Pich-e-to, with his two Ta-wa-e-guns, at length came up and stopped with us. Old Net-no-kwa was not backward about inquiring his business, and when she found that his designs extended no farther than to the Bow-we-tig girl, she gave her consent to the match, and married them immediately. Next morning, Waw-be-be-nais-sa, who, as well as Wa-me-gon-a-biew had come with me from the mouth of the Assinneboin, killed a buck elk, and I a moose. I now made a change in my manner of hunting which contributed much towards the skill I finally acquired. I resolved that I would, whenever it was possible, even at the expense of the greatest exertions, get every animal I should kill at. When I came to look upon it as necessary that I should kill every animal I shot at, I became more cautious in my approaches, and more careful never to fire until my prospect of being able to kill was good. I made this resolution in the spring, and hunted much, and killed many animals during the summer. I missed only two that I fired at. It requires much skill, and great caution, to be able to kill moose at all, particularly in summer. As I began to be considered a good hunter, Waw-be-be-nais-sa became envious of my success, and often when I was absent, he went slily into my lodge, and bent my gun, or borrowed it under pretence of his own being out of repair, and returned it to me bent, or otherwise injured.
Very early in the spring, we had much severe thunder and lightning. One night, Pich-e-to becoming much alarmed at the violence of the storm, got up and offered some tobacco to the thunder, intreating it to stop. The Ojibbeways and Ottawwaws believe that thunder is the voice of living beings, which they call An-nim-me-keeg[*]. Some considering them to be like men, while others say they have more resemblance to birds. It is doubtful whether they are aware of any necessary connection between the thunder and the lightning which precedes it. They think the lightning is fire, and many of them will assert, that by searching in the ground at the root of the tree that has been struck, immediately after the flash a ball of fire may be found. I have myself many times sought for this ball, but could never find it. I have traced the path of the lightning along the wood, almost to the end of some large root, but where it disappeared I was never able to find any thing more in the soil than what belonged there. After the storm which I first mentioned, we found in the morning an elm tree still burning, which had been set on fire by the lightning. The Indians have a superstitious dread of this fire, and none of them would go to bring some of it, to replace ours which had been extinguished by the rain. I at last went and brought some of it, though not without apprehension. I had fewer fears than the Indians, but I was not entirely free from the same unfounded apprehensions which so constantly pursue them.
After we had killed and dried large quantities of meat, we erected a sunjegwun, or a scaffold, where we deposited as much as we thought would supply the wants of our women in our absence. Before we had entirely finished the preparations for our journey, we were fallen upon by a war-party of about two hundred Sioux, and some of our people killed. A small party of Assinneboins and Crees had already gone out towards the Sioux country, and falling by accident on the trace of this war-party of two hundred, had dogged them for some time, coming repeatedly near enough to see the crane’s head, used by their chief instead of stones, in the Ko-sau-bun-zitch-e-gun, or nightly divination, to discover the position of the enemy. This little band of Crees and Assinneboins had not courage enough to fall upon the Sioux, but they sent messengers to the Ojibbeways by a circuitous route. These came to the lodge of the principal chief of the Ojibbeways, who was hunting in advance of his people, but this man scorned to betray fear. By retreating immediately to the trader’s fort, he might have escaped the threatening danger. He made his preparations to move, but his old wife, being jealous of the younger one, which was now in higher favour than herself, reproached him, and complained that he had given more to the young woman than to her. He said to her, “You have for a long time annoyed me with your jealousy, and your complaints, but I shall hear no more of it. The Sioux are near, and I shall wait for them.” He accordingly remained, and continued hunting. Early one morning, he went up into an oak tree that stood near his lodge, to look out over the prairie for buffalo, and in descending he was shot from below by two young men of the Sioux that had been concealed there great part of the night. It is probable they would have fallen upon him sooner but for fear. Now the trampling of horses was heard, and the men who were with the chief had scarce time to run out of the lodge when the two hundred Sioux, on their horses, were at the door. One of the two runners who had come forward, and had been concealed in the hazel bushes, was an uncle of Wah-ne-taw[*], at present a well known chief of the Yanktongs, and the party was led by his father. Wah-ne-taw himself was of the party, but was then less distinguished than he has since become. The fight continued during the day. All the Ojibbeways, about twenty in number, being killed, except Ais-ainse, (the little clam,) a brother of the chief, two women, and one child.
Mr. H., the trader at Pembinah gave the Ojibbeways a ten gallon keg of powder, and one hundred pounds of balls, to pursue after the party that had killed the chief, his father-in-law. Of the four hundred men that started, one hundred were Assinneboins, the remaining three hundred Crees and Ojibbeways, with some Muskegoes. In the course of the first day after we left Pembinah, about one hundred Ojibbeways deserted and went back. In the following night, the Assinneboins left in considerable numbers, having stolen many horses, and, among others, four belonging to me and Wa-me-gon-a-biew. I had taken but seven pairs of moccasins, having intended to make the whole journey on horse back, and it was now a great misfortune for me to lose my horses. I went to Pe-shau-ba, who was chief of the band of Ottawwaws, to which I belonged, and told him that I wished to make reprisals from the few Assinneboins still belonging to our party, but he would not consent, saying very justly, that the dissension growing out of such a measure, on my part, might lead to quarrels, which would entirely interrupt and frustrate the designs of the whole party. His advice, though I knew it to be good as far as the interest of the whole was concerned, did nothing to remove my private grievances, and I went from one to another of the Ottawwaws, and those whom I considered my friends among the Ojibbeways, and endeavoured to persuade them to join me in taking horses from the Assinneboins. None would consent, but a young man called Gish-kau-ko[*], a relative of him by whom I was taken prisoner. He agreed to watch with me the thirteen Assinneboins remaining with our party, and, if an opportunity offered, to assist in taking horses from them. Soon after, I saw eight of these men lingering in the encampment one morning, and I believed it was their intention to turn back. I called Gish-kau-ko to watch them with me, and when most of the Ojibbeways had left camp, we saw them get on their horses, and turn their faces towards home. We followed after them, though they were well armed. As we knew we could not take their horses by violence, we threw down our arms in our camp and followed them with nothing in our hands. One of them stopped some distance in the rear of the retiring party, and dismounted to hold a parley with us, but they were too wary and cautious to give us any opportunity of taking their horses. We tried entreaties, and at last, as I saw there was no hope, I told them their five companions that were left in our camp would not be safe among us, but this, instead of having any good effect, only induced them to send a messenger on their swiftest horse to warn those men to beware of me.
*
*
The name of this distinguished chief is spelt in “Major Long’s Second Expedition,”
*
The name of this man Tanner pronounces