which surprised him to the point of frightening him, and he hesitated some moments what to do-whether to stay in his camp or to go away and camp further off, but by thinking it over, he remembered his juggleries, or rather his dream, and that he had only undertaken his journey in order to see the Master of Life. This brought him back to his senses, and, believing that one of these three roads was the one which he must take to reach the place he was seeking, he resolved to remain where he was until the following day, when he would take one of these three roads, without choosing. But his curiosity hardly left him time to take rest. He abandoned his camp, started out on the road which seemed to be the largest, and marched on for half a day without seeing anything to stop him, but on resting awhile to take breath, he suddenly saw a large fire, which came out of the ground and drew his curiosity to it.

While going nearer to observe better what could only be fire, the more he advanced the larger it seemed to grow, which frightened him to the point of returning in his steps to take another road which was less wide than the first. When, having marched the same length of time as on the other, he saw the same spectacle. This awakened anew his fright, which had quieted by the change of the road, and he was obliged to change once more and take the third road, in which he marched a whole day without discovering anything. Suddenly something appeared in his view like a mountain of marvelous whiteness, which astonished him greatly; nevertheless, he advanced resolutely enough to see what there was of this mountain, at the foot of which he saw his road no longer, which made him sorry, not knowing what to do to continue his way. In this dilemma he looked all around him and saw on the top of this mountain a woman whose beauty dazzled him and whose garments made the whiteness of the snow appear dull, and who was seated. This woman said to him in his own tongue: "Thou seemest astonished no longer to see the road which leads thee to where thou woulds't go. I know that long thou hast desired to see and to speak to the Master of Life and hast undertaken this journey only to see him. The way to His abode. leads over this mountain, and to scale it thou must leave behind all that thou hast and undress entirely. Leave all thy things and garments at the foot of the mountain, no one will wrong thee and after bathing in the river which I shall show thee, thou shalt ascend." The savage Wolf obeyed the voice of this woman in every point, but there remained one difficulty to vanquish, that was, to know how to get to the top of the mountain which was plumb upright, without path and as smooth as glass. He questioned the woman upon the mode of ascending and was assured if he was truly anxious to see the Master of Life, he must make the ascent without other help than that

of his left hand and left foot. This appeared impossible to the Wolf who, however, encouraged by this woman, commenced the task of ascending and succeeded by very hard work. When he arrived at the top he was very much astonished not to see any one. The woman had disappeared and he saw himself alone, without guide, to the right of three villages, which made him confused. He did not know them, but they appeared differently constructed from those of his people, neater and in better order. After dreaming some time as to what he should do, he advanced toward the one which seemed to him to look the neatest, but after having proceeded a little more than half way along the top of the mountain, he bethought himself of being nude and was afraid to proceed farther; but he heard a voice which told him to go on, he need not fear; having bathed, as he did, he proceeded in confidence. He did, therefore, not hesitate to go up to a place, which seemed to him to be the village gate and stopped there, waiting for it to open that he might enter. While he examined the beautiful outside appearance of the village, the gate opened and he saw coming to him a beautiful man, clothed wholly in white, who took him by the hand and said that he would satisfy him and let him speak to the Master of Life. The Wolf allowed himself to be led and both arrived in a place whose beauty had no equal, and which the savage could not sufficiently admire, where he saw the Master of Life, who took him by the hand and gave him a hat trimmed all around in gold, to sit down upon. The Wolf hesitated to do so from fear of spoiling the hat, but was ordered to do so and obeyed without reply.

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The savage being seated, the good God said to him: "I am the Master of Life, whom thou desirest to know and to whom thou wouldst speak. Listen well to what I am going to say to thee and all thy red brethren. I am He who made heaven and earth, the trees, lakes, rivers, all men, and all that thou seest, and all that thou hast seen on earth. Because I have done this and because] I love you, you must do what I say and [leave undone] what I hate. I do not like that you drink until you lose your reason, as you do; or that you fight with each other; or that you take two wives, or run after the wives of others; you do not well; I hate that. You must have but one wife, and keep her until death. When you are going to war, you juggle, join the medicine dance, and believe that I am speaking. You are mistaken, it is to Manitou to whom you speak; it is a bad spirit who whispers to you nothing but evil, and to whom you listen because you do not know me well. This land, where you live, I have made for you and not for others. How comes it that you suffer the whites on your lands? Can't you do without them? I know that those whom you call the children of your Great Father supply your wants, but if you were not bad, as you are,

you would well do without them. You might live wholly as you did before you knew them. Before those whom you call your brothers came on your lands, did you not live by bow and arrow? You had no need of gun nor powder, nor the rest of their things, and nevertheless you caught animals to live and clothe yourselves with their skins, but when I saw that you went to the bad, I called back the animals into the depths of the woods, so that you had need of your brothers to have your wants supplied and cover you. You have only to become good and do what I want, and I shall send back to you the animals to live on. I do not forbid you, for all that, to suffer amongst you the children of your father. I love them, they know me and pray to me, and I give them their necessities and all that they bring to you, but as regards those who have come to trouble your country, drive them out, make war to them! I love them not, they know me not, they are my enemies and the enemies of your brothers! Send them back to the country which I made for them! There let them remain.

