nnebagoes, Miamis, and Iowas. These were still
unconverted.

The French held these savage allies in abhorrence. Their drunkenness,
their turbulence, their contempt of all orders, their cruelty to their
captives, and their cannibalism, disgusted and shocked Montcalm and his
officers; but they were powerless to restrain them, for without them as
scouts, guides, and eyes in the forests, the French could have done
nothing, and, at the slightest remonstrance, the Indians were ready to
take offence, and to march away to their distant homes.

The letters of Montcalm and his officers, to their friends, were full
of disgust at the doings of their savage allies, and of regret that
they could not dispense with their services, or restrain their
ferocity. Vaudreuil and the Canadians, on the other hand, accustomed to
the traditions of savage warfare, made no attempt whatever to check the
ferocity of the Indians, and were, indeed, the instigators of the raids
which the savages made upon the unprotected villages and settlements on
the frontier; offered rewards for scalps, and wrote and talked
gleefully of the horrible atrocities committed upon the colonists.

Chapter 14: Scouting On Lake Champlain.

One morning, Colonel Monro sent for James.

"Captain Walsham," he said, "there are rumours that the French are
gathering at Crown Point in considerable force. Captain Rogers is still
disabled by his wound, and his band have suffered so heavily, in their
last affair with the enemy, that for the time they are out of action.
It is important that I should learn the truth of these rumours, for, if
they be true, I must communicate at once to the general, in order that
he may get together a sufficient force to relieve us, if Montcalm comes
down and lays siege to the fort. Will you undertake the business?"

"I will do my best, sir," James replied. "Do you propose that I should
take all my company, or only a picked party?"

"That I will leave to you, Captain Walsham. I want trustworthy news,
and how you obtain it for me matters little."

"Then I will take only a small party," James said. "Fifty men would be
useless, for purposes of fighting, if the enemy are numerous, while
with such a number it would be hopeless to attempt to escape detection
by the Indians. The fewer the better for such an enterprise."

On leaving the commandant, James at once summoned the two hunters to
his hut, and told them the mission he had received.

"I am r