"
Then came a young Algonquin war-chief, dressed like a Canadian, but
adorned with a drooping red feather and a tall ridge of hair like the
crest of a cock. It was he who slew Black Kettle, that redoubted
Iroquois whose loss filled the confederacy with mourning, and who
exclaimed as he fell, "Must I, who have made the whole earth tremble,
now die by the hand of a child!" The young chief spoke concisely and
to the purpose: "I am not a man of counsel: it is for me to listen to
your words. Peace has come, and now let us forget the past."
When he and all the rest had ended, the orator of the Iroquois strode
to the front, and in brief words gave in their adhesion to the treaty.
"Onontio, we are pleased with all you have done, and we have listened
to all you have said. We assure you by these four belts of wampum that
we will stand fast in our obedience. As for the prisoners whom we have
not brought you, we place them at your disposal, and you will send and
fetch them."
The calumet was lighted. Callieres, Champigny, and Vaudreuil drew the
first smoke, then the Iroquois deputies, and then all the tribes in
turn. The treaty was duly signed, the representative of each tribe
affixing his mark, in the shape of some bird, beast, fish, reptile,
insect, plant, or nondescript object.
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