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diff --git a/1015-0.txt b/1015-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6c8db1c --- /dev/null +++ b/1015-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11799 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1015 *** + +THE OREGON TRAIL + +by Francis Parkman, Jr. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +I THE FRONTIER + +II BREAKING THE ICE + +III FORT LEAVENWORTH + +IV “JUMPING OFF” + +V “THE BIG BLUE” + +VI THE PLATTE AND THE DESERT + +VII THE BUFFALO + +VIII TAKING FRENCH LEAVE + +IX SCENES AT FORT LARAMIE + +X THE WAR PARTIES + +XI SCENES AT THE CAMP + +XII ILL LUCK + +XIII HUNTING INDIANS + +XIV THE OGALLALLA VILLAGR + +XV THE HUNTING CAMP + +XVI THE TRAPPERS + +XVII THE BLACK HILLS + +XVIII A MOUNTAIN HUNT + +XIX PASSAGE OF THE MOUNTAINS + +XX THE LONELY JOURNEY + +XXI THE PUEBLO AND BENT’S FORT + +XXII TETE ROUGE, THE VOLUNTEER + +XXIII INDIAN ALARMS + +XXIV THE CHASE + +XXV THE BUFFALO CAMP + +XXVI DOWN THE ARKANSAS + +XXVII THE SETTLEMENTS + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE FRONTIER + + +Last spring, 1846, was a busy season in the City of St. Louis. Not only +were emigrants from every part of the country preparing for the journey +to Oregon and California, but an unusual number of traders were making +ready their wagons and outfits for Santa Fe. Many of the emigrants, +especially of those bound for California, were persons of wealth and +standing. The hotels were crowded, and the gunsmiths and saddlers +were kept constantly at work in providing arms and equipments for the +different parties of travelers. Almost every day steamboats were leaving +the levee and passing up the Missouri, crowded with passengers on their +way to the frontier. + +In one of these, the Radnor, since snagged and lost, my friend and +relative, Quincy A. Shaw, and myself, left St. Louis on the 28th of +April, on a tour of curiosity and amusement to the Rocky Mountains. The +boat was loaded until the water broke alternately over her guards. Her +upper deck was covered with large weapons of a peculiar form, for +the Santa Fe trade, and her hold was crammed with goods for the same +destination. There were also the equipments and provisions of a party +of Oregon emigrants, a band of mules and horses, piles of saddles and +harness, and a multitude of nondescript articles, indispensable on +the prairies. Almost hidden in this medley one might have seen a small +French cart, of the sort very appropriately called a “mule-killer” + beyond the frontiers, and not far distant a tent, together with a +miscellaneous assortment of boxes and barrels. The whole equipage was +far from prepossessing in its appearance; yet, such as it was, it was +destined to a long and arduous journey, on which the persevering reader +will accompany it. + +The passengers on board the Radnor corresponded with her freight. In her +cabin were Santa Fe traders, gamblers, speculators, and adventurers +of various descriptions, and her steerage was crowded with Oregon +emigrants, “mountain men,” negroes, and a party of Kansas Indians, who +had been on a visit to St. Louis. + +Thus laden, the boat struggled upward for seven or eight days against +the rapid current of the Missouri, grating upon snags, and hanging for +two or three hours at a time upon sand-bars. We entered the mouth of +the Missouri in a drizzling rain, but the weather soon became clear, +and showed distinctly the broad and turbid river, with its eddies, its +sand-bars, its ragged islands, and forest-covered shores. The Missouri +is constantly changing its course; wearing away its banks on one +side, while it forms new ones on the other. Its channel is shifting +continually. Islands are formed, and then washed away; and while the old +forests on one side are undermined and swept off, a young growth springs +up from the new soil upon the other. With all these changes, the water +is so charged with mud and sand that it is perfectly opaque, and in +a few minutes deposits a sediment an inch thick in the bottom of a +tumbler. The river was now high; but when we descended in the autumn +it was fallen very low, and all the secrets of its treacherous shallows +were exposed to view. It was frightful to see the dead and broken trees, +thick-set as a military abatis, firmly imbedded in the sand, and all +pointing down stream, ready to impale any unhappy steamboat that at high +water should pass over that dangerous ground. + +In five or six days we began to see signs of the great western movement +that was then taking place. Parties of emigrants, with their tents and +wagons, would be encamped on open spots near the bank, on their way to +the common rendezvous at Independence. On a rainy day, near sunset, we +reached the landing of this place, which is situated some miles from +the river, on the extreme frontier of Missouri. The scene was +characteristic, for here were represented at one view the most +remarkable features of this wild and enterprising region. On the muddy +shore stood some thirty or forty dark slavish-looking Spaniards, gazing +stupidly out from beneath their broad hats. They were attached to one of +the Santa Fe companies, whose wagons were crowded together on the banks +above. In the midst of these, crouching over a smoldering fire, was a +group of Indians, belonging to a remote Mexican tribe. One or two French +hunters from the mountains with their long hair and buckskin dresses, +were looking at the boat; and seated on a log close at hand were three +men, with rifles lying across their knees. The foremost of these, a +tall, strong figure, with a clear blue eye and an open, intelligent +face, might very well represent that race of restless and intrepid +pioneers whose axes and rifles have opened a path from the Alleghenies +to the western prairies. He was on his way to Oregon, probably a more +congenial field to him than any that now remained on this side the great +plains. + +Early on the next morning we reached Kansas, about five hundred +miles from the mouth of the Missouri. Here we landed and leaving our +equipments in charge of my good friend Colonel Chick, whose log-house +was the substitute for a tavern, we set out in a wagon for Westport, +where we hoped to procure mules and horses for the journey. + +It was a remarkably fresh and beautiful May morning. The rich and +luxuriant woods through which the miserable road conducted us were +lighted by the bright sunshine and enlivened by a multitude of birds. We +overtook on the way our late fellow-travelers, the Kansas Indians, who, +adorned with all their finery, were proceeding homeward at a round pace; +and whatever they might have seemed on board the boat, they made a very +striking and picturesque feature in the forest landscape. + +Westport was full of Indians, whose little shaggy ponies were tied by +dozens along the houses and fences. Sacs and Foxes, with shaved heads +and painted faces, Shawanoes and Delawares, fluttering in calico frocks, +and turbans, Wyandottes dressed like white men, and a few wretched +Kansas wrapped in old blankets, were strolling about the streets, or +lounging in and out of the shops and houses. + +As I stood at the door of the tavern, I saw a remarkable looking person +coming up the street. He had a ruddy face, garnished with the stumps of +a bristly red beard and mustache; on one side of his head was a round +cap with a knob at the top, such as Scottish laborers sometimes wear; +his coat was of a nondescript form, and made of a gray Scotch plaid, +with the fringes hanging all about it; he wore pantaloons of coarse +homespun, and hob-nailed shoes; and to complete his equipment, a little +black pipe was stuck in one corner of his mouth. In this curious attire, +I recognized Captain C. of the British army, who, with his brother, and +Mr. R., an English gentleman, was bound on a hunting expedition across +the continent. I had seen the captain and his companions at St. Louis. +They had now been for some time at Westport, making preparations for +their departure, and waiting for a re-enforcement, since they were too +few in number to attempt it alone. They might, it is true, have joined +some of the parties of emigrants who were on the point of setting out +for Oregon and California; but they professed great disinclination to +have any connection with the “Kentucky fellows.” + +The captain now urged it upon us, that we should join forces and proceed +to the mountains in company. Feeling no greater partiality for the +society of the emigrants than they did, we thought the arrangement an +advantageous one, and consented to it. Our future fellow-travelers had +installed themselves in a little log-house, where we found them all +surrounded by saddles, harness, guns, pistols, telescopes, knives, and +in short their complete appointments for the prairie. R., who professed +a taste for natural history, sat at a table stuffing a woodpecker; the +brother of the captain, who was an Irishman, was splicing a trail-rope +on the floor, as he had been an amateur sailor. The captain pointed +out, with much complacency, the different articles of their outfit. “You +see,” said he, “that we are all old travelers. I am convinced that no +party ever went upon the prairie better provided.” The hunter whom they +had employed, a surly looking Canadian, named Sorel, and their muleteer, +an American from St. Louis, were lounging about the building. In a +little log stable close at hand were their horses and mules, selected by +the captain, who was an excellent judge. + +The alliance entered into, we left them to complete their arrangements, +while we pushed our own to all convenient speed. The emigrants for whom +our friends professed such contempt were encamped on the prairie about +eight or ten miles distant, to the number of a thousand or more, and new +parties were constantly passing out from Independence to join them. +They were in great confusion, holding meetings, passing resolutions, and +drawing up regulations, but unable to unite in the choice of leaders to +conduct them across the prairie. Being at leisure one day, I rode over +to Independence. The town was crowded. A multitude of shops had sprung +up to furnish the emigrants and Santa Fe traders with necessaries for +their journey; and there was an incessant hammering and banging from a +dozen blacksmiths’ sheds, where the heavy wagons were being repaired, +and the horses and oxen shod. The streets were thronged with men, +horses, and mules. While I was in the town, a train of emigrant wagons +from Illinois passed through, to join the camp on the prairie, and +stopped in the principal street. A multitude of healthy children’s faces +were peeping out from under the covers of the wagons. Here and there a +buxom damsel was seated on horseback, holding over her sunburnt face an +old umbrella or a parasol, once gaudy enough but now miserably faded. +The men, very sober-looking countrymen, stood about their oxen; and as I +passed I noticed three old fellows, who, with their long whips in their +hands, were zealously discussing the doctrine of regeneration. The +emigrants, however, are not all of this stamp. Among them are some of +the vilest outcasts in the country. I have often perplexed myself to +divine the various motives that give impulse to this strange migration; +but whatever they may be, whether an insane hope of a better condition +in life, or a desire of shaking off restraints of law and society, or +mere restlessness, certain it is that multitudes bitterly repent the +journey, and after they have reached the land of promise are happy +enough to escape from it. + +In the course of seven or eight days we had brought our preparations +near to a close. Meanwhile our friends had completed theirs, and +becoming tired of Westport, they told us that they would set out in +advance and wait at the crossing of the Kansas till we should come up. +Accordingly R. and the muleteers went forward with the wagon and tent, +while the captain and his brother, together with Sorel, and a trapper +named Boisverd, who had joined them, followed with the band of horses. +The commencement of the journey was ominous, for the captain was +scarcely a mile from Westport, riding along in state at the head of his +party, leading his intended buffalo horse by a rope, when a tremendous +thunderstorm came on, and drenched them all to the skin. They hurried on +to reach the place, about seven miles off, where R. was to have had the +camp in readiness to receive them. But this prudent person, when he +saw the storm approaching, had selected a sheltered glade in the woods, +where he pitched his tent, and was sipping a comfortable cup of coffee, +while the captain galloped for miles beyond through the rain to look +for him. At length the storm cleared away, and the sharp-eyed trapper +succeeded in discovering his tent: R. had by this time finished his +coffee, and was seated on a buffalo robe smoking his pipe. The captain +was one of the most easy-tempered men in existence, so he bore his +ill-luck with great composure, shared the dregs of the coffee with his +brother, and lay down to sleep in his wet clothes. + +We ourselves had our share of the deluge. We were leading a pair of +mules to Kansas when the storm broke. Such sharp and incessant flashes +of lightning, such stunning and continuous thunder, I have never known +before. The woods were completely obscured by the diagonal sheets of +rain that fell with a heavy roar, and rose in spray from the ground; and +the streams rose so rapidly that we could hardly ford them. At length, +looming through the rain, we saw the log-house of Colonel Chick, who +received us with his usual bland hospitality; while his wife, who, +though a little soured and stiffened by too frequent attendance on +camp-meetings, was not behind him in hospitable feeling, supplied us +with the means of repairing our drenched and bedraggled condition. The +storm, clearing away at about sunset, opened a noble prospect from the +porch of the colonel’s house, which stands upon a high hill. The sun +streamed from the breaking clouds upon the swift and angry Missouri, and +on the immense expanse of luxuriant forest that stretched from its banks +back to the distant bluffs. + +Returning on the next day to Westport, we received a message from the +captain, who had ridden back to deliver it in person, but finding that +we were in Kansas, had intrusted it with an acquaintance of his named +Vogel, who kept a small grocery and liquor shop. Whisky by the way +circulates more freely in Westport than is altogether safe in a place +where every man carries a loaded pistol in his pocket. As we passed this +establishment, we saw Vogel’s broad German face and knavish-looking eyes +thrust from his door. He said he had something to tell us, and +invited us to take a dram. Neither his liquor nor his message was very +palatable. The captain had returned to give us notice that R., who +assumed the direction of his party, had determined upon another route +from that agreed upon between us; and instead of taking the course of +the traders, to pass northward by Fort Leavenworth, and follow the path +marked out by the dragoons in their expedition of last summer. To adopt +such a plan without consulting us, we looked upon as a very high-handed +proceeding; but suppressing our dissatisfaction as well as we could, we +made up our minds to join them at Fort Leavenworth, where they were to +wait for us. + +Accordingly, our preparation being now complete, we attempted one fine +morning to commence our journey. The first step was an unfortunate one. +No sooner were our animals put in harness, than the shaft mule reared +and plunged, burst ropes and straps, and nearly flung the cart into +the Missouri. Finding her wholly uncontrollable, we exchanged her +for another, with which we were furnished by our friend Mr. Boone of +Westport, a grandson of Daniel Boone, the pioneer. This foretaste of +prairie experience was very soon followed by another. Westport was +scarcely out of sight, when we encountered a deep muddy gully, of a +species that afterward became but too familiar to us; and here for the +space of an hour or more the car stuck fast. + + + +CHAPTER II + +BREAKING THE ICE + + +Both Shaw and myself were tolerably inured to the vicissitudes of +traveling. We had experienced them under various forms, and a birch +canoe was as familiar to us as a steamboat. The restlessness, the love +of wilds and hatred of cities, natural perhaps in early years to every +unperverted son of Adam, was not our only motive for undertaking the +present journey. My companion hoped to shake off the effects of a +disorder that had impaired a constitution originally hardy and robust; +and I was anxious to pursue some inquiries relative to the character and +usages of the remote Indian nations, being already familiar with many of +the border tribes. + +Emerging from the mud-hole where we last took leave of the reader, we +pursued our way for some time along the narrow track, in the checkered +sunshine and shadow of the woods, till at length, issuing forth into +the broad light, we left behind us the farthest outskirts of that great +forest, that once spread unbroken from the western plains to the shore +of the Atlantic. Looking over an intervening belt of shrubbery, we saw +the green, oceanlike expanse of prairie, stretching swell over swell to +the horizon. + +It was a mild, calm spring day; a day when one is more disposed to +musing and reverie than to action, and the softest part of his nature is +apt to gain the ascendency. I rode in advance of the party, as we passed +through the shrubbery, and as a nook of green grass offered a strong +temptation, I dismounted and lay down there. All the trees and saplings +were in flower, or budding into fresh leaf; the red clusters of the +maple-blossoms and the rich flowers of the Indian apple were there in +profusion; and I was half inclined to regret leaving behind the land of +gardens for the rude and stern scenes of the prairie and the mountains. + +Meanwhile the party came in sight from out of the bushes. Foremost rode +Henry Chatillon, our guide and hunter, a fine athletic figure, mounted +on a hardy gray Wyandotte pony. He wore a white blanket-coat, a broad +hat of felt, moccasins, and pantaloons of deerskin, ornamented along the +seams with rows of long fringes. His knife was stuck in his belt; his +bullet-pouch and powder-horn hung at his side, and his rifle lay before +him, resting against the high pommel of his saddle, which, like all his +equipments, had seen hard service, and was much the worse for wear. Shaw +followed close, mounted on a little sorrel horse, and leading a larger +animal by a rope. His outfit, which resembled mine, had been provided +with a view to use rather than ornament. It consisted of a plain, black +Spanish saddle, with holsters of heavy pistols, a blanket rolled up +behind it, and the trail-rope attached to his horse’s neck hanging +coiled in front. He carried a double-barreled smooth-bore, while I +boasted a rifle of some fifteen pounds’ weight. At that time our attire, +though far from elegant, bore some marks of civilization, and offered a +very favorable contrast to the inimitable shabbiness of our appearance +on the return journey. A red flannel shirt, belted around the waist like +a frock, then constituted our upper garment; moccasins had supplanted +our failing boots; and the remaining essential portion of our attire +consisted of an extraordinary article, manufactured by a squaw out of +smoked buckskin. Our muleteer, Delorier, brought up the rear with his +cart, waddling ankle-deep in the mud, alternately puffing at his pipe, +and ejaculating in his prairie patois: “Sacre enfant de garce!” as +one of the mules would seem to recoil before some abyss of unusual +profundity. The cart was of the kind that one may see by scores around +the market-place in Montreal, and had a white covering to protect the +articles within. These were our provisions and a tent, with ammunition, +blankets, and presents for the Indians. + +We were in all four men with eight animals; for besides the spare horses +led by Shaw and myself, an additional mule was driven along with us as a +reserve in case of accident. + +After this summing up of our forces, it may not be amiss to glance at +the characters of the two men who accompanied us. + +Delorier was a Canadian, with all the characteristics of the true Jean +Baptiste. Neither fatigue, exposure, nor hard labor could ever impair +his cheerfulness and gayety, or his obsequious politeness to his +bourgeois; and when night came he would sit down by the fire, smoke his +pipe, and tell stories with the utmost contentment. In fact, the prairie +was his congenial element. Henry Chatillon was of a different stamp. +When we were at St. Louis, several gentlemen of the Fur Company had +kindly offered to procure for us a hunter and guide suited for our +purposes, and on coming one afternoon to the office, we found there a +tall and exceedingly well-dressed man with a face so open and frank that +it attracted our notice at once. We were surprised at being told that it +was he who wished to guide us to the mountains. He was born in a little +French town near St. Louis, and from the age of fifteen years had been +constantly in the neighborhood of the Rocky Mountains, employed for the +most part by the Company to supply their forts with buffalo meat. As a +hunter he had but one rival in the whole region, a man named Cimoneau, +with whom, to the honor of both of them, he was on terms of the closest +friendship. He had arrived at St. Louis the day before, from the +mountains, where he had remained for four years; and he now only asked +to go and spend a day with his mother before setting out on another +expedition. His age was about thirty; he was six feet high, and very +powerfully and gracefully molded. The prairies had been his school; +he could neither read nor write, but he had a natural refinement and +delicacy of mind such as is rarely found, even in women. His manly face +was a perfect mirror of uprightness, simplicity, and kindness of heart; +he had, moreover, a keen perception of character and a tact that would +preserve him from flagrant error in any society. Henry had not the +restless energy of an Anglo-American. He was content to take things +as he found them; and his chief fault arose from an excess of easy +generosity, impelling him to give away too profusely ever to thrive in +the world. Yet it was commonly remarked of him, that whatever he might +choose to do with what belonged to himself, the property of others was +always safe in his hands. His bravery was as much celebrated in the +mountains as his skill in hunting; but it is characteristic of him that +in a country where the rifle is the chief arbiter between man and man, +Henry was very seldom involved in quarrels. Once or twice, indeed, +his quiet good-nature had been mistaken and presumed upon, but the +consequences of the error were so formidable that no one was ever known +to repeat it. No better evidence of the intrepidity of his temper could +be wished than the common report that he had killed more than thirty +grizzly bears. He was a proof of what unaided nature will sometimes do. +I have never, in the city or in the wilderness, met a better man than my +noble and true-hearted friend, Henry Chatillon. + +We were soon free of the woods and bushes, and fairly upon the broad +prairie. Now and then a Shawanoe passed us, riding his little shaggy +pony at a “lope”; his calico shirt, his gaudy sash, and the gay +handkerchief bound around his snaky hair fluttering in the wind. At noon +we stopped to rest not far from a little creek replete with frogs and +young turtles. There had been an Indian encampment at the place, and +the framework of their lodges still remained, enabling us very easily +to gain a shelter from the sun, by merely spreading one or two blankets +over them. Thus shaded, we sat upon our saddles, and Shaw for the first +time lighted his favorite Indian pipe; while Delorier was squatted over +a hot bed of coals, shading his eyes with one hand, and holding a little +stick in the other, with which he regulated the hissing contents of the +frying-pan. The horses were turned to feed among the scattered bushes of +a low oozy meadow. A drowzy springlike sultriness pervaded the air, and +the voices of ten thousand young frogs and insects, just awakened into +life, rose in varied chorus from the creek and the meadows. + +Scarcely were we seated when a visitor approached. This was an old +Kansas Indian; a man of distinction, if one might judge from his dress. +His head was shaved and painted red, and from the tuft of hair remaining +on the crown dangled several eagles’ feathers, and the tails of two or +three rattlesnakes. His cheeks, too, were daubed with vermilion; his +ears were adorned with green glass pendants; a collar of grizzly bears’ +claws surrounded his neck, and several large necklaces of wampum hung +on his breast. Having shaken us by the hand with a cordial grunt of +salutation, the old man, dropping his red blanket from his shoulders, +sat down cross-legged on the ground. In the absence of liquor we offered +him a cup of sweetened water, at which he ejaculated “Good!” and was +beginning to tell us how great a man he was, and how many Pawnees he +had killed, when suddenly a motley concourse appeared wading across the +creek toward us. They filed past in rapid succession, men, women, and +children; some were on horseback, some on foot, but all were alike +squalid and wretched. Old squaws, mounted astride of shaggy, meager +little ponies, with perhaps one or two snake-eyed children seated behind +them, clinging to their tattered blankets; tall lank young men on foot, +with bows and arrows in their hands; and girls whose native ugliness not +all the charms of glass beads and scarlet cloth could disguise, made up +the procession; although here and there was a man who, like our visitor, +seemed to hold some rank in this respectable community. They were the +dregs of the Kansas nation, who, while their betters were gone to hunt +buffalo, had left the village on a begging expedition to Westport. + +When this ragamuffin horde had passed, we caught our horses, saddled, +harnessed, and resumed our journey. Fording the creek, the low roofs of +a number of rude buildings appeared, rising from a cluster of groves and +woods on the left; and riding up through a long lane, amid a profusion +of wild roses and early spring flowers, we found the log-church and +school-houses belonging to the Methodist Shawanoe Mission. The Indians +were on the point of gathering to a religious meeting. Some scores of +them, tall men in half-civilized dress, were seated on wooden benches +under the trees; while their horses were tied to the sheds and fences. +Their chief, Parks, a remarkably large and athletic man, was just +arrived from Westport, where he owns a trading establishment. Beside +this, he has a fine farm and a considerable number of slaves. Indeed the +Shawanoes have made greater progress in agriculture than any other tribe +on the Missouri frontier; and both in appearance and in character form a +marked contrast to our late acquaintance, the Kansas. + +A few hours’ ride brought us to the banks of the river Kansas. +Traversing the woods that lined it, and plowing through the deep sand, +we encamped not far from the bank, at the Lower Delaware crossing. Our +tent was erected for the first time on a meadow close to the woods, and +the camp preparations being complete we began to think of supper. An old +Delaware woman, of some three hundred pounds’ weight, sat in the porch +of a little log-house close to the water, and a very pretty half-breed +girl was engaged, under her superintendence, in feeding a large flock of +turkeys that were fluttering and gobbling about the door. But no offers +of money, or even of tobacco, could induce her to part with one of her +favorites; so I took my rifle, to see if the woods or the river could +furnish us anything. A multitude of quails were plaintively whistling +in the woods and meadows; but nothing appropriate to the rifle was to be +seen, except three buzzards, seated on the spectral limbs of an old dead +sycamore, that thrust itself out over the river from the dense sunny +wall of fresh foliage. Their ugly heads were drawn down between their +shoulders, and they seemed to luxuriate in the soft sunshine that was +pouring from the west. As they offered no epicurean temptations, I +refrained from disturbing their enjoyment; but contented myself with +admiring the calm beauty of the sunset, for the river, eddying swiftly +in deep purple shadows between the impending woods, formed a wild but +tranquillizing scene. + +When I returned to the camp I found Shaw and an old Indian seated on the +ground in close conference, passing the pipe between them. The old man +was explaining that he loved the whites, and had an especial partiality +for tobacco. Delorier was arranging upon the ground our service of tin +cups and plates; and as other viands were not to be had, he set before +us a repast of biscuit and bacon, and a large pot of coffee. Unsheathing +our knives, we attacked it, disposed of the greater part, and tossed the +residue to the Indian. Meanwhile our horses, now hobbled for the first +time, stood among the trees, with their fore-legs tied together, in +great disgust and astonishment. They seemed by no means to relish this +foretaste of what was before them. Mine, in particular, had conceived a +moral aversion to the prairie life. One of them, christened Hendrick, +an animal whose strength and hardihood were his only merits, and who +yielded to nothing but the cogent arguments of the whip, looked toward +us with an indignant countenance, as if he meditated avenging his +wrongs with a kick. The other, Pontiac, a good horse, though of plebeian +lineage, stood with his head drooping and his mane hanging about his +eyes, with the grieved and sulky air of a lubberly boy sent off to +school. Poor Pontiac! his forebodings were but too just; for when I last +heard from him, he was under the lash of an Ogallalla brave, on a war +party against the Crows. + +As it grew dark, and the voices of the whip-poor-wills succeeded the +whistle of the quails, we removed our saddles to the tent, to serve as +pillows, spread our blankets upon the ground, and prepared to bivouac +for the first time that season. Each man selected the place in the +tent which he was to occupy for the journey. To Delorier, however, was +assigned the cart, into which he could creep in wet weather, and find a +much better shelter than his bourgeois enjoyed in the tent. + +The river Kansas at this point forms the boundary line between the +country of the Shawanoes and that of the Delawares. We crossed it on +the following day, rafting over our horses and equipage with much +difficulty, and unloading our cart in order to make our way up the steep +ascent on the farther bank. It was a Sunday morning; warm, tranquil and +bright; and a perfect stillness reigned over the rough inclosures +and neglected fields of the Delawares, except the ceaseless hum and +chirruping of myriads of insects. Now and then, an Indian rode past on +his way to the meeting-house, or through the dilapidated entrance of +some shattered log-house an old woman might be discerned, enjoying all +the luxury of idleness. There was no village bell, for the Delawares +have none; and yet upon that forlorn and rude settlement was the same +spirit of Sabbath repose and tranquillity as in some little New England +village among the mountains of New Hampshire or the Vermont woods. + +Having at present no leisure for such reflections, we pursued our +journey. A military road led from this point to Fort Leavenworth, and +for many miles the farms and cabins of the Delawares were scattered +at short intervals on either hand. The little rude structures of logs, +erected usually on the borders of a tract of woods, made a picturesque +feature in the landscape. But the scenery needed no foreign aid. Nature +had done enough for it; and the alteration of rich green prairies and +groves that stood in clusters or lined the banks of the numerous little +streams, had all the softened and polished beauty of a region that has +been for centuries under the hand of man. At that early season, too, +it was in the height of its freshness and luxuriance. The woods were +flushed with the red buds of the maple; there were frequent flowering +shrubs unknown in the east; and the green swells of the prairies were +thickly studded with blossoms. + +Encamping near a spring by the side of a hill, we resumed our journey in +the morning, and early in the afternoon had arrived within a few miles +of Fort Leavenworth. The road crossed a stream densely bordered with +trees, and running in the bottom of a deep woody hollow. We were about +to descend into it, when a wild and confused procession appeared, +passing through the water below, and coming up the steep ascent toward +us. We stopped to let them pass. They were Delawares, just returned +from a hunting expedition. All, both men and women, were mounted on +horseback, and drove along with them a considerable number of pack +mules, laden with the furs they had taken, together with the buffalo +robes, kettles, and other articles of their traveling equipment, which +as well as their clothing and their weapons, had a worn and dingy +aspect, as if they had seen hard service of late. At the rear of the +party was an old man, who, as he came up, stopped his horse to speak to +us. He rode a little tough shaggy pony, with mane and tail well knotted +with burrs, and a rusty Spanish bit in its mouth, to which, by way of +reins, was attached a string of raw hide. His saddle, robbed probably +from a Mexican, had no covering, being merely a tree of the Spanish +form, with a piece of grizzly bear’s skin laid over it, a pair of rude +wooden stirrups attached, and in the absence of girth, a thong of hide +passing around the horse’s belly. The rider’s dark features and keen +snaky eyes were unequivocally Indian. He wore a buckskin frock, which, +like his fringed leggings, was well polished and blackened by grease and +long service; and an old handkerchief was tied around his head. Resting +on the saddle before him lay his rifle; a weapon in the use of which +the Delawares are skillful; though from its weight, the distant prairie +Indians are too lazy to carry it. + +“Who’s your chief?” he immediately inquired. + +Henry Chatillon pointed to us. The old Delaware fixed his eyes intently +upon us for a moment, and then sententiously remarked: + +“No good! Too young!” With this flattering comment he left us, and rode +after his people. + +This tribe, the Delawares, once the peaceful allies of William Penn, the +tributaries of the conquering Iroquois, are now the most adventurous and +dreaded warriors upon the prairies. They make war upon remote tribes the +very names of which were unknown to their fathers in their ancient +seats in Pennsylvania; and they push these new quarrels with true +Indian rancor, sending out their little war parties as far as the Rocky +Mountains, and into the Mexican territories. Their neighbors and +former confederates, the Shawanoes, who are tolerable farmers, are in +a prosperous condition; but the Delawares dwindle every year, from the +number of men lost in their warlike expeditions. + +Soon after leaving this party, we saw, stretching on the right, the +forests that follow the course of the Missouri, and the deep woody +channel through which at this point it runs. At a distance in front were +the white barracks of Fort Leavenworth, just visible through the trees +upon an eminence above a bend of the river. A wide green meadow, as +level as a lake, lay between us and the Missouri, and upon this, close +to a line of trees that bordered a little brook, stood the tent of the +captain and his companions, with their horses feeding around it, but +they themselves were invisible. Wright, their muleteer, was there, +seated on the tongue of the wagon, repairing his harness. Boisverd +stood cleaning his rifle at the door of the tent, and Sorel lounged +idly about. On closer examination, however, we discovered the captain’s +brother, Jack, sitting in the tent, at his old occupation of splicing +trail-ropes. He welcomed us in his broad Irish brogue, and said that +his brother was fishing in the river, and R. gone to the garrison. They +returned before sunset. Meanwhile we erected our own tent not far off, +and after supper a council was held, in which it was resolved to remain +one day at Fort Leavenworth, and on the next to bid a final adieu to +the frontier: or in the phraseology of the region, to “jump off.” Our +deliberations were conducted by the ruddy light from a distant swell of +the prairie, where the long dry grass of last summer was on fire. + + + +CHAPTER III + +FORT LEAVENWORTH + + +On the next morning we rode to Fort Leavenworth. Colonel, now General, +Kearny, to whom I had had the honor of an introduction when at St. +Louis, was just arrived, and received us at his headquarters with the +high-bred courtesy habitual to him. Fort Leavenworth is in fact no fort, +being without defensive works, except two block-houses. No rumors of +war had as yet disturbed its tranquillity. In the square grassy area, +surrounded by barracks and the quarters of the officers, the men were +passing and repassing, or lounging among the trees; although not many +weeks afterward it presented a different scene; for here the very +off-scourings of the frontier were congregated, to be marshaled for the +expedition against Santa Fe. + +Passing through the garrison, we rode toward the Kickapoo village, five +or six miles beyond. The path, a rather dubious and uncertain one, led +us along the ridge of high bluffs that bordered the Missouri; and by +looking to the right or to the left, we could enjoy a strange contrast +of opposite scenery. On the left stretched the prairie, rising into +swells and undulations, thickly sprinkled with groves, or gracefully +expanding into wide grassy basins of miles in extent; while its +curvatures, swelling against the horizon, were often surmounted by lines +of sunny woods; a scene to which the freshness of the season and the +peculiar mellowness of the atmosphere gave additional softness. Below +us, on the right, was a tract of ragged and broken woods. We could look +down on the summits of the trees, some living and some dead; some erect, +others leaning at every angle, and others still piled in masses together +by the passage of a hurricane. Beyond their extreme verge, the turbid +waters of the Missouri were discernible through the boughs, rolling +powerfully along at the foot of the woody declivities of its farther +bank. + +The path soon after led inland; and as we crossed an open meadow we saw +a cluster of buildings on a rising ground before us, with a crowd of +people surrounding them. They were the storehouse, cottage, and stables +of the Kickapoo trader’s establishment. Just at that moment, as it +chanced, he was beset with half the Indians of the settlement. They had +tied their wretched, neglected little ponies by dozens along the fences +and outhouses, and were either lounging about the place, or crowding +into the trading house. Here were faces of various colors; red, green, +white, and black, curiously intermingled and disposed over the visage +in a variety of patterns. Calico shirts, red and blue blankets, brass +ear-rings, wampum necklaces, appeared in profusion. The trader was a +blue-eyed open-faced man who neither in his manners nor his appearance +betrayed any of the roughness of the frontier; though just at present he +was obliged to keep a lynx eye on his suspicious customers, who, men +and women, were climbing on his counter and seating themselves among his +boxes and bales. + +The village itself was not far off, and sufficiently illustrated the +condition of its unfortunate and self-abandoned occupants. Fancy to +yourself a little swift stream, working its devious way down a woody +valley; sometimes wholly hidden under logs and fallen trees, sometimes +issuing forth and spreading into a broad, clear pool; and on its banks +in little nooks cleared away among the trees, miniature log-houses +in utter ruin and neglect. A labyrinth of narrow, obstructed paths +connected these habitations one with another. Sometimes we met a stray +calf, a pig or a pony, belonging to some of the villagers, who usually +lay in the sun in front of their dwellings, and looked on us with cold, +suspicious eyes as we approached. Farther on, in place of the log-huts +of the Kickapoos, we found the pukwi lodges of their neighbors, the +Pottawattamies, whose condition seemed no better than theirs. + +Growing tired at last, and exhausted by the excessive heat and +sultriness of the day, we returned to our friend, the trader. By this +time the crowd around him had dispersed, and left him at leisure. He +invited us to his cottage, a little white-and-green building, in +the style of the old French settlements; and ushered us into a neat, +well-furnished room. The blinds were closed, and the heat and glare +of the sun excluded; the room was as cool as a cavern. It was neatly +carpeted too and furnished in a manner that we hardly expected on the +frontier. The sofas, chairs, tables, and a well-filled bookcase would +not have disgraced an Eastern city; though there were one or two little +tokens that indicated the rather questionable civilization of the +region. A pistol, loaded and capped, lay on the mantelpiece; and through +the glass of the bookcase, peeping above the works of John Milton +glittered the handle of a very mischievous-looking knife. + +Our host went out, and returned with iced water, glasses, and a bottle +of excellent claret; a refreshment most welcome in the extreme heat of +the day; and soon after appeared a merry, laughing woman, who must have +been, a year of two before, a very rich and luxuriant specimen of Creole +beauty. She came to say that lunch was ready in the next room. Our +hostess evidently lived on the sunny side of life, and troubled herself +with none of its cares. She sat down and entertained us while we were +at table with anecdotes of fishing parties, frolics, and the officers +at the fort. Taking leave at length of the hospitable trader and his +friend, we rode back to the garrison. + +Shaw passed on to the camp, while I remained to call upon Colonel +Kearny. I found him still at table. There sat our friend the captain, +in the same remarkable habiliments in which we saw him at Westport; the +black pipe, however, being for the present laid aside. He dangled +his little cap in his hand and talked of steeple-chases, touching +occasionally upon his anticipated exploits in buffalo-hunting. There, +too, was R., somewhat more elegantly attired. For the last time we +tasted the luxuries of civilization, and drank adieus to it in wine good +enough to make us almost regret the leave-taking. Then, mounting, +we rode together to the camp, where everything was in readiness for +departure on the morrow. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +“JUMPING OFF” + + +The reader need not be told that John Bull never leaves home without +encumbering himself with the greatest possible load of luggage. Our +companions were no exception to the rule. They had a wagon drawn by six +mules and crammed with provisions for six months, besides ammunition +enough for a regiment; spare rifles and fowling-pieces, ropes and +harness; personal baggage, and a miscellaneous assortment of articles, +which produced infinite embarrassment on the journey. They had also +decorated their persons with telescopes and portable compasses, and +carried English double-barreled rifles of sixteen to the pound caliber, +slung to their saddles in dragoon fashion. + +By sunrise on the 23d of May we had breakfasted; the tents were leveled, +the animals saddled and harnessed, and all was prepared. “Avance donc! +get up!” cried Delorier from his seat in front of the cart. Wright, +our friend’s muleteer, after some swearing and lashing, got his +insubordinate train in motion, and then the whole party filed from the +ground. Thus we bade a long adieu to bed and board, and the principles +of Blackstone’s Commentaries. The day was a most auspicious one; and yet +Shaw and I felt certain misgivings, which in the sequel proved but too +well founded. We had just learned that though R. had taken it upon him +to adopt this course without consulting us, not a single man in +the party was acquainted with it; and the absurdity of our friend’s +high-handed measure very soon became manifest. His plan was to strike +the trail of several companies of dragoons, who last summer had made an +expedition under Colonel Kearny to Fort Laramie, and by this means to +reach the grand trail of the Oregon emigrants up the Platte. + +We rode for an hour or two when a familiar cluster of buildings appeared +on a little hill. “Hallo!” shouted the Kickapoo trader from over his +fence. “Where are you going?” A few rather emphatic exclamations might +have been heard among us, when we found that we had gone miles out of +our way, and were not advanced an inch toward the Rocky Mountains. So +we turned in the direction the trader indicated, and with the sun for +a guide, began to trace a “bee line” across the prairies. We struggled +through copses and lines of wood; we waded brooks and pools of water; we +traversed prairies as green as an emerald, expanding before us for mile +after mile; wider and more wild than the wastes Mazeppa rode over: + + “Man nor brute, + Nor dint of hoof, nor print of foot, + Lay in the wild luxuriant soil; + No sign of travel; none of toil; + The very air was mute.” + +Riding in advance, we passed over one of these great plains; we looked +back and saw the line of scattered horsemen stretching for a mile or +more; and far in the rear against the horizon, the white wagons creeping +slowly along. “Here we are at last!” shouted the captain. And in truth +we had struck upon the traces of a large body of horse. We turned +joyfully and followed this new course, with tempers somewhat improved; +and toward sunset encamped on a high swell of the prairie, at the foot +of which a lazy stream soaked along through clumps of rank grass. It +was getting dark. We turned the horses loose to feed. “Drive down the +tent-pickets hard,” said Henry Chatillon, “it is going to blow.” We did +so, and secured the tent as well as we could; for the sky had changed +totally, and a fresh damp smell in the wind warned us that a stormy +night was likely to succeed the hot clear day. The prairie also wore +a new aspect, and its vast swells had grown black and somber under the +shadow of the clouds. The thunder soon began to growl at a distance. +Picketing and hobbling the horses among the rich grass at the foot of +the slope, where we encamped, we gained a shelter just as the rain began +to fall; and sat at the opening of the tent, watching the proceedings of +the captain. In defiance of the rain he was stalking among the horses, +wrapped in an old Scotch plaid. An extreme solicitude tormented him, +lest some of his favorites should escape, or some accident should befall +them; and he cast an anxious eye toward three wolves who were sneaking +along over the dreary surface of the plain, as if he dreaded some +hostile demonstration on their part. + +On the next morning we had gone but a mile or two, when we came to an +extensive belt of woods, through the midst of which ran a stream, wide, +deep, and of an appearance particularly muddy and treacherous. Delorier +was in advance with his cart; he jerked his pipe from his mouth, lashed +his mules, and poured forth a volley of Canadian ejaculations. In +plunged the cart, but midway it stuck fast. Delorier leaped out +knee-deep in water, and by dint of sacres and a vigorous application of +the whip, he urged the mules out of the slough. Then approached the long +team and heavy wagon of our friends; but it paused on the brink. + +“Now my advice is--” began the captain, who had been anxiously +contemplating the muddy gulf. + +“Drive on!” cried R. + +But Wright, the muleteer, apparently had not as yet decided the point +in his own mind; and he sat still in his seat on one of the shaft-mules, +whistling in a low contemplative strain to himself. + +“My advice is,” resumed the captain, “that we unload; for I’ll bet any +man five pounds that if we try to go through, we shall stick fast.” + +“By the powers, we shall stick fast!” echoed Jack, the captain’s +brother, shaking his large head with an air of firm conviction. + +“Drive on! drive on!” cried R. petulantly. + +“Well,” observed the captain, turning to us as we sat looking on, much +edified by this by-play among our confederates, “I can only give my +advice and if people won’t be reasonable, why, they won’t; that’s all!” + +Meanwhile Wright had apparently made up his mind; for he suddenly began +to shout forth a volley of oaths and curses, that, compared with the +French imprecations of Delorier, sounded like the roaring of heavy +cannon after the popping and sputtering of a bunch of Chinese crackers. +At the same time he discharged a shower of blows upon his mules, who +hastily dived into the mud and drew the wagon lumbering after them. For +a moment the issue was dubious. Wright writhed about in his saddle, +and swore and lashed like a madman; but who can count on a team of +half-broken mules? At the most critical point, when all should have been +harmony and combined effort, the perverse brutes fell into lamentable +disorder, and huddled together in confusion on the farther bank. There +was the wagon up to the hub in mud, and visibly settling every instant. +There was nothing for it but to unload; then to dig away the mud +from before the wheels with a spade, and lay a causeway of bushes and +branches. This agreeable labor accomplished, the wagon at last emerged; +but if I mention that some interruption of this sort occurred at least +four or five times a day for a fortnight, the reader will understand +that our progress toward the Platte was not without its obstacles. + +We traveled six or seven miles farther, and “nooned” near a brook. On +the point of resuming our journey, when the horses were all driven down +to water, my homesick charger, Pontiac, made a sudden leap across, and +set off at a round trot for the settlements. I mounted my remaining +horse, and started in pursuit. Making a circuit, I headed the runaway, +hoping to drive him back to camp; but he instantly broke into a gallop, +made a wide tour on the prairie, and got past me again. I tried this +plan repeatedly, with the same result; Pontiac was evidently disgusted +with the prairie; so I abandoned it, and tried another, trotting along +gently behind him, in hopes that I might quietly get near enough to +seize the trail-rope which was fastened to his neck, and dragged about a +dozen feet behind him. The chase grew interesting. For mile after mile +I followed the rascal, with the utmost care not to alarm him, and +gradually got nearer, until at length old Hendrick’s nose was fairly +brushed by the whisking tail of the unsuspecting Pontiac. Without +drawing rein, I slid softly to the ground; but my long heavy rifle +encumbered me, and the low sound it made in striking the horn of the +saddle startled him; he pricked up his ears, and sprang off at a run. +“My friend,” thought I, remounting, “do that again, and I will shoot +you!” + +Fort Leavenworth was about forty miles distant, and thither I determined +to follow him. I made up my mind to spend a solitary and supperless +night, and then set out again in the morning. One hope, however, +remained. The creek where the wagon had stuck was just before us; +Pontiac might be thirsty with his run, and stop there to drink. I kept +as near to him as possible, taking every precaution not to alarm him +again; and the result proved as I had hoped: for he walked deliberately +among the trees, and stooped down to the water. I alighted, dragged old +Hendrick through the mud, and with a feeling of infinite satisfaction +picked up the slimy trail-rope and twisted it three times round my hand. +“Now let me see you get away again!” I thought, as I remounted. But +Pontiac was exceedingly reluctant to turn back; Hendrick, too, who +had evidently flattered himself with vain hopes, showed the utmost +repugnance, and grumbled in a manner peculiar to himself at being +compelled to face about. A smart cut of the whip restored his +cheerfulness; and dragging the recovered truant behind, I set out in +search of the camp. An hour or two elapsed, when, near sunset, I saw the +tents, standing on a rich swell of the prairie, beyond a line of woods, +while the bands of horses were feeding in a low meadow close at hand. +There sat Jack C., cross-legged, in the sun, splicing a trail-rope, +and the rest were lying on the grass, smoking and telling stories. That +night we enjoyed a serenade from the wolves, more lively than any with +which they had yet favored us; and in the morning one of the musicians +appeared, not many rods from the tents, quietly seated among the horses, +looking at us with a pair of large gray eyes; but perceiving a rifle +leveled at him, he leaped up and made off in hot haste. + +I pass by the following day or two of our journey, for nothing occurred +worthy of record. Should any one of my readers ever be impelled to visit +the prairies, and should he choose the route of the Platte (the best, +perhaps, that can be adopted), I can assure him that he need not +think to enter at once upon the paradise of his imagination. A dreary +preliminary, protracted crossing of the threshold awaits him before +he finds himself fairly upon the verge of the “great American desert,” + those barren wastes, the haunts of the buffalo and the Indian, where +the very shadow of civilization lies a hundred leagues behind him. The +intervening country, the wide and fertile belt that extends for +several hundred miles beyond the extreme frontier, will probably answer +tolerably well to his preconceived ideas of the prairie; for this it +is from which picturesque tourists, painters, poets, and novelists, who +have seldom penetrated farther, have derived their conceptions of the +whole region. If he has a painter’s eye, he may find his period of +probation not wholly void of interest. The scenery, though tame, is +graceful and pleasing. Here are level plains, too wide for the eye +to measure green undulations, like motionless swells of the ocean; +abundance of streams, followed through all their windings by lines of +woods and scattered groves. But let him be as enthusiastic as he may, +he will find enough to damp his ardor. His wagons will stick in the mud; +his horses will break loose; harness will give way, and axle-trees prove +unsound. His bed will be a soft one, consisting often of black mud, +of the richest consistency. As for food, he must content himself with +biscuit and salt provisions; for strange as it may seem, this tract of +country produces very little game. As he advances, indeed, he will see, +moldering in the grass by his path, the vast antlers of the elk, and +farther on, the whitened skulls of the buffalo, once swarming over this +now deserted region. Perhaps, like us, he may journey for a fortnight, +and see not so much as the hoof-print of a deer; in the spring, not even +a prairie hen is to be had. + +Yet, to compensate him for this unlooked-for deficiency of game, he +will find himself beset with “varmints” innumerable. The wolves will +entertain him with a concerto at night, and skulk around him by day, +just beyond rifle shot; his horse will step into badger-holes; from +every marsh and mud puddle will arise the bellowing, croaking, and +trilling of legions of frogs, infinitely various in color, shape and +dimensions. A profusion of snakes will glide away from under his horse’s +feet, or quietly visit him in his tent at night; while the pertinacious +humming of unnumbered mosquitoes will banish sleep from his eyelids. +When thirsty with a long ride in the scorching sun over some boundless +reach of prairie, he comes at length to a pool of water, and alights to +drink, he discovers a troop of young tadpoles sporting in the bottom of +his cup. Add to this, that all the morning the hot sun beats upon him +with sultry, penetrating heat, and that, with provoking regularity, at +about four o’clock in the afternoon, a thunderstorm rises and drenches +him to the skin. Such being the charms of this favored region, the +reader will easily conceive the extent of our gratification at learning +that for a week we had been journeying on the wrong track! How this +agreeable discovery was made I will presently explain. + +One day, after a protracted morning’s ride, we stopped to rest at noon +upon the open prairie. No trees were in sight; but close at hand, a +little dribbling brook was twisting from side to side through a hollow; +now forming holes of stagnant water, and now gliding over the mud in a +scarcely perceptible current, among a growth of sickly bushes, and great +clumps of tall rank grass. The day was excessively hot and oppressive. +The horses and mules were rolling on the prairie to refresh themselves, +or feeding among the bushes in the hollow. We had dined; and Delorier, +puffing at his pipe, knelt on the grass, scrubbing our service of tin +plate. Shaw lay in the shade, under the cart, to rest for a while, +before the word should be given to “catch up.” Henry Chatillon, before +lying down, was looking about for signs of snakes, the only living +things that he feared, and uttering various ejaculations of disgust, +at finding several suspicious-looking holes close to the cart. I sat +leaning against the wheel in a scanty strip of shade, making a pair of +hobbles to replace those which my contumacious steed Pontiac had +broken the night before. The camp of our friends, a rod or two distant, +presented the same scene of lazy tranquillity. + +“Hallo!” cried Henry, looking up from his inspection of the snake-holes, +“here comes the old captain!” + +The captain approached, and stood for a moment contemplating us in +silence. + +“I say, Parkman,” he began, “look at Shaw there, asleep under the cart, +with the tar dripping off the hub of the wheel on his shoulder!” + +At this Shaw got up, with his eyes half opened, and feeling the part +indicated, he found his hand glued fast to his red flannel shirt. + +“He’ll look well when he gets among the squaws, won’t he?” observed the +captain, with a grin. + +He then crawled under the cart, and began to tell stories of which his +stock was inexhaustible. Yet every moment he would glance nervously at +the horses. At last he jumped up in great excitement. “See that horse! +There--that fellow just walking over the hill! By Jove; he’s off. It’s +your big horse, Shaw; no it isn’t, it’s Jack’s! Jack! Jack! hallo, +Jack!” Jack thus invoked, jumped up and stared vacantly at us. + +“Go and catch your horse, if you don’t want to lose him!” roared the +captain. + +Jack instantly set off at a run through the grass, his broad pantaloons +flapping about his feet. The captain gazed anxiously till he saw +that the horse was caught; then he sat down, with a countenance of +thoughtfulness and care. + +“I tell you what it is,” he said, “this will never do at all. We shall +lose every horse in the band someday or other, and then a pretty plight +we should be in! Now I am convinced that the only way for us is to have +every man in the camp stand horse-guard in rotation whenever we stop. +Supposing a hundred Pawnees should jump up out of that ravine, all +yelling and flapping their buffalo robes, in the way they do? Why, in +two minutes not a hoof would be in sight.” We reminded the captain that +a hundred Pawnees would probably demolish the horse-guard, if he were to +resist their depredations. + +“At any rate,” pursued the captain, evading the point, “our whole system +is wrong; I’m convinced of it; it is totally unmilitary. Why, the way +we travel, strung out over the prairie for a mile, an enemy might attack +the foremost men, and cut them off before the rest could come up.” + +“We are not in an enemy’s country, yet,” said Shaw; “when we are, we’ll +travel together.” + +“Then,” said the captain, “we might be attacked in camp. We’ve no +sentinels; we camp in disorder; no precautions at all to guard against +surprise. My own convictions are that we ought to camp in a hollow +square, with the fires in the center; and have sentinels, and a regular +password appointed for every night. Besides, there should be vedettes, +riding in advance, to find a place for the camp and give warning of an +enemy. These are my convictions. I don’t want to dictate to any man. I +give advice to the best of my judgment, that’s all; and then let people +do as they please.” + +We intimated that perhaps it would be as well to postpone such +burdensome precautions until there should be some actual need of +them; but he shook his head dubiously. The captain’s sense of military +propriety had been severely shocked by what he considered the irregular +proceedings of the party; and this was not the first time he had +expressed himself upon the subject. But his convictions seldom produced +any practical results. In the present case, he contented himself, +as usual, with enlarging on the importance of his suggestions, and +wondering that they were not adopted. But his plan of sending out +vedettes seemed particularly dear to him; and as no one else was +disposed to second his views on this point, he took it into his head to +ride forward that afternoon, himself. + +“Come, Parkman,” said he, “will you go with me?” + +We set out together, and rode a mile or two in advance. The captain, +in the course of twenty years’ service in the British army, had seen +something of life; one extensive side of it, at least, he had enjoyed +the best opportunities for studying; and being naturally a pleasant +fellow, he was a very entertaining companion. He cracked jokes and told +stories for an hour or two; until, looking back, we saw the prairie +behind us stretching away to the horizon, without a horseman or a wagon +in sight. + +“Now,” said the captain, “I think the vedettes had better stop till the +main body comes up.” + +I was of the same opinion. There was a thick growth of woods just before +us, with a stream running through them. Having crossed this, we found +on the other side a fine level meadow, half encircled by the trees; and +fastening our horses to some bushes, we sat down on the grass; while, +with an old stump of a tree for a target, I began to display the +superiority of the renowned rifle of the back woods over the foreign +innovation borne by the captain. At length voices could be heard in the +distance behind the trees. + +“There they come!” said the captain: “let’s go and see how they get +through the creek.” + +We mounted and rode to the bank of the stream, where the trail crossed +it. It ran in a deep hollow, full of trees; as we looked down, we saw a +confused crowd of horsemen riding through the water; and among the dingy +habiliment of our party glittered the uniforms of four dragoons. + +Shaw came whipping his horse up the back, in advance of the rest, with +a somewhat indignant countenance. The first word he spoke was a blessing +fervently invoked on the head of R., who was riding, with a crest-fallen +air, in the rear. Thanks to the ingenious devices of the gentleman, we +had missed the track entirely, and wandered, not toward the Platte, but +to the village of the Iowa Indians. This we learned from the dragoons, +who had lately deserted from Fort Leavenworth. They told us that our +best plan now was to keep to the northward until we should strike the +trail formed by several parties of Oregon emigrants, who had that season +set out from St. Joseph’s in Missouri. + +In extremely bad temper, we encamped on this ill-starred spot; while the +deserters, whose case admitted of no delay rode rapidly forward. On the +day following, striking the St. Joseph’s trail, we turned our horses’ +heads toward Fort Laramie, then about seven hundred miles to the +westward. + + + +CHAPTER V + +“THE BIG BLUE” + + +The great medley of Oregon and California emigrants, at their camps +around Independence, had heard reports that several additional parties +were on the point of setting out from St. Joseph’s farther to the +northward. The prevailing impression was that these were Mormons, +twenty-three hundred in number; and a great alarm was excited in +consequence. The people of Illinois and Missouri, who composed by far +the greater part of the emigrants, have never been on the best terms +with the “Latter Day Saints”; and it is notorious throughout the country +how much blood has been spilt in their feuds, even far within the limits +of the settlements. No one could predict what would be the result, when +large armed bodies of these fanatics should encounter the most impetuous +and reckless of their old enemies on the broad prairie, far beyond the +reach of law or military force. The women and children at Independence +raised a great outcry; the men themselves were seriously alarmed; and, +as I learned, they sent to Colonel Kearny, requesting an escort of +dragoons as far as the Platte. This was refused; and as the sequel +proved, there was no occasion for it. The St. Joseph’s emigrants were as +good Christians and as zealous Mormon-haters as the rest; and the very +few families of the “Saints” who passed out this season by the route of +the Platte remained behind until the great tide of emigration had gone +by; standing in quite as much awe of the “gentiles” as the latter did of +them. + +We were now, as I before mentioned, upon this St. Joseph’s trail. It was +evident, by the traces, that large parties were a few days in advance of +us; and as we too supposed them to be Mormons, we had some apprehension +of interruption. + +The journey was somewhat monotonous. One day we rode on for hours, +without seeing a tree or a bush; before, behind, and on either side, +stretched the vast expanse, rolling in a succession of graceful swells, +covered with the unbroken carpet of fresh green grass. Here and there a +crow, or a raven, or a turkey-buzzard, relieved the uniformity. + +“What shall we do to-night for wood and water?” we began to ask of each +other; for the sun was within an hour of setting. At length a dark green +speck appeared, far off on the right; it was the top of a tree, peering +over a swell of the prairie; and leaving the trail, we made all haste +toward it. It proved to be the vanguard of a cluster of bushes and low +trees, that surrounded some pools of water in an extensive hollow; so we +encamped on the rising ground near it. + +Shaw and I were sitting in the tent, when Delorier thrust his brown face +and old felt hat into the opening, and dilating his eyes to their utmost +extent, announced supper. There were the tin cups and the iron spoons, +arranged in military order on the grass, and the coffee-pot predominant +in the midst. The meal was soon dispatched; but Henry Chatillon still +sat cross-legged, dallying with the remnant of his coffee, the beverage +in universal use upon the prairie, and an especial favorite with him. He +preferred it in its virgin flavor, unimpaired by sugar or cream; and +on the present occasion it met his entire approval, being exceedingly +strong, or, as he expressed it, “right black.” + +It was a rich and gorgeous sunset--an American sunset; and the ruddy +glow of the sky was reflected from some extensive pools of water among +the shadowy copses in the meadow below. + +“I must have a bath to-night,” said Shaw. “How is it, Delorier? Any +chance for a swim down here?” + +“Ah! I cannot tell; just as you please, monsieur,” replied Delorier, +shrugging his shoulders, perplexed by his ignorance of English, and +extremely anxious to conform in all respects to the opinion and wishes +of his bourgeois. + +“Look at his moccasion,” said I. “It has evidently been lately immersed +in a profound abyss of black mud.” + +“Come,” said Shaw; “at any rate we can see for ourselves.” + +We set out together; and as we approached the bushes, which were at some +distance, we found the ground becoming rather treacherous. We could +only get along by stepping upon large clumps of tall rank grass, with +fathomless gulfs between, like innumerable little quaking islands in +an ocean of mud, where a false step would have involved our boots in a +catastrophe like that which had befallen Delorier’s moccasins. The thing +looked desperate; we separated, so as to search in different directions, +Shaw going off to the right, while I kept straight forward. At last I +came to the edge of the bushes: they were young waterwillows, covered +with their caterpillar-like blossoms, but intervening between them +and the last grass clump was a black and deep slough, over which, by a +vigorous exertion, I contrived to jump. Then I shouldered my way through +the willows, tramping them down by main force, till I came to a wide +stream of water, three inches deep, languidly creeping along over a +bottom of sleek mud. My arrival produced a great commotion. A huge green +bull-frog uttered an indignant croak, and jumped off the bank with a +loud splash: his webbed feet twinkled above the surface, as he jerked +them energetically upward, and I could see him ensconcing himself in +the unresisting slime at the bottom, whence several large air bubbles +struggled lazily to the top. Some little spotted frogs instantly +followed the patriarch’s example; and then three turtles, not larger +than a dollar, tumbled themselves off a broad “lily pad,” where they had +been reposing. At the same time a snake, gayly striped with black and +yellow, glided out from the bank, and writhed across to the other side; +and a small stagnant pool into which my foot had inadvertently pushed a +stone was instantly alive with a congregation of black tadpoles. + +“Any chance for a bath, where you are?” called out Shaw, from a +distance. + +The answer was not encouraging. I retreated through the willows, and +rejoining my companion, we proceeded to push our researches in company. +Not far on the right, a rising ground, covered with trees and bushes, +seemed to sink down abruptly to the water, and give hope of better +success; so toward this we directed our steps. When we reached the place +we found it no easy matter to get along between the hill and the water, +impeded as we were by a growth of stiff, obstinate young birch-trees, +laced together by grapevines. In the twilight, we now and then, to +support ourselves, snatched at the touch-me-not stem of some ancient +sweet-brier. Shaw, who was in advance, suddenly uttered a somewhat +emphatic monosyllable; and looking up I saw him with one hand grasping a +sapling, and one foot immersed in the water, from which he had forgotten +to withdraw it, his whole attention being engaged in contemplating the +movements of a water-snake, about five feet long, curiously checkered +with black and green, who was deliberately swimming across the pool. +There being no stick or stone at hand to pelt him with, we looked at him +for a time in silent disgust; and then pushed forward. Our perseverence +was at last rewarded; for several rods farther on, we emerged upon a +little level grassy nook among the brushwood, and by an extraordinary +dispensation of fortune, the weeds and floating sticks, which elsewhere +covered the pool, seemed to have drawn apart, and left a few yards of +clear water just in front of this favored spot. We sounded it with a +stick; it was four feet deep; we lifted a specimen in our cupped hands; +it seemed reasonably transparent, so we decided that the time for action +was arrived. But our ablutions were suddenly interrupted by ten +thousand punctures, like poisoned needles, and the humming of myriads +of over-grown mosquitoes, rising in all directions from their native mud +and slime and swarming to the feast. We were fain to beat a retreat with +all possible speed. + +We made toward the tents, much refreshed by the bath which the heat of +the weather, joined to our prejudices, had rendered very desirable. + +“What’s the matter with the captain? look at him!” said Shaw. The +captain stood alone on the prairie, swinging his hat violently around +his head, and lifting first one foot and then the other, without moving +from the spot. First he looked down to the ground with an air of +supreme abhorrence; then he gazed upward with a perplexed and indignant +countenance, as if trying to trace the flight of an unseen enemy. We +called to know what was the matter; but he replied only by execrations +directed against some unknown object. We approached, when our ears were +saluted by a droning sound, as if twenty bee-hives had been overturned +at once. The air above was full of large black insects, in a state of +great commotion, and multitudes were flying about just above the tops of +the grass blades. + +“Don’t be afraid,” called the captain, observing us recoil. “The brutes +won’t sting.” + +At this I knocked one down with my hat, and discovered him to be no +other than a “dorbug”; and looking closer, we found the ground thickly +perforated with their holes. + +We took a hasty leave of this flourishing colony, and walking up +the rising ground to the tents, found Delorier’s fire still glowing +brightly. We sat down around it, and Shaw began to expatiate on the +admirable facilities for bathing that we had discovered, and recommended +the captain by all means to go down there before breakfast in the +morning. The captain was in the act of remarking that he couldn’t have +believed it possible, when he suddenly interrupted himself, and clapped +his hand to his cheek, exclaiming that “those infernal humbugs were at +him again.” In fact, we began to hear sounds as if bullets were humming +over our heads. In a moment something rapped me sharply on the forehead, +then upon the neck, and immediately I felt an indefinite number of sharp +wiry claws in active motion, as if their owner were bent on pushing his +explorations farther. I seized him, and dropped him into the fire. +Our party speedily broke up, and we adjourned to our respective tents, +where, closing the opening fast, we hoped to be exempt from invasion. +But all precaution was fruitless. The dorbugs hummed through the tent, +and marched over our faces until day-light; when, opening our blankets, +we found several dozen clinging there with the utmost tenacity. The +first object that met our eyes in the morning was Delorier, who seemed +to be apostrophizing his frying-pan, which he held by the handle at +arm’s length. It appeared that he had left it at night by the fire; and +the bottom was now covered with dorbugs, firmly imbedded. Multitudes +beside, curiously parched and shriveled, lay scattered among the ashes. + +The horses and mules were turned loose to feed. We had just taken our +seats at breakfast, or rather reclined in the classic mode, when an +exclamation from Henry Chatillon, and a shout of alarm from the captain, +gave warning of some casualty, and looking up, we saw the whole band +of animals, twenty-three in number, filing off for the settlements, the +incorrigible Pontiac at their head, jumping along with hobbled feet, +at a gait much more rapid than graceful. Three or four of us ran to cut +them off, dashing as best we might through the tall grass, which was +glittering with myriads of dewdrops. After a race of a mile or more, +Shaw caught a horse. Tying the trail-rope by way of bridle round the +animal’s jaw, and leaping upon his back, he got in advance of the +remaining fugitives, while we, soon bringing them together, drove them +in a crowd up to the tents, where each man caught and saddled his own. +Then we heard lamentations and curses; for half the horses had broke +their hobbles, and many were seriously galled by attempting to run in +fetters. + +It was late that morning before we were on the march; and early in the +afternoon we were compelled to encamp, for a thunder-gust came up and +suddenly enveloped us in whirling sheets of rain. With much ado, we +pitched our tents amid the tempest, and all night long the thunder +bellowed and growled over our heads. In the morning, light peaceful +showers succeeded the cataracts of rain, that had been drenching us +through the canvas of our tents. About noon, when there were some +treacherous indications of fair weather, we got in motion again. + +Not a breath of air stirred over the free and open prairie; the clouds +were like light piles of cotton; and where the blue sky was visible, it +wore a hazy and languid aspect. The sun beat down upon us with a sultry +penetrating heat almost insupportable, and as our party crept slowly +along over the interminable level, the horses hung their heads as +they waded fetlock deep through the mud, and the men slouched into +the easiest position upon the saddle. At last, toward evening, the old +familiar black heads of thunderclouds rose fast above the horizon, and +the same deep muttering of distant thunder that had become the ordinary +accompaniment of our afternoon’s journey began to roll hoarsely over +the prairie. Only a few minutes elapsed before the whole sky was densely +shrouded, and the prairie and some clusters of woods in front assumed a +purple hue beneath the inky shadows. Suddenly from the densest fold of +the cloud the flash leaped out, quivering again and again down to the +edge of the prairie; and at the same instant came the sharp burst and +the long rolling peal of the thunder. A cool wind, filled with the smell +of rain, just then overtook us, leveling the tall grass by the side of +the path. + +“Come on; we must ride for it!” shouted Shaw, rushing past at full +speed, his led horse snorting at his side. The whole party broke into +full gallop, and made for the trees in front. Passing these, we found +beyond them a meadow which they half inclosed. We rode pell-mell upon +the ground, leaped from horseback, tore off our saddles; and in a moment +each man was kneeling at his horse’s feet. The hobbles were adjusted, +and the animals turned loose; then, as the wagons came wheeling rapidly +to the spot, we seized upon the tent-poles, and just as the storm broke, +we were prepared to receive it. It came upon us almost with the darkness +of night; the trees, which were close at hand, were completely shrouded +by the roaring torrents of rain. + +We were sitting in the tent, when Delorier, with his broad felt hat +hanging about his ears, and his shoulders glistening with rain, thrust +in his head. + +“Voulez-vous du souper, tout de suite? I can make a fire, sous la +charette--I b’lieve so--I try.” + +“Never mind supper, man; come in out of the rain.” + +Delorier accordingly crouched in the entrance, for modesty would not +permit him to intrude farther. + +Our tent was none of the best defense against such a cataract. The +rain could not enter bodily, but it beat through the canvas in a fine +drizzle, that wetted us just as effectively. We sat upon our saddles +with faces of the utmost surliness, while the water dropped from the +vizors of our caps, and trickled down our cheeks. My india-rubber cloak +conducted twenty little rapid streamlets to the ground; and Shaw’s +blanket-coat was saturated like a sponge. But what most concerned us +was the sight of several puddles of water rapidly accumulating; one +in particular, that was gathering around the tent-pole, threatened +to overspread the whole area within the tent, holding forth but an +indifferent promise of a comfortable night’s rest. Toward sunset, +however, the storm ceased as suddenly as it began. A bright streak +of clear red sky appeared above the western verge of the prairie, the +horizontal rays of the sinking sun streamed through it and glittered in +a thousand prismatic colors upon the dripping groves and the prostrate +grass. The pools in the tent dwindled and sunk into the saturated soil. + +But all our hopes were delusive. Scarcely had night set in, when the +tumult broke forth anew. The thunder here is not like the tame thunder +of the Atlantic coast. Bursting with a terrific crash directly above our +heads, it roared over the boundless waste of prairie, seeming to roll +around the whole circle of the firmament with a peculiar and awful +reverberation. The lightning flashed all night, playing with its livid +glare upon the neighboring trees, revealing the vast expanse of the +plain, and then leaving us shut in as by a palpable wall of darkness. + +It did not disturb us much. Now and then a peal awakened us, and made us +conscious of the electric battle that was raging, and of the floods that +dashed upon the stanch canvas over our heads. We lay upon india-rubber +cloths, placed between our blankets and the soil. For a while they +excluded the water to admiration; but when at length it accumulated and +began to run over the edges, they served equally well to retain it, so +that toward the end of the night we were unconsciously reposing in small +pools of rain. + +On finally awaking in the morning the prospect was not a cheerful one. +The rain no longer poured in torrents; but it pattered with a quiet +pertinacity upon the strained and saturated canvas. We disengaged +ourselves from our blankets, every fiber of which glistened with little +beadlike drops of water, and looked out in vain hope of discovering some +token of fair weather. The clouds, in lead-colored volumes, rested upon +the dismal verge of the prairie, or hung sluggishly overhead, while the +earth wore an aspect no more attractive than the heavens, exhibiting +nothing but pools of water, grass beaten down, and mud well trampled by +our mules and horses. Our companions’ tent, with an air of forlorn +and passive misery, and their wagons in like manner, drenched and +woe-begone, stood not far off. The captain was just returning from his +morning’s inspection of the horses. He stalked through the mist and +rain, with his plaid around his shoulders; his little pipe, dingy as an +antiquarian relic, projecting from beneath his mustache, and his brother +Jack at his heels. + +“Good-morning, captain.” + +“Good-morning to your honors,” said the captain, affecting the Hibernian +accent; but at that instant, as he stooped to enter the tent, he tripped +upon the cords at the entrance, and pitched forward against the guns +which were strapped around the pole in the center. + +“You are nice men, you are!” said he, after an ejaculation not necessary +to be recorded, “to set a man-trap before your door every morning to +catch your visitors.” + +Then he sat down upon Henry Chatillon’s saddle. We tossed a piece of +buffalo robe to Jack, who was looking about in some embarrassment. He +spread it on the ground, and took his seat, with a stolid countenance, +at his brother’s side. + +“Exhilarating weather, captain!” + +“Oh, delightful, delightful!” replied the captain. “I knew it would be +so; so much for starting yesterday at noon! I knew how it would turn +out; and I said so at the time.” + +“You said just the contrary to us. We were in no hurry, and only moved +because you insisted on it.” + +“Gentlemen,” said the captain, taking his pipe from his mouth with an +air of extreme gravity, “it was no plan of mine. There is a man among us +who is determined to have everything his own way. You may express your +opinion; but don’t expect him to listen. You may be as reasonable as +you like: oh, it all goes for nothing! That man is resolved to rule the +roost and he’ll set his face against any plan that he didn’t think of +himself.” + +The captain puffed for a while at his pipe, as if meditating upon his +grievances; then he began again: + +“For twenty years I have been in the British army; and in all that time +I never had half so much dissension, and quarreling, and nonsense, as +since I have been on this cursed prairie. He’s the most uncomfortable +man I ever met.” + +“Yes,” said Jack; “and don’t you know, Bill, how he drank up all the +coffee last night, and put the rest by for himself till the morning!” + +“He pretends to know everything,” resumed the captain; “nobody must give +orders but he! It’s, oh! we must do this; and, oh! we must do that; and +the tent must be pitched here, and the horses must be picketed there; +for nobody knows as well as he does.” + +We were a little surprised at this disclosure of domestic dissensions +among our allies, for though we knew of their existence, we were not +aware of their extent. The persecuted captain seeming wholly at a loss +as to the course of conduct that he should pursue, we recommended him to +adopt prompt and energetic measures; but all his military experience +had failed to teach him the indispensable lesson to be “hard,” when the +emergency requires it. + +“For twenty years,” he repeated, “I have been in the British army, and +in that time I have been intimately acquainted with some two hundred +officers, young and old, and I never yet quarreled with any man. Oh, +‘anything for a quiet life!’ that’s my maxim.” + +We intimated that the prairie was hardly the place to enjoy a quiet +life, but that, in the present circumstances, the best thing he could +do toward securing his wished-for tranquillity, was immediately to put +a period to the nuisance that disturbed it. But again the captain’s +easy good-nature recoiled from the task. The somewhat vigorous measures +necessary to gain the desired result were utterly repugnant to him; he +preferred to pocket his grievances, still retaining the privilege of +grumbling about them. “Oh, anything for a quiet life!” he said again, +circling back to his favorite maxim. + +But to glance at the previous history of our transatlantic confederates. +The captain had sold his commission, and was living in bachelor ease +and dignity in his paternal halls, near Dublin. He hunted, fished, rode +steeple-chases, ran races, and talked of his former exploits. He +was surrounded with the trophies of his rod and gun; the walls were +plentifully garnished, he told us, with moose-horns and deer-horns, +bear-skins, and fox-tails; for the captain’s double-barreled rifle had +seen service in Canada and Jamaica; he had killed salmon in Nova Scotia, +and trout, by his own account, in all the streams of the three kingdoms. +But in an evil hour a seductive stranger came from London; no less a +person than R., who, among other multitudinous wanderings, had once been +upon the western prairies, and naturally enough was anxious to visit +them again. The captain’s imagination was inflamed by the pictures of a +hunter’s paradise that his guest held forth; he conceived an ambition +to add to his other trophies the horns of a buffalo, and the claws of +a grizzly bear; so he and R. struck a league to travel in company. Jack +followed his brother, as a matter of course. Two weeks on board the +Atlantic steamer brought them to Boston; in two weeks more of hard +traveling they reached St. Louis, from which a ride of six days +carried them to the frontier; and here we found them, in full tide of +preparation for their journey. + +We had been throughout on terms of intimacy with the captain, but +R., the motive power of our companions’ branch of the expedition, was +scarcely known to us. His voice, indeed, might be heard incessantly; but +at camp he remained chiefly within the tent, and on the road he either +rode by himself, or else remained in close conversation with his friend +Wright, the muleteer. As the captain left the tent that morning, I +observed R. standing by the fire, and having nothing else to do, I +determined to ascertain, if possible, what manner of man he was. He had +a book under his arm, but just at present he was engrossed in actively +superintending the operations of Sorel, the hunter, who was cooking some +corn-bread over the coals for breakfast. R. was a well-formed and rather +good-looking man, some thirty years old; considerably younger than the +captain. He wore a beard and mustache of the oakum complexion, and +his attire was altogether more elegant than one ordinarily sees on the +prairie. He wore his cap on one side of his head; his checked shirt, +open in front, was in very neat order, considering the circumstances, +and his blue pantaloons, of the John Bull cut, might once have figured +in Bond Street. + +“Turn over that cake, man! turn it over, quick! Don’t you see it +burning?” + +“It ain’t half done,” growled Sorel, in the amiable tone of a whipped +bull-dog. + +“It is. Turn it over, I tell you!” + +Sorel, a strong, sullen-looking Canadian, who from having spent his life +among the wildest and most remote of the Indian tribes, had imbibed much +of their dark, vindictive spirit, looked ferociously up, as if he longed +to leap upon his bourgeois and throttle him; but he obeyed the order, +coming from so experienced an artist. + +“It was a good idea of yours,” said I, seating myself on the tongue of a +wagon, “to bring Indian meal with you.” + +“Yes, yes” said R. “It’s good bread for the prairie--good bread for the +prairie. I tell you that’s burning again.” + +Here he stooped down, and unsheathing the silver-mounted hunting-knife +in his belt, began to perform the part of cook himself; at the same +time requesting me to hold for a moment the book under his arm, which +interfered with the exercise of these important functions. I opened +it; it was “Macaulay’s Lays”; and I made some remark, expressing my +admiration of the work. + +“Yes, yes; a pretty good thing. Macaulay can do better than that though. +I know him very well. I have traveled with him. Where was it we first +met--at Damascus? No, no; it was in Italy.” + +“So,” said I, “you have been over the same ground with your countryman, +the author of ‘Eothen’? There has been some discussion in America as to +who he is. I have heard Milne’s name mentioned.” + +“Milne’s? Oh, no, no, no; not at all. It was Kinglake; Kinglake’s the +man. I know him very well; that is, I have seen him.” + +Here Jack C., who stood by, interposed a remark (a thing not common with +him), observing that he thought the weather would become fair before +twelve o’clock. + +“It’s going to rain all day,” said R., “and clear up in the middle of +the night.” + +Just then the clouds began to dissipate in a very unequivocal manner; +but Jack, not caring to defend his point against so authoritative a +declaration, walked away whistling, and we resumed our conversation. + +“Borrow, the author of ‘The Bible in Spain,’ I presume you know him +too?” + +“Oh, certainly; I know all those men. By the way, they told me that one +of your American writers, Judge Story, had died lately. I edited some of +his works in London; not without faults, though.” + +Here followed an erudite commentary on certain points of law, in which +he particularly animadverted on the errors into which he considered that +the judge had been betrayed. At length, having touched successively +on an infinite variety of topics, I found