USA > New York > History of the state of New York. Vol. II, Pt. 1 > Part 12
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Iv., CT. 91, 130; Chalmers, i., 32S; Evelyn, ii., $7 ; Campbell, 215, 272; ante, p. 52.
* Col. Dec., iii., 10-4.
1 0 4. Doc., il., 356-339 ; iii., 104 ; D'Estrades, iii., 81, 85, 89, 92, 93, 164, 168, 179, 199_102: Mix via, v., 373-376; Rapin, i., 039 ; De Witt, il., 69, 70, 93 ; iv., 403; Basnage, 1. TOT-744
3 6; Anderson on Commerce, il., 426, 482, 423; Pinkerton, viii., 457; xi., 193; ante, p. 75. .
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CHAP. II. grown with grass, and the awful silence was broken only by the nightly round of the pest-cart."
1665.
In Holland, naval defeat almost produced a revolution. The people began to murmur against De Witt, and all anxiously looked for the return of De Ruyter from Amer- ica. Louis, annoyed at the growing haughtiness of Charles, pressed De Witt to exchange New Netherland for Poleron; and the Pensionary, avowing that the sacrifice would be 23 July. New Neth- erland and Pole- great, agreed that the French king might, "as of his own accord," propose it to the King of England. This step ron. was kept secret from the States General, for both Louis and De Witt feared that the people might declare for the young Prince of Orange. The French ambassadors at London were directed to make the proposed offer " as from 16 August. themselves," and Louis promised to break with Charles if it was not accepted. The States General were urged to sustain De Witt's secret agreement ; but they only directed 20 Angust. the East and West India Companies, which were chiefly interested, to give their opinions upon the proposition.t
August.
Haughty English claims.
The English answer to the French overture was, that the Dutch had usurped New Netherland, to which they had no right, and that the king was surprised at a proposal to cede Poleron " in compensation for a country already his own." With headstrong subserviency, Clarendon reiterated the falsehood that King James had granted the country, "aft- erwards named New Netherland," to Lord Stirling; that " the Scotch had begun to cultivate it a long time before the Hollanders were received there;" and that, as the Duke of York had bought the rights of Stirling's heirs, the Dutch province legitimately belonged to the English. Yet the chancellor well knew that Lord Stirling's claim affected Long Island only, and not the rest of New Netherland.
* Aitzema, v., 377-284, 443-460 ; Basnage, i., 741-743; l'epya, ii , 243-530; Evelyn, i .. 417-492 ; Kennett, ili., 255, 256; Burnet, 1., 218, 212; Rapin, it, 650, G.); Clarke's James II., i., 405-422 ; Lister's Clarendon, ii., 333-325; ili., 380-384; Courtenay's Temple, i., 80; Martin, i., 270. The Guinea and the Martin, two of the ships which had assisted in the re- duction of New Netherland, were in the British fleet in the battle of JJune, 1665, but under other commanders. Three of the captains who returned from New York were also in that battle with other ships. Hyde, of the Guinea, commanded the Jersey, 43; Grove, of the Martin, the Success, 50; and Hill, of the Elias, which foundered on her voyage home, the Coventry, 22 .-- Allen's Battles of the British Navy, i., 46 ; Aitzema, v., 441. 445; Pepys, ii., 155, 249 ; iii., 240 ; ante, p. 50, note.
t D'Estrades, ill., 195, 215, 219, 221, 212, 240, 250, 262. 205. 278, 205 301. 318; Aitzema. v .. 348.389, 393 ; Col. Doc., ii., 341-353 ; Basnage, i., 743, 750-754; Lister, ili., 581, 387, 38%, 003; Lambrechtsen, TS, note.
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RICHARD NICOLLS, GOVERNOR.
The Hollanders, he argued, had only been tolerated there Cuar. Il. as they would have been had they established themselves in England or elsewhere, where they would not, for that 1665. reason, acquire any right of sovereignty for their republic. The ambassadors of Louis answered this burlesque of rea- Answer of soning by showing its utter want of analogy. But they saw that "the interest of the Duke of York prevailed," and that Clarendon did not believe that the Dutch would break off on the point of New Netherland, especially as the King of France himself had offered to cede it for Poleron.
