“ But the dire circumstance which was to
bury this colony in oblivion, and keep their his-;
tory insecret, $ was yet to come« About this
time (1669), a party of Spaniards,; consisting of
twenty-three persons, * arrived at the village,,
having for guides some of the Iroquois* whq had
been taken captive by the southern tmbeS^ ^
appears evident that this party came up„ the
Mississippi, as it has been ascertained that they
passed Pittsburgh, and on to Glean point; where,
leaving their canoes* they travelled by land.
They had been, informed by some of the southern
tribes,. that there was a lake at the- north of
them, whose bottom was, covered witba .suh?
stance shining and white,* and which they took,
from the Indians’ description* to be silver;v;and
it iasugpbsed" that the idea of enriching themselves
upon this treasure, induced them to take
this long and desperate journey; for silver was
the first thing inquired for* on their arrival, and
on being told that none was e-y.ei; seen in or
about the Onondaga lake, they became almost
frantic, and seemed ;bent upon a quarrel with
the .French, and charged them with having
bribed the Indians, and even those who had
been their guides, that they would not tell
where the mines might, be found. Nor dare
they, finding the French influence to prevail,
venture out on a search, lest the Indians might
* T te salt ciystallizeis at the present time on thé grass and
upon the naked earthm the immeHiaté vieihit'y of the springs,
though the water of thé lake is fresh» *0
destroy them. A Compromise was however
made, 'and both parties agreed that an equal
number of each should be. sent on an exploring
expedition, which was accordingly done. But
the effect of this, upon the minds of the Indians,
was fatal. ' Upon seeihg these strangers prowling
the woods with various kinds of instruments,
they immediately suspected some plan to be in
Operation to deprive them-of their country.
“ s^lNor was this jealousy by any means hushed
by the Europeans. ’ The "Spaniards averred to
the Indians that the only object of the French
was to tyrannize over them; and the French,
on the other hand, that the Spaniards were plotting
a scheme to" rob themm#-their lands.
“ The Indians,, by this time becoming equally
jealous of both, determined in private council,
to rid themsclvhsof such troublesome neighbors.
For aid in this* they sent private instructions to
the Oneidas, and Cayhgas, who only wanted a
Watchword to he ;found- immediately' on the
ground. Thematter Was soon digested, and the
time and manner of attack agreed upon. A little
before day-break, on AM Saints’ day, 1669* the
little colony, together with the Spaniards, were
aroused from their slumbers by the roaring of
fire-arms, and the dismal war- whoop of the savages.
Every house was immediately fired or
broken open* and such as attemptedgto escape
from the flames met a more untimely death in
the tomahawk. Merciless multitudes overpow-
ered the little band, and the Europeans were soon