interesting articles, it has never reached Europe.

On the 1st of July, in the morning, we heard that Matsokui, the young Blackfoot Indian, who had come here with us, had been shot, during the night, in the Indian camp. Berger, the Blackfoot interpreter, who was charged to have a watchful eye over this young Indian, had frequently warned him to keep away from the Assiniboins and the Crees, or some mischief would certainly befall him; but he had suffered himself to be deceived by their apparently friendly conduct, and had remained in a tent till late at night, where he was shot by a Cree, who had immediately made his escape. We saw the dead body of our poor travelling companion, laced up in a buffalo's skin, lying in the fort, and it was afterwards buried near the fort, in a coffin made by the carpenter. Kiasax had been more prudent; he had not trusted the Assiniboins, and had returned with the steam-boat to his family. Mr. Mc Kenzie told us, that he had witnessed a similar incident the year before. A Blackfoot whom he brought with him, was shot by the Crees at their departure, though he had previously been many times in their camp.

After the perpetration of this deed, a dead silence prevailed in the Indian camp; but about noon, two of the chiefs, attended by other Indians in procession, singing aloud, and among them General Jackson, came as a deputation to make excuses to Mr. Mc Kenzie for this murder. They brought, by way of present, a horse, and a couple of very beautiful pipes, one of which was a real calumet, adorned with feathers and green horse-hair. They made an address to Mr. Mc Kenzie, in which they solemnly asserted their innocence of the death of the Blackfoot, saying that the deed had been done by a Cree, who had immediately fled, and whom they had pursued, but in vain. Ayanyan is said to have spoken remarkably well on this occasion.

In the afternoon we again heard the Indian drum beating very loud in the tent of the sick man, and we went there to see their conjurations. We looked cautiously through the crevices in the tent, and saw the patient sitting on the floor, his head, covered with a small cap, sunk {205} upon his breast, and several men standing around him. Two of the medicine men were beating the drum in quick time, and a third rattled the Quakemuha (or Shishikue), which he waved up and down. These people were singing with great effort; sometimes they uttered short ejaculations, and were in a violent perspiration; sometimes they sucked the places where the patient felt pain, and pretended they could suck out or remove the morbid matter. Such jugglers are very well paid by the patients, and always regaled with tobacco. Many of the Indians went away this afternoon, because they could not find sufficient subsistence. Among others, General Jackson had taken leave. It was reported that some of the Crees had said they would take up the body of the Blackfoot that was shot, because there had not been time to scalp him; but such expressions were quite usual, and the grave was not disturbed.

The keel-boat from Fort Cass had arrived, on board of which we were to go to Fort Mc Kenzie. We had, therefore, a numerous company, but we were in no want of provisions, as our hunters had brought home, from their last excursion, the flesh of nineteen buffaloes. It was exactly a year to-day, July 4th, since we had landed at Boston. Mr. Mc Kenzie sent Berger, the interpreter,[11] and one Harvey, by land, to Fort Mc Kenzie, to which they proceeded on horseback, before us, along the north bank of the river. They had no baggage but their arms, their beds of buffalo skin, and blankets. They took some dried meat with them, but they chiefly depended for subsistence on their rifles. While the people were employed in loading the keel-boat with the goods and provisions for the tribes living higher up the river, we profited by this last day's stay in this place, to make excursions into the neighbouring woods on the river-side, and to the prairie. In a wood, below the fort, we found a tree, on which the corpses of several Assiniboins were deposited; one of them had fallen down, and been torn and devoured by the wolves. The blankets which covered the body were new, and partly bedaubed with red paint, and some of the branches and the trunk of the tree were coloured in the same manner. Dreidoppel, who discovered this tree, took up the skull of a young Assiniboin, in which a mouse had made its nest for its young; and Mr. Bodmer made an accurate drawing of the tree, under which there was a close thicket of roses in full blossom, the fragrant flowers of which seemed destined to veil this melancholy scene of human frailty and folly.[12]

The Flora keel-boat was laden, and there was only the baggage of the travellers to be taken on board. This vessel was a strong-built sloop, about sixty feet long by sixteen broad, with a deck, a mast, and sail. The goods were deposited in the middle space; at the stern there was a cabin, ten paces long and five or six broad, with two berths, one of which was allotted to Mr. Mitchell, and the second to me; the other persons, three in number, spread their beds, in the evening, on the floor. At the back of this cabin there was a little window, with a sliding shutter, and, on each side, a port-hole, which, in fine weather, admitted light and air. Round the vessel there was a ledge, about a foot and a half broad, on which the men walked backwards and forwards {206} when, the water being low, they had to propel the boat by means of poles. In the fore part of the vessel was the apartment for the engagés, and, on the deck, an iron grate for cooking: here, too, the game which we had taken was hung up. About half of our men were destined to tow the vessel when there was no wind. Formerly this was the only method of navigating the Missouri, till, about two years ago, the first essay was made with the steam-boat which now goes regularly to Fort Union. A voyage from Saint Louis to Fort Mc Kenzie used to take eight months, and is now performed by the steam-boat in a little more than a third of that time. The number of men, destined by Mr. Mc Kenzie for the voyage to the Blackfeet, consisted of double the usual crew of a keel-boat, and, including us travellers, amounted to fifty-two persons. I had taken many things, necessary for a long journey, from the Company's stores, but part of what I had brought from St. Louis had been left at Fort Pièrre, on the Teton River, the want of which I already felt, but had still more reason to lament in the sequel.

All necessary arrangements for our voyage being made, Mr. Mc Kenzie caused some fire-works to be let off before the fort on the bank of the Missouri, for the amusement of the people, which gave occasion to many jokes. The serpents dispersed the crowds of young Canadians, who had never seen anything of the kind before, and were called by their older, more experienced comrades, mangeurs de lard.[13]