272 



number,) prospects of success. A great fall of rain, however, 

 kept them in the city until the next day, (February 13,) when 

 they were joined by the Mohawks, who had heard of the mas- 

 sacre and come to their assistance. Thus reinforced, they 

 were aboxit leaving in pursuit of the Indians, when they were 

 again hindered by the confession of several Indian prisoners, 

 Avho affirmed that wlien they left Canada, six hundred men 

 w^ere preparing to march against New-England or Albany. 



While this inactivity prevailed at Schenectady, Lawrence 

 and his Indians, who had left for the second time, kept close 

 in the rear of the enemy : at one time they were within a 

 day's march of them, and would undoubtedly have surprised 

 them, had they not been discovered by some Indians, who 

 were in pursuit of two captive negro boys that had escaped. 

 This induced the French to increase their speed, while their 

 pursuers who had at the commencement performed two days' 

 journey in one, were too much fatigued to overtake them. 

 When arrived at Crown Point, some of the party in pursuit 

 were unable to proceed further, although the enemy were not 

 far in advance. A few, however, continued the pursuit for 

 some distance from the shore, and were only stopped by the 

 smoothness of the ice. The French had foreseen this, and 

 provided themselves with skates and ice-spurs ; these, with the 

 horses taken from Schenectady, enabled them to escape from 

 their pursuers, and arrive safe in Canada. 



In reviewing the event detailed in this paper, it may not 

 prove uninteresting to search for the causes that led to it. 



The French had already made several unsuccessful attempts 

 to draw the Iroquois from their alliance with the English and 

 attach them to their own interest. The opposition always 

 manifested to a treaty with them, was traced to the influence 

 possessed over their minds by the Colonists. This influence, 

 as has abready been noticed, was not supported by force, but 

 was the legitimate consequence of an upright course of con- 

 duct towards a people possessing a high sense of honor. 

 Thwarted in this attempt, the French had recourse to force of 

 arms, and hoped by a grand display of a large and weU dis- 



