Chapter VII: Frontenac and His Times (1)

BY GEORGE STEWART, JR., F.R.S.C.

COURCELLE was succeeded as governor of New France by a man of remarkable individuality, energy, and purpose. Louis de Buade, Count of Palluau and Frontenac, is beyond any doubt the most conspicuous figure which the annals of early colonization in Canada reveal. He was the descendant of several generations of distinguished men who were famous as courtiers and soldiers. He was of Basque origin, and the blood of nobles flowed in his veins. His grandfather was Antoine de Buade, a favorite of Henri IV., and one who performed the delicate mission, in 1600, of carrying to Marie de Médicis the portrait of her royal lover. He stood high in his sovereign’s estimation, was a counsellor of state and chevalier of the noble order of the King, and the wearer of several other titles of dignity and honor. By his wife, Jeanne Secontat, he had several children, among whom was Henri de Buade, an officer of the court of Louis XIII., who succeeded to the barony of Palluau, and became colonel of a Navarre regiment. This Henri married, in 1613, Anne Phélippeaux, the daughter of the Secretary of State. The future governor of New France, the fruit of this union, was born in 1620. The King acted as godfather to the babe, and bestowed on him his own name. When the child had attained his fifteenth year he entered the army, and was sent to Holland to fight under the Prince of Orange. Four years later he was conspicuous among the volunteers at the stubborn siege of Hesdin; and at the age of twenty he displayed great gallantry during a sortie of the garrison at Arras. In 1641 he conducted himself with equal bravery at the siege of Aire, and one year later, when he was only twenty-two years of age, he took part in the struggles before Callioure and Perpignan. He was colonel of his regiment at twenty-three, and during the sharp campaign in Italy commanded in several hard-contested battles and sieges. Through all this martial career he was often wounded, and at Orbitello had an arm fractured. He became a maréchal de camp (brigadier-general) in 1646, and shortly after this the first part of his military career came to a close, and he lived for a while in his father’s house in Paris.

In October, 1648, Frontenac espoused the young and beautiful Anne de la Grange-Trianon, a maiden of imperious temper, lively wit, and marvellous grace. She was one of the court beauties of the period, the intimate friend and companion of Mademoiselle de Montpensier, grand-daughter of Henri IV. Her portrait, painted as Minerva, now adorns one of the galleries at Versailles. The marriage, which took place at the church of St. Pierre aux Bœufs, in Paris, was contracted without the knowledge of the bride’s parents. Some of Frontenac’s relatives witnessed the ceremony; but the young Countess’s friends were greatly chagrined when they were informed of the event, though their anger did not last long, and a reconciliation soon followed. Not many months had elapsed before the painful discovery was made that the young couple were unsuited to each other. The bride conceived a positive dislike of her husband; and very soon after her son[692] was born she left his roof, and accepted Mademoiselle de Montpensier’s friendly offer to join her suite. But the attachment between the two high-spirited ladies did not continue long. They quarrelled, and the fair Countess was dismissed from the court. The parting caused her some real sorrow. Afterward, it is said, she intrigued to have her husband sent out of the country. The Count had the ear of the King. He was a fine courtier, polished in manner and chivalrous in spirit. He was reputed to be one of the many lovers of the haughty beauty, Madame Montespan, the favorite mistress of Louis XIV. He had, however, a most ungovernable temper, and extravagance had left him a poor man. In 1669 Turenne, the great soldier of Europe, selected him to conduct a campaign against the Turks in Candia, where he displayed much of his wonted courage and dash, but to small purpose, for the infidels triumphed in the end. The prestige of Frontenac, however, remained untarnished, and his reputation as a military leader increased. In 1672 the King further rewarded his fidelity by appointing him Governor and Lieutenant-General of New France. Various stories have been told as to the immediate cause of his appointment. Several chronicles affirm that the King had detected his intimacy with Madame de Montespan, and resolved at all hazards to get his dangerous rival out of the way. Saint-Simon takes a different view of the situation, and says that Frontenac “was 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.” The Countess had no mind to brave the rigors of her husband’s new seat of power, and accordingly she accepted the offer of a suite of rooms at the Arsenal, where she went to live with her congenial friend, the lively Mademoiselle d’Outrelaise. During her long life at the Arsenal, she and her friend gave a tone to French society; her _salon_ became famous for its wit and gayety, and _les Divines_, as the ladies were called, were sought after by the first people of the kingdom. Though she did not live with her husband, and held him in some aversion, she never forgot that she was his wife. She corresponded with him on occasion, and it is established that often she proved of signal service to him in the furtherance of his ambitious plans and projects. It was at the Arsenal she died, at the advanced age of seventy-five.

