KUI^e. r v ■ y j ! ^ " I ':'. T''"'!'!"^^'!"!"! !"!"!!-''!!'!Z!-"!C"!"r!' "! !''"!'!'"'!"'r"!V '!GZ O" [h i •> THREE RIVERS. ry • • :;*. : ; ....... : ;: -18_£0. CITIKKK »>HrNTlVe ANt> HliMfclMlUNtJ (((MHAXV, (WIK.VKR KPARKB ,VM» MKTTAI.FR SITS. OTTAWA ::''"' > ii:c!:'::ii:!ii:>''iLKi:::;::ii(ii::i::x:: ! :i^::;:!::::i~c: ' " ! ri:i:':i:;:::p ••?..1>^ %.:\ "^", '■ X't- ;■ . _* '^ ■.■^-f ' i ' '0' »,'*,■ *■" ■ I'i \; ■i>' '■J.- •■ .:>■;■ ^4^- A; • «'' •V,'-. , i« ' . . •■ vi ''•. ' .'. .«• 'i. -^„,'.V■■ <■, - ". . I c... .^ '.:«.'•' ^^1.^ '•«■..* •V-v *". hUi •^■>«^. ••♦ • • , •••-•--• :••:: • ••*•* • •••• •• ■§ • • ••• • • « THE EARLY YEARS OF THREE RIVERS."* Thi3 volume, writ'en by Mr. 13. Suite, is m every waj creditable to him. It is the resHlt of reading and care, and is marked throughout by good taste and good feeling. Naturally Mr. Suite writes as a French- Canadian. His motto is /aire, aimer la patrif, and he feels a laudable pride in the courage and endurance of his ancestors. Himself a native of Thrte Rivers, this work 18 a record of the early times of the city ; gathered fnmorigmal sources of inquiry, it must have been a labor of love. It contains much which in our condition of knowledge 13 original and trustworthy, and we do not doubt but hereafter future writers of his- tory will quote his pages as an authority. The style is pleasing and animated, so that barrel of interest and matter of fact, as many of the incidents naturally must be, he makes pleasant reading out of much that is common place. The task Mi-. Suite has set himself is to trace the h. story of an infant settlement, until it outgrew the troubles and trials which for forty years threatened its existence. His efl'ort 18 to bring back these times vividly before us, and Lencc li« pourtrays scenes of every day life, of which the account can have interest only from the view in which he places it, and from the memories the events themselves awaken. Two important events changed the whole aspect of the world. The applica- tion of movable types to printing by Faust and Gutlenberg, during the second half of the fifteenth century, and the Reformation, to which the stimulus given by printing to human intelligence to a considerable ex- tent led some years later. We do not say this from what is called the Protestant sunding point. When Luther commenced his crusade against the Papacy of that date, he had on his side men like Erasmus, Dean Colet and Sir Thomas Moore. No one with greater bitterness assailed the corruptions of the hour than Erasmus, but he hesitated when his com- panions went forwaid. But if his advance in opinion was not to the same extent, at least ho gave his im- press to the ti3ld where he remained, and whatever the word used may be, change undoubtedly followed in the lite and govurnmentof the ancient religion. Half •ChronifiueTrifluvicnnonnrKeiijnmin Suite, Montreal Compagnie d'luiiirimoriu Canu- dienne 1879. a century later Layola started on his extra- ordinary career, and the influences which he created were in full force when the ev?nta chronicled in this volume were taking place. The Jesuit has played a large part in the early history of Canada, and for much of the time his action was uncontrolled, more especially in the years which Mr, Suite chronicles'. His power was supreme, as governor after governor experienced. ilr. Suite commences his Listory at the period when Three Rivers was tiie limit of European civilization. Montreal was then Hochelaga, a i'W/ry of the savage, and tho western waters had beefi scarcely fright- ened from their security by the strange apparition of a white face. The fort at Three Rivers was constructed in IC34. Some few colonists had established them- selves within its shadow, and in a short time appeared the inevitable Jesuit Father, concealing under his unobtrusive humble lookjthe keenest ambition and a remorseless jealousy of the RecoUct who had preceeded liini, intent on a policy which was to end in the ruin of the unhappy Red Maa who became his convert, and to sap ever tho larger domain of the continent the power of tlie race and the creed he was working so hard to establish on the traditionary rock of faith.. There were about 70 souls in the place at this date. Tho number in- creased scarcely to lUO in the next four years' But at this period the whole French population iu Canada was scarcely 200. This handful of men was literally the advanced guard of civilization, and a stern fight they and their descendants had before them, in which for half a century their existence never ceased to bo imperilled. These men came from Nor- mandy as a rule— the ancestors of the race of the courcur dii bois,&ad the descendants of those warriors wfio conquered England, whose deeds will live forever in the Tapes- try of Boyeux. They came generally from Rouen, Caux, Feckuip and Fleury. Cbaniplain's map of 1G32, which sets forth the explorations to within five years of its date, gives no indication of habiladon Fntiicaise above Quebec. But the records seem to establish, that as