ce and formidable savages of the Five Nations to be free
from present apprehension, and to their steady and industrious habits
the plow was more suitable than the sword. The negotiation, therefore,
totally failed, which was probably of little consequence, for it is
difficult to perceive how these remote and feeble colonies could have
preserved a neutrality in the contentions of England and France, which
was impossible even to powerful states.

After a treacherous calm of some six months' duration, the unhappy
Hurons again relapsed into a fatal security; the terrible lessons of the
past were forgotten in the apparent tranquillity of the present. Watch
and ward were relaxed, and again they lay at the mercy of their ruthless
enemies. When least expected, 1000 Iroquois warriors started up from the
thick coverts of a neighboring forest, and fell fiercely upon the
defenseless Hurons, burned two of their villages, exterminated the
inhabitants, and put two French missionaries to death with horrible
tortures. Then the remnant of the defeated tribe despaired; the alliance
of the French had only embittered the hostility of their enemies without
affording protection; therefore they arose and deserted their villages
and hunting grounds, wandering away, some into the northern forests,
others as suppliants among neighboring nations.

The greater body of the Hurons, however, attached themselves to the
fortunes of the missionaries, and under them formed a settlement on the
island of St. Joseph, but they neglected to cultivate the land. As the
autumn advanced, the resources of the chase became exhausted, and the
horrors of famine commenced. They were shortly reduced to the most
dreadful extremities of suffering; every direst expedient that
starvation could prompt and despair execute was resorted to for a few
days' prolonging of life. Then came the scourge of contagious fever,
sweeping numbers away with desolating fury. While these terrible
calamities raged among the Hurons, the Iroquois seized the opportunity
of again invading them. The village of St. John, containing nearly 3000
souls, was the first point of attack. The feeble inhabitants offered no
resistance, and, with their missionary, were totally destroyed. Most of
the remnant of this unhappy tribe then took the resolution of presenting
themselves to their conquerors, and were received into the Iroquois
nation. The few who still remained wandering in the forests were hunted
down l