Volume I—A To Elba (continued 25)

J. Bryce, The American Commonwealth, chapter 90 (volume 2), and appendix to volume 1 (containing the text of the Constitution of California).

—————CALIFORNIA: End—————

CALIGULA.

See CAIUS.

CALIPH, The Title.

The title Caliph, or Khalifa, simply signifies in the Arabic language "Successor." The Caliphs were the successors of Mahomet.

CALIPHATE, The.

See MAHOMETAN CONQUEST.

CALIPHS, The Turkish Sultan becomes successor to the.

See BAGDAD: A. D. 1258.

CALISCH, OR KALISCH, Treaty of.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1812-1813.

CALIXTINES, The.

See BOHEMIA: A. D. 1419-1434.

CALLAO: Siege, 1825-1826.

See PERU: A. D. 1820-1826.

CALLAO: A. D. 1866. Repulse of the Spanish fleet.

See PERU: A. D. 1826-1876.

CALLEVA.

One of the greater towns of Roman Britain, the walls of which, found at Silchester enclose an area of three miles in circuit.

T. Wright, Celt, Roman and Saxon, chapter 5.

CALLIAS, Peace of.

See ATHENS: B. C. 460-449.

CALLINICUS, Battle of.

Fought in the wars of the Romans with the Persians, on the banks of the Euphrates, Easter Eve. A. D. 531. The Romans, commanded by Belisarius, suffered an apparent defeat, but they checked an intended advance of the Persians on Antioch.

G. Rawlinson, Seventh Great Oriental Monarchy, chapter 19.

CALLISTUS II., Pope, A. D. 1119-1124. Callistus III., Pope, A. D. 1455-1458.

CALMAR, The Union of.

See SCANDINAVIAN STATES: A. D. 1018-1397, and 1397-1527.

CALPULALPAM, Battle of (1860).

See MEXICO: A. D. 1848-1861.

CALPURNIAN LAW, The.

"In this year, B. C. 149, the tribune L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi, who was one of the Roman writers of annals, proposed and carried a Lex Calpurnia, which made a great change in the Roman criminal procedure. Before this time and to the third Punic war, when a magistratus had misconducted himself in his foreign administration by oppressive acts and spoliation, there were several ways of inquiring into his offence. … But these modes of procedure were insufficient to protect the subjects of Rome against bad magistratus. … The remedy for these evils was the establishment of a court under the name of Quaestio Perpetua de pecuniis repetundis, the first regular criminal court that existed at Rome. Courts similarly constituted were afterwards established for the trial of persons charged with other offences. The Lex Calpurnia defined the offence of Repetundæ, as it was briefly named, to be the taking of money by irregular means for the use of a governor. The name Repetundæ was given to this offence, because the object of the procedure was to compel the governor to make restitution. … The court consisted of a presiding judge … and of a body of judices or jurymen annually appointed. The number of this body of judices is not known, but they were all senators. The judge and a jury taken from the body of the judices tried all the cases which came before them during one year; and hence came the name Quaestio Perpetua or standing court, in opposition to the extraordinary commissions which had hitherto been appointed as the occasion arose. We do not know that the Lex Calpurnia contained any penalties. As far as the evidence shows, it simply enabled the complainants to obtain satisfaction."

G. Long, Decline of the Roman Republic, chapter 2.

CALUSA, The.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: TIMUQUANAN FAMILY.

CALVEN, Battle of (1499).

See SWITZERLAND: A. D. 1396-1499.

CALVIN AND THE REFORMATION.

See PAPACY: A. D. 1521-1535; and GENEVA: A. D. 1536-1564.

CAMARCUM. The ancient name of the town of Cambrai.

CAMARILLA.

A circle of irresponsible chamber counsellors—courtiers—surrounding a sovereign with influences superior to those of his responsible ministers.

CAMBALU, OR CAMBALEC.

See CHINA: A. D. 1259-1294.

CAMBAS, OR CAMPA, OR CAMPO, The.

See BOLIVIA: ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS; and AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ANDESIANS.

CAMBORICUM. A Roman town in Britain.

"Camboricum was without doubt a very important town, which commanded the southern fens. It had three forts or citadels, the principal of which occupied the district called the Castle-end, in the modern town of Cambridge, and appears to have had a bridge over the Cam, or Granta; of the others, one stood below the town, at Chesterton, and the other above it, at Granchester. Numerous roads branched off from this town. … Bede calls the representative of Camboricum, in his time, a 'little deserted city,' and tells us how, when the nuns of Ely wanted a coffin for their saintly abbess, Etheldreda, they found a beautiful sculptured sarcophagus of white marble outside the city walls of the Roman town."

T. Wright, Celt, Roman and Saxon, chapter 5.

{354}

CAMBRAI: A. D. 1581. Unsuccessful siege by the Prince of Parma.

See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1581-1584.

CAMBRAI: A. D. 1595-1598. End of the Principality of governor Balagni. Siege and capture by the Spaniards. Retention under the treaty of Vervins.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1593-1598.

CAMBRAI: A. D. 1677. Taken by Louis XIV.

See NETHERLANDS (HOLLAND): A. D. 1674-1678.

CAMBRAI: A. D. 1679. Ceded to France.

See NIMEGUEN, THE PEACE OF.

—————CAMBRAI: End—————

CAMBRAI, The League of.

See VENICE: A. D. 1508-1509.

CAMBRAI, Peace of.

See ITALY: A. D. 1527-1529.

CAMBRIA. The early name of Wales.

See KYMRY, and CUMBRIA; also, BRITAIN: 6TH CENTURY.

CAMBRIDGE, England, Origin of.

See CAMBORICUM.

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts. The first settlement.

See MASSACHUSETTS: A. D. 1629-1630.

CAMBRIDGE, Platform, The:

See MASSACHUSETTS: A. D. 1646-1651.

CAMBYSES, OR KAMBYSES, King of Persia, B. C. 529-522.

CAMDEN, Battle of.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1780 (FEBRUARY-AUGUST).

CAMERONIAN REGIMENT, The.

In 1689, when Claverhouse was raising the Highland clans in favor of James II., "William Cleland, who had fought with distinguished bravery at Bothwell, and was one of the few men whom Claverhouse feared, made an offer to the [Scottish] Estates to raise a regiment among the Cameronians, under the colonelcy of the Earl of Angus, and the offer was accepted. Such was the origin of the Cameronian regiment. Its first lieutenant-colonel was Cleland; its first chaplain was Shields. Its courage was first tried at Dunkeld, where these 800 Covenanted warriors rolled back the tide of Celtic invasion; and since that, undegenerate though changed, it has won trophies in every quarter of the world."

J. Cunningham, Church History of Scotland, volume 2, chapter 7.

ALSO IN: J. Browne, History of the Highlands, volume 2, chapter 8.

CAMERONIANS, The.

See SCOTLAND: A. D. 1681-1689.

CAMISARDS, The revolt of the.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1702-1710.

CAMORRA, OR CAMORRISTI, The.

"Besides the regular authorities known to and avowed by the law … there existed under the Bourbon rule at Naples [overthrown by Garibaldi in 1860] a self-constituted authority more terrible than either. It was not easy to obtain exact proof of the operation of this authority, for it was impatient of question, its vengeance was prompt, and the instrument of that vengeance was the knife. In speaking of it as one authority it is possible to err, for different forms or branches of this secret institution at times revealed their existence by the orders which they issued. This secret influence was that of the Camorra, or Camorristi, a sort of combination of the violence of the middle ages, of the trades union tyranny of Sheffield, and of the blackmail levy of the borders. The Camorristi were a body of unknown individuals who subsisted on the public, especially on the smaller tradespeople. A man effected a sale of his ware; as the customer left his shop a man of the people would enter and demand the tax on the sale for the Camorra. None could escape from the odious tyranny. It was impalpable to the police. It did not confine itself to the industry of illicit taxation. It issued its orders. When the Italian Parliament imposed stamp duties, that sensibly increased the cost of litigation, that indispensable luxury of the Neapolitans, the advocates received letters warning them to cease all practice in the courts so long as these stamp duties were enforced. 'Otherwise,' continued the mandate, 'we shall take an early opportunity of arranging your affairs.' Signed by 'the Camorra of the avvocati.' The arrangement hinted at was to be made by the knife. … The Italian government, much to its credit, made a great onslaught on the Camorristi. Many were arrested, imprisoned or exiled, some even killed one another in prison. But the total eradication of so terrible a social vice must be [published in 1867] a work of great difficulty, perseverance and time."

The Trinity of Italy; by an English Civilian, page 70.

CAMP OF REFUGE AT ELY.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1069-1071.

CAMPAGNA, OR CAMPANIA.

"'The name of Campania,' says Pelligrini, 'which was first applied to the territory of Capua alone, extended itself by successive re-arrangements of the Italian provinces over a great part of Central Italy, and then gradually shrank back again into its birth-place, and at last became restricted to the limits of one city only, Naples, and that one of the least importance in Italy. What naturally followed was the total disuse of the name.' … The term Campania, therefore, became obsolete except in the writings of a few mediaeval authors, whose statements created some confusion by their ignorance of the different senses in which it had at different times been used. An impression seems, however, to have prevailed that the district of Capua had been so named on account of its flat and fertile nature, and hence every similar tract of plain country came to be called a campagna in the Italian language. The exact time when the name, which had thus become a mere appellative, was applied to the Roman Campagna is not accurately ascertained. … It will be seen that the term Roman Campagna is not a geographical definition of any district or province with clearly fixed limits, but that it is a name loosely employed in speaking of the tract which lies round the city of Rome."

R. Burn, Rome and the Campagna, chapter 14, note at end.

ALSO IN: Sir W. Gell, Topography of Rome, volume 1.

CAMPALDINO, Battle of.

See FLORENCE; A. D. 1289.

CAMPANIANS, The.

See SABINES; also, SAMNITES.

CAMPBELL, Sir Colin (Lord Clyde), The Indian Campaign of.

See INDIA: A. D. 1857-1858.

{355}

CAMPBELL'S STATION, Battle of.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1863 (OCTOBER-DECEMBER: TENNESSEE).

CAMPERDOWN, Naval battle of.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1797.

CAMPO-FORMIO, Peace of.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1797 (MAY-OCTOBER).

CAMPO SANTO, Battle of (1743).

See ITALY: A. D. 1741-1743.

CAMPO-TENESE, Battle of (1806).

See FRANCE: A. D. 1805-1806 (DECEMBER-SEPTEMBER).

CAMPUS MARTIUS AT ROME, The.

