had been explored by Champlain, [ "Pioneers of France," 364. ]--up the
river Ottawa, across Lake Nipissing, down French River, and along the
shores of the great Georgian Bay of Lake Huron,--a route as difficult as
it was tedious. Midway, on Allumette Island, in the Ottawa, dwelt the
Algonquin tribe visited by Champlain in 1613, and who, amazed at the
apparition of the white stranger, thought that he had fallen from the
clouds. [ "Pioneers of France," 348. ] Like other tribes of this region,
they were keen traders, and would gladly have secured for themselves the
benefits of an intermediate traffic between the Hurons and the French,
receiving the furs of the former in barter at a low rate, and exchanging
them with the latter at their full value. From their position, they
could at any time close the passage of the Ottawa; but, as this would
have been a perilous exercise of their rights, [ 1 ] they were forced to
act with discretion. An opportunity for the practice of their diplomacy
had lately occurred. On or near the Ottawa, at some distance below them,
dwelt a small Algonquin tribe, called _La Petite Nation_. One of this
people had lately killed a Frenchman, and the murderer was now in the
hands of Champlain, a prisoner at the fort of Quebec. The savage
politicians of Allumette Island contrived, as will soon be seen, to turn
this incident to profit.

[ 1 Nevertheless, the Hurons always passed this way as a matter of favor,
and gave yearly presents to the Algonquins of the island, in
acknowledgment of the privilege--Le Jeune, Relation, 1636, 70.--By the
unwritten laws of the Hurons and Algonquins, every tribe had the right,
even in full peace, of prohibiting the passage of every other tribe
across its territory. In ordinary cases, such prohibitions were quietly
submitted to.

"Ces Insulaires voudraient bien que les Hurons ne vinssent point aux