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diff --git a/old/1371.txt b/old/1371.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d41d19b --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1371.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16256 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Astoria, by Washington Irving + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Astoria + Or, Anecdotes Of An Enterprise Beyond The Rocky Mountains + +Author: Washington Irving + +Release Date: February 18, 2006 [EBook #1371] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ASTORIA *** + + + + +Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer and David Widger + + + + + +ASTORIA; + +OR, ANECDOTES OF AN ENTERPRISE BEYOND THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS + + +By Washington Irving + + + + +AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION + + +IN THE COURSE of occasional visits to Canada many years since, I became +intimately acquainted with some of the principal partners of the +great Northwest Fur Company, who at that time lived in genial style +at Montreal, and kept almost open house for the stranger. At their +hospitable boards I occasionally met with partners, and clerks, and +hardy fur traders from the interior posts; men who had passed years +remote from civilized society, among distant and savage tribes, and +who had wonders to recount of their wide and wild peregrinations, their +hunting exploits, and their perilous adventures and hair-breadth escapes +among the Indians. I was at an age when imagination lends its coloring +to everything, and the stories of these Sinbads of the wilderness made +the life of a trapper and fur trader perfect romance to me. I even +meditated at one time a visit to the remote posts of the company in +the boats which annually ascended the lakes and rivers, being thereto +invited by one of the partners; and I have ever since regretted that I +was prevented by circumstances from carrying my intention into effect. +From those early impressions, the grand enterprise of the great fur +companies, and the hazardous errantry of their associates in the wild +parts of our vast continent, have always been themes of charmed +interest to me; and I have felt anxious to get at the details of their +adventurous expeditions among the savage tribes that peopled the depths +of the wilderness. + +About two years ago, not long after my return from a tour upon the +prairies of the far West, I had a conversation with my friend, Mr. +John Jacob Astor, relative to that portion of our country, and to the +adventurous traders to Santa Fe and the Columbia. This led him to advert +to a great enterprise set on foot and conducted by him, between twenty +and thirty years since, having for its object to carry the fur trade +across the Rocky Mountains, and to sweep the shores of the Pacific. + +Finding that I took an interest in the subject, he expressed a regret +that the true nature and extent of his enterprise and its national +character and importance had never been understood, and a wish that I +would undertake to give an account of it. The suggestion struck upon the +chord of early associations already vibrating in my mind. It occurred +to me that a work of this kind might comprise a variety of those curious +details, so interesting to me, illustrative of the fur trade; of its +remote and adventurous enterprises, and of the various people, and +tribes, and castes, and characters, civilized and savage, affected by +its operations. The journals, and letters, also, of the adventurers by +sea and land employed by Mr. Astor in his comprehensive project, might +throw light upon portions of our country quite out of the track of +ordinary travel, and as yet but little known. I therefore felt disposed +to undertake the task, provided documents of sufficient extent and +minuteness could be furnished to me. All the papers relative to the +enterprise were accordingly submitted to my inspection. Among them were +journals and letters narrating expeditions by sea, and journeys to and +fro across the Rocky Mountains by routes before untravelled, together +with documents illustrative of savage and colonial life on the borders +of the Pacific. With such material in hand, I undertook the work. +The trouble of rummaging among business papers, and of collecting and +collating facts from amidst tedious and commonplace details, was spared +me by my nephew, Pierre M. Irving, who acted as my pioneer, and to whom +I am greatly indebted for smoothing my path and lightening my labors. + +As the journals, on which I chiefly depended, had been kept by men of +business, intent upon the main object of the enterprise, and but little +versed in science, or curious about matters not immediately bearing upon +their interest, and as they were written often in moments of fatigue +or hurry, amid the inconveniences of wild encampments, they were +often meagre in their details, furnishing hints to provoke rather +than narratives to satisfy inquiry. I have, therefore, availed myself +occasionally of collateral lights supplied by the published journals of +other travellers who have visited the scenes described: such as Messrs. +Lewis and Clarke, Bradbury, Breckenridge, Long, Franchere, and Ross Cox, +and make a general acknowledgment of aid received from these quarters. + +The work I here present to the public is necessarily of a rambling +and somewhat disjointed nature, comprising various expeditions and +adventures by land and sea. The facts, however, will prove to be linked +and banded together by one grand scheme, devised and conducted by +a master spirit; one set of characters, also, continues throughout, +appearing occasionally, though sometimes at long intervals, and the +whole enterprise winds up by a regular catastrophe; so that the work, +without any labored attempt at artificial construction, actually +possesses much of that unity so much sought after in works of fiction, +and considered so important to the interest of every history. + +WASHINGTON IRVING + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + Objects of American Enterprise.--Gold Hunting and Fur + Trading.--Their Effect on Colonization.--Early French Canadian + Settlers.--Ottawa and Huron Hunters.--An Indian Trading Camp. + Coureurs Des Bois, or Rangers of the Woods.--Their Roaming + Life.--Their Revels and Excesses.--Licensed Traders. + Missionaries.--Trading Posts.--Primitive French Canadian + Merchant.--His Establishment and Dependents.--British Canadian + Fur Merchant.--Origin of the Northwest Company.--Its + Constitution.--Its Internal Trade.--A Candidate for the + Company.--Privations in the Wilderness.--Northwest Clerks. + Northwest Partners.--Northwest Nabobs.--Feudal Notions in the + Forests.--The Lords of the Lakes.--Fort William.--Its + Parliamentary Hall and Banqueting Room.--Wassailing in the + Wilderness. + +TWO leading objects of commercial gain have given birth to wide and +daring enterprise in the early history of the Americas; the precious +metals of the South, and the rich peltries of the North. While the fiery +and magnificent Spaniard, inflamed with the mania for gold, has extended +his discoveries and conquests over those brilliant countries scorched by +the ardent sun of the tropics, the adroit and buoyant Frenchman, and the +cool and calculating Briton, have pursued the less splendid, but no +less lucrative, traffic in furs amidst the hyperborean regions of the +Canadas, until they have advanced even within the Arctic Circle. + +These two pursuits have thus in a manner been the pioneers and +precursors of civilization. Without pausing on the borders, they have +penetrated at once, in defiance of difficulties and dangers, to the +heart of savage countries: laying open the hidden secrets of the +wilderness; leading the way to remote regions of beauty and fertility +that might have remained unexplored for ages, and beckoning after them +the slow and pausing steps of agriculture and civilization. + +It was the fur trade, in fact, which gave early sustenance and vitality +to the great Canadian provinces. Being destitute of the precious metals, +at that time the leading objects of American enterprise, they were long +neglected by the parent country. The French adventurers, however, who +had settled on the banks of the St. Lawrence, soon found that in the +rich peltries of the interior, they had sources of wealth that +might almost rival the mines of Mexico and Peru. The Indians, as yet +unacquainted with the artificial value given to some descriptions of +furs, in civilized life, brought quantities of the most precious kinds +and bartered them away for European trinkets and cheap commodities. +Immense profits were thus made by the early traders, and the traffic was +pursued with avidity. + +As the valuable furs soon became scarce in the neighborhood of the +settlements, the Indians of the vicinity were stimulated to take a wider +range in their hunting expeditions; they were generally accompanied on +these expeditions by some of the traders or their dependents, who +shared in the toils and perils of the chase, and at the same time made +themselves acquainted with the best hunting and trapping grounds, and +with the remote tribes, whom they encouraged to bring their peltries +to the settlements. In this way the trade augmented, and was drawn from +remote quarters to Montreal. Every now and then a large body of Ottawas, +Hurons, and other tribes who hunted the countries bordering on the great +lakes, would come down in a squadron of light canoes, laden with beaver +skins, and other spoils of their year's hunting. The canoes would be +unladen, taken on shore, and their contents disposed in order. A camp of +birch bark would be pitched outside of the town, and a kind of primitive +fair opened with that grave ceremonial so dear to the Indians. An +audience would be demanded of the governor-general, who would hold +the conference with becoming state, seated in an elbow-chair, with the +Indians ranged in semicircles before him, seated on the ground, +and silently smoking their pipes. Speeches would be made, presents +exchanged, and the audience would break up in universal good humor. + +Now would ensue a brisk traffic with the merchants, and all Montreal +would be alive with naked Indians running from shop to shop, bargaining +for arms, kettles, knives, axes, blankets, bright-colored cloths, and +other articles of use or fancy; upon all which, says an old French +writer, the merchants were sure to clear at least two hundred per cent. +There was no money used in this traffic, and, after a time, all payment +in spirituous liquors was prohibited, in consequence of the frantic and +frightful excesses and bloody brawls which they were apt to occasion. + +Their wants and caprices being supplied, they would take leave of the +governor, strike their tents, launch their canoes, and ply their way up +the Ottawa to the lakes. + +A new and anomalous class of men gradually grew out of this trade. These +were called coureurs des bois, rangers of the woods; originally men +who had accompanied the Indians in their hunting expeditions, and made +themselves acquainted with remote tracts and tribes; and who now became, +as it were, peddlers of the wilderness. These men would set out from +Montreal with canoes well stocked with goods, with arms and ammunition, +and would make their way up the mazy and wandering rivers that interlace +the vast forests of the Canadas, coasting the most remote lakes, and +creating new wants and habitudes among the natives. Sometimes they +sojourned for months among them, assimilating to their tastes and habits +with the happy facility of Frenchmen, adopting in some degree the Indian +dress, and not unfrequently taking to themselves Indian wives. + +Twelve, fifteen, eighteen months would often elapse without any tidings +of them, when they would come sweeping their way down the Ottawa in full +glee, their canoes laden down with packs of beaver skins. Now came their +turn for revelry and extravagance. "You would be amazed," says an old +writer already quoted, "if you saw how lewd these peddlers are when they +return; how they feast and game, and how prodigal they are, not only in +their clothes, but upon their sweethearts. Such of them as are married +have the wisdom to retire to their own houses; but the bachelors act +just as an East Indiaman and pirates are wont to do; for they lavish, +eat, drink, and play all away as long as the goods hold out; and when +these are gone, they even sell their embroidery, their lace, and their +clothes. This done, they are forced upon a new voyage for subsistence." + +Many of these coureurs des bois became so accustomed to the Indian mode +of living, and the perfect freedom of the wilderness, that they lost +relish for civilization, and identified themselves with the savages +among whom they dwelt, or could only be distinguished from them by +superior licentiousness. Their conduct and example gradually corrupted +the natives, and impeded the works of the Catholic missionaries, who +were at this time prosecuting their pious labors in the wilds of Canada. + +To check these abuses, and to protect the fur trade from various +irregularities practiced by these loose adventurers, an order was issued +by the French government prohibiting all persons, on pain of death, from +trading into the interior of the country without a license. + +These licenses were granted in writing by the governor-general, and +at first were given only to persons of respectability; to gentlemen of +broken fortunes; to old officers of the army who had families to provide +for; or to their widows. Each license permitted the fitting out of +two large canoes with merchandise for the lakes, and no more than +twenty-five licenses were to be issued in one year. By degrees, however, +private licenses were also granted, and the number rapidly increased. +Those who did not choose to fit out the expeditions themselves, were +permitted to sell them to the merchants; these employed the coureurs des +bois, or rangers of the woods, to undertake the long voyages on shares, +and thus the abuses of the old system were revived and continued. + +The pious missionaries employed by the Roman Catholic Church to convert +the Indians, did everything in their power to counteract the profligacy +caused and propagated by these men in the heart of the wilderness. The +Catholic chapel might often be seen planted beside the trading house, +and its spire surmounted by a cross, towering from the midst of an +Indian village, on the banks of a river or a lake. The missions had +often a beneficial effect on the simple sons of the forest, but had +little power over the renegades from civilization. + +At length it was found necessary to establish fortified posts at the +confluence of the rivers and the lakes for the protection of the trade, +and the restraint of these profligates of the wilderness. The most +important of these was at Michilimackinac, situated at the strait of the +same name, which connects Lakes Huron and Michigan. It became the great +interior mart and place of deposit, and some of the regular merchants +who prosecuted the trade in person, under their licenses, formed +establishments here. This, too, was a rendezvous for the rangers of the +woods, as well those who came up with goods from Montreal as those who +returned with peltries from the interior. Here new expeditions +were fitted out and took their departure for Lake Michigan and the +Mississippi; Lake Superior and the Northwest; and here the peltries +brought in return were embarked for Montreal. + +The French merchant at his trading post, in these primitive days of +Canada, was a kind of commercial patriarch. With the lax habits and easy +familiarity of his race, he had a little world of self-indulgence and +misrule around him. He had his clerks, canoe men, and retainers of +all kinds, who lived with him on terms of perfect sociability, always +calling him by his Christian name; he had his harem of Indian beauties, +and his troop of halfbreed children; nor was there ever wanting a +louting train of Indians, hanging about the establishment, eating and +drinking at his expense in the intervals of their hunting expeditions. + +The Canadian traders, for a long time, had troublesome competitors in +the British merchants of New York, who inveigled the Indian hunters +and the coureurs des bois to their posts, and traded with them on more +favorable terms. A still more formidable opposition was organized in +the Hudson's Bay Company, chartered by Charles II., in 1670, with the +exclusive privilege of establishing trading houses on the shores of that +bay and its tributary rivers; a privilege which they have maintained to +the present day. Between this British company and the French merchants +of Canada, feuds and contests arose about alleged infringements of +territorial limits, and acts of violence and bloodshed occurred between +their agents. + +In 1762, the French lost possession of Canada, and the trade fell +principally into the hands of British subjects. For a time, however, it +shrunk within narrow limits. The old coureurs des bois were broken up +and dispersed, or, where they could be met with, were slow to accustom +themselves to the habits and manners of their British employers. They +missed the freedom, indulgence, and familiarity of the old French +trading houses, and did not relish the sober exactness, reserve, and +method of the new-comers. The British traders, too, were ignorant of the +country, and distrustful of the natives. They had reason to be so. The +treacherous and bloody affairs of Detroit and Michilimackinac showed +them the lurking hostility cherished by the savages, who had too long +been taught by the French to regard them as enemies. + +It was not until the year 1766, that the trade regained its old +channels; but it was then pursued with much avidity and emulation +by individual merchants, and soon transcended its former bounds. +Expeditions were fitted out by various persons from Montreal and +Michilimackinac, and rivalships and jealousies of course ensued. The +trade was injured by their artifices to outbid and undermine each other; +the Indians were debauched by the sale of spirituous liquors, which had +been prohibited under the French rule. Scenes of drunkeness, brutality, +and brawl were the consequence, in the Indian villages and around the +trading houses; while bloody feuds took place between rival trading +parties when they happened to encounter each other in the lawless depths +of the wilderness. + +To put an end to these sordid and ruinous contentions, several of the +principal merchants of Montreal entered into a partnership in the winter +of 1783, which was augmented by amalgamation with a rival company in +1787. Thus was created the famous "Northwest Company," which for a time +held a lordly sway over the wintry lakes and boundless forests of +the Canadas, almost equal to that of the East India Company over the +voluptuous climes and magnificent realms of the Orient. + +The company consisted of twenty-three shareholders, or partners, +but held in its employ about two thousand persons as clerks, guides, +interpreters, and "voyageurs," or boatmen. These were distributed at +various trading posts, established far and wide on the interior lakes +and rivers, at immense distances from each other, and in the heart of +trackless countries and savage tribes. + +Several of the partners resided in Montreal and Quebec, to manage +the main concerns of the company. These were called agents, and were +personages of great weight and importance; the other partners took +their stations at the interior posts, where they remained throughout +the winter, to superintend the intercourse with the various tribes of +Indians. They were thence called wintering partners. + +The goods destined for this wide and wandering traffic were put up at +the warehouses of the company in Montreal, and conveyed in batteaux, or +boats and canoes, up the river Attawa, or Ottowa, which falls into the +St. Lawrence near Montreal, and by other rivers and portages, to Lake +Nipising, Lake Huron, Lake Superior, and thence, by several chains of +great and small lakes, to Lake Winnipeg, Lake Athabasca, and the Great +Slave Lake. This singular and beautiful system of internal seas, which +renders an immense region of wilderness so accessible to the frail bark +of the Indian or the trader, was studded by the remote posts of the +company, where they carried on their traffic with the surrounding +tribes. + +The company, as we have shown, was at first a spontaneous association of +merchants; but, after it had been regularly organized, admission into +it became extremely difficult. A candidate had to enter, as it were, +"before the mast," to undergo a long probation, and to rise slowly by +his merits and services. He began, at an early age, as a clerk, and +served an apprenticeship of seven years, for which he received one +hundred pounds sterling, was maintained at the expense of the company, +and furnished with suitable clothing and equipments. His probation was +generally passed at the interior trading posts; removed for years from +civilized society, leading a life almost as wild and precarious as the +savages around him; exposed to the severities of a northern winter, +often suffering from a scarcity of food, and sometimes destitute for a +long time of both bread and salt. When his apprenticeship had expired, +he received a salary according to his deserts, varying from eighty to +one hundred and sixty pounds sterling, and was now eligible to the great +object of his ambition, a partnership in the company; though years might +yet elapse before he attained to that enviable station. + +Most of the clerks were young men of good families, from the Highlands +of Scotland, characterized by the perseverance, thrift, and fidelity +of their country, and fitted by their native hardihood to encounter the +rigorous climate of the North, and to endure the trials and privations +of their lot; though it must not be concealed that the constitutions +of many of them became impaired by the hardships of the wilderness, and +their stomachs injured by occasional famishing, and especially by the +want of bread and salt. Now and then, at an interval of years, they were +permitted to come down on a visit to the establishment at Montreal, to +recruit their health, and to have a taste of civilized life; and these +were brilliant spots in their existence. + +As to the principal partners, or agents, who resided in Montreal and +Quebec, they formed a kind of commercial aristocracy, living in +lordly and hospitable style. Their posts, and the pleasures, dangers, +adventures, and mishaps which they had shared together in their wild +wood life, had linked them heartily to each other, so that they formed +a convivial fraternity. Few travellers that have visited Canada some +thirty years since, in the days of the M'Tavishes, the M'Gillivrays, the +M'Kenzies, the Frobishers, and the other magnates of the Northwest, +when the company was in all its glory, but must remember the round of +feasting and revelry kept up among these hyperborean nabobs. + +Sometimes one or two partners, recently from the interior posts, would +make their appearance in New York, in the course of a tour of pleasure +and curiosity. On these occasions there was a degree of magnificence of +the purse about them, and a peculiar propensity to expenditure at +the goldsmith's and jeweler's for rings, chains, brooches, necklaces, +jeweled watches, and other rich trinkets, partly for their own +wear, partly for presents to their female acquaintances; a gorgeous +prodigality, such as was often to be noticed in former times in Southern +planters and West India creoles, when flush with the profits of their +plantations. + +To behold the Northwest Company in all its state and grandeur, however, +it was necessary to witness an annual gathering at the great interior +place of conference established at Fort William, near what is called +the Grand Portage, on Lake Superior. Here two or three of the leading +partners from Montreal proceeded once a year to meet the partners from +the various trading posts of the wilderness, to discuss the affairs +of the company during the preceding year, and to arrange plans for the +future. + +On these occasions might be seen the change since the unceremonious +times of the old French traders; now the aristocratic character of the +Briton shone forth magnificently, or rather the feudal spirit of the +Highlander. Every partner who had charge of an interior post, and a +score of retainers at his Command, felt like the chieftain of a Highland +clan, and was almost as important in the eyes of his dependents as of +himself. To him a visit to the grand conference at Fort William was +a most important event, and he repaired there as to a meeting of +parliament. + +The partners from Montreal, however, were the lords of the ascendant; +coming from the midst of luxurious and ostentatious life, they quite +eclipsed their compeers from the woods, whose forms and faces had +been battered and hardened by hard living and hard service, and whose +garments and equipments were all the worse for wear. Indeed, the +partners from below considered the whole dignity of the company as +represented in their persons, and conducted themselves in suitable +style. They ascended the rivers in great state, like sovereigns making +a progress: or rather like Highland chieftains navigating their subject +lakes. They were wrapped in rich furs, their huge canoes freighted +with every convenience and luxury, and manned by Canadian voyageurs, +as obedient as Highland clansmen. They carried up with them cooks and +bakers, together with delicacies of every kind, and abundance of choice +wines for the banquets which attended this great convocation. Happy were +they, too, if they could meet with some distinguished stranger; above +all, some titled member of the British nobility, to accompany them on +this stately occasion, and grace their high solemnities. + +Fort William, the scene of this important annual meeting, was a +considerable village on the banks of Lake Superior. Here, in an immense +wooden building, was the great council hall, as also the banqueting +chamber, decorated with Indian arms and accoutrements, and the trophies +of the fur trade. The house swarmed at this time with traders and +voyageurs, some from Montreal, bound to the interior posts; some from +the interior posts, bound to Montreal. The councils were held in great +state, for every member felt as if sitting in parliament, and every +retainer and dependent looked up to the assemblage with awe, as to the +House of Lords. There was a vast deal of solemn deliberation, and hard +Scottish reasoning, with an occasional swell of pompous declamation. + +These grave and weighty councils were alternated by huge feasts and +revels, like some of the old feasts described in Highland castles. The +tables in the great banqueting room groaned under the weight of game +of all kinds; of venison from the woods, and fish from the lakes, with +hunters' delicacies, such as buffalos' tongues, and beavers' tails, +and various luxuries from Montreal, all served up by experienced cooks +brought for the purpose. There was no stint of generous wine, for it was +a hard-drinking period, a time of loyal toasts, and bacchanalian songs, +and brimming bumpers. + +While the chiefs thus revelled in hall, and made the rafters resound +with bursts of loyalty and old Scottish songs, chanted in voices cracked +and sharpened by the northern blast, their merriment was echoed +and prolonged by a mongrel legion of retainers, Canadian voyageurs, +half-breeds, Indian hunters, and vagabond hangers-on who feasted +sumptuously without on the crumbs that fell from their table, and made +the welkin ring with old French ditties, mingled with Indian yelps and +yellings. + +Such was the Northwest Company in its powerful and prosperous days, when +it held a kind of feudal sway over a vast domain of lake and forest. We +are dwelling too long, perhaps, upon these individual pictures, endeared +to us by the associations of early life, when, as yet a stripling youth, +we have sat at the hospitable boards of the "mighty Northwesters," +the lords of the ascendant at Montreal, and gazed with wondering +and inexperienced eye at the baronial wassailing, and listened with +astonished ear to their tales of hardship and adventures. It is one +object of our task, however, to present scenes of the rough life of the +wilderness, and we are tempted to fix these few memorials of a transient +state of things fast passing into oblivion; for the feudal state of Fort +William is at an end, its council chamber is silent and deserted; its +banquet hall no longer echoes to the burst of loyalty, or the "auld +world" ditty; the lords of the lakes and forests have passed away; and +the hospitable magnates of Montreal where are they? + + + +CHAPTER II. + + Rise of the Mackinaw Company.--Attempt of the American + Government to Counteract Foreign Influence Over the Indian + Tribes.--John Jacob Astor.--His Birth-Place.--His Arrival in + the United States.--What First Turned His Attention to the + Fur Trade.--His Character, Enterprises, and Success.--His + Communications With the American Government.--Origin of the + American Fur Company + +THE success of the Northwest Company stimulated further enterprise in +this opening and apparently boundless field of profit. The traffic of +that company lay principally in the high northern latitudes, while +there were immense regions to the south and west, known to abound with +valuable peltries; but which, as yet, had been but little explored by +the fur trader. A new association of British merchants was therefore +formed, to prosecute the trade in this direction. The chief factory was +established at the old emporium of Michilimackinac, from which place the +association took its name, and was commonly called the Mackinaw Company. + +While the Northwesters continued to push their enterprises into the +hyperborean regions from their stronghold at Fort William, and to hold +almost sovereign sway over the tribes of the upper lakes and rivers, +the Mackinaw Company sent forth their light perogues and barks, by Green +Bay, Fox River, and the Wisconsin, to that areas artery of the West, the +Mississippi; and down that stream to all its tributary rivers. In this +way they hoped soon to monopolize the trade with all the tribes on +the southern and western waters, and of those vast tracts comprised in +ancient Louisiana. + +The government of the United States began to view with a wary eye the +growing influence thus acquired by combinations of foreigners, over +the aboriginal tribes inhabiting its territories, and endeavored to +counteract it. For this purpose, as early as 1796, the government sent +out agents to establish rival trading houses on the frontier, so as to +supply the wants of the Indians, to link their interests and feelings +with those of the people of the United States, and to divert this +important branch of trade into national channels. + +The expedition, however, was unsuccessful, as most commercial expedients +are prone to be, where the dull patronage of government is counted +upon to outvie the keen activity of private enterprise. What government +failed to effect, however, with all its patronage and all its agents, +was at length brought about by the enterprise and perseverance of a +single merchant, one of its adopted citizens; and this brings us to +speak of the individual whose enterprise is the especial subject of +the following pages; a man whose name and character are worthy of being +enrolled in the history of commerce, as illustrating its noblest aims +and soundest maxims. A few brief anecdotes of his early life, and of the +circumstances which first determined him to the branch of commerce of +which we are treating, cannot be but interesting. + +John Jacob Astor, the individual in question, was born in the honest +little German village of Waldorf, near Heidelberg, on the banks of the +Rhine. He was brought up in the simplicity of rural life, but, while +yet a mere stripling, left his home, and launched himself amid the +busy scenes of London, having had, from his very boyhood, a singular +presentiment that he would ultimately arrive at great fortune. + +At the close of the American Revolution he was still in London, and +scarce on the threshold of active life. An elder brother had been for +some few years resident in the United States, and Mr. Astor determined +to follow him, and to seek his fortunes in the rising country. Investing +a small sum which he had amassed since leaving his native village, in +merchandise suited to the American market, he embarked, in the month +of November, 1783, in a ship bound to Baltimore, and arrived in Hampton +Roads in the month of January. The winter was extremely severe, and the +ship, with many others, was detained by the ice in and about Chesapeake +Bay for nearly three months. + +During this period, the passengers of the various ships used +occasionally to go on shore, and mingle sociably together. In this +way Mr. Astor became acquainted with a countryman of his, a furrier by +trade. Having had a previous impression that this might be a lucrative +trade in the New World, he made many inquiries of his new acquaintance +on the subject, who cheerfully gave him all the information in his power +as to the quality and value of different furs, and the mode of carrying +on the traffic. He subsequently accompanied him to New York, and, by his +advice, Mr. Astor was induced to invest the proceeds of his merchandise +in furs. With these he sailed from New York to London in 1784, disposed +of them advantageously, made himself further acquainted with the course +of the trade, and returned the same year to New York, with a view to +settle in the United States. + +He now devoted himself to the branch of commerce with which he had thus +casually been made acquainted. He began his career, of course, on the +narrowest scale; but he brought to the task a persevering industry, +rigid economy, and strict integrity. To these were added an aspiring +spirit that always looked upwards; a genius bold, fertile, and +expansive; a sagacity quick to grasp and convert every circumstance to +its advantage, and a singular and never wavering confidence of signal +success. + +As yet, trade in peltries was not organized in the United States, and +could not be said to form a regular line of business. Furs and skins +were casually collected by the country traders in their dealings with +the Indians or the white hunters, but the main supply was derived +from Canada. As Mr. Astor's means increased, he made annual visits to +Montreal, where he purchased furs from the houses at that place engaged +in the trade. These he shipped from Canada to London, no direct trade +being allowed from that colony to any but the mother country. + +In 1794 or '95, a treaty with Great Britain removed the restrictions +imposed upon the trade with the colonies, and opened a direct commercial +intercourse between Canada and the United States. Mr. Astor was in +London at the time, and immediately made a contract with the agents of +the Northwest Company for furs. He was now enabled to import them from +Montreal into the United States for the home supply, and to be shipped +thence to different parts of Europe, as well as to China, which has ever +been the best market for the richest and finest kinds of peltry. + +The treaty in question provided, likewise, that the military posts +occupied by the British within the territorial limits of the United +States, should be surrendered. Accordingly, Oswego, Niagara, Detroit, +Michilimackinac, and other posts on the American side of the lakes, were +given up. An opening was thus made for the American merchant to trade on +the confines of Canada, and within the territories of the United States. +After an interval of some years, about 1807, Mr. Astor embarked in this +trade on his own account. His capital and resources had by this time +greatly augmented, and he had risen from small beginnings to take his +place among the first merchants and financiers of the country. His +genius had ever been in advance of his circumstances, prompting him +to new and wide fields of enterprise beyond the scope of ordinary +merchants. With all his enterprise and resources however, he soon found +the power and influence of the Michilimackinac (or Mackinaw) Company too +great for him, having engrossed most of the trade within the American +borders. + +A plan had to be devised to enable him to enter into successful +competition. He was aware of the wish of the American government, +already stated, that the fur trade within its boundaries should be in +the hands of American citizens, and of the ineffectual measures it had +taken to accomplish that object. He now offered, if aided and protected +by government, to turn the whole of that trade into American channels. +He was invited to unfold his plans to government, and they were warmly +approved, though the executive could give no direct aid. + +Thus countenanced, however, he obtained, in 1809, a charter from the +legislature of the State of New York, incorporating a company under the +name of "The American Fur Company," with a capital of one million +of dollars, with the privilege of increasing it to two millions. The +capital was furnished by himself he, in fact, constituted the company; +for, though he had a board of directors, they were merely nominal; the +whole business was conducted on his plans and with his resources, but +he preferred to do so under the imposing and formidable aspect of a +corporation, rather than in his individual name, and his policy was +sagacious and effective. + +As the Mackinaw Company still continued its rivalry, and as the fur +trade would not advantageously admit of competition, he made a new +arrangement in 1811, by which, in conjunction with certain partners of +the Northwest Company, and other persons engaged in the fur trade, he +bought out the Mackinaw Company, and merged that and the American Fur +Company into a new association, to be called the "Southwest Company." +This he likewise did with the privity and approbation of the American +government. + +By this arrangement Mr. Astor became proprietor of one half of the +Indian establishments and goods which the Mackinaw Company had within +the territory of the Indian country in the United States, and it was +understood that the whole was to be surrendered into his hands at the +expiration of five years, on condition that the American Company would +not trade within the British dominions. + +Unluckily, the war which broke out in 1812 between Great Britain and +the United States suspended the association; and, after the war, it was +entirely dissolved; Congress having passed a law prohibiting the British +fur traders from prosecuting their enterprises within the territories of +the United States. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + Fur Trade in the Pacific--American Coasting Voyages--Russian + Enterprises.--Discovery of the Columbia River.--Carver's + Project to Found a Settlement There.--Mackenzie's + Expedition.--Lewis and Clarke's Journey Across the Rocky + Mountains--Mr. Astor's Grand Commercial Scheme.--His + Correspondence on the Subject With Mr. Jefferson.--His + Negotiations With the Northwest Company.--His Steps to Carry + His Scheme Into Effect. + +WHILE the various companies we have noticed were pushing their +enterprises far and wide in the wilds of Canada, and along the course of +the great western waters, other adventurers, intent on the same objects, +were traversing the watery wastes of the Pacific and skirting the +northwest coast of America. The last voyage of that renowned but +unfortunate discoverer, Captain Cook, had made known the vast quantities +of the sea-otter to be found along that coast, and the immense prices to +be obtained for its fur in China. It was as if a new gold coast had +been discovered. Individuals from various countries dashed into this +lucrative traffic, so that in the year 1792, there were twenty-one +vessels under different flags, plying along the coast and trading with +the natives. The greater part of them were American, and owned by Boston +merchants. They generally remained on the coast and about the adjacent +seas, for two years, carrying on as wandering and adventurous a commerce +on the water as did the traders and trappers on land. Their trade +extended along the whole coast from California to the high northern +latitudes. They would run in near shore, anchor, and wait for the +natives to come off in their canoes with peltries. The trade exhausted +at one place, they would up anchor and off to another. In this way they +would consume the summer, and when autumn came on, would run down to the +Sandwich Islands and winter in some friendly and plentiful harbor. In +the following year they would resume their summer trade, commencing at +California and proceeding north: and, having in the course of the two +seasons collected a sufficient cargo of peltries, would make the best +of their way to China. Here they would sell their furs, take in teas, +nankeens, and other merchandise, and return to Boston, after an absence +of two or three years. + +The people, however, who entered most extensively and effectively in the +fur trade of the Pacific, were the Russians. Instead of making casual +voyages, in transient ships, they established regular trading houses in +the high latitudes, along the northwest coast of America, and upon the +chain of the Aleutian Islands between Kamtschatka and the promontory of +Alaska. + +To promote and protect these enterprises, a company was incorporated by +the Russian government with exclusive privileges, and a capital of two +hundred and sixty thousand pounds sterling; and the sovereignty of that +part of the American continent, along the coast of which the posts had +been established, was claimed by the Russian crown, on the plea that the +land had been discovered and occupied by its subjects. + +As China was the grand mart for the furs collected in these quarters, +the Russians had the advantage over their competitors in the trade. The +latter had to take their peltries to Canton, which, however, was a mere +receiving mart, from whence they had to be distributed over the interior +of the empire and sent to the northern parts, where there was the chief +consumption. The Russians, on the contrary, carried their furs, by a +shorter voyage, directly to the northern parts of the Chinese empire; +thus being able to afford them in the market without the additional cost +of internal transportation. + +We come now to the immediate field of operation of the great enterprise +we have undertaken to illustrate. + +Among the American ships which traded along the northwest coast in 1792, +was the Columbia, Captain Gray, of Boston. In the course of her voyage +she discovered the mouth of a large river in lat. 46 19' north. Entering +it with some difficulty, on account of sand-bars and breakers, she came +to anchor in a spacious bay. A boat was well manned, and sent on shore +to a village on the beach, but all the inhabitants fled excepting the +aged and infirm. The kind manner in which these were treated, and the +presents given them, gradually lured back the others, and a friendly +intercourse took place. They had never seen a ship or a white man. When +they had first descried the Columbia, they had supposed it a floating +island; then some monster of the deep; but when they saw the boat +putting for shore with human beings on board, they considered them +cannibals sent by the Great Spirit to ravage the country and devour the +inhabitants. Captain Gray did not ascend the river farther than the bay +in question, which continues to bear his name. After putting to sea, he +fell in with the celebrated discoverer, Vancouver, and informed him +of his discovery, furnished him with a chart which he had made of the +river. Vancouver visited the river, and his lieutenant, Broughton, +explored it by the aid of Captain Gray's chart; ascending it upwards of +one hundred miles, until within view of a snowy mountain, to which he +gave the name of Mt. Hood, which it still retains. + +The existence of this river, however, was known long before the visits +of Gray and Vancouver, but the information concerning it was vague and +indefinite, being gathered from the reports of Indians. It was spoken +of by travellers as the Oregon, and as the Great River of the West. A +Spanish ship is said to have been wrecked at the mouth, several of the +crew of which lived for some time among the natives. The Columbia, +however, is believed to be the first ship that made a regular discovery +and anchored within its waters, and it has since generally borne the +name of that vessel. As early as 1763, shortly after the acquisition of +the Canadas by Great Britain, Captain Jonathan Carver, who had been in +the British provincial army, projected a journey across the continent +between the forty-third and forty-sixth degrees of northern latitude +to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. His objects were to ascertain the +breadth of the continent at its broadest part, and to determine on some +place on the shores of the Pacific, where government might establish +a post to facilitate the discovery of a northwest passage, or a +communication between Hudson's Bay and the Pacific Ocean. This place he +presumed would be somewhere about the Straits of Annian, at which point +he supposed the Oregon disembogued itself. It was his opinion, also, +that a settlement on this extremity of America would disclose new +sources of trade, promote many useful discoveries, and open a more +direct communication with China and the English settlements in the East +Indies, than that by the Cape of Good Hope or the Straits of Magellan. * +This enterprising and intrepid traveller was twice baffled in individual +efforts to accomplish this great journey. In 1774, he was joined in +the scheme by Richard Whitworth, a member of Parliament, and a man of +wealth. Their enterprise was projected on a broad and bold plan. They +were to take with them fifty or sixty men, artificers and mariners. +With these they were to make their way up one of the branches of the +Missouri, explore the mountains for the source of the Oregon, or River +of the West, and sail down that river to its supposed exit, near the +Straits of Annian. Here they were to erect a fort, and build the vessels +necessary to carry their discoveries by sea into effect. Their plan had +the sanction of the British government, and grants and other requisites +were nearly completed, when the breaking out of the American Revolution +once more defeated the undertaking. ** + +The expedition of Sir Alexander Mackenzie in 1793, across the continent +to the Pacific Ocean, which he reached in lat. 52 20' 48", again +suggested the possibility of linking together the trade of both sides of +the continent. In lat. 52 30' he had descended a river for some distance +which flowed towards the south, and wag called by the natives Tacoutche +Tesse, and which he erroneously supposed to be the Columbia. It was +afterwards ascertained that it emptied itself in lat. 49 degrees, +whereas the mouth of the Columbia is about three degrees further south. + +When Mackenzie some years subsequently published an account of his +expeditions, he suggested the policy of opening an intercourse between +the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and forming regular establishments +through the interior and at both extremes, as well as along the coasts +and islands. By this means, he observed, the entire command of the fur +trade of North America might be obtained from lat. 48 north to the pole, +excepting that portion held by the Russians, for as to the American +adventurers who had hitherto enjoyed the traffic along the northwest +coast, they would instantly disappear, he added, before a well regulated +trade. + +A scheme of this kind, however, was too vast and hazardous for +individual enterprise; it could only be undertaken by a company under +the sanction and protection of a government; and as there might be a +clashing of claims between the Hudson's Bay and Northwest Company, the +one holding by right of charter, the other by right of possession, +he proposed that the two comparties should coalesce in this great +undertaking. The long-cherished jealousies of these two companies, +however, were too deep and strong to allow them to listen to such +counsel. + +In the meantime the attention of the American government was attracted +to the subject, and the memorable expedition under Messrs. Lewis and +Clarke fitted out. These gentlemen, in 1804, accomplished the enterprise +which had been projected by Carver and Whitworth in 1774. They +ascended the Missouri, passed through the stupendous gates of the Rocky +Mountains, hitherto unknown to white men; discovered and explored the +upper waters of the Columbia, and followed that river down to its +mouth, where their countryman, Gray, had anchored about twelve years +previously. Here they passed the winter, and returned across the +mountains in the following spring. The reports published by them of +their expedition demonstrated the practicability of establishing a line +of communication across the continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific +Ocean. + +It was then that the idea presented itself to the mind of Mr. Astor, of +grasping with his individual hand this great enterprise, which for years +had been dubiously yet desirously contemplated by powerful associations +and maternal governments. For some time he revolved the idea in his +mind, gradually extending and maturing his plans as his means of +executing them augmented. The main feature of his scheme was to +establish a line of trading posts along the Missouri and the Columbia, +to the mouth of the latter, where was to be founded the chief trading +house or mart. Inferior posts would be established in the interior, and +on all the tributary streams of the Columbia, to trade with the Indians; +these posts would draw their supplies from the main establishment, and +bring to it the peltries they collected. Coasting craft would be +built and fitted out, also at the mouth of the Columbia, to trade, at +favorable seasons, all along the northwest coast, and return, with the +proceeds of their voyages, to this place of deposit. Thus all the Indian +trade, both of the interior and the coast, would converge to this point, +and thence derive its sustenance. + +A ship was to be sent annually from New York to this main establishment +with reinforcements and supplies, and with merchandise suited to the +trade. It would take on board the furs collected during the preceding +year, carry them to Canton, invest the proceeds in the rich merchandise +of China, and return thus freighted to New York. As, in extending the +American trade along the coast to the northward, it might be brought +into the vicinity of the Russian Fur Company, and produce a hostile +rivalry, it was part of the plan of Mr. Astor to conciliate the +good-will of that company by the most amicable and beneficial +arrangements. The Russian establishment was chiefly dependent for its +supplies upon transient trading vessels from the United States. These +vessels, however, were often of more harm than advantage. Being owned +by private adventurers, or casual voyagers, who cared only for present +profit, and had no interest in the permanent prosperity of the trade, +they were reckless in their dealings with the natives, and made no +scruple of supplying them with fire-arms. In this way several fierce +tribes in the vicinity of the Russian posts, or within the range of +their trading excursions, were furnished with deadly means of warfare, +and rendered troublesome and dangerous neighbors. + +The Russian government had made representations to that of the United +States of these malpractices on the part of its citizens, and urged to +have this traffic in arms prohibited; but, as it did not infringe +any municipal law, our government could not interfere. Yet, still it +regarded, with solicitude, a traffic which, if persisted in, might give +offence to Russia, at that time almost the only friendly power to us. In +this dilemma the government had applied to Mr. Astor, as one conversant +in this branch of trade, for information that might point out a way +to remedy the evil. This circumstance had suggested to him the idea of +supplying the Russian establishment regularly by means of the annual +ship that should visit the settlement at the mouth of the Columbia (or +Oregon); by this means the casual trading vessels would be excluded +from those parts of the coast where their malpractices were so injurious +to the Russians. + +Such is a brief outline of the enterprise projected by Mr. Astor, but +which continually expanded in his mind. Indeed it is due to him to say +that he was not actuated by mere motives of individual profit. He was +already wealthy beyond the ordinary desires of man, but he now aspired +to that honorable fame which is awarded to men of similar scope of mind, +who by their great commercial enterprises have enriched nations, peopled +wildernesses, and extended the bounds of empire. He considered his +projected establishment at the mouth of the Columbia as the emporium +to an immense commerce; as a colony that would form the germ of a wide +civilization; that would, in fact, carry the American population across +the Rocky Mountains and spread it along the shores of the Pacific, as +it already animated the shores of the Atlantic. As Mr. Astor, by the +magnitude of his commercial and financial relations, and the vigor +and scope of his self-taught mind, had elevated himself into the +consideration of government and the communion and correspondence with +leading statesmen, he, at an early period, communicated his schemes +to President Jefferson, soliciting the countenance of government. How +highly they were esteemed by that eminent man, we may judge by the +following passage, written by him some time afterwards. + +"I remember well having invited your proposition on this subject,*** and +encouraged it with the assurance of every facility and protection which +the government could properly afford. I considered, as a great public +acquisition, the commencement of a settlement on that point of the +western coast of America, and looked forward with gratification to the +time when its descendants should have spread themselves through the +whole length of that coast, covering it with free and independent +Americans, unconnected with us but by the ties of blood and interest, +and enjoying like us the rights of self-government." + +The cabinet joined with Mr. Jefferson in warm approbation of the plan, +and held out assurance of every protection that could, consistently with +general policy, be afforded. Mr. Astor now prepared to carry his scheme +into prompt execution. He had some competition, however, to apprehend +and guard against. The Northwest Company, acting feebly and partially +upon the suggestions of its former agent, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, had +pushed one or two advanced trading posts across the Rocky Mountains, +into a tract of country visited by that enterprising traveller, and +since named New Caledonia. This tract lay about two degrees north of the +Columbia, and intervened between the territories of the United States +and those of Russia. Its length was about five hundred and fifty miles, +and its breadth, from the mountains to the Pacific, from three hundred +to three hundred and fifty geographic miles. + +Should the Northwest Company persist in extending their trade in that +quarter, their competition might be of serious detriment to the plans +of Mr. Astor. It is true they would contend with him to a vast +disadvantage, from the checks and restrictions to which they were +subjected. They were straitened on one side by the rivalry of the +Hudson's Bay Company; then they had no good post on the Pacific where +they could receive supplies by sea for their establishments beyond the +mountains; nor, if they had one, could they ship their furs thence to +China, that great mart for peltries; the Chinese trade being comprised +in the monopoly of the East India Company. Their posts beyond the +mountains had to be supplied in yearly expeditions, like caravans, +from Montreal, and the furs conveyed back in the same way, by long, +precarious, and expensive routes, across the continent. Mr. Astor, on +the contrary, would be able to supply his proposed establishment at +the mouth of the Columbia by sea, and to ship the furs collected there +directly to China, so as to undersell the Northwest Company in the great +Chinese market. + +Still, the competition of two rival companies west of the Rocky +Mountains could not but prove detrimental to both, and fraught with +those evils, both to the trade and to the Indians, that had attended +similar rivalries in the Canadas. To prevent any contest of the kind, +therefore, he made known his plan to the agents of the Northwest +Company, and proposed to interest them, to the extent of one third, in +the trade thus to be opened. Some correspondence and negotiation ensued. +The company were aware of the advantages which would be possessed by +Mr. Astor should he be able to carry his scheme into effect; but they +anticipated a monopoly of the trade beyond the mountains by their +establishments in New Caledonia, and were loth to share it with an +individual who had already proved a formidable competitor in the +Atlantic trade. They hoped, too, by a timely move, to secure the mouth +of the Columbia before Mr. Astor would be able to put his plans into +operation; and, that key to the internal trade once in their possession, +the whole country would be at their command. After some negotiation and +delay, therefore, they declined the proposition that had been made to +them, but subsequently despatched a party for the mouth of the Columbia, +to establish a post there before any expedition sent out by Mr. Astor +might arrive. + +In the meantime Mr. Astor, finding his overtures rejected, proceeded +fearlessly to execute his enterprise in face of the whole power of the +Northwest Company. His main establishment once planted at the mouth of +the Columbia, he looked with confidence to ultimate success. Being able +to reinforce and supply it amply by sea, he would push his interior +posts in every direction up the rivers and along the coast; supplying +the natives at a lower rate, and thus gradually obliging the Northwest +Company to give up the competition, relinquish New Caledonia, and retire +to the other side of the mountains. He would then have possession of +the trade, not merely of the Columbia and its tributaries, but of the +regions farther north, quite to the Russian possessions. Such was a part +of his brilliant and comprehensive plan. + +He now proceeded, with all diligence, to procure proper agents and +coadjutors, habituated to the Indian trade and to the life of the +wilderness. Among the clerks of the Northwest Company were several of +great capacity and experience, who had served out their probationary +terms, but who, either through lack of interest and influence, or a +want of vacancies, had not been promoted. They were consequently much +dissatisfied, and ready for any employment in which their talents and +acquirements might be turned to better account. + +Mr. Astor made his overtures to several of these persons, and three +of them entered into his views. One of these, Mr. Alexander M'Kay, had +accompanied Sir Alexander Mackenzie in both of his expeditions to the +northwest coast of America in 1789 and 1793. The other two were Duncan +M'Dougal and Donald M'Kenzie. To these were subsequently added Mr. +Wilson Price Hunt, of New Jersey. As this gentleman was a native born +citizen of the United States, a person of great probity and worth, he +was selected by Mr. Astor to be his chief agent, and to represent him in +the contemplated establishment. + +On the 23d of June, 1810, articles of agreement were entered into +between Mr. Astor and those four gentlemen, acting for themselves and +for the several persons who had already agreed to become, or should +thereafter become, associated under the firm of "The Pacific Fur +Company." + +According to these articles, Mr. Astor was to be at the head of the +company, and to manage its affairs in New York. He was to furnish +vessels, goods, provisions, arms, ammunition, and all other requisites +for the enterprise at first cost and charges, provided that they did +not, at any time, involve an advance of more than four hundred thousand +dollars. + +The stock of the company was to be divided into a hundred equal shares, +with the profits accruing thereon. Fifty shares were to be at the +disposition of Mr. Astor, and the other fifty to be divided among the +partners and their associates. + +Mr. Astor was to have the privilege of introducing other persons into +the connection as partners, two of whom, at least, should be conversant +with the Indian trade, and none of them entitled to more than three +shares. + +A general meeting of the company was to be held annually at Columbia +River, for the investigation and regulation of its affairs; at which +absent members might be represented, and might vote by proxy under +certain specified conditions. + +The association, if successful, was to continue for twenty years; but +the parties had full power to abandon and dissolve it within the first +five years, should it be found unprofitable. For this term Mr. Astor +covenanted to bear all the loss that might be incurred; after which it +was to be borne by all the partners, in proportion to their respective +shares. + +The parties of the second part were to execute faithfully such duties as +might be assigned to them by a majority of the company on the northwest +coast, and to repair to such place or places as the majority might +direct. + +An agent, appointed for the term of five years, was to reside at the +principal establishment on the northwest coast, and Wilson Price Hunt +was the one chosen for the first term. Should the interests of the +concern at any time require his absence, a person was to be appointed, +in general meeting, to take his place. + +Such were the leading conditions of this association; we shall now +proceed to relate the various hardy and eventful expeditions, by sea and +land, to which it gave rise. + + * Carver's Travels, Introd. b. iii. Philad. 1796. + + **Carver's Travels, p. 360. + + *** On this point Mr. Jefferson's memory was in error. The + proposition alluded to was the one, already mentioned, for + the establishment of an American Fur Company in the Atlantic + States. The great enterprise beyond the mountains, that was + to sweep the shores of the Pacific, originated in the mind + of Mr. Astor, and was proposed by him to the government. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + Two Expeditions Set on Foot.--The Tonquin and Her Crew.-- + Captain Thorn, His Character.--The Partners and Clerks-- + Canadian Voyageurs, Their Habits, Employments, Dress, + Character, Songs--Expedition of a Canadian Boat and Its Crew + by Land and Water.--Arrival at New York.--Preparations for a + Sea Voyage.--Northwest Braggarts.--Underhand Precautions-- + Letter of Instructions. + +IN prosecuting his great scheme of commerce and colonization, two +expeditions were devised by Mr. Astor, one by sea, the other by +land. The former was to carry out the people, stores, ammunition, and +merchandise, requisite for establishing a fortified trading post at +the mouth of Columbia River. The latter, conducted by Mr. Hunt, was to +proceed up the Missouri, and across the Rocky Mountains, to the same +point; exploring a line of communication across the continent and +noting the places where interior trading posts might be established. The +expedition by sea is the one which comes first under consideration. + +A fine ship was provided called the Tonquin, of two hundred and ninety +tons burden, mounting ten guns, with a crew of twenty men. She carried +an assortment of merchandise for trading with the natives of the +seaboard and of the interior, together with the frame of a schooner, +to be employed in the coasting trade. Seeds also were provided for the +cultivation of the soil, and nothing was neglected for the necessary +supply of the establishment. The command of the ship was intrusted to +Jonathan Thorn, of New York, a lieutenant in the United States navy, +on leave of absence. He was a man of courage and firmness, who had +distinguished himself in our Tripolitan war, and, from being accustomed +to naval discipline, was considered by Mr. Astor as well fitted to take +charge of an expedition of the kind. Four of the partners were to embark +in the ship, namely, Messrs. M'Kay, M'Dougal, David Stuart, and his +nephew, Robert Stuart. Mr. M'Dougal was empowered by Mr. Astor to act as +his proxy in the absence of Mr. Hunt, to vote for him and in his name, +on any question that might come before any meeting of the persons +interested in the voyage. + +Besides the partners, there were twelve clerks to go out in the ship, +several of them natives of Canada, who had some experience in the Indian +trade. They were bound to the service of the company for five years, at +the rate of one hundred dollars a year, payable at the expiration of +the term, and an annual equipment of clothing to the amount of forty +dollars. In case of ill conduct they were liable to forfeit their wages +and be dismissed; but, should they acquit themselves well, the confident +expectation was held out to them of promotion, and partnership. Their +interests were thus, to some extent, identified with those of the +company. + +Several artisans were likewise to sail in the ship, for the supply of +the colony; but the most peculiar and characteristic part of this motley +embarkation consisted of thirteen Canadian "voyageurs," who had enlisted +for five years. As this class of functionaries will continually recur +in the course of the following narrations, and as they form one of those +distinct and strongly marked castes or orders of people, springing up +in this vast continent out of geographical circumstances, or the varied +pursuits, habitudes, and origins of its population, we shall sketch a +few of their characteristics for the information of the reader. + +The "voyageurs" form a kind of confraternity in the Canadas, like the +arrieros, or carriers of Spain, and, like them, are employed in long +internal expeditions of travel and traffic: with this difference, that +the arrieros travel by land, the voyageurs by water; the former with +mules and horses, the latter with batteaux and canoes. The voyageurs may +be said to have sprung up out of the fur trade, having originally been +employed by the early French merchants in their trading expeditions +through the labyrinth of rivers and lakes of the boundless interior. +They were coeval with the coureurs des bois, or rangers of the woods, +already noticed, and, like them, in the intervals of their long, +arduous, and laborious expeditions, were prone to pass their time in +idleness and revelry about the trading posts or settlements; squandering +their hard earnings in heedless conviviality, and rivaling their +neighbors, the Indians, in indolent indulgence and an imprudent +disregard of the morrow. + +When Canada passed under British domination, and the old French trading +houses were broken up, the voyageurs, like the coureurs des bois, were +for a time disheartened and disconsolate, and with difficulty could +reconcile themselves to the service of the new-comers, so different in +habits, manners, and language from their former employers. By degrees, +however, they became accustomed to the change, and at length came to +consider the British fur traders, and especially the members of the +Northwest Company, as the legitimate lords of creation. + +The dress of these people is generally half civilized, half savage. +They wear a capot or surcoat, made of a blanket, a striped cotton shirt, +cloth trousers, or leathern leggins, moccasins of deer-skin, and a +belt of variegated worsted, from which are suspended the knife, +tobacco-pouch, and other implements. Their language is of the same +piebald character, being a French patois, embroidered with Indian and +English words and phrases. + +The lives of the voyageurs are passed in wild and extensive rovings, in +the service of individuals, but more especially of the fur traders. +They are generally of French descent, and inherit much of the gayety and +lightness of heart of their ancestors, being full of anecdote and song, +and ever ready for the dance. They inherit, too, a fund of civility and +complaisance; and, instead of that hardness and grossness which men in +laborious life are apt to indulge towards each other, they are mutually +obliging and accommodating; interchanging kind offices, yielding each +other assistance and comfort in every emergency, and using the familiar +appellations of "cousin" and "brother" when there is in fact no +relationship. Their natural good-will is probably heightened by a +community of adventure and hardship in their precarious and wandering +life. + +No men are more submissive to their leaders and employers, more capable +of enduring hardship, or more good-humored under privations. Never are +they so happy as when on long and rough expeditions, toiling up rivers +or coasting lakes; encamping at night on the borders, gossiping round +their fires, and bivouacking in the open air. They are dextrous boatmen, +vigorous and adroit with the oar and paddle, and will row from +morning until night without a murmur. The steersman often sings an old +traditionary French song, with some regular burden in which they all +join, keeping time with their oars; if at any time they flag in spirits +or relax in exertion, it is but necessary to strike up a song of the +kind to put them all in fresh spirits and activity. The Canadian waters +are vocal with these little French chansons, that have been echoed from +mouth to mouth and transmitted from father to son, from the earliest +days of the colony; and it has a pleasing effect, in a still golden +summer evening, to see a batteau gliding across the bosom of a lake and +dipping its oars to the cadence of these quaint old ditties, or sweeping +along in full chorus on a bright sunny morning, down the transparent +current of one of the Canada rivers. + +But we are talking of things that are fast fading away! The march of +mechanical invention is driving everything poetical before it. The +steamboats, which are fast dispelling the wildness and romance of our +lakes and rivers, and aiding to subdue the world into commonplace, are +proving as fatal to the race of the Canadian voyageurs as they have been +to that of the boatmen of the Mississippi. Their glory is departed. They +are no longer the lords of our internal seas, and the great navigators +of the wilderness. Some of them may still occasionally be seen coasting +the lower lakes with their frail barks, and pitching their camps +and lighting their fires upon the shores; but their range is fast +contracting to those remote waters and shallow and obstructed rivers +unvisited by the steamboat. In the course of years they will gradually +disappear; their songs will die away like the echoes they once awakened, +and the Canadian voyageurs will become a forgotten race, or remembered, +like their associates, the Indians, among the poetical images of past +times, and as themes for local and romantic associations. + +An instance of the buoyant temperament and the professional pride of +these people was furnished in the gay and braggart style in which they +arrived at New York to join the enterprise. They were determined to +regale and astonish the people of the "States" with the sight of a +Canadian boat and a Canadian crew. They accordingly fitted up a large +but light bark canoe, such as is used in the fur trade; transported +it in a wagon from the banks of the St. Lawrence to the shores of Lake +Champlain; traversed the lake in it, from end to end; hoisted it again +in a wagon and wheeled it off to Lansingburgh, and there launched it +upon the waters of the Hudson. Down this river they plied their course +merrily on a fine summer's day, making its banks resound for the first +time with their old French boat songs; passing by the villages with +whoop and halloo, so as to make the honest Dutch farmers mistake them +for a crew of savages. In this way they swept, in full song and with +regular flourish of the paddle, round New York, in a still summer +evening, to the wonder and admiration of its inhabitants, who had never +before witnessed on their waters, a nautical apparition of the kind. + +Such was the variegated band of adventurers about to embark in the +Tonquin on this ardous and doubtful enterprise. While yet in port and +on dry land, in the bustle of preparation and the excitement of novelty, +all was sunshine and promise. The Canadians, especially, who, with their +constitutional vivacity, have a considerable dash of the gascon, were +buoyant and boastful, and great brag arts as to the future; while all +those who had been in the service of the Northwest Company, and engaged +in the Indian trade, plumed themselves upon their hardihood and their +capacity to endure privations. If Mr. Astor ventured to hint at the +difficulties they might have to encounter, they treated them with scorn. +They were "northwesters;" men seasoned to hardships, who cared for +neither wind nor weather. They could live hard, lie hard, sleep hard, +eat dogs!--in a word they were ready to do and suffer anything for the +good of the enterprise. With all this profession of zeal and devotion, +Mr. Astor was not overconfident of the stability and firm faith of these +mercurial beings. He had received information, also, that an armed brig +from Halifax, probably at the instigation of the Northwest Company, was +hovering on the coast, watching for the Tonquin, with the purpose of +impressing the Canadians on board of her, as British subjects, and thus +interrupting the voyage. It was a time of doubt and anxiety, when +the relations between the United States and Great Britain were daily +assuming a more precarious aspect and verging towards that war which +shortly ensued. As a precautionary measure, therefore, he required +that the voyageurs, as they were about to enter into the service of +an American association, and to reside within the limits of the United +States, should take the oaths of naturalization as American citizens. +To this they readily agreed, and shortly afterward assured him that they +had actually done so. It was not until after they had sailed that he +discovered that they had entirely deceived him in the matter. + +The confidence of Mr. Astor was abused in another quarter. Two of the +partners, both of them Scotchmen, and recently in the service of the +Northwest Company, had misgivings as to an enterprise which might clash +with the interests and establishments protected by the British flag. +They privately waited upon the British minister, Mr. Jackson, then +in New York, laid open to him the whole scheme of Mr. Astor, though +intrusted to them in confidence, and dependent, in a great measure, upon +secrecy at the outset for its success, and inquired whether they, as +British subjects, could lawfully engage in it. The reply satisfied their +scruples, while the information they imparted excited the surprise +and admiration of Mr. Jackson, that a private individual should have +conceived and set on foot at his own risk and expense so great an +enterprise. + +This step on the part of those gentlemen was not known to Mr. Astor +until some time afterwards, or it might have modified the trust and +confidence reposed in them. + +To guard against any interruption to the voyage by the armed brig, said +to be off the harbor, Mr. Astor applied to Commodore Rodgers, at that +time commanding at New York, to give the Tonquin safe convoy off +the coast. The commodore having received from a high official source +assurance of the deep interest which the government took in the +enterprise, sent directions to Captain Hull, at that time cruising +off the harbor, in the frigate Constitution, to afford the Tonquin the +required protection when she should put to sea. + +Before the day of embarkation, Mr. Astor addressed a letter of +instruction to the four partners who were to sail in the ship. In this +he enjoined them, in the most earnest manner, to cultivate harmony and +unanimity, and recommended that all differences of opinions on points +connected with the objects and interests of the voyage should be +discussed by the whole, and decided by a majority of votes. He, +moreover, gave them especial caution as to their conduct on arriving at +their destined port; exhorting them to be careful to make a favorable +impression upon the wild people among whom their lot and the fortunes +of the enterprise would be cast. "If you find them kind," said he, "as +I hope you will, be so to them. If otherwise, act with caution and +forebearance, and convince them that you come as friends." + +With the same anxious forethought he wrote a letter of instructions to +Captain Thorn, in which he urged the strictest attention to the health +of himself and his crew, and to the promotion of good-humor and harmony +on board his ship. "To prevent any misunderstanding," added he, "will +require your particular good management." His letter closed with an +injunction of wariness in his intercourse with the natives, a subject on +which Mr. Astor was justly sensible he could not be too earnest. "I must +recommend you," said he, "to be particularly careful on the coast, and +not to rely too much on the friendly disposition of the natives. +All accidents which have as yet happened there arose from too much +confidence in the Indians." + +The reader will bear these instructions in mind, as events will +prove their wisdom and importance, and the disasters which ensued in +consequence of the neglect of them. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + Sailing of the Tonquin.--A Rigid Commander and a Reckless + Crew.--Landsmen on Shipboard.--Fresh-Water Sailors at Sea.-- + Lubber Nests.--Ship Fare.--A Labrador Veteran--Literary + Clerks.-Curious Travellers.--Robinson Crusoe's Island.-- + Quarter-Deck Quarrels.--Falkland Islands.--A Wild-Goose + Chase.--Port Egmont.-Epitaph Hunting.--Old Mortality-- + Penguin Shooting.--Sportsmen Left in the Lurch.--A Hard + Pull.--Further Altercations.--Arrival at Owyhee. + +ON the eighth of September, 1810, the Tonquin put to sea, where she was +soon joined by the frigate Constitution. The wind was fresh and fair +from the southwest, and the ship was soon out of sight of land and free +from the apprehended danger of interruption. The frigate, therefore, +gave her "God speed," and left her to her course. + +The harmony so earnestly enjoined by Mr. Astor on this heterogeneous +crew, and which had been so confidently promised in the buoyant moments +of preparation, was doomed to meet with a check at the very outset. + +Captain Thorn was an honest, straighforward, but somewhat dry and +dictatorial commander, who, having been nurtured in the system and +discipline of a ship of war, and in a sacred opinion of the supremacy of +the quarter-deck, was disposed to be absolute lord and master on board +of his ship. He appears, moreover, to have had no great opinion, from +the first, of the persons embarked with him--He had stood by with surly +contempt while they vaunted so bravely to Mr. Astor of all they could +do and all they could undergo; how they could face all weathers, put up +with all kinds of fare, and even eat dogs with a relish, when no better +food was to be had. He had set them down as a set of landlubbers and +braggadocios, and was disposed to treat them accordingly. Mr. Astor was, +in his eyes, his only real employer, being the father of the enterprise, +who furnished all funds and bore all losses. The others were mere agents +and subordinates, who lived at his expense. He evidently had but a +narrow idea of the scope and nature of the enterprise, limiting his +views merely to his part of it; everything beyond the concerns of +his ship was out of his sphere; and anything that interfered with the +routine of his nautical duties put him in a passion. + +The partners, on the other hand, had been brought up in the service +of the Northwest Company, and in a profound idea of the importance, +dignity, and authority of a partner. They already began to consider +themselves on a par with the M'Tavishes, the M'Gillivrays, the +Frobishers, and the other magnates of the Northwest, whom they had been +accustomed to look up to as the great ones of the earth; and they were +a little disposed, perhaps, to wear their suddenly-acquired honors with +some air of pretension. Mr. Astor, too, had put them on their mettle +with respect to the captain, describing him as a gunpowder fellow who +would command his ship in fine style, and, if there was any fighting to +do, would "blow all out of the water." + +Thus prepared to regard each other with no very cordial eye, it is not +to be wondered at that the parties soon came into collision. On the very +first night Captain Thorn began his man-of-war discipline by ordering +the lights in the cabin to be extinguished at eight o'clock. + +The pride of the partners was immediately in arms. This was an invasion +of their rights and dignities not to be borne. They were on board +of their own ship, and entitled to consult their ease and enjoyment. +M'Dougal was the champion of their cause. He was an active, irritable, +fuming, vainglorious little man, and elevated in his own opinion, by +being the proxy of Mr. Astor. A violent altercation ensued, in the +course of which Thorn threatened to put the partners in irons should +they prove refractory; upon which M'Dougal seized a pistol and swore to +be the death of the captain should he ever offer such an indignity. It +was some time before the irritated parties could be pacified by the more +temperate bystanders. + +Such was the captain's outset with the partners. Nor did the clerks +stand much higher in his good graces; indeed, he seems to have regarded +all the landsmen on board his ship as a kind of live lumber, continually +in the way. The poor voyageurs, too, continually irritated his spleen by +their "lubberly" and unseemly habits, so abhorrent to one accustomed +to the cleanliness of a man-of-war. These poor fresh-water sailors, so +vainglorious on shore, and almost amphibious when on lakes and rivers, +lost all heart and stomach the moment they were at sea. For days they +suffered the doleful rigors and retchings of sea-sickness, lurking below +in their berths in squalid state, or emerging now and then like spectres +from the hatchways, in capotes and blankets, with dirty nightcaps, +grizzly beard, lantern visage and unhappy eye, shivering about the deck, +and ever and anon crawling to the sides of the vessel, and offering up +their tributes to the windward, to infinite annoyance of the captain. + +His letters to Mr. Astor, wherein he pours forth the bitterness of his +soul, and his seamanlike impatience of what he considers the "lubberly" +character and conduct of those around him, are before us, and are +amusingly characteristic. The honest captain is full of vexation on his +own account, and solicitude on account of Mr. Astor, whose property he +considers at the mercy of a most heterogeneous and wasteful crew. + +As to the clerks, he pronounced them mere pretenders, not one of whom +had ever been among the Indians, nor farther to the northwest than +Montreal, nor of higher rank than barkeeper of a tavern or marker of a +billiard-table, excepting one, who had been a school-master, and whom he +emphatically sets down for "as foolish a pedant as ever lived." + +Then as to the artisans and laborers who had been brought from Canada +and shipped at such expense, the three most respectable, according +to the captain's account, were culprits, who had fled from Canada on +account of their misdeeds; the rest had figured in Montreal as draymen, +barbers, waiters, and carriole drivers, and were the most helpless, +worthless beings "that ever broke sea-biscuit." + +It may easily be imagined what a series of misunderstandings and +cross-purposes would be likely to take place between such a crew +and such a commander. The captain, in his zeal for the health and +cleanliness of his ship, would make sweeping visitations to the "lubber +nests" of the unlucky "voyageurs" and their companions in misery, ferret +them out of their berths, make them air and wash themselves and their +accoutrements, and oblige them to stir about briskly and take exercise. + +Nor did his disgust and vexation cease when all hands had recovered from +sea-sickness, and become accustomed to the ship, for now broke out an +alarming keenness of appetite that threatened havoc to the provisions. +What especially irritated the captain was the daintiness of some of his +cabin passengers. They were loud in their complaints of the ship's fare, +though their table was served with fresh pork, hams, tongues, smoked +beef, and puddings. "When thwarted in their cravings for delicacies," +Said he, "they would exclaim it was d-d hard they could not live as +they pleased upon their own property, being on board of their own ship, +freighted with their own merchandise. And these," added he, "are the +fine fellows who made such boast that they could 'eat dogs.'" + +In his indignation at what he termed their effeminacy, he would swear +that he would never take them to sea again "without having Fly-market on +the forecastle, Covent-garden on the poop, and a cool spring from Canada +in the maintop." + +As they proceeded on their voyage and got into the smooth seas and +pleasant weather of the tropics, other annoyances occurred to vex the +spirit of the captain. He had been crossed by the irritable mood of one +of the partners; he was now excessively annoyed by the good-humor of +another. This was the elder Stuart, who was an easy soul, and of a +social disposition. He had seen life in Canada, and on the coast of +Labrador; had been a fur trader in the former, and a fisherman on +the latter; and, in the course of his experience, had made various +expeditions with voyageurs. He was accustomed, therefore, to the +familiarity which prevails between that class and their superiors, and +the gossipings which take place among them when seated round a fire +at their encampments. Stuart was never so happy as when he could seat +himself on the deck with a number of these men round him, in camping +style, smoke together, passing the pipe from mouth to mouth, after the +manner of the Indians, sing old Canadian boat-songs, and tell stories +about their hardships and adventures, in the course of which he rivaled +Sinbad in his long tales of the sea, about his fishing exploits on the +coast of Labrador. + +This gossiping familiarity shocked the captain's notions of rank and +subordination, and nothing was so abhorrent to him as the community +of pipe between master and man, and their mingling in chorus in the +outlandish boat-songs. + +Then there was another whimsical source of annoyance to him. Some of the +young clerks, who were making their first voyage, and to whom everything +was new and strange, were, very rationally, in the habit of taking notes +and keeping journals. This was a sore abomination to the honest captain, +who held their literary pretensions in great contempt. "The collecting +of materials for long histories of their voyages and travels," said +he, in his letter to Mr. Astor, "appears to engross most of their +attention." We can conceive what must have been the crusty impatience of +the worthy navigator, when, on any trifling occurrence in the course of +the voyage, quite commonplace in his eyes, he saw these young landsmen +running to record it in their journals; and what indignant glances he +must have cast to right and left, as he worried about the deck, giving +out his orders for the management of the ship, surrounded by singing, +smoking, gossiping, scribbling groups, all, as he thought, intent upon +the amusement of the passing hour, instead of the great purposes and +interests of the voyage. + +It is possible the captain was in some degree right in his notions. +Though some of the passengers had much to gain by the voyage, none of +them had anything positively to lose. They were mostly young men, in the +heyday of life; and having got into fine latitudes, upon smooth seas, +with a well-stored ship under them, and a fair wind in the shoulder +of the sail, they seemed to have got into a holiday world, and were +disposed to enjoy it. That craving desire, natural to untravelled men of +fresh and lively minds, to see strange lands, and to visit scenes famous +in history or fable, was expressed by some of the partners and clerks, +with respect to some of the storied coasts and islands that lay within +their route. The captain, however, who regarded every coast and island +with a matter-of-fact eye, and had no more associations connected +with them than those laid down in his sea-chart, considered all this +curiosity as exceedingly idle and childish. "In the first part of the +voyage," says he in his letter, "they were determined to have it said +they had been in Africa, and therefore insisted on stopping at the +Cape de Verdes. Next they said the ship should stop on the coast of +Patagonia, for they must see the large and uncommon inhabitants of that +place. Then they must go to the island where Robinson Crusoe had so long +lived. And lastly, they were determined to see the handsome inhabitants +of Easter Island." + +To all these resolves, the captain opposed his peremptory veto, as +"contrary to instructions." Then would break forth an unavailing +explosion of wrath on the part of certain of the partners, in the course +of which they did not even spare Mr. Astor for his act of supererogation +in furnishing orders for the control of the ship while they were on +board, instead of leaving them to be the judges where it would be best +for her to touch, and how long to remain. The choleric M'Dougal took the +lead in these railings, being, as has been observed, a little puffed up +with the idea of being Mr. Astor's proxy. + +The captain, however, became only so much the more crusty and dogged in +his adherence to his orders, and touchy and harsh in his dealings with +the passengers, and frequent altercations ensued. He may in some measure +have been influenced by his seamanlike impatience of the interference +of landsmen, and his high notions of naval etiquette and quarter-deck +authority; but he evidently had an honest, trusty concern for the +interests of his employer. He pictured to himself the anxious projector +of the enterprise, who had disbursed so munificently in its outfit, +calculating on the zeal, fidelity, and singleness of purpose of his +associates and agents; while they, on the other hand, having a good ship +at their disposal and a deep pocket at home to bear them out, seemed +ready to loiter on every coast, and amuse themselves in every port. + +On the fourth of December they came in sight of the Falkland Islands. +Having been for some time on an allowance of water, it was resolved to +anchor here and obtain a supply. A boat was sent into a small bay to +take soundings. Mr. M'Dougal and Mr. M'Kay took this occasion to go on +shore, but with a request from the captain that they would not detain +the ship. Once on shore, however, they were in no haste to obey his +orders, but rambled about in search of curiosities. The anchorage +proving unsafe, and water difficult to be procured, the captain stood +out to sea, and made repeated signals for those on shore to rejoin the +ship, but it was not until nine at night that they came on board. + +The wind being adverse, the boat was again sent on shore on the +following morning, and the same gentlemen again landed, but promised to +come off at a moment's warning; they again forgot their promise in their +eager pursuit of wild geese and seawolves. After a time the wind hauled +fair, and signals were made for the boat. Half an hour elapsed but no +boat put off. The captain reconnoitered the shore with his glass, and, +to his infinite vexation, saw the loiterers in the full enjoyment of +their "wildgoose-chase." Nettled to the quick, he immediately made sail. +When those on shore saw the ship actually under way, they embarked with +all speed, but had a hard pull of eight miles before they got on board, +and then experienced but a grim reception, notwithstanding that they +came well laden with the spoils of the chase. + +Two days afterwards, on the seventh of December, they anchored at Fort +Egmont, in the same island, where they remained four days taking in +water and making repairs. This was a joyous time for the landsmen. They +pitched a tent on shore, had a boat at their command, and passed their +time merrily in rambling about the island, and coasting along the +shores, shooting sealions, seals, foxes, geese, ducks, and penguins. +None were keener in pursuit of this kind of game than M'Dougal and +David Stuart; the latter was reminded of aquatic sports on the coast of +Labrador, and his hunting exploits in the Northwest. + +In the meantime the captain addressed himself steadily to the business +of his ship, scorning the holiday spirit and useless pursuits of his +emancipated messmates, and warning them, from time to time, not to +wander away nor be out of hail. They promised, as usual, that the ship +should never experience a moment's detention on their account, but, as +usual, forgot their promise. + +On the morning of the 11th, the repairs being all finished, and the +water casks replenished, the signal was given to embark, and the ship +began to weigh anchor. At this time several of the passengers were +dispersed about the island, amusing themselves in various ways. Some of +the young men had found two inscriptions, in English, over a place where +two unfortunate mariners had been buried in this desert island. As the +inscriptions were worn out by the time and weather, they were playing +the part of "Old Mortality," and piously renewing them. The signal from +the ship summoned them from their labors; they saw the sails unfurled, +and that she was getting under way. The two sporting partners, however, +Mr. M'Dougal and David Stuart, had strolled away to the south of the +island in pursuit of penguins. It would never do to put off without +them, as there was but one boat to convey the whole. + +While this delay took place on shore, the captain was storming on board. +This was the third time his orders had been treated with contempt, and +the ship wantonly detained, and it should be the last; so he spread all +sail and put to sea, swearing he would leave the laggards to shift for +themselves. It was in vain that those on board made remonstrances and +entreaties, and represented the horrors of abandoning men upon a sterile +and uninhabited island; the sturdy captain was inflexible. + +In the meantime the penguin hunters had joined the engravers of +tombstones, but not before the ship was already out at sea. They all, to +the number of eight, threw themselves into their boat, which was about +twenty feet in length, and rowed with might and main. For three hours +and a half did they tug anxiously and severely at the oar, swashed +occasionally by the surging waves of the open sea, while the ship +inexorably kept on her course, and seemed determined to leave them +behind. + +On board the ship was the nephew of David Stuart, a young man of spirit +and resolution. Seeing, as he thought, the captain obstinately bent +upon abandoning his uncle and the others, he seized a pistol, and in a +paroxysm of wrath swore he would blow out the captain's brains, unless +he put about or shortened sail. + +Fortunately for all parties, the wind just then came ahead, and the boat +was enabled to reach the ship; otherwise, disastrous circumstances might +have ensued. We can hardly believe that the captain really intended to +carry his threat into full effect, and rather think he meant to let the +laggards off for a long pull and a hearty fright. He declared, however, +in his letter to Mr. Astor, that he was serious in his threats, and +there is no knowing how far such an iron man may push his notions of +authority. + +"Had the wind," writes he, "(unfortunately) not hauled ahead soon after +leaving the harbor's mouth, I should positively have left them; and, +indeed, I cannot but think it an unfortunate circumstance for you +that it so happened, for the first loss in this instance would, in my +opinion, have proved the best, as they seem to have no idea of the +value of property, nor any apparent regard for your interest, although +interwoven with their own." + +This, it must be confessed, was acting with a high hand, and carrying +a regard to the owner's property to a dangerous length. Various petty +feuds occurred also between him and the partners in respect to the goods +on board ship, some articles of which they wished to distribute +for clothing among the men, or for other purposes which they deemed +essential. The captain, however, kept a mastiff watch upon the cargo, +and growled and snapped if they but offered to touch box or bale. "It +was contrary to orders; it would forfeit his insurance; it was out of +all rule." It was in vain they insisted upon their right to do so, as +part owners, and as acting for the good of the enterprise; the captain +only stuck to his point the more stanchly. They consoled themselves, +therefore, by declaring, that as soon as they made land, they would +assert their rights, and do with ship and cargo as they pleased. + +Beside these feuds between the captain and the partners, there were +feuds between the partners themselves, occasioned, in some measure, by +jealousy of rank. M'Dougal and M'Kay began to draw plans for the fort, +and other buildings of the intended establishment. They agreed very well +as to the outline and dimensions, which were on a sufficiently grand +scale; but when they came to arrange the details, fierce disputes arose, +and they would quarrel by the hour about the distribution of the doors +and windows. Many were the hard words and hard names bandied between +them on these occasions, according to the captain's account. Each +accused the other of endeavoring to assume unwarrantable power, and take +the lead; upon which Mr. M'Dougal would vauntingly lay down Mr. Astor's +letter, constituting him his representative and proxy, a document not to +be disputed. + +These wordy contests, though violent, were brief; "and within fifteen +minutes," says the captain, "they would be caressing each other like +children." + +While all this petty anarchy was agitating the little world within the +Tonquin, the good ship prosperously pursued her course, doubled Cape +Horn on the 25th of December, careered across the bosom of the Pacific, +until, on the 11th of February, the snowy peaks of Owyhee were seen +brightening above the horizon. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + Owyhee.--Sandwich Islanders--Their Nautical Talents.-- + Tamaahmaah.--His Navy.--His Negotiations.--Views of Mr. + Astor With Respect to the Sandwich Islands--Karakakooa.-- + Royal Monopoly of Pork.-Description of the Islanders-- + Gayeties on Shore.--Chronicler of the Island.--Place + Where Captain Cook was Killed.--John Young, a Nautical + Governor.--His Story.--Waititi--A Royal Residence.--A Royal + Visit--Grand Ceremonials.--Close Dealing--A Royal Pork + Merchant--Grievances of a Matter-of-Fact Man. + +OWYHEE, or Hawaii, as it is written by more exact orthographers, is the +largest of the cluster, ten in number, of the Sandwich Islands. It is +about ninety-seven miles in length, and seventy-eight in breadth, rising +gradually into three pyramidal summits or cones; the highest, Mouna +Roa, being eighteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, so as to +domineer over the whole archipelago, and to be a landmark over a wide +extent of ocean. It remains a lasting monument of the enterprising +and unfortunate Captain Cook, who was murdered by the natives of this +island. + +The Sandwich Islanders, when first discovered, evinced a character +superior to most of the savages of the Pacific isles. They were frank +and open in their deportment, friendly and liberal in their dealings, +with an apt ingenuity apparent in all their rude inventions. + +The tragical fate of the discoverer, which, for a time, brought them +under the charge of ferocity, was, in fact, the result of sudden +exasperation, caused by the seizure of their chief. + +At the time of the visit of the Tonquin, the islanders had profited, in +many respects, by occasional intercourse with white men; and had shown a +quickness to observe and cultivate those arts important to their mode +of living. Originally they had no means of navigating the seas by which +they were surrounded, superior to light pirogues, which were little +competent to contend with the storms of the broad ocean. As the +islanders are not in sight of each other, there could, therefore, be but +casual intercourse between them. The traffic with white men had put +them in possession of vessels of superior description; they had made +themselves acquainted with their management, and had even made rude +advances in the art of ship-building. + +These improvements had been promoted, in a great measure, by the energy +and sagacity of one man, the famous Tamaahmaah. He had originally been +a petty eri, or chief; but, being of an intrepid and aspiring nature, he +had risen in rank, and, availing himself of the superior advantages now +afforded in navigation, had brought the whole archipelago in subjection +to his arms. At the time of the arrival of the Tonquin he had about +forty schooners, of from twenty to thirty tons burden, and one old +American ship. With these he held undisputed sway over his insular +domains, and carried on intercourse with the chiefs or governors whom he +had placed in command of the several islands. + +The situation of this group of islands, far in the bosom of the +vast Pacific, and their abundant fertility, render them important +stopping-places on the highway to China, or to the northwest coast +of America. Here the vessels engaged in the fur trade touched to make +repairs and procure provisions; and here they often sheltered themselves +during the winters that occurred in their long coasting expeditions. + +The British navigators were, from the first, aware of the value of these +islands to the purposes of commerce; and Tamaahmaah, not long after +he had attained the sovereign sway, was persuaded by Vancouver, the +celebrated discoverer, to acknowledge, on behalf of himself, and +subjects, allegiance to the king of Great Britain. The reader cannot but +call to mind the visit which the royal family and court of the Sandwich +Islands was, in late years, induced to make to the court of St. James; +and the serio-comic ceremonials and mock parade which attended that +singular travesty of monarchal style. + +It was a part of the wide and comprehensive plan of Mr. Astor to +establish a friendly intercourse between these islands and his intended +colony, which might, for a time, have occasion to draw supplies thence; +and he even had a vague idea of, some time or other, getting possession +of one of their islands as a rendezvous for his ships, and a link in the +chain of his commercial establishments. + +On the evening of the 12th of February, the Tonquin anchored in the bay +of Karakakooa, in the island of Owyhee. The surrounding shores were wild +and broken, with overhanging cliffs and precipices of black volcanic +rock. Beyond these, however, the country was fertile and well +cultivated, with inclosures of yams, plantains, sweet potatoes, +sugar-canes, and other productions of warm climates and teeming soils; +and the numerous habitations of the natives were pleasantly sheltered +beneath clumps of cocoanut and bread-fruit trees, which afforded both +food and shade. This mingled variety of garden and grove swept gradually +up the sides of the mountains, until succeeded by dense forests, which +in turn gave place to naked and craggy rocks, until the summits rose +into the regions of perpetual snow. + +The royal residence of Tamaahmaah was at this time at another island +named Woahoo. The island of Owyhee was under the command of one of his +eris, or chiefs, who resided at the village of Tocaigh, situated on a +different part of the coast from the bay of Karakakooa. + +On the morning after her arrival, the ship was surrounded by canoes and +pirogues, filled with the islanders of both sexes, bringing off supplies +of fruits and vegetables, bananas, plantains, watermelons, yams, +cabbages and taro. The captain was desirous, however, of purchasing a +number of hogs, but there were none to be had--The trade in pork was a +royal monopoly, and no subject of the great Tamaahmaah dared to meddle +with it. Such provisions as they could furnish, however, were brought +by the natives in abundance, and a lively intercourse was kept up during +the day, in which the women mingled in the kindest manner. + +The islanders are a comely race, of a copper complexion. The men are +tall and well made, with forms indicating strength and activity; the +women with regular and occasionally handsome features, and a lascivious +expression, characteristic of their temperament. Their style of dress +was nearly the same as in the days of Captain Cook. The men wore the +maro, a band one foot in width and several feet in length, swathed round +the loins, and formed of tappa, or cloth of bark; the kihei, or mantle, +about six feet square, tied in a knot over one shoulder, passed under +the opposite arm, so as to leave it bare, and falling in graceful folds +before and behind, to the knee, so as to bear some resemblance to a +Roman toga. + +The female dress consisted of the pau, a garment formed of a piece +of tappa, several yards in length and one in width, wrapped round the +waist, and reaching like a petticoat, to the knees. Over this kihei, or +mantle, larger than that of the men, sometimes worn over both shoulders, +like a shawl, sometimes over one only. These mantles were seldom worn +by either sex during the heat of the day, when the exposure of their +persons was at first very revolting to a civilized eye. + +Towards evening several of the partners and clerks went on shore, +where they were well received and hospitably entertained. A dance was +performed for their amusement, in which nineteen young women and one man +figured very gracefully, singing in concert, and moving to the cadence +of their song. + +All this, however, was nothing to the purpose in the eyes of Captain +Thorn, who, being disappointed in his hope of obtaining a supply of +pork, or finding good water, was anxious to be off. This it was not so +easy to effect. The passengers, once on shore, were disposed, as usual, +to profit by the occasion. The partners had many inquiries to make +relative to the island, with a view to business; while the young clerks +were delighted with the charms and graces of the dancing damsels. + +To add to their gratifications, an old man offered to conduct them to +the spot where Captain Cook was massacred. The proposition was eagerly +accepted, and all hands set out on a pilgrimage to the place. The +veteran islander performed his promise faithfully, and pointed out +the very spot where the unfortunate discoverer fell. The rocks and +cocoa-trees around bore record of the fact, in the marks of the balls +fired from the boats upon the savages. The pilgrims gathered round +the old man, and drew from him all the particulars he had to relate +respecting this memorable event; while the honest captain stood by and +bit his nails with impatience. To add to his vexation, they employed +themselves in knocking off pieces of the rocks, and cutting off the bark +of the trees marked by the balls, which they conveyed back to the ship +as precious relics. + +Right glad, therefore, was he to get them and their treasures fairly on +board, when he made sail from this unprofitable place, and steered +for the Bay of Tocaigh, the residence of the chief or governor of the +island, where he hoped to be more successful in obtaining supplies. On +coming to anchor the captain went on shore, accompanied by Mr. M'Dougal +and Mr. M'Kay, and paid a visit to the governor. This dignitary proved +to be an old sailor, by the name of John Young; who, after being tossed +about the seas like another Sinbad, had, by one of the whimsical freaks +of fortune, been elevated to the government of a savage island. He +received his visitors with more hearty familiarity than personages in +his high station are apt to indulge, but soon gave them to understand +that provisions were scanty at Tocaigh, and that there was no good +water, no rain having fallen in the neighborhood in three years. + +The captain was immediately for breaking up the conference and +departing, but the partners were not so willing to part with the +nautical governor, who seemed disposed to be extremely communicative, +and from whom they might be able to procure some useful information. A +long conversation accordingly ensued, in the course of which they +made many inquiries about the affairs of the islands, their natural +productions, and the possibility of turning them to advantage in the way +of trade; nor did they fail to inquire into the individual history of +John Young, and how he came to be governor. This he gave with great +condescension, running through the whole course of his fortunes "even +from his boyish days." + +He was a native of Liverpool, in England, and had followed the sea from +boyhood, until, by dint of good conduct, he had risen so far in his +profession as to be boatswain of an American ship called the Eleanor, +commanded by Captain Metcalf. In this vessel he had sailed in 1789, +on one of those casual expeditions to the northwest coast, in quest of +furs. In the course of the voyage, the captain left a small schooner, +named the Fair American, at Nootka, with a crew of five men, commanded +by his son, a youth of eighteen. She was to follow on in the track of +the Eleanor. + +In February, 1790, Captain Metcalf touched at the island of Mowee, one +of the Sandwich group. While anchored here, a boat which was astern +of the Eleanor was stolen, and a seaman who was in it was killed. The +natives, generally, disclaimed the outrage, and brought the shattered +remains of the boat and the dead body of the seaman to the ship. +Supposing that they had thus appeased the anger of the captain, they +thronged, as usual, in great numbers about the vessel, to trade. Captain +Metcalf, however, determined on a bloody revenge. The Eleanor mounted +ten guns. All these he ordered to be loaded with musket-balls, nails, +and pieces of old iron, and then fired them, and the small arms of the +ship, among the natives. The havoc was dreadful; more than a hundred, +according to Young's account, were slain. + +After this signal act of vengeance, Captain Metcalf sailed from Mowee, +and made for the island of Owyhee, where he was well received by +Tamaahmaah. The fortunes of this warlike chief were at that time on the +rise. He had originally been of inferior rank, ruling over only one or +two districts of Owyhee, but had gradually made himself sovereign of his +native island. + +The Eleanor remained some few days at anchor here, and an apparently +friendly intercourse was kept up with the inhabitants. On the 17th +March, John Young obtained permission to pass the night on shore. On the +following morning a signal-gun summoned him to return on board. + +He went to the shore to embark, but found all the canoes hauled up on +the beach and rigorously tabooed, or interdicted. He would have launched +one himself, but was informed by Tamaahmaah that if he presumed to do so +he would be put to death. + +Young was obliged to submit, and remained all day in great perplexity to +account for this mysterious taboo, and fearful that some hostility was +intended. In the evening he learned the cause of it, and his uneasiness +was increased. It appeared that the vindictive act of Captain Metcalf +had recoiled upon his own head. The schooner Fair American, commanded +by his son, following in his track, had fallen into the hands of the +natives to the southward of Tocaigh Bay, and young Metcalf and four of +the crew had been massacred. + +On receiving intelligence of this event, Tamaahmaah had immediately +tabooed all the canoes, and interdicted all intercourse with the ship, +lest the captain should learn the fate of the schooner, and take his +revenge upon the island. For the same reason he prevented Young from +rejoining his countrymen. The Eleanor continued to fire signals from +time to time for two days, and then sailed; concluding, no doubt, that +the boatswain had deserted. + +John Young was in despair when he saw the ship make sail; and found +himself abandoned among savages;-and savages, too, sanguinary in +their character, and inflamed by acts of hostility. He was agreeably +disappointed, however, in experiencing nothing but kind treatment from +Tamaahmaah and his people. It is true, he was narrowly watched whenever +a vessel came in sight, lest he should escape and relate what had +passed; but at other times he was treated with entire confidence and +great distinction. He became a prime favorite, cabinet counsellor, and +active coadjutor of Tamaahmaah, attending him in all his excursions, +whether of business or pleasure, and aiding in his warlike and ambitious +enterprises. By degrees he rose to the rank of a chief, espoused one of +the beauties of the island, and became habituated and reconciled to his +new way of life; thinking it better, perhaps, to rule among savages +than serve among white men; to be a feathered chief than a tarpaulin +boatswain. His favor with Tamahmaah, never declined; and when that +sagacious, intrepid, and aspiring chieftain had made himself sovereign +over the whole group of islands, and removed his residence to Woahoo, he +left his faithful adherent John Young in command of Owyhee. + +Such is an outline of the history of Governor Young, as furnished by +himself; and we regret that we are not able to give any account of the +state maintained by this seafaring worthy, and the manner in which he +discharged his high functions; though it is evident he had more of +the hearty familiarity of the forecastle than the dignity of the +gubernatorial office. + +These long conferences were bitter trials to the patience of the +captain, who had no respect either for the governor or his island, and +was anxious to push on in quest of provisions and water. As soon as +he could get his inquisitive partners once more on board, he weighed +anchor, and made sail for the island of Woahoo, the royal residence of +Tamaahmaah. + +This is the most beautiful island of the Sandwich group. It is forty-six +miles in length and twenty-three in breadth. A ridge of volcanic +mountains extends through the centre, rising into lofty peaks, and +skirted by undulating hills and rich plains, where the cabins of the +natives peep out from beneath groves of cocoanut and other luxuriant +trees. + +On the 21st of February the Tonquin cast anchor in the beautiful bay +before the village of Waititi, (pronounced Whyteetee.) the abode of +Tamaahmaah. This village contained about two hundred habitations, +composed of poles set in the ground, tied together at the ends, and +thatched with grass, and was situated in an open grove of cocoanuts. The +royal palace of Tamaahmaah was a large house of two stories; the lower +of stone, the upper of wood. Round this his body-guard kept watch, +composed of twenty-four men in long blue cassocks, turned up with +yellow, and each armed with a musket. + +While at anchor at this place, much ceremonious visiting and long +conferences took place between the potentate of the islands and the +partners of the company. Tamaahmaah came on board of the ship in royal +style, in his double pirogue. He was between fifty and sixty years +of age, above the middle size, large and well made, though somewhat +corpulent. He was dressed in an old suit of regimentals, with a sword +by his side, and seemed somewhat embarrassed by his magnificent attire. +Three of his wives accompanied him. They were almost as tall, and quite +as corpulent as himself; but by no means to be compared with him in +grandeur of habiliments, wearing no other garb than the pan. With him, +also, came his great favorite and confidential counseller, Kraimaker; +who, from holding a post equivalent to that of prime minister, had been +familiarly named Billy Pitt by the British visitors to the islands. + +The sovereign was received with befitting ceremonial. The American +flag was displayed, four guns were fired, and the partners appeared +in scarlet coats, and conducted their illustrious guests to the cabin, +where they were regaled with wine. In this interview the partners +endeavored to impress the monarch with a sense of their importance, and +of the importance of the association to which they belonged. They let +him know that they were eris, or chiefs, of a great company about to +be established on the northwest coast, and talked of the probability +of opening a trade with his islands, and of sending ships there +occasionally. All this was gratifying and interesting to him, for he +was aware of the advantages of trade, and desirous of promoting frequent +intercourse with white men. He encouraged Europeans and Americans to +settle in his islands and intermarry with his subjects. There were +between twenty and thirty white men at that time resident in the island, +but many of them were mere vagabonds, who remained there in hopes +of leading a lazy and an easy life. For such Tamaahmaah had a great +contempt; those only had his esteem and countenance who knew some trade +or mechanic art, and were sober and industrious. + +On the day subsequent to the monarch's visit, the partners landed and +waited upon him in return. Knowing the effect of show and dress upon men +in savage life, and wishing to make a favorable impression as the eris, +or chiefs, of the great American Fur Company, some of them appeared in +Highland plaids and kilts to the great admiration of the natives. + +While visits of ceremony and grand diplomatic conferences were going +on between the partners and the king, the captain, in his plain, +matter-of-fact way, was pushing what he considered a far more important +negotiation; the purchase of a supply of hogs. He found that the king +had profited in more ways than one by his intercourse with white men. +Above all other arts he had learned the art of driving a bargain. He was +a magnanimous monarch, but a shrewd pork merchant; and perhaps thought +he could not do better with his future allies, the American Fur Company, +than to begin by close dealing. Several interviews were requisite, and +much bargaining, before he could be brought to part with a bristle of +his bacon, and then he insisted upon being paid in hard Spanish dollars; +giving as a reason that he wanted money to purchase a frigate from his +brother George, as he affectionately termed the king of England. * + +At length the royal bargain was concluded; the necessary supply of hogs +obtained, besides several goats, two sheep, a quantity of poultry, and +vegetables in abundance. The partners now urged to recruit their forces +from the natives of this island. They declared they had never seen +watermen equal to them, even among the voyageurs of the Northwest; and, +indeed, they are remarkable for their skill in managing their light +craft, and can swim and dive like waterfowl. The partners were inclined, +therefore, to take thirty or forty with them to the Columbia, to be +employed in the service of the company. The captain, however, objected +that there was not room in his vessel for the accommodation of such a +number. Twelve, only, were therefore enlisted for the company, and as +many more for the service of the ship. The former engaged to serve for +the term of three years, during which they were to be fed and clothed; +and at the expiration of the time were to receive one hundred dollars in +merchandise. + +And now, having embarked his live-stock, fruits, vegetables, and water, +the captain made ready to set sail. How much the honest man had +suffered in spirit by what he considered the freaks and vagaries of +his passengers, and how little he had understood their humors and +intentions, is amusingly shown in a letter written to Mr. Astor from +Woahoo, which contains his comments on the scenes we have described. + +"It would be difficult," he writes, "to imagine the frantic gambols +that are daily played off here; sometimes dressing in red coats, and +otherwise very fantastically, and collecting a number of ignorant +natives around them, telling them that they are the great eris of the +Northwest, and making arrangements for sending three or four vessels +yearly to them from the coast with spars, &c.; while those very natives +cannot even furnish a hog to the ship. Then dressing in Highland plaids +and kilts, and making similar arrangements, with presents of rum, wine, +or anything that is at hand. Then taking a number of clerks and men +on shore to the very spot on which Captain Cook was killed, and each +fetching off a piece of the rock or tree that was touched by the shot. +Then sitting down with some white man or some native who can be a little +understood, and collecting the history of those islands, of Tamaahmaah's +wars, the curiosities of the islands, &c., preparatory to the +histories of their voyages; and the collection is indeed ridiculously +contemptible. To enumerate the thousand instances of ignorance, filth, +&c.,--or to particularize all the frantic gambols that are daily +practiced, would require Volumes." + +Before embarking, the great eris of the American Fur Company took leave +of their illustrious ally in due style, with many professions of lasting +friendship and promises of future intercourse; while the matter-of-fact +captain anathematized him in his heart for a grasping, trafficking +savage; as shrewd and sordid in his dealings as a white man. As one of +the vessels of the company will, in the course of events, have to appeal +to the justice and magnanimity of this island potentate, we shall see +how far the honest captain was right in his opinion. + + * It appears, from the accounts of subsequent voyagers, that + Tamaahmaah afterwards succeeded in his wish of purchasing a + large ship. In this he sent a cargo of sandal-wood to + Canton, having discovered that the foreign merchants trading + with him made large profits on this wood, shipped by them + from the islands to the Chinese markets. The ship was manned + by natives, but the officers were Englishmen. She + accomplished her voyage, and returned in safety to the + islands, with the Hawaiian flag floating gloriously in the + breeze. The king hastened on board, expecting to find his + sandal-wood converted into crapes and damasks, and other + rich stuffs of China, but found, to his astonishment, by the + legerdemain of traffic, his cargo had all disappeared, and, + in place of it, remained a bill of charges amounting to + three thousand dollars. It was some time before he could be + made to comprehend certain of the most important items of + the bill, such as pilotage, anchorage, and custom-house + fees; but when he discovered that maritime states in other + countries derived large revenues in this manner, to the + great cost of the merchant, "Well," cried he, "then I will + have harbor fees also." He established them accordingly. + Pilotage a dollar a foot on the draft of each vessel. + Anchorage from sixty to seventy dollars. In this way he + greatly increased the royal revenue, and turned his China + speculation to account. + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + Departure From the Sandwich Islands.