Louis and the Mountain of
Montreal. They were Christian Iroquois whom the priests had persuaded
to leave their homes and settle in Canada, to the great indignation of
their heathen countrymen, and the great annoyance of the English
colonists, to whom they were a constant menace. When Denonville
attacked the Senecas, they had joined him; but of late they had shown
reluctance to fight their heathen kinsmen, with whom the French even
suspected them of collusion. Against the English, however, they
willingly took up the hatchet. The French of the party were for the
most part _coureurs de bois_. As the sea is the sailor's element, so
the forest was theirs. Their merits were hardihood and skill in
woodcraft; their chief faults were insubordination and lawlessness.
They had shared the general demoralization that followed the inroad of
the Iroquois, and under Denonville had proved mutinous and
unmanageable. In the best times, it was a hard task to command them,
and one that needed, not bravery alone, but tact, address, and
experience. Under a chief of such a stamp, they were admirable
bushfighters, and such were those now chosen to lead them. D'Aillebout
de Mantet and Le Moyne de Sainte-Helene, the brave son of Charles Le
Moyne, had the chief command, supported by the brothers Le Moyne
d'Iberville and Le Moyne de Bienville, with Repentigny de Montesson,
Le Ber du Chesne, and others of the sturdy Canadian _noblesse_, nerved
by adventure and trained in Indian warfare.
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