Arbitrary and domineering to a degree, always anxious to preserve his dignity and to exact respect from his subordinates in office and from those about his court, whether lay or clerical, and a martinet in compelling the observance of all rules of social and military discipline, Frontenac, as may be supposed, did not get on well with all parties in the colony. He made the fatal mistake of quarrelling with the Jesuits and the Seminary priests,—the two religious orders which at that time held the greater sway in Canada, and whose influence among the people, and sometimes at court, was important, and not easy to dispel. An enemy was also found in the Intendant Talon, who suspiciously watched every movement which the Governor made, and regularly reported his impressions to France. Talon, however, was recalled before the quarrel had assumed very formidable proportions, and Frontenac was well rid of him. A more dangerous element, and one which could thwart him and upset his schemes, remained, however, to tantalize him. He had his religious convictions, and was accounted a good-living man, in the ordinary acceptance of the term. He regularly went to Mass, and followed the observances of the Church; but his Catholicism was framed in a more liberal school than that of the followers of Loyola. His enemies said that he was a Jansenist. He leaned towards the Recollect Fathers, attended their place of worship, and often called on the King for additional priests of that order, and took every opportunity to show them attention and marks of his favor. When the Jesuits appeared too strong in number, he sent to France for more Recollects, and through them he neutralized to some extent the influence of the former. But the Jesuits were powerful, diplomatic, and insidious. They constantly watched their opportunity, and changed their mode of warfare according to the circumstances of the hour. When the gloved hand answered their purpose, they used it; but they had no scruple to strike with stronger weapons. Had Frontenac chosen at the outset of his career to conciliate them and to play into their hands, his administration might have been less fretful to himself and vexatious to others. He might have fulfilled his original intention, and bettered his fortunes in the way he desired. He might have carried out some of his cherished reforms, for his zeal in that direction was really very great, and he had his heart in his task; but his haughty disposition would not be curbed, and he preferred to be aggressive towards the Jesuits rather than conciliatory. The result may be foreseen. Enemies sprang up about him on every side, and often they were more dangerous than the Iroquois tribes who constantly menaced the colony, and far more difficult to check than the English of Massachusetts or of Albany. He early began writing letters to the minister about his trials with the clergy. On the 2d of November, 1672, he wrote: “Another thing displeases me, and this is the complete dependence of the Grand Vicar and the Seminary priests on the Jesuits, for they never do the least thing without their order; so that they [the Jesuits] are masters in spiritual matters, which, as you know, is a powerful lever for moving everything else.” He complained of their spies, and proceeded to resist their influence wherever he found it asserting itself. The Sulpitians fared no better at his hands, and he waged as bitter a warfare against them and those who followed their teachings. He befriended the Recollects so warmly, that it is not strange that they eagerly lent him all the assistance they could to further his efforts in breaking down the power of their rivals. It is said that at first he favored them out of a mere spirit of opposition to the Bishop and his allies, the Jesuits; but as time wore on, his favor deepened into affection, and he more than once declared to the King that the Recollects ought to be more numerous than they were. He told Colbert that their superior was a “very great preacher,” and that he had “cast into the shade and given some chagrin to those in this country who certainly are not so able.” He charged the clergy with abusing the confessional and intermeddling with private family affairs, and expressed his dislike in strong terms of their secret doings in the colony, and their attempts to set husbands against wives, and parents against children,—“and all,” he wrote to the minister, “as they say, for the greater glory of God.” It is clear that the Count distrusted the “Black Gowns” from the very first, and resolved to hold them at arm’s length. Much of his energy was wasted in trying to lessen their influence at court; and the King and his minister were kept pretty busy reading and answering the recriminatory letters of the Governor and his unsympathetic intendants, whose feelings always prompted them to side with the Jesuits and the Church, and against Frontenac.
A policy of Louis XIV. was the civilization of the Indians, and Frontenac was, early in his career, instructed to take means to civilize them, to have them taught the French language, and to amalgamate them with the colonists. At that time the Count knew very little about Indian nature; but he embarked in the scheme with all his energy and zeal. He soon gained a mastery over the most savage tribes, taught the warriors to call him father, and succeeded in inducing the Iroquois to intrust him with the care of eight of their children,—four girls and four boys. The former were given to the Ursulines, while he kept two of the boys in his own house, and placed the others, at his own cost, in respectable French families, and had them sent to school to be educated. He tried to get the Jesuits to assist him in this task, but they failed to respond cordially to his urging; and he complained bitterly of their want of sympathy with the movement, even charging them—not very accurately, it must be admitted—with “refusing to civilize the Indians, because they wished to keep them in perpetual wardship.”