that I had the happiness +of discovering a man equally competent to enlighten me upon them all, +equally an authority on matters of science or literature, philosophy or +fashion. The part I bore in the conversation was by no means a prominent +one; it was only necessary to set him going, and when he had run long +enough upon one topic, to divert him to another and lead him on to pour +out his heaps of treasure in succession. + +“What has that fellow been saying to you?” said Shaw, as I returned to +the tent. “I have heard nothing but his talking for the last half-hour.” + +R. had none of the peculiar traits of the ordinary “British snob”; +his absurdities were all his own, belonging to no particular nation or +clime. He was possessed with an active devil that had driven him over +land and sea, to no great purpose, as it seemed; for although he had the +usual complement of eyes and ears, the avenues between these organs and +his brain appeared remarkably narrow and untrodden. His energy was much +more conspicuous than his wisdom; but his predominant characteristic was +a magnanimous ambition to exercise on all occasions an awful rule and +supremacy, and this propensity equally displayed itself, as the reader +will have observed, whether the matter in question was the baking of a +hoe-cake or a point of international law. When such diverse elements +as he and the easy-tempered captain came in contact, no wonder some +commotion ensued; R. rode roughshod, from morning till night, over his +military ally. + +At noon the sky was clear and we set out, trailing through mud and slime +six inches deep. That night we were spared the customary infliction of +the shower bath. + +On the next afternoon we were moving slowly along, not far from a patch +of woods which lay on the right. Jack C. rode a little in advance; + + +The livelong day he had not spoke; + + +when suddenly he faced about, pointed to the woods, and roared out to +his brother: + +“O Bill! here’s a cow!” + +The captain instantly galloped forward, and he and Jack made a vain +attempt to capture the prize; but the cow, with a well-grounded distrust +of their intentions, took refuge among the trees. R. joined them, and +they soon drove her out. We watched their evolutions as they galloped +around here, trying in vain to noose her with their trail-ropes, which +they had converted into lariettes for the occasion. At length they +resorted to milder measures, and the cow was driven along with the +party. Soon after the usual thunderstorm came up, the wind blowing with +such fury that the streams of rain flew almost horizontally along the +prairie, roaring like a cataract. The horses turned tail to the storm, +and stood hanging their heads, bearing the infliction with an air of +meekness and resignation; while we drew our heads between our shoulders, +and crouched forward, so as to make our backs serve as a pent-house +for the rest of our persons. Meanwhile the cow, taking advantage of the +tumult, ran off, to the great discomfiture of the captain, who seemed to +consider her as his own especial prize, since she had been discovered by +Jack. In defiance of the storm, he pulled his cap tight over his brows, +jerked a huge buffalo pistol from his holster, and set out at full speed +after her. This was the last we saw of them for some time, the mist and +rain making an impenetrable veil; but at length we heard the captain’s +shout, and saw him looming through the tempest, the picture of a +Hibernian cavalier, with his cocked pistol held aloft for safety’s sake, +and a countenance of anxiety and excitement. The cow trotted before him, +but exhibited evident signs of an intention to run off again, and the +captain was roaring to us to head her. But the rain had got in behind +our coat collars, and was traveling over our necks in numerous little +streamlets, and being afraid to move our heads, for fear of admitting +more, we sat stiff and immovable, looking at the captain askance, and +laughing at his frantic movements. At last the cow made a sudden plunge +and ran off; the captain grasped his pistol firmly, spurred his horse, +and galloped after, with evident designs of mischief. In a moment we +heard the faint report, deadened by the rain, and then the conqueror +and his victim reappeared, the latter shot through the body, and quite +helpless. Not long after the storm moderated and we advanced again. The +cow walked painfully along under the charge of Jack, to whom the captain +had committed her, while he himself rode forward in his old capacity +of vedette. We were approaching a long line of trees, that followed +a stream stretching across our path, far in front, when we beheld the +vedette galloping toward us, apparently much excited, but with a broad +grin on his face. + +“Let that cow drop behind!” he shouted to us; “here’s her owners!” And +in fact, as we approached the line of trees, a large white object, like +a tent, was visible behind them. On approaching, however, we found, +instead of the expected Mormon camp, nothing but the lonely prairie, and +a large white rock standing by the path. The cow therefore resumed her +place in our procession. She walked on until we encamped, when R. firmly +approaching with his enormous English double-barreled rifle, calmly and +deliberately took aim at her heart, and discharged into it first one +bullet and then the other. She was then butchered on the most approved +principles of woodcraft, and furnished a very welcome item to our +somewhat limited bill of fare. + +In a day or two more we reached the river called the “Big Blue.” By +titles equally elegant, almost all the streams of this region are +designated. We had struggled through ditches and little brooks all that +morning; but on traversing the dense woods that lined the banks of the +Blue, we found more formidable difficulties awaited us, for the stream, +swollen by the rains, was wide, deep, and rapid. + +No sooner were we on the spot than R. had flung off his clothes, and was +swimming across, or splashing through the shallows, with the end of a +rope between his teeth. We all looked on in admiration, wondering what +might be the design of this energetic preparation; but soon we heard him +shouting: “Give that rope a turn round that stump! You, Sorel: do you +hear? Look sharp now, Boisverd! Come over to this side, some of you, and +help me!” The men to whom these orders were directed paid not the +least attention to them, though they were poured out without pause +or intermission. Henry Chatillon directed the work, and it proceeded +quietly and rapidly. R.’s sharp brattling voice might have been +heard incessantly; and he was leaping about with the utmost activity, +multiplying himself, after the manner of great commanders, as if his +universal presence and supervision were of the last necessity. His +commands were rather amusingly inconsistent; for when he saw that the +men would not do as he told them, he wisely accommodated himself +to circumstances, and with the utmost vehemence ordered them to do +precisely that which they were at the time engaged upon, no doubt +recollecting the story of Mahomet and the refractory mountain. +Shaw smiled significantly; R. observed it, and, approaching with a +countenance of lofty indignation, began to vapor a little, but was +instantly reduced to silence. + +The raft was at length complete. We piled our goods upon it, with +the exception of our guns, which each man chose to retain in his own +keeping. Sorel, Boisverd, Wright and Delorier took their stations at +the four corners, to hold it together, and swim across with it; and in +a moment more, all our earthly possessions were floating on the turbid +waters of the Big Blue. We sat on the bank, anxiously watching the +result, until we saw the raft safe landed in a little cove far down on +the opposite bank. The empty wagons were easily passed across; and then +each man mounting a horse, we rode through the stream, the stray animals +following of their own accord. + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE PLATTE AND THE DESERT + + +We were now arrived at the close of our solitary journeyings along the +St. Joseph’s trail. On the evening of the 23d of May we encamped near +its junction with the old legitimate trail of the Oregon emigrants. We +had ridden long that afternoon, trying in vain to find wood and water, +until at length we saw the sunset sky reflected from a pool encircled by +bushes and a rock or two. The water lay in the bottom of a hollow, the +smooth prairie gracefully rising in oceanlike swells on every side. +We pitched our tents by it; not however before the keen eye of Henry +Chatillon had discerned some unusual object upon the faintly-defined +outline of the distant swell. But in the moist, hazy atmosphere of the +evening, nothing could be clearly distinguished. As we lay around the +fire after supper, a low and distant sound, strange enough amid the +loneliness of the prairie, reached our ears--peals of laughter, and the +faint voices of men and women. For eight days we had not encountered a +human being, and this singular warning of their vicinity had an effect +extremely wild and impressive. + +About dark a sallow-faced fellow descended the hill on horseback, and +splashing through the pool rode up to the tents. He was enveloped in a +huge cloak, and his broad felt hat was weeping about his ears with +the drizzling moisture of the evening. Another followed, a stout, +square-built, intelligent-looking man, who announced himself as leader +of an emigrant party encamped a mile in advance of us. About twenty +wagons, he said, were with him; the rest of his party were on the +other side of the Big Blue, waiting for a woman who was in the pains of +child-birth, and quarreling meanwhile among themselves. + +These were the first emigrants that we had overtaken, although we had +found abundant and melancholy traces of their progress throughout the +whole course of the journey. Sometimes we passed the grave of one who +had sickened and died on the way. The earth was usually torn up, and +covered thickly with wolf-tracks. Some had escaped this violation. One +morning a piece of plank, standing upright on the summit of a grassy +hill, attracted our notice, and riding up to it we found the following +words very roughly traced upon it, apparently by a red-hot piece of +iron: + + +MARY ELLIS + +DIED MAY 7TH, 1845. + +Aged two months. + + +Such tokens were of common occurrence, nothing could speak more for the +hardihood, or rather infatuation, of the adventurers, or the sufferings +that await them upon the journey. + +We were late in breaking up our camp on the following morning, and +scarcely had we ridden a mile when we saw, far in advance of us, drawn +against the horizon, a line of objects stretching at regular intervals +along the level edge of the prairie. An intervening swell soon hid them +from sight, until, ascending it a quarter of an hour after, we saw close +before us the emigrant caravan, with its heavy white wagons creeping on +in their slow procession, and a large drove of cattle following behind. +Half a dozen yellow-visaged Missourians, mounted on horseback, were +cursing and shouting among them; their lank angular proportions +enveloped in brown homespun, evidently cut and adjusted by the hands +of a domestic female tailor. As we approached, they greeted us with +the polished salutation: “How are ye, boys? Are ye for Oregon or +California?” + +As we pushed rapidly past the wagons, children’s faces were thrust +out from the white coverings to look at us; while the care-worn, +thin-featured matron, or the buxom girl, seated in front, suspended +the knitting on which most of them were engaged to stare at us with +wondering curiosity. By the side of each wagon stalked the proprietor, +urging on his patient oxen, who shouldered heavily along, inch by +inch, on their interminable journey. It was easy to see that fear and +dissension prevailed among them; some of the men--but these, with one +exception, were bachelors--looked wistfully upon us as we rode lightly +and swiftly past, and then impatiently at their own lumbering wagons +and heavy-gaited oxen. Others were unwilling to advance at all until +the party they had left behind should have rejoined them. Many were +murmuring against the leader they had chosen, and wished to depose him; +and this discontent was fermented by some ambitious spirits, who had +hopes of succeeding in his place. The women were divided between regrets +for the homes they had left and apprehension of the deserts and the +savages before them. + +We soon left them far behind, and fondly hoped that we had taken a final +leave; but unluckily our companions’ wagon stuck so long in a deep muddy +ditch that, before it was extricated, the van of the emigrant caravan +appeared again, descending a ridge close at hand. Wagon after wagon +plunged through the mud; and as it was nearly noon, and the place +promised shade and water, we saw with much gratification that they were +resolved to encamp. Soon the wagons were wheeled into a circle; the +cattle were grazing over the meadow, and the men with sour, sullen +faces, were looking about for wood and water. They seemed to meet with +but indifferent success. As we left the ground, I saw a tall slouching +fellow with the nasal accent of “down east,” contemplating the contents +of his tin cup, which he had just filled with water. + +“Look here, you,” he said; “it’s chock full of animals!” + +The cup, as he held it out, exhibited in fact an extraordinary variety +and profusion of animal and vegetable life. + +Riding up the little hill and looking back on the meadow, we could +easily see that all was not right in the camp of the emigrants. The +men were crowded together, and an angry discussion seemed to be going +forward. R. was missing from his wonted place in the line, and the +captain told us that he had remained behind to get his horse shod by a +blacksmith who was attached to the emigrant party. Something whispered +in our ears that mischief was on foot; we kept on, however, and coming +soon to a stream of tolerable water, we stopped to rest and dine. Still +the absentee lingered behind. At last, at the distance of a mile, he +and his horse suddenly appeared, sharply defined against the sky on the +summit of a hill; and close behind, a huge white object rose slowly into +view. + +“What is that blockhead bringing with him now?” + +A moment dispelled the mystery. Slowly and solemnly one behind the +other, four long trains of oxen and four emigrant wagons rolled over the +crest of the declivity and gravely descended, while R. rode in state +in the van. It seems that, during the process of shoeing the horse, +the smothered dissensions among the emigrants suddenly broke into open +rupture. Some insisted on pushing forward, some on remaining where they +were, and some on going back. Kearsley, their captain, threw up his +command in disgust. “And now, boys,” said he, “if any of you are for +going ahead, just you come along with me.” + +Four wagons, with ten men, one woman, and one small child, made up +the force of the “go-ahead” faction, and R., with his usual proclivity +toward mischief, invited them to join our party. Fear of the +Indians--for I can conceive of no other motive--must have induced him +to court so burdensome an alliance. As may well be conceived, these +repeated instances of high-handed dealing sufficiently exasperated +us. In this case, indeed, the men who joined us were all that could be +desired; rude indeed in manner, but frank, manly, and intelligent. +To tell them we could not travel with them was of course out of the +question. I merely reminded Kearsley that if his oxen could not keep up +with our mules he must expect to be left behind, as we could not consent +to be further delayed on the journey; but he immediately replied, that +his oxen “SHOULD keep up; and if they couldn’t, why he allowed that he’d +find out how to make ‘em!” Having availed myself of what satisfaction +could be derived from giving R. to understand my opinion of his conduct, +I returned to our side of the camp. + +On the next day, as it chanced, our English companions broke the +axle-tree of their wagon, and down came the whole cumbrous machine +lumbering into the bed of a brook! Here was a day’s work cut out for us. +Meanwhile, our emigrant associates kept on their way, and so vigorously +did they urge forward their powerful oxen that, with the broken +axle-tree and other calamities, it was full a week before we overtook +them; when at length we discovered them, one afternoon, crawling quietly +along the sandy brink of the Platte. But meanwhile various incidents +occurred to ourselves. + +It was probable that at this stage of our journey the Pawnees would +attempt to rob us. We began therefore to stand guard in turn, dividing +the night into three watches, and appointing two men for each. Delorier +and I held guard together. We did not march with military precision to +and fro before the tents; our discipline was by no means so stringent +and rigid. We wrapped ourselves in our blankets, and sat down by the +fire; and Delorier, combining his culinary functions with his duties as +sentinel, employed himself in boiling the head of an antelope for our +morning’s repast. Yet we were models of vigilance in comparison with +some of the party; for the ordinary practice of the guard was to +establish himself in the most comfortable posture he could; lay his +rifle on the ground, and enveloping his nose in the blanket, meditate +on his mistress, or whatever subject best pleased him. This is all well +enough when among Indians who do not habitually proceed further in their +hostility than robbing travelers of their horses and mules, though, +indeed, a Pawnee’s forebearance is not always to be trusted; but in +certain regions farther to the west, the guard must beware how he +exposes his person to the light of the fire, lest perchance some +keen-eyed skulking marksman should let fly a bullet or an arrow from +amid the darkness. + +Among various tales that circulated around our camp fire was a rather +curious one, told by Boisverd, and not inappropriate here. Boisverd was +trapping with several companions on the skirts of the Blackfoot country. +The man on guard, well knowing that it behooved him to put forth his +utmost precaution, kept aloof from the firelight, and sat watching +intently on all sides. At length he was aware of a dark, crouching +figure, stealing noiselessly into the circle of the light. He hastily +cocked his rifle, but the sharp click of the lock caught the ear of +Blackfoot, whose senses were all on the alert. Raising his arrow, +already fitted to the string, he shot in the direction of the sound. So +sure was his aim that he drove it through the throat of the unfortunate +guard, and then, with a loud yell, bounded from the camp. + +As I looked at the partner of my watch, puffing and blowing over his +fire, it occurred to me that he might not prove the most efficient +auxiliary in time of trouble. + +“Delorier,” said I, “would you run away if the Pawnees should fire at +us?” + +“Ah! oui, oui, monsieur!” he replied very decisively. + +I did not doubt the fact, but was a little surprised at the frankness of +the confession. + +At this instant a most whimsical variety of voices--barks, howls, yelps, +and whines--all mingled as it were together, sounded from the prairie, +not far off, as if a whole conclave of wolves of every age and sex were +assembled there. Delorier looked up from his work with a laugh, and +began to imitate this curious medley of sounds with a most ludicrous +accuracy. At this they were repeated with redoubled emphasis, the +musician being apparently indignant at the successful efforts of a +rival. They all proceeded from the throat of one little wolf, not +larger than a spaniel, seated by himself at some distance. He was of +the species called the prairie wolf; a grim-visaged, but harmless little +brute, whose worst propensity is creeping among horses and gnawing the +ropes of raw hide by which they are picketed around the camp. But +other beasts roam the prairies, far more formidable in aspect and in +character. These are the large white and gray wolves, whose deep howl we +heard at intervals from far and near. + +At last I fell into a doze, and, awakening from it, found Delorier +fast asleep. Scandalized by this breach of discipline, I was about to +stimulate his vigilance by stirring him with the stock of my rifle; but +compassion prevailing, I determined to let him sleep awhile, and then to +arouse him, and administer a suitable reproof for such a forgetfulness +of duty. Now and then I walked the rounds among the silent horses, to +see that all was right. The night was chill, damp, and dark, the dank +grass bending under the icy dewdrops. At the distance of a rod or two +the tents were invisible, and nothing could be seen but the obscure +figures of the horses, deeply breathing, and restlessly starting as they +slept, or still slowly champing the grass. Far off, beyond the black +outline of the prairie, there was a ruddy light, gradually increasing, +like the glow of a conflagration; until at length the broad disk of the +moon, blood-red, and vastly magnified by the vapors, rose slowly upon +the darkness, flecked by one or two little clouds, and as the light +poured over the gloomy plain, a fierce and stern howl, close at hand, +seemed to greet it as an unwelcome intruder. There was something +impressive and awful in the place and the hour; for I and the beasts +were all that had consciousness for many a league around. + +Some days elapsed, and brought us near the Platte. Two men on horseback +approached us one morning, and we watched them with the curiosity and +interest that, upon the solitude of the plains, such an encounter always +excites. They were evidently whites, from their mode of riding, though, +contrary to the usage of that region, neither of them carried a rifle. + +“Fools!” remarked Henry Chatillon, “to ride that way on the prairie; +Pawnee find them--then they catch it!” + +Pawnee HAD found them, and they had come very near “catching it”; +indeed, nothing saved them from trouble but the approach of our party. +Shaw and I knew one of them; a man named Turner, whom we had seen at +Westport. He and his companion belonged to an emigrant party encamped +a few miles in advance, and had returned to look for some stray oxen, +leaving their rifles, with characteristic rashness or ignorance behind +them. Their neglect had nearly cost them dear; for just before we +came up, half a dozen Indians approached, and seeing them apparently +defenseless, one of the rascals seized the bridle of Turner’s fine +horse, and ordered him to dismount. Turner was wholly unarmed; but the +other jerked a little revolving pistol out of his pocket, at which +the Pawnee recoiled; and just then some of our men appearing in the +distance, the whole party whipped their rugged little horses, and made +off. In no way daunted, Turner foolishly persisted in going forward. + +Long after leaving him, and late this afternoon, in the midst of a +gloomy and barren prairie, we came suddenly upon the great Pawnee trail, +leading from their villages on the Platte to their war and hunting +grounds to the southward. Here every summer pass the motley concourse; +thousands of savages, men, women, and children, horses and mules, laden +with their weapons and implements, and an innumerable multitude of +unruly wolfish dogs, who have not acquired the civilized accomplishment +of barking, but howl like their wild cousins of the prairie. + +The permanent winter villages of the Pawnees stand on the lower Platte, +but throughout the summer the greater part of the inhabitants are +wandering over the plains, a treacherous cowardly banditti, who by a +thousand acts of pillage and murder have deserved summary chastisement +at the hands of government. Last year a Dakota warrior performed a +signal exploit at one of these villages. He approached it alone in the +middle of a dark night, and clambering up the outside of one of the +lodges which are in the form of a half-sphere, he looked in at the round +hole made at the top for the escape of smoke. The dusky light from the +smoldering embers showed him the forms of the sleeping inmates; and +dropping lightly through the opening, he unsheathed his knife, and +stirring the fire coolly selected his victims. One by one he stabbed and +scalped them, when a child suddenly awoke and screamed. He rushed from +the lodge, yelled a Sioux war-cry, shouted his name in triumph and +defiance, and in a moment had darted out upon the dark prairie, leaving +the whole village behind him in a tumult, with the howling and baying of +dogs, the screams of women and the yells of the enraged warriors. + +Our friend Kearsley, as we learned on rejoining him, signalized himself +by a less bloody achievement. He and his men were good woodsmen, and +well skilled in the use of the rifle, but found themselves wholly out of +their element on the prairie. None of them had ever seen a buffalo and +they had very vague conceptions of his nature and appearance. On the +day after they reached the Platte, looking toward a distant swell, they +beheld a multitude of little black specks in motion upon its surface. + +“Take your rifles, boys,” said Kearslcy, “and we’ll have fresh meat for +supper.” This inducement was quite sufficient. The ten men left their +wagons and set out in hot haste, some on horseback and some on foot, in +pursuit of the supposed buffalo. Meanwhile a high grassy ridge shut the +game from view; but mounting it after half an hour’s running and riding, +they found themselves suddenly confronted by about thirty mounted +Pawnees! The amazement and consternation were mutual. Having nothing but +their bows and arrows, the Indians thought their hour was come, and +the fate that they were no doubt conscious of richly deserving about +to overtake them. So they began, one and all, to shout forth the most +cordial salutations of friendship, running up with extreme earnestness +to shake hands with the Missourians, who were as much rejoiced as they +were to escape the expected conflict. + +A low undulating line of sand-hills bounded the horizon before us. That +day we rode ten consecutive hours, and it was dusk before we entered the +hollows and gorges of these gloomy little hills. At length we gained the +summit, and the long expected valley of the Platte lay before us. We +all drew rein, and, gathering in a knot on the crest of the hill, sat +joyfully looking down upon the prospect. It was right welcome; strange +too, and striking to the imagination, and yet it had not one picturesque +or beautiful feature; nor had it any of the features of grandeur, other +than its vast extent, its solitude, and its wilderness. For league after +league a plain as level as a frozen lake was outspread beneath us; +here and there the Platte, divided into a dozen threadlike sluices, was +traversing it, and an occasional clump of wood, rising in the midst like +a shadowy island, relieved the monotony of the waste. No living thing +was moving throughout the vast landscape, except the lizards that darted +over the sand and through the rank grass and prickly-pear just at our +feet. And yet stern and wild associations gave a singular interest to +the view; for here each man lives by the strength of his arm and the +valor of his heart. Here society is reduced to its original elements, +the whole fabric of art and conventionality is struck rudely to pieces, +and men find themselves suddenly brought back to the wants and resources +of their original natures. + +We had passed the more toilsome and monotonous part of the journey; but +four hundred miles still intervened between us and Fort Laramie; and to +reach that point cost us the travel of three additional weeks. During +the whole of this time we were passing up the center of a long narrow +sandy plain, reaching like an outstretched belt nearly to the Rocky +Mountains. Two lines of sand-hills, broken often into the wildest and +most fantastic forms, flanked the valley at the distance of a mile or +two on the right and left; while beyond them lay a barren, trackless +waste--The Great American Desert--extending for hundreds of miles to the +Arkansas on the one side, and the Missouri on the other. Before us and +behind us, the level monotony of the plain was unbroken as far as the +eye could reach. Sometimes it glared in the sun, an expanse of hot, +bare sand; sometimes it was veiled by long coarse grass. Huge skulls +and whitening bones of buffalo were scattered everywhere; the ground +was tracked by myriads of them, and often covered with the circular +indentations where the bulls had wallowed in the hot weather. From every +gorge and ravine, opening from the hills, descended deep, well-worn +paths, where the buffalo issue twice a day in regular procession down +to drink in the Platte. The river itself runs through the midst, a thin +sheet of rapid, turbid water, half a mile wide, and scarce two feet +deep. Its low banks for the most part without a bush or a tree, are of +loose sand, with which the stream is so charged that it grates on +the teeth in drinking. The naked landscape is, of itself, dreary and +monotonous enough, and yet the wild beasts and wild men that frequent +the valley of the Platte make it a scene of interest and excitement to +the traveler. Of those who have journeyed there, scarce one, perhaps, +fails to look back with fond regret to his horse and his rifle. + +Early in the morning after we reached the Platte, a long procession of +squalid savages approached our camp. Each was on foot, leading his horse +by a rope of bull-hide. His attire consisted merely of a scanty cincture +and an old buffalo robe, tattered and begrimed by use, which hung +over his shoulders. His head was close shaven, except a ridge of hair +reaching over the crown from the center of the forehead, very much like +the long bristles on the back of a hyena, and he carried his bow and +arrows in his hand, while his meager little horse was laden with dried +buffalo meat, the produce of his hunting. Such were the first specimens +that we met--and very indifferent ones they were--of the genuine savages +of the prairie. + +They were the Pawnees whom Kearsley had encountered the day before, and +belonged to a large hunting party known to be ranging the prairie in the +vicinity. They strode rapidly past, within a furlong of our tents, +not pausing or looking toward us, after the manner of Indians when +meditating mischief or conscious of ill-desert. I went out and met them; +and had an amicable conference with the chief, presenting him with +half a pound of tobacco, at which unmerited bounty he expressed much +gratification. These fellows, or some of their companions had committed +a dastardly outrage upon an emigrant party in advance of us. Two men, +out on horseback at a distance, were seized by them, but lashing their +horses, they broke loose and fled. At this the Pawnees raised the yell +and shot at them, transfixing the hindermost through the back with +several arrows, while his companion galloped away and brought in the +news to his party. The panic-stricken emigrants remained for several +days in camp, not daring even to send out in quest of the dead body. + +The reader will recollect Turner, the man whose narrow escape was +mentioned not long since. We heard that the men, whom the entreaties +of his wife induced to go in search of him, found him leisurely driving +along his recovered oxen, and whistling in utter contempt of the Pawnee +nation. His party was encamped within two miles of us; but we passed +them that morning, while the men were driving in the oxen, and the women +packing their domestic utensils and their numerous offspring in the +spacious patriarchal wagons. As we looked back we saw their caravan +dragging its slow length along the plain; wearily toiling on its way, to +found new empires in the West. + +Our New England climate is mild and equable compared with that of the +Platte. This very morning, for instance, was close and sultry, the sun +rising with a faint oppressive heat; when suddenly darkness gathered in +the west, and a furious blast of sleet and hail drove full in our faces, +icy cold, and urged with such demoniac vehemence that it felt like a +storm of needles. It was curious to see the horses; they faced about +in extreme displeasure, holding their tails like whipped dogs, and +shivering as the angry gusts, howling louder than a concert of wolves, +swept over us. Wright’s long train of mules came sweeping round before +the storm like a flight of brown snowbirds driven by a winter tempest. +Thus we all remained stationary for some minutes, crouching close to our +horses’ necks, much too surly to speak, though once the captain looked +up from between the collars of his coat, his face blood-red, and the +muscles of his mouth contracted by the cold into a most ludicrous grin +of agony. He grumbled something that sounded like a curse, directed +as we believed, against the unhappy hour when he had first thought of +leaving home. The thing was too good to last long; and the instant the +puffs of wind subsided we erected our tents, and remained in camp for +the rest of a gloomy and lowering day. The emigrants also encamped near +at hand. We, being first on the ground, had appropriated all the wood +within reach; so that our fire alone blazed cheerfully. Around it soon +gathered a group of uncouth figures, shivering in the drizzling rain. +Conspicuous among them were two or three of the half-savage men who +spend their reckless lives in trapping among the Rocky Mountains, or +in trading for the Fur Company in the Indian villages. They were all +of Canadian extraction; their hard, weather-beaten faces and bushy +mustaches looked out from beneath the hoods of their white capotes with +a bad and brutish expression, as if their owner might be the willing +agent of any villainy. And such in fact is the character of many of +these men. + +On the day following we overtook Kearsley’s wagons, and thenceforward, +for a week or two, we were fellow-travelers. One good effect, at least, +resulted from the alliance; it materially diminished the serious fatigue +of standing guard; for the party being now more numerous, there were +longer intervals between each man’s turns of duty. + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE BUFFALO + + +Four days on the Platte, and yet no buffalo! Last year’s signs of them +were provokingly abundant; and wood being extremely scarce, we found an +admirable substitute in bois de vache, which burns exactly like peat, +producing no unpleasant effects. The wagons one morning had left the +camp; Shaw and I were already on horseback, but Henry Chatillon still +sat cross-legged by the dead embers of the fire, playing pensively with +the lock of his rifle, while his sturdy Wyandotte pony stood quietly +behind him, looking over his head. At last he got up, patted the neck of +the pony (whom, from an exaggerated appreciation of his merits, he had +christened “Five Hundred Dollar”), and then mounted with a melancholy +air. + +“What is it, Henry?” + +“Ah, I feel lonesome; I never been here before; but I see away yonder +over the buttes, and down there on the prairie, black--all black with +buffalo!” + +In the afternoon he and I left the party in search of an antelope; until +at the distance of a mile or two on the right, the tall white wagons +and the little black specks of horsemen were just visible, so slowly +advancing that they seemed motionless; and far on the left rose the +broken line of scorched, desolate sand-hills. The vast plain waved with +tall rank grass that swept our horses’ bellies; it swayed to and fro in +billows with the light breeze, and far and near antelope and wolves were +moving through it, the hairy backs of the latter alternately appearing +and disappearing as they bounded awkwardly along; while the antelope, +with the simple curiosity peculiar to them, would often approach as +closely, their little horns and white throats just visible above the +grass tops, as they gazed eagerly at us with their round black eyes. + +I dismounted, and amused myself with firing at the wolves. Henry +attentively scrutinized the surrounding landscape; at length he gave a +shout, and called on me to mount again, pointing in the direction of the +sand-hills. A mile and a half from us, two minute black specks +slowly traversed the face of one of the bare glaring declivities, and +disappeared behind the summit. “Let us go!” cried Henry, belaboring the +sides of Five Hundred Dollar; and I following in his wake, we galloped +rapidly through the rank grass toward the base of the hills. + +From one of their openings descended a deep ravine, widening as it +issued on the prairie. We entered it, and galloping up, in a moment were +surrounded by the bleak sand-hills. Half of their steep sides were bare; +the rest were scantily clothed with clumps of grass, and various uncouth +plants, conspicuous among which appeared the reptile-like prickly-pear. +They were gashed with numberless ravines; and as the sky had suddenly +darkened, and a cold gusty wind arisen, the strange shrubs and the +dreary hills looked doubly wild and desolate. But Henry’s face was all +eagerness. He tore off a little hair from the piece of buffalo robe +under his saddle, and threw it up, to show the course of the wind. It +blew directly before us. The game were therefore to windward, and it was +necessary to make our best speed to get around them. + +We scrambled from this ravine, and galloping away through the hollows, +soon found another, winding like a snake among the hills, and so deep +that it completely concealed us. We rode up the bottom of it, glancing +through the shrubbery at its edge, till Henry abruptly jerked his rein, +and slid out of his saddle. Full a quarter of a mile distant, on the +outline of the farthest hill, a long procession of buffalo were walking, +in Indian file, with the utmost gravity and deliberation; then more +appeared, clambering from a hollow not far off, and ascending, one +behind the other, the grassy slope of another hill; then a shaggy head +and a pair of short broken horns appeared issuing out of a ravine close +at hand, and with a slow, stately step, one by one, the enormous brutes +came into view, taking their way across the valley, wholly unconscious +of an enemy. In a moment Henry was worming his way, lying flat on +the ground, through grass and prickly-pears, toward his unsuspecting +victims. He had with him both my rifle and his own. He was soon out of +sight, and still the buffalo kept issuing into the valley. For a long +time all was silent. I sat holding his horse, and wondering what he was +about, when suddenly, in rapid succession, came the sharp reports of the +two rifles, and the whole line of buffalo, quickening their pace into +a clumsy trot, gradually disappeared over the ridge of the hill. Henry +rose to his feet, and stood looking after them. + +“You have missed them,” said I. + +“Yes,” said Henry; “let us go.” He descended into the ravine, loaded the +rifles, and mounted his horse. + +We rode up the hill after the buffalo. The herd was out of sight when +we reached the top, but lying on the grass not far off, was one quite +lifeless, and another violently struggling in the death agony. + +“You see I miss him!” remarked Henry. He had fired from a distance of +more than a hundred and fifty yards, and both balls had passed through +the lungs--the true mark in shooting buffalo. + +The darkness increased, and a driving storm came on. Tying our horses +to the horns of the victims, Henry began the bloody work of dissection, +slashing away with the science of a connoisseur, while I vainly +endeavored to imitate him. Old Hendrick recoiled with horror and +indignation when I endeavored to tie the meat to the strings of raw +hide, always carried for this purpose, dangling at the back of the +saddle. After some difficulty we overcame his scruples; and heavily +burdened with the more eligible portions of the buffalo, we set out on +our return. Scarcely had we emerged from the labyrinth of gorges and +ravines, and issued upon the open prairie, when the pricking sleet came +driving, gust upon gust, directly in our faces. It was strangely +dark, though wanting still an hour of sunset. The freezing storm soon +penetrated to the skin, but the uneasy trot of our heavy-gaited horses +kept us warm enough, as we forced them unwillingly in the teeth of the +sleet and rain, by the powerful suasion of our Indian whips. The prairie +in this place was hard and level. A flourishing colony of prairie dogs +had burrowed into it in every direction, and the little mounds of +fresh earth around their holes were about as numerous as the hills in +a cornfield; but not a yelp was to be heard; not the nose of a single +citizen was visible; all had retired to the depths of their burrows, +and we envied them their dry and comfortable habitations. An hour’s +hard riding showed us our tent dimly looming through the storm, one +side puffed out by the force of the wind, and the other collapsed in +proportion, while the disconsolate horses stood shivering close around, +and the wind kept up a dismal whistling in the boughs of three old +half-dead trees above. Shaw, like a patriarch, sat on his saddle in the +entrance, with a pipe in his mouth, and his arms folded, contemplating, +with cool satisfaction, the piles of meat that we flung on the ground +before him. A dark and dreary night succeeded; but the sun rose with +heat so sultry and languid that the captain excused himself on that +account from waylaying an old buffalo bull, who with stupid gravity was +walking over the prairie to drink at the river. So much for the climate +of the Platte! + +But it was not the weather alone that had produced this sudden abatement +of the sportsmanlike zeal which the captain had always professed. He had +been out on the afternoon before, together with several members of his +party; but their hunting was attended with no other result than the +loss of one of their best horses, severely injured by Sorel, in vainly +chasing a wounded bull. The captain, whose ideas of hard riding were all +derived from transatlantic sources, expressed the utmost amazement at +the feats of Sorel, who went leaping ravines, and dashing at full speed +up and down the sides of precipitous hills, lashing his horse with +the recklessness of a Rocky Mountain rider. Unfortunately for the poor +animal he was the property of R., against whom Sorel entertained an +unbounded aversion. The captain himself, it seemed, had also attempted +to “run” a buffalo, but though a good and practiced horseman, he had +soon given over the attempt, being astonished and utterly disgusted at +the nature of the ground he was required to ride over. + +Nothing unusual occurred on that day; but on the following morning Henry +Chatillon, looking over the oceanlike expanse, saw near the foot of the +distant hills something that looked like a band of buffalo. He was not +sure, he said, but at all events, if they were buffalo, there was a fine +chance for a race. Shaw and I at once determined to try the speed of our +horses. + +“Come, captain; we’ll see which can ride hardest, a Yankee or an +Irishman.” + +But the captain maintained a grave and austere countenance. He mounted +his led horse, however, though very slowly; and we set out at a trot. +The game appeared about three miles distant. As we proceeded the captain +made various remarks of doubt and indecision; and at length declared he +would have nothing to do with such a breakneck business; protesting that +he had ridden plenty of steeple-chases in his day, but he never knew +what riding was till he found himself behind a band of buffalo day +before yesterday. “I am convinced,” said the captain, “that, ‘running’ +is out of the question.* Take my advice now and don’t attempt it. It’s +dangerous, and of no use at all.” + + *The method of hunting called “running” consists in + attacking the buffalo on horseback and shooting him with + bullets or arrows when at full-speed. In “approaching,” the + hunter conceals himself and crawls on the ground toward the + game, or lies in wait to kill them. + +“Then why did you come out with us? What do you mean to do?” + +“I shall ‘approach,’” replied the captain. + +“You don’t mean to ‘approach’ with your pistols, do you? We have all of +us left our rifles in the wagons.” + +The captain seemed staggered at the suggestion. In his characteristic +indecision, at setting out, pistols, rifles, “running” and “approaching” + were mingled in an inextricable medley in his brain. He trotted on in +silence between us for a while; but at length he dropped behind and +slowly walked his horse back to rejoin the party. Shaw and I kept on; +when lo! as we advanced, the band of buffalo were transformed into +certain clumps of tall bushes, dotting the prairie for a considerable +distance. At this ludicrous termination of our chase, we followed the +example of our late ally, and turned back toward the party. We +were skirting the brink of a deep ravine, when we saw Henry and the +broad-chested pony coming toward us at a gallop. + +“Here’s old Papin and Frederic, down from Fort Laramie!” shouted Henry, +long before he came up. We had for some days expected this encounter. +Papin was the bourgeois of Fort Laramie. He had come down the river +with the buffalo robes and the beaver, the produce of the last winter’s +trading. I had among our baggage a letter which I wished to commit to +their hands; so requesting Henry to detain the boats if he could until +my return, I set out after the wagons. They were about four miles in +advance. In half an hour I overtook them, got the letter, trotted back +upon the trail, and looking carefully, as I rode, saw a patch of broken, +storm-blasted trees, and moving near them some little black specks like +men and horses. Arriving at the place, I found a strange assembly. The +boats, eleven in number, deep-laden with the skins, hugged close to +the shore, to escape being borne down by the swift current. The rowers, +swarthy ignoble Mexicans, turned their brutish faces upward to look, as +I reached the bank. Papin sat in the middle of one of the boats upon the +canvas covering that protected the robes. He was a stout, robust fellow, +with a little gray eye, that had a peculiarly sly twinkle. “Frederic” + also stretched his tall rawboned proportions close by the bourgeois, +and “mountain-men” completed the group; some lounging in the boats, some +strolling on shore; some attired in gayly painted buffalo robes, like +Indian dandies; some with hair saturated with red paint, and beplastered +with glue to their temples; and one bedaubed with vermilion upon his +forehead and each cheek. They were a mongrel race; yet the French blood +seemed to predominate; in a few, indeed, might be seen the black snaky +eye of the Indian half-breed, and one and all, they seemed to aim at +assimilating themselves to their savage associates. + +I shook hands with the bourgeois, and delivered the letter; then the +boats swung round into the stream and floated away. They had reason +for haste, for already the voyage from Fort Laramie had occupied a full +month, and the river was growing daily more shallow. Fifty times a +day the boats had been aground, indeed; those who navigate the Platte +invariably spend half their time upon sand-bars. Two of these boats, +the property of private traders, afterward separating from the rest, +got hopelessly involved in the shallows, not very far from the Pawnee +villages, and were soon surrounded by a swarm of the inhabitants. They +carried off everything that they considered valuable, including most of +the robes; and amused themselves by tying up the men left on guard and +soundly whipping them with sticks. + +We encamped that night upon the bank of the river. Among the emigrants +there was an overgrown boy, some eighteen years old, with a head as +round and about as large as a pumpkin, and fever-and-ague fits had dyed +his face of a corresponding color. He wore an old white hat, tied under +his chin with a handkerchief; his body was short and stout, but his +legs of disproportioned and appalling length. I observed him at sunset, +breasting the hill with gigantic strides, and standing against the sky +on the summit, like a colossal pair of tongs. In a moment after we heard +him screaming frantically behind the ridge, and nothing doubting that +he was in the clutches of Indians or grizzly bears, some of the party +caught up their rifles and ran to the rescue. His outcries, however, +proved but an ebullition of joyous excitement; he had chased two little +wolf pups to their burrow, and he was on his knees, grubbing away like a +dog at the mouth of the hole, to get at them. + +Before morning he caused more serious disquiet in the camp. It was his +turn to hold the middle guard; but no sooner was he called up, than he +coolly arranged a pair of saddle-bags under a wagon, laid his head upon +them, closed his eyes, opened his mouth and fell asleep. The guard on +our side of the camp, thinking it no part of his duty to look after the +cattle of the emigrants, contented himself with watching our own horses +and mules; the wolves, he said, were unusually noisy; but still no +mischief was anticipated until the sun rose, and not a hoof or horn was +in sight! The cattle were gone! While Tom was quietly slumbering, the +wolves had driven them away. + +Then we reaped the fruits of R.’s precious plan of traveling in company +with emigrants. To leave them in their distress was not to be thought +of, and we felt bound to wait until the cattle could be searched for, +and, if possible, recovered. But the reader may be curious to know +what punishment awaited the faithless Tom. By the wholesome law of +the prairie, he who falls asleep on guard is condemned to walk all +day leading his horse by the bridle, and we found much fault with +our companions for not enforcing such a sentence on the offender. +Nevertheless had he been of our party, I have no doubt he would in like +manner have escaped scot-free. But the emigrants went farther than mere +forebearance; they decreed that since Tom couldn’t stand guard without +falling asleep, he shouldn’t stand guard at all, and henceforward his +slumbers were unbroken. Establishing such a premium on drowsiness could +have no very beneficial effect upon the vigilance of our sentinels; for +it is far from agreeable, after riding from sunrise to sunset, to feel +your slumbers interrupted by the butt of a rifle nudging your side, and +a sleepy voice growling in your ear that you must get up, to shiver and +freeze for three weary hours at midnight. + +“Buffalo! buffalo!” It was but a grim old bull, roaming the prairie by +himself in misanthropic seclusion; but there might be more behind the +hills. Dreading the monotony and languor of the camp, Shaw and I saddled +our horses, buckled our holsters in their places, and set out with Henry +Chatillon in search of the game. Henry, not intending to take part in +the chase, but merely conducting us, carried his rifle with him, while +we left ours behind as incumbrances. We rode for some five or six miles, +and saw no living thing but wolves, snakes, and prairie dogs. + +“This won’t do at all,” said Shaw. + +“What won’t do?” + +“There’s no wood about here to make a litter for the wounded man; I have +an idea that one of us will need something of the sort before the day is +over.” + +There was some foundation for such an apprehension, for the ground was +none of the best for a race, and grew worse continually as we proceeded; +indeed it soon became desperately bad, consisting of abrupt hills and +deep hollows, cut by frequent ravines not easy to pass. At length, a +mile in advance, we saw a band of bulls. Some were scattered grazing +over a green declivity, while the rest were crowded more densely +together in the wide hollow below. Making a circuit to keep out of +sight, we rode toward them until we ascended a hill within a furlong of +them, beyond which nothing intervened that could possibly screen us from +their view. We dismounted behind the ridge just out of sight, drew our +saddle-girths, examined our pistols, and mounting again rode over +the hill, and descended at a canter toward them, bending close to +our horses’ necks. Instantly they took the alarm; those on the hill +descended; those below gathered into a mass, and the whole got in +motion, shouldering each other along at a clumsy gallop. We followed, +spurring our horses to full speed; and as the herd rushed, crowding and +trampling in terror through an opening in the hills, we were close at +their heels, half suffocated by the clouds of dust. But as we drew near, +their alarm and speed increased; our horses showed signs of the utmost +fear, bounding violently aside as we approached, and refusing to +enter among the herd. The buffalo now broke into several small bodies, +scampering over the hills in different directions, and I lost sight of +Shaw; neither of us knew where the other had gone. Old Pontiac ran like +a frantic elephant up hill and down hill, his ponderous hoofs striking +the prairie like sledge-hammers. He showed a curious mixture of +eagerness and terror, straining to overtake the panic-stricken herd, but +constantly recoiling in dismay as we drew near. The fugitives, indeed, +offered no very attractive spectacle, with their enormous size and +weight, their shaggy manes and the tattered remnants of their last +winter’s hair covering their backs in irregular shreds and patches, and +flying off in the wind as they ran. At length I urged my horse close +behind a bull, and after trying in vain, by blows and spurring, to +bring him alongside, I shot a bullet into the buffalo from this +disadvantageous position. At the report, Pontiac swerved so much that I +was again thrown a little behind the game. The bullet, entering too much +in the rear, failed to disable the bull, for a buffalo requires to be +shot at particular points, or he will certainly escape. The herd ran up +a hill, and I followed in pursuit. As Pontiac rushed headlong down on +the other side, I saw Shaw and Henry descending the hollow on the right, +at a leisurely gallop; and in front, the buffalo were just disappearing +behind the crest of the next hill, their short tails erect, and their +hoofs twinkling through a cloud of dust. + +At that moment, I heard Shaw and Henry shouting to me; but the muscles +of a stronger arm than mine could not have checked at once the furious +course of Pontiac, whose mouth was as insensible as leather. Added to +this, I rode him that morning with a common snaffle, having the day +before, for the benefit of my other horse, unbuckled from my bridle the +curb which I ordinarily used. A stronger and hardier brute never trod +the prairie; but the novel sight of the buffalo filled him with terror, +and when at full speed he was almost incontrollable. Gaining the top of +the ridge, I saw nothing of the buffalo; they had all vanished amid the +intricacies of the hills and hollows. Reloading my pistols, in the best +way I could, I galloped on until I saw them again scuttling along at +the base of the hill, their panic somewhat abated. Down went old Pontiac +among them, scattering them to the right and left, and then we had +another long chase. About a dozen bulls were before us, scouring over +the hills, rushing down the declivities with tremendous weight and +impetuosity, and then laboring with a weary gallop upward. Still +Pontiac, in spite of spurring and beating, would not close with them. +One bull at length fell a little behind the rest, and by dint of much +effort I urged my horse within six or eight yards of his side. His back +was darkened with sweat; he was panting heavily, while his tongue lolled +out a foot from his jaws. Gradually I came up abreast of him, urging +Pontiac with leg and rein nearer to his side, then suddenly he did what +buffalo in such circumstances will always do; he slackened his gallop, +and turning toward us, with an aspect of mingled rage and distress, +lowered his huge shaggy head for a charge. Pontiac with a snort, leaped +aside in terror, nearly throwing me to the ground, as I was wholly +unprepared for such an evolution. I raised my pistol in a passion to +strike him on the head, but thinking better of it fired the bullet after +the bull, who had resumed his flight, then drew rein and determined +to rejoin my companions. It was high time. The breath blew hard from +Pontiac’s nostrils, and the sweat rolled in big drops down his sides; +I myself felt as if drenched in warm water. Pledging myself (and I +redeemed the pledge) to take my revenge at a future opportunity, I +looked round for some indications to show me where I was, and what +course I ought to pursue; I might as well have looked for landmarks in +the midst of the ocean. How many miles I had run or in what direction, +I had no idea; and around me the prairie was rolling in steep swells +and pitches, without a single distinctive feature to guide me. I had +a little compass hung at my neck; and ignorant that the Platte at this +point diverged considerably from its easterly course, I thought that by +keeping to the northward I should certainly reach it. So I turned +and rode about two hours in that direction. The prairie changed as I +advanced, softening away into easier undulations, but nothing like the +Platte appeared, nor any sign of a human being; the same wild endless +expanse lay around me still; and to all appearance I was as far from my +object as ever. I began now to consider myself in danger of being +lost; and therefore, reining in my horse, summoned the scanty share of +woodcraft that I possessed (if that term he applicable upon the prairie) +to extricate me. Looking round, it occurred to me that the buffalo might +prove my best guides. I soon found one of the paths made by them in +their passage to the river; it ran nearly at right angles to my course; +but turning my horse’s head in the direction it indicated, his freer +gait and erected ears assured me that I was right. + +But in the meantime my ride had been by no means a solitary one. +The whole face of the country was dotted far and wide with countless +hundreds of buffalo. They trooped along in files and columns, bulls +cows, and calves, on the green faces of the declivities in front. They +scrambled away over the hills to the right and left; and far off, the +pale blue swells in the extreme distance were dotted with innumerable +specks. Sometimes I surprised shaggy old bulls grazing alone, or +sleeping behind the ridges I ascended. They would leap up at my +approach, stare stupidly at me through their tangled manes, and then +gallop heavily away. The antelope were very numerous; and as they are +always bold when in the neighborhood of buffalo, they would approach +quite near to look at me, gazing intently with their great round eyes, +then suddenly leap aside, and stretch lightly away over the prairie, as +swiftly as a racehorse. Squalid, ruffianlike wolves sneaked through the +hollows and sandy ravines. Several times I passed through villages of +prairie dogs, who sat, each at the mouth of his burrow, holding his paws +before him in a supplicating attitude, and yelping away most vehemently, +energetically whisking his little tail with every squeaking cry he +uttered. Prairie dogs are not fastidious in their choice of companions; +various long, checkered snakes were sunning themselves in the midst of +the village, and demure little gray owls, with a large white ring around +each eye, were perched side by side with the rightful inhabitants. The +prairie teemed with life. Again and again I looked toward the crowded +hillsides, and was sure I saw horsemen; and riding near, with a mixture +of hope and dread, for Indians were abroad, I found them transformed +into a group of buffalo. There was nothing in human shape amid all this +vast congregation of brute forms. + +When I turned down the buffalo path, the prairie seemed changed; only +a wolf or two glided past at intervals, like conscious felons, never +looking to the right or left. Being now free from anxiety, I was at +leisure to observe minutely the objects around me; and here, for the +first time, I noticed insects wholly different from any of the varieties +found farther to the eastward. Gaudy butterflies fluttered about my +horse’s head; strangely formed beetles, glittering with metallic luster, +were crawling upon plants that I had never seen before; multitudes of +lizards, too, were darting like lightning over the sand. + +I had run to a great distance from the river. It cost me a long ride +on the buffalo path before I saw from the ridge of a sand-hill the pale +surface of the Platte glistening in the midst of its desert valleys, and +the faint outline of the hills beyond waving along the sky. From where +I stood, not a tree nor a bush nor a living thing was visible throughout +the whole extent of the sun-scorched landscape. In half an hour I came +upon the trail, not far from the river; and seeing that the party had +not yet passed, I turned eastward to meet them, old Pontiac’s long +swinging trot again assuring me that I was right in doing so. Having +been slightly ill on leaving camp in the morning six or seven hours of +rough riding had fatigued me extremely. I soon stopped, therefore; flung +my saddle on the ground, and with my head resting on it, and my horse’s +trail-rope tied loosely to my arm, lay waiting the arrival of the +party, speculating meanwhile on the extent of the injuries Pontiac had +received. At length the white wagon coverings rose from the verge of the +plain. By a singular coincidence, almost at the same moment two horsemen +appeared coming down from the hills. They were Shaw and Henry, who had +searched for me a while in the morning, but well knowing the futility of +the attempt in such a broken country, had placed themselves on the top +of the highest hill they could find, and picketing their horses near +them, as a signal to me, had laid down and fallen asleep. The stray +cattle had been recovered, as the emigrants told us, about noon. Before +sunset, we pushed forward eight miles farther. + + +JUNE 7, 1846.--Four men are missing; R., Sorel and two emigrants. +They set out this morning after buffalo, and have not yet made their +appearance; whether killed or lost, we cannot tell. + + +I find the above in my notebook, and well remember the council held on +the occasion. Our fire was the scene of it; or the palpable superiority +of Henry Chatillon’s experience and skill made him the resort of the +whole camp upon every question of difficulty. He was molding bullets +at the fire, when the captain drew near, with a perturbed and care-worn +expression of countenance, faithfully reflected on the heavy features +of Jack, who followed close behind. Then emigrants came straggling from +their wagons toward the common center; various suggestions were made to +account for the absence of the four men, and one or two of the emigrants +declared that when out after the cattle they had seen Indians dogging +them, and crawling like wolves along the ridges of the hills. At this +time the captain slowly shook his head with double gravity, and solemnly +remarked: + +“It’s a serious thing to be traveling through this cursed wilderness”; +an opinion in which Jack immediately expressed a thorough coincidence. +Henry would not commit himself by declaring any positive opinion. + +“Maybe he only follow the buffalo too far; maybe Indian kill him; maybe +he got lost; I cannot tell!” + +With this the auditors were obliged to rest content; the emigrants, not +in the least alarmed, though curious to know what had become of their +comrades, walked back to their wagons and the captain betook himself +pensively to his tent. Shaw and I followed his example. + +“It will be a bad thing for our plans,” said he as we entered, “if these +fellows don’t get back safe. The captain is as helpless on the prairie +as a child. We shall have to take him and his brother in tow; they will +hang on us like lead.” + +“The prairie is a strange place,” said I. “A month ago I should have +thought it rather a startling affair to have an acquaintance ride out in +the morning and lose his scalp before night, but here it seems the most +natural thing in the world; not that I believe that R. has lost his +yet.” + +If a man is constitutionally liable to nervous apprehensions, a tour on +the distant prairies would prove the best prescription; for though when +in the neighborhood of the Rocky Mountains he may at times find himself +placed in circumstances of some danger, I believe that few ever breathe +that reckless atmosphere without becoming almost indifferent to any evil +chance that may befall themselves or their friends. + +Shaw had a propensity for luxurious indulgence. He spread his blanket +with the utmost accuracy on the ground, picked up the sticks and stones +that he thought might interfere with his comfort, adjusted his saddle to +serve as a pillow, and composed himself for his night’s rest. I had the +first guard that evening; so, taking my rifle, I went out of the tent. +It was perfectly dark. A brisk wind blew down from the hills, and +the sparks from the fire were streaming over the prairie. One of the +emigrants, named Morton, was my companion; and laying our rifles on the +grass, we sat down together by the fire. Morton was a Kentuckian, an +athletic fellow, with a fine intelligent face, and in his manners and +conversation he showed the essential characteristics of a gentleman. +Our conversation turned on the pioneers of his gallant native State. The +three hours of our watch dragged away at last, and we went to call up +the relief. + +R.’s guard succeeded mine. He was absent; but the captain, anxious lest +the camp should be left defenseless, had volunteered to stand in his +place; so I went to wake him up. There was no occasion for it, for the +captain had been awake since nightfall. A fire was blazing outside of +the tent, and by the light which struck through the canvas, I saw him +and Jack lying on their backs, with their eyes wide open. The captain +responded instantly to my call; he jumped up, seized the double-barreled +rifle, and came out of the tent with an air of solemn determination, as +if about to devote himself to the safety of the party. I went and lay +down, not doubting that for the next three hours our slumbers would be +guarded with sufficient vigilance. + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +TAKING FRENCH LEAVE + + +On the 8th of June, at eleven o’clock, we reached the South Fork of the +Platte, at the usual fording place. For league upon league the desert +uniformity of the prospect was almost unbroken; the hills were dotted +with little tufts of shriveled grass, but betwixt these the white sand +was glaring in the sun; and the channel of the river, almost on a level +with the plain, was but one great sand-bed, about half a mile wide. It +was covered with water, but so scantily that the bottom was scarcely +hidden; for, wide as it is, the average depth of the Platte does not at +this point exceed a foot and a half. Stopping near its bank, we gathered +bois de vache, and made a meal of buffalo meat. Far off, on the other +side, was a green meadow, where we could see the white tents and wagons +of an emigrant camp; and just opposite to us we could discern a group of +men and animals at the water’s edge. Four or five horsemen soon entered +the river, and in ten minutes had waded across and clambered up the +loose sand-bank. They were ill-looking fellows, thin and swarthy, with +care-worn, anxious faces and lips rigidly compressed. They had good +cause for anxiety; it was three days since they first encamped here, and +on the night of their arrival they had lost 123 of their best cattle, +driven off by the wolves, through the neglect of the man on guard. This +discouraging and alarming calamity was not the first that had overtaken +them. Since leaving the settlements, they had met with nothing but +misfortune. Some of their party had died; one man had been killed by the +Pawnees; and about a week before, they had been plundered by the Dakotas +of all their best horses, the wretched animals on which our visitors +were mounted being the only ones that were left. They had encamped, they +told us, near sunset, by the side of the Platte, and their oxen were +scattered over the meadow, while the band of horses were feeding a +little farther off. Suddenly the ridges of the hills were alive with a +swarm of mounted Indians, at least six hundred in number, who, with a +tremendous yell, came pouring down toward the camp, rushing up within a +few rods, to the great terror of the emigrants; but suddenly wheeling, +they swept around the band of horses, and in five minutes had +disappeared with their prey through the openings of the hills. + +As these emigrants were telling their story, we saw four other +men approaching. They proved to be R. and his companions, who had +encountered no mischance of any kind, but had only wandered too far +in pursuit of the game. They said they had seen no Indians, but only +“millions of buffalo”; and both R. and Sorel had meat dangling behind +their saddles. + +The emigrants re-crossed the river, and we prepared to follow. First +the heavy ox-wagons plunged down the bank, and dragged slowly over the +sand-beds; sometimes the hoofs of the oxen were scarcely wetted by the +thin sheet of water; and the next moment the river would be boiling +against their sides, and eddying fiercely around the wheels. Inch by +inch they receded from the shore, dwindling every moment, until at +length they seemed to be floating far in the very middle of the river. +A more critical experiment awaited us; for our little mule-cart was +but ill-fitted for the passage of so swift a stream. We watched it with +anxiety till it seemed to be a little motionless white speck in the +midst of the waters; and it WAS motionless, for it had stuck fast in a +quicksand. The little mules were losing their footing, the wheels were +sinking deeper and deeper, and the water began to rise through the +bottom and drench the goods within. All of us who had remained on the +hither bank galloped to the rescue; the men jumped into the water, +adding their strength to that of the mules, until by much effort the +cart was extricated, and conveyed in safety across. + +As we gained the other bank, a rough group of men surrounded us. They +were not robust, nor large of frame, yet they had an aspect of hardy +endurance. Finding at home no scope for their fiery energies, they had +betaken themselves to the prairie; and in them seemed to be revived, +with redoubled force, that fierce spirit which impelled their ancestors, +scarce more lawless than themselves, from the German forests, to +inundate Europe and break to pieces the Roman empire. A fortnight +afterward this unfortunate party passed Fort Laramie, while we were +there. Not one of their missing oxen had been recovered, though they had +remained encamped a week in search of them; and they had been compelled +to abandon a great part of their baggage and provisions, and yoke cows +and heifers to their wagons to carry them forward upon their journey, +the most toilsome and hazardous part of which lay still before them. + +It is worth noticing that on the Platte one may sometimes see the +shattered wrecks of ancient claw-footed tables, well waxed and rubbed, +or massive bureaus of carved oak. These, many of them no doubt +the relics of ancestral prosperity in the colonial time, must have +encountered strange vicissitudes. Imported, perhaps, originally from +England; then, with the declining fortunes of their owners, borne across +the Alleghenies to the remote wilderness of Ohio or Kentucky; then to +Illinois or Missouri; and now at last fondly stowed away in the family +wagon for the interminable journey to Oregon. But the stern privations +of the way are little anticipated. The cherished relic is soon flung out +to scorch and crack upon the hot prairie. + +We resumed our journey; but we had gone scarcely a mile, when R. called +out from the rear: + +“We’ll camp here.” + +“Why do you want to camp? Look at the sun. It is not three o’clock yet.” + +“We’ll camp here!” + +This was the only reply vouchsafed. Delorier was in advance with his +cart. Seeing the mule-wagon wheeling from the track, he began to turn +his own team in the same direction. + +“Go on, Delorier,” and the little cart advanced again. As we rode on, we +soon heard the wagon of our confederates creaking and jolting on behind +us, and the driver, Wright, discharging a furious volley of oaths +against his mules; no doubt venting upon them the wrath which he dared +not direct against a more appropriate object. + +Something of this sort had frequently occurred. Our English friend was +by no means partial to us, and we thought we discovered in his conduct a +deliberate intention to thwart and annoy us, especially by retarding +the movements of the party, which he knew that we, being Yankees, were +anxious to quicken. Therefore, he would insist on encamping at all +unseasonable hours, saying that fifteen miles was a sufficient day’s +journey. Finding our wishes systematically disregarded, we took the +direction of affairs into our own hands. Keeping always in advance, to +the inexpressible indignation of R., we encamped at what time and place +we thought proper, not much caring whether the rest chose to follow or +not. They always did so, however, pitching their tents near ours, with +sullen and wrathful countenances. + +Traveling together on these agreeable terms did not suit our tastes; for +some time we had meditated a separation. The connection with this party +had cost us various delays and inconveniences; and the glaring want +of courtesy and good sense displayed by their virtual leader did not +dispose us to bear these annoyances with much patience. We resolved to +leave camp early in the morning, and push forward as rapidly as possible +for Fort Laramie, which we hoped to reach, by hard traveling, in four or +five days. The captain soon trotted up between us, and we explained our +intentions. + +“A very extraordinary proceeding, upon my word!” he remarked. Then he +began to enlarge upon the enormity of the design. The most prominent +impression in his mind evidently was that we were acting a base and +treacherous part in deserting his party, in what he considered a very +dangerous stage of the journey. To palliate the atrocity of our conduct, +we ventured to suggest that we were only four in number while his party +still included sixteen men; and as, moreover, we were to go forward +and they were to follow, at least a full proportion of the perils he +apprehended would fall upon us. But the austerity of the captain’s +features would not relax. “A very extraordinary proceeding, gentlemen!” + and repeating this, he rode off to confer with his principal. + +By good luck, we found a meadow of fresh grass, and a large pool of +rain-water in the midst of it. We encamped here at sunset. Plenty of +buffalo skulls were lying around, bleaching in the sun; and sprinkled +thickly among the grass was a great variety of strange flowers. I had +nothing else to do, and so gathering a handful, I sat down on a buffalo +skull to study them. Although the offspring of a wilderness, their +texture was frail and delicate, and their colors extremely rich; pure +white, dark blue, and a transparent crimson. One traveling in this +country seldom has leisure to think of anything but the stern features +of the scenery and its accompaniments, or the practical details of each +day’s journey. Like them, he and his thoughts grow hard and rough. But +now these flowers suddenly awakened a train of associations as alien to +the rude scene around me as they were themselves; and for the moment my +thoughts went back to New England. A throng of fair and well-remembered +faces rose, vividly as life, before me. “There are good things,” thought +I, “in the savage life, but what can it offer to replace those powerful +and ennobling influences that can reach unimpaired over more than three +thousand miles of mountains, forests and deserts?” + +Before sunrise on the next morning our tent was down; we harnessed our +best horses to the cart and left the camp. But first we shook hands +with our friends the emigrants, who sincerely wished us a safe journey, +though some others of the party might easily have been consoled had we +encountered an Indian war party on the way. The captain and his brother +were standing on the top of a hill, wrapped in their plaids, like +spirits of the mist, keeping an anxious eye on the band of horses below. +We waved adieu to them as we rode off the ground. The captain replied +with a salutation of the utmost dignity, which Jack tried to imitate; +but being little practiced in the gestures of polite society, his effort +was not a very successful one. + +In five minutes we had gained the foot of the hills, but here we came to +a stop. Old Hendrick was in the shafts, and being the very incarnation +of perverse and brutish obstinacy, he utterly refused to move. Delorier +lashed and swore till he was tired, but Hendrick stood like a rock, +grumbling to himself and looking askance at his enemy, until he saw a +favorable opportunity to take his revenge, when he struck out under the +shaft with such cool malignity of intention that Delorier only escaped +the blow by a sudden skip into the air, such as no one but a Frenchman +could achieve. Shaw and he then joined forces, and lashed on both sides +at once. The brute stood still for a while till he could bear it no +longer, when all at once he began to kick and plunge till he threatened +the utter demolition of the cart and harness. We glanced back at the +camp, which was in full sight. Our companions, inspired by emulation, +were leveling their tents and driving in their cattle and horses. + +“Take the horse out,” said I. + +I took the saddle from Pontiac and put it upon Hendrick; the former +was harnessed to the cart in an instant. “Avance donc!” cried Delorier. +Pontiac strode up the hill, twitching the little cart after him as if +it were a feather’s weight; and though, as we gained the top, we saw the +wagons of our deserted comrades just getting into motion, we had little +fear that they could overtake us. Leaving the trail, we struck directly +across the country, and took the shortest cut to reach the main stream +of the Platte. A deep ravine suddenly intercepted us. We skirted its +sides until we found them less abrupt, and then plunged through the best +way we could. Passing behind the sandy ravines called “Ash Hollow,” we +stopped for a short nooning at the side of a pool of rain-water; but +soon resumed our journey, and some hours before sunset were descending +the ravines and gorges opening downward upon the Platte to the west of +Ash Hollow. Our horses waded to the fetlock in sand; the sun scorched +like fire, and the air swarmed with sand-flies and mosquitoes. + +At last we gained the Platte. Following it for about five miles, we saw, +just as the sun was sinking, a great meadow, dotted with hundreds of +cattle, and beyond them an emigrant encampment. A party of about a dozen +came out to meet us, looking upon us at first with cold and suspicious +faces. Seeing four men, different in appearance and equipment from +themselves, emerging from the hills, they had taken us for the van +of the much-dreaded Mormons, whom they were very apprehensive of +encountering. We made known our true character, and then they greeted +us cordially. They expressed much surprise that so small a party should +venture to traverse that region, though in fact such attempts are not +unfrequently made by trappers and Indian traders. We rode with them to +their camp. The wagons, some fifty in number, with here and there a tent +intervening, were arranged as usual in a circle; in the area within the +best horses were picketed, and the whole circumference was glowing with +the dusky light of the fires, displaying the forms of the women and +children who were crowded around them. This patriarchal scene was +curious and striking enough; but we made our escape from the place with +all possible dispatch, being tormented by the intrusive curiosity of the +men who crowded around us. Yankee curiosity was nothing to theirs. They +demanded our names, where we came from, where we were going, and what +was our business. The last query was particularly embarrassing; since +traveling in that country, or indeed anywhere, from any other motive +than gain, was an idea of which they took no cognizance. Yet they were +fine-looking fellows, with an air of frankness, generosity, and even +courtesy, having come from one of the least barbarous of the frontier +counties. + +We passed about a mile beyond them, and encamped. Being too few in +number to stand guard without excessive fatigue, we extinguished our +fire, lest it should attract the notice of wandering Indians; and +picketing our horses close around us, slept undisturbed till morning. +For three days we traveled without interruption, and on the evening of +the third encamped by the well-known spring on Scott’s Bluff. + +Henry Chatillon and I rode out in the morning, and descending the +western side of the Bluff, were crossing the plain beyond. Something +that seemed to me a file of buffalo came into view, descending the +hills several miles before us. But Henry reined in his horse, and keenly +peering across the prairie with a better and more practiced eye, soon +discovered its real nature. “Indians!” he said. “Old Smoke’s lodges, I +b’lieve. Come! let us go! Wah! get up, now, Five Hundred Dollar!” And +laying on the lash with good will, he galloped forward, and I rode by +his side. Not long after, a black speck became visible on the prairie, +full two miles off. It grew larger and larger; it assumed the form of +a man and horse; and soon we could discern a naked Indian, careering at +full gallop toward us. When within a furlong he wheeled his horse in +a wide circle, and made him describe various mystic figures upon the +prairie; and Henry immediately compelled Five Hundred Dollar to execute +similar evolutions. “It IS Old Smoke’s village,” said he, interpreting +these signals; “didn’t I say so?” + +As the Indian approached we stopped to wait for him, when suddenly he +vanished, sinking, as it were, into the earth. He had come upon one of +the deep ravines that everywhere intersect these prairies. In an instant +the rough head of his horse stretched upward from the edge and the rider +and steed came scrambling out, and bounded up to us; a sudden jerk of +the rein brought the wild panting horse to a full stop. Then followed +the needful formality of shaking hands. I forget our visitor’s name. +He was a young fellow, of no note in his nation; yet in his person and +equipments he was a good specimen of a Dakota warrior in his ordinary +traveling dress. Like most of his people, he was nearly six feet high; +lithely and gracefully, yet strongly proportioned; and with a skin +singularly clear and delicate. He wore no paint; his head was bare; and +his long hair was gathered in a clump behind, to the top of which was +attached transversely, both by way of ornament and of talisman, the +mystic whistle, made of the wingbone of the war eagle, and endowed with +various magic virtues. From the back of his head descended a line of +glittering brass plates, tapering from the size of a doubloon to that of +a half-dime, a cumbrous ornament, in high vogue among the Dakotas, and +for which they pay the traders a most extravagant price; his chest and +arms were naked, the buffalo robe, worn over them when at rest, had +fallen about his waist, and was confined there by a belt. This, with the +gay moccasins on his feet, completed his attire. For arms he carried a +quiver of dogskin at his back, and a rude but powerful bow in his hand. +His horse had no bridle; a cord of hair, lashed around his jaw, served +in place of one. The saddle was of most singular construction; it was +made of wood covered with raw hide, and both pommel and cantle rose +perpendicularly full eighteen inches, so that the warrior was wedged +firmly in his seat, whence nothing could dislodge him but the bursting +of the girths. + +Advancing with our new companion, we found more of his people seated in +a circle on the top of a hill; while a rude procession came straggling +down the neighboring hollow, men, women, and children, with horses +dragging the lodge-poles behind them. All that morning, as we moved +forward, tall savages were stalking silently about us. At noon we +reached Horse Creek; and as we waded through the shallow water, we saw a +wild and striking scene. The main body of the Indians had arrived before +us. On the farther bank stood a large and strong man, nearly naked, +holding a white horse by a long cord, and eyeing us as we approached. +This was the chief, whom Henry called “Old Smoke.” Just behind him his +youngest and favorite squaw sat astride of a fine mule; it was covered +with caparisons of whitened skins, garnished with blue and white beads, +and fringed with little ornaments of metal that tinkled with every +movement of the animal. The girl had a light clear complexion, enlivened +by a spot of vermilion on each cheek; she smiled, not to say grinned, +upon us, showing two gleaming rows of white teeth. In her hand, she +carried the tall lance of her unchivalrous lord, fluttering with +feathers; his round white shield hung at the side of her mule; and his +pipe was slung at her back. Her dress was a tunic of deerskin, made +beautifully white by means of a species of clay found on the prairie, +and ornamented with beads, arrayed in figures more gay than tasteful, +and with long fringes at all the seams. Not far from the chief stood a +group of stately figures, their white buffalo robes thrown over their +shoulders, gazing coldly upon us; and in the rear, for several acres, +the ground was covered with a temporary encampment; men, women, and +children swarmed like bees; hundreds of dogs, of all sizes and colors, +ran restlessly about; and, close at hand, the wide shallow stream was +alive with boys, girls, and young squaws, splashing, screaming, and +laughing in the water. At the same time a long train of emigrant +wagons were crossing the creek, and dragging on in their slow, heavy +procession, passed the encampment of the people whom they and their +descendants, in the space of a century, are to sweep from the face of +the earth. + +The encampment itself was merely a temporary one during the heat of the +day. None of the lodges were erected; but their heavy leather coverings, +and the long poles used to support them, were scattered everywhere +around, among weapons, domestic utensils, and the rude harness of mules +and horses. The squaws of each lazy warrior had made him a shelter +from the sun, by stretching a few buffalo robes, or the corner of a +lodge-covering upon poles; and here he sat in the shade, with a favorite +young squaw, perhaps, at his side, glittering with all imaginable +trinkets. Before him stood the insignia of his rank as a warrior, his +white shield of bull-hide, his medicine bag, his bow and quiver, his +lance and his pipe, raised aloft on a tripod of three poles. Except the +dogs, the most active and noisy tenants of the camp were the old women, +ugly as Macbeth’s witches, with their hair streaming loose in the wind, +and nothing but the tattered fragment of an old buffalo robe to hide +their shriveled wiry limbs. The day of their favoritism passed two +generations ago; now the heaviest labors of the camp devolved upon them; +they were to harness the horses, pitch the lodges, dress the buffalo +robes, and bring in meat for the hunters. With the cracked voices of +these hags, the clamor of dogs, the shouting and laughing of children +and girls, and the listless tranquillity of the warriors, the whole +scene had an effect too lively and picturesque ever to be forgotten. + +We stopped not far from the Indian camp, and having invited some of the +chiefs and warriors to dinner, placed before them a sumptuous repast of +biscuit and coffee. Squatted in a half circle on the ground, they soon +disposed of it. As we rode forward on the afternoon journey, several of +our late guests accompanied us. Among the rest was a huge bloated savage +of more than three hundred pounds’ weight, christened La Cochon, in +consideration of his preposterous dimensions and certain corresponding +traits of his character. “The Hog” bestrode a little white pony, scarce +able to bear up under the enormous burden, though, by way of keeping +up the necessary stimulus, the rider kept both feet in constant motion, +playing alternately against his ribs. The old man was not a chief; he +never had ambition enough to become one; he was not a warrior nor a +hunter, for he was too fat and lazy: but he was the richest man in the +whole village. Riches among the Dakotas consist in horses, and of these +The Hog had accumulated more than thirty. He had already ten times as +many as he wanted, yet still his appetite for horses was insatiable. +Trotting up to me he shook me by the hand, and gave me to understand +that he was a very devoted friend; and then he began a series of most +earnest signs and gesticulations, his oily countenance radiant with +smiles, and his little eyes peeping out with a cunning twinkle from +between the masses of flesh that almost obscured them. Knowing nothing +at that time of the sign language of the Indians, I could only guess at +his meaning. So I called on Henry to explain it. + +The Hog, it seems, was anxious to conclude a matrimonial bargain. He +said he had a very pretty daughter in his lodge, whom he would give +me, if I would give him my horse. These flattering overtures I chose to +reject; at which The Hog, still laughing with undiminished good humor, +gathered his robe about his shoulders, and rode away. + +Where we encamped that night, an arm of the Platte ran between high +bluffs; it was turbid and swift as heretofore, but trees were growing on +its crumbling banks, and there was a nook of grass between the water +and the hill. Just before entering this place, we saw the emigrants +encamping at two or three miles’ distance on the right; while the whole +Indian rabble were pouring down the neighboring hill in hope of the same +sort of entertainment which they had experienced from us. In the savage +landscape before our camp, nothing but the rushing of the Platte broke +the silence. Through the ragged boughs of the trees, dilapidated and +half dead, we saw the sun setting in crimson behind the peaks of the +Black Hills; the restless bosom of the river was suffused with red; our +white tent was tinged with it, and the sterile bluffs, up to the rocks +that crowned them, partook of the same fiery hue. It soon passed away; +no