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CHAPTER XXI. The Indians and the Liquor Traffic.?Bishop Laval. 112.
In return for furs and skins, the Indiana received from the traders
all kinds of useful things, brought from Europe?such as fire arms,
powder and shot, cloth, cooking vessels, and tools. But there was
nothing which the traders could supply for which the Indians cared
so much as they did for "fire-water.''' This was the name they gave
to brandy, or what the French called " eau-de-vie." The savages
came to be so fond of fire-water that they would part with every
thing they had in order to obtain it. When they had nothing else
left, their clothing, and even their children, would be ofTered in
payment for drink. The French traders on the St. Lawrence, the
Dutch and English on the Hudson, and the Spaniards in parts further
south, made known the use of fire-water to the savage tribes
throughout North America. The effect upon the poor savages were
very sad. All their other faults and vices were made worse by
drunkenness. At Quebec, and near other stations where there were
Indian converts, the love of drink put an end to their care for
religion. Some of the missionaries complained that the labour of 30
years had been undone. 113. To stop these evils, strict laws were
made, forbidding the sale of liquors to the savages. But the
traders did not heed those laws, for, with the aid of fire-water,
they could make good bargains. Sometimes the Governors were not
very strict in punishing those who broke the laws. The traders
said, that, if they should allow no drink at all, the Indian
hunters would not return, but would go and deal with the Dutch and
English. Many persons at Quebec and other French stations thought
the same. So there was much difference of opinion and even
quarelling about what was called " the l...
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