1685-86.] DIPLOMATIC DUEL. 123 



scarcely a tribe in the French interest which was 

 not either attacked by the Senecas or cajoled by 

 them into alliances hostile to the colony. " We 

 may set down Canada as lost/' again writes De- 

 nonville, " if we do not make war next year ; and 

 yet, in our present disordered state, war is the 

 most dangerous thing in the world. Nothing can 

 save us but the sending out of troops and the 

 building of forts and blockhouses. Yet I dare not 

 begin to build them ; for, if I do, it will bring 

 down all the Iroquois upon us before we are in a 

 condition to fight them." 



Nevertheless, he made what preparations he 

 could, begging all the while for more soldiers, 

 and carrying on at the same time a correspond- 

 ence with his rival, Dongan. At first, it was 

 courteous on both sides ; but it soon grew pungent, 

 and at last acrid. Denonville wrote to announce 

 his arrival, and Dongan replied in French : " Sir, 

 I have had the honor of receiving your letter, and 

 greatly rejoice at having so good a neighbor, whose 

 reputation is so widely spread that it has antici- 

 pated your arrival. I have a very high respect 

 for the king of France, of whose bread I have 

 eaten so much that I feel under an obligation to 

 prevent whatever can give the least umbrage to 

 our masters. M. de la Barre is a very worthy 

 gentleman, but he has not written to me in a civil 

 and befitting style." 1 



Denonville replied with many compliments : " I 

 know not what reason you may have had to be 



1 Dongan to Denonville, 13 Oct., 1685, in N. Y. Col. Docs., IX. 292. 