This answer of Charles was justly considered by Louis as rather " hard, dry, and haughty." He wrote at once to 38 August. D'Estrades, at the Hague, "I will say to you that, having Louis de- ares the right of the New Neth- examined what the English and the Hollanders have writ- Dutch to ten upon the subject of New Netherland, it appears to me erland. that the right of the Hollanders is the best founded ; for it is a species of mockery to make believe that those who have built and peopled a city without any one saying a word to hinder them would have been tolerated as stran- gers in France or in England; and habitation, joined to a long possession, are, in my judgment, two sufficiently good titles to destroy all the reasons of the English." At the same time, Louis thought, that as the Dutch had already lost their American province, they should be willing to abandon it for the sake of peace .*
But the States of Holland were too much interested in the preservation of New Netherland to consent to its sur- render. The city of Amsterdam likewise insisted upon re- & Septera. covering what had cost it so much. The States General would not treat with England unless Charles receded from his position ; and De Witt's private agreement with Louis was repudiated. The French mediators -who thought }} septem. that while the Duke of York would not give up New Netherland, the Dutch made its restitution rather "a point of honor" -- made farther propositions to the English gov- ernment. Charles haughtily replied that they were "not 25 Octoler. adapted to secure a firm peace." The West India Com- pany, not yet satisfied with Stuyvesant's behavior, resolved 270"wer.
The W 1 that their own province in America should not be ex- ca, water! changed for Poleron, because they had "no partnership" Sr St. · L'Estrades, iii., 324, 300-354; Aitzema, v., 303; Col. Doc., ii., 334, 355; Basnage, L, 15-1. erland.
the French.
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HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CHAP. IL. with the East India Company, which had an entire mo- 1665. nopoly in the Eastern seas, while not only were private persons largely concerned in New Netherland, but also great public interests were involved which would be ruin- ed by its loss."
7. April.
10 Septem.
31 Decem. The States maintain their right to New Nether- land.
Meanwhile Downing had left Holland, after having sent to the States General a reply to their answer of the ninth of February, in which he insisted upon the English title to New Netherland, and mendaciously affirmed that it had not been "taken by any order" of the king. This having been published in London, the Dutch government ordered their rejoinder to be printed. The absurdity of the En- glish claim was demonstrated; because, while James the First might insert in a patent such clauses as he chose, he could not thereby prejudice the rights of others; and, moreover, he had expressly excepted territory in the pos- session of other states. The "imaginary subterfuge" that Charles had not directed the capture of New Netherland was exposed by quoting his own orders to Nicolls of the 23d April, 1664. Full appendices completed this able state paper, which fitly closed the long correspondence be- tween Holland and England about the conquest of New Netherland.t
3 Decem. Fiercer war at hand.
The answer of Charles to the propositions of Louis ended any hopes of a peaceable adjustment. All the cities of Holland thanked God that he had not accepted them. They determined to bear increased taxation for war rather than submit to dishonorable terms of peace. Van Gogh 11 Decem. was recalled from London by a letter, in which the States General set forth their offers of reciprocal restitution, and the British haughty repulse of them. Charles, on his part, 16 Decem. insisted that the Provincial States of Holland were "the real authors" of a war which seemed to "prejudice the Protestant religion."# And as this eventfull year closed, the two great champions of the Reformation prepared for a fiercer struggle.
* D'Estrades, iii., 360, 365, 871, 382, 805, 435, 444, 472; Aitzema, v., 305; Basnage, i., 755; Col. D.c., ii., 357. 358, 351, 417-419; Courtenay's Temple, i., 75; MES. N. Y. II. Soc., communicated by M. F. A. G. Campbell, of the Hague.
t D' Estrades, ill., 563; Aitzema, v., 394; Col. Doc., ii., 331-335, 379-415: ante, p. 19.
# Aitzema, v., 291, 300, 397 ; D'Estrades, ill., 505, 566, 517, 551; Basnage, i., 756.
97
RICHARD NICOLLS, GOVERNOR.
CHAPTER III.
1666-1668.
A FRESH element now entered into the history of New Cusr. III. York. Louis, reluctantly fulfilling his engagement to as- sist Holland against England, issued a declaration of war 1666. 29 Jan. against Charles the Second. It was very moderate in its France de- clares war tone; for the French king secretly sympathized with his English brother, and was really hostile to the Republic of England. heretics and merchants. "This is a great step I have taken," wrote Louis to D'Estrades at the Hague, " for the role interest of the States, and in almost every thing con- trary to my own." The next month England declared war &, Feb. against France. Charles immediately directed his Ameri- 22 Feb. can colonies to be on their guard against the enemy, and to colonial English reduce "all islands and plantations in those parts belonging orders. to the French of Dutch nation, and especially that of Can- ada." These orders, however, did not reach New York until the following summer. But they foreshadowed an aggress- ive colonial policy, which, culminating in the conquest of New France by England a century afterward, prepared the way for the American Revolution."
