Volume 1

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86 CONTINUALLY ON THE ALERT.
the Indians said they would go no further. But on further
inquiry I found it was Crow's mare and my horse that had
occasioned the alarm.
to proceed, but in vain.
I wished to prevail upon the Indians
Their excuse was that they wished
to kill a few bears to make oil, and procure some red deer
skins. They told me if I would give them some liquor for
the meat they had given
me they would remain here four
days only, and would then follow me as far as Park river
but if I passed that place they would all return below.
Observing this to be their settled plan, I gave them half a
keg of mixed liquor and some tobacco, telling them I would
go ahead to look out for a proper place to build a fort. I
then sent off the canoes. The Indians again told me that
if I went higher up than Park river they were determined
to return, as they would not risk their families to follow me
any further than that into the Sioux country. We followed
our canoes, leaving the Indians to enjoy their liquor. We
had not gone over a mile when we saw some people running
afoot in the plains. On perceiving us they seemed to
hide in the long grass and only show their heads as if to
examine our motions. Desmarais and myself were at a
loss how to act. I was uneasy about my canoes, and to
return to the Indians without being fully satisfied would
not answer. We therefore had but one way to act. We
knew our horses were good runners and long-winded, and
the people we saw were on foot. We primed our guns and
advanced toward them at full gallop; they kept their
ground. We soon observed they wore hats, which was a
pleasant sight. We came up to them and found they were
some of our men busy digging young wolves out of their
holes. They had seen a large drove on the beach and
pursued them for a joke. I desired the men to embark
and proceed with all possible dispatch to the Bois Perc6.
Desmarais and myself went ahead, determined to have no
more false alarms. On approaching the Bois Perce we
found immense herds of buffalo, which appeared to touch
the river and extend westward on the plains as far as the