416 THE HURON MISSION ABANDONED. [1650. 



nothing remaining of the Algonquins who dwelt on 

 its shore, except the ashes of then- burnt wigwams. 

 A little farther on, there was a fort built of trees, 

 where the Iroquois who made this desolation had 

 spent the winter ; and a league or two below, there 

 was another similar fort. The River Ottawa was a 

 solitude. The Algonquins of Allumette Island and 

 the shores adjacent had all been killed or driven 

 away, never again to return. " When I came up 

 this great river, only thirteen years ago," writes 

 E-agueneau, " I found it bordered with Algonquin 

 tribes, who knew no God, and, in their infidelity, 

 thought themselves gods on earth ; for they had 

 all that they desired, abundance of fish and game, 

 and a prosperous trade with allied nations : besides, 

 they w^ere the terror of their enemies. But since 

 they have embraced the Faith and adored the cross 

 of Christ, He has given them a heavy share in this 

 cross, and made them a prey to misery, torture, 

 and a cruel death. In a word, they are a people 

 swept from the face of the earth. Our only 

 consolation is, that, as they died Christians, they 

 have a part in the inheritance of the true chil- 

 dren of God, who scoiu'geth every one whom He 

 receiveth."^ 



As the voyagers descended the river, they had a 

 serious alarm. Their scouts came in, and reported 

 that they had found fresh footprints of men in the 

 forest. These proved, however, to be the tracks, 



1 Ragueneau, Relation cles Hurons, 1650, 27. These Algonquins of the 

 Ottawa, though broken and dispersed, were not destroyed, as Ragueneau 

 supposes 



