WEE are Sorry and extreamly Griev'd for the Murther lately committed by the French up­on our Brethren of Shennechtady, we esteem this Evil, as if done to our selves, being all in one Covenant-Chain; But what they have done is by way of stealth, by way of Robbery unawares; our Bre­thren of New-England will be sorry to hear of this sad Disaster, but we must not be discouraged. [They give a Belt of Wampom, according to their custome, to wipe off the Tears.

2. Brethren, We lament and condole the Death of so many of our Brethren so basely Murther'd at Shennechtady; we can­not account it a great Victory, for it is done by way of Deceit. He (meaning the Governour of Canada) comes to our Coun­try [Page 2] by his Messengers at Onnondage, and speaks of Peace, with the whole House quite hither: but War is in his heart, as you find by woful experience, but what shall we say? it is the same as he did at Cadarachqui, and the Sinnakes Countrey. This is the third time that he has done so; he has broke open the Jewel of our House on both ends, the one end at Sinnondowanne, and the other here, But we hope to be Revenged. There is one hundred of our young men out still, who will pursue them to their Doors at Cannida; nay, the French shall not be able to cut a stick of Wood, we will lay so close Seige to them; We do now gather the Dead together in order to their Interment. A manner of speak­ing amongst. [They do give a Belt of Wampom

3. We are come here from our Castles with Tears in our Eyes to Bemoan the Murther committed by the perfideous French at Shennechtady, our young Indians are gone out in Pur­suit of them, and while we are now busie in burying the Dead that were Murthered there, we may have bad news that our peo­ple that are gone out, may be kill'd also; the same that is be­fallen you, may befal us: We do therefore come and bury our Brethren at Shennechtady. [They give a Belt of Wampom, accor­ding to their custome.

4 Great is the Mischief that is befallen us, it is come from the Heavens upon us, we are taught by our Fore-fathers, when any sad Accident or Disaster doth befal any of the Covenant, to go with all convenient speed to Bemoan their Death; [They give a Belt of Wampom, which they call a Belt of Vigilance, that is, not to have too much thoughts on what is done that cannot be Remedied, but to be watchful for the future; and they give Eye-water to make the Brethren sharp-sighted.

5 We come to the house where we usually do Renew the Co­venant, which House we find defiled with Blood, this is known [Page 3] to all the five Nations, and we are now come to wipe off the Blood and keep the House clean, and therefore pray that Corlaer and all they that are in Office here in Albany, naming the Mayor whom they cal Peiter, Mr. Vessels, and Mr. Livingstone may use all means and Direct all Affairs to be Revenged of the Enemy that hath done us this Evil [They give a Belt of Wampom.

6 Brethren: Do not be Discouraged, this is but a beginning of the War, we are strong enough, the whole house have their Eyes fixed upon you, and they only stay your motion, and will be ready to do whatever shall be Resolved upon by our Brethren, our Covenant is a firm Covenant it is a Silver Chain and cannot be broke, it must not be broke; we are Reso­lute and will Continue the VVar, we will not leave off, if there were but Thirty Men of us left, we will proceed, therefore pray take good heart, do not pack up and go away, if the E­nemy should hear that, it would much encourage them, we are of the Race of the Bear, and a Bear doth not yield as long as there is a drop of Blood in its body we must all be so; [They give a Belt of Wampom.

7. Brethren, Be Content, Look up to the Heavens; from thence the Judgment is come now upon us, Be not Discouraged, the same hand that hath Chastized us can heal us; The Sun which now hath been Cloudy, and sent us this Disaster, will shine a­gain, and with its pleasant Beams comfort us, Be Encouraged; [with many Repetitions. And they give a Bear-skin.

☞ 8 We were Engaged in a Bloody War with the French, about three years ago, and were Encouraged to Proceed, and no sooner were we well Entred, and got several Prisoners, but a Cessation came, and Corlaer hindred us to proceed, and Deman­ded the Prisoners from us; we were Obedient and did deliver [Page 4] them, and laid down the Hatchet, which if we might have gone forward, then the French would not have been in that Ca­pacity to do so much mischief as they do; But now we must dye; such Obstructions will Ruine us; if we might have had our wills, we would have prevented their Planting, Sowing and Reaping, and brought them low and mean; Nevertheless let us be stedfast, and not take such measures again, let us go on brisk­ly with the War. [They give a Bear-skin,

9 We Recommend the Brethren to keep good Watch, and if any Enemies come, take care that Messengers be more speedily sent to us then lately was done, we would not advise the Bre­thren quite to Desert Sennechtady, but to make a Fort there, the Enemy would be too glorious to see it quite Desolate, and the Town here is not well Fortified, the Stockadoes are so short, the Indians can jump over them like a Dog. [They give a Bear-skin.

