Mr. Stuart And One Of His Men
Accompanied Him, Armed With Their Rifles, But Without Betraying
Any Distrust.
The chieftain soon returned, and renewed his attack
upon the larder.
In a word, he and his worthy coadjutor, the
lieutenant, ate until they were both stupefied.
Towards evening the Indians made their preparations for the night
according to the practice of war parties. Those outside of the
hut threw up two breastworks, into which they retired at a
tolerably early hour, and slept like overfed hounds. As to the
chief and his lieutenant, they passed the night in the hut, in
the course of which, they, two or three times, got up to eat. The
travellers took turns, one at a time, to mount guard until the
morning.
Scarce had the day dawned, when the gormandizing was renewed by
the whole band, and carried on with surprising vigor until ten
o'clock, when all prepared to depart. They had six days' journey
yet to make, they said, before they should come up with the
Crows, who, they understood, were encamped on a river to the
northward. Their way lay through a hungry country, where there
was no game; they would, moreover, have but little time to hunt;
they, therefore, craved a small supply of provisions for their
journey. Mr. Stuart again invited them to help themselves. They
did so with keen forethought, loading themselves with the
choicest parts of the meat, and leaving the late plenteous larder
far gone in a consumption.
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