Thus concluding, Bear’s Meat took his seat, in the same composed and dignified manner as that in which he had risen, and deep silence succeeded.  So profound was the stillness, that, taken in connection with the dark lineaments, the lustrous eyeballs that threw back the light of the fire, the terrific paint and the armed hands of every warrior present, the picture might be described as imposing to a degree that is seldom seen in the assemblies of the civilized.  In the midst of this general but portentous calm, Peter arose.  The breathing of the circle grew deeper, so much so as to be audible, the only manner in which the intensity of the common expectation betrayed itself.  Peter was an experienced orator, and knew how to turn every minutiae of his art to good account.  His every movement was deliberate, his attitude highly dignified—­even his eye seemed eloquent.

Oratory! what a power art thou, wielded, as is so often the case, as much for evil as for good.  The very reasoning that might appear to be obtuse, or which would be over looked entirely when written and published, issuing from the mouth, aided by the feelings of sympathy and the impulses of the masses, seems to partake of the wisdom of divinity.  Thus is it, also, with the passions, the sense of wrong, the appeals to vengeance, and all the other avenues of human emotion.  Let them be addressed to the cold eye of reason and judgment, in the form of written statements, and the mind pauses to weigh the force of arguments, the justice of the appeals, the truth of facts:  but let them come upon the ear aided by thy art, with a power concentrated by sympathy, and the torrent is often less destructive in its course, than that of the whirlwind that thou canst awaken!

“Chiefs of the great Ojebway nation, I wish you well,” said Peter, stretching out his arms toward the circle, as if desirous of embracing all present.  “The Manitou has been good to me.  He has cleared a path to this spring, and to this council-fire.  I see around it the faces of many friends.  Why should we not all be friendly?  Why should a red man ever strike a blow against a red man?  The Great Spirit made us of the same color, and placed us on the same hunting-grounds.  He meant that we should hunt in company; not take each other’s scalps.  How many warriors have fallen in our family wars?  Who has counted them?  Who can say?  Perhaps enough, had they not been killed, to drive the pale-faces into the sea!”

Here Peter, who as yet had spoken only in a low and barely audible voice, suddenly paused, in order to allow the idea he had just thrown out to work on the minds of his listeners.  That it was producing its effect was apparent by the manner in which one stern face turned toward another, and eye seemed to search in eye some response to a query that the mind suggested, though no utterance was given to it with the tongue.  As soon, however, as the orator thought time sufficient to impress that thought on the memories of the listeners had elapsed, he resumed, suffering his voice gradually to increase in volume, as he warmed with his subject.