After Which We
Re-Entered Into The House, & I Commanded One Of The Frenchmen To Go Out
Immediately & Inform His Comrades That All Would Go Well If They Should
Have An Entire Confidence In Me & Obey All My Orders, Which Doing, They
Should Want Nothing.
I ordered also this same Frenchman to inform the
savages to come to me & work immediately with their comrades
To bring back
into the house newly built the Beaver skins buried in the wood; & to that
end, to be able to work with more diligence, I told them I would double
their rations. Then I told my nephew to cross the river with the Frenchman
who served him as interpreter, & go by land to the north side at the
rendezvous that I had given to the savages the preceding day, whilst I
would make my way by water to the same meeting-place with Captain Gazer & 2
other men who remained with me; the which having embarked in my nephew's
canoe, I descended the river as far as the mouth, where I found the
savages, who awaited me with impatience, they having been joined the
following day by 30 other canoes of savages that I had had warned to
descend, by their captain who had come towards me. We were all together in
the canoes of the savages & boarded some ships which were stranded upon
Nelson's River.
This was in that strait that the chief of the savages spoke to me of many
things, & who after having received from my hands one of the presents
designed for the chief of these nations, he told me that he & his people
would speak of my name to all the nations, to invite them to come to me to
smoke the pipe of peace; but he blamed strongly the English Governor for
telling him that my brother had been made to die, that I was a prisoner, &
that he had come to destroy the rest of the French. The chief of the
savages added to the blame his complaint also. He said haughtily that the
Governor was unworthy of his friendship & of those of their old brothers
who commenced to establish it amongst them, in telling them such
falsehoods. Grumbling & passion had a share in his indignation. He offered
several times to inflict injuries upon the governor, who endeavoured to
justify himself for these things that he had said to them through
imprudence against the truth. But the chief savage would not hear anything
in his defense, neither of those of the other Englishmen there; all of them
were become under suspicion. Nevertheless I appeased this difference by the
authority that I have upon the spirit of these nations; & after having made
the governor & the chief embrace, & having myself embraced both of them,
giving the savage to understand that it was a sign of peace, I said to him
also that I wished to make a feast for this same peace, & that I had given
orders what they should have to eat.
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