When Frontenac sailed for the colony he was a matured man of the world, and fifty-two years of age. “Had nature disposed him to melancholy,” says Parkman, “there was much in his position to awaken it. A man of courts and camps, born 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 stern gray rock, haunted by sombre priests, rugged merchants and traders, blanketed Indians, and the wild bushrangers. 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 basin 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 of a great empire.’” Such was the striking condition of Quebec when Frontenac sailed into the port to assume the functions of his office. The King, his powerful minister Colbert, the Intendant Talon, and the Governor himself regarded the colony as a great prize, and one destined for a future which should in no small degree reflect the glory and grandeur of the old monarchy. Vast sums of money had been expended in colonizing and defending it. Some of the best soldiers of the kingdom and many desirable immigrants, inured to toil and hard work, were sent by Louis to build up the new country and to develop its resources. Frontenac, imbued with the same spirit as his sovereign, proceeded to bring his enormous territory to a state of order. He convened a council at Quebec, and administered an oath of allegiance to the leading men in his dominions. He sought to inaugurate a monarchical form of government. He created, with much pomp and show, three estates of his realm,—the clergy, nobles, and commons. The former was composed of the Jesuits and the Seminary priests. To three or four _gentilshommes_ then living in Quebec he added some officers belonging to his troops; and these comprised the order of nobility. The commons consisted of the merchants and citizens. The magistracy and members of council were formed into a distinct body, though their place properly belonged to the third estate. This great convocation took place on the 23d of October, 1672, and the ceremonies were conducted in the church of the Jesuits, which had been decorated for the purpose by the Fathers themselves.

[This view appears in the 1722 edition, i. 232; 1753 ed. ii. 232. It is also in Shea’s _Le Clercq_, ii. 313. Harrisse (no. 240) notes a view on the margin of a map in 1689.

Faillon, in his _Histoire de la Colonie Française_ (iii. 373), speaks of two early plans of Quebec which are preserved, one of 1660, the other of 1664. They resemble each other, except that the last represents a projected line of fortifications across the peninsula; and in engraving the latter, Faillon’s engraver has given the plate the date of 1660, instead of 1664: _Plan du Haut et Bas Québec comme il est en l’an 1660_. The _Catalogue_ of the Library of Parliament, 1858, p. 1614, shows copies of plans of these dates copied from originals in the Paris Archives. Cf. Harrisse, nos. 192-195, and no. 199 for a manuscript map of 1670, _La ville haute et basse de Quebeck_, also preserved in the same Archives; while the _Catalogue_ (p. 1614) of the Canadian Parliament gives three of 1670, copies from originals at Paris.

Harrisse also notes (no. 220) as in the French Archives a _Carte du Fort St. Louis de Québec_, dated 1683; (no. 221) a _Plan de la basse ville de Québec_ (1683),—both by Franquelin: (no. 224) a _Plan de la Ville et Chasteau de Québec, fait en 1685, ... par le Sr. de Villeneuve_; and (no. 230) a _Carte des Environs de Québec ... en 1685 et 1686, par le Sr. de Villeneuve_. Cf. also the _Catalogue_ of the Library of Parliament, pp. 1615, 1616.

Plans growing out of Phips’s attack in 1690 are mentioned elsewhere. Of subsequent plans, Harrisse (no. 249) cites a _Plan de la Ville de Québec_, 1693, as being in the French Archives, and others (nos. 252-254, 369) of 1694, 1695, and 1699. The _Catalogue_ of the Library of Parliament also gives manuscript plans of 1693, 1698, 1700, and 1710. Cf. J. M. Le Moine, _Histoire des Fortifications et des Rues de Québec_, 1875 (pamphlet).—ED.]]

Frontenac, who spoke and wrote well, made a speech to the citizens, indicating the policy which he meant to pursue, and scattering advice to the throng before him with a liberal hand. The three estates which he had founded listened to an exhortation of some length. The priests were urged to continue their labors in connection with the conversion of the Indians, whom they were advised to train and civilize while they converted. The nobles were praised for their culture and valiant conduct, and urged to be assiduous in the improvement of the colony. To the commons he recommended faithfulness in the discharge of their duties to the King and to himself. After solemnly taking the oath, the assembly dissolved. The Count next established municipal government in Quebec, on a model which obtained in several cities of France. He ordered the election of three citizens as aldermen, the senior of whom should rank as mayor. This body was to take the place of the syndic, and it was provided that one of the number should retire from office every year. The electors would then fill the vacancy with some one of their choice, though the Governor reserved the right to confirm or reject the successful candidate. He then, with the assistance of some of the chief people about him, framed a series of regulations for the government of the capital, and notified the inhabitants that a meeting would be held twice a year, where public questions would be discussed. Frontenac’s reforms were exceedingly distasteful to the King, and the minister very clearly conveyed his Majesty’s views on the subject, in a despatch written on the 13th of June, 1673. Talon, who knew the temper of the Court in such matters, had wisely abstained from taking an active part in the Governor’s scheme, and feigned illness as the cause for his non-attendance at the convention. Colbert wrote: “The assembling and division of all the inhabitants into three orders or estates, which you have done, for the purpose of having them take the oath of fidelity, may have been productive of good just then. But it is well for you to observe that you are always to follow, in the government and management of that country, the forms in force here; and as our kings have considered it for a long time advantageous to their service not to assemble the States-General of their kingdom, with a view perhaps to abolish insensibly that ancient form, you likewise ought very rarely, or (to speak more correctly) never, give that form to the corporate body of the inhabitants of that country; and it will be necessary even in the course of a little time, and when the colony will be still stronger than it now is, insensibly to suppress the syndic, who presents petitions in the name of all the inhabitants, it being proper that each should speak for himself, and that no one should speak for the whole.” Louis’ policy was unmistakable. He assumed to be the autocrat of his dominions, and anything which might be construed into an attempt to weaken the principles of his policy met with a stern rebuke. Frontenac’s colonial system might have benefited New France: it was capable of being wisely administered, and rich developments might have ensued; but the King would not have it, and the Governor was forced to withdraw his plan.

