y of
Iroquois--sacrificing their lives to save the little struggling colony
at Montreal. Again, their way lay beneath those towering cliffs
overlooking the Ottawa, on which now stand the Canadian Houses of {26}
Parliament. They had just passed the curtain-like falls of the Rideau
on one side, and the mouth of the turbulent Gatineau on the other, and
before them lay the majestic Chaudiere. Here they disembarked. The
voyageurs, following the Indian example, threw a votive offering of
tobacco into the boiling cauldron, for the benefit of the dreaded
Windigo. Then, shouldering canoes and cargo, they made their way along
the portage to the upper stream, and, launching and reloading the
canoes, proceeded on their journey. So the days passed, each one
carrying them farther from the settlements and on, ever on, towards the
unknown West, and perhaps to the Western Sea.

From the upper waters of the Ottawa they carried their canoes over into
a series of small lakes and creeks that led to Lake Nipissing, and
thence they ran down the French river to Lake Huron. Launching out
fearlessly on this great lake, they paddled swiftly along the north
shore to Fort Michilimackinac, where they rested for a day or two.
Fort Michilimackinac was on the south side of the strait which connects
Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, and lay so near the water that the waves
frequently broke against the stockade. Passing through the gates,
above which floated {27} the fleurs-de-lis of France, they found
themselves in an enclosure, some two acres in extent, containing thirty
houses and a small church. On the bastions stood in a conspicuous
position two small brass cannon, captured from the English at Fort
Albany on Hudson Bay, in 1686, by De Troyes and Iberville.[1]

It was now the end of July, and La Verendrye had still a long way to
go. After a brief rest, he gathered his party together, embarked once
more, and steered his way on that great inland sea, Lake Superior. All
that had gone before was child's play to what must now be encountered.
In contrast to the blue and placid waters of Lake Huron, the explorers
now found themselves in the midst of a dark and sombre sea, whose
waves, seldom if ever still, could on occasion rival the Atlantic in
their fierce tumult. Even in this hottest month of the year the water
was icy cold, and the keen wind that blew across the lake forced those
who were not paddling to put on extra clothing. They must needs