But a new question now arose, and Frontenac’s mind was turned towards western exploration. He warmly favored the idea, and, relinquishing for the moment all thought of his trials with the priests, he gave his whole attention to the proposals of that bold and self-reliant explorer, the Sieur Robert de la Salle. This young man was poor in pocket, but his head was full of schemes. There was much in common between the two men. Both had strong will and ability of no mean calibre. They were not easily discouraged, and having once engaged in an undertaking, they had sufficient determination to carry it through. Frontenac greatly liked La Salle, and the two remained fast friends for many years. A short time before the Governor arrived in Canada, the Iroquois had made an attack on the French, and Courcelle had been compelled to punish them. To keep them in check and to facilitate the fur-trade of the upper country, he decided that a fort should be built near the outlet of Lake Ontario. This determination had also been reached some time before by the Intendant Talon, and both officers had submitted the suggestion to the King. Frontenac was not long in perceiving the advantages which the establishment of such a fort presented, and he resolved to build it, as much to protect the colony as to augment his own slender resources, which were running very low. La Salle had gained the confidence of the Governor, who had listened to his overtures, and manifested great interest in everything he said. “There was between them,” says Parkman, “the sympathetic attraction of two bold and energetic spirits; and though Cavelier de la Salle had neither the irritable vanity of the Count nor his Gallic vivacity of passion, he had in full measure the same unconquerable pride and hardy resolution. There were but two or three others in Canada who knew the western wilderness so well. He was full of schemes of ambition and of gain; and from this moment he and Frontenac seem to have formed an alliance which ended only with the Governor’s recall.” The fort recommended by Courcelle, if built, might be employed in intercepting the trade which the tribes of the upper lakes had begun to carry on with the Dutch and English of New York. This trade Frontenac resolved to secure for Canada, though it must be said that those who would have control of the fort would monopolize the larger share of the traffic to themselves, to the great displeasure of the other merchants, who resolutely set their faces against the project. Frontenac knew this perfectly well, for it was principally with a desire to benefit himself that he had given the plan countenance. La Salle understood the western country, and was familiar with Lake Ontario and its shores. He soon convinced the Governor that the most suitable spot for the contemplated fortified post was at the mouth of the River Cataraqui, and there, where the city of Kingston now stands, the fort[693] was built, in July, 1673. La Salle had told Frontenac that the English were intriguing with the Iroquois and the tribes of the upper lakes to get them to break the treaty with the French and bring their furs to New York. This statement was true, and it hastened the Governor’s action. With his usual address, he announced his intention of making a tour through the upper parts of the colony with a strong force of men, that the Iroquois and their associates might be intimidated, and with a view to the securing of a more permanent peace. He had no money to carry on this crusade, so he issued an order to the people of Quebec, Montreal, and Three Rivers, and other settlements within his jurisdiction, calling on them to supply him, at their own cost, with men and canoes as soon as the spring sowing had passed. The officers in the colony were requested to join the expedition, and they dared not refuse. On the 3d of June Frontenac left Quebec, accompanied by his guard, his staff, some of the garrison of the Castle of St. Louis, and a band of volunteers. Arriving at Montreal, he tarried there thirteen days with his following. There were some matters which required his attention, and he speedily set about to arrange them in a manner which should at least be satisfactory to himself.