Arbitrary and domineering to a degree, always anxious to preserve his dignity and to exact respect from his subordinates in office and from those about his court, whether lay or clerical, and a martinet in compelling the observance of all rules of social and military discipline, Frontenac, as may be supposed, did not get on well with all parties in the colony. He made the fatal mistake of quarrelling with the Jesuits and the Seminary priests,—the two religious orders which at that time held the greater sway in Canada, and whose influence among the people, and sometimes at court, was important, and not easy to dispel. An enemy was also found in the Intendant Talon, who suspiciously watched every movement which the Governor made, and regularly reported his impressions to France. Talon, however, was recalled before the quarrel had assumed very formidable proportions, and Frontenac was well rid of him. A more dangerous element, and one which could thwart him and upset his schemes, remained, however, to tantalize him. He had his religious convictions, and was accounted a good-living man, in the ordinary acceptance of the term. He regularly went to Mass, and followed the observances of the Church; but his Catholicism was framed in a more liberal school than that of the followers of Loyola. His enemies said that he was a Jansenist. He leaned towards the Recollect Fathers, attended their place of worship, and often called on the King for additional priests of that order, and took every opportunity to show them attention and marks of his favor. When the Jesuits appeared too strong in number, he sent to France for more Recollects, and through them he neutralized to some extent the influence of the former. But the Jesuits were powerful, diplomatic, and insidious. They constantly watched their opportunity, and changed their mode of warfare according to the circumstances of the hour. When the gloved hand answered their purpose, they used it; but they had no scruple to strike with stronger weapons. Had Frontenac chosen at the outset of his career to conciliate them and to play into their hands, his administration might have been less fretful to himself and vexatious to others. He might have fulfilled his original intention, and bettered his fortunes in the way he desired. He might have carried out some of his cherished reforms, for his zeal in that direction was really very great, and he had his heart in his task; but his haughty disposition would not be curbed, and he preferred to be aggressive towards the Jesuits rather than conciliatory. The result may be foreseen. Enemies sprang up about him on every side, and often they were more dangerous than the Iroquois tribes who constantly menaced the colony, and far more difficult to check than the English of Massachusetts or of Albany. He early began writing letters to the minister about his trials with the clergy. On the 2d of November, 1672, he wrote: “Another thing displeases me, 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; so that they [the Jesuits] are masters in spiritual matters, which, as you know, is a powerful lever for moving everything else.” He complained of their spies, and proceeded to resist their influence wherever he found it asserting itself. The Sulpitians fared no better at his hands, and he waged as bitter a warfare against them and those who followed their teachings. He befriended the Recollects so warmly, that it is not strange that they eagerly lent him all the assistance they could to further his efforts in breaking down the power of their rivals. It is said that at first he favored them out of a mere spirit of opposition to the Bishop and his allies, the Jesuits; but as time wore on, his favor deepened into affection, and he more than once declared to the King that the Recollects ought to be more numerous than they were. He told Colbert that their superior was a “very great preacher,” and that he had “cast into the shade and given some chagrin to those in this country who certainly are not so able.” He charged the clergy with abusing the confessional and intermeddling with private family affairs, and expressed his dislike in strong terms of their secret doings in the colony, and their attempts to set husbands against wives, and parents against children,—“and all,” he wrote to the minister, “as they say, for the greater glory of God.” It is clear that the Count distrusted the “Black Gowns” from the very first, and resolved to hold them at arm’s length. Much of his energy was wasted in trying to lessen their influence at court; and the King and his minister were kept pretty busy reading and answering the recriminatory letters of the Governor and his unsympathetic intendants, whose feelings always prompted them to side with the Jesuits and the Church, and against Frontenac.

A policy of Louis XIV. was the civilization of the Indians, and Frontenac was, early in his career, instructed to take means to civilize them, to have them taught the French language, and to amalgamate them with the colonists. At that time the Count knew very little about Indian nature; but he embarked in the scheme with all his energy and zeal. He soon gained a mastery over the most savage tribes, taught the warriors to call him father, and succeeded in inducing the Iroquois to intrust him with the care of eight of their children,—four girls and four boys. The former were given to the Ursulines, while he kept two of the boys in his own house, and placed the others, at his own cost, in respectable French families, and had them sent to school to be educated. He tried to get the Jesuits to assist him in this task, but they failed to respond cordially to his urging; and he complained bitterly of their want of sympathy with the movement, even charging them—not very accurately, it must be admitted—with “refusing to civilize the Indians, because they wished to keep them in perpetual wardship.”

