The probability is that by this time Phipps had begun to take a more serious view of his task. He was one of those men who require to be favoured by luck. He was better at making a dash than at organizing victory. He had courage and a good deal of practical skill in navigation, but there is no evidence that he possessed the talents of a military commander. The readiness with which the inhabitants of Acadia had renounced their French allegiance had led him to believe that in Canada he might actually be welcomed as a liberator.[47] Of any such disposition on the part of the Canadians there had certainly been no sign as yet. It was reported at Quebec that he had attempted to land some men at Riviere Ouelle, and had been repulsed by the inhabitants under the leadership of their _cure_. The story, however, as given by Mere Juchereau, had plainly passed through the hands of the mythmakers before she got hold of it, for she tells us that "the moment the first boat was within musket shot, the _cure_ ordered a volley, which killed the whole crew with the exception of two men who made off in great haste." Walley's journal makes no mention of any attempt to land, and the story may be assumed to be an imaginative invention. What at least may be regarded as certain is that, up to the date of his arrival before Quebec, Phipps had not received any encouraging overtures from the inhabitants. Other causes of anxiety were not wanting. Smallpox had broken out in his fleet, and the weather was most bitterly cold for the season. On the day of the summons and the following day he and his force remained inactive. On the afternoon of the first day Iberville and his brother Maricourt, returning with a few of their men from Hudson's Bay, landed safely at Beauport in sight of the ships, having slipped up the North Channel in a couple of canoes. In the evening about seven o'clock Callieres, governor of Montreal, marched into the city at the head of eight hundred men. Shouts of welcome, mingled with martial music, reached the ears of the English, and were rightly interpreted as meaning that the city had received reinforcements.