M. de la Barre, on his arrival, desired to inform himself exactly of the condition of the colony. In a great assembly held at Quebec, on October 10th, 1682, he gathered all the men who occupied positions of consideration in the colony. Besides the governor, the bishop and the commissioner, there were noticed among others M. Dollier de Casson, the superior of the Seminary of St. Sulpice at Montreal, several Jesuit Fathers, MM. de Varennes, governor of Three Rivers, d'Ailleboust, de Brussy and Le Moyne. The information which M. de la Barre obtained from the assembly was far from reassuring; incessantly stirred up by Governor Dongan's genius for intrigue, the Iroquois were preparing to descend upon the little colony. If they had not already begun hostilities, it was because they wished first to massacre the tribes allied with the French; already the Hurons, the Algonquins, the Conestogas, the Delawares and a portion of the Illinois had fallen under their blows. It was necessary to save from extermination the Ottawa and Illinois tribes. Now, one might indeed raise a thousand robust men, accustomed to savage warfare, but, if they were used for an expedition, who would cultivate in their absence the lands of these brave men? A prompt reinforcement from the mother country became urgent, and M. de la Barre hastened to demand it.
The war had already begun. The Iroquois had seized two canoes, the property of La Salle, near Niagara; they had likewise attacked and plundered fourteen Frenchmen _en route_ to the Illinois with merchandise valued at sixteen thousand francs. It was known, besides, that the Cayugas and the Senecas were preparing to attack the French settlements the following summer. In spite of all, the expected help did not arrive. One realizes the anguish to which the population must have been a prey when one reads the following letter from the Bishop of Quebec: "Sire, the Marquis de Seignelay will inform your Majesty of the war which the Iroquois have declared against your subjects of New France, and will explain the need of sending aid sufficient to destroy, if possible, this enemy, who has opposed for so many years the establishment of this colony.... Since it has pleased your Majesty to choose me for the government of this growing Church, I feel obliged, more than any one, to make its needs manifest to you. The paternal care which you have always had for us leaves me no room to doubt that you will give the necessary orders for the most prompt aid possible, without which this poor country would be exposed to a danger nigh unto ruin."