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Show TRAVELS THROUGH UPPER CANADA : h ave received from government, or, indeed, who takes from them, o:t any conditivns, their prefcnts, i liaole to a very h eavy penalty for every fuch aCt, by the laws of the province. The orcftnts havin r)· be n all prepared, the chic!s were ordered to • b nficmble their warriors, who were loitering about the grouncis ai: the outfide of the lawn. In a few minutes they all came, ancl having been ,drawn up in a large cir le, ou r friend delivered a fpecch on the occafion~ without which ceremony no b ufi nefs, according to Incli .111 cufcom, is ever tranf.'lCt cl. In this th ey were told, " T hat their great and good ftthcr, who lived on the oppofi te fide of the big lake (meaning thereby the king) was ever attentive to the h appinefs of <1ll his fa ithful people; and that, with his accufl:omed bounty, he had [cut the prefcnts which now lay before them to his goon children the Indians; that he had fent the g uns, the hatchets, and the ammunition for the young men, and the clothing for the aged, women, and children ; that be hoped the young men wuuld have no occafion to employ their weapons in fi g hting againfi enemies, but merely in hunting ; and that he recommended it to ~hem to be attentive to the old, and to {hare bountifully with them what ~hey gained by the chace; that he trufied the great fpirit would give them bright funs and clear fkies, and a favourable fcafon for hunting; and that wh~n another y ar f110uld pafs over, if he fiill continued to find them good children, he wou d not fail to renew ~1is bo mti s, by fending J;hem more prefents from acrofs the big hkc. This fpcech w,u; delive red in Engli!h, but int e rpreters attended, w 10 repeated it to the diifcren t trjbcs in their rd[ ettivc l<1n,7"uJge s, paragraph by parag raph, at the end of every o ne of which the Indians fignifi..;d their t1t isfac ion by a loud coarfc c,'clamation of " IIo.th! Jioah !'' The fpeecb ended, the chi-: fs \VCrc c.1llcd forward, and tll!ir Lv~ml h aps were fh r::wn to them, and co1 1mittcd. to t1 i ( ar ·. 'C1~y rcr:-.: iv d J1em with tha 1ks, aml bu;. o.: i ':~ to th ic wa · ·· 1···, a r.~1.11 1c r of young n:cn quickly {l ,trtcd fn m J 1 ·~ c.o\.;d, and i.1 kt~ t1 ... 1 three mi .Hlt ·s the pr.:fcnb \<.:.::r~ r onvcycd fnm t~1c Lt •.\ 1, :1 .d 1J. l.:n n boar l ~he CJ!lJCS, in waitiu:.; t'J conv; t' m tl) t :!.! i.llll.l a.l'l adj cent vil lages. The utn ofl: re3ul.t rity a!ltl l;op, . ~ty \.'.l; m·u ii<:1 cd on th is 9 • occafion 1 N D I A N P R E S E N T s .. 359 occafion iu the b e h avJ·O Ui' o f every I n cl't J.n ; there was not the fi1ullcl1: wr~1v lin~ am~ngfl: them about thei,· prcfcnts; nor WJS the leafi f}xtrk ofJ calou ly ooicrval>lc in any one trib t: about wlut the other had receiv d; each one tool· up the heap allotted to it, aml departed without fpcaking Cl word. Dcfidcs the prcfcnts, fuch as I have tle(cr ibed, others of a different 11a.turc.:gain,.n:llncly, provifions, were dt.:alt out t11is year amongll: ccrt: un tnbes of the Indians that were encamped on the ifl.md of Dais Blanc. Th fc were fome of the tribes that had b en at war with the people o.r the Uni ted States, who[~ vilbgcs, fidds of corn, and fl:ores of provifions had b en totally clcfl:roycd during the contcil: by General Wayne, and who having b ... en thereby bereft of every means of fupport, h ad come, as fo on as peace was concluded, to beg fi r fub~ fifience from their good friends t~e Britif11. " Our enemies," [aid they, " have deihoyed our villages and fl:ores of provifions; our women " and children arc left without food; do you then, who call yourfdvcs " our friend , ihew us now that you really arc fo, and give them food H to cat till the fun ripens our corn, and the great fpirit gives another " profperous feafon for hunting." Their reguefr was at once complied with; a large fiorehou[e was ereCted on the ifland, and filled with provifions at the expence of government for their ufe, and regularly twice a week the clerks in the Indian department went over to difiributc them. About three barrels of faltcd pork or beef, as many of flour, beans or peas, Indian corn, and about two carcafes of frdh beef, were genera lly given out each time. Thcfc arti les of provifion the Indians received, not in the thankful manner in which they did the other prcfcnts, but fccmin gly as if they were due to them of right. One n:1.tion they think ought never to hefitate about giving relief to another in difl:rcfs, provided it WJ.S not at enmity with ir; and indeed, 'w ... rc their white brethren, the Britifh, to be reduced by any .. calamity to a fit 1ibr fia te of dill:rcfs, the Indians would with the utmoll: che r't lncfs iharc with i:hem their provifions to the very lafi. The prefents ddivcred to 1.he Indians, together with the falaries of the ofllccrs in the Indi.tn dcpartm~nt, arc computed to cofr the crown, ~s |