fifty Iroquois taken near that place, to forward them to France in the King's Ships, conformably to his orders. I'll take advantage of the delay of the Fourgon, in which I shall have them embarked, and as the crew is too few to convey so many prisoners, very difficult to be guarded, I reinforce them by some passengers and sailors from a merchantman, the Catharine, which was wrecked last autumn near Tadoussac, and could not be got off.

M. DE DENONVILLE TO THE MINISTER.

ATTACK ON THE SENECAS ; ERECTION OF FORT NIAGARA.

[Paris Doc. III.]

Ville Marie, 25 August, 1687.

The first thing with which I occupied myself on my arrival [at Irondequoit Bay] was to select a post easy to be fortified for securing our batteaux to the number of 200 and as many canoes. We cut 2000 palisades which we finished planting in the forenoon of the 12th of July.

I had brought with me Sieur d'Orvilliers as the fittest to receive the whole of Canada into his hands; for the loss of this post would be the assured loss of the whole country which obliged me to leave 440 men there.

On the 12th I departed at three o'clock in the evening with all our French and Indian allies and Christians having caused them to take 15 days provisions. We only made three leagues that day across the woods which are very open.

On the 13th about four o'clock in the afternoon, having passed through two dangerous defiles, we arrived at the third where we were very vigorously attacked by 800 Senecas, 200 of whom fired, wishing to attack our rear whilst the remainder of their force would attack our front, but the resistance they met. produced such a great consternation that they soon resolved to fly. All our troops were so overpowered by the extreme heat and the long journey we had made that we were obliged to bivouac on the field until the morrow. We witnessed the painful

sight of the usual cruelties of the savages who cut the dead into quarters, as in slaughter houses, in order to put them into the pot; the greater number were opened while still warm that their blood might be drank. Our rascally Otaous distinguished themselves particularly by these barbarities and by their poltroonery, for they withdrew from the combat; the Hurons of Michilimaquina did very well, but our Christian Indians surpassed all and performed deeds of valour, especially our Iroquois of whom we durst not make sure having to fight against their relatives. The Illinois performed their duty well. We had five or six men killed on the spot, French and Indians, and about twenty wounded, among the first of whom was the Rev: Fath: Angleran, superintendent of the Otaous missions, by a very severe gunshot. It is a great misfortune to us that this wound will prevent him going back again, for he is a man of capacity, of great influence who has conducted every thing at Michilimaquina well, and to whom the country owes vast obligations For had it not been for him the Iroquois had been long since established at Michilimaquina.

We learned from some prisoners who had escaped from the Senecas that this action cost them 45 men killed on the field, 25 of whom we had seen at the shambles; the others were seen buried by this deserter, and over 60 very severely wounded.

On the next day, 14th July, we marched to one of the large villages where we encamped. We found it burned and a fort quite nigh, abandoned; it was very advantageously situated on a hill.

I deemed it our best policy to employ ourselves laying waste the Indian corn which was in vast abundance in the fields, rather than follow a flying enemy to a distance and excite our troops to catch only some straggling fugitives.

We learned from deserters that the Senecas had gone to the English where they will not be allowed to want for any thing necessary to make war on us. Since that time I have had no news of the enemy.

We remained at the four Seneca villages until the 24th; the two larger distant 4 leagues, and the others two. All that time was spent in destroying the corn which was in such great abundance that the loss, including old corn which was in cache which

we burnt and that which was standing, was computed according to the estimate afterwards made, at 400 thousand minots of Indian corn. ' These four villages must exceed 14 to 15 thousand souls. There was a vast quantity of hogs which were killed; a great many both of our Indians and French were attacked with a general rheum which put every one out of humor.

'Tis an unfortunate trade, my lord, to command savages who, after the first broken head ask only to return home carrying with them the scalp which they lift off like a leather cap. You cannot conceive the trouble I had to detain them until the corn was cut.

During the whole time we were in the Senecas country we did not see a single enemy, which caused me divers alarms lest they had been at our batteaux, but terror and consternation deterred them too much from effecting their first threats.

