At
Which This Chief Seemed Very Much Surprised In Demanding Who Had Told Him
That.
My nephew said to him, "It is the savage called Bear's Grease;" which
having heard, he made at the
Same time all his people range themselves in
arms, speaking to one & to the other; in fine, obligeing the one who was
accused to declare himself with the firmness of a man of courage, without
which they could do nothing with him, but Bear's Grease could say nothing
in reply. Jealousy, which prevails as much also among these nations as
among Christians, had given place to this report, in which my nephew had
placed belief because he knew that the conduct of the Governor towards them
had given to them as much of discontent against us all as he had caused
loss to the Company; the genius of these people being that one should never
demand whatever is just, that is to say, that which one wishes to have for
each thing that one trades for, & that when one retracts, he is not a man.
That makes it clear that there are, properly, only the people who have
knowledge of the manners & customs of these nations who are capable of
trading with them, to whom firmness & resolution are also extremely
necessary. I myself again attended on this occasion, to the end of
appeasing this little difference between the savages, & I effected their
reconciliation, which was the reason that their chief protested to me
afresh in calling me "Porcupine's Head,", which is the name that they have
given me among them, that he would always come to me to trade, & that
whereas I had seen him but with a hundred of his young men, he would bring
with him 13 different nations, & that he wanted nothing in his country,
neither men nor beaver skins, for my service; after which they left us, &
we dispersed ourselves to go and take possession of the house of my nephew
in the manner that I had arranged with him for it.
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