The metis were, and still are, fond of music and dancing. Their songs came down from their French ancestors or were learned from the mission priests. One favorite was Au clair de la lune (By Moonlight) and another was Marlbrouck s'en va-t-en guerre (Marlborough Goes to War). Square dances, the Red River Jig, Pair O' Fours, and Reel O' Cats were favorite dances, and some of them are still performed.
The most important event in the year for the metis, in the first half of the last century, was the Pembina buffalo hunt. For this, white and metis hunters would meet at Pembina on an expedition which sometimes took them as far as Fort Union on the Missouri (see Side Tour 6B). Not only men, but also women and children, went on the hunt, and even the priest went along to counsel and advise. Equipment was carried in stridently creaking oxcarts. It was like a good-sized town on a tour. On the hunt of 1840, probably the largest ever held, there were 1,630 people and 1,210 oxcarts, and the cost of the expedition has been estimated at $120,000. The camp was organized under a chief, with 10 captains under him, and 10 soldiers under each captain to enforce the camp regulations. For a first violation the saddle and bridle of the offender were cut up; for a second, his coat was destroyed; and for a third, he was flogged. A thief, even if he stole something of no greater value than a buffalo sinew—a common article of barter in the Red River country—was publicly cried "thief." Hunting was not always good; hot weather or storms delayed parties, and sometimes prairie fires were encountered. Eventually encroaching civilization put an end to the buffalo hunts, but while they were held, and when they were successful, the hunters lived in plenty. The 1840 expedition took home more than a million pounds of meat in their oxcarts.
The main food of the early metis was pemmican, or dried buffalo meat, but wild game was also plentiful. Galette, an unleavened bread made by mixing flour with water, salt, and shortening, was preferred to white man's bread.
Great respect for old age, and deep affection for relatives characterize metis family relationships. Concerning birds and animals, they have many unusual beliefs: a hungry beast coming to the door is regarded as a sign of poverty, a woodpecker pecking at a window is said to be a sign of death in the family, and snakes are believed to be symbols of quarrels and enemies.
TOUR 6
(Duluth, Minn.)—Grand Forks—Devils Lake—Minot—Williston—(Glasgow, Mont.). US 2.
Minnesota Line to Montana Line, 390.5 m.
G. N. Ry. roughly parallels entire route, Farmers' Line between Devils Lake and Webster.
Graveled roadbed except for about 110 m. of short stretches hard-surfaced.
Accommodations in principal towns.