ely yours, and if you ever have the power of returning the money, and
I happen to want it, I will trust to you to do so."

The spring was advancing; the snow disappeared as the sun got hotter and
hotter, and the ice broke up in the river and went rushing downwards,
huge masses tumbling over each other, grinding together till they became
small pieces and quickly melted away.

The grass grew up, the wild flowers bloomed--no others are to be seen in
that region--the leaves burst forth, and the forests once more assumed
their mantle of green.

We were all actively engaged--some in cultivating a field of Indian
corn, another of potatoes, and a kitchen garden in a sheltered spot near
the fort. Our chief business, however, was hunting; for though some
animals are killed in the winter, many more are shot in the spring and
summer. We have a spring, though vegetation proceeds so rapidly, when
once the winter has taken its departure, that it is a very short one,
and rushes, as it were, rapidly into summer.

The trappers were away with their traps to catch beaver. Nearly all
other animals are of value--bears, badgers, squirrels, foxes, hares,
rabbits, opossums, otters, minks, martens, raccoons, skunks, musk rats,
and weasels--but the beaver is one of the most valuable. We one evening
had returned after a shooting excursion to the fort, when an Indian,
followed by two squaws carrying a couple of packs of skins, was seen
approaching. Alick went out to meet him, and invited him in, with the
intention of purchasing the peltries, supposing that his object in
coming was to sell them.

He declined allowing the squaws to enter the fort, but when invited came
willingly himself. Though he spoke the Cree language, he had more the
appearance of a Sioux.

Sandy, who was within at the time, warned Alick not to trust him. He
set a high price on his peltries, and said that he would only sell them
for arms and ammunition, as he had blankets and cloth enough in his
lodge for all his wants; he required six muskets and a large stock of
powder and shot.

We were not absolutely prohibited from selling muskets to the Indians,
but our instructions were to try to induce them to take blankets, cloth,
tobacco, beads, and cutlery.

"But you are alone, my friend, and can require but one gun for
yourself," said Alick.

On this the Indian got up and made a long speech. I should have said
that he had announced himself as Opoihgun, "a pipe;" on