bon, is called by the English, the river Pornetton; from whence it happens, that many of the French still call the territories around, the country of Pornetton. The river is deep and broad, and extends far into the heart of the country, but as it is filled with rapids, it is less convenient for the trade of the Indians. For this reason the English have not built their fort on its banks. At the South-East of the river Bourbon, and in the same bay, another river empties, equally great, which the first discoverers called the river of St. Therese, because the wife of him who first saw it bore the name of that holy saint.

These two rivers are only separated by a low tongue of land, which forms in both of them very extensive shallows. The mouths of these rivers are in Lat. 57° and some minutes. They both run to the same point of the compass, and for a long disance their channels are not more than one or two leagues apart. The shallows with which they are filled render them dangerous to large vessels. But as this difficulty exists to a less extent in the river Bourbon, it was determined that the Poli should winter there, while the Salamandre was placed in the river St. Therese, on the banks of which the English had built their fort, on the tongue of land which separates the two rivers.

We arrived, as I said before, in the river Bourbon, on the 24th, at 6 o'clock in the evening. The same night they sent a party of our people on shore to attempt to surprise some of the English. They found however much difficulty in landing on account of the shallows, and were obliged to cast themselves into the water, while the ice which lined the banks furnished an additional obstacle. Among those who were sent on shore was an Iroquois Indian, whom on leaving Quebec they had requested me to baptize. I had hitherto deferred this rite, to allow time for his further instruction, but now seeing the perils to which he was exposed, I did not think it right to put it off any longer. One of our Canadians however who spoke the Iroquois language, had been of great service to me in preparing him for that step. The people whom we had sent on shore were not able to surprise any of the English, because we had been seen the moment of our arrival, and they had all immediately retired within their works, but on the 25th they brought off two Indians, whom they had taken near the fort.

M. d'Iberville had been on the same day to sound the river, and look for a place where our vessel could be sheltered during the winter. We found one which was very commodious, and after having visited those whom he had caused to debark, and given them his orders, he charged M. de Serigny with the care of taking the Poli round to the place assigned, and then on the 27th went himself on board of the Salamandre, whither I followed him.

On the evening of the same day we arrived at the mouth of the river St. Therese, nor did we fail on entering it, to place ourselves under the protection of that holy saint. In the middle of the night M. d'Iberville departed to sound this second river. On the 28th, we advanced up it a league and a half, by means of the tide, the winds being ahead. The rest of the day was employed in sounding both shores. On the 29th we again made a short league, and M. d'Iberville went on shore to mark out his camp, and the spot alongside of which he intended the ship to lay. He found one which he liked, about half a league below the fort. A large point of land, sufficiently high, extended into the river, and thus formed a kind of bay, in which the ship could be entirely sheltered from the drifting of the ice, which is to be very much feared in the Spring. Orders were accordingly issued for those of our people who had already landed, to encamp in this place They were not more than 20 in number, but the Indians of the country had reported to the English that they were more than 40 or 50, which intelligence had always deterred them from going out of the fort.

On the 30th, it was impossible for us to advance. The 1st of October found us still in the same state, the wind always ahead, and as we ran aground at each low tide, it was impossible to tack. The wind too, and the cold, and the ice increased every day. We thus found ourselves only one league from the place where we ought to debark, but in danger of never reaching it. At length the crew began to be alarmed; but I exhorted them to trust to the protection of God, who had never yet deserted them in their voyage. On board the Salamandre they made the same run which had already been made in the Poli, and on that very day the wind changed and became favorable.

At eight o'clock in the evening we weighed anchor, the moon

being very bright, and favored by the tide, our boat rowed by six oars towed the ship, and conducted it even within gun-shot of the place where we wished to go. We were still however not able to land there, for the tide left us. In passing the fort they gave us three or four discharges from their cannon, but their bullets did not reach us. Our Canadians only answered them with the Sassa Koues; which is the name the Indians have bestowed on the peculiar cries they make in sign of rejoicing.

On the 2d we thought our vessel would have been lost. As we got under way, in the hope of immediately making the port, which, so to speak, we were just touching, a great whirlwind of snow concealed the land from us, while a violent North-west wind threw us on a shallow, where we grounded at high tide. Here we passed a most dismal night. At 6 in the evening, the ice, brought down by the current and thrust on by the wind, commenced striking against the ship with a noise so frightful, that it might have been heard at the distance of a league. This crashing continued four or five hours. The ice shocked the vessel so rudely, that it pierced the wood, and stripped it off in many places to the breadth of three or four fingers. M. d'Iberville, to lighten the vessel, thought best to throw overboard on the shallow 12 pieces of cannon, and divers other things which the water could not destroy, and which would not be injured by remaining there. He afterwards made a covering on the sand for these pieces of cannon, for fear lest they should be dragged off in the Spring by the drifting of the ice.

