;  2     "     ."
two]
SAVAGE ALLIES OF NEW FRANCE
33
tangled among all these nets. The Nadoiiaissioux, who were in ambush, heard the sound of the bells and attacked the Hurons, of whom none could save himself except one, whom they sent back to his own country to carry the news of the affair. They are very lustful. They live on wild oats, which is very abundant in their marshes. Their country has also the utmost abundance of beavers. The Kristinaux, who also are accustomed to navigation, and their other enemies often compel them to take refuge in places where they have no other food than acorns, roots, and the bark of trees.
One of their chiefs, seeing that very few French were left in the fort (which is near them) when all the tribes marched against the Iroquois, raised a party of one hundred warriors in order to plunder the fort. This Frenchman displayed, on his return, the anger that he felt because they had acted so badly during his absence. The [other] chiefs had not been concerned in that plan, and came very near killing that chief; he was regarded, at least after that, with great contempt. When the renewal of the alliance was made the Frenchmen went back to their fort. There was one of them who complained, on going away, that a box of merchandise had been stolen from him; it was quite difficult to ascertain who had committed this theft, and recourse was had to a very odd stratagem. The commandant told one of his men to pretend to get some water in a cup in which he had put some brandy. As it was evident that there was no [other] means of recovering the box, they were threatened with the burning and drying up the waters in their marshes; and to strengthen the effect of these menaces, that brandy was set on fire. They were so terrified that they imagined that everything was going to destruction; the merchandise was recovered, and then the French