declaring that it was the good character, which I had heard of the Indians, that had alone emboldened me to come among them that their late father, the king of France, had surrendered Canada to the king of England, whom they ought to regard now as their father, and who would be as careful of them as the other had been; that I had come to furnish them with necessaries, and that their good treatment of me would be an encouragement to others. They appeared satisfied with what I said, repeating eh! (an expression of approbation) after hearing each particular. I had prepared a present, which I now gave them with the utmost good will. At their departure I distributed a small quantity of rum.

"Relieved, as I now imagined myself, from all occasion of anxiety, as to the treatment which I was to experience from the Indians, I assorted my goods, and hired Canadian interpreters and clerks, in whose care I was to send them into Lake Michigan, and the river Saint Pierre, in the country of the Nadowessies; into Lake Superior, among the Chippewas, and to the Grand Portage, for the northwest. Everything was ready for their departure when new dangers sprung up and threatened to overwhelm me.

"At the entrance of Lake Michigan, and at about twenty miles to the west of Fort Michilimackinac, is the village of L'Arbre Croche, inhabited by a band of Ottawas, boasting of two hundred and fifty fighting men. L'Arbre Croche is the seat of the Jesuit mission of Saint Ignace de Michilimackinac, and the people are partly baptized and partly not. The missionary resides on a farm, attached to the mission, and situated between the village and the fort, both of which are under his care. The Ottawas of L'Arbre Croche, who, when compared with the Chippewas, appear to be much advanced in civilization, grow maize for the market of Michilimackinac, where this commodity is depended upon for provisioning the canoes. "The new dangers which presented themselves came from this village of Ottawas. Everything, as I have said, was in readiness, for the departure of my goods, when accounts

arrived of its approach; and shortly after, two hundred warriors entered the fort, and billeted themselves in the several houses, among the Canadian inhabitants. The next morning, they assembled in the house which was built for the commandant, or governor, and ordered the attendance of myself, and of two other merchants, still later from Montreal, namely Messrs. Stanley Goddard and Ezekiel Solomons.

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"After our entering the council-room, and taking our seats, one of the chiefs commenced an address: 'Englishmen,' said he, we, the Ottawas, were sometime since informed of your arrival in this country, and of your having brought with you the goods of which we have need. At the news we were greatly pleased, believing that through your assistance our wives and children would be enabled to pass another winter; but what was our surprise, when, a few days ago, we were again informed, that the goods which, as we had expected, were intended for us, were on the eve of departure for distant countries, of which, some are inhabited by our enemies! These accounts being spread, our wives and children came to us, crying, and desiring that we should go to the fort, to learn, with our own ears, their truth or falsehood. We accordingly embarked, almost naked, as you see; and on our arrival here, we have inquired into the accounts, and found them true. We see your canoes ready to depart, and find your men engaged for the Missippippi and other distant regions.

"Under these circumstances, we have considered the affair; and you are now sent for, that you may hear our determination, which is that you shall give to each of our men young and old, merchandize and ammunition, to the amount of fifty beaver-skins, on credit, and for which I have no doubt of their paying you in the summer, on their return from their wintering.

"A compliance with this demand would have stripped me and my fellow-merchants of all our merchandize; and what rendered the affair still more serious, we even learned that these Ottawas were never accustomed to pay for what they received

on credit. In reply therefore, to the speech which we had heard, we requested that the demand contained in it might be diminished; but we were answered, that the Ottawas had nothing further to say, except that they would allow till the next day for reflection; after which, if compliance was not given, they would make no further application, but take into their own hands the property, which they already regarded as their own as having been brought into their country, before the conclusion of any peace, between themselves and the English.

