Assiniboin
the name of a tribe of Sioux Indians. There are now about 3,000 of them, nearly equally divided between northern Montana and adjacent parts of Canada.
The river bearing their name flows eastward through Manitoba into the Red River about forty miles above Lake Winnipeg. The Assiniboin is about equal to the Rhone in length and is navigable for flat bottomed steamers for a distance of 300 miles above its mouth. It is well known in the annals of the fur trade. Its extensive, fertile plains were once occupied by herds of buffalo, from which the Indians obtained their chief supply of food, tents, and clothing. See Alberta; Saskatchewan
Only, at times, a smoke-wreath
With the drifting cloud-rack joins,--
The smoke of the hunting-lodges
Of the wild Assiniboins.
--Whittier, The Red River Voyageur.
With the drifting cloud-rack joins,--
The smoke of the hunting-lodges
Of the wild Assiniboins.
--Whittier, The Red River Voyageur.
Volume I · Aiton’s Encyclopedia