--Misunderstandings-- + Miseries of a Suspicious Man.--Arrival at the Columbia-- + Dangerous Service.--Gloomy Apprehensions--Bars and + Breakers.--Perils of the Ship. Disasters of a Boat's Crew.-- + Burial of a Sandwich Islander. + +IT was on the 28th of February that the Tonquin set sail from the +Sandwich Islands. For two days the wind was contrary, and the vessel was +detained in their neighborhood; at length a favorable breeze sprang up, +and in a little while the rich groves, green hills, and snowy peaks of +those happy islands one after another sank from sight, or melted into +the blue distance, and the Tonquin ploughed her course towards the +sterner regions of the Pacific. + +The misunderstandings between the captain and his passengers still +continued; or rather, increased in gravity. By his altercations and his +moody humors, he had cut himself off from all community of thought, or +freedom of conversation with them. He disdained to ask questions as +to their proceedings, and could only guess at the meaning of their +movements, and in so doing indulged in conjectures and suspicions, which +produced the most whimsical self-torment. + +Thus, in one of his disputes with them, relative to the goods on board, +some of the packages of which they wished to open, to take out articles +of clothing for the men or presents for the natives, he was so harsh and +peremptory that they lost all patience, and hinted that they were the +strongest party, and might reduce him to a very ridiculous dilemma, by +taking from him the command. + +A thought now flashed across the captain's mind that they really had +a plan to depose him, and that, having picked up some information at +Owyhee, possibly of war between the United States and England, they +meant to alter the destination of the voyage; perhaps to seize upon ship +and cargo for their own use. + +Once having conceived this suspicion, everything went to foster it. They +had distributed fire-arms among some of their men, a common precaution +among the fur traders when mingling with the natives. This, however, +looked like preparation. Then several of the partners and clerks and +some of the men, being Scotsmen, were acquainted with the Gaelic, and +held long conversations together in that language. These conversations +were considered by the captain of a "mysterious and unwarranted nature," +and related, no doubt, to some foul conspiracy that was brewing among +them. He frankly avows such suspicions, in his letter to Mr. Astor, but +intimates that he stood ready to resist any treasonous outbreak; and +seems to think that the evidence of preparation on his part had an +effect in overawing the conspirators. + +The fact is, as we have since been informed by one of the parties, it +was a mischievous pleasure with some of the partners and clerks, who +were young men, to play upon the suspicious temper and splenetic humors +of the captain. To this we may ascribe many of their whimsical pranks +and absurd propositions, and, above all, their mysterious colloquies in +Gaelic. + +In this sore and irritable mood did the captain pursue his course, +keeping a wary eye on every movement, and bristling up whenever the +detested sound of the Gaelic language grated upon his ear. Nothing +occurred, however, materially to disturb the residue of the voyage +excepting a violent storm; and on the twenty-second of March, the +Tonquin arrived at the mouth of the Oregon, or Columbia River. + +The aspect of the river and the adjacent coast was wild and dangerous. +The mouth of the Columbia is upwards of four miles wide with a peninsula +and promontory on one side, and a long low spit of land on the other; +between which a sand bar and chain of breakers almost block the +entrance. The interior of the country rises into successive ranges +of mountains, which, at the time of the arrival of the Tonquin, were +covered with snow. + +A fresh wind from the northwest sent a rough tumbling sea upon the +coast, which broke upon the bar in furious surges, and extended a sheet +of foam almost across the mouth of the river. Under these circumstances +the captain did not think it prudent to approach within three leagues, +until the bar should be sounded and the channel ascertained. Mr. +Fox, the chief mate, was ordered to this service in the whaleboat, +accompanied by John Martin, an old seaman, who had formerly visited the +river, and by three Canadians. Fox requested to have regular sailors to +man the boat, but the captain would not spare them from the service of +the ship, and supposed the Canadians, being expert boatmen on lakes +and rivers, were competent to the service, especially when directed and +aided by Fox and Martin. Fox seems to have lost all firmness of spirit +on the occasion, and to have regarded the service with a misgiving +heart. He came to the partners for sympathy, knowing their differences +with the captain, and the tears were in his eyes as he represented +his case. "I am sent off," said he, "without seamen to man my boat, +in boisterous weather, and on the most dangerous part of the northwest +coast. My uncle was lost a few years ago on this same bar, and I am now +going to lay my bones alongside of his." The partners sympathized in his +apprehensions, and remonstrated with the captain. The latter, however, +was not to be moved. He had been displeased with Mr. Fox in the earlier +part of the voyage, considering him indolent and inactive; and probably +thought his present repugnance arose from a want of true nautical +spirit. The interference of the partners in the business of the ship, +also, was not calculated to have a favorable effect on a stickler +for authority like himself, especially in his actual state of feeling +towards them. + +At one o'clock, P.M., therefore, Fox and his comrades set off in +the whaleboat, which is represented as small in size, and crazy in +condition. All eyes were strained after the little bark as it pulled for +shore, rising and sinking with the huge rolling waves, until it entered, +a mere speck, among the foaming breakers, and was soon lost to view. +Evening set in, night succeeded and passed away, and morning returned, +but without the return of the boat. + +As the wind had moderated, the ship stood near to the land, so as to +command a view of the river's mouth. Nothing was to be seen but a wild +chaos of tumbling waves breaking upon the bar, and apparently forming a +foaming barrier from shore to shore. Towards night the ship again stood +out to gain sea-room, and a gloom was visible in every countenance. The +captain himself shared in the general anxiety, and probably repented +of his peremptory orders. Another weary and watchful night succeeded, +during which the wind subsided, and the weather became serene. + +On the following day, the ship having drifted near the land, anchored +in fourteen fathoms water, to the northward of the long peninsula or +promontory which forms the north side of the entrance, and is called +Cape Disappointment. The pinnace was then manned, and two of the +partners, Mr. David Stuart and Mr. M'Kay, set off in the hope of +learning something of the fate of the whaleboat. The surf, however, +broke with such violence along the shore that they could find no landing +place. Several of the natives appeared on the beach and made signs to +them to row round the cape, but they thought it most prudent to return +to the ship. + +The wind now springing up, the Tonquin got under way, and stood in to +seek the channel; but was again deterred by the frightful aspect of +the breakers, from venturing within a league. Here she hove to; and +Mr. Mumford, the second mate, was despatched with four hands, in the +pinnace, to sound across the channel until he should find four fathoms +depth. The pinnace entered among the breakers, but was near being lost, +and with difficulty got back to the ship. The captain insisted that +Mr. Mumford had steered too much to the southward. He now turned to Mr. +Aiken, an able mariner, destined to command the schooner intended +for the coasting trade, and ordered him, together with John Coles, +sail-maker, Stephen Weekes, armorer, and two Sandwich Islanders, to +proceed ahead and take soundings, while the ship should follow under +easy sail. In this way they proceeded until Aiken had ascertained the +channel, when signal was given from the ship for him to return on board. +He was then within pistol shot, but so furious was the current, and +tumultuous the breakers, that the boat became unmanageable, and was +hurried away, the crew crying out piteously for assistance. In a +few moments she could not be seen from the ship's deck. Some of the +passengers climbed to the mizzen top, and beheld her still struggling to +reach the ship; but shortly after she broached broadside to the waves, +and her case seemed desperate. The attention of those on board of the +ship was now called to their own safety. They were in shallow water; the +vessel struck repeatedly, the waves broke over her, and there was danger +of her foundering. At length she got into seven fathoms water, and the +wind lulling, and the night coming on, cast anchor. With the darkness +their anxieties increased. The wind whistled, the sea roared, the gloom +was only broken by the ghastly glare of the foaming breakers, the +minds of the seamen were full of dreary apprehensions, and some of them +fancied they heard the cries of their lost comrades mingling with +the uproar of the elements. For a time, too, the rapidly ebbing tide +threatened to sweep them from their precarious anchorage. At length the +reflux of the tide, and the springing up of the wind, enabled them to +quit their dangerous situation and take shelter in a small bay within +Cape Disappointment, where they rode in safety during the residue of a +stormy night, and enjoyed a brief interval of refreshing sleep. + +With the light of day returned their cares and anxieties. They looked +out from the mast-head over a wild coast, and wilder sea, but could +discover no trace of the two boats and their crews that were missing. +Several of the natives came on board with peltries, but there was no +disposition to trade. They were interrogated by signs after the lost +boats, but could not understand the inquiries. + +Parties now Went on shore and scoured the neighborhood. One of these +was headed by the captain. They had not proceeded far when they beheld a +person at a distance in civilized garb. As he drew near he proved to +be Weekes, the armorer. There was a burst of joy, for it was hoped his +comrades were near at hand. His story, however, was one of disaster. He +and his companions had found it impossible to govern their boat, having +no rudder, and being beset by rapid and whirling currents and boisterous +surges. After long struggling they had let her go at the mercy of +the waves, tossing about, sometimes with her bow, sometimes with her +broadside to the surges, threatened each instant with destruction, yet +repeatedly escaping, until a huge sea broke over and swamped her. Weekes +was overwhelmed by the broiling waves, but emerging above the surface, +looked round for his companions. Aiken and Coles were not to be seen; +near him were the two Sandwich Islanders, stripping themselves of their +clothing that they might swim more freely. He did the same, and the boat +floating near to him he seized hold of it. The two islanders joined him, +and, uniting their forces, they succeeded in turning the boat upon her +keel; then bearing down her stern and rocking her, they forced out +so much water that she was able to bear the weight of a man without +sinking. One of the islanders now got in, and in a little while bailed +out the water with his hands. The other swam about and collected the +oars, and they all three got once more on board. + +By this time the tide had swept them beyond the breakers, and Weekes +called on his companions to row for land. They were so chilled and +benumbed by the cold, however, that they lost all heart, and absolutely +refused. Weekes was equally chilled, but had superior sagacity and +self-command. He counteracted the tendency to drowsiness and stupor +which cold produces by keeping himself in constant exercise; and +seeing that the vessel was advancing, and that everything depended upon +himself, he set to work to scull the boat clear of the bar, and into +quiet water. + +Toward midnight one of the poor islanders expired; his companion threw +himself on his corpse and could not be persuaded to leave him. The +dismal night wore away amidst these horrors: as the day dawned, Weekes +found himself near the land. He steered directly for it, and at length, +with the aid of the surf, ran his boat high upon a sandy beach. + +Finding that one of the Sandwich Islanders yet gave signs of life, he +aided him to leave the boat, and set out with him towards the adjacent +woods. The poor fellow, however, was too feeble to follow him, and +Weekes was soon obliged to abandon him to his fate and provide for his +own safety. Falling upon a beaten path, he pursued it, and after a few +hours came to a part of the coast, where, to his surprise and joy, he +beheld the ship at anchor and was met by the captain and his party. + +After Weekes had related his adventures, three parties were despatched +to beat up the coast in search of the unfortunate islander. They +returned at night without success, though they had used the utmost +diligence. On the following day the search was resumed, and the poor +fellow was at length discovered lying beneath a group of rocks, his +legs swollen, his feet torn and bloody from walking through bushes and +briars, and himself half-dead with cold, hunger, and fatigue. Weekes and +this islander were the only survivors of the crew of the jolly-boat, and +no trace was ever discovered of Fox and his party. Thus eight men were +lost on the first approach to the coast; a commencement that cast a +gloom over the spirits of the whole party, and was regarded by some of +the superstitious as an omen that boded no good to the enterprise. + +Towards night the Sandwich Islanders went on shore, to bury the body of +their unfortunate countryman who had perished in the boat. On arriving +at the place where it had been left, they dug a grave in the sand, in +which they deposited the corpse, with a biscuit under one of the arms, +some lard under the chin, and a small quantity of tobacco, as provisions +for its journey in the land of spirits. Having covered the body with +sand and flints, they kneeled along the grave in a double row, with +their faces turned to the east, while one who officiated as a priest +sprinkled them with water from a hat. In so doing he recited a kind of +prayer or invocation, to which, at intervals, the others made responses. +Such were the simple rites performed by these poor savages at the grave +of their comrade on the shores of a strange land; and when these were +done, they rose and returned in silence to the ship, without once +casting a look behind. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + Mouth of the Columbia.--The Native Tribes.--Their Fishing.-- + Their Canoes.--Bold Navigators--Equestrian Indians and + Piscatory Indians, Difference in Their Physical + Organization.--Search for a Trading Site.--Expedition of + M'Dougal and David Stuart-Comcomly, the One-Eyed Chieftain.-- + Influence of Wealth in Savage Life.--Slavery Among the + Natives.-An Aristocracy of Flatheads.-Hospitality Among the + Chinooks--Comcomly's Daughter.--Her Conquest. + +THE Columbia, or Oregon, for the distance of thirty or forty miles +from its entrance into the sea, is, properly speaking, a mere estuary, +indented by deep bays so as to vary from three to seven miles in width; +and is rendered extremely intricate and dangerous by shoals reaching +nearly from shore to shore, on which, at times, the winds and currents +produce foaming and tumultuous breakers. The mouth of the river proper +is but about half a mile wide, formed by the contracting shores of the +estuary. The entrance from the sea, as we have already observed, is +bounded on the south side by a flat sandy spit of land, stretching in +to the ocean. This is commonly called Point Adams. The opposite, or +northern side, is Cape Disappointment; a kind of peninsula, terminating +in a steep knoll or promontory crowned with a forest of pine-trees, and +connected with the mainland by a low and narrow neck. Immediately within +this cape is a wide, open bay, terminating at Chinook Point, so called +from a neighboring tribe of Indians. This was called Baker's Bay, and +here the Tonquin was anchored. + +The natives inhabiting the lower part of the river, and with whom the +company was likely to have the most frequent intercourse, were divided +at this time into four tribes, the Chinooks, Clatsops, Wahkiacums, and +Cathlamahs. They resembled each other in person, dress, language, and +manner; and were probably from the same stock, but broken into tribes, +or rather hordes, by those feuds and schisms frequent among Indians. + +These people generally live by fishing. It is true they occasionally +hunt the elk and deer, and ensnare the water-fowl of their ponds and +rivers, but these are casual luxuries. Their chief subsistence is +derived from the salmon and other fish which abound in the Columbia +and its tributary streams, aided by roots and herbs, especially the +wappatoo, which is found on the islands of the river. + +As the Indians of the plains who depend upon the chase are bold +and expert riders, and pride themselves upon their horses, so these +piscatory tribes of the coast excel in the management of canoes, and are +never more at home than when riding upon the waves. Their canoes vary in +form and size. Some are upwards of fifty feet long, cut out of a single +tree, either fir or white cedar, and capable of carrying thirty persons. +They have thwart pieces from side to side about three inches thick, +and their gunwales flare outwards, so as to cast off the surges of the +waves. The bow and stern are decorated with grotesque figures of men and +animals, sometimes five feet in height. + +In managing their canoes they kneel two and two along the bottom, +sitting on their heels, and wielding paddles from four to five feet +long, while one sits on the stern and steers with a paddle of the same +kind. The women are equally expert with the men in managing the canoe, +and generally take the helm. + +It is surprising to see with what fearless unconcern these savages +venture in their light barks upon the roughest and most tempestuous +seas. They seem to ride upon the waves like sea-fowl. Should a surge +throw the canoe upon its side and endanger its overturn, those to +windward lean over the upper gunwale, thrust their paddles deep into the +wave, apparently catch the water and force it under the canoe, and by +this action not merely regain III an equilibrium, but give their bark a +vigorous impulse forward. + +The effect of different modes of life upon the human frame and human +character is strikingly instanced in the contrast between the hunting +Indians of the prairies, and the piscatory Indians of the sea-coast. The +former, continually on horseback scouring the plains, gaining their food +by hardy exercise, and subsisting chiefly on flesh, are generally tall, +sinewy, meagre, but well formed, and of bold and fierce deportment: the +latter, lounging about the river banks, or squatting and curved up in +their canoes, are generally low in stature, ill-shaped, with crooked +legs, thick ankles, and broad flat feet. They are inferior also in +muscular power and activity, and in game qualities and appearance, to +their hard-riding brethren of the prairies. + +Having premised these few particulars concerning the neighboring +Indians, we will return to the immediate concerns of the Tonquin and her +crew. + +Further search was made for Mr. Fox and his party, but with no better +success, and they were at length given up as lost. In the meantime, the +captain and some of the partners explored the river for some distance in +a large boat, to select a suitable place for the trading post. Their old +jealousies and differences continued; they never could coincide in their +choice, and the captain objected altogether to any site so high up the +river. They all returned, therefore, to Baker's Bay in no very good +humor. The partners proposed to examine the opposite shore, but the +captain was impatient of any further delay. His eagerness to "get on" +had increased upon him. He thought all these excursions a sheer loss +of time, and was resolved to land at once, build a shelter for the +reception of that part of his cargo destined for the use of the +settlement, and, having cleared his ship of it and of his irksome +shipmates, to depart upon the prosecution of his coasting voyage, +according to orders. + +On the following day, therefore, without troubling himself to consult +the partners, he landed in Baker's Bay, and proceeded to erect a shed +for the reception of the rigging, equipments, and stores of the schooner +that was to be built for the use of the settlement. + +This dogged determination on the part of the sturdy captain gave high +offense to Mr. M'Dougal, who now considered himself at the head of the +concern, as Mr. Astor's representative and proxy. He set off the same +day, (April 5th) accompanied by David Stuart, for the southern shore, +intending to be back by the seventh. Not having the captain to contend +with, they soon pitched upon a spot which appeared to them favorable +for the intended establishment. It was on a point of land called Point +George, having a very good harbor, where vessels, not exceeding two +hundred tons burden, might anchor within fifty yards of the shore. + +After a day thus profitably spent, they recrossed the river, but landed +on the northern shore several miles above the anchoring ground of the +Tonquin, in the neighborhood of Chinooks, and visited the village of +that tribe. Here they were received with great hospitality by the chief, +who was named Comcomly, a shrewd old savage, with but one eye, who +will occasionally figure in this narrative. Each village forms a petty +sovereignty, governed by its own chief, who, however, possesses but +little authority, unless he be a man of wealth and substance; that is +to say, possessed of canoe, slaves, and wives. The greater the number of +these, the greater is the chief. How many wives this one-eyed potentate +maintained we are not told, but he certainly possessed great sway, not +merely over his own tribe, but over the neighborhood. + +Having mentioned slaves, we would observe that slavery exists among +several of the tribes beyond the Rocky Mountains. The slaves are well +treated while in good health, but occupied in all kinds of drudgery. +Should they become useless, however, by sickness or old age, they are +totally neglected, and left to perish; nor is any respect paid to their +bodies after death. + +A singular custom prevails, not merely among the Chinooks, but among +most of the tribes about this part of the coast, which is the flattening +of the forehead. The process by which this deformity is effected +commences immediately after birth. The infant is laid in a wooden +trough, by way of cradle. The end on which the head reposes is higher +than the rest. A padding is placed on the forehead of the infant, with a +piece of bark above it, and is pressed down by cords, which pass through +holes on each side of the trough. As the tightening of the padding and +the pressing of the head to the board is gradual, the process is +said not to be attended with much pain. The appearance of the infant, +however, while in this state of compression, is whimsically hideous, and +"its little black eyes," we are told, "being forced out by the tightness +of the bandages, resemble those of a mouse choked in a trap." + +About a year's pressure is sufficient to produce the desired effect, +at the end of which time the child emerges from its bandages a complete +flathead, and continues so through life. It must be noted that +this flattening of the head has something in it of aristocratical +significancy, like the crippling of the feet among the Chinese ladies of +quality. At any rate, it is a sign of freedom. No slave is permitted +to bestow this enviable deformity upon his child; all the slaves, +therefore, are roundheads. + +With this worthy tribe of Chinooks the two partners passed a part of +the day very agreeably. M'Dougal, who was somewhat vain of his official +rank, had given it to be understood that they were two chiefs of a great +trading company, about to be established here, and the quick-sighted, +though one-eyed chief, who was somewhat practiced in traffic with white +men, immediately perceived the policy of cultivating the friendship of +two such important visitors. He regaled them, therefore, to the best of +his ability, with abundance of salmon and wappatoo. The next morning, +April 7th, they prepared to return to the vessel, according to promise. +They had eleven miles of open bay to traverse; the wind was fresh, the +waves ran high. Comcomly remonstrated with them on the hazard to which +they would be exposed. They were resolute, however, and launched their +boat, while the wary chieftain followed at some short distance in his +canoe. Scarce had they rowed a mile, when a wave broke over their boat +and upset it. They were in imminent peril of drowning, especially Mr. +M'Dougal, who could not swim. Comcomly, however, came bounding over the +waves in his light canoe, and snatched them from a watery grave. + +They were taken on shore and a fire made, at which they dried their +clothes, after which Comcomly conducted them back to his village. Here +everything was done that could be devised for their entertainment during +three days that they were detained by bad weather. Comcomly made +his people perform antics before them; and his wives and daughters +endeavored, by all the soothing and endearing arts of women, to find +favor in their eyes. Some even painted their bodies with red clay, and +anointed themselves with fish oil, to give additional lustre to their +charms. Mr. M'Dougal seems to have had a heart susceptible to the +influence of the gentler sex. Whether or no it was first touched on this +occasion we do not learn; but it will be found, in the course of this +work, that one of the daughters of the hospitable Comcomly eventually +made a conquest of the great eri of the American Fur Company. + +When the weather had moderated and the sea became tranquil, the one-eyed +chief of the Chinooks manned his state canoe, and conducted his +guests in safety to the ship, where they were welcomed with joy, for +apprehensions had been felt for their safety. Comcomly and his people +were then entertained on board of the Tonquin, and liberally rewarded +for their hospitality and services. They returned home highly satisfied, +promising to remain faithful friends and allies of the white men. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + Point George--Founding of Astoria--Indian Visitors.--Their + Reception.--The Captain Taboos the Ship.--Departure of the + Tonquin.--Comments on the Conduct of Captain Thorn. + +FROM the report made by the two exploring partners, it was determined +that Point George should be the site of the trading house. These +gentlemen, it is true, were not perfectly satisfied with the place, +and were desirous of continuing their search; but Captain Thorn was +impatient to land his cargo and continue his voyage, and protested +against any more of what he termed "sporting excursions." + +Accordingly, on the 12th of April the launch was freighted with all +things necessary for the purpose, and sixteen persons departed in her to +commence the establishment, leaving the Tonquin to follow as soon as the +harbor could be sounded. + +Crossing the wide mouth of the river, the party landed, and encamped at +the bottom of a small bay within Point George. The situation chosen for +the fortified post was on an elevation facing to the north, with the +wide estuary, its sand bars and tumultuous breakers spread out before +it, and the promontory of Cape Disappointment, fifteen miles distant, +closing the prospect to the left. The surrounding country was in all the +freshness of spring; the trees were in the young leaf, the weather was +superb, and everything looked delightful to men just emancipated from a +long confinement on shipboard. The Tonquin shortly afterwards made her +way through the intricate channel, an came to anchor in the little bay, +and was saluted from the encampment with three volleys of musketry and +three cheers. She returned the salute with three cheers and three guns. + +All hands now set to work cutting down trees, clearing away thickets, +and marking out the place for the residence, storehouse, and powder +magazine, which were to be built of logs and covered with bark. Others +landed the timbers intended for the frame of the coasting vessel, and +proceeded to put them together, while others prepared a garden spot, and +sowed the seeds of various vegetables. + +The next thought was to give a name to the embryo metropolis: the one +that naturally presented itself was that of the projector and supporter +of the whole enterprise. It was accordingly named ASTORIA. + +The neighboring Indians now swarmed about the place. Some brought a few +land-otter and sea-otter skins to barter, but in very scanty parcels; +the greater number came prying about to gratify their curiosity, for +they are said to be impertinently inquisitive; while not a few came +with no other design than to pilfer; the laws of meum and tuum being +but slightly respected among them. Some of them beset the ship in +their canoes, among whom was the Chinook chief Comcomly, and his liege +subjects. These were well received by Mr. M'Dougal, who was delighted +with an opportunity of entering upon his functions, and acquiring +importance in the eyes of his future neighbors. The confusion thus +produced on board, and the derangement of the cargo caused by this petty +trade, stirred the spleen of the captain, who had a sovereign contempt +for the one-eyed chieftain and all his crew. He complained loudly of +having his ship lumbered by a host of "Indian ragamuffins," who had not +a skin to dispose of, and at length put his positive interdict upon +all trafficking on board. Upon this Mr. M'Dougal was fain to land, and +establish his quarters at the encampment, where he could exercise his +rights and enjoy his dignities without control. + +The feud, however, between these rival powers still continued, but was +chiefly carried on by letter. Day after day and week after week elapsed, +yet the store-house requisite for the reception of the cargo was not +completed, and the ship was detained in port; while the captain was +teased by frequent requisitions for various articles for the use of the +establishment, or the trade with the natives. An angry correspondence +took place, in which he complained bitterly of the time wasted in +"smoking and sporting parties," as he termed the reconnoitering +expeditions, and in clearing and preparing meadow ground and turnip +patches, instead of despatching his ship. At length all these jarring +matters were adjusted, if not to the satisfaction, at least to the +acquiescence of all parties. The part of the cargo destined for the use +of Astoria was landed, and the ship left free to proceed on her voyage. + +As the Tonquin was to coast to the north, to trade for peltries at the +different harbors, and to touch at Astoria on her return in the autumn, +it was unanimously determined that Mr. M'Kay should go in her as +supercargo, taking with him Mr. Lewis as ship's clerk. On the first of +June the ship got under way, and dropped down to Baker's Bay, where she +was detained for a few days by a head wind; but early in the morning of +the fifth stood out to sea with a fine breeze and swelling canvas, and +swept off gaily on her fatal voyage, from which she was never to return! + +On reviewing the conduct of Captain Thorn, and examining his peevish and +somewhat whimsical correspondence, the impression left upon our mind is, +upon the whole, decidedly in his favor. While we smile at the simplicity +of his heart and the narrowness of his views, which made him regard +everything out of the direct path of his daily duty, and the rigid +exigencies of the service, as trivial and impertinent, which inspired +him with contempt for the swelling vanity of some of his coadjutors, and +the literary exercises and curious researches of others, we cannot but +applaud that strict and conscientious devotion to the interests of his +employer, and to what he considered the true objects of the enterprise +in which he was engaged. He certainly was to blame occasionally for the +asperity of his manners, and the arbitrary nature of his measures, yet +much that is exceptionable in this part of his conduct may be traced to +rigid notions of duty acquired in that tyrannical school, a ship of war, +and to the construction given by his companions to the orders of Mr. +Astor, so little in conformity with his own. His mind, too, appears to +have become almost diseased by the suspicions he had formed as to the +loyalty of his associates, and the nature of their ultimate designs; yet +on this point there were circumstances to, in some measure, justify him. +The relations between the United States and Great Britain were at that +time in a critical state; in fact, the two countries were on the eve of +a war. Several of the partners were British subjects, and might be ready +to desert the flag under which they acted, should a war take place. +Their application to the British minister at New York shows the dubious +feeling with which they had embarked in the present enterprise. They had +been in the employ of the Northwest Company, and might be disposed +to rally again under that association, should events threaten the +prosperity of this embryo establishment of Mr. Astor. Besides, we have +the fact, averred to us by one of the partners, that some of them, who +were young and heedless, took a mischievous and unwarrantable pleasure +in playing upon the jealous temper of the captain, and affecting +mysterious consultations and sinister movements. + +These circumstances are cited in palliation of the doubts and surmises +of Captain Thorn, which might otherwise appear strange and unreasonable. +That most of the partners were perfectly upright and faithful in the +discharge of the trust reposed in them we are fully satisfied; still the +honest captain was not invariably wrong in his suspicions; and that +he formed a pretty just opinion of the integrity of that aspiring +personage, Mr. M'Dougal, will be substantially proved in the sequel. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + Disquieting Rumors From the Interior.--Reconnoitring Party-- + Preparations for a Trading Post.--An Unexpected Arrival--A + Spy in the Camp.--Expedition Into the Interior--Shores of + the Columbia--Mount Coffin.--Indian Sepulchre.--The Land of + Spirits--Columbian Valley--Vancouver's Point.-Falls and + Rapids.--A Great Fishing Mart.--The Village of Wishram.-- + Difference Between Fishing Indians and Hunting Indians-- + Effects of Habits of Trade on the Indian Character.--Post + Established at the Oakinagan. + +WHILE the Astorians were busily occupied in completing their factory and +fort, a report was brought to them by an Indian from the upper part of +the river, that a party of thirty white men had appeared on the banks +of the Columbia, and were actually building houses at the second rapids. +This information caused much disquiet. We have already mentioned that +the Northwest Company had established posts to the west of the Rocky +Mountains, in a district called by them New Caledonia, which extended +from lat. 52 to 55 deg north, being within the British territories. It +was now apprehended that they were advancing within the American limits, +and were endeavoring to seize upon the upper part of the river and +forestall the American Fur Company in the surrounding trade; in which +case bloody feuds might be anticipated, such as had prevailed between +the rival fur companies in former days. + +A reconnoitring party was sent up the river to ascertain the truth of +the report. They ascended to the foot of the first rapid, about two +hundred miles, but could hear nothing of any white men being in the +neighborhood. + +Not long after their return, however, further accounts were received, +by two wandering Indians, which established the fact that the Northwest +Company had actually erected a trading house on the Spokane River, which +falls into the north branch of the Columbia. + +What rendered this intelligence the more disquieting was the inability +of the Astorians, in their present reduced state as to numbers, and +the exigencies of their new establishment, to furnish detachments +to penetrate the country in different directions, and fix the posts +necessary to secure the interior trade. + +It was resolved, however, at any rate, to advance a countercheck to this +post on the Spokan, and one of the partners, Mr. David Stuart, prepared +to set out for the purpose with eight men and a small assortment of +goods. He was to be guided by the two Indians, who knew the country and +promised to take him to a place not far from the Spokan River, and in a +neighborhood abounding with beaver. Here he was to establish himself and +to remain for a time, provided he found the situation advantageous and +the natives friendly. + +On the 15th of July, when Mr. Stuart was nearly ready to embark, a canoe +made its appearance, standing for the harbor, and manned by nine white +men. Much speculation took place who these strangers could be, for it +was too soon to expect their own people, under Mr. Hunt, who were to +cross the continent. As the canoe drew near, the British standard was +distinguished: on coming to land, one of the crew stepped on shore, and +announced himself as Mr. David Thompson, astronomer, and partner of +the Northwest Company. According to his account, he had set out in the +preceding year with a tolerably strong party, and a supply of Indian +goods, to cross the Rocky Mountains. A part of his people, however, had +deserted him on the eastern side, and returned with the goods to the +nearest Northwest post. He had persisted in crossing the mountains +with eight men, who remained true to him. They had traversed the higher +regions, and ventured near the source of the Columbia, where, in the +spring, they had constructed a cedar canoe, the same in which they had +reached Astoria. + +This, in fact, was the party despatched by the Northwest Company to +anticipate Mr. Astor in his intention of effecting a settlement at the +mouth of the Columbia River. It appears, from information subsequently +derived from other sources, that Mr. Thompson had pushed on his course +with great haste, calling at all the Indian villages in his march, +presenting them with British flags, and even planting them at the forks +of the rivers, proclaiming formally that he took possession of the +country in the name of the king of Great Britain for the Northwest +Company. As his original plan was defeated by the desertion of +his people, it is probable that he descended the river simply to +reconnoitre, and ascertain whether an American settlement had been +commenced. + +Mr. Thompson was, no doubt, the first white man who descended the +northern branch of the Columbia from so near its source. Lewis and +Clarke struck the main body of the river at the forks, about four +hundred miles from its mouth. They entered it from Lewis River, its +southern branch, and thence descended. + +Though Mr. Thompson could be considered as little better than a spy in +the camp, he was received with great cordiality by Mr. M'Dougal, who +had a lurking feeling of companionship and good-will for all of the +Northwest Company. He invited him to head-quarters, where he and his +people were hospitably entertained. Nay, further, being somewhat in +extremity, he was furnished by Mr. M'Dougal with goods and provisions +for his journey back across the mountains, much against the wishes Of +Mr. David Stuart, who did not think the object of his visit entitled him +to any favor. + +On the 23rd of July, Mr. Stuart set out upon his expedition to the +interior. His party consisted of four of the clerks, Messrs. Pillet, +Ross, M'Lennon, and Montigny, two Canadian voyageurs, and two natives of +the Sandwich Islands. They had three canoes well laden with provisions, +and with goods and necessities for a trading establishment. + +Mr. Thompson and his party set out in company with them, it being +his intention to proceed direct to Montreal. The partners at Astoria +forwarded by him a short letter to Mr. Astor, informing him of their +safe arrival at the mouth of the Columbia, and that they had not +yet heard of Mr. Hunt. The little squadron of canoes set sail with a +favorable breeze, and soon passed Tongue Point, a long, high, and rocky +promontory, covered with trees, and stretching far into the river. +Opposite to this, on the northern shore, is a deep bay, where the +Columbia anchored at the time of the discovery, and which is still +called Gray's Bay, from the name of her commander. + +From hence, the general course of the river for about seventy miles +was nearly southeast; varying in breadth according to its bays and +indentations, and navigable for vessels of three hundred tons. The +shores were in some places high and rocky, with low marshy islands at +their feet, subject to inundation, and covered with willows, poplars, +and other trees that love an alluvial soil. Sometimes the mountains +receded, and gave place to beautiful plains and noble forests. While +the river margin was richly fringed with trees of deciduous foliage, the +rough uplands were crowned by majestic pines, and firs of gigantic size, +some towering to the height of between two and three hundred feet, with +proportionate circumference. Out of these the Indians wrought their +great canoes and pirogues. + +At one part of the river, they passed, on the northern side, an isolated +rock, about one hundred and fifty feet high, rising from a low marshy +soil, and totally disconnected with the adjacent mountains. This was +held in great reverence by the neighboring Indians, being one of their +principal places of sepulture. The same provident care for the deceased +that prevails among the hunting tribes of the prairies is observable +among the piscatory tribes of the rivers and sea-coast. Among the +former, the favorite horse of the hunter is buried with him in the same +funereal mound, and his bow and arrows are laid by his side, that he +may be perfectly equipped for the "happy hunting grounds" of the land of +spirits. Among the latter, the Indian is wrapped in his mantle of +skins, laid in his canoe, with his paddle, his fishing spear, and other +implements beside him, and placed aloft on some rock or other eminence +overlooking the river, or bay, or lake, that he has frequented. He is +thus fitted out to launch away upon those placid streams and sunny lakes +stocked with all kinds of fish and waterfowl, which are prepared in the +next world for those who have acquitted themselves as good sons, good +fathers, good husbands, and, above all, good fishermen, during their +mortal sojourn. + +The isolated rock in question presented a spectacle of the kind, +numerous dead bodies being deposited in canoes on its summit; while on +poles around were trophies, or, rather, funeral offerings of trinkets, +garments, baskets of roots, and other articles for the use of the +deceased. A reverential feeling protects these sacred spots from robbery +or insult. The friends of the deceased, especially the women, repair +here at sunrise and sunset for some time after his death, singing his +funeral dirge, and uttering loud wailings and lamentations. + +From the number of dead bodies in canoes observed upon this rock by +the first explorers of the river, it received the name of Mount Coffin, +which it continues to bear. + +Beyond this rock they passed the mouth of a river on the right bank +of the Columbia, which appeared to take its rise in a distant mountain +covered with snow. The Indian name of this river was the Cowleskee. Some +miles further on they came to the great Columbian Valley, so called by +Lewis and Clarke. It is sixty miles in width, and extends far to the +southeast between parallel ridges of mountains, which bound it on the +east and west. Through the centre of this valley flowed a large and +beautiful stream, called the Wallamot, which came wandering for several +miles, through a yet unexplored wilderness. The sheltered situation of +this immense valley had an obvious effect upon the climate. It was a +region of great beauty and luxuriance, with lakes and pools, and green +meadows shaded by noble groves. Various tribes were said to reside in +this valley, and along the banks of the Wallamot. + +About eight miles above the mouth of the Wallamot the little squadron +arrived at Vancouver's Point, so called in honor of that celebrated +voyager by his lieutenant (Broughton) when he explored the river. +This point is said to present one of the most beautiful scenes on the +Columbia; a lovely meadow, with a silver sheet of limpid water in the +center, enlivened by wild-fowl, a range of hills crowned by forests, +while the prospect is closed by Mount Hood, a magnificent mountain +rising into a lofty peak, and covered with snow; the ultimate landmark +of the first explorers of the river. + +Point Vancouver is about one hundred miles from Astoria. Here the reflux +of the tide ceases to be perceptible. To this place vessels of two and +three hundred tons burden may ascend. The party under the command of +Mr. Stuart had been three or four days in reaching it, though we have +forborne to notice their daily progress and nightly encampments. + +From Point Vancouver the river turned towards the northeast, and +became more contracted and rapid, with occasional islands and frequent +sand-banks. These islands are furnished with a number of ponds, and +at certain seasons abound with swans, geese, brandts, cranes, gulls, +plover, and other wild-fowl. The shores, too, are low and closely +wooded, with such an undergrowth of vines and rushes as to be almost +impassable. + +About thirty miles above Point Vancouver the mountains again approach +on both sides of the river, which is bordered by stupendous precipices, +covered with the fir and the white cedar, and enlivened occasionally by +beautiful cascades leaping from a great height, and sending up wreaths +of vapor. One of these precipices, or cliffs, is curiously worn by time +and weather so as to have the appearance of a ruined fortress, with +towers and battlements, beetling high above the river, while two small +cascades, one hundred and fifty feet in height, pitch down from the +fissures of the rocks. + +The turbulence and rapidity of the current continually augmenting as +they advanced, gave the voyagers intimation that they were approaching +the great obstructions of the river, and at length they arrived at +Strawberry Island, so called by Lewis and Clarke, which lies at the +foot of the first rapid. As this part of the Columbia will be repeatedly +mentioned in the course of this work, being the scene of some of its +incidents, we shall give a general description of it in this place. + +The falls or rapids of the Columbia are situated about one hundred and +eighty miles above the mouth of the river. The first is a perpendicular +cascade of twenty feet, after which there is a swift descent for a +mile, between islands of hard black rock, to another pitch of eight feet +divided by two rocks. About two and a half miles below this the river +expands into a wide basin, seemingly dammed up by a perpendicular ridge +of black rock. A current, however, sets diagonally to the left of this +rocky barrier, where there is a chasm forty-five yards in width. Through +this the whole body of the river roars along, swelling and whirling +and boiling for some distance in the wildest confusion. Through this +tremendous channel the intrepid explorers of the river, Lewis and +Clarke, passed in their boats; the danger being, not from the rocks, but +from the great surges and whirlpools. + +At the distance of a mile and a half from the foot of this narrow +channel is a rapid, formed by two rocky islands; and two miles beyond is +a second great fall, over a ledge of rocks twenty feet high, extending +nearly from shore to shore. The river is again compressed into a channel +from fifty to a hundred feet wide, worn through a rough bed of hard +black rock, along which it boils and roars with great fury for the +distance of three miles. This is called "The Long Narrows." + +Here is the great fishing place of the Columbia. In the spring of the +year, when the water is high, the salmon ascend the river in incredible +numbers. As they pass through this narrow strait, the Indians, standing +on the rocks, or on the end of wooden stages projecting from the banks, +scoop them up with small nets distended on hoops and attached to long +handles, and cast them on the shore. + +They are then cured and packed in a peculiar manner. After having +been opened and disemboweled, they are exposed to the sun on scaffolds +erected on the river banks. When sufficiently dry, they are pounded fine +between two stones, pressed into the smallest compass, and packed +in baskets or bales of grass matting, about two feet long and one in +diameter, lined with the cured skin of a salmon. The top is likewise +covered with fish skins, secured by cords passing through holes in the +edge of the basket. Packages are then made, each containing twelve of +these bales, seven at bottom, five at top, pressed close to each other, +with the corded side upward, wrapped in mats and corded. These are +placed in dry situations, and again covered with matting. Each of these +packages contains from ninety to a hundred pounds of dried fish, which +in this state will keep sound for several years.** + + **(Lewis and Clarke, vol. ii. p. 32.) + +We have given this process at some length, as furnished by the first +explorers, because it marks a practiced ingenuity in preparing articles +of traffic for a market, seldom seen among our aboriginals. For like +reason we would make especial mention of the village of Wishram, at the +head of the Long Narrows, as being a solitary instance of an aboriginal +trading mart, or emporium. Here the salmon caught in the neighboring +rapids were "warehoused," to await customers. Hither the tribes from +the mouth of the Columbia repaired with the fish of the sea-coast, the +roots, berries, and especially the wappatoo, gathered in the lower parts +of the river, together with goods and trinkets obtained from the ships +which casually visit the coast. Hither also the tribes from the +Rocky Mountains brought down horses, bear-grass, quamash, and other +commodities of the interior. The merchant fishermen at the falls acted +as middlemen or factors, and passed the objects of traffic, as it were, +cross-handed; trading away part of the wares received from the mountain +tribes to those of the rivers and plains, and vice versa: their packages +of pounded salmon entered largely into the system of barter, and being +carried off in opposite directions, found their way to the savage +hunting camps far in the interior, and to the casual white traders who +touched upon the coast. + +We have already noticed certain contrarieties of character between the +Indian tribes, produced by their diet and mode of life; and nowhere are +they more apparent than about the falls of the Columbia. The Indians +of this great fishing mart are represented by the earliest explorers as +sleeker and fatter, but less hardy and active, than the tribes of the +mountains and prairies, who live by hunting, or of the upper parts of +the river, where fish is scanty, and the inhabitants must eke out their +subsistence by digging roots or chasing the deer. Indeed, whenever an +Indian of the upper country is too lazy to hunt, yet is fond of good +living, he repairs to the falls, to live in abundance without labor. + +"By such worthless dogs as these," says an honest trader in his journal, +which now lies before us, "by such worthless dogs as these are these +noted fishing-places peopled, which, like our great cities, may with +propriety be called the headquarters of vitiated principles." + +The habits of trade and the avidity of gain have their corrupting +effects even in the wilderness, as may be instanced in the members of +this aboriginal emporium; for the same journalist denounces them as +"saucy, impudent rascals, who will steal when they can, and pillage +whenever a weak party falls in their power." + +That he does not belie them will be evidenced hereafter, when we have +occasion again to touch at Wishram and navigate the rapids. In the +present instance the travellers effected the laborious ascent of this +part of the river, with all its various portages, without molestation, +and once more launched away in smooth water above the high falls. + +The two parties continued together, without material impediment, for +three or four hundred miles further up the Columbia; Mr. Thompson +appearing to take great interest in the success of Mr. Stuart, and +pointing out places favorable, as he said, to the establishment of his +contemplated trading post. + +Mr. Stuart, who distrusted his sincerity, at length pretended to adopt +his advice, and, taking leave of him, remained as if to establish +himself, while the other proceeded on his course towards the mountains. +No sooner, however, had he fairly departed than Mr. Stuart again pushed +forward, under guidance of the two Indians, nor did he stop until he had +arrived within about one hundred and forty miles of the Spokan River, +which he considered near enough to keep the rival establishment in +check. The place which he pitched upon for his trading post was a point +of land about three miles in length and two in breadth, formed by the +junction of the Oakinagan with the Columbia. The former is a river which +has its source in a considerable lake about one hundred and fifty miles +west of the point of junction. The two rivers, about the place of their +confluence, are bordered by immense prairies covered with herbage, but +destitute of trees. The point itself was ornamented with wild flowers +of every hue, in which innumerable humming-birds were "banqueting nearly +the livelong day." + +The situation of this point appeared to be well adapted for a trading +post. The climate was salubrious, the soil fertile, the rivers well +stocked with fish, the natives peaceable and friendly. There were easy +communications with the interior by the upper waters of the Columbia and +the lateral stream of the Oakinagan, while the downward current of the +Columbia furnished a highway to Astoria. + +Availing himself, therefore, of the driftwood which had collected in +quantities in the neighboring bends of the river, Mr. Stuart and his men +set to work to erect a house, which in a little while was sufficiently +completed for their residence; and thus was established the first +interior post of the company. We will now return to notice the progress +of affairs at the mouth of the Columbia. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + Alarm at Astoria.--Rumor of Indian Hostilities.-- + Preparations for Defense.--Tragic Fate of the Tonquin. + +THE sailing of the Tonquin, and the departure of Mr. David Stuart and +his detachment, had produced a striking effect on affairs at Astoria. +The natives who had swarmed about the place began immediately to drop +off, until at length not an Indian was to be seen. This, at first, was +attributed to the want of peltries with which to trade; but in a little +while the mystery was explained in a more alarming manner. A conspiracy +was said to be on foot among the neighboring tribes to make a combined +attack upon the white men, now that they were so reduced in number. For +this purpose there had been a gathering of warriors in a neighboring +bay, under pretext of fishing for sturgeon; and fleets of canoes were +expected to join them from the north and South. Even Comcomly, the +one-eyed chief, notwithstanding his professed friendship for Mr. +M'Dougal, was strongly suspected of being concerned in this general +combination. + +Alarmed at rumors of this impending danger, the Astorians suspended +their regular labor, and set to work, with all haste, to throw up +temporary works for refuge and defense. In the course of a few days they +surrounded their dwelling-house and magazines with a picket fence +ninety feet square, flanked by two bastions, on which were mounted four +four-pounders. Every day they exercised themselves in the use of their +weapons, so as to qualify themselves for military duty, and at night +ensconced themselves in their fortress and posted sentinels, to guard +against surprise. In this way they hoped, even in case of attack, to be +able to hold out until the arrival of the party to be conducted by Mr. +Hunt across the Rocky Mountains, or until the return of the Tonquin. The +latter dependence, however, was doomed soon to be destroyed. Early in +August, a wandering band of savages from the Strait of Juan de Fuca made +their appearance at the mouth of the Columbia, where they came to fish +for sturgeon. They brought disastrous accounts of the Tonquin, which +were at first treated as fables, but which were too sadly confirmed by +a different tribe that arrived a few days subsequently. We shall relate +the circumstances of this melancholy affair as correctly as the casual +discrepancies in the statements that have reached us will permit. + +We have already stated that the Tonquin set sail from the mouth of +the river on the fifth of June. The whole number of persons on board +amounted to twenty-three. In one of the outer bays they picked up, +from a fishing canoe, an Indian named Lamazee, who had already made +two voyages along the coast and knew something of the language of the +various tribes. He agreed to accompany them as interpreter. + +Steering to the north, Captain Thorn arrived in a few days at +Vancouver's Island, and anchored in the harbor of Neweetee, very much +against the advice of his Indian interpreter, who warned him against the +perfidious character of the natives of this part of the coast. Numbers +of canoes soon came off, bringing sea-otter skins to sell. It was too +late in the day to commence a traffic, but Mr. M'Kay, accompanied by a +few of the men, went on shore to a large village to visit Wicananish, +the chief of the surrounding territory, six of the natives remaining on +board as hostages. He was received with great professions of friendship, +entertained hospitably, and a couch of sea-otter skins prepared for him +in the dwelling of the chieftain, where he was prevailed upon to pass +the night. + +In the morning, before Mr. M'Kay had returned to the ship, great numbers +of the natives came off in their canoes to trade, headed by two sons of +Wicananish. As they brought abundance of sea-otter skins, and there was +every appearance of a brisk trade, Captain Thorn did not wait for +the return of Mr. M'Kay, but spread his wares upon the deck, making a +tempting display of blankets, cloths, knives, beads, and fish-hooks, +expecting a prompt and profitable sale. The Indians, however, were +not so eager and simple as he had supposed, having learned the art of +bargaining and the value of merchandise from the casual traders along +the coast. They were guided, too, by a shrewd old chief named Nookamis, +who had grown gray in traffic with New England skippers, and prided +himself upon his acuteness. His opinion seemed to regulate the market. +When Captain Thorn made what he considered a liberal offer for an +otter-skin, the wily old Indian treated it with scorn, and asked more +than double. His comrades all took their cue from him, and not an +otter-skin was to be had at a reasonable rate. + +The old fellow, however, overshot his mark, and mistook the character of +the man he was treating with. Thorn was a plain, straightforward sailor, +who never had two minds nor two prices in his dealings, was deficient in +patience and pliancy, and totally wanting in the chicanery of traffic. +He had a vast deal of stern but honest pride in his nature, and, +moreover, held the whole savage race in sovereign contempt. Abandoning +all further attempts, therefore, to bargain with his shuffling +customers, he thrust his hands into his pockets, and paced up and down +the deck in sullen silence. The cunning old Indian followed him to and +fro, holding out a sea-otter skin to him at every turn, and pestering +him to trade. Finding other means unavailing, he suddenly changed his +tone, and began to jeer and banter him upon the mean prices he offered. +This was too much for the patience of the captain, who was never +remarkable for relishing a joke, especially when at his own expense. +Turning suddenly upon his persecutor, he snatched the proffered +otter-skin from his hands, rubbed it in his face, and dismissed him +over the side of the ship with no very complimentary application to +accelerate his exit. He then kicked the peltries to the right and left +about the deck, and broke up the market in the most ignominious manner. +Old Nookamis made for shore in a furious passion, in which he was +joined by Shewish, one of the sons of Wicananish, who went off breathing +vengeance, and the ship was soon abandoned by the natives. + +When Mr. M'Kay returned on board, the interpreter related what had +passed, and begged him to prevail upon the captain to make sail, as from +his knowledge of the temper and pride of the people of the place, he was +sure they would resent the indignity offered to one of their chiefs. Mr. +M'Kay, who himself possessed some experience of Indian character, +went to the captain, who was still pacing the deck in moody humor, +represented the danger to which his hasty act had exposed the vessel, +and urged him to weigh anchor. The captain made light of his counsels, +and pointed to his cannon and fire-arms as sufficient safeguard against +naked savages. Further remonstrances only provoked taunting replies and +sharp altercations. The day passed away without any signs of hostility, +and at night the captain retired as usual to his cabin, taking no more +than the usual precautions. + +On the following morning, at daybreak, while the captain and Mr. M'Kay +were yet asleep, a canoe came alongside in which were twenty Indians, +commanded by young Shewish. They were unarmed, their aspect and demeanor +friendly, and they held up otter-skins, and made signs indicative of +a wish to trade. The caution enjoined by Mr. Astor, in respect to the +admission of Indians on board of the ship, had been neglected for some +time past, and the officer of the watch, perceiving those in the canoe +to be without weapons, and having received no orders to the contrary, +readily permitted them to mount the deck. Another canoe soon succeeded, +the crew of which was likewise admitted. In a little while other canoes +came off, and Indians were soon clambering into the vessel on all sides. + +The officer of the watch now felt alarmed, and called to Captain Thorn +and Mr. M'Kay. By the time they came on deck, it was thronged with +Indians. The interpreter noticed to Mr. M'Kay that many of the natives +wore short mantles of skins, and intimated a suspicion that they were +secretly armed. Mr. M'Kay urged the captain to clear the ship and get +under way. He again made light of the advice; but the augmented swarm of +canoes about the ship, and the numbers still putting off from shore, at +length awakened his distrust, and he ordered some of the crew to weigh +anchor, while some were sent aloft to make sail. + +The Indians now offered to trade with the captain on his own terms, +prompted, apparently, by the approaching departure of the ship. +Accordingly, a hurried trade was commenced. The main articles sought by +the savages in barter were knives; as fast as some were supplied they +moved off, and others succeeded. By degrees they were thus distributed +about the deck, and all with weapons. + +The anchor was now nearly up, the sails were loose, and the captain, +in a loud and peremptory tone, ordered the ship to be cleared. In an +instant, a signal yell was given; it was echoed on every side, knives +and war-clubs were brandished in every direction, and the savages rushed +upon their marked victims. + +The first that fell was Mr. Lewis, the ship's clerk. He was leaning, +with folded arms, over a bale of blankets, engaged in bargaining, when +he received a deadly stab in the back, and fell down the companion-way. + +Mr. M'Kay, who was seated on the taffrail, sprang on his feet, but was +instantly knocked down with a war-club and flung backwards into the sea, +where he was despatched by the women in the canoes. + +In the meantime Captain Thorn made desperate fight against fearful odds. +He was a powerful as well as a resolute man, but he had come upon +deck without weapons. Shewish, the young chief singled him out as his +peculiar prey, and rushed upon him at the first outbreak. The captain +had barely time to draw a clasp-knife with one blow of which he laid +the young savage dead at his feet. Several of the stoutest followers +of Shewish now set upon him. He defended himself vigorously, dealing +crippling blows to right and left, and strewing the quarter-deck with +the slain and wounded. His object was to fight his way to the cabin, +where there were fire-arms; but he was hemmed in with foes, covered with +wounds, and faint with loss of blood. For an instant he leaned upon the +tiller wheel, when a blow from behind, with a war-club, felled him to +the deck, where he was despatched with knives and thrown overboard. + +While this was transacting upon the quarter-deck, a chance-medley fight +was going on throughout the ship. The crew fought desperately with +knives, handspikes, and whatever weapon they could seize upon in the +moment of surprise. They were soon, however, overpowered by numbers, and +mercilessly butchered. + +As to the seven who had been sent aloft to make sail, they contemplated +with horror the carnage that was going on below. Being destitute of +weapons, they let themselves down by the running rigging, in hopes +of getting between decks. One fell in the attempt, and was instantly +despatched; another received a death-blow in the back as he was +descending; a third, Stephen Weekes, the armorer, was mortally wounded +as he was getting down the hatchway. + +The remaining four made good their retreat into the cabin, where they +found Mr. Lewis, still alive, though mortally wounded. Barricading the +cabin door, they broke holes through the companion-way, and, with the +muskets and ammunition which were at hand, opened a brisk fire that soon +cleared the deck. + +Thus far the Indian interpreter, from whom these particulars are +derived, had been an eye-witness to the deadly conflict. He had taken no +part in it, and had been spared by the natives as being of their race. +In the confusion of the moment he took refuge with the rest, in the +canoes. The survivors of the crew now sallied forth, and discharged some +of the deck-guns, which did great execution among the canoes, and drove +all the savages to shore. + +For the remainder of the day no one ventured to put off to the ship, +deterred by the effects of the fire-arms. The night passed away without +any further attempts on the part of the natives. When the day dawned, +the Tonquin still lay at anchor in the bay, her sails all loose and +flapping in the wind, and no one apparently on board of her. After a +time, some of the canoes ventured forth to reconnoitre, taking with them +the interpreter. + +They paddled about her, keeping cautiously at a distance, but growing +more and more emboldened at seeing her quiet and lifeless. One man +at length made his appearance on the deck, and was recognized by the +interpreter as Mr. Lewis. He made friendly signs, and invited them on +board. It was long before they ventured to comply. Those who mounted +the deck met with no opposition; no one was to be seen on board; for Mr. +Lewis, after inviting them, had disappeared. Other canoes now pressed +forward to board the prize; the decks were soon crowded, and the sides +covered with clambering savages, all intent on plunder. In the midst +of their eagerness and exultation, the ship blew up with a tremendous +explosion. Arms, legs, and mutilated bodies were blown into the air, and +dreadful havoc was made in the surrounding canoes. The interpreter was +in the main-chains at the time of the explosion, and was thrown unhurt +into the water, where he succeeded in getting into one of the canoes. +According to his statement, the bay presented an awful spectacle after +the catastrophe. The ship had disappeared, but the bay was covered with +fragments of the wreck, with shattered canoes, and Indians swimming for +their lives, or struggling in the agonies of death; while those who had +escaped the danger remained aghast and stupefied, or made with frantic +panic for the shore. Upwards of a hundred savages were destroyed by the +explosion, many more were shockingly mutilated, and for days afterwards +the limbs and bodies of the slain were thrown upon the beach. + +The inhabitants of Neweetee were overwhelmed with consternation at this +astounding calamity, which had burst upon them in the very moment of +triumph. The warriors sat mute and mournful, while the women filled +the air with loud lamentations. Their weeping and walling, however, was +suddenly changed into yells of fury at the sight of four unfortunate +white men, brought captive into the village. They had been driven on +shore in one of the ship's boats, and taken at some distance along the +coast. + +The interpreter was permitted to converse with them. They proved to +be the four brave fellows who had made such desperate defense from +the cabin. The interpreter gathered from them some of the particulars +already related. They told him further, that after they had beaten off +the enemy and cleared the ship, Lewis advised that they should slip +the cable and endeavor to get to sea. They declined to take his advice, +alleging that the wind set too strongly into the bay and would drive +them on shore. They resolved, as soon as it was dark, to put off quietly +in the ship's boat, which they would be able to do unperceived, and to +coast along back to Astoria. They put their resolution into effect; but +Lewis refused to accompany them, being disabled by his wound, hopeless +of escape, and determined on a terrible revenge. On the voyage out, he +had repeatedly expressed a presentiment that he should die by his own +hands; thinking it highly probable that he should be engaged in some +contest with the natives, and being resolved, in case of extremity, +to commit suicide rather than be made a prisoner. He now declared his +intention to remain on board of the ship until daylight, to decoy as +many of the savages on board as possible, then to set fire to the powder +magazine, and terminate his life by a signal of vengeance. How well he +succeeded has been shown. His companions bade him a melancholy adieu, +and set off on their precarious expedition. They strove with might and +main to get out of the bay, but found it impossible to weather a point +of land, and were at length compelled to take shelter in a small cove, +where they hoped to remain concealed until the wind should be more +favorable. Exhausted by fatigue and watching, they fell into a sound +sleep, and in that state were surprised by the savages. Better had it +been for those unfortunate men had they remained with Lewis, and +shared his heroic death: as it was, they perished in a more painful and +protracted manner, being sacrificed by the natives to the manes of their +friends with all the lingering tortures of savage cruelty. Some time +after their death, the interpreter, who had remained a kind of prisoner +at large, effected his escape, and brought the tragical tidings to +Astoria. + +Such is the melancholy story of the Tonquin, and such was the fate of +her brave but headstrong commander, and her adventurous crew. It is a +catastrophe that shows the importance, in all enterprises of moment, +to keep in mind the general instructions of the sagacious heads which +devise them. Mr. Astor was well aware of the perils to which ships +were exposed on this coast from quarrels with the natives, and from +perfidious attempts of the latter to surprise and capture them in +unguarded moments. He had repeatedly enjoined it upon Captain Thorn, +in conversation, and at parting, in his letter of instructions, to be +courteous and kind in his dealings with the savages, but by no means to +confide in their apparent friendship, nor to admit more than a few on +board of his ship at a time. + +Had the deportment of Captain Thorn been properly regulated, the insult +so wounding to savage pride would never have been given. Had he enforced +the rule to admit but a few at a time, the savages would not have been +able to get the mastery. He was too irritable, however, to practice the +necessary self-command, and, having been nurtured in a proud contempt of +danger, thought it beneath him to manifest any fear of a crew of unarmed +savages. + +With all his faults and foibles, we cannot but speak of him with esteem, +and deplore his untimely fate; for we remember him well in early life, +as a companion in pleasant scenes and joyous hours. When on shore, among +his friends, he was a frank, manly, sound-hearted sailor. On board +ship he evidently assumed the hardness of deportment and sternness of +demeanor which many deem essential to naval service. Throughout +the whole of the expedition, however, he showed himself loyal, +single-minded, straightforward, and fearless; and if the fate of +his vessel may be charged to his harshness and imprudence, we should +recollect that he paid for his error with his life. + +The loss of the Tonquin was a grievous blow to the infant establishment +of Astoria, and one that threatened to bring after it a train of +disasters. The intelligence of it did not reach Mr. Astor until many +months afterwards. He felt it in all its force, and was aware that it +must cripple, if not entirely defeat, the great scheme of his ambition. +In his letters, written at the time, he speaks of it as "a calamity, the +length of which he could not foresee." He indulged, however, in no +weak and vain lamentation, but sought to devise a prompt and efficient +remedy. The very same evening he appeared at the theatre with his usual +serenity of countenance. A friend, who knew the disastrous intelligence +he had received, expressed his astonishment that he could have calmness +of spirit sufficient for such a scene of light amusement. "What would +you have me do?" was his characteristic reply; "would you have me stay +at home and weep for what I cannot help?" + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + Gloom at Astoria--An Ingenious Stratagem.--The Small-Pox + Chief.--Launching of the Dolly.-An Arrival.--A Canadian + Trapper.-A Freeman of the Forest--An Iroquois Hunter.-- + Winter on the Columbia.-Festivities of New Year. + +THE tidings of the loss of the Tonquin, and the massacre of her crew, +struck dismay into the hearts of the Astorians. They found themselves +a mere handful of men, on a savage coast, surrounded by hostile tribes, +who would doubtless be incited and encouraged to deeds of violence by +the late fearful catastrophe. In this juncture Mr. M'Dougal, we are +told, had recourse to a stratagem by which to avail himself of the +ignorance and credulity of the savages, and which certainly does credit +to his ingenuity. + +The natives of the coast, and, indeed, of all the regions west of the +mountains, had an extreme dread of the small-pox; that terrific scourge +having, a few years previously, appeared among them, and almost swept +off entire tribes. Its origin and nature were wrapped in mystery, and +they conceived it an evil inflicted upon them by the Great Spirit, or +brought among them by the white men. The last idea was seized upon by +Mr. M'Dougal. He assembled several of the chieftains whom he believed to +be in the conspiracy. When they were all seated around, he informed them +that he had heard of the treachery of some of their northern brethren +towards the Tonquin, and was determined on vengeance. "The white men +among you," said he, "are few in number, it is true, but they are mighty +in medicine. See here," continued he, drawing forth a small bottle and +holding it before their eyes, "in this bottle I hold the small-pox, +safely corked up; I have but to draw the cork, and let loose the +pestilence, to sweep man, woman, and child from the face of the earth." + +The chiefs were struck with horror and alarm. They implored him not to +uncork the bottle, since they and all their people were firm friends of +the white men, and would always remain so; but, should the small-pox +be once let out, it would run like wildfire throughout the country, +sweeping off the good as well as the bad; and surely he would not be so +unjust as to punish his friends for crimes committed by his enemies. + +Mr. M'Dougal pretended to be convinced by their reasoning, and assured +them that, so long as the white people should be unmolested, and the +conduct of their Indian neighbors friendly and hospitable, the phial of +wrath should remain sealed up; but, on the least hostility, the fatal +cork should be drawn. + +From this time, it is added, he was much dreaded by the natives, as one +who held their fate in his hands, and was called, by way of preeminence, +"the Great Small-pox Chief." + +All this while, the labors at the infant settlement went on with +unremitting assiduity, and, by the 26th of September, a commodious +mansion, spacious enough to accommodate all hands, was completed. It +was built of stone and clay, there being no calcarcous stone in the +neighborhood from which lime for mortar could be procured. The schooner +was also finished, and launched, with the accustomed ceremony, on the +second of October, and took her station below the fort. She was named +the Dolly, and was the first American vessel launched on this coast. + +On the 5th of October, in the evening, the little community at Astoria +was enlivened by the unexpected arrival of a detachment from Mr. David +Stuart's post on the Oakinagan. It consisted of two of the clerks +and two of the privates. They brought favorable accounts of the new +establishment, but reported that, as Mr. Stuart was apprehensive there +might be a difficulty of subsisting his whole party throughout the +winter, he had sent one half back to Astoria, retaining with him only +Ross, Montigny, and two others. Such is the hardihood of the Indian +trader. In the heart of a savage and unknown country, seven hundred +miles from the main body of his fellow-adventurers, Stuart had dismissed +half of his little number, and was prepared with the residue to brave +all the perils of the wilderness, and the rigors of a long and dreary +winter. + +With the return party came a Canadian creole named Regis Brugiere and an +Iroquois hunter, with his wife and two children. As these two +personages belong to certain classes which have derived their peculiar +characteristics from the fur trade, we deem some few particulars +concerning them pertinent to the nature of this work. + +Brugiere was of a class of beaver trappers and hunters technically +called "Freemen," in the language of the traders. They are generally +Canadians by birth, and of French descent, who have been employed for +a term of years by some fur company, but, their term being expired, +continue to hunt and trap on their own account, trading with the company +like the Indians. Hence they derive their appellation of Freemen, to +distinguish them from the trappers who are bound for a number of years, +and receive wages, or hunt on shares. + +Having passed their early youth in the wilderness, separated almost +entirely from civilized man, and in frequent intercourse with the +Indians, they relapse, with a facility common to human nature, into +the habitudes of savage life. Though no longer bound by engagements to +continue in the interior, they have become so accustomed to the freedom +of the forest and the prairie, that they look back with repugnance +upon the restraints of civilization. Most of them intermarry with +the natives, and, like the latter, have often a plurality of wives. +Wanderers of the wilderness, according to the vicissitudes of the +seasons, the migrations of animals, and the plenty or scarcity of game, +they lead a precarious and unsettled existence; exposed to sun and +storm, and all kinds of hardships, until they resemble Indians in +complexion as well as in tastes and habits. From time to time, they +bring the peltries they have collected to the trading houses of the +company in whose employ they have been brought up. Here they traffic +them away for such articles of merchandise or ammunition as they may +stand in need of. At the time when Montreal was the great emporium of +the fur trader, one of these freemen of the wilderness would suddenly +return, after an absence of many years, among his old friends and +comrades. He would be greeted as one risen from the dead; and with the +greater welcome, as he returned flush of money. A short time, however, +spent in revelry, would be sufficient to drain his purse and sate +him with civilized life, and he would return with new relish to the +unshackled freedom of the forest. + +Numbers of men of this class were scattered throughout the northwest +territories. Some of them retained a little of the thrift and +forethought of the civilized man, and became wealthy among their +improvident neighbors; their wealth being chiefly displayed in large +bands of horses, which covered the prairies in the vicinity of their +abodes. Most of them, however, were prone to assimilate to the red man +in their heedlessness of the future. + +Such was Regis Brugiere, a freeman and rover of the wilderness. Having +been brought up in the service of the Northwest Company, he had followed +in the train of one of its expeditions across the Rocky Mountains, and +undertaken to trap for the trading post established on the Spokan River. +In the course of his hunting excursions he had either accidentally, +or designedly, found his way to the post of Mr. Stuart, and had been +prevailed upon to ascend the Columbia, and "try his luck" at Astoria. + +Ignace Shonowane, the Iroquois hunter, was a specimen of a different +class. He was one of those aboriginals of Canada who had partially +conformed to the habits of civilization and the doctrines of +Christianity, under the influence of the French colonists and the +Catholic priests; who seem generally to have been more successful in +conciliating, taming, and converting the savages, than their English +and Protestant rivals. These half-civilized Indians retained some of the +good, and many of the evil qualities of their original stock. They were +first-rate hunters, and dexterous in the management of the canoe. They +could undergo great privations, and were admirable for the service of +the rivers, lakes, and forests, provided they could be kept sober, and +in proper subordination; but once inflamed with liquor, to which they +were madly addicted, all the dormant passions inherent in their nature +were prone to break forth, and to hurry them into the most vindictive +and bloody acts of violence. + +Though they generally professed the Roman Catholic religion, yet it was +mixed, occasionally, with some of their ancient superstitions; and they +retained much of the Indian belief in charms and omens. Numbers of these +men were employed by the Northwest Company as trappers, hunters, and +canoe men, but on lower terms than were allowed to white men. Ignace +Shonowane had, in this way, followed the enterprise of the company to +the banks of the Spokan, being, probably, one of the first of his tribe +that had traversed the Rocky Mountains. + +Such were some of the motley populace of the wilderness, incident to +the fur trade, who were gradually attracted to the new settlement of +Astoria. + +The month of October now began to give indications of approaching +winter. Hitherto, the colonists had been well pleased with the climate. +The summer had been temperate, the mercury never rising above eighty +degrees. Westerly winds had prevailed during the spring and the early +part of the summer, and been succeeded by fresh breezes from the +northwest. In the month of October the southerly winds set in, bringing +with them frequent rain. + +The Indians now began to quit the borders of the ocean, and to retire +to their winter quarters in the sheltered bosom of the forests, or +along the small rivers and brooks. The rainy season, which commences in +October, continues, with little intermission, until April; and though +the winters are generally mild, the mercury seldom sinking below the +freezing point, yet the tempests of wind and rain are terrible. The sun +is sometimes obscured for weeks, the brooks swell into roaring torrents, +and the country is threatened with a deluge. + +The departure of the Indians to their winter quarters gradually rendered +provisions scanty, and obliged the colonists to send out foraging +expeditions in the Dolly. Still the little handful of adventurers kept +up their spirits in their lonely fort at Astoria, looking forward to the +time when they should be animated and reinforced by the party under Mr. +Hunt, that was to come to them across the Rocky Mountains. + +The year gradually wore way. The rain, which had poured down almost +incessantly since the first of October, cleared up towards the evening +of the 31st of December, and the morning of the first of January ushered +in a day of sunshine. + +The hereditary French holiday spirit of the French voyageurs is hardly +to be depressed by any adversities; and they can manage to get up a +fete in the most squalid situations, and under the most untoward +circumstances. An extra allowance of rum, and a little flour to make +cakes and puddings, constitute a "regale;" and they forget all their +toils and troubles in the song and dance. + +On the present occasion, the partners endeavored to celebrate the new +year with some effect. At sunrise the drums beat to arms, the colors +were hoisted, with three rounds of small arms and three discharges of +cannon. The day was devoted to games of agility and strength, and other +amusements; and grog was temperately distributed, together with bread, +butter, and cheese. The best dinner their circumstances could afford +was served up at midday. At sunset the colors were lowered, with another +discharge of artillery. The night was spent in dancing; and, though +there was a lack of female partners to excite their gallantry, the +voyageurs kept up the ball with true French spirit, until three o'clock +in the morning. So passed the new year festival of 1812 at the infant +colony of Astoria. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + Expedition by Land.--Wilson P. Hunt.--His Character.--Donald + M'Kenzie.--Recruiting Service Among the Voyageurs.--A Bark + Canoe.--Chapel of St. Anne.-Votive Offerings.--Pious + Carousals,--A Ragged Regiment.-Mackinaw.--Picture of a + Trading Post.--Frolicking Voyageurs.--Swells and Swaggerers.-- + Indian Coxcombs.--A Man of the North.--Jockeyship of + Voyageurs--Inefficacy of Gold.-Weight of a Feather--Mr. + Ramsay Crooks--His Character.--His Risks Among the Indians.-- + His Warning Concerning Sioux and Blackfeet.--Embarkation of + Recruits.--Parting Scenes Between Brothers, Cousins, Wives, + Sweethearts, and Pot Companions. + +WE have followed up the fortunes of the maritime part of this enterprise +to the shores of the Pacific, and have conducted the affairs of the +embryo establishment to the opening of the new year; let us now turn +back to the adventurous band to whom was intrusted the land expedition, +and who were to make their way to the mouth of the Columbia, up vast +rivers, across trackless plains, and over the rugged barriers of the +Rocky Mountains. + +The conduct of this expedition, as has been already mentioned, was +assigned to Mr. Wilson Price Hunt, of Trenton, New Jersey, one of the +partners of the company, who was ultimately to be at the head of the +establishment at the mouth of the Columbia. He is represented as a +man scrupulously upright and faithful his dealings, amicable in his +disposition, and of most accommodating manners; and his whole conduct +will be found in unison with such a character. He was not practically +experienced in the Indian trade; that is to say, he had never made any +expeditions of traffic into the heart of the wilderness, but he had +been engaged in commerce at St. Louis, then a frontier settlement on +the Mississippi, where the chief branch of his business had consisted in +furnishing Indian traders with goods and equipments. In this way, he had +acquired much knowledge of the trade at second hand, and of the various +tribes, and the interior country over which it extended. + +Another of the partners, Mr. Donald M'Kenzie, was associated with Mr. +Hunt in the expedition, and excelled on those points in which the other +was deficient; for he had been ten years in the interior, in the +service of the Northwest Company, and valued himself on his knowledge of +"woodcraft," and the strategy of Indian trade and Indian warfare. He had +a frame seasoned to toils and hardships; a spirit not to be intimidated, +and was reputed to be a "remarkable shot;" which of itself was +sufficient to give him renown upon the frontier. + +Mr. Hunt and his coadjutor repaired, about the latter part of July, +1810, to Montreal, the ancient emporium of the fur trade where +everything requisite for the expedition could be procured. One of the +first objects was to recruit a complement of Canadian voyageurs from the +disbanded herd usually to be found loitering about the place. A degree +of jockeyship, however, is required for this service, for a Canadian +voyageur is as full of latent tricks and vice as a horse; and when he +makes the greatest external promise, is prone to prove the greatest +"take in." Besides, the Northwest Company, who maintained a long +established control at Montreal, and knew the qualities of every +voyageur, secretly interdicted the prime hands from engaging in this +new service; so that, although liberal terms were offered, few presented +themselves but such as were not worth having. + +From these Mr. Hunt engaged a number sufficient, as he supposed, +for present purposes; and, having laid in a supply of ammunition, +provisions, and Indian goods, embarked all on board one of those great +canoes at that time universally used by the fur traders for navigating +the intricate and often-obstructed rivers. The canoe was between thirty +and forty feet long, and several feet in width; constructed of birch +bark, sewed with fibres of the roots of the spruce tree, and daubed with +resin of the pine, instead of tar. The cargo was made up in packages, +weighing from ninety to one hundred pounds each, for the facility of +loading and unloading, and of transportation at portages. The canoe +itself, though capable of sustaining a freight of upwards of four tons, +could readily be carried on men's shoulders. Canoes of this size are +generally managed by eight or ten men, two of whom are picked veterans, +who receive double wages, and are stationed, one at the bow and the +other at the stern, to keep a look-out and to steer. They are termed +the foreman and the steersman. The rest, who ply the paddles, are called +middle men. When there is a favorable breeze, the canoe is occasionally +navigated with a sail. + +The expedition took its regular departure, as usual, from St. Anne's, +near the extremity of the island of Montreal, the great starting-place +of the traders to the interior. Here stood the ancient chapel of +St. Anne, the patroness of the Canadian voyageurs; where they made +confession, and offered up their vows, previous to departing on any +hazardous expedition. The shrine of the saint was decorated with relics +and votive offerings hung up by these superstitious beings, either to +propitiate her favor, or in gratitude for some signal deliverance in +the wilderness. It was the custom, too, of these devout vagabonds, after +leaving the chapel, to have a grand carouse, in honor of the saint and +for the prosperity of the voyage. In this part of their devotions, the +crew of Mr. Hunt proved themselves by no means deficient. Indeed, he +soon discovered that his recruits, enlisted at Montreal, were fit to +vie with the ragged regiment of Falstaff. Some were able-bodied, but +inexpert; others were expert, but lazy; while a third class were expert +and willing, but totally worn out, being broken-down veterans, incapable +of toil. + +With this inefficient crew he made his way up the Ottawa River, and by +the ancient route of the fur traders, along a succession of small lakes +and rivers, to Michilimackinac. Their progress was slow and tedious. Mr. +Hunt was not accustomed to the management of "voyageurs," and he had a +crew admirably disposed to play the old soldier, and balk their work; +and ever ready to come to a halt, land, make a fire, put on the great +pot, and smoke, and gossip, and sing by the hour. + +It was not until the 22d of July that they arrived at Mackinaw, situated +on the island of the same name, at the confluence of--lakes Huron and +Michigan. This famous old French trading post continued to be a rallying +point for a multifarious and motley population. The inhabitants were +amphibious in their habits, most of them being, or having been voyageurs +or canoe men. It was the great place of arrival and departure of the +southwest fur trade. Here the Mackinaw Company had established its +principal post, from whence it communicated with the interior and with +Montreal. Hence its various traders and trappers set out for their +respective destinations about Lake Superior and its tributary waters, or +for the Mississippi, the Arkansas, the Missouri, and the other regions +of the west. Here, after the absence of a year, or more, they returned +with their peltries, and settled their accounts; the furs rendered in by +them being transmitted in canoes from hence to Montreal. Mackinaw was, +therefore, for a great part of the year, very scantily peopled; but at +certain seasons the traders arrived from all points, with their crews of +voyageurs, and the place swarmed like a hive. + +Mackinaw, at that time, was a mere village, stretching along a small +bay, with a fine broad beach in front of its principal row of houses, +and dominated by the old fort, which crowned an impending height. +The beach was a kind of public promenade where were displayed all the +vagaries of a seaport on the arrival of a fleet from a long cruise. Here +voyageurs frolicked away their wages, fiddling and dancing in the booths +and cabins, buying all kinds of knick-knacks, dressing themselves out +finely, and parading up and down, like arrant braggarts and coxcombs. +Sometimes they met with rival coxcombs in the young Indians from the +opposite shore, who would appear on the beach painted and decorated +in fantastic style, and would saunter up and down, to be gazed at +and admired, perfectly satisfied that they eclipsed their pale-faced +competitors. + +Now and then a chance party of "Northwesters" appeared at Mackinaw from +the rendezvous at Fort William. These held themselves up as the chivalry +of the fur trade. They were men of iron; proof against cold weather, +hard fare, and perils of all kinds. Some would wear the Northwest +button, and a formidable dirk, and assume something of a military air. +They generally wore feathers in their hats, and affected the "brave." +"Je suis un homme du nord!"-"I am a man of the north,"-one of these +swelling fellows would exclaim, sticking his arms akimbo and ruffling by +the Southwesters, whom he regarded with great contempt, as men softened +by mild climates and the luxurious fare of bread and bacon, and whom +he stigmatized with the inglorious name of pork-eaters. The superiority +assumed by these vainglorious swaggerers was, in general, tacitly +admitted. Indeed, some of them had acquired great notoriety for deeds +of hardihood and courage; for the fur trade had Its heroes, whose names +resounded throughout the wilderness. + +Such was Mackinaw at the time of which we are treating. It now, +doubtless, presents a totally different aspect. The fur companies no +longer assemble there; the navigation of the lake is carried on by +steamboats and various shipping, and the race of traders, and trappers, +and voyageurs, and Indian dandies, have vapored out their brief hour and +disappeared. Such changes does the lapse of a handful of years make in +this ever-changing country. + +At this place Mr. Hunt remained for some time, to complete his +assortment of Indian goods, and to increase his number of voyageurs, as +well as to engage some of a more efficient character than those enlisted +at Montreal. + +And now commenced another game of Jockeyship. There were able and +efficient men in abundance at Mackinaw, but for several days not one +presented himself. If offers were made to any, they were listened to +with a shake of the head. Should any one seem inclined to enlist, there +were officious idlers and busybodies, of that class who are ever ready +to dissuade others from any enterprise in which they themselves have no +concern. These would pull him by the sleeve, take him on one side, and +murmur in his ear, or would suggest difficulties outright. + +It was objected that the expedition would have to navigate unknown +rivers, and pass through howling wildernesses infested by savage tribes, +who had already cut off the unfortunate voyageurs that had ventured +among them; that it was to climb the Rocky Mountains and descend into +desolate and famished regions, where the traveller was often obliged to +subsist on grasshoppers and crickets, or to kill his own horse for food. + +At length one man was hardy enough to engage, and he was used like a +"stool-pigeon," to decoy others; but several days elapsed before any +more could be prevailed upon to join him. A few then came to terms. It +was desirable to engage them for five years, but some refused to engage +for more than three. Then they must have part of their pay in advance, +which was readily granted. When they had pocketed the amount, and +squandered it in regales or in outfits, they began to talk of pecuniary +obligations at Mackinaw, which must be discharged before they would be +free to depart; or engagements with other persons, which were only to +be canceled by a "reasonable consideration." It was in vain to argue or +remonstrate. The money advanced had already been sacked and spent, and +must be lost and the recruits left behind, unless they could be freed +from their debts and engagements. Accordingly, a fine was paid for one; +a judgment for another; a tavern bill for a third, and almost all had to +be bought off from some prior engagement, either real or pretended. + +Mr. Hunt groaned in spirit at the incessant and unreasonable demands of +these worthies upon his purse; yet with all this outlay of funds, the +number recruited was but scanty, and many of the most desirable still +held themselves aloof, and were not to be caught by a golden bait. With +these he tried another temptation. Among the recruits who had enlisted +he distributed feathers and ostrich plumes. These they put in their +hats, and thus figured about Mackinaw, assuming airs of vast importance, +as "voyageurs" in a new company, that was to eclipse the Northwest. The +effect was complete. A French Canadian is too vain and mercurial a +being to withstand the finery and ostentation of the feather. Numbers +immediately pressed into the service. One must have an ostrich plume; +another, a white feather with a red end; a third, a bunch of cock's +tails. Thus all paraded about, in vainglorious style, more delighted +with the feathers in their hats than with the money in their pockets; +and considering themselves fully equal to the boastful "men of the +north." + +While thus recruiting the number of rank and file, Mr. Hunt was joined +by a person whom he had invited, by letter, to engage as a partner in +the expedition. This was Mr. Ramsay Crooks, a young man, a native of +Scotland, who had served under the Northwest Company, and been engaged +in trading expeditions upon his individual account, among the tribes of +the Missouri. Mr. Hunt knew him personally, and had conceived a high +and merited opinion of his judgment, enterprise, and integrity; he was +rejoiced, therefore, when the latter consented to accompany him. Mr. +Crooks, however, drew from experience a picture of the dangers to +which they would be subjected, and urged the importance of going with a +considerable force. In ascending the upper Missouri they would have +to pass through the country of the Sioux Indians, who had manifested +repeated hostility to the white traders, and rendered their expeditions +extremely perilous; firing upon them from the river banks as they passed +beneath in their boats, and attacking them in their encampments. Mr. +Crooks himself, when voyaging in company with another trader of the name +of M'Lellan, had been interrupted by these marauders, and had considered +himself fortunate in escaping down the river without loss of life or +property, but with a total abandonment of his trading voyage. + +Should they be fortunate enough to pass through the country of the Sioux +without molestation, they would have another tribe still more savage and +warlike beyond, and deadly foes of white men. + +These were the Blackfeet Indians, who ranged over a wide extent +of country which they would have to traverse. Under all these +circumstances, it was thought advisable to augment the party +considerably. It already exceeded the number of thirty, to which it +had originally been limited; but it was determined, on arriving at St. +Louis, to increase it to the number of sixty. + +These matters being arranged, they prepared to embark; but the +embarkation of a crew of Canadian voyageurs, on a distant expedition, is +not so easy a matter as might be imagined; especially of such a set of +vainglorious fellows with money in both pockets, and cocks' tails in +their hats. Like sailors, the Canadian voyageurs generally preface a +long cruise with a carouse. They have their cronies, their brothers, +their cousins, their wives, their sweethearts, all to be entertained +at their expense. They feast, they fiddle, they drink, they sing, they +dance, they frolic and fight, until they are all as mad as so many +drunken Indians. The publicans are all obedience to their commands, +never hesitating to let them run up scores without limit, knowing that, +when their own money is expended, the purses of their employers must +answer for the bill, or the voyage must be delayed. Neither was it +possible, at that time, to remedy the matter at Mackinaw. In that +amphibious community there was always a propensity to wrest the laws in +favor of riotous or mutinous boatmen. It was necessary, also, to keep +the recruits in good humor, seeing the novelty and danger of the service +into which they were entering, and the ease with which they might at +anytime escape it by jumping into a canoe and going downstream. + +Such were the scenes that beset Mr. Hunt, and gave him a foretaste of +the difficulties of his command. The little cabarets and sutlers' shops +along the bay resounded with the scraping of fiddles, with snatches of +old French songs, with Indian whoops and yells, while every plumed and +feathered vagabond had his troop of loving cousins and comrades at his +heels. It was with the utmost difficulty they could be extricated from +the clutches of the publicans and the embraces of their pot companions, +who followed them to the water's edge with many a hug, a kiss on each +cheek, and a maudlin benediction in Canadian French. + +It was about the 12th of August that they left Mackinaw, and pursued the +usual route by Green Bay, Fox and Wisconsin rivers, to Prairie du Chien, +and thence down the Mississippi to St. Louis, where they landed on the +3d of September. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + St. Louis.--Its Situation.--Motley Population.--French + Creole Traders and Their Dependants.--Missouri Fur Company-- + Mr. Manuel Lisa.--Mississippi Boatmen.--Vagrant Indians. + --Kentucky Hunters--Old French Mansion--Fiddling--Billiards + --Mr. Joseph Miller--His Character--Recruits--Voyage Up the + Missouri.--Difficulties of the River.--Merits of Canadian + Voyageurs.-Arrival at the Nodowa.--Mr. Robert M'Lellan joins + the Party--John Day, a Virginia Hunter. Description of Him. + --Mr. Hunt Returns to St. Louis. + +ST. LOUIS, which is situated on the right bank of the Mississippi +River, a few miles below the mouth of the Missouri, was, at that time, a +frontier settlement, and the last fitting-out place for the Indian trade +of the Southwest. It possessed a motley population, composed of the +creole descendants of the original French colonists; the keen traders +from the Atlantic States; the backwoodsmen of Kentucky and Tennessee; +the Indians and half-breeds of the prairies; together with a singular +aquatic race that had grown up from the navigation of the rivers--the +"boatmen of the Mississippi"--who possessed habits, manners, and almost +a language, peculiarly their own, and strongly technical. They, at that +time, were extremely numerous, and conducted the chief navigation and +commerce of the Ohio and the Mississippi, as the voyageurs did of the +Canadian waters; but, like them, their consequence and characteristics +are rapidly vanishing before the all-pervading intrusion of steamboats. + +The old French houses engaged in the Indian trade had gathered round +them a train of dependents, mongrel Indians, and mongrel Frenchmen, +who had intermarried with Indians. These they employed in their various +expeditions by land and water. Various individuals of other countries +had, of late years, pushed the trade further into the interior, to +the upper waters of the Missouri, and had swelled the number of these +hangers-on. Several of these traders had, two or three years previously, +formed themselves into a company, composed of twelve partners, with +a capital of about forty thousand dollars, called the Missouri Fur +Company; the object of which was, to establish posts along the upper +part of that river, and monopolize the trade. The leading partner of +this company was Mr. Manuel Lisa, a Spaniard by birth, and a man of bold +and enterprising character, who had ascended the Missouri almost to its +source, and made himself well acquainted and popular with several of its +tribes. By his exertions, trading posts had been established, in 1808, +in the Sioux country, and among the Aricara and Mandan tribes; and a +principal one, under Mr. Henry, one of the partners, at the forks of +the Missouri. This company had in its employ about two hundred and fifty +men, partly American and partly creole voyageurs. + +All these circumstances combined to produce a population at St. Louis +even still more motley than that at Mackinaw. Here were to be seen, +about the river banks, the hectoring, extravagant bragging boatmen of +the Mississippi, with the gay, grimacing, singing, good-humored Canadian +voyageurs. Vagrant Indians, of various tribes, loitered about +the streets. Now and then a stark Kentucky hunter, in leathern +hunting-dress, with rifle on shoulder and knife in belt, strode along. +Here and there were new brick houses and shops, just set up by bustling, +driving, and eager men of traffic from the Atlantic States; while, on +the other hand, the old French mansions, with open casements, still +retained the easy, indolent air of the original colonists; and now and +then the scraping of a fiddle, a strain of an ancient French song, +or the sound of billiard balls, showed that the happy Gallic turn for +gayety and amusement still lingered about the place. + +Such was St. Louis at the time of Mr. Hunt's arrival there, and the +appearance of a new fur company, with ample funds at its command, +produced a strong sensation among the I traders of the place, and +awakened keen jealousy and opposition on the part of the Missouri +Company. Mr. Hunt proceeded to strengthen himself against all +competition. For this purpose, he secured to the interests of the +association another of those enterprising men, who had been engaged +in individual traffic with the tribes of the Missouri. This was a Mr. +Joseph Miller, a gentleman well educated and well informed, and of a +respectable family of Baltimore. He had been an officer in the army +of the United States, but had resigned in disgust, on being refused +a furlough, and had taken to trapping beaver and trading among the +Indians. He was easily induced by Mr. Hunt to join as a partner, and was +considered by him, on account of his education and acquirements, and his +experience in Indian trade, a valuable addition to the company. + +Several additional men were likewise enlisted at St. Louis, some as +boatmen, and others as hunters. These last were engaged, not merely to +kill game for provisions, but also, and indeed chiefly, to trap beaver +and other animals of rich furs, valuable in the trade. They enlisted +on different terms. Some were to have a fixed salary of three hundred +dollars; others were to be fitted out and maintained at the expense of +the company, and were to hunt and trap on shares. + +As Mr. Hunt met with much opposition on the part of rival traders, +especially the Missouri Fur Company, it took him some weeks to complete +his preparations. The delays which he had previously experienced at +Montreal, Mackinaw, and on the way, added to those at St. Louis, had +thrown him much behind his original calculations, so that it would be +impossible to effect his voyage up the Missouri in the present year. +This river, flowing from high and cold latitudes, and through wide and +open plains, exposed to chilling blasts, freezes early. The winter +may be dated from the first of November; there was every prospect, +therefore, that it would be closed with ice long before Mr. Hunt could +reach its upper waters. To avoid, however, the expense of wintering at +St. Louis, he determined to push up the river as far as possible, to +some point above the settlements, where game was plenty, and where his +whole party could be subsisted by hunting, until the breaking up of the +ice in the spring should permit them to resume their voyage. + +Accordingly on the twenty-first of October he took his departure from +St. Louis. His party was distributed in three boats. One was the barge +which he had brought from Mackinaw; another was of a larger size, such +as was formerly used in navigating the Mohawk River, and known by the +generic name of the Schenectady barge; the other was a large keel boat, +at that time the grand conveyance on the Mississippi. + +In this way they set out from St. Louis, in buoyant spirits, and soon +arrived at the mouth of the Missouri. This vast river, three thousand +miles in length, and which, with its tributary streams, drains such +an immense extent of country, was as yet but casually and imperfectly +navigated by the adventurous bark of the fur trader. A steamboat had +never yet stemmed its turbulent current. Sails were but of casual +assistance, for it required a strong wind to conquer the force of the +stream. The main dependence was on bodily strength and manual dexterity. +The boats, in general, had to be propelled by oars and setting poles, +or drawn by the hand and by grappling hooks from one root or overhanging +tree to another; or towed by the long cordelle, or towing line, where +the shores were sufficiently clear of woods and thickets to permit the +men to pass along the banks. + +During this slow and tedious progress the boat would be exposed to +frequent danger from floating trees and great masses of drift-wood, +or to be impaled upon snags and sawyers; that is to say, sunken trees, +presenting a jagged or pointed end above the surface of the water. As +the channel of the river frequently shifted from side to side according +to the bends and sand-banks, the boat had, in the same way, to advance +in a zigzag course. Often a part of the crew would have to leap into the +water at the shallows, and wade along with the towing line, while +their comrades on board toilfully assisted with oar and setting +pole. Sometimes the boat would seem to be retained motionless, as +if spell-bound, opposite some point round which the current set with +violence, and where the utmost labor scarce effected any visible +progress. + +On these occasions it was that the merits of the Canadian voyageurs came +into full action. Patient of toil, not to be disheartened by impediments +and disappointments, fertile in expedients, and versed in every mode +of humoring and conquering the wayward current, they would ply every +exertion, sometimes in the boat, sometimes on shore, sometimes in the +water, however cold; always alert, always in good humor; and, should +they at any time flag or grow weary, one of their popular songs, +chanted by a veteran oarsman, and responded to in chorus, acted as a +never-failing restorative. + +By such assiduous and persevering labor they made their way about four +hundred and fifty miles up the Missouri, by the 16th of November, to +the mouth of the Nodowa. As this was a good hunting country, and as the +season was rapidly advancing, they determined to establish their winter +quarters at this place; and, in fact, two days after they had come to a +halt, the river closed just above their encampment. + +The party had not been long at this place when they were joined by Mr. +Robert M'Lellan, another trader of the Missouri; the same who had been +associated with Mr. Crooks in the unfortunate expedition in which they +had been intercepted by the Sioux Indians, and obliged to make a rapid +retreat down the river. + +M'Lellan was a remarkable man. He had been a partisan under General +Wayne, in his Indian wars, where he had distinguished himself by his +fiery spirit and reckless daring, and marvelous stories were told of +his exploits. His appearance answered to his character. His frame was +meagre, but muscular; showing strength, activity, and iron firmness. His +eyes were dark, deep-set, and piercing. He was restless, fearless, but +of impetuous and sometimes ungovernable temper. He had been invited by +Mr. Hunt to enroll himself as a partner, and gladly consented; being +pleased with the thoughts of passing with a powerful force through the +country of the Sioux, and perhaps having an opportunity of revenging +himself upon that lawless tribe for their past offenses. + +Another recruit that joined the camp at Nodowa deserves equal mention. +This was John Day, a hunter from the backwoods of Virginia, who had been +several years on the Missouri in the service of Mr. Crooks, and of other +traders. He was about forty years of age, six feet two inches high, +straight as an Indian; with an elastic step as if he trod on springs, +and a handsome, open, manly countenance. It was his boast that, in his +younger days, nothing could hurt or daunt him; but he had "lived too +fast," and injured his constitution by his excesses. Still he was strong +of hand, bold of heart, a prime woodman, and an almost unerring shot. He +had the frank spirit of a Virginian, and the rough heroism of a pioneer +of the west. + +The party were now brought to a halt for several months. They were in a +country abounding with deer and wild turkeys, so that there was no stint +of provisions, and every one appeared cheerful and contented. Mr. Hunt +determined to avail himself of this interval to return to St. Louis and +obtain a reinforcement. + +He wished to procure an interpreter, acquainted with the language of +the Sioux, as, from all accounts, he apprehended difficulties in passing +through the country of that nation. He felt the necessity, also, of +having a greater number of hunters, not merely to keep up a supply of +provisions throughout their long and arduous expedition, but also as a +protection and defense, in case of Indian hostilities. For such service +the Canadian voyageurs were little to be depended upon, fighting not +being a part of their profession. The proper kind of men were American +hunters, experienced in savage life and savage warfare, and possessed of +the true game spirit of the west. + +Leaving, therefore, the encampment in charge of the other partners, Mr. +Hunt set off on foot on the first of January (1810), for St. Louis. He +was accompanied by eight men as far as Fort Osage, about one hundred +and fifty miles below Nodowa. Here he procured a couple of horses, and +proceeded on the remainder of his journey with two men, sending the +other six back to the encampment. He arrived at St. Louis on the 20th of +January. