30. The Iroquois.--The strongest of all the Indian tribes were the nations who formed the League of the Iroquois. Ever since Champlain fired upon them they hated the sight of a Frenchman. On the other hand, they looked upon the Dutch and the English as their friends. French missionaries tried to convert them to Christianity as they had converted the St. Lawrence Indians. But the Iroquois saw in this only another attempt at French conquest. So they hung red-hot stones about the missionaries' necks, or they burned them to death, or they cut them to pieces while yet living. For a century and a half the Iroquois stood between the Dutch and English settlers and their common enemies in Canada. Few events, in American history, therefore, have had such great consequences as Champlain's unprovoked attacks upon the Iroquois. CHAPTER 5 VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND [Sidenote: New conditions of living in England.] [Sidenote: The Virginia Company.] 31. The Virginia Company, 1606.--English people were now beginning to think in earnest of founding colonies. It was getting harder and harder to earn one's living in England, and it was very difficult to invest one's money in any useful way. It followed, from this, that there were many men who were glad to become colonists, and many persons who were glad to provide money to pay for founding colonies. In 1606 the Virginia Company was formed and colonization began on a large scale. [Sidenote: The Virginia colonists at Jamestown, 1607. _Higginson_, 52, 110-117; _Eggleston_, 19-28; _Explorers_ 231-269.] [Sidenote: Sickness and death.]