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THE   WORKS   OF 
FRANCIS    PARKMAN 

« 

emtenars  IBtrCtion 

* 

COUNT  FRONTENAC    AND 

NEW  FRANCE  UNDER 

LOUIS  XIV 


THE  WORKS  OF  FRANCIS  PARKMAN 

ittnunaxz!  IBtrttion 

Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New  World i  vol. 

The  Jesuits  in  North  America i  vol. 

La  Salle  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Great  West     .    .  i  vol. 

The  Old  Regime  in  Canada i  vol. 

Count  Frontenac  and  New  France  under  Louis  XIV  i  vol. 

A  Half-Century  of  Conflict 2  vols. 

Montcalm  and  Wolfe 2  vols. 

The  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac  and  the  Indian  War  after 

the  Conquest  of  Canada 3  vols. 

The  Oregon  Trail i  vol. 


Life  of  Parkman.    By  Charles  Haight  Farnham  .    .    i  vol. 


'7ryrt-\f:r 


NTENAC 


TTV 


'n: 


NCIS  PARKMAK. 


Louis  de  Buade:  Comie  de  Frontenac 


COUNT  FRONTENAC 


AND 


NEW  FRANCE  UNDER  LOUIS  XIV. 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  IN 
NORTH  AMERICA. 

Part  Fifth. 


BY 

FRANCIS  PARKMAN. 


BOSTON: 
LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND   COMPANY. 
1925. 


SEP  1  8  1942 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1877,  by 

Francis  Parkman, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 

Copyright,  1897, 
By  Little,  Brown,  and  Compamt. 

Copyright,  1905,  1919, 
By  Grace  P.  Coffin. 


PRINTED  in  the  united  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


PEBFACE. 


The  events  recounted  in  this  book  group  them- 
selves in  the  main  about  a  single  figure,  —  that 
of  Count  Frontenac,  the  most  remarkable  man 
who  ever  represented  the  crown  of  France  in  the 
New  World.  From  strangely  unpromising  be- 
ginnings, he  grew  with  every  emergency,  and 
rose  equal  to  every  crisis.  His  whole  career  was 
one  of  conflict,  —  sometimes  petty  and  personal, 
sometimes  of  momentous  consequence,  —  involv- 
ing the  question  of  national  ascendency  on  this 
continent.  Now  that  this  question  is  put  at  rest 
forever,  it  is  hard  to  conceive  the  anxiety  which 
it  wakened  in  our  forefathers.  But  for  one 
rooted  error  of  French  policy,  the  future  of  the 
English-speaking  races  in  America  would  have 
been  more  than  endangered. 

Under  the  rule  of  Frontenac  occurred  the  first 
serious  collision  of  the  rival  powers,  and  the 
opening  of  the  grand  scheme  of  military  occu- 
pation by  which  France  strove  to  envelop  and 
hold  in  check  the  industrial  populations  of  the 


fi  PREFACE. 

English  colonies.  It  was  lie  who  made  that 
scheme  possible. 

In  "  The  Old  Regime  in  Canada,"  I  tried  to 
show  from  what  inherent  causes  this  wilderness 
empire  of  the  Great  Monarch  fell  at  last  before 
a  foe,  superior  indeed  in  numbers,  but  lacking  all 
the  forces  that  belong  to  a  system  of  civil  and 
military  centralization.  The  present  volume  will 
show  how  valiantly,  and  for  a  time  how  success- 
fully, New  France  battled  against  a  fate  which  her 
own  organic  fault  made  inevitable.  Her  history 
is  a  great  and  significant  drama,  enacted  among 
untamed  forests,  with  a  distant  gleam  of  courtly 
splendors  and  the  regal  pomp  of  Versailles. 

The  authorities  on  which  the  book  rests  are 
drawn  chiefly  from  the  manuscript  collections  of 
the  French  government  in  the  Archives  Natio- 
nales,  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale,  and,  above  all, 
the  vast  repositories  of  the  Archives  of  the 
Marine  and  Colonies.  Others  are  from  Cana- 
dian and  American  sources.  I  have,  besides, 
availed  myself  of  the  collection  of  French,  Eng- 
lish, and  Dutch  documents  published  by  the 
State  of  New  York,  under  the  excellent  editor- 
ship of  Dr.  O'Callaghan,  and  of  the  manuscript 
collections  made  in  France  by  the  governments 
of  Canada  and  of  Massachusetts.     A  consider- 


PREFACE.  Vii 

able  number  of  books,  contemporary  or  nearly 
so  with  the  events  described,  also  help  to  throw 
light  upon  them  ;  and  these  have  all  been  exam- 
ined. The  citations  in  the  margins  represent 
but  a  small  part  of  the  authorities  consulted. 

This  mass  of  material  has  been  studied  with 
extreme  care,  and  peculiar  pains  have  been  taken 
to  secure  accuracy  of  statement.  In  the  preface 
of  "  The  Old  Regime,"  I  wrote  :  "  Some  of  the 
results  here  reached  are  of  a  character  which  I 
regret,  since  they  cannot  be  agreeable  to  persons 
for  whom  I  have  a  very  cordial  regard.  The 
conclusions  drawn  from  the  facts  may  be  matter 
of  opinion ;  but  it  will  be  remembered  that  the 
facts  themselves  can  be  overthrown  only  by  over- 
throwing the  evidence  on  which  they  rest,  or 
bringing  forward  counter-evidence  of  equal  or 
greater  strength,  —  and  neither  task  will  be 
found  an  easy  one." 

The  invitation  implied  in  these  words  has  not 
been  accepted.  "  The  Old  Regime  "  was  met  by 
vehement  protest  in  some  quarters ;  but,  so  far 
as  I  know,  none  of  the  statements  of  fact  con- 
tained in  it  have  been  attacked  by  evidence,  or 
even  challenged.  The  lines  just  quoted  are 
equally  applicable  to  this  volume.  Should  there 
be  occasion,  a  collection  of  documentary  proofs 


VlU  PREFACE. 

will  be  published  more  than  sufficient  to  make 
good  the  positions  taken.  Meanwhile,  it  will,  I 
think,  be  clear  to  an  impartial  reader  that  the 
story  is  told,  not  in  the  interest  of  any  race  or 
nationality,  but  simply  in  that  oi  historical  truth. 
When,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  I  formed  the 
purpose  of  writing  on  French-American  history, 
I  meant  at  first  to  limit  myself  to  the  great 
contest  which  brought  that  history  to  a  close. 
It  was  by  an  afterthought  that  the  plan  was  ex- 
tended to  cover  the  whole  field,  —  so  that  the 
part  of  the  work,  or  series  of  works,  first  con- 
ceived, would,  following  the  sequence  of  events, 
be  the  last  executed.  As  soon  as  the  original 
scheme  was  formed,  I  began  to  prepare  for  exe- 
cuting it  by  examining  localities,  journeying  in 
forests,  visiting  Indian  tribes,  and  collecting 
materials.  I  have  continued  to  collect  them 
ever  since,  so  that  the  accumulation  is  now 
rather  formidable  ;  and,  if  it  is  to  be  used  at  all, 
it  had  better  be  used  at  once.  Therefore,  pass- 
ing over  for  the  present  an  intervening  period  of 
less  decisive  importance,  I  propose  to  take,  as 
the  next  subject  of  this  series,  '*  Montcalm  and 
the  Fall  of  New  France." 

Boston,  1  January,  1877. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  L 
1620-1672. 

OOUKT  AND  COnKTBSS  FBONTBNAO. 

Pagi 

Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier  and  Madame  de  Frontenac. —  Or- 
leans, —  The  Mardchale  de  Camp.  —  Count  Frontenac.  —  Con- 
jugal Disputes.  —  Early  Life  of  Frontenac :  his  Courtship 
and  Marriage.  —  Estrangement.  —  Scenes  at  St.  Fargeau.  — 
The  Lady  of  Honor  dismissed.  —  Frontenac  as  a  Soldier : 
he  is  made  Grovernor  of  New  France.  —  Les  Divines         .    .        3 

CHAPTER  IL 
1672-1675. 

VBONTBNAC   AT   QUBBBC. 

Arrival.  —  Bright  Prospects.  —  The  Three  Estates  of  New 
France.  —  Speech  of  the  Governor.  —  His  Innovations.  — 
Royal  Displeasure.  —  Signs  of  Storm.  —  Frontenac  and  the 
Priests.  —His  Attempts  to  civilize  the  Indians.  —  Opposition. 

—  Complaints  and  Heart-burnings 17 

CHAPTER  m. 
1673-1675. 

rRONTBNAC   AND   PBKBOT. 

La  Salle. — Fort  Frontenac. — Perrot:  his  Speculations;  his 
Tyranny.  —  The  Bush-rangers.  —  Perrot  revolts,  —  becomes 
alarmed.  —  Dilemma  of  Frontenac  — Mediation  of  Fenelon. 

—  Perrot  in  Prison.  —  Excitement  of  the  bulpitians.  —  Indig- 


X  CONTENTS. 

Paos 

nation  of  Fenelon.  —  Passion  of  Frontenac.  —  Perrot  on  Trial. 

—  Strange  Scenes.  —  Appeal  to  the  King.  —  Answers  of  Louis 
XIV.  and  Colbert.  —  Fenelon  rebuked 29 

CHAPTER  IV. 
1675-1682. 

FBONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNBAU. 

Frontenac  receives  a  Colleague ;  he  opposes  the  Clergy.  —  Dis- 
putes in  the  Council.  —  Royal  Intervention.  —  Frontenac  re- 
buked. —  Fresh  Outbreaks.  —  Charges  and  Countercharges. 

—  The  Dispute  grows  hot.  —  Duchesneau  condemned  and 
Frontenac  warned.  —  The  Quarrel  continues.  —  The  King  loses 
Patience.  —  More  Accusations.  —  Factions  and  Feuds.  —  A 
Side  Quarrel.  —  The  King  threatens. — Frontenac  denounces 
the  Priests.  —  The  Governor  and  the  Intendant  recalled.  — 
Qualities  of  Frontenac 47 

CHAPTER  V. 
1682-1684. 

LB   FEBVBE   DE   LA   BABRB. 

His  Arrival  at  Quebec.  —  The  Great  Fire.  —  A  Coming  Storm. 

—  Iroquois  Policy.  —  The  Danger  imminent.  —  Indian  Allies 
of  France.  —  Frontenac  and  the  Iroquois.  —  Boasts  of  La 
Barre ;  his  Past  Life ;  his  Speculations ;  he  takes  Alarm ; 
his  Dealings  with  the  Iroquois ;  his  lUegal  Trade ;  his  Col- 
league denounces  him;  Fruits  of  his  Schemes;  his  Anger 
and  his  Fears 76 

CHAPTER  VL 
1684. 

LA   BARBB   AND   THE   IROQUOIS. 

Dongan.  —  New  York  and  its  Indian  Neighbors.  —  The  Rival 
Governors.  —  Dongan  and  the  Iroquois.  —  Mission  to  Onon- 
daga.—  An  Iroquois  Politician.  —  Warnings  of  Lamberville. 

—  Iroquois    Boldness.  —  La    Barre    takes    the    Field :    his 


CONTENTS.  xi 

Paob 

Motives.  —  The  March.  —  Pestilence.  —  Council  at  La  Fam- 
ine. —  The  Iroquois  defiant.  —  Humiliation  of  La  Barre.  — 
The  Indian  Allies.  —  Their  Rage  and  Disappointment.— 
Recall  of  La  Barre 93 

CHAPTER  Vn. 
1685-1687. 

DENONVILLB   AND   DONQAN. 

1  roubles  of  the  New  Governor:  his  Character.  —  English  Ri- 
valry. —  Intrigues  of  Dongan.  —  English  Claims.  —  A  Diplo- 
matic Duel.  —  Overt  Acts.  —  Anger  of  Denonville.  —  James 
II.  checks  Dongan.  —  Denonville  emboldened.  —  Strife  in  the 
North.  —  Hudson's  Bay.  —  Attempted  Pacification.  —  Artifice 
of  Denonville :  he  prepares  for  War 121 

CHAPTER  Vin. 
1687. 

DENONVILLB   AND  THE   SENEGAS. 

Treachery  of  Denonville.  — Iroquois  Generosity.  —  The  Invading 
Army.  —  The  Western  Allies.  —  Plunder  of  English  Traders. 
—  Arrival  of  the  Allies.  —  Scene  at  the  French  Camp.  — 
March  of  Denonville.  —  Ambuscade.  —  Battle.  —  Victory.  — 
The  Seneca  Babylon.  —  Imperfect  Success 145 


CHAPTER  IX. 

1687-1689.  i^ 

THE    IROQUOIS    INVASION. 

Altercations.  —  Attitude  of  Dongan.  —  Martial  Preparation.  — 
Perplexity  of  Denonville.  —  Angry  Correspondence.  —  Recall 
of  Dongan.  —  Sir  Edmund  Andros.  —  Humiliation  of  Denon- 
ville.— Distress  of  Canada.  —  Appeals  for  Help.  —  Iroquois 
Diplomacy.  —  A  Huron  Macchiavel.  —  The  Catastrophe.  — 
Ferocity  of  the  Victors. —  War  with  England. — Recall  of 
Denonville 165 


XU  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  X. 

1689,  1690. 

rbtuhk  of  fbontbnac. 

Paos 

Versailles. — Frontenac  and  the  King.  —  Frontenac  sails  for  Que- 
bec. —  Projected  Conquest  of  New  York.  —  Designs  of  the 
King.  —  Failure.  — Energy  of  Frontenac.  —  Fort  Frontenac. 

—  Panic.  —  Negotiations.  —  The  Iroquois  in  Council.  —  Che- 
valier d'Aux.  —  Taunts  of  the  Indian  Allies.  —  Boldness  of 
Frontenac.  —  An  Iroquois  Defeat.  —  Cruel  Policy.  —  The 
Stroke  parried 193 

CHAPTER  XL 
1690. 

THE   THBEB   WAR-PARTIES. 

Measures  of  Frontenac.  —  Expedition  against  Schenectady.— 
The  March.  —  The  Dutch  Village.  ~  The  Surprise.  —  The 
Massacre.  —  Prisoners  spared.  —  Retreat.  — The  English  and 
their  Iroquois  Friends.  —  The  Abenaki  War.  —  Revolution 
at  Boston.  —  Capture  of  Pemaquid.  —  Capture  of  Salmon 
Falls.  —  Capture  of  Fort  Loyal.  —  Frontenac  and  his  Prisoner. 
— The  Canadians  encouraged 218 

CHAPTER  XIL 
1690. 

MASSACHUSETTS   ATTACKS   QUEBEC. 

English  Schemes.  —  Capture  of  Port  Royal.  —  Acadia  reduced. 

—  Conduct  of  Phips :  his  History  and  Character.  —  Boston 
in  Arms.  — A  Puritan  Crusade.  —  The  March  from  Albany. 

—  Frontenac  and  the  Council.  —  Frontenac  at  Montreal : 
his  War  Dance.  —  An  Abortive  Expedition.  —  An  English 
Raid.  —  Frontenac  at  Quebec.  —  Defences  of  the  Town.  — The 
Enemy  arrives S46 


CONTENTS.  liW 

CHAPTER  XIIL 

1690. 

defence  of  quebec 

Page 

Phips  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  —  Phips  at  Quebec— A  Flag  of 

Truce. Scene  at  the  Chateau.  —  The  Summons  and  the 

Answer.  —  Plan  of  Attack.  —  Landing  of  the  English.  —  The 

Cannonade.— The  Ships  repulsed.  —  The  Land  Attack.— 

Retreat  of  Phips,  —  Condition  of  Quebec.  —  Rejoicings  of  the 

French.  —  Distress  at  Boston 274 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
1690-1694. 

THE   SCOURGE   OF  CANADA. 

Iroquois  Inroads.  —  Death  of  Bienville.  —  English  Attack.— A 
Desperate  Fight.  —  Miseries  of  the  Colony.  —  Alarms.  —  A 
Winter  Expedition.  —  La  Chesnaye  burned.  —  The  Heroine 
of  Vercheres.  —  Mission  Indians.  —  The  Mohawk  Expedition. 
—  Retreat  and  Pursuit  —  Relief  arrives.  —  Frontenac  Trium- 
phant     


300 


CHAPTER  XV. 
1691-1695. 

AN    INTERLUDE. 

Appeal  of  Frontenac:  his  Opponents;  his  Services.  —  Rivalry 
and  Strife.  —  Bishop  Saint- Vallier.  —  Society  at  the  Chateau. 

—  Private  Theatricals.  —  Alarm  of  the  Clergy.  —  Tartuffe, 

—  A  Singular  Bargain.  —  Mareuil  and  the  Bishop.  —  Mareuil 
on  Trial.  —  Zeal  of  Saint- Vallier.  —  Scandals  at  Montreal.  — 
Appeal  to  the  King.  —  The  Strife  composed.  —  Libel  against 
Frontenac 3M 

CHAPTER  XVL 
1690-1694. 

THE  WAR   IN  ACADIA. 

State  of  that  Colony.  — The  Abenakis.  —  Acadia  and  New  Eng- 
land. —  Pirates.  —  Baron    de    Saint-Ca«tjn-  —  Pentegoet. — 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

pAoa 

The  English  Frontier. — The  French  and  the  Abenakis. — 
Plan  of  the  War.  —  Capture  of  York.  —  Villebon.  —  Grand 
War-party.  —  Attack  of  Wells.  —  Pemaquid  rebuilt.  —  John 
Nelson.  —  A  Broken  Treaty.  —  Villieu  and  Thury.  —  Another 
War-party.  —  Massacre  at  Oyster  River 352 

CHAPTER  XVIL 
1690-1697. 

NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND. 

The  Frontier  of  New  England.  —  Border  Warfare.  —  Motives  of 
the  French.  —  Needless  Barbarity.  —  Who  were  answerable  ? 
—  Father  Thury.  —  The  Abenakis  waver.  —  Treachery  at 
Pemaquid.  —  Capture  of  Pemaquid.  —  Projected  Attack  on 
Boston.  —  Disappointment.  —  Miseries  of  the  Frontier.  —  A 
Captive  Amazon 389 

CHAPTER  XVni. 
1693-1697. 

FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY. 

Le  Moyne  dTberville  :  his  Exploits  in  Newfoundland ;  in  Hud- 
son's Bay.  —  The  Great  Prize.  —  The  Competitors.  —  Fatal 
Policy  of  the  King.  — The  Iroquois  Question.  —  Negotia- 
tion. —  Firmness  of  Frontenac.  —  English  Intervention.  — 
War  renewed.  —  State  of  the  West.  —  Indian  Diplomacy.  — 
Cruel  Measures.  —  A  Perilous  Crisis.  —  Audacity  of  Frontenac    408 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

1696-1698.         \^ 

FRONTENAC  ATTACKS  THE  ONONDAGAS. 

March  of  Frontenac.  —  Flight  of  the  Enemy.  —  An  Iroquois 
Stoic.  —  Relief  for  the  Onondagas.  —  Boasts  of  Frontenac: 
his  Complaints ;  his  Enemies.  —  Parties  in  Canada.  —  Views 
of  Frontenac  and  the  King.  —  Frontenac  prevails.  —  Peace 
of  Ryswick.  —  Frontenac  and  Bellomont.  —  Schuyler  at 
Quebec.  —  Festivities. — A  Last  Defiance 431 


CONTENTS.  XV 

CHAPTER  XX. 

1698. 

dbath  of  froxtekac. 

Fags 
His  Last  Hours;  his  Will;  his  Faneral;  his  Eulogist  and  his 
Critic ;  his  Disputes  with  the  Clergy ;  his  Character     .    .    .    450 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
1699-1701. 

CONCLUSION. 

The  New  Governor.  —  Attitude  of  the  Iroquois.  —  Negotiations. 
—  Embassy  to  Onondaga.  —  Peace.  —  The  Iroquois  and  the 
Allies.  —  Difficulties.  —  Death  of  the  Great  Huron.  —  Fune- 
ral Rites.  —  The  Grand  Council.  —  The  Work  of  Frontenac 
finished.  —  Results 461 


APPENDIX 477 

INDEX 488 


COUNT  FRONTENAC  AND  NEW  FRANCE 
UNDER  LOUIS  XIV. 


COUNT  FRONTENAC 

AND 

IfBW  FRANCE  UNDER  LOUIS  XIV 


CHAPTER  I. 

1620-1672. 

COUNT  AND  COUNTESS  FRONTENAC. 

IVTadbmoiselle  db  Montpensier  and  Madame  db  Frontenac. 

—  Orleans.  —  The  Mah^chale  db  Camp.  —  Count  Frontenac. 

—  Conjugal  Disputes.  —  Early  Life  of  Frontenac:  his 
Courtship  and  Marriage.  —  Estrangement.  —  Scenes  at  St, 
Fargeau.  —  The  Lady  of  Honor  Dismissed.  —  Frontenac  as 
A  Soldier:  he  is  made  Governor  of  New  France.  —  Leb 
Divines. 

At  Versailles  there  is  the  portrait  of  a  lady,  beau- 
tiful and  young.  She  is  painted  as  Minerva,  a 
plumed  helmet  on  her  head,  and  a  shield  on  her  arm. 
In  a  corner  of  the  canvas  is  written,  "Anne  de  La 
Grange-Trianon,  Comtesse  de  Frontenac."  This 
blooming  goddess  was  the  wife  of  the  future  gov- 
ernor of  Canada. 

Madame  de  Frontenac,  at  the  age  of  about  twenty, 
was  a  favorite  companion  of  Mademoiselle  de  Mont- 
pensier, the  grand-daughter  of  Henry  IV.  and  daughter 


4  COUNT   AND   COUNTESS  FRONTENAC.    [1652. 

of  the  weak  and  dastardly  Gaston,  Duke  of  Orleans. 
Nothing  in  French  annals  has  found  more  readers 
than  the  story  of  the  exploit  of  this  soirited  princess 
at  Orleans  during  the  civil  war  of  the  Fronde.  Her 
cousin  Cond^,  chief  of  the  revolt,  had  found  favor  in 
her  eyes;  and  she  had  espoused  his  cause  against  her 
cousin  the  King.  The  royal  army  threatened  Orleans. 
The  duke,  her  father,  dared  not  leave  Paris ;  but  he 
consented  that  his  daughter  should  go  in  his  place  to 
hold  the  city  for  Condd  and  the  Fronde. 

The  princess  entered  her  carriage  and  set  out  on 
her  errand,  attended  by  a  small  escort.  With  her 
were  three  young  married  ladies,  the  Marquise  de 
Br^autd,  the  Comtesse  de  Fiesque,  and  the  Comtesse 
de  Frontenac.  In  two  days  they  reached  Orleans. 
The  civic  authorities  were  afraid  to  declare  against 
the  King,  and  hesitated  to  open  the  gates  to  the 
daughter  of  their  duke,  who,  standing  in  the  moat 
with .  her  three  companions,  tried  persuasion  and 
threats  in  vain.  The  prospect  was  not  encouraging, 
wheu  a  crowd  of  boatmen  came  up  from  the  river  and 
offered  the  princess  their  services.  "I  accepted 
them  gladly,'*  she  writes,  "and  said  a  thousand  fine 
things,  such  as  one  must  say  to  that  sort  of  people  to 
make  them  do  what  one  wishes.'*  She  gave  them 
money  as  well  as  fair  words,  and  begged  them  to 
burst  open  one  of  the  gates.  They  fell  at  once  to  the 
work;  while  the  guards  and  officials  looked  down 
from  the  walls,  neither  aiding  nor  resisting  them. 
"To  animate  the  boatmen  by  my  presence,"  she  con- 


1652.]  ORLEANS.  6 

tinues,  "I  mounted  a  hillock  near  by.  I  did  not 
look  to  see  which  way  1  went,  but  clambered  up  like 
a  cat,  clutching  brambles  and  thorns,  and  jumping 
over  hedges  without  hurting  myself.  Madame  de 
Brdaut^,  who  is  the  most  cowardly  creature  in  the 
world,  began  to  cry  out  against  me  and  everybody 
who  followed  me ;  in  fact,  I  do  not  know  if  she  did 
not  swear  in  her  excitement,  which  amused  me  very 
much."  At  length,  a  hole  was  knocked  in  the  gate; 
and  a  gentleman  of  her  train,  who  had  directed  the 
attack,  beckoned  her  to  come  on.  "  As  it  was  very 
muddy,  a  man  took  me  and  carried  me  forward,  and 
thrust  me  in  at  this  hole,  where  my  head  was  no 
sooner  through  tlian  the  drums  beat  to  salute  me.  I 
gave  my  hand  to  the  captain  of  the  guard.  The 
shouts  redoubled.  Two  men  took  me  and  put  me  in 
a  wooden  chair.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  was  seated 
in  it  or  on  their  arms,  for  I  was  beside  myself  with 
joy.  Everybody  was  kissing  my  hands,  and  I  almost 
died  with  laughing  to  see  myself  in  such  an  odd 
position."  There  was  no  resisting  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  people  and  the  soldiers.  Orleans  was  won  for  the 
Fronde.^ 

The  young  Countesses  of  Frontenac  and  Fiesque 
had  constantly  followed  her,  and  climbed  after  her 
through  the  hole  in  the  gate.  Her  father  wrote  to 
compliment  them  on  their  prowess,  and  addressed  his 
letter  "^  Mesdames  les  Comtesses,  Mar^chales  de 
Camp  dans  I'arm^e  de  ma  fille  contre  le  Mazarin." 

1  M€moirei  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  i.  358-363  (ed.  1869) 


6  COUNT  AND  COUNTESS  FRONTENAC.     [1653. 

Officers  and  soldiers  took  part  in  the  pleasantry;  and 
as  Madame  de  Frontenac  passed  on  horseback  before 
the  troops,  they  saluted  her  with  the  honors  paid  to 
a  brigadier. 

When  the  King,  or  Cardinal  Mazarin  who  con- 
trolled him,  had  triumphed  over  the  revolting  princes, 
Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier  paid  the  penalty  of  her 
exploit  by  a  temporary  banishment  from  the  court. 
She  roamed  from  place  to  place,  with  a  little  court  of 
her  own,  of  which  Madame  de  Frontenac  was  a  con- 
spicuous member.  During  the  war,  Count  Frontenac 
had  been  dangerously  ill  of  a  fever  in  Paris ;  and  his 
wife  had  been  absent  for  a  time  attending  him.  She 
soon  rejoined  the  princess,  who  was  at  her  chateau 
of  St.  Fargeau,  three  days'  journey  from  Paris, 
when  an  incident  occurred  which  placed  the  married 
life  of  her  fair  companion  in  an  unexpected  light. 
"The  Duchesse  de  Sully  came  to  see  me,  and 
brought  with  her  M.  d'Herbault  and  M.  de  Frontenac. 
Frontenac  had  stopped  here  once  before,  but  it  was 
only  for  a  week,  when  he  still  had  the  fever,  and 
took  great  care  of  himself,  like  a  man  who  had  been 
at  the  door  of  death.  This  time  he  was  in  high 
health.  His  arrival  had  not  been  expected,  and  his 
wife  was  so  much  surprised  that  everybody  observed 
it,  especially  as  the  surprise  seemed  to  be  not  at  all  a 
pleasant  one.  Instead  of  going  to  talk  with  her 
husband,  she  went  off  and  hid  herself,  crying  and 
screaming  because  he  had  said  that  he  would  like  to 
have  her  company  that  evening.     I  was  very  much 


1620-48.]       EARLY  LIFE  OF  FRONTENAC.  7 

astonished,  especially  as  I  had  never  before  perceived 
her  aversion  to  him.  The  elder  Comtesse  de  Fiesque 
remonstrated  with  her;  but  she  only  cried  the  more. 
Madame  de  Fiesque  then  brought  books  to  show  her 
her  duty  as  a  wife ;  but  it  did  no  good,  and  at  last 
she  got  into  such  a  state  that  we  sent  for  the  cur^ 
with  holy  water  to  exorcise  her."^ 

Count  Frontenac  came  of  an  ancient  and  noble 
race,  said  to  have  been  of  Basque  origin.  His  father 
held  a  high  post  in  the  household  of  Louis  XIII., 
who  became  the  child's  godfather  and  gave  him 
his  own  name.  At  the  age  of  fifteen,  the  young 
Louis  showed  an  incontrollable  passion  for  the  life 
of  a  soldier.  He  was  sent  to  the  seat  of  war  in 
Holland,  to  serve  under  the  Prince  of  Orange.  At 
the  age  of  nineteen,  he  was  a  volunteer  at  the  siege 
of  Hesdin ;  in  the  next  year,  he  was  at  Arras,  where 
he  distinguished  himself  during  a  sortie  of  the  gar- 
rison ;  in  the  next,  he  took  part  in  the  siege  of  Aire ; 
and  in  the  next,  in  those  of  Callioure  and  Perpignan. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-three,  he  was  made  colonel  of 
the  regiment  of  Normandy,  which  he  commanded  in 
repeated  battles  and  sieges  of  the  Italian  campaign. 
He  was  several  times  wounded,  and  in  1646  he  had 
an  arm  broken  at  the  siege  of  Orbitello.  In  the  same 
year,  when  twenty-six  years  old,  he  was  raised  to  the 
rank  of  marechal  de  camp,  equivalent  to  that  of 
brigadier-general.     A  year  or  two  later  we  find  him 

*  M^moires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  ii.  265.  The  cur^V 
holy  water,  or  his  exhortations,  were  at  last  successful. 


8  COUNT  AND  C013NTESS  FRONTENAC.     [164a 

at  Paris,  at  the  house  of  his  father,  on  the  Quai  des 
C^lestins.i 

In  the  same  neighborhood  lived  La  Grange-Trianon, 
Sieur  de  Neuville,  a  widower  of  fifty,  with  one  child, 
a  daughter  of  sixteen,  whom  he  had  placed  in  the 
charge  of  his  relative,  Madame  de  Bouthillier. 
Frontenac  fell  in  love  with  her.  Madame  de 
Bouthillier  opposed  the  match,  and  told  La  Grange 
that  he  might  do  better  for  his  daughter  than  to 
marry  her  to  a  man  who,  say  what  he  might,  had  but 
twenty  thousand  francs  a  year.  La  Grange  was 
weak  and  vacillating:  sometimes  he  listened  to  his 
prudent  kinswoman,  and  sometimes  to  the  eager 
suitor;  treated  him  as  a  son-in-law,  carried  love 
messages  from  him  to  his  daughter,  and  ended  by 
refusing  him  her  hand,  and  ordering  her  to  renounce 
him  on  pain  of  being  immured  in  a  convent.  Neither 
Frontenac  nor  his  mistress  was  of  a  pliant  temper. 
In  the  neighborhood  was  the  little  church  of  St. 
Pierre  aux  Bceufs,  which  had  the  privilege  of  uniting 
couples  without  the  consent  of  their  parents;  and 
here,  on  a  Wednesday  in  October,  1648,  the  lovers 
were  married  in  presence  of  a  number  of  Frontenac 's 
relatives.  La  Grange  was  furious  at  the  discovery; 
but  his  anger  soon  cooled,  and  complete  reconciliation 
followed.  2 

*  Pinard,  Chronologie  ffistonque-miUtairef  vi. ;  Table  de  la  Gazette 
de  France ;  Jal,  Dictionnaire  Critique,  Biographique,  et  d'Histoire,  art, 
"  Frontenac ; "  Goyer,  Oraison  Funebre  du  Comte  de  Frontenac. 

2  Historiettes  de  Tallemant  des  Re'aux,ix.  214  (ed.  Monmerqu^'); 
Jal,  Dictionnaire  Critique,  etc 


1653.]  CHARACTER  OF  FRONTENAC.  9 

The  happiness  of  the  newly  wedded  pair  was  short. 
Love  soon  changed  to  aversion,  at  least  on  the  part 
of  the  bride.  She  was  not  of  a  tender  nature;  her 
temper  was  imperious,  and  she  had  a  restless  craving 
for  excitement.  Frontenac,  on  his  part,  was  the 
most  wayward  and  headstrong  of  men.  She  bore 
him  a  son ;  but  maternal  cares  were  not  to  her  liking. 
The  infant,  Franqois  Louis,  was  placed  in  the  keep- 
ing of  a  nurse  at  the  village  of  Clion ;  and  his  young 
mother  left  her  husband,  to  follow  the  fortunes  of 
Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  who  for  a  time  pro- 
nounced her  charming,  praised  her  wit  and  beauty, 
and  made  her  one  of  her  ladies  of  honor.  Very 
curious  and  amusing  are  some  of  the  incidents 
recounted  by  the  princess,  in  which  Madame  de 
Frontenac  bore  part;  but  what  is  more  to  our  pur- 
pose are  the  sketches  traced  here  and  there  by  the 
same  sharp  pen,  in  which  one  may  discern  the  traite 
of  the  destined  savior  of  New  France.  Thus,  in  the 
following,  we  see  him  at  St.  Fargeau  in  the  same 
attitude  in  which  we  shall  often  see  him  at  Quebec. 

The  princess  and  the  duke  her  father  had  a  dispute 
touching  her  property.  Frontenac  had  lately  been  at 
Blois,  where  the  duke  had  possessed  him  with  his 
own  views  of  the  questions  at  issue.  Accordingly, 
on  arriving  at  St.  Fargeau,  he  seemed  disposed  to 
assume  the  character  of  mediator.  "He  wanted,*' 
says  the  princess,  "  to  discuss  my  affairs  with  me :  I 
listened  to  his  preaching,  and  he  also  spoke  about 
these  matters  to  Prdf ontaine  [her  man  of  business]. 


10       COUNT  AND  COUNTESS  FRONTENAC.      [165a 

I  returned  to  the  house  after  our  promenade,  and  we 
went  to  dance  in  the  great  hall.  While  we  were 
dancing,  I  saw  Pr^fontaine  walking  at  the  farther 
end  with  Frontenac,  who  was  talking  and  gesticulat- 
ing. This  continued  for  a  long  time.  Madame  de 
Sully  noticed  it  also,  and  seemed  disturbed  by  it,  as 
I  was  myself.  I  said,  '  Have  we  not  danced  enough  ? ' 
Madame  de  Sully  assented,  and  we  went  out.  I 
called  Pr^fontaine,  and  asked  him,  *  What  was 
Frontenac  saying  to  you  ? '  He  answered :  '  He  was 
Bcolding  me.  I  never  saw  such  an  impertinent  man 
in  my  life.'  I  went  to  my  room,  and  Madame  de 
Sully  and  Madame  de  Fiesque  followed.  Madame 
de  Sully  said  to  Prdf ontaine :  '  I  was  very  much 
disturbed  to  see  you  talking  with  so  much  warmth  to 
Monsieur  de  Frontenac;  for  he  came  here  in  such 
Ill-humor  that  I  was  afraid  he  would  quarrel  with 
you.  Yesterday,  when  we  were  in  the  carriage,  he 
was  ready  to  eat  us.'  The  Comtesse  de  Fiesque 
said,  *  This  morning  he  came  to  see  my  mother-in- 
law,  and  scolded  at  her. '  Pref ontaine  answered :  '  He 
wanted  to  throttle  me.  I  never  saw  a  man  so  crazy 
and  absurd. '  We  all  four  began  to  pity  poor  Madame 
de  Frontenac  for  having  such  a  husband,  and  to 
think  her  right  in  not  wanting  to  go  with  him."i 
Frontenac  owned  the  estate  of  Isle  Savary,  on  the 
Indre,  not  far  from  Blois;  and  here,  soon  after  the 
above  scene,  the  princess  made  him  a  visit.  "  It  is 
a  pretty  enough  place,"  she  says,  "for  a  man  like 

*  M€moires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  ii.  267. 


1653-60.]         SCENES   AT   ST.    FARGEAU.  11 

him.  The  house  is  well  furnished,  and  he  gave  me 
excellent  entertainment.  He  showed  me  all  the 
plans  he  had  for  improving  it,  and  making  gardens, 
fountains,  and  ponds.  It  would  need  the  riches  of  a 
superintendent  of  finance  to  execute  his  schemes, 
and  how  anybody  else  should  venture  to  think  of 
them  I  cannot  comprehend. 

"While  Frontenac  was  at  St.  Fargeau,"  she  con- 
tinues, "  he  kept  open  table,  and  many  of  my  people 
went  to  dine  with  him ;  for  he  affected  to  hold  court, 
and  acted  as  if  everybody  owed  duty  to  him.  The 
conversation  was  always  about  my  affair  with  his 
Royal  Highness  [her  father],  whose  conduct  towards 
me  was  always  praised,  while  mine  was  blamed. 
Frontenac  spoke  ill  of  Prdfontaine,  and,  in  fine,  said 
everything  he  could  to  displease  me  and  stir  up  my 
own  people  against  me.  He  praised  everything  that 
belonged  to  himself,  and  never  came  to  sup  or  dine 
with  me  without  speaking  of  some  ragoUt  or  some 
new  sweetmeat  which  had  been  served  up  on  his 
table,  ascribing  it  all  to  the  excellence  of  the  officers 
of  his  kitchen.  The  very  meat  that  he  ate,  accord- 
ing to  him,  had  a  different  taste  on  his  board  than  on 
any  other.  As  for  his  silver  plate,  it  was  always  of 
good  workmanship;  and  his  dress  was  always  of 
patterns  invented  by  himself.  When  he  had  new 
clothes,  he  paraded  them  like  a  child.  One  day  he 
brought  me  some  to  look  at,  and  left  them  on  my 
dressing-table.  We  were  then  at  Chambord.  His 
Royal  Highness  came  into  the  room,  and  must  have 


12    COUNT  AND  COUNTESS  FRONTENAC.    [1660-7a 

thought  it  odd  to  see  breeches  and  doublets  in  such 
a  place.  Pr^fontaine  and  I  laughed  about  it  a  great 
deal.  Frontenac  took  everybody  who  came  to  St. 
Fargeau  to  see  his  stables;  and  all  who  wished  to 
gain  his  good  graces  were  obliged  to  admire  his 
horses,  which  were  very  indifferent.  In  short,  this 
is  his  way  in  everything."^ 

Though  not  himself  of  the  highest  rank,  his  posi- 
tion at  court  was,  from  the  courtier  point  of  view, 
an  enviable  one.  The  princess,  after  her  banishment 
had  ended,  more  than  once  mentions  incidentally 
that  she  had  met  him  in  the  cabinet  of  the  Queen. 
Her  dislike  of  him  became  intense,  and  her  fondness 
for  his  wife  changed  at  last  to  aversion.  She  charges 
the  countess  with  ingratitude.  She  discovered,  oi 
thought  that  she  discovered,  that  in  her  dispute  with 
her  father,  and  in  certain  dissensions  in  her  own 
household,  Madame  de  Frontenac  had  acted  secretly 
in  opposition  to  her  interests  and  wishes.  The 
imprudent  lady  of  honor  received  permission  to  leave 
her  service.  It  was  a  woful  scene.  "  She  saw  me 
get  into  my  carriage,"  writes  the  princess,  "and  her 
distress  was  greater  than  ever.  Her  tears  flowed 
abundantly:  as  for  me,  my  fortitude  was  perfect, 
and  I  looked  on  with  composure  while  she  cried. 
If  anything  could  disturb  my  tranquillity,  it  was 
the  recollection  of  the  time  when  she  laughed  while 
I  was  crying."  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier  had 
been  deeply  offended,  and  apparently  with  reason. 

^  M^moires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier ,  ii.  279  j  iii.  16. 


1660-72.]        FRONTENAC   AS  A   SOLDIER.  13 

The  countess  and  her  husband  received  an  order 
never  again  to  appear  in  her  presence ;  but  soon  after, 
when  the  princess  was  with  the  King  and  Queen  at 
a  comedy  in  the  garden  of  the  Louvre,  Frontenac, 
who  had  previously  arrived,  immediately  changed  his 
position,  and  with  his  usual  audacity  took  a  post  so 
conspicuous  that  she  could  not  help  seeing  him.  "  I 
confess,"  she  says,  "I  was  so  angr}^  that  I  could  find 
no  pleasure  in  the  play;  but  I  said  nothing  to  the 
King  and  Queen,  fearing  that  they  would  not  take 
such  a  view  of  the  matter  as  I  wished."  ^ 

With  the  close  of  her  relations  with  "  La  Grande 
Mademoiselle,"  Madame  de  Frontenac  is  lost  to  sight 
for  a  while.  In  1669  a  Venetian  embassy  came  to 
France  to  beg  for  aid  against  the  Turks,  who  for 
more  than  two  years  had  attacked  Candia  in  over- 
whelming force.  The  ambassadors  offered  to  place 
their  own  troops  under  French  command,  and  they 
asked  Turenne  to  name  a  general  officer  equal  to  the 
task.  Frontenac  had  the  signal  honor  of  being 
chosen  by  the  first  soldier  of  Europe  for  this  most 
arduous  and  difficult  position.  He  went  accordingly. 
The  result  increased  his  reputation  for  ability  and 
courage;  but  Candia  was  doomed,  and  its  chief 
fortress  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  infidels,  after  a 
protracted  struggle,  which  is  said  to  have  cost  them 
a  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  men.^ 

1  M^moires  de  Mademoiselle  de  MontpensieVy  iii.  270. 

*  Oraison  Funebre  dii  Comtede  Frontenac,  par  le  Fere  Olivier  Goyer. 
A  powerful  French  contingent,  under  another  command,  co-operated 
with  the  Venetians  under  Frontenac. 


14       COUNT  AND  COUNTESS  FRONTENAC.      [1672 

Three  years  later,  Frontenac  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  Governor  and  Lieutenant-General  for  the 
King  in  all  New  France.  "He  was,"  says  Saint- 
Simon,  "a  man  of  excellent  parts,  living  much  in 
society,  and  completely  ruined.  He  found  it  hard 
to  bear  the  imperious  temper  of  his  wife ;  and  he  was 
given  the  government  of  Canada  to  deliver  him  from 
her,  and  afford  him  some  means  of  living."  ^  Certain 
scandalous  songs  of  the  day  assign  a  different  motive 
for  his  appointment.  Louis  XIV.  was  enamoured  of 
Madame  de  Montespan.  She  had  once  smiled  upon 
Frontenac;  and  it  is  said  that  the  jealous  King 
gladly  embraced  the  opportunity  of  removing  from 
his  presence,  and  from  hers,  a  lover  who  had  fore- 
stalled him.a 

^  MtTmoires  du  Due  de  Saint-Simon,  ii.  270 ;  v.  336. 

*  Note  of  M.  Brunet,  in  Correspondance  de  la  Duchesse  d* Orleans. 
i.  200  (ed.  1869). 

The  following  lines,  among  others,  were  passed  about  secretlj 
among  the  courtiers :  — 

**  Je  suis  ravi  que  le  roi,  notre  sire, 
Aime  la  Montespan ; 
Moi,  Frontenac,  je  me  crfeve  de  rire, 

Sachant  ce  qui  lui  pend ; 
Et  je  dirai,  sans  etre  des  plus  bestes, 
Tu  n'as  que  mon  reste, 

Roi, 
Tu  n*as  que  mon  reste.** 

Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier  had  mentioned  in  her  memoirs, 
some  years  before,  that  Frontenac,  in  taking  out  his  handkerchief, 
dropped  from  his  pocket  a  love-letter  to  Mademoiselle  de  Mortemart, 
Afterwards  Madame  de  Montespan,  which  was  picked  up  by  one  of 
tjie  attendants  of  the  princess.    The  King,  on  the  other  hand,  was 


1072-1707.]  LES  DIVIN'ES.  15 

Frontenac's  wife  had  no  thought  of  following  him 
across  the  sea.  A  more  congenial  life  awaited  her  at 
home.  She  had  long  had  a  friend  of  humbler  station 
than  herself,  Mademoiselle  d'Outrelaise,  daughter  of 
an  obscure  gentleman  of  Poitou,  an  amiable  and 
accomplished  person,  who  became  through  life  her 
constant  companion.  The  extensive  building  called 
the  Arsenal,  formerly  the  residence  of  Sully,  the 
minister  of  Henry  IV.,  contained  suites  of  apart- 
ments which  were  granted  to  persons  who  had  influ- 
ence enough  to  obtain  them.  The  Due  de  Lude, 
grand-master  of  artillery,  had  them  at  his  disposal, 
and  gave  one  of  them  to  Madame  de  Frontenac. 
Here  she  made  her  abode  with  her  friend ;  and  here 
at  last  she  died,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five.  The 
annalist  Saint-Simon,  who  knew  the  court  and  all 
belonging  to  it  better  than  any  other  man  of  his 
time,  says  of  her:  "She  had  been  beautiful  and  gay, 
and  was  always  in  the  best  society,  where  she  was 
greatly  in  request.  Like  her  husband,  she  had  little 
property  and  abundant  wit.  She  and  Mademoiselle 
d'Outrelaise,  whom  she  took  to  live  with  her,  gave 
the  tone  to  the  best  company  of  Paris  and  the  court, 
though  they  never  went  thither.  They  were  called 
Les  Divines.  In  fact,  they  demanded  incense  like  god- 
desses ;  and  it  was  lavished  upon  them  all  their  lives." 

at  one  time  attracted  by  the  charms  of  Madame  de  Frontenac, 
against  whom,  however,  no  aspersion  is  cast. 

The  Corate  de  Grignan,  son-in-law  of  Madame  de  S^vign^,  was 
an  unsuccessful  competitor  with  Frontenac  for  the  goyernment  of 
Canada 


16        COUNT  AND  COUNTESS  FRONTENAC.      [1707. 

Mademoiselle  d'Outrelaise  died  long  before  the 
countess,  who  retained  in  old  age  the  rare  social 
gifts  which  to  the  last  made  her  apartments  a  resort 
of  the  highest  society  of  that  brilliant  epoch.  It 
was  in  her  power  to  be  very  useful  to  her  absent 
husband,  who  often  needed  her  support,  and  who 
seems  to  have  often  received  it. 

She  was  childless.  Her  son,  Francois  Louis,  was 
killed  —  some  say  in  battle,  and  others  in  a  duel  — 
at  an  early  age.  Her  husband  died  nine  years  before 
her;  and  the  old  countess  left  what  little  she  had  to 
her  friend  Beringhen,  the  King's  master  of  the 
horse.  ^ 

1  On  Frontenac  and  his  family,  see  Appendix  A. 


CHAPTER  II. 

1672-1675. 
FRONTENAC  AT  QUEBEC. 

Arrival.  —  Bright  Prospects.  —  The  Three  Estates  of  Nbti 
France.  —  Speech  of  the  Governor.  —  His  Innovations.  — 
BoYAL  Displeasure.  —  Signs  of  Storm.  —  Frontbnac  anb 
THE  Priests.  —  His  Attempts  to  civilize  the  Indians.  — 
Opposition. — Complaints  and  Heart-burnings. 

Frontenac  was  fifty-two  years  old  when  he  landed 
at  Quebec.  If  time  had  done  little  to  cure  his  many 
faults,  it  had  done  nothing  to  weaken  the  springs  of 
his  unconquerable  vitality.  In  his  ripe  middle  age, 
he  was  as  keen,  fiery,  and  perversely  headstrong  aa 
when  he  quarrelled  with  Prdfontaine  in  the  hall  at 
St.  Fargeau. 

Had  nature  disposed  him  to  melancholy,  there  was 
much  in  his  position  to  awaken  it.  A  man  of  courts 
and  camps,  bom  and  bred  in  the  focus  of  a  most 
gorgeous  civilization,  he  was  banished  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth,  among  savage  hordes  and  half-reclaimed 
forests,  —  to  exchange  the  splendors  of  St.  Germain 
and  the  dawning  glories  of  Versailles  for  a  stem  gray 
rock,  haunted  by  sombre  priests,  rugged  merchants 


18  FRONTENAC  AT  QUEBEC.  [1672. 

and  traders,  blanketed  Indians,  and  wild  bush- 
rangers. But  Frontenac  was  a  man  of  action.  He 
wasted  no  time  in  vain  regrets,  and  set  himself  to 
his  work  with  the  elastic  vigor  of  youth.  His  first 
impressions  had  been  very  favorable.  When,  as  he 
sailed  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  basia  of  Quebec 
opened  before  him,  his  imagination  kindled  with  the 
grandeur  of  the  scene.  "I  never,"  he  wrote,  "saw 
anything  more  superb  than  the  position  of  this  town. 
It  could  not  be  better  situated  as  the  future  capital 
oia,  great  empire."^ 

'^  That  Quebec  was  to  become  the  capital  of  a  great 
empire  there  seemed  in  truth  good  reason  to  believe. 
The  young  King  and  his  minister  Colbert  had  labored 
in  earnest  to  build  up  a  new  France  in  the  west. 
For  years  past,  ship-loads  of  emigrants  had  landed 
every  summer  on  the  strand  beneath  the  rock.  All 
was  life  and  action,  and  the  air  was  full  of  promise. 
The  royal  agent  Talon  had  written  to  his  master: 
"  This  part  of  the  French  monarchy  is  destined  to  a 
grand  future.  All  that  I  see  around  me  points  to  it; 
and  the  colonies  of  foreign  nations,  ,so  long  settled 
on  the  sea-board,  are  trembling  with  fright  in  view 
of  what  his  Majesty  has  accomplished  here  within 
the  last  seven  years.  The  measures  we  have  taken 
to  confine  them  within  narrow  limits,  and  the  prior 
claim  we  have  established  against  them  by  formal 
acts  of  possession,  do  not  permit  them  to  extend 
themselves  except  at  peril  of  having  war  declared 

1  Frontenac  uu  Ministre,  2  Novembre,  1672. 


1672.;}    FRONTENAC  SURVEYS  HIS  CHARGE.  19 

against  them  as  usurpers ;  and  this,  in  fact,  is  what 
they  seem  greatly  to  fear."^ 

Frontenac  shared  the  spirit  of  the  hour.  His  first 
step  was  to  survey  his  government.  He  talked  with 
traders,  colonists,  and  officials;  visited  seigniories, 
farms,  fishing-stations,  and  all  the  infant  industries 
that  Talon  had  galvanized  into  life;  examined  the 
new  ship  on  the  stocks,  admired  the  structure  of  the 
new  brewery,  went  to  Three  Rivers  to  see  the  iron 
mines,  and  then,  having  acquired  a  tolerably  exact 
idea  of  his  charge,  returned  to  Quebec.  He  was 
well  pleased  with  what  he  saw,  but  not  with  the 
ways  and  means  of  Canadian  travel ;  for  he  thought 
it  strangely  unbecoming  that  a  lieutenant-general  of 
the  King  should  be  forced  to  crouch  on  a  sheet  of 
bark,  at  the  bottom  of  a  birch  canoe,  scarcely  daring 
to  move  his  head  to  the  right  or  left  lest  he  should 
disturb  the  balance  of  the  fragile  vessel. 

At  Quebec  he  convoked  the  council,  made  them     » 
a  speech,  and  administered  the  oath  of  allegiance.' 
This   did   not  satisfy  him.     He    resolved   that    all 
Quebec  should  take  the  oath  together.     It  was  little        / 
but  a  pretext.     Like  many  of  his  station,  Frontenac 
was  not  in  full  sympathy  with  the  centralizing  move- 
ment of  the  time,   which  tended  to  level   ancient     , 
rights,  privileges,  and  prescriptions  under  the  pon-       \ 
derous  roller  of  the  monarchical  administration.     He 
looked  back  with  regret  to  the  day  when  the  three 

1  Talon  au  Ministre,  2  Novembre,  1671, 
•  Begittre  du  Conseil  Souverain. 


20  FRONTENAC   AT   QUEBEC.  [1672. 

orders  of  the  State  —  clergy,  nobles,  and  commons 
—  had  a  place  and  a  power  in  the  direction  of  national 
affairs.  The  three  orders  still  subsisted  —  in  form, 
if  not  in  substance  —  in  some  of  the  provinces  of 
France ;  and  Frontenac  conceived  the  idea  of  repro- 
ducing them  in  Canada.  Not  only  did  he  cherish 
the  tradition  of  faded  liberties,  but  he  loved  pomp 
and  circumstance  above  all,  when  he  was  himself  the 
central  figure  in  it;  and  the  thought  of  a  royal  gov- 
ernor of  Languedoc  or  Brittany  presiding  over  the 
estates  of  his  province  appears  to  have  fired  him 
with  emulation. 

He  had  no  difficulty  in  forming  his  order  of  the 
clergyi_  The  Jesuits  and  the  seminary  priests  sup- 
"pTied  material  even  more  abundant  than  he  wished. 
For  the  order  of  the  nobles,  he  found  three  or  four 
gentilshommes  at  Quebec,  and  these  he  reinforced 
with  a  number  of  officers.  The  third  estate  consisted 
of  the  merchants  and  citizens;  aiid^e  formed  the 
members  of  the  council  and  the  magistrates  into 
another  distinct  body,  —  though,  properly  speaking, 
they  belonged  to  the  third  estate,  of  which  by  nature 
and  prescription  they  were  the  head.  The  Jesuits, 
glad  no  doubt  to  lay  him  under  some  slight  obliga- 
tion, lent  him  their  church  for  the  ceremony  that  he 
meditated,  and  aided  in  decorating  it  for  the  occa- 
sion. Here,  on  the  twenty-third  of  October,  1672, 
the  three  estates  of  Canada  were  convoked,  with  as 
much  pomp  and  splendor  as  circumstances  would 
permit.     Then  Frontenac,  with  the  ease  of  a  man  of 


1672.]  SPEECH  OF  FRONTENAC.  21 

the  world  and  the  loftiness  of  a  grand  seigneur, 
delivered  himself  of  tlie  harangue  he  had  prepared. 
He  wrote  exceedingly  well ;  he  is  said  also  to  have 
excelled  as  an  orator;  certainly  he  was  never  averse 
to  the  tones  of  his  own  eloquence. 

His  speech  was  addressed  to  a  double  audience,  — 
the  throng  that  filled  the  church,  and  the  King  and 
the  minister  three  thousand  miles  away.  He  told  his 
hearers  that  he  had  called  the  assembly  not  because 
he  doubted  their  loyalty,  but  in  order  to  afford  them 
the  delight  of  making  public  protestation  of  devotion 
to  a  prince  the  terror  of  whose  irresistible  arms  was 
matched  only  by  the  charms  of  his  person  and  the 
benignity  of  his  rule.  "The  Holy  Scriptures,"  he 
said,  "  command  us  to  obey  our  sovereign,  and  teach 
us  that  no  pretext  or  reason  can  dispense  us  from 
this  obedience."  And  in  a  glowing  eulogy  on  Louis 
XIV.,  he  went  on  to  show  that  obedience  to  him  was 
not  only  a  duty,  but  an  inestimable  privilege.  He 
dwelt  with  admiration  on  the  recent  victories  in 
Holland,  and  held  forth  the  hope  that  a  speedy  and 
glorious  peace  would  leave  his  Majesty  free  to  turn 
his  thoughts  to  the  colony  which  already  owed  so 
much  to  his  fostering  care.  "The  true  means," 
pursued  Frontenac,  "of  gaining  his  favor  and  his 
support,  is  for  us  to  unite  with  one  heart  in  laboring 
for  the  progress  of  Canada."  Then  he  addressed,  in 
turn,  the  clergy,  the  nobles,  the  magistrates,  and  the 
citizens.  He  exhorted  the  priests  to  continue  with 
zeal  their  labors  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indiana, 


22  FRONTENAC  AT  QUEBEC.  [1672. 

and  to  make  them  subjects  not  only  of  Christ,  but 
also  of  the  King ;  in  short,  to  tame  and  civilize  them, 
—  a  portion  of  their  duties  in  which  he  plainly  gave 
them  to  understand  that  they  had  not  hitherto 
acquitted  themselves  to  his  satisfaction.  Next,  he 
appealed  to  the  nobles ;  commended  their  gallantry, 
and  called  upon  them  to  be  as  assiduous  in  the  culture 
and  improvement  of  the  colony  as  they  were  valiant 
in  its  defence.  The  magistrates,  the  merchants,  and 
the  colonists  in  general  were  each  addressed  in  an 
appropriate  exhortation.  "I  can  assure  you,  mes- 
sieurs," he  concluded,  "that  if  you  faithfully  dis- 
charge your  several  duties,  each  in  his  station,  his 
Majesty  will  extend  to  us  all  the  help  and  all  the 
favor  that  we  can  desire.  It  is  needless,  then,  to 
urge  you  to  act  as  I  have  counselled,  since  it  is  for 
your  own  interest  to  do  so.  As  for  me,  it  only 
remains  to  protest  before  you  that  I  shall  esteem 
myself  happy  in  consecrating  all  my  efforts,  and,  if 
need  be,  my  life  itself,  to  extending  the  empire  of 
Jesus  Christ  throughout  all  this  land,  and  the 
supremacy  of  our  King  over  all  the  nations  that 
dwell  in  it." 

He  administered  the  oath,  and  the  assembly  dis- 
solved. He  now  applied  himself  to  another  work,  — 
Vthat  of  giving  a  municipal  government  to  Quebec, 
after  the  model  of  some  of  the  cities  of  France.  In 
lace  of  the  syndic,  an  official  supposed  to  represent 
the  interests  of  the  citizens,  he  ordered  the  public 
election  of  thre^  aldermen,  of  whom  the  senior  should 


A" 


1672.]  FRONTEXAC'S    INNOVATIONS.  28 

act  as  mayor.  One  of  the  number  was  to  go  out  of 
office  every  year,  his  place  being  filled  by  a  new 
election;  and  the  governor,  as  representing  the  King, 
reserved  the  right  of  confirmation  or  rejection.  He 
then,  in  concert  with  the  chief  inhabitants,  proceeded 
to  frame  a  body  of  regulations  for  the  government  of 
a  town  destined,  as  he  again  and  again  declares,  to 
become  the  capital  of  a  mighty  empire ;  and  he  further 
ordained  that  the  people  should  hold  a  meeting  every 
six  months  to  discuss  questions  involving  the  welfare 
of  the  colony. 

The  boldness  of  these  measures  will  scarcely  be 
appreciated  at  the  present  day.  The  intendant 
Talon  declined,  on  pretence  of  a  slight  illness,  to 
be  present  at  the  meeting  of  the  estates.  He  knew 
too  well  the  temper  of  the  King,  whose  constant 
policy  it  was  to  destroy  or  paralyze  every  institution 
or  custom  that  stood  in  the  way  of  his  autocracy. 

The  despatches  in  which  Frontenac  announced  to 
his  masters  what  he  had  done  received  in  due  time 
their  answer.  The  minister  Colbert  wrote:  "Your 
assembling  of  the  inhabitants  to  take  the  oath  of 
fidelity,  and  your  division  of  them  into  three  estates, 
may  have  had  a  good  effect  for  the  moment;  but  it 
is  well  for  you  to  observe  that  you  are  always  to 
follow,  in  the  government  of  Canada,  the  forms  in 
use  here ;  and  since  our  kings  have  long  regarded  it 
as  good  for  their  service  not  to  convoke  the  states- 
general  of  the  kingdom,  in  order,  perhaps,  to  abolish 
insensibly   this   ancient   usage,    you,    on  your  part. 


24  FRONTENAC   AT   QUEBEC.  [1672. 

should  very  rarely,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly, 
never,  give  a  corporate  form  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Canada.  You  should  even,  as  the  colony  strengthens, 
suppress  gradually  the  office  of  the  syndic,  who 
presents  petitions  in  the  name  of  the  inhabitants ;  for 
it  is  well  that  each  should  speak  for  himself,  and  no 
one  for  all."^ 

Here,  in  brief,  is  the  whole  spirit  of  the  French 
colonial  rule  in  Canada,  —  a  government,  as  I  have 
elsewhere  shown,  of  excellent  intentions,  but  of 
arbitrary  methods.  Frontenac,  filled  with  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  past,  and  sincerely  desirous  of  the  good 
of  the  colony,  rashly  set  himself  against  the  prevail- 
ing current.  His  municipal  government  and  his 
meetings  of  citizens  were,  like  his  three  estates, 
abolished  by  a  word  from  the  court,  which,  bold  and 
obstinate  as  he  was,  he  dared  not  disobey.  Had 
they  been  allowed  to  subsist,  there  can  be  little  doubt, 
that  great  good  would  have  resulted  to  Canada. 

Frontenac  has  been  called  a  mere  soldier.  He  was 
an  excellent  soldier,  and  more  besides.  He  was  a 
man  of  vigorous  and  cultivated  mind,  penetrating 
observation,  and  ample  travel  and  experience.  His 
zeal  for  the  colony,  however,  was  often  counteracted 
by  the  violence  of  his  prejudices,  and  by  two  other 
influences.     First,  he  was  a  ruined  man,  who  meant 

1  Frontenac  au  Roi,  2  Nov.,  1672 ;  Ibid.,  13  Nov.,  1673 ;  Harangue 
du  Comte  de  Frontenac  en  VAssembUe  a  Que'bec ;  Prestations  de  Serment, 
23  Oct.,  1672 ;  R€glement  de  Police  fait  par  Monsieur  le  Comte  d« 
Frontenac  ;  Colbert  a  Frontenac,  13  Juin,  1673. 


1672.]         FRONTENAC   AND   THE  PRIESTS.  26 

to  mend  his  fortunes;  and  his  wish  that  Canada 
should  prosper  was  joined  with  a  determination  to 
reap  a  goodly  part  of  her  prosperity  for  himselt 
Again,  he  could  not  endure  a  rival ;  opposition  mad- 
dened him,  and  when  crossed  or  thwarted,  he  forgot 
everything  but  his  passion.  Signs  of  storm  quickly 
showed  themselves  between  him  and  the  intendant 
Talon ;  but  the  danger  was  averted  by  the  departure 
of  that  official  for  France.  A  cloud  then  rose  in  the 
direction  of  the  clergy. 

"Another  thing  displeases  me,"  writes  Frontenac, 
"and  this  is  the  complete  dependence  of  the  grand 
vicar  and  the  seminary  priests  on  the  Jesuits,  for 
they  never  do  the  least  thing  without  their  order;  sa 
that  they  [the  Jesuits]  are  masters  in  spiritual 
matters,  which,  as  you  know,  is  a  powerful  lever  for 
moving  everything  else."^  And  he  complains  that 
they  have  spies  in  town  and  country ;  that  they  abuse 
the  confessional,  intermeddle  in  families,  set  hus- 
bands against  wives,  and  parents  against  children, 
and  all,  as  they  say,  for  the  greater  glory  of  God. 
"  I  call  to  mind  every  day,  Monseigneur,  what  you 
did  me  the  honor  to  say  to  me  when  I  took  leave  of 
you ;  and  every  day  I  am  satisfied  more  and  more  of 
the  great  importance  to  the  King's  service  of  oppos- 
ing the  slightest  of  the  attempts  which  are  daily 
made  against  his  authority. "  He  goes  on  to  denounce 
a  certain  sermon  preached  by  a  Jesuit,  to  the  great 
scandal  of  loyal  subjects,  wherein  the  father  declared 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  2  Novembre,  1672- 


26  FRONTENAC  AT  QUEBEC.  [1672. 

that  the  King  had  exceeded  his  powers  in  licensing 
the  trade  in  brandy  when  the  bishop  had  decided  it 
to  be  a  sin,  together  with  other  remarks  of  a  seditious 
nature.  "I  was  tempted  several  times,"  pursues 
Frontenac,  "  to  leave  the  church  with  my  guards  and 
interrupt  the  sermon;  but  I  contented  myself  with 
telling  the  grand  vicar  and  the  superior  of  the  Jesuits, 
after  it  was  over,  that  I  was  very  much  surprised  at 
what  I  had  heard,  and  demanded  justice  at  their 
hands.  They  greatly  blamed  the  preacher,  and  dis- 
avowed him,  attributing  his  language,  after  their 
custom,  to  an  excess  of  zeal,  and  making  many  apolo- 
gies, with  which  I  pretended  to  be  satisfied ;  though 
I  told  them,  nevertheless,  that  their  excuses  would 
not  pass  current  with  me  another  time,  and  if  the 
thing  happened  again,  I  would  put  the  preacher  in  a 
place  where  he  would  learn  how  to  speak.  Since 
then  they  have  been  a  little  more  careful,  though  not 
enough  to  prevent  one  from  always  seeing  their 
intention  to  persuade  the  people  that,  even  in  secular 
matters,  their  authority  ought  to  be  respected  above 
any  other.  As  there  are  many  persons  here  who 
have  no  more  brains  than  they  need,  and  who  are 
attached  to  them  by  ties  of  interest  or  otherwise,  it 
is  necessary  to  have  an  eye  to  these  matters  in  this 
country  more  than  anywhere  else."^ 

The  churchmen,  on  their  part,  were  not  idle.  The 
bishop,  who  was  then  in  France,  contrived  by  some 
means  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  contents  of  the 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  13  Novembre,  1673. 


1672.]  TEACHING  THE  INDIANS.  27 

private  despatches  sent  by  Colbert  in  reply  to  the 
letters  of  Frontenac.  He  wrote  to  another  ecclesi- 
astic to  communicate  what  he  had  learned,  at  the 
same  time  enjoining  great  caution;  "since,  while  it 
is  well  to  acquire  all  necessary  information,  and  to 
act  upon  it,  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to 
keep  secret  our  possession  of  such  knowledge."^ 

The  King  and  the  minister,  in  their  instructions 
to  Frontenac,  had  dwelt  with  great  emphasis  on  the 
expediency  of  civilizing  the  Indians,  teaching  them 
the  French  language,  and  amalgamating  them  with 
the  colonists.  Frontenac,  ignorant  as  yet  of  Indian 
nature  and  unacquainted  with  the  difficulties  of  the 
case,  entered  into  these  views  with  great  heartiness. 
He  exercised  from  the  first  an  extraordinary  influence 
over  all  the  Indians  with  whom  he  came  in  contact; 
and  he  persuaded  the  most  savage  and  refractory  of 
them,  the  Iroquois,  to  place  eight  of  their  children 
in  his  hands.  Four  of  these  were  girls  and  four  were 
boys.  He  took  two  of  the  boys  into  his  own  house- 
hold, of  which  they  must  have  proved  most  objection- 
able inmates;  and  he  supported  the  other  two,  who 
were  younger,  out  of  his  own  slender  resources, 
placed  them  in  respectable  French  families,  and 
required  them  to  go  daily  to  school.     The  girls  were 

1  Laval  a ,  1674.    The  letter  is  a  complete  summary  of  the 

contents  of  Colbert's  recent  despatch  to  Frontenac.  Then  follows 
the  injunction  to  secrecy,  "estant  de  tres-grande  consequence  que 
Ton  ne  sache  pas  que  Ton  aye  rien  appris  de  tout  cela,  sur  quoi 
n^anmoins  il  est  bon  que  Ton  agisse  et  que  Ton  me  donne  tons  les 
advis  qui  seront  ne'cessaires." 


28  FRONTENAC   AT   QUEBEC.  [1672. 

given  to  the  charge  of  the  Ursulines.  Frontenac 
continually  urged  the  Jesuits  to  co-operate  with  him 
in  this  work  of  civilization;  but  the  results  of  his 
urgency  disappointed  and  exasperated  him.  He 
complains  that  in  the  village  of  the  Hurons,  near 
Quebec,  and  under  the  control  of  the 'Jesuits,  the 
French  language  was  scarcely  known.  In  fact,  the 
fathers  contented  themselves  with  teaching  their 
converts  the  doctrines  and  rites  of  the  Roman  Church, 
while  retaining  the  food,  dress,  and  habits  of  their 
original  barbarism. 

In  defence  of  the  missionaries,  it  should  be  said 
that,  when  brought  in  contact  with  the  French,  the 
Indians  usually  caught  the  vices  of  civilization  with- 
out its  virtues ;  but  Frontenac  made  no  allowances. 
"The  Jesuits,"  he  writes,  "will  not  civilize  the 
Indians,  because  they  wish  to  keep  them  in  perpetual 
wardship.  They  think  more  of  beaver-skins  than  of 
souls,  and  their  missions  are  pure  mockeries."  At 
the  same  time  he  assures  the  minister  that  when  he 
is  obliged  to  correct  them,  he  does  so  with  the  utmost 
gentleness.  In  spite  of  this  somewhat  doubtful 
urbanity,  it  seems  clear  that  a  storm  was  brewing; 
and  it  was  fortunate  for  the  peace  of  the  Canadian 
Church  that  the  attention  of  the  truculent  governor 
was  drawn  to  other  quarters. 


CHAPTER  III. 

1673-1675. 

FRONTENAC  AND  PERROT. 

La  Salle.  —  Fort  Frontenac.  —  Perrot:  his  Speculations  i 
HIS  Tyranny.  —  The  Bush-rangers.  —  Perrot  revolts, — 
becomes  alarmed.  —  Dilemma  of  Frontenac.  —  Mediation 
OF  FfeNELON.  —  Perrot  in  Prison.  —  Excitement  of  the 
SuLPiTiANs.  —  Indignation  of  F^nelon.  —  Passion  of  Fron- 
tenac.—  Perrot  on  Trial.  —  Strange  Scenes.  —  Appeal  to 
the    King.  —  Answers    of    Louis    XIV.    and    Colbert. — 

F]&NELON   rebuked. 

Not  long  before  Frontenac 's  arrival,  Courcelle, 
his  predecessor,  went  to  Lake  Ontario  with  an  armed 
force,  in  order  to  impose  respect  on  the  Iroquois, 
who  had  of  late  become  insolent.  As  a  means  of 
keeping  them  in  check,  and  at  the  same  time  control- 
ling the  fur-trade  of  the  upper  country,  he  had 
recommended,  like  Talon  before  him,  the  building  of 
a  fort  near  the  outlet  of  the  lake.  Frontenac  at  once 
saw  the  advantages  of  such  a  measure ;  and  his  desire 
to  execute  it  was  stimulated  by  the  reflection  that 
the  proposed  fort  might  be  made  not  only  a  safeguard 
to  the  colony,  but  also  a  source  of  profit  to  himself. 

At  Quebec  there  was  a  grave,  thoughtful,  self- 
contained  young  man,  who  soon  found  his  way  into 


80  FRONTENAC  AND  PERROT.  [167a 

Frontenac's  confidence.  There  was  between  them 
the  sympathetic  attraction  of  two  bold  and  energetic 
spirits ;  and  though  Cavelier  de  la  Salle  had  neither 
the  irritable  vanity  of  the  count  nor  his  Gallic  viva- 
city of  passion,  he  had  in  full  measure  the  same 
unconquerable  pride  and  hardy  resolution.  There 
were  but  two  or  three  men  in  Canada  who  knew  the 
western  wilderness  so  well.  He  was  full  of  schemes 
of  ambition  and  of  gain;  and  from  this  moment  he 
and  Frontenac  seem  to  have  formed  an  alliance,  which 
ended  only  with  the  governor's  recalU^ 

In  telling  the  story  of  La  Salle,  I  have  described 
the  execution  of  the  new  plan,  —  the  muster  of  the 
Canadians,  at  the  call  of  Frontenac;  the  consterna- 
tion of  those  of  the  merchants  whom  he  and  La  Salle 
had  not  taken  into  their  counsels,  and  who  saw  in 
the  movement  the  preparation  for  a  gigantic  fur- 
trading  monopoly;  the  intrigues  set  on  foot  to  bar 
the  enterprise;  the  advance  up  the  St.  Lawrence; 
the  assembly  of  Iroquois  at  the  destined  spot;  the 
ascendency  exercised  over  them  by  the  governor ;  the 
building  of  Fort  Frontenac  on  the  ground  where 
Kingston  now  stands,  and  its  final  transfer  into  the 
hands  of  La  Salle,  on  condition,  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  of  sharing  the  expected  profits  with  his 
patron.^ 

On  the  way  to  the  lake,  Frontenac  stopped  for 
Bome  time  at  Montreal,  where  he  had  full  opportunity 
ko  become  acquainted  with  a  state  of  things  to  which 
'  La  Salle  and  the  Digcovery  of  the  Great  West,  chap.  vi. 


1669-73.]  PERROT»S  SPECULATIONS.  81 

his  attention  had  already  been  directed.  This  state 
of  things  was  as  follows. 

When  the  intendant,  Talon,  came  for  the  second 
time  to  Canada,  in  1669,  an  officer  named  Perrot, 
who  had  married  his  niece,  came  with  him.  Perrot, 
anxious  to  turn  to  account  the  influence  of  his  wife's 
relative,  looked  about  him  for  some  post  of  honor  and 
profit,  and  quickly  discovered  that  the  government  of 
Montreal  was  vacant.  The  priests  of  St.  Sulpice, 
feudal  owners  of  the  place,  had  the  right  of  appoint- 
ing their  own  governor.  Talon  advised  them  to 
choose  Perrot,  who  thereupon  received  the  desired 
commission,  which,  however,  was  revocable  at  the 
will  of  those  who  had  granted  it.  The  new  governor, 
therefore,  begged  another  commission  from  the  King, 
and  after  a  little  delay  he  obtained  it.  Thus  he 
became,  in  some  measure,  independent  of  the  priests, 
who,  if  they  wished  to  rid  themselves  of  him,  must 
first  gain  the  royal  consent. 

Perrot,  as  he  had  doubtless  foreseen,  found  him- 
self in  an  excellent  position  for  making  money. 
The  tribes  of  the  upper  lakes,  and  all  the  neighboring 
regions,  brought  down  their  furs  every  summer  to 
the  annual  fair  at  Montreal.  Perrot  took  his  measures 
accordingly.  On  the  island  which  still  bears  his 
name,  lying  above  Montreal  and  directly  in  the 
route  of  the  descending  savages,  he  built  a  storehouse, 
and  placed  it  in  charge  of  a  retired  lieutenant  named 
Brucy,  who  stopped  the  Indians  on  their  way,  and 
carried  on  an  active  trade  with  them,  —  to  the  great 


82  FRONTENAC   AND    PERROT.  [1678. 

profit  of  himself  and  his  associate,  and  the  great  loss 
of  the  merchants  in  the  settlements  below.  This 
was  not  all.  Perrot  connived  at  the  desertion  of  his 
own  soldiers,  who  escaped  to  the  woods,  became 
coureurs  de  hois,  or  bush-rangers,  traded  with  the 
Indians  in  their  villages,  and  shared  their  gains  with 
their  commander.  Many  others,  too,  of  these  forest 
rovers,  outlawed  by  royal  edicts,  found  in  the  gover- 
nor of  Montreal  a  protector,  under  similar  conditions. 

The  journey  from  Quebec  to  Montreal  often  con- 
sumed a  fortnight.  Perrot  thought  himself  virtually 
independent;  and  relying  on  his  commission  from 
the  King,  the  protection  of  Talon,  and  his  connection 
with  other  persons  of  influence,  he  felt  safe  in  his 
position,  and  began  to  play  the  petty  tyrant.  The 
judge  of  Montreal,  and  several  of  the  chief  inhab- 
itants, came  to  offer  a  humble  remonstrance  against 
disorders  committed  by  some  of  the  ruffians  in  his 
interest.  Perrot  received  them  with  a  storm  of  vitu- 
peration, and  presently  sent  the  judge  to  prison. 
This  proceeding  was  followed  by  a  series  of  others, 
closely  akin  to  it ;  so  that  the  priests  of  St.  Sulpice, 
who  received  their  full  share  of  official  abuse,  began 
to  repent  bitterly  of  the  governor  they  had  chosen. 

Frontenac  had  received  stringent  orders  from  the 
King  to  arrest  all  the  bush-rangers,  or  coureurs  de 
hois ;  but  since  he  had  scarcely  a  soldier  at  his  dis- 
posal, except  his  own  body-guard,  the  order  was 
difficult  to  execute.  As,  however,  most  of  these 
outlaws  were  in  the  service  of  his  rival  Perrot,  his 


;e73.]  TYRANNY  OF  PERROT.  38 

zeal  to  capture  them  rose  high  against  every  obstacle. 
He  had,  moreover,  a  plan  of  his  own  in  regard  to 
them,  and  had  already  petitioned  the  minister  for  a 
galley,  to  the  benches  of  which  the  captive  bush- 
rangers were  to  be  chained  as  rowers,  —  thus  supply- 
ing the  representative  of  the  King  with  a  means  of 
transportation  befitting  his  dignity,  and  at  the  same 
time  giving  wholesome  warning  against  the  infraction 
of  royal  edicts.^  Accordingly,  he  sent  orders  to  the 
judge,  at  Montreal,  to  seize  every  coureur  de  hois  on 
whom  he  could  lay  hands. 

The  judge,  hearing  that  two  of  the  most  notorious 
were  lodged  in  the  house  of  a  lieutenant  named 
Carion,  sent  a  constable  to  arrest  them;  whereupon 
Carion  threatened  and  maltreated  the  officer  oi 
justice,  and  helped  the  men  to  escape.  Perrot  took 
the  part  of  his  lieutenant,  and  told  the  judge  that  he 
would  put  him  in  prison,  in  spite  of  Frontenac,  if  he 
ever  dared  to  attempt  such  an  arrest  again. ^ 

When  Frontenac  heard  what  had  happened,  his 
ire  was  doubly  kindled.  On  the  one  hand,  Perrot 
had  violated  the  authority  lodged  by  the  King  in  the 
person  of  his  representative ;  and,  on  the  other,  the 
mutinous  official  was  a  rival  in  trade,  who  had  made 
great  and  illicit  profits,  while  his  superior  had,  thus 
far,  made  none.  As  a  governor  and  as  a  man, 
Frontenac  was  deeply  moved;  yet,   helpless  as  he 

*  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  2  Novembre,  1672. 

•  M€moire»  des  Motifs  qui  ont  oblig€  M.  It  Comte  de  Frontenac  di 
/aire  arrker  U  Sieur  Perrot. 

8 


84  FRONTENAC  AND  PERROT.  [1678. 

was,  he  could  do  no  more  than  send  three  of  his 
guardsmen,  under  a  lieutenant  named  Bizard,  with 
orders  to  arrest  Canon  and  bring  him  to  Quebec. 

The  commission  was  delicate.  The  arrest  was  to 
be  made  in  the  dominions  of  Perrot,  who  had  the 
means  to  prevent  it,  and  the  audacity  to  use  them. 
Bizard  acted  accordingly.  He  went  to  Carion's 
house,  and  took  him  prisoner;  then  proceeded  to  the 
house  of  the  merchant  Le  Ber,  where  he  left  a  letter, 
in  which  Frontenac,  as  was  the  usage  on  such  occa- 
sions, gave  notice  to  the  local  governor  of  the  arrest 
he  had  ordered.  It  was  the  object  of  Bizard  to 
escape  with  his  prisoner  before  Perrot  could  receive 
the  letter;  but  meanwhile  the  wife  of  Carion  ran  to 
bim  with  the  news,  and  the  governor  suddenly 
arrived,  in  a  frenzy  of  rage,  followed  by  a  sergeant 
and  three  or  four  soldiers.  The  sergeant  held  the 
point  of  his  halberd  against  the  breast  of  Bizard, 
while  Perrot,  choking  with  passion,  demanded, 
"  How  dare  you  arrest  an  officer  in  my  government 
without  my  leave  ?  "  The  lieutenant  replied  that  he 
acted  under  orders  of  the  governor-general,  and  gave 
Frontenac 's  letter  to  Perrot,  who  immediately  threw 
it  into  his  face,  exclaiming :  "  Take  it  back  to  your 
master,  and  tell  him  to  teach  you  your  business 
better  another  time.  Meanwhile  you  are  my  prisoner." 
Bizard  protested  in  vain.  He  was  led  to  jail,  whither 
he  was  followed  a  few  days  after  by  Le  Ber,  who  had 
mortally  offended  Perrot  by  signing  an  attestation 
of  the  scene  he  had  witnessed.     As  he  was  the  chief 


1673.]  FRONTENAC'S  DILEMMA.  85 

merchant  of  the  place,  his  arrest  produced  a  great 
sensation,  while  his  wife  presently  took  to  her  bed 
with  a  nervous  fever. 

As  Perrot's  anger  cooled,  he  became  somewhat 
alarmed.  He  had  resisted  the  royal  authority,  and 
insulted  its  representative.  The  consequences  might 
be  serious ;  yet  he  could  not  bring  himself  to  retrace 
his  steps.  He  merely  released  Bizard,  and  sullenly 
permitted  him  to  depart,  with  a  letter  to  the  governor- 
general,  more  impertinent  than  apologetic.^ 

Frontenac,  as  his  enemies  declare,  was  accustomed, 
when  enraged,  to  foam  at  the  mouth.  Perhaps  he 
did  so  when  he  learned  the  behavior  of  Perrot.  If 
he  had  had  at  command  a  few  companies  of  soldiers, 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  he  would  have  gone  at 
once  to  Montreal,  seized  the  offender,  and  brought 
him  back  in  irons;  but  his  body-guard  of  twenty 
men  was  not  equal  to  such  an  enterprise.  Nor  would 
a  muster  of  the  militia  have  served  his  purpose ;  for 
the  settlers  about  Quebec  were  chiefly  peaceful 
peasants,  while  the  denizens  of  Montreal  were  dis- 
banded soldiers,  fur-traders,  and  forest  adventurers, 
the  best  fighters  in  Canada.  They  were  nearly  all  in 
the  interest  of  Perrot,  who,  if  attacked,  had  the 
temper  as  well  as  the  ability  to  make  a  passionate 
resistance.  Thus  civil  war  would  have  ensued,  and 
the  anger  of  the  King  would  have  fallen  on  both 
parties.  On  the  other  hand,  if  Perrot  were  left 
unpunished,  the  coureurs  de  bois^  of  whom  he  was 
^  M^moire  de*  MotifSy  etc. 


36  FRONTED  AC   AND  PERROT.  [167i 

the  patron,  would  set  no  bounds  to  their  audacity, 
and  Frontenac,  who  had  been  ordered  to  suppress 
them,  would  be  condemned  as  negligent  or  incapable. 
Among  the  priests  of  St.  Sulpice  at  Montreal  was 
the  Abbd  Salignac  de  F^nelon,  half-brother  of  the 
celebrated  author  of  TeUmaque.  He  was  a  zealous 
missionary,  enthusiastic  and  impulsive,  still  young, 
and  more  ardent  than  discreet.  One  of  his  uncles 
had  been  the  companion  of  Frontenac  during  the 
Candian  war,  and  hence  the  count's  relations  with 
the  missionary  had  been  very  friendly.  Frontenac 
now  wrote  to  Perrot,  directing  him  to  come  to 
Quebec  and  give  account  of  his  conduct;  and  he 
coupled  this  letter  with  another  to  F^nelon,  urging 
him  to  represent  to  the  offending  governor  the  danger 
of  his  position,  and  advise  him  to  seek  an  interview 
with  his  superior,  by  which  the  difficulty  might  be 
amicably  adjusted.  Perrot,  dreading  the  displeasure 
of  the  King,  soothed  by  the  moderate  tone  of 
Frontenac 's  letter,  and  moved  by  the  assurances  of 
the  enthusiastic  abbd,  who  was  delighted  to  play  the 
part  of  peacemaker,  at  length  resolved  to  follow  his 
counsel.  It  was  mid-winter.  Perrot  and  F^nelon 
set  out  together,  walked  on  snow-shoes  a  hundred 
and  eighty  miles  down  the  frozen  St.  Lawrence,  and 
made  their  appearance  before  the  offended  count. 

Frontenac,  there  can  be  little  doubt,  had  never 
intended  that  Perrot,  once  in  his  power,  should 
return  to  Montreal  as  its  governor;  but  that,  beyond 
this,  he  meant  harm  to  him,  there  is  not  the  least 


674.]  PERROT  IN  PRISON.  37 

proof.  Perrot,  however,  was  as  choleric  and  stub- 
born as  the  count  himself;  and  his  natural  disposi- 
tion had  not  been  improved  by  several  years  of  petty 
autocracy  at  Montreal.  Their  interview  was  brief, 
but  stormy.  When  it  ended,  Perrot  was  a  prisoner 
in  the  chateau,  with  guards  placed  over  him  by 
day  and  night.  Frontenac  made  choice  of  one  La 
Nougu^re,  a  retired  officer,  whom  he  knew  that  he 
could  trust,  and  sent  him  to  Montreal  to  command 
in  place  of  its  captive  governor;  with  him  he  sent 
also  a  judge  of  his  own  selection.  La  Nouguere  set 
himself  to  his  work  with  vigor.  Perrot's  agent  or 
partner,  Brucy,  was  seized,  tried,  and  imprisoned; 
and  an  active  hunt  was  begun  for  his  coureurs  de  hois. 
Among  others,  the  two  who  had  been  the  occasion  of 
the  dispute  were  captured  and  sent  to  Quebec,  where 
one  of  them  was  solemnly  hanged  before  the  window 
of  Perrot's  prison ;  with  the  view,  no  doubt,  of  pro- 
ducing a  chastening  effect  on  the  mind  of  the  prisoner. 
The  execution  was  fully  authorized,  a  royal  edict 
having  ordained  that  bush-ranging  was  an  offence 
punishable  with  death.  ^  As  the  result  of  these  pro^ 
ceedings,  Frontenac  reported  to  the  minister  that 
only  five  coureurs  de  hois  remained  at  large,  —  all  the 
rest  having  returned  to  the  settlements  and  made 
their  submission,  so  that  further  hanging  was 
needless. 

Thus    the    central    power    was    vindicated,    and 
Montreal  brought  down  from  her  attitude  of  partiaJ 

*  jSdits  et  Or4onnances,  i.  73. 


38  FRONTENAC   AND  PERROT.  [1674. 

independence.  Other  results  also  followed,  if  we 
may  believe  the  enemies  of  Frontenac,  who  declare 
that,  by  means  of  the  new  commandant  and  other 
persons  in  his  interest,  the  governor-general  possessed 
himself  of  a  great  part  of  the  trade  from  which  he 
had  ejected  Perrot,  and  that  the  coureurs  de  hoisy 
whom  he  hanged  when  breaking  laws  for  his  rival, 
found  complete  impunity  when  breaking  laws  for 
him. 

Meanwhile,  there  was  a  deep  though  subdued 
excitement  among  the  priests  of  St.  Sulpice.  The 
right  of  naming  their  own  governor,  which  they 
claimed  as  seigniors  of  Montreal,  had  been  violated 
by  the  action  of  Frontenac  in  placing  La  Nouguere 
in  command  without  consulting  them.  Perrot  was 
a  bad  governor;  but  it  was  they  who  had  chosen 
him,  and  the  recollection  of  his  misdeeds  did  not 
reconcile  them  to  a  successor  arbitrarily  imposed  upon 
them.  Both  they  and  the  colonists,  their  vassals, 
were  intensely  jealous  of  Quebec ;  and  in  their  indig- 
nation against  Frontenac,  they  more  than  half  forgave 
Perrot.  None  among  them  all  was  so  angry  as  the 
Abbd  Fdnelon.  He  believed  that  he  had  been  used 
to  lure  Perrot  into  a  trap ;  and  his  past  attachment 
to  the  governor-general  was  turned  into  wrath. 
High  words  had  passed  between  them;  and  when 
Fdnelon  returned  to  Montreal,  he  vented  his  feelings 
in  a  sermon  plainly  levelled  at  Frontenac. ^     So  sharp 

1  Information  faite  par  nous,  Charles  le   Tardieu,  Sieur  de  Tilly. 
Tilly  was  a  commiisioner  sent  hy  the  council  to  inquire  into  the 
fEair. 


1674.]  THE  ABBE  D'URFE.  89 

and  bitter  was  it,  that  his  brethren  of  St.  Sulpice 
hastened  to  disclaim  it;  and  Dollier  de  Casson,  their 
Superior,  strongly  reproved  the  preacher,  who  pro- 
tested in  return  that  his  words  were  not  meant  to 
apply  to  Frontenac  in  particular,  but  only  to  bad 
rulers  in  general.  His  offences,  however,  did  not 
cease  with  the  sermon ;  for  he  espoused  the  cause  of 
Perrot  with  more  than  zeal,  and  went  about  among 
the  colonists  to  collect  attestations  in  his  favor. 
When  these  things  were  reported  to  Frontenac,  his 
ire  was  kindled,  and  he  summoned  Fdnelon  before 
the  council  at  Quebec  to  answer  the  charge  of 
instigating  sedition. 

F^nelon  had  a  relative  and  friend  in  the  person  of 
tha  Abb4  d'Urf^,  his  co-partner  in  the  work  of  the 
missions.  D'Urfd,  anxious  to  conjure  down  the 
rising  storm,  went  to  Quebec  to  seek  an  interview 
with  Frontenac;  but,  according  to  his  own  account, 
he  was  very  ill  received,  and  threatened  with  a 
prison.  On  another  occasion,  the  count  showed  him 
a  letter  in  which  D'Urfd  was  charged  with  having 
used  abusive  language  concerning  him.  Warm  words 
ensued,  till  Frontenac,  grasping  his  cane,  led  the 
abb^  to  the  door  and  dismissed  him,  berating  him 
from  the  top  of  the  stairs  in  tones  so  angry  that  the 
sentinel  below  spread  the  report  that  he  had  turned 
his  visitor  out  of  doors.  ^ 

Two  offenders  were  now  arraigned  before  the 
council  of   Quebec:  the   first  was   Perrot,    charged 

*  M€moire  de  M.  d'  Urje  a  Colbert ;  extracts  in  Faillon. 


40  FRONTENAC  AND  PERROT.  [1674. 

with  disobeying  the  royal  edicts  and  resisting  the 
royal  authority;  the  other  was  the  Abbd  Fdnelon. 
The  councillors  were  at  this  time  united  in  the 
interest  of  Frontenac,  who  had  the  power  of  appoint- 
ing and  removing  them.  Perrot,  in  no  way  softened 
by  a  long  captivity,  challenged  the  governor-general, 
who  presided  at  the  council-board,  as  a  party  to  the 
suit  and  his  personal  enemy,  and  took  exception  to 
several  of  the  members  as  being  connections  of  La 
Nougu^re.  Frontenac  withdrew,  and  other  council- 
lors or  judges  were  appointed  provisionally;  but 
these  were  challenged  in  turn  by  the  prisoner,  on  one 
pretext  or  another.  The  exceptions  were  overruled, 
and  the  trial  proceeded,  though  not  without  signs  of 
doubt  and  hesitation  on  the  part  of  some  of  the 
councillors.^ 

Meanwhile,  other  sessions  were  held  for  the  trial 
of  F^nelon;  and  a  curious  scene  ensued.  Five  coun- 
cillors and  the  deputy  attorney-general  were  seated 
at  the  board,  with  Frontenac  as  presiding  judge,  his 
hat  on  his  head  and  his  sword  at  his  side,  after  the 
established  custom.  Fdnelon,  being  led  in,  approached 
a  vacant  chair,  and  was  about  to  seat  himself  with 
the  rest,  when  Frontenac  interposed,  telling  him  that 
it  was  his  duty  to  remain  standing  while  answering 
the  questions  of  the  council.     Fdnelon  at  once  placed 

1  All  the  proceedings  in  the  affair  of  Perrot  will  be  found  in  full 
in  the  Registre  des  Jugements  et  Deliberations  du  Conseil  Sup€Tieur, 
They  extend  from  the  end  of  January  to  the  beginning  of  NoTero- 
bfcf.  1674. 


i674.]  EXCITEMENT  OF   FENELON.  41 

himself  in  the  chair,  and  replied  that  priests  had  the 
right  to  speak  seated  and  with  heads  covered. 

"Yes,"  returned  Frontenac,  "when  they  are  sum- 
moned as  witnesses,  but  not  when  they  are  cited  to 
answer  charges  of  crime." 

"My  crimes  exist  nowhere  but  in  your  head," 
replied  the  abb^.  And  putting  on  his  hat,  he  drew 
it  down  over  his  brows,  rose,  gathered  his  cassock 
about  him,  and  walked  in  a  defiant  manner  to  and 
fro.  Frontenac  told  him  that  his  conduct  was  want- 
ing in  respect  to  the  council,  and  to  the  governor  as 
its  head.  F^nelon  several  times  took  off  his  hat,  and 
pushed  it  on  again  more  angrily  than  ever,  saying 
at  the  same  time  that  Frontenac  was  wanting  in 
respect  to  his  character  of  priest,  in  citing  him  before 
a  civil  tribunal.  As  he  persisted  in  his  refusal  to 
take  the  required  attitude,  he  was  at  length  told  that 
he  might  leave  the  room.  After  being  kept  for  a 
time  in  the  ante-room  in  charge  of  a  constable,  he 
was  again  brought  before  the  council,  when  he  still 
refused  obedience,  and  was  ordered  into  a  sort  of 
honorable  imprisonment.^ 

This  behavior  of  the  effervescent  abb^,  which 
Frontenac  justly  enough  characterizes  as  unworthy 
of  his  birth  and  his  sacred  office,  was,  nevertheless, 
founded  on  a  claim  sustained  by  many  precedents. 
As  an  ecclesiastic,  Fdnelon  insisted  that  the  bishop 
alone,  and  not  the  council,  had  the  right  to  judge 

1  Conteste  entre  le  Gouverneur  et  VAhh^  de  Fenelon ;  Jugementt  e 
BUib&ationt  du  Conseil  Sup^rieur,  21  Aout,  1674. 


42  FRONTENAC   AND  PERROT.  [1674. 

him.  Like  Perrot,  too,  he  challenged  his  judges  as 
parties  to  the  suit,  or  otherwise  interested  against 
him.  On  the  question  of  jurisdiction,  he  had  all  the 
priests  on  his  side.  Bishop  Laval  was  in  France ;  and 
Berniferes,  his  grand  vicar,  was  far  from  filling  the 
place  of  the  strenuous  and  determined  prelate.  Yet 
the  ecclesiastical  storm  rose  so  high  that  the  coun- 
cillors, discouraged  and  daunted,  were  no  longer 
amenable  to  the  will  of  Frontenac;  and  it  was 
resolved  at  last  to  refer  the  whole  matter  to  the 
King.  Perrot  was  taken  from  the  prison,  which  he 
had  occupied  from  January  to  November,  and  shipped 
for  Fi-ance,  along  with  F^nelon.  An  immense  mass 
of  papers  was  sent  with  them  for  the  instruction  of 
the  King;  and  Frontenac  wrote  a  long  despatch,  in 
which  he  sets  forth  the  offences  of  Perrot  and  Fdnelon, 
the  pretensions  of  the  ecclesiastics,  the  calumnies  he 
had  incurred  in  his  efforts  to  serve  his  Majesty,  and 
the  insults  heaped  upon  him,  "  which  no  man  but  me 
would  have  endured  so  patiently."  Indeed,  while 
the  suits  were  pending  before  the  council,  he  had 
displayed  a  calmness  and  moderation  which  surprised 
his  opponents.  "Knowing  as  I  do,"  he  pursues, 
"  the  cabals  and  intrigues  that  are  rife  here,  I  must 
expect  that  everything  will  be  said  against  me  that 
the  most  artful  slander  can  devise.  A  governor  in 
this  country  would  greatly  deserve  pity,  if  he  were 
left  without  support;  and  even  should  he  make  mis- 
takes, it  would  surely  be  very  pardonable,  seeing 
that  there  is  no  snare  that  is  not  spread  for  him,  and 


1674.]  APPEAL  TO   THE  KING.  48 

that,  after  avoiding  a  hundred  of  them,  he  will  hardly 
escape  being  caught  at  last."  ^ 

In  his  charges  of  cabal  and  intrigue,  Frontenao 
had  chiefly  in  view  the  clergy,  whom  he  profoundly 
distrusted,  excepting  always  the  R^coUet  friars, 
whom  he  befriended  because  the  bishop  and  the 
Jesuits  opposed  them.  The  priests  on  their  part 
declare  that  he  persecuted  them,  compelled  them  to 
take  passports  like  laymen  when  travelling  about  the 
colony,  and  even  intercepted  their  letters.  These 
accusations  and  many  others  were  carried  to  the 
King  and  the  minister  by  the  Abbd  d'Urf^,  who 
sailed  in  the  same  ship  with  Fdnelon.  The  moment 
was  singularly  auspicious  to  him.  His  cousin,  the 
Marquise  d'All^gre,  was  on  the  point  of  marrying 
Seignelay,  the  son  of  the  minister  Colbert,  who 
therefore  was  naturally  inclined  to  listen  with  favor 
to  him  and  to  F^nelon,  his  relative.  Again,  Talon, 
uncle  of  Perrot's  wife,  held  a  post  at  court,  which 
brought  him  into  close  personal  relations  with  the 
King.  Nor  were  these  the  only  influences  adverse 
to  Frontenac  and  propitious  to  his  enemies.  Yet  his 
enemies  were  disappointed.  The  letters  written  to 
him  both  by  Colbert  and  by  the  King  are  admirable 
for  calmness  and  dignity.  The  following  is  from 
that  of  the  King:  — 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  14  Novemhre^  1674.  In  a  preceding  letter, 
sent  by  way  of  Boston,  and  dated  16  February,  he  says  that  he 
could  not  sufEer  Perrot  to  go  unpunished  without  injury  to  the 
regal  authority,  which  he  is  resolved  to  defend  to  the  last  drop  of 
his  blood. 


44  FRONTENAC   AND  PERROT.  [1675i 

'*  Though  I  do  not  credit  all  that  has  been  told  me  con- 
cerning various  little  annoyances  which  you  cause  to  the 
ecclesiastics,  I  nevertheless  think  it  necessary  to  inform 
you  of  it,  in  order  that,  if  true,  you  may  correct  yourself 
in  this  particular,  giving  to  all  the  clergy  entire  liberty  to 
go  and  come  throughout  all  Canada  without  compelling 
them  to  take  out  passports,  and  at  the  same  time  leaving 
them  perfect  freedom  as  regards  their  letters.  I  have 
seen  and  carefully  examined-  all  that  you  have  sent  touch- 
ing M.  Perrot;  and,  after  having  also  seen  all  the  papers 
given  by  him  in  his  defence,  I  have  condemned  his  action 
in  imprisoning  an  officer  of  your  guard.  To  punish  him,  I 
have  had  him  placed  for  a  short  time  in  the  Bastile,  that 
he  may  learn  to  be  more  circumspect  in  the  discharge  oi 
his  duty,  and  that  his  example  may  serve  as  a  warning  to 
others.  But  after  having  thus  vindicated  my  authority, 
which  has  been  violated  in  your  person,  I  will  say,  in 
order  that  you  may  fully  understand  my  views,  that  you 
should  not  without  absolute  necessity  cause  your  com- 
mands to  be  executed  within  the  limits  of  a  local  govern- 
ment, like  that  of  Montreal,  without  first  informing  its 
governor;  and  also  that  the  ten  months  of  imprisonment 
which  you  have  made  him  undergo  seems  to  me  sufficient 
for  his  fault.  I  therefore  sent  him  to  the  Bastile  merely 
as  a  public  reparation  for  having  violated  my  authority. 
After  keeping  him  there  a  few  days,  I  shall  send  him  back 
to  his  government,  ordering  him  first  to  see  you  and  make 
apology  to  you  for  all  that  has  passed;  after  which,  I 
desire  that  you  retain  no  resentment  against  him,  and 
that  you  treat  him  in  accordance  with  the  powers  that  I 
have  given  him.''  * 

i  l^HoiQ  Frmtenac,  22  Avril,  1676. 


1675.]  COLBERT'S  LETTER.  46 

Colbert  writes  in  terms  equally  measured,  and 
adds:  "After  having  spoken  in  the  name  of  his 
Majesty,  pray  let  me  add  a  word  in  my  own.  By 
the  marriage  which  the  King  has  been  pleased  to 
make  between  the  heiress  of  the  house  of  AU^gre 
and  my  son,  the  Abbd  d'Urf^  has  become  very  closely 
connected  with  me,  since  he  is  cousin  german  of  my 
daughter-in-law ;  and  this  induces  me  to  request  you 
to  show  him  especial  consideration,  though,  in  the 
exercise  of  his  profession,  he  will  rarely  have  occasion 
to  see  you." 

As  D'Urf^  had  lately  addressed  a  memorial  to 
Colbert,  in  which  the  conduct  of  Frontenac  is  painted 
in  the  darkest  colors,  the  almost  imperceptible  rebuke 
couched  in  the  above  lines  does  no  little  credit  to  the 
tact  and  moderation  of  the  stern  minister. 

Colbert  next  begs  Frontenac  to  treat  with  kindness 
the  priests  of  Montreal,  observing  that  Bretonvilliers, 
their  Superior  at  Paris,  is  his  particular  friend. 
"As  to  M.  Perrot,"  he  continues,  "since  ten  months 
of  imprisonment  at  Quebec  and  three  weeks  in  the 
Bastile  may  suffice  to  atone  for  his  fault,  and  since 
also  he  is  related  or  connected  with  persons  for  whom 
I  have  a  great  regard,  I  pray  you  to  accept  kindly 
the  apologies  which  he  will  make  you ;  and,  as  it  is 
not  at  all  likely  that  he  will  fall  again  into  any 
offence  approaching  that  which  he  has  committed, 
you  will  give  me  especial  pleasure  in  granting  him 
the  honor  of  your  favor  and  friendship."^ 

1  Colbert  a  Frontenac,  13  Mai,  1675. 


46  FRONTENAC   AND  PERROT.  [1675i 

F^nelon,  though  the  recent  marriage  had  allied 
him  also  to  Colbert,  fared  worse  than  either  of  the 
other  parties  to  the  dispute.  He  was  indeed  sus- 
tained in  his  claim  to  be  judged  by  an  ecclesiastical 
tribunal;  but  his  Superior,  Bretonvilliers,  forbade 
him  to  return  to  Canada,  and  the  King  approved  the 
prohibition.  Bretonvilliers  wrote  to  the  Sulpitian 
priests  of  Montreal :  "  I  exhort  you  to  profit  by  the 
example  of  M.  de  Fdnelon.  By  having  busied  him- 
self too  much  in  worldly  matters,  and  meddled  with 
what  did  not  concern  him,  he  has  ruined  his  own 
prospects  and  injured  the  friends  whom  he  wished  to 
serve.  In  matters  of  this  sort,  it  is  well  always  to 
stand  neutral.  "1 

1  Lettre  de  Bretonvilliers,  7  Mai,  1675 ;  extract  in  Faillon.  F^ne- 
^on,  though  wanting  in  prudence  and  dignity,  had  been  an  ardent 
and  devoted  missionary.  In  relation  to  these  disputes,  I  have  re- 
ceived much  aid  from  the  research  of  Abbe'  Faillon,  and  from  the 
raluable  paper  of  Abbe  Verreau,  Les  deux  Abb€s  de  F€nelon,  printed 
in  the  Canadian  Journal  de  I' Instruction  Publique^  vol.  yiiL 


CHAPTER  IV. 

1676-1682. 

FRONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNEAU. 

Fbontbnac  receives  a  Colleague;   he  opposes  the  Clerot. 
—  Disputes  in  the  Council.  —  Royal  Intervention.  —  Fron^ 

TENAC       rebuked.    —    FrESH       OUTBREAKS.    —    CHARGES       AND 

Countercharges.  —  The  Dispute  grows  hot.  —  Duchesneau 

CONDEMNED  AND  FrONTENAC  WARNED.  —  ThE  QuARREL  CON- 
TINUES.—  The  King  loses  Patience. —  More  Accusations. 
— Factions  and  Feuds.  —  A  Side  Quarrel.  —  The  Kino 
threatens.  —  Frontenac  denounces  the  Priests.  —  The 
Governor  and  the  Intendant  recalled.  —  Qualities  or 
Frontenac. 

While  writing  to  Frontenac  in  terms  of  studied 
mildness,  the  King  and  Colbert  took  measures  to 
curb  his  power.  In  the  absence  of  the  bishop,  the 
appointment  and  removal  of  councillors  had  rested 
wholly  with  the  governor;  and  hence  the  council  had 
been  docile  under  his  will.  It  was  now  ordained 
that  the  councillors  should  be  appointed  by  the  King 
himself.^  This  was  not  the  only  change.  Since  the 
departure  of  the  intendant  Talon,  his  office  had  been 
vacant ;  and  Frontenac  was  left  to  rule  alone.  This 
seems  to  have  been  an  experiment  on  the  part  of  his 
masters  at  Versailles,  who,  knowing  the  peculiarities 

*  £dits  et  Ordonnances  i.  84. 


48     FRONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNEAU.  [1675-80. 

of  his  temper,  were  perhaps  willing  to  try  the  effect 
of  leaving  him  without  a  colleague.  The  experiment 
had  not  succeeded.  An  intendant  was  now,  there- 
fore, sent  to  Quebec,  not  only  to  manage  the  details 
of  administration,  but  also  to  watch  the  governor, 
keep  him,  if  possible,  within  prescribed  bounds,  and 
report  his  proceedings  to  the  minister.  The  change 
was  far  from  welcome  to  Frontenac,  whose  delight  it 
was  to  hold  all  the  reins  of  power  in  his  own  hands ; 
nor  was  he  better  pleased  with  the  return  of  Bishop 
Laval,  which  presently  took  place.  Three  preceding 
governors  had  quarrelled  with  that  uncompromising 
prelate ;  and  there  was  little  hope  that  Frontenac  and 
he  would  keep  the  peace.  All  the  signs  of  the  sky 
foreboded  storm. 

The  storm  soon  came.  The  occasion  of  it  was  that 
old  vexed  question  of  the  sale  of  brandy,  which  has 
been  fully  treated  in  another  volume,^  and  on  which 
it  is  needless  to  dwell  here.  Another  dispute 
quickly  followed;  and  here,  too,  the  governor's  chief 
adversaries  were  the  bishop  and  the  ecclesiastics. 
Duchesneau,  the  new  intendant,  took  part  with  them. 
The  bishop  and  his  clergy  were,  on  their  side,  very- 
glad  of  a  secular  ally ;  for  their  power  had  greatly 
fallen  since  the  days  of  M^zy,  and  the  rank  and 
imperious  character  of  Frontenac  appear  to  have  held 
them  in  some  awe.  They  avoided  as  far  as  they 
could  a  direct  collision  with  him,  and  waged  vicarious 
war  in  the  person  of  their  friend  the  intendant. 
»  The  Old  Regime  in  Canada. 


1675-80.]  ROYAL  INTERVENTION.  49 

buchesneau  was  not  of  a  conciliating  spirit,  and  he  felt 
strong  in  the  support  of  the  clergy ;  while  Frontenac, 
when  his  temper  was  roused,  would  fight  with  haughty 
and  impracticable  obstinacy  for  any  position  which  he 
had  once  assumed,  however  trivial  or  however  mis- 
taken. There  was  incessant  friction  between  the  two 
colleagues  in  the  exercise  of  their  respective  func- 
tions, and  occasions  of  difference  were  rarely  wanting. 

The  question  now  at  issue  was  that  of  honors  and 
precedence  at  church  and  in  religious  ceremonies,  — 
matters  of  substantial  importance  under  the  Bourbon 
rule.  Colbert  interposed,  ordered  Duchesneau  to 
treat  Frontenac  with  becoming  deference,  and  warned 
him  not  to  make  himself  the  partisan  of  the  bishop ;  ^ 
while,  at  the  same  time,  he  exhorted  Frontenac  to 
live  in  harmony  with  the  intendant.^  The  dispute 
continued  till  the  King  lost  patience. 

"Through  all  my  kingdom,"  he  wrote  to  the  gov- 
ernor, "  I  do  not  hear  of  so  many  difficulties  on  this 
matter  [of  ecclesiastical  honors]  as  I  see  in  the 
church  of  Quebec."  ^  And  he  directs  him  to  conform 
to  the  practice  established  in  the  city  of  Amiens,  and 
to  exact  no  more,  —  "  since  you  ought  to  be  satisfied 
with  being  the  representative  of  my  person  in  the 
country  where  I  have  placed  you  in  command." 

At  the  same  time,  Colbert  corrects  the  intendant. 
**A  memorial,"  he  wrote,   "has  been  placed  in  my 

1  Colbert  a  Duchesneau,  1  Mai,  1677. 

2  Ibid.,  18  Mai,  1677. 

3  Le  Roy  a  Frontenac,  25  AvHl,  1679. 

i 


60  FRONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNE  AU.    [1675-80. 

hands,  touching  various  ecclesiastical  honors,  wherein 
there  continually  appears  a  great  pretension  on  your 
part,  and  on  that  of  the  Bishop  of  Quebec  in  your 
favor,  to  establish  an  equality  between  the  governor 
and  you.  I  think  I  have  already  said  enough  to  lead 
you  to  know  yourself,  and  to  understand  the  differ- 
ence between  a  governor  and  an  intendant;  so  that  it 
is  no  longer  necessary  for  me  to  enter  into  particu- 
lars, which  could  only  serve  to  show  you  that  you 
are  completely  in  the  wrong."  ^ 

Scarcely  was  this  quarrel  suppressed,  when  another 
sprang  up.  Since  the  arrival  of  the  intendant  and 
the  return  of  the  bishop,  the  council  had  ceased  to  be 
in  the  interest  of  Frontenac.  Several  of  its  members 
were  very  obnoxious  to  him;  and  chief  among  these 
was  Villeray,  a  former  councillor  whom  the  King 
had  lately  reinstated.  Frontenac  admitted  him  to 
his  seat  with  reluctance.  "I  obey  your  orders,"  he 
wrote  mournfully  to  Colbert;  "but  Villeray  is  the 
principal  and  most  dangerous  instrument  of  the 
bishop  and  the  Jesuits."  ^  He  says,  further,  that 
many  people  think  him  to  be  a  Jesuit  in  disguise, 
and  that  he  is  an  intriguing  busybody,  who  makes 
trouble  everywhere.  He  also  denounces  the  attorney- 
general,  Auteuil,  as  an  ally  of  the  Jesuits.  Another 
of  the  reconstructed  council,  Tilly,  meets  his  cordial 
approval;  but  he  soon  found  reason  to  change  his 
mind  concerning  him. 

1  Colbert  a  Duchesneau,  8  Mai,  1679. 

•  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  14  Novembre,  1674. 


1675-80.]  FRESH  OUTBREAKS.  51 

The  King  had  recently  ordered  that  the  intendant, 
though  holding  only  the  third  rank  in  the  council, 
should  act  as  its  president.^  The  conunission  of 
Duchesneau,  however,  empowered  him  to  preside 
only  in  the  absence  of  the  governor ;  ^  while  Frontenac 
is  styled  "chief  and  president  of  the  council"  in 
several  of  the  despatches  addressed  to  him.  Here 
was  an  inconsistency.  Both  parties  claimed  the 
right  of  presiding,  and  both  could  rest  their  claim 
on  a  clear  expression  of  the  royal  will. 

Frontenac  rarely  began  a  new  quarrel  till  the 
autumn  vessels  had  sailed  for  France ;  because  a  full 
year  must  then  elapse  before  his  adversaries  could 
send  their  complaints  to  the  King,  and  six  months 
more  before  the  King  could  send  back  his  answer. 
The  governor  had  been  heard  to  say,  on  one  of  these 
occasions,  that  he  should  now  be  master  for  eighteen 
months,  subject  only  to  answering  with  his  head 
for  what  he  might  do.  It  was  when  the  last  vessel 
was  gone  in  the  autumn  of  1678  that  he  demanded 
to  be  styled  "chief  and  president"  on  the  records 
of  the  council;  and  he  showed  a  letter  from  the 
King  in  which  he  was  so  entitled.^  In  spite  of  this, 
Duchesneau  resisted,  and  appealed  to  precedent  to 
sustain  his  position.    A  long  series  of  stormy  sessions 

1  Declaration  du  Roy,  23  Septembre,  1676. 

•  "Pr^sider  au  Conseil  Souverain  en  Vahsence  du  dit  Sieur  de 
Frontenac*' — Commission  de  Duchesneau,  5  Juin,  1676. 

'  This  letter,  still  preserved  in  the  Archives  de  la  Marine,  is  dated 
12  Mai,  1678.  Several  other  letters  of  Louis  XIV.  give  Frontenac 
the  same  designation. 


62  FRONTENAC   AND   DUCHESNEAU.    [1675-80. 

followed.  The  councillors  in  the  clerical  interest  sup- 
ported the  intendant.  Frontenac,  chafed  and  angry, 
refused  all  compromise.  Business  was  stopped  for 
weeks.  Duchesneau  lost  temper,  and  became  abu- 
sive. Auteuil  tried  to  interpose  in  behalf  of  the 
intendant.  Frontenac  struck  the  table  with  his  fist, 
and  told  him  fiercely  that  he  would  teach  him  his 
duty.  Every  day  embittered  the  strife.  The  gov- 
ernor made  the  declaration  usual  with  him  on  such 
occasions,  that  he  would  not  permit  the  royal  au- 
thority to  suffer  in  his  person.  At  length  he 
banished  from  Quebec  his  three  most  strenuous 
opponents,  Villeray,  Tilly,  and  Auteuil,  and  com- 
manded them  to  remain  in  their  country  houses  till 
they  received  his  further  orders.  All  attempts  at 
compromise  proved  fruitless;  and  Auteuil,  in  behalf 
of  the  exiles,  appealed  piteously  to  the  King. 

The  answer  came  in  the  following  summer :  "  Mon- 
sieur le  Comte  de  Frontenac,"  wrote  Louis  XIV.,  "I 
am  surprised  to  learn  all  the  new  troubles  and  dis- 
sensions that  have  occurred  in  my  country  of  New 
France,  more  especially  since  I  have  clearly  and 
strongly  given  you  to  understand  that  your  sole  care 
should  be  to  maintain  harmony  and  peace  among  all 
my  subjects  dwelling  therein ;  but  what  surprises  me 
still  more  is  that  in  nearly  all  the  disputes  which  you 
have  caused  you  have  advanced  claims  which  have 
very  little  foundation.  My  edicts,  declarations,  and 
ordinances  had  so  plainly  made  known  to  you  my 
will,   that  I  have  great  cause  of  astonishment  that 


1676-80.]  FRONTENAC  REBUKED.  63 

you,  whose  duty  it  is  to  see  them  faithfully  executed, 
have  yourself  set  up  pretensions  entirely  opposed  to 
them.  You  have  wished  to  be  styled  chief  and 
president  on  the  records  of  the  Supreme  Council, 
which  is  contrary  to  my  edict  concerning  that  council ; 
and  I  am  the  more  surprised  at  this  demand,  since  I 
am  very  sure  that  you  are  the  only  man  in  my  king- 
dom who,  being  honored  with  the  title  of  governor 
and  lieutenant-general,  would  care  to  be  styled  chief 
and  president  of  such  a  council  as  that  of  Quebec." 

He  then  declares  that  neither  Frontenac  nor  the 
intendant  is  to  have  the  title  of  president,  but  that 
the  intendant  is  to  perform  the  functions  of  presiding 
officer,  as  determined  by  the  edict.  He  continues : 
"  Moreover,  your  abuse  of  the  authority  which  I  have 
confided  to  you  in  exiling  two  councillors  and  the 
attorney-general  for  so  trivial  a  cause  cannot  meet 
my  approval ;  and  were  it  not  for  the  distinct  assur- 
ances given  me  by  your  friends  that  you  will  act 
with  more  moderation  in  future,  and  never  again  fall 
into  offences  of  this  nature,  I  should  have  resolved 
on  recalling  you."^ 

Colbert  wrote  to  him  with  equal  severity:  "I  have 
communicated  to  the  King  the  contents  of  all  the 
despatches  which  you  have  written  to  me  during  the 
past  year ;  and  as  the  matters  of  which  they  treat  are 
sufficiently  ample,  including  dissensions  almost  uni- 

1  Le  Roy  a  Frontenac,  29  Avril,  1680.  A  decree  of  the  council  of 
state  soon  after  determined  the  question  of  presidency  in  accord 
with  this  letter.    £dits  et  Ordonnances,  i.  238. 


64  FRONTENAC   AND  DUCHESNEAU.     [1675-80. 

versal  among  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  preserve 
harmony  in  the  country  under  your  command,  his 
Majesty  has  been  pleased  to  examine  all  the  papers 
sent  by  all  the  parties  interested,  and  more  particu- 
larly those  appended  to  your  letters.  He  has  there- 
upon ordered  me  distinctly  to  make  known  to  you 
his  intentions."  The  minister  then  proceeds  to 
reprove  him  sharply  in  the  name  of  the  King,  and 
concludes ;  "  It  is  difficult  for  me  to  add  anything  to 
what  I  have  just  said.  Consider  well,  that,  if  it  is 
any  advantage  or  any  satisfaction  to  you  that  his 
Majesty  should  be  satisfied  with  your  services,  it  is 
Tiecessary  that  you  change  entirely  the  conduct  which 
Tou  have  hitherto  pursued."  ^ 

This,  one  would  think,  might  have  sufficed  to  bring 
the  governor  to  reason;  but  the  violence  of  his 
resentments  and  antipathies  overcame  the  very  slender 
share  of  prudence  with  which  nature  had  endowed 
him.  One  morning,  as  he  sat  at  the  head  of  the 
council-board,  the  bishop  on  his  right  hand,  and  the 
intendant  on  his  left,  a  woman  made  her  appearance 
with  a  sealed  packet  of  papers.  She  was  the  wife 
of  the  councillor  D' Amours,  whose  chair  was  vacant 
at  the  table.     Important  business  was  in  hand,  the 


*  Colbert  a  Frontenac,  4  Decembre,  1679.  This  letter  seems  to 
have  been  sent  by  a  special  messenger  by  way  of  New  England.  It 
was  too  late  in  the  season  to  send  directly  to  Canada.  On  the 
quarrel  about  the  presidency,  Duchesneau  au  Ministre,  10  Novembre^ 
1679  J  Auteuil  au  Ministre,  10  Aout,  1679 ;  Contestations  entre  le  Sieur 
Comte  de  Frontenac  et  M.  Duchesneau,  Chevalier.  This  last  paper 
consists  of  voluminous  extracts  from  the  records  of  the  council. 


1681.]  DISPUTES  IN   THE   COUNCIL.  6fi 

registration  of  a  royal  edict  of  amnesty  to  the  coureurs 
de  hois.  The  intendant,  who  well  knew  what  the 
packet  contained,  demanded  that  it  should  be  opened. 
Frontenac  insisted  that  the  business  before  the  council 
should  proceed.  The  intendant  renewed  his  demand, 
the  council  sustained  him,  and  the  packet  was  opened 
accordingly.  It  contained  a  petition  from  D' Amours, 
stating  that  Frontenac  had  put  him  in  prison,  because, 
having  obtained  in  due  form  a  passport  to  send  a 
canoe  to  his  fishing-station  of  Matane,  he  had  after- 
wards sent  a  sail-boat  thither  without  applying  for 
another  passport.  Frontenac  had  sent  for  him,  and 
demanded  by  what  right  he  did  so.  D' Amours  replied 
that  he  believed  that  he  had  acted  in  accordance  with 
the  intentions  of  the  King;  whereupon,  to  borrow 
the  words  of  the  petition,  "Monsieur  the  governor 
fell  into  a  rage,  and  said  to  your  petitioner,  *  I  will 
teach  you  the  intentions  of  the  King,  and  you  shall 
stay  in  prison  till  you  learn  them ; '  and  your  peti- 
tioner was  shut  up  in  a  chamber  of  the  chateau, 
wherein  he  still  remains."  He  proceeds  to  pray  that 
a  trial  may  be  granted  him  according  to  law.  ^ 

Discussions  now  ensued  which  lasted  for  days,  and 
now  and  then  became  tempestuous.  The  governor, 
who  had  declared  that  the  council  had  nothing  to  do 
with  the  matter,  and  that  he  could  not  waste  time  in 
talking  about  it,  was  not  always  present  at  the  meet- 
ings, and  it  sometimes  became  necessary  to  depute 
one  or  more  of  the  members  to  visit  him.     Auteuil, 

»  RegxMtre  ffu  Conseil  Superieur,  16  Aout,  1681. 


66  FRONTENAC   AND  DUCHESNEAU.  [168i 

the  attorney-general,  having  been  employed  on  this 
unenviable  errand,  begged  the  council  to  dispense 
him  from  such  duty  in  future,  "by  reason,"  as  he 
says,  "  of  the  abuse,  ill  treatment,  and  threats  which 
he  received  from  Monsieur  the  governor,  when  he 
last  had  the  honor  of  being  deputed  to  confer  with 
him,  the  particulars  whereof  he  begs  to  be  excused 
from  reporting,  lest  the  anger  of  Monsieur  the  gover- 
nor should  be  kindled  against  him  still  more."^ 
Frontenac,  hearing  of  this  charge,  angrily  denied  it, 
saying  that  the  attorney-general  had  slandered  and 
insulted  him,  and  that  it  was  his  custom  to  do  so. 
Auteuil  rejoined  that  the  governor  had  accused  him 
of  habitual  lying,  and  told  him  that  he  would  have 
his  hand  cut  off.  All  these  charges  and  counter- 
charges may  still  be  found  entered  in  due  form  on 
the  old  records  of  the  council  at  Quebec. 

It  was  as  usual  upon  the  intendant  that  the  wrath 
of  Frontenac  fell  most  fiercely.  He  accuses  him  of 
creating  cabals  and  intrigues,  and  causing  not  only 
the  council,  but  all  the  country,  to  forget  the  respect 
due  to  the  representative  of  his  Majesty.  Once, 
when  Frontenac  was  present  at  the  session,  a  dispute 
arose  about  an  entry  on  the  record.  A  draft  of  it 
had  been  made  in  terms  agreeable  to  the  governor, 
who  insisted  that  the  intendant  should  sign  it. 
Duchesneau  replied  that  he  and  the  clerk  would  go 
into  the  adjoining  room,  where  they  could  examine 
it  in  peace,  and  put  it  into  a  proper  form.     Frontenac 

1  Registre  du  Conseil  Sup€rieur,  4  Novembre,  1681. 


1675-82.]        DISPUTES  IN  THE  COUNCIL.  67 

rejoined  that  he  would  then  have  no  security  that 
what  he  had  said  in  the  council  would  be  accurately 
reported.  Duchesneau  persisted,  and  was  going  out 
with  the  draft  in  his  hand,  when  Frontenac  planted 
himself  before  the  door,  and  told  him  that  he  should 
not  leave  the  council-chamber  till  he  had  signed  the 
paper.  "  Then  I  will  get  out  of  the  window,  or  else 
stay  here  all  day,"  returned  Duchesneau.  A  lively 
debate  ensued,  and  the  governor  at  length  yielded 
the  point.  1 

The  imprisonment  of  D'Amourswas  short,  but  strife 
did  not  cease.  The  disputes  in  the  council  were 
accompanied  throughout  with  other  quarrels  which 
were  complicated  with  them,  and  which  were  worse 
than  all  the  rest,  since  they  involved  more  important 
matters  and  covered  a  wider  field.  They  related  to 
the  fur- trade,  on  which  hung  the  very  life  of  the 
colony.  Merchants,  traders,  and  even  habitants, 
were  ranged  in  two  contending  factions.  Of  one  of 
these  Frontenac  was  the  chief.  With  him  were  La 
Salle  and  his  lieutenant.  La  Foret;  Du  Lhut,  the 
famous  leader  of  coureurs  de  hois ;  Boisseau,  agent  of 
the  farmers  of  the  revenue;  Barrois,  the  governor's 
secretary;  Bizard,  lieutenant  of  his  guard;  and 
various  others  of  greater  or  less  influence.  On  the 
other  side  were  the  members  of  the  council,  with 
Aubert  de  la  Chesnaye,  Le  Moyne  and  all  his  sons, 
Louis  Joliet,  Jacques  Le  Ber,  Sorel,  Boucher, 
Varennes,    and    many  more,    all  supported  by  the 

^  Registre  du  Conseil  Superieur,  1681. 


68      FRONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNEAU.  [1675-82. 

^ntendant  Duchesneau,  and  also  by  his  fast  allies  the 
ecclesiastics.  The  faction  under  the  lead  of  the 
governor  had  every  advantage,  for  it  was  sustained 
by  all  the  power  of  his  office.  Duchesneau  was 
beside  himself  with  rage.  He  wrote  to  the  court 
letters  full  of  bitterness,  accused  Frontenac  of  illicit 
trade,  denounced  his  followers,  and  sent  huge 
bundles  of  proch-verhaux  and  attestations  to  prove 
his  charges. 

But  if  Duchesneau  wrote  letters,  so  too  did 
Frontenac;  and  if  the  intendant  sent  proofs,  so  too 
did  the  governor.  Upon  the  unfortunate  King  and 
the  still  more  unfortunate  minister  fell  the  difficult 
task  of  composing  the  quarrels  of  their  servants, 
three  thousand  miles  away.  They  treated  Duchesneau 
without  ceremony.  Colbert  wrote  to  him:  "I  have 
examined  all  the  letters,  papers,  and  memorials  that 
you  sent  me  by  the  return  of  the  vessels  last  Novem- 
ber, and,  though  it  appears  by  the  letters  of  M.  de 
Frontenac  that  his  conduct  leaves  something  to  be 
desired,  there  is  assuredly  far  more  to  blame  in  yours 
than  in  his.  As  to  what  you  say  concerning  his 
violence,  his  trade  with  the  Indians,  and  in  general 
all  that  you  allege  against  him,  the  King  has  written 
to  him  his  intentions ;  but  since,  in  the  midst  of  all 
your  complaints,  you  say  many  things  which  are 
without  foundation,  or  which  are  no  concern  of 
yours,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  you  act  in  the 
spirit  which  the  service  of  the  King  demands ;  that  is 
to  say,  without  interest  and  without  passion.     If  a 


1675-82.]  FRONTENAC   WARNED.  59 

change  does  not  appear  in  your  conduct  before  next 
year,  his  Majesty  will  not  keep  you  in  your  office."^ 

At  the  same  time  the  King  wrote  to  Frontenac, 
alluding  to  the  complaints  of  Duchesneau,  and 
exhorting  the  governor  to  live  on  good  terms  with 
him.  The  general  tone  of  the  letter  is  moderate,  but 
the  following  significant  warning  occurs  in  it: 
"  Although  no  gentleman  in  the  position  in  which  I 
have  placed  you  ought  to  take  part  in  any  trade, 
directly  or  indirectly,  either  by  himself  or  any  of  his 
servants,  I  nevertheless  now  prohibit  you  absolutely 
from  doing  so.  Not  only  abstain  from  trade,  but  act 
in  such  a  manner  that  nobody  can  even  suspect  you 
of  it;  and  this  will  be  easy,  since  the  truth  will 
leadily  come  to  light.  "^ 

Exhortation  and  warning  were  alike  vain.  The 
first  ships  which  returned  that  year  from  Canada 
brought  a  series  of  despatches  from  the  intendant, 
renewing  all  his  charges  more  bitterly  than  before. 
The  minister,  out  of  patience,  replied  by  berating 
him  without  mercy.  "You  may  rest  assured,'*  he 
concludes,  "that,  did  it  not  appear  by  your  later 
despatches  that  the  letters  you  have  received  have 
begun  to  make  you  understand  that  you  have  for- 
gotten yourself,  it  would  not  have  been  possible  to 
prevent  the  King  from  recalling  you."^ 

Duchesneau,    in  return,    protests    all    manner  of 

1  Colbert  a  Duchesneau^  15  Mai,  1678. 
«  Le  Roy  a  Frontenac,  12  Mai,  1678. 
«  Colbert  a  Duchesneau,  25  Avril,  1679 


60  FRONTENAC   AND  DUCHESNEAU.     [1675-82. 

deference  to  the  governor,  but  still  insists  that  he 
sets  the  royal  edicts  at  naught;  protects  a  host  of 
eoureurs  de  hois  who  are  in  league  with  him;  corre- 
sponds with  Du  Lhut,  their  chief;  shares  his  illegal 
profits,  and  causes  all  the  disorders  which  afflict  the 
colony.  "As  for  me,  Monseigneur,  I  have  done 
everjrthing  within  the  scope  of  my  office  to  prevent 
these  evils ;  but  all  the  pains  I  have  taken  have  only 
served  to  increase  the  aversion  of  Monsieur  the  gov- 
ernor against  me,  and  to  bring  my  ordinances  into 
contempt.  This,  Monseigneur,  is  a  true  account  of 
the  disobedience  of  the  eoureurs  de  hois,  of  which  1 
twice  had  the  honor  to  speak  to  Monsieur  the  gover- 
nor; and  I  could  not  help  telling  him,  with  all 
possible  deference,  that  it  was  shameful  to  the  colony 
and  to  us  that  the  King  our  master,  of  whom  the 
whole  world  stands  in  awe,  who  has  just  given  law 
to  all  Europe,  and  whom  all  his  subjects  adore, 
should  have  the  pain  of  knowing  that,  in  a  country 
which  has  received  so  many  marks  of  his  paternal 
tenderness,  his  orders  are  violated  and  scorned;  and 
a  governor  and  an  intendant  stand  by,  with  folded 
arms,  content  with  saying  that  the  evil  is  past 
remedy.  For  having  made  these  representations  to 
him,  I  drew  on  myself  words  so  full  of  contempt  and 
insult  that  I  was  forced  to  leave  his  room  to  appease 
his  anger.  The  next  morning  I  went  to  him  again, 
and  did  all  I  could  to  have  my  ordinances  executed; 
but,  as  Monsieur  the  governor  is  interested  with 
many  of  the  eoureurs  de  hois,  it  is  useless  to  attempt 


1675-82.]        DUCHESNE AU'S   COMPLAINTS.  61 

to  do  anything.  He  has  gradually  made  himself 
master  of  the  trade  of  Montreal ;  and,  as  soon  as  the 
Indians  arrive,  he  sets  guards  in  their  camp,  which 
would  be  very  well,  if  these  soldiers  did  their  duty 
and  protected  the  savages  from  being  annoyed  and 
plundered  by  the  French,  instead  of  being  employed 
to  discover  how  many  furs  they  have  brought,  with 
a  view  to  future  operations.  Monsieur  the  governor 
then  compels  the  Indians  to  pay  his  guards  for  pro- 
tecting them;  and  he  has  never  allowed  them  to 
trade  with  the  inhabitants  till  they  had  first  given 
him  a  certain  number  of  packs  of  beaver-skins,  which 
he  calls  his  presents.  His  guards  trade  with  them 
openly  at  the  fair,  with  their  bandoleers  on  their 
shoulders." 

He  says,  further,  that  Frontenac  sends  up  goods 
to  Montreal,  and  employs  persons  to  trade  in  his 
behalf;  and  that,  what  with  the  beaver-skins  exacted 
by  him  and  his  guards  under  the  name  of  presents, 
and  those  which  he  and  his  favorites  obtain  in  trade, 
only  the  smaller  part  of  what  the  Indians  bring  to 
market  ever  reaches  the  people  of  the  colony.^ 

This  despatch,  and  the  proofs  accompanying  it, 
drew  from  the  King  a  sharp  reproof  to  Frontenac. 

"What  has  passed  in  regard  to  the  coureurs  de  hois  is 
entirely  contrary  to  my  orders;  and  I  cannot  receive  in 
excuse  for  it  your  allegation  that  it  is  the  intendant  who 
countenances  them  by  the  trade  he  carries  on,  for  I  per- 
ceive clearly  that  the  fault  is  your  own.     As  I  see  that 

^  Duchesneau  au  Ministret  10  Novembre,  1679. 


62  FRONTENAC   AND  DUCHESNEAU.    [1675-82. 

you  often  turn  the  orders  that  I  give  you  against  the  very 
object  for  which  they  are  given,  beware  not  to  do  so  on 
this  occasion.  I  shall  hold  you  answerable  for  bringing 
the  disorder  of  the  coureurs  de  bois  to  an  end  throughout 
Canada;  and  this  you  will  easily  succeed  in  doing,  if  you 
make  a  proper  use  of  my  authority.  Take  care  not  to  per- 
suade yourself  that  what  I  write  to  you  comes  from  the  ill 
offices  of  the  intendant.  It  results  from  what  I  fully  know 
from  everything  which  reaches  me  from  Canada,  proving 
but  too  well  what  you  are  doing  there.  The  bishop,  the 
ecclesiastics,  the  Jesuit  fathers,  the  Supreme  Council,  and, 
in  a  word,  everybody,  complain  of  you;  but  I  am  willing 
to  believe  that  you  will  change  your  conduct,  and  act  with 
the  moderation  necessary  for  the  good  of  the  colony."  * 

Colbert  wrote  in  a  similar  strain;  and  Frontenac 
saw  that  his  position  was  becoming  critical.  He 
showed,  it  is  true,  no  sign  of  that  change  of  conduct 
which  the  King  had  demanded ;  but  he  appealed  to 
his  allies  at  court  to  use  fresh  efforts  to  sustain  him. 
Among  the  rest,  he  had  a  strong  friend  in  the 
Mar^chal  de  Bellefonds,  to  whom  he  wrote,  in  the 
character  of  an  abused  and  much-suffering  man: 
"  You  exhort  me  to  have  patience,  and  I  agree  with 
you  that  those  placed  in  a  position  of  command  can- 
not have  too  much.  For  this  reason,  I  have  given 
examples  of  it  here  such  as  perhaps  no  governor  ever 
gave  before ;  and  I  have  found  no  great  difficulty  in 
doing  so,  because  I  felt  myself  to  be  the  master. 
Had  I  been  in  a  private  station,  I  could  not   have 

1  Le  Roy  a  Frontenac,  29  Avril,  1680. 


1675-82.]     CHARGES  AGAINS't  DUCHESNEAU.         63 

endured  such  outrageous  insults  without  dishonor. 
I  have  always  passed  over  in  silence  those  directed 
against  me  personally,  and  have  never  given  way  to 
anger,  except  when  attacks  were  made  on  the  author- 
ity of  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be  the  guardian. 
You  could  not  believe  all  the  annoyances  which  the 
intendant  tries  to  put  upon  me  every  day,  and  which, 
as  you  advise  me,  I  scorn  or  disregard.  It  would 
require  a  virtue  like  yours  to  turn  them  to  all  the 
good  use  of  which  they  are  capable;  yet,  great  as 
the  virtue  is  which  has  enabled  you  to  possess  your 
soul  in  tranquillity  amid  all  the  troubles  of  the  court, 
I  doubt  if  you  could  preserve  such  complete  equa- 
nimity among  the  miserable  tumults  of  Canada."^ 

Having  given  the  principal  charges  of  Duchesneau 
against  Frontenac,  it  is  time  to  give  those  of  Frontenac 
against  Duchesneau.  The  governor  says  that  all 
the  coureurs  de  hois  would  be  brought  to  submission 
but  for  the  intendant  and  his  allies,  who  protect 
them,  and  carry  on  trade  by  their  means;  that 
the  seigniorial  house  of  Duchesneau 's  partner.  La 
Chesnaye,  is  the  constant  resort  of  these  outlaws; 
and  that  he  and  his  associates  have  large  storehouses 
at  Montreal,  Isle  St.  Paul,  and  Riviere  du  Loup, 
whence  they  send  goods  into  the  Indian  country,  in 
contempt  of  the  King's  orders.^  Frontenac  also 
complains  of  numberless  provocations  from  the  intend- 
ant.    "  It  is  no  fault  of  mine  that  I  am  not  on  good 

1  Frontenac  au  Marechal  de  Bellefonds,  14  Novemhre,  1680. 

2  M€moir€  et  Preuves  du  Desordre  des  Coureurs  de  Boi*. 


64     FRONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNEAU.  [1675-82. 

terms  with  M.  Duchesneau;  for  I  have  done  every- 
thing I  could  to  that  end,  being  too  submissive  to 
your  Majesty's  commands  not  to  suppress  my  sharpest 
indignation  the  moment  your  will  is  known  to  me. 
But,  Sire,  it  is  not  so  with  him ;  and  his  desire  to 
excite  new  disputes,  in  the  hope  of  making  me  appear 
yp  their  principal  author,  has  been  so  great  that  the  last 
ships  were  hardly  gone,  when,  forgetting  what  your 
Majesty  had  enjoined  upon  us  both,  he  began  these 
dissensions  afresh,  in  spite  of  all  my  precautions. 
If  I  depart  from  my  usual  reserve  in  regard  to  him, 
and  make  bold  to  ask  justice  at  the  hands  of  your 
Majesty  for  the  wrongs  and  insults  I  have  under- 
gone, it  is  because  nothing  but  your  authority  can 
keep  them  within  bounds.  I  have  never  suffered 
more  in  my  life  than  when  I  have  been  made  to 
appear  as  a  man  of  violence  and  a  disturber  of  the 
officers  of  justice,  for  I  have  always  confined  myself 
to  what  your  Majesty  has  prescribed;  that  is,  to 
exhorting  them  to  do  their  duty  when  I  saw  that 
they  failed  in  it.  This  has  drawn  upon  me,  both 
from  them  and  from  M.  Duchesneau,  such  cutting 
affronts  that  your  Majesty  would  hardly  credit 
them."  ^ 

In  1681,  Seignelay,  the  son  of  Colbert,  entered 
upon  the  charge  of  the  colonies  ;  and  both  Frontenac 
and  Duchesneau  hastened  to  congratulate  him,  pro- 
test their  devotion,  and  overwhelm  him  with  mutual 
accusations.     The   intendant   declares    that,   out   of 

1  Frxmtenac  au  Roy,  2  Novembre,  1681. 


1675-82.]  THE  NEW  MimSTER.  65 

pure  zeal  for  the  King's  service,  he  shall  tell  him 
everything.  "Disorder,"  he  says,  "reigns  every- 
where ;  universal  confusion  prevails  throughout  every 
department  of  business;  the  pleasure  of  the  King, 
the  orders  of  the  Supreme  Council,  and  my  ordinances 
remain  unexecuted;  justice  is  openly  violated,  and 
trade  is  destroyed;  violence,  upheld  by  authority, 
decides  everything;  and  nothing  consoles  the  people, 
who  groan  without  daring  to  complain,  but  the  hope, 
Monseigneur,  that  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  con- 
descend to  be  moved  by  their  misfortunes.  No  posi- 
tion could  be  more  distressing  than  mine,  since,  if  I 
conceal  the  truth  from  you,  I  fail  in  the  obedience  I 
owe  the  King,  and  in  the  fidelity  that  I  vowed  so 
long  since  to  Monseigneur,  your  father,  and  which  I 
swear  anew  at  your  hands ;  and  if  I  obey,  as  I  must, 
his  Majesty's  orders  and  yours,  I  cannot  avoid  giving 
offence,  since  I  cannot  render  you  an  account  of 
these  disorders  without  informing  you  that  M.  de 
Frontenac's  conduct  is  the  sole  cause  of  them."^ 

Frontenac  had  written  to  Seignelay  a  few  days  be- 
fore :  "  I  have  no  doubt  whatever  that  M.  Duchesneau 
will,  as  usual,  overwhelm  me  with  fabrications  and 
falsehoods,  to  cover  his  own  ill  conduct.  I  send 
proofs  to  justify  myself,  so  strong  and  convincing 
that  I  do  not  see  that  they  can  leave  any  doubt ;  but, 
since  I  fear  that  their  great  number  might  fatigue 
you,  I  have  thought  it  better  to  send  them  to  my 
wife,  with  a  full  and  exact  journal  of  all  that  has 

1  Duchesneau  au  Ministre,  13  Novemhre,  1681. 


66  FRONTENAC   AND  DUCHESNEAU.  [1681. 


here  day  by  day,  in  order  that  she  may  extract 
and  lay  before  you  the  principal  portions.  I  send 
you  in  person  merely  the  proofs  of  the  conduct  of 
M.  Duchesneau,  in  barricading  his  house  and  arming 
all  his  servants,  and  in  coming  three  weeks  ago  to 
insult  me  in  my  room.  You  will  see  thereby  to  what 
a  pitch  of  temerity  and  lawlessness  he  has  transported 
himself,  in  order  to  compel  me  to  use  violence  against 
him,  with  the  hope  of  justifying  what  he  has  asserted 
about  my  pretended  outbreaks  of  anger.  "^ 

The  mutual  charges  of  the  two  functionaries  were 
much  the  same;  and,  so  far  at  least  as  concerns 
trade,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  they  were  well 
founded  on  both  sides.  The  strife  of  the  rival  fac- 
tions grew  more  and  more  bitter:  canes  and  sticks 
played  an  active  part  in  it,  and  now  and  then  we 
hear  of  drawn  swords.  One  is  reminded  at  times  of 
the  intestine  feuds  of  some  mediaeval  city,  —  as,  for 
example,  in  the  following  incident,  which  will  explain 
the  charge  of  Frontenac  against  the  intendant  of 
barricading  his  house  and  arming  his  servants. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  twentieth  of  March,  a  son 
of  Duchesneau,  sixteen  years  old,  followed  by  a  ser- 
vant named  Vautier,  was  strolling  along  the  picket 
fence  which  bordered  the  descent  from  the  Upper  to 
the  Lower  Town  of  Quebec.  The  boy  was  amusing 
himself  by  singing  a  song,  when  Frontenac 's  partisan, 
Boisseau,  with  one  of  the  guardsmen,  approached, 
and,  as  young  Duchesneau  declares,  called  him  foul 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  2  Novemhre,  1681. 