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + Opposition of the Missouri Fur Company.-Blackfeet Indians.-- + Pierre Dorion, a Half-Breed Interpreter.--Old Dorion and His + Hybrid Progeny--Family Quarrels.--Cross Purposes Between + Dorion and Lisa.--Renegadoes From Nodowa.--Perplexities of + a Commander.--Messrs. Bradbury and Nuttall Join the + Expedition.-Legal Embarrassments of Pierre Dorion.-- + Departure From St. Louis.--Conjugal Discipline of a Half- + Breed.--Annual Swelling of the Rivers.-Daniel Boone, the + Patriarch of Kentucky.-John Colter.-His Adventures Among the + Indians.-Rumors of Danger Ahead.-Fort Osage.-An Indian War- + Feast.-Troubles in the Dorion Family.--Buffaloes and Turkey- + Buzzards. + +ON this his second visit to St. Louis, Mr. Hunt was again impeded in his +plans by the opposition of the Missouri Fur Company. The affairs of +that company were, at this time, in a very dubious state. During the +preceding year, their principal establishment at the forks of the +Missouri had been so much harassed by the Blackfeet Indians, that its +commander, Mr. Henry, one of the partners, had been compelled to abandon +the post and cross the Rocky Mountains, with the intention of fixing +himself upon one of the upper branches of the Columbia. What had become +of him and his party was unknown. The most intense anxiety was felt +concerning them, and apprehensions that they might have been cut off +by the savages. At the time of Mr. Hunt's arrival at St. Louis, the +Missouri Company were fitting out an expedition to go in quest of Mr. +Henry. It was to be conducted by Mr. Manuel Lisa, the partner already +mentioned. + +There being thus two expeditions on foot at the same moment, an unusual +demand was occasioned for hunters and voyageurs, who accordingly +profited by the circumstance, and stipulated for high terms. Mr. Hunt +found a keen and subtle competitor in Lisa, and was obliged to secure +his recruits by liberal advances of pay, and by other pecuniary +indulgences. + +The greatest difficulty was to procure the Sioux interpreter. There was +but one man to be met with at St. Louis who was fitted for the purpose, +but to secure him would require much management. The individual in +question was a half-breed, named Pierre Dorion; and, as he figures +hereafter in this narrative, and is, withal, a striking specimen of the +hybrid race on the frontier, we shall give a few particulars concerning +him. Pierre was the son of Dorion, the French interpreter, who +accompanied Messrs. Lewis and Clark in their famous exploring expedition +across the Rocky Mountains. Old Dorion was one of those French creoles, +descendants of the ancient Canadian stock, who abound on the western +frontier, and amalgamate or cohabit with the savages. He had sojourned +among various tribes, and perhaps left progeny among them all; but his +regular, or habitual wife, was a Sioux squaw. By her he had a hopeful +brood of half-breed sons, of whom Pierre was one. The domestic affairs +of old Dorion were conducted on the true Indian plan. Father and sons +would occasionally get drunk together, and then the cabin was a scene of +ruffian brawl and fighting, in the course of which the old Frenchman +was apt to get soundly belabored by his mongrel offspring. In a furious +scuffle of the kind, one of the sons got the old man upon the ground, +and was upon the point of scalping him. "Hold! my son," cried the old +fellow, in imploring accents, "you are too brave, too honorable to +scalp your father!" This last appeal touched the French side of the +half-breed's heart, so he suffered the old man to wear his scalp +unharmed. + +Of this hopeful stock was Pierre Dorion, the man whom it was now the +desire of Mr. Hunt to engage as an interpreter. He had been employed in +that capacity by the Missouri Fur Company during the preceding year, and +conducted their traders in safety through the different tribes of the +Sioux. He had proved himself faithful and serviceable while sober; but +the love of liquor, in which he had been nurtured and brought up, would +occasionally break out, and with it the savage side of his character. + +It was his love of liquor which had embroiled him with the Missouri +Company. While in their service at Fort Mandan, on the frontier, he had +been seized with a whiskey mania; and, as the beverage was only to be +procured at the company's store, it had been charged in his account at +the rate of ten dollars a quart. This item had ever remained unsettled, +and a matter of furious dispute, the mere mention of which was +sufficient to put him in a passion. + +The moment it was discovered by Mr. Lisa that Pierre Dorion was in +treaty with the new and rival association, he endeavored, by threats as +well as promises, to prevent his engaging in their service. His promises +might, perhaps, have prevailed; but his threats, which related to the +whiskey debt, only served to drive Pierre into the opposite ranks. Still +he took advantage of this competition for his services to stand out with +Mr. Hunt on the most advantageous terms, and, after a negotiation of +nearly two weeks, capitulated to serve in the expedition, as hunter and +interpreter, at the rate of three hundred dollars a year, two hundred of +which were to be paid in advance. + +When Mr. Hunt had got everything ready for leaving St. Louis, new +difficulties arose. Five of the American hunters from the encampment at +Nodowa, suddenly made their appearance. They alleged that they had +been ill treated by the partners at the encampment, and had come off +clandestinely, in consequence of a dispute. It was useless at the +present moment, and under present circumstances, to attempt any +compulsory measures with these deserters. Two of them Mr. Hunt prevailed +upon, by mild means, to return with him. The rest refused; nay, what +was worse, they spread such reports of the hardships and dangers to be +apprehended in the course of the expedition, that they struck a panic +into those hunters who had recently engaged at St. Louis, and, when the +hour of departure arrived, all but one refused to embark. It was in vain +to plead or remonstrate; they shouldered their rifles and turned their +backs upon the expedition, and Mr. Hunt was fain to put off from shore +with the single hunter and a number of voyageurs whom he had engaged. +Even Pierre Dorion, at the last moment, refused to enter the boat until +Mr. Hunt consented to take his squaw and two children on board also. But +the tissue of perplexities, on account of this worthy individual, did +not end here. + +Among the various persons who were about to proceed up the Missouri with +Mr. Hunt, were two scientific gentlemen; one Mr. John Bradbury, a man +of mature age, but great enterprise and personal activity, who had +been sent out by Linnaean Society of Liverpool to make a collection +of American plants; the other, a Mr. Nuttall, likewise an Englishman, +younger in years, who has since made himself known as the author of +Travels in Arkansas, and a work on the Genera of American Plants. Mr. +Hunt had offered them the protection and facilities of his party, in +their scientific research up the Missouri River. As they were not ready +to depart at the moment of embarkation, they put their trunks on board +of the boat, but remained at St. Louis until the next day, for the +arrival of the post, intending to join the expedition at St. Charles, a +short distance above the mouth of the Missouri. + +The same evening, however, they learned that a writ had been issued +against Pierre Dorion for his whiskey debt, by Mr. Lisa, as agent of the +Missouri Company, and that it was the intention to entrap the mongrel +linguist on his arrival at St. Charles. + +Upon hearing this, Mr. Bradbury and Mr. Nuttall set off a little +after midnight, by land, got ahead of the boat as it was ascending the +Missouri, before its arrival at St. Charles, and gave Pierre Dorion +warning of the legal toil prepared to ensnare him. + +The knowing Pierre immediately landed and took to the woods, followed by +his squaw laden with their papooses, and a large bundle containing their +most precious effects, promising to rejoin the party some distance +above St. Charles. There seemed little dependence to be placed upon the +promises of a loose adventurer of the kind, who was at the very time +playing an evasive game with his former employers; who had already +received two-thirds of his year's pay, and his rifle on his shoulder, +his family and worldly fortunes at his heels, and the wild woods before +him. There was no alternative, however, and it was hoped his pique +against his old employers would render him faithful to his new ones. + +The party reached St. Charles in the afternoon, but the harpies of the +law looked in vain for their expected prey. The boats resumed their +course on the following morning, and had not proceeded far when Pierre +Dorion made his appearance on the shore. He was gladly taken on board, +but he came without his squaw. They had quarreled in the night; Pierre +had administered the Indian discipline of the cudgel, whereupon she had +taken to the woods, with their children and all their worldly goods. +Pierre evidently was deeply grieved and disconcerted at the loss of his +wife and his knapsack, whereupon Mr. Hunt despatched one of the +Canadian voyageurs in search of the fugitive; and the whole party, +after proceeding a few miles further, encamped on an island to wait +his return. The Canadian rejoined the party, but without the squaw; and +Pierre Dorion passed a solitary and anxious night, bitterly regretting +his indiscretion in having exercised his conjugal authority so near +home. Before daybreak, however, a well-known voice reached his ears from +the opposite shore. It was his repentant spouse, who had been wandering +the woods all night in quest of the party, and had at length descried it +by its fires. A boat was despatched for her, the interesting family +was once more united, and Mr. Hunt now flattered himself that his +perplexities with Pierre Dorion were at an end. + +Bad weather, very heavy rains, and an unusually early rise in the +Missouri, rendered the ascent of the river toilsome, slow, and +dangerous. The rise of the Missouri does not generally take place until +the month of May or June: the present swelling of the river must have +been caused by a freshet in some of its more southern branches. It could +not have been the great annual flood, as the higher branches must still +have been ice-bound. + +And here we cannot but pause, to notice the admirable arrangement of +nature, by which the annual swellings of the various great rivers which +empty themselves into the Mississippi, have been made to precede each +other at considerable intervals. Thus, the flood of the Red River +precedes that of the Arkansas by a month. The Arkansas, also, rising in +a much more southern latitude than the Missouri, takes the lead of it +in its annual excess, and its superabundant waters are disgorged and +disposed of long before the breaking up of the icy barriers of the +north; otherwise, did all these mighty streams rise simultaneously, and +discharge their vernal floods into the Mississippi, an inundation would +be the consequence, that would submerge and devastate all the lower +country. + +On the afternoon of the third day, January, 17th, the boats touched +at Charette, one of the old villages founded by the original French +colonists. Here they met with Daniel Boone, the renowned patriarch +of Kentucky, who had kept in the advance of civilization, and on the +borders of the wilderness, still leading a hunter's life, though now in +his eighty-fifth year. He had but recently returned from a hunting +and trapping expedition, and had brought nearly sixty beaver skins as +trophies of his skill. The old man was still erect in form, strong in +limb, and unflinching in spirit, and as he stood on the river bank, +watching the departure of an expedition destined to traverse the +wilderness to the very shores of the Pacific, very probably felt a throb +of his old pioneer spirit, impelling him to shoulder his rifle and join +the adventurous band. Boone flourished several years after this meeting, +in a vigorous old age, the Nestor of hunters and backwoodsmen; and died, +full of sylvan honor and renown, in 1818, in his ninety-second year. + +The next morning early, as the party were yet encamped at the mouth of +a small stream, they were visited by another of these heroes of the +wilderness, one John Colter, who had accompanied Lewis and Clarke in +their memorable expedition. He had recently made one of those vast +internal voyages so characteristic of this fearless class of men, and of +the immense regions over which they hold their lonely wanderings; having +come from the head waters of the Missouri to St. Louis in a small canoe. +This distance of three thousand miles he had accomplished in thirty +days. Colter kept with the party all the morning. He had many +particulars to give them concerning the Blackfeet Indians, a restless +and predatory tribe, who had conceived an implacable hostility to the +white men, in consequence of one of their warriors having been killed +by Captain Lewis, while attempting to steal horses. Through the country +infested by these savages the expedition would have to proceed, and +Colter was urgent in reiterating the precautions that ought to be +observed respecting them. He had himself experienced their vindictive +cruelty, and his story deserves particular citation, as showing the +hairbreadth adventures to which these solitary rovers of the wilderness +are exposed. + +Colter, with the hardihood of a regular trapper, had cast himself loose +from the party of Lewis and Clarke in the very heart of the wilderness, +and had remained to trap beaver alone on the head waters of the +Missouri. Here he fell in with another lonely trapper, like himself, +named Potts, and they agreed to keep together. They were in the very +region of the terrible Blackfeet, at that time thirsting to revenge the +death of their companion, and knew that they had to expect no mercy at +their hands. They were obliged to keep concealed all day in the woody +margins of the rivers, setting their traps after nightfall and taking +them up before daybreak. It was running a fearful risk for the sake of a +few beaver skins; but such is the life of the trapper. + +They were on a branch of the Missouri called Jefferson Fork, and had set +their traps at night, about six miles up a small river that emptied into +the fork. Early in the morning they ascended the river in a canoe, to +examine the traps. The banks on each side were high and perpendicular, +and cast a shade over the stream. As they were softly paddling along, +they heard the trampling of many feet upon the banks. Colter immediately +gave the alarm of "Indians!" and was for instant retreat. Potts scoffed +at him for being frightened by the trampling of a herd of buffaloes. +Colter checked his uneasiness and paddled forward. They had not gone +much further when frightful whoops and yells burst forth from each side +of the river, and several hundred Indians appeared on either bank. +Signs were made to the unfortunate trappers to come on shore. They were +obliged to comply. Before they could get out of their canoe, a savage +seized the rifle belonging to Potts. Colter sprang on shore, wrestled +the weapon from the hands of the Indian, and restored it to his +companion, who was still in the canoe, and immediately pushed into the +stream. There was the sharp twang of a bow, and Potts cried out that he +was wounded. Colter urged him to come on shore and submit, as his only +chance for life; but the other knew there was no prospect of mercy, and +determined to die game. Leveling his rifle, he shot one of the savages +dead on the spot. The next moment he fell himself, pierced with +innumerable arrows. + +The vengeance of the savages now turned upon Colter. He was stripped +naked, and, having some knowledge of the Blackfoot language, overheard +a consultation as to the mode of despatching him, so as to derive the +greatest amusement from his death. Some were for setting him up as a +mark, and having a trial of skill at his expense. The chief, however, +was for nobler sport. He seized Colter by the shoulder, and demanded if +he could run fast. The unfortunate trapper was too well acquainted with +Indian customs not to comprehend the drift of the question. He knew +he was to run for his life, to furnish a kind of human hunt to his +persecutors. Though in reality he was noted among his brother hunters +for swiftness of foot, he assured the chief that he was a very bad +runner. His stratagem gained him some vantage ground. He was led by the +chief into the prairie, about four hundred yards from the main body of +savages, and then turned loose to save himself if he could. A tremendous +yell let him know that the whole pack of bloodhounds were off in full +cry. Colter flew rather than ran; he was astonished at his own speed; +but he had six miles of prairie to traverse before he should reach the +Jefferson Fork of the Missouri; how could he hope to hold out such a +distance with the fearful odds of several hundred to one against him! +The plain, too, abounded with the prickly pear, which wounded his naked +feet. Still he fled on, dreading each moment to hear the twang of a bow, +and to feel an arrow quivering at his heart. He did not even dare to +look round, lest he should lose an inch of that distance on which his +life depended. He had run nearly half way across the plain when the +sound of pursuit grew somewhat fainter, and he ventured to turn his +head. The main body of his pursuers were a considerable distance behind; +several of the fastest runners were scattered in the advance; while a +swift-footed warrior, armed with a spear, was not more than a hundred +yards behind him. + +Inspired with new hope, Colter redoubled his exertions, but strained +himself to such a degree, that the blood gushed from his mouth and +nostrils, and streamed down his breast. He arrived within a mile of the +river. The sound of footsteps gathered upon him. A glance behind showed +his pursuer within twenty yards, and preparing to launch his spear. +Stopping short he turned round and spread out his arms. The savage, +confounded by this sudden action, attempted to stop and hurl his spear, +but fell in the very act. His spear stuck in the ground, and the shaft +broke in his hand. Colter plucked up the pointed part, pinned the savage +to the earth, and continued his flight. The Indians, as they arrived at +their slaughtered companion, stopped to howl over him. Colter made the +most of this precious delay, gained the skirt of cotton-wood bordering +the river, dashed through it, and plunged into the stream. He swam to +a neighboring island, against the upper end of which the driftwood +had lodged in such quantities as to form a natural raft; under this he +dived, and swam below water until he succeeded in getting a breathing +place between the floating trunks of trees, whose branches and bushes +formed a covert several feet above the level of the water. He had +scarcely drawn breath after all his toils, when he heard his pursuers on +the river bank, whooping and yelling like so many fiends. They plunged +in the river, and swam to the raft. The heart of Colter almost died +within him as he saw them, through the chinks of his concealment, +passing and repassing, and seeking for him in all directions. They at +length gave up the search, and he began to rejoice in his escape, when +the idea presented itself that they might set the raft on fire. Here +was a new source of horrible apprehension, in which he remained until +nightfall. Fortunately the idea did not suggest itself to the Indians. +As soon as it was dark, finding by the silence around that his pursuers +had departed, Colter dived again and came up beyond the raft. He then +swam silently down the river for a considerable distance, when he +landed, and kept on all night, to get as far as possible from this +dangerous neighborhood. + +By daybreak he had gained sufficient distance to relieve him from the +terrors of his savage foes; but now new sources of inquietude presented +themselves. He was naked and alone, in the midst of an unbounded +wilderness; his only chance was to reach a trading post of the Missouri +Company, situated on a branch of the Yellowstone River. Even should he +elude his pursuers, days must elapse before he could reach this post, +during which he must traverse immense prairies destitute of shade, his +naked body exposed to the burning heat of the sun by day, and the dews +and chills of the night season, and his feet lacerated by the thorns of +the prickly pear. Though he might see game in abundance around him, he +had no means of killing any for his sustenance, and must depend for food +upon the roots of the earth. In defiance of these difficulties he pushed +resolutely forward, guiding himself in his trackless course by those +signs and indications known only to Indians and backwoodsmen; and after +braving dangers and hardships enough to break down any spirit but that +of a western pioneer, arrived safe at the solitary post in question. * + + (* Bradbury, Travels in America, p. 17.) + +Such is a sample of the rugged experience which Colter had to relate +of savage life; yet, with all these perils and terrors fresh in his +recollection, he could not see the present band on their way to those +regions of danger and adventure, without feeling a vehement impulse +to join them. A western trapper is like a sailor; past hazards only +stimulate him to further risks. The vast prairie is to the one what +the ocean is to the other, a boundless field of enterprise and exploit. +However he may have suffered in his last cruise, he is always ready to +join a new expedition; and the more adventurous its nature, the more +attractive is it to his vagrant spirit. + +Nothing seems to have kept Colter from continuing with the party to +the shores of the Pacific but the circumstances of his having recently +married. All the morning he kept with them, balancing in his mind the +charms of his bride against those of the Rocky Mountains; the former, +however, prevailed, and after a march of several miles, he took a +reluctant leave of the travellers, and turned his face homeward. + +Continuing their progress up the Missouri, the party encamped on the +evening of the 21st of March, in the neighborhood of a little frontier +village of French creoles. Here Pierre Dorion met with some of his old +comrades, with whom he had a long gossip, and returned to the camp with +rumors of bloody feuds between the Osages and the loways, or Ayaways, +Potowatomies, Sioux, and Sawkees. Blood had already been shed, and +scalps been taken. A war party, three hundred strong, were prowling +in the neighborhood; others might be met with higher up the river; +it behooved the travellers, therefore, to be upon their guard against +robbery or surprise, for an Indian war-party on the march is prone to +acts of outrage. + +In consequence of this report, which was subsequently confirmed by +further intelligence, a guard was kept up at night round the encampment, +and they all slept on their arms. As they were sixteen in number, and +well supplied with weapons and ammunition, they trusted to be able to +give any marauding party a warm reception. Nothing occurred, however, to +molest them on their voyage, and on the 8th of April they came in sight +of Fort Osage. On their approach the flag was hoisted on the fort, and +they saluted it by a discharge of fire-arms. Within a short distance of +the fort was an Osage village, the inhabitants of which, men, women, and +children, thronged down to the water side to witness their landing. One +of the first persons they met on the river bank was Mr. Crooks, who +had come down in a boat, with nine men, from their winter encampment at +Nodowa to meet them. + +They remained at Fort Osage a part of three days, during which they were +hospitably entertained at the garrison by Lieutenant Brownson, who held +a temporary command. They were regaled also with a war-feast at the +village; the Osage warriors having returned from a successful foray +against the loways, in which they had taken seven scalps. They were +paraded on poles about the village, followed by the warriors decked out +in all their savage ornaments, and hideously painted as if for battle. + +By the Osage warriors, Mr. Hunt and his companions were again warned to +be on their guard in ascending the river, as the Sioux tribe meant to +lay in wait and attack them. + +On the 10th of April they again embarked their party, being now +augmented to twenty-six, by the addition of Mr. Crooks and his boat's +crew. They had not proceeded far, however, when there was a great outcry +from one of the boats; it was occasioned by a little domestic discipline +in the Dorion family. The squaw of the worthy interpreter, it appeared, +had been so delighted with the scalp-dance, and other festivities of the +Osage village, that she had taken a strong inclination to remain there. +This had been as strongly opposed by her liege lord, who had compelled +her to embark. The good dame had remained sulky ever since, whereupon +Pierre, seeing no other mode of exorcising the evil spirit out of her, +and being, perhaps, a little inspired by whiskey, had resorted to the +Indian remedy of the cudgel, and before his neighbors could interfere, +had belabored her so soundly, that there is no record of her having +shown any refractory symptoms throughout the remainder of the +expedition. + +For a week they continued their voyage, exposed to almost incessant +rains. The bodies of drowned buffaloes floated past them in vast +numbers; many had drifted upon the shore, or against the upper ends +of the rafts and islands. These had attracted great flights of +turkey-buzzards; some were banqueting on the carcasses, others were +soaring far aloft in the sky, and others were perched on the trees, with +their backs to the sun, and their wings stretched out to dry, like so +many vessels in harbor, spreading their sails after a shower. + +The turkey-buzzard (vultur aura, or golden vulture), when on the wing, +is one of the most specious and imposing of birds. Its flight in the +upper regions of the air is really sublime, extending its immense wings, +and wheeling slowly and majestically to and fro, seemingly without +exerting a muscle or fluttering a feather, but moving by mere volition, +and sailing on the bosom of the air, as a ship upon the ocean. Usurping +the empyreal realm of the eagle, he assumes for a time the port and +dignity of that majestic bird, and often is mistaken for him by ignorant +crawlers upon the earth. It is only when he descends from the clouds to +pounce upon carrion that he betrays his low propensities, and reveals +his caitiff character. Near at hand he is a disgusting bird, ragged in +plumage, base in aspect, and of loathsome odor. + +On the 17th of April Mr. Hunt arrived with his party at the station +near the Nodowa River, where the main body had been quartered during the +winter. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + Return of Spring.--Appearance of Snakes.--Great Flights of + Wild Pigeons.--Renewal of the Voyage.--Night Encampments.-- + Platte River.--Ceremonials on Passing It.--Signs of Indian + War Parties.--Magnificent Prospect at Papillion Creek.-- + Desertion of Two Hunters.--An Irruption Into the Camp of + Indian Desperadoes.--Village of the Omahas.--Anecdotes of the + Tribe.--Feudal Wars of the Indians.--Story of Blackbird, the + Famous Omaha Chief. + +THE weather continued rainy and ungenial for some days after Mr. Hunt's +return to Nodowa; yet spring was rapidly advancing and vegetation was +putting forth with all its early freshness and beauty. The snakes +began to recover from their torpor and crawl forth into day; and the +neighborhood of the wintering house seems to have been much infested +with them. Mr. Bradbury, in the course of his botanical researches, +found a surprising number in a half torpid state, under flat stones +upon the banks which overhung the cantonment, and narrowly escaped being +struck by a rattlesnake, which darted at him from a cleft in the rock, +but fortunately gave him warning by his rattle. + +The pigeons, too, were filling the woods in vast migratory flocks. It is +almost incredible to describe the prodigious flights of these birds in +the western wildernesses. They appear absolutely in clouds, and move +with astonishing velocity, their wings making a whistling sound as they +fly. The rapid evolutions of these flocks wheeling and shifting suddenly +as if with one mind and one impulse; the flashing changes of color they +present, as their backs their breasts, or the under part of their wings +are turned to the spectator, are singularly pleasing. When they alight, +if on the ground, they cover whole acres at a time; if upon trees, the +branches often break beneath their weight. If suddenly startled while +feeding in the midst of a forest, the noise they make in getting on the +wing is like the roar of a cataract or the sound of distant thunder. + +A flight of this kind, like an Egyptian flight of locusts, devours +everything that serves for its food as it passes along. So great were +the numbers in the vicinity of the camp that Mr. Bradbury, in the +course of a morning's excursion, shot nearly three hundred with a +fowling-piece. He gives a curious, though apparently a faithful, account +of the kind of discipline observed in these immense flocks, so that each +may have a chance of picking up food. As the front ranks must meet with +the greatest abundance, and the rear ranks must have scanty pickings, +the instant a rank finds itself the hindmost, it rises in the air, flies +over the whole flock and takes its place in the advance. The next rank +follows in its course, and thus the last is continually becoming first +and all by turns have a front place at the banquet. + +The rains having at length subsided, Mr. Hunt broke up the encampment +and resumed his course up the Missouri. + +The party now consisted of nearly sixty persons, of whom five were +partners, one, John Reed, was a clerk; forty were Canadian "voyageurs," +or "engages," and there were several hunters. They embarked in four +boats, one of which was of a large size, mounting a swivel, and two +howitzers. All were furnished with masts and sails, to be used when the +wind was sufficiently favorable and strong to overpower the current of +the river. Such was the case for the first four or five days, when they +were wafted steadily up the stream by a strong southeaster. + +Their encampments at night were often pleasant and picturesque: on some +beautiful bank, beneath spreading trees, which afforded them shelter and +fuel. The tents were pitched, the fires made, and the meals prepared by +the voyageurs, and many a story was told, and joke passed, and song sung +round the evening fire. All, however, were asleep at an early hour. Some +under the tents, others wrapped in blankets before the fire, or beneath +the trees; and some few in the boats and canoes. + +On the 28th, they breakfasted on one of the islands which lie at the +mouth of the Nebraska or Platte River--the largest tributary of the +Missouri, and about six hundred miles above its confluence with the +Mississippi. This broad but shallow stream flows for an immense distance +through a wide and verdant valley scooped out of boundless prairies. It +draws its main supplies, by several forks or branches, from the Rocky +Mountains. The mouth of this river is established as the dividing point +between the upper and lower Missouri; and the earlier voyagers, in +their toilsome ascent, before the introduction of steamboats, considered +one-half of their labors accomplished when they reached this place. The +passing of the mouth of the Nebraska, therefore, was equivalent among +boatmen to the crossing of the line among sailors, and was celebrated +with like ceremonials of a rough and waggish nature, practiced upon the +uninitiated; among which was the old nautical joke of shaving. The river +deities, however, like those of the sea, were to be propitiated by a +bribe, and the infliction of these rude honors to be parried by a treat +to the adepts. + +At the mouth of the Nebraska new signs were met with of war parties +which had recently been in the vicinity. There was the frame of a skin +canoe, in which the warriors had traversed the river. At night, also, +the lurid reflection of immense fires hung in the sky, showing the +conflagration of great tracts of the prairies. Such fires not being made +by hunters so late in the season, it was supposed they were caused by +some wandering war parties. These often take the precaution to set the +prairies on fire behind them to conceal their traces from their enemies. +This is chiefly done when the party has been unsuccessful, and is on the +retreat and apprehensive of pursuit. At such time it is not safe even +for friends to fall in with them, as they are apt to be in savage humor, +and disposed to vent their spleen in capricious outrage. These signs, +therefore, of a band of marauders on the prowl, called for some degree +of vigilance on the part of the travellers. + +After passing the Nebraska, the party halted for part of two days on the +bank of the river, a little above Papillion Creek, to supply themselves +with a stock of oars and poles from the tough wood of the ash, which +is not met with higher up the Missouri. While the voyagers were thus +occupied, the naturalists rambled over the adjacent country to collect +plants. From the summit of a range of bluffs on the opposite side of the +river, about two hundred and fifty feet high, they had one of those vast +and magnificent prospects which sometimes unfold themselves in those +boundless regions. Below them was the Valley of the Missouri, about +seven miles in breadth, clad in the fresh verdure of spring; enameled +with flowers and interspersed with clumps and groves of noble trees, +between which the mighty river poured its turbulent and turbid stream. +The interior of the country presented a singular scene; the immense +waste being broken up by innumerable green hills, not above eight feet +in height, but extremely steep, and actually pointed at their summits. A +long line of bluffs extended for upwards of thirty miles parallel to +the Missouri, with a shallow lake stretching along their base, which had +evidently once formed a bed of the river. The surface of this lake was +covered with aquatic plants, on the broad leaves of which numbers of +water-snakes, drawn forth by the genial warmth of spring, were basking +in the sunshine. + +On the 2d day of May, at the usual hour of embarking, the camp was +thrown into some confusion by two of the hunters, named Harrington, +expressing their intention to abandon the expedition and return home. +One of these had joined the party in the preceding autumn, having been +hunting for two years on the Missouri; the other had engaged at St. +Louis, in the following March, and had come up from thence with Mr. +Hunt. He now declared that he had enlisted merely for the purpose +of following his brother, and persuading him to return; having been +enjoined to do so by his mother, whose anxiety had been awakened by the +idea of his going on such a wild and distant expedition. + +The loss of two stark hunters and prime riflemen was a serious affair to +the party, for they were approaching the region where they might expect +hostilities from the Sioux; indeed, throughout the whole of their +perilous journey, the services of such men would be all important, for +little reliance was to be placed upon the valor of the Canadians in +case of attack. Mr. Hunt endeavored by arguments, expostulations, +and entreaties, to shake the determination of the two brothers. He +represented to them that they were between six and seven hundred miles +above the mouth of the Missouri; that they would have four hundred miles +to go before they could reach the habitation of a white man, throughout +which they would be exposed to all kinds of risks; since, he declared, +if they persisted in abandoning him and breaking their faith, he would +not furnish them with a single round of ammunition. All was in vain; +they obstinately persisted in their resolution; whereupon, Mr. Hunt, +partly incited by indignation, partly by the policy of deterring others +from desertion, put his threat into execution, and left them to find +their way back to the settlements without, as he supposed, a single +bullet or charge of powder. + +The boats now continued their slow and toilsome course for several days, +against the current of the river. The late signs of roaming war parties +caused a vigilant watch to be kept up at night when the crews encamped +on shore; nor was this vigilance superfluous; for on the night of the +seventh instant, there was a wild and fearful yell, and eleven Sioux +warriors, stark naked, with tomahawks in their hands, rushed into the +camp. They were instantly surrounded and seized, whereupon their leader +called out to his followers to desist from any violence, and pretended +to be perfectly pacific in his intentions. It proved, however, that they +were a part of the war party, the skeleton of whose canoe had been seen +at the mouth of the river Platte, and the reflection of whose fires had +been descried in the air. They had been disappointed or defeated in the +foray, and in their rage and mortification these eleven warriors had +"devoted their clothes to the medicine." This is a desperate act of +Indian braves when foiled in war, and in dread of scoffs and sneers. In +such case they sometimes threw off their clothes and ornaments, devote +themselves to the Great Spirit, and attempt some reckless exploit with +which to cover their disgrace. Woe to any defenseless party of white men +that may then fall in their way! + +Such was the explanation given by Pierre Dorion, the half-breed +interpreter, of this wild intrusion into the camp; and the party were +so exasperated when appraised of the sanguinary intentions of the +prisoners, that they were for shooting them on the spot. Mr. Hunt, +however, exerted his usual moderation and humanity, and ordered +that they should be conveyed across the river in one of the boats, +threatening them however, with certain death if again caught in any +hostile act. + +On the 10th of May the party arrived at the Omaha (pronounced Omawhaw) +village, about eight hundred and thirty miles above the mouth of the +Missouri, and encamped in its neighborhood. The village was situated +under a hill on the bank of the river, and consisted of about eighty +lodges. These were of a circular and conical form, and about sixteen +feet in diameter; being mere tents of dressed buffalo skins, sewed +together and stretched on long poles, inclined towards each other so as +to cross at about half their height. Thus the naked tops of the poles +diverge in such a manner that, if they were covered with skins like the +lower ends, the tent would be shaped like an hour-glass, and present the +appearance of one cone inverted on the apex of another. + +The forms of Indian lodges are worthy of attention, each tribe having +a different mode of shaping and arranging them, so that it is easy to +tell, on seeing a lodge or an encampment at a distance, to what tribe +the inhabitants belong. The exterior of the Omaha lodges have often a +gay and fanciful appearance, being painted with undulating bands of +red or yellow, or decorated with rude figures of horses, deer, and +buffaloes, and with human faces, painted like full moons, four and five +feet broad. + +The Omahas were once one of the numerous and powerful tribes of the +prairies, vying in warlike might and prowess with the Sioux, the +Pawnees, the Sauks, the Konsas, and the Iatans. Their wars with the +Sioux, however, had thinned their ranks, and the small-pox in 1802 had +swept off two thirds of their number. At the time of Mr. Hunt's visit +they still boasted about two hundred warriors and hunters, but they are +now fast melting away, and before long, will be numbered among those +extinguished nations of the west that exist but in tradition. + +In his correspondence with Mr. Astor, from this point of his journey, +Mr. Hunt gives a sad account of the Indian tribes bordering on the +river. They were in continual war with each other, and their wars were +of the most harassing kind; consisting, not merely of main conflicts and +expeditions of moment, involving the sackings, burnings, and massacres +of towns and villages, but of individual acts of treachery, murder, and +cold-blooded cruelty; or of vaunting and foolhardy exploits of single +warriors, either to avenge some personal wrong, or gain the vainglorious +trophy of a scalp. The lonely hunter, the wandering wayfarer, the poor +squaw cutting wood or gathering corn, was liable to be surprised and +slaughtered. In this way tribes were either swept away at once, or +gradually thinned out, and savage life was surrounded with constant +horrors and alarms. That the race of red men should diminish from +year to year, and so few should survive of the numerous nations +which evidently once peopled the vast regions of the west, is nothing +surprising; it is rather matter of surprise that so many should survive; +for the existence of a savage in these parts seems little better than a +prolonged and all-besetting death. It is, in fact, a caricature of the +boasted romance of feudal times; chivalry in its native and uncultured +state, and knight-errantry run wild. + +In their most prosperous days, the Omahas looked upon themselves as the +most powerful and perfect of human beings, and considered all created +things as made for their peculiar use and benefit. It is this tribe of +whose chief, the famous Wash-ing-guhsah-ba, or Blackbird, such savage +and romantic stories are told. He had died about ten years previous to +the arrival of Mr. Hunt's party, but his name was still mentioned with +awe by his people. He was one of the first among the Indian chiefs on +the Missouri to deal with the white traders, and showed great sagacity +in levying his royal dues. When a trader arrived in his village, he +caused all his goods to be brought into his lodge and opened. From these +he selected whatever suited his sovereign pleasure; blankets, tobacco, +whiskey, powder, ball, beads, and red paint; and laid the articles on +one side, without deigning to give any compensation. Then calling to him +his herald or crier, he would order him to mount on top of the lodge +and summon all the tribe to bring in their peltries, and trade with the +white man. The lodge would soon be crowded with Indians bringing bear, +beaver, otter, and other skins. No one was allowed to dispute the prices +fixed by the white trader upon his articles; who took care to indemnify +himself five times over for the goods set apart by the chief. In this +way the Blackbird enriched himself, and enriched the white men, and +became exceedingly popular among the traders of the Missouri. His +people, however, were not equally satisfied by a regulation of trade +which worked so manifestly against them, and began to show signs of +discontent. Upon this a crafty and unprincipled trader revealed a secret +to the Blackbird, by which he might acquire unbounded sway over his +ignorant and superstitious subjects. He instructed him in the poisonous +qualities of arsenic, and furnished him with an ample supply of +that baneful drug. From this time the Blackbird seemed endowed with +supernatural powers, to possess the gift of prophecy, and to hold +the disposal of life and death within his hands. Woe to any one who +questioned his authority or dared to dispute his commands! The Blackbird +prophesied his death within a certain time, and he had the secret means +of verifying his prophecy. Within the fated period the offender was +smitten with strange and sudden disease, and perished from the face of +the earth. Every one stood aghast at these multiplied examples of his +superhuman might, and dreaded to displease so omnipotent and vindictive +a being; and the Blackbird enjoyed a wide and undisputed sway. + +It was not, however, by terror alone that he ruled his people; he was a +warrior of the first order, and his exploits in arms were the theme +of young and old. His career had begun by hardships, having been taken +prisoner by the Sioux, in early youth. Under his command, the Omahas +obtained great character for military prowess, nor did he permit an +insult or an injury to one of his tribe to pass unrevenged. The +Pawnee republicans had inflicted a gross indignity on a favorite and +distinguished Omaha brave. The Blackbird assembled his warriors, led +them against the Pawnee town, attacked it with irresistible fury, +slaughtered a great number of its inhabitants, and burnt it to the +ground. He waged fierce and bloody war against the Ottoes for many +years, until peace was effected between them by the mediation of the +whites. Fearless in battle, and fond of signalizing himself, he dazzled +his followers by daring acts. In attacking a Kanza village, he rode +singly round it, loading and discharging his rifle at the inhabitants as +he galloped past them. He kept up in war the same idea of mysterious +and supernatural power. At one time, when pursuing a war party by their +tracks across the prairies, he repeatedly discharged his rifle into the +prints made by their feet and by the hoofs of their horses, assuring +his followers that he would thereby cripple the fugitives, so that they +would easily be overtaken. He in fact did overtake them, and destroyed +them almost to a man; and his victory was considered miraculous, both +by friends and foe. By these and similar exploits, he made himself +the pride and boast of his people, and became popular among them, +notwithstanding his death-denouncing fiat. + +With all his savage and terrific qualities, he was sensible of the power +of female beauty, and capable of love. A war party of the Poncas had +made a foray into the lands of the Omahas, and carried off a number of +women and horses. The Blackbird was roused to fury, and took the field +with all his braves, swearing to "eat up the Ponca nation"--the Indian +threat of exterminating war. The Poncas, sorely pressed, took refuge +behind a rude bulwark of earth; but the Blackbird kept up so galling a +fire, that he seemed likely to execute his menace. In their extremity +they sent forth a herald, bearing the calumet or pipe of peace, but he +was shot down by order of the Blackbird. Another herald was sent forth +in similar guise, but he shared a like fate. The Ponca chief then, as a +last hope, arrayed his beautiful daughter in her finest ornaments, +and sent her forth with a calumet, to sue for peace. The charms of the +Indian maid touched the stern heart of the Blackbird; he accepted the +pipe at her hand, smoked it, and from that time a peace took place +between the Poncas and the Omahas. + +This beautiful damsel, in all probability, was the favorite wife whose +fate makes so tragic an incident in the story of the Blackbird. Her +youth and beauty had gained an absolute sway over his rugged heart, so +that he distinguished her above all of his other wives. The habitual +gratification of his vindictive impulses, however, had taken away from +him all mastery over his passions, and rendered him liable to the most +furious transports of rage. In one of these his beautiful wife had the +misfortune to offend him, when suddenly drawing his knife, he laid her +dead at his feet with a single blow. + +In an instant his frenzy was at an end. He gazed for a time in mute +bewilderment upon his victim; then drawing his buffalo robe over his +head, he sat down beside the corpse, and remained brooding over his +crime and his loss. Three days elapsed, yet the chief continued silent +and motionless; tasting no food, and apparently sleepless. It was +apprehended that he intended to starve himself to death; his people +approached him in trembling awe, and entreated him once more to uncover +his face and be comforted; but he remained unmoved. At length one of his +warriors brought in a small child, and laying it on the ground, placed +the foot of the Blackbird upon its neck. The heart of the gloomy savage +was touched by this appeal; he threw aside his robe; made an harangue +upon what he had done; and from that time forward seemed to have thrown +the load of grief and remorse from his mind. + +He still retained his fatal and mysterious secret, and with it his +terrific power; but, though able to deal death to his enemies, he could +not avert it from himself or his friends. In 1802 the small-pox, that +dreadful pestilence, which swept over the land like a fire over the +prairie, made its appearance in the village of the Omahas. The poor +savages saw with dismay the ravages of a malady, loathsome and agonizing +in its details, and which set the skill and experience of their +conjurors and medicine men at defiance. In a little while, two thirds +of the population were swept from the face of the earth, and the doom of +the rest seemed sealed. The stoicism of the warriors was at an end; they +became wild and desperate; some set fire to the village as a last means +of checking the pestilence; others, in a frenzy of despair, put their +wives and children to death, that they might be spared the agonies of an +inevitable disease, and that they might all go to some better country. + +When the general horror and dismay was at its height, the Blackbird +himself was struck down with the malady. The poor savages, when they +saw their chief in danger, forgot their own miseries, and surrounded +his dying bed. His dominant spirit, and his love for the white men, +were evinced in his latest breath, with which he designated his place of +sepulture. It was to be on a hill or promontory, upwards of four hundred +feet in height, overlooking a great extent of the Missouri, from whence +he had been accustomed to watch for the barks of the white men. The +Missouri washes the base of the promontory, and after winding and +doubling in many links and mazes in the plain below, returns to within +nine hundred yards of its starting-place; so that for thirty miles +navigating with sail and oar the voyager finds himself continually near +to this singular promontory as if spell-bound. + +It was the dying command of the Blackbird that his tomb should be on +the summit of this hill, in which he should be interred, seated on his +favorite horse, that he might overlook his ancient domain, and behold +the barks of the white men as they came up the river to trade with his +people. + +His dying orders were faithfully obeyed. His corpse was placed astride +of his war-steed and a mound raised over them on the summit of the hill. +On top of the mound was erected a staff, from which fluttered the banner +of the chieftain, and the scalps that he had taken in battle. When the +expedition under Mr. Hunt visited that part of the country, the staff +still remained, with the fragments of the banner; and the superstitious +rite of placing food from time to time on the mound, for the use of the +deceased, was still observed by the Omahas. That rite has since fallen +into disuse, for the tribe itself is almost extinct. Yet the hill of the +Blackbird continues an object of veneration to the wandering savage, +and a landmark to the voyager of the Missouri; and as the civilized +traveller comes within sight of its spell-bound crest, the mound is +pointed out to him from afar, which still incloses the grim skeletons of +the Indian warrior and his horse. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + Rumors of Danger From the Sioux Tetons.--Ruthless Character + of Those Savages.--Pirates of the Missouri.--Their Affair + with Crooks and M'Lellan.--A Trading Expedition Broken Up.-- + M'Lellan's Vow of Vengeance.--Uneasiness in the Camp.-- + Desertions.-Departure From the Omaha Village.--Meeting With + Jones and Carson, two Adventurous Trappers.--Scientific + Pursuits of Messrs. Bradbury and Nuttall.--Zeal of a + Botanist.--Adventure of Mr. Bradbury with a Ponca Indian.-- + Expedient of the Pocket Compass and Microscope.--A Messenger + From Lisa.--Motives for Pressing Forward. + +WHILE Mr. Hunt and his party were sojourning at the village of the +Omahas, three Sioux Indians of the Yankton Alma tribe arrived, bringing +unpleasant intelligence. They reported that certain bands of the Sioux +Tetons, who inhabited a region many leagues further up the Missouri, +were near at hand, awaiting the approach of the party, with the avowed +intention of opposing their progress. + +The Sioux Tetons were at that time a sort of pirates of the Missouri, +who considered the well freighted bark of the American trader fair game. +They had their own traffic with the British merchants of the Northwest, +who brought them regular supplies of merchandise by way of the river +St. Peter. Being thus independent of the Missouri traders for their +supplies, they kept no terms with them, but plundered them whenever they +had an opportunity. It has been insinuated that they were prompted to +these outrages by the British merchants, who wished to keep off all +rivals in the Indian trade; but others allege another motive, and one +savoring of a deeper policy. The Sioux, by their intercourse with the +British traders, had acquired the use of firearms, which had given them +vast superiority over other tribes higher up the Missouri. They had made +themselves also, in a manner, factors for the upper tribes, supplying +them at second hand, and at greatly advanced prices, with goods derived +from the white men. The Sioux, therefore, saw with jealousy the American +traders pushing their way up the Missouri; foreseeing that the upper +tribes would thus be relieved from all dependence on them for supplies; +nay, what was worse, would be furnished with fire-arms, and elevated +into formidable rivals. + +We have already alluded to a case in which Mr. Crooks and Mr. M'Lellan +had been interrupted in a trading voyage by these ruffians of the river, +and, as it is in some degree connected with circumstances hereafter to +be related, we shall specify it more particularly. + +About two years before the time of which we are treating, Crooks and +M'Lellan were ascending the river in boats with a party of about forty +men, bound on one of their trading expeditions to the upper tribes. In +one of the bends of the river, where the channel made a deep curve under +impending banks, they suddenly heard yells and shouts above them, and +beheld the cliffs overhead covered with armed savages. It was a band +of Sioux warriors, upwards of six hundred strong. They brandished their +weapons in a menacing manner, and ordered the boats to turn back and +land lower down the river. There was no disputing these commands, for +they had the power to shower destruction upon the white men, without +risk to themselves. Crooks and M'Lellan, therefore, turned back with +feigned alacrity, and, landing, had an interview with the Sioux. +The latter forbade them, under pain of exterminating hostility, from +attempting to proceed up the river, but offered to trade peacefully with +them if they would halt where they were. The party, being principally +composed of voyageurs, was too weak to contend with so superior a +force, and one so easily augmented; they pretended, therefore, to comply +cheerfully with their arbitrary dictation, and immediately proceeded to +cut down trees and erect a trading house. The warrior band departed for +their village, which was about twenty miles distant, to collect objects +of traffic; they left six or eight of their number, however, to keep +watch upon the white men, and scouts were continually passing to and fro +with intelligence. + +Mr. Crooks saw that it would be impossible to prosecute his voyage +without the danger of having his boats plundered, and a great part of +his men massacred; he determined, however, not to be entirely frustrated +in the objects of his expedition. While he continued, therefore, with +great apparent earnestness and assiduity, the construction of the +trading house, he despatched the hunters and trappers of his party in +a canoe, to make their way up the river to the original place of +destination, there to busy themselves in trapping and collecting +peltries, and to await his arrival at some future period. + +As soon as the detachment had had sufficient time to ascend beyond the +hostile country of the Sioux, Mr. Crooks suddenly broke up his feigned +trading establishment, embarked his men and effects, and, after giving +the astonished rear-guard of savages a galling and indignant message to +take to their countrymen, pushed down the river with all speed, sparing +neither oar nor paddle, day nor night, until fairly beyond the swoop of +these river hawks. + +What increased the irritation of Messrs. Crooks and M'Lellan, at this +mortifying check to their gainful enterprise, was the information that a +rival trader was at the bottom of it; the Sioux, it is said, having been +instigated to this outrage by Mr. Manuel Lisa, the leading partner and +agent of the Missouri Fur Company, already mentioned. This intelligence, +whether true or false, so roused the fiery temper of M'Lellan, that +he swore, if ever he fell in with Lisa in the Indian country, he would +shoot him on the spot; a mode of redress perfectly in unison with +the character of the man, and the code of honor prevalent beyond the +frontier. + +If Crooks and M'Lellan had been exasperated by the insolent conduct +of the Sioux Tetons, and the loss which it had occasioned, those +freebooters had been no less indignant at being outwitted by the white +men, and disappointed of their anticipated gains, and it was apprehended +they would be particularly hostile against the present expedition, when +they should learn that these gentlemen were engaged in it. + +All these causes of uneasiness were concealed as much as possible from +the Canadian voyageurs, lest they should become intimidated; it was +impossible, however, to prevent the rumors brought by the Indians from +leaking out, and they became subjects of gossiping and exaggeration. +The chief of the Omahas, too, on returning from a hunting excursion, +reported that two men had been killed some distance above, by a band +of Sioux. This added to the fears that already began to be excited. +The voyageurs pictured to themselves bands of fierce warriors stationed +along each bank of the river, by whom they would be exposed to be shot +down in their boats: or lurking hordes, who would set on them at night, +and massacre them in their encampments. Some lost heart, and proposed to +return, rather than fight their way, and, in a manner, run the gauntlet +through the country of these piratical marauders. In fact, three men +deserted while at this village. Luckily, their place was supplied by +three others who happened to be there, and who were prevailed on to join +the expedition by promises of liberal pay, and by being fitted out and +equipped in complete style. + +The irresolution and discontent visible among some of his people, +arising at times almost to mutiny, and the occasional desertions which +took place while thus among friendly tribes, and within reach of the +frontiers, added greatly to the anxieties of Mr. Hunt, and rendered him +eager to press forward and leave a hostile tract behind him, so that it +would be as perilous to return as to keep on, and no one would dare to +desert. + +Accordingly, on the 15th of May he departed from the village of the +Omahas, and set forward towards the country of the formidable Sioux +Tetons. For the first five days they had a fair and fresh breeze, and +the boats made good progress. The wind then came ahead, and the +river beginning to rise, and to increase in rapidity, betokened the +commencement of the annual flood, caused by the melting of the snow on +the Rocky Mountains, and the vernal rains of the upper prairies. + +As they were now entering a region where foes might be lying in wait +on either bank, it was determined, in hunting for game, to confine +themselves principally to the islands, which sometimes extend to +considerable length, and are beautifully wooded, affording abundant +pasturage and shade. On one of these they killed three buffaloes and two +elks, and halting on the edge of a beautiful prairie, made a sumptuous +hunter's repast. They had not long resumed their boats and pulled along +the river banks when they descried a canoe approaching, navigated by +two men, whom, to their surprise, they ascertained to be white men. +They proved to be two of those strange and fearless wanderers of the +wilderness, the trappers. Their names were Benjamin Jones and Alexander +Carson. They had been for two years past hunting and trapping near the +head of the Missouri, and were thus floating for thousands of miles in +a cockle-shell, down a turbulent stream, through regions infested by +savage tribes, yet apparently as easy and unconcerned as if navigating +securely in the midst of civilization. + +The acquisition of two such hardy, experienced, and dauntless hunters +was peculiarly desirable at the present moment. They needed but little +persuasion. The wilderness is the home of the trapper; like the sailor, +he cares but little to which point of the compass he steers; and Jones +and Carson readily abandoned their voyage to St. Louis, and turned their +faces towards the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific. + +The two naturalists, Mr. Bradbury and Mr. Nuttall, who had joined +the expedition at St. Louis, still accompanied it, and pursued their +researches on all occasions. Mr. Nuttall seems to have been exclusively +devoted to his scientific pursuits. He was a zealous botanist, and +all his enthusiasm was awakened at beholding a new world, as it were, +opening upon him in the boundless prairies, clad in the vernal and +variegated robe of unknown flowers. Whenever the boats landed at meal +times, or for any temporary purpose, he would spring on shore, and set +out on a hunt for new specimens. Every plant or flower of a rare or +unknown species was eagerly seized as a prize. Delighted with the +treasures spreading themselves out before him, he went groping and +stumbling along among the wilderness of sweets, forgetful of everything +but his immediate pursuit, and had often to be sought after when the +boats were about to resume their course. At such times he would be found +far off in the prairies, or up the course of some petty stream, laden +with plants of all kinds. + +The Canadian voyageurs, who are a class of people that know nothing out +of their immediate line, and with constitutional levity make a jest of +anything they cannot understand, were extremely puzzled by this passion +for collecting what they considered mere useless weeds. When they saw +the worthy botanist coming back heavy laden with his specimens, and +treasuring them up as carefully as a miser would his hoard, they used +to make merry among themselves at his expense, regarding him as some +whimsical kind of madman. + +Mr. Bradbury was less exclusive in his tastes and habits, and combined +the hunter and sportsman with the naturalist. He took his rifle or his +fowling-piece with him in his geological researches, conformed to the +hardy and rugged habits of the men around him, and of course gained +favor in their eyes. He had a strong relish for incident and adventure, +was curious in observing savage manners, and savage life, and ready to +join any hunting or other excursion. Even now, that the expedition was +proceeding through a dangerous neighborhood, he could not check his +propensity to ramble. Having observed, on the evening of the 22d of +May, that the river ahead made a great bend which would take up +the navigation of the following day, he determined to profit by +the circumstance. On the morning of the 23d, therefore, instead of +embarking, he filled his shot-pouch with parched corn, for provisions, +and set off to cross the neck on foot and meet the boats in the +afternoon at the opposite side of the bend. Mr. Hunt felt uneasy at +his venturing thus alone, and reminded him that he was in an enemy's +country; but Mr. Bradbury made light of the danger, and started off +cheerily upon his ramble. His day was passed pleasantly in traversing +a beautiful tract, making botanical and geological researches, and +observing the habits of an extensive village of prairie dogs, at which +he made several ineffectual shots, without considering the risk he ran +of attracting the attention of any savages that might be lurking in the +neighborhood. In fact he had totally forgotten the Sioux Tetons, and +all the other perils of the country, when, about the middle of the +afternoon, as he stood near the river bank, and was looking out for the +boat, he suddenly felt a hand laid on his shoulder. Starting and turning +round, he beheld a naked savage with a bow bent, and the arrow pointed +at his breast. In an instant his gun was leveled and his hand upon the +lock. The Indian drew his bow still further, but forbore to launch the +shaft. Mr. Bradbury, with admirable presence of mind, reflected that the +savage, if hostile in his intents, would have shot him without giving +him a chance of defense; he paused, therefore, and held out his hand. +The other took it in sign of friendship, and demanded in the Osage +language whether he was a Big Knife, or American. He answered in the +affirmative, and inquired whether the other were a Sioux. To his great +relief he found that he was a Ponca. By his time two other Indians came +running up, and all three laid hold of Mr. Bradbury and seemed disposed +to compel him to go off with them among the hills. He resisted, and +sitting down on a sand hill contrived to amuse them with a pocket +compass. When the novelty of this was exhausted they again seized him, +but he now produced a small microscope. This new wonder again fixed the +attention of the savages, who have more curiosity than it has been the +custom to allow them. While thus engaged, one of them suddenly leaped up +and gave a war-whoop. The hand of the hardy naturalist was again on his +gun, and he was prepared to make battle, when the Indian pointed down +the river and revealed the true cause of his yell. It was the mast of +one of the boats appearing above the low willows which bordered the +stream. Mr. Bradbury felt infinitely relieved by the sight. The Indians +on their part now showed signs of apprehension, and were disposed to run +away; but he assured them of good treatment and something to drink if +they would accompany him on board of the boats. They lingered for a +time, but disappeared before the boats came to land. + +On the following morning they appeared at camp accompanied by several of +their tribe. With them came also a white man, who announced himself as +a messenger bearing missives for Mr. Hunt. In fact he brought a letter +from Mr. Manuel Lisa, partner and agent of the Missouri Fur Company. As +has already been mentioned, this gentleman was going in search of +Mr. Henry and his party, who had been dislodged from the forks of the +Missouri by the Blackfeet Indians, and had shifted his post somewhere +beyond the Rocky Mountains. Mr. Lisa had left St. Louis three weeks +after Mr. Hunt, and having heard of the hostile intentions of the Sioux, +had made the greatest exertions to overtake him, that they might pass +through the dangerous part of the river together. He had twenty stout +oarsmen in his service and they plied their oars so vigorously, that he +had reached the Omaha village just four days after the departure of Mr. +Hunt. From this place he despatched the messenger in question, trusting +to his overtaking the barges as they toiled up against the stream, and +were delayed by the windings of the river. The purport of his letter was +to entreat Mr. Hunt to wait until he could come up with him, that they +might unite their forces and be a protection to each other in their +perilous course through the country of the Sioux. In fact, as it was +afterwards ascertained, Lisa was apprehensive that Mr. Hunt would do him +some ill office with the Sioux band, securing his own passage through +their country by pretending that he, with whom they were accustomed +to trade, was on his way to them with a plentiful supply of goods. He +feared, too, that Crooks and M'Lellan would take this opportunity to +retort upon him the perfidy which they accused him of having used, two +years previously, among these very Sioux. In this respect, however, he +did them signal injustice. There was no such thing as court design or +treachery in their thought; but M'Lellan, when he heard that Lisa was on +his way up the river, renewed his open threat of shooting him the moment +he met him on Indian land. + +The representations made by Crooks and M'Lellan of the treachery they +had experienced, or fancied, on the part of Lisa, had great weight with +Mr. Hunt, especially when he recollected the obstacles that had been +thrown in his way by that gentleman at St. Louis. He doubted, therefore, +the fair dealing of Lisa, and feared that, should they enter the Sioux +country together, the latter might make use of his influence with that +tribe, as he had in the case of Crooks and M'Lellan, and instigate them +to oppose his progress up the river. + +He sent back, therefore, an answer calculated to beguile Lisa, assuring +him that he would wait for him at the Poncas village, which was but a +little distance in advance; but, no sooner had the messenger departed, +than he pushed forward with all diligence, barely stopping at the +village to procure a supply of dried buffalo meat, and hastened to leave +the other party as far behind as possible, thinking there was less to be +apprehended from the open hostility of Indian foes than from the quiet +strategy of an Indian trader. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + Camp Gossip.--Deserters.--Recruits.--Kentucky Hunters.--A + Veteran Woodman.--Tidings of Mr. Henry.-Danger From the + Blackfeet.--Alteration of Plans.--Scenery of the River.-- + Buffalo Roads.--Iron Ore.--Country of the Sioux.--A Land of + Danger.-apprehensions of the Voyageurs.--Indian Scouts.-- + Threatened Hostilities.--A Council of War.--An Array of + Battle.--A Parley.--The Pipe of Peace.--Speech-Making. + +IT was about noon when the party left the Poncas village, about a league +beyond which they passed the mouth of the Quicourt, or Rapid River +(called, in the original French, l'Eau Qui Court). After having +proceeded some distance further, they landed, and encamped for the +night. In the evening camp, the voyageurs gossiped, as usual, over the +events of the day; and especially over intelligence picked up among the +Poncas. These Indians had confirmed the previous reports of the hostile +intentions of the Sioux, and had assured them that five tribes, or +bands, of that fierce nation were actually assembled higher up the +river, and waiting to cut them off. This evening gossip, and the +terrific stories of Indian warfare to which it gave rise, produced a +strong effect upon the imagination of the irresolute; and in the morning +it was discovered that the two men, who had joined the party at the +Omaha village, and been so bounteously fitted out, had deserted in the +course of the night, carrying with them all their equipments. As it was +known that one of them could not swim, it was hoped that the banks of +the Quicourt River would bring them to a halt. A general pursuit was +therefore instituted, but without success. + +On the following morning (May 26th), as they were all on shore, +breakfasting on one of the beautiful banks of the river, they +observed two canoes descending along the opposite side. By the aid of +spy-glasses, they ascertained that there were two white men in one of +the canoes, and one in the other. A gun was discharged, which called the +attention of the voyagers, who crossed over. They proved to be the three +Kentucky hunters, of the true "dreadnought" stamp. Their names were +Edward Robinson, John Hoback, and Jacob Rizner. Robinson was a veteran +backwoodsman, sixty-six years of age. He had been one of the first +settlers of Kentucky, and engaged in many of the conflicts of the +Indians on "the Bloody Ground." In one of these battles he had been +scalped, and he still wore a handkerchief bound round his head to +protect the part. These men had passed several years in the upper +wilderness. They had been in the service of the Missouri Company under +Mr. Henry, and had crossed the Rocky Mountains with him in the preceding +year, when driven from his post on the Missouri by the hostilities of +the Blackfeet. After crossing the mountains, Mr. Henry had established +himself on one of the head branches of the Columbia River. There they +had remained with him some months, hunting and trapping, until, having +satisfied their wandering propensities, they felt disposed to return to +the families and comfortable homes which they had left in Kentucky. They +had accordingly made their way back across the mountains, and down +the rivers, and were in full career for St. Louis, when thus suddenly +interrupted. The sight of a powerful party of traders, trappers, +hunters, and voyageurs, well armed and equipped, furnished at all +points, in high health and spirits, and banqueting lustily on the +green margin of the river, was a spectacle equally stimulating to these +veteran backwoodsmen with the glorious array of a campaigning army to +an old soldier; but when they learned the grand scope and extent of the +enterprise in hand, it was irresistible; homes and families and all the +charms of green Kentucky vanished from their thoughts; they cast loose +their canoes to drift down the stream, and joyfully enlisted in the band +of adventurers. They engaged on similar terms with some of the other +hunters. The company was to fit them out, and keep them supplied with +the requisite equipments and munitions, and they were to yield one half +of the produce of their hunting and trapping. + +The addition of three such staunch recruits was extremely acceptable +at this dangerous part of the river. The knowledge of the country which +they had acquired, also, in their journeys and hunting excursions along +the rivers and among the Rocky Mountains was all important; in fact, +the information derived from them induced Mr. Hunt to alter his future +course. He had hitherto intended to proceed by the route taken by Lewis +and Clarke in their famous exploring expedition, ascending he Missouri +to its forks, and thence going, by land, across the mountains. These men +informed him, however, that, on taking that course he would have to pass +through the country invested by the savage tribe of the Blackfeet, and +would be exposed to their hostilities; they being, as has already been +observed, exasperated to deadly animosity against the whites, on account +of the death of one of their tribe by the hand of Captain Lewis. They +advised him rather to pursue a route more to the southward, being +the same by which they had returned. This would carry them over the +mountains about where the head-waters of the Platte and the Yellowstone +take their rise, at a place much more easy and practicable than that +where Lewis and Clarke had crossed. In pursuing this course, also, he +would pass through a country abounding with game, where he would have a +better chance of procuring a constant supply of provisions than by the +other route, and would run less risk of molestation from the Blackfeet. +Should he adopt this advice, it would be better for him to abandon the +river at the Arickara town, at which he would arrive in the course of a +few days. As the Indians at that town possessed horses in abundance, +he might purchase a sufficient number of them for his great journey +overland, which would commence at that place. + +After reflecting on this advice, and consulting with his associates, Mr. +Hunt came to the determination to follow the route thus pointed out, to +which the hunters engaged to pilot him. + +The party continued their voyage with delightful May weather. The +prairies bordering on the river were gayly painted with innumerable +flowers, exhibiting the motley confusion of colors of a Turkey carpet. +The beautiful islands, also, on which they occasionally halted, +presented the appearance of mingled grove and garden. The trees were +often covered with clambering grapevines in blossom, which perfumed +the air. Between the stately masses of the groves were grassy lawns and +glades, studded with flowers, or interspersed with rose-bushes in full +bloom. These islands were often the resort of the buffalo, the elk, +and the antelope, who had made innumerable paths among the trees and +thickets, which had the effect of the mazy walks and alleys of parks and +shrubberies. Sometimes, where the river passed between high banks and +bluffs, the roads made by the tramp of buffaloes for many ages along +the face of the heights, looked like so many well-travelled highways. +At other places the banks were banded with great veins of iron ore, laid +bare by the abrasion of the river. At one place the course of the river +was nearly in a straight line for about fifteen miles. The banks sloped +gently to its margin, without a single tree, but bordered with grass and +herbage of a vivid green. Along each bank, for the whole fifteen miles, +extended a stripe, one hundred yards in breadth, of a deep rusty brown, +indicating an inexhaustible bed of iron, through the center of which the +Missouri had worn its way. Indications of the continuance of this bed +were afterwards observed higher up the river. It is, in fact, one of the +mineral magazines which nature has provided in the heart of this vast +realm of fertility, and which, in connection with the immense beds of +coal on the same river, seem garnered up as the elements of the future +wealth and power of the mighty West. + +The sight of these mineral treasures greatly excited the curiosity +of Mr. Bradbury, and it was tantalizing to him to be checked in his +scientific researches, and obliged to forego his usual rambles on shore; +but they were now entering the fated country of the Sioux Tetons, in +which it was dangerous to wander about unguarded. + +This country extends for some days' journey along the river, and +consists of vast prairies, here and there diversified by swelling hills, +and cut up by ravines, the channels of turbid streams in the rainy +seasons, but almost destitute of water during the heats of summer. Here +and there on the sides of the hills, or along the alluvial borders and +bottoms of the ravines, are groves and skirts of forest: but for the +most part the country presented to the eye a boundless waste, covered +with herbage, but without trees. + +The soil of this immense region is strongly impregnated with sulphur, +copperas, alum, and glauber salts; its various earths impart a deep +tinge to the streams which drain it, and these, with the crumbling of +the banks along the Missouri, give to the waters of that river much of +the coloring matter with which they are clouded. + +Over this vast tract the roving bands of the Sioux Tetons hold their +vagrant sway, subsisting by the chase of the buffalo, the elk, the +deer, and the antelope, and waging ruthless warfare with other wandering +tribes. + +As the boats made their way up the stream bordered by this land of +danger, many of the Canadian voyageurs, whose fears had been awakened, +would regard with a distrustful eye the boundless waste extending on +each side. All, however, was silent, and apparently untenanted by +a human being. Now and then a herd of deer would be seen feeding +tranquilly among the flowery herbage, or a line of buffaloes, like a +caravan on its march, moving across the distant profile of the prairie. +The Canadians, however, began to apprehend an ambush in every thicket, +and to regard the broad, tranquil plain as a sailor eyes some shallow +and perfidious sea, which, though smooth and safe to the eye, conceals +the lurking rock or treacherous shoal. The very name of a Sioux became +a watchword of terror. Not an elk, a wolf, or any other animal, could +appear on the hills, but the boats resounded with exclamations from stem +to stern, "voila les Sioux! voila les Sioux!" (there are the Sioux! there +are the Sioux!) Whenever it was practicable, the night encampment was on +some island in the center of the stream. + +On the morning of the 31st of May, as the travellers were breakfasting +on the right bank of the river, the usual alarm was given, but with more +reason, as two Indians actually made their appearance on a bluff on the +opposite or northern side, and harangued them in a loud voice. As it +was impossible at that distance to distinguish what they said, Mr. Hunt, +after breakfast, crossed the river with Pierre Dorion, the interpreter, +and advanced boldly to converse with them, while the rest remained +watching in mute suspense the movements of the parties. As soon as Mr. +Hunt landed, one of the Indians disappeared behind the hill, but shortly +reappeared on horseback, and went scouring off across the heights. Mr. +Hunt held some conference with the remaining savage, and then recrossed +the river to his party. + +These two Indians proved to be spies or scouts of a large war party +encamped about a league off, and numbering two hundred and eighty +lodges, or about six hundred warriors, of three different tribes +of Sioux; the Yangtons Ahna, the Tetons Bois-brule, and the Tetons +Min-na-kine-azzo. They expected daily to be reinforced by two other +tribes, and had been waiting eleven days for the arrival of Mr. Hunt's +party, with a determination to oppose their progress up the river; being +resolved to prevent all trade of the white men with their enemies the +Arickaras, Mandans, and Minatarees. The Indian who had galloped off on +horseback had gone to give notice of the approach of the party, so that +they might now look out for some fierce scenes with those piratical +savages, of whom they had received so many formidable accounts. + +The party braced up their spirits to the encounter, and reembarking, +pulled resolutely up the stream. An island for some time intervened +between them and the opposite side of the river; but on clearing the +upper end, they came in full view of the hostile shore. There was a +ridge of hills down which the savages were pouring in great numbers, +some on horseback, and some on foot. Reconnoitering them with the aid of +glasses, they perceived that they were all in warlike array, painted +and decorated for battle. Their weapons were bows and arrows, and a few +short carbines, and most of them had round shields. Altogether they had +a wild and gallant appearance, and, taking possession of a point which +commanded the river, ranged themselves along the bank as if prepared to +dispute their passage. + +At sight of this formidable front of war, Mr. Hunt and his companions +held counsel together. It was plain that the rumors they had heard were +correct, and the Sioux were determined to oppose their progress by force +of arms. To attempt to elude them and continue along the river was out +of the question. The strength of the mid-current was too violent to be +withstood, and the boats were obliged to ascend along the river banks. +These banks were often high and perpendicular, affording the savages +frequent stations, from whence, safe themselves, and almost unseen, they +might shower down their missiles upon the boats below, and retreat +at will, without danger from pursuit. Nothing apparently remained, +therefore, but to fight or turn back. The Sioux far outnumbered them, +it is true, but their own party was about sixty strong, well armed and +supplied with ammunition; and, beside their guns and rifles, they had +a swivel and two howitzers mounted in the boats. Should they succeed in +breaking this Indian force by one vigorous assault, it was likely they +would be deterred from making any future attack of consequence. The +fighting alternative was, therefore, instantly adopted, and the boats +pulled to shore nearly opposite to the hostile force. Here the arms were +all examined and put in order. The swivel and howitzers were then loaded +with powder and discharged, to let the savages know by the report how +formidably they were provided. The noise echoed along the shores of the +river, and must have startled the warriors who were only accustomed to +sharp reports of rifles. The same pieces were then loaded with as +many bullets as they would probably bear; after which the whole party +embarked, and pulled across the river. The Indians remained watching +them in silence, their painted forms and visages glaring in the sun, and +their feathers fluttering in the breeze. The poor Canadians eyed them +with rueful glances, and now and then a fearful ejaculation escaped +them. "Parbleu! this is a sad scrape we are in, brother!" one would +mutter to the next oarsman. "Aye, aye!" the other would reply, "we are +not going to a wedding, my friend!" + +When the boats arrived within rifle-shot, the hunters and other fighting +personages on board seized their weapons, and prepared for action. +As they rose to fire, a confusion took place among the savages. They +displayed their buffalo robes, raised them with both hands above their +heads, and then spread them before them on the ground. At sight of +this, Pierre Dorion eagerly cried out to the party not to fire, as +this movement was a peaceful signal, and an invitation to a parley. +Immediately about a dozen of the principal warriors, separating from +the rest, descended to the edge of the river, lighted a fire, seated +themselves in a semicircle round it, and, displaying the calumet, +invited the party to land. Mr. Hunt now called a council of the partners +on board of his boat. The question was, whether to trust to the +amicable overtures of these ferocious people? It was determined in the +affirmative; for, otherwise, there was no alternative but to fight them. +The main body of the party were ordered to remain on board of the +boats, keeping within shot and prepared to fire in case of any signs +of treachery; while Mr. Hunt and the other partners (M'Kenzie, Crooks, +Miller, and M'Lellan) proceeded to land, accompanied by the interpreter +and Mr. Bradbury. The chiefs, who awaited them on the margin of the +river, remained seated in their semicircle, without stirring a limb +or moving a muscle, motionless as so many statues. Mr. Hunt and his +companions advanced without hesitation, and took their seats on the sand +so as to complete the circle. The band of warriors who lined the +banks above stood looking down in silent groups and clusters, some +ostentatiously equipped and decorated, others entirely naked but +fantastically painted, and all variously armed. + +The pipe of peace was now brought forward with due ceremony. The bowl +was of a species of red stone resembling porphyry; the stem was six feet +in length, decorated with tufts of horse-hair dyed red. The pipe-bearer +stepped within the circle, lighted the pipe, held it towards the sun, +then towards the different points of the compass, after which he handed +it to the principal chief. The latter smoked a few whiffs, then, holding +the head of the pipe in his hand, offered the other end to Mr. Hunt, +and to each one successively in the circle. When all had smoked, it +was considered that an assurance of good faith and amity had been +interchanged. Mr. Hunt now made a speech in French, which was +interpreted as he proceeded by Pierre Dorion. He informed the Sioux of +the real object of the expedition of himself and his companions, which +was, not to trade with any of the tribes up the river, but to cross the +mountains to the great salt lake in the west, in search of some of their +brothers, whom they had not seen for eleven months. That he had heard of +the intention of the Sioux to oppose his passage, and was prepared, as +they might see, to effect it at all hazards; nevertheless, his feelings +towards the Sioux were friendly, in proof of which he had brought them +a present of tobacco and corn. So saying, he ordered about fifteen +carottes of tobacco, and as many bags of corn, to be brought from the +boat and laid in a heap near the council fire. + +The sight of these presents mollified the chieftain, who had, doubtless, +been previously rendered considerate by the resolute conduct of the +white men, the judicious disposition of their little armament, the +completeness of their equipments, and the compact array of battle which +they presented. He made a speech in reply, in which he stated the object +of their hostile assemblage, which had been merely to prevent supplies +of arms and ammunition from going to the Arickaras, Mandans, and +Minatarees, with whom they were at war; but being now convinced that the +party were carrying no supplies of the kind, but merely proceeding in +quest of their brothers beyond the mountains, they would not impede them +in their voyage. He concluded by thanking them for their present, and +advising them to encamp on the opposite side of the river, as he had +some young men among his warriors for whose discretion he could not be +answerable, and who might be troublesome. + +Here ended the conference: they all arose, shook hands, and parted. Mr. +Hunt and his companions re-embarked, and the boats proceeded on their +course unmolested. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + The Great Bend of the Missouri--Crooks and M'Lellan Meet + With Two of Their Indian Opponents--Wanton Outrage of a + White Man the Cause of Indian Hostility--Dangers and + Precautions.-An Indian War Party.--Dangerous Situation of + Mr. Hunt.--A Friendly Encampment.--Feasting and Dancing.-- + Approach of Manuel Lisa and His Party--.A Grim Meeting + Between Old Rivals.--Pierre Dorion in a Fury.--A Burst of + chivalry. + +ON the afternoon of the following day (June 1st) they arrived at +the great bend, where the river winds for about thirty miles round a +circular peninsula, the neck of which is not above two thousand yards +across. On the succeeding morning, at an early hour, they descried two +Indians standing on a high bank of the river, waving and spreading their +buffalo robes in signs of amity. They immediately pulled to shore and +landed. On approaching the savages, however, the latter showed evident +symptoms of alarm, spreading out their arms horizontally, according to +their mode of supplicating clemency. The reason was soon explained. They +proved to be two chiefs of the very war party that had brought Messrs. +Crooks and M'Lellan to a stand two years before, and obliged them +to escape down the river. They ran to embrace these gentlemen, as if +delighted to meet with them; yet they evidently feared some retaliation +of their past misconduct, nor were they quite at ease until the pipe of +peace had been smoked. + +Mr. Hunt having been informed that the tribe to which these men belonged +had killed three white men during the preceding summer, reproached them +with the crime, and demanded their reasons for such savage hostility. +"We kill white men," replied one of the chiefs, "because white men +kill us. That very man," added he, pointing to Carson, one of the new +recruits, "killed one of our brothers last summer. The three white men +were slain to avenge his death." + +Their chief was correct in his reply. Carson admitted that, being with a +party of Arickaras on the banks of the Missouri, and seeing a war party +of Sioux on the opposite side, he had fired with his rifle across. It +was a random shot, made without much expectation of effect, for the +river was full half a mile in breadth. Unluckily it brought down a +Sioux warrior, for whose wanton destruction threefold vengeance had been +taken, as has been stated. In this way outrages are frequently committed +on the natives by thoughtless or mischievous white men; the Indians +retaliate according to a law of their code, which requires blood +for blood; their act, of what with them is pious vengeance, resounds +throughout the land, and is represented as wanton and unprovoked; +the neighborhood is roused to arms; a war ensues, which ends in the +destruction of half the tribe, the ruin of the rest, and their expulsion +from their hereditary homes. Such is too often the real history of +Indian warfare, which in general is traced up only to some vindictive +act of a savage; while the outrage of the scoundrel white man that +provoked it is sunk in silence. + +The two chiefs, having smoked their pipe of peace and received a few +presents, departed well satisfied. In a little while two others appeared +on horseback, and rode up abreast of the boats. They had seen the +presents given to their comrades, but were dissatisfied with them, and +came after the boats to ask for more. Being somewhat peremptory and +insolent in their demands, Mr. Hunt gave them a flat refusal, and +threatened, if they or any of their tribes followed him with similar +demands, to treat them as enemies. They turned and rode off in a furious +passion. As he was ignorant what force these chiefs might have behind +the hills, and as it was very possible they might take advantage of some +pass of the river to attack the boats, Mr. Hunt called all stragglers on +board and prepared for such emergency. It was agreed that the large +boat commanded by Mr. Hunt should ascend along the northeast side of +the river, and the three smaller boats along the south side. By this +arrangement each party would command a view of the opposite heights +above the heads and out of sight of their companions, and could give +the alarm should they perceive any Indians lurking there. The signal of +alarm was to be two shots fired in quick succession. + +The boats proceeded for the greater part of the day without seeing any +signs of an enemy. About four o'clock in the afternoon the large boat, +commanded by Mr. Hunt, came to where the river was divided by a long +sand-bar, which apparently, however, left a sufficient channel between +it and the shore along which they were advancing. He kept up this +channel, therefore, for some distance, until the water proved too +shallow for the boat. It was necessary, therefore, to put about, return +down the channel, and pull round the lower end of the sand-bar into the +main stream. Just as he had given orders to this effect to his men, two +signal guns were fired from the boats on the opposite side of the river. +At the same moment, a file of savage warriors was observed pouring down +from the impending bank, and gathering on the shore at the lower end +of the bar. They were evidently a war party, being armed with bows and +arrows, battle clubs and carbines, and round bucklers of buffalo hide, +and their naked bodies were painted with black and white stripes. The +natural inference was, that they belonged to the two tribes of Sioux +which had been expected by the great war party, and that they had been +incited to hostility by the two chiefs who had been enraged by the +refusal and the menace of Mr. Hunt. Here then was a fearful predicament. +Mr. Hunt and his crew seemed caught, as it were, in a trap. The Indians, +to a number of about a hundred, had already taken possession of a point +near which the boat would have to pass: others kept pouring down the +bank, and it was probable that some would remain posted on the top of +the height. + +The hazardous situation of Mr. Hunt was perceived by those in the other +boats, and they hastened to his assistance. They were at some distance +above the sand-bar, however, and on the opposite side of the river, and +saw, with intense anxiety, the number of savages continually augmenting, +at the lower end of the channel, so that the boat would be exposed to a +fearful attack before they could render it any assistance. Their anxiety +increased, as they saw Mr. Hunt and his party descending the channel +and dauntlessly approaching the point of danger; but it suddenly changed +into surprise on beholding the boat pass close by the savage horde +unmolested, and steer out safely into the broad river. + +The next moment the whole band of warriors was in motion. They ran along +the bank until they were opposite to the boats, then throwing by their +weapons and buffalo robes, plunged into the river, waded and swam off +to the boats and surrounded them in crowds, seeking to shake hands with +every individual on board; for the Indians have long since found this to +be the white man's token of amity, and they carried it to an extreme. + +All uneasiness was now at an end. The Indians proved to be a war party +of Arickaras, Mandans, and Minatarees, consisting of three hundred +warriors, and bound on a foray against the Sioux. Their war plans were +abandoned for the present, and they determined to return to the Arickara +town, where they hoped to obtain from the white men arms and ammunition +that would enable them to take the field with advantage over their +enemies. + +The boats now sought the first convenient place for encamping. The tents +were pitched; the warriors fixed their camp at about a hundred yards +distant; provisions were furnished from the boats sufficient for all +parties; there was hearty though rude feasting in both camps, and in the +evening the red warriors entertained their white friends with dances and +songs, that lasted until after midnight. + +On the following morning (July 3) the travellers re-embarked, and took +a temporary leave of their Indian friends, who intended to proceed +immediately for the Arickara town, where they expected to arrive in +three days, long before the boats could reach there. Mr. Hunt had not +proceeded far before the chief came galloping along the shore and made +signs for a parley. He said, his people could not go home satisfied +unless they had something to take with them to prove that they had met +with the white men. Mr. Hunt understood the drift of the speech, and +made the chief a present of a cask of powder, a bag of balls, and three +dozen of knives, with which he was highly pleased. While the chief was +receiving these presents an Indian came running along the shore, and +announced that a boat, filled with white men, was coming up the river. +This was by no means agreeable tidings to Mr. Hunt, who correctly +concluded it to be the boat of Mr. Manuel Lisa; and he was vexed to find +that alert and adventurous trader upon his heels, whom he hoped to +have out-maneuvered, and left far behind. Lisa, however, was too much +experienced in the wiles of Indian trade to be lulled by the promise of +waiting for him at the Poncas village; on the contrary, he had allowed +himself no repose, and had strained every nerve to overtake the rival +party, and availing himself of the moonlight, had even sailed during a +considerable part of the night. In this he was partly prompted by his +apprehensions of the Sioux, having met a boat which had probably passed +Mr. Hunt's party in the night, and which had been fired into by these +savages. + +On hearing that Lisa was so near at hand, Mr. Hunt perceived that it was +useless to attempt any longer to evade him; after proceeding a few miles +further, therefore, he came to a halt and waited for him to come up. In +a little while the barge of Lisa made its appearance. It came sweeping +gently up the river, manned by its twenty stout oarsmen, and armed by +a swivel mounted at the bow. The whole number on board amounted to +twenty-six men: among whom was Mr. Henry Breckenridge, then a young, +enterprising man; who was a mere passenger, tempted by notions of +curiosity to accompany Mr. Lisa. He has since made himself known by +various writings, among which may be noted a narrative of this very +voyage. + +The approach of Lisa, while it was regarded with uneasiness by Mr. Hunt, +roused the ire of M'Lellan; who, calling to mind old grievances, began +to look round for his rifle, as if he really intended to carry his +threat into execution and shoot him on the spot; and it was with some +difficulty that Mr. Hunt was enabled to restrain his ire, and prevent a +scene of outraged confusion. + +The meeting between the two leaders, thus mutually distrustful, could +not be very cordial: and as to Messrs. Crooks and M'Lellan, though they +refrained from any outbreak, yet they regarded in grim defiance their +old rival and underplotter. In truth a general distrust prevailed +throughout the party concerning Lisa and his intentions. They considered +him artful and slippery, and secretly anxious for the failure of their +expedition. There being now nothing more to be apprehended from the +Sioux, they suspected that Lisa would take advantage of his twenty-oared +barge to leave them and get first among the Arickaras. As he had traded +with those people and possessed great influence over them, it was feared +he might make use of it to impede the business of Mr. Hunt and his +party. It was resolved, therefore, to keep a sharp look-out upon his +movements; and M'Lellan swore that if he saw the least sign of treachery +on his part, he would instantly put his old threat into execution. + +Notwithstanding these secret jealousies and heart-burnings, the two +parties maintained an outward appearance of civility, and for two days +continued forward in company with some degree of harmony. On the third +day, however, an explosion took place, and it was produced by no less +a personage than Pierre Dorion, the half-breed interpreter. It will be +recollected that this worthy had been obliged to steal a march from St. +Louis, to avoid being arrested for an old whiskey debt which he owed to +the Missouri Fur Company, and by which Mr. Lisa had hoped to prevent his +enlisting in Mr. Hunt's expedition. Dorion, since the arrival of Lisa, +had kept aloof and regarded him with a sullen and dogged aspect. On the +fifth of July the two parties were brought to a halt by a heavy rain, +and remained encamped about a hundred yards apart. In the course of +the day Lisa undertook to tamper with the faith of Pierre Dorion, +and, inviting him on board of his boat, regaled him with his favorite +whiskey. When he thought him sufficiently mellowed, he proposed to +him to quit the service of his new employers and return to his old +allegiance. Finding him not to be moved by soft words, he called to mind +his old debt to the company, and threatened to carry him off by force, +in payment of it. The mention of this debt always stirred up the gall +of Pierre Dorion, bringing with it the remembrance of the whiskey +extortion. A violent quarrel arose between him and Lisa, and he left the +boat in high dudgeon. His first step was to repair to the tent of Mr. +Hunt and reveal the attempt that had been made to shake his faith. While +he was yet talking Lisa entered the tent, under the pretext of coming +to borrow a towing line. High words instantly ensued between him and +Dorion, which ended by the half-breed's dealing him a blow. A quarrel +in the "Indian country", however, is not to be settled with fisticuffs. +Lisa immediately rushed to his boat for a weapon. Dorion snatched up +a pair of pistols belonging to Mr. Hunt, and placed himself in battle +array. The noise had roused the camp, and every one pressed to know +the cause. Lisa now reappeared upon the field with a knife stuck in +his girdle. Mr. Breckenridge, who had tried in vain to mollify his ire, +accompanied him to the scene of action. Pierre Dorion's pistols gave +him the advantage, and he maintained a most warlike attitude. In the +meantime, Crooks and M'Lellan had learnt the cause of the affray, and +were each eager to take the quarrel into their own hands. A scene of +uproar and hubbub ensued that defies description. M'Lellan would have +brought his rifle into play and settled all old and new grudges by +a pull of the trigger, had he not been restrained by Mr. Hunt. That +gentleman acted as moderator, endeavoring to prevent a general melee; in +the midst of the brawl, however, an expression was made use of by Lisa +derogatory to his own honor. In an instant the tranquil spirit of Mr. +Hunt was in a flame. He now became as eager for the fight as any one on +the ground, and challenged Lisa to settle the dispute on the spot with +pistols. Lisa repaired to his boat to arm himself for the deadly feud. +He was followed by Messrs. Bradbury and Breckenridge, who, novices in +Indian life and the "chivalry" of the frontier, had no relish for scenes +of blood and brawl. By their earnest mediation the quarrel was brought +to a close without bloodshed; but the two leaders of the rival camps +separated in anger, and all personal intercourse ceased between them. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + Features of the Wilderness--Herds of Buffalo.--Antelopes-- + Their Varieties and Habits.--John Day.--His Hunting + Strategy--Interview with Three Arickaras--Negotiations + Between the Rival Parties--The Left-Handed and the Big Man, + two Arickara Chiefs.--Arickara Village--Its Inhabitants-- + Ceremonials on Landing--A Council Lodge.--Grand Conference-- + Speech of Lisa.--Negotiation for Horses.--Shrewd Suggestion + of Gray Eyes, an Arickara Chief--Encampment of the Trading + Parties. + +THE rival parties now coasted along the opposite sides of the river, +within sight of each other; the barges of Mr. Hunt always keeping some +distance in the advance, lest Lisa should push on and get first to +the Arickara village. The scenery and objects, as they proceeded, gave +evidence that they were advancing deeper and deeper into the domains of +savage nature. Boundless wastes kept extending to the eye, more and more +animated by herds of buffalo. Sometimes these unwieldy animals were seen +moving in long procession across the silent landscape; at other times +they were scattered about, singly or in groups, on the broad, enameled +prairies and green acclivities, some cropping the rich pasturage, others +reclining amidst the flowery herbage; the whole scene realizing in a +manner the old Scriptural descriptions of the vast pastoral countries of +the Orient, with "cattle upon a thousand hills." + +At one place the shores seemed absolutely lined with buffaloes; many +were making their way across the stream, snorting, and blowing, and +floundering. Numbers, in spite of every effort, were borne by the rapid +current within shot of the boats, and several were killed. At another +place a number were descried on the beach of a small island, under the +shade of the trees, or standing in the water, like cattle, to avoid the +flies and the heat of the day. + +Several of the best marksmen stationed themselves in the bow of a barge +which advanced slowly and silently, stemming the current with the aid +of a broad sail and a fair breeze. The buffaloes stood gazing quietly at +the barge as it approached, perfectly unconscious of their danger. The +fattest of the herd was selected by the hunters, who all fired together +and brought down their victim. + +Besides the buffaloes they saw abundance of deer, and frequent gangs +of stately elks, together with light troops of sprightly antelopes, the +fleetest and most beautiful inhabitants of the prairies. + +There are two kinds of antelopes in these regions, one nearly the size +of the common deer, the other not much larger than a goat. Their color +is a light gray, or rather dun, slightly spotted with white; and they +have small horns like those of the deer, which they never shed. Nothing +can surpass the delicate and elegant finish of their limbs, in which +lightness, elasticity, and strength are wonderfully combined. All +the attitudes and movements of this beautiful animal are graceful and +picturesque; and it is altogether as fit a subject for the fanciful uses +of the poet as the oft-sung gazelle of the East. + +Their habits are shy and capricious; they keep on the open plains, are +quick to take the alarm, and bound away with a fleetness that defies +pursuit. When thus skimming across a prairie in the autumn, their light +gray or dun color blends with the hue of the withered herbage, the +swiftness of their motion baffles the eye, and they almost seem +unsubstantial forms, driven like gossamer before the wind. + +While they thus keep to the open plain and trust to their speed, they +are safe; but they have a prurient curiosity that sometimes betrays +them to their ruin. When they have scud for some distance and left their +pursuer behind, they will suddenly stop and turn to gaze at the object +of their alarm. If the pursuit is not followed up they will, after a +time, yield to their inquisitive hankering, and return to the place from +whence they have been frightened. + +John Day, the veteran hunter already mentioned, displayed his experience +and skill in entrapping one of these beautiful animals. Taking advantage +of its well known curiosity, he laid down flat among the grass, and +putting his handkerchief on the end of his ramrod, waved it gently +in the air. This had the effect of the fabled fascination of the +rattlesnake. The antelope approached timidly, pausing and reconnoitering +with increased curiosity; moving round the point of attraction in a +circle, but still drawing nearer and nearer, until being within range of +the deadly rifle, he fell a victim to his curiosity. + +On the 10th of June, as the party were making brisk progress with a fine +breeze, they met a canoe with three Indians descending the river. They +came to a parley, and brought news from the Arickara village. The war +party, which had caused such alarm at the sand-bar, had reached the +village some days previously, announced the approach of a party of +traders, and displayed with great ostentation the presents they had +received from them. On further conversation with these three Indians, +Mr. Hunt learnt the real danger which he had run, when hemmed up within +the sand-bar. The Mandans who were of the war party, when they saw the +boat so completely entrapped and apparently within their power, had been +eager for attacking it, and securing so rich a prize. The Minatarees, +also, were nothing loath, feeling in some measure committed in hostility +to the whites, in consequence of their tribe having killed two white men +above the fort of the Missouri Fur Company. Fortunately, the Arickaras, +who formed the majority of the war party, proved true in their +friendship to the whites, and prevented any hostile act, otherwise a +bloody affray, and perhaps a horrible massacre might have ensued. + +On the 11th of June, Mr. Hunt and his companions encamped near an island +about six miles below the Arickara village. Mr. Lisa encamped, as +usual, at no great distance; but the same sullen jealous reserve and +non-intercourse continued between them. Shortly after pitching the +tents, Mr. Breckenridge made his appearance as an ambassador from the +rival camp. He came on behalf of his companions, to arrange the manner +of making their entrance into the village and of receiving the chiefs; +for everything of the kind is a matter of grave ceremonial among the +Indians. + +The partners now expressed frankly their deep distrust of the intentions +of Mr. Lisa, and their apprehensions, that, out of the jealousy of +trade, and resentment of recent disputes, he might seek to instigate +the Arickaras against them. Mr. Breckenridge assured them that their +suspicions were entirely groundless, and pledged himself that nothing +of the kind should take place. He found it difficult, however, to remove +their distrust; the conference, therefore, ended without producing +any cordial understanding; and M'Lellan recurred to his old threat of +shooting Lisa the instant he discovered anything like treachery in his +proceedings. + +That night the rain fell in torrents, accompanied by thunder and +lightning. The camp was deluged, and the bedding and baggage drenched. +All hands embarked at an early hour, and set forward for the village. +About nine o'clock, when half way, they met a canoe, on board of which +were two Arickara dignitaries. One, a fine-looking man, much above the +common size, was hereditary chief of the village; he was called +the Left-handed, on account of a personal peculiarity. The other, a +ferocious-looking savage, was the war chief, or generalissimo; he was +known by the name of the Big Man, an appellation he well deserved from +his size, for he was of a gigantic frame. Both were of fairer complexion +than is usual with savages. + +They were accompanied by an interpreter; a French creole, one of those +haphazard wights of Gallic origin who abound upon our frontiers, living +among the Indians like one of their own race. He had been twenty years +among the Arickaras, had a squaw and troop of piebald children, and +officiated as interpreter to the chiefs. Through this worthy organ +the two dignitaries signified to Mr. Hunt their sovereign intention to +oppose the further progress of the expedition up the river unless a boat +were left to trade with them. Mr. Hunt, in reply, explained the object +of his voyage, and his intention of debarking at their village and +proceeding thence by land; and that he would willingly trade with them +for a supply of horses for his journey. With this explanation they were +perfectly satisfied, and putting about, steered for their village to +make preparations for the reception of the strangers. + +The village of the Rikaras, Arickaras, or Ricarees, for the name is +thus variously written, is between the 46th and 47th parallels of north +latitude, and fourteen hundred and thirty miles above the mouth of the +Missouri. The party reached it about ten o'clock in the morning, but +landed on the opposite side of the river, where they spread out their +baggage and effects to dry. From hence they commanded an excellent view +of the village. It was divided into two portions, about eighty yards +apart, being inhabited by two distinct bands. The whole extended about +three-quarters of a mile along the river bank, and was composed of +conical lodges, that looked like so many small hillocks, being wooden +frames intertwined with osier, and covered with earth. The plain beyond +the village swept up into hills of considerable height, but the whole +country was nearly destitute of trees. While they were regarding +the village, they beheld a singular fleet coming down the river. It +consisted of a number of canoes, each made of a single buffalo hide +stretched on sticks, so as to form a kind of circular trough. Each one +was navigated by a single squaw, who knelt in the bottom and paddled; +towing after her frail bark a bundle of floating wood intended for +firing. This kind of canoe is in frequent use among the Indians; the +buffalo hide being readily made up into a bundle and transported on +horseback; it is very serviceable in conveying baggage across the +rivers. + +The great number of horses grazing around the village, and scattered +over the neighboring hills and valleys, bespoke the equestrian habit of +the Arickaras, who are admirable horsemen. Indeed, in the number of his +horses consists the wealth of an Indian of the prairies; who resembles +an Arab in his passion for this noble animal, and in his adroitness in +the management of it. + +After a time, the voice of the sovereign chief, "the Left-handed," was +heard across the river, announcing that the council lodge was preparing, +and inviting the white men to come over. The river was half a mile in +width, yet every word uttered by the chieftain was heard; this may be +partly attributed to the distinct manner in which every syllable of the +compound words in the Indian language is articulated and accented; but +in truth, a savage warrior might often rival Achilles himself for force +of lungs. * + + (* Bradbury, p. 110.) + +Now came the delicate point of management--how the two rival parties +were to conduct their visit to the village with proper circumspection +and due decorum. Neither of the leaders had spoken to each other since +their quarrel. All communication had been by ambassadors. Seeing the +jealousy entertained of Lisa, Mr. Breckenridge, in his negotiation, had +arranged that a deputation from each party should cross the river at the +same time, so that neither would have the first access to the ear of the +Arickaras. + +The distrust of Lisa, however, had increased in proportion as they +approached the sphere of action; and M'Lellan, in particular, kept a +vigilant eye upon his motions, swearing to shoot him if he attempted to +cross the river first. + +About two o'clock the large boat of Mr. Hunt was manned, and he stepped +on board, accompanied by Messrs. M'Kenzie and M'Lellan; Lisa at the +same time embarked in his barge; the two deputations amounted in all +to fourteen persons, and never was any movement of rival potentates +conducted with more wary exactness. + +They landed amidst a rabble crowd, and were received on the bank by +the left-handed chief, who conducted them into the village with grave +courtesy; driving to the right and left the swarms of old squaws, +imp-like boys, and vagabond dogs, with which the place abounded. They +wound their way between the cabins, which looked like dirt-heaps huddled +together without any plan, and surrounded by old palisades; all filthy +in the extreme, and redolent of villainous smells. + +At length they arrived at the council lodge. It was somewhat spacious, +and formed of four forked trunks of trees placed upright, supporting +cross-beams and a frame of poles interwoven with osiers, and the whole +covered with earth. A hole sunken in the center formed the fireplace, +and immediately above was a circular hole in the apex of the lodge, +to let out the smoke and let in the daylight. Around the lodge were +recesses for sleeping, like the berths on board ships, screened from +view by curtains of dressed skins. At the upper end of the lodge was +a kind of hunting and warlike trophy, consisting of two buffalo heads +garishly painted, surmounted by shields, bows, quivers of arrows, and +other weapons. + +On entering the lodge the chief pointed to mats or cushions which +had been placed around for the strangers, and on which they seated +themselves, while he placed himself on a kind of stool. An old man then +came forward with the pipe of peace or good-fellowship, lighted and +handed it to the chief, and then falling back, squatted himself near the +door. The pipe was passed from mouth to mouth, each one taking a whiff, +which is equivalent to the inviolable pledge of faith, of taking salt +together among the ancient Britons. The chief then made a sign to the +old pipe-bearer, who seemed to fill, likewise, the station of herald, +seneschal, and public crier, for he ascended to the top of the lodge +to make proclamation. Here he took his post beside the aperture for the +emission of smoke and the admission of light; the chief dictated from +within what he was to proclaim, and he bawled it forth with a force of +lungs that resounded over all the village. In this way he summoned the +warriors and great men to council; every now and then reporting progress +to his chief through the hole in the roof. + +In a little while the braves and sages began to enter one by one, as +their names were called or announced, emerging from under the buffalo +robe suspended over the entrance instead of a door, stalking across the +lodge to the skins placed on the floor, and crouching down on them in +silence. In this way twenty entered and took their seats, forming an +assemblage worthy of the pencil: for the Arickaras are a noble race of +men, large and well formed, and maintain a savage grandeur and gravity +of demeanor in their solemn ceremonials. + +All being seated, the old seneschal prepared the pipe of ceremony or +council, and having lit it, handed it to the chief. He inhaled the +sacred smoke, gave a puff upward to the heaven, then downward to the +earth, then towards the east; after this it was as usual passed from +mouth to mouth, each holding it respectfully until his neighbor had +taken several whiffs; and now the grand council was considered as opened +in due form. + +The chief made an harangue welcoming the white men to his village, and +expressing his happiness in taking them by the hand as friends; but at +the same time complaining of the poverty of himself and his people; the +usual prelude among Indians to begging or hard bargaining. + +Lisa rose to reply, and the eyes of Hunt and his companions were eagerly +turned upon him, those of M'Lellan glaring like a basilisk's. He began +by the usual expressions of friendship, and then proceeded to explain +the object of his own party. Those persons, however, said he, pointing +to Mr. Hunt and his companions, are of a different party, and are quite +distinct in their views; but, added he, though we are separate parties, +we make but one common cause when the safety of either is concerned. Any +injury or insult offered to them I shall consider as done to myself, and +will resent it accordingly. I trust, therefore, that you will treat them +with the same friendship that you have always manifested for me, doing +everything in your power to serve them and to help them on their way. +The speech of Lisa, delivered with an air of frankness and sincerity, +agreeably surprised and disappointed the rival party. + +Mr. Hunt then spoke, declaring the object of his journey to the great +Salt Lake beyond the mountains, and that he should want horses for the +purpose, for which he was ready to trade, having brought with him plenty +of goods. Both he and Lisa concluded their speeches by making presents +of tobacco. + +The left-handed chieftain in reply promised his friendship and aid to +the new comers, and welcomed them to his village. He added that they had +not the number of horses to spare that Mr. Hunt required, and expressed +a doubt whether they should be able to part with any. Upon this, another +chieftain, called Gray Eyes, made a speech, and declared that they could +readily supply Mr. Hunt with all the horses he might want, since, if +they had not enough in the village, they could easily steal more. This +honest expedient immediately removed the main difficulty; but the chief +deferred all trading for a day or two; until he should have time +to consult with his subordinate chiefs as to market rates; for the +principal chief of a village, in conjunction with his council, usually +fixes the prices at which articles shall be bought and sold, and to them +the village must conform. + +The council now broke up. Mr. Hunt transferred his camp across the river +at a little distance below the village, and the left-handed chief placed +some of his warriors as a guard to prevent the intrusion of any of his +people. The camp was pitched on the river bank just above the boats. The +tents, and the men wrapped in their blankets and bivouacking on skins in +the open air, surrounded the baggage at night. Four sentinels also kept +watch within sight of each other outside of the camp until midnight, +when they were relieved by four others who mounted guard until daylight. +Mr. Lisa encamped near to Mr. Hunt, between him and the village. + +The speech of Mr. Lisa in the council had produced a pacific effect in +the encampment. Though the sincerity of his friendship and good-will +towards the new company still remained matter of doubt, he was no longer +suspected of an intention to play false. The intercourse between the two +leaders was therefore resumed, and the affairs of both parties went on +harmoniously. