Meanwhile at Montreal news had arrived of the capture on the Ile Ste.
Thérèse, of Charles Le Moyne who, in July, had been given leave by de
Maisonneuve to join the friendly "wolves" in a hunting expedition.
He, however, escaped death, for he threatened them with dire revenge.
"There will come a great number of French soldiers," he said, "who will
burn your villages; they are even now arriving at Quebec. Of that I
have certain information."
In preparation for the coming war, de Tracy, soon after his arrival,
determined to build forts at the entrances to the routes leading to and
from the Iroquois country. These were to be garrisoned by the soldiers
of the Carignan regiments so far arrived. The first fort was placed at
the mouth of the Richelieu River, to replace that originally built
by de Montmagny, and quickly ruined in 1642. It was built under the
direction of one of the officers, M. Sorel, whose name was afterwards
given to this place, A second was constructed at the foot of a rapid
of the Richelieu River and it received the name of Chambly, from
another Carignan officer. M. de Sallières constructed the third at
another rapid of the same river and it gained its name of Fort Ste.
Thérèse from the saint's day occurring on October 15th, the day of its
completion. A fourth, St. John, was built at the foot on another rapid
of the Richelieu. The fifth was built by another officer, M. Lamothe,
on an island of Lake Champlain, at a distance of four leagues from its
mouth and was named Ste. Anne.
After their completion, the soldiers were distributed for winter to
Quebec, Three Rivers and Montreal. Colonel de Sallières was in command
at the latter. As provisions were scarce in the storehouses of the
company, Talon wrote to Colbert on October 4, 1665:
"I have sent merchandise to Montreal and on the advice of M. de Tracy I
have added some ammunition from the king's stores to be distributed to
the inhabitants. But in return I expect to receive from them wheat and
vegetables, as well as elk skins, to make stronger canoes than those
covered with birch bark."
Hearing of the preparation for war, an embassy from the three upper
nations under Garacontié, the chief friendly to the French, met de
Tracy at Quebec, bringing back with them Charles Le Moyne unscathed,
and parleying for peace. But the two insolent lower tribes against
whose marauderings the forts had been built, were still contumacious
and to be punished presently.
By November, the forts were completed and the peace from Iroquois
attacks was so secure that the body of Father Duperon, the old Jesuit
missioner at Montreal, who had died at Chambly, was taken to Quebec to
be buried. This same month, on November 24th, another Jesuit well known
at Montreal, Simon Le Moyne, died at Cap de la Madeleine. He was a man
of remarkable courage, tact and ability, and his name will ever be
remembered in Canadian history as the first European recorded to have
ascended the St. Lawrence River.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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