ices cut with knives still covered with the blood of the murdered
English. The Ojibwes moistened this blood on the knife blades with
their spittle, and rubbed it on the slices of bread, offering this
food then to their prisoners, so that they might force them to eat the
blood of their countrymen.

The next morning, however, there appeared before Menehewehna, the
great war chief of the Ojibwes, Henry's friend and adopted brother,
Wawatam. This man made an earnest speech to the council of Ojibwe
chiefs and braves, in which he pleaded hard for the Englishman's life,
at the same time tendering from out of his own goods a considerable
ransom. After much pipe-smoking and an embarrassing silence, the war
chief rose to his feet and accepted the ransom, giving Wawatam
permission to take away into safety his adopted brother. "Wawatam led
me to his lodge, which was at the distance of a few yards only from
the prison lodge. My entrance appeared to give joy to the whole
family; food was immediately prepared for me; and I now ate the first
hearty meal which I had made since my capture. I found myself one of
the family; and, but that I had still my fears as to the other
Indians, I felt as happy as the situation could allow."

The next day seven of the English prisoners were killed by the
Ojibwes, and Henry actually saw their dead bodies being dragged out
into the open. They had been killed in cold blood by an Indian chief
who had just arrived from a hunting expedition, and who, not having
been present at the attack on the fort, now desired to satisfy his
warlike instincts and his agreement with the policy of the Ojibwes by
going into the lodge where the English officers and men were tied up,
and slaughtering seven of them in cold blood.

Shortly afterwards two of the Ojibwes took the fattest amongst the
dead men, cut off his head, and divided his body into five parts, one
of which was put into each of five kettles hung over as many fires,
which were kindled for this purpose at the door of the house in which
the other prisoners were tied up. They then sent to insist on the
attendance at their cannibal feast of Wawatam, the adopted brother and
protector of Henry. The invitation was delivered after the Amerindian
fashion. A small cutting of cedar wood about four inches in length
supplies the place of the written or printed invitation to dinner of
European civilization, and the man who bore the slip of cedar wood
gave particulars as to