lurched, had sunk,--sunk swift as lead amid hiss of flames into the
roaring sea! Not a soul of her two hundred and fifty men escaped. The
frigate _Hudson's Bay_ surrendered and the _Deering_ fled. Iberville
was victor.

[Illustration: LANDING OF IBERVILLE'S MEN AT PORT NELSON (After La
Potherie)]

But a storm now broke in hurricane gusts over the sea. Iberville
steered for land, but waves drenched the wheel at every wash, and,
driving before the storm, the _Pelican_ floundered in the sands a few
miles from Nelson. All lifeboats had been shot away. In such a sea
the Canadian canoes were useless. The shattered masts were tied in
four-sided racks. To these {187} Iberville had the wounded bound, and
the crew plunged for the shore. Eighteen men perished going ashore in
the darkness. On land were two feet of snow. No sooner did the French
castaways build fires to warm their benumbed limbs than bullets
whistled into camp. Governor Bayly of Port Nelson had sent out his
sharpshooters. Luckily Iberville's other ships now joined him, and,
mustering his forces, the dauntless French leader marched against the
fort. Storm had permitted the French to land their cannon undetected.
Trenches were cast up, and three times Serigny Le Moyne was sent to
demand surrender.

[Illustration: CAPTURE OF FORT NELSON BY THE FRENCH (After La
Potherie)]

"The French are desperate," he urged. "They must take the fort or
perish of want, and if you continue the fight there will be no mercy
given."

The Hudson's Bay people capitulated and were permitted to march out
with arms, bag and baggage. An English ship carried the refugees home
to the Thames.

The rest of Iberville's career is the story of colonizing the
Mississippi. He was granted a vast seigniory on the Bay of {188}
Chaleur, and in 1699 given a title. On his way from the Louisiana
colony to France his ship had paused at Havana. Here Iberville
contracted yellow fever and died while yet in the prime of his manhood,
July 9, 1706.

After the victory on Hudson Bay the French were supreme in America and
Frontenac supreme in New France. The old white-haired veteran of a
hundred wars became the idol of Quebec. Friends and enemies, Jesuits
and Recollets, paid tribute to his worth. In November of 1698 the
Governor passed from this life in Castle St. Louis at the good old age
of seventy-eight. He had demonstrated--demonstrated in action so that
his enemies acknowledged t