do. Father Millet, to whom I communicated all, and who has just passed, will tell you every thing and how apropos it would be that M. le Moine should come here to fetch those Chiefs and Warriors who will most willingly meet you under the safe conduct which you will give them through M. le Moine (who can come here in all surety and without any fear) to be conducted to your rendezvous near Seneca or to the Fort, in order to settle matters in a friendly manner. The Iroquois say they will not commit any act of hostility against you, unless you commence either by attacking the Senecas or by refusing all satisfaction, for they remark, it is painful to come to blows with their Father. They all say that their mode of warfare will be disastrous to you, but that the respect they entertain towards you, and which we insinuate among them, withholds them until they are forced, they add, to wage a sorrowful war, despite themselves, against you. They wish, first of all, they say, to avoid the reproach of not having kept their word which they gave. I told M. le Moine of the above. My brother expects to leave with your deputies to carry to you the result of the Iroquois Diet, where the Onnontagué who assumes to be a moderator, pretends to force the Senecas to disavow what two of their captains caused their warriors to do, and to quieten again your mind; that is, they say, by some satisfaction which may afford you an honorable pretext to pay a friendly visit to Kaniatarontagouat [now, Irondequot Bay] and not to appear there as an enemy. I forgot to inform you that the Iroquois say they have accepted the satisfaction they received for the death of their captain, Hannhenhax, killed by the Kiskakous, and that it would seem very strange to them that you should refuse the satisfaction they wish to induce the Senecas to give you for the pillaged merchandize which, in their estimation is next to nothing compared with that important [council] fire in your children's cabin. I pray God that He conduct matters for His glory and the country's good and that He preserve you long, which is the wish, my Lord, of Your very humble & very obt Servt, J. DE LAMBERVILLE. FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME. 18 July, 1684. Sir The Council convoked at Onnontagué was, at length, held on the 16th and 17th of July. You will see by the memoir I enclose in this letter what you said to the Onnontagués and what they reply by three Belts. Since you spoke, or I have made you speak to the Senecas assembled here in a body, Chiefs and Warriors, and their answer, we have spoken to them by three Belts and they have answered you by nine. These are twelve Belts which your ambassadors take to you. I know not if you will accept the trifling pains we have taken to Cause satisfaction to be given you, and to extricate you from the fatigues, the embarrassments and consequences of a disastrous war, and procure at the same time freedom of trade; for the Senecas informed me at night, by express, that they would give you more satisfaction than you expected, because they wished through respect for you, not to wage war any more against the Oumiamis, if you so wish it, and even any other nation if you insist on it. In fine, they do not wage war save but to secure a good peace. They return without striking a blow, without shedding blood, etc. The Seneca Iroquois offer you more than you would have believed. The Onnontagués considered their honour engaged to this meeting, and have put all sorts of machinery in motion to induce the Senecas to condescend to place their affairs in their hands. On the first day of the Council every thing was almost despaired of, and the plenipotentiaries all excited came to see me, saying they gained nothing on the Senecas, and that up to that time they most willingly accepted war; that they rejected the presents which you and they had made them. They sent me back a collection of belts, that the chiefs and warriors acted with great zeal in combatting the obstinacy of the Senecas so that having gained the Oneidas and Cayugas over to to their side, they came to high words. Deputies, notwithstanding, succeeded one another to sound me on the state of affairs and to learn the true cause of the withdrawal of our Mis sionaries. Finally I told them that the real cause was, that the displeasure which they perceived you felt, and which they also entertained at being disparaged by the Senecas, had caused them to withdraw to you, until they should have satisfied you. At length the Onnontagués persuaded them to confide in them and to place their affairs in their hands—that if you did not accept their mediation, they should unite according to their policy, with all the other Iroquois against you. La Grande Gueule and his triumvirate have assuredly signalized themselves in this rencounter. My brother, who will inform you of every thing, will relate matters more in detail. We, however, await your orders which you will please convey to us by M. le Moine whom the Onnontagués request you to send instantly to them at Choueguen [Oswego] in all security and without the least