1681.]  STREET   QUARRELS.  67 

names,  and  said  that  he  would  give  him  and  his 
father  a  thrashing.  The  boy  replied  that  he  would 
have  nothing  to  say  to  a  fellow  like  him,  and  would 
beat  him  if  he  did  not  keep  quiet;  while  the  servant, 
Vautier,  retorted  Boisseau's  abuse,  and  taunted  him 
with  low  birth  and  disreputable  employments. 
Boisseau  made  report  to  Frontenac,  and  Frontenac 
complained  to  Duchesneau,  who  sent  his  son,  with 
Vautier,  to  give  the  governor  his  version  of  the 
affair.  The  bishop,  an  ally  of  the  intendant,  thus 
relates  what  followed.  On  arriving  with  a  party  of 
friends  at  the  chateau,  young  Duchesneau  was  shown 
into  a  room  in  which  were  the  governor  and  his  two 
secretaries.  Barrels  and  Chasseur.  He  had  no  sooner 
entered  than  Frontenac  seized  him  by  the  arm,  shook 
him,  struck  him,  called  him  abusive  names,  and  tore 
the  sleeve  of  his  jacket.  The  secretaries  interposed, 
and,  failing  to  quiet  the  governor,  opened  the  door 
and  let  the  boy  escape.  Vautier,  meanwhile,  had 
remained  in  the  guard-room,  where  Boisseau  struck 
at  him  with  his  cane;  and  one  of  the  guardsmen 
went  for  a  halberd  to  run  him  through  the  body. 
After  this  warm  reception,  young  Duchesneau  and 
his  servant  took  refuge  in  the  house  of  his  father. 
Frontenac  demanded  their  surrender.  The  intendant, 
fearing  that  he  would  take  them  by  force,  for  which 
he  is  said  to  have  made  preparation,  barricaded  him- 
self and  armed  his  household.  The  bishop  tried  to 
mediate,  and  after  protracted  negotiations  young 
Duchesneau  was  given  up,    whereupon    Frontenac 


68  FRONTENAC   AND  DUCHESNEAU.  [1681 

locked  him  in  a  chamber  of  the  chateau,  and  kept 
him  there  a  month. ^ 

The  story  of  Frontenac's  violence  to  the  boy  is 
flatly  denied  by  his  friends,  who  charge  Duchesneau 
and  his  partisans  with  circulating  libels  against  him, 
and  who  say,  like  Frontenac  himself,  that  the  intend- 
ant  used  every  means  to  exasperate  him,  in  order  to 
make  material  for  accusations. ^ 

The  disputes  of  the  rival  factions  spread  through 
all  Canada.  The  most  heinous  offence  in  the  eyes  of 
the  court  with  which  each  charged  the  other  was  the 
carrying  of  furs  to  the  English  settlements;  thus 
defrauding  the  revenue,  and,  as  the  King  believed, 
preparing  the  ruin  of  the  colony.  The  intendant 
further  declared  that  the  governor's  party  spread 
among  the  Indians  the  report  of  a  pestilence  at 
Montreal,  in  order  to  deter  them  from  their  yearly 
visit  to  the  fair,  and  thus  by  means  of  coureurs  de 
hois  obtain  all  their  beaver-skins  at  a  low  price.  The 
report,  according  to  Duchesneau,  had  no  other  foun- 
dation than  the  fate  of  eighteen  or  twenty  Indians, 
who  had  lately  drunk  themselves  to  death  at  La  Chine. ^ 

Montreal,  in  the  mean  time,  was  the  scene  of  a 
sort  of  by-play,  in  which  the  chief  actor  was  the  local 
governor  Perrot.     He  and  Frontenac  appear  to  have 

1  Memoire  de  VEvesque  de  Quebec,  Mars,  1681  (printed  in  Revue 
Canadienne,  1873).  The  bishop  is  silent  about  the  barricades,  of 
which  Frontenac  and  his  friends  complain  in  several  letters. 

*  See,  among  other  instances,  the  Defense  de  M.  de  Frontenac  par  un 
de  ses  Amis,  published  by  Abbe  Verreau  in  the  Revue  Canadienne^  1873. 

•  Plumitifdu  Conseil  Souverain^  1681. 


1681.]  PERROT.  69 

found  it  for  their  common  interest  to  come  to  a 
mutual  understanding;  and  this  was  perhaps  easier 
on  the  part  of  the  count,  since  his  quarrel  with 
Duchesneau  gave  sufficient  employment  to  his  natural 
pugnacity.  Perrot  was  now  left  to  make  a  reason- 
able profit  from  the  illicit  trade  which  had  once 
kindled  the  wrath  of  his  superior;  and,  the  danger  of 
Frontenac's  anger  being  removed,  he  completely  for- 
got the  lessons  of  his  imprisonment. 

The  intendant  ordered  Migeon,  bailiff  of  Montreal, 
to  arrest  some  of  Perrot's  coureurs  de  hois.  Perrot 
at  once  arrested  the  bailiff,  and  sent  a  sergeant  and 
two  soldiers  to  occupy  his  house,  with  orders  to 
annoy  the  family  as  much  as  possible.  One  of  them, 
accordingly,  walked  to  and  fro  all  night  in  the  bed- 
chamber of  Migeon's  wife.  On  another  occasion, 
the  bailiff  invited  two  friends  to  supper,  —  Le  Moyne 
d'Iberville  and  one  Bouthier,  agent  of  a  commercial 
house  at  Rochelle.  The  conversation  turned  on  the 
trade  carried  on  by  Perrot.  It  was  overheard  and 
reported  to  him,  upon  which  he  suddenly  appeared 
at  the  window,  struck  Bouthier  over  the  head  with 
his  cane,  then  drew  his  sword,  and  chased  him  while 
he  fled  for  his  life.  The  seminary  was  near  at  hand, 
and  the  fugitive  clambered  over  the  wall.  Dollier 
de  Casson  dressed  him  in  the  hat  and  cassock  of  a 
priest,  and  in  this  disguise  he  escaped.^ 

1  Conduite  du  Sieur  Perrot,  Gouverneur  de  Montreal  en  la  NouvdU 
France,  1681 ;  Plainte  du  Sieur  Bouthier,  10  Octobre,  1680 ;  Prock» 
verbal  des  huissiers  de  Montreal. 


70  FRONTENAC   AND   DUCHESNEAU.  [1681. 

Perrot's  avidity  sometimes  carried  him  to  singular 
extremities.  "He  has  been  seen,"  says  one  of  his 
accusers,  "filling  barrels  of  brandy  with  his  own 
hands,  and  mixing  it  with  water  to  sell  to  the 
Indians.  He  bartered  with  one  of  them  his  hat, 
sword,  coat,  ribbons,  shoes,  and  stockings,  and 
boasted  that  he  had  made  thirty  pistoles  by  the  bar- 
gain, while  the  Indian  walked  about  town  equipped 
as  governor.  "1 

Every  ship  from  Canada  brought  to  the  King  fresh 
complaints  of  Duchesneau  against  Frontenac,  and  of 
Frontenac  against  Duchesneau ;  and  the  King  replied 
with  rebukes,  exhortations,  and  threats  to  both.  At 
5rst  he  had  shown  a  disposition  to  extenuate  and 
excuse  the  faults  of  Frontenac,  but  every  year  his 
letters  grew  sharper.  In  1681  he  wrote :  "  Again  I 
urge  you  to  banish  from  your  mind  the  difficulties 
which  you  have  yourself  devised  against  the  execu- 
tion of  my  orders ;  to  act  with  mildness  and  modera- 
tion towards  all  the  colonists,  and  divest  yourself 
entirely  of  the  personal  animosities  which  have  thus 
far  been  almost  your  sole  motive  of  action.  In  con- 
clusion, I  exhort  you  once  more  to  profit  well  by  the 
directions  which  this  letter  contains;  since,  unless 
you  succeed  better  herein  than  formerly,   I  cannot 

1  Conduite  du  Sieur  Perrot.  La  Barre,  Frontenac's  successor, 
declares  that  the  charges  against  Perrot  were  false,  including  the 
attestations  of  Migeon  and  his  friends ;  that  Dollier  de  Casson  had 
been  imposed  upon,  and  that  various  persons  had  been  induced  to 
sign  unfounded  statements  without  reading  them.  La  Barre  an 
Hfinistref  4  Novembre,  1683. 


1682.]        FRONTENAC   AND   THE   CHURCH.  71 

help  recalling  you  from  the  command  which  I  have 
intrusted  to  you."  ^ 

The  dispute  still  went  on.  The  autumn  ships 
from  Quebec  brought  back  the  usual  complaints,  and 
the  long-suffering  King  at  length  made  good  his 
threat.  Both  Frontenac  and  Duchesneau  received 
their  recall,  and  they  both  deserved  it.* 

The  last  official  act  of  the  governor,  recorded  in 
the  register  of  the  council  of  Quebec,  is  the  formal 
declaration  that  his  rank  in  that  body  is  superior  to 
that  of  the  intendant.^ 

The  key  to  nearly  all  these  disputes  lies  in  the 
relations  between  Frontenac  and  the  Church.  The 
fundamental  quarrel  was  generally  covered  by  super- 
ficial issues,  and  it  was  rarely  that  the  governor  fell 
out  with  anybody  who  was  not  in  league  with  the 
bishop  and  the  Jesuits.  "  Nearly  all  the  disorders  in 
New  France,"  he  writes,  "spring  from  the  ambition 
of  the  ecclesiastics,  who  want  to  join  to  their  spiritual 
authority  an  absolute  power  over  things  temporal, 
and  who  persecute  all  who  do  not  submit  entirely  to 
them."  He  says  that  the  intendant  and  the  council- 
lors are  completely  under  their  control,  and  dare  not 
decide  any  question  against  them;  that  they  have 
spies  everywhere,  even  in  his  house ;  that  the  bishop 
told  him  that  he  could  excommunicate  even  a  gover- 

1  Le  Roy  a  Frontenac,  30  Avril,  1681. 

2  La  Barre  says  that  Duchesneau  was  far  more  to  blame  than 
Frontenac.  La  Barre  au  Ministre,  1683.  This  testimony  has  weight, 
since  Frontenac's  friends  were  La  Barre's  enemies. 

*  Regiatre  du  Conseil  Supe'rieur,  16  Fevrier,  1682. 


72  FRONTENAC   AND  DUCHESNEAU.  [1682. 

nor,  if  he  chose;  that  the  missionaries  in  Indian 
villages  say  that  they  are  equals  of  Onontio,  and  tell 
their  converts  that  all  will  go  wrong  till  the  priests 
have  the  government  of  Canada;  that  directly  or 
indirectly  they  meddle  in  all  civil  affairs ;  that  they 
trade  even  with  the  English  of  New  York;  that, 
what  with  Jesuits,  Sulpitians,  the  bishop,  and  the 
seminary  of  Quebec,  they  hold  two-thirds  of  the  good 
lands  of  Canada;  that,  in  view  of  the  poverty  of  the 
country,  their  revenues  are  enormous ;  that,  in  short, 
their  object  is  mastery,  and  that  they  use  all  means 
to  compass  it.^  The  recall  of  the  governor  was  a 
triumph  to  the  ecclesiastics,  offset  but  slightly  by 
the  recall  of  their  instrument,  the  intendant,  who 
had  done  his  work,  and  whom  they  needed  no 
longer. 

Thus  far,  we  have  seen  Frontenac  on  his  worst 
side.  We  shall  see  him  again  under  an  aspect  very 
different.  Nor  must  it  be  supposed  that  the  years 
which  had  passed  since  his  government  began,  tem- 
pestuous as  they  appear  on  the  record,  were  wholly 
given  over  to  quarrelling.  They  had  their  periods 
of  uneventful  calm,  when  the  wheels  of  administra- 
tion ran  as  smoothly  as  could  be  expected  in  view  of 
the  condition  of  the  colony.     In  one  respect  at  least, 

1  Frontenac,  M^moire  adress^  a  Colbert,  1677.  This  remarkable 
paper  will  be  found  in  the  D€couvertes  et  J^tablissements  des  Frangais 
dans  VAm€rique  Septentrionale ;  M€moires  et  Documents  Originaux 
edited  by  M.  Margry.  The  paper  is  very  long,  and  contains  refer- 
ences to  attestations  and  other  proofs  which  accompanied  it,  espe- 
cially in  regard  to  the  trade  of  the  Jesuits. 


1682.]  QUALITIES   OF   FRONTENAC.  73 

Frontenac  had  shown  a  remarkahle  fitness  tor  his  ^ 
office.  Few  white  men  have  ever  equalled  or 
approached  him  in  the  art  of  dealing  witli  Indians.^ 
There  seems  to  have  been  a  sympathetic  relation 
between  him  and  them.  He  conformed  to  their 
ways,  borrowed  their  rhetoric,  flattered  them  on 
occasion  with  great  address,  and  yet  constantly 
maintained  towards  them  an  attitude  of  paternal 
superiority.  When  they  were  concerned,  his  native 
haughtiness  always  took  a  form  which  commanded 
respect  without  exciting  anger.  He  would  not 
address  them  as  "brothers,"  but  only  as  "children;" 
and  even  the  Iroquois,  arrogant  as  they  were,  accepted 
the  new  relation.  In  their  eyes  Frontenac  was  by 
far  the  greatest  of  all  the  "Onontios,"  or  governors 
of  Canada.  They  admired  the  prompt  and  fiery 
soldier  who  played  with  their  children,  and  gave 
beads  and  trinkets  to  their  wives;  who  read  their 
secret  thoughts  and  never  feared  them,  but  smiled  on 
them  when  their  hearts  were  true,  or  frowned  and 
threatened  them  when  they  did  amiss.  The  other 
tribes,  allies  of  the  French,  were  of  the  same  mind; 
and  their  respect  for  their  Great  Father  seems  not  to 
have  been  permanently  impaired  by  his  occasional 
practice  of  bullying  them  for  purposes  of  extortion. 

Frontenac  appears  to  have  had  a  liking  not  only 
for  Indians,  but  also  for  that  roving  and  lawless  class 
of  the  Canadian  population,  the  coureurs  de  bois,  pro- 
vided always  that  they  were  not  in  the  service  of  hia 
rivals.     Indeed,  as  regards  the  Canadians  generally, 


74  FRONTENAC  AND  DUCHESNEAU.  [1682. 

he  refrained  from  the  strictures  with  which  succeed- 
ing governors  and  intendants  freely  interlarded  their 
despatches.  It  was  not  his  instinct  to  clash  with  the 
humbler  classes,  and  he  generally  reserved  his  anger 
for  those  who  could  retort  it. 

He  had  the  air  of  distinction  natural  to  a  man 
familiar  all  his  life  with  the  society  of  courts,  and  he 
was  as  gracious  and  winning  on  some  occasions  as 
he  was  unbearable  on  others.  When  in  good  humor, 
his  ready  wit  and  a  certain  sympathetic  vivacity 
made  him  very  agreeable.  At  times  he  was  all  sun- 
shine, and  his  outrageous  temper  slumbered  peace- 
fully till  some  new  offence  wakened  it  again ;  nor  is 
there  much  doubt  that  many  of  his  worst  outbreaks 
were  the  work  of  his  enemies,  who  knew  his  foible, 
and  studied  to  exasperate  him.  He  was  full  of  con- 
tradictions; and,  intolerant  and  implacable  as  he 
often  was,  there  were  intervals,  even  in  his  bitterest 
quarrels,  in  which  he  displayed  a  surprising  modera- 
tion and  patience.  By  fits  he  could  be  magnanimous. 
A  woman  once  brought  him  a  petition  in  burlesque 
vei^e.  Frontenac  wrote  a  jocose  answer.  The 
woman,  to  ridicule  him,  contrived  to  have  both  peti- 
tion and  answer  slipped  among  the  papers  of  a  suit 
pending  before  the  council.  Frontenac  had  her  fined 
a  few  francs,  and  then  caused  the  money  to  be  given 
to  her  children.^ 

When  he  sailed  for  France,  it  was  a  day  of  rejoic- 

1  Note,  by  Abbfe  Verreau,  in  Journal  de  I'lnstructton  Publique 
(Canada),  viii.  127. 


1682.]  DEPARTURE  OF  FRONTENAC.  76 

ing  to  more  than  half  the  merchants  of  Canada,  and, 
excepting  the  Rdcollets,   to  all  the  priests;  but  he 
left  behind  him  an  impression,  very  general  among 
the  people,   that,   if  danger  threatened  the  colony,   (^ 
Count  Frontenac  was  the  man  for  the  hour.  j 


CHAPTER  V. 

1682-1684. 

LE  FEBVRE  DE  LA  BARRB 

His  Arrival  at  Quebec.  —  The  Great  Fire.  —  A  Coming  Storm. 
—  Iroquois  Policy.  —  The  Danger  imminent.  —  Indian  Allies 
OF  France.  —  Frontenac  and  the  Iroquois.  —  Boasts  of  La 
Barre  ;  his  Past  Life  ;  his  Speculations  ;  he  takes  Alarm  ; 
his  Dealings  with  the  Iroquois;  his  Illegal  Trade;  his 
Colleague  denounces  him;  Fruits  of  his  Schemes;  his 
Anger  and  his  Fears. 

Wh2N  the  new  governor,  La  Barre,  and  the  new 
intendant,  Meules,  arrived  at  Quebec,  a  dismal 
greeting  waited  them.  All  the  Lower  Town  was  in 
ashes,  except  the  house  of  the  merchant  Aubert  de 
la  Chesnaye,  standing  alone  amid  the  wreck.  On  a 
Tuesday,  the  fourth  of  August,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  the  nuns  of  the  Hotel -Dieu  were  roused 
from  their  early  slumbers  by  shouts,  outcries,  and 
the  ringing  of  bells;  "and,"  writes  one  of  them, 
"  what  was  our  terror  to  find  it  as  light  as  noonday, 
the  flames  burned  so  fiercely  and  rose  so  high." 
Half  an  hour  before,  Chartier  de  Lotbinidre,  judge 
of  the  King's  court,  heard  the  first  alarm,  ran  down 
the  descent  now  called  Mountain  Street,  and  found 
everything  in  confusion  in  the  town  below.     The 


1682.]  THE  GREAT  FIRE.  77 

house  of  fitienne  Planchon  was  in  a  blaze ;  the  fire 
was  spreading  to  those  of  his  neighbors,  and  had  just 
leaped  the  narrow  street  to  the  storehouse  of  the 
Jesuits.  The  season  was  excessively  dry;  there  were 
no  means  of  throwing  water  except  kettles  and 
buckets,  and  the  crowd  was  bewildered  with  excite- 
ment and  fright.  Men  were  ordered  to  tear  off  roofs 
and  pull  down  houses;  but  the  flames  drove  them 
from  their  work,  and  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning 
fifty-five  buildings  were  burnt  to  the  ground.  They 
were  all  of  wood,  but  many  of  them  were  storehouses 
filled  with  goods;  and  the  property  consumed  was 
more  in  value  than  all  that  remained  in  Canada.* 

Under  these  gloomy  auspices,  Le  Febvre  de  la 
Barre  began  his  reign.  He  was  an  old  officer  who 
had  achieved  notable  exploits  against  the  English  in 
the  West  Indies,  but  who  was  now  to  be  put  to  a 
test  far  more  severe.  He  made  his  lodging  in  the 
chateau;  while  his  colleague,  Meules,  could  hardly 
find  a  shelter.  The  buildings  of  the  Upper  Town 
were  filled  with  those  whom  the  fire  had  made  roof- 
less, and  the  intendant  was  obliged  to  content  him- 
self with  a  house  in  the  neighboring  woods.  Here 
he  was  ill  at  ease,  for  he  dreaded  an  Indian  war  and 
the  scalping-knives  of  the  Iroquois. ^ 

So  far  as  his  own  safety  was  concerned,  his  alarm 


1  Chartier  de  Lotbini^re,  Prods-verbal  sur  Plhcendie  de  la  Basse 
Ville ;  Meules  au  Ministre,  6  Octobre,  1682 ;  Juchereau,  Histoire  de 
VHdtel-Dieu  de  Qu^ec,  256. 

*  Meules  au  Ministre,  6  Octobre,  1682. 


78  LE  FEBVRE   DE  LA  BARRE.  [1680-82. 

was  needless ;  but  not  so  as  regarded  the  colony  with 
whose  affairs  he  was  charged.  For  those  who  had 
eyes  to  see  it,  a  terror  and  a  woe  lowered  in  the  future 
of  Canada.  In  an  evil  hour  for  her,  the  Iroquois  had 
conquered  their  southern  neighbors,  the  Andastes,  who 
had  long  held  their  ground  against  them,  and  at  one 
time  threatened  them  with  ruin.  The  hands  of  the 
confederates  were  now  free ;  their  arrogance  was  re- 
doubled by  victory,  and  having  long  before  destroyed 
all  the  adjacent  tribes  on  the  north  and  west,  ^  they 
looked  for  fresh  victims  in  the  wilderness  beyond. 
Their  most  easterly  tribe,  the  Mohawks,  had  not  for- 
gotten the  chastisement  they  had  received  from  Tracy 
and  Courcelle.  They  had  learned  to  fear  the  French, 
and  were  cautious  in  offending  them ;  but  it  was  not 
so  with  the  remoter  Iroquois.  Of  these,  the  Senecas 
at  the  western  end  of  the  "Long  House,"  as  they 
called  their  fivefold  league,  were  by  far  the  most 
powerful,  for  they  could  muster  as  many  warriors  as 
all  the  four  remaining  tribes  together ;  and  they  now 
sought  to  draw  the  confederacy  into  a  series  of  wars, 
which,  though  not  directed  against  the  French,  threat- 
ened soon  to  involve  them.  Their  first  movement 
westward  was  against  the  tribes  of  the  Illinois.  I 
have  already  described  their  bloody  inroad  in  the 
summer  of  1680. ^  They  made  the  valley  of  the 
Illinois  a  desert,  and  returned  with  several  hundred 
prisoners,  of  whom  they  burned  those  that  were  use- 

^  Jesuits  in  North  America. 
*  Discoverj  of  the  Great  West. 


1680-82.]  IROQUOIS  POLICY.  79 

less,  and  incorporated  the  young  and  strong  into  their 
own  tribe. 

This  movement  of  the  western  Iroquois  had  a 
double  incentive,  —  their  love  of  fighting  and  their 
love  of  gain.  It  was  a  war  of  conquest  and  of  trade. 
All  the  five  tribes  of  the  league  had  become  dependent 
on  the  English  and  Dutch  of  Albany  for  guns, 
powder,  lead,  brandy,  and  many  other  things  that 
they  had  learned  to  regard  as  necessities.  Beaver- 
skins  alone  could  buy  them ;  but  to  the  Iroquois  the 
supply  of  beaver-skins  was  limited.  The  regions  of 
the  west  and  northwest,  the  upper  Mississippi  with 
its  tributaries,  and,  above  all,  the  forests  of  the  upper 
lakes,  were  occupied  by  tribes  in  the  interest  of  the 
French,  whose  missionaries  and  explorers  had  been 
the  first  to  visit  them,  and  whose  traders  controlled 
their  immense  annual  product  of  furs.  La  Salle,  by 
his  newly  built  fort  of  St.  Louis,  engrossed  the  trade 
of  the  Illinois  and  Miami  tribes;  while  the  Hurona 
and  Ottawas,  gathered  about  the  old  mission  of 
Michilimackinac,  acted  as  factors  for  the  Sioux,  the 
Winnebagoes,  and  many  other  remote  hordes.  Every 
summer  they  brought  down  their  accumulated  beaver- 
skins  to  the  fair  at  Montreal;  while  French  l^sh- 
rangers  roving  through  the  wilderness,  with  or 
without  licenses,   collected  many  more.^ 

It  was  the  purpose  of  the  Iroquois  to  master  all 
this  traffic,  conquer  the  tribes  who  had  possession  of 

1  Duchesneau,  Memoir  on  Western  Indians  in  N.  Y.  Colonial 
Docs.,  ix.  160. 


80  LE  FEBVRE  DE  LA  BARRE.  [1680-82. 

it,  and  divert  the  entire  supply  of  furs  to  themselves, 
and  through  themselves  to  the  English  and  Dutch. 
That  English  and  Dutch  traders  urged  them  on  is 
affirmed  by  the  French,  and  is  very  likely.  The 
accomplishment  of  the  scheme  would  have  ruined 
Canada.  Moreover,  the  Illinois,  the  Hurons,  the 
Ottawas,  and  all  the  other  tribes  threatened  by  the 
Iroquois,  were  the  allies  and  "children"  of  the 
French,  who  in  honor  as  in  interest  were  bound  to 
protect  them.  Hence,  when  the  Seneca  invasion  of 
the  Illinois  became  known,  there  was  deep  anxiety  in 
the  colony,  except  only  among  those  in  whom  hatred 
of  the  monopolist  La  Salle  had  overborne  every  con- 
sideration of  the  public  good.  La  Salle's  new  estab- 
lishment of  St.  Louis  was  in  the  path  of  the  invaders ; 
and  if  he  could  be  crushed,  there  was  wherewith  to 
console  his  enemies  for  all  else  that  might  ensue. 

Bad  as  was  the  posture  of  affairs,  it  was  made  far 
worse  by  an  incident  that  took  place  soon  after  the 
invasion  of  the  Illinois.  A  Seneca  chief  engaged  in 
it,  who  had  left  the  main  body  of  his  countrymen, 
was  captured  by  a  party  of  Winnebagoes  to  serve  as 
a  hostage  for  some  of  their  tribe  whom  the  Senecas 
had  lately  seized.  They  carried  him  to  Michili- 
mackinac,  where  there  chanced  to  be  a  number  of 
Illinois,  married  to  Indian  women  of  that  neighbor- 
hood. A  quarrel  ensued  between  them  and  the 
Seneca,  whom  they  stabbed  to  death  in  a  lodge  of 
the  Kiskakons,  one  of  the  tribes  of  the  Ottawas. 
Here  was  a  casus  belli  likely  to  precipitate  a  war  fatal 


1680-82.]  THE  INDIAN  ALLIES.  81 

to  all  the  tribes  about  Michilimackinac,  and  equally 
fatal  to  the  trade  of  Canada.  Frontenac  set  himself 
to  conjure  the  rising  storm,  and  sent  a  messenger 
to  the  Iroquois  to  invite  them  to  a  conference. 

He  found  them  unusually  arrogant.  Instead  of 
coming  to  him,  they  demanded  that  he  should  come 
to  them,  and  many  of  the  French  wished  him  to 
comply;  but  Frontenac  refused,  on  the  ground  that 
such  a  concession  would  add  to  their  insolence,  and 
he  declined  to  go  farther  than  Montreal,  or  at  the 
utmost  Fort  Frontenac,  the  usual  place  of  meeting 
with  them.  Early  in  August  he  was  at  Montreal, 
expecting  the  arrival  of  the  Ottawas  and  Hurons  on 
their  yearly  descent  from  the  lakes.  They  soon 
appeared,  and  he  called  them  to  a  solemn  council. 
Terror  had  seized  them  all.  "Father,  take  pity  on 
us,"  said  the  Ottawa  orator,  "for  we  are  like  dead 
men."  A  Huron  chief, -named  the  Rat,  declared  that 
the  world  was  turned  upside  down,  and  implored  the 
protection  of  Onontio,  "  who  is  master  of  the  whole 
earth."  These  tribes  were  far  from  harmony  among 
themselves.  Each  was  jealous  of  the  other,  and  the 
Ottawas  charged  the  Hurons  with  trying  to  make  favor 
with  the  common  enemy  at  their  expense.  Frontenac 
told  them  that  they  were  all  his  children  alike,  and 
advised  them  to  live  together  as  brothers,  and  make 
treaties  of  alliance  with  all  the  tribes  of  the  lakes.  At 
the  same  time,  he  urged  them  to  make  full  atonement 
for  the  death  of  the  Seneca  murdered  in  their  country, 
and  carefully  to  refrain  from  any  new  offence. 


82  LE  FEBVRE  DE  LA  BARRE.  [1680-82. 

Soon  after  there  was  another  arrival.     La  Forgt, 
the  officer  in  command  at  Fort  Frontenac,  appeared, 
bringing  with  him  a  famous   Iroquois   chief  called 
Decanisora  or  Tegannisorens,  attended  by  a  number 
of  warriors.     They  came  to  invite  Frontenac  to  meet 
the   deputies   of  the  five  tribes  at  Oswego,   within 
their  own  limits.     Frontenac 's  reply  was  character- 
istic :  "  It  is  for  the  father  to  tell  the  children  where 
to  hold   council,    not  for  the   children   to   tell  the 
father.     Fort  Frontenac  is  the  proper  place,  and  you 
should  thank  me  for  going  so  far  every  summer  to 
meet  you."     The   Iroquois    had    expressed    pacific 
intentions  towards  the   Hurons  and  Ottawas.     Foi 
this  Frontenac  commended  him,   but  added:    "The 
Illinois    also   are   children   of    Onontio,    and  hence 
brethren    of    the    Iroquois.     Therefore     they,    too, 
should  be  left  in  peace ;  for  Onontio  wishes  that  all 
his  family  should  live  together  in  union."     He  con- 
firmed his    words   with   a  huge   belt  of    wampum. 
Then,    addressing   the   flattered   deputy   as   a  great 
chief,  he  desired  him  to  use  his  influence  in  behalf  of 
peace,  and  gave  him  a  jacket  and  a  silk  cravat,  both 
trimmed  with  gold,  a  hat,   a  scarlet  ribbon,  and  a 
gun,   with  beads  for  his  wife,  and  red  cloth  for  his 
daughter.     The  Iroquois  went  home  delighted.^ 

Perhaps  on  this  occasion  Frontenac  was  too  confi- 
dent of  his  influence  over  the-  savage  confederates. 
Such  at  least  was  the  opinion  of  Lamberville,  Jesuit 
missionary  at  Onondaga,  the  Iroquois  capital.     From 

^  For  the  papers  on  this  affair,  see  N,  Y.  Colonial  Docs.,  ix. 


1682.]  HIS  BOASTS.  83 

what  he  daily  saw  around  him,  he  thought  the  peril 
so  imminent  that  concession  on  the  part  of  the  French 
was  absolutely  necessary,  since  not  only  the  Illinois, 
but  some  of  the  tribes  of  the  lakes,  were  in  danger  of 
speedy  and  complete  destruction.  "  Tegannisorens 
loves  the  French,"  he  wrote  to  Frontenac,  "but 
neither  he  nor  any  other  of  the  upper  Iroquois  fear 
them  in  the  least.  They  annihilate  our  allies,  whom 
by  adoption  of  prisoners  they  convert  into  Iroquois ; 
and  they  do  not  hesitate  to  avow  that  after  enriching 
themselves  by  our  plunder,  and  strengthening  them- 
selves by  those  who  might  have  aided  us,  they  will 
pounce  all  at  once  upon  Canada,  and  overwhelm  it  in 
a  single  campaign."  He  adds  that  within  the  past 
two  years  they  have  reinforced  themselves  by  more 
than  nine  hundred  warriors,  adopted  into  their 
tribes.^ 

Such  was  the  crisis  when  Frontenac  left  Canada  at 
the  moment  when  he  was  needed  most,  and  Le 
Febvre  de  la  Barre  came  to  supplant  him.  The  new 
governor  introduces  himself  with  a  burst  of  rodo- 
montade. "The  Iroquois,"  he  writes  to  the  King, 
"have  twenty -six  hundred  warriors.  I  will  attack 
them  with  twelve  hundred  men.  They  know  me 
before  seeing  me,  for  they  have  been  told  by  the 
English  how  roughly  I  handled  them  in  the  West 
Indies.''  This  bold  note  closes  rather  tamely;  for 
the  governor  adds,  "I  think  that  if  the  Iroquois 
believe  that  your  Majesty  would  have  the  goodness 

1  P.  Jean  de  LamherviUe  a  Frontenac^  20  Septemhre,  1682. 


84  LE  FEBVRE  DE  LA  BARRE.  [1682, 

to  give  me  some  help,  they  will  make  peace,  and  let 
our  allies  alone,  which  would  save  the  trouble  and 
expense  of  an  arduous  war."^  He  then  begs  hard 
for  troops ;  and  in  fact  there  was  great  need  of  them, 
for  there  were  none  in  Canada ;  and  even  Frontenao 
had  been  compelled  in  the  last  year  of  his  govern- 
ment to  leave  unpunished  various  acts  of  violence 
and  plunder  committed  by  the  Iroquois.  La  Barre 
painted  the  situation  in  its  blackest  colors,  declared 
that  war  was  imminent,  and  wrote  to  the  minister, 
*'  We  shall  lose  half  our  trade  and  all  our  reputation, 
if  we  do  not  oppose  these  haughty  conquerors.  "^ 

A  vein  of  gasconade  appears  in  most  of  his  letters, 
not  however  accompanied  with  any  conclusive  evi- 
dence of  a  real  wish  to  fight.  His  best  fighting  days 
were  past,  for  he  was  sixty  years  old;  nor  had  he 
always  been  a  man  of  the  sword.  His  early  life  was 
spent  in  the  law;  he  had  held  a  judicial  post,  and 
had  been  intendant  of  several  French  provinces. 
Even  the  military  and  naval  employments,  in  which 
he  afterwards  acquitted  himself  with  credit,  were 
due  to  the  part  he  took  in  forming  a  joint-stock 
company  for  colonizing  Cayenne.^    In  fact,  he  was 

1  La  Barre  au  Roy  (4  Octohre  ?),  1682. 

2  La  Barre  a  Seignelay,  1682. 

*  He  was  made  governor  of  Cayenne,  and  went  thither  with  Tracy 
in  1664.  Two  years  later,  he  gained  several  victories  over  the 
English,  and  recaptured  Cayenne,  which  they  had  taken  in  hig 
absence.  He  wrote  a  book  concerning  this  colony,  called  Descrip- 
tion de  la  France  iSquinoctiale.  Another  volume,  called  Journal  du 
Voyage  du  Sieur  de  la  Barre  en  la  Terre  Ferme  et  Isle  de  Cayenne. 
was  printed  at  Paris  in  1671. 


1682.]  HIS  SPECULATIONS.  65 

but  half  a  soldier;  and  it  was  perhaps  for  this  reason 
that  he  insisted  on  being  called,  not  Monsieur  le 
GouverneuTy  but  Monsieur  le  GSneral,  He  was  equal 
to  Frontenac  neither  in  vigor  nor  in  rank,  but  he  far 
surpassed  him  in  avidity.  Soon  after  his  arrival,  he 
wrote  to  the  minister  that  he  should  not  follow  the 
example  of  his  predecessors,  in  making  money  out  of 
his  government  by  trade;  and  in  consideration  of 
these  good  intentions  he  asked  for  an  addition  to  his 
pay.^  He  then  immediately  made  alliances  with 
certain  merchants  of  Quebec  for  carrying  on  an 
extensive  illicit  trade,  backed  by  all  the  power  of 
his  office. 

Now  ensued  a  strange  and  miserable  complication. 
Questions  of  war  mingled  with  questions  of  personal 
gain.  There  was  a  commercial  revolution  in  the 
colony.  The  merchants  whom  Frontenac  excluded 
from  his  ring  now  had  their  turn.  It  was  they  who, 
jointly  with  the  intendant  and  the  ecclesiastics,  had 
procured  the  removal  of  the  old  governor ;  and  it  was 
they  who  gained  the  ear  of  the  new  one.  Aubert  de 
la  Chesnaye,  Jacques  Le  Ber,  and  the  rest  of  their 
faction  now  basked  in  official  favor;  and  La  Salle, 
La  Forgt,  and  the  other  friends  of  Frontenac  were 
cast  out.  There  was  one  exception.  Greysolon  Du 
Lhut,  leader  of  coureurs  de  hois,  was  too  important 
to  be  thus  set  aside.  He  was  now  as  usual  in  the 
wilderness  of  the  north,  the  roving  chief  of  a  half 
savage  crew,  trading,  exploring,  fighting,  and  labor- 

*  La  Barre  a  Seignelay,  1682. 


86  LE  FEBVRE  DE  LA  BARRE.  [ICSa 

ing  with  persistent  hardihood  to  foil  the  rival  English 
traders  of  Hudson's  Bay.  Inducements  to  gain  his 
adhesion  were  probably  held  out  to  him  by  La  Barre 
and  his  allies :  be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that  he 
acted  in  harmony  with  the  faction  of  the  new  gover- 
nor. With  La  Foret  it  was  widely  different.  He 
commanded  Fort  Frontenac,  which  belonged  to  La 
Salle,  when  La  Barre 's  associates,  La  Chesnaye  and 
Le  Ber,  armed  with  an  order  from  the  governor, 
came  up  from  Montreal,  and  seized  upon  the  place 
with  all  that  it  contained.  The  pretext  for  this  out- 
rage was  the  false  one  that  La  Salle  had  not  fulfilled 
the  conditions  under  which  the  fort  had  been  granted 
to  him.  La  Foret  was  told  that  he  might  retain  his 
command  if  he  would  join  the  faction  of  La  Barre ; 
but  he  refused,  stood  true  to  his  chief,  and  soon  after 
lailed  for  France. 

La  Barre  summoned  the  most  able  and  experienced 
persons  in  the  colony  to  discuss  the  state  of  affairs. 
Their  conclusion  was  that  the  Iroquois  would  attack 
and  destroy  the  Illinois,  and,  this  accomplished,  turn 
upon  the  tribes  of  the  lakes,  conquer  or  destroy  them 
also,  and  ruin  the  trade  of  Canada.^  Dark  as  was 
the  prospect.  La  Barre  and  his  fellow-speculators 
flattered  themselves  that  the  war  could  be  averted 
for  a  year  at  least.  The  Iroquois  owed  their  triumphs 
as  much  to  their  sagacity  and  craft  as  to  their  extra- 
ordinary boldness  and  ferocity.     It  had  always  been 

*  Conference  on  the  State  of  Affairs  with  the  IroguoiSf  October,  1682, 
in  N.  Y.  Colonial  Docs.,  ix.  194. 


1683.]  HE  TAKES   ALARM.  W 

their  policy  to  attack  their  enemies  in  detail,  and 
while  destroying  one  to  cajole  the  rest.  There 
seemed  little  doubt  that  they  would  leave  the  tribes 
of  the  lakes  in  peace  till  they  had  finished  the  ruin 
of  the  Illinois;  so  that  if  these,  the  allies  of  the 
colony,  were  abandoned  to  their  fate,  there  would  be 
time  for  a  profitable  trade  in  the  direction  of 
Michilimackinac . 

But  hopes  seemed  vain  and  prognostics  illusory, 
when,  early  in  spring,  a  report  came  that  the  Seneca 
Iroquois  were  preparing  to  attack,  in  force,  not  only 
the  Illinois,  but  the  Hurons  and  Ottawas  of  the 
lakes.  La  Barre  and  his  confederates  were  in  dis- 
may. They  already  had  large  quantities  of  goods  at 
Michilimackinac,  the  point  immediately  threatened; 
And  an  officer  was  hastily  despatched,  with  men  and 
munitions,  to  strengthen  the  defences  of  the  place.  ^ 
A  small  vessel  was  sent  to  France  with  letters  beg- 
ging for  troops.  "I  will  perish  at  their  head,"  wrote 
La  Barre  to  the  King,  "  or  destroy  your  enemies ; "  ^ 
and  he  assures  the  minister  that  the  Senecas  must  be 
attacked  or  the  country  abandoned. ^  The  intendant, 
Meules,  shared  something  of  his  alarm,  and  informed 
the  King  that "  the  Iroquois  are  the  only  people  on  earth 
who  do  not  know  the  grandeur  of  your  Majesty.*'*     ' 

While  thus  appealing  to  the  King,  La  Barre  sent 
Charles  le  Moyne  as  envoy  to  Onondaga.     Through 

i  La  Barre  au  Ministre,  4  Novembref  1683. 
«  La  Barre  au  Roy,  30  Mai,  1683. 

•  La  Barre  au  Ministre,  30  Mai,  1683. 

*  MtuLes  au  Roy.  2  Juin,  1683. 


88  LE  FEBVRE  DE  LA  BAIIKE.  [1688. 

his  influence,  a  deputation  of  forty-three  Iroquois 
chiefs  was  sent  to  meet  the  governor  at  Montreal. 
Here  a  grand  council  was  held  in  the  newly  built 
church.  Presents  were  given  the  deputies  to  the 
value  of  more  than  two  thousand  crowns.  Soothing 
speeches  were  made  them ;  and  they  were  urged  not 
to  attack  the  tribes  of  the  lakes,  nor  to  plunder 
French  traders,  without  permission^  They  assented; 
and  La  Barre  then  asked,  timidly,  why  they  made 
war  on  the  Illinois.  "  Because  they  deserve  to  die, " 
haughtily  returned  the  Iroquois  orator.  La  Barre 
dared  not  answer.  They  complained  that  La  Salle 
had  given  guns,  powder,  and  lead  to  the  Illinois ;  or, 
in  other  words,  that  he  had  helped  the  allies  of  the 
colony  to  defend  themselves.  La  Barre,  who  hated 
La  Salle  and  his  monopolies,  assured  them  that  he 
should  be  punished.'^  It  is  affirmed,  on  good  author- 
ity, that  he  said  more  than  this,  and  told  them  they 
were    welcome    to    plunder    and    kill    him.^      The 

1  Soon  after  La  Barre's  arrival,  La  Chesnaye  is  said  to  have 
induced  him  to  urge  the  Iroquois  to  plunder  all  traders  who  were 
not  provided  with  passports  from  the  governor.  The  Iroquois  com- 
plied so  promptly  that  they  stopped  and  pillaged,  at  Niagara,  two 
canoes  belonging  to  La  Chesnaye  himself,  which  had  gone  up  the 
lakes  in  Frontenac's  time,  and  therefore  were  without  passports. 
Recueil  de  ce  gut  s'est  passe  en  Canada  au  Sujet  de  la  Guerre,  etc., 
depuis  Vannee  1682.  (Published  by  the  Historical  Society  of  Quebec.) 
This  was  not  the  only  case  in  which  the  weapons  of  La  Barre  and 
his  partisans  recoiled  against  themselves. 

2  Belmont,  Histoire  du  Canada  (a  contemporary  chronicle). 

*  See  Discovery  of  the  Great  West.  La  Barre  denies  the  assei^ 
tion,  and  says  that  he  merely  told  the  Iroquois  that  La  Salle  should 
b9  sent  home. 


1688.]  A  BRIEF  RESPITE.  89 

rapacious  old  man  was  playing  with  a  two-edged 
Bword. 

Thus  the  Illinois,  with  the  few  Frenchmen  who 
had  tried  to  defend  them,  were  left  to  perish;  and, 
in  return,  a  brief  and  doubtful  respite  was  gained  for 
the  tribes  of  the  lakes.  La  Barre  and  his  confederates 
took  heart  again.  Merchandise,  in  abundance,  was 
sent  to  Michilimackinac,  and  thence  to  the  remoter 
tribes  of  the  north  and  west.  The  governor  and  his 
partner.  La  Chesnaye,  sent  up  a  fleet  of  thirty 
canoes ;  ^  and  a  little  later  they  are  reported  to  have 
sent  more  than  a  himdred.  This  forest-trade  robbed 
the  colonists,  by  forestalling  the  annual  market  ol 
Montreal;  while  a  considerable  part  of  the  furs 
acquired  by  it  were  secretly  sent  to  the  English  and 
Dutch  of  New  York.  Thus  the  heavy  duties  of  the 
custom-house  at  Quebec  were  evaded ;  and  silver  coin 
was  received  in  payment,  instead  of  questionable  bills 
of  exchange. 2  Frontenac  had  not  been  faithful  to 
his  trust;  but,  compared  to  his  successor,  he  was  a 
model  of  official  virtue. 

La  Barre  busied  himself  with  ostentatious  prepara- 
tion for  war;  built  vessels  at  Fort  Frontenac,  and 
sent  up  fleets  of  canoes,  laden  or  partly  laden  with 
munitions.     But  his  accusers  say  that  the   King's 

*  M^moire  adress^  a  MM.  les  Int&ess€s  en  la  Soci€t€  de  la  Ferme 
et  Commerce  du  Canada,  1683. 

'  Tliese  statements  are  made  in  a  memorial  of  the  agents  of  the 
custom-house,  in  letters  of  Meules,  and  in  several  other  quarters. 
La  Barre  is  accused  of  sending  furs  to  Albany  under  pretext  of 
oflSlcial  communication  with  the  governor  of  New  York. 


90  LE  FEBVRE  DE  LA  BARRE.  [1683-84. 

canoes  were  used  to  transport  the  governor's  goods, 
and  that  the  men  sent  to  garrison  Fort  Frontenac 
were  destined,  not  to  fight  the  Iroquois,  but  to  sell 
them  brandy.  "Last  year,"  writes  the  intendant, 
"  Monsieur  de  la  Barre  had  a  vessel  built,  for  which 
he  made  his  Majesty  pay  heavily; "  and  he  proceeds 
to  say  that  it  was  built  for  trade,  and  was  used  for 
no  other  purpose.  "If,'*  he  continues,  "the  two 
[King's]  vessels  now  at  Fort  Frontenac  had  not 
been  used  for  trading,  they  would  have  saved  us  half 
the  expense  we  have  been  forced  to  incur  in  trans- 
porting munitions  and  supplies.  The  pretended 
necessity  of  having  vessels  at  this  fort,  and  the  con- 
sequent employing  of  carpenters,  and  sending  up  of 
iron,  cordage,  sails,  and  many  other  things,  at  his 
Majesty's  charge,  was  simply  in  the  view  of  carrying 
on  trade."  He  says,  further,  that  in  May  last,  the 
vessels,  canoes,  and  men  being  nearly  all  absent  on 
this  errand,  the  fort  was  left  in  so  defenceless  a  state 
that  a  party  of  Senecas,  returning  from  their  winter 
hunt,  took  from  it  a  quantity  of  goods,  and  drank  as 
much  brandy  as  they  wanted.  "In  short,"  he  con- 
cludes, "  it  is  plain  that  Monsieur  de  la  Barre  uses  this 
fort  only  as  a  depot  for  the  trade  of  Lake  Ontario."  ^ 
In  the  spring  of  1683,  La  Barre  had  taken  a  step 
as  rash  as  it  was  lawless  and  unjust.  He  sent  the 
Chevalier  de  Baugis,  lieutenant  of  his  guard,  with  a 
considerable  number  of  canoes  and  men,  to  seize  La 

1  Meules  a  Seignelay,  8  Juillet,  1684.    This  accords  perfectly  with 
statements  made  in  several  memorials  of  La  Salle  and  his  friends. 


1684.]  HIS  ANGER  AND  HIS  FEARS.  91 

Salle's  fort  of  St.  Louis  on  the  river  Illinois,  —  a 
measure  which,  while  gratifying  the  passions  and 
the  greed  of  himself  and  his  allies,  would  greatly 
increase  the  danger  of  rupture  with  the  Iroquois. 
Late  in  the  season,  he  despatched  seven  canoes  and 
fourteen  men,  with  goods  to  the  value  of  fifteen  or 
sixteen  thousand  livres,  to  trade  with  the  tribes  of 
the  Mississippi.  As  he  had  sown,  so  he  reaped. 
The  seven  canoes  passed  through  the  country  of  the 
Illinois.  A  large  war-party  of  Senecas  and  Cayugas 
invaded  it  in  February.  La  Barre  had  told  their 
chiefs  that  they  were  welcome  to  plunder  the  canoes 
of  La  Salle.  The  Iroquois  were  not  discriminating. 
They  fell  upon  the  governor's  canoes,  seized  all  the 
goods,  and  captured  the  men.^  Then  they  attacked 
Baugis  at  Fort  St.  Louis.  The  place,  perched  on  a 
rock,  was  strong,  and  they  were  beaten  off ;  but  the 
act  was  one  of  open  war. 

When  La  Barre  heard  the  news,  he  was  furious.^ 
He  trembled  for  the  vast  amount  of  goods  which  he 
and  his  fellow-speculators  had  sent  to  Michilimackinac 

1  There  appears  no  doubt  that  La  Barre  brought  this  upon  him- 
self. His  successor,  Denonville,  writes  that  the  Iroquois  declared 
that  in  plundering  the  canoes  they  thought  they  were  executing  the 
orders  they  had  received  to  plunder  La  Salle's  people.  (Denonville, 
M€moire  adress€  au  Ministre  sur  les  Affaires  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  10 
Aout,  1688.)  The  Iroquois  told  Dongan,  in  1084, "  that  they  had  not 
don  any  thing  to  the  French  but  what  Monsr.  delaBarr  Ordered 
them,  which  was  that  if  they  mett  with  any  French  hunting  without 
his  passe  to  take  what  they  had  from  them."  Dongan  to  Denonville, 
9  September,  1687. 

2  "  Ce  qui  mit  M.  de  la  Barre  en  fureur."  Belmont,  Hittoirt  du 
Canada. 


92  LE  FEBVRE  DE  LA  BARRE.  [1684 

and  the  lakes.  There  was  but  one  resource,  —  to  call 
out  the  militia,  muster  the  Indian  allies,  advance  to 
Lake  Ontario,  and  dictate  peace  to  the  Senecas,  at 
the  head  of  an  imposing  force;  or,  failing  in  this, 
to  attack  and  crush  them.  A  small  vessel  lying 
at  Quebec  was  despatched  to  France,  with  urgent 
appeals  for  immediate  aid,  though  there  was  little 
hope  that  it  could  arrive  in  time.  She  bore  a  long 
letter,  half  piteous,  half  bombastic,  from  La  Barre  to 
the  King.  He  declared  that  extreme  necessity  and 
the  despair  of  the  people  had  forced  him  into  war, 
and  protested  that  he  should  always  think  it  a  privi- 
lege to  lay  down  his  life  for  his  Majesty.  "  I  cannot 
refuse  to  your  country  of  Canada,  and  your  faithful 
subjects,  to  throw  myself,  with  unequal  forces, 
against  the  foe,  while  at  the  same  time  begging  your 
aid  for  a  poor,  unhappy  people  on  the  point  of  falling 
victims  to  a  nation  of  barbarians."  He  says  that  the 
total  number  of  men  in  Canada  capable  of  bearing 
arms  is  about  two  thousand ;  that  he  received  last  year 
a  hundred  and  fifty  raw  recruits ;  and  that  he  wants, 
in  addition,  seven  or  eight  hundred  good  soldiers. 
"Recall  me,"  he  concludes,  "if  you  will  not  help  me, 
for  I  cannot  bear  to  see  the  country  perish  in  my 
hands."  At  the  same  time,  he  declares  his  intention 
to  attack  the  Senecas,  with  or  without  help,  about 
the  middle  of  August.  ^ 

Here  we  leave  him  for  a  while,  scared,  excited, 
and  blustering. 

1  Z«  Barre  au  Roy,  5  Juin,  1684. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

1684 
LA  BARRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS. 

DoFGAN.  —  New  York  and  its  Indian  Neighbors.  —  The  Rival 
Governors.  —  Dongan  and  the  Iroquois.  —  Mission  to  Onon- 
daga. —  An  Iroquois  Politician.  —  Warnings  of  LambeR' 
viLLE.  —  Iroquois  Boldness.  —  La  Barre  takes  the  Field: 
HIS  Motives.  —  The  March.  —  Pestilence.  —  Council  at  La 
Famine.  —  The  Iroquois  defiant.  —  Humiliation  of  La 
Barre.  — The  Indian  Allies.  — Their  Rage  and  Disappoint- 
ment.—  Recall  of  La  Barre. 

The  Dutch  colony  of  New  Netherland  had  now 
become  the  English  colony  of  New  York.  Its  pro- 
prietor, the  Duke  of  York,  afterwards  James  II.  of 
England,  had  appointed  Colonel  Thomas  Dongan  its 
governor.  He  was  a  Catholic  Irish  gentleman  of 
high  rank,  nephew  of  the  famous  Earl  of  Tyrconnel, 
and  presumptive  heir  to  the  earldom  of  Limerick. 
He  had  served  in  France,  was  familiar  with  its  lan- 
guage, and  partial  to  its  King  and  its  nobility;  but 
he  nevertheless  gave  himself  with  vigor  to  the  duties 
of  his  new  trust. 

The  Dutch  and  English  colonists  aimed  at  a  share 
in  the  western  fur-trade,   hitherto  a  monopoly  of 


94  LA  BARRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS.         [1684. 

Canada;  and  it  is  said  that  Dutch  traders  had  already 
ventured  among  the  tribes  of  the  Great  Lakes,  boldly 
poaching  on  the  French  preserves.  Dongan  did  his 
utmost  to  promote  their  interests,  so  far  at  least  as 
was  consistent  with  his  instructions  from  the  Duke 
of  York,  enjoining  him  to  give  the  French  governor 
no  just  cause  of  offence.^ 

For  several  years  past,  the  Iroquois  had  made 
forays  against  the  borders  of  Maryland  and  Virginia, 
plundering  and  killing  the  settlers;  and  a  declared 
rupture  between  those  colonies  and  the  savage  con- 
federates had  more  than  once  been  imminent.  The 
English  believed  that  these  hostilities  were  instigated 
by  the  Jesuits  in  the  Iroquois  villages.  There  is  no 
proof  whatever  of  the  accusation;  but  it  is  certain 
that  it  was  the  interest  of  Canada  to  provoke  a  war 
which  might,  sooner  or  later,  involve  New  York. 
In  consequence  of  a  renewal  of  such  attacks,  Lord 
Howard  of  Effingham,  governor  of  Virginia,  came  to 
Albany  in  the  summer  of  1684,  to  hold  a  council 
with  the  Iroquois. 

1  Sir  John  Werden  to  Dongan,  4  December,  1684 ;  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs., 
iii.  353.    Werden  was  the  duke's  secretary. 

Dongan  has  been  charged  with  instigating  the  Iroquois  to  attack 
the  French.  The  Jesuit  Lamberville,  writing  from  Onondaga,  says, 
on  the  contrary,  that  he  hears  that  the  "  governor  of  New  England 
[New  York],  when  the  Mohawk  chiefs  asked  him  to  continue  the 
sale  of  powder  to  them,  replied  that  it  should  be  continued  so  long 
as  they  would  not  make  war  on  Christians."  Lamberville  a  La  Barre, 
10  F^vrier,  1684. 

The  French  ambassador  at  London  complained  that  Dongan  ex- 
cited the  Iroquois  to  war,  and  Dongan  denied  the  charge.  N.  Y 
Col.  Docs.,  iii.  606,  609. 


1684.]  ENGLISH  AND  IROQUOIS.  95 

The  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  and  Cayugas  were  the 
offending  tribes.  They  all  promised  friendship  for 
the  future.  A  hole  was  dug  in  the  courtyard  of  the 
council-house,  each  of  the  three  threw  a  hatchet  into 
it,  and  Lord  Howard  and  the  representative  of  Mary- 
land added  two  others ;  then  the  hole  was  filled,  the 
song  of  peace  was  sung,  and  the  high  contracting  par- 
ties stood  pledged  to  mutual  accord.  ^  The  Mohawks 
were  also  at  the  council,  and  the  Senecas  soon  after 
arrived;  so  that  all  the  confederacy  was  present  by 
its  deputies.  Not  long  before,  La  Barre,  then  in  the 
heat  of  his  martial  preparations,  had  sent  a  messenger 
to  Dongan  with  a  letter,  informing  him  that,  as  the 
Senecas  and  Cayugas  had  plundered  French  canoes 
and  assaulted  a  French  fort,  he  was  compelled  to 
attack  them,  and  begging  that  the  Dutch  and  English 
colonists  should  be  forbidden  to  supply  them  with 
arms.^  This  letter  produced  two  results,  neither  of 
them  agreeable  to  the  writer:  first,  the  Iroquois 
were  fully  warned  of  the  designs  of  the  French ;  and, 
secondly,  Dongan  gained  the  opportunity  he  wanted 
of  asserting  the  claim  of  his  King  to  sovereignty  over 
the  confederacy,  and  possession  of  the  whole  country 
south  of  the  Great  Lakes.  He  added  that  if  the 
Iroquois  had  done  wrong,  he  would  require  them,  as 
British  subjects,  to  make  reparation;  and  he  urged 
La   Barre,   for  the  sake  of  peace  between  the  two 

1  Report  of  Conferences  at  Albany,  in  Golden,  Hi$tory  of  the 
Five  Nations,  50  (ed.  1727,  Shea's  reprint). 
•  La  Barre  a  Dongan,  16  Juin,  1684. 


96  LA   BARRE   AND  THE  IROQUOIS.         [1684. 

colonies,    to  refrain  from  his  intended  invasion  of 
British  territory.^ 

Dongan  next  laid  before  the  assembled  sachems 
the  complaints  made  against  them  in  the  letter  of 
La  Barre.  They  replied  by  accusing  the  French  of 
carrying  arms  to  their  enemies,  the  Illinois  and  the 
Miamis.  " Onontio, "  said  their  orator,  "calls  us  his 
children,  and  then  helps  our  enemies  to  knock  us  in 
the  head."  They  were  somewhat  disturbed  at  the 
prospect  of  La  Barrels  threatened  attack ;  and  Dongan 
seized  the  occasion  to  draw  from  them  an  acknowl- 
edgment of  subjection  to  the  Duke  of  York,  promis- 
ing in  return  that  they  should  be  protected  from  the 
French.  They  did  not  hesitate.  "We  put  our- 
selves," said  the  Iroquois  speaker,  "under  the  great 
sachem  Charles,  who  lives  over  the  Great  Lake,  and 
under  the  protection  of  the  great  Duke  of  York, 
brother  of  your  great  sachem."  But  he  added  a 
moment  after,  "  Let  your  friend  [King  Charles]  who 
lives  over  the  Great  Lake  know  that  we  are  a  free 
people,  though  united  to  the  English."  ^  They  con- 
sented that  the  arms  of  the  Duke  of  York  should  be 
planted  in  their  villages,  being  told  that  this  would 
prevent  the  French  from  destroying  them.  Dongan 
now  insisted  that  they  should  make  no  treaty  with 
Onontio  without  his  consent;  and  he  promised  that 
if  their  country  should  be  invaded,  he  would  send 

*  Dongan  a  La  Barre,  24  Juin,  1684. 

*  Speech  of  the  Onondagas  and  Cayuga8,in  Colden,  Five  Nations, 
63  (1727). 


1684.]  MISSION  TO  ONONDAGA.  97 

four  hundred  horsemen  and  as  many  foot-soldiers  to 
their  aid. 

As  for  the  acknowledgment  of  subjection  to  the 
King  and  the  Duke  of  York,  the  Iroquois  neither 
understood  its  full  meaning  nor  meant  to  abide  by  it. 
What  they  did  clearly  understand  was,  that,  while 
they  recognized  Onontio,  the  governor  of  Canada,  as 
their  father,  they  recognized  Corlaer,  the  governor 
of  New  York,  only  as  their  brother.  ^  Dongan,  it 
seems,  could  not,  or  dared  not,  change  this  mark  of 
equality.  He  did  his  best,  however,  to  make  good 
his  claims,  and  sent  Arnold  Viele,  a  Dutch  inter- 
preter, as  his  envoy  to  Onondaga.  Viele  set  out  for 
the  Iroquois  capital,  and  thither  we  will  follow  him. 

He  mounted  his  horse,  and  in  the  heats  of  August 
rode  westward  along  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk.  On 
a  hill  a  bow-shot  from  the  river,  he  saw  the  first 
Mohawk  town,  Kaghnawaga,  encircled  by  a  strong 
palisade.  Next  he  stopped  for  a  time  at  Gandagaro, 
on  a  meadow  near  the  bank ;  and  next,  at  Canajora, 
on  a  plain  two  miles  away.  Tionondogu^,  the  last 
and  strongest  of  these  fortified  villages,  stood  like 
the  first  on  a  hill  that  overlooked  the  river,  and  all 
the  rich  meadows  around  were  covered  with  Indian 
com.     The  largest  of  the  four  contained  but  thirty 

1  Except  the  small  tribe  of  the  Oneidas,  who  addressed  Corlaer 
as  "  Father.'*  Corlaer  was  the  official  Iroquois  name  of  the  gover- 
nor of  New  York ;  Onas  (the  Feather,  or  Pen),  that  of  the  governor 
of  Pennsylvania;  and  Assarigoa  (the  Big  Knife,  or  Sword),  that  of 
the  governor  of  Virginia.  Corlaer,  or  Cuyler,  was  the  name  of  a 
Dutchman  whom  the  Iroquois  held  in  great  respect. 

7 


&8  LA  BARRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS.         [1684. 

houses,  and  all  together  could  furnish  scarcely  more 
than  three  hundred  warriors.^ 

When  the  last  Mohawk  town  was  passed,  a  ride 
of  four  or  five  days  still  lay  before  the  envoy.  He 
held  his  way  along  the  old  Indian  trail,  —  now  traced 
through  the  grass  of  sunny  meadows,  and  now  tun- 
nelled through  the  dense  green  of  shady  forests,  — 
till  it  led  him  to  the  town  of  the  Oneidas,  containing 
about  a  hundred  bark-houses,  with  twice  as  many 
fighting  men,  the  entire  force  of  the  tribe.  Here, 
as  in  the  four  Mohawk  villages,  he  planted  the 
scutcheon  of  the  Duke  of  York,  and,  still  advancing, 
came  at  length  to  a  vast  open  space  where  the  rugged 
fields,  patched  with  growing  corn,  sloped  upwards 
into  a  broad,  low  hill,  crowned  with  the  clustered 
lodges  of  Onondaga.  There  were  from  one  to  two 
hundred  of  these  large  bark-dwellings,  most  of  them 
holding  several  families.  The  capital  of  the  confed- 
eracy was  not  fortified  at  this  time,  and  its  only 
defence  was  the  valor  of  some  four  hundred  warriors.  ^ 

In  this  focus  of  trained  and  organized  savagery, 
where  ferocity  was  cultivated  as  a  virtue,  and  every 
emotion  of  pity  stifled  as  unworthy  of  a  man ;  where 
ancient  rites,  customs,  and  traditions  were  held  with 

1  Journal  of  Wentworth  Greenhalgh,  1677,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iii. 
250. 

a  Journal  of  Greenhalgh.  The  site  of  Onondaga,  like  that  of  all 
the  Iroquois  towns,  was  changed  from  time  to  time,  as  the  soil  of 
the  neighborhood  became  impoverished,  and  the  supply  of  wood 
exhausted.  Greenhalgh,  in  1677,  estimated  the  warriors  at  three 
hundred  and  fifty ;  but  the  number  had  increased  of  late  by  the 
adoption  of  prisoners. 


1684.]  AN  IROQUOIS  POLITICIAN.  99 

the  tenacity  of  a  people  who  joined  the  extreme  of 
wildness  with  the  extreme  of  conservatism,  —  here 
burned  the  council-fire  of  the  five  confederate  tribes ; 
and  here,  in  time  of  need,  were  gathered  their  brav- 
est and  their  wisest  to  debate  high  questions  of  policy 
and  war. 

The  object  of  Viele  was  to  confirm  the  Iroquois  in 
their  very  questionable  attitude  of  subjection  to  the 
British  Crown,  and  persuade  them  to  make  no  treaty 
or  agreement  with  the  French,  except  through  the 
intervention  of  Dongan,  or  at  least  with  his  consent. 

The  envoy  found  two  Frenchmen  in  the  town, 
whose  presence  boded  ill  to  his  errand.  The  first 
was  the  veteran  colonist  of  Montreal,  Charles  le 
Moyne,  sent  by  La  Barre  to  invite  the  Onondagas 
to  a  conference.  They  had  known  him,  in  peace  or 
war,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century;  and  they  greatly 
respected  him.  The  other  was  the  Jesuit  Jean  de 
Lamberville,  who  had  long  lived  among  them,  and 
knew  them  better  than  they  knew  themselves.  Here, 
too,  was  another  personage  who  cannot  pass  unnoticed. 
He  was  a  famous  Onondaga  orator  named  Otr^ouati, 
and  called  also  Big  Mouth,  whether  by  reason  of  the 
dimensions  of  that  feature  or  the  greatness  of  the 
wisdom  that  issued  from  it.  His  contemporary, 
Baron  la  Hontan,  thinking  perhaps  that  his  French 
name  of  La  Grande  Gueule  was  wanting  in  dignity. 
Latinized  it  into  Grangula;  and  the  Scotchman, 
Colden,  afterwards  improved  it  into  Garangula,  undei 
which  high-sounding    appellation    Big    Mouth   has 


100  LA  BARRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS.         [1684. 

descended  to  posterity.  He  was  an  astute  old  savage, 
well  trained  in  the  arts  of  Iroquois  rhetoric,  and  gifted 
with  the  power  of  strong  and  caustic  sarcasm,  which 
has  marked  more  than  one  of  the  chief  orators  of  the 
confederacy.  He  shared  with  most  of  his  country- 
men the  conviction  that  the  earth  had  nothing  so 
great  as  the  league  of  the  Iroquois ;  but  if  he  could 
be  proud  and  patriotic,  so  too  he  could  be  selfish  and 
mean.  He  valued  gifts,  attentions,  and  a  good  meal, 
and  would  pay  for  them  abundantly  in  promises, 
which  he  kept  or  not,  as  his  own  interests  or  those  of 
his  people  might  require.  He  could  use  bold  and 
loud  words  in  public,  and  then  secretly  make  his 
peace  with  those  he  had  denounced.  He  was  so  given 
to  rough  jokes  that  the  intendant,  Meules,  calls  him 
a  buffoon;  but  his  buffoonery  seems  to  have  been 
often  a  cover  to  his  craft.  He  had  taken  a  prominent 
part  in  the  council  of  the  preceding  summer  at 
Montreal;  and  doubtless,  as  he  stood  in  full  dress 
before  the  governor  and  the  officers,  his  head  plumed, 
his  face  painted,  his  figure  draped  in  a  colored 
blanket,  and  his  feet  decked  with  embroidered  moc- 
casins, he  was  a  picturesque  and  striking  object. 
He  was  less  so  as  he  squatted  almost  naked  by  his 
lodge-fire,  with  a  piece  of  board  laid  across  his  lap, 
chopping  rank  tobacco  with  a  scalping-knife  to  fill 
his  pipe,  and  entertaining  the  grinning  circle  with 
grotesque  stories  and  obscene  jests.  Though  not  one 
of  the  hereditary  chiefs,  his  influence  was  great. 
"He  has  the  strongest  head  and  the  loudest  voice 


1684.]  WARNINGS  OF  LAMBERVILLE.  101 

among  the  Iroquois,"  wrote  Lamberville  to  La  Barre. 
"He  calls  himself  your  best  friend.  ...  He  is  a 
venal  creature,  whom  you  do  well  to  keep  in  pay.  I 
assured  him  I  would  send  him  the  jerkin  you 
promised."^  Well  as  the  Jesuit  knew  the  Iroquois, 
he  was  deceived  if  he  thought  that  Big  Mouth  was 
securely  won. 

Lamberville 's  constant  effort  was  to  prevent  a 
rupture.  He  wrote  with  every  opportunity  to  the 
governor,  painting  the  calamities  that  war  would 
bring,  and  warning  him  that  it  was  vain  to  hope  that 
the  league  could  be  divided,  and  its  three  eastern 
tribes  kept  neutral,  while  the  Senecas  were  attacked. 
He  assured  him,  on  the  contrary,  that  they  would 
all  unite  to  fall  upon  Canada,  ravaging,  burning, 
and  butchering  along  the  whole  range  of  defenceless 
settlements.  "You  cannot  believe.  Monsieur,  with 
what  joy  the  Senecas  learned  that  you  might  possibly 
resolve  on  war.  When  they  heard  of  the  prepara- 
tions at  Fort  Frontenac,  they  said  that  the  French 
had  a  great  mind  to  be  stripped,  roasted,  and  eaten; 
and  that  they  will  see  if  their  flesh,  which  they  sup- 
pose to  have  a  salt  taste,  by  reason  of  the  salt  which 
we  use  with  our  food,  be  as  good  as  that  of  their 
other  enemies."^  Lamberville  also  informs  the  gov- 
ernor that  the  Senecas  have  made  ready  for  any 
emergency, — buried  their  last  year's  com,  prepared 

1  Letters  of  Lamberville  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Lfocs.,  ix.  Foi-  specimens  of 
Big  Mouth's  skill  in  drawing,  see  Ibid.y  ix.  386. 

«  Lamberville  to  La  Barre,  11  July,  1684,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  ix.  26a 


102  LA  BARRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS.         [1684 

a  hiding-place  in  the  depth  of  the  forest  for  their  old 
men,  women,  and  children,  and  stripped  their  towns 
of  everything  that  they  value ;  and  that  their  fifteen 
hundred  warriors  will  not  shut  themselves  up  in 
forts,  but  fight  under  cover,  among  trees  and  in  the 
tall  grass,  with  little  risk  to  themselves  and  extreme 
danger  to  the  invader.  "There  is  no  profit,"  he 
says,  "in  fighting  with  this  sort  of  banditti,  whom 
you  cannot  catch,  but  who  will  catch  many  of  your 
people.  The  Onondagas  wish  to  bring  about  an 
agreement.  Must  the  father  and  the  children,  they 
ask,  cut  each  other's  throats?" 

The  Onondagas,  moved  by  the  influence  of  the 
Jesuit  and  the  gifts  of  La  Barre,  did  in  fact  wish  to 
«ct  as  mediators  between  their  Seneca  confederates 
gnd  the  French;  and  to  this  end  they  invited  the 
Seneca  elders  to  a  council.  The  meeting  took  place 
before  the  arrival  of  Viele,  and  lasted  two  days.  The 
Senecas  were  at  first  refractory,  and  hot  for  war,  but 
at  length  consented  that  the  Onondagas  might  make 
peace  for  them,  if  they  could,  —  a  conclusion  which 
was  largely  due  to  the  eloquence  of  Big  Mouth. 

The  first  act  of  Viele  was  a  blunder.  He  told  the 
Onondagas  that  the  English  governor  was  master  of 
their  country ;  and  that,  as  they  were  subjects  of  the 
King  of  England,  they  must  hold  no  council  with  the 
French  without  permission.  The  pride  of  Big  Mouth 
was  touched.  "You  say,"  he  exclaimed  to  the 
envoy,  "  that  we  are  subjects  of  the  King  of  England 
and  the   Duke   of  York;  but  we  say  that  we  are 


1684.]  LA  BARRE  TAKES  THE   FIELD.  103 

brothers.  We  must  take  care  of  ourselves.  The 
coat-of-arms  which  you  have  fastened  to  that  post 
cannot  defend  us  against  Onontio.  We  tell  you 
that  we  shall  bind  a  covenant  chain  to  our  arm  and 
to  his.  We  shall  take  the  Senecas  by  one  hand  and 
Onontio  by  the  other,  and  their  hatchet  and  his  sword 
shall  be  thrown  into  deep  water."  ^ 

Thus  well  and  manfully  did  Big  Mouth  assert  the 
independence  of  his  tribe,  and  proclaim  it  the  arbiter 
of  peace.  He  told  the  warriors,  moreover,  to  close 
their  ears  to  the  words  of  the  Dutchman,  who  spoke 
as  if  he  were  drunk ;  ^  and  it  was  resolved  at  last  that 
he,  Big  Mouth,  with  an  embassy  of  chiefs  and  elders, 
should  go  with  Le  Moyne  to  meet  the  French 
governor. 

While  these  things  were  passing  at  Onondaga,  La 
Barre  had  finished  his  preparations,  and  was  now  in 
full  campaign.  Before  setting  out,  he  had  written 
to  the  minister  that  he  was  about  to  advance  on  the 
enemy,  with  seven  hundred  Canadians,  a  hundred 
and  thirty  regulars,  and  two  hundred  mission  Indians ; 
that  more  Indians  were  to  join  him  on  the  way;  that 
Du  Lhut  and  La  Durantaye  were  to  meet  him  at 
Niagara  with  a  body  of  coureurs  de  hois  and  Indians 
from  the  interior;  and  that,  "when  we  are  all  united, 
we  will  perish  or  destroy  the  enemy.  "^     Qn  the  same 

1  Golden,  Five  Nations,  80  (1727). 

8  LambervilU  to  La  Barre,  28  August,  1684,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs. 
jc.  257. 

»  La  Barre  au  Ministre,  9  Juillet,  1684. 


104  LA  BARRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS.         [1684. 

day  he  wrote  to  the  King :  "  My  purpose  is  to  exter- 
minate the  Senecas ;  for  otherwise  your  Majesty  need 
take  no  further  account  of  this  country,  since  there 
is  no  hope  of  peace  with  them,  except  when  they  are 
driven  to  it  by  force.  I  pray  you  do  not  abandon  me ; 
and  be  assured  that  I  shall  do  my  duty  at  the  head  of 
your  faithful  colonists."^ 

A  few  days  after  writing  these  curiously  incoherent 
epistles,  La  Barre  received  a  letter  from  his  col- 
league, Meules,  who  had  no  belief  that  he  meant  to 
fight,  and  was  determined  to  compel  him  to  do  so,  if 
possible.  "There  is  a  report,"  wrote  the  intendant, 
"  that  you  mean  to  make  peace.  It  is  doing  great 
harm.  Our  Indian  allies  will  despise  us.  I  trust 
the  story  is  untrue,  and  that  you  will  listen  to  no 
overtures.  The  expense  has  been  enormous.  The 
whole  population  is  roused.  "^  Not  satisfied  with 
this,  Meules  sent  the  general  a  second  letter,  meant, 
like  the  first,  as  a  tonic  and  a  stimulant.  "If  we 
come  to  terms  with  the  Iroquois,  without  first  mak- 
ing them  feel  the  strength  of  our  arms,  we  may  expect 
that  in  future  they  will  do  everything  they  can  to 
humiliate  us,  because  we  drew  the  sword  against 
them,  and  showed  them  our  teeth.  I  do  not  think 
that  any  course  is  now  left  for  us  but  to  carry  the  war 
to  their  very  doors,  and  do  our  utmost  to  reduce 
them  to  such  a  point  that  they  shall  never  again  be 
heard  of  as  a  nation,  but  only  as  our  subjects  and 

^  La  Barre  au  Bot/,  meme  date. 

2  Meules  a  La  Barre,  15  Juillet,  1684.  , 


1684.]  ACCUSATIONS   OF  MEULES.  105 

slaves.  If,  after  having  gone  so  far,  we  do  not  fight 
them,  we  shall  lose  all  our  trade,  and  bring  this 
country  to  the  brink  of  ruin.  The  Iroquois,  and 
especially  the  Senecas,  pass  for  great  cowards.  The 
Reverend  Father  Jesuit,  who  is  at  Prairie  de  la 
Madeleine,  told  me  as  much  yesterday;  and  though 
he  has  never  been  among  them,  he  assured  me  that 
he  has  heard  everybody  say  so.  But  even  if  they 
were  brave,  we  ought  to  be  very  glad  of  it;  since 
then  we  could  hope  that  they  would  wait  our  attack, 
and  give  us  a  chance  to  beat  them.  If  we  do  not 
destroy  them,  they  will  destroy  us.  I  think  you  see 
but  too  well  that  your  honor  and  the  safety  of  the 
country  are  involved  in  the  results  of  this  war."^ 

While  Meules  thus  wrote  to  the  governor,  he  wrote 
also  to  the  minister,  Seignelay,  and  expressed  his 
views  with  great  distinctness :  "  I  feel  bound  in  con- 
science to  tell  you  that  nothing  was  ever  heard  of  so 
extraordinary  as  what  we  see  done  in  this  country 
every  day.  One  would  think  that  there  was  a 
divided  empire  here  between  the  King  and  the  gov- 
ernor; and  if  things  should  go  on  long  in  this  way, 
the  governor  would  have  a  far  greater  share  than  his 
Majesty.  The  persons  whom  Monsieur  la  Barre  has 
sent  this  year  to  trade  at  Fort  Frontenac  have  already 
shared  with  him  from  ten  to  twelve  thousand  crowns." 
He  then  recounts  numerous  abuses  and  malversations 


*  Meules  a  La  Barre,  14  Aout,  1684.  This  and  the  preceding 
letter  stand,  by  a  copyist's  error,  in  the  name  of  La  Barre.  They 
are  certainly  written  by  Meules. 


106  LA  BARRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS.         [1684. 

on  the  part  of  the  governor:  "In  a  word,  Mon- 
seigneur,  this  war  has  been  decided  upon  in  the  cabi- 
net of  Monsieur  the  general,  along  with  six  of  the 
chief  merchants  of  the  country.  If  it  had  not  served 
their  plans,  he  would  have  found  means  to  settle 
everything;  but  the  merchants  made  him  understand 
that  they  were  in  danger  of  being  plundered,  and 
that,  having  an  immense  amount  of  merchandise  in 
the  woods  in  nearly  two  hundred  canoes  fitted  out 
last  year,  it  was  better  to  make  use  of  the  people 
of  the  country  to  carry  on  war  against  the  Senecas. 
This  being  done,  he  hopes  to  make  extraordinary 
profits  without  any  risk,  because  one  of  two  things 
will  happen:  either  we  shall  gain  some  considerable 
advantage  over  the  savages,  as  there  is  reason  to 
hope,  if  Monsieur  the  general  will  but  attack  them 
in  their  villages ;  or  else  we  shall  make  a  peace  which 
will  keep  everything  safe  for  a  time.  These  are 
assuredly  the  sole  motives  of  this  war,  which  has  for 
principle  and  end  nothing  but  mere  interest.  He 
says  himself  that  there  is  good  fishing  in  troubled 
waters.^ 

1  The  famous  voyageur,  Nicolas  Perrot,  agrees  with  the  intendant 
"  lis  [La  Barre  et  ses  associes]  s'imagin^rent  que  sitost  que  le  Fran- 
9ois  viendroit  k  paroistre,  ITrroquois  luy  demanderoit  misericorde, 
qu'il  seroit  facile  d'establir  des  raagasins,  construire  des  barques 
dans  le  lac  Ontario,  et  que  c'estoit  un  moyen  de  trouver  des 
riohesses."  —  M^moire  sur  les  Mceurs,  Coustumes,  et  Relligion  des 
Sauvages,  chap.  xxi. 

The  Sulpitian,  Abb^  Belmont,  says  that  the  avarice  of  the  mer- 
chants was  the  cause  of  the  war ;  that  they  and  La  Barre  wished  to 
prevent  the  Iroquois  from  interrupting  trade ;   and  that  La  Barre 


ie84.J  THE  MARCH.  107 

"With  all  our  preparations  for  war,  and  all  the 
expense  in  which  Monsieur  the  general  is  involving 
his  Majesty,  I  will  take  the  liberty  to  tell  you,  Mon- 
seigneur,  though  I  am  no  prophet,  that  I  discover  no 
disposition  on  the  part  of  Monsieur  the  general  to 
make  war  against  the  aforesaid  savages.  In  my 
belief,  he  will  content  himself  with  going  in  a  canoe 
as  far  as  Fort  Frontenac,  and  then  send  for  the 
Senecas  to  treat  of  peace  with  them,  and  deceive  the 
people,  the  intendant,  and,  if  I  may  be  allowed  with 
all  possible  respect  to  say  so,  his  Majesty  himself. 

"P.  S.  — I  will  finish  this  letter,  Monseigneur,  by 
telling  you  that  he  set  out  yesterday,  July  10,  with 
a  detachment  of  two  hundred  men.  All  Quebec  was 
filled  with  grief  to  see  him  embark  on  an  expedition 
of  war  tete-d-tete  with  the  man  named  La  Chesnaye. 
Everybody  says  that  the  war  is  a  sham;  that  these 
two  will  arrange  everything  between  them,  and,  in 
a  word,  do  whatever  will  help  their  trade.  The 
whole  country  is  in  despair  to  see  how  matters  are 
managed."^ 

After  a  long  stay  at  Montreal,  La  Barre  embarked 
his  little  army  at  La  Chine,  crossed  Lake  St.  Louis, 
and  began  the  ascent  of  the  upper  St.  Lawrence. 
In  one  of  the  three  companies  of  regulars  which 
formed  a  part  of  the  force  was  a  young  subaltern,  the 

aimed  at  an  indemnity  for  the  sixteen  hundred  livres  in  merchandise 
which  the  Senecas  had  taken  from  his  canoes  early  in  the  year. 
Belmont  adds  that  he  wanted  to  bring  them  to  terms  without 
fighting. 

1  Meules  au  Ministre,  8-11  Juillet,  1684. 


108  LA  BARRE  AND  THE   IROQUOIS.         [168i 

Baron  la  Hontan,  who  has  left  a  lively  account  of  the 
expedition.  Some  of  the  men  were  in  flat-boats,  and 
some  were  in  birch  canoes.  Of  the  latter  was  La 
Hontan,  whose  craft  was  paddled  by  three  Canadians. 
Several  times  they  shouldered  it  through  the  forest 
to  escape  the  turmoil  of  the  rapids.  The  flat-boats 
could  not  be  so  handled,  and  were  dragged  or  pushed 
up  in  the  shallow  water  close  to  the  bank,  by  gangs 
of  militia-men,  toiling  and  struggling  among  the 
rocks  and  foam.  The  regulars,  unskilled  in  such 
matters,  were  spared  these  fatigues,  though  tormented 
night  and  day  by  swarms  of  gnats  and  mosquitoes, 
objects  of  La  Hontan's  bitterest  invective.  At 
length  the  last  rapid  was  passed,  and  they  moved 
serenely  on  their  way,  threaded  the  mazes  of  the 
Thousand  Islands,  entered  what  is  now  the  harbor  of 
Kingston,  and  landed  under  the  palisades  of  Fort 
Frontenac. 

Here  the  whole  force  was  soon  assembled,  —  the 
regulars  in  their  tents,  the  Canadian  militia  and  the 
Indians  in  huts  and  under  sheds  of  bark.  Of  these 
red  allies  there  were  several  hundred,  —  Abenakis 
and  Algonquins  from  Sillery,  Hurons  from  Lorette, 
and  converted  Iroquois  from  the  Jesuit  mission  of 
Saut  St.  Louis,  near  Montreal.  The  camp  of  the 
French  was  on  a  low,  damp  plain  near  the  fort ;  and 
here  a  malarious  fever  presently  attacked  them,  kill- 
ing many  and  disabling  many  more.  La  Hontan 
Bays  that  La  Barre  himself  was  brought  by  it  to  the 
Ijrink  of  the  grav^.     If  he  had  ever  entertained  any 


1684.1  LA  FAMINE.  109 

other  purpose  than  that  of  inducing  the  Senecas  to 
agree  to  a  temporary  peace,  he  now  completely  aban- 
doned it.  He  dared  not  even  insist  that  the  offend- 
ing tribe  should  meet  him  in  council,  but  hastened  to 
ask  the  mediation  of  the  Onondagas,  which  the  letters 
of  Lamberville  had  assured  him  that  they  were  dis- 
posed to  offer.  He  sent  Le  Moyne  to  persuade  them 
to  meet  him  on  their  own  side  of  the  lake,  and,  with 
such  of  his  men  as  were  able  to  move,  crossed  to  the 
mouth  of  Salmon  River,  then  called  La  Famine. 

The  name  proved  prophetic.  Provisions  fell  short 
from  bad  management  in  transportation,  and  the  men 
grew  hungry  and  discontented.  September  had 
begim;  the  place  was  unwholesome,  and  the  mala- 
rious fever  of  Fort  Frontenac  infected  the  new 
encampment.  The  soldiers  sickened  rapidly.  La 
Barre,  racked  with  suspense,  waited  impatiently  the 
return  of  Le  Moyne.  We  have  seen  already  the 
result  of  his  mission,  and  how  he  and  Lamberville, 
in  spite  of  the  envoy  of  the  English  governor,  gained 
from  the  Onondaga  chiefs  the  promise  to  meet 
Onontio  in  council.  Le  Moyne  appeared  at  La 
Famine  on  the  third  of  the  month,  bringing  with 
him  Big  Mouth  and  thirteen  other  deputies.  La 
Barre  gave  them  a  feast  of  bread,  wine,  and  salmon 
trout,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  fourth  the  council 
began. 

Before  the  deputies  arrived,  the  governor  had  sent 
the  sick  men  homeward  in  order  to  conceal  his  help- 
less condition ;  and  he  now  told  the  Iroquois  that  he 


110  LA  BARRE   AND  THE  IROQUOIS.         [1684. 

had  left  his  army  at  Fort  Frontenac,  and  had  come  to 
meet  them  attended  only  by  an  escort.  The  Onondaga 
politician  was  not  to  be  so  deceived.  He,  or  one  of 
his  party,  spoke  a  little  French ;  and  during  the  night, 
roaming  noiselessly  among  the  tents,  he  contrived  to 
learn  the  true  state  of  the  case  from  the  soldiers. 

The  council  was  held  on  an  open  spot  near  the 
French  encampment.  La  Barre  was  seated  in  an 
armchair.  The  Jesuit  Bruyas  stood  by  him  as  inter- 
preter, and  the  officers  were  ranged  on  his  right  and 
left.  The  Indians  sat  on  the  ground  in  a  row  oppo- 
site the  governor;  and  two  lines  of  soldiers,  forming 
two  sides  of  a  square,  closed  the  intervening  space. 

Among  the  officers  was  La  Hontan,  a  spectator  of 
the  whole  proceeding.  He  may  be  called  a  man  in 
advance  of  his  time ;  for  he  had  the  caustic,  sceptical, 
and  mocking  spirit  which  a  century  later  marked 
the  approach  of  the  great  revolution,  but  which  was 
not  a  characteristic  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  He 
usually  told  the  truth  when  he  had  no  motive  to  do 
otherwise,  and  yet  was  capable  at  times  of  prodigious 
mendacity.^  There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  he 
indulged  in  it  on  the  present  occasion,  and  his 
account  of  what  he  now  saw  and  heard  may  probably 
be  taken  as  substantially  correct.  According  to  him, 
La  Barre  opened  the  council  as  follows :  — 

1  La  Hontan  attempted  to  impose  on  his  readers  a  marvelloui 
Btory  of  pretended  discoveries  beyond  the  Mississippi ;  and  his  ill- 
repute  in  the  matter  of  veracity  is  due  chiefly  to  this  fabrication. 
On  the  other  hand,  his  account  of  what  he  saw  in  the  colony  is 
commonly  in  accord  with  the  best  contemporary  evidence. 


1084.]  SPEECH  OF  LA  BARRE.       '  111 

"The  King  my  master,  being  informed  that  the 
Five  Nations  of  the  Iroquois  have  long  acted  in  a 
manner  adverse  to  peace,  has  ordered  me  to  come 
with  an  escort  to  this  place,  and  to  send  Akouessan 
[Le  Moyne]  to  Onondaga  to  invite  the  principal 
chiefs  to  meet  me.  It  is  the  wish  of  this  great  King 
that  you  and  I  should  smoke  the  calumet  of  peace 
together,  provided  that  you  promise,  in  the  name  of 
the  Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  Cayugas,  and 
Senecas,  to  give  entire  satisfaction  and  indemnity  to 
his  subjects,  and  do  nothing  in  future  which  may 
occasion  rupture.'* 

Then  he  recounted  the  offences  of  the  Iroquois. 
First,  they  had  maltreated  and  robbed  French  traders 
in  the  country  of  the  Illinois;  "wherefore,"  said  the 
governor,  "  I  am  ordered  to  demand  reparation,  and 
in  case  of  refusal  to  declare  war  against  you.'* 

Next,  "the  warriors  of  the  Five  Nations  have 
introduced  the  English  into  the  lakes  which  belong 
to  the  King  my  master,  and  among  the  tribes  who 
are  his  children,  in  order  to  destroy  the  trade  of  his 
subjects,  and  seduce  these  people  from  the  obedience 
they  owe  him.  I  am  willing  to  forget  this;  but, 
should  it  happen  again,  I  am  expressly  ordered  to 
declare  war  against  you." 

Thirdly,  "  the  warriors  of  the  Five  Nations  have 
made  sundry  barbarous  inroads  into  the  country  of 
the  Illinois  and  Miamis,  seizing,  binding,  and  lead- 
ing into  captivity  an  infinite  number  of  these  savages 
in  time  of  peace.     They  are  the  children  of  my  King, 


112  LA  BARRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS.         [1684. 

and  are  not  to  remain  your  slaves.  They  must  at 
once  be  set  free  and  sent  home.  If  you  refuse  to  do 
this,  I  am  expressly  ordered  to  declare  war  against 
you." 

La  Barre  concluded  by  assuring  Big  Mouth,  as 
representing  the  Five  Nations  of  the  Iroquois,  that 
the  French  would  leave  them  in  peace  if  they  made 
atonement  for  the  past,  and  promised  good  conduct 
for  the  future;  but  that  if  they  did  not  heed  his 
words,  their  villages  should  be  burned,  and  they 
themselves  destroyed.  He  added,  though  he  knew 
the  contrary,  that  the  governor  of  New  York  would 
join  him  in  war  against  them. 

During  the  delivery  of  this  martial  harangue.  Big 
Mouth  sat  silent  and  attentive,  his  eyes  fixed  on  the 
bowl  of  his  pipe.  When  the  interpreter  had  ceased, 
he  rose,  walked  gravely  two  or  three  times  around 
the  lines  of  the  assembly,  then  stopped  before  the 
governor,  looked  steadily  at  him,  stretched  his  tawny 
arm,  opened  his  capacious  jaws,  and  uttered  himself 
as  follows :  — 

"  Onontio,  I  honor  you ;  and  all  the  warriors  who 
are  with  me  honor  you.  Your  interpreter  has  ended 
his  speech,  and  now  I  begin  mine.  Listen  to  my 
words. 

"  Onontio,  when  you  left  Quebec,  you  must  have 
thought  that  the  heat  of  the  sun  had  burned  the 
forests  that  make  our  country  inaccessible  to  the 
French,  or  that  the  lake  had  overflowed  them  so  that 
"we  could  not  escape  from  our  villages.     You  must 


16S4]  SPEECH  OF  BIG  MOUTH.  113 

have  thought  so,  Onontio;  and  curiosity  to  see  such 
a  fire  or  such  a  flood  must  have  brought  you  to  this 
place.  Now  your  eyes  are  opened;  for  I  and  my 
warriors  have  come  to  tell  you  that  the  Senecas, 
Cayugas,  Onondagas,  Oneidas,  and  Mohawks  are  all 
alive.  I  thank  you  in  their  name  for  bringing  back 
the  calumet  of  peace  which  they  gave  to  your  prede- 
cessors ;  and  I  give  you  joy  that  you  have  not  dug 
up  the  hatchet  which  has  been  so  often  red  with 
the  blood  of  your  countrymen. 

"  Listen,  Onontio.  I  am  not  asleep.  My  eyes  are 
open;  and  by  the  sun  that  gives  me  light  I  see  a 
great  captain  at  the  head  of  a  band  of  soldiers,  who 
talks  like  a  man  in  a  dream.  He  says  that  he  has 
come  to  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace  with  the  Onondagas ; 
but  I  see  that  he  came  to  knock  them  in  the  head,  if 
so  many  of  his  Frenchmen  were  not  too  weak  to 
fight.  I  see  Onontio  raving  in  a  camp  of  sick  men, 
whose  lives  the  Great  Spirit  has  saved  by  smiting 
them  with  disease.  Our  women  had  snatched  war- 
clubs,  and  our  children  and  old  men  seized  'bows  and 
arrows  to  attack  your  camp,  if  our  warriors  had  not 
restrained  them,  when  your  messenger,  Akouessan, 
appeared  in  our  village." 

He  next  justified  the  pillage  of  French  traders  on 
the  ground,  very  doubtful  in  this  case,  that  they 
were  carrying  arms  to  the  Illinois,  enemies  of  the 
confederacy;  and  he  flatly  refused  to  make  repara- 
tion, telling  La  Barre  that  even  the  old  men  of  his 

tribe  had  no  fear  of  the  French.     He  also  avowed 

8 


Jil4  LA  BARRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS.         [1684. 

boldly  that  the  Iroquois  had  conducted  English 
traders  to  the  lakes.  "We  are  born  free,"  he 
exclaimed:  "we  depend  neither  on  Onontio  nor  on 
Corlaer.  We  have  the  right  to  go  whithersoever  we 
please,  to  take  with  us  whomever  we  please,  and  buy 
and  sell  of  whomever  we  please.  If  your  allies  are 
your  slaves  or  your  children,  treat  them  like  slaves 
or  children,  and  forbid  them  to  deal  with  anybody 
but  your  Frenchmen. 

"  We  have  knocked  the  Illinois  in  the  head,  because 
they  cut  down  the  tree  of  peace  and  hunted  the 
beaver  on  our  lands.  We  have  done  less  than  the 
English  and  the  French,  who  have  seized  upon  the 
lands  of  many  tribes,  driven  them  away,  and  built 
towns,  villages,  and  forts  in  their  country. 

"Listen,  Onontio.  My  voice  is  the  voice  of  the 
Five  Tribes  of  the  Iroquois.  When  they  buried  the 
hatchet  at  Cataraqui  [Fort  Frontenac]  in  presence  of 
your  predecessor,  they  planted  the  tree  of  peace  in 
the  middle  of  the  fort,  that  it  might  be  a  post  of 
traders  and  not  of  soldiers.  Take  care  that  all  the 
soldiers  you  have  brought  with  you,  shut  up  in  so 
small  a  fort,  do  not  choke  this  tree  of  peace.  I 
assure  you  in  the  name  of  the  Five  Tribes  that  our 
warriors  will  dance  the  dance  of  the  calumet  under 
its  branches;  and  that  they  will  sit  quiet  on  their 
mats  and  never  dig  up  the  hatchet,  till  their  brothers, 
Onontio  and  Corlaer,  separately  or  together,  make 
ready  to  attack  the  country  that  the  Great  Spirit  has 
given  to  our  ancestors.'* 


1684.]  HUMILIATION  OF  LA  BAllRE.  116 

The  session  presently  closed;  and  La  Barre  with- 
drew to  his  tent,  where,  according  to  La  Hontan,  he 
vented  his  feelings  in  invective,  till  reminded  that 
good  manners  were  not  to  be  expected  from  an 
Iroquois.  Big  Mouth,  on  his  part,  entertained  some 
of  the  French  at  a  feast  which  he  opened  in  person 
by  a  dance. 

There  was  another  session  in  the  afternoon,  and 
the  terms  of  peace  were  settled  in  the  evening.  The 
tree  of  peace  was  planted  anew;  La  Barre  promised 
not  to  attack  the  Senecas ;  and  Big  Mouth,  in  spite 
of  his  former  declaration,  consented  that  they  should 
make  amends  for  the  pillage  of  the  traders.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  declared  that  the  Iroquois  would  fight 
the  Illinois  to  the  death;  and  La  Barre  dared  not 
utter  a  word  in  behalf  of  his  allies.  The  Onondaga 
next  demanded  that  the  council-fire  should  be  removed 
from  Fort  Frontenac  to  La  Famine,  in  the  Iroquois 
country.  This  point  was  yielded  without  resistance ; 
and  La  Barre  promised  to  decamp  and  set  out  for 
home  on  the  following  morning.^ 

Such  was  the  futile  and  miserable  end  of  the 
grand  expedition.  Even  the  promise  to  pay  for  the 
plundered  goods  was  contemptuously  broken.  ^  The 
honor  rested  with  the  Iroquois.     They  had  spurned 

^  The  articles  of  peace  will  be  found  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  ix.  236. 
Compare  Memoir  of  M.  de  la  Barre  regarding  the  War  against  tht 
Senecas,  Ibid.  239.  These  two  documents  do  not  agree  as  to  datQ 
—  one  placing  the  council  on  the  4th,  and  the  other  on  the  5th. 

*  This  appears  from  the  letters  of  Denonville,  La  Barrel- 
successor. 


116  LA  BARRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS.         [168i 

the  French,  repelled  the  claims  of  tlie  English,  and 
by  act  and  word  asserted  their  independence  of 
both. 

La  Barre  embarked,  and  hastened  home  in  advance 
of  his  men.  His  camp  was  again  full  of  the  sick. 
Their  comrades  placed  them,  shivering  with  ague- 
fits,  on  board  the  flat-boats  and  canoes;  and  the 
whole  force,  scattered  and  disordered,  floated  down 
the  current  to  Montreal.  Nothing  had  been  gained 
but  a  thin  and  flimsy  truce,  with  new  troubles  and 
dangers  plainly  visible  behind  it.  The  better  to 
understand  their  nature,  let  us  look  for  a  moment 
at  an  episode  of  the  campaign. 

When  La  Barre  sent  messengers  with  gifts  and 
wampum  belts  to  summon  the  Indians  of  the  upper 
lakes  to  join  in  the  war,  his  appeal  found  a  cold 
response.  La  Durantaye  and  Du  Lhut,  French  com- 
manders in  that  region,  vainly  urged  the  surrounding 
tribes  to  lift  the  hatchet.  None  but  the  Hurons 
would  consent,  when,  fortunately,  Nicolas  Perrot 
arrived  at  Michilimackinac  on  an  errand  of  trade. 
This  famous  coureur  de  hois  —  a  very  different  person 
from  Perrot,  governor  of  Montreal  —  was  well  skilled 
in  dealing  with  Indians.  Through  his  influence, 
their  scruples  were  overcome ;  and  some  five  hundred 
warriors  —  Hurons,  Ottawas,  O  jib  was,  Pottawata- 
mies,  and  Foxes  —  were  persuaded  to  embark  for  the 
rendezvous  at  Niagara,  along  with  a  hundred  or 
more  Frenchmen.  The  fleet  of  canoes,  numerous  as 
a  flock  of  blackbirds  in  autumn,  began  the  long  and 


1684.]  THE  INDIAN  ALLIES.  117 

weary  voyage.  The  two  commanders  had  a  heavy 
task.  Discipline  was  impossible.  The  French  were 
scarcely  less  wild  than  the  savages.  Many  of  them 
were  painted  and  feathered  like  their  red  companions, 
whose  ways  they  imitated  with  perfect  success.  The 
Indians,  on  their  part,  were  but  half-hearted  for 
the  work  in  hand,  for  they  had  already  discovered 
that  the  English  would  pay  twice  as  much  for  a 
beaver-skin  as  the  French;  and  they  asked  nothing 
better  than  the  appearance  of  English  traders  on 
the  lakes,  and  a  safe  peace  with  the  Iroquois,  which 
should  open  to  them  the  market  of  New  York.  But 
they  were  like  children  with  the  passions  of  men, 
inconsequent,  fickle,  and  wayward.  They  stopped 
to  hunt  on  the  shore  of  Michigan,  where  a  French- 
man accidentally  shot  himself  with  his  own  gun. 
Here  was  an  evil  omen.  But  for  the  efforts  of 
Perrot,  half  the  party  would  have  given  up  the  enter- 
prise, and  paddled  home.  In  the  Strait  of  Detroit 
there  was  another  hunt,  and  another  accident.  In 
firing  at  a  deer,  an  Indian  wounded  his  own  brother. 
On  this  the  tribesmen  of  the  wounded  man  proposed 
to  kill  the  French,  as  being  the  occasion  of  the  mis- 
chance. Once  more  the  skill  of  Perrot  prevailed; 
but  when  they  reached  the  Long  Point  of  Lake  Erie, 
the  Foxes,  about  a  hundred  in  number,  were  on  the 
point  of  deserting  in  a  body.  As  persuasion  failed, 
Perrot  tried  the  effect  of  taunts.  "  You  are  cowards,'' 
he  said  to  the  naked  crew,  as  they  crowded  about 
him  with  their  wild  eyes  and  long  lank  haii.     "You 


118  LA  BARRE   AND  THE  IROQUOIS.         [1684. 

do  not  know  what  war  is ;  you  never  killed  a  man 
and  you  never  ate  one,  except  those  that  were  given 
you  tied  hand  and  foot."  They  broke  out  against  him 
in  a  storm  of  abuse.  "  You  shall  see  whether  we  are 
men.  We  are  going  to  fight  the  Iroquois ;  and  unless 
you  do  your  part,  we  will  knock  you  in  the  head." 
"You  will  never  have  to  give  yourselves  the  trouble," 
retorted  Perrot,  "  for  at  the  first  war-whoop  you  will 
all  run  off."  He  gained  his  point.  Their  pride  was 
roused,  and  for  the  moment  they  were  full  of  fight.  ^ 

Immediately  after,  there  was  trouble  with  the 
Ottawas,  who  became  turbulent  and  threatening,  and 
refused  to  proceed.  With  much  ado,  they  were  per- 
suaded to  go  as  far  as  Niagara,  being  lured  by  the 
rash  assurance  of  La  Durantaye  that  three  vessels 
were  there,  loaded  with  a  present  of  guns  for  them. 
They  carried  their  canoes  by  the  cataract,  launched 
them  again,  paddled  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and 
looked  for  the  vessels  in  vain.  At  length  a  solitary 
sail  appeared  on  the  lake.  She  brought  no  guns,  but 
instead  a  letter  from  La  Barre,  telling  them  that 
peace  was  made,  and  that  they  might  all  go  home. 
Some  of  them  had  paddled  already  a  thousand  miles, 
in  the  hope  of  seeing  the  Senecas  humbled.  They 
turned  back  in  disgust,  filled  with  wrath  and  scorn 
against  the  governor  and  all  the  French.  Canada  had 
incurred  the  contempt,  not  only  of  enemies,  but  of 
allies.     There  was  danger  that  these  tribes  would 

1  La  Potherie,  ii.  159  (ed.  1722).  Perrot  himself,  in  his  Maeurs 
de$  Sauvages,  briefly  mentions  the  incident. 


1684.]  LAMBERVILLE'S  LETTER.  119 

repudiate  the  French  alliance,  welcome  the  English 
traders,  make  peace  at  any  price  with  the  Iroquois, 
and  cany  their  beaver-skins  to  Albany  instead  of 
Montreal. 

The  treaty  made  at  La  Famine  was  greeted  with 
contumely  through  all  the  colony.  The  governor 
found,  however,  a  comforter  in  the  Jesuit  Lamber- 
ville,  who  stood  fast  in  the  position  which  he  had 
held  from  the  beginning.  He  wrote  to  La  Barre: 
"You  deserve  the  title  of  savior  of  the  country  for 
making  peace  at  so  critical  a  time.  In  the  condition 
in  which  your  army  was,  you  could  not  have  advanced 
into  the  Seneca  country  without  utter  defeat.  The 
Senecas  had  double  palisades,  which  could  not  have 
been  forced  without  great  loss.  Their  plan  was  to 
keep  three  hundred  men  inside,  and  to  perpetually 
harass  you  with  twelve  hundred  others.  All  the 
Iroquois  were  to  collect  together,  and  fire  only  at  the 
legs  of  your  people,  so  as  to  master  them,  and  burn 
them  at  their  leisure,  and  then,  after  having  thinned 
their  numbers  by  a  hundred  ambuscades  in  the  woods 
and  grass,  to  pursue  you  in  your  retreat  even  to 
Montreal,  and  spread  desolation  around  it."^ 

La  Barre  was  greatly  pleased  with  this  letter,  and 
made  use  of  it  to  justify  himself  to  the  King.  His 
colleague,  Meules,  on  the  other  hand,  declared  that 
Lamberville,  anxious  to  make  favor  with  the  gover- 
nor, had  written  only  what  La  Barre  wished  to  hear. 

1  Lamberville  to  La  Barre,  9  October,  1684,  in  N.  Y.  Col  Docs.,  ix 
260. 


120  LA  BARRE  AND  THE  IROQUOIS.         [1684. 

The  intendant  also  informs  the  minister  that  La 
Barre's  excuses  are  a  mere  pretence;  that  everybody 
is  astonished  and  disgusted  with  him;  that  the 
sickness  of  the  troops  was  his  own  fault,  because  he 
kept  them  encamped  on  wet  ground  for  an  uncon- 
scionable length  of  time ;  that  Big  Mouth  shamefully 
befooled  and  bullied  him ;  that  after  the  council  at 
La  Famine  he  lost  his  wits,  and  went  off  in  a  fright; 
that  since  the  return  of  the  troops  the  officers  have 
openly  expressed  their  contempt  for  him;  and  that 
the  people  would  have  risen  against  him,  if  he, 
Meules,  had  not  taken  measures  to  quiet  them.^ 
These,  with  many  other  charges,  flew  across  the  sea 
from  the  pen  of  the  intendant. 

The  next  ship  from  France  brought  the  following 
letter  from  the  King :  — 

Monsieur  de  la  Barre,  —  Having  been  informed  that 
your  years  do  not  permit  you  to  support  the  fatigues  in- 
separable  from  your  office  of  governor  and  lieutenant' 
general  in  Canada,  I  send  you  this  letter  to  acquaint  you 
that  I  have  selected  Monsieur  de  Denonville  to  serve  in 
your  place;  and  my  intention  is  that,  on  his  arrival,  after 
resigning  to  him  the  command,  with  all  instructions  con- 
cerning it,  you  embark  for  your  return  to  France. 

Louis. 

La  Barre  sailed  for  home;  and  the  Marquis  de 
Denonville,  a  pious  colonel  of  dragoons,  assumed  the 
vacant  office. 

i  Meules  au  Ministre,  10  Octohre^  1684. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

1685-1687. 

DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN. 

Troubles  op  the  New  Governor:  his  Character.  —  EnglisB 
Rivalry.  —  Intrigues  of  Donoan.  —  English  Claims.  —  A 
Diplomatic  Duel.  —  Overt  Acts.  —  Anger  of  Denonville. 
—  James  II.  checks  Dongan.  —  Denonville  emboldened. — 
Strife  in  the  North.  —  Hudson's  Bat.  —  Attempted  Pacifi- 
cation.—  Artifice  of  Denonville  :  he  prepares  fob  War. 

Denonville  embarked  at  Rochelle  in  June,  with 
his  wife  and  a  part  of  his  family.  Saint- Vallier,  the 
destined  bishop,  was  in  the  same  vessel;  and  the 
squadron  carried  five  hundred  soldiers,  of  whom  a 
hundred  and  fifty  died  of  fever  and  scurvy  on  the 
way.^  Saint- Vallier  speaks  in  glomng  terms  of  the 
new  governor.  "He  spent  nearly  all  his  time  in 
prayer  and  the  reading  of  good  books.  The  Psalms 
of  David  were  always  in  his  hands.  In  all  the  voy^ 
age,  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.  "1 

1  SaintrVallier.  ^tat  Present  de  V:^glise,  4  (Quebec,  1856), 


122  DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN.  [1685. 

When  they  landed,  the  nuns  of  the  Hotel-Dieu 
were  overwhelmed  with  the  sick.  "Not  only  our 
halls,  but  our  church,  our  granary,  our  hen-yard, 
and  every  corner  of  the  hospital  where  we  could  make 
room,  were  filled  with  them."  ^ 

Much  was  expected  of  Denonville.  He  was  to 
repair  the  mischief  wrought  by  his  predecessor,  and 
restore  the  colony  to  peace,  strength,  and  security. 
The  King  had  stigmatized  La  Barre's  treaty  with 
the  Iroquois  as  disgraceful,  and  expressed  indigna- 
tion at  his  abandonment  of  the  Illinois  allies.  All 
this  was  now  to  be  changed ;  but  it  was  easier  to  give 
the  order  at  Versailles  than  to  execute  it  in  Canada. 
Denonville's  difficulties  were  great;  and  his  means 
of  overcoming  them  were  small.  What  he  most 
needed  was  more  troops  and  more  money.  The 
Senecas,  insolent  and  defiant,  were  still  attacking  the 
Illinois;  the  tribes  of  the  northwest  were  angry, 
contemptuous,  and  disaffected;  the  English  of  New 
York  were  urging  claims  to  the  whole  country  south 
of  the  Great  Lakes,  and  to  a  controlling  share  in  all 
the  western  fur-trade ;  while  the  English  of  Hudson's 
Bay  were  competing  for  the  traffic  of  the  northern 
tribes,  and  the  English  of  New  England  were  seizing 
upon  the  fisheries  of  Acadia,  and  now  and  then  mak- 
ing piratical  descents  upon  its  coast.  The  great 
question  lay  between  New  York  and  Canada.  Which 
of  these  two  should  gain  mastery  in  the  west  ? 
Denonville,  like  Frontenac,  was  a  man  of  the  army 

1  Juchereau,  Hdtel-Dieu,  283. 


1685.]  CONDITION  OF  THE  COLONY.  123 

and  the  court.  As  a  soldier,  he  had  the  experience 
of  thirty  years  of  service ;  and  he  was  in  high  repute, 
not  only  for  piety,  but  for  probity  and  honor.  He 
was  devoted  to  the  Jesuits,  an  ardent  servant  of  the 
King,  a  lover  of  authority,  filled  with  the  instinct  of 
subordination  and  order,  and,  in  short,  a  type  of  the 
ideas,  religious,  political,  and  social,  then  dominant 
in  France.  He  was  greatly  distressed  at  the  dis- 
turbed condition  of  the  colony;  while  the  state  of 
the  settlements,  scattered  in  broken  lines  for  two  or 
three  hundred  miles  along  the  St.  Lawrence,  seemed 
to  him  an  invitation  to  destruction.  "  If  we  have  a 
war, "  he  wrote,  "  nothing  can  save  the  country  but  a 
miracle  of  God." 

Nothing  was  more  likely  than  war.  Intrigues  were 
on  foot  between  the  Senecas  and  the  tiibes  of  the 
lakes,  which  threatened  to  render  the  appeal  to  arms 
a  necessity  to  the  French.  Some  of  the  Hurons  of 
Michilimackinac  were  bent  on  alljdng  themselves 
with  the  English.  "  They  like  the  manners  of  the 
French,"  wrote  Denonville,  "but  they  like  the  cheap 
goods  of  the  English  better."  The  Senecas,  in  col- 
lusion with  several  Huron  chiefs,  had  captured  a 
considerable  number  of  that  tribe  and  of  the  Ottawas. 
The  scheme  was  that  these  prisoners  should  be 
released,  on  condition  that  the  lake  tribes  should  join 
the  Senecas  and  repudiate  their  alliance  with  the 
French.^  The  governor  of  New  York  favored  this 
intrigue  to  the  utmost. 

1  Denonville  au  Ministre,  12  Juin,  1686. 


124  DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN.        Ll685-8a 

Denonville  was  quick  to  see  that  the  peril  of  the 
colony  rose,  not  from  the  Iroquois  alone,  but  from 
the  English  of  New  York,  who  prompted  them. 
Dongan  understood  the  situation.  He  saw  that  the 
French  aimed  at  mastering  the  whole  interior  of 
the  continent.  They  had  established  themselves  in 
the  valley  of  the  Illinois,  had  built  a  fort  on  the  lower 
Mississippi,  and  were  striving  to  intrench  themselves 
at  its  mouth.  They  occupied  the  Great  Lakes ;  and 
it  was  already  evident  that,  as  soon  as  their  resources 
should  permit,  they  would  seize  the  avenues  of  com- 
munication throughout  the  west.  In  short,  the 
grand  scheme  of  French  colonization  had  begun  to 
declare  itself.  Dongan  entered  the  lists  against 
them.  If  his  policy  should  prevail.  New  France 
would  dwindle  to  a  feeble  province  on  the  St. 
Lawrence:  if  the  French  policy  should  prevail,  the 
English  colonies  would  remain  a  narrow  strip  along 
the  sea.  Dongan's  cause  was  that  of  all  these 
colonies;  but  they  all  stood  aloof,  and  left  him  to 
wage  the  strife  alone.  Canada  was  matched  against 
New  York,  or  rather  against  the  governor  of  New 
York.  The  population  of  the  English  colony  was 
larger  than  that  of  its  rival;  but,  except  the  fur- 
traders,  few  of  the  settlers  cared  much  for  the  ques- 
tions at  issue.  1  Dongan's  chief  difficulty,  however, 
rose  from  the  relations  of  the  French  and  English 
kings.     Louis  XIV.  gave  Denonville  an  unhesitating 

1  New  York  had  about  18,000  inhabitants  (Brodhead,  Hist.  N,  Y., 
ii.  468).    Canada,  by  the  census  of  1685,  had  12,263. 


1685-86.]  INTRIGUES  OF  DONGAN.  126 

support.  James  II.,  on  the  other  hand,  was  for  a 
time  cautious  to  timidity.  The  two  monarchs  were 
closely  united.  Both  hated  constitutional  liberty, 
and  both  held  the  same  principles  of  supremacy  in 
Church  and  State;  but  Louis  was  triumphant  and 
powerful,  while  James,  in  conflict  with  his  subjects, 
was  in  constant  need  of  his  great  ally,  and  dared 
not  offend  him. 

The  royal  instructions  to  Denonville  enjoined  him 
to  humble  the  Iroquois,  sustain  the  allies  of  the 
colony,  oppose  the  schemes  of  Dongan,  and  treat  him 
as  an  enemy,  if  he  encroached  on  French  territory. 
At  the  same  time,  the  French  ambassador  at  the 
English  court  was  directed  to  demand  from  James 
II.  precise  orders  to  the  governor  of  New  York  for  a 
complete  change  of  conduct  in  regard  to  Canada  and 
the  Iroquois.^  But  Dongan,  like  the  French  gover- 
nors, was  not  easily  controlled.  In  the  absence  of 
money  and  troops,  he  intrigued  busily  with  his  Indian 
neighbors.  "The  artifices  of  the  English,"  wrote 
Denonville,  "  have  reached  such  a  point  that  it  would 
be  better  if  they  attacked  us  openly  and  burned  our 
settlements,  instead  of  instigating  the  Iroquois  against 
us  for  our  destruction.  I  know  beyond  a  particle  of 
doubt  that  M.  Dongan  caused  all  the  five  Iroquois 
nations  to  be  assembled  last  spring  at  Orange  [Albany], 
in  order  to  excite  them  against  us,  by  telling  them 
publicly  that  I  meant  to  declare  war  against  them." 

1  Seignelay  to  Barillon,  French  Ambassadoi'  at  London,  in  N.  Y. 
Col.  Docs.,  ix.  269. 


126       DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN.   [1685-86. 

He  says,  further,  that  Dongan  supplies  them  with 
arms  and  ammunition,  incites  them  to  attack  the 
colony,  and  urges  them  to  deliver  Lamberville,  the 
priest  at  Onondaga,  into  his  hands.  "He  has  sent 
people,  at  the  same  time,  to  our  Montreal  Indians  to 
entice  them  over  to  him,  promising  them  missionaries 
to  instruct  them,  and  assuring  them  that  he  would 
prevent  the  introduction  of  brandy  into  their  vil- 
lages. All  these  intrigues  have  given  me  not  a  little 
trouble  throughout  the  summer.  M.  Dongan  has 
written  to  me,  and  I  have  answered  him  as  a  man 
may  do  who  wishes  to  dissimulate  and  does  not  feel 
strong  enough  to  get  angry.  "^ 

Denonville,  accordingly,  while  biding  his  time, 
made  use  of  counter  intrigues,  and,  by  means  of 
the  useful  Lamberville,  freely  distributed  secret  or 
"  underground  "  presents  among  the  Iroquois  chiefs ; 
while  the  Jesuit  Engelran  was  busy  at  Michilimackinac 
in  adroit  and  vigorous  efforts  to  prevent  the  aliena- 
tion of  the  Hurons,  Ottawas,  and  other  lake  tribes. 
The  task  was  difficult;  and,  filled  with  anxiety,  the 
father  came  down  to  Montreal  to  see  the  governor, 
"and  communicate  to  me,"  writes  Denonville,  "the 
deplorable  state  of  affairs  with  our  allies,  whom  we 
can  no  longer  trust,  owing  to  the  discredit  into  which 
we  have  fallen  among  them,  and  from  which  we  can- 
not recover,  except  by  gaining  some  considerable 
advantage  over  the  Iroquois ;  who,  as  I  have  had  the 
honor  to  inform  you,  have  labored  incessantly  since 

*  Denonville  a  Seignelay,  8  Novembre,  1686. 


1685-86.]     DENONVILLE   ASKS  FOR  TROOPS.         127 

last  autumn  to  rob  us  of  all  our  allies,  by  using  every 
means  to  make  treaties  with  them  independently  of 
us.  You  may  be  assured,  Monseigneur,  that  the 
English  are  the  chief  cause  of  the  arrogance  and 
insolence  of  the  Iroquois,  adroitly  using  them  to 
extend  the  limits  of  their  dominion,  and  uniting  with 
them  as  one  nation,  insomuch  that  the  English  claims 
include  no  less  than  the  Lakes  Ontario  and  Erie, 
the  region  of  Saginaw  [Michigan],  the  country  of  the 
Hui'ons,  and  all  the  country  in  the  direction  of  the 
Mississippi."^ 

The  most  pressing  danger  was  the  defection  of  the 
lake  tribes.  "In  spite  of  the  King's  edicts,"  pursues 
Denonville,  "  the  coureurs  de  hois  have  carried  a  hun- 
dred barrels  of  brandy  to  Michilimackinac  in  a  single 
year ;  and  their  libertinism  and  debauchery  have  gone 
to  such  an  extremity  that  it  is  a  wonder  the  Indians 
have  not  massacred  them  all  to  save  themselves  from 
their  violence,  and  recover  their  wives  and  daughters 
from  them.  This,  Monseigneur,  joined  to  our  failure 
in  the  last  war,  has  drawn  upon  us  such  contempt 
among  all  the  tribes  that  there  is  but  one  way  to 
regain  our  credit,  which  is  to  humble  the  Iroquois  by 
our  unaided  strength,  without  asking  the  help  of  our 
Indian  allies.  "^  And  he  begs  hard  for  a  strong  rein- 
forcement of  troops. 

Without  doubt,  Denonville  was  right  in  thinking 
that  the  chastising  of  the  Iroquois,  or  at  least  the 
Senecas,  the  head  and  front  of  mischief,  was  a  mattei 

^  Denonville  a  Seignelaij,  12  Juin,  1686.  ^  /JtcJ. 


128  DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN.       [1685-8« 

of  the  last  necessity.  A  crushing  blow  dealt  against 
them  would  restore  French  prestige,  paralyze  English 
intrigue,  save  the  Illinois  from  destruction,  and 
confirm  the  wavering  allies  of  Canada.  Meanwhile, 
matters  grew  from  bad  to  worse.  In  the  north  and 
in  the  west,  there  was  scarcely  a  tribe  in  the  French 
interest  which  was  not  either  attacked  by  the  Senecas 
or  cajoled  by  them  into  alliances  hostile  to  the  colony. 
"We  may  set  down  Canada  as  lost,"  again  writes 
Denonville,  "if  we  do  not  make  war  next  year;  and 
yet,  in  our  present  disordered  state,  war  is  the  most 
dangerous  thing  in  the  world.  Nothing  can  save  us 
but  the  sending  out  of  troops  and  the  building  of 
forts  and  blockhouses.  Yet  I  dare  not  begin  to  build 
them ;  for  if  I  do,  it  will  bring  down  all  the  Iroquois 
upon  us  before  we  are  in  a  condition  to  fight  them." 
Nevertheless,  he  made  what  preparations  he  could, 
begging  all  the  while  for  more  soldiers,  and  carry- 
ing on  at  the  same  time  a  correspondence  with  his 
rival,  Dongan.  At  first,  it  was  courteous  on  both 
sides ;  but  it  soon  grew  pungent,  and  at  last  acrid. 
Denonville  wrote  to  announce  his  arrival,  and  Dongan 
replied  in  French:  "Sir,  I  have  had  the  honor  of 
receiving  your  letter,  and  greatly  rejoice  at  having 
so  good  a  neighbor,  whose  reputation  is  so  widely 
spread  that  it  has  anticipated  your  arrival.  I  have  a 
very  high  respect  for  the  King  of  France,  of  whose 
bread  I  have  eaten  so  much  that  I  feel  under  an 
obligation  to  prevent  whatever  can  give  the  least 
umbrage  to  our  masters.     M.  de  la  Barre  is  a  very 


1685-86.]  DIPLOMATIC   DUEL.  129 

worthy  gentleman,  but  he  has  not  written  to  me  in  a 
civil  and  befitting  style."  ^ 

Denonville  replied  with  many  compliments:  "I 
know  not  what  reason  you  may  have  had  to  be  dis- 
satisfied with  M.  de  la  Barre ;  but  I  know  very  well 
that  I  should  reproach  myself  all  my  life  if  I  could 
fail  to  render  to  you  all  the  civility  and  attention  due 
to  a  person  of  so  great  rank  and  merit.  In  regard  to 
the  affair  in  which  M.  de  la  Barre  interfered,  as  you 
write  me,  I  presume  you  refer  to  his  quarrel  with  the 
Senecas.  As  to  that.  Monsieur,  I  believe  you  under- 
stand the  character  of  that  nation  well  enough  to 
perceive  that  it  is  not  easy  to  live  in  friendship  with 
a  people  who  have  neither  religion,  nor  honor,  nor 
subordination.  The  King,  my  master,  entertains  af- 
fection and  friendship  for  this  country  solely  through 
zeal  for  the  establishment  of  religion  here,  and  the 
support  and  protection  of  the  missionaries  whose 
ardor  in  preaching  the  faith  leads  them  to  expose 
themselves  to  the  brutalities  and  persecutions  of  the 
most  ferocious  of  tribes.  You  know  better  than  I 
what  fatigues  and  torments  they  have  suffered  for 
the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ.  I  know  your  heart  is  pene- 
trated with  the  glory  of  that  name  which  makes  Hell 
tremble,  and  at  the  mention  of  which  all  the  powers 
of  Heaven  fall  prostrate.  Shall  we  be  so  unhappy  as 
to  refuse  them  our  master's  protection?  You  are  a 
man  of  rank  and  abounding  in  merit.  You  love  oui 
holy  religion.     Can  we  not  then  come  to  an  under- 

1  Dongan  to  Denonville,  13  October,  1686,  in  N.  Y,  Col.  Doct./uL291 

9 


130  DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN.       [1685- 

standing  to  sustain  our  missionaries  by  keeping  those 
fierce  tribes  in  respect  and  fear?" ^ 

This  specious  appeal  for  maintaining  French  Jesuits 
on  English  territory,  or  what  was  claimed  as  such, 
was  lost  on  Dongan,  Catholic  as  he  was.  He 
regarded  them  as  dangerous  political  enemies,  and 
did  his  best  to  expel  them,  and  put  English  priests  in 
their  place.  Another  of  his  plans  was  to  build  a  fort 
at  Niagara,  to  exclude  the  French  from  Lake  Erie. 
Denonville  entertained  the  same  purpose,  in  order  to 
exclude  the  English;  and  he  watched  eagerly  the 
moment  to  execute  it.  A  rumor  of  the  scheme  was 
brought  to  Dongan  by  one  of  the  French  coureurs  de 
hois,  who  often  deserted  to  Albany,  where  they  were 
welcomed  and  encouraged.  The  English  governor 
was  exceedingly  wroth.  He  had  written  before  in 
French  out  of  complaisance.  He  now  dispensed  with 
ceremony,  and  wrote  in  his  own  peculiar  English: 
"  I  am  informed  that  you  intend  to  build  a  fort  at 
Ohniagero  [Niagara]  on  this  side  of  the  lake,  within 
my  Master's  territoryes  without  question.  I  cannot 
beleev  that  a  person  that  has  your  reputation  in  the 
world  would  follow  the  steps  of  Monsr.  Labarr,  and 
be  ill  advized  by  some  interested  persons  in  your 
Governt.  to  make  disturbance  between  our  Masters 
subjects  in  those  parts  of  the  world  for  a  little  pelttree 
[peltry].  I  hear  one  of  the  Fathers  [the  Jesuit  Jean 
de  Lamberville]  is  gone  to  you,  and  th' other  that 
stayed  [Jacques  de  Lamberville]  I  have  sent  for  him 

*  DenonvilU  a  Dongan,  5  Juin,  1686,  N,  T.  Col.  Docs.,  iii.  456. 


1686.]  DIPLOMATIC   DUEL.  131 

here  lest  the  Indians  should  insult  over  him,  tho' 
it 's  a  thousand  pittys  that  those  that  have  made  such 
progress  in  the  service  of  God  should  be  disturbed, 
and  that  by  the  fault  of  those  that  laid  the  foundation 
of  Christianity  amongst  these  barbarous  people ;  set- 
ting apart  the  station  I  am  in,  I  am  as  much  Monsr. 
Des  Novilles  [Denonville's]  humble  servant  as  any 
friend  he  has,  and  will  ommit  no  opportunity  of 
manifesting  the  same.  Sir,  your  humble  servant, 
Thomas   Dongan."  ^ 

Denonville  in  reply  denied  that  he  meant  to  build 
a  fort  at  Niagara,  and  warned  Dongan  not  to  believe 
the  stories  told  him  by  French  deserters.  "  In  order," 
he  wrote,  "  that  we  may  live  on  a  good  understand- 
ing, it  would  be  well  that  a  gentleman  of  your  char- 
acter should  not  give  protection  to  all  the  rogues, 
vagabonds,  and  thieves  who  desert  us  and  seek  refuge 
with  you,  and  who,  to  gain  your  favor,  think  they 
cannot  do  better  than  tell  nonsensical  stories  about 
us,  which  they  will  continue  to  do  so  long  as  you 
listen  to  them."^ 

The  rest  of  the  letter  was  in  terms  of  civility,  to 
which  Dongan  returned :  "  Beleive  me  it  is  much  joy 
to  have  soe  good  a  neighbour  of  soe  excellent  qualifi- 
cations and  temper,  and  of  a  humour  altogether  differ- 
ing from  Monsieur  de  la  Barre,  your  predecessor, 
who  was  so  furious  and  hasty  and  very  much  addicted 
to  great  words,  as  if  I  had  bin  to  have  bin  frighted 

1  Dongan  to  Denonville,  22  May,  1686,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Doe§.,  iii.  46& 
*  Denonville  a  Dongan,  20  Juin,  1686. 


1S2       DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN.      [168«. 

by  them.  For  my  part,  I  shall  take  all  immaginable 
care  that  the  Fathers  who  preach  the  Holy  Gospell  to 
those  Indians  over  whom  I  have  power  bee  not  in  the 
least  ill  treated,  and  upon  that  very  accompfc  have 
sent  for  one  of  each  nation  to  come  to  me,  and  then 
those  beastly  crimes  you  reproove  shall  be  checked 
severely,  and  all  my  endevours  used  to  surpress 
their  filthy  drunkennesse,  disorders,  debauches,  war- 
ring, and  quarrels,  and  whatsoever  doth  obstruct 
the  growth  and  enlargement  of  the  Christian  faith 
amongst  those  people."  He  then,  in  reply  to  an 
application  of  Denonville,  promised  to  give  up 
"runawayes."^ 

Promise  was  not  followed  by  performance ;  and  he 
still  favored  to  the  utmost  the  truant  Frenchmen 
who  made  Albany  their  resort,  and  often  brought 
with  them  most  valuable  information.  This  drew 
an  angry  letter  from  Denonville :  "  You  were  so  good, 
Monsieur,  as  to  tell  me  that  you  would  give  up  all 
the  deserters  who  have  fled  to  you  to  escape  chastise- 
ment for  their  knavery.  As  most  of  them  are  bank- 
rupts and  thieves,  I  hope  that  they  will  give  you 
reason  to  repent  having  harbored  them,  and  that 
your  merchants  who  employ  them  will  be  punished 
for  trusting  such  rascals.  "^  To  the  great  wrath  of 
the  French  governor,  Dongan  persisted  in  warning 
the  Iroquois  that  he  meant  to  attack  them.  "You 
proposed.  Monsieur,"  writes  Denonville,  "to  submit 

1  Dongan  to  Denonville,  26  July,  1686,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iii  460 
•  Denonville  a  Dongan,  1  Octohre^  1686. 


16«6.]  DIPLOMATIC   DUEL.  188 

eyerything  to  the  decision  of  our  masters.  Never- 
theless, your  emissary  to  the  Onondagas  told  all  the 
Five  Nations  in  your  name  to  pillage  and  make  war 
on  us."  Next,  he  berates  his  rival  for  furnishing  the 
Indians  with  rum.  "Think  you  that  religion  will 
make  any  progress,  while  your  traders  supply  the 
savages  in  abundance  with  the  liquor  which,  as  you 
ought  to  know,  converts  them  into  demons  and  their 
lodges  into  counterparts  of  Hell  ?  " 

"Certainly,"  retorts  Dongan,  "our  Rum  doth  as 
little  hurt  as  your  Brandy,  and,  in  the  opinion  of 
Christians,  is  much  more  wholesome."^ 

Each  tried  incessantly  to  out-general  the  other. 
Denonville,  steadfast  in  his  plan  of  controlling  the 
passes  of  the  western  country,  had  projected  forts, 
not  only  at  Niagara,  but  also  at  Toronto,  on  Lake 
Erie,  and  on  the  Strait  of  Detroit.  He  thought  that 
a  time  had  come  when  he  could,  without  rashness, 
secure  this  last  important  passage;  and  he  sent  an 
order  to  Du  Lhut,  who  was  then  at  Michilimackinac, 
to  occupy  it  with  fifty  coureurs  de  hois,^  That  enter- 
prising chief  accordingly  repaired  to  Detroit,  and 
built  a  stockade  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Huron  on  the 
western  side  of  the  strait.  It  was  not  a  moment  too 
soon.  The  year  before,  Dongan  had  sent  a  party 
of  armed  traders  in  eleven  canoes,  commanded  by 
Johannes  Rooseboom,  a  Dutchman  of  Albany,  to 
carry  English  goods  to  the  upper  lakes.     They  traded 

1  Dongan  to  Denonville,  1  December,  1686,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iii.  462 
«  Denonville  a  Du  Lhut,  6  Juin,  1686. 


184  DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN.  [1686. 

successfully,  winning  golden  opinions  from  the 
Indians,  who  begged  them  to  come  every  year ;  and 
though  Denonville  sent  an  officer  to  stop  them  at 
Niagara,  they  returned  in  triumph,  after  an  absence 
of  three  months.^  A  larger  expedition  was  organized 
in  the  autumn  of  1686.  Rooseboom  again  set  out 
for  the  lakes  with  twenty  or  more  canoes.  He  was 
to  winter  among  the  Senecas,  and  wait  the  arrival  of 
Major  Mc Gregory,  a  Scotch  officer,  who  was  to  leave 
Albany  in  the  spring  with  fifty  men,  take  command 
of  the  united  parties,  and  advance  to  Lake  Huron, 
accompanied  by  a  band  of  Iroquois,  to  form  a  general 
treaty  of  trade  and  alliance  with  the  tribes  claimed 
by  France  as  her  subjects. ^ 

Denonville  was  beside  himself  at  the  news.  He 
had  already  urged  upon  Louis  XIV.  the  policy  of 
buying  the  colony  of  New  York,  which  he  thought 
might  easily  be  done,  and  which,  as  he  said,  "  would 
make  us  masters  of  the  Iroquois  without  a  war." 
This  time  he  wrote  in  a  less  pacific  mood :  "  I  have 
a  mind  to  go  straight  to  Albany,  storm  their  fort,  and 
burn  everything."  ^  And  he  begged  for  soldiers  more 
earnestly  than  ever.  "  Things  grow  worse  and  worse. 
The  English  stir  up  the  Iroquois  against  us,  and 
send  parties  to  Michilimackinac  to  rob  us  of  our 

1  Brodhead,  Hist,  of  New  York,  ii.  429 ;  Denonville  an  Ministre,  8 
Mai,  1686. 

2  Brodhead,  Hist,  of  New  York,  ii.  443;  Commission  of  Mc  Gregory, 
in  JV^.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  ix.  318. 

*  Denonville  au  Ministre,  16  Novembre,  1686. 


1686.]  DIPLOMATIC   DUEL.  185 

trade.  It  would  be  better  to  declare  war  against 
them  than  to  perish  by  their  intrigues."* 

Be  complained  bitterly  to  Dongan,  and  Dongan 
replied :  "  I  beleeve  it  is  as  lawfull  for  the  English  as 
the  French  to  trade  amongst  the  remotest  Indians. 
I  desire  you  to  send  me  word  who  it  was  that  pre- 
tended to  have  my  orders  for  the  Indians  to  plunder 
and  fight  you.  That  is  as  false  as  'tis  true  that  God 
is  in  heaven.  I  have  desired  you  to  send  for  the 
deserters.  I  know  not  who  they  are,  but  had  rather 
such  Rascalls  and  Bankrouts,  as  you  call  them,  were 
amongst  their  own  countrymen." ^  He  had,  never- 
theless, turned  them  to  good  account;  for,  as  the 
English  knew  nothing  of  western  geography,  they 
employed  these  French  bush-rangers  to  guide  their 
trading  parties.  Denonville  sent  orders  to  Du  Lhut 
to  shoot  as  many  of  them  as  he  could  catch. 

Dongan  presently  received  despatches  from  the 
English  court,  which  showed  him  the  necessity  of 
caution ;  and  when  next  he  wrote  to  his  rival,  it  was 
with  a  chastened  pen :  "  I  hope  your  Excellency  will 
be  so  kinde  as  not  desire  or  seeke  any  correspondence 
with  our  Indians  of  this  side  of  the  Great  lake 
[Ontario]:  if  they  doe  amisse  to  any  of  your  Gov- 
emmt.  and  you  make  it  known  to  me,  you  shall  have 
all  justice  done."  He  complained  mildly  that  the 
Jesuits  were  luring  their  Iroquois  converts  to  Canada,* 

*  Denonville  au  Ministre,  15  Octobre,  1686. 

2  Dongan  to  Denonville,  1  December,  1686;  Ibid.,  20  June,  1687,  in 
N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iii.  462.  465. 


186  DENONVILLE   AND  DONGAN.  [168 

"  and  jou  must  pardon  me  if  I  tell  you  that  is  not 
the  right  way  to  keepe  fair  correspondence.  I  am 
daily  expecting  Religious  men  from  England,  which 
I  intend  to  put  amongst  those  five  nations.  I  desire 
you  would  order  Monsr.  de  Lambervilie  that  soe  long 
as  he  stayes  amongst  those  people  he  would  meddle 
only  with  the  affairs  belonging  to  his  function.  Sir, 
I  send  you  some  Oranges,  hearing  that  they  are  a 
rarity  in  your  partes."  ^ 

" Monsieur, "  replies  Denonville,  "I  thank  you  for 
your  oranges.  It  is  a  great  pity  that  they  were  all 
rotten." 

The  French  governor,  unlike  his  rival,  felt  strong 
in  the  support  of  his  King,  who  had  responded  amply 
to  his  appeals  for  aid ;  and  the  temper  of  his  letters 
answered  to  his  improved  position.  "I  was  led, 
Monsieur,  to  believe,  by  your  civil  language  in  the 
letter  you  took  the  trouble  to  write  me  on  my  arrival, 
that  we  should  live  in  the  greatest  harmony  in  the 
world;  but  the  result  has  plainly  shown  that  your 
intentions  did  not  at  all  answer  to  your  fine  words." 
And  he  upbraids  him  without  measure  for  his  various 
misdeeds:  "Take  my  word  for  it.  Let  us  devote 
•  ourselves  to  the  accomplishment  of  our  masters'  will; 
let  us  seek,  as  they  do,  to  serve  and  promote  religion ; 
let  us  live  together  in  harmony,  as  they  desire.  I 
repeat  and  protest,  Monsieur,  that  it  rests  with  yon 
alone ;  but  do  not  imagine  that  I  am  a  man  to  suffer 
others  to  play  tricks  on  me.     I  willingly  believe  that 

1  Dongan  a  Denonville,  20  Juin,  1687,  in  N.  Y,  Col.  Docs.,  iii.  466 


1687.]  DIPLOMATIC  DUEL.  187 

you  have  not  ordered  the  Iroquois  to  plunder  oui 
Frenchmen;  but  whilst  I  have  the  honor  to  write  to 
you,  you  know  that  Salvaye,  Gideon  Petit,  and 
many  other  rogues  and  bankrupts  like  them,  are  with 
you,  and  boast  of  sharing  your  table.  I  should  not 
be  surprised  that  you  tolerate  them  in  your  country; 
but  I  am  astonished  that  you  should  promise  me  not 
to  tolerate  them,  that  you  so  promise  me  again,  and 
that  you  perform  nothing  of  what  you  promise. 
Trust  me.  Monsieur,  make  no  promise  that  you  are 
not  willing  to  keep."  ^ 

Denonville,  vexed  and  perturbed  by  his  long  strife 
with  Dongan  and  the  Iroquois,  presently  found  a 
moment  of  comfort  in  tidings  that  reached  him  from 
the  north.  Here,  as  in  the  west,  there  was  violent 
rivalry  between  the  subjects  of  the  two  crowns. 
With  the  help  of  two  French  renegades,  named 
Radisson  and  Groseilliers,  the  English  Company  of 
Hudson's  Bay,  then  in  its  infancy,  had  established  a 
post  near  the  mouth  of  Nelson  River,  on  the  western 
shore  of  that  dreary  inland  sea.  The  company  had 
also  three  other  posts  —  called  Fort  Albany,  Fort 
Hayes,  and  Fort  Rupert  —  at  the  southern  end  of  the 
bay.  A  rival  French  company  had  been  formed  in 
Canada,  under  the  name  of  the  "Company  of  the 
North;'*  and  it  resolved  on  an  effort  to  expel  its 
English  competitors.  Though  it  was  a  time  of  pro- 
found peace  between  the  two  kings,  Denonville 
warmly  espoused  the  plan ;  and  in  the  early  spring 

1  Denonville  a  Dongan,  21  Aout,  1687;  Ibid.,  no  date  (1687). 


138  DENONVILLE  AND  DONG  AN.  [168(1 

of  1686  lie  sent  the  Chevalier  de  Troyes  from 
Montreal,  with  eighty  or  more  Canadians,  to  execute 
it.^  With  Troyes  went  Iberville,  Sainte-Hdldne, 
and  Marie ourt,  three  of  the  sons  of  Charles  Le 
Moyne;  and  the  Jesuit  Silvy  joined  the  party  as 
chaplain. 