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، We now returned, to consider of our situation; and in the evening, Farley, the interpreter, paid us a visit, assured us that it was the intention of the Ottawas to put us, that night, to death. He advised us, as our only means of safety, to comply with the demands which had been made; but we suspected our informant of a disposition to prey upon our fears, with a view to induce us to abandon the Indian trade, and resolved, however this might be, rather to stand on the defensive, than submit. We trusted to the house in which I lived as a fort; and armed ourselves, and about thirty of our men, with muskets. Whether or not the Ottawas ever intended violence, we never had an opportunity of knowing; but the night passed quietly. ،، Early the next morning, a second council was held, and the merchants were again summoned to attend. Believing that every hope of resistance would be lost, should we commit our person into the hands of our enemies, we sent only a refusal. There was none without, in whom we had any confidence, except Campion. From him we learned from time to time, whatever was rumored among the Canadian inhabitants, as to the designs of the Ottawas; and from him toward sunset, we received the gratifying intelligence, that a detachment of British soldiery, sent to garrison Michilimackinac, was distant only five miles, and would enter the fort early the next morning. Near at hand, however, as relief was reported to be, our anxiety could not but be great; for a long night was to be passed, and our fate might be decided before the morning. To increase our apprehensions, about midnight we were informed

that the Ottawas were holding a council, at which no white man was permitted to be present, Farley alone excepted; and him we suspected, and afterward positively knew to be our greatest enemy. We, on our part, remained all night upon the alert; but at day-break to our surprise and joy, we saw the Ottawas preparing to depart. By sunrise, not a man of them was left in the fort; and indeed the scene was altogether changed. The inhabitants, who, while the Ottawas was present, had avoided all connection with the English traders, now came with congratulations. They related that the Ottawas had proposed to them, that if joined by the Canadians, they would march and attack the troops which were known to be advancing on the fort; and they added that it was their refusal which had determined the Ottawas to depart. "At noon, three hundred troops of the sixtieth regiment, under the command of Lieutenant Lesslie, marched into the fort; and this arrival dissipated all our fears, from whatever source derived. After a few days, detachments were sent into the Bay des Puans, by which is the route to the Mississippi and at the mouth of Saint Joseph which leads to the Illinois. The Indians from all quarters came to pay their respects to the commandant; and the merchants dispatched their canoes, though it was now the middle of September, and therefore somewhat late in the season."

Thus relieved from his fears, Henry spent the winter at Michilimackinac amusing himself as best he could by hunting and fishing. But few of the Indians, he tells us, came to the fort excepting two families, one of which was that of a chief. These families lived on a river five leagues below and came occasionally with beaver flesh for sale. This chief was an exception to the rule, for instead of being hostile toward the English, he was warmly attached to them. But, in this case the exception proved the rule to a demonstration. Henry thus speaks of him. "He had been taken prisoner by Sir William Johnson, at the seige of Fort Niagara; and had received from that intelligent officer, his liberty, the medal usually presented

to a chief, and the British flag. Won by these unexpected acts of kindness, he had returned to Michilimackinac, full of praises of the English, and hoisting his flag over his lodge. This latter demonstration of his partiality had nearly cost him his life; his lodge was broken down and his flag torn to pieces. The pieces he carefully gathered up and preserved with pious care; and whenever he came to the fort, he drew them forth and exhibited them. On these occasions it grew into a custom to give him as much liquor as he said was necessary to make him cry over the misfortune of losing his flag. The commandant would have given him another; but he thought that he could not accept it without danger."

Upon the opening of navigation, Henry left Michilimackinac to visit the Sault de St. Marie. Here he made the acquaintance of M. Cadotte, an interpreter, whose wife was a Chippewa, and desirous of learning that language, he decided to spend the succeeding winter in the family of his new found friend. Here also there was a small fort, and during the summer a small detachment of troops, under the command of Lieut. Jemette, arrived to garrison it. Late in the fall, however, a destructive fire which consumed all the houses except Cadotte's, and all the fort supplies made it necessary to send the garrison back to Michilimackinac. The few that were left at this place were now crowded into one small house and compelled to gain a subsistance by hunting and fishing. Thus, inuring himself to hardships and familiarizing himself with the Chippewa tongue, Henry passed the second winter of his sojourn in the wilderness of the Upper Lakes. Early in the succeeding spring, 1763, he was visited by Sir Robert Dover, an English gentlemen, who, as Henry tells us, "was on a voyage of curiosity," and with him he again returned to Michilimackinac. Here he intended to remain until his clerks should come from the interior and then go back to the Sault. Leaving our hero at the moment of his arrival at the fort, we must again turn our attention to the tribes farther south.

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"It is difficult to determine, says Parkman' which tribe