boat tied up at Traverse des Sioux, Mr. Williamson met me. The
trader sent a man to invite the three white men to dine with him. The
invitation was accepted with great anticipation. The trader's house was
a log cabin. The furniture consisted of roughly hewn benches and a
table. An Indian woman brought in first a wooden bowl full of maple
sugar which she placed on one end of the table with bowls and wooden
spoons at the three places. We were all eyes when we saw these
preparations. Last, she brought in a large bowl of something which I
could see was snow-white and put that in the center of the table. All
were then told to draw up to the table and help themselves. The bright
anticipations vanished when the meal was seen to consist solely of
clabbered milk with black looking maple sugar.

Mr. Williamson left me at Traverse to go East. Before going he helped me
load all our supplies into the two Red River carts which he had brought.
There were six hundred pounds on each. The trail was very easy to follow
and I walked along by the side of the slow going oxen. By keeping up
until late, and getting up at daybreak, I made the trip in seven days.
For the first four days I was followed by a great gaunt shape that made
me uneasy. I knew if it was a dog it would have come nearer. I slept
under the cart the first night, but was conscious of its presence as the
cattle were restless. On the fourth day of its enforced company, I met a
little caravan of carts owned by a Frenchman who was with the half
breeds. I told him of my stealthy companion, and he sent some of the
half breeds after it with their bows and arrows. They followed it four
miles into a swamp and then lost it. They seemed suspicious about this
particular animal, and went after it half heartedly. The trader gave me
a piece of dough and told me if it came again to put this in meat and
drop it. He said "Kill him quick as one gun."

My sister, Mrs. Huggins, wife of the farmer at Lac qui Parle, was
overjoyed to see me. Think what it must have meant to a woman way off in
the wilderness in that early day to see anyone from civilization, let
alone her brother. I had not seen her in several years. They had a nice
little garden and quite a patch of wheat, which I was told was fine for
the climate. The seed came from the craw of a wild swan that they had
shot. It was supposed to have come from the Pembina country for those
people had wheat long before the missionaries came. It was a