THE MISSOURI RIVER JOURNALS 77 



head and dress, and by evening had the portrait nearly 

 finished. At four o'clock Harris, Bell, and Sprague went 

 across the river in the skiff; Sprague to take a view of 

 the fort, the others to hunt. Harris and Bell shot twice 

 at a buck, and killed it, though only one buckshot entered 

 the thigh. Whilst we were sitting at the back gate of 

 the fort, we saw a parcel of Indians coming towards the 

 place, yelling and singing what Mr. Culbertson told me 

 was the song of the scalp dance; we saw through the 

 telescope that they were fourteen in number, with their 

 faces painted black, and that it was a detachment of a war 

 party. When within a hundred yards they all stopped, as 

 if awaiting an invitation; we did not hurry as to this, 

 and they seated themselves on the ground and looked at 

 us, while Mr. Culbertson sent Mr. Denig to ask them to 

 come in by the front gate of the fort, and put them in the 

 Indian house, a sort of camp for the fellows. They all 

 looked miserably poor, filthy beyond description, and 

 their black faces and foully smelling Buffalo robes made 

 them appear to me like so many devils. The leader, who 

 was well known to be a famous rascal, and was painted 

 red, was a tall, well-formed man. The party had only 

 three poor guns, and a few had coarse, common lances; 

 every man had a knife, and the leader was armed with a 

 stick in which were inserted three blades of butcher's- 

 knives; a blow from this weapon would doubtless kill a 

 man. Some of the squaws of the fort, having found that 

 they were Assiniboins, went to meet them; they took one 

 of these, and painted her face black, as a sign of friend- 

 ship. Most of these mighty warriors had a lump of fresh 

 Buffalo meat slung on his back, which was all traded for 

 by Mr. Larpenteur, who gave them in exchange some dried 

 meat, not worth the notice of Harris's dog, and some 

 tobacco. The report of their expedition is as follows: 

 Their party at first consisted of nearly fifty; they trav- 

 elled several hundred miles in search of Blackfeet, and 



