[3] The hardships of these pioneers form no
part of Radisson's life, and are, therefore, not set down here. Peace
not bought by a victory is an unstable foundation for Indian treaty.
The Mohawks were jealous that their confederates, the Onondagas, had
obtained the French settlement. In 1657, eighty Iroquois came to
Quebec to escort one hundred Huron refugees back to Onondaga for
adoption into the Confederacy. These Hurons were Christians, and the
two Jesuits, Paul Ragueneau and Francois du Peron, were appointed to
accompany them to their new abode. Twenty young Frenchmen joined the
party to seek their fortunes at the new settlement; but a man was
needed who could speak Iroquois. Glad to repay his debt to the
Jesuits, young Radisson volunteered to go as a _donne_, that is, a lay
helper vowed to gratuitous services.
It was midsummer before all preparations had been made. On July 26,
the party of two hundred, made up of twenty Frenchmen, eighty Iroquois,
and a hundred Hurons, filed out of the gates of Montreal, and winding
round the foot of the mountain followed a trail through the forest that
took them past the Lachine Rapids. The Onondaga _voyageurs_ carried
the long birch canoes inverted on their shoulders, two Indians at each
end; and the other Iroquois trotted over the rocks with the Frenchmen's
baggage on their backs. The day was hot, the _portage_ long and
slippery with dank moisture. The Huron children fagged and fell
behind.
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