98 MEDICINE-MAKL\G. 



But these dogs are also useful in another respect. Their flesh fur- 

 nishes an article highly esteemed for food, and which almost invariably 

 graces the soldiers' feast and every other scene of conviviality. However 

 much the squamishness of the reader may revolt at the suggestion, justice 

 impels me to say, the flesh of a fat Indian dog, suitably cooked, is not infe- 

 rior to fresh pork ; and, by placing side by side select parts of the two, it 

 would be no easy task even for a good judge to tell the difference, by either 

 looks or taste, unless he were previously informed. 



Towards the last of January, buffalo having left the vicinity, the Indians, 

 as a necessary consequence, were compelled to move. A great scarcity 

 of provisions prevailed among them, and we ourselves were scarcely better 

 off than they. 



Our stock in hand was nearly exhausted, and an abandonment of the 

 post became absolutely necessary, — a thing, however, which could not be 

 performed without a fresh supply of horses and cattle from Fort Platte. 

 For this purpose, I volunteered my services, and, accompanied by two 

 engages, was promptly under way. 



A few hours' ride brought us to the head of White river, where, con- 

 suming at a meal our scanty eatables, from that onward we were left en- 

 tirely destitute. 



This was the first occasion subjecting me to the pains of hunger for so 

 long a time. The second day I experienced the greatest annoyance, and 

 then it was I felt some of the realities of starvation. The third day, how- 

 ever, I awoke in the morning scarcely thinking of breakfast. In fact, 

 my appetite seemed quite passive, and the only sensation I felt was a 

 kind of weakness and lassitude, evincing the lack of proper nourish- 

 ment. 



The morning was cloudy and threatening. Soon after leaving camp, 

 snow began to fall, thick and fast. The day proved so dark, objects were 

 indiscernible at the distance of a hundred yards in advance. Travelling, 

 as we were, over a trackless prairie, with nothing to guide us but the wind 

 and the position of the grass, it was by the merest accident we reached 

 our destination a few minutes before nightfall. 



Our sudden appearance was the occasion of general surprise to the 

 Fort hands, and, after a brief explanation, we began to make amends for 

 previous abstinence. 



At first, a few mouthfuls sufficed, — but soon I again felt hungry and 

 could be satisfied only with a double quantity, — in an equally short time 

 my stomach demanded a still further supply, and, by the next day, hunger 

 became so keen it seemed almost insatiable. An interval of three or four 

 weeks was requisite before it assumed its wonted tone. 



During our stay here, an Indian family, occupying one of the Fort 

 rooms, indulged themselves in a drunken spree. 



Having procured a quantity of the American Fur Company's liquor, the 

 effects of their lavish potations soon became manifest to all within 

 hearing distance. But the din of drunken revelry erelong assumed the wail 

 of mourning and sorrow. 



Hearing the strange commotion, I entered the room to ascertain the 



