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NOT long after this, being at a certain
place, the Captain was acco&longs;ted
by a &longs;tranger in the following manner:
Captain Farrago, &longs;aid he, I have heard
of a young man in your &longs;ervice who talks
Iri&longs;h. Now, Sir, my bu&longs;ine&longs;s is that of
an Indian treaty-maker; and am on my
way with a party of kings, and half kings
to the commi&longs;&longs;ioners, to hold a treaty.
My king of the Kickapoos, who was a
Welch black&longs;mith, took &longs;ick by the way,
and is dead. I have heard of this lad of
yours, and could wi&longs;h to have him a while
to &longs;upply his place. The treaty will not
la&longs;t longer than a couple of weeks; and
as the government will probably allow
three or four thou&longs;and dollars for the

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treaty, it will be in our power to make it worth
your while, to &longs;pare him for that time.
Your king of the Kickapoos, &longs;aid the Captain;
what does that mean? Said the stranger,
it is ju&longs;t this: You have heard of the
Indian nations to the we&longs;tward, that occasionally
make war upon the frontier settlements.
It has been a policy of government,
to treat with the&longs;e, and di&longs;tribute
goods. Commi&longs;&longs;ioners are appointed for
that purpo&longs;e. Now you are not to &longs;uppo&longs;e
that it is always an ea&longs;y matter to catch a
real chief, and bring him from the woods;
or if at &longs;ome expence one was brought,
the goods would go to his u&longs;e; whereas,
it is much more profitable to hire substitutes
and make chiefs of our own: And
as &longs;ome unknown gibberi&longs;h is nece&longs;&longs;ary,
to pa&longs;s for an Indian language, we generally
make u&longs;e of Welch, or Low Dutch,
or Iri&longs;h; or pick up an ingenious fellow
here and there, who can imitate a language
by &longs;ounds of his own, in his mouth,
and throat. But we prefer one who can
&longs;peak a real tongue, and give more for
him. We cannot afford you a great deal
at this time for the u&longs;e of your man; because
it is not a general treaty where
20,000, or 30,000, dollars are appropriated

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for the purpo&longs;e of holding it; but an occasional,
or what we call a running treaty,
by way of brightening the chain, and holding
fa&longs;t friend&longs;hip. The commi&longs;&longs;ioners
will doubtle&longs;s be glad to &longs;ee us, and procure
from government an allowance for
the treaty. For the more treaties, the
more u&longs;e for commi&longs;&longs;ioners. The bu&longs;ine&longs;s
mu&longs;t be kept up, and treaties made if there
are none of them&longs;elves. My Piank&longs;ha,
and Choctaw chiefs, are very good fellows;
the one of them a Scotch pedlar that talks
the Er&longs;e; the other has been &longs;ome time
in Canada, and has a little broken Indian,
God knows what language; but has been
of great &longs;ervice in a&longs;&longs;i&longs;ting to teach the re&longs;t
&longs;ome Indian cu&longs;tom and manners. I have
had the whole of them for a fortnight pa&longs;t
under my tuition, teaching them war
&longs;ongs and dances, and to make re&longs;pon&longs;es
at the treaty. If your man is tractable, I
can make him a Kickapoo in about nine
days. A breech-clout and leggins, that I
took off the black&longs;mith that died, I have
ready to put on him. He mu&longs;t have part
of his head &longs;haved, and painted, with feathers
on his crown; but the paint will rub
off, and the hair grow in a &longs;hort time, &longs;o
that he can go about with you again.

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It is a very &longs;trange affair, &longs;aid the Captain.
Is it po&longs;&longs;ible that &longs;uch deception
can be practi&longs;ed in a new country. It astonishes
me, that the government does
not detect &longs;uch impo&longs;ition. The government,
&longs;aid the Indian treaty-man, is at
a great di&longs;tance. It knows no more of
Indians than a cow does of Greek. The
legi&longs;lature, hears of wars and rumours
of wars, and &longs;upports the executive in
forming treaties. How is it po&longs;&longs;ible for
men who live remote from the &longs;cene of
action, to have adequate ideas of the nature
of Indians, or the tran&longs;actions that
are carried on in their behalf. Do you
think the one half of tho&longs;e &longs;avages that
come to treat, are real repre&longs;entatives of
the nation. Many of them are not &longs;avages
at all; but weavers, and pedlars, as I
have told you, picked up to make kings
and chiefs. I &longs;peak of tho&longs;e particularly
that come trading down to inland towns,
or the metropolis. I would not communicate
the&longs;e my&longs;teries of our trade, were it
not that I confide in your good &longs;en&longs;e,
and have occa&longs;ion for your &longs;ervant.

