His
lieutenant, M. de Niverville, almost lost his life among hostiles on
the way down the Saskatchewan after building Fort Lajonquiere at the
foothills of the Rockies, where Calgary now stands. Saint-Pierre had
headquarters in Manitoba on the Assiniboine, and one afternoon in
midwinter, when his men were out hunting, he saw his fort suddenly fill
with armed Assiniboines bent on massacre. They jostled him aside,
broke into the armory, and helped themselves to weapons. Saint-Pierre
had only one recourse. Seizing a firebrand, he tore the cover off a
keg of powder and threatened to blow the Indians to perdition. The
marauders dashed from the fort, and Saint-Pierre shot the bolts of gate
and sally-port. When the white hunters returned, they quickly gathered
their possessions together and abandoned Fort de la Reine. Four days
later the fort lay in ashes. So ended the dream of enthusiasts to find
a way overland to the Western Sea.
[1] The authorities for La Verendrye's life are, of course, his own
reports as found in the State Papers of the Canadian Archives, Pierre
Margry's compilation of these reports, and the Rev. Father Jones'
collection of the _Aulneau Letters_.
[2] The _Pays d'en Haut_ or "Up-Country" was the vague name given by
the fur traders to the region between the Missouri and the North Pole.
[3] Throughout this volume the word "Sioux" is used as applying to the
entire confederacy, and not to the Minnesota Sioux only.
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