SOURCE OF ST. PETEr's RIVER. 23 



the buffaloes were fast diminishing in numbers, besides 

 which, the regret, which those who were fond of hunting ex- 

 perienced at the fine chances which they were necessarily 

 losing, abated the interest which we should otherwise have 

 felt in beholding this imposing monarch of our prairies. 



The calm repose of these prairies seemed to be more 

 disturbed during the night, as the lowings of the buffalo on 

 the west bank of Red river were then frequent and dis- 

 tinct; they contrasted strongly with the barkings of the 

 wolf. During the first few nights that followed our adven- 

 ture with the Indians, it was deemed advisable to increase 

 the number of our sentinels, and with a view to stimulate 

 them to vigilance, the ofiicers and gentlemen of the party 

 undertook the duty of watching in turn. These nights 

 made a more lively impression upon several of the party, 

 than any of those that had preceded them. The beautiful 

 and boundless expanse of the prairies, as seen by the bright 

 moonlight which we enjoyed during that period, the fresh- 

 ness of the night air, the stillness of the scenery, interrupted 

 only by the melancholy bowlings of the wolf, and the pro- 

 longed lowing of the buffalo, the recollection of the dan- 

 gers which had lately threatened us, and against the recur- 

 rence of which we were then watching, all these were 

 likely to suggest to the mind melancholy yet not unplea- 

 sant reflexions. 



In such a state the mind is apt to magnifj^ and to form an 

 incorrect opinion of the various objects which present them- 

 selves to the eye. It was, while watching on the night of 

 the 29th, that Mr. Say's attention was suddenly directed to 

 an object in the prairie. He saw it approaching with caution, 

 and immediately the idea that it was probably an enemy, in- 

 duced him to creep in the direction from which the object 

 approached j it had the aspect of a wolf, but this he imme- 



