By Canadian StreamsBurpee, Lawrence J. (Lawrence Johnstone)
History
By Canadian Streams
Burpee, Lawrence J. (Lawrence Johnstone)
Canada -- History; Rivers -- Canada
"As soon as we had landed, they began to run for some two hundred paces
towards their enemies, who stood firmly, not having as yet noticed my
companions, who went into the woods with some savages. Our men began to
call me with loud cries; and in order to give me a passage-way, they
opened in two parts, and put me at their head, where I marched some
twenty paces in advance of the rest, until I was within about thirty
paces of the enemy, who at once noticed me, and, halting, gazed at me,
as I did also at them. When I saw them making a move to fire at us, I
rested my musket against my cheek, and aimed directly at one of the
three chiefs. With the same shot two fell to the ground, and one of
their men was so wounded that he died some time after. I had loaded my
musket with four balls. When our side saw this shot so favourable for
them, they began to raise such loud cries that one could not have heard
it thunder. Meanwhile, the arrows flew on both sides. The Iroquois
were greatly astonished that two men had been so quickly killed,
although they were equipped with armour woven from cotton thread, and
with wood which was proof against their arrows. This caused great alarm
among them. As I was loading again, one of my companions fired a shot
from the woods, which astonished them anew to such a degree that, seeing
their chiefs dead, they lost courage, and took to flight, abandoning
their camp and fort, and fleeing into the woods, whither I pursued them,
killing still more of them. Our savages also killed several, and took
ten or twelve prisoners. The remainder escaped with the wounded.
"After gaining the victory, our men amused themselves by taking a great
quantity of Indian corn and some meal from their enemies, also their
armour, which they had left behind that they might run better. After
feasting sumptuously, dancing and singing, we returned three hours
after, with the prisoners."
On the return journey, the Algonquins tied one of the prisoners to a
stake, and tortured him with such refinement of cruelty as to arouse the
disgust and resentment of Champlain. Finally, they allowed him to put
the wretched Iroquois out of his misery with a musket-ball. Arrived at
the rapids, the Algonquins and Hurons returned to their own country,
with loud protestations of friendship for Champlain, while the latter
continued his journey down to Quebec.
If anything remained to heap the cup of Iroquois resentment to the brim,
it was provided the following year, when Champlain again lent his
assistance to the Algonquins and Hurons, and, encountering a war-party
of Iroquois, a hundred strong, near the mouth of the Richelieu, killed
or captured every one of them. The day was to come when the tables
would be turned with a vengeance, when the war-cry of the Iroquois would
be heard under the walls of Montreal and Quebec, and the death of each
of the hundred warriors avenged a hundredfold.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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