1765, March.] SPEECH OF THE MIAMI CHIEF. 273 



A chief of the Miamis then rose to speak, with a 

 scowHng brow, and words of bitterness and re- 

 proach. " Since we hist sat on these seats, our 

 ears have heard strange words. When the Eng- 

 lish told us that they had conquered you, we 

 always thought that they lied ; but now we have 

 learned that they spoke the truth. We have 

 learned that you, whom we have loved and served 

 so well, have given the lands that we dwell upon 

 to your enemies and ours. We have learned that 

 the English have forbidden you to send traders to 

 our villages to supply our wants ; and that you, 

 whom we thought so great and brave, have obeyed 

 their commands like Avomen, leaving us to starve 

 and die in misery. We now tell you, once for all, 

 that our lands are our own ; and we tell you, more- 

 over, that we can live without your aid, and hunt, 

 and fish, and fight, as our fathers did before us. 

 All that we ask of you is this : that you give us 

 back the guns, the powder, the hatchets, and the 

 knives which we have worn out in fisfhtino: vour 



o c> ^ 



battles. As for you," he exclaimed, turning to the 

 English officers, who were present as on the pre- 

 ceding day, — "as for you, our hearts burn with 

 rage when we think of the ruin you have brought 

 on us." Aubry returned but a weak answer to the 

 cutting attack of the Indian speaker. He assured 

 the ambassadors that the French still retained their 

 former love for the Indians, that the English meant 

 them no harm, and that, as all the world were now 

 at peace, it behooved them also to take hold of the 

 chain of friendship. A few presents were then 