light remained, but that from our fire, blazing high among the dusky +trees and bushes. We lay around it wrapped in our blankets, smoking and +conversing until a late hour, and then withdrew to our tent. + +We crossed a sun-scorched plain on the next morning; the line of old +cotton-wood trees that fringed the bank of the Platte forming its +extreme verge. Nestled apparently close beneath them, we could discern +in the distance something like a building. As we came nearer, it assumed +form and dimensions, and proved to be a rough structure of logs. It was +a little trading fort, belonging to two private traders; and originally +intended, like all the forts of the country, to form a hollow square, +with rooms for lodging and storage opening upon the area within. Only +two sides of it had been completed; the place was now as ill-fitted for +the purposes of defense as any of those little log-houses, which +upon our constantly shifting frontier have been so often successfully +maintained against overwhelming odds of Indians. Two lodges were pitched +close to the fort; the sun beat scorching upon the logs; no living thing +was stirring except one old squaw, who thrust her round head from the +opening of the nearest lodge, and three or four stout young pups, who +were peeping with looks of eager inquiry from under the covering. In a +moment a door opened, and a little, swarthy black-eyed Frenchman came +out. His dress was rather singular; his black curling hair was parted +in the middle of his head, and fell below his shoulders; he wore a tight +frock of smoked deerskin, very gayly ornamented with figures worked +in dyed porcupine quills. His moccasins and leggings were also gaudily +adorned in the same manner; and the latter had in addition a line of +long fringes, reaching down the seams. The small frame of Richard, +for by this name Henry made him known to us, was in the highest degree +athletic and vigorous. There was no superfluity, and indeed there +seldom is among the active white men of this country, but every limb was +compact and hard; every sinew had its full tone and elasticity, and the +whole man wore an air of mingled hardihood and buoyancy. + +Richard committed our horses to a Navahoe slave, a mean looking fellow +taken prisoner on the Mexican frontier; and, relieving us of our rifles +with ready politeness, led the way into the principal apartment of his +establishment. This was a room ten feet square. The walls and floor were +of black mud, and the roof of rough timber; there was a huge fireplace +made of four flat rocks, picked up on the prairie. An Indian bow and +otter-skin quiver, several gaudy articles of Rocky Mountain finery, an +Indian medicine bag, and a pipe and tobacco pouch, garnished the walls, +and rifles rested in a corner. There was no furniture except a sort +of rough settle covered with buffalo robes, upon which lolled a +tall half-breed, with his hair glued in masses upon each temple, +and saturated with vermilion. Two or three more “mountain men” sat +cross-legged on the floor. Their attire was not unlike that of Richard +himself; but the most striking figure of the group was a naked Indian +boy of sixteen, with a handsome face, and light, active proportions, who +sat in an easy posture in the corner near the door. Not one of his limbs +moved the breadth of a hair; his eye was fixed immovably, not on any +person present, but, as it appeared, on the projecting corner of the +fireplace opposite to him. + +On these prairies the custom of smoking with friends is seldom omitted, +whether among Indians or whites. The pipe, therefore, was taken from the +wall, and its great red bowl crammed with the tobacco and shongsasha, +mixed in suitable proportions. Then it passed round the circle, each man +inhaling a few whiffs and handing it to his neighbor. Having spent half +an hour here, we took our leave; first inviting our new friends to drink +a cup of coffee with us at our camp, a mile farther up the river. By +this time, as the reader may conceive, we had grown rather shabby; our +clothes had burst into rags and tatters; and what was worse, we had very +little means of renovation. Fort Laramie was but seven miles before us. +Being totally averse to appearing in such plight among any society that +could boast an approximation to the civilized, we soon stopped by the +river to make our toilet in the best way we could. We hung up small +looking-glasses against the trees and shaved, an operation neglected for +six weeks; we performed our ablutions in the Platte, though the utility +of such a proceeding was questionable, the water looking exactly like +a cup of chocolate, and the banks consisting of the softest and richest +yellow mud, so that we were obliged, as a preliminary, to build a +cause-way of stout branches and twigs. Having also put on radiant +moccasins, procured from a squaw of Richard’s establishment, and made +what other improvements our narrow circumstances allowed, we took our +seats on the grass with a feeling of greatly increased respectability, +to wait the arrival of our guests. They came; the banquet was concluded, +and the pipe smoked. Bidding them adieu, we turned our horses’ heads +toward the fort. + +An hour elapsed. The barren hills closed across our front, and we could +see no farther; until having surmounted them, a rapid stream appeared +at the foot of the descent, running into the Platte; beyond was a green +meadow, dotted with bushes, and in the midst of these, at the point +where the two rivers joined, were the low clay walls of a fort. This +was not Fort Laramie, but another post of less recent date, which having +sunk before its successful competitor was now deserted and ruinous. A +moment after the hills, seeming to draw apart as we advanced, disclosed +Fort Laramie itself, its high bastions and perpendicular walls of +clay crowning an eminence on the left beyond the stream, while behind +stretched a line of arid and desolate ridges, and behind these again, +towering aloft seven thousand feet, arose the grim Black Hills. + +We tried to ford Laramie Creek at a point nearly opposite the fort, but +the stream, swollen with the rains in the mountains, was too rapid. We +passed up along its bank to find a better crossing place. Men gathered +on the wall to look at us. “There’s Bordeaux!” called Henry, his face +brightening as he recognized his acquaintance; “him there with the +spyglass; and there’s old Vaskiss, and Tucker, and May; and, by George! +there’s Cimoneau!” This Cimoneau was Henry’s fast friend, and the only +man in the country who could rival him in hunting. + +We soon found a ford. Henry led the way, the pony approaching the bank +with a countenance of cool indifference, bracing his feet and sliding +into the stream with the most unmoved composure. + + At the first plunge the horse sunk low, + And the water broke o’er the saddle-bow + +We followed; the water boiled against our saddles, but our horses bore +us easily through. The unfortunate little mules came near going down +with the current, cart and all; and we watched them with some solicitude +scrambling over the loose round stones at the bottom, and bracing +stoutly against the stream. All landed safely at last; we crossed a +little plain, descended a hollow, and riding up a steep bank found +ourselves before the gateway of Fort Laramie, under the impending +blockhouse erected above it to defend the entrance. + + + +CHAPTER IX + +SCENES AT FORT LARAMIE + + +Looking back, after the expiration of a year, upon Fort Laramie and its +inmates, they seem less like a reality than like some fanciful picture +of the olden time; so different was the scene from any which this tamer +side of the world can present. Tall Indians, enveloped in their white +buffalo robes, were striding across the area or reclining at full length +on the low roofs of the buildings which inclosed it. Numerous squaws, +gayly bedizened, sat grouped in front of the apartments they occupied; +their mongrel offspring, restless and vociferous, rambled in every +direction through the fort; and the trappers, traders, and ENGAGES of +the establishment were busy at their labor or their amusements. + +We were met at the gate, but by no means cordially welcomed. Indeed, +we seemed objects of some distrust and suspicion until Henry Chatillon +explained that we were not traders, and we, in confirmation, handed to +the bourgeois a letter of introduction from his principals. He took +it, turned it upside down, and tried hard to read it; but his literary +attainments not being adequate to the task, he applied for relief to +the clerk, a sleek, smiling Frenchman, named Montalon. The letter read, +Bordeaux (the bourgeois) seemed gradually to awaken to a sense of what +was expected of him. Though not deficient in hospitable intentions, he +was wholly unaccustomed to act as master of ceremonies. Discarding all +formalities of reception, he did not honor us with a single word, but +walked swiftly across the area, while we followed in some admiration to +a railing and a flight of steps opposite the entrance. He signed to us +that we had better fasten our horses to the railing; then he walked +up the steps, tramped along a rude balcony, and kicking open a door +displayed a large room, rather more elaborately finished than a barn. +For furniture it had a rough bedstead, but no bed; two chairs, a chest +of drawers, a tin pail to hold water, and a board to cut tobacco upon. A +brass crucifix hung on the wall, and close at hand a recent scalp, with +hair full a yard long, was suspended from a nail. I shall again have +occasion to mention this dismal trophy, its history being connected with +that of our subsequent proceedings. + +This apartment, the best in Fort Laramie, was that usually occupied by +the legitimate bourgeois, Papin; in whose absence the command devolved +upon Bordeaux. The latter, a stout, bluff little fellow, much inflated +by a sense of his new authority, began to roar for buffalo robes. These +being brought and spread upon the floor formed our beds; much better +ones than we had of late been accustomed to. Our arrangements made, we +stepped out to the balcony to take a more leisurely survey of the long +looked-for haven at which we had arrived at last. Beneath us was the +square area surrounded by little rooms, or rather cells, which opened +upon it. These were devoted to various purposes, but served chiefly for +the accommodation of the men employed at the fort, or of the equally +numerous squaws, whom they were allowed to maintain in it. Opposite to +us rose the blockhouse above the gateway; it was adorned with a figure +which even now haunts my memory; a horse at full speed, daubed upon +the boards with red paint, and exhibiting a degree of skill which might +rival that displayed by the Indians in executing similar designs upon +their robes and lodges. A busy scene was enacting in the area. The +wagons of Vaskiss, an old trader, were about to set out for a remote +post in the mountains, and the Canadians were going through their +preparations with all possible bustle, while here and there an Indian +stood looking on with imperturbable gravity. + +Fort Laramie is one of the posts established by the American Fur +Company, who well-nigh monopolize the Indian trade of this whole region. +Here their officials rule with an absolute sway; the arm of the United +States has little force; for when we were there, the extreme outposts +of her troops were about seven hundred miles to the eastward. The little +fort is built of bricks dried in the sun, and externally is of an oblong +form, with bastions of clay, in the form of ordinary blockhouses, at two +of the corners. The walls are about fifteen feet high, and surmounted by +a slender palisade. The roofs of the apartments within, which are built +close against the walls, serve the purpose of a banquette. Within, +the fort is divided by a partition; on one side is the square area +surrounded by the storerooms, offices, and apartments of the inmates; +on the other is the corral, a narrow place, encompassed by the high clay +walls, where at night, or in presence of dangerous Indians, the horses +and mules of the fort are crowded for safe-keeping. The main entrance +has two gates, with an arched passage intervening. A little square +window, quite high above the ground, opens laterally from an adjoining +chamber into this passage; so that when the inner gate is closed and +barred, a person without may still hold communication with those within +through this narrow aperture. This obviates the necessity of admitting +suspicious Indians, for purposes of trading, into the body of the fort; +for when danger is apprehended, the inner gate is shut fast, and all +traffic is carried on by means of the little window. This precaution, +though highly necessary at some of the company’s posts, is now seldom +resorted to at Fort Laramie; where, though men are frequently killed in +its neighborhood, no apprehensions are now entertained of any general +designs of hostility from the Indians. + +We did not long enjoy our new quarters undisturbed. The door was +silently pushed open, and two eyeballs and a visage as black as night +looked in upon us; then a red arm and shoulder intruded themselves, and +a tall Indian, gliding in, shook us by the hand, grunted his salutation, +and sat down on the floor. Others followed, with faces of the natural +hue; and letting fall their heavy robes from their shoulders, they took +their seats, quite at ease, in a semicircle before us. The pipe was now +to be lighted and passed round from one to another; and this was the +only entertainment that at present they expected from us. These visitors +were fathers, brothers, or other relatives of the squaws in the +fort, where they were permitted to remain, loitering about in perfect +idleness. All those who smoked with us were men of standing and repute. +Two or three others dropped in also; young fellows who neither by their +years nor their exploits were entitled to rank with the old men and +warriors, and who, abashed in the presence of their superiors, stood +aloof, never withdrawing their eyes from us. Their cheeks were adorned +with vermilion, their ears with pendants of shell, and their necks with +beads. Never yet having signalized themselves as hunters, or performed +the honorable exploit of killing a man, they were held in slight +esteem, and were diffident and bashful in proportion. Certain formidable +inconveniences attended this influx of visitors. They were bent on +inspecting everything in the room; our equipments and our dress alike +underwent their scrutiny; for though the contrary has been carelessly +asserted, few beings have more curiosity than Indians in regard to +subjects within their ordinary range of thought. As to other matters, +indeed, they seemed utterly indifferent. They will not trouble +themselves to inquire into what they cannot comprehend, but are quite +contented to place their hands over their mouths in token of wonder, and +exclaim that it is “great medicine.” With this comprehensive solution, +an Indian never is at a loss. He never launches forth into speculation +and conjecture; his reason moves in its beaten track. His soul is +dormant; and no exertions of the missionaries, Jesuit or Puritan, of the +Old World or of the New, have as yet availed to rouse it. + +As we were looking, at sunset, from the wall, upon the wild and desolate +plains that surround the fort, we observed a cluster of strange objects +like scaffolds rising in the distance against the red western sky. They +bore aloft some singular looking burdens; and at their foot glimmered +something white like bones. This was the place of sepulture of some +Dakota chiefs, whose remains their people are fond of placing in the +vicinity of the fort, in the hope that they may thus be protected from +violation at the hands of their enemies. Yet it has happened more than +once, and quite recently, that war parties of the Crow Indians, ranging +through the country, have thrown the bodies from the scaffolds, and +broken them to pieces amid the yells of the Dakotas, who remained pent +up in the fort, too few to defend the honored relics from insult. The +white objects upon the ground were buffalo skulls, arranged in the +mystic circle commonly seen at Indian places of sepulture upon the +prairie. + +We soon discovered, in the twilight, a band of fifty or sixty +horses approaching the fort. These were the animals belonging to the +establishment; who having been sent out to feed, under the care of armed +guards, in the meadows below, were now being driven into the corral for +the night. A little gate opened into this inclosure; by the side of it +stood one of the guards, an old Canadian, with gray bushy eyebrows, +and a dragoon pistol stuck into his belt; while his comrade, mounted +on horseback, his rifle laid across the saddle in front of him, and +his long hair blowing before his swarthy face, rode at the rear of the +disorderly troop, urging them up the ascent. In a moment the narrow +corral was thronged with the half-wild horses, kicking, biting, and +crowding restlessly together. + +The discordant jingling of a bell, rung by a Canadian in the area, +summoned us to supper. This sumptuous repast was served on a rough table +in one of the lower apartments of the fort, and consisted of cakes of +bread and dried buffalo meat--an excellent thing for strengthening the +teeth. At this meal were seated the bourgeois and superior dignitaries +of the establishment, among whom Henry Chatillon was worthily included. +No sooner was it finished, than the table was spread a second time (the +luxury of bread being now, however, omitted), for the benefit of +certain hunters and trappers of an inferior standing; while the ordinary +Canadian ENGAGES were regaled on dried meat in one of their lodging +rooms. By way of illustrating the domestic economy of Fort Laramie, it +may not be amiss to introduce in this place a story current among the +men when we were there. + +There was an old man named Pierre, whose duty it was to bring the meat +from the storeroom for the men. Old Pierre, in the kindness of +his heart, used to select the fattest and the best pieces for his +companions. This did not long escape the keen-eyed bourgeois, who was +greatly disturbed at such improvidence, and cast about for some means to +stop it. At last he hit on a plan that exactly suited him. At the side +of the meat-room, and separated from it by a clay partition, was another +compartment, used for the storage of furs. It had no other communication +with the fort, except through a square hole in the partition; and of +course it was perfectly dark. One evening the bourgeois, watching for +a moment when no one observed him, dodged into the meat-room, clambered +through the hole, and ensconced himself among the furs and buffalo +robes. Soon after, old Pierre came in with his lantern; and, muttering +to himself, began to pull over the bales of meat, and select the best +pieces, as usual. But suddenly a hollow and sepulchral voice proceeded +from the inner apartment: “Pierre! Pierre! Let that fat meat alone! Take +nothing but lean!” Pierre dropped his lantern, and bolted out into +the fort, screaming, in an agony of terror, that the devil was in the +storeroom; but tripping on the threshold, he pitched over upon the +gravel, and lay senseless, stunned by the fall. The Canadians ran out +to the rescue. Some lifted the unlucky Pierre; and others, making an +extempore crucifix out of two sticks, were proceeding to attack the +devil in his stronghold, when the bourgeois, with a crest-fallen +countenance, appeared at the door. To add to the bourgeois’ +mortification, he was obliged to explain the whole stratagem to Pierre, +in order to bring the latter to his senses. + +We were sitting, on the following morning, in the passage-way between +the gates, conversing with the traders Vaskiss and May. These two men, +together with our sleek friend, the clerk Montalon, were, I believe, the +only persons then in the fort who could read and write. May was telling +a curious story about the traveler Catlin, when an ugly, diminutive +Indian, wretchedly mounted, came up at a gallop, and rode past us into +the fort. On being questioned, he said that Smoke’s village was close at +hand. Accordingly only a few minutes elapsed before the hills beyond the +river were covered with a disorderly swarm of savages, on horseback and +on foot. May finished his story; and by that time the whole array had +descended to Laramie Creek, and commenced crossing it in a mass. I +walked down to the bank. The stream is wide, and was then between three +and four feet deep, with a very swift current. For several rods the +water was alive with dogs, horses, and Indians. The long poles used in +erecting the lodges are carried by the horses, being fastened by the +heavier end, two or three on each side, to a rude sort of pack saddle, +while the other end drags on the ground. About a foot behind the horse, +a kind of large basket or pannier is suspended between the poles, and +firmly lashed in its place on the back of the horse are piled various +articles of luggage; the basket also is well filled with domestic +utensils, or, quite as often, with a litter of puppies, a brood of small +children, or a superannuated old man. Numbers of these curious vehicles, +called, in the bastard language of the country travaux were now +splashing together through the stream. Among them swam countless dogs, +often burdened with miniature travaux; and dashing forward on horseback +through the throng came the superbly formed warriors, the slender figure +of some lynx-eyed boy, clinging fast behind them. The women sat perched +on the pack saddles, adding not a little to the load of the already +overburdened horses. The confusion was prodigious. The dogs yelled and +howled in chorus; the puppies in the travaux set up a dismal whine +as the water invaded their comfortable retreat; the little black-eyed +children, from one year of age upward, clung fast with both hands to the +edge of their basket, and looked over in alarm at the water rushing so +near them, sputtering and making wry mouths as it splashed against their +faces. Some of the dogs, encumbered by their loads, were carried down by +the current, yelping piteously; and the old squaws would rush into the +water, seize their favorites by the neck, and drag them out. As each +horse gained the bank, he scrambled up as he could. Stray horses and +colts came among the rest, often breaking away at full speed through the +crowd, followed by the old hags, screaming after their fashion on all +occasions of excitement. Buxom young squaws, blooming in all the charms +of vermilion, stood here and there on the bank, holding aloft their +master’s lance, as a signal to collect the scattered portions of his +household. In a few moments the crowd melted away; each family, with its +horses and equipage, filing off to the plain at the rear of the fort; +and here, in the space of half an hour, arose sixty or seventy of +their tapering lodges. Their horses were feeding by hundreds over the +surrounding prairie, and their dogs were roaming everywhere. The fort +was full of men, and the children were whooping and yelling incessantly +under the walls. + +These newcomers were scarcely arrived, when Bordeaux was running across +the fort, shouting to his squaw to bring him his spyglass. The obedient +Marie, the very model of a squaw, produced the instrument, and Bordeaux +hurried with it up to the wall. Pointing it to the eastward, he +exclaimed, with an oath, that the families were coming. But a few +moments elapsed before the heavy caravan of the emigrant wagons could +be seen, steadily advancing from the hills. They gained the river, and +without turning or pausing plunged in; they passed through, and slowly +ascending the opposing bank, kept directly on their way past the fort +and the Indian village, until, gaining a spot a quarter of a mile +distant, they wheeled into a circle. For some time our tranquillity +was undisturbed. The emigrants were preparing their encampment; but +no sooner was this accomplished than Fort Laramie was fairly taken by +storm. A crowd of broad-brimmed hats, thin visages, and staring eyes +appeared suddenly at the gate. Tall awkward men, in brown homespun; +women with cadaverous faces and long lank figures came thronging in +together, and, as if inspired by the very demon of curiosity, ransacked +every nook and corner of the fort. Dismayed at this invasion, we +withdrew in all speed to our chamber, vainly hoping that it might prove +an inviolable sanctuary. The emigrants prosecuted their investigations +with untiring vigor. They penetrated the rooms or rather dens, inhabited +by the astonished squaws. They explored the apartments of the men, and +even that of Marie and the bourgeois. At last a numerous deputation +appeared at our door, but were immediately expelled. Being totally +devoid of any sense of delicacy or propriety, they seemed resolved to +search every mystery to the bottom. + +Having at length satisfied their curiosity, they next proceeded to +business. The men occupied themselves in procuring supplies for their +onward journey; either buying them with money or giving in exchange +superfluous articles of their own. + +The emigrants felt a violent prejudice against the French Indians, +as they called the trappers and traders. They thought, and with some +justice, that these men bore them no good will. Many of them were firmly +persuaded that the French were instigating the Indians to attack and +cut them off. On visiting the encampment we were at once struck with +the extraordinary perplexity and indecision that prevailed among +the emigrants. They seemed like men totally out of their elements; +bewildered and amazed, like a troop of school-boys lost in the woods. It +was impossible to be long among them without being conscious of the high +and bold spirit with which most of them were animated. But the FOREST is +the home of the backwoodsman. On the remote prairie he is totally at a +loss. He differs much from the genuine “mountain man,” the wild prairie +hunter, as a Canadian voyageur, paddling his canoe on the rapids of the +Ottawa, differs from an American sailor among the storms of Cape Horn. +Still my companion and I were somewhat at a loss to account for this +perturbed state of mind. It could not be cowardice; these men were of +the same stock with the volunteers of Monterey and Buena Vista. Yet, for +the most part, they were the rudest and most ignorant of the frontier +population; they knew absolutely nothing of the country and its +inhabitants; they had already experienced much misfortune, and +apprehended more; they had seen nothing of mankind, and had never put +their own resources to the test. + +A full proportion of suspicion fell upon us. Being strangers we were +looked upon as enemies. Having occasion for a supply of lead and a few +other necessary articles, we used to go over to the emigrant camps to +obtain them. After some hesitation, some dubious glances, and fumbling +of the hands in the pockets, the terms would be agreed upon, the +price tendered, and the emigrant would go off to bring the article in +question. After waiting until our patience gave out, we would go in +search of him, and find him seated on the tongue of his wagon. + +“Well, stranger,” he would observe, as he saw us approach, “I reckon I +won’t trade!” + +Some friend of his followed him from the scene of the bargain and +suggested in his ear, that clearly we meant to cheat him, and he had +better have nothing to do with us. + +This timorous mood of the emigrants was doubly unfortunate, as it +exposed them to real danger. Assume, in the presence of Indians a bold +bearing, self-confident yet vigilant, and you will find them tolerably +safe neighbors. But your safety depends on the respect and fear you are +able to inspire. If you betray timidity or indecision, you convert them +from that moment into insidious and dangerous enemies. The Dakotas saw +clearly enough the perturbation of the emigrants and instantly availed +themselves of it. They became extremely insolent and exacting in their +demands. It has become an established custom with them to go to the camp +of every party, as it arrives in succession at the fort, and demand a +feast. Smoke’s village had come with the express design, having made +several days’ journey with no other object than that of enjoying a cup +of coffee and two or three biscuits. So the “feast” was demanded, and +the emigrants dared not refuse it. + +One evening, about sunset, the village was deserted. We met old men, +warriors, squaws, and children in gay attire, trooping off to the +encampment, with faces of anticipation; and, arriving here, they seated +themselves in a semicircle. Smoke occupied the center, with his warriors +on either hand; the young men and boys next succeeded, and the squaws +and children formed the horns of the crescent. The biscuit and coffee +were most promptly dispatched, the emigrants staring open-mouthed at +their savage guests. With each new emigrant party that arrived at Fort +Laramie this scene was renewed; and every day the Indians grew more +rapacious and presumptuous. One evening they broke to pieces, out of +mere wantonness, the cups from which they had been feasted; and this +so exasperated the emigrants that many of them seized their rifles and +could scarcely be restrained from firing on the insolent mob of Indians. +Before we left the country this dangerous spirit on the part of the +Dakota had mounted to a yet higher pitch. They began openly to threaten +the emigrants with destruction, and actually fired upon one or two +parties of whites. A military force and military law are urgently called +for in that perilous region; and unless troops are speedily stationed at +Fort Laramie, or elsewhere in the neighborhood, both the emigrants and +other travelers will be exposed to most imminent risks. + +The Ogallalla, the Brules, and other western bands of the Dakota, are +thorough savages, unchanged by any contact with civilization. Not one +of them can speak a European tongue, or has ever visited an American +settlement. Until within a year or two, when the emigrants began to +pass through their country on the way to Oregon, they had seen no whites +except the handful employed about the Fur Company’s posts. They esteemed +them a wise people, inferior only to themselves, living in leather +lodges, like their own, and subsisting on buffalo. But when the swarm +of MENEASKA, with their oxen and wagons, began to invade them, their +astonishment was unbounded. They could scarcely believe that the earth +contained such a multitude of white men. Their wonder is now giving way +to indignation; and the result, unless vigilantly guarded against, may +be lamentable in the extreme. + +But to glance at the interior of a lodge. Shaw and I used often to +visit them. Indeed, we spent most of our evenings in the Indian village; +Shaw’s assumption of the medical character giving us a fair pretext. As +a sample of the rest I will describe one of these visits. The sun had +just set, and the horses were driven into the corral. The Prairie Cock, +a noted beau, came in at the gate with a bevy of young girls, with whom +he began to dance in the area, leading them round and round in a circle, +while he jerked up from his chest a succession of monotonous sounds, to +which they kept time in a rueful chant. Outside the gate boys and young +men were idly frolicking; and close by, looking grimly upon them, stood +a warrior in his robe, with his face painted jet-black, in token that +he had lately taken a Pawnee scalp. Passing these, the tall dark lodges +rose between us and the red western sky. We repaired at once to the +lodge of Old Smoke himself. It was by no means better than the others; +indeed, it was rather shabby; for in this democratic community, the +chief never assumes superior state. Smoke sat cross-legged on a buffalo +robe, and his grunt of salutation as we entered was unusually cordial, +out of respect no doubt to Shaw’s medical character. Seated around the +lodge were several squaws, and an abundance of children. The complaint +of Shaw’s patients was, for the most part, a severe inflammation of the +eyes, occasioned by exposure to the sun, a species of disorder which +he treated with some success. He had brought with him a homeopathic +medicine chest, and was, I presume, the first who introduced that +harmless system of treatment among the Ogallalla. No sooner had a robe +been spread at the head of the lodge for our accommodation, and we +had seated ourselves upon it, than a patient made her appearance; the +chief’s daughter herself, who, to do her justice, was the best-looking +girl in the village. Being on excellent terms with the physician, she +placed herself readily under his hands, and submitted with a good grace +to his applications, laughing in his face during the whole process, for +a squaw hardly knows how to smile. This case dispatched, another of +a different kind succeeded. A hideous, emaciated old woman sat in the +darkest corner of the lodge rocking to and fro with pain and hiding +her eyes from the light by pressing the palms of both hands against +her face. At Smoke’s command, she came forward, very unwillingly, and +exhibited a pair of eyes that had nearly disappeared from excess of +inflammation. No sooner had the doctor fastened his grips upon her than +she set up a dismal moaning, and writhed so in his grasp that he lost +all patience, but being resolved to carry his point, he succeeded at +last in applying his favorite remedies. + +“It is strange,” he said, when the operation was finished, “that I +forgot to bring any Spanish flies with me; we must have something here +to answer for a counter-irritant!” + +So, in the absence of better, he seized upon a red-hot brand from the +fire, and clapped it against the temple of the old squaw, who set up an +unearthly howl, at which the rest of the family broke out into a laugh. + +During these medical operations Smoke’s eldest squaw entered the lodge, +with a sort of stone mallet in her hand. I had observed some time before +a litter of well-grown black puppies, comfortably nestled among some +buffalo robes at one side; but this newcomer speedily disturbed their +enjoyment; for seizing one of them by the hind paw, she dragged him out, +and carrying him to the entrance of the lodge, hammered him on the head +till she killed him. Being quite conscious to what this preparation +tended, I looked through a hole in the back of the lodge to see the +next steps of the process. The squaw, holding the puppy by the legs, was +swinging him to and fro through the blaze of a fire, until the hair was +singed off. This done, she unsheathed her knife and cut him into small +pieces, which she dropped into a kettle to boil. In a few moments +a large wooden dish was set before us, filled with this delicate +preparation. We felt conscious of the honor. A dog-feast is the greatest +compliment a Dakota can offer to his guest; and knowing that to refuse +eating would be an affront, we attacked the little dog and devoured him +before the eyes of his unconscious parent. Smoke in the meantime was +preparing his great pipe. It was lighted when we had finished our +repast, and we passed it from one to another till the bowl was empty. +This done, we took our leave without further ceremony, knocked at the +gate of the fort, and after making ourselves known were admitted. + +One morning, about a week after reaching Fort Laramie, we were holding +our customary Indian levee, when a bustle in the area below announced +a new arrival; and looking down from our balcony, I saw a familiar red +beard and mustache in the gateway. They belonged to the captain, who +with his party had just crossed the stream. We met him on the stairs as +he came up, and congratulated him on the safe arrival of himself and his +devoted companions. But he remembered our treachery, and was grave and +dignified accordingly; a tendency which increased as he observed on our +part a disposition to laugh at him. After remaining an hour or two at +the fort he rode away with his friends, and we have heard nothing of him +since. As for R., he kept carefully aloof. It was but too evident that +we had the unhappiness to have forfeited the kind regards of our London +fellow-traveler. + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE WAR PARTIES + + +The summer of 1846 was a season of much warlike excitement among all the +western bands of the Dakota. In 1845 they encountered great reverses. +Many war parties had been sent out; some of them had been totally cut +off, and others had returned broken and disheartened, so that the whole +nation was in mourning. Among the rest, ten warriors had gone to the +Snake country, led by the son of a prominent Ogallalla chief, called The +Whirlwind. In passing over Laramie Plains they encountered a superior +number of their enemies, were surrounded, and killed to a man. +Having performed this exploit the Snakes became alarmed, dreading the +resentment of the Dakota, and they hastened therefore to signify their +wish for peace by sending the scalp of the slain partisan, together with +a small parcel of tobacco attached, to his tribesmen and relations. They +had employed old Vaskiss, the trader, as their messenger, and the scalp +was the same that hung in our room at the fort. But The Whirlwind proved +inexorable. Though his character hardly corresponds with his name, he is +nevertheless an Indian, and hates the Snakes with his whole soul. Long +before the scalp arrived he had made his preparations for revenge. He +sent messengers with presents and tobacco to all the Dakota within three +hundred miles, proposing a grand combination to chastise the Snakes, and +naming a place and time of rendezvous. The plan was readily adopted and +at this moment many villages, probably embracing in the whole five or +six thousand souls, were slowly creeping over the prairies and tending +towards the common center at La Bonte’s Camp, on the Platte. Here their +war-like rites were to be celebrated with more than ordinary solemnity, +and a thousand warriors, as it was said, were to set out for the enemy +country. The characteristic result of this preparation will appear in +the sequel. + +I was greatly rejoiced to hear of it. I had come into the country almost +exclusively with a view of observing the Indian character. Having from +childhood felt a curiosity on this subject, and having failed completely +to gratify it by reading, I resolved to have recourse to observation. +I wished to satisfy myself with regard to the position of the Indians +among the races of men; the vices and the virtues that have sprung from +their innate character and from their modes of life, their government, +their superstitions, and their domestic situation. To accomplish my +purpose it was necessary to live in the midst of them, and become, as +it were, one of them. I proposed to join a village and make myself an +inmate of one of their lodges; and henceforward this narrative, so far +as I am concerned, will be chiefly a record of the progress of this +design apparently so easy of accomplishment, and the unexpected +impediments that opposed it. + +We resolved on no account to miss the rendezvous at La Bonte’s Camp. Our +plan was to leave Delorier at the fort, in charge of our equipage and +the better part of our horses, while we took with us nothing but our +weapons and the worst animals we had. In all probability jealousies and +quarrels would arise among so many hordes of fierce impulsive savages, +congregated together under no common head, and many of them strangers, +from remote prairies and mountains. We were bound in common prudence to +be cautious how we excited any feeling of cupidity. This was our plan, +but unhappily we were not destined to visit La Bonte’s Camp in this +manner; for one morning a young Indian came to the fort and brought us +evil tidings. The newcomer was a dandy of the first water. His ugly face +was painted with vermilion; on his head fluttered the tail of a prairie +cock (a large species of pheasant, not found, as I have heard, eastward +of the Rocky Mountains); in his ears were hung pendants of shell, and a +flaming red blanket was wrapped around him. He carried a dragoon sword +in his hand, solely for display, since the knife, the arrow, and the +rifle are the arbiters of every prairie fight; but no one in this +country goes abroad unarmed, the dandy carried a bow and arrows in an +otter-skin quiver at his back. In this guise, and bestriding his yellow +horse with an air of extreme dignity, The Horse, for that was his name, +rode in at the gate, turning neither to the right nor the left, but +casting glances askance at the groups of squaws who, with their mongrel +progeny, were sitting in the sun before their doors. The evil tidings +brought by The Horse were of the following import: The squaw of Henry +Chatillon, a woman with whom he had been connected for years by the +strongest ties which in that country exist between the sexes, was +dangerously ill. She and her children were in the village of The +Whirlwind, at the distance of a few days’ journey. Henry was anxious to +see the woman before she died, and provide for the safety and support +of his children, of whom he was extremely fond. To have refused him +this would have been gross inhumanity. We abandoned our plan of joining +Smoke’s village, and of proceeding with it to the rendezvous, and +determined to meet The Whirlwind, and go in his company. + +I had been slightly ill for several weeks, but on the third night +after reaching Fort Laramie a violent pain awoke me, and I found myself +attacked by the same disorder that occasioned such heavy losses to the +army on the Rio Grande. In a day and a half I was reduced to extreme +weakness, so that I could not walk without pain and effort. Having +within that time taken six grains of opium, without the least beneficial +effect, and having no medical adviser, nor any choice of diet, I +resolved to throw myself upon Providence for recovery, using, without +regard to the disorder, any portion of strength that might remain to +me. So on the 20th of June we set out from Fort Laramie to meet The +Whirlwind’s village. Though aided by the high-bowed “mountain saddle,” + I could scarcely keep my seat on horseback. Before we left the fort we +hired another man, a long-haired Canadian, with a face like an owl’s, +contrasting oddly enough with Delorier’s mercurial countenance. This was +not the only re-enforcement to our party. A vagrant Indian trader, named +Reynal, joined us, together with his squaw Margot, and her two nephews, +our dandy friend, The Horse, and his younger brother, The Hail Storm. +Thus accompanied, we betook ourselves to the prairie, leaving the beaten +trail, and passing over the desolate hills that flank the bottoms of +Laramie Creek. In all, Indians and whites, we counted eight men and one +woman. + +Reynal, the trader, the image of sleek and selfish complacency, carried +The Horse’s dragoon sword in his hand, delighting apparently in this +useless parade; for, from spending half his life among Indians, he had +caught not only their habits but their ideas. Margot, a female animal +of more than two hundred pounds’ weight, was couched in the basket of +a travail, such as I have before described; besides her ponderous bulk, +various domestic utensils were attached to the vehicle, and she was +leading by a trail-rope a packhorse, who carried the covering of +Reynal’s lodge. Delorier walked briskly by the side of the cart, and +Raymond came behind, swearing at the spare horses, which it was his +business to drive. The restless young Indians, their quivers at their +backs, and their bows in their hand, galloped over the hills, often +starting a wolf or an antelope from the thick growth of wild-sage +bushes. Shaw and I were in keeping with the rest of the rude cavalcade, +having in the absence of other clothing adopted the buckskin attire +of the trappers. Henry Chatillon rode in advance of the whole. Thus we +passed hill after hill and hollow after hollow, a country arid, broken +and so parched by the sun that none of the plants familiar to our more +favored soil would flourish upon it, though there were multitudes of +strange medicinal herbs, more especially the absanth, which covered +every declivity, and cacti were hanging like reptiles at the edges of +every ravine. At length we ascended a high hill, our horses treading +upon pebbles of flint, agate, and rough jasper, until, gaining the top, +we looked down on the wild bottoms of Laramie Creek, which far below us +wound like a writhing snake from side to side of the narrow interval, +amid a growth of shattered cotton-wood and ash trees. Lines of tall +cliffs, white as chalk, shut in this green strip of woods and meadow +land, into which we descended and encamped for the night. In the morning +we passed a wide grassy plain by the river; there was a grove in front, +and beneath its shadows the ruins of an old trading fort of logs. The +grove bloomed with myriads of wild roses, with their sweet perfume +fraught with recollections of home. As we emerged from the trees, a +rattlesnake, as large as a man’s arm, and more than four feet long, +lay coiled on a rock, fiercely rattling and hissing at us; a gray hare, +double the size of those in New England, leaped up from the tall ferns; +curlew were screaming over our heads, and a whole host of little prairie +dogs sat yelping at us at the mouths of their burrows on the dry plain +beyond. Suddenly an antelope leaped up from the wild-sage bushes, gazed +eagerly at us, and then, erecting his white tail, stretched away like a +greyhound. The two Indian boys found a white wolf, as large as a calf in +a hollow, and giving a sharp yell, they galloped after him; but the wolf +leaped into the stream and swam across. Then came the crack of a rifle, +the bullet whistling harmlessly over his head, as he scrambled up the +steep declivity, rattling down stones and earth into the water below. +Advancing a little, we beheld on the farther bank of the stream, a +spectacle not common even in that region; for, emerging from among the +trees, a herd of some two hundred elk came out upon the meadow, their +antlers clattering as they walked forward in dense throng. Seeing us, +they broke into a run, rushing across the opening and disappearing +among the trees and scattered groves. On our left was a barren prairie, +stretching to the horizon; on our right, a deep gulf, with Laramie +Creek at the bottom. We found ourselves at length at the edge of a +steep descent; a narrow valley, with long rank grass and scattered trees +stretching before us for a mile or more along the course of the +stream. Reaching the farther end, we stopped and encamped. An old huge +cotton-wood tree spread its branches horizontally over our tent. Laramie +Creek, circling before our camp, half inclosed us; it swept along the +bottom of a line of tall white cliffs that looked down on us from the +farther bank. There were dense copses on our right; the cliffs, too, +were half hidden by shrubbery, though behind us a few cotton-wood trees, +dotting the green prairie, alone impeded the view, and friend or enemy +could be discerned in that direction at a mile’s distance. Here we +resolved to remain and await the arrival of The Whirlwind, who would +certainly pass this way in his progress toward La Bonte’s Camp. To go +in search of him was not expedient, both on account of the broken and +impracticable nature of the country and the uncertainty of his position +and movements; besides, our horses were almost worn out, and I was in no +condition to travel. We had good grass, good water, tolerable fish +from the stream, and plenty of smaller game, such as antelope and deer, +though no buffalo. There was one little drawback to our satisfaction--a +certain extensive tract of bushes and dried grass, just behind us, which +it was by no means advisable to enter, since it sheltered a numerous +brood of rattlesnakes. Henry Chatillon again dispatched The Horse to the +village, with a message to his squaw that she and her relatives should +leave the rest and push on as rapidly as possible to our camp. + +Our daily routine soon became as regular as that of a well-ordered +household. The weather-beaten old tree was in the center; our rifles +generally rested against its vast trunk, and our saddles were flung on +the ground around it; its distorted roots were so twisted as to form one +or two convenient arm-chairs, where we could sit in the shade and read +or smoke; but meal-times became, on the whole, the most interesting +hours of the day, and a bountiful provision was made for them. An +antelope or a deer usually swung from a stout bough, and haunches were +suspended against the trunk. That camp is daguerreotyped on my memory; +the old tree, the white tent, with Shaw sleeping in the shadow of it, +and Reynal’s miserable lodge close by the bank of the stream. It was a +wretched oven-shaped structure, made of begrimed and tattered buffalo +hides stretched over a frame of poles; one side was open, and at the +side of the opening hung the powder horn and bullet pouch of the owner, +together with his long red pipe, and a rich quiver of otterskin, with a +bow and arrows; for Reynal, an Indian in most things but color, chose +to hunt buffalo with these primitive weapons. In the darkness of this +cavern-like habitation, might be discerned Madame Margot, her overgrown +bulk stowed away among her domestic implements, furs, robes, blankets, +and painted cases of PAR’ FLECHE, in which dried meat is kept. Here +she sat from sunrise to sunset, a bloated impersonation of gluttony +and laziness, while her affectionate proprietor was smoking, or begging +petty gifts from us, or telling lies concerning his own achievements, +or perchance engaged in the more profitable occupation of cooking some +preparation of prairie delicacies. Reynal was an adept at this work; he +and Delorier have joined forces and are hard at work together over +the fire, while Raymond spreads, by way of tablecloth, a buffalo hide, +carefully whitened with pipeclay, on the grass before the tent. Here, +with ostentatious display, he arranges the teacups and plates; and then, +creeping on all fours like a dog, he thrusts his head in at the opening +of the tent. For a moment we see his round owlish eyes rolling wildly, +as if the idea he came to communicate had suddenly escaped him; then +collecting his scattered thoughts, as if by an effort, he informs us +that supper is ready, and instantly withdraws. + +When sunset came, and at that hour the wild and desolate scene would +assume a new aspect, the horses were driven in. They had been grazing +all day in the neighboring meadow, but now they were picketed close +about the camp. As the prairie darkened we sat and conversed around the +fire, until becoming drowsy we spread our saddles on the ground, wrapped +our blankets around us and lay down. We never placed a guard, having +by this time become too indolent; but Henry Chatillon folded his loaded +rifle in the same blanket with himself, observing that he always took it +to bed with him when he camped in that place. Henry was too bold a man +to use such a precaution without good cause. We had a hint now and then +that our situation was none of the safest; several Crow war parties were +known to be in the vicinity, and one of them, that passed here some time +before, had peeled the bark from a neighboring tree, and engraved upon +the white wood certain hieroglyphics, to signify that they had invaded +the territories of their enemies, the Dakota, and set them at defiance. +One morning a thick mist covered the whole country. Shaw and Henry went +out to ride, and soon came back with a startling piece of intelligence; +they had found within rifle-shot of our camp the recent trail of about +thirty horsemen. They could not be whites, and they could not be Dakota, +since we knew no such parties to be in the neighborhood; therefore +they must be Crows. Thanks to that friendly mist, we had escaped a hard +battle; they would inevitably have attacked us and our Indian companions +had they seen our camp. Whatever doubts we might have entertained, were +quite removed a day or two after, by two or three Dakota, who came to us +with an account of having hidden in a ravine on that very morning, from +whence they saw and counted the Crows; they said that they followed +them, carefully keeping out of sight, as they passed up Chugwater; that +here the Crows discovered five dead bodies of Dakota, placed according +to the national custom in trees, and flinging them to the ground, they +held their guns against them and blew them to atoms. + +If our camp were not altogether safe, still it was comfortable enough; +at least it was so to Shaw, for I was tormented with illness and vexed +by the delay in the accomplishment of my designs. When a respite in my +disorder gave me some returning strength, I rode out well-armed upon +the prairie, or bathed with Shaw in the stream, or waged a petty warfare +with the inhabitants of a neighborhood prairie-dog village. Around our +fire at night we employed ourselves in inveighing against the fickleness +and inconstancy of Indians, and execrating The Whirlwind and all his +village. At last the thing grew insufferable. + +“To-morrow morning,” said I, “I will start for the fort, and see if I +can hear any news there.” Late that evening, when the fire had sunk +low, and all the camp were asleep, a loud cry sounded from the darkness. +Henry started up, recognized the voice, replied to it, and our dandy +friend, The Horse, rode in among us, just returned from his mission to +the village. He coolly picketed his mare, without saying a word, sat +down by the fire and began to eat, but his imperturbable philosophy +was too much for our patience. Where was the village? about fifty miles +south of us; it was moving slowly and would not arrive in less than +a week; and where was Henry’s squaw? coming as fast as she could with +Mahto-Tatonka, and the rest of her brothers, but she would never reach +us, for she was dying, and asking every moment for Henry. Henry’s manly +face became clouded and downcast; he said that if we were willing he +would go in the morning to find her, at which Shaw offered to accompany +him. + +We saddled our horses at sunrise. Reynal protested vehemently against +being left alone, with nobody but the two Canadians and the young +Indians, when enemies were in the neighborhood. Disregarding his +complaints, we left him, and coming to the mouth of Chugwater, +separated, Shaw and Henry turning to the right, up the bank of the +stream, while I made for the fort. + +Taking leave for a while of my friend and the unfortunate squaw, I will +relate by way of episode what I saw and did at Fort Laramie. It was not +more than eighteen miles distant, and I reached it in three hours; a +shriveled little figure, wrapped from head to foot in a dingy white +Canadian capote, stood in the gateway, holding by a cord of bull’s hide +a shaggy wild horse, which he had lately caught. His sharp prominent +features, and his little keen snakelike eyes, looked out from beneath +the shadowy hood of the capote, which was drawn over his head exactly +like the cowl of a Capuchin friar. His face was extremely thin and like +an old piece of leather, and his mouth spread from ear to ear. Extending +his long wiry hand, he welcomed me with something more cordial than the +ordinary cold salute of an Indian, for we were excellent friends. He had +made an exchange of horses to our mutual advantage; and Paul, thinking +himself well-treated, had declared everywhere that the white man had +a good heart. He was a Dakota from the Missouri, a reputed son of the +half-breed interpreter, Pierre Dorion, so often mentioned in Irving’s +“Astoria.” He said that he was going to Richard’s trading house to sell +his horse to some emigrants who were encamped there, and asked me to go +with him. We forded the stream together, Paul dragging his wild charge +behind him. As we passed over the sandy plains beyond, he grew quite +communicative. Paul was a cosmopolitan in his way; he had been to the +settlements of the whites, and visited in peace and war most of the +tribes within the range of a thousand miles. He spoke a jargon of French +and another of English, yet nevertheless he was a thorough Indian; and +as he told of the bloody deeds of his own people against their enemies, +his little eye would glitter with a fierce luster. He told how the +Dakota exterminated a village of the Hohays on the Upper Missouri, +slaughtering men, women, and children; and how an overwhelming force of +them cut off sixteen of the brave Delawares, who fought like wolves +to the last, amid the throng of their enemies. He told me also another +story, which I did not believe until I had it confirmed from so many +independent sources that no room was left for doubt. I am tempted to +introduce it here. + +Six years ago a fellow named Jim Beckwith, a mongrel of French, +American, and negro blood, was trading for the Fur Company, in a very +large village of the Crows. Jim Beckwith was last summer at St. Louis. +He is a ruffian of the first stamp; bloody and treacherous, without +honor or honesty; such at least is the character he bears upon the +prairie. Yet in his case all the standard rules of character fail, +for though he will stab a man in his sleep, he will also perform most +desperate acts of daring; such, for instance, as the following: While he +was in the Crow village, a Blackfoot war party, between thirty and forty +in number came stealing through the country, killing stragglers and +carrying off horses. The Crow warriors got upon their trail and pressed +them so closely that they could not escape, at which the Blackfeet, +throwing up a semicircular breastwork of logs at the foot of a +precipice, coolly awaited their approach. The logs and sticks, piled +four or five high, protected them in front. The Crows might have +swept over the breastwork and exterminated their enemies; but though +out-numbering them tenfold, they did not dream of storming the little +fortification. Such a proceeding would be altogether repugnant to their +notions of warfare. Whooping and yelling, and jumping from side to side +like devils incarnate, they showered bullets and arrows upon the logs; +not a Blackfoot was hurt, but several Crows, in spite of their leaping +and dodging, were shot down. In this childish manner the fight went on +for an hour or two. Now and then a Crow warrior in an ecstasy of valor +and vainglory would scream forth his war song, boasting himself the +bravest and greatest of mankind, and grasping his hatchet, would rush +up and strike it upon the breastwork, and then as he retreated to his +companions, fall dead under a shower of arrows; yet no combined +attack seemed to be dreamed of. The Blackfeet remained secure in their +intrenchment. At last Jim Beckwith lost patience. + +“You are all fools and old women,” he said to the Crows; “come with me, +if any of you are brave enough, and I will show you how to fight.” + +He threw off his trapper’s frock of buckskin and stripped himself naked +like the Indians themselves. He left his rifle on the ground, and taking +in his hand a small light hatchet, he ran over the prairie to the right, +concealed by a hollow from the eyes of the Blackfeet. Then climbing +up the rocks, he gained the top of the precipice behind them. Forty or +fifty young Crow warriors followed him. By the cries and whoops that +rose from below he knew that the Blackfeet were just beneath him; and +running forward, he leaped down the rock into the midst of them. As +he fell he caught one by the long loose hair and dragging him down +tomahawked him; then grasping another by the belt at his waist, he +struck him also a stunning blow, and gaining his feet, shouted the Crow +war-cry. He swung his hatchet so fiercely around him that the astonished +Blackfeet bore back and gave him room. He might, had he chosen, have +leaped over the breastwork and escaped; but this was not necessary, for +with devilish yells the Crow warriors came dropping in quick succession +over the rock among their enemies. The main body of the Crows, too, +answered the cry from the front and rushed up simultaneously. The +convulsive struggle within the breastwork was frightful; for an instant +the Blackfeet fought and yelled like pent-up tigers; but the butchery +was soon complete, and the mangled bodies lay piled up together under +the precipice. Not a Blackfoot made his escape. + +As Paul finished his story we came in sight of Richard’s Fort. It stood +in the middle of the plain; a disorderly crowd of men around it, and an +emigrant camp a little in front. + +“Now, Paul,” said I, “where are your Winnicongew lodges?” + +“Not come yet,” said Paul, “maybe come to-morrow.” + +Two large villages of a band of Dakota had come three hundred miles +from the Missouri, to join in the war, and they were expected to reach +Richard’s that morning. There was as yet no sign of their approach; so +pushing through a noisy, drunken crowd, I entered an apartment of logs +and mud, the largest in the fort; it was full of men of various races +and complexions, all more or less drunk. A company of California +emigrants, it seemed, had made the discovery at this late day that they +had encumbered themselves with too many supplies for their journey. +A part, therefore, they had thrown away or sold at great loss to +the traders, but had determined to get rid of their copious stock of +Missouri whisky, by drinking it on the spot. Here were maudlin squaws +stretched on piles of buffalo robes; squalid Mexicans, armed with bows +and arrows; Indians sedately drunk; long-haired Canadians and trappers, +and American backwoodsmen in brown homespun, the well-beloved pistol and +bowie knife displayed openly at their sides. In the middle of the room a +tall, lank man, with a dingy broadcloth coat, was haranguing the company +in the style of the stump orator. With one hand he sawed the air, and +with the other clutched firmly a brown jug of whisky, which he applied +every moment to his lips, forgetting that he had drained the contents +long ago. Richard formally introduced me to this personage, who was no +less a man than Colonel R., once the leader of the party. Instantly the +colonel seizing me, in the absence of buttons by the leather fringes of +my frock, began to define his position. His men, he said, had mutinied +and deposed him; but still he exercised over them the influence of +a superior mind; in all but the name he was yet their chief. As the +colonel spoke, I looked round on the wild assemblage, and could not help +thinking that he was but ill qualified to conduct such men across the +desert to California. Conspicuous among the rest stood three tail +young men, grandsons of Daniel Boone. They had clearly inherited the +adventurous character of that prince of pioneers; but I saw no signs of +the quiet and tranquil spirit that so remarkably distinguished him. + +Fearful was the fate that months after overtook some of the members of +that party. General Kearny, on his late return from California, brought +in the account how they were interrupted by the deep snows among the +mountains, and maddened by cold and hunger fed upon each other’s flesh. + +I got tired of the confusion. “Come, Paul,” said I, “we will be off.” + Paul sat in the sun, under the wall of the fort. He jumped up, mounted, +and we rode toward Fort Laramie. When we reached it, a man came out of +the gate with a pack at his back and a rifle on his shoulder; others +were gathering about him, shaking him by the hand, as if taking leave. +I thought it a strange thing that a man should set out alone and on +foot for the prairie. I soon got an explanation. Perrault--this, if +I recollect right was the Canadian’s name--had quarreled with the +bourgeois, and the fort was too hot to hold him. Bordeaux, inflated with +his transient authority, had abused him, and received a blow in return. +The men then sprang at each other, and grappled in the middle of the +fort. Bordeaux was down in an instant, at the mercy of the incensed +Canadian; had not an old Indian, the brother of his squaw, seized hold +of his antagonist, he would have fared ill. Perrault broke loose from +the old Indian, and both the white men ran to their rooms for their +guns; but when Bordeaux, looking from his door, saw the Canadian, gun in +hand, standing in the area and calling on him to come out and fight, +his heart failed him; he chose to remain where he was. In vain the old +Indian, scandalized by his brother-in-law’s cowardice, called upon him +to go upon the prairie and fight it out in the white man’s manner; and +Bordeaux’s own squaw, equally incensed, screamed to her lord and master +that he was a dog and an old woman. It all availed nothing. Bordeaux’s +prudence got the better of his valor, and he would not stir. Perrault +stood showering approbrious epithets at the recent bourgeois. Growing +tired of this, he made up a pack of dried meat, and slinging it at his +back, set out alone for Fort Pierre on the Missouri, a distance of three +hundred miles, over a desert country full of hostile Indians. + +I remained in the fort that night. In the morning, as I was coming +out from breakfast, conversing with a trader named McCluskey, I saw +a strange Indian leaning against the side of the gate. He was a tall, +strong man, with heavy features. + +“Who is he?” I asked. “That’s The Whirlwind,” said McCluskey. “He is the +fellow that made all this stir about the war. It’s always the way with +the Sioux; they never stop cutting each other’s throats; it’s all they +are fit for; instead of sitting in their lodges, and getting robes to +trade with us in the winter. If this war goes on, we’ll make a poor +trade of it next season, I reckon.” + +And this was the opinion of all the traders, who were vehemently opposed +to the war, from the serious injury that it must occasion to their +interests. The Whirlwind left his village the day before to make a visit +to the fort. His warlike ardor had abated not a little since he +first conceived the design of avenging his son’s death. The long and +complicated preparations for the expedition were too much for his +fickle, inconstant disposition. That morning Bordeaux fastened upon him, +made him presents and told him that if he went to war he would destroy +his horses and kill no buffalo to trade with the white men; in short, +that he was a fool to think of such a thing, and had better make up his +mind to sit quietly in his lodge and smoke his pipe, like a wise man. +The Whirlwind’s purpose was evidently shaken; he had become tired, like +a child, of his favorite plan. Bordeaux exultingly predicted that he +would not go to war. My philanthropy at that time was no match for my +curiosity, and I was vexed at the possibility that after all I might +lose the rare opportunity of seeing the formidable ceremonies of +war. The Whirlwind, however, had merely thrown the firebrand; the +conflagration was become general. All the western bands of the Dakota +were bent on war; and as I heard from McCluskey, six large villages +already gathered on a little stream, forty miles distant, were daily +calling to the Great Spirit to aid them in their enterprise. McCluskey +had just left and represented them as on their way to La Bonte’s Camp, +which they would reach in a week, UNLESS THEY SHOULD LEARN THAT THERE +WERE NO BUFFALO THERE. I did not like this condition, for buffalo +this season were rare in the neighborhood. There were also the two +Minnicongew villages that I mentioned before; but about noon, an Indian +came from Richard’s Fort with the news that they were quarreling, +breaking up, and dispersing. So much for the whisky of the emigrants! +Finding themselves unable to drink the whole, they had sold the residue +to these Indians, and it needed no prophet to foretell the results; a +spark dropped into a powder magazine would not have produced a quicker +effect. Instantly the old jealousies and rivalries and smothered feuds +that exist in an Indian village broke out into furious quarrels. They +forgot the warlike enterprise that had already brought them three +hundred miles. They seemed like ungoverned children inflamed with the +fiercest passions of men. Several of them were stabbed in the drunken +tumult; and in the morning they scattered and moved back toward the +Missouri in small parties. I feared that, after all, the long-projected +meeting and the ceremonies that were to attend it might never take +place, and I should lose so admirable an opportunity of seeing the +Indian under his most fearful and characteristic aspect; however, +in foregoing this, I should avoid a very fair probability of being +plundered and stripped, and, it might be, stabbed or shot into the +bargain. Consoling myself with this reflection, I prepared to carry the +news, such as it was, to the camp. + +I caught my horse, and to my vexation found he had lost a shoe and +broken his tender white hoof against the rocks. Horses are shod at Fort +Laramie at the moderate rate of three dollars a foot; so I tied +Hendrick to a beam in the corral, and summoned Roubidou, the blacksmith. +Roubidou, with the hoof between his knees, was at work with hammer and +file, and I was inspecting the process, when a strange voice addressed +me. + +“Two more gone under! Well, there is more of us left yet. Here’s Jean +Gars and me off to the mountains to-morrow. Our turn will come next, I +suppose. It’s a hard life, anyhow!” + +I looked up and saw a little man, not much more than five feet high, but +of very square and strong proportions. In appearance he was particularly +dingy; for his old buckskin frock was black and polished with time and +grease, and his belt, knife, pouch, and powder-horn appeared to have +seen the roughest service. The first joint of each foot was entirely +gone, having been frozen off several winters before, and his moccasins +were curtailed in proportion. His whole appearance and equipment bespoke +the “free trapper.” He had a round ruddy face, animated with a spirit of +carelessness and gayety not at all in accordance with the words he had +just spoken. + +“Two more gone,” said I; “what do you mean by that?” + +“Oh,” said he, “the Arapahoes have just killed two of us in the +mountains. Old Bull-Tail has come to tell us. They stabbed one behind +his back, and shot the other with his own rifle. That’s the way we live +here! I mean to give up trapping after this year. My squaw says she +wants a pacing horse and some red ribbons; I’ll make enough beaver to +get them for her, and then I’m done! I’ll go below and live on a farm.” + +“Your bones will dry on the prairie, Rouleau!” said another trapper, who +was standing by; a strong, brutal-looking fellow, with a face as surly +as a bull-dog’s. + +Rouleau only laughed, and began to hum a tune and shuffle a dance on his +stumps of feet. + +“You’ll see us, before long, passing up our way,” said the other man. +“Well,” said I, “stop and take a cup of coffee with us”; and as it was +quite late in the afternoon, I prepared to leave the fort at once. + +As I rode out, a train of emigrant wagons was passing across the stream. +“Whar are ye goin’ stranger?” Thus I was saluted by two or three voices +at once. + +“About eighteen miles up the creek.” + +“It’s mighty late to be going that far! Make haste, ye’d better, and +keep a bright lookout for Indians!” + +I thought the advice too good to be neglected. Fording the stream, I +passed at a round trot over the plains beyond. But “the more haste, the +worse speed.” I proved the truth in the proverb by the time I reached +the hills three miles from the fort. The trail was faintly marked, and +riding forward with more rapidity than caution, I lost sight of it. I +kept on in a direct line, guided by Laramie Creek, which I could see +at intervals darkly glistening in the evening sun, at the bottom of +the woody gulf on my right. Half an hour before sunset I came upon its +banks. There was something exciting in the wild solitude of the place. +An antelope sprang suddenly from the sagebushes before me. As he leaped +gracefully not thirty yards before my horse, I fired, and instantly he +spun round and fell. Quite sure of him, I walked my horse toward him, +leisurely reloading my rifle, when to my surprise he sprang up and +trotted rapidly away on three legs into the dark recesses of the hills, +whither I had no time to follow. Ten minutes after, I was passing along +the bottom of a deep valley, and chancing to look behind me, I saw in +the dim light that something was following. Supposing it to be wolf, I +slid from my seat and sat down behind my horse to shoot it; but as +it came up, I saw by its motions that it was another antelope. It +approached within a hundred yards, arched its graceful neck, and gazed +intently. I leveled at the white spot on its chest, and was about to +fire when it started off, ran first to one side and then to the other, +like a vessel tacking against a wind, and at last stretched away at full +speed. Then it stopped again, looked curiously behind it, and trotted up +as before; but not so boldly, for it soon paused and stood gazing at +me. I fired; it leaped upward and fell upon its tracks. Measuring the +distance, I found it 204 paces. When I stood by his side, the antelope +turned his expiring eye upward. It was like a beautiful woman’s, dark +and rich. “Fortunate that I am in a hurry,” thought I; “I might be +troubled with remorse, if I had time for it.” + +Cutting the animal up, not in the most skilled manner, I hung the meat +at the back of my saddle, and rode on again. The hills (I could not +remember one of them) closed around me. “It is too late,” thought I, +“to go forward. I will stay here to-night, and look for the path in the +morning.” As a last effort, however, I ascended a high hill, from which, +to my great satisfaction, I could see Laramie Creek stretching before +me, twisting from side to side amid ragged patches of timber; and +far off, close beneath the shadows of the trees, the ruins of the old +trading fort were visible. I reached them at twilight. It was far from +pleasant, in that uncertain light, to be pushing through the dense trees +and shrubbery of the grove beyond. I listened anxiously for the footfall +of man or beast. Nothing was stirring but one harmless brown bird, +chirping among the branches. I was glad when I gained the open prairie +once more, where I could see if anything approached. When I came to the +mouth of Chugwater, it was totally dark. Slackening the reins, I let my +horse take his own course. He trotted on with unerring instinct, and by +nine o’clock was scrambling down the steep ascent into the meadows where +we were encamped. While I was looking in vain for the light of the +fire, Hendrick, with keener perceptions, gave a loud neigh, which was +immediately answered in a shrill note from the distance. In a moment I +was hailed from the darkness by the voice of Reynal, who had come out, +rifle in hand, to see who was approaching. + +He, with his squaw, the two Canadians and the Indian boys, were the sole +inmates of the camp, Shaw and Henry Chatillon being still absent. At +noon of the following day they came back, their horses looking none the +better for the journey. Henry seemed dejected. The woman was dead, and +his children must henceforward be exposed, without a protector, to the +hardships and vicissitudes of Indian life. Even in the midst of his +grief he had not forgotten his attachment to his bourgeois, for he had +procured among his Indian relatives two beautifully ornamented buffalo +robes, which he spread on the ground as a present to us. + +Shaw lighted his pipe, and told me in a few words the history of his +journey. When I went to the fort they left me, as I mentioned, at the +mouth of Chugwater. They followed the course of the little stream all +day, traversing a desolate and barren country. Several times they came +upon the fresh traces of a large war party--the same, no doubt, from +whom we had so narrowly escaped an attack. At an hour before sunset, +without encountering a human being by the way, they came upon the lodges +of the squaw and her brothers, who, in compliance with Henry’s message, +had left the Indian village in order to join us at our camp. The lodges +were already pitched, five in number, by the side of the stream. The +woman lay in one of them, reduced to a mere skeleton. For some time she +had been unable to move or speak. Indeed, nothing had kept her alive +but the hope of seeing Henry, to whom she was strongly and faithfully +attached. No sooner did he enter the lodge than she revived, and +conversed with him the greater part of the night. Early in the morning +she was lifted into a travail, and the whole party set out toward our +camp. There were but five warriors; the rest were women and children. +The whole were in great alarm at the proximity of the Crow war party, +who would certainly have destroyed them without mercy had they met. They +had advanced only a mile or two, when they discerned a horseman, far +off, on the edge of the horizon. They all stopped, gathering together in +the greatest anxiety, from which they did not recover until long after +the horseman disappeared; then they set out again. Henry was riding with +Shaw a few rods in advance of the Indians, when Mahto-Tatonka, a younger +brother of the woman, hastily called after them. Turning back, they +found all the Indians crowded around the travail in which the woman was +lying. They reached her just in time to hear the death-rattle in +her throat. In a moment she lay dead in the basket of the vehicle. A +complete stillness succeeded; then the Indians raised in concert their +cries of lamentation over the corpse, and among them Shaw clearly +distinguished those strange sounds resembling the word “Halleluyah,” + which together with some other accidental coincidences has given rise +to the absurd theory that the Indians are descended from the ten lost +tribes of Israel. + +The Indian usage required that Henry, as well as the other relatives of +the woman, should make valuable presents, to be placed by the side of +the body at its last resting place. Leaving the Indians, he and Shaw set +out for the camp and reached it, as we have seen, by hard pushing, at +about noon. Having obtained the necessary articles, they immediately +returned. It was very late and quite dark when they again reached the +lodges. They were all placed in a deep hollow among the dreary hills. +Four of them were just visible through the gloom, but the fifth and +largest was illuminated by the ruddy blaze of a fire within, glowing +through the half-transparent covering of raw hides. There was a perfect +stillness as they approached. The lodges seemed without a tenant. Not a +living thing was stirring--there was something awful in the scene. They +rode up to the entrance of the lodge, and there was no sound but the +tramp of their horses. A squaw came out and took charge of the animals, +without speaking a word. Entering, they found the lodge crowded with +Indians; a fire was burning in the midst, and the mourners encircled +it in a triple row. Room was made for the newcomers at the head of the +lodge, a robe spread for them to sit upon, and a pipe lighted and handed +to them in perfect silence. Thus they passed the greater part of the +night. At times the fire would subside into a heap of embers, until the +dark figures seated around it were scarcely visible; then a squaw would +drop upon it a piece of buffalo-fat, and a bright flame, instantly +springing up, would reveal of a sudden the crowd of wild faces, +motionless as bronze. The silence continued unbroken. It was a relief +to Shaw when daylight returned and he could escape from this house of +mourning. He and Henry prepared to return homeward; first, however, they +placed the presents they had brought near the body of the squaw, which, +most gaudily attired, remained in a sitting posture in one of the +lodges. A fine horse was picketed not far off, destined to be killed +that morning for the service of her spirit, for the woman was lame, and +could not travel on foot over the dismal prairies to the villages of +the dead. Food, too, was provided, and household implements, for her use +upon this last journey. + +Henry left her to the care of her relatives, and came immediately with +Shaw to the camp. It was some time before he entirely recovered from his +dejection. + + + +CHAPTER XI + +SCENES AT THE CAMP + + +Reynal heard guns fired one day, at the distance of a mile or two from +the camp. He grew nervous instantly. Visions of Crow war parties began +to haunt his imagination; and when we returned (for we were all absent), +he renewed his complaints about being left alone with the Canadians +and the squaw. The day after, the cause of the alarm appeared. Four +trappers, one called Moran, another Saraphin, and the others nicknamed +“Rouleau” and “Jean Gras,” came to our camp and joined us. They it was +who fired the guns and disturbed the dreams of our confederate Reynal. +They soon encamped by our side. Their rifles, dingy and battered with +hard service, rested with ours against the old tree; their strong rude +saddles, their buffalo robes, their traps, and the few rough and simple +articles of their traveling equipment, were piled near our tent. Their +mountain horses were turned to graze in the meadow among our own; and +the men themselves, no less rough and hardy, used to lie half the day in +the shade of our tree lolling on the grass, lazily smoking, and telling +stories of their adventures; and I defy the annals of chivalry to +furnish the record of a life more wild and perilous than that of a Rocky +Mountain trapper. + +With this efficient re-enforcement the agitation of Reynal’s nerves +subsided. He began to conceive a sort of attachment to our old camping +ground; yet it was time to change our quarters, since remaining too long +on one spot must lead to certain unpleasant results not to be borne +with unless in a case of dire necessity. The grass no longer presented a +smooth surface of turf; it was trampled into mud and clay. So we removed +to another old tree, larger yet, that grew by the river side at a +furlong’s distance. Its trunk was full six feet in diameter; on one +side it was marked by a party of Indians with various inexplicable +hieroglyphics, commemorating some warlike enterprise, and aloft among +the branches were the remains of a scaffolding, where dead bodies had +once been deposited, after the Indian manner. + +“There comes Bull-Bear,” said Henry Chatillon, as we sat on the grass at +dinner. Looking up, we saw several horsemen coming over the neighboring +hill, and in a moment four stately young men rode up and dismounted. +One of them was Bull-Bear, or Mahto-Tatonka, a compound name which he +inherited from his father, the most powerful chief in the Ogallalla +band. One of his brothers and two other young men accompanied him. We +shook hands with the visitors, and when we had finished our meal--for +this is the orthodox manner of entertaining Indians, even the best of +them--we handed to each a tin cup of coffee and a biscuit, at which they +ejaculated from the bottom of their throats, “How! how!” a monosyllable +by which an Indian contrives to express half the emotions that he is +susceptible of. Then we lighted the pipe, and passed it to them as they +squatted on the ground. + +“Where is the village?” + +“There,” said Mahto-Tatonka, pointing southward; “it will come in two +days.” + +“Will they go to the war?” + +“Yes.” + +No man is a philanthropist on the prairie. We welcomed this news most +cordially, and congratulated ourselves that Bordeaux’s interested +efforts to divert The Whirlwind from his congenial vocation of bloodshed +had failed of success, and that no additional obstacles would interpose +between us and our plan of repairing to the rendezvous at La Bonte’s +Camp. + +For that and several succeeding days, Mahto-Tatonka and his friends +remained our guests. They devoured the relics of our meals; they filled +the pipe for us and also helped us to smoke it. Sometimes they stretched +themselves side by side in the shade, indulging in raillery and +practical jokes ill becoming the dignity of brave and aspiring warriors, +such as two of them in reality were. + +Two days dragged away, and on the morning of the third we hoped +confidently to see the Indian village. It did not come; so we rode out +to look for it. In place of the eight hundred Indians we expected, we +met one solitary savage riding toward us over the prairie, who told +us that the Indians had changed their plans, and would not come within +three days; still he persisted that they were going to the war. Taking +along with us this messenger of evil tidings, we retraced our footsteps +to the camp, amusing ourselves by the way with execrating Indian +inconstancy. When we came in sight of our little white tent under the +big tree, we saw that it no longer stood alone. A huge old lodge was +erected close by its side, discolored by rain and storms, rotted with +age, with the uncouth figures of horses and men, and outstretched hands +that were painted upon it, well-nigh obliterated. The long poles which +supported this squalid habitation thrust themselves rakishly out from +its pointed top, and over its entrance were suspended a “medicine-pipe” + and various other implements of the magic art. While we were yet at a +distance, we observed a greatly increased population of various colors +and dimensions, swarming around our quiet encampment. Moran, the +trapper, having been absent for a day or two, had returned, it seemed, +bringing all his family with him. He had taken to himself a wife for +whom he had paid the established price of one horse. This looks cheap at +first sight, but in truth the purchase of a squaw is a transaction which +no man should enter into without mature deliberation, since it involves +not only the payment of the first price, but the formidable burden of +feeding and supporting a rapacious horde of the bride’s relatives, who +hold themselves entitled to feed upon the indiscreet white man. They +gather round like leeches, and drain him of all he has. + +Moran, like Reynal, had not allied himself to an aristocratic circle. +His relatives occupied but a contemptible position in Ogallalla society; +for among those wild democrats of the prairie, as among us, there are +virtual distinctions of rank and place; though this great advantage they +have over us, that wealth has no part in determining such distinctions. +Moran’s partner was not the most beautiful of her sex, and he had the +exceedingly bad taste to array her in an old calico gown bought from +an emigrant woman, instead of the neat and graceful tunic of whitened +deerskin worn ordinarily by the squaws. The moving spirit of the +establishment, in more senses than one, was a hideous old hag of eighty. +Human imagination never conceived hobgoblin or witch more ugly than she. +You could count all her ribs through the wrinkles of the leathery skin +that covered them. Her withered face more resembled an old skull than +the countenance of a living being, even to the hollow, darkened sockets, +at the bottom of which glittered her little black eyes. Her arms had +dwindled away into nothing but whipcord and wire. Her hair, half black, +half gray, hung in total neglect nearly to the ground, and her sole +garment consisted of the remnant of a discarded buffalo robe tied round +her waist with a string of hide. Yet the old squaw’s meager anatomy was +wonderfully strong. She pitched the lodge, packed the horses, and did +the hardest labor of the camp. From morning till night she bustled about +the lodge, screaming like a screech-owl when anything displeased her. +Then there was her brother, a “medicine-man,” or magician, equally +gaunt and sinewy with herself. His mouth spread from ear to ear, and his +appetite, as we had full occasion to learn, was ravenous in proportion. +The other inmates of the lodge were a young bride and bridegroom; the +latter one of those idle, good-for nothing fellows who infest an Indian +village as well as more civilized communities. He was fit neither +for hunting nor for war; and one might infer as much from the stolid +unmeaning expression of his face. The happy pair had just entered upon +the honeymoon. They would stretch a buffalo robe upon poles, so as to +protect them from the fierce rays of the sun, and spreading beneath this +rough canopy a luxuriant couch of furs, would sit affectionately side +by side for half the day, though I could not discover that much +conversation passed between them. Probably they had nothing to say; for +an Indian’s supply of topics for conversation is far from being copious. +There were half a dozen children, too, playing and whooping about the +camp, shooting birds with little bows and arrows, or making miniature +lodges of sticks, as children of a different complexion build houses of +blocks. + +A day passed, and Indians began rapidly to come in. Parties of two or +three or more would ride up and silently seat themselves on the grass. +The fourth day came at last, when about noon horsemen suddenly appeared +into view on the summit of the neighboring ridge. They descended, and +behind them followed a wild procession, hurrying in haste and disorder +down the hill and over the plain below; horses, mules, and dogs, heavily +burdened travaux, mounted warriors, squaws walking amid the throng, and +a host of children. For a full half-hour they continued to pour down; +and keeping directly to the bend of the stream, within a furlong of us, +they soon assembled there, a dark and confused throng, until, as if +by magic, 150 tall lodges sprung up. On a sudden the lonely plain was +transformed into the site of a miniature city. Countless horses were +soon grazing over the meadows around us, and the whole prairie was +animated by restless figures careening on horseback, or sedately +stalking in their long white robes. The Whirlwind was come at last! One +question yet remained to be answered: “Will he go to the war, in order +that we, with so respectable an escort, may pass over to the somewhat +perilous rendezvous at La Bonte’s Camp?” + +Still this remained in doubt. Characteristic indecision perplexed their +councils. Indians cannot act in large bodies. Though their object be of +the highest importance, they cannot combine to attain it by a series of +connected efforts. King Philip, Pontiac, and Tecumseh all felt this to +their cost. The Ogallalla once had a war chief who could control +them; but he was dead, and now they were left to the sway of their own +unsteady impulses. + +This Indian village and its inhabitants will hold a prominent place in +the rest of the narrative, and perhaps it may not be amiss to glance for +an instant