60 A General History of the Fur Trade. 



bend of the Assiniboin River, to the number of seven hun- 

 dred men. Some of them occasionally come to the latter 

 river to exchange dressed buffalo robes, and bad wolf-skins 

 for articles of no great value. 



The Picaneaux, Black-Feet, and Blood-Indians, are a 

 distinct people, speak a language of their own, and I have 

 reason to think, are travelling North- Westward, as well as 

 the others just mentioned: nor have I heard of any Indians 

 with whose language that which they speak has any affinity. 

 They are the people who deal in horses and take them upon 

 the war-parties towards Mexico ; from which, it is evident, 

 that the country to the South- East of them, consists of 

 plains, as those animals could not well be conducted through 

 an hilly and woody country, intersected by waters. 



The Sarsees, who are but few in number, appear from 

 their language, to come on the contrary from the North- 

 Westward, and are of the same people as the Rocky-Moun- 

 tain Indians, described in my second journal, who are a tribe 

 of the Chepewyans ; and, as for the Knisteneaux, there is 

 no question of their having been, and continuing to be, in- 

 vaders of this country,from the Eastward. Formerly, they 

 struck terror into all the other tribes whom they met ; but 

 now they have lost the respect that was paid them ; as those 

 whom they formerly considered as barbarians, are now their 

 allies, and consequently be come better acquainted with them, 

 and have acquired the use of fire-arms. The former are still 

 proud without power, and affect to consider the others as 

 their inferiors : those consequently are extremely jealous of 

 them, and, depending upon their own superiority in num- 

 bers, will not submit tamely to their insults j so that the con- 

 sequences often prove fatal, and the Knisteneaux are there- 

 by decreasing both in power and number : spirituous liquors 

 also tend to their diminution, as they are instigated thereby 

 to engage in quarrels which frequently have the most disas- 

 trous termination among themselves. 



The Stone-Indians must not be considered in the same 

 point of view respecting the Knisteneaux, for they have 

 been generally obliged, from various causes, to court their 

 alliance. They, however, are not without their disagree- 

 ments, and it is sometimes very difficult to compose their 

 differences. These quarrels occasionally take place with 

 the traders, and sometimes have a tragical conclusion. — 

 They generally originate in consequence of stealing women 

 and horses : they have great numbers of the latter through- 