early as 1617, settlement commenced. The situation at that date was favorable to trade. Itself at the foot of the River St. Maurice, which was ascended to its source to cross tho tributaries of the Gatineau, for that 58^60 rirer to be descended, so that the Ottawa could be gained. On (tie opposite sborr, the mouth of the Riclielieu, 45 miles to the west ; while on the south shore the Rirers St. Francis and Xicolet are more immediately in the neighborhood. We can trace in these days much thu same cjnseqiicncea as bare hitherto taken place as setilement advances west. First came a few traders and Indians. As the numbers increase, the missionary appears upon the scene until a relif^iuus ors^aoi/.a- tion is established. The church was then built; and the fort followed, as the necessary protection against outward attack. Mr. Suite tells us that Three Hirers held possession of the traffic for twenty years, and it was not until 1656 that Mantreal, to any extent, partook of it. It was then that the eieat commerce of the West may be said to hare takon its rise, and to control which the wars of the next century succeeded. However the quar- rel may be described by other names, the real struggle was if the "peltrr"and Indian wares should pass by the Mohawk to the Hudson and to New York, or whether it was to keep to the St. Lawrsnce, and take French ships to France, aud if the supplies the Indians needed were to come by Quebec or New York. That struggle is still being continued. If not in the same form, at least as zealously. The Dominion expenditure on the canals has alone the end in new to brine the produce of the West to .Montreal and the St. Lawrence. The enlargement of the narigation is to make it possible for fessels X9 start from Chicago for Europe, and to bring back an unbroken cargo of manufactnred articles to an American Eort on Lake Michigan. The early in- abitants of the United States, the English colonists, .was desirous that no canoe should pass below Lake Ontario, that it should ascend to the Mohawk and find its way to the Hudson. Ttie struggle oi Nrnwelle France was to bring every- thing eastward. In the earliei history the St. Lawrence was not looked upon as the chaunel to the west; it was the Ottawa which was followed. The northern part of the Island of Montreal offered no such impediment as the lUpids of St. Louis, the Lachine Rapids. The rirer which flows at this city's base was taken to the mouth of the Matawan. Tnis stream was followed, and the portage which led to Lake Nippissing and by the Freneh Rirer, Georgian Bay. was gained. Access was tliuB had to the Huron Coun- try. The Jesuit Fort, the traces of which remain, near the line of the I^Iidland Rail- way, was re chad by this route. Ruins yet stand on the shore io the gieat bay, into which the Severn dischargpa,a branch of which penetrates to Penetanguishe'iie, one of the most beautiful of the many pictu- resque sheets of water on the continent. It has been the fashion to speak of Jaciiues Cartieras the founder of Canada. Cartier certainly visited the country, and he passed a winter here. In 1634. his first voyflge terminated at (jaspo. His second voyage was in 1635. He reached Mon- treal, massed a few days, and wintered at Quobec Id I63C. f In 1640 he again sailed to Canada in the expedition organized by Roberral, and returned to France in 1542. The mode of his departure gives one not too favorable a view of his character. Cartier then disappears from history. There is no trace of his presence, either in legislation, or manners, or jurisprudence. It we except the material memorial of some timbers found m the River Si. Charles, which has been considered to bo the remains of the Ilermina. Cartier was not even the first to "discover" Canada. The country had been visited in 1518 by De Levis, and Verazzani, ten years previous to Cartier's expedition, pene- trated the St. Lawrence. The loss of Verrazzani in the expedition of 1525, for he was never heard of after leaving France, has paused bis name to be lost sight of, aud explains why so 2 ttle is known of his previous voyage. The real founder of Canadii is Cham- plain, and any non-recognition of this fact is a disregard of history. Cbamplain appears on the scene for the first time in 1603, some thirty years bffore the records of Three Rivers are marked by any in- terest. From 1543 to 1598 no effort wf any kind was made to fit out an expedition to the St. Lawrence or colonize the country. It was in 1542 that Cartier abandoned Roberva! in the Harbour of Newfound- land, by all account, in the night time, Roberval pushed on to Quebec and wintered there, and in the following summer, leaving a band of some thirty behind him he returned to Franco The fate of these men must ever remain unknown. In the succeeding year the brothers Roberval eqi ipped a fleet, and proceeded to sea, but were never heard of. The vessel probably foundered.. It was not until 1(500 that Chauvin's expedition started for Canada, and made a settle- ment at Tadousae. We do not hear that Quebec was