canoe came to shore beneath Mount Royal.

Montreal was the colony's farthest outpost towards the Iroquois.
Though it had been founded as a mission and nothing else, its situation
was such that its inhabitants could not avoid being drawn into the fur
trade. To a large extent it still retained its religious character,
but beneath the surface could be detected a cleavage of interest
between the missionary zeal of the Sulpicians and the commercial
activity of the local governor, Francois Perrot. And since this Perrot
is soon to find place in the present narrative as a bitter enemy of
Frontenac, a word concerning him may fitly be written here. He was an
officer of the king's army who had come to Canada with Talon. The fact
that his wife was Talon's niece had put him in the pathway of
promotion. The order of St Sulpice, holding in fief the whole island
of Montreal, had power to name the local governor. In June 1669 the
Sulpicians had nominated Perrot, and two years later his appointment
had been confirmed by the king. Later, as we shall see, arose the
thorny question of {40} how far the governor of Canada enjoyed
superiority over the governor of Montreal.

The governor of Montreal, attended by his troops and the leading
citizens, stood at the landing-place to offer full military honours to
the governor of Canada. Frontenac's arrival was then signalized by a
civic reception and a _Te Deum_. The round of civilities ended, the
governor lost no time in unfolding the real purpose of his visit, which
was less to confer with the priests of St Sulpice than to recruit
forces for his expedition, in order that he might make a profound
impression on the Iroquois. The proposal to hold a conference with the
Iroquois at Cataraqui (where Kingston now stands) met with some
opposition; but Frontenac's energy and determination were not to be
denied, and by the close of June four hundred French and Indians were
mustered at Lachine in readiness to launch their canoes and barges upon
Lake St Louis.

[Illustration: ROBERT CAVELIER DE LA SALLE. From an engraving by
Waltner, Paris]

If Montreal was the outpost of the colony, Lachine was the outpost of
Montreal. Between these two points lay the great rapid, the Sault St
Louis, which from the days of Jacques Cartier had blocked the ascent of
the St Lawrence to seafaring boats. At Lachine La Salle had formed his
seigneury in 1667, {41} the year after his arrival in Canada; and it
had b