SOURCE OP ST. Peter's river. 407 



Oil another occasion, Tatankanaje acquired great re- 

 putation in consequence of a prediction that he would lead 

 a war party ; that on the day which he appointed, and at a 

 particular spot, which he described, he would fall in with 

 a camp of fifteen Assiniboin lodges, that he would attack 

 and defeat them, kill a certain lumber of the enemy, and 

 make a stated amount of prisoners ; he predicted in like 

 manner the loss of lives, which would attend this victory. 

 The event justified, as it is said, the prediction ; not only, 

 as to the general results, but even as to the circumstances 

 of time, place, number of killed and wounded on both 

 sides, and amount of prisoners taken from the enemy. Of 

 course, so valuable a prophet was constantly resorted to, 

 for the recovery of stolen property, or of goods that were 

 lost, for a knowledge of the fate of persons that were tra- 

 velling, for the cure of diseases, and for all such other im- 

 portant points, upon which the credulity both of civilized 

 and savage man induces them to lend a willing ear to the 

 impositions of knaves. Of his talent in recovering pro- 

 perty, we regret that we can only mention a circumstance 

 in which the object at stake was very trifling. Some one 

 had ventured to steal away the prophet's bridle ; it was 

 concealed in a lodge that formed one in a camp of one hun- 

 dred lodges. The prophet took a mirror in his hand and 

 walked round the village, until, as he said, he saw the lost 

 bridle reflected in his mirror; he entered the adjoining 

 lodge and recovered his property. 



Not only they prophecy, but they perform tricks of 

 legerdemain, all which they ascribe to the success of their 

 incantations. We are indebted to Mr. Charles Hess, a 

 French trader, with whom Mr. Say had sever-al confer- 

 ences at Fort St. Anthony, for the account of a trick per- 

 formed by an Assiniboin. The magician asserted, in INIr. 



