ey showed their pleasure.

"The first man who struck me was a young fellow eighteen or nineteen
years old. I knocked him down, and he felt so small about it that I did
not see him again while I was with them.

"An Indian doesn't work. He makes his squaws and prisoners do that. They
set me at work with the squaws, hoeing corn. I hoed up the corn instead
of the weeds. They tried to make me hoe the right way. But I made up my
mind that if they wouldn't hoe corn, I wouldn't. I threw my hoe into the
river, and told them that I was a warrior and not a squaw to hoe corn.

"Instead of being angry with me, they liked me for this, and the old
chief adopted me.

"They called me the young chief and treated me well. I learned something
of their language and ways of fighting that has been of advantage to me.
I never saw any prisoner of war treated with so much kindness as I was
by those St. Francis Indians. After I had been at the village five
weeks, Mr. Wheelwright, of Boston, and Captain Stevens, of No. 4, came
to Montreal, to redeem some Massachusetts prisoners. But not finding
them, they bought Eastman and me, and we returned with them by the way
of Albany. I worked hard afterward, and paid off my debt to the
Massachusetts Province. If there is to be any fight with these Indians,
I shall be glad if I am at work cutting out a road to Fort No. 4."

Early in September we heard that Captain Kennedy, who had been sent to
these St. Francis Indians, to persuade them to abandon the French and
make peace with us, had been made a prisoner by them with the men who
accompanied him, and had been sent to Montreal.

[Sidenote: CAPTAIN KENNEDY MADE PRISONER]

General Amherst was very angry at their treachery. On the afternoon of
September 13 we received orders to be in readiness to explore the
country west of us. We were told that we should go a short distance in
boats and then strike out to the west.

"This seems a silly trip, Ben," said Martin. "Fooling about in the woods
where there is no enemy. Our army ought to be following the French,
driving them down to the St. Lawrence. Then we could join our forces
with Wolfe's, and finish up the war."

"Sergeant Munro tells me that Amherst thinks he should restore the fort
and build some boats and ships first."

"Maybe, maybe; I'm not a general, but I believe that when you've got the
enemy on the run, you ought to keep them on the run till they give in,
and not sit down and give them a chan