Original - North Central Michigan College Library

Detroit; and that it had been their intentionto take me with them.In regard to the principal of the two objectsthus disclosed, M. Cadotte proceeded to assembleall the chiefs and warriors of the village;and these, after deliberating for sometime among themselves, sent for the strangers,to whom both M. Cadotte and the chief of thevillage addressed a speech. In these speeches,after recurring to the designs confessed to havebeen entertained against myself, who was nowdeclared to be under the immediate protectionof all the chiefs, by whom any insult I mightsustain would be avenged, the ambassadorswere peremptorily told that they might goback as they came, none of the young men ofthis village being foolish enough to join them.A moment after, a report was brought that acanoe had just arrived from Niagara. As thiswas a place from which everyone was anxiousto hear news, a message was sent to these freshstrangers requestingthem to come to thecouncil.The strangers came accordingly, and beingseated, a long silence ensued. At length one ofthem, taking up a belt of wampum, addressedhimself thus to the assembly:"My friends and brothers, I am come, withthis belt, from our great father, Sir WilliamJohnson. 68 He desired me to come to you as68 Sir William Johnson was a native of Ireland (born1715) who came to America at an early age. Settling in158