In trading with a merchant, who, appreciating the wiliness of his
customer, felt a natural concern about trading upon as safe a basis as
might be secured, it was, until quite recently, customary with the Indian
to anticipate his interest-money, in paying for his goods. That the
merchant might have a guarantee that previous instances of the setting
on foot of this plan in the individual Indian's case, had not effected
the entire appropriation or exhaustion of his allowance, or that in
the immediate transaction with him, the Indian's allowance would not be
exceeded, a chief of the particular tribe to which the Indian belonged,
who was assumed to keep track of the various amounts that at different
times impaired the interest-fund, signed an order for him to tender to
the merchant; and in order that the Superintendent might properly award
and pay the balance coming, these orders would go into his possession,
before he should proceed with the season's payments. Now, however, the
place and times at which interest payments are made, are not allowed to
be viewed by merchants and others as a collection depôt, or as occasions
on which their orders from Indians may be confirmed, or debts from those
Indians made good.

The merchant, foreseeing that a large proportion of the debts from Indians
that he books are not recoverable, will frequently--and I presume there
is nothing savoring of dubious dealing in the matter--add, perhaps,
thirty or forty per cent. to the usual retail price of the goods sold
to them, that the collection of some of the debts may, as it were,
offset the loss from those that are irrecoverable.

It is not pleasant to impugn the character of the Indian for uprightness
and probity, but that there is no conspicuous prevalence of these
qualities with him, I fear, can be sufficiently demonstrated. I am
disposed to ascribe this state of things, to a large extent, to the