +had demanded to be tried by an ecclesiastical tribunal, and reply had +been made that there was no such tribunal in Canada. The bishop's first +act was to supply this lack by establishing a court consisting of his +two grand-vicars, Bernières and Dudouyt, and a clerk or registrar. The +new court soon found work to do. A man was cited before it, upon +information of the _curé_ of Montreal, for having failed to perform his +Easter duties. He appealed to the Sovereign Council, which at first +showed a disposition to assume jurisdiction in the case, but in the end +left it in the hands of the ecclesiastics. The bishop wished it to be +understood that Canada was not France. Some encroachments of the civil +on the spiritual power had, he said, taken place in that country, but +"these were things to be guarded against in a country in which a Church +is in course of establishment." Manifestly Laval understood the word +"Church" in a very absolute sense, and meant to enforce his +understanding of it if possible. + +During his absence from the country the clergy had got into the way, +either of their own accord, or at Frontenac's suggestion, of paying the +governor certain honours in church which the bishop considered--correctly +it appears--unsanctioned by precedent or usage. He ordered that they +should be discontinued. A wrangle with the governor ensued, and the +matter had to be referred to the king, who must sometimes have wondered +whether the colonial game was worth the candles consumed in reading the +colonial despatches; for his Majesty, no less than his minister, had +often to prolong the work far into the night. The patient monarch +replied that the governor had been claiming more than was his due, and +more than was accorded to men of his rank in the provinces of the +kingdom; he must, therefore, make up his little difference with the +bishop of Quebec, by gracefully moderating his pretensions. Three years +later there were still some differences of the same nature pending, for +we find the king sending directions to the bishop to pay the same +honours to the governor of Canada as were paid to the governor of +Picardy in the cathedral of Amiens. Frontenac, on his part, was not to +claim more. + +The document which throws most light on Frontenac's attitude towards the +dominant ecclesiastical powers--the bishop and the Jesuits--and on his +estimate of their work and general policy, is a letter which he wrote to +Colbert in 1677, and which must have been of a confidential nature.[17] +"Nearly all the disorders existing in New France," he therein declares, +"have their origin in the ambition of the ecclesiastics, who wish to add +to their spiritual authority an absolute power over temporal matters." +Their aim from the first, he goes on to say, was to amass wealth as a +means of influence; and in this they have been extraordinarily +successful. They have had subsidies from the king and charitable +donations from individuals in France; they have obtained concessions of +large tracts of the best and most valuable lands in the country; +finally, in spite of the king's prohibitions, they have been driving an +active and most profitable trade. In support of the latter statement he +cites the names of a number of persons who have given him positive and +detailed evidence on the point. He estimates the bishop's revenue from +all sources at not less than forty thousand livres; and refers to the +fact that he is erecting vast and superb buildings at Quebec at a cost +of four hundred thousand livres, although he and his ecclesiastics are +already lodged much better than the governor-general. He complains of +the espionage they exercise through the country and in his own +household; and says there would be no end to the story if he were to +attempt to tell all that they have done to augment their influence +through the confessional and by threats of excommunication. Instances +are given of what the writer claims to have been their undue severity +towards persons who had incurred their censure. If the bishop chose, he +could do what he has always hitherto refused to do: provide the country +with a reasonable number of parish priests having fixed positions. He +has ample means for the purpose if he would employ them in a less +ambitious manner; his main objection to doing so is that the erection of +parishes served by priests not removable at pleasure would diminish his +power and throw patronage into the hands of the king. So far the +governor. It is probable that his impeachment of his ecclesiastical +rivals did not fall on altogether unsympathetic ears; but Colbert, as a +statesman, recognized power wherever it existed; and his only advice to +the civil administrators was to hold their own as well as they could. In +a despatch, written some years before, he had told Courcelles that be +looked forward to the time when, with an increase of population, things +would get into better shape, and the secular power assume its just +preponderance. + +Duchesneau himself, shortly after his arrival in the country, had a +passing difficulty with the bishop, arising out of an idea he +entertained, that, as intendant, he ought to rank next to the governor; +and this wretched matter had also to be referred to the court, which +promptly decided in the bishop's favour. From that time forward there +was perfect harmony between the two, so much so that, on more than one +occasion, the intendant drew down upon himself the censure of the court +for what was regarded as his undue subservience to the bishop's views. +One of the first matters regarding which he and the bishop joined forces +was the policy of the governor in connection with the issue of hunting +and trading licences. The law under which Frontenac had previously taken +severe measures against the _coureurs de bois_ was still in force; but +the governor had felt himself justified in issuing a limited number of +permits to responsible persons, authorizing them to carry goods to the +Indians and trade in the Indian settlements. These persons became, in a +certain sense, _coureurs de bois_; but as they went out by authority, +and could be held to the terms of their licences, and as, moreover, they +could be used for the purpose of obtaining information as to the +movements and disposition of the native tribes, the governor thought, +or professed to think, that he was acting for the best in relaxing to +this extent the strict letter of the law. The bishop, on the other hand, +objected to the system; in the first place, because the persons licensed +carried liquor as part of their stock-in-trade, and, in the second, +because it threw impediments in the way of the effective ecclesiastical +control of the population. It was agreed that he and the intendant +should both write to the minister, the one dwelling on the evils of the +liquor traffic with the Indians, and the other on the infringement of +the law. Duchesneau, we have seen, had been warned in his instructions +to keep in close touch with the governor in all that he did; but he had +not been three months in the country before, in a matter of the first +importance, and one affecting the governor's own actions, he sent home +recommendations of which his superior officer knew nothing. + +The answer came back the following year. It was dated 15th April 1676, +but seems only to have reached Quebec in September. The governor, by +royal edict, was forbidden to issue permits under any pretext +whatsoever. The punishment of contumacious _coureurs de bois_ was placed +in the hands of the intendant exclusively, as it was he alone--such was +the reason given--who had official knowledge of the conditions under +which the fur trade was being farmed out. Quebec, Montreal, and Three +Rivers were at the same time indicated as the only places where the +trade with the Indians might lawfully be carried on. + +Frontenac was not at Quebec when this document arrived; he was at Fort +Frontenac (Cataraqui), which was now in the hands of his friend La Salle +under a concession from the king. Doubtless he was enjoying, not only +his temporary freedom from the worries and vexations of office, but also +the congenial society of a man, who, though much his junior, had, in +common with himself, a large knowledge of the world, a keen and aspiring +spirit, and a strong love of adventure. At Quebec the councillors were +somewhat at a loss what to do in the matter of the despatch. Some were +indisposed to register, in the absence of the governor, an edict which +so directly condemned the policy he was pursuing. Duchesneau, however, +did not approve of delay, and on the 5th of October the document was +registered, and thus became the law of the land. When Frontenac returned +to Quebec and found what had been done--that one of the first acts of +the intendant had been to hand him over to the censure of the court, and +that its censure had practically been pronounced--he was indignant +beyond measure. He saw at a glance that, if the situation were not in +some way retrieved, his authority and prestige in the colony he had been +sent out to govern would be gravely compromised. The fall vessels were +to leave in a week or two, so he sat down and wrote a despatch to +Colbert which gave that able minister something to think about. The +bishop, dreading lest the governor's reasons--he probably knew that +Frontenac wielded a vigorous pen--might lead to a countermanding of the +instructions, thought it well to send an envoy of his own to France in +the person of the Abbé Dudouyt. Frontenac meantime so far complied with +the edict as to publish an order requiring all _coureurs de bois_, +licensed and unlicensed, to return at once to the settlements; though, +according to Duchesneau, he nullified this to a great extent by issuing +a number of hunting permits which were only trading permits in disguise. + +So far as the sale of liquor to the Indians was in question, it is +impossible not to approve, theoretically at least, the stand taken by +the bishop. He would have suppressed it absolutely, if he had had the +power. The thing, however, was practically impossible. We see the effect +probably of Frontenac's representations on the subject in a despatch +which the intendant received dated in the spring of 1677. He is told +that he had yielded too easily to the extreme views of the bishop in +regard to this matter. The bishop had spoken of the fearful effects +caused by drink amongst the Indians, who maimed and murdered one +another, and committed all kinds of abominations, when under its +influence. Colbert is not content with such a general statement; he +wants particulars; and instructs Duchesneau to find out how many such +crimes can be proved to have been committed since he (the intendant) had +arrived in Canada. Here was a very suitable piece of work cut out for +M. Jacques Duchesneau, who was nothing if not a man of facts and +figures; but there is nothing to show that he ever prepared the desired +statement. The minister goes on to say: "The general policy of the state +is necessarily opposed to the views of a bishop who, in order to prevent +the abuse made by a few individuals of a thing good in itself, is +prepared to abolish entirely the trade in an article of consumption +which serves greatly to promote commerce, and to bring the savages into +contact with orthodox Christians like the French. We should run the +risk, if we yielded to his opinion, not only of losing this commerce, +but of forcing the savages to do business with the English and Dutch, +who are heretics; and it would thus become impossible for us to keep +them favourably disposed towards the one pure and true religion." +Colbert, it will be seen, had that judicious blending of the missionary +with the commercial spirit which has been so efficacious in our own day +in promoting great colonial enterprises. One or two other allusions to +the bishop may be quoted: "It is easy to see that, though the bishop is +a very good man, and most faithful in the performance of his duty, he +nevertheless is aiming at a degree of power which goes far beyond what +is exercised by bishops in any other part of Christendom, and +particularly in France." Then, with reference to his attendance at +meetings of the Sovereign Council: "You ought to try and put him out of +love with going there; but in doing so you must act with the greatest +prudence and secrecy, and take care that no person whatsoever knows what +I am writing to you on this point." + +The minister, it is evident, had hard work to keep his representatives +in Canada to their respective spheres of duty. He opens his despatch to +Duchesneau by begging him to mind his own business, and not in future +recommend any military appointments, as he had done in a late +communication. He wrote to Frontenac a few days later, cautioning him to +keep aloof from questions of justice, police, and finance, observing +that men in military command "are too apt to let flatterers persuade +them that they ought to take cognizance of everything and look after +everything." Touching on the drink question, he said that "if the +disorders complained of are limited in number, and if the Indians are +only a little more subject to getting intoxicated than the Germans for +example, or, among the French, the Bretons," there was no need for +drastic prohibitive measures; the irregularities happening from time to +time could be dealt with by the courts. He was not to take ground openly +against the bishop; but he was to see that the latter did not go beyond +his proper prerogative "in a matter that was purely one of police." The +Abbé Dudouyt had evidently not succeeded in winning over the minister to +the bishop's extreme views. He must, however, have had more success with +the king, for on the 12th May 1678 a royal edict was issued, dealing in +a very uncompromising fashion with the _coureur de bois_ question as +well as with that of the liquor traffic. As regards the former, the +previous prohibition, which, it was complained, had been rendered +nugatory by the system of special permits, was renewed in all its force. +The liquor traffic was equally condemned: no liquor was to be sold to +the Indians under any circumstances. Colbert thereupon presented a +memoir to his Majesty setting forth his reasons for considering a +prohibition of the liquor traffic inexpedient, these being much the same +as he had embodied in his despatch to Duchesneau of the preceding year. +The result was that the king, without recalling his edict, ordered that +the whole matter should be fully discussed in a meeting of the principal +inhabitants of Canada, including the administrators and magistrates, and +that a report of the proceedings should be sent to him for his +information and further consideration. + +Thus was the question referred back to Canada, and an appeal actually +made, after a fashion, to public opinion. The meeting ordered by the +king was held at Quebec on the 26th October. The persons composing it +were chosen by Frontenac and Duchesneau jointly, and were beyond doubt +as influential men as could be found in the country--nineteen in all, +exclusive of those who attended in an official capacity. The sense of +the meeting was overwhelmingly against the suppression of the traffic, +and against the stand taken by the bishop in making a "reserved case" of +the selling of liquor to the Indians, or, in other words, excluding from +the sacraments all who were guilty of that act. Two of the delegates, +the seigneurs of Berthier and Sorel, said that the prohibition which was +then nominally, and to a considerable degree practically, in force +worked injury, not only to trade, but to the Indians themselves. They +could get all the liquor they wanted from the Dutch of Orange (Albany); +and the Dutch rum was not nearly so good as the French brandy. The last +time the Indians came to trade at Cataraqui, they had forty barrels of +Dutch spirits with them, having laid in a supply owing to their +apprehension that they might not be able to obtain any from the French. +But of course they would cease coming to Cataraqui or trading with the +French at all, if they could not get liquor. They denied that the +drinking of brandy prevented the Indians from becoming Christians. Did +not the Christian Indians in the missions near Montreal drink brandy? +Yet they remained docile to their teachers, and were not often seen +drunk--a statement which certainly might have been challenged. Others +urged the argument with which we are already familiar that, if the +Indians had to get their liquor from the Dutch and English, they would +either imbibe heresy at the same time, or be left in their heathenism. +Others again said that the disorders caused by drink amongst the savages +had been greatly exaggerated, and moreover things of the same nature +occurred among Indians who made no use of spirituous liquors. The +"reserved case" was doing no good; on the contrary it was troubling +consciences, and had possibly already caused the damnation of some +inhabitants. Drunkenness, another delegate remarked, was not confined to +the Indians. In the most civilized countries, where all were Christians, +it was a common vice; yet no one thought of making a "reserved case" for +the liquor sellers. One speaker went so far as to say that the Indians +would never become Christians unless they were allowed the same +liberties as the French, and that the clandestine sale of liquor +promoted immoderate drinking. Robert Cavelier de la Salle was strongly +in favour of the trade being left open. It was for laymen, he said, to +decide what was good or bad in relation to commerce, and not for +ecclesiastics. There had been but little disorder, upon the whole, +amongst the savages as the result of drink. He thought they were less +given to intoxication than the French, and much less than the English of +New York. Two delegates were entirely opposed to the trade as being +hurtful to religion, and the source of moral disorders. Two others +thought it should be restricted to the settlements, and that no liquor +should be sold in the woods.[18] + +How far the opinions of those who favoured the traffic were +disinterested may be open to question. Traders are apt to consider +exclusively the immediate interests of trade; and the love of gain is +often sufficient to stifle the instincts of humanity. The church looked +upon the Indians as its wards; but the majority of the settlers, it is +to be feared, thought only of exploiting, if not of actually plundering, +them. It is difficult to read the little treatise composed about +twenty-five years after these events, under the title of the _History of +Brandy in Canada_, without feeling persuaded that there was more ground +for the position taken by the clergy than the seigneurs and others who +assembled at Quebec were willing to admit. From what the anonymous +writer, evidently a missionary in close touch with the facts, says, it +is clear that brandy was often made an instrument for the robbery of the +unhappy Indian. We are told of one man at Three Rivers who, having made +an Indian drunk, insisted next day that the score for the brandy the +poor savage had taken amounted to thirty moose skins. The author of the +treatise is convinced that the horrible massacre at Lachine, of which we +shall have to speak in a later chapter, was a direct manifestation of +the anger of God at the drink traffic, of which that place in particular +was the headquarters. If so, the warning unfortunately was not taken to +heart, for the writer himself tells us that the traffic was resumed and +prosecuted as vigorously as ever as soon as the village was rebuilt. + +When Laval, who had just laid the corner-stone of his seminary at +Quebec, saw the way things were going, he decided to start for France +himself, to see what he could effect for the cause he had so deeply at +heart by personal representations. The decision of the court, however, +was what might have been expected under the circumstances. Two edicts +were issued in the following year, one dated the 25th April 1679, +confirming the regulations previously laid down respecting the _coureurs +de bois_, but allowing the governor to grant hunting permits good from +the 15th January to the 15th April of each year; and the other, dated +24th May, expressly prohibiting the holders of such permits from +carrying liquor to the Indians, under pain of a fine of one hundred +francs for the first offence, three hundred for the second, and corporal +punishment for the third. The French of the settlements on the other +hand were left free to sell liquor to the Indians resorting thither. The +bishop was at the same time requested to make the "reserved case" apply +only to those selling under illegal conditions, which, with no little +reluctance, he consented to do. + +It is to be noted that the second edict contains a clause expressly +entrusting its enforcement to "Sieur, Comte de Frontenac, governor and +lieutenant-general for his Majesty in the said country," and not as +previously to the intendant. Frontenac thus had it in his power, M. +Lorin observes, "to free himself in practice from the time limits +imposed, or even tacitly to authorize the hunters to carry a few goods +to the Indians." This writer, who is an ardent admirer of Frontenac, +seems to regard it as a thing quite to be expected that the king's +representative should seize the opportunity to violate the king's +regulations. The motive, however, which he assigns for such probable +disobedience is a very high one: the governor was anxious to keep in +touch, through the traders, with the outlying Indian tribes, in order +that he might watch the course of their trade, study their dispositions, +and thus be enabled to take timely measures to maintain them in right +relations with the French colony. Were there ground for assurance that +this was his only, or even his greatly predominant, motive, we might +well join with M. Lorin in considering such far-sighted devotion to the +king's interests as more than a set-off to a technical irregularity. But +can we? The question is one in regard to which the documents before us, +consisting mainly of the correspondence of Frontenac and Duchesneau with +the court, render it difficult to arrive at a positive conclusion. The +matter will be discussed in the following chapter; meanwhile let us +briefly note the further development of the _coureur de bois_ question +to the end of Frontenac's first administration. + +It does not appear that the ordinance of April 1679 improved the +situation in the least. The law continued to be violated, as Duchesneau +affirms, with the connivance of the governor, and, as Frontenac says, +with the active assistance (in favour of his special friends) of the +intendant. In the month of November 1680 Duchesneau writes to the +minister, observing that the only thing to do is to try and find the +best means to induce these men to return "without prejudice to the +absolute submission they owe to the king's will." He proceeds to hint at +something like a conditional amnesty, lenient treatment to be promised +to all those who, returning home promptly on the publication of the +king's proclamation, should "make a sincere and frank declaration in +court of the time they have been absent, for what persons they were +trading in the Indian country, who furnished them with goods, how many +skins they procured, and how they disposed of them." Evidently M. +Jacques Duchesneau was in pursuit of information; and there can be +little doubt with what intent. What Frontenac wrote on the subject is +not on record. It seems probable that he too suggested an amnesty; but +we may doubt whether he recommended the condition proposed by his friend +the intendant. The court in the month of May following granted an +amnesty, the sole condition of which was that the persons concerned +should return to their homes immediately on being notified to do so. +This was not to imply any indulgence for the offence in future, as +another edict was passed in the course of the same month, providing +severer punishments than had previously been prescribed--flogging and +branding on a first conviction, and perpetual servitude in the galleys +on a second. When these edicts reached Quebec it was noticed that to the +council was given the duty, not only of registering, but of publishing +and executing them. The governor, however, intervened, and, upon his +promising to take the whole responsibility upon himself, the council +agreed to leave the publication and execution in his hands. "Under this +pretext," says M. Lorin, "Frontenac could send officers to all the posts +of the upper country; and if he was anxious to do so, it was less to +participate, despite the king's orders, in the fur trade, than to +control the proceedings of the merchants and missionaries." The word +"less" can hardly be said to imply unambiguous praise. Moreover who can +say what motive was predominant? + +Under the edict of 1679 the governor had the power of issuing an +unlimited number of permits for hunting exclusively. The privilege had +clearly been abused; and orders were now issued that in future +twenty-five permits only should be granted each year, the holder of a +permit to be entitled to take or send one canoe only with three men. In +this way the amount of trade which could be done under a permit was +limited. In all only twenty-five canoe loads of merchandise could be +sent out annually. Moreover the intention in granting these permits was +less to promote trade at a distance--an object the court never had at +heart--than to reward certain supposedly meritorious individuals. It +was a species of patronage which was placed in the governor's hands, and +which he was expected to distribute in a judicious manner. If the holder +of a permit did not wish to use it himself, he could sell it to some one +else; and it not infrequently happened that a single trader would buy a +number of permits, and send quite a little fleet of canoes up the river. +The era of "trusts" was not as yet, but even here we can see the trust +in germ. + +[Footnote 16: _Le Comte de Frontenac_, p. 159.] + +[Footnote 17: It is to be found in Margry, _Mémoires et Documents des +Origines Françaises des Pays d'Outre Mer_, vol. i. pp. 301-25.] + +[Footnote 18: See Report (Procès Verbal) of the proceedings of the +assembly in Margry, _Mémoires et Documents_, vol. i. pp. 405-20.] + + + + + CHAPTER VI + + THE LIFE OF A COLONY + + +The great trouble in Canada was that it was an over-governed country. +The whole population when Frontenac arrived was but little over six +thousand souls, scattered over a territory stretching from Matane and +Tadousac in the east, to the western limit of the Island of Montreal. +What these people needed in the first place was freedom to seek their +living in their own way, and secondly, an extremely simple form of +government. Instead of this they were hampered in their trade, and made +continually to feel their dependence on the central power; while, in the +matter of political organization, they were placed under the precise +system which prevailed in the provinces of the French kingdom. In the +Sovereign Council they had the equivalent of a parliament in the +French--by no means in the English--sense; that is to say, a body for +registering, and so bestowing a final character of validity upon, the +decrees of the sovereign, and for administering justice. The executive +power was divided between governor and intendant with very doubtful +results. Below the Sovereign Council, as a judicial body, was the court +of the Prévôté. The one thing the people were not allowed to have was +anything in the way of representative institutions. Colbert, perhaps by +immediate royal direction, gave the keynote of monarchical absolutism +when he said, in words already quoted: "Let every man speak for himself; +let no one presume to speak for all." Thus was the king in his strength +and majesty placed over against the solitary protesting individual. +Doubtless self-government in the full sense would not have been possible +at the time, seeing that self-government implies, as its first +condition, pecuniary independence, and the country was not in a position +to provide all the money required for its civil and military +expenditure. However, possible or impossible, the thing was not thought +of, or to be thought of, at the time. The result of the elaborate +organization actually established was that administrators and +councillors, having far too little to do, fell to quarrelling with one +another in the manner already seen and yet to be seen. The Canadian +colony was not really peculiar in this respect. Any one who reads in +Clément's great work the voluminous correspondence of Colbert will see +that strife and jealousy was the rule throughout the whole colonial +service. The same spirit, in fact, prevailed which was exhibited in the +daily life of the court, where every one was desperately struggling for +the sunshine of royal favour, and where, consequently, questions of +precedence and etiquette were regarded as of surpassing importance. And +now a most serious question of this nature was to blaze forth in Canada. + + +In various despatches from the court, Frontenac had been spoken of as +"President of the Sovereign Council," though that office had never in +any formal way been attached to the governorship. Shortly after +Duchesneau's appointment as intendant, a royal ordinance was issued +conferring the title in question upon him. In this there was no +intention whatever to diminish the rank or prestige of the governor. The +idea was rather to relieve him from the drudgery of presiding at +meetings of the council, by giving to the latter a permanent working +head in the person of the intendant, a man assumed to be accustomed to +routine business and to have the trained official's capacity for +details. Any other man than Frontenac would have seen the matter in this +light, and rejoiced that a substitute had been found for him in a most +uninteresting duty. He still had access to the council, and whenever he +chose to attend, he occupied the seat of honour as the king's immediate +representative, while a lower functionary would act as chairman, put +questions to the vote, and sign the minutes. To the mind of Frontenac, +unfortunately, the thing presented itself in a very different light; he +saw his prerogative attacked, his dignity impaired. If he was not +president of the council, why was he ever so addressed in official +despatches? M. Duchesneau, on the other hand, took his stand on the +stronger ground of a special ordinance appointing him to the office. +Behold the elements of a mighty quarrel! + +In the early days of Frontenac's governorship the preamble of the +proceedings in council used to read: "The council having assembled, at +which presided the high and mighty lord, Messire Louis de Buade +Frontenac, chevalier, Comte de Palluau," etc. Later it was simplified so +as to read: "At which presided his Lordship, the governor-general." +After the arrival of Duchesneau a new formula was adopted. In the +minutes of the 23rd September 1675, the intendant is mentioned as +"having taken his seat as president"; and in those of 30th September we +find the words "acting as president according to the declaration of the +king." The bickering began almost from the date of Duchesneau's arrival; +but it was not till the winter of 1678-9 that it developed into actual +strife. The minister received many tiresome communications on the +subject, and in April 1679 he seems to think that the chief fault is on +the side of the intendant, for he writes to him sharply: "You +continually speak as if M. de Frontenac was always in the wrong. . . . +You seem to put yourself in a kind of parallel with him. The only reply +I can make to all these despatches of yours is that you must strive to +know your place, and get a proper idea into your head of the difference +between a governor and lieutenant-general representing the person of the +sovereign, and an intendant." This was hard enough, but what follows is +a shade worse: he is told that in making his reports, particularly when +they contain accusations, he "should be very careful not to advance +anything that is not true." Finally, he is warned that until he learns +the difference between the king's representative and himself, he will be +in danger, not only of being rebuked, but of being dismissed. +Frontenac's turn came a few months later. Colbert writes in December of +the same year, and tells him that the king is getting very tired of all +this squabbling, and has come to the conclusion that he (Frontenac) "is +not capable of that spirit of union and conciliation which is necessary +to prevent the troubles that are continually arising, and which are so +fraught with ruin to a new colony." The king had heard of the trouble +that was being made over this petty question, and Colbert expresses his +Majesty's surprise that Frontenac should bother his head about such a +thing. + +When this despatch reached Canada, Frontenac had gone much further in +the matter than either the king or the minister suspected. Peuvret, +clerk of the council, had been imprisoned because he would not disobey +the orders of the council, in the matter of his minutes, in order to +obey those of the governor. During four months the routine business of +the council had been suspended while this wretched business was being +fought over. Three of the councillors had been banished from Quebec, +being ordered to remain in their country-houses till permitted to +return. A more discreditable state of things could not well be imagined, +nor one of worse example for the country. At last a compromise was +proposed by d'Auteuil, the attorney-general, which was that the minutes +should mention the presence of the governor and intendant at the +meetings of the council, without speaking of either as presiding or as +president. Frontenac at first would not have anything to do with such an +arrangement, but finally he consented to it till the king's pleasure +could be known. + +The king this time lost patience. When an answer came back, it was his +_dis_pleasure that was known, and displeasure with his "high and mighty +Lordship, the governor." The king told him plainly that he had on +various occasions advanced claims that had very little foundation, and +that in this matter his pretensions were directly opposed to a royal +ordinance. His Majesty added: "I am sure you are the only man in my +kingdom who, being honoured with the titles of governor and +lieutenant-general, would care to be styled chief and president of a +council such as that at Quebec." Colbert dealt with the matter +officially, and quoted this opinion of the king's almost in the same +words. He also observed that, if Frontenac had any wish to give +satisfaction to his Majesty, he would have to change entirely the line +of conduct he had hitherto pursued. It seemed, however, as if the court +could not afford to give a clear victory to Duchesneau, for, as a +practical settlement of the point at issue, it was ordered that the +_modus vivendi_ suggested by the attorney-general and actually in force +should be adopted as a permanent rule--a classical example of political +trimming. + +It is difficult to understand how any man in Frontenac's position could +fail to feel profoundly humbled and chastened by so emphatic a reproof +emanating direct from his sovereign master, and echoed in an official +despatch from the minister in charge of colonies. We look in vain, +however, for evidence that any such effect was produced on the spirit of +the governor. He doubtless felt that he had achieved at least half a +victory. The title had been depreciated in the despatches from the +court; it was not worth _his_ having, and Duchesneau was not to have it. +For a time there was what looked like a truce between the two heads of +the state, and shortly afterwards we find Duchesneau writing to say that +he and the governor are now on excellent terms; that he is omitting +nothing on his side that can give satisfaction to the latter; that he +communicates the very smallest things to him, and that he hopes, by +sheer force of amiability, to secure a little show of kindness in +return. Seeing, however, that in the same despatch in which these +excellent sentiments occur, he enters into lengthy accusations against +Frontenac on the trading question, and that the latter was engaged about +the same time in working up similar charges against him, as appears by a +document bearing date the following year, we may reasonably doubt +whether very amicable or charitable feelings prevailed on either side. + +D'Auteuil, the attorney-general, who had been for some time in a failing +condition, and whose health had probably not been improved by his +occasional stormy interviews with the governor, by whom he was cordially +detested, died in the early winter of 1679-80. Duchesneau, in +anticipation of this event, had obtained the king's permission to name a +successor, and had secured a signed commission which, to be complete, +only required to have a name filled in. Auteuil's son, François +Madeleine, had been assisting him for a couple of years in his office, +and as he was a very assuming youth--he was not yet twenty-one--and +bitterly hostile to the governor, he was naturally the intendant's +choice. Young d'Auteuil had hardly entered on his duties before he +picked a quarrel with Boulduc, prosecutor of the lower court, known as a +firm ally of Frontenac, whom he ordered to wait upon him at his office +every Saturday to prepare cases for the court under his (d'Auteuil's) +supervision. Boulduc refused. The council took the matter up, but found +it hard to decide, and the squabble dragged during most of the year +1680. In the following year facts came to light which caused Boulduc to +be charged with embezzlement, and d'Auteuil pushed the matter with great +zeal. Frontenac, anxious to save his friend, tried to represent the +accusation as the outcome of private vengeance; unfortunately the facts +were against the _procureur_, who was condemned, and dismissed from +office. + +Some of the side issues that were raised on this occasion brought out +strikingly the spirit of Canadian official society. Villeray, first +councillor, a man more obnoxious to Frontenac on account of his extreme +devotion to the ecclesiastical authorities perhaps than by reason of his +dubious antecedents,[19] gave himself, in certain pleadings, the title +of "esquire." Frontenac denied that he had any right to it, and held the +pleadings invalid. Frontenac's secretary, Le Chasseur, appeared on a +summons before the council, but refused to answer because he had been +described in the summons as "secretary of Monsieur, the Governor," +instead of "Monseigneur the Governor." Thus were the king's instructions +to all and sundry to practise peace and concord being observed! A worse +affair was that of the councillor, Damours, who, in the summer of 1681, +obtained a _congé_ from Frontenac to go as far as Matane where he had a +property, and who was arrested by order of the governor on his return a +few weeks later for having in some way exceeded the terms of his permit. +Damours' wife appealed to the council, but Frontenac objected to having +her letter read. Duchesneau urged the council to take cognizance of the +case, but some of the members did not feel it safe to do so, and finally +the papers were referred to the king--another quarrel for his Majesty +to adjust! Meantime Damours remains in confinement for about six weeks. +His Majesty of course disapproves of such harshness. In a letter dated +30th April 1681, after giving his representative various other cautions, +he begs him to divest his mind of all those private animosities which up +to the present have been almost the sole motive of his actions. "It is +hard," he adds, "for me to give you my full confidence when I see that +everything gives way to your personal enmities." + +A question reserved for consideration in this chapter was as to how far +there was foundation for the charges of illegitimate trading brought so +continually by the intendant against the governor, and retorted by the +latter against the intendant. What may be noticed in the first place is +the slight amount of attention apparently paid by the court to these +charges and counter-charges. The king could not openly approve of +trading on the part of his high officers; he was obliged to condemn it +in strong and precise terms; but he knew at the same time that they had +starvation salaries, and it is possible that he was not wholly unwilling +that they should, in a quiet way, make a little money out of the traffic +in furs. Frontenac and Duchesneau were both recalled in the end; but it +was not for trading; it was for quarrelling, playing at cross-purposes, +and sacrificing the welfare of the country to their mutual jealousies. +M. Lorin, whose sympathy with Frontenac is conspicuous, is disposed to +admit that he did not wholly abstain from trading; but he thinks he did +it in a more respectable and less rapacious manner than Duchesneau. He +observes that Frontenac's partners, if partners he had, were chiefly the +great explorers, La Salle, Du Lhut and others; while the associates of +Duchesneau were traders pure and simple, men like Lebert, Le Moyne and +La Chesnaye. On the other hand the court does not seem to have taken +Frontenac's accusations against the intendant seriously. The king indeed +informs him that he regards his charges as "mere recriminations." +Duchesneau, it will be remembered, had been warned not to put into his +despatches things that were not true; possibly he was worrying the +minister and the king with information they would rather not receive. +The correspondence of 1679 shows clearly the hostile relations of the +two administrators. + +In the summer and fall of that year the governor spent nearly three +months at Montreal. On the 6th November, having returned to Quebec, he +writes to the king: "I have received diverse advices from the Jesuit +fathers and other missionaries that General Andros (Governor of New +York) was lately soliciting the Iroquois in an underhand way to break +with us, and that he was about convening a meeting of the Five Nations, +in order to propose matters of a nature to disturb our trade with them." +Four days later the intendant takes up his parable and informs the +minister that the governor "had _made_ the news he pretended to have +received regarding the plans of the English general, Andros, to debauch +the Iroquois," the whole thing being a mere pretext for making a +prolonged stay at Montreal at the height of the trading season. He +charges the governor with exacting presents from the Indians in return +for the protection afforded them by his guards, and with having taken +seven packages of beaver skins from the Ottawas in consideration of his +having settled a dispute into which they had got with some Frenchmen at +Montreal. It will be remembered, and the fact certainly has an air of +significance, that, when it was a question of granting amnesty to the +_coureurs de bois_, it was Duchesneau who suggested that each man should +be required to give the fullest information as to what trade he had been +carrying on, and _on whose account_. The amnesty was granted without +this condition. Evidently the court did not want an embarrassment of +information. Duchesneau's trouble was an excess of not wholly +disinterested zeal. + +The case is not overstated by Frontenac's latest and fullest biographer, +M. Lorin, when he says that "the lack of a good understanding between +the two administrators had divided Canadian society, or at least that +portion of it which came into contact with the king's officers, into two +camps." Street brawls arising out of the embitterment of feeling were +not infrequent. An illustrative incident was the imprisonment of young +Duchesneau, son of the intendant, for singing in the streets some +snatches of a song disrespectful to the governor. The patience of the +court was at last exhausted, and in the summer of 1682, Frontenac and +Duchesneau were simultaneously recalled; and thus was brought to a close +the count's first term of office as governor of Canada. + +Some larger questions relating to this period may now profitably occupy +our attention. One of the earliest acts of Frontenac, it will be +remembered, was to summon the Iroquois to meet him in conference at +Cataraqui, where, by his happy manner of dealing with them, he +established a remarkable personal ascendency over their minds, and +succeeded, for the time at least, in placing the relations between them +and the French upon an excellent footing. The frequent visits which he +subsequently paid to his favourite fort gave him opportunities of +improving his acquaintance with his dusky lieges and of strengthening +the good understanding that had been brought about. For some years +things worked smoothly, and the colony enjoyed a comfortable sense of +security. From the first, however, the influence of Onontio was more +felt by the eastern and nearer members of the confederacy than by the +western and more remote; and, as time wore on, the latter, particularly +the Senecas, began to show a quarrelsome and insolent temper. They did +not venture to attack the French, but they committed various acts of +aggression on native tribes allied with them and under their +protection. Several years before they had waged war with the Illinois +and driven them from their habitations. Then they turned southwards and +engaged in a prolonged conflict with a tribe known as the Andostagnés, +during which time the Illinois, having recovered in a measure from their +losses, ventured to return to their former abodes. The explorations of +La Salle had brought these people into alliance with the French; but +when the Senecas had successfully concluded their war with the +Andostagnés they were not disposed to refrain from attacking them anew +on that account. After various preliminary raids, they sent, in the +spring of 1680, an army of five or six hundred men into the Illinois +territory and committed great havoc. It was on this occasion that Tonty, +La Salle's lieutenant, nearly lost his life at Fort Crèvecoeur. The +question now was whether the French would stand idly by and see their +allies destroyed. If they did, not only would their influence over the +tribes trusting in their protection be annihilated, but they might soon +have to fight for their own preservation without any native assistance. +Frontenac sent messages to the Iroquois enjoining them to keep the +peace; but the voice that once had charmed and overawed sounded now a +very ineffectual note. Father Lamberville, Jesuit missionary to the +Iroquois, wrote to say that the upper tribes had lost all fear of the +French, and that a slight provocation would cause them to make war on +Canada. + +Frontenac and Duchesneau both discuss the matter in their despatches of +the year 1681, the latter as usual blaming the former, hinting that he +shirked his duty in not going up to Cataraqui in the previous summer in +order to meet the tribes and use his personal influence in favour of +peace. Frontenac writes as if he had not much confidence in that method; +he asks for five or six hundred soldiers to quell the rebellious tribes. +He thinks it would be quite enough to patrol Lake Ontario with a +respectable force in order to bring them to submission. After this +despatch had gone, news arrived of a most regrettable incident which +threatened to precipitate war. This was the murder of a Seneca chief by +an Illinois on the territory of the Kiskakons, one of the Ottawa tribes +in alliance with the French. According to Indian usage the Kiskakons +were responsible for the crime, and the Senecas were hot for revenge. +Appreciating the gravity of the situation, Frontenac sends a special +message to request the offended tribe to stay their hands, promising to +hold himself responsible for seeing that full atonement is made for the +wrong done. They consent, but ask that he will meet them somewhere in or +near Iroquois territory on the 15th June of the following year. No +pledge is given on this point, but messengers are sent to the Ottawas to +tell them that they must be prepared to make full amends, and that, if +they will send delegates to Montreal, the matter will be discussed and +arranged there. + +The winter of 1681-2 was clearly an anxious one for the colony. +Frontenac thought it well to summon the wisest heads in the country to +meet in the Jesuit Seminary at Quebec in order to discuss the Indian +question in all its bearings. Those taking part in the conference, in +addition to himself, were the intendant, the provost, and three Jesuit +fathers, who had had long experience in mission work and knew the savage +tribes thoroughly. The general opinion of the meeting was that Frontenac +should go to Fort Frontenac to meet the Iroquois, as they had requested, +in the following month of June. Frontenac, for some reason or other, did +not like the idea. He did not want to go further than Montreal. +Moreover, there was no use, he said, in meeting the Iroquois till he +knew what the Ottawas were going to do; and they would not reach +Montreal till late in the summer. The governor had his way. The Ottawas, +including the Kiskakons, came in August. Only with great difficulty were +they persuaded to give the necessary satisfaction to the Iroquois, who, +they said, no doubt with truth, were much keener in seeking satisfaction +for wrongs than in giving it when wrong was done by themselves. The +Iroquois sent delegates to Montreal in the following month; and by dint +of presents and promises a somewhat doubtful arrangement was patched up +for the temporary maintenance of peace. Frontenac took advantage of his +visit to Montreal to survey the fortifications and give instructions +for strengthening them at several points. These were virtually the final +acts of his administration, for in the last week of September his +successor landed at Quebec. + +What at this time were the resources of the colony in population? In +1668, under the administration of Courcelles, Talon, the intendant, had +reported the population at 6282. In 1673, a year after his arrival, +Frontenac made a return showing a total of 6705 souls. The king, Colbert +said, was much disappointed at these figures and thought they could not +be correct, as there were more people in the country ten years before. +Where his Majesty got this information we do not know, but probably from +some agent of the West India Company interested in exaggerating the +prosperity of the country. He seems to have completely overlooked +Talon's figures for 1668, not to mention two previous returns made by +the same careful officer in 1666 and 1667; the first showing a +population of 3418 only, and the second one of 4312. It seems probable, +however, that Frontenac's figures were somewhat short, as the increase +they showed was less than seven per cent. over Talon's for 1668, five +years earlier; while a return which he made two years later gave a +population of 7832, indicating a gain of nearly seventeen per cent. in +that comparatively brief period. Even these figures did not satisfy the +king, who insisted that he had sent over more people himself in the +fifteen years or so that the country had been under his direct control. + +It is to be remarked that for some years after Frontenac's arrival in +Canada immigration received a serious check. His commission as governor +was nearly even in date with the commencement of Louis XIV's +buccaneering war against Holland, in which he was joined by his English +cousin Charles II. The heroic stand made by the Dutch against the united +power of the French and English monarchies is one of the glories of +their history. It was not a good time for French immigrant ships to be +abroad; moreover, all available Frenchmen were wanted for military +service, over 200,000 having been drafted into the land forces alone, +and the losses by war continually calling for recruits. A natural +increase, however, was going on in the colony all the time; and in 1679 +Duchesneau reported the population of Canada at 9400, and that of Acadia +at 515. Three years later, at the end of Frontenac's first +administration, the number had increased to over 10,000. + +Trade, however, was not prosperous. Duchesneau, in November 1681, speaks +of it as declining; though he tries to show that the West India trade in +particular had increased in his time. The reason why trade was not +prosperous is not far to seek: it was hampered and strangled by various +forms of political control. The West India Company, called into +existence by Colbert in 1663, had not fared much better than the +Company of New France organized by Richelieu. The reflections which +Clément makes on this subject in his life of Colbert are much to the +point. "If ever a company," he says, "was placed in circumstances where +everything seemed to promise success, assuredly it was the West India +Company as reconstituted by Colbert. Monopolizing the commerce of a +large part of the West Indies and of the settlements on the west coast +of Africa, absolute and sovereign proprietor of all the territory in +which its privilege was exercised, receiving large premiums on all that +it exported or imported, one would naturally expect it to surpass the +expectations of its founders. The contrary, however, was what happened, +and new mortifications were added to all that had gone before. . . . By +the year 1672 the company was bankrupt."[20] The chief cause of the +failure M. Clément believes to have been the prohibition of trade with +foreigners. Certainly what Canada most wanted was an outlet for its +productions; and, could foreign vessels have freely visited the country +to buy fish, lumber, potash, and skins, not to mention their own +supplies, Canada would have had an open and really unlimited market +during nearly the whole season of navigation. This restriction of +foreign trading continued unfortunately after the king had bought out +the rights of the bankrupt company in the year 1674. Having only the +market of France to depend on, the trade of the colony was subject to +all the vicissitudes by which that market was affected. It thus suffered +severely through the war with Holland, which brought an enormous strain +to bear, for a period of six years (1672-8), on the finances of the +kingdom. In the years 1675 and 1676 starvation was stalking through the +land; the courtiers, in driving from Paris to Versailles, would +frequently see the corpses of the wretched victims of famine strewing +the highway; while in Brittany and one or two other provinces the +hangman was doing a merry business in swinging off the unfortunates +whose misery had driven them to theft or other acts of disorder. +"Gallows and instruments of torture were to be seen at all the +crossways," says Henri Martin. Madame de Sévigné gives the most horrible +details in regard to the severities exercised, but with very little show +of sympathy for the unhappy people whom she speaks of as a "_canaille +revoltée_"--rebellious riff-raff. "This province" [Brittany], she says, +"will be a fine example for the rest and will teach the lower orders to +respect the higher powers." To the same fluent and graceful pen we owe +the almost Tacitean utterance: "The punishments are easing off: by dint +of vigorous hanging, there will be no more hanging to do." "They make a +desert," says Tacitus, "and they call it peace." + +Such was the industrial stagnation prevalent about this time throughout +the kingdom that very often vessels arriving at certain ports could not +find return freights; there was nothing to export. Colbert's efforts to +build up great industries by means of bounties and restrictive tariffs +had, after a temporary flash of success, resulted in dismal failure; and +when peace was made with Holland in 1678, one of the conditions agreed +upon was that "reciprocal liberty of trade between France and the United +Provinces was not to be forbidden, limited, or restrained by any +privilege, customs duty, or concession, and that neither country should +give any immunities, benefits, premiums, or other advantages not +conceded equally to subjects of the other." Thus was Colbert's leading +principle of commercial policy completely overthrown, and that after a +war which had brought him to the verge of despair to provide the means +for carrying it on. + +Those were the days, however, of "imperialism" in a very real sense. +Whatever the state of commerce might be in the Mother Country, Canada +still had to trade with her alone; and, even so, all mercantile +operations were hampered by an arbitrary fixing of prices. This was so +under the sway of the company, and continued to be so to a large extent +after its privileges had been swept away. Very imperial was the rule of +Louis XIV. In his youth he had seen an attempt by the parliament of +Paris to assert its prerogatives. In January 1649, just about the time +when the scaffold was being prepared for Charles I of England, he and +the court hardly knew where to turn for shelter; and he never forgot +one night which they had to spend in fireless rooms without any +attendance. The royal power, astutely guided by Mazarin, asserted itself +eventually over parliaments and princes alike; and Louis XIV, arrived at +manhood, determined that no such trouble should occur again in his time. +Gaillardin, in his history of the reign of Louis XIV, fixes upon the +year 1672--the year in which Frontenac was sent to Canada--as the epoch +of the most complete enslavement of the parliaments. The historic +function which those bodies were supposed to exercise, apart from their +judicial powers, was that of registering the royal edicts; and in theory +such registration was necessary in order to give any edict the full +force of law. Manifestly this privilege might, like the control over +money votes exercised by the English House of Commons, have developed +into an effective check upon monarchical absolutism. The possibility was +not overlooked, and marvellously clear and precise is the declaration by +which Louis XIV, in the year 1673, put all the parliaments of his +kingdom into the precise position he meant them to occupy. "First of +all," the decree reads, "silent obedience: the courts [parliaments] are +strictly forbidden to listen to any opposition to the registration of +the letters of the king; clerks are forbidden to enter such oppositions +on the records; bailiffs are forbidden to give notification of +them. . . . The courts are ordered to register the letters of the king +without any modification, restriction, or condition which might cause +delay or impediment to their execution." When this duty has been +submissively performed, then, if the parliaments have any observations +to make, they may make them; but, when once the king has replied, there +is to be no further discussion of any kind, simply prompt obedience. The +registration of the royal edicts became henceforth a mere matter of +form; and remonstrances of any kind, even such as the king graciously +permitted _after_ registration, ceased to be made. The Chancellor +d'Aguesseau[21] says that none were made during the remaining forty-two +years of the king's lifetime. + +It may be objected, perhaps, that this is French and not Canadian +history; if so the answer must be that it is impossible to understand +the history of Canada in this period unless we have a sufficient +comprehension of the political system to which Canada was bound by the +most vital of ties. We get a strong light upon the character of +Frontenac when we rightly grasp that of his master, the Roi-Soleil, as +he allowed himself to be called, the man who, daring the fate of Herod +or Nebuchadnezzar, once said, "It seems to me as if any glory won by +another was robbed from myself." Some years before he had put on record +the sentiment: "It is God's will that whoever is born a subject should +not reason but obey." + +To return, however, to Canada, when the king bought out the rights of +the bankrupt company, monopoly was not at an end, for he proceeded to +put up the trade of the country, under limited leases, to the highest +bidders. Those who obtained leases were called the "farmers," and were +entitled to ten per cent. of the value of all furs taken in the country. +The Sovereign Council at Quebec undertook to fix the prices of goods +except as regards dealings with the Indians; and non-resident merchants, +while they might establish warehouses, and there sell to the French +inhabitants, were not allowed to deal directly with the Indians, these +being left to the mercy of local traders who made a practice of charging +them excessive prices for all that they sold. Frontenac and Duchesneau +both report to the home government that the Indians get twice as much +from the English and Dutch in exchange for their furs as they do from +the French; and yet the aim of both is to force all the Indians in their +jurisdiction to sell their furs exclusively in Canada. Canadians who +went to the English settlements, either in New England or in what is now +New York, were amazed at the cheapness of goods. Duchesneau, in one of +his later despatches, speaks of the commercial prosperity of Boston and +the large fortunes accumulated by some of its citizens. Nothing similar +was to be seen in Canada, where there was a settled belief on the part +of the governing powers in whatever was most restrictive and illiberal +in commercial policy. + +The first administration of Frontenac will always be associated with the +intrepid enterprises of the great western explorers, Jolliet, La Salle, +Du Lhut, Nicolas Perrot, and others. To Jolliet is reasonably assigned +the first discovery of the Mississippi. Starting from Green Bay, or, as +it was then called, Baie des Puants, on the west shore of Lake Michigan, +in company with the Jesuit father, Marquette, he worked his way to the +Wisconsin River, which he followed to its junction with the Mississippi; +and then descended the latter river till he reached latitude 33°, or +about as far as the northern boundary of the present state of Louisiana. +Fear of falling into the hands of the Spaniards, who, as he was informed +by the Indians, had settlements not far to the south, caused him to +retrace his steps. When he was just completing his return journey, his +canoe upset close to Montreal, and all his papers were lost, including +the notes he had made of his observations, and a map of the region +through which he had passed. He himself narrowly escaped with his +life--the laws of nature were in fact suspended, as he gravely declares, +in his behalf--but a young savage whom he was bringing from the country +of the Illinois was drowned.[22] He reached Quebec in the month of +August 1674, and the thrilling account which he gave of his adventures +produced a strong impression on the mind of the governor. Nevertheless +when, two years later, he asked permission to go with twenty men to make +further explorations in the same direction, Colbert refused his request. +A possible explanation is that his previous journey with Père Marquette +had established relations which Frontenac did not quite approve between +him and the Jesuits in the western country, who had lost no time in +pushing their missions towards the south. However this may have been, +Frontenac had his eye at this very time upon a man who seemed to him +much better suited to be an agent of his policy. + +It has already been mentioned that Robert Cavelier de la Salle obtained +from the king in the year 1675 a grant of the fort erected by Frontenac +at Cataraqui. The conditions of the grant were that he was to reimburse +the cost of construction, estimated at ten thousand livres; keep it in +good repair; maintain a sufficient garrison; employ twenty men for two +years in clearing the land conceded to him in the neighbourhood; provide +a priest or friar to perform divine service and administer the +sacraments; form villages of Indians and French; and have all his lands +cleared and improved within twenty years. On these terms he was to have +four square leagues of land, that is to say, eight leagues in length +along the river and lake front, east and west of the fort, by half a +league in depth, together with the islands opposite. But what was of +most value in a pecuniary sense, and what he depended on to compensate +his outlay, was the right of hunting and fishing in the neighbouring +region, and of trading with the Indians. To what extent La Salle +actually developed the property thus conceded to him is a matter of +dispute. The Abbé Faillon, who perhaps has some little animus against +him, says that he did nothing worth mentioning towards establishing such +a colony as the king intended. The king, on the other hand, when +granting La Salle authority to undertake explorations in the direction +of the Mississippi speaks approvingly of the work he had done on his +concession. The information may have been derived from La Salle himself, +who went to France in the autumn of 1677 to obtain sanction for his +proposed expedition; but it is hardly likely that he would lay +altogether false information before the minister for submission to the +king. It seems to be certain that he did at least put the fort in a good +condition of defence. He pulled down the old one, which consisted merely +of a wooden palisade banked up with earth and having a circumference of +one hundred and twenty yards, and replaced it by one having a +circumference of seven hundred and twenty yards, and protected by four +stone bastions. + +The probability is that La Salle, from the first, looked upon his +establishment at the fort partly as an advanced base for the further +explorations he had in view, and partly as a means of providing the +funds without which his schemes could not be realized. The proposition +which he laid before the government, was that he should erect at his own +expense two forts, one at the mouth of the Niagara River on the east +side, the other at the southern extremity of Lake Michigan; and that he +should be commissioned to proceed to the discovery of the mouth of the +Mississippi, and be granted the exclusive right of trading with the +Indians inhabiting the countries to be visited. The trade he was most +anxious to control was that in buffalo hides, a sample of which he had +brought with him to France. Having obtained all necessary powers, he +sailed for Canada in the summer of 1678, bringing with him as much money +as he could persuade his family and friends to advance, together with a +large quantity of goods. The pecuniary obligations thus assumed were to +be paid off, as he hoped, partly by the profits of his trade at +Cataraqui, and partly by those of his operations in the more distant +West. The story of his struggles and tribulations is too long to give in +any detail here, but the main points may be hurriedly sketched. + +The first care of the explorer on arriving at Quebec in the autumn was +to load several canoes with goods to the value of several thousands of +francs, and despatch them with a party of men to the Illinois country. +In the spring carpenters were sent forward to Niagara to commence the +construction of a fort. He himself followed in a large canoe laden with +provisions and goods. His first misadventure was the loss of this canoe +and its freight, not far from the mouth of the Niagara River. The +accident was due to the inattention of his men while he was on shore. A +little above the Falls of Niagara he began the construction of a +forty-five ton vessel, destined for the trade between that point and an +establishment he proposed to make at the southern end of Lake Michigan. +The Iroquois of the neighbourhood did not like these proceedings, but +did not make any active opposition. The vessel was completed and La +Salle and his men sailed away in her through Lake Erie, the St. Clair +River, and Lake Huron into Lake Michigan. Severe storms were encountered +on the way. Near Green Bay the men whom he had sent forward with goods +the previous fall met him with a number of canoes, all laden with skins, +the result of their trading with the Illinois. This was more expedition +than he had counted on, for he had told them to await his arrival. He +caused the goods, however, to be transferred to his vessel, the +_Griffon_, as she was called, and sent her back to Niagara with a +sufficient crew. She was never heard of more; but the Indians reported +that, shortly after she left shelter, a terrible storm had arisen on +Lake Michigan. They watched her for some time as she was tossed about by +the fury of the waves, and then they lost sight of her. Ignorant of this +disaster, La Salle was making his way south. He established two forts on +the Illinois River. The first, which he called St. Louis, was near the +site of the present town of La Salle. The second, a little further +south, near to Peoria, he named Crèvecoeur. The name is significant of +"heartbreak," and his fortunes were then at their lowest ebb, for +provisions were exhausted and a number of men had deserted; still it is +not recorded that the name was given on that account. Leaving Henry +Tonty, a man of great energy and resource, whom he had brought out from +France, in charge of Fort Crèvecoeur he made his way back alone to Fort +Frontenac and thence to Montreal. + +It was at Fort Frontenac that La Salle first learnt the fate of his +richly-laden _Griffon_; while at Montreal the news reached him of the +loss of a vessel coming from France with a large quantity of goods for +his trade. Such an accumulation of misfortunes was enough to break the +spirit of an ordinary man; but La Salle was a man whom adversity could +not conquer. Straining his credit to the utmost to procure supplies and +reinforcements, he returns to the Illinois country to find Fort +Crèvecoeur in ruins. It had been attacked by the Iroquois and its +defenders scattered. Tonty, wounded in the skirmish, had gone to +Michilimackinac. Getting no word of him, La Salle assumes that he is +dead. Once more the long journey eastward must be faced. He reaches +Montreal, and succeeds in organizing yet another expedition. Again he +sets out for the West. It is late in the fall of 1680 when he reaches +Michilimackinac, where he is overjoyed to find the lost Tonty. The two +proceed together to the Illinois country. The year 1681 is spent in +establishing or re-establishing posts and dealing or negotiating with +the natives. On the 6th February 1682 La Salle strikes the Mississippi. +Two months and three days later, or on the 9th of April, he is gazing +forth over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. + +The tale is quickly told; but not so easy is it adequately to appraise +the courage, determination and resource necessary for the accomplishment +of such an enterprise. Knowing what we do of the man, the portrait of +him in Margry's third volume seems to possess a certain convincing +character, though Margry himself does not vouch for its authenticity. We +see a face sensitive, perhaps sensuous, subtle, passionate, daring, +tenacious. Such a man could not bind himself to the task of patient +colonization at Fort Frontenac, or even find satisfaction in the more +varied and exciting life of a frontiersman and trader. An overwhelming +desire possessed him + + "To sail beyond the sunset and the baths + Of all the western stars," + +and to follow the swelling flood of the mightiest of rivers to its +bourne in some mighty sea. Such a man will have the defects of his +qualities, and La Salle was neither devoid of jealousy nor incapable of +injustice; and he was a somewhat hard taskmaster. Possessed himself of +iron nerve and unbending resolution, and sustained by visions of high +accomplishment, he expected more from average men than they were +altogether capable of rendering. More than once some of his followers +deserted him. One attempt was made at Fort Frontenac to poison him; and +finally he met his death at the hand of an assassin, a member of his own +party, in that far southern region which he had added to the domain of +France. + +Frontenac's personal relations with La Salle are not very clearly +defined. He was certainly favourable to him at first. The two men were +much alike in their attitude towards the ecclesiastical power; and both +showed a preference for the Récollet order, two members of which La +Salle maintained at the fort. Frontenac also approved of La Salle's +plans of discovery in the west and south, as tending to the extension of +the French dominions and the glory of the French name, and possibly also +as furnishing a counterpoise to the growing influence of the Jesuits +among the western Indians. There is nothing, however, to show that he +followed the later movements of the great explorer with any particular +sympathy. + +Du Lhut was a man of a different type. He did not possess the vaulting +ambition, nor perhaps the talent for organization, of La Salle; but he +discovered a vast stretch of new territory in what is now the western +part of New Ontario, and along the course of the Assiniboine; and, so +far as skill in the management of the native races was concerned he was +probably superior to the more romantic explorer. No man was more +successful in upholding French prestige amongst the Indian tribes. It +was just before La Salle returned from France in the autumn of 1678 that +Du Lhut, in somewhat clandestine fashion, slipped off to the West. Those +were the days in which the _coureur de bois_ difficulty was at its +height; and, upon arriving at Sault Ste. Marie, he wrote to Frontenac in +a rather deprecatory tone as if sensible of the doubtful legality of his +position, but pointed out the advantages that would accrue from entering +into relations with the North Western Indians. About a year later he +presided over a great meeting of the tribes on the site of the important +city which now bears his name (according to one spelling of it); +established peace between communities that had long been at war; and +obtained the promise of the important tribe of the Nadessioux to direct +their trade in future to Montreal. This was eminently useful work, and +gained for its author the full sympathy of Frontenac. Nevertheless, on +his return to Quebec in the following year (1680), he was imprisoned for +violation of the king's regulations, in all probability at the instance +of the vigilant M. Jacques Duchesneau, who would be prompt to suspect +complicity in illegal trading between him and the governor. He was +released after a short detention, and went to France in the fall of +1681, in the hope of obtaining the king's sanction for further +explorations. In this he was unsuccessful; but, returning to Canada, he +obtained employment in the West as post commander and agent to the +tribes west and north of Lake Superior. Through him the French influence +was extended, not only far into what is now our own North-West, but even +to the shores of Hudson's Bay, much of the trade which had before been +done with the English of that region being diverted, through his +persuasions, to Montreal. + +While the secular rulers of the country were, with somewhat divided +aims, striving to promote the material interests and provide for the +security of the colony, the church, with considerably more unity of +purpose, was labouring to achieve spiritual results. The promotion of M. +de Laval to the see of Quebec put an end to much disputing and mutual +distrust amongst different orders of the clergy. It is said to have had +a markedly beneficial effect on Laval himself, who seemed at once to +dismiss the exaggerated suspicions he had entertained regarding all who +were not thoroughly subdued to his influence, and the Sulpician order in +particular. Missionary work was actively carried on, and though the +question of tithes gave more or less trouble, and the people were not as +zealous as might have been wished in providing for the maintenance of +their local clergy, the influence of the church and of religion was +strongly felt throughout the length and breadth of the land. The king +had much at heart the establishment of permanent curacies, and in 1679 +issued an edict on the subject, which, however, had little effect. His +Majesty's idea was that the _curé_ should receive tithes, and that if +these did not suffice to give him a decent living, further rates should +be levied on the seigneurs and the people. As even the tithes were paid +very grudgingly, it is easy to believe that a scheme of further taxation +for church purposes stood little chance of acceptance. We have already +seen that Laval was by no means in love with the policy of fixed +_cures_, and he was probably not sorry to be able to represent to the +court that it really could not be carried into effect. Bishop and people +together were too much even for the king. + +The Récollets, always on the alert to make themselves useful, rose to +the occasion by offering to serve the parishes and accept simply what +the people might be disposed to give, but the bishop thought their zeal +savoured of officiousness, and declined the offer with scanty thanks. +These worthy ecclesiastics were very popular in the country, and it is +probable they could have successfully carried out their undertaking had +they been allowed to try. The bishop had other views for the nurture of +his Canadian flock. The Récollet fathers did not at this time stand very +high in his esteem. The Jesuits accused them of tolerating grave abuses +in the household of the governor, who had a Récollet, Father +Maupassant, for confessor; but, as M. Lorin pertinently observes, the +accusation was singularly ill-timed, considering the flagrant disorders +which marked the private life of Frontenac's master, Louis XIV, whose +spiritual interests were in charge of the Jesuit, Père Lachaise. The +monarch--"ce religieux prince," as the Abbé Faillon calls him--had no +hesitation in demanding of the parliament of Paris legitimation of +successive batches of his bastard offspring, and registration of the +titles of nobility he was pleased to confer upon them. Whatever the +responsibilities of Father Maupassant may have been, he must have had a +sinecure in comparison with the king's confessor. It may be added that +Frontenac vehemently denied that there were any disorders or scandals in +his household. + +Missions to the different Indian tribes were in active operation during +the whole of the period now under review. Those of the Jesuits were by +far the most widespread. Their chief establishment outside of Quebec was +at Sault Ste. Marie; in addition they had permanent missions at +Mackinac, Green Bay, and various points in the Iroquois country; while +Father Albanel penetrated as far as Hudson's Bay, and others laboured +amongst the Indians of the Saguenay region. The Sulpicians were less +adventurous; they did most of their evangelizing work on or near to the +Island of Montreal. They had an establishment, however, on the Bay of +Quinté, and one or more on the Ottawa River. The Récollets had Fort +Frontenac, Percé on the Baie des Chaleurs, and certain posts on the line +of La Salle's explorations. + +As regards the conversion of the savage tribes, it can hardly be claimed +that any of these missions were very successful. All authorities agree +that it was extremely difficult to impress the Indian mind with the +truths of Christianity, or with the idea of any absolute and exclusive +theology. The Indian was quite ready to accept the missionary's version +of the origin of the world, provided the missionary would reciprocate +and accept his decidedly different version. Each, he held, was good in +its place; a little variety in these matters did no harm. He had little +or no sense of sin, for he did not recognize that the things he did were +wrong, and when threatened with the terrors of a future world, he simply +said that he did not believe the "master of life" could hate anybody. At +the same time he was quite prepared to join in religious services if +requested, and seemed even to enjoy the ceremonial. He believed in +unlimited charity to relatives and friends, but could not be got to +admit the duty of forgiving enemies. An Indian who had been informed +that in France many died of want, while others of the same nation had +food and substance of all kinds in the greatest profusion, was +scandalized beyond measure. He was affected much as we should be by some +dark tale of cruelty and superstition from a far-off heathen land. And +to think that people of whom such things could be told were sending +missionaries to _him_, to enjoin upon him, among other things, the duty +of charity![23] + +But if the missionaries made comparatively little headway in the matter +of actual conversions, it is impossible to doubt that they exerted a +general influence for good upon the tribes to whom they ministered. This +may fairly be inferred from the moral authority they exercised and the +security and respect they enjoyed. They were themselves men of pure +lives and disinterested motives; and so far they personally recommended +the doctrines they preached. To some extent also they taught the savages +various useful arts of life. Frontenac specially commends the Montreal +Seminary for their efforts to civilize the Indians of their missions +who, under their instruction, had taken to raising domestic animals, +swine, poultry, etc., and to cultivating wheat as well as native grains. +The Abbé Verreau, on the other hand, is inclined to hold that the +attempts made, at the urgent demand of the French government, to +civilize as well as christianize the Indians are accountable, in part at +least, for the general failure of the missions. "We all know now," he +says, "what has been the result of so much effort and so much outlay of +money. Two or three poor villages inhabited by unhappy creatures who +have added our vices to their own deficiencies, without having adopted +any of our better qualities. That is all that remains of the Abenaquis, +the Hurons, and the Iroquois."[24] The reflection is a sad one, and the +abbé feels it, for he speaks further of the painful mystery of the +disappearance of these children of the forest. Truly does the poet say +that "God fulfils Himself in many ways," yet none the less the surviving +white man may well feel some misgiving when he thinks of all his past +dealings with his red brother. + +[Footnote 19: He had been charged some years before by a commissioner +sent out by the Company of the Hundred Associates with embezzlement, and +had taken part in a violent attack on the commissioner and in the +seizure of his papers.] + +[Footnote 20: _Vie de Colbert_, vol. i. p. 502.] + +[Footnote 21: Quoted by Gaillardin, _Histoire du Règne de Louis XIV_, +vol. iv. p. 311.] + +[Footnote 22: See extract from a letter written by him in Faillon, vol. +iii. p. 315. The Récollet, Père Leclercq, is uncharitable enough to hint +that the canoe accident may have been made to cover a lack of the +documents which the explorer professed to have had with him.] + +[Footnote 23: See the _Recit d'un ami de l'Abbé Galinée_, in Margry, +vol. i.] + +[Footnote 24: Mère de l'Incarnation remarked even in her day the +decrease of the native population. "When we arrived in this country," +she says, "the Indians were so numerous that it seemed as if they were +going to grow into a vast population; but after they were baptized God +called them to Himself either by disease or by the hands of the +Iroquois. It was perhaps His wise design to permit their death lest +their hearts should turn to wickedness."--_Lettres Spirituelles_, +edition of 1681, p. 230.] + + + + + CHAPTER VII + + GOVERNORSHIP OF M. DE LA BARRE + + 1682 TO 1685 + + +The successors of Frontenac and Duchesneau received their appointments +in the month of May 1682, and arrived at Quebec towards the end of the +following September. They were, respectively, a military officer named +Lefebvre de la Barre who had served with some distinction in the West +Indies; and a man of whose previous career little or nothing is known, +one M. Jacques de Meulles. If the fault of Frontenac had been the +assumption of too much state and dignity, and the exercise of too much +self-will, the fault of La Barre was that he possessed too little +dignity and extremely little firmness of character. The recall of +Frontenac had practically been one more triumph for the ecclesiastical +authorities, who caused it to be understood that, if Duchesneau had also +been recalled, it was simply to save Frontenac from too open +humiliation. La Barre prudently determined, therefore, from the first +not to come into collision with the clergy, whatever else he might do. +On the other hand the Abbé Dudouyt writing from Paris, enjoins prudence +on the bishop, lest "it should seem as if he could not keep on good +terms with anybody." With such dispositions on both sides, it is not +surprising that, during the whole of La Barre's administration his +relations with the church were extremely harmonious. The Abbé Gosselin +says that he and Meulles "revived the happy times of the highly +Christian administration of M. de Tracy." The king, however, did not +view the situation with equal approval; the despatches of the period +show that he thought that deference to the views of the clergy was being +carried too far. + +We have seen that, towards the close of Frontenac's administration, the +Indian situation was again becoming critical. The arrangement patched up +by him in the month of August was far from being of a very solid +character; and when La Barre assumed the reins of government he found a +widespread feeling of insecurity as to the continuance of peace. He +thought it prudent, therefore, to summon, as Frontenac had done +previously, a conference of persons specially competent to advise on the +Indian question. The meeting took place on the 10th of October at +Quebec, before Frontenac had left the country. He might, therefore, have +attended it, had he chosen; and we cannot help feeling surprised that he +did not. The general opinion expressed by those who took part in the +deliberations was that the Iroquois were planning hostilities, and that +the king should be asked to send out more troops. La Barre wrote home to +this effect; but the same vessel that bore his despatch carried the +returning ex-governor, who, on arriving in France, seems to have made it +his business to throw cold water on the appeal for help. It was +doubtless to Frontenac's interest to represent that he had left the +country in a peaceful and secure condition; but his conduct would appear +in a better light had he gone before the conference at Quebec, and there +explained, in the presence of those possessing local information, why he +considered that there was no danger. La Barre could then in writing to +the government have given his reasons and those of his advisers for +dissenting from the ex-governor's views, and the latter could honourably +have made his own representations to the court. As it was, the man who +had ceased to be responsible was allowed to thwart the policy of the +actual administrator on whom the whole responsibility for the safety of +the country rested. La Barre is not a man who attracts our admiration or +sympathy, but, in this matter at least, it is difficult to feel that he +received fair treatment. + +Remembering all the trouble there had been between the former governor +and the intendant, La Barre hastens to inform the court that he and +Meulles are on the very best of terms. As they had scarcely been two +months in the country when this despatch was written, the announcement +seems a little hasty. Meulles on his part does not make any such +statement, and his letters of the following and subsequent years show +that he had not formed a very high opinion of his superior officer. He +complains that the meetings of the Sovereign Council are held in the +governor's own antechamber, amid the noise of servants going and coming +and the clatter of the guards in an adjoining room. The minister takes +no notice of this; and a year later Meulles returns to the charge, +stating that the governor held the meetings "in his own chimney corner +where his wife, his children and his servants were always in the way." +The intendant was a man of business, and liked to see things done in a +businesslike way. If he did not admire the disorderly methods of the +governor, neither did he approve of the dilatory methods of the council. +When matters were brought before him for adjudication he dealt with them +promptly; and, in his desire to save delays, he disposed of some cases +which the council considered as falling within its sole jurisdiction. +Frontenac, it will be remembered, had packed off young d'Auteuil, who +had been nominated by Duchesneau as attorney-general, to France to +justify, if he could, the conduct he had been pursuing. The youth had +come back a full-fledged attorney-general, and at once fell foul of the +intendant, accusing him of exceeding his powers. Meulles was a prudent +man and contrived to make his peace with the council. M. Lorin says +there was probably as much real dissension as in Frontenac's time, but +that it was hushed up. There is no evidence of this. Some dissension +there may have been; but La Barre was not as fiery as Frontenac, nor was +Meulles as intriguing as Duchesneau. The same elements of discord were, +therefore, not present. + +We have seen that the court did not seem to take any serious notice of +the charges of trading reciprocally brought by Frontenac and Duchesneau +against one another; and in this matter La Barre appears to have assumed +from the first that for him there was an "open door." At a very early +period of his residence in the country, he formed intimate relations +with certain prominent traders; it soon became evident, indeed, that he +had placed himself and his policy largely in their hands. They were in +the main the same men with whom Frontenac had accused Duchesneau of +having underhand dealings, La Chesnaye, Lebert and one or two others. +According to Meulles, the governor not only carried on trade on his own +account contrary to the king's regulations, but trade in its most +illegal form, that is to say with the English. His Majesty's +representative found out without much trouble what the Indians were well +aware of, that the English paid a much better price for furs than could +be got in Canada from the king's farmers who controlled the fur trade of +the country. He talks freely indeed of the English in a despatch dated +in May 1683, and says that they both sell goods cheap to the Indians and +give them full price for their furs. It is a saying among the English, +he adds, that the French do not _trade_ with the Indians but _rob_ them. +It is no wonder he was anxious to send his own wares to so good a +market. If the intendant may be trusted, indeed the governor was +continually receiving at the château at Quebec Englishmen and Dutchmen +who were simply his agents at New York. La Hontan avers that he saw two +canoe loads of his stuff at Chambly on their way to that emporium. + +A man so devoted to money-making as La Barre could hardly be expected to +take a very deep interest in the wider schemes of exploration and +territorial expansion which appealed to the imagination of a La Salle. +Possibly he thought he could curry favour with the court by disparaging +the achievements of the latter. In a despatch of the 30th May 1683 we +find him saying that he did not think much of the discovery of the mouth +of the Mississippi, and that in any case there was a great deal of +falsehood mixed up with the tales that were told of it. If the remark +was meant to please, it seems to have been successful, for the king in +his reply, under date 5th August following, says: "I am persuaded with +you that _Sieur de la Salle's discovery is very useless, and such +enterprises must be prevented hereafter_, as they tend only to debauch +the inhabitants by the hope of gain and to diminish the revenue from the +beaver." Could the power of official narrowness and banality go further? +A man, taking his life in his hand, penetrates forest and jungle, +commits himself to unknown waters, braves the encounter of hostile +peoples, takes the risk of treachery among his own followers, faces +every form of privation and all extremities of fatigue, travels a +thousand leagues, and adds a continent to the possessions of his +sovereign, only to have the verdict pronounced by that sovereign that +his discoveries are very useless, and that similar expeditions must be +prevented for the future lest the beaver trade of Ca Canada suffer! + +La Salle's great discovery was made in the month of April 1682. +Returning northwards in the autumn, with the intention of proceeding to +France, and making a full report of his proceedings to the king, he +heard, on reaching Michilimackinac, that the Iroquois were preparing a +hostile movement against the Illinois. He determined at once to go back +with a picked body of men to protect his threatened allies. The news of +his discovery was therefore carried to France by the Récollet, Father +Zénobe, who reached Quebec just as the ships were leaving, and may +possibly have sailed in the same vessel as Frontenac. He does not seem +to have given any information, in passing, to La Barre. The latter was +expecting La Salle's return, and chose to put an unfavourable +construction on his failure to appear. In writing to the minister he +says that Fort Frontenac has been abandoned. The truth was that La Salle +had left it in charge of one La Forest, and that subsequently a cousin +of the explorer's, named Plet, had come from France to look after the +trade of the fort in the interest of the parties in France who had +advanced money for its construction and equipment. It is doubtful +whether the place was ever left even temporarily unoccupied; but +certainly La Salle had no intention of abandoning it. On the contrary, +not knowing of Frontenac's recall, he had written to him in October 1682 +asking him to maintain La Forest in command and to let him have a +sufficient number of men for purposes of defence. What is singular is +that he does not appear to have given Frontenac any more information +regarding his discovery than Father Zénobe gave to La Barre. Possibly he +had some hope, as the latter hints, of organizing a separate government +in the new territory he had discovered. In no case, however, can La +Barre's proceedings towards him be justified. On the pretext that Fort +Frontenac had been abandoned, he took possession of it, and turned it, +if we are to credit Meulles, into a trading-post for himself and his +friends. He had a barque built there, professedly for the king's service +on the lake, but used it mainly, the intendant says, for his own trade. + +La Salle spent the winter in the Illinois country. In the spring of 1683 +he wrote to La Barre from his fort of St. Louis, announcing his +discovery, and expressing the hope that the kindly treatment which he +had always received from the previous governor would continue to be +extended to him. His financial affairs had for some time been in a very +unsatisfactory state, but he expected, he said, to be able in the course +of the then current year to place them on a sound footing, and prove +that he had not undertaken more than it was in his power to accomplish. +He had meantime sent men to Montreal for supplies, but these did not +return, nor did he get any reply from La Barre either to this letter or +to a later one written in June. Instead of replying, La Barre sent an +officer named Baugy to take possession of Fort St. Louis. La Salle, who +had started for Quebec, met Baugy on the way, and sent back word to his +men at the fort not to resist the seizure. Du Lhut, under instructions +from the governor, followed shortly after, confiscated the merchandise +stored in the fort, and brought it to Montreal. La Salle on arriving at +Quebec saw La Barre, and obtained from him restitution of Fort +Frontenac, but could not get any compensation for the loss he had +sustained through the interruption of his trading operations at that +point. He consequently proceeded to France in the fall of the year, and +in the course of the winter presented a full statement of the case to +the minister, M. de Seignelay. Only a few months before, the king had +expressed the opinion above quoted as to the uselessness, or worse than +uselessness, of such explorations as La Salle had been engaged in; but +when the explorer himself appeared upon the scene, a change came over +the views of the court. The king writes to the intendant that, not only +is the fort which the governor had wrongfully seized to be handed over +to La Salle, but that full reparation is to be made for all the loss +which he has sustained, and that the intendant is to see that this is +done. Writing to La Barre himself, the king informs him that he takes +La Salle under his particular protection, and cautions the governor not +to do anything against his interest. La Salle's agent, La Forest, is to +be placed in charge of Fort St Louis. + +Settling down to business, as he did, almost immediately on his arrival +in the country, La Barre was naturally anxious that the persons to whom +he issued hunting and trading permits under the regulations established +in Frontenac's time should, as far as possible, be screened from +competition, and he therefore most ill-advisedly gave the Iroquois +tribes to understand that they might treat as they pleased any persons +found trading who were unprovided with permits signed by him. The +Iroquois, greatly pleased to have a pretext for such operations, +proceeded to plunder some canoes belonging to the governor's own +friends, who were still in the woods on the authority of permits issued +by Frontenac. This alarmed the governor not a little, and caused him, in +the spring of 1683, to send a special vessel to France with an earnest +request for military reinforcements. Worse news came to hand very +shortly after. La Salle's fort of St. Louis having been seized, the +governor wished to stock it with goods, and had despatched thither seven +canoe loads to the value of fifteen or sixteen thousand francs. As these +canoes were passing through the Illinois country, where the Iroquois +were on the war-path, the latter, who were not in a humour for fine +discrimination, seized them, explaining afterwards that they supposed +them to belong to La Salle, whose property they claimed to have the +governor's permission to plunder. La Barre writes to the king, under +date 5th June, in still stronger terms, and says that, with or without +reinforcements, he will move against the Senecas about the middle of +August. This was mere bluster, as no preparations had at that time been +made for a campaign. The king sent out one hundred and fifty men in +August; but these did not arrive till the 10th October. It was then +decided that war should be waged the following year. The intendant +appears to have agreed entirely with the governor that war was +inevitable; his chief fear seems to have been that the governor, in +whose stability of character he had very little confidence, would change +his mind on the subject, and fall back on some weak and futile scheme of +conciliation. + +The winter of 1683-4 was not marked by any notable event. In the +following spring, pursuant to the plan which he had communicated to the +French government, the governor sent instructions to the post commanders +in the West, La Durantaye, Du Lhut, and Nicolas Perrot, to rendezvous at +Niagara with as many men of the different Ottawa tribes as they could +persuade to follow them. At that point they would find awaiting them +provisions, arms, and ammunition, with means of transportation to the +scene of action. Home levies of militia and of mission Indians were at +the same time being raised and equipped. At this stage of the +proceedings it occurred to La Barre that it would be a good thing to +inform the governor of New York, Colonel Dongan, of his intention to +make war upon the Senecas. The communication happened to be particularly +ill-timed. The English of Maryland and Virginia had been having their +own troubles with the Iroquois, who had made many destructive raids into +their territory; and in the early summer of 1684 Lord Howard of +Effingham, governor of Virginia, had gone to New York to consult with +the governor there as to the measures to be adopted, and thence had gone +on to Albany, Colonel Dongan accompanying him, to hold a conference with +the offending tribes--in this case the Oneidas, Onondagas, and Cayugas. +Delegates from the Mohawks, who had not broken the peace, were also +present; and one of them, Cadianne by name, made ample acknowledgment of +the wrongs done by his brethren of the other tribes, to whom he took the +opportunity of addressing some very severe and wholesome remarks. +Shortly afterwards delegates from the Senecas also arrived, when a +general treaty of peace and good-will was made between the Five Nations +on the one hand, and the English and their Indians on the other. It was +in the midst of these proceedings that Dongan received La Barre's +letter. He replied by saying that the King of England exercised +sovereignty over the whole Iroquois confederacy, and that if the Senecas +had committed the depredations complained of he would see that they +made reparation; he hoped that La Barre, in the interest of peace, would +refrain from invading British territory. He then took occasion of the +conference to inform the tribes of the French designs, his object being +to draw from them an acknowledgment of the sovereignty of the English +king in return for a promise of protection against the French. The +tribes, who had some time before requested that the arms of the Duke of +York (now James II) should be raised over their fortresses, consented to +this, but with the not altogether consistent proviso that they should +still be considered a free people. The subject was further debated at +the chief town of the Onondagas, the central nation of the confederacy, +a few weeks later. Dongan was represented by Arnold Viele, a Dutchman. +It happened that Charles Le Moyne of Montreal was also there, having +been sent by La Barre to invite the Onondagas to a conference, as well +as the Jesuit, Father Lamberville. Very little progress was made with +the diplomatic question; but the Seneca deputies expressed very savage +sentiments in regard to the French, promising themselves a feast of +French flesh as the result of the coming war. + +This was in the month of August, and La Barre, at the head of an +expedition consisting of seven hundred Canadian militia, one hundred and +thirty regular troops, and two hundred Indians, had left Montreal on the +27th July, expecting to be joined by about one thousand Indian +auxiliaries from the north and west. It took about two weeks to reach +Fort Frontenac, where a delay of two or three weeks occurred, during +which time the army began to sicken. The heat was intense, and the camp +had been established on low malarial ground. La Barre himself became +dangerously ill. Finally a move was made to the southern side of Lake +Ontario, the army encamping at the mouth of what is now known as the +Salmon River, a little east of Oswego. The place at that time was known +by the ill-omened name of La Famine. In point of unwholesomeness the +place was quite as bad as Fort Frontenac; and a large part of the army +fell into a most deplorable condition of debility. Moreover, provisions +ran short, and those whom malaria and other diseases had spared were +face to face with hunger. Discontent was rife in the camp. All chance of +taking the offensive against the Senecas was at an end. La Barre's one +hope was that Charles Le Moyne's mission to the Onondagas had been +successful, and that, through the good offices of that tribe, he might +be able to make peace with some little show of honour. Most opportunely +Le Moyne arrived on the 3rd September, bringing with him a celebrated +Onondaga orator and politician named Ourouehati, otherwise known as +Grande Gueule, or, as Colden, historian of the Five Indian Nations, has +it, Garangula, together with twelve other deputies, eight of his own +people, two Oneidas, and two Cayugas. To conceal as far as possible his +real situation, La Barre had sent away his sick, and pretended to have +come with a mere escort, the body of his army being at Fort Frontenac. +Nevertheless, in his speech, while professing a desire for peace, he +threatened war unless complete satisfaction were rendered by the Senecas +and others for the mischief they had done, and pledges given for their +future good conduct. Perfectly informed as to the real weakness of the +French governor's position, Grande Gueule (Big Mouth) did not mince +matters in replying to him. He thanked Onontio for bringing back the +calumet of peace, and congratulated him that he had not dug up the +hatchet that had so often been red with the blood of his countrymen. +Onontio, he said, pretended to have come to smoke the calumet of peace, +but the pretence was false: he had come to make war, and would have done +so but for the sickness of his men. If the Iroquois had pillaged +Frenchmen, it was because the latter were carrying arms to the Illinois. +(This of course was not true as regards the seven canoes which the +governor and his friends had sent forward; but Big Mouth was a +diplomatist.) As regards conducting certain English traders to the +lakes, which was one of the points complained of by La Barre, they were +acting perfectly within their rights. They were free to go where they +pleased, and to take with them whom they pleased. They were also quite +justified in making war on the Illinois, who had hunted on their lands, +and would give no pledge to refrain from attacking them in future. In +this respect they had done less than the English and French, who had +dispossessed many tribes and made settlements in their country. + +This was a forenoon's work. In the afternoon another session was held, +and the day concluded with the settlement of the terms of peace. La +Barre was not to attack the Senecas, and Big Mouth undertook that +reparation should be made for the acts of plunder committed. He refused +entirely to pledge his people to desist from war on the Illinois; they +would fight them to the death; and La Barre, notwithstanding what he had +said about the king's determination to protect his western children, was +obliged to give way. Next morning he broke up camp and set out on the +return journey. Sickness continued to plague his force, and eighty men +died on the way to Montreal.[25] + +But this was not all. The commanders in the West had acted on their +orders to raise as many men as they could amongst the Indian allies in +the region of the Great Lakes, and to lead them to Niagara. Du Lhut and +La Durantaye had great difficulty in executing their task. Only the +Hurons seemed in the least disposed to move. Nicolas Perrot, however, +possessed more influence; and, mainly through his persuasions, a force +was gathered of about five hundred men, drawn from the Hurons, Ottawas, +and other neighbouring tribes. Accompanying these were about one hundred +Frenchmen of the _coureur de bois_ class, who in manners and customs +were at times hardly distinguishable from their native companions. +Having got the force together, the next thing to do was to start them +and keep them on the march. The commanders had a hard time of it: +certain accidents happened on the way which to the Indians were of evil +omen; and it was difficult to prevent whole bands from deserting. +Finally, however, the expedition reached Niagara just about the time +that La Barre was making terms with Big Mouth. They found there neither +provisions, nor arms, nor instructions. In a short time a sail appeared. +It was a boat sent by La Barre to tell them that he had made peace with +the Iroquois, and that they might go home. The indignation and disgust +of the warriors, the disappointment and mortification of the French +leaders, may be imagined. The Indian allies said they had been betrayed, +and expressed their opinion of the French in no measured terms. Some of +the more hot-headed ones urged that, as they had started on the +war-path, they should go on and attack the Senecas by themselves. Wiser +counsels prevailed. The chief men had not been eager for the war from +the first; and, calming the spirits of their followers, they induced +them to turn their faces homewards. Some of them had come a thousand +miles, and now that long journey had to be retraced with nothing +accomplished. It was a desperate blow to French influence in all the +region of the Great Lakes. + +The only man who gave La Barre any comfort in these depressing +circumstances was Père Lamberville, missionary among the Onondagas. This +amiable and kindly priest, who had written to Frontenac some valued +words of commendation when he was leaving the country, wrote to La Barre +to tell him that he had acted most wisely in making peace. So doubtless +he had, in comparison with making war just at that time; but none the +less the peace was one which made the colonists hang their heads with +shame. Meulles in his despatch to the minister did not help to put the +matter in a more favourable light. Speaking of the governor he said: "He +signed the peace just as he decided on the war, without consulting any +one but a few merchants; and he has uselessly expended forty-five +thousand francs, of which he alone will owe an account to the king." So +much severity on the intendant's part was hardly necessary; the facts +spoke for themselves; and the king, when they were brought to his +knowledge, wrote to the discomfited governor, under date the 10th March +1685, the following gently worded letter:-- + + "Monsieur de la Barre,--Having been informed that your years + make it impossible for you to support the fatigues inseparable + from your office of governor and lieutenant-general in Canada, I + send you this letter to acquaint you that I have selected M. de + Denonville to serve in your place; and my intention is that, on + his arrival, after resigning to him the command, with all + instructions concerning it, you embark for your return to + France." + +Thus ended an administration that cannot be regarded as a happy or a +creditable one. In no respect was M. de la Barre on a level with the +office he held. He had no clear policy of his own, and was, therefore, +more or less, at the mercy of incompetent or interested advisers. As is +not uncommonly the case with such men, he was sometimes foolishly +impulsive. In a letter, dated 10th April 1684, the king expresses the +greatest surprise that the governor should have actually proposed to +hang, of his own authority, a colonist who was preparing to remove to +the English settlements. He reminds him that, except in military +matters, he possesses no judicial power whatever, and adds the sage +observation that the exercise of such constraint would certainly +increase the desire of the French inhabitants to go where they would +enjoy more liberty. In the matter of ecclesiastical policy, La Barre +failed to carry out the views of the king. His instructions were to +afford all the help in his power to the clergy in their efforts for the +good of the country, but to see that they did not extend their authority +beyond its proper bounds. In his first despatch he indulges in a little +criticism of the bishop for his delay in establishing permanent _cures_, +as desired by the king; but this is his sole exhibition of anything like +independence of the ecclesiastical power. There was a question pending +at the time as to the emoluments to be secured to the country _curés_; +and La Barre and Meulles are both blamed by the court for having allowed +the bishop to appropriate a larger amount out of the royal grant for +church purposes than the king had authorized or intended. + +In the matter just referred to, however, the bishop may well have been +substantially in the right. He knew the country, its needs, and its +possibilities better than the king; and he had the interests both of his +clergy and of his people sincerely at heart. It seems a little +surprising that, just at this time, when his relations with the secular +power were so satisfactory, he should have formed the intention of +resigning the office which he had been so eager to obtain only a few +years before, and of confining himself to the oversight of the Seminary. +The explanation is to be found partly in the state of his health, and +partly in the expectation he entertained of being able to find a man to +replace him as bishop who would adopt and carry out all his views with +the utmost fidelity and exactness, and thus give him even greater +influence than he had had in the past. If a bishop alone could make +headway against all the opposition of the civil power, what might not be +expected of a bishop of sound opinions supported by such an ex-bishop as +Laval himself? With these views he sailed for France in the fall of +1684 to tender his resignation to the king; and, with these views also, +he not long afterwards recommended as his successor a pious ecclesiastic +of noble family, M. Jean Baptiste de la Croix Chevrières de Saint +Vallier, who, though only thirty-two years of age, had already refused +two bishoprics. Once before Laval had chosen a man for his piety, M. de +Mézy, and it had not turned out well. The Reverend M. Gosselin, in his +life of Saint Vallier, says that the day of his nomination was a regular +"day of dupes." The appointment did not take place till the year 1688; +but meantime M. de Saint Vallier consented to go out to Canada in the +capacity of vicar-general, and make acquaintance with the diocese. Thus +it happened that he and the Marquis de Denonville, La Barre's successor, +came out together in the same ship, arriving at Quebec on the 1st August +1685. The vessel which brought the new governor was accompanied by two +others carrying troops to the number of three hundred. Fever broke out +on the way, as was so often the case in those days, and there were many +deaths. Amongst those who succumbed were two priests, who, in their +attendance on the sick, had caught the malady. Their fate inspired Saint +Vallier with intense regret that he had not taken passage on the same +vessel, so that he might have shared so glorious a death. The sentiment +seems strange on the part of a man at his time of life, just entering on +a career in which he might reasonably hope for long years of the most +exalted usefulness. He did not in fact die till the year 1727. + +We have two accounts of the condition of Canada at this time; one from +the pen of the bishop designate, the other from that of the new governor +after a residence of a little over three months in the country. Strange +to say, the two do not in the very least agree. Saint Vallier sees +everything _couleur de rose_, and detects the odour of sanctity +everywhere. Denonville, on the contrary, sees license, insubordination, +idleness, luxury, debauchery, running riot throughout the land. "The +Canadian people," says Saint Vallier, "is, generally speaking, as devout +as the clergy is holy. One remarks among them something resembling the +disposition which we recognize and admire in the Christians of the early +centuries." Even in the distant settlements where a priest is rarely +seen, the people are constant in the practice of virtue, the fathers +making up for the lack of priests, so far as the training of their +children is concerned, "by their wise counsels and firm discipline."[26] +Denonville, just about the same time, undertakes to give the minister an +account of the disorders prevailing not only in the woods, but, as he +states, in the settlements as well. "These arise," he says, "from the +idleness of young persons, and the great liberty which fathers, mothers, +and guardians have for a long time given them of going into the forest +under pretence of hunting or trading. One great evil," he continues, "is +the infinite number of drinking-shops. . . . All the rascals and idlers +of the country are attracted into this business of tavern-keeping. They +never dream of tilling the soil; on the contrary, they deter other +inhabitants, and end by ruining them." Of the two pictures, it is +probable that the governor's was nearer the truth; though probably his +ascetic turn of mind led him to exaggerate the evils that existed. Saint +Vallier, when he came to the country as bishop in 1688, was not long in +discovering how greatly he had overrated the virtue and piety of the +inhabitants. He took an early opportunity of repairing his error as far +as possible by preaching a sermon on the sins which he found prevailing. +"We thought," he said, "before we knew our flock, that the Iroquois and +the English were the only wolves we had to fear; but, God having opened +our eyes, we are forced to confess that our most dangerous foes are +drunkenness, luxury, impurity, and slander." We cannot think very highly +of the judgment of a man who has to repudiate his own statements so +completely in regard to facts fully open to observation. + +It is allowable, fortunately, to take a more favourable view of the +Canadian people than either the governor, or the bishop in his revised +opinion, expresses. They were careless and ease-loving, more fond of +adventure than of steady toil; they were vain and given to luxury; but +these qualities were in a large measure the result of the circumstances +in which they were placed and the general influences of the time. How +could they fail to be fond of adventure when incitements to it presented +themselves on every hand, and the rewards that it promised were so much +more tempting than those to be derived from the tillage of the soil? It +was human nature in those days to prefer the gun to the spade, and the +paddle to the scythe. If they were vain and fond of luxury and show, it +proceeded in part from innate taste, and in part from the example of +those above them, who, in turn, reflected the manners, the habits, and +the tone of the most luxurious court in Europe. It soon began to be +observed that a given class in Canada represented a higher degree of +refinement and culture than a similar class in European France. The +reason was that, in the vast spaces and free air of a new continent, +human nature had more scope for expansion; ambition was stirred; thought +and imagination were quickened. The old seed was germinating with new +power in a virgin soil. The people were gay, chivalrous, courteous, and +brave, with an underlying tenacity of purpose and power of industry +ready to be revealed in due season under more settled conditions of +life. That intemperance was a serious evil there can be no doubt; but +that, too, was more or less incidental to the times. The physique of the +people was good; and, if their moral habits were not all that their +spiritual guides could have wished, they were at least free from +serious corruption. In a word, the Canadians of that period lived, on +the whole, healthy lives, and were planting a hardy and enduring race on +the soil they had made their own. + +[Footnote 25: Colden pithily sums up the result of the campaign in the +following words: "Thus a very chargeable and fatiguing expedition (which +was to strike terror of the French name into the stubborn hearts of the +Five Nations) ended in a scold between the French general and an old +Indian."] + +[Footnote 26: Saint Vallier, _Etat présent de l'Eglise et de la Colonie +Française_, p. 84.] + + + + + CHAPTER VIII + + GOVERNORSHIP OF MARQUIS DE DENONVILLE + + 1685 TO 1689 + + +The Marquis de Denonville was sent to Canada to retrieve a difficult and +dangerous situation. He was a soldier by profession, and had had thirty +years' experience of military life. His courage and honour were alike +beyond question. In morals he was irreproachable. He was one of those +laymen who are half churchmen; and on the voyage from France he greatly +edified Saint Vallier by the gravity of his conduct and his punctilious +observance of all the forms and practices of religion. "He spent," Saint +Vallier himself tells us, "nearly all his time in prayer and the reading +of good books. The Psalms of David were always in his hands. In all the +voyage I never saw him do anything wrong; and there was nothing in his +words or acts which did not show a solid virtue and a consummate +prudence, as well in the duties of the Christian life as in the wisdom +of this world." Three years later Saint Vallier speaks of him in terms +of equal praise, adding that "there is no need to be astonished at the +benedictions which God is bestowing upon his government and upon his +enterprises against the Indians." Unfortunately, this interpretation of +the ways of Providence preceded by just a year the greatest calamity in +early Canadian history, the massacre of Lachine. + +The three hundred men who were sent out with Denonville were far from +constituting, even had their number not been sensibly reduced by fever +on the voyage, the reinforcement he required in order to assume the +offensive against the Iroquois with any hope of success. He was +compelled, therefore, to temporize while making the most earnest appeals +for a more liberal supply of troops. To counteract English intrigues +among the Five Nations, he sent numerous presents in that direction, and +carefully avoided any acts which could precipitate a conflict. One of +the chief perils of the situation was the disaffection produced in the +minds of the Lake tribes by the dismal failure of La Barre's expedition +of 1684. The only way to regain credit, he says in a despatch to the +minister (Seignelay), dated 12th June 1686, is to put a sufficient +number of French troops, militia and regulars, into the field to attack +and defeat the Iroquois without any assistance from the western allies. +He wished to begin building blockhouses for defensive purposes, but was +afraid to do so, lest the enemy should consider it a preparation for +war. Like La Barre, he entered into correspondence with the governor of +New York, Colonel Dongan, but in a more guarded manner. He wrote first +simply announcing his appointment to the governorship of Canada. Dongan +replied in his usual high-flown manner with many expressions of +courtesy. Denonville returned the compliment, and then took occasion to +speak of the Senecas and the difficulty of keeping peace with them, +inviting Dongan to assist him in protecting the missionaries who were +labouring amongst those heathen at the peril of their lives. Dongan, who +had been appointed by the Duke of York before he ascended the throne of +England as James II, and who, as might be supposed, was a good Catholic, +was quite ready to do justice to the personal merits of the +missionaries; but his fidelity to the English Crown made it impossible +for him to overlook the fact that they were Frenchmen operating on what +he claimed to be English territory. Their influence, he knew, could not +fail to be cast in favour of the rival claims of their own people; and +his desire was to replace them, as soon as it could conveniently be +done, by English priests, who, without being less sound in theological +matters, would be more so on the political side. + +The two governors were thus playing at cross purposes, and it was not +long before all disguise in the matter was set aside. Each was planning +the construction of a fort at Niagara for the purpose both of +strengthening his influence in the Iroquois country and of shutting the +other out of Lake Erie. Dongan heard of Denonville's intention from some +_coureurs de bois_ who had deserted to Albany; whereupon he wrote to the +French governor to say that he found it hard to believe that a man of +his reputation would be so ill-advised as to follow in the footsteps of +M. de la Barre, and seek to make trouble by planting a fort on +territory clearly belonging to the King of England, and all for the sake +of "a little peltry." Denonville replied with more diplomacy than truth +that he had no intention of building a fort at Niagara; and expressed in +turn his surprise that a gentleman of Dongan's character should "harbour +rogues, vagabonds, and thieves," and believe all the silly stories they +told him. As the correspondence went on its tone became warmer. Dongan +had promised to send back deserters; but he found these men too +valuable, and did not keep his promise. Denonville upbraids him for this +want of good faith, and also for exciting the Indians by telling them +that the French are preparing to attack them. He blamed him also for +furnishing the savages with rum to the great detriment of their +religious and moral interests; to which Dongan retorted that, in the +opinion of Christians, English rum was more wholesome than French +brandy. + +While this correspondence was going on, both governors were doing their +best to win over the Indians of the lake region. If these could be drawn +into an alliance with the Iroquois, so that their trade should pass +through the Iroquois country to the English, not only would the French +lose the most profitable part of their traffic, but their political +position would be seriously endangered, in fact would become untenable. +There was much in the arrangement from a business point of view to +recommend it to the savage mind. The English paid better prices for +goods, and gave their merchandise at lower prices; and, if their traders +once had free access to the lake region, the effects of their more +liberal dealing would be felt in every wigwam. Against this highly +practical consideration was to be set a certain hereditary distrust of +the Iroquois on the part of the Huron and Ottawa tribes, to which might +be added the personal influence of the French missionaries and a few +noted French leaders. The situation was for some time a most doubtful +one; but in the end it was not the economic argument that triumphed. + +In the winter of 1685-6, a Dutchman, named Johannes Rooseboom, had set +out from Albany, by Dongan's directions, with a party of armed traders +in eleven canoes, filled with English goods, to trade in the Upper +Lakes. There was no resistance to their progress; and after trading most +successfully, and to the great satisfaction of the Indians, they +returned in safety. This was encouragement for a larger expedition the +following year; so, in the fall of 1686, the same adventurer set out +with a similar party in twenty canoes. On this occasion they were to +winter with the Senecas and resume their journey in the spring, +accompanied by fifty men, who were to come from Albany under the charge +of a Scots officer named M'Gregory, and a band of Iroquois; the whole +party to be under M'Gregory's command. The intention was to form a +general treaty of trade and alliance with the tribes that hitherto had +been under the domination of the French. + +This was a bold step to take, and shows Dongan in the light of an early +advocate of the policy of "Forward." It was too bold. Fortunately for +Denonville, he had in the early summer of 1686 sent an order to Du Lhut, +then at Michilimackinac, to fortify a post at the outlet of Lake Huron, +which that capable and zealous officer lost no time in doing. On hearing +of the projected expedition, the governor was greatly incensed. He wrote +to Dongan in strong terms, and at the same time laid the matter before +the minister, declaring that it would be better to have open war with +the English than to be in constant danger from their intrigues. A +favourite plan of his was that Louis XIV should buy the colony of New +York from James II, as he had previously bought Dunkirk from Charles II. +The idea was not taken up by the French court, and there is much reason +to doubt whether, with the best will in the world, the English king +could have transferred the colony to France. It would have been an easy +thing to send out orders, but it would have been quite a different thing +to get them obeyed. In the New World men were already learning to put a +very wide construction upon their civil rights; and, as far the larger +portion of the population were of the reformed faith in one or other of +its branches, they would certainly have made strong objection to being +handed over to the tender mercies of the monarch who, at this very +moment, was extirpating Protestantism in his own kingdom by the cruelest +forms of persecution. The appeal to Dongan drew forth from that worthy +the declaration that, in his belief, it was "as lawful for the English +as for the French to trade with the remotest Indians." He denied, +however, that he had incited the Iroquois to acts of aggression, and +protested, in regard to the deserters, that he would much rather "such +rascalls and bankrouts" would stay in their own country, and that +Denonville was welcome to send for them. Negotiations, however, were +going on at this time between the English and French courts in relation +to affairs in America; and both Denonville and Dongan received +injunctions to cultivate peaceful relations with one another pending the +settlement of all matters in dispute by a joint commission. + +If Dongan was preparing to trespass upon French rights in the region of +the Great Lakes, Denonville himself was acting with even less scruple in +another direction. For several years before this, the Hudson's Bay +Company, under the charter granted to them by Charles II in the year +1670, had been trading to the bay from which they derived their name, +and had established a number of posts along its shores. The charter had +been granted in perfect good faith, as the region in question, which had +been discovered and explored by navigators sailing under the English +flag, Cabot, Hudson, Baffin, and Davis, was regarded as English +territory. It is true that a memoir prepared by M. de Callières, +Governor of Montreal, for the minister of marine and colonies,[27] +mentions proceedings taken at different times by governors of Canada, +between the years 1656 and 1663, to bring the country under French +sovereignty; but there is nothing to show that any attempt was made at +settlement or even at trading on the coast. The Hudson's Bay Company, on +the other hand, had from the date of its charter, not to mention earlier +operations, been carrying on trade, and establishing posts in that +region without any remonstrance from the French government, and without +disturbance of any kind until the year 1682, in the early winter of +which two Frenchmen, named Radisson and Des Groseilliers, sailed into +Hudson's Bay with two vessels, and took possession of a fort which the +English had established near the mouth of the Nelson River. The +explanation given by these parties was that they were acting on behalf +of the "Compagnie Française de la Baie du Nord de Canada," which had +previously formed establishments some distance up that river, and that +finding that some English had begun to erect dwellings on an island at +the mouth of the river, they had forced them to retire, considering +their own claim to the river and its outlet the better. + +This was the beginning of trouble. The French king in writing to La +Barre on the subject authorized him to check, as far as possible, +English encroachments in that quarter. In the spring of 1684 he writes +again, and says that he has had a further communication from the English +ambassador in regard to the proceedings of Radisson and Des +Groseilliers, and that, while he is anxious not to give the English king +any cause of complaint, he still thinks it desirable that the English +should not be allowed to establish themselves on the Nelson River. La +Barre was therefore to make a proposal to the English commandant in +Hudson's Bay that no new establishments should be formed there by either +French or English. This was at the very least an acknowledgment of the +_status quo_. Nevertheless, a charter having been granted by the French +king in the following year to a Canadian company authorizing it to trade +on the Bourbon River, called in previous correspondence the Nelson, +Denonville chose to consider that fact a warrant for making a general +attack on the English in the bay. While his discussion with Dongan was +in progress in the summer of 1686, he organized an expedition of about a +hundred picked men, thirty being regular soldiers, and placed it under +the command of a very capable officer, the Chevalier de Troyes, +assigning to him as lieutenants three sons of Charles Le Moyne, of +Montreal: Iberville, Ste. Hélène, and Maricourt. The difficulties of +the overland route were most formidable, but Troyes surmounted them with +the loss of only one man. He did not attempt any negotiation with the +English, nor send any summons to surrender, but fell upon Port Hayes, +the first to which he came, in the dead of night, and captured it +without difficulty, the garrison being totally unprepared to resist an +attack. At this point there does not appear to have been any loss of +life; but at Fort Rupert, which was similarly attacked at night, three +of the occupants were killed, and two were wounded. Three more men were +killed on the same night on board a vessel anchored near the shore. When +the assailants reached Fort Albany, held by a garrison of thirty men, +they found that their coming had been anticipated, but, with the aid of +cannon captured in the other forts, they had little difficulty in +forcing a surrender. Leaving Maricourt in command at the bay, Troyes +returned to Quebec. The English captured in this buccaneer fashion were +sent home in one of their own vessels which happened to arrive +opportunely for the purpose. + +Denonville had succeeded in arousing the French government to the +importance of proceeding vigorously against the Iroquois. Eight hundred +men were sent out to him in the spring of 1687, which, with about eight +hundred already in the colony, made the force at his disposal quite a +formidable one. In the summer of the previous year there had been a +change of intendant. M. de Meulles had been recalled, and a new man, +Bochart de Champigny, sent out in his place. As the appointment of the +latter was made as early as April 1686, it may be surmised that +Denonville, shortly after arriving in the country, signified to the king +that he and Meulles were not adapted to work together satisfactorily. +Meulles was certainly far from having the fervent piety of the governor; +and it may not improbably have been some difference of opinion or policy +arising out of this fact that caused his recall. His successor was a man +conspicuously devoted to the church; and Denonville in his despatches +praises him in high terms. Having now the necessary force at his +command, and being zealously seconded in all his views by the new +intendant, the governor determined not to let the summer of 1687 pass +without undertaking his long meditated campaign against the Iroquois. +While preparing for war, however, he talked of peace, in the hope of +taking the enemy unawares. So far did he carry his dissimulation that he +completely misled the colonists, so that, when they discovered that war +was intended, they manifested a strong indisposition to respond to the +call to arms. There were enough regular soldiers, they said, in the +country to meet all military requirements. Denonville was too well +advised, however, to dream of taking a force of regulars into the woods, +unsupported by militia accustomed to the country and familiar with the +methods of Indian warfare. He therefore issued a special proclamation, +which the vicars-general, in the absence of the bishop, supported by a +_mandement_, with the result that the inhabitants, accustomed to yield +to authority, furnished the quota of men required, about eight hundred. + +The more effectually to throw the Iroquois off their guard, the governor +had instructed his chief agent amongst them, Father Lamberville, a man +in whom they had perfect confidence, to invite them to a friendly +conference at Fort Frontenac. The good father was kept completely in the +dark as to what was really intended, and was allowed to continue his +solicitations to the Indians to attend the conference up to the moment +when all disguise was thrown off. He was still with them when they +discovered that they had been deceived; and, had it not been for the +unbounded faith they had learnt to place in the good priest's word, they +would certainly have put him to death with torture as a traitor. As it +was they charged the deception entirely on Denonville, who, in this +case, had certainly carried craft to very dangerous, not to say +indefensible, lengths. + +The expedition as organized by Denonville consisted of four companies of +regulars, men who had been some time in the country, and four of +militia, making in all fifteen hundred Frenchmen, to whom were added +five hundred mission Indians, Christian in name, but scarcely less +savage in instinct than their unreclaimed brethren of the forest. The +regulars were commanded by their own officers, amongst whom we +recognize Troyes, the hero of the Hudson's Bay exploit. The militia were +led by four notable seigneurs, Berthier, Lavaltrie, Grandville, and Le +Moyne de Longueuil, brother of the three Le Moynes who had accompanied +Troyes. All the French troops were placed under the general command of +Callières, Governor of Montreal, a very capable officer. M. de +Vaudreuil, who had just come out from France as commander of the king's +forces, accompanied the expedition in the capacity of chief-of-staff to +the governor. The troops that he brought with him were left behind to +take care of the country in the absence of its other defenders. + +Starting from Montreal on the 13th June 1687, the expedition, after +encountering the usual perils and fatigues of the St. Lawrence route, +and losing one or two men in the rapids, arrived at Fort Frontenac on +the 1st July. Here news was received of a reinforcement on which the +governor had not permitted himself to count. In October of the previous +year orders had been sent to the commanders in the West to rally the +Indians of that region for another movement against the Iroquois. As +Denonville well knew, there were serious difficulties in the way. The +fiasco of 1684 had left a deplorable impression on the minds of the Lake +tribes, whose loyalty was being further undermined by the pleasing +prospect of trade with the English. These arguments, however, did not +weigh with the Illinois, the latest victims of Iroquois barbarity; and +Tonty in charge at Fort St. Louis, who had been notified with the +others, had little trouble in getting a couple of hundred of them to +follow him to Detroit on the way to Niagara. Nicolas Perrot in like +manner raised a contingent among the tribes to the west of Lake +Michigan, and, passing by way of Michilimackinac, joined his efforts to +those of La Durantaye who had been labouring all winter to win over the +dissatisfied Hurons and Ottawas. The Hurons were at last persuaded to +move; but the Ottawas still refused, and La Durantaye and the Hurons +started for Detroit, the first place of rendezvous, without them. +Scarcely had they left Michilimackinac when they fell in with a number +of the canoes which Dongan had sent to trade in the lakes. La Durantaye +at once summoned the intruders to surrender; and, as he seemed to have a +formidable force with him, the summons was obeyed. The commander +distributed most of the goods among his Indian followers to their great +delight, and sent some barrels of rum to the Ottawas in the hope that it +would incline them to follow. It is difficult to say what did influence +the minds of these savages; but in a few days they set out, taking, +however, a route of their own by way of the Georgian Bay and overland to +what is now Toronto. Perrot and his men went to Detroit, and from that +point he and the others conducted their respective commands to Niagara, +arriving there just about the same time that Denonville's force reached +Fort Frontenac. + +The gratification of the governor on learning that this important +reinforcement had arrived just in the nick of time may be imagined. He +sent word to the commanders to proceed to Irondequoit Bay, the entrance +to the Seneca country; and, conducting his force thither, saw the +western men approaching just as he himself was about to land. Such a +concentration, on the same day, of troops brought from as far east as +Quebec, and from as far west as the sources of the Mississippi, was +indeed remarkable. It seemed on this occasion at least as if everything +was destined to go well. + +Denonville had now nearly three thousand men under his command. Forming +a camp and erecting temporary fortifications on the point of land which +shuts in Irondequoit Bay from Lake Ontario, he left four hundred men at +that place to guard supplies, and arranged his army in marching order. +The van was led by La Durantaye, Du Lhut and Tonty with their _coureurs +de bois_, about two hundred in number. On their left were the mission +Indians, and on their right the Lake and other western tribes--a wild +and motley gathering of, for the most part, naked savages, made hideous +with paint and horns and tails. Separated from these by a short +interval, the main body of the army followed, regulars and militia in +alternate companies. A broad trail ran southwards to the heart of the +Seneca country, but on either side was a dense bush in which enemies +might well be concealed. The first day a distance of about ten miles was +covered. It was mid-July, the heat was intense, the flies were +outrageous, and the men were burdened with thirteen days' provisions in +addition to their arms and ammunition. On the second day, as they were +drawing near to the first fortified habitation of the enemy, whom they +supposed to be awaiting them behind their defences, the advance guard +was vigorously attacked both in front and rear by a foe as yet +invisible. The Senecas had supposed that the advance guard, _coureurs de +bois_ and Indians, constituted the entire army, but learnt their error +when those making the rear attack found themselves, as they soon did, +between two fires. + +Meantime, however, no little confusion had been caused in the ranks of +the invaders; and Denonville and his principal officers had to exercise +all their powers of command to prevent a panic. As soon as confidence +was restored, the vigorous firing of the French and their allies put the +enemy to flight. "The Canadians," says Charlevoix, "fought with their +accustomed bravery; but the regular troops did themselves little credit +in the whole campaign." "What can one do with such men?" wrote +Denonville in a despatch to the minister. On the Canadian side five +militiamen, one regular soldier and five Indians were killed, and about +an equal number, according to Denonville's statement, were wounded. The +Senecas left twenty-seven dead upon the field. Their wounded they +succeeded in carrying off; to have abandoned them would have meant to +leave them to torture at the hands of the hostile Indians. As it was, +the victory was followed by horrible scenes of cannibalism, in which the +Ottawas, who, in the fight had showed marked cowardice, took the +principal part. + +This engagement, which has been localized as having occurred near the +village of Victor, some fifteen miles south-east of the city of +Rochester, N. Y., was the only one of the campaign. Not meeting again +with the enemy, the army spent some days in burning the Seneca +habitations, in which large quantities of grain were stored, and in +destroying the standing crops. When this had been accomplished, they +retraced their steps to their fortified camp on the lake shore. Already +the army was getting into bad shape; the Indians were deserting and the +French were falling sick through eating too abundantly of green corn and +fresh pork; the latter article of diet being furnished by herds of swine +kept by the Senecas. Despatching the sick in bateaux to Fort Frontenac, +Denonville conducted the rest of his troops to Niagara in order to carry +out the long-cherished design, which, in his correspondence with Dongan, +he had disavowed, of erecting a fort at that point. This only occupied a +few days; and on the 3rd August he was able to set out on the return +journey, after detaching one hundred men to garrison the fort, which he +placed under the command of M. de Troyes. Proceeding further up the lake +to a point where it narrows, he crossed over to the north shore, and so +made his way to Fort Frontenac, and thence to Montreal, where he arrived +on the 13th of the month. The campaign, as Parkman observes, was but +half a success; it certainly fell short of being what Abbé Gosselin +calls it, "_une victoire éclatante_." The Senecas had been put to +flight; and their dwellings had been destroyed, together with their +stores of food; but their loss in men was not serious, and they could +rely on the neighbouring Cayugas and Onondagas to tide them over a +season of distress. Denonville writes, indeed, that they were succoured +by the English. At the same time the injury they had received sank deep +into minds not prone to forgive. + +An incident which happened before the expedition set out from Fort +Frontenac tended greatly to aggravate the situation. It had been +intimated to Denonville in a despatch from the French government that +the king desired to have some captured Iroquois sent over to France for +service in the galleys, as it was understood that they were muscular +fellows, well fitted for such work. Champigny, who left Montreal with +Denonville, went ahead of the expedition with a few light canoes, in +order to make arrangements for its reception at Fort Frontenac. Finding +at that place a number of Iroquois, chiefly Onondagas, who, relying on +Denonville's professions of peace, had come thither for trade or +conference, and being anxious to show his zeal for his royal master, he +did not hesitate to make them prisoners. The savages had their wives and +children with them, a sure sign that they had come with friendly intent. +This circumstance did not weigh with the intendant, nor was he +influenced by the tears and entreaties of the families of the captured +men. He doubtless thought that the formidable force which the governor +was leading would strike such terror into the hearts of the Iroquois +nation as to put anything in the way of reprisals quite out of the +question: in any case there was advantage for himself in obeying the +mandate of the king. What kind of a service it was for which the +unfortunate captives were destined may be learnt from a description +given by a careful French writer: "Chained in gangs of six, with no +clothing save a loose short jacket, devoured by itch and vermin, +shoeless and stockingless, the galley slaves toiled for ten hours +consecutively at a rate of exertion which one would hardly have believed +a man could endure for one hour. They were indeed in luck when they were +not made to work twenty-four hours consecutively, with nothing to +sustain their strength but a biscuit steeped in wine, which was put into +their mouths, so that they should not have to stop rowing. If their +galley began to lose ground the petty officers would rain curses on +their heads and blows on their backs. Many a time, when the pace was +being forced under a blazing Mediterranean sun, some poor wretch would +sink down dead on his bench. In such a case his companions would pass on +his body, throw it overboard, and that was all."[28] + +The total number of Indians sent home to France to be consigned to this +fate was thirty-five. They were at Fort Frontenac as captives, bound +helplessly to posts when Denonville's army passed through, and an +eye-witness, the Baron La Hontan, tells how he saw the mission Indians +torturing the poor creatures by burning their fingers in the bowls of +their pipes. He tried to interfere, but was censured for doing so, and +put under arrest. The leaders, doubtless, thought they could not afford +to put their Indian allies out of humour by interfering with their +amusements.[29] The wrong done in this matter seems to have created a +far more bitter feeling in the minds of the Iroquois than the open war +on the Senecas. The Oneidas retaliated by torturing a Jesuit father +named Millet, and would in the end have put him to death if an Indian +woman had not interceded for him and adopted him as her son. The temper +of the savages generally, in spite of the campaign, was far from being a +submissive one; and Denonville himself within a month of his return to +Quebec came to the conclusion that another punitive expedition would be +necessary before a solid peace could be obtained. He therefore wrote +home asking that eight hundred additional troops should be supplied to +him, observing that his Indian allies were not to be depended on, and +that the Canadians were not at all zealous for military service. His +opinion was that he should have a force of not less than three or four +thousand men at his disposal for two years. The French government did +not agree with him on this point. The troops could not be spared, and +the king thought that it ought to be possible to arrange matters by +negotiation. There were those, indeed, in Canada who thought the whole +war had been unnecessary; certainly, for some time before the Senecas +were attacked, they were not acting on the aggressive. The Iroquois +tribes generally had been impressed by the fact that the military forces +of the colony had been considerably augmented; and the character of the +governor himself, who seemed to possess much more firmness and +resolution than his immediate predecessor, had more or less influenced +them in favour of peace. Had Denonville made the most of these +advantages, and shown in addition a disposition to act with good faith, +it is altogether probable a satisfactory peace could have been arranged +without resort to war. + +However, the mischief had been done. All the Iroquois tribes had been +angered, and the hives were ominously buzzing. Acts of reprisal became +frequent. Even the immediate neighbourhood of Fort Frontenac was not +secure, for during the following winter a woman and three soldiers were +carried off within gunshot of its walls. The Onondagas who effected +these captures stated expressly that they were made in retaliation for +those so treacherously made by Champigny. The captives were not put to +death, but were held as hostages, which gave them an opportunity of +appealing to Dongan. That worthy was not at all sorry that his rival had +got himself into trouble; and answered the appeal by saying that he +could not do anything for them till Fort Niagara, unjustly planted by +their governor on English territory, had been evacuated. On the last day +of the year Denonville sent to Albany an able negotiator in the person +of Father Vaillant, Jesuit, but with no satisfactory result. The only +terms on which Dongan would consent to use his influence in favour of +peace were that the prisoners sent to France for the galleys should be +restored; that the mission Indians at Laprairie and the Montreal +Mountain should be sent back to the Iroquois country to which they +originally belonged; that Forts Niagara and Frontenac should be razed; +and that the goods captured by the French from English traders on the +Upper Lakes should be restored. Scarcely had Vaillant left Albany on +his return when Dongan summoned representatives of the tribes, and, +acquainting them with the terms he had demanded, asked for their +ratification, which was readily granted. He told the chiefs not to bury +the hatchet, but simply to lay it in the grass where they could get it +if it was wanted, and meantime to post themselves along the lines of +communication to the French country. + +The advice was promptly taken. Some bands operated along the St. +Lawrence, others along the Richelieu. Early in the season of 1688 a +convoy had been sent to revictual Forts Frontenac and Niagara. It passed +up the river safely, but on its return it was attacked, though greatly +superior in force, by a party of twenty-five or thirty Indians, who +killed eight men, and took one prisoner. Other raids more or less +destructive were made at Chambly, St. Ours, Contrecoeur, and even as far +east as Rivière du Loup. In the face of these attacks a sort of lethargy +seemed to have seized upon the colonists, making them slow to defend +themselves even when the conditions were in their favour. In other +respects also the state of affairs was one of great depression. The war +had been costly and burdensome; and, owing to the withdrawal of so many +men from the work of the fields, agriculture had greatly suffered. The +pillaging carried on by scattered bands of Iroquois made matters still +worse. Beggars began to be numerous in the streets of Quebec and +Montreal. It is interesting to note that mendicity was not looked upon +with favour in those days, and that praiseworthy attempts were made to +regulate it and restrain it within the narrowest possible limits. +Charitable ladies undertook to inquire into cases of ostensible want so +as to distinguish those which merited relief from others which might +proceed from idleness or misconduct. M. de Saint Vallier, who had +returned to France in the autumn of 1687, came back as bishop in August +of the following year. He brought with him two hundred copies of his +work on _The Present State of the Church in Canada_, written by him +after his arrival in France, and published at Paris in March 1688, in +which, as already seen, a glowing tribute was paid to the piety of the +Canadian people. Instead, however, of distributing this work in the +country, as he had doubtless intended, he virtually suppressed it; and, +in almost his first episcopal utterances, told the people that the +troubles and distresses from which they were suffering were the result +of their lukewarmness in religious matters. The statement was not +received in the most submissive spirit. There were some who said that +the mundane causes of the sad plight in which the country found itself +were only too apparent, and that it was not necessary to look +further.[30] + +In the course of the summer of 1688, while Denonville had still under +consideration the unpalatable terms proposed by Dongan, he received at +Montreal, through the useful mediation of Father Lamberville, a visit +from La Barre's old friend, the famous Onondaga orator, Big Mouth, who +brought with him six other warriors. As on the occasion of his meeting +with the former governor, Big Mouth occupied a strong position, and made +the most of it. He had been holding back his own people, he said; +otherwise they would have swarmed down on the colony and destroyed it. +The conditions of peace which he proposed were those already outlined by +Dongan; and he wanted an answer in four days. Denonville told him that +he was prepared to treat for peace if the tribes would send delegates to +Montreal duly empowered for that purpose. Big Mouth promised that this +should be done, and meantime signed a treaty of neutrality. Denonville +had by this time brought himself to the point of agreeing to abandon +Fort Niagara, the garrison of which had been reduced by sickness from +about a hundred men to ten or twelve, and with which, moreover, he found +it impossible to maintain satisfactory communication. He had also been +forced to give way as regards the captives sent to France, and had +written asking that as many of them as survived might be sent out; +suggesting at the same time that, to produce as good an effect as +possible, they should be decently clothed. These were the principal +points, and he hoped to be able to make peace without any further +concessions. + +The negotiations, however, were destined to be badly wrecked. The Indian +allies, Hurons and Algonquins, had only too good reason to suspect that +the peace would not include them. Big Mouth had been ominously +non-committal on that point. It was doubtless remembered that, when La +Barre had made peace with the Iroquois, he had abandoned the Illinois to +their mercy. A leading Huron, Kondiaronk, or the Rat, by name, +determined that there should be no peace if he could help it. He was at +Fort Frontenac with a party of forty warriors when he heard that +negotiations for peace were in progress and that delegates from the Five +Nations were expected to arrive in a few days. His plan was at once +formed. Pretending to have set out with his party for Michilimackinac, +he really paddled over to La Famine, placed himself in ambush in the +path of the delegates, and waited their coming. It was four or five days +before they appeared, and no sooner were they within gun shot than the +Huron party fired. One chieftain was killed outright; several were +wounded; the rest, all but one who escaped wounded, and made his way to +Fort Frontenac, were captured. The captives in great indignation +explained to the Rat the mission they were on, when the wily Huron +expressed the most profound regret, saying that the French had sent him +out on the war-path, and had never given him the slightest hint that +peace negotiations were in progress. He was eloquent in denouncing the +bad faith of Onontio, and at once let his captives go. True, the warrior +who had escaped heard a very different story at Fort Frontenac--that the +Rat had been specially informed of the negotiations, and had professed +that he was starting for home; nevertheless, as the Rat expected, the +peace was killed. The party attacked had consisted of some men of +consequence who were preceding the delegates to give assurance to the +governor that the latter would soon be at hand. They never came. Other +thoughts now occupied the Iroquois mind. + +For months there was an ominous calm. The winter of 1688-9 passed +without incident, and so did the following summer. Marauding on the part +of the Iroquois had so entirely ceased, that the opinion began to +prevail in the colony that the enemy had lost courage, and were no +longer disposed for war. Some rumours, it is true, reached the governor +that mischief was brewing, but he paid little heed to them: no special +measures of defence whatever were taken. A strange kind of somnolence +seems to have crept over almost the entire population. The intendant, in +a despatch written just about this time (6th November 1688), after +speaking of the disastrous effect of brandy drinking upon the Indians, +goes on to say: "The Canadians also ruin their health thereby; and, as +the greater number of these drink a large quantity of it early in the +morning, they are incapable of doing anything the remainder of the day." +It may safely be assumed that the morning potations were indulged in +without prejudice to a tolerably free use of the bottle in the evening. +It is remarkable that so serious a judgment upon the habits of the +people should have preceded by only a few months a striking and fatal +example of their unreadiness and incapacity. + +The night of the 4th August 1689 was dark and stormy with rain and hail. +It was just such a night as might serve to cover the approach of a +stealthy foe; and the foe, vengeful and relentless, was at hand. +Fourteen hundred Iroquois had descended the St. Lawrence and taken up +their station on the south side of the Lake St. Louis, opposite Lachine. +About midnight, amid the darkness and the noise of the elements, they +crossed the lake, and, landing, posted themselves in small bands close +to the dwellings of the slumbering inhabitants. An hour or so before +daybreak, a war-whoop, the preconcerted signal, was raised. Instantly a +thousand savage throats gave forth the dismal howl; and then began the +work of slaughter that made "the massacre of Lachine" a name of terror +for generations. The account of the disaster given by Charlevoix, who +puts the number of the slain at two hundred, has been generally followed +by later writers; but there is fortunately reason to believe that the +massacre was much less in extent, and perhaps somewhat less horrible in +character, than the reverend father represents. Judge Girouard,[31] who +has gone into the matter in a most careful and painstaking manner, +places the number of persons killed at Lachine--men, women, and +children--at twenty-four. The place was defended by three forts, all of +which had garrisons; but from these no help seems to have been afforded +to the wretched inhabitants. The torch did its work as well as the +tomahawk, and fifty-six houses were burnt. There were some regular +troops--about two hundred--under an officer named Subercase, encamped +about three miles off. A shot from one of the forts gave the alarm, and +Subercase with his men marched to the scene of action. Many of the +Indians had inebriated themselves with brandy seized in the houses of +the inhabitants; and it is probable that, had they been promptly and +vigorously attacked, they might have been defeated with heavy loss. +Subercase was just on the point of leading his men against them, when M. +de Vaudreuil, acting-governor of Montreal in the absence of M. de +Callières who had gone to France, appeared on the scene with formal and +positive orders from M. de Denonville, who, as ill-luck would have it, +was at Montreal, to remain strictly on the defensive. Subercase was +extremely indignant, and felt strongly tempted to disobey; but the +instinct of subordination prevailed, and he remained inactive. The +Indians meanwhile dispersed themselves over the Island of Montreal, +killing, capturing, burning, and meeting with little or no resistance. + +A really circumstantial and consistent account of the whole occurrence +is lacking; and it is therefore uncertain how long the Iroquois remained +in the neighbourhood. The probability would seem to be that the main +body retreated with their prisoners and booty after a brief campaign, +but that some bands of warriors stayed behind for further pillage. On +the 13th of November a bloody raid was made on the settlement at La +Chesnaye, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, some twenty miles +below Montreal; all the houses were burnt, and the majority of the +inhabitants either killed or captured. The total number of persons +killed elsewhere than at Lachine is estimated by Judge Girouard, who has +endeavoured to trace the names in the parish registers, at forty-two, +making, with the twenty-four killed at Lachine, a total of sixty-six. As +regards the number of captives, the same authority, whose careful +methods inspire much confidence, accepts the statement of Belmont, who +places it at ninety. We read that, when the savages left Lachine, which +they did without any attempt being made from the forts to harass their +retreat, they crossed Lake St. Louis, and, encamping on the opposite +shore, lit their fires and began to torture their prisoners. Torture, +there can be no doubt, was sufficiently congenial to the Iroquois +nature; and yet there is room for doubt whether there is sufficient +warrant for the highly coloured narrative which has become the popular +legend on this subject. It was usual with the Iroquois to carry their +captives with them into their villages; and it is known that they did +this with at least the great majority of those whom they secured on the +Island of Montreal, for many of them were alive years afterwards. +Moreover had there been many burnings on the south shore of Lake St. +Louis, the same pious care which caused the re-burial a few years later +(1694) of the remains of the victims of the Lachine massacre would have +been extended to any that might have been found on the site of the last +encampment. There is no record of the discovery of any such remains or +of their burial or re-burial. It is true that some burnings of captives +occurred in the Iroquois villages; still it is some satisfaction to +think that the calamity as a whole was not on the scale that tradition +has represented.[32] + +It is related that as the savages paddled away from the Lachine shore, +they called out: "Onontio, you deceived us; now we have deceived you." +The last days of Onontio, in his official capacity at least, were at +hand. The king had decided early in the year that he was not the man to +support a falling state or rescue an imperilled community, and had +offered the position again to Count Frontenac notwithstanding the many +troubles that had marked that gallant soldier's former tenure of office. +Evidently, with all his faults of temper, he had at least impressed +himself on the king as a man who could be relied on in the hour of +danger. Denonville's last act was one which strikingly illustrated the +condition of feebleness and dejection into which he had fallen. Dongan +and the Iroquois had demanded the abandonment of Fort Frontenac. +Denonville now determined that this was the only course to follow, and +accordingly sent orders to the garrison to blow up the walls, destroy +the stores, and make the best of their way to Montreal. + +[Footnote 27: _New York Colonial Documents_, vol. ix. p. 268. See also +"Transactions between England and France, relating to Hudson's Bay, +1687," in _Canadian Archives_, 1883, p. 173.] + +[Footnote 28: Clément, _Vie de Colbert_, p. 456.] + +[Footnote 29: "In dealing with indigenous races," observes M. Lorin, +"governors were sometimes obliged to sacrifice a few victims to the +ferocity of savages; and it was not on the eve of a campaign that it +would have been wise to exhibit towards the Iroquois a humanity that +would have been mistaken for weakness."--_Comte de Frontenac_, p. 333. +We may certainly agree that it would have been difficult for those who +had captured peaceful and unsuspecting natives for the horrible régime +of the galleys to adopt a high humanitarian tone in reproving the +cruelties of their Indian confederates and converts.] + +[Footnote 30: _New York Colonial Documents_, vol. ix. p. 389.] + +[Footnote 31: See his _Lake St. Louis, Old and New_.] + +[Footnote 32: Both as regards the number of the slain and the details of +the massacre Charlevoix simply repeats the statements made by Frontenac +in a despatch dated the 15th November 1689, one month after his return +to Canada, and after several days spent at the scene of the disaster and +at Montreal. It is he who speaks of the "_enlèvement de cent vingt +personnes après un massacre de deux cents brûlés, rôtis vifs, mangés, et +les enfans arrachés du ventre de leurs mères_." The tendency in +furnishing information to the French government was always to exaggerate +the havoc wrought by the Indians. At the time Frontenac wrote this +despatch he was not aware of the further massacre at La Chesnaye, the +news of which only reached him on the 17th of November.] + + + + + CHAPTER IX + + FRONTENAC TO THE RESCUE + + +From the moment that Prince William of Orange, the one unconquerable foe +of Louis XIV, was called to the throne of England, war between England +and France was a foregone conclusion. It was not declared, however, in +France till the 25th June 1689. Frontenac sailed from Rochelle on the +5th August following, the very day of the Lachine massacre. The king in +an interview with him is reported to have said: "I am sending you back +to Canada, where I am sure that you will serve me as well as you did +before; I ask nothing more of you." His Majesty also intimated, we are +told, that he believed the charges made against him were without +foundation. During the intervals between his two terms of office, +Frontenac had been living for the most part at court, in rather reduced +circumstances. The king once at least came to his relief with a gratuity +of three thousand five hundred francs, and possibly other liberalities +may have flowed to him from the same royal source, though Mr. Ernest +Myrand, after careful research, has not been able to discover trace of +any.[33] + +The mission which was tendered to the aged count--he was now in his +seventieth year--was one which a younger man might have felt some +hesitation in accepting. The last accounts from Canada showed the +country to be in a deplorable condition, equally unable to make an +enduring peace or to wage a successful war; and the worst was yet to be +told on the governor's arrival. The situation was rendered decidedly +more critical by the fact of the war with England. True, a treaty had +been made by Louis XIV with James II, providing that, should war break +out between France and England, it should not extend to their American +possessions; but Louis, who did not recognize William III as a +legitimate sovereign, probably felt under no obligation to observe a +treaty made with his predecessor. We know, at least, that a scheme for +the conquest of the English colonies was arranged before Frontenac's +departure. Callières, Governor of Montreal, had been sent to France by +Denonville in the fall of 1688 to represent the perilous situation of +the colony, and to urge the king to adopt a system of reprisals against +the English for the misdeeds of the Iroquois. Callières and Frontenac +had some friends in common, and were thus brought together at court, and +the plan that was adopted was probably one that they had jointly +suggested to the court. It was, briefly, that two or three war vessels +should accompany Frontenac to Canada; that the count should disembark at +some point on the coast of Acadia, and proceed by the first private +vessel he could secure to Quebec; that on arrival there he should +organize a force of sixteen hundred men, one thousand regulars, and six +hundred militia, to march on New York by way of Albany; and that when he +was ready to move, he should notify the commander of the squadron, so +that the latter might advance to New York, and be prepared to co-operate +in the capture and occupation of the place. Meantime, the naval force +was to employ itself in picking up any English trading vessels that +might fall in its way. + +Not only were plans thus formed for invading and seizing the English +colonies, but the French king made complete arrangements as to the +treatment of the inhabitants when conquered. Those who either were +Catholics, or were prepared to embrace the Catholic faith, might be +allowed to remain in possession of their property and civil rights; the +citizens of means were to be imprisoned and held for ransom, the rest of +the population, numbering about eighteen thousand, were to forfeit +everything and be driven penniless out of the country. It was proposed +to deport them, in the first place, to New England, pending the ulterior +conquest of that region. M. Lorin truly observes that Louis XIV, having +just deprived his own subjects of religious liberty by the revocation of +the Edict of Nantes, could not possibly be expected to tolerate it in +any country of which he might acquire control.[34] A more ruthless +policy could scarcely have been devised, nor, it may be added, a more +senseless one. The deportation of so large a body of inhabitants, mainly +of Dutch origin, and all accustomed to the use of arms, was a task +ridiculously beyond the ability of the forces he was proposing to employ +for the purpose. + +The plan was followed, so far as the sending out of a small squadron +with the new governor-general was concerned. Sailing, as already +mentioned, on the 5th August, Frontenac arrived at Chedabucto +(Guysborough), near the Straits of Canso, on the 12th September, and +there embarked in a small vessel, the _François Xavier_, for Quebec. On +the way he stopped at Percé, where the Récollet missionaries informed +him of the massacre of Lachine. His vessel must have been detained by +contrary winds, for it was the 12th October before he arrived at Quebec. +Here he was received by the citizens with the liveliest manifestations +of joy. The ecclesiastics associated themselves, _bon gré mal gré_, with +the popular feeling. The town was illuminated by night and hung with +banners by day; a _Te Deum_ was sung; and a Jesuit father delivered what +is recorded to have been a most pathetic discourse. On all hands the +count was acclaimed as the man the country needed to restore its fallen +fortunes and stay the hand of the destroyer. Denonville and Champigny +did not grace the rejoicings; they were at Montreal. + +Quebec, however, was not the point of danger, nor that at which the +governor's services were most required. Still he remained there eight +days before proceeding to Montreal, where he arrived on the 27th +October. At that place he learnt from Denonville of the instructions he +had given for the abandonment and destruction of Fort Frontenac. The +indignation of the old warrior, to whom the fort called after his name +was a spot of peculiar predilection, can better be imagined than +described. He could hardly believe that a French governor could perform +so craven an act. If we may trust the Baron La Hontan, who does not in +this case tax very seriously our powers of belief, the interview between +the two dignitaries was a decidedly stormy one.[35] There was no time to +waste, however, in useless debate. Something possibly had happened to +delay or prevent the carrying out of the orders, and the fort might +perhaps yet be saved. An expedition was hastily organized to proceed to +the spot and ascertain the facts, but scarcely had it well started +before it encountered the entire garrison of the fort, minus six men, +whom they had lost in the rapids on the way down, returning to Montreal. +The deed had therefore been done. Valrennes, the commandant, told how he +had destroyed the stores, thrown such arms and ammunition as he could +not remove into the river, undermined the walls and fired the train, and +how, as they retreated, they had heard a dull explosion. Yes, the deed +had been done; but, as it turned out later, not with the full result +intended. The mines had exploded, but probably they had been hastily and +not over skilfully placed, and the injury to the walls was but slight. +Not long afterwards Frontenac was able to repair the damage and put the +fort once more in a condition of defence. + +The season was now so far advanced that the project which had been +formed of raising a large force with which to invade English territory, +in conjunction with a naval attack on New York, had to be abandoned. La +Caffinière, commander of the squadron, waited for two months for some +sign of the arrival of the Canadians, and then sailed back to France, +making a few prizes on the way. But, if the governor was unable to +organize an expedition on a large scale, he did not forego his intention +of attacking the English colonies. If he could not march with an army he +could make raids after the Indian fashion. His plan was to stand simply +on the defensive as regards the Iroquois, and to impress their minds by +the suddenness and vigour of his attacks on the English. Three raiding +parties were accordingly organized, one having its base at Montreal, the +second at Three Rivers, and the third at Quebec. The Montreal party +consisted of a little over two hundred men, of whom somewhat less than +half were mission Indians from Sault St. Louis--the present Caughnawaga +settlement--and the Montreal Mountain. The remainder of the party +consisted for the most part of _coureurs de bois_, formidable men for +border warfare, far steadier than the Indians, and just as wary. Their +destination was Albany and the neighbouring English settlements. The +leaders were men of skill and courage, Daillebout de Mantet, and Le +Moyne de Ste. Hélène; the latter, a man greatly admired and beloved for +his brilliant soldierly qualities and gay, amiable disposition, but +nevertheless a keen and relentless fighter. With these were two of Ste. +Hélène's brothers, formidable men all, Le Moyne d'Iberville, who had +already made fame for himself in Hudson's Bay, where still greater glory +yet awaited him, and Le Moyne de Bienville, together with several other +members of the Canadian _noblesse_. The Three Rivers party was under the +charge of François Hertel, a man of much experience in Indian warfare. +When quite a lad he had been carried off by the Iroquois, and had +endured some cruel treatment at their hands before making his +escape,[36] and since then he had been in constant contact with them +either in peace or in war. With him went three of his sons, twenty-four +Frenchmen, and twenty-five Indians, fifty-two men in all. The third +party, recruited at Quebec, consisted of fifty Frenchmen and sixty +Abenaquis Indians from the settlement at the falls of the Chaudière, +under the command of M. de Portneuf, who had as lieutenant his cousin, +Repentigny, Sieur de Courtemanche. The Montreal expedition set out in +the beginning of February, those from Three Rivers and Quebec a few days +earlier; but before recounting their exploits, it may be well to glance +at the negotiations, which the governor was at this time carrying on +with a view to putting the relations of the colony with the Iroquois +tribes on a better basis. + +The king, it has been mentioned, had consented to send back the Indians +who had been so treacherously captured and sent to France as galley +slaves. It would be doing his Majesty injustice to suppose that he ever +intended his representative in Canada to procure men for his galleys in +so disreputable a fashion. The Marquis of Denonville from the moment of +his arrival in Canada had breathed nothing but war; and the king +doubtless counted on a large number of prisoners as the result of his +martial prowess. It is significant that, even before encountering the +Senecas, Denonville should have written to the king explaining how very +difficult it was to capture Iroquois in battle. He did not say so, but +he doubtless thought that to trap them would be much easier. Out of +nearly forty Indians sent to France, thirteen only were alive when the +order for their restoration to their country was given; the rest had +died of hardship and homesickness. The survivors were sent out in the +same vessel with Frontenac, who did all in his power to make them forget +the wrongs they had suffered. The most important man in the band was a +Cayuga chief named Orehaoué, between whom and the count a sincere +friendship seems to have sprung up. During the whole voyage the count +treated him with the highest consideration, invited him to eat at his +table, and furnished him with a handsome uniform; so that, by the time +they landed at Quebec, the savage chief was completely won over to the +French side. The same treatment was continued after they landed. +Orehaoué was lodged in the Château St. Louis and went everywhere with +the governor. There was policy in this of course on Frontenac's part, +but there is no reason to doubt that on both sides there was a genuine +feeling of attachment. + +After viewing the scene of desolation at Lachine, Frontenac reported to +the king that nine square leagues of territory had been laid waste. The +question was what to do. The best course seemed to be to send four of +the Indians who had been brought back from France to their Iroquois +kinsmen with a suitable message. They were despatched accordingly, +accompanied by an Indian named Gagniogoton who, a short time before, had +come to Montreal as a kind of ambassador, but whose tone had been more +insolent than conciliatory. The returned warriors were to invite their +people "to come and welcome their father whom they had so long missed, +and thank him for his goodness to them in restoring a chief whom they +had given up as lost,"[37] namely Orehaoué. The latter did not accompany +the mission, Frontenac considering that he would be more useful for the +present at Montreal. It does not appear exactly when the envoys set out, +but, after some delay, consequent upon prolonged deliberation on the +part of the tribes, they returned to Montreal on the 9th March. It was +evident the mission had not been a great success. The messengers came +laden with belts of wampum, each of which had its own special +significance, yet for several days they kept silence. Finally at the +urgent request of M. de Callières--Frontenac had gone back to +Quebec--they disburdened themselves of the messages with which they were +charged. Belt number one was to explain that delay had been caused by +the arrival of an Ottawa delegation among the Senecas with overtures of +peace, as a pledge of which they had brought with them a number of +Iroquois prisoners whom they were prepared to restore. The second belt +was meant to express the joy of the whole Iroquois confederacy over the +return of Orehaoué, whom they spoke of as their general-in-chief. The +third demanded the return of Orehaoué and the other prisoners; and +mentioned the fact that all the surviving French prisoners were at the +chief town of the Onondagas, and that no disposition would be made of +them till they should hear the advice of Orehaoué on his return home. +The fourth congratulated Frontenac on his wish to plant again the tree +of peace; but the fifth was the most expressive of all. Referring to the +desire of Frontenac to bring them again to his fort, it said: "Know you +not that the fire of peace no longer burns in that fort; that it is +extinguished by the blood that has been spilt there; the place where the +council is held is all red; it has been desecrated by the treachery +perpetrated there." Fort Frontenac, it went on to say, was henceforth an +impossible place for peaceful gatherings: if the tree of peace was again +to be planted it must be in some other spot, nearer or more distant they +did not care--only not _there_. Then these words were added: "In fine, +Father Onontio, you have whipped your children most severely; your rods +were too cutting and too long; and after having used me thus you can +readily judge that I have some sense now." The sixth belt mentioned that +there were parties now out on the war-path, but that they were prepared +to spare their prisoners should they take any, if the French would agree +to do the same on their side. There was no lack of frankness in the +further information conveyed by this belt, which was to the effect that +the Onondagas had received eight prisoners as their share of the +prisoners taken at La Chesnaye, and had eaten four of them, and spared +the other four. This was intended to show their superiority in humanity +to the French, who, having taken three Seneca prisoners, had eaten them +all, that is to say, allowed their Indian allies to kill and eat them, +instead of sparing one or two. To what incident this refers is not +clear, as Denonville did not report any prisoners taken in his fight +with the Senecas. + +Callières sent the deputation down to Quebec to see the +governor-general; but the latter, according to the account here +followed, which was written by his own secretary, Monseignat, declined +to give them an audience, mainly on account of the objection he had to +their spokesman, Gagniogoton. Doubtless Callières had informed him +sufficiently of the tenor of the communications they had to make. The +governor had much on his mind, but he was not a man to act in nervous +haste. Towards the close of the month of December, a man named Zachary +Jolliet arrived at Quebec from Michilimackinac, having been despatched +by La Durantaye to represent the perilous nature of the situation there +owing to the very unsatisfactory dispositions of the Lake tribes. The +massacre of Lachine with all its attendant circumstances had convinced +them that French power was at a very low ebb. As the narrative says: +"They saw nothing on our part but universal supineness; our houses +burnt; our people carried off; the finest portion of our country ruined; +and all done without any one being moved; or, at least, if any attempts +were made, the trifling effort recoiled to our shame." Yet what the +French, individually, were capable of may be judged by the fact that +this messenger, with only one companion, had come all the way from +Michilimackinac at a most inclement season of the year, partly in a +canoe and partly on the ice, reaching Quebec at the very end of +December. Surely some benumbing influence must have been at work upon +the colony. Was it the extreme mediævalism of the Denonville régime +aided by an excessive use of intoxicating liquors? These at least were +_veræ causæ_, and might well have had no small share in creating the +situation described. + +Something had to be done, and that speedily, to strengthen La +Durantaye's position, or the French of the Upper Lakes would virtually +find themselves hostages in the hands of disaffected tribes; if indeed +their lives were not sacrificed to cement the union which the Ottawas +were even then endeavouring to effect with the Iroquois. Frontenac +wanted to send Zachary Jolliet back at once with instructions; but it +was learnt that the route was infested by Iroquois; very unwillingly, +therefore, he deferred action till the breaking of the ice in the +spring. He then despatched M. de Louvigny, with a hundred and +forty-three Canadians and a small number of Indians, to strengthen the +garrison and relieve La Durantaye. With this contingent went a man well +known to all the region, and probably second to none in his ability to +influence the native mind, Nicolas Perrot. The count did not, however, +entrust Perrot with any merely verbal message, but placed in his hands a +written one, conceived in the style of which he had acquired so great a +mastery. "Children," said Onontio, "I am astonished to learn on arriving +that you have forgotten the protection I always afforded you. Remember +that I am your father, who adopted you, and who has loved you so +tenderly. I gave you your country; I drove the horrors of war far from +it, and introduced peace there. You had no home before that. You were +wandering about exposed to the Iroquois tempests. Hark, I speak to you +as a father. My body is big; it is strong and cannot die. Think you I am +going to remain in a state of inactivity such as prevailed during my +absence; and, if eight or ten hairs have been pulled from my children's +heads when I was absent, that I cannot put ten handfuls of hair in the +place of one that has been torn out? or that, for one piece of bark that +has been stripped from my cabin, I cannot put double the number in its +place? Children, know that I always am, that nothing but the Great +Spirit can destroy me, and that it is I who destroy all." The message +went on to refer to the Iroquois as a ravenous dog who formerly was +snapping and biting at every one, but whom Frontenac had tamed and tied +up, and whom he would discipline again if he did not mend his ways. The +blood shed at Montreal last summer, it said, was of no account; the +houses destroyed were only two or three rat holes. The English were not +people to have confidence in; they deceived and devoured their children. +"I am strong enough to kill the English, destroy the Iroquois, and whip +you if you fail in your duty to me." Finally there was a warning against +the use of English rum, which was killing in its effects, whereas French +brandy was health-giving. + +What the effect of this allocution would have been, unsupported by +favouring circumstances, it is difficult to say. The Indian tribes all +had a remarkable gift of perspicacity. They had no need of Dr. Johnson's +advice to clear their minds of cant, for cant was something quite +foreign to their mental habits; it was not a product of forest life. It +happened, however, that Perrot was able to show them a number of +Iroquois scalps, and hand over to them an Iroquois prisoner that his +party had taken on their journey up the Ottawa. This looked like +business, and lent a weight which might otherwise have been lacking to +the somewhat fustian eloquence of Onontio. The affair of the capture had +happened in this wise. As the expedition neared the place now known as +Sand Point, on the river Ottawa, they discovered two Iroquois canoes +drawn up at the end of the point. Three canoes were detached to attack +the enemy, but were received with a heavy fire from an ambush on the +shore, by which four Frenchmen were killed. Perrot, who thought it much +more important to accomplish his mission among the Ottawas than to have +even a successful fight with the Iroquois, did not at first wish to push +the matter further; but his men were full of fight, and he finally +allowed a general attack to be made, which resulted most successfully. +More than thirty Iroquois, the narrative says, were killed, and many +more were wounded. Out of thirteen canoes only four escaped. Two +prisoners were taken. One of these was sent to Quebec and was used by +Frontenac to help out his negotiations with their nation; the other was +taken to Michilimackinac. His fate was not a pleasant one. Perrot gave +him to the Hurons, and by so doing made the Ottawas a little jealous. +Both Ottawas and Hurons were at the time meditating an alliance with the +Iroquois, and the Hurons thought they could make good use of their +prisoner as a peace-offering. The French, however, were not going to +have any nonsense of that kind. The commanders conferred with the +missionaries, and finally a hint was dropped to the Hurons that, if they +did not put their prisoner "into the kettle," he would be taken from +them and given to the Ottawas. That settled the question; the unhappy +prisoner was put to death with the customary tortures, and all chance of +peace between Hurons and Iroquois was thus destroyed. What the Ottawas +might do still remained uncertain. Frontenac's message had by no means +wholly won them over to the French alliance. They had heard of the +warfare Onontio was waging against the English, and thought they would +await developments. + +That war had been going merrily on in its own fashion, and Perrot was +able to give an account of the success of the principal expedition--the +one directed against Albany--for it had returned to Montreal after doing +its bloody work nearly two months before he left for the Upper +Lakes.[38] The story of the three war parties must now be woven into our +narrative. The one just mentioned started from Montreal on one of the +first days in February (1690). The Indians of the party had not been +informed what their destination was. When they learned that the +intention was to attack Albany, they inquired with surprise how long it +was since the French had become so bold. Like the Indians of the West, +they had drawn their own conclusions from the events of the previous +year. They were not disposed to join in so hazardous an undertaking; and +it is allowable, perhaps, to doubt whether it was at any time seriously +contemplated to make Albany the point of attack. If it was, the leaders +changed their minds, for on coming to a point where the roads to that +place and to Corlaer or Schenectady diverged, they took the latter. The +difficulties of the march were extreme. Though it was yet midwinter, +more or less thaw prevailed, and during much of the journey the men had +to walk knee-deep in water. Then on the last day or two came a blast of +excessive cold. A few miles from Corlaer the expedition was halted, and +the chief man of the Christian Mohawks harangued his people. The +opportunity had now come, he said, for taking ample revenge for all the +injuries they had received from the heathen Iroquois at the instigation +of the English, and to wash them out in blood. This Indian known as the +Great Mohawk, or in French as the _Grand Agnié_, is described in the +official narrative as "the most considerable of his tribe, an honest +man, full of spirit, prudence, and generosity, and capable of the +greatest undertakings." The little army was in wretched plight, and +probably, had they been attacked at this point by even a small force of +men in good condition, they would have been completely routed. No such +attack, however, was made. Marching a little further, they found a +wigwam occupied only by four squaws. There was a fire in it, and, +benumbed with cold, they crowded round it in turns. At eleven o'clock at +night they were in sight of the town, but in order that they might take +the inhabitants in their deepest sleep, they deferred the attack for +three hours; then they burst in through an open gate in the palisade. +The official account says, in very simple words, that "the massacre +lasted two hours." This, be it remembered, was supposed to be regular +warfare, not between savage Indians, or between French and Indians, but +between French and English. War, as already stated, had been declared +between France and England, and this was Frontenac's method of carrying +on his part of it. When New England retaliated later in the year by the +attack on Quebec, we can hardly wonder that some of the inhabitants of +that city anticipated a general massacre should the English obtain +possession of the town. The special enormities alleged to have been +committed by the heathen Iroquois in the massacre at Lachine are, by +witnesses who made their statements within a few days after the event, +affirmed to have been perpetrated by the Christian Indians at +Schenectady. Sixty persons in all were killed, thirty-eight being men +and boys, ten women, and twelve children of tender age.[39] Many were +wounded, thirty were carried away captive. The chief magistrate of the +place, John Sanders Glen by name, lived outside the town in a palisaded +and fortified dwelling, which he was prepared to defend. He was known, +however, to the French commanders as a man who had always been +favourable to their people, having on several occasions rescued French +prisoners from the Mohawks, over whom he had great influence. On being +assured that his life and property would be spared, he surrendered. It +was also agreed to extend the same immunity to any of his relatives who +might have survived the massacre; and the number of persons claiming the +privilege was so great as to cause the Indians to express some surprise +and ill-humour at the wide range of his family connection. + +The homeward march was begun a day or two later. It was by no means a +prosperous one. Early in the attack a man on horseback had escaped +through the eastern gate of the town, and, though shot at and wounded, +was able to make his way to Albany and give the alarm. Thence word was +sent on to the Mohawk towns, and the warriors, accompanied by a +detachment of fifty young men from Albany, started on the track of the +retreating foe. Two only on the French side had been killed in the +attack on Schenectady, but before the party reached Montreal, their +losses amounted to twenty-one, seventeen French, and four Indians. The +opinion of the Mohawk Indians on the character of the expedition was +expressed in a message of sympathy which they sent to the authorities at +Albany. "The French," they said, "did not act on this occasion like +brave men, but like thieves and robbers. Be not discouraged, we give +this belt to wipe away your tears. We do not think what the French have +done can be called a victory. It is only a further proof of their cruel +deceit."[40] + +The expedition organized at Three Rivers left that place on the 28th +January; but it was not till after two months' wanderings in the +inhospitable wilderness that they were able to strike their first blow. +The New England frontier had for a year past been in a very disturbed +and precarious condition owing to a renewed outbreak of hostilities on +the part of the Abenaquis Indians. A long period of previous warfare +with these tribes had been closed by the Treaty of Casco in 1678, but +now the frontier was again aflame. The English settlers attributed the +trouble to the machinations of the French with whom the Abenaquis were +in close alliance; and certain it is that the Marquis of Denonville, in +a memorandum written after his return to France, takes credit to himself +for the mischief done. He speaks of the progress made in christianizing +the Abenaquis, and of the establishment near Quebec of two colonies of +them which he thought would prove useful. He then proceeds: "To the +close relations which I maintained with these savages through the +Jesuits, and particularly the two brothers Bigot, may be attributed the +success of the attacks which they made upon the English last summer when +they captured sixteen forts besides that of Pemaquid, where there were +twenty cannon, and killed two hundred men."[41] The ex-governor +exaggerates the number of cannon in the fort at Pemaquid, as there were +only seven or eight, and omits to mention the fact that, after that +place had surrendered on the promise that the lives of all in it should +be spared, a number were murdered by his Indians. That they were not +also tortured, Father Thury, who was with the attacking party, +attributes to the influence of his exhortations. M. Lorin, in giving an +account of the occurrence, says there is no doubt that the Abenaquis +were impelled by their missionary, the Abbé Thury. He quotes the +statement of Charlevoix that, before setting out, their first care had +been to make sure of the divine assistance, by partaking of the +sacrament. "Certainly," he says, "the part taken by the missionaries in +expeditions of this character, was a preponderating one." He also +ventures the theory that, as the heathen Iroquois never penetrated into +New England, the only enemies of the faith upon whom the missionaries +could exercise the zeal of their Abenaquis converts were the +English.