Saddle, Sled and Snowshoe
Pioneering on the Saskatchewan in the sixties, By John McDougall

Contents

• Chapter I.
  Old Fort Edmonton—Early missionaries—Down the Saskatchewan by dog-train—Camp-fire experiences —Arrival at home—Daily occupations
• Chapter II.
  A foraging expedition—Our hungry camp—A welcome feast—Dogs, sleds and buffalo bull in a tangle—In a Wood Cree encampment—Chief Child, Maskepetoon and Ka-kake—Indian hospitality—Incidents of the return trip
• Chapter III.
  Scarcity of food—The winter packet—Start for Edmonton for the eastern mails—A lonely journey— Arrive at Fort Edmonton--Start for home—Camping in a storm—Improvising a "Berlin"—Old Draffan—Sleeping on a dog-sled en route—A hearty welcome home
• Chapter IV.
  Trip to Whitefish Lake—Mr. Woolsey as a dog-driver- Rolling down a side hill—Another trip to Edmonton—Mr. O. B. as a passenger—Perils of travel by ice—Narrow escape of Mr. O. B. —A fraud exposed —Profanity punished—Arrival at Edmonton— Milton and Cheadle—Return to Victoria
• Chapter V.
  Mr. Woolsey's ministrations—An exciting foot-race - Building operations —Garden ing—Stolon (?) buffalo tongues—Addled duck eggs as a relish—A lesson in cooking—A lucky shot—Precautions against hostile Indians
• Chapter VI.
  The summer brigade—With the brigade down the Saskatchewan—A glorious panorama—Meet with father and mother on the way to Victoria—Privtions of travel—A buffalo crossing—Arrival a Victoria—A church building begun— Peter Eramus as interpreter
• Chapter VII.
  In search of the Stoneys—An Indian avenger—A Sunday at Fort Edmonton—Drunken Lake carousals— Indian trails—Canyon of the Red Deer—I shoot my father—Amateur surgeons —Prospecting for gold—Peter gets "rattled "—A mysterious shot— Friends or foes?—Noble specimens of the Indian race—A "kodak" needed—Among the Stoneys - Prospecting for a mission site—A massacre of neophytes—An Indian patriarch—Back at Victoria again
• Chapter VIII.
  Provisions diminishing—A buffalo hunt organized— Oxen and Red River carts—Our "buffalo runners" —Meet with Maskepetoon—Maskepetoon shakes hands with his son's murderer—An Indian's strange vow—Instance of Indian watchfulness—"Who Talks Past-All-Things "—Come upon the buffalo— An exciting charge—Ki-you-ken-os races the buffalo —Peter's exciting adventure—Buffalo dainties-Return home—War parties—Indian curiosity— Starving Young Bull's "dedication feast "—Missionary labors
• Chapter IX.
  The fall fishing—A relentless tooth-ache—Prairie and forest fire—Attacked by my dogs—A run home— A sleepless night—Father turns dentist—Another visit to Edmonton—Welcome relief—Final revenge on my enemy
• Chapter X.
  Casual visitors—The missionary a "medicine man ""Hardy dogs and hardier men "—A buffalo hunt organized—"Make a fire! I am freezing! " —I thaw out my companion—Chief Child—Father caught napping—Go with Mr. Woolsey to Edmonton— Encounter between Blackfeet and Stoneys—A "nightmare" scare—My passenger scorched—Rolling down hill—Translating hymns
• Chapter XI.
  Visited by the Wood Stoneys—"Muddy Bull "—A noble Indian couple—Remarkable shooting—Tom and I have our first and only disagreement—A race with loaded dog-sleds--Chased by a wounded buffalo bull—My swiftest foot-race—Building a palisade around our mission home—Bringing in seed potatoes
• Chapter XII.
  Mr. Woolsey's farewell visit to Edmonton—Preparing for a trip to Fort Garry—Indians gathering into our valley—Fight between Creos and BlackfeetThe "strain of possible tragedy "—I start for Fort Garry—Joined by Ka-kake—Sabbath observance— A camp of Saulteaux—An excited Indian—I dilate on the numbers and resources of the white man— We pass Duck Lake—A bear hunt—" Loaded for b'ar "—A contest in athletics—Whip-poor-willsPancakes and maple syrup—Pass the site of Birtle —My first and only difference with Ka-kake
• Chapter XIII.
