de la barre’s expedition to hungry bay.

89

FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME.

Onontaguf, 27 Sept. 1634.

My Lord,—I return here after having been delayed ten days in the Lake by very strong headwinds. A day before the Iroquois deputies met here, the Senecas sent Belts to the Iroquois villagesto declare to them that should you disembark in their country, they would attack you. Six or sevenMohegans ( Loups) were preparing to go to the assistance of the Iroquois , as the Outaoutes were aid-ing the French . The Seneca scouts have been as far as Kaionhouague, where you had concludedthe peace, to be certain of the place at which your army had encamped. The Onnontagues believedfor several days that they had killed me. Tegannehout’s arrival in this country will have calmedthe minds in communicating your peace to them. No news have as yet been received from the Seneca.Some say they will shortly come hither to confer on important matters. If any one come from theFor there I shall inform you of whatever I will have learned.

Sieur Arnaud, Mr. Dongan’s deputy,has not re-appeared here since my departure from Onnontae,though he had assured me that he should return in ten days. ’Tis said that his delay is caused bynot having found his master at Orange (Albany), and that he has gone to Manath to inform him ofthe proceedings of the Onnontagu6 and of your arrival at Gainhouague, [Hungry Bay.]

I had the honour of writing to you from the Fort whence I sent you a wampum belt from theTionnontates. I gave Sieur Hannataksa the belt of Wampum and the red Calumet in your name, towhom I said that you would be ever obliged to him if he would turn his arms to the left of Fort St.Louis, where the Illinois are mingled with the Oumiamis, so as to give no cause of complaint.

Uncertain as I was regarding matters on the side of the Senecas, and fearful that the Senecas wouldcreate confusion on arriving here, I made some presents in your name to some captains who couldbest cmb their insolence, so as to prevent the brewing of the storm.

Your man of business, I mean La Grande Gueule, is not concerned at any thing; he is a venal be-ing whom you do well to keep in pay. I assured him that you would send him the jerkin you pro-mised. The Cayugas who are gone to war to the borders of Merinlande and Virginia have sent homesome of their warriors to say that the English had killed three of their men, and that they havingtaken five Englishmen alive, had cut their throats after subjecting them to some bad treatment andthat they were still in the English country.

After having spoken to you of others, I must acquit myself of a part of my duty, by thankingyou very humbly for all the kindnesses you have been pleased to shower on me. I should havewished you, in addition to the good health in which it pleased God to preserve you in the midst ofan army weakened by diseases, greater satisfaction for the trouble you have taken for the public good.Individuals assuredly know that if you had not accepted peace, which is very favorable since no onehas been killed on either side, the Colony would have been exposed to the mercy of the Iroquois who would pounce, in different directions, on defenceless settlements, the people of which theywould carry off in order to pitilessly burn them. I pray God , who knows the sincerity of your in-tentions, to be your reward and to heap His blessings on you to the extent of the wishes of him whois entirely, my Lord

Your very humble and very obedient servant,

J. DE LamBERVILLE.

I told Colin that you would remember him and his comrade.

The Tionnontates have sent to thank the Onnontagues for having, by their obliging disposition,gained you over to treat for peace, and thus preserve the lives of many, and that they were attachedto Onnonthio. Sieur la Grande [Gueule] has pronounced your panegyric here, and professes to keep

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