"'As soon as we had taken our seats, he said--"Friends, I have come to ask you about the lands, if you will give them to me. I do not want much--give what you choose. Will you give me as far from the river as you can distinguish the belly of a horse? It is to put settlers here-- people far off, who have misery in their own country. This is why I want it. They will not trespass upon or spoil your lands that you retain outside of the limits I have named. I wish to put inhabitants upon it to cultivate the soil. I will endeavour to make the country like my own country. If I succeed in accomplishing what I intend, there will be merchants and traders from one end of the Settlement to the other, who will furnish you with goods. They will be at a little distance from each other, and you will have a chance of seeking out the best places for trading. All this I will do, if we can arrange about the land." "'We were five Chiefs. I represented this district, the other Chiefs, other districts. The Earl said to me--"Speak you first--how much land will you give me?" I said--"I will speak last: let the others speak before me." KITCHE OTTAWA (Grand Courte-Oreille) spoke first. He mentioned Riviere aux Rose Aux. The Earl made no reply to this; whereupon the Chief mentioned as far as Pembina. The Earl said--Yes. Then he appealed to Mahkatayihkoonaya, _Le Grand Noir_, and asked what _he_ would give. He said, from Pembina to Red Lake. Then he turned to _La Robe Noir_, who said as far as Portage Laprairie. At this the gentlemen hummed among themselves for a little, and the end was a question from the Earl. Is there no stream about there which you could mention as a limit? Mahkatayihkoonayai replied--Yes, there is la Riviere Champignon, a little beyond. The Earl said--There, that will be the limit. Then he asked Senna the Cree Chief, who said--No, I do not want agriculturists, I only want traders! The Earl said--Do you think you will ever see your trader again? (referring to the North-West Company). Never: he (the N. W. Co.) has done a bad thing--he has killed people. The Earl added--Then you do not wish to get a load of powder, a knife or a steel from _settlers?_ Well, work diligently at the furs, and you will find a trader (meaning the H. B. Co.). The nobleman then said to me--Your turn, speak. I said--This is my place. How much will you give me for the part between this and the Rapids? I will then go below that. He said--a little further down, if you will. I replied-- Yes, I will give you to the bend of the river above Sugar Point. That point I like very much--I cannot part with it--it is for my children. This satisfied the Earl, and he said further--Fear not: the people I plant here will not trouble your wild animals--they will merely work the soil. If they pass beyond the two-miles limit, do not allow them: they have no right there. At present we cannot conclude the arrangement, for I have nothing to pay you with. Let us leave the matter as it stands. I