reached. Certainly it was not until 1603 that Champlain ascended the St. Lawrence to visit Hochelaga, when his progress was stopped by the Lachine Rapids, lO which ke gave the name of the St. Louis Rapids. Thus sixty years had passed since the thirty French- men had been left by Roberval at Quebec. It is strange that not a vestige of tradi- tion clings to their memory, except the slight traces spoken of by Champlain. One would think that some trace of their presence would have been retained some slight vestige of their past, in the language in use when Champlain arrived. Some sound would hare conveyed to his mind the fate of his abandoned, forlorn coun- trymen. Some weapon er utensil would have been founa as a memento of their fate. We can i»icture to ourselves these men pining away one by one, hope having departed, and the feeling silking into their souls. They had no home but with the red mcn^ no lot but the Indian squaw and the hithy wigwam. Or did they make some effort to leave their pri- son, and regain their country in a vessel built by themselves. An impenetrable mystery covers them ; no record of lan- guage, no utensil, no weanou, no tradi- tion, was ever discovered to testify that they had lived and sull'ered. One theory H^Vv^;- 3 is plain, tbej could not have retnainid ia the country, for they would haTC left children behind them m middle life when Champlain came. Were thty att»ck?»rt and killed and eaten in some lernble time ef famine, or did they trust their fortunes to the seas ? Mcmmia est guam mens repffit ilia quae fuemiit, saith Uicero. But where can memory aid in the history ot these first colonists, abandoned by 'heir countrymen iu France to their fate. It was in 1608 that Champlain laid the foundations of Quebec, and became the founder of Canada. Champlain's words may again be quoted:— "II n'en peu trouver de ulus commode n'y mieux situe que lapointede Quebec qainsai appelle des sauvagps Inquelle cstoit remplie de noyers." The earlv theories cf Cartier's hopes seem to have f)eeu but slenderly entertained by Champlain. His frood sense and his past experience did not lead him to look for the silver and ffold of Peru. His duty was to found a colony, and there is little to show he had any taste, or in any way foresaw at that date any prospect ol gain by com- merce with the Indian. Tiie fur trade was then unkncwn. A plentiful supply of furs could be obtained. Hut there were other requirements. If the trader grew out of the situation, the trader had to seek for furs, and he had to pay for them. Above all Le had to be fed, and it waF plain that the food could not come from France. Champlain, therefore, turned his first attention to the means of existing in the new land, and one of his efl'orts was io plant wheat and rye. The crop from this virgin soil must have been excellent. One of the early miBtakes of Champlain was to listen to the representations of the • ludians, and to interfere in their quarrels. The consequences were not forseen. His temporary triumph brought terrible retri- bution. In after years the revenge it called forth threatened the destruction of the colony, and the feelings it created I)owerfully operated to narrow French domination within the limit which it could never permanently pass. The Algonquius persuaded Champlain to assist them against the Iroquois, the Five Nations, and this step was the coinmence- inent of a quarrel never to be terminated, while it powerfully contributed to the eventual uprooting of French power in British North America. It proved the cause of the utter destruction of the Ilurons and the other Indians whose for- tunes were liukert with the French cause. It was dunnfir this expedition hediscovered Lake Champlain, although tnese waters were doubtless well known to him by re- port. It was at the Chambly Rapids that he must have been stopped, when his men deserted hira. But Champlain con- tinued his route to Lake George, when, the enemy wa' met and encountered. It was then that we see the commencement of that policy wttch will always be a blot on the French escutcheon in Canada. The Indians wer« allowed to torture their prisoners. It is said that so late when Braddock was defeated BeSuJeu, on the advance to as 17£ FMrt De du Qjfsne, the British soldiers who were made prisoners were tortured by their Indian allies. The Jesuits in no way dis- couraged this conduct. Their motto ap- pears to have been Lawez les /aire. Mr. Suite gives an example of this feeling in bis chronicle. We quote the words of this reliable writer in his own language, soweshall not be accused of misrepre- sentation : — *'0a leg attaqua Taillamment, mais en verite, lis Boutinrent le choc avec un courage et une dexterite non attendus, mais au bout du compte se croyant trop faibles pour resister aux aseauts qu' ils devaient attendre le jour suivant, ils demanderent qu' on ne tirat point de part ni d'autre pendant la nuit, et cepenaant Us s'evaderent a la sourdine devant la pointe du jour, ' Jean Amyot, plus rempli de courage qu' il n' a de corps," les suivit