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island, on the fief noble of Charles Joseph d’Ailleboust des Mus. seaux, adjoining Bois Briant.

The store of Mr. Louis de Berthé, Sieur de Chailly, GE in: the Normaudy regiment, was opposite Brucy, on the fief Bellevue, as early as 1670. He obtained the concession of this domain, 14 arpents by 20, on July 30th, 1672, in his favor and also in: favor of his brother, Gabriel de Berthé, Sieur de la Joubardière. This post and that of Ile Perrot were visited by Governor de Courcelles in 1671, owing to the complaints which were made in relation to the carrying on of the liquor traffic.

In 1674, Governor de Frontenac, successor to de Courcelles, thought best to interfere. The store at Isle Perrot was seized, and the proprietors, Perrot and Brucy, were lodged in gaol. René Cuillerier, of Lachine, could not have been far off, as he was appointed judicial guardian. Jug. and Del. t. 1st, p. 812. This action, however, did not deter traders from establishing stores at St. Annes, the foremost post, excepting Cataracouy. According to the deed of boundaries made by Basset on the 10th December, 1678, Françnis Le Noir ait Rolland and Jean Guenet were even then in possession of part of the fief Bellevue, and probab'y had upon it branches of their Lachine and Ville-Marie houses. In the following year, 1679, Jacques Le Ber and Le Moyne de Longueuil purchased the fief Bois-Briant, adjoining Bellevue, and began business on a large scale. Finally in 1683, Pierre St. Germain, another merchant of Ville-Marie, purchased part of the Bellevue fief, and a year subsequently, in 1684, Jean Millot, of Lachine, followed suit, apparently in order to facilitate his trading with the Indians. Greffe de Basset, 10th Deceinber, 1678; C'abazier, 91h October 1684. The wooden redoubt at St. Annes was built at this time, probably at the joint expense of all the proprietors of Bellevue, old and new. Morins Vieux Montréal fixes the date at 1683. A staked fence was to enclose it, with a small garrison similar to that of the Lachine forts.

The traders soon perceived that St. Annes was too far away from the Indian villages. As early as 1673, Governor de Frontenac built at Cataracouy the palissaded fort which bore his name, where the Indians who were scattered around and about, and on the South Shore, made a halting place on their way down to Ville Marie. In 1677, de La Salle, acting until then on behalf of Frontenac, obtained from the King the Seigniory of Cataracouy.

and the proprietorship of Fort Frontenac, which he rebuilt in stone. He also considerably developed his trade. In 1678 and the following years, he sent out several expeditions from Fort Frontenac to the Indian villages in the Upyer Countries and also to the South, exchanging merchandise for skins, the sole species of trade at that early date. The beaver was the only currency, and de La Saïle himself informs us that in 1678, the trade of Canada aggregated 60,000 or 80,000 beavers per annum. Margry, t, 1st p. 415. In the course of his voyages in 1678 and afterwards, de La Salle thought nece :«ry te erect new establishments at Niagara, Detroit, Michillimackinac, Illinois and elsewhere, ‘hus creating so many monopolies as regards the trade with the nations of the great lakes. The Ville-Marie, Lachine and St. Annes’ merchants perceived the necessity of also penetrating the forests to the Indian villages. This state of affairs gave origin to a new occupation known as coureurs des bois, some on their own account, but the greater number as clerks, agents, ot even servants, euu de vie or rhum being in every case an important element of trade. Merchants believed they conld reach the Indian villages just as had been done by Jean Nicolet for years, in 1634, and previous thereto, by Des Groseilliers before and after 1659, by Nicolas Perrot, Louis Jolliet, Duluth, La Salle, and so many others (1) in 1669 and afterwards. In 1680 Jean Guenet had encountered the Indians in the woods, and in 1685, Frs. Le Noir dit Rolland reached Illinois. Even in the year 1677, Jacques Le Ber was thinking of a partnership with Jolliet, and of obtaining the concession of Illinois ; but this the Court of France refused to grant. Margry, t. 1st, p. 324.

The constant warfare carried on by the Five Nations from 1686 to 1698, hampered considerably the colonisation and trade of the Upper Countries and the island of Montreal. The peace of 1700 gave new life to the traffic with the Indians, at Detroit and the great lakes in the first instance. The Indians pretty often did no business there, coming down the St. Lawrence to Ville- Marie. The western and northern tribes followed the route of the Ottawa river, stopping at the stores situated at St, Annes and Lachine before reaching Montreal.

(1) Other names are to be found in the appendix.

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Wal FIEF BOIS-BRIANT.

Il Bois-Briant is an historic fief. It was conceded in 1672 to { Sidras Dugué, Sieur de Bois-Briant, captain in the Carignan regi- À ment. He built thereon a house before getting the deed of con- ! | cession, In June 20th, 1679, Bois-Briant sold his fief to Jacques LeBer and Charles LeMoyne de Longueuil. In 1681, according LU to the livre terrier, Bois-Briant passed to the sons of Jacques LeBer, Jos. LeBer, Sieur de Senneville, and Jean LeBer, Sieur [Al de Saint Paul. Since that time, it has been known under the name of De Senneville. In the terrier, the following note appears : ‘“ Permission to the said Sieur LeBer de Senneville, by Mr. Dol- “ lier (1), August 18, 1686, to build on the said fief, a wind-mill.” 14 It was built in stone on the 30th September, 1687, since the [} burial register of Ste. Anne, of that date, shows that Louis Jets, ‘“ miller of Jean LeBer,” had been killed by the Iroquois, together with the Sieur de La Londe and eight other Frenchmen, iAl This mill served as a fort until the construction, in 1692, of Fort h Senneville, in stone, at the bottom of the hill, the ruins of which can still be seen. Tourists should not overlook the ruins of these noteworthy structures, which recall to mind the heroic time of our history. The fief passed in 1772 to the Chevalier de Lorimier ; then to J. B. Testard de Montigny ; then to Dr Forbes, and finally to Sir John Abbott, whose summer residence it has been for a quarter of a century. It would be impossible to find a more

{ beautiful situation. It is not, therefore, surprising that the end fl of the island should have attracted the attention of the early aris- | tocratic settlers (2).

Ë | (1) I said ‘‘Jolliet” in the Vieux Lachine, but upon again going over the F fl manuscript I discovered the error. une \l née h. (2) The following passage from F'aillon, Vie de Mr. Le Ber, page 319, confirms 4 en ( H and also supplements the text: | “p 4 | “11 (Jacqués Le Ber) fit plus encore, il construisit à la tête de l’Ile de Montréal “a î un fort de pierres qui put contribuer à la mettre à couvert des insultes des bar- T 1 bares. Il fut ainsi le premier ou plutôt le seul d'entre les particuliers qui sacrifia 175 1 une partie de sa fortune à la sécurité publique. Déjà MM. du Séminaire, pour far ji fortifier cette île contre les Iroquois, avaient accordé un certain nombre de fiefs the | nobles, sans droit de justice, à der officiers des troupes du Roi, dans l'espérance Mr { qu'ils s’y établiraient, et y feraient les constructions nécessaires pour s'y dé- gu. fendre, en cas d'attaque, tels: les fiefs du Gué, d'Ailleboust, de Chailly, du Puy J de Saint-André, de Carillon, de Morel. M. Le Ber, et Charles LeMoyne, son sis | beau-frère, ayant acquis de M. du Gué, en 1679, pour la somme de 1768 livres, le wa

fief qui lui avait été concédé, au haut de l'île de Montréal, ils le possedèrent en th