CHAPTER XII_Count Frontenac Makers of Canada, Volume 3

THE DRAMA OF WAR--PEACE AT THE LAST

Our narrative of the warfare on the New England frontier has somewhat

outrun that of events in Canada proper. The safe arrival of the canoes

from the West, the consequent revival of trade, and the comparative

immunity from attack enjoyed by the country towards the close of the

year 1693 had, as we have seen, made the governor more popular in the

country than ever before. Still there were not a few who acknowledged

his merits but grudgingly, while they had much to say in regard to the

defects of his administration. Charlevoix says that, could he only have

added to his own high qualities the virtues of his predecessor, the

pious Denonville, he would have been perfect, and the condition of the

colony would have left nothing to desire. Frontenac, however, could not

be a Denonville any more than Denonville could have been a Frontenac. He

was a religious man in the practical, businesslike way in which men with

strong political instincts and aptitudes are apt to be religious. There

was nothing mystical about him, and little that was sentimental.

Religion, in his opinion, was a good thing, but it had its own place; it

was meant to co-operate to good ends with the state, but not to dominate

the state. In France such views might have passed unchallenged, for

these were the days when Gallicanism was at its height, but in Canada

they met with keen opposition. There, as already remarked, the leaders

of the church hoped to be able to mould a state in which the secular

power should find its greatest glory in being the handmaiden of the

spiritual.

Resuming the complaints made against the governor, Charlevoix tells us

that he was censured for his indulgence to the officers, whose esteem

and attachment he was very anxious to enjoy, and that he let all the

burden of the war fall on the colonists. There may have been a slight

measure of truth in the accusation; but it is certain that many officers

of the regular army died bravely fighting the battles of the country.

That the militia were, on the whole, better and more skilful fighters

than the regular troops was early discovered. Denonville, it may be

recalled, made some very disparaging remarks in regard to the latter on

the occasion of his expedition against the Senecas. Another accusation,

for which there was undoubted foundation, was that the officers were

allowed to retain the pay of the soldiers who received permission to do

civilian work. A soldier could always earn in one form or another of

manual labour, much more than his military wages amounted to; and the

custom sprang up of retaining and dividing amongst the officers the pay

of those who engaged in such labour. The court finally took cognizance

of the practice, and condemned it. Still more serious complaint was

made, Charlevoix says, of Frontenac's toleration of the liquor trade. He

quotes on this subject a letter written by an ecclesiastic, the Abbe de

Brisacier, to Pere Lachaise, the king's confessor, in which it is stated

that "brutalities and murders are being committed in the streets of

Quebec by intoxicated Indian men and women, who in that condition have

neither shame nor fear." There is also a letter extant from the worthy

Superior of the Sulpicians at Montreal, M. Dollier de Casson, dated 7th

October 1691, to a friend in France, that is really pathetic in its

terms. If, he says, "our incomparable monarch" only knew the truth of

the matter, "the uprightness of his intentions would not be misled by

those numerous emissaries of the Evil One who spread the belief that

without liquor we should have no savages visiting us and no fur trade."

He speaks of liquor as "_un damnable ecueil_"--a damnable rock on which

the poor Indian makes shipwreck--and gives a pitiful account of some of

the horrors to be seen almost daily in the Indian missions. It may be

doubted whether the condition of things was any worse in this respect

under Frontenac than under Denonville, when the whole country seemed to

be more or less paralyzed through the excessive use of brandy. It may

possibly, indeed, have been better; the comparative efficiency of

military operations may not unreasonably be held to point in that

direction.

Frontenac and Champigny were not openly at strife, but judging by a

letter written by the latter, and dated 4th November 1693, the governor

acted very tyrannically towards him. He quotes the bishop as saying

that Frontenac treats him (Champigny) worse than he ever treated

Duchesneau. He only puts up with it, he says, in order to carry out his

instructions to live peaceably with the governor at all costs, and in

the hope that the minister will appreciate the sacrifice he is making.

Frontenac, when in France, had lived much at court, and had doubtless

witnessed and participated in many of the elaborate festivities which

royalty was wont to grace with its presence. It is not surprising that

he was ambitious to have some little echo of Versailles in his mimic

court at Quebec. Never had the public of that capital been so disposed

to relaxation and enjoyment as in the winter of 1693-4 when the country

seemed to see some days of prosperity and tranquillity before it. Great,

therefore, was the enthusiasm when in the holiday season two dramatic

representations were given at the chateau. Officers and ladies took part

in the performances, and the plays _Nicomede_ and _Mithridate_ were

wholly unobjectionable. Everybody was happy except the clergy, who saw

in such mundanities the most serious danger to the spiritual welfare of

the community. The Abbe Glandelet of the Seminary was the first to raise

a cry of alarm, preaching a sermon in the cathedral, in which he essayed

to prove that no one could attend a play without incurring mortal sin.

Then the bishop issued a mandate a little more moderate in its terms,

in which he distinguished between comedies innocent in their nature, but

which under certain circumstances may be dangerous, and those which are

absolutely bad and criminal in themselves, such as the comedy of

_Tartuffe_ and similar ones. _Tartuffe_, although his Majesty had

listened to it on more than one occasion, and entertained a particular

friendship for its author, was to the ecclesiastical world a terror. The

bishop had heard a report that it was to be put upon the boards next,

and fearing that his mandate alone might not have sufficient effect, he

took occasion of a chance meeting with Frontenac to offer him a thousand

francs if he would not produce it. Frontenac's friends say that he never

had any intention of producing it; but he took the bishop's money all

the same, and, it is stated, gave it next day to the hospitals. It is

somewhat remarkable that Frontenac should have taken the money whether

he did or did not intend to produce the play, and equally so that the

bishop should have considered him accessible to a purely pecuniary

argument in a matter of the kind.

