Section II., 1903 [ IS ] Trans. R. S. C. 



II. — The Lake of the Woods Tragedy. 

 By Lawrence J. Burpee. 



(Communicated by W. Wilfred C5ampbell, and read May 19, 1903.) 



All students of early Canadian history are of course familiar with 

 the general outlines of that most tragic incident in the search for the 

 Western Sea — the murder by the Sioux of the eldest son^ of Pierre 

 Gaultier de Yarennes, the Sieur de Lavérendrye, with the Jesuit mis- 

 sionary Aulneau, or Auneau,^ and a score of voyageurs, on an island in 

 the Lake of the Woods. None of the English histories of French 

 Canada, however, contain more than a passing reference to the affair, 

 and the French-Canadian historians are not much more explicit, with 

 the exception of Benjamin Suite. It has, therefore, seemed worth 

 while to bring together such evidence as is now available, — the original 

 documents, whether in manuscript or print, — so that we may have 

 before us, in convenient form, the fullest possible details of the 

 occurrence. 



The Sioux having done their work with characteristic thorough- 

 ness, no survivor remained of Lavérendrye's party to carry an authentic 

 account of the matter to the nearest post; and the Indians themselves 

 showed a perhaps natural reluctance to enter into details. Conse- 

 quently, the evidence we have is more or less indirect and 

 circumstantial. 



What may be considered the official account is contained in a letter 

 from the governor, Beauharnois, to the French Colonial Minister, 

 dated 14th October, 1736. •"' This is based on the elder Lavérendrye's 

 report, and upon a statement made by one Bourassa,* a voyageur, who 

 had met the same party of Sioux on the day of the massacre. 



^ The Sieur Vérendrye had four sons. The eldest, here referred to, was 

 Jean-Baptiste, born at Sorel, in 1713. He had taken an active part, under his 

 father's directions, in the search for the Western Sea. 



- For full particulars in regard to Father Aulneau, see 27^e Aiilneau Collec- 

 tion, 1734-1745, edited by Rev. Arthur E. Jones, S.J., and published by St. 

 Mary's Colleg-e, Montreal, 1S93. As to the spelling of the name, Parkman and 

 most of the other historians spell it Anneau. Mr. Benjamin Suite says 

 Auneau is the preferable spelling, but that Aulneau is almost equally good. 

 There does not appear to be any sufficient authority for spelling it Anneau. 



^ Lettre de Monsieur de Beauharnois, à Québec, le 14 octobre 1736. See 

 Canadian Archives: Postes des Pays de l'Ouest, 1679-1759. (Vol. 16), F. 126, 

 pp. 335-339. 



* It is difficult to place this man. He is never referred to, except as one 

 Bourassa. Mr. Suite is of opinion that he was probably a grandson of the 

 first Bourassa, who came to Canada from France in 1684. See Tanguay. 



