BOURGEOIS - Toronto Public Library

332 CHARLES MACKENZIE
rejoined the chief. "Our fathers were not Slaves! In my young
" days there were no white men, and we knew no wants; we
" were successful in Will'; our arrows were pointed with flint.,
"our lances with stone and their wounds were mortal; our
" villages rejoiced when the men returned from war, for, of the
" scalps of our enemies, they brought many. The white people
" came, they brought with them some good, but they brought
., the small pox, and they brought evil liquors; the Inrlians
" since diminish and they are no longer hllpPY."
In FC'bruary our trading goods were nearly finished, and the
ff'w goods that still remained wer:' laid aside for a hunting
part.y who Wf're ab"ent since the Fall. Apprehensive that the
Hudson Bay traders had an eye apon this party, Mr. La Rocque
sent for one Cbarbonnpall, who was with the American party
as interpreter, in order to accompany us and t,) have the start
of our troublesome neighbours.
Everytbing being ready fOI' our dc'part.nre, th8 rlifficulty now
was bow to set out unperrcived by our opponents. MI'. La
Rocque and I agreed in opinion that the best plan would be
to drive their horses out of the way. With this virw, we ca1ltiollsly
watched until the people of thp village were ;"leep,
then the horseB \Wi'" detacheu from thr'ir confinement and
quietly conduetpd to a consider'lble distance ill the plains,
then, thinking all safe, we saddled our own hOl'5es; but our
guide, who slept apart, could not be cliseovered.
This incident threw us into a grievous perplexity. I set out
without him, accompanied by the interpreter and another Canadian,
who also was attached to the American expedition. When
we got to a crrtuin distance, we waited for day light, in the
meantime, we sent Charbonneau hack fa I' Ihe guirle, but he
retllrned without hirn. He, howevl'r, lparnt thal the Hudson
Bay traders missed their horses, wrl',' alarmed alJd employed
Indians, who soon discov8red and bronght them back to the