Final answer:
The film "First Contact" doesn't specify what the Leahy brothers used to pay the indigenous people for mining gold. Historically, trade and compensation with Native Americans often included various goods, financial agreements, and treaties — although these agreements were frequently not honored.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the film "First Contact," it is not explicitly mentioned that the Leahy brothers used any particular items to pay the indigenous people for mining gold. However, the historical context provided in the question shares common strategies used by settlers and prospectors in their interactions with Native Americans during the expansion of the United States. These included various coercive methods such as forced labor, theft, and violence, as well as financial and non-financial agreements.
Settlers used a range of items to trade with or compensate Native Americans for their lands and resources, including goods like shirts, ribbons, and kettles, treaties promising annuity payments, and negotiable compensation for relinquishing their lands. In some cases, there were governmental promises of money such as the case with the Klamath, who were offered a federal payoff to cease the reservation. The Fort Laramie Treaty and other government dealings often involved financial elements like annual payments or payoffs for land acquisition.
It is important to understand that many of these agreements were not honored, or when financial compensation was provided, it was often inadequate or mismanaged. The film's interpretation of historical events would have to be checked for specific details regarding the Leahy brothers and their transactions with the indigenous people.