[85] In the treaty of Indian boundaries of Prairie du Chien, of 1825, this mission of the Sioux became a point of reference by the Sioux chiefs Wabishaw, Petite Corbeau, and Wanita, as denoting the limit of their excursions north. The Chippewas, on the contrary, by the mouths of Babasikundiba, Kadawabeda, and the Broken Arm of Sandy Lake, contended for Sac River as the line. I discussed this subject, having Indian maps, at length, with the chiefs and Mr. Taliaferro, the Sioux agent, of St. Peter's. An intermediate stream, the Watab River, was eventually fixed on, as the separating boundary between these two warlike tribes.--_Indian Treaties_; Washington, D. C. 1837. Vol. i. 8vo. p. 370. During our night's encampment at this spot we heard the howling of a pack of wolves, on the opposite bank--a sure indication, hunters say, that there are deer, or objects of prey in the vicinity. There are two species of wolves on the plains of the Mississippi--the canis lupus, and the animal called coyote by the Spanish. The latter is smaller, of a dingy yellow color, and bears the generic name of prairie wolf. I have also seen a black wolf on the prairies of Missouri and Arkansas, three feet nine inches long, with coarse, bristly, bear-like hair. As daylight approached, our ears were saluted with the hollow cry of the strix nictea, a species which is asserted to be found, sometimes, as far south as the Falls of St. Anthony. On embarking, at an early hour, we found the humidity of the night atmosphere to be such, that articles left exposed to it were completely saturated. Yet, the temperature stood at 50° at half-past four o'clock, the moment of our embarkation. On descending six miles we passed the mouth of the Osakis, or Sac River, a considerable tributary from the west, which opens a line of communication with the Red River valley.