They  ascended  the  Ottawa,  and  thence,  from 
stream  to  stream  and  lake  to  lake,  toiled  painfully 
towards  their  goal.  At  length,  they  neared  Fort 
Hayes.  It  was  a  stockade  with  four  bastions, 
mounted  with  cannon.  There  was  a  strong  block- 
house within,  in  which  the  sixteen  occupants  of  the 
place  were  lodged,  unsuspicious  of  danger.  Troyes 
approached  at  night.  Iberville  and  Sainte-H^lfene 
with  a  few  followers  climbed  the  palisade  on  one 
side,  while  the  rest  of  the  party  burst  the  main  gate 
with  a  sort  of  battering-ram,  and  rushed  in,  yelling 
the  war-whoop.  In  a  moment,  the  door  of  the  block- 
house was  dashed  open,  and  its  astonished  inmates 
captured  in  their  shirts. 

The  victors  now  embarked  for  Fort  Rupert,  distant 
forty  leagues  along  the  shore.  In  construction,  it 
resembled  Fort  Hayes.  The  fifteen  traders  who  held 
the  place  were  all  asleep  at  night  in  their  blockhouse, 

I  The  Compagnie  du  Nord  had  a  grant  of  the  trade  of  Hudson's 
Bay  from  Louis  XIV.  The  bay  was  discovered  by  the  English, 
under  Hudson ;  but  the  French  had  carried  on  some  trade  there  be- 
fore the  establishment  of  Fort  Nelson.  Denonville's  commission  to 
Troyes  merely  directs  him  to  build  forts,  and  "  se  saisir  des  voleura 
coureurs  de  bois  et  autres  que  nous  savons  avoir  pris  et  arrStA 
plusieurs  de  nos  Fran9ois  commer9ants  avec  les  sauvages.*' 


1686.]  STRIFE  IN  THE  NORTH.  189 

when  the  Canadians  burst  the  gate  of  the  stockade 
and  swarmed  into  the  area.  One  of  them  mounted 
by  a  ladder  to  the  roof  of  the  building,  and  dropped 
lighted  hand-grenades  down  the  chimney,  which, 
exploding  among  the  occupants,  told  them  unmistak- 
ably that  something  was  wrong.  At  the  same  time, 
the  assailants  fired  briskly  on  them  through  the  loop- 
holes, and,  placing  a  petard  under  the  walls,  threat- 
ened to  blow  them  into  the  air.  Five,  including  a 
woman,  were  killed  or  wounded;  and  the  rest  cried 
for  quarter.  Meanwhile,  Iberville  with  another 
party  attacked  a  vessel  anchored  near  the  fort,  and 
climbing  silently  over  her  side,  found  the  man  on 
the  watch  asleep  in  his  blanket.  He  sprang  up  and 
made  fight,  but  they  killed  him,  then  stamped  on  the 
deck  to  rouse  those  below,  sabred  two  of  them  as 
they  came  up  the  hatchway,  and  captured  the  rest. 
Among  them  was  Bridger,  governor  for  the  company 
of  all  its  stations  on  the  bay. 

They  next  turned  their  attention  to  Fort  Albany, 
thirty  leagues  from  Fort  Hayes,  in  a  direction  oppo- 
site to  that  of  Fort  Rupert.  Here  there  were  about 
thirty  men,  under  Henry  Sargent,  an  agent  of  the 
company.  Surprise  was  this  time  impossible;  for 
news  of  their  proceedings  had  gone  before  them,  and 
Sargent,  though  no  soldier,  stood  on  his  defence. 
The  Canadians  arrived,  some  in  canoes,  some  in  the 
captured  vessel,  bringing  ten  captured  pieces  of 
cannon,  which  they  planted  in  battery  on  a  neighbor- 
ing hill,  well  covered  by  intrenchments  from  the 


140  DENONVILLE  AND  DONGAN.  [168flL 

English  shot.  Here  they  presently  opened  fire ;  and 
in  an  hour  the  stockade  with  the  houses  that  it 
enclosed  was  completely  riddled.  The  English  took 
shelter  in  a  cellar,  nor  was  it  till  the  fire  slackened 
that  they  ventured  out  to  show  a  white  flag  and  ask 
for  a  parley.  Troyes  and  Sargent  had  an  interview. 
The  Englishman  regaled  his  conqueror  with  a  bottle 
of  Spanish  wine;  and  after  drinking  the  health  of 
King  Louis  and  King  James,  they  settled  the  terms 
of  capitulation.  The  prisoners  were  sent  home  in  an 
English  vessel  which  soon  after  arrived ;  and  Maricourt 
remained  to  command  at  the  bay,  while  Troyes 
returned  to  report  his  success  to  Denonville.^ 

This  buccaneer  exploit  exasperated  the  English 
public,  and  it  became  doubly  apparent  that  the  state 
of  affairs  in  America  could  not  be  allowed  to  continue. 
A  conference  had  been  arranged  between  the  two 
powers,  even  before  the  news  came  from  Hudson's 
Bay;  and  Count  d'Avaux  appeared  at  London  as 
special  envoy  of  Louis  XIV.  to  settle  the  questions 
at  issue.  A  treaty  of  neutrality  was  signed  at 
Whitehall,    and  commissioners   were    appointed    on 


1  On  the  capture  of  the  forts  at  Hudson's  Bay,  see  La  Potherie, 
i.  147-163;  the  letter  of  Father  Silvy,  chaplain  of  the  expedition,  in 
iOaint-Vallier,  Etat  Present,  43;  and  Oldmixon,  British  Empire  in 
America,  i.  561-664  (ed.  1741).  An  account  of  the  preceding  events 
will  be  found  in  La  Potherie  and  Oldmixon ;  in  Jeremie,  Relation  de 
la  Baie  de  Hudson ;  and  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  ix.  796-802.  Various 
embellishments  have  been  added  to  the  original  narratives  by 
recent  writers,  such  as  an  imaginary  hand-to-hand  fight  of  Iberville 
and  several  Englishmen  in  the  blockhouse  of  Fort  Hayes. 


1686.]  TREATY  OP  NEUTRALITY.  141 

both  sides. ^  Pending  the  discussion,  each  party  was 
to  refrain  from  acts  of  hostility  or  encroachment; 
and,  said  the  declaration  of  the  commissioners,  "to 
the  end  the  said  agreement  may  have  the  better  effect, 
we  do  likewise  agree  that  the  said  serene  kings  shall 
immediately  send  necessary  orders  in  that  behalf  to 
their  respective  governors  in  America.  "^  Dongan 
accordingly  was  directed  to  keep  a  friendly  corre- 
spondence with  his  rival,  and  take  good  care  to  give 
him  no  cause  of  complaint.  ^ 

It  was  this  missive  which  had  dashed  the  ardor  of 
the  English  governor,  and  softened  his  epistolary 
style.  More  than  four  months  after,  Louis  XIV. 
sent  corresponding  instructions  to  Denonville ;  *  but, 
meantime,  he  had  sent  him  troops,  money,  and  muni- 
tions in  abundance,  and  ordered  him  to  attack  the 
Iroquois  towns.  Whether  such  a  step  was  consistent 
with  the  recent  treaty  of  neutrality  may  well  be 
doubted ;  for  though  James  II.  had  not  yet  formally 
claimed  the  Iroquois  as  British  subjects,  his  represen- 
tative had  done  so  for  years  with  his  tacit  approval, 
and  out  of  this  claim  had  risen  the  principal  differ- 
ences which  it  was  the  object  of  the  treaty  to  settle. 

^  Trait€  de  Neutrality  pour  VAm€rique,  conclu  a  Londres  le  16 
Novemhre,  1686,  in  Me'moires  des  Comntissaires,  ii.  86. 

*  Instrument  for  preventing  Acts  of  Hostility  in  America  in  N.  Y, 
Col  Docs.,  iii.  505. 

*  Order  to  Governor  Dongan,  22  January,  1687,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs^ 
iii.  504. 

*  Louis  XIV.  a  Denonville,  17  Juin,  1687.  At  the  end  of  March, 
the  King  had  written  that  "  he  did  not  think  it  expedient  to  make 
any  attack  on  the  English." 


142  DENONVILLE   AND  DONGAN.  [1687. 

Eight  hundred  regulars  were  already  in  the  colony, 
and  eight  hundred  more  were  sent  in  the  spring,  with 
a  hundred  and  sixty-eight  thousand  livres  in  money 
and  supplies.^  Denonville  was  prepared  to  strike. 
He  had  pushed  his  preparations  actively,  yet  with 
extreme  secrecy;  for  he  meant  to  fall  on  the  Senecas 
unawares,  and  shatter  at  a  blow  the  mainspring  of 
English  intrigue.  Harmony  reigned  among  the 
chiefs  of  the  colony,  military,  civil,  and  religious. 
The  intendant  Meules  had  been  recalled  on  the  com- 
plaints of  the  governor,  who  had  quarrelled  with 
him;  and  a  new  intendant,  Champigny,  had  been 
sent  in  his  place.  He  was  as  pious  as  Denonville 
himself,  and,  like  him,  was  in  perfect  accord  with 
the  bishop  and  the  Jesuits.  All  wrought  together 
to  promote  the  new  crusade. 

It  was  not  yet  time  to  preach  it,  or  at  least  Denon- 
ville thought  so.  He  dissembled  his  purpose  to  the 
last  moment,  even  with  his  best  friends.  Of  all  the 
Jesuits  among  the  Iroquois,  the  two  brothers  Lamber- 
ville  had  alone  held  their  post.  Denonville,  in  order 
to  deceive  the  enemy,  had  directed  these  priests  to 
urge  the  Iroquois  chiefs  to  meet  him  in  council  at 
Fort  Frontenac,  whither,  as  he  pretended,  he  was 
about  to  go  with  an  escort  of  troops,  for  the  purpose 
of  conferring  with  them.     The  two  brothers  received 


1  Abstract  of  Letters,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  ix.  314.  This  answers 
exactly  to  the  statement  of  the  M€moire  adress€  au  Regent,  which 
places  the  number  of  troops  in  Canada  at  this  time  at  thirtj-two 
companies  of  fifty  men  each. 


1687.]  PERIL  OF  LAMBERVILLE.  143 

no  hint  whatever  of  his  real  intention,  and  tried  in 
good  faith  to  accomplish  his  wishes ;  but  the  Iroquois 
were  distrustful,  and  hesitated  to  comply.  On  this, 
the  elder  Lamberville  sent  the  younger  with  letters 
to  Denonville  to  explain  the  position  of  affairs,  say- 
ing at  the  same  time  that  he  himself  would  not  leave 
Onondaga  except  to  accompany  the  chiefs  to  the 
proposed  council.  "The  poor  father,"  wrote  the 
governor,  "knows  nothing  of  our  designs.  I  am 
sorry  to  see  him  exposed  to  danger;  but  should  I 
recall  him,  his  withdrawal  would  certainly  betray  our 
plans  to  the  Iroquois."  This  unpardonable  reticence 
placed  the  Jesuit  in  extreme  peril ;  for  the  moment 
the  Iroquois  discovered  the  intended  treachery,  they 
would  probably  burn  him  as  its  instrument.  No  man 
in  Canada  had  done  so  much  as  the  elder  Lamber- 
ville to  counteract  the  influence  of  England  and 
serve  the  interests  of  France,  and  in  return  the  gov- 
ernor exposed  him  recklessly  to  the  most  terrible  of 
deaths.^ 

In  spite  of  all  his  pains,  it  was  whispered  abroad 
that  there  was  to  be  war ;  and  the  rumor  was  brought 
to  the   ears   of  Dongan   by  some  of  the  Canadian 

1  Denonville  au  Ministre,  9  Novembre,  1686;  Ibid.,  8  Juin,  1687 
Denonville  at  last  seems  to  have  been  seized  with  some  compunction, 
and  writes :  "  Tout  cela  me  fait  craindre  que  le  pauvre  pfere  n'ayt 
de  la  peine  a  se  retirer  d'entre  les  mains  de  ces  barbares  ce  qui 
m'inquiete  fort."  Dongan,  though  regarding  the  Jesuit  as  an 
insidious  enemy,  had  treated  him  much  better,  and  protected  him 
on  several  occasions,  for  which  he  received  the  emphatic  thankE  of 
Dablon,  superior  of  the  missions.  Dablon  to  Dongan  (1686  ? )  in 
N.  r.  Col.  Docs.,  iii.  464. 


144  DENONVILLE   AND  DONGAN.  [1687. 

deserters.  He  lost  no  time  in  warning  the  Iroquois, 
and  their  deputies  came  to  beg  his  help.  Danger 
humbled  them  for  the  moment;  and  they  not  only 
recognized  King  James  as  their  sovereign,  but  con- 
sented at  last  to  call  his  representative  Father  Corlaer 
instead  of  Brother.  Their  father,  however,  dared 
not  promise  them  soldiers;  though,  in  spite  of  the 
recent  treaty,  he  caused  gunpowder  and  lead  to  be 
given  them,  and  urged  them  to  recall  the  powerful 
war-parties  which  they  had  lately  sent  against  the 
Illinois.^ 

Denonville  at  length  broke  silence,  and  ordered 
the  militia  to  muster.  They  grumbled  and  hesitated, 
for  they  remembered  the  failures  of  La  Barre.  The 
governor  issued  a  proclamation,  and  the  bishop  a 
pastoral  mandate.  There  were  sermons,  prayers, 
and  exhortations  in  all  the  churches.  A  revulsion 
of  popular  feeling  followed;  and  the  people,  says 
Denonville,  "  made  ready  for  the  march  with  extra- 
ordinary animation."  The  Church  showered  bless- 
ings on  them  as  they  went,  and  daily  masses  were 
ordained  for  the  downfall  of  the  foes  of  Heaven 
and  of  France. 2 

1  Golden,  97  (1727),  Denonville  au  Ministre,  8  Juin,  1687. 

2  Saint- Vallier,  £tat  Present.  Even  to  the  moment  of  marching, 
Denonville  pretended  that  he  meant  only  to  hold  a  peace  council  at 
Fort  Frontenac.  "  J'ai  toujours  public  que  je  n'allois  qu'a  Tassem- 
ble'e  generale  projetee  k  Cataracouy  [Fort  Frontenac].  J'ai  toujours 
tenu  ce  discours  jusqu'au  temps  de  la  marche."  —  Denonville  au 
Ministre,  8  Jatn,  1687. 


CHAPTER   Vm. 

1687. 

DENONVELLE  AND  THE  SENEGAS. 

Treachery  op  Denonville.  —  Iroquois  Generosity.  —  This  In- 
vading Army.  —  The  Western  Allies.  —  Plunder  of  Eng- 
lish Traders.  —  Arrival  of  the  Allies.  —  Scene  at  the 
French  Camp.  —  March  of  Denonville.  —  Ambuscade.  — 
Battle.  —  Victory.  —  The  Seneca  Babylon.  —  Imperfect 
Success. 

A  HOST  of  flat-boats  filled  with  soldiers,  and  a  host 

of  Indian  canoes,  struggled  against  the  rapids  of  the 

St.   Lawrence,  arid  slowly  made  their  way  to  Fort 

Frontenac.     Among  the    troops    was    La    Hontan. 

When  on  his  arrival  he  entered  the  gate  of  the  fort, 

he  saw  a  strange  sight.     A  row  of  posts  was  planted 

across  the  area  within,  and  to  each  post  an  Iroquois 

was  tied  by  the  neck,   hands,  and  feet,  "  in  such  a 

way,"  says  the  indignant  witness,   "that  he   could 

neither    sleep  nor    drive   off    the   mosquitoes."     A 

number  of  Indians  attached  to  the  expedition,  all  of 

whom   were   Christian   converts    from    the   mission 

villages,   were  amusing  themselves  by  burning   the 

fingers  of  these  unfortunates  in  the  bowls  of  their 

pipes,   while   the   sufferers   sang   their   death-songs. 

La  Hontan  recognized  one  of  them  who,  during  his 

10 


146  DENONVILLE  AND  THE   SENEGAS.        [1887. 

campaign  with  La  Barre,  had  often  feasted  him  in 
his  wigwam ;  and  the  sight  so  exasperated  the  young 
officer  that  he  could  scarcely  refrain  from  thrashing 
the  tormentors  with  his  walking  stick.  ^ 

Though  the  prisoners  were  Iroquois,  they  were  not 
those  against  whom  the  expedition  was  directed ;  nor 
had  they,  so  far  as  appears,  ever  given  the  French 
any  cause  of  complaint.  They  belonged  to  two 
neutral  villages,  called  Kentd  and  Ganneious,  on  the 
north  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  forming  a  sort  of  colony, 
where  the  Sulpitians  of  Montreal  had  established  a 
mission.  2  They  hunted  and  fished  for  the  garrison 
of  the  fort,  and  had  been  on  excellent  terms  with  it. 
Denonville,  however,  feared  that  they  would  report 
his  movements  to  their  relatives  across  the  lake ;  but 
this  was  not  his  chief  motive  for  seizing  them.  Like 
La  Barre  before  him,  he  had  received  orders  from 
the  court  that,  as  the  Iroquois  were  robust  and 
strong,  he  should  capture  as  many  of  them  as  pos- 
sible, and  send  them  to  France  as  galley  slaves. ^  The 
order,  without  doubt,  referred  to  prisoners  taken  in 
war;  but  Denonville,  aware  that  the  hostile  Iroquois 
were  not  easily  caught,  resolved  to  entrap  their 
unsuspecting  relatives. 

The  intendant  Champigny  accordingly  proceeded 

1  La  Hontan,  i.  93-95  (1709). 

*  Ganneious,  or  Ganeyout,  was  on  an  arm  of  the  lake  a  little 
west  of  the  present  town  of  Fredericksburg.  Kente,  or  Quinte,  was 
on  Quinte  Bay. 

•  Le  Roy  a  La  Barre,  21  Juillet,  1684;  Le  Roy  a  Denonville  et 
Champigny,  30  Mars,  1687. 


1687.]  TREACHERY  OF  DENONVILLE.  147 

to  the  fort  in  advance  of  the  troops,  and  invited  the 
neighboring  Iroquois  to  a  feast.  They  came  to  the 
number  of  thirty  men  and  about  ninety  women  and 
children,  whereupon  they  were  surrounded  and  cap- 
tured by  the  intendant's  escort  and  the  two  hundred 
men  of  the  garrison.  The  inhabitants  of  the  village 
of  Ganneious  were  not  present ;  and  one  Perrd,  with 
a  strong  party  of  Canadians  and  Christian  Indians, 
went  to  secure  them.  He  acquitted  himself  of  his 
errand  with  great  address,  and  returned  with  eigh- 
teen warriors  and  about  sixty  women  and  children. 
Champigny's  exertions  did  not  end  here.  Learning 
that  a  party  of  Iroquois  were  peaceably  fishing  on  an 
island  in  the  St.  Lawrence,  he  offered  them  also  the 
hospitalities  of  Fort  Frontenac;  but  they  were  too 
wary  to  be  entrapped.  Four  or  five  Iroquois  were 
however  caught  by  the  troops  on  their  way  up  the 
river.  They  were  in  two  or  more  parties,  and  they 
all  had  with  them  their  women  and  children,  which 
was  never  the  case  with  Iroquois  on  the  war-path. 
Hence  the  assertion  of  Denonville,  that  they  came 
with  hostile  designs,  is  very  improbable.  As  for  the 
last  six  months  he  had  constantly  urged  them,  by  the 
lips  of  Lamberville,  to  visit  him  and  smoke  the  pipe 
of  peace,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  these 
Indian  families  were  on  their  way  to  the  colony  in 
consequence  of  his  invitations.  Among  them  were 
the  son  and  brother  of  Big  Mouth,  who  of  late  had 
been  an  advocate  of  peace;  and,  in  order  not  to 
alienate   him,   these   two  were  eventually  set  free. 


148  DENONVILLE   AND  THE   SENEGAS.        [1687. 

The  other  warriors  were  tied  like  the  rest  to  stakes 
at  the  fort. 

The  whole  number  of  prisoners  thus  secured  was 
fifty-one,  sustained  by  such  food  as  their  wives  were 
able  to  get  for  them.  Of  more  than  a  hundred  and 
fifty  women  and  children  captured  with  them,  many 
died  at  the  fort,  partly  from  excitement  and  distress, 
and  partly  from  a  pestilential  disease.  The  survivors 
were  all  baptized,  and  then  distributed  among  the 
mission  villages  in  the  colony.  The  men  were  sent 
to  Quebec,  where  some  of  them  were  given  up  to 
their  Christian  relatives  in  the  missions  who  had 
claimed  them,  and  whom  it  was  not  expedient  to 
ojffend ;  and  the  rest,  after  being  baptized,  were  sent 
to  France,  to  share  with  convicts  and  Huguenots 
the  horrible  slavery  of  the  royal  galleys.^ 

1  The  authorities  for  the  above  are  Denonville,  Champigny, 
Abb^  Belmont,  Bishop  Saint- Vallier,  and  the  author  of  Recueil  de  ce 
qui  s'est  pass€  en  Canada  au  Sujet  de  la  Guerre,  etc.,  depuis  l'ann€e 
1682. 

Belmont,  who  accompanied  the  expedition,  speaks  of  the  affair 
with  indignation,  which  was  shared  by  many  French  officers.  The 
bishop,  on  the  other  hand,  mentions  the  success  of  the  stratagem  as 
a  reward  accorded  by  Heaven  to  the  piety  of  Denonville.  £tat 
Present  de  I'^glise,  91,  92  (reprint,  1856). 

Denonville's  account,  which  is  sufficiently  explicit,  is  contained 
in  the  long  journal  of  the  expedition  which  he  sent  to  the  court, 
and  in  several  letters  to  the  minister.  Both  Belmont  and  the 
author  of  the  Recueil  speak  of  the  prisoners  as  having  been  "  pris 
par  I'appat  d'un  festin." 

Mr.  Shea,  usually  so  exact,  has  been  led  into  some  error  by  con- 
founding the  different  acts  of  this  affair.  By  Denonville's  official 
jo"hrnal,  it  appears  that,  on  the  nineteenth  June,  Perre,  by  his  order, 
captured  several  Indians  on  the  St.  Lawrence ;  that,  on  the  twenty- 


1687.]  IROQUOIS  GENEROSITY.  149 

Before  reaching  Fort  Frontenac,  Denonville,  to  his 
great  relief,  was  joined  by  Lamberville,  delivered 
from  the  peril  to  which  the  governor  had  exposed 
him.  He  owed  his  life  to  an  act  of  magnanimity  on 
the  part  of  the  Iroquois,  which  does  them  signal 
honor.  One  of  the  prisoners  at  Fort  Frontenac  had 
contrived  to  escape,  and,  leaping  sixteen  feet  to  the 
ground  from  the  window  of  a  blockhouse,  crossed  the 
lake,  and  gave  the  alarm  to  his  countrymen.  Appar- 
ently, it  was  from  him  that  the  Onondagas  learned 
that  the  invitations  of  Onontio  were  a  snare;  that 
he  had  entrapped  their  relatives,  and  was  about  to 
fall  on  their  Seneca  brethren  with  all  the  force  of 
Canada.  The  Jesuit,  whom  they  trusted  and  esteemed, 
but  who  had  been  used  as  an  instrument  to  beguile 
them,  was  summoned  before  a  council  of  the  chiefs. 
They  were  in  a  fury  at  the  news ;  and  Lamberville, 
as  much  astonished  by  it  as  they,  expected  instant 
death,  when  one  of  them  is  said  to  have  addressed 
him  to  the  following  effect :  "  We  know  you  too  well 
to  believe  that  you  meant  to  betray  us.  We  think 
that  you  have  been  deceived  as  well  as  we ;  and  we 
are  not  unjust  enough  to  punish  you  for  the  crime  of 
others.  But  you  are  not  safe  here.  When  once  our 
young  men  have  sung  the  war-song,  they  will  listen 
to  nothing  but  their  fury;  and  we  shall  not  be  able 

fifth  June,  the  governor,  then  at  Rapide  Plat  on  his  way  up  the 
river,  received  a  letter  from  Champigny,  informing  him  that  he  had 
seized  all  the  Iroquois  near  Fort  Frontenac ;  and  that,  on  the  third 
July,  Perre,  whom  Denonville  had  sent  several  days  before  to  attack 
Ganneious,  arrived  with  his  prisoners. 


150  DENONVILLE  AND  THE  SENEGAS.       [1687. 

to  save  you."    They  gave  him  guides,  and  sent  him 
by  secret  paths  to  meet  the  advancing  army.^ 

Again  the  fields  about  Fort  Frontenac  were  covered 
with  tents,  camp-sheds,  and  wigwams.  Regulars, 
militia,  and  Indians,  there  were  about  two  thousand 
men;  and,  besides  these,  eight  hundred  regulars  just 
arrived  from  France  had  been  left  at  Montreal  to 
protect  the  settlers. 2  Fortune  thus  far  had  smiled  on 
the  enterprise,  and  she  now  gave  Denonville  a  fresh 
proof  of  her  favor.  On  the  very  day  of  his  arrival, 
a  canoe  came  from  Niagara  with  news  that  a  large 
body  of  allies  from  the  west  had  reached  that  place 
three  days  before,  and  were  waiting  his  commands. 
It  was  more  than  he  had  dared  to  hope.  In  the 
preceding  autumn,  he  had  ordered  Tonty,  command- 
ing at  the  Illinois,  and  La  Durantaye,  commanding 
at  Michilimackinac,  to  muster  as  many  coureurs  de 

1  I  have  ventured  to  give  this  story  on  the  sole  authority  of 
Charlevoix,  for  the  contemporary  writers  are  silent  concerning  it. 
Mr.  Shea  thinks  that  it  involves  a  contradiction  of  date ;  but  this  is 
entirely  due  to  confounding  the  capture  of  prisoners  by  Perre'  at 
Ganneious  on  July  3  with  the  capture  by  Champigny  at  Fort 
Frontenac  about  June  20.  Lamberville  reached  Denonville's  camp, 
one  day's  journey  from  the  fort,  on  the  evening  of  the  twenty-ninth. 
{Journal  of  Denonville.)  This  would  give  four  and  a  half  days  for 
news  of  the  treachery  to  reach  Onondaga,  and  four  and  a  half  days 
for  the  Jesuit  to  rejoin  his  countrymen. 

Charlevoix,  with  his  usual  carelessness,  says  that  the  Jesuit 
Milet  had  also  been  used  to  lure  the  Iroquois  into  the  snare,  and 
that  he  was  soon  after  captured  by  the  Oneidas,  and  delivered  by 
an  Indian  matron.    Milet's  captivity  did  not  take  place  till  1689-90. 

2  Denonville.  Champigny  says  832  regulars,  930  militia,  and 
300  Indians.  This  was  when  the  army  left  Montreal.  More  Indians 
afterwards  joined  it.  Belmont  says  1,800  French  and  Canadians 
fQd  about  30Q  Indians. 


1687.]  THE  ENGLISH  ON   THE  LAKES.  151 

hois  and  Indians  as  possible,  and  join  him  early  in 
July  at  Niagara.  The  distances  were  vast,  and  the 
difficulties  incalculable.  In  the  eyes  of  the  pious 
governor,  their  timely  arrival  was  a  manifest  sign  of 
the  favor  of  Heaven.  At  Fort  St.  Louis,  of  the 
Illinois,  Tonty  had  mustered  sixteen  Frenchmen  and 
about  two  hundred  Indians,  whom  he  led  across  the 
country  to  Detroit;  and  here  he  found  Du  Lhut,  La 
For§t,  and  La  Durantaye,  with  a  large  body  of 
French  and  Indians  from  the  upper  lakes. ^  It  had 
been  the  work  of  the  whole  winter  to  induce  these 
savages  to  move.  Presents,  persuasion,  and  promises 
had  not  been  spared ;  and  while  La  Durantaye,  aided 
by  the  Jesuit  Engelran,  labored  to  gain  over  the 
tribes  of  Michilimackinac,  the  indefatigable  Nicolas 
Perrot  was  at  work  among  those  of  the  Mississippi 
and  Lake  Michigan.  They  were  of  a  race  unsteady 
as  aspens  and  fierce  as  wild-cats,  full  of  mutual 
jealousies,  without  rulers,  and  without  laws;  for 
each  was  a  law  to  himself.  It  was  difficult  to  per- 
suade them,  and  when  persuaded,  scarcely  possible 
to  keep  them  so.  Perrot,  however,  induced  some 
of  them  to  follow  him  to  Michilimackinac,  where 
many  hundreds  of  Algonquin  savages  were  presently 
gathered,  —  a  perilous  crew,  who  changed  their  minds 
every  day,  and  whose  dancing,  singing,  and  yelping 
might  turn  at  any  moment  into  war-whoops  against 
one  another  or  against  their  hosts,  the  French.  The 
Hurons  showed  more  stability;  and  La   Durantaye 

^  Tonty,  M^moire  in  Margry,  Relations  In^dites. 


152  DENONVILLE   AND   THE   SENEGAS.        [1687. 

was  reasonably  sure  that  some  of  them  would  follow 
him  to  the  war,  though  it  was  clear  that  others  were 
bent  on  allying  themselves  with  the  Senecas  and  the 
English.  As  for  the  Pottawatamies,  Sacs,  Ojibwas, 
Ottawas,  and  other  Algonquin  hordes,  no  man  could 
foresee  what  they  would  do.^ 

Suddenly  a  canoe  arrived  with  news  that  a  party 
of  English  traders  was  approaching.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  two  bands  of  Dutch  and  English, 
under  Rooseboom  and  Mc Gregory,  had  prepared  to 
set  out  together  for  Michilimackinac,  armed  with 
commissions  from  Dongan.  They  had  rashly  changed 
their  plan,  and  parted  company.  Rooseboom  took 
the  lead,  and  McGregory  followed  some  time  after. 
Their  hope  was,  that,  on  reaching  Michilimackinac, 
the  Indians  of  the  place,  attracted  by  their  cheap 
goods  and  their  abundant  supplies  of  rum,  would 
declare  for  them  and  drive  off  the  French ;  and  this 
would  probably  have  happened,  but  for  the  prompt 
action  of  La  Durantaye.  The  canoes  of  Rooseboom, 
bearing  twenty-nine  whites  and  five  Mohawks  and 
Mohicans,  were  not  far  distant,  when,  amid  a  pro- 
digious hubbub,  the  French  commander  embarked  to 
meet  him  with  a  hundred  and  twenty  coureurs  de 
hois.'^  Behind  them  followed  a  swarm  of  Indian 
canoes,  whose  occupants  scarcely  knew  which  side  to 

1  The  name  of  Ottawas,  here  used  specifically,  was  often  em- 
ployed by  the  French  as  a  generic  term  for  the  Algonquin  tribes  of 
the  Great  Lakes. 

2  Attestation  of  N.  Harmentse  and  others  of  Rooseboom's  partj, 
N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iii.  436.    La  Potherie  says  three  hundred. 


1687.]       PLUNDER  OF   ENGLISH   TRADERS.  158 

take,  but  for  the  most  part  inclined  to  the  English. 
Rooseboom  and  his  men,  however,  naturally  thought 
that  they  came  to  support  the  French ;  and  when  La 
Durantaye  bore  down  upon  them  with  threats  of 
instant  death  if  they  made  the  least  resistance,  they 
surrendered  at  once.  The  captors  carried  them  in 
triumph  to  Michilimackinac,  and  gave  their  goods 
to  the  delighted  Indians. 

"It  is  certain,"  wrote  Denonville,  "that  if  the 
English  had  not  been  stopped  and  pillaged,  the 
Hurons  and  Ottawas  would  have  revolted  and  cut 
the  throats  of  all  our  Frenchmen."^  As  it  was.  La 
Durantaye 's  exploit  produced  a  revulsion  of  feeling, 
and  many  of  the  Indians  consented  to  follow  him. 
He  lost  no  time  in  leading  them  down  the  lake  to 
join  Du  Lhut  at  Detroit;  and  when  Tonty  arrived^ 
they  all  paddled  for  Niagara.  On  the  way,  they  met 
McGregory  with  a  party  about  equal  to  that  of 
Rooseboom.  He  had  with  him  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  Ottawa  and  Huron  prisoners  whom  the  Iroquois 
had  captured,  and  whom  he  meant  to  return  to  their 
countrymen  as  a  means  of  concluding  the  long  pro- 
jected triple  alliance  between  the  English,  the 
Iroquois,  and  the  tribes  of  the  lakes.  This  bold 
scheme  was  now  completely  crushed.  All  the  Eng- 
lish were  captured  and  carried  to  Niagara,  whence 
they  and  their  luckless  precursors  were  sent  prisoners 
to  Quebec. 

La  Durantaye  and  his  companions,  with  a  hundred 

1  Denonville  au  Ministre,  25  Aout,  1687. 


154  DENONVILLE  AND  THE  SENEGAS.        [1687. 

and  eighty  coureurs  de  hois  and  four  hundred  Indians, 
waited  impatiently  at  Niagara  for  orders  from  the 
governor.  A  canoe  despatched  in  haste  from  Fort 
Frontenac  soon  appeared ;  and  they  were  directed  to 
repair  at  once  to  the  rendezvous  at  Irondequoit  Bay, 
on  the  borders  of  the  Seneca  country. ^ 

Denonville  was  already  on  his  way  thither.  On 
the  fourth  of  July  he  had  embarked  at  Fort  Frontenac 
with  four  hundred  bateaux  and  canoes,  crossed  the 
foot  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  moved  westward  along  the 
southern  shore.  The  weather  was  rough,  and  six 
days  passed  before  he  descried  the  low  headlands  of 
Irondequoit  Bay.  Far  off  on  the  glimmering  water, 
he  saw  a  multitude  of  canoes  advancing  to  meet  him. 
It  was  the  flotilla  of  La  Durantaye.  Good  manage- 
ment and  good  luck  had  so  disposed  it  that  the  allied 
bands,  concentring  from  points  more  than  a  thousand 
miles  distant,  reached  the  rendezvous  on  the  same 
day.  This  was  not  all.  The  Ottawas  of  Michili- 
mackinac,  who  refused  to  follow  La  Durantaye,  had 
changed  their  minds  the  next  morning,  embarked  in 
a  body,  paddled  up  the  Georgian  Bay  of  Lake 
Huron,  crossed  to  Toronto,  and  joined  the  allies  at 
Niagara.  White  and  red,  Denonville  now  had  nearly 
three  thousand  men  under  his  command.  ^ 

1  The  above  is  drawn  from  papers  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iii.  436, 
ix.  324,  336,  346,  405;  Saint-Vallier,  ^tat  Present,  92;  Denonville, 
Journal;  Belmont,  Histoire  du  Canada;  La  Potherie,  ii.  chap.  xvi. ; 
La  Hontan,  i.  96.    Colden's  account  is  confused  and  incorrect. 

^  Recueil  de  ce  qui  s'est  pass€  en  Canada  depuis  1682 ;  Captain 
Duplessis's  Plan  for  the  Defence  of  Canada,  in  N.  Y.  CoL  Docs., 
ix.  447. 


1C87.]         SCENE  AT  THE  FRENCH  CAMP.  155 

All  were  gathered  on  the  low  point  of  land  that 
separates  Irondequoit  Bay  from  Lake  Ontario. 
** Never,"  says  an  eye-witness,  "had  Canada  seen 
such  a  sight;  and  never,  perhaps,  will  she  see  such  a 
sight  again.  Here  was  the  camp  of  the  regulars  from 
France,  with  the  general's  headquarters;  the  camp 
of  the  four  battalions  of  Canadian  militia,  commanded 
by  the  noblesse  of  the  country;  the  camp  of  the 
Christian  Indians ;  and,  farther  on,  a  swarm  of  savages 
of  every  nation.  Their  features  were  different,  and 
so  were  their  manners,  their  weapons,  their  decora- 
tions, and  their  dances.  They  sang  and  whooped 
and  harangued  in  every  accent  and  tongue.  Most 
of  them  wore  nothing  but  horns  on  their  heads,  and 
the  tails  of  beasts  behind  their  backs.  Their  faces 
were  painted  red  or  green,  with  black  or  white  spots ; 
their  ears  and  noses  were  hung  with  ornaments  of 
iron;  and  their  naked  bodies  were  daubed  with 
figures  of  various  sorts  of  animals."^ 

These  were  the  allies  from  the  upper  lakes.  The 
enemy,  meanwhile,  had  taken  alarm.  Just  after  the 
army  arrived,  three  Seneca  scouts  called  from  the 
edge  of  the  woods,  and  demanded  what  they  meant 
to  do.  "To  fight  you,  you  blockheads,"  answered 
a  Mohawk  Christian  attached  to  the  French.  A 
volley  of  bullets  was  fired  at  the  scouts;  but  they 
escaped,  and  carried    the    news   to  their  villages.^ 

1  The  first  part  of  the  extract  is  from  Belmont ;  the  second,  from 
Saint-Vallier. 

2  Information  received  from  several  Indians,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs., 
iii.  444 


156  DENONVILLE   AND  THE  SENEGAS.        [1687. 

Many  of  the  best  warriors  were  absent.  Those  that 
remained,  four  hundred  or  four  hundred  and  fifty 
by  their  own  accounts,  and  eight  hundred  by  that 
of  the  French,  mustered  in  haste;  and  though  many 
of  them  were  mere  boys,  they  sent  off  the  women 
and  children,  hid  their  most  valued  possessions, 
burned  their  chief  town,  and  prepared  to  meet  the 
invaders. 

On  the  twelfth,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
Denonville  began  his  march,  leaving  four  hundred 
men  in  a  hastily  built  fort  to  guard  the  bateaux  and 
canoes.  Troops,  officers,  and  Indians,  all  carried 
their  provisions  ^t  their  backs.  Some  of  the  Christian 
Mohawks  guided  them;  but  guides  were  scarcely 
needed,  for  a  broad  Indian  trail  led  from  the  bay  to 
the  great  Seneca  town,  twenty-two  miles  southward. 
They  marched  three  leagues  through  the  open  forests 
of  oak,  and  encamped  for  the  night.  In  the  morn- 
ing, the  heat  was  intense.  The  men  gasped  in  the 
dead  and  sultry  air  of  the  woods,  or  grew  faint  in 
the  pitiless  sun,  as  they  waded  waist-deep  through 
the  rank  grass  of  the  narrow  intervales.  They 
passed  safely  through  two  dangerous  defiles,  and, 
about  two  in  the  afternoon,  began  to  enter  a  third. 
Dense  forests  covered  the  hills  on  either  hand.  La 
Durantaye  with  Tonty  and  his  cousin  Du  Lhut  led 
the  advance,  nor  could  all  Canada  have  supplied 
three  men  better  for  the  work.  Each  led  his  band 
of  coureurs  de  hois,  white  Indians,  without  discipline, 
and  scarcely  capable  of  it,  but  brave  and  accustomed 


1687.]  MARCH  OF  DENONVILLE.  167 

to  the  woods.  On  their  left  were  the  Iroquois  con- 
verts from  the  missions  of  Saut  St.  Louis  and  the 
Mountain  of  Montreal,  fighting  under  the  influence 
of  their  ghostly  prompters  against  their  own  country- 
men. On  the  right  were  the  pagan  Indians  from  the 
west.  The  woods  were  full  of  these  painted  spectres, 
grotesquely  horrible  in  horns  and  tail;  and  among 
them  flitted  the  black  robe  of  Father  Engelran,  the 
Jesuit  of  Michilimackinac.  Nicolas  Perrot  and  two 
other  bush-ranging  Frenchmen  were  assigned  to 
command  them,  but  in  fact  they  obeyed  no  man. 
These  formed  the  vanguard,  eight  or  nine  hundred 
in  all,  under  an  excellent  officer,  Callieres,  governor 
of  Montreal.  Behind  came  the  main  body  under 
Denonville,  each  of  the  four  battalions  of  regulars 
alternating  'with  a  battalion  of  Canadians.  Some  of 
the  regulars  wore  light  armor,  while  the  Canadians 
were  in  plain  attire  of  coarse  cloth  or  buck-skin. 
Denonville,  oppressed  by  the  heat,  marched  in  his 
shirt.  "It  is  a  rough  life,"  wrote  the  marquis,  "to 
tramp  afoot  through  the  woods,  carrying  one's  own 
provisions  in  a  haversack,  devoured  by  mosquitoes, 
and  faring  no  better  than  a  mere  soldier."^  With 
him  was  the  Chevalier  de  Vaudreuil,  who  had  just 
arrived  from  France  in  command  of  the  eight  hundred 
men  left  to  guard  the  colony,  and  who,  eager  to  take 
part  in  the  campaign,  had  pushed  forward  alone  to 
join  the  army.  Here,  too,  were  the  Canadian  seign- 
iors at  the  head  of  their  vassals,  Berthier,  La  Valterie, 

1  Denonville  au  Ministre,  8  Juin^  1687. 


158  DENONVILLE  AND  THE  SENEGAS.        [1687. 

Granville,  Longueuil,  and  many  more.     A  guard  of 
rangers  and  Indians  brought  up  the  rear. 

Scouts  thrown  out  in  front  ran  back  with  the  report 
that  they  had  reached  the  Seneca  clearings,  and  had 
seen  no  more  dangerous  enemy  than  three  or  four 
women  in  the  cornfields.  This  was  a  device  of  the 
Senecas  to  cheat  the  French  into  the  belief  that  the 
inhabitants  were  still  in  the  town.  It  had  the  desired 
effect.  The  vanguard  pushed  rapidly  forward,  hop- 
ing to  surprise  the  place,  and  ignorant  that  behind 
the  ridge  of  thick  forests  on  their  right,  among  a 
tangled  growth  of  beech-trees  in  the  gorge  of  a  brook, 
three  hundred  ambushed  warriors  lay  biding  their 
time. 

Hurrying  forward  through  the  forest,  they  left  the 
main  body  behind,  and  soon  reached  the  end  of  the 
defile.  The  woods  were  still  dense  on  their  left  and 
front;  but  on  their  right  lay  a  great  marsh,  covered 
with  alder  thickets  and  rank  grass.  Suddenly  the 
air  was  filled  with  yells,  and  a  rapid  though  distant 
fire  was  opened  from  the  thickets  and  the  forest. 
Scores  of  painted  savages,  stark  naked,  some  armed 
with  swords  and  some  with  hatchets,  leaped  screech- 
ing from  their  ambuscade,  and  rushed  against  the 
van.  Almost  at  the  same  moment  a  burst  of  whoops 
and  firing  sounded  in  the  defile  behind.  It  was  the 
ambushed  three  hundred  supporting  the  onset  of 
their  countrymen  in  front;  but  they  had  made  a  fatal 
mistake.  Deceived  by  the  numbers  of  the  vanguard, 
they  supposed  it  to  be  the  whole  army,  never  suspect- 


1687.]  VICTORY.  159 

ing  that  Denonville  was  close  behind  with  sixteen 
hundred  men.  It  was  a  surprise  on  both  sides.  So 
dense  was  the  forest  that  the  advancing  battal- 
ions could  see  neither  the  enemy  nor  one  another. 
Appalled  by  the  din  of  whoops  and  firing,  redoubled 
by  the  echoes  of  the  narrow  valley,  the  whole  army 
was  seized  with  something  like  a  panic.  Some  of 
the  officers,  it  is  said,  threw  themselves  on  the 
ground  in  their  fright.  There  were  a  few  moments 
of  intense  bewilderment.  The  various  corps  became 
broken  and  confused,  and  moved  hither  and  thither 
without  knowing  why.  Denonville  behaved  with 
great  courage.  He  ran,  sword  in  hand,  to  where  the 
uproar  was  greatest,  ordered  the  drums  to  beat  the 
charge,  turned  back  the  militia  of  Berthier  who  were 
trying  to  escape,  and  commanded  them  and  all  others 
whom  he  met  to  fire  on  whatever  looked  like  an 
enemy.  He  was  bravely  seconded  by  Calliferes,  La 
Valterie,  and  several  other  officers.  The  Christian 
Iroquois  fought  well  from  the  first,  leaping  from  tree 
to  tree,  and  exchanging  shots  and  defiance  with  their 
heathen  countrymen;  till  the  Senecas,  seeing  them- 
selves confronted  by  numbers  that  seemed  endless, 
abandoned  the  field,  after  heavy  loss,  carrying  with 
them  many  of  their  dead  and  all  of  their  wounded.^ 

Denonville  made  no  attempt  to  pursue.  He  had 
learned  the  dangers   of  this   blind  warfare   of  the 

*  For  authorities,  see  note  at  the  end  of  the  chapter.  The 
account  of  Charlevoix  is  contradicted  at  several  points  bj  the  coi> 
temporary  writers. 


160  DENONVILLE   AND  THE  SENEGAS.        [1687. 

woods ;  and  he  feared  that  the  Senecas  would  waylay 
him  again  in  the  labyrinth  of  bushes  that  lay  between 
him  and  the  town.  "Our  troops,"  he  says,  "were 
all  so  overcome  by  the  extreme  heat  and  the  long 
march  that  we  were  forced  to  remain  where  we  were 
till  morning.  We  had  the  pain  of  witnessing  the 
usual  cruelties  of  the  Indians,  who  cut  the  dead 
bodies  into  quarters,  like  butchers'  meat,  to  put  into 
their  kettles,  and  opened  most  of  them  while  still 
warm  to  drink  the  blood.  Our  rascally  Ottawas  par- 
ticularly distinguished  themselves  by  these  barbari- 
ties, as  well  as  by  cowardice;  for  they  made  off  in 
the  fight.  We  had  five  or  six  men  killed  on  the 
spot,  and  about  twenty  wounded,  among  whom  was 
Father  Engelran,  who  was  badly  hurt  by  a  gun-shot. 
Some  prisoners  who  escaped  from  the  Senecas  tell  us 
that  they  lost  forty  men  killed  outright,  twenty-five 
of  whom  we  saw  butchered.  One  of  the  escaped 
prisoners  saw  the  rest  buried,  and  he  saw  also  more 
than  sixty  very  dangerously  wounded."^ 

In  the  morning,  the  troops  advanced  in  order  of 
battle  through  a  marsh  covered  with  alders  and  tall 
grass,  whence  they  had  no  sooner  emerged  than,  says 
Abb^  Belmont,  "  we  began  to  see  the  famous  Babylon 
of  the  Senecas,  where  so  many  crimes  have  been 
committed,  so  much  blood  spilled,  and  so  many  men 


1  DenonxAlle  au  Ministre,  25  Aout,  1687.  In  his  journal,  written 
afterwards,  he  says  that  the  Senecas  left  twenty-seven  dead  on  the 
field,  and  carried  off  twenty  more,  besides  upwards  of  sixty  mortal]^ 
wounded. 


1687.]  THE  SENECA  BABYLON.  161 

burned.  It  was  a  village  or  town  of  bark,  on  the  top 
of  a  hill.  They  had  burned  it  a  week  before.  We 
found  nothing  in  it  but  the  graveyard  and  the  graves, 
full  of  snakes  and  other  creatures;  a  great  mask, 
with  teeth  and  eyes  of  brass,  and  a  bearskin  drawn 
over  it,  with  which  they  performed  their  conjura- 
tions."^ The  fire  had  also  spared  a  number  of  huge 
receptacles  of  bark,  still  filled  with  the  last  season's 
corn ;  while  the  fields  around  were  covered  with  the 
growing  crop,  ripening  in  the  July  sun.  There  were 
hogs,  too,  in  great  number;  for  the  Iroquois  did  not 
share  the  antipathy  with  which  Indians  are  apt  to 
regard  that  unsavory  animal,  and  from  which  certain 
philosophers  have  argued  their  descent  from  the 
Jews. 

The  soldiers  killed  the  hogs,  burned  the  old  com, 
and  hacked  down  the  new  with  their  swords.  Next 
they  advanced  to  an  abandoned  Seneca  fort  on  a  hill 
half  a  league  distant,  and  burned  it,  with  all  that  it 
contained.  Ten  days  were  passed  in  the  work  of 
havoc.  Three  neighboring  villages  were  levelled, 
and  all  their  fields  laid  waste.  The  amount  of  com 
destroyed  was  prodigious.  Denonville  reckons  it  at 
the  absurdly  exaggerated  amount  of  twelve  hundred 
thousand  bushels. 

The  Senecas,  laden  with  such  of  their  possessions 
as  they  could  carry  off,  had  fled  to  their  confederates 
in  the  east;  and  Denonville  did  not  venture  to  pur- 
sue them.  His  men,  feasting  without  stint  on  green 
1  Belmont.    A  few  words  are  added  from  Saint-Vallier. 

a. 


162  DENONVILLE  AND  THE  SENEGAS.       [1687. 

corn  and  fresh  pork,  were  sickening  rapidly,  and  his 
Indian  allies  were  deserting  him.  "It  is  a  miserable 
business,"  he  wrote,  "to  command  savages,  who,  as 
soon  as  they  have  knocked  an  enemy  in  the  head, 
ask  for  nothing  but  to  go  home  and  carry  with  them 
the  scalp,  which  they  take  off  like  a  skull-cap.  You 
cannot  believe  what  trouble  I  had  to  keep  them  till 
the  corn  was  cut." 

On  the  twenty-fourth  he  withdrew,  with  all  his 
army,  to  the  fortified  post  at  Irondequoit  Bay, 
whence  he  proceeded  to  Niagara,  in  order  to  accom- 
plish his  favorite  purpose  of  building  a  fort  there. 
The  troops  were  set  at  work,  and  a  stockade  was 
planted  on  the  point  of  land  at  the  eastern  angle 
between  the  river  Niagara  and  Lake  Ontario,  the 
site  of  the  ruined  fort  built  by  La  Salle  nine  years 
before.^  Here  he  left  a  hundred  men,  under  the 
Chevalier  de  Troyes,  and,  embarking  with  the  rest 
of  the  army,  descended  to  Montreal. 

The  campaign  was  but  half  a  success.  Joined  to 
the  capture  of  the  English  traders  on  the  lakes,  it 
had,  indeed,  prevented  the  defection  of  the  western 
Indians,  and  in  some  slight  measure  restored  their 
respect  for  the  French,  —  of  whom,  nevertheless,  one 
of  them  was  heard  to  say  that  they  were  good 
for  nothing  but  to  make  war  on  hogs  and  corn.  As 
for  the  Senecas,  they  were  more  enraged  than  hurt. 

1  Proces-verbal  de  la  Prise  de  Possession  de  Niagara,  31  Juillet, 
1687.  There  are  curious  errors  of  date  in  this  document  regarding 
the  proceedings  of  La  Salle. 


1687.]     CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  THE  SENEGAS.        163' 

They  could  rebuild  their  bark  villages  in  a  few 
weeks ;  and  though  they  had  lost  their  harvest,  their 
confederates  would  not  let  them  starve.^  A  con- 
verted Iroquois  had  told  tlie  governor  before  his 
departure,  that,  if  he  overset  a  wasps'  nest,  he  must 
crush  the  wasps,  or  they  would  sting  him.  Denon- 
ville  left  the  wasps  alive. 

Dbnonvillb's  Campaign  against  thb  Sbnbcab. — The  chief 
authorities  on  this  matter  are  the  journal  of  Denonville,  of  whicli 
there  is  a  translation  in  the  Colonial  Documents  of  New  York,  ix. ;  the 
letters  of  Denonville  to  the  Minister;  the  J^tat  Present  de  I'^glise  de 
la  Colonie  Frangatse,  by  Bishop  Saint- Vallier ;  the  Recueil  de  ce  qui 
i'est  pass€  en  Canada  au  Sujet  de  la  Guerre,  tant  des  Anglais  que  des 
Iroquois,  depuis  I'anne'e  1682;  and  the  excellent  account  by  Abb^ 
Belmont  in  his  chronicle  called  Uistoire  du  Canada.  To  these  may 
be  added  La  Hontan,  Tonty,  Nicolas  Perrot,  La  Potherie,  and  the 
Senecas  examined  before  the  authorities  of  Albany,  whose  state- 
ments are  printed  in  the  Colonial  Documents,  iii.  These  are  the 
original  sources.  Charlevoix  drew  his  account  from  a  portion  of 
them.  It  is  inexact,  and  needs  the  correction  of  his  learned 
annotator,  Mr.  Shea.  Colden,  Smith,  and  other  English  writers 
follow  La  Hontan. 

The  researches  of  Mr.  O.  H.  Marshall,  of  Buffalo,  have  left  no 
reasonable  doubt  as  to  the  scene  of  the  battle,  and  the  site  of  the 
neighboring  town.  The  Seneca  ambuscade  was  on  the  marsh  and 
the  hills  immediately  north  and  west  of  the  present  village  of 
Victor ;  and  their  chief  town,  called  Gannagaro  by  Denonville,  was 
on  the  top  of  Boughton's  Hill,  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter  distant. 
Immense  quantities  of  Indian  remains  were  formerly  found  here, 
and  many  are  found  to  this  day.  Charred  com  has  been  turned  up 
in  abundance  by  the  plough,  showing  that  the  place  was  destroyed 
by  fire.    The  remains  of  the  fort  burned  by  the  French  are  still 

1  The  statement  of  some  later  writers,  that  many  of  the  Senecaa 
died  during  the  following  winter  in  consequence  of  the  loss  of  their 
com,  is  extremely  doubtful.  Captain  Duplessis,  in  his  Plan  for  the 
Defence  of  Canada,  1690,  declares  that  not  ooe  of  them  perished  of 
hunger. 


164  DENONVILLE  AND  THE   SENEGAS.        [1687. 

plainly  visible  on  a  hill  a  mile  and  a  quarter  from  the  ancient  town. 
A  plan  of  it  will  be  found  in  Squier's  Aboriginal  Monuments  of  New 
York.  The  site  of  the  three  other  Seneca  towns  destroyed  by 
Denonville,  and  called  Totiakton,  Gannondata,  and  Gannongarae, 
can  also  be  identified.  (See  Marshall,  in  Collections  N.  Y.  Hist. 
Soc,  2d  Series,  ii.)  Indian  traditions  of  historical  events  are 
usually  almost  worthless ;  but  the  old  Seneca  chief  Dyunehogawah, 
or  "John  Blacksmith/*  who  was  living  a  few  years  ago  at  the 
Tonawanda  reservation,  recounted  to  Mr.  Marshall  with  remarkable 
accuracy  the  story  of  the  battle  as  handed  down  from  his  ancestors 
who  lived  at  Gannagaro,  close  to  the  scene  of  action.  Gannagaro 
was  the  Canagorah  of  Wentworth  Greenhalgh's  Journal.  The  old 
Seneca,  on  being  shown  a  map  of  the  locality,  placed  his  finger  on 
the  spot  where  the  fight  took  place,  and  which  was  long  known  to 
the  Senecas  by  the  name  of  Dyagodiyu,  or  "  the  Place  of  a  Battle." 
It  answers  in  the  most  perfect  manner  to  the  French  contemporary 
descriptions. 

The  Chevalier  de  Baugy,  aide-de-camp  to  Denonville,  kept  a 
journal  of  the  expedition,  which  has  lately  been  discovered  among 
the  papers  of  his  descendant,  Madame  de  Vaveray.  His  account  of 
the  battle  is  confused,  and  adds  little  to  what  is  known  from  other 
sourcea. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

1687-1689. 
THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION. 

Altercations. — Attitude  of  Dongan.  —  Martial  Preparation. 

—  Perplexity  of  Denonville.  —  Angry  Correspondence.— 
Recall  of  Dongan.  —  Sir  Edmund  Andros.  —  Humiliatiom 
of  Denonville.  —  Distress  of  Canada.  —  Appeals  for  Help. 

—  Iroquois  Diplomacy.  —  A  Huron  Macchiavel.  —  Thb 
Catastrophe.  —  Ferocity  of  the  Victors.  —  War  with 
England.  —  Recall  op  Denonville. 

When  Dongan  heard  that  the  French  had  invaded 
the  Senecas,  seized  English  traders  on  the  lakes,  and 
built  a  fort  at  Niagara,  his  wrath  was  kindled  anew. 
He  sent  to  the  Iroquois,  and  summoned  them  to 
meet  him  at  Albany;  told  the  assembled  chiefs  that 
the  late  calamity  had  fallen  upon  them  because  they 
had  held  councils  with  the  French  without  asking 
his  leave ;  forbade  them  to  do  so  again,  and  informed 
them  that,  as  subjects  of  King  James,  they  must 
make  no  treaty,  except  by  the  consent  of  his  repre- 
sentative, the  governor  of  New  York.  He  declared 
that  the  Ottawas  and  other  remote  tribes  were  also 
British  subjects ;  that  the  Iroquois  should  unite  with 
them,  to  expel  the  French  from  the  west;  and  that 
all  alike  should  bring  down  their  beaver-skins  to  the 


166  THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION.  [1687. 

English  at  Albany.  Moreover,  he  enjoined  them  to 
receive  no  more  French  Jesuits  into  their  towns,  and 
to  call  home  their  countrymen  whom  these  fathers 
had  converted  and  enticed  to  Canada.  "Obey  my 
commands,"  added  the  governor;  "for  that  is  the 
only  way  to  eat  well  and  sleep  well,  without  fear  or 
disturbance."  The  Iroquois,  who  wanted  his  help, 
seemed  to  assent  to  all  he  said.  "  We  will  fight  the 
French,"  exclaimed  their  orator,  "as  long  as  we 
have  a  man  left."^ 

At  the  same  time,  Dongan  wrote  to  Denonville 
demanding  the  immediate  surrender  of  the  Dutch 
and  English  captured  on  the  lakes.  Denonville 
angrily  replied  that  he  would  keep  the  prisoners, 
since  Dongan  had  broken  the  treaty  of  neutrality  by 
"giving  aid  and  comfort  to  the  savages."  The  Eng- 
lish governor,  in  return,  upbraided  his  correspondent 
for  invading  British  territory.  "  I  will  endeavour  to 
protect  his  Majesty's  subjects  here  from  your  unjust 
invasions,  till  I  hear  from  the  King,  my  Master,  who 
is  the  greatest  and  most  glorious  Monarch  that  ever 
set  on  a  Throne,  and  would  do  as  much  to  propagate 
the  Christian  faith  as  any  prince  that  lives.  He  did 
not  send  me  here  to  suffer  you  to  give  laws  to  his 
subjects.  I  hope,  notwithstanding  all  your  trained 
souldiers  and  greate  Officers  come  from  Europe,  that 
our  masters  at  home  will  suffer  us  to  do  ourselves 
justice  on  you  for  the  injuries  and  spoyle  you  have 

*  Dongan' s  Propositions  to  the  Five  Nations  /  Answer  of  the  Five 
Nations,  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iii.  438,  441. 


^ 


1687-88.]  ATTITUDE  OF  DONG  AN.  167 

committed  on  us;  and  I  assure  you,  Sir,  if  my 
Master  gives  leave,  I  will  be  as  soon  at  Quebeck  as 
you  shall  be  att  Albany.  What  you  alleage  concern- 
ing my  assisting  the  Sinnakees  [Senecas]  with  arms 
and  ammunition  to  warr  against  you  was  never  given 
by  mee  untill  the  sixt  of  August  last,  when,  under- 
standing of  your  unjust  proceedings  in  invading  the 
King  my  Master's  territory s  in  a  hostill  manner,  I 
then  gave  them  powder,  lead,  and  armes,  and  united 
the  five  nations  together  to  defend  that  part  of  our 
King's  dominions  from  your  injurious  invasion. 
And  as  for  offering  them  men,  in  that  you  doe  me 
wrong,  our  men  being  all  buisy  then  at  their  harvest; 
and  I  leave  itt  to  your  judgment  whether  there  was 
any  occasion  when  only  foure  hundred  of  them 
engaged  with  your  whole  army.  I  advise  you  to 
send  home  all  the  Christian  and  Indian  prisoners, 
the  King  of  England's  subjects,  you  unjustly  do 
deteine.  This  is  what  I  have  thought  fitt  to  answer 
to  your  reflecting  and  provoking  letter."  ^ 

As  for  the  French  claims  to  the  Iroquois  country 
and  the  upper  lakes,  he  turned  them  to  ridicule. 
They  were  founded,  in  part,  on  the  missions  estab- 
lished there  by  the  Jesuits.  "The  King  of  China," 
observes  Dongan,  "  never  goes  anywhere  without  two 
Jessuits  with  him.  I  wonder  you  make  not  the  like 
pretence  to  that  Kingdome."  He  speaks  with  equal 
irony  of  the  claim  based  on  discovery :  "  Pardon  me 

1  Dongan  to  DenonviUe,  9  September,  1687,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Doca^ 
Ui.  472. 


168  THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION.  [1687-8a 

if  I  say  itt  is  a  mistake,  except  you  will  affinne  that 
a  few  loose  fellowes  rambling  amongst  Indians  to 
keep  themselves  from  starving  gives  the  French  a 
right  to  the  Countrey."  And  of  the  claim  based  on 
geographical  divisions:  "Your  reason  is  that  some 
rivers  or  rivoletts  of  this  country  run  out  into  the 
great  river  of  Canada.  O  just  God !  what  new,  farr- 
fetched,  and  unheard-of  pretence  is  this  for  a  title  to 
a  country  I  The  French  King  may  have  as  good  a 
pretence  to  all  those  Countrys  that  drink  clarett  and 
Brandy. "  ^  In  spite  of  his  sarcasms,  it  is  clear  that 
the  claim  of  prior  discovery  and  occupation  was  on 
the  side  of  the  French. 

The  dispute  now  assumed  a  new  phase.  James  II. 
at  length  consented  to  own  the  Iroquois  as  his  sub- 
jects, ordering  Dongan  to  protect  them,  and  repel 
the  French  by  force  of  arms,  should  they  attack  them 
again.  2  At  the  same  time,  conferences  were  opened 
at  London  between  the  French  ambassador  and  the 
English  commissioners  appointed  to  settle  the  ques- 
tions at  issue.  Both  disputants  claimed  the  Iroquois 
as  subjects,  and  the  contest  wore  an  aspect  more 
serious  than  before. 

The  royal  declaration  was  a  great  relief  to  Dongan. 
Thus  far  he  had  acted  at  his  own  risk ;  now  he  was 
sustained  by  the  orders  of  his  King.     He  instantly 

1  Dongan*s  Fourth  Paper  to  the  French  Agents,  N,  Y.  Col.  Docs.^ 
iii.  628. 

2  Warrant  authorizing  Governor  Dongan  to  protect  the  Five  Nations, 
10  November,  1687,  N.  Y.  Col  Docs.,  iii.  603. 


1687-88.]  MARTIAL   PREPARATION.  169 

assumed  a  warlike  attitude,  and  in  the  next  spring 
wrote  to  the  Earl  of  Sunderland  that  he  had  been  at 
Albany  all  winter,  with  four  hundred  infantry,  fifty 
horsemen,  and  eight  hundred  Indians.  This  was  not 
without  cause,  for  a  report  had  come  from  Canada 
that  the  French  were  about  to  march  on  Albany  to 
destroy  it.  "  And  now,  my  Lord,"  continues  Dongan, 
"  we  must  build  forts  in  y®  countrey  upon  y®  great 
Lakes,  as  y®  French  doe,  otherwise  we  lose  y®  Coun- 
trey, y®  Bever  trade,  and  our  Indians. "  ^  Denonville, 
meanwhile,  had  begun  to  yield,  and  promised  to  send 
back  McGregory  and  the  men  captured  with  him.^ 
Dongan,  not  satisfied,  insisted  on  payment  for  all  the 
captured  merchandise,  and  on  the  immediate  demoli- 
tion of  Fort  Niagara.  He  added  another  demand, 
which  must  have  been  singularly  galling  to  his  rival. 
It  was  to  the  effect  that  the  Iroquois  prisoners  seized 
at  Fort  Frontenac,  and  sent  to  the  galleys  in  France, 
should  be  surrendered  as  British  subjects  to  the  Eng- 
lish ambassador  at  Paris  or  the  secretary  of  state 
in  London.^ 

Denonville  was  sorely  perplexed.  He  was  hard 
pressed,  and  eager  for  peace  with  the  Iroquois  at  any 
price ;  but  Dongan  was  using  every  means  to  prevent 
their  treating  of  peace  with   the   French  governor 

1  Dongan  to  Sunderland,  February,  1688,  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iii.  510. 

2  Denonville  a  Dongan,  2  Octobre,  1687.  McGregory  soon  arrived, 
md  Dongan  sent  him  back  to  Canada  as  an  emissary  with  a  civil 
message  to  Denonville.    Dongan  to  Denonville,  10  November,  1687. 

'  Dongan  to  Denonville,  31  October,  1687 ;  Dongan's  First  Demand 
0/  the  French  Agents,  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iii.  615,  620. 


170  THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION.  [1687-88. 

until  he  had  complied  with  all  the  English  demands. 
In  this  extremity,  Denonville  sent  Father  Vaillant 
to  Albany,  in  the  hope  of  bringing  his  intractable 
rival  to  conditions  less  humiliating.  The  Jesuit 
played  his  part  with  ability,  and  proved  more  than  a 
match  for  his  adversary  in  dialectics;  but  Dongan 
held  fast  to  all  his  demands.  Vaillant  tried  to 
temporize,  and  asked  for  a  truce,  with  a  view  to  a 
final  settlement  by  reference  to  the  two  kings. ^ 
Dongan  referred  the  question  to  a  meeting  of  Iroquois 
chiefs,  who  declared  in  reply  that  they  would  make 
neither  peace  nor  truce  till  Fort  Niagara  was  demol- 
ished and  all  the  prisoners  restored.  Dongan,  well 
pleased,  commended  their  spirit,  and  assured  them 
that  King  James,  "  who  is  the  greatest  man  the  sunn 
shines  uppon,  and  never  told  a  ly  in  his  life,  has 
given  you  his  Royall  word  to  protect  you.  "2 

Vaillant  returned  from  his  bootless  errand ;  and  a 
stormy  correspondence  followed  between  the  two 
governors.  Dongan  renewed  his  demands,  then 
protested  his  wish  for  peace,  extolled  King  James  for 
his  pious  zeal,  and  declared  that  he  was  sending  over 
missionaries  of  his  own  to  convert  the  Iroquois.^ 
What  Denonville  wanted  was  not  their  conversion 
by  Englishmen,  but  their  conversion  by  Frenchmen, 
and  the  presence  in  their  towns  of  those  most  useful 

1  The  papers  of  this  discussion  will  be  found  in  N.  Y.  Col, 
Docs.,  iii. 

2  Dongan's  Reply  to  the  Five  Nations,  Ibid.,  iii.  535. 

*  Dongan  to  Denonville,  17  February,  1688,  Ibid.,  iii.  519. 


1687-88.]  ANGRY  CORRESPONDENCE.  171 

political  agents,  the  Jesuits.^  He  replied  angrily, 
charging  Dongan  with  preventing  the  conversion  of 
the  Iroquois  by  driving  off  the  French  missionaries, 
and  accusing  him,  further,  of  instigating  the  tribes 
of  New  York  to  attack  Canada. ^  Suddenly  there 
was  a  change  in  the  temper  of  his  letters.  He  wrote 
to  his  rival  in  terms  of  studied  civility;  declared 
that  he  wished  he  could  meet  him,  and  consult  with 
him  on  the  best  means  of  advancing  the  cau'se  of  true 
religion;  begged  that  he  would  not  refuse  him  his 
friendship;  and  thanked  him  in  warm  terms  for 
befriending  some  French  prisoners  whom  he  had 
saved  from  the  Iroquois,  and  treated  with  great 
kindness.^ 

This  change  was  due  to  despatches  from  Versailles, 
in  which  Denonville  was  informed  that  the  matters 
in  dispute  would  soon  be  amicably  settled  by  the 

1  "II  y  a  une  n^cessite  indispensable  pour  les  int^rais  de  la 
Religion  et  de  la  Colonie  de  restablir  les  missionaires  Jesuites  dans 
tons  les  villages  Iroquois :  si  vous  ne  trouv^s  moyen  de  f aire  retourner 
ces  Peres  dans  leurs  anciennes  missions,  vous  devcs  en  attendre 
beaucoup  de  malheur  pour  cette  Colonie ;  car  je  dois  vous  dire  que 
jusqu'icy  c'est  leur  liability  qui  a  soutenu  les  affaires  du  pays  par 
leur  s^avoir-faire  k  gouverner  les  esprits  de  ces  barbares,  qui  ne 
sont  Sauvages  que  de  nom/'  —  Denonville,  M€moire  adress€  au 
Ministre,  9  Novembre,  1688. 

2  Denonville  a  Dongan,  24  Avril,  1688;  Ibid.,  12  Mai,  1688. 
Whether  the  charge  is  true  is  questionable.  Dongan  had  just 
^vritten  that  if  the  Iroquois  did  harm  to  the  French,  he  was  ordered 
to  offer  satisfaction,  and  had  already  done  so. 

»  Denonville  a  Dongan,  18  Juin,  1688 ;  Ibid.,  5  Juillet,  1688  j  Ibid., 
20  Aoiit,  1688.  "Je  n'ai  done  qu'a  vous  asseurer  que  toute  la 
Colonie  a  une  tr^s-parfaite  reconnoissance  des  bons  oflSces  que  ces 
pauvres  malheureux  ont  re^u  de  vous  et  de  vos  peuples."  i 


172  THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION.  [1687-88. 

commissioners;  that  he  was  to  keep  on  good  terms 
with  the  English  commanders,  and,  what  pleased 
him  still  more,  that  the  King  of  England  was  about 
to  recall  Dongan.^  In  fact,  James  II.  had  resolved 
on  remodelling  his  American  colonies.  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  and  New  England  had  been  formed  into 
one  government  under  Sir  Edmund  Andros;  and 
Dongan  was  summoned  home,  where  a  regiment  was 
given  him,  with  the  rank  of  major-general  of  artillery. 
Denonville  says  that  in  his  efforts  to  extend  English 
trade  to  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  Mississippi,  his  late 
rival  had  been  influenced  by  motives  of  personal 
gain.  Be  this  as  it  may,  he  was  a  bold  and  vigorous 
defender  of  the  claims  of  the  British  crown. 

Sir  Edmund  Andros  now  reigned  over  New  York; 
and,  by  the  terms  of  his  commission,  his  rule  stretched 
westward  to  the  Pacific.  The  usual  official  courtesies 
passed  between  him  and  Denonville;  but  Andros 
renewed  all  the  demands  of  his  predecessor,  claimed 
the  Iroquois  as  subjects,  and  forbade  the  French  to 
attack  them. 2  The  new  governor  was  worse  than 
the  old.  Denonville  wrote  to  the  minister :  "  I  send 
you  copies  of  his  letters,  by  which  you  will  see  that 
the  spirit  of  Dongan  has  entered  into  the  heart  of  his 
successor,  who  may  be  less  passionate  and  less  inter- 
ested, but  who  is,  to  say  the  least,  quite  as  much 

1  M€moire  pour  servir  d' Instruction  au  Sr.  Marquis  de  Denonville,  8 
Mars,  1688 ;  Le  Roy  a  Denonville,  mime  date  ;  Seignelay  a  Denonville, 
mSme  date.    Louis  XFV.  had  demanded  Dongan's  recall.    How  fat 
this  had  influenced  the  action  of  James  II.,  it  is  diflScult  to  say. 
4ndro9  to  Denonville^  21  August,  1688;  Jhid.,29  September,  1688. 


1688.]  HUMILIATION  OF   DENONVILLE.  178 

opposed  to  us,  and  perhaps  more  dangerous  by  his 
suppleness  and  smoothness  than  the  other  was  by  his 
violence.  What  he  has  just  done  among  the  Iroquois, 
whom  he  pretends  to  be  under  his  government,  and 
whom  he  prevents  from  coming  to  meet  me,  is  a 
certain  proof  that  neither  he  nor  the  other  English 
governors,  nor  their  people,  will  refrain  from  doing 
this  colony  all  the  harm  they  can."^ 

While  these  things  were  passing,  the  state  of 
Canada  was  deplorable,  and  the  position  of  its  gov- 
ernor as  mortifying  as  it  was  painful.  He  thought 
with  good  reason  that  the  maintenance  of  the  new 
fort  at  Niagara  was  of  great  importance  to  the  colony, 
and  he  had  repeatedly  refused  the  demands  of 
Dongan  and  the  Iroquois  for  its  demolition.  But  a 
power  greater  than  sachems  and  governors  presently 
intervened.  The  provisions  left  at  Niagara,  though 
abundant,  were  atrociously  bad.  Scurvy  and  other 
malignant  diseases  soon  broke  out  among  the  soldiers. 
The  Senecas  prowled  about  the  place,  and  no  man 
dared  venture  out  for  hunting,  fishing,  or  firewood.  ^ 
The  fort  was  first  a  prison,  then  a  hospital,  then  a 
charnel-house,  till  before  spring  the  garrison  of  a 
hundred  men  was  reduced  to  ten  or  twelve.  In  this 
condition,  they  were  found  towards  the  end  of  April 

1  M€moire  de  VEstat  Present  des  Affaires  de  ce  Pays  depuis  le  10 
Aout,  1688,  jusqu'au  dernier  Octobre  de  la  mesme  ann€e.  He  declares 
that  the  English  are  always  "  itching  for  the  western  trade ; "  that 
their  favorite  plan  is  to  establish  a  post  on  the  Ohio,  and  that  they 
have  made  the  attempt  three  times  already. 

«  Denonville,  M€moire  du  10  Aout,  1688. 


i74  THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION.  [168a 

by  a  large  war-party  of  friendly  Miamis,  who  entered 
the  place  and  held  it  till  a  French  detachment  at 
length  arrived  for  its  relief.  ^  The  garrison  of  Fort 
Frontenac  had  suffered  from  the  same  causes,  though 
not  to  the  same  degree.  Denonville  feared  that  he 
should  be  forced  to  abandon  them  both.  The  way 
'  was  so  long  and  so  dangerous,  and  the  governor  had 
grown  of  late  so  cautious,  that  he  dreaded  the  risk  of 
maintaining  such  remote  communications.  On  sec- 
ond thought,  he  resolved  to  keep  Frontenac  and 
sacrifice  Niagara.  He  promised  Dongan  that  he 
would  demolish  it,  and  he  kept  his  word.^ 

He  was  forced  to  another  and  a  deeper  humilia- 
tion. At  the  imperious  demand  of  Dongan  and  the 
Iroquois,  he  begged  the  King  to  send  back  the  pris- 
oners entrapped  at  Fort  Frontenac,  and  he  wrote  to 
the  minister:  "Be  pleased,  Monseigneur,  to  remem- 
ber that  I  had  the  honor  to  tell  you  that,  in  order  to 
attain  the  peace  necessary  to  the  country,  I  was 
obliged  to  promise  that  I  would  beg  you  to  send  back 
to  us  the  prisoners  I  sent  you  last  year.  I  know  you 
gave  orders  that  they  should  be  well  treated,  but  I 

1  Recueil  de  ce  qui  s'est  pass€  en  Canada  depuis  I'ann^e  1682.  The 
writer  was  an  officer  of  the  detachment,  and  describes  what  he  saw. 
Compare  La  Potherie,  ii.  210;  and  La  Hontan,  i.  131  (1709). 

2  Denonville  a  Dongan,  20  Aout,  1688;  Proces-verbal  of  the  Condition 
of  Fort  Niagara,  1688 ;  N.  Y.  Col  Docs.,  ix.  386.  The  palisades 
were  torn  down  by  Denonville's  order  on  the  fifteenth  of  September. 
The  rude  dwellings  and  storehouses  which  they  enclosed,  together 
with  a  large  wooden  cross,  were  left  standing.  The  commandant 
De  Troyes  had  died,  and  Captain  Desbergeres  had  been  sent  to 
succeed  him. 


1688.]  APPEAL  FOR  HELP.  175 

am  informed,  that,  though  they  were  well  enough 
treated  at  first,  your  orders  were  not  afterwards 
executed  with  the  same  fidelity.  If  ill  treatment 
has  caused  them  all  to  die,  —  for  they  are  people  who 
easily  fall  into  dejection,  and  who  die  of  it,  —  and 
if  none  of  them  come  back,  I  do  not  know  at  all 
whether  we  can  persuade  these  barbarians  not  to 
attack  us  again."  ^ 

What  had  brought  the  marquis  to  this  pass? 
Famine,  destitution,  disease,  and  the  Iroquois  were 
making  Canada  their  prey.  The  fur-trade  had  been 
stopped  for  two  years ;  and  the  people,  bereft  of  their 
only  means  of  subsistence,  could  contribute  nothing 
to  their  own  defence.  Above  Three  Rivers,  the 
whole  population  was  imprisoned  in  stockade  forts 
hastily  built  in  every  seigniory.'-*  Here  they  were 
safe,  provided  that  they  never  ventured  out;  but 
their  fields  were  left  untilled,  and  the  governor  was 
already  compelled  to  feed  many  of  them  at  the 
expense  of  the  King.  The  Iroquois  roamed  among 
the  deserted  settlements  or  prowled  like  lynxes  about 
the  forts,  waylaying  convoys  and  killing  or  capturing 
stragglers.  Their  war-parties  were  usually  small; 
but  their  movements  were  so  mysterious  and  their 
attacks  so  sudden,  that  they  spread  a  universal  panic 
through  the  upper  half  of  the  colony.  They  were 
the  wasps  which  Denonville  had  failed  to  kill. 

1  Denonville,  M^moire  du  10  Aout,  1688. 

2  In  the  Depot  des  Cartes  de  la  Marine  there  is  a  contemporary 
manuscript  map,  on  which  all  these  forts  are  laid  down. 


176  THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION.  [1688. 

"We  should  succumb,"  wrote  the  distressed  gov- 
ernor, "if  our  cause  were  not  the  cause  of  God. 
Your  Majesty's  zeal  for  religion,  and  the  great  things 
you  have  done  for  the  destruction  of  heresy,  encour- 
age me  to  hope  that  you  will  be  the  bulwark  of  the 
Faith  in  the  new  world  as  you  are  in  the  old.  I  can- 
not give  you  a  truer  idea  of  the  war  we  have  to  wage 
with  the  Iroquois  than  by  comparing  them  to  a  great 
number  of  wolves  or  other  ferocious  beasts,  issuing 
out  of  a  vast  forest  to  ravage  the  neighboring  settle- 
ments. The  people  gather  to  hunt  them  down ;  but 
nobody  can  find  their  lair,  for  they  are  always  in 
motion.  An  abler  man  than  I  would  be  greatly  at  a 
loss  to  manage  the  affairs  of  this  country.  It  is  for 
the  interest  of  the  colony  to  have  peace  at  any  cost 
whatever.  For  the  glory  of  the  King  and  the  good 
of  religion,  we  should  be  glad  to  have  it  an  advan- 
tageous one ;  and  so  it  would  have  been,  but  for  the 
malice  of  the  English  and  the  protection  they  have 
given  our  enemies."^ 

And  yet  he  had,  one  would  think,  a  reasonable 
force  at  his  disposal.  His  thirty-two  companies  of 
regulars  were  reduced  by  this  time  to  about  fourteen 
hundred  men ;  but  he  had  also  three  or  four  hundred 
Indian  converts,  besides  the  militia  of  the  colony,  of 
whom  he  had  stationed  a  large  body  under  Vaudreuil 
at  the  head  of  the  Island  of  Montreal.  All  told, 
they  were  several  times  more   numerous   than  the 

1  Denonville  au  Roy,  1688;  Ibid.,  M€moir«  du  10  Ao{it,  1688;  Ibid^ 
Mimoire  du  9  Novemhre,  1688. 


1688.]  APPEAL   FOR  HELP.  177 

agile  warriors  who  held  the  colony  in  terror.  He 
asked  for  eight  hundred  more  regulars.  The  King 
sent  him  three  hundred.  Affairs  grew  worse,  and 
he  grew  desperate.  Rightly  judging  that  the  best 
means  of  defence  was  to  take  the  offensive,  he  con- 
ceived the  plan  of  a  double  attack  on  the  Iroquois, 
—  one  army  to  assail  the  Onondagas  and  Cayugas, 
another  the  Mohawks  and  Oneidas.^  Since  to  reach 
the  Mohawks  as  he  proposed,  by  the  way  of  Lake 
Champlain,  he  must  pass  through  territory  indisput- 
ably British,  the  attempt  would  be  a  flagrant  violation 
of  the  treaty  of  neutrality.  Nevertheless,  he  implored 
the  King  to  send  him  four  thousand  soldiers  to 
accomplish  it.^  His  fast  friend,  the  bishop,  warmly 
seconded  his  appeal.  "  The  glory  of  God  is  involved, " 
wrote  the  head  of  the  Church ;  "  for  the  Iroquois  are 
the  only  tribe  who  oppose  the  progress  of  the  gospel. 
The  glory  of  the  King  is  involved ;  for  they  are  the 
only  tribe  who  refuse  to  recognize  his  grandeur  and 
his  might.  They  hold  the  French  in  the  deepest 
contempt;  and  unless  they  are  completely  humbled 
within  two  years,  his  Majesty  will  have  no  colony 
left  in  Canada."^  And  the  prelate  proceeds  to  tell 
the  minister  how,  in  his  opinion,  the  war  ought  to 
be  conducted.  The  appeal  was  vain.  "  His  Majesty 
agrees  with  you,"  wrote  Seignelay,   "that  three  or 

1  Plan  for  the  Termination  of  the  Iroquois  War,  N,  Y,  Col.  Doci^ 
ix.  375. 

2  Denonville,  M€moire  du  8  Aout,  1688. 

»  Saint- Vallier,  M^moire  sur  les  Affaires  du  Canada  pour  Mon 
seigneur  le  Marquis  de  Seignelay. 

12 


178  THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION.  [1688 

four  thousand  men  would  be  the  best  means  of  mak- 
ing peace,  but  he  cannot  spare  them  now.  If  the 
enemy  breaks  out  again,  raise  the  inhabitants,  and 
fight  as  well  as  you  can  till  his  Majesty  is  prepared 
to  send  you  troops."  ^ 

A  hope  had  dawned  on  the  governor.  He  had 
been  more  active  of  late  in  negotiating  than  in  fight- 
ing, and  his  diplomacy  had  prospered  more  than  his 
arms.  It  may  be  remembered  that  some  of  the 
Iroquois  entrapped  at  Fort  Frontenac  had  been  given 
to  their  Christian  relatives  in  the  mission  villages. 
Here  they  had  since  remained.  Denonville  thought 
that  he  might  use  them  as  messengers  to  their  heathen 
countrymen,  and  he  sent  one  or  more  of  them  tc 
Onondaga  with  gifts  and  overtures  of  peace.  That 
shrewd  old  politician.  Big  Mouth,  was  still  strong  in 
influence  at  the  Iroquois  capital,  and  his  name  was 
great  to  the  farthest  bounds  of  the  confederacy.  He 
knew  by  personal  experience  the  advantages  of  a 
neutral  position  between  the  rival  European  powers, 
from  both  of  whom  he  received  gifts  and  attention; 
and  he  saw  that  what  was  good  for  him  was  good  for 
the  confederacy,  since,  if  it  gave  itself  to  neither 
party,  both  would  court  its  alliance.  In  his  opinion, 
it  had  now  leaned  long  enough  towards  the  English ; 
and  a  change  of  attitude  had  become  expedient. 
Therefore,  as  Denonville  promised  the  return  of  the 
prisoners,  and  was  plainly  ready  to  make  other  con- 
cessions. Big  Mouth,  setting  at  naught  the  prohibi- 

^  M€moire  du  Ministre  adress€  a  Denonville,  1  Mai,  1689. 


1688.]  IROQUOIS  DIPLOMACY.  179 

tions  of  Andros,  consented  to  a  conference  with  the 
French.  He  set  out  at  his  leisure  for  Montreal,  with 
six  Onondaga,  Cayuga,  and  Oneida  chiefs;  and,  as 
no  diplomatist  ever  understood  better  the  advantage 
of  negotiating  at  the  head  of  an  imposing  force,  a 
body  of  Iroquois  warriors  —  to  the  number,  it  is  said, 
of  twelve  hundred  —  set  out  before  him,  and  silently 
took  path  to  Canada. 

The  ambassadors  paddled  across  the  lake  and  pre- 
sented themselves  before  the  commandant  of  Fort 
Frontenac,  who  received  them  with  distinction,  and 
ordered  Lieutenant  Perelle  to  escort  them  to  Montreal. 
Scarcely  had  the  officer  conducted  his  august  charge 
five  leagues  on  their  way,  when,  to  his  amazement, 
he  found  himself  in  the  midst  of  six  hundred  Iroquois 
warriors,  who  amused  themselves  for  a  time  with  his 
terror,  and  then  accompanied  him  as  far  as  Lake  St 
Francis,  where  he  fouhd  another  body  of  savages 
nearly  equal  in  number.  Here  the  warriors  halted, 
and  the  ambassadors  with  their  escort  gravely  pur- 
sued their  way  to  meet  Denonville  at  Montreal.^ 

Big  Mouth  spoke  haughtily,  like  a  man  who  knew 
his  power.  He  told  the  governor  that  he  and  his 
people  were  subjects  neither  of  the  French  nor  of  the 
English ;  that  they  wished  to  be  friends  of  both ;  that 
they  held  their  country  of  the  Great  Spirit;  and  that 
they  had  never  been  conquered  in  war.  He  declared 
that  the  Iroquois  knew  the  weakness  of  the  French, 
and  could  easily  exterminate  them;   that  they  had 

I  Relation  de$  J^venements  de  la  Gmrre,  30  Octobre,  1688. 


180  THE  mOQUOTS  INVASION.  [1688. 

formed  a  plan  of  burning  all  the  houses  and  barns  of 
Canada,  killing  the  cattle,  setting  fire  to  the  ripe 
grain,  and  then,  when  the  people  were  starving, 
attacking  the  forts;  but  that  he,  Big  Mouth,  had 
prevented  its  execution.  He  concluded  by  saying 
that  he  was  allowed  but  four  days  to  bring  back  the 
governor's  reply;  and  that  if  he  were  kept  waiting 
longer,  he  would  not  answer  for  what  might  happen.^ 
Though  it  appeared  by  some  expressions  in  his  speech 
that  he  was  ready  to  make  peace  only  with  the 
French,  leaving  the  Iroquois  free  to  attack  the  Indian 
allies  of  the  colony;  and  though,  while  the  ambas- 
sadors were  at  Montreal,  their  warriors  on  the  river 
above  actually  killed  several  of  the  Indian  converts, 
—  Denonville  felt  himself  compelled  to  pretend  igno- 
rance of  the  outrage.  2  A  declaration  of  neutrality 
was  drawn  up,  and  Big  Mouth  affixed  to  it  the 
figures  of  sundry  birds  and  beasts  as  the  signatures 
of  himself  and  his  fellow-chiefs. ^  He  promised,  too, 
that  within  a  certain  time  deputies  from  the  whole 
confederacy  should  come  to  Montreal  and  conclude 
a  general  peace. 

The  time  arrived,  and  they  did  not  appear.  It 
became  known,  however,  that  a  number  of  chiefs  were 
coming  from  Onondaga  to  explain  the  delay,  and 
to  promise  that  the   deputies  should  soon  follow. 

1  Declaration  of  the  Iroquois  in  presence  of  M.  de  Denonville,  N.  Y. 
Col.  Docs.,  ix.  384 ;  Relation  des  J^v^nements  de  la  Guerre,  30  Octobre, 
1688 ;  Belmont,  Histoire  du  Canada. 

*  Callieres  a  Seignelay,  Janvier,  1689. 

»  See  the  signatures  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  ix.  385,  386. 


1688.]  A  HURON  MACCHIAVEL.  181 

The  chiefs  in  fact  were  on  their  way.  They  reached 
La  Famine,  the  scene  of  La  Barre's  meeting  with 
Big  Mouth ;  but  here  an  unexpected  incident  arrested 
them,  and  completely  changed  the  aspect  of  affairs. 

Among  the  Hurons  of  Michilimackinac  there  was 
a  chief  of  high  renown  named  Kondiaronk,  or  the 
Rat.  He  was  in  the  prime  of  life,  a  redoubted 
warrior,  and  a  sage  counsellor.  The  French  seem  to 
have  admired  him  greatly.  "He  is  a  gallant  man," 
says  La  Hontan,  "if  ever  there  was  one;"  while 
Charlevoix  declares  that  he  was  the  ablest  Indian  the 
French  ever  knew  in  America,  and  that  he  had  noth- 
ing of  the  savage  but  the  name  and  the  dress.  In 
spite  of  the  father's  eulogy,  the  moral  condition  of 
the  Rat  savored  strongly  of  the  wigwam.  He  had 
given  Denonville  great  trouble  by  his  constant  in- 
trigues with  the  Iroquois,  with  whom  he  had  once 
made  a  plot  for  the  massacre  of  his  neighbors,  the 
Ottawas,  under  cover  of  a  pretended  treaty.^  The 
French  had  spared  no  pains  to  gain  him ;  and  he  had 
at  length  been  induced  to  declare  for  them,  under  a 
pledge  from  the  governor  that  the  war  should  never 
cease  till  the  Iroquois  were  destroyed.  During  the 
summer  he  raised  a  party  of  forty  warriors,  and  came 
down  the  lakes  in  quest  of  Iroquois  scalps. ^  On  the 
way  he  stopped  at  Fort  Frontenac  to  hear  the  news, 
when,  to  his  amazement,  the  commandant  told  him 

1  Nicolas  Perrot,  143. 

2  Denonville  a  Seignday,  9  Novembre,  1688.  La  Hontan  saw  th€ 
party  set  out,  and  says  that  there  were  about  a  hundred  of  them. 


182  THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION.  [1688. 

that  deputies  from  Onondaga  were  coming  in  a  few 
days  to  conclude  peace,  and  that  he  had  better  go 
home  at  once. 

"It  is  well,"  replied  the  Rat. 

He  knew  that  for  the  Hurons  it  was  not  well.  He 
and  his  tribe  stood  fully  committed  to  the  war,  and 
for  them  peace  between  the  French  and  the  Iroquois 
would  be  a  signal  of  destruction,  since  Denonville 
could  not  or  would  not  protect  his  allies.  The  Rat 
paddled  off  with  his  warriors.  He  had  secretly 
learned  the  route  of  the  expected  deputies;  and  he 
shaped  his  course,  not,  as  he  had  pretended,  for 
Michilimackinac,  but  for  La  Famine,  where  he  knew 
that  they  would  land.  Having  reached  his  destina- 
tion, he  watched  and  waited  four  or  five  days,  till 
canoes  at  length  appeared,  approaching  from  the 
direction  of  Onondaga.  On  this,  the  Rat  and  his 
friends  hid  themselves  in  the  bushes. 

The  new-comers  were  the  messengers  sent  as  pre- 
cursors of  the  embassy.  At  their  head  was  a  famous 
personage  named  Decanisora,  or  Tegannisorens,  with 
whom  were  three  other  chiefs,  and,  it  seems,  a  num- 
ber of  warriors.  They  had  scarcely  landed  when 
the  ambushed  Hurons  gave  them  a  volley  of  bullets, 
killed  one  of  the  chiefs,  wounded  all  the  rest,  and 
then,  rushing  upon  them,  seized  the  whole  party, 
except  a  warrior  who  escaped  with  a  broken  arm. 
Having  secured  his  prisoners,  the  Rat  told  them  that 
he  had  acted  on  the  suggestion  of  Denonville,  who 
had  informed  him  that  an  Iroquois  war-party  was  to 


1688  J  A  HURON  MACCHIAVEL.  183 

pass  that  way.  The  astonished  captives  protested 
that  they  were  envoys  of  peace.  The  Rat  put  on  a 
look  of  amazement,  then  of  horror  and  fury,  and 
presently  burst  into  invectives  against  Denonville 
for  having  made  him  the  instrument  of  such  atro- 
cious pei'fidy.  "Go,  my  brothers,"  he  exclaimed, 
"go  home  to  your  people.  Though  there  is  war 
between  us,  I  give  you  your  liberty.  Onontio  has 
made  me  do  so  black  a  deed  that  I  shall  never  be 
happy  again  till  your  five  tribes  take  a  just  vengeance 
upon  him."  After  giving  them  guns,  powder,  and 
ball,  he  sent  them  on  their  way,  well  pleased  with 
him  and  filled  with  rage  against  the  governor. 

In  accordance  with  Indian  usage,  he,  however, 
kept  one  of  them  to  be  adopted,  as  he  declared,  in 
place  of  one  of  his  followers  whom  he  had  lost  in  the 
skirmish;  then,  recrossing  the  lake,  he  went  alone  to 
Fort  Frontenac,  and,  as  he  left  the  gate  to  rejoin  his 
party,  he  said  coolly,  "  I  have  killed  the  peace :  ^  we 
shall  see  how  the  governor  will  get  out  of  this  busi- 
ness." Then,  without  loss  of  time,  he  repaired  to 
Michilimackinac,  and  gave  his  Iroquois  prisoner  to 
the  officer  in  command.  No  news  of  the  intended 
peace  had  yet  reached  that  distant  outpost;  and 
though  the  unfortunate  Iroquois  told  the  story  of  his 
mission  and  his  capture,  the  Rat  declared  that  it  was 

1  "  II  dit,  J'ai  tue  la  paix."  Belmont,  Histoire  du  Canada.  "  Le 
Rat  passa  ensuite  seul  k  Catarakouy  [Fort  Frontenac]  sans  vouloir 
dire  le  tour  qu'il  avoit  fait,  dit  seulement  estant  liors  de  la  porte,  en 
8*en  allant,  nous  verrons  comme  le  gouverneur  se  tirera  d'affaire." 
-~  JOenonville. 


184  THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION.  [1688. 

a  crazy  invention  inspired  by  tlie  fear  of  death,  and 
the  prisoner  was  immediately  shot  by  a  file  of  soldiers. 
The  Rat  now  sent  for  an  old  Iroquois  who  had  long 
been  a  prisoner  at  the  Huron  village,  telling  him 
with  a  mournful  air  that  he  was  free  to  return  to  his 
people,  and  recount  the  cruelty  of  the  French,  who 
had  put  their  countryman  to  death.  The  liberated 
Iroquois  faithfully  acquitted  himself  of  his  mission.^ 

One  incident  seemed  for  a  moment  likely  to  rob 
the  intriguer  of  the  fruits  of  his  ingenuity.  The 
Iroquois  who  had  escaped  in  the  skirmish  contrived 
to  reach  Fort  Frontenac  some  time  after  the  last  visit 
of  the  Rat.  He  told  what  had  happened ;  and,  af tel 
being  treated  with  the  utmost  attention,  he  was  sent 
to  Onondaga^  charged  with  explanations  and  regrets. 
The  Iroquois  dignitaries  seemed  satisfied,  and  Denon- 
ville  wrote  to  the  minister  that  there  was  still  good 
hope  of  peace.  He  little  knew  his  enemy.  They 
could  dissemble  and  wait ;  but  they  neither  believed 
the  governor  nor  forgave  him.  His  supposed  treach- 
ery at  La  Famine,  and  his  real  treachery  at  Fort 

1  La  Hontan,  i.  189  (1709).  Most  of  the  details  of  the  story  are 
drawn  from  this  writer,  whose  statement  I  have  compared  with  that 
of  Denonville,  in  his  letter  dated  November  9, 1688 ;  of  Callieres, 
January,  1689;  of  the  Abstract  of  Letters  from  Canada,  in  N.  Y,  Col. 
Docs.,  ix.  393;  and  of  the  writer  of  Relation  des  J^v^nements  de  la 
Guerre,  30  Octobre,  1688.  Belmont  notices  the  affair  with  his  usual 
conciseness.  La  Hontan's  account  is  sustained  by  the  others  in 
most,  though  not  in  all,  of  its  essential  points.  He  calls  the  Huron 
chief  Adario,  ou  le  Rat.  He  is  elsewhere  mentioned  as  Kondiaronk, 
Kondiaront,  SoUoias,  and  SoUaiti.  La  Hontan  says  that  the  scene 
of  the  treachery  was  one  of  the  rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  but 
more  authentic  accounts  place  it  at  La  Famine. 


1C89.]  A  CRITICAL  SITUATION.  185 

Frontenac,  filled  them  with  a  patient  but  unextin- 
guishable  rage.  They  sent  him  word  that  they  were 
ready  to  renew  the  negotiation ;  then  they  sent  again, 
to  say  that  Andros  forbade  them.  Without  doubt 
they  used  his  prohibition  as  a  pretext.  Months 
passed,  and  Denonville  remained  in  suspense.  He 
did  not  trust  his  Indian  allies,  nor  did  they  trust 
him.  Like  the  Rat  and  his  Hurons,  they  dreaded 
the  conclusion  of  peace,  and  wished  the  war  to  con- 
tinue, that  the  French  might  bear  the  brunt  of  it, 
and  stand  between  them  and  the  wrath  of  the 
Iroquois.^ 

In  the  direction  of  the  Iroquois  there  was  a  long 
and  ominous  silence.  It  was  broken  at  last  by  the 
crash  of  a  thunderbolt.  On  the  night  between  the 
fourth  and  fifth  of  August  a  violent  hail-storm  burst 
over  Lake  St.  Louis,  an  expansion  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
a  little  above  Montreal.  Concealed  by  the  tempest 
and  the  darkness,  fifteen  hundred  warriors  landed  at 
La  Chine,  and  silently  posted  themselves  about  the 
houses  of  the  sleeping  settlers,  then  screeched  the 
war-whoop,  and  began  the  most  frightful  massacre 
in  Canadian  history.  The  houses  were  burned,  and 
men,  women,  and  children  indiscriminately  butchered. 
In  the  neighborhood  were  three  stockade  forts,  called 
R^my,  Roland,  and  La  Presentation;  and  they  all 
had  garrisons.  There  was  also  an  encampment  of 
two  hundred  regulars  about  three  miles  distant, 
under  an  officer  named   Subercase,   then  absent  at 

1  Denonville  au  Ministre,  9  Novembre,  1688. 


186  THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION.  [1689. 

Montreal  on  a  visit  to  Denonville,  who  had  lately 
arrived  with  his  wife  and  family.  At  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  the  troops  in  this  encampment  heard 
a  cannon-shot  from  one  of  the  forts.  They  were  at 
once  ordered  under  arms.  Soon  after,  they  saw  a 
man  running  towards  them,  just  escaped  from  the 
butchery.  He  told  his  story,  and  passed  on  with  the 
news  to  Montreal,  six  miles  distant.  Then  several 
fugitives  appeared,  chased  by  a  band  of  Iroquois, 
who  gave  over  the  pursuit  at  sight  of  the  soldiers, 
but  pillaged  several  houses  before  their  eyes.  The 
day  was  well  advanced  before  Subercase  arrived. 
He  ordered  the  troops  to  march.  About  a  hundred 
armed  inhabitants  had  joined  them,  and  they  moved 
together  towards  La  Chine.  Here  they  found  the 
houses  still  burning,  and  the  bodies  of  their  inmates 
strewn  among  them  or  hanging  from  the  stakes  where 
they  had  been  tortured.  They  learned  from  a  French 
surgeon,  escaped  from  the  enemy,  that  the  Iroquois 
were  all  encamped  a  mile  and  a  half  farther  on, 
behind  a  tract  of  forest.  Subercase,  whose  force  had 
been  strengthened  by  troops  from  the  forts,  resolved 
to  attack  them ;  and  had  he  been  allowed  to  do  so, 
he  would  probably  have  punished  them  severely,  for 
most  of  them  were  helplessly  drunk  with  brandy 
taken  from  the  houses  of  the  traders.  Sword  in 
hand,  at  the  head  of  his  men,  the  daring  officer 
entered  the  forest ;  but  at  that  moment  a  voice  from 
the  rear  commanded  a  halt.  It  was  that  of  the 
Chevalier  de  Vaudreuil,  just  come  from  Montreal, 


1689.]  TERROR  AT  MONTREAL.  187 

with  positive  orders  from  Denonville  to  run  no  risks 
and  stand  solely  on  the  defensive.  Subercase  was 
furious.  High  words  passed  between  him  and 
Vaudreuil,  but  he  was  forced  to  obey. 

The  troops  were  led  back  to  Fort  Roland,  where 
about  five  hundred  regulars  and  militia  were  now 
collected  under  command  of  Vaudreuil.  On  the 
next  day  eighty  men  from  Fort  R^my  attempted  to 
join  them ;  but  the  Iroquois  had  slept  off  the  effect  of 
their  orgies,  and  were  again  on  the  alert.  The  unfor- 
tunate detachment  was  set  upon  by  a  host  of  savages, 
and  cut  to  pieces  in  full  sight  of  Fort  Roland.  All 
were  killed  or  captured,  except  Le  Moyne  de 
Longueuil,  and  a  few  others,  who  escaped  within 
the  gate  of  Fort  R^my.^ 

Montreal  was  wild  with  terror.  It  had  been  forti- 
fied with  palisades  since  the  war  began;  but  though 
there  were  troops  in  the  town  under  the  governor 
himself,  the  people  were  in  mortal  dread.  No  attack 
was  made  either  on  the  town  or  on  any  of  the  forts, 
and  such  of  the  inhabitants  as  could  reach  them  were 
safe;  while  the  Iroquois  held  undisputed  possession 
of  the  open  country,  burned  all  the  houses  and  barns 
over  an  extent  of  nine  miles,  and  roamed  in  small 
parties,  pillaging  and  scalping,  over  more  than  twenty 
miles.     There  is  no  mention  of  their  having  encoun- 

1  Recueil  de  ce  qui  s'est  pass€  en  Canada  depuis  l*ann€e  1682 ;  Obser* 
vations  on  the  State  of  Affairs  in  Canada,  1689,  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  Lx. 
431 ;  Belmont,  Histoire  du  Canada ;  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  15  iVb- 
vembre,  1689.  This  detachment  was  commanded  by  Lieutenant  de 
la  Rabeyre,  and  consisted  of  fifty  French  and  thirty  Indian  conyerts. 


188  THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION.  [1880. 

tered  opposition ;  nor  do  they  seem  to  have  met  with 
any  loss  but  that  of  some  warriors  killed  in  the 
attack  on  the  detachment  from  Fort  R^my,  and  that 
of  three  drunken  stragglers  who  were  caught  and 
thrown  into  a  cellar  in  Fort  La  Presentation.  When 
they  came  to  their  senses,  they  defied  their  captors, 
and  fought  with  such  ferocity  that  it  was  necessary 
to  shoot  them.  Charlevoix  says  that  the  invaders 
remained  in  the  neighborhood  of  Montreal  till  the 
middle  of  October,  or  more  than  two  months;  but 
this  seems  incredible,  since  troops  and  militia  enougli 
to  drive  them  all  into  the  St.  Lawrence  might  easily 
have  been  collected  in  less  than  a  week.  It  is  cer- 
tain, however,  that  their  stay  was  strangely  long. 
Troops  and  inhabitants  seem  to  have  been  paralyzed 
with  fear. 

At  length  most  of  them  took  to  their  canoes,  and 
recrossed  Lake  St.  Louis  in  a  body,  giving  ninety 
yells  to  show  that  they  had  ninety  prisoners  in  their 
clutches.  This  was  not  all;  for  the  whole  number 
carried  off  was  more  than  a  hundred  and  twenty, 
besides  about  two  hundred  who  had  the  good  fortune 
to  be  killed  on  the  spot.  As  the  Iroquois  passed  the 
forts,  they  shouted,  "  Onontio,  you  deceived  us,  and 
now  we  have  deceived  you."  Towards  evening,  they 
encamped  on  the  farther  side  of  the  lake,  and  began 
to  torture  and  devour  their  prisoners.  On  that  mis- 
erable night  stupefied  and  speechless  groups  stood 
gazing  from  the  strand  of  La  Chine  at  the  lights  that 
gleamed  along    the    distant  shore   of    Ch^teaugay, 


1689.]  FEROCITY  OF   THE  VICTORS.  189 

where  their  friends,  wives,  parents,  or  children 
agonized  in  the  fires  of  the  Iroquois,  and  scenes  were 
enacted  of  indescribable  and  nameless  horror.  The 
greater  part  of  the  prisoners  were,  however,  reserved 
to  be  distributed  among  the  towns  of  the  confederacy, 
and  there  tortured  for  the  diversion  of  the  inhabi- 
tants. While  some  of  the  invaders  went  home  to 
celebrate  their  triumph,  others  roamed  in  small 
parties  through  all  the  upper  parts  of  the  colony 
spreading  universal  terror.  ^ 

1  The  best  account  of  the  descent  of  the  Iroquois  at  La  Chine  is 
that  of  the  Recueil  de  ce  qui  s'est  pass^  en  Canada,  1682-1712.  The 
writer  was  an  officer  under  Subercase,  and  was  on  the  spot.  Bel- 
mont, Superior  of  the  mission  of  Montreal,  also  gives  a  trustworthy 
account  in  his  Histoire  du  Canada.  Compare  La  Hontan,  i.  193 
(1709),  and  La  Potherie,  ii.  229.  Further  particulars  are  given  in 
the  letters  of  Callibres,  8  November;  Champigny,  16  November; 
and  Frontenac,  15  November.  Frontenac,  after  visiting  the  scene 
of  the  catastrophe  a  few  weeks  after  it  occurred,  writes :  "  lis  [les 
Iroquois]  avoient  brusle  plus  de  trois  lieues  de  pays,  saccag^  toutes 
les  maisons  jusqu'aux  portes  de  la  ville,  enleve  plus  de  six  vingt 
personnes,  tant  hommes,  femmes,  qu'enfants,  apr^s  avoir  massacr^ 
plus  de  deux  cents  dont  ils  avoient  casse'  la  teste  aux  uns,  brusle, 
rosty,  et  mang^  les  autres,  ouvert  le  ventre  des  femmes  grosses 
pour  en  arracher  les  enfants,  et  fait  des  cruautez  inou'ies  et  sans 
exemple."  The  details  given  by  Belmont,  and  by  the  author  of 
Histoire  de  VEau  de  Vie  en  Canada,  are  no  less  revolting.  The  last- 
mentioned  writer  thinks  that  the  massacre  was  a  judgment  of  God 
upon  the  sale  of  brandy  at  La  Chine. 

Some  Canadian  writers  have  charged  the  English  with  instigating 
the  massacre.  I  find  nothing  in  contemporary  documents  to  sup- 
port the  accusation.  Denonville  wrote  to  the  minister,  after  the 
Rat's  treachery  came  to  light,  that  Andros  had  forbidden  the 
Iroquois  to  attack  the  colony.  Immediately  after  the  attack  at  La 
Chine,  the  Iroquois  sachems,  in  a  conference  with  the  agents  of 
New  England,  declared  that  "  we  did  not  make  war  on  the  French 
at  the  persuasion  of  our  brethren  at  Albany;  for  we  did  not  so 


190  THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION.  [1689. 

Canada  lay  bewildered  and  benumbed  under  the 
shock  of  this  calamity;  but  the  cup  of  her  misery 
was  not  full.  There  was  revolution  in  England. 
James  II.,  the  friend  and  ally  of  France,  had  been 
driven  from  his  kingdom,  and  William  of  Orange 
had  seized  his  vacant  throne.  Soon  there  came  news 
of  war  between  the  two  crowns.  The  Iroquois  alone 
had  brought  the  colony  to  the  brink  of  ruin;  and 
now  they  would  be  supported  by  the  neighboring 
British  colonies,  rich,  strong,  and  populous,  com- 
pared with  impoverished  and  depleted  Canada. 

A  letter  of  recall  for  Denonville  was  already  on  its 
way.^  His  successor  arrived  in  October,  and  the 
marquis  sailed  for  France.  He  was  a  good  soldier 
in  a  regular  war  and  a  subordinate  command;  and 
he  had  some  of  the  qualities  of  a  good  governor, 
while  lacking  others  quite  as  essential.  He  had 
more  activity  than  vigor,  more  personal  bravery  than 
firmness,  and  more  clearness  of  perception  than 
executive  power.  He  filled  his  despatches  with 
excellent  recommendations,  but  was  not  the  man  to 
carry  them  into  effect.  He  was  sensitive,  fastidious, 
critical,  and  conventional,  and  plumed  himself  on  his 
honor,  which  was  not  always  able  to  bear  a  strain; 
though  as  regards  illegal  trade,  the  besetting  sin  of 
Canadian  governors,  his  hands  were  undoubtedly 
clean.  2    It  is  said  that  he  had  an  instinctive  antipathy 

much  as  acquaint  them  of  our  intention  till  fourteen  days  after  our 
army  had  begun  their  march."  —  Report  of  Conference  in  Golden,  103. 

i  Le  Roy  a  Denonville,  31  Mai,  1689. 

'  "  I  shall  only  add  one  article,  on  which  possibly  you  will  find  it 


1689.]  CHARACTER  OF  DENONVILLE.  191 

for  Indians,  such  as  some  persons  have  for  certain 
animals;  and  the  coureurs  de  hois^  and  other  lawless 
classes  of  the  Canadian  population,  appeared  to 
please  him  no  better.  Their  license  and  insubordi- 
nation distressed  him,  and  he  constantly  complained 
of  them  to  the  King.  For  the  Church  and  its 
hierarchy  his  devotion  was  unbounded ;  and  his  gov- 
ernment was  a  season  of  unwonted  sunshine  for  the 
ecclesiastics,  like  the  balmy  days  of  the  Indian  sum- 
mer amid  the  gusts  of  November.  They  exhausted 
themselves  in  eulogies  of  his  piety;  and,  in  proof  of 
its  depth  and  solidity.  Mother  Juchereau  tells  us 
that  he  did  not  regard  station  and  rank  as  very  useful 
aids  to  salvation.  While  other  governors  complained 
of  too  many  priests,  Denonville  begged  for  more. 
All  was  harmony  between  him  and  Bishop  Saint- 
Vallier;  and  the  prelate  was  constantly  his  friend, 
even  to  the  point  of  justifying  his  worst  act,  the 
treacherous  seizure  of  the  Iroquois  neutrals.^  When 
he  left  Canada,  the  only  mourner  besides  the  church- 
men was  his  colleague,  the  intendant  Champigny; 
for  the  two  chiefs  of  the  colony,  joined  in  a  common 

strange  that  I  have  said  nothing;  namely,  whether  the  governor 
carries  on  any  trade.  I  shall  answer,  No ;  but  my  Lady  the  Gover- 
ness [Madame  la  Gouvernante],  who  is  disposed  not  to  neglect  any 
opportunity  for  making  a  profit,  had  a  room,  not  to  say  a  shop,  full 
of  goods,  till  the  close  of  last  winter,  in  the  ch&teau  of  Quebec,  and 
found  means  afterwards  to  make  a  lottery  to  get  rid  of  the  rubbish 
that  remained,  which  produced  her  more  than  her  good  merchan- 
dise."—TJe/afion  of  the  State  of  Affairs  in  Canada,  1688,  in  N,  Y.  Col. 
Docs.,  ix.  388.  This  paper  was  written  at  Quebec, 
i  Saint-Vallier.  J^tat  Present,  91,  92  (Quebec,  1856). 


192  THE  IROQUOIS  INVASION.  [1689. 

union  with  the  Jesuits,  lived  together  in  unexampled 
concord.  On  his  arrival  at  court,  the  good  offices  of 
his  clerical  allies  gained  for  him  the  highly  honorable 
post  of  governor  of  the  royal  children,  the  young 
Dukes  of  Burgundy,  Anjou,  and  Berri. 


CHAPTER  X. 

1689,  1690. 

RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC. 

Versailles.  —  Frontenac  and  the  King.  —  Frontbnac  sails 
FOR  Quebec.  —  Projected  Conquest  of  New  York.  —  De- 
signs OF  THE  King.  —  Failure.  —  Energy  of  Frontenac.  — 
Fort  Frontenac.  —  Panic.  —  Negotiations.  —  The  Iroquois 
IN  Council.  —  Chevalier  d'Aux.  —  Taunts  of  the  Indian 
Allies.  —  Boldness  op  Frontenac.  —  An  Iroquois  Defeat. 
—  Cruel  Policy.  —  The  Stroke  parried. 

The  sun  of  Louis  XIV.  had  reached  its  zenith. 
From  a  morning  of  unexampled  brilliancy  it  had 
mounted  to  the  glare  of  a  cloudless  noon ;  but  the 
hour  of  its  decline  was  near.  The  mortal  enemy 
of  France  was  on  the  throne  of  England,  turning 
against  her  from  that  new  point  of  vantage  all  the 
energies  of  his  unconquerable  genius.  An  invalid 
built  the  Bourbon  monarchy,  and  another  invalid 
battered  and  defaced  the  imposing  structure,  —  two 
potent  and  daring  spirits  in  two  frail  bodies,  Richelieu 
and  William  of  Orange. 

Versailles  gave  no  sign  of  waning  glories.  On 
three  evenings  of  the  week,  it  was  the  pleasure  of 
the  King  that  the  whole  court  should  assemble  in 
the  vast  suite  of  apartments  now  known  as  the  Halls 

16 


194  RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC.  [1689. 

of  Abundance,  of  Venus,  of  Diana,  of  Mars,  of 
Mercury,  and  of  Apollo.  The  magnificence  of  their 
decorations,  —  pictures  of  the  great  Italian  masters, 
sculptures,  frescoes,  mosaics,  tapestries,  vases  and 
statues  of  silver  and  gold;  the  vista  of  light  and 
splendor  that  opened  through  the  wide  portals;  the 
courtly  throngs,  feasting,  dancing,  gaming,  promenad- 
ing, conversing,  —  formed  a  scene  which  no  palace  of 
Europe  could  rival  or  approach.  Here  were  all  the 
great  historic  names  of  France,  —  princes,  warriors, 
statesmen,  —  and  all  that  was  highest  in  rank  and 
place;  the  flower,  in  short,  of  that  brilliant  society, 
so  dazzling,  captivating,  and  illusory.  In  former 
years  the  King  was  usually  present,  affable  and 
gracious,  mingling  with  his  courtiers  and  sharing 
their  amusements ;  but  he  had  grown  graver  of  late, 
and  was  more  often  in  his  cabinet,  laboring  with  his 
ministers  on  the  task  of  administration,  which  his 
extravagance  and  ambition  made  every  day  more 
burdensome.^ 

There  was  one  corner  of  the  world  where  his 
emblem,  the  sun,  would  not  shine  on  him.  He  had 
done  his  best  for  Canada,  and  had  got  nothing  for 
his  pains  but  news  of  mishaps  and  troubles.     He 

1  Saint-Simon  speaks  of  these  assemblies.  The  halls  in  question 
were  finished  in  1682 ;  and  a  minute  account  of  them,  and  of  the 
particular  use  to  which  each  was  destined,  was  printed  in  the 
Mercure  Frangais  of  that  year.  See  also  Soulie,  Notice  du  Mus€e 
imperial  de  Versailles,  where  copious  extracts  from  the  Mercure  are 
given.  The  grands  appartements  are  now  entirely  changed  in 
appearance,  and  turned  into  an  historic  picture-gallery. 


1999.]  FRONTENAC   AND  THE  KING.  195 

was  growing  tired  of  the  colony  which  he  had  nursed 
with  paternal  fondness,  and  he  was  more  than  half 
angry  with  it  because  it  did  not  prosper.  Denonville's 
letters  had  grown  worse  and  worse ;  and  though  he 
had  not  heard  as  yet  of  the  last  great  calamity,  he 
was  sated  with  ill  tidings  already. 

Count  Frontenac  stood  before  him.  Since  his 
recall  he  had  lived  at  court,  needy  and  no  longer  in 
favor;  but  he  had  influential  friends  and  an  intrigu- 
ing wife,  always  ready  to  serve  him.  The  King  A 
knew  his  merits  as  well  as  "his  laulte;  and  in  the 
desperate  state  of  his  Canadian  affairs  he  had  been 
led  to  the  resolution  of  restoring  him  to  the  command 
from  which,  for  excellent  reasons,  he  had  removed 
him  seven  years  before.  He  now  told  him  that,  in 
his  belief,  the  charges  brought  against  him  were 
without  foundation.  1  "I  send  you  back  to  Canada," 
he  is  reported  to  have  said,  "  where  I  am  sure  that 
you  will  serve  me  as  well  as  you  did  before ;  and  J  -.y*- 
ask  nothing  more  of  you."^  The  post  was  not  a 
tempting  one  to  a  man  in  his  seventieth  year.  Alone 
and  unsupported,  —  for  the  King,  with  Europe  rising 
against  him,  would  give  him  no  more  troops,  —  he 
was  to  restore  the  prostrate  colony  to  hope  and  cour- 
age, and  fight  two  enemies  with  a  force  that  had 
proved  no  match  for  one  of  them  alone.     The  auda- 

1  Journal  de  Dangeau,  ii.  390.  Frontenac,  since  his  recall,  had 
not  been  wholly  without  marks  of  royal  favor.  In  1685  the  King 
gave  him  a  "  gratification  "  of  3,600  francs.    Ibid.,  i.  205. 

*  Goyer,  Oraison  Funebre  du  Comte  de  Frontenac, 


196  RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC.  [1689. 

cious  count  trusted  himself,  and  undertook  the  task; 
received  the  royal  instructions,  and  took  his  last 
leave  of  the  master  whom  even  he  after  a  fashion 
honored  and  admired. 

He  repaired  to  Rochelle,  where  two  ships  of  the 
royal  navy  were  waiting  his  arrival,  embarked  in  one 
of  them,  and  sailed  for  the  New  World.  An  heroic 
remedy  had  been  prepared  for  the  sickness  of  Canada, 
and  Frontenac  was  to  be  the  surgeon.  The  cure, 
however,  was  not  of  his  contriving.  Denonville  had 
sent  Calli^res,  his  second  in  command,  to  represent 
the  state  of  the  colony  to  the  court,  and  beg  for  help. 
Callieres  saw  that  there  was  little  hope  of  more  troops 
or  any  considerable  supply  of  money;  and  he  laid 
before  the  King  a  plan  which  had  at  least  the  recom- 
mendations of  boldness  and  cheapness.  This  was  to 
conquer  New  York  with  the  forces  already  in  Canada, 
aided  only  by  two  ships  of  war.  The  blow,  he 
argued,  should  be  struck  at  once,  and  the  English 
taken  by  surprise.  A  thousand  regulars  and  six 
hundred  Canadian  militia  should  pass  Lake  Cham- 
plain  and  Lake  George  in  canoes  and  bateaux,  cross 
to  the  Hudson  and  capture  Albany,  where  they 
would  seize  all  the  river  craft  and  descend  the  Hudson 
to  the  town  of  New  York,  which,  as  Callieres  stated, 
had  then  about  two  hundred  houses  and  four  hundred 
fighting  men.  The  two  ships  were  to  cruise  at  the 
mouth  of  the  harbor  and  wait  the  arrival  of  the 
troops,  which  was  to  be  made  known  to  them  by 
concerted  signals,  whereupon  they  were  to  enter  and 


1689.]  CONQUEST  OF  NEW  YORK.  197 

aid  in  the  attack.  The  whole  expedition,  he  thought, 
might  be  accomplished  in  a  month;  so  that  by 
the  end  of  October  the  King  would  be  master  of 
all  the  country.  The  advantages  were  manifold. 
The  Iroquois,  depriyed  of  English  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion, would  be  at  the  mercy  of  the  French ;  the  ques- 
tion of  English  rivalry  in  the  west  would  be  settled 
forever;  the  King  would  acquire  a  means  of  access 
to  his  colony  incomparably  better  than  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  one  that  remained  open  all  the  year; 
and,  finally,  New  England  would  be  isolated,  and 
prepared  for  a  possible  conquest  in  the  future. 

The  King  accepted  the  plan  with  modifications, 
which  complicated  and  did  not  improve  it.  Extreme 
precautions  were  taken  to  insure  secrecy;  but  the 
vast  distances,  the  difficult  navigation,  and  the  acci- 
dents of  weather  appear  to  have  been  forgotten  in 
this  amended  scheme  of  operation.  There  was, 
moreover,  a  long  delay  in  fitting  the  two  ships  for 
sea.  The  wind  was  ahead,  and  they  were  fifty-two 
days  in  reaching  Chedabucto,  at  the  eastern  end  of 
Nova  Scotia.  Thence  Frontenac  and  Callieres  had 
orders  to  proceed  in  a  merchant  ship  to  Quebec, 
which  might  require  a  month  more ;  and  on  arriving 
they  were  to  prepare  for  the  expedition,  while  at  the 
same  time  Frontenac  was  to  send  back  a  letter  to  the 
naval  commander  at  Chedabucto,  revealing  the  plan 
to  him,  and  ordering  him  to  sail  to  New  York  to 
co-operate  in  it.  It  was  the  twelfth  of  September 
when  Chedabucto  was  reached,   and  the  enterprise 


198  RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC.  [1689. 

was  ruined  by  the  delay.  Frontenac's  first  step  in 
his  new  government  was  a  failure,  though  one  for 
which  he  was  in  no  way  answerable.^ 

It  will  be  well  to  observe  what  were  the  intentions 
of  the  King  towards  the  colony  which  he  proposed 
to  conquer.  They  were  as  follows :  If  any  Catholics 
were  found  in  New  York,  they  might  be  left  undis- 
turbed, provided  that  they  took  an  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  King.  Officers,  and  other  persons  who  had 
the  means  of  paying  ransoms,  were  to  be  thrown  into 
prison.  All  lands  in  the  colony,  except  those  of 
Catholics  swearing  allegiance,  were  to  be  taken  from 
their  owners,  and  granted  under  a  feudal  tenure  to 
the  French  officers  and  soldiers.  All  property, 
public  or  private,  was  to  be  seized,  a  portion  of  it 
given  to  the  grantees  of  the  land,  and  the  rest  sold 
on  account  of  the  King.  Mechanics  and  other  work- 
men might,  at  the  discretion  of  the  commanding 
officer,  be  kept  as  prisoners  to  work  at  fortifications 
and  do  other  labor.  The  rest  of  the  English  and 
Dutch  inhabitants  —  men,  women,  and  children  — 
were  to  be  carried  out  of  the  colony  and  dispersed  in 
New  England,  Pennsylvania,  or  other  places,  in  such 

*  Projet  du  Chevalier  de  Callieres  de  former  une  Expedition  pour 
alter  attaquer  Orange,  Manatte,  etc. ;  Resume  du  Ministre  sur  la  Propo- 
sition de  M.  de  Callieres;  Autre  M^moire  de  M.  de  Callieres  sur  son 
Projet  d'attaquer  la  Nouvelle  York;  Memoire  des  Armes,  Munitions,  et 
Ustensiles  n€cfissaires  pour  VEntreprise  propos€e  par  M.  de  Callieres; 
Observations  du  Ministre  sur  le  Projet  et  le  Memoire  ci-dessus  ;  Observa- 
tions du  Ministre  sur  le  Projet  d'Attaque  de  la  Nouvelle  York;  Autre 
Jdimoire  de  M.  de  Callieres  au  Sujet  de  VEntreprise  propos€e ;  Autv 
Memoire  de  M.  de  Callieres  sur  le  meme  Sujet. 


1680.]  DESIGNS  OF  THE  KING.  199 

a  manner  that  they  could  not  combine  in  any  attempt 
to  recover  their  property  and  their  country.  And 
that  the  conquest  might  be  perfectly  secure,  the 
nearest  settlements  of  New  England  were  to  be 
destroyed,  and  those  more  remote  laid  under 
contribution.^ 

In  the  next  century  some  of  the  people  of  Acadia 
were  torn  from  their  homes  by  order  of  a  British 
commander.  The  act  was  harsh  and  violent,  and 
the  innocent  were  involved  with  the  guilty;  but 
many  of  the  sufferers  had  provoked  their  fate,  and 
deserved  it.  Louis  XIV.  commanded  that  eighteen 
thousand  unoffending  persons  should  be  stripped  of 
all  that  they  possessed,  and  cast  out  to  the  mercy  of 

1  M^moirt  pour  servtr  d* Instruction  a  Monsieur  le  Comte  de  Frontenac 
tur  I'Entreprise  de  la  Nouvelle  York,  7  Juin,  1689.  "Si  parmy  les 
habitans  de  la  Nouvelle  York  il  se  trouve  des  Catholiques  de  la 
fidelite  desquels  il  croye  se  pouvoir  asseurer,  il  pourra  les  laisser 
dans  leurs  habitations  apres  leur  avoir  fait  prester  serment  de 
fidelity  It  sa  Majeste'.  ...  II  pourra  aussi  garder,  s'il  le  juge  4 
propos,  des  artisans  et  autres  gens  de  service  necessaires  pour  la 
culture  des  terres  ou  pour  travailler  aux  fortifications  en  qualite'  de 
prisonniers.  ...  II  faut  retenir  en  prison  les  officiers  et  les  prin- 
cipaux  habitans  desquels  on  pourra  retirer  des  ran9ons.  A  I'esgard 
de  tons  les  autres  estrangers  (ceux  qui  ne  sont  pas  Frangais)  homraei, 
femmes,  et  enfans,  sa  Majeste  trouve  k  propos  qu'ils  soient  mis  hors 
de  la  Colonic  et  envoyez  k  la  Nouvelle  Angleterre,  li  la  Pennsyl- 
vanie,  ou  en  d'autres  endroits  qu'il  jugera  k  propos,  par  mer  ou  pai 
terre,  ensemble  ou  separ^ment,  le  tout  suivant  qu'il  trouvera  plus 
fieur  pour  les  dissiper  et  empescher  qu'en  se  reunissant  ils  ne  puissent 
donner  occasion  k  des  entreprises  de  la  part  des  ennemis  contre 
cette  Colonic.  II  envoyera  en  France  les  Franpais  fugitifs  qu'il  y 
pourra  trouver,  et  partlculi^rement  ceux  de  la  Religion  Pre'tendue- 
Reformee  [Huguenots].'*  A  translation  of  the  entire  document  will 
be  found  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  ix.  422. 


200  RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC.  [1689. 

the  wilderness.  The  atrocity  of  the  plan  is  matched 
by  its  folly.  The  King  gave  explicit  orders,  but  he 
gave  neither  ships  nor  men  enough  to  accomplish 
them;  and  the  Dutch  farmers,  goaded  to  desperation, 
would  have  cut  his  sixteen  hundred  soldiers  to 
pieces.  It  was  the  scheme  of  a  man  blinded  by  a 
long  course  of  success.  Though  perverted  by  flattery 
and  hardened  by  unbridled  power,  he  was  not  cruel 
by  nature;  and  here,  as  in  the  burning  of  the 
Palatinate  and  the  persecution  of  the  Huguenots,  he 
would  have  stood  aghast,  if  his  dull  imagination 
could  have  pictured  to  him  the  miseries  he  was 
preparing  to  inflict.^ 

With  little  hope  left  that  the  grand  enterprise 
against  New  York  could  succeed,  Frontenac  made 
sail  for  Quebec,  and  stopping  by  the  way  at  Isle 
Percde,  learned  from  R^collet  missionaries  the  irrup- 
tion of  the  Iroquois  at  Montreal.  He  hastened  on; 
but  the  wind  was  still  against  him,  and  the  autumn 
woods  were  turning  brown  before  he  reached  his 
destination.  It  was  evening  when  he  landed,  amid 
fireworks,  illuminations,  and  the  firing  of  cannon. 
All  Quebec  came  to  meet  him  by  torchlight;  the 
members  of  the  council  offered  their  respects,  and 
the  Jesuits  made  him  an  harangue  of  welcome. ^     It 

*  On  the  details  of  the  projected  attack  of  New  York,  Le  Roy  h 
Denonville,  7  Juin,  1689 ;  Le  Ministre  a  Denonville,  meme  date ;  Le 
Ministre  a  Frontenac,  meme  date;  Ordre  du  Roy  a  Vaudreuil,  meme 
date;  Le  Roy  au  Sieur  de  la  Caffiniere,  meme  date;  Champigny  au 
Ministre,  16  Novembre,  1689. 

2  La  Hontan,  i.  199. 


1689.J  HIS   ARRIVAL.  201 

was  but  a  welcome  of  words.  They  and  the  council- 
lors had  done  their  best  to  have  him  recalled,  and 
hoped  that  they  were  rid  of  him  forever ;  but  now  he 
was  among  them  again,  rasped  by  the  memory  of  real 
or  fancied  wrongs. 

The  count,  however,  had  no  time  for  quarrelling. 
The  King  had  told  him  to  bury  old  animosities  and 
forget  the  past,  and  for  the  present  he  was  too  busy 
to  break  the  royal  injunction.^  He  caused  boats  to 
be  made  ready,  and  in  spite  of  incessant  rains  pushed 
up  the  river  to  Montreal.  Here  he  found  Denonville 
and  his  frightened  wife.  Everything  was  in  confu- 
sion. The  Iroquois  were  gone,  leaving  dejection 
and  terror  behind  them.  Frontenac  reviewed  the 
troops.  There  were  seven  or  eight  hundred  of  them 
in  the  town,  the  rest  being  in  garrison  at  the  various 
forts.  Then  he  repaired  to  what  was  once  La  Chine, 
and  surveyed  the  miserable  waste  of  ashes  and  deso- 
lation that  spread  for  miles  around. 

To  his  extreme  disgust,  he  learned  that  Denonville 
had  sent  a  Canadian  officer  by  secret  paths  to  Fort 
Frontenac,  with  orders  to  Valrenne,  the  commandant, 
to  blow  it  up,  and  return  with  his  garrison  to 
Montreal.  Frontenac  had  built  the  fort,  had  given 
it  his  own  name,  and  had  cherished  it  with  a  pater- 
nal fondness,  reinforced  by  strong  hopes  of  making 
money  out  of  it.  For  its  sake  he  had  become  the 
butt  of  scandal  and  opprobrium ;  but  not  the  less  had 
he  always  stood  its  strenuous  and  passionate  champion. 

*  Instruction  pour  le  Sieur  Comte  de  Frontenac,  7  Juin,  1689. 


202  RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC.  [1«80. 

An  Iroquois  envoy  had  lately  with  great  insolence 
demanded  its  destruction  of  Denonville;  and  this 
alone,  in  the  eyes  of  Frontenac,  was  ample  reason 
for  maintaining  it  at  any  cost.^  He  still  had  hope 
that  it  might  be  saved,  and  with  all  the  energy  of 
youth  he  proceeded  to  collect  canoes,  men,  provisions, 
and  arms;  battled  against  dejection,  insubordination, 
and  fear,  and  in  a  few  days  despatched  a  convoy  of 
three  hundred  men  to  relieve  the  place,  and  stop  the 
execution  of  Denonville 's  orders.  His  orders  had 
been  but  too  promptly  obeyed.  The  convoy  was 
scarcely  gone  an  hour,  when,  to  Frontenac 's  unutter- 
able wrath,  Valrenne  appeared  with  his  garrison. 
He  reported  that  he  had  set  fire  to  everything  in  the 
fort  that  would  burn,  sunk  the  three  vessels  belong- 
ing to  it,  thrown  the  cannon  into  the  lake,  mined  the 
walls  and  bastions,  and  left  matches  burning  in  the 
powder  magazine;  and,  further,  that  when  he  and 
his  men  were  five  leagues  on  their  way  to  Montreal, 
a  dull  and  distant  explosion  told  them  that  the  mines 
had  sprung.  It  proved  afterwards  that  the  destruc- 
tion was  not  complete ;  and  the  Iroquois  took  posses- 
sion of  the  abandoned  fort,  with  a  large  quantity  of 
stores  and  munitions  left  by  the  garrison  in  their  too 
hasty  retreat.^ 

There  was  one  ray  of  light  through  the  clouds. 
The  unwonted  news  of  a  victory  came  to  Montreal. 
It  was  small,  but  decisive,  and  might  be  an  earnest 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  15  Novembre,  168P. 

•  Ibid. ;  Recueil  de  ce  qui  s'est  pass€  en  Canada  depuis  Vann€e  1682^ 


1689.]  IROQUOIS  DEFEAT. 

of  greater  things  to  come.  Before  Frontenac's  arrival, 
Denonville  had  sent  a  reconnoitring  party  up  the 
Ottawa.  They  had  gone  no  farther  than  the  Lake 
of  Two  Mountains,  when  they  met  twenty-two 
Iroquois  in  two  large  canoes,  who  immediately  bore 
down  upon  them,  yelling  furiously.  The  French 
party  consisted  of  twenty-eight  coureurs  de  hois  under 
Du  Lhut  and  Mantet,  excellent  partisan  chiefs,  who 
manoeuvred  so  well  that  the  rising  sun  blazed  full  in 
the  eyes  of  the  advancing  enemy,  and  spoiled  their 
aim.  The  French  received  their  fire,  which  wounded 
one  man;  then,  closing  with  them  while  their  guns 
were  empty,  gave  them  a  volley,  which  killed  and 
wounded  eighteen  of  their  number.  One  swam 
ashore.  The  remaining  three  were  captured,  and 
given  to  the  Indian  allies  to  be  burned.^ 

This  gleam  of  sunshine  passed,  and  all  grew  black 
again.  On  a  snowy  November  day  a  troop  of 
Iroquois  fell  on  the  settlement  of  La  Chesnaye, 
burned  the  houses,  and  vanished  with  a  troop  of 
prisoners,  leaving  twenty  mangled  corpses  on  the 
snow.2  "The  terror,"  wrote  the  bishop,  "is  inde- 
scribable." The  appearance  of  a  few  savages  would 
put  a  whole  neighborhood  to  flight.  ^    So  desperate, 

^  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  15  Novembre,  1689 ;  Champigny  au  MinistrCf 
16  Novembre,  1689.  Compare  Belmont,  whose  account  is  a  little 
different ;  also  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs,,  ix.  435. 

2  Belmont,  Histoire  du  Canada;  Frontenac  a ,17  Novembre, 

1689 ;  Champigny  au  Ministre,  16  Novembre,  1689.  This  letter  is  not 
the  one  just  cited.    Champigny  wrote  twice  on  the  same  day. 

»  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  ix.  435. 


204  RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC.  [1689. 

wrote  Frontenac,  were  the  needs  of  the  colony,  and 
so  great  the  contempt  with  which  the  Iroquois 
regarded  it,  that  it  almost  needed  a  miracle  either  to 
carry  on  war  or  make  peace.  What  he  most  earnestly 
wished  was  to  keep  the  Iroquois  quiet,  and  so  leave 
his  hands  free  to  deal  with  the  English.  This  was 
not  easy,  to  such  a  pitch  of  audacity  had  late  events 
raised  them.  Neither  his  temper  nor  his  convictions 
would  allow  him  to  beg  peace  of  them,  like  his  prede- 
cessor; but  he  had  inordinate  trust  in  the  influence 
of  his  name,  and  he  now  took  a  course  which  he 
hoped  might  answer  his  purpose  without  increasing 
their  insolence.  The  perfidious  folly  of  Denonville 
in  seizing  their  countrymen  at  Fort  Frontenac  had 
been  a  prime  cause  of  their  hostility;  and  at  the 
request  of  the  late  governor  the  surviving  captives, 
thirteen  in  all,  had  been  taken  from  the  galleys, 
gorgeously  clad  in  French  attire,  and  sent  back  to 
Canada  in  the  ship  which  carried  Frontenac.  Among 
them  was  a  famous  Cayuga  war-chief  called  Ourehaou^, 
whose  loss  had  infuriated  the  Iroquois.  ^  Frontenac 
gained  his  good- will  on  the  voyage ;  and  when  they 
reached  Quebec,  he  lodged  him  in  the  chateau,  and 
treated  him  with  such  kindness  that  the  chief  became 
his  devoted  admirer  and  friend.  As  his  influence 
was  great  among  his  people,  Frontenac  hoped  that 
he  might  use  him  with  success  to  bring  about  an 

1  Ourehaou^  was  not  one  of  the  neutrals  entrapped  at  Fort 
Frontenac,  but  was  seized  about  the  sanae  time  by  the  troops  on 
their  way  up  the  St.  Lawrence. 


1689.]  HIS  EFFORTS  FOR  PEACE.  206 

accommodation.  He  placed  three  of  the  captives  at 
the  disposal  of  the  Cayuga,  who  forthwith  sent  them 
to  Onondaga  with  a  message  which  the  governor  had 
dictated,  and  which  was  to  the  following  effect: 
"  The  great  Onontio,  whom  you  all  know,  has  come 
back  again.  He  does  not  blame  you  for  what  you 
have  done ;  for  he  looks  upon  you  as  foolish  children, 
and  blames  only  the  English,  who  are  the  cause  of 
your  folly,  and  have  made  you  forget  your  obedience 
to  a  father  who  has  always  loved  and  never  deceived 
you.  He  will  permit  me,  Ourehaou(5,  to  return  to 
you  as  soon  as  you  will  come  to  ask  for  me,  —  not 
as  you  have  spoken  of  late,  but  like  children  speak- 
ing to  a  father."^  Frontenac  hoped  that  they  would 
send  an  embassy  to  reclaim  their  chief,  and  thus  give 
him  an  opportunity  to  use  his  personal  influence  over 
them.  With  the  three  released  captives,  he  sent  an 
Iroquois  convert  named  Cut  Nose  with  a  wampum 
belt  to  announce  his  return. 

When  the  deputation  arrived  at  Onondaga  and 
made  known  their  errand,  the  Iroquois  magnates, 
with  their  usual  deliberation,  deferred  answering  till 
a  general  council  of  the  confederacy  should  have 
time  to  assemble;  and,  meanwhile,  they  sent  mes- 
sengers to  ask  the  mayor  of  Albany,  and  others  of 
their  Dutch  and  English  friends,  to  come  to  the 
meeting.  They  did  not  comply,  merely  sending  the 
government  interpreter,  with  a  few  Mohawk  Indians, 
to  represent  their  interests.     On  the  other  hand,  the 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  30  Avril,  1690. 


206  RETURN   OF  FRONTENAC.  [1689. 

Jesuit  Milet,  who  had  been  captured  a  few  months 
before,  adopted,  and  made  an  Oneida  chief,  used 
every  effort  to  second  the  designs  of  Frontenac.  The 
authorities  of  Albany  tried  in  vain  to  induce  the 
Iroquois  to  place  him  in  their  hands.  They  under- 
stood their  interests  too  well,  and  held  fast  to  the 
Jesuit.^ 

The  grand  council  took  place  at  Onondaga  on 
the  twenty-second  of  January.  Eighty  chiefs  and 
sachems,  seated  gravely  on  mats  around  the  council- 
fire,  smoked  their  pipes  in  silence  for  a  while;  till 
at  length  an  Onondaga  orator  rose,  and  announced 
that  Frontenac,  the  old  Onontio,  had  returned  with 
Ourehaoud  and  twelve  more  of  their  captive  friends ; 
that  he  meant  to  rekindle  the  council-fire  at  Fort 
Frontenac,  and  that  he  invited  them  to  meet  him 
there. '-^ 

"Ho,  ho,  ho! "  returned  the  eighty  senators,  from 
the  bottom  of  their  throats.  It  was  the  unfailing 
Iroquois  response  to  a  speech.  Then  Cut  Nose,  the 
governor's  messenger,  addressed  the  council:  "I 
advise  you  to  meet  Onontio  as  he  desires.     Do  so,  if 

1  Milet  was  taken  in  1689,  not,  as  has  been  supposed,  in  1690. 
Lettre  du  Pere  Milet,  1691,  printed  hy  Shea. 

2  Frontenac  declares  that  he  sent  no  such  message,  and  intimates 
that  Cut  Nose  had  been  tampered  with  by  persons  over-anxious  to 
conciliate  the  Iroquois,  and  who  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to  send 
them  messages  on  their  own  account.  These  persons  were  Lamber- 
ville,  Fran9ois  Hertel,  and  one  of  the  Le  Moynes.  Frontenac  was 
rery  angry  at  this  interference,  to  which  he  ascribes  the  most  mis- 
chievous consequences.  Cut  Nose,  or  Nez  Coupe,  is  called  Adarahta 
by  Golden  and  Gagniegaton,  or  Red  Bird,  by  some  French  writers. 


