270 UPLAND SHOOTING. 



page, guns, and dogs. We traveled through a wild coun- 

 try to a region seventy -five miles west of the river, 

 known as the ''neutral ground," lying between the land 

 of the Sacs and the Foxes and the white settlements; in 

 this territory the Indians did not hunt, and it was there- 

 fore supposed that game would be plentiful. Here we 

 encamped, near the head- waters of the Wapsipinicon, 

 for a week, but did not find game as plentiful as we 

 expected; six deer and an elk were killed, but no 

 turkeys. Wolves were numerous, and howled about our 

 camp at night, making it hideous; and one of the party, 

 returning to camp after dark, was followed by a pack of 

 the big timber wolves, who seemed eager to make him 

 their meat. 



We had heard that the Sac and Fox Indians, who 

 had been expelled from Illinois a few years before, were 

 unfriendly to the whites, and had robbed and ill-treated 

 some hunters whom they had found hunting on their 

 grounds. One day, when I was left alone in camp, two 

 well-mounted and armed Indians rode up and dis- 

 mounted. Oar dog fled to me, howling with fear, and I 

 felt similar sensations; but I had always been told by 

 the pioneers that you must never let an Indian know that 

 you fear him, so I pretended unconcern, and went on 

 with my cooking, and when they entered the tent I 

 greeted them in a friendly way, as if I was expecting 

 them to dinner. They were big fellows, but did not seem 

 unfriendly; asked first for whisky, by signs, speaking 

 no English, and by signs I told them I had none. I 

 asked them to eat some venison stew, which they did 

 with an appetite, doing justice to my cookery. While 

 they were eating, I made up my mind that, if attacked, I 

 would shoot one of them with a pocket pistol which I 

 had ready to use. In the tent stood a double-barreled 

 gun, on which they had their eyes, and one inquired (still 



