Year: 1859

masses of foliage, form fine pictures to re-
lieve the eternal platitudes of the plain
around. Some of the finest of these points
have been selected with the native taste of
the voyageurs and Indians, as camping
grounds.


On the edge of the high bluffs of Salt
River, where we camped on the evening of
the 18th, the hungry party anticipated sup
per by delicious repast on thick growth
of blueberries which we found there. This,
to me, familiar fruit-a species of huckle-
berry-tne first have seen this side of the
Alleghenies, awoke "reminiscences long for
gotten, Of hazy blueberry fields, far away
under the fogs of another sky, and took
my revenge on the luscious berries for many
thrashing l had received on their account
in the good old truant school days, when
this independent line of botanical investiga-
tion was not in the regular course of study
among the ceruleo-nasals," as HOLMES
has it. The leaf Of this shrub forms fa-
vorite ingredient in the pemmican made up
this way, instead of the pembina, or high.
bush cranberry, to which DR.. PARRY assigns
this place 10 his catalogue.


Among the shrubbery of these bottoms,
we found frequent bushes of the Cornus
Sericea or Red Rod, species of Dogwood
conspicuous among the willow fringes of
the streams. This IS the only genuine Kinne-
kinnic of the Indians. The Red Osier, or
Willow, as it is popularly called, also
abounds This is often mistaken for the
real Kinnekinnic and, indeed, is the COM
mon substitute for it among the Lake Su-
perior Indians, who have not access to the
genuine article. When this is not to be
Obtsined, the leaves of the cranberry and
winterberry are used by the Indians to d.
lutte the narcotic properties of the tobacco,
whose effects are much increased by the
universal Indian custom of exhaling the
smoke from the nose. These latter diluents
are said to be very pleasant. They are pre-
pared by passing the leaves through flame,
or more leisurely drying them by the fire,
when the preparation is called Pahgezegum.


The Kinnekinnic is prepared for smoking
by scraping off and drying the inner bark of
the Red Rod upon an extemporized gridi-
ron of willow withes, which the Indians
contrive for the purpose.


July 10, 1859.


1t is favorite quotation of my friend
j., from ancient English FULLER, that
doubtless God might have made better
berry than the strawberry, but doubtless
God never did," We had seen but few
Strawberries till we reached the valley of
the Red River, where the rich cayey soil
seems in the highest degree favorable to
their growth; and there they increased in
abundance and perfection as we went north
ward though their beautiful red vines were
almost everywhere woven with the grasses of
the uplands They are found generally in
round patches, on gentle swells of the prai-
rie, where they reach the perfection of full
ness and ripeness under the thick herbage,
or are sprinkled in the deep but we'll summed
grasses which shadow the dark ruts of the
trail 1t is thus that nature dishes up her
choicest delicacies in the path of the trav-
eller. If nature would just add little
cream to the repast, and sprinkle modi-
cum of sugar therein, it would do more
credit to her hospitality.
Our horsemen, regardless of this defect of
preparation, might have been frequently
seen in groups of half dozen or more, far
behind the train kneeling on the sward,
with the bride in one hand, and with the
other gathering handfulls of strawberries
with sweep of the fingers under the vines,
drinking down their delicious juices like
brimming goblets of red wine stolen from
the cellars of Oberon.


Strawberries came nigh being the ruin of
one of the party, who could not Withstand
the fatal snare of these tempting vines. 1t
happened thus On the morning of the
l4th, after starting from the middle branch
of the Goose river, nature indicated an in.
tention of supplying our demand for cream
for our strawberries from bbfalo COW,
that was seen with small herd of bulls in
the night. Judge LYNCH and BILL CALD-
WALL undertook to replenish our supply of
meat, and after hard chase of three or
four miles, succeeded in killing young fat
bull. LYNCH was on this occasion, the
hero of the fatal shot, although CALD.
Wells horse did so well in the perilous me.
mage of tho fray as to earn for his master
the solbriquet of Buffalo Bill" In the
meantime the train had stopped for an early
morning, and two or three pack horses and
saddles were sent after the meat.


On their return, HENRY SMITH, sharp
eyed Cree Half Breed, directed the atten-
tion of the party to moving figure in the
distance, visible only to eyes accustomed
to the large circumference of the prairie
horizon, and which, as HENRY was never
without conservative suspicion of Indians,
he believed to be an Indian. Col. MOBILES,
with his field glass, resolved the vital speck
into the erratic cook of Agony Hall, who
always went ahead with his fast OK, fol-
lowing an eccentric twist of the trail
q scientific gentleman by bis side, with
telescope that nothing could beat, made it
out buffalo and as there could be no mis-
take about the telescope, the quadrupedal
theory superseded both the white and red
bipedal hypothesis.


The train went on some miles ahead and the