[42] + +The fighting along the frontier lasted all through the summer and autumn +of 1689. The winter brought respite from attack, and the settlers were +beginning to indulge a sense of security when Hertel and his fifty men +crept up to the little settlement of Salmon Falls, on the borders of +New Hampshire and Maine. The attack was made in very similar fashion to +that at Schenectady. The assailants burst in at night and at once began +to apply tomahawk and torch. Thirty persons, men, women, and children +indiscriminately, were slaughtered, and fifty-four were made prisoners. +Hearing that a force of English from Piscataqua, now Portsmouth, was +hastening to the scene, Hertel ordered a retreat. At Wooster River the +pursuers caught up with him, but, taking up an advantageous position on +the far side of that stream, he held them in check, killing several as +they tried to cross the narrow bridge. At night he resumed his retreat. +Some of the prisoners were given to his Indians to torture and kill. It +was unfortunate that Father Thury was not present to inspire milder +sentiments in these converts. + +Hertel was a born fighter, and when, upon reaching one of the Abenaquis +villages on the Kennebec, he learnt that the Quebec party under M. de +Portneuf had just passed south, he determined to follow them with +thirty-six of his men, though he was obliged to leave behind him his +eldest son who had been badly wounded in the fight at Wooster River. A +number of Indian warriors joined the party at a point on the Kennebec; +and on the 25th May, the united force, numbering between four and five +hundred men, encamped in the forest not far from the English forts on +Casco Bay. The principal of these was Fort Loyal, a palisaded place +mounting eight cannon. The others were simple blockhouses. The several +garrisons consisted of about one hundred men under the command of +Captain Sylvanus Davis, whose narrative in the original--and most +original--spelling has come down to us. The garrison first knew that an +enemy was at hand by hearing the war-whoop of the Indians, who had just +scalped an unfortunate Scotsman found wandering about in the +neighbourhood, all unconscious of danger. Thirty volunteers at once +sallied forth from the fort to meet the foe. They had not gone far when +they received a volley at close range which killed half of them. Of the +remaining half only four reached the fort, all wounded. During the night +the men in the blockhouses crept into the fort, together with the +inhabitants of some neighbouring houses. The place could not be carried +by assault, so Portneuf determined to besiege it in due form by opening +trenches and working his way in. The work was well and rapidly done, and +Davis saw that surrender was inevitable. He inquired if there were any +French in the attacking force, and, if so, whether they would give +quarter. The answer was affirmative on both points. Davis inquired +whether the quarter would include men, women, and children, wounded and +unwounded, and whether they would all be allowed to retire to the +nearest English town. This was agreed to and sworn to; but, no sooner +had the occupants of the fort filed out, than the Indians fell upon +them, killed a number, and made prisoners of the rest. Davis protested, +but he was told that he and his people were rebels against their lawful +king, and therefore without any claim to consideration. The captives, +Davis among them, were carried off to Quebec, where they arrived about +the middle of June. The fort was burned, the guns were spiked, the +neighbouring settlements destroyed, and the dead left unburied. + +Thus had Frontenac's expeditions fared. They had spread grief and alarm +amongst the English settlements, but had inflicted no serious blow on +English power. They had shown how expert the colonial French had become +in the methods of Indian warfare, and also to how large an extent they +had themselves inbibed the Indian spirit. We may doubt whether Frontenac +philosophized much on the subject; his immediate object was to produce +an effect on the minds of his wavering Indian allies and his sullen +Indian enemies; and the raids into English territory, with the +slaughterings and burnings, were doubtless well adapted to that purpose. +If Onontio was strong enough and bold enough to make war in this fashion +on Corlaer and Kishon[43] at once, there was something for allies, and +enemies as well, to reflect on. This view of the matter finally +prevailed with the Lake tribes. For some two or three years trade had +been almost at a standstill, and furs had accumulated which the savages +were now anxious to turn into European goods. With one accord they +determined to try the Montreal market once more, and see Onontio face to +face. + +During the winter, while his guerrilla forces were in the field, +Frontenac had not been idle. Having arranged for offensive measures, he +next took thought for defensive ones; and, as if with a prevision that +Quebec itself might not be exempt from attack, he devoted special +attention to strengthening the fortifications of that place. He caused a +vast amount of timber to be cut for palisades, with which he protected +the city at the rear, its only weak point. In the spring he began the +erection of a strong stone redoubt; and the work was pushed with so much +vigour that by midsummer it was well advanced towards completion. These +pressing occupations did not, however, absorb all his thoughts. The fact +of his having been chosen a second time by the king for the governorship +of Canada, notwithstanding all the criticism of which he had formerly +been the object, gave him a position of manifest strength, which even +his bitterest opponents of former days could not ignore. The Sovereign +Council as a whole recognized the fact, and was anxious to arrange +matters so as, if possible, to avoid friction for the future. + +The governor on his part was determined to preserve an attitude of +dignified, not to say haughty, reserve, and throw upon the council the +task of making such advances as might be necessary. In pursuance of this +policy, he refrained from attending the meetings, though his presence +was much required. The council having deputed Auteuil, the +attorney-general, to wait upon him and invite his attendance, he replied +that the council should be able to manage its own business and that he +would come when he thought the king's service required it. It is hard to +understand why Auteuil should have been chosen for this negotiation; for +Frontenac must have had a vivid recollection of the insolence with which +he had been treated during his first administration by this individual, +then a raw youth of not much over twenty. The next move of the council +was to send four of their number to repeat the invitation, and to ask +the governor at the same time with what ceremonies he would wish to be +received. His answer was that if they would propose the form he would +tell them whether it was satisfactory. The council felt that the +governor was pushing his advantage a little too far; but nevertheless +they applied themselves to the question, and, having devised a form +which they thought could not fail to be acceptable, sent Villeray, the +first councillor, to the château to explain what was proposed. Villeray +was as deferential and complimentary as he knew how; but the end was not +yet. "See the bishop, and any other parties who have knowledge of such +matters, and get their opinion," said the governor. The bishop was +consulted accordingly, but very properly declined to give any opinion. +Thrown back on their own resources the councillors devised the following +scheme: that, when his Lordship, the count, should decide to make his +first visit to the council, four of its members should present +themselves at the château in order to accompany him to the place of +meeting, which was the intendant's palace on the bank of the St. +Charles; and that, on all subsequent occasions, he should be met by two +councillors at the head of the stairs and respectfully conducted to his +seat. This was duly explained by the first councillor, Villeray, who +said he was authorized to add that any modification of the plan which +the governor might suggest would be gladly adopted by the council. This +was submission indeed, yet still the count hesitated. He asked to see +the minutes of the council in which the resolution bearing on the matter +was recorded. Villeray struggled up Palace Hill with the official +register, and presented himself again before the potentate, who found +the entry in good shape, but reserved his final answer. A few days +later, having been again waited on, he graciously informed the +deputation that the arrangement proposed was quite satisfactory. With +what must really be called a fatuous self-complacency, he added that, +had the council wished to go too far in the way of obsequiousness, he +could not have consented to it, as, being himself its head, he was +jealous of its dignity and honour. If for some men there is, as the poet +hints, "a far-off touch of greatness" in knowing they are not great, it +is to be feared Frontenac did not possess that particular touch. + +Not only were the fortifications of Quebec strengthened, but steps were +also taken to form a local militia guard under the command of the +town-major, Prevost. Leaving to that officer the supervision of whatever +work was still required on the defences, Frontenac, accompanied by the +intendant and Madame Champigny, left the capital on the 22nd July for +Montreal, where his presence was much required. He probably did some +inspection of posts on the way, for he did not reach the end of his +journey till the 31st. Trade at this time was pretty much at a +standstill. Bands of mission Indians were on the war-path against the +English; and every now and again the Iroquois would swoop down on the +settlements, notwithstanding the fact that scouts were kept continually +employed along the routes by which they were accustomed to make their +approaches. Under the new administration the lesson of Lachine, the +lesson of eternal watchfulness, was being taken to heart. The governor +had much to occupy his thoughts. At Montreal, as at Quebec, he was +anxious to perfect the organization of the military forces, and to place +the city, from every point of view, in the best possible condition of +defence. He had not as yet received news as to how Louvigny and Perrot +had succeeded among the Lake tribes; yet upon the success of their +mission hung the most momentous issues. Was Canada to secure allies in +the West who would hold at least in partial check the Iroquois power, or +were Hurons, Ottawas, Iroquois, and English to combine their forces for +her destruction? Meantime bad news had come from Acadia. Port Royal and +other fortified posts had been captured; the English were in possession +of the entire country; the governor had been carried captive to Boston. +It was known that the English of Albany and New York were moving: what +the next news would be, who could tell? + +On the 18th August news came. In hot haste the officer in command at +Lachine had despatched a messenger to say that Lake St. Louis to the +west was covered with Iroquois canoes bearing down on the island. The +terror of the inhabitants, in spite of the presence of the governor +amongst them, was extreme. Orders were given to fire alarm guns to warn +the inhabitants of the surrounding country; and other measures of +protection were being hastily concerted, when a second messenger arrived +to say that it was all a mistake. It was not the dreaded Iroquois who +were close at hand, but a large body of Lake Indians who were coming to +trade. Fear was at once turned into joy. The envoys sent to the upper +country in May had been successful; a great danger had been averted. +Perrot with his scalps and Frontenac with his vigorous and aggressive, +if somewhat primitive and ruthless, war policy had turned the scale in +favour of Canada. Firm alliances would now be made, and there would be a +big market at Montreal. + +The next day the canoes, laden with the accumulated furs of the last two +or three years, shot the Lachine Rapids and landed at Montreal. There +were about five hundred Indians in all, Hurons, Ottawas, Crees, +Ojibways, and various other tribes, all bent on buying, selling, and +negotiating. It was not the habit, however, of these savages to enter +precipitately on any kind of business; and three days were allowed to +elapse before they opened their great council at which, tribe by tribe, +they were to lay their views before the governor. The first to speak +were the Ottawas, and their talk was almost exclusively of trade. Their +instinct for business was keen, and had it been possible they would +probably have steered clear of politics. They had had some experience of +the low prices of English goods, and were very insistent that the French +should deal with them on equally favourable terms. The spokesman of the +Hurons, a much weaker tribe numerically, was not so narrowly commercial +in his views. He said he had come down to see his father, to listen to +his voice, and to do his will. He presented three belts. By the first he +prayed that the war might be prosecuted against the Iroquois as well as +against the English. If not, he feared he and his father would both +die. The second thanked the count for his former services to their +nation. The third prayed him to take pity on the Ottawas, and give them +good bargains. Such a manifestation of interest in the Ottawas was very +touching; but probably the Huron orator, whose people had a certain +reputation for subtlety, calculated that, if a lower tariff were made +for the Ottawas, all would get the benefit of it. On the twenty-fifth of +the month, the count entertained them all at a great feast. Two oxen and +six large dogs furnished the meat, which was cooked with prunes. Two +barrels of wine were provided to wash this down, and liberal rations of +tobacco were served out to every man. Before the feasting began, the +count stood up to address his guests. He assured them that he meant to +prosecute the war with the Iroquois until he had brought it to a +successful issue, and forced them to sue for peace. Then, when peace was +made, it should be a general peace: all should be included in it, and +the Iroquois themselves would again be his children. Meantime, however, +they were preparing to invade the country; and the question was whether +to await their arrival or go to meet them. Then ensued a remarkable +performance, which might well have employed a livelier pen than that of +Monseignat who gives us the account of it. Seizing a hatchet, the aged +governor, war-worn but yet fiery and vigorous, began to sing the war +song, walking to and fro in the most excited manner, and brandishing +the hatchet over his head in true Indian fashion. The effect was +electric. The old Onontio was surpassing himself. Here was a leader +whose very presence banished fear. When he had sufficiently excited +their admiration, and stimulated their warlike ardour, he handed the +hatchet to the different chiefs in turn, and to a number of Frenchmen, +who all imitated Onontio's example, vowing vengeance on the foe. Then +began the feast, a function to which it is needless to say the savage +guests brought ravenous appetites. In diplomacy dinners have been known +to work wonders; and Frontenac was seeking the hearts of his guests +through a well-recognized channel. + +We have seen that the mission sent by the governor to the Iroquois +towards the close of the previous year, and which returned in the +following month of March, had not accomplished any satisfactory result. +The count waited till navigation was open before resuming negotiations. +He then determined to restore to their nation the four returned Iroquois +who had formed his first embassy, and to make them the bearers of belts +which he hoped would speak strongly in favour of peace. With these +Indians he sent a French gentleman, the Chevalier d'Eau. He tendered the +mission in the first place to the gay and dashing Baron La Hontan; but +that young man, who was well versed in the classics, was afraid of the +Iroquois even when carrying gifts to them; and, with marked discretion, +declined the honour. The Chevalier d'Eau had no reason to congratulate +himself on having accepted it. He made his appearance amongst the +Iroquois at a most unfavourable moment. The affair at Schenectady was +fresh in their recollection; and though their own people had, through +motives of policy, been spared on that occasion, they were under a +strong pledge to the English to assist in revenging the slaughter. A +couple of Frenchmen who accompanied the chevalier were burnt; he himself +was soundly thrashed and handed over as a prisoner to the English; the +messages of the belts were disregarded. No news of the fate of the envoy +had reached Frontenac up to the time of the gathering of the western +Indians at Montreal; but after their departure the facts concerning them +were obtained from some Iroquois prisoners at Fort Frontenac. The one +great gain of the year had been the winning over of the Lake tribes, a +result which at once assured the safety of the French traders and +missionaries in the West, and prevented that isolation of the colony +which would have followed had an alliance been struck between those +tribes and the Iroquois. + +[Footnote 33: _Frontenac et ses Amis_, p. 93.] + +[Footnote 34: _Comte de Frontenac_, p. 358.] + +[Footnote 35: Far from yielding to Frontenac's view of the matter, +Denonville doggedly adhered to his own opinion that the fort ought to be +entirely abandoned; and, when it was found that it had only been partly +destroyed, he wrote to the king advising that Frontenac should be +ordered to send up three hundred men with instructions to demolish it +utterly.] + +[Footnote 36: Parkman tells the story in his usual brilliant manner in +chapter iii. of his _Old Régime in Canada_. Père Charlevoix gives the +facts and adds: "Je l'ai vu en 1721, âgé de quatre-vingt ans, plein de +forces et de santé; toute la colonie rendant hommage à sa vertu et à son +mérite," vol. ii. p. 111, edition of 1744.] + +[Footnote 37: _New York Colonial Documents_, p. 464.] + +[Footnote 38: Perrot and his party, according to Monseignat's narrative, +left the end of the Island of Montreal on the 22nd May. The Albany--or +more correctly Schenectady party, for they did not venture to attack +Albany--returned towards the end of March. Frontenac's message must have +been composed some months before Perrot's departure, otherwise he would +undoubtedly have mentioned with pride the Schenectady massacre. It was +certainly not up to date.] + +[Footnote 39: "There was little resistance," says Père Chrétien +Leclercq, a contemporary writer, "except at one house, where Sieur de +Marque Montigny was wounded; but Sieur de Ste. Hélène, having come up, +all were slaughtered with sword or tomahawk, the Indians sparing no +one."--_Premier Etablissement de la Foi._] + +[Footnote 40: _Documentary History of New York_, vol. ii. pp. 164-9.] + +[Footnote 41: _New York Colonial Documents_, vol. ix. p. 440. See also +Lorin, _Comte de Frontenac_, chap. x.] + +[Footnote 42: _Comte de Frontenac_, p. 367.] + +[Footnote 43: Names given by the Indians to the governors of New York +and Massachusetts; Corlaer being a corruption of Cuyler, a Dutchman of +the early period held in high honour by them, and Kishon signifying "The +Fish."] + + + + + CHAPTER X + + FRONTENAC DEFENDER OF CANADA + + +In planning his attacks on the English colonies it does not appear that +Frontenac took specially into account the political disorganization +existing amongst them at the time, or built his hopes of success to any +extent on that circumstance. It is nevertheless true that, if his object +had been to strike at a moment of unpreparedness and weakness, he could +not have timed his operations better. The rule of James II and his +agents had been borne with no little reluctance by his subjects in North +America, and particularly by those of New England, and when news came of +his expulsion from the throne, his flight from England, and the arrival +and coronation of the Prince of Orange and his wife (daughter of James +II) as king and queen, there was at once a popular movement both at +Boston and at New York to seize the government, and hold it subject to +the orders of the new sovereigns. Sir Edmund Andros was governor of New +England at the time, with authority over the province of New York, +Boston being the chief seat of government, and the governor being +represented at New York by a lieutenant-governor, one Francis Nicholson. +Andros had been appointed governor of New York, by James, then Duke of +York, to whom the province had been patented in 1674, and had held the +office till 1681, when he was replaced by Colonel Dongan of epistolary +fame. His recall was consequent upon complaints that had been made by +the colonists of various arbitrary acts on his part; but on his arrival +in England he managed to defend himself successfully, and in 1686, James +being now on the throne, he was sent out again with the larger +jurisdiction we have mentioned. + +Religious passions in those days ran high; and Andros, who was a strong +churchman, soon found himself on worse terms with the puritanical +population of Boston than he had been with the more heterogeneous and +less rigid inhabitants of New York. The circumstances of the time, it +must be confessed, were such as to excuse a somewhat sensitive condition +of public feeling. Two years before the arrival of Andros, the Court of +Chancery of England had declared null and void the charter granted to +the colony of Massachusetts in the year 1629, which, from that date +onwards, had been the basis, not only of all government, but of all land +grants, transfers of property, and popular liberties generally. A +provisional government, under one Joseph Dudley had succeeded. Then had +come Andros, commissioned by a king who was far from commanding the +unlimited confidence of his subjects at home, and who was looked upon +with at least equal distrust by the ultra-Protestants of his American +dominions. How long they were going to be deprived of legally guaranteed +liberties there was no knowing, nor what the intentions of James II +might be in regard to their beloved commonwealth. They did not think it +impossible he might wish to hand them over to his close ally the King of +France; and in Andros they feared they saw only too meet an instrument +for stratagems and spoils. The instructions given to him as governor +contained a special injunction to favour by all means in his power the +rites and doctrines of the Church of England; and the colonists, with +the exception of a small minority, were maddened to see public taxes +applied to this hateful object. As the Indians were giving trouble, the +governor made a campaign against them in the summer of 1688, which was +not very successful; hence more odium gathered on his head. Having +failed in his measures of offence he thought he would at least provide +for defence, and garrisoned the forts on the frontier with six hundred +men, chiefly militia. More discontent: the garrisons served unwillingly, +and the people at home professed to believe that such measures were +unnecessary. A small detachment of soldiers had come out with Andros. +Their conduct, according to contemporary accounts, was most unedifying +and in shocking contrast to the unrelenting rigour and formality of +colonial piety. It is not surprising therefore that, when, in April +1689, news was brought that James II, whose commission Andros bore, was +no longer king, but that the leader of European Protestantism reigned in +his stead, there should have been an instant uprising of the populace +against his representative. Andros was seized and imprisoned with fifty +of his followers. "For seven weeks," says a contemporary writer, "there +was not so much as the face of any government." A vessel having arrived +towards the end of May with instructions to proclaim William and Mary, +certain of the members of the former General Council assumed to act, and +one of their number, the aged Simon Bradstreet, was named as governor. + +It did not take long for the news to travel from Boston to New York. The +condition of things there was different; public opinion was not in the +same state of exasperation as at Boston; still Andros was of old +unpopular, and after a little hesitation, a movement was organized, +headed by one Jacob Leisler, to take the government out of the hands of +the lieutenant-governor, Nicholson. Like his superior officer at Boston, +the latter was obliged to submit; and Leisler, most unhappily for +himself and his family, assumed, with the support of a committee of +citizens, the control of affairs. Thus, both in New England and in New +York, there supervened a period of divided councils and enfeebled +administration, and this at the precise moment when the colonies were +about to encounter new perils. The provisional government of New +England, in blind opposition to the policy of Sir Edmund Andros, +withdrew or greatly reduced the garrisons he had wisely established +along the frontier. If Leisler could have got his authority recognized +at Albany he would have sent forces for the defence of the northern part +of the province. There was a party there in his favour; but the +magistrates, though quite ready to pay allegiance to William and Mary, +thought Leisler's credentials of too dubious a character to justify +their negotiating with him. Between divided responsibility and +irresponsibility, the difference is not great. News had been received +that the French were meditating mischief, but no proper precautionary +measures were taken. To this condition of unpreparedness the horrible +disaster of Schenectady may be distinctly attributed, and probably those +at Salmon Falls and Casco Bay as well. + +Even after the mischief was done, it was extremely difficult to secure +any harmonious or well-directed action. A strong appeal was sent by the +magistrates of Albany to the governor and council of Massachusetts, +representing their own deplorable condition of weakness, and asking that +New England should undertake the serious enterprise of invading Canada +by water. That was a matter for grave consideration, and one, the +authorities of Massachusetts thought, in which, if they attempted it at +all, they should have the assistance of the Mother Country. They +despatched a vessel in April to England with a request for help; but +meantime, spurred by their own wrongs and sufferings, they determined to +take an easier revenge on the French by invading Acadia. Early in the +month of May 1690 the different New England colonies sent delegates to a +congress held at New York for the purpose of deciding on a military +policy. The conclusion come to was that there should be both a land and +a sea expedition, the first directed against Montreal, the second +against Quebec. To the former New York was to contribute four hundred +men and the New England colonies jointly three hundred and fifty-five. +The Iroquois, it was expected, would add a powerful contingent. The +naval expedition, it was proposed, should be provided entirely by the +New England colonies. The Massachusetts delegates hesitated to commit +themselves to so extensive and costly a scheme, but finally agreed to +undertake it, relying on assistance from the Mother Country, which, in +existing circumstances, they hardly thought could be refused. Meantime +the expedition against Acadia could be pushed forward. + +French Acadia had at all times been much exposed to attacks from the +English colonies. The settlers were few in number--at this time not much +over a thousand all told--and their defences were but feeble. In 1654, +in accordance with secret orders sent by Cromwell, the territory had +been seized by an English force from Boston under the command of Major +Robert Sedgwick and Captain John Leverett. Two years later it was made a +province, Sir Thomas Temple being appointed governor. After remaining in +the possession of the English for a period of thirteen years, it was +ceded back to France by the Treaty of Breda in 1667. Five years later +Frontenac arrived in Canada for the first time, and in the following +year, 1673, M. de Chambly, a very capable soldier, whose services had +been highly appreciated by the previous governor, M. de Courcelles, was +sent to command in Acadia, and established himself at Pentagouet, a +fortified post at the mouth of the river Penobscot. This was the extreme +western limit of his jurisdiction even according to the French view of +the matter. The New Englanders held that the true limit was the river +St. Croix, the present boundary between the province of New Brunswick +and the state of Maine. To the east Acadia embraced, by common consent, +the southern part of what is now New Brunswick and all Nova Scotia west +of the Straits of Canso. + +M. de Chambly had not been more than a year in his new government when +an attack was made on Pentagouet by a Flemish corsair conducted by a +Boston pilot or ship captain. After a brief defence he was obliged to +surrender, his force being very inferior, and he himself having been +wounded. The attacking party then proceeded to the only other Acadian +fort, Jemseg, on the river St. John, and captured it. M. de Chambly was +taken as a prisoner to Boston, but was soon set at liberty and permitted +to return to France. The attack gave rise to a strong protest on the +part of Frontenac, and was wholly disavowed by the Massachusetts +authorities. In the year 1676, M. de Chambly was sent out again from +France with a royal commission as lieutenant-governor. He did not +attempt to establish himself at Pentagouet, but for a time made his +headquarters at Jemseg, and not long afterwards removed to Port Royal, +now Annapolis, on the northern coast of Nova Scotia, which thus became +the capital of Acadia. Here he remained till about the year 1679 or +1680, when he was transferred to the governorship of Grenada in the West +Indies. + +It was not till the autumn of 1684 that a duly appointed successor was +provided in the person of M. François Perrot, who had finally been +dismissed from the governorship of Montreal. In the interval there had +been one or two descents on the Acadian coast, calling forth further +protests on Frontenac's part, and further disclaimers of responsibility +on that of the constituted authorities of New England. To fish in French +waters or to trade with the inhabitants was considered an infraction of +international law; and yet there is clear evidence that the French +settlers rather longed than otherwise for the flesh-pots of Boston in +the shape of English goods and English money, very much after the manner +of the Iroquois and the Indian tribes of the West. When Perrot came to +Port Royal he was pleased to find that the conditions there were nearly +as favourable as at Montreal for the trading in which his soul +delighted. The chief difference was the substitution of Boston for New +York as his commercial centre. In the fall of the year 1685, a few weeks +after the arrival of the Marquis of Denonville, Meulles, the intendant, +accompanied by a member of the Sovereign Council, Peyras, paid a visit +of inspection to the country, remaining till the following summer. A +carefully-made census showed that the total population amounted at that +time to 885 souls, mustering 222 guns. Of cultivated land there were 896 +acres. Horned cattle numbered 986, sheep 759, and pigs 608. Just as +Meulles was leaving the country, the bishop designate, Saint Vallier, +arrived on a pastoral visit. The account he gives of the people in his +_Etat présent de l'Eglise_ is most laudatory, and strangely at variance +with a report made by Duchesneau, the intendant, a few years earlier. In +1681 that officer had written that the poverty of the people was not the +most serious evil; "their discords are a much greater one. Among them +there is neither order nor police; and those who are sent hence to +command them pillage them." The future bishop, in 1689, saw things very +differently. Although, he said, they had been deprived of spiritual +instruction for many years, they did not seem to have suffered in the +least thereby. Their morals were excellent; they were kindly and +well-disposed, and were greatly rejoiced to learn that their spiritual +interests were going to be better looked after in future. Of course they +may have improved in the eight years that had elapsed since M. +Duchesneau made his report; or that not very genial individual may have +needlessly darkened the picture; or, again, the worthy prelate may have +thrown a little too much sunshine into it. It is satisfactory to learn +that the result of Meulles's visit was the dismissal of Perrot, who, +doubtless, was plundering the people. This time no other office was +provided for him. He remained in the country, however, to do a little +more trading, and was finally killed, it was reported, in a fight with +some pirates. His successor was M. de Menneval, a good soldier and a man +of character. + +Such was the country on which Massachusetts had determined to make a +descent. Seven vessels, carrying two hundred and eighty-five sailors, +and four or five hundred militiamen, were commissioned for the +expedition, which was put under the command of Sir William Phipps, "a +rugged son of New England," as Parkman calls him. Phipps was, in truth, +an early American example of a self-made man. His knighthood, as well as +a comfortable fortune, had been won by adventurous and successful +service at sea. One of his biographers tells us that he was born "at a +despicable plantation on the river Kennebec." His early years were +passed in sheep-tending. The attacks of the Indians drove him, in the +year 1676, to Boston, where he applied himself to learning the trade of +ship-building, and where he also married Mary Hull, widow of one John +Hull, a woman several years his senior and of much better education and +social position than he. A year later we find him in command of a +sailing vessel. A Spanish treasure vessel had been wrecked somewhere off +the Bahamas some forty years before, and Phipps felt confident that if +he were furnished with a suitable ship he could find the wreck and +recover the treasure. He made an application to the English government, +and was granted the use of a vessel called the _Algier Rose_. His first +expedition was not successful; but on a second attempt he located the +wreck, and by the aid of a diving-bell--a comparatively recent invention +at the time--recovered treasure to the value of £300,000. He had next to +face a mutiny on his vessel, which he only quelled by dint of personal +courage and address. On reaching England he received as his own share of +the booty £16,000; but James II further recognized his services by +creating him a knight. This was in the summer of 1687. Phipps then +returned to Boston, and was henceforth a man of substance and influence +in the community. + +The fleet under his command sailed from Nantasket about the 1st May, and +on the 11th reached Port Royal. Menneval, the governor, had under his +command a garrison consisting of not far short of one hundred men. The +fort had also been provided with twenty cannon; but these, it appears, +had not been mounted. Menneval must have judged that the place was +incapable of defence, because, when summoned by Phipps to surrender, he +complied without making any attempt at resistance. He stipulated that +private property as well as the church should be respected, and that the +garrison should be returned to France. Phipps might have insisted on +surrender at discretion, as he clearly saw when he entered into +possession of the fort; but as he had not done so, honour required that +he should observe the terms he had made. This, unfortunately for his +reputation, he did not do. Availing himself of the pretext afforded by +the fact that some goods belonging to the king had been carried away +from the fort and secreted in the woods, he proceeded to plunder the +traders of the place and desecrate the church. It is one of his own men +who writes: "We cut down the cross, pulled down their high altar, and +broke their images." The inhabitants in general were promised security +for life, liberty, and property, on condition of swearing allegiance to +the English Crown, which they did with great alacrity. The fact was they +had dealt so much with the New Englanders in the way of business that +they had little prejudice against them, while they had been so much +neglected by the French government, both politically and +ecclesiastically, not to speak of being robbed by its agents, that their +national feelings had been but little cultivated. Phipps had with him +such a force as they had never seen before--seven hundred men; and the +probability is that they hoped for greater quiet and surer protection +under English rule than, so far as they could see, they were likely to +enjoy under that of France. Phipps seemed to have assumed that they +would remain true to their new allegiance, for he did not leave any +garrison in the country, but invited the people to govern themselves by +means of a council consisting of six ordinary members and a president, +whom he chose from amongst themselves. Acadia was now to rank as a +colony of Massachusetts, which was thus affording the earliest example +of American "imperialism," though in a liberal fashion. + +While Phipps was taking possession of Port Royal, one of his officers, +Captain Alden, had captured Saint-Castin's post at Pentagouet +(Penobscot), after which, by orders of his chief, he sailed to the +southern coast of what is now Nova Scotia, and seized the settlements of +La Hève, Chedabucto, and one or two others. No resistance was made +anywhere, and consequently no lives were lost. The conquest, such as it +was, was a bloodless one. Bitter complaint, nevertheless, was made of +the bad faith shown by the New England leader after the capture of Port +Royal, and with good cause. A soldier's word in such a case should be +absolutely inviolable. At the same time it is a memorable fact that men +who might have sought to avenge the blood of kindred slain without +warning in night attacks, such as those at Schenectady and Salmon Falls, +or in violation of terms of surrender, as at Casco Bay, should have +absolutely refrained from bloodshed. The French account of the affair +at Port Royal distinctly mentions that the New Englanders were bitterly +resentful of the Salmon Falls massacre in particular; nevertheless it +did not enter into their mind to follow the example of Hertel and his +braves. + +On the 30th May Phipps arrived at Boston, bringing with him as prisoners +Menneval, fifty-nine French soldiers, and two priests. The "rugged son +of New England" showed that he had the over-thrifty qualities which were +formerly, more than to-day, associated with the "down-east" character. +Menneval had entrusted him with his money, and Phipps refused to return +it. He also appropriated a quantity of the French governor's clothing +and other effects, which he showed the greatest reluctance to give up, +though distinctly ordered to do so by the General Council of +Massachusetts. Upon a repetition of the order in more emphatic terms, he +restored a portion of the property, but could not be induced to make +complete restitution. Successful generals are not always easy to confine +within the bounds of strict legality. Phipps himself was a member of the +General Council, having been elected thereto while absent in Acadia; +and, as just before starting on the expedition, he had joined the church +of the celebrated Cotton Mather, he possessed a combination "pull," as +it would be denominated in these days--civil, religious, military, and +doubtless social--which it must have been very difficult to overcome, +particularly in the unsettled condition of things then prevailing. +Menneval, after being kept for a considerable time in confinement, was +allowed to sail for France. + +Massachusetts had not waited for the return of Phipps before taking in +hand the more serious matter of the expedition against Quebec. It was +hoped, as has already been mentioned, that some assistance would come +from the Mother Country in time for a union of forces; but, should that +hope be disappointed, New England had determined to proceed with the +enterprise alone. The ease with which Acadia had been reduced to +submission seemed to be a presage of success in the larger undertaking; +and if Phipps could return with a respectable show of booty from so +small an establishment as that of Port Royal, what might not be expected +if so acquisitive a commander could get a chance at Quebec. Then there +was the religious aspect of the case. The Puritan commonwealth would not +dishonour God by doubting that they were the people, or that the +Catholics of Canada were idolaters. With all the sound doctrine and +scriptural worship on one side, and all the deadly error and +superstitious practice on the other, how could Providence hesitate which +cause to support? At the same time prayer was not considered +superfluous, nor was it allowed to flag. "The wheel," as Cotton Mather +expressed it, "was kept in continual motion"; and as they prayed they +worked, these sturdy Roundheads of the New World. Till well past +midsummer Boston harbour was alive with preparation. The chief +difficulty was to finance the enterprise. Previous Indian wars had +exhausted the colony, and the treasury was well-nigh empty. The only +thing to do was to pledge the public credit and raise a loan, which it +was hoped might be liquidated, in great part, if not in whole, by the +plunder of the enemy. Thirty vessels altogether were requisitioned for +the expedition. Most were of small capacity; the largest was a West +India trader named the _Six Friends_, carrying forty-four guns, and the +second largest the _John and Thomas_, carrying twenty-six guns. The rest +had little or no armament. Three vessels appear to have been contributed +by the province of New York, one of which was a frigate of twenty-four +guns, and the two others vessels of smaller size carrying eight and four +guns respectively. The supply of ammunition was decidedly short; but it +was hoped, almost up to the last moment, that some contribution in the +way of warlike stores, if not in ships and men, would arrive from +England. That hope was destined to be frustrated. It was the year when +William III was carrying on his campaign in Ireland, while Queen Mary +and her Privy Council were trying to control domestic disaffection. It +was the terrible year of Beachy Head, when the combined English and +Dutch fleets, under Torrington and Evertsen, were defeated by the French +under Tourville, and when the buoys at the mouth of the Thames were +taken up to prevent the ships of the enemy from appearing before London. +It is perhaps not much to be wondered at that, in a time of so much +stress and perplexity, an appeal from a trans-Atlantic colony for +assistance that could ill be spared should have received scant +attention. No help was sent: the New Englanders were left to fight their +own battles as William was fighting his. + +Considering the resources of the colonies, it was no mean effort they +were putting forth. Some hundreds of men volunteered for the expedition; +but, the number being insufficient, a press was resorted to in order to +make up the total required, namely, twenty-two hundred. Of these about +three hundred were sailors, and the rest soldiers. Provisions for four +months were taken on board, and the expedition, under the command of +Phipps, sailed from Nantasket on the 9th August 1690. + +What progress was being made in the meantime with the land expedition +against Montreal in which New York was to take the lead? The answer must +be, very poor progress indeed. At Boston there was a considerable +measure of unity of action; in New York there was almost none. It had +been agreed that Connecticut should furnish a contingent of troops, and +that the whole expedition should be placed under the command of one of +its officers, Fitz-John Winthrop, afterwards governor. Winthrop +organized a force of two or three hundred men, and started from +Hartford for Albany on the 14th July. A week later he arrived at the +latter town only to find everything in complete disorder. "I found," he +says, "the design against Canada poorly contrived and little forwarded, +all things confused and in no readiness or position for marching towards +Canada; yet every one disorderly projecting something about it."[44] The +Dutch displayed the greatest indifference in the matter, and the +English, for want of any commanding influence or unquestioned authority, +were irresolute and vacillating. There was no definite understanding +with the Indians; and what help they were going to give was quite +uncertain. Organizing his forces as best he could in these most +disadvantageous circumstances, Winthrop set out from Albany on his march +northwards. He had not gone far when he was overtaken by a despatch from +the governor of Massachusetts and Connecticut, telling him that the +fleet was in readiness to sail. Eager to do his part in the combined +operations, Winthrop pressed on and encamped at Wood Creek at the +southern extremity of Lake Champlain. Here smallpox broke out among the +troops; disagreements arose with the Indians; and, to make matters still +worse, the provisions which should have been pushed on from Albany +failed to arrive. After waiting several days in inactivity, Winthrop +became persuaded that an advance to Montreal with the body of his +troops was out of the question. He allowed the mayor of Albany, Captain +John Schuyler, to go on with a small detachment, while he with the rest +of his force, largely consisting of sick men, returned to Albany. All +that Schuyler succeeded in doing was to perpetrate a rather ignoble raid +upon the hamlet of Laprairie near Montreal, where he killed ten or +twelve of the inhabitants, destroyed the farms and the cattle, and made +a number of prisoners, including some women. As an act of retaliation +for Schenectady it was a feeble performance; as an act of war it was not +a heroic exploit. Winthrop, before the month of September closed, +marched back to Hartford, and thus ended the New York expedition. +Clearly, if anything effective is to be done against Canada, the Boston +men must do it. + +The fleet sailed, as already mentioned, on the 9th August. The admiral's +pennon floated from the _Six Friends_, the vice-admiral's from the _John +and Thomas_. The vice-admiral for the occasion was Major John Walley; +the third in command, apparently, was a Major Thomas Savage. Had the +winds been favourable, the expedition might easily have reached Quebec +within a month. They were most unfavourable, however; and it was not +till the 3rd October that it arrived off Tadousac. Here the ships were +brought to anchor, and a council of war was held. Four days later the +fleet had only advanced fifty miles, and it took eight days more to +reach a point off the Island of Orleans near the present village of St. +Jean, where it anchored for a few hours. Here Walley proposed that the +men, who had been for weeks confined on shipboard, should be allowed to +land and "refresh themselves," and that opportunity should be taken to +form the several companies, and get everything into perfect order before +proceeding to an attack. He was overruled however; and, taking advantage +of a rising tide, the fleet slipped up the river, and at daybreak on +Monday the 16th October made its appearance in the harbour of Quebec. + +We have seen that, during the month of August and part of the month of +September Frontenac was engaged at Montreal with his western Indians. It +was during this time that Schuyler made his attack on Laprairie. After +the departure of the Indians, Frontenac remained in Montreal to complete +his measures for the defence of the country, and hoping also to get news +of his embassy to the Iroquois. His return to Quebec was fixed for the +10th October, and on the afternoon of that very day a messenger who had +been sent post haste by Prevost, the major in command of the troops at +Quebec, placed in his hands two letters. The first, dated the 5th +October, told him that an Abenaquis Indian had arrived at Quebec from +the neighbourhood of Pentagouet deputed by his tribe to bring important +news obtained from a captive New England woman, namely that, about six +weeks before, a considerable fleet had sailed from Boston for the +capture of Quebec. The second letter, written later on the same day, +said that one Sieur de Cannanville had arrived from Tadousac, where he +had seen twenty-four ships, eight of which appeared of considerable +size. + +It does not say much for Frontenac's intelligence department, if such an +institution existed in that day, that he should have known nothing of +the preparations which had been going on in Boston during the previous +spring and summer. His first impulse was to disbelieve the news now +brought, but none the less he lost no time in starting for Quebec with +the intendant, Champigny. The first boat he embarked in proved leaky, +and came near foundering. He transhipped into a canoe, and went as far +as was possible before dark. On the afternoon of the next day a further +message was received from Prevost confirming his first, and saying that +the enemy had captured, about thirty leagues below Quebec, a vessel in +which were two ladies. This looked serious, and the count sent back +Captain de Ramesay to Montreal with orders to Callières, the governor, +to march to Quebec at once with all the troops he could gather at +Montreal or pick up on the way. He himself made all possible haste, and +arrived at Quebec at ten o'clock in the morning of Saturday, the 14th +October. + +Work on the fortifications of Quebec had been more or less in progress +all summer; but from the moment that the first news of the intended +attack had been received, Prevost had been particularly active in +planting batteries, digging trenches, and doing other work of immediate +necessity. He had also despatched a long-boat and a canoe, both well +armed, under the charge of his brother-in-law, Grandville, to make a +reconnaissance in the direction of Tadousac, and had sent orders to the +militia captains of the neighbouring parishes of Beauport and Beaupré, +and also to those on the Island of Orleans, to hold their men in +readiness to march into the city, and meantime to watch the enemy, that +they might offer all possible opposition to his landing. Frontenac +employed his time on the 14th and 15th in examining and perfecting the +general system of defence; and he was much pleased as well as surprised +to find how much Prevost had accomplished in a few days. Two principal +batteries had been established in the Upper Town, one, consisting of +eight guns, to the right of the château, and one of three guns on the +rock overlooking Mountain Hill known as Sault au Matelot. Two batteries +of three guns each were placed on the river bank, one near the present +market-place, and the other near where the Custom House now stands. Most +of the pieces were eighteen pounders. The non-combatant inhabitants of +the surrounding country had come into the city in considerable numbers, +bringing with them what they could in the way of provisions. On Sunday +two canoes were sent down the river to warn the vessels that were +expected to arrive from France to keep out of harm's way. On their safe +arrival the life almost of the colony might be said to depend. At seven +o'clock on Sunday evening news came that the hostile fleet had passed +the eastern end of the Island of Orleans. There was not much sleeping +that night. At three o'clock on Monday morning their distant lights +could be seen down the river. At daybreak there could be counted in the +harbour, some authorities say thirty-two, and some thirty-four, English +sails. + +A few hours of tense expectation elapsed, and then a boat carrying a +flag of truce was seen putting out from the admiral's ship. It bore an +envoy from Phipps, who was to demand of the governor the surrender of +the place. A boat put out from the shore to meet it, and the envoy, +having been taken on board, was blindfolded, and brought ashore. Here, +according to one account, he was crowded and hustled, and made to +clamber over unnecessary obstacles, the object being to persuade him +that the place was more numerously defended and more difficult of +entrance than it really was. In reading the contemporary narratives it +is often difficult to know what to believe. Nearly all are vitiated by +extreme generality of statement and inaccuracy in detail. That of La +Hontan betrays the enormous mendacity of the writer, who, so long as he +could be amusing and sensational, was absolutely indifferent as to +facts. Checking one by another, however, it is not impossible to arrive +at a fairly coherent and credible narrative. It was about ten in the +forenoon when the messenger was introduced into the reception-room of +the Château St. Louis. The _mise en scène_ had been carefully arranged +for the moment when the bandage should be removed from his eyes. +Frontenac was there in a gorgeous uniform and looking the soldier and +seigneur from head to foot. Around him, also in uniform, stood the +members of his staff and the principal military and civil officers of +the colony. It was such an array of military and official pomp as simple +New England eyes had probably never gazed on. History does not seem to +have preserved the name or rank of the messenger, and we have no certain +information as to the effect produced upon him by the gallant and +brilliant company that met his gaze. All we know is that he handed a +letter from Phipps to the haughty governor, and awaited his answer. The +letter read as follows:-- + + "Sir William Phipps, Knight, General and Commander-in-Chief, in + and over their Majesties' forces of New England, by sea and + land, to Count Frontenac, Lieutenant-General and Governour for + the French King at Canada; or in his absence to his deputy, or + him or them in chief command at Quebeck. + + "The war between the Crowns of England and France doth not only + sufficiently warrant, but the destruction made by the French and + Indians, under your command and encouragement, upon the persons + and estates of their Majesties' subjects of New England, without + provocation on their part, hath put them under the necessity of + this expedition for their own security and satisfaction. And + although the cruelties and barbarities used against them by the + French and Indians might, upon the present opportunity, prompt + unto a severe revenge, yet, being desirous of avoiding all + inhuman and unchristian-like actions, and to prevent shedding of + blood as much as may be. + + "I, the aforesaid William Phipps, Knight, do hereby in the name + and on behalf of their most excellent Majesties, William and + Mary, King and Queen of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, + Defenders of the Faith, and by order of their said Majesties' + government of Massachusetts colony in New England, demand a + present surrender of your forts and castles, undemolished, and + the king's and other stores, unembezzled, with a reasonable + delivery of all captives; together with a surrender of all your + persons and estates to my dispose: upon the doing whereof you + may expect mercy from me, as a Christian, according to what + shall be found to be for their Majesties' service and the + subjects' security. Which, if you refuse forthwith to do, I am + come provided, and am resolved, by the help of God, in whom I + 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 you had accepted of the favour + tendered. + + "Your answer positive in an hour returned by your own trumpet, + with the return of mine, is required upon the peril that will + ensue."[45] + +Frontenac was not versed in the English language, so the letter was +given to an interpreter to translate. When the latter had finished the +reading, the envoy presented his watch to the governor, observing that +it was then ten o'clock, and that he would have to have an answer by +eleven. The dignity of the assembled officers was much hurt by the +brusque terms of Phipps's summons; and, before Frontenac had had time to +frame his reply, one of them cried out that Phipps was nothing but a +pirate, and that the man before them should be hanged. Frontenac was not +disposed to go so far. "Tell your general," he said, "that I do not +recognize King William, and that the Prince of Orange is a usurper, who +has violated the most sacred ties of blood in attempting to dethrone his +father-in-law. I recognize no other sovereign in England than King +James. Your general ought not to be surprised at the hostilities he says +are carried on by the French against the Massachusetts colony; since he +might expect that the king, my master, having received the King of +England under his protection, and being ready to replace him on the +throne by force of arms, as I am informed, would order me to wage war +in this country on a people in rebellion against their lawful sovereign. +Does your general imagine," he continued, pointing to the officers who +filled the room, "that, even if he offered me better conditions, and I +were of a temper to accept them--does he think that so many gallant +gentlemen would consent to it, or advise me to place any confidence in +the word of a man who violated the capitulation he made with the +governor of Port Royal, one who has been wanting in loyalty to his +rightful sovereign, and who, unmindful of the personal benefits received +by him from that sovereign, adheres to the fortunes of a prince who, +while trying to persuade the world to accept him as the liberator of +England and defender of the faith, tramples on the laws and privileges +of the kingdom, and overturns the English Church? This is what the +divine justice invoked by your general in his letter will not fail some +day to punish severely." + +It is possible that the terms of the governor's answer may have been +somewhat conventionalized by his secretary, to whose pen we are indebted +for a report of it.[46] Phipps speaks of it as "a reviling answer," the +drift of which was that he and those with him were traitors for "having +taken up with a usurper, and seized upon that good Christian Sir Edmund +Andros." The messenger, who doubtless felt his position somewhat +uncomfortable, asked the count whether he would not give him an answer +in writing. "No!" was the reply; "the only answer I will give will be +from the mouth of my cannon and musketry, that he may learn that it is +not in such a style that a person of my rank is summoned." Whatever he +might forget, Frontenac could not forget his personal rank. There was +now no more to be said; the messenger's eyes were again bandaged, and he +was conducted back to his boat. + +So now, Sir William, your work is cut out for you! There is the +fortress; take it. This is not Port Royal, nor is that hard-featured +warrior Menneval. This is a city set on a hill. Its guns are shotted and +skilfully disposed. It has defenders by the hundred; and before night +closes their numbers will be doubled; for Callières is on the march with +all the troops that can be spared from Montreal, Three Rivers and other +posts--eight hundred fighting men in all. Behind those ramparts, or +awaiting you in the rear of the town, are men accustomed to warfare +whether in the open field or in forest ambush. The adventure is one of +great pith and moment, if you can but succeed in it! + +The probability is that by this time Phipps had begun to take a more +serious view of his task. He was one of those men who require to be +favoured by luck. He was better at making a dash than at organizing +victory. He had courage and a good deal of practical skill in +navigation, but there is no evidence that he possessed the talents of a +military commander. The readiness with which the inhabitants of Acadia +had renounced their French allegiance had led him to believe that in +Canada he might actually be welcomed as a liberator.[47] Of any such +disposition on the part of the Canadians there had certainly been no +sign as yet. It was reported at Quebec that he had attempted to land +some men at Rivière Ouelle, and had been repulsed by the inhabitants +under the leadership of their _curé_. The story, however, as given by +Mère Juchereau, had plainly passed through the hands of the mythmakers +before she got hold of it, for she tells us that "the moment the first +boat was within musket shot, the _curé_ ordered a volley, which killed +the whole crew with the exception of two men who made off in great +haste." Walley's journal makes no mention of any attempt to land, and +the story may be assumed to be an imaginative invention. What at least +may be regarded as certain is that, up to the date of his arrival before +Quebec, Phipps had not received any encouraging overtures from the +inhabitants. Other causes of anxiety were not wanting. Smallpox had +broken out in his fleet, and the weather was most bitterly cold for the +season. On the day of the summons and the following day he and his force +remained inactive. On the afternoon of the first day Iberville and his +brother Maricourt, returning with a few of their men from Hudson's Bay, +landed safely at Beauport in sight of the ships, having slipped up the +North Channel in a couple of canoes. In the evening about seven o'clock +Callières, governor of Montreal, marched into the city at the head of +eight hundred men. Shouts of welcome, mingled with martial music, +reached the ears of the English, and were rightly interpreted as meaning +that the city had received reinforcements. + +The plan of the attack was that a body of men should be landed on the +Beauport flats to the north of the city, and endeavour to obtain access +by crossing the river St. Charles; that the principal war vessels should +take up their position in front of the city; that others should move +further up so as to create the impression that troops were to be landed +above Cape Diamond, in order to take the city in the rear; and that the +bombardment should only begin when a signal had been received that the +troops at the other side had made their entrance. The scheme was a good +one, but it was not well carried out. On Wednesday forenoon about +thirteen hundred men under Major Walley were landed, apparently without +opposition, though there were troops in abundance--levies from Beauport +and Beaupré, Indians from Lorette, as well as the forces within the +city--who could have made the landing exceedingly difficult and costly +in lives, had they been led to the spot; particularly as the enemy had +to wade knee-deep, and even waist-deep, in icy water in order to get to +land. The landing having been effected, Walley drew up his force in +companies, selecting four to act as an advance guard, or, as he calls +them, "forlorns," and then ordered a march for the higher ground. They +had not gone a hundred yards before there was firing from cover on both +flanks, particularly from the right; there, Walley says, "there was a +party galled us considerably." A charge having been ordered the +defenders gave way, but continued to fire from swamp and bush as they +retreated.[48] In the pursuit Walley gained a position not far from the +St. Charles River. He was expecting some vessels to come into the river +with supplies, and for that reason, as well as for others, wished to be +near it. One or two houses and barns gave a little shelter, but many of +the men had to lie out all night. If we may trust his statement his loss +in killed on that day was four, and in wounded sixty. Considering the +nature of the landing, "it was a great mercy," he says, "we had no more +damage done us." He judged that he had killed some twenty of the +Canadians, but that was a vast over-estimate. The Chevalier de Clermont, +an experienced and valuable officer, had been killed, and Juchereau de +St. Denis, who commanded the Beauport militia, had been wounded; but the +total of killed and wounded on the Canadian side did not probably exceed +the figure mentioned. + +In the course of the day a Frenchman, who was a fugitive from his own +side, surrendered to Walley's men, and from him the New England +commander learned the somewhat discouraging news that the defensive +forces in the city far outnumbered the whole of Phipps's expedition. +Troops had been pouring in from different quarters both before and after +the governor's arrival, and the last body of men brought by Callières +had raised the total to about three thousand. Walley threatened the man +very seriously as to what would happen if he did not tell the truth, and +he seems to have heeded the warning. The number he mentioned agrees with +the figures given by the contemporary historian Belmont, and also by +Captain Sylvanus Davis, who was a prisoner in Quebec during the siege. + +According to the arrangement made between Phipps and Walley, the former +was only to begin the bombardment after the latter had forced an +entrance into the town. Moreover, small armed vessels were to sail into +the St. Charles, to assist his passage of that river and to furnish his +force with necessary supplies of food and ammunition. Why this +arrangement was departed from is not very clear; but about four o'clock +on Wednesday afternoon Phipps moved his four principal vessels up +before the town, and no sooner had he come within cannon shot than the +shore batteries opened fire. Then ensued a duel in which the defence had +all the best of it. Their guns were much better served than those of the +assailants, and they had excellent marks to shoot at. The fight was +maintained till after dark, by which time Phipps had fired away nearly +all his ammunition and accomplished virtually nothing. One boy in the +town had been killed by a splinter of rock; the buildings in the town +had scarcely been injured at all. Phipps says he dismounted some of the +enemy's best guns, but his story is unconfirmed. Certain it is that his +vessels suffered serious damage in hulls, masts, and rigging, and that, +after a brief renewal of the encounter the next morning, he drew them +all off. + +An incident which has given rise to a good deal of discussion may here +be referred to. The flag of the admiral's vessel was shot away and fell +into the river. It was captured by some men from the shore, but whether +under the very heroic circumstances described by an eminent Canadian +poet on the authority of Père Charlevoix, is, to say the least, open to +doubt. Charlevoix has it that, no sooner had the flag fallen into the +water and begun to drift away, than some Canadians swam out and seized +it, notwithstanding the fire directed on them from the ships. +Contemporary writers know nothing of any such feat. The one who comes +nearest to the father's account of the matter is Mère Juchereau, who +says that "our Canadians went out rashly in a bark canoe and brought it +to land under the noses of the English." She does not even say they were +fired on. How near they got to the English we can hardly judge from the +expression "_à la barbe des Anglais_," which is not a measure of length. +On the other hand we have from a contemporary writer, the Récollet, Père +Leclercq, whose book was published in 1691, the year following the +attack on Quebec, a plain, consistent statement as to how the thing +happened, and one the terms of which are in distinct conflict with the +popular version. After describing how the vice-admiral's ship had been +the first to withdraw beyond the reach of the shore batteries, he +continues: "The admiral [Phipps] followed him pretty closely and with +precipitation, paying out the whole length of his anchor-cable, and then +letting it go. His flag, which drifted away in the river, was _left to +our discretion_, and our people went and fished it out."[49] The words +used plainly imply that there was neither difficulty nor danger in +recovering the flag; and this be it remembered was the story Leclercq +heard at the time, and published almost immediately. Frontenac, who +would certainly have been pleased to approve the bravery of his people, +simply says that Phipps lost his flag, "which remained in our +possession"; while Monseignat's statement in what may be regarded as the +official narrative, is that the admiral's flag and another were borne in +triumph to the church. Charlevoix's lack of accuracy in details is +evident in the very paragraph in which he deals with this incident; for +he says that no sooner had Phipps's messenger returned to his ship, +than, to the great surprise of the English, shots were fired from one of +the Lower Town batteries, and that the first one carried away the flag. +This is pure romance. Phipps's vessel was not within range at the time, +and no shots were exchanged till late in the afternoon of Wednesday, two +days later. The loquacious La Hontan, who at least knows how to adorn a +tale, if not point a moral, knows nothing of this particular occurrence, +otherwise he would certainly have included it in a narrative which, it +is evident, he aimed at making as lively and piquant as possible. It is +no disparagement of the valour of the defenders of Quebec to doubt +whether the incident took place as described either by Charlevoix, who +did not visit the country till thirty years after the event, and did not +publish his book till twenty-four years later, or by Mère Juchereau. +Many a brave deed has passed unnoticed of history; and, en revanche, +many an insignificant act has been wrapped round by legend with clouds +of glory. If there is reason to doubt whether this particular deed was +done in a specially heroic, or even in a very dramatic manner, there are +incidents in abundance left to attest the heroism of the French-Canadian +race. The legends of a people bear witness to its ideals, and help to +repair the wrongs that history does by leaving so much that is truly +memorable and admirable unrecorded. + +While Phipps on Thursday was drawing off his shattered vessels, Walley +and his men were having a very miserable time ashore. The succour he was +expecting did not arrive. Instead he received what he did not want at +all--six field-pieces, twelve-pounders, weighing about eight hundred +pounds each, which the nature of the ground made it impossible to use, +and which thus proved a simple embarrassment. However, thinking the +vessels would arrive later in the day, Walley moved his men somewhat +nearer to the town, and took up a position rather better both for +shelter and for defence. This movement does not seem to have been +opposed by the Canadian forces, as there is no mention in the narratives +of any fighting on this day. The vessels did not come with the evening +tide as hoped; and Walley, in his simple narrative, says: "We stood upon +our guard that night, but found it exceeding cold, it freezing that +night so that the next morning the ice would bear a man." The position +was both distressing and precarious, and a council of war was called +during the night to consider what should be done. By this time the +assailing force had some idea of the nature of the task they had +undertaken: to advance in the face of skirmishers having every advantage +of position; to ford a river behind which a thousand men and several +pieces of artillery were posted; and, should they by any miracle succeed +in that, to encounter a couple of thousand more within the walls of the +town. Many of their men were sick, some were literally freezing, others +worn and exhausted. Their provisions were short, their ammunition very +low. The decision of the council was that Walley should go on board the +admiral's vessel next day and ask for instructions. + +During Walley's absence on Friday forenoon, skirmishing was renewed with +losses on both sides, but chiefly on that of the New Englanders. On the +French side M. de Ste. Hélène received a wound in the thigh, from which +he died in hospital some weeks later. Phipps consented to a retreat; and +Walley, on returning to land in the afternoon, began to prepare for it. +The following morning before daylight boats arrived to take the men off; +but Walley, discovering too great haste on the part of his men to +embark, ordered the boats back. There was further skirmishing during the +day consequent upon Walley's desire to keep the enemy at a respectful +distance, so that the embarkation he hoped to make that night might not +be interfered with. Towards evening he used some boats that he had to +send off his sick and wounded, but was careful not to afford any +indication of a general retreat. This was finally accomplished, not +without haste, noise, and confusion bordering on insubordination, +between dark and one or two o'clock on the morning of Sunday, the 22nd. +Through some gross mismanagement five of the eight cannon that had been +landed were left behind for the greater glory of the enemy. + +A council of war was held on board the admiral's ship on that lamentable +Sunday. Further offensive schemes were discussed; but, even as they +talked, the leaders knew that nothing of any moment could be +accomplished. They had all but exhausted their ammunition, and their +provisions were running low. There was a great deal of sickness among +the men, and the casualties ashore and in the bombardment had not been +inconsiderable. In the end, they appointed a prayer-meeting for next day +"to seek God's direction" as Walley expresses it, but the weather was +unfavourable for a meeting. Some of the ships, in fact, dragged their +anchors, and were in danger of being driven on the town. The following +day the whole fleet slipped down to the Island of Orleans on the +homeward track. + +Walley in his _Journal_, apparently an honest piece of work, sums up +comprehensively the causes of the failure: "The land army's failing, the +enemy's too timely intelligence, lying three weeks within three days' +sail of the place, by reason whereof they had time to bring in the whole +strength of their country, the shortness of our ammunition, our late +setting out, our long passage, and many sick in the army--these," he +says, "may be reckoned as some of the causes of our disappointment." +Reasons enough surely. On both sides the hand of Providence was seen. +"Well may you speak of this country," writes Laval to Denonville, "as +the country of miracles." Had Phipps arrived but one week sooner he +would certainly, in Laval's opinion, have captured the city, and that he +did not arrive sooner was due to unfavourable winds. Similarly, Sister +Anne Bourdon, archivist of the Ursuline Convent, writes that, when the +first news of the approach of the English was received, nothing was +spared in the way of religious practices "to appease divine justice." +The happy result was that "Heaven, granting our prayers, sent winds so +contrary that the enemy in nine days only made the distance they might +otherwise have made in half a day." So Mère Juchereau of the Hôtel Dieu: +"God doubtless stopped them, to give the Montrealers time to arrive." +Bishop Saint Vallier improved the occasion to stimulate the piety of his +people. "Let us," he said, "raise our eyes, my dear children, and see +God holding the thunder in His hand, which He is ready to let fall on +us. He is causing it now to rumble in order to awaken you from the +slumber of your sins." + +On the English side no less solemn a view was taken of the events of the +time. Governor Bradstreet, of Massachusetts, writing to the agents of +the colony in England, speaks of "the awful frown of God in the +disappointment of that chargeable [costly] and hazardous enterprise." +"Shall our Father," he exclaims, "spit in our face, and we not be +ashamed? God grant that we may be deeply humbled and enquire into the +cause, and reform those sins that have provoked so great anger to smoke +against the prayers of his people, and to answer us by terrible things +in righteousness." Cotton Mather in like manner speaks of "an evident +hand of Heaven, sending one unavoidable disaster after another." He also +reports a saying of Phipps, that, though he had been accustomed to +diving in his time, he "would say that the things which had befallen him +in this expedition were too deep to be dived into." The total loss of +life on the part of the New England forces, taking shipwreck and disease +into account, must have run far into the hundreds. Phipps estimated his +loss in the engagements at Quebec at thirty, and possibly the number of +those actually killed did not much exceed that figure. On the Canadian +side the number of killed has been placed at nine, and of the wounded at +fifty-two.[50] + +All that remained now was to make the best of their melancholy way to +Boston. Frontenac had sent a small force under M. Subercase to the +Island of Orleans to watch the departing fleet, which might, had its +commander been so minded, have committed serious depredations on the +parishes along the river. Phipps sent ashore to ask Subercase if there +would be any objection to his buying supplies from the inhabitants. The +reply was that he might buy what he liked, and a lively trade, very +profitable to the farmers, at once sprang up between them and the +squadron. Negotiations for an exchange of prisoners followed. Phipps, as +we have seen, had captured some on his way up; and he had with him two +ecclesiastics whom he had taken in Acadia. The French on their side had +Sylvanus Davis, the former commandant of Fort Loyal, two daughters of +Captain Clarke who had been killed in the attack on that fort, and a +little girl called Sarah Gerrish. All these had received good treatment +during their detention at Quebec, and the little girls had particularly +endeared themselves to the nuns to whose charge they had been confided, +and who were much grieved at having to give them up. + +If the weather had been bad on the way to Quebec it was worse on the +return. Without the aid of a pilot, Phipps had succeeded in bringing all +his vessels safely to Quebec, but on the home voyage several were lost. +One, Cotton Mather relates, was never heard of. A second was wrecked, +but most of its crew were saved. A third was cast on the coast, and all +on board, with the exception of one man, perished through drowning, +starvation, or at the hands of the Indians. A fourth was stranded on the +Island of Anticosti. There seemed to be no means of escape from this +dreary shore; and forty-one of the crew had already died of hardship, +when the captain, John Rainsford by name, and four others determined +that they would try to reach Boston in an open boat, in order that, if +they escaped the perils of the sea, they might send help to those still +alive on the island. It was the 25th March when they put forth in their +most precarious craft. "Through a thousand dangers from the sea and ice, +and almost starved with hunger and cold," to use the words of Cotton +Mather's recital, they arrived at Boston on the 11th May. As soon as a +proper vessel could be procured, Rainsford started back to rescue the +survivors. Four had died during his absence. Death was staring the +remainder in the face, when the sail they had hardly dared to hope for +flickered on the horizon. It was too good to be true, and yet it was +true. Their heroic captain had come to their relief; and on the 28th +June he landed them, seventeen in number, once more on New England soil. + +[Footnote 44: See "Winthrop's Journal" in _New York Colonial Documents_, +vol. iv. p. 193.] + +[Footnote 45: The letter is given in Cotton Mather's _Magnalia_, vol. i. +p. 186.] + +[Footnote 46: _New York Colonial Documents_, vol. ix. p. 486.] + +[Footnote 47: The same mistake was destined to be made in later days, +more than once, under the English régime.] + +[Footnote 48: "La Canardière (the name given to the flats where the New +Englanders landed) was in those days nothing but a horrible marsh, +covered with impenetrable woods thickly fringed with underbrush. So +dense was the thicket that in full daylight our skirmishers were +invisible to the English, who in their exasperation had nothing to guide +them in firing but the smoke of their enemies' muskets."--Myrand, _Sir +William Phipps devant Quebec_, p. 271.] + +[Footnote 49: _Premier Etablissement de la Foi_, vol. ii. p. 434. As +Leclercq is the one authority of importance of whom Mr. Myrand, in his +discussion of this matter, makes no mention, his exact words, which I +have not elsewhere seen reproduced, may be quoted: "L'amiral le suivit +(le contre-amiral) d'assez près et avec précipitation; il fila tout le +cable de son ancre qu'il abandonna; son pavillon fut emporté dans la +rivière et laissé à notre discrétion, que nos gens allèrent pêcher."] + +[Footnote 50: In his work already quoted, _Sir William Phipps devant +Quebec_, Mr. Myrand goes very carefully, and in a spirit of great +impartiality, into the question of the probable losses on the New +England side. Those on the Canadian side he is able to establish by +means of authentic records. Mr. Myrand has laid his readers under great +obligations by reprinting the principal original documents bearing on +the Phipps expedition, as well as by his own intelligent discussion of +the whole episode.] + + + + + CHAPTER XI + + FIRE AND SWORD ON THE BORDER + + +The departure of the New England fleet left the French colony in a +condition of great exhaustion, and, for a time, of poignant anxiety. +Three vessels were on their way out from France laden with military and +other supplies, and were due just about this time. Should Phipps +encounter them in the lower St. Lawrence, they would assuredly become +his prey, and what the country would do in that case it was painful to +speculate. Frontenac writing after Phipps had left, and before he had +news of the safety of the expected vessels, gives a vivid account of the +situation. There had been a serious failure of the crops. Early in the +season the grain had looked very promising; but cold and rainy weather +during the harvest had almost ruined it. What made matters worse was +that there had been a short crop the year before, so that they were +already, in November, consuming the little grain they had just +harvested. Unless a supply is received by the ships, there will be +hardly any to be got in the country for love or money. Everything else +is at the lowest ebb, wine, brandy, goods of all kinds. The servants in +the château have for some time had only water to drink, and in a week +the governor himself will be brought to the same sad necessity. This +letter was written on the 11th November; fortunately before the week +expired the vessels had arrived; and the gallant count was not reduced +to being an involuntary total abstainer. The quantity of provisions +brought out, however, was very scanty, not exceeding a month's supply; +and as the colony managed to struggle through the winter, and had a +sufficiency of seed-grain for the following spring, perhaps things were +not quite so bad as represented. The ships owed their escape from +capture to measures wisely taken by the governor in sending boats down +the river to advise them to slip into the Saguenay till Phipps should +have passed down, which they did. + +The arrival of Phipps in Boston with his shattered and diminished fleet, +and shrunken and disheartened forces, produced a feeling almost of +despair. The success of the expedition had been counted on with the +greatest certainty. Cotton Mather declares that he "never understood +that any of the faithful did in their prayers arise to any _assurance_ +that the expedition should prosper in all respects; yet they sometimes +in their devotions uttered their persuasion that Almighty God had heard +them in this thing, that the English army should not fall by the hands +of the French enemy." The higher criticism would probably detect in this +declaration a large _ex post facto_ element. The English army did not +exactly fall by the hands of the French enemy; but between the French +enemy, cold, tempest and sickness, the expedition had been a most +disastrous failure, which "the faithful" had certainly been far from +thinking was, or could be, in the designs of Providence. There was no +money in the treasury with which to pay the troops, who soon began to be +clamorous and threatened mutiny. Finally, an issue of paper money was +decided on, and the difficulty was thus tided over; but it was long +before this questionable currency, which was only receivable in payment +of public debts, and which for a time circulated at a discount of from +twenty-five to thirty per cent., was fully redeemed. + +The period now opening was destined to be one of savage border warfare. +The Iroquois--particularly the Mohawks--were still on the war-path, and +were resuming all their ancient boldness in their attacks on the French +settlements. In the spring of 1691 there were some informal and, as they +turned out, futile negotiations for peace, brought on by the fact that a +party of Mohawks who had captured ten mission Indians near Chambly, sent +them back a few days later by three of their own people, who entered the +fort at St. Louis unarmed, and began to talk of peace. Callières, the +governor of Montreal, did not quite know what to make of it, and +meantime kept his troops scouring the neighbourhood. It seems probable +that the Mohawks were really more anxious to draw away their kinsmen of +the Laprairie mission from the French than to make peace with the +latter. On more than one occasion the mission Indians had shown +reluctance in making war on their own people, and something of the same +feeling existed on the side of the heathen warriors, who always hoped +that they might some day reclaim their separated brethren. Meantime the +raiding went on, but took the form chiefly of killing the cattle and +burning the houses of the settlers, though now and again one or two of +the latter would be killed or carried off. It was in the early summer of +1691 that a somewhat memorable incident in this wild warfare occurred. A +party of forty or fifty Oneidas had in one of their forays taken +possession of an abandoned house at Repentigny, a point on the north +shore of the river St. Lawrence, just opposite the north-eastern end of +the Island of Montreal. Possibly they had captured some brandy in their +prowlings round the country; but whatever the reason was, they were not +exercising their usual vigilance. They were observed by a certain +Captain de Mine in charge of a detachment of soldiers, who succeeded in +retreating from the spot and crossing over to some islands in the river +without attracting their attention. Here he was joined by M. de +Vaudreuil, at the head of a picked force of Canadians and some regular +soldiers; and the combined force then crossed over to the main-shore, a +little below the house which the savages were making their headquarters. +Approaching with the greatest caution, they found some Indians asleep +outside. These they killed with a volley at short range; then rushing +forward they surrounded the house. The Indians within fired from the +windows and killed four or five of the French, including M. de +Bienville. Their fate, however, was sealed. The French fired in at the +windows, and finally set fire to the house, when the unhappy savages, +driven forth by the flames, were, all save one, either killed or +captured. The sequel is not pleasant to relate. The captives numbered +five. One was given to the Ottawa Indians, for what purpose does not +appear; one, a lad of fourteen years, was spared, because his family had +protected the Jesuit father, Millet; and the remaining three were +distributed to the farmers of Pointe aux Trembles, Boucherville and +Repentigny, who burnt them in retaliation, it is said, for lost +relatives. + +The attack on Quebec had awakened the French government to the necessity +of strengthening the forces in Canada. On the 1st July a frigate, the +_Soleil d'Afrique_, famous in her day as a very rapid sailer, arrived at +Quebec, bringing much needed stores and supplies, and twelve days later +a dozen more vessels, under the command of a M. du Tast, appeared in the +harbour. Just about the same time a deputation of Ottawas had made their +way to Quebec to discuss various matters, but particularly trade +questions, with the governor. The one dream of the Ottawas was cheap +goods. Probably had they been manufacturers their one dream would have +been a high tariff. It was a bad time to ask for cheap goods--no time, +indeed, in Canada was very good for that purpose--as the war between +France and England was interfering considerably with trade, and such +goods as there were in the country were held at exorbitant prices. Other +gratifications, however, were afforded them: the sight of the fourteen +vessels in the harbour, the drill of the soldiers and sailors, the +firing of salutes, the illumination of the ships and of the town--for +the arrival of the fleet was made an occasion for prolonged rejoicings +and festivities--produced a powerful impression on minds unaccustomed to +such wonders. They were also greatly charmed with an entertainment given +at the château on the 22nd of July to which they were invited, and at +which, according to the official narrative, "thirty beautiful ladies, +entering very properly into the views of their host, paid them every +attention." On the following day they were dismissed, laden with gifts, +but not before they had been shown the large stores of war material that +had been received from France, which it was hoped would give them a +lively idea of the resources Canada possessed for making successful war +upon her enemies. Early in the season Frontenac had despatched the Sieur +de Courtemanche to Michilimackinac to convey to the tribes of that +region the news of the defeat of the English before Quebec, and to +inquire what they were doing against the Mohawks. The reply given was to +the effect that a number of their bands had gone on the war-path, that +others were about to start, and that the Miamis and Illinois had also +moved against the enemy, and forced the Senecas to abandon some of +their towns. As regards the Ottawas and Hurons the case was probably +overstated; otherwise the deputation to Quebec, which started after +Courtemanche had left Michilimackinac, would have laid no little stress +on the sacrifices which their people were making. + +The month of August of this year (1691) was marked by one of the most +important and stubborn engagements which had yet taken place between the +French of Canada and their English and Indian enemies. The Iroquois, who +since the massacre at Schenectady had been doing a good deal of fighting +at the instance of their English allies, began to get a little tired of +the business, in which, as they thought, the parties most concerned were +not taking their proper share. They spoke out so plainly on the subject +that it was decided at Albany to organize an expedition of whites to act +in concert with the Mohawks and Mohegans or Wolves. The entire force, +the command of which was given to Major Peter Schuyler, consisted of two +hundred and sixty men, one hundred and twenty being English or Dutch, +and the rest Indians. Going by way of Lake Champlain they descended the +Richelieu to within a few miles of Chambly, where they left a detachment +to guard their canoes, and then pushed on towards Laprairie de la +Madeleine, the scene of Captain John Schuyler's exploit of the year +before. Here a force of seven or eight hundred men, under Callières, +was awaiting them, an English prisoner captured by an Indian party near +Albany having given information of their approach. As it happened, +however, Callières had been smitten with a serious fever, and was not +himself in active command. The regular troops were encamped to the left +of the fort, which was close to the river, and the Canadians and Indians +to the right. If a contemporary historian, Belmont,[51] may be trusted, +the Canadians were well supplied with brandy, and used it only too +freely. However that may have been, Schuyler's men, about an hour before +dawn, attacked the Canadian camp, and drove the enemy before them into +the fort, killing two or three, and also six Ottawa Indians who were +sleeping under their canoes. The firing roused the regulars who, rushing +to the scene, were met by a deadly volley. They rallied, however, and +Schuyler, finding himself greatly outnumbered, retreated to a ravine, +where he made a stand, and, as he states, repulsed his assailants. What +seems to be certain is that he made a deliberate retreat towards his +base on the Richelieu without being pursued, notwithstanding the +superiority of the enemy. Amongst those who were killed on the French +side were M. de St. Cirque, second in command to M. de Callières, M. +d'Hosta, a valuable officer who had accompanied Nicolas Perrot on his +mission to the Ottawas the year before, Captain Désquérat, and +Lieutenant Domergue. + +This, however, was not the end. Could Schuyler have retired after having +inflicted comparatively heavy loss on the enemy, and sustained but +little himself, he might have boasted of a signal success as these +things went. This, however, was a case in which _recipere gradum_ was +destined to be much the harder part of his task. There was an enemy +posted on the line of his retreat, and a brave and determined one. +Valrennes, an officer of birth and of tried ability, former commandant +of Fort Frontenac, had been sent to Chambly with a force consisting of +one hundred and sixty regulars and militia, together with thirty or +forty Indians, his instructions being to defend that place if attacked; +but, should the enemy take the road to Laprairie, then to post himself +in their rear and cut them off from their canoes. It was hoped in this +way to catch them between two fires. Had this scheme been fully carried +out, Schuyler's whole force would indubitably have been killed or +captured. Owing, however, to the unexplained inactivity of the main body +at Laprairie, the brunt of the second fight had to be borne by the +detachment under Valrennes, which was somewhat, though not much, +inferior in number to Schuyler's command. Valrennes posted his men +behind two large trees that had fallen across the road on an acclivity, +and, from this position of vantage, inflicted considerable loss upon the +invaders. The latter, however, exhibited great bravery, and finally +fought their way through, but were compelled to leave their dead behind +to the number of nearly forty. Schuyler, in his narrative of the +expedition, admits that he was uncommonly glad to see the last of so +obstinate a foe. Why the small band of about twenty-five men left in +charge of the canoes was not first overpowered, as it might easily have +been, and the canoes destroyed, does not appear. Schuyler on reaching +the river found men and canoes safe, and, re-embarking with his +diminished force, succeeded in regaining Albany. + +The courage and address displayed by Valrennes in this encounter won him +a great increase of reputation. As we have seen, the French lost a +number of valuable officers in the fight at Laprairie. The English loss +was almost entirely incurred in the second fight; in the first, Schuyler +says he lost but one Christian and one Indian. The reason given in the +French narrative for not pursuing the enemy is that, after an hour and a +half's fighting and some previous heavy marching, neither French nor +Indians had strength for any further exertion--that they could not even +have defended themselves had the fight been prolonged. This rather tends +to confirm Schuyler's statement that, after breaking through their +position, he turned about and forced them to retreat. He and his men +then effected their own retreat without molestation, carrying with them +their wounded, who must have been numerous. + +The news of the advance of the English had caused Frontenac to proceed +to Three Rivers with such troops as could be spared from Quebec. He had +not been there many days when news of the actual fighting came to hand. +A couple of days later Valrennes himself arrived with fuller details; +and gave so glowing an account of the valour of his troops and the +losses inflicted on the enemy, that the depression which had at first +been caused by the serious list of casualties amongst the officers, was +in a large measure removed. He was accompanied by the famous Indian, +Orehaoué, previously mentioned as having been brought out by Frontenac +from France, and who during this summer had been rendering valuable +service in different expeditions. This chieftain had with him an +Onondaga Indian captured by him in the West, whom he presented to +Frontenac. This was the day of reprisals, and Frontenac handed over the +unfortunate to the Algonquins to be dealt with after their manner. The +Algonquins were in due course proceeding to burn him, when a Huron gave +him a _coup de grâce_ with his tomahawk, which the writer of the +official narrative seems almost to think was a mistake, observing that +"the Algonquins are better judges of these things." + +Notwithstanding the decisive repulse of the Boston expedition, no small +anxiety was felt lest there might be a renewal of attack from the same +quarter. Phipps had threatened to come back, and shortly after his +arrival at Boston had sailed for England in the hope of engaging the +king's interest and assistance in the matter. Frontenac thought it +prudent, all things considered, to detain two of the ships which came +out in July until the 3rd September. He then commissioned one of them to +convey to Acadia M. de Villebon, whom he was sending to that province as +lieutenant-governor. The New Englanders had taken no measures whatever +for securing their control of the country; no officer of any kind, no +garrison, however small, had been left there to represent English +authority, so that all Villebon had to do was to haul down an English +flag which he found peacefully flying, and run up a French one in its +place. Reporting to the minister, M. de Pontchartrain, in a despatch +dated 20th October 1691, the re-establishment of French control, +Frontenac takes occasion to recommend that Boston should be attacked by +sea. Not only would it make Canada more secure, but there would be a +great satisfaction in destroying such a nest of hardened +parliamentarians. Frontenac's sympathies, as may be supposed, were all +with the Stuarts and the divine right of kings. Unfortunately for the +realization of his wishes, neither Frontenac nor his master had any +ships available for the suggested undertaking. All that was possible at +the moment was to incite the Abenaquis to inflict as much damage as +possible on the hated enemy. In a despatch written a few months earlier, +Frontenac had given a very lively account of the services rendered by +these faithful and bloodthirsty allies. "It is impossible," he says, +"to describe the ravages these Indians commit for fifty leagues around +Boston, capturing daily their forts and buildings, killing numbers of +their people, and performing incredible deeds of bravery." A little +discount must, perhaps, be taken off the "incredible bravery," as the +Indian mode of warfare was rather stealthy than brave; but Frontenac in +his despatches could always heighten the effect with a little judicious +rhetoric. Villebon, too, after arriving in his government, wrote direct +to the minister, eulogizing the same allies, and observing how dangerous +it would have been to Canada, if the Boston people had succeeded in +making a solid peace with them. In that case, instead of having to sail +round by the gulf, they could at any time march direct from Pentagouet +to Quebec in about twelve days. It was therefore of the utmost +importance to cultivate the friendship of the savages by means of +presents, and to keep them well supplied with arms. The idea of +attacking Boston was also very close to Villebon's heart. There would be +no difficulty about it, if only there were a few ships to spare, as its +situation was a most exposed one; and no town could be more easily +burnt, the streets being very narrow, and the houses all of wood. + +Canada at this time, there is no doubt, was suffering from severe +depression. Frontenac himself says that when the ships arrived in July, +"the colony was reduced to the greatest extremities." He estimated that +out of thirteen hundred soldiers maintained by the king at the date of +the attack on Quebec more than half had been "killed on divers occasions +or had died of disease." In all, he said, more than two thousand men, +"militia, regulars and veterans," had been lost in Canada since the war, +by which he probably means the war against the Iroquois commenced by his +predecessor. He asks that one thousand effective men should be sent "to +complete the twenty-eight companies his Majesty has hitherto maintained +here." The ships that arrived in July had not brought out any additional +troops. It must be confessed that it is a little difficult to understand +the loss of so many soldiers as Frontenac reports. The losses of men at +Quebec in repelling Phipps's attack--represented by the French accounts +as being very light, and which even the enemy did not pretend were very +heavy--fell chiefly on the militia; while, in the fights with Schuyler, +described by the French annalist as "the most obstinate battle that has +ever been fought in Canada since the foundation of the colony," the +acknowledged losses were only forty killed and about the same number +wounded. There is nothing on record to show that many perished in casual +skirmishes with the Indians, whose custom was to avoid troops whenever +possible. + +An expedition that deserves to be recorded was undertaken in the month +of February of the following year (1692), when some three hundred men +were sent to attack a band of Iroquois, understood to be hunting +somewhere between the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa. The leader of the +party was M. Dorvilliers, an officer who had distinguished himself in +the fight under Valrennes. At the very outset, however, Dorvilliers was +accidentally disabled, and the command fell upon a youthful officer of +engineers named Beaucour. The march through the forest was a terrible +one: the cold was intense, and, accustomed as the men were to the +rigours of the Canadian winter, they were rapidly losing heart, while +some of the Indians were refusing to follow. Nothing but the indomitable +spirit and courage of the leader saved the expedition from failure. He +gathered the men round him and harangued them in terms and tones that +gave new life to the whole party. Guided by the snowshoe tracks of the +enemy, they followed on for four hours longer, when they caught up to +and surprised them in their bivouac on an island in the St. Lawrence +about a day's march below Cataraqui. Few of the savages escaped; most +were killed in the first onset, but some, less fortunate, were captured +and taken to Quebec, where three of them were tortured and burned. To +avoid the same fate another killed himself in prison. + +It was in the month of October of the same year that an incident +occurred that has become the basis of what may be called one of the +classic tales of Canadian history, the defence of the fort at Verchères +by Madeleine, the fourteen-year-old daughter of the seigneur of the +place, then absent on duty at Quebec. The story is so fully and +interestingly told by Parkman in his _Count Frontenac and New +France_,[52] and is otherwise so well known, that it seems needless to +repeat it here. A people may well be proud who know that the blood of +such heroes and heroines as gave lustre to the early annals of Canada +flows in their veins. + +The conclusion to which Frontenac had come at this time was that the +raising of large levies of men and organizing formal campaigns against +so agile and elusive an enemy as the Iroquois was not a wise policy. He +states so distinctly in a letter to Pontchartrain, dated in October +1692. Such expeditions, he says, "make great noise and do little harm"; +he believes in "small detachments frequently renewed." There are some +people, he continues, who think differently, and are always urging the +Indians to entreat him to attempt something on a large scale. Who these +are does not appear, but Frontenac says: "I put them off and endeavour +to amuse them by always giving them hopes that I shall grant their +desire." Possibly Callières was the moving spirit. Strange to say, it +was only three months after writing thus that Frontenac gave his +sanction to an expedition of the very kind that he had objected to. +According to Champigny, indeed, he not only sanctioned but ordered it. +The campaign in question, like that undertaken by Courcelles +twenty-seven years before, was a midwinter one. The force raised +consisted of six hundred and twenty-five men, comprising over three +hundred of the most active young men of the country, one hundred picked +soldiers, and about two hundred Indians, chiefly mission Iroquois of the +Saut and the Mountain, but partly Hurons, Algonquins, and Abenaquis from +Three Rivers and the neighbourhood of Quebec. The expedition started +from Laprairie on the 25th January 1693, spent a night at Chambly, and +then pushed on for Lake Champlain, their destination being the country +of the Mohawks, for some time past their most troublesome enemies. Some +hunting was done by the Indians on the way, and it was not till the 16th +of February that they arrived within sight of the first of the Mohawk +forts. There was another fort less than a mile distant. Both were +attacked and captured simultaneously. There were only five defenders, we +are told, in the first and still fewer in the second. There was a more +important fort, however, about eight miles further away. This was taken +by surprise at night, though not without a skirmish in which one man was +killed on the French side, while some twenty or thirty of the Mohawks +were slaughtered; the rest, to the number of over three hundred, +two-thirds being women and children, surrendered. + +Hereupon ensued a little misunderstanding between the French and their +Indian allies. The former wanted the latter to kill all the male +prisoners of fighting age, appealing to a promise they had made before +starting that they would do so. The Indians declined, and the French +did not like to do the business themselves; possibly there would have +been trouble had they attempted it. The only course that remained was to +make the best of their way home, taking their prisoners with them. Their +movements were hastened by learning that Peter Schuyler was on their +track with a party of English and Indians. Immediately following on this +news came the information that peace had been declared in Europe, and +that Schuyler wished to hold a parley. The French leaders placed little +faith in this statement, but their Indians insisted on waiting to see +what Schuyler had to say. As the savages could not be moved, it was +decided to fortify a position and wait. Schuyler arrived, and fortified +a position of his own not far off. Some skirmishing followed, but no +parleying; and after a few days' delay the French slipped away by night. +Schuyler could not pursue them effectively for want of provisions. The +retreat to Canada was marked by the greatest misery and suffering. Most +of the prisoners had to be abandoned. Provisions that had been stored by +the way were found on their return to have been totally destroyed by +water. Several members of the party died of starvation, and others +became perfectly helpless. News of their desperate condition was sent by +special couriers to Callières, who at once despatched one hundred and +fifty men with provisions on their backs. "Never," says Champigny, "was +there such distress. They were four or five days without food. About one +hundred and twenty, overpowered and exhausted, remained behind till +they should be somewhat restored by the provisions we sent them. Two or +three died of hunger; many threw down their arms, and almost all arrived +without blankets, and scarcely able to drag their feet after them." The +general result might well have confirmed Frontenac in the opinion he had +previously expressed of such expeditions. + +The Ottawa River had been so infested by Iroquois war parties for the +last three years that it had been impossible for the Indians or +_coureurs de bois_ to use it as a channel of commerce, and the trade of +the country was consequently at a standstill. The financial situation +was indeed so gloomy that Frontenac, whose courage never failed him in a +crisis, determined to try heroic measures of relief. He accordingly +despatched M. d'Argenteuil with eighteen Canadians in four canoes to +convey his orders to M. de Louvigny, commanding at Michilimackinac, to +send down as large a party as he could of French and Indians with all +the skins they could convey. The mission was a perilous one, and the men +who engaged in it had to be well paid. With M. d'Argenteuil was sent +another detachment of twenty men under M. de Lavaltrie to accompany him +over what was considered the most dangerous part of the route. It does +not appear at what point Argenteuil and Lavaltrie parted. The former +reached his destination safely; the latter, on his return, was attacked +by a party of Iroquois near the head of the Island of Montreal and +killed with three of his men. This was not encouraging for the safe +arrival of the men from the West. What was almost unhoped for, however, +happened; and, to the immense joy and relief of the inhabitants, a +flotilla of nearly two hundred canoes laden with goods arrived on the +4th August (1693) at Montreal. Frontenac heard the news at Quebec on the +17th. Three days later he set out for Montreal, arriving on the 28th. +Seldom, if ever, had Montreal seen so much gaiety and good spirits; and, +if we may trust the official narrative of events, profuse and unbounded +were the expressions of praise and gratitude directed towards the head +of the Canadian state, the brave old governor, who in the darkest days +had never lost heart, nor allowed others to lose heart if he could help +it, and whose prowess and resource the enemy was again being taught to +respect. + +That one at least of the Iroquois nations was prepared for peace was +shown by the arrival at Montreal, in the month of June of this year, of +an Oneida chief, bringing with him a French captive named Damour, whom +he wished to exchange for a relative of his own in captivity at the +Saut. The main object of his visit, however, was evidently to talk about +peace. He was accordingly sent on to Quebec, where he had an interview +with the governor. He stated that the most influential of the Oneida +cabins were anxious for peace, and that the other nations were aware +that he had come to speak about it. Frontenac's answer was very firm. +If the nations wanted peace, he said, let them send duly authorized +delegates, and he would treat with them. The present chance was, +perhaps, the last they would have; and, if they did not seize it, he +would prosecute the war against them till they were exterminated. The +Oneida, Tareha by name, departed with this answer. In the month of +October he returned. He and his own people were still anxious for peace, +but the other nations wanted to have the negotiations carried on at +Orange. To this the count vehemently refused to assent. Meantime several +vessels had arrived from France with reinforcements and large supplies +of war material. M. d'Iberville also returned about the same time from +Hudson's Bay, bringing with him a couple of English trading ships that +he had picked up on the way, one being laden with a cargo of tobacco +from Virginia. The crops throughout the country were this year very +good, and, owing to the diminished activity of the enemy, had been saved +almost entire. + +Following on the arrival of the western Indians, M. de Tonty, with a +large body of _coureurs de bois_, had come down from the Illinois and +lake country to discuss questions of trade and defence and receive the +governor's orders for their future movements. After being well +entertained and receiving all necessary instructions, they departed +laden with fresh supplies and equipments, as well as with presents for +the tribes amongst whom they were stationed. While New France was thus +strengthened in its distant outposts its home defences had not been +neglected. Extensive improvements had been made in the fortifications of +Quebec, according to plans prepared by the celebrated French engineer +Vauban, and carried out under the superintendence of M. de Beaucour, the +officer already mentioned as having conducted a winter expedition +against the Iroquois. A new and very strong palisade had been erected +around Three Rivers; and the forts at Sorel and Chambly, virtually +outposts of Montreal, had been greatly strengthened. Taking everything +into account, there was much to justify a more confident and hopeful +feeling throughout the country. + +Meantime Frontenac's trusty allies, the Abenaquis, incited by the +governor of Acadia and their missionary priests, and led by M. de +Portneuf, a brother of M. de Villebon, had been fighting Canada's +battles on the New England frontier. In February 1692 a band of between +two and three hundred fell on the small frontier settlement of York, +situated on the Maine coast, not far from the New Hampshire border, and +killed, according to the French accounts, about a hundred persons, +chiefly women and children, taking at the same time about eighty +captives. New England authorities place the number of killed at +forty-eight, and that of the captives at seventy-three. Amongst the +slain was the minister of the parish, Dummer by name, a graduate of +Harvard, and a man greatly respected. His gown was carried off, and one +of the Indians afterwards, arraying himself in it, preached a mock +sermon to his companions. As soon as spring opened a body of the +warriors proceeded to carry the good news to Villebon, who had +established himself in a fort at a place called Naxouat, on the river +St. John, near the site of the present town of Fredericton, Port Royal, +as he thought, being too open to attack. Villebon received them right +royally. Speeches, drinking, and feasting were the order of the day, and +presents were distributed with calculated generosity. They had done +nobly, but there was more work of the same kind to be done. Their next +venture, however, was not equally successful. The settlement of Wells +was but a short distance from York, and thither they bent their steps in +the early summer. Some of the houses at Wells were fortified; one in +particular was defended by fifteen men under a militia captain named +Convers. Fourteen more men with supplies arrived in two sloops on the +9th June, the very day on which the enemy made their appearance. The +fourteen men managed to get into the fort, and the sloops, which were +stranded in the bay by the ebbing tide, were left with no defenders save +their crews. An unfortunate man named Diamond was captured in an attempt +to pass from the fort to the sloops. The latter were first attacked, but +the crew were well armed and shot two or three of the assailants, who +then desisted. Turning their attention to the fort they fired some +futile shots, and did not a little shouting and threatening. Enraged at +their want of success, they wreaked their fury on their unfortunate +captive, whom they mutilated horribly before putting him to death. Then, +after butchering all the cattle they could see, and burning some empty +houses, they departed. Some went to Naxouat to see Villebon, who +mentions in his journal that he "gave them a prisoner to burn, and that +it would be impossible to add anything to the tortures they made him +endure." Such was the frontier warfare of the time, and such were the +men who incited it and sanctioned its worst excesses. + +The hostility of the Abenaquis to the English was largely a cultivated +one. The French could not afford to let it die out, and the influence of +the missionaries was exerted in the same direction. Left to themselves, +these savages, who, like their western brethren, wanted English goods, +which were still cheaper at Boston than at Albany, would doubtless have +come to terms with their English neighbours. Two circumstances at this +time were inclining them to a change of policy. One was their ill +success at Wells, and the second the fact that Phipps, who had returned +from England in May 1692 with a commission as governor of Massachusetts, +had proceeded, in the summer of that year, to rebuild and render much +stronger than before the fort at Pemaquid, opposite Pentagouet, which +had been destroyed in 1689, and also to erect another at the falls of +the Saco. The one at Pemaquid had scarcely been completed before two +French vessels under the command of Iberville were sent against it by +Frontenac; and why they did not capture it has never been satisfactorily +explained. True, the government of Massachusetts had received word of +the approach of the enemy, and had sent an armed vessel for its +protection; but the advantage was still greatly on the side of the +French, who were under the command, moreover, of a man noted both for +daring and for capacity. Whatever the reason, the French vessels sailed +away without accomplishing anything. In August of the following year, +both forts being garrisoned and equipped, most of the chiefs, including +Madocawando, father-in-law of the famous Saint-Castin,[53] recognizing +how seriously their own position had been weakened by the establishment +of these outposts, negotiated a peace on behalf of their respective +tribes. The French leaders, lay and clerical, alarmed at this +abandonment of their cause, set to work at once to repair the mischief. +Certain of the tribes were still disposed for war; and the final result +of prolonged debate and a profuse distribution of presents, together +with skilfully contrived appeals to the mutual jealousy of the +different chieftains, was that the peace was repudiated by those who had +signed it, and that all alike declared for hostilities. + +This was in the month of June 1694. In July a force of over two hundred +Indians, accompanied by two missionaries, and conducted by Villieu, +successor to M. de Portneuf, who had been removed for peculation, +attacked by night the settlement of Oyster River, now Durham, some +twelve miles north-west of the present town of Portsmouth, New +Hampshire, and murdered one hundred and four persons, chiefly women and +children. A few days later a similar descent was made on the settlements +near Groton, fifty or sixty miles inland, where some forty persons were +killed. Then pushing on to Quebec, Villieu gratified Count Frontenac by +the exhibition of thirteen English scalps. More could have been had, but +these sufficed as samples. The scalps of many of the slain would have +been too pitifully small to add much grace to a warrior's belt. Villebon +himself says in his journal that "the slaughter did not stop even at +infants in the cradle." + +These deeds were wrought, in part at least, by men who, a short time +before, had signed a peace with the English. Phipps, who had proclaimed +the peace through the settlements, felt a measure of responsibility for +having, to that extent, induced a false sense of security among the +inhabitants. He repaired to Pemaquid, and sent messengers to invite +delegates of the tribes to meet him there. A number came. He reproached +them for their bad faith, and secured from them expressions of regret +and promises to keep the peace in future. It was in vain, however; his +work was quickly undone by the same influences which had been active +before in the perpetuation of strife. + +Phipps, whose appointment as governor had not been well received at +Boston, and who consequently found himself involved in constant +wrangling with some of the leading men of the place, was recalled about +this time to England, where he died in the following year (1695). His +successor, Stoughton, wrote a peremptory letter to the Abenaquis, +calling upon them to bring in the prisoners they had taken. Those on the +Kennebec returned a haughty answer; but a band from Father Thury's +mission approached Fort Pemaquid under a flag of truce, and entered into +a parley with the commandant, Chubb by name. Whether they sincerely +meant to treat for peace is uncertain; Villebon says they were only +pretending to do so. However this may have been, Chubb, without any +positive knowledge of treachery on their part, opened fire on them, +killed several, and made their chief, Egermet, a prisoner. A year later +two French vessels under command of Iberville appeared before Pemaquid, +landed cannon, and prepared to attack the place in concert with a large +band of Indians led by Saint-Castin. Chubb at first put on a bold front; +but scarcely had the firing begun before he offered to surrender, +stipulating only that the lives of the garrison should be spared, and +that they should be exchanged for French and Indian prisoners then at +Boston. Iberville honourably observed the conditions, though his Indian +allies, in their eagerness to be avenged on Chubb, were hard to +restrain. Their vengeance, however, was only deferred. Chubb was accused +at Boston of cowardice in surrendering the fort, and suffered +imprisonment there for some months. After his release he retired to his +home at Andover. Thither his relentless foes tracked him, and murdered +both him and his wife at their own fireside. + +[Footnote 51: As Belmont was a very ardent enemy of the drink traffic he +may have been a little inclined to exaggerate in these matters.] + +[Footnote 52: Chapter xiv.] + +[Footnote 53: The Baron de Saint-Castin had come to Canada in 1665 as an +ensign in the Carignan-Salières Regiment, being then only in his +seventeenth year. On the disbanding of the regiment he had gone to +Acadia, and betaken himself to the life of the woods. He became a famous +hunter and trader, and acquired great influence over the Indian tribes. +The chief Madocawando, as above mentioned, was his father-in-law, but he +had others.] + + + + + CHAPTER XII + + THE DRAMA OF WAR--PEACE AT THE LAST + + +Our narrative of the warfare on the New England frontier has somewhat +outrun that of events in Canada proper. The safe arrival of the canoes +from the West, the consequent revival of trade, and the comparative +immunity from attack enjoyed by the country towards the close of the +year 1693 had, as we have seen, made the governor more popular in the +country than ever before. Still there were not a few who acknowledged +his merits but grudgingly, while they had much to say in regard to the +defects of his administration. Charlevoix says that, could he only have +added to his own high qualities the virtues of his predecessor, the +pious Denonville, he would have been perfect, and the condition of the +colony would have left nothing to desire. Frontenac, however, could not +be a Denonville any more than Denonville could have been a Frontenac. He +was a religious man in the practical, businesslike way in which men with +strong political instincts and aptitudes are apt to be religious. There +was nothing mystical about him, and little that was sentimental. +Religion, in his opinion, was a good thing, but it had its own place; it +was meant to co-operate to good ends with the state, but not to dominate +the state. In France such views might have passed unchallenged, for +these were the days when Gallicanism was at its height, but in Canada +they met with keen opposition. There, as already remarked, the leaders +of the church hoped to be able to mould a state in which the secular +power should find its greatest glory in being the handmaiden of the +spiritual. + +Resuming the complaints made against the governor, Charlevoix tells us +that he was censured for his indulgence to the officers, whose esteem +and attachment he was very anxious to enjoy, and that he let all the +burden of the war fall on the colonists. There may have been a slight +measure of truth in the accusation; but it is certain that many officers +of the regular army died bravely fighting the battles of the country. +That the militia were, on the whole, better and more skilful fighters +than the regular troops was early discovered. Denonville, it may be +recalled, made some very disparaging remarks in regard to the latter on +the occasion of his expedition against the Senecas. Another accusation, +for which there was undoubted foundation, was that the officers were +allowed to retain the pay of the soldiers who received permission to do +civilian work. A soldier could always earn in one form or another of +manual labour, much more than his military wages amounted to; and the +custom sprang up of retaining and dividing amongst the officers the pay +of those who engaged in such labour. The court finally took cognizance +of the practice, and condemned it. Still more serious complaint was +made, Charlevoix says, of Frontenac's toleration of the liquor trade. He +quotes on this subject a letter written by an ecclesiastic, the Abbé de +Brisacier, to Père Lachaise, the king's confessor, in which it is stated +that "brutalities and murders are being committed in the streets of +Quebec by intoxicated Indian men and women, who in that condition have +neither shame nor fear." There is also a letter extant from the worthy +Superior of the Sulpicians at Montreal, M. Dollier de Casson, dated 7th +October 1691, to a friend in France, that is really pathetic in its +terms. If, he says, "our incomparable monarch" only knew the truth of +the matter, "the uprightness of his intentions would not be misled by +those numerous emissaries of the Evil One who spread the belief that +without liquor we should have no savages visiting us and no fur trade." +He speaks of liquor as "_un damnable ecueil_"--a damnable rock on which +the poor Indian makes shipwreck--and gives a pitiful account of some of +the horrors to be seen almost daily in the Indian missions. It may be +doubted whether the condition of things was any worse in this respect +under Frontenac than under Denonville, when the whole country seemed to +be more or less paralyzed through the excessive use of brandy. It may +possibly, indeed, have been better; the comparative efficiency of +military operations may not unreasonably be held to point in that +direction. + +Frontenac and Champigny were not openly at strife, but judging by a +letter written by the latter, and dated 4th November 1693, the governor +acted very tyrannically towards him. He quotes the bishop as saying +that Frontenac treats him (Champigny) worse than he ever treated +Duchesneau. He only puts up with it, he says, in order to carry out his +instructions to live peaceably with the governor at all costs, and in +the hope that the minister will appreciate the sacrifice he is making. + +Frontenac, when in France, had lived much at court, and had doubtless +witnessed and participated in many of the elaborate festivities which +royalty was wont to grace with its presence. It is not surprising that +he was ambitious to have some little echo of Versailles in his mimic +court at Quebec. Never had the public of that capital been so disposed +to relaxation and enjoyment as in the winter of 1693-4 when the country +seemed to see some days of prosperity and tranquillity before it. Great, +therefore, was the enthusiasm when in the holiday season two dramatic +representations were given at the château. Officers and ladies took part +in the performances, and the plays _Nicomède_ and _Mithridate_ were +wholly unobjectionable. Everybody was happy except the clergy, who saw +in such mundanities the most serious danger to the spiritual welfare of +the community. The Abbé Glandelet of the Seminary was the first to raise +a cry of alarm, preaching a sermon in the cathedral, in which he essayed +to prove that no one could attend a play without incurring mortal sin. +Then the bishop issued a mandate a little more moderate in its terms, +in which he distinguished between comedies innocent in their nature, but +which under certain circumstances may be dangerous, and those which are +absolutely bad and criminal in themselves, such as the comedy of +_Tartuffe_ and similar ones. _Tartuffe_, although his Majesty had +listened to it on more than one occasion, and entertained a particular +friendship for its author, was to the ecclesiastical world a terror. The +bishop had heard a report that it was to be put upon the boards next, +and fearing that his mandate alone might not have sufficient effect, he +took occasion of a chance meeting with Frontenac to offer him a thousand +francs if he would not produce it. Frontenac's friends say that he never +had any intention of producing it; but he took the bishop's money all +the same, and, it is stated, gave it next day to the hospitals. It is +somewhat remarkable that Frontenac should have taken the money whether +he did or did not intend to produce the play, and equally so that the +bishop should have considered him accessible to a purely pecuniary +argument in a matter of the kind. + +It has been mentioned that in the summer of 1693 an Oneida chief had +come to Quebec and talked of peace, and that, having gone back to his +people, he returned in October with propositions which the governor +contemptuously rejected. In the month of January following, two +messengers came from the Iroquois country to say that, if they could +have a safe-conduct, chiefs from each of the Five Nations would come +down with authority to negotiate for peace. A safe-conduct was promised, +but Frontenac expressly stipulated that one particular Onondaga chief, +Teganissorens, with whom he had had negotiations many years before, +should accompany the delegation. In April a number of delegates came, +but without Teganissorens. Frontenac refused to deal with them, and said +that if any of them dared to come to see him again without that chief, +he would put them into the kettle. This had its effect, for towards the +end of May two delegates from each nation came down, Teganissorens being +of the number. Belts were presented, and the language of the delegates +was all that could be desired. "Onontio," said Teganissorens, presenting +the sixth belt, "I speak to you in the name of the Five Nations. You +have devoured all our chief men, and scarce any more are left. I ought +to feel resentment on account of our dead. By this belt I say to you +that we forget them; and, as a token that we do not wish to avenge them, +we throw away and bury our hatchet under the ground, that it may never +more be seen. To preserve the living we shall think no more of the +dead." The personal appearance of the orator, known to the English as +Decanisora, has been described by Colden in his _History of the Five +Nations_, published in 1727. According to that author he was a tall, +well-formed man, with a face not unlike the busts of Cicero; and we know +from the French official narrative that he spoke with remarkable +fluency and grace. The count replied in a conciliatory manner; on both +sides there seemed to be good dispositions towards peace, but yet no +definite understanding was arrived at. The Iroquois wished to include +the English in the peace, but Frontenac, of course, was not at liberty +to make peace with a people with whom his master, the French king, was +at war. The savages agreed, however, to give up their prisoners; and +Orehaoué was sent with them to accept delivery of the captives and bring +them back. The Onondagas for some reason refused to surrender theirs, +but the other tribes made good the promise of their delegates. Among +those who were released were some who had been detained since the +massacre of Lachine, and in general they had not much complaint to make +of their treatment. It was a proud day for Orehaoué when, completing the +important duty entrusted to him, he was able to restore the long missing +ones to country and home. + +The majority of the tribes must have wished for peace, or they would not +have given up their prisoners. It was, however, as much against the +interest of the English to have peace established between the Iroquois +and the French, as it was against the interest of the latter that there +should be peace between the Abenaquis and the New Englanders. A long +period of intrigue followed, with plotting and counter-plotting between +the different parties concerned. The English on their side were striving +to stir up the Iroquois against the French, and the French on theirs to +incite the Abenaquis against the English; the Iroquois talked peace to +the French, but were working all the time to draw the Lake tribes away +from their alliance; while the French commanders in the West were doing +their best to keep their Indians on the war-path against the Iroquois. +Intrigue reigned too among the Lake tribes; for an influential chief +called the Baron was trying hard to persuade them to join the Iroquois. +Some horrible treacheries and cruelties were meantime being perpetrated +in that region. The French at Michilimackinac, where La Motte Cadillac +had replaced Louvigny, killed two Iroquois who had been brought into the +camp in the guise of prisoners, but who were suspected of being +emissaries from their nation acting in collusion with the Baron. The +latter and his associates were very angry at first, but in the end +yielded to the French, and handed over another Iroquois, whom they had +with them. The French determined, La Potherie says, to make an example +of him. The Ottawas were invited "to drink the broth of an Iroquois," +which they did after the victim had been put to death with cruel +tortures in which a Frenchman took the lead. Not long after four others +were similarly treated. The object, of course, in getting the Ottawas +and Hurons to participate in these cruelties was to render peace with +the Iroquois impossible. + +In the summer of 1695, Frontenac carried out his long-cherished design +of restoring the fort at Cataraqui. The scheme was strongly opposed by +the intendant, Champigny, who had managed in some way to win the court +over to his views. The expedition organized by Frontenac consisted of +seven hundred men, and was placed by him under the command of the +Marquis of Crisafy, a Neapolitan noble, who, as Charlevoix informs us, +had been guilty of treason in his own country, and so been obliged to +take service under the French king. Scarcely had the expedition started +before a letter from the Comte de Pontchartrain was placed in +Frontenac's hand enjoining him not to take any steps in the matter of +re-establishing the fort. Anything more _mal à propos_ could scarcely +have happened. Had Frontenac been a timid man, he would have sent a +messenger after Crisafy, and ordered him back; but his service of many +years in many lands had accustomed the veteran to taking responsibility; +and, persuaded as he was that he knew better what the interest of the +country required than the king and the minister put together, he allowed +the expedition to proceed. Within a month it had returned to Montreal +after having put the fort once more in a condition of defence at a cost +of sixteen thousand francs. Forty-eight men were left behind as a +garrison. Frontenac had now a base for the operations which he felt sure +would be required against the Iroquois, and which in point of fact were +carried out in the following year. The king, on hearing of what had +been done, did not censure the governor, but merely asked him to +consider carefully, in consultation with M. de Champigny, whether it was +really for the advantage of the colony that the fort should be +maintained. In the interest of harmony the court had for some time +followed the practice of writing to the governor and the intendant +jointly, and requiring them to make joint despatches. Notwithstanding +this prudent arrangement, each of the high officials managed to bring +his own private views before the minister or the king, as the case might +be. In joint consultations the will of Frontenac was pretty sure to +carry the day. His fort henceforth was safe. + +We may now, while a desultory and not very eventful warfare is being +waged between the colony and its traditional enemy, the Iroquois, and +while negotiations and intrigues are being carried on in triangular +fashion between the French, their allies, and the common foe, turn for a +few moments to another field, a far distant one, in which Canadian +enterprise, bravery, and military aptitude won repeated successes, and, +on one occasion at least, performed deeds of lasting renown. We have +already related the expedition under M. de Troyes to Hudson's Bay in the +summer of 1686 in which Iberville and his brother Ste. Hélène took part. +Troyes returned to Quebec in the same year, and, as we have seen, joined +Denonville's campaign against the Senecas. Iberville seems to have +remained in the Hudson's Bay country till the following year, for we +hear of his returning to Quebec in the fall of 1687 with a large amount +of booty in the way of furs. The Hudson's Bay Company of England, in a +petition which they addressed to the king asking for redress, put the +amount of loss they had sustained by this expedition at £50,000, quite +probably an over-valuation. After this adventure Iberville, in company +with his brother Maricourt, seems to have gone to France; but two years +later both are in the bay again defending Fort Albany against an English +vessel. Later in the year, in the absence of Iberville, who had gone to +Quebec with a cargo of furs, the English possessed themselves of the +fort; but, returning in the summer of 1690, he wrested it from them +again, and again sailed to Quebec with furs, this time to the value of +80,000 francs. The next year he went to France, and in July 1692 +returned with two French vessels _L'Envieuse_ and _Le Poli_, destined +for operations in Hudson's Bay. As he did not reach Quebec, however, +till the 18th August, it was considered that the season was too far +advanced for an attempt in that quarter; and the vessels were +consequently diverted to Acadia in order that they might operate against +the newly erected fort at Pemaquid. As stated in our last chapter, the +expedition proved a failure. In the following year _Le Poli_, which +Iberville had taken back to France, was sent out again to Canada with a +companion vessel, _L'Indiscret_. It was intended that they should +proceed to Hudson's Bay, but they only arrived at Quebec on the 22nd +July, and, as the king had expressly stipulated that _Le Poli_ should +return to France that year, every practical man in Canada saw at once +that she at least could not take part in the expedition. Then could +there be any expedition? It was at first proposed that Iberville should +make the best he could of _L'Indiscret_ and an English ship he had +captured on the way out, the _Mary Sarah_; and a number of French +captains who were in port at the time were formed into a commission to +report on the matter from a practical point of view. Their report, made +on the 7th August, was unfavourable as regarded both vessels. +_L'Indiscret_ does not seem to have had any armament, and though guns +could have been provided for her at Quebec, the captains doubted whether +either decks or hull were strong enough to admit of her conversion into +an effective fighting ship, or indeed whether she was suitable at all +for northern navigation. As to the _Mary Sarah_, she was a very poor +sailer, and would only prove an embarrassment. Iberville, who of course +expected, if he went, to winter in the bay, said he must have a full +year's provisions for the party; and one of the points the captains +inquired into was whether there was accommodation in the ships for all +the stores required. As one of the necessities of the voyage they put +down 154 barriques of wine, or, alternatively, 38 of brandy. As the +barrique contains something over 50 gallons, the estimate was for about +2000 gallons of brandy, not an illiberal allowance. The upshot of the +matter was that there was no expedition that year, and that the English +had all their own way in the bay, capturing once more the fort at +Albany, together with furs to the value, as stated, of 150,000 francs, +the property of the Compagnie du Nord. + +The news of this serious loss arrived at Quebec in August just after the +idea of an expedition had been abandoned, and was carried to France by +M. de Serigny, one of Iberville's brothers. The French government +thereupon determined to organize a strong force for the purpose of +securely establishing French supremacy in those northern waters. Serigny +was accordingly sent back to Quebec in the summer of 1694, with +instructions to Frontenac to lend as many soldiers as he could spare for +the enterprise. No time was lost in executing the order. On the 10th +August Iberville with Serigny and another brother M. de Châteauguay, and +over a hundred picked Canadians set sail for Hudson's Bay in two +frigates of twenty and thirty guns respectively. The first point of +attack was to be Port Nelson on the west side of the bay, garrisoned by +about fifty English, and mounting thirty-six cannon. Having arrived at +the place on the 24th September, Iberville demanded its surrender, which +was refused. The assailants had much the advantage in strength, and on +the 13th October the fort surrendered. The Canadians took up their +quarters there for the winter; and when summer came Iberville decided to +wait in the neighbourhood in the hope of capturing one or two English +trading vessels which were expected to arrive. None came, however, and +he set sail in September, leaving La Forest in charge with sixty men. +Contrary winds rendering his return to Canada difficult, he steered his +course for France, and arrived safely at Rochelle, where he wrote out a +full account of his adventures and achievements. + +It was related in the last chapter how, in the following year (1696), +Iberville, in conjunction with Saint-Castin and the neighbouring +Indians, had captured and destroyed the English fort of Pemaquid, on the +west side of what is now Penobscot Bay. His instructions were, as soon +as this had been accomplished, to sail for Newfoundland, take St. +John's, and harry the English settlements strewn along the eastern +coast. This enterprise had been carefully prepared beforehand, and a +number of fishing vessels from St. Malo had been armed for the purpose. +There was a French governor stationed at Placentia, M. de Brouillan, to +whom instructions had been sent to co-operate with M. d'Iberville. All +accounts agree in saying that this officer was a man of an extremely +surly and jealous temper. Anxious to win the glory and profit of +capturing St. John's without assistance, he did not await the arrival of +Iberville before setting out on the enterprise. With the help of the St. +Malo men he captured one or two English vessels; but, owing to +disagreements that arose between him and his men, nothing more was +accomplished. Returning to Placentia he found that Iberville with his +Canadians had arrived. Some dispute arose as to who should command the +combined force; finally it was agreed that Iberville should have that +honour. It is doubtful whether the Canadians would have consented to +serve under any other leader. The capture of St. John's was effected on +the 1st December; but no booty of any consequence was taken, as some +English vessels had shortly before removed everything of value. Then +followed a cruel winter raid on the poor fisher-folk of the coast who +were not in a condition to make any resistance. All the hamlets were +burned, and the French writers say that two hundred of the English +inhabitants were killed, surely a most unnecessary slaughter. + +Other work and other laurels somewhat worthier of a warrior's brow were, +however, awaiting the redoubtable Canadian chief. In the month of May +1697, when the desolation in Newfoundland was complete, his brother +Serigny arrived from France with five ships of war, the _Pelican_, the +_Palmier_, the _Wasp_, the _Profond_, and the _Violent_. Port Nelson had +again fallen into the hands of the English; and this expedition, which +Iberville was to command, had been organized for the purpose of retaking +it. For trading purposes it was much the most important port on the bay, +being the outlet of a vast fur-bearing region stretching towards Lake +Superior. It was July before the squadron sailed from Placentia, +Iberville taking command of the _Pelican_, and his brother of the +_Palmier_. One ship carrying stores was crushed and lost amid floating +ice, though the crew were saved. The others were in great danger. When +the _Pelican_ got free her companions were nowhere to be seen, and +Iberville pursued his way towards Port Nelson alone, hoping that the +other vessels would make their appearance after a time. He had nearly +reached his destination when three sail did heave in sight, which he +took to be the missing vessels. He was soon undeceived. They were armed +English merchantmen--the _Hampshire_, of fifty-two guns; the _Daring_, +of thirty-six; and the _Hudson's Bay_, of thirty-two. The chances looked +bad for the _Pelican_, which had but forty-four; but Iberville was +accustomed to taking chances, and he did not decline the unequal fight. +The French commander had the advantage of the wind, and seems not to +have engaged more than one vessel at a time. After some hours of +cannonading he came to close quarters with the _Hampshire_, and, +delivering some terrible broadsides, caused her to sink in that dreary +sea with all on board. The _Hudson's Bay_, which he next attacked, soon +struck her flag, while the _Daring_, doing little honour or justice to +her name, seized a favouring wind and escaped. The _Pelican_ had by no +means escaped Scot free. So badly shattered was she that, having +stranded a few miles from the fort, and a gale having sprung up, she +went to pieces. Some of the crew were lost, while, of those who reached +land, a number died from cold and exhaustion. Snow was lying a foot deep +on the ground; and had it not been for the timely arrival of the +missing vessels, the whole party would doubtless have perished, unless +they could have made their way to the fort and thrown themselves on the +mercy of the enemy. As it was, the work of the expedition was now +proceeded with. Cannon and mortar were landed. The fort was only +protected by a palisade, and though it mounted a few light cannon, it +was quite unable to withstand a bombardment. The commandant, therefore, +though at first he refused to surrender, was soon compelled to lower his +flag. He obtained honourable terms for his garrison, but was obliged to +hand over a vast quantity of furs. Iberville after this signal +triumph--a triumph, as Parkman describes it, "over the storms, the +icebergs, and the English"--left his brother in charge of the captured +fort, and, taking the two best vessels left, sailed for France, where he +arrived early in November. + +The news which greeted him there was that, just about the time he was +sailing from the bay, peace had been signed[54] between England and +France. By the terms of the peace Louis was to acknowledge William III +as rightful King of England and Anne as his successor, and to withdraw +all assistance from the exiled James. As regards the colonies, the most +important provision was that the _status quo ante bellum_ should be +re-established. Thus the gallant fight that Iberville had waged, one +against three, and all the bitter hardships which he and his men had +endured by sea and land, had been in vain. Port Nelson and the other +ports in Hudson's Bay would have to revert to the English. All boundary +questions in dispute between the two nations were to be settled by +commissioners appointed for that purpose. + +Returning now to Canada, and going back a year and a half in our +narrative, that is to say, to the early summer of 1696, we find Count +Frontenac making his plans for the campaign he had for some time felt to +be necessary against the Iroquois, but particularly against the most +obstinately hostile nation of the confederacy, the Onondagas. He had no +great reason to think that the court desired him to engage in this +enterprise, for all the counsels he had lately been receiving from that +quarter had been in favour of contraction rather than expansion, of +peaceful rather than warlike measures. He trusted, however, that if he +signally succeeded, as he expected to do, all would be not only condoned +but approved, including his disobedience of orders in re-establishing +Fort Frontenac the year before, a matter in regard to which he had not +heard from the court as yet. The expedition as organized was one which +certainly should have been adequate for the punishment of the Iroquois, +if they would only stay to be punished. It consisted of four battalions +of regulars of two hundred men each, and four of militia, numerically +somewhat stronger. With these were five hundred mission Indians, +Iroquois from the Saut, near Montreal, and Abenaquis from Sillery, near +Quebec. Two battalions of regulars, with most of the Indians, +constituted the vanguard, which was under the command of M. de +Callières. The militia, under M. de Ramesay, Governor of Three Rivers, +were placed in the centre, while M. de Vaudreuil brought up the rear, +consisting of the two remaining battalions of regulars and the rest of +the Indians. Frontenac himself, with his staff and a number of +volunteers, took a position between the van and the centre. In this +order the expedition started from Lachine on the 6th July. In fifteen +days it had reached Fort Frontenac, where it halted a week, awaiting the +arrival of a contingent of Ottawas which La Motte Cadillac had promised +to send from Michilimackinac. As this reinforcement did not arrive, the +expedition pushed on, and in two days reached the mouth of the Oswego +River. Here the rapids proved very difficult, and several portages were +necessary. On these occasions the count, notwithstanding his +seventy-five years, was prepared to foot it like the rest; but the +Indians would have none of it: they raised him aloft in his canoe, +"singing and yelling with joy." + +On the 4th August the army reached the principal fort of the Onondagas +only to find it abandoned and burnt. There was nothing to do but, as on +former similar occasions, to destroy the corn. An old Onondaga Indian +who had remained in the neighbourhood was captured and put to death with +horrible tortures, which he endured with the greatest fortitude; +reviling his enemies with his latest breath, and calling the French +"dogs," and their Indian allies "the dogs of dogs," bidding them, at the +same time, to learn from him how to suffer when their turn should come. +While such havoc as was possible was being wrought in the Onondaga +habitations, Vaudreuil was detached from the main force to do similar +damage in the country of the Oneidas. As he approached their village, +some deputies of the tribe came forward to offer submission, and beg +that their crops might not be destroyed, but Vaudreuil told them he had +to obey his orders, and that, if they chose, they might come and dwell +with the French, where they would not want for anything. While the +detachment was engaged in the work of destruction news came that a force +of three hundred English was marching to attack them, whereupon the +Abenaquis expressed great joy, saying that they would not need to waste +powder on such enemies, their tomahawks and knives would be enough. The +English did not come, however. Governor Fletcher, of New York, was on +the move; but, by the time he had gathered a force, he learnt that the +French had gone. It is difficult to see in what respect this campaign, +which was precisely of the kind that Frontenac had said a few years +before he did not approve, was more effectual than that of Denonville in +1687; Frontenac, nevertheless, represented it to the king as a notable +victory. He could be pious in his phraseology when he liked; and he +wrote that the Iroquois had been smitten at his approach with a panic +which could only have come from Heaven. The Iroquois were surely in hard +luck in having to fight, at the same moment, human foes in superior +numbers, and armed with superior weapons, and celestial ones capable of +paralyzing their faculties in the moment of their greatest need. But not +more actively did the gods and goddesses of Olympus intervene on the +plain of Troy on behalf of well-greaved Greeks or horse-taming Trojans +than did the higher powers, if we can trust the narratives of the time, +on behalf of the well-musketed Canadians. + +On the 10th August the return journey was begun, and on the 20th the +army reached Montreal. Some lives had been lost in the rapids; otherwise +there had been no casualties. In concluding his letter to the king, +Frontenac, after praising the officers under his command, particularly +M. de Callières, put in a modest word for himself: "I do not know +whether your Majesty will consider that I have tried to do my duty, and, +if so, whether you will judge me worthy of some mark of honour such as +may enable me to live the brief remainder of my life in some +distinction. However your Majesty may decide, I must humbly beg you to +believe that I am prepared to sacrifice the remainder of my days in your +Majesty's service with the same ardour which I have always hitherto +displayed." His Majesty was graciously pleased to say in reply, by the +mouth of the minister, that he was entirely satisfied with the count's +expedition against the Onondagas and Oneidas, and with his whole +conduct. After dealing with other matters the minister added: "Until his +Majesty has it in his power to bestow on you more marked proofs of his +satisfaction, he has granted you his Military Order of St. Louis, and +you will find herewith his permission to you to wear its cross." This +was a distinction of which his subordinate Callières, as well as M. de +Vaudreuil and the intendant, Champigny, were already in enjoyment; yet +it was all that the very decided merit of M. de Frontenac was able to +extract. It is said that the violent take the kingdom of heaven by +force; but it is also said that the meek shall inherit the earth. +Frontenac tried to make his way by dint of self-assertion, but in the +end his success was only moderate. The enemies whom he thrust aside, or +cowed into silence, could whisper at opportune moments, and their +whispers did him no good; while sometimes they could secure +gratifications for themselves decidedly worth having. + +Various inconclusive negotiations for peace followed the Onondaga +campaign; and things dragged on in this way till news came in January +1698, though not through an authorized channel, of the signing of the +Peace of Ryswick. The officer in command at Albany, Peter Schuyler, had +deputed Captain John Schuyler and one Dellius to carry the news to +Callières at Montreal. Frontenac received it at Quebec a few days later. +The messengers stated that a new governor was coming out to New +York--the Earl of Bellomont--and mentioned that instructions had been +given to their Indians to cease their warfare against the French. +Frontenac sent a reply stating that he would have to await confirmation +of the news from his own government; but he did not think it well to +recognize that part of the message which assumed, on the part of the +English, authority over the Iroquois. Early in the following June (1698) +Schuyler and Dellius came, bringing some twenty French prisoners of all +ages, and also a letter from the Earl of Bellomont to Frontenac, +forwarding copies in French and Latin of the treaty of peace, and +proposing that Frontenac should give up all his Iroquois prisoners to +him, undertaking, on his part, to secure the restoration of all the +French prisoners whom the Iroquois might be holding. This brought things +to an issue. Frontenac replied in firm but courteous terms, saying that, +although he was still without advices from his government, he was +prepared to hand over all English prisoners in his custody, but that he +could not understand how his Lordship could have instructed his +delegates to ask for the return of the Iroquois prisoners. The Iroquois +had been uninterruptedly subjects of the French king from a time prior +to the taking of New York by the English from the Dutch. So far as they +were concerned, therefore, the Earl of Bellomont need not give himself +any trouble, as they were suing for peace, had engaged to restore all +their French prisoners, and had given hostages for the fulfilment of +their promise. He also referred, as a further proof of French authority, +to the missions which they had maintained among the Iroquois for over +forty years. This letter was dated 8th June. Bellomont replied on the +13th August, manifesting much irritation at Frontenac's refusal to +recognize the Iroquois as English subjects, and consequently covered by +the peace. He told Frontenac that he had sent word to those nations to +be on their guard, that he had furnished them with arms and munitions of +war, and promised them assistance in case they were attacked. As to the +Jesuit missionaries, the Indians had repeatedly entreated him "to expel +those gentlemen from amongst them," their wish being "to have some of +our Protestant ministers among them, instead of your missionaries, in +order for their instruction in the Christian religion." Here was a +pretty quarrel right on the head of a peace! Frontenac replied with his +customary firmness, saying that he would pursue his course unflinchingly +and insist on the fulfilment by the Iroquois of the engagement they had +entered into before the declaration of peace. He referred to the fact +that commissioners were to be appointed to decide questions of boundary, +and said that, such being the case, the earl had taken too absolute a +position. Here the correspondence ended so far as Frontenac was +concerned. He was fighting in a losing cause, for the claim of England +to the territory in dispute was shortly afterwards recognized. He could, +however, at least say that the cause was not lost through him; to the +last he maintained with courage, resolution, and dignity, what he held +to be the rights of his sovereign. As regards the formal establishment +of peace with the Iroquois it was not to be in his time. His last +despatch to the court bears date the 25th October. He tells the minister +that the Iroquois, who had promised to come and conclude peace and bring +back their prisoners, have not yet done so, and that he has no doubt +they are held back by the Earl of Bellomont. The minister answers that, +to prevent a continuation of disputes, he had consented that the tribes +in question should remain undisturbed and enjoy the peace concluded at +Ryswick. The boundary question would be settled in due time by the +commissioners appointed for that purpose. + +This reply Count Frontenac was not destined to see. Three months, +indeed, before it was penned the curtain had fallen upon his eager, +strenuous, and, broadly speaking, honourable life. About the middle of +November he fell ill. He was in his seventy-ninth year. In a few days, +if not from the first, he knew that he had passed into the shadow of +death, that he was at last meeting One whom he could not conquer. The +old man made all his arrangements with admirable calmness. On the 22nd +November he sent for the notary to make his will. He expressed a desire +to be buried, not in the cathedral church, but in that of the +Récollets, whose milder theology had best suited his practical and +somewhat Erastian turn of mind. He makes pecuniary provision for a daily +mass on his behalf for one year, and a yearly one thereafter on the +anniversary of his death, Mme. de Frontenac to share in it after her +death. His heart was to be placed in a chapel of the Church of St. +Nicolas des Champs at Paris, where the remains of his sister, Mme. de +Monmort, were already reposing. A merchant of Quebec, François Hazeur, +and his private secretary, are named as his executors. He requests +Champigny to support his friends in having his wishes carried out. He +bequeaths to him a crucifix of aloes wood, and to Mme. de Champigny a +reliquary. The bishop, M. de Saint Vallier, came to see him several +times during his illness, as also did the intendant; death, not for the +first time, was acting the part of reconciler. It was rather expected by +the clerical party that, in his last moments, the old warrior would +express deep contrition for his deficiencies on the religious side and +his frequent opposition to the policy of the church; but in this they +were disappointed. "God gave him full time," says an anonymous critic of +the period, who has annotated very harshly the funeral sermon preached +over his remains, "to recognize his errors, and yet to the last he +showed a great indifference in all these matters. In a word, he behaved +during the few days before his death like one who had led an +irreproachable life and had nothing to fear." The last rites of +religion were administered by the Récollet father, Olivier Goyer, and on +the 28th November 1698, retaining his faculties to the last, the veteran +passed peacefully away. + +What manner of man he was, this narrative, it may be trusted, has in +some measure shown. Compounded of faults and virtues, his was a +character that appealed strongly to average human nature. Common people +understood, admired and trusted him. His faults were those common, +everyday ones,[55] which it is not impossible to forgive; and he had the +more than compensating virtues of courage, decision, simplicity, +underlying kindliness, and humour. His nature, vehement, turbulent, and +self-asserting throughout his early and middle manhood, was gaining +towards the end that ripeness in which, according to Shakespeare, lies +the whole significance of life. The Abbé Gosselin has defined with great +exactness his attitude towards religion. "Frontenac," he says, "was a +Christian and a religious man after the fashion of his time, and as +people generally are in the great world; attached to the church, but +with all the Gallican ideas of the period, according to which the church +was only a dependency of the state; making it a point of honour to +discharge the duties incumbent on a gentleman and a Christian, but +drawing a clear distinction between the demands of duty and those of +perfection."[56] The late Abbé Verreau, quoted by Gosselin in his _Life +of Laval_, has a few words of mingled praise and blame, which, perhaps, +in their general effect are not far from the truth. "The harsh doctrines +of Jansenism," he says, "and domestic troubles had infused into his +nature something unrefined which the outward manners of the aristocrat +did not entirely conceal. . . . When, however, he yielded to the natural +bent of his mind, he attracted every one by the intellectual grace and +charm of his conversation. . . . His ambition was to be in New France +the reflection of the great monarch who ruled in Old France." The Abbé +probably exaggerates the effect of Jansenist doctrines upon the mind of +Frontenac, and also that of his conjugal difficulties; but he rightly +discerns an element in his character which clashed with his finer and +more distinguished qualities. + + * * * * * + +There is no known extant portrait of Frontenac. For many years a certain +photograph was sold at Quebec as representing him on his death-bed, and +was reproduced in different works relating to Canadian history. Parkman, +the historian, sent it to the late M. Pierre Margry of Paris, the +well-known authority on early Canadian history, who at once pronounced +that it was not a portrait of Frontenac at all, but had been taken from +one of the illustrations published in Lavater's celebrated work on +physiognomy, the original being a German professor of the name of +Heidegger. How it ever came to pass for a portrait of Frontenac remains +a mystery. The matter is fully discussed in Mr. Ernest Myrand's work, +_Sir William Phipps devant Quebec_. So far as appears, it was through a +correspondence between Mr. Myrand and M. Pierre Margry, that the fact of +the unauthenticity of the alleged portrait of Frontenac first became +known in Canada. + +The funeral sermon over the deceased governor was preached by the +Récollet father who had attended his death-bed, and the manuscript of it +is still preserved in the library of Laval University. The eulogium of +the sympathetic father may here and there be a little forced; but surely +a generous meed of praise was due to the man who, when past the meridian +of life, had undertaken and borne unflinchingly for many years the +burden of so difficult and dangerous an administration as that of +Canada. The manuscript has been annotated by an anonymous and unfriendly +ecclesiastical hand, one of whose criticisms is quoted above. The +critic's point of view is further indicated by the comment on the +preacher's statement that Frontenac diligently practised the reading of +spiritual books. "As for his reading, it was often Jansenist books, of +which he had a great many, and which he greatly praised and lent freely +to others." The _odium theologicum_ here is not difficult to discern. +The people, however, who cared little for theological subtleties and +animosities, but who judged their fallen chief as a man and an +administrator, mourned him sincerely. His death was announced by the +intendant to the king in words that are almost touching; and Callières, +a good soldier, and a man after his own heart, ruled in his stead. + +[Footnote 54: The Peace of Ryswick, 20th September 1697.] + +[Footnote 55: [Greek: Ta koina tôn anthrôpôn pathê.]--Aristotle, +_Rhet._ vii.] + +[Footnote 56: _Monseigneur de Saint Vallier et son Temps_, p. 32.] + + + + + INDEX + + + + + INDEX + + + A + + Abenaquis Indians, hostile to New England, 240; + incited by Governor Denonville, 249; + ravages committed by, 316; + attack settlement of York, 326; + repulsed at Wells, 327; + disposed to make peace with New England, 328; + French influence in opposite direction prevails, 330; + attack settlement of Oyster River, 330; + fired on from Fort Pemaquid, under flag of truce, 331 + + Acadia, attempt to form settlement in, 6; + seized by English under Kirke, 22; + subsequent vicissitudes, 268-72; + seized under orders from Cromwell, 268; + settlers disposed to trade with New England, 270; + Port Royal (Annapolis) made capital, 270; + visited by Meulles and Saint Vallier, and census taken, 271; + Port Royal and other posts captured by Phipps, who establishes + government, 274; + passes again under French control, 316 + + Agriculture in Canada, difficulties in the way of, 87 + + Aguesseau, Chancellor d', on French parliaments, 153 + + Ailleboust, M. d', succeeds Montmagny as governor, 35; + interim governor, 42 + + Albany, Fort, captured by Troyes, 206; + captured alternately by French and English, 343, 345 + + Andros, Sir Edmund, governor of New England, 263; + seized and imprisoned, 266 + + Argenson, Vicomte d', arrives as governor, 43; + on Laval, 45 + + Auteuil, Denis Joseph Ruette d', attorney-general, 106; + death of, 138 + + Auteuil, François d', son of Denis, succeeds him, 138; + makes trouble for Intendant Meulles, 174; + waits on Frontenac, 255 + + Avaugour, Baron Dubois d', governor, 45; + disagrees with clergy on liquor question, 46; + describes earthquake, 46 + + + B + + Ball, first given in Canada, 59 + + Beaucour, M. de, brave conduct of, in command of party against + Iroquois, 319; + superintends improvements in fortifications of Quebec, 326 + + Bellomont, Earl of, governor of New York, corresponds with Frontenac, + 355 + + Belmont, Abbé, on number of captives taken at Lachine, 226; + on excessive use of brandy, 312 and note + + Bernières, Henri de, grand-vicar of bishop of Quebec, 111 + + Berthier, M. de, commands militia in campaign against Iroquois, 209 + + Bienville, Le Moyne de, joins war party against Schenectady, 235 + + Big Mouth (Grande Gueule), Onondaga orator, 184, 221 + + Bizard, officer of Frontenac, arrested by Perrot, 91 + + Boulduc, prosecutor of Prévôté, dismissed, 138 + + Bourdon, Sister Anne, on divine protection of Quebec, 301 + + Bourgeoys, Sister Margaret, establishes Congrégation de Notre Dame, + 29, 39; + impressed on arrival by poverty of country, 39 + + Bradstreet, Simon, made governor of Massachusetts, 266; + on failure of expedition against Quebec, 301 + + Brouillan, M. de, French governor at Placentia, Newfoundland, 346 + + Bruey, agent of governor Perrot at Montreal, 97 + + Buade, Antoine de, grandfather of Frontenac, 61 + + Buade, Henri de, father of Frontenac, 61 + + Buade, Louis de, Count Frontenac, see _Frontenac_ + + Bullion, Mme. de, benefactress of Hôtel Dieu at Montreal, 29 + + + C + + Caen, William de, head of trading company, 23 + + Caen, Emery de, takes over Quebec from the English, 23 + + Callières, M. de, memorandum by, on French claims in Hudson's Bay, 204; + commands regular troops in attack on Iroquois, 209; + sent to France to represent situation of colony, 230; + leads 800 men from Montreal to defence of Quebec, 292; + commands vanguard in attack on Onondagas, 351; + commended in despatches, 353; + succeeds Frontenac as governor, 362 + + Canada, population of, 36, 55, 58, 131, 147, 148; + poverty of, impresses Sister Margaret Bourgeoys, 39; + morals of the people, 58, 59; + over-governed, 131; + trade, 148; + affected by all the vicissitudes of Mother Country, 150, 151; + "farmers" of revenue appointed for, 154; + Bishop Saint Vallier's first description of country and inhabitants, + 192; + Governor Denonville's description, 192; + Saint Vallier's revised opinion, 193; + real character of the people, 193-5; + state of depression throughout the country, 219, 240; + drinking habits of people, 223; + described by Laval as the country of miracles, 301; + exhaustion of, after departure of New England fleet, 305, 317 + + Carignan-Salières Regiment sent out, 51; + some of the officers settle in Canada and become seigneurs, 57 + + Carion, officer at Montreal, refuses to recognize Frontenac's order + for arrest of _coureurs de bois_, 91 + + Cartier, Jacques, voyages of, 1 + + Cataraqui, expedition of Courcelles to, 59; + of Frontenac, 76-84; + fort, known afterwards as Fort Frontenac, erected at, 83 + + Census of 1666, 55 + + Chambly, fort erected at, 51 + + Chambly, M. de, appointed governor of Acadia, 90, 269; + taken prisoner to Boston and there set at liberty, 269; + again governor, 270; + governor of Grenada (W.I.), 270 + + Champigny, Jean Bochart de, intendant, 207; + captures peaceful Indians for king's galleys, 215; + on sufferings of expeditionary force sent against Mohawks, 322; + complains of Frontenac's treatment of him, 336; + opposes restoration of Fort Frontenac, 341 + + Champlain, Samuel de, early career of, 3; + sails for St. Lawrence and explores river to Lachine rapids, 4; + explores Baie des Chaleurs, returns to France, 5; + accompanies de Monts to Acadia, 7; + founder of Quebec, 8; + plot against his life, 8; + expedition against Iroquois, 9; + returns to France and sails again for Canada, 10; + returns to France, marries, and sails again for Canada, 11; + prospects Island of Montreal, 12; + returns to France (1611), sails for Canada (1613), again to France, + again to Canada (1615), 13; + brings out Récollet missionaries, 13; + heads another expedition against Iroquois, 14; + begins construction of Château St. Louis, 15; + surrenders Quebec to English under Kirke, 20; + landed in England, 21; + urges restitution of Canada, 22; + sails for Quebec (1633), 24; + death of, 26 + + Chapais, M. Thos., his work on Talon referred to, 57 (note) + + Charlevoix, Père, on bravery of Canadians and indifferent conduct of + French troops, 212; + on Lachine massacre, 224, 227; + on old age of François Hertel, 235 (note); + his account of "flag" incident in siege of Quebec, 295; + on character and conduct of Frontenac, 333-6 + + Charny-Lauson, temporary governor, 42 + + Chastes, M. de, trading patent granted to, 3; + death of, 5 + + Châteaufort, M. de, interim governor after death of Champlain, 27 + + Château St. Louis, Quebec, construction begun, 15 + + Chauvin, obtains patent for exclusive trade in Canada, 2; + sails to St. Lawrence, 3 + + Chedabucto (Guysborough, N.S.), Frontenac arrives at, 232 + + Chubb, commandant of Fort Pemaquid, fires on Indians while under flag + of truce, 331; + killed, 332 + + Clarke, Captain, killed at Fort Loyal, two daughters taken to Quebec, + 303 + + Clément, Pierre (author of _Vie de Colbert_), on causes of failure of + West India Company, 149; + on galley service, 215 + + Clermont, Chevalier de, killed in skirmish on Beaufort flats, 294 + + Colbert, creates West India Company, 49; + disapproves Frontenac's action in summoning "three estates," 67; + anti-clerical tendencies, 73; + Madame Maintenon's opinion of, 74; + advice to Courcelles in relation to ecclesiastical power, 115; + asks for particulars as regards effects of liquor traffic, 118; + speaks of bishop as aiming at too much power, 119; + overthrow of his commercial policy, 151 + + Company of New France, or of Hundred Associates, created by Cardinal + Richelieu, 19; + colonists sent out by, 28; + cedes some of its rights to colonists, 36; + new arrangement works badly, 37; + surrenders all its powers to the king (1663), 49; + its failure to fulfil its engagements, 55 + + Condé, Duke of, lieutenant-general for New France, 12 + + Congrégation de Notre Dame, Montreal, established, 29 + + Connecticut, takes part in expedition against Montreal, 279 + + Corlaer, Indian name of Schenectady, which see. + Also Indian name for governors of New York, 253 (note) + + Council, created (1647) at Quebec, 37. + See also _Sovereign Council_. + + Courcelles, M. de, governor of Canada, 50; + arrives at Quebec, 51; + moves against Iroquois (Mohawks), 52; + character, 54; + expedition to Cataraqui, 59; + recalled, 60 + + _Coureurs de bois_, 37; + two classes of, 88; + Frontenac instructed to repress, 89; + twelve captured, 99; + one hanged, 100; + king's decisions respecting, 125; + difficulty in enforcing the law, 127; + amnesty granted on certain conditions, 127; + punishments prescribed for offenders, 128 + + Courtemanche, M. de, sent to Michilimackinac, 310 + + Crèvecoeur, fort, built by La Salle, 160 + + Crisafy, Marquis of, conducts expedition for restoration of Fort + Frontenac, 341 + + Curacies, permanent (_cures fixes_), question of, 165, 190 + + + D + + D'Ailleboust, see _Ailleboust_ + + Damours, Mathieu, member of Sovereign Council, 106; + arrested by Frontenac, 139 + + Dauversière, M. Royer de la, one of founders of Montreal colony, 32 + + Davis, Captain Sylvanus, captured at Fort Loyal, 252; + a prisoner in Quebec during siege by Phipps, 294 + + De Monts, see _Monts_ + + Denonville, Marquis de, succeeds M. de la Barre as governor, 189; + comes out in same ship as M. de Saint Vallier, 191; + gives unfavourable account of Canadian people, 192; + his piety, 197; + asks for more troops, 198; + corresponds with Dongan, governor of New York, 198; + desirous of constructing a fort at Niagara, 199; + proposes to French king to buy colony of New York, 202; + instructed to cultivate peaceful relations with English neighbours, + 203; + sends expedition to Hudson's Bay, 205; + receives reinforcements, 206; + determines to march against Iroquois, 207; + crafty policy, 208; + complains of French troops, 212; + erects fort at Niagara, 213; + asks for more troops, 217; + receives visit from Big Mouth, 221; + in attack by Iroquois on Lachine orders troops to remain on + defensive, 225; + recalled, 228; + orders Fort Frontenac to be blown up, 228; + stimulated Abenaquis to attack New England settlements, 249 + + Désquérat, Captain, killed at Lapraire, 313 + + Dollier de Casson, Sulpician, his history of Montreal, 34; + depicts evils of liquor traffic, 335 + + Domergue, Lieutenant, killed at Laprairie, 313 + + Dongan, Colonel, governor of New York, correspondence with La Barre, + 182; + policy with Iroquois, 183; + correspondence with Denonville, 199, 200; + claims right to trade with Lake tribes, 203; + demands destruction of Fort Niagara, 218; + advice to Iroquois, 219 + + Duchesneau, Jacques, intendant, 108; + his instructions, 109; + claims to rank above bishop, 115; + causes king's prohibition of trading licences to be registered in + Frontenac's absence, 117; + asked to furnish particulars as to ill effects of liquor traffic, 118; + censured for interfering in matters beyond his sphere, 120; + his recommendations on the _coureurs de bois_ question, 127; + dispute with Frontenac as to presidency of Sovereign Council, 133-40; + severely censured in despatch from minister, 134; + accuses Frontenac of manufacturing the news he sends to the minister, + 142; + his son imprisoned for disrespect to Frontenac, 143; + recall of, 143; + makes report on Acadia, 271 + + Dudley, Joseph, provisional governor of Massachusetts, 264 + + Dudouyt, Jean, grand-vicar of bishop of Quebec, 111; + sent to France by bishop in connection with liquor question, 118; + advice to bishop, 171 + + Dugas, Du Gua, or Du Guast, sieur de Monts, see _Monts_ + + Du Lhut, Daniel Greseylon, explorer, discoveries of, 162; + imprisoned on return to Quebec, 163; + appointed post commander among north-western tribes, 164; + diverts trade from English posts on Hudson's Bay to Montreal, 164; + under orders from La Barre confiscates goods in La Salle's fort of + St. Louis, 179; + instructed to rendezvous at Niagara, 181, 186, 187; + fortifies post at outlet of Lake Huron, 202 + + Dupont, Nicolas, member of Sovereign Council, 106 + + Duval, Jean, executed for conspiracy against Champlain, 8 + + + E + + Earthquake of 1662, 46, 47 + + Eau, Chevalier d', goes on embassy to Iroquois and is badly used, 262 + + English colonies, goods cheap in, 154; + paid better price for furs, 154, 175, 201; + political confusion prevailing in, after downfall of James II, 263 + + + F + + Faillon, abbé, quoted, 4, 9; + his description of conduct of Perrot, governor of Montreal, 96, 97 + + Fénelon, abbé de, intermediary between Frontenac and Perrot, 92; + indignant at Perrot's arrest, 93; + preaches sermon against Frontenac, 93; + carries round memorial in Perrot's favour, 96; + summoned to Quebec, 98; + his conduct before the council, 101; + sent to France, censured, and not allowed to return to Canada, 102, + 103 + + "Flag" incident in siege of Quebec, 295-8 + + France, condition of, in 1675-6, 150, 151 + + Frontenac, Louis de Buade, Comte de Palluau et, particulars respecting + his early life scanty, 61; + born in 1620, 61; + enters army under Prince of Orange at age of fifteen, 62; + promoted to rank of _maréchal de camp_, 62; + peace of Westphalia (1648) releases him from military life, 63; + marriage and birth of son, 63; + his wife separates from him, 63; + extravagant habits, 64; + commands Venetian troops in defence of Crete against Turks, 64; + leaves France for Canada midsummer of 1672, 65; + endeavours to constitute "three estates," and summons an assembly, + 67; + action disapproved by king, 67; + his instructions regarding the ecclesiastical power, 69; + friendly to Sulpicians and Récollets, 74; + plans a visit to Cataraqui, 74; + conducts an expedition to Cataraqui, 76-84; + invites Iroquois to conference at that place, 79; + harangues them and distributes presents, 81, 82; + erects fort, 83; + expedition not approved by minister, 84; + Frontenac defends it, 85; + difficulties with Perrot, governor of Montreal, and the Abbé Fénelon, + 90-104; + captures twelve _coureurs de bois_, 99; + sends Perrot and Fénelon to France with report on case, 102; + the king's reply, 103; + enemies at court, 110; + honour paid to him in church curtailed by Laval, 112; + attitude towards ecclesiastical powers, 113; + difficulty with bishop over issue of trading permits, involving + carrying of liquor to Indians, 116; + king prohibits permits, 116; + visits Cataraqui (Fort Frontenac), 117; + appeals against king's decision, 117; + instructed not to meddle with questions of finance, etc., 120; + authorized to grant hunting permits, 125; + number to be issued restricted, 128; + dispute with intendant Duchesneau as to presidency of Sovereign + Council, 133-40; + censured by minister for his contentious spirit, 135; + again cautioned by king and minister, 136; + recalled, 143, 144; + asks home government for soldiers, 145; + summons conference on Indian question, 146; + arranges peace between Senecas and Ottawas, 146; + orders strengthening of fortifications of Montreal, 147; + relations with Du Lhut, 162; + has Récollet confessor, Father Maupassant, 165; + alleged disorders in his household, 165; + commends Sulpicians, 168; + his recall a triumph for clerical opponents, 171; + on return to France makes light of La Barre's demand for troops, 173; + reappointed governor of Canada, 229; + arrives at Chedabucto, 232; + arrives at Quebec, 232; + goes to Montreal, 233; + exaggerates number of killed in Lachine massacre, 227 (note); + tries to arrest destruction of Fort Frontenac, 233; + organizes raiding parties against English colonies, 234-6; + brings out with him from France survivors of Indians captured for + the galleys, 237; + sends deputation to Iroquois, 237; + sends reinforcements to La Durantaye, 241; + his address to the Lake tribes, 242; + result of his raids on English settlements, 253; + improves fortifications of Quebec, 254; + his relations with the Sovereign Council, 254-7; + goes to Montreal where anxiety prevails, 257; + his expedition to Lake Indians successful, 258; + dances a war-dance, 260; + protests to Massachusetts authorities against attack on Pentagouet, + 270; + gets news at Montreal of approach of expedition against Quebec, 282; + replies to Phipps's demand for surrender, 288, 289; + recommends attack on Boston by sea, 316; + describes ravages of Abenaquis, 317; + estimate of military losses in Canada, 318; + expresses himself as opposed to large expeditions, 320; + orders M. de Louvigny at Michilimackinac to send down Indians with + their furs, 323; + firm in negotiations with Iroquois, 325, 338; + complaints made against, 333-6; + gives theatrical representations at Quebec, 336; + question of _Tartuffe_, 337; + restores Fort Frontenac against instructions of minister, 341; + directs campaign against Iroquois, 350-3; + reports his victory to the king, and asks for recognition, 353; + receives cross of St. Louis, 354; + receives news of Peace of Ryswick, 354; + corresponds on question of sovereignty over Iroquois with Earl of + Bellomont, governor of New York, 355; + his last despatch to home government, 357; + illness and death, 357-9; + his will, 358; + no known portrait, 360; + funeral sermon and critical annotations thereon, 361 + + Frontenac, Mme., aversion of, for her husband, 63; + joins Mlle. de Montpensier, 63; + assisted Frontenac by her influence at court, 65 + + Frontenac, Fort, erected at Cataraqui, 83; + conceded to La Salle, 156; + seized by La Barre, 178; + restored to La Salle, 179; + Dongan demands its destruction, 218; + Denonville gives orders for blowing it up, 288; + order partially carried out, 234; + repaired, 234; + rebuilt, 341 + + Fur trade, burdensome restrictions on, 38, 154 + + + G + + Gaillardin, French historian, referred to, 152 + + Gerrish, Sarah, captured at Fort Loyal, exchanged for one of Phipps's + prisoners, 303 + + Girouard, Judge, on loss of life in massacre of Lachine, 224; + at La Chesnaye and other places, 226 + + Glandelet, abbé, preaches against theatre, 336 + + Glen, John Sanders, magistrate of Schenectady, life spared, 247 + + Gosselin, abbé, his opinion of Talon, 54; + on administration of La Barre, 172; + on Laval's choice of M. de Saint Vallier, 191; + on Frontenac's attitude towards religion, 359 + + Goyer, Olivier, Récollet father, preaches funeral sermon on Frontenac, + 361 + + Grande Gueule, see _Big Mouth_ + + Great Mohawk (Grand Agnié), Christian Mohawk leader, 246 + + _Griffon_, name of vessel built by La Salle and lost in Lake Michigan, + 159 + + Grignan, M. de, son-in-law of Mme. de Sevigné, a candidate for + governorship of Canada, 65 + + Guyard, Marie, see _Incarnation, Mère de l'_ + + + H + + Hébert, Louis, first regular settler at Quebec, 16 + + Henry IV of France, assassination of, 11 + + Hertel, François, commands Three Rivers war party, 235; + leader in massacre of Salmon Falls, 251; + joins M. de Portneuf in attack upon Fort Loyal, 251; + his old age, 235 (note) + + _History of Brandy in Canada_, quoted, 124 + + Hosta, M. d', killed at Laprairie, 312 + + Hôtel Dieu, Montreal, established by Mlle. Mance, 29 + + Hôtel Dieu, Quebec, origin of, 28 + + Hudson's Bay, English claim to, disputed by France, 204; + La Barre instructed to check English encroachments in, 205; + expedition under M. de Troyes captures English forts, 205; + Iberville's exploits in, 342-50; + English possessions in, restored by Peace of Ryswick, 349 + + Hudson's Bay Company, 203; + trading done and posts established by, 204; + redress claimed by, for losses inflicted by the French, 343 + + Hundred Associates, Company of, see _New France, Company of_ + + Hurons, destruction of, by Iroquois, 26 and note, 35; + join Frontenac's expedition to Cataraqui, 79; + dread being abandoned to Iroquois, 222 + + Hunting permits, issue of sanctioned, 125; + number to be issued annually limited, 128; + issue of, becomes a form of patronage, 129 + + + I + + Iberville, Le Moyne d', accompanies expedition to Hudson's Bay, 206; + joins war party against Schenectady, 235; + arrives from Hudson's Bay with two captured vessels, 325; + takes Fort Pemaquid, 331; + exploits in Hudson's Bay, 342-50; + sails for France and returns with two French ships, 343; + captures Port Nelson, 345; + sails for France, 346; + attacks English settlements in Newfoundland, 346; + takes St. John's, 347; + in his ship the _Pelican_ successfully engages three English vessels, + 348; + sails for France, 349 + + Illinois Indians, allies of French, attacked by Iroquois, 144 + + Incarnation, Mère de l' (Marie Guyard), arrival of, at Quebec, 28; + on _Jesuit Relations_, 30 (note); + on influence of convent teaching, 89 (note); + on rapid decline in Indian population, 168 (note) + + Indians (see also names of tribes or nations), menacing attitude of, + 17; + defrauded by traders, 18, 154; + not readily receptive of Christian doctrine, 167 + + Intendant, Jean Talon appointed as, 51; + office revived, 105; + Jacques Duchesneau appointed, 108; + Jacques de Meulles, 171; + Jean Bochart de Champigny, 207 + + Iroquois, Champlain joins Hurons and Algonquins in attacking, 9, 10, + 14; + nearly exterminate Hurons, 26 and note, 35; + demand establishment of French colony in their country, 40; + their confederacy, of what tribes composed, 41; + attack remnant of Hurons on Island of Orleans, 41; + checked at the Long Sault on the Ottawa by heroism of Dollard and + his companions, 44; + governor Courcelles marches against, 52; + similar expedition led by Tracy, 53; + invited by Frontenac to conference, 79; + consent to make a peace including Indian allies of French, 82; + under La Barre's administration seize canoes of French traders, 181; + La Barre's expedition against, 183; + Denonville's, 207-14; + capture of a number of peaceful Iroquois for king's galleys, 215; + reprisals, 218, 219; + massacre of Lachine, 224; + send envoys to meet Frontenac, 238; + native eloquence, 239; + worsted in skirmish on Ottawa River, 243; + Mohawk opinion of Schenectady massacre, 248; + ill treat embassy from Frontenac, 262; + renew their attacks, 307; + party of, destroyed at Repentigny, 308; + three prisoners burnt alive, 309; + another party surprised and destroyed, 319; + expedition against (Mohawks), 321; + peace negotiations, 337; + Onondaga orator, Teganissorens (Decanisora), 338; + Frontenac's campaign against, 350 + + + J + + Jemseg, for a short time headquarters of Acadia, 270 + + Jesuit fathers, arrival of, 17; + return after restoration of Canada to France, 25; + Frontenac's attitude towards, 113; + their missions, 166 + + _John and Thomas_, vice-admiral's ship in Phipps's squadron, 281 + + Jolliet, Louis, discoverer of Mississippi, 155 + + Jolliet, Zachary, his December journey from Michilimackinac to Quebec, + 240 + + Juchereau, Mère, reports repulse of some of Phipps's men at Rivière + Ouelle, 291; + on flag incident, 296; + on divine protection of Quebec, 301 + + + K + + Kirke brothers (David, Louis, and Thomas) capture Quebec, 21 + + Kirke, Louis, left in charge of Quebec, surrenders it to French on + conclusion of peace, 23 + + Kishon (the Fish), Indian name for governors of Massachusetts, 253 + + Kondiaronk, or the Rat, see _Rat_ + + + L + + La Barre, M. Lefebvre de, governor, arrival of, 171; + summons conference on Indian question, 172; + applies for troops, 172; + criticized in despatches by intendant, 173, 174; + takes to illegitimate trading, 175; + disparages discoveries of La Salle, 176; + seizes Fort Frontenac and Fort St. Louis, 177, 179; + instructed to restore to La Salle all his property, 180; + his unwise instructions to Iroquois, 180; + decides to make war on Senecas, 181; + corresponds with Colonel Dongan, governor of New York, 182; + leads expedition, 183; + arranges ignominious terms of peace, 186; + recalled, 188; + unfitness for his position, 189; + results of his weak policy, 198, 209 + + La Caffinière, M. de, commander of squadron sent against New York, 234 + + La Canardière, former name of Beauport flats, 293 (note) + + La Chesnaye, trader, La Barre's dealings with, 175 + + La Chesnaye settlement, Iroquois raid on, 226 + + Lachine, massacre of, 10, 224, 225 + + La Durantaye, post commander, ordered to rendezvous at Niagara, 181; + captures English canoes on the way, 210; + reports critical situation among Lake tribes, 240; + reinforced, 241 + + La Famine, La Barre's army encamps at, 184 + + La Forest, left in charge of Port Nelson, 346 + + La Grange-Trianon, Mlle. de, becomes wife of Frontenac, 63 + + Laguide, Madeleine, niece of Talon, wife of François Perrot, 97 + + La Hontan, Baron de, on treatment of captured Iroquois at Fort + Frontenac, 216; + on interview between Frontenac and Denonville, 233; + declines to go on embassy to Iroquois, 261; + his account of attack on Quebec by Phipps, 285 + + Lamberville, Jesuit father, missionary to the Iroquois, 144, 188, 208 + + La Motte Cadillac, post commander at Michilimackinac, 340 + + La Peltrie, Mme. de, arrival of, at Quebec, 28; + accompanies Maisonneuve to Montreal, 33 + + Laprairie, attack on, by war party under John Schuyler, 281; + serious encounter at, between Canadian forces and party under Peter + Schuyler, 312 + + La Salle, René Robert Cavelier de, sent to invite Iroquois to + conference, 79; + first commandant of Fort Frontenac (Cataraqui), 88; + reports Perrot's defiant proceedings to Frontenac, 92; + his views on sale of liquor to Indians, 123; + obtains grant of Fort Frontenac from king, 156; + obtains exclusive right of trading in Mississippi region, 158; + difficulties encountered by, 159, 161; + relations with Frontenac, 162; + discoveries disparaged by La Barre and also by the king, 176; + financial affairs, 178; + his forts and other property seized by La Barre restored to him, 179; + king takes him under his special protection, 180 + + Lauson, M. Jean de, governor, 38; + returns to France, 42 + + Laval-Montmorency, François Xavier de, arrival of as vicar-apostolic + and bishop of Petraea _in partibus_, 43; + sends M. de Queylus back to France, 43; + disagrees with governor Argenson, 45; + also with Avaugour, 46; + sails for France (1662), 46; + procures recall of Avaugour, and appointment of M. de Mézy, 48; + returns to Quebec September 1663, 48; + establishes Quebec Seminary, 48; + and Lesser Seminary, 49; + quarrels with Mézy, 50; + sails for France to settle question of bishopric, May 1672, 70; + made bishop of Quebec and returns to Canada, 1675, 71; + establishes ecclesiastical court, 111; + curtails honours paid to governor in church, 112; + king's instructions on the subject, 113; + Frontenac's estimate of bishop's revenue, 114; + objects to trading permits issued by governor, as involving selling + of liquor to Indians, 116; + gains the king over to his views, 118; + sends grand-vicar to France to uphold his policy, 118; + goes to France to press his views (1678), 125; + effect of his elevation to rank of bishop, 164; + not favourable to permanent curacies, 165, 190; + rejects offer of Récollets to serve the parishes without any fixed + provision for their support, 165; + determines to resign, 190; + goes to France, 1684, 191; + chooses M. de Saint Vallier as his successor, 191; + describes Canada as "the country of miracles," 301 + + Lavaltrie, M. de, seigneur, commands militia in attack on Iroquois, + 209; + killed by Iroquois, 323 + + Lebert, merchant, of Montreal, imprisoned by Perrot, 92; + La Barre's dealings with, 175 + + Le Chasseur, secretary to Frontenac, 139 + + Leclercq, Père, Récollet, on great need for Récollet order in Canada, + 72 (note); + on Schenectady massacre, 247 (note); + on "flag" incident in siege of Quebec, 296 and note + + Leisler, Jacob, seizes government of New York, 266 + + Le Jeune, Jesuit father, preaches funeral sermon of Champlain, 27 + + Le Moyne, Charles, sent to invite Onondagas to conference, 183, 184 + + Liquor traffic, condemned by Champlain, 25; + subject of dispute between civil and religious authorities, 46, 115; + king's instructions regarding, 116, 118, 120; + question referred to a meeting of the principal inhabitants, 121; + opinions expressed, 122, 123; + king's decision thereon, 125; + evils depicted, 335 + + Longueuil, Le Moyne de, commands militia in attack on Iroquois, 209 + + Lorin, M. Henri, author of _Le Comte de Frontenac_, referred to, 109, + 126, 128, 142, 165, 174, 216 (note), 231, 250 + + Lotbinière, Réné Charlier de, member of the Sovereign Council, 106 + + Louis XIII of France, close relations of Frontenac family with, 62 + + Louis XIV, his war with Holland, 148; + absolutism of his rule, 151-3; + desires to have permanent curacies (_cures fixes_) established in + Canada, 164; + private life, 166; + pronounces La Salle's discoveries useless, 176; + later takes him under his special protection, 180 + + Louvigny, M. de, sent with reinforcements to Michilimackinac, 241 + + Loyal, Fort (Casco Bay), captured by Canadians, 252 + + + M + + Madocawando, Abenaquis chief, 329 + + Maisonneuve, Paul Chomedy, sieur de, conducts mission colony to + Montreal, 29, 33; + bravery of, 34; + goes back to France for reinforcements, 38; + returns to Canada with 100 soldiers, 39; + removed from governorship by the Marquis de Tracy, 54 + + Mance, Mlle., establishes Hôtel Dieu at Montreal, 29; + death of, 73 + + Mantel, Daillebout de, one of leaders of war party against Schenectady, + 235 + + Maricourt, Le Moyne de, accompanies expedition to Hudson's Bay, 206; + arrives at Quebec during siege by Phipps, 292; + with his brother, Iberville, in Hudson's Bay, 343 + + Marquette, Jesuit father, accompanies Jolliet in his explorations, 155 + + Marriage, stimulated by civil authorities, 57 + + Massachusetts, charter of, declared null and void, 264; + takes lead in expedition against Quebec, 277 + + Mather, Cotton, on failure of Phipps's expedition, 302; + on rescue of some men cast ashore on Anticosti, 304 + + Maupassant, Récollet father, Frontenac's confessor, 165 + + Menneval, M. de, governor of Acadia, 272; + surrenders to Phipps, 274; + carried prisoner to Boston, 276; + released, 277 + + Meulles, Jacques de, intendant, opposed to popular representation, 69; + arrival of, 171; + criticizes La Barre in despatches, 173, 174; + on La Barre's expedition against Senecas, 188; + recalled, 207; + visits Acadia and makes census, 271 + + Mézy, M. de, appointed governor on Laval's recommendation, 48; + quarrels with Laval, 50; + death of, 50 + + Millet, Jesuit father, tortured by Oneida Indians, 216 + + Missions to Indians, 166; + pure lives of missionaries produced good effect, 168 + + Mohawks (Iroquois tribe) attack Hurons on Island of Orleans, 41; + Courcelles leads expedition against, 52; + Tracy leads a second, 53; + expedition against, 321 + + Monseignat, Frontenac's secretary, 260, 297 + + Montmagny, M. de, second governor of Canada, 27; + retirement of, 35 + + Montmorency, Duke of, becomes lieutenant-general for Canada, 17; + executed for revolt, 22 + + Montpensier, Mlle. de, Mme. Frontenac's relations with, 63 + + Montreal, beginnings of, 33; + settlement in danger of extinction, 38; + population in 1666, 56; + Frontenac's arrival at, on his way to Cataraqui, 76; + description of, 77; + expedition from Albany against, 268; + great rejoicings at, on arrival of trading canoes from the Lakes, 324 + + Monts, Pierre Dugas, sieur de, ten years' trading patent, with position + of lieutenant-general, granted to, 5; + conducts expedition to Acadia, 6; + patent cancelled, but renewed for one year, 7; + sails for Quebec, 8; + resigns lieutenancy, 12 + + Myrand, Ernest, author of _Frontenac et ses Amis_, 229; + his work _Sir William Phipps devant Quebec_ quoted, 293 (note); + on losses incurred in siege of Quebec by Phipps, 302 (note); + discusses question of Frontenac's portrait, 361 + + + N + + Nayouat, governor Villebon of Acadia establishes himself at, 327 + + "New Company," name given to trading company formed by inhabitants of + Canada in 1645, 36 + + Newfoundland, English settlements in, attacked, 346 + + New France, Company of, see _Company_ + + New York, British colony, plan for conquest of, 231 + + Nicholson, Francis, lieut.-governor of New York, 263; + uprising against, 266 + + + O + + "Old Company," name applied to Company of New France after 1645, 36 + + Olier, M. Jean, founder of Sulpician order, obtains grant of Island of + Montreal, 32 + + Oneida Indians, torture Father Millet, 216; + party of, destroyed, 308; + three burnt alive, 309; + negotiate for peace, 324 + + Onondagas (Iroquois tribe), demand a French colony, 40; + escape of colony, 41; + a number treacherously captured for king's galleys, 215; + their orator Teganissorens, 338; + campaign against, 350-3 + + Onontio (Big Mountain), name applied by Indians to French governors, 35 + + Orehaoué, Cayuga chief, brought back from France by Frontenac, 237; + services rendered by, 315, 339 + + Ottawa Indians, keen for trade and cheap goods, 259; + entertained at Quebec, 310 + + Ourouehati, Onondaga orator, otherwise known as Grande Gueule, + Garangula, and Big Mouth, see _Big Mouth_. + + + P + + Parkman, Francis, referred to, 30, 31, 57, 320 + + Parliaments in France, subjection of, to royal power, 152 + + Pemaquid, Fort, destroyed 1689, rebuilt 1692, 328; + taken by Iberville, 331 + + Pentagouet, fortress on western boundary of Acadia, captured by + freebooters, 269; + by New Englanders, 275 + + Permits, see _Trading Permits_, _Hunting Permits_ + + Perrot, François Marie, succeeds Maisonneuve as governor of Montreal, + 54; + engages in illicit trading and shields _coureurs de bois_, 90; + his wife a niece of Talon, 90; + arrests Bizard, an officer of Frontenac's, 91; + summoned before Sovereign Council, 92; + arrested at Quebec, 93; + character and conduct, 96-7; + protests competency of Sovereign Council to try him, 99; + specially commended to Frontenac in a dispatch from minister, 101; + sent to France, 102; + allowed to return to Canada after brief imprisonment, 103; + removed to government of Acadia, 270; + continues to trade, 271; + dismissal and death, 272 + + Perrot, Rev. M., _curé_ of Montreal, disapproves of Abbé Fénelon's + sermon, 95 + + Perrot, Nicolas, ordered to rendezvous at Sault with Indian allies, + 181, 186, 187; + arrives with contingent, 210; + accompanies Louvigny to Michilimackinac, 242; + exhibits Iroquois scalps, 243 + + Peuvret, clerk of the council, imprisoned by Frontenac, 135 + + Peyras, Jean Baptiste, member of Sovereign Council, 106; + visits Acadia, 271 + + Phipps, Sir William, birth and early life, 272; + conducts expedition against Acadia, 273; + captures Port Royal, but violates terms of surrender, 274; + ravages committed by his men, 274; + captures other Acadian posts, and establishes government, 275; + returns to Boston with prisoners and booty, 276; + sails from Nantasket, 279; + arrives at Quebec, 282; + demands surrender, 285-7; + his attack repulsed, 295; + decides on retreat, 299; + his estimate of his losses, 302; + disastrous return voyage, 303; + goes to England, 315; + returns as governor of Massachusetts, 328; + recall and death of, 331 + + Plet, cousin of La Salle, comes from France in connection with + financial matters, 177 + + Pontchartrain, Marquis de, minister of marine, 72 (note) + + Pontgravé, François de, voyages of, to St. Lawrence, 3, 8 + + Port Hayes (Hudson's Bay), captured by Troyes, 206 + + Port Nelson, captured by Iberville, 345; + retaken by English, 347; + again taken by Iberville, 349 + + Portneuf, M. de, commands war party from Quebec, 236; + captures Fort Loyal, 252; + removed for peculation, 330 + + Port Royal (Annapolis), capital of Acadia, 270; + captured by Phipps, 274 + + Prevost, town-major of Quebec, 257; + strengthens defences, 284 + + Prévôté (provost's court) abolished 1674, re-established 1677, 107 + + + Q + + Quebec, foundation of, 7; + capture of, by Kirke, 20; + restored to France, 23; + population of city in 1666, 56; + first ball given at, 59; + sea expedition planned against by New Englanders, 268-77; + defences strengthened, 284; + attack by squadron under Phipps, 285-300; + defences further strengthened, 326 + + Queylus, Rev. M. de, Sulpician, appointed vicar-general for Canada, 42; + sent back to France by bishop Laval, 43 + + + R + + Radisson, Pierre Esprit, proceedings of, in Hudson's Bay, 204-5 + + Rageot, Gilles, clerk to attorney-general, 106 + + Rainsford, John, rescues comrades cast away on Anticosti, 304 + + Ramesay, M. de, commands militia in attack on Iroquois, 351 + + Rat, the, Kondiaronk, Huron Indian, wrecks peace negotiations with + Iroquois, 222 + + Récollet missionaries, brought out by Champlain, 13; + difficulties encountered by, 16; + not allowed to return to Canada after restoration to France, 25; + permitted to return, 1668, 72 (note); + favoured by Frontenac and La Salle, 162; + offer to serve the parishes without any fixed provision for their + support, 165; + not greatly esteemed by the bishop, 165; missions, 166 + + _Relations des Jésuites_, 29, 30, and note + + Repentigny, band of Iroquois surprised and destroyed at, 308 + + Repentigny, M. de, goes to France on behalf of early colonists, 36 + + Representative institutions, complete absence of, 131-2 + + Richelieu, Cardinal, creates Company of New France, 19 + + Richelieu River, highway to Iroquois country, 9; + fort erected at mouth of, 51 + + Rivière Ouelle, alleged repulse of party of New Englanders at, 291 + + Rochemonteix, Rev. P. Camille, S.J., on _Jesuit Relations_, 30 + + Rohault, M. de, establishes college for boys at Quebec, 28 + + Rooseboom, Johannes, of Albany, carries goods to Lake Indians, 201 + + Rupert, fort (Hudson's Bay), captured by Troyes, 206 + + Ryswick, Peace of, restores to England her Hudson's Bay ports, 349 + + + S + + Saco River, fort built at falls of, 329 + + Sagard, Théodat, Récollet, on bad examples shown by colonists to + Indians, 14 + + Saint-Castin, Baron de, 329 and note; + leads Indians against fort Pemaquid, 331 + + Saint Simon, his statements regarding Frontenac, 65 + + Saint Vallier, M. de, chosen by Bishop Laval as his successor, 191; + comes out to Canada first as vicar-general, 191; + his first impression of country and inhabitants, 192; + his revised opinion, 193, 220; + pays pastoral visit to Acadia (1686), 271; + issues mandate regarding the theatre, 337; + pays Frontenac 1000 francs on condition _Tartuffe_ shall not be + produced, 337 + + Salmon Falls, massacre of, 251 + + Salmon River, La Barre's expedition encamps at, 184 + + Savage, Major Thomas, third in command in Phipps's expedition, 281 + + Schenectady, massacre of, 245-8 + + Schuyler, Captain John, his raid on Laprairie, 281; + comes to Quebec with news of peace, 354 + + Schuyler, Peter, commands expedition from Albany, 311 + + Sedgwick, Major Robert, seizes Acadia by Cromwell's orders, 268 + + Seignelay, Marquis de, succeeds his father, Colbert, in ministry of + marine, 72 (note); + marries Mlle. d'Allegre, 111 + + Seigniories, establishment of, 56 + + Seminary (Quebec), establishment of, 48 + + Seneca Indians, show quarrelsome temper, 143; + attack Illinois, 144; + enraged by murder of a chieftain on territory of Ottawas, 145; + accept terms of peace, 146; + attack canoes of French traders, 181; + Denonville's expedition against, 207-14 + + Serigny, Le Moyne de, goes to France on Hudson's Bay affairs, 345 + + Sévigné, Mme. de, her son-in-law candidate for governorship of Canada, + 65; + describes severities exercised on peasants in revolt in France, 150 + + _Six Friends_, flagship of Phipps, 281 + + _Soleil d'Afrique_, French frigate, brings supplies, 319 + + Sovereign Council, created, 49; + reorganized, 105-6; + resembled a parliament in French sense, 131; + Frontenac claims to be styled President of, 133-40; + fixed prices of goods, 153 + + St. Cirque, M. de, killed at Laprairie, 312 + + St. Denis, Juchereau de, wounded in skirmish on Beauport flats, 294 + + Ste. Hélène, Le Moyne de, accompanies expedition to Hudson's Bay, 208; + commands in war party against Schenectady, 235; + mortally wounded in skirmish on Beauport flats, 299 + + St. John's, Newfoundland, taken by Iberville, 347 + + St. Louis, fort, built by La Salle, 160; + seized by La Barre, 179 + + Subercase, Lieutenant, in command at Lachine on occasion of massacre, + 225; + sent to Island of Orleans to watch Phipps, 303 + + Sulpicians, religious order, come to Montreal with Maisonneuve, 42; + work of colonization done by, 56; + Frontenac friendly to, 74; + seigneurs of the Island of Montreal, 97; + their missions, 166, 168 + + Syndics, local representatives without votes provided for in first + council, 37 + + + T + + Teganissorens (Decanisora), Onondaga orator, 338 + + Talon, Jean, intendant, 51; + character, 54; + attitude to the clerical power, 55; + labours for the prosperity of the country, 55; + recalled at his own request, 60; + instructed to guard against ecclesiastical encroachments, 69; + secures permission for Récollets to return to Canada, 72 + + Temple, Sir Thomas, English governor of Acadia (1656), 268 + + Theatrical representations at Quebec, 336 + + Three Rivers, fort erected at, 24; + population in 1666, 268 + + Thury, abbé, missionary to Abenaquis, 250 + + Tilly, Le Gardeur de, member of Sovereign Council, 106 + + Tonty, Henri, La Salle's lieutenant at Fort Crèvecoeur, 144, 160; + joins expedition against Iroquois, 209; + arrives from Illinois country with _coureurs de bois_, 325 + + Tracy, Marquis de, appointed king's lieutenant-general for all his + possessions in America, 50; + arrives at Quebec, 51; + marches against Iroquois (Mohawks), 53; + concludes peace, 53; + removes Maisonneuve from governorship of Montreal, 54; + is recalled, 54 + + Trading permits, issued by governor, 115; + objected to by bishop as involving carrying of liquor to the Indians, + 116; + prohibited by king, 116; + permitted under limitations, 128 + + Troyes, Chevalier de, leads expedition to Hudson's Bay, 205; + joins expedition against Iroquois, 209; + in charge of fort at Niagara, 214 + + + U + + Urfé, abbé d', haughtily treated by Frontenac, 110 + + Ursuline Convent, Quebec, foundation of, 28, 30; + sister Margaret Bourgeoys urged to join, 39 + + + V + + Vaillant, Jesuit father, sent as negotiator to Albany, 218 + + Valrennes, M. de, commandant of Fort Frontenac, 233; + tries to cut off retreat of Peter Schuyler at Chambly, 313 + + Vauban, M. de, French engineer, prepares plans for defence of Quebec, + 326 + + Vaudreuil, M. de, acts as chief-of-staff to Governor Denonville, 209; + acting governor of Montreal, 225; + surprises and destroys band of Indians at Repentigny, 308 + + Ventadour, Henri de Lévis, Duke of, lieutenant-general of New France, + 17 + + Verchères, Mlle. Madeleine, defends fort against Iroquois, 319 + + Verreau, abbé, on attempt to civilize Indians, 168; + on character of Frontenac, 360 + + Villebon, governor of Acadia, mentions burning of a prisoner, 328 + + Villeray, Louis Rouer de, first councillor, 106; + Frontenac's opinion of, 110; + his right to title of "esquire" challenged by Frontenac, 139; + waits on Frontenac, 255, 256 + + Villieu, M. de, leads Abenaquis in attack on English settlements, 330 + + Vincent, Jesuit father, celebrates first mass at Montreal, 34 + + Vitre, Charles Denis de, member of Sovereign Council, 106 + + + W + + Walley, Major, second in command to Phipps, 281; + lands with troops on Beauport flats, 292; + his forces suffer severely, 298; + draws off his men, leaving artillery behind, 300; + his explanation of defeat of expedition, 300 + + West India Company, creation of, 49; + failure of, 149 + + Winthrop, Fitz-John, of Connecticut, commands expedition against + Montreal, 279; + arrives at Albany, and pushes on to Wood Creek, 280; + returns to Albany and to Hartford (Connecticut), 281 + + Wood Creek, expedition against Montreal encamps at, 280 + + + =Transcriber's Notes:= + hyphenation, spelling and grammar have been preserved as in the original + Page 203, extirpating Protestanism ==> extirpating Protestantism + Page 249, that of Pemquid ==> that of Pemaquid + Page 250, fort at Pemquid ==> fort at Pemaquid + Page 287, much as may be, ==> much as may be. + Page 291, she tell us ==> she tells us + Page 307, the neigbourhood. ==> the neighbourhood. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Count Frontenac, by William Dawson LeSueur + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COUNT FRONTENAC *** + +***** This file should be named 37341-8.txt or 37341-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/7/3/4/37341/ + +Produced by David T. 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Le Sueur. