"Englishman!--Although you have conquered the French, you have not yet conquered us! We are not your slaves. These lakes, these woods and mountains, were left to us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance, and we will part with them to none. Your nation supposes that we, like the white people, cannot live without bread, and pork, and beef! But, you ought to know, that He,--the Great Spirit and Master of Life,--has provided food for us, in these broad lakes, and upon these mountains. "Englishman!---Our father, the king of France, employed our young men to make war upon your nation. In this warfare, many of them have been killed; and it is our custom to retaliate, until such time as the spirits of the slain are satisfied. Now the spirits of the slain are to be satisfied in either of two ways. The first is by the spilling of the blood of the nation by which they fell; the other, by _covering the bodies of the dead,_ and thus allaying the resentment of their relations. This is done by making presents. "Englishman!--Your king has never sent us any presents, nor entered into any treaty with us. Wherefore he and we are still at war; and, until he does these things, we must consider that we have no other father, nor friend, among the white men, than the king of France. But, for you, we have taken into consideration, that you have ventured your life among us, in the expectation that we should not molest you. You do not come armed, with an intention to make war. You come in peace, to trade with us, and supply us with necessaries, of which we are much in want. We shall regard you, therefore, as a brother; and you may sleep tranquilly, without fear of the Chippewas. As a token of our friendship, we present you with this pipe, to smoke." The interview terminated in a manner which reminds us of Pontiac's meeting with Rogers. Minavavana gave the Englishman his hand--his companions followed his example--the pipe went round in due order--and, after being politely entertained, all quietly departed. If this was not the Ottawa himself; he was certainly a kindred spirit; and if the former exercised authority over many such characters,--as he probably did,--it is not difficult to account far the confidence which dictated the design, or for the measure of success which attended the prosecution of one of the mightiest projects ever conceived in the brain of an American savage. This project was a combination of all the tribes on and about the Northern waters, perhaps partially with an ultimate view to the restoration of the French Government, but directly and distinctly to the complete extirpation of the English.