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + An Indian Horse Fair.--Love of the Indians for Horses-- + Scenes in the Arickara Village.--Indian Hospitality.--Duties + of Indian Women. Game Habits of the Men.--Their Indolence. + --Love of Gossiping.--Rumors of Lurking Enemies.--Scouts.-- + An Alarm.--A Sallying Forth.--Indian Dogs.--Return of a Horse + --Stealing Party.--An Indian Deputation.--Fresh Alarms.--Return + of a Successful War Party.--Dress of the Arickaras.--Indian + Toilet.--Triumphal Entry of the War Party.--Meetings of + Relations and Friends.--Indian Sensibility.--Meeting of a + Wounded Warrior and His Mother.--Festivities and + Lamentations. + +A TRADE now commenced with the Arickaras under the regulation and +supervision of their two chieftains. Lisa sent a part of his goods to +the lodge of the left-handed dignitary, and Mr. Hunt established +his mart in the lodge of the Big Man. The village soon presented the +appearance of a busy fair; and as horses were in demand, the purlieus +and the adjacent plain were like the vicinity of a Tartar encampment; +horses were put through all their paces, and horsemen were careering +about with that dexterity and grace for which the Arickaras are noted. +As soon as a horse was purchased, his tail was cropped, a sure mode of +distinguishing him from the horses of the tribe; for the Indians disdain +to practice this absurd, barbarous, and indecent mutilation, invented +by some mean and vulgar mind, insensible to the merit and perfections of +the animal. On the contrary, the Indian horses are suffered to remain in +every respect the superb and beautiful animals which nature formed them. + +The wealth of an Indian of the far west consists principally in his +horses, of which each chief and warrior possesses a great number, so +that the plains about an Indian village or encampment are covered with +them. These form objects of traffic, or objects of depredation, and +in this way pass from tribe to tribe over great tracts of country. The +horses owned by the Arickaras are, for the most part, of the wild stock +of the prairies; some, however, had been obtained from the Poncas, +Pawnees, and other tribes to the southwest, who had stolen them from +the Spaniards in the course of horse-stealing expeditions into Mexican +territories. These were to be known by being branded; a Spanish mode of +marking horses not practiced by the Indians. + +As the Arickaras were meditating another expedition against their +enemies the Sioux, the articles of traffic most in demand were guns, +tomahawks, scalping-knives, powder, ball, and other munitions of war. +The price of a horse, as regulated by the chiefs, was commonly ten +dollars' worth of goods at first cost. To supply the demand thus +suddenly created, parties of young men and braves had sallied forth +on expeditions to steal horses; a species of service among the Indians +which takes precedence of hunting, and is considered a department of +honorable warfare. + +While the leaders of the expedition were actively engaged in preparing +for the approaching journey, those who had accompanied it for curiosity +or amusement, found ample matter for observation in the village and its +inhabitants. Wherever they went they were kindly entertained. If they +entered a lodge, the buffalo robe was spread before the fire for them +to sit down; the pipe was brought, and while the master of the lodge +conversed with his guests, the squaw put the earthen vessel over the +fire well filled with dried buffalo-meat and pounded corn; for the +Indian in his native state, before he has mingled much with white men, +and acquired their sordid habits, has the hospitality of the Arab: never +does a stranger enter his door without having food placed before him; +and never is the food thus furnished made a matter of traffic. + +The life of an Indian when at home in his village is a life of indolence +and amusement. To the woman is consigned the labors of the household +and the field; she arranges the lodge; brings wood for the fire; cooks; +jerks venison and buffalo meat; dresses the skins of the animals killed +in the chase; cultivates the little patch of maize, pumpkins, and pulse, +which furnishes a great part of their provisions. Their time for repose +and recreation is at sunset, when the labors of the day being ended, +they gather together to amuse themselves with petty games, or to hold +gossiping convocations on the tops of their lodges. + +As to the Indian, he is a game animal, not to be degraded by useful or +menial toil. It is enough that he exposes himself to the hardships +of the chase and the perils of war; that he brings home food for his +family, and watches and fights for its protection. Everything else is +beneath his attention. When at home, he attends only to his weapons and +his horses, preparing the means of future exploit. Or he engages with +his comrades in games of dexterity, agility and strength; or in gambling +games in which everything is put at hazard with a recklessness seldom +witnessed in civilized life. + +A great part of the idle leisure of the Indians when at home is passed +in groups, squatted together on the bank of a river, on the top of +a mound on the prairie, or on the roof of one of their earth-covered +lodges, talking over the news of the day, the affairs of the tribe, the +events and exploits of their last hunting or fighting expedition; or +listening to the stories of old times told by some veteran chronicler; +resembling a group of our village quidnuncs and politicians, listening +to the prosings of some superannuated oracle, or discussing the contents +of an ancient newspaper. + +As to the Indian women, they are far from complaining of their lot. On +the contrary, they would despise their husbands could they stoop to any +menial office, and would think it conveyed an imputation upon their own +conduct. It is the worst insult one virago can cast upon another in a +moment of altercation. "Infamous woman!" will she cry, "I have seen your +husband carrying wood into his lodge to make the fire. Where was his +squaw, that he should be obliged to make a woman of himself!" + +Mr. Hunt and his fellow-travellers had not been many days at the +Arickara village, when rumors began to circulate that the Sioux had +followed them up, and that a war party, four or five hundred in number, +were lurking somewhere in the neighborhood. These rumors produced +much embarrassment in the camp. The white hunters were deterred from +venturing forth in quest of game, neither did the leaders think it +proper to expose them to such a risk. The Arickaras, too, who had +suffered greatly in their wars with this cruel and ferocious tribe, were +roused to increased vigilance, and stationed mounted scouts upon the +neighboring hills. This, however, is a general precaution among the +tribes of the prairies. Those immense plains present a horizon like +the ocean, so that any object of importance can be descried afar, and +information communicated to a great distance. The scouts are stationed +on the hills, therefore, to look out both for game and for enemies, +and are, in a manner, living telegraphs conveying their intelligence by +concerted signs. If they wish to give notice of a herd of buffalo in the +plain beyond, they gallop backwards and forwards abreast, on the summit +of the hill. If they perceive an enemy at hand, they gallop to and fro, +crossing each other; at sight of which the whole village flies to arms. + +Such an alarm was given in the afternoon of the 15th. Four scouts were +seen crossing and recrossing each other at full gallop, on the summit of +a hill about two miles distant down the river. The cry was up that the +Sioux were coming. In an instant the village was in an uproar. Men, +women, and children were all brawling and shouting; dogs barking, +yelping, and howling. Some of the warriors ran for the horses to gather +and drive them in from the prairie, some for their weapons. As fast as +they could arm and equip they sallied forth; some on horseback, some +on foot. Some hastily arrayed in their war dress, with coronets of +fluttering feathers, and their bodies smeared with paint; others naked +and only furnished with the weapons they had snatched up. The women and +children gathered on the tops of the lodges and heightened the confusion +of the scene by their vociferation. Old men who could no longer bear +arms took similar stations, and harangued the warriors as they passed, +exhorting them to valorous deeds. Some of the veterans took arms +themselves, and sallied forth with tottering steps. In this way, the +savage chivalry of the village to the number of five hundred, poured +forth, helter-skelter, riding and running, with hideous yells and +war-whoops, like so many bedlamites or demoniacs let loose. + +After a while the tide of war rolled back, but with far less uproar. +Either it had been a false alarm, or the enemy had retreated on finding +themselves discovered, and quiet was restored to the village. The white +hunters continuing to be fearful of ranging this dangerous neighborhood, +fresh provisions began to be scarce in the camp. As a substitute, +therefore, for venison and buffalo meat, the travellers had to purchase +a number of dogs to be shot and cooked for the supply of the camp. +Fortunately, however chary the Indians might be of their horses, they +were liberal of their dogs. In fact, these animals swarm about an Indian +village as they do about a Turkish town. Not a family but has two or +three dozen belonging to it, of all sizes and colors; some of a superior +breed are used for hunting; others, to draw the sledge, while others, of +a mongrel breed, and idle vagabond nature, are fattened for food. They +are supposed to be descendant from the wolf, and retain something of his +savage but cowardly temper, howling rather than barking; showing their +teeth and snarling on the slightest provocation, but sneaking away on +the least attack. + +The excitement of the village continued from day to day. On the day +following the alarm just mentioned, several parties arrived from +different directions, and were met and conducted by some of the braves +to the council lodge, where they reported the events and success of +their expeditions, whether of war or hunting; which news was afterwards +promulgated throughout the village, by certain old men who acted as +heralds or town criers. Among the parties which arrived was one that had +been among the Snake nation stealing horses, and returned crowned with +success. As they passed in triumph through the village they were cheered +by the men, women, and children, collected as usual on the tops of the +lodges, and were exhorted by the Nesters of the village to be generous +in their dealings with the white men. + +The evening was spent in feasting and rejoicing among the relations of +the successful warriors; but the sounds of grief and wailing were heard +from the hills adjacent to the village--the lamentations of women who +had lost some relative in the foray. + +An Indian village is subject to continual agitations and excitements. +The next day arrived a deputation of braves from the Cheyenne or Shienne +nation; a broken tribe, cut up, like the Arickaras, by wars with the +Sioux, and driven to take refuge among the Black Hills, near the sources +of the Cheyenne River, from which they derive their name. One of these +deputies was magnificently arrayed in a buffalo robe, on which various +figures were fancifully embroidered with split quills dyed red and +yellow; and the whole was fringed with the slender hoofs of young fawns, +that rattled as he walked. + +The arrival of this deputation was the signal for another of those +ceremonials which occupy so much of Indian life; for no being is more +courtly and punctilious, and more observing of etiquette and formality +than an American savage. + +The object of the deputation was to give notice of an intended visit of +the Shienne (or Cheyenne) tribe to the Arickara village in the course +of fifteen days. To this visit Mr. Hunt looked forward to procure +additional horses for his journey; all his bargaining being ineffectual +in obtaining a sufficient supply from the Arickaras. Indeed, nothing +could prevail upon the latter to part with their prime horses, which had +been trained to buffalo hunting. + +As Mr. Hunt would have to abandon his boats at this place, Mr. Lisa +now offered to purchase them, and such of his merchandise as was +superfluous, and to pay him in horses to be obtained at a fort belonging +to the Missouri Fur Company, situated at the Mandan villages, about a +hundred and fifty miles further up the river. A bargain was promptly +made, and Mr. Lisa and Mr. Crooks, with several companions, set out +for the fort to procure the horses. They returned, after upwards of a +fortnight's absence, bringing with them the stipulated number of horses. +Still the cavalry was not sufficiently numerous to convey the party and +baggage and merchandise, and a few days more were required to complete +the arrangements for the journey. + +On the 9th of July, just before daybreak, a great noise and vociferation +was heard in the village. This being the usual Indian hour of attack and +surprise, and the Sioux being known to be in the neighborhood, the camp +was instantly on the alert. As the day broke Indians were descried in +considerable number on the bluffs, three or four miles down the river. +The noise and agitation in the village continued. The tops of the lodges +were crowded with the inhabitants, all earnestly looking towards the +hills, and keeping up a vehement chattering. Presently an Indian warrior +galloped past the camp towards the village, and in a little while the +legions began to pour forth. + +The truth of the matter was now ascertained. The Indians upon the +distant hills were three hundred Arickara braves, returning home from a +foray. They had met the war party of Sioux who had been so long hovering +about the neighborhood, had fought them the day before, killed several, +and defeated the rest with the loss of but two or three of their own men +and about a dozen wounded; and they were now halting at a distance until +their comrades in the village should come forth to meet them, and swell +the parade of their triumphal entry. The warrior who had galloped past +the camp was the leader of the party hastening home to give tidings of +his victory. + +Preparations were now made for this great martial ceremony. All the +finery and equipments of the warriors were sent forth to them, that they +might appear to the greatest advantage. Those, too, who had remained at +home, tasked their wardrobes and toilets to do honor to the procession. + +The Arickaras generally go naked, but, like all savages, they have their +gala dress, of which they are not a little vain. This usually consists +of a gray surcoat and leggins of the dressed skin of the antelope, +resembling chamois leather, and embroidered with porcupine quills +brilliantly dyed. A buffalo robe is thrown over the right shoulder, and +across the left is slung a quiver of arrows. They wear gay coronets of +plumes, particularly those of the swan; but the feathers of the black +eagle are considered the most worthy, being a sacred bird among the +Indian warriors. + +He who has killed an enemy in his own land, is entitled to drag at +his heels a fox-skin attached to each moccasin; and he who has slain a +grizzly bear, wears a necklace of his claws, the most glorious trophy +that a hunter can exhibit. + +An Indian toilet is an operation of some toil and trouble; the +warrior often has to paint himself from head to foot, and is extremely +capricious and difficult to please, as to the hideous distribution of +streaks and colors. A great part of the morning, therefore, passed away +before there were any signs of the distant pageant. In the meantime a +profound stillness reigned over the village. Most of the inhabitants +had gone forth; others remained in mute expectation. All sports and +occupations were suspended, excepting that in the lodges the painstaking +squaws were silently busied in preparing the repasts for the warriors. + +It was near noon that a mingled sound of voices and rude music, faintly +heard from a distance, gave notice that the procession was on the march. +The old men and such of the squaws as could leave their employments +hastened forth to meet it. In a little while it emerged from behind a +hill, and had a wild and picturesque appearance as it came moving over +the summit in measured step, and to the cadence of songs and savage +instruments; the warlike standards and trophies flaunting aloft, and the +feathers, and paint, and silver ornaments of the warriors glaring and +glittering in the sunshine. + +The pageant had really something chivalrous in its arrangement. The +Arickaras are divided into several bands, each bearing the name of some +animal or bird, as the buffalo, the bear, the dog, the pheasant. The +present party consisted of four of these bands, one of which was the +dog, the most esteemed in war, being composed of young men under thirty, +and noted for prowess. It is engaged in the most desperate occasions. +The bands marched in separate bodies under their several leaders. The +warriors on foot came first, in platoons of ten or twelve abreast; then +the horsemen. Each band bore as an ensign a spear or bow decorated with +beads, porcupine quills, and painted feathers. Each bore its trophies of +scalps, elevated on poles, their long black locks streaming in the wind. +Each was accompanied by its rude music and minstrelsy. In this way +the procession extended nearly a quarter of a mile. The warriors were +variously armed, some few with guns, others with bows and arrows, and +war clubs; all had shields of buffalo hide, a kind of defense generally +used by the Indians of the open prairies, who have not the covert of +trees and forests to protect them. They were painted in the most savage +style. Some had the stamp of a red hand across their mouths, a sign that +they had drunk the life-blood of a foe! + +As they drew near to the village the old men and the women began to meet +them, and now a scene ensued that proved the fallacy of the old fable +of Indian apathy and stoicism. Parents and children, husbands and wives, +brothers and sisters met with the most rapturous expressions of joy; +while wailings and lamentations were heard from the relatives of the +killed and wounded. The procession, however, continued on with slow +and measured step, in cadence to the solemn chant, and the warriors +maintained their fixed and stern demeanor. + +Between two of the principal chiefs rode a young warrior who had +distinguished himself in the battle. He was severely wounded, so as with +difficulty to keep on his horse; but he preserved a serene and steadfast +countenance, as if perfectly unharmed. His mother had heard of his +condition. She broke through the throng, and rushing up, threw her +arms around him and wept aloud. He kept up the spirit and demeanor of a +warrior to the last, but expired shortly after he had reached his home. + +The village was now a scene of the utmost festivity and triumph. The +banners, and trophies, and scalps, and painted shields were elevated +on poles near the lodges. There were warfeasts, and scalp-dances, with +warlike songs and savage music; all the inhabitants were arrayed in +their festal dresses; while the old heralds went round from lodge to +lodge, promulgating with loud voices the events of the battle and the +exploits of the various warriors. + +Such was the boisterous revelry of the village; but sounds of another +kind were heard on the surrounding hills; piteous wailings of the women, +who had retired thither to mourn in darkness and solitude for those who +had fallen in battle. There the poor mother of the youthful warrior who +had returned home in triumph but to die, gave full vent to the anguish +of a mother's heart. How much does this custom among the Indian woman of +repairing to the hilltops in the night, and pouring forth their wailings +for the dead, call to mind the beautiful and affecting passage of +Scripture, "In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, +and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be +comforted, because they are not." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + Wilderness of the Far West.--Great American Desert--Parched + Seasons.--Black Hills.--Rocky Mountains.--Wandering and + Predatory Hordes.--Speculations on What May Be the Future + Population.--Apprehended Dangers.-A Plot to Desert.--Rose the + Interpreter.--His Sinister Character--Departure From the + Arickara Village. + +WHILE Mr. Hunt was diligently preparing for his arduous journey, some +of his men began to lose heart at the perilous prospect before them; but +before we accuse them of want of spirit, it is proper to consider the +nature of the wilderness into which they were about to adventure. It was +a region almost as vast and trackless as the ocean, and, at the time of +which we treat, but little known, excepting through the vague accounts +of Indian hunters. A part of their route would lay across an immense +tract, stretching north and south for hundreds of miles along the foot +of the Rocky Mountains, and drained by the tributary streams of the +Missouri and the Mississippi. This region, which resembles one of the +immeasurable steppes of Asia, has not inaptly been termed "the great +American desert." It spreads forth into undulating and treeless plains, +and desolate sandy wastes wearisome to the eye from their extent and +monotony, and which are supposed by geologists to have formed the +ancient floor of the ocean, countless ages since, when its primeval +waves beat against the granite bases of the Rocky Mountains. + +It is a land where no man permanently abides; for, in certain seasons +of the year there is no food either for the hunter or his steed. The +herbage is parched and withered; the brooks and streams are dried +up; the buffalo, the elk and the deer have wandered to distant parts, +keeping within the verge of expiring verdure, and leaving behind them +a vast uninhabited solitude, seamed by ravines, the beds of former +torrents, but now serving only to tantalize and increase the thirst of +the traveller. + +Occasionally the monotony of this vast wilderness is interrupted by +mountainous belts of sand and limestone, broken into confused masses; +with precipitous cliffs and yawning ravines, looking like the ruins of +a world; or is traversed by lofty and barren ridges of rock, almost +impassable, like those denominated the Black Hills. Beyond these rise +the stern barriers of the Rocky Mountains, the limits, as it were, of +the Atlantic world. The rugged defiles and deep valleys of this vast +chain form sheltering places for restless and ferocious bands of +savages, many of them the remnants of tribes, once inhabitants of the +prairies, but broken up by war and violence, and who carry into their +mountain haunts the fierce passions and reckless habits of desperadoes. + +Such is the nature of this immense wilderness of the far West; which +apparently defies cultivation, and the habitation of civilized life. +Some portions of it along the rivers may partially be subdued by +agriculture, others may form vast pastoral tracts, like those of the +East; but it is to be feared that a great part of it will form a lawless +interval between the abodes of civilized man, like the wastes of the +ocean or the deserts of Arabia; and, like them, be subject to the +depredations of the marauder. Here may spring up new and mongrel races, +like new formations in geology, the amalgamation of the "debris" and +"abrasions" of former races, civilized and savage; the remains of broken +and almost extinguished tribes; the descendants of wandering hunters +and trappers; of fugitives from the Spanish and American frontiers; of +adventurers and desperadoes of every class and country, yearly ejected +from the bosom of society into the wilderness. We are contributing +incessantly to swell this singular and heterogeneous cloud of wild +population that is to hang about our frontier, by the transfer of whole +tribes from the east of the Mississippi to the great wastes of the +far West. Many of these bear with them the smart of real or fancied +injuries; many consider themselves expatriated beings, wrongfully exiled +from their hereditary homes, and the sepulchres of their fathers, +and cherish a deep and abiding animosity against the race that has +dispossessed them. Some may gradually become pastoral hordes, like those +rude and migratory people, half shepherd, half warrior, who, with their +flocks and herds, roam the plains of upper Asia; but others, it is to be +apprehended, will become predatory bands, mounted on the fleet steeds of +the prairies, with the open plains for their marauding grounds, and the +mountains for their retreats and lurking-places. Here they may resemble +those great hordes of the North, "Gog and Magog with their bands," that +haunted the gloomy imaginations of the prophets. "A great company and +a mighty host, all riding upon horses, and warring upon those nations +which were at rest, and dwelt peaceably, and had gotten cattle and +goods." + +The Spaniards changed the whole character and habits of the Indians when +they brought the horse among them. In Chili, Tucuman, and other parts, +it has converted them, we are told, into Tartar-like tribes, and enabled +them to keep the Spaniards out of their country, and even to make it +dangerous for them to venture far from their towns and settlements. Are +we not in danger of producing some such state of things in the +boundless regions of the far West? That these are not mere fanciful and +extravagant suggestions we have sufficient proofs in the dangers already +experienced by the traders to the Spanish mart of Santa Fe, and to the +distant posts of the fur companies. These are obliged to proceed in +armed caravans, and are subject to murderous attacks from bands of +Pawnees, Camanches, and Blackfeet, that come scouring upon them in their +weary march across the plains, or lie in wait for them among the passes +of the mountains. + +We are wandering, however, into excursive speculations, when our +intention was merely to give an idea of the nature of the wilderness +which Mr. Hunt was about to traverse; and which at that time was far +less known than at present; though it still remains in a great measure +an unknown land. We cannot be surprised, therefore, that some of the +resolute of his party should feel dismay at the thoughts of adventuring +into this perilous wilderness under the uncertain guidance of three +hunters, who had merely passed once through the country and might have +forgotten the landmarks. Their apprehensions were aggravated by some +of Lisa's followers, who, not being engaged in the expedition, took a +mischievous pleasure in exaggerating its dangers. They painted in strong +colors, to the poor Canadian voyageurs, the risk they would run of +perishing with hunger and thirst; of being cut off by war-parties of +the Sioux who scoured the plains; of having their horses stolen by the +Upsarokas or Crows, who infested the skirts of the Rocky Mountains; or +of being butchered by the Blackfeet, who lurked among the defiles. In +a word, there was little chance of their getting alive across the +mountains; and even if they did, those three guides knew nothing of the +howling wilderness that lay beyond. + +The apprehensions thus awakened in the minds of some of the men came +well-nigh proving detrimental to the expedition. Some of them determined +to desert, and to make their way back to St. Louis. They accordingly +purloined several weapons and a barrel of gunpowder, as ammunition for +their enterprise, and buried them in the river bank, intending to seize +one of the boats, and make off in the night. Fortunately their plot was +overheard by John Day, the Kentuckian, and communicated to the partners, +who took quiet and effectual means to frustrate it. + +The dangers to be apprehended from the Crow Indians had not been +overrated by the camp gossips. These savages, through whose mountain +haunts the party would have to pass, were noted for daring and excursive +habits, and great dexterity in horse stealing. Mr. Hunt, therefore, +considered himself fortunate in having met with a man who might be of +great use to him in any intercourse he might have with the tribe. This +was a wandering individual named Edward Rose, whom he had picked up +somewhere on the Missouri--one of those anomalous beings found on the +frontier, who seem to have neither kin nor country. He had lived some +time among the Crows, so as to become acquainted with their language +and customs; and was, withal, a dogged, sullen, silent fellow, with a +sinister aspect, and more of the savage than the civilized man in his +appearance. He was engaged to serve in general as a hunter, but as guide +and interpreter when they should reach the country of the Crows. + +On the 18th of July, Mr. Hunt took up his line of march by land from +the Arickara village, leaving Mr. Lisa and Mr. Nuttall there, where +they intended to await the expected arrival of Mr. Henry from the Rocky +Mountains. As to Messrs. Bradbury and Breckenridge, they had departed +some days previously, on a voyage down the river to St. Louis, with a +detachment from Mr. Lisa's party. With all his exertions, Mr. Hunt +had been unable to obtain a sufficient number of horses for the +accommodation of all his people. His cavalcade consisted of eighty-two +horses, most of them heavily laden with Indian goods, beaver traps, +ammunition, Indian corn, corn meal and other necessaries. Each of the +partners was mounted, and a horse was allotted to the interpreter, +Pierre Dorion, for the transportation of his luggage and his two +children. His squaw, for the most part of the time, trudged on foot, +like the residue of the party; nor did any of the men show more patience +and fortitude than this resolute woman in enduring fatigue and hardship. + +The veteran trappers and voyageurs of Lisa's party shook their heads +as their comrades set out, and took leave of them as of doomed men; +and even Lisa himself gave it as his opinion, after the travellers had +departed, they would never reach the shores of the Pacific, but would +either perish with hunger in the wilderness, or be cut off by the +savages. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + + Summer Weather of the Prairies.--Purity of the Atmosphere-- + Canadians on the March.--Sickness in the Camp.--Big River.-- + Vulgar Nomenclature.--Suggestions About the Original Indian + Names.--Camp of Cheyennes.--Trade for Horses.--Character of + the Cheyennes.--Their Horsemanship.--Historical Anecdotes of + the Tribe. + +THE course taken by Mr. Hunt was at first to the northwest, but soon +turned and kept generally to the southwest, to avoid the country +infested by the Blackfeet. His route took him across some of the +tributary streams of the Missouri, and over immense prairies, bounded +only by the horizon, and destitute of trees. It was now the height of +summer, and these naked plains would be intolerable to the traveller +were it not for the breezes which swept over them during the fervor of +the day, bringing with them tempering airs from the distant mountains. +To the prevalence of these breezes, and to the want of all leafy covert, +may we also attribute the freedom from those flies and other insects +so tormenting to man and beast during the summer months, in the lower +plains, which are bordered and interspersed with woodland. + +The monotony of these immense landscapes, also, would be as wearisome as +that of the ocean, were it not relieved in some degree by the purity and +elasticity of the atmosphere, and the beauty of the heavens. The sky +has that delicious blue for which the sky of Italy is renowned; the sun +shines with a splendor unobscured by any cloud or vapor, and a starlight +night on the prairies is glorious. This purity and elasticity of +atmosphere increases as the traveller approaches the mountains and +gradually rises into more elevated prairies. + +On the second day of the journey, Mr. Hunt arranged the party into small +and convenient messes, distributing among them the camp kettles. The +encampments at night were as before; some sleeping under tents, and +others bivouacking in the open air. The Canadians proved as patient of +toll and hardship on the land as on the water; indeed, nothing could +surpass the patience and good-humor of these men upon the march. They +were the cheerful drudges of the party, loading and unloading the +horses, pitching the tents, making the fires, cooking; in short, +performing all those household and menial offices which the Indians +usually assign to the squaws; and, like the squaws, they left all the +hunting and fighting to others. A Canadian has but little affection for +the exercise of the rifle. + +The progress of the party was but slow for the first few days. Some of +the men were indisposed; Mr. Crooks, especially, was so unwell that +he could not keep on his horse. A rude kind of litter was, therefore, +prepared for him, consisting of two long poles, fixed, one on each side +of two horses, with a matting between them, on which he reclined at full +length, and was protected from the sun by a canopy of boughs. + +On the evening of the 23d (July) they encamped on the banks of what +they term Big River; and here we cannot but pause to lament the stupid, +commonplace, and often ribald names entailed upon the rivers and other +features of the great West, by traders and settlers. As the aboriginal +tribes of these magnificent regions are yet in existence, the Indian +names might easily be recovered; which, besides being in general more +sonorous and musical, would remain mementoes of the primitive lords +of the soil, of whom in a little while scarce any traces will be left. +Indeed, it is to be wished that the whole of our country could be +rescued, as much as possible, from the wretched nomenclature inflicted +upon it, by ignorant and vulgar minds; and this might be done, in a +great degree, by restoring the Indian names, wherever significant +and euphonious. As there appears to be a spirit of research abroad in +respect to our aboriginal antiquities, we would suggest, as a worthy +object of enterprise, a map, or maps, of every part of our country, +giving the Indian names wherever they could be ascertained. Whoever +achieves such an object worthily, will leave a monument to his own +reputation. + +To return from this digression. As the travellers were now in a country +abounding with buffalo, they remained for several days encamped upon the +banks of Big River, to obtain a supply of provisions, and to give the +invalids time to recruit. + +On the second day of their sojourn, as Ben Jones, John Day, and others +of the hunters were in pursuit of game, they came upon an Indian camp on +the open prairie, near to a small stream which ran through a ravine. +The tents or lodges were of dressed buffalo skins, sewn together and +stretched on tapering pine poles, joined at top, but radiating at +bottom, so as to form a circle capable of admitting fifty persons. +Numbers of horses were grazing in the neighborhood of the camp, or +straying at large in the prairie; a sight most acceptable to the +hunters. After reconnoitering the camp for some time, they ascertained +it to belong to a band of Cheyenne Indians, the same that had sent +a deputation to the Arickaras. They received the hunters in the most +friendly manner; invited them to their lodges, which were more cleanly +than Indian lodges are prone to be, and set food before them with true +uncivilized hospitality. Several of them accompanied the hunters back +to the camp, when a trade was immediately opened. The Cheyennes were +astonished and delighted to find a convoy of goods and trinkets thus +brought into the very heart of the prairie; while Mr. Hunt and his +companions were overjoyed to have an opportunity of obtaining a further +supply of horses from these equestrian savages. + +During a fortnight that the travellers lingered at this place, their +encampment was continually thronged by the Cheyennes. They were a civil, +well-behaved people, cleanly in their persons, and decorous in their +habits. The men were tall, straight and vigorous, with aquiline noses, +and high cheek bones. Some were almost as naked as ancient statues, +and might have stood as models for a statuary; others had leggins and +moccasins of deer skin, and buffalo robes, which they threw gracefully +over their shoulders. In a little while, however, they began to appear +in more gorgeous array, tricked out in the finery obtained from the +white men; bright cloths, brass rings, beads of various colors; and +happy was he who could render himself hideous with vermilion. + +The travellers had frequent occasions to admire the skill and grace with +which these Indians managed their horses. Some of them made a striking +display when mounted; themselves and their steeds decorated in gala +style; for the Indians often bestow more finery upon their horses than +upon themselves. Some would hang around the necks, or rather on the +breasts of their horses, the most precious ornaments they had obtained +from the white men; others interwove feathers in their manes and tails. +The Indian horses, too, appear to have an attachment to their wild +riders, and indeed, it is said that the horses of the prairies readily +distinguish an Indian from a white man by the smell, and give a +preference to the former. Yet the Indians, in general, are hard +riders, and, however they may value their horses, treat them with great +roughness and neglect. Occasionally the Cheyennes joined the white +hunters in pursuit of the elk and buffalo; and when in the ardor of the +chase, spared neither themselves nor their steeds, scouring the prairies +at full speed, and plunging down precipices and frightful ravines that +threatened the necks of both horse and horseman. The Indian steed, well +trained to the chase, seems as mad as the rider, and pursues the game as +eagerly as if it were his natural prey, on the flesh of which he was to +banquet. + +The history of the Cheyennes is that of many of those wandering tribes +of the prairies. They were the remnant of a once powerful people called +the Shaways, inhabiting a branch of the Red River which flows into Lake +Winnipeg. Every Indian tribe has some rival tribe with which it wages +implacable hostility. The deadly enemies of the Shaways were the Sioux, +who, after a long course of warfare, proved too powerful for them, and +drove them across the Missouri. They again took root near the Warricanne +Creek, and established themselves there in a fortified village. + +The Sioux still followed with deadly animosity; dislodged them from +their village, and compelled them to take refuge in the Black Hills, +near the upper waters of the Sheyenne or Cheyenne River. Here they lost +even their name, and became known among the French colonists by that of +the river they frequented. + +The heart of the tribe was now broken; its numbers were greatly +thinned by their harassing wars. They no longer attempted to establish +themselves in any permanent abode that might be an object of attack +to their cruel foes. They gave up the cultivation of the fruits of +the earth, and became a wandering tribe, subsisting by the chase, and +following the buffalo in its migrations. + +Their only possessions were horses, which they caught on the prairies, +or reared, or captured on predatory incursions into the Mexican +territories, as has already been mentioned. With some of these they +repaired once a year to the Arickara villages, exchanged them for corn, +beans, pumpkins, and articles of European merchandise, and then returned +into the heart of the prairies. + +Such are the fluctuating fortunes of these savage nations. War, famine, +pestilence, together or singly, bring down their strength and thin their +numbers. Whole tribes are rooted up from their native places, wander +for a time about these immense regions, become amalgamated with other +tribes, or disappear from the face of the earth. There appears to be a +tendency to extinction among all the savage nations; and this tendency +would seem to have been in operation among the aboriginals of this +country long before the advent of the white men, if we may judge from +the traces and traditions of ancient populousness in regions which +were silent and deserted at the time of the discovery; and from the +mysterious and perplexing vestiges of unknown races, predecessors of +those found in actual possession, and who must long since have become +gradually extinguished or been destroyed. The whole history of the +aboriginal population of this country, however, is an enigma, and a +grand one--will it ever be solved? + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + + New Distribution of Horses--Secret Information of Treason in + the Camp.--Rose the Interpreter--His Perfidious Character-- + His Plots.--Anecdotes of the Crow Indians.--Notorious Horse + Stealers.--Some Account of Rose.--A Desperado of the + Frontier. + +ON the sixth of August the travellers bade farewell to the friendly band +of Cheyennes, and resumed their journey. As they had obtained thirty-six +additional horses by their recent traffic, Mr. Hunt made a new +arrangement. The baggage was made up in smaller loads. A horse was +allotted to each of the six prime hunters, and others were distributed +among the voyageurs, a horse for every two, so that they could ride and +walk alternately. Mr. Crooks being still too feeble to mount the saddle, +was carried on a litter. + +Their march this day lay among singular hills and knolls of an indurated +red earth, resembling brick, about the bases of which were scattered +pumice stones and cinders, the whole bearing traces of the action of +fire. In the evening they encamped on a branch of Big River. + +They were now out of the tract of country infested by the Sioux, and had +advanced such a distance into the interior that Mr. Hunt no longer felt +apprehensive of the desertion of any of his men. He was doomed, however, +to experience new cause of anxiety. As he was seated in his tent after +nightfall, one of the men came to him privately, and informed him that +there was mischief brewing in the camp. Edward Rose, the interpreter, +whose sinister looks we have already mentioned, was denounced by this +secret informer as a designing, treacherous scoundrel, who was tampering +with the fidelity of certain of the men, and instigating them to a +flagrant piece of treason. In the course of a few days they would arrive +at the mountainous district infested by the Upsarokas or Crows, the +tribe among which Rose was to officiate as interpreter. His plan was +that several of the men should join with him, when in that neighborhood, +in carrying off a number of the horses with their packages of goods, and +deserting to those savages. He assured them of good treatment among the +Crows, the principal chiefs and warriors of whom he knew; they would +soon become great men among them, and have the finest women, and the +daughters of the chiefs for wives; and the horses and goods they carried +off would make them rich for life. + +The intelligence of this treachery on the part of Rose gave much +disquiet to Mr. Hunt, for he knew not how far it might be effective +among his men. He had already had proofs that several of them were +disaffected to the enterprise, and loath to cross the mountains. He +knew also that savage life had charms for many of them, especially the +Canadians, who were prone to intermarry and domesticate themselves among +the Indians. + +And here a word or two concerning the Crows may be of service to the +reader, as they will figure occasionally in the succeeding narration. + +The tribe consists of four bands, which have their nestling-places +in fertile, well-wooded valleys, lying among the Rocky Mountains, and +watered by the Big Horse River and its tributary streams; but, though +these are properly their homes, where they shelter their old people, +their wives, and their children, the men of the tribe are almost +continually on the foray and the scamper. They are, in fact, notorious +marauders and horse-stealers; crossing and re-crossing the mountains, +robbing on the one side, and conveying their spoils to the other. Hence, +we are told, is derived their name, given to them on account of their +unsettled and predatory habits; winging their flight, like the crows, +from one side of the mountains to the other, and making free booty of +everything that lies in their way. Horses, however, are the especial +objects of their depredations, and their skill and audacity in stealing +them are said to be astonishing. This is their glory and delight; an +accomplished horse-stealer fills up their idea of a hero. Many horses +are obtained by them, also, in barter from tribes in and beyond the +mountains. They have an absolute passion for this noble animal; besides +which he is with them an important object of traffic. Once a year +they make a visit to the Mandans, Minatarees, and other tribes of the +Missouri, taking with them droves of horses which they exchange for +guns, ammunition, trinkets, vermilion, cloths of bright colors, and +various other articles of European manufacture. With these they supply +their own wants and caprices, and carry on the internal trade for horses +already mentioned. + +The plot of Rose to rob and abandon his countrymen when in the heart +of the wilderness, and to throw himself into the hands of savages, may +appear strange and improbable to those unacquainted with the singular +and anomalous characters that are to be found about the borders. This +fellow, it appears, was one of those desperadoes of the frontiers, +outlawed by their crimes, who combine the vices of civilized and savage +life, and are ten times more barbarous than the Indians with whom they +consort. Rose had formerly belonged to one of the gangs of pirates who +infested the islands of the Mississippi, plundering boats as they went +up and down the river, and who sometimes shifted the scene of their +robberies to the shore, waylaying travellers as they returned by land +from New Orleans with the proceeds of their downward voyage, plundering +them of their money and effects, and often perpetrating the most +atrocious murders. + +These hordes of villains being broken up and dispersed, Rose had betaken +himself to the wilderness, and associated himself with the Crows, whose +predatory habits were congenial with his own, had married a woman of the +tribe, and, in short, had identified himself with those vagrant savages. + +Such was the worthy guide and interpreter, Edward Rose. We give his +story, however, not as it was known to Mr. Hunt and his companions at +the time, but as it has been subsequently ascertained. Enough was known +of the fellow and his dark and perfidious character to put Mr. Hunt upon +his guard: still, as there was no knowing how far his plans might have +succeeded, and as any rash act might blow the mere smouldering sparks of +treason into a sudden blaze, it was thought advisable by those with +whom Mr. Hunt consulted, to conceal all knowledge or suspicion of the +meditated treachery, but to keep up a vigilant watch upon the movements +of Rose, and a strict guard upon the horses at night. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + + Substitute for Fuel on the Prairies.--Fossil Trees.-- + Fierceness of the Buffaloes When in Heat.--Three Hunters + Missing.--Signal Fires and Smokes.--Uneasiness Concerning + the Lost Men.--A Plan to Forestall a Rogue.--New Arrangement + With Rose.--Return of the Wanderers. + +THE plains over which the travellers were journeying continued to be +destitute of trees or even shrubs; insomuch that they had to use the +dung of the buffalo for fuel, as the Arabs of the desert use that of the +camel. This substitute for fuel is universal among the Indians of these +upper prairies, and is said to make a fire equal to that of turf. If a +few chips are added, it throws out a cheerful and kindly blaze. + +These plains, however, had not always been equally destitute of wood, as +was evident from the trunks of the trees which the travellers repeatedly +met with, some still standing, others lying about in broken fragments, +but all in a fossil state, having flourished in times long past. In +these singular remains, the original grain of the wood was still so +distinct that they could be ascertained to be the ruins of oak trees. +Several pieces of the fossil wood were selected by the men to serve as +whetstones. + +In this part of the journey there was no lack of provisions, for the +prairies were covered with immense herds of buffalo. These, in general, +are animals of peaceful demeanor, grazing quietly like domestic cattle; +but this was the season when they are in heat, and when the bulls +are usually fierce and pugnacious. There was accordingly a universal +restlessness and commotion throughout the plain; and the amorous herds +gave utterance to their feelings in low bellowings that resounded like +distant thunder. Here and there fierce duellos took place between rival +enamorados; butting their huge shagged fronts together, goring each +other with their short black horns, and tearing up the earth with their +feet in perfect fury. + +In one of the evening halts, Pierre Dorion, the interpreter, together +with Carson and Gardpie, two of the hunters, were missing, nor had +they returned by morning. As it was supposed they had wandered away in +pursuit of buffalo, and would readily find the track of the party, no +solicitude was felt on their account. A fire was left burning, to guide +them by its column of smoke, and the travellers proceeded on their +march. In the evening a signal fire was made on a hill adjacent to the +camp, and in the morning it was replenished with fuel so as to last +throughout the day. These signals are usual among the Indians, to give +warnings to each other, or to call home straggling hunters; and such +is the transparency of the atmosphere in those elevated plains, that +a slight column of smoke can be discerned from a great distance, +particularly in the evenings. Two or three days elapsed, however, +without the reappearance of the three hunters; and Mr. Hunt slackened +his march to give them time to overtake him. + +A vigilant watch continued to be kept upon the movements of Rose, and +of such of the men as were considered doubtful in their loyalty; but +nothing occurred to excite immediate apprehensions. Rose evidently was +not a favorite among his comrades, and it was hoped that he had not been +able to make any real partisans. + +On the 10th of August they encamped among hills, on the highest peak of +which Mr. Hunt caused a huge pyre of pine wood to be made, which soon +sent up a great column of flame that might be seen far and wide over +the prairies. This fire blazed all night, and was amply replenished at +daybreak; so that the towering pillar of smoke could not but be descried +by the wanderers if within the distance of a day's journey. + +It is a common occurrence in these regions, where the features of the +country so much resemble each other, for hunters to lose themselves and +wander for many days, before they can find their way back to the main +body of their party. In the present instance, however, a more than +common solicitude was felt, in consequence of the distrust awakened by +the sinister designs of Rose. + +The route now became excessively toilsome, over a ridge of steep +rocky hills, covered with loose stones. These were intersected by deep +valleys, formed by two branches of Big River, coming from the south +of west, both of which they crossed. These streams were bordered by +meadows, well stocked with buffaloes. Loads of meat were brought in by +the hunters; but the travellers were rendered dainty by profusion, and +would cook only the choice pieces. + +They had now travelled for several days at a very slow rate, and had +made signal-fires and left traces of their route at every stage, yet +nothing was heard or seen of the lost men. It began to be feared that +they might have fallen into the hands of some lurking band of savages. +A party numerous as that of Mr. Hunt, with a long train of pack horses, +moving across plains or naked hills, is discoverable at a great distance +by Indian scouts, who spread the intelligence rapidly to various points, +and assemble their friends to hang about the skirts of the travellers, +steal their horses, or cut off any stragglers from the main body. + +Mr. Hunt and his companions were more and more sensible how much it +would be in the power of this sullen and daring vagabond Rose, to do +them mischief, when they should become entangled in the defiles of the +mountains, with the passes of which they were wholly unacquainted, and +which were infested by his freebooting friends, the Crows. There, should +he succeed in seducing some of the party into his plans, he might carry +off the best horses and effects, throw himself among his savage allies, +and set all pursuit at defiance. Mr. Hunt resolved, therefore, to +frustrate the knave, divert him, by management, from his plans, and make +it sufficiently advantageous for him to remain honest. + +He took occasion, accordingly, in the course of conversation, to inform +Rose that, having engaged him chiefly as a guide and interpreter through +the country of the Crows, they would not stand in need of his services +beyond. Knowing, therefore, his connection by marriage with that tribe, +and his predilection for a residence among them, they would put no +restraint upon his will, but, whenever they met with a party of that +people, would leave him at liberty to remain among his adopted brethren. +Furthermore, that, in thus parting with him, they would pay him a half a +year's wages in consideration of his past services, and would give him +a horse, three beaver traps, and sundry other articles calculated to set +him up in the world. + +This unexpected liberality, which made it nearly as profitable and +infinitely less hazardous for Rose to remain honest than to play the +rogue, completely disarmed him. From that time his whole deportment +underwent a change. His brow cleared up and appeared more cheerful; he +left off his sullen, skulking habits, and made no further attempts to +tamper with the faith of his comrades. + +On the 13th of August Mr. Hunt varied his course, and inclined westward, +in hopes of falling in with the three lost hunters; who, it was now +thought, might have kept to the right hand of Big River. This course +soon brought him to a fork of the Little Missouri, about a hundred yards +wide, and resembling the great river of the same name in the strength +of its current, its turbid water, and the frequency of drift-wood and +sunken trees. + +Rugged mountains appeared ahead, crowding down to the water edge, and +offering a barrier to further progress on the side they were ascending. +Crossing the river, therefore, they encamped on its northwest bank, +where they found good pasturage and buffalo in abundance. The weather +was overcast and rainy, and a general gloom pervaded the camp; the +voyageurs sat smoking in groups, with their shoulders as high as their +heads, croaking their foreboding, when suddenly towards evening a +shout of joy gave notice that the lost men were found. They came slowly +lagging into camp, with weary looks, and horses jaded and wayworn. They +had, in fact, been for several days incessantly on the move. In their +hunting excursion on the prairies they had pushed so far in pursuit of +buffalo, as to find it impossible to retrace their steps over plains +trampled by innumerable herds; and were baffled by the monotony of the +landscape in their attempts to recall landmarks. They had ridden to and +fro until they had almost lost the points of the compass, and became +totally bewildered; nor did they ever perceive any of the signal fires +and columns of smoke made by their comrades. At length, about two days +previously, when almost spent by anxiety and hard riding, they came, +to their great joy, upon the "trail" of the party, which they had since +followed up steadily. + +Those only who have experienced the warm cordiality that grows up +between comrades in wild and adventurous expeditions of the kind, can +picture to themselves the hearty cheering with which the stragglers were +welcomed to the camp. Every one crowded round them to ask questions, +and to hear the story of their mishaps; and even the squaw of the moody +half-breed, Pierre Dorion, forgot the sternness of his domestic rule, +and the conjugal discipline of the cudgel, in her joy at his safe +return. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + + The Black Mountains.--Haunts of Predatory Indians.--Their + Wild and Broken Appearance.--Superstitions Concerning Them-- + Thunder Spirits.--Singular Noises in the Mountains--Secret + Mines.-Hidden Treasures.--Mountains in Labor.--Scientific + Explanation.-Impassable Defiles.--Black-Tailed Deer.-The + Bighorn or Ahsahta.-Prospect From a Lofty Height.--Plain + With Herds of Buffalo.-Distant Peaks of the Rocky + Mountains.--Alarms in the Camp.-Tracks of Grizzly Bears.-- + Dangerous Nature of This Animal.-Adventures of William + Cannon and John Day With Grizzly Bears. + +MR. Hunt and his party were now on the skirts of the Black Hills, or +Black Mountains, as they are sometimes called; an extensive chain, lying +about a hundred miles east of the Rocky Mountains, and stretching in +a northeast direction from the south fork of the Nebraska, or Platte +River, to the great north bend of the Missouri. The Sierra or ridge of +the Black Hills, in fact, forms the dividing line between the waters of +the Missouri and those of the Arkansas and the Mississippi, and gives +rise to the Cheyenne, the Little Missouri, and several tributary streams +of the Yellowstone. + +The wild recesses of these hills, like those of the Rocky Mountains, are +retreats and lurking-places for broken and predatory tribes, and it was +among them that the remnants of the Cheyenne tribe took refuge, as has +been stated, from their conquering enemies, the Sioux. + +The Black Hills are chiefly composed of sandstone, and in many places +are broken into savage cliffs and precipices, and present the most +singular and fantastic forms; sometimes resembling towns and castellated +fortresses. The ignorant inhabitants of plains are prone to clothe +the mountains that bound their horizon with fanciful and superstitious +attributes. Thus the wandering tribes of the prairies, who often +behold clouds gathering round the summits of these hills, and lightning +flashing, and thunder pealing from them, when all the neighboring +plains are serene and sunny, consider them the abode of the genii or +thunder-spirits who fabricate storms and tempests. On entering their +defiles, therefore, they often hang offerings on the trees, or place +them on the rocks, to propitiate the invisible "lords of the mountains," +and procure good weather and successful hunting; and they attach unusual +significance to the echoes which haunt the precipices. This superstition +may also have arisen, in part, from a natural phenomenon of a singular +nature. In the most calm and serene weather, and at all times of the +day or night, successive reports are now and then heard among these +mountains, resembling the discharge of several pieces of artillery. +Similar reports were heard by Messrs. Lewis and Clarke in the Rocky +Mountains, which they say were attributed by the Indians to the bursting +of the rich mines of silver contained in the bosom of the mountains. + +In fact, these singular explosions have received fanciful explanations +from learned men, and have not been satisfactorily accounted for even by +philosophers. They are said to occur frequently in Brazil. Vasconcelles, +Jesuit father, describes one which he heard in the Sierra, or mountain +region of Piratininga, and which he compares to the discharges of a park +of artillery. The Indians told him that it was an explosion of stones. +The worthy father had soon a satisfactory proof of the truth of their +information, for the very place was found where a rock had burst and +exploded from its entrails a stony mass, like a bomb-shell, and of the +size of a bull's heart. This mass was broken either in its ejection or +its fall, and wonderful was the internal organization revealed. It had a +shell harder even than iron; within which were arranged, like the +seeds of a pomegranate, jewels of various colors; some transparent +as crystals; others of a fine red, and others of mixed hues. The same +phenomenon is said to occur occasionally in the adjacent province of +Guayra, where stones of the bigness of a man's hand are exploded, with +a loud noise, from the bosom of the earth, and scatter about glittering +and beautiful fragments that look like precious gems, but are of no +value. + +The Indians of the Orellanna, also, tell of horrible noises heard +occasionally in the Paraguaxo, which they consider the throes and groans +of the mountains, endeavoring to cast forth the precious stones hidden +within its entrails. Others have endeavored to account for these +discharges of "mountain artillery" on humbler principles; attributing +them to the loud reports made by the disruption and fall of great +masses of rock, reverberated and prolonged by the echoes; others, to the +disengagement of hydrogen, produced by subterraneous beds of coal in +a state of ignition. In whatever way this singular phenomenon may be +accounted for, the existence of it appears to be well established. It +remains one of the lingering mysteries of nature which throw something +of a supernatural charm over her wild mountain solitudes; and we doubt +whether the imaginative reader will not rather join with the poor Indian +in attributing it to the thunderspirits, or the guardian genii of unseen +treasures, than to any commonplace physical cause. + +Whatever might be the supernatural influences among these mountains, +the travellers found their physical difficulties hard to cope with. They +made repeated attempts to find a passage through or over the chain, but +were as often turned back by impassable barriers. Sometimes a defile +seemed to open a practicable path, but it would terminate in some wild +chaos of rocks and cliffs, which it was impossible to climb. The animals +of these solitary regions were different from those they had been +accustomed to. The black-tailed deer would bound up the ravines on their +approach, and the bighorn would gaze fearlessly down upon them from some +impending precipice, or skip playfully from rock to rock. These animals +are only to be met with in mountainous regions. The former is larger +than the common deer, but its flesh is not equally esteemed by hunters. +It has very large ears, and the tip of the tail is black, from which it +derives its name. + +The bighorn is so named from its horns; which are of a great size, and +twisted like those of a ram. It is called by some the argali, by others +the ibex, though differing from both of these animals. The Mandans call +it the ahsahta, a name much better than the clumsy appellation which it +generally bears. It is of the size of a small elk, or large deer, and of +a dun color, excepting the belly and round the tail, where it is white. +In its habits it resembles the goat, frequenting the rudest precipices; +cropping the herbage from their edges; and like the chamois, bounding +lightly and securely among dizzy heights, where the hunter dares not +venture. It is difficult, therefore, to get within shot of it. Ben Jones +the hunter, however, in one of the passes of the Black Hills, succeeded +in bringing down a bighorn from the verge of a precipice, the flesh of +which was pronounced by the gormands of the camp to have the flavor of +excellent mutton. + +Baffled in his attempts to traverse this mountain chain, Mr. Hunt +skirted along it to the southwest, keeping it on the right; and still in +hopes of finding an opening. At an early hour one day, he encamped in +a narrow valley on the banks of a beautifully clear but rushy pool; +surrounded by thickets bearing abundance of wild cherries, currants, and +yellow and purple gooseberries. + +While the afternoon's meal was in preparation, Mr. Hunt and Mr. M'Kenzie +ascended to the summit of the nearest hill, from whence, aided by the +purity and transparency of the evening atmosphere, they commanded a +vast prospect on all sides. Below them extended a plain, dotted with +innumerable herds of buffalo. Some were lying among the herbage, others +roaming in their unbounded pastures, while many were engaged in fierce +contests like those already described, their low bellowings reaching the +ear like the hoarse murmurs of the surf on a distant shore. + +Far off in the west they descried a range of lofty mountains printing +the clear horizon, some of them evidently capped with snow. These they +supposed to be the Bighorn Mountains, so called from the animal of that +name, with which they abound. They are a spur of the great Rocky chain. +The hill from whence Mr. Hunt had this prospect was, according to +his computation, about two hundred and fifty miles from the Arickara +village. + +On returning to the camp, Mr. Hunt found some uneasiness prevailing +among the Canadian voyageurs. In straying among the thickets they had +beheld tracks of grizzly bears in every direction, doubtless attracted +thither by the fruit. To their dismay, they now found that they had +encamped in one of the favorite resorts of this dreaded animal. The +idea marred all the comfort of the encampment. As night closed, the +surrounding thickets were peopled with terrors; insomuch that, according +to Mr. Hunt, they could not help starting at every little breeze that +stirred the bushes. + +The grizzly bear is the only really formidable quadruped of our +continent. He is the favorite theme of the hunters of the far West, +who describe him as equal in size to a common cow and of prodigious +strength. He makes battle if assailed, and often, if pressed by hunger, +is the assailant. If wounded, he becomes furious and will pursue the +hunter. His speed exceeds that of a man but is inferior to that of a +horse. In attacking he rears himself on his hind legs, and springs the +length of his body. Woe to horse or rider that comes within the sweep of +his terrific claws, which are sometimes nine inches in length, and tear +everything before them. + +At the time we are treating of, the grizzly bear was still frequent +on the Missouri and in the lower country, but, like some of the broken +tribes of the prairie, he has gradually fallen back before his enemies, +and is now chiefly to be found in the upland regions, in rugged +fastnesses like those of the Black Hills and the Rocky Mountains. Here +he lurks in caverns, or holes which he has digged in the sides of hills, +or under the roots and trunks of fallen trees. Like the common bear, he +is fond of fruits, and mast, and roots, the latter of which he will dig +up with his foreclaws. He is carnivorous also, and will even attack +and conquer the lordly buffalo, dragging his huge carcass to the +neighborhood of his den, that he may prey upon it at his leisure. + +The hunters, both white and red men, consider this the most heroic +game. They prefer to hunt him on horseback, and will venture so near as +sometimes to singe his hair with the flash of the rifle. The hunter of +the grizzly bear, however, must be an experienced hand, and know where +to aim at a vital part; for of all quadrupeds, he is the most difficult +to be killed. He will receive repeated wounds without flinching, and +rarely is a shot mortal unless through the head or heart. + +That the dangers apprehended from the grizzly bear, at this night +encampment, were not imaginary, was proved on the following morning. +Among the hired men of the party was one William Cannon, who had been a +soldier at one of the frontier posts, and entered into the employ of Mr. +Hunt at Mackinaw. He was an inexperienced hunter and a poor shot, for +which he was much bantered by his more adroit comrades. Piqued at +their raillery, he had been practicing ever since he had joined the +expedition, but without success. In the course of the present afternoon, +he went forth by himself to take a lesson in venerie and, to his +great delight, had the good fortune to kill a buffalo. As he was a +considerable distance from the camp, he cut out the tongue and some +of the choice bits, made them into a parcel, and slinging them on his +shoulders by a strap passed round his forehead, as the voyageurs carry +packages of goods, set out all glorious for the camp, anticipating a +triumph over his brother hunters. In passing through a narrow ravine, +he heard a noise behind him, and looking round beheld, to his dismay, a +grizzly bear in full pursuit, apparently attracted by the scent of the +meat. Cannon had heard so much of the invulnerability of this tremendous +animal, that he never attempted to fire, but, slipping the strap from +his forehead, let go the buffalo meat and ran for his life. The bear did +not stop to regale himself with the game, but kept on after the hunter. +He had nearly overtaken him when Cannon reached a tree, and, throwing +down his rifle scrambled up it. The next instant Bruin was at the foot +of the tree; but, as this species of bear does not climb, he contented +himself with turning the chase into a blockade. Night came on. In the +darkness Cannon could not perceive whether or not the enemy maintained +his station; but his fears pictured him rigorously mounting guard. He +passed the night, therefore, in the tree, a prey to dismal fancies. +In the morning the bear was gone. Cannon warily descended the tree, +gathered up his gun, and made the best of his way back to the camp, +without venturing to look after his buffalo meat. + +While on this theme we will add another anecdote of an adventure with a +grizzly bear, told of John Day, the Kentucky hunter, but which happened +at a different period of the expedition. Day was hunting in company with +one of the clerks of the company, a lively youngster, who was a great +favorite with the veteran, but whose vivacity he had continually to keep +in check. They were in search of deer, when suddenly a huge grizzly bear +emerged from a thicket about thirty yards distant, rearing himself upon +his hind legs with a terrific growl, and displaying a hideous array of +teeth and claws. The rifle of the young man was leveled in an instant, +but John Day's iron hand was as quickly upon his arm. "Be quiet, boy! +be quiet!" exclaimed the hunter between his clenched teeth, and without +turning his eyes from the bear. They remained motionless. The monster +regarded them for a time, then, lowering himself on his fore paws, +slowly withdrew. He had not gone many paces, before he again returned, +reared himself on his hind legs, and repeated his menace. Day's hand was +still on the arm of his young companion; he again pressed it hard, and +kept repeating between his teeth, "Quiet, boy!--keep quiet!--keep +quiet!"--though the latter had not made a move since his first +prohibition. The bear again lowered himself on all fours, retreated some +twenty yards further, and again turned, reared, showed his teeth, and +growled. This third menace was too much for the game spirit of John Day. +"By Jove!" exclaimed he, "I can stand this no longer," and in an instant +a ball from his rifle whizzed into his foe. The wound was not mortal; +but, luckily, it dismayed instead of enraged the animal, and he +retreated into the thicket. + +Day's companion reproached him for not practicing the caution which +he enjoined upon others. "Why, boy," replied the veteran, "caution is +caution, but one must not put up with too much, even from a bear. Would +you have me suffer myself to be bullied all day by a varmint?" + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + + Indian Trail.--Rough Mountain Travelling.--Sufferings From + Hunger and Thirst--Powder River.--Game in Abundance.-A + Hunter's Paradise.--Mountain Peak Seen at a Great Distance.-- + One of the Bighorn Chain.--Rocky Mountains.--Extent.-- + Appearance.--Height.-The Great American Desert.--Various + Characteristics of the Mountains.--Indian Superstitions + Concerning Them.--Land of Souls.--Towns of the Free and + Generous Spirits--Happy Hunting Grounds. + +FOR the two following days, the travellers pursued a westerly course for +thirty-four miles along a ridge of country dividing the tributary waters +of the Missouri and the Yellowstone. As landmarks they guided themselves +by the summits of the far distant mountains, which they supposed to +belong to the Bighorn chain. They were gradually rising into a higher +temperature, for the weather was cold for the season, with a sharp frost +in the night, and ice of an eighth of an inch in thickness. + +On the twenty-second of August, early in the day, they came upon the +trail of a numerous band. Rose and the other hunters examined the +foot-prints with great attention, and determined it to be the trail of +a party of Crows, returning from an annual trading visit to the Mandans. +As this trail afforded more commodious travelling, they immediately +struck into it, and followed it for two days. It led them over rough +hills, and through broken gullies, during which time they suffered great +fatigue from the ruggedness of the country. The weather, too, which had +recently been frosty, was now oppressively warm, and there was a +great scarcity of water, insomuch that a valuable dog belonging to Mr. +M'Kenzie died of thirst. + +At one time they had twenty-five miles of painful travel, without a +drop of water, until they arrived at a small running stream. Here they +eagerly slaked their thirst; but, this being allayed, the calls of +hunger became equally importunate. Ever since they had got among these +barren and arid hills where there was a deficiency of grass, they had +met with no buffaloes; those animals keeping in the grassy meadows near +the streams. They were obliged, therefore, to have recourse to their +corn meal, which they reserved for such emergencies. Some, however, +were lucky enough to kill a wolf, which they cooked for supper, and +pronounced excellent food. + +The next morning they resumed their wayfaring, hungry and jaded, and had +a dogged march of eighteen miles among the same kind of hills. At length +they emerged upon a stream of clear water, one of the forks of Powder +River, and to their great joy beheld once more wide grassy meadows, +stocked with herds of buffalo. For several days they kept along the +banks of the river, ascending it about eighteen miles. It was a hunter's +paradise; the buffaloes were in such abundance that they were enabled +to kill as many as they pleased, and to jerk a sufficient supply of meat +for several days' journeying. Here, then, they reveled and reposed after +their hungry and weary travel, hunting and feasting, and reclining upon +the grass. Their quiet, however, was a little marred by coming upon +traces of Indians, who, they concluded, must be Crows: they were +therefore obliged to keep a more vigilant watch than ever upon their +horses. For several days they had been directing their march towards +the lofty mountain descried by Mr. Hunt and Mr. M'Kenzie on the 17th of +August, the height of which rendered it a landmark over a vast extent of +country. At first it had appeared to them solitary and detached; but +as they advanced towards it, it proved to be the principal summit of a +chain of mountains. Day by day it varied in form, or rather its lower +peaks, and the summits of others of the chain emerged above the clear +horizon, and finally the inferior line of hills which connected most of +them rose to view. So far, however, are objects discernible in the pure +atmosphere of these elevated plains, that, from the place where they +first descried the main mountain, they had to travel a hundred and fifty +miles before they reached its base. Here they encamped on the 30th of +August, having come nearly four hundred miles since leaving the Arickara +village. + +The mountain which now towered above them was one of the Bighorn chain, +bordered by a river, of the same name, and extending for a long distance +rather east of north and west of south. It was a part of the great +system of granite mountains which forms one of the most important and +striking features of North America, stretching parallel to the coast of +the Pacific from the Isthmus of Panama almost to the Arctic Ocean; and +presenting a corresponding chain to that of the Andes in the southern +hemisphere. This vast range has acquired, from its rugged and broken +character and its summits of naked granite, the appellation of the Rocky +Mountains, a name by no means distinctive, as all elevated ranges are +rocky. Among the early explorers it was known as the range of Chippewyan +Mountains, and this Indian name is the one it is likely to retain +in poetic usage. Rising from the midst of vast plains and prairies, +traversing several degrees of latitude, dividing the waters of the +Atlantic and the Pacific, and seeming to bind with diverging ridges +the level regions on its flanks, it has been figuratively termed the +backbone of the northern continent. + +The Rocky Mountains do not present a range of uniform elevation, but +rather groups and occasionally detached peaks. Though some of these rise +to the region of perpetual snows, and are upwards of eleven thousand +feet in real altitude, yet their height from their immediate basis +is not so great as might be imagined, as they swell up from elevated +plains, several thousand feet above the level of the ocean. These plains +are often of a desolate sterility; mere sandy wastes, formed of the +detritus of the granite heights, destitute of trees and herbage, +scorched by the ardent and reflected rays of the summer's sun, and in +winter swept by chilling blasts from the snow-clad mountains. Such is +a great part of that vast region extending north and south along the +mountains, several hundred miles in width, which has not improperly been +termed the Great American Desert. It is a region that almost discourages +all hope of cultivation, and can only be traversed with safety by +keeping near the streams which intersect it. Extensive plains likewise +occur among the higher regions of the mountains, of considerable +fertility. Indeed, these lofty plats of table-land seem to form a +peculiar feature in the American continents. Some occur among the +Cordilleras of the Andes, where cities, and towns, and cultivated farms +are to be seen eight thousand feet above the level of the sea. + +The Rocky Mountains, as we have already observed, occur sometimes singly +or in groups, and occasionally in collateral ridges. Between these are +deep valleys, with small streams winding through them, which find their +way into the lower plains, augmenting as they proceed, and ultimately +discharging themselves into those vast rivers, which traverse the +prairies like great arteries, and drain the continent. + +While the granitic summits of the Rocky Mountains are bleak and bare, +many of the inferior ridges are scantily clothed with scrubbed pines, +oaks, cedar, and furze. Various parts of the mountains also bear traces +of volcanic action. Some of the interior valleys are strewed with scoria +and broken stones, evidently of volcanic origin; the surrounding rocks +bear the like character, and vestiges of extinguished craters are to be +seen on the elevated heights. + +We have already noticed the superstitious feelings with which the +Indians regard the Black Hills; but this immense range of mountains, +which divides all that they know of the world, and gives birth to such +mighty rivers, is still more an object of awe and veneration. They call +it "the crest of the world," and think that Wacondah, or the master of +life, as they designate the Supreme Being, has his residence among +these aerial heights. The tribes on the eastern prairies call them +the mountains of the setting sun. Some of them place the "happy +hunting-grounds," their ideal paradise, among the recesses of these +mountains; but say that they are invisible to living men. Here also is +the "Land of Souls," in which are the "towns of the free and generous +spirits," where those who have pleased the master of life while living, +enjoy after death all manner of delights. + +Wonders are told of these mountains by the distant tribes, whose +warriors or hunters have ever wandered in their neighborhood. It is +thought by some that, after death, they will have to travel to these +mountains and ascend one of their highest and most rugged peaks, among +rocks and snows and tumbling torrents. After many moons of painful toil +they will reach the summit, from whence they will have a view over the +land of souls. There they will see the happy hunting-grounds, with the +souls of the brave and good living in tents in green meadows, by bright +running streams, or hunting the herds of buffalo, and elk, and deer, +which have been slain on earth. There, too, they will see the villages +or towns of the free and generous spirits brightening in the midst of +delicious prairies. If they have acquitted themselves well while living, +they will be permitted to descend and enjoy this happy country; if +otherwise they will but be tantalized with this prospect of it, and +then hurled back from the mountain to wander about the sandy plains, and +endure the eternal pangs of unsatisfied thirst and hunger. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + + Region of the Crow Indians--Scouts on the Lookout--Visit + From a Crew of Hard Riders.--A Crow Camp.--Presents to the + Crow Chief.-Bargaining.-Crow Bullies.-Rose Among His Indian + Friends.-Parting With the Crows.--Perplexities Among the + Mountains.--More of the Crows.--Equestrian Children.--Search + After Stragglers. + +THE travellers had now arrived in the vicinity of the mountain regions +infested by the Crow Indians. These restless marauders, as has already +been observed, are apt to be continually on the prowl about the skirts +of the mountains; and even when encamped in some deep and secluded +glen, they keep scouts upon the cliffs and promontories, who, unseen +themselves, can discern every living thing that moves over the subjacent +plains and valleys. It was not to be expected that our travellers could +pass unseen through a region thus vigilantly sentineled; accordingly, in +the edge of the evening, not long after they had encamped at the foot +of the Bighorn Sierra, a couple of wild-looking beings, scantily clad +in skins, but well armed, and mounted on horses as wild-looking as +themselves, were seen approaching with great caution from among the +rocks. They might have been mistaken for two of the evil spirits of the +mountains so formidable in Indian fable. + +Rose was immediately sent out to hold a parley with them, and invite +them to the camp. They proved to be two scouts from the same band that +had been tracked for some days past, and which was now encamped at some +distance in the folds of the mountain. They were easily prevailed upon +to come to the camp, where they were well received, and, after remaining +there until late in the evening, departed to make a report of all they +had seen and experienced to their companions. + +The following day had scarce dawned, when a troop of these wild mountain +scamperers came galloping with whoops and yells into the camp, bringing +an invitation from their chief for the white men to visit him. The tents +were accordingly struck, the horses laden, and the party were soon on +the march. The Crow horsemen, as they escorted them, appeared to take +pride in showing off their equestrian skill and hardihood; careering +at full speed on their half-savage steeds, and dashing among rocks and +crags, and up and down the most rugged and dangerous places with perfect +ease and unconcern. + +A ride of sixteen miles brought them, in the afternoon, in sight of the +Crow camp. It was composed of leathern tents, pitched in a meadow on +the border of a small clear stream at the foot of the mountain. A great +number of horses were grazing in the vicinity, many of them doubtless +captured in marauding excursions. + +The Crow chieftain came forth to meet his guests with great professions +of friendship, and conducted them to his tents, pointing out, by the +way, a convenient place where they might fix their camp. No sooner had +they done so, than Mr. Hunt opened some of the packages and made the +chief a present of a scarlet blanket and a quantity of powder and ball; +he gave him also some knives, trinkets, and tobacco to be distributed +among his warriors, with all which the grim potentate seemed, for the +time, well pleased. As the Crows, however, were reputed to be perfidious +in the extreme, and as errant freebooters as the bird after which they +were so worthily named; and as their general feelings towards the whites +were known to be by no means friendly, the intercourse with them was +conducted with great circumspection. + +The following day was passed in trading with the Crows for buffalo robes +and skins, and in bartering galled and jaded horses for others that were +in good condition. Some of the men, also, purchased horses on their own +account, so that the number now amounted to one hundred and twenty-one, +most of them sound and active, and fit for mountain service. + +Their wants being supplied, they ceased all further traffic, much to the +dissatisfaction of the Crows, who became extremely urgent to continue +the trade, and, finding their importunities of no avail, assumed an +insolent and menacing tone. All this was attributed by Mr. Hunt and his +associates to the perfidious instigations of Rose the interpreter, whom +they suspected of the desire to foment ill-will between them and the +savages, for the promotion of his nefarious plans. M'Lellan, with his +usual tranchant mode of dealing out justice, resolved to shoot the +desperado on the spot in case of any outbreak. Nothing of the kind, +however, occurred. The Crows were probably daunted by the resolute, +though quiet demeanor of the white men, and the constant vigilance and +armed preparations which they maintained; and Rose, if he really +still harbored his knavish designs, must have perceived that they were +suspected, and, if attempted to be carried into effect, might bring ruin +on his own head. + +The next morning, bright and early, Mr. Hunt proposed to resume his +journeying. He took a ceremonious leave of the Crow chieftain, and his +vagabond warriors, and according to previous arrangements, consigned +to their cherishing friendship and fraternal adoption, their worthy +confederate Rose; who, having figured among the water pirates of the +Mississippi, was well fitted to rise to distinction among the land +pirates of the Rocky Mountains. + +It is proper to add, that the ruffian was well received among the tribe, +and appeared to be perfectly satisfied with the compromise he had made; +feeling much more at his ease among savages than among white men. It is +outcasts from justice, and heartless desperadoes of this kind who sow +the seeds of enmity and bitterness among the unfortunate tribes of +the frontier. There is no enemy so implacable against a country or a +community as one of its own people who has rendered himself an alien by +his crimes. + +Right glad to be delivered from this treacherous companion, Mr. Hunt +pursued his course along the skirts of the mountain, in a southern +direction, seeking for some practicable defile by which he might pass +through it; none such presented, however, in the course of fifteen +miles, and he encamped on a small stream, still on the outskirts. The +green meadows which border these mountain streams are generally well +stocked with game, and the hunters killed several fat elks, which +supplied the camp with fresh meat. In the evening the travellers were +surprised by an unwelcome visit from several Crows belonging to a +different band from that which they recently left, and who said their +camp was among the mountains. The consciousness of being environed by +such dangerous neighbors, and of being still within the range of Rose +and his fellow ruffians, obliged the party to be continually on the +alert, and to maintain weary vigils throughout the night, lest they +should be robbed of their horses. + +On the third of September, finding that the mountain still stretched +onwards, presenting a continued barrier, they endeavored to force a +passage to the westward, but soon became entangled among rocks and +precipices which set all their efforts at defiance. The mountain seemed, +for the most part, rugged, bare, and sterile; yet here and there it was +clothed with pines, and with shrubs and flowering plants, some of which +were in bloom. In tolling among these weary places, their thirst became +excessive, for no water was to be met with. Numbers of the men wandered +off into rocky dells and ravines in hopes of finding some brook or +fountain; some of whom lost their way and did not rejoin the main party. + +After a day of painful and fruitless scrambling, Mr. Hunt gave up the +attempt to penetrate in this direction, and, returning to the little +stream on the skirts of the mountain, pitched his tents within six miles +of his encampment of the preceding night. He now ordered that signals +should be made for the stragglers in quest of water; but the night +passed away without their return. + +The next morning, to their surprise, Rose made his appearance at the +camp, accompanied by some of his Crow associates. His unwelcome visit +revived their suspicions; but he announced himself as a messenger of +good-will from the chief, who, finding they had taken the wrong road, +had sent Rose and his companions to guide them to a nearer and better +one across the mountain. + +Having no choice, being themselves utterly at fault, they set out under +this questionable escort. They had not gone far before they fell in with +the whole party of Crows, who, they now found, were going the same road +with themselves. The two cavalcades of white and red men, therefore, +pushed on together, and presented a wild and picturesque spectacle, +as, equipped with various weapons and in various garbs, with trains of +pack-horses, they wound in long lines through the rugged defiles, and up +and down the crags and steeps of the mountain. + +The travellers had again an opportunity to see and admire the equestrian +habitudes and address of this hard-riding tribe. They were all mounted, +man, woman, and child, for the Crows have horses in abundance, so that +no one goes on foot. The children are perfect imps on horseback. Among +them was one so young that he could not yet speak. He was tied on a colt +of two years old, but managed the reins as if by instinct, and plied +the whip with true Indian prodigality. Mr. Hunt inquired the age of this +infant jockey, and was answered that "he had seen two winters." + +This is almost realizing the fable of the centaurs; nor can we wonder +at the equestrian adroitness of these savages, who are thus in a manner +cradled in the saddle, and become in infancy almost identified with the +animal they bestride. + +The mountain defiles were exceedingly rough and broken, and the +travelling painful to the burdened horses. The party, therefore, +proceeded but slowly, and were gradually left behind by the band of +Crows, who had taken the lead. It is more than probable that Mr. Hunt +loitered in his course, to get rid of such doubtful fellow-travellers. +Certain it is that he felt a sensation of relief as he saw the whole +crew, the renegade Rose and all, disappear among the windings of +the mountain, and heard the last yelp of the savages die away in the +distance. + +When they were fairly out of sight, and out of hearing, he encamped on +the head waters of the little stream of the preceding day, having come +about sixteen miles. Here he remained all the succeeding day, as well +to give time for the Crows to get in the advance, as for the stragglers, +who had wandered away in quest of water two days previously, to rejoin +the camp. Indeed, considerable uneasiness began to be felt concerning +these men, lest they should become utterly bewildered in the defiles of +the mountains, or should fall into the hands of some marauding band of +savages. Some of the most experienced hunters were sent in search of +them; others, in the meantime, employed themselves in hunting. The +narrow valley in which they encamped being watered by a running +stream, yielded fresh pasturage, and though in the heart of the Bighorn +Mountains, was well stocked with buffalo. Several of these were killed, +as also a grizzly bear. In the evening, to the satisfaction of all +parties, the stragglers made their appearance, and provisions being in +abundance, there was hearty good cheer in the camp. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX + + Mountain Glens.--Wandering Band of Savages--Anecdotes of + Shoshonies and Flatheads.--Root Diggers--Their Solitary + Lurking Habits.--Gnomes of the Mountains.--Wind River.-- + Scarcity of Food.--Alteration of Route.--The Pilot Knobs or + Tetons.--Branch of the Colorado.--Hunting Camp. + +RESUMING their course on the following morning, Mr. Hunt and his +companions continued on westward through a rugged region of hills and +rocks, but diversified in many places by grassy little glens, with +springs of water, bright sparkling brooks, clumps of pine trees, and a +profusion of flowering plants, which were in bloom, although the weather +was frosty. These beautiful and verdant recesses, running through and +softening the rugged mountains, were cheering and refreshing to the +wayworn travellers. + +In the course of the morning, as they were entangled in a defile, they +beheld a small band of savages, as wild-looking as the surrounding +scenery, who reconnoitred them warily from the rocks before they +ventured to advance. Some of them were mounted on horses rudely +caparisoned with bridles or halters of buffalo hide, one end trailing +after them on the ground. They proved to be a mixed party of Flatheads +and Shoshonies, or Snakes; and as these tribes will be frequently +mentioned in the course of this work, we shall give a few introductory +particulars concerning them. + +The Flatheads in question are not to be confounded with those of the +name who dwell about the lower waters of the Columbia; neither do they +flatten their heads, as the others do. They inhabit the banks of a river +on the west side of the mountains, and are described as simple, honest, +and hospitable. Like all people of similar character, whether civilized +or savage, they are prone to be imposed upon; and are especially +maltreated by the ruthless Blackfeet, who harass them in their villages, +steal their horses by night, or openly carry them off in the face of +day, without provoking pursuit or retaliation. + +The Shoshonies are a branch of the once powerful and prosperous tribe +of the Snakes, who possessed a glorious hunting country about the upper +forks of the Missouri, abounding in beaver and buffalo. Their hunting +ground was occasionally invaded by the Blackfeet, but the Snakes battled +bravely for their domains, and a long and bloody feud existed, with +variable success. At length the Hudson's Bay Company, extending their +trade into the interior, had dealings with the Blackfeet, who were +nearest to them, and supplied them with fire-arms. The Snakes, who +occasionally traded with the Spaniards, endeavored, but in vain, to +obtain similar weapons; the Spanish traders wisely refused to arm +them so formidably. The Blackfeet had now a vast advantage, and soon +dispossessed the poor Snakes of their favorite hunting grounds, their +land of plenty, and drove them from place to place, until they were fain +to take refuge in the wildest and most desolate recesses of the Rocky +Mountains. Even here they are subject to occasional visits from their +implacable foes, as long as they have horses, or any other property to +tempt the plunderer. Thus by degrees the Snakes have become a scattered, +broken-spirited, impoverished people; keeping about lonely rivers and +mountain streams, and subsisting chiefly upon fish. Such of them as +still possess horses, and occasionally figure as hunters, are called +Shoshonies; but there is another class, the most abject and forlorn, who +are called Shuckers, or more commonly Diggers and Root Eaters. These are +a shy, secret, solitary race, who keep in the most retired parts of the +mountains, lurking like gnomes in caverns and clefts of the rocks, and +subsisting in a great measure on the roots of the earth. Sometimes, +in passing through a solitary mountain valley, the traveller comes +perchance upon the bleeding carcass of a deer or buffalo that has just +been slain. He looks round in vain for the hunter; the whole landscape +is lifeless and deserted: at length he perceives a thread of smoke, +curling up from among the crags and cliffs, and scrambling to the place, +finds some forlorn and skulking brood of Diggers, terrified at being +discovered. + +The Shoshonies, however, who, as has been observed, have still "horse to +ride and weapon to wear," are somewhat bolder in their spirit, and more +open and wide in their wanderings. In the autumn, when salmon disappear +from the rivers, and hunger begins to pinch, they even venture down into +their ancient hunting grounds, to make a foray among the buffaloes. In +this perilous enterprise they are occasionally joined by the Flatheads, +the persecutions of the Blackfeet having produced a close alliance +and cooperation between these luckless and maltreated tribes. Still, +notwithstanding their united force, every step they take within the +debatable ground is taken in fear and trembling, and with the utmost +precaution: and an Indian trader assures us that he has seen at least +five hundred of them, armed and equipped for action, and keeping watch +upon the hill tops, while about fifty were hunting in the prairie. Their +excursions are brief and hurried; as soon as they have collected and +jerked sufficient buffalo meat for winter provisions, they pack their +horses, abandon the dangerous hunting grounds, and hasten back to the +mountains, happy if they have not the terrible Blackfeet rattling after +them. + +Such a confederate band of Shoshonies and Flatheads was the one met +by our travellers. It was bound on a visit to the Arrapahoes, a tribe +inhabiting the banks of the Nebraska. They were armed to the best of +their scanty means, and some of the Shoshonies had bucklers of buffalo +hide, adorned with feathers and leathern fringes, and which have a +charmed virtue in their eyes, from having been prepared, with mystic +ceremonies, by their conjurers. + +In company with this wandering band our travellers proceeded all day. +In the evening they encamped near to each other in a defile of the +mountains, on the borders of a stream running north, and falling into +Bighorn River. In the vicinity of the camp, they found gooseberries, +strawberries, and currants in great abundance. The defile bore traces of +having been a thoroughfare for countless herds of buffaloes, though not +one was to be seen. The hunters succeeded in killing an elk and several +black-tailed deer. + +They were now in the bosom of the second Bighorn ridge, with another +lofty and snow-crowned mountain full in view to the west. Fifteen miles +of western course brought them, on the following day, down into an +intervening plain, well stocked with buffalo. Here the Snakes and +Flatheads joined with the white hunters in a successful hunt, that soon +filled the camp with provisions. + +On the morning of the 9th of September, the travellers parted company +with their Indian friends, and continued on their course to the west. +A march of thirty miles brought them, in the evening, to the banks of a +rapid and beautifully clear stream about a hundred yards wide. It is the +north fork or branch of the Bighorn River, but bears its peculiar +name of the Wind River, from being subject in the winter season to a +continued blast which sweeps its banks and prevents the snow from lying +on them. This blast is said to be caused by a narrow gap or funnel +in the mountains, through which the river forces its way between +perpendicular precipices, resembling cut rocks. + +This river gives its name to a whole range of mountains consisting +of three parallel chains, eighty miles in length, and about twenty or +twenty-five broad. One of its peaks is probably fifteen thousand feet +above the level of the sea, being one of the highest of the Rocky +Sierra. These mountains give rise, not merely to the Wind or Bighorn +River, but to several branches of the Yellowstone and the Missouri on +the east, and of the Columbia and Colorado on the west; thus dividing +the sources of these mighty streams. + +For five succeeding days, Mr. Hunt and his party continued up the course +of the Wind River, to the distance of about eighty miles, crossing and +recrossing it, according to its windings, and the nature of its banks; +sometimes passing through valleys, at other times scrambling over rocks +and hills. The country in general was destitute of trees, but they +passed through groves of wormwood, eight and ten feet in height, which +they used occasionally for fuel, and they met with large quantities of +wild flax. + +The mountains were destitute of game; they came in sight of two grizzly +bears, but could not get near enough for a shot; provisions, therefore, +began to be scanty. They saw large flights of the kind of thrush +commonly called the robin, and many smaller birds of migratory species; +but the hills in general appeared lonely and with few signs of animal +life. On the evening of the 14th September, they encamped on the forks +of the Wind or Bighorn River. The largest of these forks came from the +range of Wind River Mountains. + +The hunters who served as guides to the party in this part of their +route, had assured Mr. Hunt that, by following up Wind River, and +crossing a single mountain ridge, he would come upon the head waters +of the Columbia. This scarcity of game, however, which already had been +felt to a pinching degree, and which threatened them with famine among +the sterile heights which lay before them, admonished them to change +their course. It was determined, therefore, to make for a stream, which +they were informed passed the neighboring mountains, to the south of +west, on the grassy banks of which it was probable they would meet with +buffalo. Accordingly, about three o'clock on the following day, meeting +with a beaten Indian road which led in the proper direction, they struck +into it, turning their backs upon Wind River. + +In the course of the day, they came to a height that commanded an +almost boundless prospect. Here one of the guides paused, and, after +considering the vast landscape attentively, pointed to three mountain +peaks glistening with snow, which rose, he said, above a fork of +Columbia River. They were hailed by the travellers with that joy with +which a beacon on a seashore is hailed by mariners after a long and +dangerous voyage. + +It is true there was many a weary league to be traversed before they +should reach these landmarks, for, allowing for their evident height and +the extreme transparency of the atmosphere, they could not be much less +than a hundred miles distant. Even after reaching them, there would yet +remain hundreds of miles of their journey to be accomplished. All these +matters were forgotten in the joy at seeing the first landmarks of the +Columbia, that river which formed the bourne of the expedition. These +remarkable peaks were known as the Tetons; as guiding points for many +days, to Mr. Hunt, he gave them the names of the Pilot Knobs. + +The travellers continued their course to the south of west for about +forty miles, through a region so elevated that patches of snow lay on +the highest summits and on the northern declivities. At length they came +to the desired stream, the object of their search, the waters of which +flowed to the west. It was, in fact, a branch of the Colorado, which +falls into the Gulf of California, and had received from the hunters +the name of Spanish River, from information given by the Indians that +Spaniards resided upon its lower waters. + +The aspect of this river and its vicinity was cheering to the wayworn +and hungry travellers. Its banks were green, and there were grassy +valleys running from it various directions, into the heart of the rugged +mountains, with herds of buffalo quietly grazing. The hunters sallied +forth with keen alacrity, and soon returned laden with provisions. + +In this part of the mountains Mr. Hunt met with three different kinds of +gooseberries. The common purple, on a low and very thorny bush; a yellow +kind, of an excellent flavor, growing on a stock free from thorns; and +a deep purple, of the size and taste of our winter grape, with a thorny +stalk. There were also three kinds of currants, one very large and well +tasted, of a purple color, and growing on a bush eight or nine feet +high. Another of a yellow color, and of the size and taste of the large +red currant, the bush four or five feet high; and the third a beautiful +scarlet, resembling the strawberry in sweetness, though rather insipid, +and growing on a low bush. + +On the 17th they continued down the course of the river, making fifteen +miles to the southwest. The river abounded with geese and ducks, and +there were signs of its being inhabited by beaver and otters: indeed +they were now approaching regions where these animals, the great objects +of the fur trade, are said to abound. They encamped for the night +opposite the end of a mountain in the west, which was probably the last +chain of the Rocky Mountains. On the following morning they abandoned +the main course of the Spanish River, and taking a northwest direction +for eight miles, came upon one of its little tributaries, issuing out of +the bosom of the mountains, and running through green meadows, yielding +pasturage to herds of buffalo. As these were probably the last of that +animal they would meet with, they encamped on the grassy banks of the +river, determined to spend several days in hunting, so as to be able to +jerk sufficient meat to supply them until they should reach the waters +of the Columbia, where they trusted to find fish enough for their +support. A little repose, too, was necessary for both men and horses, +after their rugged and incessant marching; having in the course of the +last seventeen days traversed two hundred and sixty miles of rough, and +in many parts sterile, mountain country. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + + A Plentiful Hunting Camp.-Shoshonie Hunters--Hoback's River + --Mad River--Encampment Near the Pilot Knobs.--A + Consultation.--Preparations for a Perilous Voyage. + +FIVE days were passed by Mr. Hunt and his companions in the fresh +meadows watered by the bright little mountain stream. The hunters made +great havoc among the buffaloes, and brought in quantities of meat; the +voyageurs busied themselves about the fires, roasting and stewing for +present purposes, or drying provisions for the journey; the pack-horses, +eased of their burdens, rolled on the grass, or grazed at large about +the ample pasture; those of the party who had no call upon their +services, indulged in the luxury of perfect relaxation, and the camp +presented a picture of rude feasting and revelry, of mingled bustle +and repose, characteristic of a halt in a fine hunting country. In the +course of one of their excursions, some of the men came in sight of +a small party of Indians, who instantly fled in great apparent +consternation. They immediately retreated to camp with the intelligence: +upon which Mr. Hunt and four others flung themselves upon their horses, +and sallied forth to reconnoitre. After riding for about eight miles, +they came upon a wild mountain scene. A lonely green valley stretched +before them, surrounded by rugged heights. A herd of buffalo were +careering madly through it, with a troop of savage horsemen in full +chase, plying them with their bows and arrows. The appearance of Mr. +Hunt and his companions put an abrupt end to the hunt; the buffalo +scuttled off in one direction, while the Indians plied their lashes and +galloped off in another, as fast as their steeds could carry them. Mr. +Hunt gave chase; there was a sharp scamper, though of short continuance. +Two young Indians, who were indifferently mounted, were soon overtaken. +They were terribly frightened, and evidently gave themselves up for +lost. By degrees their fears were allayed by kind treatment; but they +continued to regard the strangers with a mixture of awe and wonder, for +it was the first time in their lives they had ever seen a white man. + +They belonged to a party of Snakes who had come across the mountains on +their autumnal hunting excursion to provide buffalo meat for the +winter. Being persuaded of the peaceful intentions of Mr. Hunt and his +companions, they willingly conducted them to their camp. It was pitched +in a narrow valley on the margin of a stream. The tents were of dressed +skins, some of them fantastically painted; with horses grazing about +them. The approach of the party caused a transient alarm in the camp, +for these poor Indians were ever on the look-out for cruel foes. No +sooner, however, did they recognize the garb and complexion of their +visitors, than their apprehensions were changed into Joy; for some of +them had dealt with white men, and knew them to be friendly, and to +abound with articles of singular value. They welcomed them, therefore, +to their tents, set food before them; and entertained them to the best +of their power. + +They had been successful in their hunt, and their camp was full of +jerked buffalo meat, all of the choicest kind, and extremely fat. Mr. +Hunt purchased enough of them, in addition to what had been killed +and cured by his own hunters, to load all the horses excepting those +reserved for the partners and the wife of Pierre Dorion. He found, also, +a few beaver skins in their camp, for which he paid liberally, as an +inducement to them to hunt for more; informing them that some of his +party intended to live among the mountains, and trade with the native +hunters for their peltries. The poor Snakes soon comprehended the +advantages thus held out to them, and promised to exert themselves to +procure a quantity of beaver skins for future traffic. Being now well +supplied with provisions, Mr. Hunt broke up his encampment on the 24th +of September, and continued on to the west. A march of fifteen miles, +over a mountain ridge, brought them to a stream about fifty feet in +width, which Hoback, one of their guides, who had trapped about the +neighborhood when in the service of Mr. Henry, recognized for one of the +head waters of the Columbia. The travellers hailed it with delight, +as the first stream they had encountered tending toward their point of +destination. They kept along it for two days, during which, from the +contribution of many rills and brooks, it gradually swelled into a small +river. As it meandered among rocks and precipices, they were frequently +obliged to ford it, and such was its rapidity that the men were often in +danger of being swept away. Sometimes the banks advanced so close upon +the river that they were obliged to scramble up and down their rugged +promontories, or to skirt along their bases where there was scarce a +foothold. Their horses had dangerous falls in some of these passes. One +of them rolled, with his load, nearly two hundred feet down hill into +the river, but without receiving any injury. At length they emerged from +these stupendous defiles, and continued for several miles along the bank +of Hoback's River, through one of the stern mountain valleys. Here it +was joined by a river of greater magnitude and swifter current, and +their united waters swept off through the valley in one impetuous +stream, which, from its rapidity and turbulence, had received the name +of the Mad River. At the confluence of these streams the travellers +encamped. An important point in their arduous journey had been attained; +a few miles from their camp rose the three vast snowy peaks called the +Tetons, or the Pilot Knobs, the great landmarks of the Columbia, by +which they had shaped their course through this mountain wilderness. By +their feet flowed the rapid current of Mad River, a stream ample enough +to admit of the navigation of canoes, and down which they might possibly +be able to steer their course to the main body of the Columbia. +The Canadian voyageurs rejoiced at the idea of once more launching +themselves upon their favorite element; of exchanging their horses for +canoes, and of gliding down the bosoms of rivers, instead of scrambling +over the backs of mountains. Others of the party, also, inexperienced in +this kind of travelling, considered their toils and troubles as drawing +to a close. They had conquered the chief difficulties of this great +rocky barrier, and now flattered themselves with the hope of an easy +downward course for the rest of their journey. Little did they dream +of the hardships and perils by land and water, which were yet to be +encountered in the frightful wilderness that intervened between them and +the shores of the Pacific! + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + + A Consultation Whether to Proceed by Land or Water-- + Preparations for Boat-Building.