1690.]  THE  IROQUOIS  IN  COUNCIL.  207 

you  wish  to  live."  He  presented  a  wampum  belt  to 
confirm  his  words,  and  the  conclave  again  returned 
the  same  guttural  ejaculation.  "Ourehaoud  sends 
you  this,"  continued  Cut  Nose,  presenting  another 
belt  of  wampum :  "  by  it  he  advises  you  to  listen  to 
Onontio,  if  you  wish  to  live." 

When  the  messenger  from  Canada  had  ceased, 
the  messenger  from  Albany,  a  Mohawk  Indian, 
rose  and  repeated  word  for  word  a  speech  confided 
to  him  by  the  mayor  of  that  town,  urging  the 
Iroquois  to  close  their  ears  against  the  invitations 
of  Onontio. 

Next  rose  one  Cannehoot,  a  sachem  of  the  Senecas, 
charged  with  matters  of  grave  import;  for  they  in- 
volved no  less  than  the  revival  of  that  scheme,  so 
perilous  to  the  French,  of  the  union  of  the  tribes  of 
the  Great  Lakes  in  a  triple  alliance  with  the  Iroquois 
and  the  English.  These  lake  tribes,  disgusted  with 
the  French,  who  under  Denonville  had  left  them  to 
the  mercy  of  the  Iroquois,  had  been  impelled,  both 
by  their  fears  and  their  interests,  to  make  new 
advances  to  the  confederacy,  and  had  first  addressed 
themselves  to  the  Senecas,  whom  they  had  most 
cause  to  dread.  They  had  given  up  some  of  the 
Iroquois  prisoners  in  their  hands,  and  promised  soon 
to  give  up  the  rest.  A  treaty  had  been  made ;  and 
it  was  this  event  which  the  Seneca  sachem  now 
announced  to  the  council.  Having  told  the  story  to 
his  assembled  colleagues,  he  exhibited  and  explained 
the  wampum  belts  and  other  tokens  brought  by  the 


208  RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC.  [1690. 

envoys  from  the  lakes,  who  represented  nine  distinct 
tribes  or  bands  from  the  region  of  Michilimackinac. 
By  these  tokens,  the  nine  tribes  declared  that  they 
came  to  learn  wisdom  of  the  Iroquois  and  the  Eng- 
lish; to  wash  off  the  war-paint,  throw  down  the 
tomahawk,  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace,  and  unite  with 
them  as  one  body.  "Onontio  is  drunk,"  such  was 
the  interpretation  of  the  fourth  wampum  belt;  "but 
we,  the  tribes  of  Michilimackinac,  wash  our  hands 
of  all  his  actions.  Neither  we  nor  you  must  defile 
ourselves  by  listening  to  him."  When  the  Seneca 
sachem  had  ended,  and  when  the  ejaculations  that 
echoed  his  words  had  ceased,  the  belts  were  hung  up 
before  all  the  assembly,  then  taken  down  again,  and 
distributed  among  the  sachems  of  the  five  Iroquois 
tribes,  excepting  one,  which  was  given  to  the  mes- 
sengers from  Albany.  Thus  was  concluded  the 
triple  alliance,  which  to  Canada  meant  no  less  than 
ruin. 

"Brethren,"  said  an  Onondaga  sachem,  "we  must 
hold  fast  to  our  brother  Quider  [Peter  Schuyler, 
mayor  of  Albany],  and  look  on  Onontio  as  our 
enemy,  for  he  is  a  cheat." 

Then  they  invited  the  interpreter  from  Albany  to 
address  the  council,  which  he  did,  advising  them  not 
to  listen  to  the  envoys  from  Canada.  When  he  had 
ended,  they  spent  some  time  in  consultation  among 
themselves,  and  at  length  agreed  on  the  following 
message,  addressed  to  Corlaer,  or  New  York,  and  to 
Kinshon,  the  Fish,  by  which  they  meant  New  Eng- 


1690.]  THE  IROQUOIS  IN  COUNCIL.  209 

land,  the  authorities  of  which  had  sent  them  the 
image  of  a  fish  as  a  token  of  alliance:^  — 

"  Brethren,  our  council-fire  burns  at  Albany.  We 
will  not  go  to  meet  Onontio  at  Fort  Frontenac.  We 
will  hold  fast  to  the  old  chain  of  peace  with  Corlaer, 
and  we  will  fight  with  Onontio.  Brethren,  we  are 
glad  to  hear  from  you  that  you  are  preparing  to  make 
war  on  Canada,  but  tell  us  no  lies.  Brother  Kinshon, 
we  hear  that  you  mean  to  send  soldiers  against  the 
Indians  to  the  eastward;  but  we  advise  you,  now 
that  we  are  all  united  against  the  French,  to  fall 
upon  them  at  once.  Strike  at  the  root:  when  the 
trunk  is  cut  down,  all  the  branches  fall  with  it. 
Courage,  Corlaer !  coui-age,  Kinshon !  Go  to  Quebec 
in  the  spring;  take  it,  and  you  will  have  your  feet 
on  the  necks  of  the  French  and  all  their  friends." 

Then  they  consulted  together  again,  and  agreed  on 
the  following  answer  to  Ourehaoud  and  Frontenac: 

"  Ourehaou^,  the  whole  council  is  glad  to  hear  that 
you  have  come  back.  Onontio,  you  have  told  us 
that  you  have  come  back  again,  and  brought  with 
you  thirteen  of  our  people  who  were  carried  prisoners 
to  France.  We  are  glad  of  it.  You  wish  to  speak 
with  us  at  Cataraqui  [Fort  Frontenac].  Don't  you 
know  that  your  council-fire  there  is  put  out  ?  It  is 
quenched  in  blood.  You  must  first  send  home  the 
prisoners.     When  our  brother  Ourehaoud  is  returned 

1  The  wooden  image  of  a  codfish  still  hangs  in  the  State  House 
at  Boston,  the  emblem  of  a  colony  which  lived  chiefly  by  the 
fisheries. 

14 


210  RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC.  [169a 

to  us,  then  we  will  talk  with  you  of  peace.  You 
must  send  him  and  the  others  home  this  very  winter. 
We  now  let  you  know  that  we  have  made  peace  with 
the  tribes  of  Michilimackinac.  You  are  not  to 
think,  because  we  return  you  an  answer,  that  we 
have  laid  down  the  tomahawk.  Our  warriors  will 
continue  the  war  till  you  send  our  countrymen  back 
tous."i 

The  messengers  from  Canada  returned  with  this 
reply.  Unsatisfactory  as  it  was,  such  a  quantity  of 
wampum  was  sent  with  it  as  showed  plainly  the 
importance  attached  by  the  Iroquois  to  the  matters 
in  question.  Encouraged  by  a  recent  success  against 
the  English,  and  still  possessed  with  an  overweening 
confidence  in  his  own  influence  over  the  confederates, 
Frontenac  resolved  that  Ourehaou^  should  send  them 
another  message.  The  chief,  whose  devotion  to  the 
count  never  wavered,  accordingly  despatched  four 
envoys,  with  a  load  of  wampum  belts,  expressing 
his  astonishment  that  his  countrymen  had  not  seen  fit 
to  send  a  deputation  of  chiefs  to  receive  him  from 
the  hands  of  Onontio,  and  calling  upon  them  to  do  so 

1  The  account  of  this  council  is  given,  with  condensation  and 
the  omission  of  parts  not  essential,  from  Golden  (105-112,  ed.  1747). 
It  will  serve  as  an  example  of  the  Iroquois  method  of  conducting 
political  business,  the  habitual  regularity  and  decorum  of  which 
has  drawn  from  several  contemporary  French  writers  the  remark 
that  in  such  matters  the  five  tribes  were  savages  only  in  name. 
The  reply  to  Frontenac  is  also  given  by  Monseignat  {N.  Y.  CoL 
Docs.y  ix.  466),  and,  after  him,  by  La  Potherie.  Compare  Le  Clercq 
j^tablissement  de  la  Foy,  ii.  403.  Ourehaoue  is  the  Tawerahet  of 
Ck>lden. 


1690.]  CHEVALIER  D'AUX.  211 

without  delay,  lest  he  should  think  that  they  had 
forgotten  him.  Along  with  the  messengers,  Frontenac 
ventured  to  send  the  Chevalier  d'Aux,  a  half-pay 
officer,  with  orders  to  observe  the  disposition  of  the 
Iroquois,  and  impress  them  in  private  talk  with  a 
sense  of  the  count's  power,  of  his  good-will  to  them, 
and  of  the  wisdom  of  coming  to  terms  with  him,  lest, 
like  an  angry  father,  he  should  be  forced  at  last  to 
use  the  rod.  The  chevalier's  reception  was  a  warm 
one.  They  burned  two  of  his  attendants,  forced 
him  to  run  the  gantlet,  and,  after  a  vigorous  thrash- 
ing, sent  him  prisoner  to  Albany.  The  last  failure 
was  worse  than  the  first.  The  count's  name  was 
great  among  the  Iroquois,  but  he  had  trusted  its 
power  too  far.^ 

The  worst  of  news  had  come  from  Michilimackinac. 
La  Durantaye,  the  commander  of  the  post,  and 
Carheil,  the  Jesuit,  had  sent  a  messenger  to  Montreal 
in  the  depth  of  winter  to  say  that  the  tribes  around 
them  were  on  the  point  of  revolt.  Carheil  wrote 
that  they  threatened  openly  to  throw  themselves  into 
the  arms  of  the  Iroquois  and  the  English;  that  they 
declared  that  the  protection  of  Onontio  was  an  illu- 
sion and  a  snare ;  that  they  once  mistook  the  French 
for  warriors,  but  saw  now  that  they  were  no  match 
for  the  Iroquois,  whom  they  had  tamely  allowed  to 
butcher  them  at  Montreal,  without  even  daring  to 

*  Message  of  Ourehaou€,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs,,  iii.  735 ;  Instructions 
fo  Chevalier  d'Eau,  Ibid.,  733 ;  Chevalier  d'Aux  au  Ministre,  16  Mai. 
1693.  The  chevalier's  name  is  also  written  d'O.  He  himself  wrote 
it  as  in  the  text. 


212  RETURN  OF  FRONTENAC.  [1690 

defend  themselves;  that  when  the  French  invaded 
the  Senecas  they  did  nothing  but  cut  down  corn  and 
break  canoes,  and  since  that  time  they  had  done 
nothing  but  beg  peace  for  themselves,  forgetful  of 
their  allies,  whom  they  expected  to  bear  the  brunt  of 
the  war,  and  then  left  to  their  fate;  that  they  had 
surrendered  through  cowardice  the  prisoners  they 
had  caught  by  treachery,  and  this,  too,  at  a  time 
when  the  Iroquois  were  burning  French  captives  in 
all  tlieir  towns;  and,  finally,  that,  as  the  French 
would  not  or  could  not  make  peace  for  them,  they 
would  make  peace  for  themselves.  "These,"  pur- 
sued Carheil,  "  are  the  reasons  they  give  us  to  prove 
the  necessity  of  their  late  embassy  to  the  Senecas; 
and  by  this  one  can  see  that  our  Indians  are  a  great 
deal  more  clear-sighted  than  they  are  thought  to  be, 
and  that  it  is  hard  to  conceal  from  their  penetra- 
tion anything  that  can  help  or  harm  their  interests. 
What  is  certain  is,  that,  if  the  Iroquois  are  not 
stopped,  they  will  not  fail  to  come  and  make  them- 
selves masters  here."^ 

Charlevoix  thinks  that  Frontenac  was  not  dis- 
pleased at  this  bitter  arraignment  of  his  predecessor's 
administration.  At  the  same  time,  his  position  was 
very  embarrassing.  He  had  no  men  to  spare;  but 
such  was  the  necessity  of  saving  Michilimackinac, 
and  breaking  off  the  treaty  with  the  Senecas,  that 

1  Carheil  a  Frontenac,  1690.  Frontenac  did  not  receive  this  letter 
till  September,  and  acted  on  the  information  previously  sent  him. 
Charlevoix's  version  of  the  letter  does  not  conform  with  the 
original. 


1690.J  HIS  BOLDNESS.  213 

when  spring  opened  he  sent  Captain  Louvigny  with 
a  hundred  and  forty-three  Canadians  and  six  Indians 
to  reinforce  the  post  and  replace  its  commander,  La 
Durantaye.  Two  other  officers  with  an  additional 
force  were  ordered  to  accompany  him  through  the 
most  dangerous  part  of  the  journey.  With  them 
went  Nicolas  Perrot,  bearing  a  message  from  the 
count  to  his  rebellious  children  of  Michilimackinac. 
The  following  was  the  pith  of  this  characteristic 
document:  — 

"  I  am  astonished  to  learn  that  you  have  forgotten 
the  protection  that  I  always  gave  you.  Do  you 
think  that  I  am  no  longer  alive;  or  that  I  have  a 
mind  to  stand  idle,  like  those  who  have  been  here 
in  my  place  ?  Or  do  you  think  that  if  eight  or  ten 
hairs  have  been  torn  from  my  children's  heads  when 
I  was  absent,  I  cannot  put  ten  handfuls  of  hair  in 
the  place  of  every  one  that  was  pulled  out?  You 
know  that  before  I  protected  you  the  ravenous 
Iroquois  dog  was  biting  everybody.  I  tamed  him 
and  tied  him  up ;  but  when  he  no  longer  saw  me,  he 
behaved  worse  than  ever.  If  he  persists,  he  shall 
feel  my  power.  The  English  have  tried  to  win  him 
by  flatteries,  but  I  will  kill  all  who  encourage  him. 
The  English  have  deceived  and  devoured  their  chil- 
dren, but  I  am  a  good  father  who  loves  you.  I  loved 
the  Iroquois  once,  because  they  obeyed  me.  When 
I  knew  that  they  had  been  treacherously  captured 
and  carried  to  France,  I  set  them  free ;  and  when  I 
restore  them  to  their  country,  it  will  not  be  through 


/ 


214  RETURT^  OF  FRONTENAC.  [1690. 

fear,  but  through  pity,  for  I  hate  treachery.  I  am 
strong  enough  to  kill  the  English,  destroy  the  Iro- 
quois, and  whip  you,  if  you  fail  in  your  duty  to  me. 
The  Iroquois  have  killed  and  captured  you  in  time 
of  peace.  Do  to  them  as  they  have  done  to  you;  do 
to  the  English  as  they  would  like  to  do  to  you;  but 
hold  fast  to  your  true  father,  who  will  never  abandon 
you.  Will  you  let  the  English  brandy  that  has 
killed  you  in  your  wigwams  lure  you  into  the  kettles 
of  the  Iroquois?  Is  not  mine  better,  which  has 
never  killed  you,  but  always  made  you  strong  ?  "  ^ 

Charged  with  this  haughty  missive,  Perrot  set  out 
for  Michilimackinac,  along  with  Louvigny  and  his 
men.  On  their  way  up  the  Ottawa,  they  met  a 
large  band  of  Iroquois  hunters,  whom  they  routed 
with  heavy  loss.  Nothing  could  have  been  more 
auspicious  for  Perrot's  errand.  When  towards  mid- 
summer they  reached  their  destination,  they  ranged 
their  canoes  in  a  triumphal  procession,  placed  in  the 
foremost  an  Iroquois  captured  in  the  fight,  forced 
him  to  dance  and  sing,  hung  out  the  fleur-de-lis^ 
shouted  Vive  le  Roi^  whooped,  yelled,  and  fired  their 
guns.  As  they  neared  the  village  of  the  Ottawas, 
all  the  naked  population  ran  down  to  the  shore,  leap- 
ing, yelping,  and  firing,  in  return.  Louvigny  and 
his  men  passed  on,  and  landed  at  the  neighboring 
village  of  the   French  settlers,   who,   drawn  up  in 

1  Parole  (de  M.  de  Frontenac)  qui  doit  etre  dite  a  VOutaouais  pour 
le  dissuader  de  V Alliance  qu'il  veut  /aire  avec  VIroquois  et  VAnglois. 
The  message  is  long.    Only  the  principal  points  are  given  above. 


leOO.]    THE  FRENCH  AT  MICHILIMACKINAC.       215 

battle-array  on  the  shore,  added  more  yells  and  firing 
to  the  general  uproar;  though,  amid  this  joyous 
fusillade  of  harmless  gunpowder,  they  all  kept  their 
bullets  ready  for  instant  use,  for  they  distrusted  the 
savage  multitude.  The  story  of  the  late  victory, 
however,  confirmed  as  it  was  by  an  imposing  display 
of  scalps,  produced  an  effect  which  averted  the 
danger  of  an  immediate  outbreak. 

The  fate  of  the  Iroquois  prisoner  now  became  the 
point  at  issue.  The  French  hoped  that  the  Indians 
in  their  excitement  could  be  induced  to  put  him  to 
death,  and  thus  break  their  late  treaty  with  his 
countrymen.  Besides  the  Ottawas,  there  was  at 
Michilimackinac  a  village  of  Hurons  under  their 
crafty  chief,  the  Rat.  They  had  pretended  to  stand 
fast  for  the  French,  who  nevertheless  believed  them 
to  be  at  the  bottom  of  all  the  mischief.  They  now 
begged  for  the  prisoner,  promising  to  burn  him.  On 
the  faith  of  this  pledge,  he  was  given  to  them;  but 
they  broke  their  word,  and  kept  him  alive,  in  order  to 
curry  favor  with  the  Iroquois.  The  Ottawas,  intensely 
jealous  of  the  preference  shown  to  the  Hurons, 
declared  in  their  anger  that  the  prisoner  ought  to  be 
killed  and  eaten.  This  was  precisely  what  the 
interests  of  the  French  demanded;  but  the  Hurons 
still  persisted  in  protecting  him.  Their  Jesuit  mis- 
sionary now  interposed,  and  told  them  that  unless 
they  "put  the  Iroquois  into  the  kettle,"  the  French 
would  take  him  from  them.  After  much  discussion, 
this  argument  prevailed.     They  planted  a  stake,  tied 


216  RETURN   OF  FRONTENAC.  [169a 

Tiim  to  it,  and  began  to  torture  him;  but  as  he  did 
not  show  the  usual  fortitude  of  his  countrymen,  they 
declared  him  unworthy  to  die  the  death  of  a  warrior, 
and  accordingly  shot  him.^ 

Here  was  a  point  gained  for  the  French,  but  the 
danger  was  not  passed.  The  Ottawas  could  disavow 
the  killing  of  the  Iroquois ;  and  in  fact,  though  there 
was  a  great  division  of  opinion  among  them,  they 
were  preparing  at  this  very  time  to  send  a  secret 
embassy  to  the  Seneca  country  to  ratify  the  fatal 
treaty. 

The  French  commanders  called  a  council  of  all  the 
tribes.  It  met  at  the  house  of  the  Jesuits.  Presents 
in  abundance  were  distributed.  The  message  of 
Frontenac  was  reinforced  by  persuasion  and  threats; 
and  the  assembly  was  told  that  the  five  tribes  of  the 
Iroquois  were  like  five  nests  of  muskrats  in  a  marsh, 
which  the  French  would  drain  dry,  and  then  burn 
with  all  its  inhabitants.     Perrot  took  the  disaffected 


1  "  Le  P^re  Missionaire  des  Hurons,  pr^vojant  que  cette  affaire 
auroit  peut-etre  une  suite  qui  pourrait  etre  pr^judiciable  aux  soins 
qu'il  prenoit  de  leur  instruction,  demanda  qu'il  lui  fut  permis  d'aller 
k  leur  village  pour  les  obliger  de  trouver  quelque  moyen  qui  fut 
capable  d'appaiser  le  ressentiment  des  Francois.  II  leur  dit  que 
ceux-ci  vouloient  absolument  que  Ton  mit  VTroquois  a  la  chaudiere, 
et  que  si  on  ne  le  faisoit,  on  devoit  venir  le  leur  enlever."  —  La 
Potherie,u.  2S7  (1722). 

By  the  "result  prejudicial  to  his  cares  for  their  instruction,"  he 
seems  to  mean  their  possible  transfer  from  French  to  English 
influences.  The  expression  mettre  a  la  chaudiere,  though  derived 
from  cannibal  practices,  is  often  used  figuratively  for  torturing  and 
killing.  The  missionary  in  question  was  either  Carheil  or  another 
Jesuit,  who  must  have  acted  with  his  sanction. 


1690.]  THE   STROKE   PARRIED.  217 

chiefs  aside,  and  with  his  usual  bold  adroitness 
diverted  them  for  the  moment  from  their  purpose. 
The  projected  embassy  was  stopped,  but  any  day 
might  revive  it.  There  was  no  safety  for  the  French, 
and  the  ground  of  Michilimackinac  was  hollow  under 
their  feet.  Everything  depended  on  the  success  of 
their  arms.  A  few  victories  would  confirm  their 
wavering  allies;  but  the  breath  of  another  defeat 
would  blow  the  fickle  crew  over  to  the  enemy  like  a 
drift  of  dry  leaves. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

1690. 

THE  THREE  WAR-PARTIES. 

Measures  of  Frontenac.  —  Expedition  against  Schenectadt 
—  The  March.  —  The  Dutch  Village.  —  The  Surprise.  — 
The  Massacre.  —  Prisoners  spared.  —  Retreat.  —  The  Eng- 
lish AND  their  Iroquois  Friends.  —  The  Abenaki  War. — 
Revolution  at  Boston.  —  Capture  of  Pemaquid,  —  Capture 
of  Salmon  Falls.  —  Capture  op  Fort  Loyal.  —  Frontenac 
AND  HIS  Prisoner.  —  The  Canadians  encouraged. 

While  striving  to  reclaim  his  allies,  Frontenac  had 
not  forgotten  his  enemies.  It  was  of  the  last  neces- 
sity to  revive  the  dashed  spirits  of  the  Canadians 
and  the  troops;  and  action,  prompt  and  bold,  was 
the  only  means  of  doing  so.  He  resolved,  therefore, 
to  take  the  offensive,  —  not  against  the  Iroquois, 
who  seemed  invulnerable  as  ghosts,  but  against  the 
English;  and  by  striking  a  few  sharp  and  rapid 
blows,  to  teach  both  friends  and  foes  that  Onontio 
was  still  alive.  The  effect  of  his  return  had  already 
begun  to  appear,  and  the  energy  and  fire  of  the 
undaunted  veteran  had  shot  new  life  into  the  dejected 
population.  He  formed  three  war-parties  of  picked 
men,  —  one  at  Montreal,  one  at  Three  Rivers,  and 
one  at  Quebec  s  the   first  to  strike  at  Albany,  tha 


1690.]  THE  BUSH-RANGERS.  219 

second  at  the  border  settlements  of  New  Hampshire, 
and  the  third  at  those  of  Maine.  That  of  Montreal 
was  ready  first.  It  consisted  of  two  hundred  and 
ten  men,  of  whom  ninety-six  were  Indian  converts, 
chiefly  from  the  two  mission  villages  of  Saut  St. 
Louis  and  the  Mountain  of  Montreal.  They  were 
Christian  Iroquois  whom  the  priests  had  persuaded 
to  leave  their  homes  and  settle  in  Canada,  —  to  the 
great  indignation  of  their  heathen  countrymen,  and 
the  great  annoyance  of  the  English  colonists,  to 
whom  they  were  a  constant  menace.  When  Denon- 
ville  attacked  the  Senecas,  they  had  joined  him ;  but 
of  late  they  had  shown  reluctance  to  fight  their 
heathen  kinsmen,  with  whom  the  French  even  sus- 
pected them  of  collusion.  Against  the  English, 
however,  they  willingly  took  up  the  hatchet. 

The  French  of  the  party  were  for  the  most  part 
coureurs  de  hois.  As  the  sea  is  the  sailor's  element, 
so  the  forest  was  theirs.  Their  merits  were  hardi- 
hood and  skill  in  woodcraft;  their  chief  faults  were 
insubordination  and  lawlessness.  They  had  shared 
the  general  demoralization  that  followed  the  inroad 
of  the  Iroquois,  and  under  Denonville  had  proved 
mutinous  and  unmanageable.  In  the  best  times  it 
was  a  hard  task  to  command  them,  and  one  that 
needed,  not  bravery  alone,  but  tact,  address,  and 
experience.  Under  a  chief  of  such  a  stamp  they 
were  admirable  bush-fighters,  and  such  were  those 
now  chosen  to  lead  them.  D'Ailleboust  de  Mantet 
and  Le  Moyne  de  Sainte-Hdlene,  the  brave  son  of 


220  THE  THREE   WAR-PARTIES.  [1690. 

Charles  Le  Moyne,  had  the  chief  command,  sup- 
ported by  the  brothers  Le  Moyne  d' Iberville  and  Le 
Moyne  de  Bienville,  with  Repentigny  de  Montesson, 
Le  Ber  du  Chesne,  and  others  of  the  sturdy  Canadian 
noblesse,  nerved  by  adventure  and  trained  in  Indian 
warfare.^ 

It  was  the  depth  of  winter  when  they  began  their 
march,  striding  on  snow-shoes  over  the  vast  white 
field  of  the  frozen  St.  Lawrence,  each  with  the  hood 
of  his  blanket  coat  drawn  over  his  head,  a  gun  in  his 
mittened  hand,  a  knife,  a  hatchet,  a  tobacco-pouch, 
and  a  bullet-pouch  at  his  belt,  a  pack  on  his  shoulders, 
and  his  inseparable  pipe  hung  at  his  neck  in  a  leather 
case.  They  dragged  their  blankets  and  provisions 
over  the  snow  on  Indian  sledges.  Crossing  the 
forest  to  Chambly,  they  advanced  four  or  five  days 
up  the  frozen  Richelieu  and  the  frozen  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  and  then  stopped  to  hold  a  council. 

Frontenac  had  left  the  precise  point  of  attack  at 
the  discretion  of  the  leaders,  and  thus  far  the  men 
had  been  ignorant  of  their  destination.  The  Indians 
demanded  to  know  it.  Mantet  and  Sainte-Hdl^ne 
replied  that  they  were  going  to  Albany.  The  Indians 
demurred.     "How  long  is  it,"  asked  one  of  them, 

1  Relation  de  Monseignat,  1689-90.  There  is  a  translation  of  this 
valuable  paper  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  \x.  462.  The  party,  according 
to  three  of  their  number,  consisted  at  first  of  160  French  and  140 
Christian  Indians,  but  was  reduced  by  sickness  and  desertion  to  250 
in  all.  Examination  of  three  French  prisoners  taken  by  y«  Maquat 
\Mohawlcs\  and  brought  to  Skinnectady,  who  were  examined  by  Petef 
Schuyler,  Mayor  of  Albany,  Domine  Godevridus  Dellius,  and  some  of 
y«  Gentled  that  went  from  Albany  a  purpose. 


.]  THE  MARCH.  221 

"since  the  French  grew  so  bold? "  The  commanders 
answered,  that,  to  regain  the  honor  of  which  their 
late  misfortunes  had  robbed  them,  the  French  would 
take  Albany  or  die  in  the  attempt.  The  Indians 
listened  sullenly;  the  decision  was  postponed,  and 
the  party  moved  forward  again. 

When  after  eight  days  they  reached  the  Hudson, 
and  found  the  place  where  two  paths  diverged,  the 
one  for  Albany,  and  the  other  for  Schenectady,  they 
all  without  further  words  took  the  latter.  Indeed, 
to  attempt  Albany  would  have  been  an  act  of  desper- 
ation. The  march  was  horrible.  There  was  a  partial 
thaw,  and  they  waded  knee-deep  through  the  half 
melted  snow  and  the  mingled  ice,  mud,  and  water  of 
the  gloomy  swamps.  So  painful  and  so  slow  was 
tlieir  progress,  that  it  was  nine  days  more  before  they 
reached  a  point  two  leagues  from  Schenectady.  The 
weather  had  changed  again,  and  a  cold,  gusty  snow- 
storm pelted  them.  It  was  one  of  those  days  when 
the  trees  stand  white  as  spectres  in  the  sheltered 
hollows  of  the  forest,  and  bare  and  gray  on  the  wind- 
swept ridges.  The  men  were  half  dead  with  cold, 
fatigue,  and  hunger.  It  was  four  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  eighth  of  February.  The  scouts  found  an 
Indian  hut,  and  in  it  were  four  Iroquois  squaws, 
whom  they  captured.  There  was  a  iire  in  the  wig- 
wam ;  and  the  shivering  Canadians  crowded  about  it, 
stamping  their  chilled  feet  and  warming  their  be- 
numbed hands  over  the  blaze.  The  Christian  chief 
of  the  Saut  St.  Louis,  known  3^  Le  Grand  Agni^,  or 


222  THE   THREE  WAR-PARTIES.  [169a 

the  Great  Mohawk,  by  the  French,  and  by  the  Dutch 
called  Kryn,  harangued  his  followers,  and  exhorted 
them  to  wash  out  their  wrongs  in  blood.  Then  they 
all  advanced  again,  and  about  dark  reached  the  river 
Mohawk,  a  little  above  the  village. 

A  Canadian  named  Gigni^res,  who  had  gone  with 
nine  Indians  to  reconnoitre,  now  returned  to  say  that 
he  had  been  within  sight  of  Schenectady,  and  had 
seen  nobody.  Their  purpose  had  been  to  postpone 
the  attack  till  two  o'clock  in  the  morning;  but  the 
situation  was  intolerable,  and  the  limit  of  human 
endurance  was  reached.  They  could  not  make  fires, 
and  they  must  move  on  or  perish.  Guided  by  the 
frightened  squaws,  they  crossed  the  Mohawk  on  the 
ice,  toiling  through  the  drifts  amid  the  whirling 
snow  that  swept  down  the  valley  of  the  darkened 
stream,  till  about  eleven  o'clock  they  descried  through 
the  storm  the  snow-beplastered  palisades  of  the 
devoted  village.  Such  was  their  plight  that  some 
of  them  afterwards  declared  that  they  would  all 
have  surrendered  if  an  enemy  had  appeared  to  sum- 
mon them.^ 

Schenectady  was  the  farthest  outpost  of  the  colony 
of  New  York.  Westward  lay  the  Mohawk  forests ; 
and  Orange,  or  Albany,  was  fifteen  miles  or  more 
towards  the  southeast.  The  village  was  oblong  in 
form,  and  enclosed  by  a  palisade  which  had  two 
gates,  —  one  towards  Albany  and  the  other  towards 
the  Mohawks.  There  was  a  blockhouse  near  the 
1  Golden,  114  (ed.  1747). 


1690.]  SCHENECTADY.  223 

eastern  gate,  occupied  by  eight  or  nine  Connecticut 
militia  men  under  Lieutenant  Talmage.  There  were 
also  about  thirty  friendly  Mohawks  in  the  place,  on 
a  visit.  The  inhabitants,  who  were  all  Dutch,  were 
in  a  state  of  discord  and  confusion.  The  revolution 
in  England  had  produced  a  revolution  in  New  York. 
The  demagogue  Jacob  Leisler  had  got  possession  of 
Fort  William,  and  was  endeavoring  to  master  the 
whole  colony.  Albany  was  in  the  hands  of  the  anti- 
Leisler  or  conservative  party,  represented  by  a  con- 
vention of  which  Peter  Schuyler  was  the  chief.  The 
Dutch  of  Schenectady  for  the  most  part  favored 
Leisler,  whose  emissaries  had  been  busily  at  work 
among  them ;  but  their  chief  magistrate,  John  Sander 
Glen,  a  man  of  courage  and  worth,  stood  fast  for  the 
Albany  convention,  and  in  consequence  the  villagers 
had  threatened  to  kill  him.  Talmage  and  his  Con- 
necticut militia  were  under  orders  from  Albany ;  and 
therefore,  like  Glen,  they  were  under  the  popular 
ban.  In  vain  the  magistrate  and  the  officer  entreated 
the  people  to  stand  on  their  guard.  They  turned  the 
advice  to  ridicule,  laughed  at  the  idea  of  danger,  left 
both  their  gates  wide  open,  and  placed  there,  it  is 
said,  two  snow  images  as  mock  sentinels.  A  French 
account  declai-es  that  the  village  contained  eighty 
houses,  which  is  certainly  an  exaggeration.  There 
had  been  some  festivity  during  the  evening,  but  it 
was  now  over;  and  the  primitive  villagers,  fathers, 
mothers,  children,  and  infants,  lay  buried  in  uncon- 
scious sleep.     They  were  simple  peasants  and  rude 


224  THE  THREE  WAR-PARTIES.  [1690. 

woodsmen,  but  with  human  affections  and  capable  of 
human  woe. 

The  French  and  Indians  stood  before  the  open 
gate,  with  its  blind  and  dumb  warder,  the  mock 
sentinel  of  snow.  Iberville  went  with  a  detachment 
to  find  the  Albany  gate,  and  bar  it  against  the  escape 
of  fugitives;  but  he  missed  it  in  the  gloom,  and 
hastened  back.  The  assailants  were  now  formed  into 
two  bands,  Sainte-Hdldne  leading  the  one  and  Mantet 
the  other.  They  passed  through  the  gate  together  in 
dead  silence ;  one  turned  to  the  right  and  the  other 
to  the  left,  and  they  filed  around  the  village  between 
the  palisades  and  the  houses  till  the  two  leaders  met 
at  the  farther  end.  Thus  the  place  was  completely 
surrounded.  The  signal  was  then  given;  they  all 
screeched  the  war-whoop  together,  burst  in  the  doors 
with  hatchets,  and  fell  to  their  work.  Roused  by 
the  infernal  din,  the  villagers  leaped  from  their  beds. 
For  some  it  was  but  a  momentary  nightmare  of 
fright  and  horror,  ended  by  the  blow  of  the  toma- 
hawk. Others  were  less  fortunate.  Neither  women 
nor  children  were  spared.  "  No  pen  can  write,  and 
no  tongue  express,"  wrote  Schuyler,  "the  cruelties 
that  were  committed."^  There  was  little  resistance, 
except  at  the  blockhouse,   where  Talmage  and  his 

1  "  The  women  bigg  with  Childe  rip'd  up,  and  the  Children  alive 
throwne  into  the  flames,  and  their  heads  dashed  to  pieces  against 
the  Doors  and  windows." — Schuyler  to  the  Council  of  Connecticut,  15 
February,  1690. 

Similar  statements  are  made  by  Leisler.  See  Doc  Hist.  N.  Y^ 
I  307.  310. 


1690.]  HE  MASSACRE.  226 

men  made  a  stubborn  fight;  but  the  doors  were  at 
length  forced  open,  the  defenders  killed  or  taken, 
and  the  building  set  on  fire.  Adam  Vrooman,  one  of 
the  villagers,  saw  his  wife  shot  and  his  child  brained 
against  the  door-post;  but  he  fought  so  desperately 
that  the  assailants  promised  him  his  life.  Orders 
had  been  given  to  spare  Peter  Tassemaker,  the 
dominie  or  minister,  from  whom  it  was  thought  that 
valuable  information  might  be  obtained ;  but  he  was 
hacked  to  pieces,  and  his  house  burned.  Some, 
more  agile  or  more  fortunate  than  the  rest,  escaped 
at  the  eastern  gate,  and  fled  through  the  storm  to 
seek  shelter  at  Albany  or  at  houses  along  the  way. 
Sixty  persons  were  killed  outright,  of  whom  thirty- 
eight  were  men  and  boys,  ten  were  women,  and 
twelve  were  children.^  The  number  captured  appears 
to  have  been  between  eighty  and  ninety.  The  thirty 
Mohawks  in  the  town  were  treated  with  studied 
kindness  by  the  victors,  who  declared  that  they  had 
no  quarrel  with  them,  but  only  with  the  Dutch  and 
English. 

The  massacre  and  pillage  continued  two  hours; 
then  the  prisoners  were  secured,  sentinels  posted, 
and  the  men  told  to  rest  and  refresh  themselves.  In 
the  morning,  a  small  party  crossed  the  river  to  the 
house  of  Glen,  which  stood  on  a  rising  ground  half 
a  mile  distant.  It  was  loopholed  and  palisaded ;  and 
Glen  had  mustered  his  servants  and  tenants,  closed 

i  List  of  y*.  People  kild  and  destroyed  by  y*  French  of  Canida  and 
here  Indians  at  Skinnechtady,  in  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  i.  304. 

16 


226  THE  THREE   WAR-PARTIES.  [X690. 

his  gates,  and  prepared  to  defend  himself.  The 
French  told  him  to  fear  nothing,  for  they  had  orders 
not  to  hurt  a  chicken  of  his ;  whereupon,  after  requir- 
ing them  to  lay  down  their  arms,  he  allowed  them  to 
enter.  They  urged  him  to  go  with  them  to  the 
village,  and  he  complied,  —  they  on  their  part  leav- 
ing one  of  their  number  as  a  hostage  in  the  hands  of 
his  followers.  Iberville  appeared  at  the  gate  with 
the  Great  Mohawk,  and,  drawing  his  commission 
from  the  breast  of  his  coat,  told  Glen  that  he  was 
specially  charged  to  pay  a  debt  which  the  French 
owed  him.  On  several  occasions  he  had  saved  the 
lives  of  French  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the 
Mohawks;  and  he  with  his  family,  and,  above  all, 
his  wife,  had  shown  them  the  greatest  kindness. 
He  was  now  led  before  the  crowd  of  wretched 
prisoners,  and  told  that  not  only  were  his  own  life 
and  property  safe,  but  that  all  his  kindred  should  be 
spared.  Glen  stretched  his  privilege  to  the  utmost, 
till  the  French  Indians,  disgusted  at  his  multiplied 
demands  for  clemency,  observed  that  everj^body 
seemed  to  be  his  relation. 

Some  of  the  houses  had  already  been  burned.  Fire 
was  now  set  to  the  rest,  excepting  one,  in  which  a 
French  officer  lay  wounded,  another  belonging  to 
Glen,  and  three  or  four  more  which  he  begged  the 
victors  to  spare.  At  noon  Schenectady  was  in  ashes. 
Then  the  French  and  Indians  withdrew,  laden  with 
booty.  Thirty  or  forty  captured  horses  dragged  their 
sledges ;  and  a  troop  of  twenty-seven  men  and  boys 


1690]  PRISONERS   SPARED.  227 

were  driven  prisoners  into  the  forest.  About  sixty 
old  men,  women,  and  children  were  left  behind, 
without  further  injury,  in  order,  it  is  said,  to  concili- 
ate the  Mohawks  in  the  place,  who  had  joined  with 
Glen  in  begging  that  they  might  be  spared.  Of  the 
victors,  only  two  had  been  killed.^ 

At  the  outset  of  the  attack,  Simon  Schermerhom 
threw  himself  on  a  horse,  and  galloped  through  the 

1  Many  of  the  authorities  on  the  burning  of  Schenectady  will  be 
found  in  the  Documentary  History  of  New  York,  i.  297-312.  One  of 
the  most  important  is  a  portion  of  the  long  letter  of  M.  de  Mon- 
seignat,  comptroller-general  of  the  marine  in  Canada,  to  a  lady  of 
rank,  said  to  be  Madame  de  Maintenon.  Others  are  contemporary 
documents  preserved  at  Albany,  including,  among  others,  the  lists 
of  killed  and  captured,  letters  of  Leisler  to  the  governor  of  Mary- 
land, the  governor  of  Massachusetts,  the  governor  of  Barbadoes, 
and  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury ;  of  Robert  Livingston  to  Sir  Edmund 
Andros  and  to  Captain  Nicholson ;  and  of  Mr.  Van  Cortlandt  to 
Sir  Edmund  Andros.  One  of  the  best  contemporary  authorities  is  a 
letter  of  Schuyler  and  his  colleagues  to  the  governor  and  council  of 
Massachusetts,  16  February,  1690,  preserved  in  the  Massachusetts 
archives,  and  printed  in  the  third  volume  of  Mr.  Whitmore's  Andros 
Tracts.  La  Potherie,  Charlevoix,  Colden,  Smith,  and  many  others 
give  accounts  at  second-hand. 

Johannes  Sander,  or  Alexander,  Glen,  was  the  son  of  a  Scotch- 
man of  good  family.  He  was  usually  known  as  Captain  Sander. 
The  French  wrote  the  name  Cendre,  which  became  transformed  into 
Condre,  and  then  into  Coudre.  In  the  old  family  Bible  of  the  Glens, 
still  preserved  at  the  place  named  by  them  Scotia,  near  Schenectady, 
is  an  entry  in  Dutch  recording  the  "  murders  "  committed  by  the 
French,  and  the  exemption  accorded  to  Alexander  Glen  on  account 
of  services  rendered  by  him  and  his  family  to  French  prisoners. 
See  Proceedings  of  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc,  1846,  118. 

The  French  called  Schenectady  Corlaer,  or  Corlar,  from  Van 
Curler,  its  founder.  Its  treatment  at  their  hands  was  ill  deserved,  as 
its  inhabitants,  and  notably  Van  Curler  himself,  had  from  the  earliest 
times  been  the  protectors  of  French  captives  among  the  Mohawks 
Leisler  says  that  only  one-sixth  of  the  inhabitants  escaped  unhurt. 


228  THE  THREE   WAR-PARTIES.  [1690. 

eastern  gate.  The  French  shot  at  and  wounded 
him;  but  he  escaped,  reached  Albany  at  daybreak, 
and  gave  the  alarm.  The  soldiers  and  inhabitants 
were  called  to  arms,  cannon  were  fired  to  rouse  the 
country,  and  a  party  of  horsemen,  followed  by  some 
friendly  Mohawks,  set  out  for  Schenectady.  The 
Mohawks  had  promised  to  carry  the  news  to  their 
three  towns  on  the  river  above;  but  when  they 
reached  the  ruined  village,  they  were  so  frightened 
at  the  scene  of  havoc  that  they  would  not  go  farther. 
Two  days  passed  before  the  alarm  reached  the 
Mohawk  towns.  Then  troops  of  warriors  came  down 
on  snow-shoes,  equipped  with  tomahawk  and  gun, 
to  chase  the  retiring  French.  Fifty  young  men  from 
Albany  joined  them ;  and  they  followed  the  trail  of 
the  enemy,  who,  with  the  help  of  their  horses,  made 
such  speed  over  the  ice  of  Lake  Champlain  that  it 
seemed  impossible  to  overtake  them.  They  thought 
the  pursuit  abandoned ;  and  having  killed  and  eaten 
most  of  their  horses,  and  being  spent  with  fatigue,  they 
moved  more  slowly  as  they  neared  home,  when  a  band 
of  Mohawks,  who  had  followed  stanchly  on  their  track, 
fell  upon  a  party  of  stragglers,  and  killed  or  captured 
fifteen  or  more,  almost  within  sight  of  Montreal. 

Three  of  these  prisoners,  examined  by  Schuyler, 
declared  that  Frontenac  was  preparing  for  a  grand 
attack  on  Albany  in  the  spring.  In  the  political 
confusion  of  the  time  the  place  was  not  in  fighting 
condition,  and  Schuyler  appealed  for  help  to  the 
authorities  of  ^lassachusetts :  "Dear  neighbours  and 


1690.]        SCHUYLER'S   APPEAL  FOR  HELP.  229 

friends,  we  must  acquaint  you  that  nevir  poor  People 
in  the  world  was  in  a  worse  Condition  than  we  are  at 
Present,  —  no  Governour  nor  Command,  no  money 
to  forward  any  expedition,  and  scarce  Men  enough 
to  maintain  the  Citty.  We  have  here  plainly  laid 
the  case  before  you,  and  doubt  not  but  you  will  so 
much  take  it  to  heart,  and  make  all  Readinesse  in 
the  Spring  to  invade  Canida  by  water.  "^ 

The  Mohawks  were  of  the  same  mind.  Their 
elders  came  down  to  Albany  to  condole  with  their 
Dutch  and  English  friends  on  the  late  disaster. 
"We  are  come,"  said  their  orator,  "with  tears  in  our 
eyes,  to  lament  the  murders  committed  at  Schenectady 
by  the  perfidious  French.  Onontio  comes  to  oui 
country  to  speak  of  peace,  but  war  is  at  his  heart. 
He  has  broken  into  our  house  at  both  ends,  —  once 
among  the  Senecas,  and  once  here ;  but  we  hope  to 
be  revenged.  Brethren,  our  covenant  with  you  is  a 
silver  chain  that  cannot  rust  or  break.  We  are  of 
the  race  of  the  bear ;  and  the  bear  does  not  yield,  so 
long  as  there  is  a  drop  of  blood  in  his  body.  Let  us 
all  be  bears.  We  will  go  together  with  an  army  to 
ruin  the  country  of  the  French.  Therefore,  send  in 
all  haste  to  New  England.  Let  them  be  ready  with 
ships  and  great  guns  to  attack  by  water,  while  we 
attack  by  land."^ 

1  Schuyler,  Wessell,  and  Van  Rensselaer  to  the  Governor  and  Coun- 
cil of  Massachusetts,  15  February,  1690,  in  Andros  Tracts,  iii.  114. 

*  Propositions  made  by  the  Sachems  ofy*.  Maquase  [Mohawk"]  Castles 
to  y*  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Commonality  of  y«  Citty  of  Albany,  y*  26 
day  offebruary,  1690,  in  Doc.  Hist.  N   Y.,  ii.  164-169. 


230  THE  THREE  WAR-PARTIES.         [1688-89. 

Schuyler  did  not  trust  his  red  allies,  who,  how- 
ever, seem  on  this  occasion  to  have  meant  what  they 
said.  He  lost  no  time  in  sending  commissioners  to 
urge  the  several  governments  of  New  England  to 
a  combined  attack  on  the  French.  New  England 
needed  no  prompting  to  take  up  arms;  for  she 
presently  learned  to  her  cost,  that,  though  feeble 
and  prostrate,  Canada  could  sting. 

The  war-party  which  attacked  Schenectady  was, 
as  we  have  seen,  but  one  of  three  which  Frontenao 
had  sent  against  the  English  borders.  The  second, 
aimed  at  New  Hampshire,  left  Three  Rivers  on  the 
twenty-eighth  of  January,  commanded  by  Frangois 
Hertel.  It  consisted  of  twenty-four  Frenchmen, 
twenty  Abenakis  of  the  Sokoki  band,  and  five 
Algonquins.  After  three  months  of  excessive  hard- 
ship in  the  vast  and  rugged  wilderness  that  inter- 
vened, they  approached  the  little  settlement  of 
Salmon  Falls  on  the  stream  which  separates  New 
Hampshire  from  Maine ;  and  here  for  a  moment  we 
leave  them,  to  observe  the  state  of  this  unhappy 
frontier. 

It  was  twelve  years  and  more  since  the  great  Indian 
outbreak,  called  King  Philip's  War,  had  carried 
havoc  through  all  the  borders  of  New  England. 
After  months  of  stubborn  fighting,  the  tire  was 
quenched  in  Massachusetts,  Plymouth,  and  Connect- 
icut; but  in  New  Hampshire  and  Maine  it  contin- 
ued to  burn  fiercely  till  the  treaty  of  Casco,  in  1678. 
The  principal  Indians  of  this  region  were  the  tribes 


1688-89.]  THE  ABENAKI  WAR.  281 

known  collectively  as  the  Abenakis.  The  French 
had  established  relations  with  them  through  the 
missionaries ;  and  now,  seizing  the  opportunity,  they 
persuaded  many  of  these  distressed  and  exasperated 
savages  to  leave  the  neighborhood  of  the  English, 
migrate  to  Canada,  and  settle  first  at  Sillery  near 
Quebec,  and  then  at  the  falls  of  the  Chaudiere. 
Here  the  two  Jesuits,  Jacques  and  Vincent  Bigot, 
prime  agents  in  their  removal,  took  them  in  charge; 
and  the  missions  of  St.  Francis  became  villages  of 
Abenaki  Christians,  like  the  village  of  Iroquois 
Christians  at  Saut  St.  Louis.  In  both  cases  the 
emigrants  were  sheltered  under  the  wing  of  Canada, 
and  they  and  their  tomahawks  were  always  at  her 
service.  The  two  Bigots  spared  no  pains  to  induce 
more  of  the  Abenakis  to  join  these  mission  colonies. 
They  were  in  'rood  measure  successful,  though  the 
great  body  of  the  tribe  still  clung  to  their  ancient 
homes  on  the  Saco,  the  Kennebec,  and  the  Penobscot.^ 
There  were  ten  years  of  critical  and  dubious  peace 
along  the  English  border,  and  then  the  war  broke 
out  again.  The  occasion  of  this  new  uprising  is  not 
very  clear,  and  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  look  for  it. 
Between  the  harsh  and  reckless  borderer  on  the  one 
side  and  the  fierce  savage  on  the  other,  a  single  spark 
might  at  any  moment  set  the   frontier  in  a  blaze. 

1  The  Abenaki  migration  to  Canada  began  as  early  as  the  autumn 
of  1675  (Relation,  1676-77).  On  the  mission  of  St.  Francis  on  the 
Chaudiere,  see  Bigot,  Relation,  1684 ;  Ibid.,  1686.  It  was  afterwards 
removed  to  the  river  St.  Francis. 


232  THE  THREE  WAR-PARTIES.         [168&-8y. 

The  English,  however,  believed  firmly  that  their 
French  rivals  had  a  hand  in  the  new  outbreak ;  and, 
in  fact,  the  Abenakis  told  some  of  their  English 
captives  that  Saint-Castin,  a  French  adventurer  on 
the  Penobscot,  gave  every  Indian  who  would  go  to 
the  war  a  pound  of  gunpowder,  two  pounds  of  lead, 
and  a  supply  of  tobacco.  ^  The  trading-house  of 
Saint-Castin,  which  stood  on  ground  claimed  by 
England,  had  lately  been  plundered  by  Sir  Edmund 
Andros,  and  some  of  the  English  had  foretold  that 
an  Indian  war  would  be  the  consequence ;  but  none 
of  them  seem  at  this  time  to  have  suspected  that  the 
governor  of  Canada  and  his  Jesuit  friends  had  any 
part  in  their  woes.  Yet  there  is  proof  that  this  was 
the  case ;  for  Denonville  himself  wrote  to  the  ministei 
at  Versailles  that  the  successes  of  the  Abenakis  on 
this  occasion  were  due  to  the  "good  understanding 
which  he  had  with  them,"  by  means  of  the  two 
brothers  Bigot  and  other  Jesuits.^ 


1  Hutchinson,  Hist.  Mass.,  i.  326.  Compare  N.  Y,  Col.  Docs.,  iy. 
282,  286. 

'-*  "  En  partant  de  Canada,  j'ay  laiss^  une  tres  grande  disposition 
k  attirer  au  Christianisrae  la  plus  grande  partie  des  sauvagea 
Abenakis  qui  abitent  les  bois  du  voisinage  de  Baston.  Pour  cela  il 
faut  les  attirer  k  la  mission  nouvellement  etablie  pres  Quebec  sous 
le  nom  de  S.  Francois  de  Sale.  Je  I'ai  vue  en  peu  de  temps  au 
nombre  de  six  cents  aaies  venues  du  voisinage  de  Baston.  Je  Tay 
laisse'e  en  estat  d'augmenter  beaucoup  si  elle  est  protegee ;  j'y  ai  fait 
quelque  depense  qui  n'est  pas  inutile.  La  bonne  intelligence  que  fat 
eue  avec  ces  sauvages  par  les  soins  des  J€suites,  et  surtout  des  deux  pereg 
Bigot  freres  a  fait  le  succes  de  toutes  les  attaques  qu'ils  ontfaites  sur  le* 
Anglais  cet  est€,  aux  quels  ils  ont  enleve  16  forts,  outre  celuy  de 


1858-80.]  REVOLUTION   AT  BOSTON.  281$ 

Whatever  were  the  influences  that  kindled  and 
maintained  the  war,  it  spread  dismay  and  havoc 
through  the  English  settlements.  Andros  at  first 
made  light  of  it,  and  complained  of  the  authorities  of 
Boston,  because  in  his  absence  they  had  sent  troops 
to  protect  the  settlers ;  but  he  soon  changed  his  mind, 
and  in  the  winter  went  himself  to  the  scene  of  action 
with  seven  hundred  men.  Not  an  Indian  did  he 
find.  They  had  all  withdrawn  into  the  depths  of  the 
frozen  forest.  Andros  did  what  he  could,  and  left 
more  than  five  hundred  men  in  garrison  on  the 
Kennebec  and  the  Saco,  at  Casco  Bay,  Pemaquid, 
and  various  other  exposed  points.  He  then  returned 
to  Boston,  where  surprising  events  awaited  him. 

Early  in  April,  news  came  that  the  Prince  of 
Orange  had  landed  in  England.  There  was  great 
excitement.  The  people  of  the  town  rose  against 
Andros,  whom  they  detested  as  the  agent  of  the 
despotic  policy  of  James  II.     They  captured  his  two 

Pemcuit  {Pemaquid)  ou  il  y  avoit  20  pieces  de  canon,  et  leur  ont  tixi 
plug  de  200  hommes."  —  Denonville  au  Ministre,  Janvier,  1690. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  this  Indian  outbreak  began  in  tht 
•ummer  of  1688,  when  there  was  peace  between  France  and  Eng- 
land. News  of  the  declaration  of  war  did  not  reach  Canada  till 
July,  1689.  (Belmont.)  Dover  and  other  places  were  attacked  in 
June  of  the  same  year. 

The  intendant  Champigny  says  that  most  of  the  Indians  who 
attacked  the  English  were  from  the  mission  villages  near  Quebec. 
(Champigny  au  Ministre,  16  Novembre,  1689.)  He  says  also  that  bt 
supplied  them  with  gunpowder  for  the  war. 

The  "  forts  "  taken  by  the  Indians  on  the  Kennebec  at  this  tirat 
were  nothing  but  houses  protected  by  palisades.  They  were  taken 
by  treachery  and  surprise.  {Lettre  du  Pere  Thury,  1689.)  Thury 
•ays  that  142  men,  women,  and  children  were  killed. 


234  THE   THREE  WAR-PARTIES.  [1688-89. 

forts  with  their  garrisons  of  regulars,  seized  his 
frigate  in  the  harbor,  placed  him  and  his  chief  adher- 
ents in  custody,  elected  a  council  of  safety,  and  set 
at  its  head  their  former  governor,  Bradstreet,  an  old 
man  of  eighty-seven.  The  change  was  disastrous  to 
the  eastern  frontier.  Of  the  garrisons  left  for  its 
protection  the  winter  before,  some  were  partially 
withdrawn  by  the  new  council;  while  others,  at  the 
first  news  of  the  revolution,  mutinied,  seized  their 
officers,  and  returned  home.^  These  garrisons  were 
withdrawn  or  reduced,  —  partly  perhaps  because  the 
hated  governor  had  established  them ;  partly  through 
distrust  of  his  officers,  some  of  whom  were  taken 
from  the  regulars ;  and  partly  because  the  men  were 
wanted  at  Boston.  The  order  of  withdrawal  can- 
not be  too  strongly  condemned.     It  was  a  part  of  the 

1  Andros,  Account  of  Forces  in  Maine,  in  3  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  i.  86. 
Compare  Andros  Tracts,  i.  177;  Ibid.,  ii.  181,  193,  207,  213,  217; 
Ibid.,  iii.  232 ;  Report  of  Andros  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iii.  722.  The 
order  for  the  reduction  of  the  garrisons  and  the  return  of  the  sus- 
pected oflBcers  was  passed  at  the  first  session  of  the  council  of 
safety,  20  April.  The  agents  of  Massachusetts  at  London  en- 
deavored to  justify  it.  (See  Andros  Tracts,  iii.  34.)  The  only- 
regular  troops  in  New  England  were  two  companies  brought  by 
Andros.  Most  of  them  were  kept  at  Boston,  though  a  few  men  and 
officers  were  sent  to  the  eastern  garrison.  These  regulars  were  re- 
garded with  great  jealousy,  and  denounced  as  "  a  crew  that  began 
to  teach  New  England  to  Drab,  Drink,  Blaspheme,  Curse,  and 
Damm."     (Ibid.,  ii.  50.) 

In  their  hatred  of  Andros,  many  of  the  people  of  New  England 
held  the  groundless  and  foolish  belief  that  he  was  in  secret  collusion 
with  the  French  and  Indians.  Their  most  dangerous  domestic 
enemies  were  some  of  their  own  traders,  who  covertly  sold  arms 
and  ammunition  to  the  Indians. 


X688-89.J  CAPTURE  OF  PEMAQUID.  286 

bungling  inefficiency  which  marked  the  military  man- 
agement of  the  New  England  governments  from  the 
close  of  Philip's  war  to  the  peace  of  Utrecht. 

When  spring  opened,  the  Indians  turned  with 
redoubled  fury  against  the  defenceless  frontier,  seized 
the  abandoned  stockades,  and  butchered  the  helpless 
settlers.  Now  occurred  the  memorable  catastrophe 
at  Cocheco,  or  Dover.  Two  squaws  came  at  even- 
ing, and  begged  lodging  in  the  palisaded  house  of 
Major  Waldron.  At  night,  when  all  was  still,  they 
opened  the  gates  and  let  in  their  savage  countrymen. 
Waldron  was  eighty  years  old.  He  leaped  from  his 
bed,  seized  his  sword,  and  drove  back  the  assailants 
through  two  rooms ;  but  as  he  turned  to  snatch  his 
pistols,  they  stunned  him  by  the  blow  of  a  hatchet, 
bound  him  in  an  armchair,  and  placed  him  on  a 
table,  where  after  torturing  him  they  killed  him 
with  his  own  sword. 

The  crowning  event  of  the  war  was  the  capture  of 
Pemaquid,  a  stockade  work,  mounted  with  seven  or 
eight  cannon.  Andros  had  placed  in  it  a  garrison  of 
a  hundred  and  fifty-six  men,  under  an  officer  devoted 
to  him.  Most  of  them  had  been  withdrawn  by  the 
council  of  safety ;  and  the  entire  force  of  the  defenders 
consisted  of  Lieutenant  James  Weems  and  thirty 
soldiers,  nearly  half  of  whom  appear  to  have  been 
absent  at  the  time  of  the  attack.^     The  Indian  assail- 

1  Andros  in  3  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  L  86.  The  original  commanding 
officer,  Brockholes,  was  reputed  a  "papist."  Hence  his  removal. 
{Andros  Tracts,  iii.  35 )    Andros  says  tliat  but  eighteen  men  were 


THE  THREE  WAR-PARTIES.  [1689. 

ants  were  about  a  hundred  in  number,  all  Christian 

converts  from  mission  villages.     By  a  sudden  rush 

they  got  possession  of  a  number  of  houses  behind  the 

fort,  occupied  only  by  women  and  children,  the  men 

being  at  their  work.^     Some  ensconced  themselves  in 

the  cellars,  and  others  behind  a  rock  on  the  seashore, 

whence  they  kept  up  a  close  and  galling  fire.     On 

the  next  day  Weems  surrendered,  under  a  promise 

of  life,  and,  as  the  English  say,  of  liberty  to  himself 

and  all  his  followers.     The  fourteen  men  who  had 

survived  the  fire,  along  with  a  number  of  women  and 

children,   issued  from   the  gate,   upon  which  some 

were  butchered  on  the  spot,  and  the  rest,  excepting 

Weems  and  a  few  others,  were  made  prisoners.     In 

other  respects  the  behavior  of  the  victors  is  said  to 

have  been  creditable.     They  tortured  nobody,   and 

their  chiefs  broke   the   rum-barrels   in  the  fort,   to 

prevent  disorder.     Father  Thury,    a  priest  of   the 

seminary  of  Quebec,  was  present  at  the  attack;  and 

the   assailants  were  a  part  of  his  Abenaki   flock. 

Religion  was  one  of  the  impelling  forces  of  the  war. 

In  the  eyes  of  the  Indian  converts  it  was  a  crusade 

against  the  enemies  of  God.     They  made  their  vows 

to  the  Virgin  before  the  fight;  and  the  squaws,  in 

left  in  the  fort.  A  list  of  them  in  the  archives  of  Massachusett*, 
certified  by  Weems  himself,  shows  that  there  were  thirty.  Doubt  is 
thrown  on  this  certificate  by  the  fact  that  the  object  of  it  was  to 
obtain  a  grant  of  money  in  return  for  advances  of  pay  made  by 
Weems  to  his  soldiers.  Weems  was  a  regular  officer.  A  number 
of  letters  from  him,  showing  his  condition  before  the  attack,  will  be 
found  in  Johnston,  History  of  Bristol,  Bremen,  and  Pemaquid. 
I  (^aptivitii  of  John  Gijles,    (ijles  was  one  of  the  inhabitants. 


1689.J  PROGRESS  OF  THE    WAR.  287 

their  distant  villages  on  the  Penobscot,  told  unceas- 
ing beads,  and  offered  unceasing  prayers  for  victory.^ 

The  war  now  ran  like  wildfire  through  the  settle- 
ments of  Maine  and  New  Hampshire.  Sixteen  for- 
tified houses,  with  or  without  defenders,  are  said  to 
have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy;  and  the 
extensive  district  then  called  the  county  of  Corn- 
wall was  turned  to  desolation.  Massachusetts  and 
Plymouth  sent  hasty  levies  of  raw  men,  ill-armed  and 
ill-officered,  to  the  scene  of  action.  At  Casco  Bay, 
they  met  a  large  body  of  Indians,  whom  they  routed 
after  a  desultory  fight  of  six  hours ;  and  then,  as  the 
approaching  winter  seemed  to  promise  a  respite  from 
attack,  most  of  them  were  withdrawn  and  disbanded. 

It  was  a  false  and  fatal  security.     Through  snow 

1  Thury,  Relation  du  Combat  des  Canibas.  Compare  Hutchinson, 
Hist.  Mass.,  i.  352,  and  Mather,  Magnalia,  ii.  590  (ed.  1853).  The 
murder  of  prisoners  after  the  capitulation  has  been  denied.  Thury 
incidentally  confirms  the  statement,  when,  after  saying  that  he  ex- 
horted the  Indians  to  refrain  from  drunkenness  and  cruelty,  he  adds 
that,  in  consequence,  they  did  not  take  a  single  scalp,  and  "  tuerent 
8ur  le  champ  ceux  qu'ils  voulurent  tuer." 

English  accounts  place  the  number  of  Indians  at  from  two  to 
three  hundred.  Besides  the  persons  taken  in  the  fort,  a  considerable 
number  were  previously  killed,  or  captured  in  the  houses  and  fields. 
Those  who  were  spared  were  carried  to  the  Indian  towns  on  the 
Penobscot,  the  seat  of  Thury's  mission.  La  Mothe-Cadillac,  in  his 
M€moire  sur  VAcadie,  1692,  says  that  80  persons  in  all  were  killed, 
—  an  evident  exaggeration.  He  adds  that  Weems  and  six  men 
were  spared  at  the  request  of  the  chief,  Madockawando.  The 
taking  of  Pemaquid  is  remarkable  as  one  of  the  very  rare  instances 
in  which  Indians  have  captured  a  fortified  place  otherwise  than  by 
treachery  or  surprise.  The  exploit  was  undoubtedly  due  to  French 
prompting.  We  shall  see  hereafter  with  what  energy  and  succeal 
Thury  incited  his  flock  to  war. 


288  THE  THREE   WAR-PARTIES.  [1690. 

and  ice  and  storm,  Hertel  and  his  band  were  moving 
on  their  prey.  On  the  night  of  the  twenty-seventh 
of  March,  they  lay  hidden  in  the  forest  that  bordered 
the  farms  and  clearings  of  Salmon  Falls.  Their 
scouts  reconnoitred  the  place,  and  found  a  fortified 
house  with  two  stockade  forts,  built  as  a  refuge  for 
the  settlers  in  case  of  alarm.  Towards  daybreak, 
Hertel,  dividing  his  followers  into  three  parties,  made 
a  sudden  and  simultaneous  attack.  The  settlers, 
unconscious  of  danger,  were  in  their  beds.  No  watch 
was  kept  even  in  the  so-called  forts ;  and  when  the 
French  and  Indians  burst  in,  there  was  no  time  for 
their  few  tenants  to  gather  for  defence.  The  sur- 
prise was  complete;  and,  after  a  short  struggle,  the 
assailants  were  successful  at  every  point.  They  next 
turned  upon  the  scattered  farms  of  the  neighborhood, 
burned  houses,  barns,  and  cattle,  and  laid  the  entire 
settlement  in  ashes.  About  thirty  persons  of  both 
sexes  and  all  ages  were  tomahawked  or  shot;  and 
fifty-four,  chiefly  women  and  children,  were  made 
prisoners. 

Two  Indian  scouts  now  brought  word  that  a  party 
of  English  was  advancing  to  the  scene  of  havoc  from 
Piscataqua,  or  Portsmouth,  not  many  miles  distant. 
Hertel  called  his  men  together,  and  began  his  retreat. 
The  pursuers,  a  hundred  and  forty  in  number,  over- 
took him  about  sunset  at  Wooster  River,  where  the 
swollen  stream  was  crossed  by  a  narrow  bridge. 
Hertel  and  his  followers  made  a  stand  on  the  farther 
bank,  killed  and  wounded  a  number  of  the  English  as 


1690.]  HERTEL'S  RETREAT.  289 

they  attempted  to  cross,  kept  up  a  brisk  fire  on  the 
rest,  held  them  in  check  till  night,  and  then  continued 
their  retreat.  The  prisoners,  or  some  of  them,  were 
given  to  the  Indians,  who  tortured  one  or  more  of 
the  men,  and  killed  and  tormented  children  and 
infants  with  a  cruelty  not  always  equalled  by  their 
heathen  countrymen.^ 

Hertel  continued  his  retreat  to  one  of  the  Abenaki 
villages  on  the  Kennebec.  Here  he  learned  that  a 
band  of  French  and  Indians  had  lately  passed  south- 
ward on  their  way  to  attack  the  English  fort  at  Casco 
Bay,  on  the  site  of  Portland.  Leaving  at  the  village 
his  eldest  son,  who  had  been  badly  wounded  at 
Wooster  River,  he  set  out  to  join  them  with  thirty- 
six  of  his  followers.  The  band  in  question  was 
Frontenac's   third  war-party.     It  consisted   of  fifty 

1  The  archives  of  Massachusetts  contain  various  papers  on  the 
disaster  at  Salmon  Falls.  Among  them  is  the  report  of  the 
authorities  of  Portsmouth  to  the  governor  and  council  at  Boston, 
giving  many  particulars,  and  asking  aid.  They  estimate  the  killed 
and  captured  at  upwards  cf  eighty,  of  whom  about  one-fourth  were 
men.  They  say  that  about  twenty  houses  were  burnt,  and  mention 
but  one  fort.  The  other,  mentioned  in  the  French  accounts,  was 
probably  a  palisaded  house.  Speaking  of  the  combat  at  the  bridge, 
they  say,  "  We  fought  as  long  as  we  could  distinguish  friend  from 
foe.  We  lost  two  killed  and  six  or  seven  wounded,  one  mortally." 
The  French  accounts  say  fourteen.  This  letter  is  accompanied 
by  the  examination  of  a  French  prisoner,  taken  the  same  day. 
Compare  Mather,  Magnalia,  ii.  695;  Belknap,  Hist.  New  Hamp- 
shire, i.  207 ;  Journal  of  Rev.  John  Pike  {Proceedings  of  Mass.  Hist 
Soc.  1875) ;  and  the  French  accounts  of  Monseignat  and  La  Potherie. 
Charlevoix  adds  various  embellishments,  not  to  be  found  in  the 
original  sources.  Later  writers  copy  and  improve  upon  him,  until 
Hertel  is  pictured  as  charging  the  pursuers  sword  in  hand,  while 
the  English  fly  in  disorder  before  him. 


240  '^'HE  THREE  WAR-PARTIES.  [1690. 

French  and  sixty  Abenakis  from  the  mission  of  St. 
Francis;  and  it  had  left  Quebec  in  January,  under 
a  Canadian  oiBficer  named  Portneuf,  and  his  lieu- 
tenant Courtemanche.  They  advanced  at  their  leis- 
ure, often  stopping  to  hunt,  till  in  May  they  were 
joined  on  the  Kennebec  by  a  large  body  of  Indian 
warriors.  On  the  twenty-fifth  Portneuf  encamped  in 
the  forest  near  the  English  forts,  with  a  force  which, 
including  Hertel's  party,  the  Indians  of  the  Ken- 
nebec, and  another  band  led  by  Saint-Castin  from 
the  Penobscot,  amounted  to  between  four  and  five 
hundred  men.^ 

Fort  Loyal  was  a  palisade  work  with  eight  cannon, 
standing  on  rising  ground  by  the  shore  of  the  bay,  at 
what  is  now  the  foot  of  India  Street  in  the  city  of 
Portland.  Not  far  distant  were  four  blockhouses 
and  a  village  which  they  were  designed  to  protect. 
These  with  the  fort  were  occupied  by  about  one 
hundred  men,  chiefly  settlers  of  the  neighborhood, 
under  Captain  Sylvanus  Davis,  a  prominent  trader. 
Around  lay  rough  and  broken  fields  stretching  to 
the  skirts  of  the  forest  half  a  mile  distant.  Some  of 
Portneuf's  scouts  met  a  straggling  Scotchman,  and 
could  not  resist  the  temptation  of  killing  him.  Their 
scalp-yells  alarmed  the  garrison,  and  thus  the  advan- 
tage of  surprise  was  lost.  Davis  resolved  to  keep  his 
men  within  their  defences,  and  to  stand  on  his  guard ; 
but  there  was  little  or  no  discipline  in  the  yeoman 
garrison,  and  thirty  young  volunteers  under  Lieuten- 

^  Declaration  of  Sylvanus  Davis ;  Mather,  Magnalia,  ii.  603. 


1690.J  CASCO  BAY.  241 

ant  Thaddeus  Clark  sallied  out  to  find  the  enemy. 
They  were  too  successful;  for,  as  they  approached 
the  top  of  a  hill  near  the  woods,  they  observed  a 
number  of  cattle  staring  with  a  scared  look  at  some 
object  on  the  farther  side  of  a  fence;  and,  rightly 
judging  that  those  they  sought  were  hidden  there, 
they  raised  a  cheer,  and  ran  to  the  spot.  They  were 
met  by  a  fire  so  close  and  deadly  that  half  their  num- 
ber were  shot  down.  A  crowd  of  Indians  leaped  the 
fence  and  rushed  upon  the  survivors,  who  ran  for  the 
fort;  but  only  four,  all  of  whom  were  wounded, 
succeeded  in  reaching  it.^ 

The  men  in  the  blockhouses  withdrew  under  cover 
of  night  to  Fort  Loyal,  where  the  whole  force  of  the 
English  was  now  gathered,  along  with  their  fright- 
ened families.  Portneuf  determined  to  besiege  the 
place  in  form;  and  after  burning  the  village,  and 
collecting  tools  from  the  abandoned  blockhouses,  he 
opened  his  trenches  in  a  deep  gully  within  fifty  yards 
of  the  fort,  where  his  men  were  completely  protected. 
They  worked  so  well  that  in  three  days  they  had 
wormed  their  way  close  to  the  palisade ;  and  covered 
as  they  were  in  their  burrows,  they  lost  scarcely  a 
man,  while  their  enemies  suffered  severely.  They 
now  summoned  the  fort  to  surrender.  Davis  asked 
for  a  delay  of  six  days,  which  was  refused ;  and  in 
the  morning  the  fight  began  again.  For  a  time  the 
fire  was  sharp  and  heavy.  The  English  wasted  much 
powder  in  vain  efforts  to  dislodge  the  besiegers  from 

1  Relation  de  Monseignat,  La  Potherie,  iii.  79. 
16 


242  THE  THREE  WAR-PARTIES.  [1690. 

theii  trenches ;  till  at  length,  seeing  a  machine  loaded 
with  a  tar-barrel  and  other  combustibles  shoved 
against  their  palisades,  they  asked  for  a  parley.  Up 
to  this  time  Davis  had  supposed  that  his  assailants 
were  all  Indians,  the  French  being  probably  dressed 
and  painted  like  their  red  allies.  "We  demanded,'* 
he  says,  "  if  there  were  any  French  among  them,  and 
if  they  would  give  us  quarter.  They  answered  that 
they  were  Frenchmen,  and  that  they  would  give  us 
good  quarter.  Upon  this,  we  sent  out  to  them  again 
to  know  from  whence  they  came,  and  if  they  would 
give  us  good  quarter  for  our  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, both  wounded  and  sound,  and  [to  demand] 
that  we  should  have  liberty  to  march  to  the  next 
English  town,  and  have  a  guard  for  our  defence  and 
safety;  then  we  would  surrender;  and  also  that  the 
governour  of  the  French  should  hold  up  his  hand 
and  swear  by  the  great  and  ever  living  God  that  the 
several  articles  should  be  performed:  all  which  he 
did  solemnly  swear.'* 

The  survivors  of  the  garrison  now  filed  through 
the  gate,  and  laid  down  their  arms.  They  with  their 
women  and  children  were  thereupon  abandoned  to 
the  Indians,  who  murdered  many  of  them,  and 
carried  off  the  rest.  When  Davis  protested  against 
this  breach  of  faith,  he  was  told  that  he  and  his 
countrymen  were  rebels  against  their  lawful  King, 
James  II.  After  spiking  the  cannon,  burning  the 
fort,  and  destroying  all  the  neighboring  settlements, 
the  triumphant  allies  departed  for  their  respective 


laeo.]  DAVIS  TAKEN  PRISONER.  243 

homes,   leaving  the  slain  unburied  where  they  had 
fallen.  1 

Davis,  with  three  or  four  others,  more  fortunate 
than  their  companions,  was  kept  by  the  French,  and 
carried  to  Canada.  "They  were  kind  to  me,"  he 
says,  "  on  my  travels  through  the  country.  I  arrived 
at  Quebeck  the  14th  of  June,  where  I  was  civilly 
treated  by  the  gentry,  and  soon  carried  to  the  fort 
before  the  govemour,  the  Earl  of  Frontenack." 
Frontenac  told  him  that  the  governor  and  people  of 
New  York  were  the  cause  of  the  war,  since  they  had 
stirred  up  the  Iroquois  against  Canada,  and  prompted 
them  to  torture  French  prisoners.^  Davis  replied 
that  New  York  and  New  England  were  distinct  and 
separate  governments,  each  of  which  must  answer  for 

*  Their  remains  were  buried  by  Captain  Church,  three  years 
later. 

On  the  capture  of  Fort  Loyal,  compare  Monseignat  and  La 
Potherie  with  Mather,  Magnalia,  ii.  603,  and  the  Declaration  of  Syl- 
vanus  Davis,  in  8  Afass.  Hist.  Coll.,  i.  101.  Davis  makes  curious 
mistakes  in  regard  to  French  names,  his  rustic  ear  not  being 
accustomed  to  the  accents  of  the  Gallic  tongue.  He  calls  Courte- 
manche,  Monsieur  Corte  de  March,  and  Portneuf,  Monsieur  Burniffe 
or  Burneffe.  To  these  contemporary  authorities  may  be  added  the 
account  given  by  Le  Clercq,  Etablissement  de  la  Foy,  ii.  393,  and  a 
letter  from  Governor  Bradstreet  of  Massachusetts  to  Jacob  Leisler 
in  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  ii.  269.  The  French  writers  of  course  say 
nothing  of  any  violation  of  faith  on  the  part  of  the  victors,  but 
they  admit  that  the  Indians  kept  most  of  the  prisoners.  Scarcely 
was  the  fort  taken  when  four  English  vessels  appeared  in  the  har- 
bor, too  late  to  save  it.  Willis,  in  his  History  of  Portland  (ed.  1865), 
gives  a  map  of  Fort  Loyal  and  the  neighboring  country.  In  the 
Massachusetts  archives  is  a  letter  from  Davis,  written  a  few  days 
before  the  attack,  complaining  that  his  fort  is  in  wretched  condition. 

*  I  iun  unable  to  discover  the  foundation  of  this  last  charge. 


244  THE  THREE   WAR-PARTIES.  [169a 

its  own  deeds ;  and  that  New  England  would  gladly 
have  remained  at  peace  with  the  French,  if  they  had 
not  set  on  the  Indians  to  attack  her  peaceful  settlers. 
Frontenac  admitted  that  the  people  of  New  England 
were  not  to  be  regarded  in  the  same  light  with  those 
who  had  stirred  up  the  Indians  against  Canada ;  but 
he  added  that  they  were  all  rebels  to  their  King,  and 
that  if  they  had  been  good  subjects  there  would  have 
been  no  war.  "I  do  believe,'*  observes  the  captive 
Puritan,  "  that  there  was  a  popish  design  against  the 
Protestant  interest  in  New  England  as  in  other  parts 
of  the  world."  He  told  Frontenac  of  the  pledge  given 
by  his  conqueror,  and  the  violation  of  iti  "  We  were 
promised  good  quarter,"  he  reports  himself  to  have 
said,  "  and  a  guard  to  conduct  us  to  our  English ;  but 
now  we  are  made  captives  and  slaves  in  the  hands  of 
the  heathen.  I  thought  I  had  to  do  with  Christians 
that  would  have  been  careful  of  their  engagements, 
and  not  to  violate  and  break  their  oaths.  Where- 
upon the  govemour  shaked  his  head,  and,  as  I  was 
told,  was  very  angry  with  Burniffe  [Portneuf]." 

Frontenac  was  pleased  with  his  prisoner,  whom  he 
calls  a  bonhomme.  He  told  him  in  broken  English  to 
take  courage,  and  promised  him  good  treatment;  to 
which  Davis  replied  that  his  chief  concern  was  not 
for  himself,  but  for  the  captives  in  the  hands  of  the 
Indians.  Some  of  these  were  afterwards  ransomed 
by  the  French,  and  treated  with  much  kindness,  as 
was  also  Davis  himself,  to  whom  the  count  gave 
lodging  in  the  chateau. 


1690.J         THE  CANADIANS  ENCOURAGED.  245 

The  triumphant  success  of  his  three  war-parties 
produced  on  the  Canadian  people  all  the  effect  that 
Frontenac  had  expected.  This  effect  was  very- 
apparent,  even  before  the  last  two  victories  had 
become  known.  "  You  cannot  believe,  Monseigneur," 
wrote  the  governor,  speaking  of  the  capture  of 
Schenectady,  "the  joy  that  this  slight  success  has 
caused,  and  how  much  it  contributes  to  raise  the 
people  from  their  dejection  and  terror." 

One  untoward  accident  damped  the  general  joy  for 
a  moment.  A  party  of  Iroquois  Christians  from  the 
Saut  St.  Louis  had  made  a  raid  against  the  English 
borders,  and  were  returning  with  prisoners.  One 
evening,  as  they  were  praying  at  their  camp  neai 
Lake  Champlain,  they  were  discovered  by  a  band  of 
Algonquins  and  Abenakis  who  were  out  on  a  similar 
errand,  and  who,  mistaking  them  for  enemies,  set 
upon  them  and  killed  several  of  their  number,  among 
whom  was  Kryn,  the  great  Mohawk,  chief  of  the 
mission  of  the  Saut.  This  mishap  was  near  causing 
a  rupture  between  the  best  Indian  allies  of  the  colony; 
but  the  difference  was  at  length  happily  adjusted, 
and  the  relatives  of  the  slain  propitiated  by  gifts.  ^ 

1  The  attacking  party  consisted  of  some  of  the  Abenakii  and 
Algonquins  who  had  been  with  Hertel,  and  who  had  left  the  main 
body  after  the  destruction  of  Salmon  Falls.  Several  of  them  were 
killed  in  the  skirmish,  and  among  the  rest  their  chief,  Hopehood,  or 
Wohawa, — "that  memorable  tygre,"  as  Cotton  Mather  calls  him. 


CHAPTER  Xn. 

1690. 

MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS  QUEBEC. 

English    Schemes.  —  Capture  of  Port   Royal.  —  Acadia  rb- 
DUCED.  —  Conduct  of  Phips:    his   History  and  Character. 

—  Boston  in  Arms.  —  A  Puritan  Crusade.  —  The  March 
FROM  Albany.  —  Frontenac  and  the  Council.  —  Prontenac 
at  Montreal:  his  War  Dance.  —  An  Abortive  Expedition. 

—  An  English  Raid.  —  Frontenac  at  Quebec.  —  Defences 
OF  THE  Town.  —  The  Enemy  arrives. 

When  Frontenac  sent  his  war-parties  against  New 
York  and  New  England,  it  was  in  the  hope-  not  only 
of  reanimating  the  Canadians,  but  also  of  teaching 
the  Iroquois  that  they  could  not  safely  rely  on  Eng- 
lish aid,  and  of  inciting  the  Abenakis  to  renew  their 
attacks  on  the  border  settlements.  He  imagined, 
too,  that  the  British  colonies  could  be  chastised  into 
prudence,  and  taught  a  policy  of  conciliation  towards 
their  Canadian  neighbors;  but  he  mistook  the  char- 
acter of  these  bold  and  vigorous  though  not  martial 
communities.  The  plan  of  a  combined  attack  on 
Canada  seems  to  have  been  first  proposed  by  the 
Iroquois ;  and  New  York  and  the  several  governments 
of  New  England,  smarting  under  French  and  Indian 
attacks,  hastened  to  embrace  it.     Early  in  May,  a 


1690.]  ENGLISH   SCHEMES.  247 

congress  of  their  delegates  was  held  in  the  city  of 
New  York.  It  was  agreed  that  the  colony  of  that 
name  should  furnish  four  hundred  men,  and  Massa- 
chusetts, Plymouth,  and  Connecticut  three  hundred 
and  fifty-five  jointly^;  while  the  Iroquois  afterwards 
added  their  worthless  pledge  to  join  the  expedition 
with  nearly  all  their  warriors.  The  colonial  militia 
were  to  rendezvous  at  Albany,  and  thence  advance 
upon  Montreal  by  way  of  Lake  Champlain.  Mutual 
jealousies  made  it  difficult  to  agree  upon  a  com- 
mander; but  Fitz-John  Winthrop  of  Connecticut 
was  at  length  placed  at  the  head  of  the  feeble  and 
discordant  band. 

While  Montreal  was  thus  assailed  by  land,  Massa- 
chusetts and  the  other  New  England  colonies  were 
invited  to  attack  Quebec  by  sea,  —  a  task  formidable 
in  difficulty  and  in  cost,  and  one  that  imposed  on 
them  an  inordinate  share  in  the  burden  of  the  war. 
Massachusetts  hesitated.  She  had  no  money,  and 
she  was  already  engaged  in  a  less  remote  and  less 
critical  enterprise.  During  the  winter  her  commerce 
had  suffered  from  French  cruisers,  which  found  con- 
venient harborage  at  Port  Royal,  whence  also  the 
hostile  Indians  were  believed  to  draw  supplies. 
Seven  vessels,  with  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight 
sailors,  were  impressed,  and  from  four  to  five  hun- 
dred militia-men  were  drafted  for  the  service.* 

1  Summary  of  Muster  Roll,  appended  to  A  Journal  of  the  Expedition 
from  Boston  against  Port  Royal,  among  the  papers  of  George  Chalmers 
in  the  Library  of  Harvard  College. 


248        MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS  QUEBEC.    [1690. 

That  rugged  son  of  New  England,  Sir  William 
Phips,  was  appointed  to  the  command.  He  sailed 
from  Nantasket  at  the  end  of  April,  reached  Port 
Royal  on  the  eleventh  of  May,  landed  his  militia, 
and  summoned  Meneval,  the  governor,  to  surrender. 
The  fort,  though  garrisoned  by  about  seventy  soldiers, 
was  scarcely  in  condition  to  repel  an  assault;  and 
Meneval  yielded  without  resistance,  first  stipulating, 
according  to  French  accounts,  that  private  property 
should  be  respected,  the  church  left  untouched,  and 
the  tjoops  sent  to  Quebec  or  to  France.^  It  was 
found,  however,  that  during  the  parley  a  quantity  of 
goods,  belonging  partly  to  the  King  and  partly  to 
merchants  of  the  place,  had  been  carried  off  and 
hidden  in  the  woods. ^  Phips  thought  this  a  suffi- 
cient pretext  for  plundering  the  merchants,  imprison- 
ing the  troops,  and  desecrating  the  church.  "  We 
cut  down  the  cross,"  writes  one  of  his  followers, 
"rifled  their  church,  pulled  down  their  high  altar, 
and  broke  their  images." ^  The  houses  of  the  two 
priests  were  also  pillaged.  The  people  were  promised 
security  to  life,  liberty,  and  property,  on  condition 
of  swearing  allegiance  to  King  William  and  Queen 
Mary;  "which,"  says  the  journalist,  "they  did  with 
great  acclamation,"  and  thereupon  they  were  left 
unmolested.*     The  lawful  portion  of  the  booty  in- 

*  Relation  de  la  Prise  du  Port  Royal  par  les  Anglois  de  Bastorif 
piece  anonyme,  27  Mai,  1690. 

*  Journal  of  the  Expedition  from  Boston  against  Port  Royal, 
»  Ibid. 

<  Relation  de  Monuignat,    Nerertheless,  a  considerable  number 


1690.]  CAPTURE  OF  PORT  ROYAL.  249 

eluded  twenty-one  pieces  of  cannon,  with  a  consid- 
erable sum  of  money  belonging  to  the  King.  The 
smaller  articles,  many  of  which  were  taken  from  the 
merchants  and  from  such  of  the  settlers  as  refused 
the  oath,  were  packed  in  hogsheads  and  sent  on 
board  the  ships.  Phips  took  no  measures  to  secure 
his  conquest,  though  he  commissioned  a  president 
and  six  councillors,  chosen  from  the  inhabitants,  to 
govern  the  settlement  till  further  orders  from  the 
Crown  or  from  the  authorities  of  Massachusetts. 
The  president  was  directed  to  constrain  nobody  in 
the  matter  of  religion ;  and  he  was  assured  of  protec- 
tion and  support  so  long  as  he  remained  "  faithful  to 
our  government,"  that  is,  the  government  of  Massa- 
chusetts.^ The  little  Puritan  commonwealth  already 
gave  itself  airs  of  sovereignty. 

Phips  now  sent  Captain  Alden,  who  had  already 
taken  possession  of  Saint-Castin's  post  at  Penobscot, 
to  seize  upon  La  Heve,  Chedabucto,  and  other 
stations  on  the  southern  coast.  Then,  after  provid- 
ing for  the  reduction  of  the  settlements  at  the  head 
of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  he  sailed,  with  the  rest  of  the 
fleet,  for  Boston,  where  he  arrived  triumphant  on  the 

seem  to  have  refused  the  oath,  and  to  hare  been  pillaged.  The 
Relation  de  la  Prise  du  Port  Royal  par  les  Anglois  de  Baston,  written 
on  the  spot  immediately  after  the  event,  says  that,  except  that 
nobody  was  killed,  the  place  was  treated  as  if  taken  by  assault 
Meneval  also  says  that  the  inhabitants  were  pillaged.  [Meneval  an 
Ministre,  29  Mai,  1690 ;  also  Rapport  de  Champigny,  Octobre,  1690.,' 
Meneval  describes  the  New  England  men  as  excessively  irritated  at 
the  late  slaughter  of  settlers  at  Salmon  Falls  and  elsewhere. 
1  Journal  of  the  Ex})edition,  etc. 


250         MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS   QUEBEC.    [1690. 

thirtieth  of  May,  bringing  with  him,  as  prisoners, 
the  French  governor,  fifty-nine  soldiers,  and  the  two 
priests  Petit  and  Trouv^.  Massachusetts  had  made 
an  easy  conquest  of  all  Acadia;  a  conquest,  however, 
which  she  had  neither  the  men  nor  the  money  to 
secure  by  sufficient  garrisons. 

The  conduct  of  the  New  England  commander  in 
this  affair  does  him  no  credit.  It  is  true  that  no 
blood  was  spilt,  and  no  revenge  taken  for  the 
repeated  butcheries  of  unoffending  and  defenceless 
settlers.  It  is  true,  also,  that  the  French  appear  to- 
have  acted  in  bad  faith.  But  Phips,  on  the  other 
hand,  displayed  a  scandalous  rapacity.  Charlevoix 
says  that  he  robbed  Meneval  of  all  his  money;  but 
Meneval  himself  affirms  that  he  gave  it  to  the  Eng- 
lish commander  for  safe-keeping,  and  that  Phips  and 
his  wife  would  return  neither  the  money  nor  vari- 
ous other  articles  belonging  to  the  captive  governor, 
whereof  the  following  are  specified:  "Six  silver 
spoons,  six  silver  forks,  one  silver  cup  in  the  shape 
of  a  gondola,  a  pair  of  pistols,  three  new  wigs,  a  gray 
vest,  four  pairs  of  silk  garters,  two  dozen  of  shirts, 
six  vests  of  dimity,  four  night-caps  with  lace  edgings, 
all  my  table  service  of  fine  tin,  all  my  kitchen  linen,'* 
and  many  other  items  which  give  an  amusing  insight 
into  MenevaPs  housekeeping.  ^ 

1  An  Account  of  the  Silver  and  Effects  which  Mr.  Phips  keeps  hack 
from  Mr.  Meneval,  in  3  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  \.  115. 

Monseignat  and  La  Potherie  describe  briefly  this  expedition 
against  Port  Royal.  In  the  archives  of  Massachusetts  are  various 
papers  concerning  it,  among  which  are  Governor  Bradstreet's  in- 


1690.]  MENEVAL  IxMPRISONED.  251 

Meneval,  with  the  two  priests,  was  confined  in  a 
house  at  Boston,  under  guard.  He  says  that  he 
petitioned  the  governor  and  council  for  redress ;  "  but, 
as  they  have  little  authority  and  stand  in  fear  of 
Phips,  who  is  supported  by  the  rabble,  to  which  he 
himself  once  belonged,  and  of  which  he  is  now  the 
chief,  they  would  do  nothing  for  me."^  This  state- 
ment of  Meneval  is  not  quite  correct;  for  an  order 
of  the  council  is  on  record,  requiring  Phips  to  restore 
his  chest  and  clothes ;  and,  as  the  order  received  no 
attention,  Governor  Bradstreet  wrote  to  the  refractory 
commander  a  note,  enjoining  him  to  obey  it  at  once.^ 
Phips  thereupon  gave  up  some  of  the  money  and  the 
worst  part  of  the  clothing,  still  keeping  the  rest.' 
After  long  delay,  the  council  released  Meneval; 
upon  which,  Phips  and  the  populace  whom  he  con- 
structions to  Phips,  and  a  complete  invoice  of  the  plunder.  Extract! 
will  be  found  in  Professor  Bowen's  Life  of  Phips,  in  Sparks's  Ameri- 
can Biography,  vii.  There  is  also  an  order  of  council, "  Whereas  the 
French  soldiers  lately  brought  to  this  place  from  Port  Royal  did 
surrender  on  capitulation,"  they  shall  be  set  at  liberty.  Meneval, 
Lettre  au  Ministre,  29  Mai,  1690,  says  that  there  was  a  capitulation, 
and  that  Phips  broke  it.  Perrot,  former  governor  of  Acadia,  accuse* 
both  Meneval  and  the  priest  Petit  of  being  in  collusion  with  the 
English.  Perrot  a  De  Chevry,  2  Juin,  1690.  The  same  charge  ii 
made  as  regards  Petit  in  Me'moire  sur  I'Acadie,  1691. 

Charlevoix's  account  of  this  affair  is  inaccurate.  He  ascribes  to 
Phips  acts  which  took  place  weeks  after  his  return,  such  as  the 
capture  of  Chedabucto. 

1  Memoire  presente  a  M.  de  Ponchartrain  par  M.  de  Meneval^  6 
Avril,  1691. 

^  This  note,  dated  7  January,  1691,  is  cited  by  Bowen  in  hii  Lift 
oj  Phips,  Sparks's  American  Biography,  vii. 

^  Memoire  de  Meneval. 


252         MASSACHUSETTS   ATTACKS   QUEBEC.     [1690. 

trolled  demanded  that  he  should  be  again  imprisoned ; 
but  the  "honest  people"  of  the  town  took  his  part, 
his  persecutor  was  forced  to  desist,  and  he  set  sail 
covertly  for  France.^  This,  at  least,  is  his  own 
account  of  the  affair. 

As  Phips  was  to  play  a  conspicuous  part  in  the 
events  that  immediately  followed,  some  notice  of  him 
will  not  be  amiss.  He  is  said  to  have  been  one  of 
twenty-six  children,  all  of  the  same  mother,  and  was 
born  in  1650  at  a  rude  border  settlement,  since  called 
Woolwich,  on  the  Kennebec.  His  parents  were 
ignorant  and  poor ;  and  till  eighteen  years  of  age  he 
was  employed  in  keeping  sheep.  Such  a  life  ill 
suited  his  active  and  ambitious  nature.  To  better 
his  condition,  he  learned  the  trade  of  ship-carpenter, 
and  in  the  exercise  of  it  came  to  Boston,  where  he 
married  a  widow  with  some  property,  beyond  him  in 
years,  and  much  above  him  in  station.  About  this 
time  he  learned  to  read  and  write,  though  not  too 
well,  for  his  signature  is  like  that  of  a  peasant.  Still 
aspiring  to  greater  things,  he  promised  his  wife  that 
he  would  one  day  command  a  king's  ship  and  own  a 
"fair  brick  house  in  the  Green  Lane  of  North  Bos- 
ton," a  quarter  then  occupied  by  citizens  of  the  better 
class.  He  kept  his  word  at  both  points.  Fortune  was 
inauspicious  to  him  for  several  years ;  till  at  length, 
under  the  pressure  of  reverses,  he  conceived  the  idea 
of  conquering  fame  and  wealth  at  one  stroke,  by  fish- 
ing up  the  treasure  said  to  be  stored  in  a  Spanish  gal- 

^  M€moire  de  Meneval. 


1690.]  SIR  WILLIAM  PHIPS.  253 

leon  wrecked  fifty  years  before  somewhere  in  the  West 
Indian  seas.  Full  of  this  project,  he  went  to  Eng- 
land, where,  through  influences  which  do  not  plainly 
appear,  he  gained  a  hearing  from  persons  in  high 
places,  and  induced  the  admiralty  to  adopt  his 
scheme.  A  frigate  was  given  him,  and  he  sailed  for 
the  West  Indies;  whence,  after  a  long  search,  he 
returned  unsuccessful,  though  not  without  adventures 
which  proved  his  mettle.  It  was  the  epoch  of  the 
buccaneers;  and  his  crew,  tired  of  a  vain  and  toil- 
some search,  came  to  the  quarter-deck,  armed  with 
cutlasses,  and  demanded  of  their  captain  that  he 
should  turn  pirate  with  them.  Phips,  a  tall  and 
powerful  man,  instantly  fell  upon  them  with  his  fists, 
knocked  down  the  ringleaders,  and  awed  them  all 
into  submission.  Not  long  after,  there  was  a  more 
formidable  mutiny;  but,  with  great  courage  and 
address,  he  quelled  it  for  a  time,  and  held  his  crew 
to  their  duty  till  he  had  brought  the  ship  into 
Jamaica,  and  exchanged  them  for  better  men. 

Though  the  leaky  condition  of  the  frigate  com- 
pelled him  to  abandon  the  search,  it  was  not  till  he 
had  gained  information  which  he  thought  would  lead 
to  success ;  and  on  his  return  he  inspired  such  confi- 
dence that  the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  with  other  noble- 
men and  gentlemen,  gave  him  a  fresh  outfit,  and 
despatched  him  again  on  his  Quixotic  errand.  This 
time  he  succeeded ;  found  the  wreck,  and  took  from 
it  gold,  silver,  and  jewels  to  the  value  of  three 
hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling.     The  crew  now 


254         MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS  QUEBEC.    [1690 

leagued  together  to  seize  the  ship  and  divide  the 
prize ;  and  Phips,  pushed  to  extremity,  was  compelled 
to  promise  that  every  man  of  them  should  have  a 
share  in  the  treasure,  even  if  he  paid  it  himselt 
On  reaching  England  he  kept  his  pledge  so  well, 
that,  after  redeeming  it,  only  sixteen  thousand 
pounds  was  left  as  his  portion,  which,  however,  was 
an  ample  fortune  in  the  New  England  of  that  day. 
He  gained,  too,  what  he  valued  almost  as  much,  the 
honor  of  knighthood.  Tempting  offers  were  made 
him  of  employment  in  the  royal  service ;  but  he  had 
an  ardent  love  for  his  own  country,  and  thither  he 
presently  returned. 

Phips  was  a  rude  sailor,  bluff,  prompt,  and 
choleric.  He  never  gave  proof  of  intellectual  capa- 
city; and  such  of  his  success  in  life  as  he  did  not  owe 
to  good  luck  was  due  probably  to  an  energetic  and 
adventurous  spirit,  aided  by  a  blunt  frankness  of 
address  that  pleased  the  great,  and  commended  him 
to  their  favor.  Two  years  after  the  expedition  to 
Port  Royal,  the  King,  under  the  new  charter,  made 
him  governor  of  Massachusetts,  —  a  post  for  which, 
though  totally  unfit,  he  had  been  recommended  by 
the  elder  Mather,  who,  like  his  son  Cotton,  expected 
to  make  use  of  him.  He  carried  his  old  habits  into 
his  new  ofiSce,  cudgelled  Brinton,  the  collector  of 
the  port,  and  belabored  Captain  Short  of  the  royal 
navy  with  his  cane.  Far  from  trying  to  hide  the 
obscurity  of  his  origin,  he  leaned  to  the  opposite 
foible,  and  was  apt  to  boast  of  it,  delighting  to  exhibit 


1690.]  MARTIAL   PREPARATION.  256 

himself  as  a  self-made  man.  New  England  writers 
describe  him  as  honest  in  private  dealings;  but,  in 
accordance  with  his  coarse  nature,  he  seems  to  have 
thought  that  anything  is  fair  in  war.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  was  warmly  patriotic,  and  was  almost  as 
ready  to  serve  New  England  as  to  serve  himself.* 

When  Phips  returned  from  Port  Royal,  he  found 
Boston  alive  with  martial  preparation.  A  bold  enter- 
prise was  afoot.  Massachusetts  of  her  own  motion 
had  resolved  to  attempt  the  conquest  of  Quebec. 
She  and  her  sister  colonies  had  not  yet  recovered 
from  the  exhaustion  of  Philip*s  war,  and  still  less 
from  the  disorders  that  attended  the  expulsion  of  the 
royal  governor  and  his  adherents.  The  public  treas- 
ury was  empty,  and  the  recent  expeditions  against 
the  eastern  Indians  had  been  supported  by  private 
subscription.  Worse  yet,  New  England  had  no  com- 
petent military  commander.  The  Puritan  gentlemen 
of  the  original  emigration,  some  of  whom  were  as 
well  fitted  for  military  as  for  civil  leadership,  had 
passed  from  the  stage;  and,  by  a  tendency  which 
circumstances  made  inevitable,  they  had  left  none 
behind  them  equally  qualified.  The  great  Indian 
conflict  of  fifteen  yeara  before  had,  it  is  true,  formed 
good  partisan  chiefs,  and  proved  that  the  New  Eng- 
land yeoman,  defending  his  family  and  his  hearth, 
was  not  to  be  surpassed  in  stubborn  fighting;  but, 

1  An  excellent  account  of  Phips  will  be  found  in  Professor 
Bowen's  biographical  notice,  already  cited.  His  life  bj  Cotton 
Mather  i«  excessively  eulogistic 


266       MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS  QUEBEC.    [1690. 

since  Andros  and  his  soldiers  had  been  driven  out, 
there  was  scarcely  a  single  man  in  the  colony  of  the 
slightest  training  or  experience  in  regular  war.  Up 
to  this  moment,  New  England  had  never  asked  help 
of  the  mother  country.  When  thousands  of  savages 
burst  on  her  defenceless  settlements,  she  had  con- 
quered safety  and  peace  with  her  own  blood  and  her 
own  slender  resources;  but  now,  as  the  proposed 
capture  of  Quebec  would  inure  to  the  profit  of  the 
British  Crown,  Bradstreet  and  his  council  thought  it 
not  unfitting  to  ask  for  a  supply  of  arms  and  ammu- 
nition, of  which  they  were  in  great  need.^  The 
request  was  refused,  and  no  aid  of  any  kind  came 
from  the  English  government,  whose  resources  were 
engrossed  by  the  Irish  war. 

While  waiting  for  the  reply,  the  colonial  authori- 
ties urged  on  their  preparations,  in  the  hope  that  the 
plunder  of  Quebec  would  pay  the  expenses  of  its 
conquest.  Humility  was  not  among  the  New  Eng- 
land virtues,  and  it  was  thought  a  sin  to  doubt  that 
God  would  give  his  chosen  people  the  victory  over 
papists  and  idolaters;  yet  no  pains  were  spared  to 
insure  the  divine  favor.  A  proclamation  was  issued, 
calling  the  people  to  repentance;  a  day  of  fasting 
was  ordained;  and,  as  Mather  expresses  it,  "the 
wheel  of  prayer  was  kept  in  continual  motion."^ 
The  chief  difficulty  was    to   provide    funds.     An 

1  Bradstreet  and  Council  to  the  Earl  of  Shrewsbury,  29  March,  1690  j 
Dan/orth  to  Sir  H.  Ashurst,  1  April,  1690. 

«  Mass.  Colonial  Records,  12  March,  1690;  Mather,  Life  o/Phipi, 


1690.J  A  PURITAN  CRUSADE.  257 

attempt  was  made  to  collect  a  part  of  the  money  by 
private  subscription ;  ^  but  as  this  plan  failed,  the 
provisional  government,  already  in  debt,  strained  its 
credit  yet  further,  and  borrowed  the  needful  sums. 
Thirty-two  trading  and  fishing  vessels,  great  and 
small,  were  impressed  for  the  sei*vice.  The  largest 
was  a  ship  called  the  "Six  Friends,"  engaged  in  the 
dangerous  West  India  trade,  and  carrying  forty-four 
guns.  A  call  was  made  for  volunteers,  and  many 
enrolled  themselves;  but  as  more  were  wanted,  a 
press  was  ordered  to  complete  the  number.  So  rigor- 
ously was  it  applied,  that,  what  with  voluntary  and 
enforced  enlistment,  one  town,  that  of  Gloucester, 
was  deprived  of  two- thirds  of  its  fencible  men.^ 
There  was  not  a  moment  of  doubt  as  to  the  choice 
of  a  commander,  for  Phips  was  imagined  to  be  the 
very  man  for  the  work.  One  John  Walley,  a  respect- 
able citizen  of  Barnstable,  was  made  second  in  com- 
mand with  the  modest  rank  of  major ;  and  a  sufficient 
number  of  ship-masters,  merchants,  master  mechanics, 
and  substantial  farmers  were  commissioned  as  subor- 
dinate officers.  About  the  middle  of  July,  the  com- 
mittee charged  with  the  preparations  reported  that 
all  was  ready.  Still  there  was  a  long  delay.  The 
vessel  sent  early  in  spring  to  ask  aid  from  England 
had  not  returned.     Phips  waited  for  her  as  long  as 

*  Proposals  for  an  Expedition  against  Canada,  in  3  Mass.  Hist. 
Coll.,  X.  119. 

2  Rev.  John  Emerson  to  Wait  Winthrop,  26  July,  1690.  Emerson 
was  the  minister  of  Gloucester.  He  begs  for  the  release  of  the  im- 
pressed men. 

If 


258        MASSACHUSETTS   ATTACKS  QUEBEC.     [1690. 

he  dared,  and  the  best  of  the  season  was  over  when 
he  resolved  to  put  to  sea.  The  rustic  warriors,  duly 
formed  into  companies,  were  sent  on  board ;  and  the 
fleet  sailed  from  Nantasket  on  the  ninth  of  August. 
Including  sailors,  it  carried  twenty-two  hundred 
men,  with  provisions  for  four  months,  but  insuffi- 
cient ammunition  and  no  pilot  for  the  St.  Lawrence.^ 

While  Massachusetts  was  making  ready  to  conquer 
Quebec  by  sea,  the  militia  of  the  land  expedition 
against  Montreal  had  mustered  at  Albany.  Their 
strength  was  even  less  than  was  at  first  proposed; 
for,  after  the  disaster  at  Casco,  Massachusetts  and 
Plymouth  had  recalled  their  contingents  to  defend 
their  frontiers.  The  rest,  decimated  by  dysentery 
and  small-pox,  began  their  march  to  Lake  Champlain, 
with  bands  of  Mohawk,  Oneida,  and  Mohegan  allies. 
The  western  Iroquois  were  to  join  them  at  the  lake, 
and  the  combined  force  was  then  to  attack  the  head 
of  the  colony,  while  Phips  struck  at  its  heart. 

Frontenac  was  at  Quebec  during  most  of  the  win- 
ter and  the  early  spring.  When  he  had  despatched 
the  three  war-parties,  whose  hardy  but  murderous 
exploits  were  to  bring  this  double  storm  upon  him, 
he  had  an  interval  of  leisure,  of  which  he  made  a 
characteristic   use.     The   English  and  the  Iroquois 

1  Mather,  Life  of  Phips,  gives  an  account  of  the  outfit.  Compare 
the  Humble  Address  of  Divers  of  the  Gentry,  Merchants  and  others 
inhabiting  in  Boston,  to  the  King's  Most  Excellent  Majesty.  Two 
oflScers  of  the  expedition,  Walley  and  Savage,  have  left  accounts  of 
it,  as  Phips  would  probably  have  done,  had  his  literary  acquirementa 
been  equal  to  the  task. 


1690.]        FRONTENAC  AND  THE  COUNCIL.  259 

were  not  his  only  enemies.  He  had  opponents  within 
as  well  as  without,  and  he  counted  as  among  them 
most  of  the  members  of  the  supreme  council.  Here 
was  the  bishop,  representing  that  clerical  power 
which  had  clashed  so  often  with  the  civil  rule ;  here 
was  that  ally  of  the  Jesuits,  the  intendant  Champigny, 
who,  when  Frontenac  arrived,  had  written  mourn- 
fully to  Versailles  that  he  would  do  his  best  to  live 
at  peace  with  him ;  here  were  Villeray  and  Auteuil, 
whom  the  governor  had  once  banished,  D'Amours, 
whom  he  had  imprisoned,  and  others  scarcely  more 
agreeable  to  him.  They  and  their  clerical  friends 
had  conspired  for  his  recall  seven  or  eight  years 
before;  they  had  clung  to  Denonville,  that  faithful 
son  of  the  Church,  in  spite  of  all  his  failures;  and 
they  had  seen  with  troubled  minds  the  return  of  King 
Stork  in  the  person  of  the  haughty  and  irascible 
count.  He  on  his  part  felt  his  power.  The  country 
was  in  deadly  need  of  him,  and  looked  to  him  for 
salvation ;  while  the  King  had  shown  him  such  marks 
of  favor  that,  for  the  moment  at  least,  his  enemies 
must  hold  their  peace.  Now,  therefore,  was  the 
time  to  teach  them  that  he  was  their  master. 
Whether  trivial  or  important  the  occasion  mattered 
little.  What  he  wanted  was  a  conflict  and  a  vic- 
tory, or  submission  without  a  conflict. 

The  supreme  council  had  held  its  usual  weekly 
meetings  since  Frontenac's  arrival;  but  as  yet  he  had 
not  taken  his  place  at  the  board,  though  his  presence 
was  needed.     Auteuil,    the    attorney-general,    was 


260        MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS  QUEBEC.    t;i690. 

thereupon  deputed  to  invite  him.  He  visited  the 
count  at  his  apartment  in  the  chateau,  but  could  get 
from  him  no  answer,  except  that  the  council  was  able 
to  manage  its  own  business,  and  that  he  would  come 
when  the  King's  service  should  require  it.  The 
councillors  divined  that  he  was  waiting  for  some 
assurance  that  they  would  receive  him  with  befitting 
ceremony;  and,  after  debating  the  question,  they 
voted  to  send  four  of  their  number  to  repeat  the 
invitation,  and  beg  the  governor  to  say  what  form 
of  reception  would  be  agreeable  to  him.  Frontenac 
answered  that  it  was  for  them  to  propose  the  form, 
and  that  when  they  did  so  he  would  take  the  subject 
into  consideration.  The  deputies  returned,  and  there 
was  another  debate.  A  ceremony  was  devised, 
which  it  was  thought  must  needs  be  acceptable  to 
the  count;  and  the  first  councillor,  Villeray,  repaired 
to  the  chateau  to  submit  it  to  him.  After  making 
him  an  harangue  of  compliment,  and  protesting  the 
anxiety  of  himself  and  his  colleagues  to  receive  him 
with  all  possible  honor,  he  explained  the  plan,  and 
assured  Frontenac  that  if  not  wholly  satisfactory  it 
should  be  changed  to  suit  his  pleasure.  "  To  ivhich,'' 
says  the  record,  "Monsieur  the  governor  only 
answered  that  the  council  could  consult  the  bishop 
and  other  persons  acquainted  with  such  matters.** 
The  bishop  was  consulted,  but  pleaded  ignorance. 
Another  debate  followed;  and  the  first  councillor 
was  again  despatched  to  the  chteau,  with  proposals 
still  more  deferential  than  the  last,  and  full  power 


1690.J  FRONTENAC   AND  THE   COUNCIL.  26X 

to  yield,  in  addition,  whatever  the  governor  might 
desire.  Frontenac  replied,  that,  though  they  had 
made  proposals  for  his  reception  when  he  should 
present  himself  at  the  council  for  the  first  time,  they 
had  not  informed  him  what  ceremony  they  meant  to 
observe  when  he  should  come  to  the  subsequent  ses- 
sions. This  point  also  having  been  thoroughly  de- 
bated, Villeray  went  again  to  the  count,  and  with 
great  deference  laid  before  him  the  following  plan: 
That  whenever  it  should  be  his  pleasure  to  make  his 
first  visit  to  the  council,  four  of  its  number  should 
repair  to  the  chateau,  and  accompany  him,  with 
every  mark  of  honor,  to  the  palace  of  the  intendant, 
where  the  sessions  were  held;  and  that  on  his  sub- 
sequent visits  two  councillors  should  meet  him  at 
the  head  of  the  stairs,  and  conduct  him  to  his  seat. 
The  envoy  further  protested  that  if  this  failed  to 
meet  his  approval,  the  council  would  conform  itself 
to  all  his  wishes  on  the  subject. 

Frontenac  now  demanded  to  see  the  register  in 
which  the  proceedings  on  the  question  at  issue  were 
recorded.  Villeray  was  directed  to  carry  it  to  him. 
The  records  had  been  cautiously  made;  and,  after 
studying  them  carefully,  he  could  find  nothing  at 
which  to  cavil.  He  received  the  next  deputation 
with  great  affabilit}^  told  them  that  he  was  glad  to 
find  that  the  council  had  not  forgotten  the  considera- 
tion due  to  his  office  and  his  person,  and  assured 
them,  with  urbane  irony,  that,  had  they  offered  to 
accord  him  marks  of  distinction  greater  than  they 


262        MASSACHUSETTS   ATTACKS   QUEBEC,     [le&w. 

felt  were  due,  he  would  not  have  permitted  them 
thus  to  compromise  their  dignity,  having  too  much 
regard  for  the  honor  of  a  body  of  which  he  himself 
was  the  head.  Then,  after  thanking  them  collec- 
tively and  severally,  he  graciously  dismissed  them, 
saying  that  he  would  come  to  the  council  after 
Easter,  or  in  about  two  months.^  During  four  suc- 
cessive Mondays,  he  had  forced  the  chief  dignitaries 
of  the  colony  to  march  in  deputations  up  and  down 
the  rugged  road  from  the  intendant's  palace  to  the 
chamber  of  the  chateau  where  he  sat  in  solitary 
state.  A  disinterested  spectator  might  see  the 
humor  of  the  situation;  but  the  council  felt  only  its 
vexations.  Frontenac  had  gained  his  point;  the 
enemy  had  surrendered  unconditionally. 

Having  settled  this  important  matter  to  his  satis- 
faction, Frontenac  again  addressed  himself  to  saving 
the  country.  During  the  winter,  he  had  employed 
gangs  of  men  in  cutting  timber  in  the  forests,  hew- 
ing it  into  palisades,   and  dragging  it  to  Quebec. 

1  "M.  le  Gouverneur  luy  a  r^pondu  qu'il  avoit  reconnu  avec 
plaisir  que  la  Compagnie  [le  ConseiC]  conservoit  la  consideration 
qu'elle  avoit  pour  son  caract^re  et  pour  sa  personne,  et  qu'elle 
pouvoit  bien  s'assurer  qu'encore  qu'elle  luy  eust  fait  des  propo- 
•itions  au  delk  de  ce  qu'elle  auroit  cru  devoir  faire  pour  sa  recep- 
tion au  Conseil,  il  ne  les  auroit  pas  acceptees,  I'hoiijeur  de  la 
Compagnie  luy  estant  d'autant  plus  considerable,  qu'en  estant  le 
chef,  il  n'auroit  rien  voulu  souffrir  qui  peust  estre  contraire  ^  sa 
dignite."  —  Registre  du  Conseil  Souverain,  seance  du  13  Mars,  1690. 

The  affair  had  occupied  the  preceding  sessions  of  20  and  27 
February  and  6  March.  The  submission  of  the  councillors  did  not 
prevent  them  from  complaining  to  the  minister.  Champigny  an 
Minittrtf  10  Mai,  1691;  Memoire  instruct  if  sur  le  Canada,  1691. 


1890.]  FRONTENAC   AT  MONTREAL.  268 

Nature  had  fortified  the  Upper  Town  on  two  sides 
by  cliffs  almost  inaccessible,  but  it  was  open  to  attack 
in  the  rear;  and  Frontenac,  with  a  happy  prevision 
of  approaching  danger,  gave  his  first  thoughts  to 
strengthening  this,  its  only  weak  side.  The  work 
began  as  soon  as  the  frost  was  out  of  the  ground, 
and  before  midsummer  it  was  well  advanced.  At 
the  same  time,  he  took  every  precaution  for  the  safety 
of  the  settlements  in  the  upper  parts  of  the  colony; 
stationed  detachments  of  regulars  at  the  stockade  forts, 
which  Denonville  had  built  in  all  the  parishes  above 
Three  Rivers,  and  kept  strong  scouting  parties  in  con- 
tinual movement  in  all  the  quarters  most  exposed  to 
attack.  Troops  were  detailed  to  guard  the  settlers 
at  their  work  in  the  fields,  and  officers  and  men  were 
enjoined  to  use  the  utmost  vigilance.  Nevertheless, 
the  Iroquois  war-parties  broke  in  at  various  points, 
burning  and  butchering,  and  spreading  such  terror 
that  in  some  districts  the  fields  were  left  untilled  and 
the  prospects  of  the  harvest  ruined.  ufi 

Towards  the  end  of  July  Frontenac  left  Major 
Pr(^vost  to  finish  the  fortifications,  and,  with  the 
intendant  Champigny,  went  up  to  Montreal,  the 
chief  point  of  danger.  Here  he  arrived  on  the 
thirty-first;  and,  a  few  days  after,  the  officer  com- 
manding the  fort  at  La  Chine  sent  him  a  messenger 
in  hot  haste  with  the  startling  news  that  Lake  St. 
Louis   was   "all  covered   with   canoes.**^      Nobody 

*  "Que  le  lac  estoit  tout  couvert  de  canots."  —  Frontetuie  au 

Miniitre,  9  et  12  Novembre,  1690. 


564        MASSACHUSETTS   ATTACKS   QUEBEC.     [1690. 

doubted  that  the  Iroquois  were  upon  them  again. 
Cannon  were  fired  to  call  in  the  troops  from  the 
detached  posts ;  when  alarm  was  suddenly  turned  to 
joy  by  the  arrival  of  other  messengers  to  announce 
that  the  new-comers  were  not  enemies,  but  friends. 
They  were  the  Indians  of  the  upper  lakes  descending 
from  Michilimackinac  to  trade  at  Montreal.  Noth- 
ing so  auspicious  had  happened  since  Frontenac's 
return.  The  messages  he  had  sent  them  in  the 
spring  by  Louvigny  and  Perrot,  reinforced  by  the 
news  of  the  victory  on  the  Ottawa  and  the  capture 
of  Schenectady,  had  had  the  desired  effect;  and  the 
Iroquois  prisoner  whom  their  missionary  had  per- 
suaded them  to  torture  had  not  been  sacrificed  in 
vain.  Despairing  of  an  English  market  for  their 
beaver-skins,  they  had  come  as  of  old  to  seek  one 
from  the  French. 

On  the  next  day  they  all  came  down  the  rapids, 
and  landed  near  the  town.  There  were  fully  five 
hundred  of  them,  —  Hurons,  Ottawas,  Ojibwas, 
Pottawatamies,  Crees,  and  Nipissings,  —  with  a 
hundred  and  ten  canoes  laden  with  beaver-skins  to 
the  value  of  nearly  a  hundred  thousand  crowns. 
Nor  was  this  all;  for,  a  few  days  after,  La  Duran- 
taye,  late  commander  at  Michilimackinac,  arrived  with 
fifty-five  more  canoes,  manned  by  French  traders, 
and  filled  with  valuable  furs.  The  stream  of  wealth 
dammed  back  so  long  was  flowing  upon  the  colony  at 
the  moment  when  it  was  most  needed.  Never  had 
Canada  known  a  more  prosperous  trade  than  now  in 


1690.]  FRONTENAC   AND  HIS   ALLIES.  265 

the  midst  of  her  danger  and  tribulation.  It  was  a 
triumph  for  Frontenac.  If  his  policy  had  failed 
with  the  Iroquois,  it  had  found  a  crowning  success 
among  the  tribes  of  the  lakes. 

Having  painted,  greased,  and  befeathered  them- 
selves, the  Indians  mustered  for  the  grand  council 
which  always  preceded  the  opening  of  the  market. 
The  Ottawa  orator  spoke  of  nothing  but  trade,  and, 
with  a  regretful  memory  of  the  cheapness  of  English 
goods,  begged  that  the  French  would  sell  them  at 
the  same  rate.  The  Huron  touched  upon  politics 
and  war,  declaring  that  he  and  his  people  had  come 
to  visit  their  old  father  and  listen  to  his  voice,  being 
well  assured  that  he  would  never  abandon  them,  as 
others  had  done,  nor  fool  away  his  time,  like  Denon- 
ville,  in  shameful  negotiations  for  peace;  and  he 
exhorted  Frontenac  to  fight,  not  the  English  only, 
but  the  Iroquois  also,  till  they  were  brought  to 
reason.  "If  this  is  not  done,"  he  said,  "my  father 
and  I  shall  both  perish;  but,  come  what  may,  we 
will  perish  together."^  "I  answered,'*  writes 
Frontenac,  "  that  I  would  fight  the  Iroquois  till  they 
came  to  beg  for  peace ;  and  that  I  would  grant  them 
no  peace  that  did  not  include  all  my  children, 
both  white  and  red,  for  I  was  the  father  of  both 
alike." 

Now  ensued  a  curious  scene.  Frontenac  took  a 
hatchet,  brandished  it  in  the  air,  and  sang  the  war- 

1  La  Potherie,  iii.  94 ;  Monseignat,  Relation ;  Frontenac  au  Ministrtf 
9etl2  Novembre,  1690. 


266        MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS  QUEBEC.     [169a 

song.  The  principal  Frenchmen  present  followed 
his  example.  The  Christian  Iroquois  of  the  two 
neighboring  missions  rose  and  joined  them,  and  so 
also  did  the  Hurons  and  the  Algonquins  of  Lake 
Nipissing,  stamping,  and  screeching  like  a  troop  of 
madmen ;  while  the  governor  led  the  dance,  whoop- 
ing like  the  rest.  His  predecessor  would  have 
perished  rather  than  play  such  a  part  in  such  com- 
pany; but  the  punctilious  old  courtier  was  himself 
half  Indian  at  heart,  as  much  at  home  in  a  wigwam 
as  in  the  halls  of  princes.  Another  man  would  have 
lost  respect  in  Indian  eyes  by  such  a  performance. 
In  Frontenac,  it  roused  his  audience  to  enthusiasm. 
They  snatched  the  proffered  hatchet,  and  promised 
war  to  the  death. ^ 

Then  came  a  solemn  war-feast.  Two  oxen  and  six 
large  dogs  had  been  chopped  to  pieces  for  the  occa- 
sion, and  boiled  with  a  quantity  of  prunes.  Two 
barrels  of  wine  with  abundant  tobacco  were  also 
served  out  to  the  guests,  who  devoured  the  meal  in  a 
species  of  frenzy.  ^     All  seemed  eager  for  war  except 

1  "Je  leur  mis  moy-mesme  la  hache  k  la  main  en  chantant  la 
chanson  de  guerre  pour  m'accommoder  h  leurs  fa9on8  de  faire."  — 
Frontenac  au  Ministre,  9  et  12  Novembre,  1690. 

"Monsieur  de  Frontenac  commen9a  la  Chanson  de  guerre,  la 
Hache  k  la  main,  les  principaux  Chefs  des  Fran9oi8  se  joignant  a 
luy  avec  de  pareilles  armes,  la  chanterenL  ensemble.  Les  Iroquois 
du  Saut  et  de  la  Montagne,  les  Hurons  et  les  Nipisiriniens  donnerent 
encore  le  branle :  Ton  eut  dit,  Monsieur,  que  ces  Acteurs  etoient  des 
possedez  par  les  gestes  et  les  contorsions  qu'ils  faisoient.  Les 
Sassakouez,  oil  les  cris  et  les  hurlemens  que  M^  de  Frontenac  €toit 
oblig^  de  faire  pour  se  conformer  k  leur  mani^re,  augmentoit  encore 
la  f ureur  bachique."  —  La  Potherie,  iii.  97. 

«  La  Potherie.  iii.  96,  98. 


1690.]  ALARMING  NEWS.  267 

the  Ottawas,  who  had  not  forgotten  their  late  dal- 
liance with  the  Iroquois.  A  Christian  Mohawk  of 
the  Saut  St.  Louis  called  them  to  another  council, 
and  demanded  that  they  should  explain  clearly  their 
position.  Thus  pushed  to  the  wall,  they  no  longer 
hesitated,  but  promised  like  the  rest  to  do  all  that 
their  father  should  ask. 

Their  sincerity  was  soon  put  to  the  test.  An 
Iroquois  convert  called  La  Plaque,  a  notorious  repro- 
bate though  a  good  warrior,  had  gone  out  as  a  scout 
in  the  direction  of  Albany.  On  the  day  when  the 
market  opened  and  trade  was  in  full  activity, 
the  buyers  and  sellers  were  suddenly  startled  by 
the  sound  of  the  death-yell.  They  snatched  their 
weapons,  and  for  a  moment  all  was  confusion ;  when 
La  Plaque,  who  had  probably  meant  to  amuse  him- 
self at  their  expense,  made  his  appearance,  and 
explained  that  the  yells  proceeded  from  him.  The 
news  that  he  brought  was,  however,  sufficiently 
alarming.  He  declared  that  he  had  been  at  Lake  St. 
Sacrement,  or  Lake  George,  and  had  seen  there  a 
great  number  of  men  making  canoes  as  if  about  to 
advance  on  Montreal.  Frontenac  thereupon  sent  the 
Chevalier  de  Clermont  to  scout  as  far  as  Lake 
Champlain.  Clermont  soon  sent  back  one  of  his 
followers  to  announce  that  he  had  discovered  a  party 
of  the  enemy,  and  that  they  were  already  on  their 
way  down  the  Richelieu.  Frontenac  ordered  cannon 
to  be  fired  to  call  in  the  troops,  crossed  the  St. 
Lawrence  followed  by  all  the  Indians,  and  encamped 


268        MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS   QUEBEC.     [1690. 

with  twelve  hundred  men  at  La  Prairie  to  meet 
the  expected  attack.  He  waited  in  vain.  All  was 
quiet,  and  the  Ottawa  scouts  reported  that  they 
could  find  no  enemy.  Three  days  passed.  The 
Indians  grew  impatient,  and  wished  to  go  home. 
Neither  English  nor  Iroquois  had  shown  themselves ; 
and  Frontenac,  satisfied  that  their  strength  had  been 
exaggerated,  left  a  small  force  at  La  Prairie,  recrossed 
the  river,  and  distributed  the  troops  again  among  the 
neighboring  parishes  to  protect  the  harvesters.  He 
now  gave  ample  presents  to  his  departing  allies, 
whose  chiefs  he  had  entertained  at  his  own  table,  and 
to  whom,  says  Charlevoix,  he  bade  farewell  "with 
those  engaging  manners  which  he  knew  so  well  how 
to  assume  when  he  wanted  to  gain  anybody  to  his 
interest."  Scarcely  were  they  gone,  when  the  dis- 
tant cannon  of  La  Prairie  boomed  a  sudden  alarm. 

The  men  whom  La  Plaque  had  seen  near  Lake 
George  were  a  part  of  the  combined  force  of  Con- 
necticut and  New  York,  destined  to  attack  Montreal. 
They  had  made  their  way  along  Wood  Creek  to  the 
point  where  it  widens  into  Lake  Champlain,  and 
here  they  had  stopped.  Disputes  between  the  men 
of  the  two  colonies,  intestine  quarrels  in  the  New 
York  militia,  who  were  divided  between  the  two 
factions  engendered  by  the  late  revolution,  the  want 
of  provisions,  the  want  of  canoes,  and  the  ravages  of 
small-pox  had  ruined  an  enterprise  which  had  been 
mismanaged  from  the  first.  There  was  no  birch- 
bark  to  make  more  canoes,  and  owing  to  the  lateness 


1690.J  AN  ENGLISH  RAID.  269 

of  the  season  the  bark  of  the  elms  would  not  peel. 
Such  of  the  Iroquois  as  had  joined  them  were  cold 
and  sullen;  and  news  came  that  the  three  western 
tribes  of  the  confederacy,  temfied  by  the  small-pox, 
had  refused  to  move.  It  was  impossible  to  advance ; 
and  Winthrop,  the  commander,  gave  orders  to  return 
to  Albany,  leaving  Phips  to  conquer  Canada  alone.  ^ 

But,  first,  that  the  campaign  might  not  seem  wholly 
futile,  Winthrop  permitted  Captain  John  Schuyler  to 
make  a  raid  into  Canada  with  a  band  of  volunteers. 
Schuyler  left  the  camp  at  Wood  Cre«k  with  twenty- 
nine  whites  and  a  hundred  and  twenty  Indians, 
passed  Lake  Champlain,  descended  the  Richelieu  to 
Chambly,  and  fell  suddenly  on  the  settlement  of  La 
Prairie,  whence  Frontenac  had  just  withdrawn  with 
his  forces.  Soldiers  and  inhabitants  were  reaping  in 
the  wheat-fields.     Schuyler  and  his  followers  killed 

1  On  this  expedition  see  the  Journal  of  Major- General  Winthrop, 
in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iv.  193 ;  Publick  Occurrences,  1690,  in  Historical 
Magazine,  i.  228;  and  various  documents  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iii. 
727,  752,  and  in  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  ii.  266, 288.  Compare  La  Potherie, 
iii.  126,  and  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  ix.  513.  These  last  are  French  state- 
ments. A  Sokoki  Indian  brought  to  Canada  a  greatly  exaggerated 
account  of  the  English  forces,  and  said  that  disease  had  been 
spread  among  them  by  boxes  of  infected  clothing,  which  they  them- 
selves had  provided  in  order  to  poison  the  Canadians.  Bishop 
Laval,  Lettre  du  20  Novembre,  1690,  says  that  there  was  a  quarrel 
between  the  English  and  their  Iroquois  allies,  who,  having  plun- 
dered a  magazine  of  spoiled  provisions,  fell  ill,  and  thought  that 
they  were  poisoned.  Colden  and  other  English  writers  seem  to 
have  been  strangely  ignorant  of  this  expedition.  The  Jesuit  Michel 
Germain  declares  that  the  force  of  the  English  alone  amounted  to 
four  thousand  men  {Relation  de  la  Defaite  des  Anglois,  1690).  About 
one  tenth  of  this  number  seem  actually  to  hare  taken  the  field. 


270        MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS  QUEBEC.    [1690. 

or  captured  twenty-five,  including  several  women. 
He  wished  to  attack  the  neighboring  fort,  but  hia 
Indians  refused;  and  after  burning  houses,  barns, 
and  hay-ricks,  and  killing  a  great  number  of  cattle, 
he  seated  himself  with  his  party  at  dinner  in  the 
adjacent  woods,  while  cannon  answered  cannon  from 
Chambly,  La  Prairie,  and  Montreal,  and  the  whole 
country  was  astir.  "  We  thanked  the  Governor  of 
Canada,"  writes  Schuyler,  "for  his  salute  of  heavy 
artillery  during  our  meal."^ 

The  English .  had  little  to  boast  in  this  affair,  the 
paltry  termination  of  an  enterprise  from  which  great 
things  had  been  expected.  Nor  was  it  for  their 
honor  to  adopt  the  savage  and  cowardly  mode  of 
warfare  in  which  their  enemies  had  led  the  way. 
The  blow  that  had  been  struck  was  less  an  injury  to 
the  French  than  an  insult;  but,  as  such,  it  galled 
Frontenac  excessively,  and  he  made  no  mention  of 
it  in  his  despatches  to  the  court.  A  few  more 
Iroquois  attacks  and  a  few  more  murders  kept 
Montreal  in  alarm  till  the  tenth  of  October,  when 
matters  of  deeper  import  engaged  the  governor's 
thoughts. 

A  messenger  arrived  in  haste  at  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  and  gave  him  a  letter  from  Frdvost, 
town  major  of  Quebec.  It  was  to  the  effect  that  an 
Abenaki  Indian  had  just  come  over  land  from  Acadia, 
with   news  that  some  of  his  tribe  had  captured  an 

1  Journal  of  Captain  John  Schuyler,  in  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  ii.  286i 
Compare  La  Potherie,  iii.  101,  and  Relation  de  Monseignat. 


1690.]  FRONTENAC   AT   QUEBEC.  271 

English  woman  near  Portsmouth,  who  told  them 
that  a  great  fleet  had  sailed  from  Boston  to  attack 
Quebec.  Frontenac,  not  easily  alarmed,  doubted 
the  report.  Nevertheless,  he  embarked  at  once  with 
the  intendant  in  a  small  vessel,  which  proved  to  be 
leaky,  and  was  near  foundering  with  all  on  board. 
He  then  took  a  canoe,  and  towards  evening  set  out 
again  for  Quebec,  ordering  some  two  hundred  men 
to  follow  him.  On  the  next  day  he  met  another 
canoe,  bearing  a  fresh  message  from  Prdvost,  who 
announced  that  the  English  fleet  had  been  seen  in 
the  river,  and  that  it  was  already  above  Tadoussac. 
Frontenac  now  sent  back  Captain  de  Ramsay  with 
orders  to  Calli^res,  governor  of  Montreal,  to  descend 
immediately  to  Quebec  with  all  the  force  at  his  dis- 
posal, and  to  muster  the  inhabitants  on  the  way. 
Then  he  pushed  on  with  the  utmost  speed.  The 
autumnal  storms  had  begun,  and  the  rain  pelted  him 
without  ceasing;  but  on  the  morning  of  the  four- 
teenth he  neared  the  town.  The  rocks  of  Cape 
Diamond  towered  before  him ;  the  St.  Lawrence  lay 
beneath  them,  lonely  and  still;  and  the  Basin  of 
Quebec  outspread  its  broad  bosom,  a  solitude  without 
a  sail. 

Frontenac  had  arrived  in  time.  He  landed  at  the 
Lower  Town,  and  the  troops  and  the  armed  inhabit- 
ants came  crowding  to  meet  him.  He  was  delighted 
at  their  ardor.  ^  Shouts,  cheers,  and  the  waving  of 
hats  greeted  the  old  man  as  he  climbed  the  steep 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  9  et  12  Novembre,  1690 


272        MASSACHUSETTS  ATTACKS   QUEBEC.     [1690. 

ascent  of  Mountain  Street.  Fear  and  doubt  seemed 
banished  by  his  presence.  Even  those  who  hated 
him  rejoiced  at  his  coming,  and  hailed  him  as  a 
deliverer.  He  went  at  once  to  inspect  the  fortifica- 
tions. Since  the  alarm  a  week  before,  Prdvost  had 
accomplished  wonders,  and  not  only  completed  the 
works  begun  in  the  spring,  but  added  others  to  secure 
a  place  which  was  a  natural  fortress  in  itself.  On 
two  sides,  the  Upper  Town  scarcely  needed  defence. 
The  cliffs  along  the  St.  Lawrence  and  those  along 
the  tributary  river  St.  Charles  had  three  accessible 
points,  guarded  at  the  present  day  by  the  Prescott 
Gate,  the  Hope  Gate,  and  the  Palace  Gate.  Provost 
had  secured  them  by  barricades  of  heavy  beams  and 
casks  filled  with  earth.  A  continuous  line  of  pali- 
sades ran  along  the  strand  of  the  St.  Charles,  from 
the  great  cliff  called  the  Saut  au  Matelot  to  the 
palace  of  the  intendant.  At  this  latter  point  began 
the  line  of  works  constructed  by  Frontenac  to  protect 
the  rear  of  the  town.  They  consisted  of  palisades, 
strengthened  by  a  ditch  and  an  embankment,  and 
flanked  at  frequent  intervals  by  square  towers  of 
stone.  Passing  behind  the  garden  of  the  Ursulines, 
they  extended  to  a  windmill  on  a  hillock  called  Mt. 
Carmel,  and  thence  to  the  brink  of  the  cliffs  in  front. 
Here  there  was  a  battery  of  eight  guns  near  the 
present  Public  Garden;  two  more,  each  of  three 
guns,  were  planted  at  the  top  of  the  Sautau  Matelot; 
another  at  the  barricade  of  the  Palace  Gate;  and 
another  near  the  windmill  of  Mt.  Carmel;  while  a 


1690.]  THE  ENEMY   ARRIVES.  278 

number  of  light  pieces  were  held  in  reserve  for  such 
use  as  occasion  might  require.  The  Lower  Town 
had  no  defensive  works;  but  two  batteries,  each  of 
three  guns,  eighteen  and  twenty-four  pounders,  were 
placed  here  at  the  edge  of  the  river.  ^ 

Two  days  passed  in  completing  these  defences 
under  the  eye  of  the  governor.  Men  were  flocking 
in  from  the  parishes  far  and  near ;  and  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  fifteenth  about  twenty-seven  hundred, 
regulars  and  militia,  were  gathered  within  the  forti- 
fications, besides  the  armed  peasantry  of  Beauport 
and  Beauprd,  who  were  ordered  to  watch  the  river 
below  the  town,  and  resist  the  English,  should  they 
attempt  to  land.^ 

At  length,  before  dawn  on  the  morning  of  the  six- 
teenth, the  sentinels  on  the  Saut  au  Matelot  could 
descry  the  slowly  moving  lights  of  distant  vessels. 
At  daybreak  the  fleet  was  in  sight.  Sail  after  sail 
passed  the  Point  of  Orleans  and  glided  into  the 
Basin  of  Quebec.  The  excited  spectators  on  the 
rock  counted  thirty-four  of  them.  Four  were  large 
ships,  several  others  were  of  considerable  size,  and 
the  rest  were  brigs,  schooners,  and  fishing-craft,  all 
thronged  with  men. 

^  Relation  de  Monseignat ;  Plan  de  Quebec,  par  Villeneuve,  1690; 
Relation  du  Mercure  Galant,  1691.  The  summit  of  Cape  Diamond, 
which  commanded  the  town,  was  not  fortified  till  three  years  later, 
nor  were  any  guns  placed  here  during  the  English  attack. 

'*'  Diarif  of  SyJvanus  Davis,  prisoner  in  Quebec,  in  Mass.  Hist. 
Coll.,  3,  i.  101.  There  is  a  difference  of  ten  days  in  the  French  and 
English  dates,  the  New  Style  having  been  adopted  by  the  former 
and  not  by  the  latter. 

18 


CHAPTER  Xni. 

1690. 

DEFENCE  OF  QUEBEC. 

Phips  on  the  St.  Lawrence. — Phips  at  Quebec.  —  A  Flag  of 
Tkucb.  — Scene  at  the  Chateau.  — The  Summons  and  thb 
Answer.  — Plan  op  Attack.  —  Landing  of  the  English.— 
The  Cannonade.  — The  Ships  repulsed.  —  The  Land  Attack. 
—  Retreat  of  Phips.  —  Condition  of  Quebec.  —  Rejoicing* 
of  the  French.  —  Distress  at  Boston. 

The  delay  at  Boston,  waiting  aid  from  England 
that  never  came,  was  not  propitious  to  Phips;  nor 
were  the  wind  and  the  waves.  The  voyage  to  the 
St.  Lawrence  was  a  long  one;  and  when  he  began, 
without  a  pilot,  to  grope  his  way  up  the  unknown 
river,  the  weather  seemed  in  league  with  his  enemies. 
He  appears,  moreover,  to  have  wasted  time.  What 
was  most  vital  to  his  success  was  rapidity  of  move- 
ment; yet,  whether  by  his  fault  or  his  misfortune, 
he  remained  three  weeks  within  three  days'  sail  of 
Quebec.^  While  anchored  off  Tadoussac,  with  the 
wind  ahead,  he  passed  the  idle  hours  in  holding 
councils  of  war  and  framing  rules  for  the  government 
of  his  men ;  and  when  at  length  the  wind  veered  to 

1  Journal  of  Major  Walley,  in  Hutchinson,  Hist.  Mass.,  i.  470. 


1690.]  PHIPS  ON    THE  ST.   LAWRENCE.  275 

the  east,  it  is  doubtful  if  he  made  the  best  use  of  his 
opportunity.  ^ 

He  presently  captured  a  small  vessel,  commanded 
by  Granville,  an  officer  whom  Provost  had  sent  to 
watch  his  movements.  He  had  already  captured, 
near  Tadoussac,  another  vessel,  having  on  board 
Madame  Lalande  and  Madame  Joliet,  the  wife  and 
the  mother-in-law  of  the  discoverer  of  the  Mississippi.' 
When  questioned  as  to  the  condition  of  Quebec,  they 
told  him  that  it  was  imperfectly  fortified,  that  its 
cannon  were  dismounted,  and  that  it  had  not  two 
hundred  men  to  defend  it.  Phips  was  greatly  elated, 
thinking  that,  like  Port  Royal,  the  capital  of  Canada 
would  fall  without  a  blow.  The  statement  of  the 
two  prisoners  was  true,  for  the  most  part,  when  it 
was  made ;  but  the  energy  of  Provost  soon  wrought 
a  change. 

Phips  imagined  that  the  Canadians  would  offer 
little  resistance  to  the  Puritan  invasion;  for  some  of 
the  Acadians  had  felt  the  influence  of  their  New 
England  neighbors,  and  shown  an  inclination  to 
them.  It  was  far  otherwise  in  Canada,  where  the 
English  heretics  were  regarded  with  abhorrence. 
Whenever  the  invaders  tried  to  land  at  the  settle- 
ments along  the  shore,  they  were  met  by  a  rebuff. 
At  the  river  Quelle,  Francheville,  the  cur^  put  on  a 

1  "  Us  ne  profit^rent  pas  du  vent  favorable,  pour  nous  surprendre 
comme  ils  auroient  pu  f  aire."  —  Juchereau,  320. 

2  "Les  Demoiselles  Lalande  et  Joliet."  The  title  of  madame  was 
at  this  time  restricted  to  married  women  of  rank.  The  wives  of  the 
hourgeois,  and  even  of  the  lesser  nobles,  were  called  demoiselles. 


