HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK IROQUOIS 169 



hawks advanced in good order, led by three chiefs, distinguished 

 by their larger plumes. On landing, the Montagnars ran toward 

 the enemy, but opened their ranks to let Champlain take the lead. 

 The Mohawks halted at this new sight, and his first shot killed 

 two chiefs and wounded a third, though clad in arrow-proof 

 armor. This decided the contest, but many others were killeu' 

 and some taken prisoners. 



This meeting has been assigned to both Ticonderoga and 

 Crown Point. For the former it may be said that they returned 

 three hours after the fight, and yet Champlain saw Ticonderoga 

 falls. For the latter, that the Iroquois came down the lake to 

 the large point where they stopped, whence we might at first, 

 but not conclusively, infer they were north of the portage. He 

 added, '' The place where this battle was fought is in 43 degrees 

 some minutes latitude, and I named it Lake Champlain." Crown 

 Point is very near the 44th parallel. In this case it is probable 

 the Mohawks embarked at the head of Lake Champlain. 



In 1610 he had another encounter with the Iroquois. Some 

 Algoumequins and Montagnais had attacked a temporary fort 

 in which 100 of their enemies had taken refuge, and were repulsed 

 with the loss of some of their best men. Even the French were 

 not at first successful, terrible as firearms were then to the Iro- 

 quois. Reinforcements came; Champlain had a tree felled across 

 the barricade, and the place was carried by assault, few of the 

 defenders escaping. 



For some time there were but brief references to the Iroquois, 

 and then Champlain took part in what was intended for a crush- 

 ing, but was an unsuccessful blow. In 161 5 he visited the 

 Hurons, sometimes called the good Iroquois from their friend- 

 ship for the Algonquins and the French, the latter known to them 

 as the Agnonha or iron men. He commenced his journey July 9, 

 with Etienne Brule, the interpreter, a French servant and some 

 Indians, ascending the Ottawa, part of which he had already 

 traversed. Reaching the Georgian bay, he followed its shores 

 to the Huron towns toward Lake Simcoe. The Recollect Father, 

 Le Caron already had a mission there, and eight of his French- 