It is a my&longs;tery of iniquity, &longs;aid the
Captain. Do you &longs;uppo&longs;e that I would
countenance &longs;uch a fraud upon the

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public? I do not know, &longs;aid the other; it is
a very common thing for men to &longs;peculate,
now a-days. If you will not, another will.
An 100 dollars might as well be in your
pocket as another man's. I will give you that
for the u&longs;e of your &longs;ervant, for a week or
two, and &longs;ay no more about it. It is an
idea new to me entirely, &longs;aid the Captain,
that Indian princes, whom I have &longs;een
e&longs;corted down as &longs;uch, were no more
than trumpery, di&longs;gui&longs;ed, as you mention;
that &longs;uch &longs;hould be introduced to
polite a&longs;&longs;emblies, and have the honour to
&longs;alute the fair ladies with a ki&longs;s, the greatest
beauties thinking them&longs;elves honoured
by having the &longs;alutation of a &longs;overeign?
It is &longs;o, &longs;aid the other; I had a red headed
bricklayer once, whom I pa&longs;&longs;ed for a
Chippawaw; and who has dined with
clubs, and &longs;at next the Pre&longs;ident. He
was blind of an eye, and was called blind
Sam by the traders. I had given it out
that he was a great warrior, and had lo&longs;t
his eye by an arrow, in a conte&longs;t with a
rival nation. The&longs;e things are now reduced
to a &longs;y&longs;tem; and it is &longs;o well known
to tho&longs;e who are engaged in the traffic,
that we think nothing of it.

How the devil, &longs;aid the Captain, do

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you get &longs;peeches made, and interpret them
&longs;o as to pa&longs;s for truth. That is an ea&longs;y
matter, &longs;aid the other; Indian &longs;peeches are
nearly all alike. You have only to talk
of burying hatchets under large trees,
kindling fires, brightening chains; with a
demand, at the latter end, of blankets for
the back&longs;ide, and rum to get drunk with.

I much doubt, &longs;aid the Captain, whether
treaties that are carried on in earne&longs;t,
are of any great u&longs;e. Of none at all, &longs;aid
the other; e&longs;pecially as the practice of
giving goods prevails; becau&longs;e this is an
inducement to a fre&longs;h war. This being the
ca&longs;e, it can be no harm to make a farce
of the whole matter; or rather a profit
of it; by &longs;uch means as I propo&longs;e to
you, and have pur&longs;ued my&longs;elf.

After all, &longs;aid the Captain, I cannot
but con&longs;ider it as a kind of contraband
and illicit traffic; and I mu&longs;t be excu&longs;ed
from having any hand in it. I &longs;hall not
betray your &longs;ecret, but I &longs;hall not favour
it. It would ill become me, who&longs;e object
in riding about in this manner, is to give
ju&longs;t ideas on &longs;ubjects, to take part in &longs;uch
ill-gotten gain.

The Indian-treaty man finding it in vain
to &longs;ay more, withdrew.

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THE Captain apprehending that he
might not yet drop his de&longs;igns upon
the Iri&longs;hman, but be tampering with him
out of doors, &longs;hould he come acro&longs;s him,
&longs;ent for Teague. For he well knew, that
&longs;hould the Indian treaty man get the fir&longs;t
word of him, the idea of making him a
king, would turn his head, and it would be
impo&longs;&longs;ible to prevent his going with him.

Teague coming in, &longs;aid the Captain to
him; Teague, I have di&longs;covered in you,
for &longs;ome time pa&longs;t, a great &longs;pirit of ambition,
which is, doubtle&longs;s, commendable
in a young per&longs;on; and I have checked it
only in ca&longs;es where there was real danger,
or apparent mi&longs;chief. There is now an
opportunity of advancing your&longs;elf, not &longs;o
much in the way of honour as profit. But
profit brings honour, and is, indeed, the
mo&longs;t &longs;ub&longs;tantial &longs;upport of it. There has
been a man here with me, that carries on
a trade with the Indians, and tells me that
red-headed &longs;calps are in great demand with

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them. If you could &longs;pare yours, he would
give a good price for it. I do not well
know what u&longs;e they make of this article,
but &longs;o it is the traders find their account in
it. Probably they dre&longs;s it with the hairy
fide out, and make tobacco pouches for
the chiefs, when they meet in council. It
faves dyeing, and be&longs;ides, the natural red
hair of a man, may, in their e&longs;timation,
be &longs;uperior to any colour they can give by
art. The taking off the &longs;calp will not give
much pain, it is &longs;o dextrou&longs;ly done by them
with a crooked knife they have for that
purpo&longs;e. The mode of taking off the &longs;calp
is this; you lie down upon your back;
a warrior puts his feet upon your shoulders,
collects your hair in his left hand,
and drawing a circle with the knife in his
right, makes the inci&longs;ion, and, with a sudden
pull, &longs;eparates it from the head, giving,
in the mean time, what is called the
&longs;calp yell. The thing is done in &longs;uch an
in&longs;tant, that the pain is &longs;carcely felt. He
offered me an 100 dollars, if I would have
it taken off for his u&longs;e, giving me directions,
in the mean time, how to &longs;tretch it
and dry it on a hoop. I told him, No;
it was a perqui&longs;ite of your own, and you
might di&longs;po&longs;e of it as you thought proper.

