His wife is always
ready to receive him with a welcome, and his young son calls upon him to
teach him to send the arrow to the heart of the buffalo. But the
sufferings of his tribe, from want of food and other privations, are
ever before his eyes. Vengeance upon the white man, who has caused them!
CHAPTER II.
Winter is the season of trial for the Sioux, especially for the women
and children. The incursions of the English half-breeds and Cree
Indians, into the Sisseton country, have caused their buffalo to recede,
and so little other game is to be found, that indescribable sufferings
are endured every winter by the Sissetons.
Starvation forces the hunters to seek for the buffalo in the depth of
winter. Their families must accompany them, for they have not the
smallest portion of food to leave with them; and who will protect them
from the Chippeways!
However inclement the season, their home must be for a time on the open
prairie. As far as the eye can reach, it is a desert of snow. Not a
stick of timber can be seen. A storm is coming on too; nothing is heard
but the howling blast, which mocks the cries of famished children.
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