, of such
priceless value to the savages, would be in their possession. Probably
some of them had visited the French forts, and knew how to use the
musket, and appreciated its death-dealing power. Already they had
examined every article in the canoe. They had inspected the rifles, and
counted the store of bullets and powder. Such an acquisition would aid
them inestimably in the war-path upon which they had entered.

The young men clamored for this decision of the question. In the mind
of an untutored savage, who has never enjoyed the light of revealed
religion, the dividing line between right and wrong must necessarily be
faint. With these men, the pride of life consisted in the numbers of
enemies they had slain. Inspired by this desire, they were now on the
way to attack a neighboring tribe, to burn their homes, destroy their
property, kill and scalp men, women, and children, and to take back
some of the leading warriors, that they, their wives, and their
children might enjoy the delight of seeing them put to death by
diabolical torture. Why should they hesitate to tomahawk three white
men who had crossed their path? Why not rob and murder them, when by
doing so they could acquire possessions of the greatest value?

But God seems to have implanted in every human heart some sense of
right and wrong, some conviction of responsibility to a Superior Being.
So far as Father Hennepin could understand their sign language, the
chiefs informed him that they were going down the Mississippi to attack
a village of the Miamis on the Illinois River. The war party consisted
of but one hundred and twenty braves. They intended to attack the
village by surprise at night. In an hour they would accomplish their
fiend-like deed of murder, scalping, and conflagration. Then, with
their gory trophies and their prisoners, they would take to their boats
and be far away up the river before there could be any rallying of the
tribes in pursuit.

Father Hennepin told them that the Miamis had been informed of their
intended attack; that they had abandoned their village, had fled across
the Mississippi, and having joined another powerful tribe were watching
for their approach. The savages on the shore surrounded their captives,
and for some unknown reason frequently gave simultaneous utterance to
the most unearthly yells.

Father Hennepin affected great composure, assuming that he was among
friends. He presented to the chiefs two large fat turkey