It drew nearer-when, by the aid of a glass, Governor Cass was recognized, his crew, the killed cook, and all! The panic was ended, and the joy universal. There had been no attack made upon the governor; but, on his arrival at Prairie du Chien, he found that murders had been committed there; and apprehending a frontier war, he pushed on down the Mississippi in his bark canoe to St. Louis, had an interview with General Atkinson, who, with his command, was soon in motion; then, continuing up the Illinois river, and through Lake Michigan to Green Bay, where our meeting took place, when our treaty operations were commenced.

Information had been conveyed to us by some of our people, that FOUR-LEGS, a distinguished Winnebago chief, and others, had shown symptoms of an unruly sort, and fears were entertained lest he might lead on an attack upon our party, and capture the property then on the treaty ground. On the receipt of this intelligence, I requested the commanding officer, Major Whistler, to have a six-pounder sent to the Butte de Morts. It was accordingly forwarded, and mounted just in front of the door of my tent, its muzzle pointing in the direction of Winnebago lake.

On the route to Butte de Morts, voyagers are impeded by the rapids at the Grand Kockalas-a shoot of water which stretches diagonally across the river, of an average descent of some four or five feet, producing a whirl and tumble of rapids below, which do not find rest for the distance of a quarter of a mile. A portage is made here by all who ascend this river. During this process, and while the men were busy in carrying the baggage, &c., around the rapids, I sat under the shade of a large tree, amusing myself with picking with a bristle the nipples of a pair of pistols, which were just large enough to be conveniently carried in my vest pockets. A young Indian of about twenty-five years old, stood leaning over me, watching the

process. Presently he gave a shout and a laugh, saying, "Short gun-my father may shoot me-hurt nobody." I told the interpreter to tell him if he wanted to know what these short guns could do, just to go across Fox river and stand there, and if he desires to have a hole made through him, he can then be gratified. He shook his head and laughed, manifestly holding both myself, and my "short guns," in derision. I was compelled either to do something practically with my pistols, or forfeit the respect of at least one of those who were destined to be of the council at the treaty ground. There lay before me on the grass a bit of bark, some six inches long, and about four wide. I told Ben to put it in the ground, at about five paces from me. To the interpreter I said, now tell him I am going to let him see whether these "short guns" are to be laughed at. It was a desperate experiment, I knew; for should I miss the bark, I should have subjected myself to the scorn and contempt of this doubting Indian. I took aim, seated as I was, and fired.

The bark fell. The Indian sprang to it, took it up, and looked at it on the side that was exposed to my shot. The ball being only the size of a buck-shot, he could see no place of entrance, the filaments of the inner lining of the rougher outside having closed over the aperture. He laughed, and clapped his hand on his thigh, and pointed in derision at the pistol. I knew I had hit the bark, and felt satisfied that a piece had been split off on the opposite side, and so I told him to look at that side. He did so, and gave signs of astonishment. He then pushed his rifle-picker through the hole, and saw, sure enough, that it had been made by the shot from my "little gun," when he came up with a changed countenance, and asked permission to examine it. He was gratified, and seemed to think there was something more about it than met his eye.

An old Indian seated near me, took out of his pouch a bit of spunk, and flint and steel, and began to strike fire

to light his pipe. I directed the interpreter to tell him he need not be at that trouble, that I would bring down fire from the sun, and light his pipe with that. He looked at me awhile, and shook his head, as much as to say, nonsense! I rose and went to him, drawing from my pocket a sun-glass, and, carefully concealing it from his view, drew through it the focal rays, and told him to smoke. He did so, when the tobacco being ignited, and the smoke from it filling his mouth, he first looked at me, then at the sun, then at his pipe, with eyes that danced in their sockets with amazement and awe. These two circumstances made of me almost a Manitou.

