The Hawaiian gazette., 1869-01-27
The Territory of the Hudson
Bay Company and the North
West Passage.

cordial manner, then sat on the ground, in
large circle, and proceeded to puff clouds
Of the odoriferous weed. The pipes hav-
ing been three times filed and smoked.
the Indian Cree Chief rose up. and delv-
cred, with grace and easy elegance Of man
ner, the following speech, which was trans
lated by La Ronde:
al and my companions have had our
minds troubled by things that were told
US by chiefs Of the Hudson Company.
They said that white men would soon
visit our country. and that we must be on
the alert. Now, l ask you, Why have you
come hither' In your own land you are,
know, great and powerful Chiefs, and
that you have there plenty of blankets,
tea. salt, tobacco and rum. You have.
likewise, fine guns, shot and powder; but
there is one thing you have not : you are
deprived of bisons, and you come here 20
find them. l am, like you, great Chief,
but the Great Spirit has not given us
equal shares. To you he gave varied and
many presents, to me he gave the bisons.
Why do you come to destroy the only
good thing possess, in order to find some
sporting amusement Nevertheless, as /
am certain that you are great, generous,
and good. | give you permission to go
wherever you like on my lands, and to
hunt, whenever you please. When you
come to my camp, you will be welcomed
and well received"
The Chiefs speech touched upon some
delicate questions about which the future
member of Parliament deemed it prudent
not to enter into controversy. He merely
paid fattering compliment to the Chief.
and substantiated his praises by liberal
gift Of knives and other presents, but he
failed to please the Indian, whose dis
course, freely translated. meant: Give
me some rum The Indians gave way
to their disappointment by proclaiming
all over the prairie that Lord Milton was
man Of low birth, and without education
or manners
1t was now high time for our adyentur-
ers to return to Fort Carleton, as a fight
was becoming imminent the season was
also adyanced, and they had not yet pre-
pared their winter quarters. They accord
ingly returned to the Fort, and thence
Immediately proceeded towards the north
west, to the shores of the White Fish
Lake, in country called by the halfcastes,
" La Belle Prairie"
So far. everything had gone on success
fully, and the time they spent in their
winter quarters was not very hard. The
place was well selected. It looked almost
like some English park which had been
planned in imitation Of nature itself.
Northward, was the boundess forest, in
habited by animals robed in the most pre-
cious and costly furs; southwark, at
distance of two Or three days journey, the
vast and luxuriantly ad-prairies, fire.
quented by numerous herds Of buffaloes;
at the bottom Of the valley, clear, deep
lake, full Of silyery-scaled fishes; and all
around them. a country covered with
shrubs and brushwood, favorable fer small
game. In case of urgent necessity, they
were not too far from Fort Carleton. Il
is only true to say that more than once
the centigrade thermometer marked 40
degrees below zero, but they were pro-
tected from the fierce cold winds by the
log house constructed under La Ronde's
directions Moreover. their neighbors we're
not troublesome, for the Crees Of the forest
lead kind Of sedentary and quiet life
with their families, and are much more
peaceable than the Crees Of the prairie,
who are always on horseback, buffalo
hunting. and whose warlike dispositions
are developed by those manly sports. The
Crees Of the forest earn their living By
trading with the Company, to whom they
sell valuable furs in exchange for blankets.
firearms and provisions. The condition
Of these poor people would not be 60 very
miserable il it were not for the climate,
and if the characteristic feature Of hunt
er's life was not TO pass, without transit
ton. from extreme abundance TO extreme
famine. But although Lord Milton and
DR.. Cheadle do not like to confess it, il is
very evident that nothing in the world
could have induced them to spend another
winter in the territory Of the Hudson
Bay Company. The bitterness Of the
cold Is only surpassed BY the weariness Of
their solitude and DR.. CheadIe, after two
days of camp life, can not bear the silence
Of the forest, while Lord Milton. having
hardly recovered from an erysipelas on
his head. and the thermometer being 30
degrees below zero. YEARLY and painfully
piodded bis way 30 miles, IN order 70 meet