116 ASSINNIBOINE AND SASKATCHEWAN EXPEDITION. 



before the carts, in the valley of Long Creek.* As we 

 ascended a low hill we saw a bear 250 yards before us. 

 My companion could speak but few words of English, so 

 with signs he motioned me to dismount, and, having 

 satisfied himself that the horses saw the bear, he led them 

 a few yards aside behind a clump of willows, and tying 

 their bridles together he patted them on the neck and 

 pointed to the bear, caressed them again, and afterwards 

 motioned me to follow him. The horses, with pricked 

 ears, followed with their eyes every movement of the 

 bear now slowly moving from us, but occasionally stopping 

 to crop the twigs of willow. We crawled to leeward, 

 and got within seventy yards of the bear, he then per- 

 ceived us, I fired and sent a ball through his lungs. We 

 waited to see if he would rise again, but finding that he 

 lay struggling on his back, we approached and despatched 

 him. On looking round for the horses they were seen 

 standing in the same place intently watching us. My 

 companion called them, they came slowly up and stopped 

 within forty yards, eyeing the bear all the time. Finding 

 that we approached it and handled it, they began to feed, 

 evidently being satisfied that it was harmless. 



Prairie Indians become very much attached to their 

 horses, if they succeed in getting possession of a valuable 

 animal. They often keep him in a tent when in the 

 neighbourhood of an enemy's country or among noted 

 thieves of their own tribe. During the daytime, when 

 the camp is well supplied with meat and the buffalo are 

 near, they tether him in the prairie, and indolently 

 stretching themselves at full length on the grass, patiently 

 watch him feed, removing the stake to a fresh spot as 

 soon as he has cropped the best portion of the area 

 limited by his tether. At night, when it was not thought 

 necessary to tether our horses, we always hoppled them, 



* Long Creek flows into the Main Saskatchewan, near Fort a la Corne. 



