The war-policy of Champlain was undoubtedly very plainly set forth in his correspondence and interviews with the viceroys and several companies under whose authority he acted. But these discussions, whether oral or written, do not appear in general to have been preserved. Fortunately a single document of this character is still extant, in which his views are clearly unfolded. In Champlain's remarkable letter to Cardinal de Richelieu, which we have introduced a few pages back, his policy is fully stated. It is undoubtedly the same that he had acted upon from the beginning, and explains the frankness and readiness with which, first and last, as a faithful ally, he had professed himself willing to aid the friendly tribes in their wars against the Iroquois. The object which he wished to accomplish by this tribal war was, as fully stated in the letter to which we have referred, first, to conquer the Iroquois or Five Nations; to introduce peaceful relations between them and the other surrounding tribes; and, secondly, to establish a grand alliance of all the savage tribes, far and near, with the French. This could only be done in the order here stated. No peace could be secured from the Iroquois, except by their conquest, the utter breaking down of their power. They were not susceptible to the influence of reason. They were implacable, and had been brutalized by long-inherited habits of cruelty. In the total annihilation of their power was the only hope of peace. This being accomplished, the surviving remnant would, according to the usual custom among the Indians, readily amalgamate with the victorious tribes, and then a general alliance with the French could be easily secured. This was what Champlain wished to accomplish. The pacification of all the tribes occupying both sides of the St. Lawrence and the chain of northern lakes would place the whole domain of the American continent, or as much of it as it would be desirable to hold, under the easy and absolute control of the French nation.