at the savage people of which they form a part. The Dakota +(I prefer this national designation to the unmeaning French name, Sioux) +range over a vast territory, from the river St. Peter’s to the Rocky +Mountains themselves. They are divided into several independent bands, +united under no central government, and acknowledge no common head. +The same language, usages, and superstitions form the sole bond between +them. They do not unite even in their wars. The bands of the east fight +the Ojibwas on the Upper Lakes; those of the west make incessant war +upon the Snake Indians in the Rocky Mountains. As the whole people is +divided into bands, so each band is divided into villages. Each village +has a chief, who is honored and obeyed only so far as his personal +qualities may command respect and fear. Sometimes he is a mere nominal +chief; sometimes his authority is little short of absolute, and his fame +and influence reach even beyond his own village; so that the whole band +to which he belongs is ready to acknowledge him as their head. This was, +a few years since, the case with the Ogallalla. Courage, address, and +enterprise may raise any warrior to the highest honor, especially if +he be the son of a former chief, or a member of a numerous family, to +support him and avenge his quarrels; but when he has reached the dignity +of chief, and the old men and warriors, by a peculiar ceremony, have +formally installed him, let it not be imagined that he assumes any of +the outward semblances of rank and honor. He knows too well on how +frail a tenure he holds his station. He must conciliate his uncertain +subjects. Many a man in the village lives better, owns more squaws and +more horses, and goes better clad than he. Like the Teutonic chiefs of +old, he ingratiates himself with his young men by making them presents, +thereby often impoverishing himself. Does he fail in gaining their +favor, they will set his authority at naught, and may desert him at any +moment; for the usages of his people have provided no sanctions by which +he may enforce his authority. Very seldom does it happen, at least among +these western bands, that a chief attains to much power, unless he is +the head of a numerous family. Frequently the village is principally +made up of his relatives and descendants, and the wandering community +assumes much of the patriarchal character. A people so loosely united, +torn, too, with ranking feuds and jealousies, can have little power or +efficiency. + +The western Dakota have no fixed habitations. Hunting and fighting, they +wander incessantly through summer and winter. Some are following the +herds of buffalo over the waste of prairie; others are traversing the +Black Hills, thronging on horseback and on foot through the dark gulfs +and somber gorges beneath the vast splintering precipices, and emerging +at last upon the “Parks,” those beautiful but most perilous hunting +grounds. The buffalo supplies them with almost all the necessaries of +life; with habitations, food, clothing, and fuel; with strings for +their bows, with thread, cordage, and trail-ropes for their horses, with +coverings for their saddles, with vessels to hold water, with boats to +cross streams, with glue, and with the means of purchasing all that they +desire from the traders. When the buffalo are extinct, they too must +dwindle away. + +War is the breath of their nostrils. Against most of the neighboring +tribes they cherish a deadly, rancorous hatred, transmitted from father +to son, and inflamed by constant aggression and retaliation. Many times +a year, in every village, the Great Spirit is called upon, fasts are +made, the war parade is celebrated, and the warriors go out by handfuls +at a time against the enemy. This fierce and evil spirit awakens their +most eager aspirations, and calls forth their greatest energies. It is +chiefly this that saves them from lethargy and utter abasement. Without +its powerful stimulus they would be like the unwarlike tribes beyond +the mountains, who are scattered among the caves and rocks like beasts, +living on roots and reptiles. These latter have little of humanity +except the form; but the proud and ambitious Dakota warrior can +sometimes boast of heroic virtues. It is very seldom that distinction +and influence are attained among them by any other course than that of +arms. Their superstition, however, sometimes gives great power, to those +among them who pretend to the character of magicians. Their wild hearts, +too, can feel the power of oratory, and yield deference to the masters +of it. + +But to return. Look into our tent, or enter, if you can bear the +stifling smoke and the close atmosphere. There, wedged close together, +you will see a circle of stout warriors, passing the pipe around, +joking, telling stories, and making themselves merry, after their +fashion. We were also infested by little copper-colored naked boys and +snake-eyed girls. They would come up to us, muttering certain words, +which being interpreted conveyed the concise invitation, “Come and eat.” + Then we would rise, cursing the pertinacity of Dakota hospitality, which +allowed scarcely an hour of rest between sun and sun, and to which we +were bound to do honor, unless we would offend our entertainers. This +necessity was particularly burdensome to me, as I was scarcely able to +walk, from the effects of illness, and was of course poorly qualified +to dispose of twenty meals a day. Of these sumptuous banquets I gave a +specimen in a former chapter, where the tragical fate of the little dog +was chronicled. So bounteous an entertainment looks like an outgushing +of good will; but doubtless one-half at least of our kind hosts, had +they met us alone and unarmed on the prairie, would have robbed us of +our horses, and perchance have bestowed an arrow upon us beside. Trust +not an Indian. Let your rifle be ever in your hand. Wear next your heart +the old chivalric motto SEMPER PARATUS. + +One morning we were summoned to the lodge of an old man, in good truth +the Nestor of his tribe. We found him half sitting, half reclining on a +pile of buffalo robes; his long hair, jet-black even now, though he +had seen some eighty winters, hung on either side of his thin features. +Those most conversant with Indians in their homes will scarcely believe +me when I affirm that there was dignity in his countenance and mien. His +gaunt but symmetrical frame, did not more clearly exhibit the wreck of +bygone strength, than did his dark, wasted features, still prominent and +commanding, bear the stamp of mental energies. I recalled, as I saw him, +the eloquent metaphor of the Iroquois sachem: “I am an aged hemlock; the +winds of a hundred winters have whistled through my branches, and I +am dead at the top!” Opposite the patriarch was his nephew, the young +aspirant Mahto-Tatonka; and besides these, there were one or two women +in the lodge. + +The old man’s story is peculiar, and singularly illustrative of a +superstitious custom that prevails in full force among many of the +Indian tribes. He was one of a powerful family, renowned for their +warlike exploits. When a very young man, he submitted to the singular +rite to which most of the tribe subject themselves before entering +upon life. He painted his face black; then seeking out a cavern in a +sequestered part of the Black Hills, he lay for several days, fasting +and praying to the Great Spirit. In the dreams and visions produced by +his weakened and excited state, he fancied like all Indians, that he +saw supernatural revelations. Again and again the form of an antelope +appeared before him. The antelope is the graceful peace spirit of the +Ogallalla; but seldom is it that such a gentle visitor presents itself +during the initiatory fasts of their young men. The terrible grizzly +bear, the divinity of war, usually appears to fire them with martial +ardor and thirst for renown. At length the antelope spoke. He told the +young dreamer that he was not to follow the path of war; that a life of +peace and tranquillity was marked out for him; that henceforward he was +to guide the people by his counsels and protect them from the evils of +their own feuds and dissensions. Others were to gain renown by fighting +the enemy; but greatness of a different kind was in store for him. + +The visions beheld during the period of this fast usually determine +the whole course of the dreamer’s life, for an Indian is bound by iron +superstitions. From that time, Le Borgne, which was the only name by +which we knew him, abandoned all thoughts of war and devoted himself to +the labors of peace. He told his vision to the people. They honored his +commission and respected him in his novel capacity. + +A far different man was his brother, Mahto-Tatonka, who had transmitted +his names, his features, and many of his characteristic qualities to his +son. He was the father of Henry Chatillon’s squaw, a circumstance which +proved of some advantage to us, as securing for us the friendship of +a family perhaps the most distinguished and powerful in the whole +Ogallalla band. Mahto-Tatonka, in his rude way, was a hero. No chief +could vie with him in warlike renown, or in power over his people. He +had a fearless spirit, and a most impetuous and inflexible resolution. +His will was law. He was politic and sagacious, and with true Indian +craft he always befriended the whites, well knowing that he might +thus reap great advantages for himself and his adherents. When he had +resolved on any course of conduct, he would pay to the warriors the +empty compliment of calling them together to deliberate upon it, and +when their debates were over, he would quietly state his own opinion, +which no one ever disputed. The consequences of thwarting his imperious +will were too formidable to be encountered. Woe to those who incurred +his displeasure! He would strike them or stab them on the spot; and this +act, which, if attempted by any other chief, would instantly have cost +him his life, the awe inspired by his name enabled him to repeat again +and again with impunity. In a community where, from immemorial time, +no man has acknowledged any law but his own will, Mahto-Tatonka, by the +force of his dauntless resolution, raised himself to power little short +of despotic. His haughty career came at last to an end. He had a host +of enemies only waiting for their opportunity of revenge, and our old +friend Smoke, in particular, together with all his kinsmen, hated him +most cordially. Smoke sat one day in his lodge in the midst of his +own village, when Mahto-Tatonka entered it alone, and approaching the +dwelling of his enemy, called on him in a loud voice to come out, if +he were a man, and fight. Smoke would not move. At this, Mahto-Tatonka +proclaimed him a coward and an old woman, and striding close to the +entrance of the lodge, stabbed the chief’s best horse, which was +picketed there. Smoke was daunted, and even this insult failed to call +him forth. Mahto-Tatonka moved haughtily away; all made way for him, but +his hour of reckoning was near. + +One hot day, five or six years ago, numerous lodges of Smoke’s kinsmen +were gathered around some of the Fur Company’s men, who were trading +in various articles with them, whisky among the rest. Mahto-Tatonka was +also there with a few of his people. As he lay in his own lodge, a fray +arose between his adherents and the kinsmen of his enemy. The war-whoop +was raised, bullets and arrows began to fly, and the camp was in +confusion. The chief sprang up, and rushing in a fury from the lodge +shouted to the combatants on both sides to cease. Instantly--for the +attack was preconcerted--came the reports of two or three guns, and the +twanging of a dozen bows, and the savage hero, mortally wounded, pitched +forward headlong to the ground. Rouleau was present, and told me the +particulars. The tumult became general, and was not quelled until +several had fallen on both sides. When we were in the country the feud +between the two families was still rankling, and not likely soon to +cease. + +Thus died Mahto-Tatonka, but he left behind him a goodly army of +descendants, to perpetuate his renown and avenge his fate. Besides +daughters he had thirty sons, a number which need not stagger the +credulity of those who are best acquainted with Indian usages and +practices. We saw many of them, all marked by the same dark complexion +and the same peculiar cast of features. Of these our visitor, young +Mahto-Tatonka, was the eldest, and some reported him as likely to +succeed to his father’s honors. Though he appeared not more than +twenty-one years old, he had oftener struck the enemy, and stolen more +horses and more squaws than any young man in the village. We of the +civilized world are not apt to attach much credit to the latter +species of exploits; but horse-stealing is well known as an avenue +to distinction on the prairies, and the other kind of depredation is +esteemed equally meritorious. Not that the act can confer fame from +its own intrinsic merits. Any one can steal a squaw, and if he chooses +afterward to make an adequate present to her rightful proprietor, +the easy husband for the most part rests content, his vengeance falls +asleep, and all danger from that quarter is averted. Yet this is +esteemed but a pitiful and mean-spirited transaction. The danger is +averted, but the glory of the achievement also is lost. Mahto-Tatonka +proceeded after a more gallant and dashing fashion. Out of several dozen +squaws whom he had stolen, he could boast that he had never paid for +one, but snapping his fingers in the face of the injured husband, had +defied the extremity of his indignation, and no one yet had dared to lay +the finger of violence upon him. He was following close in the footsteps +of his father. The young men and the young squaws, each in their way, +admired him. The one would always follow him to war, and he was esteemed +to have unrivaled charm in the eyes of the other. Perhaps his impunity +may excite some wonder. An arrow shot from a ravine, a stab given in the +dark, require no great valor, and are especially suited to the Indian +genius; but Mahto-Tatonka had a strong protection. It was not alone his +courage and audacious will that enabled him to career so dashingly +among his compeers. His enemies did not forget that he was one of thirty +warlike brethren, all growing up to manhood. Should they wreak their +anger upon him, many keen eyes would be ever upon them, many fierce +hearts would thirst for their blood. The avenger would dog their +footsteps everywhere. To kill Mahto-Tatonka would be no better than an +act of suicide. + +Though he found such favor in the eyes of the fair, he was no dandy. As +among us those of highest worth and breeding are most simple in manner +and attire, so our aspiring young friend was indifferent to the gaudy +trappings and ornaments of his companions. He was content to rest his +chances of success upon his own warlike merits. He never arrayed himself +in gaudy blanket and glittering necklaces, but left his statue-like +form, limbed like an Apollo of bronze, to win its way to favor. His +voice was singularly deep and strong. It sounded from his chest like the +deep notes of an organ. Yet after all, he was but an Indian. See him as +he lies there in the sun before our tent, kicking his heels in the air +and cracking jokes with his brother. Does he look like a hero? See him +now in the hour of his glory, when at sunset the whole village empties +itself to behold him, for to-morrow their favorite young partisan goes +out against the enemy. His superb headdress is adorned with a crest of +the war eagle’s feathers, rising in a waving ridge above his brow, and +sweeping far behind him. His round white shield hangs at his breast, +with feathers radiating from the center like a star. His quiver is at +his back; his tall lance in his hand, the iron point flashing against +the declining sun, while the long scalp-locks of his enemies flutter +from the shaft. Thus, gorgeous as a champion in his panoply, he rides +round and round within the great circle of lodges, balancing with a +graceful buoyancy to the free movements of his war horse, while with a +sedate brow he sings his song to the Great Spirit. Young rival warriors +look askance at him; vermilion-cheeked girls gaze in admiration, boys +whoop and scream in a thrill of delight, and old women yell forth his +name and proclaim his praises from lodge to lodge. + +Mahto-Tatonka, to come back to him, was the best of all our Indian +friends. Hour after hour and day after day, when swarms of savages of +every age, sex, and degree beset our camp, he would lie in our tent, his +lynx eye ever open to guard our property from pillage. + +The Whirlwind invited us one day to his lodge. The feast was finished, +and the pipe began to circulate. It was a remarkably large and fine one, +and I expressed my admiration of its form and dimensions. + +“If the Meneaska likes the pipe,” asked The Whirlwind, “why does he not +keep it?” + +Such a pipe among the Ogallalla is valued at the price of a horse. +A princely gift, thinks the reader, and worthy of a chieftain and a +warrior. The Whirlwind’s generosity rose to no such pitch. He gave +me the pipe, confidently expecting that I in return should make him a +present of equal or superior value. This is the implied condition of +every gift among the Indians as among the Orientals, and should it not +be complied with the present is usually reclaimed by the giver. So I +arranged upon a gaudy calico handkerchief, an assortment of vermilion, +tobacco, knives, and gunpowder, and summoning the chief to camp, assured +him of my friendship and begged his acceptance of a slight token of it. +Ejaculating HOW! HOW! he folded up the offerings and withdrew to his +lodge. + +Several days passed and we and the Indians remained encamped side by +side. They could not decide whether or not to go to war. Toward evening, +scores of them would surround our tent, a picturesque group. Late one +afternoon a party of them mounted on horseback came suddenly in sight +from behind some clumps of bushes that lined the bank of the stream, +leading with them a mule, on whose back was a wretched negro, only +sustained in his seat by the high pommel and cantle of the Indian +saddle. His cheeks were withered and shrunken in the hollow of his jaws; +his eyes were unnaturally dilated, and his lips seemed shriveled and +drawn back from his teeth like those of a corpse. When they brought him +up before our tent, and lifted him from the saddle, he could not walk or +stand, but he crawled a short distance, and with a look of utter misery +sat down on the grass. All the children and women came pouring out of +the lodges round us, and with screams and cries made a close circle +about him, while he sat supporting himself with his hands, and looking +from side to side with a vacant stare. The wretch was starving to death! +For thirty-three days he had wandered alone on the prairie, without +weapon of any kind; without shoes, moccasins, or any other clothing than +an old jacket and pantaloons; without intelligence and skill to guide +his course, or any knowledge of the productions of the prairie. All this +time he had subsisted on crickets and lizards, wild onions, and three +eggs which he found in the nest of a prairie dove. He had not seen a +human being. Utterly bewildered in the boundless, hopeless desert that +stretched around him, offering to his inexperienced eye no mark by which +to direct his course, he had walked on in despair till he could walk no +longer, and then crawled on his knees until the bone was laid bare. He +chose the night for his traveling, lying down by day to sleep in the +glaring sun, always dreaming, as he said, of the broth and corn cake he +used to eat under his old master’s shed in Missouri. Every man in the +camp, both white and red, was astonished at his wonderful escape not +only from starvation but from the grizzly bears which abound in that +neighborhood, and the wolves which howled around him every night. + +Reynal recognized him the moment the Indians brought him in. He had +run away from his master about a year before and joined the party of +M. Richard, who was then leaving the frontier for the mountains. He had +lived with Richard ever since, until in the end of May he with Reynal +and several other men went out in search of some stray horses, when he +got separated from the rest in a storm, and had never been heard of up +to this time. Knowing his inexperience and helplessness, no one dreamed +that he could still be living. The Indians had found him lying exhausted +on the ground. + +As he sat there with the Indians gazing silently on him, his haggard +face and glazed eye were disgusting to look upon. Delorier made him +a bowl of gruel, but he suffered it to remain untasted before him. At +length he languidly raised the spoon to his lips; again he did so, and +again; and then his appetite seemed suddenly inflamed into madness, for +he seized the bowl, swallowed all its contents in a few seconds, and +eagerly demanded meat. This we refused, telling him to wait until +morning, but he begged so eagerly that we gave him a small piece, which +he devoured, tearing it like a dog. He said he must have more. We told +him that his life was in danger if he ate so immoderately at first. +He assented, and said he knew he was a fool to do so, but he must +have meat. This we absolutely refused, to the great indignation of the +senseless squaws, who, when we were not watching him, would slyly bring +dried meat and POMMES BLANCHES, and place them on the ground by his +side. Still this was not enough for him. When it grew dark he contrived +to creep away between the legs of the horses and crawl over to the +Indian village, about a furlong down the stream. Here he fed to his +heart’s content, and was brought back again in the morning, when Jean +Gras, the trapper, put him on horseback and carried him to the fort. +He managed to survive the effects of his insane greediness, and +though slightly deranged when we left this part of the country, he was +otherwise in tolerable health, and expressed his firm conviction that +nothing could ever kill him. + +When the sun was yet an hour high, it was a gay scene in the village. +The warriors stalked sedately among the lodges, or along the margin +of the streams, or walked out to visit the bands of horses that were +feeding over the prairie. Half the village population deserted the close +and heated lodges and betook themselves to the water; and here you might +see boys and girls and young squaws splashing, swimming, and diving +beneath the afternoon sun, with merry laughter and screaming. But +when the sun was just resting above the broken peaks, and the purple +mountains threw their prolonged shadows for miles over the prairie; when +our grim old tree, lighted by the horizontal rays, assumed an aspect +of peaceful repose, such as one loves after scenes of tumult and +excitement; and when the whole landscape of swelling plains and +scattered groves was softened into a tranquil beauty, then our +encampment presented a striking spectacle. Could Salvator Rosa have +transferred it to his canvas, it would have added new renown to his +pencil. Savage figures surrounded our tent, with quivers at their backs, +and guns, lances, or tomahawks in their hands. Some sat on horseback, +motionless as equestrian statues, their arms crossed on their breasts, +their eyes fixed in a steady unwavering gaze upon us. Some stood erect, +wrapped from head to foot in their long white robes of buffalo hide. +Some sat together on the grass, holding their shaggy horses by a rope, +with their broad dark busts exposed to view as they suffered their robes +to fall from their shoulders. Others again stood carelessly among the +throng, with nothing to conceal the matchless symmetry of their forms; +and I do not exaggerate when I say that only on the prairie and in the +Vatican have I seen such faultless models of the human figure. See that +warrior standing by the tree, towering six feet and a half in stature. +Your eyes may trace the whole of his graceful and majestic height, and +discover no defect or blemish. With his free and noble attitude, with +the bow in his hand, and the quiver at his back, he might seem, but +for his face, the Pythian Apollo himself. Such a figure rose before the +imagination of West, when on first seeing the Belvidere in the Vatican, +he exclaimed, “By God, a Mohawk!” + +When the sky darkened and the stars began to appear; when the prairie +was involved in gloom and the horses were driven in and secured around +the camp, the crowd began to melt away. Fires gleamed around, duskily +revealing the rough trappers and the graceful Indians. One of the +families near us would always be gathered about a bright blaze, that +displayed the shadowy dimensions of their lodge, and sent its lights +far up among the masses of foliage above, gilding the dead and ragged +branches. Withered witchlike hags flitted around the blaze, and here for +hour after hour sat a circle of children and young girls, laughing and +talking, their round merry faces glowing in the ruddy light. We could +hear the monotonous notes of the drum from the Indian village, with the +chant of the war song, deadened in the distance, and the long chorus of +quavering yells, where the war dance was going on in the largest lodge. +For several nights, too, we could hear wild and mournful cries, rising +and dying away like the melancholy voice of a wolf. They came from the +sisters and female relatives of Mahto-Tatonka, who were gashing their +limbs with knives, and bewailing the death of Henry Chatillon’s squaw. +The hour would grow late before all retired to rest in the camp. +Then the embers of the fires would be glowing dimly, the men would be +stretched in their blankets on the ground, and nothing could be heard +but the restless motions of the crowded horses. + +I recall these scenes with a mixed feeling of pleasure and pain. At +this time I was so reduced by illness that I could seldom walk without +reeling like a drunken man, and when I rose from my seat upon the ground +the landscape suddenly grew dim before my eyes, the trees and lodges +seemed to sway to and fro, and the prairie to rise and fall like the +swells of the ocean. Such a state of things is by no means enviable +anywhere. In a country where a man’s life may at any moment depend on +the strength of his arm, or it may be on the activity of his legs, it is +more particularly inconvenient. Medical assistance of course there was +none; neither had I the means of pursuing a system of diet; and sleeping +on a damp ground, with an occasional drenching from a shower, would +hardly be recommended as beneficial. I sometimes suffered the +extremity of languor and exhaustion, and though at the time I felt +no apprehensions of the final result, I have since learned that my +situation was a critical one. + +Besides other formidable inconveniences I owe it in a great measure to +the remote effects of that unlucky disorder that from deficient +eyesight I am compelled to employ the pen of another in taking down +this narrative from my lips; and I have learned very effectually that a +violent attack of dysentery on the prairie is a thing too serious for +a joke. I tried repose and a very sparing diet. For a long time, with +exemplary patience, I lounged about the camp, or at the utmost staggered +over to the Indian village, and walked faint and dizzy among the lodges. +It would not do, and I bethought me of starvation. During five days I +sustained life on one small biscuit a day. At the end of that time I was +weaker than before, but the disorder seemed shaken in its stronghold and +very gradually I began to resume a less rigid diet. No sooner had I done +so than the same detested symptoms revisited me; my old enemy resumed +his pertinacious assaults, yet not with his former violence or +constancy, and though before I regained any fair portion of my ordinary +strength weeks had elapsed, and months passed before the disorder left +me, yet thanks to old habits of activity, and a merciful Providence, I +was able to sustain myself against it. + +I used to lie languid and dreamy before our tent and muse on the past +and the future, and when most overcome with lassitude, my eyes turned +always toward the distant Black Hills. There is a spirit of energy +and vigor in mountains, and they impart it to all who approach their +presence. At that time I did not know how many dark superstitions and +gloomy legends are associated with those mountains in the minds of the +Indians, but I felt an eager desire to penetrate their hidden recesses, +to explore the awful chasms and precipices, the black torrents, the +silent forests, that I fancied were concealed there. + + + +CHAPTER XII + +ILL LUCK + + +A Canadian came from Fort Laramie, and brought a curious piece of +intelligence. A trapper, fresh from the mountains, had become enamored +of a Missouri damsel belonging to a family who with other emigrants had +been for some days encamped in the neighborhood of the fort. If bravery +be the most potent charm to win the favor of the fair, then no wooer +could be more irresistible than a Rocky Mountain trapper. In the present +instance, the suit was not urged in vain. The lovers concerted a scheme, +which they proceeded to carry into effect with all possible dispatch. +The emigrant party left the fort, and on the next succeeding night but +one encamped as usual, and placed a guard. A little after midnight +the enamored trapper drew near, mounted on a strong horse and leading +another by the bridle. Fastening both animals to a tree, he stealthily +moved toward the wagons, as if he were approaching a band of buffalo. +Eluding the vigilance of the guard, who was probably half asleep, he met +his mistress by appointment at the outskirts of the camp, mounted her on +his spare horse, and made off with her through the darkness. The sequel +of the adventure did not reach our ears, and we never learned how the +imprudent fair one liked an Indian lodge for a dwelling, and a reckless +trapper for a bridegroom. + +At length The Whirlwind and his warriors determined to move. They had +resolved after all their preparations not to go to the rendezvous at La +Bonte’s Camp, but to pass through the Black Hills and spend a few weeks +in hunting the buffalo on the other side, until they had killed enough +to furnish them with a stock of provisions and with hides to make their +lodges for the next season. This done, they were to send out a small +independent war party against the enemy. Their final determination left +us in some embarrassment. Should we go to La Bonte’s Camp, it was +not impossible that the other villages would prove as vacillating and +indecisive as The Whirlwinds, and that no assembly whatever would take +place. Our old companion Reynal had conceived a liking for us, or rather +for our biscuit and coffee, and for the occasional small presents which +we made him. He was very anxious that we should go with the village +which he himself intended to accompany. He declared he was certain that +no Indians would meet at the rendezvous, and said moreover that it +would be easy to convey our cart and baggage through the Black Hills. In +saying this, he told as usual an egregious falsehood. Neither he nor +any white man with us had ever seen the difficult and obscure defiles +through which the Indians intended to make their way. I passed them +afterward, and had much ado to force my distressed horse along the +narrow ravines, and through chasms where daylight could scarcely +penetrate. Our cart might as easily have been conveyed over the summit +of Pike’s Peak. Anticipating the difficulties and uncertainties of an +attempt to visit the rendezvous, we recalled the old proverb about “A +bird in the hand,” and decided to follow the village. + +Both camps, the Indians’ and our own, broke up on the morning of the 1st +of July. I was so weak that the aid of a potent auxiliary, a spoonful of +whisky swallowed at short intervals, alone enabled me to sit on my hardy +little mare Pauline through the short journey of that day. For half a +mile before us and half a mile behind, the prairie was covered far +and wide with the moving throng of savages. The barren, broken plain +stretched away to the right and left, and far in front rose the gloomy +precipitous ridge of the Black Hills. We pushed forward to the head of +the scattered column, passing the burdened travaux, the heavily laden +pack horses, the gaunt old women on foot, the gay young squaws on +horseback, the restless children running among the crowd, old men +striding along in their white buffalo robes, and groups of young +warriors mounted on their best horses. Henry Chatillon, looking backward +over the distant prairie, exclaimed suddenly that a horseman was +approaching, and in truth we could just discern a small black speck +slowly moving over the face of a distant swell, like a fly creeping on a +wall. It rapidly grew larger as it approached. + +“White man, I b’lieve,” said Henry; “look how he ride! Indian never ride +that way. Yes; he got rifle on the saddle before him.” + +The horseman disappeared in a hollow of the prairie, but we soon saw him +again, and as he came riding at a gallop toward us through the crowd of +Indians, his long hair streaming in the wind behind him, we recognized +the ruddy face and old buckskin frock of Jean Gras the trapper. He was +just arrived from Fort Laramie, where he had been on a visit, and +said he had a message for us. A trader named Bisonette, one of Henry’s +friends, was lately come from the settlements, and intended to go with a +party of men to La Bonte’s Camp, where, as Jean Gras assured us, ten or +twelve villages of Indians would certainly assemble. Bisonette desired +that we would cross over and meet him there, and promised that his men +should protect our horses and baggage while we went among the Indians. +Shaw and I stopped our horses and held a council, and in an evil hour +resolved to go. + +For the rest of that day’s journey our course and that of the Indians +was the same. In less than an hour we came to where the high barren +prairie terminated, sinking down abruptly in steep descent; and standing +on these heights, we saw below us a great level meadow. Laramie Creek +bounded it on the left, sweeping along in the shadow of the declivities, +and passing with its shallow and rapid current just below us. We sat +on horseback, waiting and looking on, while the whole savage array went +pouring past us, hurrying down the descent and spreading themselves +over the meadow below. In a few moments the plain was swarming with the +moving multitude, some just visible, like specks in the distance, others +still passing on, pressing down, and fording the stream with bustle +and confusion. On the edge of the heights sat half a dozen of the elder +warriors, gravely smoking and looking down with unmoved faces on the +wild and striking spectacle. + +Up went the lodges in a circle on the margin of the stream. For the sake +of quiet we pitched our tent among some trees at half a mile’s distance. +In the afternoon we were in the village. The day was a glorious one, +and the whole camp seemed lively and animated in sympathy. Groups of +children and young girls were laughing gayly on the outside of the +lodges. The shields, the lances, and the bows were removed from the tall +tripods on which they usually hung before the dwellings of their owners. +The warriors were mounting their horses, and one by one riding away over +the prairie toward the neighboring hills. + +Shaw and I sat on the grass near the lodge of Reynal. An old woman, with +true Indian hospitality, brought a bowl of boiled venison and placed it +before us. We amused ourselves with watching half a dozen young squaws +who were playing together and chasing each other in and out of one of +the lodges. Suddenly the wild yell of the war-whoop came pealing from +the hills. A crowd of horsemen appeared, rushing down their sides and +riding at full speed toward the village, each warrior’s long hair flying +behind him in the wind like a ship’s streamer. As they approached, the +confused throng assumed a regular order, and entering two by two, they +circled round the area at full gallop, each warrior singing his war song +as he rode. Some of their dresses were splendid. They wore superb +crests of feathers and close tunics of antelope skins, fringed with the +scalp-locks of their enemies; their shields too were often fluttering +with the war eagle’s feathers. All had bows and arrows at their back; +some carried long lances, and a few were armed with guns. The White +Shield, their partisan, rode in gorgeous attire at their head, mounted +on a black-and-white horse. Mahto-Tatonka and his brothers took no part +in this parade, for they were in mourning for their sister, and were all +sitting in their lodges, their bodies bedaubed from head to foot with +white clay, and a lock of hair cut from each of their foreheads. + +The warriors circled three times round the village; and as each +distinguished champion passed, the old women would scream out his name +in honor of his bravery, and to incite the emulation of the younger +warriors. Little urchins, not two years old, followed the warlike +pageant with glittering eyes, and looked with eager wonder and +admiration at those whose honors were proclaimed by the public voice of +the village. Thus early is the lesson of war instilled into the mind +of an Indian, and such are the stimulants which incite his thirst for +martial renown. + +The procession rode out of the village as it had entered it, and in half +an hour all the warriors had returned again, dropping quietly in, singly +or in parties of two or three. + +As the sun rose next morning we looked across the meadow, and could see +the lodges leveled and the Indians gathering together in preparation to +leave the camp. Their course lay to the westward. We turned toward the +north with our men, the four trappers following us, with the Indian +family of Moran. We traveled until night. I suffered not a little from +pain and weakness. We encamped among some trees by the side of a little +brook, and here during the whole of the next day we lay waiting for +Bisonette, but no Bisonette appeared. Here also two of our trapper +friends left us, and set out for the Rocky Mountains. On the second +morning, despairing of Bisonette’s arrival we resumed our journey, +traversing a forlorn and dreary monotony of sun-scorched plains, where +no living thing appeared save here and there an antelope flying before +us like the wind. When noon came we saw an unwonted and most welcome +sight; a rich and luxuriant growth of trees, marking the course of a +little stream called Horseshoe Creek. We turned gladly toward it. There +were lofty and spreading trees, standing widely asunder, and supporting +a thick canopy of leaves, above a surface of rich, tall grass. The +stream ran swiftly, as clear as crystal, through the bosom of the wood, +sparkling over its bed of white sand and darkening again as it entered a +deep cavern of leaves and boughs. I was thoroughly exhausted, and flung +myself on the ground, scarcely able to move. All that afternoon I lay +in the shade by the side of the stream, and those bright woods and +sparkling waters are associated in my mind with recollections of +lassitude and utter prostration. When night came I sat down by the +fire, longing, with an intensity of which at this moment I can hardly +conceive, for some powerful stimulant. + +In the morning as glorious a sun rose upon us as ever animated that +desolate wilderness. We advanced and soon were surrounded by tall bare +hills, overspread from top to bottom with prickly-pears and other cacti, +that seemed like clinging reptiles. A plain, flat and hard, and with +scarcely the vestige of grass, lay before us, and a line of tall +misshapen trees bounded the onward view. There was no sight or sound of +man or beast, or any living thing, although behind those trees was the +long-looked-for place of rendezvous, where we fondly hoped to have found +the Indians congregated by thousands. We looked and listened anxiously. +We pushed forward with our best speed, and forced our horses through +the trees. There were copses of some extent beyond, with a scanty stream +creeping through their midst; and as we pressed through the yielding +branches, deer sprang up to the right and left. At length we caught a +glimpse of the prairie beyond. Soon we emerged upon it, and saw, not +a plain covered with encampments and swarming with life, but a vast +unbroken desert stretching away before us league upon league, without a +bush or a tree or anything that had life. We drew rein and gave to the +winds our sentiments concerning the whole aboriginal race of America. +Our journey was in vain and much worse than in vain. For myself, I was +vexed and disappointed beyond measure; as I well knew that a slight +aggravation of my disorder would render this false step irrevocable, and +make it quite impossible to accomplish effectively the design which had +led me an arduous journey of between three and four thousand miles. To +fortify myself as well as I could against such a contingency, I resolved +that I would not under any circumstances attempt to leave the country +until my object was completely gained. + +And where were the Indians? They were assembled in great numbers at a +spot about twenty miles distant, and there at that very moment they +were engaged in their warlike ceremonies. The scarcity of buffalo in +the vicinity of La Bonte’s Camp, which would render their supply of +provisions scanty and precarious, had probably prevented them from +assembling there; but of all this we knew nothing until some weeks +after. + +Shaw lashed his horse and galloped forward, I, though much more vexed +than he, was not strong enough to adopt this convenient vent to my +feelings; so I followed at a quiet pace, but in no quiet mood. We +rode up to a solitary old tree, which seemed the only place fit for +encampment. Half its branches were dead, and the rest were so scantily +furnished with leaves that they cast but a meager and wretched shade, +and the old twisted trunk alone furnished sufficient protection from the +sun. We threw down our saddles in the strip of shadow that it cast, and +sat down upon them. In silent indignation we remained smoking for an +hour or more, shifting our saddles with the shifting shadow, for the sun +was intolerably hot. + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +HUNTING INDIANS + + +At last we had reached La Bonte’s Camp, toward which our eyes had turned +so long. Of all weary hours, those that passed between noon and sunset +of the day when we arrived there may bear away the palm of exquisite +discomfort. I lay under the tree reflecting on what course to pursue, +watching the shadows which seemed never to move, and the sun which +remained fixed in the sky, and hoping every moment to see the men and +horses of Bisonette emerging from the woods. Shaw and Henry had ridden +out on a scouting expedition, and did not return until the sun was +setting. There was nothing very cheering in their faces nor in the news +they brought. + +“We have been ten miles from here,” said Shaw. “We climbed the highest +butte we could find, and could not see a buffalo or Indian; nothing but +prairie for twenty miles around us.” + +Henry’s horse was quite disabled by clambering up and down the sides of +ravines, and Shaw’s was severely fatigued. + +After supper that evening, as we sat around the fire, I proposed to Shaw +to wait one day longer in hopes of Bisonette’s arrival, and if he +should not come to send Delorier with the cart and baggage back to +Fort Laramie, while we ourselves followed The Whirlwind’s village and +attempted to overtake it as it passed the mountains. Shaw, not having +the same motive for hunting Indians that I had, was averse to the +plan; I therefore resolved to go alone. This design I adopted very +unwillingly, for I knew that in the present state of my health the +attempt would be extremely unpleasant, and, as I considered, hazardous. +I hoped that Bisonette would appear in the course of the following day, +and bring us some information by which to direct our course, and enable +me to accomplish my purpose by means less objectionable. + +The rifle of Henry Chatillon was necessary for the subsistence of the +party in my absence; so I called Raymond, and ordered him to prepare to +set out with me. Raymond rolled his eyes vacantly about, but at length, +having succeeded in grappling with the idea, he withdrew to his bed +under the cart. He was a heavy-molded fellow, with a broad face exactly +like an owl’s, expressing the most impenetrable stupidity and entire +self-confidence. As for his good qualities, he had a sort of stubborn +fidelity, an insensibility to danger, and a kind of instinct or +sagacity, which sometimes led him right, where better heads than his +were at a loss. Besides this, he knew very well how to handle a rifle +and picket a horse. + +Through the following day the sun glared down upon us with a pitiless, +penetrating heat. The distant blue prairie seemed quivering under it. +The lodge of our Indian associates was baking in the rays, and our +rifles, as they leaned against the tree, were too hot for the touch. +There was a dead silence through our camp and all around it, unbroken +except by the hum of gnats and mosquitoes. The men, resting their +foreheads on their arms, were sleeping under the cart. The Indians kept +close within their lodge except the newly married pair, who were seated +together under an awning of buffalo robes, and the old conjurer, who, +with his hard, emaciated face and gaunt ribs, was perched aloft like a +turkey-buzzard among the dead branches of an old tree, constantly on the +lookout for enemies. He would have made a capital shot. A rifle bullet, +skillfully planted, would have brought him tumbling to the ground. +Surely, I thought, there could be no more harm in shooting such a +hideous old villain, to see how ugly he would look when he was dead, +than in shooting the detestable vulture which he resembled. We dined, +and then Shaw saddled his horse. + +“I will ride back,” said he, “to Horseshoe Creek, and see if Bisonette +is there.” + +“I would go with you,” I answered, “but I must reserve all the strength +I have.” + +The afternoon dragged away at last. I occupied myself in cleaning my +rifle and pistols, and making other preparations for the journey. After +supper, Henry Chatillon and I lay by the fire, discussing the properties +of that admirable weapon, the rifle, in the use of which he could fairly +outrival Leatherstocking himself. + +It was late before I wrapped myself in my blanket and lay down for the +night, with my head on my saddle. Shaw had not returned, but this gave +no uneasiness, for we presumed that he had fallen in with Bisonette, and +was spending the night with him. For a day or two past I had gained in +strength and health, but about midnight an attack of pain awoke me, and +for some hours I felt no inclination to sleep. The moon was quivering on +the broad breast of the Platte; nothing could be heard except those low +inexplicable sounds, like whisperings and footsteps, which no one who +has spent the night alone amid deserts and forests will be at a loss to +understand. As I was falling asleep, a familiar voice, shouting from the +distance, awoke me again. A rapid step approached the camp, and Shaw on +foot, with his gun in his hand, hastily entered. + +“Where’s your horse?” said I, raising myself on my elbow. + +“Lost!” said Shaw. “Where’s Delorier?” + +“There,” I replied, pointing to a confused mass of blankets and buffalo +robes. + +Shaw touched them with the butt of his gun, and up sprang our faithful +Canadian. + +“Come, Delorier; stir up the fire, and get me something to eat.” + +“Where’s Bisonette?” asked I. + +“The Lord knows; there’s nobody at Horseshoe Creek.” + +Shaw had gone back to the spot where we had encamped two days before, +and finding nothing there but the ashes of our fires, he had tied his +horse to the tree while he bathed in the stream. Something startled his +horse, who broke loose, and for two hours Shaw tried in vain to catch +him. Sunset approached, and it was twelve miles to camp. So he abandoned +the attempt, and set out on foot to join us. The greater part of his +perilous and solitary work was performed in darkness. His moccasins were +worn to tatters and his feet severely lacerated. He sat down to eat, +however, with the usual equanimity of his temper not at all disturbed +by his misfortune, and my last recollection before falling asleep was of +Shaw, seated cross-legged before the fire, smoking his pipe. The +horse, I may as well mention here, was found the next morning by Henry +Chatillon. + +When I awoke again there was a fresh damp smell in the air, a gray +twilight involved the prairie, and above its eastern verge was a streak +of cold red sky. I called to the men, and in a moment a fire was blazing +brightly in the dim morning light, and breakfast was getting ready. We +sat down together on the grass, to the last civilized meal which Raymond +and I were destined to enjoy for some time. + +“Now, bring in the horses.” + +My little mare Pauline was soon standing by the fire. She was a fleet, +hardy, and gentle animal, christened after Paul Dorion, from whom I had +procured her in exchange for Pontiac. She did not look as if equipped +for a morning pleasure ride. In front of the black, high-bowed mountain +saddle, holsters, with heavy pistols, were fastened. A pair of saddle +bags, a blanket tightly rolled, a small parcel of Indian presents tied +up in a buffalo skin, a leather bag of flour, and a smaller one of tea +were all secured behind, and a long trail-rope was wound round her +neck. Raymond had a strong black mule, equipped in a similar manner. We +crammed our powder-horns to the throat, and mounted. + +“I will meet you at Fort Laramie on the 1st of August,” said I to Shaw. + +“That is,” replied he, “if we don’t meet before that. I think I shall +follow after you in a day or two.” + +This in fact he attempted, and he would have succeeded if he had not +encountered obstacles against which his resolute spirit was of no avail. +Two days after I left him he sent Delorier to the fort with the cart +and baggage, and set out for the mountains with Henry Chatillon; but a +tremendous thunderstorm had deluged the prairie, and nearly obliterated +not only our trail but that of the Indians themselves. They followed +along the base of the mountains, at a loss in which direction to go. +They encamped there, and in the morning Shaw found himself poisoned by +ivy in such a manner that it was impossible for him to travel. So they +turned back reluctantly toward Fort Laramie. Shaw’s limbs were swollen +to double their usual size, and he rode in great pain. They encamped +again within twenty miles of the fort, and reached it early on the +following morning. Shaw lay seriously ill for a week, and remained at +the fort till I rejoined him some time after. + +To return to my own story. We shook hands with our friends, rode out +upon the prairie, and clambering the sandy hollows that were channeled +in the sides of the hills gained the high plains above. If a curse had +been pronounced upon the land it could not have worn an aspect of more +dreary and forlorn barrenness. There were abrupt broken hills, deep +hollows, and wide plains; but all alike glared with an insupportable +whiteness under the burning sun. The country, as if parched by the heat, +had cracked into innumerable fissures and ravines, that not a little +impeded our progress. Their steep sides were white and raw, and along +the bottom we several times discovered the broad tracks of the terrific +grizzly bear, nowhere more abundant than in this region. The ridges of +the hills were hard as rock, and strewn with pebbles of flint and coarse +red jasper; looking from them, there was nothing to relieve the desert +uniformity of the prospect, save here and there a pine-tree clinging at +the edge of a ravine, and stretching out its rough, shaggy arms. Under +the scorching heat these melancholy trees diffused their peculiar +resinous odor through the sultry air. There was something in it, as I +approached them, that recalled old associations; the pine-clad mountains +of New England, traversed in days of health and buoyancy, rose like a +reality before my fancy. In passing that arid waste I was goaded with +a morbid thirst produced by my disorder, and I thought with a longing +desire on the crystal treasure poured in such wasteful profusion from +our thousand hills. Shutting my eyes, I more than half believed that +I heard the deep plunging and gurgling of waters in the bowels of the +shaded rocks. I could see their dark ice glittering far down amid the +crevices, and the cold drops trickling from the long green mosses. + +When noon came, we found a little stream, with a few trees and bushes; +and here we rested for an hour. Then we traveled on, guided by the sun, +until, just before sunset, we reached another stream, called Bitter +Cotton-wood Creek. A thick growth of bushes and old storm-beaten trees +grew at intervals along its bank. Near the foot of one of the trees we +flung down our saddles, and hobbling our horses turned them loose to +feed. The little stream was clear and swift, and ran musically on its +white sands. Small water birds were splashing in the shallows, and +filling the air with their cries and flutterings. The sun was just +sinking among gold and crimson clouds behind Mount Laramie. I well +remember how I lay upon a log by the margin of the water, and watched +the restless motions of the little fish in a deep still nook below. +Strange to say, I seemed to have gained strength since the morning, and +almost felt a sense of returning health. + +We built our fire. Night came, and the wolves began to howl. One deep +voice commenced, and it was answered in awful responses from the hills, +the plains, and the woods along the stream above and below us. Such +sounds need not and do not disturb one’s sleep upon the prairie. We +picketed the mare and the mule close at our feet, and did not wake until +daylight. Then we turned them loose, still hobbled, to feed for an hour +before starting. We were getting ready our morning’s meal, when Raymond +saw an antelope at half a mile’s distance, and said he would go and +shoot it. + +“Your business,” said. I, “is to look after the animals. I am too weak +to do much, if anything happens to them, and you must keep within sight +of the camp.” + +Raymond promised, and set out with his rifle in his hand. The animals +had passed across the stream, and were feeding among the long grass +on the other side, much tormented by the attacks of the numerous large +green-headed flies. As I watched them, I saw them go down into a hollow, +and as several minutes elapsed without their reappearing, I waded +through the stream to look after them. To my vexation and alarm I +discovered them at a great distance, galloping away at full speed, +Pauline in advance, with her hobbles broken, and the mule, still +fettered, following with awkward leaps. I fired my rifle and shouted to +recall Raymond. In a moment he came running through the stream, with a +red handkerchief bound round his head. I pointed to the fugitives, and +ordered him to pursue them. Muttering a “Sacre!” between his teeth, he +set out at full speed, still swinging his rifle in his hand. I walked +up to the top of a hill, and looking away over the prairie, could just +distinguish the runaways, still at full gallop. Returning to the fire, +I sat down at the foot of a tree. Wearily and anxiously hour after +hour passed away. The old loose bark dangling from the trunk behind +me flapped to and fro in the wind, and the mosquitoes kept up their +incessant drowsy humming; but other than this, there was no sight nor +sound of life throughout the burning landscape. The sun rose higher and +higher, until the shadows fell almost perpendicularly, and I knew that +it must be noon. It seemed scarcely possible that the animals could be +recovered. If they were not, my situation was one of serious difficulty. +Shaw, when I left him had decided to move that morning, but whither +he had not determined. To look for him would be a vain attempt. Fort +Laramie was forty miles distant, and I could not walk a mile without +great effort. Not then having learned the sound philosophy of yielding +to disproportionate obstacles, I resolved to continue in any event the +pursuit of the Indians. Only one plan occurred to me; this was to send +Raymond to the fort with an order for more horses, while I remained on +the spot, awaiting his return, which might take place within three days. +But the adoption of this resolution did not wholly allay my anxiety, for +it involved both uncertainty and danger. To remain stationary and alone +for three days, in a country full of dangerous Indians, was not the most +flattering of prospects; and protracted as my Indian hunt must be by +such delay, it was not easy to foretell its ultimate result. Revolving +these matters, I grew hungry; and as our stock of provisions, except +four or five pounds of flour, was by this time exhausted, I left the +camp to see what game I could find. Nothing could be seen except four or +five large curlew, which, with their loud screaming, were wheeling over +my head, and now and then alighting upon the prairie. I shot two of +them, and was about returning, when a startling sight caught my eye. A +small, dark object, like a human head, suddenly appeared, and vanished +among the thick hushes along the stream below. In that country every +stranger is a suspected enemy. Instinctively I threw forward the muzzle +of my rifle. In a moment the bushes were violently shaken, two heads, +but not human heads, protruded, and to my great joy I recognized the +downcast, disconsolate countenance of the black mule and the yellow +visage of Pauline. Raymond came upon the mule, pale and haggard, +complaining of a fiery pain in his chest. I took charge of the animals +while he kneeled down by the side of the stream to drink. He had kept +the runaways in sight as far as the Side Fork of Laramie Creek, a +distance of more than ten miles; and here with great difficulty he had +succeeded in catching them. I saw that he was unarmed, and asked him +what he had done with his rifle. It had encumbered him in his pursuit, +and he had dropped it on the prairie, thinking that he could find it +on his return; but in this he had failed. The loss might prove a very +formidable one. I was too much rejoiced however at the recovery of the +animals to think much about it; and having made some tea for Raymond in +a tin vessel which we had brought with us, I told him that I would give +him two hours for resting before we set out again. He had eaten nothing +that day; but having no appetite, he lay down immediately to sleep. I +picketed the animals among the richest grass that I could find, and made +fires of green wood to protect them from the flies; then sitting down +again by the tree, I watched the slow movements of the sun, begrudging +every moment that passed. + +The time I had mentioned expired, and I awoke Raymond. We saddled and +set out again, but first we went in search of the lost rifle, and in +the course of an hour Raymond was fortunate enough to find it. Then we +turned westward, and moved over the hills and hollows at a slow pace +toward the Black Hills. The heat no longer tormented us, for a cloud +was before the sun. Yet that day shall never be marked with white in my +calendar. The air began to grow fresh and cool, the distant mountains +frowned more gloomily, there was a low muttering of thunder, and dense +black masses of cloud rose heavily behind the broken peaks. At first +they were gayly fringed with silver by the afternoon sun, but soon the +thick blackness overspread the whole sky, and the desert around us +was wrapped in deep gloom. I scarcely heeded it at the time, but now +I cannot but feel that there was an awful sublimity in the hoarse +murmuring of the thunder, in the somber shadows that involved the +mountains and the plain. The storm broke. It came upon us with a zigzag +blinding flash, with a terrific crash of thunder, and with a hurricane +that howled over the prairie, dashing floods of water against us. +Raymond looked round, and cursed the merciless elements. There seemed +no shelter near, but we discerned at length a deep ravine gashed in the +level prairie, and saw half way down its side an old pine tree, whose +rough horizontal boughs formed a sort of penthouse against the tempest. +We found a practicable passage, and hastily descending, fastened our +animals to some large loose stones at the bottom; then climbing up, we +drew our blankets over our heads, and seated ourselves close beneath the +old tree. Perhaps I was no competent judge of time, but it seemed to me +that we were sitting there a full hour, while around us poured a deluge +of rain, through which the rocks on the opposite side of the gulf were +barely visible. The first burst of the tempest soon subsided, but the +rain poured steadily. At length Raymond grew impatient, and scrambling +out of the ravine, he gained the level prairie above. + +“What does the weather look like?” asked I, from my seat under the tree. + +“It looks bad,” he answered; “dark all around,” and again he descended +and sat down by my side. Some ten minutes elapsed. + +“Go up again,” said I, “and take another look;” and he clambered up the +precipice. “Well, how is it?” + +“Just the same, only I see one little bright spot over the top of the +mountain.” + +The rain by this time had begun to abate; and going down to the bottom +of the ravine, we loosened the animals, who were standing up to their +knees in water. Leading them up the rocky throat of the ravine, we +reached the plain above. “Am I,” I thought to myself, “the same man who +a few months since, was seated, a quiet student of BELLES-LETTRES, in a +cushioned arm-chair by a sea-coal fire?” + +All around us was obscurity; but the bright spot above the mountaintops +grew wider and ruddier, until at length the clouds drew apart, and +a flood of sunbeams poured down from heaven, streaming along the +precipices, and involving them in a thin blue haze, as soft and lovely +as that which wraps the Apennines on an evening in spring. Rapidly the +clouds were broken and scattered, like routed legions of evil spirits. +The plain lay basking in sunbeams around us; a rainbow arched the desert +from north to south, and far in front a line of woods seemed inviting +us to refreshment and repose. When we reached them, they were glistening +with prismatic dewdrops, and enlivened by the song and flutterings of +a hundred birds. Strange winged insects, benumbed by the rain, were +clinging to the leaves and the bark of the trees. + +Raymond kindled a fire with great difficulty. The animals turned eagerly +to feed on the soft rich grass, while I, wrapping myself in my blanket, +lay down and gazed on the evening landscape. The mountains, whose stern +features had lowered upon us with so gloomy and awful a frown, now +seemed lighted up with a serene, benignant smile, and the green waving +undulations of the plain were gladdened with the rich sunshine. Wet, +ill, and wearied as I was, my spirit grew lighter at the view, and I +drew from it an augury of good for my future prospects. + +When morning came, Raymond awoke, coughing violently, though I had +apparently received no injury. We mounted, crossed the little stream, +pushed through the trees, and began our journey over the plain beyond. +And now, as we rode slowly along, we looked anxiously on every hand +for traces of the Indians, not doubting that the village had passed +somewhere in that vicinity; but the scanty shriveled grass was not more +than three or four inches high, and the ground was of such unyielding +hardness that a host might have marched over it and left scarcely a +trace of its passage. Up hill and down hill, and clambering through +ravines, we continued our journey. As we were skirting the foot of a +hill I saw Raymond, who was some rods in advance, suddenly jerking the +reins of his mule. Sliding from his seat, and running in a crouching +posture up a hollow, he disappeared; and then in an instant I heard the +sharp quick crack of his rifle. A wounded antelope came running on three +legs over the hill. I lashed Pauline and made after him. My fleet little +mare soon brought me by his side, and after leaping and bounding for +a few moments in vain, he stood still, as if despairing of escape. His +glistening eyes turned up toward my face with so piteous a look that it +was with feelings of infinite compunction that I shot him through the +head with a pistol. Raymond skinned and cut him up, and we hung the +forequarters to our saddles, much rejoiced that our exhausted stock of +provisions was renewed in such good time. + +Gaining the top of a hill, we could see along the cloudy verge of the +prairie before us lines of trees and shadowy groves that marked the +course of Laramie Creek. Some time before noon we reached its banks +and began anxiously to search them for footprints of the Indians. We +followed the stream for several miles, now on the shore and now wading +in the water, scrutinizing every sand-bar and every muddy bank. So +long was the search that we began to fear that we had left the trail +undiscovered behind us. At length I heard Raymond shouting, and saw him +jump from his mule to examine some object under the shelving bank. I +rode up to his side. It was the clear and palpable impression of an +Indian moccasin. Encouraged by this we continued our search, and at +last some appearances on a soft surface of earth not far from the shore +attracted my eye; and going to examine them I found half a dozen tracks, +some made by men and some by children. Just then Raymond observed across +the stream the mouth of a small branch entering it from the south. He +forded the water, rode in at the opening, and in a moment I heard him +shouting again, so I passed over and joined him. The little branch had a +broad sandy bed, along which the water trickled in a scanty stream; and +on either bank the bushes were so close that the view was completely +intercepted. I found Raymond stooping over the footprints of three or +four horses. Proceeding we found those of a man, then those of a child, +then those of more horses; and at last the bushes on each bank were +beaten down and broken, and the sand plowed up with a multitude of +footsteps, and scored across with the furrows made by the lodge-poles +that had been dragged through. It was now certain that we had found +the trail. I pushed through the bushes, and at a little distance on the +prairie beyond found the ashes of a hundred and fifty lodge fires, with +bones and pieces of buffalo robes scattered around them, and in some +instances the pickets to which horses had been secured still standing +in the ground. Elated by our success we selected a convenient tree, and +turning the animals loose, prepared to make a meal from the fat haunch +of our victim. + +Hardship and exposure had thriven with me wonderfully. I had gained both +health and strength since leaving La Bonte’s Camp. Raymond and I made a +hearty meal together in high spirits, for we rashly presumed that having +found one end of the trail we should have little difficulty in reaching +the other. But when the animals were led in we found that our old ill +luck had not ceased to follow us close. As I was saddling Pauline I saw +that her eye was as dull as lead, and the hue of her yellow coat visibly +darkened. I placed my foot in the stirrup to mount, when instantly she +staggered and fell flat on her side. Gaining her feet with an effort she +stood by the fire with a drooping head. Whether she had been bitten by +a snake or poisoned by some noxious plant or attacked by a sudden +disorder, it was hard to say; but at all events her sickness was +sufficiently ill-timed and unfortunate. I succeeded in a second attempt +to mount her, and with a slow pace we moved forward on the trail of the +Indians. It led us up a hill and over a dreary plain; and here, to our +great mortification, the traces almost disappeared, for the ground was +hard as adamant; and if its flinty surface had ever retained the print +of a hoof, the marks had been washed away by the deluge of yesterday. An +Indian village, in its disorderly march, is scattered over the prairie, +often to the width of full half a mile; so that its trail is nowhere +clearly marked, and the task of following it is made doubly wearisome +and difficult. By good fortune plenty of large ant-hills, a yard or more +in diameter, were scattered over the plain, and these were frequently +broken by the footprints of men and horses, and marked by traces of the +lodge-poles. The succulent leaves of the prickly-pear, also bruised from +the same causes, helped a little to guide us; so inch by inch we moved +along. Often we lost the trail altogether, and then would recover it +again, but late in the afternoon we found ourselves totally at fault. +We stood alone without clew to guide us. The broken plain expanded +for league after league around us, and in front the long dark ridge of +mountains was stretching from north to south. Mount Laramie, a little +on our right, towered high above the rest and from a dark valley just +beyond one of its lower declivities, we discerned volumes of white smoke +slowly rolling up into the clear air. + +“I think,” said Raymond, “some Indians must be there. Perhaps we +had better go.” But this plan was not rashly to be adopted, and we +determined still to continue our search after the lost trail. Our good +stars prompted us to this decision, for we afterward had reason to +believe, from information given us by the Indians, that the smoke was +raised as a decoy by a Crow war party. + +Evening was coming on, and there was no wood or water nearer than the +foot of the mountains. So thither we turned, directing our course toward +the point where Laramie Creek issues forth upon the prairie. When we +reached it the bare tops of the mountains were still brightened with +sunshine. The little river was breaking with a vehement and angry +current from its dark prison. There was something in the near vicinity +of the mountains, in the loud surging of the rapids, wonderfully +cheering and exhilarating; for although once as familiar as home itself, +they had been for months strangers to my experience. There was a rich +grass-plot by the river’s bank, surrounded by low ridges, which would +effectually screen ourselves and our fire from the sight of wandering +Indians. Here among the grass I observed numerous circles of large +stones, which, as Raymond said, were traces of a Dakota winter +encampment. We lay down and did not awake till the sun was up. A large +rock projected from the shore, and behind it the deep water was slowly +eddying round and round. The temptation was irresistible. I threw off +my clothes, leaped in, suffered myself to be borne once round with the +current, and then, seizing the strong root of a water plant, drew myself +to the shore. The effect was so invigorating and refreshing that I +mistook it for returning health. “Pauline,” thought I, as I led the +little mare up to be saddled, “only thrive as I do, and you and I will +have sport yet among the buffalo beyond these mountains.” But scarcely +were we mounted and on our way before the momentary glow passed. Again I +hung as usual in my seat, scarcely able to hold myself erect. + +“Look yonder,” said Raymond; “you see that big hollow there; the Indians +must have gone that way, if they went anywhere about here.” + +We reached the gap, which was like a deep notch cut into the mountain +ridge, and here we soon discerned an ant-hill furrowed with the mark of +a lodge-pole. This was quite enough; there could be no doubt now. As we +rode on, the opening growing narrower, the Indians had been compelled to +march in closer order, and the traces became numerous and distinct. The +gap terminated in a rocky gateway, leading into a rough passage upward, +between two precipitous mountains. Here grass and weeds were bruised to +fragments by the throng that had passed through. We moved slowly over +the rocks, up the passage; and in this toilsome manner we advanced for +an hour or two, bare precipices, hundreds of feet high, shooting up on +either hand. Raymond, with his hardy mule, was a few rods before me, +when we came to the foot of an ascent steeper than the rest, and which +I trusted might prove the highest point of the defile. Pauline strained +upward for a few yards, moaning and stumbling, and then came to a dead +stop, unable to proceed further. I dismounted, and attempted to lead +her; but my own exhausted strength soon gave out; so I loosened the +trail-rope from her neck, and tying it round my arm, crawled up on my +hands and knees. I gained the top, totally exhausted, the sweat drops +trickling from my forehead. Pauline stood like a statue by my side, her +shadow falling upon the scorching rock; and in this shade, for there was +no other, I lay for some time, scarcely able to move a limb. All around +the black crags, sharp as needles at the top, stood glowing in the +sun, without a tree, or a bush, or a blade of grass, to cover their +precipitous sides. The whole scene seemed parched with a pitiless, +insufferable heat. + +After a while I could mount again, and we moved on, descending the rocky +defile on its western side. Thinking of that morning’s journey, it +has sometimes seemed to me that there was something ridiculous in my +position; a man, armed to the teeth, but wholly unable to fight, and +equally so to run away, traversing a dangerous wilderness, on a sick +horse. But these thoughts were retrospective, for at the time I was in +too grave a mood to entertain a very lively sense of the ludicrous. + +Raymond’s saddle-girth slipped; and while I proceeded he was stopping +behind to repair the mischief. I came to the top of a little declivity, +where a most welcome sight greeted my eye; a nook of fresh green grass +nestled among the cliffs, sunny clumps of bushes on one side, and shaggy +old pine trees leaning forward from the rocks on the other. A shrill, +familiar voice saluted me, and recalled me to days of boyhood; that of +the insect called the “locust” by New England schoolboys, which was fast +clinging among the heated boughs of the old pine trees. Then, too, as +I passed the bushes, the low sound of falling water reached my ear. +Pauline turned of her own accord, and pushing through the boughs we +found a black rock, over-arched by the cool green canopy. An icy stream +was pouring from its side into a wide basin of white sand, from whence +it had no visible outlet, but filtered through into the soil below. +While I filled a tin cup at the spring, Pauline was eagerly plunging +her head deep in the pool. Other visitors had been there before us. All +around in the soft soil were the footprints of elk, deer, and the Rocky +Mountain sheep; and the grizzly bear too had left the recent prints of +his broad foot, with its frightful array of claws. Among these mountains +was his home. + +Soon after leaving the spring we found a little grassy plain, encircled +by the mountains, and marked, to our great joy, with all the traces of +an Indian camp. Raymond’s practiced eye detected certain signs by which +he recognized the spot where Reynal’s lodge had been pitched and his +horses picketed. I approached, and stood looking at the place. Reynal +and I had, I believe, hardly a feeling in common. I disliked the fellow, +and it perplexed me a good deal to understand why I should look with so +much interest on the ashes of his fire, when between him and me there +seemed no other bond of sympathy than the slender and precarious one of +a kindred race. + +In half an hour from this we were clear of the mountains. There was a +plain before us, totally barren and thickly peopled in many parts with +the little prairie dogs, who sat at the mouths of their burrows and +yelped at us as we passed. The plain, as we thought, was about six miles +wide; but it cost us two hours to cross it. Then another mountain range +rose before us, grander and more wild than the last had been. Far out of +the dense shrubbery that clothed the steeps for a thousand feet shot up +black crags, all leaning one way, and shattered by storms and thunder +into grim and threatening shapes. As we entered a narrow passage on the +trail of the Indians, they impended frightfully on one side, above our +heads. + +Our course was through dense woods, in the shade and twinkling sunlight +of overhanging boughs. I would I could recall to mind all the startling +combinations that presented themselves, as winding from side to side +of the passage, to avoid its obstructions, we could see, glancing at +intervals through the foliage, the awful forms of the gigantic cliffs, +that seemed at times to hem us in on the right and on the left, before +us and behind! Another scene in a few moments greeted us; a tract of +gray and sunny woods, broken into knolls and hollows, enlivened by birds +and interspersed with flowers. Among the rest I recognized the mellow +whistle of the robin, an old familiar friend whom I had scarce expected +to meet in such a place. Humble-bees too were buzzing heavily about +the flowers; and of these a species of larkspur caught my eye, more +appropriate, it should seem, to cultivated gardens than to a remote +wilderness. Instantly it recalled a multitude of dormant and delightful +recollections. + +Leaving behind us this spot and its associations, a sight soon presented +itself, characteristic of that warlike region. In an open space, fenced +in by high rocks, stood two Indian forts, of a square form, rudely built +of sticks and logs. They were somewhat ruinous, having probably been +constructed the year before. Each might have contained about twenty men. +Perhaps in this gloomy spot some party had been beset by their enemies, +and those scowling rocks and blasted trees might not long since have +looked down on a conflict unchronicled and unknown. Yet if any traces +of bloodshed remained they were completely hidden by the bushes and tall +rank weeds. + +Gradually the mountains drew apart, and the passage expanded into a +plain, where again we found traces of an Indian encampment. There were +trees and bushes just before us, and we stopped here for an hour’s rest +and refreshment. When we had finished our meal Raymond struck fire, and +lighting his pipe, sat down at the foot of a tree to smoke. For some +time I observed him puffing away with a face of unusual solemnity. Then +slowly taking the pipe from his lips, he looked up and remarked that we +had better not go any farther. + +“Why not?” asked I. + +He said that the country was becoming very dangerous, that we were +entering the range of the Snakes, Arapahoes and Grosventre Blackfeet, +and that if any of their wandering parties should meet us, it would cost +us our lives; but he added, with a blunt fidelity that nearly reconciled +me to his stupidity, that he would go anywhere I wished. I told him to +bring up the animals, and mounting them we proceeded again. I confess +that, as we moved forward, the prospect seemed but a dreary and doubtful +one. I would have given the world for my ordinary elasticity of body +and mind, and for a horse of such strength and spirit as the journey +required. + +Closer and closer the rocks gathered round us, growing taller and +steeper, and pressing more and more upon our path. We entered at length +a defile which I never had seen rivaled. The mountain was cracked from +top to bottom, and we were creeping along the bottom of the fissure, in +dampness and gloom, with the clink of hoofs on the loose shingly rocks, +and the hoarse murmuring of a petulant brook which kept us company. +Sometimes the water, foaming among the stones, overspread the whole +narrow passage; sometimes, withdrawing to one side, it gave us room to +pass dry-shod. Looking up, we could see a narrow ribbon of bright blue +sky between the dark edges of the opposing cliffs. This did not last +long. The passage soon widened, and sunbeams found their way down, +flashing upon the black waters. The defile would spread out to many rods +in width; bushes, trees, and flowers would spring by the side of the +brook; the cliffs would be feathered with shrubbery, that clung in every +crevice, and fringed with trees, that grew along their sunny edges. Then +we would be moving again in the darkness. The passage seemed about four +miles long, and before we reached the end of it, the unshod hoofs of our +animals were lamentably broken, and their legs cut by the sharp stones. +Issuing from the mountain we found another plain. All around it stood a +circle of lofty precipices, that seemed the impersonation of silence and +solitude. Here again the Indians had encamped, as well they might, after +passing with their women, children and horses through the gulf behind +us. In one day we had made a journey which had cost them three to +accomplish. + +The only outlet to this amphitheater lay over a hill some two hundred +feet high, up which we moved with difficulty. Looking from the top, +we saw that at last we were free of the mountains. The prairie +spread before us, but so wild and broken that the view was everywhere +obstructed. Far on our left one tall hill swelled up against the sky, on +the smooth, pale green surface of which four slowly moving black specks +were discernible. They were evidently buffalo, and we hailed the sight +as a good augury; for where the buffalo were, there too the Indians +would probably be found. We hoped on that very night to reach the +village. We were anxious to do so for a double reason, wishing to bring +our wearisome journey to an end, and knowing, moreover, that though +to enter the village in broad daylight would be a perfectly safe +experiment, yet to encamp in its vicinity would be dangerous. But as we +rode on, the sun was sinking, and soon was within half an hour of the +horizon. We ascended a hill and looked round us for a spot for our +encampment. The prairie was like a turbulent ocean, suddenly congealed +when its waves were at the highest, and it lay half in light and half in +shadow, as the rich sunshine, yellow as gold, was pouring over it. The +rough bushes of the wild sage were growing everywhere, its dull pale +green overspreading hill and hollow. Yet a little way before us, a +bright verdant line of grass was winding along the plain, and here and +there throughout its course water was glistening darkly. We went down to +it, kindled a fire, and turned our horses loose to feed. It was a little +trickling brook, that for some yards on either bank turned the barren +prairie into fertility, and here and there it spread into deep pools, +where the beaver had dammed it up. + +We placed our last remaining piece of the antelope before a scanty fire, +mournfully reflecting on our exhausted stock of provisions. Just then an +enormous gray hare, peculiar to these prairies, came jumping along, and +seated himself within fifty yards to look at us. I thoughtlessly raised +my rifle to shoot him, but Raymond called out to me not to fire for +fear the report should reach the ears of the Indians. That night for the +first time we considered that the danger to which we were exposed was +of a somewhat serious character; and to those who are unacquainted with +Indians, it may seem strange that our chief apprehensions arose from +the supposed proximity of the people whom we intended to visit. Had any +straggling party of these faithful friends caught sight of us from the +hill-top, they would probably have returned in the night to plunder us +of our horses and perhaps of our scalps. But we were on the prairie, +where the GENIUS LOCI is at war with all nervous apprehensions; and +I presume that neither Raymond nor I thought twice of the matter that +evening. + +While he was looking after the animals, I sat by the fire engaged in +the novel task of baking bread. The utensils were of the most simple +and primitive kind, consisting of two sticks inclining over the bed of +coals, one end thrust into the ground while the dough was twisted in a +spiral form round the other. Under such circumstances all the epicurean +in a man’s nature is apt to awaken within him. I revisited in fancy the +far distant abodes of good fare, not indeed Frascati’s, or the Trois +Freres Provencaux, for that were too extreme a flight; but no other than +the homely table of my old friend and host, Tom Crawford, of the White +Mountains. By a singular revulsion, Tom himself, whom I well remember +to have looked upon as the impersonation of all that is wild and +backwoodsman-like, now appeared before me as the ministering angel of +comfort and good living. Being fatigued and drowsy I began to doze, and +my thoughts, following the same train of association, assumed another +form. Half-dreaming, I saw myself surrounded with the mountains of +New England, alive with water-falls, their black crags tinctured with +milk-white mists. For this reverie I paid a speedy penalty; for the +bread was black on one side and soft on the other. + +For eight hours Raymond and I, pillowed on our saddles, lay insensible +as logs. Pauline’s yellow head was stretched over me when I awoke. I +got up and examined her. Her feet indeed were bruised and swollen by the +accidents of yesterday, but her eye was brighter, her motions livelier, +and her mysterious malady had visibly abated. We moved on, hoping within +an hour to come in sight of the Indian village; but again disappointment +awaited us. The trail disappeared, melting away upon a hard and stony +plain. Raymond and I separating, rode from side to side, scrutinizing +every yard of ground, until at length I discerned traces of the +lodge-poles passing by the side of a ridge of rocks. We began again to +follow them. + +“What is that black spot out there on the prairie?” + +“It looks like a dead buffalo,” answered Raymond. + +We rode out to it, and found it to be the huge carcass of a bull killed +by the Indians as they had passed. Tangled hair and scraps of hide were +scattered all around, for the wolves had been making merry over it, +and had hollowed out the entire carcass. It was covered with myriads of +large black crickets, and from its appearance must certainly have lain +there for four or five days. The sight was a most disheartening one, +and I observed to Raymond that the Indians might still be fifty or sixty +miles before us. But he shook his head, and replied that they dared not +go so far for fear of their enemies, the Snakes. + +Soon after this we lost the trail again, and ascended a neighboring +ridge, totally at a loss. Before us lay a plain perfectly flat, +spreading on the right and left, without apparent limit, and bounded in +front by a long broken line of hills, ten or twelve miles distant. +All was open and exposed to view, yet not a buffalo nor an Indian was +visible. + +“Do you see that?” said Raymond; “Now we had better turn round.” + +But as Raymond’s bourgeois thought otherwise, we descended the hill and +began to cross the plain. We had come so far that I knew perfectly well +neither Pauline’s limbs nor my own could carry me back to Fort Laramie. +I considered that the lines of expediency and inclination tallied +exactly, and that the most prudent course was to keep forward. The +ground immediately around us was thickly strewn with the skulls and +bones of buffalo, for here a year or two before the Indians had made a +“surround”; yet no living game presented itself. At length, however, an +antelope sprang up and gazed at us. We fired together, and by a singular +fatality we both missed, although the animal stood, a fair mark, within +eighty yards. This ill success might perhaps be charged to our own +eagerness, for by this time we had no provision left except a little +flour. We could discern several small lakes, or rather extensive pools +of water, glistening in the distance. As we approached them, wolves +and antelopes bounded away through the tall grass that grew in their +vicinity, and flocks of large white plover flew screaming over their +surface. Having failed of the antelope, Raymond tried his hand at the +birds with the same ill success. The water also disappointed us. Its +muddy margin was so beaten up by the crowd of buffalo that our timorous +animals were afraid to approach. So we turned away and moved toward the +hills. The rank grass, where it was not trampled down by the buffalo, +fairly swept our horses’ necks. + +Again we found the same execrable barren prairie offering no clew by +which to guide our way. As we drew near the hills an opening appeared, +through which the Indians must have gone if they had passed that way at +all. Slowly we began to ascend it. I felt the most dreary forebodings +of ill success, when on looking round I could discover neither dent of +hoof, nor footprint, nor trace of lodge-pole, though the passage was +encumbered by the ghastly skulls of buffalo. We heard thunder muttering; +a storm was coming on. + +As we gained the top of the gap, the prospect beyond began to disclose +itself. First, we saw a long dark line of ragged clouds upon the +horizon, while above them rose the peak of the Medicine-Bow, the +vanguard of the Rocky Mountains; then little by little the plain came +into view, a vast green uniformity, forlorn and tenantless, though +Laramie Creek glistened in a waving line over its surface, without a +bush or a tree upon its banks. As yet, the round projecting shoulder of +a hill intercepted a part of the view. I rode in advance, when suddenly +I could distinguish a few dark spots on the prairie, along the bank of +the stream. + +“Buffalo!” said I. Then a sudden hope flashed upon me, and eagerly and +anxiously I looked again. + +“Horses!” exclaimed Raymond, with a tremendous oath, lashing his mule +forward as he spoke. More and more of the plain disclosed itself, and +in rapid succession more and more horses appeared, scattered along +the river bank, or feeding in bands over the prairie. Then, suddenly, +standing in a circle by the stream, swarming with their savage +inhabitants, we saw rising before us the tall lodges of the Ogallalla. +Never did the heart of wanderer more gladden at the sight of home than +did mine at the sight of those wild habitations! + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE OGALLALLA VILLAGE + + +Such a narrative as this is hardly the place for portraying the mental +features of the Indians. The same picture, slightly changed in shade and +coloring, would serve with very few exceptions for all the tribes that +lie north of the Mexican territories. But with this striking similarity +in their modes of thought, the tribes of the lake and ocean shores, of +the forests and of the plains, differ greatly in their manner of life. +Having been domesticated for several weeks among one of the wildest of +the wild hordes that roam over the remote prairies, I had extraordinary +opportunities of observing them, and I flatter myself that a faithful +picture of the scenes that passed daily before my eyes may not be devoid +of interest and value. These men were thorough savages. Neither their +manners nor their ideas were in the slightest degree modified by contact +with civilization. They knew nothing of the power and real character of +the white men, and their children would scream in terror at the sight of +me. Their religion, their superstitions, and their prejudices were the +same that had been handed down to them from immemorial time. They fought +with the same weapons that their fathers fought with and wore the same +rude garments of skins. + +Great changes are at hand in that region. With the stream of emigration +to Oregon and California, the buffalo will dwindle away, and the large +wandering communities who depend on them for support must be broken +and scattered. The Indians will soon be corrupted by the example of the +whites, abased by whisky, and overawed by military posts; so that within +a few years the traveler may pass in tolerable security through their +country. Its danger and its charm will have disappeared together. + +As soon as Raymond and I discovered the village from the gap in the +hills, we were seen in our turn; keen eyes were constantly on the watch. +As we rode down upon the plain the side of the village nearest us was +darkened with a crowd of naked figures gathering around the lodges. +Several men came forward to meet us. I could distinguish among them the +green blanket of the Frenchman Reynal. When we came up the ceremony of +shaking hands had to be gone through with in due form, and then all were +eager to know what had become of the rest of my party. I satisfied them +on this point, and we all moved forward together toward the village. + +“You’ve missed it,” said Reynal; “if you’d been here day before +yesterday, you’d have found the whole prairie over yonder black with +buffalo as far as you could see. There were no cows, though; nothing but +bulls. We made a ‘surround’ every day till yesterday. See the village +there; don’t that look like good living?” + +In fact I could see, even at that distance, that long cords were +stretched from lodge to lodge, over which the meat, cut by the squaws +into thin sheets, was hanging to dry in the sun. I noticed too that the +village was somewhat smaller than when I had last seen it, and I asked +Reynal the cause. He said that the old Le Borgne had felt too weak +to pass over the mountains, and so had remained behind with all his +relations, including Mahto-Tatonka and his brothers. The Whirlwind +too had been unwilling to come so far, because, as Reynal said, he was +afraid. Only half a dozen lodges had adhered to him, the main body of +the village setting their chief’s authority at naught, and taking the +course most agreeable to their inclinations. + +“What chiefs are there in the village now?” said I. + +“Well,” said Reynal, “there’s old Red-Water, and the Eagle-Feather, and +the Big Crow, and the Mad Wolf and the Panther, and the White Shield, +and--what’s his name?