of the
fight, I had been separated from the rest, and had wandered several
days through the woods in search of my comrades; and that now, seeing
the tents of my brethren, the red men, I had come to visit them, and
smoke the pipe of peace in their company. All this I with some
difficulty explained to my entertainer, who listened to me with great
attention, and then bade me welcome in the name of his nation, which he
told me was called the _Saukies_; he added, 'that their young men were
dispersed through the woods, hunting the deer and buffalo, but they
would soon return loaded with provisions, and in the meantime I might
share his cabin and such provisions as he could command.' I thanked him
for his offer, and remained several days in his hut, always entertained
with the same hospitality, until the return of the young men from
hunting. They came at last in several boats, along the lake, bringing
with them a considerable quantity of wild beasts, which they had killed.
I was received by all the tribe with the same hospitality I had
experienced from the old chief; and as it was necessary to gain their
friendship as much as possible, I joined them in all their hunting and
fishing parties, and soon acquired a considerable degree of skill in
both.

"Hunting itself has something cruel in the practice; it is a species of
war which we wage with brute animals for their spoils; but if ever it
can be considered as excusable, it is in these savage nations, who have
recourse to it for their subsistence. They are active, bold, and
dexterous in all these exercises, to such a degree, that none of the
wild animals they attack have the smallest chance of escape. Their
parties generally consist of almost all the youth of their nation, who
go in a body to particular districts where they know game is plentiful.
Their common method is, when they are arrived at a spot which abounds in
deer or buffaloes, to disperse themselves through the woods; and then,
alarming the beasts in the neighbourhood, they drive them with shouts
and dogs towards some common place, which was always in the middle of
all their parties. When they have thus roused their prey, the various
squadrons gradually advance towards the centre, till they unite in a
circle, and enclose a prodigious number of frightened animals; they then
attack them either with fire-arms or arrows, and shoot them down
successively. By these means they are sure, in a single day, to destroy
a prodig