INDIAN TRIBES OF THE MISSOURI VALLEY. 241 
The soil of the whole Cree district is of a good quality, as has been shown by the 
agriculturists settled along the banks of Red and Pembina Rivers, and the small band of 
Cree Indians who raise maize and other vegetables at Tinder Mountain. The half-breed 
settlement on Red River contains at this time over eight thousand persons, many of whom 
cultivate the soil and raise live stock to a great extent; but owing to their locality being 
subject to inundations from Red River during the spring thaws, sweeping off their stock 
and other property, many of them have been induced to remove and settle on Pembina 
River within the American boundary, where they live by hunting and cultivating small 
portions of land. Many more of these people will follow, and soon a village will spring 
up in this place. ‘There are at the present time a Catholic and a Presbyterian church, 
schools, grist and saw mills, several stores and trading establishments, &c.; indeed, the 
country presents many advantages which cannot fail to attract the attention of numerous 
restless emigrants in search of lands flowing with milk and honey. Wheat, oats, barley, 
and corn grow well; also potatoes and all kinds of garden vegetables are produced abun- 
dantly; but as yet, no market being created for their surplus grain and stock, the attention 
of settlers on the American side has not been directed to farming on a large scale. Those 
on the English side dispose of a portion of their produce and stock to the Hudson’s Bay 
Company, who ship it to other parts farther north, where breadstuffs are not raised; but 
only a small part is thus disposed of, the greater portion bemg consumed among them- 
selves. 
It is believed that the whole Cree district is arable and fit for tilling or grazing pur- 
poses, both prairie and woodland, though the latter perhaps is not as good as the low prairie, 
on which the spontaneous grasses of the most nutritious character grow. But the small 
rushes, common to the low grounds in this country, are said to be more nutritious for 
animals than any kind of grain. <A very poor horse will become fat if allowed to range 
among them twenty-five or thirty days. Notwithstanding the high latitude of the country 
the domestic animals are not usually housed during the severe cold winter; and those left 
to run at large are said to be invariably in a better condition in the spring than those kept 
in stables and fed on grain. Indeed, this region is known to be one of the best grazing 
and grain-growing countries in North America. Horned cattle and horses are raised in 
numbers, with a few sheep, but the latter are not much attended to. 
Where springs and streams are not convenient, water can be obtained by digging from 
ten to thirty feet in level places, and the water thus found is free from any mineral taste, 
and suitable for culinary purposes. ‘The portions designated as marshes are not useless or 
irreclaimable ; on the contrary, the waters accumulating in these swamps could be collected 
and made subservient to agricultural uses. ‘The soil in these places is of the richest quality, 
and would soon repay the expense of draining did the increase of population demand it. 
