Large camp--Meet Mr. Steinhauer--Witness process of making
provisions--Strange life.
Ascending a ridge, the large camp was before us--rings within rings
of white tents, varying in size but all of one shape, and all made
from the buffalo's hide; many of them covered with hieroglyphics and
paintings indicative either of supernatural power or of martial
achievement; their projecting ventilators tasselled with buffalo hair
and gently flapping in the breeze.
In and out among their tents, and beyond them for a mile all around,
hundreds of horses were feeding, while on almost every knoll groups
of guards could be seen, whose duty it was to watch over these herds
of horses, and, in so doing, the camp also.
[Illustration: MASKEPETOON'S CAMP]
Everywhere among the tents were stagings made of peeled poles, on
which was spread the meat of recent hunts in various stages of
curing; for here meat was cured without either sugar or salt, with
only the sun and wind and the chemicals which may be in the
atmosphere; and this meat, either as dried meat, or pemmican, or
pounded meat and grease, will keep for many years in a perfect state
of preservation.
Women were dressing skins, scraping hides, rendering tallow, pounding
meat, making pemmican, slicing up the fresh meat and hanging it on
the stages; some were cooking; some were sewing, with awl for needle
and sinew for thread. Scores of naked children were playing and
eating and crying in every direction.
Hundreds of dogs, half wolf, were fighting and stealing and barking
as we rode through the circle of lodges on into the centre, where a
small cluster of large tents stood.
Here we alighted, and again the chief welcomed the strangers to his
country and camp, and once more invoked Heaven's blessings upon the
meeting, and then invited us to enter a large tent, which was to be
our home while in the camp.
Here we found Mr. Steinhauer and his people, who had reached the
rendezvous ahead of us.
This was the first time in the history of the country that three
Protestant missionaries had met on the plains. This was the first
time in the history of the Methodist Church that a Chairman of a
District had visited the Saskatchewan country. The lone and often
very isolated missionary's heart was cheered, the Christian native
was delighted, and the pagan people were profoundly interested at
such an event.
Conjurers and medicine-men looked askance, and may have felt
premonitions that their craft was in danger; yet all were apparently
friendly and courteous to us.
Soon a steaming repast was served, consisting of buffalo tongues and
"boss"; the latter is the third set or back ribs, in the possession
of which the buffalo is alone among animals on this continent.
To us this nice, fresh, delicious meat was a feast indeed. We had
fed on comparatively nothing, then surfeited on fat bear meat, and
made our jaws weary with tough bull meat; but this--no epicure could
ask for more or better in the way of meat food. Our table was the
ground, our mats buffalo robes, our dishes tin. Had we not brought a
little salt and tea there would have been none, for you might have
searched the whole camp in vain for these, to many,
"indispensables"---the western Indian had not as yet acquired the
taste for either. But the kindly manner and princely hospitality,
and the delicious quality and large quantity of the meat our hosts
served us with, more than made up for anything we might have thought
necessary or lacking.