IN A FISHING COUNTRY 



that which we had heard before, was 

 wholly unintelligible to every ear, that of 

 the priest excepted; and it was, therefore, 

 not till the latter gave us an interpretation, 

 which did not commence before the spirit 

 had finished, that we learned the purport 

 of this extraordinary communication.' 



The 'extraordinary communication' de- 

 livered at Sault Ste. Marie in June 1764 

 had to do with the warlike preparations of 

 the English which were then proceeding at 

 Fort Niagara and Montreal, and the chan- 

 ces of a friendly reception at the hands of 

 Sir William Johnson in case the tribe 

 should pursue its journey, ask for a parley 

 with him and offer to abandon French for 

 English allegiance. As history knows, the 

 oracle favoured this policy, was immediate- 

 ly obeyed, and everything befell in accord- 

 ance with its predictions. 



— 'The question of public interest being 

 resolved, individuals were now permitted 

 to seize the opportunity of enquiring into 

 the condition of their absent friends, and 

 the fate of such as were sick. I observed 

 that the answers, given to these questions, 

 allowed of much latitude of interpretation.' 



'Amid this general inquisitiveness, I 

 yielded to the solicitations of my own 

 190 