a la piste et en decouvrit un cache dans le tronc d'un arbre. Deux Iroquois avaient ete blesses et sept fort blesses, ou trouva dans leur redoute quelques arque- buses plus erosses et plus longues 3 lie celles des Francais. Ddux sauvages u cote des TriHuviena avaient ete tues et six Fraocais blesses ; I'uu d'eux mourut peu apres a Quebec ou an les avait enroyes pour etrc soignes a I'llotel Dieu. Jeau Amyot conduisit son prisonnier a Quebec. La on fit avouer a cet homme qu'il etait lassassin du Pere Jogues, " M." le jiouverneur le tint en prison huit ou dix jours ; enfm les sauvejes de Sillery s'ennti- yant,M.lt Goiiverneur le leur envoya ; il fut brule le IG, II ne fut dans les tourments qu'une heure. Son corps fut jete dans I'eau. 11 fut baptise et mount lien." (Journal des Jesuites, p. 95, " Relation " 1C47, p. 73.) The italics are ours. Tie advantages of Three Rivers as a trading station were early seen, and these records commence when it emerged into something like a community. M. de Jlontmagny was then Governor General, and M. de Champoui governor of Three Rivers. The place by this time had be- come the rendezvous of the Atte- kameguca from the St. Maurice, and the Algonquinsfrom Allumette Island Tlie word Huron, familiar to us, is French. The name comes from hure, the crest of the wild boar, to which, it was held, the I'Cad dress of the Indian bore some resem- hliincp, and the term camo to be used to distinguish the fviendly Indians, who em- braced Christianity, in'distinction to those of the Five Nations, at enmity wiih them. There was a cbronh: state of war ; the French were few in number, uncared for in France, incapable, from their poverty of resources, of the least aggressive move- ment. The Iroquois, numerous, warlike, utterly false and treacherous, offered peace when events on the Mohawk made an enemy the less necesary, and broke the truce if they held it advantageous to re- commence aggression. In the neighbor- hood of Toree Rivers the AlgonquinS made some efforts towards clearing the land and settling down, but neither whita nor red man could count upon reapins his harvest. Three Fivers appears to iiava ^z' early gained tht preference over Quebec with iu Indian visitors. It was nearer to the West, and possibly more saru /aeon. But the establishment of Montreal ulti- mately interfered with the advantages it possessed. la 1640 there was the usual alarm. Two white men had been seized in the winter of 1641, close to the rising town. One would scarcely have expected that the Iroquis would have beeu m hiaing in Febru.iry, but such was the case, and the possession of these men led to an ex- pedition, consisting ot twenty canoes, in which the double purpose appears to have been to detach the French from any alliance with the Algonquins, and to ob- tain hrearma. The Iroquois, in spite of the poverty of numbers and resources of the French, fe't their rising power, and found themselves unable to cope with their ancient enemies when ranged with the new comers. The two men were brought in by the expedition, and it was hoped that by their intervention the end in view could be accomplished. There was another incidental request. The Indians demanded thirty-six guns. Marguerie, one of the persons who, on parole, carried the mes- eaejp, is recorded to have played the heroic part ot Regulus, Himself a prisoner, sent as a hostage, with the prospect of having bis lingers cut off one by one, his nose slit, his eyeballs stripped, and finally to be burned— cast all the thought ot self aside, and recommended the refusal of the re- quest. But time had to be gained. A canoe was sent oflF to Quebec for the Go- vernor-General and negotiations were opened, the Indians being given to under- Htand that it was only the Governor- General who could cuter into a treaty that was binding. They therefore settled themselves down, protected themselves with trees m the form they followed, and waited his arrival. M. Montmagny came. One of the first sights he witnessed was an Algonquin canoe taken, the women kicked and the man carried off a prisoner. A meeting was held, the Indians gave over the white men, and it was understood that M. Montmagny was to visit the Iroquois in the morning. The scheme appears to have been to seize the Governor-General him- self, and to have made his exchange the basis of future demands. But the scheme failed, for, from the commencement, the French declined to enter into any arrange- ment which would not comprehend their' Indian allies. In the mealtime an armed sloop arrived from Quebec. The Iroquois saw that they had to deal with men who believed that their best protection was In force. The Indians therefore declined any further meeting, and waved the scalp of an Algonquin in defiance, and made preparations for their return. Their en- campment was attacked bjr cannon. Leaving fares during the night in the first fort, they vacated it for a second fort, which they had constructed in their rear, and so managed to retreat with little loss ; the cannon, however, caused great