USA > New York > The documentary history of the state of New York, Vol. I pt 1 > Part 16
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French King is not to be decided here, but by our Masters at home ; and your business & mine is to take Mapps of the Coun- try so well as wee can and to send them home for the limits to be adjusted there.
I am likewise informed that you are intended to build a ffort at a place called Ohniagero on this side of the Lake within my Masters territoryes without question (I cannot believe it,) that a person that has your reputation in the world would follow the steps of Monsr Labarre and be ill advised by some interested per- sons in your Governmt to make disturbance between our Masters subjects in these parts of the world for a little pillitree ; when all these differences may be ended by an amicable correspondence between us, If there be any thing amiss, I doe assure you it shall not be my fault though we have suffered much, and doe dayly by your People's trading within the King of England's territoryes. I have had two letters from the two Fathers that lives amongst our Indians, and I find them somewhat disturbed with an appre- hension of war, which is groundlesse, being resolved that it shall not begin here, and I hope your prudent conduct will prevent it there, and referr all differences home as I shall doe. I heare one of the Fathers is gone to you, and the other that staid I have sent for him here lest the Indians should insult over him, tho' its a thousand pittys that those that have made such progresse in the service of God should be disturbed, and that by the fault of those that laid the foundation of Christianity amongst these barbarous people.
Setting apart the station I am in I am as much Monsr Desnon- ville's humble Servant as any friend he has, and will omitt noe opportunity of manifesting the same
Sr
Your humble Servt
THOR DONGAN.
This Rumor of yr coming to Cataracto has prevented my send- ing a gentleman to Quebec to congratulate your arryval in ye Governmt soe am constrained to make use of ye Father for ve safe conveyance of this to your hands
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GENESEE COUNTRY AND NIAGARA.
M. DE DENONVILLE TO GOV. DONGAN.
[Par. Doc. III.]
Ville marie, June 20. 1686.
I received, Sir, the letter which you did me the honour to write me on the 22nd May last, You will sufficiently learn, in the end, how devoid of all foundation are the advices which you have had of my pretended designs and that all that has been told you by the deserters from the Colony ought to be much suspected by you.
You are, Sir, too well acquainted with the service and the man- ner that things must be conducted, to take any umbrage at the sup- plies which I send to Cataracouy for the subsistence of the sol- diers which I have there.
You know the savages sufficiently to be well assured that it would be very imprudent on my part to leave that place without having enough of supplies and munitions there for one year's time. You are not ignorant that it is impossible to get up there at all seasons ; if I were to have them conveyed for a large force, I should have used other means.
The natural treachery of a people without faith and without religion, require us to be so far distrustful of them that you ought not to blame me for using precaution against their restlessness and caprice.
I had the honor to inform you by my letter of the 6th June last that the orders I have from my Master manifest merely the zeal which His Majesty entertains for the progress of Religion and for the support and maintenance of the Missionaries. I expect from your piety that you will not be opposed to that, knowing well how much you love Religion. Do you think, Sir, that they will reap much fruit whilst the savages are allowed no peace in the villages in which our Missionaries are established ?
When I came here, I thought Peace was assured between the Iroquois and us and our Savage allies. You see, Sir, what has
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DENONVILLE'S EXPEDITION TO THE
been the conduct of the Iroquois in this rencounter. Can you say, Sir, that I am wrong in distrusting them ?
They are alarmed at the war which they fancy I shall wage against them ; their conscience only could have impressed them with this idea, since I have not done the least thing to make them · believe that I want any thing else from them than to see peace well established throughout all the country. What have I done to cause them the least uneasiness ? And what do they want ?
In respect to the pretensions which you say you have to the lands of this country, certainly you are not well informed of all the entries into possession (prises de possessions) which have been made in the name of the King my Master, and of the establish ments which we have of long standing on the lands and on the lakes ; and as I have no doubt but our Masters will easily agree among themselves, seeing the union and good understanding that obtain between them, I willingly consent with you that their Majesties regulate the limits among themselves wishing no- thing more than to live with you in good understanding ; but to that end, Sir, it would be very apropos that a gentleman so wor- thy as you should not grant protection to all the rogues, vaga bonds and thieves who desert and seek refuge with you, and who, to acquire some merit with you believe they cannot do better than to tell you many impertinencies of us, which will have no end so long as you will listen to them.