276  DEFENCE  OF  QUEBEC.  [1690. 

cap  and  capote,  took  a  musket,  led  his  parishioners 
to  the  river,  and  hid  with  them  in ^  the  bushes.  As 
the  English  boats  approached  their  ambuscade,  they 
gave  the  foremost  a  volley,  which  killed  nearly  every 
man  on  board ;  upon  which  the  rest  sheared  off.  It 
was  the  same  when  the  fleet  neared  Quebec.  Bands 
of  militia,  vigilant,  agile,  and  well  commanded,  fol- 
lowed it  along  the  shore,  and  repelled  with  showers 
of  bullets  every  attempt  of  the  enemy  to  touch 
Canadian  soil. 

When,  after  his  protracted  voyage,  Phips  sailed 
into  the  Basin  of  Quebec,  one  of  the  grandest  scenes 
on  the  western  continent  opened  upon  his  sight,  — 
the  wide  expanse  of  waters,  the  lofty  promontory 
beyond,  and  the  opposing  heights  of  Levi;  the  cata- 
ract of  Montmorenci,  the  distant  range  of  the 
Laurentian  Mountains,  the  warlike  rock  with  its 
diadem  of  walls  and  towers,  the  roofs  of  the  Lower 
Town  clustering  on  the  strand  beneath,  the  Chateau 
St.  Louis  perched  at  the  brink  of  the  cliff,  and  over 
it  the  white  banner,  spangled  with  fleur-de-lis^  flaunt- 
ing defiance  in  the  clear  autumnal  air.  Perhaps,  as 
he  gazed,  a  suspicion  seized  him  that  the  task  he 
had  undertaken  was  less  easy  than  he  had  thought; 
but  he  had  conquered  once  by  a  simple  summons  to 
surrender,  and  he  resolved  to  try  its  virtue  again. 

The  fleet  anchored  a  little  below  Quebec;  and 
towards  ten  o'clock  the  French  saw  a  boat  put  out 
from  the  admiral's  ship,  bearing  a  flag  of  truce. 
Four,  canoes  went  from  the  Lower  Town,  and  met  it 


1690.]  A   FLAG  OF  TRUCE.  277 

midway.  It  brought  a  subaltern  officer,  who  an- 
nounced himself  as  the  bearer  of  a  letter  from  Sir 
William  Phips  to  the  French  commander.  He  was 
taken  into  one  of  the  canoes  and  paddled  to  the 
quay,  after  being  completely  blindfolded  by  a  band- 
age which  covered  half  his  face.  Provost  received 
him  as  he  landed,  and  ordered  two  sergeants  to  take 
him  by  the  arms  and  lead  him  to  the  governor.  His 
progress  was  neither  rapid  nor  direct.  They  drew 
him  hither  and  thither,  delighting  to  make  him 
clamber  in  the  dark  over  every  possible  obstruction; 
while  a  noisy  crowd  hustled  him,  and  laughing 
women  called  him  Colin  Maillard,  the  name  of  the 
chief  player  in  blindman's  buff.^  Amid  a  prodigious 
hubbub,  intended  to  bewilder  him  and  impress  him 
with  a  sense  of  immense  warlike  preparation,  they 
dragged  him  over  the  three  barricades  of  Mountain 
Street,  and  brought  him  at  last  into  a  large  room  of 
the  chfi<teau.  Here  they  took  the  bandage  from  his 
eyes.  He  stood  for  a  moment  with  an  air  of  aston- 
ishment and  some  confusion.  The  governor  stood 
before  him,  haughty  and  stern,  surrounded  by  French 
and  Canadian  officers,  —  Maricourt,  Sainte-H^l^ne, 
Longueuil,  Villebon,  Valrenne,  Bienville,  and  many 
more,  —  bedecked  with  gold  lace  and  silver  lace, 
perukes  and  powder,  plumes  and  ribbons,  and  all 
the  martial  foppery  in  which  they  took  delight,  and 
regarding  the  envoy  with  keen,  defiant  eyes.^    After 

1  Juchereau,  323. 

2  "  Tou8  ces  Officiers  s'etoient  habill^s  le  plus  proprement  qulls 


278  DEFENCE  OF  QUEBEC.  [1690. 

a  moment,  he  recovered  his  breath  and  his  composure, 
saluted  Frontenac,  and,  expressing  a  wish  that  the 
duty  assigned  him  had  been  of  a  more  agreeable 
nature,  handed  him  the  letter  of  Phips.  Frontenac 
gave  it  to  an  interpreter,  who  read  it  aloud  in  French 
that  all  might  hear.     It  ran  thus :  — 

"  Sir  William  Phips,  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  G over nour  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  oppor- 
tunity, prompt  unto  a  severe  revenge,  yet,  being  desirous 
to  avoid  all  inhumane  and  unchristian-like  actions,  and 
to  prevent  shedding  of  blood  as  much  as  may  be, — 

"I,  the  aforesaid  William  Phips,  Knight,  do  hereby,  in 
the  name  and  in  the  behalf  of  their  most  excellent  Majes- 
ties, 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  the 
Massachuset-colony  in  New  England,  demand  a  present 

parent,  les  galona  d'or  et  d'argent,  les  rubans,  les  plumets,  la  poudre, 
et  la  frjsure,  rien  ne  manquoit/*  etc. — Juchereau,  323. 


1690.]  THE  SUMMON&  279 

surrender  of  your  forts  and  castles,  undemolished,  and  the 
King's  and  other  stores,  unimbezzled,  with  a  seasonable 
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,  ac- 
cording to  what  shall  be  found  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  subjec- 
tion 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.*'  * 

When  the  reading  was  finished,  the  Englishman 
pulled  his  watch  from  his  pocket,  and  handed  it  to 
the  governor.  Frontenac  could  not,  or  pretended 
that  he  could  not,  see  the  hour.  The  messenger 
thereupon  told  him  that  it  was  ten  o'clock,  and  that 
he  must  have  his  answer  before  eleven.  A  general 
cry  of  indignation  arose;  and  Valrenne  called  out 
that  Phips  was  nothing  but  a  pirate,  and  that  his 
man  ought  to  be  hanged.  Frontenac  contained  him- 
self  for  a  moment,  and  then  said  to  the  envoy :  — 

"  I  will  not  keep  you  waiting  so  long.     Tell  your 

1  See  the  Letter  in  Mather,  Magnolia,  i.  186.  The  French  kept  a 
copy  of  it,  which,  with  an  accurate  translation,  in  parallel  columns, 
was  sent  to  Versailles,  and  is  still  preserved  in  the  Archives  de  la 
Marine.    The  text  answers  perfectly  to  that  given  by  Mather. 


280  DEFENCE  OF  QUEBEC.  [1690. 

general  that  I  do  not  recognize  King  William;  and 
that  the  Prince  of  Orange,  who  so  styles  himself,  is 
a  usurper,  who  has  violated  the  most  sacred  laws  of 
blood  in  attempting  to  dethrone  his  father-in-law.  I 
know  no  King  of  England  but  King  James.  Your 
general  ought  not  to  be  surprised  at  the  hostilities 
which  he  says  that  the  French  have  carried  on  in  the 
colony  of  Massachusetts ;  for,  as  the  King  my  master 
has  taken  the  King  of  England  under  his  protection, 
and  is  about  to  replace  him  on  his  throne  by  force  of 
arms,  he  might  have  expected  that  his  Majesty 
would  order  me  to  make  war  on  a  people  who  have 
rebelled  against  their  lawful  prince."  Then,  turning 
with  a  smile  to  the  officers  about  him:  "Even  if 
your  general  offered  me  conditions  a  little  more 
gracious,  and  if  I  had  a  mind  to  accept  them,  does 
he  suppose  that  these  brave  gentlemen  would  give 
their  consent,  and  advise  me  to  trust  a  man  who  broke 
his  agreement  with  the  governor  of  Port  Royal,  or 
a  rebel  who  has  failed  in  his  duty  to  his  King,  and 
forgotten  all  the  favors  he  had  received  from  him,  to 
follow  a  prince  who  pretends  to  be  the  liberator  of 
England  and  the  defender  of  the  faith,  and  yet 
destroys  the  laws  and  privileges  of  the  kingdom  and 
overthrows  its  religion?  The  divine  justice  which 
your  general  invokes  in  his  letter  will  not  fail  to 
punish  such  acts  severely." 

The  messenger  seemed  astonished  and  startled; 
but  he  presently  asked  if  the  governor  would  give 
him  his  answer  in  writing. 


1690.]  PLAN  OF   ATTACK.  281 

"No,"  returned  Frontenac,  "I  will  answer  your 
general  only  by  the  mouths  of  my  cannon,  that  he 
may  learn  that  a  man  like  me  is  not  to  be  summoned 
after  this  fashion.  Let  him  do  his  best,  and  I  will 
do  mine ;  "  and  he  dismissed  the  Englishman  abruptly. 
He  was  again  blindfolded,  led  over  the  barricades, 
and  sent  back  to  the  fleet  by  the  boat  that  brought 
him.^ 

Phips  had  often  given  proof  of  personal  courage, 
but  for  the  past  three  weeks  his  conduct  seems  that 
of  a  man  conscious  that  he  is  charged  with  a  work 
too  large  for  his  capacity.  He  had  spent  a  good  part 
of  his  time  in  holding  councils  of  war;  and  now, 
when  he  heard  the  answer  of  Frontenac,  he  called 
another  to  consider  what  should  be  done.  A  plan  of 
attack  was  at  length  arranged.  The  militia  were  to 
be  landed  on  the  shore  of  Beauport,  which  was  just 
below  Quebec,  though  separated  from  it  by  the  St. 
Charles.  They  were  then  to  cross  this  river  by  a 
ford  practicable  at  low  water,  climb  the  heights  of 
Ste.  Genevieve,  and  gain  the  rear  of  the  town.  The 
small  vessels  of  the  fleet  were  to  aid  the  movement 
by  ascending  the  St.  Charles  as  far  as  the  ford,  hold- 
ing the  enemy  in  check  by  their  fire,  and  carrying 
provisions,  ammunition,  and  intrenching  tools,  for 
the  use  of  the  land-troops.     When  these  had  crossed 

1  Lettre  de  Sir  William  Phips  a  M.  de  Frontenac,  avec  sa  Reponse 
verbale ;  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  passed  la  Descente  des  Anglois  a 
Quebec  au  mois  d'Octobre,  1690,  (Compare  Monseignat,  Relation.) 
The  English  accounts,  though  more  brief,  confirm  those  of  the 
French. 


282  DEFENCE   OF   QUEBEC.  [1690. 

and  were  ready  to  attack  Quebec  in  the  rear,  Phips 
was  to  cannonade  it  in  front,  and  land  two  hundred 
men  under  cover  of  his  guns  to  effect  a  diversion  by 
storming  the  barricades.  Some  of  the  French  pris- 
oners, from  whom  their  captors  appear  to  have 
received  a  great  deal  of  correct  information,  told  the 
admiral  that  there  was  a  place  a  mile  or  two  above 
the  town  where  the  heights  might  be  scaled  and 
the  rear  of  the  fortifications  reached  from  a  direction 
opposite  to  that  proposed.  This  was  precisely  the 
movement  by  which  Wolfe  afterwards  gained  his 
memorable  victory;  but  Phips  chose  to  abide  by  the 
original  plan.^ 

While  the  plan  was  debated,  the  opportunity  for 
accomplishing  it  ebbed  away.  It  was  still  early 
when  the  messenger  returned  from  Quebec;  but 
before  Phips  was  ready  to  act,  the  day  was  on  the 
wane  and  the  tide  was  against  him.  He  lay  quietly 
at  his  moorings,  when,  in  the  evening,  a  great  shout- 
ing, mingled  with  the  roll  of  drums  and  the  sound 
of  fifes,  was  heard  from  the  Upper  Town.  The 
English  officers  asked  their  prisoner,  Granville,  what 
it  meant.  "Ma  foi.  Messieurs,"  he  replied,  "you 
have  lost  the  game.  It  is  the  governor  of  Montreal 
with  the  people  from  the  country  above.  There  is 
nothing  for  you  now  but  to  pack  and  go  home."  In 
fact,  Calliferes  had  arrived  with  seven  or  eight  hun- 
dred men,  many  of  them  regulars.     With  these  were 

1  Journal  of  Major  Wallet/ ;  Savage,  Account  of  the  Late  Action  of 
the  New  Englanders  (London,  1691). 


1690.]  SKIRMISHING.  283 

bands  of  coureurs  de  hois  and  other  young  Canadians, 
all  full  of  fight,  singing  and  whooping  with  martial 
glee  as  they  passed  the  western  gate  and  trooped 
down  St.  Louis  Street.^ 

The  next  day  was  gusty  and  blustering ;  and  still 
Phips  lay  quiet,  waiting  on  the  winds  and  the  waves. 
A  small  vessel,  with  sixty  men  on  board,  under 
Captain  Ephraim  Savage,  ran  in  towards  the  shore 
of  Beauport  to  examine  the  landing,  and  stuck  fast 
in  the  mud.  The  Canadians  plied  her  with  bullets, 
and  brought  a  cannon  to  bear  on  her.  They  might 
have  waded  out  and  boarded  her,  but  Savage  and 
his  men  kept  up  so  hot  a  fire  that  they  forbore 
the  attempt;  and  when  the  tide  rose,  she  floated 
again. 

There  was  another  night  of  tranquillity;  but  at 
about  eleven  on  Wednesday  morning  the  French 
heard  the  English  fifes  and  drums  in  full  action, 
while  repeated  shouts  of  "  God  save  King  William !  " 
rose  from  all  the  vessels.  This  lasted  an  hour  or 
more;  after  which  a  great  number  of  boats,  loaded 
with  men,  put  out  from  the  fleet  and  rowed  rapidly 
towards  the  shore  of  Beauport.  The  tide  was  low, 
and  the  boats  grounded  before  reaching  the  landing- 
place.  The  French  on  the  rock  could  see  the  troops 
through  telescopes,  looking  in  the  distance  like  a 
swarm  of  black  ants,  as  they  waded  through  mud 
and  water,  and  formed  in  companies  along  the  strand. 
They  were  some  thirteen  hundred  in  number,  and 
1  Juchereau,  325,  326. 


284  DEFENCE  OF   QUEBEC.  [1690. 

were  commanded  by  Major  Walley.^  Frontenac  had 
sent  three  hundred  sharpshooters,  under  Sainte- 
Hdldne,  to  meet  them  and  hold  them  in  check.  A 
battalion  of  troops  followed;  but  long  before  they 
could  reach  the  spot,  Saint-Hdlene's  men,  with  a  few 
militia  from  the  neighboring  parishes  and  a  band  of 
Huron  warriors  from  Lorette,  threw  themselves  into 
the  thickets  along  the  front  of  the  English,  and 
opened  a  distant  but  galling  fire  upon  the  compact 
bodies  of  the  enemy.  Walley  ordered  a  charge. 
The  New  England  men  rushed,  in  a  disorderly 
manner,  but  with  great  impetuosity,  up  the  rising 
ground;  received  two  volleys,  which  failed  to  check 
them;  and  drove  back  the  assailants  in  some  confu- 
sion. They  turned,  however,  and  fought  in  Indian 
fashion  with  courage  and  address,  leaping  and  dodg- 
ing among  trees,  rocks,  and  bushes,  firing  as  they 
retreated,  and  inflicting  more  harm  than  they  received. 
Towards  evening  they  disappeared;  and  Walley, 
whose  men  had  been  much  scattered  in  the  desultory 
fight,  drew  them  together  as  well  as  he  could,  and 
advanced  towards  the  St.  Charles,  in  order  to  meei 
the  vessels  which  were  to  aid  him  in  passing  the  ford 
Here  he  posted  sentinels,  and  encamped  for  the  night. 
He  had  lost  four  killed  and  about  sixty  wounded, 
and  imagined  that  he  had  killed  twenty  or  thirty  of 

1  "Between  12  and  1,300  men/' —  Walley,  Journal.  "About 
1,200  men,"  —  Savage,  Account  of  the  Late  Action.  Savage  was 
second  in  command  of  the  militia.  Mather  says,  1,400.  Most  of 
the  French  accounts  say,  1,500;  some  say  2,000;  and  La  Hontan 
raises  the  number  to  3,000. 


1690.]  THE  CANNONADE. 

the  enemy.  In  fact,  however,  their  loss  was  much 
less ;  though  among  the  killed  was  a  valuable  officer, 
the  Chevalier  de  Clermont,  and  among  the  wounded 
the  veteran  captain  of  Beauport,  Juchereau  de  Saint- 
Denis,  more  than  sixty-four  years  of  age.  In  the 
evening  a  deserter  came  to  the  English  camp,  and 
brought  the  unwelcome  intelligence  that  there  were 
three  thousand  armed  men  in  Quebec.^ 

Meanwhile,  Phips,  whose  fault  hitherto  had  not 
been  an  excess  of  promptitude,  grew  impatient,  and 
made  a  premature  movement  inconsistent  with  the 
preconcerted  plan.  He  left  his  moorings,  anchored 
his  largest  ships  before  the  town,  and  prepared  to 
cannonade  it;  but  the  fiery  veteran,  who  watched 
him  from  the  Chateau  St.  Louis,  anticipated  him, 
and  gave  him  the  first  shot.  Phips  replied  furiously, 
opening  fire  with  every  gun  that  he  could  bring  to 
bear;  while   the  rock  paid  him  back  in  kind,  and 

1  On  this  affair,  see  Walley,  Journal;  Savage,  Account  of  the  Late 
Action  (in  a  letter  to  his  brother) ;  Monseignat,  Relation ;  Relation 
de  la  Descente  des  Anglois ;  Relation  de  1682-1712;  La  Hontan,  i.  213. 
*'M.  le  comte  de  Frontenac  se  trouva  avec  3,000  hommes,"  —  Bel- 
mont, Uistoire  du  Canada,  a.  d.  1690.  The  prisoner  Captain  Sylvanus 
Davis,  in  his  diary,  says,  as  already  mentioned,  that  on  the  day 
before  Phips's  arrival  so  many  regulars  and  militia  arrived,  that, 
with  those  who  came  with  Frontenac,  there  were  about  2,700.  This 
was  before  the  arrival  of  CaUieres,  who,  according  to  Davis,  brought 
but  300.  Thus  the  three  accounts  of  the  deserter  Belmont,  and 
Davis,  tally  exactly  as  to  the  sum  total. 

An  enemy  of  Frontenac  writes,  "  Ce  n'est  pas  sa  presence  qui  fit 
prendre  la  fuite  aux  Anglois,  mais  le  grand  nombre  de  Fran9oie 
auxquels  ils  virent  bien  que  celuy  de  leurs  guerriers  n'etoit  pas 
capable  de  faire  tete." — Remarqaes  suv  I'Orai^on  Funkbre  de  feu 
M.  de  Frontenac. 


286  DEFENCE  OF  QUEBEC.  [1690. 

belched  flame  and  smoke  from  all  its  batteries.  So 
fierce  and  rapid  was  the  firing  that  La  Hontan  com- 
pares it  to  volleys  of  musketry;  and  old  officers,  who 
had  seen  many  sieges,  declared  that  they  had  never 
known  the  like.^  The  din  was  prodigious,  reverber- 
ated from  the  surrounding  heights,  and  rolled  back 
from  the  distant  mountains  in  one  continuous  roar. 
On  the  part  of  the  English,  however,  surprisingly 
little  was  accomplished  besides  noise  and  smoke. 
The  practice  of  their  gunners  was  so  bad  that  many 
of  their  shot  struck  harmlessly  against  the  face  of  the 
cliff.  Their  guns,  too,  were  very  light,  and  appear 
to  have  been  charged  with  a  view  to  the  most  rigid 
economy  of  gunpowder ;  for  the  balls  failed  to  pierce 
the  stone  walls  of  the  buildings,  and  did  so  little 
damage  that,  as  the  French  boasted,  twenty  crowns 
would  have  repaired  it  all.^  Night  came  at  length, 
and  the  turmoil  ceased. 

Phips  lay  quiet  till  daybreak,  when  Frontenac  sent 
a  shot  to  waken  him,  and  the  cannonade  began  again. 
Sainte-Hdl^ne  had  returned  from  Beauport;  and  he, 
with  his  brother  Maricourt,  took  charge  of  the  two 
batteries  of  the  Lower  Town,  aiming  the  guns  in 
person,  and  throwing  balls  of  eighteen  and  twenty- 
four  pounds  with  excellent  precision  against  the  four 
largest  ships  of  the  fleet.  One  of  their  shots  cut  the 
flagstaff  of  the  admiral,  and  the  cross  of  St.  George 
fell  into  the  river.     It  drifted  with  the  tide  towards 

1  La  Hontan,  i.  216 ;  Juchereau,  326. 

2  Pfere  Germain,  Relation  de  la  Defaite  des  Anglois. 


1690.]  THE  SHIPS   REPULSED.  287 

the  north  shore;  whereupon  several  Canadians  pad- 
dled out  in  a  birch-canoe,  secured  it,  and  brought  it 
back  in  triumph.  On  the  spire  of  the  cathedral  in 
the  Upper  Town  had  been  hung  a  picture  of  the 
Holy  Family,  as  an  invocation  of  divine  aid.  The 
Puritan  gunners  wasted  their  ammunition  in  vain 
attempts  to  knock  it  down.  That  it  escaped  their 
malice  was  ascribed  to  miracle;  but  the  miracle 
would  have  been  greater  if  they  had  hit  it. 

At  length  one  of  the  ships,  which  had  suffered 
most,  hauled  off  and  abandoned  the  fight.  That  of 
the  admiral  had  fared  little  better,  and  now  her  con- 
dition grew  desperate.  With  her  rigging  torn,  her 
mainmast  half  cut  through,  her  mizzen-mast  splin- 
tered, her  cabin  pierced,  and  her  hull  riddled  with 
shot,  another  volley  seemed  likely  to  sink  her,  when 
Phips  ordered  her  to  be  cut  loose  from  her  moorings, 
and  she  drifted  out  of  fire,  leaving  cable  and  anchor 
behind.  The  remaining  ships  soon  gave  over  the 
conflict,  and  withdrew  to  stations  where  they  could 
neither  do  harm  nor  suffer  it.^ 

Phips  had  thrown  away  nearly  all  his  ammunition 
in  this  futile  and  disastrous  attack,  which  should 
have  been  deferred  till  the  moment  when  Walley, 
with  his  land-force,  had  gained  the  rear  of  the  town. 
Walley  lay  in  his  camp,  his  men  wet,  shivering  with 
cold,  famished,   and  sickening  with  the  small-pox. 

1  Besides  authorities  before  cited,  see  Le  Clercq,  ^tablissement  de 
la  Foy,  ii.  434;  La  Potherie,  iii.  118;  Rapport  de  Chatnpigny,  Octobre, 
1690;  Laval.  LMtre  d ,  20  Novembre.  1690. 


288  DEFENCE  OF   QUEBEC.  [1690, 

Food,  and  all  other  supplies,  were  to  have  been 
brought  him  by  the  small  vessels,  which  should  have 
entered  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Charles  and  aided  him 
to  cross  it.  But  he  waited  for  them  in  vain.  E very- 
vessel  that  carried  a  gun  had  busied  itself  in  cannon- 
ading, and  the  rest  did  not  move.  There  appears  to 
have  been  insubordination  among  the  masters  of  these 
small  craft,  some  of  whom,  being  owners  or  part- 
owners  of  the  vessels  they  commanded,  were  probably 
unwilling  to  run  them  into  danger.  Walley  was  no 
soldier;  but  he  saw  that  to  attempt  the  passage  of 
the  river  without  aid,  under  the  batteries  of  the  town 
and  in  the  face  of  forces  twice  as  numerous  as  his 
own,  was  not  an  easy  task.  Frontenac,  on  his  part, 
says  that  he  wished  him  to  do  so,  knowing  that  the 
attempt  would  ruin  him.^  The  New  England  men 
were  eager  to  push  on ;  but  the  night  of  Thursday, 
the  day  of  Phips's  repulse,  was  so  cold  that  ice  formed 
more  than  an  inch  in  thickness,  and  the  half-starved 
militia  suffered  intensely.  Six  field-pieces,  with 
their  ammunition,  had  been  sent  ashore;  but  they 
were  nearly  useless,  as  there  were  no  means  of  mov- 
ing them.  Half  a  barrel  of  musket  powder,  and  one 
biscuit  for  each  man,  were  also  landed;  and  with 
this  meagre  aid  Walley  was  left  to  capture  Quebec. 
He  might,  had  he  dared,  have  made  a  dash  across 
the  ford  on  the  morning  of  Thursday,  and  assaulted 
the  town  in  the  rear  while  Phips  was  cannonading  it 
in  front;  but  his  courage  was  not  equal  to  so  desper 

i  Frontenac  au  Ministre^  12  et  19  NovembrBf  1690. 


1690.]  THE  LAND  ATTACK.  289 

ate  a  venture.  The  firing  ceased,  and  the  possible 
opportunity  was  lost. 

The  citizen  soldier  despaired  of  success;  and  on 
the  morning  of  Friday  he  went  on  board  the  admiral's 
ship  to  explain  his  situation.  While  he  was  gone, 
his  men  put  themselves  in  motion,  and  advanced 
along  the  borders  of  the  St.  Charles  towards  the 
ford.  Frontenac,  with  three  battalions  of  regular 
troops,  went  to  receive  them  at  the  crossing;  while 
Sainte-Hdlene,  with  his  brother  Longueuil,  passed 
the  ford  with  a  body  of  Canadians,  and  opened  fire 
on  them  from  the  neighboring  thickets.  Their 
advance  parties  were  driven  in,  and  there  was  a  hot 
skirmish,  the  chief  loss  falling  on  the  New  England 
men,  who  were  fully  exposed.  On  the  side  of  the 
French,  Sainte-H^lene  was  mortally  wounded,  and 
his  brother  was  hurt  by  a  spent  ball.  Towards  even- 
ing, the  Canadians  withdrew,  and  the  English 
encamped  for  the  night.  Their  commander  presently 
rejoined  them.  The  admiral  had  given  him  leave  to 
withdraw  them  to  the  fleet,  and  boats  were  accord- 
ingly sent  to  bring  them  oiff;  but  as  these  did  not 
arrive  till  about  daybreak,  it  was  necessary  to  defer 
the  embarkation  till  the  next  night. 

At  dawn,  Quebec  was  all  astir  with  the  beating  of 
drums  and  the  ringing  of  bells.  The  New  England 
drums  replied;  and  Walley  drew  up  his  men  under 
arms,  expecting  an  attack,  for  the  town  was  so  near 
that  the  hubbub  of  voices  from  within  could  plainly 
be  heard.     The  noise    gradually  died    away;    and 


290  DEFENCE  OF  QUEBEC.  [169Q 

except  a  few  shots  from  the  ramparts,  the  invaders 
were  left  undisturbed.  Walley  sent  two  or  three 
companies  to  beat  up  the  neighboring  thickets,  where 
he  suspected  that  the  enemy  was  lurking.  On  the 
way  they  had  the  good  luck  to  find  and  kill  a  number 
of  cattle,  which  they  cooked  and  ate  on  the  spot; 
whereupon,  being  greatly  refreshed  and  invigorated, 
they  dashed  forward  in  complete  disorder,  and  were 
soon  met  by  the  fire  of  the  ambushed  Canadians. 
Several  more  companies  were  sent  to  their  support, 
and  the  skirmishing  became  lively.  Tliree  detach- 
ments from  Quebec  had  crossed  the  river;  and  the 
militia  of  Beauport  and  Beaupr^  had  hastened  to  join 
them.  They  fought  like  Indians,  hiding  behind 
trees  or  throwing  themselves  flat  among  the  bushes, 
and  laying  repeated  ambuscades  as  they  slowly  fell 
back.  At  length,  they  all  made  a  stand  on  a  hill 
behind  the  buildings  and  fences  of  a  farm ;  and  here 
they  held  their  ground  till  night,  while  the  New 
England  men  taunted  them  as  cowards  who  would 
never  fight  except  under  cover. ^ 

Walley,  who  with  his  main  body  had  stood  in  arms 
all  day,  now  called  in  the  skirmishers,  and  fell  back 
to  the  landing-place,  where,  as  soon  as  it  grew  dark, 
the  boats  arrived  from  the  fleet.  The  sick  men,  of 
whom  there  were  many,  were  sent  on  board,  and 
then,  amid  floods  of  rain,  the  whole  force  embarked 
in  noisy  confusion,  leaving  behind  them  in  the  mud 
five  of  their  cannon.     Hasty  as  was  their  parting, 

*  Relation  de  la  Descente  des  Angloii, 


1690.]  RETREAT  OF  PHIPS.  291 

their  conduct  on  the  whole  had  been  creditable ;  and 
La  Hontan,  who  was  in  Quebec  at  the  time,  says 
of  them:  "They  fought  vigorously,  though  as  ill- 
disciplined  as  men  gathered  together  at  random  could 
be ;  for  they  did  not  lack  courage,  and  if  they  failed, 
it  was  by  reason  of  their  entire  ignorance  of  disci- 
pline, and  because  they  were  exhausted  by  the  fatigues 
of  the  voyage.*'  Of  Phips  he  speaks  with  contempt, 
and  says  that  he  could  not  have  served  the  French 
better  if  they  had  bribed  him  to  stand  all  the  while 
with  his  arms  folded.  Some  allowance  should,  never- 
theless, be  made  him  for  the  unmanageable  character 
of  the  force  under  his  command,  the  constitution  of 
which  was  fatal  to  military  subordination. 

On  Sunday,  the  morning  after  the  re-embarkation, 
Phips  called  a  council  of  officers,  and  it  was  resolved 
that  the  men  should  rest  for  a  day  or  two,  that  there 
should  be  a  meeting  for  prayer,  and  that  if  ammuni- 
tion enough  could  be  found,  another  landing  should 
be  attempted;  but  the  rough  weather  prevented  the 
prayer-meeting,  and  the  plan  of  a  new  attack  was 
fortunately  abandoned. 

Quebec  remained  in  agitation  and  alarm  till  Tues- 
day, when  Phips  weighed  anchor  and  disappeared, 
with  all  his  fleet,  behind  the  Island  of  Orleans.  He 
did  not  go  far,  as  indeed  he  could  not,  but  stepped 
four  leagues  below  to  mend  rigging,  fortify  wounded 
masts,  and  stop  shot-holes.  Subercase  had  gone 
with  a  detachment  to  watch  the  retiring  enemy ;  and 
Phips  was  repeatedly  seen  among  his  men,    on  a 


292  DEFENCE  OF  QUEBEC.  [1690. 

scaffold  at  the  side  of  his  ship,  exercising  his  old 
trade  of  carpenter.  This  delay  was  turned  to  good 
use  by  an  exchange  of  prisoners.  Chief  among  those 
in  the  hands  of  the  French  was  Captain  Davis,  late 
commander  at  Casco  Bay;  and  there  were  also  two 
young  daughters  of  Lieutenant  Clark,  who  had  been 
killed  at  the  same  place.  Frontenac  himself  had 
humanely  ransomed  these  children  from  the  Indians ; 
and  Madame  de  Champigny,  wife  of  the  intendant, 
had,  with  equal  kindness,  bought  from  them  a  little 
girl  named  Sarah  Gerrish,  and  placed  her  in  charge 
of  the  nuns  at  the  H8tel-Dieu,  who  had  become 
greatly  attached  to  her,  while  she,  on  her  part,  left 
them  with  reluctance.  The  French  had  the  better 
in  these  exchanges,  receiving  able-bodied  men,  and 
returning,  with  the  exception  of  Davis,  only  women 
and  children. 

The  heretics  were  gone,  and  Quebec  breathed 
freely  again.  Her  escape  had  been  a  narrow  one; 
not  that  three  thousand  men,  in  part  regular  troops, 
defending  one  of  the  strongest  positions  on  the  con- 
tinent, and  commanded  by  Frontenac,  could  not  defy 
the  attacks  of  two  thousand  raw  fishermen  and 
farmers,  led  by  an  ignorant  civilian ;  but  the  numbers 
which  were  a  source  of  strength  were  at  the  same 
time  a  source  of  weakness.  ^     Nearly  all   the  adult 

1  The  small-pox  had  left  probably  less  than  2,000  effective  men 
in  the  fleet  when  it  arrived  before  Quebec.  The  number  of  regular 
troops  in  Canada  by  the  roll  of  1689  was  1,418.  Nothing  had  since 
occurred  to  diminish  greatly  the  number.    Calliferes  left  about  fifty 


1690.]  CONDITION  OF  QUEBEC.  298 

males  of  Canada  were  gathered  at  Quebec,  and  there 
was  imminent  danger  of  starvation.  Cattle  from  the 
neighboring  parishes  had  been  hastily  driven  into  the 
town;  but  there  was  little  other  provision,  and  be- 
fore Phips  retreated  the  pinch  of  famine  had  begun. 
Had  he  come  a  week  earlier  or  stayed  a  week  later, 
the  French  themselves  believed  that  Quebec  would 
have  fallen,  —  in  the  one  case  for  want  of  men,  and 
in  the  other  for  want  of  food. 

The  Lower  Town  had  been  abandoned  by  its  inhab- 
itants, who  bestowed  their  families  and  their  furni- 
ture within  the  solid  walls  of  the  seminary.  The 
cellars  of  the  Ursuline  convent  were  filled  with 
women  and  children,  and  many  more  took  refuge  at 
the  Hotel-Dieu.  The  beans  and  cabbages  in  the 
garden  of  the  nuns  were  all  stolen  by  the  soldiers : 
and  their  wood-pile  was  turned  into  bivouac  fires. 
"  We  were  more  dead  than  alive  when  we  heard  the 
cannon,"  writes  Mother  Juchereau;  but  the  Jesuit 
Fremin  came  to  console  them,  and  their  prayers  and 
their  labors  never  ceased.  On  the  day  when  the 
firing  was  heaviest,  twenty-six  balls  fell  into  their 
yard  and  garden,  and  were  sent  to  the  gunners  at 
the  batteries,  who  returned  them  to  their  English 
owners.  At  the  convent  of  the  Ursulines,  the  corner 
of  a  nun's  apron  was  carried  off  by  a  cannon-shot  as 
she  passed  through  her  chamber.  The  sisterhood 
began  a  novena,   or  nine  days'  devotion,   to   Saint 

in  Montreal,  and  perhaps  also  a  few  in  the  neighboring  forti.  The 
rest  were  in  Quebec. 


294  DEFENCE  OF  QUEBEC.  [1690. 

Joseph,  Saint  Ann,  the  angels,  and  the  souls  in 
purgatory;  and  one  of  their  number  remained  day 
and  night  in  prayer  before  the  images  of  the  Holy 
Family.  The  bishop  came  to  encourage  them;  and 
his  prayers  and  his  chants  were  so  fervent  that  they 
thought  their  last  hour  was  come.^ 

The  Superior  of  the  Jesuits,  with  some  of  the  elder 
members  of  the  Order,  remained  at  their  college  dur- 
ing the  attack,  ready,  should  the  heretics  prevail,  to 
repair  to  their  chapel,  and  die  before  the  altar. 
Rumor  exaggerated  the  numbers  of  the  enemy,  and 
a  general  alarm  pervaded  the  town.  It  was  still 
greater  at  Lorette,  nine  miles  distant.  The  warrioi-s 
of  that  mission  were  in  the  first  skirmish  at  Beauport; 
and  two  of  them,  running  off  in  a  fright,  reported  at 
the  village  that  the  enemy  were  carrying  everything 
oefore  them.  On  this,  the  villagers  fled  to  the 
woods,  followed  by  Father  Germain,  their  mission- 
ary, to  whom  this  hasty  exodus  suggested  the  flight 
of  the  Holy  Family  into  Egypt.  ^  The  Jesuits  were 
thought  to  have  special  reason  to  fear  the  Puritan 
soldiery,  who,  it  was  reported,  meant  to  kill  them  all, 
after  cutting  off  their  ears  to  make  necklaces. ^ 

When  news  first  came  of  the  approach  of  Phips, 
the  bishop  was  absent  on  a  pastoral  tour.  Hastening 
back,  he  entered  Quebec  at  night  by  torchlight,  to 

*  Ricit  (Tune  RSUgieuse  UrsuUne,  in  Les  UrsuUnes  de  Qu^ec,  i.  470. 
2  "II  nous  ressouvint  alors  de  la  fuite  de  Nostre  Seigneur  en 
fegypte." — P^re  Germain,  Relation. 
«  Ibid, 


1690.J  APPEAL  FOR  DIVINE  AID.  295 

the  great  joy  of  its  inmates,  who  felt  that  his  presence 
brought  a  benediction.  He  issued  a  pastoral  address, 
exhorting  his  flock  to  frequent  and  full  confession 
and  constant  attendance  at  mass,  as  the  means  of 
insuring  the  success  of  their  arms.^  Laval,  the 
former  bishop,  aided  his  efforts.  "We  appealed," 
he  writes,  "to  God,  his  Holy  Mother,  to  all  the 
Angels,  and  to  all  the  Saints."  ^  Nor  was  the  appeal 
in  vain,  for  each  day  seemed  to  bring  some  new 
token  of  celestial  favor ;  and  it  is  not  surprising  that 
the  head-winds  which  delayed  the  approach  of  the 
enemy,  the  cold  and  the  storms  which  hastened  his 
departure,  and,  above  all,  his  singularly  innocent 
cannonade,  which  killed  but  two  or  three  persons, 
should  have  been  accepted  as  proof  of  divine  inter- 
vention. It  was  to  the  Holy  Virgin  that  Quebec  had 
been  most  lavish  of  its  vows,  and  to  her  the  victory 
was  ascribed. 

One  great  anxiety  still  troubled  the  minds  of  the 
victors.  Three  ships,  bringing  large  sums  of  money 
and  the  yearly  supplies  for  the  colony,  were  on  their 
way  to  Quebec;  and  nothing  was  more  likely  than 
that  the  retiring  fleet  would  meet  and  capture  them. 
Messengers  had  been  sent  down  the  river,  who  passed 
the  English  in  the  dark,  found  the  ships  at  St. 
Paul's  Bay,  and  warned  them  of  the  danger.  They 
turned  back,  and  hid  themselves  within  the  mouth 

*  Lettre  pastorale  pour  disposer  les  Peuples  de  ce  Diocese  a  se  bien 
deffendre  contre  les  Anglois  (Reg.  de  I'Evech^  de  Quebec). 
2  Laval  a ,  20  Novembre,  1690. 


296  DEFENCE  OF  QUEBEC.  [1690. 

of  the  Saguenay,  but  not  soon  enough  to  prevent 
Phips  from  discovering  their  retreat.  He  tried  to 
follow  them ;  but  thick  fogs  arose,  with  a  persistent 
tempest  of  snow,  which  completely  baffled  him,  and 
after  waiting  five  days,  he  gave  over  the  attempt. 
When  he  was  gone,  the  three  ships  emerged  from 
their  hiding-place,  and  sailed  again  for  Quebec, 
where  they  were  greeted  with  a  universal  jubilee. 
Their  deliverance  was  ascribed  to  Saint  Ann,  the 
mother  of  the  Virgin,  and  also  to  Saint  Francis 
Xavier,  whose  name  one  of  them  bore. 

Quebec  was  divided  between  thanksgiving  and 
rejoicing.  The  captured  flag  of  Phips 's  ship  was 
borne  to  the  cathedral  in  triumph;  the  bishop  sang 
Te  Deum ;  and  amid  the  firing  of  cannon  the  image 
of  the  Virgin  was  carried  to  each  church  and  chapel 
in  the  place  by  a  procession,  in  which  priests,  people, 
and  troops  all  took  part.  The  day  closed  with  a 
grand  bonfire  in  honor  of  Frontenac. 

One  of  the  three  ships  carried  back  the  news  of 
the  victory,  which  was  hailed  with  joy  at  Versailles ; 
and  a  medal  was  struck  to  commemorate  it.  The 
ship  carried  also  a  despatch  from  Frontenac.  "  Now 
that  the  King  has  triumphed  by  land  and  sea,"  wrote 
the  old  soldier,  "  will  he  think  that  a  few  squadrons 
of  his  navy  would  be  ill  employed  in  punishing  the 
insol'fence  of  these  genuine  old  parliamentarians  of 
Boston,  and  crushing  them  in  their  den  and  the 
English  of  New  York  as  well?  By  mastering  these 
two   towns,    we  shall  secure   the   whole    sea-coast^ 


1690.]  DISTRESS  AT  BOSTON.  297 

besides  the  fisheries  of  the  Grand  Bank,  which  is  no 
slight  matter;  and  this  would  be  the  true,  and  per- 
haps the  only,  way  of  bringing  the  wars  of  Canada 
to  an  end ;  for  when  the  English  are  conquered,  we 
can  easily  reduce  the  Iroquois  to  complete  sub- 
mission."^ 

Phips  returned  crestfallen  to  Boston  late  in 
November ;  and  one  by  one  the  rest  of  the  fleet  came 
straggling  after  him,  battered  and  weather-beaten. 
Some  did  not  appear  till  February,  and  three  or  four 
never  came  at  all.  The  autumn  and  early  winter 
were  unusually  stormy.  Captain  Rainsford,  with 
sixty  men,  was  wrecked  on  the  Island  of  Anticosti, 
where  more  than  half  their  number  died  of  cold  and 
misery.^  In  the  other  vessels,  some  were  drowned, 
some  frost-bitten,  and  above  two  hundred  killed  by 
small-pox  and  fever. 

At  Boston,  all  was  dismay  and  gloom.  The  Puri- 
tan bowed  before  "this  awful  frown  of  God,'*  and 
searched  his  conscience  for  the  sin  that  had  brought 
upon  him  so  stern  a  chastisement. ^  Massachusetts, 
already  impoverished,  found  herself  in  extremity. 
The  war,  instead  of  paying  for  itself,  had  burdened 
her  with  an  additional  debt  of  fifty  thousand  pounds.* 
The  sailors  and  soldiers  were  clamorous  for  their 
pay;  and,  to  satisfy  them,  the  colony  was  forced  for 

*  Frontenac  au  Miniatre,  9  et  12  Novembre^  1690. 
«  Mather,  Magnalia,  i.  192. 

*  The  Governor  and  Council  to  the  Agents  of  Massachuutts,  in 
Andros  Tracts,  iii.  63. 

*  Address  of  the  Gentry,  Merchants,  and  others.  Ibid.,  ii.  230, 


298  DEFENCE  OF  QUEBEC.  [169a 

the  first  time  in  its  history  to  issue  a  paper  currency. 
It  was  made  receivable  at  a  premium  for  all  public 
debts,  and  was  also  fortified  by  a  provision  for  its 
early  redemption  by  taxation,  —  a  provision  which 
was  carried  into  effect  in  spite  of  poverty  and 
distress.^ 

Massachusetts  had  made  her  usual  mistake.  She 
had  confidently  believed  that  ignorance  and  inexperi- 
ence could  match  the  skill  of  a  tried  veteran,  and 
that  the  rude  courage  of  her  fishermen  and  farmers 
could  triumph  without  discipline  or  leadership.     The 

*  The  following  is  a  literal  copy  of  a  specimen  of  this  paper 
money,  which  varied  in  value  from  two  shillings  to  ten  pounds : 

No.  (2161)  10» 

This  Indented  Bill  of  Ten  Shillings,  due  from  the  Massachusetts  Colony 
to  the  Possessor,  shall  be  in  value  equal  to  Money,  and  shall  be  accordingly 
accepted  by  the  Treasurer  and  Receivers  subordinate  to  him  in  all  Publick 
Payments,  and  for  any  Stock  at  any  time  in  the  Treasury  Boston  in  New 
England,  December  the  10*^  1690.    By  Order  of  the  General  Court. 


Seal  of 

MuBachu> 

setts. 


Peter  Townsend, 

Adam  Winthrop,  }  Com*^. 

Tim.  Thornton, 


When  this  paper  came  into  the  hands  of  the  treasurer,  it  wai 
burned.  Nevertheless,  owing  to  the  temporary  character  of  the 
provisional  government,  it  fell  for  a  time  to  the  value  of  from 
fourteen  to  sixteen  shillings  in  the  pound. 

In  the  Biblioth^que  Nationale  is  the  original  draft  of  a  remark- 
able map,  by  the  engineer  Villeneuve,  of  which  Si  facsimile  is  before 
me.  It  represents  in  detail  the  town  and  fortifications  of  Quebec, 
the  surrounding  country,  and  the  positions  of  the  English  fleet  and 
land  forces,  and  is  entitled  Plan  de  Quebec,  tt  de  ses  Enuirons,  en 
La  Nouvelle  France,  AssitoE  par  Les  Anglgis,  le  16  d'Odobre 
1690  jusqu*au  22  dud.  mois  c/u'ils  s'en  allerent,  appres  auoir  este  bien 
hattus  Pak  M?  Lb  Comte  de  Frontenac,  gouuerneur  general  du 
Pays, 


1690.]  MISTAKE  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  299 

conditions  of  her  material  prosperity  were  adverse  to 
efficiency  in  war.  A  trading  republic,  without 
trained  officers,  may  win  victories;  but  it  wins  them 
either  by  accident,  or  by  an  extravagant  outlay  in 
money  and  life 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

1690-1694. 

THE  SCOURGE  OF  CANADA. 

Iroquois  Inroads.  —  Death  of  Bienville.  —  English  Attack. 
— A  Desperate  Fight.  —  Miseries  of  the  Colony. — Alarms. 
—  A  Winter  Expedition.  —  La  Chesnaye  burned.  —  The 
Heroine  of  Verch^jres.  —  Mission  Indians.  —  The  Mohawk 
Expedition.  —  Retreat  and  Pursuit.  —  Relief  arrives.— 
Frontenac  Triumphant. 

One  of  Phips's  oflScers,  charged  with  the  exchange 
of  prisoners  at  Quebec,  said  as  he  took  his  leave, 
"We  shall  make  you  another  visit  in  the  spring;'* 
and  a  French  officer  returned,  with  martial  courtesy, 
"  We  shall  have  the  honor  of  meeting  you  before  that 
time."  Neither  side  made  good  its  threat,  for  both 
were  too  weak  and  too  poor.  No  more  war-parties 
were  sent  that  winter  to  ravage  the  English  border; 
for  neither  blankets,  clothing,  ammunition,  nor  food 
could  be  spared.  The  fields  had  lain  untilled  over 
half  Canada ;  and  though  four  ships  had  arrived  with 
supplies,  twice  as  many  had  been  captured  or  driven 
back  by  English  cruisers  in  the  Gulf.  The  troops 
could  not  be  kept  together;  and  they  were  quartered 
for  subsistence  upon  the  settlers,  themselves  half 
famished. 


1691.]  IROQUOIS  INROADS.  301 

Spring  came  at  length,  and  brought  with  it  the 
swallows,  the  bluebirds,  and  the  Iroquois.  They 
rarely  came  in  winter,  when  the  trees  and  bushes  had 
no  leaves  to  hide  them,  and  their  movements  were 
betrayed  by  the  track  of  their  snow-shoes;  but  they 
were  always  to  be  expected  at  the  time  of  sowing  and 
of  harvest,  when  they  could  do  most  mischief.  Dur- 
ing April,  about  eight  hundred  of  them,  gathering 
from  their  winter  hunting-grounds,  encamped  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Ottawa,  whence  they  detached  parties 
to  ravage  the  settlements.  A  large  band  fell  upon 
Point  aux  Trembles,  below  Montreal,  burned  some 
thirty  houses,  and  killed  such  of  the  inmates  as  could 
not  escape.  Another  band  attacked  the  Mission  of 
the  Mountain,  just  behind  the  town,  and  captured 
thirty-five  of  the  Indian  converts  in  broad  daylight. 
Others  prowled  among  the  deserted  farms  on  both 
shores  of  the  St.  Lawrence;  while  the  inhabitants 
remained  pent  in  their  stockade  forts,  with  misery 
in  the  present  and  starvation  in  the  future. 

Troops  and  militia  were  not  wanting.  The  diffi- 
culty was  to  find  provisions  enough  to  enable  them 
to  keep  the  field.  By  begging  from  house  to  house, 
getting  here  a  biscuit  and  there  a  morsel  of  bacon, 
enough  was  collected  to  supply  a  considerable  party 
for  a  number  of  days;  and  a  hundred  and  twenty 
soldiers  and  Canadians  went  out  under  Vaudreuil 
to  hunt  the  hunters  of  men.  Long  impunity  had 
made  the  Iroquois  so  careless  that  they  were  easily 
found.     A  band   of    about    forty  had    made    theii 


802  THE  SCOURGE  OF  CANADA.  [1691 

quarters  at  a  house  near  the  fort  at  Repentigny,  and 
here  the  French  scouts  discovered  them  early  in  the 
night.  Vaudreuil  and  his  men  were  in  canoes. 
They  lay  quiet  till  one  o'clock,  then  landed,  and 
noiselessly  approached  the  spot.  Some  of  the  Iroquois 
were  in  the  house,  the  rest  lay  asleep  on  the  ground 
before  it.  The  French  crept  towards  them,  and  by 
one  close  volley  killed  them  all.  Their  comrades 
within  sprang  up  in  dismay.  Three  rushed  out,  and 
were  shot;  the  others  stood  on  their  defence,  fired 
from  windows  and  loopholes,  and  killed  six  or  seven 
of  the  French,  who  presently  succeeded  in  setting  fire 
to  the  house,  which  was  thatched  ^vith  straw.  Young 
Francois  de  Bienville,  one  of  the  sons  of  Charles  Le 
Moyne,  rushed  up  to  a  window,  shouted  his  name 
like  an  Indian  warrior,  fired  on  the  savages  within, 
and  was  instantly  shot  dead.  The  flames  rose  till 
surrounding  objects  were  bright  as  day.  The  Iro- 
quois, driven  to  desperation,  burst  out  like  tigers, 
and  tried  to  break  through  their  assailants.  Only  one 
succeeded.  Of  his  companions,  some  were  shot,  five 
were  knocked  down  and  captured,  and  the  rest  driven 
back  into  the  house,  where  they  perished  in  the  fire. 
Three  of  the  prisoners  were  given  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Repentigny,  Point  aux  Trembles,  and  Boucher- 
ville,  who,  in  their  fury,  burned  them  alive.  ^ 

1  Relation  de  Benac,  1691 ;  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe  de  plus 
considerable  en  Canada,  1690,  1691 ;  La  Potherie,  iii.  134;  Relation  de 
1682-1712;  Champigny  au  Ministre,  12  Mai,  1691.  The  name  of 
Bienyille  was  taken,  after  his  death,  hj  one  of  his  brothers,  the 
founder  of  New  Orleans. 


1691.]  IROQUOIS  AND  ENGLISH.  303 

For  weeks,  the  upper  parts  of  the  colony  were 
infested  by  wolfish  bands  howling  around  the  forts, 
which  they  rarely  ventured  to  attack.  At  length 
help  came.  A  squadron  from  France,  strong  enough 
to  beat  off  the  New  England  privateers  which  block- 
aded the  St.  Lawrence,  arrived  at  Quebec  with  men 
and  supplies;  and  a  strong  force  was  despatched  to 
break  up  the  Iroquois  camp  at  the  Ottawa.  The 
enemy  vanished  at  its  approach;  and  the  suffering 
farmers  had  a  brief  respite,  which  enabled  them  to 
sow  their  crops,  —  when  suddenly  a  fresh  alarm  was 
sounded  from  Sorel  to  Montreal,  and  again  the  settlers 
ran  to  their  forts  for  refuge. 

Since  the  futile  effort  of  the  year  before,  the  Eng- 
lish of  New  York,  still  distracted  by  the  political 
disorders  that  followed  the  usurpation  of  Leisler,  had 
fought  only  by  deputy,  and  contented  themselves 
with  hounding  on  the  Iroquois  against  the  common 
enemy.  These  savage  allies  at  length  lost  patience, 
and  charged  their  white  neighbors  with  laziness  and 
fear.  "  You  say  to  us,  '  Keep  the  French  in  perpetual 
alarm.'  Why  don't  you  say,  '  We  will  keep  the 
French  in  perpetual  alarm  *  ?  '*  i  It  was  clear  that 
something  must  be  done,  or  New  York  would  be  left 
to  fight  her  battles  alone.  A  war-party  was  therefore 
formed  at  Albany,  and  the  Indians  were  invited  to 
join  it.  Major  Peter  Schuyler  took  command ;  and 
his  force  consisted  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-six  men, 
of  whom  a  hundred  and  twenty  were  English  and 

>  Colden.  126. 140. 


304  THE  SCOURGE  OF   CANADA.  [1691. 

Dutch,  and  the  rest  Mohawks  and  Wolves,  or 
Mohegans.^  He  advanced  to  a  pomt  on  the  Richelieu 
ten  miles  above  Fort  Chambly,  and,  leaving  his 
canoes  under  a  strong  guard,  marched  towards  La 
Prairie  de  la  Madeleine,  opposite  Montreal. 

Scouts  had  brought  warning  of  his  approach ;  and 
Calli^res,  the  local  governor,  crossed  the  St.  Lawrence, 
and  encamped  at  La  Prairie  with  seven  or  eight  hun- 
dred men. 2  Here  he  remained  for  a  week,  attacked 
by  fever  and  helpless  in  bed.  The  fort  stood  a  few 
rods  from  the  river.  Two  battalions  of  regulars  lay 
on  a  field  at  the  right;  and  the  Canadians  and  Indians 
were  bivouacked  on  the  left,  between  the  fort  and  a 
small  stream,  near  which  was  a  windmill.  On  the 
evening  of  the  tenth  of  August  a  drizzling  rain  began 
to  fall;  and  the  Canadians  thought  more  of  seeking 
shelter  than  of  keeping  watch.  They  were,  more- 
over, well  supplied  with  brandy,  and  used  it  freely.* 
At  an  hour  before  dawn,  the  sentry  at  the  mill 
descried  objects  like  the  shadows  of  men  silently 
advancing  along  the  borders  of  the  stream.  They 
were  Schuyler's  vanguard.  The  soldier  cried,  "  Qui 
viva  ?  "  There  was  no  answer.  He  fired  his  musket, 
and  ran  into  the  mill.  Schuyler's  men  rushed  in  a 
body  upon  the  Canadian  camp,  drove  its  occupants 
into  the  fort,  and  killed  some  of  the  Indian  allies, 
who  lay  under  their  canoes  on  the  adjacent  strand, 

1  Official  Journal  of  Schuyler,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iii.  800. 

2  Relation  de  Benac ;  Relation  de  1682-1712. 

»  "La  debauche  fut  extriiue  en  toute  mani^re."  —  Belmont, 


1691.]  RETREAT  OF  SCHUYLER.  305 

The  regulars  on  the  other  side  of  the  fort,  roused 
by  the  noise,  sprang  to  arms  and  hastened  to  the 
spot.  They  were  met  by  a  volley,  which  laid  some 
fifty  of  them  on  the  ground,  and  drove  back  the  rest 
in  disorder.  They  rallied  and  attacked  again;  on 
which,  Schuyler,  greatly  outnumbered,  withdrew  his 
men  to  a  neighboring  ravine,  where  he  once  more 
repulsed  his  assailants,  and,  as  he  declares,  drove 
them  into  the  fort  with  great  loss.  By  this  time  it 
was  daylight.  The  English,  having  struck  their 
blow,  slowly  fell  back,  hacking  down  the  com  in  the 
fields,  as  it  was  still  too  green  for  burning,  and  paus- 
ing at  the  edge  of  the  woods,  where  their  Indians 
were  heard  for  some  time  uttering  frightful  howls, 
and  shouting  to  the  French  that  they  were  not  men, 
but  dogs.  Why  the  invaders  were  left  to  retreat 
unmolested,  before  a  force  more  than  double  their 
own,  does  not  appear.  The  helpless  condition  of 
Callieres  and  the  death  of  Saint-Cirque,  his  second 
in  command,  scarcely  suffice  to  explain  it.  Schuyler 
retreated  towards  his  canoes,  moving,  at  his  leisure, 
along  the  forest  path  that  led  to  Chambly.  Tried 
by  the  standard  of  partisan  war,  his  raid  had  been  a 
success.  He  had  inflicted  great  harm  and  suffered 
little;  but  the  affair  was  not  yet  ended. 

A  day  or  two  before,  Valrenne,  an  officer  of  birth 

and  ability,  had  been  sent  to  Chambly,  with  about  a 

hundred   and   sixty  troops   and    Canadians,   a  body 

of   Huron   and   Iroquois   converts,    and   a   band    of 

Algonquins  from  the   Ottawa.     His  orders  were  to 

20 


306  THE  SCOURGE  OF  CANADA.  [1691. 

let  the  English  pass,  and  then  place  himself  in  their 
rear  to  cut  them  off  from  their  canoes.  His  scouts 
had  discovered  their  advance;  and  on  the  morning 
of  the  attack  he  set  his  force  in  motion,  and  advanced 
six  or  seven  miles  towards  La  Prairie,  on  the  path 
by  which  Schuyler  was  retreating.  The  country  was 
buried  in  forests.  At  about  nine  o'clock  the  scouts 
of  the  hostile  parties  met  each  other,  and  their  war- 
whoops  gave  the  alarm.  Valrenne  instantly  took 
possession  of  a  ridge  of  ground  that  crossed  the  way 
of  the  approaching  English.  Two  large  trees  had 
fallen  along  the  crest  of  the  acclivity;  and  behind 
these  the  French  crouched,  in  a  triple  row,  well 
hidden  by  bushes  and  thick-standing  trunks.  The 
English,  underrating  the  strength  of  their  enemy  and 
ignorant  of  his  exact  position,  charged  impetuously, 
and  were  sent  reeling  back  by  a  close  and  deadly 
volley.  They  repeated  the  attack  with  still  greater 
fury,  and  dislodged  the  French  from  their  ambuscade. 
Then  ensued  a  fight,  which  Frontenac  declares  to 
have  been  the  most  hot  and  stubborn  ever  known  in 
Canada.  The  object  of  Schuyler  was  to  break 
through  the  French  and  reach  his  canoes :  the  object 
of  Valrenne  was  to  drive  him  back  upon  the  superior 
force  at  La  Prairie.  The  cautious  tactics  of  the 
bush  were  forgotten.  Three  times  the  combatants 
became  mingled  together,  firing  breast  to  breast,  and 
scorching  each  other's  shirts  by  the  flash  of  their 
guns.  The  Algonquins  did  themselves  no  credit; 
and  at  first  some  of  the  Canadians  gave  way,  but 


1591.]  SUCCESS  OF  SCHUYLER.  307 

they  were  rallied  by  Le  Ber  du  Chesne,  their  com- 
mander, and  afterwards  showed  great  bravery.  On 
the  side  of  the  English,  many  of  the  Mohegan  allies 
ran  off;  but  the  whites  and  the  Mohawks  fought 
with  equal  desperation.  In  the  midst  of  the  tumult, 
Valrenne  was  perfectly  cool,  directing  his  men  with 
Admirable  vigor  and  address,  and  barring  Schuyler's 
retreat  for  more  than  an  hour.  At  length,  the 
French  were  driven  from  the  path.  "We  broke 
through  the  middle  of  their  body,"  says  Schuyler, 
"  until  we  got  into  their  rear,  trampling  upon  their 
dead ;  then  faced  about  upon  them,  and  fought  them 
until  we  made  them  give  way ;  then  drove  them,  by 
strength  of  arm,  four  hundred  paces  before  us ;  and, 
to  say  the  truth,  we  were  all  glad  to  see  them 
retreat."^  He  and  his  followei-s  continued  their 
march  unmolested,  carrying  their  wounded  men,  and 
leaving  about  forty  dead  behind  them,  along  with 
one  of  their  flags  and  all  their  knapsacks,  which  they 
had  thrown  off  when  the  fray  began.  They  reached 
the  banks  of  the  Richelieu,  found  their  canoes  safe, 
and,  after  waiting  several  hours  for  stragglers, 
embarked  for  Albany.  Nothing  saved  them  from 
destruction  but  the  failure  of  the  French  at  La  Prairie 
to  follow  their  retreat,  and  thus  enclose  them  between 
two  fires.  They  did  so,  it  is  true,  at  the  eleventh 
hour,  but  not  till  the  fight  was  over  and  the  English 

1  Major  Peter  Schuyler's  Journal  of  his  Expedition  to  Canada,  in 
N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iii.  800.  "  Lea  ennemis  enf oncerent  notre  embus 
cade."  —  Belmont. 


808  THE  SCOURGE  OF  CANADA.  [169L 

were  gone.  The  Christian  Mohawks  of  the  Saut  also 
appeared  in  the  afternoon,  and  set  out  to  pursue  the 
enemy,  but  seem  to  have  taken  care  not  to  overtake 
them ;  for  the  English  Mohawks  were  their  relatives, 
and  they  had  no  wish  for  their  scalps. 

Frontenac  was  angry  at  their  conduct;  and,  as  he 
rarely  lost  an  opportunity  to  find  fault  with  the 
Jesuits,  he  laid  the  blame  on  the  fathers  in  charge  of 
the  mission,  whom  he  sharply  upbraided  for  the  short- 
comings of  their  flock.  ^  He  was  at  Three  Rivers  at 
a  ball  when  news  of  the  disaster  at  La  Prairie  damped 
the  spirits  of  the  company,  which,  however,  were 
soon  revived  by  tidings  of  the  fight  under  Valrenne 
and  the  retreat  of  the  English,  who  were  reported  to 
have  left  two  hundred  dead  on  the  field.  Frontenac 
wrote  an  account  of  the  affair  to  the  minister,  with 

1  As  this  fight  under  Valrenne  has  been  represented  as  a  French 
Yictory  against  overwhelming  odds,  it  may  be  well  to  observe  the 
evidence  as  to  the  numbers  engaged.  The  French  party  consisted, 
according  to  Be'nac,  of  160  regulars  and  Canadians,  besides  Indians. 
La  Potherie  places  it  at  180  men,  and  Frontenac  at  200  men.  These 
two  estimates  do  not  include  Indians ;  for  the  author  of  the  Relation 
of  1682-1712,  who  was  an  oflScer  on  the  spot  at  the  time,  puts  the 
number  at  300  soldiers,  Canadians,  and  savages. 

Schuyler's  official  return  shows  that  his  party  consisted  of  120 
whites,  80  Mohawks,  and  66  River  Indians  (Mohegans),  —  266  in  all. 
The  French  writer  Be'nac  places  the  whole  at  280,  and  the  intendant 
Champigny  at  300.  The  other  French  estimates  of  the  English 
force  are  greatly  exaggerated.  Schuyler's  strength  was  reduced  by 
27  men  left  to  guard  the  canoes,  and  by  a  number  killed  or  disabled 
at  La  Prairie.  The  force  under  Valrenne  was  additional  to  the  700 
or  800  men  at  La  Prairie  {Relation,  1682-1712).  Schuyler  reported 
his  loss  in  killed  at  21  wliites,  16  Mohawks,  and  6  Mohegans,  besides 
many  wounded.  The  French  statements  of  it  are  enormously  in 
excess  of  this,  and  are  irreconcilable  with  one  another. 


1691-92.]  A  RADICAL  CURE.  809 

high  praise  of  Valrenne  and  his  band,  followed  by  an 
appeal  for  help.  "  What  with  fighting  and  hardship, 
our  troops  and  militia  are  wasting  away."  "The 
enemy  is  upon  us  by  sea  and  land."  "Send  us  a 
thousand  men  next  spring,  if  you  want  the  colony  to 
be  saved."  "  We  are  perishing  by  inches;  the  people 
are  in  the  depths  of  poverty;  the  war  has  doubled 
prices  so  that  nobody  can  live."  "Many  families  are 
without  bread.  The  inhabitants  desert  the  country, 
and  crowd  into  the  towns."  ^  A  new  enemy  appeared 
in  the  following  summer,  almost  as  destructive  as  the 
Iroquois.  This  was  an  army  of  caterpillars,  which 
set  at  nought  the  maledictions  of  the  clergy,  and 
made  great  havoc  among  the  crops.  It  is  recorded 
that  along  with  the  caterpillars  came  an  unprecedented 
multitude  of  squirrels,  which,  being  industriously 
trapped  or  shot,  proved  a  great  help  to  many  families. 
Alarm  followed  alarm.  It  was  reported  that  Phips 
was  bent  on  revenge  for  his  late  discomfiture,  that 
great  armaments  were  afoot,  and  that  a  mighty  host 
of  "  Bostonnais "  was  preparing  another  descent. 
Again  and  again  Frontenac  begged  that  one  bold 
blow  should  be  struck  to  end  these  perils  and  make 
King  Louis  master  of  the  continent,  by  despatching  a 
fleet  to  seize  New  York.  If  this  were  done,  he  said, 
it  would  be  easy  to  take  Boston  and  the  "  rebels  and 
old  republican  leaven  of  Cromwell"  who  harbored 
there;  then  burn  the  place,  and  utterly  destroy  it.' 

1  Lettres  de  Frontenac  et  de  Champigny,  1691, 1692. 
a  Frontenac  in  N  Y,  Col,  Does.,  ix.  496. 606. 


810  THE  SCOURGE  OF  CANADA.         [1691-94 

Villebon,  governor  of  Acadia,  was  of  the  same  mind. 
"No  town,"  he  told  the  minister,  "could  be  burned 
more  easily.  Most  of  the  houses  are  covered  with 
shingles,  and  the  streets  are  very  narrow."  ^  But  the 
King  could  not  spare  a  squadron  equal  to  the  attempt; 
and  Frontenac  was  told  that  he  must  wait.  The 
troops  sent  him  did  not  supply  his  losses. ^  Money 
came  every  summer  in  sums  which  now  seem  small, 
but  were  far  from  being  so  in  the  eyes  of  the  King, 
who  joined  to  each  remittance  a  lecture  on  economy 
and  a  warning  against  extravagance. ^ 

The  intendant  received  his  share  of  blame  on  these 
occasions,  and  he  usually  defended  himself  vigor- 
ously. He  tells  his  master  that  "war-parties  are 
necessary,  but  very  expensive.  We  rarely  pay 
money;  but  we  must  give  presents  to  our  Indians, 
and  fit  out  the  Canadians  with  provisions,  arms, 
ammunition,  moccasons,  snow-shoes,  sledges,  canoes, 
capotes,  breeches,  stockings,  and  blankets.  This 
costs  a  great  deal,  but  without  it  we  should  have  to 
abandon  Canada."  The  King  complained  that  while 
the  great  sums  he  was  spending  in  the  colony  turned 

1  Villebon  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  ix.  507. 

«  The  returns  show  1,313  regulars  in  1691,  and  1,120  in  1692. 

»  Lettres  du  Roy  et  du  Ministre,  1690-1694.  In  1691  the  amount 
allowed  for  extraordinaires  de  guerre  was  99,000  livres  (francs).  In 
1692  it  was  193,000  livres,  a  part  of  which  was  for  fortifications. 
In  the  following  year  no  less  than  760,000  livres  were  drawn  for 
Canada,  "  ce  qui  ne  se  pourroit  pas  supporter,  si  cela  continuoit  de 
la  mesme  force,"  writes  the  minister.  {Le  Ministre  a  Frontenac,  13 
Mars,  1694.)  This  last  sum  probably  included  the  pay  of  the 
troops. 


1691-94.]  ALARMS.  811 

to  the  profit  of  the  inhabitants,  they  contributed 
nothing  to  their  own  defence.  The  complaint  was 
scarcely  just;  for  if  they  gave  no  money,  they  gave 
their  blood  with  sufficient  readiness.  Excepting  a 
few  merchants,  they  had  nothing  else  to  give;  and 
in  the  years  when  the  fur-trade  was  cut  off  they 
lived  chiefly  on  the  pay  they  received  for  supplying 
the  troops  and  other  public  services.  Far  from  he- 
ing  able  to  support  the  war,  they  looked  to  the  war 
to  support  them.^ 

The  work  of  fortifying  the  vital  points  of  the 
colony  —  Quebec,  Three  Rivers,  and  Montreal  — 
received  constant  stimulus  from  the  alarms  of  attack, 
and,  above  all,  from  a  groundless  report  that  ten 
thousand  "  Bostonnais  "  had  sailed  for  Quebec.  The 
sessions  of  the  council  were  suspended,  and  the  coun- 
cillors seized  pick  and  spade.  The  old  defences  of 
the  place  were  reconstructed  on  a  new  plan,  made  by 
the  great  engineer  Vauban.  The  settlers  were  mus- 
tered together  from  a  distance  of  twenty  leagues,  and 
compelled  to  labor,  with  little  or  no  pay,  till  a  line 
of  solid  earthworks  enclosed  Quebec  from  Cape 
Diamond    to    the  St.    Charles.     Three   Rivers  and 

1  "Sa  Majestd  fait  depuis  plusieurs  ann^es  des  sacrifices  im- 
menses  en  Canada.  L'avantage  en  deraeure  presque  tout  entier  au 
profit  des  habitans  et  des  niarchands  qui  y  resident.  Ces  d^pensef 
86  font  pour  leur  seurete  et  pour  leur  conservation.  II  est  juste 
que  ceux  qui  sont  en  estat  secourent  le  public."  {M€moire  du  Roy, 
1693.)  "Les  habitans  de  la  colonie  ne  contribuent  en  rien  k  tout  ce 
que  Sa  Majeste'  fait  pour  leur  conservation,  pendant  que  sea  sujets 
du  Royaume  donnent  tout  ce  qu'ils  ont  pour  son  service."  {Le 
Ministre  a  Frontenac,  13  Mars,  1694.) 


312  THE   SCOURGE  OF  CANADA.        [1691-94 

Montreal  were  also  strengthened.  The  cost  ex- 
ceeded the  estimates,  and  drew  upon  Frontenac  and 
Champigny  fresh  admonitions  from  Versailles.^ 

The  bounties  on  scalps  and  prisoners  were  another 
occasion  of  royal  complaint.  Twenty  crowns  had 
been  offered  for  each  male  white  prisoner,  ten  crowns 
for  each  female,  and  ten  crowns  for  each  scalp, 
whether  Indian  or  English. ^  The  bounty  on  prisoners 
produced  an  excellent  result,  since  instead  of  killing 
them  the  Indian  allies  learned  to  bring  them  to 
Quebec.  If  children,  they  were  placed  in  the  con- 
vents; and  if  adults,  they  were  distributed  to  labor 
among  the  settlers.  Thus  though  the  royal  letters 
show  that  the  measure  was  one  of  policy,  it  acted  in 
the  interest  of  humanity.     It  was  not  so  with  the 

1  Lettres  du  Roy  et  du  Ministre,  1693, 1694.  Cape  Diamond  was 
now  for  the  first  time  included  within  the  line  of  circumvallation  at 
Quebec.  A  strong  stone  redoubt,  with  sixteen  cannon,  was  built 
upon  its  summit. 

In  1854,  in  demolishing  a  part  of  the  old  wall  between  the  fort 
of  Quebec  and  the  adjacent "  Governor's  Garden,"  a  plate  of  copper 
was  found  with  a  Latin  inscription,  of  which  the  following  is  a 
translation :  — 

"  In  the  3'ear  of  Grace,  1693,  under  the  reign  of  the  Most  August,  Most 
Invincible,  and  Most  Christian  King,  Louis  the  Great,  Fourteenth  of  that 
name,  the  Most  Excellent  and  Most  Illustrious  Lord,  Louis  de  Buade,  Count 
of  Frontenac,  twice  Viceroy  of  all  New  France,  after  having  three  years 
before  repulsed,  routed,  and  completeh'  conquered  the  rebellious  inhabitants 
of  New  England,  who  besieged  this  town  of  Quebec,  and  who  threatened  to 
renew  their  attack  this  year,  constructed,  at  the  charge  of  the  king,  this 
citadel,  with  the  fortifications  therewith  connected,  for  the  defence  of  the 
country  and  the  safety  of  the  people,  and  for  confounding  j'et  again  a  people 
perfidious  towards  God  and  towards  its  lawful  king.  And  he  has  laid  this 
first  stone." 

*  Champigny  au  Ministre,  21  Septemhre,  1692. 


1692.]  IROQUOIS  TACTICS.  313 

bounty  on  scalps.  The  Abenaki,  Huron,  and  Iroquois 
converts  brought  in  many  of  them;  but  grave  doubts 
arose  whether  they  all  came  from  the  heads  of  ene- 
mies.^ The  scalp  of  a  Frenchman  was  not  distinguish- 
able from  the  scalp  of  an  Englishman,  and  could  be 
had  with  less  trouble.  Partly  for  this  reason,  and 
partly  out  of  economy,  the  King  gave  it  as  his  belief 
that  a  bounty  of  one  crown  was  enough ;  though  the 
governor  and  the  intendant  united  in  declaring  that 
the  scalps  of  the  whole  Iroquois  confederacy  would 
be  a  good  bargain  for  his  Majesty  at  ten  crowns 
apiece. 2 

The  river  Ottawa  was  the  main  artery  of  Canada, 
and  to  stop  it  was  to  stop  the  flow  of  her  life-blood. 
The  Iroquois  knew  this;  and  their  constant  effort 
was  to  close  it  so  completely  that  the  annual  supply 
of  beaver-skins  would  be  prevented  from  passing, 
and  the  colony  be  compelled  to  live  on  credit.  It 
was  their  habit  to  spend  the  latter  part  of  the  winter 
in  hunting  among  the  forests  between  the  Ottawa 
and  the  upper  St.  Lawrence,  and  then,  when  the  ice 
broke  up,  to  move  in  large  bands  to  the  banks  of  the 
former  stream,  and  lie  in  ambush  at  the  Chaudifere, 
the  Long  Saut,  or  other  favorable  points,  to  waylay 
the  passing  canoes.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  the 
constant  effort  of  Frontenac  to  drive  them  off  and 

1  Relation  de  1682-1712. 

'•*  Memoirs  du  Roy  aux  Sieurs  Frontenac  et  Champigny,  1693; 
Frontenac  et  Champigny  au  Ministre,  4  Novembre,  1693.  The  bounty 
on  prisoners  was  reduced  in  the  same  proportion,  showing  that 
economy  was  the  chief  object  of  the  change. 


314  THE  SCOURGE  OF  CANADA.  [1692. 

keep  the  river  open,  —  an  almost  impossible  task. 
Many  conflicts,  great  and  small,  took  place  with 
various  results;  but,  in  spite  of  every  effort,  the 
Iroquois  blockade  was  maintained  more  than  two 
years.  The  story  of  one  of  the  expeditions  made  by 
the  French  in  this  quarter  will  show  the  hardship  of 
the  service,  and  the  moral  and  physical  vigor  which 
it  demanded. 

Early  in  February,  three  hundred  men  under 
Dorvilliers  were  sent  by  Frontenac  to  surprise  the 
Iroquois  in  their  hunting-grounds.  When  they  were 
a  few  days  out,  their  leader  scalded  his  foot  by  the 
upsetting  of  a  kettle  at  their  encampment  near  Lake 
St.  Francis ;  and  the  command  fell  on  a  youth  named 
Beaucour,  an  officer  of  regulars,  accomplished  as  an 
engineer,  and  known  for  his  polished  wit.  The 
march  through  the  snow-clogged  forest  was  so  terrible 
that  the  men  lost  heart.  Hands  and  feet  were  frozen ; 
some  of  the  Indians  refused  to  proceed,  and  many  of 
the  Canadians  lagged  behind.  Shots  were  heard; 
showing  that  the  enemy  were  not  far  off;  but  cold, 
hunger,  and  fatigue  had  overcome  the  courage  of  the 
pursuers,  and  the  young  commander  saw  his  followers 
on  the  point  of  deserting  him.  He  called  them 
together,  and  harangued  them  in  terms  so  animating 
that  they  caught  his  spirit,  and  again  pushed  on. 
For  four  hours  more  they  followed  the  tracks  of  the 
Iroquois  snow-shoes,  till  they  found  the  savages  in 
their  bivouac,  set  upon  them,  and  killed  or  captured 
nearly  all.     There  was  a  French  slave  among  them, 


1698.]  STATE  OF  THE  COLONY.  815 

scarcely  distinguishable  from  his  owners.  It  was  an 
officer  named  La  Plante,  taken  at  La  Chine  three 
years  before.  "  He  would  have  been  killed  like  his 
masters,"  says  La  Hontan,  "if  he  had  not  cried  out 
with  all  his  might,  '  Misericorde,  sauvez-moi,  je  suis 
Frangais. '  '*  ^  Beaucour  brought  his  prisoners  to 
Quebec,  where  Frontenac  ordered  that  two  of  them 
should  be  burned.  One  stabbed  himself  in  prison; 
the  other  was  tortured  by  the  Christian  Hurons  on 
Cape  Diamond,  defying  them  to  the  last.  Nor  was 
this  the  only  instance  of  such  fearful  reprisal.  In 
the  same  year  a  number  of  Iroquois  captured  by 
Vaudreuil  were  burned  at  Montreal  at  the  demand 
of  the  Canadians  and  the  mission  Indians,  who 
insisted  that  their  cruelties  should  be  paid  back  in 
kind.  It  is  said  that  the  purpose  was  answered, 
and  the  Iroquois  deterred  for  a  while  from  torturing 
their  captives.^ 

The  brunt  of  the  war  fell  on  the  upper  half  of 
the  colony.  The  country  about  Montreal,  and  for 
nearly  a  hundred  miles  below  it,  was  easily  accessible 
to  the  Iroquois  by  the  routes  of  Lake  Champlain  and 
the  upper  St.  Lawrence ;  while  below  Three  Rivers 
the  settlements  were  tolerably  safe  from  their  incur- 
sions, and  were  exposed  to  attack  solely  from  the 
English  of  New  England,  who  could  molest  them 
only  by  sailing  up  from  the  Gulf  in  force.     Hence 

1  La  Potherie,  iii.  156  ;  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  pass€  de  plus  considi 
rable  en  Canada,  1691,  1692 ;  La  Hontan,  i.  233. 
«  Relation,  1682-1712. 


316  THE   SCOURGE   OF   CANADA.  [1692 

the  settlers  remained  on  their  farms,  and  followed 
their  usual  occupations,  except  when  Frontenac 
drafted  them  for  war-parties.  Above  Three  Rivers 
their  condition  was  wholly  different.  A  traveller 
passing  through  this  part  of  Canada  would  have 
found  the  houses  empty.  Here  and  there  he  would 
have  seen  all  the  inhabitants  of  a  parish  laboring  in 
a  field  together,  watched  by  sentinels,  and  generally 
guarded  by  a  squad  of  regulars.  When  one  field  was 
tilled,  they  passed  to  the  next;  and  this  communal 
process  was  repeated  when  the  harvest  was  ripe.  At 
night  they  took  refuge  in  the  fort,  —  that  is  to  say, 
in  a  cluster  of  log  cabins,  surrounded  by  a  palisade. 
Sometimes,  when  long  exemption  from  attack  had 
emboldened  them,  they  ventured  back  to  their  farm- 
houses,—  an  experiment  always  critical  and  sometimes 
fatal.  Thus  the  people  of  La  Chesnaye,  forgetting  a 
sharp  lesson  they  had  received  a  year  or  two  before, 
returned  to  their  homes  in  fancied  security.  One 
evening  a  bachelor  of  the  parish  made  a  visit  to  a 
neighboring  widow,  bringing  with  him  his  gun  and 
a  small  dog.  As  he  was  taking  his  leave,  his  hostess, 
whose  husband  had  been  killed  the  year  before,  told 
hira  that  she  was  afraid  to  be  left  alone,  and  begged 
him  to  remain  with  her,  —  an  invitation  which  he 
accepted.  Towards  morning,  the  barking  of  his  dog 
roused  him;  when,  going  out,  he  saw  the  night 
lighted  up  by  the  blaze  of  burning  houses,  and  heard 
the  usual  firing  and  screeching  of  an  Iroquois  attack. 
He  went  back  to  his  frightened  companion,  who  also 


1692.J         THE  HEROINE  OF  VERCHfiRES.  317 

had  a  gun.  Placing  himself  at  a  comer  of  the 
house,  he  told  her  to  stand  behind  him.  A  number 
of  Iroquois  soon  appeared,  on  which  he  fired  at  them, 
and,  taking  her  gun,  repeated  the  shot,  giving  her 
his  own  to  load.  The  warriors  returned  his  fire  from 
a  safe  distance,  and  in  the  morning  withdrew  alto- 
gether, on  which  the  pair  emerged  from  their  shel- 
tei  and  succeeded  in  reaching  the  fort.  The  other 
inhabitants  were  all  killed  or  captured.^ 

Many  incidents  of  this  troubled  time  are  preserved, 
but  none  of  them  are  so  well  worth  the  record  as  the 
defence  of  the  fort  at  Verchferes  by  the  young  daugh- 
ter of  the  seignior.  Many  years  later,  the  Marquis 
de  Beauharnois,  governor  of  Canada,  caused  the 
story  to  be  written  down  from  the  recital  of  the 
heroine  herself. 

Vercheres  was  on  the  south  shore  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence about  twenty  miles  below  Montreal.  A  strong 
blockhouse  stood  outside  the  fort,  and  was  connected 
with  it  by  a  covered  way.  On  the  morning  of  the 
twenty-second  of  October  the  inhabitants  were  at 
work  in  the  fields,  and  nobody  was  left  in  the  place 
but  two  soldiers,  two  boys,  an  old  man  of  eighty, 
and  a  number  of  women  and  children.  The  seignior, 
formerly  an  officer  of  the  regiment  of  Carignan,  was 
on  duty  at  Quebec;  his  wife  was  at  Montreal;  and 
their  daughter  Madeleine,  fourteen  years  of  age,  was 
at  the  landing-place  not  far  from  the  gat^e  of  the  fort, 
with  a  hired  man  named  Laviolette.     Suddenly  she 

1  Relation,  1682-1712 


818  THE  SCOURGE  OF  CANADA.  [1692. 

heard  firing  from  the  direction  where  the  settlers 
were  at  work,  and  an  instant  after  Laviolette  cried 
out,  "Run,  Mademoiselle,  run!  here  come  the  Iro- 
quois ! "  She  turned  and  saw  forty  or  fifty  of  them 
at  the  distance  of  a  pistol-shot.  "  I  ran  for  the  fort, 
commending  myself  to  the  Holy  Virgin.  The  Iro- 
quois who  chased  after  me,  seeing  that  they  could 
not  catch  me  alive  before  I  reached  the  gate,  stopped 
and  fired  at  me.  The  bullets  whistled  about  my  ears, 
and  made  the  time  seem  very  long.  As  soon  as  I 
was  near  enough  to  be  heard,  I  cried  out.  To  arms ! 
to  arms  !  hoping  that  somebody  would  come  out  and 
help  me ;  but  it  was  of  no  use.  The  two  soldiers  in 
the  fort  were  so  scared  that  they  had  hidden  in  the 
blockhouse.  At  the  gate,  I  found  two  women  cry- 
ing for  their  husbands,  who  had  just  been  killed.  I 
made  them  go  in,  and  then  shut  the  gate.  I  next 
thought  what  I  could  do  to  save  myself  and  the  few 
people  with  me.  I  went  to  inspect  the  fort,  and 
found  that  several  palisades  had  fallen  down,  and 
left  openings  by  which  the  enemy  could  easily  get 
in.  I  ordered  them  to  be  set  up  again,  and  helped 
to  carry  them  myself.  When  the  breaches  were 
stopped,  I  went  to  the  blockhouse  where  the  ammu- 
nition is  kept,  and  here  I  found  the  two  soldiers,  — 
one  hiding  in  a  corner,  and  the  other  with  a  lighted 
match  in  his  hand.  '  What  are  you  going  to  do  with 
that  match  ? '  I  asked.  He  answered,  *  Light  the 
powder,  and  blow  us  all  up. '  '  You  are  a  miserable 
coward, '  said  I,  '  go  out  of  this  place. '     I  spoke  so 


1692.]         THE  HEROINE  OF  VERCHfiRES.  319 

resolutely  that  he  obeyed.  I  then  threw  off  my 
bonnet;  and  after  putting  on  a  hat  and  taking  a 
gun,  I  said  to  my  two  brothers:  '  Let  us  fight  to  the 
death.  We  are  fighting  for  our  country  and  our 
religion.  Remember  that  our  father  has  taught  you 
that  gentlemen  are  born  to  shed  their  blood  for  the 
service  of  God  and  the  King. '  " 

The  boys,  who  were  twelve  and  ten  years  old,  aided 
by  the  soldiers,  whom  her  words  had  inspired  with 
some  little  courage,  began  to  fire  from  the  loopholes 
upon  the  Iroquois,  who,  ignorant  of  the  weakness  of 
the  garrison,  showed  their  usual  reluctance  to  attack 
a  fortified  place,  and  occupied  themselves  with  chas- 
ing and  butchering  the  people  in  the  neighboring 
fields.  Madeleine  ordered  a  cannon  to  be  fired,  partly 
to  deter  the  enemy  from  an  assault,  and  partly  to 
warn  some  of  the  soldiers,  who  were  hunting  at  a 
distance.  The  women  and  children  in  the  fort  cried 
and  screamed  without  ceasing.  She  ordered  them  to 
stop,  lest  their  terror  should  encourage  the  Indians. 
A  canoe  was  presently  seen  approaching  the  landing- 
place.  It  was  a  settler  named  Fontaine,  trying  to 
reach  the  fort  with  his  family.  The  Iroquois  were 
still  near;  and  Madeleine  feared  that  the  new-comers 
would  be  killed,  if  something  were  not  done  to  aid 
them.  She  appealed  to  the  soldiers,  but  their  cour- 
age was  not  equal  to  the  attempt;  on  which,  as  she 
declares,  after  leaving  Laviolette  to  keep  watch  at 
the  gate,  she  herself  went  alone  to  the  landing-place. 
"1  thought  that  the  savages  would  suppose  it  to  be 


820  THE   SCOURGE   OF  CANADA.  [1692. 

a  ruse  to  draw  them  towards  the  fort,  in  order  to 
make  a  sortie  upon  them.  They  did  suppose  so,  and 
thus  I  was  able  to  save  the  Fontaine  family.  When 
they  were  all  landed,  I  made  them  march  before  me 
in  full  sight  of  the  enemy.  We  put  so  bold  a  face 
on  it,  that  they  thought  they  had  more  to  fear  than 
we.  Strengthened  by  this  reinforcement,  I  ordered 
that  the  enemy  should  be  fired  on  whenever  they 
showed  themselves.  After  sunset,  a  violent  north- 
east wind  began  to  blow,  accompanied  with  snow  and 
hail,  which  told  us  that  we  should  have  a  terrible 
night.  The  Iroquois  were  all  this  time  lurking  about 
us;  and  I  judged  by  their  movements  that,  instead 
of  being  deterred  by  the  storm,  they  would  climb 
into  the  fort  under  cover  of  the  darkness.  I  assem- 
bled all  my  troops,  that  is  to  say,  six  persons,  and 
spoke  to  them  thus :  '  God  has  saved  us  to-day  from 
the  hands  of  our  enemies,  but  we  must  take  care  not 
to  fall  into  their  snares  to-night.  As  for  me,  I  want 
you  to  see  that  I  am  not  afraid.  I  will  take  charge 
of  the  fort  with  an  old  man  of  eighty  and  another 
who  never  fired  a  gun;  and  you,  Pierre  Fontaine, 
with  La  Bont^  and  Gachet  (our  two  soldiers),  will 
go  to  the  blockhouse  with  the  women  and  children, 
because  that  is  the  strongest  place;  and  if  I  am 
taken,  don't  surrender,  even  if  I  am  cut  to  pieces 
and  burned  before  your  eyes.  The  enemy  cannot 
hurt  you  in  the  blockhouse,  if  you  make  the  least 
show  of  fight. '  I  placed  my  young  brothers  on  two 
of  the  bastions,  the  old  man  on  the  third,  and  I  took 


1692.]         THE  HEROINE  OF   VERCHfiRES.  821 

the  fourth;  and  all  night,  in  spite  of  wind,  snow, 
and  hail,  the  cries  of  *  All's  well '  were  kept  up  from 
the  blockhouse  to  the  fort,  and  from  the  fort  to  the 
blockhouse.  One  would  have  thought  that  the  place 
was  full  of  soldiers.  The  Iroquois  thought  so,  and 
were  completely  deceived,  —  as  they  confessed  after- 
wards to  Monsieur  de  Callieres,  whom  they  told  that 
they  had  held  a  council  to  make  a  plan  for  capturing 
the  fort  in  the  night,  but  had  done  nothing  because 
such  a  constant  watch  was  kept. 

"About  one  in  the  morning,  the  sentinel  on  the 
bastion  by  the  gate  called  out,  *  Mademoiselle,  I  hear 
something. '  I  went  to  him  to  find  what  it  was ;  and 
by  the  help  of  the  snow,  which  covered  the  ground, 
I  could  see  through  the  darkness  a  number  of  cattle, 
the  miserable  remnant  that  the  Iroquois  had  left  us. 
The  others  wanted  to  open  the  gate  and  let  them  in, 
but  I  answered:  *  God  forbid!  You  don't  know  all 
the  tricks  of  the  savages.  They  are  no  doubt  follow- 
ing the  cattle,  covered  with  skins  of  beasts,  so  as  to 
get  into  the  fort,  if  we  are  simple  enough  to  open 
the  gate  for  them. '  Nevertheless,  after  taking  every 
precaution,  I  thought  that  we  might  open  it  without 
risk.  I  made  my  two  brothers  stand  ready  with  their 
guns  cocked  in  case  of  surprise,  and  so  we  let  in  the 
cattle. 

"At  last,  the  daylight  came  again;  and,  as  the 
darkness  disappeared,  our  anxieties  seemed  to  disap- 
pear with  it.  Everybody  took  courage  except  Made- 
moiselle Marguerite,  wife  of  the  Sieur  Fontaine,  who, 

21 


822  THE  SCOURGE   OF  CANADA.  [1692. 

being  extremely  timid,  as  all  Parisian  women  are, 
asked  her  husband  to  carry  her  to  another  fort.  .  .  . 
He  said,  *  I  will  never  abandon  this  fort  while  Made- 
moiselle Madelon  [Madeleine]  is  here.'  I  answered 
him  that  I  would  never  abandon  it;  that  I  would 
rather  die  than  give  it  up  to  the  enemy ;  and  that  it 
was  of  the  greatest  importance  that  they  should  never 
get  possession  of  any  French  fort,  because  if  they 
got  one  they  would  think  they  could  get  others,  and 
would  grow  more  bold  and  presumptuous  than  ever. 
I  may  say  with  truth  that  I  did  not  eat  or  sleep  for 
twice  twenty-four  hours.  I  did  not  go  once  into  my 
father's  house,  but  kept  always  on  the  bastion,  or 
went  to  the  blockhouse  to  see  how  the  people  there 
were  behaving.  I  always  kept  a  cheerful  and  smil- 
ing face,  and  encouraged  my  little  company  with  the 
hope  of  speedy  succor. 

"We  were  a  week  in  constant  alarm,  with  the 
enemy  always  about  us.  At  last  Monsieur  de  la 
Monnerie,  a  lieutenant  sent  by  Monsieur  de  Callieres, 
arrived  in  the  night  with  forty  men.  As  he  did  not 
know  whether  the  fort  was  taken  or  not,  he  approached 
as  silently  as  possible.  One  of  our  sentinels,  hearing 
a  slight  sound,  cried, '  Qui  vive  ?  '  I  was  at  the  time 
dozing,  with  my  head  on  a  table  and  my  gun  lying 
across  my  arms.  The  sentinel  told  me  that  he  heard 
a  voice  from  the  river.  I  went  up  at  once  to  the 
bastion  to  see  whether  it  was  Indians  or  Frenchmen. 
I  asked,  *  Who  are  you  ? '  One  of  them  answered, 
'  We  are  Frenchmen:  it  is  La  Monnerie,  who  comes 


1692.]  SAUT  ST.   LOUIS.  828 

to  bring  you  help. '  I  caused  the  gate  to  be  opened, 
placed  a  sentinel  there,  and  went  down  to  the  river 
to  meet  them.  As  soon  as  I  saw  Monsieur  de  la 
Monnerie,  I  saluted  him,  and  said,  *  Monsieur,  I  sur- 
render my  arms  to  you.'  He  answered  gallantly, 
'  Mademoiselle,  they  are  in  good  hands.  *  '  Better 
than  you  think, '  I  returned.  He  inspected  the  fort, 
and  found  everything  in  order,  and  a  sentinel  on  each 
bastion.  *  It  is  time  to  relieve  them.  Monsieur,'  said 
I:  '  we  have  not  been  off  our  bastions  for  a  week.'  "  ^ 
A  band  of  converts  from  the  Saut  St.  Louis  arrived 
soon  after,  followed  the  trail  of  their  heathen  coun- 
trymen, overtook  them  on  Lake  Champlain,  and 
recovered  twenty  or  more  French  prisoners.  Made- 
leine de  Verch^res  was  not  the  only  heroine  of  her 
family.  Her  father's  fort  was  the  Castle  Dangerous 
of  Canada ;  and  it  was  but  two  years  before  that  her 
mother,  left  with  three  or  four  armed  men,  and  beset 

^  Recit  de  MIU.  Magdelaine  de  Vercheres,  dgee  de  14  ans  (Collec- 
rion  de  I'Abbfe  Ferland).  It  appears  from  Tanguay  (Dictionnaire 
Genealogique)  that  Marie-Madeleine  Jarret  de  Vercheres  was  born 
in  April,  1678,  which  corresponds  to  the  age  given  in  the  Recit. 
She  married  Vhomas  Tarieu  de  la  Naudi^re,  in  1706,  and  M.  de  la 
Perrade,  or  Prade,  in  1722.  Her  brother  Louis  was  born  in  1680, 
and  was  therefore,  as  stated  in  the  R^cit,  twelve  years  old  in  1692. 
The  birthday  of  the  other,  Alexander,  is  not  given.  His  baptism 
was  registered  in  1682.  One  of  the  brothers  was  killed  at  the 
attack  of  Haverhill,  in  1708. 

Madame  de  Ponchartrain,  wife  of  the  minister,  procured  a  pen- 
sion for  life  to  Madeleine  de  Vercheres.  Two  versions  of  her 
narrative  are  before  me.  There  are  slight  variations  between  them, 
but  in  all  essential  points  they  are  the  same.  The  following  note  is 
appended  to  one  of  them :  "  Ce  recit  fut  fait  par  ordre  de  Ml  de 
Beauharnois,  gouverneur  du  Canada."' 


324  THE   SCOURGE  OF  CANADA.  [1695. 

by  the  Iroquois,  threw  herself  with  her  followers  into 
the  blockhouse,  and  held  the  assailants  two  days  at 
bay,  till  the  Marquis  de  Crisasy  came  with  troops  to 
her  relief.^  From  the  moment  when  the  Canadians 
found  a  chief  whom  they  could  trust,  and  the  firm 
old  hand  of  Frontenac  grasped  the  reins  of  their 
destiny,  a  spirit  of  hardihood  and  energy  grew  up  in 
all  this  rugged  population;  and  they  faced  their  stern 
fortunes  with  a  stubborn  daring  and  endurance  that 
merit  respect  and  admiration. 

Now,  as  in  all  their  former  wars,  a  great  part  of 
their  suffering  was  due  to  the  Mohawks.  The  Jesuits 
had  spared  no  pains  to  convert  them,  thus  changing 
them  from  enemies  to  friends ;  and  their  efforts  had 
so  far  succeeded  that  the  mission  colony  of  Saut  St. 
Louis  contained  a  numerous  population  of  Mohawk 
Christians.^  The  place  was  well  fortified ;  and  troops 
were  usually  stationed  here,  partly  to  defend  the  con- 
verts and  partly  to  insure  their  fidelity.  They  had 
sometimes  done  excellent  service  for  the  French ;  but 
many  of  them  still  remembered  their  old  homes  on 
the  Mohawk,  and  their  old  ties  of  fellowship  and 
kindred.  Their  heathen  countrymen  were  jealous  of 
their  secession,  and  spared  no  pains  to  reclaim  them. 
Sometimes  they  tried  intrigue,  and  sometimes  force. 
On  one  occasion,  joined  by  the  Oneidas  and  Onon- 
dagas,  they  appeared  before  the  palisades  of  St.  Louis, 

1  La  Potherie,  i.  326. 

'  This  mission  was  also  called  Caghnawaga.  The  village  still 
exists,  at  the  head  of  the  rapid  of  St.  Louis,  or  La  Chine. 


1608.]  THE  MOHAWK  EXPEDITION.  826 

to  the  number  of  more  than  four  hundred  warriors; 
but  finding  the  bastions  manned  and  the  gates  shut, 
they  withdrew  discomfited.  It  was  of  great  import- 
ance to  the  French  to  sunder  them  from  their  heathen 
relatives  so  completely  that  reconciliation  would  be 
impossible ;  and  it  was  largely  to  this  end  that  a  grand 
expedition  was  prepared  against  the  Mohawk  towns. 
All  the  mission  Indians  in  the  colony  were  invited 
to  join  it,  —  the  Iroquois  of  the  Saut  and  Mountain, 
Abenakis  from  the  Chaudifere,  Hurons  from  Lorette, 
and  Algonquins  from  Three  Rivers.  A  hundred 
picked  soldiers  were  added,  and  a  large  band  of 
Canadians.  All  told,  they  mustered  six  hundred 
and  twenty-five  men,  under  three  tried  leaders,  — 
Mantet,  Courtemanche,  and  La  None.  They  left 
Chambly  at  the  end  of  January,  and  pushed  south- 
ward on  snow-shoes.  Their  way  was  over  the  ice 
of  Lake  Champlain,  for  more  than  a  century  the 
great  thoroughfare  of  war-parties.  They  bivouacked 
in  the  forest  by  squads  of  twelve  or  more ;  dug  away 
the  snow  in  a  circle,  covered  the  bared  earth  with  a 
bed  of  spruce  boughs,  made  a  fire  in  the  middle,  and 
smoked  their  pipes  around  it.  Here  crouched  the 
Christian  savage,  muffled  in  his  blanket,  his  unwashed 
face  still  smirched  with  soot  and  vermilion,  relics  of 
the  war-paint  he  had  worn  a  week  before  when  he 
danced  the  war-dance  in  the  square  of  the  mission 
village;  and  here  sat  the  Canadians,  hooded  like 
Capuchin  monks,  but  irrepressible  in  loquacity,  as 
the   blaze  of  the  camp-fire  glowed   on  their  hardj 


326  THE  SCOURGE  OP  CANADA.  [1603. 

visages  and  fell  in  fainter  radiance  on  the  rocks  and 
pines  behind  them. 

Sixteen  days  brought  them  to  the  two  lower 
Mohawk  towns.  A  young  Dutchman  who  had  been 
captured  three  years  before  at  Schenectady,  and 
whom  the  Indians  of  the  Saut  had  imprudently 
brought  with  them,  ran  off  in  the  night,  and  carried 
the  alarm  to  the  English.  The  invaders  had  no  time 
to  lose.  The  two  towns  were  a  quarter  of  a  league 
apart.  They  surrounded  them  both  on  the  night  of 
the  sixteenth  of  February,  waited  in  silence  till  the 
voices  within  were  hushed,  and  then  captured  them 
without  resistance,  as  most  of  the  inmates  were 
absent.  After  burning  one  of  them,  and  leaving  the 
prisoners  well  guarded  in  the  other,  they  marched 
eight  leagues  to  the  third  town,  reached  it  at  even- 
ing, and  hid  in  the  neighboring  woods.  Through  all 
the  early  night  they  heard  the  whoops  and  songs  of 
the  warrioi-s  within,  who  were  dancing  the  war-dance 
for  an  intended  expedition.  About  midnight,  all 
was  still.  The  Mohawks  had  posted  no  sentinels; 
and  one  of  the  French  Indians,  scaling  the  palisade, 
opened  the  gate  to  his  comrades.  There  was  a  short 
but  bloody  fight.  Twenty  or  thirty  Mohawks  were 
killed,  and  nearly  three  hundred  captured,  chiefly 
women  and  children. 

The  French  commanders  now  required  their  allies, 
the  mission  Indians,  to  make  good  a  promise  which, 
at  the  instance  of  Frontenac,  had  been  exacted  from 
them  by  the  governor  of  Montreal.     It  was  that  they 


1693.]  THE  PURSUIT.  827 

should  kill  all  their  male  captives,  —  a  proceeding 
which  would  have  averted  every  danger  of  future 
reconciliation  between  the  Christian  and  heathen 
Mohawks.  The  converts  of  the  Saut  and  the  Moun- 
tain had  readily  given  the  pledge,  but  apparently 
with  no  intention  to  keep  it;  at  least,  they  now 
refused  to  do  so.  Remonstrance  was  useless;  and 
after  burning  the  town,  the  French  and  their  allies 
began  their  retreat,  encumbered  by  a  long  train  of 
prisoners.  They  marched  two  days,  when  they  were 
hailed  from  a  distance  by  Mohawk  scouts,  who  told 
them  that  the  English  were  on  their  track,  but  that 
peace  had  been  declared  in  Europe,  and  that  the 
pursuers  did  not  mean  to  fight,  but  to  parley.  Here- 
upon the  mission  Indians  insisted  on  waiting  for 
them,  and  no  exertion  of  the  French  commanders 
could  persuade  them  to  move.  Trees  were  hewn 
down,  and  a  fort  made  after  the  Iroquois  fashion,  by 
encircling  the  camp  with  a  high  and  dense  abatis  of 
trunks  and  branches.  Here  they  lay  two  days  more, 
the  French  disgusted  and  uneasy,  and  their  savage 
allies  obstinate  and  impracticable. 

Meanwhile,  Major  Peter  Schuyler  was  following 
iheir  trail,  with  a  body  of  armed  settlers  hastily  mus- 
tered. A  troop  of  Oneidas  joined  him;  and  the 
united  parties,  between  five  and  six  hundred  in  all, 
at  length  appeared  before  the  fortified  camp  of  the 
French.  It  was  at  once  evident  that  there  was  to  be 
no  parley.  The  forest  rang  with  war-whoops;  and 
the  English  Indians,  unmanageable  as  those  of  the 


328  THE  SCOURGE  OF  CANADA.  [1693. 

French,  set  at  work  to  intrench  themselves  with 
felled  trees.  The  French  and  their  allies  sallied  to 
dislodge  them.  The  attack  was  fierce,  and  the 
resistance  equally  so.  Both  sides  lost  ground  by 
turns.  A  priest  of  the  mission  of  the  Mountain, 
\iamed  Gay,  was  in  the  thick  of  the  fight;  and  when 
fie  saw  his  neophytes  run,  he  threw  himself  before 
them,  crying,  "What  are  you  afraid  of?  We  are 
fighting  with  infidels,  who  have  nothing  human  but 
the  shape.  Have  you  forgotten  that  the  Holy  Virgin 
is  our  leader  and  our  protector,  and  that  you  are 
subjects  of  the  King  of  France,  whose  name  makes 
all  Europe  tremble  ? "  ^  Three  times  the  French 
renewed  the  attack  in  vain;  then  gave  over  the 
attempt,  and  lay  quiet  behind  their  barricade  of  trees. 
So  also  did  their  opponents.  The  morning  was  dark 
and  stormy,  and  the  driving  snow  that  filled  the  air 
made  the  position  doubly  dreary.  The  English  were 
starving.  Their  slender  stock  of  provisions  had  been 
consumed  or  shared  with  the  Indians,  who  on  their 
part  did  not  want  food,  having  resources  unknown  to 
their  white  friends.  A  group  of  them  squatted  about 
a  fire  invited  Schuyler  to  share  their  broth ;  but  his 
appetite  was  spoiled  when  he  saw  a  human  hand 
ladled  out  of  the  kettle.  His  hosts  were  breakfast- 
ing on  a  dead  Frenchman. 

All  night  the  hostile  bands,  ensconced  behind  their 
sylvan  ramparts,  watched  each  other  in  silence.     In 

I  Journal  de  Jacques  Le  Ber,  extract  in  Faillon,  Vie  de  Mile,  Le 
Ber.      See  Appendix. 


.]  HARDSHIPS.  829 

the  morning,  an  Indian  deserter  told  the  English 
commander  that  the  French  were  packing  their  bag- 
gage. Schuyler  sent  to  reconnoitre,  and  found  them 
gone.  They  had  retreated  unseen  through  the  snow- 
storm. He  ordered  his  men  to  follow ;  but  as  most 
of  them  had  fasted  for  two  days,  they  refused  to 
do  so  till  an  expected  convoy  of  provisions  should 
arrive.  They  waited  till  the  next  morning,  when 
the  convoy  appeared:  five  biscuits  were  served  out 
to  each  man,  and  the  pursuit  began.  By  great 
efforts  they  nearly  overtook  the  fugitives,  who  now 
sent  them  word  that  if  they  made  an  attack,  all  the 
prisoners  should  be  put  to  death.  On  this,  Schuyler^s 
Indians  refused  to  continue  the  chase. 

The  French,  by  this  time,  had  reached  the  Hudson, 
where  to  their  dismay  they  found  the  ice  breaking  up 
and  drifting  down  the  stream.  Happily  for  them,  a 
large  sheet  of  it  had  become  wedged  at  a  turn  of  the 
river,  and  formed  a  temporary  bridge,  by  which  they 
crossed,  and  then  pushed  on  to  Lake  George.  Here 
the  soft  and  melting  ice  would  not  bear  them ;  and 
they  were  forced  to  make  their  way  along  the  shore, 
over  rocks  and  mountains,  through  sodden  snow  and 
matted  thickets.  The  provisions,  of  which  they  had 
made  a  d^pot  on  Lake  Champlain,  were  all  spoiled. 
They  boiled  moccasons  for  food,  and  scraped  away  the 
snow  to  find  hickory  and  beech  nuts.  Several  died 
of  famine,  and  many  more,  unable  to  move,  lay  help- 
less by  the  lake ;  while  a  few  of  the  strongest  toiled 
on  to  Montreal  to  tell  Callieres  of  their  plight.     Men 


330  THE  SCOURGE  OF  CANADA.  [169a. 

and  food  were  sent  them;  and  from  time  to  time, 
as  they  were  able,  they  journeyed  on  again,  strag- 
gling towards  their  homes,  singly  or  in  small  parties, 
feeble,  emaciated,  and  in  many  instances  with  health 
irreparably  broken.  ^ 

"The  expedition, "says  Frontenac,  "was  a  glorious 
success."  However  glorious,  it  was  dearly  bought; 
and  a  few  more  such  victories  would  be  ruin. 

The  governor  presently  achieved  a  success  more 
solid  and  less  costly.  The  wavering  mood  of  the 
northwestern  tribes,  always  oscillating  between  the 
French  and  the  English,  had  caused  him  incessant 
anxiety;  and  he  had  lost  no  time  in  using  the  defeat 
of  Phips  to  confirm  them  in  alliance  with  Canada. 
Courtemanche  was  sent  up  the  Ottawa  to  carry  news 
of  the  French  triumph,  and  stimulate  the  savages  of 
Michilimackinac  to  lift  the  hatchet.  It  was  a  des- 
perate venture ;  for  the  river  was  beset,  as  usual,  by 
the  Iroquois.  With  ten  followers,  the  daring  par- 
tisan ran  the  gantlet  of  a  thousand  dangers,  and 
safely  reached  his  destination;  where  his  gifts  and 
his   harangues,   joined  with  the  tidings  of  victory, 

1  On  this  expedition,  see  Narrative  of  Military  Operations  in 
Canada,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  ix.  550 ;  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe  de 
plus  remarquable  en  Canada,  1692,  1693;  Callieres  au  Ministre,  7 
Septembre,  1693;  La  Potherie,  iii.  169;  Relation  de  1682-1712; 
Faillon,  Vie  de  Mile,  le  Ber,  313 ;  Belmont,  Hist,  du  Canada ;  Beyard 
and  Lodowick,  Journal  of  the  Late  Actions  of  the  French  at  Canada  ; 
Report  of  Major  Peter  Schuyler,  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iv.  16 ;  Golden, 
142. 

The  minister  wrote  to  Callieres,  finding  great  fault  with  the  con- 
duct of  the  mission  Indians.     Ponchartrain  a  Callieres,  8  Mai,  1694. 


1693.]  JOYFUL  TIDINGS.  381 

kindled  great  excitement  among  the  Ottawas  and 
Hurons  The  indispensable  but  most  difficult  task 
remained,  —  that  of  opening  the  Ottawa  for  the 
descent  of  the  great  accumulation  of  beaver-skins, 
which  had  been  gathering  at  Michilimackinac  for 
three  years,  and  for  the  want  of  which  Canada  was 
bankrupt.  More  than  two  hundred  Frenchmen  were 
known  to  be  at  that  remote  post,  or  roaming  in  the 
wilderness  around  it;  and  Frontenac  resolved  on  an 
attempt  to  muster  them  together,  and  employ  their 
united  force  to  protect  the  Indians  and  the  traders  in 
bringing  down  this  mass  of  furs  to  Montreal.  A 
messenger,  strongly  escorted,  was  sent  with  orders 
to  this  effect,  and  succeeded  in  reaching  Michili- 
mackinac, though  there  was  a  battle  on  the  way,  in 
which  the  officer  commanding  the  escort  was  killed. 
Frontenac  anxiously  waited  the  issue,  when  after  a 
long  delay  the  tidings  reached  him  of  complete  suc- 
cess. He  hastened  to  Montreal,  and  found  it  swarm- 
ing with  Indians  and  coureurs  dc  hois.  Two  hundred 
canoes  had  arrived,  filled  with  the  coveted  beaver- 
skins.  "It  is  impossible,"  says  the  chronicle,  "to 
conceive  the  joy  of  the  people,  when  they  beheld 
these  riches.  Canada  had  awaited  them  for  years. 
The  merchants  and  the  farmers  were  dying  of  hunger. 
Credit  was  gone,  and  everybody  was  afraid  that  the 
enemy  would  waylay  and  seize  this  last  resource  of 
the  country.  Therefore  it  was,  that  none  could  find 
words  strong  enough  to  praise  and  bless  him  by  whose 
care  all  this  wealth  had  arrived.     Father  of  the  People^ 


332  THE  SCOURGE  OF  CANADA.  [1693, 

Preserver  of  the  Country^  seemed  terms  too  weak  to 
express  their  gratitude."^ 

While  three  years  of  arrested  sustenance  came 
down  together  from  the  lakes,  a  fleet  sailed  up  the 
St.  Lawrence,  freighted  with  soldiers  and  supplies. 
The  horizon  of  Canada  was  brightening. 

1  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  pass^  de  plus  remarquable  en  Canada, 
1693.    Compare  La  Potherie,  iii.  185. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

1691-1696. 

AN  INTERLUDE. 

ArpsAL  OF  Frontenac:  his  Opponents;  his  Services.  —  Rivalrt 
AND  Strife.  —  Bishop  Saint-Vallier.  —  Society  at  tub 
Chateau.  —  Private  Theatricals.  —  Alarm  of  the  Clergy. 
—  Tartuffe.  —  A  Singular  Bargain.  —  Mareuil  and  the 
Bishop. —  Mareuil  on  Trial. —  Zeal  of  Saint-Vallier. — 
Scandals  at  Montreal.  —  Appeal  to  the  King. — The  Strife 
composed.  —  Libel  against  Frontenac. 

While  the  Canadians  hailed  Frontenac  as  a  father, 
he  found  also  some  recognition  of  his  services  from 
his  masters  at  the  court.  The  King  wrote  him  a 
letter  with  his  own  hand,  to  express  satisfaction  at 
the  defence  of  Quebec,  and  sent  him  a  gift  of  two 
thousand  crowns.  He  greatly  needed  the  money, 
but  prized  the  letter  still  more,  and  wrote  to  his 
relative,  the  minister  Ponchartrain:  "The  gift  you 
procured  for  me,  this  year,  has  helped  me  very  much 
towards  paying  the  great  expenses  which  the  crisis 
of  our  affairs  and  the  excessive  cost  of  living  here 
have  caused  me ;  but  though  I  receive  this  mark  of 
his  Majesty's  goodness  with  the  utmost  respect  and 
gratitude,  I  confess  that  I  feel  far  more  deeply  the 
satisfaction  that  he  has  been  pleased  to  express  with 


334  AN  INTERLUDE.  [1691-93. 

my  services.  The  raising  of  the  siege  of  Quebec  did 
not  deserve  all  the  attention  that  I  hear  he  has  given 
it  in  the  midst  of  so  many  important  events,  and 
therefore  I  must  needs  ascribe  it  to  your  kindness  in 
commending  it  to  his  notice.  This  leads  me  to  hope 
that  whenever  some  office,  or  permanent  employment, 
or  some  mark  of  dignity  or  distinction,  may  offer 
itself,  you  will  put  me  on  the  list  as  well  as  others 
who  have  the  honor  to  be  as  closely  connected  with 
you  as  I  am ;  for  it  would  be  very  hard  to  find  myself 
forgotten  because  I  am  in  a  remote  country,  where  it 
is  more  difficult  and  dangerous  to  serve  the  King 
than  elsewhere.  I  have  consumed  all  my  property. 
Nothing  is  left  but  what  the  King  gives  me ;  and  I 
have  reached  an  age  where,  though  neither  strength 
nor  good-will  fail  me  as  yet,  and  though  the  latter 
will  last  as  long  as  I  live,  I  see  myself  on  the  eve  of 
losing  the  former:  so  that  a  post  a  little  more  secure 
and  tranquil  than  the  government  of  Canada  will 
soon  suit  my  time  of  life ;  and  if  I  can  be  assured  of 
your  support,  I  shall  not  despair  of  getting  such  a 
one.  Please  then  to  permit  my  wife  and  my  friends 
to  refresh  your  memory  now  and  then  on  this  point.  "^ 
Again,  in  the  following  year :  "  I  have  been  encour- 
aged to  believe  that  the  gift  of  two  thousand  crowns, 
which  his  Majesty  made  me  last  year,  would  be  con- 
tinued; but  apparently  you  have  not  been  able  to 
obtain  it,  for  I  think  that  you  know  the  difficulty  I 
have  in  living  here  on  my  salary.     I  hope  that  when 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  20  Octobre,  1691. 


1691-93.]   OPPONENTS  OF  FRONTENAC.      386 

you  find  a  better  opportunity,  you  will  try  to  procure 
me  this  favor.  My  only  trust  is  in  your  support; 
and  I  am  persuaded  that,  having  the  honor  to  be  so 
closely  connected  with  you,  you  would  reproach 
yourself  if  you  saw  me  sink  into  decrepitude  without 
resources  and  without  honors."^  And  still  again  he 
appeals  to  the  minister  for  "some  permanent  and 
honorable  place  attended  with  the  marks  of  distinc- 
tion, which  are  more  grateful  than  all  the  rest  to  a 
heart  shaped  after  the  right  pattern."  ^  In  return 
for  these  sturdy  applications,  he  got  nothing  for  the 
present  but  a  continuance  of  the  King's  gift  of  two 
thousand  crowns. 

Not  every  voice  in  the  colony  sounded  the  gov- 
ernor's praise.  Now,  as  always,  he  had  enemies  in 
State  and  Church.  It  is  true  that  the  quarrels  and 
the  bursts  of  passion  that  marked  his  first  term  of 
government  now  rarely  occupied,  but  this  was  not  so 
much  due  to  a  change  in  Frontenac  himself  as  to  a 
change  in  the  conditions  around  him.  The  war  made 
him  indispensable.  He  had  gained  what  he  wanted, 
—  the  consciousness  of  mastery ;  and  under  its  sooth- 
ing influence  he  was  less  irritable  and  exacting.  He 
lived  with  the  bishop  on  terms  of  mutual  courtesy, 
while  his  relations  with  his  colleague,  the  intendant, 
were  commonly  smooth  enough  on  the  surface;  for 
Champigny,  warned  by  the  court  not  to  offend  him, 
treated  him  with  studied  deference,  and  was  usually 

1  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  16  Septembre,  1692. 
«  Ibid.,  25  Octobre,  1693. 


336  AN  INTERLUDE.  [1691-03. 

treated  in  return  with  urbane  condescension.  Dur- 
ing all  this  time,  the  intendant  was  complaining  of 
him  to  the  minister.  "  He  is  spending  a  great  deal 
of  money ;  but  he  is  master,  and  does  what  he  pleases. 
I  can  only  keep  the  peace  by  yielding  everything. "  ^ 
"He  wants  to  reduce  me  to  a  nobody."  And,  among 
other  similar  charges,  he  says  that  the  governor  re- 
ceives pay  for  garrisons  that  do  not  exist,  and  keeps 
it  for  himself.  "Do  not  tell  that  I  said  so,"  adds 
the  prudent  Champigny,  "  for  it  would  make  great 
trouble  if  he  knew  it."^  Frontenac,  perfectly  aware 
of  these  covert  attacks,  desires  the  minister  not  to 
heed  "  the  falsehoods  and  impostures  uttered  against 
me  by  persons  who  meddle  with  what  does  not  con- 
cern them."^  He  alludes  to  Champigny 's  allies,  the 
Jesuits,  who,  as  he  thought,  had  also  maligned  him. 
"  Since  I  have  been  here,  I  have  spared  no  pains  to 
gain  the  good- will  of  Monsieur  the  intendant;  and 
may  God  grant  that  the  counsels  which  he  is  too 
ready  to  receive  from  certain  persons  who  have  never 
been  friends  of  peace  and  harmony  do  not  sometime 
make  division  between  us.  But  I  close  my  eyes  to 
all  that,  and  shall  still  persevere."*  In  another 
letter  to  Ponchartrain,  he  says :  "  I  write  you  this  in 
private,  because  I  have  been  informed  by  my  wife 
that  charges  have  been  made  to  you  against  my  con- 

1  Champigny  au  Ministre,  12  Octobre,  1691. 

*  Ibid.,  4  Novembre,  1693. 

•  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  15  Septembre,  1602. 
«  Ibid.,  20  Octobre,  1691. 


1691-93.]  SERVICES  OF  FRONTENAC.  337 

duct  since  my  return  to  this  country.  I  promise  you, 
Monseigneur,  that,  whatever  my  accusers  do,  they 
will  not  make  me  change  conduct  towards  them,  and 
that  I  shall  still  treat  them  with  consideration.  I 
merely  ask  your  leave  most  humbly  to  represent, 
that,  having  maintained  this  colony  in  full  prosperity 
during  the  ten  years  when  I  formerly  held  the  gov- 
ernment of  it,  I  nevertheless  fell  a  sacrifice  to  the 
artifice  and  fury  of  those  whose  encroachments,  and 
whose  excessive  and  unauthorized  power,  my  duty 
and  my  passionate  affection  for  the  service  of  the 
King  obliged  me  in  conscience  to  repress.  My  re- 
call, which  made  them  masters  in  the  conduct  of  the 
government,  was  followed  by  all  the  disasters  which 
overwhelmed  this  unhappy  colony.  The  millions 
that  the  King  spent  here,  the  troops  that  he  sent  out, 
and  the  Canadians  that  he  took  into  pay,  all  went 
for  nothing.  Most  of  the  soldiers,  and  no  small 
number  of  brave  Canadians,  perished  in  enterprises 
ill-devised  and  ruinous  to  the  country,  which  I  found 
on  my  arrival  ravaged  with  unheard-of  cruelty  by 
the  Iroquois,  without  resistance,  and  in  sight  of  the 
troops  and  of  the  forts.  The  inhabitants  were  dis- 
couraged, and  unnerved  by  want  of  confidence  in 
their  chiefs;  while  the  friendly  Indians,  seeing  our 
weakness,  were  ready  to  join  our  enemies.  I  was 
fortunate  enough  and  diligent  enough  to  change 
this  deplorable  state  of  things,  and  drive  away  the 
English,  whom  my  predecessors  did  not  have  on  their 
hands,  and  this  too  with  only  half  as  many  troops  as 


338  AN  INTERLUDE.  [1693,  1694. 

they  had.  I  am  far  from  wishing  to  blame  their 
conduct.  1  leave  you  to  judge  it.  But  I  cannot 
have  the  tranquillity  and  freedom  of  mind  which  I 
need  for  the  work  I  have  to  do  here,  without  feeling 
entire  confidence  that  the  cabal  which  is  again  form- 
ing against  me  cannot  produce  impressions  which 
ma}^  prevent  you  from  doing  me  justice.  For  the 
rest,  if  it  is  thought  fit  that  I  should  leave  the  priests 
to  do  as  they  like,  I  shall  be  delivered  from  an  infinity 
of  troubles  and  cares,  in  which  I  can  have  no  other 
interest  than  the  good  of  the  colony,  the  trade  of  the 
kingdom,  and  the  peace  of  the  King's  subjects,  and 
of  which  I  alone  bear  the  burden,  as  well  as  the 
jealousy  of  sundry  persons,  and  the  iniquity  of  the 
ecclesiastics,  who  begin  to  call  impious  those  who 
are  obliged  to  oppose  their  passions  and  their 
interests."^ 

As  Champigny  always  sided  with  the  Jesuits,  his 
relations  with  Frontenac  grew  daily  more  critical. 
Open  rupture  at  length  seemed  imminent,  and  the 
King  interposed  to  keep  the  peace.  "  There  has  been 
discord  between  you  under  a  show  of  harmony,"  he 
wrote  to  the  disputants. ^  Frontenac  was  exhorted  to 
forbearance  and  calmness;  while  the  intendant  was 
told  that  he  allowed  himself  to  be  made  an  instru- 
ment of  others,  and  that  his  charges  against  the  gov- 


*  "  L'iniquit^  des  eccl^siastiques  qui  commencent  "k  trailer  d'impies 
ceux  qui  sont  obliges  de  resister  k  leurs  passions  et  k  leurs  interets." 
^"Frontenac  au  Ministre,  20  Octobre,  1691. 

*  Mimoire  du  Roy  pour  Frontenac  et  Champigny,  1694. 


1693,1694.]     SOCIETY  AT  THE  CHATEAU.  389 

emor  proved  nothing  but  his  own  ill-temper.^  The 
minister  wrote  in  vain.  The  bickerings  that  he 
reproved  were  but  premonitions  of  a  greater  strife. 

Bishop  Saint- Vallier  was  a  rigid,  austere,  and 
contentious  prelate,  who  loved  power  as  much  as 
Frontenac  himself,  and  thought  that,  as  the  deputy 
of  Christ,  it  was  his  duty  to  exercise  it  to  the  utmost. 
The  governor  watched  him  with  a  jealous  eye,  well 
aware  that  though  the  pretensions  of  the  Church  to 
supremacy  over  the  civil  power  had  suffered  a  check, 
Saint- Vallier  would  revive  them  the  moment  he 
thought  he  could  do  so  with  success.  I  have  shown 
elsewhere  the  severity  of  the  ecclesiastical  rule  at 
Quebec,  where  the  zealous  pastors  watched  their  flock 
with  unrelenting  vigilance,  and  associations  of  pious 
women  helped  them  in  the  work.^  This  naturally 
produced  revolt,  and  tended  to  divide  the  town  into 
two  parties,  the  worldly  and  the  devout.  The  love 
of  pleasure  was  not  extinguished,  and  various  influ- 
ences helped  to  keep  it  alive.  Perhaps  none  of  these 
was  so  potent  as  the  presence  in  winter  of  a  consider- 
able number  of  officers  from  France,  whose  piety  was 
often  less  conspicuous  than  their  love  of  enjoyment. 
At  the  Chateau  St.  Louis  a  circle  of  young  men, 
more  or  less  brilliant  and  accomplished,  surrounded 
the  governor,  and  formed  a  centre  of  social  attrac- 
tion.    Frontenac  was  not  without  religion,  and  he 

1  Le  Ministre  a  Frontenac,  8  Mai,  1694 ;  Le  Ministre  a  Champignj/ 
mSme  date. 
*  Old  K^gime,  chap.  xxii. 


340  AN  INTERLUDE.  [1693-94. 

held  it  becoming  a  man  of  his  station  not  to  fail  in 
its  observances ;  but  he  would  not  have  a  Jesuit  con- 
fessor, and  placed  his  conscience  in  the  keeping  of 
the  R^collet  friars,  who  were  not  politically  aggres- 
sive, and  who  had  been  sent  to  Canada  expressly  as 
a  foil  to  the  rival  Order.  They  found  no  favor  in 
the  eyes  of  the  bishop  and  his  adherents,  and  the 
governor  found  none  for  the  support  he  lent  them. 

The  winter  that  followed  the  arrival  of  the  furs 
from  the  upper  lakes  was  a  season  of  gayety  without 
precedent  since  the  war  began.  All  was  harmony  at 
Quebec  till  the  carnival  approached,  when  Frontenac, 
whose  youthful  instincts  survived  his  seventy-four 
years,  introduced  a  startling  novelty  which  proved 
the  signal  of  discord.  One  of  his  military  circle,  the 
sharp-witted  La  Mothe-Cadillac,  thus  relates  this  un- 
toward event  in  a  letter  to  a  friend;  "The  winter 
passed  very  pleasantly,  especially  to  the  officers,  who 
lived  together  like  comrades;  and,  to  contribute  to 
their  honest  enjoyment,  the  count  caused  two  plays 
to  be  acted,  '  Nicomede  '  and  '  Mithridate. '  "  It  was 
an  amateur  performance,  in  which  the  officers  took 
part  along  with  some  of  the  ladies  of  Quebec.  The 
success  was  prodigious,  and  so  was  the  storm  that 
followed.  Half  a  century  before,  the  Jesuits  had 
grieved  over  the  first  ball  in  Canada.  Private  theat- 
ricals were  still  more  baneful.  "The  clergy,'*  con- 
tinues La  Mothe,  "beat  their  alarm-drums,  armed 
cap-a-pie,  and  snatched  their  bows  and  arrows.  The 
Sieur  Glandelet  was  first  to  begin,  and  preached  two 


1694.]  "  TARTUFFE."  341 

sermons,  in  which  he  tried  to  prove  that  nobody  could 
go  to  a  play  without  mortal  sin.  The  bishop  issued 
a  mandate,  and  had  it  read  from  the  pulpits,  in  which 
he  speaks  of  certain  impious,  impure,  and  noxious 
comedies,  insinuating  that  those  which  had  been 
acted  were  such.  The  credulous  and  infatuated 
people,  seduced  by  the  sermons  and  the  mandate, 
began  already  to  regard  the  count  as  a  corrupter  of 
morals  and  a  destroyer  of  religion.  The  numerous 
party  of  the  pretended  devotees  mustered  in  the 
streets  and  public  places,  and  presently  made  their 
way  into  the  houses,  to  confirm  the  weak-minded  in 
their  illusion,  and  tried  to  make  the  stronger  share 
it;  but  as  they  failed  in  this  almost  completely,  they 
resolved  at  last  to  conquer  or  die,  and  persuaded  the 
bishop  to  use  a  strange  device,  which  was  to  publish 
a  mandate  in  the  Church,  whereby  the  Sieur  de 
Mareuil,  a  half -pay  lieutenant,  was  interdicted  the 
use  of  the  sacraments.''^ 

This  story  needs  explanation.  Not  only  had  the 
amateur  actors  at  the  chateau  played  two  pieces 
inoffensive  enough  in  themselves,  but  a  report  had 
been  spread  that  they  meant  next  to  perform  the 
famous  "  Tartuffe  "  of  Moli^re,  —  a  satire  which,  while 
purporting  to  be  levelled  against  falsehood,  lust, 
greed,  and  ambition,  covered  with  a  mask  of  religion, 
was  rightly  thought  by  a  portion  of  the  clergy  to  be 
levelled  against  themselves.  The  friends  of  Fron- 
tenac  say  that  the  report  was  a  hoax.     Be  this  as  it 

I  La  MotheJCadillac  a ,  28  Septembre,  1694. 


842  AN  INTERLUDE.  [1694. 

may,  the  bishop  believed  it.  "This  worthy  prelate," 
continues  the  irreverent  La  Mothe,  "was  afraid  of 
'Tartuffe,'  and  had  got  it  into  his  head  that  the 
count  meant  to  have  it  played,  though  he  had  never 
thought  of  such  a  thing.  Monsieur  de  Saint- Vallier 
sweated  blood  and  water  to  stop  a  torrent  which 
existed  only  in  his  imagination."  It  was  now  that 
he  launched  his  two  mandates,  both  on  the  same  day, 
—  one  denouncing  comedies  in  general  and  "  Tar- 
tuff  e  '*  in  particular,  and  the  other  smiting  Mareuil, 
who,  he  says,  "uses  language  capable  of  making 
Heaven  blush,"  and  whom  he  elsewhere  stigmatizes 
as  "worse  than  a  Protestant."  ^  It  was  Mareuil  who, 
as  reported,  was  to  play  the  part  of  Tartuff e ;  and  on 
him,  therefore,  the  brunt  of  episcopal  indignation 
fell.  He  was  not  a  wholly  exemplary  person.  "  I 
mean,"  says  La  Mothe,  "to  show  you  the  truth  in  all 
its  nakedness.  The  fact  is  that  about  two  years  ago, 
when  the  Sieur  de  Mareuil  first  came  to  Canada,  and 
was  carousing  with  his  friends,  he  sang  some  inde- 
cent song  or  other.  The  count  was  told  of  it,  and 
gave  him  a  severe  reprimand.  This  is  the  charge 
against  him.  After  a  two  years'  silence,  the  pastoral 
zeal  has  wakened,  because  a  play  is  to  be  acted  which 
the  clergy  mean  to  stop  at  any  cost." 

The  bishop  found  another  way  of  stopping  it.  He 
met  Frontenac,  with  the  intendant,  near  the  Jesuit 

*  Mandement  au  Sujet  des  Comedies,  16  Janvier,  1694 ;  Mandement 
au  Sujet  de  certaines  Personnes  qui  tenoient  des  Discours  impiet,  meme 
d(Ue;  Registre  du  Conseil  Souverain. 


1694.]  MAREUIL  AND  THE   BISHOP.  343 

chapel,  accosted  him  on  the  subject  which  filled  his 
thoughts,  and  offered  him  a  hundred  pistoles  if  he 
would  prevent  the  playing  of  "Tartuffe."  Fronte- 
nac  laughed,  and  closed  the  bargain.  Saint- Vallier 
wrote  his  note  on  the  spot;  and  the  governor  took 
it,  apparently  well  pleased  to  have  made  the  bishop 
disburse.  "I  thought,"  writes  the  intendant,  "that 
Monsieur  de  Frontenac  would  have  given  him  back 
the  paper."  He  did  no  such  thing,  but  drew  the 
money  on  the  next  day  and  gave  it  to  the  hospitals.^ 

Mareuil,  deprived  of  the  sacraments,  and  held  up 
to  reprobation,  went  to  see  the  bishop,  who  refused  to 
receive  him ;  and  it  is  said  that  he  was  taken  by  the 
shoulders  and  put  out  of  doors.  He  now  resolved  to 
bring  his  case  before  the  council;  but  the  bishop 
was  informed  of  his  purpose,  and  anticipated  it. 
La  Mothe  says,  "  he  went  before  the  council  on  the 
first  of  February,  and  denounced  the  Sieur  de  Mareuil, 
whom  he  declared  guilty  of  impiet}-  towards  God,  the 
Virgin,  and  the  Saints,  and  made  a  fine  speech  in  the 
absence  of  the  count,  interrupted  by  the  effusions  of 
a  heart  which  seemed  filled  with  a  profound  and 
infinite  charity,  but  which,  as  he  said,  was  pushed 
to  extremity  by  the  rebellion  of  an  indocile  child, 
who  had  neglected  all  his  warnings.  This  was, 
nevertheless,  assumed;  I  will  not  say  entirely  false." 


1  This  incident  is  mentioned  by  La  Mothe-Cadillac ;  by  the 
intendant,  who  reports  it  to  the  minister ;  by  the  minister  Ponchar- 
train,  who  asks  Frontenac  for  an  explanation ;  by  Frontenac,  who 
passes  it  off  as  a  jest ;  and  by  several  other  contemporary  writer^ 


344  AN  INTERLUDE.  [1694. 

The  bishop  did,  in  fact,  make  a  vehement  speech 
against  Mareuil  before  the  council  on  the  day  in 
5[uestion,  —  Mareuil  stoutly  defending  himself,  and 
entering  his  appeal  against  the  episcopal  mandate.^ 
The  battle  was  now  fairly  joined.  Frontenac  stood 
alone  for  the  accused.  The  intendant  tacitly  favored 
his  opponents.  Auteuil,  the  attorney-general,  and 
Villeray,  the  first  councillor,  owed  the  governor  an 
old  grudge ;  and  they  and  their  colleagues  sided  with 
the  bishop,  with  the  outside  support  of  all  the  clergy, 
except  the  R^collets,  who,  as  usual,  ranged  them- 
selves with  their  patron.  At  first,  Frontenac  showed 
great  moderation,  but  grew  vehement,  and  then  vio- 
lent, as  the  dispute  proceeded;  as  did  also  the 
attorney-general,  who  seems  to  have  done  his  best  to 
exasperate  him.  Frontenac  affirmed  that  in  depriv- 
ing Mareuil  and  othei-s  of  the  sacraments,  with  no 
proof  of  guilt  and  no  previous  warning,  and  on 
allegations  which,  even  if  true,  could  not  justify  the 
act,  the  bishop  exceeded  his  powers,  and  trenched  on 
those  of  the  King.  The  point  was  delicate.  The 
attorney-general  avoided  the  issue,  tried  to  raise 
others,  and  revived  the  old  quarrel  about  Frontenac 's 
place  in  the  council,  which  had  been  settled  fourteen 
years  before.  Other  questions  were  brought  up,  and 
angrily  debated.  The  governor  demanded  that  the 
debates,  along  with  the  papers  which  introduced 
them,  should  be  entered  on  the  record,  that  the  King 
might  be  informed  of  everything;  but  the  demand 

1  Registre  du  Conseil  Souverain,  1  et  S  F^vrter,  1694. 


1694.]        SAINT-VALUER  AND   CALLIERES.  346 

was  refused.  The  discords  of  the  council-chamber 
spread  into  the  town.  Quebec  was  divided  against 
itself.  Mareuil  insulted  the  bishop ;  and  some  of  his 
scapegrace  sympathizers  broke  the  prelate's  windows 
at  tiight,  and  smashed  his  chamber-door.^  Mareuil 
was  at  last  ordered  to  prison,  and  the  whole  affair 
was  referred  to  the  King.' 

These  proceedings  consumed  the  spring,  the  sum- 
mer, and  a  part  of  the  autumn.  Meanwhile,  an 
access  of  zeal  appeared  to  seize  the  bishop;  and  he 
launched  interdictions  to  the  right  and  left.  Even 
Champigny  was  startled  when  he  refused  the  sacra- 
ments to  all  but  four  or  five  of  the  military  officers 
for  alleged  tampering  with  the  pay  of  their  soldiers, 
a  matter  wholly  within  the  province  of  the  temporal 
authorities.^  During  a  recess  of  the  council  he  set 
out  on  a  pastoral  tour,  and,  arriving  at  Three  Rivers, 
excommunicated  an  officer  named  Desjprdis  for  a 
reputed  intrigue  with  the  wife  of  another  officer. 
He  next  repaired  to  Sorel,  and,  being  there  on  a 
Sunday,  was  told  that  two  officers  had  neglected  to 
go  to  mass.  He  wrote  to  Frontenac,  complaining 
of  the  offence.  Frontenac  sent  for  the  culprits,  and 
rebuked  them;  but  retracted  his  words  when  they 
proved  by  several  witnesses  that  they  had  been  duly 

1  Champigny  au  Ministre,  27  Octobre,  1694. 

*  Registre  du  Conseil  Souverain;  Requeste  du  Sieur  de  Mareuil, 
Novembre,  1694. 

»  Champigny  au  Ministre,  24  Octobre,  1694.  Trouble  on  this 
matter  had  begun  some  time  before.  Memoire  du  Roy  pour  Fronr 
tenac  et  Champigny,  1694;  L4  Ministre  a  I'lUveque,  8  Mai,  1694. 


846  AN  INTERLUDE.  [1694. 

present  at  the  rite.^     The  bishop  then  went  up  to 
Montreal,  and  discord  went  with  him. 

Except  Frontenac  alone,  Callieres.  the  local  gov- 
ernor, was  the  man  in  all  Canada  to  whom  the  coun- 
try owed  most;  but,  like  his  chief,  he  was  a  friend 
of  the  R^collets,  and  this  did  not  commend  him  to 
the  bishop.  The  friars  were  about  to  receive  two 
novices  into  their  Order,  and  they  invited  the  bishop 
to  officiate  at  the  ceremony.  Callieres  was  also 
present,  kneeling  at  a  prie-dieu^  or  prayer-desk,  near 
the  middle  of  the  church.  Saint- Vallier,  having 
just  said  mass,  was  seating  himself  in  his  arm-chair, 
close  to  the  altar,  when  he  saw  Callieres  at  the  prie- 
dieUy  with  the  position  of  which  he  had  already  found 
fault  as  being  too  honorable  for  a  subordinate  gov- 
ernor. He  now  rose,  approached  the  object  of  his 
disapproval,  and  said,  "Monsieur,  you  are  taking  a 
place  which  belongs  only  to  Monsieur  de  Frontenac." 
Callieres  replied  that  the  place  was  that  which  prop- 
erly belonged  to  him.  The  bishop  rejoined  that  if  he 
did  not  leave  it,  he  himself  would  leave  the  church. 
"You  can  do  as  you  please,"  said  Callieres;  and  the 
prelate  withdrew  abruptly  through  the  sacristy,  refuse 
ing  any  further  part  in  the  ceremony.  ^  When  the 
services  were  over,  he  ordered  the  friars  to  remove 
the  obnoxious  prie-dieu.     They  obeyed ;  but  an  officer 

1  La  Mothe-Cadillac  a ,  28  Septembre,  1694 ;    Champigny  au 

Ministre,  27  Octobre,  1694. 

2  Proc'es-verbal  du  Pere  Hyacinthe  Perrault,  Commissaire  Provincial 
de$  Recollets  {Archives  Nationales)  ;  Memoire  touchant  le  D^mesle  entre 
M.  r^vesgue  de  Quebec  et  le  Chevalier  de  Callieres  (Ibid.), 


1694  J  THE  QUARREL  SPREADS.  347 

of  Calli^res  replaced  it,  and,  unwilling  to  offend  him, 
they  allowed  it  to  remain.  On  this,  the  bishop  laid 
their  church  under  an  interdict;  that  is,  he  closed  it 
against  the  celebration  of  all  the  rites  of  religion.^ 
He  then  issued  a  pastoral  mandate,  in  which  he 
charged  Father  Joseph  Denys,  their  superior,  with 
offences  which  he  "  dared  not  name  for  fear  of  mak- 
ing the  paper  blush.  "^  His  tongue  was  less  bashful 
than  his  pen ;  and  he  gave  out  publicly  that  the  father 
superior  had  acted  as  go-between  in  an  intrigue  of 
his  sister  with  the  Chevalier  de  Callieres.^  It  is  said 
that  the  accusation  was  groundless,  and  the  character 
of  the  woman  wholly  irreproachable.  The  R^collets 
Wibmitted  for  two  months  to  the  bishop's  interdict, 

*  Mandement  ordonnant  de  fermer  VJ^glise  des  R^collets,  13  Mai, 
1694. 

*  "Le  Sup^rieur  du  dit  Couvent  estant  lie  avec  le  Gouveraeur 
de  la  dite  ville  par  des  interests  que  tout  le  monde  scait  et  qu'on 
n'oseroit  exprimer  de  peur  de  f aire  rougir  le  papier."  —  Extrait  du 
Mandement  de  I'^vesque  de  Quebec  {Archives  Nationales).  He  had 
before  charged  Mareuil  with  language  "  capable  de  f aire  rougir  le 
ciel." 

