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neighbourhood, by buying furs at the firft-hand, iy 

 well worth all the quit-rents he could receive from 

 any planters to whom he could have parcelled out 

 his lands. In time it will be in his own option to 

 have vaflals, when he may have much better terms, 

 after having firft cleared all his eftate. h The river 

 of Beckancourt was formerly called the Stinking- 

 River : I acquainted myfelf with the occalion of 

 this name, as the water of it appeared to be clear 

 and excellent in other refpects, which was alfo con- 

 firmed by others, and that there was no fuch thing 

 as a difagreeable fcent in the whole country, I was 

 however, told by others, that this name was owing 

 to the bad quality of the waters \ others again at- 

 tributed it to the great quantity of mufk-rats found 

 on it, the fmell of which is intolerable to an Indi- 

 an ; a third account, and which is related by fuch 

 as have made deeper refearches into the ancient hif- 

 tory of the country, and which is therefore pretend- 

 ed to be the true one, is as follows. 



Some Algonquins, being at war with the On- 

 nontcharonnons, better known by the name of the 

 nation of the Iroquet, and whofe ancient abode was, 

 fay they, in the ifland of Montreal. The name 

 they bear proves them to be of the Huron language ; 

 notwithstanding, it is pretended that the Hurons 

 were they who drove them from their ancient refi- 

 dence, and who have even in part deftroyed them. 

 Be this as it will, they were, at the time I have been 

 mentioning, at war with the Algonquins, who, to 

 put an end to the war, they began to be weary of, 

 at one blow, bethought themfeives of a ftratagem 

 which fucceeded according to their wifhes. They 

 took the field, by occupying both fides of the little 

 river, now called the river of Beckancourt. They 

 afterwards detached fome canoes, the crews of which 



feigned 



5 



