SOURCE OF ST. PETER's RIVER. 191 



f he crown of his head. He was provided with a gun, of 

 the kind distinguished by the name of Mackinaw gun, with 

 a spare ramrod, shot-pouch, &c. Wennebea rode a little bay 

 mare, with a long untrimmed tail ; she was so small that his 

 legs appeared almost to sweep the ground as he travelled 

 over the prairie ; but the little animal was a fiery one, pro- 

 bably about four years old ; her growth had doubtless been 

 stinted by too early an application to labour. We could 

 not help, frequently, expressing our admiration at the grace- 

 ful and easy manner in which this man rode across the 

 plain, occasionally allowing his blanket to drop upon his 

 horse's back, and displaying the stout and symmetric 

 shoulders and chest, which generally characterize man 

 when in a state of nature, and unimpaired by the efiemi- 

 nating habits and vices of civilized life. We scarcely re- 

 cognised our guide a few days afterwards, when we saw 

 him with a calico shirt, which he had borrowed from Le 

 Sellier and which concealed his well-formed limbs ; on in- 

 quiring into the cause of this addition to his usual costume, 

 we were told, that the sun being very hot on the prairie, 

 he had accepted the offer to protect his shoulders, against 

 its influence, by means of a shirt. This proves how ready 

 these Indians are to abandon their natural manners, and 

 to assume the artificial ones of civilized man. Wennebea 

 wore this garment at first with an apparent air of ostentation, 

 which confirmed us in our opinion, that the Indian is no 

 wiser than the white man in this respect, often priding 

 himself upon the acquisition of a garment, which detracts 

 from, rather than adds to, his personal appearance. He 

 seemed to be well acquainted with the country, and 

 followed, no track across the prairie ; but his course was 

 directed by landmarks, such as hills, woods, &c. He 

 appeared to guide himself, likewise, by the situation of the 



