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of the time visiting his snares and getting furs. He was not 

 engaged in the service of the Company but hunted on his 

 own account and like the Indians brought his skins to trade 

 at the Fort. In the spring when the fur season was over he 

 left the Fort to hunt buffalo and his wife accompanied him, 

 mounted on horseback she would ride for a whole day over 

 the prairies and through the woods. When her husband found 

 a favorable spot for the chase the tents would be pitched and 

 they would stay there for some time. 



In the summer of 1808 M. Lajimoniere was camping on 

 the border of a little river with his companion, Belgrade, 

 whose wife also was with them on the prairie. One day it 

 was necessary to visit some snares at a distance and the two 

 women were left alone in the tent. All at once a band of 

 Crees passed within sight of their tent and seeing this, little 

 isolated lodge around which they could not discern amy per- 

 son the Indians were curious to visit it. As soon as Mrs. 

 Belgrade saw them approaching she caught up Madame La- 

 iimoniere's child in her arms and crept into the woods on her 

 knees, believing that the Indians had come to massacre them. 



They had surrounded the lodge and the chief of the band 

 dismounted to see if this was a hiding place of some enemy. 



Madame Lajimoniere was not yet accustomed to these 

 visits and firmly believed that her last hour had come. The 

 Indian chief presented himself at the door of the tent and was 

 not a little surprised to find a young woman— -he had never 

 seen a white woman — on her knees. In fact Madame La- 

 jimoniere was on her knees in the centre of the tent saying 

 her chaplet and praying to the Virgin to protect her. 



A Canadian named Batoche Letendre, who had married 

 into the tribe and been adopted by them, was with the savages. 

 He also approached the tent and upon recognizing her as a 

 Canadian he hastened to set her mind at rest by telling her 

 that she had nothing to fear. 



" I have lived in their midst a long time," said he, " and 

 I am certain they will do you no harm." 



Madame Lajimoniere was a little reassured by these 

 words, but alone on the prairie surrounded by a band of 

 savage warriors in search of an enemy to scalp the hours 

 seemed desperately long. Towards the end of the day her 

 husband returned and was taken aback to find so many visitors 

 around the camp. Some were calmly spread on the grass 

 smoking their pipes, while others were attending to the horses 

 at a little distance. 



