Volume 1

WORK PROGRESSING—BEARS NUMEROUS.
lOI
forty bears,
some red deer, moose, and a few beavers and
raccoons. This afternoon the men finished planting the
stockades and hung the gates, so we are in a position to
defend ourselves, and might defy several hundred Sioux.
The Indian lad killed two bears.
Sunday, Sept. 21st. The men began to fell trees for our
dwelling-houses. It was at their own option to work this
day or not ; their excuse is the necessity of forwarding their
work as fast as possible to get under cover before cold
weather. They are but few, badly provided with axes, and
have much work still to do, cutting firewood, etc. I sent
Desmarais and another man in a large canoe to the Indians*
tent above, with nine gallons of mixed liquor for them.
He returned with a canoe-load of bear's oil, fat, meat,
skins, etc. He says the beach is covered with bear's fat
where the
melt and preserve it
Indians are tented, the women being too lazy to
in red deer skins.
Sept. 22d. Maymiutch informed me this morning of a
great smoke E. S. E. from us toward Red lake, which he
supposed was occasioned by Indians. I proposed to send
him to inform them of our situation, but he declined to
go at present, supposing them too distant. I gave him
a few pounds of flour and sugar for his children and sent
him home. There being nothing but oaks here, I sent two
men up river to raft down our flooring of bois blanc. Sturgeon
continued to jump day and night. We saw five bears.
We
Desmarais and myself crossed over and pursued them.
had a long chase and repeatedly sighted them, but they escaped
us in the brush. On our return we found a large one
lying dead, which we supposed must have been wounded by
the Indians some time ago. He was swelled up and ready
to burst. Bears make prodigious ravages in the brush and
willows ; the plum trees are torn to pieces, and every tree
that bears fruit has shared the same fate ; the tops of the
oaks are also very roughly handled, broken, and torn down,
Loge des BcEufs, a place where buffaloes were wont to stay, would be translatable
Buffalo Tent.