But a new question now arose, and Frontenac’s mind was turned towards western exploration. He warmly favored the idea, and, relinquishing for the moment all thought of his trials with the priests, he gave his whole attention to the proposals of that bold and self-reliant explorer, the Sieur Robert de la Salle. This young man was poor in pocket, but his head was full of schemes. There was much in common between the two men. Both had strong will and ability of no mean calibre. They were not easily discouraged, and having once engaged in an undertaking, they had sufficient determination to carry it through. Frontenac greatly liked La Salle, and the two remained fast friends for many years. A short time before the Governor arrived in Canada, the Iroquois had made an attack on the French, and Courcelle had been compelled to punish them. To keep them in check and to facilitate the fur-trade of the upper country, he decided that a fort should be built near the outlet of Lake Ontario. This determination had also been reached some time before by the Intendant Talon, and both officers had submitted the suggestion to the King. Frontenac was not long in perceiving the advantages which the establishment of such a fort presented, and he resolved to build it, as much to protect the colony as to augment his own slender resources, which were running very low. La Salle had gained the confidence of the Governor, who had listened to his overtures, and manifested great interest in everything he said. “There was between them,” says Parkman, “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 vivacity of passion, he had in full measure the same unconquerable pride and hardy resolution. There were but two or three others 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 recall.” The fort recommended by Courcelle, if built, might be employed in intercepting the trade which the tribes of the upper lakes had begun to carry on with the Dutch and English of New York. This trade Frontenac resolved to secure for Canada, though it must be said that those who would have control of the fort would monopolize the larger share of the traffic to themselves, to the great displeasure of the other merchants, who resolutely set their faces against the project. Frontenac knew this perfectly well, for it was principally with a desire to benefit himself that he had given the plan countenance. La Salle understood the western country, and was familiar with Lake Ontario and its shores. He soon convinced the Governor that the most suitable spot for the contemplated fortified post was at the mouth of the River Cataraqui, and there, where the city of Kingston now stands, the fort[693] was built, in July, 1673. La Salle had told Frontenac that the English were intriguing with the Iroquois and the tribes of the upper lakes to get them to break the treaty with the French and bring their furs to New York. This statement was true, and it hastened the Governor’s action. With his usual address, he announced his intention of making a tour through the upper parts of the colony with a strong force of men, that the Iroquois and their associates might be intimidated, and with a view to the securing of a more permanent peace. He had no money to carry on this crusade, so he issued an order to the people of Quebec, Montreal, and Three Rivers, and other settlements within his jurisdiction, calling on them to supply him, at their own cost, with men and canoes as soon as the spring sowing had passed. The officers in the colony were requested to join the expedition, and they dared not refuse. On the 3d of June Frontenac left Quebec, accompanied by his guard, his staff, some of the garrison of the Castle of St. Louis, and a band of volunteers. Arriving at Montreal, he tarried there thirteen days with his following. There were some matters which required his attention, and he speedily set about to arrange them in a manner which should at least be satisfactory to himself.

La Salle had been despatched to Onondaga, the political stronghold of the Iroquois, on a mission to secure the attendance of their chiefs at a council convened by the Governor, to be held at the Bay of Quinté, situated on the north of Lake Ontario. While the intrepid traveller was on his way, Frontenac changed his mind about the place of rendezvous, and sent a messenger after him, calling the sachems to meet at Cataraqui, where he decided to construct the fort. The Governor of Montreal received Frontenac with suitable honors. He met him on shore with his soldiers and people, a salute was fired, and the judge and the syndic pronounced speeches of interminable length, but loyal and patriotic in sentiment. The priests of St. Sulpice received him at their church, where an address of welcome was presented. The _Te Deum_ was sung, and the Count then retired into the fort, and began preparing for his coming journey. It was not long before he discovered that his project found little favor in the eyes of the people of Montreal, who feared that much of their trade might be diverted from them by the construction of the new post. The Jesuits, too, were opposed to the rearing of forts and trading posts in the upper districts, and they did what they could to discourage the scheme. Frontenac was warned that a Dutch fleet had captured Boston, and would soon proceed to attack Quebec. Dablon was the author of this last rumor; but the Count turned a deaf ear to remonstrance and report, and continued his preparations. His followers and their stores were already on the way to Lachine, and on the twenty-eighth of June the Governor-General himself set out. His force consisted of four hundred men, including the Mission Indians, and one hundred and twenty canoes and two flat-bottomed boats. The voyage was an arduous and difficult one. Without the Indians, it is a question whether it could have been accomplished at all. The fearful journey was full of perils and hardships, and, to add to their discomfiture, before the place of destination was reached rain fell in torrents. Frontenac’s management of the Indians approached the marvellous. They worked for him with genuine zeal, and showed by their toil as much as by their manner that they respected his authority and admired him as a man. He divined the Indian nature well, though he had been in the country but a few months; and the longer he remained in the colony, the greater his influence over them became. He knew when to bully and when to conciliate, when to apply blandishments and when to be stern. It was a happy thought which prompted him to call himself their father. It gave him the superiority of position at once. Other Onontios were brothers; but the great Onontio was the father.[694] He really liked the Indians, and could enter into their ways and customs with a spirit born of good-will. He was a frank, and often fiery soldier, and a true courtier; but he could be playful with the Indian children, and it was not beneath his dignity to lead a war-dance, should policy demand, as it did sometimes. He seemed to know the thoughts of his dusky friends, and they felt that he could read what was passing through their minds. His control over the tribes, friends and foes alike, was certainly never surpassed by any white man.

