being passionate,
impulsive, hasty, and matter-of-fact; in his speech-making too he
scorned the use of symbol and metaphor, but went straight to the point
at once in the simplest and most forcible language at his command.

"Braves," he said, looking at the previous speaker with a dark frown,
"the Dogribs know nothing of those strange and stupid notions that have
just come out of the lips of Nazinred. He says that this dirty Eskimo
is a deep thinker and a man who loves peace. How does he know that one
of that sort may not think so deeply as to deceive him? How does he
know that the young man is not a liar--that many of his warriors may not
be in our hunting-grounds even at this moment, though he says there are
none? As for his talk about the Great Spirit and the future, what does
he know about either the one or the other? Is he wiser than the
Dogribs? Does his attack on Nazinred look like a lover of peace? His
leaving off when he found that Nazinred was his match seems to me more
like sly wisdom than the hatred of war. My advice is not to trust these
dirty men of the ice, but to take our guns at once and drive them from
the land."

It was quite evident from the way in which this speech was received that
the war-party was in the ascendant, and there is no doubt that Magadar's
advice would have prevailed, and a war-party been organised forthwith,
but for the arrival of a band of successful hunters, who had been out
for some time in quest of food.

For a considerable part of that winter those Indians had been in a
condition of semi-starvation. They had managed with difficulty to
sustain themselves and families on rabbits, which were scarce that year.
With the return of spring and the wild-fowl, however, things had begun
to improve, and the hunting party above referred to was the first of the
season that had returned to camp heavily laden with geese, ducks,
plover, and other supplies of food, so that the half-famished people
gave themselves up to feasting, and had no time to think further of war.

Thus many days were passed without any reference being made to a fight
with the Eskimos, and Nazinred, believing that the fancy to go on the
war-path had passed away, set off on what was to be a long hunting
expedition with three of his comrades who were like-minded with himself.
Among other plans, this party intended to visit the establishment of
the fur-traders on Great Bear Lake.

Thus when the belligerent party of