One other event tended very much to confirm this belief. We had arrived at the treaty ground, and were waiting to give time for as many Indians to come in as might be on their way to it. The delay caused, in those who had been there for several days, as is always the case, a tedium. To call them off from this state of idleness, I directed an empty barrel to be anchored in the direction of Winnebago lake, at a distance of about a quarter of a mile, and then summoned the Indians round to witness the power of the six-pounder. Very few of them had ever heard a report louder than the crack of their rifles. Everything being ready, I invited several of our party to take turns in firing. Each had a shot at the barrel. All missed it, but the water was ploughed up by the balls in columns and sheets, the foam and spray often for awhile obscuring the barrel from our view. I then said I would try. The gun being loaded, I drew what I thought was a true sight, fired, and shivered the barrel to atoms; when, turning short about, I walked leisurely to my tent, leaving the Indians to their own reflections-many of whom came to my tent and looked in upon me, not doubting what I knew to be quite an accidental affair, was something superhuman; and especially did those arrive at this conclusion who had heard of my hitting the bit of bark with a

gun not larger than their little finger, and of my having lighted the old chief's pipe with the fire drawn from the sun, which latter circumstance I found had been much talked of.

The Indians were now pouring in-their canoes looking like fleets-some by the way of Winnebago lake, others by that of the Fox river below. I was seated in my tentdoor observing these little fleets, and watching the movements of the Indians as they landed; the squaws laborious and busy, plying their paddles to reach the shore of their destination, and then foremost in the work of unloading, and conveying their poor stores and lodge-poles, and bark to cover them, their kettles, &c., to the beach-when they would take the canoe by one or more of the cross-bars, and walk with it out of the water to some secure place, where they would turn it bottom upwards, and then return for the materials for their lodges, convey them to some spot which their quick glancing eye would light upon, and then begin and end the process of putting up their place of repose during the continuance of the treaty; their lords, meantime, looking on with but seeming little concern; or, with blankets about their hips, standing or sitting, indulging in the luxury of the calumet.

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It was in the midst of all this that I saw a canoe coming the river, worked by two men, the woman and two girls doing nothing. This was so new a circumstance, as to call my attention from the general movements, to this single arrival. I thought there must be a sprinkling of civilization there; and that the men had been led by it to regard the women with a more appropriate tenderness. As soon as the canoe had approached the shore near enough for the party to step out, the men, I remarked, carried out this principle of tender regard for the sex, and were the first to step into the water, and the first to commence the process of unloading; in a word, the woman and the girls were but lookers on. All the articles, with

the canoe, being disposed of, I saw the man stoop down and pick up a white fish of uncommon size; when he stepped forward, followed in Indian file by the rest, including some half dozen dogs. He wound round the little bluff upon which my tent was pitched, and when I saw him again rising to nearly a level with me, his eyes were in motion, looking in every direction, till presently they fell on me, when he made a short angle, followed still by his family, walked up to me, and stooping, laid the fish at my feet-then gracefully rising, he turned and walked away to the place where his canoe and his effects had been placed, and commenced putting up his lodge. This was the family from the island, and the woman was the same I had cured; the man was her husband, and the young man and girls were her children. This offering of the white fish, was an INDIAN's GRATITUDE ! Noble trait! Where this feeling has place, in no matter what bosom, whether it be red, or white, or black, all beside is apt to be right. Yes, and there is no doubt but if this poor Indian had possessed silver and gold, these richer offerings would have been as freely made, and in the same way. This was another proof, further confirming my previously conceived belief, that this noble race was never intended by their Maker to be trodden down and persecuted, after the manner in which this work of extermination has been carried on by our race.

I made a couple of trips to the village and fort before the council was opened. In one of them I prevailed on one of my voyagers the rest declining to go with me over the shoot, and down the rapids of the Grand Kockalas. There was one place which had been worn more smooth than the rest, of about ten feet wide, over which, at high water, barges descending the river could go. But it was low water now, yet enough remaining, over the shoot, to pass a bark canoe. My voyager was firm. I saw him to be so-when, taking my seat on the bottom of