coming to blows. The farther west
they went, the less hope I had of making my escape, because, even should
I get away from my present masters, I should in all probability fall
into the hands of those who had sold me.

"After travelling several days we reached Shegaw's lodges. Making me
dismount, he led me by the hand to his own dwelling, where he presented
me in due form to his wife, Kezha. She was much younger and
better-looking than my former mother, and, I thought, had a more amiable
expression of countenance. Thus far I had changed for the better.

"I soon found, however, that I was not to eat the bread of idleness; for
I was employed in cutting wood, attending to the fires, and bringing
water to the camp. Though Kezha herself did not beat me, she could not
prevent others from doing so.

"The tribe with whom I was now living were great hunters; as they were
constantly engaged in the sport, food was plentiful among us, and we did
not suffer from the extremes of famine which many others are doomed to
bear, in consequence of their neglecting to cultivate the ground. They
also preserved and laid by a store of provisions for the time when deer
or buffalo might become scarce.

"The abundance in which they lived made them despise other people and
indulge in many vices. Whenever liquor could be procured, they took it
to excess, and I had good reason to be afraid that in some of their
drunken fits they would take it into their heads to kill me. They were
also greatly addicted to gambling. They had a variety of games; one was
that of the moccasin. It is played by a number of persons, divided into
two parties. In one of four moccasins a little stick or small piece of
cloth is concealed. The moccasins are then laid down by the side of
each other in a row, and one of the adverse party touches two of the
moccasins.

"If the one he first touches has the thing hidden in it, the player
loses eight to the opposite party; if it is not in the second, but in
one of the two passed over, he loses two; if it is not in the one he
touches first, and is in the last, he wins eight. The articles staked
are valued by agreement. A beaver-skin or a blanket is valued at ten;
sometimes a horse at one hundred.

"There is another game played with circular counters, one side of them
being plain, while the other is painted black. Generally nine are used,
but never fewer. They are put together on a large wooden bowl, which is
place