1645.1 PEACE CONFIRMED. 295 



belt to take the hatchet from the hands of the Iro- 

 quois ; another to take away their guns ; another 

 to take away their shields ; another to wash the 

 war-paint from their faces ; and another to break 

 the kettle in which they boiled their prisoners.^ 

 In short, there were belts past numbering, each 

 with its meaning, sometimes literal, sometimes 

 figurative, but all bearing upon the great work of 

 peace. At length all was ended. The dances 

 ceased, the songs and the whoops died away, and 

 the great muster dispersed, — some to their smoky 

 lodges on the distant shores of Lake Huron, and 

 some to frozen hunting-grounds in northern forests. 

 There was peace in this dark and blood-stained 

 wilderness. The lynx, the panther, and the wolf 

 had made a covenant of love ; but who should be 

 their surety 1 A doubt and a fear mingled with the 

 joy of the Jesuit Fathers ; and to their thanksgiv- 

 ings to God they joined a prayer, that the hand 

 which had given might still be stretched forth to 

 preserve. 



1 Vimont, Relation, 1645, 34. 



