one appeared cheerful and contented. Mr. Hunt
determined to avail himself of this interval to return to St. Louis and
obtain a reinforcement.

He wished to procure an interpreter, acquainted with the language of
the Sioux, as, from all accounts, he apprehended difficulties in passing
through the country of that nation. He felt the necessity, also, of
having a greater number of hunters, not merely to keep up a supply of
provisions throughout their long and arduous expedition, but also as a
protection and defense, in case of Indian hostilities. For such service
the Canadian voyageurs were little to be depended upon, fighting not
being a part of their profession. The proper kind of men were American
hunters, experienced in savage life and savage warfare, and possessed of
the true game spirit of the west.

Leaving, therefore, the encampment in charge of the other partners, Mr.
Hunt set off on foot on the first of January (1810), for St. Louis. He
was accompanied by eight men as far as Fort Osage, about one hundred
and fifty miles below Nodowa. Here he procured a couple of horses, and
proceeded on the remainder of his journey with two men, sending the
other six back to the encampment. He arrived at St. Louis on the 20th of
January.

CHAPTER XV.

Opposition of the Missouri Fur Company.-Blackfeet Indians.--
Pierre Dorion, a Half-Breed Interpreter.--Old Dorion and His
Hybrid Progeny--Family Quarrels.--Cross Purposes Between
Dorion and Lisa.--Renegadoes From Nodowa.--Perplexities of
a Commander.--Messrs. Bradbury and Nuttall Join the
Expedition.-Legal Embarrassments of Pierre Dorion.--
Departure From St. Louis.--Conjugal Discipline of a Half-
Breed.--Annual Swelling of the Rivers.-Daniel Boone, the
Patriarch of Kentucky.-John Colter.-His Adventures Among the
Indians.-Rumors of Danger Ahead.-Fort Osage.-An Indian War-
Feast.-Troubles in the Dorion Family.--Buffaloes and Turkey-
Buzzards.

ON this his second visit to St. Louis, Mr. Hunt was again impeded in his
plans by the opposition of the Missouri Fur Company. The affairs of
that company were, at this time, in a very dubious state. During the
preceding year, their principal establishment at the forks of the
Missouri had been so much harassed by the Blackfeet Indians, that its
commander, Mr. Henry, one of the partners, had been compelled to abandon
the post and cross the Rocky Mountains, with the intention