«  "M^  rfevesque  accuse  publiquement  le  Rev.  P^re  Joseph, 
superieur  des  RScollets  de  Montre'al,  d'etre  I'entremetteur  d'une 
galanterie  entre  sa  soeur  et  le  Gouverneur.  Cependant  Mr  I'Evesque 
salt  certainement  que  le  P^re  Joseph  est  I'un  des  meilleurs  et  des 
plus  saints  religieux  de  son  ordre.  Ce  qu'il  allegue  du  pre'tendu 
commerce  entre  le  Gouverneur  et  la  Dame  de  la  Naudiere  {soeur  du 
Pere  Joseph)  est  entierement  faux,  et  il  I'a  public'  avec  scandale, 
sans  preuve  et  contre  tout  apparence,  la  ditte  Dame  ayant  tou- 
jours  eu  une  conduite  irreprochable."  —  M€moire  touchant  le  Demesle, 
etc. 

Champigny  also  says  that  the  bishop  has  brought  this  charge, 
and  that  Calli&res  declares  that  he  has  told  a  falsehood.— Champigny 
au  Minigtre,  27  Octobrt,  1694. 


348  AN  INTERLUDE.  [1604. 

then  refused  to  obey  longer,  and  opened  their  church 
again. 

Quebec,  Three  Rivers,  Sorel,  and  Montreal  had  all 
been  ruffled  by  the  breeze  of  these  dissensions,  afid 
the  farthest  outposts  of  the  wilderness  were  not  too 
remote  to  feel  it.  La  Mothe-Cadillac  had  been  sent 
to  replace  Louvigny  in  the  command  of  Michilimack- 
inac,  where  he  had  scarcely  arrived  when  trouble  fell 
upon  him.  "Poor  Monsieur  de  la  Mothe-Cadillac," 
says  Frontenac,  "would  have  sent  you  a  journal  to 
show  you  the  persecutions  he  has  suffered  at  the  post 
where  I  placed  him,  and  where  he  does  wonders,  hav- 
ing great  influence  over  the  Indians,  who  both  love 
and  fear  him;  but  he  has  had  no  time  to  copy  it. 
Means  have  been  found  to  excite  against  him  three 
or  four  officers  of  the  posts  dependent  on  his,  who 
have  put  upon  him  such  strange  and  unheard-of 
affronts  that  I  was  obliged  to  send  them  to  prison 
when  they  came  down  to  the  colony.  A  certain 
Father  Carheil,  the  Jesuit  who  wrote  me  such  inso- 
lent letters  a  few  years  ago,  has  played  an  amazing 
part  in  this  affair.  I  shall  write  about  it  to  Father 
La  Chaise,  that  he  may  set  it  right.  Some  remedy 
must  be  found ;  for  if  it  continues,  none  of  the  officers 
who  were  sent  to  Michilimackinac,  the  Miamis,  the 
Illinois,  and  other  places,  can  stay  there  on  account 
of  the  persecutions  to  which  they  are  subjected,  and 
the  refusal  of  absolution  as  soon  as  they  fail  to  do 
what  is  wanted  of  them.  Joined  to  all  this  is  a 
shameful  traffic  in  influence  and  money.     Monsieui 


1(J94.J  ORDER  RESTORED.  849 

de  Tonty  could  have  written  to  you  about  it  if  he 
had  not  been  obliged  to  go  off  to  the  Assinneboins, 
to  rid  himself  of  all  these  torments."  ^  In  fact,  there 
was  a  chronic  dispute  at  the  forest  outposts  between 
the  officers  and  the  Jesuits,  concerning  which  matter 
much  might  be  said  on  both  sides. 

The  bishop  sailed  for  France.  "He  has  gone," 
writes  Calli^res,  "after  quarrelling  with  everybody." 
The  various  points  in  dispute  were  set  before  the 
King.  An  avalanche  of  memorials,  letters,  and 
proceS'Verbaux^  descended  upon  the  unfortunate  mon- 
arch, —  some  concerning  Mareuil  and  the  quarrels  in 
the  council,  others  on  the  excommunication  of  Des- 
jordis,  and  others  on  the  troubles  at  Montreal.  They 
were  all  referred  to  the  King's  privy  council.^  An 
adjustment  was  effected ;  order,  if  not  harmony,  was 
restored,  and  the  usual  distribution  of  advice,  exhor- 
tation, reproof,  and  menace  was  made  to  the  parties 
in  the  strife.  Frontenac  was  commended  for  defend- 
ing the  royal  prerogative,  censured  for  violence,  and 
admonished  to  avoid  future  quarrels. ^  Champigny 
was  reproved  for  not  supporting  the  governor,  and 
told  that  "his  Majesty  sees  with  great  pain  that, 
while  he  is  making  extraordinary  efforts  to  sustain 
Canada  at  a  time  so  critical,  all  his  cares  and  all  his 
outlays  are  made  useless  by  your  misunderstanding 

1  Frontenac  d  M.  de  Lagny,  2  Novembre,  1696. 

*  Arrest  qui  ordonne  que  /«  Procidures  faites  entre  le  Sieur  jSvesqu4 
de  Quibec  et  Us  Sieurs  Mareuil,  Desjordis,  etc.,  seront  evoquez  au  Consei 
Prive  de  Sa  Majeste,  3  Juillet,  1696. 

•  Le  Ministre  a  Fronienac,  4  Juin,  1696  j  Jbid,»  8  Juin,  1696. 


350  AN  INTERLUDE.  [1694. 

with  Monsieur  de  Frontenac."^  The  attorney-gen- 
eral was  sharply  reprimanded,  told  that  he  must  mend 
his  ways  or  lose  his  place,  and  ordered  to  make  an 
apology  to  the  governor.  ^  Villeray  was  not  honored 
by  a  letter,  but  the  intendant  was  directed  to  tell  him 
that  his  behavior  had  greatly  displeased  the  King. 
Callieres  was  mildly  advised  not  to  take  part  in  the 
disputes  of  the  bishop  and  the  R^collets.^  Thus  was 
conjured  down  one  of  the  most  bitter  as  well  as  the 
most  needless,  trivial,  and  untimely  of  the  quarrels 
that  enliven  the  annals  of  New  France. 

A  generation  later,  when  its  incidents  had  faded 
from  memory,  a  passionate  and  reckless  partisan, 
Abb^  La  Tour,  published,  and  probably  invented,  a 
story  which  later  writers  have  copied,  till  it  now 
forms  an  accepted  episode  of  Canadian  history. 
According  to  him,  Frontenac,  in  order  to  ridicule 
the  clergy,  formed  an  amateur  company  of  comedians 
expressly  to  play  "  Tartuffe ;  "  and  after  rehearsing 
at  the  chateau  during  three  or  four  months,  they 
acted  the  piece  before  a  large  audience.  "He  was 
not  satisfied  with  having  it  played  at  the  chateau, 
but  wanted  the  actors  and  actresses  and  the  dancers, 
male  and  female,  to  go  in  full  costume,  with  violins, 
to  play  it  in  all  the  religious  communities,  except  the 
Rdcollets.  He  took  them  first  to  the  house  of  the 
Jesuits,  where  the  crowd  entered  with  him;  then  to 

1  Le  Ministre  a  Champigny,  4  Jmn,  1696;  Ibid.,%  Juitif  1696. 

*  Le  Ministre  a  d'Auteuil,  8  Juin,  1695. 

*  Le  Ministre  a  Callieres^  8  Juirif  1695.  , 


1694.]  LIBEL  AGAINST  FRONTENAC.  351 

the  Hospital,  to  the  hall  of  the  paupers,  whither  the 
nuns  were  ordered  to  repair;  then  he  went  to  the 
Ursuline  Convent,  assembled  the  sisterhood,  and  had 
the  piece  played  before  them.  To  crown  the  insult, 
he  wanted  next  to  go  to  the  seminary,  and  repeat  the 
spectacle  there ;  but,  warning  having  been  given,  he 
was  met  on  the  way,  and  begged  to  refrain.  He 
dared  not  persist,  and  withdrew  in  very  ill-humor."  ^ 
Not  one  of  numerous  contemporary  papers,  both 
official  and  private,  and  written  in  great  part  by 
enemies  of  Frontenac,  contains  the  slightest  allusion 
to  any  such  story,  and  many  of  them  are  wholly 
inconsistent  with  it.  It  may  safely  be  set  down  as  a 
fabrication  to  blacken  the  memory  of  the  governor, 
and  exhibit  the  bishop  and  his  adherents  as  victims 
of  persecution.' 

1  La  Tour,  Vie  de  Laval,  liv.  xii. 

2  Had  an  outrage,  like  that  with  which  Frontenac  is  here 
charged,  actually  taken  place,  the  registers  of  the  council,  the  let- 
ters of  the  intendant  and  the  attorney-general,  and  the  records  of 
the  bishopric  of  Quebec  would  not  have  failed  to  show  it.  They 
show  nothing  beyond  a  report  that  "  Tartuffe "  was  to  be  played, 
and  a  payment  of  money  by  the  bishop  in  order  to  prevent  it.  We 
are  left  to  infer  that  it  was  prevented  accordingly.  I  have  the  best 
authority  —  that  of  the  superior  of  the  convent  (1871),  herself  a 
diligent  investigator  into  the  history  of  her  community  —  for 
stating  that  neither  record  nor  tradition  of  the  occurrence  exists 
among  the  Ursulines  of  Quebec ;  and  I  have  been  unable  to  learn 
that  any  such  exists  among  the  nuns  of  the  Hospital  (Hotel-Dieu). 
The  contemporary  Recit  d'une  Religieuse  Ursuline  speaks  of  Frontenac 
with  gratitude,  as  a  friend  and  benefactor,  as  does  also  Mother 
Juchereau,  superior  of  tl<j  Hotel-Dieu. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

1690-1694. 

THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA. 

Stats  of  that  Colony.  —  The  Abenakis.  —  Acadia  and  New 
England.  —  Pirates.  —  Baron  de  Saint-Castin.  —  Pentegoet. 

—  The  English  Frontier. — The  French  and  the  Abenakis. 

—  Plan  of  the  War. —  Capture  of  York. —  Villebon. — 
Grand  War-Party.  —  Attack  of  Wells.  —  Pemaquid  re- 
built.—  John  Nelson.  —  A  Broken  Treaty.  —  Villieu  and 
Thury.  —  Another  War-Party.  —  Massacre  at  Oysteb 
River. 

Amid  domestic  strife,  the  war  with  England  and 
the  Iroquois  still  went  on.  The  contest  for  terri- 
torial mastery  was  fourfold,  —  first,  for  the  control 
of  the  west;  secondly,  for  that  of  Hudson's  Bay; 
thirdly,  for  that  of  Newfoundland;  and,  lastly,  for 
that  of  Acadia.  All  these  vast  and  widely  sundered 
regions  were  included  in  the  government  of  Fronte- 
nac.  Each  division  of  the  war  was  distinct  from  the 
rest,  and  each  had  a  character  of  its  own.  As  the 
contest  for  the  west  was  wholly  with  New  York  and 
her  Iroquois  allies,  so  the  contest  for  Acadia  was 
wholly  with  the  "  Bostonnais, "  or  people  of  New 
England. 


1670-90.]  STATE  OF   ACADIA.  353 

Acadia,  as  the  French  at  this  time  understood  the 
name,  included  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  and 
the  greater  part  of  Maine.  Sometimes  they  placed 
its  western  boundary  at  the  little  river  St.  George, 
and  sometimes  at  the  Kennebec.  Since  the  wars 
of  D'Aunay  and  La  Tour,  this  wilderness  had  been 
a  scene  of  unceasing  strife;  for  the  English  drew 
their  eastern  boundary  at  the  St.  Croix,  and  the 
claims  of  the  rival  nationalities  overlapped  each 
other.  In  the  time  of  Cromwell,  Sedgwick,  a  New 
England  officer,  had  seized  the  whole  country.  The 
peace  of  Breda  restored  it  to  France;  the  Chevalier 
de  Grandfontaine  was  ordered  to  reoccupy  it,  and  the 
King  sent  out  a  few  soldiers,  a  few  settlers,  and  a 
few  women  as  their  wives. ^  Grandfontaine  held  the 
nominal  command  for  a  time,  followed  by  a  succes- 
sion of  military  chiefs,  —  Chambly,  Marson,  and  La 
Vallifere.  Then  Perrot,  whose  malpractices  had  cost 
him  the  government  of  Montreal,  was  made  governor 
of  Acadia ;  and,  as  he  did  not  mend  his  ways,  he  was 
replaced  by  Meneval.^ 

One  might  have  sailed  for  days  along  these  lonely 
coasts,  and  see  no  human  form.  At  Canseau,  or 
Chedabucto,  at  the  eastern  end  of  Nova  Scotia,  there 


1  In  1671  thirty  gar^ons  and  thirty  Jilles  were  sent  by  the  King  to 
Acadia,  at  the  cost  of  6,000  livres.    £tat  de  Defenses,  1671. 

2  Grandfontaine,  1670 ;  Chambly,  1673 ;  Marson,  1678 ;  La  Val- 
liere,  the  same  year,  Marson  having  died ;  Perrot,  1684 ;  Meneval, 
1687.  The  last  three  were  commissioned  as  local  governors,  in 
subordination  to  the  governor-general.  The  others  were  merely 
military  commandantd. 

23 


364  THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1670-90. 

was  a  fishing-station  and  a  fort;  Chibuctou,  now 
Halifax,  was  a  solitude;  at  La  Hgve  there  were  a 
few  fishermen ;  and  thence,  as  you  doubled  the  rocks 
of  Cape  Sable,  the  ancient  haunt  of  La  Tour,  you 
would  have  seen  four  French  settlers,  and  an  un- 
limited number  of  seals  and  sea-fowl.  Ranging  the 
shore  by  St.  Mary's  Bay,  and  entering  the  Strait  of 
Annapolis  Basin,  you  would  have  found  the  fort  of 
Port  Royal,  the  chief  place  of  all  Acadia.  It  stood 
at  the  head  of  the^  basin,  where  De  Monts  had  planted 
his  settlement  nearly  a  century  before.  Around  the 
fort  and  along  the  neighboring  river  were  about 
ninety-five  small  houses ;  and  at  the  head  of  the  Bay 
of  Fundy  were  two  other  settlements,  Beaubassin 
and  Les  Mines,  comparatively  stable  and  populous. 
At  the  mouth  of  the  St.  John  were  the  abandoned 
ruins  of  La  Tour's  old  fort;  and  on  a  spot  less 
exposed,  at  some  distance  up  the  river,  stood  the 
small  wooden  fort  of  Jemsec,  with  a  few  intervening 
clearings.  Still  sailing  westward,  passing  Mount 
Desert,  another  scene  of  ancient  settlement,  and 
entering  Penobscot  Bay,  you  would  have  found  the 
Baron  de  Saint-Castin  with  his  Indian  harem  at 
Pentegoet,  where  the  town  of  Castine  now  stands. 
All  Acadia  was  comprised  in  these  various  stations, 
more  or  less  permanent,  together  with  one  or  two 
small  posts  on  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  the 
huts  of  an  errant  population  of  fishermen  and  fur* 
traders.  In  the  time  of  Denonville  the  colonists 
numbered  less  than  a  thousand  souls.     The  King, 


1670-90.]  THE  ABENAKIS.  355 

busied  with  nursing  Canada,  had  neglected  its  less 
important  dependency.  ^ 

Rude  as  it  was,  Acadia  had  charms,  and  it  has 
them  still,  —  in  its  wilderness  of  woods  and  its  wilder- 
ness of  waves;  the  rocky  ramparts  that  guard  its 
coasts;  its  deep,  still  bays  and  foaming  headlands;, 
the  towering  cliffs  of  the  Grand  Menan ;  the  innum- 
erable islands  that  cluster  about  Penobscot  Bay ;  and 
the  romantic  highlands  of  Mount  Desert,  down  whose 
gorges  the  sea-fog  rolls  like  an  invading  host,  while 
the  spires  of  fir-trees  pierce  the  surging  vapors  like 
lances  in  the  smoke  of  battle.  Leaving  Pentegoet, 
and  sailing  westward  all  day  along  a  solitude  of 
woods,  one  might  reach  the  English  outpost  of 
Pemaquid,  and  thence,  still  sailing  on,  might  anchor 
at  evening  off  Casco  Bay,  and  see  in  the  glowing 
west  the  distant  peaks  of  the  White  Mountains,  spec- 
tral and  dim  amid  the  weird  and  fiery  sunset. 

Inland  Acadia  was  all  forest,  and  vast  tracts  of  it 
are  a  primeval  forest  still.  Here  roamed  the  Abenakis 
with  their  kindred  tribec,  a  race  wild  as  their  haunts. 
In  habits  they  were  all  much  alike.  Their  villages 
were  on  the  waters  of  the  Androscoggin,  the  Saco, 
the  Kennebec,  the  Penobscot,  the  St.  Croix,  and  the 
St.  John;  here  in  spring  they  planted  their  corn, 
beans,  and  pumpkins,  and  then,  leaving  them  to 
grow,  went  down  to  the  sea  in  their  birch-canoes. 

1  The  census  taken  by  order  of  Meules  in  1686  gives  a  total  of 
886  persons,  of  whom  592  were  at  Port  Royal,  and  127  at  Beaubassin 
By  the  census  of  1693,  the  number  bad  reached  1,009. 


356  '   THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1670-90. 

They  returned  towards  the  end  of  summer,  gathered 
fcheir  harvest,  and  went  again  to  the  sea,  where  they 
lived  in  abundance  on  ducks,  geese,  and  other  water- 
fowl. During  winter,  most  of  the  women,  children, 
and  old  men  remained  in  the  villages;  while  the 
hunters  ranged  the  forest  in  chase  of  moose,  deer, 
caribou,  beavers,  and  bears. 

Their  summer  stay  at  the  seashore  was  perhaps  the 
most  pleasant,  and  certainly  the  most  picturesque, 
part  of  their  lives.  Bivouacked  by  some  of  the  innum- 
erable coves  and  inlets  that  indent  these  coasts,  they 
passed  their  days  in  that  alternation  of  indolence  and 
action  which  is  a  second  nature  to  the  Indian.  Here 
in  wet  weather,  while  the  torpid  water  was  dimpled 
with  rain-drops,  and  the  upturned  canoes  lay  idle 
on  the  pebbles,  the  listless  warrior  smoked  his  pipe 
under  his  roof  of  bark,  or  launched  his  slender  craft 
at  the  dawn  of  the  July  day,  when  shores  and  islands 
were  painted  in  shadow  against  the  rosy  east,  and 
forests,  dusky  and  cool,  lay  waiting  for  the  sunrise. 
The  women  gathered  raspberries  or  whortleberries 
in  the  open  places  of  the  woods,  or  clams  and  oysters 
in  the  sands  and  shallows,  adding  tlieir  shells  as  a 
contribution  to  the  shell-heaps  that  have  accumulated 
for  ages  along  these  shores.  The  men  fished,  speared 
porpoises,  or  shot  seals.  A  priest  was  often  in  the 
camp  watching  over  his  flock,  and  saying  mass  every 
day  in  a  chapel  of  bark.  There  was  no  lack  of  altar 
candles,  made  by  mixing  tallow  with  the  wax  of  the 
bayberry,   which  abounded  among  the  rocky  hills, 


1670-90.]  THE  ABENAKIS.  357 

and  was  gathered  in  profusion  by  the  squaws  and 
children. 

The  Abenaki  missions  were  a  complete  success. 
Not  only  those  of  the  tribe  who  had  been  induced 
to  migrate  to  the  mission  villages  of  Canada,  but  also 
those  who  remained  in  their  native  woods,  were,  or 
were  soon  to  become,  converts  to  Romanism,  and 
therefore  allies  of  France.  Though  less  ferocious 
than  the  Iroquois,  they  were  brave,  after  the  Indian 
manner,  and  they  rarely  or  never  practised  canni- 
balism. 

Some  of  the  French  were  as  lawless  as  their  Indian 
friends.  Nothing  is  more  strange  than  the  incongru- 
ous mixture  of  the  forms  of  feudalism  with  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  Acadian  woods.  Vast  grants  of  land 
were  made  to  various  persons,  some  of  whom  are 
charged  with  using  them  for  no  other  purpose  than 
roaming  over  their  domains  with  Indian  women. 
The  only  settled  agricultural  population  was  at  Port 
Royal,  Beaubassin,  and  the  Basin  of  Minas.  The 
rest  were  fishermen,  fur-traders,  or  rovers  of  the 
forest.  Repeated  orders  came  from  the  court  to  open 
a  communication  with  Quebec,  and  even  to  establish 
a  line  of  military  posts  through  the  intervening  wil- 
derness ;  but  the  distance  and  the  natural  difficulties 
of  the  country  proved  insurmountable  obstacles. 

If  communication  with  Quebec  was  difficult,  that 
with  Boston  was  easy;  and  thus  Acadia  became 
largely  dependent  on  its  New  England  neighbors, 
who,  says  an  Acadian  officer,  "are  mostly  fugitives 


358  THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1670-90. 

from  England,  guilty  of  the  death  of  their  late  King, 
and  accused  of  conspiracy  against  their  present  sov- 
ereign; others  of  them  are  pirates,  and  they  are  all 
united  in  a  sort  of  independent  republic."^  Their 
relations  with  the  Acadians  were  of  a  mixed  sort. 
They  continually  encroached  on  Acadian  fishing- 
grounds,  and  we  hear  at  one  time  of  a  hundred  of 
their  vessels  thus  engaged.  This  was  not  all.  The 
interlopers  often  landed  and  traded  with  the  Indians 
along  the  coast.  Meneval,  the  governor,  complained 
bitterly  of  their  arrogance.  Sometimes,  it  is  said, 
they  pretended  to  be  foreign  pirates,  and  plundered 
7essels  and  settlements,  while  the  aggrieved  parties 
«ould  get  no  redress  at  Boston.  They  also  carried 
on  a  regular  trade  at  Port  Royal  and  Les  Mines  or 
Grand  Pr^,  where  many  of  the  inhabitants  regarded 
them  with  a  degree  of  favor  which  gave  great 
umbrage  to  the  military  authorities,  who,  neverthe- 
less, are  themselves  accused  of  seeking  their  own 
profit  by  dealings  with  the  heretics ;  and  even  French 
priests,  including  Petit,  the  cur^  of  Port  Royal,  are 
charged  with  carrying  on  this  illicit  trade  in  their 
own  behalf,  and  in  that  of  the  seminary  of  Quebec. 
The  settlers  caught  from  the  "  Bostonnais "  what 
their  governor  stigmatizes  as  English  and  parliamen- 
tary ideas,  the  chief  effect  of  which  was  to  make 
them  restive  under  his  rule.  The  Church,  moreover, 
was  less  successful  in  excluding  heresy  from  Acadia 
than  from  Canada.     A  number  of  Huguenots  estab- 

1  M^moire  du  Sieur  Bergier,  1686. 


1670-90.]  PTEATES.  859 

lished  themselves  at  Port  Royal,  and  formed  sym- 
pathetic relations  with  the  Boston  Puritans.  The 
bishop  at  Quebec  was  much  alarmed.  "This  is 
dangerous,'*  he  writes.  "I  pray  your  Majesty  to 
put  an  end  to  these  disorders."^ 

A  sort  of  chronic  warfare  of  aggression  and  reprisal, 
closely  akin  to  piracy,  was  carried  on  at  intervals  in 
Acadian  waters  by  French  private  armed  vessels  on 
one  hand,  and  New  England  private  armed  vessels 
on  the  other.  Genuine  pirates  also  frequently 
appeared.  They  were  of  various  nationality,  though 
usually  buccaneers  from  the  West  Indies.  They 
preyed  on  New  England  trading  and  fishing  craft, 
and  sometimes  attacked  French  settlements.  One 
of  their  most  notorious  exploits  was  the  capture  of 
two  French  vessels  and  a  French  fort  at  Chedabucto 
by  a  pirate,  manned  in  part,  it  is  said,  from  Massa- 
chusetts. ^  A  similar  proceeding  of  earlier  date  was 
the  act  of  Dutchmen  from  St.  Domingo.  They  made 
a  descent  on  the  French  fort  of  Pentegoet,  on  Penob- 
scot Bay.  Chambly,  then  commanding  for  the  King 
in  Acadia,  was  in  the  place.  They  assaulted  his 
works,  wounded  him,  took  him  prisoner,  and  carried 

1  L'J^veque  au  Roy,  10  Novembre,  1683.  For  the  preceding  pages, 
the  authorities  are  chiefly  the  correspondence  of  Grandfontaine, 
Marson,  La  Valliere,  Meneval,  Bergier,  Goutins,  Perrot,  Talon, 
Frontenac,  and  other  officials.  A  large  collection  of  Acadian  docu- 
ments, from  the  archives  of  Paris,  is  in  my  possession.  I  have  also 
examined  the  Acadian  collections  made  for  the  government  of 
Canada  and  for  that  of  Massachusetts. 

a  Meneval, -iWmoire,  1688;  Denonville,  ATi^'moirc,  18  Octobre,16S8\ 
Proces-verbal  du  Pillcu, ;  de  Chedabucto  ;  Relation  de  la  BouUaye,  1688. 


860  THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1670-90. 

him  to  Boston,  where  they  held  him  at  ransom.  His 
young  ensign  escaped  into  the  woods,  and  carried  the 
news  to  Canada;  but  many  months  elapsed  before 
Chambly  was  released.^ 

This  young  ensign  was  Jean  Viur*,ent  de  TAbadie, 
Baron  de  Saint-Castin,  a  native  of  B^arn,  on  the 
slopes  of  the  Pyrenees,  the  same  rough,  strong  soil 
that  gave  to  France  her  Henri  IV.  When  fifteen 
years  of  age  he  came  to  Canada  with  the  regiment 
of  Carignan-Sali^res,  ensign  in  the  company  of 
Chambly;  and  when  the  regiment  was  disbanded, 
he  followed  his  natural  bent,  and  betook  himself  to 
the  Acadian  woods.  At  this  time  there  was  a  square 
bastioned  fort  at  Pentegoet,  mounted  with  twelve 
small  cannon ;  but  after  the  Dutch  attack  it  fell  into 
decay.  2  Saint-Castin,  meanwhile,  roamed  the  woods 
with  the  Indians,  lived  like  them,  formed  connec- 
tions more  or  less  permanent  with  their  women, 
became  himself  a  chief,  and  gained  such  ascendency 

1  Frontenac  au  Mtnistre,  14  Novembre,  1674 ;  Frontenac  a  Leverett, 
gouverneur  de  Baston,  24  Septembre,  1674 ;  Frontenac  to  the  Governor 
and  Council  of  Massachusetts,  25  Mai/,  1675  (see  3  Mass.  Hist.  Coll., 
i.  64) ;  Colbert  a  Frontenac,  15  Mai,  1675.  Frontenac  supposed  the 
assailants  to  be  buccaneers.  They  had,  however,  a  commission 
from  William  of  Orange.  Hutchinson  says  that  the  Dutch  again 
took  Pentegoet  in  1676,  but  were  driven  off  by  ships  from  Boston, 
as  the  English  claimed  the  place  for  themselves. 

*  On  its  condition  in  1670,  see  Estat  du  Fort  et  Place  de  Pentegoet 
fait  en  I'annee  1670,  lorsque  les  Anglois  I'ont  rendu.  In  1671  fourteen 
soldiers  and  eight  laborers  were  settled  near  the  fort.  ( Talon  au 
Ministre,  2  Novembre,  1671.)  In  the  next  year.  Talon  recommends 
an  envoi  de  Jilles  for  the  beneiit  of  Pentegoet.  (Memoire  sur  le 
Canada,  1672.)  As  late  as  1698,  we  find  Acadian  officials  advising 
the  reconstruction  of  the  fort 


1670-90.]  BARON  DE   SAINT-CASTIN.  361 

over  his  red  associates  that,  according  to  La  Hontan, 
they  looked  upon  him  as  their  tutelary  god.  He  was 
bold,  hardy,  adroit,  tenacious;  and,  in  spite  of  his 
erratic  habits,  had  such  capacity  for  business,  that, 
if  we  may  believe  the  same  somewhat  doubtful 
authority,  he  made  a  fortune  of  three  or  four  hun- 
dred thousand  crowns.  His  gains  came  chiefly 
through  his  neighbors  of  New  England,  whom  he 
hated,  but  to  whom  he  sold  his  beaver-skins  at  an 
ample  profit.  His  trading-house  was  at  Pentegoet, 
now  called  Castine,  in  or  near  the  old  fort,  —  a 
perilous  spot,  which  he  occupied  or  abandoned  by 
turns,  according  to  the  needs  of  the  time.  Being  a 
devout  Catholic,  he  wished  to  add  a  resident  priest 
to  his  establishment  for  the  conversion  of  his  Indian 
friends;  but,  observes  Father  Petit  of  Port  Royal, 
who  knew  him  well,  "  he  himself  has  need  of  spiritual 
aid  to  sustain  him  in  the  paths  of  virtue.'*^  He 
usually  made  two  visits  a  year  to  Port  Royal,  where 
he  gave  liberal  gifts  to  the  Church  of  which  he  was 
the  chief  patron,  attended  mass  with  exemplary  devo- 
tion, and  then,  shriven  of  his  sins,  returned  to  his 
squaws  at  Pentegoet.  Perrot,  the  governor,  maligned 
him,  —  the  motive,  as  Saint-Castin  says,  being  jeal- 
ousy of  his  success  in  trade,  for  Perrot  himself  traded 
largely  with  the  English  and  the  Indians.  This, 
indeed,  seems  to  have  been  his  chief  occupation ;  and 
as  Saint-Castin  was  his  principal  rival,  they  were 
never  on  good  terms.     Saint-Castin   complained   to 

1  Petit  in  Saint-Vallier,  Estat  de  I'^glise,  39  (1&56). 


362  THE  WAR  IN   ACADIA.  [1670-90. 

Denonville.  "Monsieur  Petit,"  he  writes,  "will  tell 
you  everything.  I  will  only  say  that  he  [Perrot] 
kept  me  under  arrest  from  the  twenty-first  of  April 
to  the  ninth  of  June,  on  pretence  of  a  little  weak- 
ness I  had  for  some  women,  and  even  told  me  that 
he  had  your  orders  to  do  it.  But  that  is  not  what 
troubles  him ;  and  as  I  do  not  believe  there  is  another 
man  under  heaven  who  will  do  meaner  things  through 
love  of  gain,  even  to  selling  brandy  by  the  pint  and 
half-pint  before  strangers  in  his  own  house,  because 
he  does  not  trust  a  single  one  of  his  servants,  —  I 
see  plainly  what  is  the  matter  with  him.  He  wants 
to  be  the  only  merchant  in  Acadia."^ 

Perrot  was  recalled  this  very  year;  and  his  suc- 
cessor, Meneval,  received  instructions  in  regard  to 
Saint-Castin,  which  show  that  the  King  or  his  min- 
ister had  a  clear  idea  both  of  the  baron's  merits  and  of 
his  failings.  The  new  governor  was  ordered  to  require 
him  to  abandon  "  his  vagabond  life  among  the  Indians," 
cease  all  trade  with  the  English,  and  establish  a  per- 
manent settlement.  Meneval  was  further  directed  to 
assure  him  that  if  he  conformed  to  the  royal  will,  and 
led  a  life  "more  becoming  a  gentleman,"  he  might 
expect  to  receive  proofs  of  his  Majesty's  approval. ^ 

In  the  next  year  Meneval  reported  that  he  had 
represented  to  Saint-Castin  the  necessity  of  reform, 
and  that  in  consequence  he  had  abandoned  his  trade 
with  the  English,  given  up  his  squaws,  married,  and 

1  Saint-Castin  a  Denonville^  2  Juillet,  1687. 

*  Instruction  du  Roy  au  Sieur  de  Meneval,  5  Avril,  1687. 


1670-90]  PENTEGOET.  368 

promised  to  try  to  make  a  solid  settlement.^  True, 
he  had  reformed  before,  and  might  need  to  reform 
again;  but  his  faults  were  not  of  the  baser  sort:  he 
held  his  honor  high,  and  was  free-handed  as  he  was 
lx)ld.  His  wife  was  what  the  early  chroniclers  would 
call  an  Indian  princess ;  for  she  was  the  daughter  of 
Madockawando,  chief  of  the  Penobscots. 

So  critical  was  the  position  of  his  post  at  Pente- 
goet  that  a  strong  fort  and  a  sufficient  garrison 
could  alone  hope  to  maintain  it  against  the  pirates 
and  the  "Bostonnais."  Its  vicissitudes  had  been 
many.  Standing  on  ground  claimed  by  the  English, 
within  territory  which  had  been  granted  to  the  Duke 
of  York,  and  which  on  his  accession  to  the  throne 
became  a  part  of  the  royal  domain,  it  was  never  safe 
from  attack.  In  1686  it  was  plundered  by  an  agent 
of  Dongan.  In  1687  it  was  plundered  again ;  and  in 
the  next  year  Andros,  then  royal  governor,  anchored 
before  it  in  his  frigate,  the  "Rose,"  landed  with  his 
attendants,  and  stripped  the  building  of  all  it  con- 
tained, except  a  small  altar  with  pictures  and  orna- 
ments, which  they  found  in  the  principal  room. 
Saint-Castin  escaped  to  the  woods;  and  Andros  sent 
him  word  by  an  Indian  that  his  property  would  be 
carried  to  Pemaquid,  and  that  he  could  have  it 
again  by  becoming  a  British  subject.  He  refused 
the  offer.  2 

1  Memoire  du  Sieur  de  Mentval  sur  PAcadie,  10  Septembre,  1688. 

2  MSmoire  pr€sent€  au  Roy  d'Angleterre,  1687;  Saint-Castin  h 
Denonville,  7  JuiUet,  1687;  Hutchinson  Collection,  662,  663;  Andros 
Tracts,  i.  118. 


864  THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1670-9a 

The  rival  English  post  of  Pemaquid  was  destroyed, 
as  we  have  seen,  by  the  Abenakis  in  1689;  and  in 
the  following  year  they  and  their  French  allies  had 
made  such  havoc  among  the  border  settlements  that 
nothing  was  left  east  of  the  Piscataqua  except 
the  villages  of  Wells,  York,  and  Kittery.  But  a 
change  had  taken  place  in  the  temper  of  the  sav- 
ages, mainly  due  to  the  easy  conquest  of  Port  Royal 
by  Phips,  and  to  an  expedition  of  the  noted  par- 
tisan Church  by  which  they  had  suffered  consider- 
able losses.  Fear  of  the  English  on  one  hand, 
and  the  attraction  of  their  trade  on  the  other,  dis- 
posed many  of  them  to  peace.  Six  chiefs  signed  a 
truce  with  the  commissioners  of  Massachusetts,  and 
promised  to  meet  them  in  council  to  bury  the  hatchet 
forever. 

The  French  were  filled  with  alarm.  Peace  be- 
tween the  Abenakis  and  the  "  Bostonnais  "  would  be 
disastrous  both  to  Acadia  and  to  Canada,  because 
these  tribes  held  the  passes  through  the  northern 
wilderness,  and,  so  long  as  they  were  in  the  interest 
of  France,  covered  the  settlements  on  the  St.  Law- 
rence from  attack.  Moreover,  the  government  relied 
on  them  to  fight  its  battles.  Therefore,  no  pains 
were  spared  to  break  off  their  incipient  treaty  with 
the  English,  and  spur  them  again  to  war.  Villebon, 
a  Canadian  of  good  birth,  one  of  the  brothers  of 
Portneuf,  was  sent  by  the  King  to  govern  Acadia. 
Presents  for  the  Abenakis  were  given  him  in  abun- 
dance; and  he  was  ordered  to  assure  them  of  sup- 


ie90-92.]  FRENCH   AND  ABENAKIS.  865 

port,  so  long  as  they  fought  for  France.^  He  and 
his  officers  were  told  to  join  their  war-parties ;  while 
the  Canadians,  who  followed  him  to  Acadia,  were 
required  to  leave  all  other  employments  and  wage 
incessant  war  against  the  English  borders.  "You 
yourself,"  says  the  minister,  "will  herein  set  them 
so  good  an  example  that  they  will  be  animated  by 
no  other  desire  than  that  of  making  profit  out  of  the 
enemy.  There  is  nothing  which  I  more  strongly 
urge  upon  you  than  to  put  forth  all  your  ability  and 
prudence  to  prevent  the  Abenakis  from  occupying 
themselves  in  anything  but  war,  and  by  good  man- 
agement of  the  supplies  which  you  have  received  for 
their  use  to  enable  them  to  live  by  it  more  to  their 
advantage  than  by  hunting."^ 

Armed  with  these  instructions,  Villebon  repaired 
to  his  post,  where  he  was  joined  by  a  body  of 
Canadians  under  Portneuf.  His  first  step  was  to 
reoccupy  Port  Royal ;  and  as  there  was  nobody  there 

*  MSmoire  pour  servir  d' Instruction  au  Sieur  de  Villebon,  1691. 

*  "Comme  vostre  principal  objet  doit  estre  de  faire  la  guerre 
sans  reiache  aux  Anglois,  11  faut  que  vostre  plus  particuli^re 
application  soit  de  detourner  de  tout  autre  employ  les  Fran9oi8  qui 
sont  avec  vous,  en  leur  donnant  de  vostre  part  un  si  bon  exemple 
en  cela  qu'ila  ne  soient  animez  que  du  desir  de  chercher  k  faire  du 
proffit  sur  les  ennemis.  Je  n'ay  aussy  rien  k  vous  recoramander 
plus  fortement  que  de  mettre  en  usage  tout  ce  que  vous  pouvez 
avoir  de  capacite  et  de  prudence  afin  que  les  Canibas  {Abenakis)  ne 
s'employent  qu'k  la  guerre,  et  que  par  I'economie  de  ce  que  voui 
avez  k  leur  fournir  ils  y  puissent  trouver  leur  subsistance  et  plui 
d'avantage  qu'k  la  chasse."  —  Le  Ministre  a  Villebon,  Avril,  1692. 
Two  years  before,  the  King  had  ordered  that  the  Abenakis  should 
be  made  to  attack  the  English  settlements. 


866  THE  WAR  m  ACADIA.  [1690-92. 

to  oppose  him,  he  easily  succeeded.  The  settlers 
renounced  allegiance  to  Massachusetts  and  King 
William,  and  swore  fidelity  to  their  natural  sover- 
eign.^ The  capital  of  Acadia  dropped  back  quietly 
into  the  lap  of  France;  but  as  the  " Bostonnais '* 
might  recapture  it  at  any  time,  Villebon  crossed  to 
the  St.  John,  and  built  a  fort  high  up  the  stream  at 
Naxouat,  opposite  the  present  city  of  Fredericton. 
Here  no  "  Bostonnais  "  could  reach  him,  and  he  could 
muster  war-parties  at  his  leisure. 

One  thing  was  indispensable.  A  blow  must  be 
struck  that  would  encourage  and  excite  the  Abenakis. 
Some  of  them  had  had  no  part  in  the  truce,  and  were 
still  so  keen  for  English  blood  that  a  deputation  of 
their  chiefs  told  Frontenac  at  Quebec  that  they  would 
fight,  even  if  they  must  head  their  arrows  with  the 
bones  of  beasts. ^  They  were  under  no  such  neces- 
sity. Guns,  powder,  and  lead  were  given  them  in 
abundance ;  and  Thury,  the  priest  on  the  Penobscot, 
urged  them  to  strike  the  English.  A  hundred  and 
fifty  of  his  converts  took  the  war-path,  and  were 
joined  by  a  band  from  the  Kennebec.  It  was  Jan- 
uary; and  they  made  their  way  on  snow-shoes  along 
the  frozen  streams,  and  through  the  deathly  solitudes 
of  the  winter  forest,  till,  after  marching  a  month, 
they  neared  their  destination,  the  frontier  settlement 
of  York.     In  the  afternoon  of  the  fourth  of  February 

*  Proces-verbal  de  la  Prise  de  Possession  du  Port  Royal,  27  Sep- 
tembre,  1691. 

'-^  Paroles  de$  Sauvages  de  la  Mission  de  Pentegoet. 


1692.J  CAPTURE  OF  YORK.  867 

they  encamped  at  the  foot  of  a  high  hill,  evidently 
Mount  Agamenticus,  from  the  top  of  which  the 
English  village  lay  in  sight.  It  was  a  collection  of 
scattered  houses  along  the  banks  of  the  river  Agamen- 
ticus and  the  shore  of  the  adjacent  sea.  Five  or 
more  of  them  were  built  for  defence,  though  owned 
and  occupied  by  families  like  the  other  houses.  Near 
the  sea  stood  the  unprotected  house  of  the  chief  man 
of  the  place,  Dummer,  the  minister.  York  appears 
to  have  contained  from  three  to  four  hundred  per- 
sons of  all  ages,  for  the  most  part  rude  and  ignorant 
borderers. 

The  warriors  lay  shivering  all  night  in  the  forest, 
not  daring  to  make  fires.  In  the  morning  a  heavy 
fall  of  snow  began.  They  moved  forward,  and  soon 
heard  the  sound  of  an  axe.  It  was  an  English  boy 
chopping  wood.  They  caught  him,  extorted  such 
information  as  they  needed,  then  tomahawked  him, 
and  moved  on  till,  hidden  by  the  forest  and  the 
thick  snow,  they  reached  the  outskirts  of  the  village. 
Here  they  divided  into  two  parties,  and  each  took 
its  station.  A  gun  was  fired  as  a  signal,  upon  which 
they  all  yelled  the  war-whoop,  and  dashed  upon 
their  prey.  One  party  mastered  the  nearest  fortified 
house,  which  had  scarcely  a  defender  but  women. 
The  rest  burst  into  the  unprotected  houses,  killing 
or  capturing  the  astonished  inmates.  The  minister 
was  at  liis  door,  in  the  act  of  mounting  his  horse  to 
visit  some  distant  parishioners,  when  a  bullet  struck 
him  dead.     He  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College, 


368  THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1692. 

a  man  advanced  in  life,  of  some  learning,  and  greatly 
respected.  The  French  accounts  say  that  about  a 
hundred  persons,  including  women  and  children,  were 
killed,  and  about  eighty  captured.  Those  who  could, 
ran  for  the  fortified  houses  of  Preble,  Harmon,  Alcock, 
and  Norton,  which  were  soon  filled  with  the  refugees. 
The  Indians  did  not  attack  them,  but  kept  well  out 
of  gun-shot,  and  busied  themselves  in  pillaging,  kill- 
ing horses  and  cattle,  and  burning  the  unprotected 
houses.  They  then  divided  themselves  into  small 
bands,  and  destroyed  all  the  outlying  farms  for  four 
or  five  miles  around. 

The  wish  of  King  Louis  was  fulfilled.  A  good 
profit  had  been  made  out  of  the  enemy.  The  victors 
withdrew  into  the  forest  with  their  plunder  and  their 
prisoners,  among  whom  were  several  old  women  and 
a  number  of  children  from  three  to  seven  years  old. 
These,  with  a  forbearance  which  does  them  credit, 
they  permitted  to  return  uninjured  to  the  nearest 
fortified  house,  in  requital,  it  is  said,  for  the  lives  of 
a  number  of  Indian  children  spared  by  the  English 
in  a  recent  attack  on  the  Androscoggin.  The  wife 
of  the  minister  was  allowed  to  go  with  them ;  but  her 
son  remained  a  prisoner,  and  the  agonized  mother 
went  back  to  the  Indian  camp  to  beg  for  his  release. 
They  again  permitted  her  to  return;  but  when  she^ 
came  a  second  time,  they  told  her  that  as  she  wanted 
to  be  a  prisoner,  she  should  have  her  wish.  She  was 
carried  with  the  rest  to  their  village,  where  she  soon 
died  of  exhaustion  and  distress.     One  of  the  war- 


1692.]        VILLEBON  AND  THE  ABENAKIS.  869 

riors  arrayed  himself  in  the  gown  of  the  slain  min- 
ister, and  preached  a  mock  sermon  to  the  captive 
parishioners.^ 

Leaving  York  in  ashes,  the  victors  began  their 
march  homeward ;  while  a  body  of  men  from  Ports- 
mouth followed  on  their  trail,  but  soon  lost  it,  and 
failed  to  overtake  them.  There  was  a  season  of 
feasting  and  scalp-dancing  at  the  Abenaki  towns; 
and  then,  as  spring  opened,  a  hundred  of  the  warriors 
set  out  to  visit  Villebon,  tell  him  of  their  triumph, 
and  receive  the  promised  gifts  from  their  great  father 
the  King.  Villebon  and  his  brothers,  Portneuf, 
Neuvillette,  and  Destles,  with  their  Canadian  fol- 
lowers, had  spent  the  winter  chiefly  on  the  St.  John, 
finishing  their  fort  at  Naxouat,  and  preparing  for 
future  operations.  The  Abenaki  visitors  arrived 
towards  the  end  of  April,  and  were  received  with 
all  possible  distinction.  There  were  speeches,  gifts, 
and  feasting;  for  they  had  done   much,  and  were 

1  The  best  French  account  of  the  capture  of  York  is  that  of 
Champigny  in  a  letter  to  the  minister,  5  October,  1692,  His  in- 
formation came  from  an  Abenaki  chief,  who  was  present.  The 
journal  of  Villebon  contains  an  exaggerated  account  of  the  affair, 
also  derived  from  Indians.  Compare  the  English  accounts  in 
Mather,  Williamson,  and  Niles.  These  writers  make  the  number  of 
slain  and  captives  much  less  than  that  given  by  the  French.  In  the 
contemporary  journal  of  Rev.  John  Pike,  it  is  placed  at  48  killed 
and  73  taken. 

Two  fortified  houses  of  this  period  are  still  (1875)  standing  at 
York.  They  are  substantial  buildings  of  squared  timber  with  the 
upper  story  projecting  over  the  lower,  so  as  to  allow  a  vertical  fire 
on  the  heads  of  assailants.  In  one  of  them  some  of  the  loopholei 
for  musketry  are  still  left  open.  They  may  or  may  not  hare  been 
originally  enclosed  by  palisades. 


370  THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1692 

expected  to  do  more.  Portneuf  sang  a  war-song 
in  their  language ;  then  he  opened  a  barrel  of  wine : 
the  guests  emptied  it  in  less  than  fifteen  minutes, 
sang,  whooped,  danced,  and  promised  to  repair  to 
the  rendezvous  at  Saint-Castin's  station  of  Pentegoet.^ 
A  grand  war-party  was  afoot ;  and  a  new  and  wither- 
ing blow  was  to  be  struck  against  the  English  border. 
The  guests  set  out  for  Pentegoet,  followed  by  Port- 
neuf, Desiles,  La  Broquerie,  several  other  officers, 
and  twenty  Canadians.  A  few  days  after,  a  large 
band  of  Micmacs  arrived;  then  came  the  Malicite 
warriors  from  their  village  of  Medoctec ;  and  at  last 
Father  Baudoin  appeared,  leading  another  band  of 
Micmacs  from  his  mission  of  Beaubassin.  Speeches, 
feasts,  and  gifts  were  made  to  them  all ;  and  they  all 
followed  the  rest  to  the  appointed  rendezvous. 

At  the  beginning  of  June,  the  site  of  the  town  of 
Castine  was  covered  with  wigwams  and  the  beach 
lined  with  canoes.  Malicit^s  and  Micmacs,  Abenakis 
from  the  Penobscot  and  Abenakis  from  the  Kennebec, 
were  here,  some  four  hundred  warriors  in  all.^  Here, 
too,  were  Portneuf  and  his  Canadians,  the  Baron  de 
Saint-Castin  and  his  Indian  father-in-law,  Madock- 
awando,  with  Moxus,  Egeremet,  and  other  noted 
chiefs,  the  terror  of  the  English  borders.  They 
crossed  Penobscot  Bay,  and  marched  upon  the  fron- 
tier village  of  Wells. 

Wells,  like  York,  was  a  small  settlement  of  scat- 

J  Villebon,  Journal  de  ce  qui  s'est  pass€  a  VAcadie^  1691, 1692. 
*  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  15  Septembre,  1692. 


i692.J  ATTACK  ON  WELLS.  871 

tered  houses  along  the  seashore.  The  year  before, 
Moxus  had  vainly  attacked  it  with  two  hundred  war- 
riors. All  the  neighboring  country  had  been  laid 
waste  by  a  murderous  war  of  detail,  the  lonely  farm- 
houses pillaged  and  burned,  and  the  survivors  driven 
back  for  refuge  to  the  older  settlements.^  Wells  had 
been  crowded  with  these  refugees;  but  famine  and 
misery  had  driven  most  of  them  beyond  the  Piscataqua, 
and  the  place  was  now  occupied  by  a  remnant  of  its 
own  destitute  inhabitants,  who,  warned  by  the  fate 
of  York,  had  taken  refuge  in  five  fortified  houses. 
The  largest  of  these,  belonging  to  Joseph  Storer,  was 
surrounded  by  a  palisade,  and  occupied  by  fifteen 
armed  men,  under  Captain  Convers,  an  officer  of 
militia.  On  the  ninth  of  June  two  sloops  and  a  sail- 
boat ran  up  the  neighboring  creek,  bringing  supplies 
and  fourteen  more  men.  The  succor  came  in  the 
nick  of  time.  The  sloops  had  scarcely  anchored, 
when  a  number  of  cattle  were  seen  running  frightened 
and  wounded  from  the  woods.  It  was  plain  that  an 
enemy  was  lurking  there.  All  the  families  of  the 
place  now  gathered  within  the  palisades  of  Storer's 
house,  thus  increasing  his  force  to  about  thirty  men; 
and  a  close  watch  was  kept  throughout  the  night. 

In  the  morning,  no  room  was  left  for  doubt.  One 
John  Diamond,  on  his  way  from  the  house  to  the 
sloops,  was  seized  by  Indians  and  dragged  off  by  the 

^  The  ravages  committed  by  the  Abenakis  in  the  preceding  year 
among  the  scattered  farms  of  Maine  and  New  Hampshire  are  said 
by  Frontenac  to  hare  been  "impossible  to  describe/'  Another 
French  writer  says  that  they  burned  more  than  200  houses. 


372  THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1602. 

hair.  Then  the  whole  body  of  savages  appeared 
swarming  over  the  fields,  so  confident  of  success  that 
they  neglected  their  usual  tactics  of  surprise.  A 
French  officer,  who,  as  an  old  English  account  says, 
was  "habited  like  a  gentleman,"  made  them  an 
harangue ;  they  answered  with  a  burst  of  yells,  and 
then  attacked  the  house,  firing,  screeching,  and  call- 
ing on  Convers  and  his  men  to  surrender.  Others 
gave  their  attention  to  the  two  sloops,  which  lay 
together  in  the  narrow  creek,  stranded  by  the  ebbing 
tide.  They  fired  at  them  for  a  while  from  behind  a 
pile  of  planks  on  the  shore,  and  threw  many  fire- 
arrows  without  success,  the  men  on  board  fighting 
with  such  cool  and  dexterous  obstinacy  that  thejf 
held  them  all  at  bay,  and  lost  but  one  of  their  own 
number.  Next,  the  Canadians  made  a  huge  shield 
of  planks,  which  they  fastened  vertically  to  the  back 
of  a  cart.  La  Broquerie  with  twenty-six  men,  French 
and  Indians,  got  behind  it,  and  shoved  the  cart 
towards  the  stranded  sloops.  It  was  within  fifty  feet 
of  them,  when  a  wheel  sunk  in  the  mud,  and  the 
machine  stuck  fast.  La  Broquerie  tried  to  lift  the 
wheel,  and  was  shot  dead.  The  tide  began  to  rise. 
A  Canadian  tried  to  escape,  and  was  also  shot.  The 
rest  then  broke  away  together,  some  of  them,  as  they 
ran,  dropping  under  the  bullets  of  the  sailors. 

The  whole  force  now  gathered  for  a  final  attack  on 
the  garrison  house.  Their  appearance  was  so  fright- 
ful, and  their  clamor  so  appalling,  that  one  of  the 
English  muttered  something  about  surrender.     Con- 


16&2.1  FRENCH  REPULSE.  378 

vers  returned,  "  If  you  say  that  again,  you  are  a  dead 
man  "  Had  the  allies  made  a  bold  assault,  he  and 
his  followers  must  have  been  overpowered ;  but  this 
mode  of  attack  was  contrary  to  Indian  maxims. 
They  merely  leaped,  yelled,  fired,  and  called  on  the 
English  to  yield.  They  were  answered  with  derision. 
The  women  in  the  house  took  part  in  the  defence, 
passed  ammunition  to  the  men,  and  sometimes  fired 
themselves  on  the  enemy.  The  Indians  at  length 
became  discouraged,  and  offered  Convers  favorable 
terms.  He  answered,  "  I  want  nothing  but  men  to 
fight  with.'*  An  Abenaki  who  spoke  English  cried 
out:  "If  you  are  so  bold,  why  do  you  stay  in  a  garri- 
son house  like  a  squaw?  Come  out  and  fight  like  a 
man !  "  Convers  retorted,  "  Do  you  think  1  am  fool 
enough  to  come  out  with  thirty  men  to  fight  five 
hundred?"  Another  Indian  shouted,  "Damn  you, 
we  *11  cut  you  small  as  tobacco  before  morning." 
Convers  returned  a  contemptuous  defiance. 

After  a  while,  they  ceased  firing,  and  dispersed 
about  the  neighborhood,  butchering  cattle  and  burn- 
ing the  church  and  a  few  empty  houses.  As  the  tide 
began  to  ebb,  they  sent  a  fire-raft  in  full  blaze  down 
the  creek  to  destroy  the  sloops ;  but  it  stranded,  and 
the  attempt  failed.  They  now  wreaked  their  fury 
on  the  prisoner  Diamond,  whom  they  tortured  to 
death,  after  which  they  all  disappeared.  A  few 
resolute  men  had  foiled  one  of  the  most  formidable 
bands  that  ever  took  the  war-path  in  Acadia. ^ 

1  Villebon,  Journal  de  ce  qui  s'est  passff  a  VAcadie,  1691,  1692; 
Mather,  Magnolia,  ii.  613 ;  Hutchinson,  Hist.  Mass.,  ii.  07  ;  William 


874  THE  WAR  IN   ACADIA. 

The  warriors  dispersed  to  their  respective  haunts; 
and  when  a  band  of  them  reached  the  St.  John, 
Villebon  coolly  declares  that  he  gave  them  a  prisoner 
to  bum.  They  put  him  to  death  with  all  their  inge- 
nuity of  torture.  The  act,  on  the  part  of  the  gover- 
nor, was  more  atrocious,  as  it  had  no  motive  of 
reprisal,  and  as  the  burning  of  prisoners  was  not 
the  common  practice  of  these  tribes.^ 

The  warlike  ardor  of  the  Abenakis  cooled  after 
the  failure  at  Wells,  and  events  that  soon  followed 
:aearly  extinguished  it.  Phips  had  just  received  his 
preposterous  appointment  to  the  government  of  Mas- 
sachusetts. To  the  disgust  of  its  inhabitants,  the 
stubborn  colony  was  no  longer  a  republic.     The  new 

son,  History  of  Maine,  i.  631 ;  Bourne,  History  of  Wells,  213 ;  Niles, 
Indian  and  French  Wars,  229.  Williamson,  like  Sylvanus  Davis, 
calls  Portneuf  Burneffe  or  Burniffe.  He,  and  other  English  writers, 
call  La  Broquerie  Labocree.  The  French  could  not  recover  his 
body,  on  which,  according  to  Niles  and  others,  was  found  a  pouch 
"stuffed  full  of  relics,  pardons,  and  indulgences."  The  prisoner 
Diamond  told  the  captors  that  there  were  thirty  men  in  the  sloops. 
They  believed  him.  and  were  cautious  accordingly.  There  were,  in 
fact,  but  fourteen.  Most  of  the  fighting  was  on  the  tenth.  On  the 
evening  of  that  day  Convers  received  a  reinforcement  of  six  men. 
They  were  a  scouting  party,  whom  he  had  sent  a  few  days  before  in 
the  direction  of  Salmon  River.  Returning,  they  were  attacked, 
when  near  the  garrison  house,  by  a  party  of  Portneuf's  Indians. 
The  sergeant  in  command  instantly  shouted,  "Captain  Convers, 
send  your  men  round  the  hill,  and  we  shall  catch  these  dogs." 
Thinking  that  Convers  had  made  a  sortie,  the  Indians  ran  off,  and 
the  scouts  joined  the  garrison  without  loss. 

^  "Le  18™*  (Aoik)  un  sauvage  anglois  fut  pris  au  has  de  la 
ririfere  de  St.  Jean.  Je  le  donnai  a  nos  sauvages  pour  estre  brul^, 
ce  qu'ils  firent  le  lendemain.  On  ne  peut  rien  ad j outer  aux  tour> 
mens  qu'ils  luy  firent  soufErir."  — Villebon,  Journal,  1691, 1692. 


1692.]  JOHN  NELSON.  875 

governor,  unfit  as  he  was  for  his  office,  understood 
the  needs  of  the  eastern  frontier,  where  he  had  spent 
his  youth ;  and  he  brought  a  royal  order  to  rebuild 
the  ruined  fort  at  Pemaquid.  The  King  gave  the 
order,  but  neither  men,  money,  nor  munitions  to 
execute  it;  and  Massachusetts  bore  all  the  burden. 
Phips  went  to  Pemaquid,  laid  out  the  work,  and  left 
a  hundred  men  to  finish  it.  A  strong  fort  of  stone 
was  built,  the  abandoned  cannon  of  Casco  mounted 
on  its  walls,  and  sixty  men  placed  in  garrison. 

The  keen  military  eye  of  Frontenac  saw  the  danger 
involved  in  the  re-establishment  of  Pemaquid.  Lying 
far  in  advance  of  the  other  English  stations,  it  barred 
the  passage  of  war-parties  along  the  coast,  and  was  a 
standing  menace  to  the  Abenakis.  It  was  resolved 
to  capture  it.  Two  ships  of  war,  lately  arrived  at 
Quebec,  the  "  Poll "  and  the  "  Envieux,''  were  ordered 
to  sail  for  Acadia  with  above  four  hundred  men,  take 
on  board  two  or  three  hundred  Indians  at  Pentegoet, 
reduce  Pemaquid,  and  attack  Wells,  Portsmouth, 
and  the  Isles  of  Shoals;  after  which,  they  were  to 
scour  the  Acadian  seas  of  "  Bostonnais  "  fishermen. 

At  this  time  a  gentleman  of  Boston,  John  Nelson, 
captured  by  Villebon  the  year  before,  was  a  prisoner 
at  Quebec.  Nelson  was  nephew  and  heir  of  Sir 
Thomas  Temple,  in  whose  right  he  claimed  the  pro- 
prietorship of  Acadia,  under  an  old  grant  of  Oliver 
Cromwell.  He  was  familiar  both  with  that  country 
and  with  Canada,  which  he  had  visited  several  times 
before  the  war.     As  he  was  a  man  of  birth  and  breed- 


876  THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1693. 

ing,  and  a  declared  enemy  of  Phips,  and  as  he  had 
befriended  French  prisoners  and  shown  especial  kind- 
ness to  Meneval,  the  captive  governor  of  Acadia,  he 
was  treated  with  distinction  by  Frontenac,  who, 
though  he  knew  him  to  be  a  determined  enemy  of  the 
French,  lodged  him  at  the  chateau,  and  entertained 
him  at  his  own  table.  ^  Madockawando,  the  father- 
in-law  of  Saint-Castin,  made  a  visit  to  Frontenac; 
and  Nelson,  who  spoke  both  French  and  Indian, 
contrived  to  gain  from  him  and  from  other  sources  a 
partial  knowledge  of  the  intended  expedition.  He 
was  not  in  favor  at  Boston;  for,  though  one  of  the 
foremost  in  the  overthrow  of  Andros,  his  creed  and 
his  character  savored  more  of  the  Cavalier  than  of 
the  Puritan.  This  did  not  prevent  him  from  risking 
his  life  for  the  colony.  He  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
authorities  of  Massachusetts,  and  then  bribed  two 
soldiers  to  desert  and  carry  it  to  them.  The  deserters 
were  hotly  pursued,  but  reached  their  destination, 
and  delivered  their  letter.  The  two  ships  sailed  from 
Quebec;  but  when,  after  a  long  delay  at  Mount 
Desert,  they  took  on  board  the  Indian  allies  and 
sailed  onward  to  Pemaquid,  they  found  an  armed 
ship  from  Boston  anchored  in  the  harbor.  Why  they 
did  not  attack  it  is  a  mystery.  The  defences  of 
Pemaquid  were  still  unfinished,  the  French  force  was 
far  superior  to  the  English,  and  Iberville,  who  com- 
manded it,  was  a  leader  of  unquestionable  enterprise 
and  daring.     Nevertheless,  the  French  did  nothing, 

1  Champigny  au  Ministre,  4  Novernbre,  1693. 


1693.1  ENGLISH  PLOT.  377 

and  soon  after  bore  away  for  France.  Frontenac  was 
indignant,  and  severely  blamed  Iberville,  whose  sister 
was  on  board  his  ship,  and  was  possibly  the  occasion 
of  his  inaction.^ 

Thus  far  successful,  the  authorities  of  Boston  under- 
took an  enterprise  little  to  their  credit.  They  em- 
ployed the  two  deserters,  joined  with  two  Acadian 
prisoners,  to  kidnap  Saint-Castin,  whom,  next  to  the 
priest  Thury,  they  regarded  as  their  most  insidious 
enemy.  The  Acadians  revealed  the  plot,  and  the 
two  soldiers  were  shot  at  Mount  Desert.  Nelson  was 
sent  to  France,  imprisoned  two  years  in  a  dungeon  of 
the  Chateau  d'Angouleme,  and  then  placed  in  the 
Bastile.  Ten  years  passed  before  he  was  allowed  to 
return  to  his  family  at  Boston.* 

^  Frontenac  an  Ministre,  25  Octobre,  1693. 

*  Lagny,  M€moire  sur  I'Acadie,  1692 ;  Memoire  sur  FEnlhvement  de 
Saint-Castin ;  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  26  Octobre,  1693;  Relation  de  ce 
qui  s'est  pass€  de  plus  remarquable,  1690,  1691  (capture  of  NeUon) ; 
Frontenac  au  Ministre,  16  Septembre,  1692 ;  Champigny  au  Ministre, 
16  Octobre,  1692.  Champigny  here  speaks  of  Nelson  as  the  most 
audacious  of  the  English,  and  the  most  determined  on  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  French.  Nelson's  letter  to  the  authorities  of  Boston  is 
printed  in  Hutchinson,  i.  338.  It  does  not  warn  them  of  an  attempt 
against  Pemaquid,  of  the  rebuilding  of  which  he  seems  not  to  hare 
heard,  but  only  of  a  design  against  the  seaboard  towns.  (Compare 
N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  ix.  556.)  In  the  same  collection  is  a  Memorial  on 
the  Northern  Colonies,  by  Nelson,  a  paper  showing  much  good  sense 
and  penetration.  After  an  imprisonment  of  four  and  a  half  years, 
he  was  allowed  to  go  to  England  on  parole,  —  a  friend  in  France 
giving  security  of  15,000  livres  for  his  return,  in  case  of  his  failure 
to  procure  from  the  King  an  order  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  terms 
of  the  capitulation  of  Port  Royal.  (Le  Ministre  a  Began,  13  Janvier, 
1694.)  He  did  not  succeed,  and  the  King  forbade  him  to  return. 
It  is  characteristic  of  him  that  he  preferred  to  disobey  the  royai 


878  THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1693. 

The  French  failure  at  Pemaquid  completed  the 
discontent  of  the  Abenakis;  and  despondency  and 
terror  seized  them  when,  in  the  spring  of  1693,  Con- 
vers,  the  defender  of  Wells,  ranged  the  frontier  with 
a  strong  party  of  militia,  and  built  another  stone  fort 
at  the  falls  of  the  Saco.  In  July  they  opened  a  con- 
ference at  Pemaquid ;  and  in  August  thirteen  of  their 
chiefs,  representing,  or  pretending  to  represent,  all 
the  tribes  from  the  Merrimac  to  the  St.  Croix,  came 
again  to  the  same  place  to  conclude  a  final  treaty 
of  peace  with  the  commissioners  of  Massachusetts. 
They  renounced  the  French  alliance,  buried  the 
batchet,  declared  themselves  British  subjects,  promised 
to  give  up  all  prisoners,  and  left  five  of  their  chief 
men  as  hostages.^  The  frontier  breathed  again. 
Security  and  hope  returned  to  secluded  dwellings 
buried  in  a  treacherous  forest,  where  life  had  been  a 
nightmare  of  horror  and  fear;  and  the  settler  could 
go  to  his  work  without  dreading  to  find  at  evening 
his  cabin  burned  and  his  wife  and  children  mur- 
dered. He  was  fatally  deceived,  for  the  danger  was 
not  past. 

It  is  true  that  some  of  the  Abenakis  were  sincere 
in  their  pledges  of  peace.  A  party  among  them, 
headed  by  Madockawando,  were  dissatisfied  with  the 

order,  and  thus  incur  the  high  displeasure  of  his  sovereign,  rather 
than  break  his  parole  and  involve  his  friend  in  loss.  La  Hontan 
calls  him  a  "  fort  galant  homme."  There  is  a  portrait  of  him  at 
Boston,  where  his  descendants  are  represented  by  the  prominent 
families  of  Winthrop,  Derby,  and  Borland. 

*  For  the  treaty  in  full,  Mather,  Magnolia,  ii.  626. 


1694.]  VILLIEU.  379 

French,  anxious  to  recover  their  captive  countrymen, 
and  eager  to  reopen  trade  with  the  English.  But 
there  was  an  opposing  party,  led  by  the  chief  Taxous, 
who  still  breathed  war;  while  between  the  two  was 
an  unstable  mob  of  warriors,  guided  by  the  impulse 
of  the  hour.^  The  French  spared  no  efforts  to  break 
off  the  peace.  The  two  missionaries.  Bigot  on  the 
Kennebec  and  Thury  on  the  Penobscot,  labored  with 
unwearied  energy  to  urge  the  savages  to  war.  The 
governor,  Villebon,  flattered  them,  feasted  them, 
adopted  Taxous  as  his  brother,  and,  to  honor  the 
occasion,  gave  him  his  own  best  coat.  Twenty-five 
hundred  pounds  of  gunpowder,  six  thousand  pounds 
of  lead,  and  a  multitude  of  other  presents  were  given 
this  year  to  the  Indians  of  Acadia.  ^  Two  of  their 
chiefs  had  been  sent  to  Versailles.  They  now  re- 
turned, in  gay  attire,  their  necks  hung  with  medals, 
and  their  minds  filled  with  admiration,  wonder,  and 
bewilderment. 

The  special  duty  of  commanding  Indians  had  fallen 
to  the  lot  of  an  officer  named  Villieu,  who  had  been 
ordered  by  the  court  to  raise  a  war-party  and  attack 
the  English.  He  had  lately  been  sent  to  replace 
Portneuf,  who  had  been  charged  with  debauchery 
and  peculation.  Villebon,  angry  at  his  brother's 
removal,  was  on  ill  terms  with  his  successor;  and 

1  The  state  of  feeling  among  the  Abenakis  is  shown  in  a  letter 
of  Thury  to  Frontenac,  11  September,  1694,  and  in  the  journal  o* 
Villebon  for  1693. 

9  Estat  de  Munitions,  etc.,  pour  les  Sauvages  de  I'Acadie,  1693 


880  THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1694. 

though  he  declares  that  he  did  his  best  to  aid  in  rais- 
ing the  war-party,  Villieu  says,  on  the  contrary,  that 
he  was  worse  than  indifferent.  The  new  lieutenant 
spent  the  winter  at  Naxouat,  and  on  the  first  of  May 
went  up  in  a  canoe  to  the  Malicite  village  of  Medoctec, 
assembled  the  chiefs,  and  invited  them  to  war.  They 
accepted  the  invitation  with  alacrity.  Villieu  next 
made  his  way  through  the  wilderness  to  the  Indian 
towns  of  the  Penobscot.  On  the  ninth  he  reached 
the  mouth  of  the  Mattawamkeag,  where  he  found  the 
chief  Taxous,  paddled  with  him  down  the  Penobscot, 
and  at  midnight  on  the  tenth  landed  at  a  large  Indian 
village,  at  or  near  the  place  now  called  Passadumkeag. 
Here  he  found  a  powerful  ally  in  the  Jesuit  Vincent 
Bigot,  who  had  come  from  the  Kennebec,  with  three 
Abenakis,  to  urge  their  brethren  of  the  Penobscot  to 
break  off  the  peace.  The  chief  envoy  denounced  the 
treaty  of  Pemaquid  as  a  snare ;  and  Villieu  exhorted 
the  assembled  warriors  to  follow  him  to  the  English 
border,  where  honor  and  profit  awaited  them.  But 
first  he  invited  them  to  go  back  with  him  to  Naxouat 
to  receive  their  presents  of  arms,  ammunition,  and 
everything  else  that  they  needed. 

They  set  out  with  alacrity.  Villieu  went  with 
them,  and  they  all  arrived  within  a  week.  They 
were  feasted  and  gifted  to  their  hearts'  content;  and 
then  the  indefatigable  officer  led  them  back  by  the 
same  long  and  weary  routes  which  he  had  passed  and 
repassed  before,  —  rocky  and  shallow  streams,  chains 
of  wilderness  lakes,  threads  of  water  writhing  through 


1694.J  THE  ABENAKIS  HESITATE.  381 

swamps  where  the  canoes  could  scarcely  glide  among 
the  water-weeds  and  alders.  Villieu  was  the  only 
white  man.  The  governor,  as  he  says,  would  give 
him  but  two  soldiers,  and  these  had  run  off.  Early 
in  June  the  whole  flotilla  paddled  down  the  Penobscot 
to  Pentegoet.  Here  the  Indians  divided  their  presents, 
which  they  found  somewhat  less  ample  than  they  had 
imagined. 

In  the  midst  of  their  discontent,  Madockawando 
came  from  Pemaquid  with  news  that  the  governor  of 
Massachusetts  was  about  to  deliver  up  the  Indian 
prisoners  in  his  hands,  as  stipulated  by  the  treaty. 
This  completely  changed  the  temper  of  the  warriors. 
Madockawando  declared  loudly  for  peace,  and  Villieu 
saw  all  his  hopes  wrecked.  He  tried  to  persuade  his 
disaffected  allies  that  the  English  only  meant  to  lure 
them  to  destruction,  and  the  missionary  Thury  sup- 
ported him  with  his  utmost  eloquence.  The  Indians 
would  not  be  convinced;  and  their  trust  in  English 
good  faith  was  confirmed  when  they  heard  that  a 
minister  had  just  come  to  Pemaquid  to  teach  their 
children  to  read  and  write.  The  news  grew  worse 
and  worse.  Villieu  was  secretly  informed  that  Phips 
had  been  off  the  coast  in  a  frigate,  invited  Madocka- 
wando and  other  chiefs  on  board,  and  feasted  them 
in  his  cabin,  after  which  they  had  all  thrown  their 
hatchets  into  the  sea,  in  token  of  everlasting  peace. 
Villieu  now  despaired  of  his  enterprise,  and  prepared 
to  return  to  the  St.  John ;  when  Thury,  wise  as  the 
serpent,  set  himself  to  work  on  the  jealousy  of  Taxous. 


382  THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1694 

took  him  aside,  and  persuaded  him  that  his  rival, 
Madockawando,  had  put  a  slight  upon  him  in  pre- 
suming to  make  peace  without  his  consent.  "The 
effect  was  marvellous,"  says  Villieu.  Taxous,  exas- 
perated, declared  that  he  would  have  nothing  to  do 
with  Madockawando 's  treaty.  The  fickle  multitude 
caught  the  contagion,  and  asked  for  nothing  but 
English  scalps;  but,  before  setting  out,  they  must 
needs  go  back  to  Passadumkeag  to  finish  their 
preparations. 

Villieu  again  went  with  them,  and  on  the  way 
his  enterprise  and  he  nearly  perished  together.  His 
canoe  overset  in  a  rapid  at  some  distance  above  the 
site  of  Bangor;  he  was  swept  down  the  current,  his 
head  was  dashed  against  a  rock,  and  his  body  bruised 
from  head  to  foot.  For  five  days  he  lay  helpless  with 
fever.  He  had  no  sooner  recovered  than  he  gave  the 
Indians  a  war-feast,  at  which  they  all  sang  the  war- 
song,  except  Madockawando  and  some  thirty  of  his 
clansmen,  whom  the  others  made  the  butt  of  their 
taunts  and  ridicule.  The  chief  began  to  waver.  The 
officer  and  the  missionary  beset  him  with  presents 
and  persuasion,  till  at  last  he  promised  to  join  the 
rest. 

It  was  the  end  of  June  when  Villieu  and  Thury, 
with  one  Frenchman  and  a  hundred  and  five  Indians, 
began  their  long  canoe-voyage  to  the  English  border. 
The  savages  were  directed  to  give  no  quarter,  and 
told  that  the  prisoners  already  in  their  hands  would 
insure  the  safety  of  their  hostages  in  the  hands  of  the 


1694.]  ATTACK  AT  OYSTER  RIVER.  383 

English.^  More  warriors  were  to  join  them  from 
Bigot's  mission  on  the  Kennebec.  On  the  ninth  of 
July  they  neared  Pemaquid;  but  it  was  no  part  of 
their  plan  to  attack  a  garrisoned  post.  The  main 
body  passed  on  at  a  safe  distance;  while  Villieu 
approached  the  fort,  dressed  and  painted  like  an 
Indian,  and  accompanied  by  two  or  three  genuine 
savages,  carrying  a  packet  of  furs  as  if  on  a  peace- 
ful errand  of  trade.  Such  visits  from  Indians  had 
been  common  since  the  treaty;  and  while  his  com- 
panions bartered  their  beaver-skins  with  the  unsus- 
pecting soldiers,  he  strolled  about  the  neighborhood 
and  made  a  plan  of  the  works.  The  party  was  soon 
after  joined  by  Bigot's  Indians,  and  the  united  force 
now  amounted  to  two  hundred  and  thirty.  They 
held  a  council  to  determine  where  they  should  make 
their  attack,  but  opinions  differed.  Some  were  for 
the  places  west  of  Boston,  and  others  for  those  nearer 
at  hand.  Necessity  decided  them.  Their  provisions 
were  gone,  and  Villieu  says  that  he  himself  was 
dying  of  hunger.  They  therefore  resolved  to  strike 
at  the  nearest  settlement,  that  of  Oyster  River,  now 
Durham,  about  twelve  miles  from  Portsmouth.  They 
cautiously  moved  forward,  and  sent  scouts  in  advance, 
who  reported  that  the  inhabitants  kept  no  watch.  In 
fact,  a  messenger  from  Phips  had  assured  them  that 
the  war  was  over,  and  that  they  could  follow  their 
usual  vocations  without  fear. 

*  Villebon,  M€moire,  Juillet,  1694;  Instruction  du  Sk  de  Vilkbon  an 
Sk  de  Villieu. 


384  THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1694. 

Villieu  and  his  band  waited  till  night,  and  then 
made  their  approach.  There  was  a  small  village,  —  a 
church ;  a  mill ;  twelve  fortified  houses,  occupied  in 
most  cases  only  by  families;  and  many  unprotected 
farmhouses,  extending  several  miles  along  the  stream. 
The  Indians  separated  into  bands,  and,  stationing 
themselves  for  a  simultaneous  attack  at  numerous 
points,  lay  patiently  waiting  till  towards  day.  The 
moon  was  still  bright  when  the  first  shot  gave  the 
signal,  and  the  slaughter  began.  The  two  palisaded 
houses  of  Adams  and  Drew,  without  garrisons,  were 
taken  immediately,  and  the  families  butchered. 
Those  of  Edgerly,  Beard,  and  Medar  were  abandoned, 
and  most  of  the  inmates  escaped.  The  remaining 
seven  were  successfully  defended,  though  several  of 
them  were  occupied  only  by  the  families  which  owned 
them.  One  of  these,  belonging  to  Thomas  Bickford, 
stood  by  the  river  near  the  lower  end  of  the  settle- 
ment. Roused  by  the  firing,  he  placed  his  wife  and 
children  in  a  boat,  sent  them  down  the  stream,  and 
then  went  back  alone  to  defend  his  dwelling.  When 
the  Indians  appeared,  he  fired  on  them,  sometimes 
from  one  loophole  and  sometimes  from  another,  shout- 
ing the  word  of  command  to  an  imaginary  garrison, 
and  showing  himself  with  a  different  hat,  cap,  or 
coat,  at  different  parts  of  the  building.  The  Indians 
were  afraid  to  approach,  and  he  saved  both  family 
and  home.  One  Jones,  the  owner  of  another  of  these 
fortified  houses,  was  wakened  by  the  barking  of  his 
dogs,  and  went  out,  thinking  that  his  hogpen  waa 


1694.]  MASSACRE.  885 

visited  by  wolves.  The  flash  of  a  gun  in  the  twilight 
of  the  morning  showed  the  true  nature  of  the  attack. 
The  shot  missed  him  narrowly;  and,  entering  the 
house  again,  he  stood  on  his  defence,  when  the 
Indians,  after  firing  for  some  time  from  behind  a 
neighboring  rock,  withdrew  and  left  him  in  peace. 
Woodman's  garrison  house,  though  occupied  by  a 
number  of  men,  was  attacked  more  seriously,  the 
Indians  keeping  up  a  long  and  brisk  fire  from  behind 
a  ridge  where  they  lay  sheltered ;  but  they  hit  nobody, 
and  at  length  disappeared.^ 

Among  the  unprotected  houses  the  carnage  was 
horrible.  A  hundred  and  four  persons,  chiefly  women 
and  children  half  naked  from  their  beds,  were  toma- 
hawked, shot,  or  killed  by  slower  and  more  painful 
methods.  Some  escaped  to  the  fortified  houses,  and 
others  hid  in  the  woods.  Twenty-seven  were  kept 
alive  as  prisoners.  Twenty  or  more  houses  were 
burned;  but,  what  is  remarkable,  the  Church  was 
spared.  Father  Thury  entered  it  during  the  mas- 
sacre, and  wrote  with  chalk  on  the  pulpit  some  sen- 
tences, of  which  the  purport  is  not  preserved,  as 
they  were  no  doubt  in  French  or  Latin. 

Thury  said  mass,  and  then  the  victors  retreated  in 
a  body  to  the  place  where  they  had  hidden  their 
canoes.  Here  Taxous,  dissatisfied  with  the  scalps 
that  he  and  his  band  had  taken,  resolved  to  have 
more ;  and  with  fifty  of  his  own  warriors,  joined  by 

1  Woodman's  garrison  house  is  still  standing,  having  been  care- 
fully preserved  by  his  descendants. 

26 


386  THE  WAR  IN  ACADIA. 

others  from  the  Kennebec,  set  out  on  a  new  enter- 
prise. "They  mean,"  writes  Villieu  in  his  diary, 
"to  divide  into  bands  of  four  or  five,  and  knock 
people  in  the  head  by  surprise,  which  cannot  fail  to 
produce  a  good  effect."^  They  did  in  fact  fall  a  few 
days  after  on  the  settlements  near  Groton,  and  killed 
some  forty  persons. 

Having  heard  from  one  of  the  prisoners  a  rumor  of 
ships  on  the  way  from  England  to  attack  Quebec, 
Villieu  thought  it  necessary  to  inform  Frontenac  at 
once.  Attended  by  a  few  Indians,  he  travelled  four 
days  and  nights,  till  he  found  Bigot  at  an  Abenaki 
fort  on  the  Kennebec.  His  Indians  were  completely 
exhausted.  He  took  others  in  their  place,  pushed 
forward  again,  reached  Quebec  on  the  twenty-second 
of  August,  found  that  Frontenac  had  gone  to 
Montreal,  followed  him  thither,  told  his  story,  and 
presented  him  with  thirteen  English  scalps. ^  He  had 
displayed  in  the  achievement  of  his  detestable  ex- 
ploit an  energy,  perseverance,  and  hardihood  rarely 
equalled  ;  but  all  would  have  been  vain  but  for 
the  help  of  his  clerical  colleague.  Father  Pierre 
Thury.8 

1  "  Casser  des  testes  k  la  surprise  aprfes  s'estre  divis^s  en  plusieurg 
bandes  de  quatre  au  cinq,  ce  qui  ne  peut  manquer  de  faire  un  bon 
efEect/*  — Villieu,  Relation. 

*  "Dans  cette  assemblee  M.  de  Villieu  avec  4  sauvages  qu'il 
avoit  amends  de  I'Accadie  presenta  h.  Monsieur  le  Comte  de 
Frontenac  13  chevelures  angloises.** —  Callieres  au  Ministre,  19 
Octobre,  1694. 

•  The  principal  authority  for  the  above  is  the  very  curious 
Belati<m  du   Voyage  fait  par  le  Sieur  de   Villieu  .  .  .  pour  /aire  la 


16d4.3  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  ACADIA.  387 

The  Indian  Tribes  of  Acadia.  —  The  name  Abenaki  is  generic, 
and  of  very  loose  application.  As  employed  by  the  best  French 
writers  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  it  may  be  taken  to 
include  the  tribes  from  the  Kennebec  eastward  to  the  St.  John. 
These  again  may  be  subdivided  as  follows:  First,  the  Canibas 
(Kenibas),  or  tribes  of  the  Kennebec  and  adjacent  waters.  These, 
with  kindred  neighboring  tribes  on  the  Saco,  the  Androscoggin, 
and  the  Sheepscot,  have  been  held  by  some  writers  to  be  the 
Abenakis  proper,  though  some  of  them,  such  as  the  Sokokis  or 
Pequawkets  of  the  Saco,  spoke  a  dialect  distinct  from  the  rest. 
Secondly,  the  tribes  of  the  Penobscot,  called  Tarratines  by  early 
New  England  writers,  who  sometimes,  however,  give  this  name  a 
more  extended  application.  Thirdly,  the  Malicites  (Marechites)  of 
the  St.  Croix  and  the  St.  John.  These,  with  the  Penobscots  or 
Tarratines,  are  the  Etchemins  of  early  French  writers.  All  these 
tribes  speak  dialects  of  Algonquin,  so  nearly  related  that  they 
understand  each  other  with  little  difficulty.  That  eminent  Indian 
philologist,  Mr.  J.  Hammond  Trumbull,  writes  to  me : "  The  Malicite, 
the  Penobscot,  and  the  Kennebec,  or  Caniba,  are  dialects  of  the 
same  language,  which  may  as  well  be  called  Abenaki.  The  first 
named  differs  more  considerably  from  the  other  two  than  do  these 
from  each  other.  In  fact,  the  Caniba  and  the  Penobscot  are  merely 
provincial  dialects,  with  no  greater  difference  than  is  found  in  two 
English  counties."  The  case  is  widely  different  with  the  Micmacs, 
the  Souriquois  of  the  French,  who  occupy  portions  of  Nova  Scotia 
and  New  Brunswick,  and  who  speak  a  language  which,  though  of 
Algonquin  origin,  differs  as  much  from  the  Abenaki  dialects  as 
Italian  differs  from  French,  and  was  once  described  to  me  by  a 
Malicite  (Passamaquoddy)  Indian  as  an  unintelligible  jargon. 


Guerre  aux  Anglois  au  printemps  de  Van  1694.  It  is  the  narrative  of 
Villieu  himself,  written  in  the  form  of  a  journal,  with  great  detail. 
He  also  gives  a  brief  summary  in  a  letter  to  the  minister,  7 
September.  The  best  English  account  is  that  of  Belknap,  in  his 
History  of  New  Hampshire.  Cotton  Mather  tells  the  story  in  his 
usual  unsatisfactory  and  ridiculous  manner.  Pike,  in  his  journal, 
says  that  ninety-four  persons  in  all  were  killed  or  taken.  Mather 
says,  "  ninety-four  or  a  hundred."  The  Provincial  Record  of  New 
Hampshire  estimates  it  at  eighty.  Charlevoix  claims  two  hundred 
and  thirty,  and  Villieu  himaelf  but  a  hundred  and  thirty-one 


388  THE   WAR  IN  ACADIA.  [1694. 

Champigny,  Frontenac,  and  Callieres,  in  their  reports  to  the 
court,  adopt  Villieu's  statements.  Frontenac  says  that  the  suc- 
cess was  due  to  the  assurances  of  safety  which  Phips  had  given 
the  settlers. 

In  the  Massachusetts  archives  is  a  letter  to  Phips,  written  just 
after  the  attack.  The  devastation  extended  six  or  seven  miles. 
There  are  also  a  number  of  depositions  from  persons  present, 
giving  a  horrible  picture  of  the  cruelties  practised. 


CHAPTER  XVn. 

1690-1697. 

NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND. 

The  Frontier  of  New  England.  —  Border  Warfare.  —  Motivm 
OF  THE  French.  —  Needless  Barbarity.  —  Who  were  an- 
swerable 1  —  Father  Thdry.  —  The  Abenakis  waver.  — 
Treachery  at  Pemaquid.  —  Capture  of  Pemaquid.  —  Pro- 
jected Attack  on  Boston.  —  Disappointment.  —  MiSKBiSf 
OF  the  Frontier.  —  A  Captive  Amazon. 

"This   stroke,"  saj-s   Villebon,    speaking  of  the^ 
success  at  Oyster  River,    "is   of  great  advantage, 
because  it  breaks  off  all  the  talk  of  peace  between  our 
Indians  and  the  English.     The  English  are  in  despair, 
for  not  even  infants  in  the  cradle  were  spared."^ 

I  have  given  the  story  in  detail,  as  showing  the 
origin  and  character  of  the  destructive  raids,  of  which 
New  England  annalists  show  only  the  results.  The 
borders  of  New  England  were  peculiarly  vulnerable. 
In  Canada  the  settlers  built  their  houses  in  lines, 
within  supporting  distance  of  one  another,  along  the 
margin  of  a  river  which  supplied  easy  transportation 

1  "  Ce  coup  est  tr^s-avantageux,  parcequ'il  rompte  tous  lei  pour- 
parlers de  paix  entre  nos  sauvages  et  les  Anglois.  Les  Anglois  lont 
au  desespoir  de  ce  qu'ils  ont  tue  jusqu'aux  enfants  au  berceau."  — 
VilUbon  au  Ministre,  19  Septembre,  1694. 


390    NEW   FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND.  [1690-97, 

for  troops ;  and  in  time  of  danger  they  all  took  refuge 
in  forts  under  command  of  the  local  seigniors,  or  of 
ofi&cers  with  detachments  of  soldiers.  The  exposed 
part  of  the  French  colony  extended  along  the  St. 
Lawrence  about  ninety  miles.  The  exposed  frontier 
of  New  England  was  between  two  and  three  hundred 
miles  long,  and  consisted  of  farms  and  hamlets  loosely 
scattered  through  an  almost  impervious  forest.  Mutual 
support  was  difficult  or  impossible.  A  body  of  Indians 
and  Canadians,  approaching  secretly  and  swiftly, 
dividing  into  small  bands,  and  falling  at  once  upon 
the  isolated  houses  of  an  extensive  district,  could 
commit  prodigious  havoc  in  a  short  time,  and  with 
little  danger.  Even  in  so-called  villages  the  houses 
were  far  apart,  because,  except  on  the  sea-shore,  the 
people  lived  by  farming.  Such  as  were  able  to  do  so 
fenced  their  dwellings  with  palisades,  or  built  them 
of  solid  timber,  with  loopholes,  a  projecting  upper 
story  like  a  blockhouse,  and  sometimes  a  flanker  at 
one  or  more  of  the  corners.  In  the  more  considerable 
settlements  the  largest  of  these  fortified  houses  was 
occupied,  in  time  of  danger,  by  armed  men,  and 
served  as  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  neighbors.  The 
palisaded  house  defended  by  Convers  at  Wells  was 
of  this  sort,  and  so  also  was  the  Woodman  house 
at  Oyster  River.  These  were  "garrison  houses," 
properly  so  called,  though  the  name  was  often  given 
to  fortified  dwellings  occupied  only  by  the  family. 
The  French  and  Indian  war-parties  commonly  avoided 
the  true  garrison  houses,  and  very  rarely  captured 


1690-97.]         MOTIVES  OF  THE  FRENCH.  391 

them,  except  unawares ;  for  their  tactics  were  essen- 
tially Iroquois,  and  consisted,  for  the  most  part,  in 
pouncing  upon  peaceful  settlers  by  surprise,  and 
generally  in  the  night.  Combatants  and  non-combat- 
ants were  slaughtered  together.  By  parading  the 
number  of  slain,  without  mentioning  that  most  of 
them  were  women  and  children,  and  by  counting  as 
forts  mere  private  houses  surrounded  with  palisades, 
Charlevoix  and  later  writers  have  given  the  air  of 
gallant  exploits  to  acts  which  deserve  a  very  different 
name.  To  attack  military  posts,  like  Casco  and 
Pemaquid,  was  a  legitimate  act  of  war;  but  syste- 
matically to  butcher  helpless  farmers  and  their  families 
can  hardly  pass  as  such,  except  from  the  Iroquois 
point  of  view. 

The  chief  alleged  motive  for  this  ruthless  warfare 
was  to  prevent  the  people  of  New  England  from 
invading  Canada,  by  giving  them  employment  at 
home;  though,  in  fact,  they  had  never  thought  of 
invading  Canada  till  after  these  attacks  began.  But 
for  the  intrigues  of  Denonville,  the  Bigots,  Thury, 
and  Saint-Castin,  before  war  was  declared,  and  the 
destruction  of  Salmon  Falls  after  it,  Phips's  expedi- 
tion would  never  have  taken  place.  By  successful 
raids  against  the  borders  of  New  England,  Frontenac 
roused  the  Canadians  from  their  dejection,  and  pre- 
vented his  red  allies  from  deserting  him;  but  in  so 
doing  he  brought  upon  himself  an  enemy  who,  as 
Charlevoix  himself  says,  asked  only  to  be  let  alone. 
If  there  was  a  political  necessity  for  butchering  women 


392  NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND.  [1690-97. 

and  children  on  the  frontier  of  New  England,  it  was 
a  necessity  created  by  the  French  themselves. 
' '  There  was  no  such  necessity.  Massachusetts  was 
the  only  one  of  the  New  England  colonies  which  took 
an  aggressive  part  in  the  contest.  Connecticut  did 
little  or  nothing.  Rhode  Island  was  non-combatant 
through  Quaker  influence ;  and  New  Hampshire  was 
too  weak  for  offensive  war.  Massachusetts  was  in 
no  condition  to  fight,  nor  was  she  impelled  to  do  so 
by  the  home  government.  Canada  was  organized  for 
war,  and  must  fight  at  the  bidding  of  the  King,  whc 
made  the  war  and  paid  for  it.  Massachusetts  was 
organized  for  peace;  and  if  she  chose  an  aggressive 
part,  it  was  at  her  own  risk  and  her  own  cost.  She 
had  had  fighting  enough  already  against  infuriated 
savages  far  more  numerous  than  the  Iroquois,  and 
poverty  and  political  revolution  made  peace  a  neces- 
sity to  her.  If  there  was  danger  of  another  attack  on 
Quebec,  it  was  not  from  New  England,  but  from  Old; 
and  no  amount  of  frontier  butchery  could  avert  it. 

Nor,  except  their  inveterate  habit  of  poaching  on 
Acadian  fisheries,  had  the  people  of  New  England 
provoked  these  barbarous  attacks.  They  never  even 
attempted  to  retaliate  them,  though  the  settlements 
of  Acadia  offered  a  safe  and  easy  revenge.  Once,  it 
is  true,  they  pillaged  Beaubassin;  but  they  killed 
nobody,  though  countless  butcheries  in  settlements 
yet  more  defenceless  were  fresh  in  their  memory.^ 

1  The  people  of  Beaubassin  had  taken  an  oath  of  allegiance  to 
England  in  1690,  and  pleaded  it  as  a  reason  for  exemption  from 


1690-97.]  KEEDLESS   BARBARITY.  393 

With  New  York,  a  colony  separate  in  government 
and  widely  sundered  in  local  position,  the  case  was 
different.  Its  rulers  had  instigated  the  Iroquois  to 
attack  Canada,  possibly  before  the  declaration  of  war, 
and  certainly  after  it ;  and  they  had  no  right  to  com- 
plain of  reprisal.  Yet  the  frontier  of  New  York  was 
less  frequently  assailed,  because  it  was  less  exposed ; 
while  that  of  New  England  was  drenched  in  blood 
because  it  was  open  to  attack,  because  the  Abenakis 
were  convenient  instruments  for  attacking  it,  because 
the  adhesion  of  these  tribes  was  necessary  to  the 
maintenance  of  French  power  in  Acadia,  and  because 
this  adhesion  could  best  be  secured  by  inciting  them 
to  constant  hostility  against  the  English.  They 
were  not  only  needed  as  the  barrier  of  Canada  against 
New  England,  but  the  French  commanders  hoped,  by 
means  of  their  tomahawks,  to  drive  the  English 
beyond  the  Piscataqua,  and  secure  the  whole  of 
Maine  to  the  French  crown. 

Who  were  answerable  for  these  offences  against 
Christianity  and  civilization  ?  First,  the  King ;  and, 
next,  the  governors  and  military  officers  who  were 
charged  with  executing  his  orders,  and  who  often 
executed  them  with  needless  barbarity.     But  a  far 

plunder ;  but  it  appears  by  French  authorities  that  they  had  yio- 
iated  it  {Observations  sur  les  Depeches  touchant  I'Acadie,  1695),  and 
their  priest  Baudoin  had  led  a  band  of  Micmacs  to  the  attack  of 
Wells  (Villebon,  Journal).  When  the  "  Bostonnais  "  captured  Port 
Royal,  they  are  described  by  the  French  as  excessively  irritated  by 
the  recent  slaughter  at  Salmon  Falls,  yet  the  only  revenge  thejt 
took  was  plundering  some  of  the  inhabitants. 


394  NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND.  [1690-97. 

different  responsibility  rests  on  the  missionary  priests, 
who  hounded  their  converts  on  the  track  of  innocent 
blood.  The  Acadian  priests  are  not  all  open  to  this 
charge.  Some  of  them  are  even  accused  of  being  too 
favorable  to  the  English;  while  others  gave  them- 
selves to  their  proper  work,  and  neither  abused  their 
influence,  nor  perverted  their  teaching  to  political 
ends.  The  most  prominent  among  the  apostles  of 
carnage,  at  this  time,  are  the  Jesuit  Bigot  on  the 
Kennebec,  and  the  seminary  priest  Thury  on  the 
Penobscot.  There  is  little  doubt  that  the  latter 
instigated  attacks  on  the  English  frontier  before  the 
war,  and  there  is  conclusive  evidence  that  he  had  a 
hand  in  repeated  forays  after  it  began.  Whether 
acting  from  fanaticism,  policy,  or  an  odious  com- 
pound of  both,  he  was  found  so  useful  that  the 
minister  Ponchartrain  twice  wrote  him  letters  of 
commendation,  praising  him  in  the  same  breath  for 
his  care  of  the  souls  of  the  Indians  and  his  zeal  in 
exciting  them  to  war.  "There  is  no  better  man," 
says  an  Acadian  official,  "to  prompt  the  savages  to 
any  enterprise."^  The  King  was  begged  to  reward 
him  with  money;  and  Ponchartrain  wrote  to  the 
bishop  of  Quebec  to  increase  his  pay  out  of  the  allow- 
ance furnished  by  the  government  to  the  Acadian 
clergy,  because  he,  Thury,  had  persuaded  the  Aben- 
akis  to  begin  the  war  anew.^ 

*  Tibi^rge,  Memoir e  sur  VAcadie,  1695. 

*  "Les  t^moignages  qu'on  a  rendu  a  Sa  Majestfe  de  I'affection  et 
ii»  t61e  du  S^  de  Thury,  missionaire  chez  les  Canibas  {Ahenakis)^ 


1690-97.]  FATHER  THURY.  395 

The  French  missionaries  are  said  to  have  made  use 
of  singular  methods  to  excite  their  flocks  against  the 
heretics.  The  Abenaki  chief  Bomaseen,  when  a 
prisoner  at  Boston  in  1696,  declared  that  they  told 
the  Indians  that  Jesus  Christ  was  a  Frenchman,  and 
his  mother,  the  Virgin,  a  French  lady;  that  the 
English  had  murdered  him,  and  that  the  best  way 
to  gain  his  favor  was  to  revenge  his  death.  ^ 

Whether  or  not  these  articles  of  faith  formed  a  part 

of  the  teachings  of  Thury  and  his  fellow-apostles, 

there  is  no  doubt  that  it  was  a  recognized  part  of 

their  functions  to  keep  their  converts  in  hostility  to 

the   English,    and   that   their   credit  with  the  civil 

powers  depended  on  their  success  in  doing  so.     The 

pour  son  service,  et  particuli^rement  dans  I'engagement  oii  il  a  mis 
les  Sauvages  de  recommencer  la  guerre  centre  les  Anglois,  m'oblige 
de  vous  prier  de  luy  faire  une  plus  forte  part  sur  les  1,600  livres  de 
gratification  que  Sa  Majesty  accorde  pour  les  eccl^siastiques  de 
I'Acadie."  —  Le  Ministre  a  VJSvesque  de  Quebec,  16  Avril,  1095. 

"  Je  suis  bien  aise  de  me  servir  de  cette  occasion  pour  vous  dire 
que  j'ay  este  informe',  non  seulement  de  vostre  zele  et  de  vostre 
application  pour  vostre  mission,  et  du  progr^s  qu'elle  fait  pour 
Tavancement  de  la  religion  avec  les  sauvages,  mais  encore  de  vos 
soins  pour  les  maintenir  dans  le  service  de  Sa  Ma j este  et  pour  les 
encourager  aux  expeditions  de  guerre."  —  Le  Ministre  a  Thury,  2S 
Avril,  1697.  The  other  letter  to  Thury,  written  two  years  before,  is 
of  the  same  tenor. 

1  Mather,  Magnalia,  ii.  629.  Compare  Dummer,  Memorial,  1709, 
in  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  3  Series,  i.,  and  the  same  writer's  Letter  to  a 
Noble  Lord  concerning  the  Late  Expedition  to  Canada,  1712.  Dr. 
Charles  T.  Jackson,  the  geologist,  when  engaged  in  the  survey  of 
Maine  in  1836,  mentions,  as  an  example  of  the  simplicity  of  the 
Acadians  of  Madawaska,  that  one  of  them  asked  him  "  if  Bethlehem, 
where  Christ  was  born,  was  not  a  town  in  France."  (First  Report  on 
the  Geology  of  Maine,  72.)  Here,  perhaps,  is  a  tradition  from  earlj? 
missionary  teaching. 


396  NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND.  [1690-97. 

same  holds  true  of  the  priests  of  the  mission  villages 
in  Canada.  They  avoided  all  that  might  impair  the 
wariike  spirit  of  the  neophyte,  and  they  were  well 
aware  that  in  savages  the  warlike  spirit  is  mainly 
dependent  on  native  ferocity.  >  They  taught  temper- 
ance, conjugal  fidelity,  devotion  to  the  rites  of  their 
religion,  and  submission  to  the  priest;  but  they  left 
the  savage  a  savage  still.  In  spite  of  the  remon- 
strances of  the  civil  authorities,  the  mission  Indian 
was  separated  as  far  as  possible  from  intercourse  with 
the  French,  and  discouraged  from  learning  the  French 
tongue.  He  wore  a  crucifix,  hung  wampum  on  the 
shrine  of  the  Virgin,  told  his  beads,  prayed  three 
times  a  day,  knelt  for  hours  before  the  Host,  invokeci 
the  saints,  and  confessed  to  the  priest;  but,  with  rare 
exceptions,  he  murdered,  scalped,  and  tortured  like 
his  heathen  countrymen.^ 

1  The  famous  Ourehaoue,  who  had  been  for  years  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  priests,  and  who,  as  Charlevoix  says,  died  "  un  vrai 
Chretien,"  being  told  on  his  death-bed  how  Christ  was  crucified  by 
the  Jews,  exclaimed  with  fervor :  "  Ah !  why  was  not  I  there  ?  I 
would  have  revenged  him:  I  would  have  had  their  scalps."  (La 
Potherie,  iv.  91.)  Charlevoix,  after  his  fashion  on  such  occasions, 
suppresses  the  revenge  and  the  scalping,  and  instead  makes  the 
dying  Christian  say,  "  I  would  have  prevented  them  froui  so  treat- 
ing my  God." 

The  savage  custom  of  forcing  prisoners  to  run  the  gantlet,  and 
sometimes  beating  them  to  death  as  they  did  so,  was  continued  at 
two,  if  not  all,  of  the  mission  villages  down  to  the  end  of  the  French 
domination.  General  Stark  of  the  Revolution,  when  a  young  man, 
was  subjected  to  this  kind  of  torture  at  St.  Francis,  but  saved  him- 
self by  snatching  a  club  from  one  of  the  savages,  and  knocking  the 
rest  to  the  right  and  left  as  he  ran.  The  practice  was  common,  and 
must  have  had  the  consent  of  the  priests  of  the  mission. 

At  the  Sulpitian  mission  of  the  Mountain  of  Montreal,  unlike 


1690-97.]  FATHER  THURY.  397 

The  picture  has  another  side,  which  must  not  pass 
unnoticed.  Early  in  the  war,  the  French  of  Canada 
began  the  merciful  practice  of  buying  English  prison- 
ers, and  especially  children,  from  their  Indian  allies. 
After  the  first  fury  of  attack,  many  lives  were  spared 
for  the  sake  of  this  ransom.  Sometimes,  but  not 
always,  the  redeemed  captives  were  made  to  work  for 
their  benefactors.  They  were  uniformly  treated  well, 
and  often  with  such  kindness  that  they  would  not  be 
exchanged,  and  became  Canadians  by  adoption. 

Villebon  was  still  full  of  anxiety  as  to  the  adhesion 
of  the  Abenakis.  Thury  saw  the  danger  still  more 
clearly,  and  told  Frontenac  that  their  late  attack  at 
Oyster  River  was  due  more  to  levity  than  to  any 
other  cause ;  that  they  were  greatly  alarmed,  waver- 
ing, half  stupefied,  afraid  of  the  English,  and  dis- 
trustful of  the  French,  whom  they  accused  of  using 
them  as  tools.  ^  It  was  clear  that  something  must  be 
done ;  and  nothing  could  answer  the  purpose  so  well 
as  the  capture  of  Pemaquid,  —  that  English  strong- 

the  rest,  the  converts  were  taught  to  speak  French  and  practise 
mechanical  arts.  The  absence  of  such  teaching  in  other  missions 
was  the  subject  of  frequent  complaint,  not  only  from  Frontenac, 
but  from  other  officers.  La  Mothe-Cadillac  writes  bitterly  on  the 
subject,  and  contrasts  the  conduct  of  the  French  priests  with  that 
of  the  English  ministers,  who  have  taught  many  Indians  to  read 
and  write,  and  reward  them  for  teaching  others  in  turn,  which  they 
do,  he  says,  with  great  success.  {Memoire  contenant  une  Description 
dAailUe  de  I'Acadie,  etc.,  1693.)  In  fact,  Eliot  and  his  co-workers 
took  great  pains  in  this  respect.  There  were  at  this  time  thirty 
Indian  churches  in  New  England,  according  to  the  Diary  of  Presi- 
dent Stiles,  cited  by  Holmes. 

1  Thury  a  Frontenac,  11  Septemhre,  1694. 


398   NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND. 

hold  which  held  them  in  constant  menace,  and  at  the 
same  time  tempted  them  by  offers  of  goods  at  a  low 
rate.  To  the  capture  of  Pemaquid,  therefore,  the 
French  government  turned  its  thoughts. 

One  Pascho  Chubb,  of  Andover,  commanded  the 
post,  with  a  garrison  of  ninety-five  militia-men. 
S  tough  ton,  governor  of  Massachusetts,  had  written  to 
the  Abenakis,  upbraiding  them  for  breaking  the 
peace,  and  ordering  them  to  bring  in  their  prisoners 
without  delay.  The  Indians  of  Bigot's  mission,  that 
is  to  say,  Bigot  in  their  name,  retorted  by  a  letter  to 
the  last  degree  haughty  and  abusive.  Those  of 
Thury's  mission,  however,  were  so  anxious  to  recover 
their  friends  held  in  prison  at  Boston  that  they  came 
to  Pemaquid,  and  opened  a  conference  with  Chubb. 
The  French  say  that  they  meant  only  to  deceive 
him.^  This  does  not  justify  the  Massachusetts 
officer,  who,  by  an  act  of  odious  treachery,  killed 
several  of  them,  and  captured  the  chief,  Egeremet. 
Nor  was  this  the  only  occasion  on  which  the  English 
had  acted  in  bad  faith.  It  was  but  playing  into  the 
hands  of  the  French,  who  saw  with  delight  that  the 
folly  of  their  enemies  had  aided  their  own  intrigues. ^ 

Early  in  1696  two  ships  of  war,  the  "Envieux" 
and  the  "Profond,"  one  commanded  by  Iberville  and 
the  other  by  Bona  venture,  sailed  from  Rochefort  to 

*  Villebon,  Journal,  1694-1696. 

2  N,  Y,  Col.  Docs.,  ix.  613,  616,  642,  643;  La  Potherie,  iii.  258; 
Callieres  au  Ministre,  25  Octohre,  1695 ;  Rev.  John  Pike  to  Govemoi 
and  Council,  7  January,  1694  (1695),  in  Johnston,  Hist,  of  Bristol  ant 
Bremen  ;  Hutchinson,  Hist.  Mass.,  ii.  81,  90. 


1696.]  PEMAQUID  ATTACKED.  399 

Quebec,  where  they  took  on  board  eighty  troops  and 
Canadians ;  then  proceeded  to  Cape  Breton,  embarked 
thirty  Micmac  Indians,  and  steered  for  the  St.  John. 
Here  they  met  two  British  frigates  and  a  provincial 
tender  belonging  to  Massachusetts.  A  fight  ensued. 
The  forces  were  very  unequal.  The  "Newport,"  of 
twenty-four  guns,  was  dismasted  and  taken ;  but  her 
companion  frigate  along  with  the  tender  escaped  in 
the  fog.  The  French  then  anchored  at  the  mouth  of 
the  St.  John,  where  Villebon  and  the  priest  Simon 
were  waiting  for  them,  with  fifty  more  Micmacs. 
Simon  and  the  Indians  went  on  board;  and  they  all 
sailed  for  Pentegoet,  where  Villieu,  with  twenty-five 
soldiers,  and  Thury  and  Saint-Castin,  with  some 
three  hundred  Abenakis,  were  ready  to  join  them. 
After  the  usual  feasting,  these  new  allies  paddled  for 
Pemaquid;  the  ships  followed;  and  on  the  next  day, 
the  fourteenth  of  August,  they  all  reached  their 
destination. 

The  fort  of  Pemaquid  stood  at  the  west  side  of  the 
promontory  of  the  same  name,  on  a  rocky  point  at 
the  mouth  of  Pemaquid  River.  It  was  a  quadrangle, 
with  ramparts  of  rough  stone,  built  at  great  pains  and 
cost,  but  exposed  to  artillery,  and  incapable  of  resist- 
ing heavy  shot.  The  government  of  Massachusetts, 
with  its  usual  military  fatuity,  had  placed  it  in  the 
keeping  of  an  unfit  commander,  and  permitted  some 
of  the  yeoman  garrison  to  bring  their  wives  and 
children  to  this  dangerous  and  important  post. 

Saint-Castin  and  his  Indians  landed  at  New  Harbor, 


400       KEW   FRANCE   AND  NEW  ENGLAND.       [16&ft 

half  a  league  from  the  fort.  Troops  and  cannon 
were  sent  ashore ;  and  at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
Chubb  was  summoned  to  surrender.  He  replied 
that  he  would  fight,  "even  if  the  sea  were  covered 
with  French  ships  and  the  land  with  Indians."  The 
firing  then  began;  and  the  Indian  marksmen,  favored 
by  the  nature  of  the  ground,  ensconced  themselves 
near  the  fort,  well  covered  from  its  cannon.  During 
the  night,  mortars  and  heavy  ships'  guns  were  landed, 
and  by  great  exertion  were  got  into  position,  the  two 
priests  working  lustily  with  the  rest.  They  opened 
fire  at  three  o'clock  on  the  next  day.  Saint-Castin 
had  just  before  sent  Chubb  a  letter,  telling  him  that 
if  the  garrison  were  obstinate  they  would  get  no 
quarter,  and  would  be  butchered  by  the  Indians. 
Close  upon  this  message  followed  four  or  five  bomb- 
shells. Chubb  succumbed  immediately,  sounded  a 
parley,  and  gave  up  the  fort,  on  condition  that  he 
and  his  men  should  be  protected  from  the  Indians, 
sent  to  Boston,  and  exchanged  for  French  and  Abenaki 
prisoners.  They  all  marched  out  without  arms ;  and 
Iberville,  true  to  his  pledge,  sent  them  to  an  island 
in  the  bay,  beyond  the  reach  of  his  red  allies. 
Villieu  took  possession  of  the  fort,  where  an  Indian 
prisoner  was  found  in  irons,  half  dead  from  long 
confinement.  This  so  enraged  his  countrymen  that 
a  massacre  would  infallibly  have  taken  place  but 
for  the  precaution  of  Iberville. 

The  cannon  of  Pemaquid  were  carried  on  board  the 
ships,  and  the  small  arms  and  ammunition  given  to 


1696.]  PEMAQUID  TAKEN.  401 

the  Indians.  Two  days  were  spent  in  destroying  the 
works,  and  then  the  victors  withdrew  in  triumph. 
Disgraceful  as  was  the  prompt  surrender  of  the  fort, 
it  may  be  doubted  if,  even  with  the  best  defence,  it 
could  have  held  out  many  days ;  for  it  had  no  case- 
mates, and  its  occupants  were  defenceless  against  the 
explosion  of  shells.  Chubb  was  arrested  for  cowardice 
on  his  return,  and  remained  some  months  in  prison. 
After  his  release  he  returned  to  his  family  at  Andover, 
twenty  miles  from  Boston ;  and  here,  in  the  year  fol- 
lowing, he  and  his  wife  were  killed  by  Indians,  who 
seem  to  have  pursued  him  to  this  apparently  safe 
asylum  to  take  revenge  for  his  treachery  toward  their 
countrymen.^ 

The  people  of  Massachusetts,  compelled  by  a  royal 
order  to  build  and  maintain  Pemaquid,  had  no  love 
for  it,  and  underrated  its  importance.  Having  been 
accustomed  to  spend  their  money  as  they  themselves 
saw  fit,  they  revolted  at  compulsion,  though  exercised 
for  their  good.  Pemaquid  was  nevertheless  of  the 
utmost  value  for  the  preservation  of  their  hold  on 
Maine,  and  its  conquest  was  a  crowning  triumph  to 
the  French. 

The  conquerors  now  projected  a  greater  exploit. 

1  Baudoin,  Journal  d'un  Voyage  Jait  avec  M.  d* Iberville.  Baudoin 
was  an  Acadian  priest,  who  accompanied  the  expedition,  which  he 
describes  in  detail.  {Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe',  etc.,  1695,  1696; 
Des  Goutins  au  Ministre,  23  Septembre,  1696 ;  Hutchinson,  Hist.  Mass.^ 
ii.  89;  Mather,  Magnalia,  ii.  633.)  A  letter  from  Chubb,  asking  to 
be  released  from  prison,  is  preserved  in  the  archives  of  Massai 
ehusetts.  I  have  examined  the  site  of  the  fort,  the  remains  of 
which  are  still  distinct. 


402  NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND.  [1696-97. 

The  Marquis  de  Nesmond,  with  a  powerful  squadron 
of  fifteen  ships,  including  some  of  the  best  in  the 
royal  navy,  sailed  for  Newfoundland,  with  orders  to 
defeat  an  English  squadron  supposed  to  be  there, 
and  then  to  proceed  to  the  mouth  of  the  Penobscot, 
where  he  was  to  be  joined  by  the  Abenaki  warriors 
and  fifteen  hundred  troops  from  Canada.  The  whole 
united  force  was  then  to  fall  upon  Boston.  The 
French  had  an  exact  knowledge  of  the  place. 
Meneval,  when  a  prisoner  there,  lodged  in  the  house 
of  John  Nelson,  had  carefully  examined  it;  and  so 
also  had  the  Chevalier  d'Aux;  while  La  Mothe- 
Cadillac  had  reconnoitred  the  town  and  harbor  before 
the  war  began.  An  accurate  map  of  them  was  made 
for  the  use  of  the  expedition,  and  the  plan  of  opera- 
tions was  arranged  with  great  care.  Twelve  hundred 
troops  and  Canadians  were  to  land  with  artillery  at 
Dorchester,  and  march  at  once  to  force  the  barricade 
across  the  neck  of  the  peninsula  on  which  the  town 
stood.  At  the  same  time  Saint-Castin  was  to  land 
at  Noddle's  Island,  with  a  troop  of  Canadians  and 
all  the  Indians ;  pass  over  in  canoes  to  Charlestown ; 
and,  after  mastering  it,  cross  to  the  north  point  of 
Boston,  which  would  thus  be  attacked  at  both  ends. 
During  these  movements  two  hundred  soldiers  were 
to  seize  the  battery  on  Castle  Island,  and  then  land 
in  front  of  the  town  near  Long  Wharf,  under  the 
guns  of  the  fleet. 

Boston  had  about  seven  thousand  inhabitants ;  but 
owing  to  the  seafaring  habits  of  the  people  many  of 


1697.]       PROJECTED  ATTACK  ON  BOSTON.  403 

its  best  men  were  generally  absent,  and  in  the  belief 
of  the  French  its  available  force  did  not  much  exceed 
eight  hundred.  "  There  are  no  soldiers  in  the  place," 
say  the  directions  for  attack,  "at  least  there  were 
none  last  September,  except  the  garrison  from 
Pemaquid,  who  do  not  deserve  the  name."  An  easy 
victory  was  expected.  After  Boston  was  taken,  the 
land  forces,  French  and  Indian,  were  to  march  on 
Salem,  and  thence  northward  to  Portsmouth,  con- 
quering as  they  went;  while  the  ships  followed  along 
the  coast  to  lend  aid,  when  necessary.  All  captured 
places  were  to  be  completely  destroyed  after  remov- 
ing all  valuable  property.  A  portion  of  this  plunder 
was  to  be  abandoned  to  the  officers  and  men,  in  order 
to  encourage  them,  and  the  rest  stowed  in  the  ships 
for  transportation  to  France.^ 

1  Me'moire  sur  VEntreprise  de  Baston,  pour  M.  le  Marquis  de  Ne$- 
mondf  Versailles,  21  Avril,  1697 ;  Instruction  a  M.  le  Marquis  de  Net- 
mond,  meme  date ;  Le  Roy  a  Frontenac,  meme  date  ;  Le  Roy  a  Frontena/i 
et  Champigny,  27  Avril,  1697;  Le  Ministre  a  Nesmond,  2S  Avril,  1697; 
Ibid.,  15  Juin,  1697  ;  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  15  Octobre,  1697 ;  Carte  da 
Baston,  par  le  Si  Franquelin,  1697.  This  is  the  map  made  for  the 
use  of  the  expedition ;  a,  facsimile  of  it  is  before  me.  The  conquest 
of  New  York  had  originally  formed  part  of  the  plan.  (Lagny  au 
Ministre,20  Janvier,  1695.)  Even  as  it  was,  too  much  was  attempted 
and  the  scheme  was  fatally  complicated  by  the  operations  at  New* 
foundland.  Four  years  before,  a  projected  attack  on  Quebec  by  a 
British  fleet,  under  Admiral  Wheeler,  had  come  to  nought  from 
analogous  causes. 

The  French  spared  no  pains  to  gain  accurate  information  as  to 
the  strength  of  the  English  settlements.  Among  other  reports  on 
this  subject  there  is  a  curious  Me'moire  sur  les  jStablissements  anglois 
au  dela  de  Pemaquid,  jusqu' a  Baston.  It  was  made  just  after  the 
capture  of  Pemaquid,  with  a  view  to  further  operations.  Saco  is 
described  as  a  small  fort  a  league  above  the  mouth  of  the  river 


404       NEW   FRANCE   AND  NEW   ENGLAND.      [1697. 

Notice  of  the  proposed  expedition  had  reached 
Frontenac  in  the  spring;  and  he  began  at  once  to 
collect  men,  canoes,  and  supplies  for  the  long  and 
arduous  march  to  the  rendezvous.  He  saw  clearly 
the  uncertainties  of  the  attempt ;  but,  in  spite  of  his 
seventy-seven  years,  he  resolved  to  command  the 
land  force  in  person.  He  was  ready  in  June,  and 
waited  only  to  hear  from  Nesmond.  The  summer 
passed;  and  it  was  not  till  September  that  a  ship 
reached  Quebec  with  a  letter  from  the  marquis,  tell- 
ing him  that  head-winds  had  detained  the  fleet  till 
only  fifty  days'  provision  remained,  and  it  was  too 
late  for  action.  The  enterprise  had  completely 
failed,  and  even  at  Newfoundland  nothing  was  accom- 
plished. It  proved  a  positive  advantage  to  New 
England,  since  a  host  of  Indians,  who  would  other- 
wise have  been  turned  loose  upon  the  borders,  were 
gathered  by  Saint-Castin  at  the  Penobscot  to  wait  for 
the  fleet,  and  kept  there  idle  all  summer. 

It  is  needless  to  dwell  further  on  the  war  in  Acadia. 
There  were  petty  combats  by  land  and  sea;  Villieu 
was  captured  and  carried  to  Boston;  a  band  of  New 

Saco,  with  four  cannon,  but  fit  only  to  resist  Indians.  At  Wells,  it 
says,  all  the  settlers  have  sought  refuge  in  four  petits  forts,  of  which 
the  largest  holds  perhaps  twenty  men,  besides  women  and  children. 
At  York,  all  the  people  have  gathered  into  one  fort,  where  there 
are  about  forty  men.  At  Portsmouth  there  is  a  fort,  of  slight 
account,  and  about  a  hundred  houses.  This  neighborhood,  no  doubt 
including  Kittery,  can  furnish  at  most  about  300  men.  At  the  Isles 
of  Shoals  there  are  some  280  fishermen,  who  are  absent,  except  on 
Sundays.  In  the  same  manner,  estimates  are  made  for  every  village 
and  district  as  far  as  Boston. 


1697.]  DISAPPOINTMENT.  405 

England  rustics  made  a  futile  attempt  to  dislodge 
Villebon  from  his  fort  at  Naxouat ;  while  throughout 
the  contest  rivalry  and  jealousy  rankled  among  the 
PYench  officials,  who  continually  maligned  one  an- 
other in  tell-tale  letters  to  the  court.  Their  hope 
that  the  Abenakis  would  force  back  the  English 
boundary  to  the  Piscataqua  was  never  fulfilled.  At 
Kittery,  at  Wells,  and  even  among  the  ashes  of 
York,  the  stubborn  settlers  held  their  ground,  while 
war-parties  prowled  along  the  whole  frontier,  from 
the  Kennebec  to  the  Connecticut.  A  single  incident 
will  show  the  nature  of  the  situation,  and  the  quali 
ties  which  it  sometimes  called  forth. 

Early  in  the  spring  that  followed  the  capture  of 
Pemaquid  a  band  of  Indians  fell,  after  daybreak,  on 
a  number  of  farmhouses  near  the  village  of  Haverhill. 
One  of  them  belonged  to  a  settler  named  Dustan, 
whose  wife  Hannah  had  borne  a  child  a  week  before, 
and  lay  in  the  house,  nursed  by  Mary  Neff,  one  of 
her  neighbors.  Dustan  had  gone  to  his  work  in  a 
neighboring  field,  taking  with  him  his  seven  children, 
of  whom  the  youngest  was  two  years  old.  Hearing 
the  noise  of  the  attack,  he  told  them  to  run  to  the 
nearest  fortified  house,  a  mile  or  more  distant,  and, 
snatching  up  his  gun,  threw  himself  on  one  of  his 
horses  and  galloped  towards  his  own  house  to  save 
his  wife.  It  was  too  late :  the  Indians  were  already 
there.  He  now  thought  only  of  saving  his  children ; 
and,  keeping  behind  them  as  they  ran,  he  fired  on 
the  pursuing  savages,  and  held  them  at  bay  till  he 


406       NEW  FRANCE  AND  NEW  ENGLAND.      [1697. 

and  his  flock  reached  a  place  of  safety.  Meanwhile, 
the  house  was  set  on  fire,  and  his  wife  and  the  nurse 
carried  ofE.  Her  husband,  no  doubt,  had  given  her 
up  as  lost,  when,  weeks  after,  she  reappeared,  accom- 
panied by  Mary  Neff  and  a  boy,  and  bringing  ten 
Indian  scalps.     Her  story  was  to  the  following  effect. 

The  Indians  had  killed  the  new-born  child  by 
dashing  it  against  a  tree,  after  which  the  mother  and 
the  nurse  were  dragged  into  the  forest,  where  they 
found  a  number  of  friends  and  neighbors,  their  fel- 
lows in  misery.  Some  of  these  were  presently  toma- 
hawked, and  the  rest  divided  among  their  captors. 
Hannah  Dustan  and  the  nurse  fell  to  the  share  of  a 
family  consisting  of  two  warriors,  three  squaws,  and 
seven  children,  who  separated  from  the  rest,  and, 
hunting  as  they  went,  moved  northward  towards  an 
Abenaki  village,  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant, 
probably  that  of  the  mission  on  the  Chaudi^re.  Every 
morning,  noon,  and  evening  they  told  their  beads, 
and  repeated  their  prayers.  An  English  boy,  captured 
at  Worcester,  was  also  of  the  party.  After  a  while, 
the  Indians  began  to  amuse  themselves  by  telling  the 
women  that  when  they  reached  the  village  they  would 
be  stripped,  made  to  run  the  gantlet,  and  severely 
beaten,  according  to  custom. 

Hannah  Dustan  now  resolved  on  a  desperate  effort 
to  escape,  and  Mary  Neff  and  the  boy  agreed  to  join 
in  it.  They  were  in  the  depths  of  the  forest,  half- 
way on  their  journey,  and  the  Indians,  who  had  no 
distrust  of  them,  were  all  asleep  about  their  camp- 


1697.]  A  CAPTIVE  AMAZON.  407 

fire,  when,  late  in  the  night,  the  two  women  and  the 
boy  took  each  a  hatchet,  and  crouched  silently  by  the 
bare  heads  of  the  unconscious  savages.  Then  they 
all  struck  at  once,  with  blows  so  rapid  and  true  that 
ten  of  the  twelve  were  killed  before  they  were  well 
awake.  One  old  squaw  sprang  up  wounded,  and  ran 
screeching  into  the  forest,  followed  by  a  small  boy 
whom  they  had  purposely  left  unharmed.  Hannah 
Dustan  and  her  companions  watched  by  the  corpses 
till  daylight;  then  the  Amazon  scalped  them  all,  and 
the  three  made  their  way  back  to  the  settlements, 
with  the  trophies  of  their  exploit.^ 

1  Thi8  story  is  told  by  Mather,  who  had  it  from  the  women  them- 
selves, and  by  Niles,  Hutchinson,  and  others.  An  entry  in  the  con- 
temporary journal  of  Rev,  John  Pike  fully  confirms  it.  The  facts 
were  notorious  at  the  time.  Hannah  Dustan  and  her  companions 
received  a  bounty  of  £50  for  their  ten  scalps ;  and  the  governor  of 
Maryland,  hearing  of  what  they  had  done,  sent  them  a  present. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

1693-1697. 

FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY. 

Lb  Moyne  d'Iberville:  his  Exploits  in  Newfoundland;  in 
Hudson's  Bay.  —  The  Great  Prize.  —  The  Competitors. — 
Fatal  Policy  of  the  King.  —  The  Iroquois  Question.  —  Ne- 
gotiation. —  Firmness  of  Frontenac.  —  English  Interven- 
tion. —  War  renewed.  —  State  of  the  West.  —  Indian 
Diplomacy.  —  Cruel  Measures.  —  A  Perilous  Crisis.  — 
Audacity  of  Frontenac. 

No  Canadian,  under  the  French  rule,  stands  in  a 
more  conspicuous  or  more  deserved  eminence  than 
Pierre  Le  Moyne  d'Iberville.  In  the  seventeenth 
century,  most  of  those  who  acted  a  prominent  part  in 
the  colony  were  born  in  Old  France;  but  Iberville 
was  a  true  son  of  the  soil.  He  and  his  brothers, 
Longueuil,  Serigny,  Assigny,  Maricourt,  Sainte- 
Hdlene,  the  two  Chateauguays,  and  the  two  Bien- 
villes,  were,  one  and  all,  children  worthy  of  their 
father,  Charles  Le  Moyne  of  Montreal,  and  favorable 
types  of  that  Canadian  noblesse,  to  whose  adventurous 
hardihood  half  the  continent  bears  witness.  Iberville 
was  trained  in  the  French  navy,  and  was  already 
among  its  most  able  commanders.  The  capture  of 
Pemaquid  was,  for  him,  but  the  beginning  of  greater 


169C.3        IBERVILLE  IN  NEWFOUNDLAND.  409 

things;  and  though  the  exploits  that  followed  were 
outside  the  main  theatre  of  action,  they  were  too 
remarkable  to  be  passed  in  silence. 

The  French  had  but  one  post  of  any  consequence 
on  the  Island  of  Newfoundland,  the  fort  and  village 
at  Placentia  Bay;  while  the  English  fishermen  had 
formed  a  line  of  settlements  two  or  three  hundred 
miles  along  the  eastern  coast.  Iberville  had  repre- 
sented to  the  court  the  necessity  of  checking  their 
growth ;  and  to  that  end  a  plan  was  settled,  in  con- 
nection with  the  expedition  against  Pemaquid.  The 
ships  of  the  King  were  to  transport  the  men;  while 
Iberville  and  others  associated  with  him  were  to  pay 
them,  and  divide  the  plunder  as  their  compensation. 
The  chronicles  of  the  time  show  various  similar  bar- 
gains between  the  great  King  and  his  subjects. 

Pemaquid  was  no  sooner  destroyed,  than  Iberville 
sailed  for  Newfoundland,  with  the  eighty  men  he  had 
taken  at  Quebec ;  and  on  arriving,  he  was  joined  by 
as  many  more,  sent  him  from  the  same  place.  He 
found  Brouillan,  governor  of  Placentia,  with  a  squad- 
ron formed  largely  of  privateers  from  St.  Malo, 
engaged  in  a  vain  attempt  to  seize  St.  John,  the  chief 
post  of  the  English.  Brouillan  was  a  man  of  harsh, 
jealous,  and  impracticable  temper;  and  it  was  with 
the  utmost  difficulty  that  he  and  Iberville  could  act 
in  concert.  They  came  at  last  to  an  agreement,  made 
a  combined  attack  on  St.  John,  took  it,  and  burned 
it  to  the  ground.  Then  followed  a  new  dispute 
about  the  division  of  the  spoils.     At  length  it  was 


410  FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY.       [1697. 

settled.  Brouillan  went  back  to  Placentia,  and  Iber- 
ville and  his  men  were  left  to  pursue  their  conquests 
alone. 

There  were  no  British  soldiers  on  the  island.  The 
settlers  were  rude  fishermen  without  commanders, 
and,  according  to  the  French  accounts,  without 
religion  or  morals;  in  fact,  they  are  described  as 
"worse  than  Indians."  Iberville  now  had  with  him 
a  hundred  and  twenty-five  soldiers  and  Canadians, 
besides  a  few  Abenakis  from  Acadia.^  It  was  mid- 
winter when  he  began  his  march.  For  two  months 
he  led  his  hardy  band  through  frost  and  snow,  from 
hamlet  to  hamlet,  along  those  forlorn  and  desolate 
coasts,  attacking  each  in  turn  and  carrying  havoc 
everywhere.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  hardships  of 
the  way,  or  the  vigor  with  which  they  were  met  and 
conquered.  The  chaplain  Baudoin  gives  an  example 
of  them  in  his  diary:  ^''January  18.  —  The  roads  are 
so  bad  that  we  can  find  only  twelve  men  strong 
enough  to  beat  the  path.  Our  snow-shoes  break  on 
the  crust,  and  against  the  rocks  and  fallen  trees 
hidden  under  the  snow,  which  catch  and  trip  us; 
but,  for  all  that,  we  cannot  help  laughing  to  see  now 
one,  and  now  another,  fall  headlong.  The  Sieur  de 
Martigny  fell  into  a  river,  and  left  his  gun  and  his 
sword  there  to  save  his  life." 

A  panic  seized  the  settlers,  many  of  whom  were 

1  The  reinforcement  sent  him  from  Quebec  consisted  of  fifty 
soldiers,  thirty  Canadians,  and  three  oflScers.  Frontenac  au  Ministre, 
28  Octnhre,  1696. 


1697.]        IBERVILLE  IN  NEWFOUNDLAND.  411 

without  arms  as  well  as  without  leaders.  They 
imagined  the  Canadians  to  be  savages,  who  scalped 
and  butchered  like  the  Iroquois.  Their  resistance 
was  feeble  and  incoherent,  and  Iberville  carried  all 
before  him.  Every  hamlet  was  pillaged  and  burned ; 
and,  according  to  the  incredible  report  of  the  French 
writers,  two  hundred  persons  were  killed  and  seven 
hundred  captured,  though  it  is  admitted  that  most  of 
the  prisoners  escaped.  When  spring  opened,  all  the 
English  settlements  were  destroyed,  except  the  post 
of  Bonavista  and  the  Island  of  Carbonniere,  a  natural 
fortress  in  the  sea.  Iberville  returned  to  Placentia, 
to  prepare  for  completing  his  conquest,  when  his 
plans  were  broken  by  the  arrival  of  his  brother 
Serigny,  with  orders  to  proceed  at  once  against  the 
English  at  Hudson's  Bay.^ 

1  On  the  Newfoundland  expedition,  the  best  authority  is  the  long 
diary  of  the  chaplain  Baudoin,  Journal  du  Voyage  que  fai  fait  avec 
M.  d* Iberville;  also,  M^moire  sur  I'Entreprise  de  Terreneuve,  1696. 
Compare  La  Potherie,  i.  24-62.  A  deposition  of  one  Phillips,  one 
Roberts,  and  several  others,  preserved  in  the  Public  Record  Office 
of  London,  and  quoted  by  Biown  in  his  History  of  Cape  Breton^ 
makes  the  French  force  much  greater  than  the  statements  of  the 
French  writers.  The  deposition  also  says  that  at  the  attack  of  St. 
John's  "  the  French  took  one  William  Brew,  an  inhabitant,  a 
prisoner,  and  cut  all  round  his  scalp,  and  then,  by  strength  of 
hands,  stript  his  skin  from  the  forehead  to  the  crown,  and  so  sent 
him  into  the  fortifications,  assuring  the  inhabitants  that  they  would 
serve  them  all  in  like  manner  if  they  did  not  surrender."  St.  John's 
was  soon  after  reoccupied  by  the  English. 

Baudoin  was  one  of  those  Acadian  priests  who  are  praised  for 
services  "en  empeschant  les  sauvages  de  faire  la  paix  avec  les 
Anglois,  ayant  mesme  este  en  guerre  avec  eux."  Champigny  an 
Ministre,  24  Octobre,  1694. 


412  FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH   RIVALRY.        [1697. 

It  was  the  nineteenth  of  May  when  Serigny 
appeared  with  five  ships  of  war, — the  "Pelican," 
the  "Palmier,"  the  "Wesp,"  the  "Profond,"  and  the 
"Violent."  The  important  trading-post  of  Fort 
Nelson,  called  Fort  Bourbon  by  the  French,  was  the 
destined  object  of  attack.  Iberville  and  Serigny  had 
captured  it  three  years  before ;  but  the  English  had 
retaken  it  during  the  past  summer,  and  as  it  com- 
manded the  fur-trade  of  a  vast  interior  region,  a 
strong  effort  was  now  to  be  made  for  its  recovery. 
Iberville  took  command  of  the  "Pelican,"  and  his 
brother  of  the  "  Palmier. "  They  sailed  from  Placentia 
early  in  July,  followed  by  two  other  ships  of  the 
squadron,  and  a  vessel  carrying  stores.  Before  the 
end  of  the  month  they  entered  the  bay,  where  they 
were  soon  caught  among  masses  of  floating  ice.  The 
store-ship  was  crushed  and  lost,  and  the  rest  were  in 
extreme  danger.  The  "Pelican"  at  last  extricated 
herself,  and  sailed  into  the  open  sea ;  but  her  three 
consorts  were  nowhere  to  be  seen.  Iberville  steered 
for  Fort  Nelson,  which  was  several  hundred  miles 
distant,  on  the  western  shore  of  this  dismal  inland 
sea.  He  had  nearly  reached  it,  when  three  sail  hove 
in  sight;  and  he  did  not  doubt  that  they  were  his 
missing  ships.  They  proved,  however,  to  be  English 
armed  merchantmen,  — the  "  Hampshire  "  of  fifty- two 
guns,  and  the  "Daring"  and  the  "Hudson's  Bay" 
of  thirty-six  and  thirty-two.  The  "Pelican"  car- 
ried but  forty-four,  and  she  was  alone.  A  desperate 
battle    followed,    and    from  half-past    nine    to  one 


1697.J  CAPTURE  OF  FORT  NELSON.  413 

o'clock  the  cannonade  was  incessant.  Iberville  kept 
the  advantage  of  the  wind,  and  coming  at  length  to 
close  quarters  with  the  "Hampshire,"  gave  her  re- 
peated broadsides  between  wind  and  water,  with  such 
effect  that  she  sank  with  all  on  board.  He  next 
closed  with  the  "Hudson's  Bay,"  which  soon  struck 
her  flag;  while  the  "Daring"  made  sail,  and  escaped. 

The  "  Pelican  "  was  badly  damaged  in  hull,  masts, 
and  rigging ;  and  the  increasing  fury  of  a  gale  from 
the  east  made  her  position  more  critical  every  hour. 
She  anchored,  to  escape  being  driven  ashore ;  but  the 
cables  parted,  and  she  was  stranded  about  two  leagues 
from  the  fort.  Here,  racked  by  the  waves  and  the 
tide,  she  split  amidships ;  but  most  of  the  crew  reached 
land  with  their  weapons  and  ammunition.  The 
northern  winter  had  already  begun,  and  the  snow  lay 
a  foot  deep  in  the  forest.  Some  of  them  died  from 
cold  and  exhaustion,  and  the  rest  built  huts  and 
kindled  fires  to  warm  and  dry  themselves.  Food 
was  so  scarce  that  their  only  hope  of  escape  from 
famishing  seemed  to  lie  in  a  desperate  effort  to  carry 
the  fort  by  storm,  but  now  fortune  interposed.  The 
three  ships  they  had  left  behind  in  the  ice  arrived 
with  all  the  needed  succors.  Men,  cannon,  and 
mortars  were  sent  ashore,  and  the  attack  began. 

Fort  Nelson  was  a  palisade  work,  garrisoned  by 
traders  and  other  civilians  in  the  employ  of  the 
English  fur-company,  and  commanded  by  one  of  its 
agents  named  Bailey.  Though  it  had  a  considerable 
number  of  small  cannon,  it  was  incapable  of  defence 


414       FRENCH   AND  ENGLISH   RIVALRY.      [1693-97. 

against  anything  but  musketry;  and  the  French 
bombs  soon  made  it  untenable.  After  being  three 
times  summoned,  Bailey  lowered  his  flag,  though  not 
till  he  had  obtained  honorable  terms ;  and  he  and  his 
men  marched  out  with  arms  and  baggage,  drums 
beating  and  colors  flying. 

Iberville  had  triumphed  over  the  storms,  the  ice- 
bergs, and  the  English.  The  north  had  seen  his 
prowess,  and  another  fame  awaited  him  in  the  regions 
of  the  sun;  for  he  became  the  father  of  Louisiana, 
and  his  brother  Bienville  founded  New  Orleans.^ 

These  northern  conflicts  were  but  episodes.  In 
Hudson's  Bay,  Newfoundland,  and  Acadia  the  issues 
of  the  war  were  unimportant,  compared  with  the 
momentous  question  whether  France  or  England 
should  be  mistress  of  the  west,  —  that  is  to  say,  of 
the  whole  interior  of  the  continent.  There  was  a 
strange  contrast  in  the  attitude  of  the  rival  colonies 
towards  this  supreme  prize:  the  one  was  inert,  and 
seemingly  indifferent;  the  other,  intensely  active. 
The  reason  is  obvious  enough.  The  English  colonies 
were  separate,  jealous  of  the  Crown  and  of  one 
another,  and  incapable  as  yet  of  acting  in  concert. 
Living  by  agriculture  and  trade,  they  could  prosper 
within  limited  areas,  and  had  no  present  need  of 
spreading  beyond  the  Alleghanies.  Each  of  them 
was  an  aggregate  of  persons,  busied  with  their  own 

1  On  the  capture  of  Fort  Nelson,  see  Iberville  au  Mtnistre,  8 
Novemhre,  1697;  Jer^mie,  Relation  de  la  Bai/e  de  Hudson;  La 
Potherie,  i.  86-109.    AU  these  writers  were  present  at  the  attack. 


1693-97.]  THE  RIVAL   COLONIES.  415 

affairs,  and  giving  little  heed  to  matters  which  did 
not  immediately  concern  them.  Their  rulers,  whether 
chosen  by  themselves  or  appointed  in  England,  could 
not  compel  them  to  become  the  instruments  of  enter- 
prises in  which  the  sacrifice  was  present  and  the 
advantage  remote.  The  neglect  in  which  the  English 
court  left  them,  though  wholesome  in  most  respects, 
made  them  unfit  for  aggressive  action ;  for  they  had 
neither  troops,  commanders,  political  union,  military 
organization,  nor  military  habits.  In  communities 
so  busy  and  governments  so  popular  much  could  not 
be  done  in  war,  till  the  people  were  roused  to  the 
necessity  of  doing  it;  and  that  awakening  was  still 
far  distant.  Even  New  York,  the  only  exposed 
colony,  except  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire, 
regarded  the  war  merely  as  a  nuisance  to  be  held 
at  arm's  length.^ 

In  Canada  all  was  different.  Living  by  the  fur- 
trade,  she  needed  free  range  and  indefinite  space. 
Her  geographical  position  determined  the  nature  of 
her  pursuits ;  and  her  pursuits  developed  the  roving 
and  adventurous  character  of  her  people,  who,  living 
under  a  military  rule,  could  be  directed  at  will  to 
such  ends  as  their  rulers  saw  fit.  The  grand  French 
scheme  of  territorial  extension  was  not  born  at  court, 
but  sprang  from  Canadian  soil,  and  was  developed  by 
the  chiefs  of  the  colony,  who,  being  on  the  ground, 
saw  the  possibilities  and  requirements  of  the  situa- 
tion, and  generally  had  a  personal  interest  in  realiz- 
^  See  note  at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 


416        FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY.    [1693-97. 

ing  them.  The  rival  colonies  had  two  different  laws 
of  growth.  The  one  increased  by  slow  extension, 
rooting  firmly  as  it  spread;  the  other  shot  offshoots, 
with  few  or  no  roots,  far  out  into  the  wilderness.  It 
was  the  nature  of  French  colonization  to  seize  upon 
detached  strategic  points,  and  hold  them  by  the 
bayonet,  forming  no  agricultural  basis,  but  attracting 
the  Indians  by  trade,  and  holding  them  by  conver- 
sion. A  musket,  a  rosary,  and  a  pack  of  beaver- 
skins  may  serve  to  represent  it,  and  in  fact  it 
consisted  of  little  else. 