"The history of the Campus Martius presents us with a series of striking contrasts. It has been covered in successive ages, first by the cornfields of the Tarquinian dynasty, then by the parade ground of the great military republic, next by a forest of marble colonnades and porticoes, and, lastly, by a confused mass of mean and filthy streets, clustering round vast mansions, and innumerable churches of every size and description. … During the time of the Republic, the whole Campus seems to have been considered state property and was used as a military and athletic exercise ground and a place of meeting for the comitia centuriata."

R. Burn, Rome and the Campagna, chapter 13, part 1.

"We have hitherto employed this name to designate the whole of the meadow land bounded by the Tiber on one side, and on the other by the Collis Hortulorum, the Quirinal and the Capitoline. … But the Campus Martius, strictly speaking, was that portion only of the flat ground which lies in the angle formed by the bend of the stream. According to the narrative of Livy, it was the property of the Tarquins, and upon their expulsion was confiscated, and then consecrated to Mars; but Dionysius asserts that it had been previously set apart to the god and sacrilegiously appropriated by the tyrant. … During the republic the Campus Martius was employed specially for two purposes. (1.) As a place for holding the constitutional assemblies (comitia) especially the Comitia Centuriata, and also for ordinary public meetings (conciones). (2.) For gymnastic and warlike sports. For seven centuries it remained almost entirely open. … In the Comitia, the citizens, when their votes were taken, passed into enclosures termed septa, or ovilia, which were, for a long period, temporary wooden erections."

W. Ramsay, Manual of Roman Antiquity, chapter 1.

CAMULODUNUM.

See COLCHESTER, ORIGIN OF.

CAMUNI, The.

See RHÆTIANS.

CANAAN. CANAANITES.

"Canaan signifies 'the lowlands,' and was primarily the name of the coast on which the great cities of Phoenicia were built. As, however, the inland parts of the country were inhabited by a kindred population, the name came to be extended to designate the whole of Palestine, just as Palestine itself meant originally only the small territory of the Philistines."

A. H. Sayce, Fresh Light from the Ancient Monuments, chapter 2.

See PHŒNICIANS: ORIGIN AND EARLY HISTORY;

Also, JEWS: THE EARLY HEBREW HISTORY, and HAMITES.

—————CANAAN: End—————

CANADA. (NEW FRANCE.)

CANADA: Names.

"The year after the failure of Verrazano's last enterprise, 1525, Stefano Gomez sailed from Spain for Cuba and Florida; thence he steered northward in search of the long hoped-for passage to India, till he reached Cape Race, on the southeastern extremity of Newfoundland. The further details of his voyage remain unknown, but there is reason to suppose that he entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence and traded upon its shores. An ancient Castilian tradition existed that the Spaniards visited these coasts before the French, and having perceived no appearance of mines or riches, they exclaimed frequently 'Aca nada' [signifying 'here is nothing']; the natives caught up the sound, and when other Europeans arrived, repeated it to them. The strangers concluded that these words were a designation, and from that time this magnificent country bore the name of Canada. … Father Hennepin asserts that the Spaniards were the first discoverers of Canada, and that, finding nothing there to gratify their extensive desires for gold, they bestowed upon it the appellation of Capo di Nada, 'Cape Nothing,' whence by corruption its present name. … La Potherie gives the same derivation. … This derivation would reconcile the different assertions of the early discoverers, some of whom give the name of Canada to the whole valley of the St. Lawrence; others, equally worthy of credit, confine it to a small district in the neighbourhood of Stadacona (now Quebec). … Duponceau, in the Transactions of the [American] Philosophical Society, of Philadelphia, founds his conjecture of the Indian origin of the name of Canada upon the fact that, in the translation of the Gospel of St. Matthew into the Mohawk tongue, made by Brandt, the Indian chief, the word Canada is always used to signify a village. The mistake of the early discoverers, in taking the name of a part for that of the whole, is very pardonable in persons ignorant of the Indian language. … The natural conclusion … is, that the word Canada was a mere local appellation, without reference to the country; that each tribe had their own Canada, or collection of huts, which shifted its position according to their migrations."

E. Warburton, The Conquest of Canada, volume 1, chapter 1, and foot-note.

"Canada was the name which Cartier found attached to the land and there is no evidence that he attempted to displace it. … Nor did Roberval attempt to name the country, while the commission given him by the king does not associate the name of Francis or any new name therewith. … There seems to have been a belief in New England, at a later day, that Canada was derived from William and Emery de Caen (Cane, as the English spelled it), who were in New France in 1621, and later. Cf. Morton's 'New English Canaan,' Adam's edition, page 235, and Josselyn's 'Rarities,' page 5; also, J. Reade, in his history of geographical names in Canada, printed in New Dominion Monthly, xi. 344."

B. F. De Costa, Jacques Cartier and his Successors (Narrative and Critical History of America, volume 4, chapter 2), and Editor's foot-note.

{356}

"Cartier calls the St. Lawrence the 'River of Hochelaga,' or 'the great river of Canada.' He confines the name of Canada to a district extending from the Isle aux Coudres in the St. Lawrence to a point at some distance above the site of Quebec. The country below, he adds, was called by the Indians Saguenay, and that above, Hochelaga. In the map of Gerard Mercator (1569) the name Canada is given to a town, with an adjacent district, on the river Stadin (St. Charles). Lescarbot, a later writer, insists that the country on both sides of the St. Lawrence, from Hochelaga to its mouth, bore the name of Canada. In the second map of Ortelius, published about the year 1572; New France, Nova Francia is thus divided:—'Canada,' a district on the St. Lawrence above the River Saguenay; 'Chilaga' (Hochelaga), the angle between the Ottawa and the St. Lawrence; 'Saguenai,' a district below the river of that name; 'Moscosa,' south of the St. Lawrence and east of the River Richelieu; 'Avacal,' west and south of Moscosa; 'Norumbega,' Maine and New Brunswick; 'Apalachen,' Virginia, Pennsylvania, etc.; 'Terra Corterealis,' Labrador; 'Florida,' Mississippi, Alabama, Florida. Mercator confines the name of New France to districts bordering on the St. Lawrence. Others give it a much broader application. The use of this name, or the nearly allied names of Francisca and La Francisane, dates back, to say the least, as far as 1525, and the Dutch geographers are especially free in their use of it, out of spite to the Spaniards. The derivation of the name of Canada has been a point of discussion. It is, without doubt, not Spanish, but Indian. … Lescarbot affirms that Canada is simply an Indian proper name, of which it is vain to seek a meaning. Belleforest also calls it an Indian word, but translates it 'Terre,' as does also Thevet."

F. Parkman, Pioneers of France in the New World: Champlain, chapter 1, foot-note.

CANADA: The Aboriginal inhabitants.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ALGONQUIAN FAMILY; HURONS; OJIBWAYS; SIOUAN FAMILY; ATHAPASCAN FAMILY, AND ESKIMAUAN FAMILY.

CANADA: A. D. 1497-1498. Coast discoveries of the Cabots.

See AMERICA: A. D. 1497 and 1498.

CANADA: A. D. 1500. Cortereal on the coast.

See AMERICA: A. D. 1500.

CANADA: A. D. 1501-1504. Portuguese, Norman and Breton fishermen on the Newfoundland banks.

See NEWFOUNDLAND: A. D. 1501-1578.

CANADA: A. D. 1524. The coasting voyage of Verrazano.

See AMERICA: A. D. 1523-1524.

CANADA: A. D. 1534-1535. Possession taken by Jacques Cartier for the King of France.

See AMERICA: A. D. 1534-1535.

CANADA: A. D. 1541-1603. Jacques Cartier's last undertaking. Unsuccessful French attempts at Colonization.

See AMERICA: A. D. 1541-1603.

CANADA: A. D. 1603-1605. The Beginning of Champlain's Career in the New World. Colonization at Port Royal. Exploration of the New England coast.

In Pontgravé's expedition of 1603 to New France [see AMERICA: A. D. 1541-1603], "Samuel de Champlain, a captain in the navy, accepted a command …. at the request of De Chatte [or De Chastes]; he was a native of Saintonge, and had lately returned to France from the West Indies, where he had gained a high name for boldness and skill. Under the direction of this wise and energetic man the first successful efforts were made to found a permanent settlement in the magnificent province of Canada, and the stain of the errors and disasters of more than seventy years was at length wiped away. Pontgravé and Champlain sailed for the St. Lawrence in 1603," explored it as far as the rapids of St. Louis, and then returned to France. They found that the patron of their undertaking, De Chastes, was dead. "Pierre du Guast, Sieur de Monts, had succeeded to the powers and privileges of the deceased, with even a more extensive commission. De Monts was a Calvinist, and had obtained from the king the freedom of religious faith for himself and his followers in America, but under the engagement that the Roman Catholic worship should be established among the natives. … The trading company established by De Chatte was continued and increased by his successor. With this additional aid De Monts was enabled to fit out a more complete armament than had ever hitherto been engaged in Canadian commerce. He sailed from Havre on the 7th of March, 1604, with four vessels. Of these, two under his immediate command were destined for Acadia. Champlain, Poutrincourt, and many other volunteers, embarked their fortunes with him, purposing to cast their future lot in the New World. A third vessel was dispatched under Pontgravé to the Strait of Canso, to protect the exclusive trading privileges of the company. The fourth steered for Tadoussac, to barter for the rich furs brought by the Indian hunters from the dreary wilds of the Saguenay. On the 6th of May De Monts reached a harbor on the coast of Acadia;" but, for some reason not to be understood, his projected colony was quartered on the little islet of St. Croix, near the mouth of the river of that name, which became subsequently the boundary between Maine and New Brunswick. Meantime, the fine harbor, now Annapolis, then named Port Royal, had been discovered, and was granted, with a large surrounding territory, by De Monts to De Poutrincourt, who proposed to settle upon it as its feudal proprietor and lord. The colony at St. Croix having been housed and put in order, De Poutrincourt sailed for France, intending to bring his family and establish himself at Port Royal. De Monts, Champlain, and those who remained, suffered a winter of terrible hardships, and thirty-five died before spring. De Monts now resolved to seek a better site for his infant settlement, and, finding no other situation so good he resumed possession of that most desirable Port Royal which he had granted away to Poutrincourt and removed his colony thither. Champlain, meanwhile, in the summer of 1605, had explored the coast southward far down the future home of the English Puritans, looking into Massachusetts Bay, taking shelter in Plymouth harbor and naming it Port St. Louis, doubling Cape Cod (which he called Cap Blanc), turning back at Nausett Harbor, and gaining on the whole a remarkable knowledge of the country and its coast. Soon after Champlain's return from this coasting voyage, De Monts was called home to France, by news of machinations that were threatening to extinguish his patent, and Pontgravé was left in command of the colony at Port Royal.