It has been mentioned that in the summer of 1693 an Oneida chief had

come to Quebec and talked of peace, and that, having gone back to his

people, he returned in October with propositions which the governor

contemptuously rejected. In the month of January following, two

messengers came from the Iroquois country to say that, if they could

have a safe-conduct, chiefs from each of the Five Nations would come

down with authority to negotiate for peace. A safe-conduct was promised,

but Frontenac expressly stipulated that one particular Onondaga chief,

Teganissorens, with whom he had had negotiations many years before,

should accompany the delegation. In April a number of delegates came,

but without Teganissorens. Frontenac refused to deal with them, and said

that if any of them dared to come to see him again without that chief,

he would put them into the kettle. This had its effect, for towards the

end of May two delegates from each nation came down, Teganissorens being

of the number. Belts were presented, and the language of the delegates

was all that could be desired. "Onontio," said Teganissorens, presenting

the sixth belt, "I speak to you in the name of the Five Nations. You

have devoured all our chief men, and scarce any more are left. I ought

to feel resentment on account of our dead. By this belt I say to you

that we forget them; and, as a token that we do not wish to avenge them,

we throw away and bury our hatchet under the ground, that it may never

more be seen. To preserve the living we shall think no more of the

dead." The personal appearance of the orator, known to the English as

Decanisora, has been described by Colden in his _History of the Five

Nations_, published in 1727. According to that author he was a tall,

well-formed man, with a face not unlike the busts of Cicero; and we know

from the French official narrative that he spoke with remarkable

fluency and grace. The count replied in a conciliatory manner; on both

sides there seemed to be good dispositions towards peace, but yet no

definite understanding was arrived at. The Iroquois wished to include

the English in the peace, but Frontenac, of course, was not at liberty

to make peace with a people with whom his master, the French king, was

at war. The savages agreed, however, to give up their prisoners; and

Orehaoue was sent with them to accept delivery of the captives and bring

them back. The Onondagas for some reason refused to surrender theirs,

but the other tribes made good the promise of their delegates. Among

those who were released were some who had been detained since the

massacre of Lachine, and in general they had not much complaint to make

of their treatment. It was a proud day for Orehaoue when, completing the

important duty entrusted to him, he was able to restore the long missing

ones to country and home.

The majority of the tribes must have wished for peace, or they would not

have given up their prisoners. It was, however, as much against the

interest of the English to have peace established between the Iroquois

and the French, as it was against the interest of the latter that there

should be peace between the Abenaquis and the New Englanders. A long

period of intrigue followed, with plotting and counter-plotting between

the different parties concerned. The English on their side were striving

to stir up the Iroquois against the French, and the French on theirs to

incite the Abenaquis against the English; the Iroquois talked peace to

the French, but were working all the time to draw the Lake tribes away

from their alliance; while the French commanders in the West were doing

their best to keep their Indians on the war-path against the Iroquois.

Intrigue reigned too among the Lake tribes; for an influential chief

called the Baron was trying hard to persuade them to join the Iroquois.

Some horrible treacheries and cruelties were meantime being perpetrated

in that region. The French at Michilimackinac, where La Motte Cadillac

had replaced Louvigny, killed two Iroquois who had been brought into the

camp in the guise of prisoners, but who were suspected of being

emissaries from their nation acting in collusion with the Baron. The

latter and his associates were very angry at first, but in the end

yielded to the French, and handed over another Iroquois, whom they had

with them. The French determined, La Potherie says, to make an example

of him. The Ottawas were invited "to drink the broth of an Iroquois,"

which they did after the victim had been put to death with cruel

tortures in which a Frenchman took the lead. Not long after four others

were similarly treated. The object, of course, in getting the Ottawas

and Hurons to participate in these cruelties was to render peace with

the Iroquois impossible.

In the summer of 1695, Frontenac carried out his long-cherished design

of restoring the fort at Cataraqui. The scheme was strongly opposed by

the intendant, Champigny, who had managed in some way to win the court

over to his views. The expedition organized by Frontenac consisted of

seven hundred men, and was placed by him under the command of the

Marquis of Crisafy, a Neapolitan noble, who, as Charlevoix informs us,

had been guilty of treason in his own country, and so been obliged to

take service under the French king. Scarcely had the expedition started

before a letter from the Comte de Pontchartrain was placed in

Frontenac's hand enjoining him not to take any steps in the matter of

re-establishing the fort. Anything more _mal a propos_ could scarcely

have happened. Had Frontenac been a timid man, he would have sent a

messenger after Crisafy, and ordered him back; but his service of many

years in many lands had accustomed the veteran to taking responsibility;

and, persuaded as he was that he knew better what the interest of the

country required than the king and the minister put together, he allowed

the expedition to proceed. Within a month it had returned to Montreal

after having put the fort once more in a condition of defence at a cost

of sixteen thousand francs. Forty-eight men were left behind as a

garrison. Frontenac had now a base for the operations which he felt sure

would be required against the Iroquois, and which in point of fact were

carried out in the following year. The king, on hearing of what had

been done, did not censure the governor, but merely asked him to

consider carefully, in consultation with M. de Champigny, whether it was

really for the advantage of the colony that the fort should be

maintained. In the interest of harmony the court had for some time

followed the practice of writing to the governor and the intendant

jointly, and requiring them to make joint despatches. Notwithstanding

this prudent arrangement, each of the high officials managed to bring

his own private views before the minister or the king, as the case might

be. In joint consultations the will of Frontenac was pretty sure to

carry the day. His fort henceforth was safe.

