nglish
would give them presents: tobacco and rum, guns and powder.

[Illustration: WAMPUM]

Having reached this conclusion, Pontiac and his chiefs returned to
Rogers's camp on the following morning. There they smoked the calumet
with the English and exchanged presents and promises of kindness and
friendship. The men who had met as enemies parted as friends.

Years later, when British armies were marching against Indians whose
tomahawks were red with English blood, Pontiac's faith in the friendship
of Rogers remained unshaken. The latter sent to the chief a bottle of
rum. When advised not to drink it lest it should contain poison, Pontiac
replied: "I did not save from death on the shores of Lake Erie a man who
would to-day poison me," and he drained the bottle without hesitation.

[Illustration: CALUMET]

Though a single Indian and a single Englishman could thus overcome their
distrust for each other, the feelings of the two races could not be so
easily altered. The Indians looked upon the English as cruel robbers,
whose object was to drive them from their homes and possess their lands.
They thought of them as enemies too powerful to be withstood by open
force and therefore to be met only with cunning and deception. Many of
the English looked upon the savages as ignorant, filthy, and treacherous
beings, little better than wild beasts, and thought that the world would
be better off without them. Yet for the present both were glad to be at
peace.

The Indians found that Major Rogers had spoken truly about Detroit. When
they saw the large French garrison yield without resistance they were
filled with wonder, and said to one another: "These English are a
terrible people. It is well we have made friends with them."

By "making friends" with the English, the Indians had no notion of
accepting them as masters. The French had seemed pleasant neighbors and
valuable friends. When they occupied the fort the Indians had always
found a warm welcome there. Their chiefs had been treated with great
pomp and ceremony. They had received rich presents and great promises.
They expected the English to show them the same consideration. But they
were disappointed. The new masters of the fort had little patience with
the Indian idlers, who loafed about at the most inconvenient times in
the most inconvenient places, always begging, and often sullen and
insolent. They frequently ordered them in no mild terms to be off. The
chiefs received