  Fall in with a party of "plain hunters "—Marvellous resources of this great country—A "hunting breed" —Astounding ignorance—Visit a Church of England mission—Have my first square meal of bread and butter in two years—Archdeacon Cochrane— Unexpected sympathy with rebellion and slavery —Through the White Horse Plains—Baptiste's recklessness and its punishment—Reach our destination—Present my letter of introduction to Governor McTavish—Purchasing supplies—" Hudson's Bay blankets "—Old Fort Garry, St. Boniface, Winnipeg, St. John's, Kildonan—A "degenerate" Scot—An eloquent Indian preacher—Baptiste succumbs to his old enemy—Prepare for our return journey
• Chapter XIV.
  We start for home—A stubborn cow—Difficulties of transport—Indignant travellers—Novel method of breaking a horse—Secure provisions at Fort Ellice —Lose one of our cows—I turn detective—Dried meat and fresh cream as a delicacy
• Chapter XV.
  Personnel of our party—My little rat terrier has a novel experience—An Indian horse-thief's visit by night —I shoot and wound him—An exciting chase— Saved by the vigilance of my rat terrier—We reach the South Branch of the Saskatchewan—A rushing torrent—A small skin canoe our only means of transport—Mr. Connor's fears of drowning—Get our goods over
• Chapter XVI.
  A raft of carts—The raft swept away—Succeed in recovering it—Getting our stock over—The emotionless Scot unbends—Our horses wander away— Track them up—Arrive at Canton—Crossing the North Saskatchewan—Homes for the millions— Fall in with father and Peter—Am sent home for fresh horses—An exhilarating gallop—Home again
• Chapter XVII.
  Improvements about home—Mr. Woolsey's departure— A zealous and self-sacrificing missionary—A travelling college-1 feel a twinge of melancholy—A lesson in the luxury of happiness—Forest and prairie fire—Father's visit to the Mountain Stoneys —Indians gathering about our mission—Complications feared
• Chapter XVIII.
  Mask e pet o on - Council gatherings - Maskepetoon's childhood—" Royal born by right Divine "—A father's advice—An Indian philosopher—Maskepethou as "Peace Chief '—Forgives his father's murderer—Arrival of Rev. R. T. Rundle—Stephen and Joseph—Stephen's eloquent harangue—Joseph's hunting exploits—Types of the shouting Methodist and the High Church ritualist
• Chapter XIX.
  Muh-ka-chees, or "the Fox "—An Indian "dude "—A strange story—How the Fox was transforthed—Mr. The-Camp-is-Moving as a magician
• Chapter XX.
  Victoria becomes a Hudson's Bay trading post—An adventure on a raft—The annual fresh meat hunt organized—Among the buffalo—Oliver misses his shot and is puzzled—My experience with a runaway horse—A successful hunt—My "bump of locality" surprises Peter—Home again
• Chapter XXI.
  Father and I visit Fort Edmonton—Peter takes to himself a wife—Mr. Connor becomes school teacher— First school In that part of the country—Culinary operations—Father decides to open a mission at Pigeon Lake—I go prospecting—Engage a Roman Catholic guide—Our guide's sudden "illness"— Through new scenes—Reach Pigeon Lake—Getting out timber for building—Incidents of return trip
• Chapter XXII.
  Another buffalo hunt—Visit Maskepetoon's camp—The old chief's plucky deed—Arrival of a peace party from the Blackfeet—A "peace dance "—Buffalo in plenty—Our mysterious visitor—A party of Black- feet come upon us—Watching and praying—Arrive home with well-loaded sleds—Christmas festivities
• Chapter XXIII.
  We set out with Maskepetoon for the Blackfoot camp —A wife for a target—Indian scouts—Nearing the Blackfeet—Our Indians don paint and feathers—A picture of the time and place—We enter the Blackfoot camp—Three Bulls—Buffalo Indians—Father describes eastern civilization—The Canadian Government's treatment of the Indians a revelation—I am taken by a war chief as a hostage—Mine host and his seven wives—Bloods and Piegans—I witness a great dance—We leave for home—A sprained ankle—Arrival at the mission
• Chapter XXIV.
  We visit the Cree camp—I lose Maple and the pups— Find our Indian friends "pound-keeping "—The Indian buffalo pound—Consecrating the pound— Mr. Who-Brings-Them-In—Running the buffalo in —The herd safely corralled—Wholesale slaughter —Apportioning the hunt—Finis

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