Interesting events had meanwhile happened on the northern frontier of New York. The treaty which Nic- olls had so promptly caused to be made with the native Indians at Albany, and his subsequent behavior toward them, were meant to make them firm friends of the En- glich, as they had been of the Dutch. The territory of the Mohawks and Oneidas was within the Duke of York's pat- ont ; and even at that early day the time was perhaps an- teipated when the five confederated nations, instead of
* Alte ma. v., 693, 695, 912; D'Estrades, iv., 47, 65, 16 : Kennett, iii., 25; Rapin, If., <41. 612 : Ba:gave, 1 , 770; Lavallée, ill., 212 ; Martin, i., 272; Courtenay's Temple, 1., 52; SE tax, B. 120, 187 ; Col. Rec. Conn., ii., 514; Shea's note to Miller's N. Y., 113, 114.
II .- G
98
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
1666. New York and Cana- da.
CHAP. III. being treated as equals, would be claimed as English sub- jects, and used as barriers against the neighboring French in Canada. Between New France and New Netherland there had been little if any disagreement, while many acts of kindness shown by the Dutch were long remembered by the French authorities. But now, instead of placid Hol- land, aggressive England was sovereign of New York. Where there had been friendship was soon to be discord ; and national antipathies, which could not be repressed in Europe, were destined to begin, in the country of the Iro- quois, an eventful struggle for ultimate supremacy in North America.
French policy in Canada.
It had been the policy of France to obtain a spiritual as well as temporal dominion over the savages who encom- passed her colonists in the New World. Wherever the lilies were planted, there was set up the cross. With he- roic devotion the missionaries of Christianity pushed on their labors among the tribes south of the Saint Lawrence and " the beautiful lake" which the Iroquois called " Onta- rio."* Of all these confederated tribes the Onondagas were the most friendly to the French. This was chiefly owing to their greatest orator, Garakontié, "the sun that advan- ces," who had nothing savage in him "except birth and education." A nephew of the " Atotarho," or great sachem of the Iroquois, but himself neither sachem nor chief, Gara- kontić had acquired immense power over his countrymen by his eloquence and his political wisdom. He had pro- tected the Jesuit father Simon le Moyne at Onondaga, and had induced the remote Cayugas and Senecas to join his own nation in releasing their French prisoners, with whom the missionary returned to Canada in the summer of 1662.+
But the nearer Oneidas and Mohawks cherished enmity, and even threatened Montreal. This aroused the Canadian government. The Baron Pierre du Bois d'Avaugour, who had succeeded D'Argenson in 1661, was a soldier, who
. "Ontario" signifies in Indian "the beautiful lake:" Col. Doc., ix., 16; Hennepin's Lou- isiana, 5. The note in Col. Doc., ix., 76, which renders Ontario "the Great Lake," is con- tradictory, and seems to be erroneous.
t Col. Doc., ix., 13, 16, 76 ; Relation (ed. Quebec, 1858), 1661, 32-58 ; 1662, 10-12; Henne- pin, Desc. de In Louisiane, 5; Charlevoix (ed. 12mo), ii., SS, 103-119, 144; Shea's Catholic Missions, 242, 248; Ferland, Histoire du Canada, i., 470-477 ; Faillon, Hist. de la Col. Fran- çaise en Canada, ii , 400; ili., 2, 22; Sparks's Life of La Salle, 71; Bancroft, ill., 120-162; ante, vol. i., 84, 704. Le Moyne died at the Cap de la Madeleine, 24 November, 1065: Col. Doc., ill., 123; ix., OS; Shea's Missions, 248.
