of New France and the Iroquois. You may recollect,
perhaps, that on one occasion last winter or spring, when you were in
this city, I had some conversation with you concerning it. It is written
in French, of old orthography, and was published at Paris, A. D. 1658.
It purports to have been written by a Jesuit, Paul Le Jeune; I am
however, inclined to think that it was not all written by him, inasmuch
as the orthography of the same Indian words varies in different parts of
the book. It is rather a small duodecimo volume and contains about 210
pages, of rather coarse print. To give you a better idea of the
contents, I will mention the titles of the several chapters." These
are omitted.

"A few others are appended. The early history of the Iroquois, and of
our own country, even after its settlement by Europeans, you are well
aware, is buried in great obscurity. Even Charlevoix's _Histoire de
Nouvelle France_, I believe, has never been translated into English. I
have never seen it, if it has been. That work I suppose to be at present
the starting point in the history of the Iroquois and New France, as
regards minuteness of detail.

"This little book (Le Jeune) was published a considerable time previous.
It appears by it that the Jesuits had, for several years previously,
sent some letters; but I am confident that this is the first book ever
published touching directly and minutely the history of the Iroquois.
Caleb Atwater, in his book on western antiquities, speaks of a little
work published in Latin at Paris, I think, in 1664, as the first
touching the history of New France and the Iroquois. I could not at
first decide whether it be of much value, I thought it to be such a book
as would immediately find its way to the missionaries, and so small as
to be easily overlooked. I became at once so far interested in it, as
to translate it into English, not certain that I should ever make any
further use of it. I have, however, been solicited by some, either to
publish a translation of it, or a compendium of the principal matter
contained in it, and beg to trouble you so much as to ask your views of
the probability of the utility of doing so. Will the task be equal to
the reward?"

_25th_. Troops from Green Bay pass Mackinack on their way to Florida, to
act in the campaign against the Seminoles--a weary long way to send
reinforcements; but our army is so small, and has so large a frontier to
guard, that it must face to the righ