dread. For some years, until about 1660, the colony was constantly subjected to scenes of tnis character. The records are of greater or less interest, but they are marked on the part of the Indian by the same ferocity and craft, by the FrenchnLUD with the same constancy and courage. Entirely neglected by France, the wonder is the French Canadian was not swept away. That such was not the case was owing entirely to his gallantry and endurance. The neglect of the Colo- nist in America by the French Government was to a great extent the result of the re- ligious character given to the emigra'.ion. There were doubtless thousands of Protes- tants in France who would have thrown their fortunes with their countrymen. The difficulties of the hour would have given more serious occupation than quar- rels about the extent of the real presence and the number of sacraments. One thou- sand Frenchmen of any creed would have chased these Indians to their strongholds, and in a few months would have taught them a lesson the red man never would have forgotten. But the Jesuit was there with his narrow, gloomy, uncompromising faith. Careless of his own life, he was equally indifferent to the happiness and welfare of others. Garneau well says he desired to make a Paraguay of Canada. Ready to devote himself to flames and tor- ture, possessing the courage of the intoler- ance of fanatacisDi, he started for the west doubtful if he would reach the first rapid above Montreal. When tortured and burnt, another took his place. One feels bow more wisely and nobly all this devo- tion may have been ereroiscd. It was in this struggle in France, as in most others, that the real object was lost sight of. The dread of Protestantism with the governing classes was something more than mere dogma. As in England, the fear of Puri- tanism was that it would engender thoughts of personal rights and liberty, which would shake existing institutions. The persecution by the Anglican nrelates of any freedom of thought in religion, which culminated under Laud, concealea the desire to crush any effort for greater personal liberty : a struggle te take the form of war turmoil and difficulty for nearly a century and which really and in fact only took a settled form iu the third decade of this century. The leaders in Frauce knew well what they were battling for. Sully tells us that when Protestantism seemed on the eve of triumphing, Catharine do Medicis remarked, *' We shall then sa^ our prayers in French instead of in Latin.' t But the ductile mind of the people had no such complaisant opinions. They were taught early in life a deep and rooted bigotry, as the end of their being, and under its influence for 40 years their countrymen in Canada were left on the verge of destruction. But the French in Canada never lost their self assertion, and their fortitude was unshaken. They must have felt that their lives depended on their own efforts alone. They felt that their safety lay m the fears of their enemies. Taking jwisoner in 1652, Agontarisati, with one ta Alleurat, two of the most formidable of their enemies, they burnt them a: Three Rivers. No one can deny the necessity of this act. The Indians, of coursQ, were duly christened before ex* ecutloD, airu certmonut. Prior Franciacus Tocatus est, 'poaterior Franciscua, so "uns the Jesuit record. There was no besitatioa in Three RiTers, and it was felt thnt there could be none. In August of the same year the Oorernor, M. Duplessis liochart, bearing ttint some inhabitants of the place had been attacked at the entrance of the Samt Maurice bf some Iroquois cuDoes, be at once organized an expedition against the Indians, who were in hiding at Cap de la Madelaine, Seeing the enemy he attempted to land among the sedge and reeds, trusting to his gallantry end courage. In a ft;w moments be tell dead. Seven of big countrymen were SHCriBced with bim, some dying uf their wounds, and one being burnt. Mr. iSulte gives the names of the 15 killed and wounded. It is not possible, in our limits, to run through the record of these events. Tbe struggle still continued. M. lioucber has left a record of tbe state of feeling. " A wife 18 ever fearful that her husband who in tbe morning has started for his work, may be taken or killed, and she may never again see him. For this rea- son the hahilanls are generally poor. The Iruquis kill their cattle and prevent the crops from being harvested, burning or pillaging the farms as occasion offers." It was this same Boucher, whose name must ever be remembered m the annals of Canada as having been the principal instrument in turning the aspect of affairs. In 1G61 he went to France accredited by their Governor, M. D'Avangour. Col- bert was then in the ascendant. Boucher obtained the ear of the king, and awoke his desire to extend his glories by tbe firm establishment of La Nouvelle France. The result was that rein.''orcement8 were sent. Tb^, however, tardily came, still their presence gave hope and vigor to the colonists. They were followed by others ; finally the