JUNE 9, 1643

IROQUOIS STAGE FIRST ATTACK ON MONTREAL

Following nearby attacks on Algonquin traders in May, a group of forty Iroquois saw a group of 60 unarmed Huron (Wendat) coming down river in 13 canoes headed for Trois-Rivieres to trade furs and to bring correspondence from Jesuit superiors. The Iroquois attacked killing 3 French workmen outside the settlement and took 23 Hurons and 2 Frenchmen captive. The Iroquois spent the night celebrating their victory. In the morning, they beat 13 Hurons to death and took the rest with them. One man who escaped said that they were tied up for 2 days, but otherwise did no further harm to them.

Source:  Catharine Randall, “Black Robes and Buckskin: A Selection from the Jesuit Relations (Fordham University Press, 2011).  Retrieved 5/8/2020, https://books.google.com/books?id=r3VWu0svw7kC&pg=PA124&lpg=PA124&dq=iroquois+attack+montreal+june+9&source=bl&ots=QR5UYRmNhP&sig=ACfU3U0azQHY72nOn5LRu2hw258ScOrumQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi06JP8laXpAhVwlHIEHfVZB-AQ6AEwBHoECAsQAQ#v=onepage&q=iroquois%20attack%20montreal%20june%209&f=false

Sketch: P.L. Morin, 1884.  Public Domain.