nd contortions. They all leaped about on
the greensward of the prairie, with their arms akimbo, and violently
beating the ground with their feet, in measured tread.

The wailing for the dead was blended with their discordant cries. One
of the chiefs who was very loud in his demonstrations of grief for his
lost son, and who had previously urged putting the Frenchmen to death,
frequently in the course of the frantic dance approached the Frenchmen,
and placing his hands on each one of their heads, uttered the most
piercing dirge-like cries. Father Hennepin could not understand the
significance of this strange ceremony, but he had many fears that it
indicated violence to come.

Hoping to conciliate the chief, he made him a very valuable present of
knives, axes, beads, and tobacco in honor of the son whose loss he so
deeply deplored. By these frequent presents, the small store of goods
which the canoe could hold was rapidly disappearing. They were then on
the borders of a wide expansion of the Mississippi resembling a lake.
Father Hennepin gave it the name of Pepin, or the Lake of Tears, from
the lugubrious cries of the chieftain in the funereal dance. The next
day, or day after, quite a large herd of buffaloes was seen swimming
across the river. The enormous creatures, thus taken at disadvantage,
were easily killed. Thirty or forty, pierced by arrows and javelins,
were soon dragged ashore. The savages had another feast, from the
tongues and other most delicate morsels of the animal. All the
remainder was left to putrefy, or be devoured by wild beasts. The frail
canoes were so crowded that there was no room to store away any game.
Neither was there need to do so, for every day brought almost
invariably a full supply. It required hunger, and an acquired appetite
for such food, to make it palatable; for it was eaten without bread or
salt, or any other seasoning.

Some days the Indians seemed very good natured. Again, with no known
cause, they were morose and threatening. Even the chief who had
protected them was as capricious in his conduct as a child. He would at
times feed them abundantly, minister to all their wants, and caress
them. Again he would allow them, in a stormy night, to be driven from
his cabin, to find such shelter as they could. Usually some Indians
would be placed in their canoe to help them paddle. Again they would be
left to struggle unaided against the rushing flood. The Frenchmen could
not speak a word