METALLIC, LMl'LKMION'i'S OF NKW VoKK INDIANS d.'? 



This may liave produced but little eilVct, and, Feb. lio, 1(;ik;, liic 

 Ouoiida^a speaker said fo fjov. Fletclicr: " \\'(M' dcsii-c llial vo'" 

 Excellency would be pleased to onV a Smith to Ix'c wiili iis in o'" 

 counti'V to I'cjiair our arnies that wee may defend oin^icivL's 

 apuiist (he French." Fletcher replied: '' I doc <;ranl vo' rcrpifst 

 of a Sniith, and will order one to live in yo*' country to repair vo'" 

 amies."— 0'C(///f/(///<///, 4:28 



lie was not so swift as his Indian name implied and llicy lo- 

 uewed their recpiest July 4, 1098, with an additioiL " Wa^ bcj^^c 

 of you to lett us have a Smith «Jc a oumi stock maker in our 

 Castle to mend our amies when they are broaken." — O'Callaijhau, 

 4:43. 



In 1700 the French otTered to furnish smiths to mend their 

 axes and i^uns. Some years later this led to a condict of inter-, 

 ests in the Iroquois ca^jital, concerning- which Father f)ac(iucs 

 d'Heu wrote from Onondai^a, May 24, 1708: 



The p]n«;lish blacksmith has returned after nine months 

 absence. On his arrival those of the French parly were not will- 

 iu<;' to give him the anvil wliich behmgs to them, and concealed 

 it at my house and requested that a smith be sent from ^Nrontreal. 

 That matter, I told them, would be discussed on M. de Joncaire's 

 arrival. It seems to me that it w^ould be very important for the 

 good of religion and the French Colony, were there a French 

 blacksmith here; the Englishman would then decamp. l»ut this 

 I*lacksmith should be under the Black Gown and an ex(Mn[)lary 

 man. One I>onn(^ would be our man, but I see no ])i'os]>ect of 

 him. The anvil was given to the English l>lacksmi{h, because 

 those of the English ])arty were beginning to mutiny. Hut I'm 

 told that if a Blacksmith came from Montreal he would ixoi at 

 once the anvil and all the tools belonging to those of the French 

 party.— O'CallagJian, 9:816 



There w^ere afterward French smiths among the Senecas, but 

 they did not remain long. It became a part of the New Yoik 

 })olicy to see that a reasonable number of its own blacksmiths 

 were provided. Seldom have they been of such political impor- 

 tance. 



In 1742 it cost £21 7|d to set up the bellows, anvil and vise at 

 Cayuga, of which New York bore the cost. So it was pi'oposed 

 to the colonies of New^ York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, in 



