272 THE LABEADOE PENINSULA. CHAP, xvn, 



he arrived in Quebec in 1632, or 230 years ago, he found 

 several Iroquois prisoners in the hands of the Montagnais, 

 and that, while he remained there, they inflicted on the 

 Iroquois the most dreadful tortures before putting them 

 to death. He describes one Iroquois chief as singing 

 while at the stake, and when he finally sank beneath the 

 awful cruelties to which he was subjected, the Montagnais 

 tore out his heart, cut it into little pieces, and gave it to 

 their children.* At this period the Montagnais lived in 

 daily dread of a surprise by the Iroquois. 



In 1665 the Iroquois penetrated into the country of the 

 Mistassmni Indians, whose hunting grounds interlocked 

 with those of the Montagnais. The Iroquois, one hundred 

 in number, divided into three parties, one going towards 

 Mistassinni Lake, another into the Montagnais country, 

 where they came upon a fortified camp on Lake Pia- 

 gouagami. The Iroquois killed several of the unfortu- 

 nate Montagnais and took some prisoners ; but as they 

 were retracing their steps, the Montagnais, having gathered 

 their friends, came up with them. A battle ensued, in 

 which the Iroquois were routed, but not before they had 

 tortured and killed some of their prisoners. f In 1672 le 

 Pere Albanel passed through Lake Mistassinni, which he 

 describes as so large as to require twenty days of fine 

 weather in order to voyage round it in a canoe. He states 

 that, eight or ten years before he arrived there, the 

 Mistassinni Indians were numerous, but, on account of the 

 invasion of the Iroquois, they had deserted the shores of 



* Relation de la Nouvelle France, en 1'Annee 1632 ; Relation des Jesuits. 

 t Relation des Jesuits, .1665. 



