ing before the French governor, who was seated in an elbow chair, he answered with the most sarcastic irony:

"Yonnondio, I honour you, and the warriors that are with me likewise honour you. Your interpreter has finished his speech; I now begin mine. My words make haste to reach your ears: hearken to them. Yonnondio, you must have believed, when you left Quebec, that the sun had burnt up all the forests which render our castles inaccessible to the French; or that the lakes had so far overflowed their banks that they had surrounded our castles, and that it was impossible for us to get out of them. Yes, Yonnondio, surely you must have dreamed so, and the curiosity of seeing so great a wonder has brought you so far. Now you are undeceived, since I and the warriors here present are come to assure you that the Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Oneidas, and Mohawks are yet alive. Hear, Yonnondio. I do not sleep. I have my eyes open; and the sun, which enlightens me, discovers to me a great captain at the head of a company of soldiers, who speaks as if he were dreaming. He says that he only came to the lake to smoke the great calumet with the Onondagas. But Garrangula says, that he sees the contrary; that it was to knock them on the head, if sickness had not weakened the arms of the French."

Continuing his speech in the same strain of

1684.]

REPLY OF GARRANGULA.

103

ierce sarcasm, he told De la Barre that the Great Spirit had saved the lives of the French by afflicting them with sickness; for if they had not been thus stricken down by a higher Power, the very women, and children, and old men of the Iroquois would have stormed the heart of the French camp. In answer to the accusation of being subject to the English, he said proudly: "We are born free; we neither depend upon Yonnondio nor Corlear. We may go where we please, and carry with us whom we please; and buy and sell what we please; if your allies are slaves, use them as such. This belt preserves my words." When he had justified the wars of the Five Nations with the Indian tribes friendly to the French, he thus concluded:

"Hear, Yonnondio. What I say is the voice of the Five Nations. Hear what they answer; open your ears to what they speak. The Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Oneidas, and Mohawks say, that when they buried the hatchet at Cada racqui, in the presence of your predecessor, and in the middle of the fort, they planted the tree of peace in the same place, to be there carefully preserved; that instead of a retreat for soldiers, the fort might become a rendezvous for merchants; that in place of arms and munitions of war, beavers and merchandise should only enter there. Hear, Yonnondio. Take care for the future, that so great a number of soldiers as appear there do not choke the tree of peace planted in so small

a fort. It will be a great loss, if, after it had so easily taken root, you should stop its growth and prevent its covering your country and ours with its branches. I assure you, in the name of the Five Nations, that our warriors shall dance to the calumet of peace under its leaves, and shall remain quiet on their mats, and shall never dig up the hatchet till their brother Yonnondio or Corlear, shall, either jointly or separately, endeavour to attack the country which the Great Spirit gave to our ancestors. This belt preserves my words; and this other, the authority which the Five Nations have given me."

Then turning to Le Main, the interpreter, he said: "Take courage, Ohguesse; you have spirit, speak; explain my words; forget nothing; tell all that your brethren and friends say to Yonnondio, your governor, by the mouth of Garrangula, who loves you, and desires you to accept of this present of beaver, and take part with me in my feast, to which I invite you. This present of beaver is sent to Yonnondio on the part of the Five Nations."

And so ended this remarkable speech, one of the finest examples of barbarous eloquence to be found in any language. Utterly confounded by the bold reply of the Onondaga chieftain, De la Barre hastily accepted a treaty, the terms of which he was not in a condition to dispute, and retired with his shattered forces to Montreal.

1685.]

CANADIAN AFFAIRS.

106

CHAPTER VIII.

Canadian affairs-Denonville supersedes De la Barre-Prepares for war-Marches against the Iroquois Is attacked— Retires into Canada-Fate of the French garrison at Niagara-Retaliation of the Iroquois-Negociations for peaceReply of Governor Dongan-Speech of Garrangula-Council at Montreal-Stratagem of the Dinondadie Indians-Renewal of hostilities-Dreadful massacre of the FrenchAffairs of New York-Disaffection in England-Landing of William, Prince of Orange-Flight of James-Revolution in the provinces-Dongan recalled-Agitation in New York -The fort seized by Leisler-William and Mary proclaimed -Leisler governor-Count Frontenac appointed governor of Canada-Negotiates with the Five Nations-War between England and France-Burning of Schenectady-Difficulties in New York.

THE unsuccessful expedition of De la Barre and its disgraceful termination were no sooner made known in France, than a reinforcement of troops was ordered into Canada, and the Marquis Denonville appointed to supersede De la Barre in the government of that province. An energetic soldier, extolled for his courage, uprightness, and piety, Denonville speedily sought to retrieve the honour of the French arms. In order to control the Iroquois, and, at the same time, command the fur trade of the lakes, he suggested to the French government the propriety of establishing a fort at Niagara. In the mean time he prepared for active operations against the Five Nations, by

pushing forward extraordinary supplies to Fort Frontenac.

Penetrating at once the design of the new French governor, Dongan wrote to warn him, that any attack upon the Indian confederacy would be resented by the English, whose allies they were. Affairs remained in this disturbed condition until 1687, when the Miamis being threatened with war by the Iroquois, Denonville determined, by invading the latter, to force them to forego their purpose. Collecting at Montreal two thousand troops and six hundred friendly Indians, he sent orders to the commanders of outposts to meet him with reinforcements at Niagara, for an expedition against the Senecas. The Five Nations immediately prepared for war. Embarking his whole army in canoes, Denonville set out from Fort Cadaracqui on the 23d of June, and sailing down the lake in two divisions, landed at Tyrondequait, and marched against the principal town of the Senecas, seven leagues distant. In the mean time, Monsieur Companie, with an advance party of some three hundred Canadians, had surprised two villages of the Onondagas, who, reposing upon the good faith of the missionary Lamberville, had settled themselves peacefully about eight leagues from the lake. To guard against their giving the alarm to their countrymen, these Indians were ruthlessly seized and carried to the fort. Reserving