nor less than between 5oo,ooo and 6oo,ooo square miles. They will then be divided into several States, and each of these States will be larger than France. Whites are already pouring in in thousands, all hastening to take possession of the best sites. The law has just passed; no steps are yet taken to protect the Indians, and already fifty new towns and villages are in progress; barns, farms, mills, etc., rise on all sides as though by enchantment. I did not then think that the moment of invasion was so near.
The narrative with which I will entertain you to-day is well known in all the region where the scenes occurred. I have it from two most reliable sources - that is to say, from a man of tried probity and veracity, Mr. Denig, of the St. Louis Fur Company, and from a worthy Canadian interpreter. Both resided many years among the Assiniboins, and knew the subject of the story, and witnessed many of his acts.
This hero is Tchatka or le Gaucher, an Assiniboin chief. He exercised, during his long career, more power over the band or tribe that he led and governed, than any other savage Nestor whose history I have learned. He had received several names; but that of Gaucher, or Awkward. is that by which he was known among the voyageurs' and fur-traders. His other names were, Wah-kon-tangka, or Big Medicine; Mina-Yougha, or the Knifeholder; and Tatokah-nan, or the Kid. These titles were bestowed on him at different periods of his life, in memory of some remarkable deed by which he had distinguished himself, and which will appear in the course of my narrative.
The family of Tchatka was very numerous, and enjoyed great influence. As the members purposed electing him their chief, and conductor of the camp, as soon as he should attain his majority, he attracted the attention of the northern fur-traders of Upper Canada and the Hudson Bay Com
6I use the word voyageur, a Canadian term, adopted in English to designate the white hunters of the West, a peculiar set of menAuthor's Note.