The Adventures of Radisson. Back to the New World (10 page)

“A little. I stayed with the Mohawks.”

“Of course. The nation that never tired of attacking us. It stands to reason they were the ones that captured you. The Onondaga appear to be less threatening. They are asking us for missionaries and we are not afraid to send them. They have become real allies. Father Le Moyne has been living with them for one year now and he is sure they are acting in good faith.”

“In the final days I spent with the Iroquois, an Onondaga delegation came to my village specifically to talk about peace.”

Radisson was careful not to add that the delegation had been poorly received by the Mohawk leaders.

“The most surprising thing,” Ragueneau went on, “is that peace came about overnight. A revelation! When Father Le Moyne took the chance to go with them last fall, some believed it was a ploy. I myself was very suspicious. But they really did have a change of heart. That's why we need to seize this opportunity and settle among them in numbers. As you might well imagine, there is a great deal to prepare. You really couldn't have come at a better time.”

Ragueneau's enthusiasm enthralled Radisson. He had been listening to him for barely five minutes and already shared his assurance and verve.

“This is what I expect of you: While I take care of the skeptics who still doubt this mission's importance to the colony and gather together the remaining funds, you will begin packing. Put together everything we'll need with Brother Leboeme—I'll introduce you shortly—and your sister Françoise will take care of the food supplies. We must be ready to leave within a month. That doesn't leave you much time, granted, but you'll manage. Provided you start today!”

Radisson wasn't sure he would be able to shoulder the responsibility Ragueneau had suddenly thrust upon him before even getting to know him, but he vowed to do everything he could to rise to the challenge.

“Follow me now. I'll show you to your room and introduce you to Brother Leboeme. Then we'll go to the smith. He's going to have his work cut out.”

* * *

News had spread like wildfire around the village: one of their own had disappeared and was back home, safe and sound. The Iroquois hadn't gotten him. Lots of people stopped by to congratulate Radisson on their way back from the fields. The next day a party was thrown in his honour, a real feast washed down with plenty of eau-de-vie.

While Ragueneau made his way to Québec to try to gain the governor's support for the mission, Radisson began putting together the materials required to build and equip the fort the French would build among the Onondaga. The Jesuit had given him a rough list. The smith, Charles Aubuchon, would make the hinges, latches, locks, racks, and other ironware that would make the fort invincible. He would need to work non-stop to get everything done on time. Radisson would have to have more iron sent from Québec to cover the huge order. What's more, Aubuchon would also have to sharpen and repair any tools that were already available: drill bits, blades, planes, handsaws, and pit saws would all be needed for their construction work.

It was enough to make them wonder if the colony was ready to take on such an ambitious project.

As Radisson met with people to get everything he needed from the list, he realized that many locals disapproved of the expedition. The merchants especially were against it and refused to provide the goods they would need to trade. They didn't trust the Iroquois and thought there were many other matters in the colony that should be seen to first. Starting a building site on the other side of the world made absolutely no sense to them. When Ragueneau returned from Québec with the good news—the governor had agreed to fund part of the project—he had to meet with them to try to bring them around.

The meeting was held at the Jesuits' residence. Trade had been so slow that three of the four merchants there had now completely turned their attention to farming. The fourth, Michel Langlois, was kept busy transporting goods on his boat between Québec and Trois-Rivières, usually for the Jesuits. Despite the very warm July weather, Ragueneau insisted on keeping all the windows shut so that the conversation would remain private.

“I don't understand you,” Ragueneau told them. The Jesuits have always paid you cash on the barrelhead! You'll get your money back as usual, in no more than a year. There is no risk, I can assure you. Why are you being so stubborn? What's the problem?”

None of the merchants wanted to be the first to answer: the Society of Jesus held too much power in the colony for anyone to go up against it.

“Things are moving too quickly,” Langlois at last decided. “Once your fort is ready and you're sure the Iroquois want peace, then will come the time to trade with them. But until that time, it's just too risky.”