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + color: silver + } /* page numbers */ + + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */ + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + .sidenote {width: 20%; padding-bottom: .5em; padding-top: .5em; + padding-left: .5em; padding-right: .5em; margin-left: 1em; + float: right; clear: right; margin-top: 1em; + font-size: smaller; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: dashed 1px;} + + .bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} + .bl {border-left: solid 2px;} + .bt {border-top: solid 2px;} + .br {border-right: solid 2px;} + .bbox {border: solid 2px;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .dropcap {float: left; width: auto; padding-right: 3px; font-size: 250%; line-height: 83%;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .tdr {text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;} + .u {text-decoration: underline;} + + .caption {font-weight: bold;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + .figleft {float: left; clear: left; margin-left: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: + 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .figright {float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Count Frontenac, by William Dawson LeSueur + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Count Frontenac + Makers of Canada, Volume 3 + +Author: William Dawson LeSueur + +Release Date: September 7, 2011 [EBook #37341] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COUNT FRONTENAC *** + + + + +Produced by David T. Jones, Ross Cooling and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Canada Team at +http://www.pgdpcanada.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<br /><br /> +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 285px;"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="285" height="400" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<h2>THE MAKERS OF CANADA</h2> +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> +<br /> +<h1>COUNT<br /> +FRONTENAC</h1> +<br /> +<h3>BY</h3> + +<h2>WILLIAM D. LE SUEUR</h2> + +<br /><br /><br /> +<h3>TORONTO</h3> + +<h2>MORANG & CO., LIMITED</h2> + +<h3>1909</h3> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada in the +year 1906 by Morang & Co., Limited, in the Department of +Agriculture</i></p></div> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<h2>PREFACE</h2> + + +<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>he author of the following work desires to acknowledge his obligations +to two preceding writers who have dealt with the life and times of Count +Frontenac, the late Mr. Parkman, and M. Henri Lorin. The merits of the +former are too well known and too thoroughly established to need any +commendation at this time. If he charms by the lucidity and +picturesqueness of his style, none the less does he achieve a high level +of historical accuracy, and manifest the control of the true spirit of +historical criticism. The work of M. Lorin is, perhaps, less attractive +in point of style, but it treats the whole subject from an independent +point of view, and in a very comprehensive manner. It is a +treasure-house of carefully sifted facts in relation to the career of +Canada's most famous governor under the old régime. A certain French +writer once complimented another—a dim recollection suggests that it +was Buffon who so complimented President Debrosses in regard to his work +on language—by saying that whoever treated the same subject "<i>après +lui</i>" would also have to do it "<i>d'après lui</i>"; and such the author +inclines to think has, to some extent, been his situation in relation to +his two able and industrious predecessors. At the same time the present +work has not been written without consultation of original sources, and +it is trusted that it will be found—for Canadian readers especially—a +not unserviceable or uninteresting narrative.</p> + +<p style="margin-left: 70%;">W. D. LE SUEUR</p> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<h3><i>CHAPTER I</i></h3> +<table summary="Contents1." width="60%"> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"></td> +<td class="tdr">Page</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CANADA BEFORE FRONTENAC, 1603 TO 1632</a></td> +<td class="tdr">1</td> +</tr> +</table> +<br /> +<h3><i>CHAPTER II</i></h3> +<table summary="Contents2." width="60%"> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CANADA BEFORE FRONTENAC, 1632 TO 1672</a></td> +<td class="tdr">23</td> +</tr> +</table> +<br /> +<h3><i>CHAPTER III</i></h3> +<table summary="Contents3." width="60%"> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">THE BEGINNING OF FRONTENAC'S ADMINISTRATION</a></td> +<td class="tdr">61</td> +</tr> +</table> +<br /> +<h3><i>CHAPTER IV</i></h3> +<table summary="Contents4." width="60%"> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">THE COMMENCEMENT OF TROUBLES</a></td> +<td class="tdr">87</td> +</tr> +</table> +<br /> +<h3><i>CHAPTER V</i></h3> +<table summary="Contents5." width="60%"> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">DIVIDED POWER</a></td> +<td class="tdr">105</td> +</tr> +</table> +<br /> +<h3><i>CHAPTER VI</i></h3> +<table summary="Contents6." width="60%"> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">THE LIFE OF A COLONY</a></td> +<td class="tdr">131</td> +</tr> +</table> +<br /> +<h3><i>CHAPTER VII</i></h3> +<table summary="Contents7." width="60%"> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">GOVERNORSHIP OF M. DE LA BARRE, 1682 TO 1685</a></td> +<td class="tdr">171</td> +</tr> +</table> +<br /> +<h3><i>CHAPTER VIII</i></h3> +<table summary="Contents8." width="60%"> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">GOVERNORSHIP OF MARQUIS DE DENONVILLE, 1685 TO 1689</a></td> +<td class="tdr">197</td> +</tr> +</table> +<br /> +<h3><i>CHAPTER IX</i></h3> +<table summary="Contents9." width="60%"> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">FRONTENAC TO THE RESCUE</a></td> +<td class="tdr">229</td> +</tr> +</table> +<br /> +<h3><i>CHAPTER X</i></h3> +<table summary="Contents10." width="60%"> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">FRONTENAC DEFENDER OF CANADA</a></td> +<td class="tdr">263</td> +</tr> +</table> +<br /> +<h3><i>CHAPTER XI</i></h3> +<table summary="Contents11." width="60%"> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">FIRE AND SWORD ON THE BORDER</a></td> +<td class="tdr">305</td> +</tr> +</table> +<br /> +<h3><i>CHAPTER XII</i></h3> +<table summary="Contents12." width="60%"> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">THE DRAMA OF WAR—PEACE AT THE LAST</a></td> +<td class="tdr">333</td> +</tr> +</table> +<br /> +<table summary="Contents12." width="60%"> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"><a href="#INDEX">INDEX</a></td> +<td class="tdr">365</td> +</tr> +</table> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3>CANADA BEFORE FRONTENAC</h3> + +<h3>1608 <span class="smcap">TO</span> 1632</h3> + + +<p><span class="dropcap">W</span>hen Count Frontenac landed at Quebec, in the month of September 1672, +to administer the government of Canada or, as it was then more generally +called, New France, the country had been for a period of a little over +sixty years under continuous French rule. The period may, indeed, be +limited to exactly sixty years if we take as the starting-point the +commission issued to Samuel de Champlain on the 15th of October 1612 as +"Commander in New France," under the authority of the Count de Soissons, +who had been appointed by the queen regent, Marie de Medicis, as +lieutenant-general of that territory. What had been accomplished during +those sixty odd years? How had the country developed, and what were the +elements of the situation which confronted Frontenac on his arrival? +Answers to these questions may be gathered, it is hoped, from the +following brief introductory narrative.</p> + +<p>The territorial claims of France in the gulf and valley of the St. +Lawrence were founded on the discoveries made in the name of the French +king, Francis I, by that brave Breton mariner, Jacques Cartier, in the +celebrated voyages undertaken by him in the years 1534 and 1535. An +attempt at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span> colonization made in the latter year, the site chosen being +the left bank of the St. Charles near Quebec, failed miserably; nor were +the similar attempts made in 1541 by Cartier and in 1542 by Roberval any +more successful. Cartier did not again return to Canada, and all efforts +in the direction of colonization were suspended for sixty years, though +French fishermen continued to visit the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In the +year 1603 a notable figure appears upon the scene, Samuel Champlain, the +true founder of French power on the continent of America. A few years +previously a certain naval captain named Chauvin, who enjoyed +considerable influence at court, had applied for and obtained from King +Henry IV a patent granting him exclusive trading privileges in the St. +Lawrence. This he had done at the instance of one Pontgravé, a leading +merchant of St. Malo, well acquainted with the St Lawrence trade, whose +business instinct had led him to see that the fur trade alone of that +region might be a source of vast wealth to any single company +controlling it. One condition of the grant was that not less than five +hundred persons should be settled in the country, and another that +provision should be made for the religious instruction both of the +settlers and of the natives. Having obtained the patent, neither Chauvin +nor Pontgravé, whom he appointed as his lieutenant, seems to have +thought of anything but the conversion of their privilege into money. +They sailed to the St. Lawrence,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> but proceeded no further than +Tadousac, where they set up a trading establishment. At the end of the +first summer season they returned to France, leaving some sixteen men +behind them so ill provided for that eleven died during the winter of +disease and hardship. The rest would have died of starvation had not +friendly Indians supplied them with food. Chauvin made two more trips to +the St. Lawrence without doing anything to redeem his engagements, and +in the year 1601 he died.</p> + +<p>The death of Chauvin having voided his patent, the king was moved to +constitute Knight Commander de Chastes, Governor of Dieppe, his +representative in the western world. A company was formed, and an +expedition was organized and placed under the command of Pontgravé, as a +man having special knowledge of the St. Lawrence navigation. By request +of de Chastes, Champlain was associated with him. At this time Champlain +was thirty-six years of age, and had already distinguished himself as +soldier, sailor, explorer, and geographer. His chief work in the two +latter characters had been done in connection with a voyage which he had +made to the West Indies and Mexico in one of the vessels of the King of +Spain. On his return he described the places he had visited in a work, +still extant, illustrated by curious maps and pictures of his own +drawing. Champlain had higher views than mere money making and no more +valuable man could have been assigned to the expedition. Setti<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>ng sail +with Pontgravé from Honfleur on the 15th March 1603, he arrived at +Tadousac on the 24th May. How earnestly he was bent on carrying the +Catholic faith into the wilds of Canada is shown by a conversation he +reports having had with an Algonquin chief, into whose mind he was +trying to instil correct views as to the origin of things, and +particularly of the human race. The Algonquin had been under the +impression that the Creator had placed arrows in the ground, and then +turned them into men. Champlain assured him that this was an error, man +having been made in the first place out of clay, and woman from a rib +taken from his side while he slept. He dwelt somewhat also on the +propriety and duty of the invocation of saints, with a view, as the Abbé +Faillon hints,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> to counteracting any prejudice against that doctrine +which Chauvin and his companions, who were Calvinists, might have +endeavoured to create in the savage mind. Judging, however, by the +Algonquin's replies to Champlain's catechising, his mental attitude was +one of admirable neutrality, securely founded on nescience, regarding +any or all of the doctrines in debate between Rome and Geneva. Chauvin +had attended strictly to business.</p> + +<p>Before returning to France, Champlain explored the river St. Lawrence as +far as the Lachine Rapids. On the way up he anchored before Quebec, the +situation of which he describes; doubtless he recognized it as the place +near which Jacques<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> Cartier and his men had spent their terrible winter. +In passing Three Rivers he noticed how advantageously it was situated +both for trade and for defence. He explored the country in the vicinity +of the Lachine Rapids sufficiently to recognize that the land to his +right, as he ascended, was an island (Montreal). Of the rapids +themselves he says that never had he seen a torrent rushing with such +impetuosity. Returning to Tadousac he proceeded down the river to Gaspé +and Percé and entered the Baie des Chaleurs. After making, according to +his custom, as many observations and inquiries as possible in regard to +the character and outlines of the country, he returned to Tadousac, and, +gathering his party, which had meanwhile been doing some profitable +trading with the natives, set sail for France, where he arrived on the +20th September. M. de Chastes, under whose authority he and Pontgravé +were acting, had died in the month of May. Champlain, therefore, went +alone to court, exhibited to the king a map he had made of the country, +and gave such information as to its resources and capabilities as he had +personally gathered. The king was much interested; and, desiring that +the work so well begun should be vigorously prosecuted, he issued a +patent to a Huguenot gentleman, Pierre Dugas, Sieur de Monts and +Governor of Pons conferring upon him exclusive trading privileges for a +period of ten years not only in Canada, but in Acadia. The essential +condition of this grant, it has been said, was the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> establishment in the +countries mentioned of the "Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman faith"; but, +if such was the case, the terms of the document seem a little lacking in +precision, as they speak only of instructing the natives in the +principles of Christianity and the knowledge of God, and thus bringing +them to the light of faith and the practice of the Christian religion. +As de Monts was a Huguenot the generality of these terms may not have +been without significance.</p> + +<p>De Monts had been in Canada before, having accompanied Chauvin on one or +two of his voyages to Tadousac. He had also some knowledge of Acadia, +and had conceived a preference for that region, as being more favourably +situated and milder in climate than Canada so far as he knew it. To that +quarter, therefore, he directed the expedition, which left Havre under +his command in March 1604. The result was complete failure owing to +causes into which it is impossible in this hasty narrative to enter. +Suffice it to say that, opposition having been raised to the privileges +enjoyed by de Monts, the king, who was an accomplished politician—it +was he who had thought Paris "well worth a mass"—cancelled his patent, +and thus destroyed all the expectations which he and his business +associates, who had incurred great expense in equipping the expedition, +had founded thereon. Some progress had been made in settlement at Port +Royal, and excellent relations had been established with the natives, +when in the fall <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>of 1607 the whole colony was recalled to France. +Champlain, who had accompanied this expedition, turned it to good +account in increasing his stores of geographical knowledge. In the +following year, 1608, de Monts succeeded in obtaining a renewal of his +patent for one year. After consultation with Champlain he decided that +Quebec would be the best place at which to attempt a settlement. He +accordingly equipped two vessels for the enterprise, and placed them +under the command of Champlain, whom he appointed as his lieutenant with +full powers of control over the whole expedition. He himself remained +behind in Paris to watch over his interests, which were subject at every +moment to attack. His lieutenant sailed from Honfleur on the 13th April +1608, and arrived at Tadousac on the 3rd of June, and at Quebec on the +3rd of July. Having disembarked his men, Champlain set them to work at +once to clear the level piece of land at the base of the rock, erect a +storehouse and dwellings, and surround the whole with a palisade and +ditch. Thus in the summer of 1608 was the city of Quebec founded, and +the power of France formally established on the North American +continent.</p> + +<p>The first event of note in the annals of the new colony was certainly +not an auspicious one: a plot that was formed by some of the men of the +expedition against the life of their commander. Had the designs of the +conspirators not been brought to light in time, the course of Canadian +history, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>as we know it, might have been seriously turned aside. Four +men were found guilty, and sentenced to death; the ringleader only, a +Norman named Jean Duval, was executed, the others were sent to France +where their sentences were commuted. Lescarbot, a contemporary writer, +to whom we are indebted for much information respecting the events of +the period, states that the men were dissatisfied with their food; but +from Champlain's own narrative it appears that the plot was formed, if +not before the expedition left France, at least before it reached +Quebec, and that the whole motive of the conspirators was gain, their +intention being to deliver over all Champlain's goods to the Basques and +Spaniards fishing and trading at Tadousac, and to escape on their +vessels with the proceeds of their treason. This danger, however, having +been happily averted, work was proceeded with on what Champlain in his +narrative calls the "habitation," and by the time winter set in the +dwellings were in readiness. The winter was destined to be a most +unhappy one. As before, when Cartier took up his quarters on the banks +of the St. Charles in the winter of 1535-6, scurvy broke out, and twenty +men out of a company of twenty-eight died.</p> + +<p>In the spring of 1609 a reinforcement for the shrunken colony was +brought out by Pontgravé. It was in the summer of that year that +Champlain, with little thought of the consequences his action would +entail, carried out a promise previously<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> made to the Algonquins and +Hurons to assist them in their feud with the Iroquois. Taking eleven +Frenchmen with him in a ship's boat, and accompanied by about three +hundred savages in their canoes, he proceeded as far as the mouth of the +Richelieu River. There most of the savages changed their minds, and +deserted the party. Finding that the boat was not suited to the +navigation of the Richelieu River up which the route to the enemy's +country lay, Champlain sent it back to Quebec and nine men with it. He +with two Frenchmen and sixty Indians proceeded in canoes, and on the +30th of July a band of Iroquois on the war-path was encountered on the +shore of what has since been known as Lake Champlain. The story is +briefly told. Champlain, who had loaded his arquebus with four balls, +brought down at the first shot three Iroquois chiefs, two instantly +killed, and the third mortally wounded. His men did further execution. +The Iroquois, astounded at such swift death, turned and fled. In the +pursuit others were killed. Commenting on this campaign, and a somewhat +similar one of the year following, the Abbé Faillon observes that if +Champlain, instead of siding with the Algonquins and Hurons against the +Iroquois, had declared himself the friend of all the tribes, he would +not only have done more honour to the French name, but would have gained +access for himself and for the missionaries who were to follow him to +all the Indian communities. By the course he actually followed he +inspired<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> the most powerful and best organized of the Indian tribes with +a hatred for the French race and for the religion they professed, which +during a long series of years wreaked itself in countless deeds of +blood, and more than once brought the colony of New France to the verge +of extinction. The massacre of Lachine (1689) was a late harvest of the +blood sown on the shores of Lake Champlain eighty years before.</p> + +<p>The vessels which brought out recruits brought also the news that the +exclusive privilege of trade granted to de Monts had been cancelled, or +at least had not been renewed, though de Monts still retained his +position as the king's lieutenant in New France. Champlain was therefore +obliged to return to France in the autumn and discuss matters. Leaving +Quebec on the 5th September he reached Honfleur on the 14th October. He +saw the king, reported progress, and showed him some of the products of +the country. De Monts renewed his efforts to be reinstated in his +privileges, but without success. In the end it was arranged that +Champlain should return to Canada, which he did, leaving Honfleur on the +8th April 1610, and arriving at Quebec early in May. We pass over the +second attack on the Iroquois, made in the month of June of this year, +in which Champlain was slightly wounded. It is interesting, however, to +learn that, on returning from his campaign, he found a piece of land +near his "habitation" at Quebec, which he had brought under +cultivation<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>, yielding good crops of vegetables, Indian corn, wheat, +rye, and barley. He had been much annoyed on reaching Quebec in the +spring to find that no care had been taken of some grape vines that he +had carefully laid down the previous fall. This was but one example of +an indolent neglect only too characteristic, unhappily, of the Quebec +colonists in after years.</p> + +<p>Towards the end of this summer grave news arrived. The king, Henry IV, +had fallen under the dagger of an assassin. Champlain and Pontgravé both +thought it desirable to return to France without delay, as it was +impossible to say how their interests might be affected by the change of +government. The only incident of importance, so far as is known, which +happened during Champlain's stay in France on this occasion, was his +marriage to a Protestant young lady named Helen Boullé, whom, on account +of her tender years—she was only twelve years old—he left to grow up +under her father's roof, but who brought him as her dowry a much needed +subsidy of six thousand francs. Thus financially reinforced he sailed +again for Canada in the spring of 1611. He had an appointment to keep, +made the previous year, with certain Indians to meet them at the Grand +Saut (Lachine Rapids) to discuss matters of trade and war. He arrived +there on the 28th May, a few days later than he had said, but found no +Indians. Not being a man to waste time he employed himself while waiting +in prospecting the Island of Mo<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>ntreal and erecting a wall, as the +commencement of a fort, almost on the very spot selected thirty-one +years afterwards by Maisonneuve for the same purpose. It has been +conjectured that, if Champlain had known all the advantages possessed by +Montreal, as compared with Quebec, before he began to construct +buildings at the latter place, Montreal would probably have been the +first capital of New France. This, however, seems hardly probable. It +was important that the capital should be a place naturally strong in a +military point of view—"naturâ fortis," as the motto of the city of +Quebec has it—and of comparatively easy access from the sea; and these +obvious advantages Quebec possessed in a much higher degree than +Montreal.</p> + +<p>De Monts was at last convinced that, under existing conditions, there +was no money in the enterprise to which he was committed. Others could +engage in the fur trade as freely as he, without having any +establishments in Canada to keep up; so he willingly resigned his empty +honours as lieutenant-general, in order to see what he could do as a +private trader, or private member of a trading company. The office of +lieutenant-general passed into the hands of a more powerful person, the +Duke of Condé, who wisely made Champlain his lieutenant, and under whose +auspices a powerful company was formed, consisting of all the traders of +Rouen and St. Malo who wished to join it. The merchants of La Rochelle +had also been invited to take a share in the en<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>terprise, but they held +off, and were consequently left out of the arrangement. Champlain had +returned to France in September 1611, and the difficulties and +oppositions of one kind and another to which the organization of the new +company gave rise kept him there till the spring of 1613, when, again +setting sail for Canada, he arrived at Quebec about the 1st of May. It +was in the early summer of this year that he made his celebrated trip up +the Ottawa River as far as Allumette Island, about one hundred miles +above the city of Ottawa, after which he again returned to France.</p> + +<p>Up to this time nothing had been done by the various trading companies +that had been formed towards the evangelization of the native tribes, +nor even for meeting the spiritual necessities of the Europeans settled +or trading in New France. Champlain, who remained in France during the +whole of the following year (1614), thought it time to take the matter +in hand. He therefore arranged with the Provincial of the Récollet +Fathers, a sub-order of the Franciscans, that six of their members +should go out to New France as missionaries, their maintenance and +lodging to be provided by the company. Four of the fathers sailed with +him from France in the ship <i>St. Étienne</i> of three hundred and fifty +tons, on the 24th April 1615, and arrived at Quebec about the 1st of +June. They were received with many tokens of satisfaction, but the good +fathers were not long in discovering that there was very little zeal for +religion in the colony, and th<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>at their work was going to be beset with +the most serious difficulties and discouragements. A Récollet writer, +Théodat Sagard, who came to Canada a year or two later, and who wrote a +most interesting record of his experiences, says that the French +themselves, who were supposed to be Christians, were by their scandalous +lives the greatest impediment to the conversion of the Indians. We +gather from Champlain's narrative that the first celebration of the mass +took place at Rivière des Prairies, a few miles below Montreal, before a +few French and a large number of Indians, "who were full of admiration +at the ceremonies practised, and the ornaments used, the latter in +particular seeming to them, unaccustomed as they were to such things, +very beautiful and interesting."</p> + +<p>Champlain himself was present on this solemn occasion, and it is a cause +of regret to know that he was at the moment under a promise to join the +Huron Indians in another attack on the Iroquois. It was in connection +with this expedition that some of his most interesting geographical +discoveries were made. The point of rendezvous for the warriors was a +Huron village to the west of Lake Simcoe called Cahiagué. To reach it +Champlain's Indian guides took the route by the Ottawa River to Lake +Nipissing, thence by the French River into the Georgian Bay, and down +through the clustering islands on its eastern coast to some point not +far from Penetanguishene. Beyond Allumette Island on the Ottawa all was +new<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> to Champlain. He now saw for the first time Lake Simcoe, Sturgeon +Lake, Rice Lake, and finally Lake Ontario. He describes the country he +passed through as most beautiful. The expedition, however, was fated to +be unsuccessful, and came very near to proving most disastrous. The +attack made on a fortified position of the enemy was repelled; Champlain +himself received two painful arrow wounds; and if the Iroquois had only +sent a party to capture and destroy the canoes of the Hurons, the whole +invading force might easily have been annihilated. It was about the +middle of October that the fight took place. Champlain, as soon as his +wounds were healed, was anxious to be conducted back to the Grand Saut, +whence he might make his way to Quebec; but his allies pleaded the +impossibility of sparing men and canoes for the purpose, and he was +consequently obliged to spend the winter with them. Not unnaturally the +French at Quebec had almost given him up for lost, when he made his +appearance among them some time in the month of June 1616.</p> + +<p>Little of interest occurred in the colony, if we may call it by that +name, for several years after this. In 1620 Champlain began the +construction of the Château St. Louis on a portion of the ground now +covered by Dufferin Terrace; yet at this date the whole population of +Quebec did not exceed fifty persons. Amongst these there was only one +who could be called a settler in the true sense of the word. This was +Louis Hébert who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> had come to Canada in 1617 under a contract with the +company, the terms of which do not give us a favourable opinion of the +liberality of that corporation or of their desire to open up the +country. Hébert, who was a chemist and apothecary by profession, was +bound to serve the company for three years for a hundred crowns a year, +his wife and children being also liable to be called upon for any help +they could render. He received an allotment of land; but he could only +work on it at such times as his services were not required by the +company. At the end of three years he might grow crops, but he must sell +his produce to the company at such prices as were current in France. +Notwithstanding these restrictions, Hébert managed in the course of time +to establish himself in comfort, and to become a substantial <i>bourgeois</i> +of the new colony.</p> + +<p>The Récollet fathers had now been five years in the country, yet the +interests of religion were not flourishing. They found that they were +not receiving the assistance from the company that had been promised; +and, not only so, but that their influence with the natives was +constantly being undermined by the company's agents and servants, whose +one preoccupation was trade. In their perplexity and discouragement—for +they were really making no headway at all—it occurred to them that, if +they could have the assistance of a few Jesuit fathers, the situation +might be materially improved, their impression being that the Jesuits, +if they came,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> would probably have some independent means of their own, +and moreover that the high credit they enjoyed in France would stand +them in good stead in the colony. They consequently sent home one of +their number to conduct negotiations to that end. The result was that, +in the month of June 1625, three Jesuit fathers and two coadjutors came +out to Quebec, to begin that career of evangelization and of dauntless, +self-sacrificing effort which has won for their order an imperishable +name in the annals of French colonization in North America.</p> + +<p>What may be called the first chapter in the history of New France was +now drawing to a close. In 1621 the Duke of Condé had, with the royal +approval, transferred the lieutenant-generalship to the Duke of +Montmorency for a consideration of eleven thousand francs. Some changes +were at the same time made in the organization of the trading company. +In 1625 Montmorency in turn passed over the office to his nephew, Henri +de Lévis, Duke of Ventadour. These changes in no way improved the +situation of the settlement at Quebec which, under all managements, was +consistently starved and kept down to the level of a precarious +trading-post. The French during these years were more and more losing +influence with their Indian allies, the Hurons and Montagnais, whose +attitude at times became very menacing, and who actually committed +several murders for which it was impossible to bring them to punishment. +The chief reason for the change of temper on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> part of the natives +was that they found they were being systematically cheated by the French +traders, who beat them down to the lowest price for their furs, and +charged them the highest price for commodities sold. A Récollet writer +tells a story of an Indian chief which places the character of the red +man in a much more favourable light than that of the civilized Europeans +with whom he was dealing. The chief, at the request of some of his +people, was begging one of the agents of the company to treat them with +a little more fairness and humanity. The agent, after considerable +discussion, offered the chief to do business with him personally on more +liberal terms, but said he could not make any change as regards the +other Indians. "You are insulting me then," said the chief, "for if I +were to consent to such an arrangement I should deserve to be hanged by +my own people. I am their captain; it is for them I am speaking, not for +myself."</p> + +<p>Things had reached such a pass that Champlain thought it necessary to +speak very plainly to the home authorities. Cardinal Richelieu, who was +at this time at the head of affairs in France, and specially in charge +of the maritime interests of the kingdom, determined on what he hoped +would be a radical measure of reform, namely the formation of a company +on a much wider basis than any preceding one, and consisting of persons +of higher mark and responsibility, who should hold their powers directly +from himself. The edict establishing the company, the legal name of +which was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> the Company of New France, but which was afterwards more +commonly known as the Company of the Hundred Associates, bore date the +29th April 1627. The preamble set forth in forcible terms the lamentable +failure of all the previous trading associations to redeem their pledges +in the matter of colonization; and the new associates were, by the terms +of their charter, bound in the most formal and positive manner, to +convey annually to the colony, beginning in the following year, 1628, +from two to three hundred <i>bona fide</i> settlers, and in the fifteen +following years to transport thither a total of not less than four +thousand persons male and female. The settlers were to be maintained for +three years, until they could get their land under cultivation, and then +for one season till they had reaped their crops. Provision was also to +be made for the maintenance of a sufficient number of clergy to meet the +spiritual wants both of the settlers and of the native population. In +consideration of these services all French possessions between Florida +and the Arctic Circle, and from Newfoundland as far west as the company +should be able to possess the land, were handed over to them in absolute +sovereignty, saving only the supreme authority of the French king. They +had, of course, a complete monopoly of trade, with the sole exception of +the cod and whale fisheries which, as before, were to be open to all +French subjects.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p> + +<p>A most unexpected event, however, was destined to delay for some years +the carrying out of the plans of the great cardinal. In the very year in +which the new company was formed war broke out between France and +England. The general result of the war was both disastrous and +inglorious for England; but a notable incident of it was the capture of +Quebec by a small fleet of privateers under the command of Captain David +Kirke, sailing under letters of marque from the English king, Charles I, +authorizing him to attack the French in Canada, and drive them out of +the country if possible. Kirke's first exploit was to defeat and +capture, early in 1628, not far from Gaspé, a French fleet of eighteen +vessels carrying a considerable number of colonists, and also a large +quantity of provisions, goods of all kinds, and munitions of war for the +colony of New France. To what dire extremities the loss of these +supplies reduced the already feeble settlement is movingly described in +Champlain's own narrative. Kirke, after his victory, stripped the +vessels of the enemy of whatever they contained that was valuable, burnt +the smaller ones, and took the larger ones to Newfoundland. Then, after +destroying the French settlements in Acadia, he sailed for England with +his prisoners and a portion of the booty. This gave the colony at Quebec +a year's respite from attack; but owing to a series of misfortunes no +succour was received from France during the interval. The consequence +was that, when Kirke returned in the following year to the St. +Lawr<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>ence, and sent two of his brothers, Louis and Thomas, with three +small but well-appointed vessels—he himself remaining at Tadousac—to +demand the surrender of Quebec, the only course open to Champlain, who +not only had no adequate means of defence, but whose little garrison was +on the point of starvation, was to make an honourable capitulation. It +was agreed that the French should evacuate the place carrying with them +their arms, clothing, and any furs they might individually own, and +should be allowed to return to France in a vessel of their own +providing. As they had difficulty in procuring a suitable vessel, Kirke +in the end furnished one of two hundred and fifty tons, manned by +seventy of his own sailors, and landed them, to the number of over a +hundred, in England. The preliminary articles of capitulation were +signed on the 19th July 1629, and two days later the English flag was +raised on the Château St. Louis, to the accompaniment of salvos of +artillery, fired both from the ships in the river and the land +batteries, of which the English had now taken possession.</p> + +<p>While all this was going on the Kirke brothers and Champlain were alike +unaware that, three months previously, peace had been signed between +England and France. The disappointment and chagrin of David Kirke when +he landed the Quebec garrison in England, and learned that the capture +had been made in time of peace and would probably have to be restored, +may be imagined.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> Champlain made it his business to go at once and see +the French ambassador in London, in order to report what had taken place +and urge the restitution of the colony to France. The matter was taken +up by the French government, and Charles promised to restore Canada, but +made no engagement respecting Acadia. The French king, Louis XIII, about +this time had his hands full with domestic sedition and foreign war. His +own brother, Gaston de France, with the sympathy both of the queen and +of the queen mother, was in revolt against him, as well as the Duke of +Montmorency, former lieutenant-general of Canada. The rebellion was +crushed through the vigorous action of Cardinal Richelieu, and +Montmorency was brought to the block; but meantime the negotiations with +England had remained in suspense. Finally they were brought to a +conclusion in 1632, Charles agreeing to restore both Canada and Acadia. +The probability is that had he refused to do so the matter would not +have been pressed—at least not to the point of war—and that Canada and +Acadia would have remained English possessions. Never, in the course of +history, did a country more distinctly stand at the parting of the ways; +and it is singular to reflect that, in all probability, it is owing to +the restitution of Canada to France at that time that the Dominion of +Canada is to-day a British possession.</p> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3>CANADA BEFORE FRONTENAC</h3> + +<h3>1632 <span class="smcap">TO</span> 1672</h3> + + +<p><span class="dropcap">C</span>anada had fallen into the hands of the English before the new company +organized by Cardinal Richelieu was able to enter on the rights and +privileges secured to it by the edict of incorporation, or even so much +as to set foot in the country. Whatever there might be at Quebec in the +way of buildings, fortifications, etc., was the property of the +preceding company, of which one William de Caën was the head. It seemed +advisable, therefore, to Cardinal Richelieu to send William de Caën, or +some one deputed by him, out to Quebec to accept transfer of the country +on behalf of the French king from Louis Kirke, who had remained in +command there. De Caën named his brother Emery for this duty, and the +latter, provided with all necessary papers and instructions, set sail +from France towards the end of April 1632, and arrived at Quebec on the +5th of July. An order from King Charles of England, of which he was +bearer, required Kirke to evacuate the place within eight days. The +order was complied with, and the French resumed possession of Quebec +three years, all but a month, after yielding it up to the English. +Mention has been made of the one genuine settler or <i>habit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>ant</i> at +Quebec, Louis Hébert. He had died some time before the capitulation; but +his widow and her son-in-law, who had between them some seven acres of +land under good cultivation, had remained in the country during the +whole period of the English occupation. The <i>Jesuit Relations</i> tell of +the joy of the widow at welcoming her own countrymen again, and +particularly of the delight she manifested when her house was used as a +chapel for the first celebration of mass after the French re-occupation. +In the spring of the following year Champlain, who had been recommended +by the new company as governor, and had received his appointment as such +at the hands of the cardinal, set sail for Canada with three vessels, +carrying in all about two hundred persons, more than half being +intending colonists. The ships brought besides a liberal supply of +stores, the company, in the new-broom stage of its existence, being +desirous of improving on the methods and practices of its predecessors. +Arriving at Quebec on the 23rd of May, Champlain took over the keys of +the place from de Caën. His first care was to put the fort and other +buildings, which were found to be in a ruinous condition, in proper +repair. He next erected a chapel to replace the one formerly in use +which had been destroyed; and, at the earnest request of the Huron +Indians, he established a fort at Three Rivers to assist in protecting +them against the incursions of the implacable Iroquois.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p> + +<p>De Caën had brought out one or two Jesuit fathers with him, and others +came with Champlain. Why the Récollets did not seize the first +opportunity of returning to Canada is not very clear. In the year 1635 +they had made arrangements for returning, but were requested by the +intendant of the company in France to delay their departure. The next +year they were plainly informed that the cardinal did not wish them to +go to Canada. They were thus shut out from a mission-field which they +had been the first to occupy, and it is not surprising that they felt +considerably aggrieved, nor that they were disposed to attribute their +exclusion to the machinations of the Jesuit order. The responsibility in +the matter seems to have rested with the cardinal. It was he who sent +out the Jesuit fathers; and not improbably he thought that there would +be less friction and more progress if the field of New France were +entrusted to a single order of ecclesiastics than if it were divided +between two.</p> + +<p>The laborious, useful, and heroic life of Champlain was now drawing to a +close. One of the last subjects that engaged his attention was the sale +of liquor by traders and colonists to the Indians, a practice against +which he issued the most stringent prohibitions, but which, as we shall +have further occasion to see, proved a very difficult one to control. In +the summer of 1635 he took advantage of the presence at Quebec of a +large number of Hurons from the upper country to summon them and the +French residents to a general<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> assembly, in order that he might have an +opportunity of urging upon them the duty and advantage of espousing the +religion professed by the French. If their friendship with the French, +he said, was to be maintained and strengthened, they must embrace the +faith of the latter; and in that case God, who was all-powerful, would +bless and protect them, and give them the victory over their enemies. +They would also learn the arts of civilization, and in every way enjoy +great happiness and prosperity. What impression this discourse made is +not stated. In point of fact the Jesuits, who devoted themselves +specially to mission work amongst the Hurons, had eventually a +considerable measure of success in converting them to Christianity; but +the unhappy tribe, instead of triumphing in war, became a more and more +helpless prey to their heathen enemies, and, in about fifteen years from +this date, were almost obliterated from the face of the earth.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> + +<p>Not long after the convoking of this assembly Champlain was smitten with +paralysis; and on Christmas Day, 1635, he died in the sixty-ninth year +of his age. His funeral sermon was preache<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>d by the Superior of the +Jesuits, Father Le Jeune, and he was buried with all due honour in—as +the Jesuit narrative tells us—a "<i>sépulcre particulier</i>"; but a +careless posterity soon forgot even the place of his interment, and +to-day the question as to where he was laid is a matter of antiquarian +debate. The contingency of his death had been provided for by the +company, who had placed in the hands of Father Le Jeune, a sealed +letter, giving authority to a M. de Châteaufort to act as interim +governor. The following summer M. de Montmagny came out from France as +second governor of Canada. He appears to have been a man of firm and +upright character, but the position to which he succeeded was an +extremely difficult and critical one. The Jesuits were as yet having +very limited success in the conversion of the native tribes, and were +even incurring a dangerous amount of suspicion and hostility. They were +accused of witchcraft; and it began to be commonly said amongst the +savages that baptism was a sure precursor of death. There was truth in +the allegation just to this extent, that the fathers, for the most part, +were only allowed to baptize those who were already in a dying +condition, particularly children. The confusion between <i>post hoc</i> and +<i>propter hoc</i> is so common among the civilized and instructed, that we +cannot be surprised if Hurons and Algonquins were not proof against it. +The Iroquois at the same time were becoming more and more daring in +their attacks, while the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> resources of the colony for repelling them +were sadly inadequate. The Company of the Hundred Associates had made a +fair beginning in the matter of sending out colonists and +supplies—forty-five new settlers came out with Montmagny—but in a few +years their capital began to run short, and it became a question whether +the magnificent powers and privileges they possessed represented a very +profitable business arrangement. The consequence was that, just as +before under successive trading companies, the interests both of +colonization and of defence were neglected.</p> + +<p>But, if the company was lapsing into inertness, other agencies, not of a +commercial character, were at work laying the foundations of +institutions destined to exert a most important and lasting influence on +the future life of the colony. The year in which Champlain died +witnessed the establishment at Quebec by the Jesuit, M. de Rohault, son +of the Marquis de Gamache, of a college for boys. Four years later, in +1639, a vessel arrived from France bearing two ladies, of note, Madame +de la Peltrie and Madame Guyard, Mère de l'Incarnation, whose mission +was to establish a school for girls, white and Indian, and whose names +are illustrious as the founders of the Ursuline Convent. On the same +vessel were a number of nuns sent out by the Duchess d'Aiguillon to +perform hospital duties: this was the origin of the Hôtel Dieu. In the +year 1641 M. de Maisonneuve, a pious layman, conducted to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> Canada a +small band of trusty followers whose destination was the Island of +Montreal, where it was proposed to form a strictly Christian colony. +With M. de Maisonneuve was a pious lady, Mdlle. Mance, who three years +later became the founder of the Hôtel Dieu at Montreal, funds for the +purpose having been supplied by a rich benefactress in France, Madame de +Bullion. Looking forward nine years, that is to say to 1653, we find the +admirable Sister Margaret Bourgeoys establishing at Montreal the +Congrégation de Notre Dame for the education of girls. As Garneau well +says, "the love of learning and charity gave birth in Canada to all the +great establishments destined for public instruction and the alleviation +of human suffering."</p> + +<p>The question may naturally be asked how it happened that Canada, at this +very early stage of its history, attracted so much attention as a field +for missionary and educational effort. An explanation is to be found in +the fact that the Jesuits, from the time when they first entered on +their work in this country, made a practice, under instructions from the +head of their order, of writing year by year a narrative of their +doings, which they despatched to France, and which was there published +and circulated amongst those who were interested in religious work. +These narratives constituted the celebrated <i>Relations des Jésuites</i>, +which form the chief source of information regarding the history of +Canada for a period of over<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> forty years. Of these interesting annals, +forty volumes of which in all were published, Parkman has said: "The +closest examination has left me no doubt that these missionaries wrote +in perfect good faith, and that the <i>Relations</i> hold a high place as +authentic and trustworthy historical documents." On the other hand the +latest historian of the Jesuits in New France, the Rev. Father +Rochemonteix, while also asserting the substantial accuracy of the +<i>Relations</i>, acknowledges that "they do not reflect the complete +physiognomy of New France; they only show one side of it, the most +attractive, the most consoling, namely, the progress of Christianity, +its toils and heroic struggles, and the valiant achievements of the +colonists. The rest is intentionally left in the shade, passed over in +silence. The other side of the physiognomy is omitted, or nearly so. +What we have is history, but incomplete history."<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> + +<p>It was from these narratives, so carefully and skilfully edited for +purposes of edification, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>that the impulse proceeded which moved pious +souls to contribute, in some cases their labours, in others their +wealth, to the advancement of the cause of religion in the wilds of +Canada. The fathers told of their difficulties and discouragements; but +they told also of the many signs vouchsafed that Heaven was interested +in their self-sacrificing efforts. Sometimes they made direct appeals +for assistance. A Jesuit school for boys had been established, as +already mentioned, as early as 1635. A few years later Father Le Jeune +writes in the <i>Relations</i>: "Is there no charitable and virtuous lady who +will come to this country to gather up the blood of Christ by teaching +His word to the little Indian girls?" The call was answered in the +establishment of the Ursuline Convent. It is not easy, in these days of +swift, safe, and luxurious travel, to imagine what it was in the earlier +part of the seventeenth century for women of delicate nurture to leave +friends and home and civilized surroundings, and, braving the Atlantic +storms in small, ill-equipped and comfortless vessels, to set their +faces towards a continent lost in the distant west, amid whose forests a +handful of pioneers were doubtfully holding their ground against the +scowling hordes of savagery. The historian, Parkman, devotes two +chapters of his <i>Jesuits in North America</i> to an account of these +enterprises, and of the holy women whose names are inseparably connected +with them. In Madame Guyard, Mère de l'Inca<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>rnation, who became Superior +of the convent, he recognizes a very true woman, full of tender feeling, +yet endowed with practical abilities of the first order. Of Margaret +Bourgeoys, founder of the Congrégation de Notre Dame at Montreal, he +speaks with equal enthusiasm. "Her portrait," he says, "has come down to +us; and her face is a mirror of frankness, loyalty, and womanly +tenderness. Her qualities were those of good sense, conscientiousness, +and a warm heart. Her religion was of the affections, and was manifested +in an absorbing devotion to duty." He recognizes "in the martial figure +of Maisonneuve, and the fair form of this gentle nun, the true heroes of +Montreal."<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> + +<p>Maisonneuve was the true type of the Christian warrior. An association +of religious persons at Paris, of whom M. Jean Olier, founder of the +Seminary of St. Sulpice, and M. Royer de la Dauversière were chief, had +obtained from the Company of New France a grant of the greater portion +of the Island of Montreal, and a considerable block of land to the east +thereof on the north shore of the river St. Lawrence. To effect this it +had been necessary to pay a considerable sum of money to extinguish a +prior claim of one M. de Lauson, an officer of the company, to the same +territory. Marvellous stories are told of the supernatural +communications received by MM. Olier and Dauversière, by which the duty +wa<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>s laid upon them of sending a colony for purposes of evangelization +to the Island of Montreal, of the existence of which, it is averred, +they had no previous knowledge. However this may have been—natural +means of knowledge, it may be observed, were available in the <i>Relations +of the Jesuits</i>—an association was formed under the title of the +Associates of Montreal; money was liberally subscribed; the island was +purchased; and the members of the projected colony were brought +together. A "Greatheart" was needed to conduct the little band; and +Maisonneuve, who was home from the wars of the Low Countries, hearing of +the holy enterprise, placed his sword and his life at the service of the +association. In the month of May 1641 two small vessels sailed from La +Rochelle, one bearing M. de Maisonneuve and twenty-five men, the other +Mdlle. Mance, a Jesuit priest, and twelve other men. Both arrived safely +at Quebec in the month of August. Governor Montmagny wished to keep what +he regarded as a valuable reinforcement at Quebec; but Maisonneuve +insisted on carrying out his mission. He went up to Montreal accordingly +before the navigation closed, in company with the governor, to take +formal possession of the island, but returned to winter in Quebec. In +the spring he took his whole party up the river, arriving at Montreal on +the 18th of May. Madame de la Peltrie leaving her own work at Quebec +accompanied him, only to return, howe<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>ver, after a short stay. An altar +was erected on the riverside, and mass was celebrated by the Jesuit +father, Vincent, who afterwards delivered an address, in which he said +he doubted not that the grain of mustard seed they were then sowing was +designed by Providence to become a mighty tree.</p> + +<p>The prophecy has been amply fulfilled, but many anxious years had to +pass before the destiny of the tree was at all assured. The position of +Montreal was far more precarious than that of Quebec, as it was so much +more accessible to the sworn enemies of the colony, the Iroquois. For +twenty-four years Maisonneuve held the post of military governor, +edifying all by his piety, and inspiring confidence in all by his +bravery and vigilance. The story of his trials and of his prowess, is it +not told, with a rich blending of supernatural elements, in the naïve +record of Dollier de Casson, and the more comprehensive and systematic, +but equally naïve, history of the learned and unfailingly interesting +Abbé Faillon? And yet—such is the irony of human events—when a very +pious governor, the Marquis de Tracy, came out in 1665 as the king's +lieutenant-general for all his North American possessions, one of his +first acts, inspired, it is said, by the council at Quebec, was to +dismiss this veteran warrior as being unfit for his position. Making no +demur, attempting no self-justification, but bowing to the stroke, which +he regarded as an intimation of the will of Providence, the brave +Maisonneuve retired quietly to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> France, where he spent the remainder of +his days.</p> + +<p>After a service of twelve years as governor M. de Montmagny was relieved +in 1648, and replaced by M. d'Ailleboust, who had previously exercised +judicial functions at Montreal in close association with M. de +Maisonneuve, whom he resembled in the exalted and ascetic character of +his piety. The name of Montmagny had been translated by the Indians into +"Onontio," signifying "Great Mountain"; and henceforth all French +governors were, in Indian parlance, "Great Mountains." M. d'Ailleboust +retained office only three years. During his administration, as during +that of his predecessor, the Iroquois were incessant in their +depredations, which they would sometimes carry on under the very +palisades of Montreal. They succeeded during this period in all but +exterminating the Hurons, their traditional foes and now allies of the +French. One or two treaties were made with the aggressive savages, and +once or twice they were repelled with loss; but the treaties were not to +be depended on, nor were the defeats such as to give them serious check. +One event which marked the latter part of M. de Montmagny's +administration must not be overlooked. The Company of New France, or of +the Hundred Associates, had, as we have seen, begun operations upon the +retrocession of the colony by England in 1632. According to their +charter their work was to be one of colonization as well as of trading; +but ten years later the total French population of Canada, Montreal +in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>cluded, did not exceed two hundred souls. The country, instead of +being developed, was being strangled, the company having absolute +control, not only of the fur trade, but of its commerce generally, which +it hampered in every possible way. Meantime the company itself was +losing money. Negotiations were therefore entered into between the +inhabitants, represented by M. de Repentigny, who went to France for the +purpose, and the officers of the company. The result being that, in the +month of January 1645, a treaty, as it was called, was made between the +company on the one hand, and the inhabitants, through their delegate, on +the other, by which the former, while retaining all their sovereign +proprietary and feudal rights, with power of nominating the governor and +the judges, threw open to the latter, not individually but as a +community, the fur trade of Canada on condition that they should assume +all expenses of civil administration and military defence, pay the +salaries of the clergy, bring into the country every year twenty new +colonists, and finally hand over to the company annually one thousand +pounds weight of assorted beaver skins. The inhabitants were, by this +arrangement, which received the royal sanction on the 6th March 1645, +formed into a corporation, afterwards called the "New Company," to +distinguish it from the Company of New France or the "Old Company." It +was understood that the New Company would elect its own managers; while +the Old Company reserved the right to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> keep certain officials of its own +in the country to watch over its interests, throwing the cost of their +maintenance, however, on the inhabitants in their corporate capacity.</p> + +<p>This arrangement was received at the time with some satisfaction by the +colonists, but in reality it was a most illiberal one, under which it +was impossible for the country to thrive. Its immediate effect was to +send nearly all the men of the settlement into the woods, and to turn +the wilder and more daring spirits into <i>coureurs de bois</i>, a class of +men who will figure largely in our subsequent narrative. Two years later +we find the inhabitants complaining to the king that the new scheme was +working very badly, and giving rise to serious "abuses and +malversations." The king did not know very well what to do about it; but +by the advice of certain of his ministers he decided to place the +government of the colony on a slightly wider basis, with just the least +particle in it of a representative element. To this end he created a +council which was to consist of the governor, the ex-governor, if he +were in the country, the superior of the Jesuits, pending the +appointment of a bishop, and two inhabitants to be selected by the +council, or three if the ex-governor were not residing in the country. +In addition, the three settlements of Quebec, Montreal, and Three Rivers +could each elect a "syndic," to hold office for three years, and to have +a deliberative voice in the council, but no vote.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span></p> + +<p>The effect of this measure, which seems to have been adopted without +consulting the Company of New France, was to give the council full +control of the fur trade of the country. That trade had to bear all the +expenses of government, as well as provide for the toll to be paid to +the Old Company; and it rested with the council to fix the proportion +which the inhabitants should contribute out of the gross proceeds of the +furs they either bought from the Indians or procured by the chase. If +they bought from the Indians they would have to pay for them with goods +purchased at the general stores, which again were controlled by the +council or its nominees; and it was a constant matter of complaint that +the prices of these goods were so high that it was impossible to trade +with the Indians on any favourable terms; the latter, as a rule, having +sense enough to put up their prices accordingly. A more burdensome +system, or one more liable to abuse, could not easily be imagined.</p> + +<p>In 1651, M. de Lauson was sent to replace M. d'Ailleboust. The question +at this time was seriously debated whether the colony would not have to +be abandoned. The settlement at Montreal was in imminent danger of +extinction. Maisonneuve saw clearly that, with the scanty force he had, +it was only a matter of time when the place would be at the mercy of the +foe. He therefore sailed in this year for France, determined, if he +could not obtain reinforcements, to return to Canada and bring all his +people back to France. The position of matters at Quebec was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> little +better. Mère de l'Incarnation writes: "The Iroquois have made such +ravages in this part of the country that for a time we thought we should +all have to return to France." Maisonneuve succeeded in his mission; but +he was two years absent from the country, and meantime anxiety both at +Quebec and at Montreal was at the highest pitch. He arrived in the month +of September 1653, bringing with him over one hundred soldiers carefully +chosen and well equipped, furnished, not by the government or the +Hundred Associates, who were tolerably indifferent to the fate of +Montreal, but by the company which had sent him out in the first place. +The governor was anxious to keep the whole force at Quebec; and +Maisonneuve had to exercise considerable firmness in order to be +permitted to take them all with him to Montreal. It was in the vessel +which brought out this detachment that Margaret Bourgeoys, whose name +has already been mentioned, came to Canada. She was struck on her +arrival by the desperately poverty-stricken look of the country. "There +were at the time in the Upper Town" (of Quebec), she says, "only five or +six houses, and in the Lower Town only the storehouse of the Jesuits and +that of the Montreal people. The hospital nuns were dressed in grey. The +poverty on all sides was something pitiable." The Quebec Ursulines were +desirous that Sister Bourgeoys should join their community, and +afterwards perhaps assist them in establishing a branch of their convent +in Montre<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>al; but the future foundress of the Congrégation de Notre Dame +knew her own mind. Her purpose in coming to Canada was to establish a +school for girls at Montreal, and to Montreal she would go.</p> + +<p>The weakness of the colony was painfully exhibited about this time in +its dealings with the Iroquois. The principal remnant of the Huron +nation, whose original settlements occupied the country between the +Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe, had taken refuge from their cruel enemies +in the Island of Orleans just below Quebec. Even here, they were not +left in peace. In the month of February 1654 a number of Iroquois came +down to Quebec ostensibly to negotiate for peace, but secretly +nourishing deadly designs against the unfortunate Hurons. What they +proposed was that those who were settled on the Island of Orleans should +leave their habitations there, go to the Iroquois country, and +incorporate themselves, as a portion of their nation had already done, +with the Iroquois confederacy. They also asked that a French colony, +including a certain number of priests—"black robes," as they called +them—should be planted in their territory. Although these propositions +were believed to mask the most murderous intentions, it was considered +imprudent to reject them, as the colony was in no condition to withstand +the general attack which it was feared would in that case ensue. After +some delay, therefore, a colony consisting of over fifty French left +Quebec <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>in the early summer of 1656, the understanding being that the +Hurons would follow later.</p> + +<p>The Iroquois nation or confederacy comprised, as is generally known, +five separate tribes, occupying the central and north-western portion of +what is now the state of New York, and known—to mention them in +geographical order from east to west—as Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, +Cayugas, and Senecas. There was a keen competition between the Mohawks +and the Onondagas, both for the French colony and for the possession of +the remnant of the Hurons. The colony was sent to the Onondagas; and the +Mohawks in a spirit of revenge made a descent on the Island of Orleans, +killed a number of Hurons, and carried over eighty into captivity. In +their retreat they also committed various depredations under the very +walls of Quebec—in so deplorable a condition of helplessness was even +the citadel of French power in Canada. Two years later the French colony +established among the Onondagas made its escape from impending massacre +in a manner little short of miraculous; but meantime, in defiance and +contempt of French authority, numbers of unfortunate Hurons had been +slaughtered or carried into captivity.</p> + +<p>M. de Lauson, the governor, does not seem to have been a man of any +great force of character. Moreover he was now over seventy years of age, +and, considering the helpless condition in which he was +left—practically abandoned by the Old Company<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> and very feebly +supported by the New—it is scarcely surprising that he should have +anticipated the conclusion of his term of office, and returned to France +in the summer of 1656. His son, M. de Charny-Lauson, replaced him for a +year, when he too sailed for France without awaiting the arrival of his +successor, M. d'Argenson. At his request M. d'Ailleboust consented to +act as interim governor.</p> + +<p>To the credit of the ecclesiastics it must be said that, whoever +despaired of the situation in Canada, they never did. At the very time +when the fortunes of the colony were at the lowest ebb, and the secular +chiefs were debating whether it would not be necessary to retire, bag +and baggage, the subject which chiefly occupied the minds of the clergy +was the organization and government of the church. M. de Maisonneuve had +brought out with him four Sulpician priests to minister to the needs of +the inhabitants of Montreal, and one of them, M. de Queylus, was the +bearer of letters from the Archbishop of Rouen, to whose diocese New +France was attached, creating him vicar-general for the whole colony. +Availing himself of the powers so conferred, M. de Queylus assumed the +direction of the church in Canada; and when some signs of reluctance to +recognize his authority manifested themselves in Quebec, he went to that +city, took personal charge of the parish, and enforced at least an +outward show of submission. The Sulpicians had hoped that M. de Queylus +would be made bishop; but the Jesuits, who <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>for many years had been in +exclusive charge of the religious interests of the colony, were +considered to have the best right to make the nomination. They chose, +with characteristic wisdom, a man who was destined to fill a most +important place in the history of Canada, François Xavier de +Laval-Montmorency, Abbé de Montigny. The negotiations for the +appointment of the new prelate were of a very perplexed and protracted +character, and it was not till the summer of 1659 that he arrived in +Quebec, and then not as bishop of Quebec, but as vicar-apostolic, with +the title of Bishop of Petraea <i>in partibus</i>. Laval was a man of great +piety, and inflexible determination; and for a time there was friction +between him and M. de Queylus, who, in his capacity as vicar-general of +the Archbishop of Rouen, was disposed to claim an independent position +for himself. Laval cut the controversy short by persuading the governor +to ship M. de Queylus off to France; and, when he returned the following +year, to ship him back again. This time the Sulpician had to remain at +home for several years; and the descendant of the Montmorencys achieved +the first of a long series of victories over opposing forces.</p> + +<p>In mentioning these incidents, however, we have run ahead by two or +three years of the strict sequence of events. Argenson, the new +governor, arrived on the 11th July 1658. He had hardly been twenty-four +hours at his post before the Iroquois gave him a hint what to expect by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> +making a raid in the immediate neighbourhood of Quebec. In the following +year the whole country, but particularly Quebec, was thrown into +trepidation over the news that an army composed of twelve hundred +warriors, gathered from the five Iroquois nations, was advancing with +fixed determination to wipe out all the French settlements. It would be +needless to repeat here, even if the limits of a very cursory narrative +permitted it, the glorious feat of arms by which this great danger was +turned aside from the colony. The story of our Canadian Thermopylæ is +familiar to every school-boy and school-girl in Canada. Suffice it to +say that the constancy of Dollard and the handful of companions who +perished with him in defending a position they had hastily fortified on +the river Ottawa, directly in the path of the invaders, so disheartened +the latter that they relinquished their enterprise. When so few could +hold so many at bay, what might not be expected when attack should be +made on the fortified posts of Montreal, Three Rivers, and Quebec? The +abandonment, however, of their larger design did not involve any +discontinuance of their accustomed mode of warfare. We hear of horrible +butcheries committed on settlers in the neighbourhood of Montreal and +even of Quebec; it seemed as if the colony could never get rest from its +tormentors. The new governor was a man of courage and ability, but he +lacked the means of effectually guarding against these treacherous +attacks, while the destitute<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> condition in which he found the colony +filled him with discouragement. Whether general starvation or massacre +was the more imminent danger was sometimes a grave question. Other +difficulties arose. Argenson and Laval, the civil and religious heads of +the state, found themselves at variance on points of ceremony and +precedence; and the bishop, whose self-confidence was unbounded, +undertook to give the governor certain doubtless well-meant admonitions, +which the latter did not take in good part. The governor's health may, +or may not, have been good, but he alleged that he was suffering from +physical infirmities, and asked for his recall. He left for France in +September 1661, his successor, Baron Dubois d'Avaugour, having arrived a +few weeks previously. A remark which he made respecting the head of the +Canadian church, in a letter written a year before his departure, may +perhaps be put on record: "I can say with truth that his zeal on many +occasions bears close resemblance to an extraordinary attachment to his +own opinions, and a strong desire to encroach on the rights and duties +of others."</p> + +<p>The Baron d'Avaugour only remained two years in the country. When he +arrived an earnest effort was being made by the clergy, headed by the +bishop, to have the law against selling liquor to the Indians strictly +enforced. The law was not popular in the country, and Avaugour thought +it altogether too severe; still he allowed it to take effect in the case +of two men who had been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> sentenced to death, and of one who had been +condemned to be publicly whipped. Shortly afterwards a woman was +imprisoned for a similar offence, and the Jesuit father, Lalemant, +having pleaded for a relaxation of the law in her case, Avaugour, glad +of a pretext to do away with it altogether, said that if the woman was +not to be punished, no one should be. The result was that liquor began +to be sold to the natives almost without restraint, and with effects +which one of the ecclesiastics said he had no ink black enough to +describe. Doubtless they were bad enough. The bishop fulminated from his +episcopal throne against the practice, and launched excommunications +right and left, but with little effect. He then decided on going to +France and laying the whole matter before the government. He left in the +summer of 1662; and it was while he was absent, that is to say in +February of the following year, that an earthquake occurred of which the +most extraordinary descriptions have come down to us. The only moderate +account is that given by Avaugour himself, who says in a despatch: "On +the 5th of February we had an earthquake, which continued during half a +quarter of an hour, and was sufficiently strong to extort from us a good +act of contrition. It was repeated from time to time during nine days, +and was perceptible until the last of the month, but steadily +diminishing." This was all an unimaginative mind like that of the baron +could make of it, but not so with min<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>ds of another order. One pious +soul saw four demons tugging at the four corners of the sky, and +threatening universal ruin, which they would have effected had not a +higher spirit appeared on the scene. We read that the air was filled +with howlings as of lost spirits, and flashings of strange, unearthly +lights, not to speak of a little detail of blazing serpents flying +abroad on wings of fire. But the marvels that took place in the aerial +regions were surpassed, if possible, by those that were witnessed on the +solid earth. To take only one example out of many: some sailors coming +from Gaspé, as Père Charlevoix relates, saw a mountain "skipping like a +ram," after which it spun round several times, and finally sank out of +sight. Houses swayed to and fro till their walls nearly touched the +street, and yet righted themselves in the end. Quebec and Montreal, +which, even at this early period, did not pull well together, were +somewhat at variance concerning the significance of the phenomenon. At +Montreal the favourite theory was that the devil was enraged to find God +so well served in the colony; at Quebec the humbler view prevailed that +the earthquake was a solemn warning to the people to abandon their evil +ways, and be obedient to the teachings of the clergy. Considering that, +despite the prohibitions of the clergy, the liquor traffic was just then +at its height, the admonition could not have come more opportunely.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span></p> + +<p>Laval, whose reputation for piety gave him great influence, the Abbé +Faillon tells us, at the not altogether puritanical court of Louis XIV, +was completely successful in his mission. Not only was the uncomplying +Avaugour recalled, but the bishop himself was requested to nominate a +successor. If the bishop had consulted the men by whom he had himself +been chosen, he would likely have got good advice; but he followed his +own judgment entirely and made a terrible blunder, as he did in a still +more important matter some years later. His choice fell on a M. de Mézy, +recommended to him by the possession of an exalted and almost hysterical +type of piety; and the two embarking on the same vessel arrived at +Quebec on the 15th September 1663.</p> + +<p>It would be taking a very one-sided and radically unjust view of Laval's +character to consider him simply as a man of ability with a strong +propensity to autocratic rule. A man of ability he was, and his temper +was unbending; but that, from first to last, he took the deepest and +most unselfish interest in the welfare of the Canadian people, and also +of the Indian tribes, is not open to a moment's question; nor can it be +denied that his views on the whole were broad and statesmanlike. It was +when he was in France, in 1662, that he arranged for the establishment +of that historic institution, the Quebec Seminary, the higher +development of which is seen in the Laval University of to-day. A few +years after his return he established the Lesser Seminary (Petit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> +Séminaire), as a school where boys could get a sound education under +religious auspices, and whence the more promising among them might be +drafted into the Grand Séminaire with a view to their preparation for +the priesthood. Memorable also were the services rendered by him in the +organization of a parochial system for Canada, which before his advent +had been treated almost wholly as a mission field.</p> + +<p>In February of the year 1663, the Company of New France, whose affairs +had been going from bad to worse, made a voluntary surrender of all +their rights and privileges to the king, leaving it to his discretion to +make them such compensation as might be just for the capital they had +sunk in their not very well-directed efforts. The king accepted the +surrender, and, as a means of providing for the better administration of +justice in the colony, and also the due control of its finances, he +created by royal edict a Sovereign Council, which was to consist of the +governor, the bishop, or other senior ecclesiastic, and five councillors +chosen by them jointly. A year later he proceeded to charter a +completely new company—as if the régime of companies had not been +sufficiently tried—under the name of the West India Company. To it the +entire trade of all the French possessions in America and on the west +coast of Africa was transferred. The new company was virtually the +creation of the great administrator, Colbert; and it may be assumed that +he trusted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> to his own vigorous oversight and control to make it a +success. He hoped, in fact, to succeed where a Richelieu had failed; +experience had yet to teach him that no administrative ability, however +eminent, can obtain prosperity from a system of close monopoly.</p> + +<p>It was not long before Laval and his pocket governor (as he had hoped +Mézy would be) found themselves at daggers drawn. The quarrel was of so +trifling a character that its details need not detain us; suffice it to +say, that Laval represented the case to the court and procured his +nominee's dismissal. The unfortunate man, however, whose weak mind was +assailed with the most distressing spiritual fears, when he found +himself under the ban of the church, accomplished a hasty reconciliation +with the offended powers, and died, desperately penitent, before his +successor reached Canada.</p> + +<p>The West India Company was empowered by its charter to nominate the +governor of Canada, but had voluntarily ceded that power to the king. +The latter, under the inspiration probably of Colbert, was now taking a +great interest in Canada. He was not going to leave it any longer at the +mercy of the Iroquois, if a thousand or more good French soldiers could +avail for its protection. As lieutenant-general over all his possessions +in America, he appointed a brave old soldier of much distinction, the +Marquis de Tracy; as governor of Canada in particular, M. de Courcelles; +and as intendant—a new office—M. Jean<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> Baptiste Talon. The +Carignan-Salières Regiment, about twelve hundred strong, had been +detailed for service in Canada, and was sent out in detachments, which +arrived at intervals during the summer; Tracy himself with four +companies reaching Quebec in June. Many of the men were landed sick of +fever; twenty had died on shipboard in the St. Lawrence. Mère +l'Incarnation, in one of her letters, attributes the malady to their +having opened the portholes when they got into the river, and let in the +fresh air too suddenly. In these days one is apt to conjecture that it +was the confined air, not the fresh air, that did the mischief, and that +the portholes might with advantage have been opened earlier.</p> + +<p>Tracy was eager to move against the enemy, but, as he was obliged to +await the arrival of the rest of his troops, he improved the interval by +erecting forts on the line of his intended march, one at the mouth of +the river Richelieu, known at that time as the Iroquois River, a second +at Chambly, some forty miles up the stream, and two others at points +still higher up. While this work was in progress Courcelles, the +governor, Talon, the intendant, and the remainder of the troops reached +Quebec (September 1665). Courcelles was even more eager for war than his +superior officer; and as it was too late when the forts were finished, +and the health of the troops had been sufficiently restored, to attempt +a summer campaign, he obtained the consent of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>the marquis to organize a +mid-winter one. Old inhabitants, who knew something of the rigour of the +climate and the difficulties to be encountered on the march, tried to +dissuade him from his purpose, but in vain. With a fatuity, of which +military history furnishes too many examples, Courcelles despised all +such counsels of prudence. He started with five hundred men on the 10th +of January, marching on the frozen St. Lawrence. The cold was fearful, +and the expedition had proceeded but a short distance when the +sufferings of the men became almost unendurable. At Three Rivers a +number had to be left behind who had been disabled by frost-bites. Some +reinforcements having been obtained at that point, the little army again +set forth. Two hundred men out of the whole force were Canadians, and +these naturally proved the fittest for the undertaking; nor did their +superior quality fail to impress Courcelles. At last the expedition +reached the Mohawk country, but the enemy were not there; they had gone +off on some warlike adventure of their own. There was some burning of +deserted cabins; but the position of the invading force began to be a +precarious one, for the winter was now merging into spring, and there +was danger that if the ice melted in the streams, their retreat would be +cut off. The Mohawks were already hovering in their rear. By the time +they reached the nearest of their forts they had lost sixty men by cold +and hunger. The only thing that can be said in favour of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> expedition +is that it greatly impressed the minds of the Iroquois, as proving that +the French had now the means of turning the tables on them and carrying +the war into their own country.</p> + +<p>The Iroquois showed some disposition to negotiate for peace; but nothing +came of it, and in September a larger expedition set out, commanded by +Tracy himself, with Courcelles as second in command. This time they not +only reached the Iroquois country, but, the savages having fled in +panic, they were able at their ease to destroy a number of fortified +villages and large quantities of food that had been laid up for the +winter. The Iroquois were deeply impressed by these vigorous +proceedings. They saw that a great change had come over the situation +and resources of the French colony, when, instead of submitting +helplessly to attack, they could equip two expeditions in one year to +seek them out in their own habitations. They hastened, therefore, to +renew their propositions of peace, and, as this time they were clearly +in earnest, Tracy concluded a peace with them which held good for +several years. The colony now had a rest, and the beneficial effects of +it were soon evident. Two years later the Jesuit annalist writes: "It is +beautiful now to see nearly all the banks of our river St. Lawrence +occupied by new settlements, stretching along more than eighty leagues, +making navigation not only more agreeable by the sight of houses dotting +the riverside, but also more convenient through an increase<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> in the +number of resting-places." A charming picture is here given in very +simple words.</p> + +<p>We have already had occasion to mention incidentally the dismissal by +Tracy of Maisonneuve. Whatever the motive of this harsh act may have +been, its consequences were most unhappy. Maisonneuve was a man of +incorruptible integrity. His successor, François Marie Perrot, was a man +of good family and fine appearance, who enjoyed considerable protection +at court and needed it all, for he had simply the instincts of a +dishonest trader, and used his office for the sole purpose of personal +gain. Tracy's connection with Canada was brief, for he was recalled in +the year following that in which he made his campaign against the +Iroquois, and the government of the country was left in the hands of +Courcelles and Talon; the former, as governor, representing the king in +a military, political, and high administrative capacity; while the +latter, as intendant, was entrusted with all that concerned the finances +of the colony and its industrial and commercial development. The two +heads of the state seem to have worked together at first, and for a +considerable time, with commendable harmony. The governor was a +judicious and capable administrator; the intendant, a man of wide views, +of singular discretion, and of indefatigable industry. The Abbé +Gosselin, in his <i>Life of Laval</i>, says that Talon "troubled himself +little about the moral condition of the colony so long as he saw its +commerce<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> and industry flourishing"; and again that "he was never well +disposed to the clergy, whose influence he feared, dreading that they +might become too rich." It is probably the case that he was not very +sympathetic with the ecclesiastical powers of the day, but he certainly +did apply himself to promote the material prosperity of the colony. +Amongst other things he caused three vessels to be built which were +despatched to the West Indies with cargoes of dried fish, staves, and +lumber; and also established a brewery at Quebec, in the hope of abating +the consumption of imported spirits. If he did not achieve a larger +measure of success, it was because little was possible under a system of +combined monopoly and paternalism. His reports to the home government +speak of the country as prosperous. In 1670 he writes that the money +granted by the king for the encouragement of families, and the different +industries established, have had such a good effect, that now no one +dares to beg, unless perhaps some unprotected child too young to work, +or some man too old to work or incapacitated by accident or disease.</p> + +<p>A census of the country taken by the intendant in the year 1666 showed a +total population of 3418. The estimated number of men capable of bearing +arms being 1344. The old Company of the Hundred Associates was, by the +terms of its contract to have brought 4000 settlers to the colony in +fifteen years, dating from 1633; but Talon's figures proved that, in +more than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> twice fifteen years, the whole population still fell +considerably short of that number. The population of Quebec at this time +was 555, of Montreal 584, and of Three Rivers 461. The seigniory of +Beaupré below Quebec had 678 inhabitants and the Island of Orleans 471. +The French government had for some years been showing much zeal in +sending out settlers to Canada, and it was chiefly owing to its efforts +that the population had increased to the extent indicated by the census. +The total number of state-directed immigrants from 1664 to the close of +the year 1671 is estimated at over 2500—a most substantial addition to +the strength of the colony. The Sulpicians must also be credited with +some useful activity in the cause of colonization. Their settlers were +of course directed to Montreal, and, as the figures above quoted show, +the population of that place already exceeded that of Quebec.</p> + +<p>The patent granted to the Company of New France, or of the Hundred +Associates, had made them lords of the whole territory of Canada, with +power to concede seigniories therein of varying degrees of extent, +importance and dignity. A few seigniories were established by that +company; but, as we have seen, the country under its management was +practically at a stand-still. All the rights which it had in the +disposition of the land were transferred to the West India Company; and +under Talon's régime the creation of seigniories proceeded much more +rapidly, owing mainly to the fact that there<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> were suitable applicants +for them in the officers of the regiments which the king had sent out. +The last few weeks he spent in the country were mainly occupied in this +way. In one month he issued sixty patents.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> This was entirely in +accordance with the intentions of the French government, which had +promised lands to any of the officers or soldiers of the Carignan +Regiment who might elect to settle in the country. A large number +accepted the proposition; and to provide wives for the excess of men +existing in the colony the government was assiduous in sending out +marriageable girls, on the whole very carefully selected, who as a rule +were snapped up immediately on arrival by wistful bachelors or +disconsolate widowers. If any were slow in finding partners owing to +lack of visible attractions, they were bonused in money and household +goods, which usually had the effect desired. Bounties were moreover paid +throughout the colony for early and fruitful marriages; and the +administrators were instructed to see that special respect was paid to +the fathers of large families, and particularly to those who, having +large families, had succeeded in marrying off their boys and girls at an +early age. Contrariwise, fathers whose children showed backwardness in +entering on matrimony were to be the objects of official displeasure. +Parkman expresses the truth with his usual picturesque force when he +says that, "throu<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>ghout the length and breadth of Canada, Hymen, if not +Cupid, was whipped into a frenzy of activity." A gratifying success +attended these practical measures. By the year 1671 the total population +had increased to six thousand. There were in that year seven hundred +baptisms; and the bishop, from doubtless reliable sources of +information, was able to promise the governor eleven hundred for the +next year. Unfortunately infant mortality was in those days extremely +high; or the population would indeed have been increasing by leaps and +bounds.</p> + +<p>It is a matter of regret that the early historians of Canada feel +themselves obliged to record a decline in the morals of the country, +dating from the arrival of the king's troops in 1665. Up to that time, +we are told, the inhabitants—those in the Montreal district at +least—had lived in a condition of pristine simplicity and innocence, +recalling that of the early Christians. No one locked his house by day +or night, the crime of theft being unknown. The ordinances of the church +were strictly observed by the whole population; but, if on occasion any +one failed in his duty, punishment promptly followed. For example, a man +on the Island of Orleans, having eaten meat on a Friday, was fined +twenty-five francs, half of which went to the parish church, and +threatened with corporal punishment if he repeated the offence. "Here," +observes the Abbé Faillon with quiet enthusiasm, "we see the true +destination of the secular power."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span></p> + +<p>But—ages of gold have a tendency to vanish away, and the Astraea of the +French colony took her sad flight shortly after the Carignan-Salières +Regiment arrived. These men had the pleasure-loving ways of soldiers, +and war had not trained them to a very strict regard for personal rights +or clerical admonitions. A ball was given at Quebec—the first ever held +in the country—on the 4th February 1667. The clergy held their breath, +not knowing what might follow. Many abuses, it would seem, followed: +morals began to be relaxed; thefts became sufficiently common to bring +bolts and locks into requisition; a Seneca chief was cruelly murdered by +three soldiers; and shortly afterwards six Indians were massacred in +their sleep by some settlers near Montreal. The object of the latter +crime was to obtain possession of a large quantity of furs which the +Indians had brought down to sell. That peace with the natives was +gravely imperilled by these atrocious deeds may readily be imagined. It +took all the firmness and tact of the governor to avoid an outbreak. The +three soldiers were shot by his orders in the presence of a number of +Indians. The other criminals seem to have escaped punishment by flight.</p> + +<p>The last important act of Courcelles was to undertake a journey up the +St. Lawrence as far as the outlet of Lake Ontario. The object of this +adventure was to impress upon the more distant Iroquois tribes, who had +boasted that they were out of reach of the French arms, that such was +not the case. The idea which these savages had was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> that the only route +by which the French could penetrate into their country was by way of the +river Richelieu and Lake Champlain, in which case they would have first +to pass through the "buffer" territory of the eastern Iroquois tribes. +The rapids of the St. Lawrence, they thought, would effectually bar +approach by way of Lake Ontario. To demonstrate their error, Courcelles +gave orders for the construction of a flat-boat of two or three tons +burden, which could be rowed in smooth water, and dragged up difficult +places on the rapids. When this craft was ready, he manned it with a +crew of eight men; and, taking also thirteen bark canoes, he ascended +the river successfully with a party of over fifty men, including the +governor of Montreal and other leading officials. The Iroquois (Cayugas +and Senecas) took due note of the feat and revised their opinions +accordingly.</p> + +<p>In the following year both Courcelles and Talon were recalled at their +own request. There had been friction between them for some time, and +they seem to have thought that it would be best for the king's service +that they should both retire. Whatever the causes of difference may have +been, they did not squabble in public like some of their successors. The +services of both were highly appreciated by the French government, and +the departure of both from Canada was very generally and sincerely +regretted.</p> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3>THE BEGINNING OF FRONTENAC'S ADMINISTRATION</h3> + + +<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>he information we possess respecting the life of Count Frontenac prior +to his appointment to the governorship of Canada is far from being as +complete as might be wished. Such particulars as the records of the +period furnish have been carefully gathered by Parkman and others;<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> +and it is doubtful whether any further facts of importance will come to +light. He was born—there is nothing to show where—in 1620, one year +after the great minister, Colbert, under whom he was destined to serve. +His family belonged to the small principality of Béarn, now incorporated +in the Department of the Basses Pyrénées, which, made an appanage to the +French Crown by Henry of Navarre, was only formally incorporated with +the kingdom of France in the very year in which Frontenac was born. His +father, Henri de Buade, was colonel of the regiment of Navarre, but has +not otherwise passed into history. His grandfather, Antoine de Buade, +Seigneur de Frontenac and Baron de Palluau, was a man of more +distinction, being not only state councillor under Henry IV, but first +steward of the royal household and governor of St. Germain-en-Laye. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> +is described in the memoirs of Philip Hurault as "one of the oldest +servants of the king." His children used to play familiarly with the +dauphin, afterwards Louis XIII; and the association thus formed lasted +for some time after their playmate became king, which he did, nominally, +at the age of nine, upon the assassination of his father, Henry IV. The +Frontenac family was thus noble, though not of the highest nobility; and +its connection with the domestic life of the royal family gave it no +doubt an additional measure of influence. The youthful king, with whom +the young Frontenacs played, became the father of Louis XIV.</p> + +<p>Louis de Buade, Count Frontenac, the subject of this narrative, felt +early in life a call to arms. The Thirty Years' War broke out in 1618; +and when France, in 1635, under the astute guidance of Cardinal +Richelieu, interfered on the Protestant side, Frontenac, then fifteen +years of age, was sent to Holland to serve under the Prince of Orange. +He seems to have acquitted himself with bravery and distinction in many +different sieges and engagements both in the Low Countries and in Italy. +He was wounded many times: at the siege of Orbitello in 1646 he had an +arm broken. In this year he was raised to the rank of <i>maréchal de +camp</i>, or brigadier-general. Three years before, at the age of +twenty-three, he had been made colonel of the regiment of Normandy. His +service appears to have been continuous, o<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>r nearly so, till the war was +brought to a conclusion in 1648 by the Peace of Westphalia. In the year +mentioned we find him resting from the alarms and fatigues of war in his +father's house on the Quai des Célestins at Paris. Close by lived an +attractive young lady of sixteen, daughter of a certain M. de la +Grange-Trianon, Sieur de Neuville, with whom, as became his age and +profession, the returned warrior fell deeply in love. His passion was +returned sufficiently to lead the young lady, when her father's consent +could not be obtained, to marry her suitor at one of the churches in +Paris authorized to solemnize marriages, in more or less urgent cases, +without the consent of parents. The marriage was not a happy one. Madame +de Frontenac soon conceived a positive aversion for her husband, and +they seem, at a very early period, to have ceased to live together, +though not before the birth of a son. The child was placed in the charge +of a village nurse, and little more is heard of him, except that when he +grew up he embraced the profession of arms, and died, it is not certain +how, at a comparatively early age. The mother joined the train of +Mademoiselle de Montpensier. These were the days of the Fronde—the +abortive rebellion against the fiscal iniquities of Mazarin during the +minority of Louis XIV—and in following the fortunes of her patroness, +whose father, the king's uncle, had joined the opposition, the young +countess had some strange adventures.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span></p> + +<p>What part, if any, Frontenac himself took in the troubles of the period, +does not appear; probably none, for although somewhat turbulent by +nature, as will abundantly appear hereafter, he was not without a large +element of caution, particularly where persons in high authority were +concerned. It is certain, at least, that, when the strife was over, he +enjoyed a good position at court, as Mademoiselle de Montpensier notes, +having met him more than once in the cabinet of the queen. He possessed +a property on the Indre, in the neighbourhood of Blois, and here he +attempted to keep up a state far beyond his income. "Your means are very +slender and your waste is great," said the chief-justice to Sir John +Falstaff; and the same observation might not inaptly have been addressed +to Frontenac. He prided himself extravagantly upon his horses, his +table, his servants—in a word, on everything that was his; entertained +largely, and ran himself hopelessly into debt. In 1669 the French +government sent a contingent to assist the Venetians in defending Candia +(Crete), against the Turks. The Venetians offered to place their own +troops under French command, and Frontenac had the high honour of being +recommended by Turenne, the greatest military leader of the age, for the +position. In this struggle the Turks triumphed; the island fell into +their power; and Frontenac returned to France with enhanced military +prestige, but without any amelioration of his financial position. Saint +Simon describes him as "a man of good abilities, holding<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> a prominent +position in society, but utterly ruined." He adds that he could not bear +the haughty temper of his wife, and that his appointment as governor of +Canada was given to him in order to relieve him of her, and afford him +some means of living. His wife's temper was not more haughty probably +than his own; neither apparently was disposed to show any deference to +the wishes of the other. Madame de Frontenac, who was a woman of keen +intelligence, without any large amount of feminine tenderness, took too +dispassionate a measure of her husband's qualities to satisfy his rather +exacting self-esteem. She must have had some means of her own, for, +though she did not go to court, she lived for many years surrounded by +the best people and enjoying a high degree of social authority. Though +she did not accompany her husband to Canada, and probably was not +invited to do so, it is plausibly conjectured that her influence in +court circles stood him in good stead on more than one occasion.</p> + +<p>Frontenac's commission as governor was dated 6th April 1672, but he did +not leave France till midsummer. It is interesting to know that M. de +Grignan, Madame de Sévigné's son-in-law, was a candidate for the same +position. Had he obtained it, and had his wife, the accomplished +daughter of a still more accomplished mother, accompanied him, what +flashes of light on Canadian society might we not have obtained from +that mother's correspondence! Unfortunately no vestige of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> Frontenac's +private correspondence with either his wife or any one else remains. +Courcelles and Talon were still at Quebec when he arrived. From the +former he obtained a full account of his expedition to Lake Ontario; and +from the latter much information as to the general condition of the +country, the various enterprises in the way of exploration that had +already been undertaken, and the further ones that it might be well to +organize. Frontenac, who had the eye of a soldier for a good military +position, was much impressed by what Courcelles told him of Cataraqui; +and from the first the idea of establishing a fortified post at that +point took strong possession of his mind.</p> + +<p>The new governor was not a young man—he was fifty-two years of age—but +his natural force, either of body or of mind, was not abated. To a man +of his tastes and habits there were many privations involved in a +residence in a country like Canada; but there were compensations, the +chief of which, perhaps, was to be found in the opportunity afforded him +of exercising a semi-royal pomp and power; while a close second, it +cannot be doubted, was the chance of rehabilitating his shattered +fortunes. It would be unjust, at the same time, to suppose that the man +who had fought through so many hard campaigns was not sincerely desirous +of serving his king and country in the new position to which he had been +assigned. The first important step that he took was a charac<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>teristic +one, namely, an attempt to constitute in Canada the "three estates" of +nobles, clergy, and people, of which the kingdom of France was nominally +constituted. True, the three estates, or "States-General," as they were +properly called, had not been summoned in the mother country since 1614, +and it was doubtful if their existence as an organ of political +authority, or even of political opinion, was more than theoretical. This +fact might have caused another man to hesitate, but not Count Frontenac; +to him the idea of gathering representatives of the country round him, +marshalling them in their respective orders, and, after addressing them +in the name of the king, requiring them to take the oath of allegiance +in his presence, was too alluring to be put aside. So the summons went +forth, and the assembly was held on one of the last days of October in +the new church of the Jesuits. The "estates" were constituted, the oaths +were taken, and the governor stirred the feelings of his audience, +consisting, he says, of over a thousand persons, by referring to the +victories which his royal master had that year achieved in his war with +Holland. Everything, indeed, passed off beautifully; but when a report +of the proceedings reached the minister, Colbert, his response was of a +somewhat chilling nature. The immediate effect of the assembly might, +perhaps, he said, be good, but "it is well for you to observe that, as +you are always to follow the forms in force here, and as our kings have +co<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>nsidered it for a long time advantageous not to assemble the +States-General of their kingdom, with the object perhaps of insensibly +abolishing that ancient form, you also ought only very rarely, or—to +speak more correctly—never, give that form to the corporate body of the +inhabitants of that country." Colbert did not even approve—though +perhaps on this point he was expressing more particularly the views of +the king—of the election of "syndics" to represent the interests of the +population of Quebec. "Let every one," he said, "speak for himself; it +is not desirable to have any one authorized to speak for all." This was +absolutism with a vengeance. It answered for the day; but could the +minister have looked forward to 1789 he would have seen that the +"ancient form," which it was proposed to extinguish by desuetude, was +destined, like a blazing star that suddenly flashes a strange light in +the heavens, to leap into a new life, amazing, consuming, resistless.</p> + +<p>The views of the governor, it must be admitted, were, in this whole +matter, decidedly in advance of those of the minister, able +administrator as the latter undoubtedly was. Frontenac had come to +Canada to uphold the royal authority in the fullest sense, but he +appears to have had a perception that, in a new country where so much +responsibility was necessarily thrown upon individuals, there ought to +be a certain measure of spontaneous political life. Masterful <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>as he was +himself by nature, it is not recorded that he ever dwelt on the +necessity of repressing individual liberty; it is the intendant, +Meulles, a dozen years later, who writes: "It is of very great +importance that the people should not be allowed to speak their +minds."<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p> + +<p>No, the quarter in which Frontenac conceived the authority of his royal +master might, perhaps, be threatened, was a different one altogether; in +other words the battle he foresaw was not against the political +aspirations of the people, but against the excessive claims and +pretensions of the ecclesiastical power. This idea did not originate in +his own mind. The instructions which he brought out with him, while they +eulogized the zeal and piety of the Jesuits, hinted that they might seek +to extend their authority beyond its proper limits, in which case +Frontenac was to "give them kindly to understand the conduct they ought +to observe"; and if they did not amend their ways, he was, as the +document read, "skilfully to oppose their designs in such a way that no +rupture may ensue, and no distinct intention on your part to thwart +their purposes may be apparent." The court had, indeed, for several +years been under the impression that cautions of this kind to its +representatives were necessary. In Talon's instructions, drafted in the +year 1664, the troubles that had occurred between previous governors and +the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> bishop were rehearsed, and the inference was at least suggested +that these might in part have arisen from the domineering spirit of the +prelate. He had had his way with Argenson, Avaugour, and Mézy; but, if +the civil power was not to pale entirely before the ecclesiastical, it +was about time that the series of his victories should close. Other +despatches to Courcelles, Bouteroue (interim intendant during Talon's +temporary absence in France), and Frontenac himself contain observations +of a like tenor.</p> + +<p>The redoubtable vicar-apostolic was not in Canada when Frontenac +arrived. He had sailed for France in the month of May to press the +important matter of his appointment as bishop of Quebec. A letter which +he wrote to the cardinals of the propaganda almost immediately on his +arrival serves to show the reasons he had for desiring this change of +status, and, incidentally, his opinion of the civil officers of the +Crown. "I have learnt," he says, "by a long experience how insecure the +office of vicar-apostolic is against those who are entrusted with +political affairs, I mean the officers of the court, the perpetual +rivals and despisers of the ecclesiastical power, who steadily contend +that the authority of a vicar-apostolic is open to doubt, and should be +kept within certain limits. That is why, having considered the whole +matter very carefully, I have fully determined to resign that office, +and not to return to New France, unless the bishopric of Quebec is +constituted, and unl<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>ess I am provided and armed with the bulls +constituting me the Ordinary."<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> These are the words of a man who knows +his own mind, and, we may add, of one who is prepared to fight his +enemies to a finish. He may not have known, before he arrived in France, +what man, and what kind of a man, had been selected as successor to +Courcelles; but we may be sure that, when he found out, he was not less +impressed than before with the need for a strengthening of his position.</p> + +<p>Louis XIV had himself for thirteen years been pressing, at intervals, +upon the Holy See the expediency of establishing a bishopric in New +France, but without much success. There were some points of difference +between the French court and the Roman authorities as to the conditions +under which the projected diocese should be created, and the latter +showed a wonderful skill in prolonging the negotiations. Finally, the +only point in dispute was whether the new bishop should be a suffragan +of one of the French archbishops, as desired by the king, or directly +dependent on the Pope. This point was conceded by the king in December +1673; but it was not till October 1674 that the necessary bull was +issued. In the following April Laval took the oath of fealty to the king +as bishop of Quebec, with jurisdiction over the whole of Canada, and +shortly afterwards he set sail for the scene of his pastoral labours. +Thus it was that for nearly three years<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> Frontenac had no direct +relations with the head of the Canadian church.</p> + +<p>Was this interval, then, one of peace? Not entirely. Frontenac defines +his position and raises a note of alarm in his very first despatch to +the minister for the colonies.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> He was dissatisfied, he said, with +"the complete subserviency of the priests of the seminary at Quebec, and +the bishop's vicar-general to the Jesuit fathers, without whose orders +they never do anything. Thus," he adds, "they [the Jesuits] are +indirectly the masters of whatever relates to the spiritual, which, as +you are aware, is a great machine for moving all the rest." He thinks +they have gained an ascendency even over the Superior of the +Récollets;<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> and he expresses the wish that the ecclesiastics of that +order could be replaced by abler men who could hold their own against +the Jesuit influence. He mentions that he had expressed his surprise in +strong<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> terms to the Jesuit fathers at Ste. Foy that not one of their +Indian converts had been taught the French language, and had told them +that they "should bethink themselves, when rendering the savages +subjects of Jesus Christ, of making them subjects of the king also—that +the true way to make them Christians was to make them men." The governor +had probably noticed that lack of vigorous, self-helping manhood in the +Indian converts, which is hinted at even in the <i>Jesuit Relations</i>, and +which had certainly been conspicuous in the christianized Huron tribe in +the crisis of their struggle with the Iroquois. As regards teaching them +the French language, the missionaries had their own well-defined reasons +for not doing so. They did not wish to bring them into too close contact +with the French inhabitants, lest they should unlearn the lessons of +morality and religion that had been taught to them. The great object +which the priests had in view was to build up a kingdom not of this +world; and, as the object which the king and his officers had mainly in +view was to enlarge and strengthen the French dominions, it is not +surprising that there was clashing now and again. Frontenac, in writing +to Colbert, seems to have felt assured of sympathy in his somewhat +anti-clerical, or, at least, anti-Jesuit, attitude; otherwise he would +never have ventured to make, as he does in the same despatch, the +unjustifiable statement that the Jesuit missionaries were quite as much +interested <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>in the beaver trade as in the conversion of souls, and that +most of their missions were pure mockeries. It was of Colbert that +Madame de Maintenon said: "He only thinks of his finances, and never of +religion."</p> + +<p>But while the elements of future trouble were plainly visible, no +serious friction occurred during the first year of the new governor's +administration. His relations with the Jesuit order were civil, and with +the Sulpicians, at Montreal, and the Récollets entirely friendly. With +the Sovereign Council, too, they were all that could be wished. His mind +at this time was greatly taken up with the project he had in view of +following in Courcelles' footsteps and establishing a military and +trading post at Cataraqui. His general policy when he wanted to do a +thing was not to ask permission beforehand, but to do it, and trust to +the result for justification. Had he laboured under Nelson's disability, +he would have been quite capable of turning his blind eye to a +prohibitive signal, even after seeing it distinctly with his good one. +In his despatch to Colbert of the 2nd November he mentions, in a casual +way, that he proposes next spring to visit the place at the outlet of +Lake Ontario where M. de Courcelles had projected the establishment of a +fort, in order that he may be able "the better to understand its site +and importance, and to see if, notwithstanding our actual weakness, it +be not possible to create some establishment there that would also +strengthen the settlement<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> the gentlemen of Montreal [the Sulpicians] +have already formed at Quinté." He adds: "I beg of you, my Lord, to be +assured that I shall not spare either care or trouble, or even my life +itself, if it be necessary, in the effort to accomplish something +pleasing to you, and to prove the gratitude I shall ever feel for the +favours I have received at your hands." This is quite effusive, and at +the same time tolerably diplomatic. How <i>could</i> the minister do +otherwise than approve an enterprise undertaken in so self-sacrificing a +spirit, and one prompted by so much personal devotion to himself? +Colbert might possibly have replied—if he had had the chance—by +pointing Frontenac to his instructions, and asking him to show his +devotion to duty by following them out as closely as possible. Those +instructions contained the following clause, the tenor of which we shall +find repeated in many subsequent communications from the home +government: "Sieur de Frontenac is to encourage the inhabitants by all +possible means to undertake the cultivation and clearing of the soil; +and as the distance of the settlements from one another has considerably +retarded the increase thereof, and otherwise facilitated the +opportunities of the Iroquois for their destructive expeditions, Sieur +de Frontenac will consider the practicability of obliging those +inhabitants to make contiguous clearings, either by constraining the old +colonists to labour at it for a certain time, or by making new grants to +future settlers under this conditi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>on." There is not a word said about +extending the boundaries of the colony, or throwing out advanced posts, +or any other phase of the policy of expansion. The French government was +in fact strongly anti-expansionist; but Frontenac, resembling in this +point a later sage, did not think they knew everything in the "Judee" of +the ministry of marine and colonies.</p> + +<p>So, just about the time that the minister was inditing the despatch in +which he gently chided the ebullient Frontenac for his rashness in +summoning the States-General, the latter was preparing another little +surprise for him. In the spring of the year he had given orders that men +and canoes should be held in readiness for the contemplated movement; +and, as the supply of available canoes was likely to fall short, he had +ordered that a number of new ones should be built. He also directed the +construction of two flat-boats, similar to the one used by Courcelles, +but of twice the capacity. On the 3rd of June he started with a certain +force from Quebec, and after visiting and inspecting different posts +along the river, arrived at Montreal, the point of rendezvous, on the +15th of the same month. Here he was received, according to his own +account, which there is no reason to question, with the greatest +enthusiasm and <i>éclat</i>.</p> + +<p>It may be interesting to pause for a moment and try to reconstruct in +imagination the scene on which the grizzled and sun-beaten warrior gazed +as he alighted from his canoe at five <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>o'clock in the afternoon of that +long, bright summer day. The river bank, which had become a common, was +probably no longer flower-bespread as it was on that glorious morning in +the month of May 1642 when Maisonneuve, Mademoiselle Mance, and their +companions knelt in prayer on the soil which their labours and +sacrifices were to consecrate; but the mountain, with its leafy honours +thick upon it, stood forth in royal splendour, while cultivated fields, +smiling with the promise of a harvest, sloped upwards to its base. In +the foreground was the growing burg, full of life and animation on this +memorable day. To the left was the fort built by Maisonneuve, no longer +relied on for defence, but used chiefly as a residence for the local +governor. The river front was as yet unoccupied by houses, the nearest +line of which lay along what is now, as it was then, St. Paul Street, +from St. Peter Street in the west to somewhat beyond the present +Dalhousie Square in the east. Montreal as yet did not possess any parish +church; the churches maintained by the different congregations, +particularly that of the Hôtel Dieu, having up to this time been made to +serve the needs of the population. The foundations of a regular parish +church had been laid, but the work of construction was proceeding +slowly, and five years had yet to elapse before the edifice was +finished. The principal buildings were the Hôtel Dieu, which had lately +lost its pious founder, Mademoiselle Mance; the Congrégation de Notre<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> +Dame, still conducted by the brave and cheery Margaret Bourgeoys; and +the Seminary of St. Sulpice. The whole town, if we may so call it, was +comprised between the eastern and western limits just defined, and the +northern and southern ones of St. Paul and St. James Streets; even so, +much the larger part of the contained space was not built up. A few of +the wealthier merchants had erected substantial houses, and there was +something already in the appearance of the place which suggested that it +would have a future. We can imagine the zeal with which the local +governor, Perrot, upon whose proceedings in the way of illicit traffic +it is probable Frontenac already had an eye—an eye of envy the Abbé +Faillon somewhat harshly suggests—would receive the king's direct +representative. All the troops that the island could furnish were drawn +up under arms at the landing-place, and salvos of artillery and musketry +gave emphasis to the official words of welcome. The officers of justice +and the "syndic"—the spokesman of the people in municipal matters—were +next presented, and, after they had delivered addresses, a procession +was formed to the church, at the door of which the clergy were waiting +to receive the viceregal visitor with all due honour. By the time the +appropriate services, including the chanting of the <i>Te Deum</i>, had been +concluded, the sun had sunk behind the mountain. It was the hour for +rest and refreshment, and the governor was conducted to the quarters +assigned<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> to him in the fort, beneath the windows of which tranquilly +rolled the mighty flood of the St. Lawrence, still bright with the +evening glow.</p> + +<p>Frontenac had brought with him his military guard, consisting of twenty +men or so, his staff, and a few volunteers. Additional men were to +follow from Quebec, Three Rivers, and other places; and some were to be +recruited at Montreal. In ten or twelve days everything was in +readiness. A waggon-road had been made to Lachine, over which baggage, +provisions, and munitions of war were conveyed; and a start was made +from that point on the 30th June, the whole force consisting of about +four hundred men, including some Huron Indians, in one hundred and +twenty canoes and the two flat-boats already mentioned. Some time before +setting out Frontenac had sent on, as an envoy to the five Iroquois +nations, to invite them to a conference, Cavelier de la Salle, a man who +had already penetrated some distance into the western country, and who +was destined to achieve the highest fame as an explorer.</p> + +<p>The voyage up the river was attended, as had indeed been expected, with +serious difficulty. The united strength of fifty men was necessary to +draw each of the flat-boats up the side of some of the rapids. The whole +force, however, worked with the utmost zeal and good-will; the Hurons in +particular accomplishing wonders of strength and endurance such as they +had never been known<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> to perform for any previous commander. But if +portions of the journey were thus arduous, others were delightful. Thus +we read in Frontenac's own narrative: "It would be impossible to have +finer navigation or more favourable weather than we had on the 3rd of +July, a light north-east breeze having sprung up which enabled our +bateaux to keep up with the canoes. On the 4th we pursued our journey +and came to the most beautiful piece of country that can be imagined, +the river being strewn with islands, the trees in which are all either +oak or other kinds of hard wood, while the soil is admirable. The banks +on both sides of the river are not less charming, the trees, which are +very high, standing out distinctly and forming as fine groves as you +could see in France. On both sides may be seen meadows covered with rich +grass and a vast variety of lovely wild flowers; so that it may be +safely stated that from the head of Lake St. Francis to the next rapid +above, you could not see a more beautiful country, if only it were +cleared a bit."</p> + +<p>On the 12th July, as the expedition was approaching Cataraqui in +excellent military order, they were met by the Indians, who evinced much +pleasure at seeing the count and his followers, and conducted them to a +spot suitable for encampment. Some preliminary civilities were +exchanged, but it was not till the 17th that serious negotiations were +begun. The count, meanwhile, having found close by what he considered +an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> advantageous location for his proposed fort, set his men to work to +clear the ground, fell and square timber, dig trenches, etc., in a +manner which fairly surprised the Indians, who were not accustomed to +seeing building operations carried on so systematically and speedily. +But if they were impressed by the working capacity of the expeditionary +force, they were still more deeply influenced by the discourse of the +governor and the presents which accompanied it. Had the count been a +"black robe" himself, he could not have spoken with more unction or more +unimpeachable orthodoxy in urging his savage hearers to embrace +Christianity. He condensed, for the occasion, the whole of Christian +teaching into the two great commandments of love to God and love to man, +and appealed to the consciences of his hearers as to whether both were +not entirely reasonable. This portion of his speech, in which he also +declared that he desired peace both between the French and the Iroquois, +and between the latter and all Indian tribes under French protection, +was recommended by a present of fifteen guns and a quantity of powder, +lead, and gunflints. Next he informed them of his intention to form a +trading-post at Cataraqui. "Here," he said, "you will find all sorts of +refreshments and commodities, which I shall cause to be furnished to you +at the cheapest rate possible." He added, however, that it would be very +expensive to bring goods so far, and that they must<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> take that into +consideration in criticizing prices. Twenty-five large overcoats were +distributed at this point. In the third place he reproached them with +their cruel treatment of the Hurons, and said that he meant to treat all +the Indian nations alike, and wished all to enjoy equal security and +equal advantages in every way. "See," he said, "that no complaints are +made to me henceforward on this subject, for I shall become angry; as I +insist that you Iroquois, Algonquins, and other nations that have me for +a father, shall live henceforth as brothers." He asked also that they +would let him have a few of their children that they might learn the +French language and be instructed by the priests. Twenty-five shirts, an +equal number of pairs of stockings, five packages of glass beads, and +five coats were given to round off this appeal.</p> + +<p>The reply of the delegates of the five Iroquois nations was in tone and +temper all that could be wished. They thanked Onontio that he had +addressed them as children, and were glad that he was going to assume +towards them the relation of father. They readily consented to live at +peace with the Hurons and Algonquins, and would, when they returned to +their cantons, carefully consider the question of letting him have a +certain number of their children. One delegate showed his financial +acumen by observing that, while Onontio had promised to let them have +goods as cheap as possible at the fort, he had not said what the tariff +would be. To this the count replied that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> he could not say what the +freight would amount to, but that considering them as his children, he +would see that they were fairly treated. Another, a Cayugan, evinced his +knowledge of current history by lamenting the calamities which the Dutch +were suffering in their war with the French, trade relations between the +Dutch and the Iroquois having always been very satisfactory. He consoled +himself, however, with the thought that his nation would now find a +father in Onontio.</p> + +<p>While the negotiations were in progress, work on the fort was proceeding +rapidly, and by the 20th of the month it was finished. The count then +dismissed the body of his force, the men being anxious to return to +their homes. He himself remained behind to meet some belated delegates +from points on the north shore of Lake Ontario, whom he did not fail to +reprove for their want of punctuality, after which, with rare liberality +of speech, he repeated to them all he had said to the others. A few +days' delay was also caused by the necessity of awaiting a convoy from +Montreal with a year's provisions for the fort. Finally, on the 28th +July, the governor and his party started on their homeward journey and +arrived safely at Montreal on the 1st of August. During the whole +expedition not one man or one canoe was lost.</p> + +<p>The narrative of this expedition has been given in some detail because +it sets in a strong light the better side of Frontenac's character. We +see him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> here as the able and vigorous organizer, the firm, judicious, +and skilful commander, the accomplished diplomat, and the lover of peace +rather than war. Short a time as he had been in the country, he seemed +already to understand the Indian character, and the Indians in turn +understood him. His language in addressing them was direct and simple, +frank and courageous. He had no hesitation in assuming the paternal +relation, and won their hearts by doing so. But it was not only over +savages that he exerted a natural ascendency, for we have seen the zeal +and enthusiasm with which his orders were executed by the whole +expeditionary force. Whatever weaknesses he may have had, it was not in +the field or in active service that they were displayed.</p> + +<p>The memorandum, which serves as authority for the facts just narrated, +was addressed to Colbert, and sent to France by a ship sailing from +Quebec shortly before the close of navigation. The minister's reply was +dated 17th May of the following year. He does not at all congratulate +Frontenac upon his exploit. "You will readily understand," he says, "by +what I have just told you,<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> that his Majesty's intention is not that +you undertake great voyages by ascending the river St. Lawrence, nor +that the inhabitants spread themselves for the future further than they +have already done. On the contrary, he desires that y<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>ou labour +incessantly, and during the whole time you are in that country, to +consolidate, concentrate, and form them into towns and villages, that +they may be in a better position to defend themselves successfully." In +acknowledging this despatch, far from apologizing for what he had done, +Frontenac told the minister that the very best results had flowed from +it. More Indians had come to Montreal than ever before, eight hundred +having been seen at one time; Iroquois, Algonquins, and Hurons were +mixing with one another in the most friendly manner; the Jesuit +missionaries among the Iroquois found their position greatly improved, +and were never tired of saying so; and, finally, he had obtained the +Indian children he had asked for, eight in number, who were being +educated in the French fashion, and who would be a perpetual guarantee +of the peaceful behaviour of the tribes to which they belonged. At the +same time he says, that if the minister absolutely disapproves of the +fort, he will go next year and pull it down with as much alacrity as he +had put it up. This the minister did not insist on. In fact he was not +long in coming round to Frontenac's view that considering all the +circumstances of the case the fort was a necessity. One point of +interest connected with its establishment, upon which Frontenac has left +us in ignorance, is whom he appointed as its first commandant. A +contemporary writer<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> tells us it was La Salle, and the statement is +not impr<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>obable. It was La Salle, as we have seen, whom the governor +sent to the Iroquois to invite them to the conference, and as he had +acquitted himself of that mission in the most successful manner, it +seems natural that he should have been the first chosen to command a +post, the principal object of which was to serve as a convenient +meeting-place for Iroquois and French. A temporary concession of the +fort was made a year later to two Montreal merchants, Bazire and Lebert, +but it passed again, in the following year, into the hands of La Salle, +who had meantime gone to France and laid before the court certain larger +schemes for which Fort Frontenac was to serve as a base, and which he +obtained the king's authority to carry into effect.</p> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3>THE COMMENCEMENT OF TROUBLES</h3> + + +<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>t is difficult in the present advanced condition of all the arts and +sciences which converge on the perfecting of our means of transport and +communication to form an adequate idea of the toils, inconveniences, and +perils encountered by those who in the seventeenth century attempted the +task of colonizing this continent. To say nothing of the difficulties of +land travel, the colonist, by the mere fact of crossing the ocean, +placed a barrier of two or three months of perilous navigation between +himself and the land that had been his home. To the dangers of the sea +were added the yet more serious danger of infection on ill-ventilated +and pest-breeding vessels. A ship coming to the St. Lawrence could in +those days make but one trip to and fro in the year. It is easy to see, +therefore, in how critical a position a colony would be that depended in +any large measure on supplies brought from the other side. The wreck or +capture of one or two vessels might bring it to the verge of starvation. +Success in agriculture, again, can only be looked for where there is +peaceable and secure possession of the land. If all the results of +laborious tillage are liable to be carried off or destroyed at any +moment by marauding foes, there is little encouragement to engage in +that kind of industry. The populati<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>on will, by preference, turn to the +search for metals, or seek to trade in articles easily marketed. Thus it +was that, in the early days, the Canadian settlers gave themselves up +almost wholly to hunting and fur-trading. Later, when the French +government began to interest itself directly in the settlement of the +country, strong efforts were made to induce the colonists to apply +themselves to agriculture. Lands were conceded on condition that they +should be cleared and cultivated within a specified time, failing which, +they should revert to the Crown. The same condition applied to any +<i>portion</i> of a grant remaining unimproved after the stipulated period. +Under these inducements agriculture began to make a little headway, +particularly, as we have seen, after the lesson given to the Iroquois by +Tracy.</p> + +<p>Still, there was too much hunting and too much trading with the Indians +in the woods, as distinguished from legitimate trading in the +settlements. Mention has already been made of the <i>coureurs de bois</i>. +These were men who, instead of awaiting the arrival of the Indians at +the posts of Montreal, Three Rivers, or Quebec, went out to meet them, +in order that they might get the pick of the skins they possessed, and +perhaps also get the better of them in a trade by first making them +drunk. Two classes of <i>coureurs de bois</i> have been distinguished: on the +one hand, the men who merely <i>traded</i> in the woods in the way described, +and, on the other, those who attached themselves to different Indian<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> +bands, and lived the common life of their savage companions. This +reversion to savagery had a great fascination for many of the Canadian +youths; and, as it led to great moral disorder, the clergy were quite as +much opposed to it as the civil governors. As a convert is generally +more zealous than one born in the faith, so these converts from +civilization to barbarism seemed bent on outdoing the original sons of +the forest in all that was wild and unseemly. Like their bronzed +associates they would sometimes spurn clothing altogether, even when +visiting settlements, and would make both day and night hideous with +their carousing and yelling.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></p> + +<p>Frontenac had received from the king strict instructions to repress the +<i>coureurs de bois</i> by all means in his power. The law against them was +severe, for the punishment was death. One of the first things Frontenac +learnt on arriving in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> colony was that Montreal was the headquarters +of these lawless men, and that not only did the local governor, Perrot, +make no effort to reduce them to order, but that he was commonly +understood to be a sharer in their illicit gains. It was further stated +that he had an establishment of his own on an island, which still bears +his name, at the confluence of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence, where his +agents regularly intercepted the Indians on the way to Montreal, and +took the cream of the trade. The king's instructions, it was well known, +forbade any trading on the part of officials; but Perrot, whose family, +as already mentioned, was influential, and whose wife was a niece of the +late Intendant Talon, did not think that such a regulation was made for +him. In passing through Montreal at the time of his expedition to +Cataraqui, Frontenac had requested Perrot to see that the king's +instructions respecting the <i>coureurs de bois</i> were obeyed. The latter +promised compliance, but the promise was not redeemed. Frontenac at +first thought he could get round the difficulty by appointing M. de +Chambly as local governor for the district surrounding the Island of +Montreal—Perrot's jurisdiction being limited strictly to the +island—and thus establishing a kind of cordon by which the comings and +goings of the <i>coureurs de bois</i> might be controlled. This arrangement +was never put into operation, for the reason that, just about the same +time, M. de Chambly received from the king the appointment of governor +of Acadia. Perrot,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> however, accompanied him as far as Quebec, and this +gave Frontenac the opportunity of placing under the eyes of the Montreal +governor the orders he had received from the court, and urging him to +co-operate in giving them effect. Again Perrot promised to do his duty +in the matter, but with what degree of sincerity events quickly showed. +He had hardly returned to Montreal when the local judge, Ailleboust, who +had received personal instructions from Frontenac in regard to carrying +out the law, tried to effect the arrest of two offenders who were +lodging in the house of one Carion, an officer. Carion refused to permit +the arrest, and was upheld therein by Perrot, whereupon the judge took +the only course open to him, namely, to notify the governor-general. It +was now mid-winter; but, without a moment's hesitation, Frontenac +deputed one Bizard, a lieutenant of his guard, to go to Montreal with +three men, effect the arrest of Carion, and bring him to Quebec. He gave +Bizard at the same time a letter to Perrot, but instructed him not to +deliver it till he had first made sure of his prisoner. The lieutenant +carried out his instructions, so far as the arrest of Carion was +concerned; but, before he could leave Montreal, Perrot pounced down upon +him and made him prisoner in turn, asking him how he dared to make an +arrest in the limits of the government of Montreal without first +notifying him. The scene was witnessed by two prominent residents of +Montreal, Lebert, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> merchant, and La Salle, of whom we have already +heard; and a report of the matter, attested by them, was despatched to +Quebec. The choleric Perrot, hearing of this piece of officiousness, as +he regarded it, put Lebert also into prison. La Salle, thinking the same +treatment might be meted out to him, lost no time in taking the road to +Quebec.</p> + +<p>The rage of Frontenac at this open defiance of his authority may be +imagined. Was it for this that he had come to Canada, to be flouted and +set at nought by a subordinate officer? The worst of it was that there +was no immediate remedy. The only thing to do at the moment was to +summon the culprit to appear before the Sovereign Council at Quebec. But +would he come? If he refused, Frontenac had no force to compel him. The +force was all on the other side; the governor-general had but his body +guard, whereas Montreal was full of men accustomed to Indian warfare, +who would probably obey Perrot's orders, especially as there was a +standing jealousy between Montreal and Quebec. At this point in his +reflections, the count bethought him of writing a letter to the Abbé de +Fénelon, Sulpician, of Montreal, who had accompanied him to Cataraqui, +and with whom he was on very friendly terms, asking him to represent to +Perrot what a serious thing it would be if he aggravated his former +misconduct by refusing to go to Quebec. Rightly or wrongly, M. de +Fénelon understood this letter as signifyi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>ng that the governor, while +desirous of vindicating his authority, was prepared to compromise the +difficulty to some extent, and consequently gave Perrot to understand +that, if he would obey the order to go to Quebec, the matter would in +all probability be amicably adjusted. He offered to accompany him; and +the two set out towards the close of January on a snowshoe tramp to +Quebec over the frozen St. Lawrence. They arrived at the capital on the +29th of the month. Perrot at once sought an interview with the governor; +but the discussion, far from taking a friendly turn, soon became +extremely violent; and the result was that Perrot found himself in an +hour's time placed under arrest.</p> + +<p>The surprise and chagrin of the Montreal official may be imagined. As +for the abbé, his indignation at what he regarded as a breach of faith +knew no bounds.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> Sharp words passed between him and the governor, and +he returned to Montreal in a most agitated and rebellious state of mind. +A few weeks later, having to preach on Easter Sunday in the parish +church, he slipped into his sermon some observations which could only be +construed as an attack on the king's representative. Speaking of those +who are invested with temporal authority, he said—according to a +summary of his discours<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>e given by the Abbé Faillon—that the magistrate +who was animated by the spirit of the risen Christ would be strict, on +the one hand, to punish offences against the service of his Prince, and +prompt, on the other, to overlook those against his own dignity; would +be full of respect for the ministers of the altar, and would not treat +them harshly when, in the discharge of their duty, they strove to +reconcile enemies and establish general good-will; would not surround +himself with servile creatures to fill his ears with adulation, nor +oppress under specious pretexts persons also invested with authority who +happened to oppose his projects; further that such a ruler would use his +power to maintain the authority of the monarch, and not to promote his +own advantage, and would content himself with the salary allowed him +without disturbing the commerce of the country or ill-using those who +would not give him a share of their gains; finally, that he would not +vex the people by unjustly exacting forced labour for ends of his own, +nor falsely invoke the name of the monarch in support of such +proceedings.</p> + +<p>In every sentence there was a sting. The last words referred to the +expedition to Lake Ontario, and the unpaid labour of the men by whom the +fort at Cataraqui had been constructed. The preacher, in fact, may be +said to have summed up the charges which certain Montrealers were at the +time making against the governor, and which the Abbé Faillon, swayed +perhaps in so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>me measure by sympathy with a fellow Sulpician, does not +hesitate to say were well founded.</p> + +<p>The church on that Easter Sunday was filled to its utmost capacity, over +six hundred persons being present. Amongst these was the watchful La +Salle, who, not only took it all in himself, but by his gestures and +movements called the attention of as many persons as possible to what +was being said, and its obvious import. It was not only the friends of +Frontenac, however, who recognized the drift of the sermon, for the curé +of the parish, the Rev. M. Perrot, said to M. de Fénelon as he came down +from the pulpit: "Really, sir, you have entered into details which have +caused me a great deal of trouble." Other ecclesiastics were affected in +the same manner, amongst them La Salle's own brother, an ecclesiastic of +the Seminary, who went at once to the Superior, the excellent M. Dollier +de Casson, to tell him what had happened. The latter, in turn, +foreseeing trouble, sent to tell La Salle that the Seminary had no +responsibility whatever for M. de Fénelon's sermon, as it had not been +submitted beforehand for approval, and no one had the least notion what +he intended to say. The same communication was made in the most earnest +terms to M. de la Nauguère, who was temporarily filling the place of +governor of Montreal by Frontenac's nomination, with a request that he +would convey the assurance to the governor-general.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span></p> + +<p>The extraordinary thing is that the reverend gentleman who had caused +all this trouble, when spoken to on the subject by the Superior, gave +his word as a man of honour and a priest, that he had no intention +whatever of alluding to the governor-general, adding that those who so +applied his remarks were doing much dishonour to that high officer. The +Abbé Faillon does not like to call M. de Fénelon's word in question, but +he says that he manifestly lacked "one quality very important in a +missionary, the prudence which directs the exercise of zeal, and keeps +it within the bounds that circumstances require."</p> + +<p>It was not only by this sermon that the Abbé Fénelon showed his lack of +prudence. Madame Perrot had come out from France with her husband when +he was appointed to the governorship of Montreal in 1669, and now that +he was in trouble, and his case was likely to come before the king, she +was anxious to get some testimonial from the people of Montreal in his +favour. As to the kind of a governor Perrot had really been, we may +safely rely on the judgment pronounced by the industrious author of the +<i>Histoire de la Colonie Française en Canada</i>, who says<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a>: "This +governor contributed more than any one else to that fatal revolution +which changed entirely the moral aspect of this colony [Montreal]. . . . +The whole course of his conduct in Canada justifies us in thinking that +when, in 1669, he decided to come here, it was in the hope of making a +great fortune<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> through the influence of M. de Talon, whose niece, +Madeleine Laguide, he had married." The abbé goes on to explain that the +Seminary (as seigneurs of the Island of Montreal) would never have +nominated Perrot had they known his true character, and would certainly +not have retained him in office after his character became known, if +they had been free to act in the matter. What stood in the way was that, +through Talon's influence, his commission as governor had been confirmed +by the king, and that he had thus, in a manner, been rendered +independent of the Seminary authorities. "From that moment," the writer +continues, "he considered himself free from all control in the matter of +the traffic in drink which he was already carrying on with the savages +to the great scandal of all the respectable inhabitants. . . . It is +certain that he himself gave open protection to the <i>coureurs de bois</i>, +not only in his own island through M. Bruey, his agent, but also +throughout the whole extent of the Island of Montreal. . . . In order to +have, without much expense, <i>coureurs de bois</i> under his orders, he +allowed nearly all the soldiers in the island to desert and take to the +woods, without either pursuing them, or notifying the governor-general +of their desertion." It may be added that, when some of the most +respectable inhabitants of Montreal ventured on a timid remonstrance +respecting the irregularities that were taking place, he assailed them +in the lowest and most ru<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>ffianly language, and put their principal +spokesman, who at the time was the acting judge of Montreal, into +prison.</p> + +<p>This was the man, then, in whose interest, when Madame Perrot could not +get any one else to do it, M. de Fénelon undertook to go round the +Island of Montreal, and get the inhabitants to sign a petition. The +petition, it is true, only stated that the signers had no complaints to +make against M. Perrot; but its object was to throw dust in the eyes of +the court, and it is impossible to think highly of the candour of the +man—elder brother, though he was, of the great Archbishop of +Cambrai—who was the chief agent in procuring it.</p> + +<p>It is not surprising, in view of these proceedings, that M. de Fénelon +received an order to repair to Quebec. Before summoning him, Frontenac +had carried on a prolonged correspondence with the Seminary at Montreal. +He first of all required them to banish Fénelon from their house as +being a factious and rebellious person. To save his brethren trouble, +Fénelon retired of his own accord, and took up parish work at Lachine. +Frontenac then asked for signed declarations as to what had been said in +the sermon. These the Sulpicians declined to give, saying they could not +be called upon to testify against a brother. "Then send down a copy of +the sermon," the governor said. The reply to this was that they had no +copy of it. For form's sake they consented to ask the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> vicar-general at +Quebec, the highest ecclesiastical authority in the absence of the +bishop, to request M. de Fénelon to furnish the original. The +vicar-general did so, and the abbé promptly replied that he would do +nothing of the kind; he did not acknowledge himself to be guilty of any +misdemeanour, but, if he were, he could not be required to furnish +evidence against himself.</p> + +<p>These <i>pourparlers</i> consumed considerable time, as letters were not +exchanged in those days with modern rapidity between Quebec and +Montreal. Moreover, Frontenac took a slice out of the summer in order to +pay a visit to Montreal at the height of the trading season, not +impossibly with some thrifty design, though it is known that he attended +to the king's business to the extent of capturing, through his officer +M. de Verchères, no less than twelve <i>coureurs de bois</i>. It was not till +some time in the month of August that M. de Fénelon appeared to answer +for himself at Quebec.</p> + +<p>To follow in detail the incidents of the abortive inquiry into Perrot's +insubordination, and the equally unsatisfactory proceedings in the case +of the refractory abbé, would be tedious and unprofitable. Two of the +councillors, Tilly and Dupont, were appointed a commission to examine +Perrot. The latter made no objection at first to answering their +questions, but a few days later he took it into his head to protest the +competency of the council to try the charges against him. The governor, +he said, was his personal enemy, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>and the members of the council, +holding office during his good pleasure, could only be considered as his +creatures. The council disregarded the protest, and continued the +inquiry; but on each subsequent occasion Perrot refused to answer any +question till his protest had been duly entered in the minutes. One of +his answers almost betrays a sense of humour. He was asked why he had +not arrested the <i>coureurs de bois</i> who made his private island their +headquarters. "Because," he said, "I had no jurisdiction; my government +does not extend beyond the Island of Montreal." In other words, he had +chosen a spot for his illegal operations where, in his private capacity, +he could, so to speak, snap his lingers in his own face in his official +capacity. Possibly it was an attempt on Frontenac's part to repay humour +with humour, when he caused one of these very <i>coureurs de bois</i>, a man +whom Perrot probably knew very well, to be hanged directly in front of +his prison window.</p> + +<p>During the summer a despatch was received from the minister for the +colonies which somewhat disquieted Frontenac, and doubtless had some +effect also on the minds of the councillors. In order to lay an account +of Perrot's rebellious conduct at the earliest possible moment before +the king, Frontenac had taken the unusual course of sending a letter by +way of Boston in February, hoping that it might reach the minister's +hands in time to be answered by the ship leaving in the spring or early +summer. Colbert wrote under<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> date the 17th May 1674, evidently without +having received the letter, for he terminated his despatch with these +words: "His Majesty instructs me to recommend to you particularly the +person and interests of M. Perrot, governor of Montreal, and nephew of +M. Talon, his principal <i>valet de chambre</i>." Nothing could well have +been more awkward, considering that the person so warmly recommended was +at that moment, and had been for months, in durance vile, as a rebel +against the governor's authority, and indirectly against his Majesty's.</p> + +<p>The Abbé Fénelon, when he appeared before the council, was more defiant +by far than Perrot. He was told to stand up. He said, No, he would sit +down, as he was not a criminal; and, if he were, he could only be tried +by an ecclesiastical court. He was asked to remove his hat; to which he +replied by jamming it harder on his head, saying that ecclesiastics had +a right to keep their heads covered. In the end the council began to +fear that the governor was getting them into trouble; and they +consequently determined, in both cases, that they would confine +themselves to taking evidence, and leave the court to pronounce +judgment. This conclusion was not pleasing to Frontenac, who wished to +have a distinct decision of the council in his favour. He, too, was +"weakening," however, as we may see by his letter to the minister, dated +14th November 1674, and despatched by the same vessel by which the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> +governor of Montreal—released at last after ten months' +confinement—and the fiery abbé sailed for France. "I am sending," he +says, "M. Perrot and M. de Fénelon to France, in order that you may +judge their conduct. For myself, if I have failed in any point of duty, +I am ready to submit to his Majesty's corrections. A governor in this +country would be much to be pitied if he were not sustained, seeing +there is no one here on whom he can depend; and should he commit any +fault he might assuredly be excused, seeing that all kinds of nets are +spread for him, and that, after avoiding a hundred, he is liable to be +caught in the end. So, My Lord, I hope that, should I have had the +misfortune to take any false step, his Majesty will be kind enough to +sympathize with me, and to believe that the error was due to an excess +of zeal for his service, and not to any other motive."</p> + +<p>The tone of this communication, it must be confessed, is not quite what +one would expect from a man of Frontenac's character and antecedents. It +shows what influence at court counted for in that day. The letter was +accompanied by a docket of enormous proportions containing the charges +against Perrot and the abbé, and all the evidence taken in the course of +the prolonged investigation at Quebec. He received replies both from the +king and the minister. In regard to Perrot the king wrote: "I have seen +and examined all you have sent me concerning M. Perrot; and,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> after +having seen all that he has put forward in his defence, I have condemned +his action in imprisoning the officer you sent to Montreal. To punish +him I have sent him for some time to the Bastille, in order that this +discipline may not only render him more circumspect for the future, but +may serve as an example to others. But, in order that you may thoroughly +understand my views, I must tell you that, except in a case of absolute +necessity, you should not execute any order within the sphere of a local +government without having first notified the governor of the locality. +The punishment of ten months' imprisonment you inflicted on him seems to +me sufficient; and that is why I am sending him to the Bastille for a +short term only, in order to vindicate in a public manner my violated +authority." His Majesty added that he was sending Perrot back to his +government, but that he would instruct him to call on the +governor-general at Quebec and apologize for all his past offences; +after which Frontenac was to dismiss all resentment, and treat him with +the consideration due to his office.</p> + +<p>As regards Fénelon, he was not allowed to return to Canada; and he was +censured by the Superior of his order for having busied himself with +things with which he had no concern. At the same time Frontenac was +informed that he was wrong in instituting a criminal process against +that ecclesiastic, as well as in calling upon his brethren of the +Seminary to give evidence against<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> him. The king made it clear that he +thought Frontenac had been unduly harsh and autocratic in his +proceedings generally. It would have been well for that dignitary if he +could have taken the admonition more deeply to heart.</p> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3>DIVIDED POWER</h3> + + +<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>f the king read carefully, as he says he did, the cruel mass of +correspondence which Frontenac forwarded to him in connection with the +Perrot-Fénelon imbroglio, he could hardly have failed to come to the +conclusion that something was amiss in the state of Canada. Frontenac +had begged, somewhat piteously, that he might be "sustained," and +sustained he was in a manner, as we have just seen; but the king and the +minister had their own opinion on the subject, which they only partly +expressed in words, the rest they translated into action. Frontenac, +from the date of his arrival in Canada, had been the only visible source +of authority. Laval was in France, looking after the long delayed bull +which was to raise him from the doubtful rank of a bishop <i>in partibus</i> +to the full legal status of bishop of Quebec. Talon, too, had left the +country a few weeks after the governor's arrival, and no one had been +sent to replace him. The old warrior had, therefore, had things entirely +his own way, and his own way had not proved to be the way of peace. To +place matters on a better footing, the court decided on two measures: to +reorganize the Sovereign Council, and to revive the office of intendant. +The council, it will be remembered, consisted of four members<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> and an +attorney-general, nominated by the governor and the bishop jointly, and +holding office during their good pleasure. Henceforth it was to consist +of seven members, each holding office by direct commission from the +king. The main object of the change was to enable it to act with more +independence in the performance of its proper functions, which were +essentially of a judicial character. A secondary effect, probably +neither foreseen nor intended, was to augment the influence of the +bishop, at the expense of that of the governor, through the operation of +the natural law which inclines men to side rather with permanent than +with transient forces. Frontenac was jealous from the first of the +increased prestige of the council, and soon became disagreeably aware of +the advantage it afforded to his ecclesiastical rival.</p> + +<p>The council, as reconstituted, consisted of the four old members, Louis +Rouer de Villeray, who received the designation of first councillor, Le +Gardeur de Tilly, Mathieu Damours, and Nicolas Dupont, with three new +ones, Réné Charlier de Lotbinière, Jean Baptiste de Peyras, and Charles +Denis de Vitre. The attorney-general, Denis Joseph Ruette d'Auteuil, a +man described by Frontenac a couple of years later as "very ignorant, +and having such imperfect sight that he can neither read nor write," was +by name reappointed to his office, with one Gilles Rageot as clerk. All +these, holding their ap<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>pointments directly from the king, were secure +from removal by any lesser authority. The utmost the governor could do +would be to suspend one or more of them for grave misconduct, subject to +confirmation of his action by the sovereign. Another change in the +judiciary of the colony was made a couple of years later. The king had, +in the year 1674, abolished a court called the Prévôté (Provost's Court) +of Quebec, which had been established by the West India Company for the +purpose of exercising a kind of police jurisdiction, and making +preliminary inquiries in certain cases. The royal idea at the time had +been that it would be simpler to intrust the whole administration of +justice to one court, the Sovereign Council. The enlargement and +strengthening of the council, however, and the appearance upon the scene +of an intendant whose views did not always harmonize, to speak very +moderately, with those of the governor, somewhat altered the situation. +There was a balance of powers; but justice itself would sometimes hang +in the balance longer than was desirable. In order, therefore, to get as +many cases as possible disposed of without troubling that important +tribunal, his Majesty, in the month of May 1677, determined to +re-establish the Prévôté, with power to judge, as a court of first +instance, all cases civil and criminal, subject to appeal to the +Sovereign Council. The court was to consist of a lieutenant-general as +judge, a public prosecutor and a clerk. To these was added, by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> an edict +of the same month, a special officer having the title of <i>prévôt</i>, with +judicial functions in criminal cases only. It probably was not foreseen +that the governor might play off the Prévôté against the Sovereign +Council. That, however, is what happened, and as the lower court had at +its service six "archers" or constables, it was able, when acting in +concert with the governor, to accomplish an occasional <i>tour de force</i>.</p> + +<p>The new intendant, M. Jacques Duchesneau, arrived at Quebec in the month +of September 1675 by the same vessel which bore back Laval, in all the +glory and power of full episcopal authority, to a flock from which he +had been absent three long years. His letter of instructions mentions +the fact that he had filled a somewhat similar office at Tours in +France, and had acquitted himself therein to the great satisfaction of +his Majesty. Research has been made without success to find out what the +office was; we have only, therefore, to take his Majesty's word for it. +Whatever M. Duchesneau's previous history may have been, he seems to +have come to Canada with the determination to keep a very watchful, and +not too benevolent, eye on the proceedings of his official superior, the +governor. There was the strongest possible contrast between the +characters of the two men. Frontenac was haughty, headstrong, and +aggressive; Duchesneau, cautious, crafty, and persistent. When two such +men come into conflict, it is not the cool calculator w<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>ho suffers most, +however he may whine (as Duchesneau did) at the high-handed proceedings +of the other. Under the best of circumstances a governor and an +intendant were not likely to work very harmoniously together. Courcelles +and Talon did not, though both were well-meaning men. M. Lorin hints +that Colbert sent out Duchesneau to act as a spy upon Frontenac.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> The +supposition seems to be a needless one. Duchesneau was sent out as Talon +had been before him, to see that the intentions of the court in the +government of the country were duly carried into effect, and in +particular that the considerable sums of money which the king +appropriated to the uses of the colony were rightly expended. It is +possible that, had Frontenac acted with more judgment and moderation +during the first two years of his administration, the appointment of an +intendant would not have been considered necessary; but, in any case, +the court in giving him a colleague, and thus relieving him of part of +his responsibilities, was simply applying to Canada a system of +administration long established in France, where, as a rule, every +province had its intendant as well as its governor.</p> + +<p>Duchesneau's instructions were certainly very clear as to the attitude +he was to maintain towards the governor. He was enjoined "to be careful +to live with Comte de Frontenac in relations of great deference, not +only on account of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> the honour he had of representing the king's person, +but also on account of his personal merit, and not to do anything in the +whole range of his duties without his consent and participation." To +secure concordant conduct on the governor's part, he was instructed in a +despatch of even date to allow the intendant to act "with entire liberty +in everything relating to justice, police, and finance, without meddling +at all in these matters, except when they are discussed in the Sovereign +Council." It is significant that in this same letter a hint is dropped +about trading: not only was Frontenac not to trade himself, or allow +trading on his behalf, but he was not to permit any one belonging to his +household to trade. It thus appears that, before Duchesneau had even +arrived in the country, the court had had its suspicions aroused as to +the course the king's personal representative might be tempted to pursue +in this matter. We may be certain that anything Perrot and Fénelon knew +on the subject would be poured into the minister's ear, nor were they +the only ones whose representations regarding the governor would not be +of a friendly character. Villeray, the senior member of the Sovereign +Council and the Abbé d'Urfé, a relative of Fénelon's, were in France at +the same time. The former had been denounced by Frontenac in one of his +earliest despatches as a busybody and a close ally of the Jesuit order; +while the latter had been very haughtily treated by him in connection +with the Fénelon matter,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> and had left Canada in high indignation by the +same vessel which bore Fénelon and Perrot. It happened that, just about +this time, Urfé's cousin, a Mademoiselle d'Allegre, was being contracted +in marriage to Colbert's son and destined successor in office, the +Marquis de Seignelay, so that altogether the influences which were +operating against Frontenac at this juncture were of a somewhat +formidable character. That his position should have been so little +affected speaks well for his claim to personal consideration. It speaks +well also for the spirit of equity which actuated the king in his +relations with his officers.</p> + +<p>A meeting of the reorganized Sovereign Council was held at Quebec on the +16th September 1675. It is this meeting which fixes for us as nearly as +it can be done the date of the arrival of the bishop and intendant, for +the minutes show that the former was present, and that part of the +business transacted was the registration of the commission of the +latter. M. de Laval lost no time in making his influence felt. The Abbé +Fénelon, when arraigned before the Sovereign Council the year before, +had demanded to be tried by an ecclesiastical tribunal, and reply had +been made that there was no such tribunal in Canada. The bishop's first +act was to supply this lack by establishing a court consisting of his +two grand-vicars, Bernières and Dudouyt, and a clerk or registrar. The +new court soon found work to do. A man was cited before it, upon +information of t<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>he <i>curé</i> of Montreal, for having failed to perform his +Easter duties. He appealed to the Sovereign Council, which at first +showed a disposition to assume jurisdiction in the case, but in the end +left it in the hands of the ecclesiastics. The bishop wished it to be +understood that Canada was not France. Some encroachments of the civil +on the spiritual power had, he said, taken place in that country, but +"these were things to be guarded against in a country in which a Church +is in course of establishment." Manifestly Laval understood the word +"Church" in a very absolute sense, and meant to enforce his +understanding of it if possible.</p> + +<p>During his absence from the country the clergy had got into the way, +either of their own accord, or at Frontenac's suggestion, of paying the +governor certain honours in church which the bishop +considered—correctly it appears—unsanctioned by precedent or usage. He +ordered that they should be discontinued. A wrangle with the governor +ensued, and the matter had to be referred to the king, who must +sometimes have wondered whether the colonial game was worth the candles +consumed in reading the colonial despatches; for his Majesty, no less +than his minister, had often to prolong the work far into the night. The +patient monarch replied that the governor had been claiming more than +was his due, and more than was accorded to men of his rank in the +provinces of the kingdom; he must, therefore, make<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> up his little +difference with the bishop of Quebec, by gracefully moderating his +pretensions. Three years later there were still some differences of the +same nature pending, for we find the king sending directions to the +bishop to pay the same honours to the governor of Canada as were paid to +the governor of Picardy in the cathedral of Amiens. Frontenac, on his +part, was not to claim more.</p> + +<p>The document which throws most light on Frontenac's attitude towards the +dominant ecclesiastical powers—the bishop and the Jesuits—and on his +estimate of their work and general policy, is a letter which he wrote to +Colbert in 1677, and which must have been of a confidential nature.<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> +"Nearly all the disorders existing in New France," he therein declares, +"have their origin in the ambition of the ecclesiastics, who wish to add +to their spiritual authority an absolute power over temporal matters." +Their aim from the first, he goes on to say, was to amass wealth as a +means of influence; and in this they have been extraordinarily +successful. They have had subsidies from the king and charitable +donations from individuals in France; they have obtained concessions of +large tracts of the best and most valuable lands in the country; +finally, in spite of the king's prohibitions, they have been driving an +active and most profitable trade. In support of the latter statement he +cites the names of a number of persons<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> who have given him positive and +detailed evidence on the point. He estimates the bishop's revenue from +all sources at not less than forty thousand livres; and refers to the +fact that he is erecting vast and superb buildings at Quebec at a cost +of four hundred thousand livres, although he and his ecclesiastics are +already lodged much better than the governor-general. He complains of +the espionage they exercise through the country and in his own +household; and says there would be no end to the story if he were to +attempt to tell all that they have done to augment their influence +through the confessional and by threats of excommunication. Instances +are given of what the writer claims to have been their undue severity +towards persons who had incurred their censure. If the bishop chose, he +could do what he has always hitherto refused to do: provide the country +with a reasonable number of parish priests having fixed positions. He +has ample means for the purpose if he would employ them in a less +ambitious manner; his main objection to doing so is that the erection of +parishes served by priests not removable at pleasure would diminish his +power and throw patronage into the hands of the king. So far the +governor. It is probable that his impeachment of his ecclesiastical +rivals did not fall on altogether unsympathetic ears; but Colbert, as a +statesman, recognized power wherever it existed; and his only advice to +the civil administrators was to hold their own as well as they could. In +a despatch, written som<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>e years before, he had told Courcelles that be +looked forward to the time when, with an increase of population, things +would get into better shape, and the secular power assume its just +preponderance.</p> + +<p>Duchesneau himself, shortly after his arrival in the country, had a +passing difficulty with the bishop, arising out of an idea he +entertained, that, as intendant, he ought to rank next to the governor; +and this wretched matter had also to be referred to the court, which +promptly decided in the bishop's favour. From that time forward there +was perfect harmony between the two, so much so that, on more than one +occasion, the intendant drew down upon himself the censure of the court +for what was regarded as his undue subservience to the bishop's views. +One of the first matters regarding which he and the bishop joined forces +was the policy of the governor in connection with the issue of hunting +and trading licences. The law under which Frontenac had previously taken +severe measures against the <i>coureurs de bois</i> was still in force; but +the governor had felt himself justified in issuing a limited number of +permits to responsible persons, authorizing them to carry goods to the +Indians and trade in the Indian settlements. These persons became, in a +certain sense, <i>coureurs de bois</i>; but as they went out by authority, +and could be held to the terms of their licences, and as, moreover, they +could be used for the purpose of obtaining information as to the +movements and disposition of the native<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> tribes, the governor thought, +or professed to think, that he was acting for the best in relaxing to +this extent the strict letter of the law. The bishop, on the other hand, +objected to the system; in the first place, because the persons licensed +carried liquor as part of their stock-in-trade, and, in the second, +because it threw impediments in the way of the effective ecclesiastical +control of the population. It was agreed that he and the intendant +should both write to the minister, the one dwelling on the evils of the +liquor traffic with the Indians, and the other on the infringement of +the law. Duchesneau, we have seen, had been warned in his instructions +to keep in close touch with the governor in all that he did; but he had +not been three months in the country before, in a matter of the first +importance, and one affecting the governor's own actions, he sent home +recommendations of which his superior officer knew nothing.</p> + +<p>The answer came back the following year. It was dated 15th April 1676, +but seems only to have reached Quebec in September. The governor, by +royal edict, was forbidden to issue permits under any pretext +whatsoever. The punishment of contumacious <i>coureurs de bois</i> was placed +in the hands of the intendant exclusively, as it was he alone—such was +the reason given—who had official knowledge of the conditions under +which the fur trade was being farmed out. Quebec, Montreal, and Three +Rivers were at the same time indicated as the only places where the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> +trade with the Indians might lawfully be carried on.</p> + +<p>Frontenac was not at Quebec when this document arrived; he was at Fort +Frontenac (Cataraqui), which was now in the hands of his friend La Salle +under a concession from the king. Doubtless he was enjoying, not only +his temporary freedom from the worries and vexations of office, but also +the congenial society of a man, who, though much his junior, had, in +common with himself, a large knowledge of the world, a keen and aspiring +spirit, and a strong love of adventure. At Quebec the councillors were +somewhat at a loss what to do in the matter of the despatch. Some were +indisposed to register, in the absence of the governor, an edict which +so directly condemned the policy he was pursuing. Duchesneau, however, +did not approve of delay, and on the 5th of October the document was +registered, and thus became the law of the land. When Frontenac returned +to Quebec and found what had been done—that one of the first acts of +the intendant had been to hand him over to the censure of the court, and +that its censure had practically been pronounced—he was indignant +beyond measure. He saw at a glance that, if the situation were not in +some way retrieved, his authority and prestige in the colony he had been +sent out to govern would be gravely compromised. The fall vessels were +to leave in a week or two, so he sat down and wrote a despatch to +Colbert which gave that able minister something to think about. The +bishop,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> dreading lest the governor's reasons—he probably knew that +Frontenac wielded a vigorous pen—might lead to a countermanding of the +instructions, thought it well to send an envoy of his own to France in +the person of the Abbé Dudouyt. Frontenac meantime so far complied with +the edict as to publish an order requiring all <i>coureurs de bois</i>, +licensed and unlicensed, to return at once to the settlements; though, +according to Duchesneau, he nullified this to a great extent by issuing +a number of hunting permits which were only trading permits in disguise.</p> + +<p>So far as the sale of liquor to the Indians was in question, it is +impossible not to approve, theoretically at least, the stand taken by +the bishop. He would have suppressed it absolutely, if he had had the +power. The thing, however, was practically impossible. We see the effect +probably of Frontenac's representations on the subject in a despatch +which the intendant received dated in the spring of 1677. He is told +that he had yielded too easily to the extreme views of the bishop in +regard to this matter. The bishop had spoken of the fearful effects +caused by drink amongst the Indians, who maimed and murdered one +another, and committed all kinds of abominations, when under its +influence. Colbert is not content with such a general statement; he +wants particulars; and instructs Duchesneau to find out how many such +crimes can be proved to have been committed since he (the intendant) had +arrived in Can<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>ada. Here was a very suitable piece of work cut out for +M. Jacques Duchesneau, who was nothing if not a man of facts and +figures; but there is nothing to show that he ever prepared the desired +statement. The minister goes on to say: "The general policy of the state +is necessarily opposed to the views of a bishop who, in order to prevent +the abuse made by a few individuals of a thing good in itself, is +prepared to abolish entirely the trade in an article of consumption +which serves greatly to promote commerce, and to bring the savages into +contact with orthodox Christians like the French. We should run the +risk, if we yielded to his opinion, not only of losing this commerce, +but of forcing the savages to do business with the English and Dutch, +who are heretics; and it would thus become impossible for us to keep +them favourably disposed towards the one pure and true religion." +Colbert, it will be seen, had that judicious blending of the missionary +with the commercial spirit which has been so efficacious in our own day +in promoting great colonial enterprises. One or two other allusions to +the bishop may be quoted: "It is easy to see that, though the bishop is +a very good man, and most faithful in the performance of his duty, he +nevertheless is aiming at a degree of power which goes far beyond what +is exercised by bishops in any other part of Christendom, and +particularly in France." Then, with reference to his attendance at +meetings of the Sovereign Council: "You ought to try and put<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> him out of +love with going there; but in doing so you must act with the greatest +prudence and secrecy, and take care that no person whatsoever knows what +I am writing to you on this point."</p> + +<p>The minister, it is evident, had hard work to keep his representatives +in Canada to their respective spheres of duty. He opens his despatch to +Duchesneau by begging him to mind his own business, and not in future +recommend any military appointments, as he had done in a late +communication. He wrote to Frontenac a few days later, cautioning him to +keep aloof from questions of justice, police, and finance, observing +that men in military command "are too apt to let flatterers persuade +them that they ought to take cognizance of everything and look after +everything." Touching on the drink question, he said that "if the +disorders complained of are limited in number, and if the Indians are +only a little more subject to getting intoxicated than the Germans for +example, or, among the French, the Bretons," there was no need for +drastic prohibitive measures; the irregularities happening from time to +time could be dealt with by the courts. He was not to take ground openly +against the bishop; but he was to see that the latter did not go beyond +his proper prerogative "in a matter that was purely one of police." The +Abbé Dudouyt had evidently not succeeded in winning over the minister to +the bishop's extreme views. He must, however, have had more success with +the king, for on the 12t<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>h May 1678 a royal edict was issued, dealing in +a very uncompromising fashion with the <i>coureur de bois</i> question as +well as with that of the liquor traffic. As regards the former, the +previous prohibition, which, it was complained, had been rendered +nugatory by the system of special permits, was renewed in all its force. +The liquor traffic was equally condemned: no liquor was to be sold to +the Indians under any circumstances. Colbert thereupon presented a +memoir to his Majesty setting forth his reasons for considering a +prohibition of the liquor traffic inexpedient, these being much the same +as he had embodied in his despatch to Duchesneau of the preceding year. +The result was that the king, without recalling his edict, ordered that +the whole matter should be fully discussed in a meeting of the principal +inhabitants of Canada, including the administrators and magistrates, and +that a report of the proceedings should be sent to him for his +information and further consideration.</p> + +<p>Thus was the question referred back to Canada, and an appeal actually +made, after a fashion, to public opinion. The meeting ordered by the +king was held at Quebec on the 26th October. The persons composing it +were chosen by Frontenac and Duchesneau jointly, and were beyond doubt +as influential men as could be found in the country—nineteen in all, +exclusive of those who attended in an official capacity. The sense of +the meeting was overwhelmingly against the suppression<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> of the traffic, +and against the stand taken by the bishop in making a "reserved case" of +the selling of liquor to the Indians, or, in other words, excluding from +the sacraments all who were guilty of that act. Two of the delegates, +the seigneurs of Berthier and Sorel, said that the prohibition which was +then nominally, and to a considerable degree practically, in force +worked injury, not only to trade, but to the Indians themselves. They +could get all the liquor they wanted from the Dutch of Orange (Albany); +and the Dutch rum was not nearly so good as the French brandy. The last +time the Indians came to trade at Cataraqui, they had forty barrels of +Dutch spirits with them, having laid in a supply owing to their +apprehension that they might not be able to obtain any from the French. +But of course they would cease coming to Cataraqui or trading with the +French at all, if they could not get liquor. They denied that the +drinking of brandy prevented the Indians from becoming Christians. Did +not the Christian Indians in the missions near Montreal drink brandy? +Yet they remained docile to their teachers, and were not often seen +drunk—a statement which certainly might have been challenged. Others +urged the argument with which we are already familiar that, if the +Indians had to get their liquor from the Dutch and English, they would +either imbibe heresy at the same time, or be left in their heathenism. +Others again said that the disorders caused by drink amongst the savages +had been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> greatly exaggerated, and moreover things of the same nature +occurred among Indians who made no use of spirituous liquors. The +"reserved case" was doing no good; on the contrary it was troubling +consciences, and had possibly already caused the damnation of some +inhabitants. Drunkenness, another delegate remarked, was not confined to +the Indians. In the most civilized countries, where all were Christians, +it was a common vice; yet no one thought of making a "reserved case" for +the liquor sellers. One speaker went so far as to say that the Indians +would never become Christians unless they were allowed the same +liberties as the French, and that the clandestine sale of liquor +promoted immoderate drinking. Robert Cavelier de la Salle was strongly +in favour of the trade being left open. It was for laymen, he said, to +decide what was good or bad in relation to commerce, and not for +ecclesiastics. There had been but little disorder, upon the whole, +amongst the savages as the result of drink. He thought they were less +given to intoxication than the French, and much less than the English of +New York. Two delegates were entirely opposed to the trade as being +hurtful to religion, and the source of moral disorders. Two others +thought it should be restricted to the settlements, and that no liquor +should be sold in the woods.<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></p> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> +<p>How far the opinions of those who favoured the traffic were +disinterested may be open to question. Traders are apt to consider +exclusively the immediate interests of trade; and the love of gain is +often sufficient to stifle the instincts of humanity. The church looked +upon the Indians as its wards; but the majority of the settlers, it is +to be feared, thought only of exploiting, if not of actually plundering, +them. It is difficult to read the little treatise composed about +twenty-five years after these events, under the title of the <i>History of +Brandy in Canada</i>, without feeling persuaded that there was more ground +for the position taken by the clergy than the seigneurs and others who +assembled at Quebec were willing to admit. From what the anonymous +writer, evidently a missionary in close touch with the facts, says, it +is clear that brandy was often made an instrument for the robbery of the +unhappy Indian. We are told of one man at Three Rivers who, having made +an Indian drunk, insisted next day that the score for the brandy the +poor savage had taken amounted to thirty moose skins. The author of the +treatise is convinced that the horrible massacre at Lachine, of which we +shall have to speak in a later chapter, was a direct manifestation of +the anger of God at the drink traffic, of which that place in particular +was the headquarters. If so, the warning unfortunately was not taken to +heart, for the writer himself tells us that the traffic was resumed and +prosecuted as vigorously as ever as soon as the village<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> was rebuilt.</p> + +<p>When Laval, who had just laid the corner-stone of his seminary at +Quebec, saw the way things were going, he decided to start for France +himself, to see what he could effect for the cause he had so deeply at +heart by personal representations. The decision of the court, however, +was what might have been expected under the circumstances. Two edicts +were issued in the following year, one dated the 25th April 1679, +confirming the regulations previously laid down respecting the <i>coureurs +de bois</i>, but allowing the governor to grant hunting permits good from +the 15th January to the 15th April of each year; and the other, dated +24th May, expressly prohibiting the holders of such permits from +carrying liquor to the Indians, under pain of a fine of one hundred +francs for the first offence, three hundred for the second, and corporal +punishment for the third. The French of the settlements on the other +hand were left free to sell liquor to the Indians resorting thither. The +bishop was at the same time requested to make the "reserved case" apply +only to those selling under illegal conditions, which, with no little +reluctance, he consented to do.</p> + +<p>It is to be noted that the second edict contains a clause expressly +entrusting its enforcement to "Sieur, Comte de Frontenac, governor and +lieutenant-general for his Majesty in the said country," and not as +previously to the intendant. Frontenac thus had it in his power, M. +Lorin observes, "to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> free himself in practice from the time limits +imposed, or even tacitly to authorize the hunters to carry a few goods +to the Indians." This writer, who is an ardent admirer of Frontenac, +seems to regard it as a thing quite to be expected that the king's +representative should seize the opportunity to violate the king's +regulations. The motive, however, which he assigns for such probable +disobedience is a very high one: the governor was anxious to keep in +touch, through the traders, with the outlying Indian tribes, in order +that he might watch the course of their trade, study their dispositions, +and thus be enabled to take timely measures to maintain them in right +relations with the French colony. Were there ground for assurance that +this was his only, or even his greatly predominant, motive, we might +well join with M. Lorin in considering such far-sighted devotion to the +king's interests as more than a set-off to a technical irregularity. But +can we? The question is one in regard to which the documents before us, +consisting mainly of the correspondence of Frontenac and Duchesneau with +the court, render it difficult to arrive at a positive conclusion. The +matter will be discussed in the following chapter; meanwhile let us +briefly note the further development of the <i>coureur de bois</i> question +to the end of Frontenac's first administration.</p> + +<p>It does not appear that the ordinance of April 1679 improved the +situation in the least. The law continued to be violated, as Duchesneau +affirms,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> with the connivance of the governor, and, as Frontenac says, +with the active assistance (in favour of his special friends) of the +intendant. In the month of November 1680 Duchesneau writes to the +minister, observing that the only thing to do is to try and find the +best means to induce these men to return "without prejudice to the +absolute submission they owe to the king's will." He proceeds to hint at +something like a conditional amnesty, lenient treatment to be promised +to all those who, returning home promptly on the publication of the +king's proclamation, should "make a sincere and frank declaration in +court of the time they have been absent, for what persons they were +trading in the Indian country, who furnished them with goods, how many +skins they procured, and how they disposed of them." Evidently M. +Jacques Duchesneau was in pursuit of information; and there can be +little doubt with what intent. What Frontenac wrote on the subject is +not on record. It seems probable that he too suggested an amnesty; but +we may doubt whether he recommended the condition proposed by his friend +the intendant. The court in the month of May following granted an +amnesty, the sole condition of which was that the persons concerned +should return to their homes immediately on being notified to do so. +This was not to imply any indulgence for the offence in future, as +another edict was passed in the course of the same month, providing +severer punishments than had previously been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> prescribed—flogging and +branding on a first conviction, and perpetual servitude in the galleys +on a second. When these edicts reached Quebec it was noticed that to the +council was given the duty, not only of registering, but of publishing +and executing them. The governor, however, intervened, and, upon his +promising to take the whole responsibility upon himself, the council +agreed to leave the publication and execution in his hands. "Under this +pretext," says M. Lorin, "Frontenac could send officers to all the posts +of the upper country; and if he was anxious to do so, it was less to +participate, despite the king's orders, in the fur trade, than to +control the proceedings of the merchants and missionaries." The word +"less" can hardly be said to imply unambiguous praise. Moreover who can +say what motive was predominant?</p> + +<p>Under the edict of 1679 the governor had the power of issuing an +unlimited number of permits for hunting exclusively. The privilege had +clearly been abused; and orders were now issued that in future +twenty-five permits only should be granted each year, the holder of a +permit to be entitled to take or send one canoe only with three men. In +this way the amount of trade which could be done under a permit was +limited. In all only twenty-five canoe loads of merchandise could be +sent out annually. Moreover the intention in granting these permits was +less to promote trade at a distance—an object the court never had at +h<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>eart—than to reward certain supposedly meritorious individuals. It +was a species of patronage which was placed in the governor's hands, and +which he was expected to distribute in a judicious manner. If the holder +of a permit did not wish to use it himself, he could sell it to some one +else; and it not infrequently happened that a single trader would buy a +number of permits, and send quite a little fleet of canoes up the river. +The era of "trusts" was not as yet, but even here we can see the trust +in germ.</p> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>THE LIFE OF A COLONY</h3> + + +<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>he great trouble in Canada was that it was an over-governed country. +The whole population when Frontenac arrived was but little over six +thousand souls, scattered over a territory stretching from Matane and +Tadousac in the east, to the western limit of the Island of Montreal. +What these people needed in the first place was freedom to seek their +living in their own way, and secondly, an extremely simple form of +government. Instead of this they were hampered in their trade, and made +continually to feel their dependence on the central power; while, in the +matter of political organization, they were placed under the precise +system which prevailed in the provinces of the French kingdom. In the +Sovereign Council they had the equivalent of a parliament in the +French—by no means in the English—sense; that is to say, a body for +registering, and so bestowing a final character of validity upon, the +decrees of the sovereign, and for administering justice. The executive +power was divided between governor and intendant with very doubtful +results. Below the Sovereign Council, as a judicial body, was the court +of the Prévôté. The one thing the people were not allowed to have was +anything in the way of representative institutions. Colbert, perhaps by +immediate royal direction, gave the keynote of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> monarchical absolutism +when he said, in words already quoted: "Let every man speak for himself; +let no one presume to speak for all." Thus was the king in his strength +and majesty placed over against the solitary protesting individual. +Doubtless self-government in the full sense would not have been possible +at the time, seeing that self-government implies, as its first +condition, pecuniary independence, and the country was not in a position +to provide all the money required for its civil and military +expenditure. However, possible or impossible, the thing was not thought +of, or to be thought of, at the time. The result of the elaborate +organization actually established was that administrators and +councillors, having far too little to do, fell to quarrelling with one +another in the manner already seen and yet to be seen. The Canadian +colony was not really peculiar in this respect. Any one who reads in +Clément's great work the voluminous correspondence of Colbert will see +that strife and jealousy was the rule throughout the whole colonial +service. The same spirit, in fact, prevailed which was exhibited in the +daily life of the court, where every one was desperately struggling for +the sunshine of royal favour, and where, consequently, questions of +precedence and etiquette were regarded as of surpassing importance. And +now a most serious question of this nature was to blaze forth in Canada.