( 3°6 ) 



concbrd, and embroiled thofe two nations in an ir- 

 reconcileable quarrel. 



As the winter feafon is that of their great hunt- 

 ing, and as the earth being covered with fnow, fur- 

 nifhes no employment to the hufbandman, the In- 

 dians of both confederate nations joined camps and 

 wintered abroad in the forefts. But the Iroquois ge- 

 nerally left the hunting to the Algonquins, and con- 

 tented themfelves with fleaing the beafts, curing their 

 flelh, and drefiing the fkins. This is now every 

 where the bufinefs of the women : poflibly this was 

 not then the cafe : be this as it will, the Iroquois 

 were perfectly fatisfied. Now and then however 

 fome particular perfons among, them had a fancy to 

 make an eflay at hunting, the Algonquins making, 

 no oppofition to this practice. In this they acted 

 like bad politicians. It happened one winter that a 

 company of the two nations halted in a place where 

 they made fure of a fuccefsful hunting-, and fix 

 young Algonquins, accompanied with as manylro- 

 quoife of the fame age, were fent out to begin the 

 work. 



They faw at frrft a few elks, and immediately 

 prepared to give them chace. But the Algonquins 

 would not fuffer the Iroquois to accompany them, and 

 gave them to understand that they would have em- 

 ployment enough in fleaing the beafts they fhould 

 catch. As ill luck would have it for thefe bragga- 

 docio's, three days paffed without their being able 

 to kill a Angle elk, tho' they flatted a great number. 

 This fmall fuecefs mortified them, and probably 

 highly pleafed the Iroquois, who earneftly defired 

 to be allowed to go fome other way, where they 

 flattered themfelves they would prove more fortu- 

 nate. Their propofal was agreed to by the Algon- 

 quin % 



