reached the Mohawk country, but the enemy were not there; they had gone off on some warlike adventure of their own. There was some burning of deserted cabins; but the position of the invading force began to be a precarious one, for the winter was now merging into spring, and there was danger that if the ice melted in the streams, their retreat would be cut off. The Mohawks were already hovering in their rear. By the time they reached the nearest of their forts they had lost sixty men by cold and hunger. The only thing that can be said in favour of the expedition is that it greatly impressed the minds of the Iroquois, as proving that the French had now the means of turning the tables on them and carrying the war into their own country. The Iroquois showed some disposition to negotiate for peace; but nothing came of it, and in September a larger expedition set out, commanded by Tracy himself, with Courcelles as second in command. This time they not only reached the Iroquois country, but, the savages having fled in panic, they were able at their ease to destroy a number of fortified villages and large quantities of food that had been laid up for the winter. The Iroquois were deeply impressed by these vigorous proceedings. They saw that a great change had come over the situation and resources of the French colony, when, instead of submitting helplessly to attack, they could equip two expeditions in one year to seek them out in their own habitations. They hastened, therefore, to renew their propositions of peace, and, as this time they were clearly in earnest, Tracy concluded a peace with them which held good for several years. The colony now had a rest, and the beneficial effects of it were soon evident. Two years later the Jesuit annalist writes: "It is beautiful now to see nearly all the banks of our river St. Lawrence occupied by new settlements, stretching along more than eighty leagues, making navigation not only more agreeable by the sight of houses dotting the riverside, but also more convenient through an increase in the number of resting-places." A charming picture is here given in very simple words.