We may now, while a desultory and not very eventful warfare is being

waged between the colony and its traditional enemy, the Iroquois, and

while negotiations and intrigues are being carried on in triangular

fashion between the French, their allies, and the common foe, turn for a

few moments to another field, a far distant one, in which Canadian

enterprise, bravery, and military aptitude won repeated successes, and,

on one occasion at least, performed deeds of lasting renown. We have

already related the expedition under M. de Troyes to Hudson's Bay in the

summer of 1686 in which Iberville and his brother Ste. Helene took part.

Troyes returned to Quebec in the same year, and, as we have seen, joined

Denonville's campaign against the Senecas. Iberville seems to have

remained in the Hudson's Bay country till the following year, for we

hear of his returning to Quebec in the fall of 1687 with a large amount

of booty in the way of furs. The Hudson's Bay Company of England, in a

petition which they addressed to the king asking for redress, put the

amount of loss they had sustained by this expedition at L50,000, quite

probably an over-valuation. After this adventure Iberville, in company

with his brother Maricourt, seems to have gone to France; but two years

later both are in the bay again defending Fort Albany against an English

vessel. Later in the year, in the absence of Iberville, who had gone to

Quebec with a cargo of furs, the English possessed themselves of the

fort; but, returning in the summer of 1690, he wrested it from them

again, and again sailed to Quebec with furs, this time to the value of

80,000 francs. The next year he went to France, and in July 1692

returned with two French vessels _L'Envieuse_ and _Le Poli_, destined

for operations in Hudson's Bay. As he did not reach Quebec, however,

till the 18th August, it was considered that the season was too far

advanced for an attempt in that quarter; and the vessels were

consequently diverted to Acadia in order that they might operate against

the newly erected fort at Pemaquid. As stated in our last chapter, the

expedition proved a failure. In the following year _Le Poli_, which

Iberville had taken back to France, was sent out again to Canada with a

companion vessel, _L'Indiscret_. It was intended that they should

proceed to Hudson's Bay, but they only arrived at Quebec on the 22nd

July, and, as the king had expressly stipulated that _Le Poli_ should

return to France that year, every practical man in Canada saw at once

that she at least could not take part in the expedition. Then could

there be any expedition? It was at first proposed that Iberville should

make the best he could of _L'Indiscret_ and an English ship he had

captured on the way out, the _Mary Sarah_; and a number of French

captains who were in port at the time were formed into a commission to

report on the matter from a practical point of view. Their report, made

on the 7th August, was unfavourable as regarded both vessels.

_L'Indiscret_ does not seem to have had any armament, and though guns

could have been provided for her at Quebec, the captains doubted whether

either decks or hull were strong enough to admit of her conversion into

an effective fighting ship, or indeed whether she was suitable at all

for northern navigation. As to the _Mary Sarah_, she was a very poor

sailer, and would only prove an embarrassment. Iberville, who of course

expected, if he went, to winter in the bay, said he must have a full

year's provisions for the party; and one of the points the captains

inquired into was whether there was accommodation in the ships for all

the stores required. As one of the necessities of the voyage they put

down 154 barriques of wine, or, alternatively, 38 of brandy. As the

barrique contains something over 50 gallons, the estimate was for about

2000 gallons of brandy, not an illiberal allowance. The upshot of the

matter was that there was no expedition that year, and that the English

had all their own way in the bay, capturing once more the fort at

Albany, together with furs to the value, as stated, of 150,000 francs,

the property of the Compagnie du Nord.

The news of this serious loss arrived at Quebec in August just after the

idea of an expedition had been abandoned, and was carried to France by

M. de Serigny, one of Iberville's brothers. The French government

thereupon determined to organize a strong force for the purpose of

securely establishing French supremacy in those northern waters. Serigny

was accordingly sent back to Quebec in the summer of 1694, with

instructions to Frontenac to lend as many soldiers as he could spare for

the enterprise. No time was lost in executing the order. On the 10th

August Iberville with Serigny and another brother M. de Chateauguay, and

over a hundred picked Canadians set sail for Hudson's Bay in two

frigates of twenty and thirty guns respectively. The first point of

attack was to be Port Nelson on the west side of the bay, garrisoned by

about fifty English, and mounting thirty-six cannon. Having arrived at

the place on the 24th September, Iberville demanded its surrender, which

was refused. The assailants had much the advantage in strength, and on

the 13th October the fort surrendered. The Canadians took up their

quarters there for the winter; and when summer came Iberville decided to

wait in the neighbourhood in the hope of capturing one or two English

trading vessels which were expected to arrive. None came, however, and

he set sail in September, leaving La Forest in charge with sixty men.

Contrary winds rendering his return to Canada difficult, he steered his

course for France, and arrived safely at Rochelle, where he wrote out a

full account of his adventures and achievements.

It was related in the last chapter how, in the following year (1696),

Iberville, in conjunction with Saint-Castin and the neighbouring

Indians, had captured and destroyed the English fort of Pemaquid, on the

west side of what is now Penobscot Bay. His instructions were, as soon

as this had been accomplished, to sail for Newfoundland, take St.

John's, and harry the English settlements strewn along the eastern

coast. This enterprise had been carefully prepared beforehand, and a

number of fishing vessels from St. Malo had been armed for the purpose.