--An Exploring Party.--A + Party of Trappers Detached.--Two Snake Visitors.--Their + Report Concerning the River.--Confirmed by the Exploring + Party.--Mad River Abandoned.--Arrival at Henry's Fort.-- + Detachment of Robinson, Hoback, and Rezner to Trap.--Mr. + Miller Resolves to Accompany Them.--Their Departure. + +ON the banks of Mad River Mr. Hunt held a consultation with the other +partners as to their future movements. The wild and impetuous current +of the river rendered him doubtful whether it might not abound with +impediments lower down, sufficient to render the navigation of it slow +and perilous, if not impracticable. The hunters who had acted as guides +knew nothing of the character of the river below; what rocks, and +shoals, and rapids might obstruct it, or through what mountains and +deserts it might pass. Should they then abandon their horses, cast +themselves loose in fragile barks upon this wild, doubtful, and unknown +river; or should they continue their more toilsome and tedious, but +perhaps more certain wayfaring by land? + +The vote, as might have been expected, was almost unanimous for +embarkation; for when men are in difficulties every change seems to be +for the better. The difficulty now was to find timber of sufficient size +for the construction of canoes, the trees in these high mountain regions +being chiefly a scrubbed growth of pines and cedars, aspens, haws, and +service-berries, and a small kind of cotton-tree, with a leaf resembling +that of the willow. There was a species of large fir, but so full of +knots as to endanger the axe in hewing it. After searching for some +time, a growth of timber, of sufficient size, was found lower down the +river, whereupon the encampment was moved to the vicinity. + +The men were now set to work to fell trees, and the mountains echoed to +the unwonted sound of their axes. While preparations were thus going on +for a voyage down the river, Mr. Hunt, who still entertained doubts of +its practicability, despatched an exploring party, consisting of +John Reed, the clerk, John Day, the hunter, and Pierre Dorion, the +interpreter, with orders to proceed several days' march along the +stream, and notice its course and character. + +After their departure, Mr. Hunt turned his thoughts to another object of +importance. He had now arrived at the head waters of the Columbia, which +were among the main points embraced by the enterprise of Mr. Astor. +These upper streams were reputed to abound in beaver, and had as yet +been unmolested by the white trapper. The numerous signs of beaver +met with during the recent search for timber gave evidence that the +neighborhood was a good "trapping ground." Here, then, it was proper to +begin to cast loose those leashes of hardy trappers, that are detached +from trading parties, in the very heart of the wilderness. The men +detached in the present instance were Alexander Carson, Louis St. +Michel, Pierre Detaye, and Pierre Delaunay. Trappers generally go in +pairs, that they may assist, protect, and comfort each other in their +lonely and perilous occupations. Thus Carson and St. Michel formed +one couple, and Detaye and Delaunay another. They were fitted out with +traps, arms, ammunition, horses, and every other requisite, and were to +trap upon the upper part of Mad River, and upon the neighboring streams +of the mountains. This would probably occupy them for some months; and, +when they should have collected a sufficient quantity of peltries, they +were to pack them upon their horses and make the best of their way to +the mouth of Columbia River, or to any intermediate post which might +be established by the company. They took leave of their comrades and +started off on their several courses with stout hearts and cheerful +countenances; though these lonely cruisings into a wild and hostile +wilderness seem to the uninitiated equivalent to being cast adrift in +the ship's yawl in the midst of the ocean. + +Of the perils that attend the lonely trapper, the reader will have +sufficient proof, when he comes, in the after part of this work, to +learn the hard fortunes of these poor fellows in the course of their +wild peregrinations. + +The trappers had not long departed, when two Snake Indians wandered +into the camp. When they perceived that the strangers were fabricating +canoes, they shook their heads and gave them to understand that the +river was not navigable. Their information, however, was scoffed at by +some of the party, who were obstinately bent on embarkation, but was +confirmed by the exploring party, who returned after several days' +absence. They had kept along the river with great difficulty for two +days, and found it a narrow, crooked, turbulent stream, confined in +a rocky channel, with many rapids, and occasionally overhung with +precipices. From the summit of one of these they had caught a bird's-eye +view of its boisterous career for a great distance through the heart of +the mountain, with impending rocks and cliffs. Satisfied from this view +that it was useless to follow its course, either by land or water, they +had given up all further investigation. + +These concurring reports determined Mr. Hunt to abandon Mad River, and +seek some more navigable stream. This determination was concurred in by +all his associates excepting Mr. Miller, who had become impatient of +the fatigue of land travel, and was for immediate embarkation at all +hazards. This gentleman had been in a gloomy and irritated state of mind +for some time past, being troubled with a bodily malady that rendered +travelling on horseback extremely irksome to him, and being, moreover, +discontented with having a smaller share in the expedition than his +comrades. His unreasonable objections to a further march by land were +overruled, and the party prepared to decamp. + +Robinson, Hoback, and Rezner, the three hunters who had hitherto served +as guides among the mountains, now stepped forward, and advised Mr. Hunt +to make for the post established during the preceding year by Mr. Henry, +of the Missouri Fur Company. They had been with Mr. Henry, and, as far +as they could judge by the neighboring landmarks, his post could not be +very far off. They presumed there could be but one intervening ridge of +mountains, which might be passed without any great difficulty. Henry's +post, or fort, was on an upper branch of the Columbia, down which they +made no doubt it would be easy to navigate in canoes. + +The two Snake Indians being questioned in the matter, showed a perfect +knowledge of the situation of the post, and offered, with great +alacrity, to guide them to the place. Their offer was accepted, greatly +to the displeasure of Mr. Miller, who seemed obstinately bent upon +braving the perils of Mad River. + +The weather for a few days past had been stormy, with rain and sleet. +The Rocky Mountains are subject to tempestuous winds from the west; +these sometimes come in flaws or currents, making a path through the +forests many yards in width, and whirling off trunks and branches to +a great distance. The present storm subsided on the third of October, +leaving all the surrounding heights covered with snow; for while rain +had fallen in the valley, it had snowed on the hill tops. + +On the 4th, they broke up their encampment, and crossed the river, the +water coming up to the girths of their horses. After travelling four +miles, they encamped at the foot of the mountain, the last, as they +hoped, which they should have to traverse. Four days more took them +across it, and over several plains, watered by beautiful little streams, +tributaries of Mad River. Near one of their encampments there was a hot +spring continually emitting a cloud of vapor. These elevated plains, +which give a peculiar character to the mountains, are frequented by +large gangs of antelopes, fleet as the wind. + +On the evening of the 8th of October, after a cold wintry day, with +gusts of westerly wind and flurries of snow, they arrived at the +sought-for post of Mr. Henry. Here he had fixed himself, after being +compelled by the hostilities of the Blackfeet, to abandon the upper +waters of the Missouri. The post, however, was deserted, for Mr. Henry +had left it in the course of the preceding spring, and, as it afterwards +appeared, had fallen in with Mr. Lisa, at the Arickara village on the +Missouri, some time after the separation of Mr. Hunt and his party. + +The weary travellers gladly took possession of the deserted log huts +which had formed the post, and which stood on the bank of a stream +upwards of a hundred yards wide, on which they intended to embark. +There being plenty of suitable timber in the neighborhood, Mr. Hunt +immediately proceeded to construct canoes. As he would have to leave +his horses and their accoutrements here, he determined to make this a +trading post, where the trappers and hunters, to be distributed about +the country, might repair; and where the traders might touch on their +way through the mountains to and from the establishment at the mouth of +the Columbia. He informed the two Snake Indians of this determination, +and engaged them to remain in that neighborhood and take care of the +horses until the white men should return, promising them ample rewards +for their fidelity. It may seem a desperate chance to trust to the faith +and honesty of two such vagabonds; but, as the horses would have, at all +events, to be abandoned, and would otherwise become the property of the +first vagrant horde that should encounter them, it was one chance in +favor of their being regained. + +At this place another detachment of hunters prepared to separate from +the party for the purpose of trapping beaver. Three of these had +already been in this neighborhood, being the veteran Robinson and his +companions, Hoback and Rezner, who had accompanied Mr. Henry across the +mountains, and who had been picked up by Mr. Hunt on the Missouri, on +their way home to Kentucky. According to agreement they were fitted +out with horses, traps, ammunition, and everything requisite for their +undertaking, and were to bring in all the peltries they should collect, +either to this trading post, or to the establishment at the mouth of +Columbia River. Another hunter, of the name of Cass, was associated with +them in their enterprise. It is in this way that small knots of trappers +and hunters are distributed about the wilderness by the fur companies, +and like cranes and bitterns, haunt its solitary streams. Robinson, the +Kentuckian, the veteran of the "bloody ground," who, as has already +been noted, had been scalped by the Indians in his younger days, was the +leader of this little band. When they were about to depart, Mr. Miller +called the partners together and threw up his share in the company, +declaring his intention of joining the party of trappers. + +This resolution struck every one with astonishment, Mr. Miller being +a man of education and of cultivated habits, and little fitted for +the rude life of a hunter. Besides, the precarious and slender profits +arising from such a life were beneath the prospects of one who held a +share in the general enterprise. Mr. Hunt was especially concerned +and mortified at his determination, as it was through his advice and +influence he had entered into the concern. He endeavored, therefore, to +dissuade him from this sudden resolution; representing its rashness, +and the hardships and perils to which it would expose him. He earnestly +advised him, however he might feel dissatisfied with the enterprise, +still to continue on in company until they should reach the mouth of +Columbia River. There they would meet the expedition that was to come by +sea; when, should he still feel disposed to relinquish the undertaking, +Mr. Hunt pledged himself to furnish him a passage home in one of the +vessels belonging to the company. + +To all this Miller replied abruptly, that it was useless to argue with +him, as his mind was made up. They might furnish him, or not, as they +pleased, with the necessary supplies, but he was determined to part +company here, and set off with the trappers. So saying, he flung out of +their presence without vouchsafing any further conversation. + +Much as this wayward conduct gave them anxiety, the partners saw it was +in vain to remonstrate. Every attention was paid to fit him out for his +headstrong undertaking. He was provided with four horses, and all the +articles he required. The two Snakes undertook to conduct him and +his companions to an encampment of their tribe, lower down among the +mountains, from whom they would receive information as to the trapping +grounds. After thus guiding them, the Snakes were to return to Fort +Henry, as the new trading post was called, and take charge of the horses +which the party would leave there, of which, after all the hunters +were supplied, there remained seventy-seven. These matters being all +arranged, Mr. Miller set out with his companions, under guidance of the +two Snakes, on the 10th of October; and much did it grieve the friends +of that gentleman to see him thus wantonly casting himself loose upon +savage life. How he and his comrades fared in the wilderness, and how +the Snakes acquitted themselves of their trust respecting the horses, +will hereafter appear in the course of these rambling anecdotes. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + + Scanty Fare.--A Mendicant Snake.--Embarkation on Henry + River--Joy of the Voyageurs.-Arrival at Snake River.--Rapids + and Breakers.--Beginning of Misfortunes.--Snake + Encampments.--Parley With a Savage.--A Second Disaster.-- + Loss of a Boatman.--The Caldron Linn. + +WHILE the canoes were in preparation, the hunters ranged about the +neighborhood, but with little success. Tracks of buffaloes were to be +seen in all directions, but none of a fresh date. There were some elk, +but extremely wild; two only were killed. Antelopes were likewise seen, +but too shy and fleet to be approached. A few beavers were taken +every night, and salmon trout of a small size, so that the camp had +principally to subsist upon dried buffalo meat. + +On the 14th, a poor, half-naked Snake Indian, one of that forlorn caste +called the Shuckers, or Diggers, made his appearance at the camp. He +came from some lurking-place among the rocks and cliffs, and presented +a picture of that famishing wretchedness to which these lonely fugitives +among the mountains are sometimes reduced. Having received wherewithal +to allay his hunger, he disappeared, but in the course of a day or two +returned to the camp, bringing with him his son, a miserable boy, +still more naked and forlorn than himself. Food was given to both; +they skulked about the camp like hungry hounds, seeking what they might +devour, and having gathered up the feet and entrails of some beavers +that were lying about, slunk off with them to their den among the rocks. + +By the 18th of October, fifteen canoes were completed, and on the +following day the party embarked with their effects; leaving their +horses grazing about the banks, and trusting to the honesty of the two +Snakes, and some special turn of good luck for their future recovery. + +The current bore them along at a rapid rate; the light spirits of the +Canadian voyageurs, which had occasionally flagged upon land, rose to +their accustomed buoyancy on finding themselves again upon the water. +They wielded their paddles with their wonted dexterity, and for the +first time made the mountains echo with their favorite boat songs. + +In the course of the day the little squadron arrived at the confluence +of Henry and Mad Rivers, which, thus united, swelled into a beautiful +stream of a light pea-green color, navigable for boats of any size, +and which, from the place of junction, took the name of Snake River, a +stream doomed to be the scene of much disaster to the travellers. +The banks were here and there fringed with willow thickets and small +cotton-wood trees. The weather was cold, and it snowed all day, and +great flocks of ducks and geese, sporting in the water or streaming +through the air, gave token that winter was at hand; yet the hearts of +the travellers were light, and, as they glided down the little river, +they flattered themselves with the hope of soon reaching the Columbia. +After making thirty miles in a southerly direction, they encamped for +the night in a neighborhood which required some little vigilance, as +there were recent traces of grizzly bears among the thickets. + +On the following day the river increased in width and beauty; flowing +parallel to a range of mountains on the left, which at times were finely +reflected in its light green waters. The three snowy summits of the +Pilot Knobs or Tetons were still seen towering in the distance. After +pursuing a swift but placid course for twenty miles, the current began +to foam and brawl, and assume the wild and broken character common to +the streams west of the Rocky Mountains. In fact the rivers which flow +from those mountains to the Pacific are essentially different from those +which traverse the prairies on their eastern declivities. The latter, +though sometimes boisterous, are generally free from obstructions, and +easily navigated; but the rivers to the west of the mountains descend +more steeply and impetuously, and are continually liable to cascades +and rapids. The latter abounded in the part of the river which the +travellers were now descending. Two of the canoes filled among the +breakers; the crews were saved, but much of the lading was lost or +damaged, and one of the canoes drifted down the stream and was broken +among the rocks. + +On the following day, October 21st, they made but a short distance when +they came to a dangerous strait, where the river was compressed for +nearly half a mile between perpendicular rocks, reducing it to the width +of twenty yards, and increasing its violence. Here they were obliged to +pass the canoes down cautiously by a line from the impending banks. This +consumed a great part of a day; and after they had reembarked they were +soon again impeded by rapids, when they had to unload their canoes and +carry them and their cargoes for some distance by land. It is at these +places, called "portages," that the Canadian voyageur exhibits his most +valuable qualities; carrying heavy burdens, and toiling to and fro, +on land and in the water, over rocks and precipices, among brakes and +brambles, not only without a murmur, but with the greatest cheerfulness +and alacrity, joking and laughing and singing scraps of old French +ditties. + +The spirits of the party, however, which had been elated on first +varying their journeying from land to water, had now lost some of their +buoyancy. Everything ahead was wrapped in uncertainty. They knew nothing +of the river on which they were floating. It had never been navigated +by a white man, nor could they meet with an Indian to give them +any information concerning it. It kept on its course through a vast +wilderness of silent and apparently uninhabited mountains, without a +savage wigwam upon its banks, or bark upon its waters. The difficulties +and perils they had already passed made them apprehend others before +them, that might effectually bar their progress. As they glided onward, +however, they regained heart and hope. The current continued to be +strong; but it was steady, and though they met with frequent rapids, +none of them were bad. Mountains were constantly to be seen in different +directions, but sometimes the swift river glided through prairies, and +was bordered by small cotton-wood trees and willows. These prairies +at certain seasons are ranged by migratory herds of the wide-wandering +buffalo, the tracks of which, though not of recent date, were frequently +to be seen. Here, too, were to be found the prickly pear or Indian fig, +a plant which loves a more southern climate. On the land were large +flights of magpies and American robins; whole fleets of ducks and geese +navigated the river, or flew off in long streaming files at the approach +of the canoes; while the frequent establishments of the painstaking and +quiet-loving beaver showed that the solitude of these waters was rarely +disturbed, even by the all-pervading savage. + +They had now come near two hundred and eighty miles since leaving Fort +Henry, yet without seeing a human being, or a human habitation; a wild +and desert solitude extended on either side of the river, apparently +almost destitute of animal life. At length, on the 24th of October, they +were gladdened by the sight of some savage tents, and hastened to land +and visit them, for they were anxious to procure information to guide +them on their route. On their approach, however, the savages fled in +consternation. They proved to be a wandering band of Shoshonies. In +their tents were great quantities of small fish about two inches long, +together with roots and seeds, or grain, which they were drying for +winter provisions. They appeared to be destitute of tools of any kind, +yet there were bows and arrows very well made; the former were formed of +pine, cedar, or bone, strengthened by sinews, and the latter of the wood +of rosebushes, and other crooked plants, but carefully straightened, and +tipped with stone of a bottle-green color. + +There were also vessels of willow and grass, so closely wrought as to +hold water, and a seine neatly made with meshes, in the ordinary manner, +of the fibres of wild flax or nettle. The humble effects of the poor +savages remained unmolested by their visitors, and a few small articles, +with a knife or two, were left in the camp, and were no doubt regarded +as invaluable prizes. + +Shortly after leaving this deserted camp, and reembarking in the canoes, +the travellers met with three of the Snakes on a triangular raft made of +flags or reeds; such was their rude mode of navigating the river. They +were entirely naked excepting small mantles of hare skins over their +shoulders. The canoes approached near enough to gain a full view of +them, but they were not to be brought to a parley. + +All further progress for the day was barred by a fall in the river of +about thirty feet perpendicular; at the head of which the party encamped +for the night. + +The next day was one of excessive toil and but little progress: the +river winding through a wild rocky country, and being interrupted by +frequent rapids, among which the canoes were in great peril. On the +succeeding day they again visited a camp of wandering Snakes, but the +inhabitants fled with terror at the sight of a fleet of canoes, filled +with white men, coming down their solitary river. + +As Mr. Hunt was extremely anxious to gain information concerning his +route, he endeavored by all kinds of friendly signs to entice back the +fugitives. At length one, who was on horseback, ventured back with fear +and trembling. He was better clad, and in better condition, than most +of his vagrant tribe that Mr. Hunt had yet seen. The chief object of +his return appeared to be to intercede for a quantity of dried meat and +salmon trout, which he had left behind; on which, probably, he +depended for his winter's subsistence. The poor wretch approached with +hesitation, the alternate dread of famine and of white men operating +upon his mind. He made the most abject signs, imploring Mr. Hunt not to +carry off his food. The latter tried in every way to reassure him, and +offered him knives in exchange for his provisions; great as was the +temptation, the poor Snake could only prevail upon himself to spare a +part; keeping a feverish watch over the rest, lest it should be taken +away. It was in vain Mr. Hunt made inquiries of him concerning his +route, and the course of the river. The Indian was too much frightened +and bewildered to comprehend him or to reply; he did nothing but +alternately commend himself to the protection of the Good Spirit, and +supplicate Mr. Hunt not to take away his fish and buffalo meat; and in +this state they left him, trembling about his treasures. + +In the course of that and the next day they made nearly eight miles; +the river inclined to the south of west, and being clear and beautiful, +nearly half a mile in width, with many populous communities of the +beaver along its banks. The 28th of October, however, was a day of +disaster. The river again became rough and impetuous, and was chafed and +broken by numerous rapids. These grew more and more dangerous, and the +utmost skill was required to steer among them. Mr. Crooks was seated in +the second canoe of the squadron, and had an old experienced Canadian +for steersman, named Antoine Clappine, one of the most valuable of the +voyageurs. The leading canoe had glided safely among the turbulent and +roaring surges, but in following it, Mr. Crooks perceived that his canoe +was bearing towards a rock. He called out to the steersman, but his +warning voice was either unheard or unheeded. In the next moment they +struck upon the rock. The canoe was split and overturned. There were +five persons on board. Mr. Crooks and one of his companions were thrown +amidst roaring breakers and a whirling current, but succeeded, by strong +swimming, to reach the shore. Clappine and two others clung to the +shattered bark, and drifted with it to a rock. The wreck struck the +rock with one end, and swinging round, flung poor Clappine off into +the raging stream, which swept him away, and he perished. His comrades +succeeded in getting upon the rock, from whence they were afterwards +taken off. + +This disastrous event brought the whole squadron to a halt, and struck +a chill into every bosom. Indeed they had arrived at a terrific strait, +that forbade all further progress in the canoes, and dismayed the most +experienced voyageur. The whole body of the river was compressed into +a space of less than thirty feet in width, between two ledges of rocks, +upwards of two hundred feet high, and formed a whirling and tumultuous +vortex, so frightfully agitated as to receive the name of "The Caldron +Linn." Beyond this fearful abyss, the river kept raging and roaring on, +until lost to sight among impending precipices. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + + Gloomy Council.--Exploring Parties--Discouraging Reports-- + Disastrous Experiment.--Detachments in Quest of Succor.-- + Caches, How Made.--Return of One of the Detachments-- + Unsuccessful.--Further Disappointments--The Devil's + Scuttle-Hole + +MR. HUNT and his companions encamped upon the borders of the Caldron +Linn, and held gloomy counsel as to their future course. The recent +wreck had dismayed even the voyageurs, and the fate of their popular +comrade, Clappine, one of the most adroit and experienced of their +fraternity, had struck sorrow to their hearts, for with all their +levity, these thoughtless beings have great kindness towards each other. + +The whole distance they had navigated since leaving Henry's Fort was +computed to be about three hundred and forty miles; strong apprehensions +were now entertained that the tremendous impediments before them would +oblige them to abandon their canoes. It was determined to send exploring +parties on each side of the river to ascertain whether it was possible +to navigate it further. Accordingly, on the following morning, three men +were despatched along the south bank, while Mr. Hunt and three others +proceeded along the north. The two parties returned after a +weary scramble among swamps, rocks, and precipices, and with very +disheartening accounts. For nearly forty miles that they had explored, +the river foamed and roared along through a deep and narrow channel, +from twenty to thirty yards wide, which it had worn, in the course of +ages, through the heart of a barren, rocky country. The precipices +on each side were often two and three hundred feet high, sometimes +perpendicular, and sometimes overhanging, so that it was impossible, +excepting in one or two places, to get down to the margin of the stream. +This dreary strait was rendered the more dangerous by frequent rapids, +and occasionally perpendicular falls from ten to forty feet in height; +so that it seemed almost hopeless to attempt to pass the canoes down it. +The party, however, who had explored the south side of the river, had +found a place, about six miles from the camp, where they thought it +possible the canoes might be carried down the bank and launched upon +the stream, and from whence they might make their way with the aid of +occasional portages. Four of the best canoes were accordingly selected +for the experiment, and were transported to the place on the shoulders +of sixteen of the men. At the same time Mr. Reed, the clerk, and three +men were detached to explore the river still further down than the +previous scouting parties had been, and at the same time to look out for +Indians, from whom provisions might be obtained, and a supply of horses, +should it be found necessary to proceed by land. + +The party who had been sent with the canoes returned on the following +day, weary and dejected. One of the canoes had been swept away with all +the weapons and effects of four of the voyageurs, in attempting to pass +it down a rapid by means of a line. The other three had stuck fast among +the rocks, so that it was impossible to move them; the men returned, +therefore, in despair, and declared the river unnavigable. + +The situation of the unfortunate travellers was now gloomy in the +extreme. They were in the heart of an unknown wilderness, untraversed as +yet by a white man. They were at a loss what route to take, and how far +they were from the ultimate place of their destination, nor could +they meet in these uninhabited wilds with any human being to give them +information. The repeated accidents to their canoes had reduced their +stock of provisions to five days' allowance, and there was now every +appearance of soon having famine added to their other sufferings. + +This last circumstance rendered it more perilous to keep together than +to separate. Accordingly, after a little anxious but bewildered counsel, +it was determined that several small detachments should start off in +different directions, headed by the several partners. Should any of +them succeed in falling in with friendly Indians, within a reasonable +distance, and obtaining a supply of provisions and horses, they were +to return to the aid of the main body: otherwise they were to shift for +themselves, and shape their course according to circumstances; +keeping the mouth of the Columbia River as the ultimate point of their +wayfaring. Accordingly, three several parties set off from the camp at +Caldron Linn, in opposite directions. Mr. M'Lellan, with three men, kept +down along the bank of the river. Mr. Crooks, with five others, turned +their steps up it; retracing by land the weary course they had made by +water, intending, should they not find relief nearer at hand, to keep +on until they should reach Henry's Fort, where they hoped to find the +horses they had left there, and to return with them to the main body. + +The third party, composed of five men, was headed by Mr. M'Kenzie, who +struck to the northward, across the desert plains, in hopes of coming +upon the main stream of the Columbia. + +Having seen these three adventurous bands depart upon their forlorn +expeditions, Mr. Hunt turned his thoughts to provide for the subsistence +of the main body left to his charge, and to prepare for their future +march. There remained with him thirty-one men, besides the squaw and +two children of Pierre Dorion. There was no game to be met with in the +neighborhood; but beavers were occasionally trapped about the river +banks, which afforded a scanty supply of food; in the meantime they +comforted themselves that some one or other of the foraging detachments +would be successful, and return with relief. + +Mr. Hunt now set to work with all diligence, to prepare caches, in which +to deposit the baggage and merchandise, of which it would be necessary +to disburden themselves, preparatory to their weary march by land: and +here we shall give a brief description of those contrivances, so noted +in the wilderness. + +A cache is a term common among traders and hunters, to designate a +hiding-place for provisions and effects. It is derived from the French +word "cacher", to conceal, and originated among the early colonists of +Canada and Louisiana; but the secret depository which it designates was +in use among the aboriginals long before the intrusion of the white men. +It is, in fact, the only mode that migratory hordes have of preserving +their valuables from robbery, during their long absences from their +villages or accustomed haunts, on hunting expeditions, or during the +vicissitudes of war. The utmost skill and caution are required to render +these places of concealment invisible to the lynx eye of an Indian. The +first care is to seek out a proper situation, which is generally some +dry, low, bank of clay, on the margin of a water-course. As soon as +the precise spot is pitched upon, blankets, saddle-cloths, and other +coverings are spread over the surrounding grass and bushes, to prevent +foot-tracks, or any other derangement; and as few hands as possible are +employed. A circle of about two feet in diameter is then nicely cut in +the sod, which is carefully removed, with the loose soil immediately +beneath it, and laid aside in a place where it will be safe from +anything that may change its appearance. The uncovered area is then +digged perpendicularly to the depth of about three feet, and is then +gradually widened so as to form a conical chamber six or seven feet +deep. The whole of the earth displaced by this process, being of a +different color from that an the surface, is handed up in a vessel, and +heaped into a skin or cloth, in which it is conveyed to the stream and +thrown into the midst of the current, that it may be entirely carried +off. Should the cache not be formed in the vicinity of a stream, the +earth thus thrown up is carried to a distance, and scattered in such +manner as not to leave the minutest trace. The cave, being formed, is +well lined with dry grass, bark, sticks, and poles, and occasionally a +dried hide. The property intended to be hidden is then laid in, after +having been well aired: a hide is spread over it, and dried grass, +brush, and stones thrown in, and trampled down until the pit is filled +to the neck. The loose soil which had been put aside is then brought +and rammed down firmly, to prevent its caving in, and is frequently +sprinkled with water, to destroy the scent, lest the wolves and bears +should be attracted to the place, and root up the concealed treasure. +When the neck of the cache is nearly level with the surrounding surface, +the sod is again fitted in with the utmost exactness, and any bushes, +stocks, or stones, that may have originally been about the spot, are +restored to their former places. The blankets and other coverings are +then removed from the surrounding herbage; all tracks are obliterated; +the grass is gently raised by the hand to its natural position, and the +minutest chip or straw is scrupulously gleaned up and thrown into the +stream. After all this is done, the place is abandoned for the night, +and, if all be right next morning, is not visited again, until there be +a necessity for reopening the cache. Four men are sufficient, in this +way, to conceal the amount of three tons weight of merchandise in the +course of two days. Nine caches were required to contain the goods and +baggage which Mr. Hunt found it necessary to leave at this place. + +Three days had been thus employed since the departure of the several +detachments, when that of Mr. Crooks unexpectedly made its appearance. A +momentary joy was diffused through the camp, for they supposed succor +to be at hand. It was soon dispelled. Mr. Crooks and his companions had +been completely disheartened by this retrograde march through a bleak +and barren country; and had found, computing from their progress and +the accumulating difficulties besetting every step, that it would be +impossible to reach Henry's Fort and return to the main body in the +course of the winter. They had determined, therefore, to rejoin their +comrades, and share their lot. + +One avenue of hope was thus closed upon the anxious sojourners at the +Caldron Linn; their main expectation of relief was now from the two +parties under Reed and M'Lellan, which had proceeded down the river; +for, as to Mr. M'Kenzie's detachment, which had struck across the +plains, they thought it would have sufficient difficulty in struggling +forward through the trackless wilderness. For five days they continued +to support themselves by trapping and fishing. Some fish of tolerable +size were speared at night by the light of cedar torches; others, that +were very small, were caught in nets with fine meshes. The product +of their fishing, however, was very scanty. Their trapping was also +precarious; and the tails and bellies of the beavers were dried and put +by for the journey. + +At length two of the companions of Mr. Reed returned, and were hailed +with the most anxious eagerness. Their report served but to increase the +general despondency. They had followed Mr. Reed for some distance below +the point to which Mr. Hunt had explored, but had met with no Indians +from whom to obtain information and relief. The river still presented +the same furious aspect, brawling and boiling along a narrow and rugged +channel, between rocks that rose like walls. + +A lingering hope, which had been indulged by some of the party, of +proceeding by water, was now finally given up: the long and terrific +strait of the river set all further progress at defiance, and in their +disgust at the place, and their vexation at the disasters sustained +there, they gave it the indignant, though not very decorous, appellation +of the Devil's Scuttle Hole. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + + Determination of the Party to Proceed on Foot.--Dreary + Deserts Between Snake River and the Columbia.--Distribution + of Effects Preparatory to a March--Division of the Party.-- + Rugged March Along the River.--Wild and Broken Scenery.-- + Shoshonies.--Alarm of a Snake Encampment--Intercourse with + the Snakes.--Horse Dealing.--Value of a Tin Kettle.-- + Sufferings From Thirst--A Horse Reclaimed.--Fortitude of an + Indian Woman.--Scarcity of Food.--Dog's Flesh a Dainty.--News + of Mr. Crooks and His Party.--Painful Travelling Among the + Mountains.--Snow Storms.--A Dreary Mountain Prospect.--A + Bivouac During a Wintry Night.--Return to the River Bank. + +THE resolution of Mr. Hunt and his companions was now taken to set out +immediately on foot. As to the other detachments that had in a manner +gone forth to seek their fortunes, there was little chance of their +return; they would probably make their own way through the wilderness. +At any rate, to linger in the vague hope of relief from them would be to +run the risk of perishing with hunger. Besides, the winter was rapidly +advancing, and they had a long journey to make through an unknown +country, where all kinds of perils might await them. They were yet, in +fact, a thousand miles from Astoria, but the distance was unknown +to them at the time: everything before and around them was vague and +conjectural, and wore an aspect calculated to inspire despondency. + +In abandoning the river, they would have to launch forth upon vast +trackless plains destitute of all means of subsistence, where they might +perish of hunger and thirst. A dreary desert of sand and gravel extends +from Snake River almost to the Columbia. Here and there is a thin and +scanty herbage, insufficient for the pasturage of horse or buffalo. +Indeed, these treeless wastes between the Rocky Mountains and the +Pacific are even more desolate and barren than the naked, upper prairies +on the Atlantic side; they present vast desert tracts that must ever +defy cultivation, and interpose dreary and thirsty wilds between the +habitations of man, in traversing which the wanderer will often be in +danger of perishing. + +Seeing the hopeless character of these wastes, Mr. Hunt and his +companions determined to keep along the course of the river, where +they would always have water at hand, and would be able occasionally +to procure fish and beaver, and might perchance meet with Indians, from +whom they could obtain provisions. + +They now made their final preparations for the march. All their +remaining stock of provisions consisted of forty pounds of Indian corn, +twenty pounds of grease, about five pounds of portable soup, and a +sufficient quantity of dried meat to allow each man a pittance of +five pounds and a quarter, to be reserved for emergencies. This being +properly distributed, they deposited all their goods and superfluous +articles in the caches, taking nothing with them but what was +indispensable to the journey. With all their management, each man had to +carry twenty pounds' weight besides his own articles and equipments. + +That they might have the better chance of procuring subsistence in the +scanty region they were to traverse, they divided their party into +two bands. Mr. Hunt, with eighteen men, besides Pierre Dorion and his +family, was to proceed down the north side of the river, while Mr. +Crooks, with eighteen men, kept along the south side. + +On the morning of the 9th of October, the two parties separated and set +forth on their several courses. Mr. Hunt and his companions followed +along the right bank of the river, which made its way far below them, +brawling at the foot of perpendicular precipices of solid rock, two and +three hundred feet high. For twenty-eight miles that they travelled this +day, they found it impossible to get down to the margin of the stream. +At the end of this distance they encamped for the night at a place which +admitted a scrambling descent. It was with the greatest difficulty, +however, that they succeeded in getting up a kettle of water from the +river for the use of the camp. As some rain had fallen in the afternoon, +they passed the night under the shelter of the rocks. + +The next day they continued thirty-two miles to the northwest, keeping +along the river, which still ran in its deep-cut channel. Here and there +a shady beach or a narrow strip of soil, fringed with dwarf willows, +would extend for a little distance along the foot of the cliffs, and +sometimes a reach of still water would intervene like a smooth mirror +between the foaming rapids. + +As through the preceding day, they journeyed on without finding, except +in one instance, any place where they could get down to the river's +edge, and they were fain to allay the thirst caused by hard travelling, +with the water collected in the hollow of the rocks. + +In the course of their march on the following morning, they fell into a +beaten horse path leading along the river, which showed that they were +in the neighborhood of some Indian village or encampment. They had not +proceeded far along it, when they met with two Shoshonies, or Snakes. +They approached with some appearance of uneasiness, and accosting +Mr. Hunt, held up a knife, which by signs they let him know they had +received from some of the white men of the advance parties. It was with +some difficulties that Mr. Hunt prevailed upon one of the savages to +conduct him to the lodges of his people. Striking into a trail or path +which led up from the river, he guided them for some distance in the +prairie, until they came in sight of a number of lodges made of straw, +and shaped like hay-stacks. Their approach, as on former occasions, +caused the wildest affright among the inhabitants. The women hid such +of their children as were too large to be carried, and too small to take +care of themselves, under straw, and, clasping their infants to their +breasts, fled across the prairie. The men awaited the approach of the +strangers, but evidently in great alarm. + +Mr. Hunt entered the lodges, and, as he was looking about, observed +where the children were concealed; their black eyes glistening like +those of snakes, from beneath the straw. He lifted up the covering to +look at them; the poor little beings were horribly frightened, and their +fathers stood trembling, as if a beast of prey were about to pounce upon +their brood. + +The friendly manner of Mr. Hunt soon dispelled these apprehensions; +he succeeded in purchasing some excellent dried salmon, and a dog, an +animal much esteemed as food by the natives; and when he returned to +the river one of the Indians accompanied him. He now came to where the +lodges were frequent along the banks, and, after a day's journey of +twenty-six miles to the northwest, encamped in a populous neighborhood. +Forty or fifty of the natives soon visited the camp, conducting +themselves in a very amicable manner. They were well clad, and all had +buffalo robes, which they procured from some of the hunting tribes in +exchange for salmon. Their habitations were very comfortable; each had +its pile of wormwood at the door for fuel, and within was abundance +of salmon, some fresh, but the greater part cured. When the white men +visited the lodges, however, the women and children hid themselves +through fear. Among the supplies obtained here were two dogs, on +which our travellers breakfasted, and found them to be very excellent, +well-flavored, and hearty food. + +In the course of the three following days they made about sixty-three +miles, generally in a northwest direction. They met with many of the +natives in their straw-built cabins, who received them without alarm. +About their dwellings were immense quantities of the heads and skins of +salmon, the best part of which had been cured, and hidden in the ground. +The women were badly clad; the children worse; their garments were +buffalo robes, or the skins of foxes, hares, and badgers, and sometimes +the skins of ducks, sewed together, with the plumage on. Most of the +skins must have been procured by traffic with other tribes, or in +distant hunting excursions, for the naked prairies in the neighborhood +afforded few animals, excepting horses, which were abundant. There were +signs of buffaloes having been there, but a long time before. + +On the 15th of November they made twenty-eight miles along the river, +which was entirely free from rapids. The shores were lined with dead +salmon, which tainted the whole atmosphere. The natives whom they met +spoke of Mr. Reed's party having passed through that neighborhood. In +the course of the day Mr. Hunt saw a few horses, but the owners of them +took care to hurry them out of the way. All the provisions they were +able to procure were two dogs and a salmon. On the following day they +were still worse off, having to subsist on parched corn and the remains +of their dried meat. The river this day had resumed its turbulent +character, forcing its way through a narrow channel between steep rocks +and down violent rapids. They made twenty miles over a rugged road, +gradually approaching a mountain in the northwest, covered with snow, +which had been in sight for three days past. + +On the 17th they met with several Indians, one of whom had a horse. Mr. +Hunt was extremely desirous of obtaining it as a pack-horse; for the +men, worn down by fatigue and hunger, found the loads of twenty pounds' +weight which they had to carry, daily growing heavier and more galling. +The Indians, however, along this river, were never willing to part with +their horses, having none to spare. The owner of the steed in question +seemed proof against all temptation; article after article of great +value in Indian eyes was offered and refused. The charms of an old +tin-kettle, however, were irresistible, and a bargain was concluded. + +A great part of the following morning was consumed in lightening the +packages of the men and arranging the load for the horse. At this +encampment there was no wood for fuel, even the wormwood on which they +had frequently depended having disappeared. For the two last days they +had made thirty miles to the northwest. + +On the 19th of November, Mr. Hunt was lucky enough to purchase another +horse for his own use, giving in exchange a tomahawk, a knife, a fire +steel, and some beads and gartering. In an evil hour, however, he took +the advice of the Indians to abandon the river, and follow a road or +trail leading into the prairies. He soon had cause to regret the change. +The road led across a dreary waste, without verdure; and where there +was neither fountain, nor pool, nor running stream. The men now began +to experience the torments of thirst, aggravated by their diet of dried +fish. The thirst of the Canadian voyageurs became so insupportable as to +drive them to the most revolting means of allaying it. For twenty-five +miles did they toll on across this dismal desert, and laid themselves +down at night, parched and disconsolate, beside their wormwood fires; +looking forward to still greater sufferings on the following day. +Fortunately it began to rain in the night, to their infinite relief; the +water soon collected in puddles and afforded them delicious draughts. + +Refreshed in this manner, they resumed their wayfaring as soon as the +first streaks of dawn gave light enough for them to see their path. The +rain continued all day, so that they no longer suffered from thirst, but +hunger took its place, for after travelling thirty-three miles they had +nothing to sup on but a little parched corn. + +The next day brought them to the banks of a beautiful little stream, +running to the west, and fringed with groves of cottonwood and willow. +On its borders was an Indian camp, with a great many horses grazing +around it. The inhabitants, too, appeared to be better clad than usual. +The scene was altogether a cheering one to the poor half-famished +wanderers. They hastened to their lodges, but on arriving at them +met with a check that at first dampened their cheerfulness. An Indian +immediately laid claim to the horse of Mr. Hunt, saying that it had been +stolen from him. There was no disproving a fact supported by numerous +bystanders, and which the horse stealing habits of the Indians rendered +but too probable; so Mr. Hunt relinquished his steed to the claimant; +not being able to retain him by a second purchase. + +At this place they encamped for the night, and made a sumptuous repast +upon fish and a couple of dogs, procured from their Indian neighbors. +The next day they kept along the river, but came to a halt after ten +miles' march, on account of the rain. Here they again got a supply of +fish and dogs from the natives; and two of the men were fortunate enough +each to get a horse in exchange for a buffalo robe. One of these men was +Pierre Dorion, the half-breed interpreter, to whose suffering family +the horse was a timely acquisition. And here we cannot but notice the +wonderful patience, perseverance, and hardihood of the Indian women, as +exemplified in the conduct of the poor squaw of the interpreter. She was +now far advanced in her pregnancy, and had two children to take care of; +one four, and the other two years of age. The latter of course she +had frequently to carry on her back, in addition to the burden usually +imposed upon the squaw, yet she had borne all her hardships without a +murmur, and throughout this weary and painful journey had kept pace with +the best of the pedestrians. Indeed on various occasions in the course +of this enterprise, she displayed a force of character that won the +respect and applause of the white men. + +Mr. Hunt endeavored to gather some information from these Indians +concerning the country and the course of the rivers. His communications +with them had to be by signs, and a few words which he had learnt, and +of course were extremely vague. All that he could learn from them was +that the great river, the Columbia, was still far distant, but he could +ascertain nothing as to the route he ought to take to arrive at it. For +the two following days they continued westward upwards of forty miles +along the little stream, until they crossed it just before its junction +with Snake River, which they found still running to the north. Before +them was a wintry-looking mountain covered with snow on all sides. + +In three days more they made about seventy miles; fording two small +rivers, the waters of which were very cold. Provisions were extremely +scarce; their chief sustenance was portable soup; a meagre diet for +weary pedestrians. + +On the 27th of November the river led them into the mountains through a +rocky defile where there was scarcely room to pass. They were frequently +obliged to unload the horses to get them by the narrow places; and +sometimes to wade through the water in getting round rocks and butting +cliffs. All their food this day was a beaver which they had caught the +night before; by evening, the cravings of hunger were so sharp, and the +prospect of any supply among the mountains so faint, that they had to +kill one of the horses. "The men," says Mr. Hunt in his journal, "find +the meat very good, and, indeed, so should I, were it not for the +attachment I have to the animal." + +Early the following day, after proceeding ten miles to the north, +they came to two lodges of Shoshonies, who seemed in nearly as great +extremity as themselves, having just killed two horses for food. They +had no other provisions excepting the seed of a weed which they gather +in great quantities, and pound fine. It resembles hemp-seed. Mr. Hunt +purchased a bag of it, and also some small pieces of horse flesh, which +he began to relish, pronouncing them "fat and tender." + +From these Indians he received information that several white men had +gone down the river, some one side, and a good many on the other; these +last he concluded to be Mr. Crooks and his party. He was thus released +from much anxiety about their safety, especially as the Indians spoke +about Mr. Crooks having one of his dogs yet, which showed that he and +his men had not been reduced to extremity of hunger. + +As Mr. Hunt feared that he might be several days in passing through +this mountain defile, and run the risk of famine, he encamped in the +neighborhood of the Indians, for the purpose of bartering with them for +a horse. The evening was expended in ineffectual trials. He offered a +gun, a buffalo robe, and various other articles. The poor fellows had, +probably, like himself, the fear of starvation before their eyes. At +length the women, learning the object of his pressing solicitations and +tempting offers, set up such a terrible hue and cry that he was fairly +howled and scolded from the ground. + +The next morning early, the Indians seemed very desirous to get rid of +their visitors, fearing, probably, for the safety of their horses. In +reply to Mr. Hunt's inquiries about the mountains, they told him that he +would have to sleep but three nights more among them; and that six days' +travelling would take him to the falls of the Columbia; information in +which he put no faith, believing it was only given to induce him to set +forward. These, he was told, were the last Snakes he would meet with, +and that he would soon come to a nation called Sciatogas. + +Forward then did he proceed on his tedious journey, which, at every +step, grew more painful. The road continued for two days through narrow +defiles, where they were repeatedly obliged to unload the horses. +Sometimes the river passed through such rocky chasms and under such +steep precipices that they had to leave it, and make their way, with +excessive labor, over immense hills, almost impassable for horses. +On some of these hills were a few pine trees, and their summits were +covered with snow. On the second day of this scramble one of the hunters +killed a black-tailed deer, which afforded the half-starved travellers a +sumptuous repast. Their progress these two days was twenty-eight miles, +a little to the northward of east. + +The month of December set in drearily, with rain in the valleys and snow +upon the hills. They had to climb a mountain with snow to the midleg, +which increased their painful toil. A small beaver supplied them with +a scanty meal, which they eked out with frozen blackberries, haws, and +choke-cherries, which they found in the course of their scramble. Their +journey this day, though excessively fatiguing, was but thirteen miles; +and all the next day they had to remain encamped, not being able to see +half a mile ahead, on account of a snow-storm. Having nothing else to +eat, they were compelled to kill another of their horses. The next day +they resumed their march in snow and rain, but with all their efforts +could only get forward nine miles, having for a part of the distance +to unload the horses and carry the packs themselves. On the succeeding +morning they were obliged to leave the river and scramble up the hills. +From the summit of these, they got a wide view of the surrounding +country, and it was a prospect almost sufficient to make them despair. +In every direction they beheld snowy mountains, partially sprinkled with +pines and other evergreens, and spreading a desert and toilsome world +around them. The wind howled over the bleak and wintry landscape, and +seemed to penetrate to the marrow of their bones. They waded on through +the snow, which at every step was more than knee deep. + +After tolling in this way all day, they had the mortification to +find that they were but four miles distant from the encampment of the +preceding night, such was the meandering of the river among these +dismal hills. Pinched with famine, exhausted with fatigue, with evening +approaching, and a wintry wild still lengthening as they advanced, they +began to look forward with sad forebodings to the night's exposure upon +this frightful waste. Fortunately they succeeded in reaching a cluster +of pines about sunset. Their axes were immediately at work; they cut +down trees, piled them in great heaps, and soon had huge fires "to cheer +their cold and hungry hearts." + +About three o'clock in the morning it again began to snow, and at +daybreak they found themselves, as it were, in a cloud, scarcely being +able to distinguish objects at the distance of a hundred yards. Guarding +themselves by the sound of running water, they set out for the river, +and by slipping and sliding contrived to get down to its bank. One of +the horses, missing his footing, rolled down several hundred yards with +his load, but sustained no injury. The weather in the valley was less +rigorous than on the hills. The snow lay but ankle deep, and there was +a quiet rain now falling. After creeping along for six miles, they +encamped on the border of the river. Being utterly destitute of +provisions, they were again compelled to kill one of their horses to +appease their famishing hunger. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + + An Unexpected Meeting.--Navigation in a Skin Canoe.-Strange + Fears of Suffering Men.-Hardships of Mr. Crooks and His + Comrades.--Tidings of M'Lellan.--A Retrograde March.--A Willow + Raft.--Extreme Suffering of Some of the Party--Illness of + Mr. Crooks.--Impatience of Some of the Men.--Necessity of + Leaving the Laggards Behind. + +THE wanderers had now accomplished four hundred and seventy-two miles +of their dreary journey since leaving the Caldron Linn; how much further +they had yet to travel, and what hardships to encounter, no one knew. + +On the morning of the 6th of December, they left their dismal +encampment, but had scarcely begun their march when, to their surprise, +they beheld a party of white men coming up along the opposite bank of +the river. As they drew nearer, they were recognized for Mr. Crooks and +his companions. When they came opposite, and could make themselves heard +across the murmuring of the river, their first cry was for food; in +fact, they were almost starved. Mr. Hunt immediately returned to the +camp, and had a kind of canoe made out of the skin of the horse killed +on the preceding night. This was done after the Indian fashion, by +drawing up the edges of the skin with thongs, and keeping them distended +by sticks or thwart pieces. In this frail bark, Sardepie, one of the +Canadians, carried over a portion of the flesh of the horse to the +famishing party on the opposite side of the river, and brought back with +him Mr. Crooks and the Canadian, Le Clerc. The forlorn and wasted looks +and starving condition of these two men struck dismay to the hearts +of Mr. Hunt's followers. They had been accustomed to each other's +appearance, and to the gradual operation of hunger and hardship upon +their frames, but the change in the looks of these men, since last they +parted, was a type of the famine and desolation of the land; and they +now began to indulge the horrible presentiment that they would all +starve together, or be reduced to the direful alternative of casting +lots! + +When Mr. Crooks had appeased his hunger, he gave Mr. Hunt some account +of his wayfaring. On the side of the river along which he had kept, he +had met with but few Indians, and those were too miserably poor to yield +much assistance. For the first eighteen days after leaving the Caldron +Linn, he and his men had been confined to half a meal in twenty-four +hours; for three days following, they had subsisted on a single beaver, +a few wild cherries, and the soles of old moccasins; and for the last +six days their only animal food had been the carcass of a dog. They had +been three days' journey further down the river than Mr. Hunt, always +keeping as near to its banks as possible, and frequently climbing over +sharp and rocky ridges that projected into the stream. At length they +had arrived to where the mountains increased in height, and came +closer to the river, with perpendicular precipices, which rendered +it impossible to keep along the stream. The river here rushed with +incredible velocity through a defile not more than thirty yards +wide, where cascades and rapids succeeded each other almost without +intermission. Even had the opposite banks, therefore, been such as to +permit a continuance of their journey, it would have been madness to +attempt to pass the tumultuous current either on rafts or otherwise. +Still bent, however, on pushing forward, they attempted to climb the +opposing mountains; and struggled on through the snow for half a day +until, coming to where they could command a prospect, they found that +they were not half way to the summit, and that mountain upon mountain +lay piled beyond them, in wintry desolation. Famished and emaciated as +they were, to continue forward would be to perish; their only chance +seemed to be to regain the river, and retrace their steps up its banks. +It was in this forlorn and retrograde march that they had met Mr. Hunt +and his party. + +Mr. Crooks also gave information of some others of their fellow +adventurers. He had spoken several days previously with Mr. Reed and +Mr. M'Kenzie, who with their men were on the opposite side of the river, +where it was impossible to get over to them. They informed him that Mr. +M'Lellan had struck across from the little river above the mountains, in +the hope of falling in with some of the tribe of Flatheads, who inhabit +the western skirts of the Rocky range. As the companions of Reed and +M'Kenzie were picked men, and had found provisions more abundant on +their side of the river, they were in better condition, and more fitted +to contend with the difficulties of the country, than those of Mr. +Crooks, and when he lost sight of them, were pushing onward, down the +course of the river. + +Mr. Hunt took a night to revolve over his critical situation, and to +determine what was to be done. No time was to be lost; he had twenty men +and more in his own party, to provide for, and Mr. Crooks and his men to +relieve. To linger would be to starve. The idea of retracing his steps +was intolerable, and, notwithstanding all the discouraging accounts of +the ruggedness of the mountains lower down the river, he would have been +disposed to attempt them, but the depth of the snow with which they were +covered deterred him; having already experienced the impossibility of +forcing his way against such an impediment. + +The only alternative, therefore, appeared to be, return and seek the +Indian bands scattered along the small rivers above the mountains. +Perhaps, from some of these he might procure horses enough to support +him until he could reach the Columbia; for he still cherished the hope +of arriving at that river in the course of the winter, though he was +apprehensive that few of Mr. Crooks's party would be sufficiently strong +to follow him. Even in adopting this course, he had to make up his mind +to the certainty of several days of famine at the outset, for it would +take that time to reach the last Indian lodges from which he had parted, +and until they should arrive there, his people would have nothing to +subsist upon but haws and wild berries, excepting one miserable horse, +which was little better than skin and bone. + +After a night of sleepless cogitation, Mr. Hunt announced to his men the +dreary alternative he had adopted, and preparations were made to take +Mr. Crooks and Le Clerc across the river, with the remainder of the +meat, as the other party were to keep up along the opposite bank. +The skin canoe had unfortunately been lost in the night; a raft was +constructed therefore, after the manner of the natives, of bundles of +willows, but it could not be floated across the impetuous current. +The men were directed, in consequence, to keep on along the river by +themselves, while Mr. Crooks and Le Clerc would proceed with Mr. Hunt. +They all, then, took up their retrograde march with drooping spirits. + +In a little while, it was found that Mr. Crooks and Le Clerc were so +feeble as to walk with difficulty, so that Mr. Hunt was obliged +to retard his pace, that they might keep up with him. His men grew +impatient at the delay. They murmured that they had a long and desolate +region to traverse, before they could arrive at the point where they +might expect to find horses; that it was impossible for Crooks and Le +Clerc, in their feeble condition, to get over it; that to remain with +them would only be to starve in their company. They importuned Mr. Hunt, +therefore, to leave these unfortunate men to their fate, and think only +of the safety of himself and his party. Finding him not to be moved +either by entreaties or their clamors, they began to proceed without +him, singly and in parties. Among those who thus went off was Pierre +Dorion, the interpreter. Pierre owned the only remaining horse; which +was now a mere skeleton. Mr. Hunt had suggested, in their present +extremity, that it should be killed for food; to which the half-breed +flatly refused his assent, and cudgeling the miserable animal forward, +pushed on sullenly, with the air of a man doggedly determined to quarrel +for his right. In this way Mr. Hunt saw his men, one after another, +break away, until but five remained to bear him company. + +On the following morning another raft was made, on which Mr. Crooks and +Le Clerc again attempted to ferry themselves across the river, but after +repeated trials had to give up in despair. This caused additional delay; +after which they continued to crawl forward at a snail's pace. Some of +the men who had remained with Mr. Hunt now became impatient of these +incumbrances, and urged him clamorously to push forward, crying out that +they should all starve. The night which succeeded was intensely cold, +so that one of the men was severely frost-bitten. In the course of +the night, Mr. Crooks was taken ill, and in the morning was still more +incompetent to travel. Their situation was now desperate, for their +stock of provisions was reduced to three beaver skins. Mr. Hunt, +therefore, resolved to push on, overtake his people, and insist upon +having the horse of Pierre Dorion sacrificed for the relief of all +hands. Accordingly, he left two of his men to help Crooks and Le Clerc +on their way, giving them two of the beaver skins for their support; the +remaining skin he retained, as provision for himself and the three other +men who struck forward with him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + + Mr. Hunt Overtakes the Advance Party.--Pierre Dorion, and + His Skeleton Horse.--A Shoshonie Camp.--A Justifiable + Outrage.--Feasting on Horse Flesh.--Mr. Crooks Brought to + the Camp.--Undertakes to Relieve His Men.--The Skin Ferry- + Boat.--Frenzy of Prevost.--His Melancholy Fate.-Enfeebled + State of John Day.-Mr. Crooks Again Left Behind.-The Party + Emerge From Among the Mountains.--Interview With Shoshonies.-- + A Guide Procured to Conduct the Party Across a Mountain.-- + Ferriage Across Snake River.--Reunion With Mr Crook's Men.-- + Final Departure From the River. + +ALL that day, Mr. Hunt and his three comrades travelled without eating. +At night they made a tantalizing supper on their beaver skin, and were +nearly exhausted by hunger and cold. The next day, December 10th, they +overtook the advance party, who were all as much famished as themselves, +some of them not having eaten since the morning of the seventh. Mr. Hunt +now proposed the sacrifice of Pierre Dorion's skeleton horse. Here he +again met with positive and vehement opposition from the half-breed, who +was too sullen and vindictive a fellow to be easily dealt with. What was +singular, the men, though suffering such pinching hunger, interfered in +favor of the horse. + +They represented that it was better to keep on as long as pos-sible +without resorting to this last resource. Possibly the Indians, of whom +they were in quest, might have shifted their encampment, in which case +it would be time enough to kill the horse to escape starvation. Mr. +Hunt, therefore, was prevailed upon to grant Pierre Dorion's horse a +reprieve. + +Fortunately, they had not proceeded much further, when, towards evening, +they came in sight of a lodge of Shoshonies, with a number of horses +grazing around it. The sight was as unexpected as it was joyous. Having +seen no Indians in this neighborhood as they passed down the river, they +must have subsequently come out from among the mountains. Mr. Hunt, who +first descried them, checked the eagerness of his companions, knowing +the unwillingness of these Indians to part with their horses, and their +aptness to hurry them off and conceal them, in case of an alarm. This +was no time to risk such a disappointment. Approaching, therefore, +stealthily and silently, they came upon the savages by surprise, who +fled in terror. Five of their horses were eagerly seized, and one was +despatched upon the spot. The carcass was immediately cut up, and a +part of it hastily cooked and ravenously devoured. A man was now sent on +horseback with a supply of the flesh to Mr. Crooks and his companions. +He reached them in the night; they were so famished that the supply sent +them seemed but to aggravate their hunger, and they were almost tempted +to kill and eat the horse that had brought the messenger. Availing +themselves of the assistance of the animal, they reached the camp early +in the morning. + +On arriving there, Mr. Crooks was shocked to find that, while the people +on this side of the river were amply supplied with provisions, none had +been sent to his own forlorn and famishing men on the opposite bank. He +immediately caused a skin canoe to be constructed, and called out to his +men to fill their camp-kettles with water and hang them over the fire, +that no time might be lost in cooking the meat the moment it should be +received. The river was so narrow, though deep, that everything could +be distinctly heard and seen across it. The kettles were placed on the +fire, and the water was boiling by the time the canoe was completed. +When all was ready, however, no one would undertake to ferry the meat +across. A vague and almost superstitious terror had infected the minds +of Mr. Hunt's followers, enfeebled and rendered imaginative of horrors +by the dismal scenes and sufferings through which they had passed. +They regarded the haggard crew, hovering like spectres of famine on the +opposite bank, with indefinite feelings of awe and apprehension: as if +something desperate and dangerous was to be feared from them. + +Mr. Crooks tried in vain to reason or shame them out of this singular +state of mind. He then attempted to navigate the canoe himself, but +found his strength incompetent to brave the impetuous current. The good +feelings of Ben Jones, the Kentuckian, at length overcame his fears, +and he ventured over. The supply he brought was received with trembling +avidity. A poor Canadian, however, named Jean Baptiste Prevost, whom +famine had rendered wild and desperate, ran frantically about the bank, +after Jones had returned, crying out to Mr. Hunt to send the canoe for +him, and take him from that horrible region of famine, declaring that +otherwise he would never march another step, but would lie down there +and die. + +The canoe was shortly sent over again, under the management of Joseph +Delaunay, with further supplies. Prevost immediately pressed forward to +embark. Delaunay refused to admit him, telling him that there was now a +sufficient supply of meat on his side of the river. He replied that it +was not cooked, and he should starve before it was ready; he implored, +therefore, to be taken where he could get something to appease his +hunger immediately. Finding the canoe putting off without him, he forced +himself aboard. As he drew near the opposite shore, and beheld meat +roasting before the fire, he jumped up, shouted, clapped his hands, and +danced in a delirium of joy, until he upset the canoe. The poor wretch +was swept away by the current and drowned, and it was with extreme +difficulty that Delaunay reached the shore. + +Mr. Hunt now sent all his men forward excepting two or three. In the +evening he caused another horse to be killed, and a canoe to be made +out of the skin, in which he sent over a further supply of meat to the +opposite party. The canoe brought back John Day, the Kentucky hunter, +who came to join his former employer and commander, Mr. Crooks. Poor +Day, once so active and vigorous, was now reduced to a condition even +more feeble and emaciated than his companions. Mr. Crooks had such +a value for the man, on account of his past services and faithful +character, that he determined not to quit him; he exhorted Mr. Hunt, +however, to proceed forward, and join the party, as his presence was all +important to the conduct of the expedition. One of the Canadians, Jean +Baptiste Dubreuil, likewise remained with Mr. Crooks. + +Mr. Hunt left two horses with them, and a part of the carcass of the +last that had been killed. This, he hoped, would be sufficient to +sustain them until they should reach the Indian encampment. + +One of the chief dangers attending the enfeebled condition of Mr. Crooks +and his companions was their being overtaken by the Indians whose horses +had been seized, though Mr. Hunt hoped that he had guarded against any +resentment on the part of the savages, by leaving various articles in +their lodge, more than sufficient to compensate for the outrage he had +been compelled to commit. + +Resuming his onward course, Mr. Hunt came up with his people in the +evening. The next day, December 13th, he beheld several Indians, with +three horses, on the opposite side of the river, and after a time came +to the two lodges which he had seen on going down. Here he endeavored in +vain to barter a rifle for a horse, but again succeeded in effecting the +purchase with an old tin kettle, aided by a few beads. + +The two succeeding days were cold and stormy; the snow was augmenting, +and there was a good deal of ice running in the river. Their road, +however, was becoming easier; they were getting out of the hills, and +finally emerged into the open country, after twenty days of fatigue, +famine, and hardship of every kind, in the ineffectual attempt to find a +passage down the river. + +They now encamped on a little willowed stream, running from the east, +which they had crossed on the 26th of November. Here they found a dozen +lodges of Shoshonies, recently arrived, who informed them that had they +persevered along the river, they would have found their difficulties +augment until they became absolutely insurmountable. This intelligence +added to the anxiety of Mr. Hunt for the fate of Mr. M'Kenzie and his +people, who had kept on. + +Mr. Hunt now followed up the little river, and encamped at some lodges +of Shoshonies, from whom he procured a couple of horses, a dog, a few +dried fish, and some roots and dried cherries. Two or three days were +exhausted in obtaining information about the route, and what time it +would take to get to the Sciatogas, a hospitable tribe on the west +of the mountains, represented as having many horses. The replies were +various, but concurred in saying that the distance was great, and would +occupy from seventeen to twenty-one nights. Mr. Hunt then tried to +procure a guide; but though he sent to various lodges up and down the +river, offering articles of great value in Indian estimation, no one +would venture. The snow, they said, was waist deep in the mountains; and +to all his offers they shook their heads, gave a shiver, and replied, +"we shall freeze! we shall freeze!" at the same time they urged him to +remain and pass the winter among them. + +Mr. Hunt was in a dismal dilemma. To attempt the mountains without a +guide would be certain death to him and all his people; to remain there, +after having already been so long on the journey, and at such great +expense, was worse to him, he said, than two "deaths." He now changed +his tone with the Indians, charged them with deceiving him in respect to +the mountains, and talking with a "forked tongue," or, in other words, +with lying. He upbraided them with their want of courage, and told them +they were women, to shrink from the perils of such a journey. At length +one of them, piqued by his taunts, or tempted by his offers, agreed to +be his guide; for which he was to receive a gun, a pistol, three knives, +two horses, and a little of every article in possession of the party; +a reward sufficient to make him one of the wealthiest of his vagabond +nation. + +Once more, then, on the 21st of December, they set out upon their +wayfaring, with newly excited spirits. Two other Indians accompanied +their guide, who led them immediately back to Snake River, which they +followed down for a short distance, in search of some Indian rafts made +of reeds, on which they might cross. Finding none, Mr. Hunt caused a +horse to be killed, and a canoe to be made out of its skin. Here, on the +opposite bank, they saw the thirteen men of Mr. Crooks's party, who had +continued up along the river. They told Mr. Hunt, across the stream, +that they had not seen Mr. Crooks, and the two men who had remained with +him, since the day that he had separated from them. + +The canoe proving too small, another horse was killed, and the skin of +it joined to that of the first. Night came on before the little bark had +made more than two voyages. Being badly made it was taken apart and put +together again, by the light of the fire. The night was cold; the men +were weary and disheartened with such varied and incessant toil and +hardship. They crouched, dull and drooping, around their fires; many of +them began to express a wish to remain where they were for the winter. +The very necessity of crossing the river dismayed some of them in their +present enfeebled and dejected state. It was rapid and turbulent, and +filled with floating ice, and they remembered that two of their +comrades had already perished in its waters. Others looked forward with +misgivings to the long and dismal journey through lonesome regions that +awaited them, when they should have passed this dreary flood. + +At an early hour of the morning, December 23d, they began to cross the +river. Much ice had formed during the night, and they were obliged to +break it for some distance on each shore. At length they all got over in +safety to the west side; and their spirits rose on having achieved this +perilous passage. Here they were rejoined by the people of Mr. Crooks, +who had with them a horse and a dog, which they had recently procured. +The poor fellows were in the most squalid and emaciated state. Three +of them were so completely prostrated in strength and spirits that they +expressed a wish to remain among the Snakes. Mr. Hunt, therefore, gave +them the canoe, that they might cross the river, and a few articles, +with which to procure necessities, until they should meet with Mr. +Crooks. There was another man, named Michael Carriere, who was almost +equally reduced, but he determined to proceed with his comrades, who +were now incorporated with the party of Mr. Hunt. After the day's +exertions they encamped together on the banks of the river. This was the +last night they were to spend upon its borders. More than eight hundred +miles of hard travelling, and many weary days, had it cost them; and the +sufferings connected with it rendered it hateful in their remembrance, +so that the Canadian voyageurs always spoke of it as "La maudite riviere +enragee"--the accursed mad river--thus coupling a malediction with its +name. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII + + Departure From Snake River--Mountains to the North.--Wayworn + Travellers--An Increase of the Dorion Family.--A Camp of + Shoshonies.--A New-Year Festival Among the Snakes.--A Wintry + March Through the Mountains.--A Sunny Prospect, and Milder + Climate.--Indian Horse-Tracks.--Grassy Valleys.--A Camp of + Sciatogas.--Joy of the Travellers.-Dangers of Abundance.-- + Habits of the Sciatogas.--Fate of Carriere.--The Umatilla.-- + Arrival at the Banks of the Columbia.--Tidings of the + Scattered Members of the Expedition.--Scenery on the + Columbia.--Tidings of Astoria-Arrival at the Falls. + +ON the 24th of December, all things being arranged, Mr. Hunt turned his +back upon the disastrous banks of Snake River, and struck his course +westward for the mountains. His party, being augmented by the late +followers of Mr. Crooks, amounted now to thirty-two white men, three +Indians, and the squaw and two children of Pierre Dorion. Five jaded, +half-starved horses were laden with their luggage, and, in case of need, +were to furnish them with provisions. They travelled painfully about +fourteen miles a day, over plains and among hills, rendered dreary by +occasional falls of snow and rain. Their only sustenance was a scanty +meal of horse flesh once in four-and-twenty hours. + +On the third day the poor Canadian, Carriere, one of the famished party +of Mr. Crooks, gave up in despair, and laying down upon the ground +declared he could go no further. Efforts were made to cheer him up, but +it was found that the poor fellow was absolutely exhausted and could +not keep on his legs. He was mounted, therefore, upon one of the horses, +though the forlorn animal was in little better plight than himself. + +On the 28th, they came upon a small stream winding to the north, through +a fine level valley; the mountains receding on each side. Here their +Indian friends pointed out a chain of woody mountains to the left, +running north and south, and covered with snow, over which they would +have to pass. They kept along the valley for twenty-one miles on the +29th, suffering much from a continued fall of snow and rain, and being +twice obliged to ford the icy stream. Early in the following morning the +squaw of Pierre Dorion, who had hitherto kept on without murmuring or +flinching, was suddenly taken in labor, and enriched her husband with +another child. As the fortitude and good conduct of the poor woman had +gained for her the goodwill of the party, her situation caused concern +and perplexity. Pierre, however, treated the matter as an occurrence +that could soon be arranged and need cause no delay. He remained by his +wife in the camp, with his other children and his horse, and promised +soon to rejoin the main body, who proceeded on their march. + +Finding that the little river entered the mountains, they abandoned it, +and turned off for a few miles among hills. Here another Canadian, named +La Bonte, gave out, and had to be helped on horseback. As the horse was +too weak to bear both him and his pack, Mr. Hunt took the latter upon +his own shoulders. Thus, with difficulties augmenting at every step, +they urged their toilsome way among the hills, half famished and faint +at heart, when they came to where a fair valley spread out before them, +of great extent and several leagues in width, with a beautiful stream +meandering through it. A genial climate seemed to prevail here, for +though the snow lay upon all the mountains within sight, there was none +to be seen in the valley. The travellers gazed with delight upon this +serene, sunny landscape, but their joy was complete on beholding six +lodges of Shoshonies pitched upon the borders of the stream, with a +number of horses and dogs about them. They all pressed forward with +eagerness and soon reached the camp. Here their first attention was to +obtain provisions. A rifle, an old musket, a tomahawk, a tin kettle, +and a small quantity of ammunition soon procured them four horses, three +dogs, and some roots. Part of the live stock was immediately killed, +cooked with all expedition, and as promptly devoured. A hearty meal +restored every one to good spirits. In the course of the following +morning the Dorion family made its reappearance. Pierre came trudging in +the advance, followed by his valued, though skeleton steed, on which was +mounted his squaw with her new-born infant in her arms, and her boy of +two years old wrapped in a blanket and slung at her side. The mother +looked as unconcerned as if nothing had happened to her; so easy +is nature in her operations in the wilderness, when free from the +enfeebling refinements of luxury, and the tamperings and appliances of +art. + +The next morning ushered in the new year (1812). Mr. Hunt was about to +resume his march, when his men requested permission to celebrate the +day. This was particularly urged by the Canadian voyageurs, with whom +New-Year's day is a favorite festival; and who never willingly give up +a holiday, under any circumstances. There was no resisting such an +application; so the day was passed in repose and revelry; the poor +Canadians contrived to sing and dance in defiance of all their +hardships; and there was a sumptuous New-Year's banquet of dog's meat +and horse flesh. + +After two days of welcome rest, the travellers addressed themselves once +more to the painful journey. The Indians of the lodges pointed out a +distant gap through which they must pass in traversing the ridge of +mountains. They assured them that they would be but little incommoded +by snow, and in three days would arrive among the Sciatogas. Mr. Hunt, +however, had been so frequently deceived by Indian accounts of routes +and distances, that he gave but little faith to this information. + +The travellers continued their course due west for five days, crossing +the valley and entering the mountains. Here the travelling became +excessively toilsome, across rough stony ridges, and amidst fallen +trees. They were often knee deep in snow, and sometimes in the hollows +between the ridges sank up to their waists. The weather was extremely +cold; the sky covered with clouds so that for days they had not a +glimpse of the sun. In traversing the highest ridge they had a wide but +chilling prospect over a wilderness of snowy mountains. + +On the 6th of January, however, they had crossed the dividing summit of +the chain, and were evidently under the influence of a milder climate. +The snow began to decrease; the sun once more emerged from the thick +canopy of clouds, and shone cheeringly upon them, and they caught a +sight of what appeared to be a plain, stretching out in the west. +They hailed it as the poor Israelites hailed the first glimpse of the +promised land, for they flattered themselves that this might be the +great plain of the Columbia, and that their painful pilgrimage might be +drawing to a close. + +It was now five days since they had left the lodges of the Shoshonies, +during which they had come about sixty miles, and their guide assured +them that in the course of the next day they would see the Sciatogas. + +On the following morning, therefore, they pushed forward with eagerness, +and soon fell upon a stream which led them through a deep narrow defile, +between stupendous ridges. Here among the rocks and precipices they saw +gangs of that mountain-loving animal, the black-tailed deer, and came to +where great tracks of horses were to be seen in all directions, made by +the Indian hunters. + +The snow had entirely disappeared, and the hopes of soon coming upon +some Indian encampment induced Mr. Hunt to press on. Many of the men, +however, were so enfeebled that they could not keep up with the main +body, but lagged at intervals behind; and some of them did not arrive +at the night encampment. In the course of this day's march the +recently-born child of Pierre Dorion died. + +The march was resumed early the next morning, without waiting for the +stragglers. The stream which they had followed throughout the preceding +day was now swollen by the influx of another river; the declivities of +the hills were green and the valleys were clothed with grass. At +length the jovial cry was given of "an Indian camp!" It was yet in the +distance, In the bosom of the green valley, but they could perceive +that it consisted of numerous lodges, and that hundreds of horses were +grazing the grassy meadows around it. The prospect of abundance of +horse flesh diffused universal joy, for by this time the whole stock +of travelling provisions was reduced to the skeleton steed of Pierre +Dorion, and another wretched animal, equally emaciated, that had been +repeatedly reprieved during the journey. + +A forced march soon brought the weary and hungry travellers to the camp. +It proved to be a strong party of Sciatogas and Tusche-pas. There were +thirty-four lodges, comfortably constructed of mats; the Indians, too, +were better clothed than any of the wandering bands they had hitherto +met on this side of the Rocky Mountains. Indeed, they were as well clad +as the generality of the wild hunter tribes. Each had a good buffalo or +deer skin robe; and a deer skin hunting shirt and leggins. Upwards of +two thousand horses were ranging the pastures around their encampment; +but what delighted Mr. Hunt was, on entering the lodges, to behold +brass kettles, axes, copper tea-kettles, and various other articles of +civilized manufacture, which showed that these Indians had an indirect +communication with the people of the sea-coast who traded with the +whites. He made eager inquiries of the Sciatogas, and gathered from them +that the great river (the Columbia) was but two days' march distant, and +that several white people had recently descended it; who he hoped might +prove to be M'Lellan, M'Kenzie, and their companions. + +It was with the utmost joy and the most profound gratitude to heaven, +that Mr. Hunt found himself and his band of weary and famishing +wanderers thus safely extricated from the most perilous part of their +long journey, and within the prospect of a termination of their tolls. +All the stragglers who had lagged behind arrived, one after another, +excepting the poor Canadian voyageur, Carriere. He had been seen late in +the preceding afternoon, riding behind a Snake Indian, near some lodges +of that nation, a few miles distant from the last night's encampment; +and it was expected that he would soon make his appearance. The first +object of Mr. Hunt was to obtain provisions for his men. A little +venison, of an indifferent quality, and some roots were all that could +be procured that evening; but the next day he succeeded in purchasing +a mare and colt, which were immediately killed, and the cravings of the +half-starved people in some degree appeased. + +For several days they remained in the neighborhood of these Indians, +reposing after all their hardships, and feasting upon horse flesh and +roots, obtained in subsequent traffic. Many of the people ate to such +excess as to render themselves sick, others were lame from their past +journey; but all gradually recruited in the repose and abundance of the +valley. Horses were obtained here much more readily, and at a cheaper +rate, than among the Snakes. A blanket, a knife, or a half pound of blue +beads would purchase a steed, and at this rate many of the men bought +horses for their individual use. + +This tribe of Indians, who are represented as a proud-spirited race, and +uncommonly cleanly, never eat horses or dogs, nor would they permit +the raw flesh of either to be brought into their huts. They had a small +quantity of venison in each lodge, but set so high a price upon it that +the white men, in their impoverished state could not afford to purchase +it. They hunted the deer on horseback, "ringing," or surrounding them, +and running them down in a circle. They were admirable horsemen, and +their weapons were bows and arrows, which they managed with great +dexterity. They were altogether primitive in their habits, and seemed to +cling to the usages of savage life, even when possessed of the aids of +civilization. They had axes among them, yet they generally made use of a +stone mallet wrought into the shape of a bottle, and wedges of elk +horn, in splitting their wood. Though they might have two or three brass +kettles hanging, in their lodges, yet they would frequently use vessels +made of willow, for carrying water, and would even boll their meat in +them, by means of hot stones. Their women wore caps of willow neatly +worked and figured. + +As Carriere, the Canadian straggler, did not make his appearance for two +or three days after the encampment in the valley two men were sent out +on horseback in search of him. They returned, however, without success. +The lodges of the Snake Indians near which he had been seen were +removed, and the could find no trace of him. Several days more elapsed, +yet nothing was seen or heard of him, or the Snake horseman, behind whom +he had been last observed. It was feared, therefore, that he had either +perished through hunger and fatigue; had been murdered by the Indians; +or, being left to himself, had mistaken some hunting tracks for the +trail of the party, and been led astray and lost. + +The river on the banks of which they were encamped, emptied into the +Columbia, was called by the natives the Eu-o-tal-la, or Umatilla, and +abounded with beaver. In the course of their sojourn in the valley which +it watered, they twice shifted their camp, proceeding about thirty miles +down its course, which was to the west. A heavy fall of rain caused the +river to overflow its banks, dislodged them from their encampment, and +drowned three of their horses which were tethered in the low ground. + +Further conversation with the Indians satisfied them that they were in +the neighborhood of the Columbia. The number of the white men who they +said had passed down the river, agreed with that of M'Lellan, M'Kenzie, +and their companions, and increased the hope of Mr. Hunt that they might +have passed through the wilderness with safety. + +These Indians had a vague story that white men were coming to trade +among them; and they often spoke of two great men named Ke-Koosh and +Jacquean, who gave them tobacco, and smoked with them. Jacquean, they +said, had a house somewhere upon the great river. Some of the Canadians +supposed they were speaking of one Jacquean Finlay, a clerk of the +Northwest Company, and inferred that the house must be some trading +post on one of the tributary streams of the Columbia. The Indians were +overjoyed when they found this band of white men intended to return +and trade with them. They promised to use all diligence in collecting +quantities of beaver skins, and no doubt proceeded to make deadly war +upon that sagacious, but ill-fated animal, who, in general, lived in +peaceful insignificance among his Indian neighbors, before the intrusion +of the white trader. On the 20th of January, Mr. Hunt took leave of +these friendly Indians, and of the river on which they encamped, and +continued westward. + +At length, on the following day, the wayworn travellers lifted up their +eyes and beheld before them the long-sought waters of the Columbia. The +sight was hailed with as much transport as if they had already reached +the end of their pilgrimage; nor can we wonder at their joy. Two hundred +and forty miles had they marched, through wintry wastes and rugged +mountains, since leaving Snake River; and six months of perilous +wayfaring had they experienced since their departure from the Arickara +village on the Missouri. Their whole route by land and water from that +point had been, according to their computation, seventeen hundred and +fifty-one miles, in the course of which they had endured all kinds of +hardships. In fact, the necessity of avoiding the dangerous country of +the Blackfeet had obliged them to make a bend to the south and traverse +a great additional extent of unknown wilderness. + +The place where they struck the Columbia was some distance below the +junction of its two great branches, Lewis and Clarke rivers, and not +far from the influx of the Wallah-Wallah. It was a beautiful stream, +three-quarters of a mile wide, totally free from trees; bordered in some +places with steep rocks, in others with pebbled shores. + +On the banks of the Columbia they found a miserable horde of Indians, +called Akai-chies, with no clothing but a scanty mantle of the skins of +animals, and sometimes a pair of sleeves of wolf's skin. Their lodges +were shaped like a tent, and very light and warm, being covered with +mats and rushes; besides which they had excavations in the ground, lined +with mats, and occupied by the women, who were even more slightly clad +than the men. These people subsisted chiefly by fishing; having canoes +of a rude construction, being merely the trunks of pine trees split and +hollowed out by fire. Their lodges were well stored with dried salmon, +and they had great quantities of fresh salmon trout of an excellent +flavor, taken at the mouth of the Umatilla; of which the travellers +obtained a most acceptable supply. + +Finding that the road was on the north side of the river, Mr. Hunt +crossed, and continued five or six days travelling rather slowly down +along its banks, being much delayed by the straying of the horses, and +the attempts made by the Indians to steal them. They frequently passed +lodges, where they obtained fish and dogs. At one place the natives had +just returned from hunting, and had brought back a large quantity of +elk and deer meat, but asked so high a price for it as to be beyond the +funds of the travellers, so they had to content themselves with dog's +flesh. They had by this time, however, come to consider it very choice +food, superior to horse flesh, and the minutes of the expedition speak +rather exultingly now and then, of their having made a famous "repast," +where this viand happened to be unusually plenty. + +They again learnt tidings of some of the scattered members of the +expedition, supposed to be M'Kenzie, M'Lellan, and their men, who had +preceded them down the river, and had overturned one of their canoes, by +which they lost many articles. All these floating pieces of intelligence +of their fellow adventurers, who had separated from them in the heart of +the wilderness, they received with eager interest. + +The weather continued to be temperate, marking the superior softness of +the climate on this side of the mountains. For a great part of the +time, the days were delightfully mild and clear, like the serene days +of October on the Atlantic borders. The country in general, in the +neighborhood of the river, was a continual plain, low near the water, +but rising gradually; destitute of trees, and almost without shrubs +or plants of any kind, excepting a few willow bushes. After travelling +about sixty miles, they came to where the country became very hilly and +the river made its way between rocky banks and down numerous rapids. +The Indians in this vicinity were better clad and altogether in more +prosperous condition than those above, and, as Mr. Hunt thought, showed +their consciousness of ease by something like sauciness of manner. Thus +prosperity is apt to produce arrogance in savage as well as in civilized +life. In both conditions, man is an animal that will not bear pampering. + +From these people Mr. Hunt for the first time received vague but deeply +interesting intelligence of that part of the enterprise which had +proceeded by sea to the mouth of the Columbia. The Indians spoke of +a number of white men who had built a large house at the mouth of the +great river, and surrounded it with palisades. None of them had been +down to Astoria themselves; but rumors spread widely and rapidly from +mouth to mouth among the Indian tribes, and are carried to the heart of +the interior by hunting parties and migratory hordes. + +The establishment of a trading emporium at such a point, also, was +calculated to cause a sensation to the most remote parts of the vast +wilderness beyond the mountains. It in a manner struck the pulse of the +great vital river, and vibrated up all its tributary streams. + +It is surprising to notice how well this remote tribe of savages had +learnt, through intermediate gossips, the private feelings of the +colonists at Astoria; it shows that Indians are not the incurious and +indifferent observers that they have been represented. They told Mr. +Hunt that the white people at the large house had been looking anxiously +for many of their friends, whom they had expected to descend the great +river; and had been in much affliction, fearing that they were lost. +Now, however, the arrival of him and his party would wipe away all their +tears, and they would dance and sing for joy. + +On the 31st of January, Mr. Hunt arrived at the falls of the Columbia, +and encamped at the village of the Wish-ram, situated at the head of +that dangerous pass of the river called "the Long Narrows". + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. + + The Village of Wish-ram.--Roguery of the Inhabitants.--Their + Habitations.--Tidings of Astoria.--Of the Tonquin Massacre. + --Thieves About the Camp.--A Band of Braggarts--Embarkation.-- + Arrival at Astoria.--A Joyful Reception.--Old Comrade.-- + Adventures of Reed, M'Lellan, and M'Kenzie Among the Snake + River Mountains.--Rejoicing at Astoria. + +OF the village of Wish-ram, the aborigines' fishing mart of the +Columbia, we have given some account in an early chapter of this work. +The inhabitants held a traffic in the productions of the fisheries of +the falls, and their village was the trading resort of the tribes +from the coast and from the mountains. Mr. Hunt found the inhabitants +shrewder and more intelligent than any Indians he had met with. Trade +had sharpened their wits, though it had not improved their honesty; +for they were a community of arrant rogues and freebooters. Their +habitations comported with their circumstances, and were superior to any +the travellers had yet seen west of the Rocky Mountains. In general, the +dwellings of the savages on the Pacific side of that great barrier were +mere tents and cabins of mats, or skins, or straw, the country being +destitute of timber. In Wish-ram, on the contrary, the houses were built +of wood, with long sloping roofs. The floor was sunk about six feet +below the surface of the ground, with a low door at the gable end, +extremely narrow, and partly sunk. Through this it was necessary to +crawl and then to descend a short ladder. This inconvenient entrance was +probably for the purpose of defense; there were loop-holes also under +the eaves, apparently for the discharge of arrows. The houses were +large, generally containing two or three families. Immediately within +the door were sleeping places, ranged along the walls, like berths in +a ship; and furnished with pallets of matting. These extended along one +half of the building; the remaining half was appropriated to the storing +of dried fish. + +The trading operations of the inhabitants of Wish-ram had given them +a wider scope of information, and rendered their village a kind of +headquarters of intelligence. Mr. Hunt was able, therefore, to collect +more distinct tidings concerning the settlement of Astoria and its +affairs. One of the inhabitants had been at the trading post established +by David Stuart on the Oakinagan, and had picked up a few words of +English there. From him, Mr. Hunt gleaned various particulars about that +establishment, as well as about the general concerns of the enterprise. +Others repeated the name of Mr. M'Kay, the partner who perished in +the massacre on board of the Tonquin, and gave some account of that +melancholy affair. They said Mr. M'Kay was a chief among the white men, +and had built a great house at the mouth of the river, but had left +it and sailed away in a large ship to the northward where he had +been attacked by bad Indians in canoes. Mr. Hunt was startled by this +intelligence, and made further inquiries. They informed him that the +Indians had lashed their canoes to the ship, and fought until they +killed him and all his people. This is another instance of the clearness +with which intelligence is transmitted from mouth to mouth among the +Indian tribes. These tidings, though but partially credited by Mr. Hunt, +filled his mind with anxious forebodings. He now endeavored to procure +canoes, in which to descend the Columbia, but none suitable for +the purpose were to be obtained above the Narrows; he continued on, +therefore, the distance of twelve miles, and encamped on the bank of +the river. The camp was soon surrounded by loitering savages, who went +prowling about seeking what they might pilfer. Being baffled by the +vigilance of the guard, they endeavored to compass their ends by +other means. Towards evening, a number of warriors entered the camp in +ruffling style; painted and dressed out as if for battle, and armed with +lances, bows and arrows, and scalping knives. They informed Mr. Hunt +that a party of thirty or forty braves were coming up from a village +below to attack the camp and carry off the horses, but that they were +determined to stay with him and defend him. Mr. Hunt received them with +great coldness, and, when they had finished their story, gave them +a pipe to smoke. He then called up all hands, stationed sentinels in +different quarters, but told them to keep as vigilant an eye within the +camp as without. + +The warriors were evidently baffled by these precautions, and, having +smoked their pipe, and vapored off their valor, took their departure. +The farce, however, did not end here. After a little while the warriors +returned, ushering in another savage, still more heroically arrayed. +This they announced as the chief of the belligerent village, but as a +great pacificator. His people had been furiously bent upon the attack, +and would have doubtless carried it into effect, but this gallant chief +had stood forth as the friend of white men, and had dispersed the throng +by his own authority and prowess. Having vaunted this signal piece of +service, there was a significant pause; all evidently expecting some +adequate reward. Mr. Hunt again produced the pipe, smoked with the +chieftain and his worthy compeers; but made no further demonstrations +of gratitude. They remained about the camp all night, but at daylight +returned, baffled and crestfallen, to their homes, with nothing but +smoke for their pains. + +Mr. Hunt now endeavored to procure canoes, of which he saw several about +the neighborhood, extremely well made, with elevated stems and sterns, +some of them capable of carrying three thousand pounds weight. He found +it extremely difficult, however, to deal with these slippery people, +who seemed much more inclined to pilfer. Notwithstanding a strict guard +maintained round the camp, various implements were stolen, and +several horses carried off. Among the latter, we have to include the +long-cherished steed of Pierre Dorion. From some wilful caprice, +that worthy pitched his tent at some distance from the main body, and +tethered his invaluable steed beside it, from whence it was abstracted +in the night, to the infinite chagrin and mortification of the hybrid +interpreter. + +Having, after several days' negotiation, procured the requisite number +of canoes, Mr. Hunt would gladly have left this thievish neighborhood, +but was detained until the 5th of February by violent head winds, +accompanied by snow and rain. Even after he was enabled to get under +way, he had still to struggle against contrary winds and tempestuous +weather. The current of the river, however, was in his favor; having +made a portage at the grand rapid, the canoes met with no further +obstruction, and, on the afternoon of the 15th of February, swept round +an intervening cape, and came in sight of the infant settlement of +Astoria. After eleven months wandering in the wilderness, a great part +of the time over trackless wastes, where the sight of a savage wigwam +was a rarity, we may imagine the delight of the poor weatherbeaten +travellers, at beholding the embryo establishment, with its magazines, +habitations, and picketed bulwarks, seated on a high point of land, +dominating a beautiful little bay, in which was a trim-built shallop +riding quietly at anchor. A shout of joy burst from each canoe at the +long-wished-for sight. They urged their canoes across the bay, and +pulled with eagerness for shore, where all hands poured down from the +settlement to receive and welcome them. Among the first to greet them +on their landing, were some of their old comrades and fellow-sufferers, +who, under the conduct of Reed, M'Lellan, and M'Kenzie, had parted +from them at the Caldron Linn. These had reached Astoria nearly a month +previously, and, judging from their own narrow escape from starvation, +had given up Mr. Hunt and his followers as lost. Their greeting was +the more warm and cordial. As to the Canadian voyageurs, their mutual +felicitations, as usual, were loud and vociferous, and it was almost +ludicrous to behold these ancient "comrades" and "confreres," hugging +and kissing each other on the river bank. + +When the first greetings were over, the different bands interchanged +accounts of their several wanderings, after separating at Snake River; +we shall briefly notice a few of the leading particulars. It will +be recollected by the reader, that a small exploring detachment had +proceeded down the river, under the conduct of Mr. John Reed, a clerk of +the company; that another had set off under M'Lellan, and a third in a +different direction, under M'Kenzie. After wandering for several days +without meeting with Indians, or obtaining any supplies, they came +together fortuitously among the Snake River mountains, some distance +below that disastrous pass or strait which had received the appellation +of the Devil's Scuttle Hole. + +When thus united, their party consisted of M'Kenzie, M'Lellan, Reed, and +eight men, chiefly Canadians. Being all in the same predicament, without +horses, provisions, or information of any kind, they all agreed that it +would be worse than useless to return to Mr. Hunt and encumber him +with so many starving men, and that their only course was to extricate +themselves as soon as possible from this land of famine and misery and +make the best of their way for the Columbia. They accordingly continued +to follow the downward course of Snake River; clambering rocks and +mountains, and defying all the difficulties and dangers of that rugged +defile, which subsequently, when the snows had fallen, was found +impassable by Messrs. Hunt and Crooks. + +Though constantly near to the borders of the river, and for a great +part of the time within sight of its current, one of their greatest +sufferings was thirst. The river had worn its way in a deep channel +through rocky mountains, destitute of brooks or springs. Its banks +were so high and precipitous, that there was rarely any place where +the travellers could get down to drink of its waters. Frequently they +suffered for miles the torments of Tantalus; water continually within +sight, yet fevered with the most parching thirst. Here and there they +met with rainwater collected in the hollows of the rocks, but more than +once they were reduced to the utmost extremity; and some of the men had +recourse to the last expedient to avoid perishing. + +Their sufferings from hunger were equally severe. They could meet with +no game, and subsisted for a time on strips of beaver skin, broiled on +the coals. These were doled out in scanty allowances, barely sufficient +to keep up existence, and at length failed them altogether. Still they +crept feebly on, scarce dragging one limb after another, until a severe +snow-storm brought them to a pause. To struggle against it, in their +exhausted condition, was impossible, so cowering under an impending +rock at the foot of a steep mountain, they prepared themselves for that +wretched fate which seemed inevitable. + +At this critical juncture, when famine stared them in the face, M'Lellan +casting up his eyes, beheld an ahsahta, or bighorn, sheltering itself +under a shelving rock on the side of the hill above them. Being in a +more active plight than any of his comrades, and an excellent marksman, +he set off to get within shot of the animal. His companions watched his +movements with breathless anxiety, for their lives depended upon his +success. He made a cautious circuit; scrambled up the hill with the +utmost silence, and at length arrived, unperceived, within a proper +distance. Here leveling his rifle he took so sure an aim, that the +bighorn fell dead on the spot; a fortunate circumstance, for, to pursue +it, if merely wounded, would have been impossible in his emaciated +state. The declivity of the hill enabled him to roll the carcass down +to his companions, who were too feeble to climb the rocks. They fell to +work to cut it up; yet exerted a remarkable self-denial for men in their +starving condition, for they contented themselves for the present with +a soup made from the bones, reserving the flesh for future repasts. This +providential relief gave them strength to pursue their journey, but they +were frequently reduced to almost equal straits, and it was only the +smallness of their party, requiring a small supply of provisions, that +enabled them to get through this desolate region with their lives. + +At length, after twenty-one days of to 11 and suffering, they got +through these mountains, and arrived at a tributary stream of that +branch of the Columbia called Lewis River, of which Snake River forms +the southern fork. In this neighborhood they met with wild horses, the +first they had seen west of the Rocky Mountains. From hence they made +their way to Lewis River, where they fell in with a friendly tribe of +Indians, who freely administered to their necessities. On this river +they procured two canoes, in which they dropped down the stream to its +confluence with the Columbia, and then down that river to Astoria, where +they arrived haggard and emaciated, and perfectly in rags. + +Thus, all the leading persons of Mr. Hunt's expedition were once +more gathered together, excepting Mr. Crooks, of whose safety they +entertained but little hope, considering the feeble condition in which +they had been compelled to leave him in the heart of the wilderness. + +A day was now given up to jubilee, to celebrate the arrival of Mr. Hunt +and his companions, and the joyful meeting of the various scattered +bands of adventurers at Astoria. The colors were hoisted; the guns, +great and small, were fired; there was a feast of fish, of beaver, and +venison, which relished well with men who had so long been glad to revel +on horse flesh and dogs' meat; a genial allowance of grog was issued, to +increase the general animation, and the festivities wound up, as usual, +with a grand dance at night, by the Canadian voyageurs. * + + *The distance from St. Louis to Astoria, by the route + travelled by Hunt and M'Kenzie, was upwards of thirty-five + hundred miles, though in a direct line it does not exceed + eighteen hundred. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX. + + Scanty Fare During the Winter.--A Poor Hunting Ground.--The + Return of the Fishing Season.--The Uthlecan or Smelt.--Its + Qualities.--Vast Shoals of it.--Sturgeon.--Indian Modes of + Taking It.--The Salmon--Different Species.--Nature of the + Country About the Coast.--Forests and Forest Trees.--A + Remarkable Flowering Vine.--Animals.--Birds.--Reptiles-- + Climate West of the Mountains--Mildness of the + Temperature.