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p> + +<p>In various despatches from the court, Frontenac had been spoken of as +"President of the Sovereign Council," though that office had never in +any formal way been attached to the governorship. Shortly after +Duchesneau's appointment as intendant, a royal ordinance was issued +conferring the title in question upon him. In this there was no +intention whatever to diminish the rank or prestige of the governor. The +idea was rather to relieve him from the drudgery of presiding at +meetings of the council, by giving to the latter a permanent working +head in the person of the intendant, a man assumed to be accustomed to +routine business and to have the trained official's capacity for +details. Any other man than Frontenac would have seen the matter in this +light, and rejoiced that a substitute had been found for him in a most +uninteresting duty. He still had access to the council, and whenever he +chose to attend, he occupied the seat of honour as the king's immediate +representative, while a lower functionary would act as chairman, put +questions to the vote, and sign the minutes. To the mind of Frontenac, +unfortunately, the thing presented itself in a very different light; he +saw his prerogative attacked, his dignity impaired. If he was not +president of the council, why was he ever so addressed in official +despatches? M. Duchesneau, on the other hand, took his stand on the +stronger ground of a special ordinance appointing him to the office. +Behold the elements of a mighty quarrel!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span></p> + +<p>In the early days of Frontenac's governorship the preamble of the +proceedings in council used to read: "The council having assembled, at +which presided the high and mighty lord, Messire Louis de Buade +Frontenac, chevalier, Comte de Palluau," etc. Later it was simplified so +as to read: "At which presided his Lordship, the governor-general." +After the arrival of Duchesneau a new formula was adopted. In the +minutes of the 23rd September 1675, the intendant is mentioned as +"having taken his seat as president"; and in those of 30th September we +find the words "acting as president according to the declaration of the +king." The bickering began almost from the date of Duchesneau's arrival; +but it was not till the winter of 1678-9 that it developed into actual +strife. The minister received many tiresome communications on the +subject, and in April 1679 he seems to think that the chief fault is on +the side of the intendant, for he writes to him sharply: "You +continually speak as if M. de Frontenac was always in the wrong. . . . +You seem to put yourself in a kind of parallel with him. The only reply +I can make to all these despatches of yours is that you must strive to +know your place, and get a proper idea into your head of the difference +between a governor and lieutenant-general representing the person of the +sovereign, and an intendant." This was hard enough, but what follows is +a shade worse: he is told that in making his reports, particularly when +they contain accusations, he "should be very careful not to advance<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> +anything that is not true." Finally, he is warned that until he learns +the difference between the king's representative and himself, he will be +in danger, not only of being rebuked, but of being dismissed. +Frontenac's turn came a few months later. Colbert writes in December of +the same year, and tells him that the king is getting very tired of all +this squabbling, and has come to the conclusion that he (Frontenac) "is +not capable of that spirit of union and conciliation which is necessary +to prevent the troubles that are continually arising, and which are so +fraught with ruin to a new colony." The king had heard of the trouble +that was being made over this petty question, and Colbert expresses his +Majesty's surprise that Frontenac should bother his head about such a +thing.</p> + +<p>When this despatch reached Canada, Frontenac had gone much further in +the matter than either the king or the minister suspected. Peuvret, +clerk of the council, had been imprisoned because he would not disobey +the orders of the council, in the matter of his minutes, in order to +obey those of the governor. During four months the routine business of +the council had been suspended while this wretched business was being +fought over. Three of the councillors had been banished from Quebec, +being ordered to remain in their country-houses till permitted to +return. A more discreditable state of things could not well be imagined, +nor one of worse example for the country. A<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>t last a compromise was +proposed by d'Auteuil, the attorney-general, which was that the minutes +should mention the presence of the governor and intendant at the +meetings of the council, without speaking of either as presiding or as +president. Frontenac at first would not have anything to do with such an +arrangement, but finally he consented to it till the king's pleasure +could be known.</p> + +<p>The king this time lost patience. When an answer came back, it was his +<i>dis</i>pleasure that was known, and displeasure with his "high and mighty +Lordship, the governor." The king told him plainly that he had on +various occasions advanced claims that had very little foundation, and +that in this matter his pretensions were directly opposed to a royal +ordinance. His Majesty added: "I am sure you are the only man in my +kingdom who, being honoured with the titles of governor and +lieutenant-general, would care to be styled chief and president of a +council such as that at Quebec." Colbert dealt with the matter +officially, and quoted this opinion of the king's almost in the same +words. He also observed that, if Frontenac had any wish to give +satisfaction to his Majesty, he would have to change entirely the line +of conduct he had hitherto pursued. It seemed, however, as if the court +could not afford to give a clear victory to Duchesneau, for, as a +practical settlement of the point at issue, it was ordered that the +<i>modus vivendi</i> suggested by the attorney-general and actually in force +should be adopted as a permanent rule—a clas<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>sical example of political +trimming.</p> + +<p>It is difficult to understand how any man in Frontenac's position could +fail to feel profoundly humbled and chastened by so emphatic a reproof +emanating direct from his sovereign master, and echoed in an official +despatch from the minister in charge of colonies. We look in vain, +however, for evidence that any such effect was produced on the spirit of +the governor. He doubtless felt that he had achieved at least half a +victory. The title had been depreciated in the despatches from the +court; it was not worth <i>his</i> having, and Duchesneau was not to have it. +For a time there was what looked like a truce between the two heads of +the state, and shortly afterwards we find Duchesneau writing to say that +he and the governor are now on excellent terms; that he is omitting +nothing on his side that can give satisfaction to the latter; that he +communicates the very smallest things to him, and that he hopes, by +sheer force of amiability, to secure a little show of kindness in +return. Seeing, however, that in the same despatch in which these +excellent sentiments occur, he enters into lengthy accusations against +Frontenac on the trading question, and that the latter was engaged about +the same time in working up similar charges against him, as appears by a +document bearing date the following year, we may reasonably doubt +whether very amicable or charitable feelings prevailed on either side.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span></p> + +<p>D'Auteuil, the attorney-general, who had been for some time in a failing +condition, and whose health had probably not been improved by his +occasional stormy interviews with the governor, by whom he was cordially +detested, died in the early winter of 1679-80. Duchesneau, in +anticipation of this event, had obtained the king's permission to name a +successor, and had secured a signed commission which, to be complete, +only required to have a name filled in. Auteuil's son, François +Madeleine, had been assisting him for a couple of years in his office, +and as he was a very assuming youth—he was not yet twenty-one—and +bitterly hostile to the governor, he was naturally the intendant's +choice. Young d'Auteuil had hardly entered on his duties before he +picked a quarrel with Boulduc, prosecutor of the lower court, known as a +firm ally of Frontenac, whom he ordered to wait upon him at his office +every Saturday to prepare cases for the court under his (d'Auteuil's) +supervision. Boulduc refused. The council took the matter up, but found +it hard to decide, and the squabble dragged during most of the year +1680. In the following year facts came to light which caused Boulduc to +be charged with embezzlement, and d'Auteuil pushed the matter with great +zeal. Frontenac, anxious to save his friend, tried to represent the +accusation as the outcome of private vengeance; unfortunately the facts +were against the <i>procureur</i>, who was condemned, and dismissed from +office.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p> + +<p>Some of the side issues that were raised on this occasion brought out +strikingly the spirit of Canadian official society. Villeray, first +councillor, a man more obnoxious to Frontenac on account of his extreme +devotion to the ecclesiastical authorities perhaps than by reason of his +dubious antecedents,<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> gave himself, in certain pleadings, the title +of "esquire." Frontenac denied that he had any right to it, and held the +pleadings invalid. Frontenac's secretary, Le Chasseur, appeared on a +summons before the council, but refused to answer because he had been +described in the summons as "secretary of Monsieur, the Governor," +instead of "Monseigneur the Governor." Thus were the king's instructions +to all and sundry to practise peace and concord being observed! A worse +affair was that of the councillor, Damours, who, in the summer of 1681, +obtained a <i>congé</i> from Frontenac to go as far as Matane where he had a +property, and who was arrested by order of the governor on his return a +few weeks later for having in some way exceeded the terms of his permit. +Damours' wife appealed to the council, but Frontenac objected to having +her letter read. Duchesneau urged the council to take cognizance of the +case, but some of the members did not feel it safe to do so, and finally +the papers were referred to the king—another quarrel for his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> Majesty +to adjust! Meantime Damours remains in confinement for about six weeks. +His Majesty of course disapproves of such harshness. In a letter dated +30th April 1681, after giving his representative various other cautions, +he begs him to divest his mind of all those private animosities which up +to the present have been almost the sole motive of his actions. "It is +hard," he adds, "for me to give you my full confidence when I see that +everything gives way to your personal enmities."</p> + +<p>A question reserved for consideration in this chapter was as to how far +there was foundation for the charges of illegitimate trading brought so +continually by the intendant against the governor, and retorted by the +latter against the intendant. What may be noticed in the first place is +the slight amount of attention apparently paid by the court to these +charges and counter-charges. The king could not openly approve of +trading on the part of his high officers; he was obliged to condemn it +in strong and precise terms; but he knew at the same time that they had +starvation salaries, and it is possible that he was not wholly unwilling +that they should, in a quiet way, make a little money out of the traffic +in furs. Frontenac and Duchesneau were both recalled in the end; but it +was not for trading; it was for quarrelling, playing at cross-purposes, +and sacrificing the welfare of the country to their mutual jealousies. +M. Lorin, whose sympathy with Frontenac is conspicuous,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> is disposed to +admit that he did not wholly abstain from trading; but he thinks he did +it in a more respectable and less rapacious manner than Duchesneau. He +observes that Frontenac's partners, if partners he had, were chiefly the +great explorers, La Salle, Du Lhut and others; while the associates of +Duchesneau were traders pure and simple, men like Lebert, Le Moyne and +La Chesnaye. On the other hand the court does not seem to have taken +Frontenac's accusations against the intendant seriously. The king indeed +informs him that he regards his charges as "mere recriminations." +Duchesneau, it will be remembered, had been warned not to put into his +despatches things that were not true; possibly he was worrying the +minister and the king with information they would rather not receive. +The correspondence of 1679 shows clearly the hostile relations of the +two administrators.</p> + +<p>In the summer and fall of that year the governor spent nearly three +months at Montreal. On the 6th November, having returned to Quebec, he +writes to the king: "I have received diverse advices from the Jesuit +fathers and other missionaries that General Andros (Governor of New +York) was lately soliciting the Iroquois in an underhand way to break +with us, and that he was about convening a meeting of the Five Nations, +in order to propose matters of a nature to disturb our trade with them." +Four days later the intendant takes up his parable and informs the +minister that the governor "had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> <i>made</i> the news he pretended to have +received regarding the plans of the English general, Andros, to debauch +the Iroquois," the whole thing being a mere pretext for making a +prolonged stay at Montreal at the height of the trading season. He +charges the governor with exacting presents from the Indians in return +for the protection afforded them by his guards, and with having taken +seven packages of beaver skins from the Ottawas in consideration of his +having settled a dispute into which they had got with some Frenchmen at +Montreal. It will be remembered, and the fact certainly has an air of +significance, that, when it was a question of granting amnesty to the +<i>coureurs de bois</i>, it was Duchesneau who suggested that each man should +be required to give the fullest information as to what trade he had been +carrying on, and <i>on whose account</i>. The amnesty was granted without +this condition. Evidently the court did not want an embarrassment of +information. Duchesneau's trouble was an excess of not wholly +disinterested zeal.</p> + +<p>The case is not overstated by Frontenac's latest and fullest biographer, +M. Lorin, when he says that "the lack of a good understanding between +the two administrators had divided Canadian society, or at least that +portion of it which came into contact with the king's officers, into two +camps." Street brawls arising out of the embitterment of feeling were +not infrequent. An illustrative incident was the imprisonment of young<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> +Duchesneau, son of the intendant, for singing in the streets some +snatches of a song disrespectful to the governor. The patience of the +court was at last exhausted, and in the summer of 1682, Frontenac and +Duchesneau were simultaneously recalled; and thus was brought to a close +the count's first term of office as governor of Canada.</p> + +<p>Some larger questions relating to this period may now profitably occupy +our attention. One of the earliest acts of Frontenac, it will be +remembered, was to summon the Iroquois to meet him in conference at +Cataraqui, where, by his happy manner of dealing with them, he +established a remarkable personal ascendency over their minds, and +succeeded, for the time at least, in placing the relations between them +and the French upon an excellent footing. The frequent visits which he +subsequently paid to his favourite fort gave him opportunities of +improving his acquaintance with his dusky lieges and of strengthening +the good understanding that had been brought about. For some years +things worked smoothly, and the colony enjoyed a comfortable sense of +security. From the first, however, the influence of Onontio was more +felt by the eastern and nearer members of the confederacy than by the +western and more remote; and, as time wore on, the latter, particularly +the Senecas, began to show a quarrelsome and insolent temper. They did +not venture to attack the French, but they committed various acts of +aggression on native tribes allied wi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>th them and under their +protection. Several years before they had waged war with the Illinois +and driven them from their habitations. Then they turned southwards and +engaged in a prolonged conflict with a tribe known as the Andostagnés, +during which time the Illinois, having recovered in a measure from their +losses, ventured to return to their former abodes. The explorations of +La Salle had brought these people into alliance with the French; but +when the Senecas had successfully concluded their war with the +Andostagnés they were not disposed to refrain from attacking them anew +on that account. After various preliminary raids, they sent, in the +spring of 1680, an army of five or six hundred men into the Illinois +territory and committed great havoc. It was on this occasion that Tonty, +La Salle's lieutenant, nearly lost his life at Fort Crèvecoeur. The +question now was whether the French would stand idly by and see their +allies destroyed. If they did, not only would their influence over the +tribes trusting in their protection be annihilated, but they might soon +have to fight for their own preservation without any native assistance. +Frontenac sent messages to the Iroquois enjoining them to keep the +peace; but the voice that once had charmed and overawed sounded now a +very ineffectual note. Father Lamberville, Jesuit missionary to the +Iroquois, wrote to say that the upper tribes had lost all fear of the +French, and that a slight provocation would cause them to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> make war on +Canada.</p> + +<p>Frontenac and Duchesneau both discuss the matter in their despatches of +the year 1681, the latter as usual blaming the former, hinting that he +shirked his duty in not going up to Cataraqui in the previous summer in +order to meet the tribes and use his personal influence in favour of +peace. Frontenac writes as if he had not much confidence in that method; +he asks for five or six hundred soldiers to quell the rebellious tribes. +He thinks it would be quite enough to patrol Lake Ontario with a +respectable force in order to bring them to submission. After this +despatch had gone, news arrived of a most regrettable incident which +threatened to precipitate war. This was the murder of a Seneca chief by +an Illinois on the territory of the Kiskakons, one of the Ottawa tribes +in alliance with the French. According to Indian usage the Kiskakons +were responsible for the crime, and the Senecas were hot for revenge. +Appreciating the gravity of the situation, Frontenac sends a special +message to request the offended tribe to stay their hands, promising to +hold himself responsible for seeing that full atonement is made for the +wrong done. They consent, but ask that he will meet them somewhere in or +near Iroquois territory on the 15th June of the following year. No +pledge is given on this point, but messengers are sent to the Ottawas to +tell them that they must be prepared to make full amends, and that, if +they will send delegates to Montreal, the matter will be discus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>sed and +arranged there.</p> + +<p>The winter of 1681-2 was clearly an anxious one for the colony. +Frontenac thought it well to summon the wisest heads in the country to +meet in the Jesuit Seminary at Quebec in order to discuss the Indian +question in all its bearings. Those taking part in the conference, in +addition to himself, were the intendant, the provost, and three Jesuit +fathers, who had had long experience in mission work and knew the savage +tribes thoroughly. The general opinion of the meeting was that Frontenac +should go to Fort Frontenac to meet the Iroquois, as they had requested, +in the following month of June. Frontenac, for some reason or other, did +not like the idea. He did not want to go further than Montreal. +Moreover, there was no use, he said, in meeting the Iroquois till he +knew what the Ottawas were going to do; and they would not reach +Montreal till late in the summer. The governor had his way. The Ottawas, +including the Kiskakons, came in August. Only with great difficulty were +they persuaded to give the necessary satisfaction to the Iroquois, who, +they said, no doubt with truth, were much keener in seeking satisfaction +for wrongs than in giving it when wrong was done by themselves. The +Iroquois sent delegates to Montreal in the following month; and by dint +of presents and promises a somewhat doubtful arrangement was patched up +for the temporary maintenance of peace. Frontenac took advantage of his +visit to Montreal to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> survey the fortifications and give instructions +for strengthening them at several points. These were virtually the final +acts of his administration, for in the last week of September his +successor landed at Quebec.</p> + +<p>What at this time were the resources of the colony in population? In +1668, under the administration of Courcelles, Talon, the intendant, had +reported the population at 6282. In 1673, a year after his arrival, +Frontenac made a return showing a total of 6705 souls. The king, Colbert +said, was much disappointed at these figures and thought they could not +be correct, as there were more people in the country ten years before. +Where his Majesty got this information we do not know, but probably from +some agent of the West India Company interested in exaggerating the +prosperity of the country. He seems to have completely overlooked +Talon's figures for 1668, not to mention two previous returns made by +the same careful officer in 1666 and 1667; the first showing a +population of 3418 only, and the second one of 4312. It seems probable, +however, that Frontenac's figures were somewhat short, as the increase +they showed was less than seven per cent. over Talon's for 1668, five +years earlier; while a return which he made two years later gave a +population of 7832, indicating a gain of nearly seventeen per cent. in +that comparatively brief period. Even these figures did not satisfy the +king, who insisted that he had sent over more people himself in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> +fifteen years or so that the country had been under his direct control.</p> + +<p>It is to be remarked that for some years after Frontenac's arrival in +Canada immigration received a serious check. His commission as governor +was nearly even in date with the commencement of Louis XIV's +buccaneering war against Holland, in which he was joined by his English +cousin Charles II. The heroic stand made by the Dutch against the united +power of the French and English monarchies is one of the glories of +their history. It was not a good time for French immigrant ships to be +abroad; moreover, all available Frenchmen were wanted for military +service, over 200,000 having been drafted into the land forces alone, +and the losses by war continually calling for recruits. A natural +increase, however, was going on in the colony all the time; and in 1679 +Duchesneau reported the population of Canada at 9400, and that of Acadia +at 515. Three years later, at the end of Frontenac's first +administration, the number had increased to over 10,000.</p> + +<p>Trade, however, was not prosperous. Duchesneau, in November 1681, speaks +of it as declining; though he tries to show that the West India trade in +particular had increased in his time. The reason why trade was not +prosperous is not far to seek: it was hampered and strangled by various +forms of political control. The West India Company, called into +existence by Colbert in 1663, had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> not fared much better than the +Company of New France organized by Richelieu. The reflections which +Clément makes on this subject in his life of Colbert are much to the +point. "If ever a company," he says, "was placed in circumstances where +everything seemed to promise success, assuredly it was the West India +Company as reconstituted by Colbert. Monopolizing the commerce of a +large part of the West Indies and of the settlements on the west coast +of Africa, absolute and sovereign proprietor of all the territory in +which its privilege was exercised, receiving large premiums on all that +it exported or imported, one would naturally expect it to surpass the +expectations of its founders. The contrary, however, was what happened, +and new mortifications were added to all that had gone before. . . . By +the year 1672 the company was bankrupt."<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> The chief cause of the +failure M. Clément believes to have been the prohibition of trade with +foreigners. Certainly what Canada most wanted was an outlet for its +productions; and, could foreign vessels have freely visited the country +to buy fish, lumber, potash, and skins, not to mention their own +supplies, Canada would have had an open and really unlimited market +during nearly the whole season of navigation. This restriction of +foreign trading continued unfortunately after the king had bought out +the rights of the bankrupt company in the year 1674. Having only the +market of France t<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>o depend on, the trade of the colony was subject to +all the vicissitudes by which that market was affected. It thus suffered +severely through the war with Holland, which brought an enormous strain +to bear, for a period of six years (1672-8), on the finances of the +kingdom. In the years 1675 and 1676 starvation was stalking through the +land; the courtiers, in driving from Paris to Versailles, would +frequently see the corpses of the wretched victims of famine strewing +the highway; while in Brittany and one or two other provinces the +hangman was doing a merry business in swinging off the unfortunates +whose misery had driven them to theft or other acts of disorder. +"Gallows and instruments of torture were to be seen at all the +crossways," says Henri Martin. Madame de Sévigné gives the most horrible +details in regard to the severities exercised, but with very little show +of sympathy for the unhappy people whom she speaks of as a "<i>canaille +revoltée</i>"—rebellious riff-raff. "This province" [Brittany], she says, +"will be a fine example for the rest and will teach the lower orders to +respect the higher powers." To the same fluent and graceful pen we owe +the almost Tacitean utterance: "The punishments are easing off: by dint +of vigorous hanging, there will be no more hanging to do." "They make a +desert," says Tacitus, "and they call it peace."</p> + +<p>Such was the industrial stagnation prevalent about this time throughout +the kingdom that very often vessels arriving at certain ports could no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>t +find return freights; there was nothing to export. Colbert's efforts to +build up great industries by means of bounties and restrictive tariffs +had, after a temporary flash of success, resulted in dismal failure; and +when peace was made with Holland in 1678, one of the conditions agreed +upon was that "reciprocal liberty of trade between France and the United +Provinces was not to be forbidden, limited, or restrained by any +privilege, customs duty, or concession, and that neither country should +give any immunities, benefits, premiums, or other advantages not +conceded equally to subjects of the other." Thus was Colbert's leading +principle of commercial policy completely overthrown, and that after a +war which had brought him to the verge of despair to provide the means +for carrying it on.</p> + +<p>Those were the days, however, of "imperialism" in a very real sense. +Whatever the state of commerce might be in the Mother Country, Canada +still had to trade with her alone; and, even so, all mercantile +operations were hampered by an arbitrary fixing of prices. This was so +under the sway of the company, and continued to be so to a large extent +after its privileges had been swept away. Very imperial was the rule of +Louis XIV. In his youth he had seen an attempt by the parliament of +Paris to assert its prerogatives. In January 1649, just about the time +when the scaffold was being prepared for Charles I of England, he and +the court hardly knew where<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> to turn for shelter; and he never forgot +one night which they had to spend in fireless rooms without any +attendance. The royal power, astutely guided by Mazarin, asserted itself +eventually over parliaments and princes alike; and Louis XIV, arrived at +manhood, determined that no such trouble should occur again in his time. +Gaillardin, in his history of the reign of Louis XIV, fixes upon the +year 1672—the year in which Frontenac was sent to Canada—as the epoch +of the most complete enslavement of the parliaments. The historic +function which those bodies were supposed to exercise, apart from their +judicial powers, was that of registering the royal edicts; and in theory +such registration was necessary in order to give any edict the full +force of law. Manifestly this privilege might, like the control over +money votes exercised by the English House of Commons, have developed +into an effective check upon monarchical absolutism. The possibility was +not overlooked, and marvellously clear and precise is the declaration by +which Louis XIV, in the year 1673, put all the parliaments of his +kingdom into the precise position he meant them to occupy. "First of +all," the decree reads, "silent obedience: the courts [parliaments] are +strictly forbidden to listen to any opposition to the registration of +the letters of the king; clerks are forbidden to enter such oppositions +on the records; bailiffs are forbidden to give notification of them. . . +. The courts are ordered to register the letters of the king without +any<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> modification, restriction, or condition which might cause delay or +impediment to their execution." When this duty has been submissively +performed, then, if the parliaments have any observations to make, they +may make them; but, when once the king has replied, there is to be no +further discussion of any kind, simply prompt obedience. The +registration of the royal edicts became henceforth a mere matter of +form; and remonstrances of any kind, even such as the king graciously +permitted <i>after</i> registration, ceased to be made. The Chancellor +d'Aguesseau<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> says that none were made during the remaining forty-two +years of the king's lifetime.</p> + +<p>It may be objected, perhaps, that this is French and not Canadian +history; if so the answer must be that it is impossible to understand +the history of Canada in this period unless we have a sufficient +comprehension of the political system to which Canada was bound by the +most vital of ties. We get a strong light upon the character of +Frontenac when we rightly grasp that of his master, the Roi-Soleil, as +he allowed himself to be called, the man who, daring the fate of Herod +or Nebuchadnezzar, once said, "It seems to me as if any glory won by +another was robbed from myself." Some years before he had put on record +the sentiment: "It is God's will that whoever is born a subject should +not reason but obey."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span></p> + +<p>To return, however, to Canada, when the king bought out the rights of +the bankrupt company, monopoly was not at an end, for he proceeded to +put up the trade of the country, under limited leases, to the highest +bidders. Those who obtained leases were called the "farmers," and were +entitled to ten per cent. of the value of all furs taken in the country. +The Sovereign Council at Quebec undertook to fix the prices of goods +except as regards dealings with the Indians; and non-resident merchants, +while they might establish warehouses, and there sell to the French +inhabitants, were not allowed to deal directly with the Indians, these +being left to the mercy of local traders who made a practice of charging +them excessive prices for all that they sold. Frontenac and Duchesneau +both report to the home government that the Indians get twice as much +from the English and Dutch in exchange for their furs as they do from +the French; and yet the aim of both is to force all the Indians in their +jurisdiction to sell their furs exclusively in Canada. Canadians who +went to the English settlements, either in New England or in what is now +New York, were amazed at the cheapness of goods. Duchesneau, in one of +his later despatches, speaks of the commercial prosperity of Boston and +the large fortunes accumulated by some of its citizens. Nothing similar +was to be seen in Canada, where there was a settled belief on the part +of the governing powers in whatever was most restrictive and illiberal +in commercial policy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span></p> + +<p>The first administration of Frontenac will always be associated with the +intrepid enterprises of the great western explorers, Jolliet, La Salle, +Du Lhut, Nicolas Perrot, and others. To Jolliet is reasonably assigned +the first discovery of the Mississippi. Starting from Green Bay, or, as +it was then called, Baie des Puants, on the west shore of Lake Michigan, +in company with the Jesuit father, Marquette, he worked his way to the +Wisconsin River, which he followed to its junction with the Mississippi; +and then descended the latter river till he reached latitude 33°, or +about as far as the northern boundary of the present state of Louisiana. +Fear of falling into the hands of the Spaniards, who, as he was informed +by the Indians, had settlements not far to the south, caused him to +retrace his steps. When he was just completing his return journey, his +canoe upset close to Montreal, and all his papers were lost, including +the notes he had made of his observations, and a map of the region +through which he had passed. He himself narrowly escaped with his +life—the laws of nature were in fact suspended, as he gravely declares, +in his behalf—but a young savage whom he was bringing from the country +of the Illinois was drowned.<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> He reached Quebec in the month of +August 1674, and the thrilling account which he gave of his adventures +produc<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>ed a strong impression on the mind of the governor. Nevertheless +when, two years later, he asked permission to go with twenty men to make +further explorations in the same direction, Colbert refused his request. +A possible explanation is that his previous journey with Père Marquette +had established relations which Frontenac did not quite approve between +him and the Jesuits in the western country, who had lost no time in +pushing their missions towards the south. However this may have been, +Frontenac had his eye at this very time upon a man who seemed to him +much better suited to be an agent of his policy.</p> + +<p>It has already been mentioned that Robert Cavelier de la Salle obtained +from the king in the year 1675 a grant of the fort erected by Frontenac +at Cataraqui. The conditions of the grant were that he was to reimburse +the cost of construction, estimated at ten thousand livres; keep it in +good repair; maintain a sufficient garrison; employ twenty men for two +years in clearing the land conceded to him in the neighbourhood; provide +a priest or friar to perform divine service and administer the +sacraments; form villages of Indians and French; and have all his lands +cleared and improved within twenty years. On these terms he was to have +four square leagues of land, that is to say, eight leagues in length +along the river and lake front, east and west of the fort, by half a +league in depth, together with the islands opposite. But what was of +most<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> value in a pecuniary sense, and what he depended on to compensate +his outlay, was the right of hunting and fishing in the neighbouring +region, and of trading with the Indians. To what extent La Salle +actually developed the property thus conceded to him is a matter of +dispute. The Abbé Faillon, who perhaps has some little animus against +him, says that he did nothing worth mentioning towards establishing such +a colony as the king intended. The king, on the other hand, when +granting La Salle authority to undertake explorations in the direction +of the Mississippi speaks approvingly of the work he had done on his +concession. The information may have been derived from La Salle himself, +who went to France in the autumn of 1677 to obtain sanction for his +proposed expedition; but it is hardly likely that he would lay +altogether false information before the minister for submission to the +king. It seems to be certain that he did at least put the fort in a good +condition of defence. He pulled down the old one, which consisted merely +of a wooden palisade banked up with earth and having a circumference of +one hundred and twenty yards, and replaced it by one having a +circumference of seven hundred and twenty yards, and protected by four +stone bastions.</p> + +<p>The probability is that La Salle, from the first, looked upon his +establishment at the fort partly as an advanced base for the further +explorations he had in view, and partly as a means of providi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>ng the +funds without which his schemes could not be realized. The proposition +which he laid before the government, was that he should erect at his own +expense two forts, one at the mouth of the Niagara River on the east +side, the other at the southern extremity of Lake Michigan; and that he +should be commissioned to proceed to the discovery of the mouth of the +Mississippi, and be granted the exclusive right of trading with the +Indians inhabiting the countries to be visited. The trade he was most +anxious to control was that in buffalo hides, a sample of which he had +brought with him to France. Having obtained all necessary powers, he +sailed for Canada in the summer of 1678, bringing with him as much money +as he could persuade his family and friends to advance, together with a +large quantity of goods. The pecuniary obligations thus assumed were to +be paid off, as he hoped, partly by the profits of his trade at +Cataraqui, and partly by those of his operations in the more distant +West. The story of his struggles and tribulations is too long to give in +any detail here, but the main points may be hurriedly sketched.</p> + +<p>The first care of the explorer on arriving at Quebec in the autumn was +to load several canoes with goods to the value of several thousands of +francs, and despatch them with a party of men to the Illinois country. +In the spring carpenters were sent forward to Niagara to commence the +construction of a fort. He himself followed in a large canoe laden with +provisions and goods. Hi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>s first misadventure was the loss of this canoe +and its freight, not far from the mouth of the Niagara River. The +accident was due to the inattention of his men while he was on shore. A +little above the Falls of Niagara he began the construction of a +forty-five ton vessel, destined for the trade between that point and an +establishment he proposed to make at the southern end of Lake Michigan. +The Iroquois of the neighbourhood did not like these proceedings, but +did not make any active opposition. The vessel was completed and La +Salle and his men sailed away in her through Lake Erie, the St. Clair +River, and Lake Huron into Lake Michigan. Severe storms were encountered +on the way. Near Green Bay the men whom he had sent forward with goods +the previous fall met him with a number of canoes, all laden with skins, +the result of their trading with the Illinois. This was more expedition +than he had counted on, for he had told them to await his arrival. He +caused the goods, however, to be transferred to his vessel, the +<i>Griffon</i>, as she was called, and sent her back to Niagara with a +sufficient crew. She was never heard of more; but the Indians reported +that, shortly after she left shelter, a terrible storm had arisen on +Lake Michigan. They watched her for some time as she was tossed about by +the fury of the waves, and then they lost sight of her. Ignorant of this +disaster, La Salle was making his way south. He established two forts on +the Illinois River. The first, which he called St. Louis, wa<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>s near the +site of the present town of La Salle. The second, a little further +south, near to Peoria, he named Crèvecoeur. The name is significant of +"heartbreak," and his fortunes were then at their lowest ebb, for +provisions were exhausted and a number of men had deserted; still it is +not recorded that the name was given on that account. Leaving Henry +Tonty, a man of great energy and resource, whom he had brought out from +France, in charge of Fort Crèvecoeur he made his way back alone to Fort +Frontenac and thence to Montreal.</p> + +<p>It was at Fort Frontenac that La Salle first learnt the fate of his +richly-laden <i>Griffon</i>; while at Montreal the news reached him of the +loss of a vessel coming from France with a large quantity of goods for +his trade. Such an accumulation of misfortunes was enough to break the +spirit of an ordinary man; but La Salle was a man whom adversity could +not conquer. Straining his credit to the utmost to procure supplies and +reinforcements, he returns to the Illinois country to find Fort +Crèvecoeur in ruins. It had been attacked by the Iroquois and its +defenders scattered. Tonty, wounded in the skirmish, had gone to +Michilimackinac. Getting no word of him, La Salle assumes that he is +dead. Once more the long journey eastward must be faced. He reaches +Montreal, and succeeds in organizing yet another expedition. Again he +sets out for the West. It is late in the fall of 1680 when he reaches +Michilimackinac, where he is overjoyed to find the lost<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> Tonty. The two +proceed together to the Illinois country. The year 1681 is spent in +establishing or re-establishing posts and dealing or negotiating with +the natives. On the 6th February 1682 La Salle strikes the Mississippi. +Two months and three days later, or on the 9th of April, he is gazing +forth over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.</p> + +<p>The tale is quickly told; but not so easy is it adequately to appraise +the courage, determination and resource necessary for the accomplishment +of such an enterprise. Knowing what we do of the man, the portrait of +him in Margry's third volume seems to possess a certain convincing +character, though Margry himself does not vouch for its authenticity. We +see a face sensitive, perhaps sensuous, subtle, passionate, daring, +tenacious. Such a man could not bind himself to the task of patient +colonization at Fort Frontenac, or even find satisfaction in the more +varied and exciting life of a frontiersman and trader. An overwhelming +desire possessed him</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i4">"To sail beyond the sunset and the baths</span> +<span class="i4"> Of all the western stars,"</span> +</div></div> + +<p>and to follow the swelling flood of the mightiest of rivers to its +bourne in some mighty sea. Such a man will have the defects of his +qualities, and La Salle was neither devoid of jealousy nor incapable of +injustice; and he was a somewhat hard taskmaster. Possessed himself of +iron nerve and unbending resolution, and sustained by visions of high +accomplishment, he expected more from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> average men than they were +altogether capable of rendering. More than once some of his followers +deserted him. One attempt was made at Fort Frontenac to poison him; and +finally he met his death at the hand of an assassin, a member of his own +party, in that far southern region which he had added to the domain of +France.</p> + +<p>Frontenac's personal relations with La Salle are not very clearly +defined. He was certainly favourable to him at first. The two men were +much alike in their attitude towards the ecclesiastical power; and both +showed a preference for the Récollet order, two members of which La +Salle maintained at the fort. Frontenac also approved of La Salle's +plans of discovery in the west and south, as tending to the extension of +the French dominions and the glory of the French name, and possibly also +as furnishing a counterpoise to the growing influence of the Jesuits +among the western Indians. There is nothing, however, to show that he +followed the later movements of the great explorer with any particular +sympathy.</p> + +<p>Du Lhut was a man of a different type. He did not possess the vaulting +ambition, nor perhaps the talent for organization, of La Salle; but he +discovered a vast stretch of new territory in what is now the western +part of New Ontario, and along the course of the Assiniboine; and, so +far as skill in the management of the native races was concerned he was +probably superior to the more romantic explorer. No man was more +s<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>uccessful in upholding French prestige amongst the Indian tribes. It +was just before La Salle returned from France in the autumn of 1678 that +Du Lhut, in somewhat clandestine fashion, slipped off to the West. Those +were the days in which the <i>coureur de bois</i> difficulty was at its +height; and, upon arriving at Sault Ste. Marie, he wrote to Frontenac in +a rather deprecatory tone as if sensible of the doubtful legality of his +position, but pointed out the advantages that would accrue from entering +into relations with the North Western Indians. About a year later he +presided over a great meeting of the tribes on the site of the important +city which now bears his name (according to one spelling of it); +established peace between communities that had long been at war; and +obtained the promise of the important tribe of the Nadessioux to direct +their trade in future to Montreal. This was eminently useful work, and +gained for its author the full sympathy of Frontenac. Nevertheless, on +his return to Quebec in the following year (1680), he was imprisoned for +violation of the king's regulations, in all probability at the instance +of the vigilant M. Jacques Duchesneau, who would be prompt to suspect +complicity in illegal trading between him and the governor. He was +released after a short detention, and went to France in the fall of +1681, in the hope of obtaining the king's sanction for further +explorations. In this he was unsuccessful; but, returning to Canada, he +obtained employment in the West <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>as post commander and agent to the +tribes west and north of Lake Superior. Through him the French influence +was extended, not only far into what is now our own North-West, but even +to the shores of Hudson's Bay, much of the trade which had before been +done with the English of that region being diverted, through his +persuasions, to Montreal.</p> + +<p>While the secular rulers of the country were, with somewhat divided +aims, striving to promote the material interests and provide for the +security of the colony, the church, with considerably more unity of +purpose, was labouring to achieve spiritual results. The promotion of M. +de Laval to the see of Quebec put an end to much disputing and mutual +distrust amongst different orders of the clergy. It is said to have had +a markedly beneficial effect on Laval himself, who seemed at once to +dismiss the exaggerated suspicions he had entertained regarding all who +were not thoroughly subdued to his influence, and the Sulpician order in +particular. Missionary work was actively carried on, and though the +question of tithes gave more or less trouble, and the people were not as +zealous as might have been wished in providing for the maintenance of +their local clergy, y, y, the influence of the church and of religion was +strongly felt throughout the length and breadth of the land. The king +had much at heart the establishment of permanent curacies, and in 1679 +issued an edict on the subject, which, however, had little effect. His +Majesty's idea was that the <i>curé</i> should<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> receive tithes, and that if +these did not suffice to give him a decent living, further rates should +be levied on the seigneurs and the people. As even the tithes were paid +very grudgingly, it is easy to believe that a scheme of further taxation +for church purposes stood little chance of acceptance. We have already +seen that Laval was by no means in love with the policy of fixed +<i>cures</i>, and he was probably not sorry to be able to represent to the +court that it really could not be carried into effect. Bishop and people +together were too much even for the king.</p> + +<p>The Récollets, always on the alert to make themselves useful, rose to +the occasion by offering to serve the parishes and accept simply what +the people might be disposed to give, but the bishop thought their zeal +savoured of officiousness, and declined the offer with scanty thanks. +These worthy ecclesiastics were very popular in the country, and it is +probable they could have successfully carried out their undertaking had +they been allowed to try. The bishop had other views for the nurture of +his Canadian flock. The Récollet fathers did not at this time stand very +high in his esteem. The Jesuits accused them of tolerating grave abuses +in the household of the governor, who had a Récollet, Father +Maupassant, for confessor; but, as M. Lorin pertinently observes, the +accusation was singularly ill-timed, considering the flagrant disorders +which marked the private life of Frontenac's master, Louis XIV, whose +spiritual interests<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> were in charge of the Jesuit, Père Lachaise. The +monarch—"ce religieux prince," as the Abbé Faillon calls him—had no +hesitation in demanding of the parliament of Paris legitimation of +successive batches of his bastard offspring, and registration of the +titles of nobility he was pleased to confer upon them. Whatever the +responsibilities of Father Maupassant may have been, he must have had a +sinecure in comparison with the king's confessor. It may be added that +Frontenac vehemently denied that there were any disorders or scandals in +his household.</p> + +<p>Missions to the different Indian tribes were in active operation during +the whole of the period now under review. Those of the Jesuits were by +far the most widespread. Their chief establishment outside of Quebec was +at Sault Ste. Marie; in addition they had permanent missions at +Mackinac, Green Bay, and various points in the Iroquois country; while +Father Albanel penetrated as far as Hudson's Bay, and others laboured +amongst the Indians of the Saguenay region. The Sulpicians were less +adventurous; they did most of their evangelizing work on or near to the +Island of Montreal. They had an establishment, however, on the Bay of +Quinté, and one or more on the Ottawa River. The Récollets had Fort +Frontenac, Percé on the Baie des Chaleurs, and certain posts on the line +of La Salle's explorations.</p> + +<p>As regards the conversion of the savage tribes, it can hardly be claimed +that any of these miss<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>ions were very successful. All authorities agree +that it was extremely difficult to impress the Indian mind with the +truths of Christianity, or with the idea of any absolute and exclusive +theology. The Indian was quite ready to accept the missionary's version +of the origin of the world, provided the missionary would reciprocate +and accept his decidedly different version. Each, he held, was good in +its place; a little variety in these matters did no harm. He had little +or no sense of sin, for he did not recognize that the things he did were +wrong, and when threatened with the terrors of a future world, he simply +said that he did not believe the "master of life" could hate anybody. At +the same time he was quite prepared to join in religious services if +requested, and seemed even to enjoy the ceremonial. He believed in +unlimited charity to relatives and friends, but could not be got to +admit the duty of forgiving enemies. An Indian who had been informed +that in France many died of want, while others of the same nation had +food and substance of all kinds in the greatest profusion, was +scandalized beyond measure. He was affected much as we should be by some +dark tale of cruelty and superstition from a far-off heathen land. And +to think that people of whom such things could be told were sending +missionaries to <i>him</i>, to enjoin upon him, among other things, the duty +of charity!<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></p> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> +<p>But if the missionaries made comparatively little headway in the matter +of actual conversions, it is impossible to doubt that they exerted a +general influence for good upon the tribes to whom they ministered. This +may fairly be inferred from the moral authority they exercised and the +security and respect they enjoyed. They were themselves men of pure +lives and disinterested motives; and so far they personally recommended +the doctrines they preached. To some extent also they taught the savages +various useful arts of life. Frontenac specially commends the Montreal +Seminary for their efforts to civilize the Indians of their missions +who, under their instruction, had taken to raising domestic animals, +swine, poultry, etc., and to cultivating wheat as well as native grains. +The Abbé Verreau, on the other hand, is inclined to hold that the +attempts made, at the urgent demand of the French government, to +civilize as well as christianize the Indians are accountable, in part at +least, for the general failure of the missions. "We all know now," he +says, "what has been the result of so much effort and so much outlay of +money. Two or three poor villages inhabited by unhappy creatures who +have added our vices to their own deficiencies, without having adopted +any of our better qualities. That is all that remains of the Abenaquis, +the Hurons, and the Iroquois."<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> The reflection is a sad one, and the +abbé feels it, for he speaks further of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> the painful mystery of the +disappearance of these children of the forest. Truly does the poet say +that "God fulfils Himself in many ways," yet none the less the surviving +white man may well feel some misgiving when he thinks of all his past +dealings with his red brother.</p> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>GOVERNORSHIP OF M. DE LA BARRE</h3> + +<h3>1682 <span class="smcap">TO</span> 1685</h3> + + +<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>he successors of Frontenac and Duchesneau received their appointments +in the month of May 1682, and arrived at Quebec towards the end of the +following September. They were, respectively, a military officer named +Lefebvre de la Barre who had served with some distinction in the West +Indies; and a man of whose previous career little or nothing is known, +one M. Jacques de Meulles. If the fault of Frontenac had been the +assumption of too much state and dignity, and the exercise of too much +self-will, the fault of La Barre was that he possessed too little +dignity and extremely little firmness of character. The recall of +Frontenac had practically been one more triumph for the ecclesiastical +authorities, who caused it to be understood that, if Duchesneau had also +been recalled, it was simply to save Frontenac from too open +humiliation. La Barre prudently determined, therefore, from the first +not to come into collision with the clergy, whatever else he might do. +On the other hand the Abbé Dudouyt writing from Paris, enjoins prudence +on the bishop, lest "it should seem as if he could not keep on good +terms with anybody." With such dispositions on both sides, it is not +surprising that, during the whole of La Barre's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> administration his +relations with the church were extremely harmonious. The Abbé Gosselin +says that he and Meulles "revived the happy times of the highly +Christian administration of M. de Tracy." The king, however, did not +view the situation with equal approval; the despatches of the period +show that he thought that deference to the views of the clergy was being +carried too far.</p> + +<p>We have seen that, towards the close of Frontenac's administration, the +Indian situation was again becoming critical. The arrangement patched up +by him in the month of August was far from being of a very solid +character; and when La Barre assumed the reins of government he found a +widespread feeling of insecurity as to the continuance of peace. He +thought it prudent, therefore, to summon, as Frontenac had done +previously, a conference of persons specially competent to advise on the +Indian question. The meeting took place on the 10th of October at +Quebec, before Frontenac had left the country. He might, therefore, have +attended it, had he chosen; and we cannot help feeling surprised that he +did not. The general opinion expressed by those who took part in the +deliberations was that the Iroquois were planning hostilities, and that +the king should be asked to send out more troops. La Barre wrote home to +this effect; but the same vessel that bore his despatch carried the +returning ex-governor, who, on arriving in France, seems to have made it +his business to throw cold water on the appeal fo<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>r help. It was +doubtless to Frontenac's interest to represent that he had left the +country in a peaceful and secure condition; but his conduct would appear +in a better light had he gone before the conference at Quebec, and there +explained, in the presence of those possessing local information, why he +considered that there was no danger. La Barre could then in writing to +the government have given his reasons and those of his advisers for +dissenting from the ex-governor's views, and the latter could honourably +have made his own representations to the court. As it was, the man who +had ceased to be responsible was allowed to thwart the policy of the +actual administrator on whom the whole responsibility for the safety of +the country rested. La Barre is not a man who attracts our admiration or +sympathy, but, in this matter at least, it is difficult to feel that he +received fair treatment.</p> + +<p>Remembering all the trouble there had been between the former governor +and the intendant, La Barre hastens to inform the court that he and +Meulles are on the very best of terms. As they had scarcely been two +months in the country when this despatch was written, the announcement +seems a little hasty. Meulles on his part does not make any such +statement, and his letters of the following and subsequent years show +that he had not formed a very high opinion of his superior officer. He +complains that the meetings of the Sovereign Council are held in the +governor's own antechamber, amid the noise of servants going an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>d coming +and the clatter of the guards in an adjoining room. The minister takes +no notice of this; and a year later Meulles returns to the charge, +stating that the governor held the meetings "in his own chimney corner +where his wife, his children and his servants were always in the way." +The intendant was a man of business, and liked to see things done in a +business-like way. If he did not admire the disorderly methods of the +governor, neither did he approve of the dilatory methods of the council. +When matters were brought before him for adjudication he dealt with them +promptly; and, in his desire to save delays, he disposed of some cases +which the council considered as falling within its sole jurisdiction. +Frontenac, it will be remembered, had packed off young d'Auteuil, who +had been nominated by Duchesneau as attorney-general, to France to +justify, if he could, the conduct he had been pursuing. The youth had +come back a full-fledged attorney-general, and at once fell foul of the +intendant, accusing him of exceeding his powers. Meulles was a prudent +man and contrived to make his peace with the council. M. Lorin says +there was probably as much real dissension as in Frontenac's time, but +that it was hushed up. There is no evidence of this. Some dissension +there may have been; but La Barre was not as fiery as Frontenac, nor was +Meulles as intriguing as Duchesneau. The same elements of discord were, +therefore, not present.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span></p> + +<p>We have seen that the court did not seem to take any serious notice of +the charges of trading reciprocally brought by Frontenac and Duchesneau +against one another; and in this matter La Barre appears to have assumed +from the first that for him there was an "open door." At a very early +period of his residence in the country, he formed intimate relations +with certain prominent traders; it soon became evident, indeed, that he +had placed himself and his policy largely in their hands. They were in +the main the same men with whom Frontenac had accused Duchesneau of +having underhand dealings, La Chesnaye, Lebert and one or two others. +According to Meulles, the governor not only carried on trade on his own +account contrary to the king's regulations, but trade in its most +illegal form, that is to say with the English. His Majesty's +representative found out without much trouble what the Indians were well +aware of, that the English paid a much better price for furs than could +be got in Canada from the king's farmers who controlled the fur trade of +the country. He talks freely indeed of the English in a despatch dated +in May 1683, and says that they both sell goods cheap to the Indians and +give them full price for their furs. It is a saying among the English, +he adds, that the French do not <i>trade</i> with the Indians but <i>rob</i> them. +It is no wonder he was anxious to send his own wares to so good a +market. If the intendant may be trusted, indeed the governor was +continually receiving at the château at Quebec Englishmen and Dutchmen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> +who were simply his agents at New York. La Hontan avers that he saw two +canoe loads of his stuff at Chambly on their way to that emporium.</p> + +<p>A man so devoted to money-making as La Barre could hardly be expected to +take a very deep interest in the wider schemes of exploration and +territorial expansion which appealed to the imagination of a La Salle. +Possibly he thought he could curry favour with the court by disparaging +the achievements of the latter. In a despatch of the 30th May 1683 we +find him saying that he did not think much of the discovery of the mouth +of the Mississippi, and that in any case there was a great deal of +falsehood mixed up with the tales that were told of it. If the remark +was meant to please, it seems to have been successful, for the king in +his reply, under date 5th August following, says: "I am persuaded with +you that <i>Sieur de la Salle's discovery is very useless, and such +enterprises must be prevented hereafter</i>, as they tend only to debauch +the inhabitants by the hope of gain and to diminish the revenue from the +beaver." Could the power of official narrowness and banality go further? +A man, taking his life in his hand, penetrates forest and jungle, +commits himself to unknown waters, braves the encounter of hostile +peoples, takes the risk of treachery among his own followers, faces +every form of privation and all extremities of fatigue, travels a +thousand leagues, and adds a continent to the possessions of his +sovereign, only to have the verdict pronounced<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> by that sovereign that +his discoveries are very useless, and that similar expeditions must be +prevented for the future lest the beaver trade of Canada suffer!</p> + +<p>La Salle's great discovery was made in the month of April 1682. +Returning northwards in the autumn, with the intention of proceeding to +France, and making a full report of his proceedings to the king, he +heard, on reaching Michilimackinac, that the Iroquois were preparing a +hostile movement against the Illinois. He determined at once to go back +with a picked body of men to protect his threatened allies. The news of +his discovery was therefore carried to France by the Récollet, Father +Zénobe, who reached Quebec just as the ships were leaving, and may +possibly have sailed in the same vessel as Frontenac. He does not seem +to have given any information, in passing, to La Barre. The latter was +expecting La Salle's return, and chose to put an unfavourable +construction on his failure to appear. In writing to the minister he +says that Fort Frontenac has been abandoned. The truth was that La Salle +had left it in charge of one La Forest, and that subsequently a cousin +of the explorer's, named Plet, had come from France to look after the +trade of the fort in the interest of the parties in France who had +advanced money for its construction and equipment. It is doubtful +whether the place was ever left even temporarily unoccupied; but +certainly La Salle had no intention<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> of abandoning it. On the contrary, +not knowing of Frontenac's recall, he had written to him in October 1682 +asking him to maintain La Forest in command and to let him have a +sufficient number of men for purposes of defence. What is singular is +that he does not appear to have given Frontenac any more information +regarding his discovery than Father Zénobe gave to La Barre. Possibly he +had some hope, as the latter hints, of organizing a separate government +in the new territory he had discovered. In no case, however, can La +Barre's proceedings towards him be justified. On the pretext that Fort +Frontenac had been abandoned, he took possession of it, and turned it, +if we are to credit Meulles, into a trading-post for himself and his +friends. He had a barque built there, professedly for the king's service +on the lake, but used it mainly, the intendant says, for his own trade.</p> + +<p>La Salle spent the winter in the Illinois country. In the spring of 1683 +he wrote to La Barre from his fort of St. Louis, announcing his +discovery, and expressing the hope that the kindly treatment which he +had always received from the previous governor would continue to be +extended to him. His financial affairs had for some time been in a very +unsatisfactory state, but he expected, he said, to be able in the course +of the then current year to place them on a sound footing, and prove +that he had not undertaken more than it was in his power to accomplish. +He had meantime sent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> men to Montreal for supplies, but these did not +return, nor did he get any reply from La Barre either to this letter or +to a later one written in June. Instead of replying, La Barre sent an +officer named Baugy to take possession of Fort St. Louis. La Salle, who +had started for Quebec, met Baugy on the way, and sent back word to his +men at the fort not to resist the seizure. Du Lhut, under instructions +from the governor, followed shortly after, confiscated the merchandise +stored in the fort, and brought it to Montreal. La Salle on arriving at +Quebec saw La Barre, and obtained from him restitution of Fort +Frontenac, but could not get any compensation for the loss he had +sustained through the interruption of his trading operations at that +point. He consequently proceeded to France in the fall of the year, and +in the course of the winter presented a full statement of the case to +the minister, M. de Seignelay. Only a few months before, the king had +expressed the opinion above quoted as to the uselessness, or worse than +uselessness, of such explorations as La Salle had been engaged in; but +when the explorer himself appeared upon the scene, a change came over +the views of the court. The king writes to the intendant that, not only +is the fort which the governor had wrongfully seized to be handed over +to La Salle, but that full reparation is to be made for all the loss +which he has sustained, and that the intendant is to see that this is +done. Writing to La Barre himself, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> king informs him that he takes +La Salle under his particular protection, and cautions the governor not +to do anything against his interest. La Salle's agent, La Forest, is to +be placed in charge of Fort St Louis.</p> + +<p>Settling down to business, as he did, almost immediately on his arrival +in the country, La Barre was naturally anxious that the persons to whom +he issued hunting and trading permits under the regulations established +in Frontenac's time should, as far as possible, be screened from +competition, and he therefore most ill-advisedly gave the Iroquois +tribes to understand that they might treat as they pleased any persons +found trading who were unprovided with permits signed by him. The +Iroquois, greatly pleased to have a pretext for such operations, +proceeded to plunder some canoes belonging to the governor's own +friends, who were still in the woods on the authority of permits issued +by Frontenac. This alarmed the governor not a little, and caused him, in +the spring of 1683, to send a special vessel to France with an earnest +request for military reinforcements. Worse news came to hand very +shortly after. La Salle's fort of St. Louis having been seized, the +governor wished to stock it with goods, and had despatched thither seven +canoe loads to the value of fifteen or sixteen thousand francs. As these +canoes were passing through the Illinois country, where the Iroquois +were on the war-path, the latter, who were not in a humour for fine<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> +discrimination, seized them, explaining afterwards that they supposed +them to belong to La Salle, whose property they claimed to have the +governor's permission to plunder. La Barre writes to the king, under +date 5th June, in still stronger terms, and says that, with or without +reinforcements, he will move against the Senecas about the middle of +August. This was mere bluster, as no preparations had at that time been +made for a campaign. The king sent out one hundred and fifty men in +August; but these did not arrive till the 10th October. It was then +decided that war should be waged the following year. The intendant +appears to have agreed entirely with the governor that war was +inevitable; his chief fear seems to have been that the governor, in +whose stability of character he had very little confidence, would change +his mind on the subject, and fall back on some weak and futile scheme of +conciliation.</p> + +<p>The winter of 1683-4 was not marked by any notable event. In the +following spring, pursuant to the plan which he had communicated to the +French government, the governor sent instructions to the post commanders +in the West, La Durantaye, Du Lhut, and Nicolas Perrot, to rendezvous at +Niagara with as many men of the different Ottawa tribes as they could +persuade to follow them. At that point they would find awaiting them +provisions, arms, and ammunition, with means of transportation to the +scene of action. Home levies of militia and of mission Indians w<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>ere at +the same time being raised and equipped. At this stage of the +proceedings it occurred to La Barre that it would be a good thing to +inform the governor of New York, Colonel Dongan, of his intention to +make war upon the Senecas. The communication happened to be particularly +ill-timed. The English of Maryland and Virginia had been having their +own troubles with the Iroquois, who had made many destructive raids into +their territory; and in the early summer of 1684 Lord Howard of +Effingham, governor of Virginia, had gone to New York to consult with +the governor there as to the measures to be adopted, and thence had gone +on to Albany, Colonel Dongan accompanying him, to hold a conference with +the offending tribes—in this case the Oneidas, Onondagas, and Cayugas. +Delegates from the Mohawks, who had not broken the peace, were also +present; and one of them, Cadianne by name, made ample acknowledgment of +the wrongs done by his brethren of the other tribes, to whom he took the +opportunity of addressing some very severe and wholesome remarks. +Shortly afterwards delegates from the Senecas also arrived, when a +general treaty of peace and good-will was made between the Five Nations +on the one hand, and the English and their Indians on the other. It was +in the midst of these proceedings that Dongan received La Barre's +letter. He replied by saying that the King of England exercised +sovereignty over the whole Iroquois confederacy, and that if the Senecas +had committed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> the depredations complained of he would see that they +made reparation; he hoped that La Barre, in the interest of peace, would +refrain from invading British territory. He then took occasion of the +conference to inform the tribes of the French designs, his object being +to draw from them an acknowledgment of the sovereignty of the English +king in return for a promise of protection against the French. The +tribes, who had some time before requested that the arms of the Duke of +York (now James II) should be raised over their fortresses, consented to +this, but with the not altogether consistent proviso that they should +still be considered a free people. The subject was further debated at +the chief town of the Onondagas, the central nation of the confederacy, +a few weeks later. Dongan was represented by Arnold Viele, a Dutchman. +It happened that Charles Le Moyne of Montreal was also there, having +been sent by La Barre to invite the Onondagas to a conference, as well +as the Jesuit, Father Lamberville. Very little progress was made with +the diplomatic question; but the Seneca deputies expressed very savage +sentiments in regard to the French, promising themselves a feast of +French flesh as the result of the coming war.</p> + +<p>This was in the month of August, and La Barre, at the head of an +expedition consisting of seven hundred Canadian militia, one hundred and +thirty regular troops, and two hundred Indians, had left Montreal on the +27th July, expecting to be joined by about one thousand Indian +auxiliaries<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> from the north and west. It took about two weeks to reach +Fort Frontenac, where a delay of two or three weeks occurred, during +which time the army began to sicken. The heat was intense, and the camp +had been established on low malarial ground. La Barre himself became +dangerously ill. Finally a move was made to the southern side of Lake +Ontario, the army encamping at the mouth of what is now known as the +Salmon River, a little east of Oswego. The place at that time was known +by the ill-omened name of La Famine. In point of unwholesomeness the +place was quite as bad as Fort Frontenac; and a large part of the army +fell into a most deplorable condition of debility. Moreover, provisions +ran short, and those whom malaria and other diseases had spared were +face to face with hunger. Discontent was rife in the camp. All chance of +taking the offensive against the Senecas was at an end. La Barre's one +hope was that Charles Le Moyne's mission to the Onondagas had been +successful, and that, through the good offices of that tribe, he might +be able to make peace with some little show of honour. Most opportunely +Le Moyne arrived on the 3rd September, bringing with him a celebrated +Onondaga orator and politician named Ourouehati, otherwise known as +Grande Gueule, or, as Colden, historian of the Five Indian Nations, has +it, Garangula, together with twelve other deputies, eight of his own +people, two Oneidas, and two Cayugas. To conceal as far as possible his +real situation, La Barre had se<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>nt away his sick, and pretended to have +come with a mere escort, the body of his army being at Fort Frontenac. +Nevertheless, in his speech, while professing a desire for peace, he +threatened war unless complete satisfaction were rendered by the Senecas +and others for the mischief they had done, and pledges given for their +future good conduct. Perfectly informed as to the real weakness of the +French governor's position, Grande Gueule (Big Mouth) did not mince +matters in replying to him. He thanked Onontio for bringing back the +calumet of peace, and congratulated him that he had not dug up the +hatchet that had so often been red with the blood of his countrymen. +Onontio, he said, pretended to have come to smoke the calumet of peace, +but the pretence was false: he had come to make war, and would have done +so but for the sickness of his men. If the Iroquois had pillaged +Frenchmen, it was because the latter were carrying arms to the Illinois. +(This of course was not true as regards the seven canoes which the +governor and his friends had sent forward; but Big Mouth was a +diplomatist.) As regards conducting certain English traders to the +lakes, which was one of the points complained of by La Barre, they were +acting perfectly within their rights. They were free to go where they +pleased, and to take with them whom they pleased. They were also quite +justified in making war on the Illinois, who had hunted on their lands, +and would give no pledge to refrain from attacking them in future. In +this respect they had done<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> less than the English and French, who had +dispossessed many tribes and made settlements in their country.</p> + +<p>This was a forenoon's work. In the afternoon another session was held, +and the day concluded with the settlement of the terms of peace. La +Barre was not to attack the Senecas, and Big Mouth undertook that +reparation should be made for the acts of plunder committed. He refused +entirely to pledge his people to desist from war on the Illinois; they +would fight them to the death; and La Barre, notwithstanding what he had +said about the king's determination to protect his western children, was +obliged to give way. Next morning he broke up camp and set out on the +return journey. Sickness continued to plague his force, and eighty men +died on the way to Montreal.<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a></p> + +<p>But this was not all. The commanders in the West had acted on their +orders to raise as many men as they could amongst the Indian allies in +the region of the Great Lakes, and to lead them to Niagara. Du Lhut and +La Durantaye had great difficulty in executing their task. Only the +Hurons seemed in the least disposed to move. Nicolas Perrot, however, +possessed more influence; and, mainly through his persuasions, a force +was gathered of about five hundred men, drawn from the Hurons,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> Ottawas, +and other neighbouring tribes. Accompanying these were about one hundred +Frenchmen of the <i>coureur de bois</i> class, who in manners and customs +were at times hardly distinguishable from their native companions. +Having got the force together, the next thing to do was to start them +and keep them on the march. The commanders had a hard time of it: +certain accidents happened on the way which to the Indians were of evil +omen; and it was difficult to prevent whole bands from deserting. +Finally, however, the expedition reached Niagara just about the time +that La Barre was making terms with Big Mouth. They found there neither +provisions, nor arms, nor instructions. In a short time a sail appeared. +It was a boat sent by La Barre to tell them that he had made peace with +the Iroquois, and that they might go home. The indignation and disgust +of the warriors, the disappointment and mortification of the French +leaders, may be imagined. The Indian allies said they had been betrayed, +and expressed their opinion of the French in no measured terms. Some of +the more hot-headed ones urged that, as they had started on the +war-path, they should go on and attack the Senecas by themselves. Wiser +counsels prevailed. The chief men had not been eager for the war from +the first; and, calming the spirits of their followers, they induced +them to turn their faces homewards. Some of them had come a thousand +miles, and now that long journey had to be retraced with nothing +accomplished. It was a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> desperate blow to French influence in all the +region of the Great Lakes.</p> + +<p>The only man who gave La Barre any comfort in these depressing +circumstances was Père Lamberville, missionary among the Onondagas. This +amiable and kindly priest, who had written to Frontenac some valued +words of commendation when he was leaving the country, wrote to La Barre +to tell him that he had acted most wisely in making peace. So doubtless +he had, in comparison with making war just at that time; but none the +less the peace was one which made the colonists hang their heads with +shame. Meulles in his despatch to the minister did not help to put the +matter in a more favourable light. Speaking of the governor he said: "He +signed the peace just as he decided on the war, without consulting any +one but a few merchants; and he has uselessly expended forty-five +thousand francs, of which he alone will owe an account to the king." So +much severity on the intendant's part was hardly necessary; the facts +spoke for themselves; and the king, when they were brought to his +knowledge, wrote to the discomfited governor, under date the 10th March +1685, the following gently worded letter:—</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"<span class="smcap">Monsieur de la Barre</span>,—Having been informed that your years +make it impossible for you to support the fatigues inseparable +from your office of governor and lieutenant-general in Canada, I +send you this letter to acquaint you that I hav<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>e selected M. de +Denonville to serve in your place; and my intention is that, on +his arrival, after resigning to him the command, with all +instructions concerning it, you embark for your return to +France."</p></div> + +<p>Thus ended an administration that cannot be regarded as a happy or a +creditable one. In no respect was M. de la Barre on a level with the +office he held. He had no clear policy of his own, and was, therefore, +more or less, at the mercy of incompetent or interested advisers. As is +not uncommonly the case with such men, he was sometimes foolishly +impulsive. In a letter, dated 10th April 1684, the king expresses the +greatest surprise that the governor should have actually proposed to +hang, of his own authority, a colonist who was preparing to remove to +the English settlements. He reminds him that, except in military +matters, he possesses no judicial power whatever, and adds the sage +observation that the exercise of such constraint would certainly +increase the desire of the French inhabitants to go where they would +enjoy more liberty. In the matter of ecclesiastical policy, La Barre +failed to carry out the views of the king. His instructions were to +afford all the help in his power to the clergy in their efforts for the +good of the country, but to see that they did not extend their authority +beyond its proper bounds. In his first despatch he indulges in a little +criticism of the bishop for his delay in establishing permanent <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span><i>cures</i>, +as desired by the king; but this is his sole exhibition of anything like +independence of the ecclesiastical power. There was a question pending +at the time as to the emoluments to be secured to the country <i>curés</i>; +and La Barre and Meulles are both blamed by the court for having allowed +the bishop to appropriate a larger amount out of the royal grant for +church purposes than the king had authorized or intended.</p> + +<p>In the matter just referred to, however, the bishop may well have been +substantially in the right. He knew the country, its needs, and its +possibilities better than the king; and he had the interests both of his +clergy and of his people sincerely at heart. It seems a little +surprising that, just at this time, when his relations with the secular +power were so satisfactory, he should have formed the intention of +resigning the office which he had been so eager to obtain only a few +years before, and of confining himself to the oversight of the Seminary. +The explanation is to be found partly in the state of his health, and +partly in the expectation he entertained of being able to find a man to +replace him as bishop who would adopt and carry out all his views with +the utmost fidelity and exactness, and thus give him even greater +influence than he had had in the past. If a bishop alone could make +headway against all the opposition of the civil power, what might not be +expected of a bishop of sound opinions supported by such an ex-bishop as +Laval himself? With these views<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> he sailed for France in the fall of +1684 to tender his resignation to the king; and, with these views also, +he not long afterwards recommended as his successor a pious ecclesiastic +of noble family, M. Jean Baptiste de la Croix Chevrières de Saint +Vallier, who, though only thirty-two years of age, had already refused +two bishoprics. Once before Laval had chosen a man for his piety, M. de +Mézy, and it had not turned out well. The Reverend M. Gosselin, in his +life of Saint Vallier, says that the day of his nomination was a regular +"day of dupes." The appointment did not take place till the year 1688; +but meantime M. de Saint Vallier consented to go out to Canada in the +capacity of vicar-general, and make acquaintance with the diocese. Thus +it happened that he and the Marquis de Denonville, La Barre's successor, +came out together in the same ship, arriving at Quebec on the 1st August +1685. The vessel which brought the new governor was accompanied by two +others carrying troops to the number of three hundred. Fever broke out +on the way, as was so often the case in those days, and there were many +deaths. Amongst those who succumbed were two priests, who, in their +attendance on the sick, had caught the malady. Their fate inspired Saint +Vallier with intense regret that he had not taken passage on the same +vessel, so that he might have shared so glorious a death. The sentiment +seems strange on the part of a man at his time of life, just entering on +a career in which he might reasonably hope for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> long years of the most +exalted usefulness. He did not in fact die till the year 1727.</p> + +<p>We have two accounts of the condition of Canada at this time; one from +the pen of the bishop designate, the other from that of the new governor +after a residence of a little over three months in the country. Strange +to say, the two do not in the very least agree. Saint Vallier sees +everything <i>couleur de rose</i>, and detects the odour of sanctity +everywhere. Denonville, on the contrary, sees license, insubordination, +idleness, luxury, debauchery, running riot throughout the land. "The +Canadian people," says Saint Vallier, "is, generally speaking, as devout +as the clergy is holy. One remarks among them something resembling the +disposition which we recognize and admire in the Christians of the early +centuries." Even in the distant settlements where a priest is rarely +seen, the people are constant in the practice of virtue, the fathers +making up for the lack of priests, so far as the training of their +children is concerned, "by their wise counsels and firm discipline."<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> +Denonville, just about the same time, undertakes to give the minister an +account of the disorders prevailing not only in the woods, but, as he +states, in the settlements as well. "These arise," he says, "from the +idleness of young persons, and the great liberty which fathers, mothers, +and guardians have for a long time given them of going into the fores<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>t +under pretence of hunting or trading. One great evil," he continues, "is +the infinite number of drinking-shops. . . . All the rascals and idlers +of the country are attracted into this business of tavern-keeping. They +never dream of tilling the soil; on the contrary, they deter other +inhabitants, and end by ruining them." Of the two pictures, it is +probable that the governor's was nearer the truth; though probably his +ascetic turn of mind led him to exaggerate the evils that existed. Saint +Vallier, when he came to the country as bishop in 1688, was not long in +discovering how greatly he had overrated the virtue and piety of the +inhabitants. He took an early opportunity of repairing his error as far +as possible by preaching a sermon on the sins which he found prevailing. +"We thought," he said, "before we knew our flock, that the Iroquois and +the English were the only wolves we had to fear; but, God having opened +our eyes, we are forced to confess that our most dangerous foes are +drunkenness, luxury, impurity, and slander." We cannot think very highly +of the judgment of a man who has to repudiate his own statements so +completely in regard to facts fully open to observation.</p> + +<p>It is allowable, fortunately, to take a more favourable view of the +Canadian people than either the governor, or the bishop in his revised +opinion, expresses. They were careless and ease-loving, more fond of +adventure than of steady toil; they were vain and given to luxury; but +these qualiti<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>es were in a large measure the result of the circumstances +in which they were placed and the general influences of the time. How +could they fail to be fond of adventure when incitements to it presented +themselves on every hand, and the rewards that it promised were so much +more tempting than those to be derived from the tillage of the soil? It +was human nature in those days to prefer the gun to the spade, and the +paddle to the scythe. If they were vain and fond of luxury and show, it +proceeded in part from innate taste, and in part from the example of +those above them, who, in turn, reflected the manners, the habits, and +the tone of the most luxurious court in Europe. It soon began to be +observed that a given class in Canada represented a higher degree of +refinement and culture than a similar class in European France. The +reason was that, in the vast spaces and free air of a new continent, +human nature had more scope for expansion; ambition was stirred; thought +and imagination were quickened. The old seed was germinating with new +power in a virgin soil. The people were gay, chivalrous, courteous, and +brave, with an underlying tenacity of purpose and power of industry +ready to be revealed in due season under more settled conditions of +life. That intemperance was a serious evil there can be no doubt; but +that, too, was more or less incidental to the times. The physique of the +people was good; and, if their moral habits were not all that their +spiritual guides could have wished, they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> were at least free from +serious corruption. In a word, the Canadians of that period lived, on +the whole, healthy lives, and were planting a hardy and enduring race on +the soil they had made their own.</p> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3>GOVERNORSHIP OF MARQUIS DE DENONVILLE</h3> + +<h3>1685 <span class="smcap">TO</span> 1689</h3> + + +<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>he Marquis de Denonville was sent to Canada to retrieve a difficult and +dangerous situation. He was a soldier by profession, and had had thirty +years' experience of military life. His courage and honour were alike +beyond question. In morals he was irreproachable. He was one of those +laymen who are half churchmen; and on the voyage from France he greatly +edified Saint Vallier by the gravity of his conduct and his punctilious +observance of all the forms and practices of religion. "He spent," Saint +Vallier himself tells us, "nearly all his time in prayer and the reading +of good books. The Psalms of David were always in his hands. In all the +voyage I never saw him do anything wrong; and there was nothing in his +words or acts which did not show a solid virtue and a consummate +prudence, as well in the duties of the Christian life as in the wisdom +of this world." Three years later Saint Vallier speaks of him in terms +of equal praise, adding that "there is no need to be astonished at the +benedictions which God is bestowing upon his government and upon his +enterprises against the Indians." Unfortunately, this interpretation of +the ways of Providence preceded by just a year the greatest calamity<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> in +early Canadian history, the massacre of Lachine.</p> + +<p>The three hundred men who were sent out with Denonville were far from +constituting, even had their number not been sensibly reduced by fever +on the voyage, the reinforcement he required in order to assume the +offensive against the Iroquois with any hope of success. He was +compelled, therefore, to temporize while making the most earnest appeals +for a more liberal supply of troops. To counteract English intrigues +among the Five Nations, he sent numerous presents in that direction, and +carefully avoided any acts which could precipitate a conflict. One of +the chief perils of the situation was the disaffection produced in the +minds of the Lake tribes by the dismal failure of La Barre's expedition +of 1684. The only way to regain credit, he says in a despatch to the +minister (Seignelay), dated 12th June 1686, is to put a sufficient +number of French troops, militia and regulars, into the field to attack +and defeat the Iroquois without any assistance from the western allies. +He wished to begin building blockhouses for defensive purposes, but was +afraid to do so, lest the enemy should consider it a preparation for +war. Like La Barre, he entered into correspondence with the governor of +New York, Colonel Dongan, but in a more guarded manner. He wrote first +simply announcing his appointment to the governorship of Canada. Dongan +replied in his usual high-flown manner with many expressions of +courtesy. Denonville returned the complime<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>nt, and then took occasion to +speak of the Senecas and the difficulty of keeping peace with them, +inviting Dongan to assist him in protecting the missionaries who were +labouring amongst those heathen at the peril of their lives. Dongan, who +had been appointed by the Duke of York before he ascended the throne of +England as James II, and who, as might be supposed, was a good Catholic, +was quite ready to do justice to the personal merits of the +missionaries; but his fidelity to the English Crown made it impossible +for him to overlook the fact that they were Frenchmen operating on what +he claimed to be English territory. Their influence, he knew, could not +fail to be cast in favour of the rival claims of their own people; and +his desire was to replace them, as soon as it could conveniently be +done, by English priests, who, without being less sound in theological +matters, would be more so on the political side.</p> + +<p>The two governors were thus playing at cross purposes, and it was not +long before all disguise in the matter was set aside. Each was planning +the construction of a fort at Niagara for the purpose both of +strengthening his influence in the Iroquois country and of shutting the +other out of Lake Erie. Dongan heard of Denonville's intention from some +<i>coureurs de bois</i> who had deserted to Albany; whereupon he wrote to the +French governor to say that he found it hard to believe that a man of +his reputation would be so ill-advised as to follow in the footsteps of +M. de la Barre,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> and seek to make trouble by planting a fort on +territory clearly belonging to the King of England, and all for the sake +of "a little peltry." Denonville replied with more diplomacy than truth +that he had no intention of building a fort at Niagara; and expressed in +turn his surprise that a gentleman of Dongan's character should "harbour +rogues, vagabonds, and thieves," and believe all the silly stories they +told him. As the correspondence went on its tone became warmer. Dongan +had promised to send back deserters; but he found these men too +valuable, and did not keep his promise. Denonville upbraids him for this +want of good faith, and also for exciting the Indians by telling them +that the French are preparing to attack them. He blamed him also for +furnishing the savages with rum to the great detriment of their +religious and moral interests; to which Dongan retorted that, in the +opinion of Christians, English rum was more wholesome than French +brandy.</p> + +<p>While this correspondence was going on, both governors were doing their +best to win over the Indians of the lake region. If these could be drawn +into an alliance with the Iroquois, so that their trade should pass +through the Iroquois country to the English, not only would the French +lose the most profitable part of their traffic, but their political +position would be seriously endangered, in fact would become untenable. +There was much in the arrangement from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> a business point of view to +recommend it to the savage mind. The English paid better prices for +goods, and gave their merchandise at lower prices; and, if their traders +once had free access to the lake region, the effects of their more +liberal dealing would be felt in every wigwam. Against this highly +practical consideration was to be set a certain hereditary distrust of +the Iroquois on the part of the Huron and Ottawa tribes, to which might +be added the personal influence of the French missionaries and a few +noted French leaders. The situation was for some time a most doubtful +one; but in the end it was not the economic argument that triumphed.</p> + +<p>In the winter of 1685-6, a Dutchman, named Johannes Rooseboom, had set +out from Albany, by Dongan's directions, with a party of armed traders +in eleven canoes, filled with English goods, to trade in the Upper +Lakes. There was no resistance to their progress; and after trading most +successfully, and to the great satisfaction of the Indians, they +returned in safety. This was encouragement for a larger expedition the +following year; so, in the fall of 1686, the same adventurer set out +with a similar party in twenty canoes. On this occasion they were to +winter with the Senecas and resume their journey in the spring, +accompanied by fifty men, who were to come from Albany under the charge +of a Scots officer named M'Gregory, and a band of Iroquois; the whole +party to be under M'Gregory's command. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> intention was to form a +general treaty of trade and alliance with the tribes that hitherto had +been under the domination of the French.</p> + +<p>This was a bold step to take, and shows Dongan in the light of an early +advocate of the policy of "Forward." It was too bold. Fortunately for +Denonville, he had in the early summer of 1686 sent an order to Du Lhut, +then at Michilimackinac, to fortify a post at the outlet of Lake Huron, +which that capable and zealous officer lost no time in doing. On hearing +of the projected expedition, the governor was greatly incensed. He wrote +to Dongan in strong terms, and at the same time laid the matter before +the minister, declaring that it would be better to have open war with +the English than to be in constant danger from their intrigues. A +favourite plan of his was that Louis XIV should buy the colony of New +York from James II, as he had previously bought Dunkirk from Charles II. +The idea was not taken up by the French court, and there is much reason +to doubt whether, with the best will in the world, the English king +could have transferred the colony to France. It would have been an easy +thing to send out orders, but it would have been quite a different thing +to get them obeyed. In the New World men were already learning to put a +very wide construction upon their civil rights; and, as far the larger +portion of the population were of the reformed faith in one or other of +its branches, they would certainly h<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>ave made strong objection to being +handed over to the tender mercies of the monarch who, at this very +moment, was extirpating Protestantism in his own kingdom by the cruelest +forms of persecution. The appeal to Dongan drew forth from that worthy +the declaration that, in his belief, it was "as lawful for the English +as for the French to trade with the remotest Indians." He denied, +however, that he had incited the Iroquois to acts of aggression, and +protested, in regard to the deserters, that he would much rather "such +rascalls and bankrouts" would stay in their own country, and that +Denonville was welcome to send for them. Negotiations, however, were +going on at this time between the English and French courts in relation +to affairs in America; and both Denonville and Dongan received +injunctions to cultivate peaceful relations with one another pending the +settlement of all matters in dispute by a joint commission.</p> + +<p>If Dongan was preparing to trespass upon French rights in the region of +the Great Lakes, Denonville himself was acting with even less scruple in +another direction. For several years before this, the Hudson's Bay +Company, under the charter granted to them by Charles II in the year +1670, had been trading to the bay from which they derived their name, +and had established a number of posts along its shores. The charter had +been granted in perfect good faith, as the region in question, which had +been discovered and explored by navigators sailing under the English<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> +flag, Cabot, Hudson, Baffin, and Davis, was regarded as English +territory. It is true that a memoir prepared by M. de Callières, +Governor of Montreal, for the minister of marine and colonies,<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> +mentions proceedings taken at different times by governors of Canada, +between the years 1656 and 1663, to bring the country under French +sovereignty; but there is nothing to show that any attempt was made at +settlement or even at trading on the coast. The Hudson's Bay Company, on +the other hand, had from the date of its charter, not to mention earlier +operations, been carrying on trade, and establishing posts in that +region without any remonstrance from the French government, and without +disturbance of any kind until the year 1682, in the early winter of +which two Frenchmen, named Radisson and Des Groseilliers, sailed into +Hudson's Bay with two vessels, and took possession of a fort which the +English had established near the mouth of the Nelson River. The +explanation given by these parties was that they were acting on behalf +of the "Compagnie Française de la Baie du Nord de Canada," which had +previously formed establishments some distance up that river, and that +finding that some English had begun to erect dwellings on an island at +the mouth of the river, they had forced them to retire, considering +their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> own claim to the river and its outlet the better.</p> + +<p>This was the beginning of trouble. The French king in writing to La +Barre on the subject authorized him to check, as far as possible, +English encroachments in that quarter. In the spring of 1684 he writes +again, and says that he has had a further communication from the English +ambassador in regard to the proceedings of Radisson and Des +Groseilliers, and that, while he is anxious not to give the English king +any cause of complaint, he still thinks it desirable that the English +should not be allowed to establish themselves on the Nelson River. La +Barre was therefore to make a proposal to the English commandant in +Hudson's Bay that no new establishments should be formed there by either +French or English. This was at the very least an acknowledgment of the +<i>status quo</i>. Nevertheless, a charter having been granted by the French +king in the following year to a Canadian company authorizing it to trade +on the Bourbon River, called in previous correspondence the Nelson, +Denonville chose to consider that fact a warrant for making a general +attack on the English in the bay. While his discussion with Dongan was +in progress in the summer of 1686, he organized an expedition of about a +hundred picked men, thirty being regular soldiers, and placed it under +the command of a very capable officer, the Chevalier de Troyes, +assigning to him as lieutenants three sons of Charles Le Moyne, of +Montreal: Iberville, Ste. Hélène, and Maricourt.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> The difficulties of +the overland route were most formidable, but Troyes surmounted them with +the loss of only one man. He did not attempt any negotiation with the +English, nor send any summons to surrender, but fell upon Port Hayes, +the first to which he came, in the dead of night, and captured it +without difficulty, the garrison being totally unprepared to resist an +attack. At this point there does not appear to have been any loss of +life; but at Fort Rupert, which was similarly attacked at night, three +of the occupants were killed, and two were wounded. Three more men were +killed on the same night on board a vessel anchored near the shore. When +the assailants reached Fort Albany, held by a garrison of thirty men, +they found that their coming had been anticipated, but, with the aid of +cannon captured in the other forts, they had little difficulty in +forcing a surrender. Leaving Maricourt in command at the bay, Troyes +returned to Quebec. The English captured in this buccaneer fashion were +sent home in one of their own vessels which happened to arrive +opportunely for the purpose.</p> + +<p>Denonville had succeeded in arousing the French government to the +importance of proceeding vigorously against the Iroquois. Eight hundred +men were sent out to him in the spring of 1687, which, with about eight +hundred already in the colony, made the force at his disposal quite a +formidable one. In the summer of the previous year there had been a +change of intendant. M.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> de Meulles had been recalled, and a new man, +Bochart de Champigny, sent out in his place. As the appointment of the +latter was made as early as April 1686, it may be surmised that +Denonville, shortly after arriving in the country, signified to the king +that he and Meulles were not adapted to work together satisfactorily. +Meulles was certainly far from having the fervent piety of the governor; +and it may not improbably have been some difference of opinion or policy +arising out of this fact that caused his recall. His successor was a man +conspicuously devoted to the church; and Denonville in his despatches +praises him in high terms. Having now the necessary force at his +command, and being zealously seconded in all his views by the new +intendant, the governor determined not to let the summer of 1687 pass +without undertaking his long meditated campaign against the Iroquois. +While preparing for war, however, he talked of peace, in the hope of +taking the enemy unawares. So far did he carry his dissimulation that he +completely misled the colonists, so that, when they discovered that war +was intended, they manifested a strong indisposition to respond to the +call to arms. There were enough regular soldiers, they said, in the +country to meet all military requirements. Denonville was too well +advised, however, to dream of taking a force of regulars into the woods, +unsupported by militia accustomed to the country and familiar with the +methods of Indian warfare. He therefore issued<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> a special proclamation, +which the vicars-general, in the absence of the bishop, supported by a +<i>mandement</i>, with the result that the inhabitants, accustomed to yield +to authority, furnished the quota of men required, about eight hundred.</p> + +<p>The more effectually to throw the Iroquois off their guard, the governor +had instructed his chief agent amongst them, Father Lamberville, a man +in whom they had perfect confidence, to invite them to a friendly +conference at Fort Frontenac. The good father was kept completely in the +dark as to what was really intended, and was allowed to continue his +solicitations to the Indians to attend the conference up to the moment +when all disguise was thrown off. He was still with them when they +discovered that they had been deceived; and, had it not been for the +unbounded faith they had learnt to place in the good priest's word, they +would certainly have put him to death with torture as a traitor. As it +was they charged the deception entirely on Denonville, who, in this +case, had certainly carried craft to very dangerous, not to say +indefensible, lengths.</p> + +<p>The expedition as organized by Denonville consisted of four companies of +regulars, men who had been some time in the country, and four of +militia, making in all fifteen hundred Frenchmen, to whom were added +five hundred mission Indians, Christian in name, but scarcely less +savage in instinct than their unreclaimed brethren of the forest. The +regulars were comm<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span>anded by their own officers, amongst whom we +recognize Troyes, the hero of the Hudson's Bay exploit. The militia were +led by four notable seigneurs, Berthier, Lavaltrie, Grandville, and Le +Moyne de Longueuil, brother of the three Le Moynes who had accompanied +Troyes. All the French troops were placed under the general command of +Callières, Governor of Montreal, a very capable officer. M. de +Vaudreuil, who had just come out from France as commander of the king's +forces, accompanied the expedition in the capacity of chief-of-staff to +the governor. The troops that he brought with him were left behind to +take care of the country in the absence of its other defenders.</p> + +<p>Starting from Montreal on the 13th June 1687, the expedition, after +encountering the usual perils and fatigues of the St. Lawrence route, +and losing one or two men in the rapids, arrived at Fort Frontenac on +the 1st July. Here news was received of a reinforcement on which the +governor had not permitted himself to count. In October of the previous +year orders had been sent to the commanders in the West to rally the +Indians of that region for another movement against the Iroquois. As +Denonville well knew, there were serious difficulties in the way. The +fiasco of 1684 had left a deplorable impression on the minds of the Lake +tribes, whose loyalty was being further undermined by the pleasing +prospect of trade with the English. These arguments, however, did not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> +weigh with the Illinois, the latest victims of Iroquois barbarity; and +Tonty in charge at Fort St. Louis, who had been notified with the +others, had little trouble in getting a couple of hundred of them to +follow him to Detroit on the way to Niagara. Nicolas Perrot in like +manner raised a contingent among the tribes to the west of Lake +Michigan, and, passing by way of Michilimackinac, joined his efforts to +those of La Durantaye who had been labouring all winter to win over the +dissatisfied Hurons and Ottawas. The Hurons were at last persuaded to +move; but the Ottawas still refused, and La Durantaye and the Hurons +started for Detroit, the first place of rendezvous, without them. +Scarcely had they left Michilimackinac when they fell in with a number +of the canoes which Dongan had sent to trade in the lakes. La Durantaye +at once summoned the intruders to surrender; and, as he seemed to have a +formidable force with him, the summons was obeyed. The commander +distributed most of the goods among his Indian followers to their great +delight, and sent some barrels of rum to the Ottawas in the hope that it +would incline them to follow. It is difficult to say what did influence +the minds of these savages; but in a few days they set out, taking, +however, a route of their own by way of the Georgian Bay and overland to +what is now Toronto. Perrot and his men went to Detroit, and from that +point he and the others conducted their respective commands to Niagara, +arriving<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> there just about the same time that Denonville's force reached +Fort Frontenac.</p> + +<p>The gratification of the governor on learning that this important +reinforcement had arrived just in the nick of time may be imagined. He +sent word to the commanders to proceed to Irondequoit Bay, the entrance +to the Seneca country; and, conducting his force thither, saw the +western men approaching just as he himself was about to land. Such a +concentration, on the same day, of troops brought from as far east as +Quebec, and from as far west as the sources of the Mississippi, was +indeed remarkable. It seemed on this occasion at least as if everything +was destined to go well.</p> + +<p>Denonville had now nearly three thousand men under his command. Forming +a camp and erecting temporary fortifications on the point of land which +shuts in Irondequoit Bay from Lake Ontario, he left four hundred men at +that place to guard supplies, and arranged his army in marching order. +The van was led by La Durantaye, Du Lhut and Tonty with their <i>coureurs +de bois</i>, about two hundred in number. On their left were the mission +Indians, and on their right the Lake and other western tribes—a wild +and motley gathering of, for the most part, naked savages, made hideous +with paint and horns and tails. Separated from these by a short +interval, the main body of the army followed, regulars and militia in +alternate companies. A broad trail ran southwards to the heart of the +Seneca country, but on either sid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>e was a dense bush in which enemies +might well be concealed. The first day a distance of about ten miles was +covered. It was mid-July, the heat was intense, the flies were +outrageous, and the men were burdened with thirteen days' provisions in +addition to their arms and ammunition. On the second day, as they were +drawing near to the first fortified habitation of the enemy, whom they +supposed to be awaiting them behind their defences, the advance guard +was vigorously attacked both in front and rear by a foe as yet +invisible. The Senecas had supposed that the advance guard, <i>coureurs de +bois</i> and Indians, constituted the entire army, but learnt their error +when those making the rear attack found themselves, as they soon did, +between two fires.</p> + +<p>Meantime, however, no little confusion had been caused in the ranks of +the invaders; and Denonville and his principal officers had to exercise +all their powers of command to prevent a panic. As soon as confidence +was restored, the vigorous firing of the French and their allies put the +enemy to flight. "The Canadians," says Charlevoix, "fought with their +accustomed bravery; but the regular troops did themselves little credit +in the whole campaign." "What can one do with such men?" wrote +Denonville in a despatch to the minister. On the Canadian side five +militiamen, one regular soldier and five Indians were killed, and about +an equal number, according to Denonville's statement, were wounded. The +Senecas left<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> twenty-seven dead upon the field. Their wounded they +succeeded in carrying off; to have abandoned them would have meant to +leave them to torture at the hands of the hostile Indians. As it was, +the victory was followed by horrible scenes of cannibalism, in which the +Ottawas, who, in the fight had showed marked cowardice, took the +principal part.</p> + +<p>This engagement, which has been localized as having occurred near the +village of Victor, some fifteen miles south-east of the city of +Rochester, N. Y., was the only one of the campaign. Not meeting again +with the enemy, the army spent some days in burning the Seneca +habitations, in which large quantities of grain were stored, and in +destroying the standing crops. When this had been accomplished, they +retraced their steps to their fortified camp on the lake shore. Already +the army was getting into bad shape; the Indians were deserting and the +French were falling sick through eating too abundantly of green corn and +fresh pork; the latter article of diet being furnished by herds of swine +kept by the Senecas. Despatching the sick in bateaux to Fort Frontenac, +Denonville conducted the rest of his troops to Niagara in order to carry +out the long-cherished design, which, in his correspondence with Dongan, +he had disavowed, of erecting a fort at that point. This only occupied a +few days; and on the 3rd August he was able to set out on the return +journey, after detaching one hundred men to garrison the fort,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> which he +placed under the command of M. de Troyes. Proceeding further up the lake +to a point where it narrows, he crossed over to the north shore, and so +made his way to Fort Frontenac, and thence to Montreal, where he arrived +on the 13th of the month. The campaign, as Parkman observes, was but +half a success; it certainly fell short of being what Abbé Gosselin +calls it, "<i>une victoire éclatante</i>." The Senecas had been put to +flight; and their dwellings had been destroyed, together with their +stores of food; but their loss in men was not serious, and they could +rely on the neighbouring Cayugas and Onondagas to tide them over a +season of distress. Denonville writes, indeed, that they were succoured +by the English. At the same time the injury they had received sank deep +into minds not prone to forgive.</p> + +<p>An incident which happened before the expedition set out from Fort +Frontenac tended greatly to aggravate the situation. It had been +intimated to Denonville in a despatch from the French government that +the king desired to have some captured Iroquois sent over to France for +service in the galleys, as it was understood that they were muscular +fellows, well fitted for such work. Champigny, who left Montreal with +Denonville, went ahead of the expedition with a few light canoes, in +order to make arrangements for its reception at Fort Frontenac. Finding +at that place a number of Iroquois, chiefly Onondagas, who, relying on +Denonville's professions of peace,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> had come thither for trade or +conference, and being anxious to show his zeal for his royal master, he +did not hesitate to make them prisoners. The savages had their wives and +children with them, a sure sign that they had come with friendly intent. +This circumstance did not weigh with the intendant, nor was he +influenced by the tears and entreaties of the families of the captured +men. He doubtless thought that the formidable force which the governor +was leading would strike such terror into the hearts of the Iroquois +nation as to put anything in the way of reprisals quite out of the +question: in any case there was advantage for himself in obeying the +mandate of the king. What kind of a service it was for which the +unfortunate captives were destined may be learnt from a description +given by a careful French writer: "Chained in gangs of six, with no +clothing save a loose short jacket, devoured by itch and vermin, +shoeless and stockingless, the galley slaves toiled for ten hours +consecutively at a rate of exertion which one would hardly have believed +a man could endure for one hour. They were indeed in luck when they were +not made to work twenty-four hours consecutively, with nothing to +sustain their strength but a biscuit steeped in wine, which was put into +their mouths, so that they should not have to stop rowing. If their +galley began to lose ground the petty officers would rain curses on +their heads and blows on their backs. Many a time, when the pace was +being forced under a blazing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> Mediterranean sun, some poor wretch would +sink down dead on his bench. In such a case his companions would pass on +his body, throw it overboard, and that was all."<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a></p> + +<p>The total number of Indians sent home to France to be consigned to this +fate was thirty-five. They were at Fort Frontenac as captives, bound +helplessly to posts when Denonville's army passed through, and an +eye-witness, the Baron La Hontan, tells how he saw the mission Indians +torturing the poor creatures by burning their fingers in the bowls of +their pipes. He tried to interfere, but was censured for doing so, and +put under arrest. The leaders, doubtless, thought they could not afford +to put their Indian allies out of humour by interfering with their +amusements.<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> The wrong done in this matter seems to have created a +far more bitter feeling in the minds of the Iroquois than the open war +on the Senecas. The Oneidas retaliated by torturing a Jesuit father +named Millet, and would in the end have put him to death if an Indian +woman had not interceded for him and adopted him a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span>s her son. The temper +of the savages generally, in spite of the campaign, was far from being a +submissive one; and Denonville himself within a month of his return to +Quebec came to the conclusion that another punitive expedition would be +necessary before a solid peace could be obtained. He therefore wrote +home asking that eight hundred additional troops should be supplied to +him, observing that his Indian allies were not to be depended on, and +that the Canadians were not at all zealous for military service. His +opinion was that he should have a force of not less than three or four +thousand men at his disposal for two years. The French government did +not agree with him on this point. The troops could not be spared, and +the king thought that it ought to be possible to arrange matters by +negotiation. There were those, indeed, in Canada who thought the whole +war had been unnecessary; certainly, for some time before the Senecas +were attacked, they were not acting on the aggressive. The Iroquois +tribes generally had been impressed by the fact that the military forces +of the colony had been considerably augmented; and the character of the +governor himself, who seemed to possess much more firmness and +resolution than his immediate predecessor, had more or less influenced +them in favour of peace. Had Denonville made the most of these +advantages, and shown in addition a disposition to act with good faith, +it is altogether probable a satisfactory peace could have been arranged +without resort<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> to war.</p> + +<p>However, the mischief had been done. All the Iroquois tribes had been +angered, and the hives were ominously buzzing. Acts of reprisal became +frequent. Even the immediate neighbourhood of Fort Frontenac was not +secure, for during the following winter a woman and three soldiers were +carried off within gunshot of its walls. The Onondagas who effected +these captures stated expressly that they were made in retaliation for +those so treacherously made by Champigny. The captives were not put to +death, but were held as hostages, which gave them an opportunity of +appealing to Dongan. That worthy was not at all sorry that his rival had +got himself into trouble; and answered the appeal by saying that he +could not do anything for them till Fort Niagara, unjustly planted by +their governor on English territory, had been evacuated. On the last day +of the year Denonville sent to Albany an able negotiator in the person +of Father Vaillant, Jesuit, but with no satisfactory result. The only +terms on which Dongan would consent to use his influence in favour of +peace were that the prisoners sent to France for the galleys should be +restored; that the mission Indians at Laprairie and the Montreal +Mountain should be sent back to the Iroquois country to which they +originally belonged; that Forts Niagara and Frontenac should be razed; +and that the goods captured by the French from English traders on the +Upper Lak<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>es should be restored. Scarcely had Vaillant left Albany on +his return when Dongan summoned representatives of the tribes, and, +acquainting them with the terms he had demanded, asked for their +ratification, which was readily granted. He told the chiefs not to bury +the hatchet, but simply to lay it in the grass where they could get it +if it was wanted, and meantime to post themselves along the lines of +communication to the French country.</p> + +<p>The advice was promptly taken. Some bands operated along the St. +Lawrence, others along the Richelieu. Early in the season of 1688 a +convoy had been sent to revictual Forts Frontenac and Niagara. It passed +up the river safely, but on its return it was attacked, though greatly +superior in force, by a party of twenty-five or thirty Indians, who +killed eight men, and took one prisoner. Other raids more or less +destructive were made at Chambly, St. Ours, Contrecoeur, and even as far +east as Rivière du Loup. In the face of these attacks a sort of lethargy +seemed to have seized upon the colonists, making them slow to defend +themselves even when the conditions were in their favour. In other +respects also the state of affairs was one of great depression. The war +had been costly and burdensome; and, owing to the withdrawal of so many +men from the work of the fields, agriculture had greatly suffered. The +pillaging carried on by scattered bands of Iroquois made matters still +worse. Beggars began t<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>o be numerous in the streets of Quebec and +Montreal. It is interesting to note that mendicity was not looked upon +with favour in those days, and that praiseworthy attempts were made to +regulate it and restrain it within the narrowest possible limits. +Charitable ladies undertook to inquire into cases of ostensible want so +as to distinguish those which merited relief from others which might +proceed from idleness or misconduct. M. de Saint Vallier, who had +returned to France in the autumn of 1687, came back as bishop in August +of the following year. He brought with him two hundred copies of his +work on <i>The Present State of the Church in Canada</i>, written by him +after his arrival in France, and published at Paris in March 1688, in +which, as already seen, a glowing tribute was paid to the piety of the +Canadian people. Instead, however, of distributing this work in the +country, as he had doubtless intended, he virtually suppressed it; and, +in almost his first episcopal utterances, told the people that the +troubles and distresses from which they were suffering were the result +of their lukewarmness in religious matters. The statement was not +received in the most submissive spirit. There were some who said that +the mundane causes of the sad plight in which the country found itself +were only too apparent, and that it was not necessary to look +further.<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a></p> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> +<p>In the course of the summer of 1688, while Denonville had still under +consideration the unpalatable terms proposed by Dongan, he received at +Montreal, through the useful mediation of Father Lamberville, a visit +from La Barre's old friend, the famous Onondaga orator, Big Mouth, who +brought with him six other warriors. As on the occasion of his meeting +with the former governor, Big Mouth occupied a strong position, and made +the most of it. He had been holding back his own people, he said; +otherwise they would have swarmed down on the colony and destroyed it. +The conditions of peace which he proposed were those already outlined by +Dongan; and he wanted an answer in four days. Denonville told him that +he was prepared to treat for peace if the tribes would send delegates to +Montreal duly empowered for that purpose. Big Mouth promised that this +should be done, and meantime signed a treaty of neutrality. Denonville +had by this time brought himself to the point of agreeing to abandon +Fort Niagara, the garrison of which had been reduced by sickness from +about a hundred men to ten or twelve, and with which, moreover, he found +it impossible to maintain satisfactory communication. He had also been +forced to give way as regards the captives sent to France, and had +written asking that as many of them as survived might be sent out; +suggesting at the same time that, to produce as good an effect as +possible, they should be decently clothed. These were the principal +points, and he hoped to be able to ma<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>ke peace without any further +concessions.</p> + +<p>The negotiations, however, were destined to be badly wrecked. The Indian +allies, Hurons and Algonquins, had only too good reason to suspect that +the peace would not include them. Big Mouth had been ominously +non-committal on that point. It was doubtless remembered that, when La +Barre had made peace with the Iroquois, he had abandoned the Illinois to +their mercy. A leading Huron, Kondiaronk, or the Rat, by name, +determined that there should be no peace if he could help it. He was at +Fort Frontenac with a party of forty warriors when he heard that +negotiations for peace were in progress and that delegates from the Five +Nations were expected to arrive in a few days. His plan was at once +formed. Pretending to have set out with his party for Michilimackinac, +he really paddled over to La Famine, placed himself in ambush in the +path of the delegates, and waited their coming. It was four or five days +before they appeared, and no sooner were they within gun shot than the +Huron party fired. One chieftain was killed outright; several were +wounded; the rest, all but one who escaped wounded, and made his way to +Fort Frontenac, were captured. The captives in great indignation +explained to the Rat the mission they were on, when the wily Huron +expressed the most profound regret, saying that the French had sent him +out on the war-path, and had never given him the slightest hint that +peace negotiations were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>in progress. He was eloquent in denouncing the +bad faith of Onontio, and at once let his captives go. True, the warrior +who had escaped heard a very different story at Fort Frontenac—that the +Rat had been specially informed of the negotiations, and had professed +that he was starting for home; nevertheless, as the Rat expected, the +peace was killed. The party attacked had consisted of some men of +consequence who were preceding the delegates to give assurance to the +governor that the latter would soon be at hand. They never came. Other +thoughts now occupied the Iroquois mind.</p> + +<p>For months there was an ominous calm. The winter of 1688-9 passed +without incident, and so did the following summer. Marauding on the part +of the Iroquois had so entirely ceased, that the opinion began to +prevail in the colony that the enemy had lost courage, and were no +longer disposed for war. Some rumours, it is true, reached the governor +that mischief was brewing, but he paid little heed to them: no special +measures of defence whatever were taken. A strange kind of somnolence +seems to have crept over almost the entire population. The intendant, in +a despatch written just about this time (6th November 1688), after +speaking of the disastrous effect of brandy drinking upon the Indians, +goes on to say: "The Canadians also ruin their health thereby; and, as +the greater number of these drink a large quantity of it early in the +morning, they are incapable of doing anything the remainder of the day." +It may<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> safely be assumed that the morning potations were indulged in +without prejudice to a tolerably free use of the bottle in the evening. +It is remarkable that so serious a judgment upon the habits of the +people should have preceded by only a few months a striking and fatal +example of their unreadiness and incapacity.</p> + +<p>The night of the 4th August 1689 was dark and stormy with rain and hail. +It was just such a night as might serve to cover the approach of a +stealthy foe; and the foe, vengeful and relentless, was at hand. +Fourteen hundred Iroquois had descended the St. Lawrence and taken up +their station on the south side of the Lake St. Louis, opposite Lachine. +About midnight, amid the darkness and the noise of the elements, they +crossed the lake, and, landing, posted themselves in small bands close +to the dwellings of the slumbering inhabitants. An hour or so before +daybreak, a war-whoop, the preconcerted signal, was raised. Instantly a +thousand savage throats gave forth the dismal howl; and then began the +work of slaughter that made "the massacre of Lachine" a name of terror +for generations. The account of the disaster given by Charlevoix, who +puts the number of the slain at two hundred, has been generally followed +by later writers; but there is fortunately reason to believe that the +massacre was much less in extent, and perhaps somewhat less horrible in +character, than the reverend father represents. Judge Girouard,<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> who +has gone into the matte<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span>r in a most careful and painstaking manner, +places the number of persons killed at Lachine—men, women, and +children—at twenty-four. The place was defended by three forts, all of +which had garrisons; but from these no help seems to have been afforded +to the wretched inhabitants. The torch did its work as well as the +tomahawk, and fifty-six houses were burnt. There were some regular +troops—about two hundred—under an officer named Subercase, encamped +about three miles off. A shot from one of the forts gave the alarm, and +Subercase with his men marched to the scene of action. Many of the +Indians had inebriated themselves with brandy seized in the houses of +the inhabitants; and it is probable that, had they been promptly and +vigorously attacked, they might have been defeated with heavy loss. +Subercase was just on the point of leading his men against them, when M. +de Vaudreuil, acting-governor of Montreal in the absence of M. de +Callières who had gone to France, appeared on the scene with formal and +positive orders from M. de Denonville, who, as ill-luck would have it, +was at Montreal, to remain strictly on the defensive. Subercase was +extremely indignant, and felt strongly tempted to disobey; but the +instinct of subordination prevailed, and he remained inactive. The +Indians meanwhile dispersed themselves over the Island of Montreal, +killing, capturing, burning, and meeting with little or n<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>o resistance.</p> + +<p>A really circumstantial and consistent account of the whole occurrence +is lacking; and it is therefore uncertain how long the Iroquois remained +in the neighbourhood. The probability would seem to be that the main +body retreated with their prisoners and booty after a brief campaign, +but that some bands of warriors stayed behind for further pillage. On +the 13th of November a bloody raid was made on the settlement at La +Chesnaye, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, some twenty miles +below Montreal; all the houses were burnt, and the majority of the +inhabitants either killed or captured. The total number of persons +killed elsewhere than at Lachine is estimated by Judge Girouard, who has +endeavoured to trace the names in the parish registers, at forty-two, +making, with the twenty-four killed at Lachine, a total of sixty-six. As +regards the number of captives, the same authority, whose careful +methods inspire much confidence, accepts the statement of Belmont, who +places it at ninety. We read that, when the savages left Lachine, which +they did without any attempt being made from the forts to harass their +retreat, they crossed Lake St. Louis, and, encamping on the opposite +shore, lit their fires and began to torture their prisoners. Torture, +there can be no doubt, was sufficiently congenial to the Iroquois +nature; and yet there is room for doubt whether there is sufficient +warrant for the highly coloured n<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>arrative which has become the popular +legend on this subject. It was usual with the Iroquois to carry their +captives with them into their villages; and it is known that they did +this with at least the great majority of those whom they secured on the +Island of Montreal, for many of them were alive years afterwards. +Moreover had there been many burnings on the south shore of Lake St. +Louis, the same pious care which caused the re-burial a few years later +(1694) of the remains of the victims of the Lachine massacre would have +been extended to any that might have been found on the site of the last +encampment. There is no record of the discovery of any such remains or +of their burial or re-burial. It is true that some burnings of captives +occurred in the Iroquois villages; still it is some satisfaction to +think that the calamity as a whole was not on the scale that tradition +has represented.<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a></p> + +<p>It is related that as the savages paddled away from the Lachine shore, +they called out: "Onontio, you deceived us; now we have deceived you." +The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> last days of Onontio, in his official capacity at least, were at +hand. The king had decided early in the year that he was not the man to +support a falling state or rescue an imperilled community, and had +offered the position again to Count Frontenac notwithstanding the many +troubles that had marked that gallant soldier's former tenure of office. +Evidently, with all his faults of temper, he had at least impressed +himself on the king as a man who could be relied on in the hour of +danger. Denonville's last act was one which strikingly illustrated the +condition of feebleness and dejection into which he had fallen. Dongan +and the Iroquois had demanded the abandonment of Fort Frontenac. +Denonville now determined that this was the only course to follow, and +accordingly sent orders to the garrison to blow up the walls, destroy +the stores, and make the best of their way to Montreal.</p> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h3>FRONTENAC TO THE RESCUE</h3> + + +<p><span class="dropcap">F</span>rom the moment that Prince William of Orange, the one unconquerable foe +of Louis XIV, was called to the throne of England, war between England +and France was a foregone conclusion. It was not declared, however, in +France till the 25th June 1689. Frontenac sailed from Rochelle on the +5th August following, the very day of the Lachine massacre. The king in +an interview with him is reported to have said: "I am sending you back +to Canada, where I am sure that you will serve me as well as you did +before; I ask nothing more of you." His Majesty also intimated, we are +told, that he believed the charges made against him were without +foundation. During the intervals between his two terms of office, +Frontenac had been living for the most part at court, in rather reduced +circumstances. The king once at least came to his relief with a gratuity +of three thousand five hundred francs, and possibly other liberalities +may have flowed to him from the same royal source, though Mr. Ernest +Myrand, after careful research, has not been able to discover trace of +any.<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a></p> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> +<p>The mission which was tendered to the aged count—he was now in his +seventieth year—was one which a younger man might have felt some +hesitation in accepting. The last accounts from Canada showed the +country to be in a deplorable condition, equally unable to make an +enduring peace or to wage a successful war; and the worst was yet to be +told on the governor's arrival. The situation was rendered decidedly +more critical by the fact of the war with England. True, a treaty had +been made by Louis XIV with James II, providing that, should war break +out between France and England, it should not extend to their American +possessions; but Louis, who did not recognize William III as a +legitimate sovereign, probably felt under no obligation to observe a +treaty made with his predecessor. We know, at least, that a scheme for +the conquest of the English colonies was arranged before Frontenac's +departure. Callières, Governor of Montreal, had been sent to France by +Denonville in the fall of 1688 to represent the perilous situation of +the colony, and to urge the king to adopt a system of reprisals against +the English for the misdeeds of the Iroquois. Callières and Frontenac +had some friends in common, and were thus brought together at court, and +the plan that was adopted was probably one that they had jointly +suggested to the court. It was, briefly, that two or three war vessels +should accompany Frontenac to Canada; that the count should disembark at +some point on the coast of Acadia, and proceed by the first<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> private +vessel he could secure to Quebec; that on arrival there he should +organize a force of sixteen hundred men, one thousand regulars, and six +hundred militia, to march on New York by way of Albany; and that when he +was ready to move, he should notify the commander of the squadron, so +that the latter might advance to New York, and be prepared to co-operate +in the capture and occupation of the place. Meantime, the naval force +was to employ itself in picking up any English trading vessels that +might fall in its way.</p> + +<p>Not only were plans thus formed for invading and seizing the English +colonies, but the French king made complete arrangements as to the +treatment of the inhabitants when conquered. Those who either were +Catholics, or were prepared to embrace the Catholic faith, might be +allowed to remain in possession of their property and civil rights; the +citizens of means were to be imprisoned and held for ransom, the rest of +the population, numbering about eighteen thousand, were to forfeit +everything and be driven penniless out of the country. It was proposed +to deport them, in the first place, to New England, pending the ulterior +conquest of that region. M. Lorin truly observes that Louis XIV, having +just deprived his own subjects of religious liberty by the revocation of +the Edict of Nantes, could not possibly be expected to tolerate it in +any country of which he might acquire control.<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> A more ruthless +policy cou<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>ld scarcely have been devised, nor, it may be added, a more +senseless one. The deportation of so large a body of inhabitants, mainly +of Dutch origin, and all accustomed to the use of arms, was a task +ridiculously beyond the ability of the forces he was proposing to employ +for the purpose.</p> + +<p>The plan was followed, so far as the sending out of a small squadron +with the new governor-general was concerned. Sailing, as already +mentioned, on the 5th August, Frontenac arrived at Chedabucto +(Guysborough), near the Straits of Canso, on the 12th September, and +there embarked in a small vessel, the <i>François Xavier</i>, for Quebec. On +the way he stopped at Percé, where the Récollet missionaries informed +him of the massacre of Lachine. His vessel must have been detained by +contrary winds, for it was the 12th October before he arrived at Quebec. +Here he was received by the citizens with the liveliest manifestations +of joy. The ecclesiastics associated themselves, <i>bon gré mal gré</i>, with +the popular feeling. The town was illuminated by night and hung with +banners by day; a <i>Te Deum</i> was sung; and a Jesuit father delivered what +is recorded to have been a most pathetic discourse. On all hands the +count was acclaimed as the man the country needed to restore its fallen +fortunes and stay the hand of the destroyer. Denonville and Champigny +did not grace the rejoicings; they were at Montreal.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span></p> + +<p>Quebec, however, was not the point of danger, nor that at which the +governor's services were most required. Still he remained there eight +days before proceeding to Montreal, where he arrived on the 27th +October. At that place he learnt from Denonville of the instructions he +had given for the abandonment and destruction of Fort Frontenac. The +indignation of the old warrior, to whom the fort called after his name +was a spot of peculiar predilection, can better be imagined than +described. He could hardly believe that a French governor could perform +so craven an act. If we may trust the Baron La Hontan, who does not in +this case tax very seriously our powers of belief, the interview between +the two dignitaries was a decidedly stormy one.<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> There was no time to +waste, however, in useless debate. Something possibly had happened to +delay or prevent the carrying out of the orders, and the fort might +perhaps yet be saved. An expedition was hastily organized to proceed to +the spot and ascertain the facts, but scarcely had it well started +before it encountered the entire garrison of the fort, minus six men, +whom they had lost in the rapids on the way down, returning to Montreal. +The deed had therefore been done. Valrennes, the commandant, told how he +had destroyed the stores, thrown su<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span>ch arms and ammunition as he could +not remove into the river, undermined the walls and fired the train, and +how, as they retreated, they had heard a dull explosion. Yes, the deed +had been done; but, as it turned out later, not with the full result +intended. The mines had exploded, but probably they had been hastily and +not over skilfully placed, and the injury to the walls was but slight. +Not long afterwards Frontenac was able to repair the damage and put the +fort once more in a condition of defence.</p> + +<p>The season was now so far advanced that the project which had been +formed of raising a large force with which to invade English territory, +in conjunction with a naval attack on New York, had to be abandoned. La +Caffinière, commander of the squadron, waited for two months for some +sign of the arrival of the Canadians, and then sailed back to France, +making a few prizes on the way. But, if the governor was unable to +organize an expedition on a large scale, he did not forego his intention +of attacking the English colonies. If he could not march with an army he +could make raids after the Indian fashion. His plan was to stand simply +on the defensive as regards the Iroquois, and to impress their minds by +the suddenness and vigour of his attacks on the English. Three raiding +parties were accordingly organized, one having its base at Montreal, the +second at Three Rivers, and the third at Quebec. The Montreal party +consisted of a little over tw<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>o hundred men, of whom somewhat less than +half were mission Indians from Sault St. Louis—the present Caughnawaga +settlement—and the Montreal Mountain. The remainder of the party +consisted for the most part of <i>coureurs de bois</i>, formidable men for +border warfare, far steadier than the Indians, and just as wary. Their +destination was Albany and the neighbouring English settlements. The +leaders were men of skill and courage, Daillebout de Mantet, and Le +Moyne de Ste. Hélène; the latter, a man greatly admired and beloved for +his brilliant soldierly qualities and gay, amiable disposition, but +nevertheless a keen and relentless fighter. With these were two of Ste. +Hélène's brothers, formidable men all, Le Moyne d'Iberville, who had +already made fame for himself in Hudson's Bay, where still greater glory +yet awaited him, and Le Moyne de Bienville, together with several other +members of the Canadian <i>noblesse</i>. The Three Rivers party was under the +charge of François Hertel, a man of much experience in Indian warfare. +When quite a lad he had been carried off by the Iroquois, and had +endured some cruel treatment at their hands before making his +escape,<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> and since then he had been in constant contact with them +either in peace or in war. With him went three of his sons, twenty-four +Frenchmen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span>, and twenty-five Indians, fifty-two men in all. The third +party, recruited at Quebec, consisted of fifty Frenchmen and sixty +Abenaquis Indians from the settlement at the falls of the Chaudière, +under the command of M. de Portneuf, who had as lieutenant his cousin, +Repentigny, Sieur de Courtemanche. The Montreal expedition set out in +the beginning of February, those from Three Rivers and Quebec a few days +earlier; but before recounting their exploits, it may be well to glance +at the negotiations, which the governor was at this time carrying on +with a view to putting the relations of the colony with the Iroquois +tribes on a better basis.</p> + +<p>The king, it has been mentioned, had consented to send back the Indians +who had been so treacherously captured and sent to France as galley +slaves. It would be doing his Majesty injustice to suppose that he ever +intended his representative in Canada to procure men for his galleys in +so disreputable a fashion. The Marquis of Denonville from the moment of +his arrival in Canada had breathed nothing but war; and the king +doubtless counted on a large number of prisoners as the result of his +martial prowess. It is significant that, even before encountering the +Senecas, Denonville should have written to the king explaining how very +difficult it was to capture Iroquois in battle. He did not say so, but +he doubtless thought that to trap them would be much easier. Out of +nearly forty Indians sent to France, thirteen only were alive when the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> +order for their restoration to their country was given; the rest had +died of hardship and homesickness. The survivors were sent out in the +same vessel with Frontenac, who did all in his power to make them forget +the wrongs they had suffered. The most important man in the band was a +Cayuga chief named Orehaoué, between whom and the count a sincere +friendship seems to have sprung up. During the whole voyage the count +treated him with the highest consideration, invited him to eat at his +table, and furnished him with a handsome uniform; so that, by the time +they landed at Quebec, the savage chief was completely won over to the +French side. The same treatment was continued after they landed. +Orehaoué was lodged in the Château St. Louis and went everywhere with +the governor. There was policy in this of course on Frontenac's part, +but there is no reason to doubt that on both sides there was a genuine +feeling of attachment.</p> + +<p>After viewing the scene of desolation at Lachine, Frontenac reported to +the king that nine square leagues of territory had been laid waste. The +question was what to do. The best course seemed to be to send four of +the Indians who had been brought back from France to their Iroquois +kinsmen with a suitable message. They were despatched accordingly, +accompanied by an Indian named Gagniogoton who, a short time before, had +come to Montreal as a kind of ambassador, but whose tone had been more +insolent than concil<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span>iatory. The returned warriors were to invite their +people "to come and welcome their father whom they had so long missed, +and thank him for his goodness to them in restoring a chief whom they +had given up as lost,"<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> namely Orehaoué. The latter did not accompany +the mission, Frontenac considering that he would be more useful for the +present at Montreal. It does not appear exactly when the envoys set out, +but, after some delay, consequent upon prolonged deliberation on the +part of the tribes, they returned to Montreal on the 9th March. It was +evident the mission had not been a great success. The messengers came +laden with belts of wampum, each of which had its own special +significance, yet for several days they kept silence. Finally at the +urgent request of M. de Callières—Frontenac had gone back to +Quebec—they disburdened themselves of the messages with which they were +charged. Belt number one was to explain that delay had been caused by +the arrival of an Ottawa delegation among the Senecas with overtures of +peace, as a pledge of which they had brought with them a number of +Iroquois prisoners whom they were prepared to restore. The second belt +was meant to express the joy of the whole Iroquois confederacy over the +return of Orehaoué, whom they spoke of as their general-in-chief. The +third demanded the return of Orehaoué and the other prisoners; and +mentioned the fact that all th<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span>e surviving French prisoners were at the +chief town of the Onondagas, and that no disposition would be made of +them till they should hear the advice of Orehaoué on his return home. +The fourth congratulated Frontenac on his wish to plant again the tree +of peace; but the fifth was the most expressive of all. Referring to the +desire of Frontenac to bring them again to his fort, it said: "Know you +not that the fire of peace no longer burns in that fort; that it is +extinguished by the blood that has been spilt there; the place where the +council is held is all red; it has been desecrated by the treachery +perpetrated there." Fort Frontenac, it went on to say, was henceforth an +impossible place for peaceful gatherings: if the tree of peace was again +to be planted it must be in some other spot, nearer or more distant they +did not care—only not <i>there</i>. Then these words were added: "In fine, +Father Onontio, you have whipped your children most severely; your rods +were too cutting and too long; and after having used me thus you can +readily judge that I have some sense now." The sixth belt mentioned that +there were parties now out on the war-path, but that they were prepared +to spare their prisoners should they take any, if the French would agree +to do the same on their side. There was no lack of frankness in the +further information conveyed by this belt, which was to the effect that +the Onondagas had received eight prisoners as their share of the +prisoners taken at La Chesnaye, and had eaten four of them, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> spared +the other four. This was intended to show their superiority in humanity +to the French, who, having taken three Seneca prisoners, had eaten them +all, that is to say, allowed their Indian allies to kill and eat them, +instead of sparing one or two. To what incident this refers is not +clear, as Denonville did not report any prisoners taken in his fight +with the Senecas.</p> + +<p>Callières sent the deputation down to Quebec to see the +governor-general; but the latter, according to the account here +followed, which was written by his own secretary, Monseignat, declined +to give them an audience, mainly on account of the objection he had to +their spokesman, Gagniogoton. Doubtless Callières had informed him +sufficiently of the tenor of the communications they had to make. The +governor had much on his mind, but he was not a man to act in nervous +haste. Towards the close of the month of December, a man named Zachary +Jolliet arrived at Quebec from Michilimackinac, having been despatched +by La Durantaye to represent the perilous nature of the situation there +owing to the very unsatisfactory dispositions of the Lake tribes. The +massacre of Lachine with all its attendant circumstances had convinced +them that French power was at a very low ebb. As the narrative says: +"They saw nothing on our part but universal supineness; our houses +burnt; our people carried off; the finest portion of our country ruined; +and all done without any one being moved; or, at least, if any attempts<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> +were made, the trifling effort recoiled to our shame." Yet what the +French, individually, were capable of may be judged by the fact that +this messenger, with only one companion, had come all the way from +Michilimackinac at a most inclement season of the year, partly in a +canoe and partly on the ice, reaching Quebec at the very end of +December. Surely some benumbing influence must have been at work upon +the colony. Was it the extreme mediævalism of the Denonville régime +aided by an excessive use of intoxicating liquors? These at least were +<i>veræ causæ</i>, and might well have had no small share in creating the +situation described.</p> + +<p>Something had to be done, and that speedily, to strengthen La +Durantaye's position, or the French of the Upper Lakes would virtually +find themselves hostages in the hands of disaffected tribes; if indeed +their lives were not sacrificed to cement the union which the Ottawas +were even then endeavouring to effect with the Iroquois. Frontenac +wanted to send Zachary Jolliet back at once with instructions; but it +was learnt that the route was infested by Iroquois; very unwillingly, +therefore, he deferred action till the breaking of the ice in the +spring. He then despatched M. de Louvigny, with a hundred and +forty-three Canadians and a small number of Indians, to strengthen the +garrison and relieve La Durantaye. With this contingent went a man well +known to all the region, and probably second to none in his ability to +influence<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> the native mind, Nicolas Perrot. The count did not, however, +entrust Perrot with any merely verbal message, but placed in his hands a +written one, conceived in the style of which he had acquired so great a +mastery. "Children," said Onontio, "I am astonished to learn on arriving +that you have forgotten the protection I always afforded you. Remember +that I am your father, who adopted you, and who has loved you so +tenderly. I gave you your country; I drove the horrors of war far from +it, and introduced peace there. You had no home before that. You were +wandering about exposed to the Iroquois tempests. Hark, I speak to you +as a father. My body is big; it is strong and cannot die. Think you I am +going to remain in a state of inactivity such as prevailed during my +absence; and, if eight or ten hairs have been pulled from my children's +heads when I was absent, that I cannot put ten handfuls of hair in the +place of one that has been torn out? or that, for one piece of bark that +has been stripped from my cabin, I cannot put double the number in its +place? Children, know that I always am, that nothing but the Great +Spirit can destroy me, and that it is I who destroy all." The message +went on to refer to the Iroquois as a ravenous dog who formerly was +snapping and biting at every one, but whom Frontenac had tamed and tied +up, and whom he would discipline again if he did not mend his ways. The +blood shed at Montreal last summer, it said, was of no account; the +houses destroyed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> were only two or three rat holes. The English were not +people to have confidence in; they deceived and devoured their children. +"I am strong enough to kill the English, destroy the Iroquois, and whip +you if you fail in your duty to me." Finally there was a warning against +the use of English rum, which was killing in its effects, whereas French +brandy was health-giving.</p> + +<p>What the effect of this allocution would have been, unsupported by +favouring circumstances, it is difficult to say. The Indian tribes all +had a remarkable gift of perspicacity. They had no need of Dr. Johnson's +advice to clear their minds of cant, for cant was something quite +foreign to their mental habits; it was not a product of forest life. It +happened, however, that Perrot was able to show them a number of +Iroquois scalps, and hand over to them an Iroquois prisoner that his +party had taken on their journey up the Ottawa. This looked like +business, and lent a weight which might otherwise have been lacking to +the somewhat fustian eloquence of Onontio. The affair of the capture had +happened in this wise. As the expedition neared the place now known as +Sand Point, on the river Ottawa, they discovered two Iroquois canoes +drawn up at the end of the point. Three canoes were detached to attack +the enemy, but were received with a heavy fire from an ambush on the +shore, by which four Frenchmen were killed. Perrot, who thought it much +more important to accomplish his mission among the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> Ottawas than to have +even a successful fight with the Iroquois, did not at first wish to push +the matter further; but his men were full of fight, and he finally +allowed a general attack to be made, which resulted most successfully. +More than thirty Iroquois, the narrative says, were killed, and many +more were wounded. Out of thirteen canoes only four escaped. Two +prisoners were taken. One of these was sent to Quebec and was used by +Frontenac to help out his negotiations with their nation; the other was +taken to Michilimackinac. His fate was not a pleasant one. Perrot gave +him to the Hurons, and by so doing made the Ottawas a little jealous. +Both Ottawas and Hurons were at the time meditating an alliance with the +Iroquois, and the Hurons thought they could make good use of their +prisoner as a peace-offering. The French, however, were not going to +have any nonsense of that kind. The commanders conferred with the +missionaries, and finally a hint was dropped to the Hurons that, if they +did not put their prisoner "into the kettle," he would be taken from +them and given to the Ottawas. That settled the question; the unhappy +prisoner was put to death with the customary tortures, and all chance of +peace between Hurons and Iroquois was thus destroyed. What the Ottawas +might do still remained uncertain. Frontenac's message had by no means +wholly won them over to the French alliance. They had heard of the +warfare Onontio was waging agains<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span>t the English, and thought they would +await developments.</p> + +<p>That war had been going merrily on in its own fashion, and Perrot was +able to give an account of the success of the principal expedition—the +one directed against Albany—for it had returned to Montreal after doing +its bloody work nearly two months before he left for the Upper +Lakes.<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> The story of the three war parties must now be woven into our +narrative. The one just mentioned started from Montreal on one of the +first days in February (1690). The Indians of the party had not been +informed what their destination was. When they learned that the +intention was to attack Albany, they inquired with surprise how long it +was since the French had become so bold. Like the Indians of the West, +they had drawn their own conclusions from the events of the previous +year. They were not disposed to join in so hazardous an undertaking; and +it is allowable, perhaps, to doubt whether it was at any time seriously +contemplated to make Albany the point of attack. If it was, the leaders +changed their minds, for on coming to a point where the roads to that +place and to Corlaer or Schenectady diverged, they took t<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span>he latter. The +difficulties of the march were extreme. Though it was yet midwinter, +more or less thaw prevailed, and during much of the journey the men had +to walk knee-deep in water. Then on the last day or two came a blast of +excessive cold. A few miles from Corlaer the expedition was halted, and +the chief man of the Christian Mohawks harangued his people. The +opportunity had now come, he said, for taking ample revenge for all the +injuries they had received from the heathen Iroquois at the instigation +of the English, and to wash them out in blood. This Indian known as the +Great Mohawk, or in French as the <i>Grand Agnié</i>, is described in the +official narrative as "the most considerable of his tribe, an honest +man, full of spirit, prudence, and generosity, and capable of the +greatest undertakings." The little army was in wretched plight, and +probably, had they been attacked at this point by even a small force of +men in good condition, they would have been completely routed. No such +attack, however, was made. Marching a little further, they found a +wigwam occupied only by four squaws. There was a fire in it, and, +benumbed with cold, they crowded round it in turns. At eleven o'clock at +night they were in sight of the town, but in order that they might take +the inhabitants in their deepest sleep, they deferred the attack for +three hours; then they burst in through an open gate in the palisade. +The official account says, in very simple words, that "the massacre +lasted two hours."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span> This, be it remembered, was supposed to be regular +warfare, not between savage Indians, or between French and Indians, but +between French and English. War, as already stated, had been declared +between France and England, and this was Frontenac's method of carrying +on his part of it. When New England retaliated later in the year by the +attack on Quebec, we can hardly wonder that some of the inhabitants of +that city anticipated a general massacre should the English obtain +possession of the town. The special enormities alleged to have been +committed by the heathen Iroquois in the massacre at Lachine are, by +witnesses who made their statements within a few days after the event, +affirmed to have been perpetrated by the Christian Indians at +Schenectady. Sixty persons in all were killed, thirty-eight being men +and boys, ten women, and twelve children of tender age.<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> Many were +wounded, thirty were carried away captive. The chief magistrate of the +place, John Sanders Glen by name, lived outside the town in a palisaded +and fortified dwelling, which he was prepared to defend. He was known, +however, to the French commanders as a man who had always been +favourable to their people, having on several occasions rescued French +prisoners from the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> Mohawks, over whom he had great influence. On being +assured that his life and property would be spared, he surrendered. It +was also agreed to extend the same immunity to any of his relatives who +might have survived the massacre; and the number of persons claiming the +privilege was so great as to cause the Indians to express some surprise +and ill-humour at the wide range of his family connection.</p> + +<p>The homeward march was begun a day or two later. It was by no means a +prosperous one. Early in the attack a man on horseback had escaped +through the eastern gate of the town, and, though shot at and wounded, +was able to make his way to Albany and give the alarm. Thence word was +sent on to the Mohawk towns, and the warriors, accompanied by a +detachment of fifty young men from Albany, started on the track of the +retreating foe. Two only on the French side had been killed in the +attack on Schenectady, but before the party reached Montreal, their +losses amounted to twenty-one, seventeen French, and four Indians. The +opinion of the Mohawk Indians on the character of the expedition was +expressed in a message of sympathy which they sent to the authorities at +Albany. "The French," they said, "did not act on this occasion like +brave men, but like thieves and robbers. Be not discouraged, we give +this belt to wipe away your tears. We do not think what the French have +done can be called a victory. It is only a further proof of th<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span>eir cruel +deceit."<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a></p> + +<p>The expedition organized at Three Rivers left that place on the 28th +January; but it was not till after two months' wanderings in the +inhospitable wilderness that they were able to strike their first blow. +The New England frontier had for a year past been in a very disturbed +and precarious condition owing to a renewed outbreak of hostilities on +the part of the Abenaquis Indians. A long period of previous warfare +with these tribes had been closed by the Treaty of Casco in 1678, but +now the frontier was again aflame. The English settlers attributed the +trouble to the machinations of the French with whom the Abenaquis were +in close alliance; and certain it is that the Marquis of Denonville, in +a memorandum written after his return to France, takes credit to himself +for the mischief done. He speaks of the progress made in christianizing +the Abenaquis, and of the establishment near Quebec of two colonies of +them which he thought would prove useful. He then proceeds: "To the +close relations which I maintained with these savages through the +Jesuits, and particularly the two brothers Bigot, may be attributed the +success of the attacks which they made upon the English last summer when +they captured sixteen forts besides that of Pemaquid, where there were +twenty cannon, and killed two hundred men."<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> The ex-governor +exaggerates the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span>number of cannon in the fort at Pemaquid, as there were +only seven or eight, and omits to mention the fact that, after that +place had surrendered on the promise that the lives of all in it should +be spared, a number were murdered by his Indians. That they were not +also tortured, Father Thury, who was with the attacking party, +attributes to the influence of his exhortations. M. Lorin, in giving an +account of the occurrence, says there is no doubt that the Abenaquis +were impelled by their missionary, the Abbé Thury. He quotes the +statement of Charlevoix that, before setting out, their first care had +been to make sure of the divine assistance, by partaking of the +sacrament. "Certainly," he says, "the part taken by the missionaries in +expeditions of this character, was a preponderating one." He also +ventures the theory that, as the heathen Iroquois never penetrated into +New England, the only enemies of the faith upon whom the missionaries +could exercise the zeal of their Abenaquis converts were the +English.<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a></p> + +<p>The fighting along the frontier lasted all through the summer and autumn +of 1689. The winter brought respite from attack, and the settlers were +beginning to indulge a sense of security when Hertel and his fifty men +crept up to the little settlement of Salmon Falls, on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span> the borders of +New Hampshire and Maine. The attack was made in very similar fashion to +that at Schenectady. The assailants burst in at night and at once began +to apply tomahawk and torch. Thirty persons, men, women, and children +indiscriminately, were slaughtered, and fifty-four were made prisoners. +Hearing that a force of English from Piscataqua, now Portsmouth, was +hastening to the scene, Hertel ordered a retreat. At Wooster River the +pursuers caught up with him, but, taking up an advantageous position on +the far side of that stream, he held them in check, killing several as +they tried to cross the narrow bridge. At night he resumed his retreat. +Some of the prisoners were given to his Indians to torture and kill. It +was unfortunate that Father Thury was not present to inspire milder +sentiments in these converts.</p> + +<p>Hertel was a born fighter, and when, upon reaching one of the Abenaquis +villages on the Kennebec, he learnt that the Quebec party under M. de +Portneuf had just passed south, he determined to follow them with +thirty-six of his men, though he was obliged to leave behind him his +eldest son who had been badly wounded in the fight at Wooster River. A +number of Indian warriors joined the party at a point on the Kennebec; +and on the 25th May, the united force, numbering between four and five +hundred men, encamped in the forest not far from the English forts on +Casco Bay. The principal of these was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> Fort Loyal, a palisaded place +mounting eight cannon. The others were simple blockhouses. The several +garrisons consisted of about one hundred men under the command of +Captain Sylvanus Davis, whose narrative in the original—and most +original—spelling has come down to us. The garrison first knew that an +enemy was at hand by hearing the war-whoop of the Indians, who had just +scalped an unfortunate Scotsman found wandering about in the +neighbourhood, all unconscious of danger. Thirty volunteers at once +sallied forth from the fort to meet the foe. They had not gone far when +they received a volley at close range which killed half of them. Of the +remaining half only four reached the fort, all wounded. During the night +the men in the blockhouses crept into the fort, together with the +inhabitants of some neighbouring houses. The place could not be carried +by assault, so Portneuf determined to besiege it in due form by opening +trenches and working his way in. The work was well and rapidly done, and +Davis saw that surrender was inevitable. He inquired if there were any +French in the attacking force, and, if so, whether they would give +quarter. The answer was affirmative on both points. Davis inquired +whether the quarter would include men, women, and children, wounded and +unwounded, and whether they would all be allowed to retire to the +nearest English town. This was agreed to and sworn to; but, no sooner +had the occupants of the fort filed out, than t<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span>he Indians fell upon +them, killed a number, and made prisoners of the rest. Davis protested, +but he was told that he and his people were rebels against their lawful +king, and therefore without any claim to consideration. The captives, +Davis among them, were carried off to Quebec, where they arrived about +the middle of June. The fort was burned, the guns were spiked, the +neighbouring settlements destroyed, and the dead left unburied.</p> + +<p>Thus had Frontenac's expeditions fared. They had spread grief and alarm +amongst the English settlements, but had inflicted no serious blow on +English power. They had shown how expert the colonial French had become +in the methods of Indian warfare, and also to how large an extent they +had themselves inbibed the Indian spirit. We may doubt whether Frontenac +philosophized much on the subject; his immediate object was to produce +an effect on the minds of his wavering Indian allies and his sullen +Indian enemies; and the raids into English territory, with the +slaughterings and burnings, were doubtless well adapted to that purpose. +If Onontio was strong enough and bold enough to make war in this fashion +on Corlaer and Kishon<a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> at once, there was something for allies, and +enemies as well, to reflect on. This view of the matter finally +prevailed with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span> the Lake tribes. For some two or three years trade had +been almost at a standstill, and furs had accumulated which the savages +were now anxious to turn into European goods. With one accord they +determined to try the Montreal market once more, and see Onontio face to +face.</p> + +<p>During the winter, while his guerrilla forces were in the field, +Frontenac had not been idle. Having arranged for offensive measures, he +next took thought for defensive ones; and, as if with a prevision that +Quebec itself might not be exempt from attack, he devoted special +attention to strengthening the fortifications of that place. He caused a +vast amount of timber to be cut for palisades, with which he protected +the city at the rear, its only weak point. In the spring he began the +erection of a strong stone redoubt; and the work was pushed with so much +vigour that by midsummer it was well advanced towards completion. These +pressing occupations did not, however, absorb all his thoughts. The fact +of his having been chosen a second time by the king for the governorship +of Canada, notwithstanding all the criticism of which he had formerly +been the object, gave him a position of manifest strength, which even +his bitterest opponents of former days could not ignore. The Sovereign +Council as a whole recognized the fact, and was anxious to arrange +matters so as, if possible, to avoid friction for the future.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span></p> + +<p>The governor on his part was determined to preserve an attitude of +dignified, not to say haughty, reserve, and throw upon the council the +task of making such advances as might be necessary. In pursuance of this +policy, he refrained from attending the meetings, though his presence +was much required. The council having deputed Auteuil, the +attorney-general, to wait upon him and invite his attendance, he replied +that the council should be able to manage its own business and that he +would come when he thought the king's service required it. It is hard to +understand why Auteuil should have been chosen for this negotiation; for +Frontenac must have had a vivid recollection of the insolence with which +he had been treated during his first administration by this individual, +then a raw youth of not much over twenty. The next move of the council +was to send four of their number to repeat the invitation, and to ask +the governor at the same time with what ceremonies he would wish to be +received. His answer was that if they would propose the form he would +tell them whether it was satisfactory. The council felt that the +governor was pushing his advantage a little too far; but nevertheless +they applied themselves to the question, and, having devised a form +which they thought could not fail to be acceptable, sent Villeray, the +first councillor, to the château to explain what was proposed. Villeray +was as deferential and complimentary as he knew how; but the end was not +yet. "See the bishop, and any other parties who have knowled<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span>ge of such +matters, and get their opinion," said the governor. The bishop was +consulted accordingly, but very properly declined to give any opinion. +Thrown back on their own resources the councillors devised the following +scheme: that, when his Lordship, the count, should decide to make his +first visit to the council, four of its members should present +themselves at the château in order to accompany him to the place of +meeting, which was the intendant's palace on the bank of the St. +Charles; and that, on all subsequent occasions, he should be met by two +councillors at the head of the stairs and respectfully conducted to his +seat. This was duly explained by the first councillor, Villeray, who +said he was authorized to add that any modification of the plan which +the governor might suggest would be gladly adopted by the council. This +was submission indeed, yet still the count hesitated. He asked to see +the minutes of the council in which the resolution bearing on the matter +was recorded. Villeray struggled up Palace Hill with the official +register, and presented himself again before the potentate, who found +the entry in good shape, but reserved his final answer. A few days +later, having been again waited on, he graciously informed the +deputation that the arrangement proposed was quite satisfactory. With +what must really be called a fatuous self-complacency, he added that, +had the council wished to go too far in the way of obsequiousness, he +could not have consented to it, as, being hims<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span>elf its head, he was +jealous of its dignity and honour. If for some men there is, as the poet +hints, "a far-off touch of greatness" in knowing they are not great, it +is to be feared Frontenac did not possess that particular touch.</p> + +<p>Not only were the fortifications of Quebec strengthened, but steps were +also taken to form a local militia guard under the command of the +town-major, Prevost. Leaving to that officer the supervision of whatever +work was still required on the defences, Frontenac, accompanied by the +intendant and Madame Champigny, left the capital on the 22nd July for +Montreal, where his presence was much required. He probably did some +inspection of posts on the way, for he did not reach the end of his +journey till the 31st. Trade at this time was pretty much at a +standstill. Bands of mission Indians were on the war-path against the +English; and every now and again the Iroquois would swoop down on the +settlements, notwithstanding the fact that scouts were kept continually +employed along the routes by which they were accustomed to make their +approaches. Under the new administration the lesson of Lachine, the +lesson of eternal watchfulness, was being taken to heart. The governor +had much to occupy his thoughts. At Montreal, as at Quebec, he was +anxious to perfect the organization of the military forces, and to place +the city, from every point of view, in the best possible condition of +defence. He had not as yet received news as to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span> how Louvigny and Perrot +had succeeded among the Lake tribes; yet upon the success of their +mission hung the most momentous issues. Was Canada to secure allies in +the West who would hold at least in partial check the Iroquois power, or +were Hurons, Ottawas, Iroquois, and English to combine their forces for +her destruction? Meantime bad news had come from Acadia. Port Royal and +other fortified posts had been captured; the English were in possession +of the entire country; the governor had been carried captive to Boston. +It was known that the English of Albany and New York were moving: what +the next news would be, who could tell?</p> + +<p>On the 18th August news came. In hot haste the officer in command at +Lachine had despatched a messenger to say that Lake St. Louis to the +west was covered with Iroquois canoes bearing down on the island. The +terror of the inhabitants, in spite of the presence of the governor +amongst them, was extreme. Orders were given to fire alarm guns to warn +the inhabitants of the surrounding country; and other measures of +protection were being hastily concerted, when a second messenger arrived +to say that it was all a mistake. It was not the dreaded Iroquois who +were close at hand, but a large body of Lake Indians who were coming to +trade. Fear was at once turned into joy. The envoys sent to the upper +country in May had been successful; a great danger had been averted. +Perrot with his scalps and Frontenac with his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span> vigorous and aggressive, +if somewhat primitive and ruthless, war policy had turned the scale in +favour of Canada. Firm alliances would now be made, and there would be a +big market at Montreal.</p> + +<p>The next day the canoes, laden with the accumulated furs of the last two +or three years, shot the Lachine Rapids and landed at Montreal. There +were about five hundred Indians in all, Hurons, Ottawas, Crees, +Ojibways, and various other tribes, all bent on buying, selling, and +negotiating. It was not the habit, however, of these savages to enter +precipitately on any kind of business; and three days were allowed to +elapse before they opened their great council at which, tribe by tribe, +they were to lay their views before the governor. The first to speak +were the Ottawas, and their talk was almost exclusively of trade. Their +instinct for business was keen, and had it been possible they would +probably have steered clear of politics. They had had some experience of +the low prices of English goods, and were very insistent that the French +should deal with them on equally favourable terms. The spokesman of the +Hurons, a much weaker tribe numerically, was not so narrowly commercial +in his views. He said he had come down to see his father, to listen to +his voice, and to do his will. He presented three belts. By the first he +prayed that the war might be prosecuted against the Iroquois as well as +against the English. If not, he feared he and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> his father would both +die. The second thanked the count for his former services to their +nation. The third prayed him to take pity on the Ottawas, and give them +good bargains. Such a manifestation of interest in the Ottawas was very +touching; but probably the Huron orator, whose people had a certain +reputation for subtlety, calculated that, if a lower tariff were made +for the Ottawas, all would get the benefit of it. On the twenty-fifth of +the month, the count entertained them all at a great feast. Two oxen and +six large dogs furnished the meat, which was cooked with prunes. Two +barrels of wine were provided to wash this down, and liberal rations of +tobacco were served out to every man. Before the feasting began, the +count stood up to address his guests. He assured them that he meant to +prosecute the war with the Iroquois until he had brought it to a +successful issue, and forced them to sue for peace. Then, when peace was +made, it should be a general peace: all should be included in it, and +the Iroquois themselves would again be his children. Meantime, however, +they were preparing to invade the country; and the question was whether +to await their arrival or go to meet them. Then ensued a remarkable +performance, which might well have employed a livelier pen than that of +Monseignat who gives us the account of it. Seizing a hatchet, the aged +governor, war-worn but yet fiery and vigorous, began to sing the war +song, walking to and fro in the most excited manner,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> and brandishing +the hatchet over his head in true Indian fashion. The effect was +electric. The old Onontio was surpassing himself. Here was a leader +whose very presence banished fear. When he had sufficiently excited +their admiration, and stimulated their warlike ardour, he handed the +hatchet to the different chiefs in turn, and to a number of Frenchmen, +who all imitated Onontio's example, vowing vengeance on the foe. Then +began the feast, a function to which it is needless to say the savage +guests brought ravenous appetites. In diplomacy dinners have been known +to work wonders; and Frontenac was seeking the hearts of his guests +through a well-recognized channel.</p> + +<p>We have seen that the mission sent by the governor to the Iroquois +towards the close of the previous year, and which returned in the +following month of March, had not accomplished any satisfactory result. +The count waited till navigation was open before resuming negotiations. +He then determined to restore to their nation the four returned Iroquois +who had formed his first embassy, and to make them the bearers of belts +which he hoped would speak strongly in favour of peace. With these +Indians he sent a French gentleman, the Chevalier d'Eau. He tendered the +mission in the first place to the gay and dashing Baron La Hontan; but +that young man, who was well versed in the classics, was afraid of the +Iroquois even when carrying gifts to them; and,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span> with marked discretion, +declined the honour. The Chevalier d'Eau had no reason to congratulate +himself on having accepted it. He made his appearance amongst the +Iroquois at a most unfavourable moment. The affair at Schenectady was +fresh in their recollection; and though their own people had, through +motives of policy, been spared on that occasion, they were under a +strong pledge to the English to assist in revenging the slaughter. A +couple of Frenchmen who accompanied the chevalier were burnt; he himself +was soundly thrashed and handed over as a prisoner to the English; the +messages of the belts were disregarded. No news of the fate of the envoy +had reached Frontenac up to the time of the gathering of the western +Indians at Montreal; but after their departure the facts concerning them +were obtained from some Iroquois prisoners at Fort Frontenac. The one +great gain of the year had been the winning over of the Lake tribes, a +result which at once assured the safety of the French traders and +missionaries in the West, and prevented that isolation of the colony +which would have followed had an alliance been struck between those +tribes and the Iroquois.</p> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h3>FRONTENAC DEFENDER OF CANADA</h3> + + +<p><span class="dropcap">I</span>n planning his attacks on the English colonies it does not appear that +Frontenac took specially into account the political disorganization +existing amongst them at the time, or built his hopes of success to any +extent on that circumstance. It is nevertheless true that, if his object +had been to strike at a moment of unpreparedness and weakness, he could +not have timed his operations better. The rule of James II and his +agents had been borne with no little reluctance by his subjects in North +America, and particularly by those of New England, and when news came of +his expulsion from the throne, his flight from England, and the arrival +and coronation of the Prince of Orange and his wife (daughter of James +II) as king and queen, there was at once a popular movement both at +Boston and at New York to seize the government, and hold it subject to +the orders of the new sovereigns. Sir Edmund Andros was governor of New +England at the time, with authority over the province of New York, +Boston being the chief seat of government, and the governor being +represented at New York by a lieutenant-governor, one Francis Nicholson. +Andros had been appointed governor of New York, by James, then Duke of +York, to whom the province had been patented in 1674, an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span>d had held the +office till 1681, when he was replaced by Colonel Dongan of epistolary +fame. His recall was consequent upon complaints that had been made by +the colonists of various arbitrary acts on his part; but on his arrival +in England he managed to defend himself successfully, and in 1686, James +being now on the throne, he was sent out again with the larger +jurisdiction we have mentioned.</p> + +<p>Religious passions in those days ran high; and Andros, who was a strong +churchman, soon found himself on worse terms with the puritanical +population of Boston than he had been with the more heterogeneous and +less rigid inhabitants of New York. The circumstances of the time, it +must be confessed, were such as to excuse a somewhat sensitive condition +of public feeling. Two years before the arrival of Andros, the Court of +Chancery of England had declared null and void the charter granted to +the colony of Massachusetts in the year 1629, which, from that date +onwards, had been the basis, not only of all government, but of all land +grants, transfers of property, and popular liberties generally. A +provisional government, under one Joseph Dudley had succeeded. Then had +come Andros, commissioned by a king who was far from commanding the +unlimited confidence of his subjects at home, and who was looked upon +with at least equal distrust by the ultra-Protestants of his American +dominions. How long they were going to be deprived of legally guaranteed +liberti<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span>es there was no knowing, nor what the intentions of James II +might be in regard to their beloved commonwealth. They did not think it +impossible he might wish to hand them over to his close ally the King of +France; and in Andros they feared they saw only too meet an instrument +for stratagems and spoils. The instructions given to him as governor +contained a special injunction to favour by all means in his power the +rites and doctrines of the Church of England; and the colonists, with +the exception of a small minority, were maddened to see public taxes +applied to this hateful object. As the Indians were giving trouble, the +governor made a campaign against them in the summer of 1688, which was +not very successful; hence more odium gathered on his head. Having +failed in his measures of offence he thought he would at least provide +for defence, and garrisoned the forts on the frontier with six hundred +men, chiefly militia. More discontent: the garrisons served unwillingly, +and the people at home professed to believe that such measures were +unnecessary. A small detachment of soldiers had come out with Andros. +Their conduct, according to contemporary accounts, was most unedifying +and in shocking contrast to the unrelenting rigour and formality of +colonial piety. It is not surprising therefore that, when, in April +1689, news was brought that James II, whose commission Andros bore, was +no longer king, but that the leader of European Protestantism reigned in +his stead, there shoul<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span>d have been an instant uprising of the populace +against his representative. Andros was seized and imprisoned with fifty +of his followers. "For seven weeks," says a contemporary writer, "there +was not so much as the face of any government." A vessel having arrived +towards the end of May with instructions to proclaim William and Mary, +certain of the members of the former General Council assumed to act, and +one of their number, the aged Simon Bradstreet, was named as governor.</p> + +<p>It did not take long for the news to travel from Boston to New York. The +condition of things there was different; public opinion was not in the +same state of exasperation as at Boston; still Andros was of old +unpopular, and after a little hesitation, a movement was organized, +headed by one Jacob Leisler, to take the government out of the hands of +the lieutenant-governor, Nicholson. Like his superior officer at Boston, +the latter was obliged to submit; and Leisler, most unhappily for +himself and his family, assumed, with the support of a committee of +citizens, the control of affairs. Thus, both in New England and in New +York, there supervened a period of divided councils and enfeebled +administration, and this at the precise moment when the colonies were +about to encounter new perils. The provisional government of New +England, in blind opposition to the policy of Sir Edmund Andros, +withdrew or greatly reduced the garrisons he had wisely established +along the frontier. If Leisler could have got h<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span>is authority recognized +at Albany he would have sent forces for the defence of the northern part +of the province. There was a party there in his favour; but the +magistrates, though quite ready to pay allegiance to William and Mary, +thought Leisler's credentials of too dubious a character to justify +their negotiating with him. Between divided responsibility and +irresponsibility, the difference is not great. News had been received +that the French were meditating mischief, but no proper precautionary +measures were taken. To this condition of unpreparedness the horrible +disaster of Schenectady may be distinctly attributed, and probably those +at Salmon Falls and Casco Bay as well.</p> + +<p>Even after the mischief was done, it was extremely difficult to secure +any harmonious or well-directed action. A strong appeal was sent by the +magistrates of Albany to the governor and council of Massachusetts, +representing their own deplorable condition of weakness, and asking that +New England should undertake the serious enterprise of invading Canada +by water. That was a matter for grave consideration, and one, the +authorities of Massachusetts thought, in which, if they attempted it at +all, they should have the assistance of the Mother Country. They +despatched a vessel in April to England with a request for help; but +meantime, spurred by their own wrongs and sufferings, they determined to +take an easier revenge on the French by invad<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span>ing Acadia. Early in the +month of May 1690 the different New England colonies sent delegates to a +congress held at New York for the purpose of deciding on a military +policy. The conclusion come to was that there should be both a land and +a sea expedition, the first directed against Montreal, the second +against Quebec. To the former New York was to contribute four hundred +men and the New England colonies jointly three hundred and fifty-five. +The Iroquois, it was expected, would add a powerful contingent. The +naval expedition, it was proposed, should be provided entirely by the +New England colonies. The Massachusetts delegates hesitated to commit +themselves to so extensive and costly a scheme, but finally agreed to +undertake it, relying on assistance from the Mother Country, which, in +existing circumstances, they hardly thought could be refused. Meantime +the expedition against Acadia could be pushed forward.</p> + +<p>French Acadia had at all times been much exposed to attacks from the +English colonies. The settlers were few in number—at this time not much +over a thousand all told—and their defences were but feeble. In 1654, +in accordance with secret orders sent by Cromwell, the territory had +been seized by an English force from Boston under the command of Major +Robert Sedgwick and Captain John Leverett. Two years later it was made a +province, Sir Thomas Temple being appointed governor. After remaining in +the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span> possession of the English for a period of thirteen years, it was +ceded back to France by the Treaty of Breda in 1667. Five years later +Frontenac arrived in Canada for the first time, and in the following +year, 1673, M. de Chambly, a very capable soldier, whose services had +been highly appreciated by the previous governor, M. de Courcelles, was +sent to command in Acadia, and established himself at Pentagouet, a +fortified post at the mouth of the river Penobscot. This was the extreme +western limit of his jurisdiction even according to the French view of +the matter. The New Englanders held that the true limit was the river +St. Croix, the present boundary between the province of New Brunswick +and the state of Maine. To the east Acadia embraced, by common consent, +the southern part of what is now New Brunswick and all Nova Scotia west +of the Straits of Canso.</p> + +<p>M. de Chambly had not been more than a year in his new government when +an attack was made on Pentagouet by a Flemish corsair conducted by a +Boston pilot or ship captain. After a brief defence he was obliged to +surrender, his force being very inferior, and he himself having been +wounded. The attacking party then proceeded to the only other Acadian +fort, Jemseg, on the river St. John, and captured it. M. de Chambly was +taken as a prisoner to Boston, but was soon set at liberty and permitted +to return to France. The attack gave rise to a strong protest on the +pa<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span>rt of Frontenac, and was wholly disavowed by the Massachusetts +authorities. In the year 1676, M. de Chambly was sent out again from +France with a royal commission as lieutenant-governor. He did not +attempt to establish himself at Pentagouet, but for a time made his +headquarters at Jemseg, and not long afterwards removed to Port Royal, +now Annapolis, on the northern coast of Nova Scotia, which thus became +the capital of Acadia. Here he remained till about the year 1679 or +1680, when he was transferred to the governorship of Grenada in the West +Indies.</p> + +<p>It was not till the autumn of 1684 that a duly appointed successor was +provided in the person of M. François Perrot, who had finally been +dismissed from the governorship of Montreal. In the interval there had +been one or two descents on the Acadian coast, calling forth further +protests on Frontenac's part, and further disclaimers of responsibility +on that of the constituted authorities of New England. To fish in French +waters or to trade with the inhabitants was considered an infraction of +international law; and yet there is clear evidence that the French +settlers rather longed than otherwise for the flesh-pots of Boston in +the shape of English goods and English money, very much after the manner +of the Iroquois and the Indian tribes of the West. When Perrot came to +Port Royal he was pleased to find that the conditions there were nearly +as favourable as at Montreal for the trading in which his soul<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span> +delighted. The chief difference was the substitution of Boston for New +York as his commercial centre. In the fall of the year 1685, a few weeks +after the arrival of the Marquis of Denonville, Meulles, the intendant, +accompanied by a member of the Sovereign Council, Peyras, paid a visit +of inspection to the country, remaining till the following summer. A +carefully-made census showed that the total population amounted at that +time to 885 souls, mustering 222 guns. Of cultivated land there were 896 +acres. Horned cattle numbered 986, sheep 759, and pigs 608. Just as +Meulles was leaving the country, the bishop designate, Saint Vallier, +arrived on a pastoral visit. The account he gives of the people in his +<i>Etat présent de l'Eglise</i> is most laudatory, and strangely at variance +with a report made by Duchesneau, the intendant, a few years earlier. In +1681 that officer had written that the poverty of the people was not the +most serious evil; "their discords are a much greater one. Among them +there is neither order nor police; and those who are sent hence to +command them pillage them." The future bishop, in 1689, saw things very +differently. Although, he said, they had been deprived of spiritual +instruction for many years, they did not seem to have suffered in the +least thereby. Their morals were excellent; they were kindly and +well-disposed, and were greatly rejoiced to learn that their spiritual +interests were going to be better looked after in future. Of course they +may have improved<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span> in the eight years that had elapsed since M. +Duchesneau made his report; or that not very genial individual may have +needlessly darkened the picture; or, again, the worthy prelate may have +thrown a little too much sunshine into it. It is satisfactory to learn +that the result of Meulles's visit was the dismissal of Perrot, who, +doubtless, was plundering the people. This time no other office was +provided for him. He remained in the country, however, to do a little +more trading, and was finally killed, it was reported, in a fight with +some pirates. His successor was M. de Menneval, a good soldier and a man +of character.