Sometimes night overtook him on the trail. Shovelling a bed through
the snow to the moss with his snow-shoes, piling shrubs as a
wind-break, and kindling a roaring fire, the priest passed the night
under the stars.
When spring came, the Indians opposed his passage down the river. A
council was called. Albanel explained that his message was to bring
the Indians down to Quebec and keep them from going to the English for
trade. The Indians, who had acted as middlemen between Quebec traders
and the Northern tribes, saw the advantage of undermining the English
trade. Gifts were presented by the Frenchmen, and the friendship of
the Indians was secured. On June 1, 1672, sixteen savages embarked
with the three Frenchmen. For the next ten days, the difficulties were
almost insurmountable. The river tore through a deep gorge of sheer
precipices which the _voyageurs_ could pass only by clinging to the
rock walls with hands and feet. One _portage_ was twelve miles long
over a muskeg of quaking moss that floated on water. At every step the
travellers plunged through to their waists. Over this the long canoes
and baggage had to be carried. On the 10th of June they reached the
height of land that divides the waters of Hudson Bay from the St.
Lawrence. The watershed was a small plateau with two lakes, one of
which emptied north, the other, south. As they approached Lake
Mistassini, the Lake Indians again opposed their free passage down the
rivers.
Pages:
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154