47 [ 237 ] 



pally of elm, ash, bar oak, poplar, and willows. Along .these portions 

 where it widens into lakes, very eligible situations for farms would be 

 found; and if tlie Indian traders have hitherto selected positions south of 

 the OtuhHoju, it was doubtless in consequence of its more easy navigation 

 into the Missouri. 



The most important tributary to the Tchan-sansan, coming into it from 

 Riviere aux i'^ right shorp, is the Pey icatpa of the Sioux, the" riviere aux 

 Ormes, or Ormes of the French — Elm river; which Mr. Featherstonhaugh, 

 Elm river, relying too implicitly on the well-meant mformation given to 

 him by his good old guide, puts down on his map as emptying into the 

 Missouri. 



Elm river might not deserve any especial mention as a navigable stream, 

 but is very well worthy of notice on account of the timber growing on its 

 own banks and those of its forks. Hence it is that the Indian hunting 

 parties, proceeding upon their winter chase across the Coteau des Prairies 

 to the Coteau du Missouri, always take this route; not only, perhaps, for 

 the supply of wood, but also in the expectation of meeting with game. 

 The trading-post of Fort Pierre, likewise, occasionally sends an agent to 

 barter with these migratory Indians. It was in this capacity of agent that 

 Louison P^eniere spent among them the winter of 1836-37, during which 

 he encountered some trying difficulties. Tiie buffaloes did not make their 

 appearance that winter, and the small-pox spread itself among all the tribes 

 that frequent this region, to their extermination. He was left without pro- 

 visions, and with no other resource than that afforded by the roots of plants, 

 which he managed to dig up from beneath the snow. The men attached 

 to his own service died of hunger; and v/hen the spring came, his house 

 was surrounded by dead bodies, alone, amidst this ravage of cold, hunger, 

 and disease. 



Ascending the shores of the Tclian- sansan^ the bordering plains are ob- 

 served to rise gradually up to the level of the Plateau du Missouri on one 

 side, and that of the Shayenoju on the other; so that the bed of this long 

 river lies more and more deep. We left it at the spot called by the voya- 

 geurs Buite-aiLv-Os, (nr bone hillock, bone hill.) in consequence of a large 

 heap of bones of animals that the Indians have gathered up and arranged 

 in a certain order. A few miles further we had reached the plateau of the 

 Shayen oju. This table land may be considered as a continuation of the 

 Coteau des Prairies; the head of which having yielded, to make way for 

 the passage of the Skayefi-oju, rises again to form the clividina: ridge be- 

 tween the head waters of the Tchan-sansm^ and those of the Red river of 

 the North. This extension of the Coteau des Prairies goes on blending it- 

 self with the ascending plains that rise towards the Rocky Mountains, and 

 that divide the waters of the Missouri from those of the long river ISas- 

 kdtchawa/i, that empties into the great Winipik lake. 



The Sliayen ojtt derives its name from having been formerly occupied 

 Shayen-oju by a nation called the Shayens, who were driven from it and 



liver. pursued beyond the Missouri, where they are still to be found. 

 It is a river of some importance, being navigable by canoes, and its banks 

 well wooded. The extent of its navigation is from near the Mi?ii-ivakan, 

 or Devil's lake, to its confluence with the Red river of the North. Its val- 

 ley possesses a fertile soil, and offers many inducements to its settlement; 

 benig, moreover, reputed as frequented by animals yielding the finest peltry, 