La Salle had been despatched to Onondaga, the political stronghold of the Iroquois, on a mission to secure the attendance of their chiefs at a council convened by the Governor, to be held at the Bay of Quinté, situated on the north of Lake Ontario. While the intrepid traveller was on his way, Frontenac changed his mind about the place of rendezvous, and sent a messenger after him, calling the sachems to meet at Cataraqui, where he decided to construct the fort. The Governor of Montreal received Frontenac with suitable honors. He met him on shore with his soldiers and people, a salute was fired, and the judge and the syndic pronounced speeches of interminable length, but loyal and patriotic in sentiment. The priests of St. Sulpice received him at their church, where an address of welcome was presented. The Te Deum was sung, and the Count then retired into the fort, and began preparing for his coming journey. It was not long before he discovered that his project found little favor in the eyes of the people of Montreal, who feared that much of their trade might be diverted from them by the construction of the new post. The Jesuits, too, were opposed to the rearing of forts and trading posts in the upper districts, and they did what they could to discourage the scheme. Frontenac was warned that a Dutch fleet had captured Boston, and would soon proceed to attack Quebec. Dablon was the author of this last rumor; but the Count turned a deaf ear to remonstrance and report, and continued his preparations. His followers and their stores were already on the way to Lachine, and on the twenty-eighth of June the Governor-General himself set out. His force consisted of four hundred men, including the Mission Indians, and one hundred and twenty canoes and two flat-bottomed boats. The voyage was an arduous and difficult one. Without the Indians, it is a question whether it could have been accomplished at all. The fearful journey was full of perils and hardships, and, to add to their discomfiture, before the place of destination was reached rain fell in torrents. Frontenac’s management of the Indians approached the marvellous. They worked for him with genuine zeal, and showed by their toil as much as by their manner that they respected his authority and admired him as a man. He divined the Indian nature well, though he had been in the country but a few months; and the longer he remained in the colony, the greater his influence over them became. He knew when to bully and when to conciliate, when to apply blandishments and when to be stern. It was a happy thought which prompted him to call himself their father. It gave him the superiority of position at once. Other Onontios were brothers; but the great Onontio was the father.[694] He really liked the Indians, and could enter into their ways and customs with a spirit born of good-will. He was a frank, and often fiery soldier, and a true courtier; but he could be playful with the Indian children, and it was not beneath his dignity to lead a war-dance, should policy demand, as it did sometimes. He seemed to know the thoughts of his dusky friends, and they felt that he could read what was passing through their minds. His control over the tribes, friends and foes alike, was certainly never surpassed by any white man.
He was, moreover, true to his allies; and on more than one occasion refused to make peace for himself with the ferocious Iroquois, when he could easily have done so, unless they complied with his terms, and included in the treaty the Indians friendly to the French. He would never abandon his friends to save himself; and the tribes, hostile and friendly, early in his career learned this, and it served to establish his fame as a man of fair dealing and chivalrous principle. He never yielded his point even when his savage enemies were many and his own forces few and feeble. He maintained his ascendency always, and lecturing his children, pointed out the duties they should observe. Such was his personal magnetism, that they listened and obeyed him when their following was five times as great as his own. The secret of Frontenac’s supremacy over savage nature seemed to lie in the fact that he never ceased to have perfect faith and belief in himself. He had fiery blood in his veins, and an iron will, that the blandishments which he employed at times never quite concealed. Even when reduced to severe straits, he did not lose that boldness of demeanor which carried him through so many perils. The Iroquois gave him most trouble. They were fond of fighting, and when they were not attacking the French, they were waging war on the Illinois and Hurons, and on other tribes whose aid was often found on the side of Frontenac. The Confederacy preferred to sell their peltries to the English and Dutch of Albany, than to the French. They drove with the English better bargains and secured higher prices, and the English encouraged them to bring to them their beaver skins. But the tribes who were friendly to their white enemies had by far the richest product of these furs, and La Salle’s fort of St. Louis, the mission of Michillimackinac, and other posts really controlled the trade. To gain this traffic, and to divert it into the hands of their newly-found friends, the English and Dutch, the five tribes of the League proceeded in 1673 to make war on the Indians who engrossed it. Great anxiety was felt in the colony when this determination on the part of the Confederacy became known, and the tribes interested—the Illinois, the Hurons, and Ottawas—manifested the utmost fear. Frontenac deemed a conference advisable, and he invited the Iroquois to come to him and discuss affairs; but the arrogant warriors sent back an insolent answer, and told the messenger that Frontenac should come to them,—a suggestion which some of the French, who were terror-stricken, urged the Governor to act upon. But the Count had no such intention, and refused to make any concession. He sent them word that he would go no farther than Montreal, or, at the utmost, to Fort Frontenac, to meet them. In August, he met the Hurons and Ottawas at Montreal in council. There had been jealousy among the tribes, but the Count warned them against dissension among themselves, called them his children, and exhorted them to live together as brethren. A celebrated Iroquois chief came next, with several of his followers. This was Decanisora, who invited Frontenac to Oswego to meet the Five Tribes. The Count, determined to hold his ground, replied with firmness, “It is for the father to tell the children where to hold council, not for the children to tell the father. Fort Frontenac is the proper place, and you should thank me for going so far every summer to meet you.” He then conciliated the chief with presents and a wampum belt, telling him that the Illinois were Onontio’s children, and therefore his brethren, and that he wished them all to live together in harmony. There was peace for a brief space, but it did not continue many months.
