We have already seen that in 1690 an attempt was made by John Schuyler to avenge the massacre at Schenectady.  The results of this effort were insignificant, but its purpose was not forgotten; and in 1691 the Anglo-Dutch of the Hudson attempted once more to make their strength felt on the banks of the St Lawrence.  This time the leader was Peter Schuyler, whose force included a hundred and twenty English and Dutch, as against the forty who had attacked Canada in the previous summer.  The number of Indian allies was also larger than on the former occasion, including both Mohawks and Mohegans.  Apart from its superior numbers and much harder fighting, the second expedition of the English was similar to the first.  Both followed Lake Champlain and the Richelieu; both reached Laprairie, opposite Montreal; both were forced to retreat without doing any great damage to their enemies.  There is this notable difference, however, that the French were in a much better state of preparation than they had been during the previous summer.  The garrison at Laprairie now numbered above seven hundred, while a flying squadron of more than three hundred stood ready to attack the English on their retreat to the Richelieu.  On the whole, Schuyler was fortunate to escape as lightly as he did.  Forty of his party were killed in a hot battle, but he made his retreat in good order after inflicting some losses on the French (August 1, 1691).  Although Schuyler’s retreat was skilfully conducted, his original object had been far more ambitious than to save his men from extermination.  The French missed a chance to injure their foe more seriously than they had done at Schenectady.  At the same time, this second English invasion was so far from successful that the New France of Frontenac suffered no further attack from the side of Albany.

While Callieres and Valrennes were repulsing Peter Schuyler from Laprairie, the French in another part of Frontenac’s jurisdiction were preparing for the offensive.  The centre of this activity was the western part of Acadia—­that is, the large and rugged region which is watered by the Penobscot and the Kennebec.  Here dwelt the Abnakis, a tribe of Algonquin origin, among whom the Jesuits had established a mission and made many converts.  Throughout Acadia the French had established friendly relations with the Indians, and as the English settlements began to creep from New Hampshire to the mouth of the Kennebec, the interval between the rival zones of occupation became so narrow as to admit of raiding.  Phips’s capture of Port Royal had alarmed some of the Abnakis, but most of them held fast to the French connection and were amenable to presents.  It soon proved that all they needed was leadership, which was amply furnished by the Baron de Saint-Castin and Father Thury.