DENONVILLe ’s EXPEDITION TO THE GENESEE COUNTRY AND NIAGARA. 1 161

After that, judge, Sir, what just grounds I have to_ complain of, and be on my guard against,you.

On my return from the campaign which I just made against the Senecas, I received the letter thatyou took the trouble to write me, Sir, on the 11 th (20 th ) June of this year. You send me copy ofthe Treaty of Neutrality entered into between our masters of which I also transmitted you a copy asI had rec^ it from the King and it was published in this country. Nothing more is required therein,Sir, than to have it fully and literally executed as well on your part as on mine. To do that youmust discontinue protecting the enemies of the Colony and cease to receive them among you, and tofurnish them with munitions as you have done. You must, also, observe the promise you gave meat the time of my arrival, that you would leave the decision of the limits to our masters. You must,likewise, not undertake any expedition against us in any of our establishments, the greatest portionsof which were before Orange (Albany ) was what it is, or any of Manate were acquainted with theIroquois and the Ouatouas.

When you arrived at your present government, did you not find, Sir, in the whole of the fiveIroquois villages, all our Missionaries sent by the King almost the entire of whom the heretic mer-chants have caused to be expelled even in your time, which is not honorable to your government.It is only three years since the greater number have been forced to leave ; the fathers Lambrevillealone bore up against the insults and ill treatment they received through the solicitations of yourtraders. Is it not true, Sir, that you panted only to induce them to abandon their mission 1 Yourecollect, Sir, that you took the trouble to send under a guise of duty so late as last year to solicitthem by urgent discourses to retire under the pretext that I wished to declare war against the villageof the Onnontagues. What certainty had you of it, Sir, if it were not your charge and prohibi-tions you had given them, against giving me up the prisoners I demanded of them, and they surren-dered to me 1 You foresaw the war I would make because you wished me to make it against themand because you obliged me to wage that against the Senecas. In this way, Sir, it is very easy toforesee what occurs.

I admire, Sir, the passage of your last letter of the 11 th June of this year in which you state thatthe King of England your Master has juster title than the King to the Posts we occupy, and thefoundation of your reasoning is that they are situate to the South of you, just on the border of oneportion of your dominion ( domination .) In refutation of your sorry reasonings, Sir, it is only neces-sary to tell you that you are very badly acquainted with the Map of the country and know less thepoints of the compass where those Posts are relative to the situation of Menade, (New York .) It isonly necessary to ask you again what length of time we occupy those Posts and who discoveredthem—You or we 1 Again, who is in possession of them 1 After that, read the 5 th article of thetreaty of Neutrality and you will see, if you were justified in giving orders to establish your tradeby force of arms at Missilimaquina. As I send you a copy of your letter with the answer to eacharticle, I need not repeat here what is embraced in that answer. Suffice it to say this in conclusion,that I retain your officer Mr. Gregory here and all your orders for your pretended expedition, whowere taken within the Posts occupied by the King. My first design was to send them back to youbut as I know that you entertain and give aid and comfort to the Iroquois Savages contrary to theTreaty of Neutrality of the 16 th Now 1686 agreed to by our Masters, causing them to be suppliedwith all munitions necessary to wage war against us, I have determined, in spite of myself, to retainall your people until you have complied with the Intentions of the King your Master and executedsaid Treaty , being obliged to regard you as the King’s enemy whilst you entertain his enemies andcontravene the treaties entered into between the King of England and the King my Master.

All that T can tell you for certain, Sir, is, that your conduct will be the rule of mine, and that itwill remain with yourself that the said Treaty be thoroughly executed. I must obey my Master and

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