On the 3d the wind having somewhat moderated, M.d'Iberville determined to commence discharging the ship, which was every moment in danger of perishing. We were unable to use the boat for this purpose, because it was not possible to manage it amongst the ice, which was constantly carried by in great quantities. We therefore employed bark-canoes which we had brought with us from Quebec, and which our Canadians guided through the midst of the ice with wonderful skill.

For some days afterwards I was unwell, and had at the same time a fever. M. d'Iberville pressed me to go on shore, but I could not make up my mind to quit the vessel in the peril in which it then was, and in the midst of the alarm in which I saw all the crew. I was constrained however to do so by the sad

news which we shortly afterwards received. M. de Châteauguai, a young officer of nineteen years of age, and the brother of M. d' Iberville, had gone to discharge his gun towards the English fort, to occupy their attention, and prevent their having any knowledge of our embarrassments. Having however advanced too far, he was wounded by a ball which passed through him from side to side. He sent for me to confess him, and I had myself transported thither to the camp. We at first thought his wound was not mortal, but were very shortly undeceived, for he died the next day.

We had just before this received news of the Poli, and learned that his ship was not in less danger than our own. The winds, the shallows, and the ice, had all been obstacles in its way. At one time, while aground, it received a severe shock in its keel. Four pumps were not sufficient to discharge the water which flowed in, and many barrels of flour were wet in clearing the ship. It was not yet relieved, and there was danger of its never being able to reach the place where it ought to winter.

So much sad intelligence did not in any way damp the courage of M. d'Iberville. He was deeply touched by the death of his brother, whom he had always tenderly loved, but he made it a sacrifice to God, in whom he wished to place all his confidence. Forseeing that the least sign of inquietude which might appear on his countenance, would throw all into consternation, he always sustained himself with wonderful firmness, giving every body something to do, active himself, and sending forth his orders with the same presence of mind as ever. But on the same day God consoled him. The very same tide placed both vessels out of danger, and conducted each one to the place which had been marked out for it.

On the 5th I baptized two infant children of one of the India ns They had been ill for a long time, and I now judged they were. in danger. I was the more urgent to baptize them, because the next day the Indians were to depart, to spend the winter in the forests at a distance from us. But before I baptized them I obtained from the father a promise, that if they recovered he would bring them back to me in the spring to be instructed. They were both children of the same father, but of different mothers, polygamy being customary among the Indians in this country. One of

the two afterwards died, and the father brought back the survivor to me in the following spring, as he had promised. For some time afterwards we were busy in building huts for ourselves, in unloading the vessel and in preparing for the seige.

On the 9th I departed, to return to the Poli, when M. de Tilly, a Lieutenant, had been dangerously ill for several days. It was the first journey I had made through an American forest. The ground over which we passed was very marshy, and we were obliged to take circuitous routes to avoid the swamps. The water had begun to freeze, but the ice not being yet sufficiently strong to bear our weight, we often sunk in half way up the leg. We made thus five leagues on the snow and in the forests, if indeed we may use that word, for in this country they have no open woods. The trees are mingled up in some places with thickets and brambles, and then again in others they are interspersed with clear savannas.

When at length we reached the banks of the river Bourbon, we found ourselves very much embarrassed. The ship was on the other side, and the river in this place a league and a half wide, very rapid, and at that time filled with floating ice. Those who had accompanied me judged the passage impracticable, and I had some difficulty in overcoming their opposition. But a little while after, the river became clear, the ice having drifted away with the falling of the tide. We therefore embarked immediately, after having carried our canoe over the ice which had formed along the banks of the river. We set out at sunset, and arrived in safety at the beginning of the night.

We found the ship in a safe and commodious place, and the crew beginning to recover from their past fatigues. I saw the sick man to whom I administered the consolations of our faith, received his confession the next day, and gave him the Sacrament. After dinner, I went to visit our Canadians and sailors, who had established themselves in huts on shore. On my return they informed me that the passage of the river was again practicable, and I immediately embarked, as I had promised to return without delay on account of the expected attack on the fort. Reaching the other side very late, we put up a hut in which to pass the night. We had built it with much carelessness as we trusted to the clearness of the sky, an oversight which we had cause after