424 T^ife of Auduhon. 



the river ; and the bhiffs showed traces of iron, sulphur, 

 and magnesia. 



" May 28. We now see buffaloes every day : they 

 are extremely poor, but they are sporting among them- 

 selves, beating and tearing up the earth. They have 

 'roads to the river, along which they go and come for wa- 

 ter. 



" To-day some Indians hailed us from the shore, and 

 when the captain refused to stop for them, they began fir- 

 ing at us with rifles : several of the balls hit our vessel, 

 and one passed through the pantaloons of a Scotch pas- 

 senger. These rascals belong to a party of the Santeo 

 tribe, which range across the country from the Missouri 

 to the Mississippi River. 



'■'■May 29. This morning a party of Indians came on 

 board the boat at a landing-place, and it was some hours 

 before we could get rid of these beggars by trade. Both 

 banks of the river were covered with buffaloes, as far as 

 the eye could see ; and although many of them were near 

 the water, they did not move until we were close upon 

 them, and those at the distance of half a mile kept on 

 quietly grazing. We saw several buffaloes and one large 

 gray wolf swimming across the river only a short distance 

 ahead of us. 



" The prairies appear better now, and the grass looks 

 green, and the poor buffaloes, of which we have seen more 

 than two thousand this morning, will soon grow fat. . 



'''■May 30. We reached Fort George this morning, 

 which is called ' The Station of the Opposition Line.' 

 We saw some Indians, and a few lodges on the edge of 

 the prairie, and sundry bales of buffalo-robes were taken 

 aboard. Major Hamilton is acting Indian Agent during 

 the ■absence of Major Crisp. AVe are a long way beyond 

 the reach of civil law^, and they settle disputes here wath 

 sword and pistol. The major pointed to an island where 



