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per to obferve that the fear of being accufed of 

 avarice had full as much power on the minds of 

 jhe Indians, as the fear of punimment could have 

 had ; and that thefe people are generally govern- 

 ed by the principles of honour more than by any 

 other motive whatever. 



What I am now going to add, will give your 

 Grace a new proof of this. I faid a little above, 

 that in order to prevent the confequences of a mur- 

 der, the public takes upon itfelf the charge of 

 making the proper fubmiflions for the guilty, and 

 indemnifying the interefted. Would you believe 

 that this very circumftance has more power in pre- 

 venting thefe diforders than the mod fevere laws ? 

 nothing is, however, more true: for as thefe fa- 

 tisfactions coft much to men whofe haughtinefs is 

 beyond all exprefllon, the criminal is the more fen- 

 fible of the mortification which he fees thepublick 

 fuffers on his account, than he could poffibly be 

 of his own ; and their zeal for the honour of 

 their nation, is a much more powerful curb on 

 thefe barbarians than the fear of death, or any o- 

 ther punifhment whatfoever. 



Befides, it is certain that impunity has not al- 

 ways prevailed amongft them to the degree it has 

 done lately ; and our firft miffionaries found fome 

 traces of the ancient feverity, with which they knew 

 how to reftrain crimes (till remaining. Theft in 

 particular has always been looked upon as a ftain 

 which dishonoured a family ; and every individual 

 had a right to warn off the fcandaf of it in the 

 blood of the criminal. Father Brebeuf perceived 

 one day a young Huron who was difpatching a 

 girl $ he ran up to him in order to hinder him, 