--Soil of the Coast and the Interior. + +THE winter passed away tranquilly at Astoria. The apprehensions of +hostility from the natives had subsided; indeed, as the season advanced, +the Indians for the most part had disappeared from the neighborhood, and +abandoned the sea-coast, so that, for want of their aid, the colonists +had at times suffered considerably for want of provisions. The hunters +belonging to the establishment made frequent and wide excursions, but +with very moderate success. There were some deer and a few bears to be +found in the vicinity, and elk in great numbers; the country, however, +was so rough, and the woods so close and entangled that it was almost +impossible to beat up the game. The prevalent rains of winter, also, +rendered it difficult for the hunter to keep his arms in order. The +quantity of game, therefore, brought in by the hunters was extremely +scanty, and it was frequently necessary to put all hands on very +moderate allowance. Towards spring, however, the fishing season +commenced--the season of plenty on the Columbia. About the beginning +of February, a small kind of fish, about six inches long, called by the +natives the uthlecan, and resembling the smelt, made its appearance at +the mouth of the river. It is said to be of delicious flavor, and so fat +as to burn like a candle, for which it is often used by the natives. It +enters the river in immense shoals, like solid columns, often extending +to the depth of five or more feet, and is scooped up by the natives with +small nets at the end of poles. In this way they will soon fill a canoe, +or form a great heap upon the river banks. These fish constitute a +principal article of their food; the women drying them and stringing +them on cords. As the uthlecan is only found in the lower part of the +river, the arrival of it soon brought back the natives to the coast; +who again resorted to the factory to trade, and from that time furnished +plentiful supplies of fish. + +The sturgeon makes its appearance in the river shortly after the +uthlecan, and is taken in different ways by the natives: sometimes +they spear it; but oftener they use the hook and line, and the net. +Occasionally, they sink a cord in the river by a heavy weight, with a +buoy at the upper end, to keep floating. To this cord several hooks are +attached by short lines, a few feet distant from each other, and baited +with small fish. This apparatus is often set towards night, and by the +next morning several sturgeon will be found hooked by it; for though a +large and strong fish, it makes but little resistance when ensnared. + +The salmon, which are the prime fish of the Columbia, and as important +to the piscatory tribes as are the buffaloes to the hunters of the +prairies, do not enter the river until towards the latter part of May, +from which time, until the middle of August, they abound and are taken +in vast quantities, either with the spear or seine, and mostly in +shallow water. An inferior species succeeds, and continues from August +to December. It is remarkable for having a double row of teeth, half an +inch long and extremely sharp, from whence it has received the name of +the dog-toothed salmon. It is generally killed with the spear in small +rivulets, and smoked for winter provision. We have noticed in a former +chapter the mode in which the salmon are taken and cured at the falls +of the Columbia; and put tip in parcels for exportation. From these +different fisheries of the river tribes, the establishment at Astoria +had to derive much of its precarious supplies of provisions. + +A year's residence at the mouth of the Columbia, and various expeditions +in the interior, had now given the Astorians some idea of the country. +The whole coast is described as remarkably rugged and mountainous; with +dense forests of hemlock, spruce, white and red cedar, cotton-wood, +white oak, white and swamp ash, willow, and a few walnut. There is +likewise an undergrowth of aromatic shrubs, creepers, and clambering +vines, that render the forests almost impenetrable; together with +berries of various kinds, such as gooseberries, strawberries, +raspberries, both red and yellow, very large and finely flavored +whortleberries, cranberries, serviceberries, blackberries, currants, +sloes, and wild and choke cherries. + +Among the flowering vines is one deserving of particular notice. Each +flower is composed of six leaves or petals, about three inches in +length, of a beautiful crimson, the inside spotted with white. Its +leaves, of a fine green, are oval, and disposed by threes. This plant +climbs upon the trees without attaching itself to them; when it has +reached the topmost branches, it descends perpendicularly, and as it +continues to grow, extends from tree to tree, until its various stalks +interlace the grove like the rigging of a ship. The stems or trunks of +this vine are tougher and more flexible than willow, and are from +fifty to one hundred fathoms in length. From the fibres, the Indians +manufacture baskets of such close texture as to hold water. + +The principal quadrupeds that had been seen by the colonists in their +various expeditions were the stag, fallow deer, hart, black and grizzly +bear, antelope, ahsahta or bighorn, beaver, sea and river otter, +muskrat, fox, wolf, and panther, the latter extremely rare. The only +domestic animals among the natives were horses and dogs. + +The country abounded with aquatic and land birds, such as swans, wild +geese, brant, ducks of almost every description, pelicans, herons, +gulls, snipes, curlews, eagles, vultures, crows, ravens, magpies, +woodpeckers, pigeons, partridges, pheasants, grouse, and a great variety +of singing birds. + +There were few reptiles; the only dangerous kinds were the rattlesnake, +and one striped with black, yellow, and white, about four feet long. +Among the lizard kind was one about nine or ten inches in length, +exclusive of the tall, and three inches in circumference. The tail was +round, and of the same length as the body. The head was triangular, +covered with small square scales. The upper part of the body was +likewise covered with small scales, green, yellow, black, and blue. Each +foot had five toes, furnished with strong nails, probably to aid it in +burrowing, as it usually lived under ground on the plains. + +A remarkable fact, characteristic of the country west of the Rocky +Mountains, is the mildness and equability of the climate. The great +mountain barrier seems to divide the continent into different climates, +even in the same degrees of latitude. The rigorous winters and sultry +summers, and all the capricious inequalities of temperature prevalent on +the Atlantic side of the mountains, are but little felt on their western +declivities. The countries between them and the Pacific are blessed with +milder and steadier temperature, resembling the climates of parallel +latitudes in Europe. In the plains and valleys but little snow falls +throughout the winter, and usually melts while falling. It rarely lies +on the ground more than two days at a time, except on the summits of the +mountains. The winters are rainy rather than cold. The rains for five +months, from the middle of October to the middle of March, are almost +incessant, and often accompanied by tremendous thunder and lightning. +The winds prevalent at this season are from the south and southeast, +which usually bring rain. Those from the north to the southwest are the +harbingers of fair weather and a clear sky. The residue of the year, +from the middle of March to the middle of October, an interval of seven +months, is serene and delightful. There is scarcely any rain throughout +this time, yet the face of the country is kept fresh and verdant by +nightly dews, and occasionally by humid fogs in the mornings. These are +not considered prejudicial to health, since both the natives and the +whites sleep in the open air with perfect impunity. While this equable +and bland temperature prevails throughout the lower country, the peaks +and ridges of the vast mountains by which it is dominated, are covered +with perpetual snow. This renders them discernible at a great distance, +shining at times like bright summer clouds, at other times assuming the +most aerial tints, and always forming brilliant and striking features +in the vast landscape. The mild temperature prevalent throughout the +country is attributed by some to the succession of winds from the +Pacific Ocean, extending from latitude twenty degrees to at least fifty +degrees north. These temper the heat of summer, so that in the shade +no one is incommoded by perspiration; they also soften the rigors +of winter, and produce such a moderation in the climate, that the +inhabitants can wear the same dress throughout the year. + +The soil in the neighborhood of the sea-coast is of a brown color, +inclining to red, and generally poor; being a mixture of clay and +gravel. In the interior, and especially in the valleys of the Rocky +Mountains, the soil is generally blackish, though sometimes yellow. It +is frequently mixed with marl, and with marine substances in a state of +decomposition. This kind of soil extends to a considerable depth, as +may be perceived in the deep cuts made by ravines, and by the beds of +rivers. The vegetation in these valleys is much more abundant than near +the coast; in fact, it is these fertile intervals, locked up between +rocky sierras, or scooped out from barren wastes, that population must +extend itself, as it were, in veins and ramifications, if ever the +regions beyond the mountains should become civilized. + + + + +CHAPTER XL. + + Natives in the Neighborhood of Astoria--Their Persons and + Characteristics.--Causes of Deformity--Their Dress.-- + Their Contempt of Beards--Ornaments--Armor and Weapons.-Mode + of Flattening the Head.--Extent of the Custom.--Religious + Belief.-The Two Great Spirits of the Air and of the Fire.-- + Priests or Medicine Men.--The Rival Idols.--Polygamy a Cause + of Greatness-Petty Warfare.--Music, Dancing, Gambling.-- + Thieving a Virtue.--Keen Traders--Intrusive Habits-- + Abhorrence of Drunkenness--Anecdote of Comcomly. + +A BRIEF mention has already been made of the tribes or hordes existing +about the lower part of the Columbia at the time of the settlement; a +few more particulars concerning them may be acceptable. The four tribes +nearest to Astoria, and with whom the traders had most intercourse, +were, as has heretofore been observed, the Chinooks, the Clatsops, the +Wahkiacums, and the Cathlamets. The Chinooks reside chiefly along the +banks of a river of the same name, running parallel to the sea-coast, +through a low country studded with stagnant pools, and emptying itself +into Baker's Bay, a few miles from Cape Disappointment. This was the +tribe over which Comcomly, the one-eyed chieftain, held sway; it boasted +two hundred and fourteen fighting men. Their chief subsistence was on +fish, with an occasional regale of the flesh of elk and deer, and of +wild-fowl from the neighboring ponds. + +The Clatsops resided on both sides of Point Adams; they were the mere +relics of a tribe which had been nearly swept off by the small-pox, and +did not number more than one hundred and eighty fighting men. + +The Wahkiacums, or Waak-i-cums, inhabited the north side of the +Columbia, and numbered sixty-six warriors. They and the Chinooks +were originally the same; but a dispute arising about two generations +previous to the time of the settlement, between the ruling chief and his +brother Wahkiacum, the latter seceded, and with his adherents formed the +present horde which continues to go by his name. In this way new tribes +or clans are formed, and lurking causes of hostility engendered. + +The Cathlamets lived opposite to the lower village of the Wahkiacums, +and numbered ninety-four warriors. + +These four tribes, or rather clans, have every appearance of springing +from the same origin, resembling each other in person, dress, language, +and manners. They are rather a diminutive race, generally below five +feet five inches, with crooked legs and thick ankles--a deformity +caused by their passing so much of their time sitting or squatting +upon the calves of their legs and their heels, in the bottom of their +canoes--a favorite position, which they retain, even when on shore. The +women increase the deformity by wearing tight bandages round the ankles, +which prevent the circulation of the blood, and cause a swelling of the +muscles of the leg. + +Neither sex can boast of personal beauty. Their faces are round, with +small but animated eyes. Their noses are broad and flat at top, and +fleshy at the end, with large nostrils. They have wide mouths, thick +lips, and short, irregular and dirty teeth. Indeed good teeth are seldom +to be seen among the tribes west of the Rocky Mountains, who live simply +on fish. + +In the early stages of their intercourse with white men, these savages +were but scantily clad. In summer time the men went entirely naked; in +the winter and in bad weather the men wore a small robe, reaching to the +middle of the thigh, made of the skins of animals, or of the wool of the +mountain sheep. Occasionally, they wore a kind of mantle of matting, +to keep off the rain but, having thus protected the back and shoulders, +they left the rest of the body naked. + +The women wore similar robes, though shorter, not reaching below the +waist; besides which, they had a kind of petticoat, or fringe, reaching +from the waist to the knee, formed of the fibres of cedar bark, broken +into strands, or a tissue of silk grass twisted and knotted at the ends. +This was the usual dress of the women in summer; should the weather be +inclement, they added a vest of skins, similar to the robe. + +The men carefully eradicated every vestige of a beard, considering it +a great deformity. They looked with disgust at the whiskers and +well-furnished chins of the white men, and in derision called them +Long-beards. Both sexes, on the other hand, cherished the hair of the +head, which with them is generally black and rather coarse. They allowed +it to grow to a great length and were very proud and careful of it, +sometimes wearing it plaited, sometimes wound round the head in fanciful +tresses. No greater affront could be offered to them than to cut off +their treasured locks. + +They had conical hats with narrow rims, neatly woven of bear grass or of +the fibres of cedar bark, interwoven with designs of various shapes +and colors; sometimes merely squares and triangles, at other times rude +representations of canoes, with men fishing and harpooning. These hats +were nearly waterproof, and extremely durable. + +The favorite ornaments of the men were collars of bears' claws, the +proud trophies of hunting exploits; while the women and children wore +similar decorations of elks' tusks. An intercourse with the white +traders, however, soon effected a change in the toilets of both sexes. +They became fond of arraying themselves in any article of civilized +dress which they could procure, and often made a most grotesque +appearance. They adapted many articles of finery, also, to their own +previous tastes. Both sexes were fond of adorning themselves with +bracelets of iron, brass, or copper. They were delighted, also, with +blue and white beads, particularly the former, and wore broad tight +bands of them round the waist and ankles, large rolls of them round +the neck, and pendants of them in the ears. The men, especially, who +in savage life carry a passion for personal decoration further than the +females, did not think their gala equipments complete unless they had +a jewel of hiaqua, or wampum, dangling at the nose. Thus arrayed, their +hair besmeared with fish oil, and their bodies bedaubed with red clay, +they considered themselves irresistible. + +When on warlike expeditions, they painted their faces and bodies in the +most hideous and grotesque manner, according to the universal practice +of American savages. Their arms were bows and arrows, spears, and war +clubs. Some wore a corselet of pieces of hard wood laced together with +bear grass, so as to form a light coat of mail, pliant to the body; and +a kind of casque of cedar bark, leather, and bear grass, sufficient to +protect the head from an arrow or war club. A more complete article of +defensive armor was a buff jerkin or shirt of great thickness, made of +doublings of elk skin, and reaching to the feet, holes being left for +the head and arms. This was perfectly arrowproof; add to which, it was +often endowed with charmed virtues, by the spells and mystic ceremonials +of the medicine man, or conjurer. + +Of the peculiar custom, prevalent among these people, of flattening +the head, we have already spoken. It is one of those instances of human +caprice, like the crippling of the feet of females in China, which +are quite incomprehensible. This custom prevails principally among the +tribes on the sea-coast, and about the lower parts of the rivers. How +far it extends along the coast we are not able to ascertain. Some of the +tribes, both north and south of the Columbia, practice it; but they all +speak the Chinook language, and probably originated from the same stock. +As far as we can learn, the remoter tribes, which speak an entirely +different language, do not flatten the head. This absurd custom +declines, also, in receding from the shores of the Pacific; few traces +of it are to be found among the tribes of the Rocky Mountains, and +after crossing the mountains it disappears altogether. Those Indians, +therefore, about the head waters of the Columbia, and in the solitary +mountain regions, who are often called Flatheads, must not be supposed +to be characterized by this deformity. It is an appellation often given +by the hunters east of the mountain chain, to all western Indians, +excepting the Snakes. + +The religious belief of these people was extremely limited and confined; +or rather, in all probability, their explanations were but little +understood by their visitors. They had an idea of a benevolent and +omnipotent spirit, the creator of all things. They represent him as +assuming various shapes at pleasure, but generally that of an immense +bird. He usually inhabits the sun, but occasionally wings his way +through the aerial regions, and sees all that is doing upon earth. +Should anything displease him, he vents his wrath in terrific storms and +tempests, the lightning being the flashes of his eyes, and the thunder +the clapping of his wings. To propitiate his favor they offer to him +annual sacrifices of salmon and venison, the first fruits of their +fishing and hunting. + +Besides this aerial spirit they believe in an inferior one, who inhabits +the fire, and of whom they are in perpetual dread, as, though he +possesses equally the power of good and evil, the evil is apt to +predominate. They endeavor, therefore, to keep him in good humor by +frequent offerings. He is supposed also to have great influence with the +winged spirit, their sovereign protector and benefactor. They implore +him, therefore, to act as their interpreter, and procure them all +desirable things, such as success in fishing and hunting, abundance of +game, fleet horses, obedient wives, and male children. + +These Indians have likewise their priests, or conjurers, or medicine +men, who pretend to be in the confidence of the deities, and the +expounders and enforcers of their will. Each of these medicine men has +his idols carved in wood, representing the spirits of the air and of the +fire, under some rude and grotesque form of a horse, a bear, a beaver, +or other quadruped, or that of bird or fish. These idols are hung round +with amulets and votive offerings, such as beavers' teeth, and bears' +and eagles' claws. + +When any chief personage is on his death-bed, or dangerously ill, the +medicine men are sent for. Each brings with him his idols, with which +he retires into a canoe to hold a consultation. As doctors are prone to +disagree, so these medicine men have now and then a violent altercation +as to the malady of the patient, or the treatment of it. To settle this +they beat their idols soundly against each other; whichever first loses +a tooth or a claw is considered as confuted, and his votary retires from +the field. Polygamy is not only allowed, but considered honorable, and +the greater number of wives a man can maintain, the more important is he +in the eyes of the tribe. The first wife, however, takes rank of all +the others, and is considered mistress of the house. Still the domestic +establishment is liable to jealousies and cabals, and the lord and +master has much difficulty in maintaining harmony in his jangling +household. + +In the manuscript from which we draw many of these particulars, it is +stated that he who exceeds his neighbors in the number of his wives, +male children, and slaves, is elected chief of the village; a title to +office which we do not recollect ever before to have met with. + +Feuds are frequent among these tribes, but are not very deadly. They +have occasionally pitched battles, fought on appointed days, and at +specific places, which are generally the banks of a rivulet. The adverse +parties post themselves on the opposite sides of the stream, and at such +distances that the battles often last a long while before any blood +is shed. The number of killed and wounded seldom exceed half a dozen. +Should the damage be equal on each side, the war is considered as +honorably concluded; should one party lose more than the other, it +is entitled to a compensation in slaves or other property, otherwise +hostilities are liable to be renewed at a future day. They are also +given to predatory inroads into the territories of their enemies, and +sometimes of their friendly neighbors. Should they fall upon a band of +inferior force, or upon a village, weakly defended, they act with the +ferocity of true poltroons, slaying all the men, and carrying off the +women and children as slaves. As to the property, it is packed upon +horses which they bring with them for the purpose. They are mean and +paltry as warriors, and altogether inferior in heroic qualities to the +savages of the buffalo plains on the east side of the mountains. + +A great portion of their time is passed in revelry, music, dancing, and +gambling. Their music scarcely deserves the name; the instruments being +of the rudest kind. Their singing is harsh and discordant; the songs +are chiefly extempore, relating to passing circumstances, the persons +present, or any trifling object that strikes the attention of the +singer. They have several kinds of dances, some of them lively and +pleasing. The women are rarely permitted to dance with the men, but form +groups apart, dancing to the same instrument and song. + +They have a great passion for play, and a variety of games. To such a +pitch of excitement are they sometimes roused, that they gamble away +everything they possess, even to their wives and children. They are +notorious thieves, also, and proud of their dexterity. He who is +frequently successful, gains much applause and popularity; but the +clumsy thief, who is detected in some bungling attempt, is scoffed at +and despised, and sometimes severely punished. + +Such are a few leading characteristics of the natives in the +neighborhood of Astoria. They appear to us inferior in many respects to +the tribes east of the mountains, the bold rovers of the prairies; and +to partake much of Esquimaux character; elevated in some degree by a +more genial climate and more varied living style. + +The habits of traffic engendered at the cataracts of the Columbia, have +had their influence along the coast. The Chinooks and other Indians +at the mouth of the river, soon proved themselves keen traders, and in +their early dealings with the Astorians never hesitated to ask three +times what they considered the real value of an article. They were +inquisitive, also, in the extreme, and impertinently intrusive; and +were prone to indulge in scoffing and ridicule at the expense of the +strangers. + +In one thing, however, they showed superior judgment and self-command to +most of their race; this was, in their abstinence from ardent spirits, +and the abhorrence and disgust with which they regarded a drunkard. On +one occasion a son of Comcomly had been induced to drink freely at the +factory, and went home in a state of intoxication, playing all kinds of +mad pranks, until he sank into a stupor, in which he remained for +two days. The old chieftain repaired to his friend, M'Dougal, with +indignation flaming in his countenance, and bitterly reproached him for +having permitted his son to degrade himself into a beast, and to render +himself an object of scorn and laughter to his slave. + + + + +CHAPTER XLI. + + Spring Arrangements at Astoria.--Various Expeditions Set + Out.-The Long Narrows.--Pilfering Indians.--Thievish Tribe + at Wish-ram.--Portage at the Falls--Portage by Moonlight.-- + An Attack, a Route, and a Robbery.--Indian Cure for + Cowardice.--A Parley and Compromise.--The Despatch Party + Turn Back.--Meet Crooks and John Day.--Their Sufferings.-- + Indian Perfidy.--Arrival at Astoria. + +AS the spring opened, the little settlement of Astoria was in agitation, +and prepared to send forth various expeditions. Several important things +were to be done. It was necessary to send a supply of goods to the +trading post of Mr. David Stuart, established in the preceding autumn +on the Oakinagan. The cache, or secret deposit, made by Mr. Hunt at the +Caldron Linn, was likewise to be visited, and the merchandise and other +effects left there, to be brought to Astoria. A third object of moment +was to send despatches overland to Mr. Astor at New York, informing +him of the state of affairs at the settlement, and the fortunes of the +several expeditions. + +The task of carrying supplies to Oakinagan was assigned to Mr. Robert +Stuart, a spirited and enterprising young man, nephew to the one who +had established the post. The cache was to be sought out by two of the +clerks, named Russell Farnham and Donald M'Gilles, conducted by a guide, +and accompanied by eight men, to assist in bringing home the goods. + +As to the despatches, they were confided to Mr. John Reed, the clerk, +the same who had conducted one of the exploring detachments of Snake +River. He was now to trace back his way across the mountains by the same +route by which he had come, with no other companions or escort than Ben +Jones, the Kentucky hunter, and two Canadians. As it was still hoped +that Mr. Crooks might be in existence, and that Mr. Reed and his party +might meet with him in the course of their route, they were charged with +a small supply of goods and provisions, to aid that gentleman on his way +to Astoria. + +When the expedition of Reed was made known, Mr. M'Lellan announced his +determination to accompany it. He had long been dissatisfied with the +smallness of his interest in the copartnership, and had requested an +additional number of shares; his request not being complied with, he +resolved to abandon the company. M'Lellan was a man of a singularly +self-willed and decided character, with whom persuasion was useless; he +was permitted, therefore, to take his own course without opposition. + +As to Reed, he set about preparing for his hazardous journey with the +zeal of a true Irishman. He had a tin case made, in which the letters +and papers addressed to Mr. Astor were carefully soldered up. This case +he intended to strap upon his shoulders, so as to bear it about with +him, sleeping and waking, in all changes and chances, by land or by +water, and never to part with it but with his life! + +As the route of these several parties would be the same for nearly +four hundred miles up the Columbia, and within that distance would lie +through the piratical pass of the rapids, and among the freebooting +tribes of the river, it was thought advisable to start about the same +time, and to keep together. Accordingly, on the 22d of March, they all +set off, to the number of seventeen men, in two canoes--and here we +cannot but pause to notice the hardihood of these several expeditions, +so insignificant in point of force, and severally destined to traverse +immense wildernesses where larger parties had experienced so much danger +and distress. When recruits were sought in the preceding year among +experienced hunters and voyageurs at Montreal and St. Louis, it was +considered dangerous to attempt to cross the Rocky Mountains with less +than sixty men; and yet here we find Reed ready to push his way across +those barriers with merely three companions. Such is the fearlessness, +the insensibility to danger, which men acquire by the habitude of +constant risk. The mind, like the body, becomes callous by exposure. + +The little associated band proceeded up the river, under the command of +Mr. Robert Stuart, and arrived early in the month of April at the Long +Narrows, that notorious plundering place. Here it was necessary to +unload the canoes, and to transport both them and their cargoes to the +head of the Narrows by land. Their party was too few in number for the +purpose. They were obliged, therefore, to seek the assistance of the +Cathlasco Indians, who undertook to carry the goods on their horses. +Forward then they set, the Indians with their horses well freighted, and +the first load convoyed by Reed and five men, well armed; the gallant +Irishman striding along at the head, with his tin case of despatches +glittering on his back. In passing, however, through a rocky and +intricate defile, some of the freebooting vagrants turned their horses +up a narrow path and galloped off, carrying with them two bales of +goods, and a number of smaller articles. To follow them was useless; +indeed, it was with much ado that the convoy got into port with the +residue of the cargoes; for some of the guards were pillaged of their +knives and pocket handkerchiefs, and the lustrous tin case of Mr. John +Reed was in imminent jeopardy. + +Mr. Stuart heard of these depredations, and hastened forward to the +relief of the convoy, but could not reach them before dusk, by which +time they had arrived at the village of Wish-ram, already noted for its +great fishery, and the knavish propensities of its inhabitants. Here +they found themselves benighted in a strange place, and surrounded by +savages bent on pilfering, if not upon open robbery. Not knowing what +active course to take, they remained under arms all night, without +closing an eye, and at the very first peep of dawn, when objects were +yet scarce visible, everything was hastily embarked, and, without +seeking to recover the stolen effects, they pushed off from shore, "glad +to bid adieu," as they said, "to this abominable nest of miscreants." + +The worthies of Wish-ram, however, were not disposed to part so easily +with their visitors. Their cupidity had been quickened by the plunder +which they had already taken, and their confidence increased by the +impunity with which their outrage had passed. They resolved, therefore, +to take further toll of the travellers, and, if possible, to capture the +tin case of despatches; which shining conspicuously from afar, and being +guarded by John Reed with such especial care, must, as they supposed, be +"a great medicine." + +Accordingly, Mr. Stuart and his comrades had not proceeded far in the +canoes, when they beheld the whole rabble of Wishram stringing in +groups along the bank, whooping and yelling, and gibbering in their wild +jargon, and when they landed below the falls, they were surrounded by +upwards of four hundred of these river ruffians, armed with bows and +arrows, war clubs, and other savage weapons. These now pressed forward, +with offers to carry the canoes and effects up the portage. Mr Stuart +declined forwarding the goods, alleging the lateness of the hour; but, +to keep them in good humor, informed them, that, if they conducted +themselves well, their offered services might probably be accepted in +the morning; in the meanwhile, he suggested that they might carry up the +canoes. They accordingly set off with the two canoes on their shoulders, +accompanied by a guard of eight men well armed. + +When arrived at the head of the falls, the mischievous spirit of the +savages broke out, and they were on the point of destroying the canoes, +doubtless with a view to impede the white men from carrying forward +their goods, and laying them open to further pilfering. They were +with some difficulty prevented from committing this outrage by the +interference of an old man, who appeared to have authority among them; +and, in consequence of his harangue, the whole of the hostile band, with +the exception of about fifty, crossed to the north side of the river, +where they lay in wait, ready for further mischief. + +In the meantime, Mr. Stuart, who had remained at the foot of the falls +with the goods, and who knew that the proffered assistance of the +savages was only for the purpose of having an opportunity to plunder, +determined, if possible, to steal a march upon them, and defeat their +machinations. In the dead of the night, therefore, about one o'clock, +the moon shining brightly, he roused his party, and proposed that they +should endeavor to transport the goods themselves, above the falls, +before the sleeping savages could be aware of their operations. All +hands sprang to the work with zeal, and hurried it on in the hope of +getting all over before daylight. Mr. Stuart went forward with the first +loads, and took his station at the head of the portage, while Mr. Reed +and Mr. M'Lellan remained at the foot to forward the remainder. + +The day dawned before the transportation was completed. Some of the +fifty Indians who had remained on the south side of the river, perceived +what was going on, and, feeling themselves too weak for an attack, gave +the alarm to those on the opposite side, upwards of a hundred of whom +embarked in several large canoes. Two loads of goods yet remained to +be brought up. Mr. Stuart despatched some of the people for one of the +loads, with a request to Mr. Reed to retain with him as many of the men +as he thought necessary to guard the remaining load, as he suspected +hostile intentions on the part of the Indians. Mr. Reed, however, +refused to retain any of them, saying that M'Lellan and himself +were sufficient to protect the small quantity that remained. The +men accordingly departed with the load, while Mr. Reed and M'Lellan +continued to mount guard over the residue. By this time, a number of the +canoes had arrived from the opposite side. As they approached the shore, +the unlucky tin box of John Reed, shining afar like the brilliant helmet +of Euryalus, caught their eyes. No sooner did the canoes touch the +shore, than they leaped forward on the rocks, set up a war-whoop, and +sprang forward to secure the glittering prize. Mr. M'Lellan, who was at +the river bank, advanced to guard the goods, when one of the savages at +tempted to hoodwink him with his buffalo robe with one hand, and to stab +him with the other. M'Lellan sprang back just far enough to avoid the +blow, and raising his rifle, shot the ruffian through the heart. + +In the meantime, Reed, who with the want of forethought of an Irishman, +had neglected to remove the leathern cover from the lock of his rifle, +was fumbling at the fastenings, when he received a blow on the head with +a war club that laid him senseless on the ground. In a twinkling he was +stripped of his rifle and pistols, and the tin box, the cause of all +this onslaught, was borne off in triumph. + +At this critical juncture, Mr. Stuart, who had heard the war-whoop, +hastened to the scene of action with Ben Jones, and seven others of the +men. When he arrived, Reed was weltering in his blood, and an Indian +standing over him and about to despatch him with a tomahawk. Stuart gave +the word, when Ben Jones leveled his rifle, and shot the miscreant on +the spot. The men then gave a cheer, and charged upon the main body of +the savages, who took to instant flight. Reed was now raised from +the ground, and borne senseless and bleeding to the upper end of the +portage. Preparations were made to launch the canoes and embark in +all haste, when it was found that they were too leaky to be put in the +water, and that the oars had been left at the foot of the falls. A scene +of confusion now ensued. The Indians were whooping and yelling, and +running about like fiends. A panic seized upon the men, at being thus +suddenly checked, the hearts of some of the Canadians died within them, +and two young men actually fainted away. The moment they recovered their +senses, Mr. Stuart ordered that they should be deprived of their arms, +their under garments taken off, and that a piece of cloth should be tied +round their waists, in imitation of a squaw; an Indian punishment for +cowardice. Thus equipped, they were stowed away among the goods in one +of the canoes. This ludicrous affair excited the mirth of the bolder +spirits, even in the midst of their perils, and roused the pride of the +wavering. The Indians having crossed back again to the north side, order +was restored, some of the hands were sent back for the oars, others set +to work to calk and launch the canoes, and in a little while all were +embarked and were continuing their voyage along the southern shore. + +No sooner had they departed, than the Indians returned to the scene of +action, bore off their two comrades who had been shot, one of whom +was still living, and returned to their village. Here they killed two +horses; and drank the hot blood to give fierceness to their courage. +They painted and arrayed themselves hideously for battle; performed the +dead dance round the slain, and raised the war song of vengeance. Then +mounting their horses to the number of four hundred and fifty men, and +brandishing their weapons, they set off along the northern bank of the +river, to get ahead of the canoes, lie in wait for them, and take a +terrible revenge on the white men. + +They succeeded in getting some distance above the canoes without being +discovered, and were crossing the river to post themselves on the side +along which the white men were coasting, when they were fortunately +descried. Mr. Stuart and his companions were immediately on the alert. +As they drew near to the place where the savages had crossed, they +observed them posted among steep and overhanging rocks, close along +which, the canoes would have to pass. Finding that the enemy had the +advantage of the ground, the whites stopped short when within five +hundred yards of them, and discharged and reloaded their pieces. They +then made a fire, and dressed the wounds of Mr. Reed, who had received +five severe gashes in the head. This being done, they lashed the canoes +together, fastened them to a rock at a small distance from the shore, +and there awaited the menaced attack. + +They had not been long posted in this manner, when they saw a canoe +approaching. It contained the war-chief of the tribe, and three of his +principal warriors. He drew near, and made a long harangue, in which +he informed them that they had killed one and wounded another of his +nation; that the relations of the slain cried out for vengeance, and +he had been compelled to lead them to fight. Still he wished to spare +unnecessary bloodshed; he proposed, therefore, that Mr. Reed, who, he +observed, was little better than a dead man, might be given up to be +sacrificed to the manes of the deceased warrior. This would appease +the fury of his friends; the hatchet would then be buried, and all +thenceforward would be friends. The answer was a stern refusal and a +defiance, and the war-chief saw that the canoes were well prepared for a +vigorous defense. He withdrew, therefore, and returning to his warriors +among the rocks held long deliberations. Blood for blood is a principle +in Indian equity and Indian honor; but though the inhabitants of +Wish-ram were men of war, they were likewise men of traffic, and it was +suggested that honor for once might give way to profit. A negotiation +was accordingly opened with the white men, and after some diplomacy, the +matter was compromised for a blanket to cover the dead, and some tobacco +to be smoked by the living. This being granted, the heroes of Wish-ram +crossed the river once more, returned to their villages to feast +upon the horses whose blood they had so vaingloriously drunk, and the +travellers pursued their voyage without further molestation. + +The tin case, however, containing the important despatches for New +York, was irretrievably lost; the very precaution taken by the worthy +Hibernian to secure his missives, had, by rendering them conspicuous, +produced their robbery. The object of his overland journey, therefore, +being defeated, he gave up the expedition. The whole party repaired +with Mr. Robert Stuart to the establishment of Mr. David Stuart, on the +Oakinagan River. After remaining here two or three days, they all set +out on their return to Astoria accompanied by Mr. David Stuart. This +gentleman had a large quantity of beaver skins at his establishment, +but did not think it prudent to take them with him fearing the levy of +"black mail" at the falls. + +On their way down, when below the forks of the Columbia, they were +hailed one day from the shore in English. Looking around, they descried +two wretched men, entirely naked. They pulled to shore; the men came up +and made themselves known. They proved to be Mr. Crooks and his faithful +follower, John Day. + +The reader will recollect that Mr. Crooks, with Day and four Canadians, +had been so reduced by famine and fatigue, that Mr. Hunt was obliged to +leave them, in the month of December, on the banks of the Snake River. +Their situation was the more critical, as they were in the neighborhood +of a band of Shoshonies, whose horses had been forcibly seized by Mr. +Hunt's party for provisions. Mr. Crooks remained here twenty days, +detained by the extremely reduced state of John Day, who was utterly +unable to travel, and whom he would not abandon, as Day had been in his +employ on the Missouri, and had always proved himself most faithful. +Fortunately the Shoshonies did not offer to molest them. They had never +before seen white men, and seemed to entertain some superstitions with +regard to them, for though they would encamp near them in the daytime, +they would move off with their tents in the night; and finally +disappeared, without taking leave. + +When Day was sufficiently recovered to travel, they kept feebly on, +sustaining themselves as well as they could, until in the month of +February, when three of the Canadians, fearful of perishing with want, +left Mr. Crooks on a small river, on the road by which Mr Hunt had +passed in quest of Indians. Mr. Crooks followed Mr. Hunt's track in the +snow for several days, sleeping as usual in the open air, and suffering +all kinds of hardships. At length, coming to a low prairie, he lost +every appearance Of the "trail," and wandered during the remainder +of the winter in the mountains, subsisting sometimes on horse meat, +sometimes on beavers and their skins, and a part of the time on roots. + +About the last of March, the other Canadian gave out and was left with +a lodge of Shoshonies; but Mr. Crooks and John Day still kept on, +and finding the snow sufficiently diminished, undertook, from Indian +information, to cross the last mountain ridge. They happily succeeded, +and afterwards fell in with the Wallah-Wallahs, a tribe of Indians +inhabiting the banks of a river of the same name, and reputed as being +frank, hospitable, and sincere. They proved worthy of the character, for +they received the poor wanderers kindly, killed a horse for them to eat, +and directed them on their way to the Columbia. They struck the river +about the middle of April, and advanced down it one hundred miles, until +they came within about twenty miles of the falls. + +Here they met with some of the "chivalry" of that noted pass, who +received them in a friendly way, and set food before them; but, while +they were satisfying their hunger, perfidiously seized their rifles. +They then stripped them naked, and drove them off, refusing the +entreaties of Mr. Crooks for a flint and steel of which they had robbed +him; and threatening his life if he did not instantly depart. + +In this forlorn plight, still worse off than before, they renewed their +wanderings. They now sought to find their way back to the hospitable +Wallah-Wallahs, and had advanced eighty miles along the river, when +fortunately, on the very morning that they were going to leave the +Columbia and strike inland, the canoes of Mr. Stuart hove in sight. + +It is needless to describe the joy of these poor men at once more +finding themselves among countrymen and friends, or of the honest +and hearty welcome with which they were received by their fellow +adventurers. The whole party now continued down the river, passed all +the dangerous places without interruption, and arrived safely at Astoria +on the 11th of May. + + + + +CHAPTER XLII + + Comprehensive Views.--To Supply the Russian Fur + Establishment.--An Agent Sent to Russia.--Project of an + Annual Ship.--The Beaver Fitted Out.--Her Equipment and + Crew.--Instructions to the Captain.--The Sandwich + Islands.--Rumors of the Fate of the Tonquin.--Precautions on + Reaching the Mouth of the Columbia. + +HAVING traced the fortunes of the two expeditions by sea and land to the +mouth of the Columbia, and presented a view of affairs at Astoria, we +will return for a moment to the master spirit of the enterprise, who +regulated the springs of Astoria, at his residence in New York. + +It will be remembered, that a part of the plan of Mr. Astor was to +furnish the Russian fur establishment on the northwest coast with +regular supplies, so as to render it independent of those casual vessels +which cut up the trade and supplied the natives with arms. This plan had +been countenanced by our own government, and likewise by Count Pahlen, +the Russian minister at Washington. As its views, however, were +important and extensive, and might eventually affect a wide course of +commerce, Mr Astor was desirous of establishing a complete arrangement +on the subject with the Russian American Fur Company, under the +sanction of the Russian government. For this purpose, in March 1811, +he despatched a confidential agent to St. Petersburg, full empowered +to enter into the requisite negotiations. A passage was given to this +gentleman by the government of the United States in the John Adams, an +armed vessel, bound for Europe. + +The next step of Mr. Astor was, to despatch the annual ship contemplated +on his general plan. He had as yet heard nothing of the success of +the previous expeditions, and had to proceed upon the presumption +that everything had been effected according to his instructions. He +accordingly fitted out a fine ship of four hundred and ninety tons, +called the Beaver, and freighted her with a valuable cargo destined for +the factory at the mouth of the Columbia, the trade along the coast, +and the supply of the Russian establishment. In this ship embarked a +reinforcement, consisting of a partner, five clerks, fifteen American +laborers, and six Canadian voyageurs. In choosing his agents for his +first expedition, Mr. Astor had been obliged to have recourse to British +subjects experienced in the Canadian fur trade; henceforth it was his +intention, as much as possible, to select Americans, so as to secure an +ascendency of American influence in the management of the company, and +to make it decidedly national. + +Accordingly, Mr. John Clarke, the partner who took the lead in the +present expedition, was a native of the United States, though he had +passed much of his life in the northwest, having been employed in the +trade since the age of sixteen. Most of the clerks were young gentlemen +of good connections in the American cities, some of whom embarked in the +hope of gain, others through the mere spirit of adventure incident to +youth. + +The instructions given by Mr. Astor to Captain Sowle, the commander of +the Beaver, were, in some respects, hypothetical, in consequence of the +uncertainty resting upon the previous steps of the enterprise. + +He was to touch at the Sandwich Islands, inquire about the fortunes of +the Tonquin, and whether an establishment had been formed at the mouth +of the Columbia. If so, he was to take as many Sandwich Islanders as his +ship could accommodate, and proceed thither. On arriving at the river, +he was to observe great caution, for even if an establishment should +have been formed, it might have fallen into hostile hands. He was, +therefore, to put in as if by casualty or distress, to give himself out +as a coasting trader, and to say nothing about his ship being owned by +Mr. Astor, until he had ascertained that everything was right. In that +case, he was to land such part of his cargo as was intended for the +establishment, and to proceed to New Archangel with the supplies +intended for the Russian post at that place, where he could receive +peltries in payment. With these he was to return to Astoria; take in the +furs collected there, and, having completed his cargo by trading along +the coast, was to proceed to Canton. The captain received the same +injunctions that had been given to Captain Thorn of the Tonquin, of +great caution and circumspection in his intercourse with the natives, +and that he should not permit more than one or two to be on board at a +time. + +The Beaver sailed from New York on the 10th of October, 1811, and +reached the Sandwich Islands without any occurrence of moment. Here a +rumor was heard of the disastrous fate of the Tonquin. Deep solicitude +was felt by every one on board for the fate of both expeditions, by sea +and land. Doubts were entertained whether any establishment had been +formed at the mouth of the Columbia, or whether any of the company +would be found there. After much deliberation, the Captain took twelve +Sandwich Islanders on board, for the service of the factory, should +there be one in existence, and proceeded on his voyage. + +On the 6th of May, he arrived off the mouth of the Columbia and running +as near as possible, fired two signal guns. No answer was returned, nor +was there any signal to be descried. Nigh coming on, the ship stood out +to sea, and every heart drooped as the land faded away. On the following +morning they again ran in within four miles of shore, and fired other +signal guns, but still without reply. A boat was then despatched, to +sound the channel, and attempt an entrance; but returned without success +there being a tremendous swell, and breakers. Signal guns were fired +again in the evening, but equally in vain, and once more the ship stood +off to sea for the night. The captain now gave up all hope of finding +any establishment at the place, and indulged in the most gloomy +apprehensions. He feared his predecessor had been massacred before they +had reached their place of destination; or if they should have erected a +factory, that it had been surprised and destroyed by the natives. + +In this moment of doubt and uncertainty, Mr. Clarke announced his +determination, in case of the worst, to found an establishment with +the present party, and all hands bravely engaged to stand by him in the +undertaking. The next morning the ship stood in for the third time, and +fired three signal guns, but with little hope of reply. To the great joy +of the crew, three distinct guns were heard in answer. The apprehensions +of all but Captain Sowle were now at rest. That cautious commander +recollected the instructions given him by Mr. Astor, and determined to +proceed with great circumspection. He was well aware of Indian treachery +and cunning. It was not impossible, he observed, that these cannon might +have been fired by the savages themselves. They might have surprised the +fort, massacred its inmates; and these signal guns might only be decoys +to lure him across the bar, that they might have a chance of cutting him +off, and seizing his vessel. + +At length a white flag was descried hoisted as a signal on Cape +Disappointment. The passengers pointed to it in triumph, but the captain +did not yet dismiss his doubts. A beacon fire blazed through the night +on the same place, but the captain observed that all these signals might +be treacherous. + +On the following morning, May 9th, the vessel came to anchor off Cape +Disappointment, outside of the bar. Towards noon an Indian canoe was +seen making for the ship and all hands were ordered to be on the alert. +A few moments afterwards, a barge was perceived following the canoe. +The hopes and fears of those on board of the ship were in tumultuous +agitation, as the boat drew nigh that was to let them know the fortunes +of the enterprise, and the fate of their predecessors. The captain, +who was haunted with the idea of possible treachery, did not suffer his +curiosity to get the better of his caution, but ordered a party of his +men under arms, to receive the visitors. The canoe came first alongside, +in which were Comcomly and six Indians; in the barge were M'Dougal, +M'Lellan, and eight Canadians. A little conversation with these +gentlemen dispelled all the captain's fears, and the Beaver crossing the +bar under their pilotage, anchored safely in Baker's Bay. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIII. + + Active Operations at Astoria--Various Expeditions Fitted + Out.--Robert Stuart and a Party Destined for New York-- + Singular Conduct of John Day.--His Fate.--Piratical Pass and + Hazardous Portage.-Rattlesnakes.--Their Abhorrence of + Tobacco.--Arrival Among the Wallah-Wallahs.--Purchase of + Horses--Departure of Stuart and His Band for the Mountains. + +THE arrival of the Beaver with a reinforcement and supplies, gave new +life and vigor to affairs at Astoria. These were means for extending the +operations of the establishment, and founding interior trading posts. +Two parties were immediately set on foot to proceed severally under the +command of Messrs. M'Kenzie and Clarke, and establish posts above the +forks of the Columbia, at points where most rivalry and opposition were +apprehended from the Northwest Company. + +A third party, headed by Mr. David Stuart, was to repair with supplies +to the post of that gentleman on the Oakinagan. In addition to these +expeditions, a fourth was necessary to convey despatches to Mr. Astor, +at New York, in place of those unfortunately lost by John Reed. The +safe conveyance of these despatches was highly important, as by them Mr. +Astor would receive an account of the state of the factory, and regulate +his reinforcements and supplies accordingly. The mission was one +of peril and hardship and required a man of nerve and vigor. It was +confided to Robert Stuart, who, though he had never been across the +mountains, and a very young man, had given proofs of his competency to +the task. Four trusty and well-tried men, who had come overland in Mr. +Hunt's expedition, were given as his guides and hunters. These were Ben +Jones and John Day, the Kentuckians, and Andri Vallar and Francis Le +Clerc, Canadians. Mr. M'Lellan again expressed his determination to take +this opportunity of returning to the Atlantic States. In this he was +joined by Mr. Crooks,--who, notwithstanding all that he had suffered +in the dismal journey of the preceding winter, was ready to retrace +his steps and brave every danger and hardship, rather than remain at +Astoria. This little handful of adventurous men we propose to accompany +in its long and perilous peregrinations. + +The several parties we have mentioned all set off in company on the +29th of June, under a salute of cannon from the fort. They were to +keep together for mutual protection through the piratical passes of the +river, and to separate, on their different destinations, at the forks of +the Columbia. Their number, collectively, was nearly sixty, consisting +of partners and clerks, Canadian voyageurs, Sandwich Islanders, and +American hunters; and they embarked in two barges and ten canoes. + +They had scarcely got under way, when John Day, the Kentucky hunter, +became restless and uneasy, and extremely wayward in his deportment. +This caused surprise, for in general he was remarkable for his cheerful, +manly deportment. It was supposed that the recollection of past +sufferings might harass his mind in undertaking to retrace the scenes +where they had been experienced. As the expedition advanced, however, +his agitation increased. He began to talk wildly and incoherently, and +to show manifest symptoms of derangement. + +Mr. Crooks now informed his companions that in his desolate wanderings +through the Snake River country during the preceding winter, in which +he had been accompanied by John Day, the poor fellow's wits had been +partially unsettled by the sufferings and horrors through which they had +passed, and he doubted whether they had ever been restored to perfect +sanity. It was still hoped that this agitation of spirits might pass +away as they proceeded; but, on the contrary, it grew more and more +violent. His comrades endeavored to divert his mind and to draw him into +rational conversation, but he only became the more exasperated, uttering +wild and incoherent ravings. The sight of any of the natives put him +in an absolute fury, and he would heap on them the most opprobrious +epithets; recollecting, no doubt, what he had suffered from Indian +robbers. + +On the evening of the 2d of July he became absolutely frantic, and +attempted to destroy himself. Being disarmed, he sank into quietude, and +professed the greatest remorse for the crime he had meditated. He then +pretended to sleep, and having thus lulled suspicion, suddenly +sprang up, just before daylight, seized a pair of loaded pistols, and +endeavored to blow out his brains. In his hurry he fired too high, and +the balls passed over his head. He was instantly secured and placed +under a guard in one of the boats. How to dispose of him was now +the question, as it was impossible to keep him with the expedition. +Fortunately Mr. Stuart met with some Indians accustomed to trade with +Astoria. These undertook to conduct John Day back to the factory, and +deliver him there in safety. It was with the utmost concern that his +comrades saw the poor fellow depart; for, independent of his invaluable +services as a first-rate hunter, his frank and loyal qualities had made +him a universal favorite. It may be as well to add that the Indians +executed their task faithfully, and landed John Day among his friends at +Astoria; but his constitution was completely broken by the hardships he +had undergone, and he died within a year. + +On the evening of the 6th of July the party arrived at the piratical +pass of the river, and encamped at the foot of the first rapid. The next +day, before the commencement of the portage, the greatest precautions +were taken to guard against lurking treachery, or open attack. +The weapons of every man were put in order, and his cartridge-box +replenished. Each one wore a kind of surcoat made of the skin of the +elk, reaching from his neck to his knees, and answering the purpose of +a shirt of mail, for it was arrow proof, and could even resist a musket +ball at the distance of ninety yards. Thus armed and equipped, they +posted their forces in military style. Five of the officers took their +stations at each end of the portage, which was between three and four +miles in length; a number of men mounted guard at short distances along +the heights immediately overlooking the river, while the residue, thus +protected from surprise, employed themselves below in dragging up the +barges and canoes, and carrying up the goods along the narrow margin of +the rapids. With these precautions they all passed unmolested. The only +accident that happened was the upsetting of one of the canoes, by +which some of the goods sunk, and others floated down the stream. The +alertness and rapacity of the hordes which infest these rapids, were +immediately apparent. They pounced upon the floating merchandise with +the keenness of regular wreckers. A bale of goods which landed upon one +of the islands was immediately ripped open, one half of its contents +divided among the captors, and the other half secreted in a lonely hut +in a deep ravine. Mr. Robert Stuart, however, set out in a canoe with +five men and an interpreter, ferreted out the wreckers in their retreat, +and succeeded in wrestling from them their booty. + +Similar precautions to those already mentioned, and to a still greater +extent, were observed in passing the Long Narrows, and the falls, where +they would be exposed to the depredations of the chivalry of Wish-ram, +and its freebooting neighborhood. In fact, they had scarcely set their +first watch one night, when an alarm of "Indians!" was given. "To arms" +was the cry, and every man was at his post in an instant. The alarm +was explained; a war party of Shoshonies had surprised a canoe of the +natives just below the encampment, had murdered four men and two women, +and it was apprehended they would attack the camp. The boats and canoes +were immediately hauled up, a breastwork was made of them and the +packages, forming three sides of a square, with the river in the rear, +and thus the party remained fortified throughout the night. + +The dawn, however, dispelled the alarm; the portage was conducted in +peace; the vagabond warriors of the vicinity hovered about them while +at work, but were kept at a wary distance. They regarded the loads +of merchandise with wistful eyes, but seeing the "long-beards" so +formidable in number, and so well prepared for action, they made no +attempt either by open force or sly pilfering to collect their usual +toll, but maintained a peaceful demeanor, and were afterwards rewarded +for their good conduct with presents of tobacco. + +Fifteen days were consumed in ascending from the foot of the first rapid +to the head of the falls, a distance of about eighty miles, but full of +all kinds of obstructions. Having happily accomplished these difficult +portages, the party, on the 19th of July, arrived at a smoother part of +the river, and pursued their way up the stream with greater speed and +facility. + +They were now in the neighborhood where Mr. Crooks and John Day had +been so perfidiously robbed and stripped a few months previously, when +confiding in the proffered hospitality of a ruffian band. On landing at +night, therefore, a vigilant guard was maintained about the camp. On the +following morning a number of Indians made their appearance, and came +prowling round the party while at breakfast. To his great delight, Mr. +Crooks recognized among them two of the miscreants by whom he had been +robbed. They were instantly seized, bound hand and foot, and thrown into +one of the canoes. Here they lay in doleful fright, expecting summary +execution. Mr. Crooks, however, was not of a revengeful disposition, and +agreed to release the culprits as soon as the pillaged property should +be restored. Several savages immediately started off in different +directions, and before night the rifles of Crooks and Day were produced; +several of the smaller articles pilfered from them, however, could not +be recovered. + +The bands of the culprits were then removed, and they lost no time in +taking their departure, still under the influence of abject terror, +and scarcely crediting their senses that they had escaped the merited +punishment of their offenses. + +The country on each side of the river now began to assume a different +character. The hills, and cliffs, and forests disappeared; vast sandy +plains, scantily clothed here and there with short tufts of grass, +parched by the summer sun, stretched far away to the north and south. +The river was occasionally obstructed with rocks and rapids, but often +there were smooth, placid intervals, where the current was gentle, and +the boatmen were enabled to lighten their labors with the assistance of +the sail. + +The natives in this part of the river resided entirely on the northern +side. They were hunters, as well as fishermen, and had horses in plenty. +Some of these were purchased by the party, as provisions, and killed on +the spot, though they occasionally found a difficulty in procuring +fuel wherewith to cook them. One of the greatest dangers that beset +the travellers in this part of their expedition, was the vast number of +rattlesnakes which infested the rocks about the rapids and portages, and +on which the men were in danger of treading. They were often found, too, +in quantities about the encampments. In one place, a nest of them lay +coiled together, basking in the sun. Several guns loaded with shot were +discharged at them, and thirty-seven killed and wounded. To prevent +any unwelcome visits from them in the night, tobacco was occasionally +strewed around the tents, a weed for which they have a very proper +abhorrence. + +On the 28th of July the travellers arrived at the mouth of the +Wallah-Wallah, a bright, clear stream, about six feet deep, and +fifty-five yards wide, which flows rapidly over a bed of sand and +gravel, and throws itself into the Columbia, a few miles below Lewis +River. Here the combined parties that had thus far voyaged together were +to separate, each for its particular destination. + +On the banks of the Wallah-Wallah lived the hospitable tribe of the +same name who had succored Mr. Crooks and John Day in the time of their +extremity. No sooner did they hear of the arrival of the party, than +they hastened to greet them. They built a great bonfire on the bank of +the river, before the camp, and men and women danced round it to the +cadence of their songs, in which they sang the praises of the white men, +and welcomed them to their country. + +On the following day a traffic was commenced, to procure horses for such +of the party as intended to proceed by land. The Wallah-Wallahs are +an equestrian tribe. The equipments of their horses were rude and +inconvenient. High saddles, roughly made of deer skin, stuffed with +hair, which chafe the horse's back and leave it raw; wooden stirrups, +with a thong of raw hide wrapped round them; and for bridles they have +cords of twisted horse-hair, which they tie round the under jaw. They +are, like most Indians, bold but hard riders, and when on horseback +gallop about the most dangerous places, without fear for themselves, or +pity for their steeds. + +From these people Mr. Stuart purchased twenty horses for his party; some +for the saddle, and others to transport the baggage. He was fortunate +in procuring a noble animal for his own use, which was praised by the +Indians for its great speed and bottom, and a high price set upon it. +No people understand better the value of a horse than these equestrian +tribes; and nowhere is speed a greater requisite, as they frequently +engage in the chase of the antelope, one of the fleetest of animals. +Even after the Indian who sold this boasted horse to Mr. Stuart had +concluded his bargain, he lingered about the animal, seeming loth to +part from him, and to be sorry for what he had done. + +A day or two were employed by Mr. Stuart in arranging packages and +pack-saddles, and making other preparations for his long and arduous +journey. His party, by the loss of John Day, was now reduced to six, a +small number for such an expedition. They were young men, however, +full of courage, health, and good spirits, and stimulated rather than +appalled by danger. + +On the morning of the 31st of July, all preparations being concluded, +Mr. Stuart and his little band mounted their steeds and took a farewell +of their fellow-travellers, who gave them three hearty cheers as they +set out on their dangerous journey. The course they took was to the +southeast, towards the fated region of the Snake River. At an immense +distance rose a chain of craggy mountains, which they would have to +traverse; they were the same among which the travellers had experienced +such sufferings from cold during the preceding winter, and from their +azure tints, when seen at a distance, had received the name of the Blue +Mountains. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIV. + + Route of Mr. Stuart--Dreary Wilds.--Thirsty Travelling.-A + Grove and Streamlet.--The Blue Mountains.--A Fertile Plain + With Rivulets.--Sulphur Spring--Route Along Snake River-- + Rumors of White Men.--The Snake and His Horse.--A Snake + Guide.-A Midnight Decampment.--Unexpected Meeting With Old + Comrades--Story of Trappers' Hardships--Salmon Falls--A + Great Fishery.--Mode of Spearing Salmon.--Arrival at the + Caldron Linn.--State of the Caches.--New Resolution of the + Three Kentucky Trappers. + +IN retracing the route which had proved so disastrous to Mr. Hunt's +party during the preceding winter, Mr. Stuart had trusted, in the +present more favorable season, to find easy travelling and abundant +supplies. On these great wastes and wilds, however, each season has its +peculiar hardships. The travellers had not proceeded far, before they +found themselves among naked and arid hills, with a soil composed of +sand and clay, baked and brittle, that to all appearance had never been +visited by the dews of heaven. + +Not a spring, or pool, or running stream was to be seen; the sunburnt +country was seamed and cut up by dry ravines, the beds of winter +torrents, serving only to balk the hopes of man and beast with the sight +of dusty channels, where water had once poured along in floods. + +For a long summer day they continued onward without halting, a burning +sky above their heads, a parched desert beneath their feet, with just +wind enough to raise the light sand from the knolls, and envelop them in +stifling clouds. The sufferings from thirst became intense; a fine young +dog, their only companion of the kind, gave out, and expired. Evening +drew on without any prospect of relief, and they were almost reduced +to despair, when they descried something that looked like a fringe of +forest along the horizon. All were inspired with new hope, for they knew +that on these arid wastes, in the neighborhood of trees, there is always +water. + +They now quickened their pace; the horses seemed to understand their +motives, and to partake of their anticipations; for, though before +almost ready to give out, they now required neither whip nor spur. With +all their exertions, it was late in the night before they drew near to +the trees. As they approached, they heard, with transport, the rippling +of a shallow stream. No sooner did the refreshing sound reach the ears +of the horse, than the poor animals snuffed the air, rushed forward with +ungovernable eagerness, and plunging their muzzles into the water, drank +until they seemed in danger of bursting. Their riders had but little +more discretion, and required repeated draughts to quench their +excessive thirst. Their weary march that day had been forty-five miles, +over a tract that might rival the deserts of Africa for aridity. Indeed, +the sufferings of the traveller on these American deserts is frequently +more severe than in the wastes of Africa or Asia, from being less +habituated and prepared to cope with them. + +On the banks of this blessed stream the travellers encamped for the +night; and so great had been their fatigue, and so sound and sweet was +their sleep, that it was a late hour the next morning before they awoke. +They now recognized the little river to be the Umatilla, the same on +the banks of which Mr. Hunt and his followers had arrived after their +painful struggle through the Blue Mountains, and experienced such a kind +relief in the friendly camp of the Sciatogas. + +That range of Blue Mountains now extended in the distance before them; +they were the same among which poor Michael Carriere had perished. They +form the southeast boundary of the great plains along the Columbia, +dividing the waters of its main stream from those of Lewis River. They +are, in fact, a part of a long chain, which stretches over a great +extent of country, and includes in its links the Snake River Mountains. + +The day was somewhat advanced before the travellers left the shady +banks of the Umatilla. Their route gradually took them among the Blue +Mountains, which assumed the most rugged aspect on a near approach. +They were shagged with dense and gloomy forests, and cut up by deep and +precipitous ravines, extremely toilsome to the horses. Sometimes the +travellers had to follow the course of some brawling stream, with a +broken, rocky bed, which the shouldering cliffs and promontories on +either side obliged them frequently to cross and recross. For some miles +they struggled forward through these savage and darkly wooded defiles, +when all at once the whole landscape changed, as if by magic. The +rude mountains and rugged ravines softened into beautiful hills, and +intervening meadows, with rivulets winding through fresh herbage, and +sparkling and murmuring over gravelly beds, the whole forming a verdant +and pastoral scene, which derived additional charms from being locked up +in the bosom of such a hard-hearted region. + +Emerging from the chain of Blue Mountains, they descended upon a vast +plain, almost a dead level, sixty miles in circumference, Of excellent +soil, with fine streams meandering through it in every direction, +their courses marked out in the wide landscape by serpentine lines of +cotton-wood trees, and willows, which fringed their banks, and afforded +sustenance to great numbers of beavers and otters. + +In traversing this plain, they passed, close to the skirts of the hills, +a great pool of water, three hundred yards in circumference, fed by a +sulphur spring, about ten feet in diameter, boiling up in one corner. +The vapor from this pool was extremely noisome, and tainted the air for +a considerable distance. The place was much frequented by elk, which +were found in considerable numbers in the adjacent mountains, and their +horns, shed in the spring-time, were strewed in every direction around +the pond. + +On the 10th of August, they reached the main body of Woodvile Creek, the +same stream which Mr. Hunt had ascended in the preceding year, shortly +after his separation from Mr. Crooks. + +On the banks of this stream they saw a herd of nineteen antelopes; a +sight so unusual in that part of the country, that at first they doubted +the evidence of their senses. They tried by every means to get within +shot of them, but they were too shy and fleet, and after alternately +bounding to a distance, and then stopping to gaze with capricious +curiosity at the hunter, they at length scampered out of sight. + +On the 12th of August, the travellers arrived on the banks of Snake +River, the scene of so many trials and mishaps to all of the present +party excepting Mr. Stuart. They struck the river just above the place +where it entered the mountains, through which Messrs. Stuart and Crooks +had vainly endeavored to find a passage. The river was here a rapid +stream, four hundred yards in width, with high sandy banks, and here and +there a scanty growth of willow. Up the southern side of the river they +now bent their course, intending to visit the caches made by Mr. Hunt at +the Caldron Linn. + +On the second evening, a solitary Snake Indian visited their camp, at a +late hour, and informed them that there was a white man residing at one +of the cantonments of his tribe, about a day's journey higher up the +river. It was immediately concluded that he must be one of the poor +fellows of Mr. Hunt's party, who had given out, exhausted by hunger and +fatigue, in the wretched journey of the preceding winter. All present +who had borne a part in the sufferings of that journey, were eager now +to press forward, and bring relief to a lost comrade. Early the next +morning, therefore, they pushed forward with unusual alacrity. For two +days, however, did they travel without being able to find any trace of +such a straggler. + +On the evening of the second day, they arrived at a place where a large +river came in from the east, which was renowned among all the wandering +hordes of the Snake nation for its salmon fishery, that fish being taken +in incredible quantities in this neighborhood. Here, therefore, during +the fishing season, the Snake Indians resort from far and near, to +lay in their stock of salmon, which, with esculent roots, forms the +principal food of the inhabitants of these barren regions. + +On the bank of a small stream emptying into Snake River at this place, +Mr. Stuart found an encampment of Shoshonies. He made the usual inquiry +of them concerning the white man of whom he had received intelligence. +No such person was dwelling among them, but they said there were white +men residing with some of their nation on the opposite side of the +river. This was still more animating information. Mr. Crooks now hoped +that these might be the men of his party, who, disheartened by perils +and hardships, had preferred to remain among the Indians. Others thought +they might be Mr. Miller and the hunters who had left the main body at +Henry's Fort, to trap among the mountain streams. Mr. Stuart halted, +therefore, in the neighborhood of the Shoshonie lodges, and sent an +Indian across the river to seek out the white men in question, and bring +them to his camp. + +The travellers passed a restless, miserable night. The place swarmed +with myriads of mosquitoes, which, with their stings and their music, +set all sleep at defiance. The morning dawn found them in a feverish, +irritable mood, and their spleen was completely aroused by the return +of the Indian without any intelligence of the white men. They now +considered themselves the dupes of Indian falsehoods, and resolved +to put no more confidence in Snakes. They soon, however, forgot this +resolution. In the course of the morning, an Indian came galloping after +them; Mr. Stuart waited to receive him; no sooner had he come up, than, +dismounting and throwing his arms around the neck of Mr. Stuart's horse, +he began to kiss and caress the animal, who, on his part, seemed by +no means surprised or displeased with his salutation. Mr. Stuart, who +valued his horse highly, was somewhat annoyed by these transports; the +cause of them was soon explained. The Snake said the horse had belonged +to him, and been the best in his possession, and that it had been stolen +by the Wallah-Wallahs. Mr. Stuart was by no means pleased with this +recognition of his steed, nor disposed to admit any claim on the part of +its ancient owner. In fact, it was a noble animal, admirably shaped, +of free and generous spirit, graceful in movement, and fleet as an +antelope. It was his intention, if possible, to take the horse to New +York, and present him to Mr. Astor. + +In the meantime, some of the party came up, and immediately recognized +in the Snake an old friend and ally. He was, in fact, one of the two +guides who had conducted Mr. Hunt's party, in the preceding autumn, +across Mad River Mountain to Fort Henry, and who subsequently departed +with Mr. Miller and his fellow trappers, to conduct them to a good +trapping ground. The reader may recollect that these two trusty Snakes +were engaged by Mr. Hunt to return and take charge of the horses which +the party intended to leave at Fort Henry, when they should embark in +canoes. + +The party now crowded round the Snake, and began to question him +with eagerness. His replies were somewhat vague, and but partially +understood. He told a long story about the horses, from which it +appeared that they had been stolen by various wandering bands, and +scattered in different directions. The cache, too, had been plundered, +and the saddles and other equipments carried off. His information +concerning Mr. Miller and his comrades was not more satisfactory. They +had trapped for some time about the upper streams, but had fallen into +the hands of a marauding party of Crows, who had robbed them of horses, +weapons, and everything. + +Further questioning brought forth further intelligence, but all of a +disastrous kind. About ten days previously, he had met with three other +white men, in very miserable plight, having one horse each, and but one +rifle among them. They also had been plundered and maltreated by the +Crows, those universal freebooters. The Snake endeavored to pronounce +the names of these three men, and as far as his imperfect sounds could +be understood, they were supposed to be three of the party of four +hunters, namely, Carson, St. Michael, Detaye, and Delaunay, who were +detached from Mr. Hunt's party on the 28th of September, to trap beaver +on the head waters of the Columbia. + +In the course of conversation, the Indian informed them that the route +by which Mr. Hunt had crossed the Rocky Mountains was very bad and +circuitous, and that he knew one much shorter and easier. Mr. Stuart +urged him to accompany them as guide, promising to reward him with +a pistol with powder and ball, a knife, an awl, some blue beads, +a blanket, and a looking-glass. Such a catalogue of riches was too +tempting to be resisted; besides the poor Snake languished after the +prairies; he was tired, he said, of salmon, and longed for buffalo meat, +and to have a grand buffalo hunt beyond the mountains. He departed, +therefore, with all speed, to get his arms and equipments for the +journey, promising to rejoin the party the next day. He kept his word, +and, as he no longer said anything to Mr. Stuart on the subject of the +pet horse, they journeyed very harmoniously together; though now and +then, the Snake would regard his quondam steed with a wistful eye. + +They had not travelled many miles, when they came to a great bend in the +river. Here the Snake informed them that, by cutting across the hills +they would save many miles of distance. The route across, however, would +be a good day's journey. He advised them, therefore, to encamp here +for the night, and set off early in the morning. They took his advice, +though they had come but nine miles that day. + +On the following morning they rose, bright and early, to ascend the +hills. On mustering their little party, the guide was missing. They +supposed him to be somewhere in the neighborhood, and proceeded to +collect the horses. The vaunted steed of Mr. Stuart was not to be found. +A suspicion flashed upon his mind. Search for the horse of the Snake! He +likewise was gone--the tracks of two horses, one after the other, were +found, making off from the camp. They appeared as if one horse had been +mounted, and the other led. They were traced for a few miles above the +camp, until they both crossed the river. It was plain the Snake had +taken an Indian mode of recovering his horse, having quietly decamped +with him in the night. + +New vows were made never more to trust in Snakes, or any other Indians. +It was determined, also, to maintain, hereafter, the strictest vigilance +over their horses, dividing the night into three watches, and one person +mounting guard at a time. They resolved, also, to keep along the river, +instead of taking the short cut recommended by the fugitive Snake, whom +they now set down for a thorough deceiver. The heat of the weather was +oppressive, and their horses were, at times, rendered almost frantic by +the stings of the prairie flies. The nights were suffocating, and it was +almost impossible to sleep, from the swarms of mosquitoes. + +On the 20th of August they resumed their march, keeping along the +prairie parallel to Snake River. The day was sultry, and some of the +party, being parched with thirst, left the line of march, and scrambled +down the bank of the river to drink. The bank was overhung with willows, +beneath which, to their surprise, they beheld a man fishing. No sooner +did he see them, than he uttered an exclamation of joy. It proved to +be John Hoback, one of their lost comrades. They had scarcely exchanged +greetings, when three other men came out from among the willows. They +were Joseph Miller, Jacob Rezner, and Robinson, the scalped Kentuckian, +the veteran of the Bloody Ground. + +The reader will perhaps recollect the abrupt and willful manner in +which Mr. Miller threw up his interest as a partner of the company, and +departed from Fort Henry, in company with these three trappers, and a +fourth, named Cass. He may likewise recognize in Robinson, Rezner, and +Hoback, the trio of Kentucky hunters who had originally been in +the service of Mr. Henry, and whom Mr. Hunt found floating down the +Missouri, on their way homeward; and prevailed upon, once more, to cross +the mountains. The haggard looks and naked condition of these men proved +how much they had suffered. After leaving Mr. Hunt's party, they had +made their way about two hundred miles to the southward, where they +trapped beaver on a river which, according to their account, discharged +itself into the ocean to the south of the Columbia, but which we +apprehend to be Bear River, a stream emptying itself into Lake +Bonneville, an immense body of salt water, west of the Rocky Mountains. + +Having collected a considerable quantity of beaver skins, they made them +into packs, loaded their horses, and steered two hundred miles due +east. Here they came upon an encampment of sixty lodges of Arapahays, an +outlawed band of the Arrapahoes, and notorious robbers. These fell +upon the poor trappers; robbed them of their peltries, most of their +clothing, and several of their horses. They were glad to escape with +their lives, and without being entirely stripped, and after proceeding +about fifty miles further, made their halt for the winter. + +Early in the spring they resumed their wayfaring, but were unluckily +overtaken by the same ruffian horde, who levied still further +contributions, and carried off the remainder of their horses, excepting +two. With these they continued on, suffering the greatest hardships. +They still retained rifles and ammunition, but were in a desert country, +where neither bird nor beast was to be found. Their only chance was to +keep along the rivers, and subsist by fishing; but at times no fish +were to be taken, and then their sufferings were horrible. One of their +horses was stolen among the mountains by the Snake Indians; the other, +they said, was carried off by Cass, who, according to their account, +"villainously left them in their extremities." Certain dark doubts and +surmises were afterwards circulated concerning the fate of that poor +fellow, which, if true, showed to what a desperate state of famine his +comrades had been reduced. + +Being now completely unhorsed, Mr. Miller and his three companions +wandered on foot for several hundred miles, enduring hunger, thirst, +and fatigue, while traversing the barren wastes which abound beyond the +Rocky Mountains. At the time they were discovered by Mr. Stuart's party, +they were almost famished, and were fishing for a precarious meal. Had +Mr. Stuart made the short cut across the hills, avoiding this bend of +the river, or had not some of his party accidentally gone down to the +margin of the stream to drink, these poor wanderers might have remained +undiscovered, and have perished in the wilderness. Nothing could exceed +their joy on thus meeting with their old comrades, or the heartiness +with which they were welcomed. All hands immediately encamped; and the +slender stores of the party were ransacked to furnish out a suitable +regale. + +The next morning they all set out together; Mr. Miller and his comrades +being resolved to give up the life of a trapper, and accompany Mr. +Stuart back to St. Louis. + +For several days they kept along the course of Snake River, occasionally +making short cuts across hills and promontories, where there were bends +in the stream. In their way they passed several camps of Shoshonies, +from some of whom they procured salmon, but in general they were too +wretchedly poor to furnish anything. It was the wish of Mr. Stuart to +purchase horses for the recent recruits of his party; but the Indians +could not be prevailed upon to part with any, alleging that they had not +enough for their own use. + +On the 25th of August they reached a great fishing place, to which they +gave the name of the Salmon Falls. Here there is a perpendicular fall +of twenty feet on the north side of the river, while on the south side +there is a succession of rapids. The salmon are taken here in incredible +quantities, as they attempt to shoot the falls. It was now a favorable +season, and there were about one hundred lodges of Shoshonies busily +engaged killing and drying fish. The salmon begin to leap shortly after +sunrise. At this time the Indians swim to the centre of the falls, where +some station themselves on rocks, and others stand to their waists in +the water, all armed with spears, with which they assail the salmon +as they attempt to leap, or fall back exhausted. It is an incessant +slaughter, so great is the throng of the fish. + +The construction of the spears thus used is peculiar. The head is a +straight piece of elk horn, about seven inches long, on the point of +which an artificial barb is made fast, with twine well gummed. The head +is stuck on the end of the shaft, a very long pole of willow, to which +it is likewise connected by a strong cord, a few inches in length. When +the spearsman makes a sure blow, he often strikes the head of the spear +through the body of the fish. It comes off easily, and leaves the salmon +struggling with the string through its body, while the pole is still +held by the spearsman. Were it not for the precaution of the string, +the willow shaft would be snapped by the struggles and the weight of +the fish. Mr. Miller, in the course of his wanderings, had been at these +falls, and had seen several thousand salmon taken in the course of one +afternoon. He declared that he had seen a salmon leap a distance of +about thirty feet, from the commencement of the foam at the foot of the +falls, completely to the top. + +Having purchased a good supply of salmon from the fishermen, the party +resumed their journey, and on the twenty-ninth, arrived at the Caldron +Linn, the eventful scene of the preceding autumn. Here, the first thing +that met their eyes was a memento of the perplexities of that period; +the wreck of a canoe lodged between two ledges of rocks. They endeavored +to get down to it, but the river banks were too high and precipitous. + +They now proceeded to that part of the neighborhood where Mr. Hunt and +his party had made the caches, intending to take from them such articles +as belonged to Mr. Crooks, M'Lellan, and the Canadians. On reaching +the spot, they found, to their astonishment, six of the caches open +and rifled of their contents, excepting a few books which lay scattered +about the vicinity. They had the appearance of having been plundered +in the course of the summer. There were tracks of wolves in every +direction, to and from the holes, from which Mr. Stuart concluded that +these animals had first been attracted to the place by the smell of the +skins contained in the caches, which they had probably torn up, and that +their tracks had betrayed the secret to the Indians. + +The three remaining caches had not been molested; they contained a few +dry goods, some ammunition, and a number of beaver traps. From these +Mr. Stuart took whatever was requisite for his party; he then deposited +within them all his superfluous baggage, and all the books and papers +scattered around; the holes were then carefully closed up, and all +traces of them effaced. And here we have to record another instance of +the indomitable spirit of the western trappers. No sooner did the trio +of Kentucky hunters, Robinson, Rezner, and Hoback, find that they could +once more be fitted out for a campaign of beaver-trapping, than they +forgot all that they had suffered, and determined upon another trial +of their fortunes; preferring to take their chance in the wilderness, +rather than return home ragged and penniless. As to Mr. Miller, he +declared his curiosity and his desire of travelling through the Indian +countries fully satisfied; he adhered to his determination, therefore, +to keep on with the party to St. Louis, and to return to the bosom of +civilized society. + +The three hunters, therefore, Robinson, Rezner, and Hoback, were +furnished, as far as the caches and the means of Mr. Stuart's party +afforded, with the requisite munitions and equipments for a "two years' +hunt;" but as their fitting out was yet incomplete, they resolved to +wait in this neighborhood until Mr. Reed should arrive; whose arrival +might soon be expected, as he was to set out for the caches about twenty +days after Mr. Stuart parted with him at the Wallah-Wallah River. + +Mr. Stuart gave in charge to Robinson a letter to Mr. Reed, reporting +his safe journey thus far, and the state in which he had found the +caches. A duplicate of this letter he elevated on a pole, and set it up +near the place of deposit. + +All things being thus arranged, Mr. Stuart and his little band, now +seven in number, took leave of the three hardy trappers, wishing +them all possible success in their lonely and perilous sojourn in the +wilderness; and we, in like manner, shall leave them to their fortunes, +promising to take them up again at some future page, and to close the +story of their persevering and ill-fated enterprise. + + + + +CHAPTER XLV. + + The Snake River Deserts.--Scanty Fare.--Bewildered + Travellers--Prowling Indians--A Giant Crow Chief.--A Bully + Rebuked--Indian Signals.--Smoke on the Mountains.--Mad + River.--An Alarm.--An Indian Foray--A Scamper.--A Rude + Indian joke.--A Sharp-Shooter Balked of His Shot. + +ON the 1st of September, Mr. Stuart and his companions resumed their +journey, bending their course eastward, along the course of Snake River. +As they advanced the country opened. The hills which had hemmed in the +river receded on either hand, and great sandy and dusty plains extended +before them. Occasionally there were intervals of pasturage, and the +banks of the river were fringed with willows and cottonwood, so that its +course might be traced from the hilltops, winding under an umbrageous +covert, through a wide sunburnt landscape. The soil, however, was +generally poor; there was in some places a miserable growth of wormwood, +and a plant called saltweed, resembling pennyroyal; but the summer had +parched the plains, and left but little pasturage. The game, too, had +disappeared. The hunter looked in vain over the lifeless landscape; +now and then a few antelope might be seen, but not within reach of the +rifle. We forbear to follow the travellers in a week's wandering over +these barren wastes, where they suffered much from hunger, having to +depend upon a few fish from the streams, and now and then a little dried +salmon, or a dog, procured from some forlorn lodge of Shoshonies. + +Tired of these cheerless wastes, they left the banks of Snake River on +the 7th of September, under guidance of Mr. Miller, who having acquired +some knowledge of the country during his trapping campaign, undertook +to conduct them across the mountains by a better route than that by +Fort Henry, and one more out of the range of the Blackfeet. He proved, +however, but an indifferent guide, and they soon became bewildered among +rugged hills and unknown streams, and burnt and barren prairies. + +At length they came to a river on which Mr. Miller had trapped, and to +which they gave his name; though, as before observed, we presume it +to be the same called Bear River, which empties itself into Lake +Bonneville. Up this river and its branches they kept for two or three +days, supporting themselves precariously upon fish. They soon found that +they were in a dangerous neighborhood. On the 12th of September, having +encamped early, they sallied forth with their rods to angle for their +supper. On returning, they beheld a number of Indians prowling about +their camp, whom, to their infinite disquiet, they soon perceived to be +Upsarokas, or Crows. Their chief came forward with a confident air. He +was a dark herculean fellow, full six feet four inches in height, with +a mingled air of the ruffian and the rogue. He conducted himself +peaceably, however, and despatched some of his people to their camp, +which was somewhere in the neighborhood, from whence they returned with +a most acceptable supply of buffalo meat. He now signified to Mr. Stuart +that he was going to trade with the Snakes who reside on the west base +of the mountains, below Henry's Fort. Here they cultivate a delicate +kind of tobacco, much esteemed and sought after by the mountain tribes. +There was something sinister, however, in the look of this Indian, +that inspired distrust. By degrees, the number of his people increased, +until, by midnight, there were twenty-one of them about the camp, who +began to be impudent and troublesome. The greatest uneasiness was +now felt for the safety of the horses and effects, and every one kept +vigilant watch throughout the night. + +The morning dawned, however, without any unpleasant occurrence, and +Mr. Stuart, having purchased all the buffalo meat that the Crows had +to spare, prepared to depart. His Indian acquaintances, however, were +disposed for further dealings; and above all, anxious for a supply +of gunpowder, for which they offered horses in exchange. Mr. Stuart +declined to furnish them with the dangerous commodity. They became more +importunate in their solicitations, until they met with a flat refusal. + +The gigantic chief now stepped forward, assumed a swelling air, and, +slapping himself upon the breast, gave Mr. Crooks to understand that he +was a chief of great power and importance. He signified, further, that +it was customary for great chiefs when they met, to make each other +presents. He requested, therefore, that Mr. Stuart would alight, and +give him the horse upon which he was mounted. This was a noble animal, +of one of the wild races of the prairies; on which Mr. Stuart set +great value; he, of course, shook his head at the request of the Crow +dignitary. Upon this the latter strode up to him, and taking hold of +him, moved him backwards and forwards in his saddle, as if to make him +feel that he was a mere child within his grasp. Mr. Stuart preserved his +calmness, and still shook his head. The chief then seized the bridle, +and gave it a jerk that startled the horse, and nearly brought the rider +to the ground. Mr. Stuart instantly drew forth a pistol, and presented +it at the head of the bully-ruffian. In a twinkling his swaggering was +at an end, and he dodged behind his horse to escape the expected shot. +As his subject Crows gazed on the affray from a little distance, Mr. +Stuart ordered his men to level their rifles at them, but not to fire. +The whole crew scampered among the bushes, and throwing themselves upon +the ground, vanished from sight. + +The chieftain thus left alone was confounded for an instant; but, +recovering himself with true Indian shrewdness, burst into a loud laugh, +and affected to turn off the whole matter as a piece of pleasantry. Mr. +Stuart by no means relished such equivocal joking, but it was not his +policy to get into a quarrel; so he joined with the best grace he could +assume in the merriment of the jocular giant; and, to console the latter +for the refusal of the horse, made him a present of twenty charges of +powder. They parted, according to all outward professions, the best +friends in the world; it was evident, however, that nothing but the +smallness of his own force, and the martial array and alertness of the +white men, had prevented the Crow chief from proceeding to open outrage. +As it was, his worthy followers, in the course of their brief interview, +had contrived to purloin a bag containing almost all the culinary +utensils of the party. + +The travellers kept on their way due east, over a chain of hills. The +recent rencontre showed them that they were now in a land of danger, +subject to the wide roamings of a predacious tribe; nor, in fact, had +they gone many miles before they beheld sights calculated to inspire +anxiety and alarm. From the summits of some of the loftiest mountains, +in different directions, columns of smoke be-an to rise. These they +concluded to be signals made by the runners of the Crow chieftain, to +summon the stragglers of his band, so as to pursue them with greater +force. Signals of this kind, made by outrunners from one central point, +will rouse a wide circuit of the mountains in a wonderfully short space +of time; and bring the straggling hunters and warriors to the standard +of their chieftain. + +To keep as much as possible out of the way of these freebooters, Mr. +Stuart altered his course to the north, and, quitting the main stream of +Miller's River, kept up a large branch that came in from the mountains. +Here they encamped, after a fatiguing march of twenty-five miles. As the +night drew on, the horses were hobbled or fettered, and tethered close +to the camp; a vigilant watch was maintained until morning, and every +one slept with his rifle on his arm. + +At sunrise, they were again on the march, still keeping to the north. +They soon began to ascend the mountains, and occasionally had wide +prospects over the surrounding country. Not a sign of a Crow was to be +seen; but this did not assure them of their security, well knowing the +perseverance of these savages in dogging any party they intend to rob, +and the stealthy way in which they can conceal their movements, keeping +along ravines and defiles. After a mountain scramble of twenty-one +miles, they encamped on the margin of a stream running to the north. + +In the evening there was an alarm of Indians, and everyone was instantly +on the alert. They proved to be three miserable Snakes, who were no +sooner informed that a band of Crows was prowling in the neighborhood +than they made off with great signs of consternation. + +A couple more of weary days and watchful nights brought them to a strong +and rapid stream, running due north, which they concluded to be one of +the upper branches of Snake River. It was probably the same since called +Salt River. + +They determined to bend their course down this river, as it would take +them still further out of the dangerous neighborhood of the Crows. They +then would strike upon Mr. Hunt's track of the preceding autumn, and +retrace it across the mountains. The attempt to find a better route +under guidance of Mr. Miller had cost them a large bend to the south; +in resuming Mr. Hunt's track, they would at least be sure of their road. +They accordingly turned down along the course of this stream, and at +the end of three days' journey came to where it was joined by a larger +river, and assumed a more impetuous character, raging and roaring among +rocks and precipices. It proved, in fact, to be Mad River, already noted +in the expedition of Mr. Hunt. On the banks of this river, they encamped +on the 18th of September, at an early hour. + +Six days had now elapsed since their interview with the Crows; during +that time they had come nearly a hundred and fifty miles to the north +and west, without seeing any signs of those marauders. They considered +themselves, therefore, beyond the reach of molestation, and began to +relax in their vigilance, lingering occasionally for part of a day, +where there was good pasturage. The poor horses needed repose. + +They had been urged on, by forced marches, over rugged heights, among +rocks and fallen timber, or over low swampy valleys, inundated by the +labors of the beaver. These industrious animals abounded in all the +mountain streams and watercourses, wherever there were willows for +their subsistence. Many of them they had so completely dammed up as to +inundate the low grounds, making shallow pools or lakes, and extensive +quagmires; by which the route of the travellers was often impeded. + +On the 19th of September, they rose at early dawn; some began to prepare +breakfast, and others to arrange the packs preparatory to a march. The +horses had been hobbled, but left at large to graze upon the adjacent +pasture. Mr. Stuart was on the bank of a river, at a short distance from +the camp, when he heard the alarm cry--"Indians! Indians!--to arms! to +arms!" + +A mounted Crow galloped past the camp, bearing a red flag. He reined +his steed on the summit of a neighboring knoll, and waved his flaring +banner. A diabolical yell now broke forth on the opposite side of the +camp, beyond where the horses were grazing, and a small troop of savages +came galloping up, whooping and making a terrific clamor. The horses +took fright, and dashed across the camp in the direction of the +standard-bearer, attracted by his waving flag. He instantly put spurs +to his steed, and scoured off followed by the panic-stricken herd, their +fright being increased by the yells of the savages in their rear. + +At the first alarm, Mr. Stuart and his comrades had seized their rifles, +and attempted to cut off the Indians who were pursuing the horses. Their +attention was instantly distracted by whoops and yells in an opposite +direction. + +They now apprehended that a reserve party was about to carry off their +baggage. They ran to secure it. The reserve party, however, galloped by, +whooping and yelling in triumph and derision. The last of them proved to +be their commander, the identical giant joker already mentioned. He was +not cast in the stern poetical mold of fashionable Indian heroism, but +on the contrary, was grievously given to vulgar jocularity. As he passed +Mr. Stuart and his companions, he checked his horse, raised himself +in his saddle, and clapping his hand on the most insulting part of his +body, uttered some jeering words, which, fortunately for their delicacy, +they could not understand. The rifle of Ben Jones was leveled in an +instant, and he was on the point of whizzing a bullet into the target so +tauntingly displayed. "Not for your life! not for your life!" exclaimed +Mr. Stuart, "you will bring destruction on us all!" + +It was hard to restrain honest Ben, when the mark was so fair and the +insult so foul. "O, Mr. Stuart," exclaimed he, "only let me have one +crack at the infernal rascal, and you may keep all the pay that is due +to me." + +"By heaven, if you fire," cried Mr. Stuart, "I'll blow your brains out." + +By this time the Indian was far out of reach, and had rejoined his men, +and the whole dare-devil band, with the captured horses, scuttled off +along the defiles, their red flag flaunting overhead, and the rocks +echoing to their whoops and yells, and demoniac laughter. + +The unhorsed travellers gazed after them in silent mortification and +despair; yet Mr. Stuart could not but admire the style and spirit with +which the whole exploit had been managed, and pronounced it one of the +most daring and intrepid actions he had ever heard of among Indians. +The whole number of the Crows did not exceed twenty. In this way a small +gang of lurkers will hurry off the cavalry of a large war party, for +when once a drove of horses are seized with panic, they become frantic, +and nothing short of broken necks can stop them. + +No one was more annoyed by this unfortunate occurrence than Ben Jones. +He declared he would actually have given his whole arrears of pay, +amounting to upwards of a year's wages, rather than be balked of such a +capital shot. Mr. Stuart, however, represented what might have been the +consequence of so rash an act. Life for life is the Indian maxim. The +whole tribe would have made common cause in avenging the death of a +warrior. The party were but seven dismounted men, with a wide mountain +region to traverse, infested by these people, and which might all be +roused by signal fires. In fact, the conduct of the band of marauders in +question, showed the perseverance of savages when once they have fixed +their minds upon a project. These fellows had evidently been silent and +secretly dogging the party for a week past, and a distance of a +hundred and fifty miles, keeping out of sight by day, lurking about the +encampment at night, watching all their movements, and waiting for a +favorable moment when they should be off their guard. The menace of +Mr. Stuart, in their first interview, to shoot the giant chief with +his pistol, and the fright caused among the warriors by presenting +the rifles, had probably added the stimulus of pique to their usual +horse-stealing propensities. And in this mood of mind they would +doubtless have followed the party throughout their whole course over the +Rocky Mountains, rather than be disappointed in their scheme. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVI. + + Travellers Unhorsed--Pedestrian Preparations--Prying Spies. + --Bonfires of Baggage--A March on Foot.--Rafting a River--The + Wounded Elk.--Indian Trails.--Willful Conduct of Mr. + M'Lellan.--Grand Prospect From a Mountain.--Distant Craters + of Volcanoes--Illness of Mr. Crooks. + +FEW reverses in this changeful world are more complete and disheartening +than that of a traveller, suddenly unhorsed, in the midst of the +wilderness. Our unfortunate travellers contemplated their situation, +for a time, in perfect dismay. A long journey over rugged mountains and +immeasurable plains lay before them, which they must painfully perform +on foot, and everything necessary for subsistence or defense must be +carried on their shoulders. Their dismay, however, was but transient, +and they immediately set to work, with that prompt expediency produced +by the exigencies of the wilderness, to fit themselves for the change in +their condition. + +Their first attention was to select from their baggage such articles +as were indispensable to their journey; to make them up into convenient +packs, and to deposit the residue in caches. The whole day was consumed +in these occupations; at night, they made a scanty meal of their +remaining provisions, and lay down to sleep with heavy hearts. In the +morning, they were up and about at an early hour, and began to prepare +their knapsacks for a march, while Ben Jones repaired to an old beaver +trap which he had set in the river bank at some little distance from the +camp. He was rejoiced to find a middle-sized beaver there, sufficient +for a morning's meal to his hungry comrades. On his way back with his +prize, he observed two heads peering over the edge of an impending +cliff, several hundred feet high, which he supposed to be a couple of +wolves. As he continued on, he now and then cast his eye up; heads were +still there, looking down with fixed and watchful gaze. A suspicion now +flashed across his mind that they might be Indian scouts; and, had they +not been far above the reach of his rifle, he would undoubtedly have +regaled them with a shot. + +On arriving at the camp, he directed the attention of his comrades to +these aerial observers. The same idea was at first entertained, that +they were wolves; but their immovable watchfulness soon satisfied every +one that they were Indians. It was concluded that they were watching the +movements of the party, to discover their place of concealment of +such articles as they would be compelled to leave behind. There was no +likelihood that the caches would escape the search of such keen eyes and +experienced rummagers, and the idea was intolerable that any more +booty should fall into their hands. To disappoint them, therefore, the +travellers stripped the caches of the articles deposited there, and +collecting together everything that they could not carry away with +them, made a bonfire of all that would burn, and threw the rest into the +river. There was a forlorn satisfaction in thus balking the Crows, by +the destruction of their own property; and, having thus gratified their +pique, they shouldered their packs, about ten o'clock in the morning, +and set out on their pedestrian wayfaring. + +The route they took was down along the banks of Mad River. This stream +makes its way through the defiles of the mountains, into the plain below +Fort Henry, where it terminates in Snake River. Mr. Stuart was in hopes +of meeting with Snake encampments in the plain, where he might procure a +couple of horses to transport the baggage. In such case, he intended to +resume his eastern course across the mountains, and endeavor to reach +the Cheyenne River before winter. Should he fail, however, of obtaining +horses, he would probably be compelled to winter on the Pacific side of +the mountains, somewhere on the head waters of the Spanish or Colorado +River. + +With all the care that had been observed in taking nothing with them +that was not absolutely necessary, the poor pedestrians were heavily +laden, and their burdens added to the fatigues of their rugged road. +They suffered much, too, from hunger. The trout they caught were too +poor to yield much nourishment; their main dependence, therefore, +was upon an old beaver trap, which they had providentially retained. +Whenever they were fortunate enough to entrap a beaver, it was cut up +immediately and distributed, that each man might carry his share. + +After two days of toilsome travel, during which they made but eighteen +miles, they stopped on the 21st, to build two rafts on which to cross +to the north side of the river. On these they embarked on the following +morning, four on one raft, and three on the other, and pushed boldly +from shore. Finding the rafts sufficiently firm and steady to withstand +the rough and rapid water, they changed their minds, and instead of +crossing, ventured to float down with the current. The river was, in +general, very rapid, and from one to two hundred yards in width, winding +in every direction through mountains of hard black rock, covered with +pines and cedars. The mountains to the east of the river were spurs of +the Rocky range, and of great magnitude; those on the west were little +better than hills, bleak and barren, or scantily clothed with stunted +grass. + +Mad River, though deserving its name from the impetuosity of its +current, was free from rapids and cascades, and flowed on in a single +channel between gravel banks, often fringed with cotton-wood and dwarf +willows in abundance. These gave sustenance to immense quantities of +beaver, so that the voyagers found no difficulty in procuring food. +Ben Jones, also, killed a fallow deer and a wolverine, and as they were +enabled to carry the carcasses on their rafts, their larder was well +supplied. Indeed, they might have occasionally shot beavers that were +swimming in the river as they floated by, but they humanely spared their +lives, being in no want of meat at the time. In this way, they kept down +the river for three days, drifting with the current and encamping on +land at night, when they drew up their rafts on shore. Towards the +evening of the third day, they came to a little island on which they +descried a gang of elk. Ben Jones landed, and was fortunate enough to +wound one, which immediately took to the water, but, being unable to +stem the current, drifted above a mile, when it was overtaken and drawn +to shore. As a storm was gathering, they now encamped on the margin of +the river, where they remained all the next day, sheltering themselves +as well as they could from the rain and snow--a sharp foretaste of the +impending winter. During their encampment, they employed themselves in +jerking a part of the elk for future supply. In cutting up the carcass, +they found that the animal had been wounded by hunters, about a week +previously, an arrow head and a musket ball remaining in the wounds. +In the wilderness, every trivial circumstance is a matter of anxious +speculation. The Snake Indians have no guns; the elk, therefore, could +not have been wounded by one of them. They were on the borders of +the country infested by the Blackfeet, who carry fire-arms. It was +concluded, therefore, that the elk had been hunted by some of +that wandering and hostile tribe, who, of course, must be in the +neighborhood. The idea put an end to the transient solace they had +enjoyed in the comparative repose and abundance of the river. + +For three days longer they continued to navigate with their rafts. +The recent storm had rendered the weather extremely cold. They had +now floated down the river about ninety-one miles, when finding the +mountains on the right diminished to moderate sized hills, they landed, +and prepared to resume their journey on foot. Accordingly, having spent +a day in preparations, making moccasins, and parceling out their jerked +meat in packs of twenty pounds to each man, they turned their backs +upon the river on the 29th of September and struck off to the northeast, +keeping along the southern skirt of the mountain on which Henry's Fort +was situated. + +Their march was slow and toilsome; part of the time through an alluvial +bottom, thickly grown with cotton-wood, hawthorn, and willows, and part +of the time over rough hills. Three antelopes came within shot, but they +dared not fire at them, lest the report of their rifles should betray +them to the Blackfeet. In the course of the day, they came upon a +large horse-track, apparently about three weeks old, and in the evening +encamped on the banks of a small stream, on a spot which had been the +camping place of this same band. + +On the following morning they still observed the Indian track, but after +a time they came to where it separated in every direction, and was lost. +This showed that the band had dispersed in various hunting parties, and +was, in all probability, still in the neighborhood; it was necessary, +therefore, to proceed with the utmost caution. They kept a vigilant eye +as they marched, upon every height where a scout might be posted, and +scanned the solitary landscapes and the distant ravines, to observe +any column of smoke; but nothing of the kind was to be seen; all was +indescribably stern and lifeless. + +Towards evening they came to where there were several hot springs, +strongly impregnated with iron and sulphur, and sending up a volume of +vapor that tainted the surrounding atmosphere, and might be seen at the +distance of a couple of miles. + +Near to these they encamped in a deep gully, which afforded some +concealment. To their great concern, Mr. Crooks, who had been indisposed +for the two preceding days, had a violent fever in the night. + +Shortly after daybreak they resumed their march. On emerging from the +glen, a consultation was held as to their course. Should they continue +round the skirt of the mountain, they would be in danger of falling in +with the scattered parties of Blackfeet, who were probably hunting in +the plain. It was thought most advisable, therefore, to strike directly +across the mountain, since the route, though rugged and difficult, would +be most secure. This counsel was indignantly derided by M'Lellan as +pusillanimous. Hot-headed and impatient at all times, he had been +rendered irascible by the fatigues of the journey, and the condition of +his feet, which were chafed and sore. He could not endure the idea of +encountering the difficulties of the mountain, and swore he would rather +face all the Blackfeet in the country. He was overruled, however, and +the party began to ascend the mountain, striving, with the ardor and +emulation of young men, who should be first up. M'Lellan, who was double +the age of some of his companions, soon began to lose breath, and fall +in the rear. In the distribution of burdens, it was his turn to carry +the old beaver trap. Piqued and irritated, he suddenly came to a halt, +swore he would carry it no further, and jerked it half-way down the +hill. He was offered in place of it a package of dried meat, but this +he scornfully threw upon the ground. They might carry it, he said, +who needed it; for his part, he could provide his daily bread with his +rifle. He concluded by flinging off from the party, and keeping along +the skirts of the mountain, leaving those, he said, to climb rocks, who +were afraid to face Indians. It was in vain that Mr. Stuart represented +to him the rashness of his conduct, and the dangers to which he exposed +himself: he rejected such counsel as craven. It was equally useless to +represent the dangers to which he subjected his companions; as he +could be discovered at a great distance on those naked plains, and +the Indians, seeing him, would know that there must be other white men +within reach. M'Lellan turned a deaf ear to every remonstrance, and kept +on his wilful way. + +It seemed a strange instance of perverseness in this man thus to fling +himself off alone, in a savage region, where solitude itself was dismal, +and every encounter with his fellow-man full of peril. Such, however, is +the hardness of spirit, and the insensibility to danger that grow +upon men in the wilderness. M'Lellan, moreover, was a man of peculiar +temperament, ungovernable in his will, of a courage that absolutely knew +no fear, and somewhat of a braggart spirit, that took a pride in doing +desperate and hair-brained things. + +Mr. Stuart and his party found the passages of the mountain somewhat +difficult, on account of the snow, which in many places was of +considerable depth, though it was but the 1st of October. They crossed +the summit early in the afternoon, and beheld below them, a plain +about twenty miles wide, bounded on the opposite side by their old +acquaintances, the Pilot Knobs, those towering mountains which had +served Mr. Hunt as landmarks in part of his route of the preceding year. +Through the intermediate plain wandered a river about fifty yards wide, +sometimes gleaming in open day, but oftener running through willowed +banks, which marked its serpentine course. + +Those of the party who had been across these mountains, pointed out much +of the bearings of the country to Mr. Stuart. They showed him in what +direction must lie the deserted post called Henry's Fort, where they +had abandoned their horses and embarked in canoes, and they informed him +that the stream which wandered through the plain below them, fell into +Henry River, half way between the fort and the mouth of Mad or Snake +River. The character of all this mountain region was decidedly volcanic; +and to the northwest, between Henry's Fort and the source of the +Missouri, Mr. Stuart observed several very high peaks covered with snow, +from two of which smoke ascended in considerable volumes, apparently +from craters in a state of eruption. + +On their way down the mountain, when they had reached the skirts, they +descried M'Lellan at a distance, in the advance, traversing the plain. +Whether he saw them or not, he showed no disposition to rejoin them, but +pursued his sullen and solitary way. + +After descending into the plain, they kept on about six miles, until +they reached the little river, which was here about knee deep, and +richly fringed with willow. Here they encamped for the night. At this +encampment the fever of Mr. Crooks increased to such a degree that it +was impossible for him to travel. Some of the men were strenuous for +Mr. Stuart to proceed without him, urging the imminent danger they were +exposed to by delay in that unknown and barren region, infested by the +most treacherous and inveterate foes. They represented that the season +was rapidly advancing; the weather for some days had been extremely +cold; the mountains were already almost impassable from snow, and would +soon present effectual barriers. Their provisions were exhausted; there +was no game to be seen, and they did not dare to use their rifles, +through fear of drawing upon them the Blackfeet. + +The picture thus presented was too true to be contradicted, and made a +deep impression on the mind of Mr. Stuart; but the idea of abandoning +a fellow being, and a comrade, in such a forlorn situation, was too +repugnant to his feelings to be admitted for an instant. He represented +to the men that the malady of Mr. Crooks could not be of long duration, +and that, in all probability, he would be able to travel in the course +of a few days. It was with great difficulty, however, that he prevailed +upon them to abide the event. