en less prosperous for the French. Not
only Dongan was doing his best to make the Iroquois allies of the
English; Lord Howard of Effingham, the governor of Virginia, was busy
to the same end. For some time past certain tribes of the Five
Nations, though not the confederacy as a whole, had been making forays
upon the English settlers in Maryland and even in Virginia. To adjust
this matter Lord Howard came to Albany in person, held a council which
was attended by representatives of all the tribes, and succeeded in
effecting a peace. Amid the customary ceremonies the Five Nations
buried the hatchet with the English, {97} and stood ready to
concentrate their war-parties upon the French.

It must not be inferred that by an act of reconciliation these subtle
savages threw themselves into the arms of the English, exchanging a new
suzerainty for an old. They always did the best they could for their
own hand, seeking to play one white man against the other for their own
advantage. It was a situation where, on the part of French and
English, individual skill and knowledge of Indian character counted for
much. On the one hand, Dongan showed great intelligence and activity
in making the most of the fact that Albany was nearer to the land of
the Five Nations than Quebec, or even Montreal. On the other, the
French had envoys who stood high in the esteem of the Iroquois--notably
Charles Le Moyne, of Longueuil, and Lamberville, the Jesuit missionary.

But for the moment the French were heavily burdened by the venality of
La Barre, who subordinated public policy to his own gains. We have now
to record his most egregious blunder--an attempt to overawe the
Iroquois with an insufficient force--an attempt which Meulles declared
was a mere piece of acting--not designed for real war on behalf of the
colony, {98} but to assist the governor's private interests as a
trader. From whatever side the incident is viewed it illustrates a
complete incapacity.

On July 10, 1684, La Barre left Quebec with a body of two hundred
troops. In ascending the river they were reinforced by recruits from
the Canadian militia and several hundred Indian allies. After much
hardship in the rapids the little army reached Fort Frontenac. Here
the sanitary conditions proved bad and many died from malarial fever.
All thought of attack soon vanished, and La Barre altered his plans and
decided to invite the Iroquois to a council. The degree of his
weakness