CHAMPLAIN AND THE IROQUOIS.


On a bright May morning in the year 1609, at the point where
the stream then known as the Rivière des Iroquois--and which
has since borne the various names of the Richelieu, the
Chambly, the St. Louis, the Sorel and the St. John--poured
the waters of an unknown interior lake into the channel of
the broad St. Lawrence, there was presented a striking
spectacle. Everywhere on the liquid surface canoes, driven
by the steady sweep of paddles wielded by naked and dusky
arms, shot to and fro. Near the shore a small shallop, on
whose deck stood a group of armed whites, had just cast
anchor, and was furling its sails. Upon the strip of open
land bordering the river, and in the woodland beyond, were
visible great numbers of savage warriors, their faces
hideously bedaubed with war-paint, their hands busy in
erecting the frail habitations of a temporary camp.

The scene was one of striking beauty, such as only the
virgin wilderness can display. The river ran between walls
of fresh green leafage, here narrowed, yonder widened into a
broad reach which was encircled by far sweeping forests. The
sun shone broadly on the animated scene, while the whites,
from the deck of their small craft, gazed with deep interest
on the strange picture before them, filled as it was with
dusky natives, some erecting their forest shelters, others