Of all the others, however, I learned only of the Ottawas, the Chippeways, the Menominees, the Ioways, the Illinois, and the white Indians to the south—the Mandans. All of these people had been kept in an unending turmoil by the French and the English since early days, and had been encouraged to go out and remove the scalps from their neighbors—a diversion in which they indulged without much urging. Such nations as spoke different languages hated each other with a deep and bitter hatred, and made war with unfailing regularity. Those who spoke the same languages occasionally stole horses from each other, or trespassed on their hunting grounds, which also resulted in wars of considerable virulence. In the matter of fighting, in short, they were strikingly similar to the French and the English, who are perpetually fighting someone, though in a more expensive and wasteful manner, and in a style designed to bring misery and ruin to a greater number of innocent people, and over a wider extent of territory.

One singular thing about all these different Indian nations was that every white man who lived among them was convinced, and took oath, that the particular Indians with whom he associated were gentle, kindly, truthful, honorable, brave, virtuous, dependable and noble, but that all others were sneaking, murderous, treacherous, dirty, lying, stealing, debauched wretches. If I had based my opinion of the Sacs and Foxes on the testimony of such of their enemies as the Sioux and the Winnebagoes, I would have considered crucifixion or burning alive too gentle a reward for their misdeeds. Since my opinion is based on my own observation, I am bound to say that all the Sacs and Foxes I saw were more charitable and better companions, after we got to know them, than any of the many Frenchmen and Englishmen I have known, and wiser, both in speech and thought, as regards their private affairs.

As near as we could gather from what they told us, the Sac or Saukie nation was the greatest in all Canada, long, long ago, and fought fierce wars with the Hurons and the Iroquois, in which the Hurons and Iroquois were roughly treated. It is my understanding that every Indian nation considers itself to have been, at one time, the greatest in the world. From what I have seen of European nations, they hold to the same idea even more tenaciously than Indians.

It was mid-November when Sponge-belly, after piloting us the length of a narrow, bright green lake, brought us down a swift and winding stream that constantly grew wider; then into a broad river, crystal clear.