1652.] DEATH OF BUTEUX. 421 



Nevertheless, he acceded to their request, and, be- 

 fore the opening of spring, made a remarkable 

 journey on snow-shoes into the depths of this 

 frozen wilderness.^ In the year following, he re- 

 peated the undertaking. With him were a large 

 party of Atticamegues, and several Frenchmen. 

 Game was exceedingly scarce, and they were forced 

 by hunger to separate, a Huron convert and a 

 Frenchman named Fontarabie remaining with the 

 missionary. The snows had melted, and all the 

 streams were swollen. The three travellers, in a 

 small birch canoe, pushed their way up a turbulent 

 river, where falls and rapids were so numerous, that 

 many times daily they were forced to carry their 

 bark vessel and theu' baggage through forests and 

 thickets and over rocks and precipices. On the 

 tenth of May, they made two such portages, and, 

 soon after, reaching a third fall, again lifted their 

 canoe from the water. They toiled through the 

 naked forest, among the wet, black trees, over 

 tangled roots, green, spongy mosses, mouldering 

 leaves, and rotten, prostrate trunks, while the cat- 

 aract foamed amidst the rocks hard by. The In- 

 dian led the way with the canoe on his head, while 

 Buteux and the other Frenchman followed with the 

 baggage. Suddenly they were set upon by a troop 

 of Iroquois, who had crouched behind thickets, 

 rocks, and fallen trees, to waylay them. The Huron 

 was captured before he had time to fly. Buteux 

 and the Frenchman tried to escape, but were in- 



1 lournal du Pere lacques Buteux du Voyage qu'il a fait p:ur la Mission 

 des Attikamegues. See Relation, 1651, 15. 



36 



