Indian summer

[Alexey I. Fuchs]

        Hi,

        Does anybody know the etymology of the expression "Indian summer,"
and whether it is used in Britain.
        Relevant questions: when was it used for the first time and by
whom, if it can be traced?
        There is a song by Joe Dassin "L'ete indien," sorry for lack of
accents, does it mean, that the French have the same expression, or JD
just borrowed it? (Maybe the song is about America).

                                                Regards,
                                                        Alexey

P.S. I would also be interested in parallel expressions in other
languages.
The russians have "bab'e leto," something like "the summer of an old
woman" ( "old woman" - baba - cam be also interpreted as "peasant woman",
or simply a female (colloquial use).