The
Sioux, who had committed pretty bad Indian murders amongst the
Chippewas, were in great numbers about Lac qui Parle, and there was no
avoiding them. However, it was in the line of the duty I had undertaken,
and I was willing to run some risks to see them. They were a precious
set when I got to them, but by prudence and presents I got along with
them, and, having began to sputter a little Sioux, I took courage, left
my canoe and men there, and took a guide and interpreter and pushed on
to Lac Traverse, and from thence to Coteau de Prairie, the head waters
of the St. Peter's, and to within four days' march of the Mandan
Village, Here I wheeled about back, afraid of winter. Indeed, on my
arrival at Lac Traverse, the weather was bitterly cold, and wood and
water were sometimes found with great difficulty, in the intermediate
prairies. The day I left Fort Snelling, the thermometer was very low,
the snow six or eight inches deep on the ground; in fact it was quite
winter, and all were of opinion, at the fort, that ice would form and
drive in a few days.
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