of Champlain and his two companions should come to the Iroquois as a complete surprise.  Each of the Frenchmen was in a separate canoe, convoyed by the Montagnais.  At daylight each put on light armour and, armed with an arquebus, went ashore.  Champlain was near enough the barricade to see nearly two hundred Iroquois, ’stout and rugged in appearance.  They came at a slow pace towards us, with a dignity and assurance which greatly impressed me, having three chiefs at their head.’  Champlain, when urged by his allies to make sure of killing the three chiefs, replied that he would do his best, and that in any case he would show them his courage and goodwill.

Then began the fight, which must be described in Champlain’s own words, for in all his writings there is no more famous passage.

As soon as we had landed, they began to run for some two hundred paces towards their enemies, who stood firmly, not having as yet noticed my companions, who went into the woods with some savages.  Our men began to call me with loud cries; and in order to give me a passage way they opened in two parts and put me at their head, where I marched some twenty paces in advance of the rest, until I was within about twenty paces of the enemy, who at once noticed me and, halting, gazed at me, as I did also at them.  When I saw them make a move to fire at us, I rested my musket against my cheek and aimed directly at one of the three chiefs.  With the same shot two fell to the ground; and one of their men was so wounded that he died some time after.  I had loaded my musket with four balls.  When our side saw this shot so favourable for them, they began to raise such loud cries that one could not have heard it thunder.  Meanwhile the arrows flew on both sides.  The Iroquois were greatly astonished that two men had been so quickly killed, although they were equipped with armour woven from cotton thread and with wood which was proof against their arrows.  This caused great alarm among them.  As I was loading again, one of my companions fired a shot from the woods, which astonished them anew to such a degree that, seeing their chiefs dead, they lost courage and took to flight, abandoning their camp and fort and fleeing into the woods, whither I pursued them, killing still more of them.  Our savages also killed several of them and took ten or twelve prisoners.  The remainder escaped with the wounded.  Fifteen or sixteen were wounded on our side with arrow shots, but they were soon healed.

The spoils of victory included a large quantity of Indian corn, together with a certain amount of meal, and also some of the native armour which the Iroquois had thrown away in order to effect their escape.  Then followed a feast and the torture of one of the prisoners, whose sufferings were mercifully concluded by a ball from Champlain’s musket, delivered in such wise that the unfortunate did not see the shot.  Like Montcalm and other French commanders