to what course he should take. He knew the spot well. It was on the
borders of the small inlet called Thunder Bay. In the neighboring Huron
town of Toanche he had lived three years, preaching and baptizing; [ 1 ]
but Toanche had now ceased to exist. Here, Etienne Brule, Champlain's
adventurous interpreter, had recently been murdered by the inhabitants,
who, in excitement and alarm, dreading the consequences of their deed,
had deserted the spot, and built, at the distance of a few miles, a new
town, called Ihonatiria. [ Concerning Brule, see "Pioneers of France,"
377-380. ] Brebeuf hid his baggage in the woods, including the vessels
for the Mass, more precious than all the rest, and began his search for
this new abode. He passed the burnt remains of Toanche, saw the charred
poles that had formed the frame of his little chapel of bark, and found,
as he thought, the spot where Brule had fallen. [ 2 ] Evening was near,
when, after following, bewildered and anxious, a gloomy forest path,
he issued upon a wild clearing, and saw before him the bark roofs of
Ihonatiria.

[ 1 From 1626 to 1629. There is no record of the events of this first
mission, which was ended with the English occupation of Quebec. Brebeuf
had previously spent the winter of 1625-26 among the Algonquins, like Le
Jeune in 1633-34.--Lettre du P. Charles Lalemant au T. R. P. Mutio
Vitelleschi, 1 Aug., 1626, in Carayon. ]

[ 2 "Ie vis pareillement l'endroit ou le pauure Estienne Brule auoit
este barbarement et traitreusement assomme; ce qui me fit penser que
quelque iour on nous pourroit bien traitter de la sorte, et desirer au
moins que ce fust en pourchassant la gloire de N. Seigneur."--Brebeuf,
Relation des Hurons, 1635, 28, 29.--The missionary's prognostics were but
too well founded. ]