When Frontenac neared the end of his toilsome journey, and had reached the first opening of Lake Ontario, he made up his mind to show the Iroquois the full extent of his power, and to make as imposing a display as possible. He arranged his canoes in line of battle, and disposed of them in this wise: four squadrons, composing the vanguard, went in front and in one line; then the two bateaux followed, and after them came the Count at the head of all the canoes of his guard, of his staff, and of the volunteers attached to his person. On his right, the division from Three Rivers, and on his left, the Hurons and Algonquins were placed. Two other squadrons formed a third line, and composed the rear-guard. In this order they proceeded about half a league, when an Iroquois canoe was observed to be approaching. It contained the Abbé d’Urfé (who had met the Indians above the River Cataraqui, and notified them of the Count’s arrival) and several Iroquois chiefs, who offered to guide their visitors to the place of rendezvous. After an exchange of civilities, their offer was accepted, and the whole party proceeded to the spot selected. The Count was greatly pleased with the locality, and spent the rest of the afternoon of the 12th of July in examining the ground. The Iroquois were impatient to have him visit them that night in their tents; but he sent them word that it was now too late, but that in the morning, when it would be more convenient to see and entertain each other, he would gladly do so. This reply was considered satisfactory. At daybreak the next morning, the réveillé was sounded, and at seven o’clock everybody was astir and under arms. The troops were drawn up in double file around Frontenac’s tent, and extended to the cabins of the Indians. Large sails were placed in front of his tent for the savage deputies to sit on, and to the number of sixty they passed through the two files thus formed to the council. They were greatly impressed with the display, and “after having sat, as is their custom, and smoked some time,” says the journal of the Count’s voyage, “one of them, named Garakontie, who had always been the warmest friend of the French, and who ordinarily acted as spokesman, paid his compliment in the name of all the nations, and expressed the joy they felt on learning from Sieur de la Salle Onontio’s design to come and visit them. Though some evil-disposed spirits had endeavored to excite jealousy among them at his approach, they could not, they said, hesitate to obey his orders, but would come and meet him in the confidence that he wished to treat them as a father would his children. They were then coming, they continued, as true children, to assure him of their obedience, and to declare to him the entire submission they should always manifest to his command. The orator spoke, as he claimed, in the name of the Five Nations, as they had only one mind and one thought, in testimony whereof the captain of each tribe intended to confirm what he had just stated in the name of the whole.” The other chiefs followed, and after complimenting Frontenac, each captain presented a belt of wampum, “which is worthy of note,” says the chronicle, “because formerly it was customary to present only some fathoms of stringed wampum.”
The Count replied in a form of address very similar to theirs. He assured them that they did right in obeying the command of their father, told them to take courage, and not to think that he had come to make war. His mind was full of peace, and peace walked by his side. After this harangue, he ordered six fathoms of wampum to be given to them, and a gift of guns for the men, and prunes and raisins for the women and children. The great council took place later on. Meanwhile, the construction of the fort began, and the workmen pursued their task with such ardor and speed, that by the 17th of July, the date fixed for the grand council, it was well advanced. The work was done under the supervision of Raudin, the engineer of the expedition. The Indians watched the building of the fort with curious interest. The Count regularly entertained two or three of the principal Iroquois at each meal, while he fondled the children and distributed sweetmeats among them, and invited the squaws to dance in the evenings. The great council assembled at eight o’clock in the morning. The ceremony was the same as that which had been observed at the preliminary meeting. Frontenac wore his grandest air. He entreated them to become Christians, and to listen to the instructions of the “Black Gowns.” He praised, scolded, and threatened them in turn, and drawing their attention to his retinue, said: “If your father can come so far, with so great a force, through such dangerous rapids, merely to make you a visit of pleasure and friendship, what would he do if you should awaken his anger, and make it necessary for him to punish his disobedient children? He is the arbiter of peace and war. Beware how you offend him.” He further warned them not to molest the allies of the French, on pain of chastisement. He told them that the storehouse at Cataraqui was built as a proof of his affection, and that all the goods they needed could be had from there. He could not give them the terms yet, because the cost of transportation was so far unknown to him. He cautioned them against listening to men of bad character, and recommended the Sieur de la Salle and such as he as persons to be heeded. He asked the chiefs to give him a number of their children to be educated at Quebec, not as hostages, but out of pure friendship. The Indians wanted time to consider this proposition, and the next year they acceded to it. At intervals, during the delivery of his speech, Frontenac paused and gave the Indians presents, which seemed to please them. The council closed, and three days later, the Iroquois started on their journey homeward, while Frontenac’s party returned in detachments. The fort was finished, and the barracks nearly built. Frontenac would have left with his men for home sooner than he did, but a band of Indians from the villages on the north side of Lake Ontario being announced, he remained with some troops to receive them. He treated them as he had treated the others, and pronounced the same speech. Leaving a garrison in the fort, he then set out for Montreal, which he reached on the 1st of August.[695]