Documentary History of the State of New York, Vol. I
who is the Orator of that Nation, spoke by fifteen presents, not only on behalf of the Senecas, but also for the other Iroquois Nations.
Word of the Iroquois. After having taken God to witness the sincerity of his heart, and having assured Onontio of the truth of his words, he spoke in this wise 1 st
I give you a Beverage devoid of bitterness, to purify whatever inconvenience you may have experienced during the voyage, and to dispel whatever bad air you may have breathed between Montreal
and this place. Jlnswer of Onontio to the words of HoteouaU : the Senecas, I wish, truly to do
--As have placed in your hands the mediation with
what you ask me.
I, therefore, lay
down my Hatchet and refer to
you to obtain a reasonable satisfaction. 2 d Word.
I remove the hatchet
is your child, and that
with which you threaten to strike the Senecas. you are his father.
3d
Remember he
Word. Mr. Lemoine, your ordinary envoy, having come last year, and speaking to us in your name, cut a deep ditch into which he told us you and we should cast all the unkind things that • Endorsed by the Minister,
" Theie letters must be kept secret."
might occur ; I have not forgotten this word, and in obedience to it, I request you to throw into that ditch the Seneca robbery, and that it may disturb neither our country nor yours.
That ditch is well cut, but as your young men have no sense, and as they may make this a pretext for committing acts of hostility anew, after having cast the Seneca robbery into that ditch, Answer.