When I turned to ride off, I saw Wa-me-gon-a-biew still running like a frightened turkey. He was almost out of sight. When I overtook him, I said, “My brother, you must be tired, I will lend you my horse,” and we went on together. At length, we saw two men coming on horse back from the village, to pursue us. Wa-me-gon-a-biew was alarmed, and would have rode off leaving me to settle the difficulty with them as I could, but perceiving his intention, I called to him to leave the horse, which he did, and resumed his race on foot. When the two men had approached within about half a mile of me, I got down from the horse, and taking the halter in my hand, stood with my face towards them. They stopped in the path, at a distance from me, and looking around in the other direction, I perceived that Wa-me-gon-a-biew had concealed himself in the bushes. The two men stood in the road, and I remained holding my horse nearly in the same place until near noon. The people of the village stood, in great numbers, on a little elevation close by the lodges, and watched to see what would be done. The two Ba-gis-kun-nungs, after they were tired of standing, separated, and one came round on one side, the other on the other, and came up opposite to me. It was then I thought they would approach me, one on one side, the other on the other, and thus get an opportunity to shoot me down, but after coming near me once or twice, they went on, and got together in the road, between me and Wa-me-gon-a-biew. I now began to tire of their pusillanimous behaviour, and getting on my horse, I rode toward them, but they turned out of my way, and went around to the village. In this affair, I found Wa-me-gon-a-biew more cowardly than it was usual even for him to be, but it happened that the chiefs, and the considerate men of the band to whom Ba-gis-kun-mung belonged, were glad I had come to take a horse. Ba-gis-kun-nung and his sons were considered troublesome and bad men, hence it was that I was able to carry through this enterprise without any assistance from Wa-me-gon-a-biew.
After the two men turned back, I rode along and Wa-me-gon-a-biew joined me from the bushes where he had been concealed. We found that night the lodge of our old friend, Waw-so, who used formerly to live with Pe-shau-ba. The horse I had taken I concealed in the woods, and did not wish to tell Waw-so of what I had done. But in the middle of the night, after I fell asleep, Wa-me-gon-a-biew began to relate to him all that had happened the preceding day, and when he came to hear of my jumping over the horse, of which I had told Wa-me-gon-a-biew, the old man waked me with his loud and hearty laughter.
We spent the night with Waw-so, and next morning continued on our journey towards Ko-te-kwaw-wi-ah-we-se-be, where I lived. I had now two horses, and a friend of mine coming along who had none, I promised to give him one, but as he was not then going home, he deferred taking it until he should pass again. In the mean time, the horse I had intended for him, died of a broken blood vessel, so that I had none remaining but the black horse, which I called Mandan, and to which I had become much attached. When the man returned, I could do no otherwise than give him this one. My wife cried, and I felt much regret at parting with this valuable horse.
Three months after this, the Crees sent tobacco to the Ojibbeways, to accompany them to the Mandans, and join in an attack on some of the Bwoi-nug in the country of the Missouri. As these messages were going about, I received word from Ba-gis-kun-nung that he did not wish to have me join in the war-party. This amounted to a threat to take my life if I went, but I paid no attention to it.
In six days I could go from my place to Turtle Mountain, where the Crees were assembling in considerable numbers. I had been waiting about one month when Wa-ge-tote arrived with sixty men on his way to the rendezvous. Here eight of us joined him, and gave what assistance we could in provisions to his party, who had been starving for some time. Soon we were all suffering alike. We had travelled on two or three days, when twenty young men were selected to go and hunt buffalo. Wa-ge-tote insisted that I must go with them, but I declined. He urged it upon me repeatedly, and, at last, taking my load on his own shoulders, he said, “Now, my nephew, you must go, and I will carry your load for you, till you join us again.” I went forward a short distance, had the good fortune to kill an elk. The Indians fell on it like hungry dogs, and soon not a particle of it was left, though I believe not more than half of those that were in starving condition tasted of it. The twenty men that had been sent out, returned without having killed any thing. They now became so weak from hunger that numbers were left being unable to walk. For many days we had no other food than the roots of the Me-tush-koo-she min[*], (grass berry,) an excellent root, called Pommeblanch by the Frenchmen. I was myself about to fail when late one night, as all were asleep, an old man, a relative of my wife, waked me, and put carefully into my hand a small quantity of pemmican, which he had carried concealed about him. This enabled me to reach the Turtle Mountain, to which place, probably, about half of Wage-tote’s band arrived at the same time. Of those that had parted from us, some afterwards joined, some returned to their own country, and others were no more heard of.
The Assinneboins and Crees whom we had expected to meet at Turtle Mountain, had left it some time before, and we had followed on their trail but a few days, when we met them returning. They related to us that they had arrived at the Mandan village just as a war-party of the Sioux had reached the same place with a design to attack the town. The Mandan chief said to them as soon as they came, “My friends, these Sioux have come hither to put out my fire. They know not that you are here. As they have not come against you, why should your blood flow in our quarrel? Remain, therefore, in my village, and you shall see that we are men, and need no help when they come to fight us at our own doors.” The Mandan village was surrounded by a wall of pickets, and close to these the Sioux fought all day. At length, an intermission took place, and the Mandan chief, calling to the Sioux from the inside, said to them, “Depart from about our village, or we will let out upon you our friends, the Ojibbeways, who have been sitting here all day, and are now fresh and unwearied.” The Sioux answered, “This is a vain boast, made with a design to conceal your weakness. You have no Ojibbeways in your house, and if you had hundreds, we neither fear nor regard them. The Ojibbeways are women, and if your village were full of them, we would, for that reason, the sooner come among you.” The Crees and Assinneboins, hearing these taunts, became irritated and ran out to attack the Sioux, which the latter perceiving, fled in all directions. The Ojibbeways, though they had little share in the fight, were allowed to have some of the scalps taken during the day, and one of these fell into the hands of our chief, Wa-ge-tote, though he had not been within several days’ march of the scene of action, and with this trophy he returned towards his own country. When we reached Turtle Mountain on our return, we were all suffering the extremity of hunger, and many were quite unable to travel farther. We were, therefore, compelled to stop, and of the whole party, there were found only four who had strength and resolution enough remaining to undertake to hunt. These were an old man, called Gitch-e-weesh, (big beaver lodge,) two young men, and myself. Gitch-e-weesh, the old man, was in high spirits, and expressed the utmost confidence that he should kill something. “When I was yet a little boy,” said he, “the Great Spirit came to me after I had been fasting for three days, and told me he had heard my crying, and had come to tell me that he did not wish to hear me cry and complain so often, but that if ever I was reduced to the danger of immediately perishing of hunger, then I should call upon him, and he would hear and give me something. I have never called before, but last night I spent in prayer and singing, and I have assurance that I shall this day be fed by the bounty of the Great God. I have never asked before, and I know that he will not forget his promise.” We all started at the same time in the morning, but went to hunt in different directions. I hunted all day without finding any thing, and so weak was I, that I could traverse but a very small extent of ground. It was late when I came in. The two young men were in before me. All began to despair, but old Gitch-e-weesh was still absent. At a very late hour he arrived, bending under a heavy load of meat. I was selected to cook and make an equal division of what he had brought. Next day we went to the place where the moose had been killed, all the remainder of which we soon devoured.
*
This is one of the species of Psoralea, so abundant in the open countries of the Missouri. When boiled or roasted, the roots are exceedingly palatable and nutritious; but the exclusive use of them commonly occasions derangement of the bowels.