( ?o8 ) 



In the afternoon the warriors who had gone out on 

 the difcovery returned, without railing any fhouts, 

 becauie they had feen nothing. They all filed off 

 before me with a pretty fierce air, being armed only 

 with arrows and a buckler of buffaloe's hide, and 

 made not the leaft appearance of feeing me ; for it is a 

 cuftom among the warriors not to take notice of any 

 body whilft they are in an armed body s but fcarce 

 had every one returned to his cabbin, when the 

 chief came to pay me a yifit of ceremony. He is 

 a man of about forty years of age, of a good fta- 

 ture, a little thin, of a mild difpofition, and extreme 

 good fenfe. He is, befides, the beft foldier of the 

 nation, and there are none of the Illinois who bet- 

 ter deferve the firname of wq$*$ m^ J 9 which Ho- 

 mer gives by way of preference to the hero of 

 his Iliad, than he. This is faying a great deal, 

 for the Illinois are perhaps the fwiftefl: footed peo- 

 ple in the worjd and there are none but the Mif- 

 fouris who can difpute this piece of excellence with 

 them. 



Perceiving a crofs of copper and a fmall image 

 of the Virgin fufpended at the neck of this Indian, I 

 imagined he had been a Chriftian, but was informed 

 it was quite otherwife, and that he had drefled himfel'f 

 in that manner only to do me honour : I was like- 

 wife told a flory, which I am now going to relate 

 to you, without defiring you mould give it any 

 more credit than its authors deferve, who were 

 Canadian travellers, who afluredly have not in- 

 vented it, but have heard it affirmed for a certain 

 fad. 



The image of the Virgin which this Indian car- 

 ried about with him having fallen into his hands, I 



know 