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If you cho&longs;e to di&longs;po&longs;e of it, I had no objections;
but the bargain &longs;hould be of
your own making, and the price &longs;uch as
&longs;hould plea&longs;e your&longs;elf. I have &longs;ent for you,
to give you a hint of this chapman, that
you may have a knowledge of his wi&longs;h to
po&longs;&longs;e&longs;s the property, and a&longs;k accordingly.
It is probable you may bring him up to a
half Johannes more, by holding out a little.
But I do not think it would be adviseable
to lo&longs;e the bargain. An hundred
dollars for a little hairy fle&longs;h, is a great
deal. You will trot a long time before
you make that with me. He will be with
you probably to propo&longs;e the purcha&longs;e. You
will know when you &longs;ee him. He is a tall
looking man, with leggins on, and has several
Indians with him going to a treaty.
He talked to me &longs;omething of making you
a king of the Kickapoos, after the &longs;calp is
off; but I would not count on that &longs;o
much; becau&longs;e words are but wind, and
promi&longs;es are ea&longs;ily broken. I would advise
you to make &longs;ure of the money in
the fir&longs;t place, and take chance for the
re&longs;t.

I have &longs;een among the prints of Hogarth,
&longs;ome &longs;uch expre&longs;&longs;ion of countenance as
that of Teague at this in&longs;tant; who, as

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&longs;oon as he could &longs;peak, but with a double
brogue on his tongue, began to intimate
his di&longs;inclination to the traffic. The hair
of his &longs;calp it&longs;elf, in the mean time had
ri&longs;en in oppo&longs;ition to it. Dear ma&longs;ter, vid
you trow me into ridicule, and the ble&longs;&longs;ed
&longs;halvation of my life, and all dat I have in
the vorld, to be trown like a dog to de
&longs;avages, and have my fle&longs;h tarn of my head
to give to de&longs;e vild ba&longs;tes to make a napsack
to carry their parates and tings in, for
an 100 dollars or the like. It &longs;hall never
be &longs;aid that the hair of the Oregans made
macke&longs;eens for a vild Indian to trat upon.
I would &longs;ooner trow my own head hair and
all in de fire, dan give it to de&longs;e paple to
&longs;moke wid, out of deir long pipes.

If this be your determination, &longs;aid the
Captain, it will behove you to keep yourself
&longs;omewhat clo&longs;e; and while we remain
at this public hou&longs;e, avoid any conversation
with the chapman or his agents, &longs;hould
they come to tamper with you. For it is
not improbable, while they are keeping
you in talk, propo&longs;ing to make you a
Kickapoo chief, and the like, they may
&longs;natch the &longs;calp of your head, and you
not be the wi&longs;er for it.

Teague thought the caution good, and

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re&longs;olving to abide by it, retired to the kitchen.
The maid at this time, happening
to want a log of wood, reque&longs;ted Teague
to cut it for her. Taking the ax accordingly,
and going out, he was bu&longs;y chopping,
with his head down; while, in the
mean time, the Indian treaty-man had returned
with one in Indian dre&longs;s, who was
the chief of the Killinoos, or at lea&longs;t pa&longs;&longs;ed
for &longs;uch; and whom he brought as having
&longs;ome recruiting talents, and might
prevail with Teague to elope, and join the
company. I pre&longs;ume, &longs;aid the Indian
treaty-man, you are the waiter of the
Captain who lodges here at pre&longs;ent. Teague
hearing a man &longs;peak, and lifting up his
head, &longs;aw the leggins on the one, and the
Indian dre&longs;s on the other; and with a
kind of involuntary effort, threw the ax
directly from him at the Killinoo. It
mi&longs;&longs;ed him but about an inch, and fell behind.
Teague, in the mean time, rai&longs;ing
a &longs;hout of de&longs;peration, was fixed on the &longs;pot,
and his locomotive faculties &longs;u&longs;pended; &longs;o
that he could neither retreat nor advance,
but &longs;tood &longs;till, like one enchained or enchanted
for a moment; the king of the
Killinoos, in the mean time, drawing his
tomahawk, and preparing for battle.

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