Whence  came  the  numerical  weakness  of  New 
France,  and  the  real  though  latent  strength  of  her 
rivals?  Because,  it  is  answered,  the  French  were 
not  an  emigrating  people;  but  at  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century  this  was  only  half  true.  The 
French  people  were  divided  into  two  parts,  —  one 
eager  to  emigrate,  and  the  other  reluctant.  The  one 
consisted  of  the  persecuted  Huguenots,  the  other  of 
the  favored  Catholics.  The  government  chose  to 
construct  its  colonies  not  of  those  who  wished  to  go, 
but  of  those  who  wished  to  stay  at  home.  From  the 
hour  when  the  edict  of  Nantes  was  revoked,  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  Frenchmen  would  have  hailed  as  a 
boon  the  permission  to  transport  themselves,  their 
families,  and  their  property  to  the  New  World.  The 
permission  was  fiercely  refused,  and  the  persecuted 
sect  was  denied  even  a  refuge  in  the  wilderness. 
Had  it  been  granted  them,  the  valleys  of  the  west 
would  have  swarmed  with  a  laborious  and  virtuous 


/ 


1693-97.]  THE  IROQUOIS  QUESTION.  417 

population,  trained  in  adversity  and  possessing  the 
essential  qualities  of  self-government.  Another 
France  would  have  grown  beyond  the  AUeghanies, 
strong  with  the  same  kind  of  strength  that  made  the 
future  greatness  of  the  British  colonies.  British 
America  was  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed  and  the 
suffering  of  all  creeds  and  nations,  and  population 
poured  into  her  by  the  force  of  a  natural  tendency. 
France,  like  England,  might  have  been  great  in  two 
hemispheres  if  she  had  placed  herself  in  accord  with 
this  tendency  instead  of  opposing  it;  but  despotism 
was  consistent  with  itself,  and  a  mighty  opportunity 
was  forever  lost. 

As  soon  could  the  Ethiopian  change  his  skin  as 
the  priest-ridden  King  change  his  fatal  policy  of 
exclusion.  Canada  must  be  bound  to  the  papacy, 
even  if  it  blasted  her.  The  contest  for  the  west  must 
be  waged  by  the  means  which  Bourbon  policy  or- 
dained, and  which,  it  must  be  admitted,  had  some 
great  advantages  of  their  own  when  controlled  by  a 
man  like  Frontenac.  The  result  hung,  for  the 
present,  on  the  relations  of  the  French  with  the 
Iroquois  and  the  tribes  of  the  lakes,  the  Illinois,  and 
the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  but,  above  all,  on  their  rela- 
tions with  the  Iroquois ;  for  could  they  be  conquered 
or  won  over,  it  would  be  easy  to  deal  with  the  rest. 

Frontenac  was  meditating  a  grand  effort  to  inflict 

such   castigation   as   would   bring   them   to   reason, 

when  one   of  their   chiefs   named   Tareha   came  to 

Quebec  with  overtures  of  peace.     The  Iroquois  had 

27  . 


418  FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY.       [1694. 

lost  many  of  their  best  warriors.  The  arrival  of 
troops  from  France  had  discouraged  them ;  the  war 
had  interrupted  their  hunting ;  and  having  no  furs  to 
barter  with  the  English,  they  were  in  want  of  arms, 
ammunition,  and  all  the  necessaries  of  life.  More- 
over, Father  Milet,  nominally  a  prisoner  among  them 
but  really  an  adopted  chief,  had  used  all  his  influence 
to  bring  about  a  peace;  and  the  mission  of  Tareha 
was  the  result.  Frontenac  received  him  kindly. 
"  My  Iroquois  children  have  been  drunk ;  but  I  will 
give  them  an  opportunity  to  repent.  Let  each  of 
your  five  nations  send  me  two  deputies,  and  I  will 
listen  to  what  they  have  to  say."  They  would  not 
come,  but  sent  him  instead  an  invitation  to  meet 
them  and  their  friends  the  English  in  a  general 
council  at  Albany,  —  a  proposal  which  he  rejected 
with  contempt.  Then  they  sent  another  deputation, 
partly  to  him  and  partly  to  their  Christian  country- 
men of  the  Saut  and  the  Mountain,  inviting  all  alike 
to  come  and  treat  with  them  at  Onondaga.  Fron- 
tenac, adopting  the  Indian  fashion,  kicked  away  their 
wampum  belts,  rebuked  them  for  tampering  with  the 
mission  Indians,  and  told  them  that  they  were  rebels, 
bribed  by  the  English,  —  adding  that  if  a  suitable 
deputation  should  be  sent  to  Quebec  to  treat  squarely 
of  peace,  he  still  would  listen,  but  that  if  they  came 
back  with  any  more  such  proposals  as  they  had  just 
made,  they  should  be  roasted  alive. 

A  few  weeks  later  the   deputation  appeared.     It 
consisted  of  two  chiefs  of  each  nation,  headed  by 


1694.]  DEMANDS  OF  FRONTENAC.  419 

the  renowned  orator  Decanisora,  or,  as  the  French 
wrote  the  name,  Tegannisorens.  The  council  was 
held  in  the  hall  of  the  supreme  council  at  Quebec. 
The  dignitaries  of  the  colony  were  present,  with 
priests,  Jesuits,  R^collets,  officers,  and  the  Christian 
chiefs  of  the  Saut  and  the  Mountain.  The  appear- 
ance of  the  ambassadors  bespoke  their  destitute 
plight ;  for  they  were  all  dressed  in  shabby  deer-skins 
and  old  blankets,  except  Decanisora,  who  was  attired 
in  a  scarlet  coat  laced  with  gold,  given  him  by  the 
governor  of  New  York.  Golden,  who  knew  him  in 
his  old  age,  describes  him  as  a  tall,  well-formed  man, 
with  a  face  not  unlike  the  busts  of  Cicero.  "He 
spoke,"  says  the  French  reporter,  "with  as  perfect  a 
grace  as  is  vouchsafed  to  an  uncivilized  people;" 
buried  the  hatchet,  covered  the  blood  that  had  been 
spilled,  opened  the  roads,  and  cleared  the  clouds 
from  the  sun.  In  other  words,  he  offered  peace ;  but 
he  demanded  at  the  same  time  that  it  should  include 
the  English.  Frontenac  replied,  in  substance :  "  My 
children  are  right  to  come  submissive  and  repentant. 
I  am  ready  to  forgive  the  past,  and  hang  up  the 
hatchet;  but  the  peace  must  include  all  my  other 
children,  far  and  near.  Shut  your  ears  to  English 
poison.  The  war  with  the  English  has  nothing  to 
do  with  you,  and  only  the  great  kings  across  the  sea 
have  power  to  stop  it.  You  must  give  up  all  your 
prisoners,  both  French  and  Indian,  without  one 
exception.  I  will  then  return  mine,  and  make  peace 
with  you,   but  not  before."    He  then  entertained 


420  FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY.        [1694. 

them  at  his  own  table,  gave  them  a  feast  described  as 
** magnificent,"  and  bestowed  gifts  so  liberally  that 
the  tattered  ambassadors  went  home  in  embroidered 
coats,  laced  shirts,  and  plumed  hats.  They  were 
pledged  to  return  with  the  prisoners  before  the  end 
of  the  season,  and  they  left  two  hostages  as  security.^ 
Meanwhile,  the  authorities  of  New  York  tried  to 
prevent  the  threatened  peace.  First,  Major  Peter 
Schuyler  convoked  the  chiefs  at  Albany,  and  told 
them  that  if  they  went  to  ask  peace  in  Canada,  they 
would  be  slaves  forever.  The  Iroquois  declared  that 
they  loved  the  English,  but  they  repelled  every 
attempt  to  control  their  action.  Then  Fletcher,  the 
governor,  called  a  general  council  at  the  same  place, 
and  told  them  that  they  should  not  hold  councils 
with  the  French,  or  that  if  they  did  so,  they  should 
hold  them  at  Albany  in  presence  of  the  English. 
Again  they  asserted  their  rights  as  an  independent 
people.  "Corlaer,"  said  their  speaker,  "has  held 
councils  with  our  enemies,  and  why  should  not  we 
hold  councils  with  his?"  Yet  they  were  strong  in 
assurances  of  friendship,  and  declared  themselves 
"one  head,  one  heart,  one  blood,  and  one  soul  with 
the  English."  Their  speaker  continued:  "Our  only 
reason  for  sending  deputies  to  the  French  is  that  we 

1  On  these  negotiations,  and  their  antecedents,  see  Calliferes, 
Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  pas8€  de  plus  remarquable  en  Canada  depuia 
Septembre,  1692,  jusqu'au  Depart  des  Vaisseauz  en  1693 ;  La  Mothe- 
Cadillac,  Memoire  des  Negociations  avec  les  Iroquois,  1694 ;  Callierei 
au  Ministre,  19  Octohre,  1694;  La  Potherie,  iii.  200-220;  Colden, 
Five  Nations^  chap.  x. ;  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iv.  86. 


1694-96.]  ENGLISH  WEAKNESS.  421 

are  brought  so  low,  and  none  of  our  neighbors  help 
us,  but  leave  us  to  bear  all  the  burden  of  the  war. 
Our  brothers  of  New  England,  Pennsylvania,  Mary- 
land, and  Virginia,  all  of  their  own  accord  took  hold 
of  the  covenant  chain,  and  called  themselves  our 
allies;  but  they  have  done  nothing  to  help  us,  and 
we  cannot  fight  the  French  alone,  because  they  are 
always  receiving  soldiers  from  beyond  the  Great 
Lake.  Speak  from  your  heart,  brother:  will  you 
and  your  neighbors  join  with  us,  and  make  strong 
war  against  the  French  ?  If  you  will,  we  will  break 
off  all  treaties,  and  fight  them  as  hotly  as  ever;  but 
if  you  will  not  help  us,  we  must  make  peace." 

Nothing  could  be  more  just  than  these  reproaches ; 
and  if  the  English  governor  had  answered  by  a  vigor- 
ous attack  on  the  French  forts  south  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  the  Iroquois  warriors  would  have  raised 
the  hatchet  again  with  one  accord.  But  Fletcher 
was  busy  with  other  matters ;  and  he  had  besides  no 
force  at  his  disposal  but  four  companies,  —  the  only 
British  regulars  on  the  continent,  defective  in  num- 
bers, ill-appointed,  and  mutinous.^  Therefore  he 
answered  not  with  acts,  but  with  words.  The  nego- 
tiation with  the  French  went  on,  and  Fletcher  called 
another  council.     It  left  him   in   a  worse   position 

than  before.     The  Iroquois  again  asked  for  help :  he 

[ 

1  Fletcher  is,  however,  charged  with  gross  misconduct  in  regard 
to  the  four  companies,  which  he  is  said  to  have  kept  at  about  hali 
their  complement,  in  order  to  keep  the  balance  of  their  pay  for 
himself 


422        FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY.     [1694-06. 

could  not  promise  it,  but  was  forced  to  yield  the 
point,  and  tell  them  that  he  consented  to  their  mak- 
ing peace  with  Onontio. 

It  is  certain  that  they  wanted  peace,  but  equally 
certain  that  they  did  not  want  it  to  be  lasting,  and 
sought  nothing  more  than  a  breathing  time  to  regain 
their  strength.  Even  now  some  of  them  were  for 
continuing  the  war;  and  at  the  great  council  at 
Onondaga,  where  the  matter  was  debated,  the 
Onondagas,  Oneidas,  and  Mohawks  spurned  the 
French  proposals,  and  refused  to  give  up  their 
prisoners.  The  Cayugas  and  some  of  the  Senecas 
were  of  another  mind,  and  agreed  to  a  partial  com- 
pliance with  Frontenac's  demands.  The  rest  seem 
to  have  stood  passive  in  the  hope  of  gaining  time. 

They  were  disappointed.  In  vain  the  Seneca  and 
Cayuga  deputies  buried  the  hatchet  at  Montreal,  and 
promised  that  the  other  nations  would  soon  do  like- 
wise. Frontenac  was  not  to  be  deceived.  He  would 
accept  nothing  but  the  frank  fulfilment  of  his  condi- 
tions, refused  the  proffered  peace,  and  told  his  Indian 
allies  to  wage  war  to  the  knife.  There  was  a  dog- 
feast  and  a  war-dance,  and  the  strife  began  anew. 

In  all  these  conferences  the  Iroquois  had  stood  by 
their  English  allies  with  a  fidelity  not  too  well 
merited.  But  though  they  were  loyal  towards  the 
English,  they  had  acted  with  duplicity  towards  the 
French,  and  while  treating  of  peace  with  them  had 
attacked  some  of  their  Indian  allies,  and  intrigued 
with  others.     They  pursued  with  more  persistency 


1694-96.]     PERPLEXITIES  OF  FRONTENAC.  428 

than  ever  the  policy  they  had  adopted  in  the  time  of 
La  Barre, — that  is,  to  persuade  or  frighten  the  tribes 
of  the  west  to  abandon  the  French,  join  hands  with 
them  and  the  English,  and  send  their  furs  to  Albany 
instead  of  Montreal;  for  the  sagacious  confederates 
knew  well,  that,  if  the  trade  were  turned  into  this 
new  channel,  their  local  position  would  enable  them 
to  control  it.  The  scheme  was  good;  but  with  what- 
ever consistency  their  chiefs  and  elders  might  pursue 
it,  the  wayward  ferocity  of  their  young  warriors 
crossed  it  incessantly,  and  murders  alternated  with 
intrigues.  On  the  other  hand,  the  western  tribes, 
who  since  the  war  had  been  but  ill  supplied  with 
French  goods  and  French  brandy,  knew  that  they 
could  have  English  goods  and  English  rum  in  great 
abundance,  and  at  far  less  cost;  and  thus,  in  spite  of 
hate  and  fear,  the  intrigue  went  on.  Michilimackinac 
was  the  focus  of  it,  but  it  pervaded  all  the  west. 
The  position  of  Frontenac  was  one  of  great  difficulty, 
and  the  more  so  that  the  intestine  quarrels  of  his 
allies  excessively  complicated  the  mazes  of  forest 
diplomacy.  This  heterogeneous  multitude,  scattered 
in  tribes  and  groups  of  tribes  over  two  thousand 
miles  of  wilderness,  was  like  a  vast  menagerie  of 
wild  animals ;  and  the  lynx  bristled  at  the  wolf,  and 
the  panther  grinned  fury  at  the  bear,  in  spite  of  all 
his  efforts  to  form  them  into  a  happy  family  under 
his  paternal  rule. 

La  Mothe-Cadillac  commanded  at  Michilimackinac, 
Courtemanche  was  stationed  at  Fort  Miamis,   and 


424         FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY.    [1694-1^6, 

Tonty  and  La  Foret  at  the  fortified  rock  of  St.  Louis 
on  the  Illinois ;  wliile  Nicolas  Perrot  roamed  among 
the  tribes  of  the  Mississippi,  striving  at  the  risk  of 
his  life  to  keep  them  at  peace  with  one  another,  and 
in  alliance  with  the  French.  Yet  a  plot  presently 
came  to  light,  by  which  the  Foxes,  Mascoutins,  and 
Kickapoos  were  to  join  hands,  renounce  the  French, 
and  cast  their  fortunes  with  the  Iroquois  and  the 
English.  There  was  still  more  anxiety  for  the  tribes 
of  Michilimackinac,  because  the  results  of  their  defec- 
tion would  be  more  immediate.  This  important  post 
had  at  the  time  an  Indian  population  of  six  or  seven 
thousand  souls,  a  Jesuit  mission,  a  fort  with  two 
hundred  soldiers,  and  a  village  of  about  sixty  houses, 
occupied  by  traders  and  coureurs  de  hois.  The  Indians 
of  the  place  were  in  relations  more  or  less  close  with 
all  the  tribes  of  the  lakes.  The  Huron  village  was 
divided  between  two  rival  chiefs,  —  the  Baron,  who 
was  deep  in  Iroquois  and  English  intrigue ;  and  the 
Rat,  who  though  once  the  worst  enemy  of  the  French 
now  stood  their  friend.  The  Ottawas  and  other 
Algonquins  of  the  adjacent  villages  were  savages 
of  a  lower  grade,  tossed  continually  between  hatred 
of  the  Iroquois,  distrust  of  the  French,  and  love  of 
English  goods  and  English  rum.^ 

^  "  Si  les  Outaouacs  [Ottawas]  et  Hurons  concluent  la  paix  avec 
riroquois  sans  nostre  participation,  et  donnent  chez  eux  I'entree  k 
I'Anglois  pour  le  commerce,  la  Colonic  est  entierement  ruine'e, 
puisque  c'est  le  seul  [moyen]  par  lequel  ce  pays-cy  puisse  subsister, 
et  Ton  peut  asseurer  que  si  les  sauvages  goustent  une  fois  du  com- 
merce de  rAnglois,  ils  rompront  pour  toujours  avec  les  Fran9oi8. 


1694-96.]  BARBAROUS  POLICY.  425 

La  Mothe-Cadillac  found  that  the  Hurons  of  the 
Baron's  band  were  receiving  messengers  and  peace- 
belts  from  New  York  and  her  red  allies,  that  the 
English  had  promised  to  build  a  trading-house  on 
Lake  Erie,  and  that  the  Iroquois  had  invited  the 
lake  tribes  to  a  grand  convention  at  Detroit.  These 
belts  and  messages  were  sent,  in  the  Indian  expres- 
sion, "underground,"  —  that  is,  secretly;  and  the 
envoys  who  brought  them  came  in  the  disguise  of 
prisoners  taken  by  the  Hurons.  On  one  occasion 
seven  Iroquois  were  brought  in;  and  some  of  the 
French,  suspecting  them  to  be  agents  of  the  negotia- 
tion, stabbed  two  of  them  as  they  landed.  There 
was  a  great  tumult.  The  Hurons  took  arms  to 
defend  the  remaining  five;  but  at  length  suffered 
themselves  to  be  appeased,  and  even  gave  one  of  the 
Iroquois,  a  chief,  into  the  hands  of  the  French,  who, 
says  La  Potherie,  determined  to  "make  an  example 
of  him."  They  invited  the  Ottawas  to  "drink  the 
broth  of  an  Iroquois."  The  wretch  was  made  fast 
to  a  stake,  and  a  Frenchman  began  the  torture  by 
burning  him  with  a  red-hot  gun-barrel.  The  mob  of 
savages  was  soon  wrought  up  to  the  required  pitch 
of  ferocity;  and  after  atrociously  tormenting  him, 
they  cut  him  to  pieces  and  ate  him.^  It  was  clear 
that  the  more  Iroquois  the  allies  of  France  could  be 
persuaded  to  burn,  the  less  would  be  the  danger  that 

parcequ'ils  ne  peuvent  donner  les  marchandises  qu'k  un  prix  beau 
coup  plus  hault."  —  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  25  Octobre,  1696. 
1  La  Potherie.  ii.  298. 


426        FRENCH   AND   ENGLISH   RIVALRY.     [16d4-9ft 

they  would  make  peace  with  the  confederacy.  On 
another  occasion  four  were  tortured  at  once ;  and  La 
Mothe-Cadillac  writes,  "If  any  more  prisoners  are 
brought  me,  I  promise  you  that  their  fate  will  be  no 
sweeter."^ 

The  same  cruel  measures  were  practised  when  the 
Ottawas  came  to  trade  at  Montreal.  Frontenac  once 
invited  a  band  of  them  to  "roast  an  Iroquois,"  newly 
caught  by  the  soldiers;  but  as  they  had  hamstrung 
him,  to  prevent  his  escape,  he  bled  to  death  before 
the  torture  began.  ^  In  the  next  spring  the  revolting 
tragedy  of  Michilimackinac  was  repeated  at  Montreal, 
where  four  more  Iroquois  were  burned  by  the  soldiers, 
inhabitants,  and  Indian  allies.  "  It  was  the  mission 
of  Canada,"  says  a  Canadian  writer,  "to  propagate 
Christianity  and  civilization. "  ^ 

Every  effort  was  vain.  La  Mothe-Cadillac  wrote 
that  matters  grew  worse  and  worse,  and  that  the 
Ottawas  had  been  made  to  believe  that  the  French 
neither  would  nor  could  protect  them,  but  meant  to 
leave  them  to  their  fate.  They  thought  that  they 
had  no  hope  except  in  peace  with  the  Iroquois,  and 

1  La  Mothe-Cadillac  a ,  3  Aoyiy  1695.    A  translation  of  this 

letter  will  be  found  in  Sheldon,  Early  History  of  Michigan. 

^  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  pass€  de  plus  remarquahle  entre  les  Frangois 
et  les  Iroquois  durant  la  pre'sente  ann€e,  1695.  There  is  a  translation 
in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  ix.  Compare  La  Potherie,  who  misplaces  the 
incident  as  to  date. 

*  This  last  execution  was  an  act  of  reprisal :  "  J'abandonnay  les 
4  prisonniers  aux  soldats,  habitants,  et  sauvages,  qui  les  bruslerent 
par  repre'sailles  de  deux  du  Sault  que  cette  nation  avoit  traitte  dc 
la  mesme  maniere."  —  Callieres  au  Ministre,  20  Octobre,  1696. 


1694-96.]  A  PERILOUS  CRISIS.  427 

had  actually  gone  to  meet  them  at  an  appointed 
rendezvous.  One  course  alone  was  now  left  to 
Frontenac,  and  this  was  to  strike  the  Iroquois  with  a 
blow  heavy  enough  to  humble  them,  and  teach  the 
wavering  hordes  of  the  west  that  he  was,  in  truth, 
their  father  and  their  defender.  Nobody  knew  so 
well  as  he  the  difficulties  of  the  attempt;  and, 
deceived  perhaps  by  his  own  energy,  he  feared  that 
in  his  absence  on  a  distant  expedition  the  governor 
of  New  York  would  attack  Montreal.  Therefore,  he 
had  begged  for  more  troops.  About  three  hundred 
were  sent  him,  and  with  these  he  was  forced  to 
content  himself. 

He  had  waited,  also,  for  another  reason.  In  his 
belief  the  re-establishment  of  Fort  Frontenac,  aban- 
doned in  a  panic  by  Denonville,  was  necessary  to  the 
success  of  a  campaign  against  the  Iroquois.  A  party 
in  the  colony  vehemently  opposed  the  measure,  on 
the  ground  that  the  fort  would  be  used  by  the  friends 
of  Frontenac  for  purposes  of  trade.  It  was,  never- 
theless, very  important,  if  not  essential,  for  holding 
the  Iroquois  in  check.  They  themselves  felt  it  to  be 
so;  and  when  they  heard  that  the  French  intended 
to  occupy  it  again,  they  appealed  to  the  governor  of 
New  York,  who  told  them  that  if  the  plan  were 
carried  into  effect,  he  would  march  to  their  aid  with 
all  the  power  of  his  government.  He  did  not,  and 
perhaps  could  not,  keep  his  word.^ 

1  Coldeb,  178.  Fletcher  could  get  no  men  from  his  own  or 
neighboring  govemmentt.    See  note,  at  the  end  of  the  chapter. 


428  FRENCH  AND  ENGLISH  RIVALRY".        [1696. 

In  the  question  of  Fort  Frontenac,  as  in  everything 
else,  the  opposition  to  the  governor,  always  busy 
and  vehement,  found  its  chief  representative  in  the 
intendant,  who  told  the  minister  that  the  policy  of 
Frontenac  was  all  wrong;  that  the  public  good  was 
not  its  object ;  that  he  disobeyed  or  evaded  the  orders 
of  the  King ;  and  that  he  had  suffered  the  Iroquois 
to  delude  him  by  false  overtures  of  peace.  The 
representations  of  the  intendant  and  his  faction  had 
such  effect  that  Ponchartrain  wrote  to  the  governor 
that  the  plan  of  re-establishing  Fort  Frontenac  "  must 
absolutely  be  abandoned.'*  Frontenac,  bent  on 
accomplishing  his  purpose,  and  doubly  so  because  his 
enemies  opposed  it,  had  anticipated  the  orders  of  the 
minister,  and  sent  seven  hundred  men  to  Llike 
Ontario  to  repair  the  fort.  The  day  after  they  left 
Montreal  the  letter  of  Ponchartrain  arrived.  The 
intendant  demanded  their  recall.  Frontenac  refused. 
The  fort  was  repaired,  garrisoned,  and  victualled  for 
a  year. 

A  successful  campaign  was  now  doubly  necessary 

to  the  governor,  for  by  this  alone  could  he  hope  to 

avert  the  consequences  of  his  audacity.     He  waited 

no  longer,  but  mustered  troops,  militia,  and  Indians, 

and  marched  to  attack  the  Iroquois.^ 

1  The  above  is  drawn  from  the  correspondence  of  Frontenac, 
Champigny,  La  Mothe-Cadillac,  and  Callieres  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  King  and  the  minister  on  the  other.  The  letters  are  too 
numerous  to  specify.  Also,  from  the  official  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est 
pass^  de  plus  remarquable  en  Canada,  1694, 1695,  and  Ibid.,  1695, 1696 ; 
M€moire  soumis  au  Ministre  de  ce  qui  resulte  des  Avis  regus  du  Canada 
en  1696 ;  Champigny,  M^moire  concernant  le  Fort  de  Cataracouy  ;  La 
Pptherie,  ii.  284-302,  iv.  1-80;  Golden,  chaps,  x.  3ji. 


1696.]  MILITARY  mEFFICIEN-CY.  429 

Military  Inefficiency  of  the  British  Colonies.  —  *  Hig 
Majesty  has  subjects  enough  in  those  parts  of  America  to  drive  out 
the  French  from  Canada ;  but  they  are  so  crumbled  into  little  govern- 
ments, and  so  disunited,  that  they  have  hitherto  afforded  little 
assistance  to  each  other,  and  now  seem  in  a  much  worse  disposition 
to  do  it  for  the  future."  This  is  the  complaint  of  the  Lords  of 
Trade.  Governor  Fletcher  writes  bitterly  :  "  Here  every  little 
government  sets  up  for  despotic  power,  and  allows  no  appeal  to  the 
Crown,  but,  by  a  little  juggling,  defeats  all  commands  and  injunc- 
tions from  the  King."  Fletcher's  complaint  was  not  unprovoked. 
The  Queen  had  named  him  commander-in-chief,  during  the  war,  of 
the  militia  of  several  of  the  colonies,  and  empowered  him  to  call  on 
them  for  contingents  of  men,  not  above  350  from  Massachusetts, 
250  from  Virginia,  160  from  Maryland,  120  from  Connecticut,  48 
from  Rhode  Island,  and  80  from  Pennsylvania.  This  measure  ex- 
cited the  jealousy  of  the  colonies,  and  several  of  them  remonstrated 
on  constitutional  grounds ;  but  the  attorney-general,  to  whom  the 
question  was  referred,  reported  that  the  Crown  had  power,  under 
certain  limitations,  to  appoint  a  commander-in-chief.  Fletcher, 
therefore,  in  his  character  as  such,  called  for  a  portion  of  the  men ; 
but  scarcely  one  could  he  get.  He  was  met  by  excuses  and 
evasions,  which,  especially  in  the  case  of  Connecticut,  were  of  a 
most  vexatious  character.  At  last,  that  colony,  tired  by  his  impor- 
tunities, condescended  to  furnish  him  with  twenty-five  men.  With 
the  others  he  was  less  fortunate,  though  Virginia  and  Maryland 
compounded  with  a  sura  of  money.  Each  colony  claimed  the  con- 
trol of  its  own  militia,  and  was  anxious  to  avoid  the  establishment 
of  any  precedent  which  might  deprive  it  of  the  right.  Even  in  the 
military  management  of  each  separate  colony  there  was  scarcely 
less  difficulty.  A  requisition  for  troops  from  a  royal  governor  was 
always  regarded  with  jealousy,  and  the  provincial  assemblies  were 
slow  to  grant  money  for  their  support.  In  1692,  when  Fletcher 
came  to  New  York,  the  Assembly  gave  him  300  men  for  a  year ;  in 
1693  they  gave  him  an  equal  number ;  in  1694  they  allowed  him  but 
170,  he  being  accused,  apparently  with  truth,  of  not  having  made 
good  use  of  the  former  levies.  He  afterwards  asked  that  the  force 
at  his  disposal  should  be  increased  to  500  men,  to  guard  the 
frontier ;  and  the  request  was  not  granted.  In  1697  he  was  recalled ; 
and  the  Earl  of  Bellomont  was  commissioned  governor  of  New 
York,  Massachusetts,  and  New  Hampshire,  and  captain-general, 
during  the  war,  of  all  the  forces  of  those  colonies,  as  well  as  of 


430  FRENCH  AND   ENGLISH   RIVALRY.       [1696. 

Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  and  New  Jersey.  The  close  of  the  war 
quickly  ended  this  military  authority;  but  there  is  no  reason  to 
believe  that,  had  it  continued,  the  earl's  requisitions  for  men,  in  his 
character  of  captain-general,  would  have  had  more  success  than 
those  of  Fletcher.  The  whole  affair  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the 
original  isolation  of  communities,  which  afterwards  became  welded 
into  a  nation.  It  involved  a  military  paralysis  almost  complete. 
Sixty  years  later,  under  the  sense  of  a  great  danger,  the  British 
colonies  were  ready  enough  to  receive  a  commander-in-chief,  and 
answer  his  requisitions. 

A  great  number  of  documents  bearing  upon  the  above  subject 
will  be  found  in  the  New  York  Colonial  Documents,  iv. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

1696-1698. 

FRONTENAC  ATTACKS  THE  ONONDAGAS. 

Mabch  of  Frontenac.  —  Flight  of  thb  Enbmy. — An  Iroquow 
Stoic. — Relief  for  the  Onondaoas.  —  Boasts  of  Frontenac  •. 
HIS  Complaints;  his  Enemies.  —  Parties  in  Canada.  —  Views 
of  Frontenac  and  the  King.  —  Frontenac  prevails.  —  Peace 
OF  Ryswick.  —  Frontenac  and  Bellomont.  —  Schuyler  at 
Quebec.  —  Festivities.  —  A  Last  Defiance. 

On  the  fourth  of  July  Frontenac  left  Montreal  at 
the  head  of  about  twenty-two  hundred  men.  On 
the  nineteenth  he  reached  Fort  Frontenac,  and  on  the 
twenty-sixth  he  crossed  to  the  southern  shore  of  Lake 
Ontario.  A  swarm  of  Indian  canoes  led  the  way; 
next  followed  two  battalions  of  regulars  in  bateaux, 
commanded  by  Calli^res;  then  more  bateaux,  laden 
with  cannon,  mortars,  and  rockets;  then  Frontenac 
himself,  surrounded  by  the  canoes  of  his  staff  and 
his  guard;  then  eight  hundred  Canadians,  under 
Ramesay;  while  more  regulars  and  more  Indians,  all 
commanded  by  Vaudreuil,  brought  up  the  rear.  In 
two  days  they  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Oswego. 
Strong  scouting-parties  were  sent  out  to  scour  the 
forests  in  front;    while   the   expedition  slowly   and 


432  ATTACK  ON  THE  ONONDAGAS.  [1696. 

painfully  worked  its  way  up  the  stream.  Most  of 
the  troops  and  Canadians  marched  through  the  matted 
woods  along  the  banks ;  while  the  bateaux  and  canoes 
were  pushed,  rowed,  paddled,  or  dragged  forward 
against  the  current.  On  the  evening  of  the  thirtieth 
they  reached  the  falls,  where  the  river  plunged  over 
ledges  of  rock  which  completely  stopped  the  way. 
The  work  of  "carrying'*  was  begun  at  once.  The 
Indians  and  Canadians  carried  the  canoes  to  the  navi- 
gable water  above,  and  gangs  of  men  dragged  the 
bateaux  up  the  portage-path  on  rollers.  Night  soon 
came,  and  the  work  was  continued  till  ten  o'clock  by 
torchlight.  Frontenac  would  have  passed  on  foot 
like  the  rest,  but  the  Indians  would  not  have  it  so. 
They  lifted  him  in  his  canoe  upon  their  shoulders, 
and  bore  him  in  triumph,  singing  and  yelling, 
through  the  forest  and  along  the  margin  of  the  rapids, 
the  blaze  of  the  torches  lighting  the  strange  proces- 
sion, where  plumes  of  officers  and  uniforms  of  the 
governor's  guard  mingled  with  the  feathers  and  scalp- 
locks  of  naked  savages. 

When  the  falls  were  passed,  the  troops  pushed  on 
as  before  along  the  narrow  stream  and  through  the 
tangled  labyrinths  on  either  side ;  till,  on  the  first  of 
August,  they  reached  Lake  Onondaga,  and  with 
sails  set  the  whole  flotilla  glided  before  the  wind, 
and  landed  the  motley  army  on  a  rising  ground  half 
a  league  from  the  salt  springs  of  Salina.  The  next 
day  was  spent  in  building  a  fort  to  protect  the  canoes, 
bateaux,  and  stores ;  and,  as  evening  closed,  a  ruddy 


1696.]  FLIGHT  OF  THE  ENEAfST.  433 

glow  above  the  southern  forest  told  them  that  the 
town  of  Onondaga  was  on  fire. 

The  Marquis  de  Crisasy  was  left,  with  a  detach- 
ment, to  hold  the  fort;  and  at  sunrise  on  the  fourth 
the  army  moved  forward  in  order  of  battle.  It  was 
formed  in  two  lines,  —  regulars  on  the  right  and  left, 
and  Canadians  in  the  centre.  Callieres  commanded 
the  first  line,  and  Vaudreuil  the  second.  Frontenac 
was  between  them,  surrounded  by  his  staff  officers 
and  his  guard,  and  followed  by  the  artillery,  which 
relays  of  Canadians  dragged  and  lifted  forward  with 
inconceivable  labor.  The  governor,  enfeebled  by 
age,  was  carried  in  an  armchair;  while  Callieres, 
disabled  by  gout,  was  mounted  on  a  horse,  brought 
for  the  purpose  in  one  of  the  bateaux.  To  Subercase 
fell  the  hard  task  of  directing  the  march  among  the 
dense  columns  of  the  primeval  forest,  by  hill  and 
hollow,  over  rocks  and  fallen  trees,  through  swamps, 
brooks,  and  gullies,  among  thickets,  brambles,  and 
vines.  It  was  but  eight  or  nine  miles  to  Onondaga ; 
but  they  were  all  day  in  reaching  it,  and  evening 
was  near  when  they  emerged  from  the  shadows  of 
the  forest  into  the  broad  light  of  the  Indian  clearing. 
The  maize-fields  stretched  before  them  for  miles, 
and  in  the  midst  lay  the  charred  and  smoking  ruins 
of  the  Iroquois  capital.  Not  an  enemy  was  to  be 
seen,  but  they  found  the  dead  bodies  of  two  murdered 
French  prisoners.  Scouts  were  sent  out,  guards 
were  set,  and  the  disappointed  troops  encamped  on 
the  maize-fields. 

28 


434  ATTACK  ON  THE   ONONDAGAS.  [169C. 

Onondaga,  formerly  an  open  town,  had  been  forti- 
fied by  the  English,  who  had  enclosed  it  with  a 
double  range  of  strong  palisades,  forming  a  rectangle, 
flanked  by  bastions  at  the  four  corners,  and  sur- 
rounded by  an  outer  fence  of  tall  poles.  The  place 
was  not  defensible  against  cannon  and  mortars;  and 
the  four  hundred  warriors  belonging  to  it  had  been 
but  slightly  reinforced  from  the  other  tribes  of  the 
confederacy,  each  of  which  feared  that  the  French 
attack  might  be  directed  against  itself.  On  the 
approach  of  an  enemy  of  five  times  their  number, 
they  had  burned  their  town,  and  retreated  southward 
into  distant  forests. 

The  troops  were  busied  for  two  days  in  hacking 
down  the  maize,  digging  up  the  caches^  or  hidden 
stores  of  food,  and  destroying  their  contents.  The 
neighboring  tribe  of  the  Oneidas  sent  a  messenger  to 
beg  peace.  Frontenac  replied  that  he  would  grant 
it,  on  condition  that  they  all  should  migrate  to 
Canada,  and  settle  there ;  and  Vaudreuil,  with  seven 
hundred  men,  was  sent  to  enforce  the  demand. 
Meanwhile,  a  few  Onondaga  stragglers  had  been 
found ;  and  among  them,  hidden  in  a  hollow  tree,  a 
withered  warrior,  eighty  years  old,  and  nearly  blind. 
Frontenac  would  have  spared  him;  but  the  Indian 
allies.  Christians  from  the  mission  villages,  were  so 
eager  to  bum  him  that  it  was  thought  inexpedient  to 
refuse  them.  They  tied  him  to  the  stake,  and  tried 
to  shake  his  constancy  by  every  torture  that  fire  could 
inflict;  but  not  a  cry  nor  a  murmur  escaped  him. 


1696.]  AN  IROQUOIS   STOIC.  435 

He  defied  them  to  do  their  worst,  till,  enraged  at  his 
taunts,  one  of  them  gave  him  a  mortal  stab.  "I 
thank  you,"  said  the  old  Stoic,  with  his  last  breath; 
"  but  you  ought  to  have  finished  as  you  began,  and 
killed  me  by  fire.  Learn  from  me,  you  dogs  of 
Frenchmen,  how  to  endure  pain;  and  you,  dogs  of 
dogs,  their  Indian  allies,  think  what  you  will  do 
when  you  are  burned  like  me."^ 

Vaudreuil  and  his  detachment  returned  within 
three  days,  after  destroying  Oneida,  with  all  the 
growing  corn,  and  seizing  a  number  of  chiefs  as 
hostages  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  demands  of  Fron- 
tenac.  There  was  some  thought  of  marching  on 
Cayuga,  but  the  governor  judged  it  to  be  inexpe- 
dient; and,  as  it  would  be  useless  to  chase  the  fugi- 
tive Onondagas,  nothing  remained  but  to  return 
home.* 

1  Relation  de  ce  qui  8*est  pass€,  etc.,  1695,  1696 ;  La  Potherie,  iii. 
279.  Callieres  and  the  author  of  the  Relation  of  1682-1712  also 
Bpeak  of  the  extraordinary  fortitude  of  the  victim.  The  Jesuits  say 
that  it  was  not  the  Christian  Indians  who  insisted  on  burning  hira. 
but  the  French  themselves,  "qui  voulurent  absolument  qu'il  fiit 
brule  k  petit  feu,  ce  qu'ils  executerent  eux-memes.  Un  Jesuite  le 
confessa  et  I'assiffta  k  la  mort,  I'encourageant  a  soufErir  courageuse- 
ment  et  chr€tiennement  les  tourmens."  (Relation  de  1696,  Shea,  10.) 
This  writer  adds  that  when  Frontenac  heard  of  it,  he  ordered  him 
to  be  spared ;  but  it  was  too  late.  Charlevoix  misquotes  the  old 
Stoic's  last  words,  which  were,  according  to  the  oflBcial  Relation  of 
1695-96 :  "  Je  te  remercie  mais  tu  aurais  bien  d(i  achever  de  me  f aire 
mourir  par  le  feu.  Apprenez,  chiens  de  Franpois,  a  souffrir,  et  vous 
sauvages  leurs  allies,  qui  etes  les  chiens  des  chiens,  souvenez  vous 
de  ce  que  vous  devez  faire  quand  vous  serez  en  pareil  etat  que  moi." 

2  On  the  expedition  against  the  Onondagas,  see  Callieres  au 
Ministre,  20  Octobre,  1696;  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  25  Octobre,  1696; 


436  ATTACK  ON  THE  ONONDAGAS.  [1696. 

While  Frontenac  was  on  his  march,  Governoi 
Fletcher  had  heard  of  his  approach,  and  called  the 
council  at  New  York  to  consider  what  should  be 
done.  They  resolved  that  "  it  will  be  very  grievous 
to  take  the  people  from  their  labour;  and  there  is 
likewise  no  money  to  answer  the  charge  thereof." 
Money  was,  however,  advanced  by  Colonel  Cortlandt 
and  others;  and  the  governor  wrote  to  Connecticut 
and  New  Jersey  for  their  contingents  of  men;  but 
they  thought  the  matter  no  concern  of  theirs,  and 
did  not  respond.  Fletcher  went  to  Albany  with 
the  few  men  he  could  gather  at  the  moment,  and 
heard  on  his  arrival  that  the  French  were  gone. 
Then  he  convoked  the  chiefs,  condoled  with  them, 
and  made  them  presents.  Corn  was  sent  to  the 
Onondagas  and  Oneidas  to  support  them  through  the 
winter,  and  prevent  the  famine  which  the  French 
hoped  would  prove  their  destruction. 

What  Frontenac  feared  had  come  to  pass.  The 
enemy  had  saved  themselves  by  flight;  and  his  expe- 
dition, like  that  of  Denonville,  was  but  half  success- 

Frontenac  et  Champigny  au  Ministre  {lettre  commune),  26  Octobre,  1696; 
Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  pass€,  etc.,  1695,  1696;  Relation,  1682-1712; 
Relation  des  Jesuites,  1696  (Shea);  Doc.  Hist.  N.  F,,  i.  323-355;  La 
Potherie,  iii.  270-282 ;  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iv.  242. 

Charlevoix  charges  Frontenac  on  this  occasion  with  failing  to 
pursue  his  advantage  lest  others,  and  especially  Callieres,  should 
get  more  honor  than  he.  The  accusation  seems  absolutely  ground- 
less. His  many  enemies  were  silent  about  it  at  the  time ;  for  the 
King  warmly  commends  his  conduct  on  the  expedition,  and  Cal- 
lieres himself,  writing  immediately  after,  gives  him  nothing  bul 
praise. 


1696.J  BOASTS  OF   FitONTENAC.  431 

ful.     He  took  care,  however,  to  announce  it  to  the 
King  as  a  triumph :  — 

"Sire,  the  benedictions  which  Heaven  has  evei 
showered  upon  your  Majesty's  arms  have  extended 
even  to  this  New  World;  whereof  we  have  had 
visible  proof  in  the  expedition  I  have  just  made 
against  the  Onondagas,  the  principal  nation  of  the 
Iroquois.  I  had  long  projected  this  enterprise,  but 
the  difficulties  and  risks  which  attended  it  made  me 
regard  it  as  imprudent;  and  I  should  never  have 
resolved  to  undertake  it  if  I  had  not  last  year  estab- 
lished an  entrepSt  [Fort  Frontenac],  which  made  mr 
communications  more  easy,  and  if  I  had  not  known, 
beyond  all  doubt,  that  this  was  absolutely  the  only 
means  to  prevent  our  allies  from  making  peace  with 
the  Iroquois,  and  introducing  the  English  into  their 
country,  by  which  the  colony  would  infallibly  be 
ruined.  Nevertheless,  by  unexpected  good  fortune, 
the  Onondagas,  who  pass  for  masters  of  the  other 
Iroquois,  and  the  terror  of  all  the  Indians  of  this 
country,  fell  into  a  sort  of  bewilderment,  which  could 
only  have  come  from  on  High;  and  they  were  so 
terrified  to  see  me  march  against  them  in  person,  and 
cover  their  lakes  and  rivers  with  nearly  four  hundred 
sail,  that,  without  availing  themselves  of  passes 
where  a  hundred  men  might  easily  hold  four  thousand 
in  check,  they  did  not  dare  to  lay  a  single  ambuscade, 
but,  after  waiting  till  I  was  five  leagues  from  theii 
fort,  they  set  it  on  fire  with  all  their  dwellings,  and 
fled,    with  their  families,    twenty  leagues  into  the 


438  ATTACK  ON  THE  ONONDAGAS.  [1696. 

depths  of  the  forest.  It  could  have  been  wished,  to 
make  the  affair  more  brilliant,  that  they  had  tried  to 
hold  their  fort  against  us,  for  we  were  prepared 
to  force  it  and  kill  a  great  many  of  them ;  but  their 
ruin  is  not  the  less  sure,  because  the  famine,  to 
which  they  are  reduced,  will  destroy  more  than  we 
could  have  killed  by  sword  and  gun. 

"All  the  officers  and  men  have  done  their  duty 
admirably;  and  especially  M.  de  Calliferes,  who  has 
been  a  great  help  to  me.  I  know  not  if  your  Majesty 
will  think  that  I  have  tried  to  do  mine,  and  will  hold 
me  worthy  of  some  mark  of  honor  that  may  enable 
me  to  pass  the  short  remainder  of  my  life  in  some 
little  distinction;  but  whether  this  be  so  or  not,  I 
most  humbly  pray  your  Majesty  to  believe  that  I 
will  sacrifice  the  rest  of  my  days  to  your  Majesty's 
service  with  the  same  ardor  I  have  always  felt."^ 

The  King  highly  commended  him,  and  sent  him 
the  cross  of  the  Military  Order  of  St.  Louis. 
Calli^res,  who  had  deserved  it  less,  had  received  it 
several  years  before;  but  he  had  not  found  or  pro- 
voked so  many  defamers.  Frontenac  complained  to 
the  minister  that  his  services  had  been  slightly  and 
tardily  requited.  This  was  true,  and  it  was  due 
largely  to  the  complaints  excited  by  his  own  perver- 
sity and  violence.  These  complaints  still  continued ; 
but  the  fault  was  not  all  on  one  side,  and  Frontenac 
himself  had  often  just  reason  to  retort  them.  He 
wrote  to  Ponchartrain :  "  If  you  will  not  be  so  good 

1  FrmttHoe  au  Rcy,  26  Octghre,  1606. 


1696.]  COMPLAINTS  OF  FRONTENAC.  489 

as  to  look  closely  into  the  true  state  of  things  here, 
I  shall  always  be  exposed  to  detraction,  and  forced 
to  make  new  apologies,  which  is  very  hard  for  a 
person  so  full  of  zeal  and  uprightness  as  I  am.  My 
secretary,  who  is  going  to  France,  will  tell  you  all 
the  ugly  intrigues  used  to  defeat  my  plans  for  the 
service  of  the  King  and  the  growth  of  the  colony.  I 
have  long  tried  to  combat  these  artifices,  but  I  con- 
fess that  I  no  longer  feel  strength  to  resist  them,  and 
must  succumb  at  last  if  you  will  not  have  the  good- 
ness to  give  me  strong  support."^ 

He  still  continued  to  provoke  the  detraction  which 
he  deprecated,  till  he  drew,  at  last,  a  sharp  remon- 
strance from  the  minister.  "  The  dispute  you  have 
had  with  M.  de  Champigny  is  without  cause,  and  I 
confess  I  cannot  comprehend  how  you  could  have 
acted  as  you  have  done.  If  you  do  things  of  this 
sort,  you  must  expect  disagreeable  consequences, 
which  all  the  desire  I  have  to  oblige  you  cannot  pre- 
vent. It  is  deplorable,  both  for  you  and  for  me, 
that,  instead  of  using  my  good-will  to  gain  favors 
from  his  Majesty,  you  compel  me  to  make  excuses 
for  a  violence  which  answers  no  purpose,  and  in 
which  you  indulge  wantonly,  nobody  can  tell  why."' 

Most  of  these  quarrels,  however  trivial  in  them- 
selves, had  a  solid  foundation,  and  were  closely 
connected  with  the  great  question  of  the  control  of 
the  west.     As  to  the   measures   to  be   taken,    two 

^  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  25  Octobre,  1696. 
*  Le  Ministre  a  Frontenac,  21  Mai,  169a 


440  ATTACK  ON  THE  ONONDAGAS.      [1696-08, 

parties  divided  the  colony,  —  one  consisting  ot  the 
governor  and  his  friends,  and  the  other  of  the  intend- 
ant,  the  Jesuits,  and  such  of  the  merchants  as  were 
not  in  favor  with  Frontenac.  His  policy  was  to 
protect  the  Indian  allies  at  all  risks;  to  repel  by 
force,  if  necessary,  every  attempt  of  the  English  to 
encroach  on  the  territory  in  dispute ;  and  to  occupy 
it  by  forts  which  should  be  at  once  posts  of  war  and 
commerce  and  places  of  rendezvous  for  traders  and 
voyageurs.  Champigny  and  his  party  denounced 
this  system;  urged  that  the  forest  posts  should  be 
abandoned;  that  both  garrisons  and  traders  should 
be  recalled;  that  the  French  should  not  go  to  the 
Indians,  but  that  the  Indians  should  come  to  the 
French;  that  the  fur- trade  of  the  interior  should  be 
carried  on  at  Montreal;  and  that  no  Frenchman 
should  be  allowed  to  leave  the  settled  limits  of  the 
colony  except  the  Jesuits  and  persons  in  their  service, 
who,  as  Champigny  insisted,  would  be  able  to  keep 
the  Indians  in  the  French  interest  without  the  help 
of  soldiers. 

Strong  personal  interests  were  active  on  both  sides, 
and  gave  bitterness  to  the  strife.  Frontenac,  who 
always  stood  by  his  friends,  had  placed  Tonty,  La 
ForSt,  La  Motte-Cadillac,  and  others  of  their  num- 
ber, in  charge  of  the  forest  posts,  where  they  made 
good  profit  by  trade.  Moreover,  the  licenses  for 
trading  expeditions  into  the  interior  were  now,  as 
before,  used  largely  for  the  benefit  of  his  favorites. 
The  Jesuits  also  declared,  and  with  some  truth,  that 


1696-98.J  PARTIES  IN  CANADA.      '^'/.  441 

the  forest  posts  were  centres  of  debauchery,  and  that 
the  licenses  for  the  western  trade  were  the  ruin  of 
innumerable  young  men.  All  these  reasons  were 
laid  before  the  King.  In  vain  Frontenac  represented 
that  to  abandon  the  forest  posts  would  be  to  resign 
to  the  English  the  trade  of  the  interior  country,  and 
at  last  the  country  itself.  The  royal  ear  was  open  to 
his  opponents,  and  the  royal  instincts  reinforced  their 
arguments.  The  King,  enamoured  of  subordination 
and  order,  wished  to  govern  Canada  as  he  governed 
a  province  of  France ;  and  this  could  be  done  only  by 
keeping  the  population  within  prescribed  bounds. 
Therefore,  he  commanded  that  licenses  for  the  forest 
trade  should  cease,  that  the  forest  posts  should  be 
abandoned  and  destroyed,  that  all  Frenchmen  should 
be  ordered  back  to  the  settlements,  and  that  none 
should  return  under  pain  of  the  galleys.  An  excep- 
tion was  made  in  favor  of  the  Jesuits,  who  were 
allowed  to  continue  their  western  missions,  subject 
to  restrictions  designed  to  prevent  them  from  becom- 
ing a  cover  to  illicit  fur-trade.  Frontenac  was  also 
directed  to  make  peace  with  the  Iroquois,  even,  if 
necessary,  without  including  the  western  allies  of 
France;  that  is,  he  was  authorized  by  Louis  XIV. 
to  pursue  the  course  which  had  discredited  and 
imperilled  the  colony  under  the  rule  of  Denonville.^ 

1  M€moire  du  Roy  pour  Frontenac  et  Champigny,  26  Mat,  1696; 
Ibid.,  27  Avril,  1697;  Registres  du  Conseil  Sup€rieur,  ^dit  du  21  Mai, 
1696. 

"  Ce  qui  vous  avez  mande  de  raccommodement  des  Sauvages 
allies  avec  les  Irocois  n'a  pas  permis  a  Sa  Majeste  d'entrer  dans  la 


442  ATTACK  ON  THE  ONONDAGAS.     [1696-98. 

The  intentions  of  the  King  did  not  take  effect. 
The  policy  of  Frontenac  was  the  true  one,  whatevei 
motives  may  have  entered  into  his  advocacy  of  it. 
In  view  of  the  geographical,  social,  political,  and 
commercial  conditions  of  Canada,  the  policy  of  his 
opponents  was  impracticable,  and  nothing  less  than 
a  perpetual  cordon  of  troops  could  have  prevented 
the  Canadians  from  escaping  to  the  backwoods.  In 
spite  of  all  the  evils  that  attended  the  forest  posts,  it 
would  have  been  a  blunder  to  abandon  them.  This 
quickly  became  apparent.  Champigny  himself  saw 
the  necessity  of  compromise.  The  instructions  of  the 
King  were  scarcely  given  before  they  were  partially 
withdrawn,  and  they  soon  became  a  dead  letter. 
Even  Fort  Frontenac  was  retained  after  repeated 
directions  to  abandon  it.  The  policy  of  the  governor 
prevailed ;  the  colony  returned  to  its  normal  methods 
of  growth,  and  so  continued  to  the  end. 

Now  came  the  question  of  peace  with  the  Iroquois, 
to  whose  mercy  Frontenac  was  authorized  to  leave 
his  western  allies.  He  was  the  last  man  to  accept 
such  permission.  Since  the  burning  of  Onondaga, 
the  Iroquois  negotiations  with  the  western  tribes  had 
been  broken  off,  and  several  fights  had  occurred,  in 

discution  de  la  manifere  de  faire  I'abandonnement  des  postes  des 
Francois  dans  la  profondeur  des  terres,  particulierement  a  Missili- 
raackinac.  ...  En  tout  cas  vous  ne  devez  pas  manquer  de  donner 
ordre  pour  ruiner  les  forts  et  tons  les  edifices  qui  pourront  y  avoir 
este  faits."  —  Le  Ministre  a  Frontenac,  26  Mai,  1696. 

Besides  the  above,  many  other  letters  and  despatches  on  both 
sides  have  been  examined  in  relation  to  these  questions. 


1896-98.]  POSITION  OF  FRONTENAC.  443 

which  the  confederates  had  suffered  loss  and  been 
roused  to  vengeance.  This  was  what  Frontenac 
wanted,  but  at  the  same  time  it  promised  him  fresh 
trouble ;  for  while  he  was  determined  to  prevent  the 
Iroquois  from  making  peace  with  the  allies  without 
his  authority,  he  was  equally  determined  to  compel 
them  to  do  so  with  it.  There  must  be  peace,  though 
not  till  he  could  control  its  conditions. 

The  Onondaga  campaign,  unsatisfactory  as  it  was, 
had  had  its  effect.  Several  Iroquois  chiefs  came  to 
Quebec  with  overtures  of  peace.  They  brought  no 
prisoners,  but  promised  to  bring  them  in  the  spring; 
and  one  of  them  remained  as  a  hostage  that  the 
promise  should  be  kept.  It  was  nevertheless  broken 
under  English  influence;  and,  instead  of  a  solemn 
embassy,  the  council  of  Onondaga  sent  a  messenger 
with  a  wampum  belt  to  tell  Frontenac  that  they  were 
all  so  engrossed  in  bewailing  the  recent  death  of 
Black  Kettle,  a  famous  war-chief,  that  they  had  no 
strength  to  travel;  and  they  begged  that  Onontio 
would  return  the  hostage,  and  send  to  them  for  the 
French  prisoners.  The  messenger  further  declared, 
that,  though  they  would  make  peace  with  Onontio, 
they  would  not  make  it  with  his  allies.  Frontenac 
threw  back  the  peace-belt  into  his  face.  "  Tell  the 
chiefs  that  if  they  must  needs  stay  at  home  to  cry 
about  a  trifle,  I  will  give  them  something  to  cry  for. 
Let  them  bring  me  every  prisoner,  French  and 
Indian,  and  make  a  treaty  that  shall  include  all  my 
children,   or  they   shall   feel  my  tomahawk  again.' 


444  ATTACK  ON  THE  ONONDAGAS.  [169a 

Then,  turning  to  a  number  of  Ottawas  who  were 
present :  "  You  see  that  I  can  make  peace  for  myself 
when  I  please.  If  I  continue  the  war,  it  is  only  for 
your  sake.  I  will  never  make  a  treaty  without 
including  you,  and  recovering  your  prisoners  like 
my  own." 

Thus  the  matter  stood,  when  a  great  event  took 
place.  Early  in  February  a  party  of  Dutch  and 
Indians  came  to  Montreal  with  news  that  peace  had 
been  signed  in  Europe ;  and  at  the  end  of  May  Major 
Peter  Schuyler,  accompanied  by  Dellius,  the  ministei 
of  Albany,  arrived  with  copies  of  the  treaty  in  French 
and  Latin.  The  scratch  of  a  pen  at  Ryswick  had 
ended  the  conflict  in  America,  so  far  at  least  as  con- 
cerned the  civilized  combatcints.  It  was  not  till  July 
that  Frontenac  received  the  official  announcement 
from  Versailles,  coupled  with  an  address  from  the 
King  to  the  people  of  Canada. 

Our  Faithful  and  Beloved,  —  The  moment  has 
arrived  ordained  by  Heaven  to  reconcile  the  nations. 
The  ratification  of  the  treaty  concluded  some  time  ago  by 
our  ambassadors  with  those  of  the  Emperor  and  the  Em- 
pire, after  having  made  peace  with  Spain,  England,  and 
Holland,  has  everywhere  restored  the  tranquillity  so  much 
desired.  Strasbourg,  one  of  the  chief  ramparts  of  the 
empire  of  heresy,  united  forever  to  the  Church  and  to  our 
Crown;  the  Rhine  established  as  the  barrier  between 
France  and  Germany;  and,  what  touches  us  even  more, 
the  worship  of  the  True  Faith  authorized  by  a  solemn  en- 
gagement with  sovereigns  of  another  religion,  —  are  the 


1698.J  FRONTENAC   AND  BELLOMONT.  445 

advantages  secured  by  this  last  treaty.  The  Author  of  so 
many  blessings  manifests  Himself  so  clearly  that  we  can- 
not but  recognize  His  goodness;  and  the  visible  impress 
of  His  all-powerful  hand  is  as  it  were  the  seal  He  has 
affixed  to  justify  our  intent  to  cause  all  our  realm  to  serve 
and  obey  Him,  and  to  make  our  people  happy.  We  have 
6egun  by  the  fulfilment  of  our  duty  in  offering  Him  the 
thanks  which  are  His  due;  and  we  have  ordered  the  arch- 
bishops and  bishops  of  our  kingdom  to  cause  Te  Deum 
to  be  sung  in  the  cathedrals  of  their  dioceses.  It  is  our 
will  and  our  command  that  you  be  present  at  that  which 
will  be  sung  in  the  cathedral  of  our  city  of  Quebec,  on  the 
day  appointed  by  the  Count  of  Frontenac,  our  governor 
and  lieutenant-general  in  New  France.  Herein  fail  not, 
for  such  is  our  pleasure.  Louis.  * 

There  was  peace  between  the  two  crowns;  but  a 
serious  question  still  remained  between  Frontenac 
and  the  nfew  governor  of  New  York,  the  Earl  of 
Bellomont.  When  Schuyler  and  Dellius  came  to 
Quebec,  they  brought  with  them  all  the  French 
prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  English  of  New  York, 
together  with  a  promise  from  Bellomont  that  he 
would  order  the  Iroquois,  subjects  of  the  British 
Crown,  to  deliver  to  him  all  those  in  their  possession, 
and  that  he  would  then  send  them  to  Canada  undei 
a  safe  escort.  The  two  envoys  demanded  of  Frontenac, 
at  the  same  time,  that  he  should  deliver  to  them  all 
the  Iroquois  in  his  hands.  To  give  up  Iroquois 
prisoners  to  Bellomont,  or  to  receive  through  him 

^  Lettre  du  Roy  pour /aire  chanter  le  Te  Deum,  12  Mars,  1698w 


446  ATTACK  ON  THE  ONONDAGAS.  [169S 

French  prisoners  whom  the  Iroquois  had  captured, 
would  have  been  an  acknowledgment  of  British  sov- 
ereignty over  the  five  confederate  tribes.  Frontenac 
replied  that  the  eari  need  give  himself  no  trouble  in 
the  matter,  as  the  Iroquois  were  rebellious  subjects 
of  King  Louis;  that  they  had  already  repented 
and  begged  peace;  and  that  if  they  did  not  soon 
come  to  conclude  it,  he  should  use  force  to  compel 
them. 

Bellomont  wrote,  in  return,  that  he  had  sent  arms 
to  the  Iroquois,  with  orders  to  defend  themselves  if 
attacked  by  the  French,  and  to  give  no  quarter  to 
them  or  their  allies ;  and  he  added  that,  if  necessary, 
he  would  send  soldiers  to  their  aid.  A  few  days 
after,  he  received  fresh  news  of  Frontenac 's  warlike 
intentions,  and  wrote  in  wrath  as  follows :  — 

SiK, — Two  of  our  Indians,  of  the  nation  called  Onon- 
dagas,  came  yesterday  to  advise  me  that  you  had  sent  two 
renegades  of  their  Nation  to  them,  to  tell  them  and  the 
other  tribes,  except  the  Mohawks,  that,  in  case  they  did 
not  come  to  Canada  within  forty  days  to  solicit  peace  from 
you,  they  may  expect  your  marching  into  their  country  at 
the  head  of  an  army  to  constrain  them  thereunto  by  force. 
I,  on  my  side,  do  this  very  day  send  my  lieutenant- 
governor  with  the  King's  troops  to  join  the  Indians,  and 
to  oppose  any  hostilities  you  will  attempt;  and,  if  needs 
be,  I  will  arm  every  man  in  the  Provinces  under  my 
government  to  repel  you,  and  to  make  reprisals  for  the 
damage  which  you  will  commit  on  our  Indians.  This,  in 
ft  few  words,  is  the  part  I  will  take,  and  the  resolution  I 


1698.]  SCHUYLER  AT   QUEBEC.  447 

have  adopted,  whereof  I  have  thought  it  proper  by  these 
presents  to  give  you  notice. 

I  am,  Sir,  yours,  &c., 

Earl  op  Bellomont. 

Nbw  York,  22d  August,  1698.  1^ 

To  arm  every  man  in  his  government  would  have 
been  difficult.  He  did,  however,  what  he  could, 
and  ordered  Captain  Nanfan,  the  lieutenant-governor, 
to  repair  to  Albany ;  whence,  on  the  first  news  that 
the  French  were  approaching,  he  was  to  march  to  the 
relief  of  the  Iroquois  with  the  four  shattered  com- 
panies of  regulars  and  as  many  of  the  militia  of 
Albany  and  Ulster  as  he  could  muster.  Then  the 
earl  sent  Wessels,  mayor  of  Albany,  to  persuade  the 
Iroquois  to  deliver  their  prisoners  to  him,  and  make 
no  treaty  with  Frontenac.  On  the  same  day  he  des- 
patched Captain  John  Schuyler  to  carry  his  letters 
to  the  French  governor.  When  Schuyler  reached 
Quebec  and  delivered  the  letters,  Frontenac  read 
them  with  marks  of  great  displeasure.  "My  Lord 
Bellomont  threatens  me,"  he  said.  "Does  he  think 
that  I  am  afraid  of  him?  He  claims  the  Iroquois, 
but  they  are  none  of  his.  They  call  me  father,  and 
they  call  him  brother ;  and  shall  not  a  father  chastise 
his  children  when  he  sees  fit?"  A  conversation  fol- 
lowed, in  which  Frontenac  asked  the  envoy  what  was 
the  strength  of  Bellomont's  government.  Schuyler 
parried  the  question  by  a  grotesque  exaggeration, 
and  answered  that  the  earl  could  bring  about  a  hua- 


44iB  ATTACK  ON  THE   ONONDAGAS.  [1C98. 

dred  thousand  men  into  the  field.  Frontenac  pre- 
tended to  believe  him,  and  returned  with  careless 
gravity  that  he  had  always  heard  so. 

The  following  Sunday  was  the  day  appointed  for 
the  Te  Deum  ordered  by  the  King;  and  all  the  digni- 
taries of  the  colony,  with  a  crowd  of  lesser  note, 
filled  the  cathedral.  There  was  a  dinner  of  ceremony 
at  the  chateau,  to  which  Schuyler  was  invited;  and 
he  found  the  table  of  the  governor  thronged  with 
officers.  Frontenac  called  on  his  guests  to  drink  the 
health  of  King  William.  Schuyler  replied  by  a  toast 
in  honor  of  King  Louis ;  and  the  governor  next  gave 
the  health  of  the  Earl  of  Bellomont.  The  peace  was 
then  solemnly  proclaimed,  amid  the  firing  of  cannon 
from  the  batteries  and  ships ;  and  the  day  closed  with 
a  bonfire  and  a  general  illumination.  On  the  next 
evening  Frontenac  gave  Schuyler  a  letter  in  answer 
to  the  threats  of  the  earl.  He  had  written  with 
trembling  hand,  but  unshaken  will  and  unbending 
pride :  — 

"I  am  determined  to  pursue  my  course  without 
flinching ;  and  I  request  you  not  to  try  to  thwart  me 
by  efforts  which  will  prove  useless.  All  the  protec- 
tion and  aid  you  tell  me  that  you  have  given,  and 
will  continue  to  give,  the  Iroquois,  against  the  terms 
of  the  treaty,  will  not  cause  me  much  alarm,  nor 
make  me  change  my  plans,  but  rather,  on  the  con- 
trary, engage  me  to  pursue  them  still  more."^ 

1  On  the  questions  between  Bellomont  and  Frontenac,  see  Relo' 
tion  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe',  etc,  1697,  1698 ;  Champigny  au  Ministre,  12 


1698.]  A  LAST  DEFIANCE.  449 

As  the  old  soldier  traced  these  lines,  the  shadow 
of  death  was  upon  him.  Toils  and  years,  passions 
and  cares,  had  wasted  his  strength  at  last,  and  his 
fiery  soul  could  bear  him  up  no  longer.  A  few 
weeks  later  he  was  lying  calmly  on  his  death-bed. 

Juillet,  1698;  Frontenac  au  Ministre,  18  Octobre,  1698;  Frontenac  et 
Champigny  au  Ministre  (lettre  commune),  15  Octobre,  1698;  Callieres 
au  Ministre,  mime  date,  etc.  The  correspondence  of  Frontenac  and 
Bellomont,  the  report  of  Peter  Schuyler  and  Dellius,  the  journal  of 
John  Schuyler,  and  other  papers  on  the  same  subjects  will  be  found 
in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iv.  John  Schuyler  was  grandfather  of  General 
Schuyler  of  the  American  Revolution.  Peter  Schuyler  and  his 
colleague  Dellius  brought  to  Canada  all  the  French  prisoners  in  the 
hands  of  the  English  of  New  York,  and  asked  for  English  prisoners 
in  return ;  but  nearly  all  of  these  preferred  to  remain,  —  a  remark- 
able proof  of  the  kindness  with  which  the  Canadians  treated  theii 
civilized  captives. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

1698. 

DEATH  OF  FRONTENAC. 

His  Last  Hours;    his  Will;    his  Funeral;   his  Eulogist  and 
HIS  Critic;  his  Disputes  with  the  Clergy;  his  Character. 

In  November,  when  the  last  ship  had  gone,  and 
Canada  was  sealed  from  the  world  for  half  a  year,  a 
mortal  illness  fell  upon  the  governor.  On  the  twenty- 
second  he  had  strength  enough  to  dictate  his  will, 
seated  in  an  easy-chair  in  his  chamber  at  the  chateau. 
His  colleague  and  adversary,  Champigny,  often  came 
to  visit  him,  and  did  all  in  his  power  to  soothe  his 
last  moments.  The  reconciliation  between  them  was 
complete.  One  of  his  R^collet  friends,  Father 
Olivier  Goyer,  administered  extreme  unction;  and 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  twenty-eighth  he  died,  in 
perfect  composure  and  full  possession  of  his  facul- 
ties.    He  was  in  his  seventy-eighth  year. 

He  was  greatly  beloved  by  the  humbler  classes,  who, 
days  before  his  death,  beset  the  chateau,  praising  and 
lamenting  him.  Many  of  higher  station  shared  the 
popular  grief.  "He  was  the  love  and  delight  of 
New  France,"  says  one  of  them ;  "  churchmen  honored 


1698.]  HIS  LAST  HOURS.  451 

him  for  his  piety,  nobles  esteemed  him  for  his  valor, 
merchants  respected  him  for  his  equity,  and  the 
people  loved  him  for  his  kindness." ^  "He  was  the 
father  of  the  poor,"  says  another,  "the  protector  of 
the  oppressed,  and  a  perfect  model  of  virtue  and 
piety.  "2  An  Ursuline  nun  regrets  him  as  the  friend 
and  patron  of  her  sisterhood,  and  so  also  does  the 
superior  of  the  H^tel-Dieu.^  His  most  conspicuous 
though  not  his  bitterest  opponent,  the  intendant 
Champigny,  thus  announced  his  death  to  the  court: 
"  I  venture  to  send  this  letter  by  way  of  New  England 
to  tell  you  that  Monsieur  le  Comte  de  Frontenac 
died  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  last  month,  with  the 
sentiments  of  a  true  Christian.  After  all  the  dis- 
putes we  have  had  together,  you  will  hardly  believe, 
Monseigneur,  how  truly  and  deeply  I  am  touched  by 
his  death.  He  treated  me  during  his  illness  in  a 
manner  so  obliging  that  I  should  be  utterly  void 
of  gratitude  if  I  did  not  feel  thankful  to  him."* 

As  a  mark  of  kind  feeling,  Frontenac  had  be- 
queathed to  the  intendant  a  valuable  crucifix,  and  to 
Madame  de  Champigny  a  reliquary  which  he  had 
long  been  accustomed  to  wear.  For  the  rest,  he  gave 
fifteen  hundred  livres  to  the  Rdcollets,  to  be  expended 
in  masses  for  his  soul,  and  that  of  his  wife  after  her 
death.     To  her  he  bequeathed  all  the  remainder  of 


1  La  Potherie,  i.  244,  246. 

2  Hennepin,  41  (1704).    Le  Clercq  speaks  to  the  same  effect. 

*  Histoire  des  Ursulines  de  Qu^ec,  i.  508;  Juchereau,  378.  :ii- 

*  Champigny  au  Ministre,  22  Decembre,  16dS.  ■        -- 


452  DEATH   OF  FRONTENAC.  [1698. 

his  small  property,  and  he  also  directed  that  his 
heart  should  be  sent  her  in  a  case  of  lead  or  silver.  ^ 
His  enemies  reported  that  she  refused  to  accept  it, 
saying  that  she  had  never  had  it  when  he  was  living, 
and  did  not  want  it  when  he  was  dead. 

On  the  Friday  after  his  death  he  was  buried  as  he 
had  directed,  not  in  the  cathedral,  but  in  the  church 
of  the  R^collets,  —  a  preference  deeply  offensive  to 
many  of  the  clergy.  The  bishop  officiated ;  and  then 
the  RdcoUet,  Father  Goyer,  who  had  attended  his 
death-bed,  and  seems  to  have  been  his  confessor, 
mounted  the  pulpit,  and  delivered  his  funeral  oration. 
"This  funeral  pageantry,'*  exclaimed  the  orator,, 
"this  temple  draped  in  mourning,  these  dim  lights, 
this  sad  and  solemn  music,  this  great  assembly  bowed 
in  sorrow,  and  all  this  pomp  and  circumstance  of 
death  may  well  penetrate  your  hearts.  I  will  not 
seek  to  dry  your  tears,  for  I  cannot  contain  my  own. 
After  all,  this  is  a  time  to  weep,  and  never  did  people 
weep  for  a  better  governor.'* 

A  copy  of  this  eulogy  fell  into  the  hands  of  an 
enemy  of  Frontenac,  who  wrote  a  running  comment- 
ary upon  it.  The  copy  thus  annotated  is  still  pre- 
served at  Quebec.  A  few  passages  from  the  orator 
and  his  critic  will  show  the  violent  conflict  of  opinion 
concerning  the  governor,  and  illustrate  in  some  sort, 


I  Testament  du  Comte  de  Frontenac.  I  am  indebted  to  Abbe  Bois 
of  Maskinonge  for  a  copy  of  this  will.  Frontenac  expresses  a  wish 
that  the  heart  should  be  placed  in  the  family  tomb  at  the  Church  of 
8t.  Nicolas  des  Champs. 


1898.]         HIS  EULOGIST  AND  HIS  CRITIC.  453 

though  with  more  force  than  fairness,  the  contradic- 
tions of  his  character:  — 

The  Orator,  "  This  wise  man,  to  whom  the  Senate 
of  Venice  listened  with  respectful  attention,  because 
he  spoke  before  them  with  all  the  force  of  that 
eloquence  which  you,  Messieurs,  have  so  often 
admired,^  — 

The  Critic.  **It  was  not  his  eloquence  that  they  ad- 
mired, but  his  extravagant  pretensions,  his  bursts  of  rage, 
and  his  unworthy  treatment  of  those  who  did  not  agree 
with  him." 

The  Orator.  "  This  disinterested  man,  more  busied 
with  duty  than  with  gain,  — 

The  Critic.  "The  less  said  about  that  the  better." 

The  Orator.  "Who  made  the  fortune  of  others, 
but  did  not  increase  his  own,  — 

The  Critic,  <*Not  for  want  of  trying,  and  that  very 
often  in  spite  of  his  conscience  and  the  King's  orders." 

The  Orator,  "  Devoted  to  the  service  of  his  King, 
whose  majesty  he  represented,  and  whose  person  he 
loved,  — 

The  Critic.  "Not  at  all.  How  often  has  he  opposed 
his  orders,  even  with  force  and  violence,  to  the  great 
scandal  of  everybody !  " 

1  Alluding  to  an  incident  that  occurred  when  Frontenac  com- 
manded a  Venetian  force  for  the  defence  of  Candia  against  the 
Turks. 


454  DEATH  OF  FRONTENAC.  [16aa 

Hie  Orator,  "Great  in  the  midst  of  difficulties, 
by  that  consummate  prudence,  that  solid  judgment, 
that  presence  of  mind,  that  breadth  and  elevation  of 
thought,  which  he  retained  to  the  last  moment  of  his 
life,  — 

The  Critic.  "He  had  in  fact  a  great  capacity  for 
political  manoeuvres  and  tricks;  but  as  for  the  solid  judg- 
ment ascribed  to  him,  his  conduct  gives  it  the  lie,  or  else, 
if  he  had  it,  the  vehemence  of  his  passions  often  unsettled 
it.  It  is  much  to  be  feared  that  his  presence  of  mind  was 
the  effect  of  an  obstinate  and  hardened  self-confidence  by 
which  he  put  himself  above  everybody  and  everything, 
since  he  never  used  it  to  repair,  so  far  as  in  him  lay,  the 
public  and  private  wrongs  he  caused.  What  ought  he  not 
to  have  done  here,  in  this  temple,  to  ask  pardon  for  the 
obstinate  and  furious  heat  with  which  he  so  long  perse- 
cuted the  Church;  upheld  and  even  instigated  rebellion 
against  her;  protected  libertines,  scandal-mongers,  and 
creatures  of  evil  life  against  the  ministers  of  Heaven; 
molested,  persecuted,  vexed  persons  most  eminent  in  vir- 
tue, nay,  even  the  priests  and  magistrates,  who  defended 
the  cause  of  God;  sustained  in  all  sorts  of  ways  the  wrong- 
ful and  scandalous  traffic  in  brandy  with  the  Indians ;  per- 
mitted, approved,  and  supported  the  license  and  abuse  ol 
taverns;  authorized  and  even  introduced,  in  spite  of  the 
remonstrances  of  the  servants  of  God,  criminal  and  dan- 
gerous diversions;  tried  to  decry  the  bishop  and  the 
clergy,  the  missionaries,  and  other  persons  of  virtue,  and 
to  injure  them,  both  here  and  in  France,  by  libels  and 
calumnies;  caused,  in  fine,  either  by  himself  or  through 
others,  a  multitude  of  disorders,  under  which  this  infant 


1698.]        HIS  EULOGIST   AND  HIS   CRITIC.  455 

church  has  groaned  for  many  years?  What,  I  say,  ought 
he  not  to  have  done  before  dying  to  atone  for  these 
scandals,  and  give  proof  of  sincere  penitence  and  com- 
punction? God  gave  him  full  time  to  recognize  his 
errors,  and  yet  to  the  last  he  showed  a  great  indifference 
in  all  these  matters.  When,  in  presence  of  the  Holy 
Sacrament,  he  was  asked  according  to  the  ritual,  *  Do  you 
not  beg  pardon  for  all  the  ill  examples  you  may  have 
given?'  he  answered,  ^Yes,'  but  did  not  confess  that  he 
had  ever  given  any.  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.  And  this  is 
the  presence  of  mind  that  he  retained  to  his  last  moment !  " 

The  Orator.  "  Great  in  dangers  by  his  courage,  he 
always  came  off  with  honor,  and  never  was  reproached 
with  rashness,  — 

The  Critic.  **True;  he  was  not  rash,  as  was  seen  when 
the  Bostonnais  besieged  Quebec." 

The  Orator.  "Great  in  religion  by  his  piety,  he 
practised  its  good  works  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  — 

The  Critic.  **Say  rather  that  he  practised  its  forms 
with  parade  and  ostentation:  witness  the  inordinate  am- 
bition with  which  he  always  claimed  honors  in  the  Church, 
to  which  he  had  no  right;  outrageously  affronted  inten- 
dants,  who  opposed  his  pretensions;  required  priests  to 
address  him  when  preaching,  and  in  their  intercourse 
with  him  demanded  from  them  humiliations  which  he  did 
not  exact  from  the  meanest  military  officer.  This  was  his 
way  of  making  himself  great  in  religion  and  piety ^  or, 


456  DEATH  OF  FRONTENAC.  [1698. 

more  truly,  in  vanity  and  hypocrisy.  How  can  a  man  be 
called  great  in  religion^  when  he  openly  holds  opinions 
entirely  opposed  to  the  True  Faith,  such  as,  that  all  men 
are  predestined^  that  Hell  will  not  last  forevery  and  the 
like?" 

The  Orator,  "  His  very  look  inspired  esteem  and 
confidence,  — 

The  Critic,  "Then  one  must  have  taken  him  at  exactly 
the  right  moment,  and  not  when  he  was  foaming  at  the 
mouth  with  rage/' 

The  Orator,  "  A  mingled  air  of  nobility  and  gentle- 
ness; a  countenance  that  bespoke  the  probity  that 
appeared  in  all  his  acts,  and  a  sincerity  that  could 
not  dissimulate  — 

The  Critic,  **The  eulogist  did  not  know  the  old  fox." 
The  Orator,     "An  inviolable  fidelity  to  friends,  — 

The  Critic,  "What  friends?  Was  it  persons  of  the 
other  sex?  Of  these  he  was  always  fond,  and  too  much 
for  the  honor  of  some  of  them.'' 

The  Orator,  "  Disinterested  for  himself,  ardent  for 
others,  he  used  his  credit  at  court  only  to  recommend 
their  services,  excuse  their  faults,  and  obtain  favors 
for  them,  — 

The  Critic.  "True;  but  it  was  for  his  creatures,  and 
for  nobody  else." 

The  Orator,  "I  pass  in  silence  that  reading  of 
spiritual  books  which  he  practised  as  an  indispensable 


1698.J         HIS  EULOGIST  AND  HIS  CRITIC.  457 

duty  more  than  forty  years;  that  holy  avidity  with 
which  he  listened  to  the  word  of  God,  — 

The  Critic,  *<Only  if  the  preacher  addressed  the  ser- 
mon to  him,  and  called  him  Monseigneur,  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  Orator.  "  He  prepared  for  the  sacraments  by 
meditation  and  retreat,  — 

The  Critic,  *'And  generally  came  out  of  his  retreat 
more  excited  than  ever  against  the  Church." 

The  Orator,  "Let  us  not  recall  his  ancient  and 
noble  descent,  his  family  connected  with  all  that  is 
greatest  in  the  army,  the  magistracy,  and  the  govern- 
ment, —  Knights,  Marshals  of  France,  Governors  of 
Provinces,  Judges,  Councillors,  and  Ministers  of 
State:  let  us  not,  I  say,  recall  all  these  without 
remembering  that  their  examples  roused  this  gen- 
erous heart  to  noble  emulation ;  and,  as  an  expiring 
flame  grows  brighter  as  it  dies,  so  did  all  the  virtues 
of  his  race  unite  at  last  in  him  to  end  with  glory  a 
long  line  of  great  men,  that  shall  be  no  more  except 
in  history." 

The  Critic,  "Well  laid  on,  and  too  well  for  his  hearers 
to  believe  him.  Far  from  agreeing  that  all  these  virtues 
were  collected  in  the  person  of  his  pretended  hero,  they 
would  find  it  very  hard  to  admit  that  he  had  even  one  of 
them."  1 

1  Oraison  Funehre  du  tres-haut  et  tres-puissant  Seigneur  Low's  dt 
Buade,  Comte  de  Frontenac  et  de  Palluau,  etc.,  avec  des  remarguei 


4iS8  DEATH  OF  FRONTENAC.  [169a 

It  is  clear  enough  from  what  quiver  these  arrows 
came.  From  the  first,  Frontenac  had  set  himself  in 
opposition  to  the  most  influential  of  the  Canadian 
clergy.  When  he  came  to  the  colony,  their  power  in 
the  government  was  still  enormous,  and  even  the 
most  devout  of  his  predecessors  had  been  forced  into 
conflict  with  them  to  defend  the  civil  authority ;  but 
when  Frontenac  entered  the  strife,  he  brought  into  it 
an  irritability,  a  jealous  and  exacting  vanity,  a  love 
of  rule,  and  a  passion  for  having  his  own  way,  even 
in  trifles,  which  made  him  the  most  exasperating  of 
adversaries.  Hence  it  was  that  many  of  the  clerical 
party  felt  towards  him  a  bitterness  that  was  far 
from  ending  with  his  life. 

The  sentiment  of  a  religion  often  survives  its  con- 
victions. -However  heterodox  in  doctrine,  he  wa» 
still  wedded  to  the  observances  of  the  Church,  and 
practised  them,  under  the  ministration  of  the  Rdcollets, 
with  an  assiduity  that  made  full  amends  to  his  con- 
science for  the  vivacity  with  which  he  opposed  the 
rest  of  the  clergy.  To  the  R^coUets  their  patron  was 
the  most  devout  of  men ;  to  his  ultramontane  adver- 
saries, he  was  an  impious  persecutor. 

Frontenac 's   own   acts   and  words   best  paint  his 

critiques,  1698.  That  indefatigable  investif;rlor  of  Canadian  history, 
the  late  M.  Jacques  Viger,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  a  copy  of 
this  eulogy,  suggested  that  the  anonymous  critic  may  have  been 
Abbe  la  Tour,  author  of  the  Vie  de  Laval.  If  so,  his  statements 
need  the  support  of  more  trustworthy  evidence.  The  above  ex- 
tracts are  not  consecutive,  but  are  taken  from  various  parts  of  the 
manuscript. 


1698.]  HIS  CHARACTER.  469 

character,  and  it  is  needless  to  enlarge  upon  it. 
What  perhaps  may  be  least  forgiven  him  is  the  bar- 
barity of  the  warfare  that  he  waged,  and  the  cruelties 
that  he  permitted.  He  had  seen  too  many  towns 
sacked  to  be  much  subject  to  the  scruples  of  modern 
humanitarianism ;  yet  he  was  no  whit  more  ruthless 
than  his  times  and  his  surroundings,  and  some  of  his 
contemporaries  find  fault  with  him  for  not  allowing 
more  Indian  captives  to  be  tortured.  Many  surpassed 
him  in  cruelty,  none  equalled  him  in  capacity  and 
vigor.  When  civilized  enemies  were  once  within  his 
power,  he  treated  them,  according  to  their  degree, 
with  a  chivalrous  courtesy,  or  a  generous  kindness. 
If  he  was  a  hot  and  pertinacious  foe,  he  was  also  a 
fast  friend,  and  he  excited  love  and  hatred  in  about 
equal  measure.  His  attitude  towards  public  enemies 
was  always  proud  and  peremptory,  yet  his  courage 
was  guided  by  so  clear  a  sagacity  that  he  never  was 
forced  to  recede  from  the  position  he  had  taken. 
Towards  Indians,  he  was  an  admirable  compound  of 
sternness  and  conciliation.  Of  the  immensity  of  his 
services  to  the  colony  there  can  be  no  doubt.  He 
found  it,  under  Denonville,  in  humiliation  and  terror ; 
and  he  left  it  in  honor,  and  almost  in  triumph. 

In  spite  of  Father  Goyer,  greatness  must  be  denied 
him ;  but  a  more  remarkable  figure,  in  its  bold  and 
salient  individuality  and  sharply  marked  light  and 
shadow,  is  nowhere  seen  in  American  history.^ 

*  There  is  no  more  need  to  exaggerate  the  services  of  Frontenac. 
Nothing  could  be  more  fallacious  than  the  assertion,  often  repeated. 


¥- 


460  DEATH  OF  FRONTENAC.  [1698. 

that  in  his  time  Canada  withstood  the  united  force  of  all  the  British 
colonies.  Most  of  these  colonies  took  no  part  whatever  in  the  war. 
Only  two  of  them  took  an  aggressive  part,  New  York  and  Massa- 
chusetts. New  York  attacked  Canada  twice,  with  the  two  incon- 
siderable war-parties  of  John  Schuyler  in  1690  and  of  Peter  Schuyler 
in  the  next  year.  The  feeble  expedition  under  Winthrop  did  not 
get  beyond  Lake  George.  Massachusetts,  or  rather  her  seaboard 
towns,  attacked  Canada  once.  Quebec,  it  is  true,  was  kept  in  alarm 
during  several  years  by  rumors  of  another  attack  from  the  same 
quarter;  but  no  such  danger  existed,  as  Massachusetts  was  ex- 
hausted by  her  first  effort.  The  real  scourge  of  Canada  was  the 
Iroquois,  supplied  with  arms  and  ammunition  from  Albany. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

1699-1701. 

CONCLUSION. 

The  New  Governor.  —  Attitude  of  the  Iroquois.  —  Negotia- 
tions. —  Embassy  to  Onondaga.  —  Peace.  —  The  Iroquois 
AND  THE  Allies.  —  Difficulties,  —  Death  of  the  Great 
Huron.  —  Funeral  Rites.  —  The  Grand  Council.  —  The 
Work  of  Frontenac  Finished.  —  Results. 

It  did  not  need  the  presence  of  Frontenac  to  cause 
snappings  and  sparks  in  the  highly  electrical  atmos- 
phere of  New  France.  Callieres  took  his  place  as 
governor  ad  interim^  and  in  due  time  received  a 
formal  appointment  to  the  office.  Apart  from  the 
wretched  state  of  his  health,  undermined  by  gout  and 
dropsy,  he  was  in  most  respects  well  fitted  for  it; 
but  his  deportment  at  once  gave  umbrage  to  the 
excitable  Champigny,  who  declared  that  he  had 
never  seen  such  hauteur  since  he  came  to  the  colony. 
Another  official  was  still  more  offended.  "  Monsieur 
de  Frontenac,'' he  says,  "was  no  sooner  dead  than 
trouble  began.  Monsieur  de  Callieres,  puffed  up  by 
his  new  authority,  claims  honors  due  only  to  a  mar- 
shal of  France.  It  would  be  a  different  matter  if  he, 
like  his  predecessor,  were  regarded  as  the  father  of 


462  CONCLUSION.  [169a 

the  country,  and  the  love  and  delight  of  the  Indian 
allies.  At  the  review  at  Montreal  he  sat  in  his 
carriage,  and  received  the  incense  offered  him  with 
as  much  composure  and  coolness  as  if  he  had  been 
some  divinity  of  this  New  World."  In  spite  of  these 
complaints,  the  court  sustained  Callidres,  and  author- 
ized him  to  enjoy  the  honors  that  he  had  assumed.^ 

His  first  and  chief  task  was  to  finish  the  work  that 
Frontenac  had  shaped  out,  and  bring  the  Iroquois  to 
such  submission  as  the  interests  of  the  colony  and  its 
allies  demanded.  The  fierce  confederates  admired 
the  late  governor,  and,  if  they  themselves  are  to  be 
believed,  could  not  help  lamenting  him;  but  they 
were  emboldened  by  his  death,  and  the  difficulty  of 
dealing  with  them  was  increased  by  it.  Had  they 
been  sure  of  effectual  support  from  the  English,  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that  they  would  have  refused  to 
treat  with  the  French,  of  whom  their  distrust  was 
extreme.  The  treachery  of  Denonville  at  Fort 
Frontenac  still  rankled  in  their  hearts,  and  the  Eng- 
lish had  made  them  believe  that  some  of  their  best 
men  had  lately  been  poisoned  by  agents  from  Montreal. 
The  French  assured  them,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
the  English  meant  to  poison  them,  refuse  to  sell 
them  powder  and  lead,  and  then,  when  they  were 
helpless,  fall  upon  and  destroy  them.  At  Montreal, 
they  were  told  that  the  English  called  them  their 
Degroes;   and   at  Albany,  that  if  they   made   peace 

1  Champigny  au  Ministre,  26  Mai,  1699 ;  La  Potherie  au  Ministre, 
2  Juin,  1699 ;   Vaudrmil  et  La  Potherie  au  Ministre,  mime  date. 


.]  THE  IROQUOIS  QUESTION.  463 

with  Onontio  they  would  sink  into  "  perpetual  infamy 
and  slavery."  Still,  in  spite  of  their  perplexity,  they 
persisted  in  asserting  their  independence  of  each  of 
the  rival  powers,  and  played  the  one  against  the 
other,  in  order  to  strengthen  their  position  with 
both.  When  Bellomont  required  them  to  surrender 
their  French  prisoners  to  him,  they  answered :  "  We 
are  the  masters ;  our  prisoners  are  our  own.  We  will 
keep  them  or  give  them  to  the  French,  if  we  choose.* 
At  the  same  time  they  told  Callieres  that  they  would 
bring  them  to  the  English  at  Albany,  and  invited 
him  to  send  thither  his  agents  to  receive  them.  They 
were  much  disconcerted,  however,  when  letters  were 
read  to  them  which  showed  that,  pending  the  action 
of  commissioners  to  settle  the  dispute,  the  two  Kings 
had  ordered  their  respective  governors  to  refrain  from 
all  acts  of  hostilit}%  and  join  forces,  if  necessary,  to 
compel  the  Iroquois  to  keep  quiet.  ^  This,  with 
their  enormous  losses  and  their  desire  to  recover  their 
people  held  captive  in  Canada,  led  them  at  last  to 
serious  thoughts  of  peace.  Resolving  at  the  same 
time  to  try  the  temper  of  the  new  Onontio,  and  yield 
no  more  than  was  absolutely  necessary,  they  sent 
him  but  six  ambassadors,  and  no  prisoners.  The 
ambassadors  marched  in  single  file  to  the  place  of 
council ;  while  their  chief,  who  led  the  way,  sang  a 
dismal  song  of  lamentation  for  the  French  slain  in 

'  Le  Roy  a  Frontenac,  25  Mars,  1699.  Frontenac's  death  was  not 
knoTfn  at  Versailles  till  April.  Le  Roy  d'Angleterre  a  Bellomont,  2 
Avril,  1699 ;  La  Potherie,  iv.  128 ;   Callieres  a  Bellomont,  7  Aout,  1699 


464  CONCLUSION.  [1699. 

the  war,  calling  on  them  to  thrust  their  heads  above 
ground,  behold  the  good  work  of  peace,  and  banish 
every  thought  of  vengeance.  Callieres  proved,  as 
they  had  hoped,  less  inexorable  than  Frontenac.  He 
accepted  their  promises,  and  consented  to  send  for 
the  prisoners  in  their  hands,  on  condition  that  within 
thirty-six  days  a  full  deputation  of  their  principal 
men  should  come  to  Montreal.  The  Jesuit  Bruyas, 
the  Canadian  Maricourt,  and  a  French  officer  named 
Joncaire  went  back  with  them  to  receive  the 
prisoners. 

The  history  of  Joncaire  was  a  noteworthy  one. 
The  Senecas  had  captured  him  some  time  before, 
tortured  his  companions  to  death,  and  doomed  him  to 
the  same  fate.  As  a  preliminary  torment,  an  old 
chief  tried  to  bum  a  finger  of  the  captive  in  the  bowl 
of  his  pipe,  on  which  Joncaire  knocked  him  down. 
If  he  had  begged  for  mercy,  their  hearts  would  have 
been  flint;  but  the  warrior  crowd  were  so  pleased 
with  this  proof  of  courage  that  they  adopted  him  as 
one  of  their  tribe,  and  gave  him  an  Iroquois  wife. 
He  lived  among  them  for  many  years,  and  gained  a 
commanding  influence,  which  proved  very  useful  to 
the  French.  When  he,  with  Bruyas  and  Maricourt, 
approached  Onondaga,  which  had  long  before  risen 
from  its  ashes,  they  were  greeted  with  a  fusillade  of 
joy,  and  regaled  with  the  sweet  stalks  of  young 
maize,  followed  by  the  more  substantial  refreshment 
of  venison  and  corn  beaten  together  into  a  pulp  and 
boiled.     The  chiefs  and  elders  seemed  well  inclined 


1700.]  l^GOTIATIONS.  465 

to  peace ;  and  though  an  envoy  came  from  Albany  to 
prevent  it,  he  behaved  with  such  arrogance  that,  fai 
from  dissuading  his  auditors,  he  confirmed  them  in 
their  resolve  to  meet  Onontio  at  Montreal.  They 
seemed  willing  enough  to  give  up  their  French 
prisoners,  but  an  unexpected  difficulty  arose  from  the 
prisoners  themselves.  They  had  been  adopted  into 
Iroquois  families;  and  having  become  attached  to 
the  Indian  life,  they  would  not  leave  it.  Some  of 
them  hid  in  the  woods  to  escape  their  deliverers,  who 
with  their  best  efforts  could  collect  but  thirteen,  all 
women,  children,  and  boys.  With  these,  they  re- 
turned to  Montreal,  accompanied  by  a  peace  embassy 
of  nineteen  Iroquois. 

Peace,  then,  was  made.  "I  bury  the  hatchet," 
aaid  Calli^res,  "in  a  deep  hole,  and  over  the  hole  I 
place  a  great  rock,  and  over  the  rock  I  turn  a  river, 
that  the  hatchet  may  never  be  dug  up  again."  The 
famous  Huron,  Kondiaronk,  or  the  Rat,  was  present, 
as  were  also  a  few  Ottawas,  Abenakis,  and  converts 
of  the  Saut  and  the  Mountain.  Sharp  words  passed 
between  them  and  the  ambassadors ;  but  at  last  they 
all  laid  down  their  hatchets  at  the  feet  of  Onontio, 
and  signed  the  treaty  together.  It  was  but  a  truce, 
and  a  doubtful  one.  More  was  needed  to  confirm 
it,  and  the  following  August  was  named  for  a  solemn 
act  of  ratification.* 


*  On  these  negotiations,  see  La  Potherie,  iv.  lettre  xi. ;  N.  Y. 
Col.  Docs.,  ix.  708,  711,  715 ;  Golden,  200 ;  Callieres  au  Ministre,  16 
Octobre,  1700 ;    Champigny  au  Ministre,  22  Juillet,  1700 ;  La  Potherie 

0 


466  CONCLUSION.  [1701. 

Father  Engelran  was  sent  to  Michilimackinac, 
while  Courtemanche  spent  the  winter  and  spring  in 
toilsome  journeyings  among  the  tribes  of  the  west. 
Such  was  his  influence  over  them  that  he  persuaded 
them  all  to  give  up  their  Iroquois  prisoners,  and  send 
deputies  to  the  grand  council.  Engelran  had  had 
scarcely  less  success  among  the  northern  tribes ;  and 
early  in  July  a  great  fleet  of  canoes,  conducted  by 
Courtemanche,  and  filled  with  chiefs,  warriors,  and 
Iroquois  prisoners,  paddled  down  the  lakes  for 
Montreal.  Meanwhile  Bruyas,  Maricourt,  and 
Joncaire  had  returned  on  the  same  errand  to  the 
Iroquois  towns;  but  so  far  as  concerned  prisoners 
their  success  was  no  greater  than  before.  Whethei 
French  or  Indian,  the  chiefs  were  slow  to  give  them 
up,  saying  that  they  had  all  been  adopted  into 
families  who  would  not  part  with  them  unless  con- 
soled for  the  loss  by  gifts.  This  was  true;  but  it 
was  equally  true  of  the  other  tribes,  whose  chiefs  had 
made  the  necessary  gifts,  and  recovered  the  captive 
Iroquois.  Joncaire  and  his  colleagues  succeeded, 
however,  in  leading  a  large  deputation  of  chiefs 
and  elders  to  Montreal. 

Courtemanche  with  his  canoe-fleet  from  the  lakes 
was  not  far  behind;  and  when  their  approach  was 
announced,  the  chronicler.  La  Potherie,  full  of  curi- 
osity, went  to  meet  them  at  the  mission  village  of 

au  Mtnistre,  11  Aout,  1700 ;  Tbid.,  16  Octobre,  1700 ;  CalUeres  et  Cham- 
pigny  au  Ministre,  18  Octobre,  1700.  See  also  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iv.,  for 
ft  great  number  of  English  documents  bearing  on  the  subject. 


1701.]        THE  IROQUOIS   AND   THE   ALLIES.  467 

the  Saut.  First  appeared  the  Iroquois,  two  hundred 
in  all,  firing  their  guns  as  their  canoes  drew  near, 
while  the  mission  Indians,  ranged  along  the  shore, 
returned  the  salute.  The  ambassadors  were  con- 
ducted to  a  capacious  lodge,  where  for  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  they  sat  smoking  with  immovable  composure. 
Then  a  chief  of  the  mission  made  a  speech,  and  then 
followed  a  feast  of  boiled  dogs.  In  the  morning  they 
descended  the  rapids  to  Montreal,  and  in  due  time 
the  distant  roar  of  the  saluting  cannon  told  of  their 
arrival. 

They  had  scarcely  left  the  village,  when  the  river 
was  covered  with  the  canoes  of  the  western  and 
northern  allies.  There  was  another  fusillade  of  wel- 
come as  the  heterogeneous  company  landed  and 
marched  to  the  great  council-house.  The  calumet 
was  produced,  and  twelve  of  the  assembled  chiefs 
sang  a  song,  each  rattling  at  the  same  time  a  dried 
gourd  half  full  of  peas.  Six  large  kettles  were  next 
brought  in,  containing  several  dogs  and  a  bear  suit- 
ably chopped  to  pieces,  which  being  ladled  out  to  the 
guests  were  despatched  in  an  instant,  and  a  solemn 
dance  and  a  supper  of  boiled  corn  closed  the  festivity. 

The  strangers  embarked  again  on  the  next  day, 
and  the  cannon  of  Montreal  greeted  them  as  they 
landed  before  the  town.  A  great  quantity  of  ever- 
green boughs  had  been  gathered  for  their  use,  and  of 
these  they  made  their  wigwams  outside  the  palisades. 
Before  the  opening  of  the  grand  council,  a  multitude 
of  questions  must  be  settled,  jealousies  soothed,  and 


468  CONCLUSION.  [1701. 

complaints  answered.  Calli^res  had  no  peace.  He 
was  busied  for  a  week  in  giving  audience  to  the 
deputies.  There  was  one  question  which  agitated 
them  all,  and  threatened  to  rekindle  the  war. 
Kondiaronk,  the  Rat,  the  foremost  man  among  all 
the  allied  tribes,  gave  utterance  to  the  general  feel- 
ing: "My  father,  you  told  us  last  autumn  to  bring 
you  all  the  Iroquois  prisoners  in  our  hands.  We 
have  obeyed,  and  brought  them.  Now  let  us  see  if 
the  Iroquois  have  also  obeyed,  and  brought  you  our 
people  whom  they  captured  during  the  war.  If  they 
have  done  so,  they  are^  sincere ;  if  not,  they  are  false. 
But  I  know  that  they  have  not  brought  them.  I 
told  you  last  year  that  it  was  better  that  they  should 
bring  their  prisoners  first.  You  see  now  how  it  is, 
and  how  they  have  deceived  us.'* 

The  complaint  was  just,  and  the  situation  became 
critical.  The  Iroquois  deputies  were  invited  to 
explain  themselves.  They  stalked  into  the  council- 
room  with  their  usual  haughty  composure,  and  readily 
promised  to  surrender  the  prisoners  in  future,  but 
offered  no  hostages  for  their  good  faith.  The  Rat, 
who  had  counselled  his  own  and  other  tribes  to  bring 
their  Iroquois  captives  to  Montreal,  was  excessively 
mortified  at  finding  himself  duped.  He  came  to  a 
later  meeting,  when  this  and  other  matters  were  to 
be  discussed ;  but  he  was  so  weakened  by  fever  that 
he  could  not  stand.  An  armchair  was  brought  him ; 
and,  seated  in  it,  he  harangued  the  assembly  for  two 
hours,  amid  a  deep  silence,  broken  only  by  ejacula 


1701.]  DEATH  OF  THE  RAT.  469 

tions  of  approval  from  his  Indian  hearers.  When 
the  meeting  ended,  he  was  completely  exhausted; 
and  being  carried  in  his  chair  to  the  hospital,  he  died 
about  midnight.  He  was  a  great  loss  to  the  French; 
for  though  he  had  caused  the  massacre  of  La  Chine, 
his  services  of  late  years  had  been  invaluable.  In 
spite  of  his  unlucky  name,  he  was  one  of  the  ablest 
North  American  Indians  on  record,  as  appears  by  his 
remarkable  influence  over  many  tribes,  and  by  the 
respect,  not  to  say  admiration,  of  his  French  con- 
temporaries. 

The  French  charged  themselves  with  the  funeral 
rites,  carried  the  dead  chief  to  his  wigwam,  stretched 
him  on  a  robe  of  beaver-skin,  and  left  him  there  lying 
in  state,  swathed  in  a  scarlet  blanket,  with  a  kettle, 
a  gun,  and  a  sword  at  his  side,  for  his  use  in  the 
world  of  spirits.  This  was  a  concession  to  the  super- 
stition of  his  countrymen;  for  the  Rat  was  a  convert, 
and  went  regularly  to  mass.^  Even  the  Iroquois, 
his  deadliest  foes,  paid  tribute  to  his  memory.  Sixty 
of  them  came  in  solemn  procession,  and  ranged  them- 
selves around  the  bier;  while  one  of  their  principal 
chiefs  pronounced  an  harangue,  in  which  he  declared 
that  the  sun  had  covered  his  face  that  day  in  grief 
for  the  loss  of  the  great  Huron.  ^    He  was  buried  on 

1  La  Potherie,  iv.  229.  Charlevoix  suppresses  the  kettle  and 
gun,  and  says  that  the  dead  chief  wore  a  sword  and  a  uniform,  like 
a  French  officer.  In  fact,  he  wore  Indian  leggins  and  a  capote 
under  his  scarlet  blanket. 

'■^  Charlevoix  says  that  these  were  Christian  Iroquois  of  the 
missions.    Potherie,  his  only  authority,  proves  them  to  have  been 


470  CONCLUSION.  [1701. 

the  next  morning.  Saint- Ours,  senior  captain,  led 
the  funeral  train  with  an  escort  of  troops,  followed 
by  sixteen  Huron  warriors  in  robes  of  beaver-skin, 
marching  four  and  four,  with  faces  painted  black  and 
guns  reversed.  Then  came  the  clergy,  and  then  six 
war-chiefs  carrying  the  coffin.  It  was  decorated  with 
flowers,  and  on  it  lay  a  plumed  hat,  a  sword,  and  a 
gorget.  Behind  it  were  the  brother  and  sons  of  the 
dead  chief,  and  files  of  Huron  and  Ottawa  warriors ; 
while  Madame  de  Champigny,  attended  by  Vaudreuil 
and  all  the  military  officers,  closed  the  procession. 
After  the  service,  the  soldiers  fired  three  volleys  over 
the  grave ;  and  a  tablet  was  placed  upon  it,  carved 
with  the  words,  "Cy  git  le  Rat,  chef  des  Hurons." 

All  this  ceremony  pleased  the  allied  tribes,  and 
helped  to  calm  their  irritation.  Every  obstacle  being 
at  length  removed  or  smoothed  over,  the  fourth  of 
August  was  named  for  the  grand  council.  A  vast 
oblong  space  was  marked  out  on  a  plain  near  the 
town,  and  enclosed  with  a  fence  of  branches.  At 
one  end  was  a  canopy  of  boughs  and  leaves,  under 
which  were  seats  for  the  spectators.  Troops  were 
drawn  up  in  line  along  the  sides ;  the  seats  under  the 
canopy  were  filled  by  ladies,  officials,  and  the  chief 
inhabitants  of  Montreal;  Callieres  sat  in  front,  sur- 
rounded by  interpreters ;  and  the  Indians  were  seated 


heathen,  as  their  chief  mourner  was  a  noted  Seneca,  and  their 
spokesman,  Avenano,  was  the  accredited  orator  of  the  Oneidas, 
Onondagas,  Cayugas,  and  Senecas,  in  whose  name  he  made  the 
fimeral  harangue. 


1701.]  THE  GRAND  COUNCIL.  471 

on  the  grass  around  the  open  space.  There  were 
more  than  thirteen  hundred  of  them,  gathered  from  a 
distance  of  full  two  thousand  miles,  —  Hurons  and 
Ottawas  from  Michilimackinac,  O  jib  was  from  Lake 
Superior,  Crees  from  the  remote  north,  Pottawatamies 
from  Lake  Michigan,  Mascoutins,  Sacs,  Foxes, 
Winnebagoes,  and  Menominies  from  Wisconsin, 
Miamis  from  the  St.  Joseph,  Illinois  from  the  river 
Illinois,  Abenakis  from  Acadia,  and  many  allied 
hordes  of  less  account,  —  each  savage  painted  with 
diverse  hues  and  patterns,  and  each  in  his  dress  of 
ceremony,  leathern  shirts  fringed  with  scalp-locks, 
colored  blankets  or  robes  of  bison-hide  and  beaver- 
skin,  bristling  crests  of  hair  or  long  lank  tresses, 
eagle  feathers  or  horns  of  beasts.  Pre-eminent  among 
them  all  sat  their  valiant  and  terrible  foes,  the  war- 
riors of  the  confederacy.  "Strange,"  exclaims  La 
Potherie,  "  that  four  or  five  thousand  should  make  a 
whole  new  world  tremble.  New  England  is  but  too 
happy  to  gain  their  good  graces ;  New  France  is  often 
wasted  by  their  wars,  and  our  allies  dread  them  over 
an  extent  of  more  than  fifteen  hundred  leagues."  It 
was  more  a  marvel  than  he  knew,  for  he  greatly 
'        overrates  their  number. 

Calli^res  opened  the  council  with  a  speech,  in  which 
he  told  the  assembly,  that,  since  but  few  tribes  were 
represented  at  the  treaty  of  the  year  before,  he  had 
sent  for  them  all  to  ratify  it;  that  he  now  threw  their 
hatchets  and  his  own  into  a  pit  so  deep  that  nobody 
eould  find  them ;  that  henceforth  they  must  live  like 


472  CONCLUSION.  [1701 

brethren ;  and  if  by  chance  one  should  strike  another, 
the  injured  brother  must  not  revenge  the  blow,  but 
come  for  redress  to  him,  Onontio,  their  common 
father.  Nicolas  Perrot  and  the  Jesuits  who  acted  as 
interpreters  repeated  the  speech  in  five  different 
languages;  and  to  confirm  it,  thirty-one  wampum 
belts  were  given  to  the  thirty-one  tribes  present. 

Then  each  tribe  answered  in  turn.  First  came 
Hassaki,  chief  of  an  Ottawa  band  known  as  Cut 
Tails.  He  approached  with  a  majestic  air,  his  long 
robe  of  beaver-skin  trailing  on  the  grass  behind  him. 
Four  Iroquois  captives  followed,  with  eyes  bent  on 
the  ground ;  and  when  he  stopped  before  the  gover- 
nor, they  seated  themselves  at  his  feet.  "  You  asked 
us  for  our  prisoners,"  he  said,  "and  here  they  are. 
I  set  them  free  because  you  wish  it,  and  I  regard 
them  as  my  brothers."  Then  turning  to  the  Iroquois 
deputies:  "Know  that  if  I  pleased  I  might  have 
eaten  them ;  but  I  have  not  done  as  you  would  have 
done.  Remember  this  when  we  meet,  and  let  us  be 
friends."     The  Iroquois  ejaculated  their  approval. 

Next  came  a  Huron  chief,  followed  by  eight 
Iroquois  prisoners,  who,  as  he  declared,  had  been 
bought  at  great  cost,  in  kettles,  guns,  and  blankets, 
from  the  families  who  had  adopted  them.  "We 
thought  that  the  Iroquois  would  have  done  by  us  as 
we  have  done  by  them;  and  we  were  astonished  to 
see  that  they  had  not  brought  us  our  prisoners. 
Listen  to  me,  my  father;  and  you,  Iroquois,  listen  I 
I  am  not  sorry  to  make  peace,  since  my  father  wishea 


1701.]  THE  GRAND  COUNCIL.  473 

it,   and  I  will  live  in  peace  with   him  and    with 
you." 

Thus,  in  turn,  came  the  spokesmen  of  all  the  tribes, 
delivering  their  prisoners  and  making  their  speeches. 
The  Miami  orator  said:  "I  am  very  angry  with  the 
Iroquois,  who  burned  my  son  some  years  ago;  but 
to-day  I  forget  all  that.  My  father's  will  is  mine.  I 
will  not  be  like  the  Iroquois,  who  have  disobeyed  his 
voice."  The  orator  of  the  Mississagas  came  forward, 
crowned  with  the  head  and  horns  of  a  young  bison 
bull,  and,  presenting  his  prisoners,  said:  "I  place 
them  in  your  hands.  Do  with  them  as  you  like.  I 
am  only  too  proud  that  you  count  me  among  your 
alUes." 

The  chief  of  the  Foxes  now  rose  from  his  seat  at 
the  farther  end  of  the  enclosure,  and  walked  sedately 
across  the  whole  open  space  towards  the  stand  ot 
spectators.  His  face  was  painted  red,  and  he  wore 
an  old  French  wig,  with  its  abundant  curls  in  a  state 
of  complete  entanglement.  When  he  reached  the 
chair  of  the  governor,  he  bowed,  and  lifted  the  wig 
like  a  hat,  to  show  that  he  was  perfect  in  French 
politeness.  There  was  a  burst  of  laughter  from  the 
spectators;  but  Callieres,  with  ceremonious  gravity, 
begged  him  to  put  it  on  again,  which  he  did,  and 
proceeded  with  his  speech,  the  pith  of  which  was 
briefly  as  follows:  "The  darkness  is  gone,  the  sun 
shines  bright  again,  and  now  the  Iroquois  is  my 
brother.'* 

Then  came  a  young  Algonquin  war-chief,  dressed 


474  CONCLUSION.  [1701. 

like  a  Canadian,  but  adorned  with  a  drooping  red 
feather  and  a  tall  ridge  of  hair  like  the  crest  of  a 
cock.  It  was  he  who  slew  Black  Kettle,  that  re- 
doubted Iroquois  whose  loss  filled  the  confederacy 
with  mourning,  and  who  exclaimed  as  he  fell,  "  Must 
I,  who  have  made  the  whole  earth  tremble,  now  die 
by  the  hand  of  a  child!"  The  young  chief  spoke 
concisely  and  to  the  purpose:  "I  am  not  a  man  of 
counsel :  it  is  for  me  to  listen  to  your  words.  Peace 
has  come,  and  now  let  us  forget  the  past.'' 

When  he  and  all  the  rest  had  ended,  the  orator  of 
the  Iroquois  strode  to  the  front,  and  in  brief  words 
gave  in  their  adhesion  to  the  treaty :  "  Onontio,  we 
are  pleased  with  all  you  have  done,  and  we  have 
listened  to  all  you  have  said.  We  assure  you  by 
these  four  belts  of  wampum  that  we  will  stand  fast 
in  our  obedience.  As  for  the  prisoners  whom  we 
have  not  brought  you,  we  place  them  at  your  dis- 
posal, and  you  will  send  and  fetch  them." 

The  calumet  was  lighted.  Calliferes,  Champigny, 
and  Vaudreuil  drew  the  first  smoke,  then  the  Iroquois 
deputies,  and  then  all  the  tribes  in  turn.  The  treaty 
was  duly  signed,  the  representative  of  each  tribe 
affixing  his  mark,  in  the  shape  of  some  bird,  beast, 
fish,  reptile,  insect,  plant,  or  nondescript  object. 

"Thus,"  says  La  Potherie,  "the  labors  of  the  late 
Count  Frontenac  were  brought  to  a  happy  consum- 
mation." The  work  of  Frontenac  was  indeed  finished, 
though  not  as  he  would  have  finished  it.  Callieres 
had  told  the  Iroquois  that  till  they  surrendered  thei/ 


1701.]  THE  WORK  OF  FRONTENAC  FINISHED.    475 

[ndian  prisoners  he  would  keep  in  his  own  hands  the 
Iroquois  prisoners  surrendered  by  the  allied  tribes. 
To  this  the  spokesman  of  the  confederacy  coolly 
replied:  "Such  a  proposal  was  never  made  since  the 
world  began.  Keep  them,  if  you  like.  We  will  go 
home,  and  think  no  more  about  them;  but  if  you 
gave  them  to  us  without  making  trouble,  and  gave 
us  our  son  Joncaire  at  the  same  time,  we  should  have 
no  reason  to  distrust  your  sincerity,  and  should  all  be 
glad  to  send  you  back  the  prisoners  we  took  from  your 
allies.'*  Callieres  yielded,  persuaded  the  allies  to 
agree  to  the  conditions,  gave  up  the  prisoners,  and 
took  an  empty  promise  in  return.  It  was  a  triumph 
for  the  Iroquois,  who  meant  to  keep  their  Indian 
captives,  and  did  in  fact  keep  nearly  all  of  them.^ 
The  chief  objects  of  the  late  governor  were  gained. 
The  power  of  the  Iroquois  was  so  far  broken  that 

*  The  council  at  Montreal  is  described  at  great  length  by  La 
Potherie,  a  spectator.  There  is  a  short  oflacial  report  of  the  various 
speeches,  of  which  a  translation  will  be  found  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs., 
ix.  722.  Callieres  himself  gives  interesting  details.  {Callieres  au 
Ministre,  4  Octobre,  1701.)  A  great  number  of  papers  on  Indian 
affairs  at  this  time  will  be  found  in  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iv. 

Joncaire  went  for  the  prisoners  whom  the  Iroquois  had  promised 
to  give  up,  and  could  get  but  six  of  them.  { Callieres  au  Ministre,  31 
Octobre,  1701.)    The  rest  were  made  Iroquois  by  adoption. 

According  to  an  English  official  estimate  made  at  the  end  of  the 
war,  the  Iroquois  numbered  2,550  warriors  in  1689,  and  only  1,230  in 
1698.  (N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  iv.  420.)  In  1701  a  French  writer  estimates 
thera  at  only  1,200  warriors.  In  other  words,  their  strength  was 
reduced  at  least  one-half.  They  afterwards  partially  recovered  it 
by  the  adoption  of  prisoners,  and  still  more  by  the  adoption  of  an 
entire  kindred  tribe,  the  Tuscaroras.  In  1720  the  English  reckon 
them  at  2,000  warriors.    N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  v.  557. 


476  CONCLUSION.  [1701. 

they  were  never  again  very  formidable  to  the  French. 
Canada  had  confirmed  her  Indian  alliances,  and 
rebutted  the  English  claim  to  sovereignty  over  the 
five  tribes,  with  all  the  consequences  that  hung  upon 
it.  By  the  treaty  of  Ryswick,  the  great  questions  at 
issue  in  America  were  left  to  the  arbitrament  of 
future  wars;  and  meanwhile,  as  time  went  on,  the 
policy  of  Frontenac  developed  and  ripened.  Detroit 
was  occupied  by  the  French,  the  passes  of  the  west 
were  guarded  by  forts,  another  New  France  grew  up 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  lines  of  military 
communication  joined  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  with  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence ;  while  the  colonies  of  England 
lay  passive  between  the  Alleghanies  and  the  sea,  till 
roused  by  the  trumpet  that  sounded  with  wavering 
notes  on  many  a  bloody  field  to  peal  at  last  in  tri- 
umph from  the  Heights  of  Abraham. 


APPENDIX. 


THE  FAMILY  OF  FRONTENAC. 

Count  Frontenac's  grandfather  was  — 

Antoinb  de  Buade,  Seigneur  de  Frontenac,  Baron  de 
Palluau,  Conseiller  d'Etat,  Chevalier  des  Ordres  du  Roy, 
son  premier  maitre  d'hotel,  et  gouverueur  de  St.  Germain- 
en-Laye.  By  Jeanne  Secontat,  his  wife,  he  had,  among 
other  children,  — 

Henri  de  Buade,  Chevalier,  Baron  de  Palluau  et  mestre 
de  camp  [colonel]  du  regiment  de  Navarre,  who,  by  his 
wife  Anne  Phelippeaux,  daughter  of  Raymond  Ph^lippeaux, 
Secretary  of  State,  had,  among  other  children, — 

Louis  de  Buade,  Comte  de  Palluau  et  Frontenac, 
Seigneur  de  I'lsle-Savary,  mestre  de  camp  du  regiment  de 
Normandie,  marechal  de  camp  dans  les  armees  du  Roy,  et 
gouverneur  et  lieutenant  general  en  Canada,  Acadie,  Isle  de 
Terreneuve,  et  autres  pays  de  la  France  septentrionale. 
Louis  de  Buade  had  by  his  wife,  Anne  de  La  Grange-Tria- 
non, one  son,  Francois  Louis,  killed  in  Germany,  while  in 
the  service  of  the  King,  and  leaving  no  issue. 

The  foregoing  is  drawn  from  a  comparison  of  the  fol- 
lowing authorities,  all  of  which  will  be  found  in  the 
Biblioth^que  Nationale  of  Paris,  where  the  examination 
was  made:  Memoires  de  Marolles,  abbe  de  VilleloiUy  ii. 
201;    L'Hermite-Souliers,    Mistoire    Ginealogique  de  la 


478  APPENDIX. 

Noblesse  de  Touratne;  Du  Chesne,  Recherches  Histo- 
riques  de  I'  Ordre  du  Saint-Esprit ;  Morin,  Statuts  de 
V  Ordre  du  Saint-Esprit ;  MaroUes  de  Villeloin,  Histoire 
des  Anciens  Comtes  d^Anjou;  P^re  Anselme,  Grands 
Officiers  de  la  Couronne  ;  Pinard,  Chronologie  Historique- 
milltaire ;  Table  de  la  Gazette  de  France.  In  this  matter 
of  the  Frontenac  genealogy  I  am  much  indebted  to  the  kind 
offices  of  my  friend,  James  Gordon  Clarke,  Esq. 

When,  in  1600,  Henry  IV.  was  betrothed  to  Marie 
de  Medicis,  Frontenac,  grandfather  of  the  governor  of 
Canada,  described  as  "  ung  des  plus  antiens  serviteurs  du 
roy, "  was  sent  to  Florence  by  the  King  to  carry  his  portrait 
to  his  affianced  bride.  Memoir es  de  Philippe  Rurault^ 
448  (Petitot). 

The  appointment  of  Frontenac  to  the  post,  esteemed  as 
highly  honorable,  of  maitre  dliotel  in  the  royal  household, 
immediately  folio vred.  There  is  a  very  curious  book,  the 
Journal  of  Jean  Heroard,  a  physician  charged  with  the 
care  of  the  infant  Dauphin,  afterwards  Louis  XIII.,  born  in 
1601.  It  records  every  act  of  the  future  monarch,  —  his 
screaming  and  kicking  in  the  arms  of  his  nurses,  his  refu- 
sals to  be  washed  and  dressed,  his  resistance  when  his  hair 
was  combed  \  how  he  scratched  his  governess,  and  called  her 
names;  how  he  quarrelled  with  the  children  of  his  father's 
mistresses,  and  at  the  age  of  four  declined  to  accept  them  as 
brothers  and  sisters ;  how  his  mother  slighted  him ;  and  how 
his  father  sometimes  caressed,  sometimes  teased,  and  some- 
times corrected  him  with  his  own  hand.  The  details  of 
the  royal  nursery  are,  we  may  add,  astounding  for  their 
grossness;  and  the  language  and  the  manners  amid  wliich 
the  infant  monarch  grew  up  were  worthy  of  the  days  of 
Rabelais. 

Frontenac  and  his  children  appear  frequently,  and  not 
unfavorably,  on   the  pages  of  this  singular  diary.     Thus, 


APPENDIX.  479 

when  the  Dauphin  was  three  years  old,  the  King,  being  in 
bed,  took  him  and  a  young  Frontenac  of  about  the  same 
age,  set  them  before  him,  and  amused  himself  by  making 
them  rally  each  other  in  their  infantile  language.  The 
infant  Frontenac  had  a  trick  of  stuttering,  which  the 
Dauphin  caught  from  him,  and  retained  for  a  long  time. 
Again,  at  the  age  of  five,  the  Dauphin,  armed  with  a  little 
gun,  played  at  soldier  with  two  of  the  Frontenac  children 
in  the  hall  at  St.  Germain.  They  assaulted  a  town,  the 
rampart  being  represented  by  a  balustrade  before  the  fire- 
place. "  The  Dauphin, "  writes  the  journalist,  "  said  that  he 
would  be  a  musketeer;  and  yet  he  spoke  sharply  to  the 
others  who  would  not  do  as  he  wished.  The  King  said  to 
him,  *  My  boy,  you  are  a  musketeer,  but  you  speak  like  a 
general.'  "  Long  after,  when  the  Dauphin  was  in  his  four- 
teenth year,  the  following  entry  occurs  in  the  physician's 
diary :  — 

St.  Germain,  Sunday,  22d  (July,  1614).  "He  [the 
Dauphin]  goes  to  the  chapel  of  the  terrace,  then  mounts 
his  horse  and  goes  to  find  M.  de  Souvr^  and  M.  de  Fronte- 
nac, whom  he  surprises  as  they  were  at  breakfast  at  the 
small  house  near  the  quarries.  At  half-past  one,  he  mounts 
again,  in  hunting  boots;  goes  to  the  park  with  M.  de  Fron« 
tenac  as  a  guide,  chases  a  stag,  and  catches  him.  It  was 
his  first  stag-hunt." 

Of  Henri  de  Buade,  father  of  the  governor  of  Canada, 
but  little  is  recorded.  When  in  Paris  he  lived,  like  his 
son  after  him,  on  the  Quai  des  Celestins,  in  the  parish  of 
St.  Paul.  His  son.  Count  Frontenac,  was  bom  in  1620, 
seven  years  after  his  father's  marriage.  Apparently  his 
birth  took  place  elsewhere  than  in  Paris,  for  it  is  not 
recorded  with  those  of  Henri  de  Buade's  other  children,  on 
the  register  of  St.  Paul  (Jal,  Dictionnaire  Critique^  Bio' 
graphique,  et  d'Histoire) .     The  story  told  by  Tallemant  des 


4B0  APPENDIX. 

K^aux  concerning  his  marriage  (see  page  8)  seems  to  b* 
mainly  true.  Colonel  Jal  says:  "On  con9oit  que  j'ai  pu 
§tre  tent^  de  connaitre  ce  qu'il  y  a  de  vrai  dans  les  r^cits  de 
Saint-Simon  et  de  Tallemant  des  Reaux ;  voici  ce  qu'apr^s 
bien  des  recherches,  j'ai  pu  apprendre.  M'|*  La  Grange  fit, 
en  efifet,  un  raariage  k  demi  secret.  Ce  ne  fut  point  k  sa 
paroisse  que  fut  b^nie  son  union  avec  M.  de  Frontenac,  mais 
dans  une  des  petites  eglises  de  la  Cite  qui  avaient  le  privi- 
lege de  recevoir  les  amants  qui  s'unissaient  malgr^  leurs 
parents,  et  ceux  qui  regularisaient  leur  position  et  s'dpou- 
saient  un  peu  avant  —  quelquefois  apres  —  la  naissance  d'un 
enfant.  Ce  fut  a  St.  Pierre-aux-Boeufs  que,  le  mercredy, 
28  Octobre,  1648,  *  Messire  Louis  de  Buade,  Chevalier, 
comte  de  Frontenac,  conseiller  du  Roy  en  ses  conseils, 
maresclial  des  camps  et  armees  de  S.  M.,  et  maistre  de 
camp  du  regiment  du  Normandie,'  epousa  'demoiselle  Anne 
de  La  Grange,  fille  de  Messire  Charles  de  La  Grange,  con- 
seiller du  Roy  et  maistre  des  comptes '  de  la  paroisse  de  St. 
Paul  comme  M.  de  Frontenac,  '  en  vertu  de  la  dispense 
....  obtenue  de  M.  Pofficial  de  Paris  par  laquelle  il  est 
permis  au  S'  de  Buade  et  demoiselle  de  La  Grange  de  c^ 
lebrer  leur  marriage  suyvant  et  conformement  a  la  permis- 
sion qu'ils  en  ont  obtenue  du  S[  Coquerel,  vicaire  de  St. 
Paul,  devant  le  premier  cure  ou  vicaire  sur  ce  requis,  en 
gardant  les  solennites  en  ce  cas  requises  et  accoutumees.'  " 
Jal  then  gives  the  signatures  to  the  act  of  marriage,  which, 
except  that  of  the  bride,  are  all  of  the  Frontenac  family. 


INDEX. 


INDEX. 


Abenaki  Christians,  the,  2.31, 313. 

Abenaki  Indians,  the,  108;  join 
Frontenac's  expedition  against 
the  English,  230;  relations  of 
the  French  with,  231  ;  their 
migration  to  Canada,  231 ;  at 
the  capture  of  Pemaquid, 
236  ;  245,  246,  270  ;  villages  of, 
355,  369  ;  habits  of,  356 ; 
sign  a  truce  with  the  English, 
364;  the  French  try  to  win 
over,  364  ;  their  capture  of  York, 
367 ;  their  ravages  in  Maine  and 
New  Hampshire,  371 ;  make  a 
truce  with  the  English  at  Pema- 
quid,  378  ;  fickleness  of,  381 ; 
their  attack  on  the  settlement 
of  Oyster  River..  383,  384  ;  ge- 
neric derivatiou  of  the  name,  387; 
convenient  instruments  for  at- 
tacking New  York,  393;  the 
French  anxious  for  the  adhesion 
of,  397 ;  upbraided  by  Governor 
Stoughton,  398;  attack  Pema- 
quid,  399 ;  465  ;  at  the  grand 
council,  471. 

Abenaki  missions,  the,  357 ;  success 
of,  357. 

Abenakis  from  the  Chaudi^re,  the, 
invited  to  join  against  the  Mo- 
hawk towns,  325. 

Abenaki  villages,  the,  on  the 
Kennebec,  239. 


Abenaki  War,  the,  231-237; 
religious  aspect  of,  237. 

Abraham,  Heights  of,  476. 

Abundance,  Hall  of,  at  Versailles, 
193. 

Acadia,  fisheries  of,  122,  392; 
order  against  the  people  of,  199 ; 
Massachusetts  makes  an  easy 
conquest  of  all,  250;  contest 
of  the  "  Bostonnais  "  for,  352  ; 
boundaries  of,  353 ;  seized  by 
Sedgwick,  353;  restored  to 
France  by  the  peace  of  Breda, 
353  ;  occupied  by  Grandfontaine, 
353 ;  the  succession  of  govern- 
ors, 353 ;  charms  of,  355 ;  Meules 
takes  a  census  of,  355 ;  largely 
dependent  on  New  England, 
357 ;  the  Indian  tribes  of,  387, 
388. 

Acadians,  the,  feel  the  influence 
of  their  New  England  neigh- 
bors, 275. 

Acadians  of  Madawaska,  the,  sim- 
plicity of,  395. 

Adams,  palisaded  house  of,  384. 

Adarahta,  see  Cut  Nose. 

Agamenticus,  Mount,  367. 

Agamenticus  River,  the,  367. 

Aire,  siege  of,  7. 

Akoucssan  (Le  Moyne),  111. 

Albany,  79,  89,  94,  119,  130,  132, 
133.  134,  165,  166:  threatened 


484 


INDEX. 


attack  of  the  French  on,  169; 
170,  196,  205;  Froutenac  plans 
an  attack  on,  218, 221 ;  warned  of 
the  French  expedition,  228  ;  ren- 
dezvous of  the  colonial  militia 
at,  247,  258 ;  war-party  formed 
at,  303 ;  307,  420. 

Albany  convention,  the,  223. 

Albany,  Fort,  137;  captured  by 
the  French,  140. 

Albemarle,  Duke  of,  assists  Phips, 
253. 

Alcock,  fortified  house  of,  368. 

Alden,  Captain,  249 ;  sent  by 
Phips  to  seize  La  HSve,  249. 

Algonquin  Indians,  the,  108,  151  ; 
join  Frontenac's  expedition 
against  the  English,  230 ;  245 ; 
at  the  grand  council,  473. 

Algonquin  tribes  of  the  Great 
Lakes,  the,  see  Ottawas,  the. 

Algonquins  from  the  Ottawas,  the, 
305,  306. 

Algonquins  from  Three  Rivers, 
the,  invited  to  join  against  the 
Mohawk  towns,  325. 

Algonquins  of  Lake  Nipissing, 
the,  266. 

AUeghanies,  the,  414,  417,  476. 

AUegre,  house  of,  45. 

Allegre,  Marquise  d',  marriage  to 
Seignelay,  43. 

Amiens,  city  of,  49. 

Amours,  D',  petition  of,  55 ;  im- 
prisonment of,  57  ;  259. 

Amours,  Madame  D',  appears  be- 
fore the  Council  of  Quebec,  54. 

Andastes,  the,  conquered  by  the 
Iroquois,  78. 

Andover,  398,  401. 

Andros,  Sir  Edmund,  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  and  New  England 
united  in  government  under, 
172  ;  renews  the  demands  made 
by  Dongan  on  Denonville,  172; 


forbids  tke  Iroquois  to  negotiate 
with  the  French,  185 ;  letter 
from  Livingston  to,  227  ;  letter 
from  Van  Cortlandt  to,  227  ; 
plunders  Saint-Castin's  trading 
house,  232;  Boston  revolts 
against,  233;  256;  plunders 
Saint-Castin,  363. 

Androscoggin  River,  the,  355; 
Indian  tribes  on,  387. 

Anjou,  Duke  of,  192. 

Ann,  Saint,  294,296. 

Annapolis  Basin,  the  Strait  of,  354. 

Anselme,  Pere,  478. 

Anticosti,  Island  of,  297. 

Apollo,  Hall  of,  at  Versailles,  194. 

Arsenal,  the,  15. 

Ashurst,  Sir  H.,  256. 

Assarigoa,  the  Iroquois  name  for 
the  governor  of  Virginia,  97. 

Assigny,  408. 

Assinneboins,  the,  349. 

Aunay,  D',  wars  of,  353. 

Auteuil,  attorney-general  of  Que- 
bec, 50 ;  banished  from  Quebec 
by  Frontenac,  52;  his  contro. 
versy  with  Frontenac,  55  ;  259, 
344;  sharply  reprimanded  hj 
the  King,  350. 

Aux,  Chevalier  d',  among  the  Iro- 
quois, 211  ;  his  knowledge  of 
Boston,  402. 

Avaux,  Count  d',  140. 

Avenans,  makes  the  funeral  ha- 
rangue over  "  the  Rat,"  470. 

Babylon  of  the  Senecas,  the,  160. 

Bailey,  in  command  at  Fort  Nel- 
son, 413;  surrenders  to  Iber- 
ville, 414. 

Bangor,  site  of,  382. 

Barbadoes,  the  governor  of,  let- 
ters from  Leisler  to,  227. 

Barillon,  French  ambassador  at 
London,  125. 


INDEX. 


485 


Barnstable,  town  of,  257. 

Baron,  the,  an  Indian  chief,  424 ; 
intrigues  with  the  English,  425. 

Barrois,  Frontenac's  secretary, 
57,  67. 

Bastile,  the,  44, 377. 

Baudoin,  Father,  370;  leads 
the  Micmacs  against  Wells, 
393;  on  the  death  of  Chubb, 
401 ;  on  the  hardships  of  Iber- 
ville's march,  410;  on  the 
Newfoundland  expedition,  411 ; 
urges  the  Indians  against  the 
English,  411. 

Baugis,  Chevalier  de,  90;  takes 
Fort  St.  Louis,  91 ;  attacked  by 
the  Iroquois,  91. 

Baugy,Chevalier  de,  journal  of, 164. 

Beard,  palisaded  house  of,  384. 

Beam,  360. 

Beaubassin,  354 ;  agricultural 
population  at,  355 ;  pillaged 
by  the  English,  392  ;  its  oath  of 
allegiance  to  England,  392. 

Beaubassin,  mission  of,  370. 

Beaucour,  leads  an  expedition 
against  the  Iroquois,  314. 

Beauharnois,  Marquis  de,  317. 

Beauport,  273,  281,  283,  290,  294. 

Beaupre,  273,  290. 

Beaver-skins,  61,  79,264,  331. 

Begon,  377. 

Belknap,  on  the  disaster  at  Salmon 
Falls,  239  ;  on  the  massacre  at 
Oyster  River,  387. 

Bellefonds,  Mare'chal  de,  friend- 
ship for  Frontenac  of,  62 ; 
letter  from  Frontenac  to,  62. 

Bellomont,  Earl  of,  commissioned 
governor  of  New  York,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  New  Hampshire, 
429 ;  his  dispute  with  Fron- 
tenac over  the  Iroquois,  445 ; 
his  letter  to  Frontenac,  446 ; 
Frontenac's  reply  to,  448. 


Belmont,  Abb^,  the  Sulpitian,  Su* 
perior  of  the  mission  of  Montr 
real,  88,  91  ;  on  La  Barre's 
object  in  his  war  against  the 
Senecas,  106 ;  on  the  treachery 
of  Denonville,  148;  on  the 
force  of  Denonville,  150;  on 
the  rendezvous  at  Irondequoit 
Bay,  154,  155;  on  the  Baby- 
lon of  the  Senecas,  160 ;  on 
Denonville's  campaign  against 
the  Senecas,  163 ;  on  Denon- 
ville's conference  with  Big 
Mouth,  1 80 ;  on  the  strategy 
of  "the  Kat,"  183;  on  the 
Iroquois  invasion,  187,  189; 
on  Du  Lhut's  victory  over  the 
Iroquois,  203  ;  on  the  Iroquois 
attack  on  the  settlement  of 
La  Chesnaye,  203 ;  on  the 
declaration  of  war  be  tweet 
England  and  France,  233; 
deserts  from  the  French,  285 ; 
on  Schuyler's  attack  on  Fort 
Chambly,  304  ;  on  Valrenne's 
attack  on  Schuyler,  307,308;  330. 

Benac,  on  Vaudreuil's  expedition 
against  the  Iroquois,  302 ;  on 
Schuyler's  attack  on  Fort  Cham- 
bly, 304. 

Bergier,  Sieur,  358;  correspond- 
ence of,  359. 

Beringhen,  16. 

Bemi^res,  42. 

Berri,  Duke  of,  192. 

Berthier,  157,  159. 

Beyard,  330. 

Bickford,  Thomas,  palisaded  house 
of.  384 ;  his  defence  against  the 
Indians,  384. 

Bienville,  Fran9oi8  de,  277 ;  death 
of,  302. 

Bienville,  Le  Moyne  de,  joins 
Frontenac  against  the  English, 
220;  founds  New  Orleans,  4K. 


486 


INDEX. 


Big  Mouth,  the  famoas  Onon- 
daga orator,  99.  See  also 
Otriouati. 

Bigot,  Jacques,  the  Jesuit,  231 ; 
on  the  mission  of  St.  Francis  on 
the  Chaudi^re,  231. 

Bigot,  Vincent,  the  Jesuit,  231, 
379;  a  powerful  ally  of  Vil- 
lieu,  380;  his  mission  on  the 
Kennebec,  383;  386;  intrigues 
of,  391 ;  responsible  for  needless 
barbarity,  394;  his  reply  to 
Governor  Stoughton,  398. 

Bizard,  Lieutenant,  34 ;  arrested 
by  Perrot,  34;  released  by 
Perrot,  35 ;  57. 

Black  Kettle,  Chief,  death  of, 
443,  474. 

"Blacksmith,  John,"  164. 

Blois,  9,  10. 

Bois,  Abb^,  of  Maskinong^,  452. 

Boisseau,  agent  of  the  farmers  of 
the  revenue,  57 ;  his  quarrel 
with  Duchesneau's  son,  66,  67. 

Bomaseen,  the  Abenaki  chief,  on 
the  singular  methods  used  by 
the  French  missionaries  to  incite 

11  their  flocks  against  the  English, 

r  395. 

Bonaveuture,  in  command  against 
Pemaquid,  398. 

Bonavista,  post  of,  411. 

Borland,  family  of,  378. 

Boston,  43 ;  revolts  against  An- 
dres, 233 ;  expedition  against 
Port  Royal  from,  247  ;  in  gloom 
over  Phips's  defeat,  297 ;  the 
French  project  an  attack  on, 
402;  population  of,  402; 
Franquelin  makes  a  map  of, 
402,  403;  failure  of  the  pro- 
jected attack  on,  404. 

**  Bostonnais,"  the,  352;  their 
contest  for  Acadia,  352,  358; 
363,  364,  366,  375,  393. 


Boucher,  67. 

Boucherville,  302. 

Boughton's  Hill,  163. 

Bourbon,  Fort,  see  Nelson,  Port. 

Bourbon  monarchy,  the,  193. 

Bourbon  policy,  the,  417. 

Bourbons,  the,  49. 

Bourne,  on  the  repulse  of  the 
French  at  Wells,  374. 

Bouthier,  69. 

Bouthillier,  Madame  de,  8. 

Bowen,  Professor,  251 ;  his  ac- 
count of  Phips,  255. 

Bradstreet,  Governor,  restoration 
of,  234 ;  letter  to  Leisler  from, 
243 ;  250,  251  ;  asks  England  for 
aid  against  Quebec,  256;  is 
refused,  256. 

Brandy,  the  quarrel  over,  48 ; 
trade  of  the  coureurs  de  bois  in, 
127. 

Breaute,  Marquise  de,  at  Orleans, 
4,5. 

Breda,  peace  of,  restores  Acadia 
to  France,  353. 

Bremen,  398. 

Breton,  Cape,  399,  411. 

BretonvilHers,  Superior  of  St. 
Sulpice  at  Paris,  45;  letter  to 
the  Sulpitian  priests  of  Mont* 
real,  46. 

Brew,  William,  411, 

Bridger,  139. 

Brinton,  collector  of  the  port  of 
Boston,  254. 

Bristol,  398. 

British  America,  an  asylnm  for 
the  oppressed,  417. 

British  colonies,  the,  246 ;  incapa- 
ble of  acting  in  concert,  414 ; 
compared  with  Canada,  415; 
the  cause  of  their  future  great- 
ness, 417;  military  ineflficiency 
of,  429,  430. 

Brittany,  20. 


INDEX. 