The letter which the Rev. Father de Lamberville has been so kind as to be the bearer of from me on the 6th June last ought to suffice, Sir, to put you perfectly in possession of my intentions. It would be unnecessary that I should make any other reply to your last of the 22d of May, were it not that I was very glad hereby to prove to you again that I shall always feel a great pleasure in seizing every opportunity to shew that I am
Sir, Your very humble &
very obedient Servant.
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GENESEE COUNTRY AND NIAGARA.
COL. DONGAN TO M. DE DENONVILLE.
[Lond. Doc. V .; Par. Doc. III.] ..
New York, 27th July. 1686.
Sir-I had the honour to receave two letters from you one da- ted the 6th and the other the 20th of June last and in them I have found very much satisfaction by the hopes of a good correspond- ence with a person of so great merit worth and repute spread abroad in the army in which I served. Believe it it is much joy to have soe good a neighbour of soe excellent qualifications and temper and of a humour altogether differing from Monsieur de la Barre your predecessor who was so furious and hasty very much addicted to great words as if I had bin to have bin frighted by them. The Indians peradventure might justly offend him for they as you well remarke are not people of the greatest credit and reputation, but certainly I did not amiss in offering sincerely to compose the difference and I went expressly to Albany to do it and yet no suitable returns were made by him for it. I doubt not but your Masters inclinations are very strongly bent to propa- gate the Christian Religion and I do assure you that my master had no less a share in so pious intentions ; for my part I shall take all imaginable care that the Fathers who preach the Holy Gospell to those Indians over whom I have power bee not in the least ill treated and upon that very accompt have sent for one of each nation to come to me and then those beastly crimes you re- proove shall be checked severely and all my endeavours used to suppress their filthy drunkennesse disorders, debauches, warring and quarrels and whatsoever doth obstruct the growth and en- largement of the Christian faith amongst those people
I have heard that before ever the King your Master pretended to Cannida, the Indians so farr as the South Sea were under the English Dominion and always traded with Albany Maryland and Virginia, but that according to your desire with very good reason is wholly referred to our Masters, and I heartely pray that nei- ther you nor myselfe give occasion of any of the least misunder-
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DENONVILLE'S EXPEDITION TO THE
standing between them but that a prosperous correspondence stricht amity and union may perpettually bee continued between those monarchs, The stricktest care shall be taken concerning runawayes from you and those who are here if you please to send for them shall bee all conveyed to you-but if there bee any sol- diers who have deserted, I desire you to give me the assurance that they shall not loose their lives, And now, Sir. I begg your pardon for giveing you the trouble of my particular affairs which is thus : when my Prince called me out of the French service twenty five thousand livres were due to me as was stated and cer- tifyed to Mons' De Lenoy by the Intendant of Nancy-my stay was so short that I had no time to kisse the King's hands and pe- tition for itt-a very great misfortune after so long service, for in the circumstances I was then in I served him faithfully to the uttermost of my power. After I quitted France I went to Tan- gier and haveing left that place sometime after came hither so that I never had time to represent my case to His Majesty which I request you to espouse for me that so by your means I may ob- taine either all or at least some part of that which is due to me- The King I know had bin bountifull to all and I am confident hath too much generosity to see me suffer; however it happens I shall as heartily pray for his good health and happy success in all his undertakings as any one breathing and be ever ready to make all just acknowledgements to yourselfe for so great an ob- ligation and favour ; wishing heartily for a favorable occasion to demonstrate how profound an esteem I have for your person and merritts and give undenyable proofs that I am sincerely and with all respects
Sir Your most humble and affectionate servant THOS DONGAN
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GENESEE COUNTRY AND NIAGARA.
M. DE DENONVILLE TO GOV. DONGAN.
[Paris Doc. III.]
