reward for every enemy
slain, twenty for every enemy captured. In fact, there could be no
turning back. Two thousand miles of juniper swamps and forests lay
between the bush-rovers and home. They must conquer or perish. De
Troyes led his white soldiers round to make a pretense of attack from
the water front. Iberville posted his sixty-six Indians along the
walls with muskets rammed through the loopholes. Then, with an
unearthly yell, the Le Moyne brothers were over the tops of the
pickets, swords in hand, before the English soldiers had awakened. The
English gunner reeled from his cannon at the main gate with head split
to the collar bone. The gates were thrown wide, trees rammed the doors
open, and Iberville had dashed halfway up the stairs of the main house
before the inmates, rushing out in their nightshirts, realized what had
happened. Two men only were killed, one on each side. The French were
masters of Moose Fort in less than five minutes, with sixteen captives
and rich supply of ammunition.

[Illustration: LE MOYNE D'IBERVILLE]

Eastward of Moose was Rupert Fort, where the company's ship anchored.
Hither the raiders plied their canoes by sea. Look at the map! Across
the bottom of James Bay projects a long tongue of swamp land. To save
time, Iberville portaged across this, and by July 1 was opposite Prince
Rupert's bastions. At the dock lay the English ship. That day
Iberville's men kept in hiding, but at night he had ambushed his men
along shore and paddled across to the ship. Just as Iberville stepped
on the deck a man on guard sprang at his throat. One blow of
Iberville's sword killed the Englishman on the spot. Stamping to call
the crew aloft, Iberville sabered the men as they scrambled up the
hatches, till the Governor himself threw {159} up hands in
unconditional surrender. The din had alarmed the fort, and hot shot
snapping fire from the loopholes kept the raiders off till the Le Moyne
brothers succeeded in scrambling to the roofs of the bastions, hacking
holes through the rough thatch and firing inside. This drove the
English gunners from their cannon. A moment later, and the raiders
were on the walls. It was a repetition of the fight at Moose Factory.
The English, taken by surprise, surrendered at once; and the French now
had thirty prisoners, a good ship, two forts, but no provisions.

Northwestward three hundred miles lay Albany Fort. Iberville led off
in canoes with his bushr