i8 



all the savages, for this summer a new attempt was made by 

 them to get possesssion of him. This time they did not try 

 to steal him, but they proposed to trade horses for him. One 

 day when Madame Lajimoniere was with her husband in the 

 tent the Assiniboines arrived with some horses and the Chief 

 dismounted to talk to Madame Lajimoniere. She did not 

 understand Indian, but the Chief represented that they desired 

 to have the boy and taking the rope which held the finest 

 horse he put it in her hand making signs that he would give 

 it in exchange for the child. As one can well imagine Ma- 

 dame Lajimoniere refused his offer and made signs that she 

 would never consent to such a trade. The Indians believing 

 that she was not content with one horse drew up a second 

 and put the cord of this one also in her hand as he had done 

 with the first. She said to her husband, " Tell him that I 

 will not sell my child that he would have to tear my heart 

 out before I would part with him." 



" Very well ! " said the Indian, " take the horses and one 

 of my children." " No ! " said she, " You can never make 

 me consent to such a trade," then taking her child in her 

 arms she began to cry. 



The Indian apparently was touched by her tears, for he 

 ceased to insist on the change and went on his way with his 

 people and horses. 



This was the last adventure in the Saskatchewan district. 

 Towards the end of the summer she reached the Fort of the 

 Prairies to pass the winter and in the spring of 1811 her 

 husband consented to return to Red River where trials of an- 

 other kind awaited her. 



II. 



In 1811 the news reached M. Lajimoniere that Lord 

 Selkirk would establish a colony on the banks of the Red 

 River and that the families who were to form the nucleus of 

 this settlement would leave England that spring, therefore 

 instead of returning to the prairies he launched his canoe and 

 took the route for Lake Winnipeg. Madame Lajimoniere did 

 not grieve at leaving the Fort of the Prairies. By returning 

 to Red River she was approaching 400 leagues nearer Canada 

 and she cheated herself into the belief that she was coming 

 to a civilized country. Moreover the time could not be far 