99
RICHARD NICOLLS, GOVERNOR.
thought it his chief duty "to plant effectually the fleur de CHAP. III. lys" in New France. He recommended to Louis a scheme of fortifications by which Quebec would be made impreg- 4 August. 1663. nable, and the king "master of America, where all the her- D'Avau- gour ad- (tics would remain only so long as might please him." The vises the Iroquois he considered a rabble to be destroyed. To this of the Iro- end forts should be built on the Richelieu River, and at the quoig. upper part of the Hudson, near Fort Orange. Three thou- sand men should be sent to Canada to rout the Iroquois, hinder the progress of the heretics, and open a direct com- munication with the sea through the more genial region of New Netherland. Should his bold plan be vigorously pros- ecuted, D'Avaugour prophesied that his ambitious sover- dign would be " master of the finest and greatest empire in the world."
On the other hand, the Jesuit missionaries insisted that The Jesuits their greatest obstacle was the drunkenness of the Indians, liquor oppose the who were supplied with liquors by the Europeans, and es- trade. pecially by the Dutch at Fort Orange. The French colo- nists had been forbidden by severe edicts from engaging in this traffic. But D'Avaugour would not enforce the prohibition ; and a quarrel broke out between him and the ecclesiasties, headed by Laval de Montmorency, the titular Bishop of l'étree, in partibus infidelium, who had come out to Quebec in 1659 as Vicar Apostolic of New France. Laval complained to the king, who, at his suggestion, ap- pointed the Chevalier Augustin de Mezy, an apostate Cal- 1 May. vinist, to succeed D'Avaugour as Governor of Canada. De Governer De Muzy of Canada. Mezy arrived at Quebec in the summer of 1668, accompa- nied by the Royal Commissary Du Pont Gaudais, who or- ganized the colonial government which Louis had estab- lished after the surrender to him of all their rights by the old Canada Company.#
The administration of De Mezy was short and troubled.
1604. Its most important event was an embassy sent by the Iro- Iroquois quois to Montreal, in the summer of 1664, to treat for Montreal. trace. The Mohawks had been weakened and their pride humbled by their war with the Mahicans, or "Loups."+
* 1; 2 Doc., ix., 7-17, 25, 59, 783, 754; Relation, 1661, 10; Quebec MSS., ii. (ii.) 170; Gar- sau, Hist. du Canada, i., 140-146, 155; Ferland, i., 447, 448, 476-453, 494-500; Faillon, iL, **:: HL. 50-69; Charlevoix, if., SS, 105, 120-123, 135, 137, 140, 145 ; ante, vol. i., 705.
! The Mohicans or Mohegans were originally settled on the Hudson River, and were
embassy t.
destruction
100
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CHAP. III. The far-off Senecas were in arms against their fierce neigh- bors, the Andastes, or Conestogues, or Susquehannas, who 1664. inhabited the region west of the Swedes on the Delaware, near what is now Lancaster in Pennsylvania, and were thought " the most capable of all others to exterminate the Iroquois."" The confederate nations therefore desired that the French should live among them and supply them 18 Septem. with European weapons. De Mezy was assured by the upper tribes that all except the Oneidas desired peace ; and the friendly disposition of the Mohawks was vouched for by a letter from "one of the notables of New Nether- land." But the governor let the Iroquois see that the French were resolved to rid themselves of such treacherous enemies.+
De Mezy, however, quarreled with the Jesuits, as his predecessor had, and was recalled by Colbert. The Chey- 1665. alier Daniel de Remy de Courcelles, a brave officer of 23 March. merit and experience, was commissioned to succeed him as f governor of Canada. The Sieur Jean Talon, formerly of Hainault, a man of large views and enterprising mind, was also appointed intendant of justice, police, and finance. D'Avaugour's plans of fortification, which he had ex- plained more fully on his return to France, and the ad- vice of D'Estrades to destroy the Iroquois in a year, were now favorably considered. The king's instructions to Ta- 27 March. lon declared the five nations to be " perpetual and irrecon- cilable enemies of the colony," and ordered that war should be carried "even to their firesides, in order totally to ex- terminate them." A thousand veterans of the Carignan regiment, which had just distinguished itself against the Turks in Hungary, were detached, under the command of
therefore often called the " River Indians." Their Indian name " Mahigan" was the Algon- quin word for " wolf," which the French translated into " Loup:" Relation, 1660, 31; 1661, 39; 1064, 33; Charlevoix, v., 178 ; Col. Doc., ix., 38, 66 ; ante, vol. i., 72, 183, 232, 733.