E. Warburton, The Conquest of Canada, volume 1, chapter 3.

{357}

In De Monts' petition to the king for leave to colonize Acadia that region was defined "as extending from the 40th to the 46th degree of north latitude, or from Philadelphia to beyond Montreal."

F. Parkman, Pioneers of France in the New World: Champlain, chapter 3.

ALSO IN: E. F. Slafter, Memoir preface to "Voyages of Samuel de Champlain" (Prince Society, 1880), chapters 1-5.

CANADA: A. D. 1606-1608. The fortunes of the Acadian colony.

"De Monts found his pathway in France surrounded with difficulties. The Rochelle merchants who were partners in the enterprise desired a return for their investments. The Baron de Poutrincourt, who was still possessed with the desire to make the New World his home, proved of assistance to De Monts. De Poutrincourt returned to Acadia and encouraged the colonists, who were on the verge of deserting Port Royal. With De Poutrincourt emigrated at this time a Parisian advocate, named Mark Lescarbot, who was of great service to the colony. During the absence of De Poutrincourt on an exploring expedition down the coast, Lescarbot drained and repaired the colonists' fort, and made a number of administrative changes, much improving the condition of the settlers. The following winter was one of comfort, indeed of enjoyment. … In May, however, the sad news reached the colony that the company of the merchants on whom it depended had been broken up. Their dependence being gone, on the 30th of July most of the colonists left Acadia for France in vessels sent out for them. For two years the empty buildings of Port Royal stood, a melancholy sight, with not a white person in them, but under the safe protection of Memberton, the Micmak chief, who proved a trusty friend to the French. The opposition to the company of Rochelle arose from various causes. In addition to its financial difficulties the fact of De Monts being a Protestant was seized on as the reason why nothing was being done in the colony to christianize the Indians. Accordingly when De Monts, fired with a new scheme for exploring the northwest passage, turned over the management of Acadian affairs to De Poutrincourt, who was a sincere Catholic, some of the difficulties disappeared. It was not, however, till two years later that arrangements were made for a new Acadian expedition."

G. Bryce, Short History of the Canadian People, chapter 4, section 1.

ALSO IN: J. Hannay, History of Acadia, chapter 4.

CANADA: A. D. 1608-1611. Champlain's third and fourth expeditions. His settlement at Quebec, discovery of Lake Champlain, and first wars with the Iroquois.

"De Monts in no way lost heart, and he resolved to continue in the career of exploration for settlement. A new, expedition was determined on, and De Monts selected the Saint Lawrence as the spot where the effort should be made. Champlain counselled the change. In Nova Scotia and on the coast of New Brunswick and Maine he had been struck by the number of ports affording protection to vessels from sea, and by the small number of Indians whom he had met. In Nova Scotia he would be exposed to rival attempts at settlement, and at the same time he could not see the possibility of obtaining Indian allies. In Canada the full control would remain with those who first made a settlement on the Saint Lawrence, and Champlain counted the native tribes as powerful instruments in carrying out his policy. We have the key here to his conduct in assisting the Hurons in their wars. …. In 1608 Champlain started for the St. Lawrence. Pontgravé was with the expedition. A settlement was made at Quebec, as the most suitable place. Some ground was cleared, buildings were commenced, when a conspiracy was discovered. The ringleader was hanged and three of those actively implicated were sent back to France with Pontgravé on his return in the autumn. Matters now went peaceably on. The summer was passed in completing the 'Abitation de Quebec,' of which Champlain has left us a sketch. It was situated in the present Lower Town on the river bank, in the corner where Notre Dame Street meets Sous le Fort Street. It was here Champlain laid the foundation for the future city. Winter came, the scurvy carrying off twenty of their number. … In June, Des Marais, Pontgravé's son-in-law, arrived, telling him that Pontgravé was at Tadousac. Champlain proceeded thither. The question had then to be discussed, what policy should be followed with the Indians? Should they be aided by what force Champlain could command, in the expedition which they had resolved to make against the Iroquois? It is plain that no advance in discovery could have been made without their assistance, and that this assistance could only have been obtained by rendering them service. … With the view of making explorations beyond the points then known by Europeans, Champlain in the middle of June ascended the St. Lawrence. About a league and a half west of the river Saint Anne, they were joined by a party of Algonquins who were to form a part of the expedition. Champlain tells us of their mortal feud with the Iroquois, a proof that in no way he created it. They all returned to Quebec, where there was festivity for some days. It was brought to a close and the war parties started; Champlain with nine men, Des Marais and a pilot, joined it [them?]. With his Indian allies he ascended the Richelieu and reached Lake Champlain, the first white man who saw its waters: subsequently for 165 years to be the scene of contest between the Indian and white man, the French and English, the revolted Colonies and the Mother Country. … The advance up Lake Champlain was made only by night. They reached Crown Point. They were then in the Iroquois domain; very shortly they knew of the presence of the enemy." On the 30th of July the invaders fought a battle with the Iroquois, who fled in terror before the arquebuse of Champlain, which killed two of their chiefs and wounded a third. Soon after his return to Quebec from this expedition—the beginning of the long war of the French with the Iroquois—Champlain was summoned to France. The patent of De Monts had been revoked and he could not obtain its renewal. "Nevertheless, De Monts, with his associates decided to continue their efforts, and, in March, 1610, Champlain again started for Canada." After reaching Quebec his stay this time was short. He joined his Indian allies in another expedition of war, and helped them to win another victory over the Iroquois, at a place on the Richelieu, one league above Sorel. On returning he got news of the assassination of Henry IV. and started at once for France. {358} "The death of Henry IV. exercised great influence on the fortunes of Canada. He had personally taken interest in Champlain's voyages, and his energetic mind was well qualified to direct the fortunes of a growing colony. Louis XIII. was not then ten years old. Mary of Medecis was under the control of her favourites, Leonora Galigai, and her husband, Concino Concini. Richelieu had not then appeared on the scene. … The Jesuits were becoming all-powerful at Court. … France was unsettled and disordered. The Protestants, not without provocation, were acting with passion and without judgment. The assassination of the King had alarmed them. The whole kingdom was threatened with convulsion and anarchy, and Canada was to pass out of the notice of those in power: and, in the sense of giving aid, half a century was to elapse before the French Government could comprehend the duty of taking part in the defence of the country, and of protecting the persons of those living in New France. The ground was to be regarded simply as a field for the active trader, side by side with the devoted missionary. Thus the Government fell virtually under the control of the Jesuits, who, impatient of contra aimed only at the establishment of their authority, which was to bring the colony to the verge of destruction." Champlain returned to his colony in the spring of 1611, facing its prospects with such courage as he found in his own stout heart.

W. Kingsford, History of Canada, book 1, chapters 3, 4 (volume 1).

ALSO IN: E. B. O'Callaghan, editor., Doc. History of New York, volume 3, pages 1-9.

CANADA: A. D. 1610-1613. The Acadian colony revived, but destroyed by the English of Virginia.

Port Royal was left uninhabited till 1610, when Poutrincourt returned at the instance of the king to make the new settlement a central station for the conversion of the Indians,—a work which made some Jesuit missionaries prominent in the history of the New World. His son followed in 1611, with fathers Pierre Biard, and Enemond Masse. Madame la Marquise de Guercheville, a pious Catholic, to whom De Monts had ceded his title to Acadia, and to whom afterwards the French king granted the whole territory now covered by the United States, was the chief patroness of these voyages. Desiring to make another settlement, she despatched a vessel in 1613 with two more Jesuits, father Quentin and Gilbert Du Thet, and forty-eight men under La Saussaye. "When they arrived at Port Royal, they only found five persons—fathers Biard and Masse, their servant, the apothecary Hébert, and another. All the rest were absent, either hunting or trading. They showed the Queen's letter to Hébert, who represented Biencourt in his absence, and taking the two Jesuits, with their servant and luggage aboard, again set sail. It was their intention to establish the colony at Pentagoet, which father Biard had visited the year previous, but when off Grand Manan a thick fog came on, which lasted for two days, and when it became clear, they put into a harbor on the eastern side of Mount Desert Island, in Maine. The harbor was deep, secure and commodious, and they judged this would be a favorable site for the colony, and named the place St. Sauveur. … La Saussaye was advised by the principal colonists to erect a sufficient fortification before commencing to cultivate the soil, but he disregarded this advice, and nothing was completed in the way of defence, except the raising of a small palisaded structure, when a storm burst upon the colony, which was little expected by its founders. In 1607 a company of London merchants had founded a colony on the James River, in Virginia, where, after suffering greatly from the insalubrity of the climate and want of provisions, they had attained a considerable degree of property. In 1613 they sent a fleet of eleven vessels to fish on the coast of Acadia, convoyed by an armed vessel under the command of Captain Samuel Argal, who had been connected with the colony since 1609. Argal was one of those adventurers formed in the school of Drake, who made a trade of piracy, but confined themselves to the robbery of those who were so unfortunate as not to be their own countrymen. … When Argal arrived at Mount Desert, he was told by the Indians that the French were there in the harbor with a vessel. Learning that they were not very numerous, he at once resolved to attack them. All the French were ashore when Argal approached, except ten men, most of whom were unacquainted with the working of a ship. Argal attacked the French with musketry, and at the second discharge Gilbert Du Thet fell hack, mortally wounded; four others were severely injured, and two young men, named Lemoine and Neveau, jumped overboard and were drowned. Having taken possession of the vessel, Argal went ashore and informed La Saussaye that the place where they were was English territory, and included in the charter of Virginia, and that they must remove; but, if they could prove to him that they were there under a commission from the crown of France, he would treat them tenderly. He then asked La Saussaye to show him his commission; but, as Argal, with unparalleled indecency, had abstracted it from his chest while the vessel was being plundered by his men, the unhappy governor was of course unable to produce it. Argal then assumed a very lofty tone. … When Argal arrived in Virginia, he found that his perfidious theft of the French governor's commission was likely to cause his prisoners to be treated as pirates. They were put into prison and in a fair way of being executed, in spite of Argal's remonstrances, until struck with shame and remorse, he produced the commission which he had so dishonestly filched from them, and the prisoners were set free. But the production of this document, while it saved the lives of one set of Frenchmen, brought ruin upon all the others who remained in Acadia. The Virginia colonists … resolved to send Argal to destroy all the French settlements in Acadia, and erase all traces of their power. … The only excuse offered for this piratical outrage of Argal—which was committed during a period of profound peace—was the claim which was made by England to the whole continent of North America, founded on the discoveries of the Cabots more than a century before. That claim might, perhaps, have been of some value if followed by immediate occupancy, as was the case with the Spaniards in the South, but that not having been done, and the French colony being the oldest, it was entitled to, at least, as much consideration as that of Virginia. Singularly enough, this act produced no remonstrance from France."

