1701.] THE GRAND COUNCIL. 447 



and sons of the dead chief, and files of Huron and 

 Ottawa warriors ; while Madame de Champigny, 

 attended by Vaudreuil and all the military officers, 

 closed the procession. After the service, the sol- 

 diers fired three volleys over the grave ; and a tablet 

 was placed upon it, carved with the words, — 



Cy git le Rat, Chef des Hurons. 



All this ceremony pleased the allied tribes, and 

 helped to calm their irritation. Every obstacle 

 being at length removed or smoothed over, the 

 fourth of August was named for the grand council. 

 A vast, oblong space was marked out on a plain 

 near the town, and enclosed with a fence of 

 branches. At one end was a canopy of boughs and 

 leaves, under which were seats for the spectators. 

 Troops were drawn up in line along the sides ; the 

 seats under the canopy were filled by ladies, officials, 

 and the chief inhabitants of Montreal ; Callieres 

 sat in front, surrounded by interpreters ; and the 

 Indians were seated on the grass around the open 

 space. There were more than thirteen hundred 

 of them, gathered from a distance of full two thou- 

 sand miles, Hurons and Ottawas from Michilli- 

 mackinac, Ojibwas from Lake Superior, Crees from 

 the remote north, Pottawatamies from Lake Michi- 

 gan, Mascontins, Sacs, Foxes, Winnebagoes, and 

 Menominies from Wisconsin, Miamis from the St. 

 Joseph, Illinois from the river Illinois, Abenakis 

 from Acadia, and many allied hordes of less ac- 

 count ; each savage painted with diverse hues and 

 patterns, and each in his dress of ceremony, 