He was, moreover, true to his allies; and on more than one occasion refused to make peace for himself with the ferocious Iroquois, when he could easily have done so, unless they complied with his terms, and included in the treaty the Indians friendly to the French. He would never abandon his friends to save himself; and the tribes, hostile and friendly, early in his career learned this, and it served to establish his fame as a man of fair dealing and chivalrous principle. He never yielded his point even when his savage enemies were many and his own forces few and feeble. He maintained his ascendency always, and lecturing his children, pointed out the duties they should observe. Such was his personal magnetism, that they listened and obeyed him when their following was five times as great as his own. The secret of Frontenac’s supremacy over savage nature seemed to lie in the fact that he never ceased to have perfect faith and belief in himself. He had fiery blood in his veins, and an iron will, that the blandishments which he employed at times never quite concealed. Even when reduced to severe straits, he did not lose that boldness of demeanor which carried him through so many perils. The Iroquois gave him most trouble. They were fond of fighting, and when they were not attacking the French, they were waging war on the Illinois and Hurons, and on other tribes whose aid was often found on the side of Frontenac. The Confederacy preferred to sell their peltries to the English and Dutch of Albany, than to the French. They drove with the English better bargains and secured higher prices, and the English encouraged them to bring to them their beaver skins. But the tribes who were friendly to their white enemies had by far the richest product of these furs, and La Salle’s fort of St. Louis, the mission of Michillimackinac, and other posts really controlled the trade. To gain this traffic, and to divert it into the hands of their newly-found friends, the English and Dutch, the five tribes of the League proceeded in 1673 to make war on the Indians who engrossed it. Great anxiety was felt in the colony when this determination on the part of the Confederacy became known, and the tribes interested—the Illinois, the Hurons, and Ottawas—manifested the utmost fear. Frontenac deemed a conference advisable, and he invited the Iroquois to come to him and discuss affairs; but the arrogant warriors sent back an insolent answer, and told the messenger that Frontenac should come to them,—a suggestion which some of the French, who were terror-stricken, urged the Governor to act upon. But the Count had no such intention, and refused to make any concession. He sent them word that he would go no farther than Montreal, or, at the utmost, to Fort Frontenac, to meet them. In August, he met the Hurons and Ottawas at Montreal in council. There had been jealousy among the tribes, but the Count warned them against dissension among themselves, called them his children, and exhorted them to live together as brethren. A celebrated Iroquois chief came next, with several of his followers. This was Decanisora, who invited Frontenac to Oswego to meet the Five Tribes. The Count, determined to hold his ground, replied with firmness, “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.” He then conciliated the chief with presents and a wampum belt, telling him that the Illinois were Onontio’s children, and therefore his brethren, and that he wished them all to live together in harmony. There was peace for a brief space, but it did not continue many months.

