398 THE SENECA NATION 



plomacy. A very interesting correspondence was carried on 

 between Denonville and Dongan, in which Dongan doggedly 

 adhered to the fact that the Iroquois were subject to England, 

 and Denonville used every means to upset or evade this 

 claim, so that he could make war upon the Senecas without 

 bringing on a general war, The Senecas at the same time 

 were continuing their efforts to alienate the western Indians 

 from the French, while they improved their opportunities by 

 getting everything possible from the English of New York. 

 Like De la Barre a few years before, they "found the fishing 

 good in troubled waters". 



Denonville made one recommendation which, if carried 

 out, would have effectually settled the controversy over the 

 English claims and at the same time have delivered the Sene- 

 cas over into his hands. In a memoir "concerning the present 

 state of Canada", 12th of November, 1685, he urged that the 

 colony of New York be bought from the King of England. 



It was not until the early part of 1687 that he saw his way 

 to carry out the plans to punish the Senecas. In a memoir to 

 Denonville and Champigny, dated March 30, 1687 (*1) the 

 King approved Denonville's plan to attack them and Denonville 

 accordingly hastened his preparations. So quietly did he work, 

 however, that Governor Dongan at least seems to have re- 

 ceived no news of it, though Denonville, June 8th. stated (*2) 

 that Dongan had sent runners to warn a warparty of six hund- 

 red Senecas who hal gone to attack the Miamis, and that other 

 war parties against Virginia had returned. Yet on June 11th 

 Dongan wrote him a very courteous letter enclosing a copy of 

 the "Treaty of Neutrality", and at that time he seemed una- 

 ware of any intended warparty. 



In the spring of 1687 news came to the Senecas from an 

 Onondaga who lived at Cataraqui that the French intended to 

 attack them and had already brought to Cataraqui a large 

 amount of ammunition and "iron doublets"; and further that a 

 Frenchman at that place had said that the Governor of Canada 

 designed to attack the Iroquois. Only ten days after receiving 

 this news word came that the French Governor and an army 

 had encamped halfway between Onondaga and Cataraqui. A 



*i Doc. Hist. N. Y., Vol. i, p. 322. 



*2 Doc. Relating to Col. Hist. N. Y., Vol. IX, p. 325. 