“But trade has ground to a halt! Things aren't looking too good for you these days. Here I am giving you the chance to at last make a little money and you're telling me you'd rather wait! Wait for what? The Second Coming? You'll be ruined long before then! And the colony with you!”

“Michel's right,” Noël Racine chimed in. “The trade goods aren't going to lose their value. Provided they stay here with us, there's nothing to fear. After all that's happened, Father, surely you can understand we have reason to be wary of the Iroquois. They asked you to send missionaries, so go ahead and send them, if that's what you want. But we'd rather wait a while before we start trading with them.”

“You know very well the Iroquois trade a fortune's worth of furs with the Dutch. Once we are in their lands, we will try to convert them while others try to turn part of this fur trade to our advantage. If we have nothing to offer them in return, the Iroquois will continue to make the Dutch richer and we'll keep on getting poorer. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, gentlemen. It's a well-known fact. The Jesuits are investing a fortune in this enterprise and we expect you to do your part. The whole colony stands to benefit, starting with you.”

The four merchants looked at each other, sweating and uneasy, but standing as one. Radisson had been following the discussion discreetly, preferring to stay in the background, and he knew very well that they hadn't dared tell the priest what they really thought, opinions they had shared with him on more than one occasion. The merchants dreamed of making the project smaller, reducing it by at least a half, and delaying it as long as possible. In a perfect world, they would have liked to see it cancelled completely.

“Bringing a mission to the Iroquois is the best way to get trade going again,” declared Ragueneau. “We're going to turn things around in our favour! The more confidence the French have in themselves, the greater the show of strength, the more the Iroquois will respect us. At last we have a chance to prove we can replace the Dutch! All we need to do is sell the right items at the right price. Gentlemen, this opportunity is not to be missed! Unless you have any better ideas?”

“Think about Médard Chouart,” countered René Hunault. “He set off a year ago and no one's seen hide nor hair of him since. Maybe he's dead by now, all his wares lost forever. If we wait a little longer, maybe we'll see that trade is going to pick up on that side.”

“We salute his courage. Let's hope nothing has happened to him. It's a big risk he took for the common good. But no one knows what shape our former allies are in. We do not even know where they fled to escape the Iroquois. Médard Chouart had no guarantee he would be able to bring back any furs. My proposal, on the other hand, is a sure thing: we know where the Iroquois are, we know their intentions, and we are sure their trade with the Dutch is substantial. If we bring them a great many goods to be traded, we will bring back many furs. It's simple mathematics. And so I expect you to take part rather than run away and look for cover.”

“I don't trust them Iroquois,” René Huault replied. “It's too risky.”

“They're our allies now!” Ragueneau exclaimed, his face red with the heat and the strain. “Are you afraid? Is that it? You'd rather hide away like our nuns shut up in a cloister? God bless their souls… What I'm saying is there's no point waiting around, or even praying—we have to act! As our founding saint taught us: pray as though everything depended on God, but act as though everything depended on you! What sort of businessmen are you anyway? You ought to be ashamed of yourselves! Even the governor is behind our project. He's giving us a great deal of money to move ahead with it. You'll be left behind, and too bad for you! We'll just have to find other partners.”

“Wait, Father,” intervened Claude Volant, who had not yet spoken. “Stay calm. Only fools vent their anger. We're ready to do our share… It's just that we're as poor as Job since the fur money dried up. All we have left is the merchandise you're asking us to put up with no guarantee. The Iroquois killed our brothers just last year, Father. Perhaps you've forgotten that. Well, we haven't. Why not meet halfway? Why not pay us for half the goods up front with the governor's money? The other half you have can have on credit. That way, the risk will be shared. That's only fair, isn't it?”

Ragueneau bit his tongue. Claude Volant was a God-fearing man, a man he had a lot of time for and a responsible, level-headed officer of the militia. The priest was also aware he should try to keep his temper in check; his anger had already landed him in enough hot water as it was. He took the time to calm down and realized that Volant's proposal was full of common sense.