celebrated Carignan Kegiment arrived, and the days of Iroquois terror passed away forever from Three Rivers. fiut from the days of Champlain to Tracy the colony passed through a terrible ordeal. Its first forty years of liie has but few parallels in modern history. In 162[ the European population of Canada was under fifty, and new blood was but slowly poured in from Europe, It is not, therefore, a matter of surprise that Que- bec was taken by an English expedition, under Sir David Kirk, in 1G29. There was a strone party in France to consider La Nouveile trance as a costly and dan- gerour acquisition, what had been well got rid of. The French ambassador in London had the reputation of entertain- ing this view. Men of this calibre are found in every community. We have in Canada some isolated individuals possessing some extraordiaary theories with regard to ourselves and our connec- tion with England. But their influence is on a par with their merit and their doc- trine. The public mind in no way recog- nizes their existence, and they are held onapar with Swift's "Three Tailors of Tooley Street," who coniMenced their man- ifesto with " We, the people of England I" NatioKS are not moved by the querulous crotchets of * thecrist. In the moment of emergency the mind of a aatioa be- comes awakened, and such flimsy tollies are swept away by public indignation like cobwebs. Tbe public opinion of France in those days was the opin- ien of the Court. Champlain's genius ranged it on his side, and his representation to Richelieu led to the adoption of opposite views. Champlain knew and unoerstood the wealth and value of Canada, and a series of Cham- plains migbt have changed the destiny of the couBti-y. The treaty of St. Germain accordingly restored French Canada to France, and in 1633 an expedition started with new settlers. We may say that it is really at this date that the history of Can- ada as a colony commences. In the early stage of the adventure the effort had been to get adventurous spirits to cross the seas. ReligiOQ had bad little influence with the choice. Two-thirds of Cham- plain's crews bad been protestants. Under the great Henry aad Sully toleration had been permitted But the Protestants, yearning for personal liberty, ill accorded with the arbitrary theories of the French court. It was resolved that such aspira- tions should be excluded from tbe new set- tlement, and that when any Protestant offered to join the expedition, he should be refused. It was determined that here- after in Amctica, tbe taint of what is called heresy should not exist. Cham- plain is spoken as being very strict as veil as reliaioup, but of dogmatic views. There is nothing to show that he did more than conform to the views of the French Court. Frenchmen in those days of his character had few philosophical opinions, and they changed from one side to the other as their interests dictated. It remained for the next century to prodtyje the men who should turn the current of thought in Europe. The proximity of the Protestant colonies of New England and on the Hud- son, then called the Orange River, sug- gested to P'rench statesmen the policy of raising up in Canada a totally different language and creed, which could not b? tempted to swerve from its allegiance and orthodoxy, whose prejudices in i\o way relieved by enducatlon, could ever be ap- pealed to and excited. Had the dagger of Ravilliac not destroyed the career of Henry so soon after Chnraplain's first ex- pedition, Champlais's lite, to our mind, would have taken a different impression, for he was thoroughly and truly a great man, above that deformity and passion, and the m«e,n maligaant instincts which are the invariable accompaniments of bit- terness, mediocrity, and dishonesty. The Goveraors who followed Champlain, — till we come to Tracy— excepting his im- mediate successor, Montmagny, were not men of capacity, and were not fitted to deal with tbe difficulties which threatened the life of the communitv. Montmagny had the examples and traditions of Cham- plain, moreover, be did not suffer from the same difficulties which marked his succes- sors — the efforis of tfle Jesuits to control the whole policy and government sf the country, and to place tbe state at the foot of the* church. Montmagny remained until l'>47. As early as 1616, the Recol* 6 lets bad establiskcd themselves in tb" col- 007. Tbe Jesuits did not appear until 1625, and it was not until ten Tears later they commenced their remarKable mis- sions. It was after Montmagny's depar- ture, in 1648 and 1649, that the Hurons were destroyed, and Breboeuf and I.dlle- meot tortured and burned. D'Aillebout was a man entirely deficient in enertry. Lauzon was insnlted by tbe Indians under the Tery guns of Quebec. D'Argenson better understood the sitaation, and asked far troops to commence an agressive moTemcnt on the Iroquois, but no aid was fortbcominK from France, and be was continually thwarted by Bishop Laval, intent on establishing ibe pre-eminence Ot' the cliurcb, and who finally obtained his