almost sure
she had not tasted a morsel herself.

* * * * *

Oh! the boats--the boats with the corn! Why did they not come? We both
wrote and sent to hasten them, but, alas! everything and everybody moved
so slowly in those unenterprising times! We could only feel sure that
they would come when they were ready, and not a moment before.

We were soon obliged to keep both doors and windows fast, to shut out
the sight of misery we could not relieve. If a door were opened for the
admission of a member of the family, some wretched mother would rush in,
grasp the hand of my infant, and, placing that of her famishing child
within it, tell us, pleadingly, that he was imploring "his little
brother" for food. The stoutest man could not have beheld with dry eyes
the heart-rending spectacle which often presented itself. It was in vain
that we screened the lower portion of our windows with curtains. They
would climb up on the outside, and tier upon tier of gaunt, wretched
faces would peer in above, to watch us, and see if indeed we were as ill
provided as we represented ourselves.

The noble old Day-kau-ray came one day, from the Barribault, to apprise
us of the state of his village. More than forty of his people, he said,
had now been for many days without food, save bark and roots. My husband
accompanied him to the commanding officer to tell his story and
ascertain if any amount of food could be obtained from that quarter. The
result was, the promise of a small allowance of flour, sufficient to
alleviate the cravings of his own family.

When this was explained to the chief, he turned away. "No," he said,
"if his people could not be relieved, he and his family would starve
with them!" And he refused, for those nearest and dearest to him, the
proffered succor, until all could share alike.

The announcement, at length, that "the boats were in sight," was a
thrilling and most joyful sound.

Hundreds of poor creatures were assembled on the bank, watching their
arrival. Oh! how torturing was their slow approach, by the winding
course of the river, through the extended prairie! As the first boat
touched the land, we, who were gazing on the scene with anxiety and
impatience only equalled by that of the sufferers, could scarcely
refrain from laughing, to see old Wild-Cat, who had somewhat fallen off
in his huge amount of flesh, seize "the Washington Woman" in his arms
and hug and dance with her in the