Volume 1

404 EXCELLENT ADVICE OF HIS EXCELLENCY.
Borgne and two of his wives ;
he
was gone himself in pursuit
of a bull on the adjacent hills. Here we unloaded
and gave our horses some time to feed and rest. His
Excellency soon arrived, attended by one of his young
men with the flesh of the animal, which he immediately
ordered his women to cook. When it was done according
to their taste he presented it to us ; we
for our stomachs ;
found it too raw
but tasted it out of complaisance, after
which he and his young men dispatched the whole. His
women were very troublesome ; they fancied everything of
ours they cast their eyes on, and were not very nice in
asking us to give to them our saddle-cloths, blankets,
cloaks, and everything else they so ardently desired. This
occasioned us to hasten our departure, and at two o'clock
we bid a last adieu to his Excellency. Le Borgne gave us
a cordial shake of
the hand, and advised us to be upon our
guard, as the time was nearly arrived when the Sioux frequented
those parts, as they could subsist on berries, the
corn would soon be fit to steal during the night, and by
these means of maintaining themselves they might lie for
many days in wait for any small party to leave the village.
He told us by all means to make a long circuit westward,
be continually upon the lookout, and not allow ourselves
to be surprised by an enemy, as we must expect no
quarter. We bade him farewell, and for my part I wished
never to see this great man again, or any of his clan ;
I was
heartily tired of them all, and much relieved by the prospect
of traveling at my own free will and pleasure, no
longer subject to the caprice of those mercenary savages.
We proceeded on our journey by the same route we
came, along the bank of the river. Our party consisted of
lo men and 25 horses, forming a cavalcade which at a distance
looked quite respectable, and might deter an enemy
from attacking us, unless they were very strong. Our real
strength was slight, having only three guns and a pair of pistols
among us all, and a scant supply of ammunition. We
soon came to the heights of Snake Lodge, where we turned