Then the young chief addressed his people, in the usual
metaphorical language of an Indian. He commenced by alluding to the
antiquity and renown of his own nation. He spoke of their successes in
the hunts and on the war-path; of the manner in which they had always
known how to defend their rights and to chastise their enemies. After
he had said enough to manifest his respect for the greatness of the
Loups, and to satisfy the pride of the listeners, he made a sudden
transition to the race of whom the strangers were members. He compared
their countless numbers to the flights of migratory birds in the
season of blossoms, or in the fall of the year. With a delicacy, that
none know better how to practise than an Indian warrior, he made no
direct mention of the rapacious temper, that so many of them had
betrayed, in their dealings with the Red-men. Feeling that the
sentiment of distrust was strongly engrafted in the tempers of his
tribe, he rather endeavoured to soothe any just resentment they might
entertain, by indirect excuses and apologies.
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