When Frontenac neared the end of his toilsome journey, and had reached the first opening of Lake Ontario, he made up his mind to show the Iroquois the full extent of his power, and to make as imposing a display as possible. He arranged his canoes in line of battle, and disposed of them in this wise: four squadrons, composing the vanguard, went in front and in one line; then the two bateaux followed, and after them came the Count at the head of all the canoes of his guard, of his staff, and of the volunteers attached to his person. On his right, the division from Three Rivers, and on his left, the Hurons and Algonquins were placed. Two other squadrons formed a third line, and composed the rear-guard. In this order they proceeded about half a league, when an Iroquois canoe was observed to be approaching. It contained the Abbé d’Urfé (who had met the Indians above the River Cataraqui, and notified them of the Count’s arrival) and several Iroquois chiefs, who offered to guide their visitors to the place of rendezvous. After an exchange of civilities, their offer was accepted, and the whole party proceeded to the spot selected. The Count was greatly pleased with the locality, and spent the rest of the afternoon of the 12th of July in examining the ground. The Iroquois were impatient to have him visit them that night in their tents; but he sent them word that it was now too late, but that in the morning, when it would be more convenient to see and entertain each other, he would gladly do so. This reply was considered satisfactory. At daybreak the next morning, the _réveillé_ was sounded, and at seven o’clock everybody was astir and under arms. The troops were drawn up in double file around Frontenac’s tent, and extended to the cabins of the Indians. Large sails were placed in front of his tent for the savage deputies to sit on, and to the number of sixty they passed through the two files thus formed to the council. They were greatly impressed with the display, and “after having sat, as is their custom, and smoked some time,” says the journal of the Count’s voyage, “one of them, named Garakontie, who had always been the warmest friend of the French, and who ordinarily acted as spokesman, paid his compliment in the name of all the nations, and expressed the joy they felt on learning from Sieur de la Salle Onontio’s design to come and visit them. Though some evil-disposed spirits had endeavored to excite jealousy among them at his approach, they could not, they said, hesitate to obey his orders, but would come and meet him in the confidence that he wished to treat them as a father would his children. They were then coming, they continued, as true children, to assure him of their obedience, and to declare to him the entire submission they should always manifest to his command. The orator spoke, as he claimed, in the name of the Five Nations, as they had only one mind and one thought, in testimony whereof the captain of each tribe intended to confirm what he had just stated in the name of the whole.” The other chiefs followed, and after complimenting Frontenac, each captain presented a belt of wampum, “which is worthy of note,” says the chronicle, “because formerly it was customary to present only some fathoms of stringed wampum.”

The Count replied in a form of address very similar to theirs. He assured them that they did right in obeying the command of their father, told them to take courage, and not to think that he had come to make war. His mind was full of peace, and peace walked by his side. After this harangue, he ordered six fathoms of wampum to be given to them, and a gift of guns for the men, and prunes and raisins for the women and children. The great council took place later on. Meanwhile, the construction of the fort began, and the workmen pursued their task with such ardor and speed, that by the 17th of July, the date fixed for the grand council, it was well advanced. The work was done under the supervision of Raudin, the engineer of the expedition. The Indians watched the building of the fort with curious interest. The Count regularly entertained two or three of the principal Iroquois at each meal, while he fondled the children and distributed sweetmeats among them, and invited the squaws to dance in the evenings. The great council assembled at eight o’clock in the morning. The ceremony was the same as that which had been observed at the preliminary meeting. Frontenac wore his grandest air. He entreated them to become Christians, and to listen to the instructions of the “Black Gowns.” He praised, scolded, and threatened them in turn, and drawing their attention to his retinue, said: “If your father can come so far, with so great a force, through such dangerous rapids, merely to make you a visit of pleasure and friendship, what would he do if you should awaken his anger, and make it necessary for him to punish his disobedient children? He is the arbiter of peace and war. Beware how you offend him.” He further warned them not to molest the allies of the French, on pain of chastisement. He told them that the storehouse at Cataraqui was built as a proof of his affection, and that all the goods they needed could be had from there. He could not give them the terms yet, because the cost of transportation was so far unknown to him. He cautioned them against listening to men of bad character, and recommended the Sieur de la Salle and such as he as persons to be heeded. He asked the chiefs to give him a number of their children to be educated at Quebec, not as hostages, but out of pure friendship. The Indians wanted time to consider this proposition, and the next year they acceded to it. At intervals, during the delivery of his speech, Frontenac paused and gave the Indians presents, which seemed to please them. The council closed, and three days later, the Iroquois started on their journey homeward, while Frontenac’s party returned in detachments. The fort was finished, and the barracks nearly built. Frontenac would have left with his men for home sooner than he did, but a band of Indians from the villages on the north side of Lake Ontario being announced, he remained with some troops to receive them. He treated them as he had treated the others, and pronounced the same speech. Leaving a garrison in the fort, he then set out for Montreal, which he reached on the 1st of August.[695]

The enterprise cost the King ten thousand francs, and Frontenac regarded the investment as a good one indeed. He hoped that he had impressed the savages with fear and respect, that he had obtained a respite from the ravages of the Iroquois, and that the fort would be the means of keeping the peltry trade in the hands of the French, its situation affording the opportunity of cutting it off from the English, who were making efforts to secure it for themselves. Frontenac wrote to the minister in November, that with a fort at the mouth of the Niagara and a vessel on Lake Erie, the French could command all the upper lakes.

