masons and plenty of instruments to break up the ground and convey stone.

You will be surprised, my Lord, to learn that Sieur de Chailly, of whom I had the honour to write you this fall, not being able to have his congé from me to retire to France with all his property which he sent off last year before ny arrival, has fled and deserted the Country, to pass over to Orange (Albany) and thence without doubt by way of England to France.

What is disagreeable in it is, that he will have informed Governor Dongan of every thing he knows of our expeditions to the Baie du Nord (Hudson's Bay) and has learned of the interests of the country and our designs. I beg of you, my Lord, to permit the confiscation of whatever property may be found belonging to him for the benefit of the two hospitals of the Colony

FROM GOV. DONGAN TO M. DE DENONVILLE.

[Lond. Doc. V.; Par. Doc. III.]

Albany, May 22. 1686.

Sir-I have sent for the five Nations of Indians yt belongs to this Governmt. to meet me at this place, to give them in charge that they should not goe to your side of the Great Lakes nor disturbe your Indians and Traders, butt since my coming here I am informed that our Indians are apprehensive of warr by your putting stores into Cataract [Cataraquí] and ordering some forces to meet there. I know you are a man of judgment and that you will not attack the King of England's subjects. Being informed that those Indians with whom our Indians are engaged in warr with, are to the West and Southwest of the greate Lakes (if so) in reason you can have no pretence to them. It is my intention that our Indians shall not warr with the farr Indians. Whether they doe or not it does not seem reasonable that you should ingage yourself in the quarrell of Indians wee pretend too, against our own Indians. Whether these Territories belong to our or the

French King is not to be decided here, but by our Masters at home; and your business & mine is to take Mapps of the Country so well as wee can and to send them home for the limits to be adjusted there.

I am likewise informed that you are intended to build a ffort at a place called Ohniagero on this side of the Lake within my Masters territoryes without question (I cannot believe it,) that a person that has your reputation in the world would follow the steps of Mons Labarre and be ill advised by some interested persons in your Governmt to make disturbance between our Masters subjects in these parts of the world for a little pillitree; when all these differences may be ended by an amicable correspondence between us, If there be any thing amiss, I doe assure you it shall not be my fault though we have suffered much, and doe dayly by your People's trading within the King of England's territoryes. I have had two letters from the two Fathers that lives amongst our Indians, and I find them somewhat disturbed with an apprehension of war, which is groundlesse, being resolved that it shall not begin here, and I hope your prudent conduct will prevent it there, and referr all differences home as I shall doe. I heare one of the Fathers is gone to you, and the other that staid I have sent for him here lest the Indians should insult over him, tho' its a thousand pittys that those that have made such progresse in the service of God should be disturbed, and that by the fault of those that laid the foundation of Christianity amongst these barbarous people.

Setting apart the station I am in I am as much Mons" Desnonville's humble Servant as any friend he has, and will omitt noe opportunity of manifesting the same

Sr

Your humble Servt

THOS DONGAN.

This Rumor of yr coming to Cataracto has prevented my sending a gentleman to Quebec to congratulate your arryval in y Governm1 soe am constrained to make use of ye Father for vo bafe conveyance of this to your hands

M. DE DENONVILLE TO GOV. DONGAN.

[Par. Doc. III.]

Ville marie, June 20. 1686.

I received, Sir, the letter which you did me the honour to write me on the 22nd May last, You will sufficiently learn, in the end, how devoid of all foundation are the advices which you have had of my pretended designs and that all that has been told you by the deserters from the Colony ought to be much suspected

by you.

You are, Sir, too well acquainted with the service and the manner that things must be conducted, to take any umbrage at the supplies which I send to Cataracouy for the subsistence of the soldiers which I have there.

You know the savages sufficiently to be well assured that it would be very imprudent on my part to leave that place without having enough of supplies and munitions there for one year's time. You are not ignorant that it is impossible to get up there at all seasons; if I were to have them conveyed for a large force, I should have used other means.

The natural treachery of a people without faith and without religion, require us to be so far distrustful of them that you ought not to blame me for using precaution against their restlessness and caprice.

I had the honor to inform you by my letter of the 6th June last that the orders I have from my Master manifest merely the zeal which His Majesty entertains for the progress of Religion and for the support and maintenance of the Missionaries. I expect from your piety that you will not be opposed to that, knowing well how much you love Religion. Do you think, Sir, that they will reap much fruit whilst the savages are allowed no peace in the villages in which our Missionaries are established ?

When I came here, I thought Peace was assured between the Iroquois and us and our Savage allies. You see, Sir, what has

been the conduct of the Iroquois in this rencounter. say, Sir, that I am wrong in distrusting them?

Can you

They are alarmed at the war which they fancy I shall wage against them; their conscience only could have impressed them with this idea, since I have not done the least thing to make them believe that I want any thing else from them than to see peace well established throughout all the country. What have I done to cause them the least uneasiness? And what do they want?

In respect to the pretensions which you say you have to the lands of this country, certainly you are not well informed of all the entries into possession (prises de possessions) which have been made in the name of the King my Master, and of the establish ments which we have of long standing on the lands and on the lakes; and as I have no doubt but our Masters will easily agree among themselves, seeing the union and good understanding that obtain between them, I willingly consent with you that their Majesties regulate the limits among themselves wishing nothing more than to live with you in good understanding; but to that end, Sir, it would be very apropos that a gentleman so wor thy as you should not grant protection to all the rogues, vaga bonds and thieves who desert and seek refuge with you, and who, to acquire some merit with you believe they cannot do better than to tell you many impertinencies of us, which will have no end so long as you will listen to them..

The letter which the Rev. Father de Lamberville has been so kind as to be the bearer of from me on the 6th June last ought to suffice, Sir, to put you perfectly in possession of my intentions. It would be unnecessary that I should make any other reply to your last of the 22d of May, were it not that I was very glad hereby to prove to you again that I shall always feel a great pleasure in seizing every opportunity to shew that I am

f

Sir,

Your very humble &

very obedient Servant.

COL. DONGAN TO M. DE DENONVILLE.

[Lond. Doc. V.; Par. Doc. III.]

New York, 27th July. 1686.

Sir-I had the honour to receave two letters from you one dated the 6th and the other the 20th of June last and in them I have found very much satisfaction by the hopes of a good correspondence with a person of so great merit worth and repute spread abroad in the army in which I served. Believe it it is much joy to have soe good a neighbour of soe excellent qualifications and temper and of a humour altogether differing from Monsieur de la Barre your predecessor who was so furious and hasty very much addicted to great words as if I had bin to have bin frighted by them. The Indians peradventure might justly offend him for they as you well remarke are not people of the greatest eredit and reputation, but certainly I did not amiss in offering sincerely to compose the difference and I went expressly to Albany to do it and yet no suitable returns were made by him for it. I doubt not but your Masters inclinations are very strongly bent to propagate the Christian Religion and I do assure you that my master had no less a share in so pious intentions; for my part I shall take all imaginable care that the Fathers who preach the Holy Gospell to those Indians over whom I have power bee not in the least ill treated and upon that very accompt have sent for one of each nation to come to me and then those beastly crimes you reproove shall be checked severely and all my endeavours used to suppress their filthy drunkennesse disorders, debauches, warring and quarrels and whatsoever doth obstruct the growth and enlargement of the Christian faith amongst those people

I have heard that before ever the King your Master pretended to Cannida, the Indians so farr as the South Sea were under the English Dominion and always traded with Albany Maryland and Virginia, but that according to your desire with very good reason is wholly referred to our Masters, and I heartely pray that neither you nor myselfe give occasion of any of the least misunder