1692, 1693.] SAUT ST. LOUIS. 309 



armed men, and beset by the Iroquois, threw her- 

 self with her followers into the blockhouse, and 

 held the assailants two days at bay, till the Mar- 

 quis de Crisasi came with troops to her relief. 1 



From the moment when the Canadians found a 

 chief whom they could trust, and the firm old 

 hand of Frontenac grasped the reins of their destiny, 

 a spirit of hardihood and energy grew up in all 

 this rugged population ; and they faced their stern 

 fortunes with a stubborn daring and endurance that 

 merit respect and admiration. 



Now, as in all their former wars, a great part of 

 their suffering was due to the Mohawks. The 

 Jesuits had spared no pains to convert them, thus 

 changing them from enemies to friends ; and their 

 efforts had so far succeeded that the mission colony 

 of Saut St. Louis contained a numerous population 

 of Mohawk Christians. 2 The place was well forti- 

 fied ; and troops were usually stationed here, partly 

 to defend the converts and partly to ensure their 

 fidelity. They had sometimes done excellent ser- 

 vice for the French ; but many of them still remem- 

 bered their old homes on the Mohawk, and their 

 old ties of fellowship and kindred. Their heathen 

 countrymen were jealous of their secession, and 

 spared no pains to reclaim them. Sometimes they 

 tried intrigue, and sometimes force. On one occa- 

 sion, joined by the Oneidas and Onondagas, they 

 appeared before the palisades of St. Louis, to the 



i La Potherie, I. 326. 



2 This mission was also called Caghnawaga. The village still ex- 

 ists, at the head of the rapid of St. Louis, or La Chine. 