* Relation, 1660, 6; 16 :1, 31 ; 1663, 10; 1664, 33; Charlevoix, i., 134; Col. Doc., iii., 74, 125, 417, 797; v., 486; ix., 45, 63, 84, 227, 605; Doc. Hist., i., 250; Shea, 24, 240, 291. Mr. Gal- latin erroneously places the Andastes on the Alleghany and Ohio Rivera, and calls them Guyandots. The Mengwe, Minquas, or Mingoes were the Andastes, or Gandastogues, or Conestogas, who lived on the Conestoga Creek, which empties into the Susquehanna. Upon their reduction by the Five Iroquois Nations in 1675, the Andastes were to a great ex- tent mingled with their conquerors; and a party removing to the Ohio, commonly called Mingoes, was thus made up of Iroquois and Mingoes. The celebrated Logan was a real Andaste: Colden, i. ; Shea's note on Washington's Ohio Diary, p. 224; Historical Maga- zine, ii., 204-201.
t Relation, 1903, 11 : 1004, 26, 52-36; Charlevoix, ii., 134, 141, 142; Garneau, i., 156; Shea, 250, 251; Faillon, ill., 83-100; ante, vol. i., 733.
Courcelles governor Canada, and Talon intendant.
101
RICHARD NICOLLS, GOVERNOR.
the Sieur de Salières, and Courcelles set sail with his ex- CHAP. III. pedition for Canada .*
1663.
19 Novem. Tracy vice- roy of New
In the mean time, Louis had commissioned Alexander de Prouville, Marquis de Tracy, to be his lieutenant gen- eral in America, in the absence of the Count D'Estrades, France. whom he had appointed viceroy, but who was now his am- bassador in Holland. Tracy embarked with four com- panies of infantry, and, after visiting the West Indies, sail- ed for the Saint Lawrence. Among other things, the act- 1664. ing viceroy was instructed to avoid quarreling with the 15 Novem. Jesuits, but not let them encroach too much. Their inter- diction of the liquor trade had injured Canada, because the savages carried all their peltries to the Dutch, who sup- plied them with brandy in exchange. Another conse- quence followed : the Iroquois allowed themselves "to be catechized by the Dutch ministers, who instruct them in heresy." In the opinion of Lyonne, the Jesuits should have " closed the eye to one evil to avoid a greater."
1665.
Soon after Tracy reached Quebec, he was joined by 30 Junc. Courcelles and Talon. The squadron in which they came brought over, besides the Carignan regiment, a number of 14 Septem. mechanics and cattle, and the first horses that had been seen in Canada; "in a word, a more considerable colony than that which it came to re-inforce." No time was lost in executing the vigorous policy which Louis had adopted. The viceroy, with all his soldiers, went up to the mouth of 23 July. the Richelieu, when the fort which Montmagny had estab- on the Forts built lished in 1642 was at once rebuilt by the able engineer or & rd Michelino, Saurel, or Sorel, whose name is commemorated in that liver. which the river now bears. A second fort was erected by Chambly at the foot of the rapids, about half way to Lake Champlain, which at first was called Saint Louis, but was soon known as Fort Chambly. Three leagues farther south a third fort was built, called Sainte Therese, because it was finished on the fifteenth day of October. Here Salières took his post as colonel; and the way to Lake Champlain 15 Octeler. was now commanded by the French.+
. CM. Do ... ix. 90-29, 785; Faillon, iii., 100-116; Charlevoix, ii., 145-147, 150; D'Es- I'Men, H., 576, 517 ; Garneau, i., 198, 199 ; ante, p. TS. De Mezy died at Quebec on the Eat of May, 1665, a short time before Courcelles arrived there.
1 6 . L Txc., ix., 18, 19, 92 ; Relation, 1665, 3, 4, 7, 10-13, 25; La Potherie. i., 319 : if .. $?, '' : « harb.voir, i., 35% ; ii., 151, 152: v., 221; Doc. Hist., 1., 43-45; Warburton, i., 373; Gsmorav, 1, 190; Ferland, i., 320; Faillon, iii., 117-126; Shea, 251. On the map in the
D
102
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
CHAP. III.
1665. December. The West- ern Iro- quois visit "Onnon- tio."
Treaty made.