removal. f'Avanjour, who succesded him was a blunt soldier, but was equally powerless. He was recalled from the same influences, as not sufficiently plastic. DcMery followed, to be persecuted as his predecessors. He died in two years, and Tracy came in 1GG5. It was bis vigorous policy wbich changed the fate of the country, aad that such was the case was owing to the mission ot Ooucher tu France, who, to have attained his purpose, must have been a remarkably able man. Boucher came to Canada when only seven years of atje, and he ':iay claim to be the first native Canadian of eminence. That he was the first Canadian ennobled by Louis XIV. is a trifling matter com- pared to tbe reputation he has left of honesty, ability, courage and worth. We may add here that it is one of the most curious points of Three Rivers history that the first men ennobled were all from Three Rivers— Boucher, Godefroy, Hertel ami Le N«uf. Mr. Suite traces the various branches of these families. Senator de BoucLtTville yet" represents the first of these names. The family of Godefroy have last their ancient splendor. M. de Hertel, is also nut among tbe wealthy, Le Nouf, left Canada at the conquest Possibly DO more enterprising expedi- tion was ever undertaken than that under Courcellcs in 1666. We know the fact not simply from French report, but from the narrative which is given of the expe- dition in tbe documentary history of New York. In the depth of winter Courcelles, with 600 volunteers,' passed along the frozen St. Lawrsnce, marching on snow- slioes, carrying their provisions on traineauz, till the Richelieu was reached. The Ricttelien was then ascended to Lake Champlaiu — crossing to Lake George, then known as Lac du Sacra- ment, the waters were traced to where the fort of William Henry was afterwards bnilt, and the trail was taken to the Iro- quois country, but, says the English record, 'by mistake of his guides happened to fall short of the castles of the Maubaukes, and to encamp within two miles of a small vil- lage called Bchonectede. The conse- quence was a deputation was sent to Monsieur Coursell, to inquire of his inten- tion in bringing such a body of armed men into the dominions of His Majesty of Great Britain.' 'Surely,' saith the writer,' so bold < and hardy an attempt (circumstances coBsid" ered) hath not happened in any age." Courcelles got safely buck, but he lost some men, having dropped into an am- bush consisting of near 200 Mohawks, pliiated behind trees, who at one volley slew eleven Frenchmen whereof one was a lieutenant. The wounded men were sent to Albany. Experience bad now estab- lished tliat there could be no safety for Canada until the Iroquois were made in- capable of injuring the settlers. A series ot torts was therefore constructed along the waters by which he approached. One at tbe junction ot the Richelieu and St. Lawrence ; one, the celebrated- Chambly Fort, at the foot of the rapids ; one a league to the south at St. Tbereso ; one which gave rise to the present town of St. John's, CD the Richelieu ; one, Fort St. Frederick, at Crown Point, and even- tuallv Fort Ticonderoga was built. It is not shown on the Carte du Lie Cham- plain of 1748, par le Sr. Auger, arpen- leur du Roy en 1732 fait a Quebec le 10 Octobre, 1748. Signe, De Lery. Lake George was then known as Lac St. Sacra- ment. The E'lglish forts commenced at the Great Portage, between the waters of Lake Champlain and the Hudson. The first was built in 1711. There was also another fort on Lake Cbamphiin, St, Anne, on Isle La .Motte, about twenty leagues above Chambly. It was here tha't DoUier de Casson passad a winter. It was in leW that Tracy organized his exi)edition, and inflicted the chastise- ment on the Indians which led them to keep their peace for twenty years. He commenced by hanging a boasting scoun- drel at Quebec, who, at his own table, declared he had murdered the Governor's nephew, young Chasy, ' With 1,300 men, in the early autumn weather, when the beat had passed, and the swamps were dry, and the flies. that pest of Canadian sylvan life, had didap- peared. he followed tho track of Courcellcs. His success must have ex- ceeded his expectations. He burned five Iroquois fortifications — with the food they contained, retaining only what was neces- sary for himself, and took possession of the country for bis master — so far as cer- monial went— and returned to Quebec. The rPiiilt of the peace is evident. In 1688 the population increased to 11,249 ; in 16G7 it was something over 4,300. But the French Canadian remained poor. § It was not uMtil he lived under the blsseings of English liberty that he be- came rich and independent. He had nothing to learn in the shape of eallantry, courage and endurance. When we praise the Jesuits for their courage and fortitude, we omit to state that it was simply the tone of the country. Every man carried his life in bis hand. He' never knew what the day would bring forth. When danger came he had to meet it. Ho could not count the odds, and he could never better his