“But,” said Pee-eye-em, the chief of the Shirry-dikas, a man above six feet high, and of immense muscular strength—­“but my tribe cannot answer for the Banattees, who are robbers, and cannot be punished, because they dwell in scattered families among the mountains.  The Banattees are bad; they cannot be trusted.”

None of the Banattees were present at the council when this was said; and if they had been it would have mattered little, for they were neither fierce nor courageous, although bold enough in their own haunts to murder and rob the unwary.

The second chief did not quite agree with Pee-eye-em.  He said that it was impossible for them to make peace with their natural enemies, the Peigans and the Blackfeet on the east side of the mountains.  It was very desirable, he admitted; but neither of these tribes would consent to it, he felt sure.

Upon this Joe Blunt rose and said, “The great chief of the War-are-ree-kas is wise, and knows that enemies cannot be reconciled unless deputies are sent to make proposals of peace.”

“The Pale-face does not know the Blackfeet,” answered the chief.  “Who will go into the lands of the Blackfeet?  My young men have been sent once and again, and their scalps are now fringes to the leggings of their enemies.  The War-are-ree-kas do not cross the mountains but for the purpose of making war.”

“The chief speaks truth,” returned Joe; “yet there are three men round the council fire who will go to the Blackfeet and the Peigans with messages of peace from the Snakes if they wish it.”

Joe pointed to himself, Henri, and Dick as he spoke, and added, “We three do not belong to the camp of the fur-traders; we only, lodge with them for a time.  The Great Chief of the white men has sent us to make peace with the Red-men, and to tell them that he desires to trade with them—­to exchange hatchets, and guns, and blankets for furs.”

This declaration interested the two chiefs greatly, and after a good deal of discussion they agreed to take advantage of Joe Blunt’s offer; and appoint him as a deputy to the court of their enemies.  Having arranged these matters to their satisfaction, Cameron bestowed a red flag and a blue surtout with brass buttons on each of the chiefs, and a variety of smaller articles on the other members of the council, and sent them away in a particularly amiable frame of mind.

Pee-eye-em burst the blue surtout at the shoulders and elbows in putting it on, as it was much too small for his gigantic frame; but never having seen such an article of apparel before, he either regarded this as the natural and proper consequence of putting it on, or was totally indifferent to it, for he merely looked at the rents with a smile of satisfaction, while his squaw surreptitiously cut off the two back buttons and thrust them into her bosom.

By the time the council closed the night was far advanced, and a bright moon was shedding a flood of soft light over the picturesque and busy scene.