ages on
the Lake of Assiniboin, and from them they learned that they might go
by land to the bottom of Hudson's Bay, where the English had not been
yet, at James Bay; upon which they desired them to conduct them
thither, and the savages accordingly did it. They returned to the
Upper Lake the same way they came, and thence to Quebec, where they
offered the principal merchants to carry ships to Hudson's Bay; but
their project was rejected." Vol. I, p. 548. Radisson's figures are
given as "pounds "; but by "_L_" did he mean English "pound" or French
livre, that is 17 cents? A franc in 1660 equalled the modern dollar.

[14] The exact tribes mentioned in the _Memoire of 1696_, with whom the
French were in trade in the West are: On the "Missoury" and south of
it, the Mascoutins and Sioux; two hundred miles beyond the "Missisipy"
the Issaguy, the Octbatons, the Omtous, of whom were Sioux capable of
mustering four thousand warriors, south of Lake Superior, the Sauteurs,
on "Sipisagny, the river which is the discharge of Lake Asemipigon"
(Winnipeg), the "Nation of the Grand Rat," Algonquins numbering two
thousand, who traded with the English of Hudson Bay, De la Chesnaye
adds in his memoire details of the trip from Lake Superior to the lake
of the Assiniboines. Knowing what close co-workers he and Radisson
were, we can guess where he got his information.

CHAPTER V

1664-1676

RADISSON RENOUNCES ALLEGIANCE TO TWO CROWNS

Rival Traders thwart the Plans of the Discoverers--Entangled in
Lawsuits, the two French Explorers go to England--The Organization of
the Hudson's Bay Fur Company--Radisson the Storm-centre of
International Intrigue--Boston Merchants in the Struggle to capture the
Fur Trade

Henceforth Radisson and Groseillers were men without a country. Twice
their return from the North with cargoes of beaver had saved New France
from ruin. They had discovered more of America than all the other
explorers combined. Their reward was jealous rivalry that reduced them
to beggary; injustice that compelled them to renounce allegiance to two
crowns; obloquy during a lifetime; and oblivion for two centuries after
their death. The very force of unchecked impulse that carries the hero
over all obstacles may also carry him over the bounds of caution and
compromise that regulate the conduct of other men. This was the case
with Radisson and Groseillers. They were powerless to resist the
extortion of the French gov