ful for the English as French nations to trade there we being nearer by many leagues than you are I desire you to send me word who it was that pretended to have my orders for the Indiana to plunder and fight you; that I am altogether as ignorant of any enterprise made by the Indians out of this Government as I am of what you meane by " mihilmiqum " and neither have I acted any thing contrary to what I have written, but will stricktly endeavour to immitate the ammity and friendship between our masters I have desired you to send for the deserters, I know not who they are but had rather such Rascalls and Bankrouts as you call them were amongst their own countrymen than

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this people, and will when you send word who they are, expell, not detain them and use all possible means to preuent your good wishes and hopes that our merchants may suffer by them Tis true I ordered our Indians if they should meet with any of your people or ours on this side of the lake without a passe from you or me, that they should bring them to Albany and that as I thought by your own desire expressed in your letter, they being as you have very well remarked very ill people and such that usually tell lyes as well to Christians as Heathens, The Missionary Fathers, if they please but do me justice can give you an account how careful I have bin to preserve them, I have ordered our Indians strictly not to exercise any cruelty or insolence against them and have written to the King my master who hath as much zeal as any prince living to propagate the Christian faith and assure him how necessary it is to send hither some Fathers to preach the Gospell to the natives allyed to us and care would be then taken to dissuade them from their drunken debouches though certainly our Rum does as little hurt as your Brandy and in the opinion of Christians is much more wholesome however to keep the Indians temperate and sober is a very good and Christian performance but to prohibit them all strong liquors seems a little hard and very turkish What I wrote concerning what was due to me for my service in France was very true, Mons r Charnell, the Intendant at Nancy, adjusted and sent them to Mons r Lenoy signed by himself and me and I gave the