14B An Hîjî or îcal Journal of 



Lakes, tKe lead (a) oî which is two hundred and fifty Leagues 

 ' in Compafs. 



It appears to me, that if we had had the Precaution to have 

 fecured ourfeives early by a good Fortrefs, and by a moderate 

 peopling of a Poll of this Importance, all the Forces of the 

 Iroquois and the Englijh joined together, would not be capable at 

 this Time of driving us out of it, and that we Ihould be our- 

 feives in a Condition to give Laws to the firft, and to hinder the 

 greateft Part of the Savages from carrying their Peltry to the 

 fécond, as they do with Impunity every Day. 



The Company which I found here with M. de Joncaire^ was 

 compofed of the Baron de Longueil, the King's Lieutenant at 

 Montreal, and the Marquis de Ca'vagnal, Son of the Marquis de 

 Faudreuily the prefent Governor General of Ne^j France, and of 

 M. de Senne^uille, Captain, and the Sieur de la Chawvtgnerie, En- 

 fign, and the King's Interpreter for the Iroquois Language. Thefe 

 Gentlemen are going to negociate an Accommodation with the 

 Canton of Onnontague, and had Orders to vifit the Settlement of 

 M. de Joncaire, with which they were very well fatisfied. The 

 Xfonnonthouans xQïit'^tà.to them the Promife they had made to fup- 

 port him. This was done in a Council ; where M. de Joncaire^ 

 às I have been told, fpoke with all the Senfe of the moft fenfible 

 French?nan, and with the moil fublime Iroquois Eloquence. 



The Night before their Departure, that is to fay, the 24th, a 



Â D r- ' ' r MiJJifagué gave us an Entertainment which is 

 , . ^J^'Ç;f^^^^ V fomething fmgular. He was quite naked when 

 the J^ire-JJance. ^^^^^ ^^^^^ entered the Cabin 



of this Savage, we found a Fire lighted, near vvhich a Man beat 

 (finging at the fame Time) upon a Kind of Drum: Another Ihook, 

 without ceaiing his Chichikoue, and fung alfo. This lailed two 

 Hours, till we were quite tired of it ; for they faid always the 

 fame Thing, or rather they formed Sounds that were but half 

 articulate, without any Variation. We begged of the I\Sall:er of 

 the Cabin to put an End to this Prelude, and it was with much 

 Reludance he gave us this Mark of his Complaifance. Then 

 we faw appear five or fix Women ; who placing themfelves Side 

 by Side on the fame Line, as clolc as they could to each other, 

 with their Arms hanging down, fung and danced, that is to fay, 

 without break ing the Line, they made fome Steps in Cadence, 

 fometimes forward and fometimes backward. When they had 

 continued this about a Quarter of an Hour, they put out the 

 Fire, which alone gave Light to the Cabin ; and then we faw 

 nothing but a Savage, who had in his Mouth a lighted Coal, 

 and who danced. The Symphony of the Drum and the Chichi- 



koué 



l(L ) The Lake Ontario, The Lake ErUi% three hundred Leagues in Compafs« 