29 Sept. 1686.
I received by the Rev. Father de Lamberville, the elder, mis- sionary among the Iroquois of the village of the Onontagués the letter which you took the trouble to write to me on the 27th July. I repeat, Sir, what I already had the honour to state to you that it will not be my fault that we shall not live in very good intel- ligence. I am willing to believe, Sir, that you will contribute thereunto on your side, and that you will put an end to all those causes that may exist for dissatisfaction at what is doing under your government by your traders and others whom you pro- tect.
I do not believe, Sir, that the King your master approves of all the trouble you have taken in arming and soliciting by presents all the Iroquois Nation to wage war on us this year, neither the exhortations you have made them to plunder our Frenchmen who trade to places which up to the present time we have acquired long before New York was what it is.
You have proposed, Sir, to submit every thing to the decision of our Masters, yet your emissary to the Onnontagués, told all the nations in your name to pillage and to make war on us. This is so notorious a matter that it cannot be doubted, and it will be maintained before your emissary ; whether he acted by your or- der, or at the suggestion of your merchants at Orange, it has been said and done. You are not ignorant of the expedition of your merchants against Michilimaquina. I ask you, Sir, what do you wish that I should think of all this, and if this behaviour accord with the letter which you did me the honour to write on the 27th July filled with courtesies and friendly expressions as well regarding Religion as the good understanding and friend- ship existing between our Masters which ought be imitated in this country in token of our respect and obedience to them.
You had the civility to tell me that you would give me up all
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the deserters, who to escape the chastisement of their knaveries, take refuge with you ; yet you, Sir, cannot be ignorant of those who are there, but as all these are for the major part bankrupts and thieves I trust they will finally give you reason to repent of having given them shelter, and that your merchants who employ them will be punished for having confided in rogues who will not be more faithful to them than they have been to us.
You know, Sir, they spare neither the Outaouas, our most an tient allies, nor the other tribes among whom we have Preachers of the Gospel and with whose cruelties to our holy Missionaries, whom they have martyred, you are acquainted. Are all these reasons, Sir, not sufficiently conclusive to induce you to contribute to designs so pious as those of your Master ? Think you, Sir, that Religion will progress whilst your Merchants supply, as they do, Eau de Vie in abundance which converts the savages, as you ought to know, into Demons and their cabins into counterparts and theatres of Hell.
I hope, Sir, you will reflect on all this, and that you will be so good as to contribute to that union which I desire, and you wish for.
Finally, Sir, you must be persuaded that I will contribute, wil- lingly and with pleasure, my best to obtain for you the favor you de- sire from the King my master. I should have wished, Sir, that you had explained your case more clearly, and that you had placed in my hands the proofs or vouchers of your debt, so as to explain it to the King, for so many things pass through the hands of Messrs, his Majesty's Ministers that I fear M. de Lonnoy will not recollect your affair, which he cannot know except through the Intendant who was at Nancy, whose name you do not mention. I shall not fail, Sir, to endeavour to obtain for you some favor from the King my master for the services which you have rendered his majesty. I should wish, Sir, to have an opportunity, on some other more fitting occasion to prove that I am,
Sir,
Your very humble and very obedient Servant.
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GENESEE COUNTRY AND NIAGARA.
M. DE DENONVILLE'S MEMOIR
. ...
ON THE PRESENT STATE OF AFFAIRS IN CANADA AND THE NECESSITY OF MAKING WAR NEXT YEAR ON THE IROQUOIS.
[Paris Doc. III.]
Quebec the 8th 9ber 1686.
Our reputation is absolutely destroyed both among our friends and our enemies. It is no trifling thing, My lord, to reestablish it in view of the expense and labor and the dreadful consequences of a war, absolutely necessary. But, My lord, when we are cer- tain that it is God's business and the King's glory that are in question, and that all those to whom they are committed have head and heart occupied only with zeal to performn their duty so as to have nothing wherewith to reproach themselves, we labour untroubled, confident that Heaven will supply the defects of our understanding and abilities, more especially having you as our Protector near to King with whom all things are possible, his piety being the foundation and motive of all his undertakings.
