Life, which ought to be a blessing to all, was to them one of untold value; for it was a short journey to a better land--a translation from the yet unfelt cares of earth to the bright and endless joys of heaven.
Opposite the Fort is Pilot Knob, a high peak, used as a burial-place by the Indians; just below it is the village of Mendota, or the "Meeting of the Waters." But to me, the greatest objects of interest and curiosity were the original owners of the country, whose teepees could be seen in every direction.

One could soon know all that was to be known about Pilot Knob or St.Anthony's falls; but one is puzzled completely to comprehend the character of an Indian man, woman, or child.

At one moment, you see an Indian chief raise himself to his full height, and say that the ground on which he stands is his own; at the next, beg bread and pork from an enemy.

An Indian woman will scornfully refuse to wash an article that might be needed by a white family--and the next moment, declare that she had not washed her face in fifteen years! An Indian child of three years old, will cling to its mother under the walls of the Fort, and then plunge into the Mississippi, and swim half way across, in hopes of finding an apple that has been thrown in.

We may well feel much curiosity to look into the habits, manners, and motives of a race exhibiting such contradictions.
There is a great deal said of Indian warriors--and justly too of the Sioux.