There was a French governor stationed at Placentia, M. de Brouillan, to

whom instructions had been sent to co-operate with M. d'Iberville. All

accounts agree in saying that this officer was a man of an extremely

surly and jealous temper. Anxious to win the glory and profit of

capturing St. John's without assistance, he did not await the arrival of

Iberville before setting out on the enterprise. With the help of the St.

Malo men he captured one or two English vessels; but, owing to

disagreements that arose between him and his men, nothing more was

accomplished. Returning to Placentia he found that Iberville with his

Canadians had arrived. Some dispute arose as to who should command the

combined force; finally it was agreed that Iberville should have that

honour. It is doubtful whether the Canadians would have consented to

serve under any other leader. The capture of St. John's was effected on

the 1st December; but no booty of any consequence was taken, as some

English vessels had shortly before removed everything of value. Then

followed a cruel winter raid on the poor fisher-folk of the coast who

were not in a condition to make any resistance. All the hamlets were

burned, and the French writers say that two hundred of the English

inhabitants were killed, surely a most unnecessary slaughter.

Other work and other laurels somewhat worthier of a warrior's brow were,

however, awaiting the redoubtable Canadian chief. In the month of May

1697, when the desolation in Newfoundland was complete, his brother

Serigny arrived from France with five ships of war, the _Pelican_, the

_Palmier_, the _Wasp_, the _Profond_, and the _Violent_. Port Nelson had

again fallen into the hands of the English; and this expedition, which

Iberville was to command, had been organized for the purpose of retaking

it. For trading purposes it was much the most important port on the bay,

being the outlet of a vast fur-bearing region stretching towards Lake

Superior. It was July before the squadron sailed from Placentia,

Iberville taking command of the _Pelican_, and his brother of the

_Palmier_. One ship carrying stores was crushed and lost amid floating

ice, though the crew were saved. The others were in great danger. When

the _Pelican_ got free her companions were nowhere to be seen, and

Iberville pursued his way towards Port Nelson alone, hoping that the

other vessels would make their appearance after a time. He had nearly

reached his destination when three sail did heave in sight, which he

took to be the missing vessels. He was soon undeceived. They were armed

English merchantmen--the _Hampshire_, of fifty-two guns; the _Daring_,

of thirty-six; and the _Hudson's Bay_, of thirty-two. The chances looked

bad for the _Pelican_, which had but forty-four; but Iberville was

accustomed to taking chances, and he did not decline the unequal fight.

The French commander had the advantage of the wind, and seems not to

have engaged more than one vessel at a time. After some hours of

cannonading he came to close quarters with the _Hampshire_, and,

delivering some terrible broadsides, caused her to sink in that dreary

sea with all on board. The _Hudson's Bay_, which he next attacked, soon

struck her flag, while the _Daring_, doing little honour or justice to

her name, seized a favouring wind and escaped. The _Pelican_ had by no

means escaped Scot free. So badly shattered was she that, having

stranded a few miles from the fort, and a gale having sprung up, she

went to pieces. Some of the crew were lost, while, of those who reached

land, a number died from cold and exhaustion. Snow was lying a foot deep

on the ground; and had it not been for the timely arrival of the

missing vessels, the whole party would doubtless have perished, unless

they could have made their way to the fort and thrown themselves on the

mercy of the enemy. As it was, the work of the expedition was now

proceeded with. Cannon and mortar were landed. The fort was only

protected by a palisade, and though it mounted a few light cannon, it

was quite unable to withstand a bombardment. The commandant, therefore,

though at first he refused to surrender, was soon compelled to lower his

flag. He obtained honourable terms for his garrison, but was obliged to

hand over a vast quantity of furs. Iberville after this signal

triumph--a triumph, as Parkman describes it, "over the storms, the

icebergs, and the English"--left his brother in charge of the captured

fort, and, taking the two best vessels left, sailed for France, where he

arrived early in November.

The news which greeted him there was that, just about the time he was

sailing from the bay, peace had been signed[54] between England and

France. By the terms of the peace Louis was to acknowledge William III

as rightful King of England and Anne as his successor, and to withdraw

all assistance from the exiled James. As regards the colonies, the most

important provision was that the _status quo ante bellum_ should be

re-established. Thus the gallant fight that Iberville had waged, one

against three, and all the bitter hardships which he and his men had

endured by sea and land, had been in vain. Port Nelson and the other

ports in Hudson's Bay would have to revert to the English. All boundary

questions in dispute between the two nations were to be settled by

commissioners appointed for that purpose.