487 


Brodh«ad,  on  the  population  of 

New  York,  1 24 ;  on  the  struggle 

between    Dongan  and    Denon- 

ville,  134. 
Brouillan,  governor  of  Placentia, 

409;    characteristics    of,    409; 

attacks    and    burns    St.   John, 

409 ;  the  division  of  the  spoils, 

410. 
Brown,  on  the  Newfoundland  ex- 
pedition, 411. 
Brucj,  Lieutenant,  31 ;  tried  and 

imprisoned,  37. 
Brunet,  M.,  14. 
Bruyas,  the  Jesuit,  at  La  Famine, 

110;  464,466. 
Buade,   Antoine  de,  grandfather 

of    Frontenac,    477 ;    sent    to 

Florence  bj   Henry   IV.,  478; 

made  maitre  cThdtel  in  the  royal 

household,  478. 
Buade,  Francois  Louis  de,  son  of 

Frontenac,   birth   of,  9 ;  death 

of,  16;  477. 
Buade,  Henri  de,  477;  father  of 

Frontenac,  477;  little  recorded 

of,  479. 
Buade,  Louis  de,  see  Frontenac, 

Count. 
Buccaneers,  360. 
Buffalo,  163. 
Burgundy,  Duke  of,  192. 
Burniffe,  BurnefEe,  see  Portneuf. 
Bush-ranging,  a  capital  offence  in 

Canada,  37. 

Caohnawaoa,  the  Mission  of, 
324. 

Calli^res,  governor  of  Montreal, 
157;  in  the  expedition  against 
the  Senecas,  159;  180;  on  the 
strategy  of  "  the  Rat,"  184  ;  on 
the  Iroquois  invasion,  189;  sent 
to  France,  196;  his  plan  for 
conquering    New    York,    1S6;| 


271 ;  comes  to  the  defence  oj 
Quebec,  282,  285,  292  ;  attacked 
by  fever,  304;  321,  322,  329, 
330;  a  friend  of  the  RecoUets, 
346 ;  in  controversy  with  Saint- 
Vallier,  346;  on  Saint- Vallier's 
departure  for  France,  349 ;  re- 
ceives advice  from  the  King, 
350;  on  Thury's  assistance  to 
Villieu,  386  ;  on  the  massacre 
at  Oyster  River,  388;  on  the 
folly  of  the  English,  398;  on 
Fronteuac's  negotiations  with 
the  Iroquois,  420 ;  on  the  burn- 
ing of  Iroquois  prisoners  by 
the  French,  426  ;  on  Fronteuac's 
campaign  against  the  Iroquois, 
428,  431,  433;  on  the  Iroquois 
Stoic,  435 ;  his  praise  for  Fronte- 
nac, 436 ;  commended  to  the 
King  by  Frontenac,  438 ;  on 
the  dispute  between  Bellomont 
and  Frontenac,  449;  succeeds 
Frontenac  as  governor  of 
Canada,  461  ;  gives  umbrage 
to  Ohampigny,  461 ;  sustained 
by  the  Court,  462;  his  chief 
task  that  of  subjecting  the  Iro- 
quois, 462 ;  proves  less  inexora- 
ble than  Frontenac,  464  ;  makes 
peace  with  the  Iroquois,  465 ; 
his  grand  council  with  the  Iro- 
quois, 470-474 ;  brings  Fronte- 
uac's labors  to  a  happy  consum- 
mation, 474. 

Callioure,  siege  of,  7. 

Canada,  14 ;  Frontenac  convokes 
the  three  estates  of,  20 ;  the 
spirit  of  French  colonial  rule  in, 
24  ;  its  life  hangs  upon  the  fur- 
trade,  57 ;  incurs  the  contempt 
of  enemies  and  allies,  118; 
rivalry  between  New  York  and, 
122;  the  population  of,  124;  in 
a  deplorable  condition,  173  ;  be 


488 


INDEX. 


numbed  ander  the  shock  of  the 
Iroquois  invasion,  190 ;  Louis 
XIV.  growing  tired  of,  195; 
Frontenac  sent  back  to,  195 ; 
the  triple  alliance  means  ruin 
to,  208 ;  the  Abenaki  migration 
to,  231  ;  the  Iroquois  propose 
a  combined  attack  on,  246 ;  fur- 
trade  revived  in,  264 ;  cater- 
pillars cause  destruction  in, 
309 ;  the  Ottawa  River  the  main 
artery  of,  313;  the  horizon 
brightening,  332  ;  organized  for 
war,  392;  compared  with  the 
English  colonies,  415;  must  be 
bound  to  the  papacy,  417;  its 
mission  to  propagate  Christian- 
ity and  civilization,  426 ;  the 
Iroquois  the  real  scourge  of, 
460 ;  Calli^res  becomes  governor 
of,  461 ;  confirms  her  Indian 
allies,  476. 

Canadian  Church,  the,  28;  rela- 
tions between  Frontenac  and, 
71. 

Canadians,  the,  mustered  at  the 
call  of  Frontenac,  30 ;  Fron- 
tenac's  hope  of  reanimating, 
246 ;  plan  an  expedition  against 
the  Mohawk  towns,  325 ;  hail 
Frontenac  as  a  father,  333; 
march  against  the  Onondagas, 
431 ;  their  kindness  to  civilized 
prisoners,  449. 

Canadian  War,  the,  36. 

Canagorah,  164. 

Canajora,  97. 

Candia,  attacked  by  the  Turks, 
13  ;  doomed,  13 ;  the  defence  of, 
453. 

Caniba  dialect,  the,  387. 

Canibas  (Kenibas)  Indians,  the, 
387,  394. 

Caunehoot,  sachem  of  the  Senecas, 
at  Onondaga,  207. 


Canseau,  fishing-station  and  fort 
at,  353. 

Carbonuiere,  Island  of,  411. 

Carheil,  Father,  the  Jesuit,  warns 
Frontenac  that  the  tribes  of 
Michilimackinac  are  on  the 
point  of  revolt,  21 1, 212 ;  216, 348. 

Carignan,  regiment  of,  317. 

Carignan-Salieres,  regiment  of, 
360. 

Carion,  Lieutenant,  33;  arrested 
by  Frontenac,  34;  released  by 
Perrot,  34. 

Carion,  Madame,  34. 

Carmel,  Mount,  272. 

Casco,  treaty  of,  230 ;  disaster  of, 
258;  375. 

Casco  Bay,  233,  237 ;  English  fort 
at,  239 ;  355. 

Casson,  Dollier  de,  Superior  of  St 
Sulpice  at  Montreal,  39,  69,  70. 

Castine,  town  of,  354,  361,  370. 

Castle  Island,  402. 

Cataraqui  (Fort  Frontenac),  114. 

Caterpillars,  cause  destruction  in 
Canada,  309. 

Catholics,  the,  in  New  York,  198; 
416. 

Cayenne,  84. 

Cayuga,  town  of,  435. 

Cayuga  Indians,  the,  attack  Fort 
St.  Louis,  91  ;  promise  friend- 
ship to  the  English,  95  ;  Denon- 
ville  plans  an  attack  on,  177; 
make  a  partial  peace  with  the 
French,  422. 

Chalmers,  George,  247. 

Chambly,  governor  of  Acadia,  353. 

Chambly,  the  ofiicer,  taken  pris- 
oner by  the  pirates,  359 ;  re- 
leased, 360. 

Chambly,  220,  269,  270. 

Chambly,  Fort,  Schuyler's  attack 
on,  304. 

Chambord,  11. 


INDEX. 


489 


Champigny,  the  intendant,  142 ; 
takes  Iroquois  prisoners  through 
treachery,  146;  on  the  force 
of  Denonville,  1 50 ;  on  the  Iro- 
quois invasion,  189;  harmony 
between  Denonville  and,  191 ; 
his  sympathy  for  the  Jesuits, 
192;  200;  on  Du  Lhut's  victory 
over  the  Iroquois,  203 ;  on  the 
Iroquois  attack  on  the  settle- 
ment of  La  Chesnaye,  203 ;  on 
the  Indian  attacks  on  the  Eng- 
lish, 233;  report  on  the  Phips 
attack  on  Port  Royal,  249;  at 
Quebec,  259 ;  complains  of 
Frontenac  to  the  minister,  262  ; 
at  Montreal,  263;  his  report 
on  Phips's  attack  on  Quebec, 
287 ;  on  Vaudreuil's  expedition 
against  the  Iroquois,  302 ;  on 
Schuyler's  success  against  Val- 
renne,  308 ;  royal  reproaches 
on,  310,  312;  his  relations  with 
Frontenac,  335,  339 ;  reproved 
by  the  King,  349 ;  on  the  cap- 
ture of  York,  369;  on  Fronte- 
nac's  kind  treatment  of  Nelson, 
876 ;  on  Nelson's  imprisonment, 
377 ;  on  the  massacre  at  Oyster 
River,  388 ;  the  projected  at- 
tack on  Boston,  403  ;  on  Father 
Baudoin,  411;  opposes  the  res- 
toration of  Fort  Frontenac, 
428 ;  on  Frontenac's  expedition 
against  the  Onoudagas,  436  ; 
causes  for  his  dispute  with  Fron- 
tenac, 439,  440  ;  sees  the  neces- 
sity of  compromise,  442  ;  on  the 
dispute  between  Bellomont  and 
Frontenac,  448,  449  ;  reconciled 
with  Frontenac,  450;  Callieres 
gives  umbrage  to,  461 ;  on  Cal- 
liferes*  peace  with  the  Iroquois, 
465,  466 ;  at  the  grand  council, 
474. 


Champigny,  Madame  de,  292, 451, 
470. 

Champlain,  Lake,  177,  196,  220, 
228,  245,  247,  258, 267, 268,  269, 
315,323,  325,  329. 

Charles,  King,  96. 

Charlestown,  402. 

Charlevoix,  on  the  generous  re- 
lease of  Lamberville  by  the 
Onondagas,  150;  on  Denon- 
ville's  victory  over  the  Senecas, 
159,  163;  his  estimate  of  "  the 
Rat,"  181  ;  on  the  Iroquois  in- 
vasion, 188;  on  Frontenac's 
embarrassing  position,  212;  on 
the  burning  of  Schenectady, 
227  ;  on  the  disaster  at  Salmon 
Falls,  239;  on  Phips's  scanda. 
lous  rapacity,  250,  251  ;  on 
Frontenac  and  his  allies,  268; 
on  the  massacre  at  Oyster  River, 
387  ;  on  Frontenac's  antagoniz- 
ing the  English,  391 ;  on  the 
death  of  Ourehaou^,  396 ;  on  the 
Iroquois  Stoic,  435 ;  charges 
Frontenac  with  jealousy,  436; 
on  the  death  of  "  the  Rat,"  469. 

Chasseur,  Frontenac's  secretary, 
67. 

Chateau  d'Angouleme,  the,  377. 

Chateaugay,  188,  408. 

Chaudiere,  the,  313,  325 ;  mission 
on,  406. 

Chaudiere,  Falls  of  the,  231. 

Chedabucto,  197  ;  capture  of,  249, 
251  ;  353 ;  pirates  capture  a 
French  fort  at,  359. 

Chevry,  De,  251. 

Chibuctou  (Halifax),  354. 

China,  King  of,  167. 

Christian  Indians,  147,  155,  220. 

Chubb,  Pascho,  in  command  at 
Andover,  398  ;  Thury's  Indians 
hold  a  conference  with,  398; 
called  on  by  the  French  to  8a» 


490 


INDEX. 


render,  400;  yields  to  the 
French,  400 ;  arrested  for  cow- 
ardice, 401 ;  released,  401  ; 
killed  by  the  Indians,  401 ;  letter 
from,  401 . 

Chubb,  Mrs.  Pascho,  killed  by  the 
Indians,  401. 

Church,  Captain,  243. 

Clark,  Lieut.  Thaddeus,  241 ;  at- 
tacked by  the  Indians,  241 ; 
292. 

Clarke,  James  Gordon,  478. 

Clergy,  the,  in  Canada,  see  Priests, 
the. 

Clermont,  Chevalier  de,  267; 
death  of,  28.5. 

Clion,  village  of,  9. 

Cocheco,  see  Dover. 

Colbert,  the  minister,  18;  dis- 
approves of  Frontenac's  innova- 
tions, 23  ;  Frontenac  complains 
of    the    Jesuits    to,   25 ;    urges 

'  upon  Frontenac  the  civilization 
of  the  Indians,  27;  memorial 
of  the  Abb^  d'Urf^  to,  39; 
letters  to  Frontenac  from,  43, 
45  ;  tact  and  moderation  of,  45  ; 
sends  a  colleague  to  Frontenac, 
47 ;  interposes  between  Fronte- 
nac and  Duchesneau,  49  ;  re- 
bukes Duchesneau,  49,  50;  re- 
bukes Frontenac,  53,  54  ;  again 
rebukes  Duchesneau,  58  ;  360. 

Colden,  on  the  Conferences  at 
Albany,  95,  96  ;  99,  144  ;  on  the 
rendezvous  at  Irondequoit  Bay, 
154  ;  on  Denonville's  campaign 
against  *,he  Senecas,  163 ;  on 
the  Iroquois  invasion,  1 90  ;  on 
the  grand  council  at  Onondaga, 
210  ;  on  Frontenac's  expedition 
against  the  Mohawks,  222 ;  on 

,   the    burning    of    Schenectady, 

.  227  ;  strangely  ignorant  of  the 
.  English  expedition  against  Can- 


ada, 269;  on  the  relations 
of  the  English  of  New  York 
with  the  Iroquois,  303 ;  330 ; 
his  description  of  Decanisora, 
419 ;  on  Frontenac's  negotia- 
tions with  the  Iroquois,  420 ;  on 
Fletcher's  lack  of  resources,  427 ; 
on  Calli^res'  peace  with  the 
Iroquois,  465. 

Company  of  the  North,  the,  re- 
solves to  expel  the  English 
Company  of  Hudson's  Bay,  137  ; 
Denonville  warmly  espouses, 
137 ;  Forts  Hayes,  Rupert,  and 
Albany  captured  by,  138;  re- 
ceives a  grant  of  the  trade  of 
Hudson's  Bay  from  Louis  XIV., 
138. 

Conde',  4. 

Connecticut,  colony  of,  effect  of 
King  Philip's  War  on,  230; 
plans  a  combined  attack  on 
Canada,  4,  25 ;  takes  little  part 
against  the  French,  392;  429, 
430,  436. 

Connecticut  militia,  the,  223; 
under  the  popular  ban,  223. 

Connecticut  River,  the,  405. 

Convers,  Captain,  repulses  the 
French,  371, 372, 373 ;  ranges  the 
frontier,  378 ;  palisaded  house 
of,  390. 

Coquerel,  Sieur,  vicar  of  St.  Paul, 
480. 

Corlaer,  the  Indian  name  for  the 
governor  of  New  York,  97. 

Cornwall,  county  of,  237. 

Corte  de  March,  M.,  see  Courte- 
manche. 

Cortlandt,  Colonel,  436. 

Courcelle,  Governor,  recommends 
building  a  fort  on  Lake  Onta- 
rio, 29  ;  chastises  the  Mohawks, 
78. 

Coureurs   de    bois,  Frontenac  le- 


INDEX. 


491 


ceives  orders  to  arrest  all,  32; 
Perrot  the  patron  of,  35  ;  vigor- 
ous work  of  La  Nouguere 
against,  37  ;  Frontenac  accused 
of  an  alliance  with,  38,  60 ;  Du 
Lhuc  the  leader  of,  57 ;  La 
Chesnaye  accused  of  aiding,  63 ; 
Frontenac's  liking  for,  73 ;  their 
trade  in  brandy,  127  ;  antipathy 
of  Denonville  for,  191 ;  join 
Froutenac  against  the  English, 
219 ;  come  to  the  defence  of 
Quebec,  283. 

Courtemanche,  Lieutenant,  240; 
leads  an  expedition  against  the 
Mohawk  towns,  325 ;  sent  up 
the  Ottawa,  330 ;  at  Fort  Miamis, 
423 ;  his  success  among  the 
western   tribes,  466. 

Cree  Indians,  the,  trading  at  Mont- 
real, 264 ;  at  the  grand  council, 
471. 

CrLsasy,  Marquis  de,  324;  in 
Frontenac's  attack  on  the  Onon- 
dagas,  433. 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  375. 

Cut  Nose,  the  Iroquois  convert, 
205  ;  at  Onondaga,  206. 

Cut  Tails,  the,  at  the  grand  coun- 
cil, 472. 

Cuyler,  97. 

Dablon,  Father,  Superior  of  the 
missions,  143. 

D'Amours ;  see  Amours,  D'. 

Danforth,  256. 

Dangeau,  journal  of,  195. 

"  Daring,"  the,  battles  with  Iber- 
ville, 412;  makes  her  escape, 
413. 

Darvilliers,  sent  against  the  Iro- 
quois, 314  ;  accident  to,  314. 

Davis,  Captain  Sylvanus,  in  com- 
mand of  Fort  Loyal,  240 ;  sur- 
renders to  the  French,  242  ;  his 


discussion  with  Frontenac,  243, 
244;  on  the  capture  of  Fort 
Loyal,  243  ;  receives  kind  treat- 
ment from  Frontenac,  244; 
diary  of,  273  ;  on  Phips's  attack 
on  Quebec,  285  ;  exchanged,  292. 

Decanisora,  the  Iroquois  orator, 
82,  182;  419;  makes  overtures 
of  peace  to  Frontenac,  419 ; 
Frontenac's  demands,  419. 

Dellius,  the  minister  of  Albany, 
444 ;  on  the  correspondence  be- 
tween Bellomont  and  Frontenac, 
449. 

De  Monts,  354. 

Denonville,  Marquis  de,  91 ;  ap- 
pointed governor  of  Canada, 
120;  sails  for  Canada,  121; 
Saint- Vallier's  estimate  of,  121 ; 
arrival  at  Quebec,  122;  difficuL 
ties  encountered,  122;  charac- 
teristics of,  122,  123  ;  devoted  to 
the  Jesuits,  123;  receives  un- 
hesitating support  from  the 
King,  124;  royal  instructions  to, 
125  ;  on  the  intrigues  of  Dongan, 
125  ;  uses  counter-intrigues,  126 ; 
strongly  urges  reinforcements 
from  France,  127,  128;  his  cor- 
respondence with  Dongan,  128- 
137  ;  his  projected  forts,  133: 
sends  Du  Lhut  to  occupy  the 
Strait  of  Detroit,  133  ;  urges  the 
King  to  buy  the  colony  of  New 
York,  134 ;  ordered  by  the  King 
to  attack  the  Iroquois  towns, 
141  ;  his  plans  to  destroy  the 
Senecas,  142;  peril  in  which 
Lamberville  is  placed  by,  143  ; 
sets  out  against  the  Indians, 
144 ;  ordered  to  send  the  Iro- 
quois to  France  as  galley-slaves, 
146;  treachery  of,  147;  his 
force,  154;  begins  his  march, 
156 ;    attacked     by    ambushed 


492 


INDEX. 


Senecas,  158;  his  victory  over 
the  Senecas,  159;  withdraws  to 
Irondequoit  Bay,  162;  builds  a 
fort  at  Niagara,  1 62  ;  returns  to 
Montreal,  162;  his  lack  of  com- 
plete success,  162 ;  list  of  author- 
ities on  his  campaign  against  the 
Senecas,  163,  164;  journal  of, 
163  ;  altercations  with  Dongan, 
166-168;  shows  signs  of  yield- 
ing to  Dongan,  169;  sends 
Father  Vaillant  as  ambassador 
to  Dongan,  170;  his  angry  cor- 
respondence with  Dongan,  170; 
sudden  change  in  his  attitude 
towards  Dongan,  171  ;  Andros 
renews  the  demands  made  by 
Dongan  on,  172;  demolishes 
Fort  Niagara,  1 74 ;  begs  the 
King  to  return  the  Indian  pris- 
oners from  France,  1 74  ;  appeals 
to  the  King  for  help,  176,  177; 
plans  an  attack  on  the  Iroquois, 
177 ;  approaches  Big  Mouth, 
178;  his  conference  with  Big 
Mouth,  179  ;  his  plan  for  peace, 
179;  "the  Rat's"  revenge,  182- 
184  ;  the  Iroquois  invasion,  185  ; 
recalled,  190;  characteristics  of , 
190;  his  antipathy  for  Indians 
and  the  coureurs  de  bois,  191  ; 
his  devotion  for  the  Church, 
191  ;  his  friendship  for  Saint- 
Vallier,  191  ;  his  later  life  in 
France,  192;  200,201,  259;  on 
the  piracy  in  Acadian  waters, 
359  ;  Saint-Castin  complains  of 
Perrot  to,  362;  intrigues  of, 
391. 

Denonville,  Marquise  de,  191,  201. 

Denys,  Father  Joseph,  347. 

D^pot  des  Cartes  de  la  Marine, 
the,  manuscript  map  of  the 
Canadian  forts  in,  175. 

Derby,  family  of,  378. 


Desberg^res,  Captain,  at  Fort 
Niagara,  174. 

Des  Goutins,  on  the  death  of 
Chubb,  401. 

Desiles,  369,  370. 

Desjordis,  excommunication  o^ 
345,  349. 

Des  Reaux,  Tallemant,  on  Fron- 
tenac's  marriage,  479,  480. 

Detroit,  151,  425;  occupied  by 
the  French,  476. 

Detroit,  Strait  of,  117  ;  Denonville 
projects  a  fort  on,  133 ;  Du 
Lhut  sent  by  Denonville  to  oc- 
cupy, 133. 

Diamond,  Cape,  271,  273,  311; 
fortifications  of,  312;  315. 

Diamond,  John,  captured  by  the 
Indians,  371  ;  tortured  to  death, 
373. 

Diana,  Hall  of,  at  Versailles,  194. 

"  Divines,  Les,"  15. 

Dog-feast,  the,  422. 

Dongan,  Colonel  Thomas,  91  ;  ap- 
pointed governor  of  New  York^ 
93 ;  charged  with  instigating 
the  Iroquois  to  attack  the 
French,  94 ;  letter  from  La 
Barre  to,  95 ;  asserts  claim  of 
England  to  sovereignty  over 
the  Indian  confederacy  and  to 
the  whole  country  south  of  the 
Great  Lakes,  95 ;  favors  the 
intrigues  between  the  Senecas 
and  the  lake  tribes,  123;  enters 
the  lists  against  the  French, 
124;  intrigues  with  the  Indians, 
125 ;  his  correspondence  with 
Denonville,  128-137;  regards 
the  Jesuits  as  dangerous  political 
enemies,  130 ;  sends  English 
goods  to  the  upper  lakes,  133  ; 
warns  the  Iroquois  of  the  pro- 
posed war  of  the  French,  144 ; 
bis    indignation    against     the 


INDEX. 


49S 


French,  165;  his  propositions 
to  the  Five  Nations,  165,  166; 
answer  of  the  Five  Nations  to, 
166 ;  altercations  with  Denon- 
ville,  166-168;  ridicules  the 
French  claims  to  the  Iroquois 
country,  167  ;  authorized  by  the 
King  to  protect  the  Five  Na- 
tions, 168;  assumes  a  warlike 
attitude,  169  ;  his  letter  to  the 
Earl  of  Sunderland,  169;  de- 
mauds  the  demolition  of  Fort 
Niagara,  169  ;  his  other  demands 
from  Denonville,  169;  Denon- 
ville  sends  Father  Vaillant  as 
ambassador  to,  170;  his  angry 
correspondence  with  Denonville, 
170;  sudden  change  in  the  atti- 
tude of  Denonville  towards, 
171;  recalled  by  King  James, 
172 ;  a  bold  and  vigorous  de- 
fender of  the  claims  of  the  Brit- 
ish crown,  172;  363. 

Dorchester,  402. 

Dover,  233  ;  catastrophe  at,  235. 

Drew,  palisaded  house  of,  384. 

Du  Chesne,  Le  Ber,  joins  Fronte- 
nac  against  the  English,  220; 
307,  478. 

Duchesneau,  the  intendant,  sent 
to  Canada  as  colleague  to  Fron- 
tenac,  48 ;  joins  the  ecclesiastics 
against  Frontenac,  48  ;  constant 
friction  between  Frontenac  and, 
49;  rebuked  by  Colbert,  49; 
fresh  trouble  with  Frontenac, 
51 ;  Frontenac's  wrath  against, 
56 ;  heads  a  faction  against 
Frontenac,  57  ;  denounces  Fron- 
tenac to  the  King,  58;  again 
rebuked  by  Colbert,  58,  59 ; 
list  of  his  complaints  against 
Frontenac,  59-61  ;  list  of  Fron- 
tenac's complaints  against,  63, 
64;  makes  accusations  against 


Frontenac  to  Seignelay,  64, 
65 ;  recalled  by  the  King,  71 ; 
blamed  by  La  Barre,  rather 
than  Frontenac,  71;  on  the 
illicit  fur-trade,  79. 

Duchesneau  (the  younger),  quar- 
rel with  Boisseau,  67. 

Du  Lhut,  Greysolon,  leader  of  the 
coureurs  de  bois,  57 ;  La  Barre 
seeks  to  gain,  85,  86,  103,  116; 
sent  by  Denonville  to  occupy 
the  Strait  of  Detroit,  133;  at 
Fort  St.  Louis,  151  ;  at  Detroit, 
153  156;  wins  a  victory  over 
the  Iroquois,  203. 

Dummer,  the  minister,  367  ;  killed 
by  the  French,  367 ;  on  the 
singular  methods  used  by  the 
French  missionaries,  395. 

Dummer,  Mrs.,  death  of,  368. 

Duplessis,  Captain,  154,  163. 

Durham,  town  of,  383. 

Dustan,  defends  his  house  against 
the  Indians,  405. 

Dustan,  Hannah,  captured  by  the 
Indians,  405 ;  her  heroic  escape, 
406  ;  receives  a  bounty,  407. 

Dutch,  the,  dependence  of  the  In- 
dians upon,  79;  89;  aim  at  a 
share  of  the  western  fur-trade, 
93 ;  poach  on  the  French  pre- 
serves, 94;  198,  200,  205;  at 
Schenectady,  223;  attacked  by 
the  French,  225;  attack  Fort 
Peutegoet,  360. 

Dyagodiyu,  164. 

Dyunehogawah,  the  Seneca  chief, 
164. 

Ecclesiastical  honors,  contro- 
versy between  Frontenac  and 
the  priests  concerning,  49. 

Edgerly,  palisaded  house  of,  384. 

Egeremet,  Chief,  370;  captare<i 
by  the  English,  398. 


494 


INDEX. 


Eliot,  John,  897. 

Emerson,  Rev.  John,  minister  of 
Gloucester,  257. 

Engelran,  Father,  the  Jesuit,  at 
Michilimackinac,  126,  151,  157  ; 
wounded,  160;  his  success 
among  the  northern  tribes, 
466. 

England,  signs  a  treaty  of  neu- 
trality with  France  at  White- 
hall, 140;  revolution  in,  190; 
war  with  France,  190;  refuses 
to  aid  New  England  against 
Quebec,  256;  engrossed  by  the 
Irish  war,  256;  rivalry  with 
France  for  the  interior  of  the 
continent,  414. 

English  cruisers,  the,  300. 

English  heretics,  the,  regarded 
with  horror  in  Canada,  275. 

English  of  Hudson's  Bay,  the, 
competing  for  the  traffic  of  the 
northern  tribes,  122;  Iberville 
ordered  to  proceed  against,  411. 

English  of  New  England,  the, 
seizing  the  fisheries  of  Acadia, 
122;  315;  the  Indians  sign  a 
truce  with,  364;  the  Abenakis 
make  a  truce  at  Pemaquid  with, 
378. 

English  of  New  York,  the,  trade 
of  the  Jesuits  with,  72 ;  de- 
pendence of  the  Indians  upon, 
79 ;  89  ;  aim  at  a  share  of  the 
western  fur-trade,  93;  claims 
urged  by,  122  ;  their  threatened 
attack  on  Albany,  169 ;  accused 
of  instigating  the  Iroquois  in- 
vasion, 189;  200,  205;  Fronte- 
nac  takes  the  offensive  against, 
218;  massacred  by  the  French 
at  Schenectady,  225  ;  their  rela- 
tions with  the  Iroquois,  303 ; 
policy  of  the  Iroquois  with,  422, 
423. 


English  traders,  86;  captured  by 
the  French,  153,  154,  162. 

"  Envieux,"  the,  375,  398. 

Erie.  Lake,  117,  127;  Denon villa 
projects  a  fort  on,  133  ;  425. 

Etchemin  Indians,  the,  387. 

Faillon,  on  the  Abb^  d'Urf^'s 
interviews  with  Frontenac,  39; 
on  Bretonvilliers'  letter  to  the 
Sulpitians  of  Montreal,  46 ;  328, 
330. 

Fenelon,  Abb^  Salignac  de,  36 ; 
his  anger  against  Frontenac, 
38 ;  espouses  the  cause  of  Per- 
rot,  39 ;  summoned  before  Fron- 
tenac charged  with  sedition,  39 ; 
his  trial  before  the  Council  of 
Quebec,  40  ;  shipped  to  France, 
42  ;  forbidden  to  return  to  Can- 
ada, 46, 

Ferland,  the  Abb^,  on  the  heroine 
of  Verch^res,  323. 

Fiesque,  Comtesse  de  (the  elder), 
7. 

Fiesque,  Comtesse  de,  at  Orleans, 
4,  5,  10. 

Fisheries,  the  Acadian,  New  Eng- 
land poaches  on,  392. 

Five  Nations,  the,  Dongan  asserts 
England's  claim  to  sovereignty 
over,  95  ;  La  Barre  recounts  the 
offences  of,  111;  Dongan's 
propositions  to,  165;  their  reply 
to  Dongan,  1 66 ;  King  James 
authorizes  Dongan  to  protect, 
1 68 ;  makes  overtures  of  peace 
to  Frontenac,  418. 

Fletcher,  Governor,  makes  de- 
mauds  of  the  Iroquois,  420; 
reply  of  the  Iroquois  to,  420; 
his  lack  of  judgment,  421  ; 
charged  with  gross  misconduct, 
421  ;  forced  to  consent  to  the 
Iroquois  peace  with  the  French 


INDEX. 


496 


422  ;  his  lack  of  resources,  427  ; 
complains  of  the  military  in- 
eflBciency  of  the  British  Colo- 
nies, 429 ;  seeks  to  block  Fron- 
tenac's  expedition  against  the 
Onondagas,  436. 

Florence,  478 

Fontaine,  Madame,  321. 

Fontaine,  Pierre,  319,  320,  321. 

Forest  posts,  440 ;  the  centres  of 
debauchery,  441  ;  the  King 
orders  the  destruction  of,  441 

Forest  trade,  the,89. 

Fortified  houses  of  New  England, 
the,  390. 

Foxes,  the,  116,  117;  plan  to  re- 
nounce the  French,  424 ;  at  the 
grand  council,  471,  473. 

France,  a  Venetian  embassy  asks 
for  aid  against  the  Turks  from, 
13 ;  signs  a  treaty  of  neutral- 
ity with  England  at  Whitehall, 
140  ;  war  with  England,  190. 

Francheville,  the  cur6,  repulses 
the  English,  275. 

Franqueliu,  map  of  Boston  made 
by,  402,  403. 

Fredericksburg,  town  of,  146. 

Fredericton,  city  of,  366. 

Fremin,  the  Jesuit,  293. 

French,  the,  fear  of  the  Mohawks 
for,  78;  expedition  against  the 
Senecas,  1 08 ;  attacked  by  fever, 
108 ;  aim  at  mastering  the 
whole  interior  of  the  continent, 
124 ;  Dongan's  indignation 
against,  165  ;  their  claims  to  the 
Iroquois  country,  167;  168; 
at  Michilimaakinac,  215  ;  their 
relations  with  the  Abenakis, 
231 ;  alarmed  by  the  truce  be- 
tween the  English  and  the 
Abenakis,  364 ;  endeavor  to  win 
over  the  Abenakis,  364 ;  capture 
York,   367 ;    the  advantage  of 


the  massacre  at  Oyster  Rirer 

to,  389 ;  their  motive  for  their 
ruthless  warfare,  391  ;  New 
England  does  nothing  to  pro- 
voke the  barbarous  attacks  of, 
392 ;  needless  barbarity  of,  393  ; 
their  practice  of  buying  English 
prisoners,  397 ;  plan  to  capture 
Pemaquid,  397  ;  the  conquest  of 
Pemaquid  a  crowning  triumph 
to,  401  ;  project  an  attack  on 
Boston,  402 ;  rivalry  with  the 
English  for  the  interior  of  the 
continent,  414;  importance  of 
their  relations  with  the  Iroquois, 
417;  policy  of  the  Iroquois 
with,  422,  423;  barbarous 
policy  of,  425 ;  the  death  of 
"  the  Rat "  a  great  loss  to,  469. 

French  colonization,  grand  scheme 
of,  124 ;  Dongan  enters  the  lists 
against,  124. 

French  Indians,  the,  226,  326. 

French  missionaries,  the,  395  ;  use 
singular  methods  to  incite  their 
flocks  against  the  English,  395. 

Fronde,  the,  civil  war  of,  4. 

Frontenac,  Count,  3  ;  dangerous 
illness  of,  6 ;  aversion  of  his 
wife  to,  6 ;  origin  of,  7 ;  early 
life  of,  7 ;  his  marriage,  8 ; 
son  born  to,  9 ;  domestic  un- 
happiness,  9;  at  St.  Fargeau, 
9 ;  tries  to  mediate  between 
Mile,  de  Montpensier  and  her 
father,  9 ;  his  dispute  with  Pre- 
fontaine,  10;  visited  by  Mile,  de 
Montpensier  at  Isle  Savary,  10; 
his  enviable  position  at  court, 
12;  aversion  of  Mile,  de  Mont- 
pensier for,  12  ;  his  reputation 
as  a  soldier,  13  ;  appointed  gov- 
ernor of  New  France,  14 ;  death 
of  his  son,  16 ;  his  arrival  at 
Quebec,   17;    his   first    impres- 


496 


INDEX. 


sioDS,  18 ;  snrveys  his  charge, 
19;  not  in  sympathy  with  the 
centralizing  movement  of  the 
time,  19;  convokes  the  three 
estates  of  Canada,  20;  bis  ha- 
rangue, 21 ;  his  eulogy  of  Louis 
XIV.,  21 ;  urges  the  conversion 
of  the  Indians,  21 ;  gives  a  mu- 
nicipal government  to  Quebec, 
22 ;  lack  of  royal  approval  of 
his  innovations,  23 ;  characteris- 
tics of,  24  ;  his  conflict  with  the 
Jesuits,  25 ;  undertakes  the  civ- 
ilization of  the  Indians,  27 ;  the 
Jesuits  refuse  to  co-operate  in 
civilizing  the  Indians,  with,  28  ; 
favors  building  a  fort  on  Lake 
Ontario,  29 ;  forms  an  alliance 
with  La  Salle,  30 ;  his  intrigues 
for  a  gigantic  fur-trading  mo- 
nopoly, 30 ;  his  ascendancy  over 
the  Iroquois,  30;  at  Montreal, 
30;  Perrot  resists  the  authority 
of,  34  ;  orders  Perrot  to  appear 
before  him  in  Quebec,  36 ;  his 
interview  with  Perrot,  37  ;  ap- 
points a  new  governor  of  Mont- 
real, 37 ;  accused  of  an  alliance 
with  the  cou7-eurs  de  bois,  38,  60 ; 
the  priests  of  St.  Sulpice  in- 
dignant against,  38 ;  anger  of 
the  Abbe  Fenelon  against,  38  ; 
charges  the  Abbe  Fenelon  with 
sedition,  39  ;  the  Abbe  d'Urfe''s 
interviews  with,  39  ;  at  the  trial 
of  the  Abbe  Fe'nelon,  41 ;  his 
despatch  to  the  King  concern- 
ing Perrot  and  Fenelon,  42 ; 
befriends  the  R^collets,  43 ; 
letters  from  the  King  and  from 
Colbert  to,  43-45  ;  Duchesneau 
sent  to  Canada  as  a  colleague 
of,  48;  Duchesneau  joins  the 
ecclesiastics  against,  48 ;  con- 
stant friction  between  Duches- 


neau and,  49 ;  warned  by  Col- 
bert, 49;  his  antagonism  to 
Villeray,  50  ;  fresh  trouble  with 
Duchesneau,  51,  52;  banishes 
members  of  the  council  from 
Quebec,  52 ;  rebuked  by  the 
King  and  Colbert,  52-54 ;  his 
controversy  with  Auteuil,  55 ; 
his  wrath  against  Duchesneau, 
56 ;  heads  a  faction  against 
Duchesneau,  57;  denounces 
Duchesneau  to  the  King,  58; 
prohibited  by  the  King  from  en- 
gaging in  trade,  59  ;  complaints 
of  Duchesneau  against,  59-61 ; 
again  sharply  rebuked  by  the 
King,  61,  62,  70;  his  letter  to 
Bellefonds,  62  ;  list  of  his  com- 
plaints against  Duchesneau,  63, 
64;  makes  accusations  against 
Duchesneau  to  Seignelay,  65, 
66 ;  his  alleged  treatment  of 
Duchesneau's  son,  67,  68 ;  comes 
to  an  understanding  with  Per- 
rot, 68 ;  recalled  by  the  King, 
71 ;  his  relations  with  the  church, 
71  ;  La  Barre  blames  Duches- 
neau rather  than,  71  ;  his  com- 
plaints against  the  Jesuits,  71, 
72 ;  his  art  in  dealing  with  the 
Indians,  73  ;  his  liking  for  the 
coureurs  de  bois,  73  ;  his  charac- 
ter full  of  contradictions,  74 ; 
sails  for  France,  74;  invites 
the  Iroquois  to  a  confer- 
ence, 81  ;  on  the  Iroquois  in- 
vasion, 189 ;  sent  back  to 
Canada,  1 95 ;  sails  from  Ro- 
chelle,  196  ;  attempts  to  conquer 
New  York,  197,  198;  his  recep- 
tion at  Quebec,  200  ;  disgusted 
at  the  demolition  of  Fort  Froute- 
nac,  201  ;  tries  to  win  over  the 
Iroquois,  205  ;  the  Iroquois  re- 
fuse to  meet,  209 ;  warned  bv 


INDEX. 


497 


Carheil  of  coming  revolt  of  the 
tribes  around  Michilimackinac, 
211,  212;  embarrassing  position 
of,  212 ;  his  message  to  the  tribes 
of  Michilimackinac,  213  ;  takes 
the  offensive  against  the  Eng- 
lish, 218;  forms  three  war- 
parties,  218;  the  make-up  of 
his  expedition,  219,  220;  begins 
his  march,  220;  the  attack  on 
Schenectady,  224;  Davis's  dis- 
cussion with,  243,  244  ;  his  kind 
treatment  of  Davis,  244;  the 
triumphant  success  of  his  three 
war-parties,  245  ;  object  of  his 
attack  on  the  English,  246 ;  his 
bearing  with  his  personal  ene- 
mies, 259  ;  his  victory  over  the 
council  of  Quebec,  260 ;  fortifies 
Quebec,  263  ;  at  Montreal,  263  ; 
success  of  his  policy  with  the 
lake  tribes,  265  ;  his  war-dance, 
265,  266  ;  the  English  raid 
on,  269,  270;  his  defence  of 
Quebec,  271-273;  receives 
Pliips's  demand  for  surrender, 
278  ;  his  reply,  279  ;  his  defence 
of  Quebec,  284-292  ;  announces 
his  victory  to  the  King,  296  ; 
angry  at  the  disaster  at  La 
Prairie,  308 ;  begs  aid  from 
France,  308 ;  royal  reproaches 
on,  310,  312;  joyful  tidings, 
331  ;  hailed  as  a  father  by 
the  Canadians,  331  ;  royal 
recognition  of  his  services, 
333 ;  letters  to  Ponchartrain 
from,  333-337 ;  his  opponents, 
335  ;  his  relations  with  Cham- 
pigny,  335-339 ;  struggle  be- 
tween Saint- Vallier  and,  339  ; 
places  his  conscience  in  the 
keeping  of  the  Recollets.  340; 
encourages  private  theatricals 
at  Quebec,  340;  again  in  con- 


troversy with  the  Council,  344 ; 
commended  for  defending  the 
royal  prerogative,  349 ;  libel 
against,  350,  351  ;  correspond- 
ence of,  359 ;  on  the  ravages  of 
the  Abenakis  in  Maine  and  New 
Hampshire,  371 ;  sees  the  dan- 
ger in  the  re-establishment  of 
Pemaquid,  375 ;  plans  to  cap- 
ture Pemaquid,  375 ;  indignant 
at  the  failure  of  Iberville  to 
capture  Pemaquid,  377  ;  on  Nel- 
son's imprisonment,  377 ;  on  the 
massacre  at  Oyster  River,  388 ; 
rouses  the  Canadians  from  their 
dejection,  391  ;  himself  to  blame 
for  bringing  the  English  upon 
him,  391 ;  on  the  teaching  of 
the  mission  Indians,  397 ;  the 
projected  attack  on  Boston, 
403;  on  Iberville's  march,  410; 
the  Iroquois  make  overtures  of 
peace  to,  417,  419;  his  reply, 
418;  his  demands,  419;  refuses 
to  be  deceived,  422  ;  his  difficult 
position,  423;  a  perilous  crisis, 
426 ;  determines  to  humble  the 
Iroquois,  427 ;  re-establishes 
Fort  Frontenac,  428 ;  marches 
to  attack  the  Iroquois,  428 ;  the 
Oneidas  beg  peace  from,  434; 
his  expedition  but  half  success- 
ful, 436 ;  his  announcement  to 
the  King,  437  ;  decorated  with 
the  cross  of  the  Military  Order 
of  St.  Louis,  438 ;  appeals  to 
Ponchartrain  for  support  against 
his  enemies,  433 ;  reproved  by 
Ponchartrain  for  his  dispute  with 
Champigny,  439  ;  causes  for  his 
dispute  with  Champigny,  440; 
ordered  by  the  King  to  make 
peace  with  the  Iroquois,  441  ; 
his  policy  the  true  one,  442  ;  his 
policy  prevails,  442  ;  his  further 


32 


498 


INDEX. 


dealings  with  the  Iroquois,  443 ; 
receives  announcement  of  the 
treaty  of  Ryswick,  444  ;  his  dis- 
pute with  Bellomont  over  the 
Iroquois,  445 ;  letter  from  Bel- 
lomont to,  446;  Captain  John 
Schuyler  sent  as  envoy  to,  447  ; 
celebrates  the  Te  Deum,  448  ; 
his  reply  to  Bellomont,  448; 
makes  his  will,  450 ;  reconciled 
with  Champigny,  450;  his 
death,  450 ;  greatly  beloved  by 
the  humbler  classes,  450;  trib- 
utes to  his  character,  451  ;  his 
will,  451  ;  his  burial,  452 ; 
Goyer's  eulogy  on,  452 ;  an 
enemy's  criticism  of  the  eulogy, 
453-457;  causes  for  enmity 
against,  458;  his  characteris- 
tics, 459  ;  greatness  must  be  de- 
nied him,  459  ;  Calli^res  brings 
to  a  happy  consummation  the 
labors  of,  474 ;  his  policy  devel- 
oped and  ripened,  476  ;  the  fam- 
ily of,  477  ;  birth  of,  479  ;  story 
concerning  his  marriage,  479, 
480. 

Frontenac,  Countess,  portrait  of, 
3;  the  favorite  companion  of 
Mile,  de  Montpensier,  3  ;  at 
Orleans,  4,  5;  her  aversion  to 
her  husband,  6;  her  marriage, 
8 ;  son  born  to,  9  ;  domestic  un- 
happiness,  9 ;  leaves  her  hus- 
band to  follow  Mile,  de  Mont- 
pensier, 9 ;  dismissed  by  Mile, 
de  Montpensier,  12  ;  her  friend- 
ship for  Mile.  d'Outrelaise,  15; 
death  of  her  husband,  1 6 ;  old  age 
of,  16  ;  death  of  her  son,  16  ;  65  ; 
atory  of  her  marriage,  479,  480. 

Frontenac,  Fort,  the  building  of, 
30 ;  its  final  transfer  to  La  Salle, 
30 ;  81  ;  vseized  by  La  Barre, 
86;    89,   105,    107;     malarious 


fever  at,  109;  142,  144,  145, 
147,  149,  150,  154,  169;  ma- 
lignant diseases  at,  174;  179, 
181,  183,  184,  185;  demolition 
of,  202 ;  206,  209 ;  re-established 
by  Frontenac,  428;  Frontenac 
at,  431 ;  437. 

Fundy,  Bay  of,  249,  354. 

Fur-trading,  Frontenac  and  La 
Salle  intrigue  for  a  gigantic 
monopoly  in,  30;  life  of  the 
colony  hangs  on,  57 ;  the  Iro- 
quois purpose  to  master,  79; 
revived  at  Montreal,  264. 

Gachet,  320. 

Gagniegaton,  see  Cut  Nose. 

Gandagaro,  97. 

Ganeyout,  town  of,  146. 

Gannagaro,  town  of,  163. 

Ganneious,  village  of,  146. 

Gannondata,  town  of,  164. 

Gannongarae,  town  of,  164. 

Gantlet,  running  the,  custom  of, 
396,  406. 

Garangula,  the  famous  Onondaga 
orator,  99. 

Garrison  houses  of  New  Eng- 
land, the,  390;  rarely  attacked 
by  the  French  and  Indian  war- 
parties,  390. 

Gaston,  Duke  of  Orleans,  4 ;  dis- 
pute with  Mile,  de  Montpen- 
sier concerning  property,  9 ; 
Frontenac  tries  to  act  as  medi- 
ator, 9. 

Gay,  Father,  328. 

George,  Lake,  196,  267,  268,  329, 
460. 

Georgian  Bay  of  Lake  Huron,  the, 
154. 

Germain,  Father  Michel,  the 
Jesuit,  on  the  English  attack 
on  Canada,  269 ;  on  Phips's 
attack  -on  Quebec,  286,  294. 


INDEX. 


4yi^ 


Germanj,  444. 

Gerrish,  Sarah,  292. 

Gigni^res,  the  Canadian,  222. 

Glandelet,  Sieur,  preaches  against 
theatricals,  340. 

Glen,  Alexander,  227. 

Glen,  John  Sander,  at  Schenec- 
tady, 223 ;  under  the  popular 
ban,  223 ;  spared  by  the  French 
at  Schenectady,  225, 226 ;  sketch 
of,  227. 

Gloucester,  town  of,  257. 

Goutins,  correspondence  of,  359. 

*•  Governor's  Garden,"  the,  at 
Quebec,  312. 

Goyer,  Father  Oliver,  administers 
extreme  unction  to  Frontenac, 
450;  his  funeral  oration  over 
Frontenac's  body,  452. 

Goyer,  Tore  Olivier,  on  Fronte- 
nac's early  life,  8 ;  on  Fronte- 
nac as  a  soldier,  13  ;  195, 

Grand  Agnie,  le.  Christian  chief 
of  the  Saut  Louis,  222. 

Grand  Bank,  the,  fisheries  of,  297. 

Grandfontaine,  Chevalier  de,  re- 
occupies  Acadia,  353;  corre- 
spondence of,  359. 

Grand  Pre,  English  traders  at, 
358. 

Grangula,  the  famous  Onondaga 
orator,  99. 

Granville,  158 ;  captured  by  Phips, 
275;  282. 

Great  Lakes,  the,  94,  95,  122  ;  oc- 
cupied by  the  French,  124;  169, 
172  ;  the  tribes  of,  207. 

Great  Menau,  the,  towering  cliffs 
of,  355. 

Great  Mohawk,  the.  Christian 
chief  of  the  Saut  St.  Louis,  221 ; 
at  the  massacre  at  Schenectady, 
226 ;  death  of,  245. 

Greenhalgh,  Wentworth,  journal 
of,  98,  164. 


Grignan,  Comte  de,  unsuccessful  in 
his  competition  with  Frontenac 
for  the  government  of  Canada, 
15. 

Groseilliers,  137. 

Groton,  386. 

Gyles,  John,  captivity  of,  236- 

Hahitants,  57. 
Halifax,  354. 
"Hampshire,"    the,  battles   with 

Iberville,  412 ;  sinks  with  all  on 

board,  413. 
Harmentse,  N.,  152. 
Harmon,  fortified  house  of,  368. 
Harvard  College,  library  of,  247. 
Hassaki,  chief  of  the  Cut  Tails, 

472 ;  at  the  grand  council,  472. 
Haverhill,  attack  of,  323,  405. 
Hayes,  Fort,   137 ;    captured    by 

the  French,  138. 
Hennepin,  on  the  death  of  Fron< 

tenac,  451. 
Henry  IV.,  of  France,  3,  15,  360 » 

betrothed  to  Marie  de  Medicis, 

478. 
Herbault,  M.  d',  6. 
Hermite-Souliers,  1',  477. 
Heroard,  Jean,  on  the  infancy  of 

Louis  XIII.,  478;  his  journal, 

478. 
Hertel,  Francois,  206 ;  commands 

the     expedition     against     New 

Hampshire,  230;  his  attack  on 

Salmon  Falls,  238 ;  his  retreat; 

238;  245. 
Hesdin,  siege  of,  7. 
Holland,  7,  444. 
Holmes,  on   the  Indian  churches 

in  New  England,  397. 
Holy  Virgin,  the,  victory  of  Que- 
bec ascribed  to,  295. 
Hope  Gate,  the,  272. 
Hopehood,  Chief,  245. 
Hotel-Dieu    at    Quebec,  the.  7% 


500 


INDEX. 


122 ;  the  nuns  at,  292,  293, 351 ; 
moarning  for  Frontenac's  death 
at,  451. 

Howard,  Lord,  of  Effingham,  gov- 
ernor of  Virginia,  94 ;  holds  a 
council  with  the  Iroquois,  94, 
97. 

Hudson,  Henry,  138. 

Hudson  River,  the,  196,  221,  329. 

Hudson's  Bay,  86,  122,  411. 

"  Hudson's  Bay,"  the,  battles  with 
Iberville,  413 ;  strikes  her  flag, 
413. 

Hudson's  Bay,  the  English  Com- 
pany of,  ports  established  by, 
137  ;  the  Company  of  the  North 
resolve  to  expel,  137  ;  the  Eng- 
lish struggle  for,  352. 

Huguenots,  the,  148,  199 ;  perse- 
cution of,  200;  establish  them- 
selves at  Port  Royal,  358 ;  their 
desire  to  emigrate,  416. 

Hurault,  Philippe,  478. 

Huron  Indians,  the,  79;  threat- 
ened by  the  Iroquois,  80;  the 
Iroquois  express  pacific  inten- 
tions towards,  82  ;  87,  108,  116; 
wish  to  ally  themselves  to  the 
English,  123  ;  126,  151,  153,  331. 

Huron,  Lake,  133. 

Hurons,  Christian,  305,  313,  315. 

Hurons  from  Lorette,  the,  invited 
to  join  against  the  Mohawk 
towns,  325. 

Hurons  of  Michilimackinac,  the, 
181,  215,  264;  at  the  grand 
council,  471,  472. 

Hurons,  the,  village  of,  28. 

Hutchinson,  232,  237,  274,  360; 
on  the  repulse  of  the  French  at 
Wells,  373;  on  Nelson's  letter 
to  the  English,  377  ;  on  the  folly 
of  the  English,  398;  on  the 
death  of  Chubb,  401  ;  the  story 
of  Hannah  Dustan,  407. 


Ibeeville,  Pierre  Le  Moyne  d', 
69 ;  in  the  capture  of  the  forti 
at  Hudson's  Bay,  138,  139,  140; 
joins  Frontenac  against  the 
English,  220;  attacks  Sche- 
nectady, 224,  226 ;  commands 
the  French  force  against  Pema- 
quid,  376,  398;  captures  Fort 
Pemaquid,  400;  prevents  a 
massacre,  400;  the  most  con- 
spicuous Canadian  under  French 
rule,  408;  a  true  son  of  the 
soil,  408;  his  brothers,  408; 
early  life  of,  408 ;  sails  for  New- 
foundland, 409 ;  attacks  and 
burns  St.  John,  409 ;  hardships 
of  his  march,  410  ;  his  conquest 
in  Newfoundland,  411  ;  ordered 
to  proceed  against  Hudson's 
Bay,  411;  in  command  of  the 
"Pelican,"  412;  sails  from 
Placentia,  41 2 ;  his  desperate 
battle  with  the  English,  412; 
his  victory,  413  ;  the  loss  of  the 
"Pelican,"  413;  captures  Fort 
Nelson,  414 ;  becomes  the  father 
of  Louisiana,  414. 

Illinois  Indians,  the.  La  Salle'B 
trade  with,  79 ;  threatened  by 
the  Iroquois,  80;  under  Fron- 
tenac's  protection,  82  ;  87,  88 ; 
left  by  La  Barre  to  perish,  89 ; 
111;  the  Senecas  still  attacking, 
122 ;  the  Iroquois  recall  the 
war-parties  sent  against,  144; 
348;  relations  of  the  French 
with,  417  ;  at  the  grand  council, 
471. 

Illinois  River,  the,  91,  471. 

Illinois,  the  tribes  of  the,  move- 
ment of  the  Senecas  against,  78. 

Illinois,  the,  valley  of,  78 ;  the 
French  established  in,  124. 

Indian,  the  mission,  teaching  o^ 
396. 


INDEX. 


50i 


Indian  chnrches,  in  New  England, 
397. 

Indians,  the,  Frontenac  urges  the 
conversion  of,  21  ;  Frontenac 
endeavors  to  civilize,  27 ;  Fron- 
tenac's  trade  with,  61 ;  Fronte- 
nac's  art  in  dealing  with,  73 ; 
their  dependence  upon  the  Eng- 
lish and  Dutch  for  supplies,  79 ; 
Dongan  intrigues  with,  125; 
furnished  with  rum  by  Dongan, 
133;  antipathy  of  Denonville 
for,  191  ;  Major  Waldron  mur- 
dered by,  235;  attack  Pema- 
quid,  235;  attack  Fort  Loyal, 
241 ;  small-pox  among,  268,  269  ; 
sign  a  truce  with  the  English, 
364 ;  attack  Haverhill,  405. 

Indre,  the,  10. 

Irish  War,  the,  256. 

Irondequoit  Bay,  the  rendezvous 
at,  154,  155,  162. 

Iroquois,  Christian,  the,  159,  231 ; 
make  a  raid  on  the  English  bor- 
ders, 245  ;  at  Montreal,  266,  305, 
313. 

Iroquois  country,  the,  Dongan 
ridicules  the  French  claims  to, 
167. 

Iroquois  Indians,  the,  29 ;  Fron- 
tenac's  ascendancy  over,  30; 
conquers  the  Andastes,  78 ;  pur- 
pose to  master  the  fur-trade,  79 ; 
threaten  the  other  Indian  tribes, 
80;  invited  by  Frontenac  to  a 
conference,  81 ;  express  pacific 
intentions  towards  the  Hurons 
and  the  Ottawas,  82  ;  their  con- 
ference with  La  Barre  at  Mont- 
real, 88 ;  attack  Fort  St.  Louis, 
91 ;  make  forays  against  the 
borders  of  Maryland  and  Vir- 
ginia, 94;  instigated  to  hostili- 
ties by  the  Jesuits,  94 ;  Ix)rd 
Howard  holds  a  conference  at 


Albany  with,  94-97;  fully 
warned  of  the  designs  of  the 
French  against  them,  95 ;  place 
themselves  under  the  protection 
of  the  English,  96 ;  their  ques- 
tionable attitude  of  subjection 
to  the  English,  99  ;  assert  their 
independence  of  both  French 
and  English,  116;  La  Barre's 
treaty  with,  119;  warned  by 
Dongan  of  tlie  proposed  war  of 
the  French,  144 ;  accept  the 
protection  of  the  English,  144; 
recall  the  war-parties  against 
the  Illinois,  144;  treachery  of 
Denonville,  146,  147 ;  Dongan's 
propositions  to,  165 ;  their  reply 
to  Dongan,  166;  James  II.  con- 
sents to  own  them  as  his  sub- 
jects, 1 68 ;  conflict  of  the  Eng- 
lish and  the  French  in  convert- 
ing, 170;  their  attacks  on  the 
French,  175;  Denonville  plans 
an  attack  on,  177;  the  only  tribe 
who  oppose  the  progress  of  the 
gospel,  177 :  Denonville  plans 
a  peace  with,  1 79 ;  intrigues  ol 
"the  Rat"  with,  181 ;  the  inva- 
sion of,  185-189 ;  Du  Lhut  wins 
a  victory  over,  203  ;  attack  the 
settlement  of  La  Chesnaye, 
203 ;  Frontenac  tries  to  win 
over,  205  ;  the  grand  council  at 
Onondaga,  206  ;  refuse  to  meet 
Frontenac,  209 ;  demand  the  re- 
turn of  Ourehaoue',  210 ;  their 
method  of  conducting  political 
business,  210;  propose  a  com- 
bined attack  on  Canada,  246; 
renewed  attacks  on  the  French, 
301-303 ;  Vaudreuil's  expedi- 
tion against,  301,  302  ;  relations 
with  the  English  of  New  York, 
303;  their  efforts  to  close  the 
Ottawa  River  to  the    French, 


502 


INDEX. 


313;  Dorvilliers  sent  against, 
314;  their  attack  on  Verchferes, 
317-323 ;  instigated  by  the  Eng- 
lish to  attack  Canada,  393 ;  tlie 
important  factor  in  French  suc- 
cess, 417;  make  overtures  of 
peace  to  Frontenac,  417,  419  ; 
Frontenac's  reply,  418  ;  Fron- 
tenac's  demands  of,  419;  Eng- 
lish interference,  420 ;  Fletcher's 
demands  of,  420;  their  reply, 
420  ;  their  policy  with  the  Eng- 
lish and  French,  422,  423  ;  Fron- 
tenac determines  to  humble^ 
427 ;  Frontenac  marches  to  at- 
tack, 428 ;  .Frontenac's  further 
dealings  with,  443  ;  dispute  be- 
tween Bellomont  and  Frontenac 
over,  445 ;  the  real  scourge  of 
Canada,  460 ;  Callieres'  first  task 
that  of  subjecting,  462  ;  discon- 
certed by  the  peace  between 
France  and  England,  463;  Cal- 
lieres makes  peace  with,  465 ; 
their  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
"the  Rat,"  469;  their  grand 
council  with  the  French,  470- 
474;  La  Potherie's  tribute  to, 
471 ;  the  peace-pipe,  474  ;  their 
power  broken,  475 ;  the  number 
of,  475. 

Iroquois  towns,  the,  466. 

Iroquois  War,  the,  plan  for  the 
termination  of,  177. 

Isle  St.  Paul,  63. 

Isle  Savary,  estate  of,  10,  477. 

Isles  of  Shoals,  the,  Frontenac's 
plan  to  attack,  375 ;  fishermen 
at,  404. 

Italian  Campaign,  the,  7. 

Jagkbox,  Dr.  Charles  T.,  the  geol- 
ogist, on  the  simplicity  of  the 
Acadians,  395. 

Jal,  on  Frontenac's  early  life,  8 ; 


479 ;  on  Frontenac's  marriage, 
8  ;  480. 

Jamaica,  253. 

James  II.,  of  England,  93;  too 
timid  to  give  Dongan  the  neces- 
sary support,  125 ;  hates  con- 
stitutional liberty,  125;  author- 
izes Dongan  to  protect  the  Five 
Nations,  168;  170;  recalls  Don- 
gan, 172 ;  remodels  his  American 
colonies,  172 ;  driven  from  his 
kingdom,  190;  despotic  policy 
of,  233  ;  280 ;  on  the  defence  of 
Quebec,  283.  See  also  York, 
Duke  of. 

Jansenists,  the,  457. 

Jemsec,  wooden  fort  of,  354. 

Jere'mie,  on  the  capture  of  the 
forts  at  Hudson's  Bay,  140 ;  on 
the  capture  of  Fort  Nelson, 
414. 

Jesuits,  the,  encourage  the  convo- 
cation of  the  three  estates  of 
Canada,  20 ;  Frontenac's  con- 
flict with,  25;  their  refusal  to 
co-operate  with  Frontenac  in 
civilizing  the  Indians,  28 ;  their 
opposition  to  the  Recollets,  43 ; 
complain  to  the  King  of  Fron- 
tenac, 62 ;  Frontenac's  com* 
plaints  against,  71,  72;  insti- 
gate the  Indians  to  hostilities, 
94  ;  Denonville  devoted  to,  123  ; 
regarded  by  Dongan  as  danger- 
ous political  enemies,  130  ;  use- 
ful to  the  French  as  political 
agents,  171;  welcome  Fronte- 
nac at  Quebec,  200;  their  fear 
of  the  Puritan  soldiery,  294 ; 
spared  no  pains  to  convert  the 
Mohawks,  324  ;  their  opposition 
to  private  theatricals  at  Quebec, 
340 ;  their  chronic  dispute  with 
the  officers,  349  ;  declare  forest- 
posts  the  centres  of  debauchery 


INDEX. 


503 


440,  441 ;  at  the  grand  council, 
472. 

Jesus  Christ,  Acadian  simplicity 
concerning,  395. 

Johnston,  on  the  folly  of  the  Eng- 
lish, 398. 

Joliet,  Louis,  57. 

Joliet,  Madame  Louis,  captured 
by  Phips,  275. 

Joncaire,  history  of,  464,  466,  475. 

Jones,  palisaded  house  of,  384. 

Joseph,  Saint,  293. 

Juchereau,  Mother,  superior  of  the 
Hotel-Dieu,  ou  the  great  fire  at 
Quebec,  77  ;  on  the  sickness  at 
Quebec,  122 ;  on  Denonville, 
191  ;  on  Phips's  delay  in  attack- 
ing Quebec,  275  ;  on  Phips's  de- 
mand for  surrender  from  Fron- 
tenac,  278  ;  on  Phips's  attack  on 
Quebec,  286;  on  the  condition 
of  Quebec,  293 ;  351 ;  on  the 
death  of  Frontenac,  451. 

Eaghnawaoa,  the  Mohawk  town, 

97. 
Kenibas    (Cauibas)  Indians,  the, 

387. 
Kennebec  dialect,  the,  387. 
Kennebec    River,  the,  231,   233; 

the  Abenaki  villages  on,  239 ; 

240,  252,  353,  355,  366 ;  Bigot's 

mission    on,    383 ;    the    Indian 

tribes  of,  387 ;  405. 
Kente,  village  of,  146. 
Kickapoos,  the,  plan  to  renounce 

the  French,  424. 
King  Philip's  War,  230,  255. 
Kinshon   (the  Fish),    the  Indian 

word  for  New  England,  208. 
Kiskakons,  the,  80. 
Kittery,  village  of,  364, 404,  405. 
Kondiaronk,  Kondiaront,  see  Rat, 
I     the. 
Kryn,  the  Christian  chief  of  the 


Saut  St.  Louis,  222 ;  death  of; 
245. 

L'Abadib,  Jean  Vincent  de,  see 
Saint- Castin,  Baron  de. 

La  Barre,  Le  Febvre  de,  defends 
Perrot's  reputation,  70  ;  blames 
Duchesneau  rather  than  Fronte- 
nac, 71  ;  appointed  governor 
of  Canada,  76 ;  arrives  at  Que- 
bec, 76;  gloomy  auspices  at 
the  beginning  of  his  reign,  77 ; 
his  boasts  concerning  the  In- 
dians, 83 ;  his  victories  in 
Cayenne,  84 ;  early  life  of,  84  ; 
his  speculations,  85;  seeks  to 
gain  Du  Lhut,  85,  86 ;  alarmed 
by  the  threatened  attack  of  the 
Iroquois,  87 ;  his  conference 
with  the  Iroquois  at  Montreal, 
88  ;  his  hatred  of  La  Salle,  88  ; 
authorizes  the  Iroquois  to  plun- 
der and  kill  La  Salle,  88;  his 
illicit  trade  with  the  Indians, 
89 ;  makes  preparations  for  war, 
89;  his  fury  against  the  Iro- 
quois for  attacking  Fort  St. 
Louis,  91  ;  asks  aid  from  the 
King,  92  ;  writes  Dongan  of  his 
plans  against  the  Iroquois,  95  ; 
Dongan's  reply,  95 ;  Lamber- 
ville's  letters  of  warning  to, 
101 ;  in  full  campaign,  103  ;  his 
boastful  letters  to  the  King  and 
Colbert,  103,  104;  Meules  urges 
him  to  war,  104  ;  Meules  makes 
accusations  to  Seignelay  against, 
105 ;  sets  out  against  the  Sene- 
cas,  107  ;  attacked  by  fever, 
108;  asks  the  mediation  of  the 
Onondagas,  109 ;  his  interview 
with  Otre'ouati,  109;  his  ha- 
rangue, 111;  Otre'ouati's  reply, 
112,  114;  promises  not  to  attack 
the  Senecas,  115 ;  returns  home, 


504 


INDEX. 


116;  again  sets  oat  with  the 
Indian  allies,  116;  again  returns 
home,  118;  makes  treaty  with 
the  Indians  at  La  Famine,  119; 
congratulated  by  Laraberville, 
119  ;  recalled  by  the  King,  120 ; 
sails  for  France,  120. 

Labocree,  see  La  Broquerie, 

La  Bonte,  320. 

La  Boullaye,  on  the  pirates  in 
Acadian  waters,  359. 

La  Broquerie,  370;  death  of,  372. 

La  Caffini^re,  Sieur  de,  200. 

La  Chaise,  Father,  348. 

La  Chesnaye,  Aubert  de,  57 ; 
accused  by  Frontenac  of  aiding 
the  coureurs  de  bois,  63 ;  76,  85  ; 
seizes  Fort  Frontenac,  86 ;  88  ; 
his  trade  with  the  Indians,  89 ; 
107. 

La  Chesnaye,  settlement  of,  103; 
attacked  by  the  Iroquois,  203  ; 
316. 

La  Chine,  68,  107,  185,  188,  201; 
fort  at,  263;  315,324. 

La  Durantaye,  103,  116,  118; 
commanding  at  Michilimacki- 
nac,  150;  at  Fort  St.  Louis,  151, 
152 ;  captures  the  English  under 
Kooseboom,  153 ;  156,  211;  re- 
placed by  Louvigny,  213 ;  at 
Montreal,  264. 

La  Famine,  109;  Le  Moyne  at, 
109  ;  treaty  made  by  La  Barre 
at,  119  ;  181,  182. 

La  Foret,  La  Salle's  lieutenant, 
57  ;  in  command  at  Fort  Fronte- 
nac, 82 ;  85 ;  loses  command 
of  Fort  Frontenac,  86  ;  sails  for 
France,  86 ;  at  Fort  St.  Louis, 
151  ;  at  Fort  St.  Louis  of  the 
Illinois,  424;  in  charge  of  a 
forest  post,  440. 

Lagny,  M.  de,  349;  on  Nelson's 
imprisonment,     377 ;     on     the 


projected  conquest  of  New 
York,  403. 

La  Grange-Trianon,  Anne  de,  see 
Frontenac,  Countess. 

La  Grange-Trianon,  Charles,  Sieur 
de  Neuville,  8,  480. 

La  H6ve,  249,  354. 

La  Hontan,  Baron,  99;  joins  La 
Barre's  expedition  against  the 
Senecas,  108;  characteristics 
of,  110;  his  account  of  the  con- 
ference between  La  Barre  and 
Otr^ouati,  110;  his  attempted 
imposition  concerning  discov- 
eries beyond  the  Mississippi, 
110;  at  Fort  Frontenac,  145; 
indignant  at  the  torture  of 
prisoners,  146;  on  the  rendez- 
vous at  Irondequoit  Bay,  154 ; 
on  Denonville's  campaign 
against  the  Senecas,  163;  on 
the  demolition  of  Fort  Niagara, 
174  ;  his  estimate  of  "  the  Rat," 
181 ;  on  the  strategy  of  "  the 
Rat,"  184 ;  on  the  Iroquois  in- 
vasion, 189;  on  Frontenac's  re- 
ception at  Quebec,  200 ;  on 
Phips's  attack  on  Quebec,  284, 
285,  286,  291 ;  on  the  escape  of 
La  Plante,  315;  on  Saint-Cas- 
tin's  relations  with  the  Indians, 
361  ;  his  estimate  of  Nelson, 
378. 

Lake  tribes,  the,  intrigue  with  the 
Senecas,  123 ;  126 ;  disgusted 
with  the  French,  207  ;  make  a 
treaty  with  the  Senecas,  207 ; 
their  trade  at  Montreal,  264 ; 
success  of  Frontenac's  policy 
with,  265 ;  relations  of  the 
French  with,  417. 

Lalande,  Madame,  captured  by 
Phips,  275. 

Lamberville,  Jacques  de,  130,  142. 

Lamberville,  Jean  de,  the  Jesuit 


INDEX. 


605 


missionary  at  Onondaga,  82 ; 
warns  the  French  against  the 
Iroquois,  83 ;  on  the  charge 
that  Dongan  instigated  the  Iro- 
quois against  the  French,  94 ; 
his  estimate  of  Otreouati,  101 ; 
his  constant  effort  to  prevent  a 
rupture,  101 ;  his  letters  of 
warning  to  La  Barre,  101  ;  con- 
gratulates La  Barre  on  making 
peace  with  the  Indians,  119; 
Dongan  tries  to  get  possession 
of,  126;  130,  142;  peril  of, 
143 ;  147 ;  generosity  of  the 
Onondagas  towards,  149  ;  206. 

La  Monnerie,  Lieutenant  de,  322, 
323. 

La  Mothe-Cadillac,  on  the  capture 
of  Pemaquid,  237 ;  on  the  pri- 
vate theatricals  at  Quebec,  340, 
341,  342,  343;  346;  replaces 
Louvigny  at  Michilimackinac, 
348 ;  on  the  teaching  of  the 
mission  Indians,  397  ;  his  knowl- 
edge of  Boston,  402 ;  on  Fron- 
tenac's  negotiations  with  the 
Iroquois,  420  ;  423  ;  barbarous 
policy  of,  425,  426 ;  on  Fronte- 
nac's  campaign  against  the  Iro- 
quois, 428  ;  in  charge  of  a  forest 
post,  440. 

La  Naudi^re,  Thomas  Tarieu  de, 
323. 

Languedoc,  20. 

La  Noue,  leads  an  expedition 
against  the  Mohawk  towns,  325. 

La  Nouguere,  appointed  governor 
of  Montreal  by  Frontenac,  37  ; 
his  vigorous  work  against  the 
coureurs  de  bois,  37. 

La  Perrade  (Prade),  M.  de,  323. 

La  Plaque,  267. 

La  Plante,  315. 

La  Potherie,  118;  on  the  capture 
of  the  forts  at  Hudson's  Bay, 


140;  152;  on  the  rendezvous 
at  Irondequoit  Bay,  154;  on 
Denonville's  campaign  against 
the  Senecas,  163;  on  the  de- 
molition of  Fort  Niagara,  174; 
on  the  Iroquois  invasion,  189; 
on  the  reply  of  the  Iroquois  to 
Frontenac,  210 ;  on  the  burning 
of  Schenectady,  227 ;  on  the 
disaster  at  Salmon  Falls,  239; 
on  the  Indian  attack  on  Fort 
Loyal,  241 ;  on  the  capture  of 
Fort  Loyal,  243  ;  on  Phips's  ex- 
pedition against  Fort  Royal, 
250;  on  Frontenac  and  his  al- 
lies, 265, 266 ;  on  the  English  at- 
tack on  Canada,  269  ;  on  Phips's 
attack  on  Quebec,  287 ;  on 
Vaudreuil's  expedition  against 
the  Iroquois,  302 ;  on  Schuyler's 
success  against  Valrenne,  308; 
on  the  escape  of  La  Plante, 
315;  on  the  heroine  of  Ver- 
cheres,  324 ;  330,  332 ;  on  the 
death  of  Ourehaoue,  396 ;  on 
the  folly  of  the  English,  398; 
on  the  Newfoundland  expedi- 
tion, 411;  on  the  capture  of 
Fort  Nelson,  414 ;  on  Fronte- 
nac's  negotiations  with  the  Iro- 
quois, 420 ;  on  the  barbarous 
policy  of  the  French,  425,  426 ; 
on  Frontenac's  campaign  against 
the  Iroquois,  428;  on  the  Iro- 
quois Stoic,  435  ;  on  the  death  of 
Frontenac,  451  ;  on  the  hauteur 
of  Callieres,  462;  on  Calli^res' 
peace  with  the  Iroquois, 
465,  466  ;  on  the  death  of  " the 
Rat,"  469;  his  tribute  to  the 
Iroquois,  471 ;  on  the  consum- 
mation of  Frontenac's  labors, 
474 ;  on  the  council  at  Montreal, 
475. 
La  Prairie  de  la  Madeleine,  105 ; 


606 


INDEX. 


268,  269,  270»  304 ;  the  disaster 
at,  308. 

La  Presentation,  Fort,  185,  188. 

La  Rabeyre,  Lieutenant  de,  187. 

La  Salle,  Cavelier  de,  forms  an 
alliance  with  Frontenac,  30; 
his  intrigues  for  a  gigantic  fur- 
trading  monopoly,  30 ;  Fort 
Frontenac  finally  transferred 
to,  30;  his  trade  with  the  In- 
dians, 79  ;  not  in  favor  with  La 
Barre,  85,  86 ;  hatred  of  La 
Barre  for,  88;  La  Barre  au- 
thorizes the  Iroquois  to  plunder 
and  kill,  88 ;  his  fort  at  Niag- 
ara, 162. 

La  Tour,  Abbe,  on  the  private 
theatricals  at  Quebec,  350 ;  said 
to  be  the  anonymous  critic  of 
Frontenac,  458. 

La  Tour,  Charles  de,  wars  of,  353 ; 
old  fort  of,  354. 

Laurentian  Mountains,  the,  276. 

Laval,  Bishop,  26 ;  in  France,  42 ; 
returns  to  Canada,  48;  com- 
plains of  Frontenac  to  the  King, 
62 ;  on  Frontenac's  treatment 
of  Duchesneau's  son,  67  ;  Fron- 
tenac's complaint  against,  72 ; 
on  the  English  attack  on  Can- 
ada, 269 ;  on  Phips's  attack  on 
Quebec,  287,  295. 

La  Valliere,  governor  of  Acadia, 
353  ;  correspondence  of,  359. 

La  Valterie,  157  ;  in  the  expedi- 
tion against  the  Senecas,  159. 

Laviolette,  317,  318,319. 

Le  Ber,  Jacques,  the  merchant, 
arrested  by  Perrot,  34 ;  57,  85 ; 
seizes  Fort  Frontenac,  86  ;  328. 

Le  Ber,  Madame,  35. 

Le  Ber,  Mademoiselle,  328,  330. 

Le  Clerc,  on  the  reply  of  the  Iro- 
quois to  Frontenac,  210;  on  the 
capture  of  Fort  Loyal,  243 ;  on 


Phips's  attack  on  Quebec,  287 ; 

on  the  death  of  Frontenac,  451. 
Leisler,  Jacob,    the    demagogue, 

223 ;   on  the  massacre  of    the 

English  at    Schenectady,  224; 

his  letters   on  the  burning  of 

Schenectady,  227 ;    letter  from 

Governor    Bradstreet   to,  243 ; 

303. 
Le  Moyne,  Charles  (the  elder),  57 ; 

sent  as  envoy  to  Onondaga,  87 ; 

at    Onondaga,   99,   103;    again 

sent  to  Onondaga,    109  ;   302 ; 

his  sons,  408. 
Le  Moyne  (the  younger),  57,  138, 

206. 
Les  Mines,  354;  English  traders 

at,  358. 
Le    Tardieu,  Charles,  see   Tillt/, 

Sieur  de. 
Leverett,  Governor,  360. 
Levi,  the  heights  of,  276. 
Limerick,  earldom  of,  98. 
Livingston,  Robert,  letters  on  the 

burning  of  Schenectady,  227. 
Lodowick,  330. 
London,  125. 
"  Long  House,"  the,  78. 
Long  Point  of    Lake  Erie,  the, 

117. 
Long  Saut,  the,  313. 
Longueuil,   Le    Moyne    de,   158; 

his  escape  from  the   Iroquois, 

187;   277;    in    the    defence    of 

Quebec,  289  ;  408. 
Long  Wharf,  in  Boston,  402. 
Lords  of  Trade,  the,  complain  of 

the   military  inefficiency  of  the 

British  Colonies,  429. 
Lorette,  108,  284,  294,  325. 
Lotbiuiere,  Chartier  de,  judge  of 

the  King's  court,  76. 
Louis   XIII.,   of    France,   7 ;    in- 
fancy of,  478,  479. 
Louis  XIV.,   enamoured  of  Ma 


INDEX. 


607 


lame  de  Montespan,  14 ;  jealous 
of  Frontenac,  14  ;  his  endeavors 
to  build  up  a  new  France,  18; 
Frontenac's  eulogy  of,  21 ;  urges 
upon  Frontenac  the  civilization 
of  the  Indians,  25 ;  Frontenac's 
despatch  concerning  Ferrot  and 
Fe'uelon  to,  42  ;  letters  to  Fron- 
tenac from,  43-45  ;  sends  a  col- 
league to  Frontenac,  47 ;  loses 
patience  with  Frontenac  and 
Duchesneau,  49 ;  rebukes  Fron- 
tenac, 52,  70;  Frontenac  and 
Duchesneau  denounce  each  other 
to,  58;  prohibits  Frontenac 
from  engaging  in  trade,  59 ; 
recalls  Frontenac,  71 ;  La  Barre 
asks  aid  against  the  ludiaus 
from,  92;  recalls  La  Barre, 
120 ;  appoints  Denonville  gov- 
ernor of  Canada,  1 20  ;  disgusted 
with  La  Barre's  treaty  with  the 
Iroquois,  122 ;  gives  Denonville 
unhesitating  support,  124 ;  hates 
constitutional  liberty,  125; 
urged  by  Denonville  to  buy  the 
colony  of  New  York,  134 ;  grants 
the  trade  of  Hudson's  Bay  to 
the  Company  of  the  North, 
138;  orders  Denonville  to  at- 
tack the  Iroquois  towns,  142 ; 
demands  Dongan's  recall,  172; 
Denonville  appeals  for  help  to, 
176,  177  ;  declines  to  send  troops 
to  Canada,  178;  recalls  Denon- 
ville, 190 ;  his  sun  reaches  its 
zenith,  193 ;  at  Versailles, 
193;  the  assemblies  of,  194; 
getting  tired  of  Canada,  195  ; 
sends  Frontenac  back  to  Can- 
ada, 195 ;  accepts  but  modi- 
fies Callieres*  plan  to  conquer 
New  York,  197 ;  his  inten- 
tions towards  New  York, 
198;   cruelty  of  his  plan,  199, 


200;  his  persecution  of  the 
Huguenots,  200 ;  Frontenac  an- 
nounces his  victory  over  the 
English  to,  296 ;  reproaches 
Frontenac  for  extravagance, 
310,  312 ;  interposes  to  keep 
peace  between  Frontenac  and 
Champigny,  338 ;  responsible  for 
needless  barbarity,  393 ;  his 
fatal  policy  of  exclusion,  417 ; 
commends  Frontenac  for  his 
success  against  the  Onondagas, 
438  ;  orders  the  forest-posts  to 
be  abandoned,  441  ;  announces 
the  treaty  of  Ryswick  to  Can- 
ada, 444. 

Louisiana,  Iberville  the  father  of, 
414. 

Louvigny,  Captain,  sent  to  Mich- 
ilimackinac,  213  ;  264,  348. 

Louvre,  the,  garden  of,  13. 

Loyal,  Fort,  240  ;  the  Indians  and 
French  besiege,  241 ;  surrender 
of,  242. 

Lude,  Due  de,  15. 

Madame,  use  of  the  title  of, 
275. 

Madawaska,  395. 

Madeleine,  the  heroine  of  Ver- 
cheres,  317,  323. 

Madockawando,  chief  of  the  Pe- 
nobscots,  237,  363;  Saiut-Castin 
marries  the  daughter  of,  363 ; 
370,  376 ;  dissatisfied  with  the 
French,  378;  urges  peace  with 
the  English,  381. 

Maine,  Frontenac  plans  to  attack 
the  border  settlements  of,  219; 
effect  of  King  Philip's  War 
upon,  230 ;  the  Abenaki  war  in, 
237  ;  ravages  of  the  Abenakis 
in,  371 ;  efforts  of  the  French  to 
secure  the  whole  of,  393;  sur- 
veyed by  Dr.  Charles  T.  Jack- 


508 


INDEX. 


»on,  395 ;  importance  of  Fema- 
quid  to,  401. 

Maintenon,  Madame  de,  letter 
from  Monseignat  to,  227. 

Malicite  dialect,  the,  387. 

Malicite  Indians,  the,  370,  387. 

Mantet,  D'Ailleboust  de,  wins  a 
victory  over  the  Iroquois,  203 ; 
joins  Frontenac  against  the  Eng- 
lish, 219;  attacks  Schenectady, 
224 ;  leads  the  expedition  against 
the  Mohawk  towns,  325. 

Marechite  (Malicite)  Indians,  the, 
387. 

Mareuil,  Sieur  de,  interdicted 
the  use  of  the  sacraments,  341  ; 
the  real  cause  of  the  interdic- 
tion, 342  ;  denounced  by  Saiut- 
Vallier,  343 ;  before  the  Coun- 
cil, 344 ;  insults  the  bishop,  345  ; 
ordered  to  prison,  345  ;  349. 

Margry,  M.,  on  Frontenac's  com- 
plaints against  the  Jesuits,  72; 
on  the  gathering  of  the  forces 
at  Fort  St.  Louis,  151. 

Maricourt,  138 ;  left  in  command 
at  Hudson's  Bay,  140;  277;  in 
the  defence  of  Quebec,  286; 
408,  464,  466. 

Marolles,  abbe  of  Villeloin,  477, 
478. 

Mars,  Hall  of,  at  Versailles,  194. 

Marshall,  O.  H.,  on  Denonville's 
campaign  against  the  Senecas, 
163,  164. 

Marson,  governor  of  Acadia,  353  ; 
correspondence  of,  359. 

Martigny,  Sieur  de,  410. 

Mary,  Queen  of  England,  248, 278. 

Maryland,  borders  of,  the  Iroquois 
make  forays  against,  94;  421, 
429. 

Maryland,  the  governor  of,  letters 
from  Leisler  to,  227  ;  sends  a 
present  to  Hannah  Dustan,  407. 


Mascoutins,  the,  plan  to  renounce 
the  French,  424;  at  the  grand 
council,  471. 

Maskinonge,  452. 

Massachusetts,  colony  of,  Gov- 
ernor Schuyler  asks  aid  against 
the  French  from,  228 ;  effect  of 
King  Philip's  War  on,  230; 
agents  in  London  of,  234 ;  the 
revolution  against  Andros,  234 ; 
plans  a  combined  attack  on 
Canada,  246,  247  ;  hesitates  to 
attack  Quebec,  247 ;  makes  an 
easy  conquest  of  all  Acadia, 
250 ;  Sir  William  Phips  becomes 
governor  of,  254 ;  attempts  the 
conquest  of  Quebec,  255 ;  finds 
herself  in  extremity,  297  ;  issues 
a  paper  currency,  298 ;  mistake 
made  by,  298  ;  the  Indians  sign 
a  truce  with,  364  ;  the  Abenakis 
make  a  truce  at  Pemaquid  with, 
378  ;  the  only  colony  aggressive 
against  the  French,  392;  Earl 
of  Bellomont  commissioned 
governor  of,  429. 

Matane,  iishing-station  of,  55. 

Mather,  the  elder,  254. 

Mather,  Cotton,  on  the  capture  of 
Pemaquid,  237 ;  on  the  disaster 
at  Salmon  Falls,  239;  240;  on 
the  capture  of  Fort  Loyal,  243  ; 
245,  254  ;  his  account  of  Phips, 
255 ;  on  the  expedition  against 
Quebec,  256,  258  ;  on  Phips's  de- 
mand for  Frontenac's  surrender, 
279 ;  on  Phips's  attack  on  Que- 
bec, 284 ;  on  the  wreck  of  Captain 
Rainsford,  297 ;  on  the  capture 
of  York,  369  ;  on  the  repulse  of 
the  French  at  Wells,  373;  on 
the  Abenaki  treaty  made  at 
Pemaquid,  378;  on  the  mas- 
sacre at  Oyster  River,  387  ;  on 
the   singular    methods    of   the 


INDEX. 


509 


French  missionaries,  395;  on 
the  death  of  Chubb,  401  ;  the 
story  of  Hannah  Dustan,  407. 

Mattawamkeag,  the,  mouth  of,  380. 

Mazarin,  Cardinal,  6. 

McGregory,  Major,  134,  152;  cap- 
tured by  the  French,  153 ;  re- 
turned to  the  English,  169. 

Medar,  palisaded  house  of,  384. 

Medicis,  Marie  de,  betrothed  to 
Henry  IV.,  478. 

Medoctec,  Malicite  village  of,  370 ; 
Villieu  at,  380. 

Meneval,  governor  of  Port  Royal, 
248  ;  surrenders  to  Phips,  248  ; 
his  report  on  the  attack  on  Port 
Royal,  249;  robbed  by  Phips, 
250;  confined  at  Boston,  251; 
accused  of  collusion  with  the 
English,  250,  251  ;  released, 
251  ;  sails  covertly  for  France, 
252 ;  governor  of  Acadia,  353  ; 
compLaius  of  the  arrogance  of 
the  New  Englauders,  358;  cor- 
respondence of,  359 ;  on  the 
pirates  in  Acadian  waters,  359  ; 
receives  royal  instructions  con- 
cerning Saint-Castin,  362;  his 
knowledge  of  Boston,  402. 

Menomiuies,  the,  at  the  grand 
council,  471. 

Mercury,  Hall  of,  at  Versailles, 
194. 

Merrimac  River,  the,  378. 

Meules,  the  intendant,  arrives  at 
Queoec,  76  ;  alarmed  by  threat- 
ened attack  of  the  Iroquois,  87  ; 
on  La  Barre's  illicit  trade,  90 ; 
his  estimate  of  Otr^ouati,  100; 
urges  La  Barre  to  war,  104  ; 
accuses  La  Barre  to  Seignelay, 
105,  120;  recalled,  142;  takes 
a  census  of  Acadia,  355. 

Mexico,  the  Gulf  of,  476. 

M4zy,  48. 


Miami  Indians,  La  Salle's  trade 
with,  79;  111;  hold  Fort  m 
agara  for  the  French,  174;  348 ; 
at  the  grand  council,  471,  473. 

Miamis,  Fort,  Courtemanche  at, 
423. 

Michigan,  the  shores  of,  117; 
127. 

Michigan,  Lake,  151,  471. 

Michilimackinac,  old  mission  of, 
79,  80,81,  87,  89,  91,  116,  123, 
133,  134,  150,  152,  153,  182,  183, 
211  ;  importance  of  saving,  212  ; 
330,  331  ;  La  Mothe-Cadillac 
replaces  Louvigny  at,  348  ;  the 
focus  of  intrigues,  423^;  the 
French  anxious  about,  424 ; 
population  of,  424;  revolting 
tragedy  of,  426. 

Michilimackinac,  the  tribes  of, 
151,  208,  210;  on  the  point  of 
revolt,  211,  212;  Frontenac's 
message  to,  213. 

Micmac  Indians,  the,  370,  387 ; 
led  by  Father  Baudoin  against 
WeUs,  393 ;  in  the  att^ick  on 
Peraaquid,  399. 

Migeon,  bailiff  of  Montreal,  ar^ 
rested  by  Perrot,  69. 

Milet,  Father,  the  Jesuit,  150; 
captured  by  the  Oneidas,  150; 
at  Onondaga,  206  ;  influences 
the  Iroquois  to  make  overtures 
of  peace,  418. 

Military  Order  of  St.  Louis,  the, 
438. 

Minas,  the  Basin  of,  agricultural 
population  of,  357. 

Mississippi  River,  the,  79,  91,  110; 
the  French  build  a  fort  on  the 
lower,  124;  127,  151;  Indian 
tribes  of,  424 ;  476. 

"  Mithridate  "  performed  at  Que- 
bec, 340. 
I  Mohawk  expedition,  the,  32S. 


610 


INDEX. 


Mohawk  Indians,  the,  fear  the 
French,  78  ;  at  the  Albany  con- 
ference, 95;  Denonville  plans 
an  attack  on,  177  ;  205  ;  spared 
by  the  French  at  Schenectady, 
225  ;  express  sympathy  for  the 
English,  229 ;  join  the  English 
against  Montreal,  258;  join 
Schuyler  against  the  French, 
304 ;  fight  desperately  for 
Schuyler,  307 ;  the  Jesuits  spare 
no  pains  to  convert,  324  ;  refuse 
to  make  peace  with  the  French, 
422. 

Mohawk  River,  the,  222. 

Mohawk,  the,  valley  of,  97. 

Mohawk  towns,  the,  228  ;  French 
expedition  planned  against,  325  ; 
captured  by  the  French,  326. 

Mohawks,  Christian,  the,  155, 156, 
267,  308,  324. 

Mohawks,  the  English,  308. 

Mohegans,  the,  join  the  English 
against  Montreal,  258;  join 
Schuyler  against  the  French, 
304 ;  desert  the  English,  307. 

Mohican  Indians,  the,- 152. 

Monseignat,  M.  de,  on  the  reply 
of  the  Iroquois  to  Frontenac, 
210;  on  Frontenac *s  expedition 
against  the  English,  220 ;  on 
the  burning  of  Schenectady, 
227  ;  on  the  disaster  at  Salmon 
Falls,  239  ;  on  the  Indian  at- 
tack on  Fort  Loyal,  241  ;  on 
the  capture  of  Fort  Loyal,  243 ; 
on  Phips's  attack  on  Port  Royal, 
248,  249, 250,  251  ;  on  Frontenac 
and  his  allies,  265  ;  on  the  Eng- 
lish raid  into  Canada,  270;  on 
Frontenac's  defence  of  Quebec, 
273 ;  on  Phips's  demand  for 
Frontenac's  surrender  and  Fron- 
tenac's reply,  281 ;  on  Phips's 
attack  on  Qaebec,  285. 


Montespan,  Madame  de,  Louis 
XIV.  enamoured  of,  14. 

Montesson,  Repentigny  de,  joins 
Frontenac  against  the  English, 
220. 

Montmorenci,  the  cataract  of,  276. 

Montpensier,  Mademoiselle  de,  3 ; 
her  exploits  during  the  civil 
war  of  the  Fronde,  4 ;  espouses 
the  cause  of  Conde,  4 ;  wins 
Orleans  for  the  Fronde,  4,  §; 
temporarily  banished  from  court, 
6  ;  Madame  de  Frontenac  leaves 
her  husband  to  follow,  9 ;  dis- 
pute with  her  father  concerning 
property,  9 ;  Frontenac  tries  to 
act  as  mediator,  10;  visits  Fron- 
tenac at  Isle  Savary,  10 ;  aver- 
sion for  the  Count  and  Countess 
Frontenac,  12;  on  Frontenac's 
relations  with  Madame  de  Mon- 
tespan, 14. 

Montreal,  Frontenac  at,  30 ;  Perrot 
made  governor  of,  31  ;  La  Nou- 
guere  made  governor  of,  37 ; 
jealousy  between  Quebec  and, 
38;  terror  at,  187;  Frontenac 
forms  a  war-party  at,  218  ;  land 
expedition  against,  258  ;  revival 
of  the  fur-trade  at,  264;  the 
work  of  fortifying,  311 ;  the 
grand  council  at,  470-475. 

Montreal,  Island  of,  176. 

Montreal,  the  mission  of,  189. 

Monts,  De,  354. 

Morin,  478. 

Mortemart,  Mademoiselle  de,  see 
Montespan,  Madame  de. 

Mountain  of  Montreal,  the,  mis- 
sion village  of,  157  ;  joins  Fron- 
tenac against  the  English,  219; 
attacked  by  the  Iroquois,  301  ; 
invited  to  join  against  the  Mo- 
hawk towns,  325 ;  teaching  of 
the  converts  at,  396 ;  418,  465. 


INDEX. 


511 


Mount  Desert,  354,  355,  376,  377. 
Moxus,  Chief,  370;    attacks  the 
viUage  of  Wells,  371. 

Nanfan,  Captain,  lieutenant- 
governor  of  New  York,  447. 

Nantasket,  248,  258. 

Nantes,  the  Edict  of,  revoked, 
416. 

Navarre,  the  regiment  of,  477. 

Naxouat,  Fort  at,  369  ;  Villieu  at, 
380 ;  Villebon  at,  405. 

Neff,  Mary,  captured  by  the  In- 
dians, 405  ;  her  escape,  406. 

Nelson,  Fort,  138;  important 
trading  post  of,  412 ;  description 
of ,  413 ;  surrendered  to  Iberville, 
414. 

Nelson,  John,  family  of,  375 ; 
captured  by  Villebon,  375  ;  fore- 
most in  the  overthrow  of  An- 
dros,  376 ;  warns  the  English 
of  the  proposed  attack  on  Pema- 
quid,  376 ;  imprisoned  in  France, 
377  ;  returns  to  his  family,  377  ; 
portrait  of,  378 ;  Meneval  a 
prisoner  in  the  house  of,  402. 

Nelson  River,  the,  137. 

Nesmond,  Marquis  de,  sails  for 
Newfoundland,  402 ;  royal  in- 
structions to,  403;  his  failure, 
404. 

Neuville,  Sieur  de,  8. 

Neuvillette,  369. 

New  Brunswick,  353,  387. 

New  England,  54,  122  ;  Andros, 
made  governor  of,  172;  Indian 
name  for,  208 ;  urged  by  Schuy- 
ler to  take  arms  against  the 
French,  230;  King  Philip's 
War  carries  havoc  through,  230 ; 
bungling  inefficiency  of  military 
management  in,  235 ;  has  no 
competent  military  commander, 
255;   asks  aid  from    England, 


256 ;  is  refused,  256 ;  depend* 
ence  of  Acadia  on,  357 ;  its 
borders  peculiarly  vulnerable, 
389  ;  fortified  houses  in,  390 ; 
did  nothing  to  provoke  the  bar- 
barous attacks  of  the  French, 
392  ;  Indian  churches  in,  397. 

Newfoundland,  Island  of,  struggle 
of  the  English  for,  352;  Nes- 
mond sails  for,  402  ;  operations 
at,  403 ;  failure  at,  404  ;  the 
only  French  post  of  conse- 
quence, 409 ;  Iberville  sails  for, 
409 ;  Iberville's  conquest  of, 
411. 

New  France,  Frontenac  appointed 
governor  of,  14 ;  the  three  estates 
of,  20  ;  numerical  weakness  of, 
416;  the  cause,  416. 

New  Hampshire,  Frontenac  plans 
to  attack  the  border  settlements 
of,  219 ;  the  expedition  sets  out, 
230 ;  the  Abenaki  war  in,  237  ; 
ravages  of  the  Abenakis  in,  371 ; 
too  weak  for  offensive  war,  392 ; 
the  Earl  of  Bellomont  commis- 
sioned governor  of,  429. 

New  Harbor,  Saint-Castin  lands 
at,  399. 

New  Jersey,  Andros  made  gov- 
ernor of,  172  ;  430,  436. 

New  Netherland,  the  Dutch  colony 
of,  93;  becomes  the  English 
colony  of  New  York,  93. 

New  Orleans,  founded  by  Bien- 
ville, 302,  414. 

"  Newport,"  the,  captured  by  the 
French,  399. 

New  York,  the  English'colony  of, 
93;  rivalry  between  Canada 
and,  122;  the  population  of, 
124;  Denonville  urges  Louis 
XIV.  to  buy,  134;  Andros 
made  governor  of,  172 ;  Cal- 
lieres'  plan  for  conquering,  196? 


512 


INDEX. 


Frontenac  sets  ont  against, 
200;  the  revolution  in,  223  j 
plans  a  combined  attack  on 
Canada,  246,  268  ;  instigates  the 
Iroquois  to  attack  Canada,  393 ; 
projected  conquest  by  the 
French  of,  403;  415;  tries 
to  prevent  the  proposed  peace 
between  the  French  and  the 
Iroquois,  420;  the  Earl  of 
Bellomont  commissioned  gov- 
ernor of,  429. 

New  York,  town  of,  196  ;  247. 

Niagara,  88,  103 ;  the  rendezvous 
at,  116  ;  Dongan's  plan  to  build 
a  fort  at,  130 ;  Denonville  pro- 
jects a  fort  at,  133;  150,  151, 
153;  Denonville  builds  a  fort 
at,  162. 

Niagara,  Fort,  built  by  Denon- 
ville, 162 ;  Dongan  demands 
the  demolition  of,  169;  its 
maintenance  of  great  impor- 
tance to  the  colony,  173  ;  malig- 
nant diseases  at,  173 ;  demolished 
by  Denonville,  174. 

Niagara  River,  the,  162. 

Nicholson,  Captain,  letter  from 
Robert  Livingston  to,  227. 

"Nicomede,"  performed  at  Que- 
bec, 340. 

Niles,  on  the  capture  of  York, 
369 ;  on  the  repulse  of  the 
French  at  Wells,  374;  the 
story  of  Hannah  Dustan,  407. 

Nipissing  Indians,  the,  trading  at 
Montreal,  264. 

Nipissing,  Lake,  266. 

Noblesse,  the  Canadian,  408. 

Noddle's  Island,  402. 

Normandie,  the  regiment  of,  7 ; 
477,  480. 

Norton,  fortified  house  of,  126. 

Nova  Scotia,  197,  353,  387. 

Nans,  the.  at  Quebec,  76,  122. 


Ohio  River,  the,  178. 

Ohio,  the,  valley  of,  417. 

Ohniagero  (Niagara),  130. 

Ojibwa  Indians,  the,  116,  152; 
trading  at  Montreal,  264  ;  at 
the  grand  council,  471. 

Oldmixon,  on  the  capture  of  the 
forts  at  Hudson's  Bay,  140. 

Onas,  the  Iroquois  name  for  the 
governor  of  Pennsylvania,  97. 

Oneida  Indians,  the,  promise 
friendship  to  the  English,  95; 
capture  the  Jesuit  Milet,  150; 
Denonville  plans  an  attack  on, 
177  ;  join  the  English  against 
Montreal,  258  ;  324 ;  join  Schuy- 
ler against  the  French,  327; 
refuse  to  make  peace  with  the 
French,  422;  beg  peace  from 
Frontenac,  434 ;  Governor  Flet- 
cher sends  corn  to,  436. 

Oneida,  town  of,  98 ;  destroyed  by 
Vaudreuil,  435. 

Onondaga,  the  Iroquois  capital, 
82;  Charles  Le  Moyne  sent  as 
envoy  to,  87  ;  Viele  sent  as  en- 
voy to,  97  ;  the  lodges  of,  98 ; 
the  site  of,  98;  182,  184,  205; 
the  grand  council  at,  206 ;  on 
fire,  433 ;  fortified  by  the  Eng- 
lish, 434 ;  description  of,  434. 

Onondaga  Indians,  the,  promise 
friendship  to  the  English,  95 ; 
the  number  of,  98 ;  act  as  medi- 
ators between  the  Senecas  and 
the  French,  102;  Otreouati  as- 
serts the  independence  of,  102  ; 
La  Barre  asks  the  mediation  of, 
109 ;  their  generosity  toward 
Lamberville,  149 ;  Denonville 
plans  an  attack  on,  177;  324; 
refuse  to  make  peace  with 
the  French,  422;  Frontenac 
marches  against,  431 ;  Governor 
Fletcher  sends  corn  to,  436. 


INDEX. 


513 


Onondaga,  Lake,  432. 

Onontio,  the  Indian  name  for  the 
governor  of  Canada,  72. 

Ontario,  Lake,  29,  90,  92, 127, 135, 
154,  155,  162,428,431. 

Orange  (Albany),  125,  222. 

Orange,  Prince  of,  see  William  of 
Orange. 

Orbitello,  siege  of,  7. 

Orleans,  threatened  bj  the  royal 
army,  4 ;  won  for  the  Fronde,  5. 

Orleans,  Duchess  of,  14. 

Orleans,  Duke  of,  see  Gaston. 

Orleans,  the  Island  of,  291. 

Orleans,  the  Point  of,  273. 

Oswego,  82. 

Oswego  River,  the,  431. 

Otreouati  (Big  Mouth),  the  famous 
Onondaga  orator,  99  ;  sketch  of, 
100;  his  skill  in  drawing,  101 ; 
asserts  the  independence  of  his 
tribe,  102 ;  his  interview  with 
La  Barre,  109 ;  his  reply  to  La 
Barre's  harangue,  112-114;  his 
son  and  brother  captured  by 
Denonville,  but  released,  147 ; 
approached  by  Denonville,  178  ; 
consents  to  a  conference  with 
the  French,  179. 

Ottawa  Indians,  the,  79 ;  threat- 
ened by  the  Iroquois,  80;  the 
Iroquois  express  pacific  inten- 
tions towards,  82;  87,  116,  118, 
123,  126,  152,  153,  160;  "the 
Rat"  plots  against,  181;  215; 
trading  at  Montreal,  264;  331, 
424,  425,  426,  444,  465 ;  at  the 
grand  council,  471. 

Ottawa  River,  the,  138,  203,  214, 
301,  303;  the  main  artery  of 
Canada,  313  ;  efforts  of  the  Iro- 
quois to  close,  313  ;  330. 

Ouelle  River,  the,  275. 
Ourehaoue',  the  Cayuga  war-chief, 
204;    taken   to    France,   204: 


Frontenac  makes  use  of,  204 
his  return  demanded  by  the  Iro- 
quois, 209  ;  his  devotion  to  Fron* 
tenac,  210  ;  death  of,  396. 

Outrelaise,  Mademoiselle  d',  her 
friendship  for  Madame  de  Fron- 
tenac, 15  ;  death  of,  16. 

Oyster  River,  the  settlement  of, 
383;  the  French  attack,  383, 
384  ;  the  massacre,  385  ;  advan- 
tage of  the  massacre  to  the 
French,  389. 

Pacific  Ocean,  the,  172. 

Palace  Gate,  the,  272. 

Palatinate,  the,  burning  of,  200. 

Palisaded  houses  of  New  England, 
the,  390. 

Palluau,  Baron  de,  see  Buade, 
Antoine  de. 

"  Palmier,"  the,  412. 

Papacy,  the,  Louis  XIV.  binds 
Canada  to,  417. 

Paper  currency,  issued  by  Massa- 
chusetts, 298. 

Paris,  6. 

Passadumkeag,  village  of,  380, 
382. 

Passamaquoddy  Indians,  the,  387. 

Peace-pipe,  the,  474. 

"Pelican,"  the,  commanded  by 
Iberville,  412  ;  engages  with  the 
English  merchantmen,  412  ;  her 
victory,  412  ;  destruction  of,  413. 

Peraaquid,  233;  captured  by  the 
Abenakis,  235-237  ;  364  ;  Eng- 
lish outpost  at,  355 ;  Phips  re- 
builds the  fort  at,  375  ;  Fronte- 
nac plans  to  capture,  375 ;  the 
French  fail  to  capture,  376 ; 
English  conference  with  the 
Abenakis  at,  378;  the  French 
plan  to  capture,  397 ;  the  attack 
on,  399 ;  its  importance  under- 
rated by  the  English,  401 ;  its 


614 


INDEX. 


conquest  a  crowning  triumph 
to  the  French,  401. 

Pemaquid,  Fort,  location  of,  399 ; 
description  of,  399 ;  captured  by 
the  French,  400;  destroyed  by 
the  French,  401. 

Pemaquid  River,  the,  399. 

Pennsylvania,  97,  198,421,  429. 

Penobscot,  Saint-Castin's  post  at, 
249. 

Penobscot  Bay,  354^  355,  359. 

Penobscot  dialect,  the,  387. 

Penobscot  Indians,  the,  363,  387. 

Penobscot  River,  the,  231 ;  Indian 
towns  on,  237,  380;  240,  355; 
Indian  tribes  of,  387  ;  402. 

Pentegoet,  Fort,  attacked  by 
pirates,  359 ;  Dutch  attack  on, 
360;  its  condition  in  1670,  360; 
its  reconstruction  urged,  360 ; 
399. 

Pentegoet,  the  mission  of,  354, 
366. 

Pequawket  Indians,  the,  387. 

Perc^e,  Isle,  200. 

Perelle,  Lieutenant,  179. 

Perpignan,  siege  of,  7. 

Perr^,  147,  149. 

Perrot,  made  governor  of  Mont- 
real, 31 ;  his  plans  for  specula- 
tion, 31  ;  his  tyranny,  32 ;  re- 
sists the  authority  of  Frontenac, 
34 ;  appears  before  Frontenac 
at  Quebec,  36;  his  arrest  and 
imprisonment,  37 ;  his  trial  be- 
fore the  Council  of  Quebec,  39, 
40 ;  shipped  to  France,  42 ; 
imprisoned  in  the  Bastile,  44; 
returns  to  Canada,  68 ;  comes 
to  an  understanding  with  Fron- 
tenac, 68,  69;  avidity  of,  70; 
accuses  Meneval  and  Petit  of 
collusion  with  the  English,  251  ; 
governor  of  Acadia,  353 ;  cor- 
respondence of,  359;    maligns 


SaintCastin, 361  ;  Saint-Castin's 
retort,  362 ;  recalled,  362. 

Perrot,  Nicolas,  the  famous  voya- 
geur,  106;  on  La  Barre's  ob- 
ject in  his  war  against  the 
Senecas,  106 ;  induces  the  In- 
dians to  attend  a  rendezvous 
at  Niagara,  116;  prevents  the 
Indians  from  deserting  the 
French,  117;  wins  over  Indians 
to  Denonville,  151;  157;  on 
Denonville's  campaign  against 
the  Senecas,  163;  on  "the 
Rat's"  plot  against  the  Ot- 
tawas,  181  ;  takes  a  message 
from  Frontenac  to  the  tribes 
of  Michilimackinac,  213  ;  264  • 
among  the  tribes  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, 424;  at  the  grand 
council,  472. 

Perrot  Island,  31. 

Petit,  Father,  250;  accused  oi 
collusion  with  the  English,  251  ; 
cur6  of  Port  Royal,  358 ;  on 
Saint-Castin's  relations  with  the 
Indians,  361. 

Petit,  Ge'deon,  137. 

Petitot,  478. 

Phelippeaux,  Anne,  wife  of  Henri 
de  Buade,  477. 

Phelippeaux,  Raymond,  477. 

Phillips,  on  the  Newfoundland  ex- 
pedition, 411. 

Phips,  Sir  William,  attacks  Port 
Royal,  248  ;  Governor  Meneval 
surrenders  to,  248 ;  scandalous 
rapacity  of,  250;  early  history 
of,  252  ;  is  made  a  knight,  254.; 
characteristics  of,  254  ;  is  made 
governor  of  Massachusetts,  254 ; 
warmly  patriotic,  255 ;  made 
commander  of  the  expedition 
against,  257;  left  to  conquer 
Canada  alone,  269 ;  arrives  at 
Quebec,  273;  his  delay  in  at- 


INDEX. 


615 


tacking  Quebec,  274 ;  small  suc- 
cesses of,  275;  finds  it  difficult 
to  land  in  Canada,  275 ;  sails 
into  the  Basin  of  Quebec,  276 ; 
demands  Frontenac's  surrender, 
278 ;  Frontenac's  reply  to,  279  ; 
his  plan  of  attack,  281  ;  attacks 
Quebec,  283  ;  prepares  to  can- 
nonade Quebec,  285 ;  his  ships 
repulsed,  287 ;  retires  from 
Quebec,  291  ;  his  crestfallen 
return  to  Boston,  297  ;  under- 
stands the  needs  of  the  eastern 
frontier,  375;  rebuilds  the  fort 
at  Pemaquid,  375. 

Pike,  Kev.  John,  on  the  disaster  at 
Salmon  Falls,  239 ;  on  the  cap- 
ture of  York,  369 ;  on  the  mas- 
sacre at  Oyster  River,  387  ;  on 
the  folly  of  the  English,  398; 
the  story  of  Hannah  Dustan, 
407. 

Pinard,  on  Frontenac's  early  life, 
8;  478. 

Pirates,  in  Acadian  waters,  359. 

Piscataqua,  see  Portsmouth. 

Piscataqua  River,  the,  364,  371, 
393. 

Placentia  Bay,  409,  412. 

Planchon,  Etienne,  77. 

Plymouth,  colony  of,  effect  of 
King  Philip's  War  on,  230; 
plans  a  combined  attack  on 
Canada,  246,  247. 

Point  aux  Trembles,  301,  302. 

"  Poli,"  the,  375. 

Ponchartrain,  M.  de,  251,  330; 
letter  from  Frontenac  to,  333 ; 
commends  Thury  for  instigat- 
ing Abenaki  attacks  on  the 
English,  394;  orders  Fronte 
nac  not  to  re-eetablish  Fort 
Frontenac,  428 ;  Fjontenac's  ap- 
peal for  support  against  his 
enemies    to,     438;      reproves  j 


Frontenac  for  hfs  dispute  with 
Champigny,  439. 

Ponchartrain,  Madame  de,  323. 

Pontneuf,  240;  besieges  Fort 
Loyal,  241  ;  364,  365,  369,  370, 
374 ;  charged  with  debauchery, 
379  ;  replaced  by  Villieu,  379. 

Portland,  site  of,  239 ;  240. 

Port  Royal,  French  cruisers  at, 
247  ;  attacked  by  Phips,  248 ; 
surrender  of,  248;  the  chief 
place  of  all  Arcadia,  354 ;  agri- 
cultural population  of,  357; 
English  traders  at,  358;  the 
Huguenots  at,  358;  reoccupied 
by  Villebon,  365;  passes  back 
into  French  hands,  366 ;  393. 

Portsmouth,  238,  271;  Fron- 
tenac's plan  to  attack,  375, 
403;  fort  at,  404. 

Pottawatamies,  the,  116,  152; 
trading  at  Montreal,  264;  at 
the  grand  council,  471. 

Prairie  de  1ft  Madeleine,  see  La 
Prairie  de  la  Madeleine. 

Preble,  fortified  house  of,  368. 

Prefontaine,  9;  his  dispute  with 
Frontenac,  10  ^Frontenac  speaks 
ill  of,  11. 

Prescott  Gate,  the,  272. 

Prevost,  Major,  263,  270,  271,  272, 
275;  receives  the  envoy  from 
Phips,  277. 

Priests  of  Montreal,  the,  indigna- 
tion against  Frontenac,  38 ; 
commended  by  Colbert  to  Fron- 
tenac, 45 ;  controversy  over 
ecclesiastical  honors  between 
Frontenac  and,  49 ;  responsible 
for  needless  barbarity,  394. 

Prisoner"?  French  bounty  on, 
312. 

Private  theatricals,  at  Quebec 
340,  350. 

"  Profond,"  the,  398,  412 


616 


INDEX. 


Puritan  soldiery,  the,  fear  of  the 

Jesuits  for,  294. 
Puritans,  the,  Boston,  359. 
Pyrenees,  the,  slopes  of,  360. 

Quakers,  the,  in  Rhode  Island, 
392. 

Quebec,  arrival  of  Frontenac  at, 
17;  superb  position  of,  18;  to 
become  the  capital  of  a  great 
empire,  18;  Frontenac  gives  a 
municipal  government  to,  22  ; 
municipal  government  abol- 
ished, 24 ;  jealousy  between 
Montreal  and,  38;  arrival  of 
La  Barre  and  Meules  at,  76 ; 
the  great  fire  at,  76 ;  arrival 
of  Denonville  and  Saint-Vallier 
at,  122 ;  Frontenac  received  at, 
200;  Frontenac  forms  a  war- 
party  at,  218;  Massachusetts 
hesitates  to  attack,  247 ;  Mas- 
sachusetts attempts  the  conquest 
of,  255 ;  Frontenac  fortifies, 
262,  263;  Phips  arrives  at, 
273 ;  Phips's  delay  in  attacking, 
274 ;  Phips's  plan  of  attack  on, 
281 ;  Phips  attacks,  283  ;  Fron- 
tenac's  defence  of,  284 ;  Phips 
retires  from,  291  ;  condition  of, 
293 ;  rejoices  over  its  deliver- 
ance, 296 ;  Villeneuve's  plan  of, 
298 ;  the  work  of  fortifying,  31 1  ; 
private  theatricals  at,  340 ;  at- 
tacked by  Admiral  Wlieeler,  403. 

Quebec,  the  Basin  of,  18,271,  274; 
Phips  sails  into,  276. 

Quebec,  Chateau  of,  191. 

Quebec,  the  church  of,  49. 

Quebec,  the  Council  of,  Perrot 
and  Fenelon  tried  before,  39, 
40;  dissensions  in,  51,  52;  the 
King  settles  the  question  of  the 
presidency.  53;  complain  of 
Frontenac    to    the  King,    62; 


Frontenac's  victory  over,  260 

again  in  controversy  with  Fi^on* 

tenac,  344. 
Quebec,  the  Rock  of,  285. 
Quebec,    the    Seminary    of,    72; 

358. 
Quinte  Bay,  146. 
Quinte,  village  of,  146. 

Radisson,  137. 

Rainsford,  Captain,  wrecked  on 
the  Island  of  Anticosti,  297. 

Ramesay,  in  command  against  the 
Onondagas,  431. 

Ramsay,  Captain  de,  271. 

Rapide  Plat,  149. 

Rat,  the,  a  Huron  chief,  81; 
French  estimates  of,  181 ;  his 
intrigues  with  the  Iroquois,  181 ; 
won  over  by  the  French,  181 ; 
discovered  Denonville's  plan  of 
peace  with  the  Iroquois,  182; 
attacks  the  Iroquois  peace- 
embassy,  182;  his  strategy,  183; 
at  Michilimackinac,  215;  424, 
465  ;  his  complaint  against  the 
Iroquois,  468  ;  his  death,  469 ; 
his  death  a  great  loss  to  the 
French,  469;  his  funeral  rites, 
469  ;  his  burial,  470. 

Recollet  Friars,  the,  befriended 
by  Frontenac,  43  ;  opposition  of 
the  Jesuits  to,  43 ;  75,  200; 
Frontenac  places  his  conscience 
in  the  keeping  of,  340 ;  344 ; 
Callieres  a  friend  of,  346;  in- 
terdicted by  the  Bishop,  347  ; 
350;  Frontenac's  bequest  to, 
451 ;  458. 

Red  Bird,  see  Cut  Nose. 

Remy,  Fort,  185,  187,  188. 

Repentigny,  fort  at,  302. 

Rhine,  the,  444. 

Rhode  Island,  colony  of,  Quaker 
influence  in,  392;  429,  430. 


INDEX. 


517 


Richelieu,  Cardinal,  193. 

Richelieu  River,  the,  220,  267, 
304,  307. 

River  Indians  (Mohawks),  the, 
308. 

Riviere  du  Loup,  63. 

Roberts,  on  the  Newfoundland  ex- 
pedition, 411. 

Rochefort,  398. 

Rochelle,  69,  121,  196. 

Roland,  Fort,  185,  187. 

Roman  Church,  the,  28. 

Rooseboom,  Johannes,  133,  152; 
captured  by  La  Durantaye,  153. 

"  Rose,"  the,  Andros'  frigate,  363. 

Rum,  Dongan  furnishes  the  In- 
dians with,  133. 

Rupert,  Fort,  137 ;  captured  by 
the  French,  139. 

Ryswick,  the,  Peace  of,  444,  476. 

Sable,  Cape,  354. 

Saco,  Fort,  403. 

Saco  River,  the,  231,  233,  355; 
falls  of,  378 ;  Indian  tribes  on, 
387  ;  404. 

Sacs,  the,  152;  at  the  grand 
council,  471. 

Saginaw,  the  region  of,  127. 

Saguenay  River,  the,  296. 

Saint-Castin,  Baron  de,  a  French 
adventurer,  232;  trading-house 
of,  232,  361  ;  240;  his  post  at 
Penobscot,  249 ;  his  Indian 
harem  at  Pentegoet,  356,  361  ; 
early  life  of,  360 ;  his  life  among 
the  Indians,  360 ;  characteristics 
of,  361 ;  maligned  by  Governor 
Perrot,  361;  his  retort,  362; 
royal  injunctions  to,  362 ;  his 
marriage,  363 ;  his  critical  posi- 
tion, 363 ;  plundered  by  the 
English,  363  ;  refuses  to  become 
an  English  subject,  363;  370; 
the  English  plan  to  kidnap,  377 ; 


intrigues  of,  391  ;  in  the  attack 
on  Pemaquid,  399;  captures 
Fort  Pemaquid,  400;  the  pro- 
jected  attack  on  Boston,  402, 
404. 

St.  Charles  River,  the,  272,  281, 
284,288,289,311. 

Saint-Cirque,  death  of,  305. 

St.  Croix  River,  the,  353, 355, 378, 
387. 

Saint-Denis,  Juchereau  de,  the 
veteran  captain  of  Beaufort, 
285;  wounded  by  the  English, 
285. 

St.  Domingo,  359. 

St.  Fargeau,  6 ;  Frontenac  at,  9. 

St.  Francis,  396. 

St.  Francis,  Lake,  179,  314. 

St.  Francis  River,  the,  231. 

St.  Francis,  the  missions  of,  231 
240. 

St.  George  River,  the,  353. 

St.  Germain,  the  splendors  of,  17. 

St.-Germain-en-Laye,  477. 

St.  John,  the  chief  post  of  the 
English,  409 ;  captured  and 
burned  by  Iberville,  409 ;  re- 
occupied  by  the  English,  411. 

St.  John  River,  the,  354,  355,  366, 
369,  374,  381,  387,  399. 

St.  Joseph  River,  the,  471. 

St.  Lawrence,  GuK  of,  300,  815, 
354,  476. 

St.  Lawrence  River,  the,  18,  30, 
36,  107,  123;  the  rapids  of,  145, 
184;  147,  185,  188,  197,  204, 
220,  258,  267,  271,  272,  274, 
303,  313,  332,  364. 

St.  Louis,  the  Chateau,  276,  285 ; 
society  at,  339. 

St.  Louis,  Fort,  79;  taken  by 
Chevalier  de  Baugis,  91  ;  at- 
tacked by  the  Iroquois,  91; 
Tonty  at,'l51. 

St.  Louis,  Lake,  107,  185, 188. 


518 


INDEX. 


St.  Lonis  on  the  IlHnois,  Fort, 
Tonty  and  La  Fordt  at,  424. 

St.  Lonis,  the  rapid  of,  324. 

St.  Malo,  409. 

St.  Mary's  Bay,  354. 

Saint-Ours,  470. 

St.  Paul,  the  parish  of,  479,  480. 

St.  Paul's  Bay,  295. 

St.  Pierre  aux  Boeufs,  church  of, 
8,  480. 

St.  Sacrement,  Lake  (Lake 
George),  267. 

Saint-Simon,  Due  de,  on  Fronte- 
nac's  character,  14 ;  on  Madame 
de  Frontenac,  15  ;  on  the  as- 
semblies of  Louis  XIV.,  194; 
480. 

St.  Sulpice,  the  priests  of,  at 
Montreal,  31,  32,  36  ;  resent  the 
appointment  of  Governor  La 
Nougu^re  by  Frontenac,  38 ; 
intensely  jealous  of  Quebec,  38  ; 
letter  from  Bretonvilliers  to,  46. 

Baint-Vallier,  Bishop,  sails  for 
Canada,  121 ;  his  estimate  of 
Denonville,  121  ;  arrival  at  Que- 
bec, 122;  on  the  capture  of  the 
forts  at  Hud.son's  Bay,  140;  on 
Denonville's  expedition  against 
the  Senecas,  144  ;  on  the  treach- 
ery of  Denonville,  148;  on  the 
rendezvous  at  Irondequoit  Bay, 
154,  155;  on  the  Babylon  of 
the  Senecas,  161  ;  on  Denon- 
ville's campaign  against  the 
Senecas,  163;  on  Denonville's 
plan  for  the  termination  of  the 
Iroquois  war,  177;  his  friend- 
ship for  Denonville,  191 ;  in  the 
attack  on  Quebec,  294 ;  his  love 
of  power,  339  ;  struggle  between 
Frontenac  and,  339 ;  his  opposi- 
tion to  theatricals  at  Quebec, 
341 ;  gives  money  to  stop  the 
private  theatricals  at   Quebec, 


343;  denounces  Mareuil,   343 
seized  by  an  access  of  zeal,  345 ; 
in  controversy  with    Calliferea, 
346;    interdicts  the    R^collets, 
347 ;  sails  for  France,  349. 

Ste.  Genevieve,  the  heights  of, 
281. 

Sainte-H^^ne,  Le  Moyne  de,  138  ; 
joins  Frontenac  against  the 
English,  219;  attacks  Schenec- 
tady, 224;  at  Quebec,  277;  in 
the  defence  of  Quebec,  284, 286 ; 
mortally  wounded,  289  ;  408. 

Salem,  403. 

Salina,  salt  springs  of,  432. 

Salisbury,  the  Bishop  of,  letters 
from  Leisler  to,  227. 

Salmon  Falls,  settlement  of,  230 ; 
Hertel's  attack  on,  238 ;  the 
disaster  of,  239,  391,  393;  249. 

Salmon  River,  109,  374. 

Salvaye,  137. 

Sander,  Captain,  see  Glen,  John 
Sander. 

Sargent,  Henry,  139,  140. 

Saut  an  Matelot,  the,  272,  273. 

Saut  St,  Louis,  Jesuit  mission  of, 
108;  converts  from,  157;  joins 
Frontenac  against  the  English, 
219;  the  Christian  chief  of,  221  ; 
267,  324 ;  invited  to  join  against 
the  Mohawk  towns,  325;  418, 
465. 

Savage,  Capt.  Ephraim,  on  the 
expedition  against  Quebec,  258  ; 
in  the  attack  on  Quebec,  283, 
285. 

Schenectady,  village  of,  221 ;  lo- 
cation of,  222 ;  attacked  by  the 
French,  224  ;  the  massacre,  225  ; 
in  ashes,  226 ;  authorities  on  the 
burning  of,  227. 

Schermerhorn,  Simon,  warns  Al- 
bany of  the  French  expedition 
227.  228. 


INDEX. 


619 


Schuyler,  Capt.  John,  makes  a 
raid  into  Canada,  269;  sent 
as  envoy  to  Frontenac,  447 ; 
journal  of,  449 ;  460. 

Schuyler,  General,  of  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution,  449. 

Schuyler,  Major  Peter,  mayor  of 
Albany,  207,  208,  223;  on  the 
massacre  of  the  English  at 
Schenectady,  224,  227  ;  appeals 
to  Massachusetts  for  aid  against 
the  French,  228;  distrusts  his 
Indian  allies,  230;  commands 
an  expedition  against  the 
French,  303;  his  attack  on 
Fort  Chambly,  304  ;  Valrenne's 
attack  on,  305-307  ;  his  success 
against  Valrenne,  307  ;  estimate 
of  his  force,  308;  on  the  trail 
of  the  French,  327  ;  tries  to  pre- 
vent the  proposed  peace  between 
the  French  and  the  Iroquois, 
420 ;  receives  the  treaty  of  Rys- 
wick,  444 ;  on  the  correspond- 
ence between  Bellomont  and 
Frontenac,  449 ;  460. 

Scotia,  227. 

Secontat,  Jeanne,  wife  of  Antoine 
de  Buade,  477. 

Sedgwick,  seizes  Ac2.dia,  353. 

Seignelay,  son  of  Colbert,  43  ;  his 
marriage  to  the  Marquise  d'Al- 
l^gre,  43 ;  enters  upon  the 
charge  of  the  colonies,  64 ; 
Frontenac  and  Duchesneau  ac- 
cuse each  other  to,  64-66 ;  La 
Barre's  letter  to,  85 ;  Meules' 
letter  to,  90;  Meules  accuses 
La  Barre  to,  105;  his  instruc- 
tions to  Barillon,  1 25  ;  Deuon- 
ville  writes  concerning  Don- 
gan's  intrigues  to,  125,  126; 
Denonville  strongly  urges  rein- 
forcements from  France,  127, 
128;  172,  177,  180,  181. 


Seneca  Indians,  the,  strength  of. 
78  ;  their  movement  against  the 
tribes  of  the  Illinois,  78  ;  attack 
Fort  St.  Louis,  91 ;  La  Barre's 
fury  against,  92  ;  at  the  Albany 
conference,  95 ;  eager  for  war, 
101  ;  La  Barre  plans  to  exter- 
minate, 104;  La  Barre  sets  out 
against,  107  ;  La  Barre  promises 
not  to  attack,  115;  still  attack- 
ing the  Illinois,  1 22 ;  intrigues 
between  the  lake  tribes  and, 
123;  Denonville 's  plans  to  de- 
stroy, 142  ;  Denonville  sets  out 
against,  144;  attack  Denonville 
from  ambush,  158;  Denonville's 
victory  over,  1 59  ;  the  famous 
Babylon  of,  160  ;  authorities  for 
Denonville's  campaign  against, 
163,  164;  make  treaty  with  the 
lake  tribes,  207  ;  make  a  partial 
peace  with  the  French,  422; 
capture  Joncaire,  464. 

Seneca  town,  the  great,  1 56. 

Serigny,  408,  411  ;  in  the  attack 
on  Fort  Nelson,  412. 

S^vigne,  Madame  de,  1 5. 

Shea,  J.  G.,  on  the  treachery  of 
Denonville,  148  ;  on  the  gener- 
ous release  of  Lamberville  by 
the  Onondagas,  150  ;  on  Denon- 
ville's campaign  against  tlie 
Senecas,  163;  on  the  capture  of 
Father  Milet,  206. 

Sheepscot  River,  the,  Indian  tribes 
on,  387. 

Sheldon,  on  the  barbarous  policy 
of  the  French,  426. 

Short,  Captain,  of  the  royal  navy, 
254. 

Shrewsbury,  Earl  of,  256. 

Sillery,  108.  231. 

Silvy,  Father,  the  Jesuit,  1 38  ;  on 
the  capture  of  the  forts  at  Hud 
son's  Bay,  140. 


520 


INDEX. 


Simon,  the  priest,  in  the  attack  on 

Pemaquid,  399. 
Sioux  Indians,  the,  79. 
"  Six  Friends,"  the  ship,  257. 
Small-pox,    among    the    Indians, 

268,  269;   among  the  English, 

287,  292. 
Smith,  on  Denonville's  campaign 

against  the   Senecas,    163;    on 

the  burning  of  Schenectady,  227. 
Sokoki  Indians,  the,  230,  269, 387. 
Sorel,  town  of,  57,  303,  345,  348. 
Soiiaiti,  see  Rat^  the. 
Soulid,  on  the  assemblies  of  Louis 

XIV.,  194. 
Soiioias,  see  Rat,  the. 
Souriquois  Indians,  the,  387. 
Souvre,  M.  de,  479. 
Spain,  444. 
Sparks,  Jared,  251. 
Squier,  164. 
Stark,  General,  escapes  from  the 

Indians,  396. 
Stiles,  President,  diary  of,  397. 
Storer,  Joseph,  fortified  house  of, 

371. 
Stoughton,  governor  of  Massachu- 
setts, upbraids    the    Abenakis, 

398;  Bigot's  reply,  398. 
Strasbourg,  444. 
Subercase,    185,    186,    187,    189; 

in  the  attack  on  Quebec,  291  ; 

in    Frontenac's  attack    on  the 

Onondagas,  433. 
Sully,  prime  minister  of  Henry  IV., 

15. 
Sully,  Duchesse  de,  6,  10. 
Sulpitian  priests  of  Montreal,  the, 

see  St.  Sulpice,  priests  of. 
Sunderland,  Earl  of,  letter  from 

Dongan  to,  1 69. 
Superior,  Lake,  471. 

Tadoussac,  271,  274,  275. 
Talmage,  Lieutenant,  in  command 


of  the  Connecticut  militia,  223  ; 
under  the  popular  ban,  223 ; 
resists  the  French  attack  on 
Schenectady,  224. 

Talon,  the  royal  agent,  18,  19; 
his  lack  of  sympathy  with  Fron- 
tenac's innovations,  23 ;  leaves 
for  France,  25 ;  recommends 
building  a  fort  on  Lake  On- 
tario, 29;  returns  to  Canada, 
31  ;  his  post  at  court,  43 ;  corre- 
spondence of,  359 ;  on  tlie  con- 
dition of  Fort  Pentegoet  in 
1670,  360. 

Tanguay,  on  the  heroine  of  Ver- 
cheres,  323. 

Tareha,  Chief,    makes    overtures 
of    peace    to    Frontenac,    417 
Frontenac's  reply,  418. 

Tarratine  Indians,  the,  387. 

"Tartuffe,"  the  play  of,  341,  350 

Tassemaker,  Peter,  225. 

Tawerahet,  see  Ourehaoue. 

Taxous,  Chief,  oppose  the  Eng- 
lish, 379,  381,  382;  leads  the 
attack  on  the  settlement  of 
Oyster  River,  385. 

Te  Deum,  the,  ordered  by  the 
King,  448. 

Tegannisorens,  82,  83,  182.  See 
also  Decanisora. 

Temple,  Sir  Thomas,  375. 

Terreneuve,  Isle  de,  477. 

Territorial  extension,  origin  of 
the  French  scheme  of,  415. 

Theatricals,  private,  at  Quebec, 
340,  350;  opposition  of  the 
clergy  to,  340. 

Thornton,  Timothy,  298. 

Thousand  Islands,  the,  108. 

Three  Rivers,  iron  mines  at,  19; 
175;  Frontenac  forms  a  war- 
party  at,  218,  230;  263,  308; 
the  work  of  fortifying,  311 ; 
315,  316,  325,  345,  348. 


INDEX. 


621 


Thury,  Father  Pierre,  233  ;  at  the 
capture  of  Pemaquid,  236 ;  the 
religious  aspect  of  the  Abenaki 
war,  237  ;  incites  the  Abenakis 
to  war,  237  ;  366 ;  an  insidious 
enemy  of  the  English,  377  ;  on 
the  feeling  of  the  Abenakis 
against  the  French,  379 ;  per- 
suaded the  Abenakis  to  stay 
with  the  French,  381;  in  the 
massacre  at  Oyster  River,  385  ; 
his  invaluable  aid  to  Villieu, 
386 ;  intrigues  of,  391  ;  insti- 
gates the  Abenakis  to  attack 
the  English,  394  ;  rewarded  for 
his  zeal,  394 ;  keeps  his  converts 
in  hostility  to  the  English,  395 ; 
anxious  for  tlie  adhesion  of  the 
Abenakis,  397 ;  holds  a  con- 
ference with  Chubb,  398 ;  in  the 
attack  on  Pemaquid,  399. 

Tibierge,  on  Thury's  zeal  in  in- 
stigating the  Abenakis  against 
the  English,  394. 

Tilly,  Sieur  de,  38  ;  councillor  of 
Quebec,  50  ;  banished  from  Que- 
bec by  Froutenac,  52. 

Tionoudogu^,  fortified  village  of, 
97. 

Tonawanda  reservation,  the,  164. 

Tonty,  Henri  de,  commanding  at 
the  Illinois,  150;  at  Fort  St. 
Louis,  151;  156;  on  Denon- 
ville's  campaign  against  the 
Seuecas,  1 63  ;  goes  to  the  "  As- 
sinneboins,"  349 ;  on  Fort  St. 
Louis  of  the  Illinois,  424 ; 
in  charge  of  a  forest  post, 
440. 

Toronto,  Denonville  projects  a 
fort  at,  133  ;  154. 

Torture  of  prisoners,  145, 146, 188 ; 
315,  374. 

Totiakton,  town  of,  164. 

Townsend,  Peter,  298. 


Tracy,  chastises  the  Mohawka 
78,  84. 

Triple  alliance,  the,  conclusion  of, 
208 ;  means  ruin  to  Canada, 
208. 

Trouve',  Father,  250.  "' 

Troyes,  Chevalier  de,  in  the  cap- 
ture of  the  forts  at  Hudson's 
Bay,  138,  140;  left  in  charge 
of  the  fort  at  Niagara,  162; 
death  of,  174. 

Trumbull,  J.  Hammond,  387. 

Turenne,  13. 

Turks,  the,  attack  Candia,  13, 
453. 

Tuscaroras,  the,  475. 

Two  Mountains,  the  Lake  of,  203 

Tyrconnel,  Earl  of,  93. 

Ulster,  militia  of,  447. 

Urfe,  Abbe  d',  interviews  Fron- 
tenac  in  behalf  of  the  Abbt 
Fe'nelon,  39 ;  carries  accusations 
against  Frontenac  to  France, 
43  ;  commended  by  Colbert  to 
Frontenac's  consideration,  45 ; 
his  memorial  to  Colbert,  45. 

Ursuline  convent,  the,  at  Quebec, 
293,  351. 

Ursuline  nuns,  the,  at  Quebec, 
28;  272;  mourn  Frontenac's 
death,  451. 

Utrecht,  the  peace  of,  235. 

Va  I  LI.  ANT,  Father,  sent  as  am- 
bassador from  Denonville  to 
Dongan,  170;  his  lack  of  suc- 
cess, 170. 

Valrenne,  commandant  at  Fort 
Frontenac,  201 ;  demolishes 
Fort  Frontenac,  202  ;  277,  279 ; 
his  attack  on  Schuyler,  305- 
307  ;  estimate  of  his  force,  308. 

Van  Cortlandt,  Mr.,  letter  to  Aa 
dros  from.  227. 


522 


INDEX. 


Van  Curler,  founder  of  Schenec- 
tady, 227. 

Van  Rensselaer,  229. 

Varennes,  57. 

Vauban,  the  great  engineer,  311. 

Vaudreuil,  Chevalier  de,  157,  176, 
186,  187,  200;  his  expedition 
against  the  Iroquois,  301  ;  in 
command  against  the  Onon- 
dagas,  431,  433,  434;  destroys 
Oneida,  435 ;  on  the  hauteur  of 
Callibres,  462;  470;  at  the 
grand  council,  474. 

Vautier,  66,  67. 

Vaveray,  Madame  de,  164. 

Venetians,  the,  ask  aid  from 
France  against  the  Turks,  13. 

Venice,  the  Senate  of,  453. 

Venus,  Hall  of,  at  Versailles,  1 94. 

Verchiferes,  Alexander  de,  323. 

Verchferes,  fort  at,  317;  Iroquois 
attack  on,  317;  the  heroine  of, 
317-323. 

Verch^res,  Louis  de,  323. 

Verch^res,  Marie-Madeleine  Jar- 
ret  de,  the  story  of,  317-323; 
history  of,  323. 

Verreau,  Abb€,  46,  68,  74. 

Versailles,  3,  17,  47,  122,  171; 
gives  no  sign  of  waning  glories, 
193;  259,  279,  296,  312,  379, 
403,  444. 

Victor,  village  of,  163. 

Viele,  Arnold,  sent  as  envoy  to 
Onondaga,  97 ;  his  journey,  97- 
99 ;  his  object,  99 ;  arrives  at 
Onondaga,  99 ;  his  first  blunder, 
102. 

Viger,  Jacques,  458. 

Villebon,  governor  of  Acadia,  277, 
310 ;  tries  ^  win  over  the 
Abenakis,  364,  379 ;  reoccupies 
Port  Royal,  365  ;  the  success  of 
his  Abenaki  allies,  369,  370; 
on  the  repulse  of  the  French  at 


Wells,  373;  his  opposition  to 
Villieu,  380;  on  the  advantage 
of  the  massacre  at  Oyster  River 
to  the  French,  389  ;  anxious  for 
the  adhesion  of  the  Abenakis, 
397  ;  on  the  conference  between 
Chubb  and  Thury's  Indians, 
398;  attacks  Pemaquid,  399; 
the  English  fail  to  dislodge, 
405. 

ViUeloin,  477. 

Villeneuve,  the  engineer,  plan  of 
Quebec  by,  273,  298. 

Villeray,  councillor  of  Quebec,  50 ; 
antagonism  of  Frontenac  to,  50 ; 
banished  from  Quebec  by  Fron- 
tenac, 52;  259,  260,  261,  344; 
rebuked  by  the  King,  350. 

Villieu,  Lieutenant,  replaces  Pont- 
neuf,  379 ;  ordered  against  the 
English,  379;  Villebon's  oppo- 
sition to,  380 ;  joined  by  Chief 
Taxous,  380;  finds  a  powerful 
ally  in  Bigot,  380;  seeks  to 
break  the  treaty  of  Pemaquid, 
380;  experiences  the  fickleness 
of  the  Abenakis,  381  ;  narrow 
escape  from  drowning  of,  382 ; 
attacks  the  settlement  of  Oyster 
River,  383-386  ;  returns  to  Que- 
bec, 386 ;  attacks  Pemaquid, 
399  ;  captured  by  the  English, 
404. 

"Violent,"  the,  412. 

Virginia,  421,  429. 

Virginia,  borders  of,  the  Iroquois 
make  forays  against,  94. 

Vrooman,  Adam,  225. 

Waldron,  Major,  killed  by  the 

Indians,  235. 
Walley,  Major  John,  257  ;  on  the 

expedition  against  Quebec,  258  ; 

on  Phips's  delay   in    attacking 

Quebec,  274;  on  Phips's  plan 


USTDEX 


528 


of  attacking  Quebec,  282;  in 
the  attack  on  Quebec,  284,  285, 
288,  289 ;  sick  with  the  small- 
pox, 287. 

Weeras,  Lieut.  James,  in  com- 
mand at  Pemaquid,  235;  at- 
tacked by  the  Indians,  235 ;  sur- 
renders to  the  Indians,  236,  237. 

Wells,  the  village  of,  364;  at- 
tacked by  the  French,  370 ;  re- 
pulse of  the  French  at,  371-373 ; 
Frontenac's  plan  to  attack,  375 ; 
forts  at,  404 ;  405. 

Werden,  Sir  John,  secretary  of  the 
Duke  of  York,  94. 

"Wesp,"the,  412. 

Wessels,  mayor  of  Albany,  229, 
447. 

West  Indies,  the,  77,  83,  253,  359. 

Wheeler,  Admiral,  attacks  Que- 
bec, 403. 

White  Mountains,  the,  355. 

Whitehall,  treaty  of  neutrality  be- 
tween England  and  France 
signed  at,  140. 

Whitmore,  Mr.,  on  the  burning  of 
Schenectady,  227. 

William,  Fort,  223. 

William  of  Orange,  seizes  the 
English  throne,  190,  193 ;  lands 
in  England,  233 ;  248,  278,  280, 
360,  366. 

Williamson,  on    the    capture    of 


York,  369;  on  the  repulse  of 
the  French  at  Wells,  373. 

Willis,  map  of  Fort  Loyal  made 
by,  243. 

Winnebago  Indians,  the,  79,  80 » 
at  the  grand  council,  471. 

Winthrop,  the,  family  of,  378. 

Winthrop,  Adam,  298. 

Winthrop,  Fitz-John,  leads  the  ex- 
pedition against  Canada,  247; 
leaves  Phips  to  conquer  Canada 
alone,  269;  460. 

Winthrop,  Wait,  257. 

Wisconsin,  471. 

Wohawa,  Chief,  245. 

Wolfe,  General,  282. 

Wolves,  the,  join  Schuyler  against 
the  French,  304. 

Wood  Creek,  268. 

Woodman,  garrison  house  of,  385, 
390. 

Woolwich,  settlement  of,  2.52. 

Wooster  River,  238,  239. 

Worcester,  406. 

Xayibr,  Saint  Francis,  296. 

York,  Duke  of,  93,  94,  96,  98, 

102 ;  363  ;  see  also  James  II.  oj 

England. 
York,  village  of,  364 ;  population 

of,  367 ;  captured  by  the  French, 

367 ;  fort  at,  404 ;  405. 


Paricman,    Francis  P" 

5057 

Count  vrontenac         .P2o» 

G6