J. Hannay, History of Acadia, chapter 5.

ALSO IN: W. C. Bryant and S. H. Gay, Popular History of the United States, volume 1, chapter 12.

{359}

CANADA: A. D. 1611-1616. The founding of Montreal. Champlain's invasion of the Iroquois in New York.

"In 1611 Champlain again returned to America … and on the 28th of May proceeded in search of his allies, whom he was to meet by appointment. Not finding them he employed his time in choosing a site for a new settlement, higher up the river than Quebec. After a careful survey, he fixed upon an eligible spot in the vicinity of Mont Royal. His choice has been amply justified by the great prosperity to which this place, under the name of Montreal, has subsequently risen. Having cleared a considerable space of ground, he fenced it in by an earthen ditch and planted grain in the enclosure. At length, on the 13th of June, three weeks after the time appointed, a party of his Indian friends appeared. … As an evidence of their good will they imparted much valuable information respecting the geography of this continent, with which they seemed to be tolerably well acquainted as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. They readily agreed to his proposal to return shortly with 40 or 50 of his people to prosecute discoveries and form settlements in their country if he thought proper. They even made a request that a French youth should accompany them, and make observations upon their territory and tribe. Champlain again returned to France, with a view of making arrangements for more extensive operations; but this object was now of very difficult accomplishment. De Monts, who had been appointed governor of Saintonge, was no longer inclined to take the lead in measures of this kind, and excused himself from going to court by stating the urgency of his own affairs. He therefore committed the whole conduct of the settlement to Champlain, advising him, at the same time, to seek some powerful protector, whose influence would overcome any opposition which might be made to his plans. The latter was so fortunate as to win over, almost immediately, the Count de Soissons to aid him in his designs. This nobleman obtained the title of lieutenant-general of New France; and, by a formal agreement, transferred to Champlain all the functions of that high office. The Count died soon after, but Champlain found a still more influential friend in the Prince of Conde, who succeeded to all the privileges of the deceased, and transferred them to him in a manner equally ample. These privileges, including a monopoly of the fur trade, gave great dissatisfaction to the merchants; but Champlain endeavored to remove their principal objection, by permitting as many of them as chose to accompany him to the New World, and to engage in this traffic. In consequence of this permission, three merchants from Normandy, one from Rochelle, and one from St. Malo, accompanied him. They were allowed the privileges of a free trade on contributing six men each to assist in projects of discovery, and giving one-twentieth of their profits towards defraying the expenses of the settlement. In the beginning of March [1613] the expedition sailed from Harfleur, and on the 7th of May arrived at Quebec. Champlain now engaged in a new project." His new project was a voyage of exploration up the Ottawa River, which he accomplished with great difficulty, through the aid of his Indian allies, but from which he returned disappointed in the hope he had entertained of discovering the northern sea and a way to India thereby. The next summer found Champlain again in France, where "matters still continued favorable for the colony. The Prince of Conde retained his influence at Court, and no difficulty was consequently found in equipping a small fleet, to carry out settlers and supplies from Rouen and St. Malo. On board of this fleet came four fathers of the order of the Recollets, whose benevolence induced them to desire the conversion of the Indians to Christianity. These were the first priests who settled in Canada. Champlain arrived safely, on the 25th of May, at Tadoussac, whence he immediately pushed forward to Quebec, and subsequently to the usual place of Indian rendezvous, at the Lachine Rapids. Here he found his Algonquin and Huron allies full of projects of war against the Iroquois, whom they now proposed to assail among the lakes to the westward, with a force of 2,000 fighting men."

J. MacMullen, History of Canada, chapter 1

"Champlain found the Hurons and their allies preparing for an expedition against their ancient enemies, the Iroquois. Anxious to reconnoitre the hostile territory, and also to secure the friendship of the Canadian savages, the gallant Frenchman resolved to accompany their warriors. After visiting the tribes at the head waters of the Ottawa, and discovering Lake Huron [at Georgian Bay], which, because of its 'great extent,' he named 'La Mer Douce,' Champlain, attended by an armed party of ten Frenchmen, accordingly set out toward the south, with his Indian allies. Enraptured with the 'very beautiful and pleasant country' through which they passed, and amusing themselves with fishing and hunting, as they descended the chain of 'Shallow Lakes,' which discharge their waters through the River Trent, the expedition reached the banks of Lake Ontario. Crossing the end of the lake, 'at the outlet of the great River of Saint Lawrence,' and passing by many beautiful islands on the way, the invaders followed the eastern shore of Ontario for fourteen leagues, toward their enemy's country. … Leaving the shores of the lake, the invaders continued their route inland to the southward, for 25 or 30 leagues." After a journey of five days, "the expedition arrived before the fortified village of the Iroquois, on the northern bank of the Onondaga Lake, near the site of the present town of Liverpool. The village was inclosed by four rows of palisades, made of large pieces of timber closely interlaced. The stockade was 30 feet high, with galleries running around like a parapet." In the siege which followed the Iroquois were dismayed by the firearms of Champlain and his men, and by the operation of a moveable tower with which he advanced to their stockade and set fire to it. But his Indian allies proved incapable of acting in any rational or efficient way, or to submit to the least direction, and the attack was abortive. After a few days the invading force retreated, carrying Champlain with them and forcing him to remain in the Huron country until the following spring (1616), when he made his way back to Montreal.

J. R. Brodhead, History of the State of New York, volume 1, chapter 3.

{360}

The above account, which fixes on Onondaga Lake the site of the Iroquois fort to which Champlain penetrated, does not agree with the views of Parkman, O'Callaghan, and some other historians, who trace Champlain's route farther westward in New York; but it accepts the conclusions reached by O. H. Marshall, J. V. H. Clark, and other careful students of the question. Mr. MacMullen, in the "History of Canada" quoted above, finds an extraordinary route for the expedition via Lakes Huron and St. Clair, to the vicinity of Detroit.

J. V. H. Clark, History of Onondaga.

ALSO IN: O. H. Marshall, Champlain's Expedition against the Onondagas. Champlain's Voyages (Prince Society). 1880.

E. B. O'Callaghan, editor, Doc. History of New York, volume 3, pages 10-24.

CANADA: A. D. 1616-1628. Champlain and the fur traders. The first Jesuit mission. Creation of the Company of the Hundred Associates.

"The exploration in the distant Indian territories which we have just described in the preceding pages was the last made by Champlain. He had plans for the survey of other regions yet unexplored, but the favorable opportunity did not occur. Henceforth he directed his attention more exclusively than he had hitherto done to the enlargement and strengthening of his colonial plantation, without such success, we regret to say, as his zeal, devotion and labors fitly deserved. The obstacles that lay in his way were insurmountable. The establishment or factory, we can hardly call it a plantation, at Quebec, was the creature of a company of merchants. They had invested considerable sums in shipping, buildings, and in the employment of men, in order to carry on a trade in furs and peltry with the Indians, and they naturally desired remunerative returns. This was the limit of their purpose in making the investment. … Under these circumstances, Champlain struggled on for years against a current which he could barely direct, but by no means control. … He succeeded at length in extorting from the company a promise to enlarge the establishment to 80 persons, with suitable equipments, farming implements, all kinds of seeds, and domestic animals, including cattle and sheep. But when the time came, this promise was not fulfilled. Differences, bickerings and feuds sprang up in the company. Some wanted one thing, and some wanted another. The Catholics wished to extend the faith of their church into the wilds of Canada, while the Huguenots desired to prevent it, or at least not to promote it by their own contributions. The company, inspired by avarice and a desire to restrict the establishment to a mere trading post, raised an issue to discredit Champlain. It was gravely proposed that he should devote himself exclusively to exploration, and that the government and trade should henceforth be under the direction and control of Pont Gravé. But Champlain … obtained a decree ordering that he should have the command at Quebec, and at all other settlements in New France, and that the company should abstain from any interference with him in the discharge of the duties of his office." In 1620 the Prince de Condé sold his viceroyalty to the Duke de Montmorency, then high-admiral of France, who commissioned Champlain anew, as his lieutenant, and supported him vigorously. Champlain had made voyages to Canada in 1617 and 1618, and now, in 1620, he proceeded to his post again. At Quebec he began immediately the building of a fort, which he called fort St. Louis. The company of associates opposed this work, and so provoked the Duke of Montmorency by their conduct that "in the spring of 1621, he summarily dissolved the association of merchants, which he denominated the 'Company of Rouen and St. Malo,' and established another in its place. He continued Champlain in the office of lieutenant, but committed all matters relating to trade to William de Caen, a merchant of high standing, and to Émeric de Caen, the nephew of the former, a good naval captain." In the course of the following year, however, the new and the old trading companies were consolidated in one. "Champlain remained at Quebec four years before again returning to France. His time was divided between many local enterprises of great importance. His special attention was given to advancing the work on the unfinished fort, in order to provide against incursions of the hostile Iroquois, who at one time approached the very walls of Quebec, and attacked unsuccessfully the guarded house of the Recollects on the St. Charles." In the summer of 1624 Champlain returned again to France, where the Duke de Montmorency was just selling, or had sold, his viceroyalty to the Duke de Ventadour. "This nobleman, of a deeply religious cast of mind, had taken holy orders, and his chief purpose in obtaining the viceroyalty was to encourage the planting of Catholic missions in New France. As his spiritual directors were Jesuits, he naturally committed the work to them. Three fathers and two lay brothers of this order were sent to Canada in 1625, and others subsequently joined them. … Champlain was reappointed lieutenant, but remained in France two years." Returning to Quebec in July, 1626, he found, as usual, that everything but trade had suffered neglect in his absence. Nor was he able, during the following year, to improve much the prospects of the colony. As a colony, "it had never prospered. The average number composing it had not exceeded about 50 persons. At this time it may have been somewhat more, but did not reach a hundred. A single family only appears to have subsisted by the cultivation of the soil. The rest were sustained by supplies sent from France. … The company as a mere trading association, was doubtless successful. … The large dividends that they were able to make, intimated by Champlain to be not far from forty per centum yearly, were, of course, highly satisfactory to the company. … Nearly twenty years had elapsed since the founding of Quebec, and it still possessed only the character of a trading post, and not that of a colonial plantation. This progress was satisfactory neither to Champlain, to the Viceroy, nor to the Council of State. In the view of these several interested parties, the time had come for a radical change in the organization of the company. Cardinal de Richelieu had risen by his extraordinary ability as a statesman, a short time anterior to this, into supreme authority. … He lost no time in organizing measures. … The company of merchants whose finances had been so skilfully managed by the Caens was by him at once dissolved. A new one was formed, denominated 'La Compagnie de la Nouvelle-France,' consisting of a hundred or more members, and commonly known as the Company of the Hundred Associates. It was under the control and management of Richelieu himself. {361} Its members were largely gentlemen in official positions. … Its authority extended over the whole domain of New France and Florida. … It entered into an obligation … within the space of 15 years to transport 4,000 colonists to New France. … The organization of the company … was ratified by the Council of State on the 6th of May, 1628."