François Perrot, the Governor of Montreal, owed his position to Talon, his wife’s uncle, who had induced the Sulpitians, the proprietors and feudal lords of Montreal and the island, and in whom the appointment rested, to give the place to him. Knowing that the priests could at will depose him, he sought to protect himself by asking the King to give him a royal appointment. This Louis did; and the Sulpitians could now make no change without consent of the King. Perrot was a man of little principle, selfish and unscrupulous, who turned every movement to his own advantage. His passion was for money-making, and his position as governor gave him many opportunities. One of his first acts, with that object in view, was to set up a storehouse on Perrot Island, which gave him full command of the fur-trade. This post was situated just above Montreal, and directly in the route of the tribes of the upper lakes and their vicinity. A retired and trusted lieutenant, named Brucy, was placed in charge, whose chief business it was to intercept the Indians and secure their merchandise, to the no small profit of the Governor and himself, and the great scandal of the neighborhood. The forests were ranged by _coureurs de bois_, who also trafficked with the savages, and bore off the richest peltries before the real merchants of Montreal had had the opportunity. King Louis had in vain attempted, by royal edicts of outlawry and stringent instructions to his representatives and subordinates, to dislodge the bushrangers and to put an end to their doings. The _coureurs de bois_, however, were hardy sons of the soil; some of them were soldiers who had deserted from the army; all of them were men of endurance, and accustomed to brave the sternest hardships. They loved their wild life and the adventurous character of their calling. They were, moreover, on very excellent terms with Perrot, who connived at their escapades and shut his ears to all complaint. He had no motive to heed the order of his sovereign, so long as the wayward rangers shared with him the proceeds of their dealings with the Indians. This, on their part, they were very willing to do.

Frontenac was jealous of Perrot’s advantages, and though he had but few soldiers in his command with whom to enforce obedience, he determined to strike a blow at the bushrangers, and make an attempt to execute the King’s orders. Perrot had of late grown despotic and tyrannical. He was comparatively beyond the reach of his superior, and had matters pretty much under his own control. The journey from Quebec to Montreal sometimes occupied a fortnight, and the Governor-General, as he well knew, was not able to strike heavily with the shattered remnants of forces who served under him. Perrot was therefore bold and defiant; but he miscalculated the temper of his chief, and it was not long before the arms of Frontenac were long enough to reach him. Perrot, in a fit of temper, had imprisoned the judge of Montreal because that functionary had dared to remonstrate against the disorders which had been perpetrated by the _coureurs de bois_. The affair caused much excitement; and with other acts of the Governor, the Sulpitians were soon convinced of the grave error they had made in their choice of a chief magistrate. They were powerless, however, to unseat him. Frontenac now wrote to the minister, and asked for a galley, to the benches of which it was his intention to chain the outlaws as rowers. He then ordered the judge at Montreal to seize every _coureur de bois_ that he could find. Two of them were living at the house of Lieutenant Carion, a friend of Perrot’s, and when the judge’s constable went to lay hands on them, Carion abused the officer, and allowed the men to escape. Perrot indorsed the conduct of his lieutenant, and even threatened the judge with arrest, should he make a similar attempt again.

A fac-simile of a print in Potherie, vol. i.]

Frontenac, when he heard of the manner in which his orders had been treated, flew into a passion. He despatched Lieutenant Bizard and three soldiers to Montreal, charged to arrest and convey to the capital the offending Carion. Bizard succeeded in making the arrest, and left a letter in the house of Le Ber the merchant for Perrot, from Frontenac, giving notice of what had been done. Perrot was, however, earlier advised of the arrest. He hastened with a sergeant and three or four soldiers, found Bizard, and indignantly ordered him under arrest. Nor did Le Ber fare better, for, because he had testified to the scene he had witnessed, he was thrown into jail. These arrests produced much excitement in the place, and Perrot after a while was aware that he had acted with inconsiderate rashness. He released Bizard, and sent him off to Quebec, the bearer of a sullen and impertinent letter to the Count. In due time an answer came, in an order to come to Quebec and render an account of his conduct. Frontenac also wrote to the Abbé Salignac de Fénelon,[696]—a zealous young missionary stationed at Montreal, one of whose uncles had been a firm friend of Frontenac during the progress of the Canadian war,—and desired him to see Perrot and explain the situation. The Abbé’s task was a delicate but congenial one, and he pursued it with such good effect that the Governor was induced to accompany him to headquarters. They made the journey on snow-shoes, and walked the whole distance of one hundred and eighty miles on the St. Lawrence. The interview with the Count was short. Both men were choleric and easily excited. Perrot was disappointed at his reception, after taking the trouble to come so far, and at such a season of the year. Frontenac was stubborn and angry, and the position of his rival at his feet did not mollify his passion, but rather increased it. He put an end to the interview by locking up his offending subordinate in the château, and ordering guards to be placed over him day and night. A trusty friend of Frontenac, La Nouguère by name, was despatched to Montreal to take command. Brucy was seized and cast into prison, while a determined war was made on the _coureurs de bois_. The two who had been the main cause of the recent trouble were captured and sent to Quebec, where one of them was hanged in the presence of Perrot. The end of this war of extermination soon came, and Frontenac informed the minister that only five of these rangers of the wood remained at large; all the others had returned to the settlements, and given up their hazardous calling.