These vigorous measures impressed the savages. Depu- ties from the Onondagas, who also represented the Cayu- gas and Senecas, hastened to Tracy at Quebec, led by Gara- kontié, " the father of the Frenchmen." An Oneida chief joined the Western ambassadors, and spoke for his nation. Presents were interchanged between the Iroquois plenipo- tentiaries and " Onnontio,"# by which name they distin- Decem, guished the governor of Canada. A treaty was made, by which Louis was declared the protector and sovereign of the four Iroquois nations, and they his vassals and allies. French families and missionaries were to be settled among the savages, and farms near Montreal, Three Rivers, and Quebec assigned to emigrants from the four Iroquois na- tions. Thus these nations would "hold the French, not merely by the hem and fringe of the garment, but clasp them cordially around the waist." The Mohawks were not included in the treaty. The representatives of the other confederates promised to return to Quebec "within four moons," and ratify this acknowledgment of their vassalage to France.t
The Mo- hawks not included.
Canada ig- norant of the Englis conquest of New Net erland.
Up to this time the French in Canada were ignorant of the political changes in New York. They supposed that it was still a Dutch province. The boundaries between New France and the neighboring English colonies were in- definite; but while the Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas had just given to Louis a nominal sovereignty over much of the territory south of Lake Ontario, the Mohawks had never acknowledged their subjection to any European master. Tracy therefore resolved to treat them as enemies.
1666. An expedition into the Mohawk country was organized, and Courcelles was directed to take the command. In the 9 January. depth of winter he began his march with three hundred regular soldiers and two hundred Canadians. The Father
Relation of 1665, the name of Sorel is spelled " Saurel," which seems to be the true orthog- raphy according to Col. Doc., ix., 52, 53, 139.
* This word, derived from "Onnonta," a mountain, signifies, in the Iroquois tongue, "Great mountain." It was a literal translation of the name of Montmagny, who was gov- ernor of Canada from 1636 to 1648 ; and the savages, having become familiar with the word, applied it to his successors in office. By the same rule they called the King of France "Grand Onnontio." The English, who did not understand its etymology, wrote the word " Yonnondio:" Relation, 1641, 22; 1658, S; Doc. Hist., i., 32, 33, 35; Col. Doc., iii., 459, 733, 735; iv., 893; ix., 37 ; La l'utherie, i., 303, 348; Charlevoix, i., 350; Colden, i., 29, 62, 70: ante, vol. i., 591, note.
t Col. Doc., iii., 121-125 ; ix., 37, 38; Relation, 1661, 28; 1664, 32; 1665, 5; Charlevoix, li., 154, 155; Doc. Ifist., 1., 46; Garneau, i., 193; Shea, 251 ; Faillon, iii., 127, 128.
103
RICHARD NICOLLS, GOVERNOR.
Pierre Raffeix went along as chaplain. Snow four feet CHAP. III. deep covered the ground, so that no horses could be used. Light sledges, drawn by mastiffs, were the only mode of 1666. Cour- celles's ex- pedition conveying provisions. Each officer and soldier was also obliged to carry a weight of thirty pounds, and to walk on against the large Canadian snow-shoes, to the use of which the heroes Mohawks. from Hungary were not accustomed. It required "a French courage" to sustain their long and difficult march through American forests, over deep snow, and across frozen lakes and rivers, and to sleep in the woods, where the cold was more severe than the rudest winters in Eu- rope. From Fort Sainte Therese they passed southward, 30 Jan'y. over Lake Champlain, toward the Mohawk villages. But, in the absence of their expected Algonquin guides, they missed their way, and wandered in the wilderness until, without knowing where they were, they encamped about a& Febr'y. two miles from Schenectady, or Corlaer." A party of Mo- Freuch hawks appearing, a detachment of fusileers was sent against tady. at Schenec- them, which, falling in+~ En ambuscade, lost several killed and wounded. The Mohawks reported their victory at Schenectady, and exhibited the heads of four Frenchmen as trophies. The news was dispatched to AAlbany, and the next day three of the "principal inhabitants" came to in-29 Ihr'y. quire why the French commander had brought "such a body of armed men into the dominions of his majesty of Great Britain without acquainting the governor of these parts with his designs ?" Courcelles replied that he had come to attack and destroy his enemies, the Mohawks, but not to molest the English ; and that he "had not heard of the reducing those parts to his majesty's obedience." Sce- ing that the English, instead of the Dutch, were masters, he was " disturbed in mind," and prophetically remarked "that the King of England did grasp at all America." As it was reported that France and Holland had united against En- gland, Courcelles inquired particularly about the force at Albany, thinking that he might take the place by a rapid movement. But, learning that the fort was garrisoned by sixty English soldiers with nine cannon, and that Baker
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