fear. FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME. Onontagué, this 17th August, 1684. My Lord-Your people have brought my brother back here with the greatest possible diligence, having been wind bound three days, at one island. In order not to cause you any delay, which could only produce a useless consumption of provisions by your army, they arrived here with Sieur le Duc at midnight and having passed the rest of the night in conferring together, we had the Chiefs and Warriors assembled at day light after having obtained information from La Grande Gueule and Garakontie. We declared our intentions in the presence of several Senecas who departed the same day to return to their country where they will communicate our approach. They carry one of your belts to reassure those who are alarmed by your armament. The Onnontagués have despatched some of theirs to notify the Oneida, the Mohawk and the Cayuga to repair to Ochouegen [Oswego] to salute you and to reply to your proposals. They wish so much to see M. le Moine here whom you promised them would come, that it appears that nothing could be done should he not arrive. Also, as you advised them not to be troubled at the sight of your barks and Gendarmes, they give you notice, likewise, not to be surprised when you will see faces painted red and black at Ochouegen. I gave a Cayuga letters for you some eight or ten days ago. I do not know if he will have delivered them. I believe I advised you that Colonel Dongan had the Duke of York's placards of protection (des sauvegardes) affixed to the three upper Iroquois villages, and that he styled himself Lord of the Iroquois. A drunken man here tore these proclamations down and nothing remains but the post to which the Duke of York's arms were attached. I gave La Grande Gueule your belt under hand, and remarked to him the things which you wish him to effect. He calls himself your best friend and you have done well to have attached to you this hoc, who has the strongest head and loudest voice among the Iroquois. The over coats (capots) and shirts which you have been so good as to send to be used on occasions are a most efficacious means to gain over, or to preserve public opinion. An honorable peace will be more advantageous to Canada than a war very uncertain as to its success. I am of opinion, whatever Messrs the Merchants may say, that you do them a good turn by inducing the Iroquois to give you satisfaction, and that the war would be very prejudicial to them. I am with all sort of respect and submission, My Lord, Your very humble and very obedient servant, FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME. Onnontagué, this 28th of August 1684. My Lord-M. le Moine's arrival has much pleased our burgomasters who have exhibited towards him many attentions, and have promised to terminate matters with you in the manner you desire. The Onnontagués have called the Deputies of each Nation together as I have advised you. The Cayugas came here the first, with two young Tionnoutatés to restore them to you. We expect the Senecas, and as we were hoping that the Oneidas would arrive to-day, one Arnaud,' whom Father Bruyas is well acquainted with, came here on horseback from Mr. Dongan to tell the Iroquois that he did not wish them to talk with you without his permission, being complete master of their land and conduct towards you; that they belonged to the King of England and the Duke of York, and that their Council fires were lighted at Albany and that he absolutely forbad them talking with you. Two words which we whispered in the ears of your pensioner, La Grande Gueule, caused us to see at once how unreasonable, in his opinion, was so strange a proceeding as that of Mr. Dongan, after having himself exhorted the Iroquois to give us satisfaction in order to avoid a disastrous war which would have very bad. [consequences. When M. le Moine and I shall have the honour to see you, we shall give you the particulars of these things, and how La Grande Gueule came to high words against this Messenger, exhorting all the warriors and chiefs not to listen to the proposals of a man who seemed to be drunk, so opposed to all reason was what he uttered. We being two or three days' journey from here, the said Messenger produced three Belts of Wampum. The first and second are from the Mohawks and Oneidas, who have promised Mr. Dongan that they should not go to meet us; the third was for the Onnontagués to exhort them to give their wampum belt also, as assurance of the same thing. They answered by La Grande Gueule, that they esteemed themselves too highly honored by your having granted them the embassy of M. le Moine and by your having placed the affairs of the peace in their hands, to commit so cowardly an action and so grave a fault as that which he seemed 1 Arnold Cornelis" Viele, a citizen of Albany, who acted as Interpreter between the Whites and Indians. For his service in this capacity he had already obtained from the latter, 26th Sept. 1683, a tract of land called Wachkeerhoha, on the north bank of the Mohawk above Schenectady, the grant of which is in Alb. Deed Book C, 199.-TR. |