Volume 1

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MEDICINE MAN
LIARD'S DAUGHTER. 163
drum, singing and dancing, tumbling and tossing, and
blowing upon the sick man, until he worked himself into a
foam
; when, redoubling his exertions, with one heavy stroke
he burst his drum, trampled it to pieces, and went away
quite exhausted, leaving his patient almost worried to death.
However, this affair got him two blankets, a large kettle,
and Charlo's gun. I saw a curious farce during the night
between my men and some old women about 70 years of
age [details omitted]. Liard's daughter took possession of
my room, and the devil could not have got her out.
Jan. 2d. At daybreak I heard a crash in my kitchen, and
found the chimney had fallen from top to bottom ; it was
lying on the floor, and the fire was blazing on. The cold
was severe ; weather cloudy and calm. The oaks made a
continual cracking noise as
they split with the frost, sometimes
like the report of a gun. Buffaloes came within gunshot
of the stockades, but the dogs drove them away. I
was tempted to go hunting for two reasons. One was, to
give the men time to repair the chimney, and the
other, to
get rid of the encumbrance who occupied my room. I soon
came near the buffaloes, and found an Indian who had
killed a cow, and was cutting her up. But the cold was so
intense that it obliged him to give it up and return to his
tent. I fired many shots, but killed only three ; it was impossible
to cut them up. I contented myself with raising
the fat and tongues, and returned at dusk with a heavy load
on my back. I was vexed to find my room still occupied,
and no sign of her budging.
Berdash, a son of Sucrie [Sucre, Sweet, or Wiscoup],
arrived from the Assiniboine, where he had been with a
young man to carry tobacco concerning the war. This person
is a curious compound between a man and a woman.
He is a man both as to members and courage, but pretends
to be womanish, and dresses as such. His walk and mode
of sitting, his manners, occupations, and language are those
of a woman. His father, who is a great chief amongst the
Saulteurs, cannot persuade him to act like a man. About