evidence of the good intentions of Her Majesty's Government, and it
seemed better to await the arrival of all whom I had summoned, than
to press matters to an issue while any were absent. This, however,
entailed the necessity of feeding those who were already there, and
others as they arrived.

It is customary in dealing with Indians to do so, and in this case
it was absolutely necessary, for, obviously, it would have been
impossible to invite those people from a distance, and then leave
them to starve at our doors, or, in search of food, to plunder the
neighborhood into which they had been introduced. At that season of
the year the Indians were not engaged in fishing or hunting, and
consequently large numbers of men, women and children attended at
the place of meeting, for all of whom food was provided. The price
of provisions, even at the lowest price for which they could be
obtained, was high, pork being fifty dollars a barrel, and flour
twenty shillings sterling per hundred, and such cattle as I was
able to purchase L16 per head, so that the expense of keeping
the Indians during the negotiation of treaty and payment of the
gratuity, which lasted eleven days, forms no small share of the
total expenditure. In addition to this expense, it was thought
necessary by the Lieutenant-Governor that Major Irvine commanding
the troops at Fort Garry should be requested to furnish a guard at
the Stone Fort during the negotiations, and that there should be at
hand, also, a force of constabulary, for the purpose of preventing
the introduction of liquor amongst the Indian encampments. Other
expenses of a somewhat similar nature were incurred, which would be
totally unnecessary upon any future occasion of payment being made
to the Indians of Manitoba. I may here refer to the apparently
prolonged duration of the first negotiation, and explain, in