nd put
into a dish. When the eating was finished, the chief gave an
exhortation, which concluded the ceremony.

About the end of March, Mr. Pike ordered the boats to be prepared for
the voyage, in return, down the river. The ice had not, indeed, yet
broken up; but he was every day in anxious expectation of seeing it
begin to move. On the 6th of April, the river was found sufficiently
clear of ice, to permit the party to re-embark. They accordingly loaded
the boats, and, on the ensuing morning, experienced inexpressible joy,
in leaving the savage wilderness, in which they had been so long
imprisoned. On the 10th, they again reached the _Falls of St. Anthony_.
The appearance of this cataract was much more tremendous than it had
been when they ascended; and the great increase of the water occasioned
the spray to rise much higher than it had done before. The river was
still nearly covered with floating-ice; and much snow continued to fall.

After his arrival at the _Prairie des Chiens_, Mr. Pike held a council,
with the Puant chiefs, respecting some murders which had been committed
by the men of their nation; and, in the afternoon, he was entertained
with a game of "the cross," between the Sioux on one side, and the
Puants and the Reynards on the other. The ball used in this game is made
of a hard substance, and covered with leather. When the parties are
ready, and the bets have been agreed upon, (and these are sometimes to
the amount of several thousand dollars,) the goals are erected on the
prairie, about half a mile asunder. The ball is then thrown up, in the
middle, and each party, with a kind of racket, strives to beat it to the
opposite goal. After the first rubber is gained, which is done by the
ball being driven round one of the posts, it is again taken to the
centre, the ground is changed, and the contest is renewed; and this is
continued until one of the parties has been four times victorious, on
which the bets are decided.

It is an interesting sight, says Mr. Pike, to behold two or three
hundred naked savages contending, on the plain, who shall bear off the
palm of victory; for the man who drives the ball round the goal,
receives the shouts of his companions, in congratulation of his success.
It sometimes happens, that one of them catches the ball in his racket,
and, depending on his speed, endeavours to carry it to the goal; but if
he finds himself too closely pursued, he hurls it, with great force and
dexte