Hearing Such News, We Make Friends By Store Of Guifts, Yea Such Guifts That Weare Able To Betray Their Country.

What is that, that interrest will not do?

We discover dayly new contryvances of treason by a Councellor. There is nothing done or said but we have advice of it. Their dayly exercise is feasting, of warrs, songs, throwing of hattchetts, breaking kettles. What can we do? We are in their hands. It's hard to gett away from them. Yea, as much as a ship in full sea without pilot, as passengers without skill. We must resolve to be uppon our guard, being in the midle of our Ennemy. For this purpose we begin to make provisions for the future end. We are tould that a company of the Aniot nation volontiers was allready in their march to breake heads & so declare open warres. This company finds enough to doe att Mount Royall; ffor the ffrench being carelesse of themselves, working incomparably afarre from their fortifications without the least apprehension. They killed 2 french and brought them away in triumph, their heads sett up for a signe of warrs. We seeing no other remedy but must be gon and leave a delightful country. The onely thing that we wanted most was that wee had no boats to carry our bagage. It's sad to tend from such a place that is compassed with those great lakes that compose that Empire that can be named the greatest part of the knowne world. Att last they contrived some deale boords to make shipps with large bottoms, which was the cause of our destruction sooner then was expected.

You have heard above said how the ffathers inhabited the hurron country to instruct them in Christian doctrine. They preach the mighty power of the Almighty, who had drowned the world for to punish the wicked, saving onely our father Noe with his familie was saved in an arke. One came bringing Indian corne, named Jaluck, who escaped the shipwrake that his countrymen had gone, being slave among us. He received such instructions of those deale boords, & reflected soundly upon the structure that he thought verily they weare to make an other arke to escape their hands, and by our inventions cause all the rest to be drowned by a second deluge. They imputing so much power to us, as Noe had that grace from God, thought that God at least commanded us so to doe. All frightened [he] runns to his village. This comes back makes them all afraid. Each talkes of it. The elders gathered together to consult what was to be done. In their councell [it] was concluded that our fort should be visited, that our fathers should be examined, & according to their answers deliberation should be taken to preserve both their life and countrey. We had allwayes spyes of our side, which weare out of zele and obedience. The ffathers Jesuits and others voluntarily ventured their lives for the preservation of the common liberty. They remaine in the village of those barbars to spie what their intent should be, houlding correspondence with some of those of the councell by giving them guifts, to the end that we might know what was concluded in the Councell & give us advise with all speede. We by these means had intelligence that they weare to come & visit our forts.

To take away all suspicion of our innocency from thinking to build any shipp, which if it had come to their knowledge had don a great prejudice to our former designe, a shippe then uppon the docke almost finished. Heere we made a double floore in the hall where the shippe was abuilding, so that the wild men, being ignorant of our way of building, could not take any notice of our cuningnesse, which proved to our desire. So done, finding nothing that was reported, all began to be quiet and out of feare. By this we weare warned from thencefoorth, mistrusting all that came there, so preserved ourselves, puting nothing in fight that should give the least suspition. Both shipps weare accomplished; we kept them secretly & covered them with 12 boats of rind that we kept for fishing and hunting. The wildmen knewed of these small things, but suspected nothing, believing that the french would never suspect to venture such a voyage for the difficultie of the way and violence of the swiftnesse of the rivers and length of the way. We stayed for opportunity in some quietnesse, devising to contrive our game as soone as the spring should begin. The winter we past not without apprehensions, having had severall allarmes, false as [well] as true; for often weare we putt to our armes, in so much that one of our sentryes was once by force drawen from the doore of the fort. He, to avoid the danger, drawes his sword & wounds one of them & comes to the fort, crying, "To your armes." This was soone appeased; some guifts healed the wound.

The season drawing nigh we must think of some stratageme to escape their hands and the rest of ours that weare among them; which was a difficulty, because they would have some of us by them allwaye for the better assurance. But all their contrivances & wit weare too weake to strive against our plotts which weare already invented to their deceipt that would deceave us. We lett them understand that the time drew neere that the french uses to trait their friends in feasting and meriment, and all should be welcome, having no greater ffriends then they weare. They, to see our fashions as well as to fill their gutts, gave consent. By that means the considerablest persons are invited, the ffather & 2 ffrench. There they weare made much of 2 dayes with great joy, with sounds of trompetts, drumms, and flageoletts, with songs in french as wild. So done, they are sent away, the ffather with them. He was not a mile off but fains to gett a falle and sighed that his arme was broken.

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