272 VILLEMARIE. [1644. 



that, while this was her duty, " her natural inclina« 

 tion was for hunting squirrels."^ 



Maisonneuve was as brave a knight of the cross 

 as ever fought in Palestine for the sepulchre of 

 Christ ; but he could temper his valor with discre- 

 tion. He knew that he and his soldiers were but 

 indifferent woodsmen ; that their crafty foe had no 

 equal in ambuscades and surprises ; and that, while 

 a defeat might ruin the French, it would only ex- 

 asperate an enemy whose resources in men were 

 incomparably greater. Therefore, when the dogs 

 sounded the alarm, he kept his followers close, and 

 stood patiently on the defensive. They chafed 

 under this Fabian policy, and at length imputed it 

 to cowardice. Their murmurings grew louder, till 

 they reached the ear of Maisonneuve. The relig- 

 ion which animated him had not destroyed the 

 soldierly pride which takes root so readily and so 

 strongly in a manly nature ; and an imputation of 

 cowardice from his own soldiers stung him to the 

 quick. He saw, too, that such an opinion of him 

 must needs weaken his authority, and impair the 

 discipline essential to the safety of the colony. 



On the morning of the thu'tieth of March, 

 Pilot was heard barking with unusual fury in the 

 forest eastward from the fort; and in a few mo- 

 ments they saw her running over the clearing, 

 where the snow was still deep, followed by her 



1 Lalemant, Relation, 1647, 74, 75. " Son attrait naturel estoit la 

 chasse aux ecurieux." Dollier de Casson also speaks admiringly of her 

 and her instinct. Faillon sees in it a manifest proof of the protecting care 

 of God over Villemarie. 