E. F. Slafter, Memoir of Champlain (Voyages: Prince Society, 1880, volume 1), chapter 9.

ALSO IN: Père Charlevoix, History of New France, translated by J. G. Shea, book 4 (volume 2).

CANADA: A. D. 1628-1635. Conquest and brief occupation by the English. Restoration to France.

"The first care of the new Company was to succor Quebec, whose inmates were on the verge of starvation. Four armed vessels, with a fleet of transports commanded by Roquemont, one of the associates, sailed from Dieppe with colonists and supplies in April, 1628; but nearly at the same time another squadron, destined also for Quebec, was sailing from an English port. War had at length broken out in France. The Huguenot revolt had come to a head. Rochelle was in arms against the king; and Richelieu, with his royal ward, was beleaguering it with the whole strength of the kingdom. Charles I. of England, urged by the heated passions of Buckingham, had declared himself for the rebels, and sent a fleet to their aid. … The attempts of Sir William Alexander to colonize Acadia had of late turned attention in England towards the New World; and, on the breaking out of the war, an expedition was set on foot, under the auspices of that singular personage, to seize on the French possessions in North America. It was a private enterprise, undertaken by London merchants, prominent among whom was Gervase Kirke, an Englishman of Derbyshire, who had long lived at Dieppe, and had there married a Frenchwoman. Gervase Kirke and his associates fitted out three small armed ships, commanded respectively by his sons David, Lewis and Thomas. Letters of marque were obtained from the king, and the adventurers were authorized to drive out the French from Acadia and Canada. Many Huguenot refugees were among the crews. Having been expelled from New France as settlers, the persecuted sect were returning as enemies." The Kirkes reached the St. Lawrence in advance of Roquemont's supply ships, intercepted the latter and captured or sank the whole. They then sailed back to England with their spoils, and it was not until the following summer that they returned to complete their conquest. Meantime, the small garrison and population at Quebec were reduced to starvation, and were subsisting on acorns and roots when, in July 1629, Admiral David Kirke, with his three ships, appeared before the place. Champlain could do nothing but arrange a dignified surrender. For three years following, Quebec and New France remained under the control of the English. They were then restored, under a treaty stipulation to France. "It long remained a mystery why Charles consented to a stipulation which pledged him to resign so important a conquest. The mystery is explained by the recent discovery of a letter from the king to Sir Isaac Wake, his ambassador at Paris. The promised dowry of Queen Henrietta Maria, amounting to 800,000 crowns, had been but half paid by the French government, and Charles, then at issue with his Parliament and in desperate need of money, instructs his ambassador that, when he receives the balance due, and not before, he is to give up to the French both Quebec and Port Royal, which had also been captured by Kirke. The letter was accompanied by 'solemn instruments under our hand and seal' to make good the transfer on fulfilment of the condition. It was for a sum equal to about $240,000 that Charles entailed on Great Britain and her colonies a century of bloody wars. The Kirkes and their associates, who had made the conquest at their own cost, under the royal authority, were never reimbursed, though David Kirke received the honor of knighthood, which cost the king nothing,"—and also the grant of Newfoundland. On the 5th of July, 1632, Quebec was delivered up by Thomas Kirke to Émery de Caen, commissioned by the French king to reclaim the place. The latter held command for one year, with a monopoly of the fur trade; then Champlain resumed the government, on behalf of the Hundred Associates, continuing in it until his death, which occurred on Christmas Day, 1635.

F. Parkman, Pioneers of France in the New World: Champlain, chapters 16-17.

ALSO IN: Calendar of State Papers: Colonial Series, 1574-1660, pages 96-143.

D. Brymuer, Report on Canadian Archives, pages xi-xiv, and note D.

H. Kirke, First English Conquest of Canada.

See, also, NEWFOUNDLAND, A. D. 1610-1655.

CANADA: A. D. 1634-1652. The Jesuit missions and their fate.

The first of the Jesuit missionaries came to Quebec in 1625, as stated above, but it was not until nearly seven years later that they made their way into the heart of the Indian country and began there their devoted work. "The Father Superior of the Mission was Paul le Jeune, a man devoted in every fibre of mind and heart to the work on which he had come. He utterly scorned difficulty and pain. He had received the order to depart for Canada 'with inexpressible joy at the prospect of a living or dying martyrdom.' Among his companions was Jean de Brébœuf, a man noble in birth and aspect, of strong intellect and will, of zeal which knew no limit, and recognized no obstacle in the path of duty. … Far in the west, beside a great lake of which the Jesuits had vaguely heard, dwelt the Hurons, a powerful nation with many kindred tribes over which they exercised influence. The Jesuits resolved to found a mission among the Hurons. Once in every year a fleet of canoes came down the great river, bearing six or seven hundred Huron warriors, who visited Quebec to dispose of their furs, to gamble and to steal. Brébœuf and two companions took passage [1634] with the returning fleet, and set out for the dreary scene of their new apostolate. … The Hurons received with hospitable welcome the black-robed strangers. The priests were able to repay the kindness with services of high value. They taught more effective methods of fortifying the town in which they lived. They promised the help of a few French musketeers against an impending attack by the Iroquois. They cured diseases; they bound up wounds. They gave simple instruction to the young, and gained the hearts of their pupils by gifts of beads and raisins. The elders of the people came to have the faith explained to them: they readily owned that it was a good faith for the French, but they could not be persuaded that it was suitable for the red man. {362} The fathers laboured in hope and the savages learned to love them. … Some of their methods of conversion were exceedingly rude. A letter from Father Garnier has been preserved in which pictures are ordered from France for the spiritual improvement of the Indians. Many representations of souls in perdition are required, with appropriate accompaniment of flames, and triumphant demons tearing them with pincers. One picture of saved souls would suffice, and 'a picture of Christ without a beard.' They were consumed by a zeal for the baptism of little children. At the outset the Indians welcomed this ceremonial, believing that it was a charm to avert sickness and death. But when epidemics wasted them they charged the calamity against the mysterious operations of the fathers, and refused now to permit baptism. The fathers recognized the hand of Satan in this prohibition, and refused to submit to it. They baptized by stealth. … In time, the patient, self-denying labour of the fathers might have won those discouraging savages to the cross; but a fatal interruption was at hand. A powerful and relentless enemy, bent on extermination, was about to sweep over the Huron territory, involving the savages and their teachers in one common ruin. Thirty-two years had passed since those ill judged expeditions in which Champlain had given help to the Hurons against the Iroquois. The unforgiving savages had never forgotten the wrong. … The Iroquois [1648-1649] attacked in overwhelming force the towns of their Huron enemies; forced the inadequate defences; burned the palisades and wooden huts; slaughtered with indescribable tortures the wretched inhabitants. In one of these towns they found Brébœuf and one of his companions. They bound the ill fated missionaries to stakes; they hung around their necks collars of red-hot iron; they poured boiling water on their heads; they cut stripes of flesh from their quivering limbs and ate them in their sight. To the last Brébœuf cheered with hopes of heaven the native converts who shared his agony. And thus was gained the crown of martyrdom for which in the fervour of their enthusiasm, these good men had long yearned. In a few years the Huron nation was extinct; famine and small-pox swept off those whom the Iroquois spared. The Huron mission was closed by the extirpation of the race for whom it was founded. Many of the missionaries perished; some returned to France. Their labour seemed to have been in vain; their years of toil and suffering left no trace."

R. Mackenzie, America: A History, pages 326-332.

"With the fall of the Hurons, fell the best hope of the Canadian mission. They, and the stable and populous communities around them, had been the rude material from which the Jesuit would have formed his Christian empire in the wilderness; but, one by one, these kindred peoples were uprooted and swept away, while the neighboring Algonquins, to whom they had been a bulwark, were involved with them in a common ruin. … In a measure, the occupation of the Jesuits was gone. Some of them went home, 'well resolved,' writes the Father Superior, 'to return to the combat at the first sound of the trumpet'; while of those who remained, about twenty in number, several soon fell victims to famine, hardship and the Iroquois. A few years more, and Canada ceased to be a mission. Political and commercial interests gradually became ascendant, and the story of Jesuit propagandism was interwoven with her civil and military annals."

F. Parkman, The Jesuits in North America, chapter 34.

ALSO IN: Father Charlevoix, History of New France, translated by Shea, books 5-7 (volume 2).

J. G. Shea, The Jesuits, Recollects, and the Indians (Narrative and Critical History of America, volume 4, chapter 6).

CANADA: A. D. 1634-1673. Nicolet. Marquette. Joliet. Pioneer exploration in the West and discovery of the Mississippi.