I annex to this Memoir, the duplicate of the letter of June last in which I advised My lord of the expedition of the Iroquois against our allies the Hurons and Ottawas of Missilimakina in the Saguinan.1 I have learned since, that the English had more to do with that expedition than even the Iroquois who struck the blow. Their intrigues, My lord, reach a point that without doubt it would be much better that they should have recourse to open acts of hostility by firing our settlements, than to do what they are doing through the Iroquois for our destruction.
I know, beyond a moment's doubt that Mr. Dongan has caused all the Five Iroquois Nations to be collected, this spring, at Or- ange to tell them publicly, so as to stimulate them against us, that I want to declare war against them ; that they must plunder our Frenchmen in the Bush which they can easily effect by making an incursion into the country, and for that purpose Mr. Dongan
1 The Country between Lakes Erie and Huron was thus called. Paris Doc. iii. 84.
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caused presents of arms and ammunition to be given them by the merchants, neither more nor less than if it were himself who was to make war. There is no artifice, therefore My lord, that he did not employ to persuade them of their destruction, un- less they destroyed us.
Father de Lamberville, Jesuit Missionary at Onontagué, one of the five villages, being advised of the wicked designs of the Eng- lish, set all his friends to work to avert the storm, and enjoining them to report every thing to him, he obtained fro them that they would not budge until he had seen me. During his absence Mr. Dongan sent an express to the Iroquois to notify them to march without delay and fall on the Colony, ordering Father de Lamberville's brother, who had remained as hostage to be brought to him, thinking to deprive us of all our missionaries among the Iroquois. At the same time, he sent emissaries among our sava- ges at Montreal to debauch them and draw them to him, promis- ing them Missionaries to instruct them, assuring them that he would prevent Brandy being conveyed to their villages. All these intrigues have given me no small exercise all summer to ward off this blow.
Mr. Dongan wrote me, and I answered him as a man may do who wishes to dissemble, and who cannot yet get angry, much less crush his foe. I thought it better to temporise and answer Mr. Dongan by eluding rather than exhibiting one's chagrin without having the power to injure his enemy. The letters which I recd from him and my answers, copies of which I send, will ad- vise you of my conduct in this conjuncture. Mr. Dongan, notwith- standing works secretly by all the artifices in the world, to de- bauch our Frenchmen and Indians. Col. Dongan's letters will sufficiently explain his pretensions which embrace no less than from the Lakes inclusive to the South Sea. Missilimackinac belongs to them. They have taken its elevation. They have been there treating with our Outawas and Huron Indians, who received them there very well on account of the excellent trade they made there in selling their goods for beaver which they purchase much dearer than we. Unfortunately we had at the time but very few French at Missilimackinac. M. de la Durantaye on arriving there would
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GENESEE COUNTRY AND NIAGARA.
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pursue the English to plunder them ; the Hurons ran to escort them after saying many bad things of us. M. de la Durantaye did not overtake the English, who met on their road the Senecas going to meet them to escort them through lakes Erie and Ontario until they were beyond the risk of being attacked by us.
Thus you see, My lord, that the Senecas and the English un- derstand each other charmingly, and are in perfect harmony and this alliance is made particularly with the army whom M. de la Barre went against, for at the time of his march the Senecas ran to Orange to find Colonel Dongan to beg him to take them under his protection, giving themselves over to him by a public Acte which was registered and sent to England, and, then, he caused poles with the arms of England to be planted in all their villages.
Nevertheless, previous to that time we had missionaries there, the first before any Englishman had an idea that there were Sene- cas there. I annex to this letter a memoir of our Right to all that Country of which our registers ought to be full, but of which we can find no trace. I am told that M. Tallon had originals of the entries of possession (prises de possessions) of many discove- ries made in this country, which our registers ought to contain. Doubtless he has given them to my late lord, your father.
Father de Lamberville having given me an account of all the Colonel's intrigues which tended to take the Hurons away from us and to draw off the Outawas, I entrusted him with presents to gain over the principal and most intriguing of the Iroquois to se- sure the friendship of the young men who were disposed to be out of humor with us. He arrived in very good season, for all the Nations, assured by Mr. Dongan that the good Father would not return, had assembled and were marching, but his return woke up the Father's party, who by means of secret, which are called he e "underground" presents, dispelled the storm.