The old jealousy between Quebec and Montreal now showed itself again. The Sulpitians thought that Frontenac had acted a high-handed part in placing La Nouguère in command over their district without as much as consulting them. Perrot was still their selected governor, and they revolted against the arbitrary conduct of the Governor-General. They roused the colonists against Frontenac’s course, and the Abbé Fénelon, who possessed many of the indiscretions of youth, and who felt that he had been trapped, became the most bitter of the Count’s enemies. Before he left Quebec to return home, he gave his former friend a good deal of abuse; and his first act on reaching Montreal was to preach a sermon full of meaning against Frontenac. Dollier de Casson, the superior of the congregation, reproved the preacher and disclaimed the sermon. Fénelon, in turn, declared that bad rulers in general, and not Frontenac in particular, were meant; but his future conduct belied his words. He made the cause of Perrot his own, and was active in his behalf. Frontenac summoned him before the council on a charge of inciting sedition. The Abbé d’Urfé, a relative of Fénelon, tried to smooth matters over with the Count, but he fared very ill, and was shown the door for his pains.

And now ensued a remarkable trial before the council at Quebec. Perrot was charged with disobeying the royal edicts and of treating with contempt the royal authority. The other offender was the Abbé Fénelon. Frontenac had a pliant council to second his wishes. The councillors owed their positions to him, and as he had power to remove them when he willed, they soon ranged themselves on his side, and showed that they were friendly to his cause. Perrot challenged the right of the Governor-General to preside over the case, on the ground that he was a personal enemy. He moreover objected to several of the councillors on various pretexts. New judges were appointed for the trial, and Perrot’s protests continuing, the board overruled all his exceptions, and the trial went on. Other sessions proceeded to try the impetuous Abbé. Frontenac presided at the council-board. When Fénelon was led in, he seated himself in a vacant chair, though ordered to stand by the Count, and persisted in wearing his hat firmly pressed over his brows. Hot words passed between the Governor and his prisoner, the result of which was that the Abbé was put under arrest. The priest assumed that Frontenac had no right to try him, and that the ecclesiastical court alone had jurisdiction over him. The war grew fierce, and the councillors, half afraid of what they had done, at length decided to refer the question to the King himself. The Governor of Montreal and the vehement Abbé were accordingly despatched to France, and all the documents relating to the case were sent with them. Frontenac presented his side of the argument in a long despatch, which, considering his provocation, was moderate in tone and calm in judgment. The Abbé d’Urfé accompanied the prisoners to France, and as his cousin, the Marquise d’Allègre, was shortly to marry Seignelay, the son of Colbert, he hoped much from his visit. Perrot, too, was not without friends near the King: Talon, his wife’s relative, held a post at court. Besides these influences the Church had other means at work.

In April, 1675, the King and Colbert disposed of the Perrot question. They wrote calmly and with dignity. His Majesty condemned the action of Perrot in imprisoning Bizard, and had the offender confined for three weeks in the Bastile, “that he may learn to be more circumspect in the discharge of his duty, and that his example may serve as a warning to others.” He had already endured ten months of imprisonment in Quebec. The King also told Frontenac that he should not, “without absolute necessity,” cause his “commands to be executed within the limits of a local government, like that of Montreal, without first informing its governor.” Perrot was sent back to his government, and ordered to apologize to Frontenac. Colbert informed the Count of the approaching marriage of his son with the heiress of the house of Allègre, and hinted at the closeness of the connection which existed between the Abbé d’Urfé and himself. Frontenac was urged to show the Abbé “especial consideration,” and also to treat with kindness the priests of Montreal. Fénelon was sustained in his plea that he had the right to be tried by an ecclesiastical tribunal; but his superior, Bretonvilliers, absolutely forbade him to return to Canada, and wrote a letter to the members of his order at Montreal, telling them not to interfere in worldly matters, but to profit by the example of M. Fénelon. He advised them “in matters of this sort” to “stand neutral.”

The King now resolved to make some administrative changes in New France, with a view, it is probable, of lessening the hold of Frontenac on the body politic of the colony. He announced that the appointment of councillors should rest with him alone in future, and promptly filled the vacant office of Intendant by appointing M. Duchesneau whose duty it was to watch the Governor-General, and to manage certain details in executive work. Bishop Laval, who had been absent from Canada for some time, also returned to his see; and Frontenac, who had ruled alone, without bishop, without intendant, and with a subservient council, viewed the new aspect of affairs with ill-concealed disgust. It was not long before the threatened outbreak came. The question of selling brandy to the natives, which had disturbed previous administrations, became again a contention between governor and prelate.[697] The Intendant promptly sided with the Bishop and the clergy, while the latter stood aside at times, and allowed their secular ally to lead the contest, content themselves to give him arguments and advice. One question after another arose. Many of them were of trivial import, but all of them were vexatious and troublesome, and to an imperious mind like Frontenac’s galling in the extreme. The old rivalry of Church and State in the matter of honors and precedence became troublesome. Colbert wrote strongly to Duchesneau, and ordered him not to make himself a partisan of the Bishop, and to pay proper respect to Frontenac. The latter was commanded to live in harmony and peace with the Intendant. The King was incensed at the constant bickerings, and ordered Frontenac to conform to the practice prevailing at Amiens, and to demand no more. The Intendant was roundly berated by the minister, who told him that he ought to be able to understand the difference between a governor and an intendant, and that he was completely in the wrong as regards the pretensions he had assumed.