94 SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



arm at once, so that it should not become inflamed. I ac- 

 cepted his invitation, and, on reaching his place, found that 

 one of his three wives had been making a decoction of 

 some herbs, she having heard of my accident from the 

 woman to whom it was first told. When I entered, the 

 women did not speak a word, and only lifted their heads 

 once ; and from this I deduced that curiosity was not a 

 trait in Indian feminine nature. Their lord and master 

 told them what to do, and when I had taken a seat near 

 the smoky fireplace, the youngest unbound my arm and 

 washed it copiously for ten or fifteen minutes with the 

 prepared decoction. Xo one made any comments on the 

 wounds ; and when the bathing was over, the arm was 

 bound up again, after having the leaves of some plant, not 

 unlike dog-leaves, placed over the wound. 



I waited in the chief's wigwam, or rather cabin, until 

 evening, smoking and chatting ; but when I heard that the 

 hunters were coming in I went out to see them. The sight 

 they presented was striking, and certainly worth behold- 

 ing, for they were loaded with nearly all species of game 

 found in the forest, from a bear to a squirrel, and from a 

 grouse to a robin. They trooped in without any noise, or 

 even the smallest demonstration of pleasure, and each par- 

 ty, as it arrived, placed its spoils in a common pile — though 

 fur and feather were kept separate. The amount of game 

 brought in was almost incredible for one day's work; but 

 when I considered that the forests were fairly alive with 

 animals, and that no foes threatened them except an occa- 

 sional red man, I could readily understand the success of 

 the party. The fishermen were also fortunate, and came 

 in laden with the spoils of the river. My companion was 

 among the last to arrive, and from him I learned that he 

 had fired at and wounded the bear whose presence caused 

 me to be tripped up, and had followed it to the river, 

 where he lost it. Presuming that it had crossed over, he 

 made a raft of a tree which extended partially across the 

 river, by pushing the top off the bank ; and seating him- 

 self on it, near the middle, the current swung the lighter 