</p> + +<p>Such was the country on which Massachusetts had determined to make a +descent. Seven vessels, carrying two hundred and eighty-five sailors, +and four or five hundred militiamen, were commissioned for the +expedition, which was put under the command of Sir William Phipps, "a +rugged son of New England," as Parkman calls him. Phipps was, in truth, +an early American example of a self-made man. His knighthood, as well as +a comfortable fortune, had been won by adventurous and successful +service at sea. One of his biographers tells us that he was born "at a +despicable plantation on the river Kennebec." His early years were +passed in sheep-tending. The attacks of the Indians drove him, in the +year 1676, to Boston, where he applied himself to learning the trade of +ship-building, and where he also married Mary Hull, widow of one John +Hull, a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span> woman several years his senior and of much better education and +social position than he. A year later we find him in command of a +sailing vessel. A Spanish treasure vessel had been wrecked somewhere off +the Bahamas some forty years before, and Phipps felt confident that if +he were furnished with a suitable ship he could find the wreck and +recover the treasure. He made an application to the English government, +and was granted the use of a vessel called the <i>Algier Rose</i>. His first +expedition was not successful; but on a second attempt he located the +wreck, and by the aid of a diving-bell—a comparatively recent invention +at the time—recovered treasure to the value of £300,000. He had next to +face a mutiny on his vessel, which he only quelled by dint of personal +courage and address. On reaching England he received as his own share of +the booty £16,000; but James II further recognized his services by +creating him a knight. This was in the summer of 1687. Phipps then +returned to Boston, and was henceforth a man of substance and influence +in the community.</p> + +<p>The fleet under his command sailed from Nantasket about the 1st May, and +on the 11th reached Port Royal. Menneval, the governor, had under his +command a garrison consisting of not far short of one hundred men. The +fort had also been provided with twenty cannon; but these, it appears, +had not been mounted. Menneval must have judged that the place was +incapable of defence, becaus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span>e, when summoned by Phipps to surrender, he +complied without making any attempt at resistance. He stipulated that +private property as well as the church should be respected, and that the +garrison should be returned to France. Phipps might have insisted on +surrender at discretion, as he clearly saw when he entered into +possession of the fort; but as he had not done so, honour required that +he should observe the terms he had made. This, unfortunately for his +reputation, he did not do. Availing himself of the pretext afforded by +the fact that some goods belonging to the king had been carried away +from the fort and secreted in the woods, he proceeded to plunder the +traders of the place and desecrate the church. It is one of his own men +who writes: "We cut down the cross, pulled down their high altar, and +broke their images." The inhabitants in general were promised security +for life, liberty, and property, on condition of swearing allegiance to +the English Crown, which they did with great alacrity. The fact was they +had dealt so much with the New Englanders in the way of business that +they had little prejudice against them, while they had been so much +neglected by the French government, both politically and +ecclesiastically, not to speak of being robbed by its agents, that their +national feelings had been but little cultivated. Phipps had with him +such a force as they had never seen before—seven hundred men; and the +probability is that they hoped for greater quiet and surer protection +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span>under English rule than, so far as they could see, they were likely to +enjoy under that of France. Phipps seemed to have assumed that they +would remain true to their new allegiance, for he did not leave any +garrison in the country, but invited the people to govern themselves by +means of a council consisting of six ordinary members and a president, +whom he chose from amongst themselves. Acadia was now to rank as a +colony of Massachusetts, which was thus affording the earliest example +of American "imperialism," though in a liberal fashion.</p> + +<p>While Phipps was taking possession of Port Royal, one of his officers, +Captain Alden, had captured Saint-Castin's post at Pentagouet +(Penobscot), after which, by orders of his chief, he sailed to the +southern coast of what is now Nova Scotia, and seized the settlements of +La Hève, Chedabucto, and one or two others. No resistance was made +anywhere, and consequently no lives were lost. The conquest, such as it +was, was a bloodless one. Bitter complaint, nevertheless, was made of +the bad faith shown by the New England leader after the capture of Port +Royal, and with good cause. A soldier's word in such a case should be +absolutely inviolable. At the same time it is a memorable fact that men +who might have sought to avenge the blood of kindred slain without +warning in night attacks, such as those at Schenectady and Salmon Falls, +or in violation of terms of surrender, as at Casco Bay, should have +absolutely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span> refrained from bloodshed. The French account of the affair +at Port Royal distinctly mentions that the New Englanders were bitterly +resentful of the Salmon Falls massacre in particular; nevertheless it +did not enter into their mind to follow the example of Hertel and his +braves.</p> + +<p>On the 30th May Phipps arrived at Boston, bringing with him as prisoners +Menneval, fifty-nine French soldiers, and two priests. The "rugged son +of New England" showed that he had the over-thrifty qualities which were +formerly, more than to-day, associated with the "down-east" character. +Menneval had entrusted him with his money, and Phipps refused to return +it. He also appropriated a quantity of the French governor's clothing +and other effects, which he showed the greatest reluctance to give up, +though distinctly ordered to do so by the General Council of +Massachusetts. Upon a repetition of the order in more emphatic terms, he +restored a portion of the property, but could not be induced to make +complete restitution. Successful generals are not always easy to confine +within the bounds of strict legality. Phipps himself was a member of the +General Council, having been elected thereto while absent in Acadia; +and, as just before starting on the expedition, he had joined the church +of the celebrated Cotton Mather, he possessed a combination "pull," as +it would be denominated in these days—civil, religious, military, and +doubtless social—which it must have been very difficult to overcome,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> +particularly in the unsettled condition of things then prevailing. +Menneval, after being kept for a considerable time in confinement, was +allowed to sail for France.</p> + +<p>Massachusetts had not waited for the return of Phipps before taking in +hand the more serious matter of the expedition against Quebec. It was +hoped, as has already been mentioned, that some assistance would come +from the Mother Country in time for a union of forces; but, should that +hope be disappointed, New England had determined to proceed with the +enterprise alone. The ease with which Acadia had been reduced to +submission seemed to be a presage of success in the larger undertaking; +and if Phipps could return with a respectable show of booty from so +small an establishment as that of Port Royal, what might not be expected +if so acquisitive a commander could get a chance at Quebec. Then there +was the religious aspect of the case. The Puritan commonwealth would not +dishonour God by doubting that they were the people, or that the +Catholics of Canada were idolaters. With all the sound doctrine and +scriptural worship on one side, and all the deadly error and +superstitious practice on the other, how could Providence hesitate which +cause to support? At the same time prayer was not considered +superfluous, nor was it allowed to flag. "The wheel," as Cotton Mather +expressed it, "was kept in continual motion"; and as they prayed they +worked, th<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span>ese sturdy Roundheads of the New World. Till well past +midsummer Boston harbour was alive with preparation. The chief +difficulty was to finance the enterprise. Previous Indian wars had +exhausted the colony, and the treasury was well-nigh empty. The only +thing to do was to pledge the public credit and raise a loan, which it +was hoped might be liquidated, in great part, if not in whole, by the +plunder of the enemy. Thirty vessels altogether were requisitioned for +the expedition. Most were of small capacity; the largest was a West +India trader named the <i>Six Friends</i>, carrying forty-four guns, and the +second largest the <i>John and Thomas</i>, carrying twenty-six guns. The rest +had little or no armament. Three vessels appear to have been contributed +by the province of New York, one of which was a frigate of twenty-four +guns, and the two others vessels of smaller size carrying eight and four +guns respectively. The supply of ammunition was decidedly short; but it +was hoped, almost up to the last moment, that some contribution in the +way of warlike stores, if not in ships and men, would arrive from +England. That hope was destined to be frustrated. It was the year when +William III was carrying on his campaign in Ireland, while Queen Mary +and her Privy Council were trying to control domestic disaffection. It +was the terrible year of Beachy Head, when the combined English and +Dutch fleets, under Torrington and Evertsen, were defeated by the French +under Tourville, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span> when the buoys at the mouth of the Thames were +taken up to prevent the ships of the enemy from appearing before London. +It is perhaps not much to be wondered at that, in a time of so much +stress and perplexity, an appeal from a trans-Atlantic colony for +assistance that could ill be spared should have received scant +attention. No help was sent: the New Englanders were left to fight their +own battles as William was fighting his.</p> + +<p>Considering the resources of the colonies, it was no mean effort they +were putting forth. Some hundreds of men volunteered for the expedition; +but, the number being insufficient, a press was resorted to in order to +make up the total required, namely, twenty-two hundred. Of these about +three hundred were sailors, and the rest soldiers. Provisions for four +months were taken on board, and the expedition, under the command of +Phipps, sailed from Nantasket on the 9th August 1690.</p> + +<p>What progress was being made in the meantime with the land expedition +against Montreal in which New York was to take the lead? The answer must +be, very poor progress indeed. At Boston there was a considerable +measure of unity of action; in New York there was almost none. It had +been agreed that Connecticut should furnish a contingent of troops, and +that the whole expedition should be placed under the command of one of +its officers, Fitz-John Winthrop, afterwards governor. Winthrop +organized a force of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span> two or three hundred men, and started from +Hartford for Albany on the 14th July. A week later he arrived at the +latter town only to find everything in complete disorder. "I found," he +says, "the design against Canada poorly contrived and little forwarded, +all things confused and in no readiness or position for marching towards +Canada; yet every one disorderly projecting something about it."<a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> The +Dutch displayed the greatest indifference in the matter, and the +English, for want of any commanding influence or unquestioned authority, +were irresolute and vacillating. There was no definite understanding +with the Indians; and what help they were going to give was quite +uncertain. Organizing his forces as best he could in these most +disadvantageous circumstances, Winthrop set out from Albany on his march +northwards. He had not gone far when he was overtaken by a despatch from +the governor of Massachusetts and Connecticut, telling him that the +fleet was in readiness to sail. Eager to do his part in the combined +operations, Winthrop pressed on and encamped at Wood Creek at the +southern extremity of Lake Champlain. Here smallpox broke out among the +troops; disagreements arose with the Indians; and, to make matters still +worse, the provisions which should have been pushed on from Albany +failed to arrive. After waiting several days in inactivity, Winthrop +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span>became persuaded that an advance to Montreal with the body of his +troops was out of the question. He allowed the mayor of Albany, Captain +John Schuyler, to go on with a small detachment, while he with the rest +of his force, largely consisting of sick men, returned to Albany. All +that Schuyler succeeded in doing was to perpetrate a rather ignoble raid +upon the hamlet of Laprairie near Montreal, where he killed ten or +twelve of the inhabitants, destroyed the farms and the cattle, and made +a number of prisoners, including some women. As an act of retaliation +for Schenectady it was a feeble performance; as an act of war it was not +a heroic exploit. Winthrop, before the month of September closed, +marched back to Hartford, and thus ended the New York expedition. +Clearly, if anything effective is to be done against Canada, the Boston +men must do it.</p> + +<p>The fleet sailed, as already mentioned, on the 9th August. The admiral's +pennon floated from the <i>Six Friends</i>, the vice-admiral's from the <i>John +and Thomas</i>. The vice-admiral for the occasion was Major John Walley; +the third in command, apparently, was a Major Thomas Savage. Had the +winds been favourable, the expedition might easily have reached Quebec +within a month. They were most unfavourable, however; and it was not +till the 3rd October that it arrived off Tadousac. Here the ships were +brought to anchor, and a council of war was held. Four days later the +fleet had only advanced fifty miles, and it took eight days mor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span>e to +reach a point off the Island of Orleans near the present village of St. +Jean, where it anchored for a few hours. Here Walley proposed that the +men, who had been for weeks confined on shipboard, should be allowed to +land and "refresh themselves," and that opportunity should be taken to +form the several companies, and get everything into perfect order before +proceeding to an attack. He was overruled however; and, taking advantage +of a rising tide, the fleet slipped up the river, and at daybreak on +Monday the 16th October made its appearance in the harbour of Quebec.</p> + +<p>We have seen that, during the month of August and part of the month of +September Frontenac was engaged at Montreal with his western Indians. It +was during this time that Schuyler made his attack on Laprairie. After +the departure of the Indians, Frontenac remained in Montreal to complete +his measures for the defence of the country, and hoping also to get news +of his embassy to the Iroquois. His return to Quebec was fixed for the +10th October, and on the afternoon of that very day a messenger who had +been sent post haste by Prevost, the major in command of the troops at +Quebec, placed in his hands two letters. The first, dated the 5th +October, told him that an Abenaquis Indian had arrived at Quebec from +the neighbourhood of Pentagouet deputed by his tribe to bring important +news obtained from a captive New England woman, namely that, about six +weeks before, a considerable fleet had sa<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span>iled from Boston for the +capture of Quebec. The second letter, written later on the same day, +said that one Sieur de Cannanville had arrived from Tadousac, where he +had seen twenty-four ships, eight of which appeared of considerable +size.</p> + +<p>It does not say much for Frontenac's intelligence department, if such an +institution existed in that day, that he should have known nothing of +the preparations which had been going on in Boston during the previous +spring and summer. His first impulse was to disbelieve the news now +brought, but none the less he lost no time in starting for Quebec with +the intendant, Champigny. The first boat he embarked in proved leaky, +and came near foundering. He transhipped into a canoe, and went as far +as was possible before dark. On the afternoon of the next day a further +message was received from Prevost confirming his first, and saying that +the enemy had captured, about thirty leagues below Quebec, a vessel in +which were two ladies. This looked serious, and the count sent back +Captain de Ramesay to Montreal with orders to Callières, the governor, +to march to Quebec at once with all the troops he could gather at +Montreal or pick up on the way. He himself made all possible haste, and +arrived at Quebec at ten o'clock in the morning of Saturday, the 14th +October.</p> + +<p>Work on the fortifications of Quebec had been more or less in progress +all summer; but from the moment that the first news of the intended +attack<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span> had been received, Prevost had been particularly active in +planting batteries, digging trenches, and doing other work of immediate +necessity. He had also despatched a long-boat and a canoe, both well +armed, under the charge of his brother-in-law, Grandville, to make a +reconnaissance in the direction of Tadousac, and had sent orders to the +militia captains of the neighbouring parishes of Beauport and Beaupré, +and also to those on the Island of Orleans, to hold their men in +readiness to march into the city, and meantime to watch the enemy, that +they might offer all possible opposition to his landing. Frontenac +employed his time on the 14th and 15th in examining and perfecting the +general system of defence; and he was much pleased as well as surprised +to find how much Prevost had accomplished in a few days. Two principal +batteries had been established in the Upper Town, one, consisting of +eight guns, to the right of the château, and one of three guns on the +rock overlooking Mountain Hill known as Sault au Matelot. Two batteries +of three guns each were placed on the river bank, one near the present +market-place, and the other near where the Custom House now stands. Most +of the pieces were eighteen pounders. The non-combatant inhabitants of +the surrounding country had come into the city in considerable numbers, +bringing with them what they could in the way of provisions. On Sunday +two canoes were sent down the river to warn the vessels that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span>were +expected to arrive from France to keep out of harm's way. On their safe +arrival the life almost of the colony might be said to depend. At seven +o'clock on Sunday evening news came that the hostile fleet had passed +the eastern end of the Island of Orleans. There was not much sleeping +that night. At three o'clock on Monday morning their distant lights +could be seen down the river. At daybreak there could be counted in the +harbour, some authorities say thirty-two, and some thirty-four, English +sails.</p> + +<p>A few hours of tense expectation elapsed, and then a boat carrying a +flag of truce was seen putting out from the admiral's ship. It bore an +envoy from Phipps, who was to demand of the governor the surrender of +the place. A boat put out from the shore to meet it, and the envoy, +having been taken on board, was blindfolded, and brought ashore. Here, +according to one account, he was crowded and hustled, and made to +clamber over unnecessary obstacles, the object being to persuade him +that the place was more numerously defended and more difficult of +entrance than it really was. In reading the contemporary narratives it +is often difficult to know what to believe. Nearly all are vitiated by +extreme generality of statement and inaccuracy in detail. That of La +Hontan betrays the enormous mendacity of the writer, who, so long as he +could be amusing and sensational, was absolutely indifferent as to +facts. Checking one by another<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span>, however, it is not impossible to arrive +at a fairly coherent and credible narrative. It was about ten in the +forenoon when the messenger was introduced into the reception-room of +the Château St. Louis. The <i>mise en scène</i> had been carefully arranged +for the moment when the bandage should be removed from his eyes. +Frontenac was there in a gorgeous uniform and looking the soldier and +seigneur from head to foot. Around him, also in uniform, stood the +members of his staff and the principal military and civil officers of +the colony. It was such an array of military and official pomp as simple +New England eyes had probably never gazed on. History does not seem to +have preserved the name or rank of the messenger, and we have no certain +information as to the effect produced upon him by the gallant and +brilliant company that met his gaze. All we know is that he handed a +letter from Phipps to the haughty governor, and awaited his answer. The +letter read as follows:—</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"Sir William Phipps, Knight, General and Commander-in-Chief, in +and over their Majesties' forces of New England, by sea and +land, to Count Frontenac, Lieutenant-General and Governour for +the French King at Canada; or in his absence to his deputy, or +him or them in chief command at Quebeck.</p> + +<p>"The war between the Crowns of England and France doth not only +sufficiently warrant, but the destruction made by the French and +Indians, under your command and encouragement, upon the persons +and estates of their Majesties' subjects of New England, without +provocation on their part, hath put them under the necessity of +this <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span>expedition for their own security and satisfaction. And +although the cruelties and barbarities used against them by the +French and Indians might, upon the present opportunity, prompt +unto a severe revenge, yet, being desirous of avoiding all +inhuman and unchristian-like actions, and to prevent shedding of +blood as much as may be.</p> + +<p>"I, the aforesaid William Phipps, Knight, do hereby in the name +and on behalf of their most excellent Majesties, William and +Mary, King and Queen of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, +Defenders of the Faith, and by order of their said Majesties' +government of Massachusetts colony in New England, demand a +present surrender of your forts and castles, undemolished, and +the king's and other stores, unembezzled, with a reasonable +delivery of all captives; together with a surrender of all your +persons and estates to my dispose: upon the doing whereof you +may expect mercy from me, as a Christian, according to what +shall be found to be for their Majesties' service and the +subjects' security. Which, if you refuse forthwith to do, I am +come provided, and am resolved, by the help of God, in whom I +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 you had accepted of the favour +tendered.</p> + +<p>"Your answer positive in an hour returned by your own trumpet, +with the return of mine, is required upon the peril that will +ensue."<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a></p></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span></p><p>Frontenac was not versed in the English language, so the letter was +given to an interpreter to translate. When the latter had finished the +reading, the envoy presented his watch to the governor, observing that +it was then ten o'clock, and that he would have to have an answer by +eleven. The dignity of the assembled officers was much hurt by the +brusque terms of Phipps's summons; and, before Frontenac had had time to +frame his reply, one of them cried out that Phipps was nothing but a +pirate, and that the man before them should be hanged. Frontenac was not +disposed to go so far. "Tell your general," he said, "that I do not +recognize King William, and that the Prince of Orange is a usurper, who +has violated the most sacred ties of blood in attempting to dethrone his +father-in-law. I recognize no other sovereign in England than King +James. Your general ought not to be surprised at the hostilities he says +are carried on by the French against the Massachusetts colony; since he +might expect that the king, my master, having received the King of +England under his protection, and being ready to replace him on the +throne by force of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span>arms, as I am informed, would order me to wage war +in this country on a people in rebellion against their lawful sovereign. +Does your general imagine," he continued, pointing to the officers who +filled the room, "that, even if he offered me better conditions, and I +were of a temper to accept them—does he think that so many gallant +gentlemen would consent to it, or advise me to place any confidence in +the word of a man who violated the capitulation he made with the +governor of Port Royal, one who has been wanting in loyalty to his +rightful sovereign, and who, unmindful of the personal benefits received +by him from that sovereign, adheres to the fortunes of a prince who, +while trying to persuade the world to accept him as the liberator of +England and defender of the faith, tramples on the laws and privileges +of the kingdom, and overturns the English Church? This is what the +divine justice invoked by your general in his letter will not fail some +day to punish severely."</p> + +<p>It is possible that the terms of the governor's answer may have been +somewhat conventionalized by his secretary, to whose pen we are indebted +for a report of it.<a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> Phipps speaks of it as "a reviling answer," the +drift of which was that he and those with him were traitors for "having +taken up with a usurper, and seized upon that good Christian Sir Edmund +Andros." The messenger, who doubtless felt his position somewhat +uncomfortable,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span> asked the count whether he would not give him an answer +in writing. "No!" was the reply; "the only answer I will give will be +from the mouth of my cannon and musketry, that he may learn that it is +not in such a style that a person of my rank is summoned." Whatever he +might forget, Frontenac could not forget his personal rank. There was +now no more to be said; the messenger's eyes were again bandaged, and he +was conducted back to his boat.</p> + +<p>So now, Sir William, your work is cut out for you! There is the +fortress; take it. This is not Port Royal, nor is that hard-featured +warrior Menneval. This is a city set on a hill. Its guns are shotted and +skilfully disposed. It has defenders by the hundred; and before night +closes their numbers will be doubled; for Callières is on the march with +all the troops that can be spared from Montreal, Three Rivers and other +posts—eight hundred fighting men in all. Behind those ramparts, or +awaiting you in the rear of the town, are men accustomed to warfare +whether in the open field or in forest ambush. The adventure is one of +great pith and moment, if you can but succeed in it!</p> + +<p>The probability is that by this time Phipps had begun to take a more +serious view of his task. He was one of those men who require to be +favoured by luck. He was better at making a dash than at organizing +victory. He had courage and a good deal of practical skill in +navigation, but <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span>there is no evidence that he possessed the talents of a +military commander. The readiness with which the inhabitants of Acadia +had renounced their French allegiance had led him to believe that in +Canada he might actually be welcomed as a liberator.<a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> Of any such +disposition on the part of the Canadians there had certainly been no +sign as yet. It was reported at Quebec that he had attempted to land +some men at Rivière Ouelle, and had been repulsed by the inhabitants +under the leadership of their <i>curé</i>. The story, however, as given by +Mère Juchereau, had plainly passed through the hands of the mythmakers +before she got hold of it, for she tells us that "the moment the first +boat was within musket shot, the <i>curé</i> ordered a volley, which killed +the whole crew with the exception of two men who made off in great +haste." Walley's journal makes no mention of any attempt to land, and +the story may be assumed to be an imaginative invention. What at least +may be regarded as certain is that, up to the date of his arrival before +Quebec, Phipps had not received any encouraging overtures from the +inhabitants. Other causes of anxiety were not wanting. Smallpox had +broken out in his fleet, and the weather was most bitterly cold for the +season. On the day of the summons and the following day he and his force +remained inactive. On the afternoon of the first day Iberville and his +brother Maricourt, r<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span>eturning with a few of their men from Hudson's Bay, +landed safely at Beauport in sight of the ships, having slipped up the +North Channel in a couple of canoes. In the evening about seven o'clock +Callières, governor of Montreal, marched into the city at the head of +eight hundred men. Shouts of welcome, mingled with martial music, +reached the ears of the English, and were rightly interpreted as meaning +that the city had received reinforcements.</p> + +<p>The plan of the attack was that a body of men should be landed on the +Beauport flats to the north of the city, and endeavour to obtain access +by crossing the river St. Charles; that the principal war vessels should +take up their position in front of the city; that others should move +further up so as to create the impression that troops were to be landed +above Cape Diamond, in order to take the city in the rear; and that the +bombardment should only begin when a signal had been received that the +troops at the other side had made their entrance. The scheme was a good +one, but it was not well carried out. On Wednesday forenoon about +thirteen hundred men under Major Walley were landed, apparently without +opposition, though there were troops in abundance—levies from Beauport +and Beaupré, Indians from Lorette, as well as the forces within the +city—who could have made the landing exceedingly difficult and costly +in lives, had they been led to the spot; particularly as the enemy had +to wade knee-deep, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span> even waist-deep, in icy water in order to get to +land. The landing having been effected, Walley drew up his force in +companies, selecting four to act as an advance guard, or, as he calls +them, "forlorns," and then ordered a march for the higher ground. They +had not gone a hundred yards before there was firing from cover on both +flanks, particularly from the right; there, Walley says, "there was a +party galled us considerably." A charge having been ordered the +defenders gave way, but continued to fire from swamp and bush as they +retreated.<a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a> In the pursuit Walley gained a position not far from the +St. Charles River. He was expecting some vessels to come into the river +with supplies, and for that reason, as well as for others, wished to be +near it. One or two houses and barns gave a little shelter, but many of +the men had to lie out all night. If we may trust his statement his loss +in killed on that day was four, and in wounded sixty. Considering the +nature of the landing, "it was a great mercy," he says, "we had no more +damage done us." He judged that he had killed some twenty of the +Canadians, but that was a vast over-estimate. The Chevalier de Clermont, +an experienced and valuable officer,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span> had been killed, and Juchereau de +St. Denis, who commanded the Beauport militia, had been wounded; but the +total of killed and wounded on the Canadian side did not probably exceed +the figure mentioned.</p> + +<p>In the course of the day a Frenchman, who was a fugitive from his own +side, surrendered to Walley's men, and from him the New England +commander learned the somewhat discouraging news that the defensive +forces in the city far outnumbered the whole of Phipps's expedition. +Troops had been pouring in from different quarters both before and after +the governor's arrival, and the last body of men brought by Callières +had raised the total to about three thousand. Walley threatened the man +very seriously as to what would happen if he did not tell the truth, and +he seems to have heeded the warning. The number he mentioned agrees with +the figures given by the contemporary historian Belmont, and also by +Captain Sylvanus Davis, who was a prisoner in Quebec during the siege.</p> + +<p>According to the arrangement made between Phipps and Walley, the former +was only to begin the bombardment after the latter had forced an +entrance into the town. Moreover, small armed vessels were to sail into +the St. Charles, to assist his passage of that river and to furnish his +force with necessary supplies of food and ammunition. Why this +arrangement was departed from is not very clear; but about four o'clock +on Wednesd<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span>ay afternoon Phipps moved his four principal vessels up +before the town, and no sooner had he come within cannon shot than the +shore batteries opened fire. Then ensued a duel in which the defence had +all the best of it. Their guns were much better served than those of the +assailants, and they had excellent marks to shoot at. The fight was +maintained till after dark, by which time Phipps had fired away nearly +all his ammunition and accomplished virtually nothing. One boy in the +town had been killed by a splinter of rock; the buildings in the town +had scarcely been injured at all. Phipps says he dismounted some of the +enemy's best guns, but his story is unconfirmed. Certain it is that his +vessels suffered serious damage in hulls, masts, and rigging, and that, +after a brief renewal of the encounter the next morning, he drew them +all off.</p> + +<p>An incident which has given rise to a good deal of discussion may here +be referred to. The flag of the admiral's vessel was shot away and fell +into the river. It was captured by some men from the shore, but whether +under the very heroic circumstances described by an eminent Canadian +poet on the authority of Père Charlevoix, is, to say the least, open to +doubt. Charlevoix has it that, no sooner had the flag fallen into the +water and begun to drift away, than some Canadians swam out and seized +it, notwithstanding the fire directed on them from the ships. +Contemporary writers know nothing of any such feat. The one who comes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span> +nearest to the father's account of the matter is Mère Juchereau, who +says that "our Canadians went out rashly in a bark canoe and brought it +to land under the noses of the English." She does not even say they were +fired on. How near they got to the English we can hardly judge from the +expression "<i>à la barbe des Anglais</i>," which is not a measure of length. +On the other hand we have from a contemporary writer, the Récollet, Père +Leclercq, whose book was published in 1691, the year following the +attack on Quebec, a plain, consistent statement as to how the thing +happened, and one the terms of which are in distinct conflict with the +popular version. After describing how the vice-admiral's ship had been +the first to withdraw beyond the reach of the shore batteries, he +continues: "The admiral [Phipps] followed him pretty closely and with +precipitation, paying out the whole length of his anchor-cable, and then +letting it go. His flag, which drifted away in the river, was <i>left to +our discretion</i>, and our people went and fished it out."<a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a> The words +used plainly imply that there was neither difficulty nor danger in +recovering the flag; and this be it remembered was the story Leclercq +heard at the time, and published alm<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span>ost immediately. Frontenac, who +would certainly have been pleased to approve the bravery of his people, +simply says that Phipps lost his flag, "which remained in our +possession"; while Monseignat's statement in what may be regarded as the +official narrative, is that the admiral's flag and another were borne in +triumph to the church. Charlevoix's lack of accuracy in details is +evident in the very paragraph in which he deals with this incident; for +he says that no sooner had Phipps's messenger returned to his ship, +than, to the great surprise of the English, shots were fired from one of +the Lower Town batteries, and that the first one carried away the flag. +This is pure romance. Phipps's vessel was not within range at the time, +and no shots were exchanged till late in the afternoon of Wednesday, two +days later. The loquacious La Hontan, who at least knows how to adorn a +tale, if not point a moral, knows nothing of this particular occurrence, +otherwise he would certainly have included it in a narrative which, it +is evident, he aimed at making as lively and piquant as possible. It is +no disparagement of the valour of the defenders of Quebec to doubt +whether the incident took place as described either by Charlevoix, who +did not visit the country till thirty years after the event, and did not +publish his book till twenty-four years later, or by Mère Juchereau. +Many a brave deed has passed unnoticed of history; and, en revanche, +many an insignificant act has been wrapped round by legend with clouds +of glory. I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span>f there is reason to doubt whether this particular deed was +done in a specially heroic, or even in a very dramatic manner, there are +incidents in abundance left to attest the heroism of the French-Canadian +race. The legends of a people bear witness to its ideals, and help to +repair the wrongs that history does by leaving so much that is truly +memorable and admirable unrecorded.</p> + +<p>While Phipps on Thursday was drawing off his shattered vessels, Walley +and his men were having a very miserable time ashore. The succour he was +expecting did not arrive. Instead he received what he did not want at +all—six field-pieces, twelve-pounders, weighing about eight hundred +pounds each, which the nature of the ground made it impossible to use, +and which thus proved a simple embarrassment. However, thinking the +vessels would arrive later in the day, Walley moved his men somewhat +nearer to the town, and took up a position rather better both for +shelter and for defence. This movement does not seem to have been +opposed by the Canadian forces, as there is no mention in the narratives +of any fighting on this day. The vessels did not come with the evening +tide as hoped; and Walley, in his simple narrative, says: "We stood upon +our guard that night, but found it exceeding cold, it freezing that +night so that the next morning the ice would bear a man." The position +was both distressing and precarious, and a council of war was called +during the night to consider what should be done. By<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span> this time the +assailing force had some idea of the nature of the task they had +undertaken: to advance in the face of skirmishers having every advantage +of position; to ford a river behind which a thousand men and several +pieces of artillery were posted; and, should they by any miracle succeed +in that, to encounter a couple of thousand more within the walls of the +town. Many of their men were sick, some were literally freezing, others +worn and exhausted. Their provisions were short, their ammunition very +low. The decision of the council was that Walley should go on board the +admiral's vessel next day and ask for instructions.</p> + +<p>During Walley's absence on Friday forenoon, skirmishing was renewed with +losses on both sides, but chiefly on that of the New Englanders. On the +French side M. de Ste. Hélène received a wound in the thigh, from which +he died in hospital some weeks later. Phipps consented to a retreat; and +Walley, on returning to land in the afternoon, began to prepare for it. +The following morning before daylight boats arrived to take the men off; +but Walley, discovering too great haste on the part of his men to +embark, ordered the boats back. There was further skirmishing during the +day consequent upon Walley's desire to keep the enemy at a respectful +distance, so that the embarkation he hoped to make that night might not +be interfered with. Towards evening he used some boats that he had to +send off his sick and wounded, but was careful not to afford any +indication <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span>of a general retreat. This was finally accomplished, not +without haste, noise, and confusion bordering on insubordination, +between dark and one or two o'clock on the morning of Sunday, the 22nd. +Through some gross mismanagement five of the eight cannon that had been +landed were left behind for the greater glory of the enemy.</p> + +<p>A council of war was held on board the admiral's ship on that lamentable +Sunday. Further offensive schemes were discussed; but, even as they +talked, the leaders knew that nothing of any moment could be +accomplished. They had all but exhausted their ammunition, and their +provisions were running low. There was a great deal of sickness among +the men, and the casualties ashore and in the bombardment had not been +inconsiderable. In the end, they appointed a prayer-meeting for next day +"to seek God's direction" as Walley expresses it, but the weather was +unfavourable for a meeting. Some of the ships, in fact, dragged their +anchors, and were in danger of being driven on the town. The following +day the whole fleet slipped down to the Island of Orleans on the +homeward track.</p> + +<p>Walley in his <i>Journal</i>, apparently an honest piece of work, sums up +comprehensively the causes of the failure: "The land army's failing, the +enemy's too timely intelligence, lying three weeks within three days' +sail of the place, by reason whereof they had time to bring in the whole +strength of their country, the shortness of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span> our ammunition, our late +setting out, our long passage, and many sick in the army—these," he +says, "may be reckoned as some of the causes of our disappointment." +Reasons enough surely. On both sides the hand of Providence was seen. +"Well may you speak of this country," writes Laval to Denonville, "as +the country of miracles." Had Phipps arrived but one week sooner he +would certainly, in Laval's opinion, have captured the city, and that he +did not arrive sooner was due to unfavourable winds. Similarly, Sister +Anne Bourdon, archivist of the Ursuline Convent, writes that, when the +first news of the approach of the English was received, nothing was +spared in the way of religious practices "to appease divine justice." +The happy result was that "Heaven, granting our prayers, sent winds so +contrary that the enemy in nine days only made the distance they might +otherwise have made in half a day." So Mère Juchereau of the Hôtel Dieu: +"God doubtless stopped them, to give the Montrealers time to arrive." +Bishop Saint Vallier improved the occasion to stimulate the piety of his +people. "Let us," he said, "raise our eyes, my dear children, and see +God holding the thunder in His hand, which He is ready to let fall on +us. He is causing it now to rumble in order to awaken you from the +slumber of your sins."</p> + +<p>On the English side no less solemn a view was taken of the events of the +time. Governor Bradstreet, of Massachusetts, writing to the agents of +the colony in England, speaks of "the awfu<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span>l frown of God in the +disappointment of that chargeable [costly] and hazardous enterprise." +"Shall our Father," he exclaims, "spit in our face, and we not be +ashamed? God grant that we may be deeply humbled and enquire into the +cause, and reform those sins that have provoked so great anger to smoke +against the prayers of his people, and to answer us by terrible things +in righteousness." Cotton Mather in like manner speaks of "an evident +hand of Heaven, sending one unavoidable disaster after another." He also +reports a saying of Phipps, that, though he had been accustomed to +diving in his time, he "would say that the things which had befallen him +in this expedition were too deep to be dived into." The total loss of +life on the part of the New England forces, taking shipwreck and disease +into account, must have run far into the hundreds. Phipps estimated his +loss in the engagements at Quebec at thirty, and possibly the number of +those actually killed did not much exceed that figure. On the Canadian +side the number of killed has been placed at nine, and of the wounded at +fifty-two.<a name="FNanchor_50_50" id="FNanchor_50_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a></p> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span> +<p>All that remained now was to make the best of their melancholy way to +Boston. Frontenac had sent a small force under M. Subercase to the +Island of Orleans to watch the departing fleet, which might, had its +commander been so minded, have committed serious depredations on the +parishes along the river. Phipps sent ashore to ask Subercase if there +would be any objection to his buying supplies from the inhabitants. The +reply was that he might buy what he liked, and a lively trade, very +profitable to the farmers, at once sprang up between them and the +squadron. Negotiations for an exchange of prisoners followed. Phipps, as +we have seen, had captured some on his way up; and he had with him two +ecclesiastics whom he had taken in Acadia. The French on their side had +Sylvanus Davis, the former commandant of Fort Loyal, two daughters of +Captain Clarke who had been killed in the attack on that fort, and a +little girl called Sarah Gerrish. All these had received good treatment +during their detention at Quebec, and the little girls had particularly +endeared themselves to the nuns to whose charge they had been confided, +and who were much grieved at having to give them up.</p> + +<p>If the weather had been bad on the way to Quebec it was worse on the +return. Without the aid of a pilot, Phipps had succeeded in bringing all +his vessels safely to Quebec, but on the home voyage several were lost. +One, Cotton Mather relates, was never heard of. A second was wrecked, +but most of its crew were saved. A third was cast<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span> on the coast, and all +on board, with the exception of one man, perished through drowning, +starvation, or at the hands of the Indians. A fourth was stranded on the +Island of Anticosti. There seemed to be no means of escape from this +dreary shore; and forty-one of the crew had already died of hardship, +when the captain, John Rainsford by name, and four others determined +that they would try to reach Boston in an open boat, in order that, if +they escaped the perils of the sea, they might send help to those still +alive on the island. It was the 25th March when they put forth in their +most precarious craft. "Through a thousand dangers from the sea and ice, +and almost starved with hunger and cold," to use the words of Cotton +Mather's recital, they arrived at Boston on the 11th May. As soon as a +proper vessel could be procured, Rainsford started back to rescue the +survivors. Four had died during his absence. Death was staring the +remainder in the face, when the sail they had hardly dared to hope for +flickered on the horizon. It was too good to be true, and yet it was +true. Their heroic captain had come to their relief; and on the 28th +June he landed them, seventeen in number, once more on New England soil.</p> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h3>FIRE AND SWORD ON THE BORDER</h3> + + +<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>he departure of the New England fleet left the French colony in a +condition of great exhaustion, and, for a time, of poignant anxiety. +Three vessels were on their way out from France laden with military and +other supplies, and were due just about this time. Should Phipps +encounter them in the lower St. Lawrence, they would assuredly become +his prey, and what the country would do in that case it was painful to +speculate. Frontenac writing after Phipps had left, and before he had +news of the safety of the expected vessels, gives a vivid account of the +situation. There had been a serious failure of the crops. Early in the +season the grain had looked very promising; but cold and rainy weather +during the harvest had almost ruined it. What made matters worse was +that there had been a short crop the year before, so that they were +already, in November, consuming the little grain they had just +harvested. Unless a supply is received by the ships, there will be +hardly any to be got in the country for love or money. Everything else +is at the lowest ebb, wine, brandy, goods of all kinds. The servants in +the château have for some time had only water to drink, and in a week +the governor himself will be brought to the same sad necessity. This +letter was written on the 11th<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span> November; fortunately before the week +expired the vessels had arrived; and the gallant count was not reduced +to being an involuntary total abstainer. The quantity of provisions +brought out, however, was very scanty, not exceeding a month's supply; +and as the colony managed to struggle through the winter, and had a +sufficiency of seed-grain for the following spring, perhaps things were +not quite so bad as represented. The ships owed their escape from +capture to measures wisely taken by the governor in sending boats down +the river to advise them to slip into the Saguenay till Phipps should +have passed down, which they did.</p> + +<p>The arrival of Phipps in Boston with his shattered and diminished fleet, +and shrunken and disheartened forces, produced a feeling almost of +despair. The success of the expedition had been counted on with the +greatest certainty. Cotton Mather declares that he "never understood +that any of the faithful did in their prayers arise to any <i>assurance</i> +that the expedition should prosper in all respects; yet they sometimes +in their devotions uttered their persuasion that Almighty God had heard +them in this thing, that the English army should not fall by the hands +of the French enemy." The higher criticism would probably detect in this +declaration a large <i>ex post facto</i> element. The English army did not +exactly fall by the hands of the French enemy; but between the French +enemy, cold, tempest and sickness, the expedition had been a most +disastrous failure, which "the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span> faithful" had certainly been far from +thinking was, or could be, in the designs of Providence. There was no +money in the treasury with which to pay the troops, who soon began to be +clamorous and threatened mutiny. Finally, an issue of paper money was +decided on, and the difficulty was thus tided over; but it was long +before this questionable currency, which was only receivable in payment +of public debts, and which for a time circulated at a discount of from +twenty-five to thirty per cent., was fully redeemed.</p> + +<p>The period now opening was destined to be one of savage border warfare. +The Iroquois—particularly the Mohawks—were still on the war-path, and +were resuming all their ancient boldness in their attacks on the French +settlements. In the spring of 1691 there were some informal and, as they +turned out, futile negotiations for peace, brought on by the fact that a +party of Mohawks who had captured ten mission Indians near Chambly, sent +them back a few days later by three of their own people, who entered the +fort at St. Louis unarmed, and began to talk of peace. Callières, the +governor of Montreal, did not quite know what to make of it, and +meantime kept his troops scouring the neighbourhood. It seems probable +that the Mohawks were really more anxious to draw away their kinsmen of +the Laprairie mission from the French than to make peace with the +latter. On more than one occasion the mission Indians had shown +reluctance in making war on their own<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span> people, and something of the same +feeling existed on the side of the heathen warriors, who always hoped +that they might some day reclaim their separated brethren. Meantime the +raiding went on, but took the form chiefly of killing the cattle and +burning the houses of the settlers, though now and again one or two of +the latter would be killed or carried off. It was in the early summer of +1691 that a somewhat memorable incident in this wild warfare occurred. A +party of forty or fifty Oneidas had in one of their forays taken +possession of an abandoned house at Repentigny, a point on the north +shore of the river St. Lawrence, just opposite the north-eastern end of +the Island of Montreal. Possibly they had captured some brandy in their +prowlings round the country; but whatever the reason was, they were not +exercising their usual vigilance. They were observed by a certain +Captain de Mine in charge of a detachment of soldiers, who succeeded in +retreating from the spot and crossing over to some islands in the river +without attracting their attention. Here he was joined by M. de +Vaudreuil, at the head of a picked force of Canadians and some regular +soldiers; and the combined force then crossed over to the main-shore, a +little below the house which the savages were making their headquarters. +Approaching with the greatest caution, they found some Indians asleep +outside. These they killed with a volley at short range; then rushing +forward they surrounded the house. The Indians within fired from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span> the +windows and killed four or five of the French, including M. de +Bienville. Their fate, however, was sealed. The French fired in at the +windows, and finally set fire to the house, when the unhappy savages, +driven forth by the flames, were, all save one, either killed or +captured. The sequel is not pleasant to relate. The captives numbered +five. One was given to the Ottawa Indians, for what purpose does not +appear; one, a lad of fourteen years, was spared, because his family had +protected the Jesuit father, Millet; and the remaining three were +distributed to the farmers of Pointe aux Trembles, Boucherville and +Repentigny, who burnt them in retaliation, it is said, for lost +relatives.</p> + +<p>The attack on Quebec had awakened the French government to the necessity +of strengthening the forces in Canada. On the 1st July a frigate, the +<i>Soleil d'Afrique</i>, famous in her day as a very rapid sailer, arrived at +Quebec, bringing much needed stores and supplies, and twelve days later +a dozen more vessels, under the command of a M. du Tast, appeared in the +harbour. Just about the same time a deputation of Ottawas had made their +way to Quebec to discuss various matters, but particularly trade +questions, with the governor. The one dream of the Ottawas was cheap +goods. Probably had they been manufacturers their one dream would have +been a high tariff. It was a bad time to ask for cheap goods—no time, +indeed, in Canada was very good for that purpose—as the war<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span> between +France and England was interfering considerably with trade, and such +goods as there were in the country were held at exorbitant prices. Other +gratifications, however, were afforded them: the sight of the fourteen +vessels in the harbour, the drill of the soldiers and sailors, the +firing of salutes, the illumination of the ships and of the town—for +the arrival of the fleet was made an occasion for prolonged rejoicings +and festivities—produced a powerful impression on minds unaccustomed to +such wonders. They were also greatly charmed with an entertainment given +at the château on the 22nd of July to which they were invited, and at +which, according to the official narrative, "thirty beautiful ladies, +entering very properly into the views of their host, paid them every +attention." On the following day they were dismissed, laden with gifts, +but not before they had been shown the large stores of war material that +had been received from France, which it was hoped would give them a +lively idea of the resources Canada possessed for making successful war +upon her enemies. Early in the season Frontenac had despatched the Sieur +de Courtemanche to Michilimackinac to convey to the tribes of that +region the news of the defeat of the English before Quebec, and to +inquire what they were doing against the Mohawks. The reply given was to +the effect that a number of their bands had gone on the war-path, that +others were about to start, and that the Miamis and Illinois had also +moved against the enemy, and forced the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span> Senecas to abandon some of +their towns. As regards the Ottawas and Hurons the case was probably +overstated; otherwise the deputation to Quebec, which started after +Courtemanche had left Michilimackinac, would have laid no little stress +on the sacrifices which their people were making.</p> + +<p>The month of August of this year (1691) was marked by one of the most +important and stubborn engagements which had yet taken place between the +French of Canada and their English and Indian enemies. The Iroquois, who +since the massacre at Schenectady had been doing a good deal of fighting +at the instance of their English allies, began to get a little tired of +the business, in which, as they thought, the parties most concerned were +not taking their proper share. They spoke out so plainly on the subject +that it was decided at Albany to organize an expedition of whites to act +in concert with the Mohawks and Mohegans or Wolves. The entire force, +the command of which was given to Major Peter Schuyler, consisted of two +hundred and sixty men, one hundred and twenty being English or Dutch, +and the rest Indians. Going by way of Lake Champlain they descended the +Richelieu to within a few miles of Chambly, where they left a detachment +to guard their canoes, and then pushed on towards Laprairie de la +Madeleine, the scene of Captain John Schuyler's exploit of the year +before. Here a force of seven or eight hundred men, under Callières,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span> +was awaiting them, an English prisoner captured by an Indian party near +Albany having given information of their approach. As it happened, +however, Callières had been smitten with a serious fever, and was not +himself in active command. The regular troops were encamped to the left +of the fort, which was close to the river, and the Canadians and Indians +to the right. If a contemporary historian, Belmont,<a name="FNanchor_51_51" id="FNanchor_51_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_51_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a> may be trusted, +the Canadians were well supplied with brandy, and used it only too +freely. However that may have been, Schuyler's men, about an hour before +dawn, attacked the Canadian camp, and drove the enemy before them into +the fort, killing two or three, and also six Ottawa Indians who were +sleeping under their canoes. The firing roused the regulars who, rushing +to the scene, were met by a deadly volley. They rallied, however, and +Schuyler, finding himself greatly outnumbered, retreated to a ravine, +where he made a stand, and, as he states, repulsed his assailants. What +seems to be certain is that he made a deliberate retreat towards his +base on the Richelieu without being pursued, notwithstanding the +superiority of the enemy. Amongst those who were killed on the French +side were M. de St. Cirque, second in command to M. de Callières, M. +d'Hosta, a valuable officer who had accompanied Nicolas Perrot on his +mission to the Ottawas the year before, Captain Désquérat, and +Lieutenant<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span> Domergue.</p> + +<p>This, however, was not the end. Could Schuyler have retired after having +inflicted comparatively heavy loss on the enemy, and sustained but +little himself, he might have boasted of a signal success as these +things went. This, however, was a case in which <i>recipere gradum</i> was +destined to be much the harder part of his task. There was an enemy +posted on the line of his retreat, and a brave and determined one. +Valrennes, an officer of birth and of tried ability, former commandant +of Fort Frontenac, had been sent to Chambly with a force consisting of +one hundred and sixty regulars and militia, together with thirty or +forty Indians, his instructions being to defend that place if attacked; +but, should the enemy take the road to Laprairie, then to post himself +in their rear and cut them off from their canoes. It was hoped in this +way to catch them between two fires. Had this scheme been fully carried +out, Schuyler's whole force would indubitably have been killed or +captured. Owing, however, to the unexplained inactivity of the main body +at Laprairie, the brunt of the second fight had to be borne by the +detachment under Valrennes, which was somewhat, though not much, +inferior in number to Schuyler's command. Valrennes posted his men +behind two large trees that had fallen across the road on an acclivity, +and, from this position of vantage, inflicted considerable loss upon the +invaders. The latter, however, exhibited great bravery<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span>, and finally +fought their way through, but were compelled to leave their dead behind +to the number of nearly forty. Schuyler, in his narrative of the +expedition, admits that he was uncommonly glad to see the last of so +obstinate a foe. Why the small band of about twenty-five men left in +charge of the canoes was not first overpowered, as it might easily have +been, and the canoes destroyed, does not appear. Schuyler on reaching +the river found men and canoes safe, and, re-embarking with his +diminished force, succeeded in regaining Albany.</p> + +<p>The courage and address displayed by Valrennes in this encounter won him +a great increase of reputation. As we have seen, the French lost a +number of valuable officers in the fight at Laprairie. The English loss +was almost entirely incurred in the second fight; in the first, Schuyler +says he lost but one Christian and one Indian. The reason given in the +French narrative for not pursuing the enemy is that, after an hour and a +half's fighting and some previous heavy marching, neither French nor +Indians had strength for any further exertion—that they could not even +have defended themselves had the fight been prolonged. This rather tends +to confirm Schuyler's statement that, after breaking through their +position, he turned about and forced them to retreat. He and his men +then effected their own retreat without molestation, carrying with them +their wounded, who must have been numerous.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span></p> + +<p>The news of the advance of the English had caused Frontenac to proceed +to Three Rivers with such troops as could be spared from Quebec. He had +not been there many days when news of the actual fighting came to hand. +A couple of days later Valrennes himself arrived with fuller details; +and gave so glowing an account of the valour of his troops and the +losses inflicted on the enemy, that the depression which had at first +been caused by the serious list of casualties amongst the officers, was +in a large measure removed. He was accompanied by the famous Indian, +Orehaoué, previously mentioned as having been brought out by Frontenac +from France, and who during this summer had been rendering valuable +service in different expeditions. This chieftain had with him an +Onondaga Indian captured by him in the West, whom he presented to +Frontenac. This was the day of reprisals, and Frontenac handed over the +unfortunate to the Algonquins to be dealt with after their manner. The +Algonquins were in due course proceeding to burn him, when a Huron gave +him a <i>coup de grâce</i> with his tomahawk, which the writer of the +official narrative seems almost to think was a mistake, observing that +"the Algonquins are better judges of these things."</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding the decisive repulse of the Boston expedition, no small +anxiety was felt lest there might be a renewal of attack from the same +quarter. Phipps had threatened to come back, and shortly after his +arrival at Boston had sailed for England in the hope of engaging the +king's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span> interest and assistance in the matter. Frontenac thought it +prudent, all things considered, to detain two of the ships which came +out in July until the 3rd September. He then commissioned one of them to +convey to Acadia M. de Villebon, whom he was sending to that province as +lieutenant-governor. The New Englanders had taken no measures whatever +for securing their control of the country; no officer of any kind, no +garrison, however small, had been left there to represent English +authority, so that all Villebon had to do was to haul down an English +flag which he found peacefully flying, and run up a French one in its +place. Reporting to the minister, M. de Pontchartrain, in a despatch +dated 20th October 1691, the re-establishment of French control, +Frontenac takes occasion to recommend that Boston should be attacked by +sea. Not only would it make Canada more secure, but there would be a +great satisfaction in destroying such a nest of hardened +parliamentarians. Frontenac's sympathies, as may be supposed, were all +with the Stuarts and the divine right of kings. Unfortunately for the +realization of his wishes, neither Frontenac nor his master had any +ships available for the suggested undertaking. All that was possible at +the moment was to incite the Abenaquis to inflict as much damage as +possible on the hated enemy. In a despatch written a few months earlier, +Frontenac had given a very lively account of the services rendered by +these faithful and bloodthirsty all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span>ies. "It is impossible," he says, +"to describe the ravages these Indians commit for fifty leagues around +Boston, capturing daily their forts and buildings, killing numbers of +their people, and performing incredible deeds of bravery." A little +discount must, perhaps, be taken off the "incredible bravery," as the +Indian mode of warfare was rather stealthy than brave; but Frontenac in +his despatches could always heighten the effect with a little judicious +rhetoric. Villebon, too, after arriving in his government, wrote direct +to the minister, eulogizing the same allies, and observing how dangerous +it would have been to Canada, if the Boston people had succeeded in +making a solid peace with them. In that case, instead of having to sail +round by the gulf, they could at any time march direct from Pentagouet +to Quebec in about twelve days. It was therefore of the utmost +importance to cultivate the friendship of the savages by means of +presents, and to keep them well supplied with arms. The idea of +attacking Boston was also very close to Villebon's heart. There would be +no difficulty about it, if only there were a few ships to spare, as its +situation was a most exposed one; and no town could be more easily +burnt, the streets being very narrow, and the houses all of wood.</p> + +<p>Canada at this time, there is no doubt, was suffering from severe +depression. Frontenac himself says that when the ships arrived in July, +"the colony was reduced to the greatest extremities." He est<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span>imated that +out of thirteen hundred soldiers maintained by the king at the date of +the attack on Quebec more than half had been "killed on divers occasions +or had died of disease." In all, he said, more than two thousand men, +"militia, regulars and veterans," had been lost in Canada since the war, +by which he probably means the war against the Iroquois commenced by his +predecessor. He asks that one thousand effective men should be sent "to +complete the twenty-eight companies his Majesty has hitherto maintained +here." The ships that arrived in July had not brought out any additional +troops. It must be confessed that it is a little difficult to understand +the loss of so many soldiers as Frontenac reports. The losses of men at +Quebec in repelling Phipps's attack—represented by the French accounts +as being very light, and which even the enemy did not pretend were very +heavy—fell chiefly on the militia; while, in the fights with Schuyler, +described by the French annalist as "the most obstinate battle that has +ever been fought in Canada since the foundation of the colony," the +acknowledged losses were only forty killed and about the same number +wounded. There is nothing on record to show that many perished in casual +skirmishes with the Indians, whose custom was to avoid troops whenever +possible.</p> + +<p>An expedition that deserves to be recorded was undertaken in the month +of February of the following year (1692), when some three hundred men +were sent to attack a band of Iroquois, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span>understood to be hunting +somewhere between the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa. The leader of the +party was M. Dorvilliers, an officer who had distinguished himself in +the fight under Valrennes. At the very outset, however, Dorvilliers was +accidentally disabled, and the command fell upon a youthful officer of +engineers named Beaucour. The march through the forest was a terrible +one: the cold was intense, and, accustomed as the men were to the +rigours of the Canadian winter, they were rapidly losing heart, while +some of the Indians were refusing to follow. Nothing but the indomitable +spirit and courage of the leader saved the expedition from failure. He +gathered the men round him and harangued them in terms and tones that +gave new life to the whole party. Guided by the snowshoe tracks of the +enemy, they followed on for four hours longer, when they caught up to +and surprised them in their bivouac on an island in the St. Lawrence +about a day's march below Cataraqui. Few of the savages escaped; most +were killed in the first onset, but some, less fortunate, were captured +and taken to Quebec, where three of them were tortured and burned. To +avoid the same fate another killed himself in prison.</p> + +<p>It was in the month of October of the same year that an incident +occurred that has become the basis of what may be called one of the +classic tales of Canadian history, the defence of the fort at Verchères +by Madeleine, the fourteen-year-old daughter of the seigneur of the +place, then absent on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span> duty at Quebec. The story is so fully and +interestingly told by Parkman in his <i>Count Frontenac and New +France</i>,<a name="FNanchor_52_52" id="FNanchor_52_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_52_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a> and is otherwise so well known, that it seems needless to +repeat it here. A people may well be proud who know that the blood of +such heroes and heroines as gave lustre to the early annals of Canada +flows in their veins.</p> + +<p>The conclusion to which Frontenac had come at this time was that the +raising of large levies of men and organizing formal campaigns against +so agile and elusive an enemy as the Iroquois was not a wise policy. He +states so distinctly in a letter to Pontchartrain, dated in October +1692. Such expeditions, he says, "make great noise and do little harm"; +he believes in "small detachments frequently renewed." There are some +people, he continues, who think differently, and are always urging the +Indians to entreat him to attempt something on a large scale. Who these +are does not appear, but Frontenac says: "I put them off and endeavour +to amuse them by always giving them hopes that I shall grant their +desire." Possibly Callières was the moving spirit. Strange to say, it +was only three months after writing thus that Frontenac gave his +sanction to an expedition of the very kind that he had objected to. +According to Champigny, indeed, he not only sanctioned but ordered it. +The campaign in question, like that undertaken by Courcelles +twenty-seven years before, was a midwinter one. The force raised +consisted of six hun<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span>dred and twenty-five men, comprising over three +hundred of the most active young men of the country, one hundred picked +soldiers, and about two hundred Indians, chiefly mission Iroquois of the +Saut and the Mountain, but partly Hurons, Algonquins, and Abenaquis from +Three Rivers and the neighbourhood of Quebec. The expedition started +from Laprairie on the 25th January 1693, spent a night at Chambly, and +then pushed on for Lake Champlain, their destination being the country +of the Mohawks, for some time past their most troublesome enemies. Some +hunting was done by the Indians on the way, and it was not till the 16th +of February that they arrived within sight of the first of the Mohawk +forts. There was another fort less than a mile distant. Both were +attacked and captured simultaneously. There were only five defenders, we +are told, in the first and still fewer in the second. There was a more +important fort, however, about eight miles further away. This was taken +by surprise at night, though not without a skirmish in which one man was +killed on the French side, while some twenty or thirty of the Mohawks +were slaughtered; the rest, to the number of over three hundred, +two-thirds being women and children, surrendered.</p> + +<p>Hereupon ensued a little misunderstanding between the French and their +Indian allies. The former wanted the latter to kill all the male +prisoners of fighting age, appealing to a promise they had made before +starting that they would do <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span>so. The Indians declined, and the French +did not like to do the business themselves; possibly there would have +been trouble had they attempted it. The only course that remained was to +make the best of their way home, taking their prisoners with them. Their +movements were hastened by learning that Peter Schuyler was on their +track with a party of English and Indians. Immediately following on this +news came the information that peace had been declared in Europe, and +that Schuyler wished to hold a parley. The French leaders placed little +faith in this statement, but their Indians insisted on waiting to see +what Schuyler had to say. As the savages could not be moved, it was +decided to fortify a position and wait. Schuyler arrived, and fortified +a position of his own not far off. Some skirmishing followed, but no +parleying; and after a few days' delay the French slipped away by night. +Schuyler could not pursue them effectively for want of provisions. The +retreat to Canada was marked by the greatest misery and suffering. Most +of the prisoners had to be abandoned. Provisions that had been stored by +the way were found on their return to have been totally destroyed by +water. Several members of the party died of starvation, and others +became perfectly helpless. News of their desperate condition was sent by +special couriers to Callières, who at once despatched one hundred and +fifty men with provisions on their backs. "Never," says Champigny, "was +there such distress. They were four or five days without food. About one +hun<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span>dred and twenty, overpowered and exhausted, remained behind till +they should be somewhat restored by the provisions we sent them. Two or +three died of hunger; many threw down their arms, and almost all arrived +without blankets, and scarcely able to drag their feet after them." The +general result might well have confirmed Frontenac in the opinion he had +previously expressed of such expeditions.</p> + +<p>The Ottawa River had been so infested by Iroquois war parties for the +last three years that it had been impossible for the Indians or +<i>coureurs de bois</i> to use it as a channel of commerce, and the trade of +the country was consequently at a standstill. The financial situation +was indeed so gloomy that Frontenac, whose courage never failed him in a +crisis, determined to try heroic measures of relief. He accordingly +despatched M. d'Argenteuil with eighteen Canadians in four canoes to +convey his orders to M. de Louvigny, commanding at Michilimackinac, to +send down as large a party as he could of French and Indians with all +the skins they could convey. The mission was a perilous one, and the men +who engaged in it had to be well paid. With M. d'Argenteuil was sent +another detachment of twenty men under M. de Lavaltrie to accompany him +over what was considered the most dangerous part of the route. It does +not appear at what point Argenteuil and Lavaltrie parted. The former +reached his destination safely; the latter, on his return, was attacked +by a party of Iroquois near the head of the Island of Montrea<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span>l and +killed with three of his men. This was not encouraging for the safe +arrival of the men from the West. What was almost unhoped for, however, +happened; and, to the immense joy and relief of the inhabitants, a +flotilla of nearly two hundred canoes laden with goods arrived on the +4th August (1693) at Montreal. Frontenac heard the news at Quebec on the +17th. Three days later he set out for Montreal, arriving on the 28th. +Seldom, if ever, had Montreal seen so much gaiety and good spirits; and, +if we may trust the official narrative of events, profuse and unbounded +were the expressions of praise and gratitude directed towards the head +of the Canadian state, the brave old governor, who in the darkest days +had never lost heart, nor allowed others to lose heart if he could help +it, and whose prowess and resource the enemy was again being taught to +respect.</p> + +<p>That one at least of the Iroquois nations was prepared for peace was +shown by the arrival at Montreal, in the month of June of this year, of +an Oneida chief, bringing with him a French captive named Damour, whom +he wished to exchange for a relative of his own in captivity at the +Saut. The main object of his visit, however, was evidently to talk about +peace. He was accordingly sent on to Quebec, where he had an interview +with the governor. He stated that the most influential of the Oneida +cabins were anxious for peace, and that the other nations were aware +that he had come to speak about it. Frontenac's answer wa<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span>s very firm. +If the nations wanted peace, he said, let them send duly authorized +delegates, and he would treat with them. The present chance was, +perhaps, the last they would have; and, if they did not seize it, he +would prosecute the war against them till they were exterminated. The +Oneida, Tareha by name, departed with this answer. In the month of +October he returned. He and his own people were still anxious for peace, +but the other nations wanted to have the negotiations carried on at +Orange. To this the count vehemently refused to assent. Meantime several +vessels had arrived from France with reinforcements and large supplies +of war material. M. d'Iberville also returned about the same time from +Hudson's Bay, bringing with him a couple of English trading ships that +he had picked up on the way, one being laden with a cargo of tobacco +from Virginia. The crops throughout the country were this year very +good, and, owing to the diminished activity of the enemy, had been saved +almost entire.</p> + +<p>Following on the arrival of the western Indians, M. de Tonty, with a +large body of <i>coureurs de bois</i>, had come down from the Illinois and +lake country to discuss questions of trade and defence and receive the +governor's orders for their future movements. After being well +entertained and receiving all necessary instructions, they departed +laden with fresh supplies and equipments, as well as with presents for +the tribes amongst whom<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span> they were stationed. While New France was thus +strengthened in its distant outposts its home defences had not been +neglected. Extensive improvements had been made in the fortifications of +Quebec, according to plans prepared by the celebrated French engineer +Vauban, and carried out under the superintendence of M. de Beaucour, the +officer already mentioned as having conducted a winter expedition +against the Iroquois. A new and very strong palisade had been erected +around Three Rivers; and the forts at Sorel and Chambly, virtually +outposts of Montreal, had been greatly strengthened. Taking everything +into account, there was much to justify a more confident and hopeful +feeling throughout the country.</p> + +<p>Meantime Frontenac's trusty allies, the Abenaquis, incited by the +governor of Acadia and their missionary priests, and led by M. de +Portneuf, a brother of M. de Villebon, had been fighting Canada's +battles on the New England frontier. In February 1692 a band of between +two and three hundred fell on the small frontier settlement of York, +situated on the Maine coast, not far from the New Hampshire border, and +killed, according to the French accounts, about a hundred persons, +chiefly women and children, taking at the same time about eighty +captives. New England authorities place the number of killed at +forty-eight, and that of the captives at seventy-three. Amongst the +slain was the minister of the parish, Dummer by name, a graduate of +Harvard, and a man<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span> greatly respected. His gown was carried off, and one +of the Indians afterwards, arraying himself in it, preached a mock +sermon to his companions. As soon as spring opened a body of the +warriors proceeded to carry the good news to Villebon, who had +established himself in a fort at a place called Naxouat, on the river +St. John, near the site of the present town of Fredericton, Port Royal, +as he thought, being too open to attack. Villebon received them right +royally. Speeches, drinking, and feasting were the order of the day, and +presents were distributed with calculated generosity. They had done +nobly, but there was more work of the same kind to be done. Their next +venture, however, was not equally successful. The settlement of Wells +was but a short distance from York, and thither they bent their steps in +the early summer. Some of the houses at Wells were fortified; one in +particular was defended by fifteen men under a militia captain named +Convers. Fourteen more men with supplies arrived in two sloops on the +9th June, the very day on which the enemy made their appearance. The +fourteen men managed to get into the fort, and the sloops, which were +stranded in the bay by the ebbing tide, were left with no defenders save +their crews. An unfortunate man named Diamond was captured in an attempt +to pass from the fort to the sloops. The latter were first attacked, but +the crew were well armed and shot two or three of the assailants, who +then desisted. Turning th<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span>eir attention to the fort they fired some +futile shots, and did not a little shouting and threatening. Enraged at +their want of success, they wreaked their fury on their unfortunate +captive, whom they mutilated horribly before putting him to death. Then, +after butchering all the cattle they could see, and burning some empty +houses, they departed. Some went to Naxouat to see Villebon, who +mentions in his journal that he "gave them a prisoner to burn, and that +it would be impossible to add anything to the tortures they made him +endure." Such was the frontier warfare of the time, and such were the +men who incited it and sanctioned its worst excesses.</p> + +<p>The hostility of the Abenaquis to the English was largely a cultivated +one. The French could not afford to let it die out, and the influence of +the missionaries was exerted in the same direction. Left to themselves, +these savages, who, like their western brethren, wanted English goods, +which were still cheaper at Boston than at Albany, would doubtless have +come to terms with their English neighbours. Two circumstances at this +time were inclining them to a change of policy. One was their ill +success at Wells, and the second the fact that Phipps, who had returned +from England in May 1692 with a commission as governor of Massachusetts, +had proceeded, in the summer of that year, to rebuild and render much +stronger than before the fort at Pemaquid, opposite Pentagouet, which +had been destroyed in 1689, and also to erect anothe<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span>r at the falls of +the Saco. The one at Pemaquid had scarcely been completed before two +French vessels under the command of Iberville were sent against it by +Frontenac; and why they did not capture it has never been satisfactorily +explained. True, the government of Massachusetts had received word of +the approach of the enemy, and had sent an armed vessel for its +protection; but the advantage was still greatly on the side of the +French, who were under the command, moreover, of a man noted both for +daring and for capacity. Whatever the reason, the French vessels sailed +away without accomplishing anything. In August of the following year, +both forts being garrisoned and equipped, most of the chiefs, including +Madocawando, father-in-law of the famous Saint-Castin,<a name="FNanchor_53_53" id="FNanchor_53_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_53_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a> recognizing +how seriously their own position had been weakened by the establishment +of these outposts, negotiated a peace on behalf of their respective +tribes. The French leaders, lay and clerical, alarmed at this +abandonment of their cause, set to work at once to repair the mischief. +Certain of the tribes were still disposed for war; and the final result +of prolonged debate and a profuse distribution of presents, together +with skilfully contrived appeals to t<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span>he mutual jealousy of the +different chieftains, was that the peace was repudiated by those who had +signed it, and that all alike declared for hostilities.</p> + +<p>This was in the month of June 1694. In July a force of over two hundred +Indians, accompanied by two missionaries, and conducted by Villieu, +successor to M. de Portneuf, who had been removed for peculation, +attacked by night the settlement of Oyster River, now Durham, some +twelve miles north-west of the present town of Portsmouth, New +Hampshire, and murdered one hundred and four persons, chiefly women and +children. A few days later a similar descent was made on the settlements +near Groton, fifty or sixty miles inland, where some forty persons were +killed. Then pushing on to Quebec, Villieu gratified Count Frontenac by +the exhibition of thirteen English scalps. More could have been had, but +these sufficed as samples. The scalps of many of the slain would have +been too pitifully small to add much grace to a warrior's belt. Villebon +himself says in his journal that "the slaughter did not stop even at +infants in the cradle."</p> + +<p>These deeds were wrought, in part at least, by men who, a short time +before, had signed a peace with the English. Phipps, who had proclaimed +the peace through the settlements, felt a measure of responsibility for +having, to that extent, induced a false sense of security among the +inhabitants. He repaired to Pemaquid, and sent messengers to invite +delegates of the tribes to meet him there. A number came. He reproached +them for their bad faith, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span> secured from them expressions of regret +and promises to keep the peace in future. It was in vain, however; his +work was quickly undone by the same influences which had been active +before in the perpetuation of strife.</p> + +<p>Phipps, whose appointment as governor had not been well received at +Boston, and who consequently found himself involved in constant +wrangling with some of the leading men of the place, was recalled about +this time to England, where he died in the following year (1695). His +successor, Stoughton, wrote a peremptory letter to the Abenaquis, +calling upon them to bring in the prisoners they had taken. Those on the +Kennebec returned a haughty answer; but a band from Father Thury's +mission approached Fort Pemaquid under a flag of truce, and entered into +a parley with the commandant, Chubb by name. Whether they sincerely +meant to treat for peace is uncertain; Villebon says they were only +pretending to do so. However this may have been, Chubb, without any +positive knowledge of treachery on their part, opened fire on them, +killed several, and made their chief, Egermet, a prisoner. A year later +two French vessels under command of Iberville appeared before Pemaquid, +landed cannon, and prepared to attack the place in concert with a large +band of Indians led by Saint-Castin. Chubb at first put on a bold front; +but scarcely had the firing begun before he offered to surrender, +stipulating only that the lives of the garrison should be spared, and +that they should<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span> be exchanged for French and Indian prisoners then at +Boston. Iberville honourably observed the conditions, though his Indian +allies, in their eagerness to be avenged on Chubb, were hard to +restrain. Their vengeance, however, was only deferred. Chubb was accused +at Boston of cowardice in surrendering the fort, and suffered +imprisonment there for some months. After his release he retired to his +home at Andover. Thither his relentless foes tracked him, and murdered +both him and his wife at their own fireside.</p> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h3>THE DRAMA OF WAR—PEACE AT THE LAST</h3> + + +<p><span class="dropcap">O</span>ur narrative of the warfare on the New England frontier has somewhat +outrun that of events in Canada proper. The safe arrival of the canoes +from the West, the consequent revival of trade, and the comparative +immunity from attack enjoyed by the country towards the close of the +year 1693 had, as we have seen, made the governor more popular in the +country than ever before. Still there were not a few who acknowledged +his merits but grudgingly, while they had much to say in regard to the +defects of his administration. Charlevoix says that, could he only have +added to his own high qualities the virtues of his predecessor, the +pious Denonville, he would have been perfect, and the condition of the +colony would have left nothing to desire. Frontenac, however, could not +be a Denonville any more than Denonville could have been a Frontenac. He +was a religious man in the practical, businesslike way in which men with +strong political instincts and aptitudes are apt to be religious. There +was nothing mystical about him, and little that was sentimental. +Religion, in his opinion, was a good thing, but it had its own place; it +was meant to co-operate to good ends with the state, but not to dominate +the state. In France such views might have passed unchallenged, for +these were the days when Gallicanism was at it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span>s height, but in Canada +they met with keen opposition. There, as already remarked, the leaders +of the church hoped to be able to mould a state in which the secular +power should find its greatest glory in being the handmaiden of the +spiritual.</p> + +<p>Resuming the complaints made against the governor, Charlevoix tells us +that he was censured for his indulgence to the officers, whose esteem +and attachment he was very anxious to enjoy, and that he let all the +burden of the war fall on the colonists. There may have been a slight +measure of truth in the accusation; but it is certain that many officers +of the regular army died bravely fighting the battles of the country. +That the militia were, on the whole, better and more skilful fighters +than the regular troops was early discovered. Denonville, it may be +recalled, made some very disparaging remarks in regard to the latter on +the occasion of his expedition against the Senecas. Another accusation, +for which there was undoubted foundation, was that the officers were +allowed to retain the pay of the soldiers who received permission to do +civilian work. A soldier could always earn in one form or another of +manual labour, much more than his military wages amounted to; and the +custom sprang up of retaining and dividing amongst the officers the pay +of those who engaged in such labour. The court finally took cognizance +of the practice, and condemned it. Still more serious complaint was +made, Charlevoix says, of Frontenac's toleration of the liquor trade. He +quotes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span> on this subject a letter written by an ecclesiastic, the Abbé de +Brisacier, to Père Lachaise, the king's confessor, in which it is stated +that "brutalities and murders are being committed in the streets of +Quebec by intoxicated Indian men and women, who in that condition have +neither shame nor fear." There is also a letter extant from the worthy +Superior of the Sulpicians at Montreal, M. Dollier de Casson, dated 7th +October 1691, to a friend in France, that is really pathetic in its +terms. If, he says, "our incomparable monarch" only knew the truth of +the matter, "the uprightness of his intentions would not be misled by +those numerous emissaries of the Evil One who spread the belief that +without liquor we should have no savages visiting us and no fur trade." +He speaks of liquor as "<i>un damnable ecueil</i>"—a damnable rock on which +the poor Indian makes shipwreck—and gives a pitiful account of some of +the horrors to be seen almost daily in the Indian missions. It may be +doubted whether the condition of things was any worse in this respect +under Frontenac than under Denonville, when the whole country seemed to +be more or less paralyzed through the excessive use of brandy. It may +possibly, indeed, have been better; the comparative efficiency of +military operations may not unreasonably be held to point in that +direction.</p> + +<p>Frontenac and Champigny were not openly at strife, but judging by a +letter written by the latter, and dated 4th November 1693, the governor +acted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span> very tyrannically towards him. He quotes the bishop as saying +that Frontenac treats him (Champigny) worse than he ever treated +Duchesneau. He only puts up with it, he says, in order to carry out his +instructions to live peaceably with the governor at all costs, and in +the hope that the minister will appreciate the sacrifice he is making.</p> + +<p>Frontenac, when in France, had lived much at court, and had doubtless +witnessed and participated in many of the elaborate festivities which +royalty was wont to grace with its presence. It is not surprising that +he was ambitious to have some little echo of Versailles in his mimic +court at Quebec. Never had the public of that capital been so disposed +to relaxation and enjoyment as in the winter of 1693-4 when the country +seemed to see some days of prosperity and tranquillity before it. Great, +therefore, was the enthusiasm when in the holiday season two dramatic +representations were given at the château. Officers and ladies took part +in the performances, and the plays <i>Nicomède</i> and <i>Mithridate</i> were +wholly unobjectionable. Everybody was happy except the clergy, who saw +in such mundanities the most serious danger to the spiritual welfare of +the community. The Abbé Glandelet of the Seminary was the first to raise +a cry of alarm, preaching a sermon in the cathedral, in which he essayed +to prove that no one could attend a play without incurring mortal sin. +Then the bishop issued a mandate a little more<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span> moderate in its terms, +in which he distinguished between comedies innocent in their nature, but +which under certain circumstances may be dangerous, and those which are +absolutely bad and criminal in themselves, such as the comedy of +<i>Tartuffe</i> and similar ones. <i>Tartuffe</i>, although his Majesty had +listened to it on more than one occasion, and entertained a particular +friendship for its author, was to the ecclesiastical world a terror. The +bishop had heard a report that it was to be put upon the boards next, +and fearing that his mandate alone might not have sufficient effect, he +took occasion of a chance meeting with Frontenac to offer him a thousand +francs if he would not produce it. Frontenac's friends say that he never +had any intention of producing it; but he took the bishop's money all +the same, and, it is stated, gave it next day to the hospitals. It is +somewhat remarkable that Frontenac should have taken the money whether +he did or did not intend to produce the play, and equally so that the +bishop should have considered him accessible to a purely pecuniary +argument in a matter of the kind.</p> + +<p>It has been mentioned that in the summer of 1693 an Oneida chief had +come to Quebec and talked of peace, and that, having gone back to his +people, he returned in October with propositions which the governor +contemptuously rejected. In the month of January following, two +messengers came from the Iroquois country to say that, if they could +have a safe-conduct, chiefs from each of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span> Five Nations would come +down with authority to negotiate for peace. A safe-conduct was promised, +but Frontenac expressly stipulated that one particular Onondaga chief, +Teganissorens, with whom he had had negotiations many years before, +should accompany the delegation. In April a number of delegates came, +but without Teganissorens. Frontenac refused to deal with them, and said +that if any of them dared to come to see him again without that chief, +he would put them into the kettle. This had its effect, for towards the +end of May two delegates from each nation came down, Teganissorens being +of the number. Belts were presented, and the language of the delegates +was all that could be desired. "Onontio," said Teganissorens, presenting +the sixth belt, "I speak to you in the name of the Five Nations. You +have devoured all our chief men, and scarce any more are left. I ought +to feel resentment on account of our dead. By this belt I say to you +that we forget them; and, as a token that we do not wish to avenge them, +we throw away and bury our hatchet under the ground, that it may never +more be seen. To preserve the living we shall think no more of the +dead." The personal appearance of the orator, known to the English as +Decanisora, has been described by Colden in his <i>History of the Five +Nations</i>, published in 1727. According to that author he was a tall, +well-formed man, with a face not unlike the busts of Cicero; and we know +from the French official narrative that he spoke with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span> remarkable +fluency and grace. The count replied in a conciliatory manner; on both +sides there seemed to be good dispositions towards peace, but yet no +definite understanding was arrived at. The Iroquois wished to include +the English in the peace, but Frontenac, of course, was not at liberty +to make peace with a people with whom his master, the French king, was +at war. The savages agreed, however, to give up their prisoners; and +Orehaoué was sent with them to accept delivery of the captives and bring +them back. The Onondagas for some reason refused to surrender theirs, +but the other tribes made good the promise of their delegates. Among +those who were released were some who had been detained since the +massacre of Lachine, and in general they had not much complaint to make +of their treatment. It was a proud day for Orehaoué when, completing the +important duty entrusted to him, he was able to restore the long missing +ones to country and home.</p> + +<p>The majority of the tribes must have wished for peace, or they would not +have given up their prisoners. It was, however, as much against the +interest of the English to have peace established between the Iroquois +and the French, as it was against the interest of the latter that there +should be peace between the Abenaquis and the New Englanders. A long +period of intrigue followed, with plotting and counter-plotting between +the different parties concerned. The English on their side were striving +to stir up the Iroquois agains<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[340]</a></span>t the French, and the French on theirs to +incite the Abenaquis against the English; the Iroquois talked peace to +the French, but were working all the time to draw the Lake tribes away +from their alliance; while the French commanders in the West were doing +their best to keep their Indians on the war-path against the Iroquois. +Intrigue reigned too among the Lake tribes; for an influential chief +called the Baron was trying hard to persuade them to join the Iroquois. +Some horrible treacheries and cruelties were meantime being perpetrated +in that region. The French at Michilimackinac, where La Motte Cadillac +had replaced Louvigny, killed two Iroquois who had been brought into the +camp in the guise of prisoners, but who were suspected of being +emissaries from their nation acting in collusion with the Baron. The +latter and his associates were very angry at first, but in the end +yielded to the French, and handed over another Iroquois, whom they had +with them. The French determined, La Potherie says, to make an example +of him. The Ottawas were invited "to drink the broth of an Iroquois," +which they did after the victim had been put to death with cruel +tortures in which a Frenchman took the lead. Not long after four others +were similarly treated. The object, of course, in getting the Ottawas +and Hurons to participate in these cruelties was to render peace with +the Iroquois impossible.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[341]</a></span></p> + +<p>In the summer of 1695, Frontenac carried out his long-cherished design +of restoring the fort at Cataraqui. The scheme was strongly opposed by +the intendant, Champigny, who had managed in some way to win the court +over to his views. The expedition organized by Frontenac consisted of +seven hundred men, and was placed by him under the command of the +Marquis of Crisafy, a Neapolitan noble, who, as Charlevoix informs us, +had been guilty of treason in his own country, and so been obliged to +take service under the French king. Scarcely had the expedition started +before a letter from the Comte de Pontchartrain was placed in +Frontenac's hand enjoining him not to take any steps in the matter of +re-establishing the fort. Anything more <i>mal à propos</i> could scarcely +have happened. Had Frontenac been a timid man, he would have sent a +messenger after Crisafy, and ordered him back; but his service of many +years in many lands had accustomed the veteran to taking responsibility; +and, persuaded as he was that he knew better what the interest of the +country required than the king and the minister put together, he allowed +the expedition to proceed. Within a month it had returned to Montreal +after having put the fort once more in a condition of defence at a cost +of sixteen thousand francs. Forty-eight men were left behind as a +garrison. Frontenac had now a base for the operations which he felt sure +would be required against the Iroquois, and which in point of fact were +carried out in the following year. The king, on hearing of what had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[342]</a></span> +been done, did not censure the governor, but merely asked him to +consider carefully, in consultation with M. de Champigny, whether it was +really for the advantage of the colony that the fort should be +maintained. In the interest of harmony the court had for some time +followed the practice of writing to the governor and the intendant +jointly, and requiring them to make joint despatches. Notwithstanding +this prudent arrangement, each of the high officials managed to bring +his own private views before the minister or the king, as the case might +be. In joint consultations the will of Frontenac was pretty sure to +carry the day. His fort henceforth was safe.</p> + +<p>We may now, while a desultory and not very eventful warfare is being +waged between the colony and its traditional enemy, the Iroquois, and +while negotiations and intrigues are being carried on in triangular +fashion between the French, their allies, and the common foe, turn for a +few moments to another field, a far distant one, in which Canadian +enterprise, bravery, and military aptitude won repeated successes, and, +on one occasion at least, performed deeds of lasting renown. We have +already related the expedition under M. de Troyes to Hudson's Bay in the +summer of 1686 in which Iberville and his brother Ste. Hélène took part. +Troyes returned to Quebec in the same year, and, as we have seen, joined +Denonville's campaign against the Senecas. Iberville seems to have +remained in the Hudson's Bay country till the following<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[343]</a></span> year, for we +hear of his returning to Quebec in the fall of 1687 with a large amount +of booty in the way of furs. The Hudson's Bay Company of England, in a +petition which they addressed to the king asking for redress, put the +amount of loss they had sustained by this expedition at £50,000, quite +probably an over-valuation. After this adventure Iberville, in company +with his brother Maricourt, seems to have gone to France; but two years +later both are in the bay again defending Fort Albany against an English +vessel. Later in the year, in the absence of Iberville, who had gone to +Quebec with a cargo of furs, the English possessed themselves of the +fort; but, returning in the summer of 1690, he wrested it from them +again, and again sailed to Quebec with furs, this time to the value of +80,000 francs. The next year he went to France, and in July 1692 +returned with two French vessels <i>L'Envieuse</i> and <i>Le Poli</i>, destined +for operations in Hudson's Bay. As he did not reach Quebec, however, +till the 18th August, it was considered that the season was too far +advanced for an attempt in that quarter; and the vessels were +consequently diverted to Acadia in order that they might operate against +the newly erected fort at Pemaquid. As stated in our last chapter, the +expedition proved a failure. In the following year <i>Le Poli</i>, which +Iberville had taken back to France, was sent out again to Canada with a +companion vessel, <i>L'Indiscret</i>. It was intended that they should +proceed to Hudson's Bay, but they only arrived at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[344]</a></span> Quebec on the 22nd +July, and, as the king had expressly stipulated that <i>Le Poli</i> should +return to France that year, every practical man in Canada saw at once +that she at least could not take part in the expedition. Then could +there be any expedition? It was at first proposed that Iberville should +make the best he could of <i>L'Indiscret</i> and an English ship he had +captured on the way out, the <i>Mary Sarah</i>; and a number of French +captains who were in port at the time were formed into a commission to +report on the matter from a practical point of view. Their report, made +on the 7th August, was unfavourable as regarded both vessels. +<i>L'Indiscret</i> does not seem to have had any armament, and though guns +could have been provided for her at Quebec, the captains doubted whether +either decks or hull were strong enough to admit of her conversion into +an effective fighting ship, or indeed whether she was suitable at all +for northern navigation. As to the <i>Mary Sarah</i>, she was a very poor +sailer, and would only prove an embarrassment. Iberville, who of course +expected, if he went, to winter in the bay, said he must have a full +year's provisions for the party; and one of the points the captains +inquired into was whether there was accommodation in the ships for all +the stores required. As one of the necessities of the voyage they put +down 154 barriques of wine, or, alternatively, 38 of brandy. As the +barrique contains something over 50 gallons, the estimate was for about +2000 gallons of brandy, not an illiberal al<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[345]</a></span>lowance. The upshot of the +matter was that there was no expedition that year, and that the English +had all their own way in the bay, capturing once more the fort at +Albany, together with furs to the value, as stated, of 150,000 francs, +the property of the Compagnie du Nord.</p> + +<p>The news of this serious loss arrived at Quebec in August just after the +idea of an expedition had been abandoned, and was carried to France by +M. de Serigny, one of Iberville's brothers. The French government +thereupon determined to organize a strong force for the purpose of +securely establishing French supremacy in those northern waters. Serigny +was accordingly sent back to Quebec in the summer of 1694, with +instructions to Frontenac to lend as many soldiers as he could spare for +the enterprise. No time was lost in executing the order. On the 10th +August Iberville with Serigny and another brother M. de Châteauguay, and +over a hundred picked Canadians set sail for Hudson's Bay in two +frigates of twenty and thirty guns respectively. The first point of +attack was to be Port Nelson on the west side of the bay, garrisoned by +about fifty English, and mounting thirty-six cannon. Having arrived at +the place on the 24th September, Iberville demanded its surrender, which +was refused. The assailants had much the advantage in strength, and on +the 13th October the fort surrendered. The Canadians took up their +quarters there for the winter; and when summer came Iberville decided to +wait in the neighbour<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[346]</a></span>hood in the hope of capturing one or two English +trading vessels which were expected to arrive. None came, however, and +he set sail in September, leaving La Forest in charge with sixty men. +Contrary winds rendering his return to Canada difficult, he steered his +course for France, and arrived safely at Rochelle, where he wrote out a +full account of his adventures and achievements.</p> + +<p>It was related in the last chapter how, in the following year (1696), +Iberville, in conjunction with Saint-Castin and the neighbouring +Indians, had captured and destroyed the English fort of Pemaquid, on the +west side of what is now Penobscot Bay. His instructions were, as soon +as this had been accomplished, to sail for Newfoundland, take St. +John's, and harry the English settlements strewn along the eastern +coast. This enterprise had been carefully prepared beforehand, and a +number of fishing vessels from St. Malo had been armed for the purpose. +There was a French governor stationed at Placentia, M. de Brouillan, to +whom instructions had been sent to co-operate with M. d'Iberville. All +accounts agree in saying that this officer was a man of an extremely +surly and jealous temper. Anxious to win the glory and profit of +capturing St. John's without assistance, he did not await the arrival of +Iberville before setting out on the enterprise. With the help of the St. +Malo men he captured one or two English vessels; but, owing to +disagreements that arose between him and his men, nothing more was +accomplished. Returning t<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[347]</a></span>o Placentia he found that Iberville with his +Canadians had arrived. Some dispute arose as to who should command the +combined force; finally it was agreed that Iberville should have that +honour. It is doubtful whether the Canadians would have consented to +serve under any other leader. The capture of St. John's was effected on +the 1st December; but no booty of any consequence was taken, as some +English vessels had shortly before removed everything of value. Then +followed a cruel winter raid on the poor fisher-folk of the coast who +were not in a condition to make any resistance. All the hamlets were +burned, and the French writers say that two hundred of the English +inhabitants were killed, surely a most unnecessary slaughter.</p> + +<p>Other work and other laurels somewhat worthier of a warrior's brow were, +however, awaiting the redoubtable Canadian chief. In the month of May +1697, when the desolation in Newfoundland was complete, his brother +Serigny arrived from France with five ships of war, the <i>Pelican</i>, the +<i>Palmier</i>, the <i>Wasp</i>, the <i>Profond</i>, and the <i>Violent</i>. Port Nelson had +again fallen into the hands of the English; and this expedition, which +Iberville was to command, had been organized for the purpose of retaking +it. For trading purposes it was much the most important port on the bay, +being the outlet of a vast fur-bearing region stretching towards Lake +Superior. It was July before the squadron sailed from Placentia, +Iberville taking command of the <i>Pelican</i>, and his brother of the +<i>Palmier</i>. One ship carrying<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[348]</a></span> stores was crushed and lost amid floating +ice, though the crew were saved. The others were in great danger. When +the <i>Pelican</i> got free her companions were nowhere to be seen, and +Iberville pursued his way towards Port Nelson alone, hoping that the +other vessels would make their appearance after a time. He had nearly +reached his destination when three sail did heave in sight, which he +took to be the missing vessels. He was soon undeceived. They were armed +English merchantmen—the <i>Hampshire</i>, of fifty-two guns; the <i>Daring</i>, +of thirty-six; and the <i>Hudson's Bay</i>, of thirty-two. The chances looked +bad for the <i>Pelican</i>, which had but forty-four; but Iberville was +accustomed to taking chances, and he did not decline the unequal fight. +The French commander had the advantage of the wind, and seems not to +have engaged more than one vessel at a time. After some hours of +cannonading he came to close quarters with the <i>Hampshire</i>, and, +delivering some terrible broadsides, caused her to sink in that dreary +sea with all on board. The <i>Hudson's Bay</i>, which he next attacked, soon +struck her flag, while the <i>Daring</i>, doing little honour or justice to +her name, seized a favouring wind and escaped. The <i>Pelican</i> had by no +means escaped Scot free. So badly shattered was she that, having +stranded a few miles from the fort, and a gale having sprung up, she +went to pieces. Some of the crew were lost, while, of those who reached +land, a number died from cold and exhaustion. Snow was lying a foot deep +on the ground; and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[349]</a></span> had it not been for the timely arrival of the +missing vessels, the whole party would doubtless have perished, unless +they could have made their way to the fort and thrown themselves on the +mercy of the enemy. As it was, the work of the expedition was now +proceeded with. Cannon and mortar were landed. The fort was only +protected by a palisade, and though it mounted a few light cannon, it +was quite unable to withstand a bombardment. The commandant, therefore, +though at first he refused to surrender, was soon compelled to lower his +flag. He obtained honourable terms for his garrison, but was obliged to +hand over a vast quantity of furs. Iberville after this signal +triumph—a triumph, as Parkman describes it, "over the storms, the +icebergs, and the English"—left his brother in charge of the captured +fort, and, taking the two best vessels left, sailed for France, where he +arrived early in November.</p> + +<p>The news which greeted him there was that, just about the time he was +sailing from the bay, peace had been signed<a name="FNanchor_54_54" id="FNanchor_54_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_54_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a> between England and +France. By the terms of the peace Louis was to acknowledge William III +as rightful King of England and Anne as his successor, and to withdraw +all assistance from the exiled James. As regards the colonies, the most +important provision was that the <i>status quo ante bellum</i> should be +re-established. Thus the gallant fight that Iberville had waged, one +against three, and all the bitter hardships which he and hi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[350]</a></span>s men had +endured by sea and land, had been in vain. Port Nelson and the other +ports in Hudson's Bay would have to revert to the English. All boundary +questions in dispute between the two nations were to be settled by +commissioners appointed for that purpose.</p> + +<p>Returning now to Canada, and going back a year and a half in our +narrative, that is to say, to the early summer of 1696, we find Count +Frontenac making his plans for the campaign he had for some time felt to +be necessary against the Iroquois, but particularly against the most +obstinately hostile nation of the confederacy, the Onondagas. He had no +great reason to think that the court desired him to engage in this +enterprise, for all the counsels he had lately been receiving from that +quarter had been in favour of contraction rather than expansion, of +peaceful rather than warlike measures. He trusted, however, that if he +signally succeeded, as he expected to do, all would be not only condoned +but approved, including his disobedience of orders in re-establishing +Fort Frontenac the year before, a matter in regard to which he had not +heard from the court as yet. The expedition as organized was one which +certainly should have been adequate for the punishment of the Iroquois, +if they would only stay to be punished. It consisted of four battalions +of regulars of two hundred men each, and four of militia, numerically +somewhat stronger. With these were five hundred mission Indians, +Iroquois from the Saut, near Montreal, and Abenaquis from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[351]</a></span> Sillery, near +Quebec. Two battalions of regulars, with most of the Indians, +constituted the vanguard, which was under the command of M. de +Callières. The militia, under M. de Ramesay, Governor of Three Rivers, +were placed in the centre, while M. de Vaudreuil brought up the rear, +consisting of the two remaining battalions of regulars and the rest of +the Indians. Frontenac himself, with his staff and a number of +volunteers, took a position between the van and the centre. In this +order the expedition started from Lachine on the 6th July. In fifteen +days it had reached Fort Frontenac, where it halted a week, awaiting the +arrival of a contingent of Ottawas which La Motte Cadillac had promised +to send from Michilimackinac. As this reinforcement did not arrive, the +expedition pushed on, and in two days reached the mouth of the Oswego +River. Here the rapids proved very difficult, and several portages were +necessary. On these occasions the count, notwithstanding his +seventy-five years, was prepared to foot it like the rest; but the +Indians would have none of it: they raised him aloft in his canoe, +"singing and yelling with joy."</p> + +<p>On the 4th August the army reached the principal fort of the Onondagas +only to find it abandoned and burnt. There was nothing to do but, as on +former similar occasions, to destroy the corn. An old Onondaga Indian +who had remained in the neighbourhood was captured and put to death with +horrible tortures, which he endur<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[352]</a></span>ed with the greatest fortitude; +reviling his enemies with his latest breath, and calling the French +"dogs," and their Indian allies "the dogs of dogs," bidding them, at the +same time, to learn from him how to suffer when their turn should come. +While such havoc as was possible was being wrought in the Onondaga +habitations, Vaudreuil was detached from the main force to do similar +damage in the country of the Oneidas. As he approached their village, +some deputies of the tribe came forward to offer submission, and beg +that their crops might not be destroyed, but Vaudreuil told them he had +to obey his orders, and that, if they chose, they might come and dwell +with the French, where they would not want for anything. While the +detachment was engaged in the work of destruction news came that a force +of three hundred English was marching to attack them, whereupon the +Abenaquis expressed great joy, saying that they would not need to waste +powder on such enemies, their tomahawks and knives would be enough. The +English did not come, however. Governor Fletcher, of New York, was on +the move; but, by the time he had gathered a force, he learnt that the +French had gone. It is difficult to see in what respect this campaign, +which was precisely of the kind that Frontenac had said a few years +before he did not approve, was more effectual than that of Denonville in +1687; Frontenac, nevertheless, represented it to the king as a notable +victory. He could be pious in his phraseology when <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[353]</a></span>he liked; and he +wrote that the Iroquois had been smitten at his approach with a panic +which could only have come from Heaven. The Iroquois were surely in hard +luck in having to fight, at the same moment, human foes in superior +numbers, and armed with superior weapons, and celestial ones capable of +paralyzing their faculties in the moment of their greatest need. But not +more actively did the gods and goddesses of Olympus intervene on the +plain of Troy on behalf of well-greaved Greeks or horse-taming Trojans +than did the higher powers, if we can trust the narratives of the time, +on behalf of the well-musketed Canadians.</p> + +<p>On the 10th August the return journey was begun, and on the 20th the +army reached Montreal. Some lives had been lost in the rapids; otherwise +there had been no casualties. In concluding his letter to the king, +Frontenac, after praising the officers under his command, particularly +M. de Callières, put in a modest word for himself: "I do not know +whether your Majesty will consider that I have tried to do my duty, and, +if so, whether you will judge me worthy of some mark of honour such as +may enable me to live the brief remainder of my life in some +distinction. However your Majesty may decide, I must humbly beg you to +believe that I am prepared to sacrifice the remainder of my days in your +Majesty's service with the same ardour which I have always hitherto +displayed." His Majesty was graciously pleased to say in reply, by the +mouth<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[354]</a></span> of the minister, that he was entirely satisfied with the count's +expedition against the Onondagas and Oneidas, and with his whole +conduct. After dealing with other matters the minister added: "Until his +Majesty has it in his power to bestow on you more marked proofs of his +satisfaction, he has granted you his Military Order of St. Louis, and +you will find herewith his permission to you to wear its cross." This +was a distinction of which his subordinate Callières, as well as M. de +Vaudreuil and the intendant, Champigny, were already in enjoyment; yet +it was all that the very decided merit of M. de Frontenac was able to +extract. It is said that the violent take the kingdom of heaven by +force; but it is also said that the meek shall inherit the earth. +Frontenac tried to make his way by dint of self-assertion, but in the +end his success was only moderate. The enemies whom he thrust aside, or +cowed into silence, could whisper at opportune moments, and their +whispers did him no good; while sometimes they could secure +gratifications for themselves decidedly worth having.</p> + +<p>Various inconclusive negotiations for peace followed the Onondaga +campaign; and things dragged on in this way till news came in January +1698, though not through an authorized channel, of the signing of the +Peace of Ryswick. The officer in command at Albany, Peter Schuyler, had +deputed Captain John Schuyler and one Dellius to carry the news to +Callières at Montreal. Frontenac received it at Quebec a few days later. +The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[355]</a></span> messengers stated that a new governor was coming out to New +York—the Earl of Bellomont—and mentioned that instructions had been +given to their Indians to cease their warfare against the French. +Frontenac sent a reply stating that he would have to await confirmation +of the news from his own government; but he did not think it well to +recognize that part of the message which assumed, on the part of the +English, authority over the Iroquois. Early in the following June (1698) +Schuyler and Dellius came, bringing some twenty French prisoners of all +ages, and also a letter from the Earl of Bellomont to Frontenac, +forwarding copies in French and Latin of the treaty of peace, and +proposing that Frontenac should give up all his Iroquois prisoners to +him, undertaking, on his part, to secure the restoration of all the +French prisoners whom the Iroquois might be holding. This brought things +to an issue. Frontenac replied in firm but courteous terms, saying that, +although he was still without advices from his government, he was +prepared to hand over all English prisoners in his custody, but that he +could not understand how his Lordship could have instructed his +delegates to ask for the return of the Iroquois prisoners. The Iroquois +had been uninterruptedly subjects of the French king from a time prior +to the taking of New York by the English from the Dutch. So far as they +were concerned, therefore, the Earl of Bellomont need not give himself +any trouble, as they were su<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[356]</a></span>ing for peace, had engaged to restore all +their French prisoners, and had given hostages for the fulfilment of +their promise. He also referred, as a further proof of French authority, +to the missions which they had maintained among the Iroquois for over +forty years. This letter was dated 8th June. Bellomont replied on the +13th August, manifesting much irritation at Frontenac's refusal to +recognize the Iroquois as English subjects, and consequently covered by +the peace. He told Frontenac that he had sent word to those nations to +be on their guard, that he had furnished them with arms and munitions of +war, and promised them assistance in case they were attacked. As to the +Jesuit missionaries, the Indians had repeatedly entreated him "to expel +those gentlemen from amongst them," their wish being "to have some of +our Protestant ministers among them, instead of your missionaries, in +order for their instruction in the Christian religion." Here was a +pretty quarrel right on the head of a peace! Frontenac replied with his +customary firmness, saying that he would pursue his course unflinchingly +and insist on the fulfilment by the Iroquois of the engagement they had +entered into before the declaration of peace. He referred to the fact +that commissioners were to be appointed to decide questions of boundary, +and said that, such being the case, the earl had taken too absolute a +position. Here the correspondence ended so far as Frontenac was +concerned. He was fighting in a losing cause, for the claim of En<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[357]</a></span>gland +to the territory in dispute was shortly afterwards recognized. He could, +however, at least say that the cause was not lost through him; to the +last he maintained with courage, resolution, and dignity, what he held +to be the rights of his sovereign. As regards the formal establishment +of peace with the Iroquois it was not to be in his time. His last +despatch to the court bears date the 25th October. He tells the minister +that the Iroquois, who had promised to come and conclude peace and bring +back their prisoners, have not yet done so, and that he has no doubt +they are held back by the Earl of Bellomont. The minister answers that, +to prevent a continuation of disputes, he had consented that the tribes +in question should remain undisturbed and enjoy the peace concluded at +Ryswick. The boundary question would be settled in due time by the +commissioners appointed for that purpose.</p> + +<p>This reply Count Frontenac was not destined to see. Three months, +indeed, before it was penned the curtain had fallen upon his eager, +strenuous, and, broadly speaking, honourable life. About the middle of +November he fell ill. He was in his seventy-ninth year. In a few days, +if not from the first, he knew that he had passed into the shadow of +death, that he was at last meeting One whom he could not conquer. The +old man made all his arrangements with admirable calmness. On the 22nd +November he sent for the notary to make his will. He expressed a desire +to be buried<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[358]</a></span>, not in the cathedral church, but in that of the +Récollets, whose milder theology had best suited his practical and +somewhat Erastian turn of mind. He makes pecuniary provision for a daily +mass on his behalf for one year, and a yearly one thereafter on the +anniversary of his death, Mme. de Frontenac to share in it after her +death. His heart was to be placed in a chapel of the Church of St. +Nicolas des Champs at Paris, where the remains of his sister, Mme. de +Monmort, were already reposing. A merchant of Quebec, François Hazeur, +and his private secretary, are named as his executors. He requests +Champigny to support his friends in having his wishes carried out. He +bequeaths to him a crucifix of aloes wood, and to Mme. de Champigny a +reliquary. The bishop, M. de Saint Vallier, came to see him several +times during his illness, as also did the intendant; death, not for the +first time, was acting the part of reconciler. It was rather expected by +the clerical party that, in his last moments, the old warrior would +express deep contrition for his deficiencies on the religious side and +his frequent opposition to the policy of the church; but in this they +were disappointed. "God gave him full time," says an anonymous critic of +the period, who has annotated very harshly the funeral sermon preached +over his remains, "to recognize his errors, and yet to the last he +showed a great indifference in all these matters. In a word, he behaved +during the few days before his death like one who had led an +irreproachable life and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[359]</a></span> had nothing to fear." The last rites of +religion were administered by the Récollet father, Olivier Goyer, and on +the 28th November 1698, retaining his faculties to the last, the veteran +passed peacefully away.</p> + +<p>What manner of man he was, this narrative, it may be trusted, has in +some measure shown. Compounded of faults and virtues, his was a +character that appealed strongly to average human nature. Common people +understood, admired and trusted him. His faults were those common, +everyday ones,<a name="FNanchor_55_55" id="FNanchor_55_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_55_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a> which it is not impossible to forgive; and he had the +more than compensating virtues of courage, decision, simplicity, +underlying kindliness, and humour. His nature, vehement, turbulent, and +self-asserting throughout his early and middle manhood, was gaining +towards the end that ripeness in which, according to Shakespeare, lies +the whole significance of life. The Abbé Gosselin has defined with great +exactness his attitude towards religion. "Frontenac," he says, "was a +Christian and a religious man after the fashion of his time, and as +people generally are in the great world; attached to the church, but +with all the Gallican ideas of the period, according to which the church +was only a dependency of the state; making it a point of honour to +discharge the duties incumbent on a gentleman and a Christian, but +drawing a clear distinction between the demands of duty and those of +perfection."<a name="FNanchor_56_56" id="FNanchor_56_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_56_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a> The late Abbé V<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[360]</a></span>erreau, quoted by Gosselin in his <i>Life +of Laval</i>, has a few words of mingled praise and blame, which, perhaps, +in their general effect are not far from the truth. "The harsh doctrines +of Jansenism," he says, "and domestic troubles had infused into his +nature something unrefined which the outward manners of the aristocrat +did not entirely conceal. . . . When, however, he yielded to the natural +bent of his mind, he attracted every one by the intellectual grace and +charm of his conversation. . . . His ambition was to be in New France +the reflection of the great monarch who ruled in Old France." The Abbé +probably exaggerates the effect of Jansenist doctrines upon the mind of +Frontenac, and also that of his conjugal difficulties; but he rightly +discerns an element in his character which clashed with his finer and +more distinguished qualities.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>There is no known extant portrait of Frontenac. For many years a certain +photograph was sold at Quebec as representing him on his death-bed, and +was reproduced in different works relating to Canadian history. Parkman, +the historian, sent it to the late M. Pierre Margry of Paris, the +well-known authority on early Canadian history, who at once pronounced +that it was not a portrait of Frontenac at all, but had been taken from +one of the illustrations published in Lavater's celebrated work on +physiognomy, the original being a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[361]</a></span> German professor of the name of +Heidegger. How it ever came to pass for a portrait of Frontenac remains +a mystery. The matter is fully discussed in Mr. Ernest Myrand's work, +<i>Sir William Phipps devant Quebec</i>. So far as appears, it was through a +correspondence between Mr. Myrand and M. Pierre Margry, that the fact of +the unauthenticity of the alleged portrait of Frontenac first became +known in Canada.</p> + +<p>The funeral sermon over the deceased governor was preached by the +Récollet father who had attended his death-bed, and the manuscript of it +is still preserved in the library of Laval University. The eulogium of +the sympathetic father may here and there be a little forced; but surely +a generous meed of praise was due to the man who, when past the meridian +of life, had undertaken and borne unflinchingly for many years the +burden of so difficult and dangerous an administration as that of +Canada. The manuscript has been annotated by an anonymous and unfriendly +ecclesiastical hand, one of whose criticisms is quoted above. The +critic's point of view is further indicated by the comment on the +preacher's statement that Frontenac diligently practised the reading of +spiritual books. "As for his reading, it was often Jansenist books, of +which he had a great many, and which he greatly praised and lent freely +to others." The <i>odium theologicum</i> here is not difficult to discern. +The people, however, who cared little for theological subtleties and +animosities, but who judged<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[362]</a></span> their fallen chief as a man and an +administrator, mourned him sincerely. His death was announced by the +intendant to the king in words that are almost touching; and Callières, +a good soldier, and a man after his own heart, ruled in his stead.</p> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[363]</a></span></p> +<h1>INDEX</h1> + + +<br /><br /><br /><br /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[365]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX</h2> + +<h3>A</h3> +<br /> +Abenaquis Indians, hostile to New England, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">incited by Governor Denonville, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ravages committed by, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack settlement of York, <a href="#Page_326">326</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">repulsed at Wells, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">disposed to make peace with New England, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">French influence in opposite direction prevails, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack settlement of Oyster River, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fired on from Fort Pemaquid, under flag of truce, <a href="#Page_331">331</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Acadia, attempt to form settlement in, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">seized by English under Kirke, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">subsequent vicissitudes, <a href="#Page_268">268-72</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">seized under orders from Cromwell, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">settlers disposed to trade with New England, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Port Royal (Annapolis) made capital, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visited by Meulles and Saint Vallier, and census taken, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Port Royal and other posts captured by Phipps, who establishes government, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">passes again under French control, <a href="#Page_316">316</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Agriculture in Canada, difficulties in the way of, <a href="#Page_87">87</a><br /> +<br /> +Aguesseau, Chancellor d', on French parliaments, <a href="#Page_153">153</a><br /> +<br /> +Ailleboust, M. d', succeeds Montmagny as governor, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">interim governor, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Albany, Fort, captured by Troyes, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">captured alternately by French and English, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>, <a href="#Page_345">345</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Andros, Sir Edmund, governor of New England, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">seized and imprisoned, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Argenson, Vicomte d', arrives as governor, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on Laval, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Auteuil, Denis Joseph Ruette d', attorney-general, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">death of, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Auteuil, François d', son of Denis, succeeds him, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">makes trouble for Intendant Meulles, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">waits on Frontenac, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Avaugour, Baron Dubois d', governor, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">disagrees with clergy on liquor question, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">describes earthquake, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>B</h3> +<br /> +Ball, first given in Canada, <a href="#Page_59">59</a><br /> +<br /> +Beaucour, M. de, brave conduct of, in command of party against Iroquois, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">superintends improvements in fortifications of Quebec, <a href="#Page_326">326</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Bellomont, Earl of, governor of New York, corresponds with Frontenac, <a href="#Page_355">355</a><br /> +<br /> +Belmont, Abbé, on number of captives taken at Lachine, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on excessive use of brandy, <a href="#Page_312">312</a> and note</span><br /> +<br /> +Bernières, Henri de, grand-vicar of bishop of Quebec, <a href="#Page_111">111</a><br /> +<br /> +Berthier, M. de, commands militia in campaign against Iroquois, <a href="#Page_209">209</a><br /> +<br /> +Bienville, Le Moyne de, joins war party against Schenectady, <a href="#Page_235">235</a><br /> +<br /> +Big Mouth (Grande Gueule), Onondaga orator, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a><br /> +<br /> +Bizard, officer of Frontenac, arrested by Perrot, <a href="#Page_91">91</a><br /> +<br /> +Boulduc, prosecutor of Prévôté, dismissed, <a href="#Page_138">138</a><br /> +<br /> +Bourdon, Sister Anne, on divine protection of Quebec, <a href="#Page_301">301</a><br /> +<br /> +Bourgeoys, Sister Margaret, establishes Congrégation de Notre Dame, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">impressed on arrival by poverty of country, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Bradstreet, Simon, made governor of Massachusetts, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on failure of expedition against Quebec, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Brouillan, M. de, French governor at Placentia, Newfoundland, <a href="#Page_346">346</a><br /> +<br /> +Bruey, agent of governor Perrot at Montreal, <a href="#Page_97">97</a><br /> +<br /> +Buade, Antoine de, grandfather of Frontenac, <a href="#Page_61">61</a><br /> +<br /> +Buade, Henri de, father of Frontenac, <a href="#Page_61">61</a><br /> +<br /> +Buade, Louis de, Count Frontenac, see <i>Frontenac</i><br /> +<br /> +Bullion, Mme. de, benefactress of Hôtel Dieu at Montreal, <a href="#Page_29">29</a><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>C</h3> +<br /> +Caen, William de, head of trading company, <a href="#Page_23">23</a><br /> +<br /> +Caen, Emery de, takes over Quebec from the English, <a href="#Page_23">23</a><br /> +<br /> +Callières, M. de, memorandum by, on French claims in Hudson's Bay, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">commands regular troops in attack on Iroquois, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sent to France to represent situation of colony, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">leads 800 men from Montreal to defence of Quebec, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">commands vanguard in attack on Onondagas, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">commended in despatches, <a href="#Page_353">353</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">succeeds Frontenac as governor, <a href="#Page_362">362</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Canada, population of, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">poverty of, impresses Sister Margaret Bourgeoys, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">morals of the people, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">over-governed, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">trade, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">affected by all the vicissitudes of Mother Country, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"farmers" of revenue appointed for, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bishop Saint Vallier's first description of country and inhabitants, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Governor Denonville's description, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Saint Vallier's revised opinion, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">real character of the people, <a href="#Page_193">193-5</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">state of depression throughout the country, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">drinking habits of people, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">described by Laval as the country of miracles, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">exhaustion of, after departure of New England fleet, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Carignan-Salières Regiment sent out, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">some of the officers settle in Canada and become seigneurs, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Carion, officer at Montreal, refuses to recognize Frontenac's order for arrest of <i>coureurs de bois</i>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a><br /> +<br /> +Cartier, Jacques, voyages of, <a href="#Page_1">1</a><br /> +<br /> +Cataraqui, expedition of Courcelles to, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">of Frontenac, <a href="#Page_76">76-84</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fort, known afterwards as Fort Frontenac, erected at, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Census of 1666, <a href="#Page_55">55</a><br /> +<br /> +Chambly, fort erected at, <a href="#Page_51">51</a><br /> +<br /> +Chambly, M. de, appointed governor of Acadia, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">taken prisoner to Boston and there set at liberty, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">again governor, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">governor of Grenada (W.I.), <a href="#Page_270">270</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Champigny, Jean Bochart de, intendant, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">captures peaceful Indians for king's galleys, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on sufferings of expeditionary force sent against Mohawks, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">complains of Frontenac's treatment of him, <a href="#Page_336">336</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opposes restoration of Fort Frontenac, <a href="#Page_341">341</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Champlain, Samuel de, early career of, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sails for St. Lawrence and explores river to Lachine rapids, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">explores Baie des Chaleurs, returns to France, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">accompanies de Monts to Acadia, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">founder of Quebec, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">plot against his life, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">expedition against Iroquois, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">returns to France and sails again for Canada, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">returns to France, marries, and sails again for Canada, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">prospects Island of Montreal, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">returns to France (1611), sails for Canada (1613), again to France, again to Canada (1615), <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">brings out Récollet missionaries, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">heads another expedition against Iroquois, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">begins construction of Château St. Louis, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">surrenders Quebec to English under Kirke, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">landed in England, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">urges restitution of Canada, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sails for Quebec (1633), <a href="#Page_24">24</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">death of, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Chapais, M. Thos., his work on Talon referred to, <a href="#Page_57">57</a> (note)<br /> +<br /> +Charlevoix, Père, on bravery of Canadians and indifferent conduct of French troops, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on Lachine massacre, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on old age of François Hertel, <a href="#Page_235">235</a> (note);</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his account of "flag" incident in siege of Quebec, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on character and conduct of Frontenac, <a href="#Page_333">333-6</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Charny-Lauson, temporary governor, <a href="#Page_42">42</a><br /> +<br /> +Chastes, M. de, trading patent granted to, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">death of, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Châteaufort, M. de, interim governor after death of Champlain, <a href="#Page_27">27</a><br /> +<br /> +Château St. Louis, Quebec, construction begun, <a href="#Page_15">15</a><br /> +<br /> +Chauvin, obtains patent for exclusive trade in Canada, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sails to St. Lawrence, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Chedabucto (Guysborough, N.S.), Frontenac arrives at, <a href="#Page_232">232</a><br /> +<br /> +Chubb, commandant of Fort Pemaquid, fires on Indians while under flag of truce, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">killed, <a href="#Page_332">332</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Clarke, Captain, killed at Fort Loyal, two daughters taken to Quebec, <a href="#Page_303">303</a><br /> +<br /> +Clément, Pierre (author of <i>Vie de Colbert</i>), on causes of failure of West India Company, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on galley service, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Clermont, Chevalier de, killed in skirmish on Beaufort flats, <a href="#Page_294">294</a><br /> +<br /> +Colbert, creates West India Company, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">disapproves Frontenac's action in summoning "three estates," <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">anti-clerical tendencies, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Madame Maintenon's opinion of, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">advice to Courcelles in relation to ecclesiastical power, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">asks for particulars as regards effects of liquor traffic, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">speaks of bishop as aiming at too much power, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">overthrow of his commercial policy, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Company of New France, or of Hundred Associates, created by Cardinal Richelieu, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">colonists sent out by, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">cedes some of its rights to colonists, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">new arrangement works badly, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">surrenders all its powers to the king (1663), <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">its failure to fulfil its engagements, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Condé, Duke of, lieutenant-general for New France, <a href="#Page_12">12</a><br /> +<br /> +Congrégation de Notre Dame, Montreal, established, <a href="#Page_29">29</a><br /> +<br /> +Connecticut, takes part in expedition against Montreal, <a href="#Page_279">279</a><br /> +<br /> +Corlaer, Indian name of Schenectady, which see.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Also Indian name for governors of New York, <a href="#Page_253">253</a> (note)</span><br /> +<br /> +Council, created (1647) at Quebec, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">See also <i>Sovereign Council</i>.</span><br /> +<br /> +Courcelles, M. de, governor of Canada, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrives at Quebec, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">moves against Iroquois (Mohawks), <a href="#Page_52">52</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">character, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">expedition to Cataraqui, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">recalled, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<i>Coureurs de bois</i>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">two classes of, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Frontenac instructed to repress, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">twelve captured, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">one hanged, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">king's decisions respecting, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">difficulty in enforcing the law, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">amnesty granted on certain conditions, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">punishments prescribed for offenders, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Courtemanche, M. de, sent to Michilimackinac, <a href="#Page_310">310</a><br /> +<br /> +Crèvecoeur, fort, built by La Salle, <a href="#Page_160">160</a><br /> +<br /> +Crisafy, Marquis of, conducts expedition for restoration of Fort Frontenac, <a href="#Page_341">341</a><br /> +<br /> +Curacies, permanent (<i>cures fixes</i>), question of, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>D</h3> +<br /> +D'Ailleboust, see <i>Ailleboust</i><br /> +<br /> +Damours, Mathieu, member of Sovereign Council, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrested by Frontenac, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Dauversière, M. Royer de la, one of founders of Montreal colony, <a href="#Page_32">32</a><br /> +<br /> +Davis, Captain Sylvanus, captured at Fort Loyal, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a prisoner in Quebec during siege by Phipps, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></span><br /> +<br /> +De Monts, see <i>Monts</i><br /> +<br /> +Denonville, Marquis de, succeeds M. de la Barre as governor, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">comes out in same ship as M. de Saint Vallier, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">gives unfavourable account of Canadian people, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his piety, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">asks for more troops, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">corresponds with Dongan, governor of New York, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">desirous of constructing a fort at Niagara, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">proposes to French king to buy colony of New York, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">instructed to cultivate peaceful relations with English neighbours, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sends expedition to Hudson's Bay, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">receives reinforcements, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">determines to march against Iroquois, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">crafty policy, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">complains of French troops, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">erects fort at Niagara, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">asks for more troops, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">receives visit from Big Mouth, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in attack by Iroquois on Lachine orders troops to remain on defensive, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">recalled, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">orders Fort Frontenac to be blown up, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">stimulated Abenaquis to attack New England settlements, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Désquérat, Captain, killed at Lapraire, <a href="#Page_313">313</a><br /> +<br /> +Dollier de Casson, Sulpician, his history of Montreal, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">depicts evils of liquor traffic, <a href="#Page_335">335</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Domergue, Lieutenant, killed at Laprairie, <a href="#Page_313">313</a><br /> +<br /> +Dongan, Colonel, governor of New York, correspondence with La Barre, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">policy with Iroquois, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">correspondence with Denonville, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">claims right to trade with Lake tribes, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">demands destruction of Fort Niagara, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">advice to Iroquois, <a href="#Page_219">219</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Duchesneau, Jacques, intendant, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his instructions, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">claims to rank above bishop, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">causes king's prohibition of trading licences to be registered in Frontenac's absence, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">asked to furnish particulars as to ill effects of liquor traffic, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">censured for interfering in matters beyond his sphere, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his recommendations on the <i>coureurs de bois</i> question, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dispute with Frontenac as to presidency of Sovereign Council, <a href="#Page_133">133-40</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">severely censured in despatch from minister, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">accuses Frontenac of manufacturing the news he sends to the minister, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his son imprisoned for disrespect to Frontenac, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">recall of, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">makes report on Acadia, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Dudley, Joseph, provisional governor of Massachusetts, <a href="#Page_264">264</a><br /> +<br /> +Dudouyt, Jean, grand-vicar of bishop of Quebec, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sent to France by bishop in connection with liquor question, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">advice to bishop, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Dugas, Du Gua, or Du Guast, sieur de Monts, see <i>Monts</i><br /> +<br /> +Du Lhut, Daniel Greseylon, explorer, discoveries of, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">imprisoned on return to Quebec, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appointed post commander among north-western tribes, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">diverts trade from English posts on Hudson's Bay to Montreal, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">under orders from La Barre confiscates goods in La Salle's fort of St. Louis, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">instructed to rendezvous at Niagara, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fortifies post at outlet of Lake Huron, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Dupont, Nicolas, member of Sovereign Council, <a href="#Page_106">106</a><br /> +<br /> +Duval, Jean, executed for conspiracy against Champlain, <a href="#Page_8">8</a><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>E</h3> +<br /> +Earthquake of 1662, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a><br /> +<br /> +Eau, Chevalier d', goes on embassy to Iroquois and is badly used, <a href="#Page_262">262</a><br /> +<br /> +English colonies, goods cheap in, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">paid better price for furs, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">political confusion prevailing in, after downfall of James II, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>F</h3> +<br /> +Faillon, abbé, quoted, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his description of conduct of Perrot, governor of Montreal, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Fénelon, abbé de, intermediary between Frontenac and Perrot, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">indignant at Perrot's arrest, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">preaches sermon against Frontenac, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">carries round memorial in Perrot's favour, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">summoned to Quebec, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his conduct before the council, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sent to France, censured, and not allowed to return to Canada, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></span><br /> +<br /> +"Flag" incident in siege of Quebec, <a href="#Page_295">295-8</a><br /> +<br /> +France, condition of, in 1675-6, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a><br /> +<br /> +Frontenac, Louis de Buade, Comte de Palluau et, particulars respecting his early life scanty, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">born in 1620, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">enters army under Prince of Orange at age of fifteen, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">promoted to rank of <i>maréchal de camp</i>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">peace of Westphalia (1648) releases him from military life, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">marriage and birth of son, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his wife separates from him, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">extravagant habits, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">commands Venetian troops in defence of Crete against Turks, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">leaves France for Canada midsummer of 1672, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">endeavours to constitute "three estates," and summons an assembly, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">action disapproved by king, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his instructions regarding the ecclesiastical power, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">friendly to Sulpicians and Récollets, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">plans a visit to Cataraqui, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">conducts an expedition to Cataraqui, <a href="#Page_76">76-84</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">invites Iroquois to conference at that place, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">harangues them and distributes presents, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">erects fort, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">expedition not approved by minister, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Frontenac defends it, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">difficulties with Perrot, governor of Montreal, and the Abbé Fénelon, <a href="#Page_90">90-104</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">captures twelve <i>coureurs de bois</i>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sends Perrot and Fénelon to France with report on case, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the king's reply, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">enemies at court, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">honour paid to him in church curtailed by Laval, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attitude towards ecclesiastical powers, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">difficulty with bishop over issue of trading permits, involving carrying of liquor to Indians, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">king prohibits permits, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visits Cataraqui (Fort Frontenac), <a href="#Page_117">117</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">appeals against king's decision, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">instructed not to meddle with questions of finance, etc., <a href="#Page_120">120</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">authorized to grant hunting permits, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">number to be issued restricted, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dispute with intendant Duchesneau as to presidency of Sovereign Council, <a href="#Page_133">133-40</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">censured by minister for his contentious spirit, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">again cautioned by king and minister, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">recalled, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">asks home government for soldiers, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">summons conference on Indian question, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arranges peace between Senecas and Ottawas, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">orders strengthening of fortifications of Montreal, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">relations with Du Lhut, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">has Récollet confessor, Father Maupassant, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">alleged disorders in his household, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">commends Sulpicians, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his recall a triumph for clerical opponents, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on return to France makes light of La Barre's demand for troops, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reappointed governor of Canada, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrives at Chedabucto, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrives at Quebec, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">goes to Montreal, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">exaggerates number of killed in Lachine massacre, <a href="#Page_227">227</a> (note);</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">tries to arrest destruction of Fort Frontenac, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">organizes raiding parties against English colonies, <a href="#Page_234">234-6</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">brings out with him from France survivors of Indians captured for the galleys, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sends deputation to Iroquois, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sends reinforcements to La Durantaye, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his address to the Lake tribes, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">result of his raids on English settlements, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">improves fortifications of Quebec, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his relations with the Sovereign Council, <a href="#Page_254">254-7</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">goes to Montreal where anxiety prevails, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his expedition to Lake Indians successful, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dances a war-dance, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">protests to Massachusetts authorities against attack on Pentagouet, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">gets news at Montreal of approach of expedition against Quebec, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">replies to Phipps's demand for surrender, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">recommends attack on Boston by sea, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">describes ravages of Abenaquis, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">estimate of military losses in Canada, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">expresses himself as opposed to large expeditions, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">orders M. de Louvigny at Michilimackinac to send down Indians with their furs, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">firm in negotiations with Iroquois, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">complaints made against, <a href="#Page_333">333-6</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">gives theatrical representations at Quebec, <a href="#Page_336">336</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">question of <i>Tartuffe</i>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">restores Fort Frontenac against instructions of minister, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">directs campaign against Iroquois, <a href="#Page_350">350-3</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reports his victory to the king, and asks for recognition, <a href="#Page_353">353</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">receives cross of St. Louis, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">receives news of Peace of Ryswick, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">corresponds on question of sovereignty over Iroquois with Earl of Bellomont, governor of New York, <a href="#Page_355">355</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his last despatch to home government, <a href="#Page_357">357</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">illness and death, <a href="#Page_357">357-9</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his will, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">no known portrait, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">funeral sermon and critical annotations thereon, <a href="#Page_361">361</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Frontenac, Mme., aversion of, for her husband, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">joins Mlle. de Montpensier, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">assisted Frontenac by her influence at court, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Frontenac, Fort, erected at Cataraqui, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">conceded to La Salle, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">seized by La Barre, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">restored to La Salle, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dongan demands its destruction, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Denonville gives orders for blowing it up, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">order partially carried out, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">repaired, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rebuilt, <a href="#Page_341">341</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Fur trade, burdensome restrictions on, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>G</h3> +<br /> +Gaillardin, French historian, referred to, <a href="#Page_152">152</a><br /> +<br /> +Gerrish, Sarah, captured at Fort Loyal, exchanged for one of Phipps's prisoners, <a href="#Page_303">303</a><br /> +<br /> +Girouard, Judge, on loss of life in massacre of Lachine, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">at La Chesnaye and other places, <a href="#Page_226">226</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Glandelet, abbé, preaches against theatre, <a href="#Page_336">336</a><br /> +<br /> +Glen, John Sanders, magistrate of Schenectady, life spared, <a href="#Page_247">247</a><br /> +<br /> +Gosselin, abbé, his opinion of Talon, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on administration of La Barre, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on Laval's choice of M. de Saint Vallier, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on Frontenac's attitude towards religion, <a href="#Page_359">359</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Goyer, Olivier, Récollet father, preaches funeral sermon on Frontenac, <a href="#Page_361">361</a><br /> +<br /> +Grande Gueule, see <i>Big Mouth</i><br /> +<br /> +Great Mohawk (Grand Agnié), Christian Mohawk leader, <a href="#Page_246">246</a><br /> +<br /> +<i>Griffon</i>, name of vessel built by La Salle and lost in Lake Michigan, <a href="#Page_159">159</a><br /> +<br /> +Grignan, M. de, son-in-law of Mme. de Sevigné, a candidate for governorship of Canada, <a href="#Page_65">65</a><br /> +<br /> +Guyard, Marie, see <i>Incarnation, Mère de l'</i><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>H</h3> +<br /> +Hébert, Louis, first regular settler at Quebec, <a href="#Page_16">16</a><br /> +<br /> +Henry IV of France, assassination of, <a href="#Page_11">11</a><br /> +<br /> +Hertel, François, commands Three Rivers war party, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">leader in massacre of Salmon Falls, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">joins M. de Portneuf in attack upon Fort Loyal, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his old age, <a href="#Page_235">235</a> (note)</span><br /> +<br /> +<i>History of Brandy in Canada</i>, quoted, <a href="#Page_124">124</a><br /> +<br /> +Hosta, M. d', killed at Laprairie, <a href="#Page_312">312</a><br /> +<br /> +Hôtel Dieu, Montreal, established by Mlle. Mance, <a href="#Page_29">29</a><br /> +<br /> +Hôtel Dieu, Quebec, origin of, <a href="#Page_28">28</a><br /> +<br /> +Hudson's Bay, English claim to, disputed by France, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">La Barre instructed to check English encroachments in, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">expedition under M. de Troyes captures English forts, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Iberville's exploits in, <a href="#Page_342">342-50</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">English possessions in, restored by Peace of Ryswick, <a href="#Page_349">349</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Hudson's Bay Company, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">trading done and posts established by, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">redress claimed by, for losses inflicted by the French, <a href="#Page_343">343</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Hundred Associates, Company of, see <i>New France, Company of</i><br /> +<br /> +Hurons, destruction of, by Iroquois, <a href="#Page_26">26</a> and note, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">join Frontenac's expedition to Cataraqui, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dread being abandoned to Iroquois, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Hunting permits, issue of sanctioned, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">number to be issued annually limited, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">issue of, becomes a form of patronage, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>I</h3> +<br /> +Iberville, Le Moyne d', accompanies expedition to Hudson's Bay, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">joins war party against Schenectady, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrives from Hudson's Bay with two captured vessels, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">takes Fort Pemaquid, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">exploits in Hudson's Bay, <a href="#Page_342">342-50</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sails for France and returns with two French ships, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">captures Port Nelson, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sails for France, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attacks English settlements in Newfoundland, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">takes St. John's, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in his ship the <i>Pelican</i> successfully engages three English vessels, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sails for France, <a href="#Page_349">349</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Illinois Indians, allies of French, attacked by Iroquois, <a href="#Page_144">144</a><br /> +<br /> +Incarnation, Mère de l' (Marie Guyard), arrival of, at Quebec, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on <i>Jesuit Relations</i>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a> (note);</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on influence of convent teaching, <a href="#Page_89">89</a> (note);</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on rapid decline in Indian population, <a href="#Page_168">168</a> (note)</span><br /> +<br /> +Indians (see also names of tribes or nations), menacing attitude of, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defrauded by traders, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">not readily receptive of Christian doctrine, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Intendant, Jean Talon appointed as, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">office revived, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Jacques Duchesneau appointed, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Jacques de Meulles, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Jean Bochart de Champigny, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Iroquois, Champlain joins Hurons and Algonquins in attacking, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">nearly exterminate Hurons, <a href="#Page_26">26</a> and note, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">demand establishment of French colony in their country, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">their confederacy, of what tribes composed, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack remnant of Hurons on Island of Orleans, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">checked at the Long Sault on the Ottawa by heroism of Dollard and his companions, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">governor Courcelles marches against, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">similar expedition led by Tracy, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">invited by Frontenac to conference, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">consent to make a peace including Indian allies of French, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">under La Barre's administration seize canoes of French traders, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">La Barre's expedition against, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Denonville's, <a href="#Page_207">207-14</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">capture of a number of peaceful Iroquois for king's galleys, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reprisals, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">massacre of Lachine, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">send envoys to meet Frontenac, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">native eloquence, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">worsted in skirmish on Ottawa River, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mohawk opinion of Schenectady massacre, <a href="#Page_248">248</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ill treat embassy from Frontenac, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">renew their attacks, <a href="#Page_307">307</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">party of, destroyed at Repentigny, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">three prisoners burnt alive, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">another party surprised and destroyed, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">expedition against (Mohawks), <a href="#Page_321">321</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">peace negotiations, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Onondaga orator, Teganissorens (Decanisora), <a href="#Page_338">338</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Frontenac's campaign against, <a href="#Page_350">350</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>J</h3> +<br /> +Jemseg, for a short time headquarters of Acadia, <a href="#Page_270">270</a><br /> +<br /> +Jesuit fathers, arrival of, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">return after restoration of Canada to France, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Frontenac's attitude towards, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">their missions, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<i>John and Thomas</i>, vice-admiral's ship in Phipps's squadron, <a href="#Page_281">281</a><br /> +<br /> +Jolliet, Louis, discoverer of Mississippi, <a href="#Page_155">155</a><br /> +<br /> +Jolliet, Zachary, his December journey from Michilimackinac to Quebec, <a href="#Page_240">240</a><br /> +<br /> +Juchereau, Mère, reports repulse of some of Phipps's men at Rivière Ouelle, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on flag incident, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on divine protection of Quebec, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>K</h3> +<br /> +Kirke brothers (David, Louis, and Thomas) capture Quebec, <a href="#Page_21">21</a><br /> +<br /> +Kirke, Louis, left in charge of Quebec, surrenders it to French on conclusion of peace, <a href="#Page_23">23</a><br /> +<br /> +Kishon (the Fish), Indian name for governors of Massachusetts, <a href="#Page_253">253</a><br /> +<br /> +Kondiaronk, or the Rat, see <i>Rat</i><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>L</h3> +<br /> +La Barre, M. Lefebvre de, governor, arrival of, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">summons conference on Indian question, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">applies for troops, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">criticized in despatches by intendant, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">takes to illegitimate trading, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">disparages discoveries of La Salle, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">seizes Fort Frontenac and Fort St. Louis, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">instructed to restore to La Salle all his property, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his unwise instructions to Iroquois, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">decides to make war on Senecas, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">corresponds with Colonel Dongan, governor of New York, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">leads expedition, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arranges ignominious terms of peace, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">recalled, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">unfitness for his position, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">results of his weak policy, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></span><br /> +<br /> +La Caffinière, M. de, commander of squadron sent against New York, <a href="#Page_234">234</a><br /> +<br /> +La Canardière, former name of Beauport flats, <a href="#Page_293">293</a> (note)<br /> +<br /> +La Chesnaye, trader, La Barre's dealings with, <a href="#Page_175">175</a><br /> +<br /> +La Chesnaye settlement, Iroquois raid on, <a href="#Page_226">226</a><br /> +<br /> +Lachine, massacre of, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a><br /> +<br /> +La Durantaye, post commander, ordered to rendezvous at Niagara, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">captures English canoes on the way, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reports critical situation among Lake tribes, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reinforced, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></span><br /> +<br /> +La Famine, La Barre's army encamps at, <a href="#Page_184">184</a><br /> +<br /> +La Forest, left in charge of Port Nelson, <a href="#Page_346">346</a><br /> +<br /> +La Grange-Trianon, Mlle. de, becomes wife of Frontenac, <a href="#Page_63">63</a><br /> +<br /> +Laguide, Madeleine, niece of Talon, wife of François Perrot, <a href="#Page_97">97</a><br /> +<br /> +La Hontan, Baron de, on treatment of captured Iroquois at Fort Frontenac, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on interview between Frontenac and Denonville, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">declines to go on embassy to Iroquois, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his account of attack on Quebec by Phipps, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Lamberville, Jesuit father, missionary to the Iroquois, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a><br /> +<br /> +La Motte Cadillac, post commander at Michilimackinac, <a href="#Page_340">340</a><br /> +<br /> +La Peltrie, Mme. de, arrival of, at Quebec, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">accompanies Maisonneuve to Montreal, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Laprairie, attack on, by war party under John Schuyler, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">serious encounter at, between Canadian forces and party under Peter Schuyler, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></span><br /> +<br /> +La Salle, René Robert Cavelier de, sent to invite Iroquois to conference, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">first commandant of Fort Frontenac (Cataraqui), <a href="#Page_88">88</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reports Perrot's defiant proceedings to Frontenac, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his views on sale of liquor to Indians, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">obtains grant of Fort Frontenac from king, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">obtains exclusive right of trading in Mississippi region, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">difficulties encountered by, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">relations with Frontenac, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">discoveries disparaged by La Barre and also by the king, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">financial affairs, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his forts and other property seized by La Barre restored to him, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">king takes him under his special protection, <a href="#Page_180">180</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Lauson, M. Jean de, governor, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">returns to France, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Laval-Montmorency, François Xavier de, arrival of as vicar-apostolic and bishop of Petraea <i>in partibus</i>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sends M. de Queylus back to France, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">disagrees with governor Argenson, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">also with Avaugour, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sails for France (1662), <a href="#Page_46">46</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">procures recall of Avaugour, and appointment of M. de Mézy, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">returns to Quebec September 1663, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">establishes Quebec Seminary, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">and Lesser Seminary, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">quarrels with Mézy, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sails for France to settle question of bishopric, May 1672, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">made bishop of Quebec and returns to Canada, 1675, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">establishes ecclesiastical court, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">curtails honours paid to governor in church, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">king's instructions on the subject, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Frontenac's estimate of bishop's revenue, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">objects to trading permits issued by governor, as involving selling of liquor to Indians, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">gains the king over to his views, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sends grand-vicar to France to uphold his policy, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">goes to France to press his views (1678), <a href="#Page_125">125</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">effect of his elevation to rank of bishop, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">not favourable to permanent curacies, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">rejects offer of Récollets to serve the parishes without any fixed provision for their support, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">determines to resign, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">goes to France, 1684, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">chooses M. de Saint Vallier as his successor, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">describes Canada as "the country of miracles," <a href="#Page_301">301</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Lavaltrie, M. de, seigneur, commands militia in attack on Iroquois, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">killed by Iroquois, <a href="#Page_323">323</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Lebert, merchant, of Montreal, imprisoned by Perrot, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">La Barre's dealings with, <a href="#Page_175">175</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Le Chasseur, secretary to Frontenac, <a href="#Page_139">139</a><br /> +<br /> +Leclercq, Père, Récollet, on great need for Récollet order in Canada, <a href="#Page_72">72</a> (note);<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on Schenectady massacre, <a href="#Page_247">247</a> (note);</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on "flag" incident in siege of Quebec, <a href="#Page_296">296</a> and note</span><br /> +<br /> +Leisler, Jacob, seizes government of New York, <a href="#Page_266">266</a><br /> +<br /> +Le Jeune, Jesuit father, preaches funeral sermon of Champlain, <a href="#Page_27">27</a><br /> +<br /> +Le Moyne, Charles, sent to invite Onondagas to conference, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a><br /> +<br /> +Liquor traffic, condemned by Champlain, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">subject of dispute between civil and religious authorities, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">king's instructions regarding, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">question referred to a meeting of the principal inhabitants, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">opinions expressed, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">king's decision thereon, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">evils depicted, <a href="#Page_335">335</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Longueuil, Le Moyne de, commands militia in attack on Iroquois, <a href="#Page_209">209</a><br /> +<br /> +Lorin, M. Henri, author of <i>Le Comte de Frontenac</i>, referred to, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a> (note), <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a><br /> +<br /> +Lotbinière, Réné Charlier de, member of the Sovereign Council, <a href="#Page_106">106</a><br /> +<br /> +Louis XIII of France, close relations of Frontenac family with, <a href="#Page_62">62</a><br /> +<br /> +Louis XIV, his war with Holland, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">absolutism of his rule, <a href="#Page_151">151-3</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">desires to have permanent curacies (<i>cures fixes</i>) established in Canada, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">private life, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pronounces La Salle's discoveries useless, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">later takes him under his special protection, <a href="#Page_180">180</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Louvigny, M. de, sent with reinforcements to Michilimackinac, <a href="#Page_241">241</a><br /> +<br /> +Loyal, Fort (Casco Bay), captured by Canadians, <a href="#Page_252">252</a><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>M</h3> +<br /> +Madocawando, Abenaquis chief, <a href="#Page_329">329</a><br /> +<br /> +Maisonneuve, Paul Chomedy, sieur de, conducts mission colony to Montreal, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">bravery of, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">goes back to France for reinforcements, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">returns to Canada with 100 soldiers, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">removed from governorship by the Marquis de Tracy, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Mance, Mlle., establishes Hôtel Dieu at Montreal, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">death of, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Mantel, Daillebout de, one of leaders of war party against Schenectady, <a href="#Page_235">235</a><br /> +<br /> +Maricourt, Le Moyne de, accompanies expedition to Hudson's Bay, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrives at Quebec during siege by Phipps, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">with his brother, Iberville, in Hudson's Bay, <a href="#Page_343">343</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Marquette, Jesuit father, accompanies Jolliet in his explorations, <a href="#Page_155">155</a><br /> +<br /> +Marriage, stimulated by civil authorities, <a href="#Page_57">57</a><br /> +<br /> +Massachusetts, charter of, declared null and void, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">takes lead in expedition against Quebec, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Mather, Cotton, on failure of Phipps's expedition, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on rescue of some men cast ashore on Anticosti, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Maupassant, Récollet father, Frontenac's confessor, <a href="#Page_165">165</a><br /> +<br /> +Menneval, M. de, governor of Acadia, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">surrenders to Phipps, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">carried prisoner to Boston, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">released, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Meulles, Jacques de, intendant, opposed to popular representation, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrival of, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">criticizes La Barre in despatches, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on La Barre's expedition against Senecas, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">recalled, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visits Acadia and makes census, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Mézy, M. de, appointed governor on Laval's recommendation, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">quarrels with Laval, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">death of, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Millet, Jesuit father, tortured by Oneida Indians, <a href="#Page_216">216</a><br /> +<br /> +Missions to Indians, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pure lives of missionaries produced good effect, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Mohawks (Iroquois tribe) attack Hurons on Island of Orleans, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Courcelles leads expedition against, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tracy leads a second, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">expedition against, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Monseignat, Frontenac's secretary, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a><br /> +<br /> +Montmagny, M. de, second governor of Canada, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">retirement of, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Montmorency, Duke of, becomes lieutenant-general for Canada, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">executed for revolt, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Montpensier, Mlle. de, Mme. Frontenac's relations with, <a href="#Page_63">63</a><br /> +<br /> +Montreal, beginnings of, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">settlement in danger of extinction, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">population in 1666, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Frontenac's arrival at, on his way to Cataraqui, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">description of, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">expedition from Albany against, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">great rejoicings at, on arrival of trading canoes from the Lakes, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Monts, Pierre Dugas, sieur de, ten years' trading patent, with position of lieutenant-general, granted to, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">conducts expedition to Acadia, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">patent cancelled, but renewed for one year, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sails for Quebec, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resigns lieutenancy, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Myrand, Ernest, author of <i>Frontenac et ses Amis</i>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his work <i>Sir William Phipps devant Quebec</i> quoted, <a href="#Page_293">293</a> (note);</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on losses incurred in siege of Quebec by Phipps, <a href="#Page_302">302</a> (note);</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">discusses question of Frontenac's portrait, <a href="#Page_361">361</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>N</h3> +<br /> +Nayouat, governor Villebon of Acadia establishes himself at, <a href="#Page_327">327</a><br /> +<br /> +"New Company," name given to trading company formed by inhabitants of Canada in 1645, <a href="#Page_36">36</a><br /> +<br /> +Newfoundland, English settlements in, attacked, <a href="#Page_346">346</a><br /> +<br /> +New France, Company of, see <i>Company</i><br /> +<br /> +New York, British colony, plan for conquest of, <a href="#Page_231">231</a><br /> +<br /> +Nicholson, Francis, lieut.-governor of New York, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">uprising against, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>O</h3> +<br /> +"Old Company," name applied to Company of New France after 1645, <a href="#Page_36">36</a><br /> +<br /> +Olier, M. Jean, founder of Sulpician order, obtains grant of Island of Montreal, <a href="#Page_32">32</a><br /> +<br /> +Oneida Indians, torture Father Millet, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">party of, destroyed, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">three burnt alive, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">negotiate for peace, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Onondagas (Iroquois tribe), demand a French colony, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">escape of colony, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">a number treacherously captured for king's galleys, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">their orator Teganissorens, <a href="#Page_338">338</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">campaign against, <a href="#Page_350">350-3</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Onontio (Big Mountain), name applied by Indians to French governors, <a href="#Page_35">35</a><br /> +<br /> +Orehaoué, Cayuga chief, brought back from France by Frontenac, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">services rendered by, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>, <a href="#Page_339">339</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Ottawa Indians, keen for trade and cheap goods, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">entertained at Quebec, <a href="#Page_310">310</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Ourouehati, Onondaga orator, otherwise known as Grande Gueule, Garangula, and Big Mouth, see <i>Big Mouth</i>.