Here is a prayer which I give to you in writing, to learn by heart, and to teach it to the red men and their children." The Wolf answered that he could not read. He was answered, that after his return to earth, he had only to give it to the chief of his village, who would read it and teach it to him and to all the red men by heart, and that it should be said evening and morning without fail, and to do what he had just told him and to tell it to all the Indians in the name of the Master of Life; to drink but one cup, or two at most, daily; to have but one wife and not to run after the wives of others, nor after the maids; not to fight amongst each other; not to make medicine, but pray instead, because in making medicine they speak to the evil spirit to drive from off their lands those dogs clothed in red, who never have done aught but evil; and if you have need of anything address me as your brothers do, I shall give to you as to them, but not for selling to your brothers that which I have put on earth for nourishment-in short, become good and you shall want nothing needful. When you meet one another, salute; do not give him the [left hand, but the] hand of the heart. Before all things, I command that you say every day, morning and evening, the prayer which I have given you. The Wolf promised to do well what the Master of Life had said to him, and to recommend it well to the Indians, and that the Master of Life would be content with them. Upon this, the same man who had led him in by the hand came to take him back, and led him to the foot of the mountain, where he told him to take all his things and return to his village, which the Wolf Indian did. His arrival there greatly astonished those of his nation and village, who did not know what had become of him, and who asked him where he came from. It being

enjoined upon him not to speak to any one before he had spoken to his village chief, he only motioned with the hand that he came from above. Upon entering his village, he made directly for the hut of the chief, to whom he gave what had been given to him, the prayer and the law which the Master of Life had given him.

This adventure was soon noised about amongst the residents of the village, who came to hear the words of the Master of Life, and who carried them to their neighboring places, from which people came to see the pretended traveler, and spread the news from village to village until it reached Pondiak, who believed in it as we believe an article of faith, and instilled the same into the spirit of all those of his council who listened to him, as to an oracle, and said to him that he had only to speak and all should be ready to do his bidding.

Pondiak, delighted by the success of his speech, told the Hurons and Foxes to return to their villages. In four days he would go to the fort with the young men of his village, to dance the pipe of peace, and while the dancers would be doing their business, other young men would ramble around in the fort, in order to examine well all that might happen, the number of the English garrison, the amount of trading and the homes of the traders. It came to pass as he had said.

Sunday, the first day of May, about three o'clock in the afternoon, when the French returned from vespers, Pondiak, with forty men whom he had selected, came to present themselves at the gate for entrance; but the commander, whose suspicions had been aroused by something in the conduct of the Indians, had ordered the sentinels not to admit any Indians. This surprised Pondiak, who had not believed that admission would be refused to him or his whole band, who hoped to enter as usual. They sent for Mr. La Butte, their interpreter, to say, in their name, to the commander, that they came to amuse him and to dance and smoke the pipe of peace, which was accorded to them on demand of Mr. LaButte, and, taking position, to the number of thirty, before the house of Mr. Campbell, second commander, they took up their dance, and striking a post, they demonstrated their warlike exploits, and from time to time they made [exhibition] to the commander and the officers who accompanied him, [and who] looked at the Indians, who said to them, in order to defy [?] them, that they had beaten the English at different times and would do so again, and at the close of their speech asked for bread, tobacco and beer, which were given to them. They stayed long enough for the other ten, who were instructed that way, to examine all that might happen in the fort, and no one, English or French, mistrusted them, because it is their custom to roam everywhere

without being interfered with. After having gone the rounds in the fort and examined everything well, they called for the dancers, and together, without creating suspicion, they went off to their village, which was situated a little above the fort, on the other side of the river, extending east and northeast, where, in accordance with the orders of Pondiak, chief of the Ottawas, all the Indians had arrived the Friday before.

On their return to the village, all the spies reported to their chiefs, point for point, what they had seen, the movements of the English, and about the number of troops whom they had in garrison. On this report, Pondiak sent envoys to the Hurons and to the Foxes, in order to advise them, by warbelts, of what had happened in the fort. Mackatépélicite, second chief of the Ottawas, and another distinguished Indian, were sent to Také, chief of the bad band of Hurons, who received the war-belts and the runners with joy. Two other distinguished men were sent to Ninivois, chief of the Foxes, who received them with shouts, and promised that he and his village would be ready at the call of their great chief.

Pondiak, always occupied with his project, and cherishing in his bosom a poison which was to carry death to the English, and perhaps to the French, sent on the following day, Monday the second of May, runners to each village of the Hurons and Foxes, in order to examine the interior of each of these two nations, for he was afraid of having his path crossed in his designs. His runners had orders to say in his name to the nations that on Tuesday, May 5th, at sunset, there would be held a great council in the village of the Foxes, which was situate half a league below the fort, in the southwest, that all the three nations should go there, and that not a single woman should be allowed there, for fear of being discovered.

The day fixed having arrived, all the Ottawas, with Pondiak at their head, and the bad band of Hurons, with Také at their head, all proceeded to the village of the Foxes, where the council was intended to be held, taking care to send the women out of the village so they should not hear anything of what should be decided. Pondiak ordered sentinels to be placed around the village so as not to be interrupted in their deliberations. After all these precautions had been made, each Indian took his place in a circle, in accordance with his rank, and Pondiak at the head, as the great chief of all. He took the floor, and, as chief of the league, said: "It is important for us, my brothers, that we exterminate from our land this nation which only seeks to kill us. You see, as well as I do, that we cannot longer get our supplies as we had them from our brothers, the