BUSHNELL] VILLAGES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI 73 
in which the Assiniboin village stood. And “at the entrance of 
the wood, we were met by a large band of Indians, having the ap- 
pearance of a guard; each man being armed with his bow and spear, 
and having his quiver filled with arrows . . . Forming themselves in 
regular file, on either side of us, they escorted us to the lodge, or tent, 
which was assigned us. It was of a circular form, covered with 
leather, and not less than twenty feet in diameter. On the ground 
within, ox-skins were spread, for beds and seats.” 
Later, the same day of their arrival, they were invited to a feast in 
the tent of the chief. An Indian appeared. ‘“ We followed him ac- 
cordingly, and he carried us to the tent of the great chief, which we 
found neither more ornamented, nor better furnished, than the rest.” 
And another feast followed in the evening, “ Every thing was nearly 
as before, except that in the morning all the guests were men, and 
now half were women. All the women were seated on one side of the 
floor of the tent, and all the men on the other, with a fire placed be- 
tween them.” 
The village consisted of about 200 tents, “each tent containing 
from two to four families.” And here “T saw, for the first time, one 
of those herds of horses which the Osinipoilles possess in numbers. 
It was feeding on the skirts of the plain.” (Henry, (1), pp. 275-289.) 
Such was a great Assiniboin village nearly a century and a half ago. 
The entire village was to return to Fort des Prairies, and so, on 
the morning of February 20, 1776, the tents were struck, and “ Soon 
after sunrise, the march began. In the van were twenty-five soldiers, 
who were to beat the path, so that the dogs might walk. They were 
followed by about twenty men, apparently in readiness for con- 
tingent services; and after these went the women, each driving one 
or two, and some, five loaded dogs. The number of these animals, 
actually drawing loads, exceeded five hundred. After the baggage, 
marched the main body of men, carrying only their arms. The 
rear was guarded by about forty soldiers. The line of march cer- 
tainly exceeded three miles in length.” (Op. cit., p. 309.) 
It is easy to visualize this great body of Indians passing over the 
frozen plain, camping at night under the scant protection of a small 
cluster of trees. The hundreds of dogs carrying the skin lodges of 
the villages, the men and women moving forward on snowshoes, 
undoubtedly stopping to kill buffalo and thus to obtain food for all. 
An exciting and animated scene it must have been, but only typical 
and characteristic, not unusual. 
The preceding description of the movement of an entire village 
suggests a passage in the journal of La Verendrye, treating of the 
same people a generation earlier. Late in the autumn of 1738 a 
small] party of French, accompanied by a numerous band of Assini- 
