Then they passed over to the other side of the St. Lawrence and pretended to be another tribe, and sent delegates to parley with the fort. Charles Le Moyne, who had just come from Quebec, recognized them as the assailants at the Ile des Oies and, suspecting treachery, they were told to come the next day. Finally, an engagement took place and five Iroquois were taken prisoners to the camp, among them Chief La Plume (or "The Feather"). Another parley now took place, and a peace was agreed upon on the proposition of Chief La Grande Armée, on condition that all the captives on both sides should be exchanged, and that peace with the Hurons and Algonquins should be observed as long as they should not advance above Three Rivers. Among the French restored were the captives taken at Ile des Oies, one of whom, Elizabeth Moyen, then a child, married Lambert Closse in 1657, and her sister Marie who remained with Jeanne Mance twenty years.
Peace concluded, the work of agriculture was pushed on although, taught by sad experience, the men went to the fields armed as usual. In order to pursue this in greater safety, de Maisonneuve, by a permission given on August 25, 1655, in the name of the Company allowed the colonists to cultivate and enjoy the fruits of the lands on the "domain of the Seigneurs," which were nearer to the fort than their own concessions. When the time came for them to be able to till the latter, the lands on the domain should be handed back. These negotiations were put into the hands of Lambert Closse, for de Maisonneuve had chosen him to hold the reins of government while he himself made a third journey to France this autumn, as the next chapter will relate.
These peace arrangements at Montreal always meant the interchange of presents which were a burden on the community instead of on the governor of Quebec, whom the early historians, with M. de Belmont, accuse of "persecuting Montreal."
In addition to what we know, de Lauson wanted to levy a tax on all imports to Montreal. He took it ill that Montreal had its storehouse at Quebec, wishing it to purchase its necessities from Quebec. He also wanted the Company of Montreal to send out more men than they found convenient. All this brought him a letter of Louis XIV in favour of Montreal.
