conditions as he found them. The Indians had souls to be
saved, but that was the business of the missionaries. In
the state of nature all savages were much like wild
animals, and alliance with one nation or another was a
question which naturally settled itself upon the basis
of drainage basins. Lands within the Laurentian watershed
were inhabited mainly by Algonquins and Hurons, whose
chief desire in life was to protect themselves from the
Iroquois and avenge past injuries. The Five Nations dwelt
far south from the Sault St Louis and did not send their
furs there for the annual barter. Champlain, ever in
quest of a route to the East, needed friends along the
great rivers of the wilderness. The way to secure them,
and at the same time to widen the trading area, was to
fight for the savages of the St Lawrence and the Ottawa
against those of the Mohawk.

And Champlain was a good ally, as he proved in the forest
wars of 1609 and 1615. With all their shortcomings, the
Indians knew how to take the measure of a man. The
difference between a warrior and a trader was especially
clear to their untutored minds, they themselves being
much better fighters than men of commerce. Champlain,
like others, suffered from their caprice, but they
respected his bravery and trusted his word.

In the next chapter we shall attempt to follow Champlain
through the wilderness, accompanied by its inhabitants,
who were his guides and friends. For the present we must
pursue the fortunes of Quebec, whose existence year by