Page:American History Told by Contemporaries, v2.djvu/357

No. 113] proper measures. Such a number of lewd, idle white savages are very hurtful to the honest part of the traders, by heightening the value of vegetables, especially in the time of light crops, to an exorbitant price ; for by inebriating the Indians with their nominally prohibited, and poisoning spirits, they purchase the necessaries of life, at four or five hundred per cent cheaper, than the orderly traders ; which is a great check to the few, who have a love to the welfare of their country, and strictly observe the laws of trade. Besides, those men decoy the intoxicated savages to defraud the old fair dealer every winter, of many thousand pounds of drest deer-skins, by the enchanting force of liquors, which, on account of their indolence and improvident disposition, interest absolutely required him to credit them for : but when at the end of their mad career, they open their distracted eyes, and bitterly inveigh against the tempting authors of their nakedness, then there is the same necessity of trusting them a-new for the next season s hunt, and likewise the same improbability, either of better success, or any sort of redress ; for family jobs must not be interrupted or retarded on any account. . ..

Buffalo flesh is nothing but beef of a coarser grain, though of a sweeter taste than the tame sort : elk-flesh has the like affinity to venison. The deer are very fat in winter, by reason of the great quantities of chesnuts, and various sorts of acorns, that cover the boundless woods. Though most of the traders who go to the remote Indian countries, have tame stock, as already described, and are very expert at fire-arms and ranging the woods a hunting ; yet every servant that each of them fits out for the winter s hunt, brings home to his master a large heap of fat barbecued briskets, rumps, and tongues of buffalo and deer, as well as plenty of bear-ribs, which are piled on large racks : these are laid up and used not for necessity, but for the sake of variety. The traders carry up also plenty of chocolate, coffee, and sugar, which enables them with their numberless quantity of fowls-eggs, fruit, &c. to have puddings, pyes, pasties, fritters, and many other articles of the like kind, in as great plenty, as in the English settlements. Several of the Indians produce sugar out of the sweet maple-tree, by making an incision, draining the juice, and boiling it to a proper consistence.

Though in most of the Indian nations, the water is good, because of their high situation, yet the traders very seldom drink any of it at home ; for the women beat in mortars their flinty corn, till all the husks are taken off, which having well sifted and fanned, they boil in large earthen pots ; then straining off the thinnest part into a pot, they mix it with