The Shienne chief revisited us in the afternoon. He informed us, that one of his young men, who had been sent to ascertain the route which the bison herds had taken, and their present locality, had observed the trail of a large party of men, whom, by pursuing the direction, he had discovered to be Spaniards on their way towards the position we then occupied, where they must very soon arrive. As we were now in a region claimed by the Mexican Spaniards as exclusively their own, and as we had for some days anticipated such an event as highly probable, we involuntarily reposed implicit confidence in the truth of the intelligence communicated by the chief, who regarded that people as our natural enemies. Nevertheless his story was heard by our little band, as it was proper that it should have been in our situation and in the presence of Indians, with the appearance of absolute apathy. The chief seemed not to have {49} accomplished some object he had in view, and departed evidently displeased. When he was out of hearing, the Indian interpreter, who had become our friend, told us, that the story was entirely false, and was without a doubt the invention of the chief, and designed to expedite the trade for a few additional horses that we were then negociating. Mr. Say (accompanied by an interpreter), who made a short visit to the small group of lodges near us, was kindly received, though hooted by the children, and of course snarled and snapped at by the dogs. The skin lodges of these wandering people are very similar to those of the Missouri tribes, but in those to which he was introduced, he experienced the oppression of an almost suffocating heat, certainly many degrees above the temperature of the very sultry exterior atmosphere. A very portly old man, whose features were distinguished by a remarkably wide mouth and lengthened chin, invited him to a small ragged lodge, to see the riches it contained. These consisted of habiliments of red and blue cloth, profusely garnished with blue and white beads, the product of the industry and ingenuity of his squaw, from materials obtained last winter from some white traders, who made their appearance on Red river. The present members of this family were the old man, one wife, and four children, the latter as usual in a state of nudity. The baggage was piled around the lodge, serving for seats and beds; and a pile of jerked meat near the door served also for a seat, and was occasionally visited by the dirty feet of the children. A boy was amusing himself with that primitive weapon, the sling, of an ordinary form, which he used with considerable dexterity; the effect of which he appeared disposed to try upon the stranger, and was not readily turned from his purpose by a harsh rebuke and menacing gesture.