In the Current of the Revolution 25 



sonally ; he always endeavored to get the war parties 

 to bring in prisoners, and behaved well to the cap- 

 tives when they were in his power; nor is there any 

 direct evidence that he himself paid out money for 

 scalps. But scalps were certainly bought and paid 

 for at Detroit 5 ; and the commandant himself was 

 accustomed to receive them with formal solemnity 

 at the councils held to greet the war parties when 

 they returned from successful raids. 6 The only way 

 to keep the friendship of the Indians was continu- 

 ally to give them presents; these presents were nat- 

 urally given to the most successful warriors; and 

 the scalps were the only safe proofs of a warrior's 

 success. Doubtless the commandant and the higher 

 British officers generally treated the Americans hu- 

 manely when they were brought into contact with 

 them; and it is not likely that they knew, or were 

 willing to know, exactly what the savages did in 

 all cases. But they at least connived at the meas- 

 ures of their subordinates. These were hardened, 

 imbittered, men who paid for the zeal of their In- 

 dian allies accordingly as they received tangible 

 proofs thereof; in other words, they hired them to 

 murder non-combatants as well as soldiers, and 

 paid for each life, of any sort, that was taken. The 

 fault lay primarily with the British Government, 

 and with those of its advisers who, like Hamil- 



5 See the "American Pioneer," I, 292, for a very curious 

 account of an Indian, who by dividing a large scalp into two 

 got fifty dollars for each half at Detroit. 



6 Haldimand MSS. , passim; also Heckewelder, etc. 



VOL. VI. B 



