A CONFERENCE WITH THE CHIEFS 39 



and dogs were now being devoured. Terrible battles 



were taking place between the dark Wolves of Peace 

 River and the White Wolves of the Barrens for posses- 

 sion of the Buffalo grounds. Of course the Buffalo were 

 disappearing; about a hundred were all that were left. 



But no one ever sees any of these terrible Wolves, 

 the few men who know that country have plenty of 

 pemmican, that is neither Moose nor Caribou, and the 

 Major briefly summed up the situation: "The Wolves 

 are indeed playing havoc with the Buffalo, and the 

 ravenous leaders of the pack are called Sousi, Kiya, 

 Kirma, and Squirrel." 



Now of all the four, Sousi, being a Beaulieu and a 

 half-breed, had the worst reputation, but of all the 

 four he was the only one that had admitted a possi- 

 bility of guiding us, and was to be found on the fifth 

 morning. So his views were met, a substitute found 

 to watch his fishing -nets, groceries to keep his wife 

 from pining during his absence, a present for himself, 

 the regular rate of wages doubled, his horses hired, 

 his rheumatism, home-sickness, and sadness provided 

 against, a present of tobacco, some more presents, a 

 promise of reward for every Buffalo shown, then an- 

 other present, and we set out. 



Rake. Smith Landing, June 12, 



1907. Typical of agriculture 



on Great Slave River 



