Volume 1

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74 REVELRY ENDED IN ALARM.
Sunday, Aug. jist. The Indians were sober, though
some of them were troublesome and wanted Hquor
others went hunting. I arranged everything with Mr.
Langlois, whom I intended to leave here with half the
property, and was soon ready to proceed on my journey;
but the Indians were continually alarmed. At ten o'clock
one of them returned in a great hurry, telling us he had
seen three horsemen in the meadow going at full speed
southward ;
one
was mounted on a light-colored horse. In
a few minutes Gueule Platte arrived and said he had been
pursued by three horsemen, who attempted to intercept his
route to camp ; but his horse being fresh and more fleet
than theirs, he escaped. He seemed to be in a great
fright. This news spread alarm in the Indian camp on the
opposite shore. All the women fell to work instantly to
dig holes in the ground on the bank for themselves and
their children to hide in. The Red Suckers band did not
stir from my camp, saying they would die with us. Two
of them set off with one of my men on horseback, on discoveries
[i. e., to scout or reconnoiter]. We arranged our
baggage and camp as advantageously as the ground would
permit. The Indians wished me to cross the river and
camp with them, telling me that the Sioux, having nothing
to interrupt their passage, would rush upon us and destroy
us before we could put ourselves in any state of defense
whereas, upon the other side, the enemy would have the
river to cross to attack us. I declined this proposal, telling
them I did not believe there was any real danger. My
notion in keeping my ground was to convince the Indians
that I did not fear any danger, as by this means I hoped
to get more of them to follow me. Had I appeared
alarmed their fright would have been still greater, and probably
they would all have returned below. I went over to
see their trenches. There were three principal ones about
20 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 4 feet deep. These were
intended for the men to defend themselves in, whilst the
women and children lie close on the bottom. I was sur-