PAPERS RELATING TO THE ONEIDA COUNTRY AND MOHAWK VALLEY.
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MR. MINE TO THE MINISTER.
[ Paris Doc. XIV. ]
Annexed are two little Relations or Summaries of what has occurred of most interest since the de-parture of the ships last year. The damage inflicted on the English in horned cattle, sheep andhorses has been greatly exaggerated in the Relation of M. de Bellestre’s expedition of the 28 th No-vember 1757. It must be diminished at least a good half.' It is still more exaggerated in regard tofurniture, wearing apparel, merchandize and liquors which are carried up to fifteen hundred thou-sand livres, as well as the loss of the Palatine’s village in Indian corn.
.'ii i.
M. DE VAUDREUIL TO THE MINISTER.
[ Paris Doc. XV. ]
M. de Bellestre’s success last autumn in destroying the village of the Palatines and carrying theforts that covered it would have been actually, My lord, *a great aid to the Colony, had it beenpossible to remove the considerable portion of provisions of all sorts found in that village. Ihad particularly provided for this by the orders I gave that officer. But circumstances were notsufficiently favorable to execute them.
1 st . M. de Bellestre being much exposed to be pursued and perhaps cut off by a force infinitelysuperior to his own was under the absolute necessity of using the greatest activity in his opera-tions, success depending essentially thereon. He was consequently unable to restrain the attackof his detachment. This was made by one party with all possible vigor whilst others were busyfiring the houses, barns etca.
2. The 500 horses, lost by the enemy in this affair, were not exactly captured. The greaterpart were killed or wounded, and M. de Belletre brought with him but a very small numberwhich was a great resource to him to support his detachment on his return.
3 d . Had he all those horses and all the provisions at his disposal he could not absolutely haveprofited by them, either because it was prudent for him to hasten his retreat, or because thetransportation of the provisions had been utterly impossible, both on account of the difficulty ofthe roads and rivers to be passed and the impossibility of feeding the horses.