400 THE SENECA NATION 



along the bottom of a narrow valley. At one point about a half 

 league from the village the valley floor was occupied almost 

 entirely by a marsh and a thicket which were impassable, and 

 between this marsh and the steep sided valley wall the space was 

 so constricted, that any approaching force must of necessity 

 march in disorder. Besides, the trail at this point was broken 

 by several gullies eroded in the steep hillsides, and these seem to 

 have been densely filled with trees and bushes. The sachems 

 divided their forces into two parts. One was to lie in wait in 

 the marsh, the other in a narrow ravine. The first was to allow 

 the French to pass it without attacking. The force in the ravine 

 was to strike the line as it passed and endeavor to throw it into 

 disorder, whereupon the party in the marsh was to attack it in 

 the rear. It was a well laid ambuscade, which under the usual 

 conditions of Seneca warfare would doubtless have been success- 

 ful. What were absolutely needed, however, were skilled leader- 

 ship, co-operation between the two detachments, and a large 

 force, and none of these the Senecas had. Their leaders were 

 the old men who because of their age had remained behind when 

 the war-parties had gone to the South. Wise as these may have 

 been, the party under them were under no control, being young, 

 eager but without experience. And, as they were to find, the 

 French outnumbered them three to one. 



Governor Denonville had certainly made the most of his time 

 and was determined to lose no advantage which might be given 

 him through the panic of the Senecas. His force was originally 

 composed of 140 Christian Mohawks, and 2000 French. (*l) This 

 was joined at Irondequoit by about a thousand western Indians 

 under the leadership of such men as Tonty, DuL,hut and others. 

 Immediately upon landing, Denonville selected a site for a fort, 

 to secure the safety of his boats, and by the morning of the 12th 

 two thousand palisades had been cut and planted. Here he left 

 440 men under D'Orvilliers, and without a pause began his 

 march towards the great village of Gandagora. 



The army broke camp on the morning of the 13th and con- 

 tinued its march toward "Gannagaro". During the day they 

 passed without danger two narrow defiles in both of which an 

 ambuscade was expected. At noon the Indian allies wished to 

 boil their kettles, but the Governor forbade it and the army 



*i Doc. Relating to Col. Hist, of N. Y., Vol. Ill, p. 431. 