When Champlain gave up his work, the map of New France was blank beyond Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay. The first of the French explorers who widened it far westward was a Norman named Jean Nicolet, who came to America in 1618, and who was trained for many years in Champlain's service. "After dwelling some time among the Nipissings, he visited the Far West; seemingly between the years 1634 and 1640. In a birch-bark canoe, the brave Norman voyageur crossed or coasted Lake Huron, entered the St. Mary's River, and, first of white men, stood at the strait now called Sault Ste Marie. He does not seem to have known of Lake Superior, but returned down the St. Mary's River, passed from Lake Huron through the western detour to Michilimackinac, and entered another fresh-water sea, Mitchigannon or Michigan, also afterwards known as the Lake of the Illinois, Lake St. Joseph, Lake Dauphin, or even Algonquin Lake. Here he visited the Menomonee tribe of Indians, and after them the Winnibagoes. … The fierce wrath of the Iroquois had driven numbers of the Hurons, Ottawas, and several minor Algonquin tribes westward. The Iroquois, like a wedge, had split the northern tribes into east and west. Sault Ste Marie became a central point for the refugees. … Another gathering place for the fugitives had been found very near the south-west corner of this great lake. This was La Pointe, one of the Apostle Islands, near the present town of Ashland in Wisconsin. The Jesuits took up these two points as mission centres. … In 1669 the Fathers Dablon and Marquette, with their men, had erected a palisaded fort, enclosing a chapel and house, at Sault Ste Marie. In the same year Father Allouez had begun a mission at Green Bay. In 1670 an intrepid explorer, St. Lusson, under orders from Intendant Talon, came west searching for copper-mines. He was accompanied by the afterwards well-known Joliet. When this party arrived at Sault Ste Marie, the Indians were gathered together in great numbers, and with imposing ceremonies St. Lusson took possession of 'Sainte Marie du Saut, as also of Lakes Huron and Superior, the island of Manetoulin, and all countries, rivers, lakes, and streams contiguous and adjacent thereunto.' … It was undoubtedly the pressing desire of the Jesuit fathers to visit the country of the Illinois and their great river that led to the discovery of the 'Father of Waters.' Father Allouez indeed had already ascended the Fox River from Lake Michigan, and seen the marshy lake which is the head of a tributary of the Mississippi. At last on June 4th, 1672, the French minister, Colbert, wrote to Talon: 'As after the increase of the colony there is nothing more important for the colony than the discovery of a passage to the South Sea, his Majesty wishes you to give it your attention.' {363} This message to the Intendant came as he was leaving for France, and he recommended the scheme and the explorer he had in view for carrying it out to the notice of the Governor, Frontenac, who had just arrived. Governor Frontenac approved and the explorer started. The man chosen for the enterprise was Louis Joliet, who had already been at Sault Ste Marie. He was of humble birth, and was a native of New France. … The French Canadian explorer was acceptable to the missionaries, and immediately journeyed west to meet Marquette, who was to accompany him. … M. Joliet met the priest Marquette at St. Ignace Mission, Michilimackinac. Jacques Marquette, of whom we have already heard, was born in 1637 at Laon, Champagne, in France. He sprang of an ancient and distinguished family. … On May 17th, 1673, with deepest religious emotion, the trader and missionary launched forth on Lake Michigan their two canoes, containing seven Frenchmen in all, to make the greatest discovery of the time. They hastened to Green Bay, followed the course of Father Allouez up the Fox River, and reached the tribe of the Mascoutins or Fire Nation on this river. These were new Indians to the explorers. They were peaceful, and helped the voyagers on their way. With guides furnished, the two canoes were transported for 2,700 paces, and the head waters of the Wisconsin were reached. After an easy descent of 30 or 40 leagues, on June 17th, 1673, the feat was accomplished, the Mississippi was discovered by white men, and the canoes shot out upon its surface in latitude 43°. Sailing down the great river for a month, the party reached the village of Akansea, on the Arkansas River, in latitude 34°, and on July 17th began their return journey. It is but just to say that some of the Recollet fathers, between whom and the Jesuits jealousy existed, have disputed the fact of Joliet and Marquette ever reaching this point. The evidence here seems entirely in favour of the explorers. On their return journey the party turned from the Mississippi into a tributary river in latitude 38°. This was the Illinois. Ascending this, the Indian town of Kaskaskia was reached, and here for a time Father Marquette remained. Joliet and his party passed on," arriving at Montreal in due time, but losing all their papers in the rapids of the St. Lawrence. Father Marquette established a mission among the Illinois Indians, but his labors were cut short. He died while on a journey to Green Bay, May 18, 1675. "High encomiums of Father Marquette fill—and deservedly so—the 'Jesuit Relations.' We have his autograph map of the Mississippi. This great stream he desired to call 'Conception River,' but the name, like those of 'Colbert' and 'Buade' [the family name of Count Frontenac], which were both bestowed upon it, have failed to take the place of the musical Indian name."

G. Bryce, Short History of the Canadian People, chapter 5, section 3.

ALSO IN: F. Parkman, La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West, chapters 2-5.

C. W. Butterfield, History of the Discovery of the Northwest by Nicolet.

J. W. Monette, History of the Discovery and settlement of the Valley of the Mississippi, book 2, chapter 1 (volume l).

S. S. Hebberd, History of Wisconsin under the dominion of France, chapters 1-2.

CANADA: A. D. 1637-1657. The Sulpician settlement of Montreal and religious activity at Quebec.

Champlain was succeeded as governor of New France by M. de Châteaufort, of whose brief administration little is known, and the latter was followed by M. de Montmagny, out of the translation of whose name the Indians formed the title Onontio, signifying "Great Mountain," which they afterwards applied to all the French governors. Montmagny entered with zeal into the plans of Champlain, "but difficulties accumulated on all sides. Men and money were wanting, trade languished, and the Associated Company in France were daily becoming indifferent to the success of the colony. Some few merchants and inhabitants of the outposts, indeed, were enriched by the profitable dealings of the fur-trade, but their suddenly-acquired wealth excited the jealousy rather than increased the general prosperity of the settlers. The work of religious institutions was alone pursued with vigor and success in those times of failure and discouragement. At Sillery, one league from Quebec, an establishment was founded for the instruction of the savages and the diffusion of Christian light [1637]. The Hotel Dieu owed its existence to the Duchesse d'Aiguillon two years afterward, and the convent of the Ursulines was founded by the pious and high-born Madame de la Peltrie. The partial success and subsequent failure of Champlain and his Indian allies in their encounters with the Iroquois had emboldened these brave and politic savages. They now captured several canoes belonging to the Hurons, laden with furs, which that friendly people were conveying to Quebec. Montmagny's military force was too small to allow of his avenging this insult; he, however, zealously promoted an enterprise to build a fort and effect a settlement on the island of Montreal, which he fondly hoped would curb the audacity of his savage foes. The Associated Company would render no aid whatever to this important plan, but the religious zeal of the Abbé Olivier overcame all difficulties. He obtained a grant of Montreal from the king, and dispatched the Sieur de Maisonneuve and others to take possession. On the 17th of May, 1641, the place destined for the settlement was consecrated by the superior of the Jesuits. At the same time the governor erected a fort at the entrance of the River Richelieu," which so far checked the Iroquois that they entered into a treaty of peace and respected it for a brief period.

E. Warburton, The Conquest of Canada, volume 1, chapter 12.

The settlement of Montreal was undertaken by an association of thirty-five rich and influential persons in France, among whom was the Duke de Liancourt de la Hoche Guyon. "This company obtained a concession of the island in 1640, and a member of the association arrived at Quebec from France with several immigrating families, some soldiers, and an armament valued at 25,000 piastres." In 1642 "a reinforcement of colonists arrived, led by M. d'Ailleboust de Musseau. During the following year, a second party came. At this time the European population resident in Canada did not exceed 200 souls. The immigrants who now entered it had been selected with the utmost care."

A. Bell, History of Canada, book 3, chapter 1 (volume 1).

In 1657 the seigniority of Montreal was ceded to the Seminary of St. Sulpice in Paris, where the reins of its government were held until 1692.

Father Charlevoix, History of New France, translated by Shea, volume 3, page 23.

ALSO IN: F. Parkman, The Jesuits in North America, chapters 13-15.

{364}

CANADA: A. D. 1640-1700. The wars with the Iroquois.

"From about the year 1640 to the year 1700, a constant warfare was maintained between the Iroquois and the French, interrupted occasionally by negotiations and brief intervals of peace. As the former possessed both banks of the St. Lawrence, and the circuits of lakes Erie and Ontario, they intercepted the fur trade, which the French were anxious to maintain with the western nations. … The war parties of the League ranged through these territories so constantly that it was impossible for the French to pass in safety through the lakes, or even up the St. Lawrence above Montreal. … So great was the fear of these sudden attacks, that both the traders and the missionaries were obliged to ascend the Ottawa river to near its source, and from thence to cross over to the Sault St. Marie, and the shores of Lake Superior. … To retaliate for these frequent inroads, and to prevent their recurrence, the country of the Iroquois was often invaded by the French. … In 1665, M. Courcelles, governor of Canada, led a strong party into the country of the Mohawks; but the hardships they encountered rendered it necessary for them to return without accomplishing their purpose. The next year, M. de Tracy, Viceroy of New France, with 1,200 French and 600 Indians, renewed the invasion with better success. He captured Te-ä-ton-ta-ló-ga, one of the principal villages of the Mohawks, situated at the mouth of the Schoharie Creek; but after destroying the town, and the stores of corn, which they found in caches, they were obliged to retire without meeting an opposing force. Again, in 1684. M. De La Barre, then governor of Canada, entered the country of the Onondagas, with about 1,800 men. Having reached Hungry Bay, on the east shore of lake Ontario, a conference was had with a delegation of Iroquois chiefs. … A species of armistice was finally agreed upon, and thus the expedition ended. A more successful enterprise was projected and carried into execution in 1687 by M. De Nonville, then governor of Canada. Having raised a force of 2,000 French and 600 Indians, he embarked them in a fleet of 200 bateau, and as many birch bark canoes. After coasting lake Ontario from Kingston to Irondequoit bay, in the territory of the Senecas, he landed at the head of this bay, and found himself within a few miles of the principal villages of the Senecas, which were then in the counties of Ontario and Monroe." After one battle with about 500 of the Senecas, the latter retreated into the interior, and the French destroyed four of their villages, together with the surrounding fields of growing corn. "To retaliate for this invasion, a formidable party of the Iroquois, in the fall of the same year, made a sudden descent upon Fort Chambly, on the Sorel River, near Montreal. Unable to capture the fort, which was resolutely defended by the garrison, they ravaged the settlements adjacent, and returned with a number of captives. About the same time, a party of 800 attacked Frontenac, on the site of Kingston, and destroyed and laid waste the plantations and establishments of the French without the fortification. In July of the ensuing year the French were made to feel still more sensibly the power of their revenge. A band of 1,200 warriors, animated with the fiercest resentment, made a descent upon the island of Montreal. … All that were without the fortifications fell under the rifle or the relentless tomahawk. Their houses were burned, their plantations ravaged, and the whole island covered with desolation. About 1,000 of the French, according to some writers, perished in this invasion, or were carried into captivity. … Overwhelmed by this sudden disaster, the French destroyed their forts at Niagara and Frontenac, and thus yielded the whole country west of Montreal to the possession of the Iroquois. At this critical period Count Frontenac again became governor of Canada, and during the short residue of his life devoted himself, with untiring energy, to restore its declining prosperity."

L. H. Morgan, League of the Iroquois, book 1, chapter 1.

ALSO IN: W. Kingsford, History of Canada, books 2-4 (volumes 1-2).

E. B. O'Callaghan, editor, Doc. History of New York, volume 1, pages 57-278.

J. R. Brodhead, History of the State of New York, volume 2, chapters 3 and 8.

O. H. Marshall, Expedition of the Marquis de Nonville against the Senecas (Historical Writings, pages 123-186).

CANADA: A. D. 1660-1688. French encroachments and English concessions in Newfoundland.

See NEWFOUNDLAND: A. D. 1660-1688.