Returning now to Canada, and going back a year and a half in our

narrative, that is to say, to the early summer of 1696, we find Count

Frontenac making his plans for the campaign he had for some time felt to

be necessary against the Iroquois, but particularly against the most

obstinately hostile nation of the confederacy, the Onondagas. He had no

great reason to think that the court desired him to engage in this

enterprise, for all the counsels he had lately been receiving from that

quarter had been in favour of contraction rather than expansion, of

peaceful rather than warlike measures. He trusted, however, that if he

signally succeeded, as he expected to do, all would be not only condoned

but approved, including his disobedience of orders in re-establishing

Fort Frontenac the year before, a matter in regard to which he had not

heard from the court as yet. The expedition as organized was one which

certainly should have been adequate for the punishment of the Iroquois,

if they would only stay to be punished. It consisted of four battalions

of regulars of two hundred men each, and four of militia, numerically

somewhat stronger. With these were five hundred mission Indians,

Iroquois from the Saut, near Montreal, and Abenaquis from Sillery, near

Quebec. Two battalions of regulars, with most of the Indians,

constituted the vanguard, which was under the command of M. de

Callieres. The militia, under M. de Ramesay, Governor of Three Rivers,

were placed in the centre, while M. de Vaudreuil brought up the rear,

consisting of the two remaining battalions of regulars and the rest of

the Indians. Frontenac himself, with his staff and a number of

volunteers, took a position between the van and the centre. In this

order the expedition started from Lachine on the 6th July. In fifteen

days it had reached Fort Frontenac, where it halted a week, awaiting the

arrival of a contingent of Ottawas which La Motte Cadillac had promised

to send from Michilimackinac. As this reinforcement did not arrive, the

expedition pushed on, and in two days reached the mouth of the Oswego

River. Here the rapids proved very difficult, and several portages were

necessary. On these occasions the count, notwithstanding his

seventy-five years, was prepared to foot it like the rest; but the

Indians would have none of it: they raised him aloft in his canoe,

"singing and yelling with joy."

On the 4th August the army reached the principal fort of the Onondagas

only to find it abandoned and burnt. There was nothing to do but, as on

former similar occasions, to destroy the corn. An old Onondaga Indian

who had remained in the neighbourhood was captured and put to death with

horrible tortures, which he endured with the greatest fortitude;

reviling his enemies with his latest breath, and calling the French

"dogs," and their Indian allies "the dogs of dogs," bidding them, at the

same time, to learn from him how to suffer when their turn should come.

While such havoc as was possible was being wrought in the Onondaga

habitations, Vaudreuil was detached from the main force to do similar

damage in the country of the Oneidas. As he approached their village,

some deputies of the tribe came forward to offer submission, and beg

that their crops might not be destroyed, but Vaudreuil told them he had

to obey his orders, and that, if they chose, they might come and dwell

with the French, where they would not want for anything. While the

detachment was engaged in the work of destruction news came that a force

of three hundred English was marching to attack them, whereupon the

Abenaquis expressed great joy, saying that they would not need to waste

powder on such enemies, their tomahawks and knives would be enough. The

English did not come, however. Governor Fletcher, of New York, was on

the move; but, by the time he had gathered a force, he learnt that the

French had gone. It is difficult to see in what respect this campaign,

which was precisely of the kind that Frontenac had said a few years

before he did not approve, was more effectual than that of Denonville in

1687; Frontenac, nevertheless, represented it to the king as a notable

victory. He could be pious in his phraseology when he liked; and he

wrote that the Iroquois had been smitten at his approach with a panic

which could only have come from Heaven. The Iroquois were surely in hard

luck in having to fight, at the same moment, human foes in superior

numbers, and armed with superior weapons, and celestial ones capable of

paralyzing their faculties in the moment of their greatest need. But not

more actively did the gods and goddesses of Olympus intervene on the

plain of Troy on behalf of well-greaved Greeks or horse-taming Trojans

than did the higher powers, if we can trust the narratives of the time,

on behalf of the well-musketed Canadians.

On the 10th August the return journey was begun, and on the 20th the

army reached Montreal. Some lives had been lost in the rapids; otherwise

there had been no casualties. In concluding his letter to the king,

Frontenac, after praising the officers under his command, particularly

M. de Callieres, put in a modest word for himself: "I do not know

whether your Majesty will consider that I have tried to do my duty, and,

if so, whether you will judge me worthy of some mark of honour such as

may enable me to live the brief remainder of my life in some

distinction. However your Majesty may decide, I must humbly beg you to

believe that I am prepared to sacrifice the remainder of my days in your

Majesty's service with the same ardour which I have always hitherto

displayed." His Majesty was graciously pleased to say in reply, by the

mouth of the minister, that he was entirely satisfied with the count's

expedition against the Onondagas and Oneidas, and with his whole

conduct. After dealing with other matters the minister added: "Until his

Majesty has it in his power to bestow on you more marked proofs of his

satisfaction, he has granted you his Military Order of St. Louis, and

you will find herewith his permission to you to wear its cross." This

was a distinction of which his subordinate Callieres, as well as M. de

Vaudreuil and the intendant, Champigny, were already in enjoyment; yet

it was all that the very decided merit of M. de Frontenac was able to

extract. It is said that the violent take the kingdom of heaven by

force; but it is also said that the meek shall inherit the earth.

Frontenac tried to make his way by dint of self-assertion, but in the

end his success was only moderate. The enemies whom he thrust aside, or

cowed into silence, could whisper at opportune moments, and their

whispers did him no good; while sometimes they could secure

gratifications for themselves decidedly worth having.

Various inconclusive negotiations for peace followed the Onondaga

campaign; and things dragged on in this way till news came in January

1698, though not through an authorized channel, of the signing of the

Peace of Ryswick. The officer in command at Albany, Peter Schuyler, had

deputed Captain John Schuyler and one Dellius to carry the news to

Callieres at Montreal. Frontenac received it at Quebec a few days later.

The messengers stated that a new governor was coming out to New

York--the Earl of Bellomont--and mentioned that instructions had been

given to their Indians to cease their warfare against the French.

