39 



THE REGION OF THE ANTEERS 



in township 2, range 27 west. Two streams, North and South 

 Antler creeks, running from the west, winding through deep 

 valleys, empty a little more than two miles apart into the Souris 

 river. The Sioux name for these is He-ka-pa-wa-kpa, or trans- 

 lated, the "Head and Horns Creek," and certainly the two 

 streams widening apart as they are ascended, have something 

 of the appearance of the antlers of a deer. Here is one of the 

 most beautiful spots in Manitoba. The space between the 

 streams is now closely settled by a thrifty and most intelligent 

 class of Canadian farmers. The settler, the school, and the mis 

 sionary have here replaced the buffalo of but a few years ago, 

 and the new settlers have, as we shall see, undoubtedly suc- 

 ceeded a considerable population, which many a year ago faded 

 away. Guarded on three sides by the deep valleys of the Souris 

 and its two tributaries, there can be little doubt that here was a 

 prairie stronghold in the days of aboriginal wars. This leads us 

 to notice first a group of 



REMARKABLE EARTHWORKS 

 (See Map, Page 41.) 



which would seem to have served as fortifications on the south 

 side of the South Antler. There have been found on the tribu- 

 taries of the Missouri lines of earthworks thrown up, earthen 

 redoubts, and mounds in connection with them evidently as 

 lookout stations. Lewis and Clark in their "travels to the 

 source of the Missouri," in 1804, give us a carefully traced dia- 

 gram of such works on the Missouri, and they state that the 

 French interpreters assured them that there are great numbers 

 of these fortresses even as far north as the Jacques river, whose 

 head waters reach well uptowards the Souris. In section 15 on 

 the South Antler are four earthworks running from north to 

 south respectively 125, 100, 150 and 75 yards in length and ar- 

 ranged in a sort of echellon. These are each from five to ten 

 yards wide, some three or four feet high and have much the 

 appearance of a railway grade on the prairie. A large amount 

 of labor must have been required to throw them up. On the 

 next section however — section 10 — is by far the most remark- 

 able fortification, and very much resembling that figured by 

 Lewis and Clark. Across a bend of the river is a large and 

 wide embankment 200 yards long, running from north to south. 

 At each end of this is a considerable mound. From the southern 

 extremity of this at a distance of ten yards runs another bank of 

 of about the same dimensions but 150 yards long, at right 

 angles to the former, and flanked like the other at both ends by 



