THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY. 239 



lakes was secured to the British: though many of 

 these Indians had previously been attached to the 

 French interest. 



Here we must explain, that if the British had not 

 in this way maintained these friendly communications 

 with the red Indian tribes, the latter would most 

 certainly all have joined the French alliances against 

 Great Britain, not only in matters of peaceful trade, 

 but also in war. 



There cannot be a shadow of a doubt that in such 

 case, the Indians, instigated by French agents, would 

 have kept up a perpetual border warfare against the 

 British. This in fact was what "the French Indians" 

 and Canadian tribes generally did, even as it was. 

 In this way, it was hoped that the British settlers 

 would have eventually become tired out, and have 

 thrown up their lands in disgust ; and unquestionably if 

 support had not constantly been sent out from Eng- 

 land, the thing would have ended either in the 

 British being expelled from America altogether, or at 

 the very least they would have been ignominiously 

 driven back to a few isolated trading posts adjacent 

 to the Atlantic seaboard. 



To effect this had been the constant and avowed 

 policy of France up to the middle of the 1 8th century, 

 at which time the whole continent of North America 

 was practically claimed as hers. 



Now it is certain that it was the possession of 

 advanced posts such as Albany, Oswego, Fort Edward, 

 Fort William Henry, and other frontier forts in that 

 section of country, which enabled the British to maintain 



