This two-volume series, originally published in 1917, chronicles the French settlement in the Niagara region and surrounding lakes, located in present-day New York and Canada. It was compiled from both published, and unpublished rare books, documents, journals, diaries and also first-hand exploration of the Niagara, making this vast work a most incredible historical resource. Mr. Severance has the drive and inquisitive nature of a scientist, while at the same time relating his narrative with the unique vision of a poet. Volume I takes readers back to the earliest European knowledge of the Niagara, around the beginning of the seventeenth century, and follows eighteenth century expeditions and settlement. Franciscan and Jesuit missions and their encounters with the Iroquois; adventures of La Salle, La Barre, Joncaire the Elder, and many others; Fort Niagara and the fur trade; the Niagara Mutiny of 1729; the mysterious River Condé; and much more are discussed. (1917, 1998), 2009, 51/2x81/2, paper, index, 484 pp.