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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 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...

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 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...