of the Sioux bands and they laid before him, as was their custom, all their wrongs and sufferings. They were still in a hostile mood and the boat had been thoroughly barricaded and put in fighting trim while passing through their country.
Father De Smet reached Fort Benton June 7, 1866, after a prosperous voyage in which he had satisfactory interviews with all the river tribes. There is little information covering the return trip. He was back in St. Louis by the middle of July and remained there the rest of the year.