In all this there was no little truth, but Flint, confident of his power over his new friends, paid no attention to it.
A crisis came at last.
One of the chiefs who had been made drunk by whiskey which he had received from Flint in exchange for a lot of beaver skins, accused the latter of cheating him; called him a paleface thief who had joined the Indians only for the purpose of cheating them.
Flint forgetting his usual caution took the unruly savage by the shoulders and thrust him out of the lodge.
In a few moments the enraged Indian returned accompanied by another, when the two attacked the white man with knives and tomahawks.
Flint saw no way but to defend himself single-handed as he was, against two infuriated savages, and to do to if possible without killing either.
This he soon discovered was impossible. The only weapon he had at command was a hunting knife, and he had two strong men to contend against. Fortunately for him, one of them was intoxicated.
As it was, the savage who had begun the quarrel, was killed, and the other so badly wounded that he died a few hours afterwards.
The enmity of the whole tribe was now aroused against Flint, by the unfortunate termination of this affair.
It availed him nothing to contend that he had killed the two in self defence, and that they begun the quarrel.