Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/328

 An Account of the Choktah Nation.

That red chieftain introduced our friendly embafiy, with fuch fecrefy and addrefs to all the head-men he could confide in, that he foon perfuaded mod of them in all the neighbouring towns, to join heartily with him in his laudable plan. The fharpnefs of his own feelings for the bafe injury he had received from the French, and the well-adapted prefents we fent him and his wife and gallant aflbciates, contributed greatly to give a proper weight to our embafly. Such motives as thefe are too often the main- fprings that move the various wheels of government, even in the chriftian world. In about a month from the time we began to treat with Red- Shoes, he fent a confiderable body of his warriors, with prefents to me, as the reprefentative of the Englim traders, and to my Chikkafah friends, confiding of fwans-wings, white beads, pipes and tobacco -, which was a ftrong confirmation of our treaty of peace, and he earneftly requefted of me to inform them with, that candour, which mould always be obferved by. honeft friends, whether I could firmly engage that our traders would live, and deal among them, as we did with the Chikkafah, for a difappointment that way,, he faid, would prove fatal, mould we entangle them with the French,, in refentment of the many injuries they had long unprovokedly done us. I quieted their apprehenfions on that material point of jealoufy, to their entire fatisfaction, and my two Chikkafah friends foon expatiated uporr the fubjecl: to him, with a great deal of that life, wit and humour, fo, peculiar to the red Americans. We explained and confirmed anew, the whole contents of our former talk concerning the dangerous French fnake v a/Turing them, that if they did not foon exert themfelves againft it, as be came brave free-men, they would frill continue not only poor, and fhame- fully naked, below the (late of other human beings, but be dtrfpifed, and abufed, in proportion to their mean paflive conduct, their greateft and mod favourite war-chieftains not excepted, as they faw verified in their chief leader, Sbtola/hummajbtabe. But if they exerted themfelves, they would be as happy as our friendly, brave, and free Chikkafah, whom the French armies, and all their red confederates, could no way damage but as hidden fnakes, on account of their own valour, and the fteady friendfhip of the Englilh, who were always faithful to their friends even to death, as every river and creek fufficiently teftified, all the way. from the Englim fettlementj to the Chikkafah country. We mentioned how many were killed at fe- veral places, as they were going in a warlike manner to fupply their be- jpved friends, without any being ever captivated by the numerous enemy,

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