Monsieur - I Had the honor of sending you a report on my first journey to le rocher, with the nations to prevent the renards from passing over to The Iroquois.

The first step I hasten to take on my arrival here, is to dispatch to you a canoe, in which I send my son, in order that he

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may have the honor of informing you of the blow inflicted by me, at the head of the French and savages, upon the renards, who were going to join The Iroquois and who were stopped by The poutouatamis, mascoutins, quikapoux, And The jllinois [Stelle: sic] of le rocher.

On the 6th of August two mascoutins came to us here, who had been Sent expressly by their chiefs, to inform me that the renards had struck The poutouatamis, quikapoux, mascoutins, and jllinois [Stelle: sic], And the Latter, in revenge, had pursued them and found them marching in a body with Their women and children in the direction of the jroquois [Stelle: sic]; and had come to blows with them. Our people then numbered only About Two hundred men, as one Hundred had been allowed to depart on the previous day. The attack began at Ten o'clock in the morning. They defeated The renards and put them to flight, But the latter rallied and gained renewed vigor; they fought until nightfall. In this affair Our people had Six men killed, and three wounded. One of our Bravest war-chiefs, named Okeia, was among the dead, and Pindigache, another chief, was Wounded. The renards had seven men killed And thirty wounded. During The night, The poutouatamis posted themselves on a hill in the prairie and dug holes in the earth by way of a fort. On their side, The renards with their families took possession of a small grove of trees and fortified themselves. On The following day, they parleyed with one another to gain time and to obtain assistance. During these parleys, the Pouatouamis sent Papissa, with a young man to the ouyatanons to ask aid of the tribes and the French at that post. The mascoutins sent to ask me to join the poutouatamis and to likewise come to their assistance.

The jllinois [Stelle: sic] in the same manner, sent messages to the caokias. As soon as I heard the news I notified the Sieur Denoyelles, and sent two Savages to Detroit, but they did not reach there in time.

I started from my post on the 10th of August, with the French Who were then in a condition to March, and with all the savages here, including Poutouatamis, Myamis, and Saquis

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and proceeded to the place where the renards were. On the way I took with me The quikapoux and maskoutins, making about 300 men in all. Monsieur de St. Ange was already there with 100 Frenchmen and 400 savages, including Kaoquias, missouris, and Peorias, and The 200 of our savages who had already fought with them. The Ouyatanons and peanguichias also arrived on the same day as I did, so that in a short time we numbered About 1400 men. I was about to forget one particular circumstance, Monsieur, While Papissa was among the ouyatanons, the renards also sent two men there with a Collar and calumets to ask their aid against the Poutouatamis, maskoutins, and quikapoux, against whom they had just fought, and who were watching them; at the same time they asked them to leave the road open to enable them to go in peace with their families to the jroquois [Stelle: sic]. The ouyatanons replied that they would assist them; that they would remain where they were and fortify themselves and that they would soon see them.

The renards' fort was in a small Grove of trees, on the bank of a little river running through a vast prairie, more than four leagues in circumference, without a tree, except Two groves about 60 arpents from one another. Monsieur de St Ange had camped with His savages on the left bank of the river and had built redoubts to prevent their obtaining Water, but they had excavated underground passages [Stelle: See our translation of this defensive device in Table 2] leading to the River. I camped, with my savages and the Frenchmen who had joined me, on the right of their fort, where I erected two others, with a Cavalier in each to beat them back into their own And prevent them from descending into the ditches they had outside. I had a trench opened to approach them more closely, without risk to anybody and had an attempt made to set fire to their fort. This trench made them uneasy, and caused them to move about more than usual. As soon as they saw that the earth was being excavated, a shower of gun-shots fell in good fashion.

The ouyatanons who apparently were unwilling to completely break Their promise to them, asked me to allow them to call a man who was their ally; saying that thereby they might get some illinois women whom they held in captivity. I allowed

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them to do so, on condition that I should see no other meat Come out of that village than my own. This they promised, but, on the contrary, that man came out, with four Slaves and a Collar, which he presented to me on behalf of the renard. I would not listen to him. I said that it was Illinois flesh that I asked for, and that I would have no other. He returned and in several trips brought me what I wanted. The Saquis took advantage of this delay, and approached the fort in spite of the French, who were on guard there. They got out a number of children and gave food to the renards, so that I was obliged to open fire on the fort, to compel them to retire.