--the half-breed Cheyenne.” + +By this time we were close to the village, and I observed that while the +greater part of the lodges were very large and neat in their appearance, +there was at one side a cluster of squalid, miserable huts. I looked +toward them, and made some remark about their wretched appearance. But I +was touching upon delicate ground. + +“My squaw’s relations live in those lodges,” said Reynal very warmly, +“and there isn’t a better set in the whole village.” + +“Are there any chiefs among them?” asked I. + +“Chiefs?” said Reynal; “yes, plenty!” + +“What are their names?” I inquired. + +“Their names? Why, there’s the Arrow-Head. If he isn’t a chief he ought +to be one. And there’s the Hail-Storm. He’s nothing but a boy, to be +sure; but he’s bound to be a chief one of these days!” + +Just then we passed between two of the lodges, and entered the great +area of the village. Superb naked figures stood silently gazing on us. + +“Where’s the Bad Wound’s lodge?” said I to Reynal. + +“There, you’ve missed it again! The Bad Wound is away with The +Whirlwind. If you could have found him here, and gone to live in his +lodge, he would have treated you better than any man in the village. +But there’s the Big Crow’s lodge yonder, next to old Red-Water’s. He’s a +good Indian for the whites, and I advise you to go and live with him.” + +“Are there many squaws and children in his lodge?” said I. + +“No; only one squaw and two or three children. He keeps the rest in a +separate lodge by themselves.” + +So, still followed by a crowd of Indians, Raymond and I rode up to the +entrance of the Big Crow’s lodge. A squaw came out immediately and took +our horses. I put aside the leather nap that covered the low opening, +and stooping, entered the Big Crow’s dwelling. There I could see the +chief in the dim light, seated at one side, on a pile of buffalo robes. +He greeted me with a guttural “How, cola!” I requested Reynal to tell +him that Raymond and I were come to live with him. The Big Crow gave +another low exclamation. If the reader thinks that we were intruding +somewhat cavalierly, I beg him to observe that every Indian in the +village would have deemed himself honored that white men should give +such preference to his hospitality. + +The squaw spread a buffalo robe for us in the guest’s place at the head +of the lodge. Our saddles were brought in, and scarcely were we seated +upon them before the place was thronged with Indians, who came crowding +in to see us. The Big Crow produced his pipe and filled it with the +mixture of tobacco and shongsasha, or red willow bark. Round and round +it passed, and a lively conversation went forward. Meanwhile a squaw +placed before the two guests a wooden bowl of boiled buffalo meat, but +unhappily this was not the only banquet destined to be inflicted on us. +Rapidly, one after another, boys and young squaws thrust their heads in +at the opening, to invite us to various feasts in different parts of the +village. For half an hour or more we were actively engaged in passing +from lodge to lodge, tasting in each of the bowl of meat set before us, +and inhaling a whiff or two from our entertainer’s pipe. A thunderstorm +that had been threatening for some time now began in good earnest. We +crossed over to Reynal’s lodge, though it hardly deserved this name, for +it consisted only of a few old buffalo robes, supported on poles, and +was quite open on one side. Here we sat down, and the Indians gathered +round us. + +“What is it,” said I, “that makes the thunder?” + +“It’s my belief,” said Reynal, “that it is a big stone rolling over the +sky.” + +“Very likely,” I replied; “but I want to know what the Indians think +about it.” + +So he interpreted my question, which seemed to produce some doubt +and debate. There was evidently a difference of opinion. At last old +Mene-Seela, or Red-Water, who sat by himself at one side, looked up with +his withered face, and said he had always known what the thunder was. +It was a great black bird; and once he had seen it, in a dream, swooping +down from the Black Hills, with its loud roaring wings; and when it +flapped them over a lake, they struck lightning from the water. + +“The thunder is bad,” said another old man, who sat muffled in his +buffalo robe; “he killed my brother last summer.” + +Reynal, at my request, asked for an explanation; but the old man +remained doggedly silent, and would not look up. Some time after I +learned how the accident occurred. The man who was killed belonged to an +association which, among other mystic functions, claimed the exclusive +power and privilege of fighting the thunder. Whenever a storm which they +wished to avert was threatening, the thunder-fighters would take their +bows and arrows, their guns, their magic drum, and a sort of whistle, +made out of the wingbone of the war eagle. Thus equipped, they would +run out and fire at the rising cloud, whooping, yelling, whistling, and +beating their drum, to frighten it down again. One afternoon a heavy +black cloud was coming up, and they repaired to the top of a hill, where +they brought all their magic artillery into play against it. But the +undaunted thunder, refusing to be terrified, kept moving straight +onward, and darted out a bright flash which struck one of the party +dead, as he was in the very act of shaking his long iron-pointed +lance against it. The rest scattered and ran yelling in an ecstasy of +superstitious terror back to their lodges. + +The lodge of my host Kongra-Tonga, or the Big Crow, presented a +picturesque spectacle that evening. A score or more of Indians were +seated around in a circle, their dark naked forms just visible by +the dull light of the smoldering fire in the center, the pipe glowing +brightly in the gloom as it passed from hand to hand round the lodge. +Then a squaw would drop a piece of buffalo-fat on the dull embers. +Instantly a bright glancing flame would leap up, darting its clear light +to the very apex of the tall conical structure, where the tops of the +slender poles that supported its covering of leather were gathered +together. It gilded the features of the Indians, as with animated +gestures they sat around it, telling their endless stories of war and +hunting. It displayed rude garments of skins that hung around the lodge; +the bow, quiver, and lance suspended over the resting-place of the +chief, and the rifles and powder-horns of the two white guests. For a +moment all would be bright as day; then the flames would die away, and +fitful flashes from the embers would illumine the lodge, and then leave +it in darkness. Then all the light would wholly fade, and the lodge and +all within it be involved again in obscurity. + +As I left the lodge next morning, I was saluted by howling and yelling +from all around the village, and half its canine population rushed +forth to the attack. Being as cowardly as they were clamorous, they kept +jumping around me at the distance of a few yards, only one little cur, +about ten inches long, having spirit enough to make a direct assault. He +dashed valiantly at the leather tassel which in the Dakota fashion was +trailing behind the heel of my moccasin, and kept his hold, growling and +snarling all the while, though every step I made almost jerked him over +on his back. As I knew that the eyes of the whole village were on the +watch to see if I showed any sign of apprehension, I walked forward +without looking to the right or left, surrounded wherever I went by this +magic circle of dogs. When I came to Reynal’s lodge I sat down by it, on +which the dogs dispersed growling to their respective quarters. Only one +large white one remained, who kept running about before me and showing +his teeth. I called him, but he only growled the more. I looked at him +well. He was fat and sleek; just such a dog as I wanted. “My friend,” + thought I, “you shall pay for this! I will have you eaten this very +morning!” + +I intended that day to give the Indians a feast, by way of conveying a +favorable impression of my character and dignity; and a white dog is +the dish which the customs of the Dakota prescribe for all occasions of +formality and importance. I consulted Reynal; he soon discovered that an +old woman in the next lodge was owner of the white dog. I took a +gaudy cotton handkerchief, and laying it on the ground, arranged some +vermilion, beads, and other trinkets upon it. Then the old squaw was +summoned. I pointed to the dog and to the handkerchief. She gave a +scream of delight, snatched up the prize, and vanished with it into +her lodge. For a few more trifles I engaged the services of two other +squaws, each of whom took the white dog by one of his paws, and led him +away behind the lodges, while he kept looking up at them with a face +of innocent surprise. Having killed him they threw him into a fire to +singe; then chopped him up and put him into two large kettles to boil. +Meanwhile I told Raymond to fry in buffalo-fat what little flour we +had left, and also to make a kettle of tea as an additional item of the +repast. + +The Big Crow’s squaw was set briskly at work sweeping out the lodge for +the approaching festivity. I confided to my host himself the task of +inviting the guests, thinking that I might thereby shift from my own +shoulders the odium of fancied neglect and oversight. + +When feasting is in question, one hour of the day serves an Indian as +well as another. My entertainment came off about eleven o’clock. At that +hour, Reynal and Raymond walked across the area of the village, to the +admiration of the inhabitants, carrying the two kettles of dog-meat +slung on a pole between them. These they placed in the center of the +lodge, and then went back for the bread and the tea. Meanwhile I had put +on a pair of brilliant moccasins, and substituted for my old buckskin +frock a coat which I had brought with me in view of such public +occasions. I also made careful use of the razor, an operation which no +man will neglect who desires to gain the good opinion of Indians. Thus +attired, I seated myself between Reynal and Raymond at the head of the +lodge. Only a few minutes elapsed before all the guests had come in and +were seated on the ground, wedged together in a close circle around +the lodge. Each brought with him a wooden bowl to hold his share of the +repast. When all were assembled, two of the officials called “soldiers” + by the white men, came forward with ladles made of the horn of the Rocky +Mountain sheep, and began to distribute the feast, always assigning +a double share to the old men and chiefs. The dog vanished with +astonishing celerity, and each guest turned his dish bottom upward to +show that all was gone. Then the bread was distributed in its turn, +and finally the tea. As the soldiers poured it out into the same wooden +bowls that had served for the substantial part of the meal, I thought it +had a particularly curious and uninviting color. + +“Oh!” said Reynal, “there was not tea enough, so I stirred some soot in +the kettle, to make it look strong.” + +Fortunately an Indian’s palate is not very discriminating. The tea was +well sweetened, and that was all they cared for. + +Now the former part of the entertainment being concluded, the time for +speech-making was come. The Big Crow produced a flat piece of wood +on which he cut up tobacco and shongsasha, and mixed them in due +proportions. The pipes were filled and passed from hand to hand around +the company. Then I began my speech, each sentence being interpreted +by Reynal as I went on, and echoed by the whole audience with the usual +exclamations of assent and approval. As nearly as I can recollect, it +was as follows: + +I had come, I told them, from a country so far distant, that at the rate +they travel, they could not reach it in a year. + +“Howo how!” + +“There the Meneaska were more numerous than the blades of grass on the +prairie. The squaws were far more beautiful than any they had ever seen, +and all the men were brave warriors.” + +“How! how! how!” + +Here I was assailed by sharp twinges of conscience, for I fancied I +could perceive a fragrance of perfumery in the air, and a vision rose +before me of white kid gloves and silken mustaches with the mild and +gentle countenances of numerous fair-haired young men. But I recovered +myself and began again. + +“While I was living in the Meneaska lodges, I had heard of the +Ogallalla, how great and brave a nation they were, how they loved +the whites, and how well they could hunt the buffalo and strike their +enemies. I resolved to come and see if all that I heard was true.” + +“How! how! how! how!” + +“As I had come on horseback through the mountains, I had been able to +bring them only a very few presents.” + +“How!” + +“But I had enough tobacco to give them all a small piece. They might +smoke it, and see how much better it was than the tobacco which they got +from the traders.” + +“How! how! how!” + +“I had plenty of powder, lead, knives, and tobacco at Fort Laramie. +These I was anxious to give them, and if any of them should come to the +fort before I went away, I would make them handsome presents.” + +“How! howo how! how!” + +Raymond then cut up and distributed among them two or three pounds of +tobacco, and old Mene-Seela began to make a reply. It was quite long, +but the following was the pith of it: + +“He had always loved the whites. They were the wisest people on earth. +He believed they could do everything, and he was always glad when any +of them came to live in the Ogallalla lodges. It was true I had not made +them many presents, but the reason of it was plain. It was clear that I +liked them, or I never should have come so far to find their village.” + +Several other speeches of similar import followed, and then this more +serious matter being disposed of, there was an interval of smoking, +laughing, and conversation; but old Mene-Seela suddenly interrupted it +with a loud voice: + +“Now is a good time,” he said, “when all the old men and chiefs are here +together, to decide what the people shall do. We came over the mountain +to make our lodges for next year. Our old ones are good for nothing; +they are rotten and worn out. But we have been disappointed. We have +killed buffalo bulls enough, but we have found no herds of cows, and the +skins of bulls are too thick and heavy for our squaws to make lodges of. +There must be plenty of cows about the Medicine-Bow Mountain. We ought +to go there. To be sure it is farther westward than we have ever been +before, and perhaps the Snakes will attack us, for those hunting-grounds +belong to them. But we must have new lodges at any rate; our old ones +will not serve for another year. We ought not to be afraid of the +Snakes. Our warriors are brave, and they are all ready for war. Besides, +we have three white men with their rifles to help us.” + +I could not help thinking that the old man relied a little too much on +the aid of allies, one of whom was a coward, another a blockhead, and +the third an invalid. This speech produced a good deal of debate. +As Reynal did not interpret what was said, I could only judge of the +meaning by the features and gestures of the speakers. At the end of it, +however, the greater number seemed to have fallen in with Mene-Seela’s +opinion. A short silence followed, and then the old man struck up +a discordant chant, which I was told was a song of thanks for the +entertainment I had given them. + +“Now,” said he, “let us go and give the white men a chance to breathe.” + +So the company all dispersed into the open air, and for some time the +old chief was walking round the village, singing his song in praise of +the feast, after the usual custom of the nation. + +At last the day drew to a close, and as the sun went down the horses +came trooping from the surrounding plains to be picketed before the +dwellings of their respective masters. Soon within the great circle of +lodges appeared another concentric circle of restless horses; and here +and there fires were glowing and flickering amid the gloom of the dusky +figures around them. I went over and sat by the lodge of Reynal. The +Eagle-Feather, who was a son of Mene-Seela, and brother of my host the +Big Crow, was seated there already, and I asked him if the village would +move in the morning. He shook his head, and said that nobody could tell, +for since old Mahto-Tatonka had died, the people had been like children +that did not know their own minds. They were no better than a body +without a head. So I, as well as the Indians themselves, fell asleep +that night without knowing whether we should set out in the morning +toward the country of the Snakes. + +At daybreak, however, as I was coming up from the river after my +morning’s ablutions, I saw that a movement was contemplated. Some of the +lodges were reduced to nothing but bare skeletons of poles; the leather +covering of others was flapping in the wind as the squaws were pulling +it off. One or two chiefs of note had resolved, it seemed, on moving; +and so having set their squaws at work, the example was tacitly followed +by the rest of the village. One by one the lodges were sinking down in +rapid succession, and where the great circle of the village had been +only a moment before, nothing now remained but a ring of horses and +Indians, crowded in confusion together. The ruins of the lodges were +spread over the ground, together with kettles, stone mallets, great +ladles of horn, buffalo robes, and cases of painted hide, filled with +dried meat. Squaws bustled about in their busy preparations, the old +hags screaming to one another at the stretch of their leathern lungs. +The shaggy horses were patiently standing while the lodge-poles were +lashed to their sides, and the baggage piled upon their backs. The dogs, +with their tongues lolling out, lay lazily panting, and waiting for the +time of departure. Each warrior sat on the ground by the decaying embers +of his fire, unmoved amid all the confusion, while he held in his hand +the long trail-rope of his horse. + +As their preparations were completed, each family moved off the ground. +The crowd was rapidly melting away. I could see them crossing the river, +and passing in quick succession along the profile of the hill on the +farther bank. When all were gone, I mounted and set out after them, +followed by Raymond, and as we gained the summit, the whole village +came in view at once, straggling away for a mile or more over the barren +plains before us. Everywhere the iron points of lances were glittering. +The sun never shone upon a more strange array. Here were the heavy-laden +pack horses, some wretched old women leading them, and two or three +children clinging to their backs. Here were mules or ponies covered from +head to tail with gaudy trappings, and mounted by some gay young squaw, +grinning bashfulness and pleasure as the Meneaska looked at her. Boys +with miniature bows and arrows were wandering over the plains, little +naked children were running along on foot, and numberless dogs were +scampering among the feet of the horses. The young braves, gaudy with +paint and feathers, were riding in groups among the crowd, and often +galloping, two or three at once along the line, to try the speed of +their horses. Here and there you might see a rank of sturdy pedestrians +stalking along in their white buffalo robes. These were the dignitaries +of the village, the old men and warriors, to whose age and experience +that wandering democracy yielded a silent deference. With the rough +prairie and the broken hills for its background, the restless scene +was striking and picturesque beyond description. Days and weeks made me +familiar with it, but never impaired its effect upon my fancy. + +As we moved on the broken column grew yet more scattered and disorderly, +until, as we approached the foot of a hill, I saw the old men before +mentioned seating themselves in a line upon the ground, in advance of +the whole. They lighted a pipe and sat smoking, laughing, and telling +stories, while the people, stopping as they successively came up, were +soon gathered in a crowd behind them. Then the old men rose, drew their +buffalo robes over their shoulders, and strode on as before. Gaining the +top of the hill, we found a very steep declivity before us. There was +not a minute’s pause. The whole descended in a mass, amid dust and +confusion. The horses braced their feet as they slid down, women and +children were screaming, dogs yelping as they were trodden upon, while +stones and earth went rolling to the bottom. In a few moments I could +see the village from the summit, spreading again far and wide over the +plain below. + +At our encampment that afternoon I was attacked anew by my old disorder. +In half an hour the strength that I had been gaining for a week past had +vanished again, and I became like a man in a dream. But at sunset I lay +down in the Big Crow’s lodge and slept, totally unconscious till the +morning. The first thing that awakened me was a hoarse flapping over my +head, and a sudden light that poured in upon me. The camp was breaking +up, and the squaws were moving the covering from the lodge. I arose and +shook off my blanket with the feeling of perfect health; but scarcely +had I gained my feet when a sense of my helpless condition was once more +forced upon me, and I found myself scarcely able to stand. Raymond had +brought up Pauline and the mule, and I stooped to raise my saddle from +the ground. My strength was quite inadequate to the task. “You must +saddle her,” said I to Raymond, as I sat down again on a pile of buffalo +robes: + + +“Et hoec etiam fortasse meminisse juvabit.” + + +I thought, while with a painful effort I raised myself into the saddle. +Half an hour after, even the expectation that Virgil’s line expressed +seemed destined to disappointment. As we were passing over a great +plain, surrounded by long broken ridges, I rode slowly in advance of +the Indians, with thoughts that wandered far from the time and from the +place. Suddenly the sky darkened, and thunder began to mutter. Clouds +were rising over the hills, as dreary and dull as the first forebodings +of an approaching calamity; and in a moment all around was wrapped in +shadow. I looked behind. The Indians had stopped to prepare for the +approaching storm, and the dark, dense mass of savages stretched far to +the right and left. Since the first attack of my disorder the effects +of rain upon me had usually been injurious in the extreme. I had no +strength to spare, having at that moment scarcely enough to keep my seat +on horseback. Then, for the first time, it pressed upon me as a strong +probability that I might never leave those deserts. “Well,” thought I +to myself, “a prairie makes quick and sharp work. Better to die here, in +the saddle to the last, than to stifle in the hot air of a sick chamber, +and a thousand times better than to drag out life, as many have done, +in the helpless inaction of lingering disease.” So, drawing the buffalo +robe on which I sat over my head, I waited till the storm should come. +It broke at last with a sudden burst of fury, and passing away as +rapidly as it came, left the sky clear again. My reflections served +me no other purpose than to look back upon as a piece of curious +experience; for the rain did not produce the ill effects that I had +expected. We encamped within an hour. Having no change of clothes, I +contrived to borrow a curious kind of substitute from Reynal: and this +done, I went home, that is, to the Big Crow’s lodge to make the entire +transfer that was necessary. Half a dozen squaws were in the lodge, and +one of them taking my arm held it against her own, while a general laugh +and scream of admiration were raised at the contrast in the color of the +skin. + +Our encampment that afternoon was not far distant from a spur of the +Black Hills, whose ridges, bristling with fir trees, rose from the +plains a mile or two on our right. That they might move more rapidly +toward their proposed hunting-grounds, the Indians determined to leave +at this place their stock of dried meat and other superfluous articles. +Some left even their lodges, and contented themselves with carrying a +few hides to make a shelter from the sun and rain. Half the inhabitants +set out in the afternoon, with loaded pack horses, toward the mountains. +Here they suspended the dried meat upon trees, where the wolves and +grizzly bears could not get at it. All returned at evening. Some of the +young men declared that they had heard the reports of guns among the +mountains to the eastward, and many surmises were thrown out as to the +origin of these sounds. For my part, I was in hopes that Shaw and Henry +Chatillon were coming to join us. I would have welcomed them cordially, +for I had no other companions than two brutish white men and five +hundred savages. I little suspected that at that very moment my unlucky +comrade was lying on a buffalo robe at Fort Laramie, fevered with ivy +poison, and solacing his woes with tobacco and Shakespeare. + +As we moved over the plains on the next morning, several young men were +riding about the country as scouts; and at length we began to see them +occasionally on the tops of the hills, shaking their robes as a signal +that they saw buffalo. Soon after, some bulls came in sight. Horsemen +darted away in pursuit, and we could see from the distance that one +or two of the buffalo were killed. Raymond suddenly became inspired. +I looked at him as he rode by my side; his face had actually grown +intelligent! + +“This is the country for me!” he said; “if I could only carry the +buffalo that are killed here every month down to St. Louis I’d make +my fortune in one winter. I’d grow as rich as old Papin, or Mackenzie +either. I call this the poor man’s market. When I’m hungry I have only +got to take my rifle and go out and get better meat than the rich folks +down below can get with all their money. You won’t catch me living in +St. Louis another winter.” + +“No,” said Reynal, “you had better say that after you and your Spanish +woman almost starved to death there. What a fool you were ever to take +her to the settlements.” + +“Your Spanish woman?” said I; “I never heard of her before. Are you +married to her?” + +“No,” answered Raymond, again looking intelligent; “the priests don’t +marry their women, and why should I marry mine?” + +This honorable mention of the Mexican clergy introduced the subject of +religion, and I found that my two associates, in common with other white +men in the country, were as indifferent to their future welfare as men +whose lives are in constant peril are apt to be. Raymond had never +heard of the Pope. A certain bishop, who lived at Taos or at Santa +Fe, embodied his loftiest idea of an ecclesiastical dignitary. Reynal +observed that a priest had been at Fort Laramie two years ago, on his +way to the Nez Perce mission, and that he had confessed all the men +there and given them absolution. “I got a good clearing out myself that +time,” said Reynal, “and I reckon that will do for me till I go down to +the settlements again.” + +Here he interrupted himself with an oath and exclaimed: “Look! look! The +Panther is running an antelope!” + +The Panther, on his black and white horse, one of the best in the +village, came at full speed over the hill in hot pursuit of an antelope +that darted away like lightning before him. The attempt was made in mere +sport and bravado, for very few are the horses that can for a moment +compete in swiftness with this little animal. The antelope ran down the +hill toward the main body of the Indians who were moving over the plain +below. Sharp yells were given and horsemen galloped out to intercept his +flight. At this he turned sharply to the left and scoured away with such +incredible speed that he distanced all his pursuers and even the vaunted +horse of the Panther himself. A few moments after we witnessed a more +serious sport. A shaggy buffalo bull bounded out from a neighboring +hollow, and close behind him came a slender Indian boy, riding without +stirrups or saddle and lashing his eager little horse to full speed. +Yard after yard he drew closer to his gigantic victim, though the bull, +with his short tail erect and his tongue lolling out a foot from his +foaming jaws, was straining his unwieldy strength to the utmost. A +moment more and the boy was close alongside of him. It was our friend +the Hail-Storm. He dropped the rein on his horse’s neck and jerked an +arrow like lightning from the quiver at his shoulder. + +“I tell you,” said Reynal, “that in a year’s time that boy will match +the best hunter in the village. There he has given it to him! and there +goes another! You feel well, now, old bull, don’t you, with two arrows +stuck in your lights? There, he has given him another! Hear how the +Hail-Storm yells when he shoots! Yes, jump at him; try it again, old +fellow! You may jump all day before you get your horns into that pony!” + +The bull sprang again and again at his assailant, but the horse kept +dodging with wonderful celerity. At length the bull followed up his +attack with a furious rush, and the Hail-Storm was put to flight, the +shaggy monster following close behind. The boy clung in his seat like a +leech, and secure in the speed of his little pony, looked round toward +us and laughed. In a moment he was again alongside of the bull, who +was now driven to complete desperation. His eyeballs glared through +his tangled mane, and the blood flew from his mouth and nostrils. Thus, +still battling with each other, the two enemies disappeared over the +hill. + +Many of the Indians rode at full gallop toward the spot. We followed at +a more moderate pace, and soon saw the bull lying dead on the side of +the hill. The Indians were gathered around him, and several knives were +already at work. These little instruments were plied with such wonderful +address that the twisted sinews were cut apart, the ponderous bones fell +asunder as if by magic, and in a moment the vast carcass was reduced to +a heap of bloody ruins. The surrounding group of savages offered no very +attractive spectacle to a civilized eye. Some were cracking the huge +thigh-bones and devouring the marrow within; others were cutting away +pieces of the liver and other approved morsels, and swallowing them +on the spot with the appetite of wolves. The faces of most of them, +besmeared with blood from ear to ear, looked grim and horrible enough. +My friend the White Shield proffered me a marrowbone, so skillfully laid +open that all the rich substance within was exposed to view at once. +Another Indian held out a large piece of the delicate lining of the +paunch; but these courteous offerings I begged leave to decline. I +noticed one little boy who was very busy with his knife about the +jaws and throat of the buffalo, from which he extracted some morsel of +peculiar delicacy. It is but fair to say that only certain parts of the +animal are considered eligible in these extempore banquets. The Indians +would look with abhorrence on anyone who should partake indiscriminately +of the newly killed carcass. + +We encamped that night, and marched westward through the greater part of +the following day. On the next morning we again resumed our journey. It +was the 17th of July, unless my notebook misleads me. At noon we stopped +by some pools of rain-water, and in the afternoon again set forward. +This double movement was contrary to the usual practice of the Indians, +but all were very anxious to reach the hunting ground, kill the +necessary number of buffalo, and retreat as soon as possible from the +dangerous neighborhood. I pass by for the present some curious incidents +that occurred during these marches and encampments. Late in the +afternoon of the last-mentioned day we came upon the banks of a little +sandy stream, of which the Indians could not tell the name; for they +were very ill acquainted with that part of the country. So parched and +arid were the prairies around that they could not supply grass enough +for the horses to feed upon, and we were compelled to move farther and +farther up the stream in search of ground for encampment. The country +was much wilder than before. The plains were gashed with ravines and +broken into hollows and steep declivities, which flanked our course, as, +in long-scattered array, the Indians advanced up the side of the stream. +Mene-Seela consulted an extraordinary oracle to instruct him where the +buffalo were to be found. When he with the other chiefs sat down on the +grass to smoke and converse, as they often did during the march, the old +man picked up one of those enormous black-and-green crickets, which the +Dakota call by a name that signifies “They who point out the buffalo.” + The Root-Diggers, a wretched tribe beyond the mountains, turn them to +good account by making them into a sort of soup, pronounced by certain +unscrupulous trappers to be extremely rich. Holding the bloated insect +respectfully between his fingers and thumb, the old Indian looked +attentively at him and inquired, “Tell me, my father, where must we go +to-morrow to find the buffalo?” The cricket twisted about his long horns +in evident embarrassment. At last he pointed, or seemed to point, them +westward. Mene-Seela, dropping him gently on the grass, laughed with +great glee, and said that if we went that way in the morning we should +be sure to kill plenty of game. + +Toward evening we came upon a fresh green meadow, traversed by the +stream, and deep-set among tall sterile bluffs. The Indians descended +its steep bank; and as I was at the rear, I was one of the last to reach +this point. Lances were glittering, feathers fluttering, and the water +below me was crowded with men and horses passing through, while the +meadow beyond was swarming with the restless crowd of Indians. The sun +was just setting, and poured its softened light upon them through an +opening in the hills. + +I remarked to Reynal that at last we had found a good camping-ground. + +“Oh, it is very good,” replied he ironically; “especially if there is a +Snake war party about, and they take it into their heads to shoot down +at us from the top of these hills. It is no plan of mine, camping in +such a hole as this!” + +The Indians also seemed apprehensive. High up on the top of the tallest +bluff, conspicuous in the bright evening sunlight, sat a naked warrior +on horseback, looking around, as it seemed, over the neighboring +country; and Raymond told me that many of the young men had gone out in +different directions as scouts. + +The shadows had reached to the very summit of the bluffs before the +lodges were erected and the village reduced again to quiet and order. A +cry was suddenly raised, and men, women, and children came running out +with animated faces, and looked eagerly through the opening on the hills +by which the stream entered from the westward. I could discern afar +off some dark, heavy masses, passing over the sides of a low hill. They +disappeared, and then others followed. These were bands of buffalo cows. +The hunting-ground was reached at last, and everything promised well for +the morrow’s sport. Being fatigued and exhausted, I went and lay down in +Kongra-Tonga’s lodge, when Raymond thrust in his head, and called +upon me to come and see some sport. A number of Indians were gathered, +laughing, along the line of lodges on the western side of the village, +and at some distance, I could plainly see in the twilight two huge black +monsters stalking, heavily and solemnly, directly toward us. They were +buffalo bulls. The wind blew from them to the village, and such was +their blindness and stupidity that they were advancing upon the enemy +without the least consciousness of his presence. Raymond told me that +two men had hidden themselves with guns in a ravine about twenty yards +in front of us. The two bulls walked slowly on, heavily swinging from +side to side in their peculiar gait of stupid dignity. They approached +within four or five rods of the ravine where the Indians lay in ambush. +Here at last they seemed conscious that something was wrong, for they +both stopped and stood perfectly still, without looking either to the +right or to the left. Nothing of them was to be seen but two huge black +masses of shaggy mane, with horns, eyes, and nose in the center, and +a pair of hoofs visible at the bottom. At last the more intelligent of +them seemed to have concluded that it was time to retire. Very slowly, +and with an air of the gravest and most majestic deliberation, he began +to turn round, as if he were revolving on a pivot. Little by little his +ugly brown side was exposed to view. A white smoke sprang out, as it +were from the ground; a sharp report came with it. The old bull gave +a very undignified jump and galloped off. At this his comrade wheeled +about with considerable expedition. The other Indian shot at him from +the ravine, and then both the bulls were running away at full speed, +while half the juvenile population of the village raised a yell and ran +after them. The first bull was soon stopped, and while the crowd stood +looking at him at a respectable distance, he reeled and rolled over on +his side. The other, wounded in a less vital part, galloped away to the +hills and escaped. + +In half an hour it was totally dark. I lay down to sleep, and ill as I +was, there was something very animating in the prospect of the general +hunt that was to take place on the morrow. + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE HUNTING CAMP + + +Long before daybreak the Indians broke up their camp. The women of +Mene-Seela’s lodge were as usual among the first that were ready for +departure, and I found the old man himself sitting by the embers of the +decayed fire, over which he was warming his withered fingers, as the +morning was very chilly and damp. The preparations for moving were +even more confused and disorderly than usual. While some families were +leaving the ground the lodges of others were still standing untouched. +At this old Mene-Seela grew impatient, and walking out to the middle of +the village stood with his robe wrapped close around him, and harangued +the people in a loud, sharp voice. Now, he said, when they were on an +enemy’s hunting-grounds, was not the time to behave like children; +they ought to be more active and united than ever. His speech had some +effect. The delinquents took down their lodges and loaded their pack +horses; and when the sun rose, the last of the men, women, and children +had left the deserted camp. + +This movement was made merely for the purpose of finding a better and +safer position. So we advanced only three or four miles up the little +stream, before each family assumed its relative place in the great +ring of the village, and all around the squaws were actively at work in +preparing the camp. But not a single warrior dismounted from his horse. +All the men that morning were mounted on inferior animals, leading their +best horses by a cord, or confiding them to the care of boys. In small +parties they began to leave the ground and ride rapidly away over the +plains to the westward. I had taken no food that morning, and not being +at all ambitious of further abstinence, I went into my host’s lodge, +which his squaws had erected with wonderful celerity, and sat down in +the center, as a gentle hint that I was hungry. A wooden bowl was soon +set before me, filled with the nutritious preparation of dried meat +called pemmican by the northern voyagers and wasna by the Dakota. Taking +a handful to break my fast upon, I left the lodge just in time to see +the last band of hunters disappear over the ridge of the neighboring +hill. I mounted Pauline and galloped in pursuit, riding rather by the +balance than by any muscular strength that remained to me. From the +top of the hill I could overlook a wide extent of desolate and unbroken +prairie, over which, far and near, little parties of naked horsemen were +rapidly passing. I soon came up to the nearest, and we had not ridden +a mile before all were united into one large and compact body. All +was haste and eagerness. Each hunter was whipping on his horse, as if +anxious to be the first to reach the game. In such movements among the +Indians this is always more or less the case; but it was especially +so in the present instance, because the head chief of the village was +absent, and there were but few “soldiers,” a sort of Indian police, who +among their other functions usually assumed the direction of a buffalo +hunt. No man turned to the right hand or to the left. We rode at a swift +canter straight forward, uphill and downhill, and through the stiff, +obstinate growth of the endless wild-sage bushes. For an hour and a half +the same red shoulders, the same long black hair rose and fell with +the motion of the horses before me. Very little was said, though once I +observed an old man severely reproving Raymond for having left his rifle +behind him, when there was some probability of encountering an enemy +before the day was over. As we galloped across a plain thickly set with +sagebushes, the foremost riders vanished suddenly from sight, as if +diving into the earth. The arid soil was cracked into a deep ravine. +Down we all went in succession and galloped in a line along the bottom, +until we found a point where, one by one, the horses could scramble out. +Soon after we came upon a wide shallow stream, and as we rode swiftly +over the hard sand-beds and through the thin sheets of rippling water, +many of the savage horsemen threw themselves to the ground, knelt on the +sand, snatched a hasty draught, and leaping back again to their seats, +galloped on again as before. + +Meanwhile scouts kept in advance of the party; and now we began to see +them on the ridge of the hills, waving their robes in token that +buffalo were visible. These however proved to be nothing more than old +straggling bulls, feeding upon the neighboring plains, who would stare +for a moment at the hostile array and then gallop clumsily off. At +length we could discern several of these scouts making their signals +to us at once; no longer waving their robes boldly from the top of the +hill, but standing lower down, so that they could not be seen from the +plains beyond. Game worth pursuing had evidently been discovered. The +excited Indians now urged forward their tired horses even more rapidly +than before. Pauline, who was still sick and jaded, began to groan +heavily; and her yellow sides were darkened with sweat. As we were +crowding together over a lower intervening hill, I heard Reynal and +Raymond shouting to me from the left; and looking in that direction, +I saw them riding away behind a party of about twenty mean-looking +Indians. These were the relatives of Reynal’s squaw Margot, who, not +wishing to take part in the general hunt, were riding toward a distant +hollow, where they could discern a small band of buffalo which they +meant to appropriate to themselves. I answered to the call by ordering +Raymond to turn back and follow me. He reluctantly obeyed, though +Reynal, who had relied on his assistance in skinning, cutting up, and +carrying to camp the buffalo that he and his party should kill, loudly +protested and declared that we should see no sport if we went with the +rest of the Indians. Followed by Raymond I pursued the main body of +hunters, while Reynal in a great rage whipped his horse over the hill +after his ragamuffin relatives. The Indians, still about a hundred in +number, rode in a dense body at some distance in advance. They galloped +forward, and a cloud of dust was flying in the wind behind them. I could +not overtake them until they had stopped on the side of the hill where +the scouts were standing. Here, each hunter sprang in haste from the +tired animal which he had ridden, and leaped upon the fresh horse that +he had brought with him. There was not a saddle or a bridle in the whole +party. A piece of buffalo robe girthed over the horse’s back served in +the place of the one, and a cord of twisted hair lashed firmly round +his lower jaw answered for the other. Eagle feathers were dangling from +every mane and tail, as insignia of courage and speed. As for the rider, +he wore no other clothing than a light cincture at his waist, and a pair +of moccasins. He had a heavy whip, with a handle of solid elk-horn, +and a lash of knotted bull-hide, fastened to his wrist by an ornamental +band. His bow was in his hand, and his quiver of otter or panther skin +hung at his shoulder. Thus equipped, some thirty of the hunters galloped +away toward the left, in order to make a circuit under cover of the +hills, that the buffalo might be assailed on both sides at once. +The rest impatiently waited until time enough had elapsed for their +companions to reach the required position. Then riding upward in a body, +we gained the ridge of the hill, and for the first time came in sight of +the buffalo on the plain beyond. + +They were a band of cows, four or five hundred in number, who were +crowded together near the bank of a wide stream that was soaking +across the sand-beds of the valley. This was a large circular basin, +sun-scorched and broken, scantily covered with herbage and encompassed +with high barren hills, from an opening in which we could see our allies +galloping out upon the plain. The wind blew from that direction. The +buffalo were aware of their approach, and had begun to move, though very +slowly and in a compact mass. I have no further recollection of seeing +the game until we were in the midst of them, for as we descended the +hill other objects engrossed my attention. Numerous old bulls were +scattered over the plain, and ungallantly deserting their charge at our +approach, began to wade and plunge through the treacherous quick-sands +or the stream, and gallop away toward the hills. One old veteran was +struggling behind all the rest with one of his forelegs, which had +been broken by some accident, dangling about uselessly at his side. His +appearance, as he went shambling along on three legs, was so ludicrous +that I could not help pausing for a moment to look at him. As I came +near, he would try to rush upon me, nearly throwing himself down at +every awkward attempt. Looking up, I saw the whole body of Indians full +a hundred yards in advance. I lashed Pauline in pursuit and reached +them just in time, for as we mingled among them, each hunter, as if by +a common impulse, violently struck his horse, each horse sprang forward +convulsively, and scattering in the charge in order to assail the entire +herd at once, we all rushed headlong upon the buffalo. We were among +them in an instant. Amid the trampling and the yells I could see their +dark figures running hither and thither through clouds of dust, and the +horsemen darting in pursuit. While we were charging on one side, our +companions had attacked the bewildered and panic-stricken herd on +the other. The uproar and confusion lasted but for a moment. The dust +cleared away, and the buffalo could be seen scattering as from a common +center, flying over the plain singly, or in long files and small compact +bodies, while behind each followed the Indians, lashing their horses to +furious speed, forcing them close upon their prey, and yelling as they +launched arrow after arrow into their sides. The large black carcasses +were strewn thickly over the ground. Here and there wounded buffalo were +standing, their bleeding sides feathered with arrows; and as I rode past +them their eyes would glare, they would bristle like gigantic cats, and +feebly attempt to rush up and gore my horse. + +I left camp that morning with a philosophic resolution. Neither I nor +my horse were at that time fit for such sport, and I had determined to +remain a quiet spectator; but amid the rush of horses and buffalo, the +uproar and the dust, I found it impossible to sit still; and as four or +five buffalo ran past me in a line, I drove Pauline in pursuit. We went +plunging close at their heels through the water and the quick-sands, +and clambering the bank, chased them through the wild-sage bushes that +covered the rising ground beyond. But neither her native spirit nor the +blows of the knotted bull-hide could supply the place of poor Pauline’s +exhausted strength. We could not gain an inch upon the poor fugitives. +At last, however, they came full upon a ravine too wide to leap over; +and as this compelled them to turn abruptly to the left, I contrived to +get within ten or twelve yards of the hindmost. At this she faced about, +bristled angrily, and made a show of charging. I shot at her with +a large holster pistol, and hit her somewhere in the neck. Down she +tumbled into the ravine, whither her companions had descended before +her. I saw their dark backs appearing and disappearing as they galloped +along the bottom; then, one by one, they came scrambling out on the +other side and ran off as before, the wounded animal following with +unabated speed. + +Turning back, I saw Raymond coming on his black mule to meet me; and as +we rode over the field together, we counted dozens of carcasses lying on +the plain, in the ravines and on the sandy bed of the stream. Far away +in the distance, horses and buffalo were still scouring along, with +little clouds of dust rising behind them; and over the sides of +the hills we could see long files of the frightened animals rapidly +ascending. The hunters began to return. The boys, who had held the +horses behind the hill, made their appearance, and the work of flaying +and cutting up began in earnest all over the field. I noticed my host +Kongra-Tonga beyond the stream, just alighting by the side of a cow +which he had killed. Riding up to him I found him in the act of drawing +out an arrow, which, with the exception of the notch at the end, had +entirely disappeared in the animal. I asked him to give it to me, and +I still retain it as a proof, though by no means the most striking one +that could be offered, of the force and dexterity with which the Indians +discharge their arrows. + +The hides and meat were piled upon the horses, and the hunters began to +leave the ground. Raymond and I, too, getting tired of the scene, set +out for the village, riding straight across the intervening desert. +There was no path, and as far as I could see, no landmarks sufficient +to guide us; but Raymond seemed to have an instinctive perception of +the point on the horizon toward which we ought to direct our course. +Antelope were bounding on all sides, and as is always the case in the +presence of buffalo, they seemed to have lost their natural shyness and +timidity. Bands of them would run lightly up the rocky declivities, +and stand gazing down upon us from the summit. At length we could +distinguish the tall white rocks and the old pine trees that, as we well +remembered, were just above the site of the encampment. Still, we could +see nothing of the village itself until, ascending a grassy hill, we +found the circle of lodges, dingy with storms and smoke, standing on the +plain at our very feet. + +I entered the lodge of my host. His squaw instantly brought me food +and water, and spread a buffalo robe for me to lie upon; and being much +fatigued, I lay down and fell asleep. In about an hour the entrance of +Kongra-Tonga, with his arms smeared with blood to the elbows, awoke me. +He sat down in his usual seat on the left side of the lodge. His squaw +gave him a vessel of water for washing, set before him a bowl of boiled +meat, and as he was eating pulled off his bloody moccasins and placed +fresh ones on his feet; then outstretching his limbs, my host composed +himself to sleep. + +And now the hunters, two or three at a time, began to come rapidly in, +and each, consigning his horses to the squaws, entered his lodge with +the air of a man whose day’s work was done. The squaws flung down the +load from the burdened horses, and vast piles of meat and hides were +soon accumulated before every lodge. By this time it was darkening fast, +and the whole village was illumined by the glare of fires blazing all +around. All the squaws and children were gathered about the piles of +meat, exploring them in search of the daintiest portions. Some of these +they roasted on sticks before the fires, but often they dispensed with +this superfluous operation. Late into the night the fires were still +glowing upon the groups of feasters engaged in this savage banquet +around them. + +Several hunters sat down by the fire in Kongra-Tonga’s lodge to talk +over the day’s exploits. Among the rest, Mene-Seela came in. Though he +must have seen full eighty winters, he had taken an active share in the +day’s sport. He boasted that he had killed two cows that morning, and +would have killed a third if the dust had not blinded him so that he had +to drop his bow and arrows and press both hands against his eyes to stop +the pain. The firelight fell upon his wrinkled face and shriveled figure +as he sat telling his story with such inimitable gesticulation that +every man in the lodge broke into a laugh. + +Old Mene-Seela was one of the few Indians in the village with whom I +would have trusted myself alone without suspicion, and the only one from +whom I would have received a gift or a service without the certainty +that it proceeded from an interested motive. He was a great friend to +the whites. He liked to be in their society, and was very vain of the +favors he had received from them. He told me one afternoon, as we were +sitting together in his son’s lodge, that he considered the beaver and +the whites the wisest people on earth; indeed, he was convinced they +were the same; and an incident which had happened to him long before had +assured him of this. So he began the following story, and as the pipe +passed in turn to him, Reynal availed himself of these interruptions to +translate what had preceded. But the old man accompanied his words with +such admirable pantomime that translation was hardly necessary. + +He said that when he was very young, and had never yet seen a white man, +he and three or four of his companions were out on a beaver hunt, and he +crawled into a large beaver lodge, to examine what was there. Sometimes +he was creeping on his hands and knees, sometimes he was obliged to +swim, and sometimes to lie flat on his face and drag himself along. In +this way he crawled a great distance underground. It was very dark, cold +and close, so that at last he was almost suffocated, and fell into a +swoon. When he began to recover, he could just distinguish the voices of +his companions outside, who had given him up for lost, and were singing +his death song. At first he could see nothing, but soon he discerned +something white before him, and at length plainly distinguished three +people, entirely white; one man and two women, sitting at the edge of +a black pool of water. He became alarmed and thought it high time to +retreat. Having succeeded, after great trouble, in reaching daylight +again, he went straight to the spot directly above the pool of water +where he had seen the three mysterious beings. Here he beat a hole with +his war club in the ground, and sat down to watch. In a moment the nose +of an old male beaver appeared at the opening. Mene-Seela instantly +seized him and dragged him up, when two other beavers, both females, +thrust out their heads, and these he served in the same way. “These,” + continued the old man, “must have been the three white people whom I saw +sitting at the edge of the water.” + +Mene-Seela was the grand depository of the legends and traditions of the +village. I succeeded, however, in getting from him only a few fragments. +Like all Indians, he was excessively superstitious, and continually saw +some reason for withholding his stories. “It is a bad thing,” he would +say, “to tell the tales in summer. Stay with us till next winter, and I +will tell you everything I know; but now our war parties are going out, +and our young men will be killed if I sit down to tell stories before +the frost begins.” + +But to leave this digression. We remained encamped on this spot five +days, during three of which the hunters were at work incessantly, and +immense quantities of meat and hides were brought in. Great alarm, +however, prevailed in the village. All were on the alert. The young men +were ranging through the country as scouts, and the old men paid careful +attention to omens and prodigies, and especially to their dreams. In +order to convey to the enemy (who, if they were in the neighborhood, +must inevitably have known of our presence) the impression that we were +constantly on the watch, piles of sticks and stones were erected on all +the surrounding hills, in such a manner as to appear at a distance like +sentinels. Often, even to this hour, that scene will rise before my +mind like a visible reality: the tall white rocks; the old pine trees +on their summits; the sandy stream that ran along their bases and half +encircled the village; and the wild-sage bushes, with their dull +green hue and their medicinal odor, that covered all the neighboring +declivities. Hour after hour the squaws would pass and repass with their +vessels of water between the stream and the lodges. For the most part +no one was to be seen in the camp but women and children, two or three +super-annuated old men, and a few lazy and worthless young ones. +These, together with the dogs, now grown fat and good-natured with the +abundance in the camp, were its only tenants. Still it presented a busy +and bustling scene. In all quarters the meat, hung on cords of hide, was +drying in the sun, and around the lodges the squaws, young and old, +were laboring on the fresh hides that were stretched upon the ground, +scraping the hair from one side and the still adhering flesh from the +other, and rubbing into them the brains of the buffalo, in order to +render them soft and pliant. + +In mercy to myself and my horse, I never went out with the hunters after +the first day. Of late, however, I had been gaining strength rapidly, as +was always the case upon every respite of my disorder. I was soon able +to walk with ease. Raymond and I would go out upon the neighboring +prairies to shoot antelope, or sometimes to assail straggling buffalo, +on foot, an attempt in which we met with rather indifferent success. To +kill a bull with a rifle-ball is a difficult art, in the secret of which +I was as yet very imperfectly initiated. As I came out of Kongra-Tonga’s +lodge one morning, Reynal called to me from the opposite side of the +village, and asked me over to breakfast. The breakfast was a substantial +one. It consisted of the rich, juicy hump-ribs of a fat cow; a repast +absolutely unrivaled. It was roasting before the fire, impaled upon a +stout stick, which Reynal took up and planted in the ground before his +lodge; when he, with Raymond and myself, taking our seats around it, +unsheathed our knives and assailed it with good will. It spite of all +medical experience, this solid fare, without bread or salt, seemed to +agree with me admirably. + +“We shall have strangers here before night,” said Reynal. + +“How do you know that?” I asked. + +“I dreamed so. I am as good at dreaming as an Indian. There is the +Hail-Storm; he dreamed the same thing, and he and his crony, the Rabbit, +have gone out on discovery.” + +I laughed at Reynal for his credulity, went over to my host’s lodge, +took down my rifle, walked out a mile or two on the prairie, saw an old +bull standing alone, crawled up a ravine, shot him and saw him escape. +Then, quite exhausted and rather ill-humored, I walked back to the +village. By a strange coincidence, Reynal’s prediction had been +verified; for the first persons whom I saw were the two trappers, +Rouleau and Saraphin, coming to meet me. These men, as the reader may +possibly recollect, had left our party about a fortnight before. They +had been trapping for a while among the Black Hills, and were now on +their way to the Rocky Mountains, intending in a day or two to set out +for the neighboring Medicine Bow. They were not the most elegant or +refined of companions, yet they made a very welcome addition to the +limited society of the village. For the rest of that day we lay smoking +and talking in Reynal’s lodge. This indeed was no better than a little +hut, made of hides stretched on poles, and entirely open in front. +It was well carpeted with soft buffalo robes, and here we remained, +sheltered from the sun, surrounded by various domestic utensils of +Madame Margot’s household. All was quiet in the village. Though the +hunters had not gone out that day, they lay sleeping in their lodges, +and most of the women were silently engaged in their heavy tasks. A few +young men were playing a lazy game of ball in the center of the village; +and when they became tired, some girls supplied their place with a more +boisterous sport. At a little distance, among the lodges, some children +and half-grown squaws were playfully tossing up one of their number in +a buffalo robe, an exact counterpart of the ancient pastime from which +Sancho Panza suffered so much. Farther out on the prairie, a host of +little naked boys were roaming about, engaged in various rough games, or +pursuing birds and ground-squirrels with their bows and arrows; and +woe to the unhappy little animals that fell into their merciless, +torture-loving hands! A squaw from the next lodge, a notable active +housewife named Weah Washtay, or the Good Woman, brought us a large bowl +of wasna, and went into an ecstasy of delight when I presented her +with a green glass ring, such as I usually wore with a view to similar +occasions. + +The sun went down and half the sky was growing fiery red, reflected on +the little stream as it wound away among the sagebushes. Some young +men left the village, and soon returned, driving in before them all +the horses, hundreds in number, and of every size, age, and color. The +hunters came out, and each securing those that belonged to him, examined +their condition, and tied them fast by long cords to stakes driven in +front of his lodge. It was half an hour before the bustle subsided +and tranquillity was restored again. By this time it was nearly dark. +Kettles were hung over the blazing fires, around which the squaws were +gathered with their children, laughing and talking merrily. A circle +of a different kind was formed in the center of the village. This was +composed of the old men and warriors of repute, who with their white +buffalo robes drawn close around their shoulders, sat together, and as +the pipe passed from hand to hand, their conversation had not a particle +of the gravity and reserve usually ascribed to Indians. I sat down with +them as usual. I had in my hand half a dozen squibs and serpents, which +I had made one day when encamped upon Laramie Creek, out of gunpowder +and charcoal, and the leaves of “Fremont’s Expedition,” rolled round a +stout lead pencil. I waited till I contrived to get hold of the large +piece of burning BOIS DE VACHE which the Indians kept by them on the +ground for lighting their pipes. With this I lighted all the fireworks +at once, and tossed them whizzing and sputtering into the air, over +the heads of the company. They all jumped up and ran off with yelps of +astonishment and consternation. After a moment or two, they ventured to +come back one by one, and some of the boldest, picking up the cases +of burnt paper that were scattered about, examined them with eager +curiosity to discover their mysterious secret. From that time forward I +enjoyed great repute as a “fire-medicine.” + +The camp was filled with the low hum of cheerful voices. There were +other sounds, however, of a very different kind, for from a large lodge, +lighted up like a gigantic lantern by the blazing fire within, came a +chorus of dismal cries and wailings, long drawn out, like the howling of +wolves, and a woman, almost naked, was crouching close outside, crying +violently, and gashing her legs with a knife till they were covered with +blood. Just a year before, a young man belonging to this family had gone +out with a war party and had been slain by the enemy, and his relatives +were thus lamenting his loss. Still other sounds might be heard; loud +earnest cries often repeated from amid the gloom, at a distance beyond +the village. They proceeded from some young men who, being about to set +out in a few days on a warlike expedition, were standing at the top of a +hill, calling on the Great Spirit to aid them in their enterprise. While +I was listening, Rouleau, with a laugh on his careless face, called to +me and directed my attention to another quarter. In front of the lodge +where Weah Washtay lived another squaw was standing, angrily scolding an +old yellow dog, who lay on the ground with his nose resting between +his paws, and his eyes turned sleepily up to her face, as if he were +pretending to give respectful attention, but resolved to fall asleep as +soon as it was all over. + +“You ought to be ashamed of yourself!” said the old woman. “I have fed +you well, and taken care of you ever since you were small and blind, and +could only crawl about and squeal a little, instead of howling as you do +now. When you grew old, I said you were a good dog. You were strong and +gentle when the load was put on your back, and you never ran among the +feet of the horses when we were all traveling together over the prairie. +But you had a bad heart! Whenever a rabbit jumped out of the bushes, you +were always the first to run after him and lead away all the other dogs +behind you. You ought to have known that it was very dangerous to act +so. When you had got far out on the prairie, and no one was near to help +you, perhaps a wolf would jump out of the ravine; and then what could +you do? You would certainly have been killed, for no dog can fight well +with a load on his back. Only three days ago you ran off in that way, +and turned over the bag of wooden pins with which I used to fasten up +the front of the lodge. Look up there, and you will see that it is all +flapping open. And now to-night you have stolen a great piece of fat +meat which was roasting before the fire for my children. I tell you, you +have a bad heart, and you must die!” + +So saying, the squaw went into the lodge, and coming out with a large +stone mallet, killed the unfortunate dog at one blow. This speech +is worthy of notice as illustrating a curious characteristic of the +Indians: the ascribing intelligence and a power of understanding speech +to the inferior animals, to whom, indeed, according to many of their +traditions, they are linked in close affinity, and they even claim the +honor of a lineal descent from bears, wolves, deer, or tortoises. + +As it grew late, and the crowded population began to disappear, I too +walked across the village to the lodge of my host, Kongra-Tonga. As I +entered I saw him, by the flickering blaze of the fire in the center, +reclining half asleep in his usual place. His couch was by no means an +uncomfortable one. It consisted of soft buffalo robes laid together on +the ground, and a pillow made of whitened deerskin stuffed with feathers +and ornamented with beads. At his back was a light framework of poles +and slender reeds, against which he could lean with ease when in a +sitting posture; and at the top of it, just above his head, his bow +and quiver were hanging. His squaw, a laughing, broad-faced woman, +apparently had not yet completed her domestic arrangements, for she was +bustling about the lodge, pulling over the utensils and the bales of +dried meats that were ranged carefully round it. Unhappily, she and +her partner were not the only tenants of the dwelling, for half a dozen +children were scattered about, sleeping in every imaginable posture. My +saddle was in its place at the head of the lodge and a buffalo robe +was spread on the ground before it. Wrapping myself in my blanket I lay +down, but had I not been extremely fatigued the noise in the next lodge +would have prevented my sleeping. There was the monotonous thumping of +the Indian drum, mixed with occasional sharp yells, and a chorus chanted +by twenty voices. A grand scene of gambling was going forward with all +the appropriate formalities. The players were staking on the chance +issue of the game their ornaments, their horses, and as the excitement +rose, their garments, and even their weapons, for desperate gambling +is not confined to the hells of Paris. The men of the plains and the +forests no less resort to it as a violent but grateful relief to +the tedious monotony of their lives, which alternate between fierce +excitement and listless inaction. I fell asleep with the dull notes +of the drum still sounding on my ear, but these furious orgies lasted +without intermission till daylight. I was soon awakened by one of the +children crawling over me, while another larger one was tugging at +my blanket and nestling himself in a very disagreeable proximity. I +immediately repelled these advances by punching the heads of these +miniature savages with a short stick which I always kept by me for the +purpose; and as sleeping half the day and eating much more than is good +for them makes them extremely restless, this operation usually had to be +repeated four or five times in the course of the night. My host himself +was the author of another most formidable annoyance. All these +Indians, and he among the rest, think themselves bound to the constant +performance of certain acts as the condition on which their success in +life depends, whether in war, love, hunting, or any other employment. +These “medicines,” as they are called in that country, which are usually +communicated in dreams, are often absurd enough. Some Indians will +strike the butt of the pipe against the ground every time they smoke; +others will insist that everything they say shall be interpreted by +contraries; and Shaw once met an old man who conceived that all would be +lost unless he compelled every white man he met to drink a bowl of cold +water. My host was particularly unfortunate in his allotment. The Great +Spirit had told him in a dream that he must sing a certain song in the +middle of every night; and regularly at about twelve o’clock his dismal +monotonous chanting would awaken me, and I would see him seated bolt +upright on his couch, going through his dolorous performances with a +most business-like air. There were other voices of the night still more +inharmonious. Twice or thrice, between sunset and dawn, all the dogs +in the village, and there were hundreds of them, would bay and yelp in +chorus; a most horrible clamor, resembling no sound that I have ever +heard, except perhaps the frightful howling of wolves that we used +sometimes to hear long afterward when descending the Arkansas on the +trail of General Kearny’s army. The canine uproar is, if possible, more +discordant than that of the wolves. Heard at a distance, slowly rising +on the night, it has a strange unearthly effect, and would fearfully +haunt the dreams of a nervous man; but when you are sleeping in the +midst of it the din is outrageous. One long loud howl from the next +lodge perhaps begins it, and voice after voice takes up the sound till +it passes around the whole circumference of the village, and the air is +filled with confused and discordant cries, at once fierce and mournful. +It lasts but for a moment and then dies away into silence. + +Morning came, and Kongra-Tonga, mounting his horse, rode out with the +hunters. It may not be amiss to glance at him for an instant in his +domestic character of husband and father. Both he and his squaw, like +most other Indians, were very fond of their children, whom they indulged +to excess, and never punished, except in extreme cases when they +would throw a bowl of cold water over them. Their offspring became +sufficiently undutiful and disobedient under this system of education, +which tends not a little to foster that wild idea of liberty and utter +intolerance of restraint which lie at the very foundation of the Indian +character. It would be hard to find a fonder father than Kongra-Tonga. +There was one urchin in particular, rather less than two feet high, to +whom he was exceedingly attached; and sometimes spreading a buffalo robe +in the lodge, he would seat himself upon it, place his small favorite +upright before him, and chant in a low tone some of the words used as an +accompaniment to the war dance. The little fellow, who could just manage +to balance himself by stretching out both arms, would lift his feet and +turn slowly round and round in time to his father’s music, while my host +would laugh with delight, and look smiling up into my face to see if +I were admiring this precocious performance of his offspring. In his +capacity of husband he was somewhat less exemplary. The squaw who lived +in the lodge with him had been his partner for many years. She took +good care of his children and his household concerns. He liked her well +enough, and as far as I could see they never quarreled; but all his +warmer affections were reserved for younger and more recent favorites. +Of these he had at present only one, who lived in a lodge apart from his +own. One day while in his camp he became displeased with her, pushed her +out, threw after her her ornaments, dresses, and everything she had, +and told her to go home to her father. Having consummated this summary +divorce, for which he could show good reasons, he came back, seated +himself in his usual place, and began to smoke with an air of utmost +tranquillity and self-satisfaction. + +I was sitting in the lodge with him on that very afternoon, when I felt +some curiosity to learn the history of the numerous scars that appeared +on his naked body. Of some of them, however, I did not venture to +inquire, for I already understood their origin. Each of his arms was +marked as if deeply gashed with a knife at regular intervals, and there +were other scars also, of a different character, on his back and on +either breast. They were the traces of those formidable tortures +which these Indians, in common with a few other tribes, inflict upon +themselves at certain seasons; in part, it may be, to gain the glory of +courage and endurance, but chiefly as an act of self-sacrifice to secure +the favor of the Great Spirit. The scars upon the breast and back were +produced by running through the flesh strong splints of wood, to which +ponderous buffalo-skulls are fastened by cords of hide, and the wretch +runs forward with all his strength, assisted by two companions, who take +hold of each arm, until the flesh tears apart and the heavy loads +are left behind. Others of Kongra-Tonga’s scars were the result of +accidents; but he had many which he received in war. He was one of the +most noted warriors in the village. In the course of his life he had +slain as he boasted to me, fourteen men, and though, like other Indians, +he was a great braggart and utterly regardless of truth, yet in this +statement common report bore him out. Being much flattered by my +inquiries he told me tale after tale, true or false, of his warlike +exploits; and there was one among the rest illustrating the worst +features of the Indian character too well for me to omit. Pointing out +of the opening of the lodge toward the Medicine-Bow Mountain, not many +miles distant he said that he was there a few summers ago with a war +party of his young men. Here they found two Snake Indians, hunting. They +shot one of them with arrows and chased the other up the side of the +mountain till they surrounded him on a level place, and Kongra-Tonga +himself, jumping forward among the trees, seized him by the arm. Two of +his young men then ran up and held him fast while he scalped him alive. +Then they built a great fire, and cutting the tendons of their captive’s +wrists and feet, threw him in, and held him down with long poles +until he was burnt to death. He garnished his story with a great many +descriptive particulars much too revolting to mention. His features were +remarkably mild and open, without the fierceness of expression common +among these Indians; and as he detailed these devilish cruelties, he +looked up into my face with the same air of earnest simplicity which a +little child would wear in relating to its mother some anecdote of its +youthful experience. + +Old Mene-Seela’s lodge could offer another illustration of the ferocity +of Indian warfare. A bright-eyed, active little boy was living there. +He had belonged to a village of the Gros-Ventre Blackfeet, a small but +bloody and treacherous band, in close alliance with the Arapahoes. About +a year before, Kongra-Tonga and a party of warriors had found about +twenty lodges of these Indians upon the plains a little to the eastward +of our present camp; and surrounding them in the night, they butchered +men, women, and children without mercy, preserving only this little +boy alive. He was adopted into the old man’s family, and was now fast +becoming identified with the Ogallalla children, among whom he mingled +on equal terms. There was also a Crow warrior in the village, a man of +gigantic stature and most symmetrical proportions. Having been taken +prisoner many years before and adopted by a squaw in place of a son whom +she had lost, he had forgotten his old national antipathies, and was now +both in act and inclination an Ogallalla. + +It will be remembered that the scheme of the grand warlike combination +against the Snake and Crow Indians originated in this village; and +though this plan had fallen to the ground, the embers of the martial +ardor continued to glow brightly. Eleven young men had prepared +themselves to go out against the enemy. The fourth day of our stay in +this camp was fixed upon for their departure. At the head of this party +was a well-built active little Indian, called the White Shield, whom I +had always noticed for the great neatness of his dress and appearance. +His lodge too, though not a large one, was the best in the village, +his squaw was one of the prettiest girls, and altogether his dwelling +presented a complete model of an Ogallalla domestic establishment. I +was often a visitor there, for the White Shield being rather partial +to white men, used to invite me to continual feasts at all hours of the +day. Once when the substantial part of the entertainment was concluded, +and he and I were seated cross-legged on a buffalo robe smoking together +very amicably, he took down his warlike equipments, which were +hanging around the lodge, and displayed them with great pride and +self-importance. Among the rest was a most superb headdress of feathers. +Taking this from its case, he put it on and stood before me, as if +conscious of the gallant air which it gave to his dark face and his +vigorous, graceful figure. He told me that upon it were the feathers of +three war-eagles, equal in value to the same number of good horses. He +took up also a shield gayly painted and hung with feathers. The effect +of these barbaric ornaments was admirable, for they were arranged with +no little skill and taste. His quiver was made of the spotted skin of a +small panther, such as are common among the Black Hills, from which the +tail and distended claws were still allowed to hang. The White Shield +concluded his entertainment in a manner characteristic of an Indian. He +begged of me a little powder and ball, for he had a gun as well as bow +and arrows; but this I was obliged to refuse, because I had scarcely +enough for my own use. Making him, however, a parting present of a paper +of vermilion, I left him apparently quite contented. + +Unhappily on the next morning the White Shield took cold and was +attacked with a violent inflammation of the throat. Immediately he +seemed to lose all spirit, and though before no warrior in the village +had borne himself more proudly, he now moped about from lodge to lodge +with a forlorn and dejected air. At length he came and sat down, close +wrapped in his robe, before the lodge of Reynal, but when he found that +neither he nor I knew how to relieve him, he arose and stalked over to +one of the medicine-men of the village. This old imposter thumped him +for some time with both fists, howled and yelped over him, and beat a +drum close to his ear to expel the evil spirit that had taken possession +of him. This vigorous treatment failing of the desired effect, the White +Shield withdrew to his own lodge, where he lay disconsolate for some +hours. Making his appearance once more in the afternoon, he again took +his seat on the ground before Reynal’s lodge, holding his throat with +his hand. For some time he sat perfectly silent with his eyes fixed +mournfully on the ground. At last he began to speak in a low tone: + +“I am a brave man,” he said; “all the young men think me a great +warrior, and ten of them are ready to go with me to the war. I will go +and show them the enemy. Last summer the Snakes killed my brother. I +cannot live unless I revenge his death. To-morrow we will set out and I +will take their scalps.” + +The White Shield, as he expressed this resolution, seemed to have lost +all the accustomed fire and spirit of his look, and hung his head as if +in a fit of despondency. + +As I was sitting that evening at one of the fires, I saw him arrayed in +his splendid war dress, his cheeks painted with vermilion, leading his +favorite war horse to the front of his lodge. He mounted and rode round +the village, singing his war song in a loud hoarse voice amid the +shrill acclamations of the women. Then dismounting, he remained for some +minutes prostrate upon the ground, as if in an act of supplication. +On the following morning I looked in vain for the departure of the +warriors. All was quiet in the village until late in the forenoon, when +the White Shield, issuing from his lodge, came and seated himself in his +old place before us. Reynal asked him why he had not gone out to find +the enemy. + +“I cannot go,” answered the White Shield in a dejected voice. “I have +given my war arrows to the Meneaska.” + +“You have only given him two of your arrows,” said Reynal. “If you ask +him, he will give them back again.” + +For some time the White Shield said nothing. At last he spoke in a +gloomy tone: + +“One of my young men has had bad dreams. The spirits of the dead came +and threw stones at him in his sleep.” + +If such a dream had actually taken place it might have broken up this +or any other war party, but both Reynal and I were convinced at the time +that it was a mere fabrication to excuse his remaining at home. + +The White Shield was a warrior of noted prowess. Very probably, he would +have received a mortal wound without a show of pain, and endured without +flinching the worst tortures that an enemy could inflict upon him. The +whole power of an Indian’s nature would be summoned to encounter such +a trial; every influence of his education from childhood would have +prepared him for it; the cause of his suffering would have been visibly +and palpably before him, and his spirit would rise to set his enemy at +defiance, and gain the highest glory of a warrior by meeting death with +fortitude. But when he feels himself attacked by a mysterious evil, +before whose insidious assaults his manhood is wasted, and his strength +drained away, when he can see no enemy to resist and defy, the boldest +warrior falls prostrate at once. He believes that a bad spirit has +taken possession of him, or that he is the victim of some charm. When +suffering from a protracted disorder, an Indian will often abandon +himself to his supposed destiny, pine away and die, the victim of his +own imagination. The same effect will often follow from a series of +calamities, or a long run of ill success, and the sufferer has been +known to ride into the midst of an enemy’s camp, or attack a grizzly +bear single-handed, to get rid of a life which he supposed to lie under +the doom of misfortune. + +Thus after all his fasting, dreaming, and calling upon the Great Spirit, +the White Shield’s war party was pitifully broken up. + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE TRAPPERS + + +In speaking of the Indians, I have almost forgotten two bold adventurers +of another race, the trappers Rouleau and Saraphin. These men were bent +on a most hazardous enterprise. A day’s journey to the westward was the +country over which the Arapahoes are accustomed to range, and for which +the two trappers were on the point of setting out. These Arapahoes, of +whom Shaw and I afterward fell in with a large village, are ferocious +barbarians, of a most brutal and wolfish aspect, and of late they had +declared themselves enemies to the whites, and threatened death to the +first who should venture within their territory. The occasion of the +declaration was as follows: + +In the previous spring, 1845, Colonel Kearny left Fort Leavenworth with +several companies of dragoons, and marching with extraordinary celerity +reached Fort Laramie, whence he passed along the foot of the mountains +to Bent’s Fort and then, turning eastward again, returned to the point +from whence he set out. While at Fort Larantie, he sent a part of his +command as far westward as Sweetwater, while he himself remained at the +fort, and dispatched messages to the surrounding Indians to meet him +there in council. Then for the first time the tribes of that vicinity +saw the white warriors, and, as might have been expected, they were +lost in astonishment at their regular order, their gay attire, the +completeness of their martial equipment, and the great size and power of +their horses. Among the rest, the Arapahoes came in considerable numbers +to the fort. They had lately committed numerous acts of outrage, and +Colonel Kearny threatened that if they killed any more white men he +would turn loose his dragoons upon them, and annihilate their whole +nation. In the evening, to add effect to his speech, he ordered a +howitzer to be fired and a rocket to be thrown up. Many of the Arapahoes +fell prostrate on the ground, while others ran screaming with amazement +and terror. On the following day they withdrew to their mountains, +confounded with awe at the appearance of the dragoons, at their big gun +which went off twice at one shot, and the fiery messenger which they had +sent up to the Great Spirit. For many months they remained quiet, +and did no further mischief. At length, just before we came into the +country, one of them, by an act of the basest treachery, killed two +white men, Boot and May, who were trapping among the mountains. For this +act it was impossible to discover a motive. It seemed to spring from one +of those inexplicable impulses which often actuate Indians and appear +no better than the mere outbreaks of native ferocity. No sooner was the +murder committed than the whole tribe were in extreme consternation. +They expected every day that the avenging dragoons would arrive, little +thinking that a desert of nine hundred miles in extent lay between the +latter and their mountain fastnesses. A large deputation of them came to +Fort Laramie, bringing a valuable present of horses, in compensation for +the lives of the murdered men. These Bordeaux refused to accept. They +then asked him if he would be satisfied with their delivering up the +murderer himself; but he declined this offer also. The Arapahoes went +back more terrified than ever. Weeks passed away, and still no dragoons +appeared. A result followed which all those best acquainted with Indians +had predicted. They conceived that fear had prevented Bordeaux from +accepting their