The Rise of Canada, from Barbarism to Wealth and Civilisation. Volume 1Roger, Charles
History
The Rise of Canada, from Barbarism to Wealth and Civilisation. Volume 1
Roger, Charles
Canada -- History
commercial alliance, of which the Boston Jubilee of 1851 was
indicative, has lately been entertained. Compared to the Iroquois, or
even the Algonquins, the Huron tribe of Indians were mild in
disposition and peaceably disposed. The French missionaries obtained a
powerful hold over them. Great numbers became christianized, and even,
to some extent, civilized. Descendants of Nimrod though they were,
their wandering habits were partially subdued, and very many began to
cultivate the ground. As if there was something in the climate of
Quebec to produce such an effect, they were naturally inclined to be
supremely tranquil. And notwithstanding the recent horrible massacre
they soon sank back into their ordinary state of lethargy. They were
fearfully aroused from their lethargy, however, by another series of
attacks on the part of the Iroquois. The latter ferocious red men made
a descent upon the village of St. Ignace, killing and capturing all the
Hurons there. They next attacked St. Louis, and though some women and
children managed to escape, both missionaries and Hurons were carried
off for the torture. The Huron nation, terribly damaged, seemed to be
at the mercy of their more savage enemies. They scattered in every
direction. Their settlements were altogether abandoned. Some sought
refuge with the Ottawas, some with the Eries, and not a few attached
themselves to missionaries, who formed them into settlements on the
Island of St. Joseph, in Lake Ontario. Unable, however, to find
sufficient subsistence on the island, they were compelled to form
villages on the main land, where they were again slaughtered by the
Iroquois. So inferior had they become, physically and intellectually,
if not numerically, to the Iroquois, that they resolved to put
themselves altogether under French protection. This protection the
missionaries procured for them, and a new settlement was formed at
Sillery. The Iroquois now did what they pleased. They were in full
possession of the whole country. The French were literally confined to
Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal. But that which neither French nor
Hurons could do by force, they were made to do themselves. They were
destroyed in hundreds by rum. The French appealed to their appetites.
Iroquois independence was broken in upon by a mere artifice of taste.
Furs were now bought, not with pieces of tin and strings of beads, but
with plugs of tobacco and bottles of spirits. Intoxication had its
ordinary effect. It caused these naturally hot-blooded, quarrelsome,
freemen to butcher each other, and it made them the slaves of the fur
trader, whose exertions increased as the favorite narcotic lessened the
exertions and weakened the energies of the hunter. So injurious was the
effect of the "fire water," and so obvious was the injury to the
Indians themselves, that the Chief of the domesticated Indians
petitioned the Governor, their great Father, to imprison all drunkards.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account