eral rows for about a mile along the river, and formed 
an interesting, though hardly agreeable, sight. The 
high, conical, leather tents with the projecting tent 
poles looked from a distance not unlike a sea-port. 
By our estimate there might be seven or eight hun- 
dred tents; later on, we heard that there were about 
a thousand. As each of them contained at least one 
family, we estimated the whole number at five to six 
thousand. Our situation was critical. Separated from 
such a crowd, eager for robbing and plundering, and 
so superior to us in numbers, merely by a river, whose 
passage offered no special difficulties, there remained 
for us, should it come to hostilities, nothing but quiet- 
ly to allow ourselves to be robbed, perhaps even 
scalped, or else to defend ourselves to the utmost with- 
cut any hope for success. True, the Indians who had 
visited our camp today had behaved pretty decently; 
but every Indian has sufficient self-control to conceal 
his real plans. Besides, the Sioux have repeatedly 
shown themselves treacherous. All we could do for 
the time was to shun all cause for hostilities, and 
quietly delay the crossing of the river until the In- 
dians should leave us. For they had given out that 
they were going the next day from here to the North 
Fork. 
Morning appeared, but the Indian camp had not 
budged. On the other hand, we received abundant 
visits in ours. The river was about a quarter of a 
mile broad; quite rapid to be sure, but generally not 
very deep, so that one could cross a-foot or on horse- 
The Sioux 
Passage of 
the South 
Fork 