gifts, and that they had nothing to apprehend from +the vengeance of the whites. From terror they rose to the height of +insolence and presumption. They called the white men cowards and old +women; and a friendly Dakota came to Fort Laramie and reported that they +were determined to kill the first of the white dogs whom they could lay +hands on. + +Had a military officer, intrusted with suitable powers, been stationed +at Fort Laramie, and having accepted the offer of the Arapahoes to +deliver up the murderer, had ordered him to be immediately led out +and shot, in presence of his tribe, they would have been awed into +tranquillity, and much danger and calamity averted; but now the +neighborhood of the Medicine-Bow Mountain and the region beyond it was a +scene of extreme peril. Old Mene-Seela, a true friend of the whites, and +many other of the Indians gathered about the two trappers, and vainly +endeavored to turn them from their purpose; but Rouleau and Saraphin +only laughed at the danger. On the morning preceding that on which they +were to leave the camp, we could all discern faint white columns of +smoke rising against the dark base of the Medicine-Bow. Scouts were out +immediately, and reported that these proceeded from an Arapahoe camp, +abandoned only a few hours before. Still the two trappers continued +their preparations for departure. + +Saraphin was a tall, powerful fellow, with a sullen and sinister +countenance. His rifle had very probably drawn other blood than that of +buffalo or even Indians. Rouleau had a broad ruddy face marked with as +few traces of thought or care as a child’s. His figure was remarkably +square and strong, but the first joints of both his feet were frozen +off, and his horse had lately thrown and trampled upon him, by which +he had been severely injured in the chest. But nothing could check his +inveterate propensity for laughter and gayety. He went all day rolling +about the camp on his stumps of feet, talking and singing and frolicking +with the Indian women, as they were engaged at their work. In fact +Rouleau had an unlucky partiality for squaws. He always had one whom he +must needs bedizen with beads, ribbons, and all the finery of an Indian +wardrobe; and though he was of course obliged to leave her behind him +during his expeditions, yet this hazardous necessity did not at all +trouble him, for his disposition was the very reverse of jealous. If at +any time he had not lavished the whole of the precarious profits of his +vocation upon his dark favorite, he always devoted the rest to feasting +his comrades. If liquor was not to be had--and this was usually the +case--strong coffee was substituted. As the men of that region are by +no means remarkable for providence or self-restraint, whatever was +set before them on these occasions, however extravagant in price, or +enormous in quantity, was sure to be disposed of at one sitting. Like +other trappers, Rouleau’s life was one of contrast and variety. It was +only at certain seasons, and for a limited time, that he was absent on +his expeditions. For the rest of the year he would be lounging about the +fort, or encamped with his friends in its vicinity, lazily hunting or +enjoying all the luxury of inaction; but when once in pursuit of beaver, +he was involved in extreme privations and desperate perils. When in +the midst of his game and his enemies, hand and foot, eye and ear, are +incessantly active. Frequently he must content himself with devouring +his evening meal uncooked, lest the light of his fire should attract +the eyes of some wandering Indian; and sometimes having made his rude +repast, he must leave his fire still blazing, and withdraw to a distance +under cover of the darkness, that his disappointed enemy, drawn thither +by the light, may find his victim gone, and be unable to trace his +footsteps in the gloom. This is the life led by scores of men in the +Rocky Mountains and their vicinity. I once met a trapper whose breast +was marked with the scars of six bullets and arrows, one of his arms +broken by a shot and one of his knees shattered; yet still, with the +undaunted mettle of New England, from which part of the country he had +come, he continued to follow his perilous occupation. To some of the +children of cities it may seem strange that men with no object in +view should continue to follow a life of such hardship and desperate +adventure; yet there is a mysterious, restless charm in the basilisk eye +of danger, and few men perhaps remain long in that wild region without +learning to love peril for its own sake, and to laugh carelessly in the +face of death. + +On the last day of our stay in this camp, the trappers were ready for +departure. When in the Black Hills they had caught seven beaver, and +they now left their skins in charge of Reynal, to be kept until their +return. Their strong, gaunt horses were equipped with rusty Spanish bits +and rude Mexican saddles, to which wooden stirrups were attached, while +a buffalo robe was rolled up behind them, and a bundle of beaver traps +slung at the pommel. These, together with their rifles, their knives, +their powder-horns and bullet-pouches, flint and steel and a tincup, +composed their whole traveling equipment. They shook hands with us and +rode away; Saraphin with his grim countenance, like a surly bulldog’s, +was in advance; but Rouleau, clambering gayly into his seat, kicked his +horse’s sides, flourished his whip in the air, and trotted briskly over +the prairie, trolling forth a Canadian song at the top of his lungs. +Reynal looked after them with his face of brutal selfishness. + +“Well,” he said, “if they are killed, I shall have the beaver. They’ll +fetch me fifty dollars at the fort, anyhow.” + +This was the last I saw of them. + +We had been for five days in the hunting camp, and the meat, which all +this time had hung drying in the sun, was now fit for transportation. +Buffalo hides also had been procured in sufficient quantities for making +the next season’s lodges; but it remained to provide the long slender +poles on which they were to be supported. These were only to be had +among the tall pine woods of the Black Hills, and in that direction +therefore our next move was to be made. It is worthy of notice that amid +the general abundance which during this time had prevailed in the camp +there were no instances of individual privation; for although the hide +and the tongue of the buffalo belong by exclusive right to the hunter +who has killed it, yet anyone else is equally entitled to help himself +from the rest of the carcass. Thus, the weak, the aged, and even the +indolent come in for a share of the spoils, and many a helpless old +woman, who would otherwise perish from starvation, is sustained in +profuse abundance. + +On the 25th of July, late in the afternoon, the camp broke up, with +the usual tumult and confusion, and we were all moving once more, on +horseback and on foot, over the plains. We advanced, however, but a few +miles. The old men, who during the whole march had been stoutly striding +along on foot in front of the people, now seated themselves in a circle +on the ground, while all the families, erecting their lodges in the +prescribed order around them, formed the usual great circle of the camp; +meanwhile these village patriarchs sat smoking and talking. I threw my +bridle to Raymond, and sat down as usual along with them. There was none +of that reserve and apparent dignity which an Indian always assumes +when in council, or in the presence of white men whom he distrusts. The +party, on the contrary, was an extremely merry one; and as in a social +circle of a quite different character, “if there was not much wit, there +was at least a great deal of laughter.” + +When the first pipe was smoked out, I rose and withdrew to the lodge of +my host. Here I was stooping, in the act of taking off my powder-horn +and bullet-pouch, when suddenly, and close at hand, pealing loud +and shrill, and in right good earnest, came the terrific yell of the +war-whoop. Kongra-Tonga’s squaw snatched up her youngest child, and ran +out of the lodge. I followed, and found the whole village in confusion, +resounding with cries and yells. The circle of old men in the center had +vanished. The warriors with glittering eyes came darting, their weapons +in their hands, out of the low opening of the lodges, and running with +wild yells toward the farther end of the village. Advancing a few rods +in that direction, I saw a crowd in furious agitation, while others ran +up on every side to add to the confusion. Just then I distinguished +the voices of Raymond and Reynal, shouting to me from a distance, and +looking back, I saw the latter with his rifle in his hand, standing on +the farther bank of a little stream that ran along the outskirts of the +camp. He was calling to Raymond and myself to come over and join him, +and Raymond, with his usual deliberate gait and stolid countenance, was +already moving in that direction. + +This was clearly the wisest course, unless we wished to involve +ourselves in the fray; so I turned to go, but just then a pair of eyes, +gleaming like a snake’s, and an aged familiar countenance was thrust +from the opening of a neighboring lodge, and out bolted old Mene-Seela, +full of fight, clutching his bow and arrows in one hand and his knife +in the other. At that instant he tripped and fell sprawling on his face, +while his weapons flew scattering away in every direction. The women +with loud screams were hurrying with their children in their arms to +place them out of danger, and I observed some hastening to prevent +mischief, by carrying away all the weapons they could lay hands on. On +a rising ground close to the camp stood a line of old women singing a +medicine song to allay the tumult. As I approached the side of the brook +I heard gun-shots behind me, and turning back, I saw that the crowd had +separated into two lines of naked warriors confronting each other at a +respectful distance, and yelling and jumping about to dodge the shot of +their adversaries, while they discharged bullets and arrows against each +other. At the same time certain sharp, humming sounds in the air over my +head, like the flight of beetles on a summer evening, warned me that the +danger was not wholly confined to the immediate scene of the fray. So +wading through the brook, I joined Reynal and Raymond, and we sat +down on the grass, in the posture of an armed neutrality, to watch the +result. + +Happily it may be for ourselves, though quite contrary to our +expectation, the disturbance was quelled almost as soon as it had +commenced. When I looked again, the combatants were once more mingled +together in a mass. Though yells sounded, occasionally from the throng, +the firing had entirely ceased, and I observed five or six persons +moving busily about, as if acting the part of peacemakers. One of the +village heralds or criers proclaimed in a loud voice something which +my two companions were too much engrossed in their own observations to +translate for me. The crowd began to disperse, though many a deep-set +black eye still glittered with an unnatural luster, as the warriors +slowly withdrew to their lodges. This fortunate suppression of the +disturbance was owing to a few of the old men, less pugnacious than +Mene-Seela, who boldly ran in between the combatants and aided by +some of the “soldiers,” or Indian police, succeeded in effecting their +object. + +It seemed very strange to me that although many arrows and bullets were +discharged, no one was mortally hurt, and I could only account for +this by the fact that both the marksman and the object of his aim were +leaping about incessantly during the whole time. By far the greater part +of the villagers had joined in the fray, for although there were not +more than a dozen guns in the whole camp, I heard at least eight or ten +shots fired. + +In a quarter of an hour all was comparatively quiet. A large circle of +warriors were again seated in the center of the village, but this time +I did not venture to join them, because I could see that the pipe, +contrary to the usual order, was passing from the left hand to the right +around the circle, a sure sign that a “medicine-smoke” of reconciliation +was going forward, and that a white man would be an unwelcome intruder. +When I again entered the still agitated camp it was nearly dark, and +mournful cries, howls and wailings resounded from many female voices. +Whether these had any connection with the late disturbance, or were +merely lamentations for relatives slain in some former war expeditions, +I could not distinctly ascertain. + +To inquire too closely into the cause of the quarrel was by no means +prudent, and it was not until some time after that I discovered what +had given rise to it. Among the Dakota there are many associations, or +fraternities, connected with the purposes of their superstitions, +their warfare, or their social life. There was one called “The +Arrow-Breakers,” now in a great measure disbanded and dispersed. In the +village there were, however, four men belonging to it, distinguished by +the peculiar arrangement of their hair, which rose in a high bristling +mass above their foreheads, adding greatly to their apparent height, and +giving them a most ferocious appearance. The principal among them was +the Mad Wolf, a warrior of remarkable size and strength, great courage, +and the fierceness of a demon. I had always looked upon him as the most +dangerous man in the village; and though he often invited me to feasts, +I never entered his lodge unarmed. The Mad Wolf had taken a fancy to a +fine horse belonging to another Indian, who was called the Tall Bear; +and anxious to get the animal into his possession, he made the owner a +present of another horse nearly equal in value. According to the customs +of the Dakota, the acceptance of this gift involved a sort of obligation +to make an equitable return; and the Tall Bear well understood that +the other had in view the obtaining of his favorite buffalo horse. +He however accepted the present without a word of thanks, and having +picketed the horse before his lodge, he suffered day after day to pass +without making the expected return. The Mad Wolf grew impatient and +angry; and at last, seeing that his bounty was not likely to produce the +desired return, he resolved to reclaim it. So this evening, as soon as +the village was encamped, he went to the lodge of the Tall Bear, seized +upon the horse that he had given him, and led him away. At this the Tall +Bear broke into one of those fits of sullen rage not uncommon among the +Indians. He ran up to the unfortunate horse, and gave him three mortals +stabs with his knife. Quick as lightning the Mad Wolf drew his bow to +its utmost tension, and held the arrow quivering close to the breast +of his adversary. The Tall Bear, as the Indians who were near him said, +stood with his bloody knife in his hand, facing the assailant with the +utmost calmness. Some of his friends and relatives, seeing his danger, +ran hastily to his assistance. The remaining three Arrow-Breakers, +on the other hand, came to the aid of their associate. Many of their +friends joined them, the war-cry was raised on a sudden, and the tumult +became general. + +The “soldiers,” who lent their timely aid in putting it down, are by +far the most important executive functionaries in an Indian village. +The office is one of considerable honor, being confided only to men of +courage and repute. They derive their authority from the old men and +chief warriors of the village, who elect them in councils occasionally +convened for the purpose, and thus can exercise a degree of authority +which no one else in the village would dare to assume. While very few +Ogallalla chiefs could venture without instant jeopardy of their lives +to strike or lay hands upon the meanest of their people, the “soldiers” + in the discharge of their appropriate functions, have full license to +make use of these and similar acts of coercion. + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE BLACK HILLS + + +We traveled eastward for two days, and then the gloomy ridges of the +Black Hills rose up before us. The village passed along for some miles +beneath their declivities, trailing out to a great length over the arid +prairie, or winding at times among small detached hills or distorted +shapes. Turning sharply to the left, we entered a wide defile of the +mountains, down the bottom of which a brook came winding, lined with +tall grass and dense copses, amid which were hidden many beaver dams and +lodges. We passed along between two lines of high precipices and rocks, +piled in utter disorder one upon another, and with scarcely a tree, a +bush, or a clump of grass to veil their nakedness. The restless Indian +boys were wandering along their edges and clambering up and down their +rugged sides, and sometimes a group of them would stand on the verge of +a cliff and look down on the array as it passed in review beneath them. +As we advanced, the passage grew more narrow; then it suddenly expanded +into a round grassy meadow, completely encompassed by mountains; and +here the families stopped as they came up in turn, and the camp rose +like magic. + +The lodges were hardly erected when, with their usual precipitation, the +Indians set about accomplishing the object that had brought them there; +that is, the obtaining poles for supporting their new lodges. Half the +population, men, women and boys, mounted their horses and set out for +the interior of the mountains. As they rode at full gallop over the +shingly rocks and into the dark opening of the defile beyond, I thought +I had never read or dreamed of a more strange or picturesque cavalcade. +We passed between precipices more than a thousand feet high, sharp +and splintering at the tops, their sides beetling over the defile or +descending in abrupt declivities, bristling with black fir trees. On our +left they rose close to us like a wall, but on the right a winding brook +with a narrow strip of marshy soil intervened. The stream was clogged +with old beaver dams, and spread frequently into wide pools. There were +thick bushes and many dead and blasted trees along its course, though +frequently nothing remained but stumps cut close to the ground by +the beaver, and marked with the sharp chisel-like teeth of those +indefatigable laborers. Sometimes we were driving among trees, and then +emerging upon open spots, over which, Indian-like, all galloped at +full speed. As Pauline bounded over the rocks I felt her saddle-girth +slipping, and alighted to draw it tighter; when the whole array swept +past me in a moment, the women with their gaudy ornaments tinkling as +they rode, the men whooping, and laughing, and lashing forward their +horses. Two black-tailed deer bounded away among the rocks; Raymond shot +at them from horseback; the sharp report of his rifle was answered by +another equally sharp from the opposing cliffs, and then the echoes, +leaping in rapid succession from side to side, died away rattling far +amid the mountains. + +After having ridden in this manner for six or eight miles, the +appearance of the scene began to change, and all the declivities around +us were covered with forests of tall, slender pine trees. The Indians +began to fall off to the right and left, and dispersed with their +hatchets and knives among these woods, to cut the poles which they had +come to seek. Soon I was left almost alone; but in the deep stillness of +those lonely mountains, the stroke of hatchets and the sound of voices +might be heard from far and near. + +Reynal, who imitated the Indians in their habits as well as the worst +features of their character, had killed buffalo enough to make a +lodge for himself and his squaw, and now he was eager to get the poles +necessary to complete it. He asked me to let Raymond go with him and +assist in the work. I assented, and the two men immediately entered the +thickest part of the wood. Having left my horse in Raymond’s keeping, +I began to climb the mountain. I was weak and weary and made slow +progress, often pausing to rest, but after an hour had elapsed, I gained +a height, whence the little valley out of which I had climbed seemed +like a deep, dark gulf, though the inaccessible peak of the mountain was +still towering to a much greater distance above. Objects familiar from +childhood surrounded me; crags and rocks, a black and sullen brook that +gurgled with a hollow voice deep among the crevices, a wood of mossy +distorted trees and prostrate trunks flung down by age and storms, +scattered among the rocks, or damming the foaming waters of the little +brook. The objects were the same, yet they were thrown into a wilder and +more startling scene, for the black crags and the savage trees assumed +a grim and threatening aspect, and close across the valley the opposing +mountain confronted me, rising from the gulf for thousands of feet, with +its bare pinnacles and its ragged covering of pines. Yet the scene was +not without its milder features. As I ascended, I found frequent little +grassy terraces, and there was one of these close at hand, across which +the brook was stealing, beneath the shade of scattered trees that seemed +artificially planted. Here I made a welcome discovery, no other than a +bed of strawberries, with their white flowers and their red fruit, close +nestled among the grass by the side of the brook, and I sat down by +them, hailing them as old acquaintances; for among those lonely and +perilous mountains they awakened delicious associations of the gardens +and peaceful homes of far-distant New England. + +Yet wild as they were, these mountains were thickly peopled. As I +climbed farther, I found the broad dusty paths made by the elk, as +they filed across the mountainside. The grass on all the terraces was +trampled down by deer; there were numerous tracks of wolves, and in +some of the rougher and more precipitous parts of the ascent, I found +foot-prints different from any that I had ever seen, and which I took to +be those of the Rocky Mountain sheep. I sat down upon a rock; there was +a perfect stillness. No wind was stirring, and not even an insect could +be heard. I recollected the danger of becoming lost in such a place, +and therefore I fixed my eye upon one of the tallest pinnacles of the +opposite mountain. It rose sheer upright from the woods below, and by an +extraordinary freak of nature sustained aloft on its very summit a large +loose rock. Such a landmark could never be mistaken, and feeling once +more secure, I began again to move forward. A white wolf jumped up +from among some bushes, and leaped clumsily away; but he stopped for a +moment, and turned back his keen eye and his grim bristling muzzle. I +longed to take his scalp and carry it back with me, as an appropriate +trophy of the Black Hills, but before I could fire, he was gone among +the rocks. Soon I heard a rustling sound, with a cracking of twigs at +a little distance, and saw moving above the tall bushes the branching +antlers of an elk. I was in the midst of a hunter’s paradise. + +Such are the Black Hills, as I found them in July; but they wear a +different garb when winter sets in, when the broad boughs of the fir +tree are bent to the ground by the load of snow, and the dark mountains +are whitened with it. At that season the mountain-trappers, returned +from their autumn expeditions, often build their rude cabins in the +midst of these solitudes, and live in abundance and luxury on the game +that harbors there. I have heard them relate, how with their tawny +mistresses, and perhaps a few young Indian companions, they have spent +months in total seclusion. They would dig pitfalls, and set traps for +the white wolves, the sables, and the martens, and though through the +whole night the awful chorus of the wolves would resound from the frozen +mountains around them, yet within their massive walls of logs they would +lie in careless ease and comfort before the blazing fire, and in the +morning shoot the elk and the deer from their very door. + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +A MOUNTAIN HUNT + + +The camp was full of the newly-cut lodge-poles; some, already prepared, +were stacked together, white and glistening, to dry and harden in the +sun; others were lying on the ground, and the squaws, the boys, and even +some of the warriors were busily at work peeling off the bark and paring +them with their knives to the proper dimensions. Most of the hides +obtained at the last camp were dressed and scraped thin enough for use, +and many of the squaws were engaged in fitting them together and +sewing them with sinews, to form the coverings for the lodges. Men were +wandering among the bushes that lined the brook along the margin of the +camp, cutting sticks of red willow, or shongsasha, the bark of which, +mixed with tobacco, they use for smoking. Reynal’s squaw was hard +at work with her awl and buffalo sinews upon her lodge, while her +proprietor, having just finished an enormous breakfast of meat, was +smoking a social pipe along with Raymond and myself. He proposed at +length that we should go out on a hunt. “Go to the Big Crow’s lodge,” + said he, “and get your rifle. I’ll bet the gray Wyandotte pony against +your mare that we start an elk or a black-tailed deer, or likely as not, +a bighorn, before we are two miles out of camp. I’ll take my squaw’s old +yellow horse; you can’t whip her more than four miles an hour, but she +is as good for the mountains as a mule.” + +I mounted the black mule which Raymond usually rode. She was a very fine +and powerful animal, gentle and manageable enough by nature; but of +late her temper had been soured by misfortune. About a week before I +had chanced to offend some one of the Indians, who out of revenge went +secretly into the meadow and gave her a severe stab in the haunch +with his knife. The wound, though partially healed, still galled her +extremely, and made her even more perverse and obstinate than the rest +of her species. + +The morning was a glorious one, and I was in better health than I had +been at any time for the last two months. Though a strong frame and well +compacted sinews had borne me through hitherto, it was long since I had +been in a condition to feel the exhilaration of the fresh mountain wind +and the gay sunshine that brightened the crags and trees. We left the +little valley and ascended a rocky hollow in the mountain. Very soon we +were out of sight of the camp, and of every living thing, man, beast, +bird, or insect. I had never before, except on foot, passed over such +execrable ground, and I desire never to repeat the experiment. The black +mule grew indignant, and even the redoubtable yellow horse stumbled +every moment, and kept groaning to himself as he cut his feet and legs +among the sharp rocks. + +It was a scene of silence and desolation. Little was visible except +beetling crags and the bare shingly sides of the mountains, relieved +by scarcely a trace of vegetation. At length, however, we came upon +a forest tract, and had no sooner done so than we heartily wished +ourselves back among the rocks again; for we were on a steep descent, +among trees so thick that we could see scarcely a rod in any direction. + +If one is anxious to place himself in a situation where the hazardous +and the ludicrous are combined in about equal proportions, let him get +upon a vicious mule, with a snaffle bit, and try to drive her through +the woods down a slope of 45 degrees. Let him have on a long rifle, a +buckskin frock with long fringes, and a head of long hair. These latter +appendages will be caught every moment and twitched away in small +portions by the twigs, which will also whip him smartly across the face, +while the large branches above thump him on the head. His mule, if she +be a true one, will alternately stop short and dive violently forward, +and his position upon her back will be somewhat diversified and +extraordinary. At one time he will clasp her affectionately, to avoid +the blow of a bough overhead; at another, he will throw himself back +and fling his knee forward against the side of her neck, to keep it +from being crushed between the rough bark of a tree and the equally +unyielding ribs of the animal herself. Reynal was cursing incessantly +during the whole way down. Neither of us had the remotest idea where we +were going; and though I have seen rough riding, I shall always retain +an evil recollection of that five minutes’ scramble. + +At last we left our troubles behind us, emerging into the channel of +a brook that circled along the foot of the descent; and here, turning +joyfully to the left, we rode in luxury and ease over the white pebbles +and the rippling water, shaded from the glaring sun by an overarching +green transparency. These halcyon moments were of short duration. The +friendly brook, turning sharply to one side, went brawling and foaming +down the rocky hill into an abyss, which, as far as we could discern, +had no bottom; so once more we betook ourselves to the detested woods. +When next we came forth from their dancing shadow and sunlight, we found +ourselves standing in the broad glare of day, on a high jutting point of +the mountain. Before us stretched a long, wide, desert valley, winding +away far amid the mountains. No civilized eye but mine had ever looked +upon that virgin waste. Reynal was gazing intently; he began to speak at +last: + +“Many a time, when I was with the Indians, I have been hunting for +gold all through the Black Hills. There’s plenty of it here; you may +be certain of that. I have dreamed about it fifty times, and I never +dreamed yet but what it came true. Look over yonder at those black rocks +piled up against that other big rock. Don’t it look as if there might +be something there? It won’t do for a white man to be rummaging too much +about these mountains; the Indians say they are full of bad spirits; and +I believe myself that it’s no good luck to be hunting about here after +gold. Well, for all that, I would like to have one of these fellows up +here, from down below, to go about with his witch-hazel rod, and I’ll +guarantee that it would not be long before he would light on a gold +mine. Never mind; we’ll let the gold alone for to-day. Look at those +trees down below us in the hollow; we’ll go down there, and I reckon +we’ll get a black-tailed deer.” + +But Reynal’s predictions were not verified. We passed mountain after +mountain, and valley after valley; we explored deep ravines; yet still +to my companion’s vexation and evident surprise, no game could be found. +So, in the absence of better, we resolved to go out on the plains and +look for an antelope. With this view we began to pass down a narrow +valley, the bottom of which was covered with the stiff wild-sage +bushes and marked with deep paths, made by the buffalo, who, for some +inexplicable reason, are accustomed to penetrate, in their long grave +processions, deep among the gorges of these sterile mountains. + +Reynal’s eye was ranging incessantly among the rocks and along the edges +of the black precipices, in hopes of discovering the mountain sheep +peering down upon us in fancied security from that giddy elevation. +Nothing was visible for some time. At length we both detected something +in motion near the foot of one of the mountains, and in a moment +afterward a black-tailed deer, with his spreading antlers, stood gazing +at us from the top of a rock, and then, slowly turning away, disappeared +behind it. In an instant Reynal was out of his saddle, and running +toward the spot. I, being too weak to follow, sat holding his horse and +waiting the result. I lost sight of him, then heard the report of his +rifle, deadened among the rocks, and finally saw him reappear, with a +surly look that plainly betrayed his ill success. Again we moved forward +down the long valley, when soon after we came full upon what seemed a +wide and very shallow ditch, incrusted at the bottom with white clay, +dried and cracked in the sun. Under this fair outside, Reynal’s eye +detected the signs of lurking mischief. He called me to stop, and then +alighting, picked up a stone and threw it into the ditch. To my utter +amazement it fell with a dull splash, breaking at once through the thin +crust, and spattering round the hole a yellowish creamy fluid, into +which it sank and disappeared. A stick, five or six feet long lay on the +ground, and with this we sounded the insidious abyss close to its edge. +It was just possible to touch the bottom. Places like this are numerous +among the Rocky Mountains. The buffalo, in his blind and heedless walk, +often plunges into them unawares. Down he sinks; one snort of terror, +one convulsive struggle, and the slime calmly flows above his shaggy +head, the languid undulations of its sleek and placid surface alone +betraying how the powerful monster writhes in his death-throes below. + +We found after some trouble a point where we could pass the abyss, and +now the valley began to open upon the plains which spread to the horizon +before us. On one of their distant swells we discerned three or four +black specks, which Reynal pronounced to be buffalo. + +“Come,” said he, “we must get one of them. My squaw wants more sinews to +finish her lodge with, and I want some glue myself.” + +He immediately put the yellow horse at such a gallop as he was capable +of executing, while I set spurs to the mule, who soon far outran her +plebeian rival. When we had galloped a mile or more, a large rabbit, +by ill luck, sprang up just under the feet of the mule, who bounded +violently aside in full career. Weakened as I was, I was flung forcibly +to the ground, and my rifle, falling close to my head, went off with a +shock. Its sharp spiteful report rang for some moments in my ear. Being +slightly stunned, I lay for an instant motionless, and Reynal, supposing +me to be shot, rode up and began to curse the mule. Soon recovering +myself, I rose, picked up the rifle and anxiously examined it. It was +badly injured. The stock was cracked, and the main screw broken, so that +the lock had to be tied in its place with a string; yet happily it was +not rendered totally unserviceable. I wiped it out, reloaded it, and +handing it to Reynal, who meanwhile had caught the mule and led her up +to me, I mounted again. No sooner had I done so, than the brute began to +rear and plunge with extreme violence; but being now well prepared for +her, and free from incumbrance, I soon reduced her to submission. Then +taking the rifle again from Reynal, we galloped forward as before. + +We were now free of the mountain and riding far out on the broad +prairie. The buffalo were still some two miles in advance of us. When we +came near them, we stopped where a gentle swell of the plain concealed +us from their view, and while I held his horse Reynal ran forward with +his rifle, till I lost sight of him beyond the rising ground. A few +minutes elapsed; I heard the report of his piece, and saw the buffalo +running away at full speed on the right, and immediately after, the +hunter himself unsuccessful as before, came up and mounted his horse in +excessive ill-humor. He cursed the Black Hills and the buffalo, swore +that he was a good hunter, which indeed was true, and that he had never +been out before among those mountains without killing two or three deer +at least. + +We now turned toward the distant encampment. As we rode along, antelope +in considerable numbers were flying lightly in all directions over the +plain, but not one of them would stand and be shot at. When we reached +the foot of the mountain ridge that lay between us and the village, we +were too impatient to take the smooth and circuitous route; so turning +short to the left, we drove our wearied animals directly upward among +the rocks. Still more antelope were leaping about among these flinty +hillsides. Each of us shot at one, though from a great distance, and +each missed his mark. At length we reached the summit of the last ridge. +Looking down, we saw the bustling camp in the valley at our feet, and +ingloriously descended to it. As we rode among the lodges, the Indians +looked in vain for the fresh meat that should have hung behind our +saddles, and the squaws uttered various suppressed ejaculations, to the +great indignation of Reynal. Our mortification was increased when +we rode up to his lodge. Here we saw his young Indian relative, the +Hail-Storm, his light graceful figure on the ground in an easy attitude, +while with his friend the Rabbit, who sat by his side, he was making an +abundant meal from a wooden bowl of wasna, which the squaw had placed +between them. Near him lay the fresh skin of a female elk, which he had +just killed among the mountains, only a mile or two from the camp. No +doubt the boy’s heart was elated with triumph, but he betrayed no sign +of it. He even seemed totally unconscious of our approach, and his +handsome face had all the tranquillity of Indian self-control; +a self-control which prevents the exhibition of emotion, without +restraining the emotion itself. It was about two months since I had +known the Hail-Storm, and within that time his character had remarkably +developed. When I first saw him, he was just emerging from the habits +and feelings of the boy into the ambition of the hunter and warrior. He +had lately killed his first deer, and this had excited his aspirations +after distinction. Since that time he had been continually in search +of game, and no young hunter in the village had been so active or +so fortunate as he. It will perhaps be remembered how fearlessly he +attacked the buffalo bull, as we were moving toward our camp at the +Medicine-Bow Mountain. All this success had produced a marked change in +his character. As I first remembered him he always shunned the society +of the young squaws, and was extremely bashful and sheepish in their +presence; but now, in the confidence of his own reputation, he began +to assume the airs and the arts of a man of gallantry. He wore his red +blanket dashingly over his left shoulder, painted his cheeks every day +with vermilion, and hung pendants of shells in his ears. If I observed +aright, he met with very good success in his new pursuits; still the +Hail-Storm had much to accomplish before he attained the full standing +of a warrior. Gallantly as he began to bear himself among the women and +girls, he still was timid and abashed in the presence of the chiefs and +old men; for he had never yet killed a man, or stricken the dead body of +an enemy in battle. I have no doubt that the handsome smooth-faced boy +burned with keen desire to flash his maiden scalping-knife, and I would +not have encamped alone with him without watching his movements with a +distrustful eye. + +His elder brother, the Horse, was of a different character. He was +nothing but a lazy dandy. He knew very well how to hunt, but preferred +to live by the hunting of others. He had no appetite for distinction, +and the Hail-Storm, though a few years younger than he, already +surpassed him in reputation. He had a dark and ugly face, and he +passed a great part of his time in adorning it with vermilion, and +contemplating it by means of a little pocket looking-glass which I +gave him. As for the rest of the day, he divided it between eating and +sleeping, and sitting in the sun on the outside of a lodge. Here he +would remain for hour after hour, arrayed in all his finery, with an old +dragoon’s sword in his hand, and evidently flattering himself that he +was the center of attraction to the eyes of the surrounding squaws. Yet +he sat looking straight forward with a face of the utmost gravity, as +if wrapped in profound meditation, and it was only by the occasional +sidelong glances which he shot at his supposed admirers that one could +detect the true course of his thoughts. + +Both he and his brother may represent a class in the Indian community; +neither should the Hail-Storm’s friend, the Rabbit, be passed by without +notice. The Hail-Storm and he were inseparable; they ate, slept, and +hunted together, and shared with one another almost all that they +possessed. If there be anything that deserves to be called romantic +in the Indian character, it is to be sought for in friendships such as +this, which are quite common among many of the prairie tribes. + +Slowly, hour after hour, that weary afternoon dragged away. I lay in +Reynal’s lodge, overcome by the listless torpor that pervaded the +whole encampment. The day’s work was finished, or if it were not, the +inhabitants had resolved not to finish it at all, and all were dozing +quietly within the shelter of the lodges. A profound lethargy, the very +spirit of indolence, seemed to have sunk upon the village. Now and then +I could hear the low laughter of some girl from within a neighboring +lodge, or the small shrill voices of a few restless children, who alone +were moving in the deserted area. The spirit of the place infected me; +I could not even think consecutively; I was fit only for musing and +reverie, when at last, like the rest, I fell asleep. + +When evening came and the fires were lighted round the lodges, a select +family circle convened in the neighborhood of Reynal’s domicile. It was +composed entirely of his squaw’s relatives, a mean and ignoble clan, +among whom none but the Hail-Storm held forth any promise of future +distinction. Even his protests were rendered not a little dubious by the +character of the family, less however from any principle of aristocratic +distinction than from the want of powerful supporters to assist him in +his undertakings, and help to avenge his quarrels. Raymond and I sat +down along with them. There were eight or ten men gathered around the +fire, together with about as many women, old and young, some of whom +were tolerably good-looking. As the pipe passed round among the men, +a lively conversation went forward, more merry than delicate, and at +length two or three of the elder women (for the girls were somewhat +diffident and bashful) began to assail Raymond with various pungent +witticisms. Some of the men took part and an old squaw concluded +by bestowing on him a ludicrous nick name, at which a general laugh +followed at his expense. Raymond grinned and giggled, and made several +futile attempts at repartee. Knowing the impolicy and even danger of +suffering myself to be placed in a ludicrous light among the Indians, +I maintained a rigid inflexible countenance, and wholly escaped their +sallies. + +In the morning I found, to my great disgust, that the camp was to retain +its position for another day. I dreaded its languor and monotony, and +to escape it, I set out to explore the surrounding mountains. I was +accompanied by a faithful friend, my rifle, the only friend indeed on +whose prompt assistance in time of trouble I could implicitly rely. Most +of the Indians in the village, it is true, professed good-will toward +the whites, but the experience of others and my own observation had +taught me the extreme folly of confidence, and the utter impossibility +of foreseeing to what sudden acts the strange unbridled impulses of an +Indian may urge him. When among this people danger is never so near as +when you are unprepared for it, never so remote as when you are armed +and on the alert to meet it any moment. Nothing offers so strong a +temptation to their ferocious instincts as the appearance of timidity, +weakness, or security. + +Many deep and gloomy gorges, choked with trees and bushes, opened from +the sides of the hills, which were shaggy with forests wherever the +rocks permitted vegetation to spring. A great number of Indians were +stalking along the edges of the woods, and boys were whooping and +laughing on the mountain-sides, practicing eye and hand, and indulging +their destructive propensities by following birds and small animals +and killing them with their little bows and arrows. There was one glen, +stretching up between steep cliffs far into the bosom of the mountain. I +began to ascend along its bottom, pushing my way onward among the rocks, +trees, and bushes that obstructed it. A slender thread of water trickled +along its center, which since issuing from the heart of its native rock +could scarcely have been warmed or gladdened by a ray of sunshine. After +advancing for some time, I conceived myself to be entirely alone; +but coming to a part of the glen in a great measure free of trees and +undergrowth, I saw at some distance the black head and red shoulders of +an Indian among the bushes above. The reader need not prepare himself +for a startling adventure, for I have none to relate. The head and +shoulders belonged to Mene-Seela, my best friend in the village. As +I had approached noiselessly with my moccasined feet, the old man was +quite unconscious of my presence; and turning to a point where I could +gain an unobstructed view of him, I saw him seated alone, immovable as +a statue, among the rocks and trees. His face was turned upward, and +his eyes seemed riveted on a pine tree springing from a cleft in the +precipice above. The crest of the pine was swaying to and fro in the +wind, and its long limbs waved slowly up and down, as if the tree had +life. Looking for a while at the old man, I was satisfied that he was +engaged in an act of worship or prayer, or communion of some kind with +a supernatural being. I longed to penetrate his thoughts, but I could +do nothing more than conjecture and speculate. I knew that though the +intellect of an Indian can embrace the idea of an all-wise, all-powerful +Spirit, the supreme Ruler of the universe, yet his mind will not always +ascend into communion with a being that seems to him so vast, remote, +and incomprehensible; and when danger threatens, when his hopes are +broken, when the black wing of sorrow overshadows him, he is prone to +turn for relief to some inferior agency, less removed from the ordinary +scope of his faculties. He has a guardian spirit, on whom he relies +for succor and guidance. To him all nature is instinct with mystic +influence. Among those mountains not a wild beast was prowling, a bird +singing, or a leaf fluttering, that might not tend to direct his destiny +or give warning of what was in store for him; and he watches the world +of nature around him as the astrologer watches the stars. So closely is +he linked with it that his guardian spirit, no unsubstantial creation of +the fancy, is usually embodied in the form of some living thing--a bear, +a wolf, an eagle, or a serpent; and Mene-Seela, as he gazed intently on +the old pine tree, might believe it to inshrine the fancied guide and +protector of his life. + +Whatever was passing in the mind of the old man, it was no part of +sense or of delicacy to disturb him. Silently retracing my footsteps, I +descended the glen until I came to a point where I could climb the steep +precipices that shut it in, and gain the side of the mountain. Looking +up, I saw a tall peak rising among the woods. Something impelled me to +climb; I had not felt for many a day such strength and elasticity of +limb. An hour and a half of slow and often intermittent labor brought me +to the very summit; and emerging from the dark shadows of the rocks and +pines, I stepped forth into the light, and walking along the sunny verge +of a precipice, seated myself on its extreme point. Looking between the +mountain peaks to the westward, the pale blue prairie was stretching to +the farthest horizon like a serene and tranquil ocean. The surrounding +mountains were in themselves sufficiently striking and impressive, but +this contrast gave redoubled effect to their stern features. + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +PASSAGE OF THE MOUNTAINS + + +When I took leave of Shaw at La Bonte’s Camp, I promised that I would +meet him at Fort Laramie on the 1st of August. That day, according to my +reckoning, was now close at hand. It was impossible, at best, to fulfill +my engagement exactly, and my meeting with him must have been postponed +until many days after the appointed time, had not the plans of the +Indians very well coincided with my own. They too, intended to pass +the mountains and move toward the fort. To do so at this point was +impossible, because there was no opening; and in order to find a passage +we were obliged to go twelve or fourteen miles southward. Late in the +afternoon the camp got in motion, defiling back through the mountains +along the same narrow passage by which they had entered. I rode in +company with three or four young Indians at the rear, and the moving +swarm stretched before me, in the ruddy light of sunset, or in the deep +shadow of the mountains far beyond my sight. It was an ill-omened spot +they chose to encamp upon. When they were there just a year before, a +war party of ten men, led by The Whirlwind’s son, had gone out against +the enemy, and not one had ever returned. This was the immediate cause +of this season’s warlike preparations. I was not a little astonished +when I came to the camp, at the confusion of horrible sounds with which +it was filled; howls, shrieks, and wailings were heard from all the +women present, many of whom not content with this exhibition of grief +for the loss of their friends and relatives, were gashing their legs +deeply with knives. A warrior in the village, who had lost a brother +in the expedition; chose another mode of displaying his sorrow. The +Indians, who, though often rapacious, are utterly devoid of avarice, are +accustomed in times of mourning, or on other solemn occasions, to give +away the whole of their possessions, and reduce themselves to nakedness +and want. The warrior in question led his two best horses into the +center of the village, and gave them away to his friends; upon which +songs and acclamations in praise of his generosity mingled with the +cries of the women. + +On the next morning we entered once more among the mountains. There was +nothing in their appearance either grand or picturesque, though they +were desolate to the last degree, being mere piles of black and broken +rocks, without trees or vegetation of any kind. As we passed among them +along a wide valley, I noticed Raymond riding by the side of a younger +squaw, to whom he was addressing various insinuating compliments. All +the old squaws in the neighborhood watched his proceedings in great +admiration, and the girl herself would turn aside her head and laugh. +Just then the old mule thought proper to display her vicious pranks; she +began to rear and plunge most furiously. Raymond was an excellent rider, +and at first he stuck fast in his seat; but the moment after, I saw +the mule’s hind-legs flourishing in the air, and my unlucky follower +pitching head foremost over her ears. There was a burst of screams and +laughter from all the women, in which his mistress herself took part, +and Raymond was instantly assailed by such a shower of witticisms, that +he was glad to ride forward out of hearing. + +Not long after, as I rode near him, I heard him shouting to me. He was +pointing toward a detached rocky hill that stood in the middle of the +valley before us, and from behind it a long file of elk came out at +full speed and entered an opening in the side of the mountain. They had +scarcely disappeared when whoops and exclamations came from fifty voices +around me. The young men leaped from their horses, flung down their +heavy buffalo robes, and ran at full speed toward the foot of the +nearest mountain. Reynal also broke away at a gallop in the same +direction, “Come on! come on!” he called to us. “Do you see that band of +bighorn up yonder? If there’s one of them, there’s a hundred!” + +In fact, near the summit of the mountain, I could see a large number of +small white objects, moving rapidly upward among the precipices, while +others were filing along its rocky profile. Anxious to see the sport, +I galloped forward, and entering a passage in the side of the mountain, +ascended the loose rocks as far as my horse could carry me. Here I +fastened her to an old pine tree that stood alone, scorching in the sun. +At that moment Raymond called to me from the right that another band of +sheep was close at hand in that direction. I ran up to the top of the +opening, which gave me a full view into the rocky gorge beyond; and +here I plainly saw some fifty or sixty sheep, almost within rifle-shot, +clattering upward among the rocks, and endeavoring, after their usual +custom, to reach the highest point. The naked Indians bounded up lightly +in pursuit. In a moment the game and hunters disappeared. Nothing could +be seen or heard but the occasional report of a gun, more and more +distant, reverberating among the rocks. + +I turned to descend, and as I did so I could see the valley below alive +with Indians passing rapidly through it, on horseback and on foot. +A little farther on, all were stopping as they came up; the camp was +preparing, and the lodges rising. I descended to this spot, and soon +after Reynal and Raymond returned. They bore between them a sheep which +they had pelted to death with stones from the edge of a ravine, along +the bottom of which it was attempting to escape. One by one the hunters +came dropping in; yet such is the activity of the Rocky Mountain sheep +that, although sixty or seventy men were out in pursuit, not more than +half a dozen animals were killed. Of these only one was a full-grown +male. He had a pair of horns twisted like a ram’s, the dimensions of +which were almost beyond belief. I have seen among the Indians ladles +with long handles, capable of containing more than a quart, cut from +such horns. + +There is something peculiarly interesting in the character and habits +of the mountain sheep, whose chosen retreats are above the region of +vegetation and storms, and who leap among the giddy precipices of their +aerial home as actively as the antelope skims over the prairies below. + +Through the whole of the next morning we were moving forward, among +the hills. On the following day the heights gathered around us, and the +passage of the mountains began in earnest. Before the village left its +camping ground, I set forward in company with the Eagle-Feather, a man +of powerful frame, but of bad and sinister face. His son, a light-limbed +boy, rode with us, and another Indian, named the Panther, was also of +the party. Leaving the village out of sight behind us, we rode together +up a rocky defile. After a while, however, the Eagle-Feather discovered +in the distance some appearance of game, and set off with his son in +pursuit of it, while I went forward with the Panther. This was a mere +NOM DE GUERRE; for, like many Indians, he concealed his real name out +of some superstitious notion. He was a very noble looking fellow. As he +suffered his ornamented buffalo robe to fall into folds about his loins, +his stately and graceful figure was fully displayed; and while he sat +his horse in an easy attitude, the long feathers of the prairie cock +fluttering from the crown of his head, he seemed the very model of +a wild prairie-rider. He had not the same features as those of other +Indians. Unless his handsome face greatly belied him, he was free from +the jealousy, suspicion, and malignant cunning of his people. For the +most part, a civilized white man can discover but very few points +of sympathy between his own nature and that of an Indian. With every +disposition to do justice to their good qualities, he must be conscious +that an impassable gulf lies between him and his red brethren of the +prairie. Nay, so alien to himself do they appear that, having breathed +for a few months or a few weeks the air of this region, he begins to +look upon them as a troublesome and dangerous species of wild beast, +and, if expedient, he could shoot them with as little compunction as +they themselves would experience after performing the same office upon +him. Yet, in the countenance of the Panther, I gladly read that there +were at least some points of sympathy between him and me. We were +excellent friends, and as we rode forward together through rocky +passages, deep dells, and little barren plains, he occupied himself very +zealously in teaching me the Dakota language. After a while, we came to +a little grassy recess, where some gooseberry bushes were growing at the +foot of a rock; and these offered such temptation to my companion, that +he gave over his instruction, and stopped so long to gather the fruit +that before we were in motion again the van of the village came in +view. An old woman appeared, leading down her pack horse among the +rocks above. Savage after savage followed, and the little dell was soon +crowded with the throng. + +That morning’s march was one not easily to be forgotten. It led us +through a sublime waste, a wilderness of mountains and pine forests, +over which the spirit of loneliness and silence seemed brooding. Above +and below little could be seen but the same dark green foliage. It +overspread the valleys, and the mountains were clothed with it from the +black rocks that crowned their summits to the impetuous streams that +circled round their base. Scenery like this, it might seem, could have +no very cheering effect on the mind of a sick man (for to-day my disease +had again assailed me) in the midst of a horde of savages; but if the +reader has ever wandered, with a true hunter’s spirit, among the forests +of Maine, or the more picturesque solitudes of the Adirondack Mountains, +he will understand how the somber woods and mountains around me might +have awakened any other feelings than those of gloom. In truth they +recalled gladdening recollections of similar scenes in a distant and far +different land. After we had been advancing for several hours through +passages always narrow, often obstructed and difficult, I saw at a +little distance on our right a narrow opening between two high wooded +precipices. All within seemed darkness and mystery. In the mood in which +I found myself something strongly impelled me to enter. Passing over the +intervening space I guided my horse through the rocky portal, and as +I did so instinctively drew the covering from my rifle, half expecting +that some unknown evil lay in ambush within those dreary recesses. The +place was shut in among tall cliffs, and so deeply shadowed by a host +of old pine trees that, though the sun shone bright on the side of the +mountain, nothing but a dim twilight could penetrate within. As far as +I could see it had no tenants except a few hawks and owls, who, dismayed +at my intrusion, flapped hoarsely away among the shaggy branches. I +moved forward, determined to explore the mystery to the bottom, and soon +became involved among the pines. The genius of the place exercised +a strange influence upon my mind. Its faculties were stimulated into +extraordinary activity, and as I passed along many half-forgotten +incidents, and the images of persons and things far distant, rose +rapidly before me with surprising distinctness. In that perilous +wilderness, eight hundred miles removed beyond the faintest vestige +of civilization, the scenes of another hemisphere, the seat of ancient +refinement, passed before me more like a succession of vivid paintings +than any mere dreams of the fancy. I saw the church of St. Peter’s +illumined on the evening of Easter Day, the whole majestic pile, from +the cross to the foundation stone, penciled in fire and shedding a +radiance, like the serene light of the moon, on the sea of upturned +faces below. I saw the peak of Mount Etna towering above its inky mantle +of clouds and lightly curling its wreaths of milk-white smoke against +the soft sky flushed with the Sicilian sunset. I saw also the gloomy +vaulted passages and the narrow cells of the Passionist convent where +I once had sojourned for a few days with the fanatical monks, its pale, +stern inmates in their robes of black, and the grated window from whence +I could look out, a forbidden indulgence, upon the melancholy Coliseum +and the crumbling ruins of the Eternal City. The mighty glaciers of the +Splugen too rose before me, gleaming in the sun like polished silver, +and those terrible solitudes, the birthplace of the Rhine, where +bursting from the bowels of its native mountains, it lashes and +foams down the rocky abyss into the little valley of Andeer. These +recollections, and many more, crowded upon me, until remembering that +it was hardly wise to remain long in such a place, I mounted again +and retraced my steps. Issuing from between the rocks I saw a few rods +before me the men, women, and children, dogs and horses, still filing +slowly across the little glen. A bare round hill rose directly above +them. I rode to the top, and from this point I could look down on the +savage procession as it passed just beneath my feet, and far on the +left I could see its thin and broken line, visible only at intervals, +stretching away for miles among the mountains. On the farthest ridge +horsemen were still descending like mere specks in the distance. + +I remained on the hill until all had passed, and then, descending, +followed after them. A little farther on I found a very small meadow, +set deeply among steep mountains; and here the whole village had +encamped. The little spot was crowded with the confused and disorderly +host. Some of the lodges were already completely prepared, or the squaws +perhaps were busy in drawing the heavy coverings of skin over the bare +poles. Others were as yet mere skeletons, while others still--poles, +covering, and all--lay scattered in complete disorder on the ground +among buffalo robes, bales of meat, domestic utensils, harness, and +weapons. Squaws were screaming to one another, horses rearing and +plunging dogs yelping, eager to be disburdened of their loads, while +the fluttering of feathers and the gleam of barbaric ornaments added +liveliness to the scene. The small children ran about amid the crowd, +while many of the boys were scrambling among the overhanging rocks, and +standing, with their little bows in their hands, looking down upon a +restless throng. In contrast with the general confusion, a circle of old +men and warriors sat in the midst, smoking in profound indifference and +tranquillity. The disorder at length subsided. The horses were driven +away to feed along the adjacent valley, and the camp assumed an air of +listless repose. It was scarcely past noon; a vast white canopy of smoke +from a burning forest to the eastward overhung the place, and partially +obscured the sun; yet the heat was almost insupportable. The lodges +stood crowded together without order in the narrow space. Each was a +perfect hothouse, within which the lazy proprietor lay sleeping. The +camp was silent as death. Nothing stirred except now and then an old +woman passing from lodge to lodge. The girls and young men sat together +in groups under the pine trees upon the surrounding heights. The dogs +lay panting on the ground, too lazy even to growl at the white man. +At the entrance of the meadow there was a cold spring among the rocks, +completely overshadowed by tall trees and dense undergrowth. In this +cold and shady retreat a number of girls were assembled, sitting +together on rocks and fallen logs, discussing the latest gossip of +the village, or laughing and throwing water with their hands at the +intruding Meneaska. The minutes seemed lengthened into hours. I lay +for a long time under a tree, studying the Ogallalla tongue, with the +zealous instructions of my friend the Panther. When we were both tired +of this I went and lay down by the side of a deep, clear pool formed +by the water of the spring. A shoal of little fishes of about a pin’s +length were playing in it, sporting together, as it seemed, very +amicably; but on closer observation, I saw that they were engaged in a +cannibal warfare among themselves. Now and then a small one would fall +a victim, and immediately disappear down the maw of his voracious +conqueror. Every moment, however, the tyrant of the pool, a monster +about three inches long, with staring goggle eyes, would slowly issue +forth with quivering fins and tail from under the shelving bank. The +small fry at this would suspend their hostilities, and scatter in a +panic at the appearance of overwhelming force. + +“Soft-hearted philanthropists,” thought I, “may sigh long for their +peaceful millennium; for from minnows up to men, life is an incessant +battle.” + +Evening approached at last, the tall mountain-tops around were still gay +and bright in sunshine, while our deep glen was completely shadowed. +I left the camp and ascended a neighboring hill, whose rocky summit +commanded a wide view over the surrounding wilderness. The sun was still +glaring through the stiff pines on the ridge of the western mountain. +In a moment he was gone, and as the landscape rapidly darkened, I turned +again toward the village. As I descended the hill, the howling of wolves +and the barking of foxes came up out of the dim woods from far and near. +The camp was glowing with a multitude of fires, and alive with dusky +naked figures, whose tall shadows flitted among the surroundings crags. + +I found a circle of smokers seated in their usual place; that is, on the +ground before the lodge of a certain warrior, who seemed to be generally +known for his social qualities. I sat down to smoke a parting pipe +with my savage friends. That day was the 1st of August, on which I had +promised to meet Shaw at Fort Laramie. The Fort was less than two +days’ journey distant, and that my friend need not suffer anxiety on my +account, I resolved to push forward as rapidly as possible to the place +of meeting. I went to look after the Hail-Storm, and having found him, +I offered him a handful of hawks’-bells and a paper of vermilion, on +condition that he would guide me in the morning through the mountains +within sight of Laramie Creek. + +The Hail-Storm ejaculated “How!” and accepted the gift. Nothing more was +said on either side; the matter was settled, and I lay down to sleep in +Kongra-Tonga’s lodge. + +Long before daylight Raymond shook me by the shoulder. + +“Everything is ready,” he said. + +I went out. The morning was chill, damp, and dark; and the whole camp +seemed asleep. The Hail-Storm sat on horseback before the lodge, and my +mare Pauline and the mule which Raymond rode were picketed near it. +We saddled and made our other arrangements for the journey, but before +these were completed the camp began to stir, and the lodge-coverings +fluttered and rustled as the squaws pulled them down in preparation for +departure. Just as the light began to appear we left the ground, passing +up through a narrow opening among the rocks which led eastward out of +the meadow. Gaining the top of this passage, I turned round and sat +looking back upon the camp, dimly visible in the gray light of the +morning. All was alive with the bustle of preparation. I turned away, +half unwilling to take a final leave of my savage associates. We turned +to the right, passing among the rocks and pine trees so dark that for a +while we could scarcely see our way. The country in front was wild and +broken, half hill, half plain, partly open and partly covered with woods +of pine and oak. Barriers of lofty mountains encompassed it; the woods +were fresh and cool in the early morning; the peaks of the mountains +were wreathed with mist, and sluggish vapors were entangled among the +forests upon their sides. At length the black pinnacle of the tallest +mountain was tipped with gold by the rising sun. About that time the +Hail-Storm, who rode in front gave a low exclamation. Some large animal +leaped up from among the bushes, and an elk, as I thought, his horns +thrown back over his neck, darted past us across the open space, and +bounded like a mad thing away among the adjoining pines. Raymond was +soon out of his saddle, but before he could fire, the animal was full +two hundred yards distant. The ball struck its mark, though much too low +for mortal effect. The elk, however, wheeled in its flight, and ran at +full speed among the trees, nearly at right angles to his former course. +I fired and broke his shoulder; still he moved on, limping down into the +neighboring woody hollow, whither the young Indian followed and killed +him. When we reached the spot we discovered him to be no elk, but a +black-tailed deer, an animal nearly twice the size of the common deer, +and quite unknown to the East. We began to cut him up; the reports of +the rifles had reached the ears of the Indians, and before our task was +finished several of them came to the spot. Leaving the hide of the deer +to the Hail-Storm, we hung as much of the meat as we wanted behind +our saddles, left the rest to the Indians, and resumed our journey. +Meanwhile the village was on its way, and had gone so far that to get in +advance of it was impossible. Therefore we directed our course so as to +strike its line of march at the nearest point. In a short time, through +the dark trunks of the pines, we could see the figures of the Indians +as they passed. Once more we were among them. They were moving with even +more than their usual precipitation, crowded close together in a narrow +pass between rocks and old pine trees. We were on the eastern descent +of the mountain, and soon came to a rough and difficult defile, leading +down a very steep declivity. The whole swarm poured down together, +filling the rocky passageway like some turbulent mountain stream. The +mountains before us were on fire, and had been so for weeks. The view in +front was obscured by a vast dim sea of smoke and vapor, while on either +hand the tall cliffs, bearing aloft their crest of pines, thrust their +heads boldly through it, and the sharp pinnacles and broken ridges of +the mountains beyond them were faintly traceable as through a veil. +The scene in itself was most grand and imposing, but with the savage +multitude, the armed warriors, the naked children, the gayly appareled +girls, pouring impetuously down the heights, it would have formed a +noble subject for a painter, and only the pen of a Scott could have done +it justice in description. + +We passed over a burnt tract where the ground was hot beneath the +horses’ feet, and between the blazing sides of two mountains. Before +long we had descended to a softer region, where we found a succession +of little valleys watered by a stream, along the borders of which grew +abundance of wild gooseberries and currants, and the children and many +of the men straggled from the line of march to gather them as we passed +along. Descending still farther, the view changed rapidly. The burning +mountains were behind us, and through the open valleys in front we could +see the ocean-like prairie, stretching beyond the sight. After passing +through a line of trees that skirted the brook, the Indians filed out +upon the plains. I was thirsty and knelt down by the little stream to +drink. As I mounted again I very carelessly left my rifle among the +grass, and my thoughts being otherwise absorbed, I rode for some +distance before discovering its absence. As the reader may conceive, +I lost no time in turning about and galloping back in search of it. +Passing the line of Indians, I watched every warrior as he rode by me at +a canter, and at length discovered my rifle in the hands of one of them, +who, on my approaching to claim it, immediately gave it up. Having no +other means of acknowledging the obligation, I took off one of my spurs +and gave it to him. He was greatly delighted, looking upon it as a +distinguished mark of favor, and immediately held out his foot for me to +buckle it on. As soon as I had done so, he struck it with force into +the side of his horse, who gave a violent leap. The Indian laughed and +spurred harder than before. At this the horse shot away like an arrow, +amid the screams and laughter of the squaws, and the ejaculations of the +men, who exclaimed: “Washtay!--Good!” at the potent effect of my gift. +The Indian had no saddle, and nothing in place of a bridle except a +leather string tied round the horse’s jaw. The animal was of course +wholly uncontrollable, and stretched away at full speed over the +prairie, till he and his rider vanished behind a distant swell. I never +saw the man again, but I presume no harm came to him. An Indian on +horseback has more lives than a cat. + +The village encamped on a scorching prairie, close to the foot of the +mountains. The beat was most intense and penetrating. The coverings +of the lodges were raised a foot or more from the ground, in order to +procure some circulation of air; and Reynal thought proper to lay aside +his trapper’s dress of buckskin and assume the very scanty costume of an +Indian. Thus elegantly attired, he stretched himself in his lodge on a +buffalo robe, alternately cursing the heat and puffing at the pipe which +he and I passed between us. There was present also a select circle of +Indian friends and relatives. A small boiled puppy was served up as a +parting feast, to which was added, by way of dessert, a wooden bowl of +gooseberries, from the mountains. + +“Look there,” said Reynal, pointing out of the opening of his lodge; “do +you see that line of buttes about fifteen miles off? Well, now, do you +see that farthest one, with the white speck on the face of it? Do you +think you ever saw it before?” + +“It looks to me,” said I, “like the hill that we were camped under when +we were on Laramie Creek, six or eight weeks ago.” + +“You’ve hit it,” answered Reynal. + +“Go and bring in the animals, Raymond,” said I: “we’ll camp there +to-night, and start for the Fort in the morning.” + +The mare and the mule were soon before the lodge. We saddled them, and +in the meantime a number of Indians collected about us. The virtues of +Pauline, my strong, fleet, and hardy little mare, were well known in +camp, and several of the visitors were mounted upon good horses which +they had brought me as presents. I promptly declined their offers, since +accepting them would have involved the necessity of transferring poor +Pauline into their barbarous hands. We took leave of Reynal, but not +of the Indians, who are accustomed to dispense with such superfluous +ceremonies. Leaving the camp we rode straight over the prairie toward +the white-faced bluff, whose pale ridges swelled gently against the +horizon, like a cloud. An Indian went with us, whose name I forget, +though the ugliness of his face and the ghastly width of his mouth dwell +vividly in my recollection. The antelope were numerous, but we did not +heed them. We rode directly toward our destination, over the arid plains +and barren hills, until, late in the afternoon, half spent with heat, +thirst, and fatigue, we saw a gladdening sight; the long line of trees +and the deep gulf that mark the course of Laramie Creek. Passing through +the growth of huge dilapidated old cottonwood trees that bordered the +creek, we rode across to the other side. + +The rapid and foaming waters were filled with fish playing and splashing +in the shallows. As we gained the farther bank, our horses turned +eagerly to drink, and we, kneeling on the sand, followed their example. +We had not gone far before the scene began to grow familiar. + +“We are getting near home, Raymond,” said I. + +There stood the Big Tree under which we had encamped so long; there were +the white cliffs that used to look down upon our tent when it stood +at the bend of the creek; there was the meadow in which our horses had +grazed for weeks, and a little farther on, the prairie-dog village +where I had beguiled many a languid hour in persecuting the unfortunate +inhabitants. + +“We are going to catch it now,” said Raymond, turning his broad, vacant +face up toward the sky. + +In truth, the landscape, the cliffs and the meadow, the stream and the +groves were darkening fast. Black masses of cloud were swelling up in +the south, and the thunder was growling ominously. + +“We will camp here,” I said, pointing to a dense grove of trees lower +down the stream. Raymond and I turned toward it, but the Indian stopped +and called earnestly after us. When we demanded what was the matter, he +said that the ghosts of two warriors were always among those trees, and +that if we slept there, they would scream and throw stones at us all +night, and perhaps steal our horses before morning. Thinking it as well +to humor him, we left behind us the haunt of these extraordinary ghosts, +and passed on toward Chugwater, riding at full gallop, for the big drops +began to patter down. Soon we came in sight of the poplar saplings that +grew about the mouth of the little stream. We leaped to the ground, +threw off our saddles, turned our horses loose, and drawing our knives, +began to slash among the bushes to cut twigs and branches for making a +shelter against the rain. Bending down the taller saplings as they +grew, we piled the young shoots upon them; and thus made a convenient +penthouse, but all our labor was useless. The storm scarcely touched us. +Half a mile on our right the rain was pouring down like a cataract, and +the thunder roared over the prairie like a battery of cannon; while we +by good fortune received only a few heavy drops from the skirt of the +passing cloud. The weather cleared and the sun set gloriously. Sitting +close under our leafy canopy, we proceeded to discuss a substantial meal +of wasna which Weah-Washtay had given me. The Indian had brought with +him his pipe and a bag of shongsasha; so before lying down to sleep, +we sat for some time smoking together. Previously, however, our +wide-mouthed friend had taken the precaution of carefully examining the +neighborhood. He reported that eight men, counting them on his fingers, +had been encamped there not long before. Bisonette, Paul Dorion, Antoine +Le Rouge, Richardson, and four others, whose names he could not tell. +All this proved strictly correct. By what instinct he had arrived at +such accurate conclusions, I am utterly at a loss to divine. + +It was still quite dark when I awoke and called Raymond. The Indian was +already gone, having chosen to go on before us to the Fort. Setting out +after him, we rode for some time in complete darkness, and when the sun +at length rose, glowing like a fiery ball of copper, we were ten miles +distant from the Fort. At length, from the broken summit of a tall sandy +bluff we could see Fort Laramie, miles before us, standing by the side +of the stream like a little gray speck in the midst of the bounding +desolation. I stopped my horse, and sat for a moment looking down upon +it. It seemed to me the very center of comfort and civilization. We were +not long in approaching it, for we rode at speed the greater part of the +way. Laramie Creek still intervened between us and the friendly walls. +Entering the water at the point where we had struck upon the bank, we +raised our feet to the saddle behind us, and thus, kneeling as it were +on horseback, passed dry-shod through the swift current. As we rode up +the bank, a number of men appeared in the gateway. Three of them came +forward to meet us. In a moment I distinguished Shaw; Henry Chatillon +followed with his face of manly simplicity and frankness, and Delorier +came last, with a broad grin of welcome. The meeting was not on either +side one of mere ceremony. For my own part, the change was a most +agreeable one from the society of savages and men little better than +savages, to that of my gallant and high-minded companion and our +noble-hearted guide. My appearance was equally gratifying to Shaw, who +was beginning to entertain some very uncomfortable surmises concerning +me. + +Bordeaux greeted me very cordially, and shouted to the cook. This +functionary was a new acquisition, having lately come from Fort Pierre +with the trading wagons. Whatever skill he might have boasted, he had +not the most promising materials to exercise it upon. He set before me, +however, a breakfast of biscuit, coffee, and salt pork. It seemed like a +new phase of existence, to be seated once more on a bench, with a knife +and fork, a plate and teacup, and something resembling a table before +me. The coffee seemed delicious, and the bread was a most welcome +novelty, since for three weeks I had eaten scarcely anything but meat, +and that for the most part without salt. The meal also had the relish of +good company, for opposite to me sat Shaw in elegant dishabille. If one +is anxious thoroughly to appreciate the value of a congenial companion, +he has only to spend a few weeks by himself in an Ogallalla village. And +if he can contrive to add to his seclusion a debilitating and somewhat +critical illness, his perceptions upon this subject will be rendered +considerably more vivid. + +Shaw had been upward of two weeks at the Fort. I found him established +in his old quarters, a large apartment usually occupied by the absent +bourgeois. In one corner was a soft and luxuriant pile of excellent +buffalo robes, and here I lay down. Shaw brought me three books. + +“Here,” said he, “is your Shakespeare and Byron, and here is the +Old Testament, which has as much poetry in it as the other two put +together.” + +I chose the worst of the three, and for the greater part of that day +lay on the buffalo robes, fairly reveling in the creations of that +resplendent genius which has achieved no more signal triumph than that +of half beguiling us to forget the pitiful and unmanly character of its +possessor. + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE LONELY JOURNEY + + +On the day of my arrival at Fort Laramie, Shaw and I were lounging on +two buffalo robes in the large apartment hospitably assigned to us; +Henry Chatillon also was present, busy about the harness and weapons, +which had been brought into the room, and two or three Indians were +crouching on the floor, eyeing us with their fixed, unwavering gaze. + +“I have been well off here,” said Shaw, “in all respects but one; there +is no good shongsasha to be had for love or money.” + +I gave him a small leather bag containing some of excellent quality, +which I had brought from the Black Hills. + +“Now, Henry,” said he, “hand me Papin’s chopping-board, or give it to +that Indian, and let him cut the mixture; they understand it better than +any white man.” + +The Indian, without saying a word, mixed the bark and the tobacco in due +proportions, filled the pipe and lighted it. This done, my companion +and I proceeded to deliberate on our future course of proceeding; first, +however, Shaw acquainted me with some incidents which had occurred at +the fort during my absence. + +About a week previous four men had arrived from beyond the mountains; +Sublette, Reddick, and two others. Just before reaching the Fort +they had met a large party of Indians, chiefly young men. All of them +belonged to the village of our old friend Smoke, who, with his whole +band of adherents, professed the greatest friendship for the whites. The +travelers therefore approached, and began to converse without the least +suspicion. Suddenly, however, their bridles were violently seized and +they were ordered to dismount. Instead of complying, they struck +their horses with full force, and broke away from the Indians. As +they galloped off they heard a yell behind them, mixed with a burst of +derisive laughter, and the reports of several guns. None of them were +hurt though Reddick’s bridle rein was cut by a bullet within an inch of +his hand. After this taste of Indian hostility they felt for the moment +no disposition to encounter further risks. They intended to pursue the +route southward along the foot of the mountains to Bent’s Fort; and as +our plans coincided with theirs, they proposed to join forces. Finding, +however, that I did not return, they grew impatient of inaction, forgot +their late escape, and set out without us, promising to wait our arrival +at Bent’s Fort. From thence we were to make the long journey to the +settlements in company, as the path was not a little dangerous, being +infested by hostile Pawnees and Comanches. + +We expected, on reaching Bent’s Fort, to find there still another +re-enforcement. A young Kentuckian of the true Kentucky blood, generous, +impetuous, and a gentleman withal, had come out to the mountains with +Russel’s party of California emigrants. One of his chief objects, as +he gave out, was to kill an Indian; an exploit which he afterwards +succeeded in achieving, much to the jeopardy of ourselves and others who +had to pass through the country of the dead Pawnee’s enraged relatives. +Having become disgusted with his emigrant associates he left them, and +had some time before set out with a party of companions for the head of +the Arkansas. He sent us previously a letter, intimating that he would +wait until we arrived at Bent’s Fort, and accompany us thence to the +settlements. When, however, he came to the Fort, he found there a party +of forty men about to make the homeward journey. He wisely preferred to +avail himself of so strong an escort. Mr. Sublette and his companions +also set out, in order to overtake this company; so that on reaching +Bent’s Fort, some six weeks after, we found ourselves deserted by our +allies and thrown once more upon our own resources. + +But I am anticipating. When, before leaving the settlement we had made +inquiries concerning this part of the country of General Kearny, Mr. +Mackenzie, Captain Wyeth, and others well acquainted with it, they had +all advised us by no means to attempt this southward journey with +fewer than fifteen or twenty men. The danger consists in the chance of +encountering Indian war parties. Sometimes throughout the whole length +of the journey (a distance of 350 miles) one does not meet a single +human being; frequently, however, the route is beset by Arapahoes and +other unfriendly tribes; in which case the scalp of the adventurer is in +imminent peril. As to the escort of fifteen or twenty men, such a force +of whites could at that time scarcely be collected by the whole country; +and had the case been otherwise, the expense of securing them, together +with the necessary number of horses, would have been extremely heavy. We +had resolved, however, upon pursuing this southward course. There were, +indeed, two other routes from Fort Laramie; but both of these were less +interesting, and neither was free from danger. Being unable therefore to +procure the fifteen or twenty men recommended, we determined to set out +with those we had already in our employ, Henry Chatillon, Delorier, and +Raymond. The men themselves made no objection, nor would they have made +any had the journey been more dangerous; for Henry was without fear, and +the other two without thought. + +Shaw and I were much better fitted for this mode of traveling than we +had been on betaking ourselves to the prairies for the first time a few +months before. The daily routine had ceased to be a novelty. All the +details of the journey and the camp had become familiar to us. We had +seen life under a new aspect; the human biped had been reduced to his +primitive condition. We had lived without law to protect, a roof to +shelter, or garment of cloth to cover us. One of us at least had been +without bread, and without salt to season his food. Our idea of what +is indispensable to human existence and enjoyment had been wonderfully +curtailed, and a horse, a rifle, and a knife seemed to make up the whole +of life’s necessaries. For these once obtained, together with the skill +to use them, all else that is essential would follow in their train, +and a host of luxuries besides. One other lesson our short prairie +experience had taught us; that of profound contentment in the present, +and utter contempt for what the future might bring forth. + +These principles established, we prepared to leave Fort Laramie. On the +fourth day of August, early in the afternoon, we bade a final adieu to +its hospitable gateway. Again Shaw and I were riding side by side on the +prairie. For the first fifty miles we had companions with us; Troche, +a little trapper, and Rouville, a nondescript in the employ of the Fur +Company, who were going to join the trader Bisonette at his encampment +near the head of Horse Creek. We rode only six or eight miles that +afternoon before we came to a little brook traversing the barren +prairie. All along its course grew copses of young wild-cherry trees, +loaded with ripe fruit, and almost concealing the gliding thread of +water with their dense growth, while on each side rose swells of rich +green grass. Here we encamped; and being much too indolent to pitch +our tent, we flung our saddles on the ground, spread a pair of buffalo +robes, lay down upon them, and began to smoke. Meanwhile, Delorier +busied himself with his hissing frying-pan, and Raymond stood guard +over the band of grazing horses. Delorier had an active assistant in +Rouville, who professed great skill in the culinary art, and seizing +upon a fork, began to lend his zealous aid in making ready supper. +Indeed, according to his own belief, Rouville was a man of universal +knowledge, and he lost no opportunity to display his manifold +accomplishments. He had been a circus-rider at St. Louis, and once he +rode round Fort Laramie on his head, to the utter bewilderment of all +the Indians. He was also noted as the wit of the Fort; and as he had +considerable humor and abundant vivacity, he contributed more that +night to the liveliness of the camp than all the rest of the party put +together. At one instant he would be kneeling by Delorier, instructing +him in the true method of frying antelope steaks, then he would come and +seat himself at our side, dilating upon the orthodox fashion of braiding +up a horse’s tail, telling apocryphal stories how he had killed a +buffalo bull with a knife, having first cut off his tail when at full +speed, or relating whimsical anecdotes of the bourgeois Papin. At last +he snatched up a volume of Shakespeare that was lying on the grass, and +halted and stumbled through a line or two to prove that he could read. +He went gamboling about the camp, chattering like some frolicsome ape; +and whatever he was doing at one moment, the presumption was a sure +one that he would not be doing it the next. His companion Troche sat +silently on the grass, not speaking a word, but keeping a vigilant eye +on a very ugly little Utah squaw, of whom he was extremely jealous. + +On the next day we traveled farther, crossing the wide sterile basin +called Goche’s Hole. Toward night we became involved among deep ravines; +and being also unable to find water, our journey was protracted to +a very late hour. On the next morning we had to pass a long line of +bluffs, whose raw sides, wrought upon by rains and storms, were of a +ghastly whiteness most oppressive to the sight. As we ascended a gap +in these hills, the way was marked by huge foot-prints, like those of +a human giant. They were the track of the