Page:History of the Ojibway Nation.djvu/428

418 lived on the shores of Chagouamigon Bay, and had been driven away by the Sioux. While they lived in perfect harmony, they did not speak the same language. The Hurons were separated by a palisade. The settlement of Mackinaw on the mainland was at that time well fortified. The pickets of the outside circle were of pine and about thirty feet high. The second circle was a foot from the former, the third, four feet from the second, three feet and a half in diameter, and fifteen or sixteen feet high. The pickets were closely planted, with loop holes at certain distances. The Indian cabins were arched, made by planting poles, bending them at the top, and fastening with the roots of the birch. They were covered with the bark of fir or cedar trees. They were one hundred or one hundred and thirty feet long, twenty-four wide, and twenty in height. At each end was an opening.

In May, 1692, Frontenac determined to obtain the furs which had accumulated at Mackinaw, and Lt' d Argenteuil with eighteen Canadians, who undertook the voyage in the hope of a handsome reward, bore dispatches to Louvigny, the officer at the post, ordering him to send down not only the peltries, but the two hundred Frenchmen who were dispersed among the upper tribes. On the 17th of August, more than two hundred canoes arrived at Montreal with furs, Indians, and Frenchmen. In the language of a "Narrative" of that period, "It is impossible to conceive the joy of the public in beholding such a vast quantity of riches. For several years Canada had been impatiently waiting for this prodigious heap of beaver, which was reported to be at Missilimakinac. The merchant, the