“You can't let us down, Father,” Volant added. “It wouldn't be fair to freeze us out. Think of the people of Trois-Rivières who have given their lives. The money we are asking for is going to be spent here, right here in a village very much in need of it.”

Volant had cut in at just the right time, with solid arguments. Radisson thought Ragueneau should accept the compromise on offer. If his new master was a man of sound judgment, as he believed him to be, he would agree.

“You're right, Claude,” the Jesuit conceded. “What you are suggesting is entirely reasonable. If you get paid for some of your goods now, you'll be less concerned. And all of Trois-Rivières will benefit. I am prepared to compromise. I'll see to it that you get half the money for your wares before we leave, provided that you lend us the other half.”

Radisson was pleased. But the merchants, who had not entirely gotten what they had come for, had to make the best of the situation.

* * *

Radisson admired the daring behind the project, which was built on the say-so of two Jesuits who lived among the Iroquois. Even though he sometimes defended the project to its opponents, he preferred to keep in mind that he was only an employee and was there to serve the Jesuits. The thought helped him get through the drawn-out negotiations.

The project took up all of his time. He planned, discussed, worked, and ate with Ragueneau, Brother Leboeme, and Françoise. And, when he wasn't doing that, he was running from one end of the village to the other to fetch this or that. Together with Claude Volant, who spoke Algonquin fluently, he asked the fifteen or so Indians who had chosen to live close by the village to build them the four birch-bark canoes they still needed. They agreed. Along with the fourteen canoes Radisson had used his powers of persuasion to mobilize in Trois-Rivières, that would be enough to transport the fifty men along with all the goods.

So that they wouldn't be entirely dependent on hunting and fishing, Ragueneau insisted they bring along plenty of food supplies. They would be spending many months there before a first harvest of vegetables and cereals. Thirty sacks of wheat from France soon arrived from Québec. Françoise had already reserved the pig and chicken couples they would bring with them to reproduce. She also salted vast amounts of pork and beef, sealing them in small barrels.

The smith who would be going with them arrived from Québec on Michel Langlois' boat, along with all his equipment: tools, anvil, fire tray, and bellows. He also brought with him the extra iron they had requested. Radisson had a double layer of bark cover the bottom of some of the canoes to protect them when carrying all the heavy materials. He divided the goods carefully between the canoes, making sure not to overload them.

Ragueneau was pleased with Radisson's work, but demanded the pace of preparations be stepped up. He wanted to be completely ready by the time the Iroquois arrived.

Brother Leboeme took care of the packing. One after another, he made little bark or wood boxes, filling them with knives, axes, and pots to be traded, as well as iron tools, pots, and kitchen utensils for the fort, lead for the muskets, and a metal supply. He took great care when packing the precious portable altar, liturgical vases, holy books, and the pious images the Indians enjoyed. The Jesuits would have all they needed for their apostolate.

Radisson and Brother Leboeme devised a packaging they considered to be entirely watertight for carrying the gunpowder in. They covered the powder barrels with waxed cloth and a double layer of bark. As for the sacks of wheat and peas, since there was no more waxed cloth, they dipped some strong cloth in the liquefied spruce gum the Indians used to seal the seams of their canoes. Now, even if it rained, even if the canoes took on water, not a single seed would sprout. It was vital their food supplies reach their destination intact.

Other items were less fragile. Radisson and Leboeme tied up rolls of cloth to be traded and placed glass pearls and little bells in jute bags without further ado; coils of rope went at the bottom of the canoes.

The toughest task of all had been finding new muskets. Ragueneau was determined to offer them as gifts to impress the Iroquois. Radisson had found only two in Trois-Rivières and none at all in Montréal—the colony's poorest French settlement—while merchants in Québec insisted on holding on to theirs. Ragueneau was first helped by Pierre Boucher—Boucher was always keen to support the Jesuits of Trois-Rivières and happened to be in the good graces of the governor in Québec—then he wrote personally to the governor, asking him to lean on the merchants.