he
expected reinforcements. At the end of this time there was no sign of
the five hundred, and the return began. 'The only good point,' says
Champlain, 'that I have seen in their mode of warfare is that they make
their retreat very securely, placing all the wounded and aged in their
centre, being well armed on the wings and in the rear, and continuing
this order without interruption until they reach a place of security.'

Champlain himself suffered tortures during the retreat, partly from his
wounds, but even more from the mode of transportation. The Indian method
of removing the wounded was first to bind and pinion them 'in such a
manner that it is as impossible for them to move as for an infant in its
swaddling-clothes.' They were then carried in a kind of basket, 'crowded
up in a heap.' Doubtless as a mark of distinction, Champlain was carried
separately on the back of a savage. His wound was so severe that when
the retreat began he could not stand. But the transportation proved
worse than the wound. 'I never found myself in such a gehenna as during
this time, for the pain which I suffered in consequence of the wound in
my knee was nothing in comparison with that which I endured while I was
carried bound and pinioned on the back of one of our savages. So that I
lost my patience, and as soon as I could sustain myself got out of this
prison, or rather gehenna.'

The enemy made no pursuit, but forced marches were kept up for
twenty-five or thirty leagues. The weather now grew cold, as it was past
the middle of autumn. The fight at the fort of the Onondagas had taken
place on October 10, and eight days later there was a snowstorm, with
hail and a strong wind. But, apart from extreme discomfort, the retreat
was successfully accomplished, and on the shore of Lake Ontario they
found the canoes intact.

It had been Champlain's purpose to spend the winter at Quebec, and when
the Hurons were about to leave the east end of Lake Ontario for their
own country he asked them for a canoe and an escort. Four Indians
volunteered for this service, but no canoe could be had, and in
consequence Champlain was forced reluctantly to accompany the Hurons.
With his usual patience he accepted the inevitable, which in this case
was only unpleasant because he was ill prepared for spending a winter
among the Indians. After a few days he perceived that their plan was
to keep him and his companions, partly as security for themselves
and partly t