Frontenac sent a reply stating that he would have to await confirmation

of the news from his own government; but he did not think it well to

recognize that part of the message which assumed, on the part of the

English, authority over the Iroquois. Early in the following June (1698)

Schuyler and Dellius came, bringing some twenty French prisoners of all

ages, and also a letter from the Earl of Bellomont to Frontenac,

forwarding copies in French and Latin of the treaty of peace, and

proposing that Frontenac should give up all his Iroquois prisoners to

him, undertaking, on his part, to secure the restoration of all the

French prisoners whom the Iroquois might be holding. This brought things

to an issue. Frontenac replied in firm but courteous terms, saying that,

although he was still without advices from his government, he was

prepared to hand over all English prisoners in his custody, but that he

could not understand how his Lordship could have instructed his

delegates to ask for the return of the Iroquois prisoners. The Iroquois

had been uninterruptedly subjects of the French king from a time prior

to the taking of New York by the English from the Dutch. So far as they

were concerned, therefore, the Earl of Bellomont need not give himself

any trouble, as they were suing for peace, had engaged to restore all

their French prisoners, and had given hostages for the fulfilment of

their promise. He also referred, as a further proof of French authority,

to the missions which they had maintained among the Iroquois for over

forty years. This letter was dated 8th June. Bellomont replied on the

13th August, manifesting much irritation at Frontenac's refusal to

recognize the Iroquois as English subjects, and consequently covered by

the peace. He told Frontenac that he had sent word to those nations to

be on their guard, that he had furnished them with arms and munitions of

war, and promised them assistance in case they were attacked. As to the

Jesuit missionaries, the Indians had repeatedly entreated him "to expel

those gentlemen from amongst them," their wish being "to have some of

our Protestant ministers among them, instead of your missionaries, in

order for their instruction in the Christian religion." Here was a

pretty quarrel right on the head of a peace! Frontenac replied with his

customary firmness, saying that he would pursue his course unflinchingly

and insist on the fulfilment by the Iroquois of the engagement they had

entered into before the declaration of peace. He referred to the fact

that commissioners were to be appointed to decide questions of boundary,

and said that, such being the case, the earl had taken too absolute a

position. Here the correspondence ended so far as Frontenac was

concerned. He was fighting in a losing cause, for the claim of England

to the territory in dispute was shortly afterwards recognized. He could,

however, at least say that the cause was not lost through him; to the

last he maintained with courage, resolution, and dignity, what he held

to be the rights of his sovereign. As regards the formal establishment

of peace with the Iroquois it was not to be in his time. His last

despatch to the court bears date the 25th October. He tells the minister

that the Iroquois, who had promised to come and conclude peace and bring

back their prisoners, have not yet done so, and that he has no doubt

they are held back by the Earl of Bellomont. The minister answers that,

to prevent a continuation of disputes, he had consented that the tribes

in question should remain undisturbed and enjoy the peace concluded at

Ryswick. The boundary question would be settled in due time by the

commissioners appointed for that purpose.

This reply Count Frontenac was not destined to see. Three months,

indeed, before it was penned the curtain had fallen upon his eager,

strenuous, and, broadly speaking, honourable life. About the middle of

November he fell ill. He was in his seventy-ninth year. In a few days,

if not from the first, he knew that he had passed into the shadow of

death, that he was at last meeting One whom he could not conquer. The

old man made all his arrangements with admirable calmness. On the 22nd

November he sent for the notary to make his will. He expressed a desire

to be buried, not in the cathedral church, but in that of the

Recollets, whose milder theology had best suited his practical and

somewhat Erastian turn of mind. He makes pecuniary provision for a daily

mass on his behalf for one year, and a yearly one thereafter on the

anniversary of his death, Mme. de Frontenac to share in it after her

death. His heart was to be placed in a chapel of the Church of St.

Nicolas des Champs at Paris, where the remains of his sister, Mme. de

Monmort, were already reposing. A merchant of Quebec, Francois Hazeur,

and his private secretary, are named as his executors. He requests

Champigny to support his friends in having his wishes carried out. He

bequeaths to him a crucifix of aloes wood, and to Mme. de Champigny a

reliquary. The bishop, M. de Saint Vallier, came to see him several

times during his illness, as also did the intendant; death, not for the

first time, was acting the part of reconciler. It was rather expected by

the clerical party that, in his last moments, the old warrior would

express deep contrition for his deficiencies on the religious side and

his frequent opposition to the policy of the church; but in this they

were disappointed. "God gave him full time," says an anonymous critic of

the period, who has annotated very harshly the funeral sermon preached

over his remains, "to recognize his errors, and yet to the last he

showed a great indifference in all these matters. In a word, he behaved

during the few days before his death like one who had led an

irreproachable life and had nothing to fear." The last rites of

religion were administered by the Recollet father, Olivier Goyer, and on

the 28th November 1698, retaining his faculties to the last, the veteran

passed peacefully away.

What manner of man he was, this narrative, it may be trusted, has in

some measure shown. Compounded of faults and virtues, his was a

character that appealed strongly to average human nature. Common people

understood, admired and trusted him. His faults were those common,

everyday ones,[55] which it is not impossible to forgive; and he had the

more than compensating virtues of courage, decision, simplicity,

underlying kindliness, and humour. His nature, vehement, turbulent, and

self-asserting throughout his early and middle manhood, was gaining

towards the end that ripeness in which, according to Shakespeare, lies

the whole significance of life. The Abbe Gosselin has defined with great

exactness his attitude towards religion. "Frontenac," he says, "was a

Christian and a religious man after the fashion of his time, and as

people generally are in the great world; attached to the church, but

with all the Gallican ideas of the period, according to which the church

was only a dependency of the state; making it a point of honour to

discharge the duties incumbent on a gentleman and a Christian, but

drawing a clear distinction between the demands of duty and those of

perfection."[56] The late Abbe Verreau, quoted by Gosselin in his _Life

of Laval_, has a few words of mingled praise and blame, which, perhaps,

in their general effect are not far from the truth. "The harsh doctrines

of Jansenism," he says, "and domestic troubles had infused into his

nature something unrefined which the outward manners of the aristocrat

did not entirely conceal. . . . When, however, he yielded to the natural

bent of his mind, he attracted every one by the intellectual grace and

charm of his conversation. . . . His ambition was to be in New France

the reflection of the great monarch who ruled in Old France." The Abbe

probably exaggerates the effect of Jansenist doctrines upon the mind of

Frontenac, and also that of his conjugal difficulties; but he rightly

discerns an element in his character which clashed with his finer and

more distinguished qualities.

