Above all, he
warned Captain Gillam not to permit the English sailors to wander
inland. Having exchanged compliments, Radisson took gracious leave of
his hosts, and with his three men slipped down the Nelson in their
canoe. Past a bend in the river, he ordered the canoe ashore. The
French then skirted back through the woods and lay watching the English
till satisfied that the Hudson's Bay Company ship would go no nearer
the island where Ben Gillam lay hidden.
Groseillers and his son looked after the trade that winter. Radisson
had his hands full keeping the two English crews apart. Ten days after
his return, he again left Hayes River to see what his rivals were
doing. The Hudson's Bay Company ship had gone aground in the ooze a
mile from the fort where Governor Bridgar had taken up quarters. That
division of forces weakened the English fort. Introducing his man as
captain of a French ship, Radisson entered the governor's house. The
visitors drained a health to their host and fired off muskets to learn
whether sentinels were on guard. No attention was paid to the unwonted
noise. "I judged," writes Radisson, "that they were careless, and
might easily be surprised." He then went across to the river flats,
where the tide had left the vessel, and, calmly mounting the ladder,
took a survey of Gillam's ship. When the irate old captain rushed up
to know the meaning of the intrusion Radisson suavely proffered
provisions, of which they were plainly in need.
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