158

DENONVILLE’s EXPEDITION TO THE GENESEE COUNTRY AND NIAGARA.

fore this Govm 1 came was concluded and agreed thereby tho they had not done any thing to theFrench ] but what was in Pursuance of his own orders

And as to their Warring with the farther Indyans that is more hurtfull to us than the French theybeing inclined to trade with us rather than them which by their Warring is hindred @ in my opinionthe Christians ought not to meddle with the Indians warring one with another it being the ruin ofthemselves And as for this present Governor of Canada Mons r de Nonville he has no ground for whathe does, for I have from time to time oifered to do him Justice for any ill the Indians should committand sent a messinger this Spring to him for that purpose; to take away all pretence whatsoever @also sent him word that those five Nations on our side of the Lake had delivered themselves @ theirLands under the subjection of our King @ that I had caused the Kings arms to be sett upon all theirCastles

But their reason for this Warr is that the Indyans would not submitt @ joyn themselves to theFrench who have used all other meanes to effect it @ those failing have caused this attempt so thatwe find they have a further design which is by the Ruin of those Indians to engross both the trade@ Country wholly to themselves, and to that intent the French King has sent over upwards of 3000men besides what came this last spring and alsoe has built a Fort at a place called Shamblee andanother at Monte Royall and another at Trois Riviers one at Cataraque at the other side of the Lake and this spring an other on our side of the Lake at a place called Onyegra where I had thought tohave built one it being the place where all our Traders & Beaver Hunters must pass.

So that they are resolved to Ruin all those Indians @ if they compass their design it will be of veryill consequence to all his Mat* 3 subjects in those parts of America for they are a better Bullwarkagainst the French and the other Indians than so many Christians, @ if the French have all that theypretend to have discovered of these Parts, the King of England will not have 100 miles from the seaany where, for the people of Canada are poor @ live only on the Beaver @ Peltry and the Kingssubjects here living plentifully have not regarded making discoveries into the country until of latebeing encouraged by me one Roseboon had leave in the year 1685 to go with some young men asfarra 3 the Ottawawe & Twiswicks, where they were very well rec lt @ invited to come every year, andthey desired that the Sinnekas being their enemies would open a path for them that they might cometo Albany .

But a little after their being there a party of our Indians being out attacked a Castle of theirs, took5 or 600 prisaners and brought them away to their own country, which when I heard of I orderedthe Indians to deliver to Roseboom @ to one Major McGregory a Scots gent n (who went with 60 ofthe young men of Albany , and some of Albany Indians a Beaver trading to those further nations) asmany of those prisoners as were willing to return home, the Gov r of Canada hearing of their goingthat way sent 200 French @ 3 or 400 Indians to intercept them, has taken them Prisoners takentheir goods from them @ what they further design to do with them is not yet known.

And for this Government which is too poor of itself to help our Indians without adding Connecticut@ East @ West Jersey in case the war continues without the assistance of our Neighbours @ somemen out of Europe xvill be wholly impossible, for we are the least government @ the poorest @ yetare at the greatest charges @ we find this year that the Revenue is very much diminished for inother years we are used to Ship off for England 35 or 40,000 Beavers besides Peltry @ this yearonly 9000 and some hundreds peltry in all.

The Council to show their readiness to serve the King have passed two acts for raising l d P r lbat New York , Isopus @ Albany, these three places being the only support of the Government @ 1on Long Island @ the rest of the Government who do not advance the Kings Revenue neither byExcise nor Customs 150 Ib P ann:

To secure the Beaver & Peltry Trade @ the Kings right to the Country: It’s mine and the Coun-cils opinion (alsoe to have an awe over our Indians @ make them firm to us) to build a Fort at