USED WITH PERMISSION OF THE AMERICAN JEWISH ARCHIVES BUSINESS HAS ITS UPS AND DOWNS While working his territory in the Great Lakes area in 1763, Jewish trader Chapman Abram is captured by Indians during Chief Pontiac’s siege of Detroit. They condemn him to death by fire and tie him to the stake. When the thirsty prisoner begs for a drink, one of the Indians offers him a scalding hot broth which Abram furiously throws into the man’s face. To the awe-struck Indians this action is a sign of insanity, marking Abram as a special favorite of their Great Spirit. They release him immediately and return the merchandise that they had looted.

To Pontiac, Chief of the Ottawas, the settlements of the English were encroaching upon the forests and waterways, and threatening the way of life of the Great Lakes Indians. He amassed a great confederation of tribes and went on the warpath against the English enemy, winning many victories but eventually smoking the peace pipe without having forced the English out. Pontiac, Mighty Ottawa Chief by Virginia Frances Voight Chief Pontiac's area of influence

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