Until the year 1710 Radisson drew his allowance of
50 pounds a year from the English Company, then the payments stopped.
Did the dauntless life stop too? Oblivion hides all record of his
death, as it obscured the brilliant achievements of his life.
There is no need to point out Radisson's faults. They are written on
his life without extenuation or excuse, so that all may read. There is
less need to eulogize his virtues. They declare themselves in every
act of his life. This, only, should be remembered. Like all
enthusiasts, Radisson could not have been a hero, if he had not been a
bit of a fool. If he had not had his faults, if he had not been as
impulsive, as daring, as reckless, as inconstant, as improvident of the
morrow, as a savage or a child, he would not have accomplished the
exploration of half a continent. Men who weigh consequences are not of
the stuff to win empires. Had Radisson haggled as to the means, he
would have missed or muddled the end. He went ahead; and when the way
did not open, he went round, or crawled over, or carved his way through.
There was an old saying among retired hunters of Three Rivers that "one
learned more in the woods than was ever found in l' petee
cat-ee-cheesm." Radisson's training was of the woods, rather than the
cure's catechism; yet who that has been trained to the strictest code
may boast of as dauntless faults and noble virtues? He was not
faithful to any country, but he was faithful to his wife and children;
and he was "faithful to his highest hope,"--that of becoming a
discoverer,--which is more than common mortals are to their meanest
aspirations.
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