They were his children; to them he was the Great Father. Yet
if need be he would paint his face, dress himself in Indian clothes,
and, tomahawk in his hand, lead the war dance, yelling and leaping
with the best of them.
King Louis now gave Frontenac orders to seize New York so that the
French might have access to the Hudson River, and a port open all
the year round and not frozen up for months at a time like Quebec.
So Frontenac made ready his forces. He gathered three armies and
sent them by different ways to attack the British. But few of these
forces were regular soldiers. Many of them were Indians, still more
were coureurs de bois, wild bush-rangers who dressed and lived more
like Indians than white men, and were as fearless, and lawless,
and learned in the secrets of the forest as the Indians.
These armies set out in the depth of winter. French and Indian
alike were smeared with war-paint and decked with feathers. Shod
with snow shoes they sped over the snow, dragging light sledges
behind them laden with food. For twenty-two days they journeyed
over plains, through forest, across rivers, but at length one of
the armies reached the village of Schenectady, the very farthest
outpost of New York.
The people had been warned of their danger, but they paid no heed.
They did not believe that the danger was real. So secure indeed did
they feel that the gates were left wide open, and on either side
for sentinels stood two snow men.
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