All the summer has been spent in comings and goings to get b ck the prisoners, the Outawas wishing to demand them of the Iroquois without my participation, according to the promises of the Senecas to restore them, provided I did not demand them. In fine the Hurons and the Outawas resolved to repair to Cataraqui, and t e Onontagu's alone have given up their prisoners, the
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DENONVILLE'S EXPEDITION TO THE
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Senecas saying that theirs did not wish to return home. Father de Lamberville returned here in the latter part of September, he gave me an account of all his cares, and of all his troubles and fatigues. Whatever affection he may have for the mission where he has been stationed fifteen or sixteen years every year in danger of being killed by the Iroquois, he admits himself that nothing is to be done for the mission unless that nation be humbled. This, My lord, is so true that the Iroquois have no other design than to destroy all our allies, one after the other, in order afterwards to annihilate us; and in that consists all the policy of Mr. Dongan and his Traders, who have no other object than to post themselves at Niagara, to block us ; but until now they have not dared to touch that string with the Iroquois, who dread and hate their do- mination more than ours, loving them not, in truth, except on account of their cheap bargains.
Mr. Dongan caresses considerably those deserters of ours whom he requires to execute his designs for the destruction and ruin of our trade by promoting his own. This wakes up our restless spirits and obliges me to manage them, until I shall be in a position to treat them more severely. You will notice, My lord, by a letter of the Colonel's how desirous he is for something from the King which he says is due to him. He is a very selfish man, who would assuredly govern himself thereby if you thought pro- per ; but the fact is he is not the master of those merchants from whom he draws money.
Father de Lamberville has returned with orders from me to as- semble all the Iroquois nations next spring at Cataraqui to have a talk about our affairs. I am persuaded that scarcely any will come, but my chief design is to draw [them] thither, (the Jesuit Father remaining alone for he must this year send back his younger bro- ther,) in order that he may have less trouble in withdrawing him- self. This poor Father knows, however, nothing of our designs. He is a man of talent, and who says himself that matters can- not remain in their present state. I am very sorry to see him ex- posed, but if I withdraw him this year the storm without doubt will burst sooner on us, for they would be sure of our plans by his retiring.
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GENESEE COUNTRY AND NIAGARA.
I have advices, notwithstanding, that the Five Nations are mak- ing a large war party, supposed to be against the Oumiamis and other savages of the Bay des Puans who were attacked this year, one of their villages having been destroyed by the Iroquois; on receiving notice thereof the hunters of those tribes pursued the Iroquois party whom they overtook and fought with conside- rable vigor, having recovered several prisoners and killed many of the Iroquois, who without doubt pant for revenge. I sent them word, to be on their guard and to have their women and children removed to a distance when they will be required to march to join me. I say nothing to you of what they have done to the Illinois whom they spare not, having since two years committed vast de- struction on them.
Nothing more, My lord, is required to convince you that we cannot hesitate, and that the Colony must be put down as lost if war is not waged next year; they destroy on all sides our allies who are on the point of turning their backs on us if we do not de- clare for them. The Iroquois plunder our canoes whereever they find them, and no longer observe appearances. Nevertheless, My lord, in the deranged state of the Colony, war is the most dan- gerous thing in the world ; nothing can save us but the troops you will send and the redoubts which it is necessary for us to build. Yet, I dare not begin to work at these, for if I make the least movement for these Redoubts, I will assuredly draw all the Iro- quois down on us, before I am in a condition to attack them.
The copy I transmit of the orders I have issued for our next year's expedition will advise you of all the measures I have adop- ted to ensure the success of our plans. The distance is terrible and success is in the hands of God. If you will be pleased, My lord, to take the trouble to read all these orders with the Map which I send, you will perceive all my projects. I have over- rated a little the number of the force I shall have with me, in or- der to give a little more character to our expedition. I cannot draw more than eight hundred militia, one hundred of the best of whom will be required to manage the fifty canoes for con- voys. These will do nothing else than come and go during our expedition to transport provisions for our troops and for those
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