186 LIFE IN THE FAR WEST 



appeared making signs of peace upon the bluff, and in- 

 dicating a disposition to enter the camp for the purpose 

 of trading. Being invited to approach, they offered to 

 trade a few dressed elk-skins ; but being asked for meat, 

 they said that their village was a long way off, and they 

 had nothing with them but a small portion of some 

 game they had lately killed. When requested to pro- 

 duce this, they hesitated, but the trappers looking 

 hungry and angry at the same moment, an old Indian 

 drew from under his blanket several flaps of portable 

 dried meat, which he declared was bear's. It was but 

 a small ration amongst so many ; but, being divided, 

 was quickly laid upon the fire to broil. The meat was 

 stringy, and of whitish colour, altogether unlike any 

 flesh the trappers had before eaten. Killbuck was the 

 first to discover this. He had been quietly masticating 

 the last mouthful of his portion, the stringiness of which 

 required more than usual dental exertion, when the 

 novelty of the flavour struck him as something singular. 

 Suddenly his jaws ceased their work, he thought a 

 moment, took the morsel from his mouth, looked at it 

 intently, and dashed it into the fire. 



" Man-meat, by G ! " he cried out ; and at the 

 words every jaw stopped work : the trappers looked at 

 the meat and each other. 



" I'm dog-gone if it ain't ! " cried old Walker, look- 

 ing at his piece, " and white meat at that, wagh ! " (and 

 report said it was not the first time he had tasted such 

 viands ; ) and the conviction seizing each mind, every 

 mouthful was quickly spat into the fire, and the ire 



