The _coureurs_ carried presents of pemmican.
To prevent surprise, the Assiniboines marched under the sheltered
slopes of the hills and observed military order. In front rode the
warriors, dressed in garnished buckskin and armed with spears and
arrows. Behind, on foot, came the old and the lame. To the rear was
another guard of warriors. Lagging in ragged lines far back came a
ragamuffin brigade, the women, children, and dogs--squaws astride
cayuses lean as barrel hoops, children in moss bags on their mothers'
backs, and horses and dogs alike harnessed with the _travaille_--two
sticks tied into a triangle, with the shafts fastened to a cinch on
horse or dog. The joined end of the shafts dragged on the ground, and
between them hung the baggage, surmounted by papoose, or pet owl, or
the half-tamed pup of a prairie-wolf, or even a wild-eyed young squaw
with hair flying to the wind. At night camp was made in a circle
formed of the hobbled horses. Outside, the dogs scoured in pursuit of
coyotes. The women and children took refuge in the centre, and the
warriors slept near their picketed horses. By the middle of November
the motley cavalcade had crossed the height of land between the
Assiniboine River and the Missouri, and was heading for the Mandan
villages. Mandan _coureurs_ came out to welcome the visitors,
pompously presenting De la Verendrye with corn in the ear and tobacco.
At this stage, the explorer discovered that his bag of presents for his
hosts had been stolen by the Assiniboines; but he presented the Mandans
with what ammunition he could spare, and gave them plenty of pemmican
which his hunters had cured.
Pages:
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223