<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>P</h3> +<br /> +Parkman, Francis, referred to, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a><br /> +<br /> +Parliaments in France, subjection of, to royal power, <a href="#Page_152">152</a><br /> +<br /> +Pemaquid, Fort, destroyed 1689, rebuilt 1692, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">taken by Iberville, <a href="#Page_331">331</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Pentagouet, fortress on western boundary of Acadia, captured by freebooters, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">by New Englanders, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Permits, see <i>Trading Permits</i>, <i>Hunting Permits</i><br /> +<br /> +Perrot, François Marie, succeeds Maisonneuve as governor of Montreal, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">engages in illicit trading and shields <i>coureurs de bois</i>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his wife a niece of Talon, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrests Bizard, an officer of Frontenac's, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">summoned before Sovereign Council, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrested at Quebec, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">character and conduct, <a href="#Page_96">96-7</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">protests competency of Sovereign Council to try him, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">specially commended to Frontenac in a dispatch from minister, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sent to France, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">allowed to return to Canada after brief imprisonment, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">removed to government of Acadia, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">continues to trade, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">dismissal and death, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Perrot, Rev. M., <i>curé</i> of Montreal, disapproves of Abbé Fénelon's sermon, <a href="#Page_95">95</a><br /> +<br /> +Perrot, Nicolas, ordered to rendezvous at Sault with Indian allies, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrives with contingent, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">accompanies Louvigny to Michilimackinac, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">exhibits Iroquois scalps, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Peuvret, clerk of the council, imprisoned by Frontenac, <a href="#Page_135">135</a><br /> +<br /> +Peyras, Jean Baptiste, member of Sovereign Council, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">visits Acadia, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Phipps, Sir William, birth and early life, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">conducts expedition against Acadia, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">captures Port Royal, but violates terms of surrender, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">ravages committed by his men, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">captures other Acadian posts, and establishes government, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">returns to Boston with prisoners and booty, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sails from Nantasket, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrives at Quebec, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">demands surrender, <a href="#Page_285">285-7</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his attack repulsed, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">decides on retreat, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his estimate of his losses, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">disastrous return voyage, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">goes to England, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">returns as governor of Massachusetts, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">recall and death of, <a href="#Page_331">331</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Plet, cousin of La Salle, comes from France in connection with financial matters, <a href="#Page_177">177</a><br /> +<br /> +Pontchartrain, Marquis de, minister of marine, <a href="#Page_72">72</a> (note)<br /> +<br /> +Pontgravé, François de, voyages of, to St. Lawrence, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a><br /> +<br /> +Port Hayes (Hudson's Bay), captured by Troyes, <a href="#Page_206">206</a><br /> +<br /> +Port Nelson, captured by Iberville, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">retaken by English, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">again taken by Iberville, <a href="#Page_349">349</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Portneuf, M. de, commands war party from Quebec, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">captures Fort Loyal, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">removed for peculation, <a href="#Page_330">330</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Port Royal (Annapolis), capital of Acadia, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">captured by Phipps, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Prevost, town-major of Quebec, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">strengthens defences, <a href="#Page_284">284</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Prévôté (provost's court) abolished 1674, re-established 1677, <a href="#Page_107">107</a><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>Q</h3> +<br /> +Quebec, foundation of, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">capture of, by Kirke, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">restored to France, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">population of city in 1666, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">first ball given at, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sea expedition planned against by New Englanders, <a href="#Page_268">268-77</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defences strengthened, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack by squadron under Phipps, <a href="#Page_285">285-300</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">defences further strengthened, <a href="#Page_326">326</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Queylus, Rev. M. de, Sulpician, appointed vicar-general for Canada, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sent back to France by bishop Laval, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>R</h3> +<br /> +Radisson, Pierre Esprit, proceedings of, in Hudson's Bay, <a href="#Page_204">204-5</a><br /> +<br /> +Rageot, Gilles, clerk to attorney-general, <a href="#Page_106">106</a><br /> +<br /> +Rainsford, John, rescues comrades cast away on Anticosti, <a href="#Page_304">304</a><br /> +<br /> +Ramesay, M. de, commands militia in attack on Iroquois, <a href="#Page_351">351</a><br /> +<br /> +Rat, the, Kondiaronk, Huron Indian, wrecks peace negotiations with Iroquois, <a href="#Page_222">222</a><br /> +<br /> +Récollet missionaries, brought out by Champlain, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">difficulties encountered by, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">not allowed to return to Canada after restoration to France, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">permitted to return, 1668, <a href="#Page_72">72</a> (note);</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">favoured by Frontenac and La Salle, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">offer to serve the parishes without any fixed provision for their support, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">not greatly esteemed by the bishop, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>; missions, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<i>Relations des Jésuites</i>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, and note<br /> +<br /> +Repentigny, band of Iroquois surprised and destroyed at, <a href="#Page_308">308</a><br /> +<br /> +Repentigny, M. de, goes to France on behalf of early colonists, <a href="#Page_36">36</a><br /> +<br /> +Representative institutions, complete absence of, <a href="#Page_131">131-2</a><br /> +<br /> +Richelieu, Cardinal, creates Company of New France, <a href="#Page_19">19</a><br /> +<br /> +Richelieu River, highway to Iroquois country, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fort erected at mouth of, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Rivière Ouelle, alleged repulse of party of New Englanders at, <a href="#Page_291">291</a><br /> +<br /> +Rochemonteix, Rev. P. Camille, S.J., on <i>Jesuit Relations</i>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a><br /> +<br /> +Rohault, M. de, establishes college for boys at Quebec, <a href="#Page_28">28</a><br /> +<br /> +Rooseboom, Johannes, of Albany, carries goods to Lake Indians, <a href="#Page_201">201</a><br /> +<br /> +Rupert, fort (Hudson's Bay), captured by Troyes, <a href="#Page_206">206</a><br /> +<br /> +Ryswick, Peace of, restores to England her Hudson's Bay ports, <a href="#Page_349">349</a><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>S</h3> +<br /> +Saco River, fort built at falls of, <a href="#Page_329">329</a><br /> +<br /> +Sagard, Théodat, Récollet, on bad examples shown by colonists to Indians, <a href="#Page_14">14</a><br /> +<br /> +Saint-Castin, Baron de, <a href="#Page_329">329</a> and note;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">leads Indians against fort Pemaquid, <a href="#Page_331">331</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Saint Simon, his statements regarding Frontenac, <a href="#Page_65">65</a><br /> +<br /> +Saint Vallier, M. de, chosen by Bishop Laval as his successor, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">comes out to Canada first as vicar-general, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his first impression of country and inhabitants, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his revised opinion, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pays pastoral visit to Acadia (1686), <a href="#Page_271">271</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">issues mandate regarding the theatre, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">pays Frontenac 1000 francs on condition <i>Tartuffe</i> shall not be produced, <a href="#Page_337">337</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Salmon Falls, massacre of, <a href="#Page_251">251</a><br /> +<br /> +Salmon River, La Barre's expedition encamps at, <a href="#Page_184">184</a><br /> +<br /> +Savage, Major Thomas, third in command in Phipps's expedition, <a href="#Page_281">281</a><br /> +<br /> +Schenectady, massacre of, <a href="#Page_245">245-8</a><br /> +<br /> +Schuyler, Captain John, his raid on Laprairie, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">comes to Quebec with news of peace, <a href="#Page_354">354</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Schuyler, Peter, commands expedition from Albany, <a href="#Page_311">311</a><br /> +<br /> +Sedgwick, Major Robert, seizes Acadia by Cromwell's orders, <a href="#Page_268">268</a><br /> +<br /> +Seignelay, Marquis de, succeeds his father, Colbert, in ministry of marine, <a href="#Page_72">72</a> (note);<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">marries Mlle. d'Allegre, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Seigniories, establishment of, <a href="#Page_56">56</a><br /> +<br /> +Seminary (Quebec), establishment of, <a href="#Page_48">48</a><br /> +<br /> +Seneca Indians, show quarrelsome temper, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack Illinois, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">enraged by murder of a chieftain on territory of Ottawas, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">accept terms of peace, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attack canoes of French traders, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Denonville's expedition against, <a href="#Page_207">207-14</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Serigny, Le Moyne de, goes to France on Hudson's Bay affairs, <a href="#Page_345">345</a><br /> +<br /> +Sévigné, Mme. de, her son-in-law candidate for governorship of Canada, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">describes severities exercised on peasants in revolt in France, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<i>Six Friends</i>, flagship of Phipps, <a href="#Page_281">281</a><br /> +<br /> +<i>Soleil d'Afrique</i>, French frigate, brings supplies, <a href="#Page_319">319</a><br /> +<br /> +Sovereign Council, created, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reorganized, <a href="#Page_105">105-6</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">resembled a parliament in French sense, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Frontenac claims to be styled President of, <a href="#Page_133">133-40</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">fixed prices of goods, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></span><br /> +<br /> +St. Cirque, M. de, killed at Laprairie, <a href="#Page_312">312</a><br /> +<br /> +St. Denis, Juchereau de, wounded in skirmish on Beauport flats, <a href="#Page_294">294</a><br /> +<br /> +Ste. Hélène, Le Moyne de, accompanies expedition to Hudson's Bay, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">commands in war party against Schenectady, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">mortally wounded in skirmish on Beauport flats, <a href="#Page_299">299</a></span><br /> +<br /> +St. John's, Newfoundland, taken by Iberville, <a href="#Page_347">347</a><br /> +<br /> +St. Louis, fort, built by La Salle, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">seized by La Barre, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Subercase, Lieutenant, in command at Lachine on occasion of massacre, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sent to Island of Orleans to watch Phipps, <a href="#Page_303">303</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Sulpicians, religious order, come to Montreal with Maisonneuve, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">work of colonization done by, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Frontenac friendly to, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">seigneurs of the Island of Montreal, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">their missions, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Syndics, local representatives without votes provided for in first council, <a href="#Page_37">37</a><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>T</h3> +<br /> +Teganissorens (Decanisora), Onondaga orator, <a href="#Page_338">338</a><br /> +<br /> +Talon, Jean, intendant, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">character, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">attitude to the clerical power, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">labours for the prosperity of the country, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">recalled at his own request, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">instructed to guard against ecclesiastical encroachments, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">secures permission for Récollets to return to Canada, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Temple, Sir Thomas, English governor of Acadia (1656), <a href="#Page_268">268</a><br /> +<br /> +Theatrical representations at Quebec, <a href="#Page_336">336</a><br /> +<br /> +Three Rivers, fort erected at, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">population in 1666, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Thury, abbé, missionary to Abenaquis, <a href="#Page_250">250</a><br /> +<br /> +Tilly, Le Gardeur de, member of Sovereign Council, <a href="#Page_106">106</a><br /> +<br /> +Tonty, Henri, La Salle's lieutenant at Fort Crèvecoeur, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">joins expedition against Iroquois, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrives from Illinois country with <i>coureurs de bois</i>, <a href="#Page_325">325</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Tracy, Marquis de, appointed king's lieutenant-general for all his possessions in America, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrives at Quebec, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">marches against Iroquois (Mohawks), <a href="#Page_53">53</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">concludes peace, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">removes Maisonneuve from governorship of Montreal, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">is recalled, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Trading permits, issued by governor, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">objected to by bishop as involving carrying of liquor to the Indians, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">prohibited by king, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">permitted under limitations, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Troyes, Chevalier de, leads expedition to Hudson's Bay, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">joins expedition against Iroquois, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">in charge of fort at Niagara, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>U</h3> +<br /> +Urfé, abbé d', haughtily treated by Frontenac, <a href="#Page_110">110</a><br /> +<br /> +Ursuline Convent, Quebec, foundation of, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">sister Margaret Bourgeoys urged to join, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>V</h3> +<br /> +Vaillant, Jesuit father, sent as negotiator to Albany, <a href="#Page_218">218</a><br /> +<br /> +Valrennes, M. de, commandant of Fort Frontenac, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">tries to cut off retreat of Peter Schuyler at Chambly, <a href="#Page_313">313</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Vauban, M. de, French engineer, prepares plans for defence of Quebec, <a href="#Page_326">326</a><br /> +<br /> +Vaudreuil, M. de, acts as chief-of-staff to Governor Denonville, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">acting governor of Montreal, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">surprises and destroys band of Indians at Repentigny, <a href="#Page_308">308</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Ventadour, Henri de Lévis, Duke of, lieutenant-general of New France, <a href="#Page_17">17</a><br /> +<br /> +Verchères, Mlle. Madeleine, defends fort against Iroquois, <a href="#Page_319">319</a><br /> +<br /> +Verreau, abbé, on attempt to civilize Indians, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">on character of Frontenac, <a href="#Page_360">360</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Villebon, governor of Acadia, mentions burning of a prisoner, <a href="#Page_328">328</a><br /> +<br /> +Villeray, Louis Rouer de, first councillor, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Frontenac's opinion of, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his right to title of "esquire" challenged by Frontenac, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">waits on Frontenac, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Villieu, M. de, leads Abenaquis in attack on English settlements, <a href="#Page_330">330</a><br /> +<br /> +Vincent, Jesuit father, celebrates first mass at Montreal, <a href="#Page_34">34</a><br /> +<br /> +Vitre, Charles Denis de, member of Sovereign Council, <a href="#Page_106">106</a><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<h3>W</h3> +<br /> +Walley, Major, second in command to Phipps, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">lands with troops on Beauport flats, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his forces suffer severely, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">draws off his men, leaving artillery behind, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">his explanation of defeat of expedition, <a href="#Page_300">300</a></span><br /> +<br /> +West India Company, creation of, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">failure of, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Winthrop, Fitz-John, of Connecticut, commands expedition against Montreal, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>;<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">arrives at Albany, and pushes on to Wood Creek, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>;</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">returns to Albany and to Hartford (Connecticut), <a href="#Page_281">281</a></span><br /> +<br /> +Wood Creek, expedition against Montreal encamps at, <a href="#Page_280">280</a><br /> + + +<br /><br /> +<div class="footnotes"> +<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> <i>Histoire de la Colonie Française en Canada</i>, vol. i. p. +79.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> According to the <i>Jesuit Relations</i> for 1643-4, the Hurons +cried out in their despair: "The Iroquois, our mortal enemies, do not +believe in God, have no love for prayer, commit all kinds of crimes, and +nevertheless they prosper. We, since we have abandoned the customs of +our fathers, are slaughtered and burnt, our villages are destroyed. What +good do we get by lending ear to the Gospel, if conversion and death +walk hand in hand?" Garneau, who quotes this passage, adds: "One tribe +of them that had counted its warriors by hundreds was now reduced to +thirty."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> <i>Les Jésuites et la Nouvelle France.</i> Vol. i. Introduction, +p. xv. More than two centuries earlier the pious Superior of the +Ursuline Convent, Mère de l'Incarnation, had referred, in her own gentle +way, to their incompleteness. "If," she says, "any one is disposed to +conclude that the labours of the convent are useless because no mention +is made of them in the <i>Relations</i>, the inference must equally be drawn +that Monseigneur the Bishop is useless; that his Seminary is useless; +that the Seminary of the Jesuit fathers themselves is useless; that the +ecclesiastics of Montreal are useless; and that finally the Hospital +nuns are useless; because of none of these persons or things do the +<i>Relations</i> say a word. Nothing is mentioned save what relates to the +progress of the Gospel; and, even so, lots of things are cut out after +the record gets to France."—<i>Letires Spirituelles</i>, edition of 1681, p. +259.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> <i>Jesuits in North America</i>, chap. xv.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> See the excellent monograph by M. Thos. Chapais, <i>Jean +Talon, Intendant de la Nouvelle France</i>, Quebec, 1904.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> See particularly the interesting work of Mr. Ernest Myrand, +<i>Frontenac et ses Amis</i>, Quebec, 1902.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> It was not till 1717 that the merchants of Montreal and +Quebec were allowed to meet and discuss business affairs.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Quoted by Faillon, vol. iii. p. 432.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> This office was held by Colbert (in connection with a +general control of marine, finance, and public works) from 1669 to the +date of his death, 6th September 1683; by his son, the Marquis of +Seignelay, from 1683 to the date of his own death, 3rd November 1690; +and from that time to the conclusion of the period covered by this +narrative by the Marquis of Pontchartrain.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Through the influence of Talon, the king was induced in +the year 1668 to sign a decree permitting the Récollets to return to +Canada, and reinstating them in their former possessions. Père Leclercq, +Récollet, says they were very much wanted. "For thirty years," to quote +his words, "complaint was made in Canada that consciences were being +burdened; and the more the colony increased in population the greater +was the outcry. I sincerely hope that there was no real occasion for it, +and that the great rigour of the [Jesuit] clergy was useful and +necessary. Still the Frenchman loves liberty, and under all skies is +opposed to constraint, even in religion."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> He had been speaking of the slow growth of the population +of Canada.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Père Leclercq, <i>Premier Etablissement de la Foi</i>, vol. ii. +p. 117.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> It was no doubt in large measure due to the extraordinary +physical vitality of the French race in Canada that so strong a tendency +was manifested towards this reversion, which of course was facilitated +by the general condition of life in a country that was little else than +forest. "<i>L'école buissonnière</i>" was at every one's door, and the men of +the colony were not alone in feeling the call of the wild. Mère Marie de +l'Incarnation, in her <i>Lettres Spirituelles</i> says: "Sans l'éducation que +nous donnons aux filles françaises qui sont un peu grandes, durant +l'espace de six mois environ, elles seraient des brutes pires que les +sauvages; c'est pourquoi on nous les donne presque toutes, les unes +après les autres." See Ferland's <i>Cours d'Histoire du Canada</i>, vol. ii. +p. 85, who quotes this passage without any reference to page. Passages +of similar purport may, however, be found on pp. 231 and 258 of the +first edition (1681) of the <i>Lettres Spirituelles</i>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Mr. P. T. Bedard, in his lecture on <i>Frontenac</i>, published +in the <i>Annuaire</i> of the Institut Canadien of Quebec for 1880 speaks of +Frontenac's "duplicity" in this matter, a stronger term than the facts +seem to justify.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Vol. iii. pp. 446-52.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> <i>Le Comte de Frontenac</i>, p. 159.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> It is to be found in Margry, <i>Mémoires et Documents des +Origines Françaises des Pays d'Outre Mer</i>, vol. i. pp. 301-25.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> See Report (Procès Verbal) of the proceedings of the +assembly in Margry, <i>Mémoires et Documents</i>, vol. i. pp. 405-20.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> He had been charged some years before by a commissioner +sent out by the Company of the Hundred Associates with embezzlement, and +had taken part in a violent attack on the commissioner and in the +seizure of his papers.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> <i>Vie de Colbert</i>, vol. i. p. 502.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Quoted by Gaillardin, <i>Histoire du Règne de Louis XIV</i>, +vol. iv. p. 311.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> See extract from a letter written by him in Faillon, vol. +iii. p. 315. The Récollet, Père Leclercq, is uncharitable enough to hint +that the canoe accident may have been made to cover a lack of the +documents which the explorer professed to have had with him.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> See the <i>Recit d'un ami de l'Abbé Galinée</i>, in Margry, +vol. i.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> Mère de l'Incarnation remarked even in her day the +decrease of the native population. "When we arrived in this country," +she says, "the Indians were so numerous that it seemed as if they were +going to grow into a vast population; but after they were baptized God +called them to Himself either by disease or by the hands of the +Iroquois. It was perhaps His wise design to permit their death lest +their hearts should turn to wickedness."—<i>Lettres Spirituelles</i>, +edition of 1681, p. 230.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Colden pithily sums up the result of the campaign in the +following words: "Thus a very chargeable and fatiguing expedition (which +was to strike terror of the French name into the stubborn hearts of the +Five Nations) ended in a scold between the French general and an old +Indian."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> Saint Vallier, <i>Etat présent de l'Eglise et de la Colonie +Française</i>, p. 84.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> <i>New York Colonial Documents</i>, vol. ix. p. 268. See also +"Transactions between England and France, relating to Hudson's Bay, +1687," in <i>Canadian Archives</i>, 1883, p. 173.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> Clément, <i>Vie de Colbert</i>, p. 456.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> "In dealing with indigenous races," observes M. Lorin, +"governors were sometimes obliged to sacrifice a few victims to the +ferocity of savages; and it was not on the eve of a campaign that it +would have been wise to exhibit towards the Iroquois a humanity that +would have been mistaken for weakness."—<i>Comte de Frontenac</i>, p. 333. +We may certainly agree that it would have been difficult for those who +had captured peaceful and unsuspecting natives for the horrible régime +of the galleys to adopt a high humanitarian tone in reproving the +cruelties of their Indian confederates and converts.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> <i>New York Colonial Documents</i>, vol. ix. p. 389.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> See his <i>Lake St. Louis, Old and New</i>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> Both as regards the number of the slain and the details of +the massacre Charlevoix simply repeats the statements made by Frontenac +in a despatch dated the 15th November 1689, one month after his return +to Canada, and after several days spent at the scene of the disaster and +at Montreal. It is he who speaks of the "<i>enlèvement de cent vingt +personnes après un massacre de deux cents brûlés, rôtis vifs, mangés, et +les enfans arrachés du ventre de leurs mères</i>." The tendency in +furnishing information to the French government was always to exaggerate +the havoc wrought by the Indians. At the time Frontenac wrote this +despatch he was not aware of the further massacre at La Chesnaye, the +news of which only reached him on the 17th of November.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> <i>Frontenac et ses Amis</i>, p. 93.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> <i>Comte de Frontenac</i>, p. 358.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> Far from yielding to Frontenac's view of the matter, +Denonville doggedly adhered to his own opinion that the fort ought to be +entirely abandoned; and, when it was found that it had only been partly +destroyed, he wrote to the king advising that Frontenac should be +ordered to send up three hundred men with instructions to demolish it +utterly.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> Parkman tells the story in his usual brilliant manner in +chapter iii. of his <i>Old Régime in Canada</i>. Père Charlevoix gives the +facts and adds: "Je l'ai vu en 1721, âgé de quatre-vingt ans, plein de +forces et de santé; toute la colonie rendant hommage à sa vertu et à son +mérite," vol. ii. p. 111, edition of 1744.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> <i>New York Colonial Documents</i>, p. 464.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Perrot and his party, according to Monseignat's narrative, +left the end of the Island of Montreal on the 22nd May. The Albany—or +more correctly Schenectady party, for they did not venture to attack +Albany—returned towards the end of March. Frontenac's message must have +been composed some months before Perrot's departure, otherwise he would +undoubtedly have mentioned with pride the Schenectady massacre. It was +certainly not up to date.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> "There was little resistance," says Père Chrétien +Leclercq, a contemporary writer, "except at one house, where Sieur de +Marque Montigny was wounded; but Sieur de Ste. Hélène, having come up, +all were slaughtered with sword or tomahawk, the Indians sparing no +one."—<i>Premier Etablissement de la Foi.</i></p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> <i>Documentary History of New York</i>, vol. ii. pp. 164-9.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> <i>New York Colonial Documents</i>, vol. ix. p. 440. See also +Lorin, <i>Comte de Frontenac</i>, chap. x.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> <i>Comte de Frontenac</i>, p. 367.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> Names given by the Indians to the governors of New York +and Massachusetts; Corlaer being a corruption of Cuyler, a Dutchman of +the early period held in high honour by them, and Kishon signifying "The +Fish."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> See "Winthrop's Journal" in <i>New York Colonial Documents</i>, +vol. iv. p. 193.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> The letter is given in Cotton Mather's <i>Magnalia</i>, vol. i. +p. 186.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> <i>New York Colonial Documents</i>, vol. ix. p. 486.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> The same mistake was destined to be made in later days, +more than once, under the English régime.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> "La Canardière (the name given to the flats where the New +Englanders landed) was in those days nothing but a horrible marsh, +covered with impenetrable woods thickly fringed with underbrush. So +dense was the thicket that in full daylight our skirmishers were +invisible to the English, who in their exasperation had nothing to guide +them in firing but the smoke of their enemies' muskets."—Myrand, <i>Sir +William Phipps devant Quebec</i>, p. 271.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> <i>Premier Etablissement de la Foi</i>, vol. ii. p. 434. As +Leclercq is the one authority of importance of whom Mr. Myrand, in his +discussion of this matter, makes no mention, his exact words, which I +have not elsewhere seen reproduced, may be quoted: "L'amiral le suivit +(le contre-amiral) d'assez près et avec précipitation; il fila tout le +cable de son ancre qu'il abandonna; son pavillon fut emporté dans la +rivière et laissé à notre discrétion, que nos gens allèrent pêcher."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_50_50" id="Footnote_50_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> In his work already quoted, <i>Sir William Phipps devant +Quebec</i>, Mr. Myrand goes very carefully, and in a spirit of great +impartiality, into the question of the probable losses on the New +England side. Those on the Canadian side he is able to establish by +means of authentic records. Mr. Myrand has laid his readers under great +obligations by reprinting the principal original documents bearing on +the Phipps expedition, as well as by his own intelligent discussion of +the whole episode.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_51_51" id="Footnote_51_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> As Belmont was a very ardent enemy of the drink traffic he +may have been a little inclined to exaggerate in these matters.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_52_52" id="Footnote_52_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> Chapter xiv.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_53_53" id="Footnote_53_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> The Baron de Saint-Castin had come to Canada in 1665 as an +ensign in the Carignan-Salières Regiment, being then only in his +seventeenth year. On the disbanding of the regiment he had gone to +Acadia, and betaken himself to the life of the woods. He became a famous +hunter and trader, and acquired great influence over the Indian tribes. +The chief Madocawando, as above mentioned, was his father-in-law, but he +had others.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_54_54" id="Footnote_54_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> The Peace of Ryswick, 20th September 1697.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_55_55" id="Footnote_55_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> +<span title="Ta koina tôn anthrôpônpathê.">Τὰ κοινὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων πάθη.</span>—Aristotle, <i>Rhet.</i> vii.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_56_56" id="Footnote_56_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> <i>Monseigneur de Saint Vallier et son Temps</i>, p. 32.</p></div> + +</div> + + +<br /><br /> +<b>Transcriber's Notes:</b><br /> +hyphenation, spelling and grammar have been preserved as in the original<br /> +Page 203, extirpating Protestanism ==> extirpating Protestantism<br /> +Page 249, that of Pemquid ==> that of Pemaquid<br /> +Page 250, fort at Pemquid ==> fort at Pemaquid<br /> +Page 287, much as may be, ==> much as may be.<br /> +Page 291, she tell us ==> she tells us<br /> +Page 307, the neigbourhood. ==> the neighbourhood.<br /> +Footnote 55, "hover" mouse to see Greek transliteration + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Count Frontenac, by William Dawson LeSueur + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COUNT FRONTENAC *** + +***** This file should be named 37341-h.htm or 37341-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/7/3/4/37341/ + +Produced by David T. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Count Frontenac + Makers of Canada, Volume 3 + +Author: William Dawson LeSueur + +Release Date: September 7, 2011 [EBook #37341] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COUNT FRONTENAC *** + + + + +Produced by David T. Jones, Ross Cooling and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Canada Team at +http://www.pgdpcanada.net + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Frontenac arms and signature] + + + + + THE MAKERS OF CANADA + + COUNT + FRONTENAC + + BY + WILLIAM D. LE SUEUR + + + + TORONTO + MORANG & CO., LIMITED + 1909 + + + + + _Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada in the + year 1906 by Morang & Co., Limited, in the Department of + Agriculture_ + + + + + PREFACE + + +The author of the following work desires to acknowledge his obligations +to two preceding writers who have dealt with the life and times of Count +Frontenac, the late Mr. Parkman, and M. Henri Lorin. The merits of the +former are too well known and too thoroughly established to need any +commendation at this time. If he charms by the lucidity and +picturesqueness of his style, none the less does he achieve a high level +of historical accuracy, and manifest the control of the true spirit of +historical criticism. The work of M. Lorin is, perhaps, less attractive +in point of style, but it treats the whole subject from an independent +point of view, and in a very comprehensive manner. It is a +treasure-house of carefully sifted facts in relation to the career of +Canada's most famous governor under the old regime. A certain French +writer once complimented another--a dim recollection suggests that it +was Buffon who so complimented President Debrosses in regard to his work +on language--by saying that whoever treated the same subject "_apres +lui_" would also have to do it "_d'apres lui_"; and such the author +inclines to think has, to some extent, been his situation in relation to +his two able and industrious predecessors. At the same time the present +work has not been written without consultation of original sources, and +it is trusted that it will be found--for Canadian readers especially--a +not unserviceable or uninteresting narrative. + + W. D. LE SUEUR + + + + + CONTENTS + + + _CHAPTER I_ Page + + CANADA BEFORE FRONTENAC, 1603 TO 1632 1 + + + _CHAPTER II_ + + CANADA BEFORE FRONTENAC, 1632 TO 1672 23 + + + _CHAPTER III_ + + THE BEGINNING OF FRONTENAC'S ADMINISTRATION 61 + + + _CHAPTER IV_ + + THE COMMENCEMENT OF TROUBLES 87 + + + _CHAPTER V_ + + DIVIDED POWER 105 + + + _CHAPTER VI_ + + THE LIFE OF A COLONY 131 + + + _CHAPTER VII_ + + GOVERNORSHIP OF M. DE LA BARRE, 1682 TO 1685 171 + + + _CHAPTER VIII_ + + GOVERNORSHIP OF MARQUIS DE DENONVILLE, 1685 TO 1689 197 + + + _CHAPTER IX_ + + FRONTENAC TO THE RESCUE 229 + + + _CHAPTER X_ + + FRONTENAC DEFENDER OF CANADA 263 + + + _CHAPTER XI_ + + FIRE AND SWORD ON THE BORDER 305 + + + _CHAPTER XII_ + + THE DRAMA OF WAR--PEACE AT THE LAST 333 + + + INDEX 365 + + + + + CHAPTER I + + CANADA BEFORE FRONTENAC + + 1608 TO 1632 + + +When Count Frontenac landed at Quebec, in the month of September 1672, +to administer the government of Canada or, as it was then more generally +called, New France, the country had been for a period of a little over +sixty years under continuous French rule. The period may, indeed, be +limited to exactly sixty years if we take as the starting-point the +commission issued to Samuel de Champlain on the 15th of October 1612 as +"Commander in New France," under the authority of the Count de Soissons, +who had been appointed by the queen regent, Marie de Medicis, as +lieutenant-general of that territory. What had been accomplished during +those sixty odd years? How had the country developed, and what were the +elements of the situation which confronted Frontenac on his arrival? +Answers to these questions may be gathered, it is hoped, from the +following brief introductory narrative. + +The territorial claims of France in the gulf and valley of the St. +Lawrence were founded on the discoveries made in the name of the French +king, Francis I, by that brave Breton mariner, Jacques Cartier, in the +celebrated voyages undertaken by him in the years 1534 and 1535. An +attempt at colonization made in the latter year, the site chosen being +the left bank of the St. Charles near Quebec, failed miserably; nor were +the similar attempts made in 1541 by Cartier and in 1542 by Roberval any +more successful. Cartier did not again return to Canada, and all efforts +in the direction of colonization were suspended for sixty years, though +French fishermen continued to visit the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In the +year 1603 a notable figure appears upon the scene, Samuel Champlain, the +true founder of French power on the continent of America. A few years +previously a certain naval captain named Chauvin, who enjoyed +considerable influence at court, had applied for and obtained from King +Henry IV a patent granting him exclusive trading privileges in the St. +Lawrence. This he had done at the instance of one Pontgrave, a leading +merchant of St. Malo, well acquainted with the St Lawrence trade, whose +business instinct had led him to see that the fur trade alone of that +region might be a source of vast wealth to any single company +controlling it. One condition of the grant was that not less than five +hundred persons should be settled in the country, and another that +provision should be made for the religious instruction both of the +settlers and of the natives. Having obtained the patent, neither Chauvin +nor Pontgrave, whom he appointed as his lieutenant, seems to have +thought of anything but the conversion of their privilege into money. +They sailed to the St. Lawrence, but proceeded no further than +Tadousac, where they set up a trading establishment. At the end of the +first summer season they returned to France, leaving some sixteen men +behind them so ill provided for that eleven died during the winter of +disease and hardship. The rest would have died of starvation had not +friendly Indians supplied them with food. Chauvin made two more trips to +the St. Lawrence without doing anything to redeem his engagements, and +in the year 1601 he died. + +The death of Chauvin having voided his patent, the king was moved to +constitute Knight Commander de Chastes, Governor of Dieppe, his +representative in the western world. A company was formed, and an +expedition was organized and placed under the command of Pontgrave, as a +man having special knowledge of the St. Lawrence navigation. By request +of de Chastes, Champlain was associated with him. At this time Champlain +was thirty-six years of age, and had already distinguished himself as +soldier, sailor, explorer, and geographer. His chief work in the two +latter characters had been done in connection with a voyage which he had +made to the West Indies and Mexico in one of the vessels of the King of +Spain. On his return he described the places he had visited in a work, +still extant, illustrated by curious maps and pictures of his own +drawing. Champlain had higher views than mere money making and no more +valuable man could have been assigned to the expedition. Setting sail +with Pontgrave from Honfleur on the 15th March 1603, he arrived at +Tadousac on the 24th May. How earnestly he was bent on carrying the +Catholic faith into the wilds of Canada is shown by a conversation he +reports having had with an Algonquin chief, into whose mind he was +trying to instil correct views as to the origin of things, and +particularly of the human race. The Algonquin had been under the +impression that the Creator had placed arrows in the ground, and then +turned them into men. Champlain assured him that this was an error, man +having been made in the first place out of clay, and woman from a rib +taken from his side while he slept. He dwelt somewhat also on the +propriety and duty of the invocation of saints, with a view, as the Abbe +Faillon hints,[1] to counteracting any prejudice against that doctrine +which Chauvin and his companions, who were Calvinists, might have +endeavoured to create in the savage mind. Judging, however, by the +Algonquin's replies to Champlain's catechising, his mental attitude was +one of admirable neutrality, securely founded on nescience, regarding +any or all of the doctrines in debate between Rome and Geneva. Chauvin +had attended strictly to business. + +Before returning to France, Champlain explored the river St. Lawrence as +far as the Lachine Rapids. On the way up he anchored before Quebec, the +situation of which he describes; doubtless he recognized it as the place +near which Jacques Cartier and his men had spent their terrible winter. +In passing Three Rivers he noticed how advantageously it was situated +both for trade and for defence. He explored the country in the vicinity +of the Lachine Rapids sufficiently to recognize that the land to his +right, as he ascended, was an island (Montreal). Of the rapids +themselves he says that never had he seen a torrent rushing with such +impetuosity. Returning to Tadousac he proceeded down the river to Gaspe +and Perce and entered the Baie des Chaleurs. After making, according to +his custom, as many observations and inquiries as possible in regard to +the character and outlines of the country, he returned to Tadousac, and, +gathering his party, which had meanwhile been doing some profitable +trading with the natives, set sail for France, where he arrived on the +20th September. M. de Chastes, under whose authority he and Pontgrave +were acting, had died in the month of May. Champlain, therefore, went +alone to court, exhibited to the king a map he had made of the country, +and gave such information as to its resources and capabilities as he had +personally gathered. The king was much interested; and, desiring that +the work so well begun should be vigorously prosecuted, he issued a +patent to a Huguenot gentleman, Pierre Dugas, Sieur de Monts and +Governor of Pons conferring upon him exclusive trading privileges for a +period of ten years not only in Canada, but in Acadia. The essential +condition of this grant, it has been said, was the establishment in the +countries mentioned of the "Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman faith"; but, +if such was the case, the terms of the document seem a little lacking in +precision, as they speak only of instructing the natives in the +principles of Christianity and the knowledge of God, and thus bringing +them to the light of faith and the practice of the Christian religion. +As de Monts was a Huguenot the generality of these terms may not have +been without significance. + +De Monts had been in Canada before, having accompanied Chauvin on one or +two of his voyages to Tadousac. He had also some knowledge of Acadia, +and had conceived a preference for that region, as being more favourably +situated and milder in climate than Canada so far as he knew it. To that +quarter, therefore, he directed the expedition, which left Havre under +his command in March 1604. The result was complete failure owing to +causes into which it is impossible in this hasty narrative to enter. +Suffice it to say that, opposition having been raised to the privileges +enjoyed by de Monts, the king, who was an accomplished politician--it +was he who had thought Paris "well worth a mass"--cancelled his patent, +and thus destroyed all the expectations which he and his business +associates, who had incurred great expense in equipping the expedition, +had founded thereon. Some progress had been made in settlement at Port +Royal, and excellent relations had been established with the natives, +when in the fall of 1607 the whole colony was recalled to France. +Champlain, who had accompanied this expedition, turned it to good +account in increasing his stores of geographical knowledge. In the +following year, 1608, de Monts succeeded in obtaining a renewal of his +patent for one year. After consultation with Champlain he decided that +Quebec would be the best place at which to attempt a settlement. He +accordingly equipped two vessels for the enterprise, and placed them +under the command of Champlain, whom he appointed as his lieutenant with +full powers of control over the whole expedition. He himself remained +behind in Paris to watch over his interests, which were subject at every +moment to attack. His lieutenant sailed from Honfleur on the 13th April +1608, and arrived at Tadousac on the 3rd of June, and at Quebec on the +3rd of July. Having disembarked his men, Champlain set them to work at +once to clear the level piece of land at the base of the rock, erect a +storehouse and dwellings, and surround the whole with a palisade and +ditch. Thus in the summer of 1608 was the city of Quebec founded, and +the power of France formally established on the North American +continent. + +The first event of note in the annals of the new colony was certainly +not an auspicious one: a plot that was formed by some of the men of the +expedition against the life of their commander. Had the designs of the +conspirators not been brought to light in time, the course of Canadian +history, as we know it, might have been seriously turned aside. Four +men were found guilty, and sentenced to death; the ringleader only, a +Norman named Jean Duval, was executed, the others were sent to France +where their sentences were commuted. Lescarbot, a contemporary writer, +to whom we are indebted for much information respecting the events of +the period, states that the men were dissatisfied with their food; but +from Champlain's own narrative it appears that the plot was formed, if +not before the expedition left France, at least before it reached +Quebec, and that the whole motive of the conspirators was gain, their +intention being to deliver over all Champlain's goods to the Basques and +Spaniards fishing and trading at Tadousac, and to escape on their +vessels with the proceeds of their treason. This danger, however, having +been happily averted, work was proceeded with on what Champlain in his +narrative calls the "habitation," and by the time winter set in the +dwellings were in readiness. The winter was destined to be a most +unhappy one. As before, when Cartier took up his quarters on the banks +of the St. Charles in the winter of 1535-6, scurvy broke out, and twenty +men out of a company of twenty-eight died. + +In the spring of 1609 a reinforcement for the shrunken colony was +brought out by Pontgrave. It was in the summer of that year that +Champlain, with little thought of the consequences his action would +entail, carried out a promise previously made to the Algonquins and +Hurons to assist them in their feud with the Iroquois. Taking eleven +Frenchmen with him in a ship's boat, and accompanied by about three +hundred savages in their canoes, he proceeded as far as the mouth of the +Richelieu River. There most of the savages changed their minds, and +deserted the party. Finding that the boat was not suited to the +navigation of the Richelieu River up which the route to the enemy's +country lay, Champlain sent it back to Quebec and nine men with it. He +with two Frenchmen and sixty Indians proceeded in canoes, and on the +30th of July a band of Iroquois on the war-path was encountered on the +shore of what has since been known as Lake Champlain. The story is +briefly told. Champlain, who had loaded his arquebus with four balls, +brought down at the first shot three Iroquois chiefs, two instantly +killed, and the third mortally wounded. His men did further execution. +The Iroquois, astounded at such swift death, turned and fled. In the +pursuit others were killed. Commenting on this campaign, and a somewhat +similar one of the year following, the Abbe Faillon observes that if +Champlain, instead of siding with the Algonquins and Hurons against the +Iroquois, had declared himself the friend of all the tribes, he would +not only have done more honour to the French name, but would have gained +access for himself and for the missionaries who were to follow him to +all the Indian communities. By the course he actually followed he +inspired the most powerful and best organized of the Indian tribes with +a hatred for the French race and for the religion they professed, which +during a long series of years wreaked itself in countless deeds of +blood, and more than once brought the colony of New France to the verge +of extinction. The massacre of Lachine (1689) was a late harvest of the +blood sown on the shores of Lake Champlain eighty years before. + +The vessels which brought out recruits brought also the news that the +exclusive privilege of trade granted to de Monts had been cancelled, or +at least had not been renewed, though de Monts still retained his +position as the king's lieutenant in New France. Champlain was therefore +obliged to return to France in the autumn and discuss matters. Leaving +Quebec on the 5th September he reached Honfleur on the 14th October. He +saw the king, reported progress, and showed him some of the products of +the country. De Monts renewed his efforts to be reinstated in his +privileges, but without success. In the end it was arranged that +Champlain should return to Canada, which he did, leaving Honfleur on the +8th April 1610, and arriving at Quebec early in May. We pass over the +second attack on the Iroquois, made in the month of June of this year, +in which Champlain was slightly wounded. It is interesting, however, to +learn that, on returning from his campaign, he found a piece of land +near his "habitation" at Quebec, which he had brought under +cultivation, yielding good crops of vegetables, Indian corn, wheat, +rye, and barley. He had been much annoyed on reaching Quebec in the +spring to find that no care had been taken of some grape vines that he +had carefully laid down the previous fall. This was but one example of +an indolent neglect only too characteristic, unhappily, of the Quebec +colonists in after years. + +Towards the end of this summer grave news arrived. The king, Henry IV, +had fallen under the dagger of an assassin. Champlain and Pontgrave both +thought it desirable to return to France without delay, as it was +impossible to say how their interests might be affected by the change of +government. The only incident of importance, so far as is known, which +happened during Champlain's stay in France on this occasion, was his +marriage to a Protestant young lady named Helen Boulle, whom, on account +of her tender years--she was only twelve years old--he left to grow up +under her father's roof, but who brought him as her dowry a much needed +subsidy of six thousand francs. Thus financially reinforced he sailed +again for Canada in the spring of 1611. He had an appointment to keep, +made the previous year, with certain Indians to meet them at the Grand +Saut (Lachine Rapids) to discuss matters of trade and war. He arrived +there on the 28th May, a few days later than he had said, but found no +Indians. Not being a man to waste time he employed himself while waiting +in prospecting the Island of Montreal and erecting a wall, as the +commencement of a fort, almost on the very spot selected thirty-one +years afterwards by Maisonneuve for the same purpose. It has been +conjectured that, if Champlain had known all the advantages possessed by +Montreal, as compared with Quebec, before he began to construct +buildings at the latter place, Montreal would probably have been the +first capital of New France. This, however, seems hardly probable. It +was important that the capital should be a place naturally strong in a +military point of view--"natura fortis," as the motto of the city of +Quebec has it--and of comparatively easy access from the sea; and these +obvious advantages Quebec possessed in a much higher degree than +Montreal. + +De Monts was at last convinced that, under existing conditions, there +was no money in the enterprise to which he was committed. Others could +engage in the fur trade as freely as he, without having any +establishments in Canada to keep up; so he willingly resigned his empty +honours as lieutenant-general, in order to see what he could do as a +private trader, or private member of a trading company. The office of +lieutenant-general passed into the hands of a more powerful person, the +Duke of Conde, who wisely made Champlain his lieutenant, and under whose +auspices a powerful company was formed, consisting of all the traders of +Rouen and St. Malo who wished to join it. The merchants of La Rochelle +had also been invited to take a share in the enterprise, but they held +off, and were consequently left out of the arrangement. Champlain had +returned to France in September 1611, and the difficulties and +oppositions of one kind and another to which the organization of the new +company gave rise kept him there till the spring of 1613, when, again +setting sail for Canada, he arrived at Quebec about the 1st of May. It +was in the early summer of this year that he made his celebrated trip up +the Ottawa River as far as Allumette Island, about one hundred miles +above the city of Ottawa, after which he again returned to France. + +Up to this time nothing had been done by the various trading companies +that had been formed towards the evangelization of the native tribes, +nor even for meeting the spiritual necessities of the Europeans settled +or trading in New France. Champlain, who remained in France during the +whole of the following year (1614), thought it time to take the matter +in hand. He therefore arranged with the Provincial of the Recollet +Fathers, a sub-order of the Franciscans, that six of their members +should go out to New France as missionaries, their maintenance and +lodging to be provided by the company. Four of the fathers sailed with +him from France in the ship _St. Etienne_ of three hundred and fifty +tons, on the 24th April 1615, and arrived at Quebec about the 1st of +June. They were received with many tokens of satisfaction, but the good +fathers were not long in discovering that there was very little zeal for +religion in the colony, and that their work was going to be beset with +the most serious difficulties and discouragements. A Recollet writer, +Theodat Sagard, who came to Canada a year or two later, and who wrote a +most interesting record of his experiences, says that the French +themselves, who were supposed to be Christians, were by their scandalous +lives the greatest impediment to the conversion of the Indians. We +gather from Champlain's narrative that the first celebration of the mass +took place at Riviere des Prairies, a few miles below Montreal, before a +few French and a large number of Indians, "who were full of admiration +at the ceremonies practised, and the ornaments used, the latter in +particular seeming to them, unaccustomed as they were to such things, +very beautiful and interesting." + +Champlain himself was present on this solemn occasion, and it is a cause +of regret to know that he was at the moment under a promise to join the +Huron Indians in another attack on the Iroquois. It was in connection +with this expedition that some of his most interesting geographical +discoveries were made. The point of rendezvous for the warriors was a +Huron village to the west of Lake Simcoe called Cahiague. To reach it +Champlain's Indian guides took the route by the Ottawa River to Lake +Nipissing, thence by the French River into the Georgian Bay, and down +through the clustering islands on its eastern coast to some point not +far from Penetanguishene. Beyond Allumette Island on the Ottawa all was +new to Champlain. He now saw for the first time Lake Simcoe, Sturgeon +Lake, Rice Lake, and finally Lake Ontario. He describes the country he +passed through as most beautiful. The expedition, however, was fated to +be unsuccessful, and came very near to proving most disastrous. The +attack made on a fortified position of the enemy was repelled; Champlain +himself received two painful arrow wounds; and if the Iroquois had only +sent a party to capture and destroy the canoes of the Hurons, the whole +invading force might easily have been annihilated. It was about the +middle of October that the fight took place. Champlain, as soon as his +wounds were healed, was anxious to be conducted back to the Grand Saut, +whence he might make his way to Quebec; but his allies pleaded the +impossibility of sparing men and canoes for the purpose, and he was +consequently obliged to spend the winter with them. Not unnaturally the +French at Quebec had almost given him up for lost, when he made his +appearance among them some time in the month of June 1616. + +Little of interest occurred in the colony, if we may call it by that +name, for several years after this. In 1620 Champlain began the +construction of the Chateau St. Louis on a portion of the ground now +covered by Dufferin Terrace; yet at this date the whole population of +Quebec did not exceed fifty persons. Amongst these there was only one +who could be called a settler in the true sense of the word. This was +Louis Hebert who had come to Canada in 1617 under a contract with the +company, the terms of which do not give us a favourable opinion of the +liberality of that corporation or of their desire to open up the +country. Hebert, who was a chemist and apothecary by profession, was +bound to serve the company for three years for a hundred crowns a year, +his wife and children being also liable to be called upon for any help +they could render. He received an allotment of land; but he could only +work on it at such times as his services were not required by the +company. At the end of three years he might grow crops, but he must sell +his produce to the company at such prices as were current in France. +Notwithstanding these restrictions, Hebert managed in the course of time +to establish himself in comfort, and to become a substantial _bourgeois_ +of the new colony. + +The Recollet fathers had now been five years in the country, yet the +interests of religion were not flourishing. They found that they were +not receiving the assistance from the company that had been promised; +and, not only so, but that their influence with the natives was +constantly being undermined by the company's agents and servants, whose +one preoccupation was trade. In their perplexity and discouragement--for +they were really making no headway at all--it occurred to them that, if +they could have the assistance of a few Jesuit fathers, the situation +might be materially improved, their impression being that the Jesuits, +if they came, would probably have some independent means of their own, +and moreover that the high credit they enjoyed in France would stand +them in good stead in the colony. They consequently sent home one of +their number to conduct negotiations to that end. The result was that, +in the month of June 1625, three Jesuit fathers and two coadjutors came +out to Quebec, to begin that career of evangelization and of dauntless, +self-sacrificing effort which has won for their order an imperishable +name in the annals of French colonization in North America. + +What may be called the first chapter in the history of New France was +now drawing to a close. In 1621 the Duke of Conde had, with the royal +approval, transferred the lieutenant-generalship to the Duke of +Montmorency for a consideration of eleven thousand francs. Some changes +were at the same time made in the organization of the trading company. +In 1625 Montmorency in turn passed over the office to his nephew, Henri +de Levis, Duke of Ventadour. These changes in no way improved the +situation of the settlement at Quebec which, under all managements, was +consistently starved and kept down to the level of a precarious +trading-post. The French during these years were more and more losing +influence with their Indian allies, the Hurons and Montagnais, whose +attitude at times became very menacing, and who actually committed +several murders for which it was impossible to bring them to punishment. +The chief reason for the change of temper on the part of the natives +was that they found they were being systematically cheated by the French +traders, who beat them down to the lowest price for their furs, and +charged them the highest price for commodities sold. A Recollet writer +tells a story of an Indian chief which places the character of the red +man in a much more favourable light than that of the civilized Europeans +with whom he was dealing. The chief, at the request of some of his +people, was begging one of the agents of the company to treat them with +a little more fairness and humanity. The agent, after considerable +discussion, offered the chief to do business with him personally on more +liberal terms, but said he could not make any change as regards the +other Indians. "You are insulting me then," said the chief, "for if I +were to consent to such an arrangement I should deserve to be hanged by +my own people. I am their captain; it is for them I am speaking, not for +myself." + +Things had reached such a pass that Champlain thought it necessary to +speak very plainly to the home authorities. Cardinal Richelieu, who was +at this time at the head of affairs in France, and specially in charge +of the maritime interests of the kingdom, determined on what he hoped +would be a radical measure of reform, namely the formation of a company +on a much wider basis than any preceding one, and consisting of persons +of higher mark and responsibility, who should hold their powers directly +from himself. The edict establishing the company, the legal name of +which was the Company of New France, but which was afterwards more +commonly known as the Company of the Hundred Associates, bore date the +29th April 1627. The preamble set forth in forcible terms the lamentable +failure of all the previous trading associations to redeem their pledges +in the matter of colonization; and the new associates were, by the terms +of their charter, bound in the most formal and positive manner, to +convey annually to the colony, beginning in the following year, 1628, +from two to three hundred _bona fide_ settlers, and in the fifteen +following years to transport thither a total of not less than four +thousand persons male and female. The settlers were to be maintained for +three years, until they could get their land under cultivation, and then +for one season till they had reaped their crops. Provision was also to +be made for the maintenance of a sufficient number of clergy to meet the +spiritual wants both of the settlers and of the native population. In +consideration of these services all French possessions between Florida +and the Arctic Circle, and from Newfoundland as far west as the company +should be able to possess the land, were handed over to them in absolute +sovereignty, saving only the supreme authority of the French king. They +had, of course, a complete monopoly of trade, with the sole exception of +the cod and whale fisheries which, as before, were to be open to all +French subjects. + +A most unexpected event, however, was destined to delay for some years +the carrying out of the plans of the great cardinal. In the very year in +which the new company was formed war broke out between France and +England. The general result of the war was both disastrous and +inglorious for England; but a notable incident of it was the capture of +Quebec by a small fleet of privateers under the command of Captain David +Kirke, sailing under letters of marque from the English king, Charles I, +authorizing him to attack the French in Canada, and drive them out of +the country if possible. Kirke's first exploit was to defeat and +capture, early in 1628, not far from Gaspe, a French fleet of eighteen +vessels carrying a considerable number of colonists, and also a large +quantity of provisions, goods of all kinds, and munitions of war for the +colony of New France. To what dire extremities the loss of these +supplies reduced the already feeble settlement is movingly described in +Champlain's own narrative. Kirke, after his victory, stripped the +vessels of the enemy of whatever they contained that was valuable, burnt +the smaller ones, and took the larger ones to Newfoundland. Then, after +destroying the French settlements in Acadia, he sailed for England with +his prisoners and a portion of the booty. This gave the colony at Quebec +a year's respite from attack; but owing to a series of misfortunes no +succour was received from France during the interval. The consequence +was that, when Kirke returned in the following year to the St. +Lawrence, and sent two of his brothers, Louis and Thomas, with three +small but well-appointed vessels--he himself remaining at Tadousac--to +demand the surrender of Quebec, the only course open to Champlain, who +not only had no adequate means of defence, but whose little garrison was +on the point of starvation, was to make an honourable capitulation. It +was agreed that the French should evacuate the place carrying with them +their arms, clothing, and any furs they might individually own, and +should be allowed to return to France in a vessel of their own +providing. As they had difficulty in procuring a suitable vessel, Kirke +in the end furnished one of two hundred and fifty tons, manned by +seventy of his own sailors, and landed them, to the number of over a +hundred, in England. The preliminary articles of capitulation were +signed on the 19th July 1629, and two days later the English flag was +raised on the Chateau St. Louis, to the accompaniment of salvos of +artillery, fired both from the ships in the river and the land +batteries, of which the English had now taken possession. + +While all this was going on the Kirke brothers and Champlain were alike +unaware that, three months previously, peace had been signed between +England and France. The disappointment and chagrin of David Kirke when +he landed the Quebec garrison in England, and learned that the capture +had been made in time of peace and would probably have to be restored, +may be imagined. Champlain made it his business to go at once and see +the French ambassador in London, in order to report what had taken place +and urge the restitution of the colony to France. The matter was taken +up by the French government, and Charles promised to restore Canada, but +made no engagement respecting Acadia. The French king, Louis XIII, about +this time had his hands full with domestic sedition and foreign war. His +own brother, Gaston de France, with the sympathy both of the queen and +of the queen mother, was in revolt against him, as well as the Duke of +Montmorency, former lieutenant-general of Canada. The rebellion was +crushed through the vigorous action of Cardinal Richelieu, and +Montmorency was brought to the block; but meantime the negotiations with +England had remained in suspense. Finally they were brought to a +conclusion in 1632, Charles agreeing to restore both Canada and Acadia. +The probability is that had he refused to do so the matter would not +have been pressed--at least not to the point of war--and that Canada and +Acadia would have remained English possessions. Never, in the course of +history, did a country more distinctly stand at the parting of the ways; +and it is singular to reflect that, in all probability, it is owing to +the restitution of Canada to France at that time that the Dominion of +Canada is to-day a British possession. + +[Footnote 1: _Histoire de la Colonie Francaise en Canada_, vol. i. p. +79.] + + + + + CHAPTER II + + CANADA BEFORE FRONTENAC + + 1632 TO 1672 + + +Canada had fallen into the hands of the English before the new company +organized by Cardinal Richelieu was able to enter on the rights and +privileges secured to it by the edict of incorporation, or even so much +as to set foot in the country. Whatever there might be at Quebec in the +way of buildings, fortifications, etc., was the property of the +preceding company, of which one William de Caen was the head. It seemed +advisable, therefore, to Cardinal Richelieu to send William de Caen, or +some one deputed by him, out to Quebec to accept transfer of the country +on behalf of the French king from Louis Kirke, who had remained in +command there. De Caen named his brother Emery for this duty, and the +latter, provided with all necessary papers and instructions, set sail +from France towards the end of April 1632, and arrived at Quebec on the +5th of July. An order from King Charles of England, of which he was +bearer, required Kirke to evacuate the place within eight days. The +order was complied with, and the French resumed possession of Quebec +three years, all but a month, after yielding it up to the English. +Mention has been made of the one genuine settler or _habitant_ at +Quebec, Louis Hebert. He had died some time before the capitulation; but +his widow and her son-in-law, who had between them some seven acres of +land under good cultivation, had remained in the country during the +whole period of the English occupation. The _Jesuit Relations_ tell of +the joy of the widow at welcoming her own countrymen again, and +particularly of the delight she manifested when her house was used as a +chapel for the first celebration of mass after the French re-occupation. +In the spring of the following year Champlain, who had been recommended +by the new company as governor, and had received his appointment as such +at the hands of the cardinal, set sail for Canada with three vessels, +carrying in all about two hundred persons, more than half being +intending colonists. The ships brought besides a liberal supply of +stores, the company, in the new-broom stage of its existence, being +desirous of improving on the methods and practices of its predecessors. +Arriving at Quebec on the 23rd of May, Champlain took over the keys of +the place from de Caen. His first care was to put the fort and other +buildings, which were found to be in a ruinous condition, in proper +repair. He next erected a chapel to replace the one formerly in use +which had been destroyed; and, at the earnest request of the Huron +Indians, he established a fort at Three Rivers to assist in protecting +them against the incursions of the implacable Iroquois. + +De Caen had brought out one or two Jesuit fathers with him, and others +came with Champlain. Why the Recollets did not seize the first +opportunity of returning to Canada is not very clear. In the year 1635 +they had made arrangements for returning, but were requested by the +intendant of the company in France to delay their departure. The next +year they were plainly informed that the cardinal did not wish them to +go to Canada. They were thus shut out from a mission-field which they +had been the first to occupy, and it is not surprising that they felt +considerably aggrieved, nor that they were disposed to attribute their +exclusion to the machinations of the Jesuit order. The responsibility in +the matter seems to have rested with the cardinal. It was he who sent +out the Jesuit fathers; and not improbably he thought that there would +be less friction and more progress if the field of New France were +entrusted to a single order of ecclesiastics than if it were divided +between two. + +The laborious, useful, and heroic life of Champlain was now drawing to a +close. One of the last subjects that engaged his attention was the sale +of liquor by traders and colonists to the Indians, a practice against +which he issued the most stringent prohibitions, but which, as we shall +have further occasion to see, proved a very difficult one to control. In +the summer of 1635 he took advantage of the presence at Quebec of a +large number of Hurons from the upper country to summon them and the +French residents to a general assembly, in order that he might have an +opportunity of urging upon them the duty and advantage of espousing the +religion professed by the French. If their friendship with the French, +he said, was to be maintained and strengthened, they must embrace the +faith of the latter; and in that case God, who was all-powerful, would +bless and protect them, and give them the victory over their enemies. +They would also learn the arts of civilization, and in every way enjoy +great happiness and prosperity. What impression this discourse made is +not stated. In point of fact the Jesuits, who devoted themselves +specially to mission work amongst the Hurons, had eventually a +considerable measure of success in converting them to Christianity; but +the unhappy tribe, instead of triumphing in war, became a more and more +helpless prey to their heathen enemies, and, in about fifteen years from +this date, were almost obliterated from the face of the earth.[2] + +Not long after the convoking of this assembly Champlain was smitten with +paralysis; and on Christmas Day, 1635, he died in the sixty-ninth year +of his age. His funeral sermon was preached by the Superior of the +Jesuits, Father Le Jeune, and he was buried with all due honour in--as +the Jesuit narrative tells us--a "_sepulcre particulier_"; but a +careless posterity soon forgot even the place of his interment, and +to-day the question as to where he was laid is a matter of antiquarian +debate. The contingency of his death had been provided for by the +company, who had placed in the hands of Father Le Jeune, a sealed +letter, giving authority to a M. de Chateaufort to act as interim +governor. The following summer M. de Montmagny came out from France as +second governor of Canada. He appears to have been a man of firm and +upright character, but the position to which he succeeded was an +extremely difficult and critical one. The Jesuits were as yet having +very limited success in the conversion of the native tribes, and were +even incurring a dangerous amount of suspicion and hostility. They were +accused of witchcraft; and it began to be commonly said amongst the +savages that baptism was a sure precursor of death. There was truth in +the allegation just to this extent, that the fathers, for the most part, +were only allowed to baptize those who were already in a dying +condition, particularly children. The confusion between _post hoc_ and +_propter hoc_ is so common among the civilized and instructed, that we +cannot be surprised if Hurons and Algonquins were not proof against it. +The Iroquois at the same time were becoming more and more daring in +their attacks, while the resources of the colony for repelling them +were sadly inadequate. The Company of the Hundred Associates had made a +fair beginning in the matter of sending out colonists and +supplies--forty-five new settlers came out with Montmagny--but in a few +years their capital began to run short, and it became a question whether +the magnificent powers and privileges they possessed represented a very +profitable business arrangement. The consequence was that, just as +before under successive trading companies, the interests both of +colonization and of defence were neglected. + +But, if the company was lapsing into inertness, other agencies, not of a +commercial character, were at work laying the foundations of +institutions destined to exert a most important and lasting influence on +the future life of the colony. The year in which Champlain died +witnessed the establishment at Quebec by the Jesuit, M. de Rohault, son +of the Marquis de Gamache, of a college for boys. Four years later, in +1639, a vessel arrived from France bearing two ladies, of note, Madame +de la Peltrie and Madame Guyard, Mere de l'Incarnation, whose mission +was to establish a school for girls, white and Indian, and whose names +are illustrious as the founders of the Ursuline Convent. On the same +vessel were a number of nuns sent out by the Duchess d'Aiguillon to +perform hospital duties: this was the origin of the Hotel Dieu. In the +year 1641 M. de Maisonneuve, a pious layman, conducted to Canada a +small band of trusty followers whose destination was the Island of +Montreal, where it was proposed to form a strictly Christian colony. +With M. de Maisonneuve was a pious lady, Mdlle. Mance, who three years +later became the founder of the Hotel Dieu at Montreal, funds for the +purpose having been supplied by a rich benefactress in France, Madame de +Bullion. Looking forward nine years, that is to say to 1653, we find the +admirable Sister Margaret Bourgeoys establishing at Montreal the +Congregation de Notre Dame for the education of girls. As Garneau well +says, "the love of learning and charity gave birth in Canada to all the +great establishments destined for public instruction and the alleviation +of human suffering." + +The question may naturally be asked how it happened that Canada, at this +very early stage of its history, attracted so much attention as a field +for missionary and educational effort. An explanation is to be found in +the fact that the Jesuits, from the time when they first entered on +their work in this country, made a practice, under instructions from the +head of their order, of writing year by year a narrative of their +doings, which they despatched to France, and which was there published +and circulated amongst those who were interested in religious work. +These narratives constituted the celebrated _Relations des Jesuites_, +which form the chief source of information regarding the history of +Canada for a period of over forty years. Of these interesting annals, +forty volumes of which in all were published, Parkman has said: "The +closest examination has left me no doubt that these missionaries wrote +in perfect good faith, and that the _Relations_ hold a high place as +authentic and trustworthy historical documents." On the other hand the +latest historian of the Jesuits in New France, the Rev. Father +Rochemonteix, while also asserting the substantial accuracy of the +_Relations_, acknowledges that "they do not reflect the complete +physiognomy of New France; they only show one side of it, the most +attractive, the most consoling, namely, the progress of Christianity, +its toils and heroic struggles, and the valiant achievements of the +colonists. The rest is intentionally left in the shade, passed over in +silence. The other side of the physiognomy is omitted, or nearly so. +What we have is history, but incomplete history."[3] + +It was from these narratives, so carefully and skilfully edited for +purposes of edification, that the impulse proceeded which moved pious +souls to contribute, in some cases their labours, in others their +wealth, to the advancement of the cause of religion in the wilds of +Canada. The fathers told of their difficulties and discouragements; but +they told also of the many signs vouchsafed that Heaven was interested +in their self-sacrificing efforts. Sometimes they made direct appeals +for assistance. A Jesuit school for boys had been established, as +already mentioned, as early as 1635. A few years later Father Le Jeune +writes in the _Relations_: "Is there no charitable and virtuous lady who +will come to this country to gather up the blood of Christ by teaching +His word to the little Indian girls?" The call was answered in the +establishment of the Ursuline Convent. It is not easy, in these days of +swift, safe, and luxurious travel, to imagine what it was in the earlier +part of the seventeenth century for women of delicate nurture to leave +friends and home and civilized surroundings, and, braving the Atlantic +storms in small, ill-equipped and comfortless vessels, to set their +faces towards a continent lost in the distant west, amid whose forests a +handful of pioneers were doubtfully holding their ground against the +scowling hordes of savagery. The historian, Parkman, devotes two +chapters of his _Jesuits in North America_ to an account of these +enterprises, and of the holy women whose names are inseparably connected +with them. In Madame Guyard, Mere de l'Incarnation, who became Superior +of the convent, he recognizes a very true woman, full of tender feeling, +yet endowed with practical abilities of the first order. Of Margaret +Bourgeoys, founder of the Congregation de Notre Dame at Montreal, he +speaks with equal enthusiasm. "Her portrait," he says, "has come down to +us; and her face is a mirror of frankness, loyalty, and womanly +tenderness. Her qualities were those of good sense, conscientiousness, +and a warm heart. Her religion was of the affections, and was manifested +in an absorbing devotion to duty." He recognizes "in the martial figure +of Maisonneuve, and the fair form of this gentle nun, the true heroes of +Montreal."[4] + +Maisonneuve was the true type of the Christian warrior. An association +of religious persons at Paris, of whom M. Jean Olier, founder of the +Seminary of St. Sulpice, and M. Royer de la Dauversiere were chief, had +obtained from the Company of New France a grant of the greater portion +of the Island of Montreal, and a considerable block of land to the east +thereof on the north shore of the river St. Lawrence. To effect this it +had been necessary to pay a considerable sum of money to extinguish a +prior claim of one M. de Lauson, an officer of the company, to the same +territory. Marvellous stories are told of the supernatural +communications received by MM. Olier and Dauversiere, by which the duty +was laid upon them of sending a colony for purposes of evangelization +to the Island of Montreal, of the existence of which, it is averred, +they had no previous knowledge. However this may have been--natural +means of knowledge, it may be observed, were available in the _Relations +of the Jesuits_--an association was formed under the title of the +Associates of Montreal; money was liberally subscribed; the island was +purchased; and the members of the projected colony were brought +together. A "Greatheart" was needed to conduct the little band; and +Maisonneuve, who was home from the wars of the Low Countries, hearing of +the holy enterprise, placed his sword and his life at the service of the +association. In the month of May 1641 two small vessels sailed from La +Rochelle, one bearing M. de Maisonneuve and twenty-five men, the other +Mdlle. Mance, a Jesuit priest, and twelve other men. Both arrived safely +at Quebec in the month of August. Governor Montmagny wished to keep what +he regarded as a valuable reinforcement at Quebec; but Maisonneuve +insisted on carrying out his mission. He went up to Montreal accordingly +before the navigation closed, in company with the governor, to take +formal possession of the island, but returned to winter in Quebec. In +the spring he took his whole party up the river, arriving at Montreal on +the 18th of May. Madame de la Peltrie leaving her own work at Quebec +accompanied him, only to return, however, after a short stay. An altar +was erected on the riverside, and mass was celebrated by the Jesuit +father, Vincent, who afterwards delivered an address, in which he said +he doubted not that the grain of mustard seed they were then sowing was +designed by Providence to become a mighty tree. + +The prophecy has been amply fulfilled, but many anxious years had to +pass before the destiny of the tree was at all assured. The position of +Montreal was far more precarious than that of Quebec, as it was so much +more accessible to the sworn enemies of the colony, the Iroquois. For +twenty-four years Maisonneuve held the post of military governor, +edifying all by his piety, and inspiring confidence in all by his +bravery and vigilance. The story of his trials and of his prowess, is it +not told, with a rich blending of supernatural elements, in the naive +record of Dollier de Casson, and the more comprehensive and systematic, +but equally naive, history of the learned and unfailingly interesting +Abbe Faillon? And yet--such is the irony of human events--when a very +pious governor, the Marquis de Tracy, came out in 1665 as the king's +lieutenant-general for all his North American possessions, one of his +first acts, inspired, it is said, by the council at Quebec, was to +dismiss this veteran warrior as being unfit for his position. Making no +demur, attempting no self-justification, but bowing to the stroke, which +he regarded as an intimation of the will of Providence, the brave +Maisonneuve retired quietly to France, where he spent the remainder of +his days. + +After a service of twelve years as governor M. de Montmagny was relieved +in 1648, and replaced by M. d'Ailleboust, who had previously exercised +judicial functions at Montreal in close association with M. de +Maisonneuve, whom he resembled in the exalted and ascetic character of +his piety. The name of Montmagny had been translated by the Indians into +"Onontio," signifying "Great Mountain"; and henceforth all French +governors were, in Indian parlance, "Great Mountains." M. d'Ailleboust +retained office only three years. During his administration, as during +that of his predecessor, the Iroquois were incessant in their +depredations, which they would sometimes carry on under the very +palisades of Montreal. They succeeded during this period in all but +exterminating the Hurons, their traditional foes and now allies of the +French. One or two treaties were made with the aggressive savages, and +once or twice they were repelled with loss; but the treaties were not to +be depended on, nor were the defeats such as to give them serious check. +One event which marked the latter part of M. de Montmagny's +administration must not be overlooked. The Company of New France, or of +the Hundred Associates, had, as we have seen, begun operations upon the +retrocession of the colony by England in 1632. According to their +charter their work was to be one of colonization as well as of trading; +but ten years later the total French population of Canada, Montreal +included, did not exceed two hundred souls. The country, instead of +being developed, was being strangled, the company having absolute +control, not only of the fur trade, but of its commerce generally, which +it hampered in every possible way. Meantime the company itself was +losing money. Negotiations were therefore entered into between the +inhabitants, represented by M. de Repentigny, who went to France for the +purpose, and the officers of the company. The result being that, in the +month of January 1645, a treaty, as it was called, was made between the +company on the one hand, and the inhabitants, through their delegate, on +the other, by which the former, while retaining all their sovereign +proprietary and feudal rights, with power of nominating the governor and +the judges, threw open to the latter, not individually but as a +community, the fur trade of Canada on condition that they should assume +all expenses of civil administration and military defence, pay the +salaries of the clergy, bring into the country every year twenty new +colonists, and finally hand over to the company annually one thousand +pounds weight of assorted beaver skins. The inhabitants were, by this +arrangement, which received the royal sanction on the 6th March 1645, +formed into a corporation, afterwards called the "New Company," to +distinguish it from the Company of New France or the "Old Company." It +was understood that the New Company would elect its own managers; while +the Old Company reserved the right to keep certain officials of its own +in the country to watch over its interests, throwing the cost of their +maintenance, however, on the inhabitants in their corporate capacity. + +This arrangement was received at the time with some satisfaction by the +colonists, but in reality it was a most illiberal one, under which it +was impossible for the country to thrive. Its immediate effect was to +send nearly all the men of the settlement into the woods, and to turn +the wilder and more daring spirits into _coureurs de bois_, a class of +men who will figure largely in our subsequent narrative. Two years later +we find the inhabitants complaining to the king that the new scheme was +working very badly, and giving rise to serious "abuses and +malversations." The king did not know very well what to do about it; but +by the advice of certain of his ministers he decided to place the +government of the colony on a slightly wider basis, with just the least +particle in it of a representative element. To this end he created a +council which was to consist of the governor, the ex-governor, if he +were in the country, the superior of the Jesuits, pending the +appointment of a bishop, and two inhabitants to be selected by the +council, or three if the ex-governor were not residing in the country. +In addition, the three settlements of Quebec, Montreal, and Three Rivers +could each elect a "syndic," to hold office for three years, and to have +a deliberative voice in the council, but no vote. + +The effect of this measure, which seems to have been adopted without +consulting the Company of New France, was to give the council full +control of the fur trade of the country. That trade had to bear all the +expenses of government, as well as provide for the toll to be paid to +the Old Company; and it rested with the council to fix the proportion +which the inhabitants should contribute out of the gross proceeds of the +furs they either bought from the Indians or procured by the chase. If +they bought from the Indians they would have to pay for them with goods +purchased at the general stores, which again were controlled by the +council or its nominees; and it was a constant matter of complaint that +the prices of these goods were so high that it was impossible to trade +with the Indians on any favourable terms; the latter, as a rule, having +sense enough to put up their prices accordingly. A more burdensome +system, or one more liable to abuse, could not easily be imagined. + +In 1651, M. de Lauson was sent to replace M. d'Ailleboust. The question +at this time was seriously debated whether the colony would not have to +be abandoned. The settlement at Montreal was in imminent danger of +extinction. Maisonneuve saw clearly that, with the scanty force he had, +it was only a matter of time when the place would be at the mercy of the +foe. He therefore sailed in this year for France, determined, if he +could not obtain reinforcements, to return to Canada and bring all his +people back to France. The position of matters at Quebec was little +better. Mere de l'Incarnation writes: "The Iroquois have made such +ravages in this part of the country that for a time we thought we should +all have to return to France." Maisonneuve succeeded in his mission; but +he was two years absent from the country, and meantime anxiety both at +Quebec and at Montreal was at the highest pitch. He arrived in the month +of September 1653, bringing with him over one hundred soldiers carefully +chosen and well equipped, furnished, not by the government or the +Hundred Associates, who were tolerably indifferent to the fate of +Montreal, but by the company which had sent him out in the first place. +The governor was anxious to keep the whole force at Quebec; and +Maisonneuve had to exercise considerable firmness in order to be +permitted to take them all with him to Montreal. It was in the vessel +which brought out this detachment that Margaret Bourgeoys, whose name +has already been mentioned, came to Canada. She was struck on her +arrival by the desperately poverty-stricken look of the country. "There +were at the time in the Upper Town" (of Quebec), she says, "only five or +six houses, and in the Lower Town only the storehouse of the Jesuits and +that of the Montreal people. The hospital nuns were dressed in grey. The +poverty on all sides was something pitiable." The Quebec Ursulines were +desirous that Sister Bourgeoys should join their community, and +afterwards perhaps assist them in establishing a branch of their convent +in Montreal; but the future foundress of the Congregation de Notre Dame +knew her own mind. Her purpose in coming to Canada was to establish a +school for girls at Montreal, and to Montreal she would go. + +The weakness of the colony was painfully exhibited about this time in +its dealings with the Iroquois. The principal remnant of the Huron +nation, whose original settlements occupied the country between the +Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe, had taken refuge from their cruel enemies +in the Island of Orleans just below Quebec. Even here, they were not +left in peace. In the month of February 1654 a number of Iroquois came +down to Quebec ostensibly to negotiate for peace, but secretly +nourishing deadly designs against the unfortunate Hurons. What they +proposed was that those who were settled on the Island of Orleans should +leave their habitations there, go to the Iroquois country, and +incorporate themselves, as a portion of their nation had already done, +with the Iroquois confederacy. They also asked that a French colony, +including a certain number of priests--"black robes," as they called +them--should be planted in their territory. Although these propositions +were believed to mask the most murderous intentions, it was considered +imprudent to reject them, as the colony was in no condition to withstand +the general attack which it was feared would in that case ensue. After +some delay, therefore, a colony consisting of over fifty French left +Quebec in the early summer of 1656, the understanding being that the +Hurons would follow later. + +The Iroquois nation or confederacy comprised, as is generally known, +five separate tribes, occupying the central and north-western portion of +what is now the state of New York, and known--to mention them in +geographical order from east to west--as Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, +Cayugas, and Senecas. There was a keen competition between the Mohawks +and the Onondagas, both for the French colony and for the possession of +the remnant of the Hurons. The colony was sent to the Onondagas; and the +Mohawks in a spirit of revenge made a descent on the Island of Orleans, +killed a number of Hurons, and carried over eighty into captivity. In +their retreat they also committed various depredations under the very +walls of Quebec--in so deplorable a condition of helplessness was even +the citadel of French power in Canada. Two years later the French colony +established among the Onondagas made its escape from impending massacre +in a manner little short of miraculous; but meantime, in defiance and +contempt of French authority, numbers of unfortunate Hurons had been +slaughtered or carried into captivity. + +M. de Lauson, the governor, does not seem to have been a man of any +great force of character. Moreover he was now over seventy years of age, +and, considering the helpless condition in which he was +left--practically abandoned by the Old Company and very feebly +supported by the New--it is scarcely surprising that he should have +anticipated the conclusion of his term of office, and returned to France +in the summer of 1656. His son, M. de Charny-Lauson, replaced him for a +year, when he too sailed for France without awaiting the arrival of his +successor, M. d'Argenson. At his request M. d'Ailleboust consented to +act as interim governor. + +To the credit of the ecclesiastics it must be said that, whoever +despaired of the situation in Canada, they never did. At the very time +when the fortunes of the colony were at the lowest ebb, and the secular +chiefs were debating whether it would not be necessary to retire, bag +and baggage, the subject which chiefly occupied the minds of the clergy +was the organization and government of the church. M. de Maisonneuve had +brought out with him four Sulpician priests to minister to the needs of +the inhabitants of Montreal, and one of them, M. de Queylus, was the +bearer of letters from the Archbishop of Rouen, to whose diocese New +France was attached, creating him vicar-general for the whole colony. +Availing himself of the powers so conferred, M. de Queylus assumed the +direction of the church in Canada; and when some signs of reluctance to +recognize his authority manifested themselves in Quebec, he went to that +city, took personal charge of the parish, and enforced at least an +outward show of submission. The Sulpicians had hoped that M. de Queylus +would be made bishop; but the Jesuits, who for many years had been in +exclusive charge of the religious interests of the colony, were +considered to have the best right to make the nomination. They chose, +with characteristic wisdom, a man who was destined to fill a most +important place in the history of Canada, Francois Xavier de +Laval-Montmorency, Abbe de Montigny. The negotiations for the +appointment of the new prelate were of a very perplexed and protracted +character, and it was not till the summer of 1659 that he arrived in +Quebec, and then not as bishop of Quebec, but as vicar-apostolic, with +the title of Bishop of Petraea _in partibus_. Laval was a man of great +piety, and inflexible determination; and for a time there was friction +between him and M. de Queylus, who, in his capacity as vicar-general of +the Archbishop of Rouen, was disposed to claim an independent position +for himself. Laval cut the controversy short by persuading the governor +to ship M. de Queylus off to France; and, when he returned the following +year, to ship him back again. This time the Sulpician had to remain at +home for several years; and the descendant of the Montmorencys achieved +the first of a long series of victories over opposing forces. + +In mentioning these incidents, however, we have run ahead by two or +three years of the strict sequence of events. Argenson, the new +governor, arrived on the 11th July 1658. He had hardly been twenty-four +hours at his post before the Iroquois gave him a hint what to expect by +making a raid in the immediate neighbourhood of Quebec. In the following +year the whole country, but particularly Quebec, was thrown into +trepidation over the news that an army composed of twelve hundred +warriors, gathered from the five Iroquois nations, was advancing with +fixed determination to wipe out all the French settlements. It would be +needless to repeat here, even if the limits of a very cursory narrative +permitted it, the glorious feat of arms by which this great danger was +turned aside from the colony. The story of our Canadian Thermopylae is +familiar to every school-boy and school-girl in Canada. Suffice it to +say that the constancy of Dollard and the handful of companions who +perished with him in defending a position they had hastily fortified on +the river Ottawa, directly in the path of the invaders, so disheartened +the latter that they relinquished their enterprise. When so few could +hold so many at bay, what might not be expected when attack should be +made on the fortified posts of Montreal, Three Rivers, and Quebec? The +abandonment, however, of their larger design did not involve any +discontinuance of their accustomed mode of warfare. We hear of horrible +butcheries committed on settlers in the neighbourhood of Montreal and +even of Quebec; it seemed as if the colony could never get rest from its +tormentors. The new governor was a man of courage and ability, but he +lacked the means of effectually guarding against these treacherous +attacks, while the destitute condition in which he found the colony +filled him with discouragement. Whether general starvation or massacre +was the more imminent danger was sometimes a grave question. Other +difficulties arose. Argenson and Laval, the civil and religious heads of +the state, found themselves at variance on points of ceremony and +precedence; and the bishop, whose self-confidence was unbounded, +undertook to give the governor certain doubtless well-meant admonitions, +which the latter did not take in good part. The governor's health may, +or may not, have been good, but he alleged that he was suffering from +physical infirmities, and asked for his recall. He left for France in +September 1661, his successor, Baron Dubois d'Avaugour, having arrived a +few weeks previously. A remark which he made respecting the head of the +Canadian church, in a letter written a year before his departure, may +perhaps be put on record: "I can say with truth that his zeal on many +occasions bears close resemblance to an extraordinary attachment to his +own opinions, and a strong desire to encroach on the rights and duties +of others." + +The Baron d'Avaugour only remained two years in the country. When he +arrived an earnest effort was being made by the clergy, headed by the +bishop, to have the law against selling liquor to the Indians strictly +enforced. The law was not popular in the country, and Avaugour thought +it altogether too severe; still he allowed it to take effect in the case +of two men who had been sentenced to death, and of one who had been +condemned to be publicly whipped. Shortly afterwards a woman was +imprisoned for a similar offence, and the Jesuit father, Lalemant, +having pleaded for a relaxation of the law in her case, Avaugour, glad +of a pretext to do away with it altogether, said that if the woman was +not to be punished, no one should be. The result was that liquor began +to be sold to the natives almost without restraint, and with effects +which one of the ecclesiastics said he had no ink black enough to +describe. Doubtless they were bad enough. The bishop fulminated from his +episcopal throne against the practice, and launched excommunications +right and left, but with little effect. He then decided on going to +France and laying the whole matter before the government. He left in the +summer of 1662; and it was while he was absent, that is to say in +February of the following year, that an earthquake occurred of which the +most extraordinary descriptions have come down to us. The only moderate +account is that given by Avaugour himself, who says in a despatch: "On +the 5th of February we had an earthquake, which continued during half a +quarter of an hour, and was sufficiently strong to extort from us a good +act of contrition. It was repeated from time to time during nine days, +and was perceptible until the last of the month, but steadily +diminishing." This was all an unimaginative mind like that of the baron +could make of it, but not so with minds of another order. One pious +soul saw four demons tugging at the four corners of the sky, and +threatening universal ruin, which they would have effected had not a +higher spirit appeared on the scene. We read that the air was filled +with howlings as of lost spirits, and flashings of strange, unearthly +lights, not to speak of a little detail of blazing serpents flying +abroad on wings of fire. But the marvels that took place in the aerial +regions were surpassed, if possible, by those that were witnessed on the +solid earth. To take only one example out of many: some sailors coming +from Gaspe, as Pere Charlevoix relates, saw a mountain "skipping like a +ram," after which it spun round several times, and finally sank out of +sight. Houses swayed to and fro till their walls nearly touched the +street, and yet righted themselves in the end. Quebec and Montreal, +which, even at this early period, did not pull well together, were +somewhat at variance concerning the significance of the phenomenon. At +Montreal the favourite theory was that the devil was enraged to find God +so well served in the colony; at Quebec the humbler view prevailed that +the earthquake was a solemn warning to the people to abandon their evil +ways, and be obedient to the teachings of the clergy. Considering that, +despite the prohibitions of the clergy, the liquor traffic was just then +at its height, the admonition could not have come more opportunely. + +Laval, whose reputation for piety gave him great influence, the Abbe +Faillon tells us, at the not altogether puritanical court of Louis XIV, +was completely successful in his mission. Not only was the uncomplying +Avaugour recalled, but the bishop himself was requested to nominate a +successor. If the bishop had consulted the men by whom he had himself +been chosen, he would likely have got good advice; but he followed his +own judgment entirely and made a terrible blunder, as he did in a still +more important matter some years later. His choice fell on a M. de Mezy, +recommended to him by the possession of an exalted and almost hysterical +type of piety; and the two embarking on the same vessel arrived at +Quebec on the 15th September 1663. + +It would be taking a very one-sided and radically unjust view of Laval's +character to consider him simply as a man of ability with a strong +propensity to autocratic rule. A man of ability he was, and his temper +was unbending; but that, from first to last, he took the deepest and +most unselfish interest in the welfare of the Canadian people, and also +of the Indian tribes, is not open to a moment's question; nor can it be +denied that his views on the whole were broad and statesmanlike. It was +when he was in France, in 1662, that he arranged for the establishment +of that historic institution, the Quebec Seminary, the higher +development of which is seen in the Laval University of to-day. A few +years after his return he established the Lesser Seminary (Petit +Seminaire), as a school where boys could get a sound education under +religious auspices, and whence the more promising among them might be +drafted into the Grand Seminaire with a view to their preparation for +the priesthood. Memorable also were the services rendered by him in the +organization of a parochial system for Canada, which before his advent +had been treated almost wholly as a mission field. + +In February of the year 1663, the Company of New France, whose affairs +had been going from bad to worse, made a voluntary surrender of all +their rights and privileges to the king, leaving it to his discretion to +make them such compensation as might be just for the capital they had +sunk in their not very well-directed efforts. The king accepted the +surrender, and, as a means of providing for the better administration of +justice in the colony, and also the due control of its finances, he +created by royal edict a Sovereign Council, which was to consist of the +governor, the bishop, or other senior ecclesiastic, and five councillors +chosen by them jointly. A year later he proceeded to charter a +completely new company--as if the regime of companies had not been +sufficiently tried--under the name of the West India Company. To it the +entire trade of all the French possessions in America and on the west +coast of Africa was transferred. The new company was virtually the +creation of the great administrator, Colbert; and it may be assumed that +he trusted to his own vigorous oversight and control to make it a +success. He hoped, in fact, to succeed where a Richelieu had failed; +experience had yet to teach him that no administrative ability, however +eminent, can obtain prosperity from a system of close monopoly. + +It was not long before Laval and his pocket governor (as he had hoped +Mezy would be) found themselves at daggers drawn. The quarrel was of so +trifling a character that its details need not detain us; suffice it to +say, that Laval represented the case to the court and procured his +nominee's dismissal. The unfortunate man, however, whose weak mind was +assailed with the most distressing spiritual fears, when he found +himself under the ban of the church, accomplished a hasty reconciliation +with the offended powers, and died, desperately penitent, before his +successor reached Canada. + +The West India Company was empowered by its charter to nominate the +governor of Canada, but had voluntarily ceded that power to the king. +The latter, under the inspiration probably of Colbert, was now taking a +great interest in Canada. He was not going to leave it any longer at the +mercy of the Iroquois, if a thousand or more good French soldiers could +avail for its protection. As lieutenant-general over all his possessions +in America, he appointed a brave old soldier of much distinction, the +Marquis de Tracy; as governor of Canada in particular, M. de Courcelles; +and as intendant--a new office--M. Jean Baptiste Talon. The +Carignan-Salieres Regiment, about twelve hundred strong, had been +detailed for service in Canada, and was sent out in detachments, which +arrived at intervals during the summer; Tracy himself with four +companies reaching Quebec in June. Many of the men were landed sick of +fever; twenty had died on shipboard in the St. Lawrence. Mere +l'Incarnation, in one of her letters, attributes the malady to their +having opened the portholes when they got into the river, and let in the +fresh air too suddenly. In these days one is apt to conjecture that it +was the confined air, not the fresh air, that did the mischief, and that +the portholes might with advantage have been opened earlier. + +Tracy was eager to move against the enemy, but, as he was obliged to +await the arrival of the rest of his troops, he improved the interval by +erecting forts on the line of his intended march, one at the mouth of +the river Richelieu, known at that time as the Iroquois River, a second +at Chambly, some forty miles up the stream, and two others at points +still higher up. While this work was in progress Courcelles, the +governor, Talon, the intendant, and the remainder of the troops reached +Quebec (September 1665). Courcelles was even more eager for war than his +superior officer; and as it was too late when the forts were finished, +and the health of the troops had been sufficiently restored, to attempt +a summer campaign, he obtained the consent of the marquis to organize a +midwinter one. Old inhabitants, who knew something of the rigour of the +climate and the difficulties to be encountered on the march, tried to +dissuade him from his purpose, but in vain. With a fatuity, of which +military history furnishes too many examples, Courcelles despised all +such counsels of prudence. He started with five hundred men on the 10th +of January, marching on the frozen St. Lawrence. The cold was fearful, +and the expedition had proceeded but a short distance when the +sufferings of the men became almost unendurable. At Three Rivers a +number had to be left behind who had been disabled by frost-bites. Some +reinforcements having been obtained at that point, the little army again +set forth. Two hundred men out of the whole force were Canadians, and +these naturally proved the fittest for the undertaking; nor did their +superior quality fail to impress Courcelles. At last the expedition +reached the Mohawk country, but the enemy were not there; they had gone +off on some warlike adventure of their own. There was some burning of +deserted cabins; but the position of the invading force began to be a +precarious one, for the winter was now merging into spring, and there +was danger that if the ice melted in the streams, their retreat would be +cut off. The Mohawks were already hovering in their rear. By the time +they reached the nearest of their forts they had lost sixty men by cold +and hunger. The only thing that can be said in favour of the expedition +is that it greatly impressed the minds of the Iroquois, as proving that +the French had now the means of turning the tables on them and carrying +the war into their own country. + +The Iroquois showed some disposition to negotiate for peace; but nothing +came of it, and in September a larger expedition set out, commanded by +Tracy himself, with Courcelles as second in command. This time they not +only reached the Iroquois country, but, the savages having fled in +panic, they were able at their ease to destroy a number of fortified +villages and large quantities of food that had been laid up for the +winter. The Iroquois were deeply impressed by these vigorous +proceedings. They saw that a great change had come over the situation +and resources of the French colony, when, instead of submitting +helplessly to attack, they could equip two expeditions in one year to +seek them out in their own habitations. They hastened, therefore, to +renew their propositions of peace, and, as this time they were clearly +in earnest, Tracy concluded a peace with them which held good for +several years. The colony now had a rest, and the beneficial effects of +it were soon evident. Two years later the Jesuit annalist writes: "It is +beautiful now to see nearly all the banks of our river St. Lawrence +occupied by new settlements, stretching along more than eighty leagues, +making navigation not only more agreeable by the sight of houses dotting +the riverside, but also more convenient through an increase in the +number of resting-places." A charming picture is here given in very +simple words. + +We have already had occasion to mention incidentally the dismissal by +Tracy of Maisonneuve. Whatever the motive of this harsh act may have +been, its consequences were most unhappy. Maisonneuve was a man of +incorruptible integrity. His successor, Francois Marie Perrot, was a man +of good family and fine appearance, who enjoyed considerable protection +at court and needed it all, for he had simply the instincts of a +dishonest trader, and used his office for the sole purpose of personal +gain. Tracy's connection with Canada was brief, for he was recalled in +the year following that in which he made his campaign against the +Iroquois, and the government of the country was left in the hands of +Courcelles and Talon; the former, as governor, representing the king in +a military, political, and high administrative capacity; while the +latter, as intendant, was entrusted with all that concerned the finances +of the colony and its industrial and commercial development. The two +heads of the state seem to have worked together at first, and for a +considerable time, with commendable harmony. The governor was a +judicious and capable administrator; the intendant, a man of wide views, +of singular discretion, and of indefatigable industry. The Abbe +Gosselin, in his _Life of Laval_, says that Talon "troubled himself +little about the moral condition of the colony so long as he saw its +commerce and industry flourishing"; and again that "he was never well +disposed to the clergy, whose influence he feared, dreading that they +might become too rich." It is probably the case that he was not very +sympathetic with the ecclesiastical powers of the day, but he certainly +did apply himself to promote the material prosperity of the colony. +Amongst other things he caused three vessels to be built which were +despatched to the West Indies with cargoes of dried fish, staves, and +lumber; and also established a brewery at Quebec, in the hope of abating +the consumption of imported spirits. If he did not achieve a larger +measure of success, it was because little was possible under a system of +combined monopoly and paternalism. His reports to the home government +speak of the country as prosperous. In 1670 he writes that the money +granted by the king for the encouragement of families, and the different +industries established, have had such a good effect, that now no one +dares to beg, unless perhaps some unprotected child too young to work, +or some man too old to work or incapacitated by accident or disease. + +A census of the country taken by the intendant in the year 1666 showed a +total population of 3418. The estimated number of men capable of bearing +arms being 1344. The old Company of the Hundred Associates was, by the +terms of its contract to have brought 4000 settlers to the colony in +fifteen years, dating from 1633; but Talon's figures proved that, in +more than twice fifteen years, the whole population still fell +considerably short of that number. The population of Quebec at this time +was 555, of Montreal 584, and of Three Rivers 461. The seigniory of +Beaupre below Quebec had 678 inhabitants and the Island of Orleans 471. +The French government had for some years been showing much zeal in +sending out settlers to Canada, and it was chiefly owing to its efforts +that the population had increased to the extent indicated by the census. +The total number of state-directed immigrants from 1664 to the close of +the year 1671 is estimated at over 2500--a most substantial addition to +the strength of the colony. The Sulpicians must also be credited with +some useful activity in the cause of colonization. Their settlers were +of course directed to Montreal, and, as the figures above quoted show, +the population of that place already exceeded that of Quebec. + +The patent granted to the Company of New France, or of the Hundred +Associates, had made them lords of the whole territory of Canada, with +power to concede seigniories therein of varying degrees of extent, +importance and dignity. A few seigniories were established by that +company; but, as we have seen, the country under its management was +practically at a standstill. All the rights which it had in the +disposition of the land were transferred to the West India Company; and +under Talon's regime the creation of seigniories proceeded much more +rapidly, owing mainly to the fact that there were suitable applicants +for them in the officers of the regiments which the king had sent out. +The last few weeks he spent in the country were mainly occupied in this +way. In one month he issued sixty patents.[5] This was entirely in +accordance with the intentions of the French government, which had +promised lands to any of the officers or soldiers of the Carignan +Regiment who might elect to settle in the country. A large number +accepted the proposition; and to provide wives for the excess of men +existing in the colony the government was assiduous in sending out +marriageable girls, on the whole very carefully selected, who as a rule +were snapped up immediately on arrival by wistful bachelors or +disconsolate widowers. If any were slow in finding partners owing to +lack of visible attractions, they were bonused in money and household +goods, which usually had the effect desired. Bounties were moreover paid +throughout the colony for early and fruitful marriages; and the +administrators were instructed to see that special respect was paid to +the fathers of large families, and particularly to those who, having +large families, had succeeded in marrying off their boys and girls at an +early age. Contrariwise, fathers whose children showed backwardness in +entering on matrimony were to be the objects of official displeasure. +Parkman expresses the truth with his usual picturesque force when he +says that, "throughout the length and breadth of Canada, Hymen, if not +Cupid, was whipped into a frenzy of activity." A gratifying success +attended these practical measures. By the year 1671 the total population +had increased to six thousand. There were in that year seven hundred +baptisms; and the bishop, from doubtless reliable sources of +information, was able to promise the governor eleven hundred for the +next year. Unfortunately infant mortality was in those days extremely +high; or the population would indeed have been increasing by leaps and +bounds. + +It is a matter of regret that the early historians of Canada feel +themselves obliged to record a decline in the morals of the country, +dating from the arrival of the king's troops in 1665. Up to that time, +we are told, the inhabitants--those in the Montreal district at +least--had lived in a condition of pristine simplicity and innocence, +recalling that of the early Christians. No one locked his house by day +or night, the crime of theft being unknown. The ordinances of the church +were strictly observed by the whole population; but, if on occasion any +one failed in his duty, punishment promptly followed. For example, a man +on the Island of Orleans, having eaten meat on a Friday, was fined +twenty-five francs, half of which went to the parish church, and +threatened with corporal punishment if he repeated the offence. "Here," +observes the Abbe Faillon with quiet enthusiasm, "we see the true +destination of the secular power." + +But--ages of gold have a tendency to vanish away, and the Astraea of the +French colony took her sad flight shortly after the Carignan-Salieres +Regiment arrived. These men had the pleasure-loving ways of soldiers, +and war had not trained them to a very strict regard for personal rights +or clerical admonitions. A ball was given at Quebec--the first ever held +in the country--on the 4th February 1667. The clergy held their breath, +not knowing what might follow. Many abuses, it would seem, followed: +morals began to be relaxed; thefts became sufficiently common to bring +bolts and locks into requisition; a Seneca chief was cruelly murdered by +three soldiers; and shortly afterwards six Indians were massacred in +their sleep by some settlers near Montreal. The object of the latter +crime was to obtain possession of a large quantity of furs which the +Indians had brought down to sell. That peace with the natives was +gravely imperilled by these atrocious deeds may readily be imagined. It +took all the firmness and tact of the governor to avoid an outbreak. The +three soldiers were shot by his orders in the presence of a number of +Indians. The other criminals seem to have escaped punishment by flight. + +The last important act of Courcelles was to undertake a journey up the +St. Lawrence as far as the outlet of Lake Ontario. The object of this +adventure was to impress upon the more distant Iroquois tribes, who had +boasted that they were out of reach of the French arms, that such was +not the case. The idea which these savages had was that the only route +by which the French could penetrate into their country was by way of the +river Richelieu and Lake Champlain, in which case they would have first +to pass through the "buffer" territory of the eastern Iroquois tribes. +The rapids of the St. Lawrence, they thought, would effectually bar +approach by way of Lake Ontario. To demonstrate their error, Courcelles +gave orders for the construction of a flat-boat of two or three tons +burden, which could be rowed in smooth water, and dragged up difficult +places on the rapids. When this craft was ready, he manned it with a +crew of eight men; and, taking also thirteen bark canoes, he ascended +the river successfully with a party of over fifty men, including the +governor of Montreal and other leading officials. The Iroquois (Cayugas +and Senecas) took due note of the feat and revised their opinions +accordingly. + +In the following year both Courcelles and Talon were recalled at their +own request. There had been friction between them for some time, and +they seem to have thought that it would be best for the king's service +that they should both retire. Whatever the causes of difference may have +been, they did not squabble in public like some of their successors. The +services of both were highly appreciated by the French government, and +the departure of both from Canada was very generally and sincerely +regretted. + +[Footnote 2: According to the _Jesuit Relations_ for 1643-4, the Hurons +cried out in their despair: "The Iroquois, our mortal enemies, do not +believe in God, have no love for prayer, commit all kinds of crimes, and +nevertheless they prosper. We, since we have abandoned the customs of +our fathers, are slaughtered and burnt, our villages are destroyed. What +good do we get by lending ear to the Gospel, if conversion and death +walk hand in hand?" Garneau, who quotes this passage, adds: "One tribe +of them that had counted its warriors by hundreds was now reduced to +thirty."] + +[Footnote 3: _Les Jesuites et la Nouvelle France._ Vol. i. Introduction, +p. xv. More than two centuries earlier the pious Superior of the +Ursuline Convent, Mere de l'Incarnation, had referred, in her own gentle +way, to their incompleteness. "If," she says, "any one is disposed to +conclude that the labours of the convent are useless because no mention +is made of them in the _Relations_, the inference must equally be drawn +that Monseigneur the Bishop is useless; that his Seminary is useless; +that the Seminary of the Jesuit fathers themselves is useless; that the +ecclesiastics of Montreal are useless; and that finally the Hospital +nuns are useless; because of none of these persons or things do the +_Relations_ say a word. Nothing is mentioned save what relates to the +progress of the Gospel; and, even so, lots of things are cut out after +the record gets to France."--_Letires Spirituelles_, edition of 1681, p. +259.] + +[Footnote 4: _Jesuits in North America_, chap. xv.] + +[Footnote 5: See the excellent monograph by M. Thos. Chapais, _Jean +Talon, Intendant de la Nouvelle France_, Quebec, 1904.] + + + + + CHAPTER III + + THE BEGINNING OF FRONTENAC'S ADMINISTRATION + + +The information we possess respecting the life of Count Frontenac prior +to his appointment to the governorship of Canada is far from being as +complete as might be wished. Such particulars as the records of the +period furnish have been carefully gathered by Parkman and others;[6] +and it is doubtful whether any further facts of importance will come to +light. He was born--there is nothing to show where--in 1620, one year +after the great minister, Colbert, under whom he was destined to serve. +His family belonged to the small principality of Bearn, now incorporated +in the Department of the Basses Pyrenees, which, made an appanage to the +French Crown by Henry of Navarre, was only formally incorporated with +the kingdom of France in the very year in which Frontenac was born. His +father, Henri de Buade, was colonel of the regiment of Navarre, but has +not otherwise passed into history. His grandfather, Antoine de Buade, +Seigneur de Frontenac and Baron de Palluau, was a man of more +distinction, being not only state councillor under Henry IV, but first +steward of the royal household and governor of St. Germain-en-Laye. He +is described in the memoirs of Philip Hurault as "one of the oldest +servants of the king." His children used to play familiarly with the +dauphin, afterwards Louis XIII; and the association thus formed lasted +for some time after their playmate became king, which he did, nominally, +at the age of nine, upon the assassination of his father, Henry IV. The +Frontenac family was thus noble, though not of the highest nobility; and +its connection with the domestic life of the royal family gave it no +doubt an additional measure of influence. The youthful king, with whom +the young Frontenacs played, became the father of Louis XIV. + +Louis de Buade, Count Frontenac, the subject of this narrative, felt +early in life a call to arms. The Thirty Years' War broke out in 1618; +and when France, in 1635, under the astute guidance of Cardinal +Richelieu, interfered on the Protestant side, Frontenac, then fifteen +years of age, was sent to Holland to serve under the Prince of Orange. +He seems to have acquitted himself with bravery and distinction in many +different sieges and engagements both in the Low Countries and in Italy. +He was wounded many times: at the siege of Orbitello in 1646 he had an +arm broken. In this year he was raised to the rank of _marechal de +camp_, or brigadier-general. Three years before, at the age of +twenty-three, he had been made colonel of the regiment of Normandy. His +service appears to have been continuous, or nearly so, till the war was +brought to a conclusion in 1648 by the Peace of Westphalia. In the year +mentioned we find him resting from the alarms and fatigues of war in his +father's house on the Quai des Celestins at Paris. Close by lived an +attractive young lady of sixteen, daughter of a certain M. de la +Grange-Trianon, Sieur de Neuville, with whom, as became his age and +profession, the returned warrior fell deeply in love. His passion was +returned sufficiently to lead the young lady, when her father's consent +could not be obtained, to marry her suitor at one of the churches in +Paris authorized to solemnize marriages, in more or less urgent cases, +without the consent of parents. The marriage was not a happy one. Madame +de Frontenac soon conceived a positive aversion for her husband, and +they seem, at a very early period, to have ceased to live together, +though not before the birth of a son. The child was placed in the charge +of a village nurse, and little more is heard of him, except that when he +grew up he embraced the profession of arms, and died, it is not certain +how, at a comparatively early age. The mother joined the train of +Mademoiselle de Montpensier. These were the days of the Fronde--the +abortive rebellion against the fiscal iniquities of Mazarin during the +minority of Louis XIV--and in following the fortunes of her patroness, +whose father, the king's uncle, had joined the opposition, the young +countess had some strange adventures. + +What part, if any, Frontenac himself took in the troubles of the period, +does not appear; probably none, for although somewhat turbulent by +nature, as will abundantly appear hereafter, he was not without a large +element of caution, particularly where persons in high authority were +concerned. It is certain, at least, that, when the strife was over, he +enjoyed a good position at court, as Mademoiselle de Montpensier notes, +having met him more than once in the cabinet of the queen. He possessed +a property on the Indre, in the neighbourhood of Blois, and here he +attempted to keep up a state far beyond his income. "Your means are very +slender and your waste is great," said the chief-justice to Sir John +Falstaff; and the same observation might not inaptly have been addressed +to Frontenac. He prided himself extravagantly upon his horses, his +table, his servants--in a word, on everything that was his; entertained +largely, and ran himself hopelessly into debt. In 1669 the French +government sent a contingent to assist the Venetians in defending Candia +(Crete), against the Turks. The Venetians offered to place their own +troops under French command, and Frontenac had the high honour of being +recommended by Turenne, the greatest military leader of the age, for the +position. In this struggle the Turks triumphed; the island fell into +their power; and Frontenac returned to France with enhanced military +prestige, but without any amelioration of his financial position. Saint +Simon describes him as "a man of good abilities, holding a prominent +position in society, but utterly ruined." He adds that he could not bear +the haughty temper of his wife, and that his appointment as governor of +Canada was given to him in order to relieve him of her, and afford him +some means of living. His wife's temper was not more haughty probably +than his own; neither apparently was disposed to show any deference to +the wishes of the other. Madame de Frontenac, who was a woman of keen +intelligence, without any large amount of feminine tenderness, took too +dispassionate a measure of her husband's qualities to satisfy his rather +exacting self-esteem. She must have had some means of her own, for, +though she did not go to court, she lived for many years surrounded by +the best people and enjoying a high degree of social authority. Though +she did not accompany her husband to Canada, and probably was not +invited to do so, it is plausibly conjectured that her influence in +court circles stood him in good stead on more than one occasion. + +Frontenac's commission as governor was dated 6th April 1672, but he did +not leave France till midsummer. It is interesting to know that M. de +Grignan, Madame de Sevigne's son-in-law, was a candidate for the same +position. Had he obtained it, and had his wife, the accomplished +daughter of a still more accomplished mother, accompanied him, what +flashes of light on Canadian society might we not have obtained from +that mother's correspondence! Unfortunately no vestige of Frontenac's +private correspondence with either his wife or any one else remains. +Courcelles and Talon were still at Quebec when he arrived. From the +former he obtained a full account of his expedition to Lake Ontario; and +from the latter much information as to the general condition of the +country, the various enterprises in the way of exploration that had +already been undertaken, and the further ones that it might be well to +organize. Frontenac, who had the eye of a soldier for a good military +position, was much impressed by what Courcelles told him of Cataraqui; +and from the first the idea of establishing a fortified post at that +point took strong possession of his mind. + +The new governor was not a young man--he was fifty-two years of age--but +his natural force, either of body or of mind, was not abated. To a man +of his tastes and habits there were many privations involved in a +residence in a country like Canada; but there were compensations, the +chief of which, perhaps, was to be found in the opportunity afforded him +of exercising a semi-royal pomp and power; while a close second, it +cannot be doubted, was the chance of rehabilitating his shattered +fortunes. It would be unjust, at the same time, to suppose that the man +who had fought through so many hard campaigns was not sincerely desirous +of serving his king and country in the new position to which he had been +assigned. The first important step that he took was a characteristic +one, namely, an attempt to constitute in Canada the "three estates" of +nobles, clergy, and people, of which the kingdom of France was nominally +constituted. True, the three estates, or "States-General," as they were +properly called, had not been summoned in the mother country since 1614, +and it was doubtful if their existence as an organ of political +authority, or even of political opinion, was more than theoretical. This +fact might have caused another man to hesitate, but not Count Frontenac; +to him the idea of gathering representatives of the country round him, +marshalling them in their respective orders, and, after addressing them +in the name of the king, requiring them to take the oath of allegiance +in his presence, was too alluring to be put aside. So the summons went +forth, and the assembly was held on one of the last days of October in +the new church of the Jesuits. The "estates" were constituted, the oaths +were taken, and the governor stirred the feelings of his audience, +consisting, he says, of over a thousand persons, by referring to the +victories which his royal master had that year achieved in his war with +Holland. Everything, indeed, passed off beautifully; but when a report +of the proceedings reached the minister, Colbert, his response was of a +somewhat chilling nature. The immediate effect of the assembly might, +perhaps, he said, be good, but "it is well for you to observe that, as +you are always to follow the forms in force here, and as our kings have +considered it for a long time advantageous not to assemble the +States-General of their kingdom, with the object perhaps of insensibly +abolishing that ancient form, you also ought only very rarely, or--to +speak more correctly--never, give that form to the corporate body of the +inhabitants of that country." Colbert did not even approve--though +perhaps on this point he was expressing more particularly the views of +the king--of the election of "syndics" to represent the interests of the +population of Quebec. "Let every one," he said, "speak for himself; it +is not desirable to have any one authorized to speak for all." This was +absolutism with a vengeance. It answered for the day; but could the +minister have looked forward to 1789 he would have seen that the +"ancient form," which it was proposed to extinguish by desuetude, was +destined, like a blazing star that suddenly flashes a strange light in +the heavens, to leap into a new life, amazing, consuming, resistless. + +The views of the governor, it must be admitted, were, in this whole +matter, decidedly in advance of those of the minister, able +administrator as the latter undoubtedly was. Frontenac had come to +Canada to uphold the royal authority in the fullest sense, but he +appears to have had a perception that, in a new country where so much +responsibility was necessarily thrown upon individuals, there ought to +be a certain measure of spontaneous political life. Masterful as he was +himself by nature, it is not recorded that he ever dwelt on the +necessity of repressing individual liberty; it is the intendant, +Meulles, a dozen years later, who writes: "It is of very great +importance that the people should not be allowed to speak their +minds."[7] + +No, the quarter in which Frontenac conceived the authority of his royal +master might, perhaps, be threatened, was a different one altogether; in +other words the battle he foresaw was not against the political +aspirations of the people, but against the excessive claims and +pretensions of the ecclesiastical power. This idea did not originate in +his own mind. The instructions which he brought out with him, while they +eulogized the zeal and piety of the Jesuits, hinted that they might seek +to extend their authority beyond its proper limits, in which case +Frontenac was to "give them kindly to understand the conduct they ought +to observe"; and if they did not amend their ways, he was, as the +document read, "skilfully to oppose their designs in such a way that no +rupture may ensue, and no distinct intention on your part to thwart +their purposes may be apparent." The court had, indeed, for several +years been under the impression that cautions of this kind to its +representatives were necessary. In Talon's instructions, drafted in the +year 1664, the troubles that had occurred between previous governors and +the bishop were rehearsed, and the inference was at least suggested +that these might in part have arisen from the domineering spirit of the +prelate. He had had his way with Argenson, Avaugour, and Mezy; but, if +the civil power was not to pale entirely before the ecclesiastical, it +was about time that the series of his victories should close. Other +despatches to Courcelles, Bouteroue (interim intendant during Talon's +temporary absence in France), and Frontenac himself contain observations +of a like tenor. + +The redoubtable vicar-apostolic was not in Canada when Frontenac +arrived. He had sailed for France in the month of May to press the +important matter of his appointment as bishop of Quebec. A letter which +he wrote to the cardinals of the propaganda almost immediately on his +arrival serves to show the reasons he had for desiring this change of +status, and, incidentally, his opinion of the civil officers of the +Crown. "I have learnt," he says, "by a long experience how insecure the +office of vicar-apostolic is against those who are entrusted with +political affairs, I mean the officers of the court, the perpetual +rivals and despisers of the ecclesiastical power, who steadily contend +that the authority of a vicar-apostolic is open to doubt, and should be +kept within certain limits. That is why, having considered the whole +matter very carefully, I have fully determined to resign that office, +and not to return to New France, unless the bishopric of Quebec is +constituted, and unless I am provided and armed with the bulls +constituting me the Ordinary."[8] These are the words of a man who knows +his own mind, and, we may add, of one who is prepared to fight his +enemies to a finish. He may not have known, before he arrived in France, +what man, and what kind of a man, had been selected as successor to +Courcelles; but we may be sure that, when he found out, he was not less +impressed than before with the need for a strengthening of his position. + +Louis XIV had himself for thirteen years been pressing, at intervals, +upon the Holy See the expediency of establishing a bishopric in New +France, but without much success. There were some points of difference +between the French court and the Roman authorities as to the conditions +under which the projected diocese should be created, and the latter +showed a wonderful skill in prolonging the negotiations. Finally, the +only point in dispute was whether the new bishop should be a suffragan +of one of the French archbishops, as desired by the king, or directly +dependent on the Pope. This point was conceded by the king in December +1673; but it was not till October 1674 that the necessary bull was +issued. In the following April Laval took the oath of fealty to the king +as bishop of Quebec, with jurisdiction over the whole of Canada, and +shortly afterwards he set sail for the scene of his pastoral labours. +Thus it was that for nearly three years Frontenac had no direct +relations with the head of the Canadian church. + +Was this interval, then, one of peace? Not entirely. Frontenac defines +his position and raises a note of alarm in his very first despatch to +the minister for the colonies.[9] He was dissatisfied, he said, with +"the complete subserviency of the priests of the seminary at Quebec, and +the bishop's vicar-general to the Jesuit fathers, without whose orders +they never do anything. Thus," he adds, "they [the Jesuits] are +indirectly the masters of whatever relates to the spiritual, which, as +you are aware, is a great machine for moving all the rest." He thinks +they have gained an ascendency even over the Superior of the +Recollets;[10] and he expresses the wish that the ecclesiastics of that +order could be replaced by abler men who could hold their own against +the Jesuit influence. He mentions that he had expressed his surprise in +strong terms to the Jesuit fathers at Ste. Foy that not one of their +Indian converts had been taught the French language, and had told them +that they "should bethink themselves, when rendering the savages +subjects of Jesus Christ, of making them subjects of the king also--that +the true way to make them Christians was to make them men." The governor +had probably noticed that lack of vigorous, self-helping manhood in the +Indian converts, which is hinted at even in the _Jesuit Relations_, and +which had certainly been conspicuous in the christianized Huron tribe in +the crisis of their struggle with the Iroquois. As regards teaching them +the French language, the missionaries had their own well-defined reasons +for not doing so. They did not wish to bring them into too close contact +with the French inhabitants, lest they should unlearn the lessons of +morality and religion that had been taught to them. The great object +which the priests had in view was to build up a kingdom not of this +world; and, as the object which the king and his officers had mainly in +view was to enlarge and strengthen the French dominions, it is not +surprising that there was clashing now and again. Frontenac, in writing +to Colbert, seems to have felt assured of sympathy in his somewhat +anti-clerical, or, at least, anti-Jesuit, attitude; otherwise he would +never have ventured to make, as he does in the same despatch, the +unjustifiable statement that the Jesuit missionaries were quite as much +interested in the beaver trade as in the conversion of souls, and that +most of their missions were pure mockeries. It was of Colbert that +Madame de Maintenon said: "He only thinks of his finances, and never of +religion." + +But while the elements of future trouble were plainly visible, no +serious friction occurred during the first year of the new governor's +administration. His relations with the Jesuit order were civil, and with +the Sulpicians, at Montreal, and the Recollets entirely friendly. With +the Sovereign Council, too, they were all that could be wished. His mind +at this time was greatly taken up with the project he had in view of +following in Courcelles' footsteps and establishing a military and +trading post at Cataraqui. His general policy when he wanted to do a +thing was not to ask permission beforehand, but to do it, and trust to +the result for justification. Had he laboured under Nelson's disability, +he would have been quite capable of turning his blind eye to a +prohibitive signal, even after seeing it distinctly with his good one. +In his despatch to Colbert of the 2nd November he mentions, in a casual +way, that he proposes next spring to visit the place at the outlet of +Lake Ontario where M. de Courcelles had projected the establishment of a +fort, in order that he may be able "the better to understand its site +and importance, and to see if, notwithstanding our actual weakness, it +be not possible to create some establishment there that would also +strengthen the settlement the gentlemen of Montreal [the Sulpicians] +have already formed at Quinte." He adds: "I beg of you, my Lord, to be +assured that I shall not spare either care or trouble, or even my life +itself, if it be necessary, in the effort to accomplish something +pleasing to you, and to prove the gratitude I shall ever feel for the +favours I have received at your hands." This is quite effusive, and at +the same time tolerably diplomatic. How _could_ the minister do +otherwise than approve an enterprise undertaken in so self-sacrificing a +spirit, and one prompted by so much personal devotion to himself? +Colbert might possibly have replied--if he had had the chance--by +pointing Frontenac to his instructions, and asking him to show his +devotion to duty by following them out as closely as possible. Those +instructions contained the following clause, the tenor of which we shall +find repeated in many subsequent communications from the home +government: "Sieur de Frontenac is to encourage the inhabitants by all +possible means to undertake the cultivation and clearing of the soil; +and as the distance of the settlements from one another has considerably +retarded the increase thereof, and otherwise facilitated the +opportunities of the Iroquois for their destructive expeditions, Sieur +de Frontenac will consider the practicability of obliging those +inhabitants to make contiguous clearings, either by constraining the old +colonists to labour at it for a certain time, or by making new grants to +future settlers under this condition." There is not a word said about +extending the boundaries of the colony, or throwing out advanced posts, +or any other phase of the policy of expansion. The French government was +in fact strongly anti-expansionist; but Frontenac, resembling in this +point a later sage, did not think they knew everything in the "Judee" of +the ministry of marine and colonies. + +So, just about the time that the minister was inditing the despatch in +which he gently chided the ebullient Frontenac for his rashness in +summoning the States-General, the latter was preparing another little +surprise for him. In the spring of the year he had given orders that men +and canoes should be held in readiness for the contemplated movement; +and, as the supply of available canoes was likely to fall short, he had +ordered that a number of new ones should be built. He also directed the +construction of two flat-boats, similar to the one used by Courcelles, +but of twice the capacity. On the 3rd of June he started with a certain +force from Quebec, and after visiting and inspecting different posts +along the river, arrived at Montreal, the point of rendezvous, on the +15th of the same month. Here he was received, according to his own +account, which there is no reason to question, with the greatest +enthusiasm and _eclat_. + +It may be interesting to pause for a moment and try to reconstruct in +imagination the scene on which the grizzled and sun-beaten warrior gazed +as he alighted from his canoe at five o'clock in the afternoon of that +long, bright summer day. The river bank, which had become a common, was +probably no longer flower-bespread as it was on that glorious morning in +the month of May 1642 when Maisonneuve, Mademoiselle Mance, and their +companions knelt in prayer on the soil which their labours and +sacrifices were to consecrate; but the mountain, with its leafy honours +thick upon it, stood forth in royal splendour, while cultivated fields, +smiling with the promise of a harvest, sloped upwards to its base. In +the foreground was the growing burg, full of life and animation on this +memorable day. To the left was the fort built by Maisonneuve, no longer +relied on for defence, but used chiefly as a residence for the local +governor. The river front was as yet unoccupied by houses, the nearest +line of which lay along what is now, as it was then, St. Paul Street, +from St. Peter Street in the west to somewhat beyond the present +Dalhousie Square in the east. Montreal as yet did not possess any parish +church; the churches maintained by the different congregations, +particularly that of the Hotel Dieu, having up to this time been made to +serve the needs of the population. The foundations of a regular parish +church had been laid, but the work of construction was proceeding +slowly, and five years had yet to elapse before the edifice was +finished. The principal buildings were the Hotel Dieu, which had lately +lost its pious founder, Mademoiselle Mance; the Congregation de Notre +Dame, still conducted by the brave and cheery Margaret Bourgeoys; and +the Seminary of St. Sulpice. The whole town, if we may so call it, was +comprised between the eastern and western limits just defined, and the +northern and southern ones of St. Paul and St. James Streets; even so, +much the larger part of the contained space was not built up. A few of +the wealthier merchants had erected substantial houses, and there was +something already in the appearance of the place which suggested that it +would have a future. We can imagine the zeal with which the local +governor, Perrot, upon whose proceedings in the way of illicit traffic +it is probable Frontenac already had an eye--an eye of envy the Abbe +Faillon somewhat harshly suggests--would receive the king's direct +representative. All the troops that the island could furnish were drawn +up under arms at the landing-place, and salvos of artillery and musketry +gave emphasis to the official words of welcome. The officers of justice +and the "syndic"--the spokesman of the people in municipal matters--were +next presented, and, after they had delivered addresses, a procession +was formed to the church, at the door of which the clergy were waiting +to receive the viceregal visitor with all due honour. By the time the +appropriate services, including the chanting of the _Te Deum_, had been +concluded, the sun had sunk behind the mountain. It was the hour for +rest and refreshment, and the governor was conducted to the quarters +assigned to him in the fort, beneath the windows of which tranquilly +rolled the mighty flood of the St. Lawrence, still bright with the +evening glow. + +Frontenac had brought with him his military guard, consisting of twenty +men or so, his staff, and a few volunteers. Additional men were to +follow from Quebec, Three Rivers, and other places; and some were to be +recruited at Montreal. In ten or twelve days everything was in +readiness. A waggon-road had been made to Lachine, over which baggage, +provisions, and munitions of war were conveyed; and a start was made +from that point on the 30th June, the whole force consisting of about +four hundred men, including some Huron Indians, in one hundred and +twenty canoes and the two flat-boats already mentioned. Some time before +setting out Frontenac had sent on, as an envoy to the five Iroquois +nations, to invite them to a conference, Cavelier de la Salle, a man who +had already penetrated some distance into the western country, and who +was destined to achieve the highest fame as an explorer. + +The voyage up the river was attended, as had indeed been expected, with +serious difficulty. The united strength of fifty men was necessary to +draw each of the flat-boats up the side of some of the rapids. The whole +force, however, worked with the utmost zeal and good-will; the Hurons in +particular accomplishing wonders of strength and endurance such as they +had never been known to perform for any previous commander. But if +portions of the journey were thus arduous, others were delightful. Thus +we read in Frontenac's own narrative: "It would be impossible to have +finer navigation or more favourable weather than we had on the 3rd of +July, a light north-east breeze having sprung up which enabled our +bateaux to keep up with the canoes. On the 4th we pursued our journey +and came to the most beautiful piece of country that can be imagined, +the river being strewn with islands, the trees in which are all either +oak or other kinds of hard wood, while the soil is admirable. The banks +on both sides of the river are not less charming, the trees, which are +very high, standing out distinctly and forming as fine groves as you +could see in France. On both sides may be seen meadows covered with rich +grass and a vast variety of lovely wild flowers; so that it may be +safely stated that from the head of Lake St. Francis to the next rapid +above, you could not see a more beautiful country, if only it were +cleared a bit." + +On the 12th July, as the expedition was approaching Cataraqui in +excellent military order, they were met by the Indians, who evinced much +pleasure at seeing the count and his followers, and conducted them to a +spot suitable for encampment. Some preliminary civilities were +exchanged, but it was not till the 17th that serious negotiations were +begun. The count, meanwhile, having found close by what he considered +an advantageous location for his proposed fort, set his men to work to +clear the ground, fell and square timber, dig trenches, etc., in a +manner which fairly surprised the Indians, who were not accustomed to +seeing building operations carried on so systematically and speedily. +But if they were impressed by the working capacity of the expeditionary +force, they were still more deeply influenced by the discourse of the +governor and the presents which accompanied it. Had the count been a +"black robe" himself, he could not have spoken with more unction or more +unimpeachable orthodoxy in urging his savage hearers to embrace +Christianity. He condensed, for the occasion, the whole of Christian +teaching into the two great commandments of love to God and love to man, +and appealed to the consciences of his hearers as to whether both were +not entirely reasonable. This portion of his speech, in which he also +declared that he desired peace both between the French and the Iroquois, +and between the latter and all Indian tribes under French protection, +was recommended by a present of fifteen guns and a quantity of powder, +lead, and gunflints. Next he informed them of his intention to form a +trading-post at Cataraqui. "Here," he said, "you will find all sorts of +refreshments and commodities, which I shall cause to be furnished to you +at the cheapest rate possible." He added, however, that it would be very +expensive to bring goods so far, and that they must take that into +consideration in criticizing prices. Twenty-five large overcoats were +distributed at this point. In the third place he reproached them with +their cruel treatment of the Hurons, and said that he meant to treat all +the Indian nations alike, and wished all to enjoy equal security and +equal advantages in every way. "See," he said, "that no complaints are +made to me henceforward on this subject, for I shall become angry; as I +insist that you Iroquois, Algonquins, and other nations that have me for +a father, shall live henceforth as brothers." He asked also that they +would let him have a few of their children that they might learn the +French language and be instructed by the priests. Twenty-five shirts, an +equal number of pairs of stockings, five packages of glass beads, and +five coats were given to round off this appeal. + +The reply of the delegates of the five Iroquois nations was in tone and +temper all that could be wished. They thanked Onontio that he had +addressed them as children, and were glad that he was going to assume +towards them the relation of father. They readily consented to live at +peace with the Hurons and Algonquins, and would, when they returned to +their cantons, carefully consider the question of letting him have a +certain number of their children. One delegate showed his financial +acumen by observing that, while Onontio had promised to let them have +goods as cheap as possible at the fort, he had not said what the tariff +would be. To this the count replied that he could not say what the +freight would amount to, but that considering them as his children, he +would see that they were fairly treated. Another, a Cayugan, evinced his +knowledge of current history by lamenting the calamities which the Dutch +were suffering in their war with the French, trade relations between the +Dutch and the Iroquois having always been very satisfactory. He consoled +himself, however, with the thought that his nation would now find a +father in Onontio. + +While the negotiations were in progress, work on the fort was proceeding +rapidly, and by the 20th of the month it was finished. The count then +dismissed the body of his force, the men being anxious to return to +their homes. He himself remained behind to meet some belated delegates +from points on the north shore of Lake Ontario, whom he did not fail to +reprove for their want of punctuality, after which, with rare liberality +of speech, he repeated to them all he had said to the others. A few +days' delay was also caused by the necessity of awaiting a convoy from +Montreal with a year's provisions for the fort. Finally, on the 28th +July, the governor and his party started on their homeward journey and +arrived safely at Montreal on the 1st of August. During the whole +expedition not one man or one canoe was lost. + +The narrative of this expedition has been given in some detail because +it sets in a strong light the better side of Frontenac's character. We +see him here as the able and vigorous organizer, the firm, judicious, +and skilful commander, the accomplished diplomat, and the lover of peace +rather than war. Short a time as he had been in the country, he seemed +already to understand the Indian character, and the Indians in turn +understood him. His language in addressing them was direct and simple, +frank and courageous. He had no hesitation in assuming the paternal +relation, and won their hearts by doing so. But it was not only over +savages that he exerted a natural ascendency, for we have seen the zeal +and enthusiasm with which his orders were executed by the whole +expeditionary force. Whatever weaknesses he may have had, it was not in +the field or in active service that they were displayed. + +The memorandum, which serves as authority for the facts just narrated, +was addressed to Colbert, and sent to France by a ship sailing from +Quebec shortly before the close of navigation. The minister's reply was +dated 17th May of the following year. He does not at all congratulate +Frontenac upon his exploit. "You will readily understand," he says, "by +what I have just told you,[11] that his Majesty's intention is not that +you undertake great voyages by ascending the river St. Lawrence, nor +that the inhabitants spread themselves for the future further than they +have already done. On the contrary, he desires that you labour +incessantly, and during the whole time you are in that country, to +consolidate, concentrate, and form them into towns and villages, that +they may be in a better position to defend themselves successfully." In +acknowledging this despatch, far from apologizing for what he had done, +Frontenac told the minister that the very best results had flowed from +it. More Indians had come to Montreal than ever before, eight hundred +having been seen at one time; Iroquois, Algonquins, and Hurons were +mixing with one another in the most friendly manner; the Jesuit +missionaries among the Iroquois found their position greatly improved, +and were never tired of saying so; and, finally, he had obtained the +Indian children he had asked for, eight in number, who were being +educated in the French fashion, and who would be a perpetual guarantee +of the peaceful behaviour of the tribes to which they belonged. At the +same time he says, that if the minister absolutely disapproves of the +fort, he will go next year and pull it down with as much alacrity as he +had put it up. This the minister did not insist on. In fact he was not +long in coming round to Frontenac's view that considering all the +circumstances of the case the fort was a necessity. One point of +interest connected with its establishment, upon which Frontenac has left +us in ignorance, is whom he appointed as its first commandant. A +contemporary writer[12] tells us it was La Salle, and the statement is +not improbable. It was La Salle, as we have seen, whom the governor +sent to the Iroquois to invite them to the conference, and as he had +acquitted himself of that mission in the most successful manner, it +seems natural that he should have been the first chosen to command a +post, the principal object of which was to serve as a convenient +meeting-place for Iroquois and French. A temporary concession of the +fort was made a year later to two Montreal merchants, Bazire and Lebert, +but it passed again, in the following year, into the hands of La Salle, +who had meantime gone to France and laid before the court certain larger +schemes for which Fort Frontenac was to serve as a base, and which he +obtained the king's authority to carry into effect. + +[Footnote 6: See particularly the interesting work of Mr. Ernest Myrand, +_Frontenac et ses Amis_, Quebec, 1902.] + +[Footnote 7: It was not till 1717 that the merchants of Montreal and +Quebec were allowed to meet and discuss business affairs.] + +[Footnote 8: Quoted by Faillon, vol. iii. p. 432.] + +[Footnote 9: This office was held by Colbert (in connection with a +general control of marine, finance, and public works) from 1669 to the +date of his death, 6th September 1683; by his son, the Marquis of +Seignelay, from 1683 to the date of his own death, 3rd November 1690; +and from that time to the conclusion of the period covered by this +narrative by the Marquis of Pontchartrain.] + +[Footnote 10: Through the influence of Talon, the king was induced in +the year 1668 to sign a decree permitting the Recollets to return to +Canada, and reinstating them in their former possessions. Pere Leclercq, +Recollet, says they were very much wanted. "For thirty years," to quote +his words, "complaint was made in Canada that consciences were being +burdened; and the more the colony increased in population the greater +was the outcry. I sincerely hope that there was no real occasion for it, +and that the great rigour of the [Jesuit] clergy was useful and +necessary. Still the Frenchman loves liberty, and under all skies is +opposed to constraint, even in religion."] + +[Footnote 11: He had been speaking of the slow growth of the population +of Canada.] + +[Footnote 12: Pere Leclercq, _Premier Etablissement de la Foi_, vol. ii. +p. 117.] + + + + + CHAPTER IV + + THE COMMENCEMENT OF TROUBLES + + +It is difficult in the present advanced condition of all the arts and +sciences which converge on the perfecting of our means of transport and +communication to form an adequate idea of the toils, inconveniences, and +perils encountered by those who in the seventeenth century attempted the +task of colonizing this continent. To say nothing of the difficulties of +land travel, the colonist, by the mere fact of crossing the ocean, +placed a barrier of two or three months of perilous navigation between +himself and the land that had been his home. To the dangers of the sea +were added the yet more serious danger of infection on ill-ventilated +and pest-breeding vessels. A ship coming to the St. Lawrence could in +those days make but one trip to and fro in the year. It is easy to see, +therefore, in how critical a position a colony would be that depended in +any large measure on supplies brought from the other side. The wreck or +capture of one or two vessels might bring it to the verge of starvation. +Success in agriculture, again, can only be looked for where there is +peaceable and secure possession of the land. If all the results of +laborious tillage are liable to be carried off or destroyed at any +moment by marauding foes, there is little encouragement to engage in +that kind of industry. The population will, by preference, turn to the +search for metals, or seek to trade in articles easily marketed. Thus it +was that, in the early days, the Canadian settlers gave themselves up +almost wholly to hunting and fur-trading. Later, when the French +government began to interest itself directly in the settlement of the +country, strong efforts were made to induce the colonists to apply +themselves to agriculture. Lands were conceded on condition that they +should be cleared and cultivated within a specified time, failing which, +they should revert to the Crown. The same condition applied to any +_portion_ of a grant remaining unimproved after the stipulated period. +Under these inducements agriculture began to make a little headway, +particularly, as we have seen, after the lesson given to the Iroquois by +Tracy. + +Still, there was too much hunting and too much trading with the Indians +in the woods, as distinguished from legitimate trading in the +settlements. Mention has already been made of the _coureurs de bois_. +These were men who, instead of awaiting the arrival of the Indians at +the posts of Montreal, Three Rivers, or Quebec, went out to meet them, +in order that they might get the pick of the skins they possessed, and +perhaps also get the better of them in a trade by first making them +drunk. Two classes of _coureurs de bois_ have been distinguished: on the +one hand, the men who merely _traded_ in the woods in the way described, +and, on the other, those who attached themselves to different Indian +bands, and lived the common life of their savage companions. This +reversion to savagery had a great fascination for many of the Canadian +youths; and, as it led to great moral disorder, the clergy were quite as +much opposed to it as the civil governors. As a convert is generally +more zealous than one born in the faith, so these converts from +civilization to barbarism seemed bent on outdoing the original sons of +the forest in all that was wild and unseemly. Like their bronzed +associates they would sometimes spurn clothing altogether, even when +visiting settlements, and would make both day and night hideous with +their carousing and yelling.[13] + +Frontenac had received from the king strict instructions to repress the +_coureurs de bois_ by all means in his power. The law against them was +severe, for the punishment was death. One of the first things Frontenac +learnt on arriving in the colony was that Montreal was the headquarters +of these lawless men, and that not only did the local governor, Perrot, +make no effort to reduce them to order, but that he was commonly +understood to be a sharer in their illicit gains. It was further stated +that he had an establishment of his own on an island, which still bears +his name, at the confluence of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence, where his +agents regularly intercepted the Indians on the way to Montreal, and +took the cream of the trade. The king's instructions, it was well known, +forbade any trading on the part of officials; but Perrot, whose family, +as already mentioned, was influential, and whose wife was a niece of the +late Intendant Talon, did not think that such a regulation was made for +him. In passing through Montreal at the time of his expedition to +Cataraqui, Frontenac had requested Perrot to see that the king's +instructions respecting the _coureurs de bois_ were obeyed. The latter +promised compliance, but the promise was not redeemed. Frontenac at +first thought he could get round the difficulty by appointing M. de +Chambly as local governor for the district surrounding the Island of +Montreal--Perrot's jurisdiction being limited strictly to the +island--and thus establishing a kind of cordon by which the comings and +goings of the _coureurs de bois_ might be controlled. This arrangement +was never put into operation, for the reason that, just about the same +time, M. de Chambly received from the king the appointment of governor +of Acadia. Perrot, however, accompanied him as far as Quebec, and this +gave Frontenac the opportunity of placing under the eyes of the Montreal +governor the orders he had received from the court, and urging him to +co-operate in giving them effect. Again Perrot promised to do his duty +in the matter, but with what degree of sincerity events quickly showed. +He had hardly returned to Montreal when the local judge, Ailleboust, who +had received personal instructions from Frontenac in regard to carrying +out the law, tried to effect the arrest of two offenders who were +lodging in the house of one Carion, an officer. Carion refused to permit +the arrest, and was upheld therein by Perrot, whereupon the judge took +the only course open to him, namely, to notify the governor-general. It +was now midwinter; but, without a moment's hesitation, Frontenac +deputed one Bizard, a lieutenant of his guard, to go to Montreal with +three men, effect the arrest of Carion, and bring him to Quebec. He gave +Bizard at the same time a letter to Perrot, but instructed him not to +deliver it till he had first made sure of his prisoner. The lieutenant +carried out his instructions, so far as the arrest of Carion was +concerned; but, before he could leave Montreal, Perrot pounced down upon +him and made him prisoner in turn, asking him how he dared to make an +arrest in the limits of the government of Montreal without first +notifying him. The scene was witnessed by two prominent residents of +Montreal, Lebert, the merchant, and La Salle, of whom we have already +heard; and a report of the matter, attested by them, was despatched to +Quebec. The choleric Perrot, hearing of this piece of officiousness, as +he regarded it, put Lebert also into prison. La Salle, thinking the same +treatment might be meted out to him, lost no time in taking the road to +Quebec. + +The rage of Frontenac at this open defiance of his authority may be +imagined. Was it for this that he had come to Canada, to be flouted and +set at nought by a subordinate officer? The worst of it was that there +was no immediate remedy. The only thing to do at the moment was to +summon the culprit to appear before the Sovereign Council at Quebec. But +would he come? If he refused, Frontenac had no force to compel him. The +force was all on the other side; the governor-general had but his body +guard, whereas Montreal was full of men accustomed to Indian warfare, +who would probably obey Perrot's orders, especially as there was a +standing jealousy between Montreal and Quebec. At this point in his +reflections, the count bethought him of writing a letter to the Abbe de +Fenelon, Sulpician, of Montreal, who had accompanied him to Cataraqui, +and with whom he was on very friendly terms, asking him to represent to +Perrot what a serious thing it would be if he aggravated his former +misconduct by refusing to go to Quebec. Rightly or wrongly, M. de +Fenelon understood this letter as signifying that the governor, while +desirous of vindicating his authority, was prepared to compromise the +difficulty to some extent, and consequently gave Perrot to understand +that, if he would obey the order to go to Quebec, the matter would in +all probability be amicably adjusted. He offered to accompany him; and +the two set out towards the close of January on a snowshoe tramp to +Quebec over the frozen St. Lawrence. They arrived at the capital on the +29th of the month. Perrot at once sought an interview with the governor; +but the discussion, far from taking a friendly turn, soon became +extremely violent; and the result was that Perrot found himself in an +hour's time placed under arrest. + +The surprise and chagrin of the Montreal official may be imagined. As +for the abbe, his indignation at what he regarded as a breach of faith +knew no bounds.[14] Sharp words passed between him and the governor, and +he returned to Montreal in a most agitated and rebellious state of mind. +A few weeks later, having to preach on Easter Sunday in the parish +church, he slipped into his sermon some observations which could only be +construed as an attack on the king's representative. Speaking of those +who are invested with temporal authority, he said--according to a +summary of his discourse given by the Abbe Faillon--that the magistrate +who was animated by the spirit of the risen Christ would be strict, on +the one hand, to punish offences against the service of his Prince, and +prompt, on the other, to overlook those against his own dignity; would +be full of respect for the ministers of the altar, and would not treat +them harshly when, in the discharge of their duty, they strove to +reconcile enemies and establish general good-will; would not surround +himself with servile creatures to fill his ears with adulation, nor +oppress under specious pretexts persons also invested with authority who +happened to oppose his projects; further that such a ruler would use his +power to maintain the authority of the monarch, and not to promote his +own advantage, and would content himself with the salary allowed him +without disturbing the commerce of the country or ill-using those who +would not give him a share of their gains; finally, that he would not +vex the people by unjustly exacting forced labour for ends of his own, +nor falsely invoke the name of the monarch in support of such +proceedings. + +In every sentence there was a sting. The last words referred to the +expedition to Lake Ontario, and the unpaid labour of the men by whom the +fort at Cataraqui had been constructed. The preacher, in fact, may be +said to have summed up the charges which certain Montrealers were at the +time making against the governor, and which the Abbe Faillon, swayed +perhaps in some measure by sympathy with a fellow Sulpician, does not +hesitate to say were well founded. + +The church on that Easter Sunday was filled to its utmost capacity, over +six hundred persons being present. Amongst these was the watchful La +Salle, who, not only took it all in himself, but by his gestures and +movements called the attention of as many persons as possible to what +was being said, and its obvious import. It was not only the friends of +Frontenac, however, who recognized the drift of the sermon, for the cure +of the parish, the Rev. M. Perrot, said to M. de Fenelon as he came down +from the pulpit: "Really, sir, you have entered into details which have +caused me a great deal of trouble." Other ecclesiastics were affected in +the same manner, amongst them La Salle's own brother, an ecclesiastic of +the Seminary, who went at once to the Superior, the excellent M. Dollier +de Casson, to tell him what had happened. The latter, in turn, +foreseeing trouble, sent to tell La Salle that the Seminary had no +responsibility whatever for M. de Fenelon's sermon, as it had not been +submitted beforehand for approval, and no one had the least notion what +he intended to say. The same communication was made in the most earnest +terms to M. de la Nauguere, who was temporarily filling the place of +governor of Montreal by Frontenac's nomination, with a request that he +would convey the assurance to the governor-general. + +The extraordinary thing is that the reverend gentleman who had caused +all this trouble, when spoken to on the subject by the Superior, gave +his word as a man of honour and a priest, that he had no intention +whatever of alluding to the governor-general, adding that those who so +applied his remarks were doing much dishonour to that high officer. The +Abbe Faillon does not like to call M. de Fenelon's word in question, but +he says that he manifestly lacked "one quality very important in a +missionary, the prudence which directs the exercise of zeal, and keeps +it within the bounds that circumstances require." + +It was not only by this sermon that the Abbe Fenelon showed his lack of +prudence. Madame Perrot had come out from France with her husband when +he was appointed to the governorship of Montreal in 1669, and now that +he was in trouble, and his case was likely to come before the king, she +was anxious to get some testimonial from the people of Montreal in his +favour. As to the kind of a governor Perrot had really been, we may +safely rely on the judgment pronounced by the industrious author of the +_Histoire de la Colonie Francaise en Canada_, who says[15]: "This +governor contributed more than any one else to that fatal revolution +which changed entirely the moral aspect of this colony [Montreal]. . . . +The whole course of his conduct in Canada justifies us in thinking that +when, in 1669, he decided to come here, it was in the hope of making a +great fortune through the influence of M. de Talon, whose niece, +Madeleine Laguide, he had married." The abbe goes on to explain that the +Seminary (as seigneurs of the Island of Montreal) would never have +nominated Perrot had they known his true character, and would certainly +not have retained him in office after his character became known, if +they had been free to act in the matter. What stood in the way was that, +through Talon's influence, his commission as governor had been confirmed +by the king, and that he had thus, in a manner, been rendered +independent of the Seminary authorities. "From that moment," the writer +continues, "he considered himself free from all control in the matter of +the traffic in drink which he was already carrying on with the savages +to the great scandal of all the respectable inhabitants. . . . It is +certain that he himself gave open protection to the _coureurs de bois_, +not only in his own island through M. Bruey, his agent, but also +throughout the whole extent of the Island of Montreal. . . . In order to +have, without much expense, _coureurs de bois_ under his orders, he +allowed nearly all the soldiers in the island to desert and take to the +woods, without either pursuing them, or notifying the governor-general +of their desertion." It may be added that, when some of the most +respectable inhabitants of Montreal ventured on a timid remonstrance +respecting the irregularities that were taking place, he assailed them +in the lowest and most ruffianly language, and put their principal +spokesman, who at the time was the acting judge of Montreal, into +prison. + +This was the man, then, in whose interest, when Madame Perrot could not +get any one else to do it, M. de Fenelon undertook to go round the +Island of Montreal, and get the inhabitants to sign a petition. The +petition, it is true, only stated that the signers had no complaints to +make against M. Perrot; but its object was to throw dust in the eyes of +the court, and it is impossible to think highly of the candour of the +man--elder brother, though he was, of the great Archbishop of +Cambrai--who was the chief agent in procuring it. + +It is not surprising, in view of these proceedings, that M. de Fenelon +received an order to repair to Quebec. Before summoning him, Frontenac +had carried on a prolonged correspondence with the Seminary at Montreal. +He first of all required them to banish Fenelon from their house as +being a factious and rebellious person. To save his brethren trouble, +Fenelon retired of his own accord, and took up parish work at Lachine. +Frontenac then asked for signed declarations as to what had been said in +the sermon. These the Sulpicians declined to give, saying they could not +be called upon to testify against a brother. "Then send down a copy of +the sermon," the governor said. The reply to this was that they had no +copy of it. For form's sake they consented to ask the vicar-general at +Quebec, the highest ecclesiastical authority in the absence of the +bishop, to request M. de Fenelon to furnish the original. The +vicar-general did so, and the abbe promptly replied that he would do +nothing of the kind; he did not acknowledge himself to be guilty of any +misdemeanour, but, if he were, he could not be required to furnish +evidence against himself. + +These _pourparlers_ consumed considerable time, as letters were not +exchanged in those days with modern rapidity between Quebec and +Montreal. Moreover, Frontenac took a slice out of the summer in order to +pay a visit to Montreal at the height of the trading season, not +impossibly with some thrifty design, though it is known that he attended +to the king's business to the extent of capturing, through his officer +M. de Vercheres, no less than twelve _coureurs de bois_. It was not till +some time in the month of August that M. de Fenelon appeared to answer +for himself at Quebec. + +To follow in detail the incidents of the abortive inquiry into Perrot's +insubordination, and the equally unsatisfactory proceedings in the case +of the refractory abbe, would be tedious and unprofitable. Two of the +councillors, Tilly and Dupont, were appointed a commission to examine +Perrot. The latter made no objection at first to answering their +questions, but a few days later he took it into his head to protest the +competency of the council to try the charges against him. The governor, +he said, was his personal enemy, and the members of the council, +holding office during his good pleasure, could only be considered as his +creatures. The council disregarded the protest, and continued the +inquiry; but on each subsequent occasion Perrot refused to answer any +question till his protest had been duly entered in the minutes. One of +his answers almost betrays a sense of humour. He was asked why he had +not arrested the _coureurs de bois_ who made his private island their +headquarters. "Because," he said, "I had no jurisdiction; my government +does not extend beyond the Island of Montreal." In other words, he had +chosen a spot for his illegal operations where, in his private capacity, +he could, so to speak, snap his lingers in his own face in his official +capacity. Possibly it was an attempt on Frontenac's part to repay humour +with humour, when he caused one of these very _coureurs de bois_, a man +whom Perrot probably knew very well, to be hanged directly in front of +his prison window. + +During the summer a despatch was received from the minister for the +colonies which somewhat disquieted Frontenac, and doubtless had some +effect also on the minds of the councillors. In order to lay an account +of Perrot's rebellious conduct at the earliest possible moment before +the king, Frontenac had taken the unusual course of sending a letter by +way of Boston in February, hoping that it might reach the minister's +hands in time to be answered by the ship leaving in the spring or early +summer. Colbert wrote under date the 17th May 1674, evidently without +having received the letter, for he terminated his despatch with these +words: "His Majesty instructs me to recommend to you particularly the +person and interests of M. Perrot, governor of Montreal, and nephew of +M. Talon, his principal _valet de chambre_." Nothing could well have +been more awkward, considering that the person so warmly recommended was +at that moment, and had been for months, in durance vile, as a rebel +against the governor's authority, and indirectly against his Majesty's. + +The Abbe Fenelon, when he appeared before the council, was more defiant +by far than Perrot. He was told to stand up. He said, No, he would sit +down, as he was not a criminal; and, if he were, he could only be tried +by an ecclesiastical court. He was asked to remove his hat; to which he +replied by jamming it harder on his head, saying that ecclesiastics had +a right to keep their heads covered. In the end the council began to +fear that the governor was getting them into trouble; and they +consequently determined, in both cases, that they would confine +themselves to taking evidence, and leave the court to pronounce +judgment. This conclusion was not pleasing to Frontenac, who wished to +have a distinct decision of the council in his favour. He, too, was +"weakening," however, as we may see by his letter to the minister, dated +14th November 1674, and despatched by the same vessel by which the +governor of Montreal--released at last after ten months' +confinement--and the fiery abbe sailed for France. "I am sending," he +says, "M. Perrot and M. de Fenelon to France, in order that you may +judge their conduct. For myself, if I have failed in any point of duty, +I am ready to submit to his Majesty's corrections. A governor in this +country would be much to be pitied if he were not sustained, seeing +there is no one here on whom he can depend; and should he commit any +fault he might assuredly be excused, seeing that all kinds of nets are +spread for him, and that, after avoiding a hundred, he is liable to be +caught in the end. So, My Lord, I hope that, should I have had the +misfortune to take any false step, his Majesty will be kind enough to +sympathize with me, and to believe that the error was due to an excess +of zeal for his service, and not to any other motive." + +The tone of this communication, it must be confessed, is not quite what +one would expect from a man of Frontenac's character and antecedents. It +shows what influence at court counted for in that day. The letter was +accompanied by a docket of enormous proportions containing the charges +against Perrot and the abbe, and all the evidence taken in the course of +the prolonged investigation at Quebec. He received replies both from the +king and the minister. In regard to Perrot the king wrote: "I have seen +and examined all you have sent me concerning M. Perrot; and, after +having seen all that he has put forward in his defence, I have condemned +his action in imprisoning the officer you sent to Montreal. To punish +him I have sent him for some time to the Bastille, in order that this +discipline may not only render him more circumspect for the future, but +may serve as an example to others. But, in order that you may thoroughly +understand my views, I must tell you that, except in a case of absolute +necessity, you should not execute any order within the sphere of a local +government without having first notified the governor of the locality. +The punishment of ten months' imprisonment you inflicted on him seems to +me sufficient; and that is why I am sending him to the Bastille for a +short term only, in order to vindicate in a public manner my violated +authority." His Majesty added that he was sending Perrot back to his +government, but that he would instruct him to call on the +governor-general at Quebec and apologize for all his past offences; +after which Frontenac was to dismiss all resentment, and treat him with +the consideration due to his office. + +As regards Fenelon, he was not allowed to return to Canada; and he was +censured by the Superior of his order for having busied himself with +things with which he had no concern. At the same time Frontenac was +informed that he was wrong in instituting a criminal process against +that ecclesiastic, as well as in calling upon his brethren of the +Seminary to give evidence against him. The king made it clear that he +thought Frontenac had been unduly harsh and autocratic in his +proceedings generally. It would have been well for that dignitary if he +could have taken the admonition more deeply to heart. + +[Footnote 13: It was no doubt in large measure due to the extraordinary +physical vitality of the French race in Canada that so strong a tendency +was manifested towards this reversion, which of course was facilitated +by the general condition of life in a country that was little else than +forest. "_L'ecole buissonniere_" was at every one's door, and the men of +the colony were not alone in feeling the call of the wild. Mere Marie de +l'Incarnation, in her _Lettres Spirituelles_ says: "Sans l'education que +nous donnons aux filles francaises qui sont un peu grandes, durant +l'espace de six mois environ, elles seraient des brutes pires que les +sauvages; c'est pourquoi on nous les donne presque toutes, les unes +apres les autres." See Ferland's _Cours d'Histoire du Canada_, vol. ii. +p. 85, who quotes this passage without any reference to page. Passages +of similar purport may, however, be found on pp. 231 and 258 of the +first edition (1681) of the _Lettres Spirituelles_.] + +[Footnote 14: Mr. P. T. Bedard, in his lecture on _Frontenac_, published +in the _Annuaire_ of the Institut Canadien of Quebec for 1880 speaks of +Frontenac's "duplicity" in this matter, a stronger term than the facts +seem to justify.] + +[Footnote 15: Vol. iii. pp. 446-52.] + + + + + CHAPTER V + + DIVIDED POWER + + +If the king read carefully, as he says he did, the cruel mass of +correspondence which Frontenac forwarded to him in connection with the +Perrot-Fenelon imbroglio, he could hardly have failed to come to the +conclusion that something was amiss in the state of Canada. Frontenac +had begged, somewhat piteously, that he might be "sustained," and +sustained he was in a manner, as we have just seen; but the king and the +minister had their own opinion on the subject, which they only partly +expressed in words, the rest they translated into action. Frontenac, +from the date of his arrival in Canada, had been the only visible source +of authority. Laval was in France, looking after the long delayed bull +which was to raise him from the doubtful rank of a bishop _in partibus_ +to the full legal status of bishop of Quebec. Talon, too, had left the +country a few weeks after the governor's arrival, and no one had been +sent to replace him. The old warrior had, therefore, had things entirely +his own way, and his own way had not proved to be the way of peace. To +place matters on a better footing, the court decided on two measures: to +reorganize the Sovereign Council, and to revive the office of intendant. +The council, it will be remembered, consisted of four members and an +attorney-general, nominated by the governor and the bishop jointly, and +holding office during their good pleasure. Henceforth it was to consist +of seven members, each holding office by direct commission from the +king. The main object of the change was to enable it to act with more +independence in the performance of its proper functions, which were +essentially of a judicial character. A secondary effect, probably +neither foreseen nor intended, was to augment the influence of the +bishop, at the expense of that of the governor, through the operation of +the natural law which inclines men to side rather with permanent than +with transient forces. Frontenac was jealous from the first of the +increased prestige of the council, and soon became disagreeably aware of +the advantage it afforded to his ecclesiastical rival. + +The council, as reconstituted, consisted of the four old members, Louis +Rouer de Villeray, who received the designation of first councillor, Le +Gardeur de Tilly, Mathieu Damours, and Nicolas Dupont, with three new +ones, Rene Charlier de Lotbiniere, Jean Baptiste de Peyras, and Charles +Denis de Vitre. The attorney-general, Denis Joseph Ruette d'Auteuil, a +man described by Frontenac a couple of years later as "very ignorant, +and having such imperfect sight that he can neither read nor write," was +by name reappointed to his office, with one Gilles Rageot as clerk. All +these, holding their appointments directly from the king, were secure +from removal by any lesser authority. The utmost the governor could do +would be to suspend one or more of them for grave misconduct, subject to +confirmation of his action by the sovereign. Another change in the +judiciary of the colony was made a couple of years later. The king had, +in the year 1674, abolished a court called the Prevote (Provost's Court) +of Quebec, which had been established by the West India Company for the +purpose of exercising a kind of police jurisdiction, and making +preliminary inquiries in certain cases. The royal idea at the time had +been that it would be simpler to intrust the whole administration of +justice to one court, the Sovereign Council. The enlargement and +strengthening of the council, however, and the appearance upon the scene +of an intendant whose views did not always harmonize, to speak very +moderately, with those of the governor, somewhat altered the situation. +There was a balance of powers; but justice itself would sometimes hang +in the balance longer than was desirable. In order, therefore, to get as +many cases as possible disposed of without troubling that important +tribunal, his Majesty, in the month of May 1677, determined to +re-establish the Prevote, with power to judge, as a court of first +instance, all cases civil and criminal, subject to appeal to the +Sovereign Council. The court was to consist of a lieutenant-general as +judge, a public prosecutor and a clerk. To these was added, by an edict +of the same month, a special officer having the title of _prevot_, with +judicial functions in criminal cases only. It probably was not foreseen +that the governor might play off the Prevote against the Sovereign +Council. That, however, is what happened, and as the lower court had at +its service six "archers" or constables, it was able, when acting in +concert with the governor, to accomplish an occasional _tour de force_. + +The new intendant, M. Jacques Duchesneau, arrived at Quebec in the month +of September 1675 by the same vessel which bore back Laval, in all the +glory and power of full episcopal authority, to a flock from which he +had been absent three long years. His letter of instructions mentions +the fact that he had filled a somewhat similar office at Tours in +France, and had acquitted himself therein to the great satisfaction of +his Majesty. Research has been made without success to find out what the +office was; we have only, therefore, to take his Majesty's word for it. +Whatever M. Duchesneau's previous history may have been, he seems to +have come to Canada with the determination to keep a very watchful, and +not too benevolent, eye on the proceedings of his official superior, the +governor. There was the strongest possible contrast between the +characters of the two men. Frontenac was haughty, headstrong, and +aggressive; Duchesneau, cautious, crafty, and persistent. When two such +men come into conflict, it is not the cool calculator who suffers most, +however he may whine (as Duchesneau did) at the high-handed proceedings +of the other. Under the best of circumstances a governor and an +intendant were not likely to work very harmoniously together. Courcelles +and Talon did not, though both were well-meaning men. M. Lorin hints +that Colbert sent out Duchesneau to act as a spy upon Frontenac.[16] The +supposition seems to be a needless one. Duchesneau was sent out as Talon +had been before him, to see that the intentions of the court in the +government of the country were duly carried into effect, and in +particular that the considerable sums of money which the king +appropriated to the uses of the colony were rightly expended. It is +possible that, had Frontenac acted with more judgment and moderation +during the first two years of his administration, the appointment of an +intendant would not have been considered necessary; but, in any case, +the court in giving him a colleague, and thus relieving him of part of +his responsibilities, was simply applying to Canada a system of +administration long established in France, where, as a rule, every +province had its intendant as well as its governor. + +Duchesneau's instructions were certainly very clear as to the attitude +he was to maintain towards the governor. He was enjoined "to be careful +to live with Comte de Frontenac in relations of great deference, not +only on account of the honour he had of representing the king's person, +but also on account of his personal merit, and not to do anything in the +whole range of his duties without his consent and participation." To +secure concordant conduct on the governor's part, he was instructed in a +despatch of even date to allow the intendant to act "with entire liberty +in everything relating to justice, police, and finance, without meddling +at all in these matters, except when they are discussed in the Sovereign +Council." It is significant that in this same letter a hint is dropped +about trading: not only was Frontenac not to trade himself, or allow +trading on his behalf, but he was not to permit any one belonging to his +household to trade. It thus appears that, before Duchesneau had even +arrived in the country, the court had had its suspicions aroused as to +the course the king's personal representative might be tempted to pursue +in this matter. We may be certain that anything Perrot and Fenelon knew +on the subject would be poured into the minister's ear, nor were they +the only ones whose representations regarding the governor would not be +of a friendly character. Villeray, the senior member of the Sovereign +Council and the Abbe d'Urfe, a relative of Fenelon's, were in France at +the same time. The former had been denounced by Frontenac in one of his +earliest despatches as a busybody and a close ally of the Jesuit order; +while the latter had been very haughtily treated by him in connection +with the Fenelon matter, and had left Canada in high indignation by the +same vessel which bore Fenelon and Perrot. It happened that, just about +this time, Urfe's cousin, a Mademoiselle d'Allegre, was being contracted +in marriage to Colbert's son and destined successor in office, the +Marquis de Seignelay, so that altogether the influences which were +operating against Frontenac at this juncture were of a somewhat +formidable character. That his position should have been so little +affected speaks well for his claim to personal consideration. It speaks +well also for the spirit of equity which actuated the king in his +relations with his officers. + +A meeting of the reorganized Sovereign Council was held at Quebec on the +16th September 1675. It is this meeting which fixes for us as nearly as +it can be done the date of the arrival of the bishop and intendant, for +the minutes show that the former was present, and that part of the +business transacted was the registration of the commission of the +latter. M. de Laval lost no time in making his influence felt. The Abbe +Fenelon, when arraigned before the Sovereign Council the year before, +had demanded to be tried by an ecclesiastical tribunal, and reply had +been made that there was no such tribunal in Canada. The bishop's first +act was to supply this lack by establishing a court consisting of his +two grand-vicars, Bernieres and Dudouyt, and a clerk or registrar. The +new court soon found work to do. A man was cited before it, upon +information of the _cure_ of Montreal, for having failed to perform his +Easter duties. He appealed to the Sovereign Council, which at first +showed a disposition to assume jurisdiction in the case, but in the end +left it in the hands of the ecclesiastics. The bishop wished it to be +understood that Canada was not France. Some encroachments of the civil +on the spiritual power had, he said, taken place in that country, but +"these were things to be guarded against in a country in which a Church +is in course of establishment." Manifestly Laval understood the word +"Church" in a very absolute sense, and meant to enforce his +understanding of it if possible. + +During his absence from the country the clergy had got into the way, +either of their own accord, or at Frontenac's suggestion, of paying the +governor certain honours in church which the bishop considered--correctly +it appears--unsanctioned by precedent or usage. He ordered that they +should be discontinued. A wrangle with the governor ensued, and the +matter had to be referred to the king, who must sometimes have wondered +whether the colonial game was worth the candles consumed in reading the +colonial despatches; for his Majesty, no less than his minister, had +often to prolong the work far into the night. The patient monarch +replied that the governor had been claiming more than was his due, and +more than was accorded to men of his rank in the provinces of the +kingdom; he must, therefore, make up his little difference with the +bishop of Quebec, by gracefully moderating his pretensions. Three years +later there were still some differences of the same nature pending, for +we find the king sending directions to the bishop to pay the same +honours to the governor of Canada as were paid to the governor of +Picardy in the cathedral of Amiens. Frontenac, on his part, was not to +claim more. + +The document which throws most light on Frontenac's attitude towards the +dominant ecclesiastical powers--the bishop and the Jesuits--and on his +estimate of their work and general policy, is a letter which he wrote to +Colbert in 1677, and which must have been of a confidential nature.