ar parties still infested
the settlements, and had lately put to death three French officers,
among them M. de Chasy, the viceroy's nephew. One of the Indian deputies
boasted at M. de Tracy's table that he had slain the French officers
with his own hands. He was immediately seized and strangled, and the
negotiations broken off.

The two French expeditions found the hostile country altogether
deserted, and returned without effecting any thing, having suffered
great fatigue and hardship. M. de Tracy then took the field in person,
at the head of 1200 French and 600 friendly Indians, with two pieces of
cannon. As he was setting out on the march, chiefs again came from the
Agniers and Onneyouths to pray for peace; but he would hear of no
accommodation, and even imprisoned the deputies. The French army marched
on the 14th of September, 1666; provisions soon failed in the solitary
desert through which they had to pass; in their greatest necessity,
however, they entered a wood abounding in chestnut-trees, whose fruit
supplied them with sustenance till they gained the first village of the
enemy. The warriors had abandoned the old men, women, and children, and
ample stores of food, and retired through the forest. The French found
the Indian cabans larger and better than any they had seen elsewhere,
and in ingeniously contrived magazines, sunk under the ground,
sufficient grain was discovered to supply the whole colony for two
years. The invaders burned and utterly destroyed all the villages, and
carried away, as captives, all the inhabitants that remained, but they
could not succeed in overtaking the warriors to force them to action.
They then retraced their steps, strengthening the settlements on the
River St. Lawrence as they passed. When M. de Tracy reached Quebec, he
caused some of the prisoners to be put to death as a warning, and
dismissed the remainder. Having established the authority of the West
India Company instead of that of "The Hundred Associates," he returned
to France the following spring.

The humiliation of the Iroquois restored profound peace to New France.
Then the wisdom and energy of M. Talon were directed to the development
of the resources of the country. Scientific men were sent to examine the
mineral resources of several districts where promising indications had
been observed. The clearing of land proceeded rapidly, and invariably
discovered a rich and productive soil. The population increased in
numbe