grizzly bear; and on the +previous day also we had seen abundance of them along the dry channels +of the streams we had passed. Immediately after this we were crossing a +barren plain, spreading in long and gentle undulations to the horizon. +Though the sun was bright, there was a light haze in the atmosphere. +The distant hills assumed strange, distorted forms, and the edge of +the horizon was continually changing its aspect. Shaw and I were riding +together, and Henry Chatillon was alone, a few rods before us; he +stopped his horse suddenly, and turning round with the peculiar eager +and earnest expression which he always wore when excited, he called +to us to come forward. We galloped to his side. Henry pointed toward a +black speck on the gray swell of the prairie, apparently about a mile +off. “It must be a bear,” said he; “come, now, we shall all have some +sport. Better fun to fight him than to fight an old buffalo bull; +grizzly bear so strong and smart.” + +So we all galloped forward together, prepared for a hard fight; for +these bears, though clumsy in appearance and extremely large, are +incredibly fierce and active. The swell of the prairie concealed the +black object from our view. Immediately after it appeared again. But now +it seemed quite near to us; and as we looked at it in astonishment, +it suddenly separated into two parts, each of which took wing and +flew away. We stopped our horses and looked round at Henry, whose face +exhibited a curious mixture of mirth and mortification. His hawk’s eye +had been so completely deceived by the peculiar atmosphere that he had +mistaken two large crows at the distance of fifty rods for a grizzly +bear a mile off. To the journey’s end Henry never heard the last of the +grizzly bear with wings. + +In the afternoon we came to the foot of a considerable hill. As we +ascended it Rouville began to ask questions concerning our conditions +and prospects at home, and Shaw was edifying him with a minute account +of an imaginary wife and child, to which he listened with implicit +faith. Reaching the top of the hill we saw the windings of Horse Creek +on the plains below us, and a little on the left we could distinguish +the camp of Bisonette among the trees and copses along the course of +the stream. Rouville’s face assumed just then a most ludicrously blank +expression. We inquired what was the matter, when it appeared that +Bisonette had sent him from this place to Fort Laramie with the sole +object of bringing back a supply of tobacco. Our rattle-brain friend, +from the time of his reaching the Fort up to the present moment, had +entirely forgotten the object of his journey, and had ridden a dangerous +hundred miles for nothing. Descending to Horse Creek we forded it, and +on the opposite bank a solitary Indian sat on horseback under a tree. He +said nothing, but turned and led the way toward the camp. Bisonette had +made choice of an admirable position. The stream, with its thick growth +of trees, inclosed on three sides a wide green meadow, where about forty +Dakota lodges were pitched in a circle, and beyond them half a dozen +lodges of the friendly Cheyenne. Bisonette himself lived in the Indian +manner. Riding up to his lodge, we found him seated at the head of it, +surrounded by various appliances of comfort not common on the prairie. +His squaw was near him, and rosy children were scrambling about in +printed-calico gowns; Paul Dorion also, with his leathery face and old +white capote, was seated in the lodge, together with Antoine Le Rouge, a +half-breed Pawnee, Sibille, a trader, and several other white men. + +“It will do you no harm,” said Bisonette, “to stay here with us for a +day or two, before you start for the Pueblo.” + +We accepted the invitation, and pitched our tent on a rising ground +above the camp and close to the edge of the trees. Bisonette soon +invited us to a feast, and we suffered abundance of the same sort of +attention from his Indian associates. The reader may possibly recollect +that when I joined the Indian village, beyond the Black Hills, I found +that a few families were absent, having declined to pass the mountains +along with the rest. The Indians in Bisonette’s camp consisted of these +very families, and many of them came to me that evening to inquire after +their relatives and friends. They were not a little mortified to learn +that while they, from their own timidity and indolence, were almost in +a starving condition, the rest of the village had provided their lodges +for the next season, laid in a great stock of provisions, and were +living in abundance and luxury. Bisonette’s companions had been +sustaining themselves for some time on wild cherries, which the squaws +pounded up, stones and all, and spread on buffalo robes, to dry in the +sun; they were then eaten without further preparation, or used as an +ingredient in various delectable compounds. + +On the next day the camp was in commotion with a new arrival. A single +Indian had come with his family the whole way from the Arkansas. As he +passed among the lodges he put on an expression of unusual dignity and +importance, and gave out that he had brought great news to tell the +whites. Soon after the squaws had erected his lodge, he sent his little +son to invite all the white men, and all the most distinguished Indians, +to a feast. The guests arrived and sat wedged together, shoulder to +shoulder, within the hot and suffocating lodge. The Stabber, for that +was our entertainer’s name, had killed an old buffalo bull on his way. +This veteran’s boiled tripe, tougher than leather, formed the main item +of the repast. For the rest, it consisted of wild cherries and grease +boiled together in a large copper kettle. The feast was distributed, and +for a moment all was silent, strenuous exertion; then each guest, with +one or two exceptions, however, turned his wooden dish bottom upward to +prove that he had done full justice to his entertainer’s hospitality. +The Stabber next produced his chopping board, on which he prepared the +mixture for smoking, and filled several pipes, which circulated among +the company. This done, he seated himself upright on his couch, and +began with much gesticulation to tell his story. I will not repeat +his childish jargon. It was so entangled, like the greater part of an +Indian’s stories, with absurd and contradictory details, that it was +almost impossible to disengage from it a single particle of truth. All +that we could gather was the following: + +He had been on the Arkansas, and there he had seen six great war parties +of whites. He had never believed before that the whole world contained +half so many white men. They all had large horses, long knives, and +short rifles, and some of them were attired alike in the most splendid +war dresses he had ever seen. From this account it was clear that bodies +of dragoons and perhaps also of volunteer cavalry had been passing up +the Arkansas. The Stabber had also seen a great many of the white lodges +of the Meneaska, drawn by their long-horned buffalo. These could be +nothing else than covered ox-wagons used no doubt in transporting stores +for the troops. Soon after seeing this, our host had met an Indian who +had lately come from among the Comanches. The latter had told him +that all the Mexicans had gone out to a great buffalo hunt. That the +Americans had hid themselves in a ravine. When the Mexicans had shot +away all their arrows, the Americans had fired their guns, raised their +war-whoop, rushed out, and killed them all. We could only infer from +this that war had been declared with Mexico, and a battle fought in +which the Americans were victorious. When, some weeks after, we arrived +at the Pueblo, we heard of General Kearny’s march up the Arkansas and of +General Taylor’s victories at Matamoras. + +As the sun was setting that evening a great crowd gathered on the plain +by the side of our tent, to try the speed of their horses. These were of +every shape, size, and color. Some came from California, some from the +States, some from among the mountains, and some from the wild bands of +the prairie. They were of every hue--white, black, red, and gray, or +mottled and clouded with a strange variety of colors. They all had a +wild and startled look, very different from the staid and sober aspect +of a well-bred city steed. Those most noted for swiftness and spirit +were decorated with eagle-feathers dangling from their manes and tails. +Fifty or sixty Dakotas were present, wrapped from head to foot in their +heavy robes of whitened hide. There were also a considerable number of +the Cheyenne, many of whom wore gaudy Mexican ponchos swathed around +their shoulders, but leaving the right arm bare. Mingled among the +crowd of Indians were a number of Canadians, chiefly in the employ of +Bisonette; men, whose home is in the wilderness, and who love the camp +fire better than the domestic hearth. They are contented and happy in +the midst of hardship, privation, and danger. Their cheerfulness and +gayety is irrepressible, and no people on earth understand better how +“to daff the world aside and bid it pass.” Besides these, were two or +three half-breeds, a race of rather extraordinary composition, being +according to the common saying half Indian, half white man, and half +devil. Antoine Le Rouge was the most conspicuous among them, with his +loose pantaloons and his fluttering calico skirt. A handkerchief was +bound round his head to confine his black snaky hair, and his small +eyes twinkled beneath it, with a mischievous luster. He had a fine +cream-colored horse whose speed he must needs try along with the rest. +So he threw off the rude high-peaked saddle, and substituting a piece of +buffalo robe, leaped lightly into his seat. The space was cleared, the +word was given, and he and his Indian rival darted out like lightning +from among the crowd, each stretching forward over his horse’s neck and +plying his heavy Indian whip with might and main. A moment, and both +were lost in the gloom; but Antoine soon came riding back victorious, +exultingly patting the neck of his quivering and panting horse. + +About midnight, as I lay asleep, wrapped in a buffalo robe on the ground +by the side of our cart, Raymond came up and woke me. Something he said, +was going forward which I would like to see. Looking down into camp +I saw, on the farther side of it, a great number of Indians gathered +around a fire, the bright glare of which made them visible through the +thick darkness; while from the midst of them proceeded a loud, measured +chant which would have killed Paganini outright, broken occasionally by +a burst of sharp yells. I gathered the robe around me, for the night +was cold, and walked down to the spot. The dark throng of Indians was +so dense that they almost intercepted the light of the flame. As I was +pushing among them with but little ceremony, a chief interposed himself, +and I was given to understand that a white man must not approach the +scene of their solemnities too closely. By passing round to the other +side, where there was a little opening in the crowd, I could see clearly +what was going forward, without intruding my unhallowed presence into +the inner circle. The society of the “Strong Hearts” were engaged in one +of their dances. The Strong Hearts are a warlike association, comprising +men of both the Dakota and Cheyenne nations, and entirely composed, +or supposed to be so, of young braves of the highest mettle. Its +fundamental principle is the admirable one of never retreating from any +enterprise once commenced. All these Indian associations have a tutelary +spirit. That of the Strong Hearts is embodied in the fox, an animal +which a white man would hardly have selected for a similar purpose, +though his subtle and cautious character agrees well enough with an +Indian’s notions of what is honorable in warfare. The dancers were +circling round and round the fire, each figure brightly illumined at one +moment by the yellow light, and at the next drawn in blackest shadow as +it passed between the flame and the spectator. They would imitate with +the most ludicrous exactness the motions and the voice of their sly +patron the fox. Then a startling yell would be given. Many other +warriors would leap into the ring, and with faces upturned toward +the starless sky, they would all stamp, and whoop, and brandish their +weapons like so many frantic devils. + +Until the next afternoon we were still remaining with Bisonette. My +companion and I with our three attendants then left his camp for the +Pueblo, a distance of three hundred miles, and we supposed the journey +would occupy about a fortnight. During this time we all earnestly hoped +that we might not meet a single human being, for should we encounter +any, they would in all probability be enemies, ferocious robbers and +murderers, in whose eyes our rifles would be our only passports. For +the first two days nothing worth mentioning took place. On the third +morning, however, an untoward incident occurred. We were encamped by the +side of a little brook in an extensive hollow of the plain. Delorier +was up long before daylight, and before he began to prepare breakfast +he turned loose all the horses, as in duty bound. There was a cold mist +clinging close to the ground, and by the time the rest of us were awake +the animals were invisible. It was only after a long and anxious search +that we could discover by their tracks the direction they had taken. +They had all set off for Fort Laramie, following the guidance of a +mutinous old mule, and though many of them were hobbled they had driven +three miles before they could be overtaken and driven back. + +For the following two or three days we were passing over an arid desert. +The only vegetation was a few tufts of short grass, dried and shriveled +by the heat. There was an abundance of strange insects and reptiles. +Huge crickets, black and bottle green, and wingless grasshoppers of the +most extravagant dimensions, were tumbling about our horses’ feet, and +lizards without numbers were darting like lightning among the tufts of +grass. The most curious animal, however, was that commonly called the +horned frog. I caught one of them and consigned him to the care of +Delorier, who tied him up in a moccasin. About a month after this I +examined the prisoner’s condition, and finding him still lively and +active, I provided him with a cage of buffalo hide, which was hung up +in the cart. In this manner he arrived safely at the settlements. From +thence he traveled the whole way to Boston packed closely in a trunk, +being regaled with fresh air regularly every night. When he reached his +destination he was deposited under a glass case, where he sat for some +months in great tranquillity and composure, alternately dilating and +contracting his white throat to the admiration of his visitors. At +length, one morning, about the middle of winter, he gave up the ghost. +His death was attributed to starvation, a very probable conclusion, +since for six months he had taken no food whatever, though the sympathy +of his juvenile admirers had tempted his palate with a great variety +of delicacies. We found also animals of a somewhat larger growth. The +number of prairie dogs was absolutely astounding. Frequently the hard +and dry prairie would be thickly covered, for many miles together, with +the little mounds which they make around the mouth of their burrows, and +small squeaking voices yelping at us as we passed along. The noses of +the inhabitants would be just visible at the mouth of their holes, +but no sooner was their curiosity satisfied than they would instantly +vanish. Some of the bolder dogs--though in fact they are no dogs at all, +but little marmots rather smaller than a rabbit--would sit yelping at us +on the top of their mounds, jerking their tails emphatically with every +shrill cry they uttered. As the danger grew nearer they would wheel +about, toss their heels into the air, and dive in a twinkling down into +their burrows. Toward sunset, and especially if rain were threatening, +the whole community would make their appearance above ground. We would +see them gathered in large knots around the burrow of some favorite +citizen. There they would all sit erect, their tails spread out on +the ground, and their paws hanging down before their white breasts, +chattering and squeaking with the utmost vivacity upon some topic of +common interest, while the proprietor of the burrow, with his head +just visible on the top of his mound, would sit looking down with a +complacent countenance on the enjoyment of his guests. Meanwhile, others +would be running about from burrow to burrow, as if on some errand of +the last importance to their subterranean commonwealth. The snakes were +apparently the prairie dog’s worst enemies, at least I think too well of +the latter to suppose that they associate on friendly terms with these +slimy intruders, who may be seen at all times basking among their holes, +into which they always retreat when disturbed. Small owls, with wise and +grave countenances, also make their abode with the prairie dogs, though +on what terms they live together I could never ascertain. The manners +and customs, the political and domestic economy of these little marmots +is worthy of closer attention than one is able to give when pushing by +forced marches through their country, with his thoughts engrossed by +objects of greater moment. + +On the fifth day after leaving Bisonette’s camp we saw late in the +afternoon what we supposed to be a considerable stream, but on our +approaching it we found to our mortification nothing but a dry bed of +sand into which all the water had sunk and disappeared. We separated, +some riding in one direction and some in another along its course. Still +we found no traces of water, not even so much as a wet spot in the sand. +The old cotton-wood trees that grew along the bank, lamentably abused by +lightning and tempest, were withering with the drought, and on the dead +limbs, at the summit of the tallest, half a dozen crows were hoarsely +cawing like birds of evil omen as they were. We had no alternative but +to keep on. There was no water nearer than the South Fork of the Platte, +about ten miles distant. We moved forward, angry and silent, over a +desert as flat as the outspread ocean. + +The sky had been obscured since the morning by thin mists and vapors, +but now vast piles of clouds were gathered together in the west. They +rose to a great height above the horizon, and looking up toward them I +distinguished one mass darker than the rest and of a peculiar conical +form. I happened to look again and still could see it as before. At some +moments it was dimly seen, at others its outline was sharp and distinct; +but while the clouds around it were shifting, changing, and dissolving +away, it still towered aloft in the midst of them, fixed and immovable. +It must, thought I, be the summit of a mountain, and yet its heights +staggered me. My conclusion was right, however. It was Long’s Peak, once +believed to be one of the highest of the Rocky Mountain chain, though +more recent discoveries have proved the contrary. The thickening gloom +soon hid it from view and we never saw it again, for on the following +day and for some time after, the air was so full of mist that the view +of distant objects was entirely intercepted. + +It grew very late. Turning from our direct course we made for the river +at its nearest point, though in the utter darkness it was not easy to +direct our way with much precision. Raymond rode on one side and Henry +on the other. We could hear each of them shouting that he had come upon +a deep ravine. We steered at random between Scylla and Charybdis, and +soon after became, as it seemed, inextricably involved with deep chasms +all around us, while the darkness was such that we could not see a rod +in any direction. We partially extricated ourselves by scrambling, cart +and all, through a shallow ravine. We came next to a steep descent down +which we plunged without well knowing what was at the bottom. There was +a great crackling of sticks and dry twigs. Over our heads were certain +large shadowy objects, and in front something like the faint gleaming +of a dark sheet of water. Raymond ran his horse against a tree; Henry +alighted, and feeling on the ground declared that there was grass enough +for the horses. Before taking off his saddle each man led his own horses +down to the water in the best way he could. Then picketing two or three +of the evil-disposed we turned the rest loose and lay down among the dry +sticks to sleep. In the morning we found ourselves close to the South +Fork of the Platte on a spot surrounded by bushes and rank grass. +Compensating ourselves with a hearty breakfast for the ill fare of the +previous night, we set forward again on our journey. When only two or +three rods from the camp I saw Shaw stop his mule, level his gun, and +after a long aim fire at some object in the grass. Delorier next jumped +forward and began to dance about, belaboring the unseen enemy with a +whip. Then he stooped down and drew out of the grass by the neck an +enormous rattlesnake, with his head completely shattered by Shaw’s +bullet. As Delorier held him out at arm’s length with an exulting grin +his tail, which still kept slowly writhing about, almost touched the +ground, and the body in the largest part was as thick as a stout man’s +arm. He had fourteen rattles, but the end of his tail was blunted, as if +he could once have boasted of many more. From this time till we reached +the Pueblo we killed at least four or five of these snakes every day as +they lay coiled and rattling on the hot sand. Shaw was the St. Patrick +of the party, and whenever he or any one else killed a snake he always +pulled off his tail and stored it away in his bullet-pouch, which was +soon crammed with an edifying collection of rattles, great and small. +Delorier, with his whip, also came in for a share of the praise. A day +or two after this he triumphantly produced a small snake about a span +and a half long, with one infant rattle at the end of his tail. + +We forded the South Fork of the Platte. On its farther bank were the +traces of a very large camp of Arapahoes. The ashes of some three +hundred fires were visible among the scattered trees, together with +the remains of sweating lodges, and all the other appurtenances of a +permanent camp. The place however had been for some months deserted. A +few miles farther on we found more recent signs of Indians; the trail +of two or three lodges, which had evidently passed the day before, +where every foot-print was perfectly distinct in the dry, dusty soil. We +noticed in particular the track of one moccasin, upon the sole of which +its economical proprietor had placed a large patch. These signs gave us +but little uneasiness, as the number of the warriors scarcely exceeded +that of our own party. At noon we rested under the walls of a large +fort, built in these solitudes some years since by M. St. Vrain. It was +now abandoned and fast falling into ruin. The walls of unbaked bricks +were cracked from top to bottom. Our horses recoiled in terror from the +neglected entrance, where the heavy gates were torn from their hinges +and flung down. The area within was overgrown with weeds, and the long +ranges of apartments, once occupied by the motley concourse of traders, +Canadians, and squaws, were now miserably dilapidated. Twelve miles +further on, near the spot where we encamped, were the remains of still +another fort, standing in melancholy desertion and neglect. + +Early on the following morning we made a startling discovery. We passed +close by a large deserted encampment of Arapahoes. There were about +fifty fires still smouldering on the ground, and it was evident from +numerous signs that the Indians must have left the place within two +hours of our reaching it. Their trail crossed our own at right angles, +and led in the direction of a line of hills half a mile on our left. +There were women and children in the party, which would have greatly +diminished the danger of encountering them. Henry Chatillon examined the +encampment and the trail with a very professional and businesslike air. + +“Supposing we had met them, Henry?” said I. + +“Why,” said he, “we hold out our hands to them, and give them all we’ve +got; they take away everything, and then I believe they no kill us. +Perhaps,” added he, looking up with a quiet, unchanged face, “perhaps we +no let them rob us. Maybe before they come near, we have a chance to get +into a ravine, or under the bank of the river; then, you know, we fight +them.” + +About noon on that day we reached Cherry Creek. Here was a great +abundance of wild cherries, plums, gooseberries, and currants. The +stream, however, like most of the others which we passed, was dried up +with the heat, and we had to dig holes in the sand to find water for +ourselves and our horses. Two days after, we left the banks of the creek +which we had been following for some time, and began to cross the high +dividing ridge which separates the waters of the Platte from those +of the Arkansas. The scenery was altogether changed. In place of the +burning plains we were passing now through rough and savage glens and +among hills crowned with a dreary growth of pines. We encamped among +these solitudes on the night of the 16th of August. A tempest was +threatening. The sun went down among volumes of jet-black cloud, edged +with a bloody red. But in spite of these portentous signs, we neglected +to put up the tent, and being extremely fatigued, lay down on the ground +and fell asleep. The storm broke about midnight, and we erected the +tent amid darkness and confusion. In the morning all was fair again, +and Pike’s Peak, white with snow, was towering above the wilderness afar +off. + +We pushed through an extensive tract of pine woods. Large black +squirrels were leaping among the branches. From the farther edge of +this forest we saw the prairie again, hollowed out before us into a vast +basin, and about a mile in front we could discern a little black speck +moving upon its surface. It could be nothing but a buffalo. Henry primed +his rifle afresh and galloped forward. To the left of the animal was a +low rocky mound, of which Henry availed himself in making his approach. +After a short time we heard the faint report of the rifle. The bull, +mortally wounded from a distance of nearly three hundred yards, ran +wildly round and round in a circle. Shaw and I then galloped forward, +and passing him as he ran, foaming with rage and pain, we discharged our +pistols into his side. Once or twice he rushed furiously upon us, but +his strength was rapidly exhausted. Down he fell on his knees. For one +instant he glared up at his enemies with burning eyes through his black +tangled mane, and then rolled over on his side. Though gaunt and thin, +he was larger and heavier than the largest ox. Foam and blood flew +together from his nostrils as he lay bellowing and pawing the ground, +tearing up grass and earth with his hoofs. His sides rose and fell +like a vast pair of bellows, the blood spouting up in jets from the +bullet-holes. Suddenly his glaring eyes became like a lifeless jelly. +He lay motionless on the ground. Henry stooped over him, and making an +incision with his knife, pronounced the meat too rank and tough for use; +so, disappointed in our hopes of an addition to our stock of provisions, +we rode away and left the carcass to the wolves. + +In the afternoon we saw the mountains rising like a gigantic wall at +no great distance on our right. “Des sauvages! des sauvages!” exclaimed +Delorier, looking round with a frightened face, and pointing with +his whip toward the foot of the mountains. In fact, we could see at a +distance a number of little black specks, like horsemen in rapid +motion. Henry Chatillon, with Shaw and myself, galloped toward them +to reconnoiter, when to our amusement we saw the supposed Arapahoes +resolved into the black tops of some pine trees which grew along a +ravine. The summits of these pines, just visible above the verge of +the prairie, and seeming to move as we ourselves were advancing, looked +exactly like a line of horsemen. + +We encamped among ravines and hollows, through which a little brook +was foaming angrily. Before sunrise in the morning the snow-covered +mountains were beautifully tinged with a delicate rose color. A noble +spectacle awaited us as we moved forward. Six or eight miles on our +right, Pike’s Peak and his giant brethren rose out of the level prairie, +as if springing from the bed of the ocean. From their summits down to +the plain below they were involved in a mantle of clouds, in restless +motion, as if urged by strong winds. For one instant some snowy peak, +towering in awful solitude, would be disclosed to view. As the +clouds broke along the mountain, we could see the dreary forests, the +tremendous precipices, the white patches of snow, the gulfs and chasms +as black as night, all revealed for an instant, and then disappearing +from the view. One could not but recall the stanza of “Childe Harold”: + + Morn dawns, and with it stern Albania’s hills, + Dark Suli’s rocks, and Pindus’ inland peak, + Robed half in mist, bedewed with snowy rills, + Array’d in many a dun and purple streak, + Arise; and, as the clouds along them break, + Disclose the dwelling of the mountaineer: + Here roams the wolf, the eagle whets his beak, + Birds, beasts of prey, and wilder men appear, + And gathering storms around convulse the closing year. + +Every line save one of this description was more than verified here. +There were no “dwellings of the mountaineer” among these heights. Fierce +savages, restlessly wandering through summer and winter, alone invade +them. “Their hand is against every man, and every man’s hand against +them.” + +On the day after, we had left the mountains at some distance. A black +cloud descended upon them, and a tremendous explosion of thunder +followed, reverberating among the precipices. In a few moments +everything grew black and the rain poured down like a cataract. We got +under an old cotton-wood tree which stood by the side of a stream, and +waited there till the rage of the torrent had passed. + +The clouds opened at the point where they first had gathered, and the +whole sublime congregation of mountains was bathed at once in warm +sunshine. They seemed more like some luxurious vision of Eastern romance +than like a reality of that wilderness; all were melted together into +a soft delicious blue, as voluptuous as the sky of Naples or the +transparent sea that washes the sunny cliffs of Capri. On the left the +whole sky was still of an inky blackness; but two concentric rainbows +stood in brilliant relief against it, while far in front the ragged +cloud still streamed before the wind, and the retreating thunder +muttered angrily. + +Through that afternoon and the next morning we were passing down the +banks of the stream called La Fontaine qui Bouille, from the boiling +spring whose waters flow into it. When we stopped at noon, we were +within six or eight miles of the Pueblo. Setting out again, we found by +the fresh tracks that a horseman had just been out to reconnoiter us; he +had circled half round the camp, and then galloped back full speed for +the Pueblo. What made him so shy of us we could not conceive. After an +hour’s ride we reached the edge of a hill, from which a welcome sight +greeted us. The Arkansas ran along the valley below, among woods and +groves, and closely nestled in the midst of wide cornfields and green +meadows where cattle were grazing rose the low mud walls of the Pueblo. + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE PUEBLO AND BENT’S FORT + + +We approached the gate of the Pueblo. It was a wretched species of fort +of most primitive construction, being nothing more than a large +square inclosure, surrounded by a wall of mud, miserably cracked and +dilapidated. The slender pickets that surmounted it were half broken +down, and the gate dangled on its wooden hinges so loosely, that to +open or shut it seemed likely to fling it down altogether. Two or three +squalid Mexicans, with their broad hats, and their vile faces overgrown +with hair, were lounging about the bank of the river in front of it. +They disappeared as they saw us approach; and as we rode up to the gate +a light active little figure came out to meet us. It was our old friend +Richard. He had come from Fort Laramie on a trading expedition to Taos; +but finding, when he reached the Pueblo, that the war would prevent his +going farther, he was quietly waiting till the conquest of the country +should allow him to proceed. He seemed to consider himself bound to do +the honors of the place. Shaking us warmly by the hands, he led the way +into the area. + +Here we saw his large Santa Fe wagons standing together. A few squaws +and Spanish women, and a few Mexicans, as mean and miserable as the +place itself, were lazily sauntering about. Richard conducted us to the +state apartment of the Pueblo, a small mud room, very neatly +finished, considering the material, and garnished with a crucifix, a +looking-glass, a picture of the Virgin, and a rusty horse pistol. There +were no chairs, but instead of them a number of chests and boxes +ranged about the room. There was another room beyond, less sumptuously +decorated, and here three or four Spanish girls, one of them very +pretty, were baking cakes at a mud fireplace in the corner. They brought +out a poncho, which they spread upon the floor by way of table-cloth. +A supper, which seemed to us luxurious, was soon laid out upon it, and +folded buffalo robes were placed around it to receive the guests. Two +or three Americans, besides ourselves, were present. We sat down Turkish +fashion, and began to inquire the news. Richard told us that, about +three weeks before, General Kearny’s army had left Bent’s Fort to march +against Santa Fe; that when last heard from they were approaching the +mountainous defiles that led to the city. One of the Americans produced +a dingy newspaper, containing an account of the battles of Palo Alto and +Resaca de la Palma. While we were discussing these matters, the doorway +was darkened by a tall, shambling fellow, who stood with his hands in +his pockets taking a leisurely survey of the premises before he entered. +He wore brown homespun pantaloons, much too short for his legs, and +a pistol and bowie knife stuck in his belt. His head and one eye +were enveloped in a huge bandage of white linen. Having completed his +observations, he came slouching in and sat down on a chest. Eight or ten +more of the same stamp followed, and very coolly arranging themselves +about the room, began to stare at the company. Shaw and I looked at each +other. We were forcibly reminded of the Oregon emigrants, though these +unwelcome visitors had a certain glitter of the eye, and a compression +of the lips, which distinguished them from our old acquaintances of the +prairie. They began to catechise us at once, inquiring whence we had +come, what we meant to do next, and what were our future prospects in +life. + +The man with the bandaged head had met with an untoward accident a few +days before. He was going down to the river to bring water, and was +pushing through the young willows which covered the low ground, when he +came unawares upon a grizzly bear, which, having just eaten a buffalo +bull, had lain down to sleep off the meal. The bear rose on his hind +legs, and gave the intruder such a blow with his paw that he laid his +forehead entirely bare, clawed off the front of his scalp, and narrowly +missed one of his eyes. Fortunately he was not in a very pugnacious +mood, being surfeited with his late meal. The man’s companions, who were +close behind, raised a shout and the bear walked away, crushing down the +willows in his leisurely retreat. + +These men belonged to a party of Mormons, who, out of a well-grounded +fear of the other emigrants, had postponed leaving the settlements until +all the rest were gone. On account of this delay they did not reach Fort +Laramie until it was too late to continue their journey to California. +Hearing that there was good land at the head of the Arkansas, they +crossed over under the guidance of Richard, and were now preparing to +spend the winter at a spot about half a mile from the Pueblo. + +When we took leave of Richard, it was near sunset. Passing out of the +gate, we could look down the little valley of the Arkansas; a beautiful +scene, and doubly so to our eyes, so long accustomed to deserts and +mountains. Tall woods lined the river, with green meadows on either +hand; and high bluffs, quietly basking in the sunlight, flanked the +narrow valley. A Mexican on horseback was driving a herd of cattle +toward the gate, and our little white tent, which the men had pitched +under a large tree in the meadow, made a very pleasing feature in the +scene. When we reached it, we found that Richard had sent a Mexican to +bring us an abundant supply of green corn and vegetables, and invite +us to help ourselves to whatever we wished from the fields around the +Pueblo. + +The inhabitants were in daily apprehensions of an inroad from more +formidable consumers than ourselves. Every year at the time when the +corn begins to ripen, the Arapahoes, to the number of several thousands, +come and encamp around the Pueblo. The handful of white men, who are +entirely at the mercy of this swarm of barbarians, choose to make a +merit of necessity; they come forward very cordially, shake them by the +hand, and intimate that the harvest is entirely at their disposal. The +Arapahoes take them at their word, help themselves most liberally, and +usually turn their horses into the cornfields afterward. They have the +foresight, however, to leave enough of the crops untouched to serve as +an inducement for planting the fields again for their benefit in the +next spring. + +The human race in this part of the world is separated into three +divisions, arranged in the order of their merits; white men, Indians, +and Mexicans; to the latter of whom the honorable title of “whites” is +by no means conceded. + +In spite of the warm sunset of that evening the next morning was a +dreary and cheerless one. It rained steadily, clouds resting upon the +very treetops. We crossed the river to visit the Mormon settlement. As +we passed through the water, several trappers on horseback entered it +from the other side. Their buckskin frocks were soaked through by the +rain, and clung fast to their limbs with a most clammy and uncomfortable +look. The water was trickling down their faces, and dropping from the +ends of their rifles, and from the traps which each carried at the +pommel of his saddle. Horses and all, they had a most disconsolate and +woebegone appearance, which we could not help laughing at, forgetting +how often we ourselves had been in a similar plight. + +After half an hour’s riding we saw the white wagons of the Mormons drawn +up among the trees. Axes were sounding, trees were falling, and log-huts +going up along the edge of the woods and upon the adjoining meadow. +As we came up the Mormons left their work and seated themselves on +the timber around us, when they began earnestly to discuss points +of theology, complain of the ill-usage they had received from the +“Gentiles,” and sound a lamentation over the loss of their great temple +at Nauvoo. After remaining with them an hour we rode back to our camp, +happy that the settlements had been delivered from the presence of such +blind and desperate fanatics. + +On the morning after this we left the Pueblo for Bent’s Fort. The +conduct of Raymond had lately been less satisfactory than before, and +we had discharged him as soon as we arrived at the former place; so that +the party, ourselves included, was now reduced to four. There was some +uncertainty as to our future course. The trail between Bent’s Fort and +the settlements, a distance computed at six hundred miles, was at this +time in a dangerous state; for since the passage of General Kearny’s +army, great numbers of hostile Indians, chiefly Pawnees and Comanches, +had gathered about some parts of it. A little after this time they +became so numerous and audacious, that scarcely a single party, however +large, passed between the fort and the frontier without some token of +their hostility. The newspapers of the time sufficiently display this +state of things. Many men were killed, and great numbers of horses and +mules carried off. Not long since I met with the gentleman, who, during +the autumn, came from Santa Fe to Bent’s Fort, when he found a party +of seventy men, who thought themselves too weak to go down to the +settlements alone, and were waiting there for a re-enforcement. Though +this excessive timidity fully proves the ignorance and credulity of +the men, it may also evince the state of alarm which prevailed in the +country. When we were there in the month of August, the danger had not +become so great. There was nothing very attractive in the neighborhood. +We supposed, moreover, that we might wait there half the winter without +finding any party to go down with us; for Mr. Sublette and the others +whom we had relied upon had, as Richard told us, already left Bent’s +Fort. Thus far on our journey Fortune had kindly befriended us. We +resolved therefore to take advantage of her gracious mood and trusting +for a continuance of her favors, to set out with Henry and Delorier, and +run the gauntlet of the Indians in the best way we could. + +Bent’s Fort stands on the river, about seventy-five miles below the +Pueblo. At noon of the third day we arrived within three or four miles +of it, pitched our tent under a tree, hung our looking-glasses against +its trunk and having made our primitive toilet, rode toward the fort. +We soon came in sight of it, for it is visible from a considerable +distance, standing with its high clay walls in the midst of the +scorching plains. It seemed as if a swarm of locusts had invaded the +country. The grass for miles around was cropped close by the horses of +General Kearny’s soldiery. When we came to the fort, we found that not +only had the horses eaten up the grass, but their owners had made +away with the stores of the little trading post; so that we had great +difficulty in procuring the few articles which we required for our +homeward journey. The army was gone, the life and bustle passed away, +and the fort was a scene of dull and lazy tranquillity. A few invalid +officers and soldiers sauntered about the area, which was oppressively +hot; for the glaring sun was reflected down upon it from the high white +walls around. The proprietors were absent, and we were received by Mr. +Holt, who had been left in charge of the fort. He invited us to dinner, +where, to our admiration, we found a table laid with a white cloth, with +castors in the center and chairs placed around it. This unwonted repast +concluded, we rode back to our camp. + +Here, as we lay smoking round the fire after supper, we saw through the +dusk three men approaching from the direction of the fort. They rode up +and seated themselves near us on the ground. The foremost was a tall, +well-formed man, with a face and manner such as inspire confidence at +once. He wore a broad hat of felt, slouching and tattered, and the rest +of his attire consisted of a frock and leggings of buckskin, rubbed with +the yellow clay found among the mountains. At the heel of one of his +moccasins was buckled a huge iron spur, with a rowel five or six inches +in diameter. His horse, who stood quietly looking over his head, had a +rude Mexican saddle, covered with a shaggy bearskin, and furnished with +a pair of wooden stirrups of most preposterous size. The next man was a +sprightly, active little fellow, about five feet and a quarter high, but +very strong and compact. His face was swarthy as a Mexican’s and covered +with a close, curly black beard. An old greasy calico handkerchief was +tied round his head, and his close buckskin dress was blackened and +polished by grease and hard service. The last who came up was a large +strong man, dressed in the coarse homespun of the frontiers, who dragged +his long limbs over the ground as if he were too lazy for the effort. He +had a sleepy gray eye, a retreating chin, an open mouth and a +protruding upper lip, which gave him an air of exquisite indolence +and helplessness. He was armed with an old United States yager, which +redoubtable weapon, though he could never hit his mark with it, he was +accustomed to cherish as the very sovereign of firearms. + +The first two men belonged to a party who had just come from California +with a large band of horses, which they had disposed of at Bent’s +Fort. Munroe, the taller of the two, was from Iowa. He was an excellent +fellow, open, warm-hearted and intelligent. Jim Gurney, the short man, +was a Boston sailor, who had come in a trading vessel to California, and +taken the fancy to return across the continent. The journey had already +made him an expert “mountain man,” and he presented the extraordinary +phenomenon of a sailor who understood how to manage a horse. The third +of our visitors named Ellis, was a Missourian, who had come out with a +party of Oregon emigrants, but having got as far as Bridge’s Fort, he +had fallen home-sick, or as Jim averred, love-sick--and Ellis was just +the man to be balked in a love adventure. He thought proper to join the +California men and return homeward in their company. + +They now requested that they might unite with our party, and make the +journey to the settlements in company with us. We readily assented, for +we liked the appearance of the first two men, and were very glad to +gain so efficient a re-enforcement. We told them to meet us on the next +evening at a spot on the river side, about six miles below the fort. +Having smoked a pipe together, our new allies left us, and we lay down +to sleep. + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +TETE ROUGE, THE VOLUNTEER + + +The next morning, having directed Delorier to repair with his cart +to the place of meeting, we came again to the fort to make some +arrangements for the journey. After completing these we sat down under a +sort of perch, to smoke with some Cheyenne Indians whom we found there. +In a few minutes we saw an extraordinary little figure approach us in a +military dress. He had a small, round countenance, garnished about +the eyes with the kind of wrinkles commonly known as crow’s feet and +surrounded by an abundant crop of red curls, with a little cap resting +on the top of them. Altogether, he had the look of a man more conversant +with mint juleps and oyster suppers than with the hardships of prairie +service. He came up to us and entreated that we would take him home to +the settlements, saying that unless he went with us he should have to +stay all winter at the fort. We liked our petitioner’s appearance so +little that we excused ourselves from complying with his request. At +this he begged us so hard to take pity on him, looked so disconsolate, +and told so lamentable a story that at last we consented, though not +without many misgivings. + +The rugged Anglo-Saxon of our new recruit’s real name proved utterly +unmanageable on the lips of our French attendants, and Henry Chatillon, +after various abortive attempts to pronounce it, one day coolly +christened him Tete Rouge, in honor of his red curls. He had at +different times been clerk of a Mississippi steamboat, and agent in +a trading establishment at Nauvoo, besides filling various other +capacities, in all of which he had seen much more of “life” than was +good for him. In the spring, thinking that a summer’s campaign would +be an agreeable recreation, he had joined a company of St. Louis +volunteers. + +“There were three of us,” said Tete Rouge, “me and Bill Stevens and John +Hopkins. We thought we would just go out with the army, and when we had +conquered the country, we would get discharged and take our pay, you +know, and go down to Mexico. They say there is plenty of fun going on +there. Then we could go back to New Orleans by way of Vera Cruz.” + +But Tete Rouge, like many a stouter volunteer, had reckoned without +his host. Fighting Mexicans was a less amusing occupation than he had +supposed, and his pleasure trip was disagreeably interrupted by brain +fever, which attacked him when about halfway to Bent’s Fort. He jolted +along through the rest of the journey in a baggage wagon. When they came +to the fort he was taken out and left there, together with the rest of +the sick. Bent’s Fort does not supply the best accommodations for an +invalid. Tete Rouge’s sick chamber was a little mud room, where he and a +companion attacked by the same disease were laid together, with nothing +but a buffalo robe between them and the ground. The assistant surgeon’s +deputy visited them once a day and brought them each a huge dose of +calomel, the only medicine, according to his surviving victim, which he +was acquainted with. + +Tete Rouge woke one morning, and turning to his companion, saw his eyes +fixed upon the beams above with the glassy stare of a dead man. At this +the unfortunate volunteer lost his senses outright. In spite of the +doctor, however, he eventually recovered; though between the brain fever +and the calomel, his mind, originally none of the strongest, was so much +shaken that it had not quite recovered its balance when we came to the +fort. In spite of the poor fellow’s tragic story, there was something +so ludicrous in his appearance, and the whimsical contrast between his +military dress and his most unmilitary demeanor, that we could not help +smiling at them. We asked him if he had a gun. He said they had taken +it from him during his illness, and he had not seen it since; “but +perhaps,” he observed, looking at me with a beseeching air, “you will +lend me one of your big pistols if we should meet with any Indians.” I +next inquired if he had a horse; he declared he had a magnificent one, +and at Shaw’s request a Mexican led him in for inspection. He exhibited +the outline of a good horse, but his eyes were sunk in the sockets, and +every one of his ribs could be counted. There were certain marks too +about his shoulders, which could be accounted for by the circumstance, +that during Tete Rouge’s illness, his companions had seized upon the +insulted charger, and harnessed him to a cannon along with the draft +horses. To Tete Rouge’s astonishment we recommended him by all means to +exchange the horse, if he could, for a mule. Fortunately the people at +the fort were so anxious to get rid of him that they were willing to +make some sacrifice to effect the object, and he succeeded in getting a +tolerable mule in exchange for the broken-down steed. + +A man soon appeared at the gate, leading in the mule by a cord which he +placed in the hands of Tete Rouge, who, being somewhat afraid of his new +acquisition, tried various flatteries and blandishments to induce her +to come forward. The mule, knowing that she was expected to advance, +stopped short in consequence, and stood fast as a rock, looking straight +forward with immovable composure. Being stimulated by a blow from behind +she consented to move, and walked nearly to the other side of the fort +before she stopped again. Hearing the by-standers laugh, Tete Rouge +plucked up spirit and tugged hard at the rope. The mule jerked backward, +spun herself round, and made a dash for the gate. Tete Rouge, who clung +manfully to the rope, went whisking through the air for a few rods, when +he let go and stood with his mouth open, staring after the mule, who +galloped away over the prairie. She was soon caught and brought back +by a Mexican, who mounted a horse and went in pursuit of her with his +lasso. + +Having thus displayed his capacity for prairie travel, Tete Rouge +proceeded to supply himself with provisions for the journey, and with +this view he applied to a quartermaster’s assistant who was in the fort. +This official had a face as sour as vinegar, being in a state of chronic +indignation because he had been left behind the army. He was as anxious +as the rest to get rid of Tete Rouge. So, producing a rusty key, he +opened a low door which led to a half-subterranean apartment, into which +the two disappeared together. After some time they came out again, Tete +Rouge greatly embarrassed by a multiplicity of paper parcels containing +the different articles of his forty days’ rations. They were consigned +to the care of Delorier, who about that time passed by with the cart +on his way to the appointed place of meeting with Munroe and his +companions. + +We next urged Tete Rouge to provide himself, if he could, with a gun. +He accordingly made earnest appeals to the charity of various persons +in the fort, but totally without success, a circumstance which did not +greatly disturb us, since in the event of a skirmish he would be much +more apt to do mischief to himself or his friends than to the enemy. +When all these arrangements were completed we saddled our horses and +were preparing to leave the fort, when looking round we discovered that +our new associate was in fresh trouble. A man was holding the mule for +him in the middle of the fort, while he tried to put the saddle on her +back, but she kept stepping sideways and moving round and round in +a circle until he was almost in despair. It required some assistance +before all his difficulties could be overcome. At length he clambered +into the black war saddle on which he was to have carried terror into +the ranks of the Mexicans. + +“Get up,” said Tete Rouge, “come now, go along, will you.” + +The mule walked deliberately forward out of the gate. Her recent conduct +had inspired him with so much awe that he never dared to touch her with +his whip. We trotted forward toward the place of meeting, but before he +had gone far we saw that Tete Rouge’s mule, who perfectly understood +her rider, had stopped and was quietly grazing, in spite of his +protestations, at some distance behind. So getting behind him, we drove +him and the contumacious mule before us, until we could see through the +twilight the gleaming of a distant fire. Munroe, Jim, and Ellis were +lying around it; their saddles, packs, and weapons were scattered about +and their horses picketed near them. Delorier was there too with our +little cart. Another fire was soon blazing high. We invited our new +allies to take a cup of coffee with us. When both the others had gone +over to their side of the camp, Jim Gurney still stood by the blaze, +puffing hard at his little black pipe, as short and weather-beaten as +himself. + +“Well!” he said, “here are eight of us; we’ll call it six--for them two +boobies, Ellis over yonder, and that new man of yours, won’t count for +anything. We’ll get through well enough, never fear for that, unless the +Comanches happen to get foul of us.” + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +INDIAN ALARMS + + +We began our journey for the frontier settlements on the 27th of August, +and certainly a more ragamuffin cavalcade never was seen on the banks of +the Upper Arkansas. Of the large and fine horses with which we had left +the frontier in the spring, not one remained; we had supplied their +place with the rough breed of the prairie, as hardy as mules and almost +as ugly; we had also with us a number of the latter detestable animals. +In spite of their strength and hardihood, several of the band were +already worn down by hard service and hard fare, and as none of them +were shod, they were fast becoming foot-sore. Every horse and mule had +a cord of twisted bull-hide coiled around his neck, which by no +means added to the beauty of his appearance. Our saddles and all our +equipments were by this time lamentably worn and battered, and our +weapons had become dull and rusty. The dress of the riders fully +corresponded with the dilapidated furniture of our horses, and of the +whole party none made a more disreputable appearance than my friend and +I. Shaw had for an upper garment an old red flannel shirt, flying open +in front and belted around him like a frock; while I, in absence of +other clothing, was attired in a time-worn suit of leather. + +Thus, happy and careless as so many beggars, we crept slowly from day to +day along the monotonous banks of the Arkansas. Tete Rouge gave constant +trouble, for he could never catch his mule, saddle her, or indeed do +anything else without assistance. Every day he had some new ailment, +real or imaginary, to complain of. At one moment he would be woebegone +and disconsolate, and the next he would be visited with a violent flow +of spirits, to which he could only give vent by incessant laughing, +whistling, and telling stories. When other resources failed, we used to +amuse ourselves by tormenting him; a fair compensation for the trouble +he cost us. Tete Rouge rather enjoyed being laughed at, for he was +an odd compound of weakness, eccentricity, and good-nature. He made a +figure worthy of a painter as he paced along before us, perched on the +back of his mule, and enveloped in a huge buffalo-robe coat, which some +charitable person had given him at the fort. This extraordinary garment, +which would have contained two men of his size, he chose, for some +reason best known to himself, to wear inside out, and he never took it +off, even in the hottest weather. It was fluttering all over with seams +and tatters, and the hide was so old and rotten that it broke out every +day in a new place. Just at the top of it a large pile of red curls was +visible, with his little cap set jauntily upon one side, to give him +a military air. His seat in the saddle was no less remarkable than his +person and equipment. He pressed one leg close against his mule’s side, +and thrust the other out at an angle of 45 degrees. His pantaloons were +decorated with a military red stripe, of which he was extremely vain; +but being much too short, the whole length of his boots was usually +visible below them. His blanket, loosely rolled up into a large bundle, +dangled at the back of his saddle, where he carried it tied with a +string. Four or five times a day it would fall to the ground. Every few +minutes he would drop his pipe, his knife, his flint and steel, or a +piece of tobacco, and have to scramble down to pick them up. In doing +this he would contrive to get in everybody’s way; and as the most of the +party were by no means remarkable for a fastidious choice of language, a +storm of anathemas would be showered upon him, half in earnest and half +in jest, until Tete Rouge would declare that there was no comfort in +life, and that he never saw such fellows before. + +Only a day or two after leaving Bent’s Fort Henry Chatillon rode forward +to hunt, and took Ellis along with him. After they had been some time +absent we saw them coming down the hill, driving three dragoon-horses, +which had escaped from their owners on the march, or perhaps had given +out and been abandoned. One of them was in tolerable condition, but the +others were much emaciated and severely bitten by the wolves. Reduced as +they were we carried two of them to the settlements, and Henry exchanged +the third with the Arapahoes for an excellent mule. + +On the day after, when we had stopped to rest at noon, a long train of +Santa Fe wagons came up and trailed slowly past us in their picturesque +procession. They belonged to a trader named Magoffin, whose brother, +with a number of other men, came over and sat down around us on the +grass. The news they brought was not of the most pleasing complexion. +According to their accounts, the trail below was in a very dangerous +state. They had repeatedly detected Indians prowling at night around +their camps; and the large party which had left Bent’s Fort a few weeks +previous to our own departure had been attacked, and a man named Swan, +from Massachusetts, had been killed. His companions had buried the body; +but when Magoffin found his grave, which was near a place called the +Caches, the Indians had dug up and scalped him, and the wolves had +shockingly mangled his remains. As an offset to this intelligence, they +gave us the welcome information that the buffalo were numerous at a few +days’ journey below. + +On the next afternoon, as we moved along the bank of the river, we saw +the white tops of wagons on the horizon. It was some hours before we +met them, when they proved to be a train of clumsy ox-wagons, quite +different from the rakish vehicles of the Santa Fe traders, and loaded +with government stores for the troops. They all stopped, and the drivers +gathered around us in a crowd. I thought that the whole frontier might +have been ransacked in vain to furnish men worse fitted to meet the +dangers of the prairie. Many of them were mere boys, fresh from the +plow, and devoid of knowledge and experience. In respect to the state +of the trail, they confirmed all that the Santa Fe men had told us. +In passing between the Pawnee Fork and the Caches, their sentinels had +fired every night at real or imaginary Indians. They said also that +Ewing, a young Kentuckian in the party that had gone down before us, had +shot an Indian who was prowling at evening about the camp. Some of them +advised us to turn back, and others to hasten forward as fast as we +could; but they all seemed in such a state of feverish anxiety, and so +little capable of cool judgment, that we attached slight weight to what +they said. They next gave us a more definite piece of intelligence; +a large village of Arapahoes was encamped on the river below. They +represented them to be quite friendly; but some distinction was to be +made between a party of thirty men, traveling with oxen, which are of +no value in an Indian’s eyes and a mere handful like ourselves, with a +tempting band of mules and horses. This story of the Arapahoes therefore +caused us some anxiety. + +Just after leaving the government wagons, as Shaw and I were riding +along a narrow passage between the river bank and a rough hill that +pressed close upon it, we heard Tete Rouge’s voice behind us. “Hallo!” + he called out; “I say, stop the cart just for a minute, will you?” + +“What’s the matter, Tete?” asked Shaw, as he came riding up to us with a +grin of exultation. He had a bottle of molasses in one hand, and a large +bundle of hides on the saddle before him, containing, as he triumphantly +informed us, sugar, biscuits, coffee, and rice. These supplies he had +obtained by a stratagem on which he greatly plumed himself, and he was +extremely vexed and astonished that we did not fall in with his views of +the matter. He had told Coates, the master-wagoner, that the commissary +at the fort had given him an order for sick-rations, directed to the +master of any government train which he might meet upon the road. This +order he had unfortunately lost, but he hoped that the rations would +not be refused on that account, as he was suffering from coarse fare and +needed them very much. As soon as he came to camp that night Tete Rouge +repaired to the box at the back of the cart, where Delorier used to +keep his culinary apparatus, took possession of a saucepan, and after +building a little fire of his own, set to work preparing a meal out of +his ill-gotten booty. This done, he seized on a tin plate and spoon, and +sat down under the cart to regale himself. His preliminary repast did +not at all prejudice his subsequent exertions at supper; where, in spite +of his miniature dimensions, he made a better figure than any of us. +Indeed, about this time his appetite grew quite voracious. He began to +thrive wonderfully. His small body visibly expanded, and his cheeks, +which when we first took him were rather yellow and cadaverous, now +dilated in a wonderful manner, and became ruddy in proportion. Tete +Rouge, in short, began to appear like another man. + +Early in the afternoon of the next day, looking along the edge of the +horizon in front, we saw that at one point it was faintly marked with +pale indentations, like the teeth of a saw. The lodges of the Arapahoes, +rising between us and the sky, caused this singular appearance. It +wanted still two or three hours of sunset when we came opposite their +camp. There were full two hundred lodges standing in the midst of a +grassy meadow at some distance beyond the river, while for a mile around +and on either bank of the Arkansas were scattered some fifteen hundred +horses and mules grazing together in bands, or wandering singly about +the prairie. The whole were visible at once, for the vast expanse was +unbroken by hills, and there was not a tree or a bush to intercept the +view. + +Here and there walked an Indian, engaged in watching the horses. No +sooner did we see them than Tete Rouge begged Delorier to stop the cart +and hand him his little military jacket, which was stowed away there. In +this he instantly invested himself, having for once laid the old buffalo +coat aside, assumed a most martial posture in the saddle, set his cap +over his left eye with an air of defiance, and earnestly entreated that +somebody would lend him a gun or a pistol only for half an hour. Being +called upon to explain these remarkable proceedings, Tete Rouge observed +that he knew from experience what effect the presence of a military man +in his uniform always had upon the mind of an Indian, and he thought the +Arapahoes ought to know that there was a soldier in the party. + +Meeting Arapahoes here on the Arkansas was a very different thing from +meeting the same Indians among their native mountains. There was another +circumstance in our favor. General Kearny had seen them a few weeks +before, as he came up the river with his army, and renewing his threats +of the previous year, he told them that if they ever again touched +the hair of a white man’s head he would exterminate their nation. This +placed them for the time in an admirable frame of mind, and the effect +of his menaces had not yet disappeared. I was anxious to see the village +and its inhabitants. We thought it also our best policy to visit them +openly, as if unsuspicious of any hostile design; and Shaw and I, with +Henry Chatillon, prepared to cross the river. The rest of the party +meanwhile moved forward as fast as they could, in order to get as far as +possible from our suspicious neighbors before night came on. + +The Arkansas at this point, and for several hundred miles below, is +nothing but a broad sand-bed, over which a few scanty threads of water +are swiftly gliding, now and then expanding into wide shallows. At +several places, during the autumn, the water sinks into the sand and +disappears altogether. At this season, were it not for the numerous +quicksands, the river might be forded almost anywhere without +difficulty, though its channel is often a quarter of a mile wide. Our +horses jumped down the bank, and wading through the water, or galloping +freely over the hard sand-beds, soon reached the other side. Here, as we +were pushing through the tall grass, we saw several Indians not far +off; one of them waited until we came up, and stood for some moments +in perfect silence before us, looking at us askance with his little +snakelike eyes. Henry explained by signs what we wanted, and the Indian, +gathering his buffalo robe about his shoulders, led the way toward the +village without speaking a word. + +The language of the Arapahoes is so difficult, and its pronunciations so +harsh and guttural, that no white man, it is said, has ever been able +to master it. Even Maxwell the trader, who has been most among them, is +compelled to resort to the curious sign language common to most of the +prairie tribes. With this Henry Chatillon was perfectly acquainted. + +Approaching the village, we found the ground all around it strewn with +great piles of waste buffalo meat in incredible quantities. The lodges +were pitched in a very wide circle. They resembled those of the Dakota +in everything but cleanliness and neatness. Passing between two of them, +we entered the great circular area of the camp, and instantly hundreds +of Indians, men, women and children, came flocking out of their +habitations to look at us; at the same time, the dogs all around the +village set up a fearful baying. Our Indian guide walked toward the +lodge of the chief. Here we dismounted; and loosening the trail-ropes +from our horses’ necks, held them securely, and sat down before the +entrance, with our rifles laid across our laps. The chief came out +and shook us by the hand. He was a mean-looking fellow, very tall, +thin-visaged, and sinewy, like the rest of the nation, and with scarcely +a vestige of clothing. We had not been seated half a minute before a +multitude of Indians came crowding around us from every part of the +village, and we were shut in by a dense wall of savage faces. Some of +the Indians crouched around us on the ground; others again sat behind +them; others, stooping, looked over their heads; while many more stood +crowded behind, stretching themselves upward, and peering over each +other’s shoulders, to get a view of us. I looked in vain among this +multitude of faces to discover one manly or generous expression; all +were wolfish, sinister, and malignant, and their complexions, as well +as their features, unlike those of the Dakota, were exceedingly bad. +The chief, who sat close to the entrance, called to a squaw within the +lodge, who soon came out and placed a wooden bowl of meat before us. To +our surprise, however, no pipe was offered. Having tasted of the meat as +a matter of form, I began to open a bundle of presents--tobacco, knives, +vermilion, and other articles which I had brought with me. At this there +was a grin on every countenance in the rapacious crowd; their eyes began +to glitter, and long thin arms were eagerly stretched toward us on all +sides to receive the gifts. + +The Arapahoes set great value upon their shields, which they transmit +carefully from father to son. I wished to get one of them; and +displaying a large piece of scarlet cloth, together with some tobacco +and a knife, I offered them to any one who would bring me what I wanted. +After some delay a tolerable shield was produced. They were very anxious +to know what we meant to do with it, and Henry told them that we were +going to fight their enemies, the Pawnees. This instantly produced a +visible impression in our favor, which was increased by the distribution +of the presents. Among these was a large paper of awls, a gift +appropriate to the women; and as we were anxious to see the beauties +of the Arapahoe village Henry requested that they might be called to +receive them. A warrior gave a shout as if he were calling a pack of +dogs together. The squaws, young and old, hags of eighty and girls of +sixteen, came running with screams and laughter out of the lodges; and +as the men gave way for them they gathered round us and stretched out +their arms, grinning with delight, their native ugliness considerably +enhanced by the excitement of the moment. + +Mounting our horses, which during the whole interview we had held close +to us, we prepared to leave the Arapahoes. The crowd fell back on each +side and stood looking on. When we were half across the camp an idea +occurred to us. The Pawnees were probably in the neighborhood of the +Caches; we might tell the Arapahoes of this and instigate them to send +down a war party and cut them off, while we ourselves could remain +behind for a while and hunt the buffalo. At first thought this plan of +setting our enemies to destroy one another seemed to us a masterpiece of +policy; but we immediately recollected that should we meet the Arapahoe +warriors on the river below they might prove quite as dangerous as +the Pawnees themselves. So rejecting our plan as soon as it presented +itself, we passed out of the village on the farther side. We urged our +horses rapidly through the tall grass which rose to their necks. Several +Indians were walking through it at a distance, their heads just visible +above its waving surface. It bore a kind of seed as sweet and nutritious +as oats; and our hungry horses, in spite of whip and rein, could not +resist the temptation of snatching at this unwonted luxury as we passed +along. When about a mile from the village I turned and looked back over +the undulating ocean of grass. The sun was just set; the western sky was +all in a glow, and sharply defined against it, on the extreme verge of +the plain, stood the numerous lodges of the Arapahoe camp. + +Reaching the bank of the river, we followed it for some distance +farther, until we discerned through the twilight the white covering +of our little cart on the opposite bank. When we reached it we found +a considerable number of Indians there before us. Four or five of them +were seated in a row upon the ground, looking like so many half-starved +vultures. Tete Rouge, in his uniform, was holding a close colloquy with +another by the side of the cart. His gesticulations, his attempts +at sign-making, and the contortions of his countenance, were most +ludicrous; and finding all these of no avail, he tried to make the +Indian understand him by repeating English words very loudly and +distinctly again and again. The Indian sat with his eye fixed steadily +upon him, and in spite of the rigid immobility of his features, it was +clear at a glance that he perfectly understood his military companion’s +character and thoroughly despised him. The exhibition was more amusing +than politic, and Tete Rouge was directed to finish what he had to say +as soon as possible. Thus rebuked, he crept under the cart and sat down +there; Henry Chatillon stopped to look at him in his retirement, and +remarked in his quiet manner that an Indian would kill ten such men and +laugh all the time. + +One by one our visitors rose and stalked away. As the darkness thickened +we were saluted by dismal sounds. The wolves are incredibly numerous +in this part of the country, and the offal around the Arapahoe camp had +drawn such multitudes of them together that several hundred were howling +in concert in our immediate neighborhood. There was an island in +the river, or rather an oasis in the midst of the sands at about the +distance of a gunshot, and here they seemed gathered in the greatest +numbers. A horrible discord of low mournful wailings, mingled with +ferocious howls, arose from it incessantly for several hours after +sunset. We could distinctly see the wolves running about the prairie +within a few rods of our fire, or bounding over the sand-beds of the +river and splashing through the water. There was not the slightest +danger to be feared from them, for they are the greatest cowards on the +prairie. + +In respect to the human wolves in our neighborhood, we felt much less +at our ease. We seldom erected our tent except in bad weather, and that +night each man spread his buffalo robe upon the ground with his loaded +rifle laid at his side or clasped in his arms. Our horses were picketed +so close around us that one of them repeatedly stepped over me as I lay. +We were not in the habit of placing a guard, but every man that night +was anxious and watchful; there was little sound sleeping in camp, and +some one of the party was on his feet during the greater part of the +time. For myself, I lay alternately waking and dozing until midnight. +Tete Rouge was reposing close to the river bank, and about this time, +when half asleep and half awake, I was conscious that he shifted his +position and crept on all-fours under the cart. Soon after I fell into +a sound sleep from which I was aroused by a hand shaking me by the +shoulder. Looking up, I saw Tete Rouge stooping over me with his face +quite pale and his eyes dilated to their utmost expansion. + +“What’s the matter?” said I. + +Tete Rouge declared that as he lay on the river bank, something caught +his eye which excited his suspicions. So creeping under the cart for +safety’s sake he sat there and watched, when he saw two Indians, wrapped +in white robes, creep up the bank, seize upon two horses and lead them +off. He looked so frightened, and told his story in such a disconnected +manner, that I did not believe him, and was unwilling to alarm the +party. Still it might be true, and in that case the matter required +instant attention. There would be no time for examination, and so +directing Tete Rouge to show me which way the Indians had gone, I took +my rifle, in obedience to a thoughtless impulse, and left the camp. I +followed the river back for two or three hundred yards, listening and +looking anxiously on every side. In the dark prairie on the right I +could discern nothing to excite alarm; and in the dusky bed of the +river, a wolf was bounding along in a manner which no Indian could +imitate. I returned to the camp, and when within sight of it, saw that +the whole party was aroused. Shaw called out to me that he had counted +the horses, and that every one of them was in his place. Tete Rouge, +being examined as to what he had seen, only repeated his former story +with many asseverations, and insisted that two horses were certainly +carried off. At this Jim Gurney declared that he was crazy; Tete Rouge +indignantly denied the charge, on which Jim appealed to us. As we +declined to give our judgment on so delicate a matter, the dispute grew +hot between Tete Rouge and his accuser, until he was directed to go to +bed and not alarm the camp again if he saw the whole Arapahoe village +coming. + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +THE CHASE + + +The country before us was now thronged with buffalo, and a sketch of the +manner of hunting them will not be out of place. There are two methods +commonly practiced, “running” and “approaching.” The chase on horseback, +which goes by the name of “running,” is the more violent and dashing +mode of the two. Indeed, of all American wild sports, this is the +wildest. Once among the buffalo, the hunter, unless long use has made +him familiar with the situation, dashes forward in utter recklessness +and self-abandonment. He thinks of nothing, cares for nothing but +the game; his mind is stimulated to the highest pitch, yet intensely +concentrated on one object. In the midst of the flying herd, where the +uproar and the dust are thickest, it never wavers for a moment; he drops +the rein and abandons his horse to his furious career; he levels his +gun, the report sounds faint amid the thunder of the buffalo; and when +his wounded enemy leaps in vain fury upon him, his heart thrills with +a feeling like the fierce delight of the battlefield. A practiced and +skillful hunter, well mounted, will sometimes kill five or six cows in +a single chase, loading his gun again and again as his horse rushes +through the tumult. An exploit like this is quite beyond the capacities +of a novice. In attacking a small band of buffalo, or in separating a +single animal from the herd and assailing it apart from the rest, there +is less excitement and less danger. With a bold and well trained horse +the hunter may ride so close to the buffalo that as they gallop side by +side he may reach over and touch him with his hand; nor is there much +danger in this as long as the buffalo’s strength and breath continue +unabated; but when he becomes tired and can no longer run at ease, when +his tongue lolls out and foam flies from his jaws, then the hunter had +better keep at a more respectful distance; the distressed brute may turn +upon him at any instant; and especially at the moment when he fires his +gun. The wounded buffalo springs at his enemy; the horse leaps violently +aside; and then the hunter has need of a tenacious seat in the saddle, +for if he is thrown to the ground there is no hope for him. When he sees +his attack defeated the buffalo resumes his flight, but if the shot be +well directed he soon stops; for a few moments he stands still, then +totters and falls heavily upon the prairie. + +The chief difficulty in running buffalo, as it seems to me, is that of +loading the gun or pistol at full gallop. Many hunters for convenience’ +sake carry three or four bullets in the mouth; the powder is poured +down the muzzle of the piece, the bullet dropped in after it, the stock +struck hard upon the pommel of the saddle, and the work is done. The +danger of this method is obvious. Should the blow on the pommel fail to +send the bullet home, or should the latter, in the act of aiming, start +from its place and roll toward the muzzle, the gun would probably burst +in discharging. Many a shattered hand and worse casualties besides have +been the result of such an accident. To obviate it, some hunters make +use of a ramrod, usually hung by a string from the neck, but this +materially increases the difficulty of loading. The bows and arrows +which the Indians use in running buffalo have many advantages over fire +arms, and even white men occasionally employ them. + +The danger of the chase arises not so much from the onset of the wounded +animal as from the nature of the ground which the hunter must ride +over. The prairie does not always present a smooth, level, and uniform +surface; very often it is broken with hills and hollows, intersected by +ravines, and in the remoter parts studded by the stiff wild-sage bushes. +The most formidable obstructions, however, are the burrows of wild +animals, wolves, badgers, and particularly prairie dogs, with whose +holes the ground for a very great extent is frequently honeycombed. +In the blindness of the chase the hunter rushes over it unconscious of +danger; his horse, at full career, thrusts his leg deep into one of the +burrows; the bone snaps, the rider is hurled forward to the ground and +probably killed. Yet accidents in buffalo running happen less frequently +than one would suppose; in the recklessness of the chase, the hunter +enjoys all the impunity of a drunken man, and may ride in safety over +the gullies and declivities where, should he attempt to pass in his +sober senses, he would infallibly break his neck. + +The method of “approaching,” being practiced on foot, has many +advantages over that of “running”; in the former, one neither breaks +down his horse nor endangers his own life; instead of yielding to +excitement he must be cool, collected, and watchful; he must understand +the buffalo, observe the features of the country and the course of the +wind, and be well skilled, moreover, in using the rifle. The buffalo are +strange animals; sometimes they are so stupid and infatuated that a man +may walk up to them in full sight on the open prairie, and even shoot +several of their number before the rest will think it necessary to +retreat. Again at another moment they will be so shy and wary, that in +order to approach them the utmost skill, experience, and judgment are +necessary. Kit Carson, I believe, stands pre-eminent in running +buffalo; in approaching, no man living can bear away the palm from Henry +Chatillon. + +To resume the story: After Tete Rouge had alarmed the camp, no further +disturbance occurred during the night. The Arapahoes did not attempt +mischief, or if they did the wakefulness of the party deterred them +from effecting their purpose. The next day was one of activity and +excitement, for about ten o’clock the men in advance shouted the +gladdening cry of “Buffalo, buffalo!” and in the hollow of the prairie +just below us, a band of bulls were grazing. The temptation was +irresistible, and Shaw and I rode down upon them. We were badly mounted +on our traveling horses, but by hard lashing we overtook them, and +Shaw, running alongside of a bull, shot into him both balls of his +double-barreled gun. Looking round as I galloped past, I saw the bull in +his mortal fury rushing again and again upon his antagonist, whose +horse constantly leaped aside, and avoided the onset. My chase was more +protracted, but at length I ran close to the bull and killed him with +my pistols. Cutting off the tails of our victims by way of trophy, we +rejoined the party in about a quarter of an hour after we left it. +Again and again that morning rang out the same welcome cry of “Buffalo, +buffalo!” Every few moments in the broad meadows along the river, we +would see bands of bulls, who, raising their shaggy heads, would gaze in +stupid amazement at the approaching horsemen, and then breaking into a +clumsy gallop, would file off in a long line across the trail in front, +toward the rising prairie on the left. At noon, the whole plain before +us was alive with thousands of buffalo--bulls, cows, and calves--all +moving rapidly as we drew near; and far-off beyond the river the +swelling prairie was darkened with them to the very horizon. The party +was in gayer spirits than ever. We stopped for a nooning near a grove of +trees by the river side. + +“Tongues and hump ribs to-morrow,” said Shaw, looking with contempt at +the venison steaks which Delorier placed before us. Our meal finished, +we lay down under a temporary awning to sleep. A shout from Henry +Chatillon aroused us, and we saw him standing on the cartwheel +stretching his tall figure to its full height while he looked toward the +prairie beyond the river. Following the direction of his eyes we could +clearly distinguish a large dark object, like the black shadow of a +cloud, passing rapidly over swell after swell of the distant plain; +behind it followed another of similar appearance though smaller. Its +motion was more rapid, and it drew closer and closer to the first. It +was the hunters of the Arapahoe camp pursuing a band of buffalo. Shaw +and I hastily sought and saddled our best horses, and went plunging +through sand and water to the farther bank. We were too late. The +hunters had already mingled with the herd, and the work of slaughter was +nearly over. When we reached the ground we found it strewn far and +near with numberless black carcasses, while the remnants of the herd, +scattered in all directions, were flying away in terror, and the Indians +still rushing in pursuit. Many of the hunters, however, remained upon +the spot, and among the rest was our yesterday’s acquaintance, the chief +of the village. He had alighted by the side of a cow, into which he +had shot five or six arrows, and his squaw, who had followed him on +horseback to the hunt, was giving him a draught of water out of a +canteen, purchased or plundered from some volunteer soldier. Recrossing +the river we overtook the party, who were already on their way. + +We had scarcely gone a mile when an imposing spectacle presented itself. +From the river bank on the right, away over the swelling prairie on the +left, and in front as far as we could see, extended one vast host of +buffalo. The outskirts of the herd were within a quarter of a mile. In +many parts they were crowded so densely together that in the distance +their rounded backs presented a surface of uniform blackness; but +elsewhere they were more scattered, and from amid the multitude rose +little columns of dust where the buffalo were rolling on the ground. +Here and there a great confusion was perceptible, where a battle was +going forward among the bulls. We could distinctly see them rushing +against each other, and hear the clattering of their horns and their +hoarse bellowing. Shaw was riding at some distance in advance, with +Henry Chatillon; I saw him stop and draw the leather covering from his +gun. Indeed, with such a sight before us, but one thing could be thought +of. That morning I had used pistols in the chase. I had now a mind to +try the virtue of a gun. Delorier had one, and I rode up to the side of +the cart; there he sat under the white covering, biting his pipe between +his teeth and grinning with excitement. + +“Lend me your gun, Delorier,” said I. + +“Oui, monsieur, oui,” said Delorier, tugging with might and main to +stop the mule, which seemed obstinately bent on going forward. Then +everything but his moccasins disappeared as he crawled into the cart and +pulled at the gun to extricate it. + +“Is it loaded?” I asked. + +“Oui, bien charge; you’ll kill, mon bourgeois; yes, you’ll kill--c’est +un bon fusil.” + +I handed him my rifle and rode forward to Shaw. + +“Are you ready?” he asked. + +“Come on,” said I. + +“Keep down that hollow,” said Henry, “and then they won’t see you till +you get close to them.” + +The hollow was a kind of ravine very wide and shallow; it ran obliquely +toward the buffalo, and we rode at a canter along the bottom until it +became too shallow, when we bent close to our horses’ necks, and then +finding that it could no longer conceal us, came out of it and rode +directly toward the herd. It was within gunshot; before its outskirts, +numerous grizzly old bulls were scattered, holding guard over their +females. They glared at us in anger and astonishment, walked toward us +a few yards, and then turning slowly round retreated at a trot which +afterward broke into a clumsy gallop. In an instant the main body caught +the alarm. The buffalo began to crowd away from the point toward which +we were approaching, and a gap was opened in the side of the herd. We +entered it, still restraining our excited horses. Every instant the +tumult was thickening. The buffalo, pressing together in large bodies, +crowded away from us on every hand. In front and on either side we could +see dark columns and masses, half hidden by clouds of dust, rushing +along in terror and confusion, and hear the tramp and clattering of ten +thousand hoofs. That countless multitude of powerful brutes, ignorant +of their own strength, were flying in a panic from the approach of two +feeble horsemen. To remain quiet longer was impossible. + +“Take that band on the left,” said Shaw; “I’ll take these in front.” + +He sprang off, and I saw no more of him. A heavy Indian whip was +fastened by a band to my wrist; I swung it into the air and lashed +my horse’s flank with all the strength of my arm. Away she darted, +stretching close to the ground. I could see nothing but a cloud of +dust before me, but I knew that it concealed a band of many hundreds of +buffalo. In a moment I was in the midst of the cloud, half suffocated +by the dust and stunned by the trampling of the flying herd; but I was +drunk with the chase and cared for nothing but the buffalo. Very soon +a long dark mass became visible, looming through the dust; then I could +distinguish each bulky carcass, the hoofs flying out beneath, the short +tails held rigidly erect. In a moment I was so close that I could have +touched them with my gun. Suddenly, to my utter amazement, the hoofs +were jerked upward, the tails flourished in the air, and amid a cloud +of dust the buffalo seemed to sink into the earth before me. One vivid +impression of that instant remains upon my mind. I remember looking down +upon the backs of several buffalo dimly visible through the dust. We had +run unawares upon a ravine. At that moment I