La Salle and the discovery of the great West - North Central ...

:324 ST. LOUIS OF THE ILLINOIS. [1683lIroquois are in such a state that I cannot allow himto muster alltheir enemies together and put himselfat their head. All the men who brought me newsfrom him have abandoned him, and say not a wordabout returning, but sellthe furs they have brought asif they were their own; so that he cannot hold hisground much longer." 1 Such calumnies had theireffect. The enemies of La Salle had already gainedthe ear of the King ; and he had written in August,from Fontainebleau, tohis new governor of Canada"I am convinced, like you, that the discovery of theSieur de la Salle is very useless, and that such enterprisesought to be prevented in future, as they tendonly to debauch the inhabitants by the hope of gain,and to diminish the revenue from beaver-skins." 2In order to understand the posture of affairs at thistime, it must be remembered that Dutch and Englishtraders ofNew York were urging on the Iroquois toattack the western tribes,through their conquest, thewith the object of gaining,control of the fur-tradeof the interior, and diverting it from Montreal toAlbany. The scheme was full of danger to Canada,which the loss of the trade would have ruined. LaBarre and his associates were greatly alarmed at it.Its complete success would have been fatal to theirhopes of profit ; but they nevertheless wished it sucha measure of success as would ruin their rival, LaSalle. Hence, no little satisfaction mingled with1 Lettre de La Barre au Ministre, 4 Nov., 1683.* Lettre du Roy a La Barre, 5 Aout, 1683.