LEAVE FOR FORT CARLTON. 79 



had bolted, was screaming in the distance; so I seiit A-ta-ka- 

 koup to tell her what it was all about, on which she returned 

 and tried to untie Tom, and when we prevented her she 

 attacked us with an axe ; and it was only when A-ta-ka-koup 

 threatened to kill her that she desisted, and sat down and cried. 

 Tom Boot refused to speak, so we gave him a good beating with 

 a raw hide rope, took such things of mine that we could find, 

 and left, telling him that if he came near my house again he 

 would be shot at once. 



We camped about two miles from the scene of our struggle, 

 both of us being worn out ; and I know that I felt as if I had 

 had a severe beating myself. On reaching home the next day, 

 I found the horses had arrived and were looking very well and 

 fat; though of course very rough in their coats. They were 

 the three best I had bought for buffalo running the year before, 

 and the one I intended to ride to Fort Garry was the fastest 

 horse in the Red River settlement, the other two being nearly 

 as good. Not one of them was more than 14 hands, but they 

 were very strongly built. 



On the 7th of April we started for Carlton for the last time, 

 Badger driving a sleigh whilst I rode one horse and led the 

 other two. The spring had not yet set in ; but the sun was 

 very warm and the snow was melting fast, so travelling was very 

 bad indeed. Badger had left his wife and child with A-ta-ka- 

 koup. 



We had given away so much that the sleigh was very lightly 

 loaded, there being nothing on it but our bedding and guns, 



with F sitting on the top. On the evening of the third 



day we reached the north bank of the Saskatchewan, to find 

 that the ice was just breaking up, and that we were too late to 