Returning to our batteaux I should have greatly wished to have been able to visit other villages, but the sickness, the extreme fatigue among all and the uneasiness of the savages who began to disband, determined me to proceed to Niagara to erect a fort there in their presence, and point out to them a sure asylum to encourage them to come this winter to war in small bodies.

I selected the angle of the Lake on the Seneca side of the river; it is the most beautiful, the most pleasing and the most advantageous site that is on the whole of this Lake, the Map and plan of which you will have if Sieur de Ville Marie will take the trouble, for I tormented him considerably for it; I sent him expressly to Quebec that he may have nothing else to do.

This post being in a state of defence I left a hundred men there under the command of Sieur de Troyes who made the Northern expedition last year. He is a worthy fellow who richly deserves some share in the honour of your good graces and protection. He can be very useful to you in many things; he is prudent and intelligent, very willing, and has well served on land.

This post has caused much joy to all our farther Indians, who having no place of retreat, scarcely dared to approach the enemy. They have made me great promises-especially our Illinois-to harass them this winter by a number of small parties.

1 A minot is equal to three bushels.

M. de Tonty had returned with them designing to invite them to come. He could collect only very few savages because an alarm had been spread among them of a large body of Senecas having departed last fall on a war expedition against them, which fell through on the information Mr. Dongan gave the Senecas that I was about to attack them; yet, as this large force had marched six days, it was the cause that of six @ 700 savages on whom we relied, only 80 came, which was the reason of their having been obliged to come to the fort of Detroit to join Sieurs du L'hut and de la Durantaye not being able to take the Senecas in the rear.

On quitting Niagara I left M. de Vaudreuil there for a few days with the troops to cut fire wood, after having done what was necessary for lodgings. The inconvenience of this post is, that timber is at a distance from it. M. de Callières and I returned without delay with our habitans to issue the orders necessary for the interior of the Colony.

I have not yet told you, my lord, that the habitans who left the lower part of the Colony, will on their return to their homes, have made four hundred and sixty leagues from the 24 May to about the 17th or 18th of August. You will well conceive that, what with the two forts which it was necessary to build, the destruction of the enemy's corn and the thirty leagues of road we had, going and coming, to travel by land, they will not have been idle.

It was impossible for us to do any more than we accomplished, for provisions would have failed us had we made a longer delay. It is full 30 years that I have had the honour to serve, but I assure you, my lord, that I have seen nothing that comes near this in labour and fatigue.

You ordered me to send you the prisoners we took. You have perceived, my lord, it was impossible for us to make any among the Senecas, and even had we made any, we should have distributed them among the savages our allies and those who made the seizure in the neighbourhood of Fort Cataracouy who are them

selves native Iroquois, but for the most part from villages north of Lake Ontario where there had been some fine and large which the Iroquois south of said Lake forced to join them; this began to swell their numbers and depopulate the northern border. It would be for our interest to repeople these villages because they would be more close allies, and under our control.

Among the prisoners there are some I cannot send you, being near relatives of our Christian Indians. Besides there are some of the Onnontagué village whom we must manage with a view to detach them from the Senecas, and to use them for purposes of negotiation if necessary. As I have not yet any news of the movements of the Iroquois, I should much like not to dispose of all these prisoners. Nevertheless, my lord, as you desire them, I shall content myself by retaining those only who will be of use to me and are guiltless of all the disorders of others. Yet, my lord, be so good as to keep them in a place from which they can be withdrawn, in case of need and we finally come to a general arrangement; I believe that would be a very useful thing. Regarding their women and children, I had them distributed through all our missions in the Colony. All the men, women and children had themselves baptised, testifying joy on that occasion. It remains to be seen if it be in good faith.

*

The copper of which I sent a sample to M. Arnou is found at the head (au fond) of Lake Superior. The body of the mine is not yet discovered. I have seen one of our voyageurs who assures me that he saw, 15 months ago, a lump 200 weight, as yellow as gold in a river which falls into Lake Superior. When heated, it is cut with an axe, but the superstitious Indians regarding this piece as a good Spirit would never permit him to take any of it.