[17] +"Nearly all the disorders existing in New France," he therein declares, +"have their origin in the ambition of the ecclesiastics, who wish to add +to their spiritual authority an absolute power over temporal matters." +Their aim from the first, he goes on to say, was to amass wealth as a +means of influence; and in this they have been extraordinarily +successful. They have had subsidies from the king and charitable +donations from individuals in France; they have obtained concessions of +large tracts of the best and most valuable lands in the country; +finally, in spite of the king's prohibitions, they have been driving an +active and most profitable trade. In support of the latter statement he +cites the names of a number of persons who have given him positive and +detailed evidence on the point. He estimates the bishop's revenue from +all sources at not less than forty thousand livres; and refers to the +fact that he is erecting vast and superb buildings at Quebec at a cost +of four hundred thousand livres, although he and his ecclesiastics are +already lodged much better than the governor-general. He complains of +the espionage they exercise through the country and in his own +household; and says there would be no end to the story if he were to +attempt to tell all that they have done to augment their influence +through the confessional and by threats of excommunication. Instances +are given of what the writer claims to have been their undue severity +towards persons who had incurred their censure. If the bishop chose, he +could do what he has always hitherto refused to do: provide the country +with a reasonable number of parish priests having fixed positions. He +has ample means for the purpose if he would employ them in a less +ambitious manner; his main objection to doing so is that the erection of +parishes served by priests not removable at pleasure would diminish his +power and throw patronage into the hands of the king. So far the +governor. It is probable that his impeachment of his ecclesiastical +rivals did not fall on altogether unsympathetic ears; but Colbert, as a +statesman, recognized power wherever it existed; and his only advice to +the civil administrators was to hold their own as well as they could. In +a despatch, written some years before, he had told Courcelles that be +looked forward to the time when, with an increase of population, things +would get into better shape, and the secular power assume its just +preponderance. + +Duchesneau himself, shortly after his arrival in the country, had a +passing difficulty with the bishop, arising out of an idea he +entertained, that, as intendant, he ought to rank next to the governor; +and this wretched matter had also to be referred to the court, which +promptly decided in the bishop's favour. From that time forward there +was perfect harmony between the two, so much so that, on more than one +occasion, the intendant drew down upon himself the censure of the court +for what was regarded as his undue subservience to the bishop's views. +One of the first matters regarding which he and the bishop joined forces +was the policy of the governor in connection with the issue of hunting +and trading licences. The law under which Frontenac had previously taken +severe measures against the _coureurs de bois_ was still in force; but +the governor had felt himself justified in issuing a limited number of +permits to responsible persons, authorizing them to carry goods to the +Indians and trade in the Indian settlements. These persons became, in a +certain sense, _coureurs de bois_; but as they went out by authority, +and could be held to the terms of their licences, and as, moreover, they +could be used for the purpose of obtaining information as to the +movements and disposition of the native tribes, the governor thought, +or professed to think, that he was acting for the best in relaxing to +this extent the strict letter of the law. The bishop, on the other hand, +objected to the system; in the first place, because the persons licensed +carried liquor as part of their stock-in-trade, and, in the second, +because it threw impediments in the way of the effective ecclesiastical +control of the population. It was agreed that he and the intendant +should both write to the minister, the one dwelling on the evils of the +liquor traffic with the Indians, and the other on the infringement of +the law. Duchesneau, we have seen, had been warned in his instructions +to keep in close touch with the governor in all that he did; but he had +not been three months in the country before, in a matter of the first +importance, and one affecting the governor's own actions, he sent home +recommendations of which his superior officer knew nothing. + +The answer came back the following year. It was dated 15th April 1676, +but seems only to have reached Quebec in September. The governor, by +royal edict, was forbidden to issue permits under any pretext +whatsoever. The punishment of contumacious _coureurs de bois_ was placed +in the hands of the intendant exclusively, as it was he alone--such was +the reason given--who had official knowledge of the conditions under +which the fur trade was being farmed out. Quebec, Montreal, and Three +Rivers were at the same time indicated as the only places where the +trade with the Indians might lawfully be carried on. + +Frontenac was not at Quebec when this document arrived; he was at Fort +Frontenac (Cataraqui), which was now in the hands of his friend La Salle +under a concession from the king. Doubtless he was enjoying, not only +his temporary freedom from the worries and vexations of office, but also +the congenial society of a man, who, though much his junior, had, in +common with himself, a large knowledge of the world, a keen and aspiring +spirit, and a strong love of adventure. At Quebec the councillors were +somewhat at a loss what to do in the matter of the despatch. Some were +indisposed to register, in the absence of the governor, an edict which +so directly condemned the policy he was pursuing. Duchesneau, however, +did not approve of delay, and on the 5th of October the document was +registered, and thus became the law of the land. When Frontenac returned +to Quebec and found what had been done--that one of the first acts of +the intendant had been to hand him over to the censure of the court, and +that its censure had practically been pronounced--he was indignant +beyond measure. He saw at a glance that, if the situation were not in +some way retrieved, his authority and prestige in the colony he had been +sent out to govern would be gravely compromised. The fall vessels were +to leave in a week or two, so he sat down and wrote a despatch to +Colbert which gave that able minister something to think about. The +bishop, dreading lest the governor's reasons--he probably knew that +Frontenac wielded a vigorous pen--might lead to a countermanding of the +instructions, thought it well to send an envoy of his own to France in +the person of the Abbe Dudouyt. Frontenac meantime so far complied with +the edict as to publish an order requiring all _coureurs de bois_, +licensed and unlicensed, to return at once to the settlements; though, +according to Duchesneau, he nullified this to a great extent by issuing +a number of hunting permits which were only trading permits in disguise. + +So far as the sale of liquor to the Indians was in question, it is +impossible not to approve, theoretically at least, the stand taken by +the bishop. He would have suppressed it absolutely, if he had had the +power. The thing, however, was practically impossible. We see the effect +probably of Frontenac's representations on the subject in a despatch +which the intendant received dated in the spring of 1677. He is told +that he had yielded too easily to the extreme views of the bishop in +regard to this matter. The bishop had spoken of the fearful effects +caused by drink amongst the Indians, who maimed and murdered one +another, and committed all kinds of abominations, when under its +influence. Colbert is not content with such a general statement; he +wants particulars; and instructs Duchesneau to find out how many such +crimes can be proved to have been committed since he (the intendant) had +arrived in Canada. Here was a very suitable piece of work cut out for +M. Jacques Duchesneau, who was nothing if not a man of facts and +figures; but there is nothing to show that he ever prepared the desired +statement. The minister goes on to say: "The general policy of the state +is necessarily opposed to the views of a bishop who, in order to prevent +the abuse made by a few individuals of a thing good in itself, is +prepared to abolish entirely the trade in an article of consumption +which serves greatly to promote commerce, and to bring the savages into +contact with orthodox Christians like the French. We should run the +risk, if we yielded to his opinion, not only of losing this commerce, +but of forcing the savages to do business with the English and Dutch, +who are heretics; and it would thus become impossible for us to keep +them favourably disposed towards the one pure and true religion." +Colbert, it will be seen, had that judicious blending of the missionary +with the commercial spirit which has been so efficacious in our own day +in promoting great colonial enterprises. One or two other allusions to +the bishop may be quoted: "It is easy to see that, though the bishop is +a very good man, and most faithful in the performance of his duty, he +nevertheless is aiming at a degree of power which goes far beyond what +is exercised by bishops in any other part of Christendom, and +particularly in France." Then, with reference to his attendance at +meetings of the Sovereign Council: "You ought to try and put him out of +love with going there; but in doing so you must act with the greatest +prudence and secrecy, and take care that no person whatsoever knows what +I am writing to you on this point." + +The minister, it is evident, had hard work to keep his representatives +in Canada to their respective spheres of duty. He opens his despatch to +Duchesneau by begging him to mind his own business, and not in future +recommend any military appointments, as he had done in a late +communication. He wrote to Frontenac a few days later, cautioning him to +keep aloof from questions of justice, police, and finance, observing +that men in military command "are too apt to let flatterers persuade +them that they ought to take cognizance of everything and look after +everything." Touching on the drink question, he said that "if the +disorders complained of are limited in number, and if the Indians are +only a little more subject to getting intoxicated than the Germans for +example, or, among the French, the Bretons," there was no need for +drastic prohibitive measures; the irregularities happening from time to +time could be dealt with by the courts. He was not to take ground openly +against the bishop; but he was to see that the latter did not go beyond +his proper prerogative "in a matter that was purely one of police." The +Abbe Dudouyt had evidently not succeeded in winning over the minister to +the bishop's extreme views. He must, however, have had more success with +the king, for on the 12th May 1678 a royal edict was issued, dealing in +a very uncompromising fashion with the _coureur de bois_ question as +well as with that of the liquor traffic. As regards the former, the +previous prohibition, which, it was complained, had been rendered +nugatory by the system of special permits, was renewed in all its force. +The liquor traffic was equally condemned: no liquor was to be sold to +the Indians under any circumstances. Colbert thereupon presented a +memoir to his Majesty setting forth his reasons for considering a +prohibition of the liquor traffic inexpedient, these being much the same +as he had embodied in his despatch to Duchesneau of the preceding year. +The result was that the king, without recalling his edict, ordered that +the whole matter should be fully discussed in a meeting of the principal +inhabitants of Canada, including the administrators and magistrates, and +that a report of the proceedings should be sent to him for his +information and further consideration. + +Thus was the question referred back to Canada, and an appeal actually +made, after a fashion, to public opinion. The meeting ordered by the +king was held at Quebec on the 26th October. The persons composing it +were chosen by Frontenac and Duchesneau jointly, and were beyond doubt +as influential men as could be found in the country--nineteen in all, +exclusive of those who attended in an official capacity. The sense of +the meeting was overwhelmingly against the suppression of the traffic, +and against the stand taken by the bishop in making a "reserved case" of +the selling of liquor to the Indians, or, in other words, excluding from +the sacraments all who were guilty of that act. Two of the delegates, +the seigneurs of Berthier and Sorel, said that the prohibition which was +then nominally, and to a considerable degree practically, in force +worked injury, not only to trade, but to the Indians themselves. They +could get all the liquor they wanted from the Dutch of Orange (Albany); +and the Dutch rum was not nearly so good as the French brandy. The last +time the Indians came to trade at Cataraqui, they had forty barrels of +Dutch spirits with them, having laid in a supply owing to their +apprehension that they might not be able to obtain any from the French. +But of course they would cease coming to Cataraqui or trading with the +French at all, if they could not get liquor. They denied that the +drinking of brandy prevented the Indians from becoming Christians. Did +not the Christian Indians in the missions near Montreal drink brandy? +Yet they remained docile to their teachers, and were not often seen +drunk--a statement which certainly might have been challenged. Others +urged the argument with which we are already familiar that, if the +Indians had to get their liquor from the Dutch and English, they would +either imbibe heresy at the same time, or be left in their heathenism. +Others again said that the disorders caused by drink amongst the savages +had been greatly exaggerated, and moreover things of the same nature +occurred among Indians who made no use of spirituous liquors. The +"reserved case" was doing no good; on the contrary it was troubling +consciences, and had possibly already caused the damnation of some +inhabitants. Drunkenness, another delegate remarked, was not confined to +the Indians. In the most civilized countries, where all were Christians, +it was a common vice; yet no one thought of making a "reserved case" for +the liquor sellers. One speaker went so far as to say that the Indians +would never become Christians unless they were allowed the same +liberties as the French, and that the clandestine sale of liquor +promoted immoderate drinking. Robert Cavelier de la Salle was strongly +in favour of the trade being left open. It was for laymen, he said, to +decide what was good or bad in relation to commerce, and not for +ecclesiastics. There had been but little disorder, upon the whole, +amongst the savages as the result of drink. He thought they were less +given to intoxication than the French, and much less than the English of +New York. Two delegates were entirely opposed to the trade as being +hurtful to religion, and the source of moral disorders. Two others +thought it should be restricted to the settlements, and that no liquor +should be sold in the woods.[18] + +How far the opinions of those who favoured the traffic were +disinterested may be open to question. Traders are apt to consider +exclusively the immediate interests of trade; and the love of gain is +often sufficient to stifle the instincts of humanity. The church looked +upon the Indians as its wards; but the majority of the settlers, it is +to be feared, thought only of exploiting, if not of actually plundering, +them. It is difficult to read the little treatise composed about +twenty-five years after these events, under the title of the _History of +Brandy in Canada_, without feeling persuaded that there was more ground +for the position taken by the clergy than the seigneurs and others who +assembled at Quebec were willing to admit. From what the anonymous +writer, evidently a missionary in close touch with the facts, says, it +is clear that brandy was often made an instrument for the robbery of the +unhappy Indian. We are told of one man at Three Rivers who, having made +an Indian drunk, insisted next day that the score for the brandy the +poor savage had taken amounted to thirty moose skins. The author of the +treatise is convinced that the horrible massacre at Lachine, of which we +shall have to speak in a later chapter, was a direct manifestation of +the anger of God at the drink traffic, of which that place in particular +was the headquarters. If so, the warning unfortunately was not taken to +heart, for the writer himself tells us that the traffic was resumed and +prosecuted as vigorously as ever as soon as the village was rebuilt. + +When Laval, who had just laid the corner-stone of his seminary at +Quebec, saw the way things were going, he decided to start for France +himself, to see what he could effect for the cause he had so deeply at +heart by personal representations. The decision of the court, however, +was what might have been expected under the circumstances. Two edicts +were issued in the following year, one dated the 25th April 1679, +confirming the regulations previously laid down respecting the _coureurs +de bois_, but allowing the governor to grant hunting permits good from +the 15th January to the 15th April of each year; and the other, dated +24th May, expressly prohibiting the holders of such permits from +carrying liquor to the Indians, under pain of a fine of one hundred +francs for the first offence, three hundred for the second, and corporal +punishment for the third. The French of the settlements on the other +hand were left free to sell liquor to the Indians resorting thither. The +bishop was at the same time requested to make the "reserved case" apply +only to those selling under illegal conditions, which, with no little +reluctance, he consented to do. + +It is to be noted that the second edict contains a clause expressly +entrusting its enforcement to "Sieur, Comte de Frontenac, governor and +lieutenant-general for his Majesty in the said country," and not as +previously to the intendant. Frontenac thus had it in his power, M. +Lorin observes, "to free himself in practice from the time limits +imposed, or even tacitly to authorize the hunters to carry a few goods +to the Indians." This writer, who is an ardent admirer of Frontenac, +seems to regard it as a thing quite to be expected that the king's +representative should seize the opportunity to violate the king's +regulations. The motive, however, which he assigns for such probable +disobedience is a very high one: the governor was anxious to keep in +touch, through the traders, with the outlying Indian tribes, in order +that he might watch the course of their trade, study their dispositions, +and thus be enabled to take timely measures to maintain them in right +relations with the French colony. Were there ground for assurance that +this was his only, or even his greatly predominant, motive, we might +well join with M. Lorin in considering such far-sighted devotion to the +king's interests as more than a set-off to a technical irregularity. But +can we? The question is one in regard to which the documents before us, +consisting mainly of the correspondence of Frontenac and Duchesneau with +the court, render it difficult to arrive at a positive conclusion. The +matter will be discussed in the following chapter; meanwhile let us +briefly note the further development of the _coureur de bois_ question +to the end of Frontenac's first administration. + +It does not appear that the ordinance of April 1679 improved the +situation in the least. The law continued to be violated, as Duchesneau +affirms, with the connivance of the governor, and, as Frontenac says, +with the active assistance (in favour of his special friends) of the +intendant. In the month of November 1680 Duchesneau writes to the +minister, observing that the only thing to do is to try and find the +best means to induce these men to return "without prejudice to the +absolute submission they owe to the king's will." He proceeds to hint at +something like a conditional amnesty, lenient treatment to be promised +to all those who, returning home promptly on the publication of the +king's proclamation, should "make a sincere and frank declaration in +court of the time they have been absent, for what persons they were +trading in the Indian country, who furnished them with goods, how many +skins they procured, and how they disposed of them." Evidently M. +Jacques Duchesneau was in pursuit of information; and there can be +little doubt with what intent. What Frontenac wrote on the subject is +not on record. It seems probable that he too suggested an amnesty; but +we may doubt whether he recommended the condition proposed by his friend +the intendant. The court in the month of May following granted an +amnesty, the sole condition of which was that the persons concerned +should return to their homes immediately on being notified to do so. +This was not to imply any indulgence for the offence in future, as +another edict was passed in the course of the same month, providing +severer punishments than had previously been prescribed--flogging and +branding on a first conviction, and perpetual servitude in the galleys +on a second. When these edicts reached Quebec it was noticed that to the +council was given the duty, not only of registering, but of publishing +and executing them. The governor, however, intervened, and, upon his +promising to take the whole responsibility upon himself, the council +agreed to leave the publication and execution in his hands. "Under this +pretext," says M. Lorin, "Frontenac could send officers to all the posts +of the upper country; and if he was anxious to do so, it was less to +participate, despite the king's orders, in the fur trade, than to +control the proceedings of the merchants and missionaries." The word +"less" can hardly be said to imply unambiguous praise. Moreover who can +say what motive was predominant? + +Under the edict of 1679 the governor had the power of issuing an +unlimited number of permits for hunting exclusively. The privilege had +clearly been abused; and orders were now issued that in future +twenty-five permits only should be granted each year, the holder of a +permit to be entitled to take or send one canoe only with three men. In +this way the amount of trade which could be done under a permit was +limited. In all only twenty-five canoe loads of merchandise could be +sent out annually. Moreover the intention in granting these permits was +less to promote trade at a distance--an object the court never had at +heart--than to reward certain supposedly meritorious individuals. It +was a species of patronage which was placed in the governor's hands, and +which he was expected to distribute in a judicious manner. If the holder +of a permit did not wish to use it himself, he could sell it to some one +else; and it not infrequently happened that a single trader would buy a +number of permits, and send quite a little fleet of canoes up the river. +The era of "trusts" was not as yet, but even here we can see the trust +in germ. + +[Footnote 16: _Le Comte de Frontenac_, p. 159.] + +[Footnote 17: It is to be found in Margry, _Memoires et Documents des +Origines Francaises des Pays d'Outre Mer_, vol. i. pp. 301-25.] + +[Footnote 18: See Report (Proces Verbal) of the proceedings of the +assembly in Margry, _Memoires et Documents_, vol. i. pp. 405-20.] + + + + + CHAPTER VI + + THE LIFE OF A COLONY + + +The great trouble in Canada was that it was an over-governed country. +The whole population when Frontenac arrived was but little over six +thousand souls, scattered over a territory stretching from Matane and +Tadousac in the east, to the western limit of the Island of Montreal. +What these people needed in the first place was freedom to seek their +living in their own way, and secondly, an extremely simple form of +government. Instead of this they were hampered in their trade, and made +continually to feel their dependence on the central power; while, in the +matter of political organization, they were placed under the precise +system which prevailed in the provinces of the French kingdom. In the +Sovereign Council they had the equivalent of a parliament in the +French--by no means in the English--sense; that is to say, a body for +registering, and so bestowing a final character of validity upon, the +decrees of the sovereign, and for administering justice. The executive +power was divided between governor and intendant with very doubtful +results. Below the Sovereign Council, as a judicial body, was the court +of the Prevote. The one thing the people were not allowed to have was +anything in the way of representative institutions. Colbert, perhaps by +immediate royal direction, gave the keynote of monarchical absolutism +when he said, in words already quoted: "Let every man speak for himself; +let no one presume to speak for all." Thus was the king in his strength +and majesty placed over against the solitary protesting individual. +Doubtless self-government in the full sense would not have been possible +at the time, seeing that self-government implies, as its first +condition, pecuniary independence, and the country was not in a position +to provide all the money required for its civil and military +expenditure. However, possible or impossible, the thing was not thought +of, or to be thought of, at the time. The result of the elaborate +organization actually established was that administrators and +councillors, having far too little to do, fell to quarrelling with one +another in the manner already seen and yet to be seen. The Canadian +colony was not really peculiar in this respect. Any one who reads in +Clement's great work the voluminous correspondence of Colbert will see +that strife and jealousy was the rule throughout the whole colonial +service. The same spirit, in fact, prevailed which was exhibited in the +daily life of the court, where every one was desperately struggling for +the sunshine of royal favour, and where, consequently, questions of +precedence and etiquette were regarded as of surpassing importance. And +now a most serious question of this nature was to blaze forth in Canada. + + +In various despatches from the court, Frontenac had been spoken of as +"President of the Sovereign Council," though that office had never in +any formal way been attached to the governorship. Shortly after +Duchesneau's appointment as intendant, a royal ordinance was issued +conferring the title in question upon him. In this there was no +intention whatever to diminish the rank or prestige of the governor. The +idea was rather to relieve him from the drudgery of presiding at +meetings of the council, by giving to the latter a permanent working +head in the person of the intendant, a man assumed to be accustomed to +routine business and to have the trained official's capacity for +details. Any other man than Frontenac would have seen the matter in this +light, and rejoiced that a substitute had been found for him in a most +uninteresting duty. He still had access to the council, and whenever he +chose to attend, he occupied the seat of honour as the king's immediate +representative, while a lower functionary would act as chairman, put +questions to the vote, and sign the minutes. To the mind of Frontenac, +unfortunately, the thing presented itself in a very different light; he +saw his prerogative attacked, his dignity impaired. If he was not +president of the council, why was he ever so addressed in official +despatches? M. Duchesneau, on the other hand, took his stand on the +stronger ground of a special ordinance appointing him to the office. +Behold the elements of a mighty quarrel! + +In the early days of Frontenac's governorship the preamble of the +proceedings in council used to read: "The council having assembled, at +which presided the high and mighty lord, Messire Louis de Buade +Frontenac, chevalier, Comte de Palluau," etc. Later it was simplified so +as to read: "At which presided his Lordship, the governor-general." +After the arrival of Duchesneau a new formula was adopted. In the +minutes of the 23rd September 1675, the intendant is mentioned as +"having taken his seat as president"; and in those of 30th September we +find the words "acting as president according to the declaration of the +king." The bickering began almost from the date of Duchesneau's arrival; +but it was not till the winter of 1678-9 that it developed into actual +strife. The minister received many tiresome communications on the +subject, and in April 1679 he seems to think that the chief fault is on +the side of the intendant, for he writes to him sharply: "You +continually speak as if M. de Frontenac was always in the wrong. . . . +You seem to put yourself in a kind of parallel with him. The only reply +I can make to all these despatches of yours is that you must strive to +know your place, and get a proper idea into your head of the difference +between a governor and lieutenant-general representing the person of the +sovereign, and an intendant." This was hard enough, but what follows is +a shade worse: he is told that in making his reports, particularly when +they contain accusations, he "should be very careful not to advance +anything that is not true." Finally, he is warned that until he learns +the difference between the king's representative and himself, he will be +in danger, not only of being rebuked, but of being dismissed. +Frontenac's turn came a few months later. Colbert writes in December of +the same year, and tells him that the king is getting very tired of all +this squabbling, and has come to the conclusion that he (Frontenac) "is +not capable of that spirit of union and conciliation which is necessary +to prevent the troubles that are continually arising, and which are so +fraught with ruin to a new colony." The king had heard of the trouble +that was being made over this petty question, and Colbert expresses his +Majesty's surprise that Frontenac should bother his head about such a +thing. + +When this despatch reached Canada, Frontenac had gone much further in +the matter than either the king or the minister suspected. Peuvret, +clerk of the council, had been imprisoned because he would not disobey +the orders of the council, in the matter of his minutes, in order to +obey those of the governor. During four months the routine business of +the council had been suspended while this wretched business was being +fought over. Three of the councillors had been banished from Quebec, +being ordered to remain in their country-houses till permitted to +return. A more discreditable state of things could not well be imagined, +nor one of worse example for the country. At last a compromise was +proposed by d'Auteuil, the attorney-general, which was that the minutes +should mention the presence of the governor and intendant at the +meetings of the council, without speaking of either as presiding or as +president. Frontenac at first would not have anything to do with such an +arrangement, but finally he consented to it till the king's pleasure +could be known. + +The king this time lost patience. When an answer came back, it was his +_dis_pleasure that was known, and displeasure with his "high and mighty +Lordship, the governor." The king told him plainly that he had on +various occasions advanced claims that had very little foundation, and +that in this matter his pretensions were directly opposed to a royal +ordinance. His Majesty added: "I am sure you are the only man in my +kingdom who, being honoured with the titles of governor and +lieutenant-general, would care to be styled chief and president of a +council such as that at Quebec." Colbert dealt with the matter +officially, and quoted this opinion of the king's almost in the same +words. He also observed that, if Frontenac had any wish to give +satisfaction to his Majesty, he would have to change entirely the line +of conduct he had hitherto pursued. It seemed, however, as if the court +could not afford to give a clear victory to Duchesneau, for, as a +practical settlement of the point at issue, it was ordered that the +_modus vivendi_ suggested by the attorney-general and actually in force +should be adopted as a permanent rule--a classical example of political +trimming. + +It is difficult to understand how any man in Frontenac's position could +fail to feel profoundly humbled and chastened by so emphatic a reproof +emanating direct from his sovereign master, and echoed in an official +despatch from the minister in charge of colonies. We look in vain, +however, for evidence that any such effect was produced on the spirit of +the governor. He doubtless felt that he had achieved at least half a +victory. The title had been depreciated in the despatches from the +court; it was not worth _his_ having, and Duchesneau was not to have it. +For a time there was what looked like a truce between the two heads of +the state, and shortly afterwards we find Duchesneau writing to say that +he and the governor are now on excellent terms; that he is omitting +nothing on his side that can give satisfaction to the latter; that he +communicates the very smallest things to him, and that he hopes, by +sheer force of amiability, to secure a little show of kindness in +return. Seeing, however, that in the same despatch in which these +excellent sentiments occur, he enters into lengthy accusations against +Frontenac on the trading question, and that the latter was engaged about +the same time in working up similar charges against him, as appears by a +document bearing date the following year, we may reasonably doubt +whether very amicable or charitable feelings prevailed on either side. + +D'Auteuil, the attorney-general, who had been for some time in a failing +condition, and whose health had probably not been improved by his +occasional stormy interviews with the governor, by whom he was cordially +detested, died in the early winter of 1679-80. Duchesneau, in +anticipation of this event, had obtained the king's permission to name a +successor, and had secured a signed commission which, to be complete, +only required to have a name filled in. Auteuil's son, Francois +Madeleine, had been assisting him for a couple of years in his office, +and as he was a very assuming youth--he was not yet twenty-one--and +bitterly hostile to the governor, he was naturally the intendant's +choice. Young d'Auteuil had hardly entered on his duties before he +picked a quarrel with Boulduc, prosecutor of the lower court, known as a +firm ally of Frontenac, whom he ordered to wait upon him at his office +every Saturday to prepare cases for the court under his (d'Auteuil's) +supervision. Boulduc refused. The council took the matter up, but found +it hard to decide, and the squabble dragged during most of the year +1680. In the following year facts came to light which caused Boulduc to +be charged with embezzlement, and d'Auteuil pushed the matter with great +zeal. Frontenac, anxious to save his friend, tried to represent the +accusation as the outcome of private vengeance; unfortunately the facts +were against the _procureur_, who was condemned, and dismissed from +office. + +Some of the side issues that were raised on this occasion brought out +strikingly the spirit of Canadian official society. Villeray, first +councillor, a man more obnoxious to Frontenac on account of his extreme +devotion to the ecclesiastical authorities perhaps than by reason of his +dubious antecedents,[19] gave himself, in certain pleadings, the title +of "esquire." Frontenac denied that he had any right to it, and held the +pleadings invalid. Frontenac's secretary, Le Chasseur, appeared on a +summons before the council, but refused to answer because he had been +described in the summons as "secretary of Monsieur, the Governor," +instead of "Monseigneur the Governor." Thus were the king's instructions +to all and sundry to practise peace and concord being observed! A worse +affair was that of the councillor, Damours, who, in the summer of 1681, +obtained a _conge_ from Frontenac to go as far as Matane where he had a +property, and who was arrested by order of the governor on his return a +few weeks later for having in some way exceeded the terms of his permit. +Damours' wife appealed to the council, but Frontenac objected to having +her letter read. Duchesneau urged the council to take cognizance of the +case, but some of the members did not feel it safe to do so, and finally +the papers were referred to the king--another quarrel for his Majesty +to adjust! Meantime Damours remains in confinement for about six weeks. +His Majesty of course disapproves of such harshness. In a letter dated +30th April 1681, after giving his representative various other cautions, +he begs him to divest his mind of all those private animosities which up +to the present have been almost the sole motive of his actions. "It is +hard," he adds, "for me to give you my full confidence when I see that +everything gives way to your personal enmities." + +A question reserved for consideration in this chapter was as to how far +there was foundation for the charges of illegitimate trading brought so +continually by the intendant against the governor, and retorted by the +latter against the intendant. What may be noticed in the first place is +the slight amount of attention apparently paid by the court to these +charges and counter-charges. The king could not openly approve of +trading on the part of his high officers; he was obliged to condemn it +in strong and precise terms; but he knew at the same time that they had +starvation salaries, and it is possible that he was not wholly unwilling +that they should, in a quiet way, make a little money out of the traffic +in furs. Frontenac and Duchesneau were both recalled in the end; but it +was not for trading; it was for quarrelling, playing at cross-purposes, +and sacrificing the welfare of the country to their mutual jealousies. +M. Lorin, whose sympathy with Frontenac is conspicuous, is disposed to +admit that he did not wholly abstain from trading; but he thinks he did +it in a more respectable and less rapacious manner than Duchesneau. He +observes that Frontenac's partners, if partners he had, were chiefly the +great explorers, La Salle, Du Lhut and others; while the associates of +Duchesneau were traders pure and simple, men like Lebert, Le Moyne and +La Chesnaye. On the other hand the court does not seem to have taken +Frontenac's accusations against the intendant seriously. The king indeed +informs him that he regards his charges as "mere recriminations." +Duchesneau, it will be remembered, had been warned not to put into his +despatches things that were not true; possibly he was worrying the +minister and the king with information they would rather not receive. +The correspondence of 1679 shows clearly the hostile relations of the +two administrators. + +In the summer and fall of that year the governor spent nearly three +months at Montreal. On the 6th November, having returned to Quebec, he +writes to the king: "I have received diverse advices from the Jesuit +fathers and other missionaries that General Andros (Governor of New +York) was lately soliciting the Iroquois in an underhand way to break +with us, and that he was about convening a meeting of the Five Nations, +in order to propose matters of a nature to disturb our trade with them." +Four days later the intendant takes up his parable and informs the +minister that the governor "had _made_ the news he pretended to have +received regarding the plans of the English general, Andros, to debauch +the Iroquois," the whole thing being a mere pretext for making a +prolonged stay at Montreal at the height of the trading season. He +charges the governor with exacting presents from the Indians in return +for the protection afforded them by his guards, and with having taken +seven packages of beaver skins from the Ottawas in consideration of his +having settled a dispute into which they had got with some Frenchmen at +Montreal. It will be remembered, and the fact certainly has an air of +significance, that, when it was a question of granting amnesty to the +_coureurs de bois_, it was Duchesneau who suggested that each man should +be required to give the fullest information as to what trade he had been +carrying on, and _on whose account_. The amnesty was granted without +this condition. Evidently the court did not want an embarrassment of +information. Duchesneau's trouble was an excess of not wholly +disinterested zeal. + +The case is not overstated by Frontenac's latest and fullest biographer, +M. Lorin, when he says that "the lack of a good understanding between +the two administrators had divided Canadian society, or at least that +portion of it which came into contact with the king's officers, into two +camps." Street brawls arising out of the embitterment of feeling were +not infrequent. An illustrative incident was the imprisonment of young +Duchesneau, son of the intendant, for singing in the streets some +snatches of a song disrespectful to the governor. The patience of the +court was at last exhausted, and in the summer of 1682, Frontenac and +Duchesneau were simultaneously recalled; and thus was brought to a close +the count's first term of office as governor of Canada. + +Some larger questions relating to this period may now profitably occupy +our attention. One of the earliest acts of Frontenac, it will be +remembered, was to summon the Iroquois to meet him in conference at +Cataraqui, where, by his happy manner of dealing with them, he +established a remarkable personal ascendency over their minds, and +succeeded, for the time at least, in placing the relations between them +and the French upon an excellent footing. The frequent visits which he +subsequently paid to his favourite fort gave him opportunities of +improving his acquaintance with his dusky lieges and of strengthening +the good understanding that had been brought about. For some years +things worked smoothly, and the colony enjoyed a comfortable sense of +security. From the first, however, the influence of Onontio was more +felt by the eastern and nearer members of the confederacy than by the +western and more remote; and, as time wore on, the latter, particularly +the Senecas, began to show a quarrelsome and insolent temper. They did +not venture to attack the French, but they committed various acts of +aggression on native tribes allied with them and under their +protection. Several years before they had waged war with the Illinois +and driven them from their habitations. Then they turned southwards and +engaged in a prolonged conflict with a tribe known as the Andostagnes, +during which time the Illinois, having recovered in a measure from their +losses, ventured to return to their former abodes. The explorations of +La Salle had brought these people into alliance with the French; but +when the Senecas had successfully concluded their war with the +Andostagnes they were not disposed to refrain from attacking them anew +on that account. After various preliminary raids, they sent, in the +spring of 1680, an army of five or six hundred men into the Illinois +territory and committed great havoc. It was on this occasion that Tonty, +La Salle's lieutenant, nearly lost his life at Fort Crevecoeur. The +question now was whether the French would stand idly by and see their +allies destroyed. If they did, not only would their influence over the +tribes trusting in their protection be annihilated, but they might soon +have to fight for their own preservation without any native assistance. +Frontenac sent messages to the Iroquois enjoining them to keep the +peace; but the voice that once had charmed and overawed sounded now a +very ineffectual note. Father Lamberville, Jesuit missionary to the +Iroquois, wrote to say that the upper tribes had lost all fear of the +French, and that a slight provocation would cause them to make war on +Canada. + +Frontenac and Duchesneau both discuss the matter in their despatches of +the year 1681, the latter as usual blaming the former, hinting that he +shirked his duty in not going up to Cataraqui in the previous summer in +order to meet the tribes and use his personal influence in favour of +peace. Frontenac writes as if he had not much confidence in that method; +he asks for five or six hundred soldiers to quell the rebellious tribes. +He thinks it would be quite enough to patrol Lake Ontario with a +respectable force in order to bring them to submission. After this +despatch had gone, news arrived of a most regrettable incident which +threatened to precipitate war. This was the murder of a Seneca chief by +an Illinois on the territory of the Kiskakons, one of the Ottawa tribes +in alliance with the French. According to Indian usage the Kiskakons +were responsible for the crime, and the Senecas were hot for revenge. +Appreciating the gravity of the situation, Frontenac sends a special +message to request the offended tribe to stay their hands, promising to +hold himself responsible for seeing that full atonement is made for the +wrong done. They consent, but ask that he will meet them somewhere in or +near Iroquois territory on the 15th June of the following year. No +pledge is given on this point, but messengers are sent to the Ottawas to +tell them that they must be prepared to make full amends, and that, if +they will send delegates to Montreal, the matter will be discussed and +arranged there. + +The winter of 1681-2 was clearly an anxious one for the colony. +Frontenac thought it well to summon the wisest heads in the country to +meet in the Jesuit Seminary at Quebec in order to discuss the Indian +question in all its bearings. Those taking part in the conference, in +addition to himself, were the intendant, the provost, and three Jesuit +fathers, who had had long experience in mission work and knew the savage +tribes thoroughly. The general opinion of the meeting was that Frontenac +should go to Fort Frontenac to meet the Iroquois, as they had requested, +in the following month of June. Frontenac, for some reason or other, did +not like the idea. He did not want to go further than Montreal. +Moreover, there was no use, he said, in meeting the Iroquois till he +knew what the Ottawas were going to do; and they would not reach +Montreal till late in the summer. The governor had his way. The Ottawas, +including the Kiskakons, came in August. Only with great difficulty were +they persuaded to give the necessary satisfaction to the Iroquois, who, +they said, no doubt with truth, were much keener in seeking satisfaction +for wrongs than in giving it when wrong was done by themselves. The +Iroquois sent delegates to Montreal in the following month; and by dint +of presents and promises a somewhat doubtful arrangement was patched up +for the temporary maintenance of peace. Frontenac took advantage of his +visit to Montreal to survey the fortifications and give instructions +for strengthening them at several points. These were virtually the final +acts of his administration, for in the last week of September his +successor landed at Quebec. + +What at this time were the resources of the colony in population? In +1668, under the administration of Courcelles, Talon, the intendant, had +reported the population at 6282. In 1673, a year after his arrival, +Frontenac made a return showing a total of 6705 souls. The king, Colbert +said, was much disappointed at these figures and thought they could not +be correct, as there were more people in the country ten years before. +Where his Majesty got this information we do not know, but probably from +some agent of the West India Company interested in exaggerating the +prosperity of the country. He seems to have completely overlooked +Talon's figures for 1668, not to mention two previous returns made by +the same careful officer in 1666 and 1667; the first showing a +population of 3418 only, and the second one of 4312. It seems probable, +however, that Frontenac's figures were somewhat short, as the increase +they showed was less than seven per cent. over Talon's for 1668, five +years earlier; while a return which he made two years later gave a +population of 7832, indicating a gain of nearly seventeen per cent. in +that comparatively brief period. Even these figures did not satisfy the +king, who insisted that he had sent over more people himself in the +fifteen years or so that the country had been under his direct control. + +It is to be remarked that for some years after Frontenac's arrival in +Canada immigration received a serious check. His commission as governor +was nearly even in date with the commencement of Louis XIV's +buccaneering war against Holland, in which he was joined by his English +cousin Charles II. The heroic stand made by the Dutch against the united +power of the French and English monarchies is one of the glories of +their history. It was not a good time for French immigrant ships to be +abroad; moreover, all available Frenchmen were wanted for military +service, over 200,000 having been drafted into the land forces alone, +and the losses by war continually calling for recruits. A natural +increase, however, was going on in the colony all the time; and in 1679 +Duchesneau reported the population of Canada at 9400, and that of Acadia +at 515. Three years later, at the end of Frontenac's first +administration, the number had increased to over 10,000. + +Trade, however, was not prosperous. Duchesneau, in November 1681, speaks +of it as declining; though he tries to show that the West India trade in +particular had increased in his time. The reason why trade was not +prosperous is not far to seek: it was hampered and strangled by various +forms of political control. The West India Company, called into +existence by Colbert in 1663, had not fared much better than the +Company of New France organized by Richelieu. The reflections which +Clement makes on this subject in his life of Colbert are much to the +point. "If ever a company," he says, "was placed in circumstances where +everything seemed to promise success, assuredly it was the West India +Company as reconstituted by Colbert. Monopolizing the commerce of a +large part of the West Indies and of the settlements on the west coast +of Africa, absolute and sovereign proprietor of all the territory in +which its privilege was exercised, receiving large premiums on all that +it exported or imported, one would naturally expect it to surpass the +expectations of its founders. The contrary, however, was what happened, +and new mortifications were added to all that had gone before. . . . By +the year 1672 the company was bankrupt."[20] The chief cause of the +failure M. Clement believes to have been the prohibition of trade with +foreigners. Certainly what Canada most wanted was an outlet for its +productions; and, could foreign vessels have freely visited the country +to buy fish, lumber, potash, and skins, not to mention their own +supplies, Canada would have had an open and really unlimited market +during nearly the whole season of navigation. This restriction of +foreign trading continued unfortunately after the king had bought out +the rights of the bankrupt company in the year 1674. Having only the +market of France to depend on, the trade of the colony was subject to +all the vicissitudes by which that market was affected. It thus suffered +severely through the war with Holland, which brought an enormous strain +to bear, for a period of six years (1672-8), on the finances of the +kingdom. In the years 1675 and 1676 starvation was stalking through the +land; the courtiers, in driving from Paris to Versailles, would +frequently see the corpses of the wretched victims of famine strewing +the highway; while in Brittany and one or two other provinces the +hangman was doing a merry business in swinging off the unfortunates +whose misery had driven them to theft or other acts of disorder. +"Gallows and instruments of torture were to be seen at all the +crossways," says Henri Martin. Madame de Sevigne gives the most horrible +details in regard to the severities exercised, but with very little show +of sympathy for the unhappy people whom she speaks of as a "_canaille +revoltee_"--rebellious riff-raff. "This province" [Brittany], she says, +"will be a fine example for the rest and will teach the lower orders to +respect the higher powers." To the same fluent and graceful pen we owe +the almost Tacitean utterance: "The punishments are easing off: by dint +of vigorous hanging, there will be no more hanging to do." "They make a +desert," says Tacitus, "and they call it peace." + +Such was the industrial stagnation prevalent about this time throughout +the kingdom that very often vessels arriving at certain ports could not +find return freights; there was nothing to export. Colbert's efforts to +build up great industries by means of bounties and restrictive tariffs +had, after a temporary flash of success, resulted in dismal failure; and +when peace was made with Holland in 1678, one of the conditions agreed +upon was that "reciprocal liberty of trade between France and the United +Provinces was not to be forbidden, limited, or restrained by any +privilege, customs duty, or concession, and that neither country should +give any immunities, benefits, premiums, or other advantages not +conceded equally to subjects of the other." Thus was Colbert's leading +principle of commercial policy completely overthrown, and that after a +war which had brought him to the verge of despair to provide the means +for carrying it on. + +Those were the days, however, of "imperialism" in a very real sense. +Whatever the state of commerce might be in the Mother Country, Canada +still had to trade with her alone; and, even so, all mercantile +operations were hampered by an arbitrary fixing of prices. This was so +under the sway of the company, and continued to be so to a large extent +after its privileges had been swept away. Very imperial was the rule of +Louis XIV. In his youth he had seen an attempt by the parliament of +Paris to assert its prerogatives. In January 1649, just about the time +when the scaffold was being prepared for Charles I of England, he and +the court hardly knew where to turn for shelter; and he never forgot +one night which they had to spend in fireless rooms without any +attendance. The royal power, astutely guided by Mazarin, asserted itself +eventually over parliaments and princes alike; and Louis XIV, arrived at +manhood, determined that no such trouble should occur again in his time. +Gaillardin, in his history of the reign of Louis XIV, fixes upon the +year 1672--the year in which Frontenac was sent to Canada--as the epoch +of the most complete enslavement of the parliaments. The historic +function which those bodies were supposed to exercise, apart from their +judicial powers, was that of registering the royal edicts; and in theory +such registration was necessary in order to give any edict the full +force of law. Manifestly this privilege might, like the control over +money votes exercised by the English House of Commons, have developed +into an effective check upon monarchical absolutism. The possibility was +not overlooked, and marvellously clear and precise is the declaration by +which Louis XIV, in the year 1673, put all the parliaments of his +kingdom into the precise position he meant them to occupy. "First of +all," the decree reads, "silent obedience: the courts [parliaments] are +strictly forbidden to listen to any opposition to the registration of +the letters of the king; clerks are forbidden to enter such oppositions +on the records; bailiffs are forbidden to give notification of +them. . . . The courts are ordered to register the letters of the king +without any modification, restriction, or condition which might cause +delay or impediment to their execution." When this duty has been +submissively performed, then, if the parliaments have any observations +to make, they may make them; but, when once the king has replied, there +is to be no further discussion of any kind, simply prompt obedience. The +registration of the royal edicts became henceforth a mere matter of +form; and remonstrances of any kind, even such as the king graciously +permitted _after_ registration, ceased to be made. The Chancellor +d'Aguesseau[21] says that none were made during the remaining forty-two +years of the king's lifetime. + +It may be objected, perhaps, that this is French and not Canadian +history; if so the answer must be that it is impossible to understand +the history of Canada in this period unless we have a sufficient +comprehension of the political system to which Canada was bound by the +most vital of ties. We get a strong light upon the character of +Frontenac when we rightly grasp that of his master, the Roi-Soleil, as +he allowed himself to be called, the man who, daring the fate of Herod +or Nebuchadnezzar, once said, "It seems to me as if any glory won by +another was robbed from myself." Some years before he had put on record +the sentiment: "It is God's will that whoever is born a subject should +not reason but obey." + +To return, however, to Canada, when the king bought out the rights of +the bankrupt company, monopoly was not at an end, for he proceeded to +put up the trade of the country, under limited leases, to the highest +bidders. Those who obtained leases were called the "farmers," and were +entitled to ten per cent. of the value of all furs taken in the country. +The Sovereign Council at Quebec undertook to fix the prices of goods +except as regards dealings with the Indians; and non-resident merchants, +while they might establish warehouses, and there sell to the French +inhabitants, were not allowed to deal directly with the Indians, these +being left to the mercy of local traders who made a practice of charging +them excessive prices for all that they sold. Frontenac and Duchesneau +both report to the home government that the Indians get twice as much +from the English and Dutch in exchange for their furs as they do from +the French; and yet the aim of both is to force all the Indians in their +jurisdiction to sell their furs exclusively in Canada. Canadians who +went to the English settlements, either in New England or in what is now +New York, were amazed at the cheapness of goods. Duchesneau, in one of +his later despatches, speaks of the commercial prosperity of Boston and +the large fortunes accumulated by some of its citizens. Nothing similar +was to be seen in Canada, where there was a settled belief on the part +of the governing powers in whatever was most restrictive and illiberal +in commercial policy. + +The first administration of Frontenac will always be associated with the +intrepid enterprises of the great western explorers, Jolliet, La Salle, +Du Lhut, Nicolas Perrot, and others. To Jolliet is reasonably assigned +the first discovery of the Mississippi. Starting from Green Bay, or, as +it was then called, Baie des Puants, on the west shore of Lake Michigan, +in company with the Jesuit father, Marquette, he worked his way to the +Wisconsin River, which he followed to its junction with the Mississippi; +and then descended the latter river till he reached latitude 33 deg., or +about as far as the northern boundary of the present state of Louisiana. +Fear of falling into the hands of the Spaniards, who, as he was informed +by the Indians, had settlements not far to the south, caused him to +retrace his steps. When he was just completing his return journey, his +canoe upset close to Montreal, and all his papers were lost, including +the notes he had made of his observations, and a map of the region +through which he had passed. He himself narrowly escaped with his +life--the laws of nature were in fact suspended, as he gravely declares, +in his behalf--but a young savage whom he was bringing from the country +of the Illinois was drowned.[22] He reached Quebec in the month of +August 1674, and the thrilling account which he gave of his adventures +produced a strong impression on the mind of the governor. Nevertheless +when, two years later, he asked permission to go with twenty men to make +further explorations in the same direction, Colbert refused his request. +A possible explanation is that his previous journey with Pere Marquette +had established relations which Frontenac did not quite approve between +him and the Jesuits in the western country, who had lost no time in +pushing their missions towards the south. However this may have been, +Frontenac had his eye at this very time upon a man who seemed to him +much better suited to be an agent of his policy. + +It has already been mentioned that Robert Cavelier de la Salle obtained +from the king in the year 1675 a grant of the fort erected by Frontenac +at Cataraqui. The conditions of the grant were that he was to reimburse +the cost of construction, estimated at ten thousand livres; keep it in +good repair; maintain a sufficient garrison; employ twenty men for two +years in clearing the land conceded to him in the neighbourhood; provide +a priest or friar to perform divine service and administer the +sacraments; form villages of Indians and French; and have all his lands +cleared and improved within twenty years. On these terms he was to have +four square leagues of land, that is to say, eight leagues in length +along the river and lake front, east and west of the fort, by half a +league in depth, together with the islands opposite. But what was of +most value in a pecuniary sense, and what he depended on to compensate +his outlay, was the right of hunting and fishing in the neighbouring +region, and of trading with the Indians. To what extent La Salle +actually developed the property thus conceded to him is a matter of +dispute. The Abbe Faillon, who perhaps has some little animus against +him, says that he did nothing worth mentioning towards establishing such +a colony as the king intended. The king, on the other hand, when +granting La Salle authority to undertake explorations in the direction +of the Mississippi speaks approvingly of the work he had done on his +concession. The information may have been derived from La Salle himself, +who went to France in the autumn of 1677 to obtain sanction for his +proposed expedition; but it is hardly likely that he would lay +altogether false information before the minister for submission to the +king. It seems to be certain that he did at least put the fort in a good +condition of defence. He pulled down the old one, which consisted merely +of a wooden palisade banked up with earth and having a circumference of +one hundred and twenty yards, and replaced it by one having a +circumference of seven hundred and twenty yards, and protected by four +stone bastions. + +The probability is that La Salle, from the first, looked upon his +establishment at the fort partly as an advanced base for the further +explorations he had in view, and partly as a means of providing the +funds without which his schemes could not be realized. The proposition +which he laid before the government, was that he should erect at his own +expense two forts, one at the mouth of the Niagara River on the east +side, the other at the southern extremity of Lake Michigan; and that he +should be commissioned to proceed to the discovery of the mouth of the +Mississippi, and be granted the exclusive right of trading with the +Indians inhabiting the countries to be visited. The trade he was most +anxious to control was that in buffalo hides, a sample of which he had +brought with him to France. Having obtained all necessary powers, he +sailed for Canada in the summer of 1678, bringing with him as much money +as he could persuade his family and friends to advance, together with a +large quantity of goods. The pecuniary obligations thus assumed were to +be paid off, as he hoped, partly by the profits of his trade at +Cataraqui, and partly by those of his operations in the more distant +West. The story of his struggles and tribulations is too long to give in +any detail here, but the main points may be hurriedly sketched. + +The first care of the explorer on arriving at Quebec in the autumn was +to load several canoes with goods to the value of several thousands of +francs, and despatch them with a party of men to the Illinois country. +In the spring carpenters were sent forward to Niagara to commence the +construction of a fort. He himself followed in a large canoe laden with +provisions and goods. His first misadventure was the loss of this canoe +and its freight, not far from the mouth of the Niagara River. The +accident was due to the inattention of his men while he was on shore. A +little above the Falls of Niagara he began the construction of a +forty-five ton vessel, destined for the trade between that point and an +establishment he proposed to make at the southern end of Lake Michigan. +The Iroquois of the neighbourhood did not like these proceedings, but +did not make any active opposition. The vessel was completed and La +Salle and his men sailed away in her through Lake Erie, the St. Clair +River, and Lake Huron into Lake Michigan. Severe storms were encountered +on the way. Near Green Bay the men whom he had sent forward with goods +the previous fall met him with a number of canoes, all laden with skins, +the result of their trading with the Illinois. This was more expedition +than he had counted on, for he had told them to await his arrival. He +caused the goods, however, to be transferred to his vessel, the +_Griffon_, as she was called, and sent her back to Niagara with a +sufficient crew. She was never heard of more; but the Indians reported +that, shortly after she left shelter, a terrible storm had arisen on +Lake Michigan. They watched her for some time as she was tossed about by +the fury of the waves, and then they lost sight of her. Ignorant of this +disaster, La Salle was making his way south. He established two forts on +the Illinois River. The first, which he called St. Louis, was near the +site of the present town of La Salle. The second, a little further +south, near to Peoria, he named Crevecoeur. The name is significant of +"heartbreak," and his fortunes were then at their lowest ebb, for +provisions were exhausted and a number of men had deserted; still it is +not recorded that the name was given on that account. Leaving Henry +Tonty, a man of great energy and resource, whom he had brought out from +France, in charge of Fort Crevecoeur he made his way back alone to Fort +Frontenac and thence to Montreal. + +It was at Fort Frontenac that La Salle first learnt the fate of his +richly-laden _Griffon_; while at Montreal the news reached him of the +loss of a vessel coming from France with a large quantity of goods for +his trade. Such an accumulation of misfortunes was enough to break the +spirit of an ordinary man; but La Salle was a man whom adversity could +not conquer. Straining his credit to the utmost to procure supplies and +reinforcements, he returns to the Illinois country to find Fort +Crevecoeur in ruins. It had been attacked by the Iroquois and its +defenders scattered. Tonty, wounded in the skirmish, had gone to +Michilimackinac. Getting no word of him, La Salle assumes that he is +dead. Once more the long journey eastward must be faced. He reaches +Montreal, and succeeds in organizing yet another expedition. Again he +sets out for the West. It is late in the fall of 1680 when he reaches +Michilimackinac, where he is overjoyed to find the lost Tonty. The two +proceed together to the Illinois country. The year 1681 is spent in +establishing or re-establishing posts and dealing or negotiating with +the natives. On the 6th February 1682 La Salle strikes the Mississippi. +Two months and three days later, or on the 9th of April, he is gazing +forth over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. + +The tale is quickly told; but not so easy is it adequately to appraise +the courage, determination and resource necessary for the accomplishment +of such an enterprise. Knowing what we do of the man, the portrait of +him in Margry's third volume seems to possess a certain convincing +character, though Margry himself does not vouch for its authenticity. We +see a face sensitive, perhaps sensuous, subtle, passionate, daring, +tenacious. Such a man could not bind himself to the task of patient +colonization at Fort Frontenac, or even find satisfaction in the more +varied and exciting life of a frontiersman and trader. An overwhelming +desire possessed him + + "To sail beyond the sunset and the baths + Of all the western stars," + +and to follow the swelling flood of the mightiest of rivers to its +bourne in some mighty sea. Such a man will have the defects of his +qualities, and La Salle was neither devoid of jealousy nor incapable of +injustice; and he was a somewhat hard taskmaster. Possessed himself of +iron nerve and unbending resolution, and sustained by visions of high +accomplishment, he expected more from average men than they were +altogether capable of rendering. More than once some of his followers +deserted him. One attempt was made at Fort Frontenac to poison him; and +finally he met his death at the hand of an assassin, a member of his own +party, in that far southern region which he had added to the domain of +France. + +Frontenac's personal relations with La Salle are not very clearly +defined. He was certainly favourable to him at first. The two men were +much alike in their attitude towards the ecclesiastical power; and both +showed a preference for the Recollet order, two members of which La +Salle maintained at the fort. Frontenac also approved of La Salle's +plans of discovery in the west and south, as tending to the extension of +the French dominions and the glory of the French name, and possibly also +as furnishing a counterpoise to the growing influence of the Jesuits +among the western Indians. There is nothing, however, to show that he +followed the later movements of the great explorer with any particular +sympathy. + +Du Lhut was a man of a different type. He did not possess the vaulting +ambition, nor perhaps the talent for organization, of La Salle; but he +discovered a vast stretch of new territory in what is now the western +part of New Ontario, and along the course of the Assiniboine; and, so +far as skill in the management of the native races was concerned he was +probably superior to the more romantic explorer. No man was more +successful in upholding French prestige amongst the Indian tribes. It +was just before La Salle returned from France in the autumn of 1678 that +Du Lhut, in somewhat clandestine fashion, slipped off to the West. Those +were the days in which the _coureur de bois_ difficulty was at its +height; and, upon arriving at Sault Ste. Marie, he wrote to Frontenac in +a rather deprecatory tone as if sensible of the doubtful legality of his +position, but pointed out the advantages that would accrue from entering +into relations with the North Western Indians. About a year later he +presided over a great meeting of the tribes on the site of the important +city which now bears his name (according to one spelling of it); +established peace between communities that had long been at war; and +obtained the promise of the important tribe of the Nadessioux to direct +their trade in future to Montreal. This was eminently useful work, and +gained for its author the full sympathy of Frontenac. Nevertheless, on +his return to Quebec in the following year (1680), he was imprisoned for +violation of the king's regulations, in all probability at the instance +of the vigilant M. Jacques Duchesneau, who would be prompt to suspect +complicity in illegal trading between him and the governor. He was +released after a short detention, and went to France in the fall of +1681, in the hope of obtaining the king's sanction for further +explorations. In this he was unsuccessful; but, returning to Canada, he +obtained employment in the West as post commander and agent to the +tribes west and north of Lake Superior. Through him the French influence +was extended, not only far into what is now our own North-West, but even +to the shores of Hudson's Bay, much of the trade which had before been +done with the English of that region being diverted, through his +persuasions, to Montreal. + +While the secular rulers of the country were, with somewhat divided +aims, striving to promote the material interests and provide for the +security of the colony, the church, with considerably more unity of +purpose, was labouring to achieve spiritual results. The promotion of M. +de Laval to the see of Quebec put an end to much disputing and mutual +distrust amongst different orders of the clergy. It is said to have had +a markedly beneficial effect on Laval himself, who seemed at once to +dismiss the exaggerated suspicions he had entertained regarding all who +were not thoroughly subdued to his influence, and the Sulpician order in +particular. Missionary work was actively carried on, and though the +question of tithes gave more or less trouble, and the people were not as +zealous as might have been wished in providing for the maintenance of +their local clergy, the influence of the church and of religion was +strongly felt throughout the length and breadth of the land. The king +had much at heart the establishment of permanent curacies, and in 1679 +issued an edict on the subject, which, however, had little effect. His +Majesty's idea was that the _cure_ should receive tithes, and that if +these did not suffice to give him a decent living, further rates should +be levied on the seigneurs and the people. As even the tithes were paid +very grudgingly, it is easy to believe that a scheme of further taxation +for church purposes stood little chance of acceptance. We have already +seen that Laval was by no means in love with the policy of fixed +_cures_, and he was probably not sorry to be able to represent to the +court that it really could not be carried into effect. Bishop and people +together were too much even for the king. + +The Recollets, always on the alert to make themselves useful, rose to +the occasion by offering to serve the parishes and accept simply what +the people might be disposed to give, but the bishop thought their zeal +savoured of officiousness, and declined the offer with scanty thanks. +These worthy ecclesiastics were very popular in the country, and it is +probable they could have successfully carried out their undertaking had +they been allowed to try. The bishop had other views for the nurture of +his Canadian flock. The Recollet fathers did not at this time stand very +high in his esteem. The Jesuits accused them of tolerating grave abuses +in the household of the governor, who had a Recollet, Father +Maupassant, for confessor; but, as M. Lorin pertinently observes, the +accusation was singularly ill-timed, considering the flagrant disorders +which marked the private life of Frontenac's master, Louis XIV, whose +spiritual interests were in charge of the Jesuit, Pere Lachaise. The +monarch--"ce religieux prince," as the Abbe Faillon calls him--had no +hesitation in demanding of the parliament of Paris legitimation of +successive batches of his bastard offspring, and registration of the +titles of nobility he was pleased to confer upon them. Whatever the +responsibilities of Father Maupassant may have been, he must have had a +sinecure in comparison with the king's confessor. It may be added that +Frontenac vehemently denied that there were any disorders or scandals in +his household. + +Missions to the different Indian tribes were in active operation during +the whole of the period now under review. Those of the Jesuits were by +far the most widespread. Their chief establishment outside of Quebec was +at Sault Ste. Marie; in addition they had permanent missions at +Mackinac, Green Bay, and various points in the Iroquois country; while +Father Albanel penetrated as far as Hudson's Bay, and others laboured +amongst the Indians of the Saguenay region. The Sulpicians were less +adventurous; they did most of their evangelizing work on or near to the +Island of Montreal. They had an establishment, however, on the Bay of +Quinte, and one or more on the Ottawa River. The Recollets had Fort +Frontenac, Perce on the Baie des Chaleurs, and certain posts on the line +of La Salle's explorations. + +As regards the conversion of the savage tribes, it can hardly be claimed +that any of these missions were very successful. All authorities agree +that it was extremely difficult to impress the Indian mind with the +truths of Christianity, or with the idea of any absolute and exclusive +theology. The Indian was quite ready to accept the missionary's version +of the origin of the world, provided the missionary would reciprocate +and accept his decidedly different version. Each, he held, was good in +its place; a little variety in these matters did no harm. He had little +or no sense of sin, for he did not recognize that the things he did were +wrong, and when threatened with the terrors of a future world, he simply +said that he did not believe the "master of life" could hate anybody. At +the same time he was quite prepared to join in religious services if +requested, and seemed even to enjoy the ceremonial. He believed in +unlimited charity to relatives and friends, but could not be got to +admit the duty of forgiving enemies. An Indian who had been informed +that in France many died of want, while others of the same nation had +food and substance of all kinds in the greatest profusion, was +scandalized beyond measure. He was affected much as we should be by some +dark tale of cruelty and superstition from a far-off heathen land. And +to think that people of whom such things could be told were sending +missionaries to _him_, to enjoin upon him, among other things, the duty +of charity![23] + +But if the missionaries made comparatively little headway in the matter +of actual conversions, it is impossible to doubt that they exerted a +general influence for good upon the tribes to whom they ministered. This +may fairly be inferred from the moral authority they exercised and the +security and respect they enjoyed. They were themselves men of pure +lives and disinterested motives; and so far they personally recommended +the doctrines they preached. To some extent also they taught the savages +various useful arts of life. Frontenac specially commends the Montreal +Seminary for their efforts to civilize the Indians of their missions +who, under their instruction, had taken to raising domestic animals, +swine, poultry, etc., and to cultivating wheat as well as native grains. +The Abbe Verreau, on the other hand, is inclined to hold that the +attempts made, at the urgent demand of the French government, to +civilize as well as christianize the Indians are accountable, in part at +least, for the general failure of the missions. "We all know now," he +says, "what has been the result of so much effort and so much outlay of +money. Two or three poor villages inhabited by unhappy creatures who +have added our vices to their own deficiencies, without having adopted +any of our better qualities. That is all that remains of the Abenaquis, +the Hurons, and the Iroquois."[24] The reflection is a sad one, and the +abbe feels it, for he speaks further of the painful mystery of the +disappearance of these children of the forest. Truly does the poet say +that "God fulfils Himself in many ways," yet none the less the surviving +white man may well feel some misgiving when he thinks of all his past +dealings with his red brother. + +[Footnote 19: He had been charged some years before by a commissioner +sent out by the Company of the Hundred Associates with embezzlement, and +had taken part in a violent attack on the commissioner and in the +seizure of his papers.] + +[Footnote 20: _Vie de Colbert_, vol. i. p. 502.] + +[Footnote 21: Quoted by Gaillardin, _Histoire du Regne de Louis XIV_, +vol. iv. p. 311.] + +[Footnote 22: See extract from a letter written by him in Faillon, vol. +iii. p. 315. The Recollet, Pere Leclercq, is uncharitable enough to hint +that the canoe accident may have been made to cover a lack of the +documents which the explorer professed to have had with him.] + +[Footnote 23: See the _Recit d'un ami de l'Abbe Galinee_, in Margry, +vol. i.] + +[Footnote 24: Mere de l'Incarnation remarked even in her day the +decrease of the native population. "When we arrived in this country," +she says, "the Indians were so numerous that it seemed as if they were +going to grow into a vast population; but after they were baptized God +called them to Himself either by disease or by the hands of the +Iroquois. It was perhaps His wise design to permit their death lest +their hearts should turn to wickedness."--_Lettres Spirituelles_, +edition of 1681, p. 230.] + + + + + CHAPTER VII + + GOVERNORSHIP OF M. DE LA BARRE + + 1682 TO 1685 + + +The successors of Frontenac and Duchesneau received their appointments +in the month of May 1682, and arrived at Quebec towards the end of the +following September. They were, respectively, a military officer named +Lefebvre de la Barre who had served with some distinction in the West +Indies; and a man of whose previous career little or nothing is known, +one M. Jacques de Meulles. If the fault of Frontenac had been the +assumption of too much state and dignity, and the exercise of too much +self-will, the fault of La Barre was that he possessed too little +dignity and extremely little firmness of character. The recall of +Frontenac had practically been one more triumph for the ecclesiastical +authorities, who caused it to be understood that, if Duchesneau had also +been recalled, it was simply to save Frontenac from too open +humiliation. La Barre prudently determined, therefore, from the first +not to come into collision with the clergy, whatever else he might do. +On the other hand the Abbe Dudouyt writing from Paris, enjoins prudence +on the bishop, lest "it should seem as if he could not keep on good +terms with anybody." With such dispositions on both sides, it is not +surprising that, during the whole of La Barre's administration his +relations with the church were extremely harmonious. The Abbe Gosselin +says that he and Meulles "revived the happy times of the highly +Christian administration of M. de Tracy." The king, however, did not +view the situation with equal approval; the despatches of the period +show that he thought that deference to the views of the clergy was being +carried too far. + +We have seen that, towards the close of Frontenac's administration, the +Indian situation was again becoming critical. The arrangement patched up +by him in the month of August was far from being of a very solid +character; and when La Barre assumed the reins of government he found a +widespread feeling of insecurity as to the continuance of peace. He +thought it prudent, therefore, to summon, as Frontenac had done +previously, a conference of persons specially competent to advise on the +Indian question. The meeting took place on the 10th of October at +Quebec, before Frontenac had left the country. He might, therefore, have +attended it, had he chosen; and we cannot help feeling surprised that he +did not. The general opinion expressed by those who took part in the +deliberations was that the Iroquois were planning hostilities, and that +the king should be asked to send out more troops. La Barre wrote home to +this effect; but the same vessel that bore his despatch carried the +returning ex-governor, who, on arriving in France, seems to have made it +his business to throw cold water on the appeal for help. It was +doubtless to Frontenac's interest to represent that he had left the +country in a peaceful and secure condition; but his conduct would appear +in a better light had he gone before the conference at Quebec, and there +explained, in the presence of those possessing local information, why he +considered that there was no danger. La Barre could then in writing to +the government have given his reasons and those of his advisers for +dissenting from the ex-governor's views, and the latter could honourably +have made his own representations to the court. As it was, the man who +had ceased to be responsible was allowed to thwart the policy of the +actual administrator on whom the whole responsibility for the safety of +the country rested. La Barre is not a man who attracts our admiration or +sympathy, but, in this matter at least, it is difficult to feel that he +received fair treatment. + +Remembering all the trouble there had been between the former governor +and the intendant, La Barre hastens to inform the court that he and +Meulles are on the very best of terms. As they had scarcely been two +months in the country when this despatch was written, the announcement +seems a little hasty. Meulles on his part does not make any such +statement, and his letters of the following and subsequent years show +that he had not formed a very high opinion of his superior officer. He +complains that the meetings of the Sovereign Council are held in the +governor's own antechamber, amid the noise of servants going and coming +and the clatter of the guards in an adjoining room. The minister takes +no notice of this; and a year later Meulles returns to the charge, +stating that the governor held the meetings "in his own chimney corner +where his wife, his children and his servants were always in the way." +The intendant was a man of business, and liked to see things done in a +businesslike way. If he did not admire the disorderly methods of the +governor, neither did he approve of the dilatory methods of the council. +When matters were brought before him for adjudication he dealt with them +promptly; and, in his desire to save delays, he disposed of some cases +which the council considered as falling within its sole jurisdiction. +Frontenac, it will be remembered, had packed off young d'Auteuil, who +had been nominated by Duchesneau as attorney-general, to France to +justify, if he could, the conduct he had been pursuing. The youth had +come back a full-fledged attorney-general, and at once fell foul of the +intendant, accusing him of exceeding his powers. Meulles was a prudent +man and contrived to make his peace with the council. M. Lorin says +there was probably as much real dissension as in Frontenac's time, but +that it was hushed up. There is no evidence of this. Some dissension +there may have been; but La Barre was not as fiery as Frontenac, nor was +Meulles as intriguing as Duchesneau. The same elements of discord were, +therefore, not present. + +We have seen that the court did not seem to take any serious notice of +the charges of trading reciprocally brought by Frontenac and Duchesneau +against one another; and in this matter La Barre appears to have assumed +from the first that for him there was an "open door." At a very early +period of his residence in the country, he formed intimate relations +with certain prominent traders; it soon became evident, indeed, that he +had placed himself and his policy largely in their hands. They were in +the main the same men with whom Frontenac had accused Duchesneau of +having underhand dealings, La Chesnaye, Lebert and one or two others. +According to Meulles, the governor not only carried on trade on his own +account contrary to the king's regulations, but trade in its most +illegal form, that is to say with the English. His Majesty's +representative found out without much trouble what the Indians were well +aware of, that the English paid a much better price for furs than could +be got in Canada from the king's farmers who controlled the fur trade of +the country. He talks freely indeed of the English in a despatch dated +in May 1683, and says that they both sell goods cheap to the Indians and +give them full price for their furs. It is a saying among the English, +he adds, that the French do not _trade_ with the Indians but _rob_ them. +It is no wonder he was anxious to send his own wares to so good a +market. If the intendant may be trusted, indeed the governor was +continually receiving at the chateau at Quebec Englishmen and Dutchmen +who were simply his agents at New York. La Hontan avers that he saw two +canoe loads of his stuff at Chambly on their way to that emporium. + +A man so devoted to money-making as La Barre could hardly be expected to +take a very deep interest in the wider schemes of exploration and +territorial expansion which appealed to the imagination of a La Salle. +Possibly he thought he could curry favour with the court by disparaging +the achievements of the latter. In a despatch of the 30th May 1683 we +find him saying that he did not think much of the discovery of the mouth +of the Mississippi, and that in any case there was a great deal of +falsehood mixed up with the tales that were told of it. If the remark +was meant to please, it seems to have been successful, for the king in +his reply, under date 5th August following, says: "I am persuaded with +you that _Sieur de la Salle's discovery is very useless, and such +enterprises must be prevented hereafter_, as they tend only to debauch +the inhabitants by the hope of gain and to diminish the revenue from the +beaver." Could the power of official narrowness and banality go further? +A man, taking his life in his hand, penetrates forest and jungle, +commits himself to unknown waters, braves the encounter of hostile +peoples, takes the risk of treachery among his own followers, faces +every form of privation and all extremities of fatigue, travels a +thousand leagues, and adds a continent to the possessions of his +sovereign, only to have the verdict pronounced by that sovereign that +his discoveries are very useless, and that similar expeditions must be +prevented for the future lest the beaver trade of Ca Canada suffer! + +La Salle's great discovery was made in the month of April 1682. +Returning northwards in the autumn, with the intention of proceeding to +France, and making a full report of his proceedings to the king, he +heard, on reaching Michilimackinac, that the Iroquois were preparing a +hostile movement against the Illinois. He determined at once to go back +with a picked body of men to protect his threatened allies. The news of +his discovery was therefore carried to France by the Recollet, Father +Zenobe, who reached Quebec just as the ships were leaving, and may +possibly have sailed in the same vessel as Frontenac. He does not seem +to have given any information, in passing, to La Barre. The latter was +expecting La Salle's return, and chose to put an unfavourable +construction on his failure to appear. In writing to the minister he +says that Fort Frontenac has been abandoned. The truth was that La Salle +had left it in charge of one La Forest, and that subsequently a cousin +of the explorer's, named Plet, had come from France to look after the +trade of the fort in the interest of the parties in France who had +advanced money for its construction and equipment. It is doubtful +whether the place was ever left even temporarily unoccupied; but +certainly La Salle had no intention of abandoning it. On the contrary, +not knowing of Frontenac's recall, he had written to him in October 1682 +asking him to maintain La Forest in command and to let him have a +sufficient number of men for purposes of defence. What is singular is +that he does not appear to have given Frontenac any more information +regarding his discovery than Father Zenobe gave to La Barre. Possibly he +had some hope, as the latter hints, of organizing a separate government +in the new territory he had discovered. In no case, however, can La +Barre's proceedings towards him be justified. On the pretext that Fort +Frontenac had been abandoned, he took possession of it, and turned it, +if we are to credit Meulles, into a trading-post for himself and his +friends. He had a barque built there, professedly for the king's service +on the lake, but used it mainly, the intendant says, for his own trade. + +La Salle spent the winter in the Illinois country. In the spring of 1683 +he wrote to La Barre from his fort of St. Louis, announcing his +discovery, and expressing the hope that the kindly treatment which he +had always received from the previous governor would continue to be +extended to him. His financial affairs had for some time been in a very +unsatisfactory state, but he expected, he said, to be able in the course +of the then current year to place them on a sound footing, and prove +that he had not undertaken more than it was in his power to accomplish. +He had meantime sent men to Montreal for supplies, but these did not +return, nor did he get any reply from La Barre either to this letter or +to a later one written in June. Instead of replying, La Barre sent an +officer named Baugy to take possession of Fort St. Louis. La Salle, who +had started for Quebec, met Baugy on the way, and sent back word to his +men at the fort not to resist the seizure. Du Lhut, under instructions +from the governor, followed shortly after, confiscated the merchandise +stored in the fort, and brought it to Montreal. La Salle on arriving at +Quebec saw La Barre, and obtained from him restitution of Fort +Frontenac, but could not get any compensation for the loss he had +sustained through the interruption of his trading operations at that +point. He consequently proceeded to France in the fall of the year, and +in the course of the winter presented a full statement of the case to +the minister, M. de Seignelay. Only a few months before, the king had +expressed the opinion above quoted as to the uselessness, or worse than +uselessness, of such explorations as La Salle had been engaged in; but +when the explorer himself appeared upon the scene, a change came over +the views of the court. The king writes to the intendant that, not only +is the fort which the governor had wrongfully seized to be handed over +to La Salle, but that full reparation is to be made for all the loss +which he has sustained, and that the intendant is to see that this is +done. Writing to La Barre himself, the king informs him that he takes +La Salle under his particular protection, and cautions the governor not +to do anything against his interest. La Salle's agent, La Forest, is to +be placed in charge of Fort St Louis. + +Settling down to business, as he did, almost immediately on his arrival +in the country, La Barre was naturally anxious that the persons to whom +he issued hunting and trading permits under the regulations established +in Frontenac's time should, as far as possible, be screened from +competition, and he therefore most ill-advisedly gave the Iroquois +tribes to understand that they might treat as they pleased any persons +found trading who were unprovided with permits signed by him. The +Iroquois, greatly pleased to have a pretext for such operations, +proceeded to plunder some canoes belonging to the governor's own +friends, who were still in the woods on the authority of permits issued +by Frontenac. This alarmed the governor not a little, and caused him, in +the spring of 1683, to send a special vessel to France with an earnest +request for military reinforcements. Worse news came to hand very +shortly after. La Salle's fort of St. Louis having been seized, the +governor wished to stock it with goods, and had despatched thither seven +canoe loads to the value of fifteen or sixteen thousand francs. As these +canoes were passing through the Illinois country, where the Iroquois +were on the war-path, the latter, who were not in a humour for fine +discrimination, seized them, explaining afterwards that they supposed +them to belong to La Salle, whose property they claimed to have the +governor's permission to plunder. La Barre writes to the king, under +date 5th June, in still stronger terms, and says that, with or without +reinforcements, he will move against the Senecas about the middle of +August. This was mere bluster, as no preparations had at that time been +made for a campaign. The king sent out one hundred and fifty men in +August; but these did not arrive till the 10th October. It was then +decided that war should be waged the following year. The intendant +appears to have agreed entirely with the governor that war was +inevitable; his chief fear seems to have been that the governor, in +whose stability of character he had very little confidence, would change +his mind on the subject, and fall back on some weak and futile scheme of +conciliation. + +The winter of 1683-4 was not marked by any notable event. In the +following spring, pursuant to the plan which he had communicated to the +French government, the governor sent instructions to the post commanders +in the West, La Durantaye, Du Lhut, and Nicolas Perrot, to rendezvous at +Niagara with as many men of the different Ottawa tribes as they could +persuade to follow them. At that point they would find awaiting them +provisions, arms, and ammunition, with means of transportation to the +scene of action. Home levies of militia and of mission Indians were at +the same time being raised and equipped. At this stage of the +proceedings it occurred to La Barre that it would be a good thing to +inform the governor of New York, Colonel Dongan, of his intention to +make war upon the Senecas. The communication happened to be particularly +ill-timed. The English of Maryland and Virginia had been having their +own troubles with the Iroquois, who had made many destructive raids into +their territory; and in the early summer of 1684 Lord Howard of +Effingham, governor of Virginia, had gone to New York to consult with +the governor there as to the measures to be adopted, and thence had gone +on to Albany, Colonel Dongan accompanying him, to hold a conference with +the offending tribes--in this case the Oneidas, Onondagas, and Cayugas. +Delegates from the Mohawks, who had not broken the peace, were also +present; and one of them, Cadianne by name, made ample acknowledgment of +the wrongs done by his brethren of the other tribes, to whom he took the +opportunity of addressing some very severe and wholesome remarks. +Shortly afterwards delegates from the Senecas also arrived, when a +general treaty of peace and good-will was made between the Five Nations +on the one hand, and the English and their Indians on the other. It was +in the midst of these proceedings that Dongan received La Barre's +letter. He replied by saying that the King of England exercised +sovereignty over the whole Iroquois confederacy, and that if the Senecas +had committed the depredations complained of he would see that they +made reparation; he hoped that La Barre, in the interest of peace, would +refrain from invading British territory. He then took occasion of the +conference to inform the tribes of the French designs, his object being +to draw from them an acknowledgment of the sovereignty of the English +king in return for a promise of protection against the French. The +tribes, who had some time before requested that the arms of the Duke of +York (now James II) should be raised over their fortresses, consented to +this, but with the not altogether consistent proviso that they should +still be considered a free people. The subject was further debated at +the chief town of the Onondagas, the central nation of the confederacy, +a few weeks later. Dongan was represented by Arnold Viele, a Dutchman. +It happened that Charles Le Moyne of Montreal was also there, having +been sent by La Barre to invite the Onondagas to a conference, as well +as the Jesuit, Father Lamberville. Very little progress was made with +the diplomatic question; but the Seneca deputies expressed very savage +sentiments in regard to the French, promising themselves a feast of +French flesh as the result of the coming war. + +This was in the month of August, and La Barre, at the head of an +expedition consisting of seven hundred Canadian militia, one hundred and +thirty regular troops, and two hundred Indians, had left Montreal on the +27th July, expecting to be joined by about one thousand Indian +auxiliaries from the north and west. It took about two weeks to reach +Fort Frontenac, where a delay of two or three weeks occurred, during +which time the army began to sicken. The heat was intense, and the camp +had been established on low malarial ground. La Barre himself became +dangerously ill. Finally a move was made to the southern side of Lake +Ontario, the army encamping at the mouth of what is now known as the +Salmon River, a little east of Oswego. The place at that time was known +by the ill-omened name of La Famine. In point of unwholesomeness the +place was quite as bad as Fort Frontenac; and a large part of the army +fell into a most deplorable condition of debility. Moreover, provisions +ran short, and those whom malaria and other diseases had spared were +face to face with hunger. Discontent was rife in the camp. All chance of +taking the offensive against the Senecas was at an end. La Barre's one +hope was that Charles Le Moyne's mission to the Onondagas had been +successful, and that, through the good offices of that tribe, he might +be able to make peace with some little show of honour. Most opportunely +Le Moyne arrived on the 3rd September, bringing with him a celebrated +Onondaga orator and politician named Ourouehati, otherwise known as +Grande Gueule, or, as Colden, historian of the Five Indian Nations, has +it, Garangula, together with twelve other deputies, eight of his own +people, two Oneidas, and two Cayugas. To conceal as far as possible his +real situation, La Barre had sent away his sick, and pretended to have +come with a mere escort, the body of his army being at Fort Frontenac. +Nevertheless, in his speech, while professing a desire for peace, he +threatened war unless complete satisfaction were rendered by the Senecas +and others for the mischief they had done, and pledges given for their +future good conduct. Perfectly informed as to the real weakness of the +French governor's position, Grande Gueule (Big Mouth) did not mince +matters in replying to him. He thanked Onontio for bringing back the +calumet of peace, and congratulated him that he had not dug up the +hatchet that had so often been red with the blood of his countrymen. +Onontio, he said, pretended to have come to smoke the calumet of peace, +but the pretence was false: he had come to make war, and would have done +so but for the sickness of his men. If the Iroquois had pillaged +Frenchmen, it was because the latter were carrying arms to the Illinois. +(This of course was not true as regards the seven canoes which the +governor and his friends had sent forward; but Big Mouth was a +diplomatist.) As regards conducting certain English traders to the +lakes, which was one of the points complained of by La Barre, they were +acting perfectly within their rights. They were free to go where they +pleased, and to take with them whom they pleased. They were also quite +justified in making war on the Illinois, who had hunted on their lands, +and would give no pledge to refrain from attacking them in future. In +this respect they had done less than the English and French, who had +dispossessed many tribes and made settlements in their country. + +This was a forenoon's work. In the afternoon another session was held, +and the day concluded with the settlement of the terms of peace. La +Barre was not to attack the Senecas, and Big Mouth undertook that +reparation should be made for the acts of plunder committed. He refused +entirely to pledge his people to desist from war on the Illinois; they +would fight them to the death; and La Barre, notwithstanding what he had +said about the king's determination to protect his western children, was +obliged to give way. Next morning he broke up camp and set out on the +return journey. Sickness continued to plague his force, and eighty men +died on the way to Montreal.[25] + +But this was not all. The commanders in the West had acted on their +orders to raise as many men as they could amongst the Indian allies in +the region of the Great Lakes, and to lead them to Niagara. Du Lhut and +La Durantaye had great difficulty in executing their task. Only the +Hurons seemed in the least disposed to move. Nicolas Perrot, however, +possessed more influence; and, mainly through his persuasions, a force +was gathered of about five hundred men, drawn from the Hurons, Ottawas, +and other neighbouring tribes. Accompanying these were about one hundred +Frenchmen of the _coureur de bois_ class, who in manners and customs +were at times hardly distinguishable from their native companions. +Having got the force together, the next thing to do was to start them +and keep them on the march. The commanders had a hard time of it: +certain accidents happened on the way which to the Indians were of evil +omen; and it was difficult to prevent whole bands from deserting. +Finally, however, the expedition reached Niagara just about the time +that La Barre was making terms with Big Mouth. They found there neither +provisions, nor arms, nor instructions. In a short time a sail appeared. +It was a boat sent by La Barre to tell them that he had made peace with +the Iroquois, and that they might go home. The indignation and disgust +of the warriors, the disappointment and mortification of the French +leaders, may be imagined. The Indian allies said they had been betrayed, +and expressed their opinion of the French in no measured terms. Some of +the more hot-headed ones urged that, as they had started on the +war-path, they should go on and attack the Senecas by themselves. Wiser +counsels prevailed. The chief men had not been eager for the war from +the first; and, calming the spirits of their followers, they induced +them to turn their faces homewards. Some of them had come a thousand +miles, and now that long journey had to be retraced with nothing +accomplished. It was a desperate blow to French influence in all the +region of the Great Lakes. + +The only man who gave La Barre any comfort in these depressing +circumstances was Pere Lamberville, missionary among the Onondagas. This +amiable and kindly priest, who had written to Frontenac some valued +words of commendation when he was leaving the country, wrote to La Barre +to tell him that he had acted most wisely in making peace. So doubtless +he had, in comparison with making war just at that time; but none the +less the peace was one which made the colonists hang their heads with +shame. Meulles in his despatch to the minister did not help to put the +matter in a more favourable light. Speaking of the governor he said: "He +signed the peace just as he decided on the war, without consulting any +one but a few merchants; and he has uselessly expended forty-five +thousand francs, of which he alone will owe an account to the king." So +much severity on the intendant's part was hardly necessary; the facts +spoke for themselves; and the king, when they were brought to his +knowledge, wrote to the discomfited governor, under date the 10th March +1685, the following gently worded letter:-- + + "Monsieur de la Barre,--Having been informed that your years + make it impossible for you to support the fatigues inseparable + from your office of governor and lieutenant-general in Canada, I + send you this letter to acquaint you that I have selected M. de + Denonville to serve in your place; and my intention is that, on + his arrival, after resigning to him the command, with all + instructions concerning it, you embark for your return to + France." + +Thus ended an administration that cannot be regarded as a happy or a +creditable one. In no respect was M. de la Barre on a level with the +office he held. He had no clear policy of his own, and was, therefore, +more or less, at the mercy of incompetent or interested advisers. As is +not uncommonly the case with such men, he was sometimes foolishly +impulsive. In a letter, dated 10th April 1684, the king expresses the +greatest surprise that the governor should have actually proposed to +hang, of his own authority, a colonist who was preparing to remove to +the English settlements. He reminds him that, except in military +matters, he possesses no judicial power whatever, and adds the sage +observation that the exercise of such constraint would certainly +increase the desire of the French inhabitants to go where they would +enjoy more liberty. In the matter of ecclesiastical policy, La Barre +failed to carry out the views of the king. His instructions were to +afford all the help in his power to the clergy in their efforts for the +good of the country, but to see that they did not extend their authority +beyond its proper bounds. In his first despatch he indulges in a little +criticism of the bishop for his delay in establishing permanent _cures_, +as desired by the king; but this is his sole exhibition of anything like +independence of the ecclesiastical power. There was a question pending +at the time as to the emoluments to be secured to the country _cures_; +and La Barre and Meulles are both blamed by the court for having allowed +the bishop to appropriate a larger amount out of the royal grant for +church purposes than the king had authorized or intended. + +In the matter just referred to, however, the bishop may well have been +substantially in the right. He knew the country, its needs, and its +possibilities better than the king; and he had the interests both of his +clergy and of his people sincerely at heart. It seems a little +surprising that, just at this time, when his relations with the secular +power were so satisfactory, he should have formed the intention of +resigning the office which he had been so eager to obtain only a few +years before, and of confining himself to the oversight of the Seminary. +The explanation is to be found partly in the state of his health, and +partly in the expectation he entertained of being able to find a man to +replace him as bishop who would adopt and carry out all his views with +the utmost fidelity and exactness, and thus give him even greater +influence than he had had in the past. If a bishop alone could make +headway against all the opposition of the civil power, what might not be +expected of a bishop of sound opinions supported by such an ex-bishop as +Laval himself? With these views he sailed for France in the fall of +1684 to tender his resignation to the king; and, with these views also, +he not long afterwards recommended as his successor a pious ecclesiastic +of noble family, M. Jean Baptiste de la Croix Chevrieres de Saint +Vallier, who, though only thirty-two years of age, had already refused +two bishoprics. Once before Laval had chosen a man for his piety, M. de +Mezy, and it had not turned out well. The Reverend M. Gosselin, in his +life of Saint Vallier, says that the day of his nomination was a regular +"day of dupes." The appointment did not take place till the year 1688; +but meantime M. de Saint Vallier consented to go out to Canada in the +capacity of vicar-general, and make acquaintance with the diocese. Thus +it happened that he and the Marquis de Denonville, La Barre's successor, +came out together in the same ship, arriving at Quebec on the 1st August +1685. The vessel which brought the new governor was accompanied by two +others carrying troops to the number of three hundred. Fever broke out +on the way, as was so often the case in those days, and there were many +deaths. Amongst those who succumbed were two priests, who, in their +attendance on the sick, had caught the malady. Their fate inspired Saint +Vallier with intense regret that he had not taken passage on the same +vessel, so that he might have shared so glorious a death. The sentiment +seems strange on the part of a man at his time of life, just entering on +a career in which he might reasonably hope for long years of the most +exalted usefulness. He did not in fact die till the year 1727. + +We have two accounts of the condition of Canada at this time; one from +the pen of the bishop designate, the other from that of the new governor +after a residence of a little over three months in the country. Strange +to say, the two do not in the very least agree. Saint Vallier sees +everything _couleur de rose_, and detects the odour of sanctity +everywhere. Denonville, on the contrary, sees license, insubordination, +idleness, luxury, debauchery, running riot throughout the land. "The +Canadian people," says Saint Vallier, "is, generally speaking, as devout +as the clergy is holy. One remarks among them something resembling the +disposition which we recognize and admire in the Christians of the early +centuries." Even in the distant settlements where a priest is rarely +seen, the people are constant in the practice of virtue, the fathers +making up for the lack of priests, so far as the training of their +children is concerned, "by their wise counsels and firm discipline."[26] +Denonville, just about the same time, undertakes to give the minister an +account of the disorders prevailing not only in the woods, but, as he +states, in the settlements as well. "These arise," he says, "from the +idleness of young persons, and the great liberty which fathers, mothers, +and guardians have for a long time given them of going into the forest +under pretence of hunting or trading. One great evil," he continues, "is +the infinite number of drinking-shops. . . . All the rascals and idlers +of the country are attracted into this business of tavern-keeping. They +never dream of tilling the soil; on the contrary, they deter other +inhabitants, and end by ruining them." Of the two pictures, it is +probable that the governor's was nearer the truth; though probably his +ascetic turn of mind led him to exaggerate the evils that existed. Saint +Vallier, when he came to the country as bishop in 1688, was not long in +discovering how greatly he had overrated the virtue and piety of the +inhabitants. He took an early opportunity of repairing his error as far +as possible by preaching a sermon on the sins which he found prevailing. +"We thought," he said, "before we knew our flock, that the Iroquois and +the English were the only wolves we had to fear; but, God having opened +our eyes, we are forced to confess that our most dangerous foes are +drunkenness, luxury, impurity, and slander." We cannot think very highly +of the judgment of a man who has to repudiate his own statements so +completely in regard to facts fully open to observation. + +It is allowable, fortunately, to take a more favourable view of the +Canadian people than either the governor, or the bishop in his revised +opinion, expresses. They were careless and ease-loving, more fond of +adventure than of steady toil; they were vain and given to luxury; but +these qualities were in a large measure the result of the circumstances +in which they were placed and the general influences of the time. How +could they fail to be fond of adventure when incitements to it presented +themselves on every hand, and the rewards that it promised were so much +more tempting than those to be derived from the tillage of the soil? It +was human nature in those days to prefer the gun to the spade, and the +paddle to the scythe. If they were vain and fond of luxury and show, it +proceeded in part from innate taste, and in part from the example of +those above them, who, in turn, reflected the manners, the habits, and +the tone of the most luxurious court in Europe. It soon began to be +observed that a given class in Canada represented a higher degree of +refinement and culture than a similar class in European France. The +reason was that, in the vast spaces and free air of a new continent, +human nature had more scope for expansion; ambition was stirred; thought +and imagination were quickened. The old seed was germinating with new +power in a virgin soil. The people were gay, chivalrous, courteous, and +brave, with an underlying tenacity of purpose and power of industry +ready to be revealed in due season under more settled conditions of +life. That intemperance was a serious evil there can be no doubt; but +that, too, was more or less incidental to the times. The physique of the +people was good; and, if their moral habits were not all that their +spiritual guides could have wished, they were at least free from +serious corruption. In a word, the Canadians of that period lived, on +the whole, healthy lives, and were planting a hardy and enduring race on +the soil they had made their own. + +[Footnote 25: Colden pithily sums up the result of the campaign in the +following words: "Thus a very chargeable and fatiguing expedition (which +was to strike terror of the French name into the stubborn hearts of the +Five Nations) ended in a scold between the French general and an old +Indian."] + +[Footnote 26: Saint Vallier, _Etat present de l'Eglise et de la Colonie +Francaise_, p. 84.] + + + + + CHAPTER VIII + + GOVERNORSHIP OF MARQUIS DE DENONVILLE + + 1685 TO 1689 + + +The Marquis de Denonville was sent to Canada to retrieve a difficult and +dangerous situation. He was a soldier by profession, and had had thirty +years' experience of military life. His courage and honour were alike +beyond question. In morals he was irreproachable. He was one of those +laymen who are half churchmen; and on the voyage from France he greatly +edified Saint Vallier by the gravity of his conduct and his punctilious +observance of all the forms and practices of religion. "He spent," Saint +Vallier himself tells us, "nearly all his time in prayer and the reading +of good books. The Psalms of David were always in his hands. In all the +voyage I never saw him do anything wrong; and there was nothing in his +words or acts which did not show a solid virtue and a consummate +prudence, as well in the duties of the Christian life as in the wisdom +of this world." Three years later Saint Vallier speaks of him in terms +of equal praise, adding that "there is no need to be astonished at the +benedictions which God is bestowing upon his government and upon his +enterprises against the Indians." Unfortunately, this interpretation of +the ways of Providence preceded by just a year the greatest calamity in +early Canadian history, the massacre of Lachine. + +The three hundred men who were sent out with Denonville were far from +constituting, even had their number not been sensibly reduced by fever +on the voyage, the reinforcement he required in order to assume the +offensive against the Iroquois with any hope of success. He was +compelled, therefore, to temporize while making the most earnest appeals +for a more liberal supply of troops. To counteract English intrigues +among the Five Nations, he sent numerous presents in that direction, and +carefully avoided any acts which could precipitate a conflict. One of +the chief perils of the situation was the disaffection produced in the +minds of the Lake tribes by the dismal failure of La Barre's expedition +of 1684. The only way to regain credit, he says in a despatch to the +minister (Seignelay), dated 12th June 1686, is to put a sufficient +number of French troops, militia and regulars, into the field to attack +and defeat the Iroquois without any assistance from the western allies. +He wished to begin building blockhouses for defensive purposes, but was +afraid to do so, lest the enemy should consider it a preparation for +war. Like La Barre, he entered into correspondence with the governor of +New York, Colonel Dongan, but in a more guarded manner. He wrote first +simply announcing his appointment to the governorship of Canada. Dongan +replied in his usual high-flown manner with many expressions of +courtesy. Denonville returned the compliment, and then took occasion to +speak of the Senecas and the difficulty of keeping peace with them, +inviting Dongan to assist him in protecting the missionaries who were +labouring amongst those heathen at the peril of their lives. Dongan, who +had been appointed by the Duke of York before he ascended the throne of +England as James II, and who, as might be supposed, was a good Catholic, +was quite ready to do justice to the personal merits of the +missionaries; but his fidelity to the English Crown made it impossible +for him to overlook the fact that they were Frenchmen operating on what +he claimed to be English territory. Their influence, he knew, could not +fail to be cast in favour of the rival claims of their own people; and +his desire was to replace them, as soon as it could conveniently be +done, by English priests, who, without being less sound in theological +matters, would be more so on the political side. + +The two governors were thus playing at cross purposes, and it was not +long before all disguise in the matter was set aside. Each was planning +the construction of a fort at Niagara for the purpose both of +strengthening his influence in the Iroquois country and of shutting the +other out of Lake Erie. Dongan heard of Denonville's intention from some +_coureurs de bois_ who had deserted to Albany; whereupon he wrote to the +French governor to say that he found it hard to believe that a man of +his reputation would be so ill-advised as to follow in the footsteps of +M. de la Barre, and seek to make trouble by planting a fort on +territory clearly belonging to the King of England, and all for the sake +of "a little peltry." Denonville replied with more diplomacy than truth +that he had no intention of building a fort at Niagara; and expressed in +turn his surprise that a gentleman of Dongan's character should "harbour +rogues, vagabonds, and thieves," and believe all the silly stories they +told him. As the correspondence went on its tone became warmer. Dongan +had promised to send back deserters; but he found these men too +valuable, and did not keep his promise. Denonville upbraids him for this +want of good faith, and also for exciting the Indians by telling them +that the French are preparing to attack them. He blamed him also for +furnishing the savages with rum to the great detriment of their +religious and moral interests; to which Dongan retorted that, in the +opinion of Christians, English rum was more wholesome than French +brandy. + +While this correspondence was going on, both governors were doing their +best to win over the Indians of the lake region. If these could be drawn +into an alliance with the Iroquois, so that their trade should pass +through the Iroquois country to the English, not only would the French +lose the most profitable part of their traffic, but their political +position would be seriously endangered, in fact would become untenable. +There was much in the arrangement from a business point of view to +recommend it to the savage mind. The English paid better prices for +goods, and gave their merchandise at lower prices; and, if their traders +once had free access to the lake region, the effects of their more +liberal dealing would be felt in every wigwam. Against this highly +practical consideration was to be set a certain hereditary distrust of +the Iroquois on the part of the Huron and Ottawa tribes, to which might +be added the personal influence of the French missionaries and a few +noted French leaders. The situation was for some time a most doubtful +one; but in the end it was not the economic argument that triumphed. + +In the winter of 1685-6, a Dutchman, named Johannes Rooseboom, had set +out from Albany, by Dongan's directions, with a party of armed traders +in eleven canoes, filled with English goods, to trade in the Upper +Lakes. There was no resistance to their progress; and after trading most +successfully, and to the great satisfaction of the Indians, they +returned in safety. This was encouragement for a larger expedition the +following year; so, in the fall of 1686, the same adventurer set out +with a similar party in twenty canoes. On this occasion they were to +winter with the Senecas and resume their journey in the spring, +accompanied by fifty men, who were to come from Albany under the charge +of a Scots officer named M'Gregory, and a band of Iroquois; the whole +party to be under M'Gregory's command. The intention was to form a +general treaty of trade and alliance with the tribes that hitherto had +been under the domination of the French. + +This was a bold step to take, and shows Dongan in the light of an early +advocate of the policy of "Forward." It was too bold. Fortunately for +Denonville, he had in the early summer of 1686 sent an order to Du Lhut, +then at Michilimackinac, to fortify a post at the outlet of Lake Huron, +which that capable and zealous officer lost no time in doing. On hearing +of the projected expedition, the governor was greatly incensed. He wrote +to Dongan in strong terms, and at the same time laid the matter before +the minister, declaring that it would be better to have open war with +the English than to be in constant danger from their intrigues. A +favourite plan of his was that Louis XIV should buy the colony of New +York from James II, as he had previously bought Dunkirk from Charles II. +The idea was not taken up by the French court, and there is much reason +to doubt whether, with the best will in the world, the English king +could have transferred the colony to France. It would have been an easy +thing to send out orders, but it would have been quite a different thing +to get them obeyed. In the New World men were already learning to put a +very wide construction upon their civil rights; and, as far the larger +portion of the population were of the reformed faith in one or other of +its branches, they would certainly have made strong objection to being +handed over to the tender mercies of the monarch who, at this very +moment, was extirpating Protestantism in his own kingdom by the cruelest +forms of persecution. The appeal to Dongan drew forth from that worthy +the declaration that, in his belief, it was "as lawful for the English +as for the French to trade with the remotest Indians." He denied, +however, that he had incited the Iroquois to acts of aggression, and +protested, in regard to the deserters, that he would much rather "such +rascalls and bankrouts" would stay in their own country, and that +Denonville was welcome to send for them. Negotiations, however, were +going on at this time between the English and French courts in relation +to affairs in America; and both Denonville and Dongan received +injunctions to cultivate peaceful relations with one another pending the +settlement of all matters in dispute by a joint commission. + +If Dongan was preparing to trespass upon French rights in the region of +the Great Lakes, Denonville himself was acting with even less scruple in +another direction. For several years before this, the Hudson's Bay +Company, under the charter granted to them by Charles II in the year +1670, had been trading to the bay from which they derived their name, +and had established a number of posts along its shores. The charter had +been granted in perfect good faith, as the region in question, which had +been discovered and explored by navigators sailing under the English +flag, Cabot, Hudson, Baffin, and Davis, was regarded as English +territory. It is true that a memoir prepared by M. de Callieres, +Governor of Montreal, for the minister of marine and colonies,[27] +mentions proceedings taken at different times by governors of Canada, +between the years 1656 and 1663, to bring the country under French +sovereignty; but there is nothing to show that any attempt was made at +settlement or even at trading on the coast. The Hudson's Bay Company, on +the other hand, had from the date of its charter, not to mention earlier +operations, been carrying on trade, and establishing posts in that +region without any remonstrance from the French government, and without +disturbance of any kind until the year 1682, in the early winter of +which two Frenchmen, named Radisson and Des Groseilliers, sailed into +Hudson's Bay with two vessels, and took possession of a fort which the +English had established near the mouth of the Nelson River. The +explanation given by these parties was that they were acting on behalf +of the "Compagnie Francaise de la Baie du Nord de Canada," which had +previously formed establishments some distance up that river, and that +finding that some English had begun to erect dwellings on an island at +the mouth of the river, they had forced them to retire, considering +their own claim to the river and its outlet the better. + +This was the beginning of trouble. The French king in writing to La +Barre on the subject authorized him to check, as far as possible, +English encroachments in that quarter. In the spring of 1684 he writes +again, and says that he has had a further communication from the English +ambassador in regard to the proceedings of Radisson and Des +Groseilliers, and that, while he is anxious not to give the English king +any cause of complaint, he still thinks it desirable that the English +should not be allowed to establish themselves on the Nelson River. La +Barre was therefore to make a proposal to the English commandant in +Hudson's Bay that no new establishments should be formed there by either +French or English. This was at the very least an acknowledgment of the +_status quo_. Nevertheless, a charter having been granted by the French +king in the following year to a Canadian company authorizing it to trade +on the Bourbon River, called in previous correspondence the Nelson, +Denonville chose to consider that fact a warrant for making a general +attack on the English in the bay. While his discussion with Dongan was +in progress in the summer of 1686, he organized an expedition of about a +hundred picked men, thirty being regular soldiers, and placed it under +the command of a very capable officer, the Chevalier de Troyes, +assigning to him as lieutenants three sons of Charles Le Moyne, of +Montreal: Iberville, Ste. Helene, and Maricourt. The difficulties of +the overland route were most formidable, but Troyes surmounted them with +the loss of only one man. He did not attempt any negotiation with the +English, nor send any summons to surrender, but fell upon Port Hayes, +the first to which he came, in the dead of night, and captured it +without difficulty, the garrison being totally unprepared to resist an +attack. At this point there does not appear to have been any loss of +life; but at Fort Rupert, which was similarly attacked at night, three +of the occupants were killed, and two were wounded. Three more men were +killed on the same night on board a vessel anchored near the shore. When +the assailants reached Fort Albany, held by a garrison of thirty men, +they found that their coming had been anticipated, but, with the aid of +cannon captured in the other forts, they had little difficulty in +forcing a surrender. Leaving Maricourt in command at the bay, Troyes +returned to Quebec. The English captured in this buccaneer fashion were +sent home in one of their own vessels which happened to arrive +opportunely for the purpose. + +Denonville had succeeded in arousing the French government to the +importance of proceeding vigorously against the Iroquois. Eight hundred +men were sent out to him in the spring of 1687, which, with about eight +hundred already in the colony, made the force at his disposal quite a +formidable one. In the summer of the previous year there had been a +change of intendant. M. de Meulles had been recalled, and a new man, +Bochart de Champigny, sent out in his place. As the appointment of the +latter was made as early as April 1686, it may be surmised that +Denonville, shortly after arriving in the country, signified to the king +that he and Meulles were not adapted to work together satisfactorily. +Meulles was certainly far from having the fervent piety of the governor; +and it may not improbably have been some difference of opinion or policy +arising out of this fact that caused his recall. His successor was a man +conspicuously devoted to the church; and Denonville in his despatches +praises him in high terms. Having now the necessary force at his +command, and being zealously seconded in all his views by the new +intendant, the governor determined not to let the summer of 1687 pass +without undertaking his long meditated campaign against the Iroquois. +While preparing for war, however, he talked of peace, in the hope of +taking the enemy unawares. So far did he carry his dissimulation that he +completely misled the colonists, so that, when they discovered that war +was intended, they manifested a strong indisposition to respond to the +call to arms. There were enough regular soldiers, they said, in the +country to meet all military requirements. Denonville was too well +advised, however, to dream of taking a force of regulars into the woods, +unsupported by militia accustomed to the country and familiar with the +methods of Indian warfare. He therefore issued a special proclamation, +which the vicars-general, in the absence of the bishop, supported by a +_mandement_, with the result that the inhabitants, accustomed to yield +to authority, furnished the quota of men required, about eight hundred. + +The more effectually to throw the Iroquois off their guard, the governor +had instructed his chief agent amongst them, Father Lamberville, a man +in whom they had perfect confidence, to invite them to a friendly +conference at Fort Frontenac. The good father was kept completely in the +dark as to what was really intended, and was allowed to continue his +solicitations to the Indians to attend the conference up to the moment +when all disguise was thrown off. He was still with them when they +discovered that they had been deceived; and, had it not been for the +unbounded faith they had learnt to place in the good priest's word, they +would certainly have put him to death with torture as a traitor. As it +was they charged the deception entirely on Denonville, who, in this +case, had certainly carried craft to very dangerous, not to say +indefensible, lengths. + +The expedition as organized by Denonville consisted of four companies of +regulars, men who had been some time in the country, and four of +militia, making in all fifteen hundred Frenchmen, to whom were added +five hundred mission Indians, Christian in name, but scarcely less +savage in instinct than their unreclaimed brethren of the forest. The +regulars were commanded by their own officers, amongst whom we +recognize Troyes, the hero of the Hudson's Bay exploit. The militia were +led by four notable seigneurs, Berthier, Lavaltrie, Grandville, and Le +Moyne de Longueuil, brother of the three Le Moynes who had accompanied +Troyes. All the French troops were placed under the general command of +Callieres, Governor of Montreal, a very capable officer. M. de +Vaudreuil, who had just come out from France as commander of the king's +forces, accompanied the expedition in the capacity of chief-of-staff to +the governor. The troops that he brought with him were left behind to +take care of the country in the absence of its other defenders. + +Starting from Montreal on the 13th June 1687, the expedition, after +encountering the usual perils and fatigues of the St. Lawrence route, +and losing one or two men in the rapids, arrived at Fort Frontenac on +the 1st July. Here news was received of a reinforcement on which the +governor had not permitted himself to count. In October of the previous +year orders had been sent to the commanders in the West to rally the +Indians of that region for another movement against the Iroquois. As +Denonville well knew, there were serious difficulties in the way. The +fiasco of 1684 had left a deplorable impression on the minds of the Lake +tribes, whose loyalty was being further undermined by the pleasing +prospect of trade with the English. These arguments, however, did not +weigh with the Illinois, the latest victims of Iroquois barbarity; and +Tonty in charge at Fort St. Louis, who had been notified with the +others, had little trouble in getting a couple of hundred of them to +follow him to Detroit on the way to Niagara. Nicolas Perrot in like +manner raised a contingent among the tribes to the west of Lake +Michigan, and, passing by way of Michilimackinac, joined his efforts to +those of La Durantaye who had been labouring all winter to win over the +dissatisfied Hurons and Ottawas. The Hurons were at last persuaded to +move; but the Ottawas still refused, and La Durantaye and the Hurons +started for Detroit, the first place of rendezvous, without them. +Scarcely had they left Michilimackinac when they fell in with a number +of the canoes which Dongan had sent to trade in the lakes. La Durantaye +at once summoned the intruders to surrender; and, as he seemed to have a +formidable force with him, the summons was obeyed. The commander +distributed most of the goods among his Indian followers to their great +delight, and sent some barrels of rum to the Ottawas in the hope that it +would incline them to follow. It is difficult to say what did influence +the minds of these savages; but in a few days they set out, taking, +however, a route of their own by way of the Georgian Bay and overland to +what is now Toronto. Perrot and his men went to Detroit, and from that +point he and the others conducted their respective commands to Niagara, +arriving there just about the same time that Denonville's force reached +Fort Frontenac. + +The gratification of the governor on learning that this important +reinforcement had arrived just in the nick of time may be imagined. He +sent word to the commanders to proceed to Irondequoit Bay, the entrance +to the Seneca country; and, conducting his force thither, saw the +western men approaching just as he himself was about to land. Such a +concentration, on the same day, of troops brought from as far east as +Quebec, and from as far west as the sources of the Mississippi, was +indeed remarkable. It seemed on this occasion at least as if everything +was destined to go well. + +Denonville had now nearly three thousand men under his command. Forming +a camp and erecting temporary fortifications on the point of land which +shuts in Irondequoit Bay from Lake Ontario, he left four hundred men at +that place to guard supplies, and arranged his army in marching order. +The van was led by La Durantaye, Du Lhut and Tonty with their _coureurs +de bois_, about two hundred in number. On their left were the mission +Indians, and on their right the Lake and other western tribes--a wild +and motley gathering of, for the most part, naked savages, made hideous +with paint and horns and tails. Separated from these by a short +interval, the main body of the army followed, regulars and militia in +alternate companies. A broad trail ran southwards to the heart of the +Seneca country, but on either side was a dense bush in which enemies +might well be concealed. The first day a distance of about ten miles was +covered. It was mid-July, the heat was intense, the flies were +outrageous, and the men were burdened with thirteen days' provisions in +addition to their arms and ammunition. On the second day, as they were +drawing near to the first fortified habitation of the enemy, whom they +supposed to be awaiting them behind their defences, the advance guard +was vigorously attacked both in front and rear by a foe as yet +invisible. The Senecas had supposed that the advance guard, _coureurs de +bois_ and Indians, constituted the entire army, but learnt their error +when those making the rear attack found themselves, as they soon did, +between two fires. + +Meantime, however, no little confusion had been caused in the ranks of +the invaders; and Denonville and his principal officers had to exercise +all their powers of command to prevent a panic. As soon as confidence +was restored, the vigorous firing of the French and their allies put the +enemy to flight. "The Canadians," says Charlevoix, "fought with their +accustomed bravery; but the regular troops did themselves little credit +in the whole campaign." "What can one do with such men?" wrote +Denonville in a despatch to the minister. On the Canadian side five +militiamen, one regular soldier and five Indians were killed, and about +an equal number, according to Denonville's statement, were wounded. The +Senecas left twenty-seven dead upon the field. Their wounded they +succeeded in carrying off; to have abandoned them would have meant to +leave them to torture at the hands of the hostile Indians. As it was, +the victory was followed by horrible scenes of cannibalism, in which the +Ottawas, who, in the fight had showed marked cowardice, took the +principal part. + +This engagement, which has been localized as having occurred near the +village of Victor, some fifteen miles south-east of the city of +Rochester, N. Y., was the only one of the campaign. Not meeting again +with the enemy, the army spent some days in burning the Seneca +habitations, in which large quantities of grain were stored, and in +destroying the standing crops. When this had been accomplished, they +retraced their steps to their fortified camp on the lake shore. Already +the army was getting into bad shape; the Indians were deserting and the +French were falling sick through eating too abundantly of green corn and +fresh pork; the latter article of diet being furnished by herds of swine +kept by the Senecas. Despatching the sick in bateaux to Fort Frontenac, +Denonville conducted the rest of his troops to Niagara in order to carry +out the long-cherished design, which, in his correspondence with Dongan, +he had disavowed, of erecting a fort at that point. This only occupied a +few days; and on the 3rd August he was able to set out on the return +journey, after detaching one hundred men to garrison the fort, which he +placed under the command of M. de Troyes. Proceeding further up the lake +to a point where it narrows, he crossed over to the north shore, and so +made his way to Fort Frontenac, and thence to Montreal, where he arrived +on the 13th of the month. The campaign, as Parkman observes, was but +half a success; it certainly fell short of being what Abbe Gosselin +calls it, "_une victoire eclatante_." The Senecas had been put to +flight; and their dwellings had been destroyed, together with their +stores of food; but their loss in men was not serious, and they could +rely on the neighbouring Cayugas and Onondagas to tide them over a +season of distress. Denonville writes, indeed, that they were succoured +by the English. At the same time the injury they had received sank deep +into minds not prone to forgive. + +An incident which happened before the expedition set out from Fort +Frontenac tended greatly to aggravate the situation. It had been +intimated to Denonville in a despatch from the French government that +the king desired to have some captured Iroquois sent over to France for +service in the galleys, as it was understood that they were muscular +fellows, well fitted for such work. Champigny, who left Montreal with +Denonville, went ahead of the expedition with a few light canoes, in +order to make arrangements for its reception at Fort Frontenac. Finding +at that place a number of Iroquois, chiefly Onondagas, who, relying on +Denonville's professions of peace, had come thither for trade or +conference, and being anxious to show his zeal for his royal master, he +did not hesitate to make them prisoners. The savages had their wives and +children with them, a sure sign that they had come with friendly intent. +This circumstance did not weigh with the intendant, nor was he +influenced by the tears and entreaties of the families of the captured +men. He doubtless thought that the formidable force which the governor +was leading would strike such terror into the hearts of the Iroquois +nation as to put anything in the way of reprisals quite out of the +question: in any case there was advantage for himself in obeying the +mandate of the king. What kind of a service it was for which the +unfortunate captives were destined may be learnt from a description +given by a careful French writer: "Chained in gangs of six, with no +clothing save a loose short jacket, devoured by itch and vermin, +shoeless and stockingless, the galley slaves toiled for ten hours +consecutively at a rate of exertion which one would hardly have believed +a man could endure for one hour. They were indeed in luck when they were +not made to work twenty-four hours consecutively, with nothing to +sustain their strength but a biscuit steeped in wine, which was put into +their mouths, so that they should not have to stop rowing. If their +galley began to lose ground the petty officers would rain curses on +their heads and blows on their backs. Many a time, when the pace was +being forced under a blazing Mediterranean sun, some poor wretch would +sink down dead on his bench. In such a case his companions would pass on +his body, throw it overboard, and that was all."[28] + +The total number of Indians sent home to France to be consigned to this +fate was thirty-five. They were at Fort Frontenac as captives, bound +helplessly to posts when Denonville's army passed through, and an +eye-witness, the Baron La Hontan, tells how he saw the mission Indians +torturing the poor creatures by burning their fingers in the bowls of +their pipes. He tried to interfere, but was censured for doing so, and +put under arrest. The leaders, doubtless, thought they could not afford +to put their Indian allies out of humour by interfering with their +amusements.[29] The wrong done in this matter seems to have created a +far more bitter feeling in the minds of the Iroquois than the open war +on the Senecas. The Oneidas retaliated by torturing a Jesuit father +named Millet, and would in the end have put him to death if an Indian +woman had not interceded for him and adopted him as her son. The temper +of the savages generally, in spite of the campaign, was far from being a +submissive one; and Denonville himself within a month of his return to +Quebec came to the conclusion that another punitive expedition would be +necessary before a solid peace could be obtained. He therefore wrote +home asking that eight hundred additional troops should be supplied to +him, observing that his Indian allies were not to be depended on, and +that the Canadians were not at all zealous for military service. His +opinion was that he should have a force of not less than three or four +thousand men at his disposal for two years. The French government did +not agree with him on this point. The troops could not be spared, and +the king thought that it ought to be possible to arrange matters by +negotiation. There were those, indeed, in Canada who thought the whole +war had been unnecessary; certainly, for some time before the Senecas +were attacked, they were not acting on the aggressive. The Iroquois +tribes generally had been impressed by the fact that the military forces +of the colony had been considerably augmented; and the character of the +governor himself, who seemed to possess much more firmness and +resolution than his immediate predecessor, had more or less influenced +them in favour of peace. Had Denonville made the most of these +advantages, and shown in addition a disposition to act with good faith, +it is altogether probable a satisfactory peace could have been arranged +without resort to war. + +However, the mischief had been done. All the Iroquois tribes had been +angered, and the hives were ominously buzzing. Acts of reprisal became +frequent. Even the immediate neighbourhood of Fort Frontenac was not +secure, for during the following winter a woman and three soldiers were +carried off within gunshot of its walls. The Onondagas who effected +these captures stated expressly that they were made in retaliation for +those so treacherously made by Champigny. The captives were not put to +death, but were held as hostages, which gave them an opportunity of +appealing to Dongan. That worthy was not at all sorry that his rival had +got himself into trouble; and answered the appeal by saying that he +could not do anything for them till Fort Niagara, unjustly planted by +their governor on English territory, had been evacuated. On the last day +of the year Denonville sent to Albany an able negotiator in the person +of Father Vaillant, Jesuit, but with no satisfactory result. The only +terms on which Dongan would consent to use his influence in favour of +peace were that the prisoners sent to France for the galleys should be +restored; that the mission Indians at Laprairie and the Montreal +Mountain should be sent back to the Iroquois country to which they +originally belonged; that Forts Niagara and Frontenac should be razed; +and that the goods captured by the French from English traders on the +Upper Lakes should be restored. Scarcely had Vaillant left Albany on +his return when Dongan summoned representatives of the tribes, and, +acquainting them with the terms he had demanded, asked for their +ratification, which was readily granted. He told the chiefs not to bury +the hatchet, but simply to lay it in the grass where they could get it +if it was wanted, and meantime to post themselves along the lines of +communication to the French country. + +The advice was promptly taken. Some bands operated along the St. +Lawrence, others along the Richelieu. Early in the season of 1688 a +convoy had been sent to revictual Forts Frontenac and Niagara. It passed +up the river safely, but on its return it was attacked, though greatly +superior in force, by a party of twenty-five or thirty Indians, who +killed eight men, and took one prisoner. Other raids more or less +destructive were made at Chambly, St. Ours, Contrecoeur, and even as far +east as Riviere du Loup. In the face of these attacks a sort of lethargy +seemed to have seized upon the colonists, making them slow to defend +themselves even when the conditions were in their favour. In other +respects also the state of affairs was one of great depression. The war +had been costly and burdensome; and, owing to the withdrawal of so many +men from the work of the fields, agriculture had greatly suffered. The +pillaging carried on by scattered bands of Iroquois made matters still +worse. Beggars began to be numerous in the streets of Quebec and +Montreal. It is interesting to note that mendicity was not looked upon +with favour in those days, and that praiseworthy attempts were made to +regulate it and restrain it within the narrowest possible limits. +Charitable ladies undertook to inquire into cases of ostensible want so +as to distinguish those which merited relief from others which might +proceed from idleness or misconduct. M. de Saint Vallier, who had +returned to France in the autumn of 1687, came back as bishop in August +of the following year. He brought with him two hundred copies of his +work on _The Present State of the Church in Canada_, written by him +after his arrival in France, and published at Paris in March 1688, in +which, as already seen, a glowing tribute was paid to the piety of the +Canadian people. Instead, however, of distributing this work in the +country, as he had doubtless intended, he virtually suppressed it; and, +in almost his first episcopal utterances, told the people that the +troubles and distresses from which they were suffering were the result +of their lukewarmness in religious matters. The statement was not +received in the most submissive spirit. There were some who said that +the mundane causes of the sad plight in which the country found itself +were only too apparent, and that it was not necessary to look +further.[30] + +In the course of the summer of 1688, while Denonville had still under +consideration the unpalatable terms proposed by Dongan, he received at +Montreal, through the useful mediation of Father Lamberville, a visit +from La Barre's old friend, the famous Onondaga orator, Big Mouth, who +brought with him six other warriors. As on the occasion of his meeting +with the former governor, Big Mouth occupied a strong position, and made +the most of it. He had been holding back his own people, he said; +otherwise they would have swarmed down on the colony and destroyed it. +The conditions of peace which he proposed were those already outlined by +Dongan; and he wanted an answer in four days. Denonville told him that +he was prepared to treat for peace if the tribes would send delegates to +Montreal duly empowered for that purpose. Big Mouth promised that this +should be done, and meantime signed a treaty of neutrality. Denonville +had by this time brought himself to the point of agreeing to abandon +Fort Niagara, the garrison of which had been reduced by sickness from +about a hundred men to ten or twelve, and with which, moreover, he found +it impossible to maintain satisfactory communication. He had also been +forced to give way as regards the captives sent to France, and had +written asking that as many of them as survived might be sent out; +suggesting at the same time that, to produce as good an effect as +possible, they should be decently clothed. These were the principal +points, and he hoped to be able to make peace without any further +concessions. + +The negotiations, however, were destined to be badly wrecked. The Indian +allies, Hurons and Algonquins, had only too good reason to suspect that +the peace would not include them. Big Mouth had been ominously +non-committal on that point. It was doubtless remembered that, when La +Barre had made peace with the Iroquois, he had abandoned the Illinois to +their mercy. A leading Huron, Kondiaronk, or the Rat, by name, +determined that there should be no peace if he could help it. He was at +Fort Frontenac with a party of forty warriors when he heard that +negotiations for peace were in progress and that delegates from the Five +Nations were expected to arrive in a few days. His plan was at once +formed. Pretending to have set out with his party for Michilimackinac, +he really paddled over to La Famine, placed himself in ambush in the +path of the delegates, and waited their coming. It was four or five days +before they appeared, and no sooner were they within gun shot than the +Huron party fired. One chieftain was killed outright; several were +wounded; the rest, all but one who escaped wounded, and made his way to +Fort Frontenac, were captured. The captives in great indignation +explained to the Rat the mission they were on, when the wily Huron +expressed the most profound regret, saying that the French had sent him +out on the war-path, and had never given him the slightest hint that +peace negotiations were in progress. He was eloquent in denouncing the +bad faith of Onontio, and at once let his captives go. True, the warrior +who had escaped heard a very different story at Fort Frontenac--that the +Rat had been specially informed of the negotiations, and had professed +that he was starting for home; nevertheless, as the Rat expected, the +peace was killed. The party attacked had consisted of some men of +consequence who were preceding the delegates to give assurance to the +governor that the latter would soon be at hand. They never came. Other +thoughts now occupied the Iroquois mind. + +For months there was an ominous calm. The winter of 1688-9 passed +without incident, and so did the following summer. Marauding on the part +of the Iroquois had so entirely ceased, that the opinion began to +prevail in the colony that the enemy had lost courage, and were no +longer disposed for war. Some rumours, it is true, reached the governor +that mischief was brewing, but he paid little heed to them: no special +measures of defence whatever were taken. A strange kind of somnolence +seems to have crept over almost the entire population. The intendant, in +a despatch written just about this time (6th November 1688), after +speaking of the disastrous effect of brandy drinking upon the Indians, +goes on to say: "The Canadians also ruin their health thereby; and, as +the greater number of these drink a large quantity of it early in the +morning, they are incapable of doing anything the remainder of the day." +It may safely be assumed that the morning potations were indulged in +without prejudice to a tolerably free use of the bottle in the evening. +It is remarkable that so serious a judgment upon the habits of the +people should have preceded by only a few months a striking and fatal +example of their unreadiness and incapacity. + +The night of the 4th August 1689 was dark and stormy with rain and hail. +It was just such a night as might serve to cover the approach of a +stealthy foe; and the foe, vengeful and relentless, was at hand. +Fourteen hundred Iroquois had descended the St. Lawrence and taken up +their station on the south side of the Lake St. Louis, opposite Lachine. +About midnight, amid the darkness and the noise of the elements, they +crossed the lake, and, landing, posted themselves in small bands close +to the dwellings of the slumbering inhabitants. An hour or so before +daybreak, a war-whoop, the preconcerted signal, was raised. Instantly a +thousand savage throats gave forth the dismal howl; and then began the +work of slaughter that made "the massacre of Lachine" a name of terror +for generations. The account of the disaster given by Charlevoix, who +puts the number of the slain at two hundred, has been generally followed +by later writers; but there is fortunately reason to believe that the +massacre was much less in extent, and perhaps somewhat less horrible in +character, than the reverend father represents. Judge Girouard,[31] who +has gone into the matter in a most careful and painstaking manner, +places the number of persons killed at Lachine--men, women, and +children--at twenty-four. The place was defended by three forts, all of +which had garrisons; but from these no help seems to have been afforded +to the wretched inhabitants. The torch did its work as well as the +tomahawk, and fifty-six houses were burnt. There were some regular +troops--about two hundred--under an officer named Subercase, encamped +about three miles off. A shot from one of the forts gave the alarm, and +Subercase with his men marched to the scene of action. Many of the +Indians had inebriated themselves with brandy seized in the houses of +the inhabitants; and it is probable that, had they been promptly and +vigorously attacked, they might have been defeated with heavy loss. +Subercase was just on the point of leading his men against them, when M. +de Vaudreuil, acting-governor of Montreal in the absence of M. de +Callieres who had gone to France, appeared on the scene with formal and +positive orders from M. de Denonville, who, as ill-luck would have it, +was at Montreal, to remain strictly on the defensive. Subercase was +extremely indignant, and felt strongly tempted to disobey; but the +instinct of subordination prevailed, and he remained inactive. The +Indians meanwhile dispersed themselves over the Island of Montreal, +killing, capturing, burning, and meeting with little or no resistance. + +A really circumstantial and consistent account of the whole occurrence +is lacking; and it is therefore uncertain how long the Iroquois remained +in the neighbourhood. The probability would seem to be that the main +body retreated with their prisoners and booty after a brief campaign, +but that some bands of warriors stayed behind for further pillage. On +the 13th of November a bloody raid was made on the settlement at La +Chesnaye, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, some twenty miles +below Montreal; all the houses were burnt, and the majority of the +inhabitants either killed or captured. The total number of persons +killed elsewhere than at Lachine is estimated by Judge Girouard, who has +endeavoured to trace the names in the parish registers, at forty-two, +making, with the twenty-four killed at Lachine, a total of sixty-six. As +regards the number of captives, the same authority, whose careful +methods inspire much confidence, accepts the statement of Belmont, who +places it at ninety. We read that, when the savages left Lachine, which +they did without any attempt being made from the forts to harass their +retreat, they crossed Lake St. Louis, and, encamping on the opposite +shore, lit their fires and began to torture their prisoners. Torture, +there can be no doubt, was sufficiently congenial to the Iroquois +nature; and yet there is room for doubt whether there is sufficient +warrant for the highly coloured narrative which has become the popular +legend on this subject. It was usual with the Iroquois to carry their +captives with them into their villages; and it is known that they did +this with at least the great majority of those whom they secured on the +Island of Montreal, for many of them were alive years afterwards. +Moreover had there been many burnings on the south shore of Lake St. +Louis, the same pious care which caused the re-burial a few years later +(1694) of the remains of the victims of the Lachine massacre would have +been extended to any that might have been found on the site of the last +encampment. There is no record of the discovery of any such remains or +of their burial or re-burial. It is true that some burnings of captives +occurred in the Iroquois villages; still it is some satisfaction to +think that the calamity as a whole was not on the scale that tradition +has represented.[32] + +It is related that as the savages paddled away from the Lachine shore, +they called out: "Onontio, you deceived us; now we have deceived you." +The last days of Onontio, in his official capacity at least, were at +hand. The king had decided early in the year that he was not the man to +support a falling state or rescue an imperilled community, and had +offered the position again to Count Frontenac notwithstanding the many +troubles that had marked that gallant soldier's former tenure of office. +Evidently, with all his faults of temper, he had at least impressed +himself on the king as a man who could be relied on in the hour of +danger. Denonville's last act was one which strikingly illustrated the +condition of feebleness and dejection into which he had fallen. Dongan +and the Iroquois had demanded the abandonment of Fort Frontenac. +Denonville now determined that this was the only course to follow, and +accordingly sent orders to the garrison to blow up the walls, destroy +the stores, and make the best of their way to Montreal. + +[Footnote 27: _New York Colonial Documents_, vol. ix. p. 268. See also +"Transactions between England and France, relating to Hudson's Bay, +1687," in _Canadian Archives_, 1883, p. 173.] + +[Footnote 28: Clement, _Vie de Colbert_, p. 456.] + +[Footnote 29: "In dealing with indigenous races," observes M. Lorin, +"governors were sometimes obliged to sacrifice a few victims to the +ferocity of savages; and it was not on the eve of a campaign that it +would have been wise to exhibit towards the Iroquois a humanity that +would have been mistaken for weakness."--_Comte de Frontenac_, p. 333. +We may certainly agree that it would have been difficult for those who +had captured peaceful and unsuspecting natives for the horrible regime +of the galleys to adopt a high humanitarian tone in reproving the +cruelties of their Indian confederates and converts.] + +[Footnote 30: _New York Colonial Documents_, vol. ix. p. 389.] + +[Footnote 31: See his _Lake St. Louis, Old and New_.] + +[Footnote 32: Both as regards the number of the slain and the details of +the massacre Charlevoix simply repeats the statements made by Frontenac +in a despatch dated the 15th November 1689, one month after his return +to Canada, and after several days spent at the scene of the disaster and +at Montreal. It is he who speaks of the "_enlevement de cent vingt +personnes apres un massacre de deux cents brules, rotis vifs, manges, et +les enfans arraches du ventre de leurs meres_." The tendency in +furnishing information to the French government was always to exaggerate +the havoc wrought by the Indians. At the time Frontenac wrote this +despatch he was not aware of the further massacre at La Chesnaye, the +news of which only reached him on the 17th of November.] + + + + + CHAPTER IX + + FRONTENAC TO THE RESCUE + + +From the moment that Prince William of Orange, the one unconquerable foe +of Louis XIV, was called to the throne of England, war between England +and France was a foregone conclusion. It was not declared, however, in +France till the 25th June 1689. Frontenac sailed from Rochelle on the +5th August following, the very day of the Lachine massacre. The king in +an interview with him is reported to have said: "I am sending you back +to Canada, where I am sure that you will serve me as well as you did +before; I ask nothing more of you." His Majesty also intimated, we are +told, that he believed the charges made against him were without +foundation. During the intervals between his two terms of office, +Frontenac had been living for the most part at court, in rather reduced +circumstances. The king once at least came to his relief with a gratuity +of three thousand five hundred francs, and possibly other liberalities +may have flowed to him from the same royal source, though Mr. Ernest +Myrand, after careful research, has not been able to discover trace of +any.[33] + +The mission which was tendered to the aged count--he was now in his +seventieth year--was one which a younger man might have felt some +hesitation in accepting. The last accounts from Canada showed the +country to be in a deplorable condition, equally unable to make an +enduring peace or to wage a successful war; and the worst was yet to be +told on the governor's arrival. The situation was rendered decidedly +more critical by the fact of the war with England. True, a treaty had +been made by Louis XIV with James II, providing that, should war break +out between France and England, it should not extend to their American +possessions; but Louis, who did not recognize William III as a +legitimate sovereign, probably felt under no obligation to observe a +treaty made with his predecessor. We know, at least, that a scheme for +the conquest of the English colonies was arranged before Frontenac's +departure. Callieres, Governor of Montreal, had been sent to France by +Denonville in the fall of 1688 to represent the perilous situation of +the colony, and to urge the king to adopt a system of reprisals against +the English for the misdeeds of the Iroquois. Callieres and Frontenac +had some friends in common, and were thus brought together at court, and +the plan that was adopted was probably one that they had jointly +suggested to the court. It was, briefly, that two or three war vessels +should accompany Frontenac to Canada; that the count should disembark at +some point on the coast of Acadia, and proceed by the first private +vessel he could secure to Quebec; that on arrival there he should +organize a force of sixteen hundred men, one thousand regulars, and six +hundred militia, to march on New York by way of Albany; and that when he +was ready to move, he should notify the commander of the squadron, so +that the latter might advance to New York, and be prepared to co-operate +in the capture and occupation of the place. Meantime, the naval force +was to employ itself in picking up any English trading vessels that +might fall in its way. + +Not only were plans thus formed for invading and seizing the English +colonies, but the French king made complete arrangements as to the +treatment of the inhabitants when conquered. Those who either were +Catholics, or were prepared to embrace the Catholic faith, might be +allowed to remain in possession of their property and civil rights; the +citizens of means were to be imprisoned and held for ransom, the rest of +the population, numbering about eighteen thousand, were to forfeit +everything and be driven penniless out of the country. It was proposed +to deport them, in the first place, to New England, pending the ulterior +conquest of that region. M. Lorin truly observes that Louis XIV, having +just deprived his own subjects of religious liberty by the revocation of +the Edict of Nantes, could not possibly be expected to tolerate it in +any country of which he might acquire control.[34] A more ruthless +policy could scarcely have been devised, nor, it may be added, a more +senseless one. The deportation of so large a body of inhabitants, mainly +of Dutch origin, and all accustomed to the use of arms, was a task +ridiculously beyond the ability of the forces he was proposing to employ +for the purpose. + +The plan was followed, so far as the sending out of a small squadron +with the new governor-general was concerned. Sailing, as already +mentioned, on the 5th August, Frontenac arrived at Chedabucto +(Guysborough), near the Straits of Canso, on the 12th September, and +there embarked in a small vessel, the _Francois Xavier_, for Quebec. On +the way he stopped at Perce, where the Recollet missionaries informed +him of the massacre of Lachine. His vessel must have been detained by +contrary winds, for it was the 12th October before he arrived at Quebec. +Here he was received by the citizens with the liveliest manifestations +of joy. The ecclesiastics associated themselves, _bon gre mal gre_, with +the popular feeling. The town was illuminated by night and hung with +banners by day; a _Te Deum_ was sung; and a Jesuit father delivered what +is recorded to have been a most pathetic discourse. On all hands the +count was acclaimed as the man the country needed to restore its fallen +fortunes and stay the hand of the destroyer. Denonville and Champigny +did not grace the rejoicings; they were at Montreal. + +Quebec, however, was not the point of danger, nor that at which the +governor's services were most required. Still he remained there eight +days before proceeding to Montreal, where he arrived on the 27th +October. At that place he learnt from Denonville of the instructions he +had given for the abandonment and destruction of Fort Frontenac. The +indignation of the old warrior, to whom the fort called after his name +was a spot of peculiar predilection, can better be imagined than +described. He could hardly believe that a French governor could perform +so craven an act. If we may trust the Baron La Hontan, who does not in +this case tax very seriously our powers of belief, the interview between +the two dignitaries was a decidedly stormy one.[35] There was no time to +waste, however, in useless debate. Something possibly had happened to +delay or prevent the carrying out of the orders, and the fort might +perhaps yet be saved. An expedition was hastily organized to proceed to +the spot and ascertain the facts, but scarcely had it well started +before it encountered the entire garrison of the fort, minus six men, +whom they had lost in the rapids on the way down, returning to Montreal. +The deed had therefore been done. Valrennes, the commandant, told how he +had destroyed the stores, thrown such arms and ammunition as he could +not remove into the river, undermined the walls and fired the train, and +how, as they retreated, they had heard a dull explosion. Yes, the deed +had been done; but, as it turned out later, not with the full result +intended. The mines had exploded, but probably they had been hastily and +not over skilfully placed, and the injury to the walls was but slight. +Not long afterwards Frontenac was able to repair the damage and put the +fort once more in a condition of defence. + +The season was now so far advanced that the project which had been +formed of raising a large force with which to invade English territory, +in conjunction with a naval attack on New York, had to be abandoned. La +Caffiniere, commander of the squadron, waited for two months for some +sign of the arrival of the Canadians, and then sailed back to France, +making a few prizes on the way. But, if the governor was unable to +organize an expedition on a large scale, he did not forego his intention +of attacking the English colonies. If he could not march with an army he +could make raids after the Indian fashion. His plan was to stand simply +on the defensive as regards the Iroquois, and to impress their minds by +the suddenness and vigour of his attacks on the English. Three raiding +parties were accordingly organized, one having its base at Montreal, the +second at Three Rivers, and the third at Quebec. The Montreal party +consisted of a little over two hundred men, of whom somewhat less than +half were mission Indians from Sault St. Louis--the present Caughnawaga +settlement--and the Montreal Mountain. The remainder of the party +consisted for the most part of _coureurs de bois_, formidable men for +border warfare, far steadier than the Indians, and just as wary. Their +destination was Albany and the neighbouring English settlements. The +leaders were men of skill and courage, Daillebout de Mantet, and Le +Moyne de Ste. Helene; the latter, a man greatly admired and beloved for +his brilliant soldierly qualities and gay, amiable disposition, but +nevertheless a keen and relentless fighter. With these were two of Ste. +Helene's brothers, formidable men all, Le Moyne d'Iberville, who had +already made fame for himself in Hudson's Bay, where still greater glory +yet awaited him, and Le Moyne de Bienville, together with several other +members of the Canadian _noblesse_. The Three Rivers party was under the +charge of Francois Hertel, a man of much experience in Indian warfare. +When quite a lad he had been carried off by the Iroquois, and had +endured some cruel treatment at their hands before making his +escape,[36] and since then he had been in constant contact with them +either in peace or in war. With him went three of his sons, twenty-four +Frenchmen, and twenty-five Indians, fifty-two men in all. The third +party, recruited at Quebec, consisted of fifty Frenchmen and sixty +Abenaquis Indians from the settlement at the falls of the Chaudiere, +under the command of M. de Portneuf, who had as lieutenant his cousin, +Repentigny, Sieur de Courtemanche. The Montreal expedition set out in +the beginning of February, those from Three Rivers and Quebec a few days +earlier; but before recounting their exploits, it may be well to glance +at the negotiations, which the governor was at this time carrying on +with a view to putting the relations of the colony with the Iroquois +tribes on a better basis. + +The king, it has been mentioned, had consented to send back the Indians +who had been so treacherously captured and sent to France as galley +slaves. It would be doing his Majesty injustice to suppose that he ever +intended his representative in Canada to procure men for his galleys in +so disreputable a fashion. The Marquis of Denonville from the moment of +his arrival in Canada had breathed nothing but war; and the king +doubtless counted on a large number of prisoners as the result of his +martial prowess. It is significant that, even before encountering the +Senecas, Denonville should have written to the king explaining how very +difficult it was to capture Iroquois in battle. He did not say so, but +he doubtless thought that to trap them would be much easier. Out of +nearly forty Indians sent to France, thirteen only were alive when the +order for their restoration to their country was given; the rest had +died of hardship and homesickness. The survivors were sent out in the +same vessel with Frontenac, who did all in his power to make them forget +the wrongs they had suffered. The most important man in the band was a +Cayuga chief named Orehaoue, between whom and the count a sincere +friendship seems to have sprung up. During the whole voyage the count +treated him with the highest consideration, invited him to eat at his +table, and furnished him with a handsome uniform; so that, by the time +they landed at Quebec, the savage chief was completely won over to the +French side. The same treatment was continued after they landed. +Orehaoue was lodged in the Chateau St. Louis and went everywhere with +the governor. There was policy in this of course on Frontenac's part, +but there is no reason to doubt that on both sides there was a genuine +feeling of attachment. + +After viewing the scene of desolation at Lachine, Frontenac reported to +the king that nine square leagues of territory had been laid waste. The +question was what to do. The best course seemed to be to send four of +the Indians who had been brought back from France to their Iroquois +kinsmen with a suitable message. They were despatched accordingly, +accompanied by an Indian named Gagniogoton who, a short time before, had +come to Montreal as a kind of ambassador, but whose tone had been more +insolent than conciliatory. The returned warriors were to invite their +people "to come and welcome their father whom they had so long missed, +and thank him for his goodness to them in restoring a chief whom they +had given up as lost,"[37] namely Orehaoue. The latter did not accompany +the mission, Frontenac considering that he would be more useful for the +present at Montreal. It does not appear exactly when the envoys set out, +but, after some delay, consequent upon prolonged deliberation on the +part of the tribes, they returned to Montreal on the 9th March. It was +evident the mission had not been a great success. The messengers came +laden with belts of wampum, each of which had its own special +significance, yet for several days they kept silence. Finally at the +urgent request of M. de Callieres--Frontenac had gone back to +Quebec--they disburdened themselves of the messages with which they were +charged. Belt number one was to explain that delay had been caused by +the arrival of an Ottawa delegation among the Senecas with overtures of +peace, as a pledge of which they had brought with them a number of +Iroquois prisoners whom they were prepared to restore. The second belt +was meant to express the joy of the whole Iroquois confederacy over the +return of Orehaoue, whom they spoke of as their general-in-chief. The +third demanded the return of Orehaoue and the other prisoners; and +mentioned the fact that all the surviving French prisoners were at the +chief town of the Onondagas, and that no disposition would be made of +them till they should hear the advice of Orehaoue on his return home. +The fourth congratulated Frontenac on his wish to plant again the tree +of peace; but the fifth was the most expressive of all. Referring to the +desire of Frontenac to bring them again to his fort, it said: "Know you +not that the fire of peace no longer burns in that fort; that it is +extinguished by the blood that has been spilt there; the place where the +council is held is all red; it has been desecrated by the treachery +perpetrated there." Fort Frontenac, it went on to say, was henceforth an +impossible place for peaceful gatherings: if the tree of peace was again +to be planted it must be in some other spot, nearer or more distant they +did not care--only not _there_. Then these words were added: "In fine, +Father Onontio, you have whipped your children most severely; your rods +were too cutting and too long; and after having used me thus you can +readily judge that I have some sense now." The sixth belt mentioned that +there were parties now out on the war-path, but that they were prepared +to spare their prisoners should they take any, if the French would agree +to do the same on their side. There was no lack of frankness in the +further information conveyed by this belt, which was to the effect that +the Onondagas had received eight prisoners as their share of the +prisoners taken at La Chesnaye, and had eaten four of them, and spared +the other four. This was intended to show their superiority in humanity +to the French, who, having taken three Seneca prisoners, had eaten them +all, that is to say, allowed their Indian allies to kill and eat them, +instead of sparing one or two. To what incident this refers is not +clear, as Denonville did not report any prisoners taken in his fight +with the Senecas. + +Callieres sent the deputation down to Quebec to see the +governor-general; but the latter, according to the account here +followed, which was written by his own secretary, Monseignat, declined +to give them an audience, mainly on account of the objection he had to +their spokesman, Gagniogoton. Doubtless Callieres had informed him +sufficiently of the tenor of the communications they had to make. The +governor had much on his mind, but he was not a man to act in nervous +haste. Towards the close of the month of December, a man named Zachary +Jolliet arrived at Quebec from Michilimackinac, having been despatched +by La Durantaye to represent the perilous nature of the situation there +owing to the very unsatisfactory dispositions of the Lake tribes. The +massacre of Lachine with all its attendant circumstances had convinced +them that French power was at a very low ebb. As the narrative says: +"They saw nothing on our part but universal supineness; our houses +burnt; our people carried off; the finest portion of our country ruined; +and all done without any one being moved; or, at least, if any attempts +were made, the trifling effort recoiled to our shame." Yet what the +French, individually, were capable of may be judged by the fact that +this messenger, with only one companion, had come all the way from +Michilimackinac at a most inclement season of the year, partly in a +canoe and partly on the ice, reaching Quebec at the very end of +December. Surely some benumbing influence must have been at work upon +the colony. Was it the extreme mediaevalism of the Denonville regime +aided by an excessive use of intoxicating liquors? These at least were +_verae causae_, and might well have had no small share in creating the +situation described. + +Something had to be done, and that speedily, to strengthen La +Durantaye's position, or the French of the Upper Lakes would virtually +find themselves hostages in the hands of disaffected tribes; if indeed +their lives were not sacrificed to cement the union which the Ottawas +were even then endeavouring to effect with the Iroquois. Frontenac +wanted to send Zachary Jolliet back at once with instructions; but it +was learnt that the route was infested by Iroquois; very unwillingly, +therefore, he deferred action till the breaking of the ice in the +spring. He then despatched M. de Louvigny, with a hundred and +forty-three Canadians and a small number of Indians, to strengthen the +garrison and relieve La Durantaye. With this contingent went a man well +known to all the region, and probably second to none in his ability to +influence the native mind, Nicolas Perrot. The count did not, however, +entrust Perrot with any merely verbal message, but placed in his hands a +written one, conceived in the style of which he had acquired so great a +mastery. "Children," said Onontio, "I am astonished to learn on arriving +that you have forgotten the protection I always afforded you. Remember +that I am your father, who adopted you, and who has loved you so +tenderly. I gave you your country; I drove the horrors of war far from +it, and introduced peace there. You had no home before that. You were +wandering about exposed to the Iroquois tempests. Hark, I speak to you +as a father. My body is big; it is strong and cannot die. Think you I am +going to remain in a state of inactivity such as prevailed during my +absence; and, if eight or ten hairs have been pulled from my children's +heads when I was absent, that I cannot put ten handfuls of hair in the +place of one that has been torn out? or that, for one piece of bark that +has been stripped from my cabin, I cannot put double the number in its +place? Children, know that I always am, that nothing but the Great +Spirit can destroy me, and that it is I who destroy all." The message +went on to refer to the Iroquois as a ravenous dog who formerly was +snapping and biting at every one, but whom Frontenac had tamed and tied +up, and whom he would discipline again if he did not mend his ways. The +blood shed at Montreal last summer, it said, was of no account; the +houses destroyed were only two or three rat holes. The English were not +people to have confidence in; they deceived and devoured their children. +"I am strong enough to kill the English, destroy the Iroquois, and whip +you if you fail in your duty to me." Finally there was a warning against +the use of English rum, which was killing in its effects, whereas French +brandy was health-giving. + +What the effect of this allocution would have been, unsupported by +favouring circumstances, it is difficult to say. The Indian tribes all +had a remarkable gift of perspicacity. They had no need of Dr. Johnson's +advice to clear their minds of cant, for cant was something quite +foreign to their mental habits; it was not a product of forest life. It +happened, however, that Perrot was able to show them a number of +Iroquois scalps, and hand over to them an Iroquois prisoner that his +party had taken on their journey up the Ottawa. This looked like +business, and lent a weight which might otherwise have been lacking to +the somewhat fustian eloquence of Onontio. The affair of the capture had +happened in this wise. As the expedition neared the place now known as +Sand Point, on the river Ottawa, they discovered two Iroquois canoes +drawn up at the end of the point. Three canoes were detached to attack +the enemy, but were received with a heavy fire from an ambush on the +shore, by which four Frenchmen were killed. Perrot, who thought it much +more important to accomplish his mission among the Ottawas than to have +even a successful fight with the Iroquois, did not at first wish to push +the matter further; but his men were full of fight, and he finally +allowed a general attack to be made, which resulted most successfully. +More than thirty Iroquois, the narrative says, were killed, and many +more were wounded. Out of thirteen canoes only four escaped. Two +prisoners were taken. One of these was sent to Quebec and was used by +Frontenac to help out his negotiations with their nation; the other was +taken to Michilimackinac. His fate was not a pleasant one. Perrot gave +him to the Hurons, and by so doing made the Ottawas a little jealous. +Both Ottawas and Hurons were at the time meditating an alliance with the +Iroquois, and the Hurons thought they could make good use of their +prisoner as a peace-offering. The French, however, were not going to +have any nonsense of that kind. The commanders conferred with the +missionaries, and finally a hint was dropped to the Hurons that, if they +did not put their prisoner "into the kettle," he would be taken from +them and given to the Ottawas. That settled the question; the unhappy +prisoner was put to death with the customary tortures, and all chance of +peace between Hurons and Iroquois was thus destroyed. What the Ottawas +might do still remained uncertain. Frontenac's message had by no means +wholly won them over to the French alliance. They had heard of the +warfare Onontio was waging against the English, and thought they would +await developments. + +That war had been going merrily on in its own fashion, and Perrot was +able to give an account of the success of the principal expedition--the +one directed against Albany--for it had returned to Montreal after doing +its bloody work nearly two months before he left for the Upper +Lakes.[38] The story of the three war parties must now be woven into our +narrative. The one just mentioned started from Montreal on one of the +first days in February (1690). The Indians of the party had not been +informed what their destination was. When they learned that the +intention was to attack Albany, they inquired with surprise how long it +was since the French had become so bold. Like the Indians of the West, +they had drawn their own conclusions from the events of the previous +year. They were not disposed to join in so hazardous an undertaking; and +it is allowable, perhaps, to doubt whether it was at any time seriously +contemplated to make Albany the point of attack. If it was, the leaders +changed their minds, for on coming to a point where the roads to that +place and to Corlaer or Schenectady diverged, they took the latter. The +difficulties of the march were extreme. Though it was yet midwinter, +more or less thaw prevailed, and during much of the journey the men had +to walk knee-deep in water. Then on the last day or two came a blast of +excessive cold. A few miles from Corlaer the expedition was halted, and +the chief man of the Christian Mohawks harangued his people. The +opportunity had now come, he said, for taking ample revenge for all the +injuries they had received from the heathen Iroquois at the instigation +of the English, and to wash them out in blood. This Indian known as the +Great Mohawk, or in French as the _Grand Agnie_, is described in the +official narrative as "the most considerable of his tribe, an honest +man, full of spirit, prudence, and generosity, and capable of the +greatest undertakings." The little army was in wretched plight, and +probably, had they been attacked at this point by even a small force of +men in good condition, they would have been completely routed. No such +attack, however, was made. Marching a little further, they found a +wigwam occupied only by four squaws. There was a fire in it, and, +benumbed with cold, they crowded round it in turns. At eleven o'clock at +night they were in sight of the town, but in order that they might take +the inhabitants in their deepest sleep, they deferred the attack for +three hours; then they burst in through an open gate in the palisade. +The official account says, in very simple words, that "the massacre +lasted two hours." This, be it remembered, was supposed to be regular +warfare, not between savage Indians, or between French and Indians, but +between French and English. War, as already stated, had been declared +between France and England, and this was Frontenac's method of carrying +on his part of it. When New England retaliated later in the year by the +attack on Quebec, we can hardly wonder that some of the inhabitants of +that city anticipated a general massacre should the English obtain +possession of the town. The special enormities alleged to have been +committed by the heathen Iroquois in the massacre at Lachine are, by +witnesses who made their statements within a few days after the event, +affirmed to have been perpetrated by the Christian Indians at +Schenectady. Sixty persons in all were killed, thirty-eight being men +and boys, ten women, and twelve children of tender age.[39] Many were +wounded, thirty were carried away captive. The chief magistrate of the +place, John Sanders Glen by name, lived outside the town in a palisaded +and fortified dwelling, which he was prepared to defend. He was known, +however, to the French commanders as a man who had always been +favourable to their people, having on several occasions rescued French +prisoners from the Mohawks, over whom he had great influence. On being +assured that his life and property would be spared, he surrendered. It +was also agreed to extend the same immunity to any of his relatives who +might have survived the massacre; and the number of persons claiming the +privilege was so great as to cause the Indians to express some surprise +and ill-humour at the wide range of his family connection. + +The homeward march was begun a day or two later. It was by no means a +prosperous one. Early in the attack a man on horseback had escaped +through the eastern gate of the town, and, though shot at and wounded, +was able to make his way to Albany and give the alarm. Thence word was +sent on to the Mohawk towns, and the warriors, accompanied by a +detachment of fifty young men from Albany, started on the track of the +retreating foe. Two only on the French side had been killed in the +attack on Schenectady, but before the party reached Montreal, their +losses amounted to twenty-one, seventeen French, and four Indians. The +opinion of the Mohawk Indians on the character of the expedition was +expressed in a message of sympathy which they sent to the authorities at +Albany. "The French," they said, "did not act on this occasion like +brave men, but like thieves and robbers. Be not discouraged, we give +this belt to wipe away your tears. We do not think what the French have +done can be called a victory. It is only a further proof of their cruel +deceit."[40] + +The expedition organized at Three Rivers left that place on the 28th +January; but it was not till after two months' wanderings in the +inhospitable wilderness that they were able to strike their first blow. +The New England frontier had for a year past been in a very disturbed +and precarious condition owing to a renewed outbreak of hostilities on +the part of the Abenaquis Indians. A long period of previous warfare +with these tribes had been closed by the Treaty of Casco in 1678, but +now the frontier was again aflame. The English settlers attributed the +trouble to the machinations of the French with whom the Abenaquis were +in close alliance; and certain it is that the Marquis of Denonville, in +a memorandum written after his return to France, takes credit to himself +for the mischief done. He speaks of the progress made in christianizing +the Abenaquis, and of the establishment near Quebec of two colonies of +them which he thought would prove useful. He then proceeds: "To the +close relations which I maintained with these savages through the +Jesuits, and particularly the two brothers Bigot, may be attributed the +success of the attacks which they made upon the English last summer when +they captured sixteen forts besides that of Pemaquid, where there were +twenty cannon, and killed two hundred men."[41] The ex-governor +exaggerates the number of cannon in the fort at Pemaquid, as there were +only seven or eight, and omits to mention the fact that, after that +place had surrendered on the promise that the lives of all in it should +be spared, a number were murdered by his Indians. That they were not +also tortured, Father Thury, who was with the attacking party, +attributes to the influence of his exhortations. M. Lorin, in giving an +account of the occurrence, says there is no doubt that the Abenaquis +were impelled by their missionary, the Abbe Thury. He quotes the +statement of Charlevoix that, before setting out, their first care had +been to make sure of the divine assistance, by partaking of the +sacrament. "Certainly," he says, "the part taken by the missionaries in +expeditions of this character, was a preponderating one." He also +ventures the theory that, as the heathen Iroquois never penetrated into +New England, the only enemies of the faith upon whom the missionaries +could exercise the zeal of their Abenaquis converts were the +English.