grew thinner, and his lean figure
leaner, but the fire in his eyes burned brighter. The fifty sachems said
nothing. Whether they were for the priest or against him, they never
interfered with his energies, because without exception they respected
one who they knew sought nothing for himself, who could endure hardship,
privation and even torture as well as they, and who also had the gift
of powerful and persuasive speech.

The other nations too, except one, listened to him, though less than the
Onondagas. The fierce and warlike Mohawks would have none of him, nor
would they allow St. Luc to speak to them. Never could a single Mohawk
warrior forget that Stadacona was theirs, though generations ago it had
become French Quebec. They recalled with delight the numerous raids they
had made into Canada, and their many wars with the French. Robert saw
that one nation, and it was the one standing on an equality with the
Onondagas, was irreconcilable. When the council met the nine sachems of
the Mohawks, and their names would be called first, would prove
themselves to the last man the bitter and implacable enemies of the
French. So, feeling that he was right and loving his own country as much
as the priest and the chevalier loved theirs, he deftly worked upon the
minds of the Mohawks. He talked to the fiery young chief, Daganoweda, of
lost Stadacona that he had seen with his own eyes. He spoke of its great
situation on the lofty cliffs above the grandest of rivers, and he
described it as the strongest fortress in America. The spirit of the
young Mohawk responded readily. Robert's appeal was not made to
prejudice. He felt that truth and right were back of it. As he saw it,
the future of the Hodenosaunee lay with the English, the French could
never be their real friends, the long breach between Quebec and the vale
of Onondaga could not be healed.

He had an able and efficient assistant in Tayoga, who was devoted to
the alliance with the English and the Americans, and who was constantly
talking with the sachems and chiefs. Willet, too, who had a long
acquaintance with all the nations of the Hodenosaunee, and who had many
friends among them, used all his arts of persuasion, which were by no
means small, and thus the battle for the favor of the Iroquois went on.
The night before the council was to be held, Tayoga, his black eyes
flashing, came to Robert and the hunter and they talked together for a
long time.

The great council was