8 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
spent twelve tedious years among them and that it was at the request 
of generous Beaufort that her captors had been so indulgent. 
Beaufort had led the Iroquois in the expedition when Sakia and 
Ulamar had been taken prisoners and he had always manifested the 
deepest interest in their welfare. 
Okima further causes Sakia distress by saying that possibly the 
next day Ulamar would be more closely allied to the Iroqouis, as Zeph- 
ario, the chief, had promised the hand of his beautiful daughter Irene, 
to Beaufort or Ulamar, whichever should perform the most valorous 
deeds in the battle and that Beaufort had declared in favour of Ulamar 
as most worthy of this reward. Sakia deprecates that idea, saying that 
Beaufort, being an aspirant to the hand of Irene, the Iroquois would not 
dare to offend the English by giving her to Ulamar. 
Distracted by so many conflicting interests Sakia feels impelled 
to confide in someone and she reveals to Okima, under promise of secrecy, 
her marriage in the Huron country to a French officer named Miramont. 
Whilst she dwelt among the Hurons she had been known by the name 
Nikaia, and her son by that of Miramont, after his father, although 
he had been born in secret and brought up in her household as a little 
slave that her husband had presented to her father. To the change of 
names by the Iroquois she attributed her husband’s inability to trace 
his wife and son. He had been absent holding a fort for the French 
kine when they were taken captive. 
Sakia gives the following reasons for keeping her marriage a secret. 
Her husband had been the younger son of a French noble family and 
was thus a dependent of the King. They had been married by a humble 
French priest and should the “haughty Canadian priesthood” come 
to know of it they would use their influence with the French monarch 
to bring disgrace upon her husband because she had not become a 
Christian. As for her son he had been brought up among the Iroquois 
to hate the French so intensely that the information concerning his 
birth might arouse in his mind an aversion to his father whom he could 
not remember. Should the Iroquois come to know that Ulamar was 
French they would certainly no longer allow him to lead them to battle 
and this would be a blow to Ulamar without for the present furthering 
her own wishes. 
Sakia also relates how on one occasion when her husband was sick 
of his wounds and his recovery was doubtful, he had made her promise 
that she would never allow her son to make an alliance with an Indian 
maiden; but that she would endeavor to have him taken home to France 
where he might marry someone in his father’s own rank. This was the 
secret of her aversion to the union of Ulamar and Irene, although she 
admitted that Irene was in every way beautiful and good. 