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVII. + + Ben Jones and a Grizzly Bear.--Rocky Heights--Mountain + Torrents.--Traces of M'Lellan.--Volcanic Remains--Mineral + Earths.--Peculiar Clay for Pottery.--Dismal Plight of + M'Lellan.--Starvation.--Shocking Proposition of a Desperate + Man.--A Broken-Down Bull.--A Ravenous Meal.--Indian Graves-- + Hospitable Snakes.-A Forlorn Alliance. + +AS the travellers were now in a dangerous neighborhood, where the report +of a rifle might bring the savages upon them, they had to depend upon +their old beaver-trap for subsistence. The little river on which +they were encamped gave many "beaver signs," and Ben Jones set off at +daybreak, along the willowed banks, to find a proper trapping-place. As +he was making his way among the thickets, with his trap on his shoulder +and his rifle in his hand, he heard a crushing sound, and turning, +beheld a huge grizzly bear advancing upon him, with terrific growl. The +sturdy Kentuckian was not to be intimidated by man or monster. Leveling +his rifle, he pulled the trigger. The bear was wounded, but not +mortally: instead, however, of rushing upon his assailant, as is +generally the case with this kind of bear, he retreated into the bushes. +Jones followed him for some distance, but with suitable caution, and +Bruin effected his escape. + +As there was every prospect of a detention of some days in this place, +and as the supplies of the beaver-trap were too precarious to be +depended upon, it became absolutely necessary to run some risk of +discovery by hunting in the neighborhood. Ben Jones, therefore, obtained +permission to range with his rifle some distance from the camp, and set +off to beat up the river banks, in defiance of bear or Blackfeet. + +He returned in great spirits in the course of a few hours, having come +upon a gang of elk about six miles off, and killed five. This was +joyful news, and the party immediately moved forward to the place where +he had left the carcasses. They were obliged to support Mr. Crooks the +whole distance, for he was unable to walk. Here they remained for two +or three days, feasting heartily on elk meat, and drying as much as they +would be able to carry away with them. + +By the 5th of October, some simple prescriptions, together with an +"Indian sweat," had so far benefited Mr. Crooks, that he was enabled +to move about; they therefore set forward slowly, dividing his pack and +accoutrements among them, and made a creeping day's progress of eight +miles south. Their route for the most part lay through swamps caused by +the industrious labors of the beaver; for this little animal had dammed +up numerous small streams, issuing from the Pilot Knob Mountains, so +that the low grounds on their borders were completely inundated. In the +course of their march they killed a grizzly bear, with fat on its flanks +upwards of three inches in thickness. This was an acceptable addition +to their stock of elk meat. The next day Mr. Crooks was sufficiently +recruited in strength to be able to carry his rifle and pistols, and +they made a march of seventeen miles along the borders of the plain. + +Their journey daily became more toilsome, and their sufferings more +severe, as they advanced. Keeping up the channel of a river, they +traversed the rugged summit of the Pilot Knob Mountain, covered with +snow nine inches deep. For several days they continued, bending their +course as much as possible to the east, over a succession of rocky +heights, deep valleys, and rapid streams. Sometimes their dizzy path lay +along the margin of perpendicular precipices, several hundred feet in +height, where a single false step might precipitate them into the rocky +bed of a torrent which roared below. Not the least part of their weary +task was the fording of the numerous windings and branchings of the +mountain rivers, all boisterous in their currents, and icy cold. + +Hunger was added to their other sufferings, and soon became the keenest. +The small supply of bear and elk meat which they had been able to carry, +in addition to their previous burdens, served but for a short time. In +their anxiety to struggle forward, they had but little time to hunt, and +scarce any game in their path. For three days they had nothing to eat +but a small duck, and a few poor trout. They occasionally saw numbers +of the antelopes, and tried every art to get within shot; but the timid +animals were more than commonly wild, and after tantalizing the hungry +hunters for a time, bounded away beyond all chance of pursuit. At length +they were fortunate enough to kill one: it was extremely meagre, and +yielded but a scanty supply; but on this they subsisted for several +days. + +On the 11th, they encamped on a small stream, near the foot of the +Spanish River Mountain. Here they met with traces of that wayward and +solitary being, M'Lellan, who was still keeping on ahead of them through +these lonely mountains. He had encamped the night before on this stream; +they found the embers of the fire by which he had slept, and the remains +of a miserable wolf on which he had supped. It was evident he had +suffered, like themselves, the pangs of hunger, though he had fared +better at this encampment; for they had not a mouthful to eat. + +The next day, they rose hungry and alert, and set out with the dawn to +climb the mountain, which was steep and difficult. Traces of volcanic +eruptions were to be seen in various directions. There was a species of +clay also to be met with, out of which the Indians manufactured pots and +jars, and dishes. It is very fine and light, of an agreeable smell, +and of a brown color spotted with yellow, and dissolves readily in the +mouth. Vessels manufactured of it are said to impart a pleasant smell +and flavor to any liquids. These mountains abound also with mineral +earths, or chalks of various colors; especially two kinds of ochre, +one a pale, the other a bright red, like vermilion; much used by the +Indians, in painting their bodies. + +About noon, the travellers reached the "drains" and brooks that formed +the head waters of the river, and later in the day, descended to where +the main body, a shallow stream, about a hundred and sixty yards wide, +poured through its mountain valley. + +Here the poor famishing wanderers had expected to find buffalo in +abundance, and had fed their hungry hopes during their scrambling toll, +with the thoughts of roasted ribs, juicy humps, and broiled marrow +bones. To their great disappointment, the river banks were deserted--a +few old tracks showed where a herd of bulls had some time before passed +along, but not a horn nor hump was to be seen in the sterile landscape. +A few antelopes looked down upon them from the brow of a crag, but +flitted away out of sight at the least approach of the hunter. + +In the most starving mood they kept for several miles further along +the bank of the river, seeking for "beaver signs." Finding some, they +encamped in the vicinity, and Ben Jones immediately proceeded to set the +trap. They had scarce come to a halt, when they perceived a large smoke +at some distance to the southwest. The sight was hailed with joy, for +they trusted it might rise from some Indian camp, where they could +procure something to eat, and the dread of starvation had now overcome +even the terror of the Blackfeet. Le Clerc, one of the Canadians, was +instantly despatched by Mr. Stuart, to reconnoitre; and the travellers +sat up till a late hour, watching and listening for his return, hoping +he might bring them food. Midnight arrived, but Le Clerc did not make +his appearance, and they laid down once more supperless to sleep, +comforting themselves with the hopes that their old beaver trap might +furnish them with a breakfast. + +At daybreak they hastened with famished eagerness to the trap. They +found in it the forepaw of a beaver, the sight of which tantalized their +hunger, and added to their dejection. They resumed their journey with +flagging spirits, but had not gone far when they perceived Le Clerc +approaching at a distance. They hastened to meet him, in hopes of +tidings of good cheer. He had none to give them; but news of that +strange wanderer, M'Lellan. The smoke had risen from his encampment +which took fire while he was at a little distance from it fishing. Le +Clerc found him in forlorn condition. His fishing had been unsuccessful. +During twelve days that he had been wandering alone through these +savage mountains, he had found scarce anything to eat. He had been ill, +wayworn, sick at heart, still he had kept forward; but now his strength +and his stubbornness were exhausted. He expressed his satisfaction at +hearing that Mr. Stuart and his party were near, and said he would wait +at his camp for their arrival, in hopes they would give him something to +eat, for without food he declared he should not be able to proceed much +further. + +When the party reached the place, they found the poor fellow lying on +a parcel of withered grass, wasted to a perfect skeleton, and so feeble +that he could scarce raise his head or speak. The presence of his old +comrades seemed to revive him, but they had no food to give him, +for they themselves were almost starving. They urged him to rise and +accompany them, but he shook his head. It was all in vain, he said; +there was no prospect of their getting speedy relief, and without it +he should perish by the way; he might as well, therefore, stay and die +where he was. At length, after much persuasion, they got him upon his +legs; his rifle and other effects were shared among them, and he was +cheered and aided forward. In this way they proceeded for seventeen +miles, over a level plain of sand, until seeing a few antelopes in the +distance, they encamped on the margin of a small stream. All now that +were capable of the exertion, turned out to hunt for a meal. Their +efforts were fruitless, and after dark they returned to their camp, +famished almost to desperation. + +As they were preparing for the third time to lay down to sleep without +a mouthful to eat, Le Clerc, one of the Canadians, gaunt and wild with +hunger, approached Mr. Stuart with his gun in his hand. "It was all in +vain," he said, "to attempt to proceed any further without food. They +had a barren plain before them, three or four days' journey in extent, +on which nothing was to be procured. They must all perish before they +could get to the end of it. It was better, therefore, that one should +die to save the rest." He proposed, therefore, that they should +cast lots; adding, as an inducement for Mr. Stuart to assent to the +proposition, that he, as leader of the party, should be exempted. + +Mr. Stuart shuddered at the horrible proposition, and endeavored to +reason with the man, but his words were unavailing. At length, snatching +up his rifle, he threatened to shoot him on the spot if he persisted. +The famished wretch dropped on his knees, begged pardon in the most +abject terms, and promised never again to offend him with such a +suggestion. + +Quiet being restored to the forlorn encampment, each one sought repose. +Mr. Stuart, however, was so exhausted by the agitation of the past +scene, acting upon his emaciated frame, that he could scarce crawl to +his miserable couch; where, notwithstanding his fatigues, he passed +a sleepless night, revolving upon their dreary situation, and the +desperate prospect before them. + +Before daylight the next morning, they were up and on their way; they +had nothing to detain them; no breakfast to prepare, and to linger was +to perish. They proceeded, however, but slowly, for all were faint and +weak. Here and there they passed the skulls and bones of buffaloes, +which showed that these animals must have been hunted here during the +past season; the sight of these bones served only to mock their misery. +After travelling about nine miles along the plain, they ascended a range +of hills, and had scarcely gone two miles further, when, to their +great joy, they discovered "an old run-down buffalo bull;" the laggard +probably of some herd that had been hunted and harassed through the +mountains. They now all stretched themselves out to encompass and +make sure of this solitary animal, for their lives depended upon their +success. After considerable trouble and infinite anxiety, they at length +succeeded in killing him. He was instantly flayed and cut up, and so +ravenous was their hunger, that they devoured some of the flesh raw. +The residue they carried to a brook near by, where they encamped, lit a +fire, and began to cook. + +Mr. Stuart was fearful that in their famished state they would eat to +excess and injure themselves. He caused a soup to be made of some of +the meat, and that each should take a quantity of it as a prelude to his +supper. This may have had a beneficial effect, for though they sat up +the greater part of the night, cooking and cramming, no one suffered any +inconvenience. + +The next morning the feasting was resumed, and about midday, feeling +somewhat recruited and refreshed, they set out on their journey with +renovated spirits, shaping their course towards a mountain, the summit +of which they saw towering in the east, and near to which they expected +to find the head waters of the Missouri. + +As they proceeded, they continued to see the skeletons of buffaloes +scattered about the plain in every direction, which showed that there +had been much hunting here by the Indians in the recent season. Further +on they crossed a large Indian trail forming a deep path, about fifteen +days old, which went in a north direction. They concluded it to have +been made by some numerous band of Crows, who had hunted in this country +for the greater part of the summer. + +On the following day they forded a stream of considerable magnitude, +with banks clothed with pine trees. Among these they found the traces +of a large Indian camp, which had evidently been the headquarters of a +hunting expedition, from the great quantities of buffalo bones strewed +about the neighborhood. The camp had apparently been abandoned about a +month. + +In the centre was a singular lodge one hundred and fifty feet in +circumference, supported by the trunks of twenty trees, about twelve +inches in diameter and forty-four feet long. Across these were laid +branches of pine and willow trees, so as to yield a tolerable shade. +At the west end, immediately opposite to the door, three bodies lay +interred with their feet towards the east. At the head of each was a +branch of red cedar firmly planted in the ground. At the foot was a +large buffalo's skull, painted black. Savage ornaments were suspended +in various parts of the edifice, and a great number of children's +moccasins. From the magnitude of this building, and the time and +labor that must have been expended in erecting it, the bodies which it +contained were probably those of noted warriors and hunters. + +The next day, October 17th, they passed two large tributary streams of +the Spanish River. They took their rise in the Wind River Mountains, +which ranged along to the east, stupendously high and rugged, composed +of vast masses of black rock, almost destitute of wood, and covered in +many places with snow. This day they saw a few buffalo bulls, and some +antelopes, but could not kill any; and their stock of provisions began +to grow scanty as well as poor. + +On the 18th, after crossing a mountain ridge, and traversing a plain, +they waded one of the branches of Spanish River, and on ascending its +bank, met with about a hundred and thirty Snake Indians. They were +friendly in their demeanor, and conducted them to their encampment, +which was about three miles distant. It consisted of about forty +wigwams, constructed principally of pine branches. The Snakes, like +most of their nation, were very poor; the marauding Crows, in their late +excursion through the country, had picked this unlucky band to the very +bone, carrying off their horses, several of their squaws, and most of +their effects. In spite of their poverty, they were hospitable in the +extreme, and made the hungry strangers welcome to their cabins. A few +trinkets procured from them a supply of buffalo meat, and of leather for +moccasins, of which the party were greatly in need. The most valuable +prize obtained from them, however, was a horse; it was a sorry old +animal in truth, but it was the only one that remained to the poor +fellows, after the fell swoop of the Crows; yet this they were prevailed +upon to part with to their guests for a pistol, an axe, a knife, and a +few other trifling articles. + +They had doleful stories to tell of the Crows, who were encamped on a +river at no great distance to the east, and were in such force that they +dared not venture to seek any satisfaction for their outrages, or to +get back a horse or squaw. They endeavored to excite the indignation of +their visitors by accounts of robberies and murders committed on lonely +white hunters and trappers by Crows and Blackfeet. Some of these were +exaggerations of the outrages already mentioned, sustained by some +of the scattered members of Mr. Hunt's expedition; others were in all +probability sheer fabrications, to which the Snakes seem to have been a +little prone. Mr. Stuart assured them that the day was not far distant +when the whites would make their power to be felt throughout that +country, and take signal vengeance on the perpetrators of these +misdeeds. The Snakes expressed great joy at the intelligence, and +offered their services to aid the righteous cause, brightening at the +thoughts of taking the field with such potent allies, and doubtless +anticipating their turn at stealing horses and abducting squaws. Their +offers, of course, were accepted; the calumet of peace was produced, and +the two forlorn powers smoked eternal friendship between themselves, and +vengeance upon their common spoilers, the Crows. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVIII. + + Spanish River Scenery.--Trail of Crow Indians.--A Snow- + Storm.--A Rousing Fire and a Buffalo Feast.--A Plain of + Salt.--Climbing a Mountain.--Volcanic Summit.--Extinguished + Crater.--Marine Shells.--Encampment on a Prairie.-- + Successful Hunting.--Good Cheer.--Romantic Scenery--Rocky + Defile.--Foaming Rapids.--The Fiery Narrows. + +BY sunrise on the following morning (October 19th), the travellers +had loaded their old horse with buffalo meat, sufficient for five +days' provisions, and, taking leave of their new allies, the poor, but +hospitable Snakes, set forth in somewhat better spirits, though the +increasing cold of the weather, and the sight of the snowy mountains +which they had yet to traverse, were enough to chill their very hearts. +The country along this branch of the Spanish River, as far as they could +see, was perfectly level, bounded by ranges of lofty mountains, both to +the east and west. They proceeded about three miles to the south, where +they came again upon the large trail of Crow Indians, which they had +crossed four days previously, made, no doubt, by the same marauding band +that had plundered the Snakes; and which, according to the account of +the latter, was now encamped on a stream to the eastward. The trail kept +on to the southeast, and was so well beaten by horse and foot, that they +supposed at least a hundred lodges had passed along it. As it formed, +therefore, a convenient highway, and ran in a proper direction, they +turned into it, and determined to keep along it as far as safety would +permit: as the Crow encampment must be some distance off, and it was +not likely those savages would return upon their steps. They travelled +forward, therefore, all that day, in the track of their dangerous +predecessors, which led them across mountain streams, and long ridges, +and through narrow valleys, all tending generally towards the southeast. +The wind blew coldly from the northeast, with occasional flurries of +snow, which made them encamp early, on the sheltered banks of a brook. +The two Canadians, Vallee and Le Clerc, killed a young buffalo bull in +the evening, which was in good condition, and afforded them a plentiful +supply of fresh beef. They loaded their spits, therefore, and crammed +their camp kettle with meat, and while the wind whistled, and the snow +whirled around them, huddled round a rousing fire, basked in its warmth, +and comforted both soul and body with a hearty and invigorating meal. No +enjoyments have greater zest than these, snatched in the very midst +of difficulty and danger; and it is probable the poor wayworn and +weather-beaten travellers relished these creature comforts the more +highly from the surrounding desolation, and the dangerous proximity of +the Crows. + +The snow which had fallen in the night made it late in the morning +before the party loaded their solitary packhorse, and resumed their +march. They had not gone far before the Crow trace which they were +following changed its direction, and bore to the north of east. They had +already begun to feel themselves on dangerous ground in keeping along +it, as they might be descried by some scouts and spies of that race of +Ishmaelites, whose predatory life required them to be constantly on the +alert. On seeing the trace turn so much to the north, therefore, they +abandoned it, and kept on their course to the southeast for eighteen +miles, through a beautifully undulating country, having the main chain +of mountains on the left, and a considerably elevated ridge on the +right. Here the mountain ridge which divides Wind River from the head +waters of the Columbia and Spanish Rivers, ends abruptly, and winding to +the north of east, becomes the dividing barrier between a branch of the +Big Horn and Cheyenne Rivers, and those head waters which flow into the +Missouri below the Sioux country. + +The ridge which lay on the right of the travellers having now become +very low, they passed over it, and came into a level plain, about ten +miles in circumference, and incrusted to the depth of a foot or eighteen +inches with salt as white as snow. This is furnished by numerous salt +springs of limpid water, which are continually welling up, overflowing +their borders, and forming beautiful crystallizations. The Indian tribes +of the interior are excessively fond of this salt, and repair to the +valley to collect it, but it is held in distaste by the tribes of the +sea-coast, who will eat nothing that has been cured or seasoned by it. + +This evening they encamped on the banks of a small stream, in the open +prairie. The northeast wind was keen and cutting; they had nothing +wherewith to make a fire, but a scanty growth of sage, or wormwood, and +were fain to wrap themselves up in their blankets, and huddle themselves +in their "nests," at an early hour. In the course of the evening, Mr. +M'Lellan, who had now regained his strength, killed a buffalo, but it +was some distance from the camp, and they postponed supplying themselves +from the carcass until the following morning. + +The next day (October 21st), the cold continued, accompanied by snow. +They set forward on their bleak and toilsome way, keeping to the +east northeast, towards the lofty summit of a mountain, which it was +necessary for them to cross. Before they reached its base they passed +another large trail, steering a little to the right of the point of the +mountain. This they presumed to have been made by another band of Crows, +who had probably been hunting lower down on the Spanish River. + +The severity of the weather compelled them to encamp at the end +of fifteen miles, on the skirts of the mountain, where they found +sufficient dry aspen trees to supply them with fire, but they sought in +vain about the neighborhood for a spring or rill of water. + +At daybreak they were up and on the march, scrambling up the mountain +side for the distance of eight painful miles. From the casual hints +given in the travelling memoranda of Mr. Stuart, this mountain would +seem to offer a rich field of speculation for the geologist. Here was +a plain three miles in diameter, strewed with pumice stones and other +volcanic reliques, with a lake in the centre, occupying what had +probably been the crater. Here were also, in some places, deposits of +marine shells, indicating that this mountain crest had at some remote +period been below the waves. + +After pausing to repose, and to enjoy these grand but savage and awful +scenes, they began to descend the eastern side of the mountain. The +descent was rugged and romantic, along deep ravines and defiles, +overhung with crags and cliffs, among which they beheld numbers of the +ahsahta or bighorn, skipping fearlessly from rock to rock. Two of +them they succeeded in bringing down with their rifles, as they peered +fearlessly from the brow of their airy precipices. + +Arrived at the foot of the mountain, the travellers found a rill of +water oozing out of the earth, and resembling in look and taste, the +water of the Missouri. Here they encamped for the night, and supped +sumptuously upon their mountain mutton, which they found in good +condition, and extremely well tasted. + +The morning was bright, and intensely cold. Early in the day they came +upon a stream running to the east, between low hills of bluish earth, +strongly impregnated with copperas. Mr. Stuart supposed this to be one +of the head waters of the Missouri, and determined to follow its banks. +After a march of twenty-six miles, however, he arrived at the summit +of a hill, the prospect of which induced him to alter his intention. He +beheld, in every direction south of east, a vast plain, bounded only +by the horizon, through which wandered the stream in question, in a +south-south-east direction. It could not, therefore, be a branch of the +Missouri. He now gave up all idea of taking the stream for his guide, +and shaped his course towards a range of mountains in the east, about +sixty miles distant, near which he hoped to find another stream. + +The weather was now so severe, and the hardships of travelling so great, +that he resolved to halt for the winter, at the first eligible place. +That night they had to encamp on the open prairie, near a scanty pool +of water, and without any wood to make a fire. The northeast wind blew +keenly across the naked waste, and they were fain to decamp from their +inhospitable bivouac before the dawn. + +For two days they kept on in an eastward direction, against wintry +blasts and occasional snow storms. They suffered, also, from scarcity +of water, having occasionally to use melted snow; this, with the want of +pasturage, reduced their old pack-horse sadly. They saw many tracks of +buffalo, and some few bulls, which, however, got the wind of them, and +scampered off. + +On the 26th of October, they steered east-northeast, for a wooded ravine +in a mountain, at a small distance from the base of which, to their +great joy, they discovered an abundant stream, running between willowed +banks. Here they halted for the night, and Ben Jones having luckily +trapped a beaver, and killed two buffalo bulls, they remained all the +next day encamped, feasting and reposing, and allowing their jaded horse +to rest from his labors. + +The little stream on which they were encamped, was one of the head +waters of the Platte River, which flows into the Missouri; it was, +in fact, the northern fork, or branch of that river, though this the +travellers did not discover until long afterwards. Pursuing the course +of this stream for about twenty miles, they came to where it forced +a passage through a range of high hills, covered with cedars, into an +extensive low country, affording excellent pasture to numerous herds of +buffalo. Here they killed three cows, which were the first they had been +able to get, having hitherto had to content themselves with bull beef, +which at this season of the year is very poor. The hump meat afforded +them a repast fit for an epicure. + +Late on the afternoon of the 30th, they came to where the stream, now +increased to a considerable size, poured along in a ravine between +precipices of red stone, two hundred feet in height. For some distance +it dashed along, over huge masses of rock, with foaming violence, as if +exasperated by being compressed into so narrow a channel, and at length +leaped down a chasm that looked dark and frightful in the gathering +twilight. + +For a part of the next day, the wild river, in its capricious +wanderings, led them through a variety of striking scenes. At one time +they were upon high plains, like platforms among the mountains, with +herds of buffaloes roaming about them; at another among rude rocky +defiles, broken into cliffs and precipices, where the blacktailed deer +bounded off among the crags, and the bighorn basked in the sunny brow of +the precipice. + +In the after part of the day, they came to another scene, surpassing in +savage grandeur those already described. They had been travelling for +some distance through a pass of the mountains, keeping parallel with +the river, as it roared along, out of sight, through a deep ravine. +Sometimes their devious path approached the margin of cliffs below which +the river foamed, and boiled, and whirled among the masses of rock that +had fallen into its channel. As they crept cautiously on, leading their +solitary pack-horse along these giddy heights, they all at once came to +where the river thundered down a succession of precipices, throwing up +clouds of spray, and making a prodigious din and uproar. The travellers +remained, for a time, gazing with mingled awe and delight, at this +furious cataract, to which Mr. Stuart gave, from the color of the +impending rocks, the name of "The Fiery Narrows." + + + + +CHAPTER XLIX. + + Wintry Storms.--A Halt and Council.--Cantonment for the + Winter.--Fine Hunting Country.--Game of the Mountains and + Plains.-Successful Hunting--Mr. Crooks and a Grizzly Bear.-- + The Wigwam.--Bighorn and Black-Tails.--Beef and Venison.-- + Good Quarters and Good Cheer.--An Alarm.--An Intrusion.-- + Unwelcome Guests.-Desolation of the Larder.--Gormandizing + Exploits of Hungry Savages.--Good Quarters Abandoned. + +THE travellers encamped for the night on the banks of the river below +the cataract. The night was cold, with partial showers of rain and +sleet. The morning dawned gloomily, the skies were sullen and overcast, +and threatened further storms; but the little band resumed their +journey, in defiance of the weather. The increasing rigor of the season, +however, which makes itself felt early in these mountainous regions, +and on these naked and elevated plains, brought them to a pause, and +a serious deliberation, after they had descended about thirty miles +further along the course of the river. + +All were convinced that it was in vain to attempt to accomplish their +journey, on foot, at this inclement season. They had still many hundred +miles to traverse before they should reach the main course of the +Missouri, and their route would lay over immense prairies, naked and +bleak, and destitute of fuel. The question then was, where to choose +their wintering place, and whether or not to proceed further down the +river. They had at first imagined it to be one of the head waters, or +tributary streams, of the Missouri. Afterwards they had believed it +to be the Rapid, or Quicourt River, in which opinion they had not come +nearer to the truth; they now, however, were persuaded, with equal +fallacy, by its inclining somewhat to the north of east, that it was +the Cheyenne. If so, by continuing down it much further they must arrive +among the Indians, from whom the river takes its name. Among these they +would be sure to meet some of the Sioux tribe. These would appraise +their relatives, the piratical Sioux of the Missouri, of the approach +of a band of white traders; so that, in the spring time, they would be +likely to be waylaid and robbed on their way down the river, by some +party in ambush upon its banks. + +Even should this prove to be the Quicourt or Rapid River, it would not +be prudent to winter much further down upon its banks, as, though +they might be out of the range of the Sioux, they would be in the +neighborhood of the Poncas, a tribe nearly as dangerous. It was +resolved, therefore, since they must winter somewhere on this side of +the Missouri, to descend no lower, but to keep up in these solitary +regions, where they would be in no danger of molestation. + +They were brought the more promptly and unanimously to this decision, +by coming upon an excellent wintering place, that promised everything +requisite for their comfort. It was on a fine bend of the river, just +below where it issued out from among a ridge of mountains, and bent +towards the northeast. Here was a beautiful low point of land, covered +by cotton-wood, and surrounded by a thick growth of willow, so as to +yield both shelter and fuel, as well as materials for building. The +river swept by in a strong current, about a hundred and fifty yards +wide. To the southeast were mountains of moderate height, the nearest +about two miles off, but the whole chain ranging to the east, south, +and southwest, as far as the eye could reach. Their summits were crowned +with extensive tracts of pitch pine, checkered with small patches of the +quivering aspen. Lower down were thick forests of firs and red cedars, +growing out in many places from the very fissures of the rocks. The +mountains were broken and precipitous, with huge bluffs protruding from +among the forests. + +Their rocky recesses and beetling cliffs afforded retreats to +innumerable flocks of the bighorn, while their woody summits and ravines +abounded with bears and black-tailed deer. These, with the numerous +herds of buffalo that ranged the lower grounds along the river, promised +the travellers abundant cheer in their winter quarters. + +On the 2d of November, therefore, they pitched their camp for the +winter, on the woody point, and their first thought was to obtain +a supply of provisions. Ben Jones and the two Canadians accordingly +sallied forth, accompanied by two others of the party, leaving but +one to watch the camp. Their hunting was uncommonly successful. In the +course of two days, they killed thirty-two buffaloes, and collected +their meat on the margin of a small brook, about a mile distant. +Fortunately, a severe frost froze the river, so that the meat was easily +transported to the encampment. On a succeeding day, a herd of buffalo +came trampling through the woody bottom on the river banks, and fifteen +more were killed. + +It was soon discovered, however, that there was game of a more dangerous +nature in the neighborhood. On one occasion, Mr. Crooks had wandered +about a mile from the camp, and had ascended a small hill commanding a +view of the river. He was without his rifle, a rare circumstance, for +in these wild regions, where one may put up a wild animal, or a wild +Indian, at every turn, it is customary never to stir from the camp-fire +unarmed. The hill where he stood overlooked the place where the +massacre of the buffalo had taken place. As he was looking around on the +prospect, his eye was caught by an object below, moving directly towards +him. To his dismay, he discovered it to be a grizzly bear, with two +cubs. There was no tree at hand into which he could climb; to run, would +only be to provoke pursuit, and he should soon be overtaken. He threw +himself on the ground, therefore, and lay motionless, watching the +movements of the animal with intense anxiety. It continued to advance +until at the foot of the hill, when it turned, and made into the woods, +having probably gorged itself with buffalo flesh. Mr. Crooks made all +haste back to the camp, rejoicing at his escape, and determining never +to stir out again without his rifle. A few days after this circumstance, +a grizzly bear was shot in the neighborhood by Mr. Miller. + +As the slaughter of so many buffaloes had provided the party with beef +for the winter, in case they met with no further supply, they now set to +work, heart and hand, to build a comfortable wigwam. In a little while +the woody promontory rang with the unwonted sound of the axe. Some of +its lofty trees were laid low, and by the second evening the cabin was +complete. It was eight feet wide, and eighteen feet long. The walls +were six feet high, and the whole was covered with buffalo skins. The +fireplace was in the centre, and the smoke found its way out by a hole +in the roof. + +The hunters were next sent out to procure deer-skins for garments, +moccasins, and other purposes. They made the mountains echo with their +rifles, and, in the course of two days' hunting, killed twenty-eight +bighorns and black-tailed deer. + +The party now reveled in abundance. After all that they had suffered +from hunger, cold, fatigue and watchfulness; after all their perils from +treacherous and savage men, they exulted in the snugness and security of +their isolated cabin, hidden, as they thought, even from the prying eyes +of Indian scouts, and stored with creature comforts; and they looked +forward to a winter of peace and quietness, of roasting, and boiling, +and broiling, and feasting upon venison, and mountain mutton, and bear's +meat, and marrow bones, and buffalo humps, and other hunter's dainties, +and of dozing and reposing round their fire, and gossiping over past +dangers and adventures, and telling long hunting stories, until spring +should return; when they would make canoes of buffalo skins and float +themselves down the river. + +From such halcyon dreams, they were startled one morning, at daybreak, +by a savage yell. They started tip and seized their rifles. The yell was +repeated by two or three voices. Cautiously peeping out, they beheld, +to their dismay, several Indian warriors among the trees, all armed and +painted in warlike style; being evidently bent on some hostile purpose. + +Miller changed countenance as he regarded them. "We are in trouble," +said he, "these are some of the rascally Arapahays that robbed me +last year." Not a word was uttered by the rest of the party, but they +silently slung their powder horns and ball pouches, and prepared for +battle. M'Lellan, who had taken his gun to pieces the evening before, +put it together in all haste. He proposed that they should break out the +clay from between the logs, so as to be able to fire upon the enemy. + +"Not yet," replied Stuart; "it will not do to show fear or distrust; +we must first hold a parley. Some one must go out and meet them as a +friend." + +Who was to undertake the task! It was full of peril, as the envoy might +be shot down at the threshold. + +"The leader of a party," said Miller, "always takes the advance." + +"Good!" replied Stuart; "I am ready." He immediately went forth; one +of the Canadians followed him; the rest of the party remained in the +garrison, to keep the savages in check. + +Stuart advanced holding his rifle in one hand, and extending the other +to the savage that appeared to be the chief. The latter stepped forward +and took it; his men followed his example, and all shook hands with +Stuart, in token of friendship. They now explained their errand. They +were a war party of Arapahay braves. Their village lay on a stream +several days' journey to the eastward. It had been attacked and ravaged +during their absence, by a band of Crows, who had carried off several of +their women, and most of their horses. They were in quest of vengeance. +For sixteen days they had been tracking the Crows about the mountains, +but had not yet come upon them. In the meantime, they had met with +scarcely any game, and were half famished. About two days previously, +they had heard the report of fire-arms among the mountains, and on +searching in the direction of the sound, had come to a place where a +deer had been killed. They had immediately put themselves upon the track +of the hunters, and by following it up, had arrived at the cabin. + +Mr. Stuart now invited the chief and another, who appeared to be his +lieutenant, into the hut, but made signs that no one else was to enter. +The rest halted at the door; others came straggling up, until the whole +party, to the number of twenty-three, were gathered before the hut. +They were armed with bows and arrows, tomahawks and scalping knives, and +some few with guns. All were painted and dressed for war, and had a wild +and fierce appearance. Mr. Miller recognized among them some of the very +fellows who had robbed him in the preceding year; and put his comrades +upon their guard. Every man stood ready to resist the first act of +hostility; the savages, however, conducted themselves peaceably, and +showed none of that swaggering arrogance which a war party is apt to +assume. + +On entering the hut the chief and his lieutenant cast a wistful look +at the rafters, laden with venison and buffalo meat. Mr. Stuart made a +merit of necessity, and invited them to help themselves. They did not +wait to be pressed. The rafters were soon eased of their burden; venison +and beef were passed out to the crew before the door, and a scene of +gormandizing commenced, of which few can have an idea, who have not +witnessed the gastronomic powers of an Indian, after an interval of +fasting. This was kept up throughout the day; they paused now and then, +it is true, for a brief interval, but only to return to the charge with +renewed ardor. The chief and the lieutenant surpassed all the rest in +the vigor and perseverance of their attacks; as if from their station +they were bound to signalize themselves in all onslaughts. Mr. Stuart +kept them well supplied with choice bits, for it was his policy to +overfeed them, and keep them from leaving the hut, where they served +as hostages for the good conduct of their followers. Once, only, in the +course of the day, did the chief sally forth. Mr. Stuart and one of his +men accompanied him, armed with their rifles, but without betraying any +distrust. The chieftain soon returned, and renewed his attack upon the +larder. In a word, he and his worthy coadjutor, the lieutenant, ate +until they were both stupefied. + +Towards evening the Indians made their preparations for the night +according to the practice of war parties. Those outside of the hut threw +up two breastworks, into which they retired at a tolerably early hour, +and slept like overfed hounds. As to the chief and his lieutenant, they +passed the night in the hut, in the course of which, they, two or three +times, got up to eat. The travellers took turns, one at a time, to mount +guard until the morning. + +Scarce had the day dawned, when the gormandizing was renewed by the +whole band, and carried on with surprising vigor until ten o'clock, when +all prepared to depart. They had six days' journey yet to make, they +said, before they should come up with the Crows, who, they understood, +were encamped on a river to the northward. Their way lay through a +hungry country, where there was no game; they would, moreover, have +but little time to hunt; they, therefore, craved a small supply of +provisions for their journey. Mr. Stuart again invited them to help +themselves. They did so with keen forethought, loading themselves with +the choicest parts of the meat, and leaving the late plenteous larder +far gone in a consumption. Their next request was for a supply of +ammunition, having guns, but no powder and ball. They promised to pay +magnificently out of the spoils of their foray. "We are poor now," said +they, "and are obliged to go on foot, but we shall soon come back laden +with booty, and all mounted on horseback, with scalps hanging at our +bridles. We will then give each of you a horse to keep you from being +tired on your journey." + +"Well," said Mr. Stuart, "when you bring the horses, you shall have the +ammunition, but not before." The Indians saw by his determined tone, +that all further entreaty would be unavailing, so they desisted, with a +good-humored laugh, and went off exceedingly well freighted, both within +and without, promising to be back again in the course of a fortnight. + +No sooner were they out of hearing, than the luckless travellers held +another council. The security of their cabin was at an end and with +it all their dreams of a quiet and cozy winter. They were between two +fires. On one side were their old enemies, the Crows; on the other side, +the Arapahays, no less dangerous freebooters. As to the moderation of +this war party, they considered it assumed, to put them off their +guard against some more favorable opportunity for a surprisal. It was +determined, therefore, not to await their return, but to abandon, with +all speed, this dangerous neighborhood. From the accounts of their +recent visitors, they were led to believe, though erroneously, that they +were upon the Quicourt, or Rapid River. They proposed now to keep along +it to its confluence with the Missouri; but, should they be prevented +by the rigors of the season from proceeding so far, at least to reach +a part of the river where they might be able to construct canoes of +greater strength and durability than those of buffalo skins. + +Accordingly, on the 13th of December, they bade adieu, with many a +regret, to their comfortable quarters where for five weeks they had been +indulging the sweets of repose, of plenty, and of fancied security. They +were still accompanied by their veteran pack-horse, which the Arapahays +had omitted to steal, either because they intended to steal him on their +return, or because they thought him not worth stealing. + + + + + +CHAPTER L. + + Rough Wintry Travelling--Hills and Plains.--Snow and Ice.-- + Disappearance of Game.--A Vast Dreary Plain.--A. Second Halt + for the Winter.--Another Wigwam.--New Year's Feast.--Buffalo + Humps, Tongues, and Marrow-Bones.--Return of Spring.--Launch + of Canoes.--Bad Navigation.--Pedestrian March.--Vast + Prairies.--Deserted Camps.--Pawnee Squaws.--An Otto + Indian.--News of War.--Voyage Down the Platte and the + Missouri.--Reception at Fort Osage.--Arrival at St. Louis. + +THE interval of comfort and repose which the party had enjoyed in their +wigwam, rendered the renewal of their fatigues intolerable for the first +two or three days. The snow lay deep, and was slightly frozen on the +surface, but not sufficiently to bear their weight. Their feet became +sore by breaking through the crust, and their limbs weary by floundering +on without firm foothold. So exhausted and dispirited were they, that +they began to think it would be better to remain and run the risk of +being killed by the Indians, than to drag on thus painfully, with the +probability of perishing by the way. Their miserable horse fared no +better than themselves, having for the first day or two no other fodder +than the ends of willow twigs, and the bark of the cotton-wood tree. + +They all, however, appeared to gain patience and hardihood as they +proceeded, and for fourteen days kept steadily on, making a distance +of about three hundred and thirty miles. For some days, the range of +mountains which had been near to their wigwam kept parallel to the river +at no great distance, but at length subsided into hills. Sometimes +they found the river bordered with alluvial bottoms, and groves with +cotton-wood and willows; sometimes the adjacent country was naked and +barren. In one place it ran for a considerable distance between rocky +hills and promontories covered with cedar and pitch pines, and peopled +with the bighorn and the mountain deer; at other places it wandered +through prairies well stocked with buffaloes and antelopes. As they +descended the course of the river, they began to perceive the ash and +white oak here and there among the cotton-wood and willow; and at length +caught a sight of some wild horses on the distant prairies. + +The weather was various; at one time the snow lay deep; then they had +a genial day or two, with the mildness and serenity of autumn; then, +again, the frost was so severe that the river was sufficiently frozen to +bear them upon the ice. + +During the last three days of their fortnight's travel, however, the +face of the country changed. The timber gradually diminished, until they +could scarcely find fuel sufficient for culinary purposes. The game +grew more and more scanty, and, finally, none were to be seen but a few +miserable broken-down buffalo bulls, not worth killing. The snow lay +fifteen inches deep, and made the travelling grievously painful and +toilsome. At length they came to an immense plain, where no vestige of +timber was to be seen; nor a single quadruped to enliven the desolate +landscape. Here, then, their hearts failed them, and they held another +consultation. The width of the river, which was upwards of a mile, its +extreme shallowness, the frequency of quicksands, and various other +characteristics, had at length made them sensible of their errors with +respect to it, and they now came to the correct conclusion, that they +were on the banks of the Platte or Shallow River. What were they to do? +Pursue its course to the Missouri? To go on at this season of the year +seemed dangerous in the extreme. There was no prospect of obtaining +either food or firing. The country was destitute of trees, and though +there might be drift-wood along the river, it lay too deep beneath the +snow for them to find it. + +The weather was threatening a change, and a snowstorm on these boundless +wastes might prove as fatal as a whirlwind of sand on an Arabian desert. +After much dreary deliberation, it was at length determined to retrace +their three last days' journey of seventy-seven miles, to a place which +they had remarked where there was a sheltering growth of forest trees, +and a country abundant in game. Here they would once more set up their +winter quarters, and await the opening of the navigation to launch +themselves in canoes. + +Accordingly, on the 27th of December, they faced about, retraced their +steps, and on the 30th, regained the part of the river in question. Here +the alluvial bottom was from one to two miles wide, and thickly +covered with a forest of cotton-wood trees; while herds of buffalo were +scattered about the neighboring prairie, several of which soon fell +beneath their rifles. + +They encamped on the margin of the river, in a grove where there were +trees large enough for canoes. Here they put up a shed for immediate +shelter, and immediately proceeded to erect a hut. New Year's day dawned +when, as yet, but one wall of their cabin was completed; the genial and +jovial day, however, was not permitted to pass uncelebrated, even by +this weatherbeaten crew of wanderers. All work was suspended, except +that of roasting and boiling. The choicest of the buffalo meat, with +tongues, and humps, and marrow-bones, were devoured in quantities that +would astonish any one that has not lived among hunters or Indians; and +as an extra regale, having no tobacco left, they cut up an old tobacco +pouch, still redolent with the potent herb, and smoked it in honor of +the day. Thus for a time, in present revelry, however uncouth, they +forgot all past troubles and all anxieties about the future, and their +forlorn wigwam echoed to the sound of gayety. + +The next day they resumed their labors, and by the 6th of the month it +was complete. They soon killed abundance of buffalo, and again laid in a +stock of winter provisions. The party were more fortunate in this, their +second cantonment. The winter passed away without any Indian visitors, +and the game continued to be plenty in the neighborhood. They felled two +large trees, and shaped them into canoes; and, as the spring opened, and +a thaw of several days' continuance melted the ice in the river, they +made every preparation for embarking. On the 8th of March they launched +forth in their canoes, but soon found that the river had not depth +sufficient even for such slender barks. It expanded into a wide but +extremely shallow stream, with many sand-bars, and occasionally various +channels. They got one of their canoes a few miles down it, with extreme +difficulty, sometimes wading and dragging it over the shoals; at length +they had to abandon the attempt, and to resume their journey on foot, +aided by their faithful old pack-horse, who had recruited strength +during the repose of the winter. + +The weather delayed them for a few days, having suddenly become more +rigorous than it had been at any time during the winter; but on the 20th +of March they were again on their journey. + +In two days they arrived at the vast naked prairie, the wintry aspect of +which had caused them, in December, to pause and turn back. It was now +clothed in the early verdure of spring, and plentifully stocked with +game. Still, when obliged to bivouac on its bare surface, without any +shelter, and by a scanty fire of dry buffalo dung, they found the night +blasts piercing cold. On one occasion, a herd of buffalo straying near +their evening camp, they killed three of them merely for their hides, +wherewith to make a shelter for the night. + +They continued on for upwards of a hundred miles; with vast prairies +extending before them as they advanced; sometimes diversified by +undulating hills, but destitute of trees. In one place they saw a +gang of sixty-five wild horses, but as to the buffaloes, they seemed +absolutely to cover the country. Wild geese abounded, and they passed +extensive swamps that were alive with innumerable flocks of water-fowl, +among which were a few swans, but an endless variety of ducks. + +The river continued a winding course to the east-north-east, nearly a +mile in width, but too shallow to float even an empty canoe. The country +spread out into a vast level plain, bounded by the horizon alone, +excepting to the north, where a line of hills seemed like a long +promontory stretching into the bosom of the ocean. The dreary sameness +of the prairie wastes began to grow extremely irksome. The travellers +longed for the sight of a forest, or grove, or single tree, to break the +level uniformity, and began to notice every object that gave reason to +hope they were drawing towards the end of this weary wilderness. Thus +the occurrence of a particular kind of grass was hailed as a proof that +they could not be far from the bottoms of the Missouri; and they were +rejoiced at putting up several prairie hens, a kind of grouse seldom +found far in the interior. In picking up driftwood for fuel, also, they +found on some pieces the mark of an axe, which caused much speculation +as to the time when and the persons by whom the trees had been felled. +Thus they went on, like sailors at sea, who perceive in every floating +weed and wandering bird, harbingers of the wished-for land. + +By the close of the month the weather became very mild, and, heavily +burdened as they were, they found the noontide temperature uncomfortably +warm. On the 30th, they came to three deserted hunting camps, either of +Pawnees or Ottoes, about which were buffalo skulls in all directions; +and the frames on which the hides had been stretched and cured. They had +apparently been occupied the preceding autumn. + +For several days they kept patiently on, watching every sign that might +give them an idea as to where they were, and how near to the banks of +the Missouri. + +Though there were numerous traces of hunting parties and encampments, +they were not of recent date. The country seemed deserted. The only +human beings they met with were three Pawnee squaws, in a hut in the +midst of a deserted camp. Their people had all gone to the south, in +pursuit of the buffalo, and had left these poor women behind, being too +sick and infirm to travel. + +It is a common practice with the Pawnees, and probably with other roving +tribes, when departing on a distant expedition, which will not admit of +incumbrance or delay, to leave their aged and infirm with a supply +of provisions sufficient for a temporary subsistence. When this is +exhausted, they must perish; though sometimes their sufferings are +abridged by hostile prowlers who may visit the deserted camp. + +The poor squaws in question expected some such fate at the hands of +the white strangers, and though the latter accosted them in the kindest +manner, and made them presents of dried buffalo meat, it was impossible +to soothe their alarm, or get any information from them. + +The first landmark by which the travellers were enabled to conjecture +their position with any degree of confidence, was an island about +seventy miles in length, which they presumed to be Grand Isle. If so, +they were within one hundred and forty miles of the Missouri. They kept +on, therefore, With renewed spirit, and at the end of three days met +with an Otto Indian, by whom they were confirmed in their conjecture. +They learnt at the same time another piece of information, of an +uncomfortable nature. According to his account, there was war between +the United States and England, and in fact it had existed for a whole +year, during which time they had been beyond the reach of all knowledge +of the affairs of the civilized world. + +The Otto conducted the travellers to his village, situated a short +distance from the banks of the Platte. Here they were delighted to meet +with two white men, Messrs. Dornin and Roi, Indian traders recently from +St. Louis. Of these they had a thousand inquiries to make concerning +all affairs, foreign and domestic, during their year of sepulture in the +wilderness; and especially about the events of the existing war. + +They now prepared to abandon their weary travel by land, and to embark +upon the water. A bargain was made with Mr. Dornin, who engaged to +furnish them with a canoe and provisions for the voyage, in exchange for +their venerable and well-tried fellow traveller, the old Snake horse. + +Accordingly, in a couple of days, the Indians employed by that gentleman +constructed for them a canoe twenty feet long, four feet wide, and +eighteen inches deep. The frame was of poles and willow twigs, on which +were stretched five elk and buffalo hides, sewed together with sinews, +and the seams payed with unctuous mud. In this they embarked at an early +hour on the 16th of April, and drifted down ten miles with the stream, +when the wind being high they encamped, and set to work to make oars, +which they had not been able to procure at the Indian village. + +Once more afloat, they went merrily down the stream, and after making +thirty-five miles, emerged into the broad turbid current of the +Missouri. Here they were borne along briskly by the rapid stream; +though, by the time their fragile bark had floated a couple of hundred +miles, its frame began to show the effects of the voyage. Luckily they +came to the deserted wintering place of some hunting party, where they +found two old wooden canoes. Taking possession of the largest, they +again committed themselves to the current, and after dropping down +fifty-five miles further, arrived safely at Fort Osage. + +Here they found Lieutenant Brownson still in command; the officer who +had given the expedition a hospitable reception on its way up the river, +eighteen months previously. He received this remnant of the party with +a cordial welcome, and endeavored in every way to promote their comfort +and enjoyment during their sojourn at the fort. The greatest luxury they +met with on their return to the abode of civilized man, was bread, not +having tasted any for nearly a year. + +Their stay at Fort Osage was but short. On re-embarking they were +furnished with an ample supply of provisions by the kindness of +Lieutenant Brownson, and performed the rest of their voyage without +adverse circumstance. On the 30th of April they arrived in perfect +health and fine spirits at St. Louis, having been ten months in +performing this perilous expedition from Astoria. Their return caused +quite a sensation at the place, bringing the first intelligence of the +fortune of Mr. Hunt and his party in their adventurous route across +the Rocky Mountains, and of the new establishment on the shores of the +Pacific. + + + + +CHAPTER LI. + + Agreement Between Mr. Astor and the Russian Fur Company--War + Between the United States and Great Britain.--Instructions + to Captain Sowle of the Beaver--Fitting Out of the Lark.-- + News of the Arrival of Mr. Stuart. + +IT is now necessary, in linking together the parts of this excursive +narrative, that we notice the proceedings of Mr. Astor in support of +his great undertaking. His project with respect to the Russian +establishments along the northwest coast had been diligently prosecuted. +The agent sent by him to St. Petersburg, to negotiate in his name +as president of the American Fur Company, had, under sanction of the +Russian government, made a provisional agreement with the Russian +company. + +By this agreement, which was ratified by Mr. Astor in 1813, the two +companies bound themselves not to interfere with each other's trading +and hunting grounds, nor to furnish arms and ammunition to the Indians. +They were to act in concert, also, against all interlopers, and to +succor each other in case of danger. The American company was to have +the exclusive right of supplying the Russian posts with goods and +necessaries, receiving peltries in payment at stated prices. They were +also, if so requested by the Russian governor, to convey the furs of the +Russian company to Canton, sell them on commission, and bring back +the proceeds, at such freight as might be agreed on at the time. This +agreement was to continue in operation four years, and to be renewable +for a similar term, unless some unforeseen contingency should render a +modification necessary. + +It was calculated to be of great service to the infant establishment +at Astoria; dispelling the fears of hostile rivalry on the part of the +foreign companies in its neighborhood, and giving a formidable blow to +the irregular trade along the coast. It was also the intention of Mr. +Astor to have coasting vessels of his own, at Astoria, of small tonnage +and draft of water, fitted for coasting service. These, having a place +of shelter and deposit, could ply about the coast in short voyages, +in favorable weather, and would have vast advantage over chance ships, +which must make long voyages, maintain numerous crews, and could only +approach the coast at certain seasons of the year. He hoped, therefore, +gradually to make Astoria the great emporium of the American fur +trade in the Pacific, and the nucleus of a powerful American state. +Unfortunately for these sanguine anticipations, before Mr. Astor had +ratified the agreement, as above stated, war broke out between the +United States and Great Britain. He perceived at once the peril of +the case. The harbor of New York would doubtless be blockaded, and the +departure of the annual supply ship in the autumn prevented; or, if +she should succeed in getting out to sea, she might be captured on her +voyage. + +In this emergency, he wrote to Captain Sowle, commander of the Beaver. +The letter, which was addressed to him at Canton, directed him to +proceed to the factory at the mouth of the Columbia, with such articles +as the establishment might need; and to remain there, subject to the +orders of Mr. Hunt, should that gentleman be in command there. + +The war continued. No tidings had yet been received from Astoria; the +despatches having been delayed by the misadventure of Mr. Reed at the +falls of the Columbia, and the unhorsing of Mr. Stuart by the Crows +among the mountains. A painful uncertainty, also, prevailed about Mr. +Hunt and his party. Nothing had been heard of them since their departure +from the Arickara village; Lisa, who parted from them there, had +predicted their destruction; and some of the traders of the Northwest +Company had actually spread a rumor of their having been cut off by the +Indians. + +It was a hard trial of the courage and means of an individual to have +to fit out another costly expedition, where so much had already been +expended, so much uncertainty prevailed, and where the risk of loss was +so greatly enhanced, that no insurance could be effected. + +In spite of all these discouragements, Mr. Astor determined to send +another ship to the relief of the settlement. He selected for this +purpose a vessel called the Lark, remarkable for her fast sailing. +The disordered state of the times, however, caused such a delay, that +February arrived, while the vessel was yet lingering in port. + +At this juncture, Mr. Astor learnt that the Northwest Company were +preparing to send out an armed ship of twenty guns, called the Isaac +Todd, to form an establishment at the mouth of the Columbia. These +tidings gave him great uneasiness. A considerable proportion of the +persons in his employ were Scotchmen and Canadians, and several of them +had been in the service of the Northwest Company. Should Mr. Hunt have +failed to arrive at Astoria, the whole establishment would be under +the control of Mr. M'Dougal, of whose fidelity he had received very +disparaging accounts from Captain Thorn. The British government, also, +might deem it worth while to send a force against the establishment, +having been urged to do so some time previously by the Northwest +Company. + +Under all these circumstances, Mr. Astor wrote to Mr. Monroe, then +secretary of state, requesting protection from the government of the +United States. He represented the importance of his settlement, in +a commercial point of view, and the shelter it might afford to the +American vessels in those seas. All he asked was that the American +government would throw forty or fifty men into the fort at his +establishment, which would be sufficient for its defense until he could +send reinforcements over land. + +He waited in vain for a reply to this letter, the government, no doubt, +being engrossed at the time by an overwhelming crowd of affairs. The +month of March arrived, and the Lark was ordered by Mr. Astor to put to +sea. The officer who was to command her shrunk from his engagement, and +in the exigency of the moment, she was given in charge to Mr. Northrup, +the mate. Mr. Nicholas G. Ogden, a gentleman on whose talents and +integrity the highest reliance could be placed, sailed as supercargo. +The Lark put to sea in the beginning of March, 1813. + +By this opportunity, Mr. Astor wrote to Mr. Hunt, as head of the +establishment at the mouth of the Columbia, for he would not allow +himself to doubt of his welfare. "I always think you are well," said he, +"and that I shall see you again, which Heaven, I hope, will grant." + +He warned him to be on his guard against any attempts to surprise the +post; suggesting the probability of armed hostility on the part of the +Northwest Company, and expressing his indignation at the ungrateful +returns made by that association for his frank and open conduct, and +advantageous overtures. "Were I on the spot," said he, "and had the +management of affairs, I would defy them all; but, as it is, everything +depends upon you and your friends about you. Our enterprise is grand, +and deserves success, and I hope in God it will meet it. If my object +was merely gain of money, I should say, think whether it is best to save +what we can, and abandon the place; but the very idea is like a dagger +to my heart." This extract is sufficient to show the spirit and the +views which actuated Mr. Astor in this great undertaking. + +Week after week and month after month elapsed, without anything to +dispel the painful incertitude that hung over every part of this +enterprise. Though a man of resolute spirit, and not easily cast down, +the dangers impending over this darling scheme of his ambition, had a +gradual effect upon the spirits of Mr. Astor. He was sitting one gloomy +evening by his window, revolving over the loss of the Tonquin and the +fate of her unfortunate crew, and fearing that some equally tragical +calamity might have befallen the adventurers across the mountains, +when the evening newspaper was brought to him. The first paragraph that +caught his eye, announced the arrival of Mr. Stuart and his party at St. +Louis, with intelligence that Mr. Hunt and his companions had effected +their perilous expedition to the mouth of the Columbia. This was a gleam +of sunshine that for a time dispelled every cloud, and he now looked +forward with sanguine hope to the accomplishment of all his plans. + + + + +CHAPTER LII. + + Banks of the Wallah-Wallah.--Departure of David Stuart for + the Oakinagan.--Mr. Clarke's Route Up Lewis River.-- + Chipunnish, or Pierced-Nose Indians--Their Character, + Appearance, and Habits.-Thievish Habits.--Laying Up of the + Boats.--Post at Pointed Heart and Spokan Rivers.--M'Kenzie, + His Route Up the Camoenum.-Bands of Travelling Indians.-- + Expedition of Reed to the Caches.--Adventures of Wandering + Voyageurs and Trappers. + +THE course of our narrative now takes us back to the regions beyond +the mountains, to dispose of the parties that set out from Astoria, in +company with Mr. Robert Stuart, and whom he left on the banks of the +Wallah-Wallah. Those parties likewise separated from each other shortly +after his departure, proceeding to their respective destinations, but +agreeing to meet at the mouth of the Wallah-Wallah about the beginning +of June in the following year, with such peltries as they should +have collected in the winter, so as to convoy each other through the +dangerous passes of the Columbia. + +Mr. David Stuart, one of the partners, proceeded with his men to the +post already established by him at the mouth of the Oakinagan; having +furnished this with goods and ammunition, he proceeded three hundred +miles up that river, where he established another post in a good trading +neighborhood. + +Mr. Clarke, another partner, conducted his little band up Lewis River +to the mouth of a small stream coming in from the north, to which +the Canadians gave the name of the Pavion. Here he found a village or +encampment of forty huts or tents, covered with mats, and inhabited by +Nez Perces, or Pierced-nose Indians, as they are called by the traders; +but Chipunnish, as they are called by themselves. They are a hardy, +laborious, and somewhat knavish race, who lead a precarious life, +fishing and digging roots during the summer and autumn, hunting the deer +on snow-shoes during the winter, and traversing the Rocky Mountains in +the spring, to trade for buffalo skins with the hunting tribes of the +Missouri. In these migrations they are liable to be waylaid and attacked +by the Blackfeet, and other warlike and predatory tribes, and driven +back across the mountains with the loss of their horses, and of many of +their comrades. + +A life of this unsettled and precarious kind is apt to render man +selfish, and such Mr. Clarke found the inhabitants of this village, +who were deficient in the usual hospitality of Indians; parting with +everything with extreme reluctance, and showing no sensibility to any +act of kindness. At the time of his arrival, they were all occupied in +catching and curing salmon. The men were stout, robust, active, and good +looking, and the women handsomer than those of the tribes nearer to the +coast. + +It was the plan of Mr. Clarke to lay up his boats here, and proceed by +land to his place of destination, which was among the Spokan tribe +of Indians, about a hundred and fifty miles distant. He accordingly +endeavored to purchase horses for the journey, but in this he had to +contend with the sordid disposition of these people. They asked high +prices for their horses, and were so difficult to deal with, that Mr. +Clarke was detained seven days among them before he could procure +a sufficient number. During that time he was annoyed by repeated +pilferings, for which he could get no redress. The chief promised to +recover the stolen articles; but failed to do so, alleging that the +thieves belonged to a distant tribe, and had made off with their booty. +With this excuse Mr. Clarke was fain to content himself, though he laid +up in his heart a bitter grudge against the whole Pierced-nose race, +which it will be found he took occasion subsequently to gratify in a +signal manner. + +Having made arrangements for his departure, Mr. Clarke laid up his barge +and canoes in a sheltered place, on the banks of a small bay, overgrown +with shrubs and willows, confiding them to the care of the Nez Perce +chief, who, on being promised an ample compensation, engaged to have a +guardian eye upon them; then mounting his steed, and putting himself +at the head of his little caravan, he shook the dust off his feet as he +turned his back upon this village of rogues and hard dealers. We shall +not follow him minutely in his journey; which lay at times over steep +and rocky hills, and among crags and precipices; at other times +over vast naked and sunburnt plains, abounding with rattlesnakes, in +traversing which, both men and horses suffered intolerably from heat and +thirst. The place on which he fixed for a trading post, was a fine point +of land, at the junction of the Pointed Heart and Spokan Rivers. +His establishment was intended to compete with a trading post of the +Northwest Company, situated at no great distance, and to rival it in +the trade with the Spokan Indians; as well as with the Cootonais and +Flatheads. In this neighborhood we shall leave him for the present. + +Mr. M'Kenzie, who conducted the third party from the Wallah-Wallah, +navigated for several days up the south branch of the Columbia, named +the Camoenum by the natives, but commonly called Lewis River, in honor +of the first explorer. Wandering bands of various tribes were seen along +this river, travelling in various directions; for the Indians generally +are restless, roving beings, continually intent on enterprises of war, +traffic, and hunting. Some of these people were driving large gangs of +horses, as if to a distant market. Having arrived at the mouth of the +Shahaptan, he ascended some distance up that river, and established his +trading post upon its banks. This appeared to be a great thoroughfare +for the tribes from the neighborhood of the Falls of the Columbia, in +their expeditions to make war upon the tribes of the Rocky Mountains; to +hunt buffalo on the plains beyond, or to traffic for roots and buffalo +robes. It was the season of migration, and the Indians from various +distant parts were passing and repassing in great numbers. + +Mr. M'Kenzie now detached a small band, under the conduct of Mr. John +Reed, to visit the caches made by Mr. Hunt at the Caldron Linn, and to +bring the contents to his post; as he depended, in some measure, on them +for his supplies of goods and ammunition. They had not been gone a week, +when two Indians arrived of the Pallatapalla tribe, who live upon a +river of the same name. These communicated the unwelcome intelligence +that the caches had been robbed. They said that some of their tribe had, +in the course of the preceding spring, been across the mountains, which +separated them from Snake River, and had traded horses with the Snakes +in exchange for blankets, robes and goods of various descriptions. These +articles the Snakes had procured from caches to which they were guided +by some white men who resided among them, and who afterwards accompanied +them across the Rocky Mountains. This intelligence was extremely +perplexing to Mr. M'Kenzie, but the truth of part of it was confirmed +by the two Indians, who brought them an English saddle and bridle, which +was recognized as having belonged to Mr. Crooks. The perfidy of the +white men who revealed the secret of the caches, was, however, perfectly +inexplicable. We shall presently account for it in narrating the +expedition of Mr. Reed. + +That worthy Hibernian proceeded on his mission with his usual alacrity. +His forlorn travels of the preceding winter had made him acquainted with +the topography of the country, and he reached Snake River without any +material difficulty. Here, in an encampment of the natives, he met with +six white men, wanderers from the main expedition of Mr. Hunt, who, +after having had their respective shares of adventures and mishaps, +had fortunately come together at this place. Three of these men were +Turcotte, La Chapelle, and Francis Landry; the three Canadian voyageurs +who, it may be recollected, had left Mr. Crooks in February, in the +neighborhood of Snake River, being dismayed by the increasing hardships +of the journey, and fearful of perishing of hunger. They had returned to +a Snake encampment, where they passed the residue of the winter. + +Early in the spring, being utterly destitute, and in great extremity, +and having worn out the hospitality of the Snakes, they determined to +avail themselves of the buried treasures within their knowledge. They +accordingly informed the Snake chieftains that they knew where a great +quantity of goods had been left in caches, enough to enrich the whole +tribe; and offered to conduct them to the place, on condition of being +rewarded with horses and provisions. The chieftains pledged their faith +and honor as great men and Snakes, and the three Canadians conducted +them to the place of deposit at the Caldron Linn. This is the way that +the savages got knowledge of the caches, and not by following the tracks +of wolves, as Mr. Stuart had supposed. Never did money diggers turn up a +miser's hoard with more eager delight, than did the savages lay open +the treasures of the caches. Blankets and robes, brass trinkets and blue +beads were drawn forth with chuckling exultation, and long strips of +scarlet cloth produced yells of ecstasy. + +The rifling of the caches effected a change in the fortunes and +deportment of the whole party. The Snakes were better clad and equipped +than ever were Snakes before, and the three Canadians, suddenly finding +themselves with horse to ride and weapon to wear, were like beggars +on horseback, ready to ride on any wild scamper. An opportunity soon +presented. The Snakes determined on a hunting match on the buffalo +prairies, to lay in a supply of beef, that they might live in plenty, +as became men of their improved condition. The three newly mounted +cavaliers, must fain accompany them. They all traversed the Rocky +Mountains in safety, descended to the head waters of the Missouri, and +made great havoc among the buffaloes. + +Their hunting camp was full of meat; they were gorging themselves, +like true Indians, with present plenty, and drying and jerking great +quantities for a winter's supply. In the midst of their revelry and good +cheer, the camp was surprised by the Blackfeet. Several of the Snakes +were slain on the spot; the residue, with their three Canadian allies, +fled to the mountains, stripped of horses, buffalo meat, everything; and +made their way back to the old encampment on Snake River, poorer than +ever, but esteeming themselves fortunate in having escaped with their +lives. They had not been long there when the Canadians were cheered by +the sight of a companion in misfortune, Dubreull, the poor voyageur who +had left Mr. Crooks in March, being too much exhausted to keep on with +him. Not long afterwards, three other straggling members of the main +expedition made their appearance. These were Carson, St. Michael, and +Pierre Delaunay, three of the trappers who, in company with Pierre +Detaye, had been left among the mountains by Mr. Hunt, to trap beaver, +in the preceding month of September. They had departed from the main +body well armed and provided, with horses to ride, and horses to carry +the peltries they were to collect. They came wandering into the Snake +camp as ragged and destitute as their predecessors. It appears that they +had finished their trapping, and were making their way in the spring to +the Missouri, when they were met and attacked by a powerful band of the +all-pervading Crows. They made a desperate resistance, and killed seven +of the savages, but were overpowered by numbers. Pierre Detaye was +slain, the rest were robbed of horses and effects, and obliged to turn +back, when they fell in with their old companions as already mentioned. + +We should observe, that at the heels of Pierre Delaunay came draggling +an Indian wife, whom he had picked up in his wanderings; having grown +weary of celibacy among the savages. + +The whole seven of this forlorn fraternity of adventurers, thus +accidentally congregated on the banks of Snake River, were making +arrangements once more to cross the mountains, when some Indian scouts +brought word of the approach of the little band headed by John Reed. + +The latter, having heard the several stories of these wanderers, took +them all into his party, and set out for the Caldron Linn, to clear out +two or three of the caches which had not been revealed to the Indians. + +At that place he met with Robinson, the Kentucky veteran, who, with his +two comrades, Rezner and Hoback, had remained there when Mr. Stuart went +on. This adventurous trio had been trapping higher up the river, but +Robinson had come down in a canoe, to await the expected arrival of the +party, and obtain horses and equipments. He told Reed the story of +the robbery of his party by the Arapahays, but it differed, in some +particulars, from the account given by him to Mr. Stuart. In that, he +had represented Cass as having shamefully deserted his companions in +their extremity, carrying off with him a horse; in the one now given, +he spoke of him as having been killed in the affray with the Arapahays. +This discrepancy, of which, of course, Reed could have had no knowledge +at the time, concurred with other circumstances, to occasion afterwards +some mysterious speculations and dark surmises as to the real fate +of Cass; but as no substantial grounds were ever adduced for them, we +forbear to throw any deeper shades into this story of sufferings in the +wilderness. + +Mr. Reed, having gathered the remainder of the goods from the caches, +put himself at the head of his party, now augmented by the seven men +thus casually picked up, and the squaw of Pierre Delaunay, and made his +way successfully to M'Kenzie's Post, on the waters of the Shahaptan. + + + + +CHAPTER LIII. + + Departure of Mr. Hunt in the Beaver--Precautions at the + Factory.-Detachment to the Wollamut.--Gloomy Apprehensions.-- + Arrival of M'Kenzie.--Affairs at the Shahaptan.--News of + War.--Dismay of M'Dougal.-Determination to Abandon Astoria.-- + Departure of M'Kenzie for the Interior.--Adventure at the + Rapids.--Visit to the Ruffians of Wish-ram.--A Perilous + Situation.--Meeting With M'Tavish and His Party.--Arrival at + the Shahaptan.--Plundered Caches.-Determination of the + Wintering Partners Not to Leave the Country.--Arrival of + Clarke Among the Nez Perces.--The Affair of the Silver + Goblet.--Hanging of An Indian.--Arrival of the Wintering + Partners at Astoria. + +AFTER the departure of the different detachments, or brigades, as they +are called by the fur traders, the Beaver prepared for her voyage along +the coast, and her visit to the Russian establishment, at New Archangel, +where she was to carry supplies. It had been determined in the council +of partners at Astoria, that Mr. Hunt should embark in this vessel, +for the purpose of acquainting himself with the coasting trade, and of +making arrangements with the commander of the Russian post, and that he +should be re-landed in October, at Astoria, by the Beaver, on her way to +the Sandwich Islands and Canton. + +The Beaver put to sea in the month of August. Her departure and that +of the various brigades, left the fortress of Astoria but slightly +garrisoned. This was soon perceived by some of the Indian tribes, and +the consequence was increased insolence of deportment, and a disposition +to hostility. It was now the fishing season, when the tribes from the +northern coast drew into the neighborhood of the Columbia. These were +warlike and perfidious in their dispositions; and noted for their +attempts to surprise trading ships. Among them were numbers of the +Neweetees, the ferocious tribe that massacred the crew of the Tonquin. + +Great precautions, therefore, were taken at the factory, to guard +against surprise while these dangerous intruders were in the vicinity. +Galleries were constructed inside of the palisades; the bastions were +heightened, and sentinels were posted day and night. Fortunately, the +Chinooks and other tribes resident in the vicinity manifested the most +pacific disposition. Old Comcomly, who held sway over them, was a shrewd +calculator. He was aware of the advantages of having the whites as +neighbors and allies, and of the consequence derived to himself and his +people from acting as intermediate traders between them and the distant +tribes. He had, therefore, by this time, become a firm friend of the +Astorians, and formed a kind of barrier between them and the hostile +intruders from the north. + +The summer of 1812 passed away without any of the hostilities that had +been apprehended; the Neweetees, and other dangerous visitors to the +neighborhood, finished their fishing and returned home, and the inmates +of the factory once more felt secure from attack. + +It now became necessary to guard against other evils. The season of +scarcity arrived, which commences in October, and lasts until the end +of January. To provide for the support of the garrison, the shallop was +employed to forage about the shores of the river. A number of the men, +also, under the command of some of the clerks, were sent to quarter +themselves on the banks of the Wollamut (the Multnomah of Lewis and +Clarke), a fine river which disembogues itself into the Columbia, about +sixty miles above Astoria. The country bordering on the river is finely +diversified with prairies and hills, and forests of oak, ash, maple, +and cedar. It abounded, at that time, with elk and deer, and the streams +were well stocked with beaver. Here the party, after supplying their own +wants, were enabled to pack up quantities of dried meat, and send it by +canoes to Astoria. + +The month of October elapsed without the return of the Beaver. November, +December, January, passed away, and still nothing was seen or heard of +her. Gloomy apprehensions now began to be entertained: she might have +been wrecked in the course of her coasting voyage, or surprised, like +the Tonquin, by some of the treacherous tribes of the north. + +No one indulged more in these apprehensions than M'Dougal, who had +now the charge of the establishment. He no longer evinced the bustling +confidence and buoyancy which once characterized him. Command seemed to +have lost its charms for him, or rather, he gave way to the most abject +despondency, decrying the whole enterprise, magnifying every untoward +circumstance, and foreboding nothing but evil. + +While in this moody state, he was surprised, on the 16th of January, by +the sudden appearance of M'Kenzie, wayworn and weather-beaten by a long +wintry journey from his post on the Shahaptan, and with a face the very +frontispiece for a volume of misfortune. M'Kenzie had been heartily +disgusted and disappointed at his post. It was in the midst of the +Tushepaws, a powerful and warlike nation, divided into many tribes, +under different chiefs, who possessed innumerable horses, but, not +having turned their attention to beaver trapping, had no furs to offer. +According to M'Kenzie, they were but a "rascally tribe;" from which we +may infer that they were prone to consult their own interests more than +comported with the interests of a greedy Indian trader. + +Game being scarce, he was obliged to rely, for the most part, +on horse-flesh for subsistence, and the Indians discovering his +necessities, adopted a policy usual in civilized trade, and raised the +price of horses to an exorbitant rate, knowing that he and his men must +eat or die. In this way, the goods he had brought to trade for beaver +skins, were likely to be bartered for horseflesh, and all the proceeds +devoured upon the spot. + +He had despatched trappers in various directions, but the country around +did not offer more beaver than his own station. In this emergency he +began to think of abandoning his unprofitable post, sending his goods +to the posts of Clarke and David Stuart, who could make a better use +of them, as they were in a good beaver country, and returning with his +party to Astoria, to seek some better destination. With this view he +repaired to the post of Mr. Clarke, to hold a consultation. While the +two partners were in conference in Mr. Clarke's wigwam, an unexpected +visitor came bustling in upon them. + +This was Mr. John George M'Tavish, a partner of the Northwest +Company, who had charge of the rival trading posts established in that +neighborhood. Mr. M'Tavish was the delighted messenger of bad news. He +had been to Lake Winnipeg, where he received an express from Canada, +containing the declaration of war, and President Madison's proclamation, +which he handed with the most officious complaisance to Messrs. Clarke +and M'Kenzie. He moreover told them that he had received a fresh +supply of goods from the Northwest posts on the other side of the Rocky +Mountains, and was prepared for vigorous opposition to the establishment +of the American Company. He capped the climax of this obliging but +belligerent intelligence, by informing them that the armed ship, Isaac +Todd, was to be at the mouth of the Columbia about the beginning of +March, to get possession of the trade of the river, and that he was +ordered to join her there at that time. + +The receipt of this news determined M'Kenzie. He immediately returned to +the Shahaptan, broke up his establishment, deposited his goods in cache, +and hastened with all his people to Astoria. + +The intelligence thus brought, completed the dismay of M'Dougal, and +seemed to produce a complete confusion of mind. He held a council of war +with M'Kenzie, at which some of the clerks were present, but of course +had no votes. They gave up all hope of maintaining their post at +Astoria. The Beaver had probably been lost; they could receive no +aid from the United States, as all the ports would be blockaded. From +England nothing could be expected but hostility. It was determined, +therefore, to abandon the establishment in the course of the following +spring, and return across the Rocky Mountains. In pursuance of this +resolution, they suspended all trade with the natives, except for +provisions, having already more peltries than they could carry away, and +having need of all the goods for the clothing and subsistence of their +people, during the remainder of their sojourn, and on their journey +across the mountains, This intention of abandoning Astoria was, however, +kept secret from the men, lest they should at once give up all labor, +and become restless and insubordinate. + +In the meantime, M'Kenzie set off for his post at the Shahaptan, to get +his goods from the caches, and buy horses and provisions with them for +the caravan across the mountains. He was charged with despatches from +M'Dougal to Messrs. Stuart and Clarke, appraising them of the intended +migration, that they might make timely preparations. + +M'Kenzie was accompanied by two of the clerks, Mr. John Reed, the +Irishman, and Mr. Alfred Seton, of New York. They embarked in two +canoes, manned by seventeen men, and ascended the river without any +incident of importance, until they arrived in the eventful neighborhood +of the rapids. They made the portage of the narrows and the falls early +in the afternoon, and, having partaken of a scanty meal, had now a long +evening on their hands. + +On the opposite side of the river lay the village of Wish-ram, of +freebooting renown. Here lived the savages who had robbed and maltreated +Reed, when bearing his tin box of despatches. It was known that the +rifle of which he was despoiled was retained as a trophy at the village. +M'Kenzie offered to cross the river, and demand the rifle, if any one +would accompany him. It was a hare-brained project, for these villages +were noted for the ruffian character of their inhabitants; yet two +volunteers promptly stepped forward; Alfred Seton, the clerk, and Joe +de la Pierre, the cook. The trio soon reached the opposite side of the +river. On landing, they freshly primed their rifles and pistols. A path +winding for about a hundred yards among rocks and crags, led to the +village. No notice seemed to be taken of their approach. Not a solitary +being, man, woman, or child, greeted them. + +The very dogs, those noisy pests of an Indian town, kept silence. On +entering the village, a boy made his appearance, and pointed to a house +of larger dimensions than the rest. They had to stoop to enter it; as +soon as they had passed the threshold, the narrow passage behind them +was filled up by a sudden rush of Indians, who had before kept out of +sight. + +M'Kenzie and his companions found themselves in a rude chamber of about +twenty-five feet long and twenty wide. A bright fire was blazing at one +end, near which sat the chief, about sixty years old. A large number of +Indians, wrapped in buffalo robes, were squatted in rows, three deep, +forming a semicircle round three sides of the room. A single glance +around sufficed to show them the grim and dangerous assembly into which +they had intruded, and that all retreat was cut off by the mass which +blocked up the entrance. + +The chief pointed to the vacant side of the room opposite to the door, +and motioned for them to take their seats. They complied. A dead pause +ensued. The grim warriors around sat like statues; each muffled in his +robe, with his fierce eyes bent on the intruders. The latter felt they +were in a perilous predicament. + +"Keep your eyes on the chief while I am addressing him," said M'Kenzie +to his companions. "Should he give any sign to his band, shoot him, and +make for the door." + +M'Kenzie advanced, and offered the pipe of peace to the chief, but it +was refused. He then made a regular speech, explaining the object +of their visit, and proposing to give in exchange for the rifle two +blankets, an axe, some beads and tobacco. + +When he had done, the chief rose, began to address him in a low voice, +but soon became loud and violent, and ended by working himself up into a +furious passion. He upbraided the white men for their sordid conduct in +passing and repassing through their neighborhood, without giving them a +blanket or any other article of goods, merely because they had no furs +to barter in exchange, and he alluded, with menaces of vengeance, to the +death of the Indian killed by the whites in the skirmish at the falls. + +Matters were verging to a crisis. It was evident the surrounding savages +were only waiting a signal from the chief to spring upon their prey. +M'Kenzie and his companions had gradually risen on their feet during +the speech, and had brought their rifles to a horizontal position, the +barrels resting in their left hands; the muzzle of M'Kenzie's piece was +within three feet of the speaker's heart. They cocked their rifles; the +click of the locks for a moment suffused the dark cheek of the savage, +and there was a pause. They coolly, but promptly, advanced to the door; +the Indians fell back in awe, and suffered them to pass. The sun was +just setting, as they emerged from this dangerous den. They took the +precaution to keep along the tops of the rocks as much as possible +on their way back to the canoe, and reached their camp in safety, +congratulating themselves on their escape, and feeling no desire to make +a second visit to the grim warriors of Wish-ram. + +M'Kenzie and his party resumed their journey the next morning. At some +distance above the falls of the Columbia, they observed two bark canoes, +filled with white men, coming down the river, to the full chant of a +set of Canadian voyageurs. A parley ensued. It was a detachment of +Northwesters, under the command of Mr. John George M'Tavish, bound, full +of song and spirit, to the mouth of the Columbia, to await the arrival +of the Isaac Todd. + +Mr. M'Kenzie and M'Tavish came to a halt, and landing, encamped for the +night. The voyageurs of either party hailed each other as brothers, and +old "comrades," and they mingled together as if united by one common +interest, instead of belonging to rival companies, and trading under +hostile flags. + +In the morning they proceeded on their different ways, in style +corresponding to their different fortunes: the one toiling painfully +against the stream, the other sweeping down gayly with the Current. + +M'Kenzie arrived safely at his deserted post on the Shahaptan, but +found, to his chagrin, that his caches had been discovered and rifled by +the Indians. Here was a dilemma, for on the stolen goods he had depended +to purchase horses of the Indians. He sent out men in all directions to +endeavor to discover the thieves, and despatched Mr. Reed to the posts +of Messrs. Clarke and David Stuart, with the letters of Mr. M'Dougal. + +The resolution announced in these letters, to break up and depart from +Astoria, was condemned by both Clarke and Stuart. These two gentlemen +had been very successful at their posts, and considered it rash and +pusillanimous to abandon, on the first difficulty, an enterprise of such +great cost and ample promise. They made no arrangements, therefore, for +leaving the country, but acted with a view to the maintenance of their +new and prosperous establishments. + +The regular time approached, when the partners of the interior--posts +were to rendezvous at the mouth of the Wallah-Wallah, on their way to +Astoria, with the peltries they had collected. Mr. Clarke accordingly +packed all his furs on twenty-eight horses, and, leaving a clerk and +four men to take charge of the post, departed on the 25th of May with +the residue of his force. + +On the 30th, he arrived at the confluence of the Pavion and Lewis +rivers, where he had left his barge and canoes, in the guardianship of +the old Pierced-nosed chieftain. That dignitary had acquitted himself +more faithfully to his charge than Mr. Clarke had expected, and the +canoes were found in very tolerable order. Some repairs were necessary, +and, while they were making, the party encamped close by the village. +Having had repeated and vexatious proofs of the pilfering propensities +of this tribe during his former visit, Mr. Clarke ordered that a wary +eye should be kept upon them. + +He was a tall, good-looking man, and somewhat given to pomp and +circumstance, which made him an object of note in the eyes of the +wondering savages. He was stately, too, in his appointments, and had +a silver goblet or drinking cup, out of which he would drink with +a magnificent air, and then lock it up in a large garde vin, which +accompanied him in his travels, and stood in his tent. This goblet +had originally been sent as a present from Mr. Astor to Mr. M'Kay, +the partner who had unfortunately been blown up in the Tonquin. As it +reached Astoria after the departure of that gentleman, it had remained +in the possession of Mr. Clarke. + +A silver goblet was too glittering a prize not to catch the eye of a +Pierced-nose. It was like the shining tin case of John Reed. Such a +wonder had never been seen in the land before. The Indians talked about +it to one another. They marked the care with which it was deposited in +the garde vin, like a relic in its shrine, and concluded that it must +be a "great medicine." That night Mr. Clarke neglected to lock up his +treasure; in the morning the sacred casket was open--the precious relic +gone! + +Clarke was now outrageous. All the past vexations that he had suffered +from this pilfering community rose to mind, and he threatened that, +unless the goblet was promptly returned, he would hang the thief, should +he eventually discover him. The day passed away, however, without the +restoration of the cup. At night sentinels were secretly posted about +the camp. With all their vigilance, a Pierced-nose contrived to get into +the camp unperceived, and to load himself with booty; it was only on his +retreat that he was discovered and taken. + +At daybreak the culprit was brought to trial, and promptly convicted. +He stood responsible for all the spoliations of the camp, the precious +goblet among the number, and Mr. Clarke passed sentence of death upon +him. + +A gibbet was accordingly constructed of oars; the chief of the village +and his people were assembled, and the culprit was produced, with his +legs and arms pinioned. Clarke then made a harangue. He reminded the +tribe of the benefits he had bestowed upon them during his former +visits, and the many thefts and other misdeeds which he had overlooked. +The prisoner, especially, had always been peculiarly well treated by +the white men, but had repeatedly been guilty of pilfering. He was to be +punished for his own misdeeds, and as a warning to his tribe. + +The Indians now gathered round Mr. Clarke, and interceded for the +culprit. They were willing he should be punished severely, but implored +that his life might be spared. The companions, too, of Mr. Clarke, +considered the sentence too severe, and advised him to mitigate it; but +he was inexorable. He was not naturally a stern or cruel man; but from +his boyhood he had lived in the Indian country among Indian traders, +and held the life of a savage extremely cheap. He was, moreover, a firm +believer in the doctrine of intimidation. + +Farnham, a clerk, a tall "Green Mountain boy" from Vermont, who had been +robbed of a pistol, acted as executioner. The signal was given, and +the poor Pierced-nose resisting, struggling, and screaming, in the most +frightful manner, was launched into eternity. The Indians stood round +gazing in silence and mute awe, but made no attempt to oppose the +execution, nor testified any emotion when it was over. They locked up +their feelings within their bosoms until an opportunity should arrive to +gratify them with a bloody act of vengeance. + +To say nothing of the needless severity of this act, its impolicy was +glaringly obvious. Mr. M'Lennan and three men were to return to the post +with the horses, their loads having been transferred to the canoes. They +would have to pass through a tract of country infested by this tribe, +who were all horsemen and hard riders, and might pursue them to take +vengeance for the death of their comrade. M'Lennan, however, was a +resolute fellow, and made light of all dangers. He and his three men +were present at the execution, and set off as soon as life was extinct +in the victim; but, to use the words of one of their comrades, "they +did not let the grass grow under the heels of their horses, as they +clattered out of the Pierced-nose country," and were glad to find +themselves in safety at the post. + +Mr. Clarke and his party embarked about the same time in their canoes, +and early on the following day reached the mouth of the Wallah-Wallah, +where they found Messrs. Stuart and M'Kenzie awaiting them; the latter +having recovered part of the goods stolen from his cache. Clarke +informed them of the signal punishment he had inflicted on the +Pierced-nose, evidently expecting to excite their admiration by such a +hardy act of justice, performed in the very midst of the Indian +country, but was mortified at finding it strongly censured as inhuman, +unnecessary, and likely to provoke hostilities. + +The parties thus united formed a squadron of two boats and six canoes, +with which they performed their voyage in safety down the river, and +arrived at Astoria on the 12th of June, bringing with them a valuable +stock of peltries. + +About ten days previously, the brigade which had been quartered on the +banks of the Wollamut, had arrived with numerous packs of beaver, the +result of a few months' sojourn on that river. These were the first +fruits of the enterprise, gathered by men as yet mere strangers in the +land; but they were such as to give substantial grounds for sanguine +anticipations of profit, when the country should be more completely +explored, and the trade established. + + + + +CHAPTER LIV. + + The Partners Displeased With M'Dougal.--Equivocal Conduct of + That Gentleman--Partners Agree to Abandon Astoria.--Sale of + Goods to M'Tavish.--Arrangements for the Year.--Manifesto + Signed by the Partners--Departure of M'Tavish for the + Interior. + +THE partners found Mr. M'Dougal in all the bustle of preparation; having +about nine days previously announced at the factory, his intention of +breaking up the establishment, and fixed upon the 1st of July for the +time of departure. Messrs. Stuart and Clarke felt highly displeased at +his taking so precipitate a step, without waiting for their concurrence, +when he must have known that their arrival could not be far distant. + +Indeed, the whole conduct of Mr. M'Dougal was such as to awaken strong +doubts as to his loyal devotion to the cause. His old sympathies with +the Northwest Company seem to have revived. He had received M'Tavish and +his party with uncalled for hospitality, as though they were friends and +allies, instead of being a party of observation, come to reconnoitre the +state of affairs at Astoria, and to await the arrival of a hostile ship. +Had they been left to themselves, they would have been starved off for +want of provisions, or driven away by the Chinooks, who only wanted +a signal from the factory to treat them as intruders and enemies. +M'Dougal, on the contrary, had supplied them from the stores of the +garrison, and had gained them the favor of the Indians, by treating them +as friends. + +Having set his mind fixedly on the project of breaking up the +establishment at Astoria, in the current year, M'Dougal was sorely +disappointed at finding that Messrs. Stuart and Clarke had omitted +to comply with his request to purchase horses and provisions for the +caravan across the mountains. It was now too late to make the necessary +preparations in time for traversing the mountains before winter, and the +project had to be postponed. + +In the meantime, the non-arrival of the annual ship, and the +apprehensions entertained of the loss of the Beaver and of Mr. Hunt, had +their effect upon the minds of Messrs. Stuart and Clarke. They began +to listen to the desponding representations of M'Dougal, seconded +by M'Kenzie, who inveighed against their situation as desperate and +forlorn; left to shift for themselves, or perish upon a barbarous coast; +neglected by those who sent them there; and threatened with dangers +of every kind. In this way they were brought to consent to the plan of +abandoning the country in the ensuing year. + +About this time, M'Tavish applied at the factory to purchase a small +supply of goods wherewith to trade his way back to his post on the upper +waters of the Columbia, having waited in vain for the arrival of the +Isaac Todd. His request brought on a consultation among the partners. +M'Dougal urged that it should be complied with. He furthermore proposed, +that they should give up to M'Tavish, for a proper consideration, the +post on the Spokan, and all its dependencies, as they had not sufficient +goods on hand to supply that post themselves, and to keep up a +competition with the Northwest Company in the trade with the neighboring +Indians. This last representation has since been proved incorrect. By +inventories, it appears that their stock in hand for the supply of the +interior posts, was superior to that of the Northwest Company; so that +they had nothing to fear from competition. + +Through the influence of Messrs. M'Dougal and M'Kenzie, this proposition +was adopted, and was promptly accepted by M'Tavish. The merchandise sold +to him amounted to eight hundred and fifty-eight dollars, to be paid +for, in the following spring, in horses, or in any other manner most +acceptable to the partners at that period. + +This agreement being concluded, the partners formed their plans for +the year that they would yet have to pass in the country. Their objects +were, chiefly, present subsistence, and the purchase of horses for +the contemplated journey, though they were likewise to collect as much +peltries as their diminished means would command. Accordingly, it was +arranged that David Stuart should return to his former post on the +Oakinagan, and Mr. Clarke should make his sojourn among the Flatheads. +John Reed, the sturdy Hibernian, was to undertake the Snake River +country, accompanied by Pierre Dorion and Pierre Delaunay, as hunters, +and Francis Landry, Jean Baptiste Turcotte, Andre la Chapelle, and +Gilles le Clerc, Canadian voyageurs. + +Astoria, however, was the post about which they felt the greatest +solicitude, and on which they all more or less depended. The maintenance +of this in safety throughout the coming year, was, therefore, their +grand consideration. Mr. M'Dougal was to continue in command of it, +with a party of forty men. They would have to depend chiefly upon the +neighboring savages for their subsistence. These, at present, were +friendly, but it was to be feared that, when they should discover the +exigencies of the post, and its real weakness, they might proceed +to hostilities; or, at any rate, might cease to furnish their +usual supplies. It was important, therefore, to render the place as +independent as possible, of the surrounding tribes for its support; and +it was accordingly resolved that M'Kenzie, with four hunters, and eight +common men, should winter in the abundant country of Wollamut, from +whence they might be enabled to furnish a constant supply of provisions +to Astoria. + +As there was too great a proportion of clerks for the number of privates +in the service, the engagements of three of them, Ross Cox, Ross, +and M'Lennan, were surrendered to them, and they immediately enrolled +themselves in the service of the Northwest Company; glad, no doubt, to +escape from what they considered a sinking ship. + +Having made all these arrangements, the four partners, on the first of +July, signed a formal manifesto, stating the alarming state of their +affairs, from the non-arrival of the annual ship, and the absence and +apprehended loss of the Beaver, their want of goods, their despair of +receiving any further supply, their ignorance of the coast, and their +disappointment as to the interior trade, which they pronounced unequal +to the expenses incurred, and incompetent to stand against the powerful +opposition of the Northwest Company. And as by the 16th article of the +company's agreement, they were authorized to abandon this undertaking, +and dissolve the concern, if before the period of five years it should +be found unprofitable, they now formally announced their intention to +do so on the 1st day of June, of the ensuing year, unless in the interim +they should receive the necessary support and supplies from Mr. Astor, +or the stockholders, with orders to continue. + +This instrument, accompanied by private letters of similar import, was +delivered to Mr. M'Tavish, who departed on the 5th of July. He engaged +to forward the despatches to Mr. Astor, by the usual winter express sent +overland by the Northwest Company. + +The manifesto was signed with great reluctance by Messrs. Clarke and D. +Stuart, whose experience by no means justified the discouraging +account given in it of the internal trade, and who considered the +main difficulties of exploring an unknown and savage country, and of +ascertaining the best trading and trapping grounds, in a great measure +overcome. They were overruled, however, by the urgent instances +of M'Dougal and M'Kenzie, who, having resolved upon abandoning the +enterprise, were desirous of making as strong a case as possible to +excuse their conduct to Mr. Astor and to the world. + + + + +CHAPTER LV. + + Anxieties of Mr. Astor.--Memorial of the Northwest Company-- + Tidings of a British Naval Expedition Against Astoria.--Mr. + Astor Applies to Government for Protection.--The Frigate + Adams Ordered to be Fitted Out.--Bright News From Astoria.-- + Sunshine Suddenly Overclouded. + +WHILE difficulties and disasters had been gathering about the infant +settlement of Astoria, the mind of its projector at New York was a prey +to great anxiety. The ship Lark, despatched by him with supplies for +the establishment, sailed on the 6th of March, 1813. Within a +fortnight afterwards, he received intelligence which justified all his +apprehensions of hostility on the part of the British. The Northwest +Company had made a second memorial to that government, representing +Astoria as an American establishment, stating the vast scope of its +contemplated operations, magnifying the strength of its fortifications, +and expressing their fears that, unless crushed in the bud, it would +effect the downfall of their trade. + +Influenced by these representations, the British government ordered +the frigate Phoebe to be detached as a convoy for the armed ship, Isaac +Todd, which was ready to sail with men and munitions for forming a +new establishment. They were to proceed together to the mouth of the +Columbia, capture or destroy whatever American fortress they should find +there, and plant the British flag on its ruins. + +Informed of these movements, Mr. Astor lost no time in addressing +a second letter to the secretary of state, communicating this +intelligence, and requesting it might be laid before the President; as +no notice, however, had been taken of his previous letter, he contented +himself with this simple communication, and made no further application +for aid. + +Awakened now to the danger that menaced the establishment at Astoria, +and aware of the importance of protecting this foothold of American +commerce and empire on the shores of the Pacific, the government +determined to send the frigate Adams, Captain Crane, upon this service. +On hearing of this determination, Mr. Astor immediately proceeded to +fit out a ship called the Enterprise, to sail in company with the Adams, +freighted with additional supplies and reinforcements for Astoria. + +About the middle of June, while in the midst of these preparations, Mr. +Astor received a letter from Mr. R. Stuart, dated St. Louis, May +1st, confirming the intelligence already received through the public +newspapers, of his safe return, and of the arrival of Mr. Hunt and +his party at Astoria, and giving the most flattering accounts of the +prosperity of the enterprise. + +So deep had been the anxiety of Mr. Astor, for the success of this +object of his ambition, that this gleam of good news was almost +overpowering. "I felt ready," said he, "to fall upon my knees in a +transport of gratitude." + +At the same time he heard that the Beaver had made good her voyage from +New York to the Columbia. This was additional ground of hope for +the welfare of the little colony. The post being thus relieved and +strengthened, with an American at its head, and a ship of war about +to sail for its protection, the prospect for the future seemed full of +encouragement, and Mr. Astor proceeded with fresh vigor to fit out his +merchant ship. + +Unfortunately for Astoria, this bright gleam of sunshine was soon +overclouded. Just as the Adams had received her complement of men, and +the two vessels were ready for sea, news came from Commodore Chauncey, +commanding on Lake Ontario, that a reinforcement of seamen was wanted +in that quarter. The demand was urgent, the crew of the Adams was +immediately transferred to that service, and the ship was laid up. + +This was a most ill-timed and discouraging blow, but Mr. Astor would not +yet allow himself to pause in his undertaking. He determined to send +the Enterprise to sea alone, and let her take the chance of making her +unprotected way across the ocean. Just at this time, however, a British +force made its appearance off the Hook; and the port of New York was +effectually blockaded. To send a ship to sea under these circumstances, +would be to expose her to almost certain capture. The Enterprise was, +therefore, unloaded and dismantled, and Mr. Astor was obliged to comfort +himself with the hope that the Lark might reach Astoria in safety and, +that, aided by her supplies, and by the good management of Mr. Hunt and +his associates, the little colony might be able to maintain itself until +the return of peace. + + + + +CHAPTER LVI. + + Affairs of State at Astoria.