☞ 10 This mischief is done at Sennechtady, and it cannot be helped, but as soon as any Enemy comes, let nothing hinder your speedy sending to us the News by Posts, and Fyring great Guns, that all may be Alarm'd; and our Advise is that you get all the River Indians who are under your Subjection to come and live near unto you, to be ready on all occasions, and send word to New-England of all what's done here; undoubtedly they will awake and lend us their helping hand; let us not be Discouraged, The French are not so many as People talk off; if we but mind our buisiness, They can be subdued, with the assistance of our Neighbours of New-England, whose interest it is to drive on this War as much as ours, that it may be spee­dily ended.

We desire that the Brethren may Recommend the Smiths not to be too dear in Repairing our Arms, since Mony is so [Page 5] scarce, and we only go to Warring and not to Hunting; we shall take care to warn the Sinnakes and the Nations living above us to be in Readiness; for we being one they hearken to us, and tell them of New-England that we shall take care that the upper Nations be Ready for our Security and Assistance, and Let them be Ready also with Ships and great Guns by Water, and we will Plague him by Land: We are Resolved not to go out a Hunting, but to mind the War, for the sooner the French be fallen upon the better, before they get Men and Pro­visions from France, as their usual Custome is. [They give a Bear-Skin.

YOur coming here according to the Custome of your Ancestors, to Condole the death of your Brethren Mur­thered at Shennechtady is very acceptable, whereby your Inclination towards us is Demonstrated; we must acknowledg that they did not keep so good Watch as they ought, considering what a false and deceitful Enemy they had to deal withal, but that which made them so secure, was, the great Trust which they Reposed in the forty Maquass who came here, and Tendered their Service to go and be the Out-watch, and to spy the Enemy: To which end Powder and Lead [Page 6] was given them as they desired; we were about Hiring Chri­stians to send thither, but were unhappily diverted by the said Company of Maquass, who promised to have four Posts ready, two to go to their own Country, and two to come hither if a­ny Enemy should appear. For the Brethren did assure us, that no French could come here without being Discovered; and then would all fall into our hands: We are likewise mindful, how that the five Nations last Fall, when the Gentlemen of New-England were here did Declare how they would Encompass the French of Canada, that they could not break out this Winter, without being Discovered and Fallen upon: We did likewise propose by our Messengers, Arnout, and Robert Sanders at the General Meeting of Onnondage to have Three or Four Hundred Men sent hither to be ready on all occasions, but see none.

Now Brethren, this Evil is done and cannot be called back again, and the only means to prevent the like for the future, is to keep good Watch, and to have good courage to oppose and resist the Enemy. We are no wayes Discomfited for this mis­fortune. It is the fortune of War, we do not fear to be even with the French in a short time; we have already sent Let­ters to all our Neighbours of New-England, Virginia and Mary-Land, the Subjects of the great King of England, and acquainted them of the Evil done here by the French, and how requisite it is, that Ships be fitted out with all convenient speed, to go to Quebeck, and to press the business the more, we do now send persons to New-York and New-England, a purpose to lay open the Case before them. And to perswade them to Rig out Ves­sels not only to hinder Succour coming from France, but to take Quebeck it self: as also to send more Men hither, that we may then send Men along with you to annoy the Enemy in their Country In the mean time we recommend the Brethren to send for [Page 7] two hundred Men from the upper Nations, to joyn with you, to keep the French in continual Alarm, and do them what mischief imaginable; and Onnondages and Sinnekes must go down the Ri­ver of Cadarachqui, and meet one another about Mont Royal, and annoy the Enemy there: we shall in the mean while Fortifie the Town, and put our selves in a good posture of Defence, that we may not be Surprized, as they of Shennechtady were; and make all Preparations to oppose the Enemy.

The Brethren see that we are in War with France, now there is no time to speak of Peace. The French as you well observe have fallen on both ends of the Chain, but not broke it. Let us keep the Covenant so much the faster, which never has had the least crack since the very first the Christians came here: They strove to lull us as all asleep, by their Messengers at Onnondage, speaking of Peace, and then they were upon the way, hither to commit this Murther.