was not the most accurate +judge of depth and width, but when I passed it on my return, I found it +about twelve feet deep and not quite twice as wide at the bottom. It +was impossible to stop; I would have done so gladly if I could; so, half +sliding, half plunging, down went the little mare. I believe she came +down on her knees in the loose sand at the bottom; I was pitched forward +violently against her neck and nearly thrown over her head among the +buffalo, who amid dust and confusion came tumbling in all around. The +mare was on her feet in an instant and scrambling like a cat up the +opposite side. I thought for a moment that she would have fallen back +and crushed me, but with a violent effort she clambered out and gained +the hard prairie above. Glancing back I saw the huge head of a bull +clinging as it were by the forefeet at the edge of the dusty gulf. At +length I was fairly among the buffalo. They were less densely crowded +than before, and I could see nothing but bulls, who always run at the +rear of the herd. As I passed amid them they would lower their heads, +and turning as they ran, attempt to gore my horse; but as they were +already at full speed there was no force in their onset, and as Pauline +ran faster than they, they were always thrown behind her in the effort. +I soon began to distinguish cows amid the throng. One just in front of +me seemed to my liking, and I pushed close to her side. Dropping the +reins I fired, holding the muzzle of the gun within a foot of her +shoulder. Quick as lightning she sprang at Pauline; the little mare +dodged the attack, and I lost sight of the wounded animal amid the +tumultuous crowd. Immediately after I selected another, and urging +forward Pauline, shot into her both pistols in succession. For a while +I kept her in view, but in attempting to load my gun, lost sight of her +also in the confusion. Believing her to be mortally wounded and unable +to keep up with the herd, I checked my horse. The crowd rushed onward. +The dust and tumult passed away, and on the prairie, far behind the +rest, I saw a solitary buffalo galloping heavily. In a moment I and my +victim were running side by side. My firearms were all empty, and I had +in my pouch nothing but rifle bullets, too large for the pistols and +too small for the gun. I loaded the latter, however, but as often as I +leveled it to fire, the little bullets would roll out of the muzzle +and the gun returned only a faint report like a squib, as the powder +harmlessly exploded. I galloped in front of the buffalo and attempted to +turn her back; but her eyes glared, her mane bristled, and lowering her +head, she rushed at me with astonishing fierceness and activity. Again +and again I rode before her, and again and again she repeated her +furious charge. But little Pauline was in her element. She dodged her +enemy at every rush, until at length the buffalo stood still, exhausted +with her own efforts; she panted, and her tongue hung lolling from her +jaws. + +Riding to a little distance I alighted, thinking to gather a handful +of dry grass to serve the purpose of wadding, and load the gun at my +leisure. No sooner were my feet on the ground than the buffalo came +bounding in such a rage toward me that I jumped back again into the +saddle with all possible dispatch. After waiting a few minutes more, +I made an attempt to ride up and stab her with my knife; but the +experiment proved such as no wise man would repeat. At length, +bethinking me of the fringes at the seams of my buckskin pantaloons, +I jerked off a few of them, and reloading my gun, forced them down the +barrel to keep the bullet in its place; then approaching, I shot the +wounded buffalo through the heart. Sinking to her knees, she rolled over +lifeless on the prairie. To my astonishment, I found that instead of +a fat cow I had been slaughtering a stout yearling bull. No longer +wondering at the fierceness he had shown, I opened his throat and +cutting out his tongue, tied it at the back of my saddle. My mistake was +one which a more experienced eye than mine might easily make in the dust +and confusion of such a chase. + +Then for the first time I had leisure to look at the scene around me. +The prairie in front was darkened with the retreating multitude, and on +the other hand the buffalo came filing up in endless unbroken columns +from the low plains upon the river. The Arkansas was three or four miles +distant. I turned and moved slowly toward it. A long time passed before, +far down in the distance, I distinguished the white covering of the cart +and the little black specks of horsemen before and behind it. Drawing +near, I recognized Shaw’s elegant tunic, the red flannel shirt, +conspicuous far off. I overtook the party, and asked him what success he +had met with. He had assailed a fat cow, shot her with two bullets, and +mortally wounded her. But neither of us were prepared for the chase that +afternoon, and Shaw, like myself, had no spare bullets in his pouch; +so he abandoned the disabled animal to Henry Chatillon, who followed, +dispatched her with his rifle, and loaded his horse with her meat. + +We encamped close to the river. The night was dark, and as we lay down +we could hear mingled with the howling of wolves the hoarse bellowing of +the buffalo, like the ocean beating upon a distant coast. + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +THE BUFFALO CAMP + + +No one in the camp was more active than Jim Gurney, and no one half +so lazy as Ellis. Between these two there was a great antipathy. Ellis +never stirred in the morning until he was compelled to, but Jim was +always on his feet before daybreak; and this morning as usual the sound +of his voice awakened the party. + +“Get up, you booby! up with you now, you’re fit for nothing but eating +and sleeping. Stop your grumbling and come out of that buffalo robe or +I’ll pull it off for you.” + +Jim’s words were interspersed with numerous expletives, which gave them +great additional effect. Ellis drawled out something in a nasal tone +from among the folds of his buffalo robe; then slowly disengaged +himself, rose into sitting posture, stretched his long arms, yawned +hideously, and finally, raising his tall person erect, stood staring +round him to all the four quarters of the horizon. Delorier’s fire was +soon blazing, and the horses and mules, loosened from their pickets, +were feeding in the neighboring meadow. When we sat down to breakfast +the prairie was still in the dusky light of morning; and as the sun rose +we were mounted and on our way again. + +“A white buffalo!” exclaimed Munroe. + +“I’ll have that fellow,” said Shaw, “if I run my horse to death after +him.” + +He threw the cover of his gun to Delorier and galloped out upon the +prairie. + +“Stop, Mr. Shaw, stop!” called out Henry Chatillon, “you’ll run down +your horse for nothing; it’s only a white ox.” + +But Shaw was already out of hearing. The ox, who had no doubt strayed +away from some of the government wagon trains, was standing beneath some +low hills which bounded the plain in the distance. Not far from him a +band of veritable buffalo bulls were grazing; and startled at Shaw’s +approach, they all broke into a run, and went scrambling up the +hillsides to gain the high prairie above. One of them in his haste and +terror involved himself in a fatal catastrophe. Along the foot of +the hills was a narrow strip of deep marshy soil, into which the bull +plunged and hopelessly entangled himself. We all rode up to the spot. +The huge carcass was half sunk in the mud, which flowed to his very +chin, and his shaggy mane was outspread upon the surface. As we came +near the bull began to struggle with convulsive strength; he writhed +to and fro, and in the energy of his fright and desperation would lift +himself for a moment half out of the slough, while the reluctant mire +returned a sucking sound as he strained to drag his limbs from its +tenacious depths. We stimulated his exertions by getting behind him and +twisting his tail; nothing would do. There was clearly no hope for him. +After every effort his heaving sides were more deeply imbedded and the +mire almost overflowed his nostrils; he lay still at length, and looking +round at us with a furious eye, seemed to resign himself to his fate. +Ellis slowly dismounted, and deliberately leveling his boasted yager, +shot the old bull through the heart; then he lazily climbed back again +to his seat, pluming himself no doubt on having actually killed a +buffalo. That day the invincible yager drew blood for the first and last +time during the whole journey. + +The morning was a bright and gay one, and the air so clear that on the +farthest horizon the outline of the pale blue prairie was sharply drawn +against the sky. Shaw felt in the mood for hunting; he rode in advance +of the party, and before long we saw a file of bulls galloping at full +speed upon a vast green swell of the prairie at some distance in front. +Shaw came scouring along behind them, arrayed in his red shirt, which +looked very well in the distance; he gained fast on the fugitives, and +as the foremost bull was disappearing behind the summit of the swell, +we saw him in the act of assailing the hindmost; a smoke sprang from the +muzzle of his gun, and floated away before the wind like a little +white cloud; the bull turned upon him, and just then the rising ground +concealed them both from view. + +We were moving forward until about noon, when we stopped by the side of +the Arkansas. At that moment Shaw appeared riding slowly down the side +of a distant hill; his horse was tired and jaded, and when he threw +his saddle upon the ground, I observed that the tails of two bulls were +dangling behind it. No sooner were the horses turned loose to feed than +Henry, asking Munroe to go with him, took his rifle and walked quietly +away. Shaw, Tete Rouge, and I sat down by the side of the cart to +discuss the dinner which Delorier placed before us; we had scarcely +finished when we saw Munroe walking toward us along the river bank. +Henry, he said, had killed four fat cows, and had sent him back for +horses to bring in the meat. Shaw took a horse for himself and another +for Henry, and he and Munroe left the camp together. After a short +absence all three of them came back, their horses loaded with the +choicest parts of the meat; we kept two of the cows for ourselves and +gave the others to Munroe and his companions. Delorier seated himself +on the grass before the pile of meat, and worked industriously for +some time to cut it into thin broad sheets for drying. This is no easy +matter, but Delorier had all the skill of an Indian squaw. Long before +night cords of raw hide were stretched around the camp, and the meat was +hung upon them to dry in the sunshine and pure air of the prairie. +Our California companions were less successful at the work; but they +accomplished it after their own fashion, and their side of the camp was +soon garnished in the same manner as our own. + +We meant to remain at this place long enough to prepare provisions for +our journey to the frontier, which as we supposed might occupy about a +month. Had the distance been twice as great and the party ten times as +large, the unerring rifle of Henry Chatillon would have supplied +meat enough for the whole within two days; we were obliged to remain, +however, until it should be dry enough for transportation; so we erected +our tent and made the other arrangements for a permanent camp. The +California men, who had no such shelter, contented themselves with +arranging their packs on the grass around their fire. In the meantime we +had nothing to do but amuse ourselves. Our tent was within a rod of the +river, if the broad sand-beds, with a scanty stream of water coursing +here and there along their surface, deserve to be dignified with the +name of river. The vast flat plains on either side were almost on a +level with the sand-beds, and they were bounded in the distance by low, +monotonous hills, parallel to the course of the Arkansas. All was one +expanse of grass; there was no wood in view, except some trees and +stunted bushes upon two islands which rose from amid the wet sands of +the river. Yet far from being dull and tame this boundless scene was +often a wild and animated one; for twice a day, at sunrise and at noon, +the buffalo came issuing from the hills, slowly advancing in their grave +processions to drink at the river. All our amusements were too at their +expense. Except an elephant, I have seen no animal that can surpass a +buffalo bull in size and strength, and the world may be searched in vain +to find anything of a more ugly and ferocious aspect. At first sight of +him every feeling of sympathy vanishes; no man who has not experienced +it can understand with what keen relish one inflicts his death wound, +with what profound contentment of mind he beholds him fall. The cows are +much smaller and of a gentler appearance, as becomes their sex. While +in this camp we forebore to attack them, leaving to Henry Chatillon, who +could better judge their fatness and good quality, the task of killing +such as we wanted for use; but against the bulls we waged an unrelenting +war. Thousands of them might be slaughtered without causing any +detriment to the species, for their numbers greatly exceed those of the +cows; it is the hides of the latter alone which are used for purpose of +commerce and for making the lodges of the Indians; and the destruction +among them is therefore altogether disproportioned. + +Our horses were tired, and we now usually hunted on foot. The wide, flat +sand-beds of the Arkansas, as the reader will remember, lay close by +the side of our camp. While we were lying on the grass after dinner, +smoking, conversing, or laughing at Tete Rouge, one of us would look +up and observe, far out on the plains beyond the river, certain black +objects slowly approaching. He would inhale a parting whiff from the +pipe, then rising lazily, take his rifle, which leaned against the cart, +throw over his shoulder the strap of his pouch and powder-horn, and +with his moccasins in his hand walk quietly across the sand toward the +opposite side of the river. This was very easy; for though the sands +were about a quarter of a mile wide, the water was nowhere more than two +feet deep. The farther bank was about four or five feet high, and quite +perpendicular, being cut away by the water in spring. Tall grass grew +along its edge. Putting it aside with his hand, and cautiously looking +through it, the hunter can discern the huge shaggy back of the buffalo +slowly swaying to and fro, as with his clumsy swinging gait he advances +toward the water. The buffalo have regular paths by which they come down +to drink. Seeing at a glance along which of these his intended victim +is moving, the hunter crouches under the bank within fifteen or twenty +yards, it may be, of the point where the path enters the river. Here he +sits down quietly on the sand. Listening intently, he hears the heavy +monotonous tread of the approaching bull. The moment after he sees a +motion among the long weeds and grass just at the spot where the path +is channeled through the bank. An enormous black head is thrust out, +the horns just visible amid the mass of tangled mane. Half sliding, half +plunging, down comes the buffalo upon the river-bed below. He steps +out in full sight upon the sands. Just before him a runnel of water is +gliding, and he bends his head to drink. You may hear the water as it +gurgles down his capacious throat. He raises his head, and the drops +trickle from his wet beard. He stands with an air of stupid abstraction, +unconscious of the lurking danger. Noiselessly the hunter cocks his +rifle. As he sits upon the sand, his knee is raised, and his elbow rests +upon it, that he may level his heavy weapon with a steadier aim. The +stock is at his shoulder; his eye ranges along the barrel. Still he is +in no haste to fire. The bull, with slow deliberation, begins his march +over the sands to the other side. He advances his foreleg, and exposes +to view a small spot, denuded of hair, just behind the point of his +shoulder; upon this the hunter brings the sight of his rifle to bear; +lightly and delicately his finger presses upon the hair-trigger. Quick +as thought the spiteful crack of the rifle responds to his slight touch, +and instantly in the middle of the bare spot appears a small red dot. +The buffalo shivers; death has overtaken him, he cannot tell from +whence; still he does not fall, but walks heavily forward, as if nothing +had happened. Yet before he has advanced far out upon the sand, you +see him stop; he totters; his knees bend under him, and his head sinks +forward to the ground. Then his whole vast bulk sways to one side; he +rolls over on the sand, and dies with a scarcely perceptible struggle. + +Waylaying the buffalo in this manner, and shooting them as they come to +water, is the easiest and laziest method of hunting them. They may also +be approached by crawling up ravines, or behind hills, or even over the +open prairie. This is often surprisingly easy; but at other times +it requires the utmost skill of the most experienced hunter. Henry +Chatillon was a man of extraordinary strength and hardihood; but I have +seen him return to camp quite exhausted with his efforts, his limbs +scratched and wounded, and his buckskin dress stuck full of the thorns +of the prickly-pear among which he had been crawling. Sometimes he would +lay flat upon his face, and drag himself along in this position for many +rods together. + +On the second day of our stay at this place, Henry went out for an +afternoon hunt. Shaw and I remained in camp until, observing some bulls +approaching the water upon the other side of the river, we crossed over +to attack them. They were so near, however, that before we could get +under cover of the bank our appearance as we walked over the sands +alarmed them. Turning round before coming within gunshot, they began to +move off to the right in a direction parallel to the river. I climbed +up the bank and ran after them. They were walking swiftly, and before I +could come within gunshot distance they slowly wheeled about and faced +toward me. Before they had turned far enough to see me I had fallen flat +on my face. For a moment they stood and stared at the strange object +upon the grass; then turning away, again they walked on as before; and +I, rising immediately, ran once more in pursuit. Again they wheeled +about, and again I fell prostrate. Repeating this three or four times, +I came at length within a hundred yards of the fugitives, and as I +saw them turning again I sat down and leveled my rifle. The one in the +center was the largest I had ever seen. I shot him behind the shoulder. +His two companions ran off. He attempted to follow, but soon came to +a stand, and at length lay down as quietly as an ox chewing the cud. +Cautiously approaching him, I saw by his dull and jellylike eye that he +was dead. + +When I began the chase, the prairie was almost tenantless; but a great +multitude of buffalo had suddenly thronged upon it, and looking up, I +saw within fifty rods a heavy, dark column stretching to the right and +left as far as I could see. I walked toward them. My approach did not +alarm them in the least. The column itself consisted entirely of cows +and calves, but a great many old bulls were ranging about the prairie +on its flank, and as I drew near they faced toward me with such a shaggy +and ferocious look that I thought it best to proceed no farther. Indeed +I was already within close rifle-shot of the column, and I sat down on +the ground to watch their movements. Sometimes the whole would stand +still, their heads all facing one way; then they would trot forward, +as if by a common impulse, their hoofs and horns clattering together +as they moved. I soon began to hear at a distance on the left the sharp +reports of a rifle, again and again repeated; and not long after, dull +and heavy sounds succeeded, which I recognized as the familiar voice +of Shaw’s double-barreled gun. When Henry’s rifle was at work there was +always meat to be brought in. I went back across the river for a horse, +and returning, reached the spot where the hunters were standing. The +buffalo were visible on the distant prairie. The living had retreated +from the ground, but ten or twelve carcasses were scattered in various +directions. Henry, knife in hand, was stooping over a dead cow, cutting +away the best and fattest of the meat. + +When Shaw left me he had walked down for some distance under the river +bank to find another bull. At length he saw the plains covered with +the host of buffalo, and soon after heard the crack of Henry’s rifle. +Ascending the bank, he crawled through the grass, which for a rod or two +from the river was very high and rank. He had not crawled far before to +his astonishment he saw Henry standing erect upon the prairie, almost +surrounded by the buffalo. Henry was in his appropriate element. Nelson, +on the deck of the Victory, hardly felt a prouder sense of mastery than +he. Quite unconscious that any one was looking at him, he stood at the +full height of his tall, strong figure, one hand resting upon his side, +and the other arm leaning carelessly on the muzzle of his rifle. His +eyes were ranging over the singular assemblage around him. Now and then +he would select such a cow as suited him, level his rifle, and shoot her +dead; then quietly reloading, he would resume his former position. The +buffalo seemed no more to regard his presence than if he were one of +themselves; the bulls were bellowing and butting at each other, or else +rolling about in the dust. A group of buffalo would gather about the +carcass of a dead cow, snuffing at her wounds; and sometimes they would +come behind those that had not yet fallen, and endeavor to push them +from the spot. Now and then some old bull would face toward Henry with +an air of stupid amazement, but none seemed inclined to attack or fly +from him. For some time Shaw lay among the grass, looking in surprise at +this extraordinary sight; at length he crawled cautiously forward, and +spoke in a low voice to Henry, who told him to rise and come on. Still +the buffalo showed no sign of fear; they remained gathered about their +dead companions. Henry had already killed as many cows as we wanted for +use, and Shaw, kneeling behind one of the carcasses, shot five bulls +before the rest thought it necessary to disperse. + +The frequent stupidity and infatuation of the buffalo seems the more +remarkable from the contrast it offers to their wildness and wariness at +other times. Henry knew all their peculiarities; he had studied them as +a scholar studies his books, and he derived quite as much pleasure from +the occupation. The buffalo were a kind of companions to him, and, as he +said, he never felt alone when they were about him. He took great pride +in his skill in hunting. Henry was one of the most modest of men; yet, +in the simplicity and frankness of his character, it was quite clear +that he looked upon his pre-eminence in this respect as a thing too +palpable and well established ever to be disputed. But whatever may have +been his estimate of his own skill, it was rather below than above that +which others placed upon it. The only time that I ever saw a shade of +scorn darken his face was when two volunteer soldiers, who had just +killed a buffalo for the first time, undertook to instruct him as to the +best method of “approaching.” To borrow an illustration from an opposite +side of life, an Eton boy might as well have sought to enlighten Porson +on the formation of a Greek verb, or a Fleet Street shopkeeper to +instruct Chesterfield concerning a point of etiquette. Henry always +seemed to think that he had a sort of prescriptive right to the buffalo, +and to look upon them as something belonging peculiarly to himself. +Nothing excited his indignation so much as any wanton destruction +committed among the cows, and in his view shooting a calf was a cardinal +sin. + +Henry Chatillon and Tete Rouge were of the same age; that is, about +thirty. Henry was twice as large, and fully six times as strong as Tete +Rouge. Henry’s face was roughened by winds and storms; Tete Rouge’s was +bloated by sherry cobblers and brandy toddy. Henry talked of Indians and +buffalo; Tete Rouge of theaters and oyster cellars. Henry had led a life +of hardship and privation; Tete Rouge never had a whim which he would +not gratify at the first moment he was able. Henry moreover was the +most disinterested man I ever saw; while Tete Rouge, though equally +good-natured in his way, cared for nobody but himself. Yet we would +not have lost him on any account; he admirably served the purpose of +a jester in a feudal castle; our camp would have been lifeless without +him. For the past week he had fattened in a most amazing manner; and +indeed this was not at all surprising, since his appetite was most +inordinate. He was eating from morning till night; half the time he +would be at work cooking some private repast for himself, and he paid +a visit to the coffee-pot eight or ten times a day. His rueful and +disconsolate face became jovial and rubicund, his eyes stood out like +a lobster’s, and his spirits, which before were sunk to the depths of +despondency, were now elated in proportion; all day he was singing, +whistling, laughing, and telling stories. Being mortally afraid of Jim +Gurney, he kept close in the neighborhood of our tent. As he had seen an +abundance of low dissipated life, and had a considerable fund of +humor, his anecdotes were extremely amusing, especially since he never +hesitated to place himself in a ludicrous point of view, provided he +could raise a laugh by doing so. Tete Rouge, however, was sometimes +rather troublesome; he had an inveterate habit of pilfering provisions +at all times of the day. He set ridicule at utter defiance; and being +without a particle of self-respect, he would never have given over his +tricks, even if they had drawn upon him the scorn of the whole party. +Now and then, indeed, something worse than laughter fell to his share; +on these occasions he would exhibit much contrition, but half an hour +after we would generally observe him stealing round to the box at the +back of the cart and slyly making off with the provisions which Delorier +had laid by for supper. He was very fond of smoking; but having no +tobacco of his own, we used to provide him with as much as he wanted, a +small piece at a time. At first we gave him half a pound together, but +this experiment proved an entire failure, for he invariably lost not +only the tobacco, but the knife intrusted to him for cutting it, and a +few minutes after he would come to us with many apologies and beg for +more. + +We had been two days at this camp, and some of the meat was nearly fit +for transportation, when a storm came suddenly upon us. About sunset the +whole sky grew as black as ink, and the long grass at the river’s +edge bent and rose mournfully with the first gusts of the approaching +hurricane. Munroe and his two companions brought their guns and placed +them under cover of our tent. Having no shelter for themselves, they +built a fire of driftwood that might have defied a cataract, and wrapped +in their buffalo robes, sat on the ground around it to bide the fury of +the storm. Delorier ensconced himself under the cover of the cart. Shaw +and I, together with Henry and Tete Rouge, crowded into the little tent; +but first of all the dried meat was piled together, and well protected +by buffalo robes pinned firmly to the ground. About nine o’clock the +storm broke, amid absolute darkness; it blew a gale, and torrents of +rain roared over the boundless expanse of open prairie. Our tent was +filled with mist and spray beating through the canvas, and saturating +everything within. We could only distinguish each other at short +intervals by the dazzling flash of lightning, which displayed the whole +waste around us with its momentary glare. We had our fears for the tent; +but for an hour or two it stood fast, until at length the cap gave way +before a furious blast; the pole tore through the top, and in an instant +we were half suffocated by the cold and dripping folds of the canvas, +which fell down upon us. Seizing upon our guns, we placed them erect, in +order to lift the saturated cloth above our heads. In this disagreeable +situation, involved among wet blankets and buffalo robes, we spent +several hours of the night during which the storm would not abate for a +moment, but pelted down above our heads with merciless fury. Before +long the ground beneath us became soaked with moisture, and the water +gathered there in a pool two or three inches deep; so that for a +considerable part of the night we were partially immersed in a cold +bath. In spite of all this, Tete Rouge’s flow of spirits did not desert +him for an instant, he laughed, whistled, and sung in defiance of the +storm, and that night he paid off the long arrears of ridicule which +he owed us. While we lay in silence, enduring the infliction with what +philosophy we could muster, Tete Rouge, who was intoxicated with animal +spirits, was cracking jokes at our expense by the hour together. At +about three o’clock in the morning, “preferring the tyranny of the +open night” to such a wretched shelter, we crawled out from beneath the +fallen canvas. The wind had abated, but the rain fell steadily. The fire +of the California men still blazed amid the darkness, and we joined +them as they sat around it. We made ready some hot coffee by way of +refreshment; but when some of the party sought to replenish their cups, +it was found that Tete Rouge, having disposed of his own share, had +privately abstracted the coffee-pot and drank up the rest of the +contents out of the spout. + +In the morning, to our great joy, an unclouded sun rose upon the +prairie. We presented rather a laughable appearance, for the cold and +clammy buckskin, saturated with water, clung fast to our limbs; the +light wind and warm sunshine soon dried them again, and then we were +all incased in armor of intolerable rigidity. Roaming all day over the +prairie and shooting two or three bulls, were scarcely enough to restore +the stiffened leather to its usual pliancy. + +Besides Henry Chatillon, Shaw and I were the only hunters in the party. +Munroe this morning made an attempt to run a buffalo, but his horse +could not come up to the game. Shaw went out with him, and being better +mounted soon found himself in the midst of the herd. Seeing nothing +but cows and calves around him, he checked his horse. An old bull came +galloping on the open prairie at some distance behind, and turning, Shaw +rode across his path, leveling his gun as he passed, and shooting +him through the shoulder into the heart. The heavy bullets of Shaw’s +double-barreled gun made wild work wherever they struck. + +A great flock of buzzards were usually soaring about a few trees +that stood on the island just below our camp. Throughout the whole of +yesterday we had noticed an eagle among them; to-day he was still +there; and Tete Rouge, declaring that he would kill the bird of America, +borrowed Delorier’s gun and set out on his unpatriotic mission. As might +have been expected, the eagle suffered no great harm at his hands. He +soon returned, saying that he could not find him, but had shot a buzzard +instead. Being required to produce the bird in proof of his assertion +he said he believed he was not quite dead, but he must be hurt, from the +swiftness with which he flew off. + +“If you want,” said Tete Rouge, “I’ll go and get one of his feathers; I +knocked off plenty of them when I shot him.” + +Just opposite our camp was another island covered with bushes, and +behind it was a deep pool of water, while two or three considerable +streams course’d over the sand not far off. I was bathing at this place +in the afternoon when a white wolf, larger than the largest Newfoundland +dog, ran out from behind the point of the island, and galloped leisurely +over the sand not half a stone’s throw distant. I could plainly see his +red eyes and the bristles about his snout; he was an ugly scoundrel, +with a bushy tail, large head, and a most repulsive countenance. Having +neither rifle to shoot nor stone to pelt him with, I was looking eagerly +after some missile for his benefit, when the report of a gun came from +the camp, and the ball threw up the sand just beyond him; at this he +gave a slight jump, and stretched away so swiftly that he soon dwindled +into a mere speck on the distant sand-beds. The number of carcasses that +by this time were lying about the prairie all around us summoned the +wolves from every quarter; the spot where Shaw and Henry had hunted +together soon became their favorite resort, for here about a dozen dead +buffalo were fermenting under the hot sun. I used often to go over the +river and watch them at their meal; by lying under the bank it was easy +to get a full view of them. Three different kinds were present; there +were the white wolves and the gray wolves, both extremely large, and +besides these the small prairie wolves, not much bigger than spaniels. +They would howl and fight in a crowd around a single carcass, yet they +were so watchful, and their senses so acute, that I never was able to +crawl within a fair shooting distance; whenever I attempted it, they +would all scatter at once and glide silently away through the tall +grass. The air above this spot was always full of buzzards or black +vultures; whenever the wolves left a carcass they would descend upon +it, and cover it so densely that a rifle-bullet shot at random among +the gormandizing crowd would generally strike down two or three of them. +These birds would now be sailing by scores just about our camp, their +broad black wings seeming half transparent as they expanded them against +the bright sky. The wolves and the buzzards thickened about us with +every hour, and two or three eagles also came into the feast. I killed a +bull within rifle-shot of the camp; that night the wolves made a fearful +howling close at hand, and in the morning the carcass was completely +hollowed out by these voracious feeders. + +After we had remained four days at this camp we prepared to leave it. +We had for our own part about five hundred pounds of dried meat, and the +California men had prepared some three hundred more; this consisted +of the fattest and choicest parts of eight or nine cows, a very small +quantity only being taken from each, and the rest abandoned to the +wolves. The pack animals were laden, the horses were saddled, and the +mules harnessed to the cart. Even Tete Rouge was ready at last, and +slowly moving from the ground, we resumed our journey eastward. When +we had advanced about a mile, Shaw missed a valuable hunting knife and +turned back in search of it, thinking that he had left it at the camp. +He approached the place cautiously, fearful that Indians might be +lurking about, for a deserted camp is dangerous to return to. He saw +no enemy, but the scene was a wild and dreary one; the prairie was +overshadowed by dull, leaden clouds, for the day was dark and gloomy. +The ashes of the fires were still smoking by the river side; the grass +around them was trampled down by men and horses, and strewn with all the +litter of a camp. Our departure had been a gathering signal to the birds +and beasts of prey; Shaw assured me that literally dozens of wolves were +prowling about the smoldering fires, while multitudes were roaming over +the prairie around; they all fled as he approached, some running over +the sand-beds and some over the grassy plains. The vultures in great +clouds were soaring overhead, and the dead bull near the camp was +completely blackened by the flock that had alighted upon it; they +flapped their broad wings, and stretched upward their crested heads +and long skinny necks, fearing to remain, yet reluctant to leave their +disgusting feast. As he searched about the fires he saw the wolves +seated on the distant hills waiting for his departure. Having looked +in vain for his knife, he mounted again, and left the wolves and the +vultures to banquet freely upon the carrion of the camp. + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +DOWN THE ARKANSAS + + +In the summer of 1846 the wild and lonely banks of the Upper Arkansas +beheld for the first time the passage of an army. General Kearny, on his +march to Santa Fe, adopted this route in preference to the old trail of +the Cimarron. When we came down the main body of the troops had already +passed on; Price’s Missouri regiment, however, was still on the way, +having left the frontier much later than the rest; and about this time +we began to meet them moving along the trail, one or two companies at +a time. No men ever embarked upon a military expedition with a greater +love for the work before them than the Missourians; but if discipline +and subordination be the criterion of merit, these soldiers were +worthless indeed. Yet when their exploits have rung through all America, +it would be absurd to deny that they were excellent irregular troops. +Their victories were gained in the teeth of every established precedent +of warfare; they were owing to a singular combination of military +qualities in the men themselves. Without discipline or a spirit of +subordination, they knew how to keep their ranks and act as one man. +Doniphan’s regiment marched through New Mexico more like a band of free +companions than like the paid soldiers of a modern government. When +General Taylor complimented Doniphan on his success at Sacramento and +elsewhere, the colonel’s reply very well illustrates the relations which +subsisted between the officers and men of his command: + +“I don’t know anything of the maneuvers. The boys kept coming to me, +to let them charge; and when I saw a good opportunity, I told them they +might go. They were off like a shot, and that’s all I know about it.” + +The backwoods lawyer was better fitted to conciliate the good-will than +to command the obedience of his men. There were many serving under him, +who both from character and education could better have held command +than he. + +At the battle of Sacramento his frontiersmen fought under every possible +disadvantage. The Mexicans had chosen their own position; they were +drawn up across the valley that led to their native city of Chihuahua; +their whole front was covered by intrenchments and defended by batteries +of heavy cannon; they outnumbered the invaders five to one. An eagle +flew over the Americans, and a deep murmur rose along their lines. The +enemy’s batteries opened; long they remained under fire, but when at +length the word was given, they shouted and ran forward. In one of the +divisions, when midway to the enemy, a drunken officer ordered a halt; +the exasperated men hesitated to obey. + +“Forward, boys!” cried a private from the ranks; and the Americans, +rushing like tigers upon the enemy, bounded over the breastwork. Four +hundred Mexicans were slain upon the spot and the rest fled, scattering +over the plain like sheep. The standards, cannon, and baggage were +taken, and among the rest a wagon laden with cords, which the Mexicans, +in the fullness of their confidence, had made ready for tying the +American prisoners. + +Doniphan’s volunteers, who gained this victory, passed up with the main +army; but Price’s soldiers, whom we now met, were men from the same +neighborhood, precisely similar in character, manner, and appearance. +One forenoon, as we were descending upon a very wide meadow, where +we meant to rest for an hour or two, we saw a dark body of horsemen +approaching at a distance. In order to find water, we were obliged to +turn aside to the river bank, a full half mile from the trail. Here we +put up a kind of awning, and spreading buffalo robes on the ground, Shaw +and I sat down to smoke beneath it. + +“We are going to catch it now,” said Shaw; “look at those fellows, +there’ll be no peace for us here.” + +And in good truth about half the volunteers had straggled away from the +line of march, and were riding over the meadow toward us. + +“How are you?” said the first who came up, alighting from his horse and +throwing himself upon the ground. The rest followed close, and a score +of them soon gathered about us, some lying at full length and some +sitting on horseback. They all belonged to a company raised in St. +Louis. There were some ruffian faces among them, and some haggard with +debauchery; but on the whole they were extremely good-looking men, +superior beyond measure to the ordinary rank and file of an army. Except +that they were booted to the knees, they wore their belts and military +trappings over the ordinary dress of citizens. Besides their swords and +holster pistols, they carried slung from their saddles the excellent +Springfield carbines, loaded at the breech. They inquired the character +of our party, and were anxious to know the prospect of killing buffalo, +and the chance that their horses would stand the journey to Santa Fe. +All this was well enough, but a moment after a worse visitation came +upon us. + +“How are you, strangers? whar are you going and whar are you from?” said +a fellow, who came trotting up with an old straw hat on his head. He was +dressed in the coarsest brown homespun cloth. His face was rather sallow +from fever-and-ague, and his tall figure, though strong and sinewy was +quite thin, and had besides an angular look, which, together with his +boorish seat on horseback, gave him an appearance anything but graceful. +Plenty more of the same stamp were close behind him. Their company +was raised in one of the frontier counties, and we soon had abundant +evidence of their rustic breeding; dozens of them came crowding round, +pushing between our first visitors and staring at us with unabashed +faces. + +“Are you the captain?” asked one fellow. + +“What’s your business out here?” asked another. + +“Whar do you live when you’re at home?” said a third. + +“I reckon you’re traders,” surmised a fourth; and to crown the whole, +one of them came confidentially to my side and inquired in a low voice, +“What’s your partner’s name?” + +As each newcomer repeated the same questions, the nuisance became +intolerable. Our military visitors were soon disgusted at the concise +nature of our replies, and we could overhear them muttering curses +against us. While we sat smoking, not in the best imaginable humor, Tete +Rouge’s tongue was never idle. He never forgot his military character, +and during the whole interview he was incessantly busy among his +fellow-soldiers. At length we placed him on the ground before us, and +told him that he might play the part of spokesman for the whole. Tete +Rouge was delighted, and we soon had the satisfaction of seeing him talk +and gabble at such a rate that the torrent of questions was in a great +measure diverted from us. A little while after, to our amazement, we saw +a large cannon with four horses come lumbering up behind the crowd; and +the driver, who was perched on one of the animals, stretching his neck +so as to look over the rest of the men, called out: + +“Whar are you from, and what’s your business?” + +The captain of one of the companies was among our visitors, drawn by +the same curiosity that had attracted his men. Unless their faces belied +them, not a few in the crowd might with great advantage have changed +places with their commander. + +“Well, men,” said he, lazily rising from the ground where he had been +lounging, “it’s getting late, I reckon we had better be moving.” + +“I shan’t start yet anyhow,” said one fellow, who was lying half asleep +with his head resting on his arm. + +“Don’t be in a hurry, captain,” added the lieutenant. + +“Well, have it your own way, we’ll wait a while longer,” replied the +obsequious commander. + +At length however our visitors went straggling away as they had come, +and we, to our great relief, were left alone again. + +No one can deny the intrepid bravery of these men, their intelligence +and the bold frankness of their character, free from all that is mean +and sordid. Yet for the moment the extreme roughness of their manners +half inclines one to forget their heroic qualities. Most of them seem +without the least perception of delicacy or propriety, though among them +individuals may be found in whose manners there is a plain courtesy, +while their features bespeak a gallant spirit equal to any enterprise. + +No one was more relieved than Delorier by the departure of the +volunteers; for dinner was getting colder every moment. He spread a +well-whitened buffalo hide upon the grass, placed in the middle the +juicy hump of a fat cow, ranged around it the tin plates and cups, +and then acquainted us that all was ready. Tete Rouge, with his usual +alacrity on such occasions, was the first to take his seat. In his +former capacity of steamboat clerk, he had learned to prefix the +honorary MISTER to everybody’s name, whether of high or low degree; so +Jim Gurney was Mr. Gurney, Henry was Mr. Henry, and even Delorier, for +the first time in his life, heard himself addressed as Mr. Delorier. +This did not prevent his conceiving a violent enmity against Tete Rouge, +who, in his futile though praiseworthy attempts to make himself +useful used always to intermeddle with cooking the dinners. Delorier’s +disposition knew no medium between smiles and sunshine and a downright +tornado of wrath; he said nothing to Tete Rouge, but his wrongs rankled +in his breast. Tete Rouge had taken his place at dinner; it was his +happiest moment; he sat enveloped in the old buffalo coat, sleeves +turned up in preparation for the work, and his short legs crossed on the +grass before him; he had a cup of coffee by his side and his knife ready +in his hand and while he looked upon the fat hump ribs, his eyes dilated +with anticipation. Delorier sat just opposite to him, and the rest of us +by this time had taken our seats. + +“How is this, Delorier? You haven’t given us bread enough.” + +At this Delorier’s placid face flew instantly into a paroxysm of +contortions. He grinned with wrath, chattered, gesticulated, and hurled +forth a volley of incoherent words in broken English at the astonished +Tete Rouge. It was just possible to make out that he was accusing him +of having stolen and eaten four large cakes which had been laid by for +dinner. Tete Rouge, utterly confounded at this sudden attack, stared at +Delorier for a moment in dumb amazement, with mouth and eyes wide open. +At last he found speech, and protested that the accusation was false; +and that he could not conceive how he had offended Mr. Delorier, or +provoked him to use such ungentlemanly expressions. The tempest of words +raged with such fury that nothing else could be heard. But Tete Rouge, +from his greater command of English, had a manifest advantage over +Delorier, who after sputtering and grimacing for a while, found his +words quite inadequate to the expression of his wrath. He jumped up +and vanished, jerking out between his teeth one furious sacre enfant de +grace, a Canadian title of honor, made doubly emphatic by being usually +applied together with a cut of the whip to refractory mules and horses. + +The next morning we saw an old buffalo escorting his cow with two small +calves over the prairie. Close behind came four or five large white +wolves, sneaking stealthily through the long meadow-grass, and watching +for the moment when one of the children should chance to lag behind his +parents. The old bull kept well on his guard, and faced about now and +then to keep the prowling ruffians at a distance. + +As we approached our nooning place, we saw five or six buffalo standing +at the very summit of a tall bluff. Trotting forward to the spot where +we meant to stop, I flung off my saddle and turned my horse loose. By +making a circuit under cover of some rising ground, I reached the foot +of the bluff unnoticed, and climbed up its steep side. Lying under the +brow of the declivity, I prepared to fire at the buffalo, who stood on +the flat surface about not five yards distant. Perhaps I was too hasty, +for the gleaming rifle-barrel leveled over the edge caught their notice; +they turned and ran. Close as they were, it was impossible to kill them +when in that position, and stepping upon the summit I pursued them over +the high arid tableland. It was extremely rugged and broken; a great +sandy ravine was channeled through it, with smaller ravines entering on +each side like tributary streams. The buffalo scattered, and I soon lost +sight of most of them as they scuttled away through the sandy chasms; a +bull and a cow alone kept in view. For a while they ran along the edge +of the great ravine, appearing and disappearing as they dived into some +chasm and again emerged from it. At last they stretched out upon the +broad prairie, a plain nearly flat and almost devoid of verdure, for +every short grass-blade was dried and shriveled by the glaring sun. Now +and then the old bull would face toward me; whenever he did so I fell +to the ground and lay motionless. In this manner I chased them for about +two miles, until at length I heard in front a deep hoarse bellowing. A +moment after a band of about a hundred bulls, before hidden by a slight +swell of the plain, came at once into view. The fugitives ran toward +them. Instead of mingling with the band, as I expected, they passed +directly through, and continued their flight. At this I gave up the +chase, and kneeling down, crawled to within gunshot of the bulls, and +with panting breath and trickling brow sat down on the ground to watch +them; my presence did not disturb them in the least. They were not +feeding, for, indeed, there was nothing to eat; but they seemed to +have chosen the parched and scorching desert as the scene of their +amusements. Some were rolling on the ground amid a cloud of dust; +others, with a hoarse rumbling bellow, were butting their large heads +together, while many stood motionless, as if quite inanimate. Except +their monstrous growth of tangled grizzly mane, they had no hair; for +their old coat had fallen off in the spring, and their new one had not +as yet appeared. Sometimes an old bull would step forward, and gaze at +me with a grim and stupid countenance; then he would turn and butt his +next neighbor; then he would lie down and roll over in the dirt, kicking +his hoofs in the air. When satisfied with this amusement he would jerk +his head and shoulders upward, and resting on his forelegs stare at me +in this position, half blinded by his mane, and his face covered with +dirt; then up he would spring upon all-fours, and shake his dusty sides; +turning half round, he would stand with his beard touching the ground, +in an attitude of profound abstraction, as if reflecting on his puerile +conduct. “You are too ugly to live,” thought I; and aiming at the +ugliest, I shot three of them in succession. The rest were not at all +discomposed at this; they kept on bellowing and butting and rolling +on the ground as before. Henry Chatillon always cautioned us to keep +perfectly quiet in the presence of a wounded buffalo, for any movement +is apt to excite him to make an attack; so I sat still upon the ground, +loading and firing with as little motion as possible. While I was +thus employed, a spectator made his appearance; a little antelope came +running up with remarkable gentleness to within fifty yards; and there +it stood, its slender neck arched, its small horns thrown back, and its +large dark eyes gazing on me with a look of eager curiosity. By the side +of the shaggy and brutish monsters before me, it seemed like some lovely +young girl wandering near a den of robbers or a nest of bearded pirates. +The buffalo looked uglier than ever. “Here goes for another of you,” + thought I, feeling in my pouch for a percussion cap. Not a percussion +cap was there. My good rifle was useless as an old iron bar. One of the +wounded bulls had not yet fallen, and I waited for some time, hoping +every moment that his strength would fail him. He still stood firm, +looking grimly at me, and disregarding Henry’s advice I rose and walked +away. Many of the bulls turned and looked at me, but the wounded brute +made no attack. I soon came upon a deep ravine which would give me +shelter in case of emergency; so I turned round and threw a stone at +the bulls. They received it with the utmost indifference. Feeling myself +insulted at their refusal to be frightened, I swung my hat, shouted, and +made a show of running toward them; at this they crowded together and +galloped off, leaving their dead and wounded upon the field. As I moved +toward the camp I saw the last survivor totter and fall dead. My speed +in returning was wonderfully quickened by the reflection that the +Pawnees were abroad, and that I was defenseless in case of meeting with +an enemy. I saw no living thing, however, except two or three squalid +old bulls scrambling among the sand-hills that flanked the great ravine. +When I reached camp the party was nearly ready for the afternoon move. + +We encamped that evening at a short distance from the river bank. About +midnight, as we all lay asleep on the ground, the man nearest to me +gently reaching out his hand, touched my shoulder, and cautioned me at +the same time not to move. It was bright starlight. Opening my eyes and +slightly turning I saw a large white wolf moving stealthily around the +embers of our fire, with his nose close to the ground. Disengaging my +hand from the blanket, I drew the cover from my rifle, which lay close +at my side; the motion alarmed the wolf, and with long leaps he bounded +out of the camp. Jumping up, I fired after him when he was about thirty +yards distant; the melancholy hum of the bullet sounded far away through +the night. At the sharp report, so suddenly breaking upon the stillness, +all the men sprang up. + +“You’ve killed him,” said one of them. + +“No, I haven’t,” said I; “there he goes, running along the river. + +“Then there’s two of them. Don’t you see that one lying out yonder?” + +We went to it, and instead of a dead white wolf found the bleached skull +of a buffalo. I had missed my mark, and what was worse, had grossly +violated a standing law of the prairie. When in a dangerous part of +the country, it is considered highly imprudent to fire a gun after +encamping, lest the report should reach the ears of the Indians. + +The horses were saddled in the morning, and the last man had lighted his +pipe at the dying ashes of the fire. The beauty of the day enlivened us +all. Even Ellis felt its influence, and occasionally made a remark as we +rode along, and Jim Gurney told endless stories of his cruisings in the +United States service. The buffalo were abundant, and at length a large +band of them went running up the hills on the left. + +“Do you see them buffalo?” said Ellis, “now I’ll bet any man I’ll go and +kill one with my yager.” + +And leaving his horse to follow on with the party, he strode up the hill +after them. Henry looked at us with his peculiar humorous expression, +and proposed that we should follow Ellis to see how he would kill a fat +cow. As soon as he was out of sight we rode up the hill after him, and +waited behind a little ridge till we heard the report of the unfailing +yager. Mounting to the top, we saw Ellis clutching his favorite weapon +with both hands, and staring after the buffalo, who one and all were +galloping off at full speed. As we descended the hill we saw the party +straggling along the trail below. When we joined them, another scene +of amateur hunting awaited us. I forgot to say that when we met the +volunteers Tete Rouge had obtained a horse from one of them, in exchange +for his mule, whom he feared and detested. The horse he christened +James. James, though not worth so much as the mule, was a large and +strong animal. Tete Rouge was very proud of his new acquisition, and +suddenly became ambitious to run a buffalo with him. At his request, +I lent him my pistols, though not without great misgivings, since +when Tete Rouge hunted buffalo the pursuer was in more danger than the +pursued. He hung the holsters at his saddle bow; and now, as we passed +along, a band of bulls left their grazing in the meadow and galloped in +a long file across the trail in front. + +“Now’s your chance, Tete; come, let’s see you kill a bull.” Thus urged, +the hunter cried, “Get up!” and James, obedient to the signal, cantered +deliberately forward at an abominably uneasy gait. Tete Rouge, as we +contemplated him from behind; made a most remarkable figure. He still +wore the old buffalo coat; his blanket, which was tied in a loose bundle +behind his saddle, went jolting from one side to the other, and a large +tin canteen half full of water, which hung from his pommel, was jerked +about his leg in a manner which greatly embarrassed him. + +“Let out your horse, man; lay on your whip!” we called out to him. +The buffalo were getting farther off at every instant. James, being +ambitious to mend his pace, tugged hard at the rein, and one of his +rider’s boots escaped from the stirrup. + +“Woa! I say, woa!” cried Tete Rouge, in great perturbation, and after +much effort James’ progress was arrested. The hunter came trotting back +to the party, disgusted with buffalo running, and he was received with +overwhelming congratulations. + +“Too good a chance to lose,” said Shaw, pointing to another band of +bulls on the left. We lashed our horses and galloped upon them. Shaw +killed one with each barrel of his gun. I separated another from the +herd and shot him. The small bullet of the rifled pistol, striking too +far back, did not immediately take effect, and the bull ran on with +unabated speed. Again and again I snapped the remaining pistol at him. I +primed it afresh three or four times, and each time it missed fire, for +the touch-hole was clogged up. Returning it to the holster, I began to +load the empty pistol, still galloping by the side of the bull. By this +time he was grown desperate. The foam flew from his jaws and his tongue +lolled out. Before the pistol was loaded he sprang upon me, and followed +up his attack with a furious rush. The only alternative was to run +away or be killed. I took to flight, and the bull, bristling with fury, +pursued me closely. The pistol was soon ready, and then looking back, +I saw his head five or six yards behind my horse’s tail. To fire at it +would be useless, for a bullet flattens against the adamantine skull of +a buffalo bull. Inclining my body to the left, I turned my horse in +that direction as sharply as his speed would permit. The bull, rushing +blindly on with great force and weight, did not turn so quickly. As I +looked back, his neck and shoulders were exposed to view; turning in the +saddle, I shot a bullet through them obliquely into his vitals. He +gave over the chase and soon fell to the ground. An English tourist +represents a situation like this as one of imminent danger; this is +a great mistake; the bull never pursues long, and the horse must +be wretched indeed that cannot keep out of his way for two or three +minutes. + +We were now come to a part of the country where we were bound in common +prudence to use every possible precaution. We mounted guard at night, +each man standing in his turn; and no one ever slept without drawing +his rifle close to his side or folding it with him in his blanket. One +morning our vigilance was stimulated by our finding traces of a large +Comanche encampment. Fortunately for us, however, it had been abandoned +nearly a week. On the next evening we found the ashes of a recent fire, +which gave us at the time some uneasiness. At length we reached the +Caches, a place of dangerous repute; and it had a most dangerous +appearance, consisting of sand-hills everywhere broken by ravines and +deep chasms. Here we found the grave of Swan, killed at this place, +probably by the Pawnees, two or three weeks before. His remains, more +than once violated by the Indians and the wolves, were suffered at +length to remain undisturbed in their wild burial place. + +For several days we met detached companies of Price’s regiment. Horses +would often break loose at night from their camps. One afternoon we +picked up three of these stragglers quietly grazing along the river. +After we came to camp that evening, Jim Gurney brought news that more of +them were in sight. It was nearly dark, and a cold, drizzling rain had +set in; but we all turned out, and after an hour’s chase nine horses +were caught and brought in. One of them was equipped with saddle and +bridle; pistols were hanging at the pommel of the saddle, a carbine was +slung at its side, and a blanket rolled up behind it. In the morning, +glorying in our valuable prize, we resumed our journey, and our +cavalcade presented a much more imposing appearance than ever before. We +kept on till the afternoon, when, far behind, three horsemen appeared +on the horizon. Coming on at a hand-gallop, they soon overtook us, and +claimed all the horses as belonging to themselves and others of their +company. They were of course given up, very much to the mortification of +Ellis and Jim Gurney. + +Our own horses now showed signs of fatigue, and we resolved to give them +half a day’s rest. We stopped at noon at a grassy spot by the river. +After dinner Shaw and Henry went out to hunt; and while the men lounged +about the camp, I lay down to read in the shadow of the cart. Looking +up, I saw a bull grazing alone on the prairie more than a mile distant. +I was tired of reading, and taking my rifle I walked toward him. As +I came near, I crawled upon the ground until I approached to within a +hundred yards; here I sat down upon the grass and waited till he should +turn himself into a proper position to receive his death-wound. He was +a grim old veteran. His loves and his battles were over for that season, +and now, gaunt and war-worn, he had withdrawn from the herd to graze by +himself and recruit his exhausted strength. He was miserably emaciated; +his mane was all in tatters; his hide was bare and rough as an +elephant’s, and covered with dried patches of the mud in which he had +been wallowing. He showed all his ribs whenever he moved. He looked like +some grizzly old ruffian grown gray in blood and violence, and scowling +on all the world from his misanthropic seclusion. The old savage looked +up when I first approached, and gave me a fierce stare; then he fell +to grazing again with an air of contemptuous indifference. The moment +after, as if suddenly recollecting himself, he threw up his head, faced +quickly about, and to my amazement came at a rapid trot directly toward +me. I was strongly impelled to get up and run, but this would have been +very dangerous. Sitting quite still I aimed, as he came on, at the +thin part of the skull above the nose. After he had passed over about +three-quarters of the distance between us, I was on the point of firing, +when, to my great satisfaction, he stopped short. I had full opportunity +of studying his countenance; his whole front was covered with a huge +mass of coarse matted hair, which hung so low that nothing but his two +forefeet were visible beneath it; his short thick horns were blunted and +split to the very roots in his various battles, and across his nose and +forehead were two or three large white scars, which gave him a grim and +at the same time a whimsical appearance. It seemed to me that he stood +there motionless for a full quarter of an hour, looking at me through +the tangled locks of his mane. For my part, I remained as quiet as he, +and looked quite as hard; I felt greatly inclined to come to term with +him. “My friend,” thought I, “if you’ll let me off, I’ll let you off.” + At length he seemed to have abandoned any hostile design. Very slowly +and deliberately he began to turn about; little by little his side came +into view, all be-plastered with mud. It was a tempting sight. I forgot +my prudent intentions, and fired my rifle; a pistol would have served at +that distance. Round spun old bull like a top, and away he galloped +over the prairie. He ran some distance, and even ascended a considerable +hill, before he lay down and died. After shooting another bull among the +hills, I went back to camp. + +At noon, on the 14th of September, a very large Santa Fe caravan came +up. The plain was covered with the long files of their white-topped +wagons, the close black carriages in which the traders travel and sleep, +large droves of animals, and men on horseback and on foot. They all +stopped on the meadow near us. Our diminutive cart and handful of men +made but an insignificant figure by the side of their wide and bustling +camp. Tete Rouge went over to visit them, and soon came back with half +a dozen biscuits in one hand and a bottle of brandy in the other. I +inquired where he got them. “Oh,” said Tete Rouge, “I know some of the +traders. Dr. Dobbs is there besides.” I asked who Dr. Dobbs might be. +“One of our St. Louis doctors,” replied Tete Rouge. For two days past +I had been severely attacked by the same disorder which had so greatly +reduced my strength when at the mountains; at this time I was suffering +not a little from the sudden pain and weakness which it occasioned. +Tete Rouge, in answer to my inquiries, declared that Dr. Dobbs was +a physician of the first standing. Without at all believing him, I +resolved to consult this eminent practitioner. Walking over to the camp, +I found him lying sound asleep under one of the wagons. He offered in +his own person but an indifferent specimen of his skill, for it was five +months since I had seen so cadaverous a face. + +His hat had fallen off, and his yellow hair was all in disorder; one of +his arms supplied the place of a pillow; his pantaloons were wrinkled +halfway up to his knees, and he was covered with little bits of grass +and straw, upon which he had rolled in his uneasy slumber. A Mexican +stood near, and I made him a sign that he should touch the doctor. Up +sprang the learned Dobbs, and, sitting upright, rubbed his eyes and +looked about him in great bewilderment. I regretted the necessity of +disturbing him, and said I had come to ask professional advice. “Your +system, sir, is in a disordered state,” said he solemnly, after a short +examination. + +I inquired what might be the particular species of disorder. + +“Evidently a morbid action of the liver,” replied the medical man; “I +will give you a prescription.” + +Repairing to the back of one of the covered wagons, he scrambled in; for +a moment I could see nothing of him but his boots. At length he produced +a box which he had extracted from some dark recess within, and opening +it, he presented me with a folded paper of some size. “What is it?” said +I. “Calomel,” said the doctor. + +Under the circumstances I would have taken almost anything. There was +not enough to do me much harm, and it might possibly do good; so at camp +that night I took the poison instead of supper. + +That camp is worthy of notice. The traders warned us not to follow the +main trail along the river, “unless,” as one of them observed, “you want +to have your throats cut!” The river at this place makes a bend; and +a smaller trail, known as the Ridge-path, leads directly across the +prairie from point to point, a distance of sixty or seventy miles. + +We followed this trail, and after traveling seven or eight miles, we +came to a small stream, where we encamped. Our position was not chosen +with much forethought or military skill. The water was in a deep hollow, +with steep, high banks; on the grassy bottom of this hollow we picketed +our horses, while we ourselves encamped upon the barren prairie just +above. The opportunity was admirable either for driving off our horses +or attacking us. After dark, as Tete Rouge was sitting at supper, we +observed him pointing with a face of speechless horror over the shoulder +of Henry, who was opposite to him. Aloof amid the darkness appeared +a gigantic black apparition; solemnly swaying to and fro, it advanced +steadily upon us. Henry, half vexed and half amused, jumped up, spread +out his arms, and shouted. The invader was an old buffalo bull, who with +characteristic stupidity, was walking directly into camp. It cost some +shouting and swinging of hats before we could bring him first to a halt +and then to a rapid retreat. + +That night the moon was full and bright; but as the black clouds chased +rapidly over it, we were at one moment in light and at the next in +darkness. As the evening advanced, a thunderstorm came up; it struck us +with such violence that the tent would have been blown over if we had +not interposed the cart to break the force of the wind. At length it +subsided to a steady rain. I lay awake through nearly the whole night, +listening to its dull patter upon the canvas above. The moisture, which +filled the tent and trickled from everything in it, did not add to the +comfort of the situation. About twelve o’clock Shaw went out to stand +guard amid the rain and pitch darkness. Munroe, the most vigilant as +well as one of the bravest among us, was also on the alert. When about +two hours had passed, Shaw came silently in, and touching Henry, called +him in a low quick voice to come out. “What is it?” I asked. “Indians, +I believe,” whispered Shaw; “but lie still; I’ll call you if there’s a +fight.” + +He and Henry went out together. I took the cover from my rifle, put a +fresh percussion cap upon it, and then, being in much pain, lay down +again. In about five minutes Shaw came in again. “All right,” he said, +as he lay down to sleep. Henry was now standing guard in his place. He +told me in the morning the particulars of the alarm. Munroe’ s watchful +eye discovered some dark objects down in the hollow, among the horses, +like men creeping on all fours. Lying flat on their faces, he and Shaw +crawled to the edge of the bank, and were soon convinced that what they +saw were Indians. Shaw silently withdrew to call Henry, and they all +lay watching in the same position. Henry’s eye is of the best on +the prairie. He detected after a while the true nature of the moving +objects; they were nothing but wolves creeping among the horses. + +It is very singular that when picketed near a camp horses seldom show +any fear of such an intrusion. The wolves appear to have no other object +than that of gnawing the trail-ropes of raw hide by which the animals +are secured. Several times in the course of the journey my horse’s +trail-rope was bitten in two by these nocturnal visitors. + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +THE SETTLEMENTS + + +The next day was extremely hot, and we rode from morning till night +without seeing a tree or a bush or a drop of water. Our horses and mules +suffered much more than we, but as sunset approached they pricked up +their ears and mended their pace. Water was not far off. When we came to +the descent of the broad shallowy valley where it lay, an unlooked-for +sight awaited us. The stream glistened at the bottom, and along its +banks were pitched a multitude of tents, while hundreds of cattle were +feeding over the meadows. Bodies of troops, both horse and foot, and +long trains of wagons with men, women, and children, were moving over +the opposite ridge and descending the broad declivity in front. These +were the Mormon battalion in the service of government, together with a +considerable number of Missouri volunteers. The Mormons were to be +paid off in California, and they were allowed to bring with them +their families and property. There was something very striking in the +half-military, half-patriarchal appearance of these armed fanatics, thus +on their way with their wives and children, to found, if might be, a +Mormon empire in California. We were much more astonished than pleased +at the sight before us. In order to find an unoccupied camping ground, +we were obliged to pass a quarter of a mile up the stream, and here we +were soon beset by a swarm of Mormons and Missourians. The United States +officer in command of the whole came also to visit us, and remained some +time at our camp. + +In the morning the country was covered with mist. We were always early +risers, but before we were ready the voices of men driving in the cattle +sounded all around us. As we passed above their camp, we saw through the +obscurity that the tents were falling and the ranks rapidly forming; and +mingled with the cries of women and children, the rolling of the Mormon +drums and the clear blast of their trumpets sounded through the mist. + +From that time to the journey’s end, we met almost every day long trains +of government wagons, laden with stores for the troops and crawling at a +snail’s pace toward Santa Fe. + +Tete Rouge had a mortal antipathy to danger, but on a foraging +expedition one evening, he achieved an adventure more perilous than +had yet befallen any man in the party. The night after we left the +Ridge-path we encamped close to the river. At sunset we saw a train of +wagons encamping on the trail about three miles off; and though we +saw them distinctly, our little cart, as it afterward proved, entirely +escaped their view. For some days Tete Rouge had been longing +eagerly after a dram of whisky. So, resolving to improve the present +opportunity, he mounted his horse James, slung his canteen over his +shoulder, and set forth in search of his favorite liquor. Some hours +passed without his returning. We thought that he was lost, or perhaps +that some stray Indian had snapped him up. While the rest fell asleep I +remained on guard. Late at night a tremulous voice saluted me from the +darkness, and Tete Rouge and James soon became visible, advancing toward +the camp. Tete Rouge was in much agitation and big with some important +tidings. Sitting down on the shaft of the cart, he told the following +story: + +When he left the camp he had no idea, he said, how late it was. By the +time he approached the wagoners it was perfectly dark; and as he saw +them all sitting around their fires within the circle of wagons, their +guns laid by their sides, he thought he might as well give warning of +his approach, in order to prevent a disagreeable mistake. Raising his +voice to the highest pitch, he screamed out in prolonged accents, “Camp, +ahoy!” This eccentric salutation produced anything but the desired +result. Hearing such hideous sounds proceeding from the outer darkness, +the wagoners thought that the whole Pawnee nation were about to break +in and take their scalps. Up they sprang staring with terror. Each man +snatched his gun; some stood behind the wagons; some threw themselves +flat on the ground, and in an instant twenty cocked muskets were leveled +full at the horrified Tete Rouge, who just then began to be visible +through the darkness. + +“Thar they come,” cried the master wagoner, “fire, fire! shoot that +feller.” + +“No, no!” screamed Tete Rouge, in an ecstasy of fright; “don’t fire, +don’t! I’m a friend, I’m an American citizen!” + +“You’re a friend, be you?” cried a gruff voice from the wagons; “then +what are you yelling out thar for, like a wild Injun. Come along up here +if you’re a man.” + +“Keep your guns p’inted at him,” added the master wagoner, “maybe he’s a +decoy, like.” + +Tete Rouge in utter bewilderment made his approach, with the gaping +muzzles of the muskets still before his eyes. He succeeded at last in +explaining his character and situation, and the Missourians admitted him +into camp. He got no whisky; but as he represented himself as a +great invalid, and suffering much from coarse fare, they made up a +contribution for him of rice, biscuit, and sugar from their own rations. + +In the morning at breakfast, Tete Rouge once more related this story. +We hardly knew how much of it to believe, though after some +cross-questioning we failed to discover any flaw in the narrative. +Passing by the wagoner’s camp, they confirmed Tete Rouge’s account in +every particular. + +“I wouldn’t have been in that feller’s place,” said one of them, “for +the biggest heap of money in Missouri.” + +To Tete Rouge’s great wrath they expressed a firm conviction that he +was crazy. We left them after giving them the advice not to trouble +themselves about war-whoops in future, since they would be apt to feel +an Indian’s arrow before they heard his voice. + +A day or two after, we had an adventure of another sort with a party of +wagoners. Henry and I rode forward to hunt. After that day there was +no probability that we should meet with buffalo, and we were anxious to +kill one for the sake of fresh meat. They were so wild that we hunted +all the morning in vain, but at noon as we approached Cow Creek we saw +a large band feeding near its margin. Cow Creek is densely lined with +trees which intercept the view beyond, and it runs, as we afterward +found, at the bottom of a deep trench. We approached by riding along the +bottom of a ravine. When we were near enough, I held the horses while +Henry crept toward the buffalo. I saw him take his seat within shooting +distance, prepare his rifle, and look about to select his victim. The +death of a fat cow was certain, when suddenly a great smoke arose from +the bed of the Creek with a rattling volley of musketry. A score of +long-legged Missourians leaped out from among the trees and ran after +the buffalo, who one and all took to their heels and vanished. These +fellows had crawled up the bed of the Creek to within a hundred yards of +the buffalo. Never was there a fairer chance for a shot. They were good +marksmen; all cracked away at once, and yet not a buffalo fell. In fact, +the animal is so tenacious of life that it requires no little knowledge +of anatomy to kill it, and it is very seldom that a novice succeeds +in his first attempt at approaching. The balked Missourians were +excessively mortified, especially when Henry told them if they had kept +quiet he would have killed meat enough in ten minutes to feed their +whole party. Our friends, who were at no great distance, hearing such a +formidable fusillade, thought the Indians had fired the volley for our +benefit. Shaw came galloping on to reconnoiter and learn if we were yet +in the land of the living. + +At Cow Creek we found the very welcome novelty of ripe grapes and plums, +which grew there in abundance. At the Little Arkansas, not much farther +on, we saw the last buffalo, a miserable old bull, roaming over the +prairie alone and melancholy. + +From this time forward the character of the country was changing every +day. We had left behind us the great arid deserts, meagerly covered +by the tufted buffalo grass, with its pale green hue, and its short +shriveled blades. The plains before us were carpeted with rich and +verdant herbage sprinkled with flowers. In place of buffalo we found +plenty of prairie hens, and we bagged them by dozens without leaving the +trail. In three or four days we saw before us the broad woods and the +emerald meadows of Council Grove, a scene of striking luxuriance and +beauty. It seemed like a new sensation as we rode beneath the resounding +archs of these noble woods. The trees were ash, oak, elm, maple, +and hickory, their mighty limbs deeply overshadowing the path, while +enormous grape vines were entwined among them, purple with fruit. The +shouts of our scattered party, and now and then a report of a rifle, +rang amid the breathing stillness of the forest. We rode forth again +with regret into the broad light of the open prairie. Little more than a +hundred miles now separated us from the frontier settlements. The whole +intervening country was a succession of verdant prairies, rising in +broad swells and relieved by trees clustering like an oasis around some +spring, or following the course of a stream along some fertile hollow. +These are the prairies of the poet and the novelist. We had left danger +behind us. Nothing was to be feared from the Indians of this region, the +Sacs and Foxes, the Kansas and the Osages. We had met with signal +good fortune. Although for five months we had been traveling with an +insufficient force through a country where we were at any moment liable +to depredation, not a single animal had been stolen from us, and our +only loss had been one old mule bitten to death by a rattlesnake. Three +weeks after we reached the frontier the Pawnees and the Comanches began +a regular series of hostilities on the Arkansas trail, killing men and +driving off horses. They attacked, without exception, every party, large +or small, that passed during the next six months. + +Diamond Spring, Rock Creek, Elder Grove, and other camping places +besides, were passed all in quick succession. At Rock Creek we found a +train of government provision wagons, under the charge of an emaciated +old man in his seventy-first year. Some restless American devil had +driven him into the wilderness at a time when he should have been seated +at his fireside with his grandchildren on his knees. I am convinced +that he never returned; he was complaining that night of a disease, the +wasting effects of which upon a younger and stronger man, I myself had +proved from severe experience. Long ere this no doubt the wolves have +howled their moonlight carnival over the old man’s attenuated remains. + +Not long after we came to a small trail leading to Fort Leavenworth, +distant but one day’s journey. Tete Rouge here took leave of us. He was +anxious to go to the fort in order to receive payment for his valuable +military services. So he and his horse James, after bidding an +affectionate farewell, set out together, taking with them as much +provision as they could conveniently carry, including a large quantity +of brown sugar. On a cheerless rainy evening we came to our last +encamping ground. Some pigs belonging to a Shawnee farmer were grunting +and rooting at the edge of the grove. + +“I wonder how fresh pork tastes,” murmured one of the party, and more +than one voice murmured in response. The fiat went forth, “That pig +must die,” and a rifle was leveled forthwith at the countenance of the +plumpest porker. Just then a wagon train, with some twenty Missourians, +came out from among the trees. The marksman suspended his aim, deeming +it inexpedient under the circumstances to consummate the deed of blood. + +In the morning we made our toilet as well as circumstances would permit, +and that is saying but very little. In spite of the dreary rain of +yesterday, there never was a brighter and gayer autumnal morning than +that on which we returned to the settlements. We were passing through +the country of the half-civilized Shawanoes. It was a beautiful +alternation of fertile plains and groves, whose foliage was just tinged +with the hues of autumn, while close beneath them rested the neat +log-houses of the Indian farmers. Every field and meadow bespoke the +exuberant fertility of the soil. The maize stood rustling in the wind, +matured and dry, its shining yellow ears thrust out between the gaping +husks. Squashes and enormous yellow pumpkins lay basking in the sun in +the midst of their brown and shriveled leaves. Robins and blackbirds +flew about the fences; and everything in short betokened our near +approach to home and civilization. The forests that border on the +Missouri soon rose before us, and we entered the wide tract of shrubbery +which forms their outskirts. We had passed the same road on our outward +journey in the spring, but its aspect was totally changed. The young +wild apple trees, then flushed with their fragrant blossoms, were now +hung thickly with ruddy fruit. Tall grass flourished by the roadside in +place of the tender shoots just peeping from the warm and oozy soil. The +vines were laden with dark purple grapes, and the slender twigs of the +maple, then tasseled with their clusters of small red flowers, now +hung out a gorgeous display of leaves stained by the frost with burning +crimson. On every side we saw the tokens of maturity and decay where +all had before been fresh and beautiful. We entered the forest, and +ourselves and our horses were checkered, as we passed along, by the +bright spots of sunlight that fell between the opening boughs. On either +side the dark rich masses of foliage almost excluded the sun, though +here and there its rays could find their way down, striking through the +broad leaves and lighting them with a pure transparent green. Squirrels +barked at us from the trees; coveys of young partridges ran rustling +over the leaves below, and the golden oriole, the blue jay, and the +flaming red-bird darted among the shadowy branches. We hailed these +sights and sounds of beauty by no means with an unmingled pleasure. +Many and powerful as were the attractions which drew us toward the +settlements, we looked back even at that moment with an eager longing +toward the wilderness of prairies and mountains behind us. For myself I +had suffered more that summer from illness than ever before in my life, +and yet to this hour I cannot recall those savage scenes and savage men +without a strong desire again to visit them. + +At length, for the first time during about half a year, we saw the roof +of a white man’s dwelling between the opening trees. A few moments after +we were riding over the miserable log bridge that leads into the center +of Westport. Westport had beheld strange scenes, but a rougher looking +troop than ours, with our worn equipments and broken-down horses, was +never seen even there. We passed the well-remembered tavern, Boone’s +grocery and old Vogel’s dram shop, and encamped on a meadow beyond. +Here we were soon visited by a number of people who came to purchase our +horses and equipage. This matter disposed of, we hired a wagon and drove +on to Kansas Landing. Here we were again received under the hospitable +roof of our old friend Colonel Chick, and seated on his porch we looked +down once more on the eddies of the Missouri. + +Delorier made his appearance in the morning, strangely transformed by +the assistance of a hat, a coat, and a razor. His little log-house was +among the woods not far off. It seemed he had meditated giving a ball +on the occasion of his return, and had consulted Henry Chatillon as to +whether it would do to invite his bourgeois. Henry expressed his entire +conviction that we would not take it amiss, and the invitation was now +proffered, accordingly, Delorier adding as a special inducement +that Antoine Lejeunesse was to play the fiddle. We told him we would +certainly come, but before the evening arrived a steamboat, which came +down from Fort Leavenworth, prevented our being present at the expected +festivities. Delorier was on the rock at the landing place, waiting to +take leave of us. + +“Adieu! mes bourgeois; adieu! adieu!” he cried out as the boat pulled +off; “when you go another time to de Rocky Montagnes I will go with you; +yes, I will go!” + +He accompanied this patronizing assurance by jumping about swinging his +hat, and grinning from ear to ear. As the boat rounded a distant point, +the last object that met our eyes was Delorier still lifting his hat and +skipping about the rock. We had taken leave of Munroe and Jim Gurney at +Westport, and Henry Chatillon went down in the boat with us. + +The passage to St. Louis occupied eight days, during about a third of +which we were fast aground on sand-bars. We passed the steamer Amelia +crowded with a roaring crew of disbanded volunteers, swearing, drinking, +gambling, and fighting. At length one evening we reached the crowded +levee of St. Louis. Repairing to the Planters’ House, we caused diligent +search to be made for our trunks, which after some time were discovered +stowed away in the farthest corner of the storeroom. In the morning we +hardly recognized each other; a frock of broadcloth had supplanted the +frock of buckskin; well-fitted pantaloons took the place of the Indian +leggings, and polished boots were substituted for the gaudy moccasins. + +After we had been several days at St. Louis we heard news of Tete Rouge. +He had contrived to reach Fort Leavenworth, where he had found the +paymaster and received his money. As a boat was just ready to start +for St. Louis, he went on board and engaged his passage. This done, he +immediately got drunk on shore, and the boat went off without him. It +was some days before another opportunity occurred, and meanwhile the +sutler’s stores furnished him with abundant means of keeping up his +spirits. Another steamboat came at last, the clerk of which happened to +be a friend of his, and by the advice of some charitable person on shore +he persuaded Tete Rouge to remain on board, intending to detain him +there until the boat should leave the fort. At first Tete Rouge was +well contented with this arrangement, but on applying for a dram, the +barkeeper, at the clerk’s instigation, refused to let him have it. +Finding them both inflexible in spite of his entreaties, he became +desperate and made his escape from the boat. The clerk found him after +a long search in one of the barracks; a circle of dragoons stood +contemplating him as he lay on the floor, maudlin drunk and crying +dismally. With the help of one of them the clerk pushed him on board, +and our informant, who came down in the same boat, declares that he +remained in great despondency during the whole passage. As we left St. +Louis soon after his arrival, we did not see the worthless, good-natured +little vagabond again. + +On the evening before our departure Henry Chatillon came to our rooms +at the Planters’ House to take leave of us. No one who met him in the +streets of St. Louis would have taken him for a hunter fresh from the +Rocky Mountains. He was very neatly and simply dressed in a suit of dark +cloth; for although, since his sixteenth year, he had scarcely been for +a month together among the abodes of men, he had a native good taste and +a sense of propriety which always led him to pay great attention to his +personal appearance. His tall athletic figure, with its easy flexible +motions, appeared to advantage in his present dress; and his fine face, +though roughened by a thousand storms, was not at all out of keeping +with it. We took leave of him with much regret; and unless his changing +features, as he shook us by the hand, belied him, the feeling on his +part was no less than on ours. Shaw had given him a horse at Westport. +My rifle, which he had always been fond of using, as it was an excellent +piece, much better than his own, is now in his hands, and perhaps +at this moment its sharp voice is startling the echoes of the Rocky +Mountains. On the next morning we left town, and after a fortnight of +railroads and steamboat we saw once more the familiar features of home. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg’s The Oregon Trail, by Francis Parkman, Jr. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 1015 *** |