ers. He
represented to them that they were between six and seven hundred miles
above the mouth of the Missouri; that they would have four hundred miles
to go before they could reach the habitation of a white man, throughout
which they would be exposed to all kinds of risks; since, he declared,
if they persisted in abandoning him and breaking their faith, he would
not furnish them with a single round of ammunition. All was in vain;
they obstinately persisted in their resolution; whereupon, Mr. Hunt,
partly incited by indignation, partly by the policy of deterring others
from desertion, put his threat into execution, and left them to find
their way back to the settlements without, as he supposed, a single
bullet or charge of powder.

The boats now continued their slow and toilsome course for several days,
against the current of the river. The late signs of roaming war parties
caused a vigilant watch to be kept up at night when the crews encamped
on shore; nor was this vigilance superfluous; for on the night of the
seventh instant, there was a wild and fearful yell, and eleven Sioux
warriors, stark naked, with tomahawks in their hands, rushed into the
camp. They were instantly surrounded and seized, whereupon their leader
called out to his followers to desist from any violence, and pretended
to be perfectly pacific in his intentions. It proved, however, that they
were a part of the war party, the skeleton of whose canoe had been seen
at the mouth of the river Platte, and the reflection of whose fires had
been descried in the air. They had been disappointed or defeated in the
foray, and in their rage and mortification these eleven warriors had
"devoted their clothes to the medicine." This is a desperate act of
Indian braves when foiled in war, and in dread of scoffs and sneers. In
such case they sometimes threw off their clothes and ornaments, devote
themselves to the Great Spirit, and attempt some reckless exploit with
which to cover their disgrace. Woe to any defenseless party of white men
that may then fall in their way!

Such was the explanation given by Pierre Dorion, the half-breed
interpreter, of this wild intrusion into the camp; and the party were
so exasperated when appraised of the sanguinary intentions of the
prisoners, that they were for shooting them on the spot. Mr. Hunt,
however, exerted his usual moderation and humanity, and ordered
that they should be conveyed across the river in one of the boats,
threat