444 THE DESTROYERS. [1660-75 



of this valiant people continued to subsist, under 

 the name of Conestogas, for nearly a century, until, 

 in 1763, they were butchered, as already mentioned, 

 by the white ruffians known as the " Paxton Boys." ^ 



The bloody triumphs of the Iroquois were com- 

 plete. They had " made a solitude, and called it 

 peace." All the surrounding nations of their own 

 lineage were conquered and broken up, while 

 neighboring Algonquin tribes were suffered to 

 exist only on condition of paying a yearly tribute 

 of wampum. The confederacy remained a wedge 

 thrust between the growing colonies of France and 

 England. 



But what was the state of the conquerors ? 

 Their triumphs had cost them dear. As early as 

 the year 1660, a writer, evidently well-informed, 

 reports that their entire force had been reduced to 

 twenty-two hundred warriors, while of these not 

 more than twelve hundred were of the true Iro- 

 quois stock. The rest was a medley of adopted 

 prisoners, — Hurons, Neutrals, Eries, and Indians 

 of various Algonquin tribes.^ Still their aggressive 



1 " History of the Conspiracy of Pontiac," Chap. XXIV. Compare 

 Shea, in Historical Magazine, II. 297. 



2 Relation, 1660, 6, 7 (anonymous). Le Jeune says, "Their victories 

 have so depopulated their towns, that there are more foreigners in them 

 than natives. At Onondaga there are Indians of seven diflPerent na- 

 tions permanently established ; and, among the Senecas, of no less than 

 eleven." {Relation, 1657, 34.) These were either adopted prisoners, or 

 Indians who had voluntarily joined the Iroquois to save themselves from 

 their liostility. They took no part in councils, but were expected to 

 join war-parties, though they were usually excused from fighting against 

 their former countrymen. The condition of female prisoners was little 

 better than that of slaves, and those to whom they were assigned often 

 killed them on the slightest pique. 



