king the treaty with him to be ratified. After a fortnight's
deliberation the treaty was signed, on the 23rd February, by Ballomy
Glode, chief of the St. John Indians, and Michel Neptune, chief of the
Passamaquoddies. The treaty was based on those of 1725 and 1749, with
an additional engagement on the part of the Indians not to aid the
enemies of the English, to confine their traffic to the truck-house at
Fort Frederick and to leave three of each tribe there as hostages to
ensure performance of the articles of the treaty.

In order the better to carry out the provisions of this treaty, and of
similar treaties made at this time with the different tribes of
Acadia, Benjamin Gerrish was appointed Indian commissary. Gerrish
agreed to buy goods and sell them to the Indians for furs, he to
receive 5 per cent on goods purchased and 2-1/2 per cent on furs sold,
and the prices to be so arranged that the Indians could obtain their
goods at least 50 per cent cheaper than hitherto.

At their conference with the Governor and his council the Indians
agreed upon a tariff of prices[49] for the Indian trade, the unit of
value to be one pound of the fur of the spring beaver, commonly known
as "one beaver," equivalent in value to a dollar, or five shillings.
Under the tariff the following articles were to be sold to the Indians
at the following prices: Large blanket, 2 "beavers"; 2 yards stroud, 3
"beavers"; 14 pounds pork, 1 "beaver"; 30 pounds flour, 1 "beaver";
2-1/2 gallons molasses, 1 "beaver"; 2 gallons rum, 1 "beaver"; and
other articles in proportion.

[49] This tariff of prices is given in full in Murdoch's Hist. of
Nova Scotia, Vol. II., p. 395.

Furs and skins sold by the Indians at the "truck-house" were to be
valued by the same standard: Moose skin, 1-1/2 "beavers"; bear skin,
1-1/3 "beavers"; 3 sable skins, 1 "beaver"; 6 mink skins, 1 "beaver";
10 ermine skins, 1 "beaver"; silver fox skin, 2-1/2 "beavers," and so
on for furs and skins of all descriptions. By substituting the cash
value for the value in "beavers," we shall obtain figures that would
amaze the furrier of modern days and prove eminently satisfactory to
the purchaser, for example: Bear skin (large and good), $1.35; moose
skin (large), $1.50; luciffee (large), $2.00; silver fox, $2.50; black
fox, $2.00; red fox, 50cts.; otter, $1.00; mink, 15 cts.; musquash, 10
cts. And yet these prices, ridiculously low as they appear, were
considerably better than