. A history of Canada for high schools and academies. of his bearing won their friendship. During his rule eventhe Iroquois were afraid to lift the hatchet. In matters of civilgovernment Frontenac showed some serious defects; but thesecannot lessen the reverence due to his memory. He had thatrash imperiousness which so often mars a forceful character. Hecould endure no opposition, no questioning of his judgment andauthority. Soon after his arrival the sagacious Talon asked to berecalled. Doubtless he discerned this fault in Frontenac, anddreaded a conflict. With the new intendant, Duchesneau,
. A history of Canada for high schools and academies. of his bearing won their friendship. During his rule eventhe Iroquois were afraid to lift the hatchet. In matters of civilgovernment Frontenac showed some serious defects; but thesecannot lessen the reverence due to his memory. He had thatrash imperiousness which so often mars a forceful character. Hecould endure no opposition, no questioning of his judgment andauthority. Soon after his arrival the sagacious Talon asked to berecalled. Doubtless he discerned this fault in Frontenac, anddreaded a conflict. With the new intendant, Duchesneau, thefiery governor was soon at swords points ; and with Laval, no lessdictatorial than himself, his quarrels grew to be an open scandal. The proposed building of a fort at Cataracoui met with Fronte-nacs fullest approval; and as soon as possible after his coming hewent in person to superintend the work. High in his favour stoodone who sheds the rose-light of romance upon our pages, the gal-lant and adventurous La Salle. He had come to Canada some 8-. lKv)\ i ^ FORT FRONTENAC. 85 vears before, filled with the old, alluring dream of a passage toCathay. Partly to gratify his restlessness, partly to familiarize him-self with the habits and speech of the tribes whose help he wouldneed, partly to gain by the fur-trade means to carry on his enter-prise, he had disappeared from civilization for a time and dweltamong the Indians. Had he been, indeed, a personage less dis-tinguished, he would undoubtedly have been called a Coureur desBois. Soon after his arrival he discovered the Ohio River. Fromthe Sulpicians, with whom he had strong influence, he obtained anestate at the west end of Montreal Island, where he planted a set-tlement. This settlement, probably in allusion to or in derision ofhis search for a passage to China, presently came to be known asLachine. The fort at Cataracoui, henceforth known as Fort Frontenac,was granted to La Salle soon after its construction, he refunding
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