situation by hesitating to face it. His lite was one unceasing strug- gle against numbers, but he remained un- daunted and self-relian, with his nerve unshaken and bis heart liue and firm and right. ITe was thrifty and industrious, but he could get no further than mereljr living. Nobody waa in want, but there was no money. Canada was regarded in France as an annexn where the Mother Country .could obtain the articles she wanted, and "'here she could sell the articles she maa- factured. Therefore the I'rench Canadiaas could only buy and sell in France. But in the davs of Iroquois invasions there was scarcely anything to sell, for tlie commerce in furs was nearly destroyed, and by all accounts money was not often handled and rarely even seen. Later in the history of Canada it was the habit of the officials to deal in all sorts of merchaa dize, making what in modern language is called "rings" to keep out the legitimate trade. There was then what was always met in such circumstances, favored individuals became rich, while the country was impoverished. The peDple existed. We are getting, however, eitirely beyond the limit of Mr. Suite's labor, which closes at 1G65. With men of education, and with all those acquainted with the epech of which he treats, he will obtain considera- tion. Literature, however, has so few rewards in Canada, that we question if he will gain any substantial recognition of what he has done He has the satisfac- tion, however, of knowing that he has added some pa g" ' ti ('anauian literature, which will not puss away, but be quoted with Charlevoix, Le Mereisr, and Mere L' Incarnation, for he has revivified the past by the original records. We hove onlv one piece of criticism to make. He introduces the numeral "8" {hmt) to express the W. For example, IsondStannen. It seems some of the Jesuit writers took this course, and Messrs. Laverdier k Casgrain printed the text of the Jesuit journal in this foiin. These Indian languages have passed away, and hence there is little consideration required for any delicacy of sound regard- ing them. But were it otherwise, and if there be no W in French we have ou or i/ti to represent it. Surely we do not require a new letter to bring out this nice distinc- tion in Indian, when we can exist without it in Paris in the type of the dramas of the Theatre Frangais or the "Ser- mons of Notre Dame." To our mind, it is toi much like the enthusiasm of the Fonetik Nuz : we never hope to meet it again. Even the merits of Mr. Suite fail to reconcile us wiih this formidable inno- vation. There is one more point before we close, on which we wish to speuk. We have said that the time has come when Jacques Oar- tier should take his true place iu history— not metaphorically but actually, descend from the pedestal where it is proposed to place him. For there has been some talk of erecting a statue to him. H*khr,te.boany statue raised to the fouBder"«if;Osrfaii» it should be to Champlwin; .*ap4 .V w^ believe that there is,, ^lot, a voice in Canada which wotfcrt" .net .'s?c')fl*fc^U«*l* VII* V, «V»B' bataille de Dreux perdue : • lin i oien, nousprierons Dieu en Francais.' "— Note Sully's Memoirs— An 1586. Vol. I. 8 N otB — See page 6. § II regne dans la Xonvelle-Angletef re une opulence dont il semble qu'oa ne sait point profiler, et dans la nouvelle France, une pauvrete cachee par un air d'aiaance qui ue paroit point etudie. Le commerce et la culture des plantations fortifient la premiere, I'industrie des liabitans Boutient la seconde, et le gout de la lation j repand un agrement infini. Le colon Anglois amasse du bieh et ne tait aucune depense, superflue, le Frangois point de ce qu'il a et souvent fait parade de ce qu'il n'a point. Celui la travaille pour ses heritiera, celui-ce lalsse lea siens dana la necesaite on il s'eat trouve lui — meme, ds se tirer d'aflfaire comme il pourra. Lea Anglaia-Americaina ne Teulent point de guerre, parce qu'ils ont beaucoup a perdre ; ils ne meiageni point les sau- vages, pares qu'ils ne croient point en avoir besoin. La jeunesae fraacaise, par les raisons contraires, detegte la paix, et Tit bien arec les naturels du pays, dont elle s' attire aiaement I'estime peadaat la guerre, et I'amiti* eo tout temps. . . Tout le monde a ici le secessaire pour vivre: on y paye pen au Roi; i' habitant ne conuait point la taille ; il a du pain a boB marche, la Tiande «t le poisson a'y sont pas cbers ; mais le Tin, les etoSes et tont ce qu'il faut faire Tenir de France content beaucoup. Les plus a plainder sont les gentilsbommes et' les officiers qui n ont que leurs appointements. et qui sont charges de falmille. Les femmes n' appo- tent ordinairement pour dot a leurs maris que beaucoup d'esprit, d'amitie. d'agre- mens et une grande fecondite. Dieu repaid sur les mariages, dansce pays, la benediction qu'il repandoit sur ceux des patriarchea ; il faudroit, pour faire subaister de se nombreuses families, qu'on y menat aussi la vie des patriarches, mais le tempa eu est paase. K. 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