--M'Dougal Proposes for the Hand + of An Indian Princess--Matrimonial Embassy to Comcomly.-- + Matrimonial Notions Among the Chinooks.--Settlements and + Pin-Money.--The Bringing Home of the Bride.--A Managing + Father-in-Law.--Arrival of Mr. Hunt at Astoria. + +WE have hitherto had so much to relate of a gloomy and disastrous +nature, that it is with a feeling of momentary relief we turn to +something of a more pleasing complexion, and record the first, and +indeed only nuptials in high life that took place in the infant +settlement of Astoria. + +M'Dougal, who appears to have been a man of a thousand projects, and of +great, though somewhat irregular ambition, suddenly conceived the idea +of seeking the hand of one of the native princesses, a daughter of the +one-eyed potentate Comcomly, who held sway over the fishing tribe of the +Chinooks, and had long supplied the factory with smelts and sturgeons. + +Some accounts give rather a romantic origin to this affair, tracing +it to the stormy night when M'Dougal, in the course of an exploring +expedition, was driven by stress of weather to seek shelter in the royal +abode of Comcomly. Then and there he was first struck with the charms of +the piscatory princess, as she exerted herself to entertain her father's +guest. + +The "journal of Astoria," however, which was kept under his own eye, +records this union as a high state alliance, and great stroke of policy. +The factory had to depend, in a great measure, on the Chinooks for +provisions. They were at present friendly, but it was to be feared +they would prove otherwise, should they discover the weakness and the +exigencies of the post, and the intention to leave the country. This +alliance, therefore, would infallibly rivet Comcomly to the interests of +the Astorians, and with him the powerful tribe of the Chinooks. Be this +as it may, and it is hard to fathom the real policy of governors +and princes, M'Dougal despatched two of the clerks as ambassadors +extraordinary, to wait upon the one-eyed chieftain, and make overtures +for the hand of his daughter. + +The Chinooks, though not a very refined nation, have notions of +matrimonial arrangements that would not disgrace the most refined +sticklers for settlements and pin-money. The suitor repairs not to the +bower of his mistress, but to her father's lodge, and throws down a +present at his feet. His wishes are then disclosed by some discreet +friend employed by him for the purpose. If the suitor and his present +find favor in the eyes of the father, he breaks the matter to his +daughter, and inquires into the state of her inclinations. Should her +answer be favorable, the suit is accepted and the lover has to make +further presents to the father, of horses, canoes, and other valuables, +according to the beauty and merits of the bride; looking forward to a +return in kind whenever they shall go to housekeeping. + +We have more than once had occasion to speak of the shrewdness, of +Comcomly; but never was it exerted more adroitly than on this occasion. +He was a great friend of M'Dougal, and pleased with the idea of having +so distinguished a son-in-law; but so favorable an opportunity of +benefiting his own fortune was not likely to occur a second time, and +he determined to make the most of it. Accordingly, the negotiation was +protracted with true diplomatic skill. Conference after conference was +held with the two ambassadors. Comcomly was extravagant in his terms; +rating the charms of his daughter at the highest price, and indeed she +is represented as having one of the flattest and most aristocratical +heads in the tribe. At length the preliminaries were all happily +adjusted. On the 20th of July, early in the afternoon, a squadron of +canoes crossed over from the village of the Chinooks, bearing the royal +family of Comcomly, and all his court. + +That worthy sachem landed in princely state, arrayed in a bright blue +blanket and red breech clout, with an extra quantity of paint and +feathers, attended by a train of half-naked warriors and nobles. A horse +was in waiting to receive the princess, who was mounted behind one of +the clerks, and thus conveyed, coy but compliant, to the fortress. +Here she was received with devout, though decent joy, by her expecting +bridegroom. + +Her bridal adornments, it is true, at first caused some little dismay, +having painted and anointed herself for the occasion according to the +Chinook toilet; by dint, however, of copious ablutions, she was freed +from all adventitious tint and fragrance, and entered into the nuptial +state, the cleanest princess that had ever been known, of the somewhat +unctuous tribe of the Chinooks. + +From that time forward, Comcomly was a daily visitor at the fort, and +was admitted into the most intimate councils of his son-in-law. He took +an interest in everything that was going forward, but was particularly +frequent in his visits to the blacksmith's shop; tasking the labors +of the artificer in iron for every state, insomuch that the necessary +business of the factory was often postponed to attend to his +requisitions. + +The honey-moon had scarce passed away, and M'Dougal was seated with +his bride in the fortress of Astoria, when, about noon of the 20th of +August, Gassacop, the son of Comcomly, hurried into his presence with +great agitation, and announced a ship at the mouth of the river. The +news produced a vast sensation. Was it a ship of peace or war? Was +it American or British? Was it the Beaver or the Isaac Todd? M'Dougal +hurried to the waterside, threw himself into a boat, and ordered the +hands to pull with all speed for the mouth of the harbor. Those in +the fort remained watching the entrance of the river, anxious to know +whether they were to prepare for greeting a friend or fighting an enemy. +At length the ship was descried crossing the bar, and bending her course +towards Astoria. Every gaze was fixed upon her in silent scrutiny, +until the American flag was recognized. A general shout was the first +expression of joy, and next a salutation was thundered from the cannon +of the fort. + +The vessel came to anchor on the opposite side of the river, and +returned the salute. The boat of Mr. M'Dougal went on board, and was +seen returning late in the afternoon. The Astorians watched her with +straining eyes, to discover who were on board, but the sun went down, +and the evening closed in, before she was sufficiently near. At length +she reached the land, and Mr. Hunt stepped on shore. He was hailed +as one risen from the dead, and his return was a signal for merriment +almost equal to that which prevailed at the nuptials of M'Dougal. + +We must now explain the cause of this gentleman's long absence, which +had given rise to such gloomy and dispiriting surmises. + + + + +CHAPTER LVII. + + Voyage of the Beaver to New Archangel.--A Russian Governor.-- + Roystering Rule.--The Tyranny of the Table--Hard Drinking + Bargainings.--Voyage to Kamtschatka.--Seal Catching + Establishment at St. Paul's.--Storms at Sea.--Mr. Hunt Left + at the Sandwich Islands.--Transactions of the Beaver at + Canton.--Return of Mr. Hunt to Astoria. + +IT will be recollected that the destination of the Boston, when she +sailed from Astoria on the 4th of August in 1812, was to proceed +northwardly along the coast to Sheetka, or New Archangel, there to +dispose of that part of her cargo intended for the supply of the Russian +establishment at that place, and then to return to Astoria, where it was +expected she would arrive in October. + +New Archangel is situated in Norfolk Sound, lat. 57deg 2' N., long. +135deg 50' W. It was the head-quarters of the different colonies of the +Russian Fur Company, and the common rendezvous of the American vessels +trading along the coast. + +The Beaver met with nothing worthy of particular mention in her voyage, +and arrived at New Archangel on the 19th of August. The place at that +time was the residence of Count Baranoff, the governor of the different +colonies; a rough, rugged, hospitable, hard-drinking old Russian; +somewhat of a soldier; somewhat of a trader; above all, a boon companion +of the old roystering school, with a strong cross of the bear. + +Mr. Hunt found this hyperborean veteran ensconced in a fort which +crested the whole of a rocky promontory. It mounted one hundred guns, +large and small, and was impregnable to Indian attack, unaided by +artillery. Here the old governor lorded it over sixty Russians, who +formed the corps of the trading establishment, besides an indefinite +number of Indian hunters of the Kodiak tribe, who were continually +coming and going, or lounging and loitering about the fort like so many +hounds round a sportsman's hunting quarters. Though a loose liver among +his guests, the governor was a strict disciplinarian among his men; +keeping them in perfect subjection, and having seven on guard night and +day. + +Besides those immediate serfs and dependents just mentioned, the old +Russian potentate exerted a considerable sway over a numerous and +irregular class of maritime traders, who looked to him for aid and +munitions, and through whom he may be said to have, in some degree, +extended his power along the whole northwest coast. These were American +captains of vessels engaged in a particular department of the trade. +One of these captains would come, in a manner, empty-handed to New +Archangel. Here his ship would be furnished with about fifty canoes and +a hundred Kodiak hunters, and fitted out with provisions, and everything +necessary for hunting the sea-otter on the coast of California, where +the Russians have another establishment. The ship would ply along the +California coast from place to place, dropping parties of otter hunters +in their canoes, furnishing them only with water, and leaving them to +depend upon their own dexterity for a maintenance. When a sufficient +cargo was collected, she would gather up her canoes and hunters, and +return with them to Archangel; where the captain would render in the +returns of his voyage, and receive one half of the skins for his share. + +Over these coasting captains, as we have hinted, the veteran governor +exerted some sort of sway, but it was of a peculiar and characteristic +kind; it was the tyranny of the table. They were obliged to join him in +his "prosnics" or carousals, and to drink "potations pottle deep." His +carousals, too, were not of the most quiet kind, nor were his potations +as mild as nectar. "He is continually," said Mr. Hunt, "giving +entertainments by way of parade, and if you do not drink raw rum, and +boiling punch as strong as sulphur, he will insult you as soon as he +gets drunk, which is very shortly after sitting down to table." + +As to any "temperance captain" who stood fast to his faith, and refused +to give up his sobriety, he might go elsewhere for a market, for he +stood no chance with the governor. Rarely, however, did any cold-water +caitiff of the kind darken the doors of old Baranoff; the coasting +captains knew too well his humor and their own interests; they joined in +his revels, they drank, and sang, and whooped, and hiccuped, until they +all got "half seas over," and then affairs went on swimmingly. + +An awful warning to all "flinchers" occurred shortly before Mr. Hunt's +arrival. A young naval officer had recently been sent out by the emperor +to take command of one of the company's vessels. The governor, as usual, +had him at his "prosnics," and plied him with fiery potations. The young +man stood on the defensive until the old count's ire was completely +kindled; he carried his point, and made the greenhorn tipsy, willy +nilly. In proportion as they grew fuddled they grew noisy, they +quarrelled in their cups; the youngster paid old Baranoff in his own +coin by rating him soundly; in reward for which, when sober, he was +taken the rounds of four pickets, and received seventy-nine lashes, +taled out with Russian punctuality of punishment. + +Such was the old grizzled bear with whom Mr. Hunt had to do his +business. How he managed to cope with his humor; whether he pledged +himself in raw rum and blazing punch, and "clinked the can" with him as +they made their bargains, does not appear upon record; we must infer, +however, from his general observations on the absolute sway of this +hard-drinking potentate, that he had to conform to the customs of his +court, and that their business transactions presented a maudlin mixture +of punch and peltry. + +The greatest annoyance to Mr. Hunt, however, was the delay to which he +was subjected, in disposing of the cargo of the ship, and getting the +requisite returns. With all the governor's devotions to the bottle, +he never obfuscated his faculties sufficiently to lose sight of his +interest, and is represented by Mr. Hunt as keen, not to say crafty, +at a bargain, as the most arrant waterdrinker. A long time was expended +negotiating with him, and by the time the bargain was concluded, the +month of October had arrived. To add to the delay he was to be paid for +his cargo in seal skins. Now it so happened that there was none of this +kind of peltry at the fort of old Baranoff. It was necessary, therefore, +for Mr. Hunt to proceed to a seal-catching establishment, which +the Russian company had at the island of St. Paul, in the Sea of +Kamtschatka. He accordingly set sail on the 4th of October, after having +spent forty-five days at New Archangel boosing and bargaining with its +roystering commander, and right glad was he to escape from the clutches +of "this old man of the sea." + +The Beaver arrived at St. Paul's on the 31st of October; by which time, +according to arrangement, he ought to have been back at Astoria. The +island of St. Paul is in latitude 57deg N., longitude 170deg or 171deg +W. Its shores, in certain places, and at certain seasons, are covered +with seals, while others are playing about in the water. Of these, the +Russians take only the small ones, from seven to ten months old, and +carefully select the males, giving the females their freedom, that the +breed may not be diminished. The islanders, however, kill the large +ones for provisions, and for skins wherewith to cover their canoes. They +drive them from the shore over the rocks, until within a short distance +of their habitations, where they kill them. By this means, they save +themselves the trouble of carrying the skins and have the flesh at hand. +This is thrown in heaps, and when the season for skinning is over, +they take out the entrails and make one heap of the blubber. This, with +drift-wood, serves for fuel, for the island is entirely destitute of +trees. They make another heap of the flesh, which, with the eggs of +sea-fowls, preserved in oil, an occasional sea-lion, a few ducks in +winter, and some wild roots, compose their food. + +Mr. Hunt found several Russians at the island, and one hundred hunters, +natives of Oonalaska, with their families. They lived in cabins that +looked like canoes; being, for the most part formed of the jaw-bone of +a whale, put up as rafters, across which were laid pieces of driftwood +covered over with long grass, the skins of large sea animals, and earth; +so as to be quite comfortable, in despite of the rigors of the climate; +though we are told they had as ancient and fish-like an odor, "as had +the quarters of Jonah, when he lodged within the whale." + +In one of these odoriferous mansions, Mr. Hunt occasionally took up his +abode, that he might be at hand to hasten the loading of the ship. The +operation, however, was somewhat slow, for it was necessary to overhaul +and inspect every pack to prevent imposition, and the peltries had then +to be conveyed in large boats, made of skins, to the ship, which was +some little distance from the shore, standing off and on. + +One night, while Mr. Hunt was on shore, with some others of the crew, +there arose a terrible gale. When the day broke, the ship was not to be +seen. He watched for her with anxious eyes until night, but in vain. Day +after day of boisterous storms, and howling wintry weather, were passed +in watchfulness and solicitude. Nothing was to be seen but a dark and +angry sea, and a scowling northern sky; and at night he retired within +the jaws of the whale, and nestled disconsolately among seal skins. + +At length, on the 13th of November, the Beaver made her appearance; +much the worse for the stormy conflicts which she had sustained in those +hyperborean seas. She had been obliged to carry a press of sail in heavy +gales to be able to hold her ground, and had consequently sustained +great damage in her canvas and rigging. Mr. Hunt lost no time in +hurrying the residue of the cargo on board of her; then, bidding adieu +to his seal-fishing friends, and his whalebone habitation, he put forth +once more to sea. + +He was now for making the best of his way to Astoria, and fortunate +would it have been for the interests of that place, and the interests of +Mr. Astor, had he done so; but, unluckily, a perplexing question rose +in his mind. The sails and rigging of the Beaver had been much rent and +shattered in the late storm; would she be able to stand the hard gales +to be expected in making Columbia River at this season? Was it prudent, +also, at this boisterous time of the year to risk the valuable cargo +which she now had on board, by crossing and recrossing the dangerous +bar of that river? These doubts were probably suggested or enforced by +Captain Sowle, who, it has already been seen, was an over-cautious, or +rather, a timid seaman, and they may have had some weight with Mr. Hunt; +but there were other considerations, which more strongly swayed his +mind. The lateness of the season, and the unforeseen delays the ship +had encountered at New Archangel, and by being obliged to proceed to St. +Paul's, had put her so much back in her calculated time, that there was +a risk of her arriving so late at Canton, as to come to a bad market, +both for the sale of her peltries, and the purchase of a return cargo. +He considered it to the interest of the company, therefore, that he +should proceed at once to the Sandwich Islands; there wait the arrival +of the annual vessel from New York, take passage in her to Astoria, and +suffer the Beaver to continue on to Canton. + +On the other hand, he was urged to the other course by his engagements; +by the plan of the voyage marked out for the Beaver, by Mr. Astor; by +his inclination, and the possibility that the establishment might need +his presence, and by the recollection that there must already be a large +amount of peltries collected at Astoria, and waiting for the return of +the Beaver, to convey them to market. + +These conflicting questions perplexed and agitated his mind and gave +rise to much anxious reflection, for he was a conscientious man that +seems ever to have aimed at a faithful discharge of his duties, and to +have had the interests of his employers earnestly at heart. His decision +in the present instance was injudicious, and proved unfortunate. It was, +to bear away for the Sandwich Islands. He persuaded himself that it was +a matter of necessity, and that the distressed condition of the ship +left him no other alternative; but we rather suspect he was so persuaded +by the representations of the timid captain. They accordingly stood for +the Sandwich Islands, arrived at Woahoo, where the ship underwent the +necessary repairs, and again put to sea on the 1st of January, 1813; +leaving Mr. Hunt on the island. + +We will follow the Beaver to Canton, as her fortunes, in some measure, +exemplify the evil of commanders of ships acting contrary to orders; +and as they form a part of the tissue of cross purposes that marred the +great commercial enterprise we have undertaken to record. + +The Beaver arrived safe at Canton, where Captain Sowle found the letter +of Mr. Astor, giving him information of the war and directing him to +convey the intelligence to Astoria. He wrote a reply, dictated either by +timidity or obstinacy, in which he declined complying with the orders of +Mr. Astor, but said he would wait for the return of peace, and then come +home. The other proceedings of Captain Sowle were equally wrongheaded +and unlucky. He was offered one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for +the fur he had taken on board at St. Paul's. The goods for which it had +been procured cost but twenty-five thousand dollars in New York. Had he +accepted this offer, and re-invested the amount in nankeens, which at +that time, in consequence of the interruption to commerce by the war, +were at two thirds of their usual price, the whole would have brought +three hundred thousand dollars in New York. It is true, the war would +have rendered it unsafe to attempt the homeward voyage, but he might +have put the goods in store at Canton, until after the peace, and have +sailed without risk of capture to Astoria; bringing to the partners at +that place tidings of the great profits realized on the outward cargo, +and the still greater to be expected from the returns. The news of such +a brilliant commencement to their undertaking would have counterbalanced +the gloomy tidings of the war; it would have infused new spirit into +them all, and given them courage and constancy to persevere in the +enterprise. Captain Sowle, however, refused the offer of one hundred +and fifty thousand dollars, and stood wavering and chaffering for +higher terms. The furs began to fall in value; this only increased +his irresolution; they sunk so much that he feared to sell at all; he +borrowed money on Mr. Astor's account at an interest of eighteen per +cent., and laid up his ship to await the return of peace. + +In the meanwhile, Mr. Hunt soon saw reason to repent the resolution he +had adopted in altering the destination of the ship. His stay at the +Sandwich Islands was prolonged far beyond expectation. He looked in +vain for the annual ship in the spring. Month after month passed by, +and still she did not make her appearance. He, too, proved the danger of +departing from orders. Had he returned from St. Paul's to Astoria, all +the anxiety and despondency about his fate, and about the whole course +of the undertaking, would have been obviated. The Beaver would have +received the furs collected at the factory and taken them to Canton, and +great gains, instead of great losses, would have been the result. The +greatest blunder, however, was that committed by Captain Sowle. + +At length, about the 20th of June, the ship Albatross, Captain Smith, +arrived from China, and brought the first tidings of the war to the +Sandwich Islands. Mr. Hunt was no longer in doubt and perplexity as to +the reason of the non-appearance of the annual ship. His first thoughts +were for the welfare of Astoria, and, concluding that the inhabitants +would probably be in want of provisions, he chartered the Albatross for +two thousand dollars, to land him, with some supplies, at the mouth of +the Columbia, where he arrived, as we have seen, on the 20th of August, +after a year's seafaring that might have furnished a chapter in the +wanderings of Sinbad. + + + + +CHAPTER LVIII. + + Arrangements Among the Partners--Mr. Hunt Sails in the + Albatross.--Arrives at the Marquesas--News of the Frigate + Phoebe.--Mr. Hunt Proceeds to the Sandwich Islands.--Voyage + of the Lark.--Her Shipwreck.--Transactions With the Natives + of the Sandwich Islands--Conduct of Tamaahmaah. + +MR. HUNT was overwhelmed with surprise when he learnt the resolution +taken by the partners to abandon Astoria. He soon found, however, that +matters had gone too far, and the minds of his colleagues had become too +firmly bent upon the measure, to render any opposition of avail. He was +beset, too, with the same disparaging accounts of the interior trade, +and of the whole concerns and prospects of the company that had been +rendered to Mr. Astor. His own experience had been full of perplexities +and discouragements. He had a conscientious anxiety for the interests of +Mr. Astor, and, not comprehending the extended views of that gentleman, +and his habit of operating with great amounts, he had from the +first been daunted by the enormous expenses required, and had become +disheartened by the subsequent losses sustained, which appeared to him +to be ruinous in their magnitude. By degrees, therefore, he was brought +to acquiesce in the step taken by his colleagues, as perhaps advisable +in the exigencies of the case; his only care was to wind up the business +with as little further loss as possible to Mr. Astor. + +A large stock of valuable furs was collected at the factory, which +it was necessary to get to a market. There were twenty-five Sandwich +Islanders also in the employ of the company, whom they were bound, +by express agreement, to restore to their native country. For these +purposes a ship was necessary. + +The Albatross was bound to the Marquesas, and thence to the Sandwich +Islands. It was resolved that Mr. Hunt should sail in her in quest of a +vessel, and should return, if possible, by the 1st of January, bringing +with him a supply of provisions. Should anything occur, however, to +prevent his return, an arrangement was to be proposed to Mr. M'Tavish, +to transfer such of the men as were so disposed, from the service of +the American Fur Company into that of the Northwest, the latter becoming +responsible for the wages due them, on receiving an equivalent in goods +from the store-house of the factory. As a means of facilitating the +despatch of business, Mr. M'Dougal proposed, that in case Mr. Hunt +should not return, the whole arrangement with Mr. M'Tavish should +be left solely to him. This was assented to; the contingency being +considered possible, but not probable. + +It is proper to note, that, on the first announcement by Mr. M'Dougal +of his intention to break up the establishment, three of the clerks, +British subjects, had, with his consent, passed into the service of the +Northwest Company, and departed with Mr. M'Tavish for his post in the +interior. + +Having arranged all these matters during a sojourn of six days at +Astoria, Mr. Hunt set sail in the Albatross on the 26th of August, and +arrived without accident at the Marquesas. He had not been there long, +when Porter arrived in the frigate Essex, bringing in a number of stout +London whalers as prizes, having made a sweeping cruise in the Pacific. +From Commodore Porter he received the alarming intelligence that the +British frigate Phoebe, with a store-ship mounted with battering pieces, +calculated to attack forts, had arrived at Rio Janeiro, where she had +been joined by the sloops of war Cherub and Raccoon, and that they had +all sailed in company on the 6th of July for the Pacific, bound, as it +was supposed, to Columbia River. + +Here, then, was the death-warrant of unfortunate Astoria! The anxious +mind of Mr. Hunt was in greater perplexity than ever. He had been eager +to extricate the property of Mr. Astor from a failing concern with as +little loss as possible; there was now danger that the whole would be +swallowed up. How was it to be snatched from the gulf? It was impossible +to charter a ship for the purpose, now that a British squadron was on +its way to the river. He applied to purchase one of the whale ships +brought in by Commodore Porter. The commodore demanded twenty-five +thousand dollars for her. The price appeared exorbitant, and no bargain +could be made. Mr. Hunt then urged the commodore to fit out one of his +prizes, and send her to Astoria, to bring off the property and part of +the people, but he declined, "from want of authority." He assured Mr. +Hunt, however, that he would endeavor to fall in with the enemy, or +should he hear of their having certainly gone to the Columbia, he would +either follow or anticipate them, should his circumstances warrant such +a step. + +In this tantalizing state of suspense, Mr. Hunt was detained at the +Marquesas until November 23d, when he proceeded in the Albatross to the +Sandwich Islands. He still cherished a faint hope that, notwithstanding +the war, and all other discouraging circumstances, the annual ship might +have been sent by Mr. Astor, and might have touched at the islands, and +proceeded to the Columbia. He knew the pride and interest taken by that +gentleman in his great enterprise, and that he would not be deterred by +dangers and difficulties from prosecuting it; much less would he leave +the infant establishment without succor and support in the time of +trouble. In this, we have seen, he did but justice to Mr. Astor; and we +must now turn to notice the cause of the non-arrival of the vessel which +he had despatched with reinforcements and supplies. Her voyage forms +another chapter of accidents in this eventful story. + +The Lark sailed from New York on the 6th of March, 1813, and proceeded +prosperously on her voyage, until within a few degrees of the Sandwich +Islands. Here a gale sprang up that soon blew with tremendous violence. +The Lark was a staunch and noble ship, and for a time buffeted bravely +with the storm. Unluckily, however, she "broached to," and was struck by +a heavy sea, that hove her on her beam-ends. The helm, too, was knocked +to leeward, all command of the vessel was lost, and another mountain +wave completely overset her. Orders were given to cut away the masts. In +the hurry and confusion, the boats also were unfortunately cut adrift. +The wreck then righted, but was a mere hulk, full of water, with a heavy +sea washing over it, and all the hatches off. On mustering the crew, one +man was missing, who was discovered below in the forecastle, drowned. + +In cutting away the masts, it had been utterly impossible to observe +the necessary precaution of commencing with the lee rigging, that being, +from the position of the ship, completely under water. The masts and +spars, therefore, being linked to the wreck by the shrouds and the +rigging, remained alongside for four days. During all this time the ship +lay rolling in the trough of the sea, the heavy surges breaking +over her, and the spars heaving and banging to and fro, bruising the +half-drowned sailors that clung to the bowsprit and the stumps of the +masts. The sufferings of these poor fellows were intolerable. They stood +to their waists in water, in imminent peril of being washed off by every +surge. In this position they dared not sleep, lest they should let go +their hold and be swept away. The only dry place on the wreck was the +bowsprit. Here they took turns to be tied on, for half an hour at a +time, and in this way gained short snatches of sleep. + +On the 14th, the first mate died at his post, and was swept off by +the surges. On the 17th, two seamen, faint and exhausted, were washed +overboard. The next wave threw their bodies back upon the deck, where +they remained, swashing backward and forward, ghastly objects to the +almost perishing survivors. Mr. Ogden, the supercargo, who was at the +bowsprit, called to the men nearest to the bodies, to fasten them to the +wreck; as a last horrible resource in case of being driven to extremity +by famine! + +On the 17th the gale gradually subsided, and the sea became calm. The +sailors now crawled feebly about the wreck, and began to relieve it from +the main incumbrances. The spars were cleared away, the anchors and guns +heaved overboard; the sprit-sail yard was rigged for a jury-mast, and +a mizzen topsail set upon it. A sort of stage was made of a few broken +spars, on which the crew were raised above the surface of the water, so +as to be enabled to keep themselves dry, and to sleep comfortably. Still +their sufferings from hunger and thirst were great; but there was a +Sandwich Islander on board, an expert swimmer, who found his way into +the cabin, and occasionally brought up a few bottles of wine and porter, +and at length got into the rum, and secured a quarter cask of wine. +A little raw pork was likewise procured, and dealt out with a sparing +hand. The horrors of their situation were increased by the sight of +numerous sharks prowling about the wreck, as if waiting for their prey. +On the 24th, the cook, a black man, died, and was cast into the sea, +when he was instantly seized on by these ravenous monsters. + +They had been several days making slow headway under their scanty sail, +when, on the 25th, they came in sight of land. It was about fifteen +leagues distant, and they remained two or three days drifting along in +sight of it. On the 28th, they descried, to their great transport, a +canoe approaching, managed by natives. They came alongside, and brought +a most welcome supply of potatoes. They informed them that the land they +had made was one of the Sandwich Islands. The second mate and one of +the seamen went on shore in the canoe for water and provisions, and to +procure aid from the islanders, in towing the wreck into a harbor. + +Neither of the men returned, nor was any assistance sent from shore. +The next day, ten or twelve canoes came alongside, but roamed round +the wreck like so many sharks, and would render no aid in towing her to +land. + +The sea continued to break over the vessel with such violence, that it +was impossible to stand at the helm without the assistance of lashings. +The crew were now so worn down by famine and thirst, that the captain +saw it would be impossible for them to withstand the breaking of the +sea, when the ship should ground; he deemed the only chance for their +lives, therefore, was to get to land in the canoes, and stand ready to +receive and protect the wreck when she should drift ashore. Accordingly, +they all got safe to land, but had scarcely touched the beach when they +were surrounded by the natives, who stripped them almost naked. The name +of this inhospitable island was Tahoorowa. + +In the course of the night, the wreck came drifting to the strand, with +the surf thundering around her, and shortly afterwards bilged. On the +following morning, numerous casks of provisions floated on shore. The +natives staved them for the sake of the iron hoops, but would not allow +the crew to help themselves to the contents, or to go on board of the +wreck. + +As the crew were in want of everything, and as it might be a long time +before any opportunity occurred for them to get away from these islands, +Mr. Ogden, as soon as he could get a chance, made his way to the island +of Owyhee, and endeavored to make some arrangement with the king for the +relief of his companions in misfortune. + +The illustrious Tamaahmaah, as we have shown on a former occasion, was +a shrewd bargainer, and in the present instance proved himself an +experienced wrecker. His negotiations with M'Dougal, and the other "Eris +of the great American Fur Company," had but little effect on present +circumstances, and he proceeded to avail himself of their misfortunes. +He agreed to furnish the crew with provisions during their stay in his +territories, and to return to them all their clothing that could be +found, but he stipulated that the wreck should be abandoned to him as a +waif cast by fortune on his shores. With these conditions Mr. Ogden was +fain to comply. Upon this the great Tamaahmaah deputed his favorite, +John Young, the tarpaulin governor of Owyhee, to proceed with a number +of royal guards, and take possession of the wreck on behalf of the +crown. This was done accordingly, and the property and crew were removed +to Owyhee. The royal bounty appears to have been but scanty in its +dispensations. The crew fared but meagerly; though, on reading the +journal of the voyage, it is singular to find them, after all the +hardships they had suffered, so sensitive about petty inconveniences, as +to exclaim against the king as a "savage monster," for refusing them +a "pot to cook in," and denying Mr. Ogden the use of a knife and fork +which had been saved from the wreck. + +Such was the unfortunate catastrophe of the Lark; had she reached her +destination in safety, affairs at Astoria might have taken a different +course. A strange fatality seems to have attended all the expeditions by +sea, nor were those by land much less disastrous. + +Captain Northrop was still at the Sandwich Islands, on December 20th, +when Mr. Hunt arrived. The latter immediately purchased, for ten +thousand dollars, a brig called the Pedler, and put Captain Northrop in +command of her. They set sail for Astoria on the 22d January, intending +to remove the property from thence as speedily as possible to the +Russian settlements on the northwest coast, to prevent it from falling +into the hands of the British. Such were the orders of Mr. Astor, sent +out by the Lark. + +We will now leave Mr. Hunt on his voyage, and return to see what has +taken place at Astoria during his absence. + + + + +CHAPTER LIX. + + Arrival of M'Tavish at Astoria.--Conduct of His Followers.-- + Negotiations of M'Dougal and M'Tavish.--Bargain for the + Transfer of Astoria--Doubts Entertained of the Loyalty of + M'Dougal. + +ON the 2d of October, about five weeks after Mr. Hunt had sailed in the +Albatross from Astoria, Mr. M'Kenzie set off with two canoes, and twelve +men, for the posts of Messrs. Stuart and Clarke, to appraise them of +the new arrangements determined upon in the recent conference of the +partners at the factory. + +He had not ascended the river a hundred miles, when he met a squadron +of ten canoes, sweeping merrily down under British colors, the Canadian +oarsmen, as usual, in full song. + +It was an armament fitted out by M'Tavish, who had with him Mr. J. +Stuart, another partner of the Northwest Company, together with some +clerks, and sixty-eight men--seventy-five souls in all. They had heard +of the frigate Phoebe and the Isaac Todd being on the high seas, and +were on their way down to await their arrival. In one of the canoes Mr. +Clarke came as a passenger, the alarming intelligence having brought him +down from his post on the Spokan. Mr. M'Kenzie immediately determined to +return with him to Astoria, and, veering about, the two parties encamped +together for the night. The leaders, of course, observed a due +decorum, but some of the subalterns could not restrain their chuckling +exultation, boasting that they would soon plant the British standard on +the walls of Astoria, and drive the Americans out of the country. + +In the course of the evening, Mr. M'Kenzie had a secret conference with +Mr. Clarke, in which they agreed to set off privately before daylight, +and get down in time to appraise M'Dougal of the approach of these +Northwesters. The latter, however, were completely on the alert; just as +M'Kenzie's canoes were about to push off, they were joined by a couple +from the Northwest squadron, in which was M'Tavish, with two clerks, +and eleven men. With these, he intended to push forward and make +arrangements, leaving the rest of the convoy, in which was a large +quantity of furs, to await his orders. + +The two parties arrived at Astoria on the 7th of October. The +Northwesters encamped under the guns of the fort, and displayed the +British colors. The young men in the fort, natives of the United States, +were on the point of hoisting the American flag, but were forbidden +by Mr. M'Dougal. They were astonished at such a prohibition, and were +exceedingly galled by the tone and manner assumed by the clerks and +retainers of the Northwest Company, who ruffled about in that swelling +and braggart style which grows up among these heroes of the wilderness; +they, in fact, considered themselves lords of the ascendant and regarded +the hampered and harassed Astorians as a conquered people. + +On the following day M'Dougal convened the clerks, and read to them +an extract from a letter from his uncle, Mr. Angus Shaw, one of the +principal partners of the Northwest Company, announcing the coming of +the Phoebe and Isaac Todd, "to take and destroy everything American on +the northwest coast." + +This intelligence was received without dismay by such of the clerks as +were natives of the United States. They had felt indignant at seeing +their national flag struck by a Canadian commander, and the British flag +flowed, as it were, in their faces. They had been stung to the quick, +also, by the vaunting airs assumed by the Northwesters. In this mood of +mind, they would willingly have nailed their colors to the staff, and +defied the frigate. She could not come within many miles of the fort, +they observed, and any boats she might send could be destroyed by their +cannon. + +There were cooler and more calculating spirits, however, who had +the control of affairs, and felt nothing of the patriotic pride and +indignation of these youths. The extract of the letter had, apparently, +been read by M'Dougal, merely to prepare the way for a preconcerted +stroke of management. On the same day Mr. M'Tavish proposed to purchase +the whole stock of goods and furs belonging to the company, both at +Astoria and in the interior, at cost and charges. Mr. M'Dougal undertook +to comply; assuming the whole management of the negotiation in virtue +of the power vested in him, in case of the non-arrival of Mr. Hunt. +That power, however, was limited and specific, and did not extend to an +operation of this nature and extent; no objection, however, was made to +his assumption, and he and M'Tavish soon made a preliminary arrangement, +perfectly satisfactory to the latter. + +Mr. Stuart, and the reserve party of Northwesters, arrived shortly +afterwards, and encamped with M'Tavish. The former exclaimed loudly +against the terms of the arrangement, and insisted upon a reduction of +the prices. New negotiations had now to be entered into. The demands +of the Northwesters were made in a peremptory tone, and they seemed +disposed to dictate like conquerors. The Americans looked on with +indignation and impatience. They considered M'Dougal as acting, if not a +perfidious, certainly a craven part. He was continually repairing to +the camp to negotiate, instead of keeping within his walls and receiving +overtures in his fortress. His case, they observed, was not so desperate +as to excuse such crouching. He might, in fact, hold out for his own +terms. The Northwest party had lost their ammunition; they had no goods +to trade with the natives for provisions; and they were so destitute +that M'Dougal had absolutely to feed them, while he negotiated with +them. He, on the contrary, was well lodged and victualled; had sixty +men, with arms, ammunition, boats, and everything requisite either for +defense or retreat. The party, beneath the guns of his fort, were at his +mercy; should an enemy appear in the offing, he could pack up the most +valuable part of the property and retire to some place of concealment, +or make off for the interior. + +These considerations, however, had no weight with Mr. M'Dougal, or were +overruled by other motives. The terms of sale were lowered by him to the +standard fixed by Mr. Stuart, and an agreement executed on the 16th of +October, by which the furs and merchandise of all kinds in the country, +belonging to Mr. Astor, passed into the possession of the Northwest +Company at about a third of their value. * A safe passage through the +Northwest posts was guaranteed to such as did not choose to enter into +the service of that Company, and the amount of wages due to them was to +be deducted from the price paid for Astoria. + +The conduct and motives of Mr. M'Dougal, throughout the whole of this +proceeding, have been strongly questioned by the other partners. He +has been accused of availing himself of a wrong construction of powers +vested in him at his own request, and of sacrificing the interests +of Mr. Astor to the Northwest Company, under the promise or hope of +advantage to himself. + +He always insisted, however, that he made the best bargain for Mr. Astor +that circumstances would permit; the frigate being hourly expected, +in which case the whole property of that gentleman would be liable to +capture. That the return of Mr. Hunt was problematical; the frigate +intending to cruise along the coast for two years, and clear it of all +American vessels. He moreover averred, and M'Tavish corroborated +his averment by certificate, that he proposed an arrangement to that +gentleman, by which the furs were to be sent to Canton, and sold there +at Mr. Astor's risk, and for his account; but the proposition was not +acceded to. + +Notwithstanding all his representations, several of the persons present +at the transaction, and acquainted with the whole course of the affair, +and among the number Mr. M'Kenzie himself, his occasional coadjutor, +remained firm in the belief that he had acted a hollow part. Neither +did he succeed in exculpating himself to Mr. Astor; that gentleman +declaring, in a letter written some time afterwards, to Mr. Hunt, that +he considered the property virtually given away. "Had our place and our +property," he adds, "been fairly captured, I should have preferred it; I +should not feel as if I were disgraced." + +All these may be unmerited suspicions; but it certainly is a +circumstance strongly corroborative of them, that Mr. M'Dougal, shortly +after concluding this agreement, became a member of the Northwest +Company, and received a share productive of a handsome income. + + * Not quite $40,000 were allowed for furs worth upwards of + $100,000. Beaver was valued at two dollars per skin, though + worth five dollars. Land otter at fifty cents, though worth + five dollars. Sea-otter at twelve dollars, worth from forty- + five to sixty dollars; and for several kinds of furs nothing + was allowed. Moreover, the goods and merchandise for the + Indian trade ought to have brought three times the amount + for which they were sold. + +The following estimate has been made of the articles on hand, and the +prices: + + 17,705 lbs. beaver parchment, valued at $2.00 worth $5.00 + 465 old coat beaver, valued at 1.66 worth 3.50 + + 907 land otter, valued at.50 worth 5.00 + 68 sea-otter, valued at 12.00 worth 45 to 60.00 + 30 sea-otter, valued at 5.00 worth 25.00 + + Nothing was allowed for + 179 mink skins, worth each.40 + 22 raccoon, worth each.40 + 28 lynx, worth each 2.00 + 18 fox, worth each 1.00 + 106 fox, worth each 1.50 + 71 black bear, worth each 4.00 + 16 grizzly bear, worth each 10.00 + + + + +CHAPTER LX. + + Arrival of a Strange Sail.--Agitation at Astoria.--Warlike + Offer of Comcomly.--Astoria Taken Possession of by the + British.--Indignation of Comcomly at the Conduct of His Son- + in-Law. + +ON the morning of the 30th of November, a sail was descried doubling +Cape Disappointment. It came to anchor in Baker's Bay, and proved to be +a ship of war. Of what nation? was now the anxious inquiry. If English, +why did it come alone? where was the merchant vessel that was to have +accompanied it? If American, what was to become of the newly acquired +possession of the Northwest Company? + +In this dilemma, M'Tavish, in all haste, loaded two barges with all the +packages of furs bearing the mark of the Northwest Company, and made +off for Tongue Point, three miles up the river. There he was to await a +preconcerted signal from M'Dougal, on ascertaining the character of the +ship. If it should prove American, M'Tavish would have a fair start, and +could bear off his rich cargo to the interior. It is singular that this +prompt mode of conveying valuable, but easily transportable effects +beyond the reach of a hostile ship should not have suggested itself +while the property belonged to Mr. Astor. + +In the meantime, M'Dougal, who still remained nominal chief at the fort, +launched a canoe, manned by men recently in the employ of the American +Fur Company, and steered for the ship. On the way, he instructed his +men to pass themselves for Americans or Englishmen, according to the +exigencies of the case. + +The vessel proved to be the British sloop of war Raccoon, of twenty-six +guns, and one hundred and twenty men, commanded by Captain Black. +According to the account of that officer, the frigate Phoebe, and two +sloops of war Cherub and Raccoon, had sailed in convoy of the Isaac Todd +from Rio Janeiro. On board of the Phoebe, Mr. John M'Donald, a partner +of the Northwest Company, embarked as passenger, to profit by the +anticipated catastrophe at Astoria. The convoy was separated by stress +of weather off Cape Horn. The three ships of war came together again at +the island of Juan Fernandez, their appointed rendezvous, but waited in +vain for the Isaac Todd. + +In the meantime, intelligence was received of the mischief that +Commodore Porter was doing among the British whale ships. Commodore +Hillyer immediately set sail in quest of him with the Phoebe and the +Cherub, transferring Mr. M'Donald to the Raccoon, and ordered that +vessel to proceed to the Columbia. + +The officers of the Raccoon were in high spirits. The agents of the +Northwest Company, in instigating the expedition, had talked of immense +booty to be made by the fortunate captors of Astoria. Mr. M'Donald had +kept up the excitement during the voyage, so that not a midshipman but +revelled in dreams of ample prize-money, nor a lieutenant that would +have sold his chance for a thousand pounds. Their disappointment, +therefore, may easily be conceived, when they learned that their +warlike attack upon Astoria had been forestalled by a snug commercial +arrangement; that their anticipated booty had become British property +in the regular course of traffic, and that all this had been effected +by the very Company which had been instrumental in getting them sent on +what they now stigmatized as a fool's errand. They felt as if they had +been duped and made tools of, by a set of shrewd men of traffic, who had +employed them to crack the nut, while they carried off the kernel. In a +word, M'Dougal found himself so ungraciously received by his countrymen +on board of the ship, that he was glad to cut short his visit, and +return to shore. He was busy at the fort, making preparations for +the reception of the captain of the Raccoon, when his one-eyed Indian +father-in-law made his appearance, with a train of Chinook warriors, all +painted and equipped in warlike style. + +Old Comcomly had beheld, with dismay, the arrival of a "big war canoe" +displaying the British flag. The shrewd old savage had become something +of a politician in the course of his daily visits at the fort. He +knew of the war existing between the nations, but knew nothing of the +arrangement between M'Dougal and M'Tavish. He trembled, therefore, for +the power of his white son-in-law, and the new-fledged grandeur of his +daughter, and assembled his warriors in all haste. "King George," said +he, "has sent his great canoe to destroy the fort, and make slaves of +all the inhabitants. Shall we suffer it? The Americans are the first +white men that have fixed themselves in the land. They have treated us +like brothers. Their great chief has taken my daughter to be his squaw: +we are, therefore, as one people." + +His warriors all determined to stand by the Americans to the last, and +to this effect they came painted and armed for battle. Comcomly made a +spirited war-speech to his son-in-law. He offered to kill every one of +King George's men that should attempt to land. It was an easy matter. +The ship could not approach within six miles of the fort; the crew could +only land in boats. The woods reached to the water's edge; in these, he +and his warriors would conceal themselves, and shoot down the enemy as +fast as they put foot on shore. + +M'Dougal was, doubtless, properly sensible of this parental devotion on +the part of his savage father-in-law, and perhaps a little rebuked by +the game spirit, so opposite to his own. He assured Comcomly, however, +that his solicitude for the safety of himself and the princess was +superfluous; as, though the ship belonged to King George, her crew would +not injure the Americans, or their Indian allies. He advised him and his +warriors, therefore, to lay aside their weapons and war shirts, wash off +the paint from their faces and bodies, and appear like clean and civil +savages, to receive the strangers courteously. + +Comcomly was sorely puzzled at this advice, which accorded so little +with his Indian notions of receiving a hostile nation, and it was only +after repeated and positive assurances of the amicable intentions of +the strangers that he was induced to lower his fighting tone. He said +something to his warriors explanatory of this singular posture of +affairs, and in vindication, perhaps, of the pacific temper of his +son-in-law. They all gave a shrug and an Indian grunt of acquiescence, +and went off sulkily to their village, to lay aside their weapons for +the present. + +The proper arrangements being made for the reception of Captain Black, +that officer caused his ship's boats to be manned, and landed with +befitting state at Astoria. From the talk that had been made by the +Northwest Company of the strength of the place, and the armament they +had required to assist in its reduction, he expected to find a fortress +of some importance. When he beheld nothing but stockades and bastions, +calculated for defense against naked savages, he felt an emotion of +indignant surprise, mingled with something of the ludicrous. "Is this +the fort," cried he, "about which I have heard so much talking? D-n me, +but I'd batter it down in two hours with a four pounder!" + +When he learned, however, the amount of rich furs that had been passed +into the hands of the Northwesters, he was outrageous, and insisted +that an inventory should be taken of all the property purchased of +the Americans, "with a view to ulterior measures in England, for the +recovery of the value from the Northwest Company." + +As he grew cool, however, he gave over all idea of preferring such +a claim, and reconciled himself, as well as he could, to the idea of +having been forestalled by his bargaining coadjutors. + +On the 12th of December, the fate of Astoria was consummated by a +regular ceremonial. Captain Black, attended by his officers, entered the +fort, caused the British standard to be erected, broke a bottle of +wine and declared, in a loud voice, that he took possession of the +establishment and of the country, in the name of his Britannic Majesty, +changing the name of Astoria to that of Fort George. + +The Indian warriors, who had offered their services to repel the +strangers, were present on this occasion. It was explained to them as +being a friendly arrangement and transfer, but they shook their heads +grimly, and considered it an act of subjugation of their ancient allies. +They regretted that they had complied with M'Dougal's wishes, in laying +aside their arms, and remarked, that, however the Americans might +conceal the fact, they were undoubtedly all slaves; nor could they be +persuaded of the contrary, until they beheld the Raccoon depart without +taking away any prisoners. + +As to Comcomly, he no longer prided himself upon his white son-in-law, +but, whenever he was asked about him, shook his head, and replied, that +his daughter had made a mistake, and, instead of getting a great warrior +for a husband, had married herself to a squaw. + + + + +CHAPTER LXI. + + Arrival of the Brig Pedler at Astoria.--Breaking Up of the + Establishment.--Departure of Several of the Company.-- + Tragical Story Told by the Squaw of Pierre Dorion.--Fate of + Reed and His Companions.--Attempts of Mr. Astor to Renew + His Enterprise.-Disappointment.--Concluding Observations + and Reflection. + +HAVING given the catastrophe at the Fort of Astoria, it remains now but +to gather up a few loose ends of this widely excursive narrative and +conclude. On the 28th of February the brig Pedler anchored in Columbia +River. It will be recollected that Mr. Hunt had purchased this vessel at +the Sandwich Islands, to take off the furs collected at the factory, and +to restore the Sandwich Islanders to their homes. When that gentleman +learned, however, the precipitate and summary manner in which the +property had been bargained away by M'Dougal, he expressed his +indignation in the strongest terms, and determined to make an effort +to get back the furs. As soon as his wishes were known in this +respect, M'Dougal came to sound him on behalf of the Northwest Company, +intimating that he had no doubt the peltries might be repurchased at an +advance of fifty per cent. This overture was not calculated to soothe +the angry feelings of Mr. Hunt, and his indignation was complete, +when he discovered that M'Dougal had become a partner of the Northwest +Company, and had actually been so since the 23d of December. He had +kept his partnership a secret, however; had retained the papers of the +Pacific Fur Company in his possession; and had continued to act as Mr. +Astor's agent, though two of the partners of the other company, Mr. +M'Kenzie and Mr. Clarke, were present. He had, moreover, divulged to his +new associates all that he knew as to Mr. Astor's plans and affairs, and +had made copies of his business letters for their perusal. + +Mr. Hunt now considered the whole conduct of M'Dougal hollow and +collusive. His only thought was, therefore, to get all the papers of +the concern out of his hands, and bring the business to a close; for the +interests of Mr. Astor were yet completely at stake; the drafts of the +Northwest Company in his favor, for the purchase money, not having yet +been obtained. With some difficulty he succeeded in getting possession +of the papers. The bills or drafts were delivered without hesitation. +The latter he remitted to Mr. Astor by some of his associates, who were +about to cross the continent to New York. This done, he embarked on +board the Pedler, on the 3d of April, accompanied by two of the clerks, +Mr. Seton and Mr. Halsey, and bade a final adieu to Astoria. + +The next day, April 4th, Messrs. Clarke, M'Kenzie, David Stuart, +and such of the Astorians as had not entered into the service of the +Northwest Company, set out to cross the Rocky Mountains. It is not +our intention to take the reader another journey across those rugged +barriers; but we will step forward with the travellers to a distance +on their way, merely to relate their interview with a character already +noted in this work. + +As the party were proceeding up the Columbia, near the mouth of the +Wallah-Wallah River, several Indian canoes put off from the shore to +overtake them, and a voice called upon them in French and requested them +to stop. They accordingly put to shore, and were joined by those in the +canoes. To their surprise, they recognized in the person who had hailed +them the Indian wife of Pierre Dorion, accompanied by her two +children. She had a story to tell, involving the fate of several of our +unfortunate adventurers. + +Mr. John Reed, the Hibernian, it will be remembered, had been detached +during the summer to the Snake River. His party consisted of four +Canadians, Giles Le Clerc, Francois Landry, Jean Baptiste Turcot, and +Andre La Chapelle, together with two hunters, Pierre Dorion and Pierre +Delaunay; Dorion, as usual, being accompanied by his wife and children. +The objects of this expedition were twofold: to trap beaver, and to +search for the three hunters, Robinson, Hoback, and Rezner. + +In the course of the autumn, Reed lost one man, Landry, by death; +another one, Pierre Delaunay, who was of a sullen, perverse disposition, +left him in a moody fit, and was never heard of afterwards. The number +of his party was not, however, reduced by these losses, as the three +hunters, Robinson, Hoback, and Rezner, had joined it. + +Reed now built a house on the Snake River, for their winter quarters; +which being completed, the party set about trapping. Rezner, Le Clerc, +and Pierre Dorion went about five days' journey from the wintering +house, to a part of the country well stocked with beaver. Here they put +up a hut, and proceeded to trap with great success. While the men were +out hunting, Pierre Dorion's wife remained at home to dress the skins +and prepare the meals. She was thus employed one evening about the +beginning of January, cooking the supper of the hunters, when she heard +footsteps, and Le Clerc staggered, pale and bleeding, into the hut. He +informed her that a party of savages had surprised them, while at their +traps, and had killed Rezner and her husband. He had barely strength +left to give this information, when he sank upon the ground. + +The poor woman saw that the only chance for life was instant flight, +but, in this exigency, showed that presence of mind and force +of character for which she had frequently been noted. With great +difficulty, she caught two of the horses belonging to the party. Then +collecting her clothes and a small quantity of beaver meat and dried +salmon, she packed them upon one of the horses, and helped the wounded +man to mount upon it. On the other horse she mounted with her two +children, and hurried away from this dangerous neighborhood, directing +her flight to Mr. Reed's establishment. On the third day, she descried a +number of Indians on horseback proceeding in an easterly direction. She +immediately dismounted with her children, and helped Le Clerc likewise +to dismount, and all concealed themselves. Fortunately they escaped the +sharp eyes of the savages, but had to proceed with the utmost caution. +That night they slept without fire or water; she managed to keep her +children warm in her arms; but before morning, poor Le Clerc died. + +With the dawn of day the resolute woman resumed her course, and, on +the fourth day, reached the house of Mr. Reed. It was deserted, and all +round were marks of blood and signs of a furious massacre. Not doubting +that Mr. Reed and his party had all fallen victims, she turned in fresh +horror from the spot. For two days she continued hurrying forward, ready +to sink for want of food, but more solicitous about her children than +herself. At length she reached a range of the Rocky Mountains, near +the upper part of the Wallah-Wallah River. Here she chose a wild lonely +ravine, as her place of winter refuge. + +She had fortunately a buffalo robe and three deer-skins; of these, and +of pine bark and cedar branches, she constructed a rude wigwam, which +she pitched beside a mountain spring. Having no other food, she killed +the two horses, and smoked their flesh. The skins aided to cover her +hut. Here she dragged out the winter, with no other company than her +two children. Towards the middle of March her provisions were nearly +exhausted. She therefore packed up the remainder, slung it on her back, +and, with her helpless little ones, set out again on her wanderings. +Crossing the ridge of mountains, she descended to the banks of the +Wallah-Wallah, and kept along them until she arrived where that river +throws itself into the Columbia. She was hospitably received and +entertained by the Wallah-Wallahs, and had been nearly two weeks among +them when the two canoes passed. + +On being interrogated, she could assign no reason for this murderous +attack of the savages; it appeared to be perfectly wanton and +unprovoked. Some of the Astorians supposed it an act of butchery by a +roving band of Blackfeet; others, however, and with greater probability +of correctness, have ascribed it to the tribe of Pierced-nose Indians, +in revenge for the death of their comrade hanged by order of Mr. Clarke. +If so, it shows that these sudden and apparently wanton outbreakings of +sanguinary violence on the part of the savages have often some previous, +though perhaps remote, provocation. + +The narrative of the Indian woman closes the checkered adventures +of some of the personages of this motley story; such as the honest +Hibernian Reed, and Dorion the hybrid interpreter. Turcot and La +Chapelle were two of the men who fell off from Mr. Crooks in the course +of his wintry journey, and had subsequently such disastrous times among +the Indians. We cannot but feel some sympathy with that persevering trio +of Kentuckians, Robinson, Rezner, and Hoback, who twice turned back when +on their way homeward, and lingered in the wilderness to perish by the +hands of savages. + +The return parties from Astoria, both by sea and land, experienced on +the way as many adventures, vicissitudes, and mishaps, as the far-famed +heroes of the Odyssey; they reached their destination at different +times, bearing tidings to Mr. Astor of the unfortunate termination of +his enterprise. + +That gentleman, however, was not disposed, even yet, to give the matter +up as lost. On the contrary, his spirit was roused by what he considered +ungenerous and unmerited conduct on the part of the Northwest Company. +"After their treatment of me," said he, in a letter to Mr. Hunt, "I have +no idea of remaining quiet and idle." He determined, therefore, as soon +as circumstances would permit, to resume his enterprise. + +At the return of peace, Astoria, with the adjacent country, reverted +to the United States by the treaty of Ghent, on the principle of status +ante bellum, and Captain Biddle was despatched in the sloop of war, +Ontario, to take formal possession. + +In the winter of 1815, a law was passed by Congress prohibiting all +traffic of British traders within the territories of the United States. + +The favorable moment seemed now to Mr. Astor to have arrived for the +revival of his favorite enterprise, but new difficulties had grown up to +impede it. The Northwest Company were now in complete occupation of the +Columbia River, and its chief tributary streams, holding the posts which +he had established, and carrying on a trade throughout the neighboring +region, in defiance of the prohibitory law of Congress, which, in +effect, was a dead letter beyond the mountains. + +To dispossess them would be an undertaking of almost a belligerent +nature; for their agents and retainers were well armed, and skilled in +the use of weapons, as is usual with Indian traders. The ferocious and +bloody contests which had taken place between the rival trading parties +of the Northwest and Hudson's Bay Companies had shown what might be +expected from commercial feuds in the lawless depths of the wilderness. +Mr. Astor did not think it advisable, therefore, to attempt the matter +without the protection of the American flag; under which his people +might rally in case of need. He accordingly made an informal overture to +the President of the United States, Mr. Madison, through Mr. Gallatin, +offering to renew his enterprise, and to reestablish Astoria, provided +it would be protected by the American flag, and made a military post; +stating that the whole force required would not exceed a lieutenant's +command. + +The application, approved and recommended by Mr. Gallatin, one of the +most enlightened statesmen of our country, was favorably received, but +no step was taken in consequence; the President not being disposed, in +all probability, to commit himself by any direct countenance or overt +act. Discouraged by this supineness on the part of the government, Mr. +Astor did not think fit to renew his overtures in a more formal manner, +and the favorable moment for the re-occupation of Astoria was suffered +to pass unimproved. + +The British trading establishments were thus enabled, without +molestation, to strike deep their roots, and extend their ramifications, +in despite of the prohibition of Congress, until they had spread +themselves over the rich field of enterprise opened by Mr. Astor. The +British government soon began to perceive the importance of this region, +and to desire to include it within their territorial domains. A question +has consequently risen as to the right to the soil, and has become one +of the most perplexing now open between the United States and Great +Britain. In the first treaty relative to it, under date of October +20th, 1818, the question was left unsettled, and it was agreed that +the country on the northwest coast of America, westward of the Rocky +Mountains, claimed by either nation, should be open to the inhabitants +of both for ten years, for the purpose of trade, with the equal right +of navigating all its rivers. When these ten years had expired, a +subsequent treaty, in 1828, extended the arrangement to ten additional +years. So the matter stands at present. + +On casting back our eyes over the series of events we have recorded, +we see no reason to attribute the failure of this great commercial +undertaking to any fault in the scheme, or omission in the execution of +it, on the part of the projector. It was a magnificent enterprise; well +concerted and carried on, without regard to difficulties or expense. A +succession of adverse circumstances and cross purposes, however, beset +it almost from the outset; some of them, in fact, arising from neglect +of the orders and instructions of Mr. Astor. The first crippling blow +was the loss of the Tonquin, which clearly would not have happened, had +Mr. Astor's earnest injunctions with regard to the natives been attended +to. Had this ship performed her voyage prosperously, and revisited +Astoria in due time, the trade of the establishment would have taken its +preconcerted course, and the spirits of all concerned been kept up by +a confident prospect of success. Her dismal catastrophe struck a chill +into every heart, and prepared the way for subsequent despondency. + +Another cause of embarrassment and loss was the departure from the plan +of Mr. Astor, as to the voyage of the Beaver, subsequent to her visiting +Astoria. The variation from this plan produced a series of cross +purposes, disastrous to the establishment, and detained Mr. Hunt absent +from his post, when his presence there was of vital importance to +the enterprise; so essential is it for an agent, in any great and +complicated undertaking, to execute faithfully, and to the letter, +the part marked out for him by the master mind which has concerted the +whole. + +The breaking out of the war between the United States and Great Britain +multiplied the hazards and embarrassments of the enterprise. +The disappointment as to convoy rendered it difficult to keep up +reinforcements and supplies; and the loss of the Lark added to the +tissue of misadventures. + +That Mr. Astor battled resolutely against every difficulty, and pursued +his course in defiance of every loss, has been sufficiently shown. +Had he been seconded by suitable agents, and properly protected by +government, the ultimate failure of his plan might yet have been +averted. It was his great misfortune that his agents were not imbued +with his own spirit. Some had not capacity sufficient to comprehend the +real nature and extent of his scheme; others were alien in feeling and +interest, and had been brought up in the service of a rival company. +Whatever sympathies they might originally have had with him, were +impaired, if not destroyed, by the war. They looked upon his cause as +desperate, and only considered how they might make interest to regain +a situation under their former employers. The absence of Mr. Hunt, the +only real representative of Mr. Astor, at the time of the capitulation +with the Northwest Company, completed the series of cross purposes. Had +that gentleman been present, the transfer, in all probability, would not +have taken place. + +It is painful, at all times, to see a grand and beneficial stroke of +genius fall of its aim: but we regret the failure of this enterprise +in a national point of view; for, had it been crowned with success, +it would have redounded greatly to the advantage and extension of our +commerce. The profits drawn from the country in question by the British +Fur Company, though of ample amount, form no criterion by which to judge +of the advantages that would have arisen had it been entirely in the +hands of the citizens of the United States. That company, as has been +shown, is limited in the nature and scope of its operations, and can +make but little use of the maritime facilities held out by an emporium +and a harbor on that coast. In our hands, besides the roving bands of +trappers and traders, the country would have been explored and settled +by industrious husbandmen; and the fertile valleys bordering its rivers, +and shut up among its mountains, would have been made to pour forth +their agricultural treasures to contribute to the general wealth. + +In respect to commerce, we should have had a line of trading posts from +the Mississippi and the Missouri across the Rocky Mountains, forming +a high road from the great regions of the west to the shores of the +Pacific. We should have had a fortified post and port at the mouth of +the Columbia, commanding the trade of that river and its tributaries, +and of a wide extent of country and sea-coast; carrying on an active and +profitable commerce with the Sandwich Islands, and a direct and frequent +communication with China. In a word, Astoria might have realized the +anticipations of Mr. Astor, so well understood and appreciated by +Mr. Jefferson, in gradually becoming a commercial empire beyond the +mountains, peopled by "free and independent Americans, and linked with +us by ties of blood and interest." + +We repeat, therefore, our sincere regret that our government should have +neglected the overture of Mr. Astor, and suffered the moment to pass by, +when full possession of this region might have been taken quietly, as a +matter of course, and a military post established, without dispute, +at Astoria. Our statesmen have become sensible, when too late, of the +importance of this measure. Bills have repeatedly been brought into +Congress for the purpose, but without success; and our rightful +possessions on that coast, as well as our trade on the Pacific, have no +rallying point protected by the national flag, and by a military force. + +In the meantime, the second period of ten years is fast elapsing. In +1838, the question of title will again come up, and most probably, in +the present amicable state of our relations with Great Britain, will be +again postponed. Every year, however, the litigated claim is growing in +importance. There is no pride so jealous and irritable as the pride of +territory. As one wave of emigration after another rolls into the vast +regions of the west, and our settlements stretch towards the Rocky +Mountains, the eager eyes of our pioneers will pry beyond, and they will +become impatient of any barrier or impediment in the way of what +they consider a grand outlet of our empire. Should any circumstance, +therefore, unfortunately occur to disturb the present harmony of the +two nations, this ill-adjusted question, which now lies dormant, may +suddenly start up into one of belligerent import, and Astoria become the +watchword in a contest for dominion on the shores of the Pacific. + +Since the above was written, the question of dominion over the vast +territory beyond the Rocky Mountains, which for a time threatened to +disturb the peaceful relations with our transatlantic kindred, has been +finally settled in a spirit of mutual concession, and the venerable +projector whose early enterprise forms the subject of this work had the +satisfaction of knowing, ere his eyes closed upon the world, that the +flag of his country again waved over "ASTORIA." + + + + +APPENDIX + + + + +Draught of a Petition to Congress, sent by Mr. Astor in 1812. + +To the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United +States, in Congress assembled, + +The petition of the American Fur Company respectfully showeth: + +THAT the trade with the several Indian tribes of North America has, for +many years past, been almost exclusively carried on by the merchants of +Canada; who, having formed powerful and extensive associations for that +purpose, being aided by British capital, and being encouraged by the +favor and protection of the British government, could not be opposed, +with any prospect of success by individuals of the United States. + +That by means of the above trade, thus systematically pursued, not only +the inhabitants of the United States have been deprived of commercial +profits and advantages, to which they appear to have just and natural +pretensions, but a great and dangerous influence has been established +over the Indian tribes, difficult to be counteracted, and capable of +being exerted at critical periods, to the great injury and annoyance of +our frontier settlements. + +That in order to obtain at least a part of the above trade, and more +particularly that which is within the boundaries of the United States, +your petitioners, in the year 1808, obtained an act of incorporation +from the State of New York, whereby they are enabled, with a competent +capital, to carry on the said trade with the Indians in such a manner as +may be conformable to the laws and regulations of the United States, in +relation to such a commerce. + +That the capital mentioned in the said act, amounting to one million of +dollars, having been duly formed, your petitioners entered with zeal +and alacrity into those large and important arrangements, which were +necessary for, or conducive to the object of their incorporation; and, +among other things, purchased a great part of the stock in trade, and +trading establishments, of the Michilimackinac Company of Canada. Your +petitioners also, with the expectation of great public and private +advantages from the use of the said establishments, ordered, during the +spring and summer of 1810, an assortment of goods from England, +suitable for the Indian trade; which, in consequence of the President's +proclamation of November of that year, were shipped to Canada instead +of New York, and have been transported, under a very heavy expense, into +the interior of the country. But as they could not legally be brought +into the Indian country within the boundaries of the United States, they +have been stored on the Island of St. Joseph, in Lake Huron, where they +now remain. + +Your petitioners, with great deference and implicit submission to +the wisdom of the national legislature, beg leave to suggest for +consideration, whether they have not some claim to national attention +and encouragement, from the nature and importance of their undertaking; +which though hazardous and uncertain as concerns their private +emolument, must, at any rate, redound to the public security and +advantage. If their undertaking shall appear to be of the description +given, they would further suggest to your honorable bodies, that unless +they can procure a regular supply for the trade in which they are +engaged, it may languish, and be finally abandoned by American citizens; +when it will revert to its former channel, with additional, and perhaps +with irresistible, power. + +Under these circumstances, and upon all those considerations of public +policy which will present themselves to your honorable bodies, in +connection with those already mentioned, your petitioners respectfully +pray that a law may be passed to enable the President, or any of the +heads of departments acting under his authority, to grant permits for +the introduction of goods necessary for the supply of the Indians, into +the Indian country that is within the boundaries of the United States, +under such regulations, and with such restrictions, as may secure the +public revenue and promote the public welfare. + +And your petitioners shall ever pray, &c. + +In witness whereof, the common seal of the American Fur Company is + +hereunto affixed, the day of March, 1812. + +By order of the Corporation. + + + + +AN ACT to enable the American Fur Company, + +and other citizens, to introduce goods necessary for the Indian trade +into the territories within the boundaries of the United State. + +WHEREAS, the public peace and welfare require that the native Indian +tribes, residing within the boundaries of the United States, should +receive their necessary supplies under the authority and from the +citizens of the United States: Therefore, be it enacted by the +Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, in Congress +assembled, that it shall be lawful for the President of the United +States, or any of the heads of departments thereunto by him duly +authorized, from time to time to grant permits to the American Fur +Company, their agents or factors, or any other citizens of the United +States engaged in the Indian trade, to introduce into the Indian +country, within the boundaries of the United States, such goods, wares, +and merchandise, as may be necessary for the said trade, under +such regulations and restrictions as the said President or heads of +departments may judge proper; any law or regulation to the contrary, in +anywise, notwithstanding. + + + + + +Letter from Mr. Gallatin to Mr. Astor + +New York, August 5, 1835. + +DEAR SIR,--In compliance with your request, I will state such facts as I +recollect touching the subjects mentioned in your letter of 28th ult. +I may be mistaken respecting dates and details, and will only relate +general facts, which I well remember. + +In conformity with the treaty of 1794 with Great Britain, the citizens +and subjects of each country were permitted to trade with the Indians +residing in the territories of the other party. The reciprocity was +altogether nominal. Since the conquest of Canada, the British had +inherited from the French the whole fur trade, through the great lakes +and their communications, with all the western Indians, whether residing +in the British dominions or the United States. They kept the important +western posts on those lakes till about the year 1797. And the defensive +Indian war, which the United States had to sustain from 1776 to 1795, +had still more alienated the Indians, and secured to the British their +exclusive trade, carried through the lakes, wherever the Indians in that +quarter lived. No American could, without imminent danger of property +and life, carry on that trade, even within the United States, by the way +of either Michilimackinac or St. Mary's. And independent of the loss +of commerce, Great Britain was enabled to preserve a most dangerous +influence over our Indians. + +It was under these circumstances that you communicated to our government +the prospect you had to be able, and your intention, to purchase one +half of the interest of the Canadian Fur Company, engaged in trade by +the way of Michilimackinac with our own Indians. You wished to know +whether the plan met with the approbation of government, and how far +you could rely on its protection and encouragement. This overture +was received with great satisfaction by the administration, and +Mr. Jefferson, then President, wrote you to that effect. I was also +directed, as Secretary of the Treasury, to write to you an official +letter to the same purpose. On investigating the subject, it was found +that the Executive had no authority to give you any direct aid; and I +believe you received nothing more than an entire approbation of your +plan, and general assurances of the protection due to every citizen +engaged in lawful and useful pursuits. + +You did effect the contemplated purchase, but in what year I do not +recollect. Immediately before the war, you represented that a large +quantity of merchandise, intended for the Indian trade, and including +arms and munitions of war, belonging to that concern of which you owned +one half, was deposited at a post on Lake Huron, within the British +dominions; that, in order to prevent their ultimately falling into the +hands of Indians who might prove hostile, you were desirous to try to +have them conveyed into the United States; but that you were prevented +by the then existing law of non-intercourse with the British dominions. + +The Executive could not annul the provisions of that law. But I was +directed to instruct the collectors on the lakes, in case you and your +agents should voluntarily bring in and deliver to them any part of the +goods above mentioned, to receive and keep them in their guard, and not +to commence prosecutions until further instructions: the intention +being then to apply to Congress for an act remitting the forfeiture and +penalties. I wrote accordingly, to that effect, to the collectors of +Detroit and Michilimackinac. + +The attempt to obtain the goods did not, however, succeed; and I cannot +say how far the failure injured you. But the war proved fatal to another +much more extensive and important enterprise. + +Previous to that time, but I also forget the year, you had undertaken +to carry on a trade on your own account, though I believe under the New +York charter of the American Fur Company, with the Indians west of the +Rocky Mountains. This project was also communicated to government, and +met, of course, with its full approbation, and best wishes, for your +success. You carried it on, on the most extensive scale, sending several +ships to the mouth of the Columbia River, and a large party by land +across the mountains, and finally founding the establishment of Astoria. + +This unfortunately fell into the hands of the enemy during the war, from +circumstances with which I am but imperfectly acquainted--being then +absent on a foreign mission. I returned in September, 1815, and sailed +again on a mission to France in June, 1816. During that period I visited +Washington twice--in October or November, 1815, and in March, 1816. On +one of these occasions, and I believe on the last, you mentioned to +me that you were disposed once more to renew the attempt, and to +reestablish Astoria, provided you had the protection of the American +flag; for which purpose, a lieutenant's command would be sufficient to +you. You requested me to mention this to the President, which I did. +Mr. Madison said he would consider the subject, and, although he did not +commit himself, I thought that he received the proposal favorably. The +message was verbal, and I do not know whether the application was ever +renewed in a more formal manner. I sailed soon after for Europe, and +was seven years absent. I never had the pleasure, since 1816, to see +Mr. Madison, and never heard again anything concerning the subject in +question. + +I remain, dear sir, most respectfully, Your obedient servant, + +ALBERT GALLATIN. + +John Jacob Astor, Esq., New York. + + + + +Notices of the Present State of the Fur Trade, + +chiefly extracted from an article published in Silliman's Magazine +for January, 1834. + +THE Northwest Company did not long enjoy the sway they had acquired +over the trading regions of the Columbia. A competition, ruinous in +its expenses, which had long existed between them and the Hudson's Bay +Company, ended in their downfall and the ruin of most of the partners. +The relict of the company became merged in the rival association, and +the whole business was conducted under the name of the Hudson's Bay +Company. + +This coalition took place in 1821. They then abandoned Astoria, and +built a large establishment sixty miles up the river, on the right +bank, which they called Fort Vancouver. This was in a neighborhood where +provisions could be more readily procured, and where there was less +danger from molestation by any naval force. The company are said to +carry on an active and prosperous trade, and to give great encouragement +to settlers. They are extremely jealous, however, of any interference +or participation in their trade, and monopolize it from the coast of the +Pacific to the mountains, and for a considerable extent north and south. +The American traders and trappers who venture across the mountains, +instead of enjoying the participation in the trade of the river and its +tributaries, that had been stipulated by treaty, are obliged to keep to +the south, out of the track of the Hudson's Bay parties. + +Mr. Astor has withdrawn entirely from the American Fur Company, as he +has, in fact, from active business of every kind. That company is +now headed by Mr. Ramsay Crooks; its principal establishment is at +Michilimackinac, and it receives its furs from the posts depending on +that station, and from those on the Mississippi, Missouri, and Yellow +Stone Rivers, and the great range of country extending thence to the +Rocky Mountains. This company has steamboats in its employ, with which +it ascends the rivers, and penetrates to a vast distance into the +bosom of those regions formerly so painfully explored in keel-boats +and barges, or by weary parties on horseback and on foot. The first +irruption of steamboats in the heart of these vast wildernesses is said +to have caused the utmost astonishment and affright among their savage +inhabitants. + +In addition to the main companies already mentioned, minor associations +have been formed, which push their way in the most intrepid manner to +the remote parts of the far West, and beyond the mountain barriers. One +of the most noted of these is Ashley's company, from St. Louis, who +trap for themselves, and drive an extensive trade with the Indians. The +spirit, enterprise, and hardihood of Ashley are themes of the highest +eulogy in the far West, and his adventures and exploits furnish +abundance of frontier stories. + +Another company of one hundred and fifty persons from New York, formed +in 1831, and headed by Captain Bonneville of the United States army, +has pushed its enterprise into tracts before but little known, and has +brought considerable quantities of furs from the region between the +Rocky Mountains and the coasts of Monterey and Upper California, on the +Buenaventura and Timpanogos rivers. + +The fur countries, from the Pacific, east to the Rocky Mountains, are +now occupied (exclusive of private combinations and individual trappers +and traders) by the Russians; and on the northwest from Behring's Strait +to Queen Charlotte's Island, in north latitude fifty-three degrees, and +by the Hudson's Bay Company thence, south of the Columbia River; while +Ashley's company, and that under Captain Bonneville, take the remainder +of the region to California. Indeed, the whole compass from the +Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean is traversed in every direction. The +mountains and forests, from the Arctic Sea to the Gulf of Mexico, are +threaded through every maze, by the hunter. Every river and tributary +stream, from the Columbia to the mouth of the Rio del Norte, and from +the M'Kenzie to the Colorado of the West, from their head springs to +their junction, are searched and trapped for beaver. Almost all the +American furs, which do not belong to the Hudson's Bay Company, find +their way to New York, and are either distributed thence for home +consumption, or sent to foreign markets. + +The Hudson's Bay Company ship their furs from their factories of York +Fort and from Moose River, on Hudson's Bay; their collection from Grand +River, &c., they ship from Canada; and the collection from Columbia goes +to London. None of their furs come to the United States, except through +the London market. + +The export trade of furs from the United States is chiefly to London. +Some quantities have been sent to Canton, and some few to Hamburg; and +an increasing export trade in beaver, otter, nutria, and vicunia wool, +prepared for the hatter's use, is carried on in Mexico. Some furs are +exported from Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Boston; but the principal +shipments from the United States are from New York to London, from +whence they are sent to Leipsic, a well-known mart for furs, where they +are disposed of during the great fair in that city, and distributed to +every part of the continent. + +The United States import from South America, nutria, vicunia, +chinchilla, and a few deer-skins; also fur seals from the Lobos Islands, +off the river Plate. A quantity of beaver, otter, &c., are brought +annually from Santa Fe. Dressed furs for edgings, linings, caps, +muffs, &c., such as squirrel, genet, fitch-skins, and blue rabbit, are +received from the north of Europe; also cony and hare's fur; but the +largest importations are from London, where is concentrated nearly the +whole of the North American fur trade. + +Such is the present state of the fur trade, by which it will appear that +the extended sway of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the monopoly of +the region of which Astoria was the key, has operated to turn the main +current of this opulent trade into the coffers of Great Britain, and +to render London the emporium instead of New York, as Mr. Astor had +intended. + +We will subjoin a few observations on the animals sought after in this +traffic, extracted from the same intelligent source with the preceding +remarks. + +Of the fur-bearing animals, "the precious ermine," so called by way of +preeminence, is found, of the best quality, only in the cold regions of +Europe and Asia. * Its fur is of the most perfect whiteness, except the +tip of its tail, which is of a brilliant shining black. With these back +tips tacked on the skins, they are beautifully spotted, producing an +effect often imitated, but never equalled in other furs. The ermine is +of the genus mustela (weasel), and resembles the common weasel in its +form, is from fourteen to sixteen inches from the tip of the nose to the +end of the tail. The body is from ten to twelve inches long. It lives +in hollow trees, river banks, and especially in beech forests; preys +on small birds, is very shy, sleeping during the day, and employing the +night in search of food. The fur of the older animals is preferred to +the younger. It is taken by snares and traps, and sometimes shot with +blunt arrows. Attempts have been made to domesticate it; but it is +extremely wild and has been found untameable. + +The sable can scarcely be called second to the ermine. It is a native +of Northern Europe and Siberia, and is also of the genus mustela. In +Samoieda, Yakutsk, Kamtschatka, and Russian Lapland, it is found of +the richest quality, and darkest color. In its habits, it resembles the +ermine. It preys on small squirrels and birds, sleeps by day, and prowls +for food during the night. It is so like the marten in every particular +except its size, and the dark shade of its color, that naturalists have +not decided whether it is the richest and finest of the marten tribe, +or a variety of that species: It varies in dimensions from eighteen to +twenty inches. + +The rich dark shades of the sable, and the snowy whiteness of the +ermine, the great depth, and the peculiar, almost flowing softness of +their skins and fur, have combined to gain them a preference in all +countries, and in all ages of the world. In this age, they maintain the +same relative estimate in regard to other furs, as when they marked the +rank of the proud crusader, and were emblazoned in heraldry: but in most +European nations, they are now worn promiscuously by the opulent. + +The martens from Northern Asia and the Mountains of Kamtschatka are much +superior to the American, though in every pack of American marten skins +there are a certain number which are beautifully shaded, and of a dark +brown olive color, of great depth and richness. + +Next these in value, for ornament and utility, are the sea-otter, the +mink, and the fiery fox. + +The fiery fox is the bright red of Asia; is more brilliantly colored and +of finer fur than any other of the genus. It is highly valued for +the splendor of its red color and the fineness of its fur. It is the +standard of value on the northeastern coast of Asia. + +The sea-otter which was first introduced into commerce in 1725, from the +Aleutian and Kurile Islands, is an exceedingly fine, soft, close fur, +jet black in winter, with a silken gloss. The fur of the young animal +is of a beautiful brown color. It is met with in great abundance in +Behring's Island, Kamtschatka, Aleutian and Fox Islands, and is also +taken on the opposite coasts of North America. It is sometimes taken +with nets, but more frequently with clubs and spears. Their food is +principally lobster and other shell-fish. + +In 1780 furs had become so scarce in Siberia that the supply was +insufficient for the demand in the Asiatic countries. It was at this +time that the sea-otter was introduced into the markets for China. +The skins brought such incredible prices, as to originate immediately +several American and British expeditions to the northern islands of the +Pacific, to Nootka Sound, and the northwest coast of America; but the +Russians already had possession of the tract which they now hold, and +had arranged a trade for the sea-otter with the Koudek tribes. They do +not engross the trade, however; the American northwest trading ships +procure them, all along the coast, from the Indians. + +At one period, the fur seals formed no inconsiderable item in the trade. +South Georgia, in south latitude fifty-five degrees, discovered in +1675, was explored by Captain Cook in 1771. The Americans immediately +commenced carrying seal skins thence to China, where they obtained the +most exorbitant prices. One million two hundred thousand skins have been +taken from that island alone, and nearly an equal number from the Island +of Desolation, since they were first resorted to for the purpose of +commerce. + +The discovery of the South Shetlands, sixty-three degrees south +latitude, in 1818, added surprisingly to the trade in fur seals. The +number taken from the South Shetlands in 1821 and 1822 amounted to three +hundred and twenty thousand. This valuable animal is now almost extinct +in all these islands, owing to the exterminating system adopted by the +hunters. They are still taken on the Lobos Islands, where the provident +government of Montevideo restrict the fishery, or hunting, within +certain limits, which insures an annual return of the seals. At certain +seasons, these amphibia, for the purpose of renewing their coat, come up +on the dark frowning rocks and precipices, where there is not a trace of +vegetation. In the middle of January, the islands are partially cleared +of snow, where a few patches of short straggling grass spring up in +favorable situations; but the seals do not resort to it for food. They +remain on the rocks not less than two months, without any sustenance, +when they return much emaciated to the sea. + +Bears of various species and colors, many varieties of the fox, the +wolf, the beaver, the otter, the marten, the raccoon, the badger, the +wolverine, the mink, the lynx, the muskrat, the woodchuck, the rabbit, +the hare, and the squirrel, are natives of North America. + +The beaver, otter, lynx fisher, hare, and raccoon, are used principally +for hats; while the bears of several varieties furnish an excellent +material for sleigh linings, for cavalry caps, and other military +equipments. The fur of the black fox is the most valuable of any of the +American varieties; and next to that the red, which is exported to China +and Smyrna. In China, the red is employed for trimmings, linings, and +robes; the latter being variegated by adding the black fur of the paws, +in spots or waves. There are many other varieties of American fox, such +as the gray, the white, the cross, the silver, and the dun-colored. The +silver fox is a rare animal, a native of the woody country below the +falls of the Columbia River. It has a long, thick, deep lead-colored +fur, intermingled with long hairs, invariably white at the top, forming +a bright lustrous silver gray, esteemed by some more beautiful than any +other kind of fox. + +The skins of the buffalo, of the Rocky Mountain sheep, of various deer +and of the antelope, are included in the fur trade with the Indians and +trappers of the north and west. + +Fox and seal skins are sent from Greenland to Denmark. The white fur of +the arctic fox and polar bear is sometimes found in the packs brought +to the traders by the most northern tribes of Indians, but is not +particularly valuable. The silver-tipped rabbit is peculiar to England, +and is sent thence to Russia and China. + +Other furs are employed and valued according to the caprices of fashion, +as well in those countries where they are needed for defenses against +the severity of the seasons, as among the inhabitants of milder +climates, who, severely of Tartar or Sclavonian descent, are said to +inherit an attachment to furred clothing. Such are the inhabitants of +Poland, of Southern Russia, of China, of Persia, of Turkey, and all +the nations of Gothic origin in the middle and western parts of Europe. +Under the burning suns of Syria and Egypt, and the mild climes of +Bucharia and Independent Tartary, there is also a constant demand, and a +great consumption, where there exists no physical necessity. In our own +temperate latitudes, besides their use in the arts, they are in request +for ornament and warmth during the winter, and large quantities are +annually consumed for both purposes in the United States. + +From the foregoing statements, it appears that the fur trade must +henceforward decline. The advanced state of geographical science shows +that no new countries remain to be explored. In North America the +animals are slowly decreasing, from the persevering efforts and +the indiscriminate slaughter practiced by the hunters, and by the +appropriation to the uses of man of those forests and rivers which have +afforded them food and protection. They recede with the aborigines, +before the tide of civilization; but a diminished supply will remain in +the mountains and uncultivated tracts of this and other countries, if +the avidity of the hunter can be restrained within proper limitations. + + * An animal called the stoat, a kind of ermine, is said to + be found in North America, but very inferior to the European + and Asiatic. + + * * The finest fur and the darkest color are most esteemed; + and whether the difference arises from the age of the + animal, or from some peculiarity of location, is not known. + They do not vary more from the common marten than the + Arabian horse from the shaggy Canadian. + + + + +Height of the Rocky Mountains. + +VARIOUS estimates have been made of the height of the Rocky Mountains, +but it is doubtful whether any have, as yet, done justice to their +real altitude, which promises to place them only second to the highest +mountains of the known world. Their height has been diminished to the +eye by the great elevation of the plains from which they rise. They +consist, according to Long, of ridges, knobs, and peaks, variously +disposed. The more elevated parts are covered with perpetual snows, +which contribute to give them a luminous, and, at a great distance, +even a brilliant appearance; whence they derive, among some of the first +discoverers, the name of the Shining Mountains. + +James's Peak has generally been cited as the highest of the chain; +and its elevation above the common level has been ascertained, by a +trigonometrical measurement, to be about eight thousand five hundred +feet. Mr. Long, however, judged, from the position of the snow near the +summits of other peaks and ridges at no great distance from it, that +they were much higher. Having heard Professor Renwick, of New York, +express an opinion of the altitude of these mountains far beyond what +had usually been ascribed to them, we applied to him for the authority +on which he grounded his observation, and here subjoin his reply: + +Columbia College, New York, February 23, 1836. + +Dear Sir,--In compliance with your request, I have to communicate some +facts in relation to the heights of the Rocky Mountains, and the sources +whence I obtained the information. + +In conversation with Simon M'Gillivray, Esq., a partner of the Northwest +Company, he stated to me his impression, that the mountains in the +vicinity of the route pursued by the traders of that company were nearly +as high as the Himalayas. He had himself crossed by this route, seen +the snowy summits of the peaks, and experienced a degree of cold which +required a spirit thermometer to indicate it. His authority for the +estimate of the heights was a gentleman who had been employed for +several years as surveyor of that company. This conversation occurred +about sixteen years since. + +A year or two afterwards, I had the pleasure of dining, at Major +Delafield's with Mr. Thompson, the gentleman referred to by Mr. +M'Gillivray. I inquired of him in relation to the circumstances +mentioned by Mr. M'Gillivray, and he stated that, by the joint means +of the barometric and trigonometric measurement, he had ascertained the +height of one of the peaks to be about twenty-five thousand feet, and +there were others of nearly the same height in the vicinity. + +I am, dear sir, To W. Irving, Esq. Yours truly, JAMES RENWICK. + + + +Suggestions with respect to the Indian tribes, + +and the protection of our Trade. + +IN the course of this work, a few general remarks have been hazarded +respecting the Indian tribes of the prairies, and the dangers to be +apprehended from them in future times to our trade beyond the Rocky +Mountains and with the Spanish frontiers. Since writing those remarks, +we have met with some excellent observations and suggestions, in +manuscript, on the same subject, written by Captain Bonneville, of the +United States army, who had lately returned from a long residence among +the tribes of the Rocky Mountains. Captain B. approves highly of +the plan recently adopted by the United States government for the +organization of a regiment of dragoons for the protection of our western +frontier, and the trade across the prairies. "No other species of +military force," he observes, "is at all competent to cope with these +restless and wandering hordes, who require to be opposed with swiftness +quite as much as with strength; and the consciousness that a troop, +uniting these qualifications, is always on the alert to avenge their +outrages upon the settlers and traders, will go very far towards +restraining them from the perpetration of those thefts and murders which +they have heretofore committed with impunity, whenever stratagem or +superiority of force has given them the advantage. Their interest +already has done something towards their pacification with our +countrymen. From the traders among them, they receive their supplies in +the greatest abundance, and upon very equitable terms; and when it +is remembered that a very considerable amount of property is yearly +distributed among them by the government, as presents, it will readily +be perceived that they are greatly dependent upon us for their most +valued resources. If, superadded to this inducement, a frequent display +of military power be made in their territories, there can be little +doubt that the desired security and peace will be speedily afforded +to our own people. But the idea of establishing a permanent amity and +concord amongst the various east and west tribes themselves, seems to +me, if not wholly impracticable, at least infinitely more difficult than +many excellent philanthropists have hoped and believed. Those nations +which have so lately emigrated from the midst of our settlements to live +upon our western borders, and have made some progress in agriculture and +the arts of civilization, have, in the property they have acquired, +and the protection and aid extended to them, too many advantages to be +induced readily to take up arms against us, particularly if they can be +brought to the full conviction that their new homes will be permanent +and undisturbed; and there is every reason and motive, in policy as well +as humanity, for our ameliorating their condition by every means in +our power. But the case is far different with regard to the Osages, the +Kanzas, the Pawnees, and other roving hordes beyond the frontiers of the +settlements. Wild and restless in their character and habits, they are +by no means so susceptible of control or civilization; and they are +urged by strong, and, to them, irresistible causes in their situation +and necessities, to the daily perpetuation of violence and fraud. Their +permanent subsistence, for example, is derived from the buffalo hunting +grounds, which lie a great distance from their towns. Twice a year +they are obliged to make long and dangerous expeditions, to procure the +necessary provisions for themselves and their families. For this purpose +horses are absolutely requisite, for their own comfort and safety, as +well as for the transportation of their food, and their little stock +of valuables; and without them they would be reduced, during a great +portion of the year, to a state of abject misery and privation. They +have no brood mares, nor any trade sufficiently valuable to supply their +yearly losses, and endeavor to keep up their stock by stealing horses +from the other tribes to the west and southwest. Our own people, and the +tribes immediately upon our borders, may indeed be protected from +their depredations; and the Kanzas, Osages, Pawnees, and others, may +be induced to remain at peace among themselves, so long as they are +permitted to pursue the old custom of levying upon the Camanches and +other remote nations for their complement of steeds for the warriors, +and pack-horses for their transportation to and from the hunting ground. +But the instant they are forced to maintain a peaceful and inoffensive +demeanor towards the tribes along the Mexican border, and find that +every violation of their rights is followed by the avenging arm of our +government, the result must be, that, reduced to a wretchedness and want +which they can ill brook, and feeling the certainty of punishment for +every attempt to ameliorate their condition in the only way they as yet +comprehend, they will abandon their unfruitful territory and remove to +the neighborhood of the Mexican lands, and there carry on a vigorous +predatory warfare indiscriminately upon the Mexicans and our own people +trading or travelling in that quarter. + +"The Indians of the prairies are almost innumerable. Their superior +horsemanship, which in my opinion, far exceeds that of any other people +on the face of the earth, their daring bravery, their cunning and skill +in the warfare of the wilderness, and the astonishing rapidity and +secrecy with which they are accustomed to move in their martial +expeditions, will always render them most dangerous and vexatious +neighbors, when their necessities or their discontents may drive them to +hostility with our frontiers. Their mode and principles of warfare will +always protect them from final and irretrievable defeat, and secure +their families from participating in any blow, however severe, which our +retribution might deal out to them. + +"The Camanches lay the Mexicans under contribution for horses and +mules, which they are always engaged in stealing from them in incredible +numbers; and from the Camanches, all the roving tribes of the far West, +by a similar exertion of skill and daring, supply themselves in turn. It +seems to me, therefore, under all these circumstances, that the apparent +futility of any philanthropic schemes for the benefit of these nations, +and a regard for our own protection, concur in recommending that we +remain satisfied with maintaining peace upon our own immediate borders, +and leave the Mexicans and the Camanches, and all the tribes hostile to +these last, to settle their differences and difficulties in their own +way. + +"In order to give full security and protection to our trading parties +circulating in all directions through the great prairies, I am under the +impression that a few judicious measures on the part of the government, +involving a very limited expense, would be sufficient. And, in attaining +this end, which of itself has already become an object of public +interest and import, another, of much greater consequence, might be +brought about, namely, the securing to the States a most valuable and +increasing trade, now carried on by caravans directly to Santa Fe. + +"As to the first desideratum: the Indians can only be made to respect +the lives and property of the American parties, by rendering them +dependent upon us for their supplies; which alone can be done with +complete effect by the establishment of a trading post, with resident +traders, at some point which will unite a sufficient number of +advantages to attract the several tribes to itself, in preference to +their present places of resort for that purpose; for it is a well-known +fact that the Indians will always protect their trader, and those in +whom he is interested, so long as they derive benefits from him. The +alternative presented to those at the north, by the residence of the +agents of the Hudson's Bay Company amongst them, renders the condition +of our people in that quarter less secure; but I think it will appear at +once, upon the most cursory examination, that no such opposition further +south could be maintained, so as to weaken the benefits of such an +establishment as is here suggested. + +"In considering this matter, the first question which presents itself +is, where do these tribes now make their exchanges, and obtain their +necessary supplies. They resort almost exclusively to the Mexicans, who, +themselves, purchase from us whatever the Indians most seek for. In this +point of view, therefore, coeteris paribus, it would be an easy matter +for us to monopolize the whole traffic. All that is wanted is some +location more convenient for the natives than that offered by the +Mexicans, to give us the undisputed superiority; and the selection of +such a point requires but a knowledge of the single fact, that these +nations invariably winter upon the head waters of the Arkansas, and +there prepare all their buffalo robes for trade. These robes are heavy, +and, to the Indian, very difficult of transportation. Nothing +but necessity induces them to travel any great distance with such +inconvenient baggage. A post, therefore, established upon the head +waters of the Arkansas, must infallibly secure an uncontested preference +over that of the Mexicans; even at their prices and rates of barter. +Then let the dragoons occasionally move about among these people in +large parties, impressing them with the proper estimate of our power to +protect and to punish, and at once we have complete and assured security +for all citizens whose enterprise may lead them beyond the border, and +an end to the outrages and depredations which now dog the footsteps +of the traveller, in the prairies, and arrest and depress the most +advantageous commerce. Such a post need not be stronger than fifty men; +twenty-five to be employed as hunters, to supply the garrison, and the +residue as a defense against any hostility. Situated here upon the good +lands of the Arkansas, in the midst of abundance of timber, while it +might be kept up at a most inconsiderable expense, such an establishment +within ninety miles of Santa Fe or Taos would be more than justified by +the other and more important advantages before alluded to, leaving the +protection of the traders with the Indian tribes entirely out of the +question. + +"This great trade, carried on by caravans to Santa Fe, annually loads +one hundred wagons with merchandise, which is bartered in the northern +provinces or Mexico for cash and for beaver furs. The numerous articles +excluded as contraband, and the exorbitant duties laid upon all those +that are admitted by the Mexican government, present so many obstacles +to commerce, that I am well persuaded, that if a post, such as is here +suggested, should be established on the Arkansas, it would become the +place of deposit, not only for the present trade, but for one infinitely +more extended. Here the Mexicans might purchase their supplies, and +might well afford to sell them at prices which would silence all +competition from any other quarter. + +"These two trades, with the Mexicans and the Indians, centring at this +post, would give rise to a large village of traders and laborers, +and would undoubtedly be hailed, by all that section of country, as a +permanent and invaluable advantage. A few pack-horses would carry all +the clothing and ammunition necessary for the post during the first +year, and two light field-pieces would be all the artillery required +for its defense. Afterwards, all the horses required for the use of the +establishment might be purchased from the Mexicans at the low price +of ten dollars each; and, at the same time, whatever animals might +be needed to supply the losses among the dragoons traversing the +neighborhood, could be readily procured. The Upper Missouri Indians can +furnish horses, at very cheap rates, to any number of the same troops +who might be detailed for the defense of the northern frontier; and, in +other respects, a very limited outlay of money would suffice to maintain +a post in that section of the country. + +"From these considerations, and my own personal observations, I am, +therefore, disposed to believe that two posts established by the +government, one at the mouth of the Yellowstone River, and one on the +Arkansas, would completely protect all our people in every section of +the great wilderness of the West; while other advantages, at least with +regard to one of them, confirm and urge the suggestion. A fort at the +mouth of the Yellowstone, garrisoned by fifty men would be perfectly +safe. The establishment might be constructed simply with a view to the +stores, stables for the dragoons' horses, and quarters for the regular +garrison; the rest being provided with sheds or lodges, erected in the +vicinity, for their residence during the winter months." + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Astoria, by Washington Irving + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ASTORIA *** + +***** This file should be named 1371.txt or 1371.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/7/1371/ + +Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer and David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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