"Thus," says La Potherie, "the labors of the late Count Frontenac were
brought to a happy consummation." The work of Frontenac was indeed
finished, though not as he would have finished it. Callieres had told
the Iroquois that till they surrendered their Indian prisoners he
would keep in his own hands the Iroquois prisoners surrendered by the
allied tribes. To this the spokesman of the confederacy coolly
replied: "Such a proposal was never made since the world began. Keep
them, if you like. We will go home, and think no more about them; but,
if you gave them to us without making trouble, and gave us our son
Joncaire at the same time, we should have no reason to distrust your
sincerity, and should all be glad to send you back the prisoners we
took from your allies." Callieres yielded, persuaded the allies to
agree to the conditions, gave up the prisoners, and took an empty
promise in return. It was a triumph for the Iroquois, who meant to
keep their Indian captives, and did in fact keep nearly all of them. [1]
The chief objects of the late governor were gained. The power of the
Iroquois was so far broken that they were never again very formidable
to the French. Canada had confirmed her Indian alliances, and rebutted
the English claim to sovereignty over the five tribes, with all the
consequences that hung upon it.
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