rse Indians had gone on a hunting expedition and had not yet
returned; so Pierre and his brother decided to wait for them. On the
summit of the mountain they made a signal fire, and every day one of
the explorers climbed up to the lookout to see if there were any signs
of the Indians. At the foot of the mountain they built a small house
in which they lived. Some of their time they spent in hunting to
provision the camp, while waiting as patiently as they could for the
Horse Indians to return from their hunting.

At last, on September 14, a smoke was seen rising in the south-western
sky. One of the men was sent to investigate, and he found not the
Horse Indians but a band known to the Mandans as the Good-looking
Indians. Difficulties multiplied. One of the Mandan guides had
already deserted them to go back to the Missouri, and the other now
told the brothers that he must leave them. He was prompted by fear.
The Good-looking Indians were not on friendly terms with the Mandans,
and, although they had not offered to do him any harm, he was afraid to
remain near these enemies.

{77}

After the Mandan had gone back, the brothers La Verendrye managed to
explain to the Good-looking Indians by signs that they were seeking the
Horse Indians and asked for guides to one of the camps of these
Indians. One of the Good-looking Indians said he knew the way, and
they set out under his guidance; but they became anxious on finding
that they were still travelling in the same direction as before, for
this did not seem to be a very direct road to the Western Sea. Still,
they had fixed their hopes on the Horse Indians as the people able to
lead them there, and the most urgent thing to do was to find some
members of that tribe, even though they had to go a long way out of
their course to do so.

On the second day after they left the camp of the Good-looking Indians,
they met a party of another tribe known as the Little Foxes, who were
very friendly. The explorers gave them some small presents, and made
them understand that they were seeking the Horse Indians, who had
promised to show them the way to the sea. 'We will take you to the
Horse Indians,' they said, and their whole party turned about and
joined the French. But these new guides also, to the disgust of
Francois La Verendrye, {78} still marched towards the south-west. 'I
felt sure,' he said, 'that in this direction we should never find the
Western Sea.' However, there