The mention of Frontenac's name recalls a striking personality, for of all the governors who were sent out to New France during the long reign of Louis XIV he must be called the ablest and most forcible. That his policy toward the Church was judicious or free from prejudice cannot be- maintained, nor can it be forgotten that his memory is defaced by the stain of fearful massacres. But he was bold, resolute and thoroughly devoted to the interests of Canada. Throughout both periods of his rule (1672-82; 1689-98) he was master of the situation as none of his predecessors had been, and during the seven years of his absence from the colony the failures of La Barre and Denonville served to set off his virtues in the strongest light. The main political problems with which he had to deal were the enmity of the Iroquois, the aggressive policy of the Eng lish as suggested by Governor Dongan, and the extension of French influence from the Great Lakes into the valley of the Mississippi. Speak ing broadly the Iroquois were the chief menace of Canada in the last part of the 17th century as the English were its chief menace in the first part of the 18th. The most celebrated of the Jesuit martyrs, Jogues and Brebeuf, met death at their hands; the most brilliant deed of courage which the annals of New France con tain was Dollard's fight against them at the Long Saut ; it was in their face that Madeleine de Vercheres shut the door of her father's fort. Whether left to themselves or set on by the English they had every disposition to molest the French. The spirit of conciliation they mis took for weakness and, as Frontenac saw, the only way to impress them was by a show of strength. In 1696 he ravaged their country more thoroughly than De Tracy had done 30 years earlier, burned their palisades, destroyed their corn and convinced them that he had a power which they must respect. The next year their envoys came to Quebec speaking the lan guage of humility. Frontenac's attack upon the English dates from the beginning of his second term of office. Returning to the colony in 1689 he found that French prestige had vanished almost wholly during his absence. To impress the Indians and terrorize the English he equipped those raiding parties which carried the torch and the tomahawk to Schenectady, Salmon Falls and Casco Bay. As a tour de force of endurance, this winter campaign of the French was a remarkable feat, but the atrocities which accompanied it cannot fail to awaken the deepest abhorrence. Parloran finds extenuation for Frontenac in the standards of his age. °He was no whit more ruthless than his times and his surroundings, and some of his contemporaries find fault with him for not allowing more In dian captives to be tortured. Many surpassed him in cruelty, none equalled him in capacity and vigor.° Everything considered, this must be called a mitigated sentence, and apart from all considerations of humanity it may be doubted whether Frontenac's policy of carnage was a sound one. Its momentary success in impress
ing the Indians was not an equivalent for the spirit of vengeance which it awakened among the English. From 1690 forward New France and New England have their rancorous en mities which continue to exist quite irrespective of peace or war between the mother countries. Phips may be turned back from Quebec but the memory of massacre endures until French power in Canada has been destroyed. A much brighter feature of Frontenac's regime is the progress made by French exploration in the Far West. While the famous journey of Mar quette (q.v.) and Joliet (q.v.) down the upper waters of the Mississippi (1673) may be more fitly connected with the names of Courcelle (q.v.), Frontenac's predecessor, and of Talon (q.v.), the good intendant, the picturesque ex ploits of La Salle (q.v.) and Tonty (q.v.) fall within the period of Frontenac. It was by favor of Frontenac that the fort at Cataracoui (now Kingston) was placed in La Salle's hands, thus enabling him to establish a fixed base at the east end of Lake Ontario for his operations on the Great Lakes and beyond. As far as the Huron country the French had been on familiar ground ever since the days of Champlain, but their chief triumphs in opening up the Hinterland were won under Frontenac.
The 18th century opened for New France with bright prospects' which were destined never to be realized. The war that closed at the Peace of Ryswick (1697) had just demon strated the defensive strength of Canada, and though D'Iberville's (see IBERVILLE, SIEUR conquests in Hudson's Bay were restored to England, France did not lose Acadia. Fron tenac's chastisement of the Iroquois had brought relief from an ancient scourge and Callieres' diplomacy concluded the peace which had been made possible by a decided blow. The War of the Spanish Succession closed less favorably. The success of Vaudreuil's raids was a poor equivalent for Marlborough's vic tories or even for Nicholson's capture of Port Royal. France lost Acadia and was thrown back for her hope of an Atlantic dominion upon the single fortress of Louisburg (q.v.). The Peace of Utrecht (1713) may be called the beginning of the end.
The history of Louisburg is a tale of great effort, enormous expense and complete disap pointment. France lavished upon this harbor in Cape Breton as much money as it would have cost to erect a fortress of the first class in Europe. Until 1745 its strength remained un teste but the French themselves thought it im pregnable and the English looked upon it with dread. The political effect of Louisburg was two-fold. Its near neighborhood to Acadia prevented the French of that province from becoming loyal to British rule, and in New Eng land it was regarded as a permanent menace to peace. When the War of the Austrian Suc cession offered an excuse, Massachusetts was ready for the attack. Governor Shirley (see