Following the death of Champlain was the terrible onslaught by the Iroquois upon the Hurons, whom they entirely destroyed as a nation, leaving but a remnant under the protection of the French. In 1642 M. de Maisonneuve laid the foundation of Montreal, the village consisting of a few buildings with wooden palisades, was then called “Ville-Marie.” Maisonneuve gathered here the converted Indians to teach them the art of civilization.
The successor to Champlain was M. de Chateaufort: but we cannot continue to even sketch the history of the several Governors, and the successive steps in Canadian development only so far as they bear upon our subject.
In 1663 the population along the St. Lawrence numbered to between 2,000 and 2,500. In 1665 the number was increased by emigration, and by the arrival of the Carignan regiment, a veteran body of men who became permanent settlers, and who aided much in controlling the Indians and maintaining the power of the French. The same year live stock was introduced, and horses for the first time were seen in Canada. About this time commenced, in earnest, the struggle between England and France for the supremacy of the fur trade. The viceroy, M. de Tracy, began to erect regular forts upon the Richeleu. In 1671 there was a rendezvous of Indian Chiefs at Sault St. Marie, and through the influence of Father Allouez, the several tribes consented to become subjects of France. In the same year M. de Courcelles, now Governor, in pursuance of the attempt to govern the fur trade, conceived the idea of planting a fort at the foot of Lake Ontario. But he left before the work had commenced, and was succeeded by Louis de Buade, _Conte de_ Frontenac, after whom the fort, subsequently erected, was called.
As the founder of the first settlement in Upper Canada, whose name is now so familiar, as belonging to a County, we may make space to say of Frontenac, that he was a gentleman of good birth, and had gained great distinction, having attained to the rank of Brigadier-General. He was somewhat proud and haughty, but condescending to his inferiors. His instructions from his master, the King, on coming to the Canada, were to secure the aggrandizement of France. Emigration in large numbers from France having been forbidden, he was to seek the increase of numbers in New France by stimulating early marriages. And to this day, the rate of increase by birth, among the French, is considerably greater than with the Anglo-Saxon.