In which the riverbanks reveal a vast wilderness teeming with majestic herds of buffalo and fleet-footed antelopes, while the parties prepare with wary diplomacy to engage the Arickara village and its noble chiefs amid the ceremonials and trade negotiations of an ancient and honourable people. The uneasy rivalry between two trading companies is momentarily set aside as they share council smoke and discourse, cautiously laying foundations of friendship under watchful eyes and the open prairie sky.