enough from the Indians to pay him."]

St. Lusson set out with a small party of men, and Nicolas Perrot as his
interpreter. Among Canadian _voyageurs_ few names are so conspicuous as
that of Perrot; not because there were not others who matched him in
achievement, but because he could write, and left behind him a tolerable
account of what he had seen. [Footnote: _Moeurs, Coustumes, et Relligion
des Sauvages de l'Amerique Septentrionale_. This work of Perrot, hitherto
unpublished, appeared in 1864, under the editorship of Father Tailhan,
S.J. A great part of it is incorporated in La Potherie.] He was at this
time twenty-six years old, and had formerly been an _engage_ of the
Jesuits. He was a man of enterprise, courage, and address; the last being
especially shown in his dealings with Indians, over whom he had great
influence. He spoke Algonquin fluently, and was favorably known to many
tribes of that family. St. Lusson wintered at the Manatoulin Islands;
while Perrot--having first sent messages to the tribes of the north,
inviting them to meet the deputy of the Governor at the Saut Ste. Marie in
the following spring--proceeded to Green Bay, to urge the same invitation
upon the tribes of that quarter. They knew him well, and greeted him with
clamors of welcome. The Miamis, it is said, received him with a sham
battle, which was designed to do him honor, but by which nerves more
susceptible would have been severely shaken. [Footnote: See La Potherie,
ii. 125. Perrot himself does not mention it. Charlevoix erroneously places
this interview at Chicago. Perrot's narrative shows that he did not go
farther than the tribes of Green Bay; and the Miamis were then, as we have
seen, on the upper part of Fox River.] They entertained him also with a
grand game of _la crosse_, the Indian ball-play. Perrot gives a marvellous
account of the authority and state of the Miami chief; who, he says, was
attended day and night by a guard of warriors,--an assertion which would
be incredible were it not sustained by the account of the same chief given