re
wood and water.

The horses were picketed, a fire kindled, a mouthful of dried meat
hastily eaten, the watch was set, and then each man scraped away the
snow, spread some branches on the ground, and wrapping himself in his
blanket, went to sleep with his feet presented towards the fire.

Two hours were allowed for rest; then they were awakened, and in a few
minutes were off again by the gray light of dawn. In this way they
travelled two nights and a day. At the end of that time they came
suddenly on a small party of nine Indians, who were seated on the
ground with their snow-shoes and blankets by their sides. They had
evidently been taken by surprise, but they made no attempt to escape,
knowing that it was useless. Each sat still with his bow and arrows
between his legs on the ground ready for instant use.

As soon as Cameron spoke, however, in their own language they felt
relieved, and began to talk.

"Where do you come from, and what are you doing here?" asked the
trader.

"We have come to trade with the white men," one of them replied, "and
to hunt. We have come from the Missouri. Our country is far away."

"Do Peigans hunt with _war-arrows?_" asked Cameron, pointing to their
weapons.

This question seemed to perplex them, for they saw that their
interrogator knew the difference between a war and a hunting
arrow--the former being barbed in order to render its extraction from
the wound difficult, while the head of the latter is round, and can be
drawn out of game that has been killed, and used again.

"And do Peigans," continued Cameron, "come from a far country to trade
with the white men _with nothing?_"

Again the Indians were silent, for they had not an article to trade
about them.

Cameron now felt convinced that this party of Peigans, into whose
hands Joe Blunt and Henri had fallen, were nothing else than a war
party, and that the men now before him were a scouting party sent out
from them, probably to spy out his own camp, on the trail of which
they had fallen, so he said to them:--

"The Peigans are not wise men; they tell lies to the traders. I
will tell you that you are a war party, and that you are only a
few warriors sent out to spy the traders' camp. You have also two
_Pale-face_ prisoners in your camp. You cannot deceive me. It is
useless to try. Now, conduct me to your camp. My object is not war; it
is peace. I will speak with your chiefs about trading with the white
men, and we will