* * * * *

There is no known extant portrait of Frontenac. For many years a certain

photograph was sold at Quebec as representing him on his death-bed, and

was reproduced in different works relating to Canadian history. Parkman,

the historian, sent it to the late M. Pierre Margry of Paris, the

well-known authority on early Canadian history, who at once pronounced

that it was not a portrait of Frontenac at all, but had been taken from

one of the illustrations published in Lavater's celebrated work on

physiognomy, the original being a German professor of the name of

Heidegger. How it ever came to pass for a portrait of Frontenac remains

a mystery. The matter is fully discussed in Mr. Ernest Myrand's work,

_Sir William Phipps devant Quebec_. So far as appears, it was through a

correspondence between Mr. Myrand and M. Pierre Margry, that the fact of

the unauthenticity of the alleged portrait of Frontenac first became

known in Canada.

The funeral sermon over the deceased governor was preached by the

Recollet father who had attended his death-bed, and the manuscript of it

is still preserved in the library of Laval University. The eulogium of

the sympathetic father may here and there be a little forced; but surely

a generous meed of praise was due to the man who, when past the meridian

of life, had undertaken and borne unflinchingly for many years the

burden of so difficult and dangerous an administration as that of

Canada. The manuscript has been annotated by an anonymous and unfriendly

ecclesiastical hand, one of whose criticisms is quoted above. The

critic's point of view is further indicated by the comment on the

preacher's statement that Frontenac diligently practised the reading of

spiritual books. "As for his reading, it was often Jansenist books, of

which he had a great many, and which he greatly praised and lent freely

to others." The _odium theologicum_ here is not difficult to discern.

The people, however, who cared little for theological subtleties and

animosities, but who judged their fallen chief as a man and an

administrator, mourned him sincerely. His death was announced by the

intendant to the king in words that are almost touching; and Callieres,

a good soldier, and a man after his own heart, ruled in his stead.

[Footnote 54: The Peace of Ryswick, 20th September 1697.]

[Footnote 55: [Greek: Ta koina ton anthropon pathe.]--Aristotle,

_Rhet._ vii.]

[Footnote 56: _Monseigneur de Saint Vallier et son Temps_, p. 32.]

INDEX

Abenaquis Indians, hostile to New England, 240;

incited by Governor Denonville, 249;

ravages committed by, 316;

attack settlement of York, 326;

repulsed at Wells, 327;

disposed to make peace with New England, 328;

French influence in opposite direction prevails, 330;

attack settlement of Oyster River, 330;

fired on from Fort Pemaquid, under flag of truce, 331

Acadia, attempt to form settlement in, 6;

seized by English under Kirke, 22;

subsequent vicissitudes, 268-72;

seized under orders from Cromwell, 268;

settlers disposed to trade with New England, 270;

Port Royal (Annapolis) made capital, 270;

visited by Meulles and Saint Vallier, and census taken, 271;

Port Royal and other posts captured by Phipps, who establishes

government, 274;

passes again under French control, 316

Agriculture in Canada, difficulties in the way of, 87

Aguesseau, Chancellor d', on French parliaments, 153

Ailleboust, M. d', succeeds Montmagny as governor, 35;

interim governor, 42

Albany, Fort, captured by Troyes, 206;

captured alternately by French and English, 343, 345

Andros, Sir Edmund, governor of New England, 263;

seized and imprisoned, 266

Argenson, Vicomte d', arrives as governor, 43;

on Laval, 45

Auteuil, Denis Joseph Ruette d', attorney-general, 106;

death of, 138

Auteuil, Francois d', son of Denis, succeeds him, 138;

makes trouble for Intendant Meulles, 174;

waits on Frontenac, 255

Avaugour, Baron Dubois d', governor, 45;

disagrees with clergy on liquor question, 46;

describes earthquake, 46

Ball, first given in Canada, 59

Beaucour, M. de, brave conduct of, in command of party against

Iroquois, 319;

superintends improvements in fortifications of Quebec, 326

Bellomont, Earl of, governor of New York, corresponds with Frontenac,

355

Belmont, Abbe, on number of captives taken at Lachine, 226;

on excessive use of brandy, 312 and note

Bernieres, Henri de, grand-vicar of bishop of Quebec, 111

Berthier, M. de, commands militia in campaign against Iroquois, 209

Bienville, Le Moyne de, joins war party against Schenectady, 235

Big Mouth (Grande Gueule), Onondaga orator, 184, 221

Bizard, officer of Frontenac, arrested by Perrot, 91

Boulduc, prosecutor of Prevote, dismissed, 138

Bourdon, Sister Anne, on divine protection of Quebec, 301

Bourgeoys, Sister Margaret, establishes Congregation de Notre Dame,

29, 39;

