A half-century of conflict. France and England in North America. Part ...

12 SEARCH FOR THE PACIFIC. [1731, 1732.with his nephew, La Jemeraye, the Jesuit Messager,and a party of Canadians, set out from Montreal. Itwas late in August before they reached the greatportage of Lake Superior, which led across the heightof land separating the waters of that lake from thoseflowing to Lake Winnipeg. The way was long anddifficult. The men, who had perhaps been tamperedwith, mutinied, and refused to go farther. ^ Some ofthem, with much ado, consented at last to proceed,and, under the lead of La Jemeraye, made their wayby an intricate and broken chain of lakes and streamsto Rainy Lake, where they built a fort and called itFort St. Pierre. La V^rendrye was forced to winterwith the rest of the party at the river Kaministiguia,not far from the great portage. Here months werelost,during which a crew of useless mutineers had tobe fed and paid; and it was not till the next Junethat he could get them again into motion towardsLake Winnipeg.This ominous beginning was followed by a train ofdisasters. His associates abandoned him; the merchantson Avhom he depended for supplies would notsend them, and he found himself, in his own words," destitute of everything. " His nephew. La Jemeraye,died. The Jesuit Auneau, bent on returning toMichilimackinac, set out with La V^rendrye's eldestson and a party of twenty Canadians. A few dayslater,they were all found on an island in the Lake of1 M^moire chi Sieur de la Ve'rendrije du Siijet des Etahlissementspour parvenir a la D^couverte de la Mer de l' Quest, in Margry, vi. 586.