Uncle Dick and Lisa's Old Time Animal Tales

The Minnesota Register, published at St. Paul’s, gives as account of the half-breeds about the Red River, who desire to settle in the limits of the United States:
“Within the limits of the territories of the Hudson Bay Company, there resides a class of men, who, ground down by the tyranny of that huge monopoly, seek to place themselves under the protection of the River Half-breeds. They are, generally speaking, of mixed Indian and English, Scotch or French blood. Brought up from early youth to feel their subsistence will depend upon their skill as horsemen and hunters, they accustom themselves to every exercise and privation which can tend to harden their muscles, and prepare them for their vocation. As a matter of course, the whole body of these hunters are capital horsemen, and amazingly expert in the use of firearms. Depending entirely upon the Hudson Bay Company for ammunition and arms, they must submit to any and all the arbitrary rules imposed upon them, and they are heartely tired of these exactions.
Twice each year these hunters, four or five hundred in number, start for the American territories after the buffalo, with from 1000 to 1200 carts, drawn by horses or oxen, which are driven by the women and children. The men are governed by fixed rules while at the hunt, which must not be infringed under severe penalties. They all leave the camp together, with the exception of a few who are left as a guard, and when a cerne or surround of buffalo has been taken place, the women and children are sent for to assist in butchering and drying the meat of the slain animals. Each cart will contain the pemmican [or dried meat, pounded and melted tallow poured over it,] of ten buffaloes, so that the slaughter of these animals may be estimated at upwards of 20,000 annually. The meat thus prepared is purchased at a small price by the Hudson Bay Company, and is used to provision the inland trading posts. An attempt has on occasion, been made to prevent the incursions of these people within our boundaries, but without effect. Many of these mixed bloods desire now to remove to Pembina, which is the American side of the line, and settle there, if permission can be obtained from our government. They would constitute a formidable and efficient defense to our northern frontier in case of Indian disturbances, as they are much feared by all the different tribes. The British settlements at Red River, in the vicinity of Fort Gary, number about five thousand souls.