[42] + +The fighting along the frontier lasted all through the summer and autumn +of 1689. The winter brought respite from attack, and the settlers were +beginning to indulge a sense of security when Hertel and his fifty men +crept up to the little settlement of Salmon Falls, on the borders of +New Hampshire and Maine. The attack was made in very similar fashion to +that at Schenectady. The assailants burst in at night and at once began +to apply tomahawk and torch. Thirty persons, men, women, and children +indiscriminately, were slaughtered, and fifty-four were made prisoners. +Hearing that a force of English from Piscataqua, now Portsmouth, was +hastening to the scene, Hertel ordered a retreat. At Wooster River the +pursuers caught up with him, but, taking up an advantageous position on +the far side of that stream, he held them in check, killing several as +they tried to cross the narrow bridge. At night he resumed his retreat. +Some of the prisoners were given to his Indians to torture and kill. It +was unfortunate that Father Thury was not present to inspire milder +sentiments in these converts. + +Hertel was a born fighter, and when, upon reaching one of the Abenaquis +villages on the Kennebec, he learnt that the Quebec party under M. de +Portneuf had just passed south, he determined to follow them with +thirty-six of his men, though he was obliged to leave behind him his +eldest son who had been badly wounded in the fight at Wooster River. A +number of Indian warriors joined the party at a point on the Kennebec; +and on the 25th May, the united force, numbering between four and five +hundred men, encamped in the forest not far from the English forts on +Casco Bay. The principal of these was Fort Loyal, a palisaded place +mounting eight cannon. The others were simple blockhouses. The several +garrisons consisted of about one hundred men under the command of +Captain Sylvanus Davis, whose narrative in the original--and most +original--spelling has come down to us. The garrison first knew that an +enemy was at hand by hearing the war-whoop of the Indians, who had just +scalped an unfortunate Scotsman found wandering about in the +neighbourhood, all unconscious of danger. Thirty volunteers at once +sallied forth from the fort to meet the foe. They had not gone far when +they received a volley at close range which killed half of them. Of the +remaining half only four reached the fort, all wounded. During the night +the men in the blockhouses crept into the fort, together with the +inhabitants of some neighbouring houses. The place could not be carried +by assault, so Portneuf determined to besiege it in due form by opening +trenches and working his way in. The work was well and rapidly done, and +Davis saw that surrender was inevitable. He inquired if there were any +French in the attacking force, and, if so, whether they would give +quarter. The answer was affirmative on both points. Davis inquired +whether the quarter would include men, women, and children, wounded and +unwounded, and whether they would all be allowed to retire to the +nearest English town. This was agreed to and sworn to; but, no sooner +had the occupants of the fort filed out, than the Indians fell upon +them, killed a number, and made prisoners of the rest. Davis protested, +but he was told that he and his people were rebels against their lawful +king, and therefore without any claim to consideration. The captives, +Davis among them, were carried off to Quebec, where they arrived about +the middle of June. The fort was burned, the guns were spiked, the +neighbouring settlements destroyed, and the dead left unburied. + +Thus had Frontenac's expeditions fared. They had spread grief and alarm +amongst the English settlements, but had inflicted no serious blow on +English power. They had shown how expert the colonial French had become +in the methods of Indian warfare, and also to how large an extent they +had themselves inbibed the Indian spirit. We may doubt whether Frontenac +philosophized much on the subject; his immediate object was to produce +an effect on the minds of his wavering Indian allies and his sullen +Indian enemies; and the raids into English territory, with the +slaughterings and burnings, were doubtless well adapted to that purpose. +If Onontio was strong enough and bold enough to make war in this fashion +on Corlaer and Kishon[43] at once, there was something for allies, and +enemies as well, to reflect on. This view of the matter finally +prevailed with the Lake tribes. For some two or three years trade had +been almost at a standstill, and furs had accumulated which the savages +were now anxious to turn into European goods. With one accord they +determined to try the Montreal market once more, and see Onontio face to +face. + +During the winter, while his guerrilla forces were in the field, +Frontenac had not been idle. Having arranged for offensive measures, he +next took thought for defensive ones; and, as if with a prevision that +Quebec itself might not be exempt from attack, he devoted special +attention to strengthening the fortifications of that place. He caused a +vast amount of timber to be cut for palisades, with which he protected +the city at the rear, its only weak point. In the spring he began the +erection of a strong stone redoubt; and the work was pushed with so much +vigour that by midsummer it was well advanced towards completion. These +pressing occupations did not, however, absorb all his thoughts. The fact +of his having been chosen a second time by the king for the governorship +of Canada, notwithstanding all the criticism of which he had formerly +been the object, gave him a position of manifest strength, which even +his bitterest opponents of former days could not ignore. The Sovereign +Council as a whole recognized the fact, and was anxious to arrange +matters so as, if possible, to avoid friction for the future. + +The governor on his part was determined to preserve an attitude of +dignified, not to say haughty, reserve, and throw upon the council the +task of making such advances as might be necessary. In pursuance of this +policy, he refrained from attending the meetings, though his presence +was much required. The council having deputed Auteuil, the +attorney-general, to wait upon him and invite his attendance, he replied +that the council should be able to manage its own business and that he +would come when he thought the king's service required it. It is hard to +understand why Auteuil should have been chosen for this negotiation; for +Frontenac must have had a vivid recollection of the insolence with which +he had been treated during his first administration by this individual, +then a raw youth of not much over twenty. The next move of the council +was to send four of their number to repeat the invitation, and to ask +the governor at the same time with what ceremonies he would wish to be +received. His answer was that if they would propose the form he would +tell them whether it was satisfactory. The council felt that the +governor was pushing his advantage a little too far; but nevertheless +they applied themselves to the question, and, having devised a form +which they thought could not fail to be acceptable, sent Villeray, the +first councillor, to the chateau to explain what was proposed. Villeray +was as deferential and complimentary as he knew how; but the end was not +yet. "See the bishop, and any other parties who have knowledge of such +matters, and get their opinion," said the governor. The bishop was +consulted accordingly, but very properly declined to give any opinion. +Thrown back on their own resources the councillors devised the following +scheme: that, when his Lordship, the count, should decide to make his +first visit to the council, four of its members should present +themselves at the chateau in order to accompany him to the place of +meeting, which was the intendant's palace on the bank of the St. +Charles; and that, on all subsequent occasions, he should be met by two +councillors at the head of the stairs and respectfully conducted to his +seat. This was duly explained by the first councillor, Villeray, who +said he was authorized to add that any modification of the plan which +the governor might suggest would be gladly adopted by the council. This +was submission indeed, yet still the count hesitated. He asked to see +the minutes of the council in which the resolution bearing on the matter +was recorded. Villeray struggled up Palace Hill with the official +register, and presented himself again before the potentate, who found +the entry in good shape, but reserved his final answer. A few days +later, having been again waited on, he graciously informed the +deputation that the arrangement proposed was quite satisfactory. With +what must really be called a fatuous self-complacency, he added that, +had the council wished to go too far in the way of obsequiousness, he +could not have consented to it, as, being himself its head, he was +jealous of its dignity and honour. If for some men there is, as the poet +hints, "a far-off touch of greatness" in knowing they are not great, it +is to be feared Frontenac did not possess that particular touch. + +Not only were the fortifications of Quebec strengthened, but steps were +also taken to form a local militia guard under the command of the +town-major, Prevost. Leaving to that officer the supervision of whatever +work was still required on the defences, Frontenac, accompanied by the +intendant and Madame Champigny, left the capital on the 22nd July for +Montreal, where his presence was much required. He probably did some +inspection of posts on the way, for he did not reach the end of his +journey till the 31st. Trade at this time was pretty much at a +standstill. Bands of mission Indians were on the war-path against the +English; and every now and again the Iroquois would swoop down on the +settlements, notwithstanding the fact that scouts were kept continually +employed along the routes by which they were accustomed to make their +approaches. Under the new administration the lesson of Lachine, the +lesson of eternal watchfulness, was being taken to heart. The governor +had much to occupy his thoughts. At Montreal, as at Quebec, he was +anxious to perfect the organization of the military forces, and to place +the city, from every point of view, in the best possible condition of +defence. He had not as yet received news as to how Louvigny and Perrot +had succeeded among the Lake tribes; yet upon the success of their +mission hung the most momentous issues. Was Canada to secure allies in +the West who would hold at least in partial check the Iroquois power, or +were Hurons, Ottawas, Iroquois, and English to combine their forces for +her destruction? Meantime bad news had come from Acadia. Port Royal and +other fortified posts had been captured; the English were in possession +of the entire country; the governor had been carried captive to Boston. +It was known that the English of Albany and New York were moving: what +the next news would be, who could tell? + +On the 18th August news came. In hot haste the officer in command at +Lachine had despatched a messenger to say that Lake St. Louis to the +west was covered with Iroquois canoes bearing down on the island. The +terror of the inhabitants, in spite of the presence of the governor +amongst them, was extreme. Orders were given to fire alarm guns to warn +the inhabitants of the surrounding country; and other measures of +protection were being hastily concerted, when a second messenger arrived +to say that it was all a mistake. It was not the dreaded Iroquois who +were close at hand, but a large body of Lake Indians who were coming to +trade. Fear was at once turned into joy. The envoys sent to the upper +country in May had been successful; a great danger had been averted. +Perrot with his scalps and Frontenac with his vigorous and aggressive, +if somewhat primitive and ruthless, war policy had turned the scale in +favour of Canada. Firm alliances would now be made, and there would be a +big market at Montreal. + +The next day the canoes, laden with the accumulated furs of the last two +or three years, shot the Lachine Rapids and landed at Montreal. There +were about five hundred Indians in all, Hurons, Ottawas, Crees, +Ojibways, and various other tribes, all bent on buying, selling, and +negotiating. It was not the habit, however, of these savages to enter +precipitately on any kind of business; and three days were allowed to +elapse before they opened their great council at which, tribe by tribe, +they were to lay their views before the governor. The first to speak +were the Ottawas, and their talk was almost exclusively of trade. Their +instinct for business was keen, and had it been possible they would +probably have steered clear of politics. They had had some experience of +the low prices of English goods, and were very insistent that the French +should deal with them on equally favourable terms. The spokesman of the +Hurons, a much weaker tribe numerically, was not so narrowly commercial +in his views. He said he had come down to see his father, to listen to +his voice, and to do his will. He presented three belts. By the first he +prayed that the war might be prosecuted against the Iroquois as well as +against the English. If not, he feared he and his father would both +die. The second thanked the count for his former services to their +nation. The third prayed him to take pity on the Ottawas, and give them +good bargains. Such a manifestation of interest in the Ottawas was very +touching; but probably the Huron orator, whose people had a certain +reputation for subtlety, calculated that, if a lower tariff were made +for the Ottawas, all would get the benefit of it. On the twenty-fifth of +the month, the count entertained them all at a great feast. Two oxen and +six large dogs furnished the meat, which was cooked with prunes. Two +barrels of wine were provided to wash this down, and liberal rations of +tobacco were served out to every man. Before the feasting began, the +count stood up to address his guests. He assured them that he meant to +prosecute the war with the Iroquois until he had brought it to a +successful issue, and forced them to sue for peace. Then, when peace was +made, it should be a general peace: all should be included in it, and +the Iroquois themselves would again be his children. Meantime, however, +they were preparing to invade the country; and the question was whether +to await their arrival or go to meet them. Then ensued a remarkable +performance, which might well have employed a livelier pen than that of +Monseignat who gives us the account of it. Seizing a hatchet, the aged +governor, war-worn but yet fiery and vigorous, began to sing the war +song, walking to and fro in the most excited manner, and brandishing +the hatchet over his head in true Indian fashion. The effect was +electric. The old Onontio was surpassing himself. Here was a leader +whose very presence banished fear. When he had sufficiently excited +their admiration, and stimulated their warlike ardour, he handed the +hatchet to the different chiefs in turn, and to a number of Frenchmen, +who all imitated Onontio's example, vowing vengeance on the foe. Then +began the feast, a function to which it is needless to say the savage +guests brought ravenous appetites. In diplomacy dinners have been known +to work wonders; and Frontenac was seeking the hearts of his guests +through a well-recognized channel. + +We have seen that the mission sent by the governor to the Iroquois +towards the close of the previous year, and which returned in the +following month of March, had not accomplished any satisfactory result. +The count waited till navigation was open before resuming negotiations. +He then determined to restore to their nation the four returned Iroquois +who had formed his first embassy, and to make them the bearers of belts +which he hoped would speak strongly in favour of peace. With these +Indians he sent a French gentleman, the Chevalier d'Eau. He tendered the +mission in the first place to the gay and dashing Baron La Hontan; but +that young man, who was well versed in the classics, was afraid of the +Iroquois even when carrying gifts to them; and, with marked discretion, +declined the honour. The Chevalier d'Eau had no reason to congratulate +himself on having accepted it. He made his appearance amongst the +Iroquois at a most unfavourable moment. The affair at Schenectady was +fresh in their recollection; and though their own people had, through +motives of policy, been spared on that occasion, they were under a +strong pledge to the English to assist in revenging the slaughter. A +couple of Frenchmen who accompanied the chevalier were burnt; he himself +was soundly thrashed and handed over as a prisoner to the English; the +messages of the belts were disregarded. No news of the fate of the envoy +had reached Frontenac up to the time of the gathering of the western +Indians at Montreal; but after their departure the facts concerning them +were obtained from some Iroquois prisoners at Fort Frontenac. The one +great gain of the year had been the winning over of the Lake tribes, a +result which at once assured the safety of the French traders and +missionaries in the West, and prevented that isolation of the colony +which would have followed had an alliance been struck between those +tribes and the Iroquois. + +[Footnote 33: _Frontenac et ses Amis_, p. 93.] + +[Footnote 34: _Comte de Frontenac_, p. 358.] + +[Footnote 35: Far from yielding to Frontenac's view of the matter, +Denonville doggedly adhered to his own opinion that the fort ought to be +entirely abandoned; and, when it was found that it had only been partly +destroyed, he wrote to the king advising that Frontenac should be +ordered to send up three hundred men with instructions to demolish it +utterly.] + +[Footnote 36: Parkman tells the story in his usual brilliant manner in +chapter iii. of his _Old Regime in Canada_. Pere Charlevoix gives the +facts and adds: "Je l'ai vu en 1721, age de quatre-vingt ans, plein de +forces et de sante; toute la colonie rendant hommage a sa vertu et a son +merite," vol. ii. p. 111, edition of 1744.] + +[Footnote 37: _New York Colonial Documents_, p. 464.] + +[Footnote 38: Perrot and his party, according to Monseignat's narrative, +left the end of the Island of Montreal on the 22nd May. The Albany--or +more correctly Schenectady party, for they did not venture to attack +Albany--returned towards the end of March. Frontenac's message must have +been composed some months before Perrot's departure, otherwise he would +undoubtedly have mentioned with pride the Schenectady massacre. It was +certainly not up to date.] + +[Footnote 39: "There was little resistance," says Pere Chretien +Leclercq, a contemporary writer, "except at one house, where Sieur de +Marque Montigny was wounded; but Sieur de Ste. Helene, having come up, +all were slaughtered with sword or tomahawk, the Indians sparing no +one."--_Premier Etablissement de la Foi._] + +[Footnote 40: _Documentary History of New York_, vol. ii. pp. 164-9.] + +[Footnote 41: _New York Colonial Documents_, vol. ix. p. 440. See also +Lorin, _Comte de Frontenac_, chap. x.] + +[Footnote 42: _Comte de Frontenac_, p. 367.] + +[Footnote 43: Names given by the Indians to the governors of New York +and Massachusetts; Corlaer being a corruption of Cuyler, a Dutchman of +the early period held in high honour by them, and Kishon signifying "The +Fish."] + + + + + CHAPTER X + + FRONTENAC DEFENDER OF CANADA + + +In planning his attacks on the English colonies it does not appear that +Frontenac took specially into account the political disorganization +existing amongst them at the time, or built his hopes of success to any +extent on that circumstance. It is nevertheless true that, if his object +had been to strike at a moment of unpreparedness and weakness, he could +not have timed his operations better. The rule of James II and his +agents had been borne with no little reluctance by his subjects in North +America, and particularly by those of New England, and when news came of +his expulsion from the throne, his flight from England, and the arrival +and coronation of the Prince of Orange and his wife (daughter of James +II) as king and queen, there was at once a popular movement both at +Boston and at New York to seize the government, and hold it subject to +the orders of the new sovereigns. Sir Edmund Andros was governor of New +England at the time, with authority over the province of New York, +Boston being the chief seat of government, and the governor being +represented at New York by a lieutenant-governor, one Francis Nicholson. +Andros had been appointed governor of New York, by James, then Duke of +York, to whom the province had been patented in 1674, and had held the +office till 1681, when he was replaced by Colonel Dongan of epistolary +fame. His recall was consequent upon complaints that had been made by +the colonists of various arbitrary acts on his part; but on his arrival +in England he managed to defend himself successfully, and in 1686, James +being now on the throne, he was sent out again with the larger +jurisdiction we have mentioned. + +Religious passions in those days ran high; and Andros, who was a strong +churchman, soon found himself on worse terms with the puritanical +population of Boston than he had been with the more heterogeneous and +less rigid inhabitants of New York. The circumstances of the time, it +must be confessed, were such as to excuse a somewhat sensitive condition +of public feeling. Two years before the arrival of Andros, the Court of +Chancery of England had declared null and void the charter granted to +the colony of Massachusetts in the year 1629, which, from that date +onwards, had been the basis, not only of all government, but of all land +grants, transfers of property, and popular liberties generally. A +provisional government, under one Joseph Dudley had succeeded. Then had +come Andros, commissioned by a king who was far from commanding the +unlimited confidence of his subjects at home, and who was looked upon +with at least equal distrust by the ultra-Protestants of his American +dominions. How long they were going to be deprived of legally guaranteed +liberties there was no knowing, nor what the intentions of James II +might be in regard to their beloved commonwealth. They did not think it +impossible he might wish to hand them over to his close ally the King of +France; and in Andros they feared they saw only too meet an instrument +for stratagems and spoils. The instructions given to him as governor +contained a special injunction to favour by all means in his power the +rites and doctrines of the Church of England; and the colonists, with +the exception of a small minority, were maddened to see public taxes +applied to this hateful object. As the Indians were giving trouble, the +governor made a campaign against them in the summer of 1688, which was +not very successful; hence more odium gathered on his head. Having +failed in his measures of offence he thought he would at least provide +for defence, and garrisoned the forts on the frontier with six hundred +men, chiefly militia. More discontent: the garrisons served unwillingly, +and the people at home professed to believe that such measures were +unnecessary. A small detachment of soldiers had come out with Andros. +Their conduct, according to contemporary accounts, was most unedifying +and in shocking contrast to the unrelenting rigour and formality of +colonial piety. It is not surprising therefore that, when, in April +1689, news was brought that James II, whose commission Andros bore, was +no longer king, but that the leader of European Protestantism reigned in +his stead, there should have been an instant uprising of the populace +against his representative. Andros was seized and imprisoned with fifty +of his followers. "For seven weeks," says a contemporary writer, "there +was not so much as the face of any government." A vessel having arrived +towards the end of May with instructions to proclaim William and Mary, +certain of the members of the former General Council assumed to act, and +one of their number, the aged Simon Bradstreet, was named as governor. + +It did not take long for the news to travel from Boston to New York. The +condition of things there was different; public opinion was not in the +same state of exasperation as at Boston; still Andros was of old +unpopular, and after a little hesitation, a movement was organized, +headed by one Jacob Leisler, to take the government out of the hands of +the lieutenant-governor, Nicholson. Like his superior officer at Boston, +the latter was obliged to submit; and Leisler, most unhappily for +himself and his family, assumed, with the support of a committee of +citizens, the control of affairs. Thus, both in New England and in New +York, there supervened a period of divided councils and enfeebled +administration, and this at the precise moment when the colonies were +about to encounter new perils. The provisional government of New +England, in blind opposition to the policy of Sir Edmund Andros, +withdrew or greatly reduced the garrisons he had wisely established +along the frontier. If Leisler could have got his authority recognized +at Albany he would have sent forces for the defence of the northern part +of the province. There was a party there in his favour; but the +magistrates, though quite ready to pay allegiance to William and Mary, +thought Leisler's credentials of too dubious a character to justify +their negotiating with him. Between divided responsibility and +irresponsibility, the difference is not great. News had been received +that the French were meditating mischief, but no proper precautionary +measures were taken. To this condition of unpreparedness the horrible +disaster of Schenectady may be distinctly attributed, and probably those +at Salmon Falls and Casco Bay as well. + +Even after the mischief was done, it was extremely difficult to secure +any harmonious or well-directed action. A strong appeal was sent by the +magistrates of Albany to the governor and council of Massachusetts, +representing their own deplorable condition of weakness, and asking that +New England should undertake the serious enterprise of invading Canada +by water. That was a matter for grave consideration, and one, the +authorities of Massachusetts thought, in which, if they attempted it at +all, they should have the assistance of the Mother Country. They +despatched a vessel in April to England with a request for help; but +meantime, spurred by their own wrongs and sufferings, they determined to +take an easier revenge on the French by invading Acadia. Early in the +month of May 1690 the different New England colonies sent delegates to a +congress held at New York for the purpose of deciding on a military +policy. The conclusion come to was that there should be both a land and +a sea expedition, the first directed against Montreal, the second +against Quebec. To the former New York was to contribute four hundred +men and the New England colonies jointly three hundred and fifty-five. +The Iroquois, it was expected, would add a powerful contingent. The +naval expedition, it was proposed, should be provided entirely by the +New England colonies. The Massachusetts delegates hesitated to commit +themselves to so extensive and costly a scheme, but finally agreed to +undertake it, relying on assistance from the Mother Country, which, in +existing circumstances, they hardly thought could be refused. Meantime +the expedition against Acadia could be pushed forward. + +French Acadia had at all times been much exposed to attacks from the +English colonies. The settlers were few in number--at this time not much +over a thousand all told--and their defences were but feeble. In 1654, +in accordance with secret orders sent by Cromwell, the territory had +been seized by an English force from Boston under the command of Major +Robert Sedgwick and Captain John Leverett. Two years later it was made a +province, Sir Thomas Temple being appointed governor. After remaining in +the possession of the English for a period of thirteen years, it was +ceded back to France by the Treaty of Breda in 1667. Five years later +Frontenac arrived in Canada for the first time, and in the following +year, 1673, M. de Chambly, a very capable soldier, whose services had +been highly appreciated by the previous governor, M. de Courcelles, was +sent to command in Acadia, and established himself at Pentagouet, a +fortified post at the mouth of the river Penobscot. This was the extreme +western limit of his jurisdiction even according to the French view of +the matter. The New Englanders held that the true limit was the river +St. Croix, the present boundary between the province of New Brunswick +and the state of Maine. To the east Acadia embraced, by common consent, +the southern part of what is now New Brunswick and all Nova Scotia west +of the Straits of Canso. + +M. de Chambly had not been more than a year in his new government when +an attack was made on Pentagouet by a Flemish corsair conducted by a +Boston pilot or ship captain. After a brief defence he was obliged to +surrender, his force being very inferior, and he himself having been +wounded. The attacking party then proceeded to the only other Acadian +fort, Jemseg, on the river St. John, and captured it. M. de Chambly was +taken as a prisoner to Boston, but was soon set at liberty and permitted +to return to France. The attack gave rise to a strong protest on the +part of Frontenac, and was wholly disavowed by the Massachusetts +authorities. In the year 1676, M. de Chambly was sent out again from +France with a royal commission as lieutenant-governor. He did not +attempt to establish himself at Pentagouet, but for a time made his +headquarters at Jemseg, and not long afterwards removed to Port Royal, +now Annapolis, on the northern coast of Nova Scotia, which thus became +the capital of Acadia. Here he remained till about the year 1679 or +1680, when he was transferred to the governorship of Grenada in the West +Indies. + +It was not till the autumn of 1684 that a duly appointed successor was +provided in the person of M. Francois Perrot, who had finally been +dismissed from the governorship of Montreal. In the interval there had +been one or two descents on the Acadian coast, calling forth further +protests on Frontenac's part, and further disclaimers of responsibility +on that of the constituted authorities of New England. To fish in French +waters or to trade with the inhabitants was considered an infraction of +international law; and yet there is clear evidence that the French +settlers rather longed than otherwise for the flesh-pots of Boston in +the shape of English goods and English money, very much after the manner +of the Iroquois and the Indian tribes of the West. When Perrot came to +Port Royal he was pleased to find that the conditions there were nearly +as favourable as at Montreal for the trading in which his soul +delighted. The chief difference was the substitution of Boston for New +York as his commercial centre. In the fall of the year 1685, a few weeks +after the arrival of the Marquis of Denonville, Meulles, the intendant, +accompanied by a member of the Sovereign Council, Peyras, paid a visit +of inspection to the country, remaining till the following summer. A +carefully-made census showed that the total population amounted at that +time to 885 souls, mustering 222 guns. Of cultivated land there were 896 +acres. Horned cattle numbered 986, sheep 759, and pigs 608. Just as +Meulles was leaving the country, the bishop designate, Saint Vallier, +arrived on a pastoral visit. The account he gives of the people in his +_Etat present de l'Eglise_ is most laudatory, and strangely at variance +with a report made by Duchesneau, the intendant, a few years earlier. In +1681 that officer had written that the poverty of the people was not the +most serious evil; "their discords are a much greater one. Among them +there is neither order nor police; and those who are sent hence to +command them pillage them." The future bishop, in 1689, saw things very +differently. Although, he said, they had been deprived of spiritual +instruction for many years, they did not seem to have suffered in the +least thereby. Their morals were excellent; they were kindly and +well-disposed, and were greatly rejoiced to learn that their spiritual +interests were going to be better looked after in future. Of course they +may have improved in the eight years that had elapsed since M. +Duchesneau made his report; or that not very genial individual may have +needlessly darkened the picture; or, again, the worthy prelate may have +thrown a little too much sunshine into it. It is satisfactory to learn +that the result of Meulles's visit was the dismissal of Perrot, who, +doubtless, was plundering the people. This time no other office was +provided for him. He remained in the country, however, to do a little +more trading, and was finally killed, it was reported, in a fight with +some pirates. His successor was M. de Menneval, a good soldier and a man +of character. + +Such was the country on which Massachusetts had determined to make a +descent. Seven vessels, carrying two hundred and eighty-five sailors, +and four or five hundred militiamen, were commissioned for the +expedition, which was put under the command of Sir William Phipps, "a +rugged son of New England," as Parkman calls him. Phipps was, in truth, +an early American example of a self-made man. His knighthood, as well as +a comfortable fortune, had been won by adventurous and successful +service at sea. One of his biographers tells us that he was born "at a +despicable plantation on the river Kennebec." His early years were +passed in sheep-tending. The attacks of the Indians drove him, in the +year 1676, to Boston, where he applied himself to learning the trade of +ship-building, and where he also married Mary Hull, widow of one John +Hull, a woman several years his senior and of much better education and +social position than he. A year later we find him in command of a +sailing vessel. A Spanish treasure vessel had been wrecked somewhere off +the Bahamas some forty years before, and Phipps felt confident that if +he were furnished with a suitable ship he could find the wreck and +recover the treasure. He made an application to the English government, +and was granted the use of a vessel called the _Algier Rose_. His first +expedition was not successful; but on a second attempt he located the +wreck, and by the aid of a diving-bell--a comparatively recent invention +at the time--recovered treasure to the value of L300,000. He had next to +face a mutiny on his vessel, which he only quelled by dint of personal +courage and address. On reaching England he received as his own share of +the booty L16,000; but James II further recognized his services by +creating him a knight. This was in the summer of 1687. Phipps then +returned to Boston, and was henceforth a man of substance and influence +in the community. + +The fleet under his command sailed from Nantasket about the 1st May, and +on the 11th reached Port Royal. Menneval, the governor, had under his +command a garrison consisting of not far short of one hundred men. The +fort had also been provided with twenty cannon; but these, it appears, +had not been mounted. Menneval must have judged that the place was +incapable of defence, because, when summoned by Phipps to surrender, he +complied without making any attempt at resistance. He stipulated that +private property as well as the church should be respected, and that the +garrison should be returned to France. Phipps might have insisted on +surrender at discretion, as he clearly saw when he entered into +possession of the fort; but as he had not done so, honour required that +he should observe the terms he had made. This, unfortunately for his +reputation, he did not do. Availing himself of the pretext afforded by +the fact that some goods belonging to the king had been carried away +from the fort and secreted in the woods, he proceeded to plunder the +traders of the place and desecrate the church. It is one of his own men +who writes: "We cut down the cross, pulled down their high altar, and +broke their images." The inhabitants in general were promised security +for life, liberty, and property, on condition of swearing allegiance to +the English Crown, which they did with great alacrity. The fact was they +had dealt so much with the New Englanders in the way of business that +they had little prejudice against them, while they had been so much +neglected by the French government, both politically and +ecclesiastically, not to speak of being robbed by its agents, that their +national feelings had been but little cultivated. Phipps had with him +such a force as they had never seen before--seven hundred men; and the +probability is that they hoped for greater quiet and surer protection +under English rule than, so far as they could see, they were likely to +enjoy under that of France. Phipps seemed to have assumed that they +would remain true to their new allegiance, for he did not leave any +garrison in the country, but invited the people to govern themselves by +means of a council consisting of six ordinary members and a president, +whom he chose from amongst themselves. Acadia was now to rank as a +colony of Massachusetts, which was thus affording the earliest example +of American "imperialism," though in a liberal fashion. + +While Phipps was taking possession of Port Royal, one of his officers, +Captain Alden, had captured Saint-Castin's post at Pentagouet +(Penobscot), after which, by orders of his chief, he sailed to the +southern coast of what is now Nova Scotia, and seized the settlements of +La Heve, Chedabucto, and one or two others. No resistance was made +anywhere, and consequently no lives were lost. The conquest, such as it +was, was a bloodless one. Bitter complaint, nevertheless, was made of +the bad faith shown by the New England leader after the capture of Port +Royal, and with good cause. A soldier's word in such a case should be +absolutely inviolable. At the same time it is a memorable fact that men +who might have sought to avenge the blood of kindred slain without +warning in night attacks, such as those at Schenectady and Salmon Falls, +or in violation of terms of surrender, as at Casco Bay, should have +absolutely refrained from bloodshed. The French account of the affair +at Port Royal distinctly mentions that the New Englanders were bitterly +resentful of the Salmon Falls massacre in particular; nevertheless it +did not enter into their mind to follow the example of Hertel and his +braves. + +On the 30th May Phipps arrived at Boston, bringing with him as prisoners +Menneval, fifty-nine French soldiers, and two priests. The "rugged son +of New England" showed that he had the over-thrifty qualities which were +formerly, more than to-day, associated with the "down-east" character. +Menneval had entrusted him with his money, and Phipps refused to return +it. He also appropriated a quantity of the French governor's clothing +and other effects, which he showed the greatest reluctance to give up, +though distinctly ordered to do so by the General Council of +Massachusetts. Upon a repetition of the order in more emphatic terms, he +restored a portion of the property, but could not be induced to make +complete restitution. Successful generals are not always easy to confine +within the bounds of strict legality. Phipps himself was a member of the +General Council, having been elected thereto while absent in Acadia; +and, as just before starting on the expedition, he had joined the church +of the celebrated Cotton Mather, he possessed a combination "pull," as +it would be denominated in these days--civil, religious, military, and +doubtless social--which it must have been very difficult to overcome, +particularly in the unsettled condition of things then prevailing. +Menneval, after being kept for a considerable time in confinement, was +allowed to sail for France. + +Massachusetts had not waited for the return of Phipps before taking in +hand the more serious matter of the expedition against Quebec. It was +hoped, as has already been mentioned, that some assistance would come +from the Mother Country in time for a union of forces; but, should that +hope be disappointed, New England had determined to proceed with the +enterprise alone. The ease with which Acadia had been reduced to +submission seemed to be a presage of success in the larger undertaking; +and if Phipps could return with a respectable show of booty from so +small an establishment as that of Port Royal, what might not be expected +if so acquisitive a commander could get a chance at Quebec. Then there +was the religious aspect of the case. The Puritan commonwealth would not +dishonour God by doubting that they were the people, or that the +Catholics of Canada were idolaters. With all the sound doctrine and +scriptural worship on one side, and all the deadly error and +superstitious practice on the other, how could Providence hesitate which +cause to support? At the same time prayer was not considered +superfluous, nor was it allowed to flag. "The wheel," as Cotton Mather +expressed it, "was kept in continual motion"; and as they prayed they +worked, these sturdy Roundheads of the New World. Till well past +midsummer Boston harbour was alive with preparation. The chief +difficulty was to finance the enterprise. Previous Indian wars had +exhausted the colony, and the treasury was well-nigh empty. The only +thing to do was to pledge the public credit and raise a loan, which it +was hoped might be liquidated, in great part, if not in whole, by the +plunder of the enemy. Thirty vessels altogether were requisitioned for +the expedition. Most were of small capacity; the largest was a West +India trader named the _Six Friends_, carrying forty-four guns, and the +second largest the _John and Thomas_, carrying twenty-six guns. The rest +had little or no armament. Three vessels appear to have been contributed +by the province of New York, one of which was a frigate of twenty-four +guns, and the two others vessels of smaller size carrying eight and four +guns respectively. The supply of ammunition was decidedly short; but it +was hoped, almost up to the last moment, that some contribution in the +way of warlike stores, if not in ships and men, would arrive from +England. That hope was destined to be frustrated. It was the year when +William III was carrying on his campaign in Ireland, while Queen Mary +and her Privy Council were trying to control domestic disaffection. It +was the terrible year of Beachy Head, when the combined English and +Dutch fleets, under Torrington and Evertsen, were defeated by the French +under Tourville, and when the buoys at the mouth of the Thames were +taken up to prevent the ships of the enemy from appearing before London. +It is perhaps not much to be wondered at that, in a time of so much +stress and perplexity, an appeal from a trans-Atlantic colony for +assistance that could ill be spared should have received scant +attention. No help was sent: the New Englanders were left to fight their +own battles as William was fighting his. + +Considering the resources of the colonies, it was no mean effort they +were putting forth. Some hundreds of men volunteered for the expedition; +but, the number being insufficient, a press was resorted to in order to +make up the total required, namely, twenty-two hundred. Of these about +three hundred were sailors, and the rest soldiers. Provisions for four +months were taken on board, and the expedition, under the command of +Phipps, sailed from Nantasket on the 9th August 1690. + +What progress was being made in the meantime with the land expedition +against Montreal in which New York was to take the lead? The answer must +be, very poor progress indeed. At Boston there was a considerable +measure of unity of action; in New York there was almost none. It had +been agreed that Connecticut should furnish a contingent of troops, and +that the whole expedition should be placed under the command of one of +its officers, Fitz-John Winthrop, afterwards governor. Winthrop +organized a force of two or three hundred men, and started from +Hartford for Albany on the 14th July. A week later he arrived at the +latter town only to find everything in complete disorder. "I found," he +says, "the design against Canada poorly contrived and little forwarded, +all things confused and in no readiness or position for marching towards +Canada; yet every one disorderly projecting something about it."[44] The +Dutch displayed the greatest indifference in the matter, and the +English, for want of any commanding influence or unquestioned authority, +were irresolute and vacillating. There was no definite understanding +with the Indians; and what help they were going to give was quite +uncertain. Organizing his forces as best he could in these most +disadvantageous circumstances, Winthrop set out from Albany on his march +northwards. He had not gone far when he was overtaken by a despatch from +the governor of Massachusetts and Connecticut, telling him that the +fleet was in readiness to sail. Eager to do his part in the combined +operations, Winthrop pressed on and encamped at Wood Creek at the +southern extremity of Lake Champlain. Here smallpox broke out among the +troops; disagreements arose with the Indians; and, to make matters still +worse, the provisions which should have been pushed on from Albany +failed to arrive. After waiting several days in inactivity, Winthrop +became persuaded that an advance to Montreal with the body of his +troops was out of the question. He allowed the mayor of Albany, Captain +John Schuyler, to go on with a small detachment, while he with the rest +of his force, largely consisting of sick men, returned to Albany. All +that Schuyler succeeded in doing was to perpetrate a rather ignoble raid +upon the hamlet of Laprairie near Montreal, where he killed ten or +twelve of the inhabitants, destroyed the farms and the cattle, and made +a number of prisoners, including some women. As an act of retaliation +for Schenectady it was a feeble performance; as an act of war it was not +a heroic exploit. Winthrop, before the month of September closed, +marched back to Hartford, and thus ended the New York expedition. +Clearly, if anything effective is to be done against Canada, the Boston +men must do it. + +The fleet sailed, as already mentioned, on the 9th August. The admiral's +pennon floated from the _Six Friends_, the vice-admiral's from the _John +and Thomas_. The vice-admiral for the occasion was Major John Walley; +the third in command, apparently, was a Major Thomas Savage. Had the +winds been favourable, the expedition might easily have reached Quebec +within a month. They were most unfavourable, however; and it was not +till the 3rd October that it arrived off Tadousac. Here the ships were +brought to anchor, and a council of war was held. Four days later the +fleet had only advanced fifty miles, and it took eight days more to +reach a point off the Island of Orleans near the present village of St. +Jean, where it anchored for a few hours. Here Walley proposed that the +men, who had been for weeks confined on shipboard, should be allowed to +land and "refresh themselves," and that opportunity should be taken to +form the several companies, and get everything into perfect order before +proceeding to an attack. He was overruled however; and, taking advantage +of a rising tide, the fleet slipped up the river, and at daybreak on +Monday the 16th October made its appearance in the harbour of Quebec. + +We have seen that, during the month of August and part of the month of +September Frontenac was engaged at Montreal with his western Indians. It +was during this time that Schuyler made his attack on Laprairie. After +the departure of the Indians, Frontenac remained in Montreal to complete +his measures for the defence of the country, and hoping also to get news +of his embassy to the Iroquois. His return to Quebec was fixed for the +10th October, and on the afternoon of that very day a messenger who had +been sent post haste by Prevost, the major in command of the troops at +Quebec, placed in his hands two letters. The first, dated the 5th +October, told him that an Abenaquis Indian had arrived at Quebec from +the neighbourhood of Pentagouet deputed by his tribe to bring important +news obtained from a captive New England woman, namely that, about six +weeks before, a considerable fleet had sailed from Boston for the +capture of Quebec. The second letter, written later on the same day, +said that one Sieur de Cannanville had arrived from Tadousac, where he +had seen twenty-four ships, eight of which appeared of considerable +size. + +It does not say much for Frontenac's intelligence department, if such an +institution existed in that day, that he should have known nothing of +the preparations which had been going on in Boston during the previous +spring and summer. His first impulse was to disbelieve the news now +brought, but none the less he lost no time in starting for Quebec with +the intendant, Champigny. The first boat he embarked in proved leaky, +and came near foundering. He transhipped into a canoe, and went as far +as was possible before dark. On the afternoon of the next day a further +message was received from Prevost confirming his first, and saying that +the enemy had captured, about thirty leagues below Quebec, a vessel in +which were two ladies. This looked serious, and the count sent back +Captain de Ramesay to Montreal with orders to Callieres, the governor, +to march to Quebec at once with all the troops he could gather at +Montreal or pick up on the way. He himself made all possible haste, and +arrived at Quebec at ten o'clock in the morning of Saturday, the 14th +October. + +Work on the fortifications of Quebec had been more or less in progress +all summer; but from the moment that the first news of the intended +attack had been received, Prevost had been particularly active in +planting batteries, digging trenches, and doing other work of immediate +necessity. He had also despatched a long-boat and a canoe, both well +armed, under the charge of his brother-in-law, Grandville, to make a +reconnaissance in the direction of Tadousac, and had sent orders to the +militia captains of the neighbouring parishes of Beauport and Beaupre, +and also to those on the Island of Orleans, to hold their men in +readiness to march into the city, and meantime to watch the enemy, that +they might offer all possible opposition to his landing. Frontenac +employed his time on the 14th and 15th in examining and perfecting the +general system of defence; and he was much pleased as well as surprised +to find how much Prevost had accomplished in a few days. Two principal +batteries had been established in the Upper Town, one, consisting of +eight guns, to the right of the chateau, and one of three guns on the +rock overlooking Mountain Hill known as Sault au Matelot. Two batteries +of three guns each were placed on the river bank, one near the present +market-place, and the other near where the Custom House now stands. Most +of the pieces were eighteen pounders. The non-combatant inhabitants of +the surrounding country had come into the city in considerable numbers, +bringing with them what they could in the way of provisions. On Sunday +two canoes were sent down the river to warn the vessels that were +expected to arrive from France to keep out of harm's way. On their safe +arrival the life almost of the colony might be said to depend. At seven +o'clock on Sunday evening news came that the hostile fleet had passed +the eastern end of the Island of Orleans. There was not much sleeping +that night. At three o'clock on Monday morning their distant lights +could be seen down the river. At daybreak there could be counted in the +harbour, some authorities say thirty-two, and some thirty-four, English +sails. + +A few hours of tense expectation elapsed, and then a boat carrying a +flag of truce was seen putting out from the admiral's ship. It bore an +envoy from Phipps, who was to demand of the governor the surrender of +the place. A boat put out from the shore to meet it, and the envoy, +having been taken on board, was blindfolded, and brought ashore. Here, +according to one account, he was crowded and hustled, and made to +clamber over unnecessary obstacles, the object being to persuade him +that the place was more numerously defended and more difficult of +entrance than it really was. In reading the contemporary narratives it +is often difficult to know what to believe. Nearly all are vitiated by +extreme generality of statement and inaccuracy in detail. That of La +Hontan betrays the enormous mendacity of the writer, who, so long as he +could be amusing and sensational, was absolutely indifferent as to +facts. Checking one by another, however, it is not impossible to arrive +at a fairly coherent and credible narrative. It was about ten in the +forenoon when the messenger was introduced into the reception-room of +the Chateau St. Louis. The _mise en scene_ had been carefully arranged +for the moment when the bandage should be removed from his eyes. +Frontenac was there in a gorgeous uniform and looking the soldier and +seigneur from head to foot. Around him, also in uniform, stood the +members of his staff and the principal military and civil officers of +the colony. It was such an array of military and official pomp as simple +New England eyes had probably never gazed on. History does not seem to +have preserved the name or rank of the messenger, and we have no certain +information as to the effect produced upon him by the gallant and +brilliant company that met his gaze. All we know is that he handed a +letter from Phipps to the haughty governor, and awaited his answer. The +letter read as follows:-- + + "Sir William Phipps, Knight, General and Commander-in-Chief, in + and over their Majesties' forces of New England, by sea and + land, to Count Frontenac, Lieutenant-General and Governour for + the French King at Canada; or in his absence to his deputy, or + him or them in chief command at Quebeck. + + "The war between the Crowns of England and France doth not only + sufficiently warrant, but the destruction made by the French and + Indians, under your command and encouragement, upon the persons + and estates of their Majesties' subjects of New England, without + provocation on their part, hath put them under the necessity of + this expedition for their own security and satisfaction. And + although the cruelties and barbarities used against them by the + French and Indians might, upon the present opportunity, prompt + unto a severe revenge, yet, being desirous of avoiding all + inhuman and unchristian-like actions, and to prevent shedding of + blood as much as may be. + + "I, the aforesaid William Phipps, Knight, do hereby in the name + and on behalf of their most excellent Majesties, William and + Mary, King and Queen of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, + Defenders of the Faith, and by order of their said Majesties' + government of Massachusetts colony in New England, demand a + present surrender of your forts and castles, undemolished, and + the king's and other stores, unembezzled, with a reasonable + delivery of all captives; together with a surrender of all your + persons and estates to my dispose: upon the doing whereof you + may expect mercy from me, as a Christian, according to what + shall be found to be for their Majesties' service and the + subjects' security. Which, if you refuse forthwith to do, I am + come provided, and am resolved, by the help of God, in whom I + 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 you had accepted of the favour + tendered. + + "Your answer positive in an hour returned by your own trumpet, + with the return of mine, is required upon the peril that will + ensue."[45] + +Frontenac was not versed in the English language, so the letter was +given to an interpreter to translate. When the latter had finished the +reading, the envoy presented his watch to the governor, observing that +it was then ten o'clock, and that he would have to have an answer by +eleven. The dignity of the assembled officers was much hurt by the +brusque terms of Phipps's summons; and, before Frontenac had had time to +frame his reply, one of them cried out that Phipps was nothing but a +pirate, and that the man before them should be hanged. Frontenac was not +disposed to go so far. "Tell your general," he said, "that I do not +recognize King William, and that the Prince of Orange is a usurper, who +has violated the most sacred ties of blood in attempting to dethrone his +father-in-law. I recognize no other sovereign in England than King +James. Your general ought not to be surprised at the hostilities he says +are carried on by the French against the Massachusetts colony; since he +might expect that the king, my master, having received the King of +England under his protection, and being ready to replace him on the +throne by force of arms, as I am informed, would order me to wage war +in this country on a people in rebellion against their lawful sovereign. +Does your general imagine," he continued, pointing to the officers who +filled the room, "that, even if he offered me better conditions, and I +were of a temper to accept them--does he think that so many gallant +gentlemen would consent to it, or advise me to place any confidence in +the word of a man who violated the capitulation he made with the +governor of Port Royal, one who has been wanting in loyalty to his +rightful sovereign, and who, unmindful of the personal benefits received +by him from that sovereign, adheres to the fortunes of a prince who, +while trying to persuade the world to accept him as the liberator of +England and defender of the faith, tramples on the laws and privileges +of the kingdom, and overturns the English Church? This is what the +divine justice invoked by your general in his letter will not fail some +day to punish severely." + +It is possible that the terms of the governor's answer may have been +somewhat conventionalized by his secretary, to whose pen we are indebted +for a report of it.[46] Phipps speaks of it as "a reviling answer," the +drift of which was that he and those with him were traitors for "having +taken up with a usurper, and seized upon that good Christian Sir Edmund +Andros." The messenger, who doubtless felt his position somewhat +uncomfortable, asked the count whether he would not give him an answer +in writing. "No!" was the reply; "the only answer I will give will be +from the mouth of my cannon and musketry, that he may learn that it is +not in such a style that a person of my rank is summoned." Whatever he +might forget, Frontenac could not forget his personal rank. There was +now no more to be said; the messenger's eyes were again bandaged, and he +was conducted back to his boat. + +So now, Sir William, your work is cut out for you! There is the +fortress; take it. This is not Port Royal, nor is that hard-featured +warrior Menneval. This is a city set on a hill. Its guns are shotted and +skilfully disposed. It has defenders by the hundred; and before night +closes their numbers will be doubled; for Callieres is on the march with +all the troops that can be spared from Montreal, Three Rivers and other +posts--eight hundred fighting men in all. Behind those ramparts, or +awaiting you in the rear of the town, are men accustomed to warfare +whether in the open field or in forest ambush. The adventure is one of +great pith and moment, if you can but succeed in it! + +The probability is that by this time Phipps had begun to take a more +serious view of his task. He was one of those men who require to be +favoured by luck. He was better at making a dash than at organizing +victory. He had courage and a good deal of practical skill in +navigation, but there is no evidence that he possessed the talents of a +military commander. The readiness with which the inhabitants of Acadia +had renounced their French allegiance had led him to believe that in +Canada he might actually be welcomed as a liberator.[47] Of any such +disposition on the part of the Canadians there had certainly been no +sign as yet. It was reported at Quebec that he had attempted to land +some men at Riviere Ouelle, and had been repulsed by the inhabitants +under the leadership of their _cure_. The story, however, as given by +Mere Juchereau, had plainly passed through the hands of the mythmakers +before she got hold of it, for she tells us that "the moment the first +boat was within musket shot, the _cure_ ordered a volley, which killed +the whole crew with the exception of two men who made off in great +haste." Walley's journal makes no mention of any attempt to land, and +the story may be assumed to be an imaginative invention. What at least +may be regarded as certain is that, up to the date of his arrival before +Quebec, Phipps had not received any encouraging overtures from the +inhabitants. Other causes of anxiety were not wanting. Smallpox had +broken out in his fleet, and the weather was most bitterly cold for the +season. On the day of the summons and the following day he and his force +remained inactive. On the afternoon of the first day Iberville and his +brother Maricourt, returning with a few of their men from Hudson's Bay, +landed safely at Beauport in sight of the ships, having slipped up the +North Channel in a couple of canoes. In the evening about seven o'clock +Callieres, governor of Montreal, marched into the city at the head of +eight hundred men. Shouts of welcome, mingled with martial music, +reached the ears of the English, and were rightly interpreted as meaning +that the city had received reinforcements. + +The plan of the attack was that a body of men should be landed on the +Beauport flats to the north of the city, and endeavour to obtain access +by crossing the river St. Charles; that the principal war vessels should +take up their position in front of the city; that others should move +further up so as to create the impression that troops were to be landed +above Cape Diamond, in order to take the city in the rear; and that the +bombardment should only begin when a signal had been received that the +troops at the other side had made their entrance. The scheme was a good +one, but it was not well carried out. On Wednesday forenoon about +thirteen hundred men under Major Walley were landed, apparently without +opposition, though there were troops in abundance--levies from Beauport +and Beaupre, Indians from Lorette, as well as the forces within the +city--who could have made the landing exceedingly difficult and costly +in lives, had they been led to the spot; particularly as the enemy had +to wade knee-deep, and even waist-deep, in icy water in order to get to +land. The landing having been effected, Walley drew up his force in +companies, selecting four to act as an advance guard, or, as he calls +them, "forlorns," and then ordered a march for the higher ground. They +had not gone a hundred yards before there was firing from cover on both +flanks, particularly from the right; there, Walley says, "there was a +party galled us considerably." A charge having been ordered the +defenders gave way, but continued to fire from swamp and bush as they +retreated.[48] In the pursuit Walley gained a position not far from the +St. Charles River. He was expecting some vessels to come into the river +with supplies, and for that reason, as well as for others, wished to be +near it. One or two houses and barns gave a little shelter, but many of +the men had to lie out all night. If we may trust his statement his loss +in killed on that day was four, and in wounded sixty. Considering the +nature of the landing, "it was a great mercy," he says, "we had no more +damage done us." He judged that he had killed some twenty of the +Canadians, but that was a vast over-estimate. The Chevalier de Clermont, +an experienced and valuable officer, had been killed, and Juchereau de +St. Denis, who commanded the Beauport militia, had been wounded; but the +total of killed and wounded on the Canadian side did not probably exceed +the figure mentioned. + +In the course of the day a Frenchman, who was a fugitive from his own +side, surrendered to Walley's men, and from him the New England +commander learned the somewhat discouraging news that the defensive +forces in the city far outnumbered the whole of Phipps's expedition. +Troops had been pouring in from different quarters both before and after +the governor's arrival, and the last body of men brought by Callieres +had raised the total to about three thousand. Walley threatened the man +very seriously as to what would happen if he did not tell the truth, and +he seems to have heeded the warning. The number he mentioned agrees with +the figures given by the contemporary historian Belmont, and also by +Captain Sylvanus Davis, who was a prisoner in Quebec during the siege. + +According to the arrangement made between Phipps and Walley, the former +was only to begin the bombardment after the latter had forced an +entrance into the town. Moreover, small armed vessels were to sail into +the St. Charles, to assist his passage of that river and to furnish his +force with necessary supplies of food and ammunition. Why this +arrangement was departed from is not very clear; but about four o'clock +on Wednesday afternoon Phipps moved his four principal vessels up +before the town, and no sooner had he come within cannon shot than the +shore batteries opened fire. Then ensued a duel in which the defence had +all the best of it. Their guns were much better served than those of the +assailants, and they had excellent marks to shoot at. The fight was +maintained till after dark, by which time Phipps had fired away nearly +all his ammunition and accomplished virtually nothing. One boy in the +town had been killed by a splinter of rock; the buildings in the town +had scarcely been injured at all. Phipps says he dismounted some of the +enemy's best guns, but his story is unconfirmed. Certain it is that his +vessels suffered serious damage in hulls, masts, and rigging, and that, +after a brief renewal of the encounter the next morning, he drew them +all off. + +An incident which has given rise to a good deal of discussion may here +be referred to. The flag of the admiral's vessel was shot away and fell +into the river. It was captured by some men from the shore, but whether +under the very heroic circumstances described by an eminent Canadian +poet on the authority of Pere Charlevoix, is, to say the least, open to +doubt. Charlevoix has it that, no sooner had the flag fallen into the +water and begun to drift away, than some Canadians swam out and seized +it, notwithstanding the fire directed on them from the ships. +Contemporary writers know nothing of any such feat. The one who comes +nearest to the father's account of the matter is Mere Juchereau, who +says that "our Canadians went out rashly in a bark canoe and brought it +to land under the noses of the English." She does not even say they were +fired on. How near they got to the English we can hardly judge from the +expression "_a la barbe des Anglais_," which is not a measure of length. +On the other hand we have from a contemporary writer, the Recollet, Pere +Leclercq, whose book was published in 1691, the year following the +attack on Quebec, a plain, consistent statement as to how the thing +happened, and one the terms of which are in distinct conflict with the +popular version. After describing how the vice-admiral's ship had been +the first to withdraw beyond the reach of the shore batteries, he +continues: "The admiral [Phipps] followed him pretty closely and with +precipitation, paying out the whole length of his anchor-cable, and then +letting it go. His flag, which drifted away in the river, was _left to +our discretion_, and our people went and fished it out."[49] The words +used plainly imply that there was neither difficulty nor danger in +recovering the flag; and this be it remembered was the story Leclercq +heard at the time, and published almost immediately. Frontenac, who +would certainly have been pleased to approve the bravery of his people, +simply says that Phipps lost his flag, "which remained in our +possession"; while Monseignat's statement in what may be regarded as the +official narrative, is that the admiral's flag and another were borne in +triumph to the church. Charlevoix's lack of accuracy in details is +evident in the very paragraph in which he deals with this incident; for +he says that no sooner had Phipps's messenger returned to his ship, +than, to the great surprise of the English, shots were fired from one of +the Lower Town batteries, and that the first one carried away the flag. +This is pure romance. Phipps's vessel was not within range at the time, +and no shots were exchanged till late in the afternoon of Wednesday, two +days later. The loquacious La Hontan, who at least knows how to adorn a +tale, if not point a moral, knows nothing of this particular occurrence, +otherwise he would certainly have included it in a narrative which, it +is evident, he aimed at making as lively and piquant as possible. It is +no disparagement of the valour of the defenders of Quebec to doubt +whether the incident took place as described either by Charlevoix, who +did not visit the country till thirty years after the event, and did not +publish his book till twenty-four years later, or by Mere Juchereau. +Many a brave deed has passed unnoticed of history; and, en revanche, +many an insignificant act has been wrapped round by legend with clouds +of glory. If there is reason to doubt whether this particular deed was +done in a specially heroic, or even in a very dramatic manner, there are +incidents in abundance left to attest the heroism of the French-Canadian +race. The legends of a people bear witness to its ideals, and help to +repair the wrongs that history does by leaving so much that is truly +memorable and admirable unrecorded. + +While Phipps on Thursday was drawing off his shattered vessels, Walley +and his men were having a very miserable time ashore. The succour he was +expecting did not arrive. Instead he received what he did not want at +all--six field-pieces, twelve-pounders, weighing about eight hundred +pounds each, which the nature of the ground made it impossible to use, +and which thus proved a simple embarrassment. However, thinking the +vessels would arrive later in the day, Walley moved his men somewhat +nearer to the town, and took up a position rather better both for +shelter and for defence. This movement does not seem to have been +opposed by the Canadian forces, as there is no mention in the narratives +of any fighting on this day. The vessels did not come with the evening +tide as hoped; and Walley, in his simple narrative, says: "We stood upon +our guard that night, but found it exceeding cold, it freezing that +night so that the next morning the ice would bear a man." The position +was both distressing and precarious, and a council of war was called +during the night to consider what should be done. By this time the +assailing force had some idea of the nature of the task they had +undertaken: to advance in the face of skirmishers having every advantage +of position; to ford a river behind which a thousand men and several +pieces of artillery were posted; and, should they by any miracle succeed +in that, to encounter a couple of thousand more within the walls of the +town. Many of their men were sick, some were literally freezing, others +worn and exhausted. Their provisions were short, their ammunition very +low. The decision of the council was that Walley should go on board the +admiral's vessel next day and ask for instructions. + +During Walley's absence on Friday forenoon, skirmishing was renewed with +losses on both sides, but chiefly on that of the New Englanders. On the +French side M. de Ste. Helene received a wound in the thigh, from which +he died in hospital some weeks later. Phipps consented to a retreat; and +Walley, on returning to land in the afternoon, began to prepare for it. +The following morning before daylight boats arrived to take the men off; +but Walley, discovering too great haste on the part of his men to +embark, ordered the boats back. There was further skirmishing during the +day consequent upon Walley's desire to keep the enemy at a respectful +distance, so that the embarkation he hoped to make that night might not +be interfered with. Towards evening he used some boats that he had to +send off his sick and wounded, but was careful not to afford any +indication of a general retreat. This was finally accomplished, not +without haste, noise, and confusion bordering on insubordination, +between dark and one or two o'clock on the morning of Sunday, the 22nd. +Through some gross mismanagement five of the eight cannon that had been +landed were left behind for the greater glory of the enemy. + +A council of war was held on board the admiral's ship on that lamentable +Sunday. Further offensive schemes were discussed; but, even as they +talked, the leaders knew that nothing of any moment could be +accomplished. They had all but exhausted their ammunition, and their +provisions were running low. There was a great deal of sickness among +the men, and the casualties ashore and in the bombardment had not been +inconsiderable. In the end, they appointed a prayer-meeting for next day +"to seek God's direction" as Walley expresses it, but the weather was +unfavourable for a meeting. Some of the ships, in fact, dragged their +anchors, and were in danger of being driven on the town. The following +day the whole fleet slipped down to the Island of Orleans on the +homeward track. + +Walley in his _Journal_, apparently an honest piece of work, sums up +comprehensively the causes of the failure: "The land army's failing, the +enemy's too timely intelligence, lying three weeks within three days' +sail of the place, by reason whereof they had time to bring in the whole +strength of their country, the shortness of our ammunition, our late +setting out, our long passage, and many sick in the army--these," he +says, "may be reckoned as some of the causes of our disappointment." +Reasons enough surely. On both sides the hand of Providence was seen. +"Well may you speak of this country," writes Laval to Denonville, "as +the country of miracles." Had Phipps arrived but one week sooner he +would certainly, in Laval's opinion, have captured the city, and that he +did not arrive sooner was due to unfavourable winds. Similarly, Sister +Anne Bourdon, archivist of the Ursuline Convent, writes that, when the +first news of the approach of the English was received, nothing was +spared in the way of religious practices "to appease divine justice." +The happy result was that "Heaven, granting our prayers, sent winds so +contrary that the enemy in nine days only made the distance they might +otherwise have made in half a day." So Mere Juchereau of the Hotel Dieu: +"God doubtless stopped them, to give the Montrealers time to arrive." +Bishop Saint Vallier improved the occasion to stimulate the piety of his +people. "Let us," he said, "raise our eyes, my dear children, and see +God holding the thunder in His hand, which He is ready to let fall on +us. He is causing it now to rumble in order to awaken you from the +slumber of your sins." + +On the English side no less solemn a view was taken of the events of the +time. Governor Bradstreet, of Massachusetts, writing to the agents of +the colony in England, speaks of "the awful frown of God in the +disappointment of that chargeable [costly] and hazardous enterprise." +"Shall our Father," he exclaims, "spit in our face, and we not be +ashamed? God grant that we may be deeply humbled and enquire into the +cause, and reform those sins that have provoked so great anger to smoke +against the prayers of his people, and to answer us by terrible things +in righteousness." Cotton Mather in like manner speaks of "an evident +hand of Heaven, sending one unavoidable disaster after another." He also +reports a saying of Phipps, that, though he had been accustomed to +diving in his time, he "would say that the things which had befallen him +in this expedition were too deep to be dived into." The total loss of +life on the part of the New England forces, taking shipwreck and disease +into account, must have run far into the hundreds. Phipps estimated his +loss in the engagements at Quebec at thirty, and possibly the number of +those actually killed did not much exceed that figure. On the Canadian +side the number of killed has been placed at nine, and of the wounded at +fifty-two.[50] + +All that remained now was to make the best of their melancholy way to +Boston. Frontenac had sent a small force under M. Subercase to the +Island of Orleans to watch the departing fleet, which might, had its +commander been so minded, have committed serious depredations on the +parishes along the river. Phipps sent ashore to ask Subercase if there +would be any objection to his buying supplies from the inhabitants. The +reply was that he might buy what he liked, and a lively trade, very +profitable to the farmers, at once sprang up between them and the +squadron. Negotiations for an exchange of prisoners followed. Phipps, as +we have seen, had captured some on his way up; and he had with him two +ecclesiastics whom he had taken in Acadia. The French on their side had +Sylvanus Davis, the former commandant of Fort Loyal, two daughters of +Captain Clarke who had been killed in the attack on that fort, and a +little girl called Sarah Gerrish. All these had received good treatment +during their detention at Quebec, and the little girls had particularly +endeared themselves to the nuns to whose charge they had been confided, +and who were much grieved at having to give them up. + +If the weather had been bad on the way to Quebec it was worse on the +return. Without the aid of a pilot, Phipps had succeeded in bringing all +his vessels safely to Quebec, but on the home voyage several were lost. +One, Cotton Mather relates, was never heard of. A second was wrecked, +but most of its crew were saved. A third was cast on the coast, and all +on board, with the exception of one man, perished through drowning, +starvation, or at the hands of the Indians. A fourth was stranded on the +Island of Anticosti. There seemed to be no means of escape from this +dreary shore; and forty-one of the crew had already died of hardship, +when the captain, John Rainsford by name, and four others determined +that they would try to reach Boston in an open boat, in order that, if +they escaped the perils of the sea, they might send help to those still +alive on the island. It was the 25th March when they put forth in their +most precarious craft. "Through a thousand dangers from the sea and ice, +and almost starved with hunger and cold," to use the words of Cotton +Mather's recital, they arrived at Boston on the 11th May. As soon as a +proper vessel could be procured, Rainsford started back to rescue the +survivors. Four had died during his absence. Death was staring the +remainder in the face, when the sail they had hardly dared to hope for +flickered on the horizon. It was too good to be true, and yet it was +true. Their heroic captain had come to their relief; and on the 28th +June he landed them, seventeen in number, once more on New England soil. + +[Footnote 44: See "Winthrop's Journal" in _New York Colonial Documents_, +vol. iv. p. 193.] + +[Footnote 45: The letter is given in Cotton Mather's _Magnalia_, vol. i. +p. 186.] + +[Footnote 46: _New York Colonial Documents_, vol. ix. p. 486.] + +[Footnote 47: The same mistake was destined to be made in later days, +more than once, under the English regime.] + +[Footnote 48: "La Canardiere (the name given to the flats where the New +Englanders landed) was in those days nothing but a horrible marsh, +covered with impenetrable woods thickly fringed with underbrush. So +dense was the thicket that in full daylight our skirmishers were +invisible to the English, who in their exasperation had nothing to guide +them in firing but the smoke of their enemies' muskets."--Myrand, _Sir +William Phipps devant Quebec_, p. 271.] + +[Footnote 49: _Premier Etablissement de la Foi_, vol. ii. p. 434. As +Leclercq is the one authority of importance of whom Mr. Myrand, in his +discussion of this matter, makes no mention, his exact words, which I +have not elsewhere seen reproduced, may be quoted: "L'amiral le suivit +(le contre-amiral) d'assez pres et avec precipitation; il fila tout le +cable de son ancre qu'il abandonna; son pavillon fut emporte dans la +riviere et laisse a notre discretion, que nos gens allerent pecher."] + +[Footnote 50: In his work already quoted, _Sir William Phipps devant +Quebec_, Mr. Myrand goes very carefully, and in a spirit of great +impartiality, into the question of the probable losses on the New +England side. Those on the Canadian side he is able to establish by +means of authentic records. Mr. Myrand has laid his readers under great +obligations by reprinting the principal original documents bearing on +the Phipps expedition, as well as by his own intelligent discussion of +the whole episode.] + + + + + CHAPTER XI + + FIRE AND SWORD ON THE BORDER + + +The departure of the New England fleet left the French colony in a +condition of great exhaustion, and, for a time, of poignant anxiety. +Three vessels were on their way out from France laden with military and +other supplies, and were due just about this time. Should Phipps +encounter them in the lower St. Lawrence, they would assuredly become +his prey, and what the country would do in that case it was painful to +speculate. Frontenac writing after Phipps had left, and before he had +news of the safety of the expected vessels, gives a vivid account of the +situation. There had been a serious failure of the crops. Early in the +season the grain had looked very promising; but cold and rainy weather +during the harvest had almost ruined it. What made matters worse was +that there had been a short crop the year before, so that they were +already, in November, consuming the little grain they had just +harvested. Unless a supply is received by the ships, there will be +hardly any to be got in the country for love or money. Everything else +is at the lowest ebb, wine, brandy, goods of all kinds. The servants in +the chateau have for some time had only water to drink, and in a week +the governor himself will be brought to the same sad necessity. This +letter was written on the 11th November; fortunately before the week +expired the vessels had arrived; and the gallant count was not reduced +to being an involuntary total abstainer. The quantity of provisions +brought out, however, was very scanty, not exceeding a month's supply; +and as the colony managed to struggle through the winter, and had a +sufficiency of seed-grain for the following spring, perhaps things were +not quite so bad as represented. The ships owed their escape from +capture to measures wisely taken by the governor in sending boats down +the river to advise them to slip into the Saguenay till Phipps should +have passed down, which they did. + +The arrival of Phipps in Boston with his shattered and diminished fleet, +and shrunken and disheartened forces, produced a feeling almost of +despair. The success of the expedition had been counted on with the +greatest certainty. Cotton Mather declares that he "never understood +that any of the faithful did in their prayers arise to any _assurance_ +that the expedition should prosper in all respects; yet they sometimes +in their devotions uttered their persuasion that Almighty God had heard +them in this thing, that the English army should not fall by the hands +of the French enemy." The higher criticism would probably detect in this +declaration a large _ex post facto_ element. The English army did not +exactly fall by the hands of the French enemy; but between the French +enemy, cold, tempest and sickness, the expedition had been a most +disastrous failure, which "the faithful" had certainly been far from +thinking was, or could be, in the designs of Providence. There was no +money in the treasury with which to pay the troops, who soon began to be +clamorous and threatened mutiny. Finally, an issue of paper money was +decided on, and the difficulty was thus tided over; but it was long +before this questionable currency, which was only receivable in payment +of public debts, and which for a time circulated at a discount of from +twenty-five to thirty per cent., was fully redeemed. + +The period now opening was destined to be one of savage border warfare. +The Iroquois--particularly the Mohawks--were still on the war-path, and +were resuming all their ancient boldness in their attacks on the French +settlements. In the spring of 1691 there were some informal and, as they +turned out, futile negotiations for peace, brought on by the fact that a +party of Mohawks who had captured ten mission Indians near Chambly, sent +them back a few days later by three of their own people, who entered the +fort at St. Louis unarmed, and began to talk of peace. Callieres, the +governor of Montreal, did not quite know what to make of it, and +meantime kept his troops scouring the neighbourhood. It seems probable +that the Mohawks were really more anxious to draw away their kinsmen of +the Laprairie mission from the French than to make peace with the +latter. On more than one occasion the mission Indians had shown +reluctance in making war on their own people, and something of the same +feeling existed on the side of the heathen warriors, who always hoped +that they might some day reclaim their separated brethren. Meantime the +raiding went on, but took the form chiefly of killing the cattle and +burning the houses of the settlers, though now and again one or two of +the latter would be killed or carried off. It was in the early summer of +1691 that a somewhat memorable incident in this wild warfare occurred. A +party of forty or fifty Oneidas had in one of their forays taken +possession of an abandoned house at Repentigny, a point on the north +shore of the river St. Lawrence, just opposite the north-eastern end of +the Island of Montreal. Possibly they had captured some brandy in their +prowlings round the country; but whatever the reason was, they were not +exercising their usual vigilance. They were observed by a certain +Captain de Mine in charge of a detachment of soldiers, who succeeded in +retreating from the spot and crossing over to some islands in the river +without attracting their attention. Here he was joined by M. de +Vaudreuil, at the head of a picked force of Canadians and some regular +soldiers; and the combined force then crossed over to the main-shore, a +little below the house which the savages were making their headquarters. +Approaching with the greatest caution, they found some Indians asleep +outside. These they killed with a volley at short range; then rushing +forward they surrounded the house. The Indians within fired from the +windows and killed four or five of the French, including M. de +Bienville. Their fate, however, was sealed. The French fired in at the +windows, and finally set fire to the house, when the unhappy savages, +driven forth by the flames, were, all save one, either killed or +captured. The sequel is not pleasant to relate. The captives numbered +five. One was given to the Ottawa Indians, for what purpose does not +appear; one, a lad of fourteen years, was spared, because his family had +protected the Jesuit father, Millet; and the remaining three were +distributed to the farmers of Pointe aux Trembles, Boucherville and +Repentigny, who burnt them in retaliation, it is said, for lost +relatives. + +The attack on Quebec had awakened the French government to the necessity +of strengthening the forces in Canada. On the 1st July a frigate, the +_Soleil d'Afrique_, famous in her day as a very rapid sailer, arrived at +Quebec, bringing much needed stores and supplies, and twelve days later +a dozen more vessels, under the command of a M. du Tast, appeared in the +harbour. Just about the same time a deputation of Ottawas had made their +way to Quebec to discuss various matters, but particularly trade +questions, with the governor. The one dream of the Ottawas was cheap +goods. Probably had they been manufacturers their one dream would have +been a high tariff. It was a bad time to ask for cheap goods--no time, +indeed, in Canada was very good for that purpose--as the war between +France and England was interfering considerably with trade, and such +goods as there were in the country were held at exorbitant prices. Other +gratifications, however, were afforded them: the sight of the fourteen +vessels in the harbour, the drill of the soldiers and sailors, the +firing of salutes, the illumination of the ships and of the town--for +the arrival of the fleet was made an occasion for prolonged rejoicings +and festivities--produced a powerful impression on minds unaccustomed to +such wonders. They were also greatly charmed with an entertainment given +at the chateau on the 22nd of July to which they were invited, and at +which, according to the official narrative, "thirty beautiful ladies, +entering very properly into the views of their host, paid them every +attention." On the following day they were dismissed, laden with gifts, +but not before they had been shown the large stores of war material that +had been received from France, which it was hoped would give them a +lively idea of the resources Canada possessed for making successful war +upon her enemies. Early in the season Frontenac had despatched the Sieur +de Courtemanche to Michilimackinac to convey to the tribes of that +region the news of the defeat of the English before Quebec, and to +inquire what they were doing against the Mohawks. The reply given was to +the effect that a number of their bands had gone on the war-path, that +others were about to start, and that the Miamis and Illinois had also +moved against the enemy, and forced the Senecas to abandon some of +their towns. As regards the Ottawas and Hurons the case was probably +overstated; otherwise the deputation to Quebec, which started after +Courtemanche had left Michilimackinac, would have laid no little stress +on the sacrifices which their people were making. + +The month of August of this year (1691) was marked by one of the most +important and stubborn engagements which had yet taken place between the +French of Canada and their English and Indian enemies. The Iroquois, who +since the massacre at Schenectady had been doing a good deal of fighting +at the instance of their English allies, began to get a little tired of +the business, in which, as they thought, the parties most concerned were +not taking their proper share. They spoke out so plainly on the subject +that it was decided at Albany to organize an expedition of whites to act +in concert with the Mohawks and Mohegans or Wolves. The entire force, +the command of which was given to Major Peter Schuyler, consisted of two +hundred and sixty men, one hundred and twenty being English or Dutch, +and the rest Indians. Going by way of Lake Champlain they descended the +Richelieu to within a few miles of Chambly, where they left a detachment +to guard their canoes, and then pushed on towards Laprairie de la +Madeleine, the scene of Captain John Schuyler's exploit of the year +before. Here a force of seven or eight hundred men, under Callieres, +was awaiting them, an English prisoner captured by an Indian party near +Albany having given information of their approach. As it happened, +however, Callieres had been smitten with a serious fever, and was not +himself in active command. The regular troops were encamped to the left +of the fort, which was close to the river, and the Canadians and Indians +to the right. If a contemporary historian, Belmont,[51] may be trusted, +the Canadians were well supplied with brandy, and used it only too +freely. However that may have been, Schuyler's men, about an hour before +dawn, attacked the Canadian camp, and drove the enemy before them into +the fort, killing two or three, and also six Ottawa Indians who were +sleeping under their canoes. The firing roused the regulars who, rushing +to the scene, were met by a deadly volley. They rallied, however, and +Schuyler, finding himself greatly outnumbered, retreated to a ravine, +where he made a stand, and, as he states, repulsed his assailants. What +seems to be certain is that he made a deliberate retreat towards his +base on the Richelieu without being pursued, notwithstanding the +superiority of the enemy. Amongst those who were killed on the French +side were M. de St. Cirque, second in command to M. de Callieres, M. +d'Hosta, a valuable officer who had accompanied Nicolas Perrot on his +mission to the Ottawas the year before, Captain Desquerat, and +Lieutenant Domergue. + +This, however, was not the end. Could Schuyler have retired after having +inflicted comparatively heavy loss on the enemy, and sustained but +little himself, he might have boasted of a signal success as these +things went. This, however, was a case in which _recipere gradum_ was +destined to be much the harder part of his task. There was an enemy +posted on the line of his retreat, and a brave and determined one. +Valrennes, an officer of birth and of tried ability, former commandant +of Fort Frontenac, had been sent to Chambly with a force consisting of +one hundred and sixty regulars and militia, together with thirty or +forty Indians, his instructions being to defend that place if attacked; +but, should the enemy take the road to Laprairie, then to post himself +in their rear and cut them off from their canoes. It was hoped in this +way to catch them between two fires. Had this scheme been fully carried +out, Schuyler's whole force would indubitably have been killed or +captured. Owing, however, to the unexplained inactivity of the main body +at Laprairie, the brunt of the second fight had to be borne by the +detachment under Valrennes, which was somewhat, though not much, +inferior in number to Schuyler's command. Valrennes posted his men +behind two large trees that had fallen across the road on an acclivity, +and, from this position of vantage, inflicted considerable loss upon the +invaders. The latter, however, exhibited great bravery, and finally +fought their way through, but were compelled to leave their dead behind +to the number of nearly forty. Schuyler, in his narrative of the +expedition, admits that he was uncommonly glad to see the last of so +obstinate a foe. Why the small band of about twenty-five men left in +charge of the canoes was not first overpowered, as it might easily have +been, and the canoes destroyed, does not appear. Schuyler on reaching +the river found men and canoes safe, and, re-embarking with his +diminished force, succeeded in regaining Albany. + +The courage and address displayed by Valrennes in this encounter won him +a great increase of reputation. As we have seen, the French lost a +number of valuable officers in the fight at Laprairie. The English loss +was almost entirely incurred in the second fight; in the first, Schuyler +says he lost but one Christian and one Indian. The reason given in the +French narrative for not pursuing the enemy is that, after an hour and a +half's fighting and some previous heavy marching, neither French nor +Indians had strength for any further exertion--that they could not even +have defended themselves had the fight been prolonged. This rather tends +to confirm Schuyler's statement that, after breaking through their +position, he turned about and forced them to retreat. He and his men +then effected their own retreat without molestation, carrying with them +their wounded, who must have been numerous. + +The news of the advance of the English had caused Frontenac to proceed +to Three Rivers with such troops as could be spared from Quebec. He had +not been there many days when news of the actual fighting came to hand. +A couple of days later Valrennes himself arrived with fuller details; +and gave so glowing an account of the valour of his troops and the +losses inflicted on the enemy, that the depression which had at first +been caused by the serious list of casualties amongst the officers, was +in a large measure removed. He was accompanied by the famous Indian, +Orehaoue, previously mentioned as having been brought out by Frontenac +from France, and who during this summer had been rendering valuable +service in different expeditions. This chieftain had with him an +Onondaga Indian captured by him in the West, whom he presented to +Frontenac. This was the day of reprisals, and Frontenac handed over the +unfortunate to the Algonquins to be dealt with after their manner. The +Algonquins were in due course proceeding to burn him, when a Huron gave +him a _coup de grace_ with his tomahawk, which the writer of the +official narrative seems almost to think was a mistake, observing that +"the Algonquins are better judges of these things." + +Notwithstanding the decisive repulse of the Boston expedition, no small +anxiety was felt lest there might be a renewal of attack from the same +quarter. Phipps had threatened to come back, and shortly after his +arrival at Boston had sailed for England in the hope of engaging the +king's interest and assistance in the matter. Frontenac thought it +prudent, all things considered, to detain two of the ships which came +out in July until the 3rd September. He then commissioned one of them to +convey to Acadia M. de Villebon, whom he was sending to that province as +lieutenant-governor. The New Englanders had taken no measures whatever +for securing their control of the country; no officer of any kind, no +garrison, however small, had been left there to represent English +authority, so that all Villebon had to do was to haul down an English +flag which he found peacefully flying, and run up a French one in its +place. Reporting to the minister, M. de Pontchartrain, in a despatch +dated 20th October 1691, the re-establishment of French control, +Frontenac takes occasion to recommend that Boston should be attacked by +sea. Not only would it make Canada more secure, but there would be a +great satisfaction in destroying such a nest of hardened +parliamentarians. Frontenac's sympathies, as may be supposed, were all +with the Stuarts and the divine right of kings. Unfortunately for the +realization of his wishes, neither Frontenac nor his master had any +ships available for the suggested undertaking. All that was possible at +the moment was to incite the Abenaquis to inflict as much damage as +possible on the hated enemy. In a despatch written a few months earlier, +Frontenac had given a very lively account of the services rendered by +these faithful and bloodthirsty allies. "It is impossible," he says, +"to describe the ravages these Indians commit for fifty leagues around +Boston, capturing daily their forts and buildings, killing numbers of +their people, and performing incredible deeds of bravery." A little +discount must, perhaps, be taken off the "incredible bravery," as the +Indian mode of warfare was rather stealthy than brave; but Frontenac in +his despatches could always heighten the effect with a little judicious +rhetoric. Villebon, too, after arriving in his government, wrote direct +to the minister, eulogizing the same allies, and observing how dangerous +it would have been to Canada, if the Boston people had succeeded in +making a solid peace with them. In that case, instead of having to sail +round by the gulf, they could at any time march direct from Pentagouet +to Quebec in about twelve days. It was therefore of the utmost +importance to cultivate the friendship of the savages by means of +presents, and to keep them well supplied with arms. The idea of +attacking Boston was also very close to Villebon's heart. There would be +no difficulty about it, if only there were a few ships to spare, as its +situation was a most exposed one; and no town could be more easily +burnt, the streets being very narrow, and the houses all of wood. + +Canada at this time, there is no doubt, was suffering from severe +depression. Frontenac himself says that when the ships arrived in July, +"the colony was reduced to the greatest extremities." He estimated that +out of thirteen hundred soldiers maintained by the king at the date of +the attack on Quebec more than half had been "killed on divers occasions +or had died of disease." In all, he said, more than two thousand men, +"militia, regulars and veterans," had been lost in Canada since the war, +by which he probably means the war against the Iroquois commenced by his +predecessor. He asks that one thousand effective men should be sent "to +complete the twenty-eight companies his Majesty has hitherto maintained +here." The ships that arrived in July had not brought out any additional +troops. It must be confessed that it is a little difficult to understand +the loss of so many soldiers as Frontenac reports. The losses of men at +Quebec in repelling Phipps's attack--represented by the French accounts +as being very light, and which even the enemy did not pretend were very +heavy--fell chiefly on the militia; while, in the fights with Schuyler, +described by the French annalist as "the most obstinate battle that has +ever been fought in Canada since the foundation of the colony," the +acknowledged losses were only forty killed and about the same number +wounded. There is nothing on record to show that many perished in casual +skirmishes with the Indians, whose custom was to avoid troops whenever +possible. + +An expedition that deserves to be recorded was undertaken in the month +of February of the following year (1692), when some three hundred men +were sent to attack a band of Iroquois, understood to be hunting +somewhere between the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa. The leader of the +party was M. Dorvilliers, an officer who had distinguished himself in +the fight under Valrennes. At the very outset, however, Dorvilliers was +accidentally disabled, and the command fell upon a youthful officer of +engineers named Beaucour. The march through the forest was a terrible +one: the cold was intense, and, accustomed as the men were to the +rigours of the Canadian winter, they were rapidly losing heart, while +some of the Indians were refusing to follow. Nothing but the indomitable +spirit and courage of the leader saved the expedition from failure. He +gathered the men round him and harangued them in terms and tones that +gave new life to the whole party. Guided by the snowshoe tracks of the +enemy, they followed on for four hours longer, when they caught up to +and surprised them in their bivouac on an island in the St. Lawrence +about a day's march below Cataraqui. Few of the savages escaped; most +were killed in the first onset, but some, less fortunate, were captured +and taken to Quebec, where three of them were tortured and burned. To +avoid the same fate another killed himself in prison. + +It was in the month of October of the same year that an incident +occurred that has become the basis of what may be called one of the +classic tales of Canadian history, the defence of the fort at Vercheres +by Madeleine, the fourteen-year-old daughter of the seigneur of the +place, then absent on duty at Quebec. The story is so fully and +interestingly told by Parkman in his _Count Frontenac and New +France_,[52] and is otherwise so well known, that it seems needless to +repeat it here. A people may well be proud who know that the blood of +such heroes and heroines as gave lustre to the early annals of Canada +flows in their veins. + +The conclusion to which Frontenac had come at this time was that the +raising of large levies of men and organizing formal campaigns against +so agile and elusive an enemy as the Iroquois was not a wise policy. He +states so distinctly in a letter to Pontchartrain, dated in October +1692. Such expeditions, he says, "make great noise and do little harm"; +he believes in "small detachments frequently renewed." There are some +people, he continues, who think differently, and are always urging the +Indians to entreat him to attempt something on a large scale. Who these +are does not appear, but Frontenac says: "I put them off and endeavour +to amuse them by always giving them hopes that I shall grant their +desire." Possibly Callieres was the moving spirit. Strange to say, it +was only three months after writing thus that Frontenac gave his +sanction to an expedition of the very kind that he had objected to. +According to Champigny, indeed, he not only sanctioned but ordered it. +The campaign in question, like that undertaken by Courcelles +twenty-seven years before, was a midwinter one. The force raised +consisted of six hundred and twenty-five men, comprising over three +hundred of the most active young men of the country, one hundred picked +soldiers, and about two hundred Indians, chiefly mission Iroquois of the +Saut and the Mountain, but partly Hurons, Algonquins, and Abenaquis from +Three Rivers and the neighbourhood of Quebec. The expedition started +from Laprairie on the 25th January 1693, spent a night at Chambly, and +then pushed on for Lake Champlain, their destination being the country +of the Mohawks, for some time past their most troublesome enemies. Some +hunting was done by the Indians on the way, and it was not till the 16th +of February that they arrived within sight of the first of the Mohawk +forts. There was another fort less than a mile distant. Both were +attacked and captured simultaneously. There were only five defenders, we +are told, in the first and still fewer in the second. There was a more +important fort, however, about eight miles further away. This was taken +by surprise at night, though not without a skirmish in which one man was +killed on the French side, while some twenty or thirty of the Mohawks +were slaughtered; the rest, to the number of over three hundred, +two-thirds being women and children, surrendered. + +Hereupon ensued a little misunderstanding between the French and their +Indian allies. The former wanted the latter to kill all the male +prisoners of fighting age, appealing to a promise they had made before +starting that they would do so. The Indians declined, and the French +did not like to do the business themselves; possibly there would have +been trouble had they attempted it. The only course that remained was to +make the best of their way home, taking their prisoners with them. Their +movements were hastened by learning that Peter Schuyler was on their +track with a party of English and Indians. Immediately following on this +news came the information that peace had been declared in Europe, and +that Schuyler wished to hold a parley. The French leaders placed little +faith in this statement, but their Indians insisted on waiting to see +what Schuyler had to say. As the savages could not be moved, it was +decided to fortify a position and wait. Schuyler arrived, and fortified +a position of his own not far off. Some skirmishing followed, but no +parleying; and after a few days' delay the French slipped away by night. +Schuyler could not pursue them effectively for want of provisions. The +retreat to Canada was marked by the greatest misery and suffering. Most +of the prisoners had to be abandoned. Provisions that had been stored by +the way were found on their return to have been totally destroyed by +water. Several members of the party died of starvation, and others +became perfectly helpless. News of their desperate condition was sent by +special couriers to Callieres, who at once despatched one hundred and +fifty men with provisions on their backs. "Never," says Champigny, "was +there such distress. They were four or five days without food. About one +hundred and twenty, overpowered and exhausted, remained behind till +they should be somewhat restored by the provisions we sent them. Two or +three died of hunger; many threw down their arms, and almost all arrived +without blankets, and scarcely able to drag their feet after them." The +general result might well have confirmed Frontenac in the opinion he had +previously expressed of such expeditions. + +The Ottawa River had been so infested by Iroquois war parties for the +last three years that it had been impossible for the Indians or +_coureurs de bois_ to use it as a channel of commerce, and the trade of +the country was consequently at a standstill. The financial situation +was indeed so gloomy that Frontenac, whose courage never failed him in a +crisis, determined to try heroic measures of relief. He accordingly +despatched M. d'Argenteuil with eighteen Canadians in four canoes to +convey his orders to M. de Louvigny, commanding at Michilimackinac, to +send down as large a party as he could of French and Indians with all +the skins they could convey. The mission was a perilous one, and the men +who engaged in it had to be well paid. With M. d'Argenteuil was sent +another detachment of twenty men under M. de Lavaltrie to accompany him +over what was considered the most dangerous part of the route. It does +not appear at what point Argenteuil and Lavaltrie parted. The former +reached his destination safely; the latter, on his return, was attacked +by a party of Iroquois near the head of the Island of Montreal and +killed with three of his men. This was not encouraging for the safe +arrival of the men from the West. What was almost unhoped for, however, +happened; and, to the immense joy and relief of the inhabitants, a +flotilla of nearly two hundred canoes laden with goods arrived on the +4th August (1693) at Montreal. Frontenac heard the news at Quebec on the +17th. Three days later he set out for Montreal, arriving on the 28th. +Seldom, if ever, had Montreal seen so much gaiety and good spirits; and, +if we may trust the official narrative of events, profuse and unbounded +were the expressions of praise and gratitude directed towards the head +of the Canadian state, the brave old governor, who in the darkest days +had never lost heart, nor allowed others to lose heart if he could help +it, and whose prowess and resource the enemy was again being taught to +respect. + +That one at least of the Iroquois nations was prepared for peace was +shown by the arrival at Montreal, in the month of June of this year, of +an Oneida chief, bringing with him a French captive named Damour, whom +he wished to exchange for a relative of his own in captivity at the +Saut. The main object of his visit, however, was evidently to talk about +peace. He was accordingly sent on to Quebec, where he had an interview +with the governor. He stated that the most influential of the Oneida +cabins were anxious for peace, and that the other nations were aware +that he had come to speak about it. Frontenac's answer was very firm. +If the nations wanted peace, he said, let them send duly authorized +delegates, and he would treat with them. The present chance was, +perhaps, the last they would have; and, if they did not seize it, he +would prosecute the war against them till they were exterminated. The +Oneida, Tareha by name, departed with this answer. In the month of +October he returned. He and his own people were still anxious for peace, +but the other nations wanted to have the negotiations carried on at +Orange. To this the count vehemently refused to assent. Meantime several +vessels had arrived from France with reinforcements and large supplies +of war material. M. d'Iberville also returned about the same time from +Hudson's Bay, bringing with him a couple of English trading ships that +he had picked up on the way, one being laden with a cargo of tobacco +from Virginia. The crops throughout the country were this year very +good, and, owing to the diminished activity of the enemy, had been saved +almost entire. + +Following on the arrival of the western Indians, M. de Tonty, with a +large body of _coureurs de bois_, had come down from the Illinois and +lake country to discuss questions of trade and defence and receive the +governor's orders for their future movements. After being well +entertained and receiving all necessary instructions, they departed +laden with fresh supplies and equipments, as well as with presents for +the tribes amongst whom they were stationed. While New France was thus +strengthened in its distant outposts its home defences had not been +neglected. Extensive improvements had been made in the fortifications of +Quebec, according to plans prepared by the celebrated French engineer +Vauban, and carried out under the superintendence of M. de Beaucour, the +officer already mentioned as having conducted a winter expedition +against the Iroquois. A new and very strong palisade had been erected +around Three Rivers; and the forts at Sorel and Chambly, virtually +outposts of Montreal, had been greatly strengthened. Taking everything +into account, there was much to justify a more confident and hopeful +feeling throughout the country. + +Meantime Frontenac's trusty allies, the Abenaquis, incited by the +governor of Acadia and their missionary priests, and led by M. de +Portneuf, a brother of M. de Villebon, had been fighting Canada's +battles on the New England frontier. In February 1692 a band of between +two and three hundred fell on the small frontier settlement of York, +situated on the Maine coast, not far from the New Hampshire border, and +killed, according to the French accounts, about a hundred persons, +chiefly women and children, taking at the same time about eighty +captives. New England authorities place the number of killed at +forty-eight, and that of the captives at seventy-three. Amongst the +slain was the minister of the parish, Dummer by name, a graduate of +Harvard, and a man greatly respected. His gown was carried off, and one +of the Indians afterwards, arraying himself in it, preached a mock +sermon to his companions. As soon as spring opened a body of the +warriors proceeded to carry the good news to Villebon, who had +established himself in a fort at a place called Naxouat, on the river +St. John, near the site of the present town of Fredericton, Port Royal, +as he thought, being too open to attack. Villebon received them right +royally. Speeches, drinking, and feasting were the order of the day, and +presents were distributed with calculated generosity. They had done +nobly, but there was more work of the same kind to be done. Their next +venture, however, was not equally successful. The settlement of Wells +was but a short distance from York, and thither they bent their steps in +the early summer. Some of the houses at Wells were fortified; one in +particular was defended by fifteen men under a militia captain named +Convers. Fourteen more men with supplies arrived in two sloops on the +9th June, the very day on which the enemy made their appearance. The +fourteen men managed to get into the fort, and the sloops, which were +stranded in the bay by the ebbing tide, were left with no defenders save +their crews. An unfortunate man named Diamond was captured in an attempt +to pass from the fort to the sloops. The latter were first attacked, but +the crew were well armed and shot two or three of the assailants, who +then desisted. Turning their attention to the fort they fired some +futile shots, and did not a little shouting and threatening. Enraged at +their want of success, they wreaked their fury on their unfortunate +captive, whom they mutilated horribly before putting him to death. Then, +after butchering all the cattle they could see, and burning some empty +houses, they departed. Some went to Naxouat to see Villebon, who +mentions in his journal that he "gave them a prisoner to burn, and that +it would be impossible to add anything to the tortures they made him +endure." Such was the frontier warfare of the time, and such were the +men who incited it and sanctioned its worst excesses. + +The hostility of the Abenaquis to the English was largely a cultivated +one. The French could not afford to let it die out, and the influence of +the missionaries was exerted in the same direction. Left to themselves, +these savages, who, like their western brethren, wanted English goods, +which were still cheaper at Boston than at Albany, would doubtless have +come to terms with their English neighbours. Two circumstances at this +time were inclining them to a change of policy. One was their ill +success at Wells, and the second the fact that Phipps, who had returned +from England in May 1692 with a commission as governor of Massachusetts, +had proceeded, in the summer of that year, to rebuild and render much +stronger than before the fort at Pemaquid, opposite Pentagouet, which +had been destroyed in 1689, and also to erect another at the falls of +the Saco. The one at Pemaquid had scarcely been completed before two +French vessels under the command of Iberville were sent against it by +Frontenac; and why they did not capture it has never been satisfactorily +explained. True, the government of Massachusetts had received word of +the approach of the enemy, and had sent an armed vessel for its +protection; but the advantage was still greatly on the side of the +French, who were under the command, moreover, of a man noted both for +daring and for capacity. Whatever the reason, the French vessels sailed +away without accomplishing anything. In August of the following year, +both forts being garrisoned and equipped, most of the chiefs, including +Madocawando, father-in-law of the famous Saint-Castin,[53] recognizing +how seriously their own position had been weakened by the establishment +of these outposts, negotiated a peace on behalf of their respective +tribes. The French leaders, lay and clerical, alarmed at this +abandonment of their cause, set to work at once to repair the mischief. +Certain of the tribes were still disposed for war; and the final result +of prolonged debate and a profuse distribution of presents, together +with skilfully contrived appeals to the mutual jealousy of the +different chieftains, was that the peace was repudiated by those who had +signed it, and that all alike declared for hostilities. + +This was in the month of June 1694. In July a force of over two hundred +Indians, accompanied by two missionaries, and conducted by Villieu, +successor to M. de Portneuf, who had been removed for peculation, +attacked by night the settlement of Oyster River, now Durham, some +twelve miles north-west of the present town of Portsmouth, New +Hampshire, and murdered one hundred and four persons, chiefly women and +children. A few days later a similar descent was made on the settlements +near Groton, fifty or sixty miles inland, where some forty persons were +killed. Then pushing on to Quebec, Villieu gratified Count Frontenac by +the exhibition of thirteen English scalps. More could have been had, but +these sufficed as samples. The scalps of many of the slain would have +been too pitifully small to add much grace to a warrior's belt. Villebon +himself says in his journal that "the slaughter did not stop even at +infants in the cradle." + +These deeds were wrought, in part at least, by men who, a short time +before, had signed a peace with the English. Phipps, who had proclaimed +the peace through the settlements, felt a measure of responsibility for +having, to that extent, induced a false sense of security among the +inhabitants. He repaired to Pemaquid, and sent messengers to invite +delegates of the tribes to meet him there. A number came. He reproached +them for their bad faith, and secured from them expressions of regret +and promises to keep the peace in future. It was in vain, however; his +work was quickly undone by the same influences which had been active +before in the perpetuation of strife. + +Phipps, whose appointment as governor had not been well received at +Boston, and who consequently found himself involved in constant +wrangling with some of the leading men of the place, was recalled about +this time to England, where he died in the following year (1695). His +successor, Stoughton, wrote a peremptory letter to the Abenaquis, +calling upon them to bring in the prisoners they had taken. Those on the +Kennebec returned a haughty answer; but a band from Father Thury's +mission approached Fort Pemaquid under a flag of truce, and entered into +a parley with the commandant, Chubb by name. Whether they sincerely +meant to treat for peace is uncertain; Villebon says they were only +pretending to do so. However this may have been, Chubb, without any +positive knowledge of treachery on their part, opened fire on them, +killed several, and made their chief, Egermet, a prisoner. A year later +two French vessels under command of Iberville appeared before Pemaquid, +landed cannon, and prepared to attack the place in concert with a large +band of Indians led by Saint-Castin. Chubb at first put on a bold front; +but scarcely had the firing begun before he offered to surrender, +stipulating only that the lives of the garrison should be spared, and +that they should be exchanged for French and Indian prisoners then at +Boston. Iberville honourably observed the conditions, though his Indian +allies, in their eagerness to be avenged on Chubb, were hard to +restrain. Their vengeance, however, was only deferred. Chubb was accused +at Boston of cowardice in surrendering the fort, and suffered +imprisonment there for some months. After his release he retired to his +home at Andover. Thither his relentless foes tracked him, and murdered +both him and his wife at their own fireside. + +[Footnote 51: As Belmont was a very ardent enemy of the drink traffic he +may have been a little inclined to exaggerate in these matters.] + +[Footnote 52: Chapter xiv.] + +[Footnote 53: The Baron de Saint-Castin had come to Canada in 1665 as an +ensign in the Carignan-Salieres Regiment, being then only in his +seventeenth year. On the disbanding of the regiment he had gone to +Acadia, and betaken himself to the life of the woods. He became a famous +hunter and trader, and acquired great influence over the Indian tribes. +The chief Madocawando, as above mentioned, was his father-in-law, but he +had others.] + + + + + CHAPTER XII + + THE DRAMA OF WAR--PEACE AT THE LAST + + +Our narrative of the warfare on the New England frontier has somewhat +outrun that of events in Canada proper. The safe arrival of the canoes +from the West, the consequent revival of trade, and the comparative +immunity from attack enjoyed by the country towards the close of the +year 1693 had, as we have seen, made the governor more popular in the +country than ever before. Still there were not a few who acknowledged +his merits but grudgingly, while they had much to say in regard to the +defects of his administration. Charlevoix says that, could he only have +added to his own high qualities the virtues of his predecessor, the +pious Denonville, he would have been perfect, and the condition of the +colony would have left nothing to desire. Frontenac, however, could not +be a Denonville any more than Denonville could have been a Frontenac. He +was a religious man in the practical, businesslike way in which men with +strong political instincts and aptitudes are apt to be religious. There +was nothing mystical about him, and little that was sentimental. +Religion, in his opinion, was a good thing, but it had its own place; it +was meant to co-operate to good ends with the state, but not to dominate +the state. In France such views might have passed unchallenged, for +these were the days when Gallicanism was at its height, but in Canada +they met with keen opposition. There, as already remarked, the leaders +of the church hoped to be able to mould a state in which the secular +power should find its greatest glory in being the handmaiden of the +spiritual. + +Resuming the complaints made against the governor, Charlevoix tells us +that he was censured for his indulgence to the officers, whose esteem +and attachment he was very anxious to enjoy, and that he let all the +burden of the war fall on the colonists. There may have been a slight +measure of truth in the accusation; but it is certain that many officers +of the regular army died bravely fighting the battles of the country. +That the militia were, on the whole, better and more skilful fighters +than the regular troops was early discovered. Denonville, it may be +recalled, made some very disparaging remarks in regard to the latter on +the occasion of his expedition against the Senecas. Another accusation, +for which there was undoubted foundation, was that the officers were +allowed to retain the pay of the soldiers who received permission to do +civilian work. A soldier could always earn in one form or another of +manual labour, much more than his military wages amounted to; and the +custom sprang up of retaining and dividing amongst the officers the pay +of those who engaged in such labour. The court finally took cognizance +of the practice, and condemned it. Still more serious complaint was +made, Charlevoix says, of Frontenac's toleration of the liquor trade. He +quotes on this subject a letter written by an ecclesiastic, the Abbe de +Brisacier, to Pere Lachaise, the king's confessor, in which it is stated +that "brutalities and murders are being committed in the streets of +Quebec by intoxicated Indian men and women, who in that condition have +neither shame nor fear." There is also a letter extant from the worthy +Superior of the Sulpicians at Montreal, M. Dollier de Casson, dated 7th +October 1691, to a friend in France, that is really pathetic in its +terms. If, he says, "our incomparable monarch" only knew the truth of +the matter, "the uprightness of his intentions would not be misled by +those numerous emissaries of the Evil One who spread the belief that +without liquor we should have no savages visiting us and no fur trade." +He speaks of liquor as "_un damnable ecueil_"--a damnable rock on which +the poor Indian makes shipwreck--and gives a pitiful account of some of +the horrors to be seen almost daily in the Indian missions. It may be +doubted whether the condition of things was any worse in this respect +under Frontenac than under Denonville, when the whole country seemed to +be more or less paralyzed through the excessive use of brandy. It may +possibly, indeed, have been better; the comparative efficiency of +military operations may not unreasonably be held to point in that +direction. + +Frontenac and Champigny were not openly at strife, but judging by a +letter written by the latter, and dated 4th November 1693, the governor +acted very tyrannically towards him. He quotes the bishop as saying +that Frontenac treats him (Champigny) worse than he ever treated +Duchesneau. He only puts up with it, he says, in order to carry out his +instructions to live peaceably with the governor at all costs, and in +the hope that the minister will appreciate the sacrifice he is making. + +Frontenac, when in France, had lived much at court, and had doubtless +witnessed and participated in many of the elaborate festivities which +royalty was wont to grace with its presence. It is not surprising that +he was ambitious to have some little echo of Versailles in his mimic +court at Quebec. Never had the public of that capital been so disposed +to relaxation and enjoyment as in the winter of 1693-4 when the country +seemed to see some days of prosperity and tranquillity before it. Great, +therefore, was the enthusiasm when in the holiday season two dramatic +representations were given at the chateau. Officers and ladies took part +in the performances, and the plays _Nicomede_ and _Mithridate_ were +wholly unobjectionable. Everybody was happy except the clergy, who saw +in such mundanities the most serious danger to the spiritual welfare of +the community. The Abbe Glandelet of the Seminary was the first to raise +a cry of alarm, preaching a sermon in the cathedral, in which he essayed +to prove that no one could attend a play without incurring mortal sin. +Then the bishop issued a mandate a little more moderate in its terms, +in which he distinguished between comedies innocent in their nature, but +which under certain circumstances may be dangerous, and those which are +absolutely bad and criminal in themselves, such as the comedy of +_Tartuffe_ and similar ones. _Tartuffe_, although his Majesty had +listened to it on more than one occasion, and entertained a particular +friendship for its author, was to the ecclesiastical world a terror. The +bishop had heard a report that it was to be put upon the boards next, +and fearing that his mandate alone might not have sufficient effect, he +took occasion of a chance meeting with Frontenac to offer him a thousand +francs if he would not produce it. Frontenac's friends say that he never +had any intention of producing it; but he took the bishop's money all +the same, and, it is stated, gave it next day to the hospitals. It is +somewhat remarkable that Frontenac should have taken the money whether +he did or did not intend to produce the play, and equally so that the +bishop should have considered him accessible to a purely pecuniary +argument in a matter of the kind. + +It has been mentioned that in the summer of 1693 an Oneida chief had +come to Quebec and talked of peace, and that, having gone back to his +people, he returned in October with propositions which the governor +contemptuously rejected. In the month of January following, two +messengers came from the Iroquois country to say that, if they could +have a safe-conduct, chiefs from each of the Five Nations would come +down with authority to negotiate for peace. A safe-conduct was promised, +but Frontenac expressly stipulated that one particular Onondaga chief, +Teganissorens, with whom he had had negotiations many years before, +should accompany the delegation. In April a number of delegates came, +but without Teganissorens. Frontenac refused to deal with them, and said +that if any of them dared to come to see him again without that chief, +he would put them into the kettle. This had its effect, for towards the +end of May two delegates from each nation came down, Teganissorens being +of the number. Belts were presented, and the language of the delegates +was all that could be desired. "Onontio," said Teganissorens, presenting +the sixth belt, "I speak to you in the name of the Five Nations. You +have devoured all our chief men, and scarce any more are left. I ought +to feel resentment on account of our dead. By this belt I say to you +that we forget them; and, as a token that we do not wish to avenge them, +we throw away and bury our hatchet under the ground, that it may never +more be seen. To preserve the living we shall think no more of the +dead." The personal appearance of the orator, known to the English as +Decanisora, has been described by Colden in his _History of the Five +Nations_, published in 1727. According to that author he was a tall, +well-formed man, with a face not unlike the busts of Cicero; and we know +from the French official narrative that he spoke with remarkable +fluency and grace. The count replied in a conciliatory manner; on both +sides there seemed to be good dispositions towards peace, but yet no +definite understanding was arrived at. The Iroquois wished to include +the English in the peace, but Frontenac, of course, was not at liberty +to make peace with a people with whom his master, the French king, was +at war. The savages agreed, however, to give up their prisoners; and +Orehaoue was sent with them to accept delivery of the captives and bring +them back. The Onondagas for some reason refused to surrender theirs, +but the other tribes made good the promise of their delegates. Among +those who were released were some who had been detained since the +massacre of Lachine, and in general they had not much complaint to make +of their treatment. It was a proud day for Orehaoue when, completing the +important duty entrusted to him, he was able to restore the long missing +ones to country and home. + +The majority of the tribes must have wished for peace, or they would not +have given up their prisoners. It was, however, as much against the +interest of the English to have peace established between the Iroquois +and the French, as it was against the interest of the latter that there +should be peace between the Abenaquis and the New Englanders. A long +period of intrigue followed, with plotting and counter-plotting between +the different parties concerned. The English on their side were striving +to stir up the Iroquois against the French, and the French on theirs to +incite the Abenaquis against the English; the Iroquois talked peace to +the French, but were working all the time to draw the Lake tribes away +from their alliance; while the French commanders in the West were doing +their best to keep their Indians on the war-path against the Iroquois. +Intrigue reigned too among the Lake tribes; for an influential chief +called the Baron was trying hard to persuade them to join the Iroquois. +Some horrible treacheries and cruelties were meantime being perpetrated +in that region. The French at Michilimackinac, where La Motte Cadillac +had replaced Louvigny, killed two Iroquois who had been brought into the +camp in the guise of prisoners, but who were suspected of being +emissaries from their nation acting in collusion with the Baron. The +latter and his associates were very angry at first, but in the end +yielded to the French, and handed over another Iroquois, whom they had +with them. The French determined, La Potherie says, to make an example +of him. The Ottawas were invited "to drink the broth of an Iroquois," +which they did after the victim had been put to death with cruel +tortures in which a Frenchman took the lead. Not long after four others +were similarly treated. The object, of course, in getting the Ottawas +and Hurons to participate in these cruelties was to render peace with +the Iroquois impossible. + +In the summer of 1695, Frontenac carried out his long-cherished design +of restoring the fort at Cataraqui. The scheme was strongly opposed by +the intendant, Champigny, who had managed in some way to win the court +over to his views. The expedition organized by Frontenac consisted of +seven hundred men, and was placed by him under the command of the +Marquis of Crisafy, a Neapolitan noble, who, as Charlevoix informs us, +had been guilty of treason in his own country, and so been obliged to +take service under the French king. Scarcely had the expedition started +before a letter from the Comte de Pontchartrain was placed in +Frontenac's hand enjoining him not to take any steps in the matter of +re-establishing the fort. Anything more _mal a propos_ could scarcely +have happened. Had Frontenac been a timid man, he would have sent a +messenger after Crisafy, and ordered him back; but his service of many +years in many lands had accustomed the veteran to taking responsibility; +and, persuaded as he was that he knew better what the interest of the +country required than the king and the minister put together, he allowed +the expedition to proceed. Within a month it had returned to Montreal +after having put the fort once more in a condition of defence at a cost +of sixteen thousand francs. Forty-eight men were left behind as a +garrison. Frontenac had now a base for the operations which he felt sure +would be required against the Iroquois, and which in point of fact were +carried out in the following year. The king, on hearing of what had +been done, did not censure the governor, but merely asked him to +consider carefully, in consultation with M. de Champigny, whether it was +really for the advantage of the colony that the fort should be +maintained. In the interest of harmony the court had for some time +followed the practice of writing to the governor and the intendant +jointly, and requiring them to make joint despatches. Notwithstanding +this prudent arrangement, each of the high officials managed to bring +his own private views before the minister or the king, as the case might +be. In joint consultations the will of Frontenac was pretty sure to +carry the day. His fort henceforth was safe. + +We may now, while a desultory and not very eventful warfare is being +waged between the colony and its traditional enemy, the Iroquois, and +while negotiations and intrigues are being carried on in triangular +fashion between the French, their allies, and the common foe, turn for a +few moments to another field, a far distant one, in which Canadian +enterprise, bravery, and military aptitude won repeated successes, and, +on one occasion at least, performed deeds of lasting renown. We have +already related the expedition under M. de Troyes to Hudson's Bay in the +summer of 1686 in which Iberville and his brother Ste. Helene took part. +Troyes returned to Quebec in the same year, and, as we have seen, joined +Denonville's campaign against the Senecas. Iberville seems to have +remained in the Hudson's Bay country till the following year, for we +hear of his returning to Quebec in the fall of 1687 with a large amount +of booty in the way of furs. The Hudson's Bay Company of England, in a +petition which they addressed to the king asking for redress, put the +amount of loss they had sustained by this expedition at L50,000, quite +probably an over-valuation. After this adventure Iberville, in company +with his brother Maricourt, seems to have gone to France; but two years +later both are in the bay again defending Fort Albany against an English +vessel. Later in the year, in the absence of Iberville, who had gone to +Quebec with a cargo of furs, the English possessed themselves of the +fort; but, returning in the summer of 1690, he wrested it from them +again, and again sailed to Quebec with furs, this time to the value of +80,000 francs. The next year he went to France, and in July 1692 +returned with two French vessels _L'Envieuse_ and _Le Poli_, destined +for operations in Hudson's Bay. As he did not reach Quebec, however, +till the 18th August, it was considered that the season was too far +advanced for an attempt in that quarter; and the vessels were +consequently diverted to Acadia in order that they might operate against +the newly erected fort at Pemaquid. As stated in our last chapter, the +expedition proved a failure. In the following year _Le Poli_, which +Iberville had taken back to France, was sent out again to Canada with a +companion vessel, _L'Indiscret_. It was intended that they should +proceed to Hudson's Bay, but they only arrived at Quebec on the 22nd +July, and, as the king had expressly stipulated that _Le Poli_ should +return to France that year, every practical man in Canada saw at once +that she at least could not take part in the expedition. Then could +there be any expedition? It was at first proposed that Iberville should +make the best he could of _L'Indiscret_ and an English ship he had +captured on the way out, the _Mary Sarah_; and a number of French +captains who were in port at the time were formed into a commission to +report on the matter from a practical point of view. Their report, made +on the 7th August, was unfavourable as regarded both vessels. +_L'Indiscret_ does not seem to have had any armament, and though guns +could have been provided for her at Quebec, the captains doubted whether +either decks or hull were strong enough to admit of her conversion into +an effective fighting ship, or indeed whether she was suitable at all +for northern navigation. As to the _Mary Sarah_, she was a very poor +sailer, and would only prove an embarrassment. Iberville, who of course +expected, if he went, to winter in the bay, said he must have a full +year's provisions for the party; and one of the points the captains +inquired into was whether there was accommodation in the ships for all +the stores required. As one of the necessities of the voyage they put +down 154 barriques of wine, or, alternatively, 38 of brandy. As the +barrique contains something over 50 gallons, the estimate was for about +2000 gallons of brandy, not an illiberal allowance. The upshot of the +matter was that there was no expedition that year, and that the English +had all their own way in the bay, capturing once more the fort at +Albany, together with furs to the value, as stated, of 150,000 francs, +the property of the Compagnie du Nord. + +The news of this serious loss arrived at Quebec in August just after the +idea of an expedition had been abandoned, and was carried to France by +M. de Serigny, one of Iberville's brothers. The French government +thereupon determined to organize a strong force for the purpose of +securely establishing French supremacy in those northern waters. Serigny +was accordingly sent back to Quebec in the summer of 1694, with +instructions to Frontenac to lend as many soldiers as he could spare for +the enterprise. No time was lost in executing the order. On the 10th +August Iberville with Serigny and another brother M. de Chateauguay, and +over a hundred picked Canadians set sail for Hudson's Bay in two +frigates of twenty and thirty guns respectively. The first point of +attack was to be Port Nelson on the west side of the bay, garrisoned by +about fifty English, and mounting thirty-six cannon. Having arrived at +the place on the 24th September, Iberville demanded its surrender, which +was refused. The assailants had much the advantage in strength, and on +the 13th October the fort surrendered. The Canadians took up their +quarters there for the winter; and when summer came Iberville decided to +wait in the neighbourhood in the hope of capturing one or two English +trading vessels which were expected to arrive. None came, however, and +he set sail in September, leaving La Forest in charge with sixty men. +Contrary winds rendering his return to Canada difficult, he steered his +course for France, and arrived safely at Rochelle, where he wrote out a +full account of his adventures and achievements. + +It was related in the last chapter how, in the following year (1696), +Iberville, in conjunction with Saint-Castin and the neighbouring +Indians, had captured and destroyed the English fort of Pemaquid, on the +west side of what is now Penobscot Bay. His instructions were, as soon +as this had been accomplished, to sail for Newfoundland, take St. +John's, and harry the English settlements strewn along the eastern +coast. This enterprise had been carefully prepared beforehand, and a +number of fishing vessels from St. Malo had been armed for the purpose. +There was a French governor stationed at Placentia, M. de Brouillan, to +whom instructions had been sent to co-operate with M. d'Iberville. All +accounts agree in saying that this officer was a man of an extremely +surly and jealous temper. Anxious to win the glory and profit of +capturing St. John's without assistance, he did not await the arrival of +Iberville before setting out on the enterprise. With the help of the St. +Malo men he captured one or two English vessels; but, owing to +disagreements that arose between him and his men, nothing more was +accomplished. Returning to Placentia he found that Iberville with his +Canadians had arrived. Some dispute arose as to who should command the +combined force; finally it was agreed that Iberville should have that +honour. It is doubtful whether the Canadians would have consented to +serve under any other leader. The capture of St. John's was effected on +the 1st December; but no booty of any consequence was taken, as some +English vessels had shortly before removed everything of value. Then +followed a cruel winter raid on the poor fisher-folk of the coast who +were not in a condition to make any resistance. All the hamlets were +burned, and the French writers say that two hundred of the English +inhabitants were killed, surely a most unnecessary slaughter. + +Other work and other laurels somewhat worthier of a warrior's brow were, +however, awaiting the redoubtable Canadian chief. In the month of May +1697, when the desolation in Newfoundland was complete, his brother +Serigny arrived from France with five ships of war, the _Pelican_, the +_Palmier_, the _Wasp_, the _Profond_, and the _Violent_. Port Nelson had +again fallen into the hands of the English; and this expedition, which +Iberville was to command, had been organized for the purpose of retaking +it. For trading purposes it was much the most important port on the bay, +being the outlet of a vast fur-bearing region stretching towards Lake +Superior. It was July before the squadron sailed from Placentia, +Iberville taking command of the _Pelican_, and his brother of the +_Palmier_. One ship carrying stores was crushed and lost amid floating +ice, though the crew were saved. The others were in great danger. When +the _Pelican_ got free her companions were nowhere to be seen, and +Iberville pursued his way towards Port Nelson alone, hoping that the +other vessels would make their appearance after a time. He had nearly +reached his destination when three sail did heave in sight, which he +took to be the missing vessels. He was soon undeceived. They were armed +English merchantmen--the _Hampshire_, of fifty-two guns; the _Daring_, +of thirty-six; and the _Hudson's Bay_, of thirty-two. The chances looked +bad for the _Pelican_, which had but forty-four; but Iberville was +accustomed to taking chances, and he did not decline the unequal fight. +The French commander had the advantage of the wind, and seems not to +have engaged more than one vessel at a time. After some hours of +cannonading he came to close quarters with the _Hampshire_, and, +delivering some terrible broadsides, caused her to sink in that dreary +sea with all on board. The _Hudson's Bay_, which he next attacked, soon +struck her flag, while the _Daring_, doing little honour or justice to +her name, seized a favouring wind and escaped. The _Pelican_ had by no +means escaped Scot free. So badly shattered was she that, having +stranded a few miles from the fort, and a gale having sprung up, she +went to pieces. Some of the crew were lost, while, of those who reached +land, a number died from cold and exhaustion. Snow was lying a foot deep +on the ground; and had it not been for the timely arrival of the +missing vessels, the whole party would doubtless have perished, unless +they could have made their way to the fort and thrown themselves on the +mercy of the enemy. As it was, the work of the expedition was now +proceeded with. Cannon and mortar were landed. The fort was only +protected by a palisade, and though it mounted a few light cannon, it +was quite unable to withstand a bombardment. The commandant, therefore, +though at first he refused to surrender, was soon compelled to lower his +flag. He obtained honourable terms for his garrison, but was obliged to +hand over a vast quantity of furs. Iberville after this signal +triumph--a triumph, as Parkman describes it, "over the storms, the +icebergs, and the English"--left his brother in charge of the captured +fort, and, taking the two best vessels left, sailed for France, where he +arrived early in November. + +The news which greeted him there was that, just about the time he was +sailing from the bay, peace had been signed[54] between England and +France. By the terms of the peace Louis was to acknowledge William III +as rightful King of England and Anne as his successor, and to withdraw +all assistance from the exiled James. As regards the colonies, the most +important provision was that the _status quo ante bellum_ should be +re-established. Thus the gallant fight that Iberville had waged, one +against three, and all the bitter hardships which he and his men had +endured by sea and land, had been in vain. Port Nelson and the other +ports in Hudson's Bay would have to revert to the English. All boundary +questions in dispute between the two nations were to be settled by +commissioners appointed for that purpose. + +Returning now to Canada, and going back a year and a half in our +narrative, that is to say, to the early summer of 1696, we find Count +Frontenac making his plans for the campaign he had for some time felt to +be necessary against the Iroquois, but particularly against the most +obstinately hostile nation of the confederacy, the Onondagas. He had no +great reason to think that the court desired him to engage in this +enterprise, for all the counsels he had lately been receiving from that +quarter had been in favour of contraction rather than expansion, of +peaceful rather than warlike measures. He trusted, however, that if he +signally succeeded, as he expected to do, all would be not only condoned +but approved, including his disobedience of orders in re-establishing +Fort Frontenac the year before, a matter in regard to which he had not +heard from the court as yet. The expedition as organized was one which +certainly should have been adequate for the punishment of the Iroquois, +if they would only stay to be punished. It consisted of four battalions +of regulars of two hundred men each, and four of militia, numerically +somewhat stronger. With these were five hundred mission Indians, +Iroquois from the Saut, near Montreal, and Abenaquis from Sillery, near +Quebec. Two battalions of regulars, with most of the Indians, +constituted the vanguard, which was under the command of M. de +Callieres. The militia, under M. de Ramesay, Governor of Three Rivers, +were placed in the centre, while M. de Vaudreuil brought up the rear, +consisting of the two remaining battalions of regulars and the rest of +the Indians. Frontenac himself, with his staff and a number of +volunteers, took a position between the van and the centre. In this +order the expedition started from Lachine on the 6th July. In fifteen +days it had reached Fort Frontenac, where it halted a week, awaiting the +arrival of a contingent of Ottawas which La Motte Cadillac had promised +to send from Michilimackinac. As this reinforcement did not arrive, the +expedition pushed on, and in two days reached the mouth of the Oswego +River. Here the rapids proved very difficult, and several portages were +necessary. On these occasions the count, notwithstanding his +seventy-five years, was prepared to foot it like the rest; but the +Indians would have none of it: they raised him aloft in his canoe, +"singing and yelling with joy." + +On the 4th August the army reached the principal fort of the Onondagas +only to find it abandoned and burnt. There was nothing to do but, as on +former similar occasions, to destroy the corn. An old Onondaga Indian +who had remained in the neighbourhood was captured and put to death with +horrible tortures, which he endured with the greatest fortitude; +reviling his enemies with his latest breath, and calling the French +"dogs," and their Indian allies "the dogs of dogs," bidding them, at the +same time, to learn from him how to suffer when their turn should come. +While such havoc as was possible was being wrought in the Onondaga +habitations, Vaudreuil was detached from the main force to do similar +damage in the country of the Oneidas. As he approached their village, +some deputies of the tribe came forward to offer submission, and beg +that their crops might not be destroyed, but Vaudreuil told them he had +to obey his orders, and that, if they chose, they might come and dwell +with the French, where they would not want for anything. While the +detachment was engaged in the work of destruction news came that a force +of three hundred English was marching to attack them, whereupon the +Abenaquis expressed great joy, saying that they would not need to waste +powder on such enemies, their tomahawks and knives would be enough. The +English did not come, however. Governor Fletcher, of New York, was on +the move; but, by the time he had gathered a force, he learnt that the +French had gone. It is difficult to see in what respect this campaign, +which was precisely of the kind that Frontenac had said a few years +before he did not approve, was more effectual than that of Denonville in +1687; Frontenac, nevertheless, represented it to the king as a notable +victory. He could be pious in his phraseology when he liked; and he +wrote that the Iroquois had been smitten at his approach with a panic +which could only have come from Heaven. The Iroquois were surely in hard +luck in having to fight, at the same moment, human foes in superior +numbers, and armed with superior weapons, and celestial ones capable of +paralyzing their faculties in the moment of their greatest need. But not +more actively did the gods and goddesses of Olympus intervene on the +plain of Troy on behalf of well-greaved Greeks or horse-taming Trojans +than did the higher powers, if we can trust the narratives of the time, +on behalf of the well-musketed Canadians. + +On the 10th August the return journey was begun, and on the 20th the +army reached Montreal. Some lives had been lost in the rapids; otherwise +there had been no casualties. In concluding his letter to the king, +Frontenac, after praising the officers under his command, particularly +M. de Callieres, put in a modest word for himself: "I do not know +whether your Majesty will consider that I have tried to do my duty, and, +if so, whether you will judge me worthy of some mark of honour such as +may enable me to live the brief remainder of my life in some +distinction. However your Majesty may decide, I must humbly beg you to +believe that I am prepared to sacrifice the remainder of my days in your +Majesty's service with the same ardour which I have always hitherto +displayed." His Majesty was graciously pleased to say in reply, by the +mouth of the minister, that he was entirely satisfied with the count's +expedition against the Onondagas and Oneidas, and with his whole +conduct. After dealing with other matters the minister added: "Until his +Majesty has it in his power to bestow on you more marked proofs of his +satisfaction, he has granted you his Military Order of St. Louis, and +you will find herewith his permission to you to wear its cross." This +was a distinction of which his subordinate Callieres, as well as M. de +Vaudreuil and the intendant, Champigny, were already in enjoyment; yet +it was all that the very decided merit of M. de Frontenac was able to +extract. It is said that the violent take the kingdom of heaven by +force; but it is also said that the meek shall inherit the earth. +Frontenac tried to make his way by dint of self-assertion, but in the +end his success was only moderate. The enemies whom he thrust aside, or +cowed into silence, could whisper at opportune moments, and their +whispers did him no good; while sometimes they could secure +gratifications for themselves decidedly worth having. + +Various inconclusive negotiations for peace followed the Onondaga +campaign; and things dragged on in this way till news came in January +1698, though not through an authorized channel, of the signing of the +Peace of Ryswick. The officer in command at Albany, Peter Schuyler, had +deputed Captain John Schuyler and one Dellius to carry the news to +Callieres at Montreal. Frontenac received it at Quebec a few days later. +The messengers stated that a new governor was coming out to New +York--the Earl of Bellomont--and mentioned that instructions had been +given to their Indians to cease their warfare against the French. +Frontenac sent a reply stating that he would have to await confirmation +of the news from his own government; but he did not think it well to +recognize that part of the message which assumed, on the part of the +English, authority over the Iroquois. Early in the following June (1698) +Schuyler and Dellius came, bringing some twenty French prisoners of all +ages, and also a letter from the Earl of Bellomont to Frontenac, +forwarding copies in French and Latin of the treaty of peace, and +proposing that Frontenac should give up all his Iroquois prisoners to +him, undertaking, on his part, to secure the restoration of all the +French prisoners whom the Iroquois might be holding. This brought things +to an issue. Frontenac replied in firm but courteous terms, saying that, +although he was still without advices from his government, he was +prepared to hand over all English prisoners in his custody, but that he +could not understand how his Lordship could have instructed his +delegates to ask for the return of the Iroquois prisoners. The Iroquois +had been uninterruptedly subjects of the French king from a time prior +to the taking of New York by the English from the Dutch. So far as they +were concerned, therefore, the Earl of Bellomont need not give himself +any trouble, as they were suing for peace, had engaged to restore all +their French prisoners, and had given hostages for the fulfilment of +their promise. He also referred, as a further proof of French authority, +to the missions which they had maintained among the Iroquois for over +forty years. This letter was dated 8th June. Bellomont replied on the +13th August, manifesting much irritation at Frontenac's refusal to +recognize the Iroquois as English subjects, and consequently covered by +the peace. He told Frontenac that he had sent word to those nations to +be on their guard, that he had furnished them with arms and munitions of +war, and promised them assistance in case they were attacked. As to the +Jesuit missionaries, the Indians had repeatedly entreated him "to expel +those gentlemen from amongst them," their wish being "to have some of +our Protestant ministers among them, instead of your missionaries, in +order for their instruction in the Christian religion." Here was a +pretty quarrel right on the head of a peace! Frontenac replied with his +customary firmness, saying that he would pursue his course unflinchingly +and insist on the fulfilment by the Iroquois of the engagement they had +entered into before the declaration of peace. He referred to the fact +that commissioners were to be appointed to decide questions of boundary, +and said that, such being the case, the earl had taken too absolute a +position. Here the correspondence ended so far as Frontenac was +concerned. He was fighting in a losing cause, for the claim of England +to the territory in dispute was shortly afterwards recognized. He could, +however, at least say that the cause was not lost through him; to the +last he maintained with courage, resolution, and dignity, what he held +to be the rights of his sovereign. As regards the formal establishment +of peace with the Iroquois it was not to be in his time. His last +despatch to the court bears date the 25th October. He tells the minister +that the Iroquois, who had promised to come and conclude peace and bring +back their prisoners, have not yet done so, and that he has no doubt +they are held back by the Earl of Bellomont. The minister answers that, +to prevent a continuation of disputes, he had consented that the tribes +in question should remain undisturbed and enjoy the peace concluded at +Ryswick. The boundary question would be settled in due time by the +commissioners appointed for that purpose. + +This reply Count Frontenac was not destined to see. Three months, +indeed, before it was penned the curtain had fallen upon his eager, +strenuous, and, broadly speaking, honourable life. About the middle of +November he fell ill. He was in his seventy-ninth year. In a few days, +if not from the first, he knew that he had passed into the shadow of +death, that he was at last meeting One whom he could not conquer. The +old man made all his arrangements with admirable calmness. On the 22nd +November he sent for the notary to make his will. He expressed a desire +to be buried, not in the cathedral church, but in that of the +Recollets, whose milder theology had best suited his practical and +somewhat Erastian turn of mind. He makes pecuniary provision for a daily +mass on his behalf for one year, and a yearly one thereafter on the +anniversary of his death, Mme. de Frontenac to share in it after her +death. His heart was to be placed in a chapel of the Church of St. +Nicolas des Champs at Paris, where the remains of his sister, Mme. de +Monmort, were already reposing. A merchant of Quebec, Francois Hazeur, +and his private secretary, are named as his executors. He requests +Champigny to support his friends in having his wishes carried out. He +bequeaths to him a crucifix of aloes wood, and to Mme. de Champigny a +reliquary. The bishop, M. de Saint Vallier, came to see him several +times during his illness, as also did the intendant; death, not for the +first time, was acting the part of reconciler. It was rather expected by +the clerical party that, in his last moments, the old warrior would +express deep contrition for his deficiencies on the religious side and +his frequent opposition to the policy of the church; but in this they +were disappointed. "God gave him full time," says an anonymous critic of +the period, who has annotated very harshly the funeral sermon preached +over his remains, "to recognize his errors, and yet to the last he +showed a great indifference in all these matters. In a word, he behaved +during the few days before his death like one who had led an +irreproachable life and had nothing to fear." The last rites of +religion were administered by the Recollet father, Olivier Goyer, and on +the 28th November 1698, retaining his faculties to the last, the veteran +passed peacefully away. + +What manner of man he was, this narrative, it may be trusted, has in +some measure shown. Compounded of faults and virtues, his was a +character that appealed strongly to average human nature. Common people +understood, admired and trusted him. His faults were those common, +everyday ones,[55] which it is not impossible to forgive; and he had the +more than compensating virtues of courage, decision, simplicity, +underlying kindliness, and humour. His nature, vehement, turbulent, and +self-asserting throughout his early and middle manhood, was gaining +towards the end that ripeness in which, according to Shakespeare, lies +the whole significance of life. The Abbe Gosselin has defined with great +exactness his attitude towards religion. "Frontenac," he says, "was a +Christian and a religious man after the fashion of his time, and as +people generally are in the great world; attached to the church, but +with all the Gallican ideas of the period, according to which the church +was only a dependency of the state; making it a point of honour to +discharge the duties incumbent on a gentleman and a Christian, but +drawing a clear distinction between the demands of duty and those of +perfection."[56] The late Abbe Verreau, quoted by Gosselin in his _Life +of Laval_, has a few words of mingled praise and blame, which, perhaps, +in their general effect are not far from the truth. "The harsh doctrines +of Jansenism," he says, "and domestic troubles had infused into his +nature something unrefined which the outward manners of the aristocrat +did not entirely conceal. . . . When, however, he yielded to the natural +bent of his mind, he attracted every one by the intellectual grace and +charm of his conversation. . . . His ambition was to be in New France +the reflection of the great monarch who ruled in Old France." The Abbe +probably exaggerates the effect of Jansenist doctrines upon the mind of +Frontenac, and also that of his conjugal difficulties; but he rightly +discerns an element in his character which clashed with his finer and +more distinguished qualities. + + * * * * * + +There is no known extant portrait of Frontenac. For many years a certain +photograph was sold at Quebec as representing him on his death-bed, and +was reproduced in different works relating to Canadian history. Parkman, +the historian, sent it to the late M. Pierre Margry of Paris, the +well-known authority on early Canadian history, who at once pronounced +that it was not a portrait of Frontenac at all, but had been taken from +one of the illustrations published in Lavater's celebrated work on +physiognomy, the original being a German professor of the name of +Heidegger. How it ever came to pass for a portrait of Frontenac remains +a mystery. The matter is fully discussed in Mr. Ernest Myrand's work, +_Sir William Phipps devant Quebec_. So far as appears, it was through a +correspondence between Mr. Myrand and M. Pierre Margry, that the fact of +the unauthenticity of the alleged portrait of Frontenac first became +known in Canada. + +The funeral sermon over the deceased governor was preached by the +Recollet father who had attended his death-bed, and the manuscript of it +is still preserved in the library of Laval University. The eulogium of +the sympathetic father may here and there be a little forced; but surely +a generous meed of praise was due to the man who, when past the meridian +of life, had undertaken and borne unflinchingly for many years the +burden of so difficult and dangerous an administration as that of +Canada. The manuscript has been annotated by an anonymous and unfriendly +ecclesiastical hand, one of whose criticisms is quoted above. The +critic's point of view is further indicated by the comment on the +preacher's statement that Frontenac diligently practised the reading of +spiritual books. "As for his reading, it was often Jansenist books, of +which he had a great many, and which he greatly praised and lent freely +to others." The _odium theologicum_ here is not difficult to discern. +The people, however, who cared little for theological subtleties and +animosities, but who judged their fallen chief as a man and an +administrator, mourned him sincerely. His death was announced by the +intendant to the king in words that are almost touching; and Callieres, +a good soldier, and a man after his own heart, ruled in his stead. + +[Footnote 54: The Peace of Ryswick, 20th September 1697.] + +[Footnote 55: [Greek: Ta koina ton anthropon pathe.]--Aristotle, +_Rhet._ vii.] + +[Footnote 56: _Monseigneur de Saint Vallier et son Temps_, p. 32.] + + + + + INDEX + + + + + INDEX + + + A + + Abenaquis Indians, hostile to New England, 240; + incited by Governor Denonville, 249; + ravages committed by, 316; + attack settlement of York, 326; + repulsed at Wells, 327; + disposed to make peace with New England, 328; + French influence in opposite direction prevails, 330; + attack settlement of Oyster River, 330; + fired on from Fort Pemaquid, under flag of truce, 331 + + Acadia, attempt to form settlement in, 6; + seized by English under Kirke, 22; + subsequent vicissitudes, 268-72; + seized under orders from Cromwell, 268; + settlers disposed to trade with New England, 270; + Port Royal (Annapolis) made capital, 270; + visited by Meulles and Saint Vallier, and census taken, 271; + Port Royal and other posts captured by Phipps, who establishes + government, 274; + passes again under French control, 316 + + Agriculture in Canada, difficulties in the way of, 87 + + Aguesseau, Chancellor d', on French parliaments, 153 + + Ailleboust, M. d', succeeds Montmagny as governor, 35; + interim governor, 42 + + Albany, Fort, captured by Troyes, 206; + captured alternately by French and English, 343, 345 + + Andros, Sir Edmund, governor of New England, 263; + seized and imprisoned, 266 + + Argenson, Vicomte d', arrives as governor, 43; + on Laval, 45 + + Auteuil, Denis Joseph Ruette d', attorney-general, 106; + death of, 138 + + Auteuil, Francois d', son of Denis, succeeds him, 138; + makes trouble for Intendant Meulles, 174; + waits on Frontenac, 255 + + Avaugour, Baron Dubois d', governor, 45; + disagrees with clergy on liquor question, 46; + describes earthquake, 46 + + + B + + Ball, first given in Canada, 59 + + Beaucour, M. de, brave conduct of, in command of party against + Iroquois, 319; + superintends improvements in fortifications of Quebec, 326 + + Bellomont, Earl of, governor of New York, corresponds with Frontenac, + 355 + + Belmont, Abbe, on number of captives taken at Lachine, 226; + on excessive use of brandy, 312 and note + + Bernieres, Henri de, grand-vicar of bishop of Quebec, 111 + + Berthier, M. de, commands militia in campaign against Iroquois, 209 + + Bienville, Le Moyne de, joins war party against Schenectady, 235 + + Big Mouth (Grande Gueule), Onondaga orator, 184, 221 + + Bizard, officer of Frontenac, arrested by Perrot, 91 + + Boulduc, prosecutor of Prevote, dismissed, 138 + + Bourdon, Sister Anne, on divine protection of Quebec, 301 + + Bourgeoys, Sister Margaret, establishes Congregation de Notre Dame, + 29, 39; + impressed on arrival by poverty of country, 39 + + Bradstreet, Simon, made governor of Massachusetts, 266; + on failure of expedition against Quebec, 301 + + Brouillan, M. de, French governor at Placentia, Newfoundland, 346 + + Bruey, agent of governor Perrot at Montreal, 97 + + Buade, Antoine de, grandfather of Frontenac, 61 + + Buade, Henri de, father of Frontenac, 61 + + Buade, Louis de, Count Frontenac, see _Frontenac_ + + Bullion, Mme. de, benefactress of Hotel Dieu at Montreal, 29 + + + C + + Caen, William de, head of trading company, 23 + + Caen, Emery de, takes over Quebec from the English, 23 + + Callieres, M. de, memorandum by, on French claims in Hudson's Bay, 204; + commands regular troops in attack on Iroquois, 209; + sent to France to represent situation of colony, 230; + leads 800 men from Montreal to defence of Quebec, 292; + commands vanguard in attack on Onondagas, 351; + commended in despatches, 353; + succeeds Frontenac as governor, 362 + + Canada, population of, 36, 55, 58, 131, 147, 148; + poverty of, impresses Sister Margaret Bourgeoys, 39; + morals of the people, 58, 59; + over-governed, 131; + trade, 148; + affected by all the vicissitudes of Mother Country, 150, 151; + "farmers" of revenue appointed for, 154; + Bishop Saint Vallier's first description of country and inhabitants, + 192; + Governor Denonville's description, 192; + Saint Vallier's revised opinion, 193; + real character of the people, 193-5; + state of depression throughout the country, 219, 240; + drinking habits of people, 223; + described by Laval as the country of miracles, 301; + exhaustion of, after departure of New England fleet, 305, 317 + + Carignan-Salieres Regiment sent out, 51; + some of the officers settle in Canada and become seigneurs, 57 + + Carion, officer at Montreal, refuses to recognize Frontenac's order + for arrest of _coureurs de bois_, 91 + + Cartier, Jacques, voyages of, 1 + + Cataraqui, expedition of Courcelles to, 59; + of Frontenac, 76-84; + fort, known afterwards as Fort Frontenac, erected at, 83 + + Census of 1666, 55 + + Chambly, fort erected at, 51 + + Chambly, M. de, appointed governor of Acadia, 90, 269; + taken prisoner to Boston and there set at liberty, 269; + again governor, 270; + governor of Grenada (W.I.), 270 + + Champigny, Jean Bochart de, intendant, 207; + captures peaceful Indians for king's galleys, 215; + on sufferings of expeditionary force sent against Mohawks, 322; + complains of Frontenac's treatment of him, 336; + opposes restoration of Fort Frontenac, 341 + + Champlain, Samuel de, early career of, 3; + sails for St. Lawrence and explores river to Lachine rapids, 4; + explores Baie des Chaleurs, returns to France, 5; + accompanies de Monts to Acadia, 7; + founder of Quebec, 8; + plot against his life, 8; + expedition against Iroquois, 9; + returns to France and sails again for Canada, 10; + returns to France, marries, and sails again for Canada, 11; + prospects Island of Montreal, 12; + returns to France (1611), sails for Canada (1613), again to France, + again to Canada (1615), 13; + brings out Recollet missionaries, 13; + heads another expedition against Iroquois, 14; + begins construction of Chateau St. Louis, 15; + surrenders Quebec to English under Kirke, 20; + landed in England, 21; + urges restitution of Canada, 22; + sails for Quebec (1633), 24; + death of, 26 + + Chapais, M. Thos., his work on Talon referred to, 57 (note) + + Charlevoix, Pere, on bravery of Canadians and indifferent conduct of + French troops, 212; + on Lachine massacre, 224, 227; + on old age of Francois Hertel, 235 (note); + his account of "flag" incident in siege of Quebec, 295; + on character and conduct of Frontenac, 333-6 + + Charny-Lauson, temporary governor, 42 + + Chastes, M. de, trading patent granted to, 3; + death of, 5 + + Chateaufort, M. de, interim governor after death of Champlain, 27 + + Chateau St. Louis, Quebec, construction begun, 15 + + Chauvin, obtains patent for exclusive trade in Canada, 2; + sails to St. Lawrence, 3 + + Chedabucto (Guysborough, N.S.), Frontenac arrives at, 232 + + Chubb, commandant of Fort Pemaquid, fires on Indians while under flag + of truce, 331; + killed, 332 + + Clarke, Captain, killed at Fort Loyal, two daughters taken to Quebec, + 303 + + Clement, Pierre (author of _Vie de Colbert_), on causes of failure of + West India Company, 149; + on galley service, 215 + + Clermont, Chevalier de, killed in skirmish on Beaufort flats, 294 + + Colbert, creates West India Company, 49; + disapproves Frontenac's action in summoning "three estates," 67; + anti-clerical tendencies, 73; + Madame Maintenon's opinion of, 74; + advice to Courcelles in relation to ecclesiastical power, 115; + asks for particulars as regards effects of liquor traffic, 118; + speaks of bishop as aiming at too much power, 119; + overthrow of his commercial policy, 151 + + Company of New France, or of Hundred Associates, created by Cardinal + Richelieu, 19; + colonists sent out by, 28; + cedes some of its rights to colonists, 36; + new arrangement works badly, 37; + surrenders all its powers to the king (1663), 49; + its failure to fulfil its engagements, 55 + + Conde, Duke of, lieutenant-general for New France, 12 + + Congregation de Notre Dame, Montreal, established, 29 + + Connecticut, takes part in expedition against Montreal, 279 + + Corlaer, Indian name of Schenectady, which see. + Also Indian name for governors of New York, 253 (note) + + Council, created (1647) at Quebec, 37. + See also _Sovereign Council_. + + Courcelles, M. de, governor of Canada, 50; + arrives at Quebec, 51; + moves against Iroquois (Mohawks), 52; + character, 54; + expedition to Cataraqui, 59; + recalled, 60 + + _Coureurs de bois_, 37; + two classes of, 88; + Frontenac instructed to repress, 89; + twelve captured, 99; + one hanged, 100; + king's decisions respecting, 125; + difficulty in enforcing the law, 127; + amnesty granted on certain conditions, 127; + punishments prescribed for offenders, 128 + + Courtemanche, M. de, sent to Michilimackinac, 310 + + Crevecoeur, fort, built by La Salle, 160 + + Crisafy, Marquis of, conducts expedition for restoration of Fort + Frontenac, 341 + + Curacies, permanent (_cures fixes_), question of, 165, 190 + + + D + + D'Ailleboust, see _Ailleboust_ + + Damours, Mathieu, member of Sovereign Council, 106; + arrested by Frontenac, 139 + + Dauversiere, M. Royer de la, one of founders of Montreal colony, 32 + + Davis, Captain Sylvanus, captured at Fort Loyal, 252; + a prisoner in Quebec during siege by Phipps, 294 + + De Monts, see _Monts_ + + Denonville, Marquis de, succeeds M. de la Barre as governor, 189; + comes out in same ship as M. de Saint Vallier, 191; + gives unfavourable account of Canadian people, 192; + his piety, 197; + asks for more troops, 198; + corresponds with Dongan, governor of New York, 198; + desirous of constructing a fort at Niagara, 199; + proposes to French king to buy colony of New York, 202; + instructed to cultivate peaceful relations with English neighbours, + 203; + sends expedition to Hudson's Bay, 205; + receives reinforcements, 206; + determines to march against Iroquois, 207; + crafty policy, 208; + complains of French troops, 212; + erects fort at Niagara, 213; + asks for more troops, 217; + receives visit from Big Mouth, 221; + in attack by Iroquois on Lachine orders troops to remain on + defensive, 225; + recalled, 228; + orders Fort Frontenac to be blown up, 228; + stimulated Abenaquis to attack New England settlements, 249 + + Desquerat, Captain, killed at Lapraire, 313 + + Dollier de Casson, Sulpician, his history of Montreal, 34; + depicts evils of liquor traffic, 335 + + Domergue, Lieutenant, killed at Laprairie, 313 + + Dongan, Colonel, governor of New York, correspondence with La Barre, + 182; + policy with Iroquois, 183; + correspondence with Denonville, 199, 200; + claims right to trade with Lake tribes, 203; + demands destruction of Fort Niagara, 218; + advice to Iroquois, 219 + + Duchesneau, Jacques, intendant, 108; + his instructions, 109; + claims to rank above bishop, 115; + causes king's prohibition of trading licences to be registered in + Frontenac's absence, 117; + asked to furnish particulars as to ill effects of liquor traffic, 118; + censured for interfering in matters beyond his sphere, 120; + his recommendations on the _coureurs de bois_ question, 127; + dispute with Frontenac as to presidency of Sovereign Council, 133-40; + severely censured in despatch from minister, 134; + accuses Frontenac of manufacturing the news he sends to the minister, + 142; + his son imprisoned for disrespect to Frontenac, 143; + recall of, 143; + makes report on Acadia, 271 + + Dudley, Joseph, provisional governor of Massachusetts, 264 + + Dudouyt, Jean, grand-vicar of bishop of Quebec, 111; + sent to France by bishop in connection with liquor question, 118; + advice to bishop, 171 + + Dugas, Du Gua, or Du Guast, sieur de Monts, see _Monts_ + + Du Lhut, Daniel Greseylon, explorer, discoveries of, 162; + imprisoned on return to Quebec, 163; + appointed post commander among north-western tribes, 164; + diverts trade from English posts on Hudson's Bay to Montreal, 164; + under orders from La Barre confiscates goods in La Salle's fort of + St. Louis, 179; + instructed to rendezvous at Niagara, 181, 186, 187; + fortifies post at outlet of Lake Huron, 202 + + Dupont, Nicolas, member of Sovereign Council, 106 + + Duval, Jean, executed for conspiracy against Champlain, 8 + + + E + + Earthquake of 1662, 46, 47 + + Eau, Chevalier d', goes on embassy to Iroquois and is badly used, 262 + + English colonies, goods cheap in, 154; + paid better price for furs, 154, 175, 201; + political confusion prevailing in, after downfall of James II, 263 + + + F + + Faillon, abbe, quoted, 4, 9; + his description of conduct of Perrot, governor of Montreal, 96, 97 + + Fenelon, abbe de, intermediary between Frontenac and Perrot, 92; + indignant at Perrot's arrest, 93; + preaches sermon against Frontenac, 93; + carries round memorial in Perrot's favour, 96; + summoned to Quebec, 98; + his conduct before the council, 101; + sent to France, censured, and not allowed to return to Canada, 102, + 103 + + "Flag" incident in siege of Quebec, 295-8 + + France, condition of, in 1675-6, 150, 151 + + Frontenac, Louis de Buade, Comte de Palluau et, particulars respecting + his early life scanty, 61; + born in 1620, 61; + enters army under Prince of Orange at age of fifteen, 62; + promoted to rank of _marechal de camp_, 62; + peace of Westphalia (1648) releases him from military life, 63; + marriage and birth of son, 63; + his wife separates from him, 63; + extravagant habits, 64; + commands Venetian troops in defence of Crete against Turks, 64; + leaves France for Canada midsummer of 1672, 65; + endeavours to constitute "three estates," and summons an assembly, + 67; + action disapproved by king, 67; + his instructions regarding the ecclesiastical power, 69; + friendly to Sulpicians and Recollets, 74; + plans a visit to Cataraqui, 74; + conducts an expedition to Cataraqui, 76-84; + invites Iroquois to conference at that place, 79; + harangues them and distributes presents, 81, 82; + erects fort, 83; + expedition not approved by minister, 84; + Frontenac defends it, 85; + difficulties with Perrot, governor of Montreal, and the Abbe Fenelon, + 90-104; + captures twelve _coureurs de bois_, 99; + sends Perrot and Fenelon to France with report on case, 102; + the king's reply, 103; + enemies at court, 110; + honour paid to him in church curtailed by Laval, 112; + attitude towards ecclesiastical powers, 113; + difficulty with bishop over issue of trading permits, involving + carrying of liquor to Indians, 116; + king prohibits permits, 116; + visits Cataraqui (Fort Frontenac), 117; + appeals against king's decision, 117; + instructed not to meddle with questions of finance, etc., 120; + authorized to grant hunting permits, 125; + number to be issued restricted, 128; + dispute with intendant Duchesneau as to presidency of Sovereign + Council, 133-40; + censured by minister for his contentious spirit, 135; + again cautioned by king and minister, 136; + recalled, 143, 144; + asks home government for soldiers, 145; + summons conference on Indian question, 146; + arranges peace between Senecas and Ottawas, 146; + orders strengthening of fortifications of Montreal, 147; + relations with Du Lhut, 162; + has Recollet confessor, Father Maupassant, 165; + alleged disorders in his household, 165; + commends Sulpicians, 168; + his recall a triumph for clerical opponents, 171; + on return to France makes light of La Barre's demand for troops, 173; + reappointed governor of Canada, 229; + arrives at Chedabucto, 232; + arrives at Quebec, 232; + goes to Montreal, 233; + exaggerates number of killed in Lachine massacre, 227 (note); + tries to arrest destruction of Fort Frontenac, 233; + organizes raiding parties against English colonies, 234-6; + brings out with him from France survivors of Indians captured for + the galleys, 237; + sends deputation to Iroquois, 237; + sends reinforcements to La Durantaye, 241; + his address to the Lake tribes, 242; + result of his raids on English settlements, 253; + improves fortifications of Quebec, 254; + his relations with the Sovereign Council, 254-7; + goes to Montreal where anxiety prevails, 257; + his expedition to Lake Indians successful, 258; + dances a war-dance, 260; + protests to Massachusetts authorities against attack on Pentagouet, + 270; + gets news at Montreal of approach of expedition against Quebec, 282; + replies to Phipps's demand for surrender, 288, 289; + recommends attack on Boston by sea, 316; + describes ravages of Abenaquis, 317; + estimate of military losses in Canada, 318; + expresses himself as opposed to large expeditions, 320; + orders M. de Louvigny at Michilimackinac to send down Indians with + their furs, 323; + firm in negotiations with Iroquois, 325, 338; + complaints made against, 333-6; + gives theatrical representations at Quebec, 336; + question of _Tartuffe_, 337; + restores Fort Frontenac against instructions of minister, 341; + directs campaign against Iroquois, 350-3; + reports his victory to the king, and asks for recognition, 353; + receives cross of St. Louis, 354; + receives news of Peace of Ryswick, 354; + corresponds on question of sovereignty over Iroquois with Earl of + Bellomont, governor of New York, 355; + his last despatch to home government, 357; + illness and death, 357-9; + his will, 358; + no known portrait, 360; + funeral sermon and critical annotations thereon, 361 + + Frontenac, Mme., aversion of, for her husband, 63; + joins Mlle. de Montpensier, 63; + assisted Frontenac by her influence at court, 65 + + Frontenac, Fort, erected at Cataraqui, 83; + conceded to La Salle, 156; + seized by La Barre, 178; + restored to La Salle, 179; + Dongan demands its destruction, 218; + Denonville gives orders for blowing it up, 288; + order partially carried out, 234; + repaired, 234; + rebuilt, 341 + + Fur trade, burdensome restrictions on, 38, 154 + + + G + + Gaillardin, French historian, referred to, 152 + + Gerrish, Sarah, captured at Fort Loyal, exchanged for one of Phipps's + prisoners, 303 + + Girouard, Judge, on loss of life in massacre of Lachine, 224; + at La Chesnaye and other places, 226 + + Glandelet, abbe, preaches against theatre, 336 + + Glen, John Sanders, magistrate of Schenectady, life spared, 247 + + Gosselin, abbe, his opinion of Talon, 54; + on administration of La Barre, 172; + on Laval's choice of M. de Saint Vallier, 191; + on Frontenac's attitude towards religion, 359 + + Goyer, Olivier, Recollet father, preaches funeral sermon on Frontenac, + 361 + + Grande Gueule, see _Big Mouth_ + + Great Mohawk (Grand Agnie), Christian Mohawk leader, 246 + + _Griffon_, name of vessel built by La Salle and lost in Lake Michigan, + 159 + + Grignan, M. de, son-in-law of Mme. de Sevigne, a candidate for + governorship of Canada, 65 + + Guyard, Marie, see _Incarnation, Mere de l'_ + + + H + + Hebert, Louis, first regular settler at Quebec, 16 + + Henry IV of France, assassination of, 11 + + Hertel, Francois, commands Three Rivers war party, 235; + leader in massacre of Salmon Falls, 251; + joins M. de Portneuf in attack upon Fort Loyal, 251; + his old age, 235 (note) + + _History of Brandy in Canada_, quoted, 124 + + Hosta, M. d', killed at Laprairie, 312 + + Hotel Dieu, Montreal, established by Mlle. Mance, 29 + + Hotel Dieu, Quebec, origin of, 28 + + Hudson's Bay, English claim to, disputed by France, 204; + La Barre instructed to check English encroachments in, 205; + expedition under M. de Troyes captures English forts, 205; + Iberville's exploits in, 342-50; + English possessions in, restored by Peace of Ryswick, 349 + + Hudson's Bay Company, 203; + trading done and posts established by, 204; + redress claimed by, for losses inflicted by the French, 343 + + Hundred Associates, Company of, see _New France, Company of_ + + Hurons, destruction of, by Iroquois, 26 and note, 35; + join Frontenac's expedition to Cataraqui, 79; + dread being abandoned to Iroquois, 222 + + Hunting permits, issue of sanctioned, 125; + number to be issued annually limited, 128; + issue of, becomes a form of patronage, 129 + + + I + + Iberville, Le Moyne d', accompanies expedition to Hudson's Bay, 206; + joins war party against Schenectady, 235; + arrives from Hudson's Bay with two captured vessels, 325; + takes Fort Pemaquid, 331; + exploits in Hudson's Bay, 342-50; + sails for France and returns with two French ships, 343; + captures Port Nelson, 345; + sails for France, 346; + attacks English settlements in Newfoundland, 346; + takes St. John's, 347; + in his ship the _Pelican_ successfully engages three English vessels, + 348; + sails for France, 349 + + Illinois Indians, allies of French, attacked by Iroquois, 144 + + Incarnation, Mere de l' (Marie Guyard), arrival of, at Quebec, 28; + on _Jesuit Relations_, 30 (note); + on influence of convent teaching, 89 (note); + on rapid decline in Indian population, 168 (note) + + Indians (see also names of tribes or nations), menacing attitude of, + 17; + defrauded by traders, 18, 154; + not readily receptive of Christian doctrine, 167 + + Intendant, Jean Talon appointed as, 51; + office revived, 105; + Jacques Duchesneau appointed, 108; + Jacques de Meulles, 171; + Jean Bochart de Champigny, 207 + + Iroquois, Champlain joins Hurons and Algonquins in attacking, 9, 10, + 14; + nearly exterminate Hurons, 26 and note, 35; + demand establishment of French colony in their country, 40; + their confederacy, of what tribes composed, 41; + attack remnant of Hurons on Island of Orleans, 41; + checked at the Long Sault on the Ottawa by heroism of Dollard and + his companions, 44; + governor Courcelles marches against, 52; + similar expedition led by Tracy, 53; + invited by Frontenac to conference, 79; + consent to make a peace including Indian allies of French, 82; + under La Barre's administration seize canoes of French traders, 181; + La Barre's expedition against, 183; + Denonville's, 207-14; + capture of a number of peaceful Iroquois for king's galleys, 215; + reprisals, 218, 219; + massacre of Lachine, 224; + send envoys to meet Frontenac, 238; + native eloquence, 239; + worsted in skirmish on Ottawa River, 243; + Mohawk opinion of Schenectady massacre, 248; + ill treat embassy from Frontenac, 262; + renew their attacks, 307; + party of, destroyed at Repentigny, 308; + three prisoners burnt alive, 309; + another party surprised and destroyed, 319; + expedition against (Mohawks), 321; + peace negotiations, 337; + Onondaga orator, Teganissorens (Decanisora), 338; + Frontenac's campaign against, 350 + + + J + + Jemseg, for a short time headquarters of Acadia, 270 + + Jesuit fathers, arrival of, 17; + return after restoration of Canada to France, 25; + Frontenac's attitude towards, 113; + their missions, 166 + + _John and Thomas_, vice-admiral's ship in Phipps's squadron, 281 + + Jolliet, Louis, discoverer of Mississippi, 155 + + Jolliet, Zachary, his December journey from Michilimackinac to Quebec, + 240 + + Juchereau, Mere, reports repulse of some of Phipps's men at Riviere + Ouelle, 291; + on flag incident, 296; + on divine protection of Quebec, 301 + + + K + + Kirke brothers (David, Louis, and Thomas) capture Quebec, 21 + + Kirke, Louis, left in charge of Quebec, surrenders it to French on + conclusion of peace, 23 + + Kishon (the Fish), Indian name for governors of Massachusetts, 253 + + Kondiaronk, or the Rat, see _Rat_ + + + L + + La Barre, M. Lefebvre de, governor, arrival of, 171; + summons conference on Indian question, 172; + applies for troops, 172; + criticized in despatches by intendant, 173, 174; + takes to illegitimate trading, 175; + disparages discoveries of La Salle, 176; + seizes Fort Frontenac and Fort St. Louis, 177, 179; + instructed to restore to La Salle all his property, 180; + his unwise instructions to Iroquois, 180; + decides to make war on Senecas, 181; + corresponds with Colonel Dongan, governor of New York, 182; + leads expedition, 183; + arranges ignominious terms of peace, 186; + recalled, 188; + unfitness for his position, 189; + results of his weak policy, 198, 209 + + La Caffiniere, M. de, commander of squadron sent against New York, 234 + + La Canardiere, former name of Beauport flats, 293 (note) + + La Chesnaye, trader, La Barre's dealings with, 175 + + La Chesnaye settlement, Iroquois raid on, 226 + + Lachine, massacre of, 10, 224, 225 + + La Durantaye, post commander, ordered to rendezvous at Niagara, 181; + captures English canoes on the way, 210; + reports critical situation among Lake tribes, 240; + reinforced, 241 + + La Famine, La Barre's army encamps at, 184 + + La Forest, left in charge of Port Nelson, 346 + + La Grange-Trianon, Mlle. de, becomes wife of Frontenac, 63 + + Laguide, Madeleine, niece of Talon, wife of Francois Perrot, 97 + + La Hontan, Baron de, on treatment of captured Iroquois at Fort + Frontenac, 216; + on interview between Frontenac and Denonville, 233; + declines to go on embassy to Iroquois, 261; + his account of attack on Quebec by Phipps, 285 + + Lamberville, Jesuit father, missionary to the Iroquois, 144, 188, 208 + + La Motte Cadillac, post commander at Michilimackinac, 340 + + La Peltrie, Mme. de, arrival of, at Quebec, 28; + accompanies Maisonneuve to Montreal, 33 + + Laprairie, attack on, by war party under John Schuyler, 281; + serious encounter at, between Canadian forces and party under Peter + Schuyler, 312 + + La Salle, Rene Robert Cavelier de, sent to invite Iroquois to + conference, 79; + first commandant of Fort Frontenac (Cataraqui), 88; + reports Perrot's defiant proceedings to Frontenac, 92; + his views on sale of liquor to Indians, 123; + obtains grant of Fort Frontenac from king, 156; + obtains exclusive right of trading in Mississippi region, 158; + difficulties encountered by, 159, 161; + relations with Frontenac, 162; + discoveries disparaged by La Barre and also by the king, 176; + financial affairs, 178; + his forts and other property seized by La Barre restored to him, 179; + king takes him under his special protection, 180 + + Lauson, M. Jean de, governor, 38; + returns to France, 42 + + Laval-Montmorency, Francois Xavier de, arrival of as vicar-apostolic + and bishop of Petraea _in partibus_, 43; + sends M. de Queylus back to France, 43; + disagrees with governor Argenson, 45; + also with Avaugour, 46; + sails for France (1662), 46; + procures recall of Avaugour, and appointment of M. de Mezy, 48; + returns to Quebec September 1663, 48; + establishes Quebec Seminary, 48; + and Lesser Seminary, 49; + quarrels with Mezy, 50; + sails for France to settle question of bishopric, May 1672, 70; + made bishop of Quebec and returns to Canada, 1675, 71; + establishes ecclesiastical court, 111; + curtails honours paid to governor in church, 112; + king's instructions on the subject, 113; + Frontenac's estimate of bishop's revenue, 114; + objects to trading permits issued by governor, as involving selling + of liquor to Indians, 116; + gains the king over to his views, 118; + sends grand-vicar to France to uphold his policy, 118; + goes to France to press his views (1678), 125; + effect of his elevation to rank of bishop, 164; + not favourable to permanent curacies, 165, 190; + rejects offer of Recollets to serve the parishes without any fixed + provision for their support, 165; + determines to resign, 190; + goes to France, 1684, 191; + chooses M. de Saint Vallier as his successor, 191; + describes Canada as "the country of miracles," 301 + + Lavaltrie, M. de, seigneur, commands militia in attack on Iroquois, + 209; + killed by Iroquois, 323 + + Lebert, merchant, of Montreal, imprisoned by Perrot, 92; + La Barre's dealings with, 175 + + Le Chasseur, secretary to Frontenac, 139 + + Leclercq, Pere, Recollet, on great need for Recollet order in Canada, + 72 (note); + on Schenectady massacre, 247 (note); + on "flag" incident in siege of Quebec, 296 and note + + Leisler, Jacob, seizes government of New York, 266 + + Le Jeune, Jesuit father, preaches funeral sermon of Champlain, 27 + + Le Moyne, Charles, sent to invite Onondagas to conference, 183, 184 + + Liquor traffic, condemned by Champlain, 25; + subject of dispute between civil and religious authorities, 46, 115; + king's instructions regarding, 116, 118, 120; + question referred to a meeting of the principal inhabitants, 121; + opinions expressed, 122, 123; + king's decision thereon, 125; + evils depicted, 335 + + Longueuil, Le Moyne de, commands militia in attack on Iroquois, 209 + + Lorin, M. Henri, author of _Le Comte de Frontenac_, referred to, 109, + 126, 128, 142, 165, 174, 216 (note), 231, 250 + + Lotbiniere, Rene Charlier de, member of the Sovereign Council, 106 + + Louis XIII of France, close relations of Frontenac family with, 62 + + Louis XIV, his war with Holland, 148; + absolutism of his rule, 151-3; + desires to have permanent curacies (_cures fixes_) established in + Canada, 164; + private life, 166; + pronounces La Salle's discoveries useless, 176; + later takes him under his special protection, 180 + + Louvigny, M. de, sent with reinforcements to Michilimackinac, 241 + + Loyal, Fort (Casco Bay), captured by Canadians, 252 + + + M + + Madocawando, Abenaquis chief, 329 + + Maisonneuve, Paul Chomedy, sieur de, conducts mission colony to + Montreal, 29, 33; + bravery of, 34; + goes back to France for reinforcements, 38; + returns to Canada with 100 soldiers, 39; + removed from governorship by the Marquis de Tracy, 54 + + Mance, Mlle., establishes Hotel Dieu at Montreal, 29; + death of, 73 + + Mantel, Daillebout de, one of leaders of war party against Schenectady, + 235 + + Maricourt, Le Moyne de, accompanies expedition to Hudson's Bay, 206; + arrives at Quebec during siege by Phipps, 292; + with his brother, Iberville, in Hudson's Bay, 343 + + Marquette, Jesuit father, accompanies Jolliet in his explorations, 155 + + Marriage, stimulated by civil authorities, 57 + + Massachusetts, charter of, declared null and void, 264; + takes lead in expedition against Quebec, 277 + + Mather, Cotton, on failure of Phipps's expedition, 302; + on rescue of some men cast ashore on Anticosti, 304 + + Maupassant, Recollet father, Frontenac's confessor, 165 + + Menneval, M. de, governor of Acadia, 272; + surrenders to Phipps, 274; + carried prisoner to Boston, 276; + released, 277 + + Meulles, Jacques de, intendant, opposed to popular representation, 69; + arrival of, 171; + criticizes La Barre in despatches, 173, 174; + on La Barre's expedition against Senecas, 188; + recalled, 207; + visits Acadia and makes census, 271 + + Mezy, M. de, appointed governor on Laval's recommendation, 48; + quarrels with Laval, 50; + death of, 50 + + Millet, Jesuit father, tortured by Oneida Indians, 216 + + Missions to Indians, 166; + pure lives of missionaries produced good effect, 168 + + Mohawks (Iroquois tribe) attack Hurons on Island of Orleans, 41; + Courcelles leads expedition against, 52; + Tracy leads a second, 53; + expedition against, 321 + + Monseignat, Frontenac's secretary, 260, 297 + + Montmagny, M. de, second governor of Canada, 27; + retirement of, 35 + + Montmorency, Duke of, becomes lieutenant-general for Canada, 17; + executed for revolt, 22 + + Montpensier, Mlle. de, Mme. Frontenac's relations with, 63 + + Montreal, beginnings of, 33; + settlement in danger of extinction, 38; + population in 1666, 56; + Frontenac's arrival at, on his way to Cataraqui, 76; + description of, 77; + expedition from Albany against, 268; + great rejoicings at, on arrival of trading canoes from the Lakes, 324 + + Monts, Pierre Dugas, sieur de, ten years' trading patent, with position + of lieutenant-general, granted to, 5; + conducts expedition to Acadia, 6; + patent cancelled, but renewed for one year, 7; + sails for Quebec, 8; + resigns lieutenancy, 12 + + Myrand, Ernest, author of _Frontenac et ses Amis_, 229; + his work _Sir William Phipps devant Quebec_ quoted, 293 (note); + on losses incurred in siege of Quebec by Phipps, 302 (note); + discusses question of Frontenac's portrait, 361 + + + N + + Nayouat, governor Villebon of Acadia establishes himself at, 327 + + "New Company," name given to trading company formed by inhabitants of + Canada in 1645, 36 + + Newfoundland, English settlements in, attacked, 346 + + New France, Company of, see _Company_ + + New York, British colony, plan for conquest of, 231 + + Nicholson, Francis, lieut.-governor of New York, 263; + uprising against, 266 + + + O + + "Old Company," name applied to Company of New France after 1645, 36 + + Olier, M. Jean, founder of Sulpician order, obtains grant of Island of + Montreal, 32 + + Oneida Indians, torture Father Millet, 216; + party of, destroyed, 308; + three burnt alive, 309; + negotiate for peace, 324 + + Onondagas (Iroquois tribe), demand a French colony, 40; + escape of colony, 41; + a number treacherously captured for king's galleys, 215; + their orator Teganissorens, 338; + campaign against, 350-3 + + Onontio (Big Mountain), name applied by Indians to French governors, 35 + + Orehaoue, Cayuga chief, brought back from France by Frontenac, 237; + services rendered by, 315, 339 + + Ottawa Indians, keen for trade and cheap goods, 259; + entertained at Quebec, 310 + + Ourouehati, Onondaga orator, otherwise known as Grande Gueule, + Garangula, and Big Mouth, see _Big Mouth_. + + + P + + Parkman, Francis, referred to, 30, 31, 57, 320 + + Parliaments in France, subjection of, to royal power, 152 + + Pemaquid, Fort, destroyed 1689, rebuilt 1692, 328; + taken by Iberville, 331 + + Pentagouet, fortress on western boundary of Acadia, captured by + freebooters, 269; + by New Englanders, 275 + + Permits, see _Trading Permits_, _Hunting Permits_ + + Perrot, Francois Marie, succeeds Maisonneuve as governor of Montreal, + 54; + engages in illicit trading and shields _coureurs de bois_, 90; + his wife a niece of Talon, 90; + arrests Bizard, an officer of Frontenac's, 91; + summoned before Sovereign Council, 92; + arrested at Quebec, 93; + character and conduct, 96-7; + protests competency of Sovereign Council to try him, 99; + specially commended to Frontenac in a dispatch from minister, 101; + sent to France, 102; + allowed to return to Canada after brief imprisonment, 103; + removed to government of Acadia, 270; + continues to trade, 271; + dismissal and death, 272 + + Perrot, Rev. M., _cure_ of Montreal, disapproves of Abbe Fenelon's + sermon, 95 + + Perrot, Nicolas, ordered to rendezvous at Sault with Indian allies, + 181, 186, 187; + arrives with contingent, 210; + accompanies Louvigny to Michilimackinac, 242; + exhibits Iroquois scalps, 243 + + Peuvret, clerk of the council, imprisoned by Frontenac, 135 + + Peyras, Jean Baptiste, member of Sovereign Council, 106; + visits Acadia, 271 + + Phipps, Sir William, birth and early life, 272; + conducts expedition against Acadia, 273; + captures Port Royal, but violates terms of surrender, 274; + ravages committed by his men, 274; + captures other Acadian posts, and establishes government, 275; + returns to Boston with prisoners and booty, 276; + sails from Nantasket, 279; + arrives at Quebec, 282; + demands surrender, 285-7; + his attack repulsed, 295; + decides on retreat, 299; + his estimate of his losses, 302; + disastrous return voyage, 303; + goes to England, 315; + returns as governor of Massachusetts, 328; + recall and death of, 331 + + Plet, cousin of La Salle, comes from France in connection with + financial matters, 177 + + Pontchartrain, Marquis de, minister of marine, 72 (note) + + Pontgrave, Francois de, voyages of, to St. Lawrence, 3, 8 + + Port Hayes (Hudson's Bay), captured by Troyes, 206 + + Port Nelson, captured by Iberville, 345; + retaken by English, 347; + again taken by Iberville, 349 + + Portneuf, M. de, commands war party from Quebec, 236; + captures Fort Loyal, 252; + removed for peculation, 330 + + Port Royal (Annapolis), capital of Acadia, 270; + captured by Phipps, 274 + + Prevost, town-major of Quebec, 257; + strengthens defences, 284 + + Prevote (provost's court) abolished 1674, re-established 1677, 107 + + + Q + + Quebec, foundation of, 7; + capture of, by Kirke, 20; + restored to France, 23; + population of city in 1666, 56; + first ball given at, 59; + sea expedition planned against by New Englanders, 268-77; + defences strengthened, 284; + attack by squadron under Phipps, 285-300; + defences further strengthened, 326 + + Queylus, Rev. M. de, Sulpician, appointed vicar-general for Canada, 42; + sent back to France by bishop Laval, 43 + + + R + + Radisson, Pierre Esprit, proceedings of, in Hudson's Bay, 204-5 + + Rageot, Gilles, clerk to attorney-general, 106 + + Rainsford, John, rescues comrades cast away on Anticosti, 304 + + Ramesay, M. de, commands militia in attack on Iroquois, 351 + + Rat, the, Kondiaronk, Huron Indian, wrecks peace negotiations with + Iroquois, 222 + + Recollet missionaries, brought out by Champlain, 13; + difficulties encountered by, 16; + not allowed to return to Canada after restoration to France, 25; + permitted to return, 1668, 72 (note); + favoured by Frontenac and La Salle, 162; + offer to serve the parishes without any fixed provision for their + support, 165; + not greatly esteemed by the bishop, 165; missions, 166 + + _Relations des Jesuites_, 29, 30, and note + + Repentigny, band of Iroquois surprised and destroyed at, 308 + + Repentigny, M. de, goes to France on behalf of early colonists, 36 + + Representative institutions, complete absence of, 131-2 + + Richelieu, Cardinal, creates Company of New France, 19 + + Richelieu River, highway to Iroquois country, 9; + fort erected at mouth of, 51 + + Riviere Ouelle, alleged repulse of party of New Englanders at, 291 + + Rochemonteix, Rev. P. Camille, S.J., on _Jesuit Relations_, 30 + + Rohault, M. de, establishes college for boys at Quebec, 28 + + Rooseboom, Johannes, of Albany, carries goods to Lake Indians, 201 + + Rupert, fort (Hudson's Bay), captured by Troyes, 206 + + Ryswick, Peace of, restores to England her Hudson's Bay ports, 349 + + + S + + Saco River, fort built at falls of, 329 + + Sagard, Theodat, Recollet, on bad examples shown by colonists to + Indians, 14 + + Saint-Castin, Baron de, 329 and note; + leads Indians against fort Pemaquid, 331 + + Saint Simon, his statements regarding Frontenac, 65 + + Saint Vallier, M. de, chosen by Bishop Laval as his successor, 191; + comes out to Canada first as vicar-general, 191; + his first impression of country and inhabitants, 192; + his revised opinion, 193, 220; + pays pastoral visit to Acadia (1686), 271; + issues mandate regarding the theatre, 337; + pays Frontenac 1000 francs on condition _Tartuffe_ shall not be + produced, 337 + + Salmon Falls, massacre of, 251 + + Salmon River, La Barre's expedition encamps at, 184 + + Savage, Major Thomas, third in command in Phipps's expedition, 281 + + Schenectady, massacre of, 245-8 + + Schuyler, Captain John, his raid on Laprairie, 281; + comes to Quebec with news of peace, 354 + + Schuyler, Peter, commands expedition from Albany, 311 + + Sedgwick, Major Robert, seizes Acadia by Cromwell's orders, 268 + + Seignelay, Marquis de, succeeds his father, Colbert, in ministry of + marine, 72 (note); + marries Mlle. d'Allegre, 111 + + Seigniories, establishment of, 56 + + Seminary (Quebec), establishment of, 48 + + Seneca Indians, show quarrelsome temper, 143; + attack Illinois, 144; + enraged by murder of a chieftain on territory of Ottawas, 145; + accept terms of peace, 146; + attack canoes of French traders, 181; + Denonville's expedition against, 207-14 + + Serigny, Le Moyne de, goes to France on Hudson's Bay affairs, 345 + + Sevigne, Mme. de, her son-in-law candidate for governorship of Canada, + 65; + describes severities exercised on peasants in revolt in France, 150 + + _Six Friends_, flagship of Phipps, 281 + + _Soleil d'Afrique_, French frigate, brings supplies, 319 + + Sovereign Council, created, 49; + reorganized, 105-6; + resembled a parliament in French sense, 131; + Frontenac claims to be styled President of, 133-40; + fixed prices of goods, 153 + + St. Cirque, M. de, killed at Laprairie, 312 + + St. Denis, Juchereau de, wounded in skirmish on Beauport flats, 294 + + Ste. Helene, Le Moyne de, accompanies expedition to Hudson's Bay, 208; + commands in war party against Schenectady, 235; + mortally wounded in skirmish on Beauport flats, 299 + + St. John's, Newfoundland, taken by Iberville, 347 + + St. Louis, fort, built by La Salle, 160; + seized by La Barre, 179 + + Subercase, Lieutenant, in command at Lachine on occasion of massacre, + 225; + sent to Island of Orleans to watch Phipps, 303 + + Sulpicians, religious order, come to Montreal with Maisonneuve, 42; + work of colonization done by, 56; + Frontenac friendly to, 74; + seigneurs of the Island of Montreal, 97; + their missions, 166, 168 + + Syndics, local representatives without votes provided for in first + council, 37 + + + T + + Teganissorens (Decanisora), Onondaga orator, 338 + + Talon, Jean, intendant, 51; + character, 54; + attitude to the clerical power, 55; + labours for the prosperity of the country, 55; + recalled at his own request, 60; + instructed to guard against ecclesiastical encroachments, 69; + secures permission for Recollets to return to Canada, 72 + + Temple, Sir Thomas, English governor of Acadia (1656), 268 + + Theatrical representations at Quebec, 336 + + Three Rivers, fort erected at, 24; + population in 1666, 268 + + Thury, abbe, missionary to Abenaquis, 250 + + Tilly, Le Gardeur de, member of Sovereign Council, 106 + + Tonty, Henri, La Salle's lieutenant at Fort Crevecoeur, 144, 160; + joins expedition against Iroquois, 209; + arrives from Illinois country with _coureurs de bois_, 325 + + Tracy, Marquis de, appointed king's lieutenant-general for all his + possessions in America, 50; + arrives at Quebec, 51; + marches against Iroquois (Mohawks), 53; + concludes peace, 53; + removes Maisonneuve from governorship of Montreal, 54; + is recalled, 54 + + Trading permits, issued by governor, 115; + objected to by bishop as involving carrying of liquor to the Indians, + 116; + prohibited by king, 116; + permitted under limitations, 128 + + Troyes, Chevalier de, leads expedition to Hudson's Bay, 205; + joins expedition against Iroquois, 209; + in charge of fort at Niagara, 214 + + + U + + Urfe, abbe d', haughtily treated by Frontenac, 110 + + Ursuline Convent, Quebec, foundation of, 28, 30; + sister Margaret Bourgeoys urged to join, 39 + + + V + + Vaillant, Jesuit father, sent as negotiator to Albany, 218 + + Valrennes, M. de, commandant of Fort Frontenac, 233; + tries to cut off retreat of Peter Schuyler at Chambly, 313 + + Vauban, M. de, French engineer, prepares plans for defence of Quebec, + 326 + + Vaudreuil, M. de, acts as chief-of-staff to Governor Denonville, 209; + acting governor of Montreal, 225; + surprises and destroys band of Indians at Repentigny, 308 + + Ventadour, Henri de Levis, Duke of, lieutenant-general of New France, + 17 + + Vercheres, Mlle. Madeleine, defends fort against Iroquois, 319 + + Verreau, abbe, on attempt to civilize Indians, 168; + on character of Frontenac, 360 + + Villebon, governor of Acadia, mentions burning of a prisoner, 328 + + Villeray, Louis Rouer de, first councillor, 106; + Frontenac's opinion of, 110; + his right to title of "esquire" challenged by Frontenac, 139; + waits on Frontenac, 255, 256 + + Villieu, M. de, leads Abenaquis in attack on English settlements, 330 + + Vincent, Jesuit father, celebrates first mass at Montreal, 34 + + Vitre, Charles Denis de, member of Sovereign Council, 106 + + + W + + Walley, Major, second in command to Phipps, 281; + lands with troops on Beauport flats, 292; + his forces suffer severely, 298; + draws off his men, leaving artillery behind, 300; + his explanation of defeat of expedition, 300 + + West India Company, creation of, 49; + failure of, 149 + + Winthrop, Fitz-John, of Connecticut, commands expedition against + Montreal, 279; + arrives at Albany, and pushes on to Wood Creek, 280; + returns to Albany and to Hartford (Connecticut), 281 + + Wood Creek, expedition against Montreal encamps at, 280 + + + =Transcriber's Notes:= + hyphenation, spelling and grammar have been preserved as in the original + Page 203, extirpating Protestanism ==> extirpating Protestantism + Page 249, that of Pemquid ==> that of Pemaquid + Page 250, fort at Pemquid ==> fort at Pemaquid + Page 287, much as may be, ==> much as may be. + Page 291, she tell us ==> she tells us + Page 307, the neigbourhood. ==> the neighbourhood. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Count Frontenac, by William Dawson LeSueur + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COUNT FRONTENAC *** + +***** This file should be named 37341.txt or 37341.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/7/3/4/37341/ + +Produced by David T. 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