The Incredible Escape. The Adventures of Radisson 3

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Book: Read The Incredible Escape. The Adventures of Radisson 3 for Free Online
Authors: Martin Fournier
From there, the French would be able to shoot down at any attackers seeking shelter at the foot of the palisade or trying to set fire to it. Everything had been well thought out.
    At the centre of the fort, two large wooden buildings were used for housing. The largest housed most of the men, and it was there that Radisson slept. The other building was used by the Jesuits and Commander Zacharie Dupuys. The kitchens, refectory, and goods warehouse were also there. In two separate cabins, a carpenter’s workshop and a smithy rounded out the facilities. A small stone powder magazine, half buried in the ground and covered with a double roof, had been built in one corner.
    Around the fort, all trees and shrubbery had been cut to the ground for two hundred paces to rule out the possibility of ambush. A few men had roughly ploughed the ground to sow wheat there. But the harvest was mediocre. The large vegetable garden promised better results. It was also here, outside the fort, that the French kept most of the pigs and all their chickens protected by a sturdy enclosure.
    Of the seven Jesuit missionaries in Iroquois country, only Father Ragueneau and Father Le Moyne were currently living in the fort. The others had left on missions to various Onondaga villages. Most able-bodied men were busy putting the finishing touches to the French settlement; a severe fever epidemic had struck that summer and many were still getting back on their feet. The interpreter Guillaume Couture had decided to return to the colony with the weakest men, who had become a burden on everyone. Father Chaumonot was to go with them. Couture was currently at Onondaga with Commander Dupuys, where they had taken the Huron women.

Chapter 3
HARMONY
    S ince his arrival, Father Ragueneau had had many a conversation with his friend Simon Le Moyne about the mission. Father Frémin would go from village to village preaching the good news with Father Le Mercier, who had even risked a visit to the neighbouring Cayuga nation. Father Ménard and Father Dablon had managed to settle permanently in two villages where there were chapels. In comparison, Ragueneau was very disappointed with how they had been more or less excluded from Onondaga, the nation’s main village. Father Le Moyne, whose domain it was, had close friends there and regularly went to preach. But he hadn’t wanted to confront his allies when he was refused permission to settle there permanently and build a chapel in the village. Given the poor impression the French had made when they arrived in force the previous year, he had decided it was best to be patient and avoid further offending the Iroquois.
    Ragueneau did not blame his friend. He decided, however, that this conciliatory attitude had had its day. He was sure that the Jesuits had to impose themselves at the very heart of the nation, among the leading chiefs, if results were to match the effort they had put into the mission.
    To finalize their strategy, he called a meeting with Father Le Moyne, Commander Dupuys, and Radisson.
    â€œDid they fully understand your message?” was the first question he asked Commander Dupuys. “After they massacred the Hurons who came with me, you were better placed than I to make sure they know there will be serious consequences if they mistreat the Huron women.”
    â€œI was firm,” Dupuys replied. “Monsieur Couture told them we were keeping a close eye on them and that the French would be angry if they didn’t keep their word. Fear not, Father. I made sure we will have their respect. I’m well used to it.”
    Although Dupuys was a military man, Radisson doubted his warning would have the desired effect. The commander spoke only a few words of Iroquois and didn’t seem to have learned their rules of diplomacy. With his broad broad-feathered feathered hat and the sword he always carried around his waist, and his French-style clothes and large boots that were more

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