☞ The Brethren need not fear for a Cessation to hinder us to pursue the Enemy, for as we told you before, the KING that ordered that, was a Papist, and a great Friend of the French; But our present Great KING will pursue the War to the outmost: Therefore we must all prepare for War. It will therefore be very requisite that the Brethren for their better Security come and Plant this Summer at Shinnechtady upon the Land that can­not be cultivated this year, that we may be near to one another upon any occasion. Concerning the Proposition of the Shackkook Indians, 'tis concluded on some dayes ago, to propose to the Shack­kook Indians the Planting on Marte Gerritse Island hard by the Town, and the River Indians that live below shall also come to­gether to be ready on all occasions.

We must Insist and Recommend you to perswade them of Oneyde to send the Priest hither, for you have seen how dangerous [Page 8] it is to have such persons among you, who informs the Enemy of all your doings, and discovers all our Designs, we shall secure him that he Run not away, and when the Owner demands him, and these Troubles are over, shall be Delivered, for he can do more harm in Oneyde than an hundred men.

We think it Convenient that one or two of the Sachims stay here, and that a Sachim of each Nation be here to assist in the management of the Affairs of the War. There was given them six Belts or Wam­pom, some Duffils, Tobacco, and some Bags with Provision.

After the Proposition was answered, they gave a Shout according to their Custome, which signified Amen, that they would continue the War to the utmost.

After the said Answer was made, The Maquas Sachems said after they had Repeated our Answer. We are glad to see that you are not Discouraged, A mistake can be made by the best and wisest of men, and we must see now to Pursue the War with all Vigour, we have an hundred men out in Pursuit of the Enemy still, who are good Skouts; in the mean time, we expect all the Sachims of the Upper Nations to Consult with us, who will come to Condole the Death of our Bre­thren Murthered at Shennechtady: You need not fear our being Rea­dy, we are soon fitted out, our Ax is in our hand. But take care for your selves to be in Readiness. The Ships that must do the principal work are long a Fi [...]ting out and Rigging; we do not Design to go out with a small Troop as Skouts, but as soon as the Nations come together; we will go with a whole Army to Ruine the Coun­try. The Buisiness must be soon brought to a Period; therefore send in all haste to New-England, for we nor you cannot live long in this Condition; we must order it so, that the French be in a continual Fear and Alarm, and that is the way to be in Peace here.

Concerning the Shakkook Indians in our Opinion they lye well where they are, as a good Watch, They are our Children, we will take care that they do their Duty, but as for the Indians that live be­low the Town, Them we mean must be sent for up, and got to Plant and live together, to be always in Readiness upon occasion.

1. THat about the middle of January, they went from Mont-Royal, being about Three Hundred Men, French and In­dians, to wit an hundred and sixty French, among which onely nineteen Souldiers taken out of divers Companies, the Rest all Boss-lopers, them that frequent the Woods, and Inhabitants, and an hundred and forty Praying Indians and others, with positive Orders to Murder and Destroy all People they met withal at Shennechtady, except such as begg'd for quarters, as also to burn the Place, and take with them those that they could carry a­long: after said Company had Marched some days from Canada, some French and Indians that were sick and Timorous, Return­ed; so that the Party were two hundred and fifty that did the the Exploit at Shennechtady, by the Indians called Ochques.

2 After Enquiry of the Particulars of the Murder, they Con­fessed, that four or five French had Murdered the Minister of the said Village called Pieter Tossemaker, first shooting him thorow the Leggs, and then hew'd him with their Swords most barba­rously, and being asked if they had Express Orders to deal so Cruelly, said, That their Order was to do what was done.

3 Being enquired concerning the Prisoners, they carried along with them, said, they were well Treated by the way, and with­in four or five days Journey of Canada, some of our Prisoners [Page 10] went with the Indians, and the Remainder with the French, but that we need not doubt of their good Entertainment at Canada, since they will be Delivered to the Jesuits to be instructed in their Religion.

4 That they had eat about twenty or thirty of the Horses they carri­ed along with them, and intended to carry seven with them to Canada.

5 That nevertheless Provisions begun to grow scarce in their Army, and therefore two men were Dispatched upon Scates, who go Twenty five Leagues in a day to Cause Provisions be sent them from Mont Royal.

6 That the ten Prisoners, whereof these now Examined were three, were taken by our Indians about two of the Clock in the Afternoon, being at the same fire that the body of the Army went from in the Morning, attending some sick persons who could not March so fast as the Rest. 7. That the manner of keeping their Scouts out a nights both in Coming and going was thirty men who Marched con­stantly Round the Army all night, about a Musket shot off, but near Shennechtady, the number of the said Scouts was Doubled.