CANADA: A.D. 1663-1674. Erected by Colbert into a Royal Province. Brief career of the French West India Company.

"In 1663 the proceedings of the company [of the hundred associates] became so obnoxious that the king of France decided upon the immediate resumption of his rights, and the erecting of Canada into a royal government: Monsieur de Mésy was appointed governor, and proceeded from France to Quebec with 400 regular troops, and 100 families as settlers, with cattle, horses and implements of agriculture. Under the royal jurisdiction, the governor, a king's commissioner, an apostolical vicar, and four other gentlemen, were formed into a sovereign council, to whom were confided the powers of cognizance in all causes, civil and criminal, to judge in the last resort according to the laws and ordinances of France, and the practice of the Parliament of Paris, reserving the general legislative powers of the Crown, to be applied according to circumstances. This Council was further invested with the regulation of commerce, the expenditure of the public monies, and the establishment of inferior courts at Three Rivers and Montreal. This change of Canada from an ecclesiastical mission to a secular government was owing to the great Colbert, who was, animated by the example of Great Britain, to improve the navigation and commerce of his country by colonial establishments. The enlightened policy of this renowned financial minister of Louis XIV. was followed by the success which it deserved. To a regulated civil government was added increased military protection against the Iroquois Indians; the emigration of French settlers to New France was promoted by every possible means, and a martial spirit was imparted to the population, by the location in the colony of the disbanded soldiers of the Carignan regiment … and other troops, whose officers became the principal Seigneurs of the colony, on condition of making cessions of land under the feudal tenure, as it still exists, to the soldiers and other inhabitants." The ambitious projects of Louis XIV. soon led, however, to a new measure which proved less satisfactory in its working. {365} "The French West India Company was remodelled [1664], and Canada added to their possessions, subordinate to the crown of France, with powers controlled by his Majesty's governors and Intendants in the different colonies." The domain of the company embraced all the possessions of France in the New World and its islands and on the African coast. "The company was to enjoy a monopoly of the territories and the trade of the colonies thus conceded for 40 years; it was not only to enjoy the exclusive navigation, but his Majesty conferred a bounty of 30 livres on every ton of goods exported to France. … The company was not only endowed as Seigneur with all unconceded lands, but invested with the right of extinguishing the titles of seigniories granted or sold by previous companies, on condition of reimbursing the grantees and purchasers for their costs and improvements." The West India Company's management soon showed evil effects, and came to an end after ten years of unsatisfactory trial. "Monsieur De Talon, the Intendant, a man of profound views, … perceived that it was the natural interest of the Company to discourage colonization. He represented to the minister Colbert the absolute necessity of the total resumption of the rights of the crown; drew his attention to the means of obtaining abundance of warlike instruments and naval stores within the colony … and, in fact, at last prevailed; so that, in 1674, the king of France resumed his rights to all the territories conceded to the West India Company, assumed their debts and the current value of their stock, and appointed a governor, council and judges for the direction of the Canadian colonies. … From this period (1674), when the population, embracing converted Indians, did not exceed 8,000, the French settlement in Canada rapidly progressed, and as it rose in power, and assumed offensive operations on the New England frontier, the jealousy of the British colonies became roused, and both parties, aided alternately by the Indians, carried on a destructive and harassing border warfare."

R. M. Martin, History of Upper and Lower Canada, chapter 1.

ALSO IN: A. Bell, History of Canada, book 3, chapter 3 (volume 1).

F. Parkman, The Old Regime in Canada, chapters 10-17.

CANADA: A. D. 1669-1687. La Salle and the acquisition of Louisiana.

"Second only to Champlain among the heroes of Canadian history stands Robert Cavelier de la Salle—a man of iron if ever there was one—a man austere and cold in manner, and endowed with such indomitable pluck and perseverance as have never been surpassed in this world. He did more than any other man to extend the dominion of France in the New World. As Champlain had founded the colony of Canada and opened the way to the great lakes, so La Salle completed the discovery of the Mississippi, and added to the French possessions the vast province of Louisiana. … In 1669 La Salle made his first journey to the west, hoping to find a northwest passage to China, but very little is known about this expedition, except that the Ohio river was discovered, and perhaps also the Illinois. La Salle's feudal domain of St. Sulpice, some eight miles from Montreal, bears to-day the name of La Chine, or China, which is said to have been applied to it in derision of this fruitless expedition. In 1673 the priest Marquette and the fur-trader Joliet actually reached the Mississippi by way of the Wisconsin, and sailed down the great river as far as the mouth of the Arkansas; and now the life-work of La Salle began in earnest. He formed a grand project for exploring the Mississippi to its mouth, and determining whether it, flowed into the Gulf of California or the Gulf of Mexico. The advance of Spain on the side of Mexico was to be checked forever, the English were to be confined to the east of the Alleghanies, and such military posts were to be established as would effectually confirm the authority of Louis XIV. throughout the centre of this continent. La Salle had but little ready money, and was surrounded by rivals and enemies; but he had a powerful friend in Count Frontenac, the Viceroy of Canada. … At length, after surmounting innumerable difficulties, a vessel [the Griffon or Griffin] was built and launched on the Niagara river [1679], a small party of 30 or 40 men were gathered together, and La Salle, having just recovered from a treacherous dose of poison, embarked on his great enterprise. His departure was clouded by the news that his impatient creditors had laid hands upon his Canadian estates; but, nothing daunted, he pushed on through Lakes Erie and Huron, and after many disasters reached the southern extremity of Lake Michigan. The vessel was now sent back, with half the party, to Niagara, carrying furs to appease the creditors and purchase additional supplies for the remainder of the journey, while La Salle with his diminished company pushed on to the Illinois, where a fort was built, and appropriately named Fort Crèvecœur, or, as we might translate it, the 'fort of the breaking heart.' Here, amid perils of famine, mutiny, and Indian attack, and exposed to death from the wintry cold, they waited until it became evident to all that their vessel must have perished. She never was heard from again, and most likely had foundered on her perilous voyage. To add to the trouble, La Salle was again poisoned; but his iron constitution, aided by some lucky antidote, again carried him safely through the ordeal, and about the 1st of March, 1680, he started on foot for Montreal. Leaving Fort Crèveœur and its tiny garrison under command of his faithful lieutenant, Tonty, he set out with four Frenchmen and one Mohegan guide. … They made their way for a thousand miles across Michigan and Western Canada to Niagara, and so on to Montreal. … At Niagara La Salle learned that a ship from France, freighted for him with a cargo worth more than 20,000 livres, had been wrecked in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and nothing had been saved. In spite of this dreadful blow he contrived to get together supplies and reenforcements at Montreal, and had returned to Fort Frontenac, at the lower end of Lake Ontario, when still more woful tidings were received. Here, toward the end of July, a message came from the fortress so well named Crèvecœur. The garrison had mutinied and destroyed the fort, and made their way back through Michigan." The indomitable La Salle promptly hunted down the deserters, and sent them in chains to Quebec. He then "proceeded again to the Illinois to reconstruct his fort, and rescue, if possible, his lieutenant Tonty and the few faithful followers who had survived the mutiny. This little party, abandoned in the wilderness, had found shelter among the Illinois Indians; but during the summer of 1680 the great village or town of the Illinois was destroyed by the Iroquois, and the hard-pressed Frenchmen retreated up the western shore of Lake Michigan to Green Bay.- {366} On arriving at the Illinois, therefore, La Salle found nothing but the terrible traces of fire and massacre and cannibal orgies; but he spent the following winter to good purpose in securing the friendship of the western Indians, and in making an alliance with them against the Iroquois. Then, in May, 1681, he set out again for Canada, to look after his creditors and obtain new resources. On the way home, at the outlet of Lake Michigan, he met his friend Tonty, and together they paddled their canoes a thousand miles and came to Fort Frontenac. So, after all this hardship and disaster, the work was to be begun anew; and the enemies of the great explorer were exulting in what they imagined must be his despair. But that was a word of which La Salle knew not the meaning, and now his fortunes began to change. In Mr. Parkman's words, 'Fate at length seemed tired of the conflict with so stubborn an adversary.' At this third venture everything went smoothly. The little fleet passed up the great lakes, from the outlet of Ontario to the head of Michigan, and gained the Chicago River. Crossing the narrow portage, they descended the Illinois and the Mississippi, till they came out upon the Gulf of Mexico; and on the 9th of April, 1682, the fleurs-de-lis were planted at the mouth of the great river, and all the country drained by its tributaries, from the Alleghanies to the Rocky Mountains, was formally declared to be the property of the king of France, and named after him Louisiana. Returning up the river after his triumph, La Salle founded a station or small colony on the Illinois, which he called St. Louis, and leaving Tonty in command, kept on to Canada, and crossed to France for means to circumvent his enemies and complete his far-reaching schemes. A colony was to be founded at the mouth of the Mississippi, and military stations were to connect this with the French settlements in Canada. At the French court La Salle was treated like a hero, and a fine expedition was soon fitted out, but everything was ruined by jealousy and ill-will between La Salle and the naval commander, Beaujeu. The fleet sailed beyond the mouth of the Mississippi, the colony was thrown upon the coast of Texas, some of the vessels were wrecked, and Beaujeu—though apparently without sinister design—sailed away with the rest, and two years of terrible suffering followed. At last, in March, 1687, La Salle started to find the Mississippi, hoping to ascend it to Tonty's fort on the Illinois, and obtain relief for his followers. But he had scarcely set out on this desperate enterprise when two or three mutinous wretches of his party laid an ambush for him in the forest, and shot him dead. Thus, at the early age of forty-three, perished this extraordinary man, with his life-work but half accomplished. Yet his labors had done much towards building up the imposing dominion with which New France confronted New England in the following century."

J. Fiske, The Romance of the Spanish and French Explorers (Harper's Magazine, volume 64, pages 446-448.)

ALSO IN: F. Parkman, La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West.

Chevalier Tonti, Account of M. de la Salle's last Expedition (New York Historical Society Collections, volume 2).

J. G. Shea, Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi Valley.

C. Le Clercq, First Establishment of the Faith in New France, translated by Shea, chapters 21-25 (volume 2).

CANADA: A. D. 1689-1690. The first Inter-Colonial War (King William's War): The Schenectady Massacre. Montreal threatened, Quebec attacked, and Port Royal taken by the English.

