On the day of saint François Xavier, our pretended Magician began in the evening to beat his drum and to utter his howls as usual; for he did not fail to give us this entertainment every night at our first sleep. I saw that every one was asleep, and, knowing that this poor man made all this racket in order to cure himself, I entered into conversation with him. I began by expressing a great deal of affection [259] for him, and by heaping praises upon him, as bait to draw him into the nets of truth. I made him understand that if a mind as capable of great things as his was, should know God, that all the Savages, influenced by his example, would like to know him also. He immediately began to soar, and to talk about the power, the authority, and the influence he had over the minds of his fellow-savages. He said that since his youth they had given him the name, _Khimouchouminau_, meaning, "our sire and our master;" that everything was done according to his opinion, and that they all followed his advice. I helped in this self-praise as well as I could, for he has indeed some good qualities for a Savage. I finally told him that I was surprised that a man of judgment could not realize that there was little connection between this uproar and health. "When thou hast screamed and beaten thy drum with all thy might, what good does it do except to make thy head dizzy? No Savage is sick, whose ears they do not deafen with this drum, to keep him from dying; yet hast thou ever seen it dispel death? I am going to make a proposal [260] to thee, listen to me patiently," I said to him. "Beat thy drum for ten days, sing and make all the others sing as much as thou wilt, do all thou canst to recover thy health, and if thou art not cured in that time confess that thy din, howls and songs cannot restore thee to health. Now abstain ten more days from all these superstitions; give up thy drum, and all these wild noises; ask of the God whom I adore that he give thee knowledge of himself; reflect, and believe that thy soul must pass to a life other than this; endeavor to interest thyself in its welfare as thou dost in the welfare of thy body; and when thou shalt have passed these last ten days in this way, I will withdraw for three days to pray in a little cabin that shall be made farther back in the woods. There I will pray my God to give thee health of body and of soul; thou alone shalt come to see me at the time I shall indicate, and thou shalt say with all thy heart the prayers I will teach thee--promising God that, if it pleases him to restore thee thy health, thou wilt call together all the Savages of the place, and in [261] their presence thou wilt burn thy drum and all the other silly stuff that thou usest to bring them together, saying to them that the God of the Christians is the true God,