to every sentence; then he pauses a bit and speaks. "He wishes to
know if aught can be done against the Blackfeet; they are troublesome,
they are fond of war; he has seen war for many years, and he would wish
for peace; it is only the young men, who want scalps and the soft words
of the squaws, who desire war." I tell him that "the Great Mother wishes
her red children to live at peace; but what is the use? do they not
themselves break the peace when it is made, and is not the war as often
commenced by the Crees as by the Blackfeet?" He says that "men have told
them that the white man was coming to take their lands, that the white
braves were coming to the country, and he wished to know if it was true."
"If the white braves did come," I replied, "it would be to protect the
red man, and to keep peace amongst all. So dear was the red man to the
heart of the chief whom the Great Mother had sent, that the sale of all
spirits had been stopped in the Indian country, and henceforth, when he
saw any trader bringing whisky or fire-water into the camp, he could tell
his young men to go and take the fire-water by force from the trader."

"That is good," he repeated twice, "that is good!" but whether this
remark of approval had reference to the stoppage of the fire-water or to
the prospective seizure of liquor by his braves, I cannot say. Soon after
the departure of Mistawassis from the hut, a loud drumming outside was
suddenly struck up, and going to the door I found the young men had
assembled to dance the dance of welcome in my honour; they drummed and
danced in different stages of semi-nudity for some time, and at the
termination of the performance I gave an order for tobacco all round.
When the dancing-party had departed, a very garrulous Indian presented
himself, saying that he had been informed that the Ogima was possessed of
some "great medicines," and that he wished to see them. I have almost
forgotten to remark that my store of drugs and medicines had under gone
considerable delapidation from frost and fast travelling. An examination
held at Carlton into the contents of the two cases had revealed a sad
state of affairs. Frost had smashed many bottles; powders badly folded up
had fetched way in a deplorable manner; tinctures had proved their
capability for the work they had to perform by tincturing every thing
that came within their reach; hopeless confusion reigned in the
department of pills. A few glass-stoppered bottles h