impressed on arrival by poverty of country, 39

Bradstreet, Simon, made governor of Massachusetts, 266;

on failure of expedition against Quebec, 301

Brouillan, M. de, French governor at Placentia, Newfoundland, 346

Bruey, agent of governor Perrot at Montreal, 97

Buade, Antoine de, grandfather of Frontenac, 61

Buade, Henri de, father of Frontenac, 61

Buade, Louis de, Count Frontenac, see _Frontenac_

Bullion, Mme. de, benefactress of Hotel Dieu at Montreal, 29

Caen, William de, head of trading company, 23

Caen, Emery de, takes over Quebec from the English, 23

Callieres, M. de, memorandum by, on French claims in Hudson's Bay, 204;

commands regular troops in attack on Iroquois, 209;

sent to France to represent situation of colony, 230;

leads 800 men from Montreal to defence of Quebec, 292;

commands vanguard in attack on Onondagas, 351;

commended in despatches, 353;

succeeds Frontenac as governor, 362

Canada, population of, 36, 55, 58, 131, 147, 148;

poverty of, impresses Sister Margaret Bourgeoys, 39;

morals of the people, 58, 59;

over-governed, 131;

trade, 148;

affected by all the vicissitudes of Mother Country, 150, 151;

"farmers" of revenue appointed for, 154;

Bishop Saint Vallier's first description of country and inhabitants,

192;

Governor Denonville's description, 192;

Saint Vallier's revised opinion, 193;

real character of the people, 193-5;

state of depression throughout the country, 219, 240;

drinking habits of people, 223;

described by Laval as the country of miracles, 301;

exhaustion of, after departure of New England fleet, 305, 317

Carignan-Salieres Regiment sent out, 51;

some of the officers settle in Canada and become seigneurs, 57

Carion, officer at Montreal, refuses to recognize Frontenac's order

for arrest of _coureurs de bois_, 91

Cartier, Jacques, voyages of, 1

Cataraqui, expedition of Courcelles to, 59;

of Frontenac, 76-84;

fort, known afterwards as Fort Frontenac, erected at, 83

Census of 1666, 55

Chambly, fort erected at, 51

Chambly, M. de, appointed governor of Acadia, 90, 269;

taken prisoner to Boston and there set at liberty, 269;

again governor, 270;

governor of Grenada (W.I.), 270

Champigny, Jean Bochart de, intendant, 207;

captures peaceful Indians for king's galleys, 215;

on sufferings of expeditionary force sent against Mohawks, 322;

complains of Frontenac's treatment of him, 336;

opposes restoration of Fort Frontenac, 341

Champlain, Samuel de, early career of, 3;

sails for St. Lawrence and explores river to Lachine rapids, 4;

explores Baie des Chaleurs, returns to France, 5;

accompanies de Monts to Acadia, 7;

founder of Quebec, 8;

plot against his life, 8;

expedition against Iroquois, 9;

returns to France and sails again for Canada, 10;

returns to France, marries, and sails again for Canada, 11;

prospects Island of Montreal, 12;

returns to France (1611), sails for Canada (1613), again to France,

again to Canada (1615), 13;

brings out Recollet missionaries, 13;

heads another expedition against Iroquois, 14;

begins construction of Chateau St. Louis, 15;

surrenders Quebec to English under Kirke, 20;

landed in England, 21;

urges restitution of Canada, 22;

sails for Quebec (1633), 24;

death of, 26

Chapais, M. Thos., his work on Talon referred to, 57 (note)

Charlevoix, Pere, on bravery of Canadians and indifferent conduct of

French troops, 212;

on Lachine massacre, 224, 227;

on old age of Francois Hertel, 235 (note);

his account of "flag" incident in siege of Quebec, 295;

on character and conduct of Frontenac, 333-6

Charny-Lauson, temporary governor, 42

Chastes, M. de, trading patent granted to, 3;

death of, 5

Chateaufort, M. de, interim governor after death of Champlain, 27

Chateau St. Louis, Quebec, construction begun, 15

Chauvin, obtains patent for exclusive trade in Canada, 2;

sails to St. Lawrence, 3

Chedabucto (Guysborough, N.S.), Frontenac arrives at, 232

Chubb, commandant of Fort Pemaquid, fires on Indians while under flag

of truce, 331;

killed, 332

Clarke, Captain, killed at Fort Loyal, two daughters taken to Quebec,

303

Clement, Pierre (author of _Vie de Colbert_), on causes of failure of

West India Company, 149;

on galley service, 215

Clermont, Chevalier de, killed in skirmish on Beaufort flats, 294

Colbert, creates West India Company, 49;

disapproves Frontenac's action in summoning "three estates," 67;

anti-clerical tendencies, 73;

Madame Maintenon's opinion of, 74;

advice to Courcelles in relation to ecclesiastical power, 115;

asks for particulars as regards effects of liquor traffic, 118;

speaks of bishop as aiming at too much power, 119;

overthrow of his commercial policy, 151

Company of New France, or of Hundred Associates, created by Cardinal

Richelieu, 19;

colonists sent out by, 28;

cedes some of its rights to colonists, 36;

new arrangement works badly, 37;

surrenders all its powers to the king (1663), 49;

its failure to fulfil its engagements, 55

Conde, Duke of, lieutenant-general for New France, 12

Congregation de Notre Dame, Montreal, established, 29

Connecticut, takes part in expedition against Montreal, 279

Corlaer, Indian name of Schenectady, which see.

Also Indian name for governors of New York, 253 (note)

Council, created (1647) at Quebec, 37.