The Revolution of 1688, in England, which drove James II. from the throne, and called to it his daughter Mary with her able husband, William of Orange, produced war between England and France (see FRANCE: A. D. 1689-1690). The French and English colonies in America were soon involved in the contest, and so far as it troubled American history, it bears in New England annals 'the name of King William's War. "If the issue had depended on the condition of the colonies, it could hardly have seemed doubtful. The French census for the North American continent, in 1688, showed but 11,249 persons, scarcely a tenth part of the English population on its frontiers; about a twentieth part of English North America. West of Montreal, the principal French posts, and those but inconsiderable ones, were at Frontenac, at Mackinaw, and on the Illinois. At, Niagara, there was a wavering purpose of maintaining a post, but no permanent occupation. So weak were the garrisons that English traders, with an escort of Indians, had ventured even to Mackinaw. … France, bounding its territory next New England by the Kennebec, claimed the whole eastern coast, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Newfoundland, Labrador, and Hudson's Bay; and to assert and defend this boundless region, Acadia and its dependencies counted but 900 French inhabitants. The missionaries, swaying the minds of the Abenakis, were the sole source of hope. On the declaration of war by France against England, Count Frontenac, once more governor of Canada, was charged to recover Hudson's Bay; to protect Acadia; and, by a descent from Canada, to assist a fleet from France in making conquest of New York. Of that province De Callieres was, in advance, appointed governor; the English Catholics were to be permitted to remain,—other inhabitants to be sent into Pennsylvania or New England. … In the east, blood was first shed at Cocheco, where, thirteen years before, an unsuspecting party of 350 Indians had been taken prisoners and shipped for Boston, to be sold into foreign slavery. The memory of the treachery was indelible, and the Indian emissaries of Castin easily excited the tribe of Penacook to revenge. On the evening of the 27th of June [1689] two squaws repaired to the house of Richard Waldron, and the octogenarian magistrate bade them lodge on the floor. At night, they rise, unbar the gates, and summon their companions," who tortured the aged Waldron until he died. "The Indians, burning his house and others that stood near it, having killed three-and-twenty, returned to the wilderness with 29 captives." In August, the stockade at Pemaquid was taken by 100 Indians from the French mission on the Penobscot. "Other inroads were made by the Penobscot and St. John Indians, so that the settlements east of Falmouth were deserted. In September, commissioners from New England held a conference with the Mohawks at Albany, soliciting an alliance. 'We have burned Montreal,' said they; 'we are the allies of the English; we will keep the chain unbroken.' {367} But they refused to invade the Abenakis. … Frontenac … now used every effort to win the Five Nations [the Iroquois] to neutrality or to friendship. To recover esteem in their eyes; to secure to Durantaye, the commander at Mackinaw, the means of treating with the Hurons and the Ottawas; it was resolved by Frontenac to make a triple descent into the English provinces. From Montreal, a party of 110, composed of French and of the Christian Iroquois,—having De Mantet and Sainte Helene as leaders … —for two and twenty days waded through snows and morasses, through forests and across rivers, to Schenectady. The village had given itself calmly to slumber: through open and unguarded gates the invaders entered silently [February 8, 1690], and having, just before midnight, reached its heart, the war-whoop was raised (dreadful sound to the mothers of that place and their children!), and the dwellings set on fire. Of the inhabitants, some, half clad, fled through the snows to Albany; 60 were massacred, of whom 17 were children and 10 were Africans. … The party from Three Rivers, led by Hertel, and consisting of but 52 persons … surprised the settlement at Salmon Falls, on the Piscataqua, and, after a bloody engagement, burned houses, barns, and cattle in the stalls, and took 54 prisoners, chiefly women and children. … Returning from this expedition, Hertel met the war party, under Portneuf, from Quebec, and, with them and a reenforcement from Castin, made a successful attack on the fort and settlement in Casco Bay. Meantime, danger taught the colonies the necessity of union, and, on the 1st day of May, 1690, New York beheld the momentous example of an American congress [see UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1690]. … At that congress it was resolved to attempt the conquest of Canada by marching an army, by way of Lake Champlain, against Montreal, while Massachusetts should, with a fleet, attack Quebec."

G. Bancroft, History of the United States, chapter 21 (volume 3), (part 3, chapter 11, volume 2, in the "Author's last Revision").

Before the end of the month in which the congress was held, Port Royal and the whole of Acadia had already been conquered, having surrendered to an expedition sent out by Massachusetts, in eight small vessels, under Sir William Phips. The larger fleet (consisting of 32 ships and carrying 2,000 men) directed against Quebec, sailed in August from Nastasket, and was, likewise, commanded by Phips. "The plan of the campaign contemplated a diversion to be made by an assault on Montreal, by a force composed of English from Connecticut and New York, and of Iroquois Indians, at the same time with the attack on Quebec by the fleet. And a second expedition into Maine under Captain Church was to threaten the Eastern tribes whose incursions had, during the last summer, been so disastrous. … As is so apt to happen when a plan involves the simultaneous action of distant parties, the condition of success failed. The movement of Church, who had with him but 300 men, proved ineffective as to any contribution to the descent upon Canada. … It was not till after a voyage of more than six weeks that the fleet from Boston cast anchor within the mouth of the river St. Lawrence, and meanwhile the overland expedition against Montreal had miscarried. The commanders respectively of the Connecticut and the New York troops had disagreed, and could not act effectively together. … The supply, both of boats and of provisions, was found to be insufficient. The disastrous result was that a retreat was ordered, without so much as an embarkation of the troops on Lake Champlain. Frontenac was at Montreal, whither he had gone to superintend the defence, when the intelligence, so unexpected, reached him from Quebec; and presently after came the tidings of Phips's fleet being in the St. Lawrence. Nothing could have been more opportune than this coincidence, which gave the Governor liberty to hasten down to direct his little force of 200 soldiers at the capital. The French historian says that, if he had been three days later, or if the English fleet had not been delayed by contrary winds, or had had better pilots in the river, where it was nearly a fortnight more in making its slow way, Frontenac would have come down from the upper country only to find the English commander in his citadel. As it was, there ensued a crushing mortification and sorrow to Massachusetts. New France was made much more formidable than ever." The fleet arrived before Quebec Oct. 6, and retreated on the 11th, after considerable cannonading and an assault which the French repelled. It suffered storms and disasters on the return voyage, and lost altogether some 200 men.

J. G. Palfrey, History of New England, book 4, chapter 2 (volume 4).

ALSO IN: F. Parkman, Count Frontenac and New France under Louis XIV., chapters 10-13.

Doc. History of New York, volumes 1-2.

F. Bowen, Life of Sir W. Phips, (Library of American Biographies, volume 7), chapters 2-3.

J. R. Brodhead, History of the State of New York, volume 2, chapter 12.

J. Pearson, et al, History of the Schenectady Patent, chapters 8-10.

CANADA: A. D. 1692-1697. The first Inter-Colonial War (King William's War): Abortive plans of invasion on both sides. French recovery of Acadia.

"The defeat of the expedition of 1690 was probably attributable to the want of concert on the part of the troops from Connecticut and New York and those from Massachusetts, and the failure of the supplies which were sought from England. … But there was mismanagement on all hands in the conduct of the expedition; and it seems to have been predestinated that New England should not be delivered from the presence of the French at the north, until time had wrought the necessary changes which were to render the conquest of that country available for the promotion of still more important ends. Hence a new expedition, projected two years later, and resolved to be prosecuted in the following year [1693], was attended with the like circumstances of mortification and defeat. England herself participated in this enterprise, and … the government was informed that it had 'pleased the king, out of his great goodness and disposition for the welfare of all his subjects, to send a considerable strength of ships and men into the West Indies, and to direct Sir Francis Wheeler, the admiral, to sail to New England from the Caribbee Islands, so as to be there by the last of May or the middle of June at furthest, with a strength sufficient to overcome the enemy, if joined and seconded by the forces of New England.' … Unfortunately for the success of these plans, the letter, which should have reached Boston by the first of April, did not arrive until July; and the mortality which prevailed in the fleet during its stay in the West Indies was so great that, when the commander-in-chief, Sir Francis Wheeler, anchored off Nantasket,—bringing himself the news of the projected invasion,—he had lost 1,300 out of 2,100 sailors, and 1,800 out of 2,400 soldiers. {368} All thoughts of reducing Canada were therefore abandoned; but a plan for another year was settled with the governor, the details of which were that 2,000 land forces should be sent from England to Canseau by the first of June, to be joined by 2,000 from the colonies, and that the whole force should go up the St. Lawrence, divide and simultaneously attack Montreal and Quebec. Changes in the government of the province, however, and other causes, prevented the execution of this plan, whose success was problematical even if it had been attempted. But if the plans of the English for the reduction of Canada were doomed to disappointment, the plans of the French for the recovery of Acadia were more successful. For the first year after the conquest of that country, indeed, the French were as little concerned to regain, as the English were to retain, the possession of its territory; nor was Massachusetts able to bear the charge of a sufficient military force to keep its inhabitants in subjection, though she issued commissions to judges and other officers, and required the administration of the oath of fidelity. In the course of that year [1691], authority was given to Mr. John Nelson, of Boston, who had taken an active part in the overthrow of Andros, and who was bound thither on a trading voyage, to be commander-in-chief of Acadia; but as he neared the mouth of the St. John's, he was taken by Monsieur Villebon, who, under a commission from the French king, had touched at Port Royal, and ordered the English flag to be struck, and the French flag to be raised in its place. The next year an attempt was made to dislodge Villebon, but without success. … In the summer of 1696, Pemaquid was taken by the French, under D'Iberville and Castine, and the frontier of the dominion of France was extended into Maine; and by the treaty of the following year Acadia was receded to France, and the English relinquished their claims to the country. The last year of King William's War, as it was long termed in New England, was a year of especial alarm to the province [Massachusetts] and rumors were rife that the French were on the eve of fitting out a formidable fleet for the invasion of the colonies and the conquest of New York." According to the plan of the French undertaking, a powerful fleet from France was to be joined by a force of 1,500 men, raised by Count Frontenac, in Canada, and make, first, a conquest of Boston. "When that town was taken, they were to range the coast to Piscataqua, destroying the settlements as far back into the country as possible. Should there be time for further acquisitions, they were next to go to New York, and upon its reduction the Canadian troops were to march overland to Quebec, laying waste the country as they proceeded." This project was frustrated by happenings much the same in kind as those which thwarted the designs of the English against Quebec. The fleet was delayed by contrary winds, and by certain bootless undertakings in Newfoundland, until the season was too far advanced for the enterprise contemplated. "The peace of Ryswick, which soon followed, led to a temporary suspension of hostilities. France, anxious to secure as large a share of territory in America as possible, retained the whole coast and adjacent islands from Maine to Labrador and Hudson's Bay, with Canada, and the Valley of the Mississippi. The possessions of England were southward from the St. Croix. But the bounds between the nations were imperfectly defined, and were, for a long time, a subject of dispute and negotiation.".