8 That by the Tract they Trapann'd some Maquase Squaws near Shennechtady, whom they Compelled to give an account of the Condi­tion of the Place, and kept said Indian Women till they had Commit­ted the Massacre; when they were within some Miles of Shennechtady, the Officers had a Consultation about falling upon Albany; one Monsieur de Tallie who had been formerly here did Press hard to Attaque it, but because their Orders was Expresly for Shennechtady the Design on Alba­ny was put by.

9 That they had lost but one only French man at Shennechtady, and one sore wounded:

The said Prisoners being Examined about the Affairs of Canada do say,

I. That last Summer eight or nine Ships arrived at Quebek, whereof two were Men of War, who brought store of Ammunition and Provi­sions, with which Ships the Earl of Frontinak came for Governour, and Monsieur Callier Governour of Mont Royal, and the Indian Priso­ners, but brought no Souldiers, and that the Marquess de Denonville late Governour went away with said Ships.

II. That they expect for certain that Twelve Men of War will come this Summer with Two thousand Men, and two Years Provisi­ons for Canada.

3 The Governour Frontenak upon his Voyage to Canada met with a [Page 11] French Ship Loaden with B [...]sket, bound for the North-west Passage, car­ried the same along with him to Canada, and sent her Loading with great store of Pork and Meal come from France up to Mont Royal.

IV That Provisions were not dealer at Canada now than formerly, a Minot of Meal being sold for a French Crown, adding that the Da­mage done by the Indians to their Corn in Canada was inconsiderable.

V. Governour Frontenak came to Mont Royal about the middle of September, which Place he hath Fortified with a Ditch ten foot deep, and twelve foot wide, round about the Town, except at the River side, where he hath built of Stone right out where the Guard is kept.

VI. That he had brought twelve small Morter-peices and some small Canon from France with him, which Morter-peices a man can easily carry, one of the said Prisoners having try'd it himself.

VII. The Governour Frontenak had caus'd to be made one hun­dred and twenty Batoes, that is flat bottom'd Boats, fit to carry eight or nine men, with Provisions and Amunition; as also one hundred Bark Cannoes at Mont Royal: the first were all made, and the latter the greatest part ready: and that it was much dis­coursed among the French of light Ladders to storm the Fort at Albany; all which together with the Morter-pieces, are making ready to come early in the Spring with fifteen hundred men to Ataque Albany by the French call'd Fort D' Orange.

VIII. That Governour Frontenak went in the Moneth of No­vember to Quebeck, and was design'd to return to Mont Royal in the Winter, or at longest early in the Spring, to accomplish their Design upon Albany.

IX. That for that purpose Monsieur d' Lute was to go as soon as possible in the Spring, with fifty Souldiers to Ottowawa, to bring down the Indians to Mont Royal.

X. For the present, there are six Companies of Souldiers at Mont Royal of fifty men each, besides six or seven hundred Burgers and Inhabitants.

[Page 12]XI. The Kings Souldiers at Canada are computed to be fifteen or sixteen hundred men, and the said quantity of Burgers and In­habitants, who are fit to carry Arms, besides their Indians.

XII. That said Souldiers are divided in the following Towns and Forts, Viz. Quebek, Mont Royal, Chambly, Troy River, Sorel, and twenty four Towns and Forts more.

XIII. They say that it was divulged at Mont Royal, that four hundred men were gone from Quebek under command of Mons. Pirneuffe, and Monsieur Courtimanche, being all Bosse-lopers Inhabi­tants and Indians. (And no Souldiers) towards Kinnebek River, to take a certain English Fort, and that another Company, but not so numerous, under the Conduct of Mons. Artel were gone towards the Province of New York to do mischief there.

XIV. That the French King was pleased to give Cadarachqui to Governour Frontenak as a Gift, who was very much displea­sed at his Arrival, when he heard that it was Deserted, and that Governour de Denonville had given Orders to demolish it, The Garrison that lay there, being eighty men, were come home, eight were drown'd most of the Amunition being thrown in the Water; and among the rest four or five hundred small Arms, and have sunk the Canon about twenty Leagues from Mont Royal.

Memorandum, The French Murther'd sixty Men, Women and Children at Shen­nechtady, and carried twenty seven Men & Boys Prisoners to Canada.