oice, and explained to the people that in the
last fifteen minutes the Great Turtle had crossed Lake Huron, and gone
to Fort Niagara, hundreds of miles away. Then he had gone on down to
Montreal. He said there were not many soldiers at Fort Niagara, but at
Montreal the river was covered with boats filled with soldiers. He
said the soldiers coming to make war on the Indians were as many as
the leaves on the trees. He told the Indians, that, if they would send
men to the general of this army, he would make peace with them, and
fill their canoes with presents of blankets, kettles, guns, powder,
and shot. And he said, what pleased them still more, that the general
would give them great barrels of rum.

The Indians were so much delighted with this message, that many of
them set out, soon after, to go in boats to make peace with the white
men. No doubt this humbug of the medicine man was a plan to persuade
them to go. Mr. Henry was taken along to act as their friend.

THE RATTLESNAKE GOD.

Mr. Henry had traveled several days with the Indians going to Fort
Niagara to make peace. One day the wind was blowing so hard that they
could not go on. So they camped on a point in Lake Huron.

While the Indians were building a hut, Mr. Henry was lighting a fire.
He went off a little way to get dry wood, and while he was picking up
sticks he heard a strange sound. It lasted only a little while; but,
when Mr. Henry went a little farther, it began again. He looked up
into the air to see where it came from. Then he looked down on the
ground, and saw a large rattlesnake coiled close to his naked leg. If
he had taken one step more, he would have stepped on it, and it would
have bitten him.

He now ran back to the canoe to get his gun to kill the snake.

"What are you doing?" asked the Indians.

"I am going to kill a rattlesnake," he said.

"Oh, no! don't do that," they said.

The Indians all got their tobacco bags and pipes, and went to the
place where the snake had been seen. It was still lying in a coil.

[Illustration: Grandfather Rattlesnake.]

The Indians now stood round the snake, and one after another spoke to
it. They called it their grandfather. But they took care not to go too
close to their grandfather. They stood oft and filled their pipes with
tobacco. Each one in turn blew tobacco smoke at the snake. The snake
seemed to like it. For half an hour it lay there in a coil, and
breathed the smoke. Then it slowly s