kind, cheerful, and courteous through out; he did exactly as he
promised, did it on time, and was well pleased with the pay we gave
him. Speak as you find. If ever I revisit that country I shall be
glad indeed to secure the services of good old Sousi, even if he
is a Beaulieu.




CHAPTER VIII

THOMAS ANDERSON



We were now back at Smith Landing, and fired with a desire to make
another Buffalo expedition on which we should have ampler time and
cover more than a mere corner of the range. We aimed, indeed, to
strike straight into the heart of the Buffalo country. The same
trouble about guides arose. In this case it was less acute, because
Sousi's account had inspired considerably more respect. Still it
meant days of delay which, however, I aimed to make profitable by
investigations near at hand.

After all, the most interesting of creatures is the two-legged one
with the loose and changeable skin, and there was a goodly colony
of the kind to choose from. Most prominent of them all was Thomas
Anderson, the genial Hudson's Bay Company officer in charge of
the Mackenzie River District. His headquarters are at Fort Smith,
16 miles down the river, but his present abode was Smith Landing,