ply withdrawn their families into the woods, and the Iroquois were
only biding their time for fearful vengeance.

This lust of vengeance was now terribly whetted. Dongan, the English
governor of New York, had been ordered by King James of England to
observe the treaty of neutrality between England and France; but this
did not hinder him supplying the Iroquois with arms to raid the French
and secretly advising them "not to bury the war hatchet,--just to hide
it in the grass, and stand on their guard to begin the war anew."

[Illustration: FORT FRONTENAC AND THE ADJACENT COUNTRY]

Nor did the treaty of neutrality prevent the French from raiding Hudson
Bay and ordering shot in cold blood any French bushrover who dared to
guide the English traders to the country of the Upper Lakes.

In addition to English influence egging on the Iroquois, the treachery
of the Huron chief, The Rat, lashed the vengeance {165} of the Five
Nations to a fury. He had come down to Fort Frontenac to aid the
French. He was told that the French had again arranged peace with the
Iroquois, and deputies were even now on their way from the Five Nations.

"Peace!" The old Huron chief was dumbfounded. What were these fool
French doing, trusting to an Iroquois peace? "Ah," he grunted, "that
may be well"; and he withdrew without revealing a sign of his
intentions. Then he lay in ambush on the trail of the deputies, fell
on the Iroquois peace messengers with fury, slaughtered half the band,
then sent the others back with word that he had done this by order of
Denonville, the French governor.

"There," grunted The Rat grimly, "I 've killed the peace for them! We
'll see how Onontio gets out of this mess."

Meanwhile war had been declared between England and France. The
Stuarts had been dethroned. France was supporting the exiled monarch,
and William of Orange had become king of England. Iberville and Duluth
and La Motte Cadillac, the famous fighters of Canada's wildwood, were
laying plans before the French Governor for the invasion and conquest
of New York; and New York was preparing to defend itself by pouring
ammunition and firearms free of cost into the hands of the Iroquois.
Then the Iroquois vengeance fell.

Between the night and morning of August 4 and 5, in 1689, a terrific
thunderstorm had broken over Montreal. Amidst the crack of hail and
crash of falling trees, with the thunder reverberating from the
mountain like cannonading, whi