204 THE COUNCIL. [1763, April. 



to determine. It is possible that the Delaware 

 prophet, mentioned in a former chapter, may have 

 had some part in it; or it might have been the 

 offspring of Pontiac's heated imagination, during 

 his period of fasting and dreaming. That he 

 deliberately invented it for the sake of the effect 

 it would produce, is the least probable conclusion 

 of all ; for it evidently proceeds from the supersti- 

 tious mind of an Indian, brooding upon the evil 

 days in which his lot was cast, and turning for 

 relief to the mysterious Author of his being. It is, 

 at all events, a characteristic specimen of the 

 Indian legendary tales, and, like many of them, 

 bears an allegoric signiiicancy. Yet he who 

 endeavors to interpret ah Indian allegory through 

 all its erratic windings and puerile inconsistencies, 

 has undertaken no enviable task. 



" A Delaware Indian," said Pontiac, " conceived 

 an eager desire to learn wisdom from the Master 

 of Life ; but, being ignorant where to find him, he 

 had recourse to fasting, dreaming, and magical 

 incantations. By these means it was revealed to 

 him, that, by moving forward in a straight, unde- 

 viating course, he would reach the abode of the 

 Great Spirit. He told his purpose to no one, and 

 having provided the equipments of a hunter, — 

 gun, powder-horn, ammunition, and a kettle for 

 preparing his food, — he set out on his errand. 

 For some time he journeyed on in high hope and 

 confidence. On the evening of the eighth day, he 

 stopped by the side of a brook at the edge of a 

 meadow, where he began to make ready his 