Our tribes were very anxious to spare the renards' lives, and proposed an act of treachery to me. Their design was that I should promise Them their lives, that I should make them come out And that they would fall on them. It was in nowise their intention to do so; their only object was to secure captives. I opposed this, seeing that it could only result in sparing the lives of those wretches, who would undoubtedly Continue on their way to The jroquois [Stelle: sic]. Every day they found fresh subjects on which to speak to me. They came back twice with their children and with collars, to move me. But although they had been pale, I made them turn as if painted red, by telling them that all their words were in vain And that they were not to come back again. They addressed themselves to Monsieur de St. Ange, who listened to them no more than I did. Nevertheless, We fired some shots at them as they re-entered their fort. They suffered much from hunger because, for four days previous to Their flight, they lived only on apichimonts.¹ Monsieur de Noyelles arrived with the nations of His post, which gave us a reinforcement of a hundred men; these would have been very Useful to us, had the Savages been willing to mount guard night and day, but as soon as the least bad weather set in, they would not come out of their cabins and we were not enough Frenchmen to man the entire contravallation.

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¹ Note on original manuscript: "these are Their coverings made of Skins."

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The Renards held out for twenty-three days. On the 8th of September, we had the finest weather in the world until an hour from sunset, when a Terrible storm of wind and rain arose which lasted until the night, which was very dark and Foggy, so that, in spite of all I could say to our Savages, I was unable to make them guard all The outlets. The Renards took advantage of this to come out of their fort and flee. We perceived this at first from the crying of the children which we heard, and we learned it from a Sauteux [Stelle: Ojibwe] woman who came into the trench to surrender. I at once prepared to pursue them at day-break. We followed them with Our Savages and routed them, and more than 200 warriors were killed. No other chief Escaped except Licaouais, of whom, however, we have no information. The others were made prisoners and placed in The hands of the Kaoquias, who will assuredly not spare their lives. Those who escaped from us threw away all they had, even to their powder-horns in order that they might escape; but few remain. The prisoners told us that they had fought against The Scioux in the spring and very likely this is true. I Found their village very small, although I do not refer to that in which they were shut up, But to two Of their Camps which I saw in the prairies where they had lived during The summer. Our Quicapoux and mascoutins did wonders on this expedition, and all did equally well, vying with one another. Had it not been for The desertion of 300 Kaokias who had only just abandoned Monsieur de St. Ange, and for the absence of 100 men from my camp who had gone Hunting to supply us with food, not a single Renard would have escaped. I can assure you. Monsieur, that we made The renards fast, but that we fasted almost as much as They. My son, who has just come out of The action, will give you whatever details I may have omitted. I take the liberty, Monsieur, of begging your protection for Him. I have had no more urgent desire, than to Send Him to you that he may have The honor of bringing you this News.

All our nations are preparing to go in the spring to pay you their homage, and, at the same time, to tell you of their dead, Especially Louis Lamech; they are Ouyenamegousy, Pindi-

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gache, ouataouasego and Ouefigue, who kept the Renards in sight all summer Without abandoning them, with the quikapoux and mascoutins.

The sieur de Villiers, the younger, adds1 that the nations returned home well pleased with the compliments they had received from Monsieur His father, each one in particular and all in general, so that it was impossible to say who had done best on that occasion, all having displayed uncommon ardor and courage.

That in order to thank Monsieur The commandant and the officers, all the chiefs of the nations, at the head of their troops, had sworn and protested that if ever any Nation were rash enough to attack the French, they would shed the last drop of their blood to avenge them; that they came to give them a tangible proof of their friendship and attachment for Them, after destroying their enemies; That this memory would never be Effaced from their hearts And that they would Carefully impress it upon Their descendants.

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1 What follows is an addendum to the letter of De Villiers, set down from the oral account of his son, the messenger. - Ed.