heard what had occurred,
but said that we had had hunting enough that day, and that he would now
summon his people to take possession of the animals we had killed. The
skins are called robes, and are valued as articles of trade, being taken
by the far traders and sent to Canada, England, Russia, and other parts
of the world. Parts of the flesh of the slain animals was carried into
the camp for immediate consumption, but the larger portion was prepared
forthwith in a curious way for keeping. The meat is first cut into thin
slices and dried in the sun, and these slices are then pounded between
two stones till the fibres separate. This pounded meat is then mixed
with melted fat, about fifty pounds of the first to forty pounds of the
latter, and while hot is pressed into buffalo-skin bags, when it forms a
hard, compact mass. It is now called pemmikon, from _pemmi_, meat, and
_kon_, fat, in the Cree language. One pound of this mixture is
considered as nutritious as two of ordinary meat, and it has the
advantage of keeping for years through all temperatures.

V.

Soon after the grand hunting-day I have described, our scout brought
word that a party of Sioux were in the neighbourhood. Our fighting-men
attacked them and killed several. A scalp-dance took place, and other
orgies which I will not describe. I was so horrified with what I saw,
that I agreed with Malcolm that we would get back to the settlements as
soon as we could. We expressed our wish to Sigenok, and he promised to
return with us on the following day. Malcolm's great wish was to
withdraw Sigenok from his savage companions, and to induce him to settle
down as a civilised man and a Christian. We talked to him on the
subject, but he replied, that he had been all his life accustomed to
hunting, and fighting, and that he could not abandon them. The next day
we set out, leaving the larger body of Indians still encamped.

We had travelled on for two days, when the belief being entertained that
we had no enemies to fear, there was less than the usual caution
observed by the natives in our march. We were passing through a
sparsely wooded country, I was in advance with Sigenok, while Malcolm
and several young Indians, whose interest he wished to excite by
descriptions of England and the wonders of the civilised world, brought
up the rear, at a considerable distance. Suddenly Sigenok stopped, the
crack of a rifle was heard, several others followed. "The Si